2012 Year in Review :)

I love Christmas letters.  Like, really, really love them.  I love to read about what people have been up to over the past year.  It's a little bit of insight into other people's lives, snapshots of what they found to be the highlights of their year.  A little like Facebook, but more festive (and less information about what someone ate for breakfast).  I even like reading Christmas letters from people I don't know.  I've been known to pick up a Christmas letter out of the pile of Christmas cards at my mom's house, read the entire thing, and then look up and say "Who are these people?"

Incidentally, I also really love Christmas cards.

Even though I took all my Christmas decorations down after New Years, the cards might still be hung up.  I'm sure Chad loves this.

Last year I attempted to write a Christmas letter to send out, but I just couldn't find enough interesting things to say.  Turns out it's way harder than I thought it would be.  I mean, how do you come up with the perfect words to sum up an entire year of your life?  And what if I say something that one person finds charming, but my 92-year-old great aunt maybe doesn't appreciate?  Oh, the pressure.  Needless to say, the attempt was a big fat FAIL, so I just sent out a picture of Maya in front of the Christmas tree.  Super original, Molly.

Anyhow, I was thinking about how I fell off the blog wagon big-time in the latter half of 2012, and what better way to catch back up than taking a little trip down memory lane?  And since no one wants to read a million paragraphs about what we did all year, I will let the pictures do most of the talking.

Travels

Cape Cod

In July, we took an amazing trip to Cape Cod for a family reunion with Chad's mom's side of the family.  Usually when someone says "Oh, I went to a family reunion..." you might think Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz..... Not so!  The Quiambao family knows how to throw a week-long party!  Everyone left their homes in Indianapolis, Austin, Dallas, Orlando, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Wilmington and San Diego and met up in Chatham, Massachusetts for an unforgettable week of sun, sand, FOOD, drinks, fun, late nights, aunts, uncles, cousins, FOOD, day trips, boat trips... you name it, we did it!  

Talk about scenery!  Great house, wonderful beaches, tons of sunshine!  Yes, those are my feet in the sand.  Yes, I rinsed them off immediately after taking this picture.

Maya's first trip to the beach was amazing.  What's not to love?  Sun, sandcastles, and ice cream!

We got to catch up with cousins from all around the country.  Good times!  To the dust!

Don't worry... plenty of time for laying around :)

Ummm, did I mention the FOOD?

Arizona

Right after Thanksgiving (8:00 AM the next day, in fact), Chad and I traveled to Tucson, Arizona to attend the wedding of one of our best friends.  We got to trade in  the late fall/early winter Indiana weather for some nice 80-degree Arizona sunshine.  Several friends were able to make the trip, so it was sort of like a mini IU reunion (complete with a few surprise rounds of This is Indiana playing at the reception).  Amazing weekend, amazing friends, amazing weather. 

 

Never would have thought of Tucson as a vacation destination.  Turns out it is. 

Tell me this isn't one of the most beautiful places someone could get married...

Could not ask for a better group of lifelong friends...

Always interesting when you throw a photo booth into the mix at a reception...

So neat for Chad to get to serve as the Best Man at the wedding of the Best Man from our wedding.  Lookit!  They're both beaming inside!!

Around Town

When we weren't traveling, we managed to find some fun throughout the year in Indy!

 

The Super Bowl came to town in February, and it was really fun to act like a tourist in the town where we've lived forever!

Made it to a handful of Colts games, both at the end of the Peyton Manning era and the beginning of the Andrew Luck era.  Different haircuts, different jerseys, same love for our Colts!

In the middle of the summer, Chad's parents bought a boat, so this became the scenery of Summer 2012.  Also turns out we have a lake-lover on our hands.  Maya couldn't get enough of it!

We were able to enjoy the Zoo, Children's Museum, and a few Indians games over the summer.  Maya had a blast out on the lawn.  This picture marks the birth of Maya's "Excited Face," which she displayed in about 500 pictures throughout the rest of the year.

Maya's Firsts

Maya got to experience a handful of things for the first time this year:

First time at the airport (that she remembers anyway)

Discovering the joys of airplanes - She was a GREAT flyer!

First time splashing in the ocean!

First time at the movies!

First time trick-or-treating with her friends :)

First time on Santa's lap!  Apparently a personal visit is much preferred to a mall encounter...

