Before I sat down to complete this blog post, I visited my 101 in 1,000 days list and my blog post from last year kicking off 2016 5 Things I Learned in 2015 and 6 Resolutions for 2016. This blog post is proof I took more photos of the moments and let my creativity blossom! So #WINNING! I opened an IRA/Retirement account this year. Focused on my health and fitness, the proof is in this blog post. To my knowledge, I did a good job as a wife this year. And I did not learn to play guitar. So, 5 out of 6 isn’t bad at all!! 🙂 

2016, here is a recap!

2016 started with a notable transformation. Overcoming the holidays and kicking off the new year with some great results in 24 days! I talk about it over here in this transformation blog post!!

Valentine’s Day was a special one. We celebrated by watching our wedding video for the very first time!

My 26th birthday!! A visit to Warner Brother’s Studio and a walk around Beverly Hills was perfect! Complete with a visit to the cupcake ATM. We downloaded the app for where Hollywood stars lived. I think it was a little outdated, but still a great day together! 

Checked “take a Soul Cycle class” off of my 101 in 1,001 days list. I wrote a review about the class over here on my Soul Cycle Completed blog post.

We continued a great year by paying off over $28,000 in credit card debt. Our goal for the year was to pay off our entire wedding before any interest was applied!! It was a pretty lofty goal for us! 

In May we rescued a little toy poodle from the shelter. I shared about our newest addition on this blog post here! She has since transformed in to the sweetest little dog and member of our family! 

I continued the year focused heavily on making an even greater transformation. This photo was taken at the end of June! This is one of the first times I had abs without killing myself for a competition or fitness show! 🙂 

My sweet little niece was born in July of this year! We will have MANY adventures together! #AdventuresOfVioletAndAuntieA

Ahhhhh! Then came a little storm! August 9th the year delivered us a miscarriage. I wrote a blog post titled Waiting August 7th. I realized writing out today’s blog post I never went back and finished our story. I plan to do so soon to show how God can heal in time’s of hurt and uncertainty. We are still trusting God and His great plan for our future.

At the end of August we visited Nick’s Grandma in Washington. It was great to get away and see nature, hike, and make s’mores by the fire! 

This cute little pup got her own Instagram account so she could share her day to day adventures! You can follow her at BriellePanza!

My incredible Grandfather turned 89 years old this year! I give him my “Most Inspirational Man” award!

We celebrated our first anniversary September 25, 2016. I am planning a blog post to recap all of the special little things we did to celebrate our anniversary! I sure am promising a lot of blog posts aren’t I? 

The fitness journey continued as I shared my journey over the last 4 years on Instagram! I wrote this post here sharing about each one of the “Anna’s” in the photo above. I am especially proud of the journey, but I am so proud of the emotional victory each one of those photos represents. If you have ever struggled with body image, I suggest reading this post!

Brielle Panza had her 4th Birthday the Friday after Thanksgiving! Because she is a rescue, we don’t know her actual Birthday. When we got her at the shelter in May, they believed she was 3 1/2. So, like any great dog mom would do, I decided her birthday would be exactly 6 months later! 

In November I launched a complete rebrand of my blog! Have you noticed? I started including more recipes on the blog, wrote my first FREE 21 Healthy Holiday Recipe Ebook to share with everyone, and updated some of the blog colors! It isn’t too late to download the Ebook! You can grab it here for free! 
Whhhhhhhew! Remember the post from above about paying off our wedding?! Well, we made it happen. We took this fun photo to celebrate officially owning the bouquet on the wall, my veil, our wedding photos, etc.! It felt so great and there is NO WAY we would have been able to pull it off if it wasn’t for my incredible husband! I adore him!
Transformation of the year goes to Brielle Panza! These photos were taken exactly 6 months apart from each other! I am just so proud of this little doggie girl! You really should follow her on Instagram! She is so funny! 😉 

Our year closed being a stronger, healthier couple with the addition of a cute little pup on our Christmas card. The last two years I have included a recipe with our Christmas card. 2015 was the celebration of our marriage with an Italian Wedding Cookie recipe. 2016 we celebrated Brielle with a Sugar Cookie Puppy Chow recipe!

What a year filled with many highs and some lows. I am beyond blessed to have such an amazing husband that is my rock through it all. I have an incredible family and friends that have been the best support system and encouragers. 

I am beginning to think ODD numbered years are our years. We moved in together in 2011, were engaged in 2013, married in 2015, so 2017 HAS to be the year of a lifetime. Right?!!? Staying optimistic that God has an incredible plan to unfold for us this year! 

I hope your New Year’s Eve is safe! Wishing you a very, very blessed and prosperous 2017!