1. What did you do in 2011 that you’d never done before?
   I got to see a little bit of California’s wine country! So lovely, I want to go back.
2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
   I don’t usually make real resolutions, but in 2012 I’m going to continue improving my domestic diva-ness: canning my own food and sewing my own quilt.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
   My friend, Erin, had her daughter, Lillian, last New Year’s Eve.
4. Did anyone close to you die?
   Jason’s uncle (aka Dad #2), Fred, passed away in August. My mom’s uncle, Roger, passed away in September.
5. What countries did you visit?
   I decided to stay in the US this year… (I should use my passport more.)
6. What would you like to have in 2012 that you lacked in 2011?
   Paint on the walls in my home, a comfortable crafting room (“lady town”), and my dream bathroom. We have a lot of housework to do in 2012! (And thanks to my generous siblings, we have a very good head-start with our home improvement funds.)
7. What date(s) from 2011 will remain etched your memory, and why?
   Over the 4^th of July weekend I photographed a very lovely half-Indian, half-Scottish wedding. August 21^st was the day Uncle Fred lost his battle with cancer. July 29^th was the day Jason closed on the house. (There were a lot of good days mixed in with bad days this year.)
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
   Advancing my career as a web chick (aka web developer)!
9. What was your biggest failure?
   Not paying off more debt.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
    Excellent timing: I was diagnosed with an ear infection about two days prior to my insurance ending with my previous employer — and I would’ve had to wait another month for my insurance with my new employer to kick in!
11. What was the best thing you bought?
    Movers really helped me out mid-August (as did my fantastic brother-in-law).
12. Where did most of your money go?
    I’m honestly not sure — a lot of little things really add up, I guess.
13. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
    Moving into the house with the man I love! Also, becoming more of a domestic diva: cooking for Thanksgiving dinner with friends, canning, gardening (next year), knitting, and sewing.
14. What song(s) will always remind you of 2011?
    Cloud Cult’s “Running with the Wolves.”
15. Compared to this time last year, are you:
    • happier or sadder? Happier!
    • thinner or fatter? About the same, though my new employer feeds me a lot and I haven’t been walking or standing as much.
    • richer or poorer? A little bit richer, but still working on paying off that pile of debt!
16. What do you wish you’d done more of?
    Crafting, reading, hanging out with friends.
17. What do you wish you’d done less of?
    Wallowing in depression about money.
18. How will you be spending/did you spend Christmas?
    Over the last couple days, Jason and I were in South Dakota with my family. This afternoon we’re celebrating Bertine & Zach’s wedding. In another two weekends, we’ll be celebrating with Jason’s family in Iowa.
19. Did you fall in love in 2011?
    I fell more in love, if that’s even possible.
20. How many one-night stands?
    I try to stand at least once every night.
21. What was your favorite TV program?
    The Walking Dead. It makes me nervous and I can’t watch it without Jason being around, but it’s so well written and acted!
22. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
    I try not to use this word/feel this emotion.
23. What was the best book you read?
    The only book I read this year was The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom, but I did very much enjoy it.
24. What was/were your greatest musical discoveries?
    Florence + The Machine is probably my favorite from this year.
25. What did you want and get?
    For the last five months or so, I’ve been dying to trade in my Android for an iPhone, but it was never financially feasible. I was going to wait until next month to take the plunge, but my sweetie did some sneaking around and got me an iPhone for Christmas! I may or may not have cried (just a little bit). (Excitement, you know?) (Who am I kidding? I cry at everything.)
26. What was your favorite film of this year?
    Harry Potter!
27. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
    I turned 30 this past November. I had a couple friends visiting, Bridget and Lindy. We went to brunch at Fat Nat’s Eggs, visited the Museum of Russian Art and IKEA, then for dinner (with Jason and Kristi joining) we made Tater Tot Hot Dish and watched both of the final Harry Potter movies back-to-back. It was a great day!
28. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
    If our girl kitties would just (at least) tolerate each other.
29. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2011?
    Too poor to shop for clothing, make do with what I have.
30. What kept you sane?
    Jason.
31. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
    I very much enjoyed watching Will & Kate’s Royal Wedding (and seeing what she wore and her jewelry and etc. etc. etc.)
32. What political issue stirred you the most?
    I don’t know, I’m not really very political (out loud, I guess).
33. Who did you miss?
    Friends from South Dakota (I didn’t make it home enough this year).
34. Who was the best new person you met?
    I met a lot of new people this year — my new team at work, friends’ friends, or people just passing through my life’s adventures.
35. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2011:
    Just breathe. Everything will work out.
36. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
    Then lights they fill the air, or were they always there?
    I finally see it. I finally see it.
    And I heard the captain say, I heard the captain say,
    “You’re always close to it, so very close to it.”
    There’s so much energy in us.

