Goodbye 2016...Hello 2017

Here we go again, wrapping up another great year as we welcome 2017. This year had been quite a smooth-sailing one, pretty much similar to the last year but certainly proud of myself for accomplishing some goals. :) Personally, this had been a busy 'work' year for me, especially the last 3 months and I'm starting to lose track of some of the things that we've done and places we've traveled to this year, coz it's been quite awhile since I had a break. Yes, I'm a millennial who can't function with all work and no play. :P Anyway, here's a quick recap of our 2016:

Travel

Started the year in Europe (Prague), Summer getaway to Central America (Cancun & Guatemala) in June, and revisited Asia (Hong Kong, M'sia, South Korea) during our home trip in September. Was able to lower our travel cost this year by using points and miles for the first time to fund our entire Central America trip. :)

Kicked-off the New Year traveling from Vienna to Prague. 

Cancun, Guatemala, HK, South Korea

This year was also siblings wedding year...back-to-back weddings for SIL in Huntsville followed by twin bro's in Penang. Happy to see the fambam again after 8 months! :)

Summary of my travels for 2016 (work+leisure):

• Number of hotel nights - 75 nights (SPG-53; Marriott-13; Hilton-6; Hyatt-3)
• Number of hotels - 17 hotels (SPG-10; Marriott-3; Hilton-2; Hyatt-2) 
• Number of flights - 14 roundtrips (10 Delta + 2 AA + 2 United)
• Number of airlines - 9 airlines (Delta, United, AA, Copa, Cathay Pacific, Korean Airlines, SIA, MAS, Southwest)

Work

As I mentioned above, this year had been a busy year at work. Even though my 2nd work year here was more hectic than the 1st year, I'm grateful for all the new opportunities and thankful to be able to stay in town for majority of the year. I've had the opportunity to travel a pretty good bit for work this year and certainly enjoyed the perks that came with it. :P 

• March - Dallas
• May - Dallas
• June - Raleigh, Nashville
• August - Orlando
• November - Auburn
• December - Minneapolis

One of the perks for work travel. :P 'Achievement unlocked'...highest status for 4 major hotel chains...hahaha! :P Well, I actually killed 4 birds with 1 stone thanks to the SPG-Marriott merger. :P

Living

We decided to continue with our weekend/part-time job as gardeners again this year, which kept us busy from March till July. We got a lil' too ambitious and greedy this year, and ended up being overwhelmed by the amount of work we had to do during harvest. =.= Lesson learnt, we are scaling down next year. :P

Canned tomatoes, pickles, frozen zucchini noodles, and corns, which should last us for a year...lol!!

Study

After having to study for exams non-stop for the past 9 months, I was so glad and relieved to finally complete all 4 papers for the CPA exams without failing in June!! Officially a 'licensed' CPA here in the States...oh yeahhhh!! =)

Oh all the troubles and efforts that I had to go through to finally get this card!

Thankful for a great 2016. I don't usually have New Year's resolutions but I do have some goals and several things on my to-do list that I would like to accomplish. Not quite sure what's in store for us in 2017 but looking forward to more success (especially at work) and adventures with hubby!! 2017 is gonna be a special year...10th year of blogging and I'm turning 30!! :P