 Maya Turns 3!

Can't believe this little ball of life, love and laughter has been in our lives for three years!  This was the year of the Disney Princess.  And the girl band.

Speaking of Kids...

September 25th was a super great day.  Not only did the new Mumford album come out, but my bestie had a baby!!  Rachel and Pete welcomed Eli Franklin Gilboy into the world, and he is just the sweetest little guy.  I got the opportunity to visit over a weekend a few weeks after Eli's arrival, and those crazy parents even left me alone with the wee little guy for a few hours.  Holy cow.  Three-year-olds are so much bigger and so much less fragile than newborn babies.  I am so excited for Rachel and Pete to have joined the "We're attempting to raise a whole human being without messing them up" Club.  

Cutest pregnant lady.  If only we could all be 6-feet tall and only gain weight in the belly...

I'm not really much of a cat person, but this picture kinda changes my mind.  Cuteness overload.

I mean, are you kidding me?  My uterus hurts. 

 Running

Last January, I was chatting with my friend Jena over a glass or three of wine, and we were talking about goals for the new year.  She mentioned that she would like to run "a couple marathons." (Side note: Jena was not a runner.)  I said "a couple marathons?!"  She said "Oh, you know, like a 5k."  I hadn't run much since Maya was born, so we decided we would pick a race and train for it.  A few weeks later I mentioned it to Chad, and he said he wouldn't mind running a half marathon.  I asked Jena if she wanted to train to run 13.1 miles.  At the time, Jena was a devout Zumba lady.  She had been trying to get me to go to Zumba with her for months (I don't dance).  So I told her if she would train to run the mini, then I would go to Zumba with her once.  Kind of a lopsided agreement, if you ask me.  But hey, she agreed.  Little did we know it would lead to running eight races, not to mention a gazillion morning/afternoon/evening training runs, including a particularly memorable 4-mile run in the pitch black of night during a torrential rainstorm.  In the past, running was always something I did sort of begrudgingly.  I have always had a pretty serious love/hate relationship with running, like most fair-weather runners do.  My process in the past looked a lot like this:  Sign up for a race, train insufficiently, struggle through, take weeks to recover, feel an exorbitant amount of relief that I am done, then return to my lazy ways.  This was the first time I felt some level of responsibility for someone else's success, and it was also the first time I really learned to love running outside.  Our training runs became mini therapy sessions, and I started to really understand what "real runners" were talking about when they said that running was wonderful, good-for-the-soul stuff.  So this time, we trained effectively, ran strong, recovered quickly, and kept running.  Oh yeah... about that deal we made.  I did go to Zumba, and boy am I uncoordinated.  

Here's a little trip down memory lane for the races we ran this year.  I use the term "race" loosely, since we weren't beating anyone out there.  Fast, we aren't.

 

March 2012 - Durbin 10k

May 2012 - Indianapolis Mini-Marathon

May 2012 - Geist 5k

June 2012 - Tap 'n Run 5k (Beer stations instead of water stops?  OK, twist my arm.  And yes, that is Chad dressed like Richard Simmons in the back)

October 2012 - Back on my Feet Marathon Relay (probably the only way I will ever have any part in a full marathon...)

October 2012 - Wine at the Line 5 mile race (Umm, wine at the end of the race?  I guess I could be talked into that).  Big shout out to my cousin Amanda, for finishing her first organized race.  Get it, girl!  See you at that 8k in April!

November 2012 - Wishbone 5k (I had a stomach virus that day.  Least enjoyable run of my life)

December 2012 - Jingle Bell 10k

Getting Crafty!

I think it's safe to say that I have not historically been known as a "crafty" person.  Thank goodness for Pinterest, helping those poor craft-challenged folks such as myself!  This year a few friends and I started getting together for Pinterest Craft Nights -- a good reason to wear sweat pants, catch up, have a glass of wine, and attempt to discover our crafty sides.  A few highlights:

I discovered Emi-Jay hair ties this year.  They are amazing.  They are also expensive.  My friend Pam bought a bunch of elastic online and we went to town one night.  This is my kind of craft... Cut the elastic.  Tie it.  That's it.   Three hair ties for $7 at Nordstrom?  Oh, Emi-Jay.  Not anymore!

