2011 in Review

I cannot believe today is the last day of 2011! The year seems to have gone by so fast and yet so much has happened! I love reflecting on when things happened and how much has changed "since then." The new year seems to bring that about as Chris and I talk about what we would like to do "next year" and what we enjoyed about this past year. So here it is, my year in review:

In January I set a challenge for myself: I would walk 700 miles this year. But in February my feet started to tingle and be numb making it impossible to walk more than 1/2 a mile at a time. Over the course of the year I have seen too many doctors to count and had too many tests to keep track of. I still don't have answers but am getting closer. Throughout all of this, I kept track of my walking and kept aiming toward my goal. I got close, but just was still a ways off.

I made it to the 530 mile marker. Thankfully I can walk for 25 - 30 minutes now without having too much pain. I still have a lot of work to do, but the pain levels are much lower now than they were back then.

In February we also paid off our debt! We began working toward this goal when we first got married and combined our finances, after only a year and seven months we did it! This was such a heavy burden lifted. Now we are saving up our funds for a trip to Europe which will hopefully happen next summer. We've had a few bumps in this road as Chris is still looking for work, but if we keep at it, I think we can do it! 

A few of my girlfriends and I started sewing together in March. I hadn't sewed since high school but it all came right back to me. This year, I've made several things including my tree skirt and stockings for Christmas, doll clothes, place mats, and burp cloths. I've really enjoyed having a hobby and having something I can do with friends.

My job description changed a little bit in April as I was trained to be a back-up and work part-time in the sales and customer service department of Jews for Jesus. I've really enjoyed this change and the challenge of learning something new. I'm hoping this next year will provide more opportunities to learn and develop my skills. At the end of April, our really good friends in the city moved across the world. They were one of the first couples we had met in the city and we became instant friends. They also happened to live just down the street. It was awful saying goodbye and we miss them terribly.

In May, one of my very best friends got married. I traveled to Colorado Springs to attend to her every need on her special day! Anya was a beautiful bride and her day was absolutely perfect!  I had such a great weekend with old friends. As much as we wanted to visit our friends and have them visit us after we moved, it has proved to be harder and more rare than we had imagined. So, these opportunities to visit are always special.

The summer proved to be a busy time for us. In the beginning of June, a friend of ours was flying to New Zealand and planned a lay-over in San Francisco to see us. We had a great day together driving all over the city and catching up. Then Chris's sister came to visit bringing along her youngest daughter. We had not gotten to meet our newest niece who was born in December of 2010. I had a wonderful time getting to spend time with them both. This was a very special trip since Sharon and her family have recently returned overseas. We also started making day-trips to the beach in Santa Cruz where we could enjoy the sand and sun during the summer months since San Francisco is a bit colder during this time of year.

We celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary in July. We celebrated by going out to dinner to Flour & Water one of our favorite places in the city. The next weekend, my youngest sister got married in Minnesota. She got married during the hottest weekend of the entire summer but it was still a beautiful wedding! We had a great time with family and I even got to attend part of my 10 year class reunion!
A week later, we flew to Hawaii and spent a week with Chris's parents and younger sister. I loved the beaches, waterfalls, and time to relax.

In August, my best friend made a brief stop in San Francisco on her way home from Australia. Katie was here to hold my hand while I had someone chop off all my hair and help me celebrate my 28th birthday.

In September I made some changes to my blog; hopefully making it easier for you all to follow what I've been up to. I also bought a new lens for my camera. I have always loved photography but this past year, I was losing momentum to keep it up. The new purchase was just the motivation I needed to keep trying to improve. We also started hosting or small group in our apartment which has been very fun for both of us.

I participated in the Walk for Life in October. Thanks to many of you, I was able to raise over $400 for the Alpha Pregnancy Center and meet a wonderful mother with three kids who has been helped by their services. I really hope I can participate again in 2012.

Josh came to visit us later that month. His timing was perfect as Chris had just found out his studio had closed and he would have plenty of time to hang out with his buddy. We tried the local CSA produce box this month too but only for a short time. It made cooking a creative endeavor but not as cost efficient as we needed it to be.

I blogged almost every day in November partnering with Dawn's Good Life blog and 30 Thankful Days. That really helped me get ready for Thanksgiving! We had a great holiday with local friends-Chris made the turkey and they brought the sides, it was relaxing, yummy, and an all around good time. We also tried the opera for the first time. I enjoyed the performance but I can't say we will go back any time soon.

December has been a full month with holiday festivities and travels to Texas. It has been a full and very fun month. There was a lot of baking, eating and singing. We were even able to go out to the Nutcracker ballet which was incredible.

Right now, as I type this, we have two really good friends staying with us! What a great way end the year than with friends from the past! And as I type this blog post, I'm realizing just how many friends from the past we've been able to see and how many new great friendships we have.

It was a wonderful year--filled with great memories.  Thank you for reading my blog and continuing to be a part of my life. May you all have a blessed New Year!

