The Year That Was: My 2016 Year-Ender

Welcome to 2017! The first Monday of the year is probably the most beaten day because most of us are still hungover from the holidays. I get it—who looks forward to adulting anyways? Kidding aside, I hope you've had a wonderful time spending the holidays with family and friends—

YES, I totally stole that same paragraph from last year's, and I'm not even going to apologize.

I think we could all agree that the same statement applies at the beginning of every year, am I right? Anyway, let's skip through the pleasantries, and get to the highlights of my 2016 (according to this blog):

Ladies and gentlemen, this is the Grand Canyon. I may or may not have uttered "Oh, my God!" and "This is magnificent, Lord!" under my breath several times as @rolandroan pulled over to the side of the road. I had no idea it was more stunning in person. It was cold, yes, but the view gave me overwhelming chills. I can only imagine what it's like to see this beauty from a bird's eye view. (P.S. That darker shade in the foreground is called the Coronado Butte.) #PPNationalParks @passionpassport

JANUARY TO MARCH

• Let's start off with goals I set myself for the year. My primary goal was to be financially responsible, especially that Roan and I are living together. I think we did pretty good in this department, but I might need to revisit these pointers again.
• For the sake of new friends around here, you might want to check out a post I wrote from a while back to get to know me a little bit more.
• As with most people, I struggle with fitness around this time of the year, so I got a bit a personal, and wrote about it on here.
• By end of January, Roan and I took a road trip to see the Grand Canyon in Arizona! 

• And while we're on the subject of traveling, I also did a recap of our road trip to Borrego Springs in November and to Mt. San Jacinto State Park with my cousins in December of the previous year.
• I'm not a good cook nor am I trying to be, but the first recipe I posted last year was this one for breakfast. Tell me if you're thinking of trying it!
• In March, I finally got a job at the same company my husband works for! It's actually been a lot of fun!

Binge-watching Grey's Anatomy (@greysabc) because Seattle vibes #

APRIL TO JUNE

• In relation to getting a job in March, I thought of sharing my casual workwear on here for some outfit inspiration.
• Since I'm earning on my own, I thought I'd treat myself with a decked out MacBook Pro + my husband got me a Kindle Paperwhite (finally!), too!
• In April, I celebrated my first anniversary here in the US, and decided to write a recap of what my year had been. I can't believe year 2 is coming up in a few months!
• The second and last recipe blog post I wrote for 2016 was this one. I don't think I'm made to work in the kitchen!
• In May, Roan, his two sisters, and I went on a vacation to Washington where we got to visit a relative + have fun, too!

This #LaborDayWeekend trip to Nevada had been just as amazing as last year (in San Francisco). Heading back to California in a few.✨

JULY TO SEPTEMBER

• I was pretty much late to the party when I shared my summer essentials in July, but I did so anyway. It was interesting to read what everyone else's must-haves are!
• In August, I poured my heart out in a personal post that involved worrying about my mother's health and well-being. As the eldest in the family, I hate not being able to look after my parents when these things happen. However, I have two brothers who made sure Mom and Dad are well taken care of.
• Roan and I went to our first (hopefully not the last!) Coldplay concert, which was held at the Rose Bowl Arena in Pasadena. It was amazing! I think we got the best bang for our buck since Bishop Briggs and Alessia Cara opened up for them! 
• On Labor Day weekend, we went on a road trip to Nevada (post coming soon!), and no, we didn't spend much time in Las Vegas.

• On actual Labor Day, I took home my biggest purchase yet—Pidgeon, my 2016 Camaro SS!
• Finally, in September, I enrolled in my first ever online class here in the US! I'm under the Professional Certificate Program in Technical Communication at UC San Diego.
• In relation to back-to-school, I finally bit the bullet (pun intended), and started a bullet journal. To say that it's been life-changing is an understatement.

Collect travel moments, not things. ✨ Heading back to California today! It's been an amazing #birthdayweekend in Colorado. We'll be back in no time, for sure! Cheers! ✨ : @rolandroan #WHPescape #optoutside #findyourpark #WetheDreamSeekers

OCTOBER TO DECEMBER

• Two weeks into my online class, October had been busier than usual. I looked forward to only two things this month: (1) Yellowcard's last tour concert in Los Angeles (post coming soon!); and (2) Dad's visit to San Diego (post coming soon!), which lasted longer than the last time!
• For the first time in many years, my November calendar had been packed with one event after the other! I don't do big parties with lots of guests whatsoever, but I did spend my 30th birthday weekend in Colorado (post coming soon!) with my husband, and it was so much better than all birthday parties combined! For my birthday, I treated myself to a brand new Apple Watch!
• Another first was having spentThanksgiving weekend away from San Diego. Roan and I drove up north to visit the Yosemite, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks over the weekend (post coming soon!). It has become one of my favorite road trips/travels so far!
• Amidst all the holiday sales, I shared my Christmas wishlist, which I haven't done in a while.
• Speaking of things I haven't done in a while (besides blogging on a regular basis, obviously), I also shared my updated skin care routine, which is very timely in this cooler weather.
• And while we're at it, I finally got around to sharing my product empties! I've been meaning to post it for awhile now, but only got a chance a few weeks ago to do so.
• Roan and I completed Simbang Gabi this year, which we failed to do last year since he had to attend a 2-day training in Santa Ana. Roan and I spent Christmas with his side of the family. Nothing fancy; just the usual Christmas dinner and exchanging/opening of gifts, and called it a day.
• We had a very short Christmas holiday weekend. On the day after Christmas, we thought of going to Big Bear Lake, but decided to turn around at the foot of the mountains when we realized that it's going to take another four hours to get to the top. We had dinner and went shopping at a nearby mall instead!

The year 2016 had been nothing short of amazing for both Roan and myself. Every day, I thank the Lord for all the blessings we received this year—be it tangible things, people worth keeping, or little miracles—and I continue to pray for all of these. I realize how fortunate I am to be in this position—having a decent and rewarding job that allows me to expand my knowledge and still enjoy life by exploring the country on the side. I couldn't be more grateful for the simple things—those that don't make it here on the blog—but are essential just the same. Most importantly, thank you to all my SCATTERBRAIN friends who continue to stop by in spite of sporadic posts that appear on here since life has gotten more demanding. May 2017 bring our family (and yours) more joy, prosperity, peace, and better health. Thank you for the wonderful memories, 2016! Now bring it on, 2017!

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