New Year's Eve in Chiang Mai, Thailand

I had heard that Chiang Mai is a wonderful place to spend New Year's so when I was planning our trip, I made sure we were there on that day. From the minute we got there three days before NYE, we could already see preparations. The stage for the performances that night was already set up. There were colorful "Happy New Year" signs everywhere. The market around the stage was set up and going strong already as well.

After riding elephants all morning and taking a long nap, we headed out for the evening. We started the night by people watching in a cute little square of shops that overlooks the road with all of the tourists. It was so pretty. As we were sitting there, we decided that Chiang Mai, though old and charming, is set up mainly for tourists. There are tons of beautiful, Western shops and squares that locals probably don't care much about. 

We decided to make our way down to the main area where the stage and market was. Our dinner for the night consisted of street food. Fancy, huh? We were perfectly content with $2 pad thai, fried rice, and gyros. We walked around the market for awhile, which was a lot of the same stuff we saw at the Sunday Night Walking Market. It was also super crowded, tourists and locals alike. We decided to go to a rooftop restaurant to get an awesome view of the street. It was crowded, but the view was great and they also had entertainment. 

After that, we decided to sit along the moat and watch people set off their wishing lanterns. It was only 9 at this point and we wanted to wait to set ours off. It was funny and sad to watch because there were so many lanterns crashing into the moat. There were also lanterns stuck in trees and power lines. We were surprised there weren't any fires starting. 

We decided we couldn't wait any longer, so we went to the main area to set off a wishing lantern. They were being sold all over the street for around $5. You are supposed to write your wish on it, but we didn't have a pen. Our lantern was a success, unlike the ones around us that were crashing and burning. It was crazy how many lanterns were being set off. 

Around this same time, fireworks had started going off. They weren't professional fireworks, these were amateur fireworks being shot at the wishing lanterns. It started to turn into madness. We decided to get out of the craziness and walked back toward the stage. Someone was singing in Thai and everyone was going nuts! I assumed it was someone very famous. We couldn't escape the craziness. We met another American couple and hung out with them for a bit. We decided to set off two more wishing lanterns. When in Chiang Mai, right? 

At this point, we decided to embrace the madness and went to the epicenter of it all for midnight. At midnight, there were tons and tons of wishing lanterns sent off and then fireworks every where we turned. At midnight wee shared a kiss, which definitely was not the norm there. After the madness of midnight, we decided to head home after Jake got some Burger King since our flight for Bangkok left at 8 am the next day. The craziness continued on our entire way home, with fireworks and crazy people every where.

It was a crazy and fun night. I will definitely never forget the NYE we spent in Chiang Mai. 

Missed any of our Thailand recaps? Check them out below:
Thailand Trip Overview
Christmas in Koh Samui
Temples around Chiang Mai
Cooking School in Chiang Mai
Sunday Night Walking Market
Riding Elephants

Linking up with Bonnie and Tina for Travel Tuesday!

New Year's Resolutions

I know I'm a little late on this one, but like I said in yesterday's post, my life has been bit hectic since getting home. It seems like people are really against resolutions this year. I know the stats behind them and that I personally have forgotten mine by february, but I like to take every opportunity to try to make myself better. I love a fresh start and having a reason to make more of an effort.

So here are my resolutions:

-Start running again. Which means running at least 2-3 times a week.

-Get to the gym twice a week. This can include Zumba, Yoga, and strength training.

-Walk Lexie more. I feel like she doesn't get as many walks now that she has a backyard and is outside a lot. I know she would enjoy more walks and I would benefit from them as well.

-Continue to cut out all overly processed foods and eat as many vegetables as possible. Eating clean is important to me and I need to make it more of a priority.

-NO SWEETS. I am going cold turkey. I recently watched a documentary about how sugar is as addicting as Nicotine. I totally agree after my recent addiction to sweets that I have never had before. So that means no sweets will be allowed in the house and I will not be eating any at all. I have done it before, so I know I can!

-No online shopping. This will be a hard one since I miss shopping in the States SO MUCH. Truth is, I don't NEED anything, so I need to stop.

-Stick to the budget. We are pretty good at saving money, but bad at having an actual budget and sticking to it. We plan to save as much money while we are living in Okinawa, so we really need to crack down.

-Find new hobbies and grow current ones. I want to fill my time with as many uplifting things as possible. i want to try something new and also see other ones flourish. I want to read more and craft more.

