The Tremmpleton's Year in Review

The year is at an end and we have not been very good at keeping up with blog posts. While one of our resolutions for the new year is to post more, we will end/begin the year with a look back at what's gone on in our lives in 2019!

Just after the start of 2019 Carrie and Michael were headed back across the country while Michael attended a conference in Seattle. Of course while back home, we saw loads of family and friends (especially lucky to see friends from around the world attending the conference). As we tend to do, we crammed as much as we could into the time we had with everyone and enjoyed every minute. There was lots of eating, drinking, and, of course, some karaoke. By the time Carrie and Michael flew back to New Haven we needed a vacation from their trip, but there is no rest for the Tremmpletons.

Michael turned 30 and Carrie threw him an amazing super hero themed party with the help of some good friends. Beyond a fun time with great food (Carrie made deep dish pizza and a fantastic cake) it was an awesome reminder of the friends we've made here in New Haven since moving in 2017. The temporary nature of Michael's postdoc position at Yale has made it hard to feel truly at home in New Haven as we will likely be moving again soon, but indeed we have made great and lasting connections with people here. It was good to have a chance to reflect on this. 

Carrie turned 31 this year (so now we are both in our 30s! weird...) and enjoyed a quiet birthday in Illinois that included all-you-can-eat Brazilian barbecue and a manicure. Entering our 30s is a little scary to be honest. It can be hard to fight the feeling that your best years are behind you and focus on one's fear of the long road of adulthood. However, I'm confident that our best years are, in fact, ahead of us! I think our 30s will be fun and, just like 2019, filled with self improvement and new experiences!

2019 was a big year for Carrie's career and education. She graduated from Purdue with her Masters of Science in Education degree in Learning Design Technology after working through the two year program online. We traveled to Indiana for her graduation and were joined by some family to celebrate her success! At the beginning of 2019 Carrie also started a new career directly related to her new degree, after ending 2018 with a few months worth of grad school/internship/full time job chaos. After 16 years working in restaurants Carrie has transitioned to the role of Instructional Designer for Aware Recovery Care, a company that provides in-home addiction recovery treatment. While it has been a little daunting to start a new career, Carrie has learned a lot and has grown into her new role quite well. Beyond gaining crucial experience within her new field, this work has been incredibly rewarding.

Lawrence has good coffee, an important
 requirement

Michael has also had his share of career developments, though not as momentous. The beginning of 2019 saw Michael in his first shortlist interview for a faculty position at the University of Kansas. While he ultimately was not offered the job, making it that far was encouraging and the experience of going through the two-day interview process was invaluable. It also helped Michael become more open minded about job prospects, as he was initially very skeptical of the idea of living in Lawrence, Kansas. In part because of this uncertainty, Carrie traveled with him to Kansas and they stayed for an entire week exploring both Lawrence and nearby Kansas City, MO. We were extra lucky and got to spend some time with our oldest niece, Katlynn, who drove up to see us from where she goes to college in Springfield, MO! Both of us were very surprised by how much we enjoyed not only Kansas City, but Lawrence as well. While Carrie was more open minded to begin with, the experience helped Michael relax his expectations and realize there are many places we can be happy living.

In academia the future is often uncertain and job season approaches again. Michael is taking with him the lessons he learned at the beginning of the year and is allowing himself to be more flexible with his expectations of the future. This year is Michael's final one as a YCAA fellow at Yale. This means he is going "all out" on the market, applying for over 40 postdoc and faculty positions around the country (as well as some in Canada). There is a lot of stress that comes with applying for academic jobs, especially in years when you either find something or, well, you don't. The prospect of having to leave academia is terrifying for many reasons and challenges even one's concept of self image, which in Michael's case, as in many others, is tightly tied to one's work. The idea of being forced to leave that behind is difficult to handle to say the least and can feel like a very personal failure. So, for Michael at least the end of 2019 (and the beginning of 2020) happens with a certain level of anxiety. 

We clean up well for weddings

Michael has traveled a lot for work, especially in the last few months of 2019 which saw him visiting several institutes to give talks in support of his job applications. However, the Tremmpletons also did a lot of fun travel this year! We attended two friend weddings in the midwest (congrats Laura and Curtis, Wendy and Andy!) and a celebration in San Francisco/Oakland for our cousin Katie & her amazing partner Cassie! This was both Michael and Carrie's first time in San Francisco and it was super fun, especially since Michael's aunt, uncle, and sister were also there. Our favorite part was probably exploring Japan-town and (finally!) getting some good Udon outside of Seattle.

In June we had a big trip to Italy, the first time either of us have been to the country. The trip was initiated by a conference Michael went to at the Abbazia di Spineto in the middle of the mountains in Tuscany. The scenery was beautiful and all meals (including a bunch of wine!) was provided by the conference. Each morning Carrie and Michael went on a scenic mini hike, enjoying both the weather and the amazing views. Carrie worked remotely during the day while Michael was at the conference and in the evenings they dined and had fun with other conference attendees (with, again, plenty of wine!). 

