Wrapping up 2011

Wrapping up 2010

1. What did you do in 2011 that you'd never done before?

• Got married!

2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions and will you make more for next year?

From last year:

• diet, diet, diet. I would like to eat waaay better than we did this year. Less booze and much less frozen pizza.
• start saving more money.

I did neither of those things. I exercised more for the wedding, but as it approached, I had less time to cook and the anxiety and stress made my diet worse than ever. I also didn't save any money, as the wedding completely wiped me out—back to square one!

This year:

• Work on my yoga/meditation
• I would like to be able to do crow pose without looking like a stuck barnyard animal. I would like to get my hips closer to the floor in pigeon pose, and I would like to touch my heels to the floor in downward dog
• I would like to meditate at least three times a week, and check out group meditation at least once this year
• Start earning more money as a freelance designer

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

Yes, our best man and his wife had a baby boy and I got to design his birth announcements!

4. Did anyone close to you die?

Sadly, we lost someone early on this year to cancer, and my father lost his godmother.

5. What countries did you visit?

None, yet again. Here's hoping 2012 will change this answer.

6. What would you like to have in 2012 that you lacked in 2011?

The ability to cook in my kitchen without feeling cramped.

7. What date from 2011 will remain etched upon your memory and why?

November 19th—our wedding day.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

Organizing and throwing a wedding, basically by myself. I had some truly wonderful vendors, but we did not hire a planner or DOC, and my parents were very far away, and anyway I have control issues. But I did it, and it was fabulous and perfect in every way.

9. What was your biggest failure?

I wasn't always the best or most thoughtful friend as a bride-to-be.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

I have been on a roller-coaster of anxiety and depression since the wedding, and when I finally nailed down my meds, they started causing side effects that were new and scary and unpleasant. I am in the midst of trying to fix all of this, and it has been pretty twitchy.

11. What was the best thing you bought?

Our wedding bands, a Clarisonic Mia, a wedding photo book from pinhole press.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
J, who married me this year in spite of all my flaws.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?

One time at work this guy came into the office and just started being a big dickhole for no reason. He was angry and he was bossy and he thought he was better than everyone else, and was yelling at us about something he could have instead talked to us about like a reasonable human being. He will no doubt die of a heart attack someday (soon, I'd wager), and it will be all his fault, but in the meantime, he totally ruined my day for no reason other than the fact that he was a miserable person. People like him made me appalled and depressed.

14. Where did most of your money go?

All of it went towards the wedding. Rent? What's that?

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?

Our wedding!

16. What song will always remind you of 2011?

It's Alright by Bang Gang (our first dance song)

17. Compared to this time last year, are you: happier or sadder?

I am more anxious—in fact, I've been showing symptoms of panic disorder. So...sadder? But not really because I have some really great doctors who I trust, and a husband who is supportive and understanding, and I'm not going through this alone. So...happier.

thinner or fatter? Ugh, probably about the same, maybe a little fatter. I lost some weight after we got engaged in anticipation for the wedding, but it all came back with a vengeance shortly around the time we tied the knot.
richer or poorer? We put a big hunk of cash into the wedding, and I quit my restaurant job, so maybe a little bit poorer. We're financially still in the same circumstances.

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?

Exercise, and take care of myself.

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?

Eating takeout, and not treating my depression.

20. How will you be spending Christmas?

At our friends' house eating a turkey that is way too big for all of us and some pecan pie from Petsi Pies.

21. How will you be spending New Years?

No clue, but maybe a repeat of last year when we spent time at Ginger Exchange since no one else was in town, and we were friends with the bartender.

22. Did you fall in love in 2011?

I am so in love with my new husband that it's not even funny.

23. What was your favorite TV program?

Parks and Rec, American Horror Story.

24. Do you "hate" anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?

I think that I've come to decide that "hate," even the mild pretend "hate," is a completely wasted emotion. This doesn't mean that there isn't anyone that could have made this list, just that I choose not to participate in this question anymore.*

25. What was the best book you read?

Hunger Games. This book was not a life changer or anything, but it came at a time when I was sick as all hell, and it gave me something to do while I had a headache and runny nose, but it also gave me a really sharp focus on how much I appreciate my life. The only other book I remember reading this year (and not re-reading) was Mildred Pierce, which I only read because it was nominated (won?) all those Emmy's and we did not have a subscription to HBO.

26. What was your greatest musical discovery?

Meditation music—specifically an app that helps me sleep at night called SleepStream, and has ambient noises like running water, in addition to add-on meditation like music that helps me sleep at night. And also The Joy Formidable.

27. What did you want that you also ended up getting?

A pair of UGGS (don't worry, they're not the ugly kind, they're this pair), and a Clarisonic Mia.

28. What did you want that you did not end up getting?

A stand mixer. A subscription to Psychology Today.

29. What was your favorite film of this year?

Jane Eyre, Bridesmaids

30. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

I turned 27. J took me to Harvard Square where we had cupcakes at Sweet (he even remembered to bring candles!)

And then we had dinner at Sel de la Terre with friends

31. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

Not gaining weight after the wedding

32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2011?

Lots of yoga pants

33. What kept you sane?

Medication, therapy, and yoga.

34. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

Seth Meyers
and always Ryan Gosling, but not just because he's suddenly the Internet's golden boy— see Exhibit A from Jan 2008:

35. What political issue stirred you the most?

Marriage equality

36. Who did you miss?

All of our friends who have moved away. We got to see some of them at the wedding, but it's never enough! Our neighbors moved out kind of suddenly, and this summer will not be the same without them (or their pups).

37. Who was the best new person you met?

I don't think I met anyone new this year...at least no one who I can say was the "best."

38. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2011.

That meditation is actually a useful tool, and that not all alternative medicine is hooey (some of it is).

39. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:

"And I was in your arms

And you were in my arms

And you might like what I say

And you might get what you hate
And it's okay to be right here by you
It's alright..."

Things I Love Thursday

My restored letterpress, which I intend to learn to use very soon!

Fireworks!

This Fourth of July provided me with some excellent photos. My new 50mm lens, a tripod, and a remote trigger made this 4th of July more enjoyable, since I got to watch the show and let the remote trigger do the work, photo-wise.

This font, Pluto, which is on sale right now at MyFonts.

Things I Love Thursday: Congrats, Sis!

My sister graduated from West Point this weekend. She is now a Second Lieutenant in the US Army! Go Awbs!

Things I Love Thursday

I am oddly in love with this print from Casey Weldon, called "Poochie Poochie," even though it makes my eyes water. The colors are divine, and oh, how I love puppies! Even four eyed ones.

Things I Love Thursday

I love listening to This American Life radio archives while I do busywork. It makes me feel a little bit more productive than listening to Bowling For Soup's Ohio (Come Back to Texas) for the fiftieth time in a row, on YouTube.

Better Off Wed, Kendi Lea's refreshingly honest and witty blog about marriage. It gives me what I hope to be a glimpse into my future, and her writing reminds me a little bit of Heather's (dooce.com), in that it makes me laugh out loud at my desk and that I drool over all of her images (also, her other blog: kendieveryday).

Red Velvet Pancakes! I love pancakes and I love red velvet. It just seems so logical to put the two together! Will be making for someone's birthday <3

27 Things To Do Before I Turn 28

1. Get married!
   We were married on Nov 19th at the MIT Chapel
2. Take a real vacation
   I went to New Orleans for my bachelorette weekend, and J and I went to Vermont for our honeymoon over Thanksgiving, and were forced by the closure of every business and restaurant to just relax in our hotel.
3. Sew a dress
4. Take more pictures
   This is a goal of mine every year, and I somehow fail even more every year. I got a new 50mm lens, which made me pretty excited to take photos for a while, but it wasn't enough. I still wanted to take a picture every day for a year. I was going strong this year, and I think I succeeded at the goal of "take more pictures." Did I take a picture every. day? No, but keeping that goal through the year made me more likely to take a picture most days.
5. Wear lipstick more regularly
   After learning to do my makeup for the wedding, I made sure that I did myself up more often. Sometimes all I did was put on a little lipstick, and it's amazing how put together you can look with lipstick and nothing else.
6. Find a new hairstyle
   I learned how to do a dancer's bun and it saved me when I was growing my hair out for the updo I'd have on Nov 19th.
7. Host a board game night
   We had people over for Scrabble one night. It was brutal.
8. Use my kitchen every day
9. Do more yoga
   A friend of mine teaches a class on Wednesdays. I feel more accountable since I know the teacher. It's also helped me do more yoga at home.
10. Compost
    I did end up calling the city of Somerville to look into this, but they didn't have any bins available until after the New Year. After learning this, J and I went to Home Depot, picked up a 5 Gallon plastic pail, and we drop our compost off at Whole Foods weekly. I don't need it to garden (a wish/goal of mine when I embarked on this process that I have since abandoned), so this solution works for us.
11. Make a scrapbook
    I ordered a wedding photo book from pinhole press, and because I am feeling unambitious, but also like it was still an achievement, I will call this one a win, since I had to spend a lot of time with that layout.
12. Letterpress I letterpresesd and assembled our wedding invitations.
13. Make my office inspiring
    I did a lot of cleaning and purging, and it did help tremendously. I then bought a new (larger) desk and office chair and it's looking very professional and the addition of workspace makes me more efficient
14. Unveil a new website/blog
    Not that this is what I meant, but I did update the layout around here...
15. New business cards
16. Write more thank you notes
    After the wedding, I feel like I've done nothing but write thank you notes.
17. Drink more water
    I go back and forth on this one. In general, I feel like I've drunk more water this past year than I used to...but it wasn't measured.
18. Pimp our our bathroom
    Courtesy of our wedding registry, we now have matching towels. Matching. Towels. Also a spa-like bath mat, and a re-organized very spiffy basket to hold all of our bathroom needs.
19. Dog-sit a corgi
20. Organize my files
21. Clean out our bedroom
22. Start drinking tea
23. Participate in the Apartment Therapy Spring Cure
24. Thrift/restyle in my own closet
25. Eliminate chemicals from our home
    We are down to some Mrs. Meyers cleaning solution for the bathroom (since it's so gross in there), but everything else is all natural (vinegar, baking soda and lemon if I can help it, Seventh Generation, Mrs. Meyers, or Method products if I cant).
26. Tour a brewery
    We went to the Magic Hat Brewery in VT on our honeymoon, and toured the Anheuser-Busch brewery with friends.
27. Hang more artwork/photos