Happy. New. Year.
*whew*
What a year that last one was. Much of mine was painful, difficult, exhausting, scary.
To those parts I say goodbye, I close the door on them.
As always, there were bright and happy points – and those I am very thankful for. I will cherish those memories and bring them with me into the new year.
Even though it was a rough road much of the time, and I now have more knowledge of Portland hospitals than I care to, spending time with my dad this year has been priceless and I am incredibly thankful I was able to. Not only was I reminded of my own strength, but my relationship with dad grew even closer. We had some great laughs and I will always admire my dad’s positive attitude and great sense of humor!
Springtime saw Jason and I buy our new house – which was and is thrilling! We hosted our first holidays last month, and look forward to more entertaining. I look forward to more decorating – I have some fun ideas planned. We are making this house a home, and filling it with people (and dachshunds) we love.
I feel incredibly lucky to have spent my June in a vegan chef immersion program. Even better, I have made wonderful lasting friendships from that class that have already brought me such joy!
Friends. This year I reconnected with a good friend from school, and it is as if no time went by! This is one of those friendships where we can be silly together and we laugh until we snort, and on the other side be serious, support each other, and have great conversations and connections. This has once again become a friendship I truly value, and one that is so very good for me!
This year saw me assist in teaching a cooking demo – something I have wanted to do for a long time and that I look forward to doing more of this year. Exciting plans in the works.
Rosemary. She is a new happiness in our house, and we love her so! Basil is getting used to her… they are usually found side by side.
The last year of running this site brought much happiness as well. I have had generous opportunities come my way, and have had good fun here – more than I ever dreamed possible! I have created good recipes and had (more than?) my share of those not so good recipes. I was offered and I accepted a new opportunity that begins this month – one I am thrilled about and will share soon.
Most of all, I have all of you. I still marvel at this amazing community of fellow bloggers who support each other, and the readers who we do it all for!
Each and every one of you means so much to me – and when I say your comments Make Me Smile Big, I mean it!
The friends I have made here – you got me through this year. The tough times when I was baking at midnight, the happy times you helped celebrate. I am so very grateful.
So very grateful.
As is our tradition, Jason and I made New Years Eve tamales.
We made new flavors this year – a chile relleno tamale, a black eyed pea jalapeno tamale, and a fig tamale with havarti sauce. All of them so good – the chile relleno is my new favorite! I also made a new chipotle sauce that is rich and spicy – I cannot wait to share with you!
To see our masa recipe, other tamale flavors and assembly methods, see our tamales from last year.
Happy. New. Year.
Here’s to more than we could ever dream possible!
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