I recently edited the year-end wrap-up post of my boyfriend, Agent Palmer, so naturally, I thought I had better work on my own as well. While his was quite detailed, I think I will keep my review as a quick and simple recap of the highlights of my year, before starting a new year full of new adventures and new posts.
So let us begin…
January
Jason introduced me to the paper (cards) version of Magic the Gathering. He pulled out his old decks that he spent years creating and for my birthday he bought me a five-deck starter pack with dice, which we used to play against each other. Around the same time, we subscribed to VRV and Jason introduced me to Sean Plott aka Day9 and Spellslingers, which was Sean Plott’s Magic related show on the Geek and Sundry network. Shortly after we switched over to Magic The Gathering Arena, and I’ve been addicted to it since. Thanks in large part to Day9 and his Twitch streams on MTG Arena, and Jason too of course.
February
Jason and I shared our first Valentine’s Day in person, which was nice, to finally be able to share Valentine’s Day with my wonderful boyfriend. Afterward, I flew back to Arizona to house-sit for my mom while she was in Germany for a month. Unfortunately, this was also the time that Jason lost his job and I was not able to be there for emotional support.
March
While I was in Arizona, I was able to join friends at the Arizona Renaissance Festival for a fun time, but, not only that. I went with my friend Amber and her sister to see Buffy the Vampire Slayer (the movie) as a special theater viewing in tribute to Luke Perry. Before I returned to PA, I joined my best friends from high school at Star Wars: A New Hope in Concert, performed by the Phoenix Symphony.
April
I experienced my first spring in PA and enjoyed the blooming flowers, the budding trees, all so different from Arizona. It reminded me of a lot of my childhood in Kentucky and of course Germany as well. In addition, I got to experience my first Passover with Jason and his parents. However, April would be incomplete without mentioning Avengers: Endgame, which I saw twice and I cried both times.
May
Late spring brought another new experience, my first in-person baseball game at the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. This first game was followed by two more games later in May. Also at the end of May, I traveled to New York City, specifically Brooklyn, to have brunch with Canadian friends Chris and Kristen Maier of How Was Your Week, Honey 
at the River Cafe, while they visited New York City for vacation.
June
Jason’s best friend, Jason Zapata, came to visit and we played a really fun board game version of DnD and went bowling. We also went to the opening night of bicycle racing at the Velodrome and I attended my first art gallery opening at the ArtBaYouMi Gallery.
July
We watched a lot of the FIFA Women’s World Cup and celebrated the US Women’s National Team winning yet another World Cup.
August
Mom came to visit in August and we drove to nearby Jim Thorpe, PA to do some sightseeing and take a wonderfully scenic train ride. Later in the month, I bought a new phone and went on a business trip to Burr Ridge, IL, during which I got to spend a little time with my best friend Khanh and her husband. They drove up from Champagne to take me out to dinner.
September
Jason and I celebrated our 3rd dating anniversary with a trip up to Scranton, PA, and Honesdale, PA to see where Jason grew up and went to college at Keystone College. Around the same time, Jason’s best friend Zapata moved from Scranton to just about 5 minutes away from our house. This brought about the creation of our weekly Game Night, where we played board games before switching to Pathfinder roleplaying game campaigns, where I GM (Game Master) both Ira (Jason) and Valen (Zapata). The decision to create our Pathfinder Game Night was in large part due to HarmonQuest, which we binge-watched on VRV earlier in the year and my love of The Danger Club, an excellent pathfinder podcast from the UK.
October
In early October, I returned to AZ for my friend Jaimee’s wedding, which was lovely. The weekend before Halloween, our neighborhood had their trick-or-treat and we handed out candy while watching a Bruce Campbell Evil Dead marathon. Zapata joined us and helped to hand out candy.
November
This year, Jason and I decided to host Thanksgiving dinner at our house. We waited until Friday so that Zapata and Jason’s parents could join us. The five of us enjoyed a full turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, and a pumpkin pie.
December
December was a busy month. I flew back to Arizona and helped mom sell her house and move, traveling by car with her and our cat Max from Arizona to Pennsylvania. My sister came to visit for Christmas and we all enjoyed a fun Christmas Eve with snacks and board games, followed by a nice Christmas dinner together the next day.
So there you have it. My year in review, now bring on 2020!
