I've been a major blogger slacker lately! But so have most of you too! I've missed reading all of your posts. Also, when I changed to this new blog format I lost all the addresses to the private blogs I was reading. So, if your blog is private and you miss all the thoughtful comments I used to write on your blog, leave your blog address in a comment por favor and I will once again peruse your blogs.
It's been a long time (for me anyway) since I last posted. I haven't even done a 2011 year-end summary yet! I've done a year-end summary every year since I started blogging in 2007 so I decided that even though it's February that I'd still do it. So, here you go...
It's been a long time (for me anyway) since I last posted. I haven't even done a 2011 year-end summary yet! I've done a year-end summary every year since I started blogging in 2007 so I decided that even though it's February that I'd still do it. So, here you go...
2011...
alcohol units consumed: 0 (excellent)
cigarettes: 0 (v.g.)
pounds lost: 30
pound re-gained: 20
pounds re-lost: 15
countries visited: 3 (not too great)
countries visited for the first time: 2
time spent abroad: 2.5 months (not too shabby)
blog posts: 37 (not bad)
nephews born: 1, and he's adorable
parents returned safely to me: 2 (most excellent)
prison stays: 0 (v.g.)
buckets of cheese puffs received: 2
buckets of cheese puffs gifted: 1
2011 was a decent year as far as years go. I once again stayed away from alcohol and cigarettes, lost a little weight and re-gained it and re-lost it a time or two...just to keep everyone guessing what I'd look like the next time they saw me and to keep my clothes nice and stretched out. I visited three countries, two of which were new to me. So I definitely slowed down from my 2010 wanderings but still got to travel a bit, which is always good. I got my parents back from their captors in Brazil, and got an adorable new nephew to make our family even bigger and better. And I learned that if you make fun of something, like polygamist cheese puffs, that you're sure to get some for Christmas! Anyway, here's a breakdown of the year...
January: I spent the first part of January sick. I think I'd just gotten too worn down trying to entertain a posse of Brazilians over Christmas and the lack of sleep and stress made me vulnerable to the swine flu or some other horrible disease. I didn't do anything for about a week or so. My grandma/roommate was recovering from a surgery she'd had shortly after Christmas. So the first part of the month I just pretty much hibernated in the basement so I wouldn't get her sick while she was healing from her surgery. Luckily we both got feeling better in not too long and I was even able to head to Ecuador at the end of the month for a few days of solo traveling on my way to Brazil to visit my parents one last time.
February: I spent the whole month with my parents in Brazil. It was great to be able to visit one last time. I finally convinced my mom to travel out to Jericoacoara with me and we had a wonderful little trip.
March: My BTF (Best Travel Friend) Kate (sadly now ex-BTF due to her recent marriage) met me in Fortaleza and we spent a couple days with my parents before flying down to Southern Brazil. We spent time in Paraty, Trinidade, Gramado, and Florianopolis. It was a great last trip for two spinster friends who have traveled the world together during the past six years.
April: Back in the USA...can't remember much about this month. I guess I worked and got ready for my next trip.
May: Headed off on a month-long adventure to India with my friend Marissa (also recently lost to marriage R.I.P.). It was probably the least planned trip I'd ever been on as we had only two nights' hotel booked for a month-long trip when we arrived in the country. But, somehow things worked out okay and it turned out to be one of my very favorite trips I've ever been on. What an adventure!
June: I returned to America half way through the month and frantically began preparing things for my parents' imminent return. My parents were safely returned to us at the end of the month. It was/is so wonderful to have them home.
July: Idaho at its best...I love July in Idaho. The weather is perfect, the 4th of July is fantastic. I spent the month just hanging out with my family and making up for lost time with my parents.
August: Birthday month...yuck. I did take a little trip to Utah to visit friends, celebrate my birthday, and to hike the Y for the first time ever. So, it wasn't all bad, even though I don't like getting all old and decrepit.
September: Must have worked a lot because I don't remember much about this month except how amazingly beautiful the weather was...especially for Fall in Idaho.
October: Same as September...beautiful Fall weather and lots of work. My mom and I threw a fun (at least in my opinion) Ghouls' Night Out Halloween celebration. It is so great to have her around again...especially for party planning purposes.
November: Was blessed to get nephew #2 born on 11/11/11. Coolest birthday ever for the coolest/cutest little baby ever.
December: Lots of work but barely any snow, which I was ecstatic about. And the holidays...it was so great to all be together again for Christmas. We had fun even though there wasn't any snow and we all (including our Brazilian house-guest) got sick over Christmas. I'm blaming norovirus...it was pretty powerful.
Anyway, 2011 had its ups and downs but overall it was a pretty good year.
A few weeks ago it snowed just a little (we've had the most amazingly wonderful mild winter which I won't complain about). While I was driving I passed a little girl playing out in her yard in a dated puffy pink snowsuit. It had snowed just enough to start to fill in the spaces between the blades of grass but not to come even close to covering the grass. But the little girl was enthusiastically making, or attempting to make, a snow angel in the pathetic amount of snow there was. And she was happy...really happy. Even though her snowsuit was a little small for her and definitely out of style. Even though there wasn't nearly enough snow to play in. Even though she was all by herself. And even though she was in a poorer, slightly sketchy neighborhood. She was happy. Genuinely happy.