-Speaking of hobbies, I want to continue to grow this blog in 2014. I want to find what direction is right for me and this space. I guess I'm not quite sure exactly where I want this blog to go or what I want to happen with it. I like where it's at, but I think in this community it is important to grow and adapt.


What are your New Years Resolutions? How long do you keep your resolutions?

Looking Back on 2013

2013 was crazy, exciting, fun, and a HUGE year for us. I think it will be a year we will remember for a very long time. It was so much fun to look back at all of these wonderful memories. Here is to 2013.

January

We packed up all of our things and I joined Jake in Virginia. We spent New Years with new friends. We took advantage of our new home and explored DC. Jake spent lots of time in the field. I started my job as a nanny for the cutest little baby ever. 

February

We started to settled in and Lexie started to feel at home. I hung our gallery wall in our temporary apartment to make it feel more like home. We spent weekends hanging out with great friends. I visited Kentucky for the weekend. My dad visited Virginia to see my sister and I. Jake spent lots more time training. 

March

March was a cold month. Jake spent lots of cold days/nights in the field learning about being a Marine Officer. I spent time with the girls while the husbands were gone. Spent my 22nd birthday rocking out to TSwift's 22 and hanging with good friends. We also had a super fun snowday. 

April

Spring arrived and so did the cherry blossoms. Kellie Jo got to come visit and we showed her around DC. I ran Color Me Rad with a group of fellow TBS spouses. Jake spent even more time in the field. We enjoyed springtime in Virginia and went to the Foxfield races with a group of friends. We had a blast at MOS reveal and Jake found out he was going to be a logistics officer. 

May

May was a crazy month. Jake celebrated his 23rd birthday. We found out we would be moving to Okinawa in September. I ran a 5k with my sister. We attended the best concert ever, Luke Bryan and Florida Georgia Line. We celebrated our first year of marriage. We spent last weekends with friends we will keep forever. Jake's family came to town and we celebrated his graduation from TBS. The movers came and packed all of our things and sent them to Japan. 

June

We made our way down to Charleston where I settled in for the summer. Jake checked into Logistics school in North Carolina. I got aquatinted with my new BFF, Nellie, the chocolate lab puppy. I also got aquatinted with the swimming pool. I fell in love with bikram yoga and eating clean. We spent weekends on the beach in Charleston or downtown Wilmington. 

July

We spent the weekend with Meghan and Joey and fam in Charleston. I reunited with Sarah and we headed up to Lexington. We spent the 4th in Lexington and had a blast hanging out with friends and family. I spent lots of time on the beach, doing yoga, and hanging out with the parents. Jake spent time learning about logistics. 

August

We spent more weekends together in Charleston. I headed to Oregon to visit family. Jake graduated from logistics school. I spent lots of quality time with my parents. My grandparents and Meghan and Joey all came to visit at the end of August. We also got to see our best friends the Greys for the last time until they arrive in Okinawa. The alligator living in the backyard was wrangled and removed so he could not stalk our dogs. We went to the Hootie and the Blowfish concert and then had to say goodbye to Charleston and family. 

September

We spent an amazing two weeks in Lexington hanging out with friends and family, relaxing, and getting ready for our move. We had to say goodbye and headed to Okinawa. We arrived in Okinawa nervous and excited. We bought cars, found a home and moved in, developed a ramen obsession, and fell in love with this little island we call home. Jake started working, and working a lot. 

October

We continued to explore our new home and fell more and more in love. We had lots of fun adventures. We found beautiful beaches and cafes, went 4wheelin', saw a bull fight, went to an auction, watched many beautiful sunrises from our bedroom, and I went on a field trip with the spouses group. We also survived our first typhoons. 

November

Jake headed off to mainland. I spent lots of time exploring by myself. My friend arrived on the island and we had lots of fun getting pedicures. I went the the aquarium with friends. I went on a field trip to the botanical gardens. Jake got home just in time for our first Thanksgiving on the island. We had a fun Christmas photo shoot on the beach.

December

My friend Shannon and I went to the Tour of Homes and then they accompanied me to a wonderful festival on our base. We decorated for Christmas and tried to get into the holiday spirit. We had a blast at Okinapa. Lexie enjoyed time sitting outside enjoying the beautiful weather. I got to show Jake some of the places I found while he was gone. 

Oh, and we spent Christmas on the beach in Thailand. No big deal.

We cannot believe how increible this year was and can't wait to see what 2014 holds. 

Cheers to the new year!!