I saw this on Pinterest a bazillion times, and I figured it was a good way to use up the wine corks that have been overfilling a bowl in my kitchen.  No real secret here.  Drink a ton of wine in preparation. Save the corks.  (Disclaimer: I "drank a ton of wine in preparation" over the course of several months.)  Buy some wooden letters.  Plug in a glue gun.  Glue on some corks.  Crafting for Dummies!

I was feeling a little festive in December, so I decided to make a bunch of ornaments for my Christmas tree.  I saw this blog post about how to do it, and I thought "even I can't mess this one up."  Yes it is really that easy.  Yes they really end up looking that good.  The day after I made these, Maya came home with the very same thing she made at school.  There you have it, folks.  Easy enough for a three-year-old = Molly-appopriate craft.

Food

I may not be great at crafting, but I have ALWAYS been good at eating.  Just for kicks, here are some tasty things we ate this year... 

The Wilson Sushi House.  Rivals anything else you'll find in this city.  OK, that is an exaggeration.  However, we have become huge fans of making sushi at home.  Not as hard as it looks!

Holy Mexican Secret!  You can't drive around Indianapolis without tripping over a million Mexican restaurants, and most of them are more or less the same.  Or at least I thought so until I discovered the chicken soup at La Hacienda on Binford & Graham Rd.  It is obscene how good this soup is.  I have yet to introduce anyone to it who didn't love it.  If you already know about it, then all I have to say to you is: WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME ABOUT THIS SOONER??

I know this doesn't look like much, but it's pretty much the best pasta dish in Indianapolis.  If you haven't been over to Goodfellas (96th and Olio), get there and order the pasta alla vodka. Stat.  Best vodka sauce I have ever tasted. 

In June, Chad and I celebrated our 10-year wedding anniversary.  We go out to eat a lot, but for our anniversary we decided to stay in.  We feasted on filet, bacon wrapped shrimp, Indiana sweet corn on the cob, and some tasty cab to wash it all down.  This was the best home-prepared steak I have ever eaten in my life.  I'm sure the pound and a half of bacon and bleu cheese on top didn't hurt.

Dogs

Yep, these guys are still alive and kickin'!  

Well, there you have it friends.  If you're still reading this, thank you for being such a good friend, and I hope you haven't gone blind.  When I started writing this post, I figured I would slap a couple pictures on here, make a snarky comment or two, and move along with my day.  But I got totally consumed with the memories of the past year, and I'm feeling completely overwhelmed with the wonderful family, friendships, experiences, stories, pictures, trips and memories that have filled up the past year.  I can't even begin to count all the blessings in my life.  I'm so grateful to God for purposefully placing each and every relationship and experience into my life this past year. 

Giddy-up, 2013.  You have big shoes to fill.

Chad outsmarts Maya...

Maya has been obsessed with Hurricane Sandy. She was telling her class all about how the storm was windy and started at the beach. She asked me yesterday where Sandy went. I kept telling her that the storm was gone. She kept asking "but where did Sandy go?" I kept saying "it's just gone." Needless to say, she wasn't satisfied with my answer. Who can blame her. Science isn't my forte.

Tonight after dinner, she asked about Sandy again. I looked at Chad and said "Can you take this?" Here is how their exchange went.

Maya: "Where did Sandy go?"
Chad: "It's gone."
Maya: "But WHERE did Sandy go?"
Chad: "Do you really want to know?"
Maya: (nods)
Chad: "It dissipated."
Maya: "Can I have some more milk?"

:)

10 Years and Counting

Dear Chad,

Ten years ago today, I was a 22-year-old recent college grad, putting on a white dress to walk down the aisle toward my future.  At the time, ten years seemed like such a long way off.  I had no idea where we would be, what we would be doing, how much we would have/have not changed... but I never doubted for a second that we would love each other any less.  I wasn't worried or anxious.  I was curious.  I knew when I decided to marry you, I was signing up for a lifetime of love, stability, challenges (the good kind and the bad kind), surprises and excitement.  I knew we were a good fit.  You're grounded, calm, logical, patient and forgiving.  I'm spontaneous, emotional and zealous (read: neurotic/obsessive).  You're a black-and-white sort of fellow, and I live in the gray.