January: I spent the first part of January sick. I think I'd just gotten too worn down trying to entertain a posse of Brazilians over Christmas and the lack of sleep and stress made me vulnerable to the swine flu or some other horrible disease. I didn't do anything for about a week or so. My grandma/roommate was recovering from a surgery she'd had shortly after Christmas. So the first part of the month I just pretty much hibernated in the basement so I wouldn't get her sick while she was healing from her surgery. Luckily we both got feeling better in not too long and I was even able to head to Ecuador at the end of the month for a few days of solo traveling on my way to Brazil to visit my parents one last time.
February: I spent the whole month with my parents in Brazil. It was great to be able to visit one last time. I finally convinced my mom to travel out to Jericoacoara with me and we had a wonderful little trip.
March: My BTF (Best Travel Friend) Kate (sadly now ex-BTF due to her recent marriage) met me in Fortaleza and we spent a couple days with my parents before flying down to Southern Brazil. We spent time in Paraty, Trinidade, Gramado, and Florianopolis. It was a great last trip for two spinster friends who have traveled the world together during the past six years.
April: Back in the USA...can't remember much about this month. I guess I worked and got ready for my next trip.
May: Headed off on a month-long adventure to India with my friend Marissa (also recently lost to marriage R.I.P.). It was probably the least planned trip I'd ever been on as we had only two nights' hotel booked for a month-long trip when we arrived in the country. But, somehow things worked out okay and it turned out to be one of my very favorite trips I've ever been on. What an adventure!
June: I returned to America half way through the month and frantically began preparing things for my parents' imminent return. My parents were safely returned to us at the end of the month. It was/is so wonderful to have them home.
July: Idaho at its best...I love July in Idaho. The weather is perfect, the 4th of July is fantastic. I spent the month just hanging out with my family and making up for lost time with my parents.
August: Birthday month...yuck. I did take a little trip to Utah to visit friends, celebrate my birthday, and to hike the Y for the first time ever. So, it wasn't all bad, even though I don't like getting all old and decrepit.
September: Must have worked a lot because I don't remember much about this month except how amazingly beautiful the weather was...especially for Fall in Idaho.
October: Same as September...beautiful Fall weather and lots of work. My mom and I threw a fun (at least in my opinion) Ghouls' Night Out Halloween celebration. It is so great to have her around again...especially for party planning purposes.
November: Was blessed to get nephew #2 born on 11/11/11. Coolest birthday ever for the coolest/cutest little baby ever.
December: Lots of work but barely any snow, which I was ecstatic about. And the holidays...it was so great to all be together again for Christmas. We had fun even though there wasn't any snow and we all (including our Brazilian house-guest) got sick over Christmas. I'm blaming norovirus...it was pretty powerful.
Anyway, 2011 had its ups and downs but overall it was a pretty good year.
A few weeks ago it snowed just a little (we've had the most amazingly wonderful mild winter which I won't complain about). While I was driving I passed a little girl playing out in her yard in a dated puffy pink snowsuit. It had snowed just enough to start to fill in the spaces between the blades of grass but not to come even close to covering the grass. But the little girl was enthusiastically making, or attempting to make, a snow angel in the pathetic amount of snow there was. And she was happy...really happy. Even though her snowsuit was a little small for her and definitely out of style. Even though there wasn't nearly enough snow to play in. Even though she was all by herself. And even though she was in a poorer, slightly sketchy neighborhood. She was happy. Genuinely happy.
And that's kind of how I've felt lately. Like that little girl in a poor neighborhood in an dated pink snowsuit making a snow-angel in a quarter inch of snow. Maybe by the standards of the world she shouldn't have been so pumped about her situation, but she was oblivious to the judgments of the world and had a big smile on her face anyway.
And so do I. I may be a 32 year-old tragic spinster, who has lost her six best travel friends to marriage in the past year (R.I.P. spinsters, R.I.P.), who is suffering a major career crisis, and who maybe by the standards of the world shouldn't be happy, but who somehow is anyway.
So, here's to a fantastic, obliviously happy, 2012!
6 comments:
sadly, i have been wondering where this post was. too bad we're only "internet" buddies who have met only at your brother's wedding, but i still think you're hilarious. i think i still have some of those banana laffy taffys you mailed me....... here's hoping you can end your career crisis this year. that's the pits.
I enjoyed your summary even if it was past due. Maybe it will inspire me and some of our other slacker relatives to post again. What is everybody doing? Has Pinterest destroyed blogging and keeping it touch? We need to repent and be blogtized!
P. S. If we get another little skiff of snow I think I'll go out and make a snow angel. Happiness really is in the small things.
Yay! Becca's year-end post! Always my fav. You need to put London on your list this year. We had way too much fun to not repeat it. I still get a big smile when I think of us at Sonic in the middle of the night after getting kicked out of Walmart. ;)
Very nice summary. I'm ashamed at how my year end summary would look. I don't think I would even need to seperate the months.
Here's to 2012!
What's the deal? Usually your year-end summaries have me laughing, but today I just want to cry -- in the good way, so don't be worried about that -- but cry all the same. I am so happy for that little girl. (Wow, what a sappy comment I am leaving you. Dreadfully sorry!)
Did you get my blog address? I think I facebooked it to you but I never know these days.
Let's have career quarter life crises together! It would be so much fun!
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