What Happened in 2017?

127 Blog Posts!

This is my 8th blog post of 2018. Last year I blogged 127 times, that makes 10.58 blog posts per month, almost 2 blog posts per week. HEY THAT’S NOT BAD. Considering that it is a luxury to actually have time to sleep. 

I even made the effort to update the look of the website and added video headers, plus some new pages. I have also opted to add a few affiliate links. I’m actually not sure if I want to continue them, we shall see.  I also tried to refrain from bitching about work and being constantly exhausted all the time.

My 2018 new year resolution is blog at least 3 posts per week. I have never really cared if anybody reads this silly little blog, it has been more about documenting some of the places I’ve been and the insights I’ve had. So I am always surprised that people do follow. I want to say a BIG THANK YOU!  🙂 for your continued support.

Okay back to reviewing 2017...

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...

No, actually it was a good year. I spent most of it in New Mexico.

Which is a state in the USA, not the country of Mexico. Confusing, right?

We are still in the same house. Which we love very much..

This is somewhat surprising.
We are still here, on the outskirts of Albuquerque,  New Mexico, USA. I post mostly landscapes and of course food picture from here or random selfies, lol.

Honestly I am so in love with the mountains and the blue sky here and of course the house.  We have a nice garden and mostly this feels like heaven. So I try to keep the house tidy and minimal even though it's big 2 story with 4 bedrooms, 3 baths and a huge bonus room I use for an office, but I don't actually talk much about the house. The kitchen is nice, much better than what we had in the UK, but not as well thought out as the kitchen in France. But it works for us, as you may have noticed I am sharing more food picts and recipes. 
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More Vegan Food
I have posted more and more vegan recipes and cooking stuff in general this past year. Mostly because I have been home more and have the ability to cook more. I still want to remind you I am NOT a food blogger. ​ 

#MsOneCooks

(Avocado pudding.)

(Mango & Chili Nice Cream)

2017 hair
I think I have taken more selfies in 2017 than all the past years combined. Remember when you wondered what I looked like? Yeah, those days are long gone.

But back to my hair, it is still blonde - And yes, I’m bored with it. I considered cutting it off this year, but I think I will wait another year. It grows pretty fast though and if I do not flat iron it you 
can see it is really thick. Using the flat iron may make the style look better - but I hate how thin and flat it looks.  :(

​

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See? It's everywhere.

Vs Flat Ironed and styled.

Travel in 2017
Travel this past year was sparse. Well, compared to other years when I'm running back and forth to NOLA, Florida  or France. But I did mange a few adventures...

Another day, another hotel room...

 Janurary here in central New Mexico  started out snowing... 
​I  am still impressed with snow.
​It was fun for a few days and then it was over. #Goodtimes

Snow around my yard.

Jan - left the odd snow storm and headed to New York City. It was dark, cold and snowing there too. But New York is always amazing no matter what the weather is like.
​This trip was part busines/part fun.

In February we left the dark and  flew  to Iceland. 
This was a destination that's been on my son's bucket list for years, but I was not that excited. But guess what? I LOVED IT!

It is so friggen' awesome!

And totally not what I expected. It did snow while we were there, but we still managed a night trip to see the Northern Lights. We stayed 7 days and it was not long enough. I'm sure we will return soon.

There was much more Vegan food than I expected and while the shopping is costly you can still find inexpensive gifts too.

March was a short Vegas get away and April was me at home planting a garden and experimenting in the kitchen. 

May  I had company and showed them around the area here. You can read about it here. I also started a mini food diary to share what I eat (people still ask) and what I typically purchase at the market. 

This is the Isleta Resort and Casino - which my guest always want to visit.

Where I seem to spend 99% of my time..

August I began "What Are You Reading?" A quick review of my recent reads and such. Work was still very busy, but I made my mind up I was going to make time to read and relax more. 

I'm an eclectic reader, so people seem interested in what I've read and my reviews. It has been nice comparing notes with fellow readers.

I'm still doing book reviews here and there.

September another review and of course the hurricane hitting my home in Texas. I actually didn't talk much about it.  Maybe this year I will be able to share more, it's just completely overwhelming. STILL.

October was Halloween and I was supposed to go to NOLA for a right old party, but I came down with a bug and spent it in bed. #FML (But look out this year!) 

November I blogged about American Myths and more book reviews. We debated on going somewhere exotic for Christmas, but decided against it.  After spending the holidays in Europe and other amazing places it was nice to just stay in and chill for a change. We did explore around the area, here some. Check out this short video if you want to see an ancient Native American site we hiked.

I also posted more about my not so secret love of flowers and house plants this past year.

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The bright side of being home more is I am able to garden.

 So I posted more about gardens and houseplants than ever before.  It's not quite an obsession, but almost. 

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Rescued succulents from the "dead" tray at Home Depot.

So all in all it was a great year. We didn't travel as much as usual, but that's okay too. I'm so thankful we are able to live in a nice place, with lots of natural beauty and good people. 

I'm also thankful for you, taking the time to read my silly little blog. I appreciate it and the encouraging emails I get from ya'll. Thank you for your friendship and support! 

Do you have big plans for this year? I can't wait to see what adventures 2018 will bring!

See you at the airport-