With 2019 coming to a close…
I figured I’d throw out a recap of what I’ve been up to throughout the year, since I am clearly lacking on the blog-front. As I embarked upon the task, it quickly became evident that - my god - I did A LOT this year! Trying to trim down the list to a handful of memories/highlights/photos has been nearly impossible and rather painful. A punishment of sorts, I suppose, for having not shared better updates throughout the year. So here’s the best I could do.
I give you: “A Recap of 2019 : Spark Notes Edition”
It all started when….
I looked out the window on the first day of 2019 and saw this squirrel in a tree eating a slice of pizza. How could the year possibly go up from here?!
But it did. Later in January, I was off to Orlando where I covered the Pro Bowl for the Vikings and stayed a few extra days to enjoy the sun and wakeboard.
Being my first winter back in Minnesota since my teen years, I was proud to have endured the coldest day of the year (-45 windchill) and the “Snowmageddon” that had me stranded me in Spicer, living off of duck jerky, craft cheese slices, and a collection of watered down sauces and marinades. Before the snow melted, I also took up snowboarding on the exotic alps of Afton, MN. Turns out it’s pretty fun!
Throughout spring, I enjoyed some personal travel: Alex had never been to Europe, so I volunteered to tour him around Amsterdam, Paris, Tuscany, and Rome - flexing my tour guide/wannabe food blogger muscle, as I showed him my favorite spots along the way.
In May, it was on to Spain - obviously - for no reason other than it’s my all time favorite place on the planet. News flash: despite countless efforts, I still don’t know a lick of Spanish, except the phrases “mas pan” and “copa de blanco, por favor”. Oddly, it seems to get me by.
*The photos are a conglomerate of the two trips…but all from the same continent, so it’s ok. Eat food, drink wine, look at old things - you get it!
Additional spring memories include an ice pileup, flat tires in the woods, and meeting crop of new FABULOUS friends! Who knew there were so many badass women in Minnesota?! I also got a new bike, had new bike stolen, got another new bike, got a moped - boy, do I love riding on two wheels!
Among other new things…NEW JOBS! This one goes out to my friend Kevin who, when I see him every few months, inquires “How many jobs are we at now?”. Most recently we’re at… a lot.
Made for the Outdoors - “Are you that girl with the giant gun?” The answer is yes. This show brought me all over the midwest - I built a revolver, a crossbow, and a dock from start to finish, managing to keep all ten fingers in the process while meeting incredible characters and sharing their stories along the way. The show airs Sat mornings and weekday evenings on Fox Sports North and throughout the year on Sportsman Channel.
The CW Twin Cities - I covered all kinds of stories from new brewery openings to pro athlete spotlights to spa reviews….can you tell I get to pick my own topics? Catch all the fun at thecwtc.com or find me me rattling off random Family Feud facts pretty much any time of day on channel 23.
Destination Polaris - Exploring terrain throughout the world on badass off roading machines? Ugh - If i must! In 2019, this show brought me to the mountains and ghost towns of Montana, the high desert of Grand Junction, Colorado, and most recently the beautiful dunes of Oregon. Again, SO many characters and side adventures, including a sporadic sunset crabbing adventure in Coos Bay - the people I meet filming this show are my people (aka rednecks)! Catch this show on Sunday mornings and evenings throughout the week on Fox Sport affiliates nationwide.
WATCH THEM.
Ahhh summer! It started by making the Fox Sports Twins highlights dancing (blame it on the Juice) followed logging as much lake time as possible. As always, America’s birthday came and went WAY too fast, and for the first time ever, rain threatened to… well… rain on our parade. But the joke was on Mother Nature who underestimated the fact that we would park “T & A’s Trailer Bar” in our driveway and provide safe refuge for parade patrons young and old. Freedom always wins.
I dusted off the old wakeboard a few times, and did some old tricks and learned zero new ones. August brought X Games AND Vikings training camp, making for the longest work stint of my life and introducing me to the world of lower back pain. You’re not old until you have a chiropractor…which is why I’ve chosen to suffer and complain regularly, instead.
Fall?! Already?! But how?! But why?! Yes, summer ended too fast, and before I knew it I had a camera up my colon, which at first glance was “beautiful” according to the doctor, but then revealed some early onset colon cancer which was swiftly removed. Then I ran a 10-mile race and couldn’t walk for week. My body is really good at making cancer, but as it turns out, not as good at jogging long distances.
Before I knew it, laundry loads started including a separate “purple load”, and I was back on the turf at US Bank Stadium on Sundays as well as covering community events throughout the metro on Tuesdays. This year’s episodes of On Board were incredible - I got to meet SO many legends, both in the sports realm and beyond. In week 14, the On Board episode broke the all-time view record for the Vikings IGTV - we did it, fam! It’s been truly so fun to be able to share my love of all things Purple through the Vikings platform. From the bottom of my cold blooded, viking heart, #skol.
In addition to the Vikes, I covered a number of high school games from the sidelines, including the All-Star game, at which I was tackled during an interview on live TV. As of 2019, I’ve been hit in the head by a hockey puck at a hockey game, stung by a sting ray, diagnosed with cancer, had Swine Flu, was bit by a human while crowd surfing in the Philippines, robbed overseas, and taken out on the sidelines at a football game, which is why I stay the F*** away from lightning.
Then came the holidays, a 13th cancerversary, and now the new year. Despite the INCREDIBLE amount of memories gathered, for which I am sincerely grateful, there were of course struggles too. The world lost a number of good people, of which I was close and some not. I struggled to stay healthy, dealing with a plethora of health issues, bringing both emotional and financial stress. But I like to think I’m exiting 2019 having gained far more than lost. And I hope you feel the same.
And if you don’t, try looking back again. If you look hard enough, those struggles themselves provide so much for the taking.
My overall takeaway is that as we get older, the world continues to spin faster and faster every year. We strive to chase our dreams, pay our bills, and be the people we envision while making our resolutions. Careers change, locations change, but if we’re lucky, the most significant things that happen throughout the year, are times spent with family, laughs shared with friends, and memories made with people we care about. Maybe this year our resolutions should be more about them than about us.
Best of luck out there and may your bubbles be fermented and delicious. See you in 2020!
Cheers,
Alexa