Past, Present, and Future

First of all, you should prepare yourself for the essay of a post you are about to read.  Sorry, I couldn't help it.  (Well, I'm not going to.)

I've read countless year-in-review and 2012 resolution posts in the past week.  It's fun to be reminded of what some of my favorite bloggers have done this year and see what they hope to accomplish in the next.

That said, I've been staring blankly at the draft forever.  Or at least that's what it feels like.  The year in review I can do.  You probably remember the big stuff, but it's easy to remind you of that.  In fact, here you go!

(First, let me just say thank you to everyone who stopped by the blog and/or commented...it means a lot to me!)

January:  This month was pretty low key.  I got a gym membership (how cliche of me!), enjoyed a little snow, and went on a gorgeous day hike.

February:  February was filled with completing my first 30 for 30, applying for grad school, enjoying a weekend filled with family, and this one unfortunate incident.

March: In March I went to a really fun wine event with Sarah and met Stevie for the first time in person!  Yay for blog friends who turn into real life friends.  I also enjoyed a couple weeks off from work and shared a beautiful video of the place I now call home.  It's worth watching if you haven't yet.

April:  I found out I was going to Europe!!! and that I got into grad school!!!  (But apparently couldn't be bothered to blog about grad school, but I promise it happened.)

May:  I had some lunch with really good friends and spent time with them in Portland.  It was a blast.  My sister graduated from college and we celebrated!  I also spent time in Seattle with my dad, doing what we do best: eating.  I also released the previously unknown itinerary for Europe.

June (a.k.a. Europe):  (Get ready for this, it's going to be a long one.) My good friend CeCe and I left for Europa.  There were two days in Dingle, some castles and driving, Kinsale and Thomastown, and a few days in Dublin.

Next it was on to Scotland, for Edinburgh, St. Andrews, and a full day on the Royal Mile (there were even pictures to prove I was there).

I learned all about train traveling and enjoyed time in York, Stratford-Upon-Avon, and Oxford.  Then came London.  So many days of London.  Along with a trip to Bath and Salisbury.

The last few days found me traveling to Helsinki to visit family.  We had a lot of fun.

July:  Finland spilled over into July.  It was hot.  We did a lot around Helsinki and went to Tallinn.  And washed rugs in the sea.  After a few more days, I went home and my cousin Michelle came with me.  There were photos to illustrate my adventures.

There was a week of a lot of movie watching and some other stuff.  We also got makeovers together.

August:  Here's a summary of the summer awesomeness in pictures.  I went to the zoo, again, started the moving process, and made really delicious cinnamon rolls (seriously, try them).

September:  There was a lot of craziness (moving, traveling, etc.) this month.  I started school and took part in Fall Fashion Week.  I went wine tasting.  Life was good.

October:  I traveled across the state again.  Shared photos from life's shenanigans, twice thanks to a new iPhone 4S!  I also gave a tour of my apartment.  (Kind of, I've only shown the bedroom so far.  Is it too late at this point?)

November:  I started sharing some recipes.  (This should start back up now that I've made it home.)  I started another blog.  I changed a tire with help from a friend.  I was thankful.  And still took pictures.

December (a.k.a. yesterday):  I finished my first quarter of grad school, enjoyed a visit to Candy Cane Lane, ate desserts, and bought yarn.  After Christmas, I went to visit family over on the east side of the state.

</end year recap> *Phew*

(If you click through to any of those posts, I will seriously be impressed.)

It's the whole resolution thing that really gets me.  Not to say there aren't things I want to accomplish.  There are.  But I'm more of a take-life-as-it-comes person.

Then one of my best blog friends, Stevie, mentioned Stephany (who I love) and Katherine's idea to set monthly goals.  (I think someone else brought this up, too, but now I can't remember.  Sorry!)  This is something I can get behind.  I'm all about smaller, more achieveable goals.  Just consider my other blog.

So I'm joining in with goals for the first few months of the year.  And hopefully I remember to give you updates.  :)

For January, my goal is to get a job.  I haven't talked about this much, but I've decided not to work up north this quarter.  All the driving was just too exhausting.

For February, I want to focus on balancing school, work (hopefully!), and my health by setting and keeping a regular weekly schedule that includes meal planning and regular exercise.

For March, I want to set aside quiet time at least three days a week for prayer, reflection, and to just slow down.

So those are my goals.  Hopefully they are achievable.  February is a little hard to measure, but maybe I'll get into more specifics when we get there.  Or maybe I'll forget entirely.

Anyways, this post ended up being way more time intensive than I expected (plus it was interrupted by church and Friends With Benefits--two things that don't go together at all), so I really need to sleep now.

A belated happy New Year!!!

A Christmas Recap in Pictures

I thought I'd give you a brief glimpse at my past two weeks via photos.  This doesn't really cover everything, but that's why I'm calling it a glimpse.  Obviously.

From top to bottom, left to right:
dueling fires on Christmas morning, gorgeous sunset driving yesterday, house lit up on Candy Cane Lane, driving over the mountains, making laundry detergent, a wood bead garland in my great aunt's bathroom, Christmas tree bokeh, walking by the water back home, and getting our Christmas tree.

Featured top to bottom, left to right:
Jackson sleeping under the tree, Maica hogging my lap, hot buttered rum, breakfast hash topped with eggs and feat, delicious mini cupcakes, pumpkin rum bread pudding with whipping cream and caramel sauce, hand whisked whipping cream, me and my cousin's adorable baby, Seahawk's MNF game.

And finally, because I said I would, here are pictures of the quilt my mom made me.  On the bed and with a slight closeup.  I can't even begin to pick my favorite fabrics on it and it helped me sleep like a baby last night.  Basically, I am in love.