So much has changed over the last ten years.  We're different people than we were on June 1, 2002.  I don't claim to be an expert on making a marriage work (far from it!), but I will say this: I think the secret to making our marriage work has been to allow the other person to change, grow and evolve, and remember the commitment we made to love each other no matter what.  That no matter what has been put to the test plenty of times over the last ten years.  There are times I don't even see a glimpse of the people we used to be.  But then we spend an evening together on the couch, challenging each other to find songs on iTunes that remind us of when we were dating, and I am reminded that the people we used to be are still buried in there somewhere, and those people have helped us become who we are now.

Side note: I distinctly remember the moment I knew we had something that would last.  We had done our share of breaking up, taking a break, dating around... but we kept coming back to each other.  One day I was at your parents' house, and you were playing your guitar.  I wasn't really sure where our relationship stood, but when you took the time to re-tune your guitar so you could play "Daughter" by Pearl Jam, I knew we were on our way back to solid ground. 

That night on the couch reminded me that it is important to take time to acknowledge how far we've come in life, and to remember the person we each fell in love with all those years ago.  I didn't used to think staying married for ten years was that amazing of an accomplishment.  I just assumed most people stayed married.  I'm thankful for that idealistic mindset.  We have been blessed with such amazing examples of marriage from our parents.  We have certainly had plenty of bumps in the road that were big enough to throw us off course, but it has never been an option to either of us NOT to stay married. 

I woke up this morning expecting to feel different somehow, like hitting the ten-year mark would be something I could tangibly feel.  But it just felt like every other day.  Some people might think that is sad, but I don't.  It means we don't hold one day a year aside to appreciate each other.  I love that our relationship is just as important the other 364 days of the year as it is on June 1st.

I wanted to take the time today to let you know how much I love you, how much I respect you and how I am so thankful for you.  I have told you so many times before -- but it bears repeating: I love how you challenge yourself to always be better, achieve more and make your family proud.  Your character is impeccable.  Your love and forgiveness is undeserved, but wholeheartedly cherished.  Your ability to be taken seriously while still being someone who is fun to be around is amazing.  After nearly 17 years of knowing you, I still look at you wide-eyed, wondering how I am so lucky to have won your heart.

Thank you so much for being who you are, who God designed you to be.  Thank you for helping shape me into who I am, who God designed me to be.  Thank you so much for Maya.  We have accomplished a lot over the last ten years, but she is truly our greatest blessing.  I love the way you love her.  With her, you are both firm and kind, both a protector and a playmate, both serious and silly. There are so many things to worry about when you have a child.  I am so thankful that I will never have to worry about her having a father who loves her, protects her, encourages her, teaches her, and serves as an example for what she should look for in a husband someday.

Thank you for being my partner through this journey called life.  Can't wait to see what the next ten years bring.

All my love,

Molly

 

 

 

Toddler comedy at its finest...

So Maya, like most toddlers, knows no boundaries regarding privacy and personal space.  Since we entered the world of potty training several months ago, the bathroom has become a place where we can no longer expect privacy.  I'm sure most moms can relate, but I can't remember the last time I got to go to the bathroom by myself.  Sometimes Maya will clap for me and say "Great job, Mommy!"  Gotta love encouragement, I guess :)

I hadn't really ever paid attention, but I guess Chad has still been enjoying plenty of bathroom privacy.  That all came to a crashing halt yesterday.  When we got home from work last night, Chad went to change his clothes.  Maya, who has increasingly become more of a daddy's girl over the last few months, decided to go look for him.  She went into our bathroom, and then the closet to look for him, to no avail.  She finally opened the door where the toilet is, and she found him.  I think the fact that he was standing up caught her off guard, because he said she did a double take.  She looked at him and exclaimed, "Daddy, that's a LOT of pee!"  After Chad agreed, she looked at him again, confused, and said "But is it coming out of your thumb?!?" 

