I waited too long to document this so I can't remember!

Total steps:  599,979 steps (19,354 steps averaged a day)
Total miles:  259.49 (8.37 miles averaged a day)
Most active day: Saturday, March 12 (40,641 steps/17.22 miles) (Luce Line Trail walk)
Least active day: Wednesday, March 9 (10,909 steps/4.62 miles) 

Total steps: 492,961 (16,999 steps averaged a day)
Total miles: 217.35 (7.49 miles averaged a day)
Most active day: Saturday, February 27 (28,964 steps/12.55 miles)  (58° walk)
Least active day: Monday, February 29 - Leap Day  (11,697 steps/4.97 miles) 

TV​

• Better Call Saul season 2
• Walking Dead season 6
• Man in the High Castle season 1
• 666 Park Avenue season 1

Movies

• Inside Out (with the Reichelt family)
• The Big Short
• Hail, Caesar! (with Patti at Uptown Theater)
• Spotlight (with Amy O. in her home after brunch)

​Books

• Still reading Educating Alice: Adventures of a Curious Woman by Alice Steinbach because I read in bed and I get through 2 pages per night. At this rate, I may finish this 289 page book by summer.

Food

• Green Mill in Lakeville, MN with Scott and Mark
• Cafe Ena (46th St & Grand Ave S)
• D'Amico & Sons (McNamara Alumni Center, University of Minnesota)
• Punch Neapolitan Pizza (Oak St & Washington Avenue )
• Soberfish (27th & Franklin Ave SE)
• Valentine's Diva Dinner by The Curry Diva 
• Freshii (University of Minnesota - Moos Tower)
• FIKA at the American Swedish Institute
• Saint Genevieve (appetizers during the Lynnhurst Neighborhood Association meeting)

Coffee

• Dunn Bros (34th St & Hennepin Ave) 
• Dunn Bros (50th St & Xerxes Ave )
• Dunn Bros (Bryant Ave & Lake St)
• Espresso Exposé (Church St & Washington Ave, University of Minnesota)
• Josiah's Coffeehouse and Cafe in Sioux Falls with my mom
• River Rock Coffee in St. Peter, MN 
• SunStreet Breads (46th St & Nicollet Ave)
• BullRun Coffee (43rd St & Nicollet Ave)

​
Beer + Cocktails

• LynLake Brewery

After having so much fun completing my 40x40 list, I created a list of 16 things I want to do in 2016. A bit more manageable but full of fun things I want to be sure to do this year. Read the list>>

My 2015 FitBit stats inspired me to keep moving and shoot for more 15K step days.

Total steps: 617,568 (19,922 steps averaged a day)
Total miles: 272.21 (8.78 miles averaged a day)
Most active day: Friday, January 15 (40,366 steps/17.13 miles) in New Orleans
Least active day: Sunday, January 24 (10,843 / 5.06 miles)

I've struggled with documentation fatigue. I would abandon these monthly recaps altogether but I know future me would regret it since I do look back on the posts quite a bit. I also think there is a connection with my commitment to my health and the attention I give to tracking my workouts, steps, and social life. I am realizing that the more mindful I am in each of these areas, the more likely I am feeling my best. I've slipped the past few months and my body and mind are noticing.

June 2015 Flickr album

The first week of June may not be considered a highlight by most as I spent the majority of my time visiting my dad in the hospital. On Sunday, May 31, I drove a rented Nissan Versa to Sioux Falls, South Dakota and spent the week with my parents. I am glad I had a couple of days pre-surgery with my dad  - moments I'll always treasure. On Tuesday, June 2, my dad went into Avera McKennan hospital to have a large pituitary gland tumor removed by a neurosurgeon and an ENT surgeon. The surgery was considered successful and now that 6 weeks have passed its hard to think back on the immediate days post surgery because a lot has changed. As was expected, my dad was pretty out of it after surgery and spent a couple of days in ICU and was then transferred to a neurological recovery room for a couple more days. He was released on Sunday, June 7 so I stayed until Monday, June 8. Though I left when my dad was still at the very beginning of his recovery, I've returned for the 4th of July holiday weekend and he is doing much better and his eyesight has improved significantly. 

Other highlights

• Summer Solstice Sunrise to Sunset walk
• Kate Fukawa-Connelly in Minneapolis
• Northern Lights
• Mark Mothersbaugh Myopia exhibit at Minneapolis Institute of Arts

As we are eleven days into December, the month of November is a bit of a blur at this point. Perhaps nothing remarkable happened? Or maybe the fact that December is packed with travel and plans, I already moved on. Likely a bit of both. Thankfully my photo-a-day will help spark my memory.

One of the highlights of the month was volunteering as an Election Judge in my precinct. I enjoyed helping people register to vote and it was fun seeing all of my neighbors throughout the day. 

The transition from autumn to winter was brutal after having such an amazing stretch of perfect temperatures and sunny days. Winter survival plan was activated much sooner than I would have liked. I met up with Liz for pedicures and spent all day Saturday cooking soup with Amy Z.

Spending quality time with friends during the cold, dark months is important to me. Amy O. helped with that by having a gathering of awesome people for chili and beer. I explored a bit of Minneapolis with Allie and bought some cozy recycled sweater mittens. Lisa and I are hard core and continue to walk every Tuesday morning and have determined that as long as the temperature is 10° we will pound the pavement. Shopping malls are our back-up plan and I wonder if/when we'll have to fall back on that. 

We celebrated Stewie's 11th birthday which is hard to believe. It was fun spoiling him at a nearby fancy dog store. I went to the Minneapolis College of Art & Design (MCAD) Art Sale with Lisa for the first time. It was a lot of fun and I'm hoping we can make it a tradition. That same weekend our neighbors invited us over for dinner and every time we're together I'm more and more thankful that we both plan on staying in our current homes a long time - they are fantastic. More winter survival for Scott and I included a massage for him and infrared sauna for me - followed by a flight of beer of course. 

November by the numbers...
14 gym visits (+10 from September - it must be cold!)
371,754 steps (12,391 steps averaged a day)
167.26 miles
1047 active minutes (35 minutes a day on average)

Eating
Scott and I experimented with no eating out in November. We decided this after eating at Bar La Grassa with friends. We also knew we'd make exceptions for any work-related eating out. Finally, we knew we'd eat out at least once over Thanksgiving while in Sioux Falls. It was definitely a challenge but we saved money and I was able to lose weight instead of gain.

- Bar La Grassa (with Dannah and Chris)
- Stout's Pub (work team lunch!)
- Taste of the Big Apple (with my mom and dad in Sioux Falls)

Drinking
I also stopped buying cold press every day at Caribou Coffee. I now make my own and treat myself to coffee dates with friends about once a week.

- The Freehouse (beers before dinner at Bar La Grassa)
- Dunn Bros (work team meeting)
- Sparrow Cafe (frigid Tuesday walk destination with Lisa)
- Caribou Coffee (in Sioux Falls with Scott's cousin Cali and her boyfriend Chris)
- Starbucks Coffee (in Sioux Falls before Parade of Lights)

Watching & Reading
TV:
Walking Dead season five
Six Feet Under season two

Movies:
Codebreaker (Drama-documentary about Alan Turing)

Books:
The Secret Place by Tana French (averaging 2 pages a night before falling asleep so it's slow going)