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Count Your Blessings Not Your Problems | A Blog Recap of 2013

Is it too late to post a blog recap of 2013? :) I’m so thankful for the year. It was a crazy one. It had it’s share of difficult moments, but I learned, I grew, I taught myself how to be more of a fighter in the storms of life. I kept a gratitude journal and really tried to live out the quote “count your blessings not your problems.” Looking back, it was an incredible year filled with blessings.

January:
1. We were tourists in our own hometown
2. Wedding dress shopping for Hsiao
3. Spent time with friends & family before we moved

count your blessings not your problems. blog recap of 2013. gratitude practice. practicing gratitude. on gratitude quotes. quotes on gratitude.Pin

February:
1. Drove cross-country with our stuff and moved to LA.
2. Spent V-Day on a choose your own adventure (includes LA zoo).
3. Had a Vegas Birthday (and realized I might be too old for it).

count your blessings not your problems. blog recap of 2013. gratitude practice. practicing gratitude. on gratitude quotes. quotes on gratitude.Pin

March
1. Shopped for furniture for the new LA apartment
2. Started exploring our new hometown: LACMA & Hawks vs Lakers game.
3. Visited Atlanta and then Orlando for Playlist Live

count your blessings not your problems. blog recap of 2013. gratitude practice. practicing gratitude. on gratitude quotes. quotes on gratitude.Pin

April
1. Planted my first tree! A lemon tree.
2. Camped at Death Valley National Park.
3. Binge ate all weekend with ATL friends in town.

count your blessings not your problems. blog recap of 2013. gratitude practice. practicing gratitude. on gratitude quotes. quotes on gratitude.Pin

May
1. Roadtrip up to Seattle with the Ford Fiesta.
2. Roadtrip to Salvation Mountain.
3. Started going to a small group.

count your blessings not your problems. blog recap of 2013. gratitude practice. practicing gratitude. on gratitude quotes. quotes on gratitude.

June
1. Tried the Paleo Diet.
2. Hiked to the top of Half dome in Yosemite National Park.
3. Saw the Room for the first time. It was quite the experience.

We hiked to the top of Half Dome in Yosemited National Park. count your blessings not your problems. blog recap of 2013. gratitude practice. practicing gratitude. on gratitude quotes. quotes on gratitude.Pin

July
1. Our apt complex had a BBQ so we met our neighbors.
2. Boston & NYC for Hsiao’s Bridal Shower and Bachelorette Party.
3. Watched Monster’s University & loved it!

bachelorette party in NYC! Count your blessings not your problems. blog recap of 2013. gratitude practice. practicing gratitude. on gratitude quotes. quotes on gratitude.Pin

August (was a busy month!)
1. Best friend’s wedding in the OC
2. Back to Atlanta for the Walking Dead Tour
3. Anniversary Shoot with Jeff Newsom
4. Hot Air Ballooning for the first time in Temecula!
5. Brewery Tour Anniversary Weekend in San Diego

count your blessings not your problems. blog recap of 2013. gratitude practice. practicing gratitude. on gratitude quotes. quotes on gratitude.Pin

September
1. Hung out in Downtown Vegas and found out about the Downtown Project.
2. Went cronut crazy trying to look for the best ones in LA.
3. Trip up to bay area and tried underground dining, toured Pixar Animation Studios, and wine tasted in Napa

Tour at the Pixar Animation Studios. Count your blessings not your problems. blog recap of 2013. gratitude practice. practicing gratitude. on gratitude quotes. quotes on gratitude.Pin

October
1. Hiked through a Cave around LA
2. Hung out at the Santa Monica Pier with ATL friends in town.
3. Took my parents to the San Diego Zoo when they visited.

Exploring Los Angeles. Count your blessings not your problems. blog recap of 2013. gratitude practice. practicing gratitude. on gratitude quotes. quotes on gratitude.Pin

November
1. Went off roading in Joshua Tree National Park.
2. Took Jacob’s Grandma to Grand Canyon and Zion National Park
3. Started taking a few kickboxing classes

Grand Canyon West. Count your blessings not your problems. blog recap of 2013. gratitude practice. practicing gratitude. on gratitude quotes. quotes on gratitude.Pin

December
1. Got our Global Entry Card.
2. Went home for the holidays.
3. Saw some really interesting animals at the Galapagos Islands.

Animals of the Galapagos Islands. Count your blessings not your problems. blog recap of 2013. gratitude practice. practicing gratitude. on gratitude quotes. quotes on gratitude.Pin

I know we didn’t end up going on all the roadtrips that we had planned, but the year was filled with lots of adventure and unexpected travel. Gratitude quote of the week:

Count your blessings not your problems. blog recap of 2013. gratitude practice. practicing gratitude. on gratitude quotes. quotes on gratitude.Pin

What was your favorite thing that happened in 2013?

This is week 18 of practicing gratitude on my blog. You can see all my other gratitude posts by clicking on the banner:

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This Post Has 10 Comments

  1. Erika

    This post is amazing! You got to do and experience so many cool things! What I love about your blog is that you set your mind to things and challenges and then you ACTUALLY do them. I still have trouble putting what I have in my mind into action in real life. Some years are better than others, but the past few years, I’ve felt so paralyzed. Reading a post like this just inspires me so much! :)

    1. esther julee

      Thanks Erika! :) I think writing them out has helped me a lot. I have an excel sheet that I share with friends. Also, blogging my goals has helped too bc that’s more people keeping you accountable. Don’t be too hard on yourself. You’ve had a full plate. I think that’s just life. Some years are always going to be better than others, and maybe this is just a period where you take a step back and focus on a fewer but bigger goals. :)

  2. Wow what amazing pictures! Specially love the Yosemite and hot air ballooning. I just did my Best of 2013 too I always love looking back and writing about it :)

    1. esther julee

      Thank you so much! They were definitely highlights! :) It’s a good feeling to reflect back on all the good things over the year rather than the bad things.

  3. Quinn

    Great reminder! “Count your blessings not your problems” Sometimes, I get way to wrapped up in the disappointments. I really needed this today to stay focused on the positives in life :) Thanks!

  4. It’s never too late for recaps :) How is your lemon tree doing? We had one growing up and it was always fun to go out and pick lemons for lemonade and salad dressing. My favorite thing we did this year was our trip to Morocco. I still think about it everyday and am scheming about ways to go back!

    1. esther julee

      It’s alive!! I have three lemons that are almost ready to be picked. I don’t think that’s enough for lemonade. Morocco sounds amazing! Did you ride camels? :D

        1. esther julee

          that is so awesome!! :) i would love to go to the sahara. we rode camels in egypt before by the pyramids.. and yeah it was really uncomfortable. i prefer horseback riding out of the two.

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