Source: plumbingproducts.com

Oscars, Sweat Pants, and some Pretty Potent Punch

I can be pretty un-girly about a lot of things, but I love awards shows.  Totally a girl about that, and totally proud of it.  The Academy Awards were last weekend, and I was pumped.  The irony here is that I have seen mayyyyybe 3 movies in the theater over the last year.  We'll blame that on having a toddler in the house.  And the only reason I even made it to the theater at all is that my friend Joanna suggested we start reading books that are being turned into movies, and then go see the movies.  Now, most movies that are based on good books end up sucking.  Nevertheless, we decided to read the books, and then head to the movies with giant purses full of smuggled wine candy.  Anyhow, we read Water for Elephants, saw the movie, and then did the same with The Help.  I know I said I saw 3 movies last year, but I honestly cannot remember what the third one was.  Oh well.  Moving on...

Back to the Oscars... Being a lover of award shows, lounge pants, and socializing, I decided the only logical thing to do was throw a party.  And thus, the First Annual Academy Awards Champagne and Sweat Pants Party was born.  My good friend Bitsy offered to co-host (maybe "offered" isn't very accurate... I'm not sure I gave her much of a choice).  Given that I only saw one out of the nine Best Picture Nominees, I knew I wasn't going to care that much about the actual awards, so I promoted the party as an opportunity to wear sweats, eat snacks, drink champagne, and judge questionable fashion choices (Gwyneth - what was with that cape?)

Here is a picture essay of our evening... Note that I completely forgot to take pictures of any of the people at the party.  I had great intentions to, but, well... let's just blame the punch.  So basically, here are a bunch of pictures of food.  If anything looks particularly scrumtrilescent to you, I have included links to the recipes.  Also, please excuse the shadows in all of the pictures.  I was using the camera on my phone, and I was standing in front of the lights on most occasions.  Again, let's blame the punch...

 

 

 Brie, Walnut and Cherry Tartlets

The picture really doesn't do this tasty treat justice.  These took the most time out of everything I made (Puff Pastry and I were not on speaking terms after this experience).  But it was worth the time and frustration, because they were AMAZING.  As one party-goer said, "This is one of the best things I've ever eaten.  Ever."  I might be paraphrasing.  I can't remember.  Let's continue to blame the punch... 

Prosciutto Pinwheels

I love cheese and carbs.  Especially together.  This recipe called for more dreaded Puff Pastry, and I was over it.  So I cheated and used a crescent roll sheet.  P.S. Remember when we used to have to spend all that tedious time pinching crescent roll triangles together to make it into a crust?  I'm glad that's over.  Thanks, Pillsbury! 

Moving on...

Goat Cheese Deliciousness

Confession:  I don't know what this is called.  I don't even know what's in it besides goat cheese (tomato sauce? Ryan Gosling's tears?).  All I know is Bitsy brought it, and it was gone in an instant.  And it was made of cheese and carbs, so it obviously fit the theme.  I don't know why I even bothered to buy fancy paper plates for the occasion, because we all just stood in a circle around this and inhaled it.  Then we had a conversation about how everyone's mom has a square baking dish with the exact same flower pattern on the side. 

Black Bottom Cupcakes

Keeping strictly to our carb and cheese theme (I didn't even realize we HAD a carb and cheese theme until about 10 minutes ago when I uploaded these pictures), I opted for cake stuffed with cream cheese.  Yes please.  Nothing much more to say about these bad boys.  They are super easy to make, and super delicious to eat.  One batch made something like 60 mini-cupcakes.  In an effort to keep our house free of as much junk food as possible, Chad was covertly sticking baggies of leftover cupcakes in everyone's purses as they were leaving. 

 Moet's Silver Screen Punch

 Did I mention that I made some punch?  What kind of an awards party would it be without champagne?  This stuff was amazing.  And potent.  I found it on the Oscars website, so I figured it must be pretty legit.  A few recommendations if you decide to make this: 1) Use affordable champagne.  I think I used $8 or $9 champagne.  I was too scared of the $5 and $6 bottles, but I didn't want to spend too much money if I was just going to mix it with a bunch of stuff.  2) Don't skip the ginger.  I thought that ingredient was SUPER weird, but I just went with it.  And it was amazing.

We did manage, in our punch-induced stupor, to play a rousing round of Oscar Bingo!  You know me... I like games! Too bad there wasn't a square for "J-Lo Nip Slip." 

We managed to eat pretty much ALL of the food, and everyone was out of my house by 10:30 -- and Chad cleaned up the kitchen.  It doesn't get much better than that.  Thanks to all you girlies to were able to come!  :)