Morning Tea at Spineto after a short hike

After the conference Carrie and Michael started their personal vacation in Tuscany, traveling to an agriturismo near San Gimignano. We relaxed, swam in a very scenic pool, and ate plenty of cheese and meat. The family that ran the agriturismo would make us dinner each night. The food was fantastic (including more wine, this time homemade!) and the company was great. We got to meet other vacationers also staying at the agriturismo; one couple was from Germany and another from England. We also explored the nearby city of San Gimignano, known for its medieval towers and amazing views. However, we made the mistake of not renting a car, traveling instead between cities via train and taxi. While the agriturismo was only 1.5 miles from San Gimignano, it was an entire 1.5 MILES from San Gimignano... up hill... under the Tuscan sun... in August. We were sweaty a lot of the time to say the least! It was a test of our endurance but still, it was a great, fun new experience. Did I mention the food was amazing?

Some views from Tuscany. San Gimignano from a distance
(top) and sunrise from our agriturismo (bottom)

After a bit of stress procuring a taxi to take us from our agriturismo back to the train station (~30 min away by car) we traveled to Rome, our last stop in Italy. Unsurprisingly, Rome was home to a lot of amazing history. We saw, among other things, the Colosseum which was spectacular. One of our favorite parts was finding random cats wandering around some newly excavated ruins! We were both a bit disappointed with our guided tour of the Vatican; it was incredibly crowded and stressful despite getting an "after hours" tour. Still, interesting history! We also, of course, ate a lot of amazing pizza and explored a small local market near our hotel. On the recommendation of an Italian friend, we went to a small restaurant well outside of the city center. Rather than a menu, the waiter TOLD us the menu (or rather, told Michael and mostly ignored Carrie). Michael got a little flustered and ordered a little hastily. The end result was that we got to try horse meat for the first time. It was.... not the best. 

Can't remember where this is... anyone have a clue?

Rose garden in Rome

Italy was overall a fantastic trip and, strangely enough, the very first time Carrie and I have taken a truly personal vacation since... EVER. After the trip, which included a ton of walking (as much as 10 miles/day in Rome!) Carrie became reinvigorated to bettering her health (she had joined a gym in March after moving to a desk job for the first time). This was in part also motivated by her mother's recent heart attack. Carrie got heavily involved in a local gym, started working with a personal trainer, and began eating healthier. You can read more about her journey and some of these new eating habits in Carrie's new blog Meticulous Macros that she just started! In short, since July Carrie has lost over 40 pounds and gained over a pound of muscle mass. This has involved a lot of lifestyle changes, including Carrie waking up at 5 am each morning to head to the gym. Michael has even gotten motivation to push harder at the gym (he's been a regular gym goer for the past 8 years or so but has gotten a bit complacent in his routine) and eat better (more mindful of portions, less sugary bullshit, sliiiiightly less pizza). He has lost a few pounds the last couple months, but Carrie's progress over the past six has been simply staggering. Michael finds Carrie's progress incredibly inspirational. Don't forget to check out Meticulous Macros when you get the chance!

Looking forward to 2020 we already have travel plans . Michael will start the year off in Hawaii at the 235th American Astronomical Society meeting while Carrie will be traveling for work to beautiful New Hampshire (admittedly not quite as well known for its weather, beaches, and beauty). Continuing our trend of the past few years of ALL THE WEDDINGS, we will be traveling back to Seattle in April for the marriage of two of our closest friends from New Haven and Carrie will be officiating the wedding! Michael also has a couple other conference trips he is excited about, which will have him traveling to the Itallian Dolomites as well as a castle (literally) in the Bavarian Alps. Michael is really excited about the castle. Michael really likes castles (and trains, there are lots of trains in Europe!!).

So, 2019 has been, well, a lot and there is going to be even more change, personal growth, and adventures in 2020! We want to end this post with a few Tremmpleton Family New Year's Resolutions.

1) Write more, including these blog posts! Carrie is starting a new blog (see above!) and Michael hopes to get more into his creative writing hobby.

2) Take time to enjoy one another's company. Carrie surprised Michael with a Switch this Xmas and both of us are super excited for a year of more games (both video and physical) that we can enjoy together. Work and travel has made it harder to take time together, but both of us want to put more time an energy into appreciating one another and the things we do as a family.

3) Be more comfortable with change. 2020 promises a lot of changes for us as a family given Michael's career situation. Within this there are plenty of things that are out of our control, yet we often focus and stress about these things. Instead, we want to focus our energy toward aspects of our lives we CAN control while being more accepting of the changes that occur, allowing us to meet these new challenges head on and with an open heart.

4) Maintain lifestyle changes, while continuing to challenge ourselves to improve. We've both made lots of changes with food, exercise, and finances over the last year, which we are incredibly proud of; but now we strive to keep it up over the next year and beyond. As we continue to learn and grow into our best selves, it is really exciting to see all we can achieve together.