Reflections on 2014 and Looking Ahead to 2015

Mac and I rang in the New Year of 2015 with the same beautiful people from our 2014 celebrations. Last year, we flew to Florida to visit Maclean’s cousin and aunt where we enjoyed hot weather & sunshine at the beach on January 2nd. This year, the same cousin & aunt were visiting Rochester, NY, so again we went to see them! On this year’s January 2nd, we were greeted with grey skies, snow and COLD weather!

2014 included two separate trips to Ottawa to see friends. The first was in February where we skated on the Rideau Canal.

The second was in August where we packed in quite a few activities: white water rafting, biking along the canal, and having an awesome meal at Zen Kitchen.

During the last week of May, I traveled with my 3 girlfriends to Ireland. We spent 8 glorious nights in several amazing cities experiencing the exciting nightlife. We filled our days making our way across the countryside being totally captivated by all of the fantastic views and geography. Some of my favourites included: Phoenix Park & The Guinness Storehouse (Dublin); Carrick-a-rede Rope Bridge & The Giant’s Causeway (Bushmills, Northern Ireland); Marble Arch Caves (Enniskillen); The Cliffs of Moher (Doolin – near Galway); and the Aran Islands.

The summer of 2014 saw many cottage-filled weekends and several summer nights spent on the balcony enjoying the long daylight hours. 2014 was also the summer of food! Chelsea and I started our Vegan Supper Club and we also toured Goodness Me!’s farm!

Fall was filled with highs and lows. In the beginning of October, we welcomed the newest addition to our family – my cousin & his spouse had a beautiful baby girl. In late October, our family suffered the tragic loss of our dear Grandpa. Fortunately, Grandpa was able to meet his new Great-Granddaughter before he passed. The memories and pictures that we have from that day are some that we’ll cherish forever.

Late fall and early winter brought on some big life changes for Mac and I. We both realised our strong desire to travel and after several long conversations, we finally decided to make it happen. We quit our jobs, moved all of our stuff into storage and started prepping for an extended backpacking trip starting in Central America.

Amid our whirlwind of packing and getting organised, we were able to enjoy the holidays with both of our families. They flew by, as they always seem to do, but I’m so happy we had the opportunity to see everyone (we both have quite large families) before we leave.

All in all, 2014 was a great year. It had it’s fair share of tough times, but there were also plenty of happy times too. This was definitely a year of personal growth for me. Traveling is always something I’ve wanted to do and I’m so proud that I actually made the leap and committed to it. The last few months of the year definitely had their fair share of anxious moments, but as we creep closer to our departure date (5 days!), the anxiety is slowly waning and the excitement is continually growing. I can’t wait to see what the next year brings!