2016, so long sucker!

Please do let the door hit you on the way out!

But 2016 was not all bad. Here were my favorite memories and accomplishments from the WORST YEAR EVER.

32 inches and still coming down for a few more hours. At least nobody seems to have lost power so far! #snowpocalypse2016 #snow

A photo posted by Laura Amos (@lauraraeamos) on Jan 23, 2016 at 2:04pm PST

— best snowstorm: 32 inches on January 23, 2016

Highest point on the east coast, done. #hiking #NorthCarolina A photo posted by Laura Amos (@lauraraeamos) on Mar 25, 2016 at 4:21pm PDT

— summits climbed: 4

On this rainy rainy day, I am trying to remember how to format an ebook. It has been so long (3 years is forever in publishing tech!), I basically need to relearn everything from scratch. Or pay someone, lol! But I’d like to learn it if I can and keep that control.

A photo posted by Laura Amos (@lauraraeamos) on Oct 8, 2016 at 9:30am PDT

— novels published: 1 (2 if you count Drown)

I can’t decide which journal to use next. They are both so pretty! <3 A photo posted by Laura Amos (@lauraraeamos) on Sep 5, 2016 at 11:22am PDT

— learned to: bake paleo, bullet journal, and play the violin

I don’t want to start back to Virginia today. Virginia is where my husband has a really great job and where my child goes to school, but I always knew that it wasn’t my home. My heart does not live there. Maybe that’s also why we never bought a house there, because we always kind of knew we didn’t belong. Maybe that’s why we’re always traveling, because our hearts are restless. I always thought my heart belonged to Michigan, but I’d never been to Maine before this week. Every place we go to, we do this, we think we want to stay there forever. New places are shiny and interesting, but I know my heart belongs to the mountains and to the sea, and here I can stand on the rocks and see the wide curve of the ocean all at once. We stopped at this little lobster stand on the side of some road, and the guy at the register asked us, “Are you local?” Like he couldn’t tell if we were tourists or not. Maybe it’s a sign. Maybe our traveling hearts will always feel restless, but when it’s time to come home, I would love for home to look like this. #Maine #notallthosewhowanderarelost A photo posted by Laura Amos (@lauraraeamos) on Aug 29, 2016 at 10:12am PDT

— favorite selfie: shadows in the sun, Maine

  Ocean Path Trail, #Acadia National Park. #Maine #hiking   A photo posted by Laura Amos (@lauraraeamos) on Aug 26, 2016 at 12:36pm PDT

— best hike: Ocean Path Trail, Acadia National Park, Maine

In #BarHarbor #Maine today. What a charming little town! It kind of reminds me of Traverse City, only with better seafood. 😉 A photo posted by Laura Amos (@lauraraeamos) on Aug 24, 2016 at 10:27am PDT

— best place I want to go back to again: Bar Harbor, Maine

  The tiniest little turtle I’ve ever seen. I moved him off of the path so he wouldn’t get stepped on.   A photo posted by Laura Amos (@lauraraeamos) on May 24, 2016 at 10:31am PDT

— best wildlife: this itty bitty turtle

Long division makes your kids crack up. 😳 A photo posted by Laura Amos (@lauraraeamos) on Apr 18, 2016 at 3:54pm PDT

— best picture of Dylan: math alien

  One brand new shiny American! 🇺🇸   A photo posted by Laura Amos (@lauraraeamos) on Aug 5, 2016 at 10:02am PDT

— best picture of my honey: becoming an American

I didn’t have a pantsuit or a nasty woman t-shirt to wear, but I voted. #imwithher #nastywoman #vote #futurevoter

A photo posted by Laura Amos (@lauraraeamos) on Nov 8, 2016 at 10:10am PST

— best picture of me that isn’t just shadows: voting day

Banana chocolate chip crumble! #yum #baking A photo posted by Laura Amos (@lauraraeamos) on Sep 29, 2016 at 3:56pm PDT

— best baked: banana muffins

  Sunset was an event tonight. It was so funny. It had been storming for hours, but then the clouds broke and we saw this and a few dozen people all stopped what we were doing and ran across the road and this field to experience this fleeting moment. When it was over, it started storming again for the rest of the night. But we all had this.   A photo posted by Laura Amos (@lauraraeamos) on Jun 28, 2016 at 8:07pm PDT

— best sunset: Outer Banks, North Carolina

Misty morning (yesterday) in #Massachusetts. A photo posted by Laura Amos (@lauraraeamos) on Aug 24, 2016 at 10:24am PDT

— best sunrise: Sutton, Massachusetts