What Brings You Here

I'm not one to religiously track my blog's stats. I don't want to get caught up in the comments, visitors, links, etc. That's not why I started the blog and won't be my motivation going forward.

That said, every once in a while, I like to check out search terms that bring people to my blog.  Most of them make sense on some level, but some are downright ridiculous.  I thought you might enjoy reading them as well.

Makes sense:

• diy ombre nails
• christmas card address book 
• e is random 
• pinterest nails  
• white nails with colored dots on pinterest 
• costco poppyseed muffins 
• dotted nail

Downright random:

• michelle cousin 
• "forgot how to sneeze" 
• wet and wild london
• new girl the 23rd candycane lane

Awkward and Awesome: End of 2011

I've been left to my own devices out here in the middle of nowhere.  (Meaning, I can't even place a call on my cell phone.)  So it was the perfect time for a quick blog post.

I've been trying to multi-task here, which means I've been a little distracted by the internets and real life.  You probably know how that goes.

I'm headed back home to the Emerald City tomorrow.  Then class starts Tuesday.  Time is flying by!

If I don't post before Saturday, have a happy and safe New Year!!!

Awkward:
- The spiders that keep crawling out of my aunt's Christmas tree. I'm not a big spider person (I mean, who really is) and it always feels to me that they are trying to surround me as they move across the ceiling. Luckily these are pretty small spider.
- My outfit options. I didn't really pack well for my vacation, so I have whatever was in my laundry basket when I went home, a few things I grabbed from my closet, and the five skirts I got on Christmas day.  Skirts don't really work out here on the farm.
- The wind around here has been out of control.  But only in the mornings.
- My footwear options being entirely inappropriate for a visit to hog butchering.  Hard to believe, but Steve Madden boots are made for tromping through bloody puddles.
- This break from school was not long enough.  I'll be fine but I'm a little bitter about it.  (Also, how is it the New Year already?)

Awesome:
- Time to relax away from it all, especially after the crazy whirlwind of the week and a half before Christmas (or the whole of December).
- Playing with my cousin's baby.  He's pretty adorable.
- All the football and basketball options right now. I couldn't be happier.
- Getting excited for a trip to Indy in the next few weeks.
- The quilt my mom made me for Christmas out of fabric that was mostly my grandmother's.  It's so gorgeous.  I'll definitely be posting a picture soon.  (I got other good stuff, too, but that was by far my favorite.)

A Quick Hello

I'm over on the east side of the state for some time with family.  My mom and I drove over December 26th and have been busy talking, eating, and playing with my cousin's baby.

I'm enjoying my time away.  I always tend to unplug over here.  At my aunt's house you're lucky if you get enough of a signal to send a text message, let alone take a phone call.  There is wifi, though.  We're not heathens. :)

While I'm busy doing things offline here, you should go check out my guest post at Decoy Betty.  It actually went up yesterday, because she lives on the other side of the world.  That doesn't mean it's too late to read it though!

I hope you are all able to enjoy some downtime as well!  I'll be back someday. :)

Awkward and Awesome: Deadline Edition

I'm rushing to finish this post before midnight, since Thursdays the days for this dealio.  (Who's annoyed that I typed dealio?!)

Awkward:
- The amount of cookies/cookie dough I ate today. Luckily cookie dough is hard to quantify so I can't really admit complete failure.
- Jamaica (my parent's springer spaniel) being completely annoying at night. She can't decide where she wants to be and doesn't seem to believe in sleeping much.
- My packing for this trip back home. I literally took my laundry and threw a couple things in a duffle bag.  I have many sports bras, but actual outfit options are rather low. Good thing I stayed in my sweatpants all day today.
- I only left the house today to go down to the basement.  True story.  See note about sweatpants below.
- A craft project not turning out quite as I had imagined it. It still looks good.  I think...
- The reality of trying to knit a bunch in a few days. My back is tired. Maybe if I ever actually finish something I'll unveil the products here.  Don't hold your breath.

Awesome:
- Eating cookies and cookie dough. Even if it was too much.
- Hanging out at home with my parents and dogs, especially when they're cuddly and cute (mostly the dogs--clarification for my cuz' :)
- Staying in my sweatpants all day. I don't care if it's not really socially acceptable. It's vacation and I do what I want.
- Break! Which includes time for catching up with friends. Many, many friends.
- My sleep schedule has actually improved since I've been home with the padres.  Yes I've still up been up late, but not as late as it has been recently.  And I've been awake before or close to 9am the past few mornings.  This is quite an accomplishment.
- Sleeping in my comfy queen bed with memory foam.  My bed at the apartment is fine, but the one I have here at my parents is so much better.

Well, I can't think of anything else good, or halfway decent as the case may be.  Have a happy Friday!!

10 Skeins of Yarn

Yarn was to Wednesday what dessert was to Tuesday.

I set out this morning with my parents for a little Christmas errand running.  I'm woefully disorganized in my gift giving.  Usually I have everything purchased and done a few weeks before Christmas.  This year, not so much.

So today my mom made a stop by Michaels.  We're trying out a secondhand/homemade Christmas this year, which I call Thriftmas (have I mentioned it on this blog yet? I can't keep my internets straight).

I got home, saw my basket of neglected yarn, and decided to knit.  I don't do anything fancy, mostly scarves and cowls, and my fixation usually only lasts a couple weeks.  Then the yarn is left in the corner of my room for months or years on end.

And there's something about the yarn aisle that always gets me.  There are so many colors and textures.  So many possibilities (which rarely occur as I imagine).

I want to make it all.

I should mention I'm not a naturally crafty person.  Or at least craft inclined.  Mostly I just have short term obsessions.  And that's why I have a shopping bag full of yarn right now, in about 5 different shades.

Hopefully something gets accomplished.