2013 Year In Review, New Years Resolutions, And Epic Giveaway Winners*

2013 was a big year: 

I contemplated medication changes and opted not to start Rituxan due to the risk of PML in The Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Waste.

I shared my workout journey in Getting The Gears Moving In May.

I got to go to Pfizer’s First Rheumatoid Arthritis Blogger Summit.

I got charged a shitload of money for my medical records in What Happens When Your Medical Records Aren't Yours?

I defended my dissertation and got my PhD in You Can Call Me Doctor Rott. 

I moved to New York, which included getting new doctors and new health insurance, and started a new (and hopefully final) educational pursuit in Moving With And Packing Up Lupus and RA: New Beginnings And Bittersweet Endings, Baby Steps And Quantum Leaps, Lupus And RA Have Brought Me Here, What It Feels Like…To Have Lupus and RA In The City, and New City, New Care = So Far, So Good. 

And my grandfather passed away, in Reflections On Life, Love, Loss, and Family, which brought up new feelings about being away from home and my own mortality. 

And I read and reviewed a bunch of books related to chronic illness:

"In Sickness As In Health" by Barbara Kivowitz and Roanne Weisman

"Your Life With Rheumatoid Arthritis" by Lene Andersen

"Shot" by Amy Ryan

"In The Kingdom Of The Sick" by Laurie Edwards

"My Foreign Cities" by Elizabeth Scarboro

"Arthritis, Pregnancy, And The Path To Parenthood" by Suzie Edward May

If you are interested in seeing all of the books I read in 2013, go to the “Books I’ve Read” tab of my blog. 

I also wrote other posts in 2013, so feel free to read those, too!

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For 2014, I have some definite resolutions.  Some have to do with health and hopefully getting healthier:

-          Get off of steroids

-          Stop drinking pop

-          Stop eating fries out

-          Workout more, ideally two to three times per week

-          Cutback on alcohol to once a week

My non-physical health resolutions are:

-          Do a better job of communicating and seeing friends

-          Find our own place in New York

-          Have better communication with my boyfriend

-          Write a book

I know there are a lot of things here that I hope to do, but I hope that putting them here will make me feel more accountable to actually make these changes or make things happen.

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And for the piece de resistance.  Here are the winners of my epic giveaways:

1.       Molly is the winner of the signed, personalized copy of “So Young” by Daniel Malito

2.      Stacey is the winner of a pillfold from Sara Gorman

3.      Melissa is the winner of the Sabi Folio pill holder

4.      Shannon is the winner of the E-certificate worth $35 from Road ID

If you won, please contact me ASAP– either in comments or via e-mail at gettingclosertomyself@gmail.com – with your contact information.  I’ll be sending out the Sabi Folio.  The rest of the giveaways will come from the specific company, and I will forward your information to them. 

* Big thanks to Daniel Malito, Sara Gorman, Sabi, and Road ID for providing the generous giveaways.