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Saturday, December 31, 2011

Happy New Year!

Yeah, it's technically not the "new year" yet.  But I will probably be hungover and asleep most of tomorrow so I wanted to write this today.  Warning: this might be a little sappy, so don't read if you don't want.  Just my own little personal reflection of 2011.

This has definitely been a transition year for me.  2010 sucked.  Bad.  Probably one of the worst years ever for me.  Some good things did happen, but overall, not such a good year.  I'm actually looking back in my journal that I started on Dec 26, 2010 as a sort of New Year's resolution.  I always start a few days early for some reason.  Anyway, it lists all the reasons 2010 sucked and what I was going to do to make 2011 the BEST YEAR EVER. 

First of all, I don't believe in resolutions.  They're always broken by February.  I called these "goals."  Anyway, my goals last year were pretty much resolutions:  lose weight, go on more trips, move to Tampa by February, budget better and save money, make more time for family and friends, and do the absolute best job that I can do every day at work.  Then I told myself I would write about what I was doing every day to meet my goals.  Well that lasted until.....late February.  I did an update in July.  And that's it.  See?  Resolutions don't last.  But I've kind of kept these goals in the back of my head throughout the year and have definitely made some progress. 

Anyway, here are some highlights of my year:
-Moved to Tampa (and have made it through almost a whole year without cable!)
-Met Khloe Kardashian!!! (you laugh, but she's the most normal one of the bunch and I love her.)
-My BFF Michael came to visit and we celebrated his bday at the Columbia (one of my favorite restaurants!) and by spending the day at Clearwater Beach.

-Celebrated my BFF Megan's birthday in Orlando with some Moroccan food, belly dancing lessons (in the middle of the restaurant- hah!), and chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter icing.


- Had some fun with this crazy, amazing, hilarious lady.

- Was asked to be a bridesmaid in a dear friend's wedding


- Caught a couple of Rays games

- And ogled some hottie football players at the Bucs training camp

- Spent some time with my amazing family (and yes, we had a few beers...)


- Went to a super-crazy Jason Aldean concert with friends and had a blast!!!



- Took a trip to St. Louis for work and met some great friends.  Plus I got my certification as a Medicolegal Death Investigator.  Holla!


- Spent time and reconnected with my mom's side of the family in Southern Illinois.  Huge reunion!  Got a bunch of the first cousins together for the first time in a LONG LONG time.
- Got really lucky with a job I love and some amazing coworkers who have turned into truly great friends.

-Got my little sister in October and have had so much fun hanging out with her! (Wish I had some pictures!!!!)

- Spent the weekend in Savannah for my birthday with my BFF Michael.  SO MUCH FUN!

- Annnnd....got into just a little bit of trouble ;)

It's definitely been a fun year.  There have been some downs, but not near as many as in 2010.  I think 2012 is going to be full of changes and it's kind of scary and exciting that for me, it's a blank canvas and I have no idea what's going to happen.  With a few exceptions:
- Starting off the year with a trip to Providence, RI and NYC for my above-mentioned dear friend's bridal shower and bridesmaids/wedding dress shopping.
-Moving into a new place in a few weeks (the rent is MUCH cheaper and the place is quite a bit bigger!)
-Hoping to plan a trip to San Francisco in the spring to visit another dear friend who recently moved there.
-Also hoping to plan a cruise? (This has been on the list for the past few years and hasn't happened yet).
-Do a LOT more baking and blogging.  I have a bazillion recipes I want to try. 

In the meantime I will be celebrating with some friends tonight.  I hope everyone has a SAFE and Happy New Year.  :)

1 comment:

  1. Two things:
    1) SOOOO excited you're moving closer :)
    2) Take. me. on. your. cruise.

    xoxo - A

    ReplyDelete