Happy New Year! It’s hard to believe we have entered another year. If your life is anything like mine…it’s felt like a whirlwind ever since Thanksgiving. Yikes. But now the festivities are behind us and it’s time to learn from the past year and step into a fresh, new season.
The year goes by so fast that I often feel like it passed in a blur. {Any one second that?} I have to remind myself that a year is a long time. A lot can happen. One life can do a lot in one year. I really believe that and I hope you do too. For me 2013 could have been a very hard, negative year…but I think we chose how we spend our time and resources and energy. We can let negative circumstances weigh us down…or allow them to give us a chance to brush up on our hurdling skills. I may have banged my shins on hurdles a few times in the past 365, but I can confidently say that I cleared them all.
And if you don’t believe a lot can get done in a year…let’s look back at the biggest moments of a year with Amy Allender.
My year started with an opportunity to film at one of North Dakota’s “man camps.”
I surprised Derek by ripping out our carpet on a whim while he was at a friend’s place watching football.
The pink linoleum I uncovered pushed us into our first B&A of the year…a lovely flooring redo.
I learned what -20 F feels like. {Not good.}
We took up curling.
I was obediant to a unique calling God laid on my heart by attending a Strip Church training, in the hopes of starting a strip club ministry in North Dakota…the first in the state.
We learned that you can only shovel so much…
Derek build a custom built-in in the bathroom {in the background} and I made some shutters to hide open storage. This project has since become one of my most popular pins.
I shopped until I dropped at the Mall of America.
I gave my built-ins a bold facelift.
I tackled a serious upholstery project.
After removing more carpet, I fell in love with my old house’s wood floors. I wrestled with a thick layer of carpet glue on my way to restoration.
I made over an old {cheap-o} bookcase to give our very regal game collection a prominent home.
In June I visited Pensacola, FL and made a trip to the adorable resort village of Seaside.
I completed renovation on the majority of our second floor and revealed my new bedroom to you after a month of knocking out walls, restoring floors and seaming dry wall.
I hung a gallery wall perfectly on my first try and showed you the secret how-to.
Then I turned my focus to my home’s exterior. I made these window boxes for only a couple bucks each.
I started a patio project and got thrifty with furnishing it. My first do-over was a set of Salvation Army chairs.
I used all the scrap wood I dug out of the yard while making the patio to build {yes, I built this} a table and benches.
I’m never been the most confident driver…but in July my Minot bestie and I tackled a cross country road trip. I pleasantly surprised myself by driving so far without getting hopelessly lost.
Shortly after arriving back to PraCan, I completed the patio project, my favorite project of the summer.
After a trip to California fell through, I decided to tackle one more project: the Kitchen.
After a summer of physical labor {and still working as a fitness instructor} I was in peak shape. Derek and I took off for a few days and hiked a total of 31 miles in Glacier National Park.
We said “Later Gator” to the last of our ugly, smelly carpet.
I learned that a grass-fed North Dakota cow can feed five families for a year.
Nine months after attending the Strip Church training, Dakota Pearls was born. We made two visits to the strip clubs in Williston, ND in November and one in December. Things are going well!
Derek helped me make this awesome chalkboard and 15 families had Christmas photos taken in front of it. As we say in North Dakota, “Oh, for fun.”
Derek and I were blessed to host my parents and a couple friends again this year for Thanksgiving.
In December I was part of Kuzak’s Closet’s Holiday Decor week for the third year in a row.
After that…I kind of fell off the face of the Internet. I was busy. I know you were too. Now I’m back and glad to be here. Thanks for being with me this past year. Let’s make 2014 productive, memorable and happy.
Happy New Year.
Amy
