Here I am at the end of the year looking back. I realized that what makes the difference in how I feel about my life this year is not any one big event but all the small and simple things. Looking back I am happy and content with how I spent my time this year. I wouldn't say that this is the best year ever, but pretty close.
A few years back I read a book, "The art of Happiness" by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. He said to be happy try to visit a new place every year. It doesn't have to be far away to exotic places. Since reading that book I have tried to follow his advice, and my life has been enriched because of it.
The three most notable events/accomplishments for this year are
1. I became a US citizen and got my US passport
2. I walked 1000 miles
3. I read 65 books
2017 in pictures.
*A big snow storm in January
I am really grateful that our nephews came and helped us with snow removal from our roof.
*opera with our girls
It is always fun to go out with them. This year's show was Puccini's Tosca.
*Minji's concerts
Our daughter, a music major, had numerous concerts and recitals throughout the year and we tried to make it to most of them.
*Citizenship and passport
After 25 years...
*Quilts for Mountain States Tumor Institute
This was to help a young man with his eagle scout project. I made these with my daughter.
*Family camping Trip
I don't know when and how all this started, but we go on a family camping/hiking trip over my birthday weekend and I love it.
*Huckleberry picking
My first time picking huckleberries. We had a fun weekend with Mike's two brothers and their wonderful wives. Complete with homemade marshmallows and an amazing sunrise.
*Happy Halloween
My first time decorating for Halloween. I started with 5 ghosts, but they keep coming and I think we ended up with 9 of them (this happens when you have a lot of free time)
*Mike's birthday trip to Utah
We took a quick trip to watch his basketball team the 76ers. Mike has waited for years for the sixers to play well, and they have finally come out of the darkness. We also stopped at the aerospace museum.
*Meridian Temple open house
The temple was absolutely beautiful
*Merry Christmas
A quick Sunday afternoon picture in our living room. We are missing Suji and her husband Danny.
Looking forward.
For the new year I have two goals in mind. Mike doesn't know about this yet, but we are a package deal.
1. Put our finances in order and save more. Old age seems way closer now that we are over 50.
2. Take care of our health to avoid medical expenses and enjoy a better life. We already have planned a few hiking trips for the upcoming year, and I am going make better choices with the food we eat.
I hope you all have a wonderful year full of love and prosperity.
At the beginning of this year I was invited to join a group called "1000 mile hopefuls" by a friend. After 324 days of walking in the snow, rain, cold, and heat on November 27th I met my goal.
I wanted to see just how far 1000 miles is in a distance that I can see in my mind. So here is what I found out using google maps.
It is same distance as
From Boise ID to Albuquerque, NM
From Boise ID to Phoenix, AZ
From Portland OR to San Diego, CA
And equivalent to walking 5 times from Seoul S Korea to Busan S Korea.
What I enjoyed most about this experience was spending time with Mike. We went on a hike almost every weekend this year. Even though we have been married 26 years, I never get tired of having him as company (partially because he ties my hiking boots for me and carry all the snacks and water for us).
Here are three things I learned walking 1000 miles this year. (I learned a lot more but I'm not going to bore you with all of them.)
First, I found it interesting that what made the difference toward my goal was not the long 18 mile hike over the weekend, but 3 miles everyday. It is same way with everything in our life. When our children were learning to play piano what made the difference was everyday practice, not one long practice before their lesson day. In the same way if we want to have a better relationship with our family members or friends the small things we do everyday have more impact on the relationship.
Our daughter learned the same principle from her seminary teacher years ago and she shared it with me. Her teacher said you can't brush your teeth once a week for 21 minutes and expect the same result as brushing them everyday for 3 minutes. This applies to everything from studying, exercising, learning, and also walking 1000 miles.
Second, I learned that if you want to rest you have to work first. It sounds funny but after a long hike I am physically tired and worn out, but I am better emotionally and spiritually. It sounds like hippy talk, but I feel connected to nature and gain a deeper appreciation to our God. And nothing beats taking my hiking boots off and drinking cold water after a very long hike on a hot summer day.
Third, I really like having someone to report my progress to. It really helped me out with meeting my goal. As a group we had a FB group page where we can post our progress, encourage each other, share pictures, and what not. It help me to be accountable and overall it was really good for me in many ways.
Here are some pictures of the places I walked this year.
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Boise foothills |
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| Balancing rock |
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| Sawtooths |
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| Frank Church Wilderness |
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| Mt Heinen |
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| Cervidae peak |
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| Kepros mountain |
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| Snow Slide lake |
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| Station creek trail |