I cannot believe today is the last day of 2011! The year seems to have gone by so fast and yet so much has happened! I love reflecting on when things happened and how much has changed "since then." The new year seems to bring that about as Chris and I talk about what we would like to do "next year" and what we enjoyed about this past year. So here it is, my year in review:

In January I set a challenge for myself: I would walk 700 miles this year. But in February my feet started to tingle and be numb making it impossible to walk more than 1/2 a mile at a time. Over the course of the year I have seen too many doctors to count and had too many tests to keep track of. I still don't have answers but am getting closer. Throughout all of this, I kept track of my walking and kept aiming toward my goal. I got close, but just was still a ways off.

I made it to the 530 mile marker. Thankfully I can walk for 25 - 30 minutes now without having too much pain. I still have a lot of work to do, but the pain levels are much lower now than they were back then.

In February we also paid off our debt! We began working toward this goal when we first got married and combined our finances, after only a year and seven months we did it! This was such a heavy burden lifted. Now we are saving up our funds for a trip to Europe which will hopefully happen next summer. We've had a few bumps in this road as Chris is still looking for work, but if we keep at it, I think we can do it! 

A few of my girlfriends and I started sewing together in March. I hadn't sewed since high school but it all came right back to me. This year, I've made several things including my tree skirt and stockings for Christmas, doll clothes, place mats, and burp cloths. I've really enjoyed having a hobby and having something I can do with friends.

My job description changed a little bit in April as I was trained to be a back-up and work part-time in the sales and customer service department of Jews for Jesus. I've really enjoyed this change and the challenge of learning something new. I'm hoping this next year will provide more opportunities to learn and develop my skills. At the end of April, our really good friends in the city moved across the world. They were one of the first couples we had met in the city and we became instant friends. They also happened to live just down the street. It was awful saying goodbye and we miss them terribly.

In May, one of my very best friends got married. I traveled to Colorado Springs to attend to her every need on her special day! Anya was a beautiful bride and her day was absolutely perfect!  I had such a great weekend with old friends. As much as we wanted to visit our friends and have them visit us after we moved, it has proved to be harder and more rare than we had imagined. So, these opportunities to visit are always special.

The summer proved to be a busy time for us. In the beginning of June, a friend of ours was flying to New Zealand and planned a lay-over in San Francisco to see us. We had a great day together driving all over the city and catching up. Then Chris's sister came to visit bringing along her youngest daughter. We had not gotten to meet our newest niece who was born in December of 2010. I had a wonderful time getting to spend time with them both. This was a very special trip since Sharon and her family have recently returned overseas. We also started making day-trips to the beach in Santa Cruz where we could enjoy the sand and sun during the summer months since San Francisco is a bit colder during this time of year.

We celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary in July. We celebrated by going out to dinner to Flour & Water one of our favorite places in the city. The next weekend, my youngest sister got married in Minnesota. She got married during the hottest weekend of the entire summer but it was still a beautiful wedding! We had a great time with family and I even got to attend part of my 10 year class reunion!
A week later, we flew to Hawaii and spent a week with Chris's parents and younger sister. I loved the beaches, waterfalls, and time to relax.

In August, my best friend made a brief stop in San Francisco on her way home from Australia. Katie was here to hold my hand while I had someone chop off all my hair and help me celebrate my 28th birthday.

In September I made some changes to my blog; hopefully making it easier for you all to follow what I've been up to. I also bought a new lens for my camera. I have always loved photography but this past year, I was losing momentum to keep it up. The new purchase was just the motivation I needed to keep trying to improve. We also started hosting or small group in our apartment which has been very fun for both of us.

I participated in the Walk for Life in October. Thanks to many of you, I was able to raise over $400 for the Alpha Pregnancy Center and meet a wonderful mother with three kids who has been helped by their services. I really hope I can participate again in 2012.

Josh came to visit us later that month. His timing was perfect as Chris had just found out his studio had closed and he would have plenty of time to hang out with his buddy. We tried the local CSA produce box this month too but only for a short time. It made cooking a creative endeavor but not as cost efficient as we needed it to be.

I blogged almost every day in November partnering with Dawn's Good Life blog and 30 Thankful Days. That really helped me get ready for Thanksgiving! We had a great holiday with local friends-Chris made the turkey and they brought the sides, it was relaxing, yummy, and an all around good time. We also tried the opera for the first time. I enjoyed the performance but I can't say we will go back any time soon.

December has been a full month with holiday festivities and travels to Texas. It has been a full and very fun month. There was a lot of baking, eating and singing. We were even able to go out to the Nutcracker ballet which was incredible.

Right now, as I type this, we have two really good friends staying with us! What a great way end the year than with friends from the past! And as I type this blog post, I'm realizing just how many friends from the past we've been able to see and how many new great friendships we have.

It was a wonderful year--filled with great memories.  Thank you for reading my blog and continuing to be a part of my life. May you all have a blessed New Year!