2011 in review

winter

:: Josh and I started teaching the 8- to 9-year-olds at church. Boy, has that kept us on our toes.

:: I admitted an emotional funk.
:: I had some articles published in the New Era.

:: I discovered Fabric Depot.

:: Josh turned 26.
:: I fell in with Jimmer-mania.
:: I had a hard time adjusting to my full-time job downtown.

:: I started sewing, and my first skirt was dubbed "crafty" by an insensitive coworker, and my second skirt gave me hell.

:: I survived my first Oregon winter.

spring
:: We celebrated our six-month-iversary and had no qualms about the cheesiness of it all.
:: I had my first day off of work since Christmas.
:: I filed our taxes and with some of the return bought a KitchenAid
:: I met up with my sister, mom, aunt, and cousin at Women's Conference in Utah.
:: I met one of my kindred spirit friends through blogging, a friend who, incidentally, I had many classes with at school and never got to know until we lived on opposite sides of the country.
:: The rain continued.
:: I ate Lebanese food for the first time.
:: I went to the Oregon coast for the first time and loved it.
:: I had some a serious cake failure.
:: I read many, many books.

summer
:: We spent the Fourth with my family in Colorado.
:: I posted about my strong feelings on feminism and how women are treated in the media.
:: I chopped my hair.
:: I finished writing the wedding thank-yous.
:: I hiked at Mount St. Helens.
:: I stopped working downtown and have never looked back.
:: We went to DisneyLand with the Wilson clan.
:: I turned 24.
:: I planned my fall sewing.

autumn

:: I had another cake failure when I tried to bake a cake for my grandma's birthday.

:: We started rock climbing.

:: I made a point of doing spooky things for Halloween.

:: Rachelle came to visit for a whole week, and we rocked Oregon.

:: Josh and I celebrated our first anniversary.

:: I had an emergency root canal.

:: I subscribed to Cook's Illustrated.

:: I started a new job at Deseret Book, a place I never saw myself working until I got there.

:: We celebrated another Wilson Thanksgiving.

:: I added to our Christmas decorations.

:: I experienced working holiday retail hours.

:: I blogged only seven times during December, including this post.

So it was a pretty good year. Nothing super eventful happened, but sometimes years like that are nice. I felt like I really settled into my chosen life. I've felt contentment over my choices and have never been happier than I am right now.

Happy new year, everyone.

some affirmations

Yes, I am still a blogger.
And yes, I know that it's been almost two weeks since I've posted.
Yes, we went to Colorado for Christmas.
And yes, it was completely wonderful.
Yes, Josh did give me a Silhouette Cameo for Christmas.
I know.
No, I was not ready to leave home to go home.
Yes, both Colorado and Oregon feel like home to me.
Yes, I cried a lot when I said goodbye to my mom.
Yes, I will be getting back into the blogging groove.
Yes, I did buy more fabric in Colorado.
Yes, I did start listening to Harry Potter 5 when we got back tonight.
And no, I will not reach my 45-book goal for 2011. I did, however, surpass my initial reading goal of 40 books. And seriously, 41 books in a year is not too shabby.

guest posting

Happy Christmas week, everyone! I have a pretty crazy week ahead of me that will conclude with flying home to Colorado to be with my family for Christmas. Can't wait. Today you can find me at Emily K Designs posting about one of my favorite Christmas traditions! Have you just been dying to know how my taffeta-tulle skirt turned out? Check out my guest post!

12 on 12: december 2011 hodgepodge grid

So, confession time: I didn't ever end up doing a November grid. That day ended up being a weird one for me, and I just wasn't in the mood. I kind of feel guilty, but I also kind of feel okay about it.

And another aforementioned confession: The photos in this grid weren't all taken on the same day, but were actually taken over the course of three days. Yes, people, three days, for a 12-on-12 grid. I didn't want to forgo this month's grid like I did with November's, so this month you get the 12-on-12-13-and-14 grid. And, actually, this happens to be one of my favorite grids this year.

01. 12.12--Leisurely morning shower
02. 12.12--Homemade mac 'n' cheese and broccoli, the ultimate comfort food
03. 12.13--Caramel-chocolate-toffee pretzels to take to my coworkers (please note the baker's twine--it's my favorite part of the whole thing
04. 12.13--Glittery Christmas tree
05. 12.13--My current number-one fictional character crush, Neal Caffrey
06. 12.13--My new sewing book that I'm crushing on
07. 12.13--Sunny, cold day
08. 12.13--Leftover homemade mac 'n' cheese
09. 12.13--Blurry photo of my bookseller name tag
10. 12.14--Crashing on the couch before a later work shift
11. 12.14--Packing peanuts from an eBay package
12. 12.14--My Christmas to-do list, but obviously I can't show you--hello, it's Christmas

Did you do 12-on-12 this month?

a blog?

What, I still have a blog? Are you sure? Even though it's been only a week since I've posted, it feels like much longer. December is flying by in twinkle lights, yarn wreaths, Christmas shopping crowds, long work hours, late-night Gilmore Girls episodes, revisiting The X-Files, unfolded laundry, and Christmas sewing.

Phew.

I have a 12-on-12 grid to post, and this one will be unique, because here's the thing: I didn't manage to take 12 pictures on the 12th, 13th, or 14th, so I'm combining my pictures from all three days to complete the grid. Let's pencil that post in for tomorrow? Okay? Okay.

And my 2011 reading goal? Still behind. Two books behind. Heavens.

some holiday favorites

:: A Muppet Christmas Carol DVD at Costco for $12.99. Hello, my childhood.
:: Felt mistletoe (pictures coming soon)
:: The plaid taffeta Christmas skirt I'm sewing for myself--it includes tulle, people. Tulle.
:: The Modern Family Christmas special
:: Nick Lachey as The Sing-Off host--he still has that boy-band smile and swagger, and I love it.
:: Katelyn coming home this month--so excited
:: My freelance article in an online magazine--check it out (mine is on page 46)

I'll be posting some pictures soon of the Christmasing that's been happening around the apartment--so far, this December has been a delightful one.

PS--If you didn't at least preview the Muppet and Nick Lachey links, do. Because they're awesome, and I was really excited to find them.

new peeps

So the crown for my root canal is gold. Yes, gold. I'd show you but the cortortions required to get a picture that far into my mouth wouldn't paint me very pretty, and my vanity gene is too pronounced to allow me to post such images.

Just know that now I can hang with the gangsters and the pirates. Obviously.