Year of the Dog Fortune 2016

I checked my Year of the Dog Fortune in January 2016. It says:

As the Japanese would say: 合っている! (Atte-iru-- it was absolutely correct!) 2016 brought good fortune in love, as my long-time crush and I got engaged, and a direction for future development: after 15 years in ESL teaching, I switched to career counseling. Here's a month-by-month breakdown of all the fun things 2016 brought.

North Carolina Snow

 January - I was in the middle of the 2015-2016 school year at Wake County Public Schools, teaching ESL at two elementary schools during the day and twice a week at Wake Tech at night. (As well as giving statewide ESL trainings once every few months and taking online classes to get my teaching certificate.) Kyle's lease on his apartment in N. Raleigh was up, so he moved to a farmhouse in South Durham on a 6-month contract. We spent New Year's with friends in downtown Raleigh, then traveled to New York the 14th-17th. We also had a few snow days between the 22nd-23rd. 

Still working on that quilt

February - Kyle went to Virginia and came back with the flu, which he soon gave to me. We were both out of work for a week. Other than that, we visited my mom, toured Korner's Folley, and ate at Pegg's Tea House. We hosted an Oscar party/Clarissa's Going Away Party on the 28th. 

Michigan Beer

March - Clarissa moved to Germany, and left Kyle and I super sad! We watched House of Cards a lot. Then Kyle had to go to Germany (but different city) so I stayed home and ate a lot of chocolate in his absence. From the 25th to April 1st, we visited Kyle's family in Michigan and my sister in Indiana. 

Field where he proposed

April - We signed the lease to our new house on April 15th, and a week and a day later, on April 23rd, we took a trip to Bath and got engaged on the lawn! We got the keys to our house on April 30th and started moving in.

Waiting to transplant

May - On May 5th, I finished my last night teaching with Wake Tech. A few days later, Kyle started building a garden bed. The mulberry tree started putting out berries, so I made a mulberry cobbler and mulberry jam. Kyle went to Las Vegas for work from the 12th to the 19th. And on May 21st, we had our first official night in our new house!

Mountain lake

June - Got some squash and cucumbers from the garden. Made homemade laundry detergent. On June 16th, we went to Cary to listen to the symphony in the park. Then I traveled to Tennessee to spend the 22nd - 25th at a lake in the mountains celebrating the 15-year anniversary of friendship with my Milligan girlfriends! At the end of the month, on June 29th, I turned in my badge at WCPSS, left my teaching license half-done, and so ended a 15-year career as an ESL teacher.

Famers Market

July - A busy month! When it got to be 87 degrees in the house, we finally decided to run the air conditioner. In the hopes of meeting more people in Durham, we started taking dance classes at Ninth Street Dance. My dad and stepmom came to visit on the 9th and we visited Duke Homestead to attend the Pork, Pickles, and Peanuts festival. On July 11th, I started my new job at the NC Works Career Center as a career counselor. Kyle and I took a trip to the Outer Banks the weekend of the 16th to celebrate our one-year anniversary. On July 24th we became the parents of two adorable kittens. And we won second place playing trivia at Fullsteam's brewery!

Birthday Present Bistro Set

August - I turned 34 on the 2nd. Kyle threw me a surprise party at a Mexican restaurant in downtown Durham. My brother and sister came from out of state to spend the week at Lake Gaston and attend the family reunion on the 6th. At the end of the month, Kyle and I traveled back to Michigan for his brother's wedding on the 27th. 

Crinolines 

September - On September 10th, we went to the National Folk Festival in Greensboro. On the 24th, we went to the Liberty Antiques Festival (but didn't buy anything). On September 25th, we went to La Fiesta del Pueblo in downtown Raleigh. Lots of festivals in September. 

Lake Jordan

October - Hurricane Matthew came pouring in on October 8th and totally ruined our engagement portraits' schedule (along with thousands of people's lives. . . ). Kyle and I started listening to The Black Tapes podcast and couldn't quit. We went to a couple of weeks of Thursday night game night in Durham to meet more Durham folk. From the 14th-16th we went camping with friends near Mt. Mitchell and then went apple picking. Kyle turned 30 on the 21st. And finally on October 29th took our (rescheduled) engagement portraits.

No Longer Kittens

November - November 6th was the Renaissance Festival in Huntersville. Kyle's old car finally gave up the ghost, so we bought a new car on November 12th. We won second place playing trivia at Fullsteam's brewing (again). On Thanksgiving weekend, we visited my mom in Winston-Salem and saw some extended family.

Dickens Coffee

December - I spent a weekend visiting my dad's side of the family: went to see my aunt in Littleton December 2nd and 3rd. We saw the Littleton Christmas Parade, and I bought too many books and linens! Later at my dad's house, I learned that my stepmom went to high school with Roy Cooper. To get in the Christmas spirit, Kyle and I hosted our 4th annual Christmas Feast on December 10th. We attended a Christmas Lovefeast  (not as risqué as it sounds: it's just coffee and bread) at Raleigh Moravian Church on December 11th. And we spent Christmas and New Year's in Michigan with Kyle's family.

Yet to come in 2017 - Wedding! Honeymoon! Kids?! A dog? Oh, the surprises that await us!