What was one goal you accomplished in 2015?
At the end of last year, I was very, very discouraged about my job. I spent the first couple of this year licking my wounds and then, in typical Amanda fashion, I made up my mind that I would have to do something more about it than blindly submitting job applications, something that made me decidedly more uncomfortable. I went on an information interview downtown, which turned out to be a complete waste of time, except that I was able to enjoy a beautiful spring afternoon walking to and from the building. But I didn't stop. I asked my division manager for help. I asked colleagues with whom I had worked in the past. I spiffied up my resume. And then, in what seemed to be a perfect aligning of the stars/planets/universe, one of my contacts suggest I give another manager a call. I did. And we set up another informational interview on a stormy spring day, when the tornado sirens went off outside. Less than two months later, I was moved into a role in her group. It has been such a good change, very challenging and stretching and rewarding. Josh told me last year, when things seemed so dismal, not to give up, that I wouldn't be stuck in the same job at the end of this year. And he was right.
What is your favorite memory of 2015?
The two trips Josh and I took to St. Louis to see the symphony. Watching Elaina hop around with excitement when she "graduated" from preschool and when she hopped on the bus for her first day of kindergarten with the same enthusiasm. Meeting my new nephew, Zechariah. Staring contests with the girls at the dinner table. Seeing a friend from college and having pie with Dr. and Wanda Giles on the same day. Listening to Ellie sing a song from her Christmas program: "Wayndeewyr, wayndeewyr, sake your fweffy tawyl".
What is your least favorite memory of 2015?
Josh's job was incredibly stressful for the first half of the year. I hated to see him so stressed out. About a week after our first trip to St. Louis, I got sick with a very painful infection. Life was pretty unpleasant for an entire week with that one. The realization that my beloved Gramma Copes isn't doing well, that into her 92nd year, she is changing, and nothing can be done about it.
What was the best trip you took in 2015?
St. Louis, both times. Josh and I went in May to see Distant Worlds, a Final Fantasy symphony. After a two-plus hour wait, we had lunch at Pappys, enjoyed beer at one of the Urban Chestnut brewpubs, and fell asleep watching Friends in our hotel. When we woke up, we got ready for the symphony and had dinner at the Fountain on Locust, where we began our love affair with well-made hummus. The symphony was ah.mazing. Such a good time. We went back in September to watch a Zelda symphony. We had lunch at the Fountain on Locust, went on a walking sample tour at the Urban Chestnut biergarten (where we discovered Count Orlock), and had dinner at a good, if unmemorable, Mexican restaurant. We bought coffee at Blue Dot Coffee and Urban Chestnut at Hy-Vee, and enjoyed the symphony, though we both agreed it wasn't quite what the first had been. The next morning, we had a delicious breakfast out and drove home to the sounds of two of the Fleet Foxes albums and laughed about how much we love music for which we are almost completely unable to understand the lyrics. They were our first "get-aways" since I was very pregnant with Ellie--an almost 4-year vacation in the making.
What was your favorite purchase in 2015?
Symphony tickets. When I saw Distant Worlds was coming to St. Louis, I casually mentioned it to Josh, and he said, let's go. So I ordered the tickets in January--something quite unlike the two of us. It felt very daring to be so "impulsive", but it was so worth it.
What was the best book you read in 2015?
For historical non-fiction, The Devil in the White City by Eric Larson. It was a fascinating juxtaposition of the Chicago World's Fair and the city's (perhaps even the country's) first serial killer, who operated a hotel of horrors not far from the fair. For fiction, Silence, by Shusako Endo. Amazing, beautiful, and heartbreaking. One that stuck with me for a long, long time.
What were you proudest of this year?
Aside from my new job, probably the rhythm we seem to have developed as a family. We have transitioned from one pre-schooler to a kindergartener and a pre-schooler, with jobs that are more demanding than ever, and we seem to have made this transition pretty darn well. 2014 was so, so hard, but when I think back on this year, it's difficult to remember anything that particularly made me upset for more than a little while. I feel like this was a recovery year, where we just enjoyed each other deeply and accepted the natural changes that have happened. It has been, simply, a much happier year.
What changed about in you in 2015?
I have started to make some peace with the transformation my spirit has undergone in the past year and a half or so. There are still days it is difficult, but the difficult times seem to be fewer and further between.
What made you cry in 2015?
Watching Gramma change, so very subtly but profoundly. The pain from the infection in May. The whole, I want one more baby and Josh doesn't, thing. Alyan Kurdi. The Syrian refugee crisis. The night before Elaina started kindergarten. Sitting with both my girls on my lap, listening to Clarice sing, "There's Always Tomorrow" on Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer, because it was such a happy, memorable moment.
What is one home project you accomplished in 2015?
Josh and Lips installed a storm door on our front door this spring, and I can't begin to describe how much I love it. It has been soooo nice to have the cross-breeze, to watch a thunderstorm roll through, to have light coming in an otherwise dark area. I can't believe we waited this long to do it. On the same weekend they installed the door, Josh and Lips also installed a window in our bathroom, and I similarly can't describe how much I love it. It lets in so much light and fresh air and opens up what was otherwise a dark, fairly lifeless area. After they were done, I repainted the bathroom a pretty light-grey-blue, and Josh and I took down the mirror that came with the house and added one over each of our sinks. I love it. The room has been completely transformed, in the best way.
Best meal of 2015?
The La Picadda appetizer at the Fountain on Locust in St. Louis. From the menu: "A little bit of everything ... our spicy hummus, goat cheese and house made pesto, tender zucchini and sweet red onion sauteed in garlic, with roasted red peppers and grilled bread". I have never loved hummus, goat cheese, or zucchini more.
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