The 2015 Quick List

I am still processing all that happened and how much I (and everything around me) changed last year. 2015 was by far the craziest year of my life. It was so so so hard, but I was so excited about so much of it. I was miserable and elated at the same time for most of the year. I still don't think I'm ready to write about it... I'm not really ready to let the year go. But I'm also stoked to leave the discomfort and stress of pregnancy, family-full wedding events and actually giving birth far behind me.

So with ambivalence I present this list of 20 major life events that occurred in 2015. Perhaps you'll instantly understand why I can't yet write about any of it... and why I have to acknowledge all of it, now.

1. I started the year ~8 weeks pregnant.
2. My Bachelorette Party weekend was in January (and I was obviously pregnant for it).
3. In February, I backed my car into a parked truck and caused about $2,500 worth of damage to the trunk of my car. 
4. My beautiful tea party-themed Bridal Shower was in March.
5. We traveled from California to North Carolina and got married at The Isles at Ocean Isle Beach in April.
6. We celebrated our "mini moon" in Savannah, GA and Charleston, SC in lieu of a real honeymoon... because I was too pregnant to deal with planning anything else and really didn't want to "waste" our honeymoon going somewhere bikini-worthy while preggo. I was still pissed because I had to alter my wedding dress to fit my growing body. I wasn't about to engage in any other activities that emphasized my burgeoning belly. So soul food and ghost tours in the rain it was! 
7. We returned home as newlyweds and the attended our own Baby Shower at Shutters in Santa Monica 3 weeks later in June. (We also got to pick up my car with a completely fixed trunk upon our return! See #3.)
8. My hubby's truck died and he sold it for parts for a whopping $400 in June... so we were down to one car, all of a sudden.
9. We bought a (used) Nissan Altima and took on an unexpected monthly car payment in July.
10. I went on maternity leave in July, 4 weeks prior to my due date (as is my legal right in the state of CA). 
11. I started the process of changing my last name and dropping my maiden name entirely in July. (This was really bad timing and caused all sorts of trouble sorting out my insurance and the baby's information at the hospital... That's another ugly story for another time.)
12. We moved from our dumpy 2-bedroom apartment in beachy, beautiful Santa Monica to a big 3-bedroom 3-bath townhouse on the eastern border of LA county (Diamond Bar) in July.
13. I had the baby at Saint John's in Santa Monica in August.
14. I finally quit my job in October (while on state-sponsored "bonding time" post maternity leave). 
15. The baby and I flew to Las Vegas to visit my parents - her first flight! - in October. 
16. I hired a nanny in November.
17. I got a fun and interesting part-time job working from home in November. I didn't really know it before the baby was born, but this work/life situation has always been my dream and I regularly have to pinch myself throughout the day in my little home office. I just see myself fitting into my life and this job in a way I've never "seen myself" before. 
18. We flew to Oakland and drove to Santa Rosa as a little family - our first family getaway and the baby's second and third flights - in November. 
19. We drove to Las Vegas and celebrated our first Christmas as a little family.
20. We went to bed (in our bed, in our room and the baby in her own room) at 7:30pm on December 31st.