how does this song make you feel? tonight it makes me feel a little blue, though i still like it a lot.

i heard it on my way home tonight, after attending my company’s holiday party. i’ve only been working there for a little over a month, so i don’t know many people beyond my immediate team. unfortunately being an introvert got the best of me tonight — trying to socialize while there’s a loud blues band playing? not happening. i just can’t stand trying to yell conversation at people.

i guess i’ll just have to keep trying. a little bit at a time.

my wonderful friend, mary, invited me to join a group of awesome ladies who just wanna sing: the prairie fire lady choir. and, oh my.

for tonight’s practice, we convened in the current studios at mpr headquarters in downtown st. paul. i could’ve been a lot more insane with the happy (people AROUND THE WORLD are listening to mpr! what an important place! filled with so much greatness!), but i managed to keep myself in check. but i know i can tell you: if i had let loose, i might not’ve been able to stop giggling with absolute delight.

mary works at mpr, so she gave me a tour of the building before practice began. we walked past the studio where mark wheat was broadcasting.

FLASHBACK:

yes, i’m a groupie for everyone and everything that is awesome.

it was a lot of fun learning some new music, singing with other ladies, and generally having a good time! i will definitely keep joining the rehearsals.

their next performance is october 8^th at the st. paul zombie pub crawl. this choir may be one of the few where you get to practice moaning for braaaains.

I heard grandpa on my transistor radio,
Though he turned in his bones twenty years ago,

And he said, “Kid, there’s something that I’d like to show you,
Get your things, its time for us to go”

So I grabbed my backpack, my flashlight, and a bag of caramel corn,

I got my bicycle, and the radio, and I had it on the road, I said
“I’m ready for what I’m about to see. Yup!”

I headed north to rain that turned to snow
Through rusty towns and dusty gravel roads
And I said, “Grandpa, where is this thing you wanted to show me?”
He said, “Kid, you got a long way to go”

So I went through canyons, caves and catacombs, I sailed on bicycle boats
I slept in chapels and brothels, I met the nicest folks
I said, “I’m ready for what I’m about to see. Yup!”

I heard grandpa on my transistor radio
He said, “Kid, its time for me to go,
And I know that there was something that I wanted to show you,

But its time for you to find it on your own.”

Let me tell you about rage when a signal died that day,
There’s nothing out there and I don’t care; Its to take my life away
I’m not ready and I don’t want to see. Nope!”

Its been years since I heard my transistor radio
Yet I keep going to where it seems I’m meant to go

And I finally realized what he wanted to show me
Where I’ve been, where I am, its the show

many, many thanks to my good friend, mary, and her boyfriend, jonathan, for scoring jason and me awesome seats to see cloud cult at orchestra hall (7th row, center). neither of us had been there before. we were blown away by our seats, and then blown away again by the sound that caroline smith and cloud cult filled the space with. they made me cry* and they made me boogie. it was a wonderful time! (come back to minneapolis soon, cloud cult!!)

* it’s really not that hard to make me cry, i credit my irish heritage for this “blessing.”

there is so much going on this summer, and i have so so so many things i keep meaning to write about and share photos from, but i have this sort of block in my head about blogging. i’ve been working for two this summer at work (my boss has been on maternity leave, but the end is in sight) so it’s tough to come home and want to do more web work, ya know? it’s not like i’m turning off the computer altogether when i get home – i’m still twittering and facebooking, but it’s not mandatory work like this whole business of updating a blog is.

but, anyway, as i said — the end is in sight and maybe one day soon i’ll get better at updating. i do so love to share my photos here – and it’s a good record of the awesome things i do and the awesome people i know and the awesome experiences i’ve had. life is good, it’s just really busy at the moment.

and even though i have a million other things that have happened in the last few months that i want to share (eventually), i’m going to start with the most recent, most exciting news at the moment:

jason bought a house.

i get to be in this photo because he’s sweet and, at the end of the month, i’ll be moving in with him. it’s a really nice, cute house with lots of rooms for guests and rock band and kitties and bird feeders (in the yard). we are very much looking forward to what will go down when my two kitties move in and meet his kitty.

the previous (and only) owner of the house had lived here since the mid-1950s, so that gives us a good feeling about the joint. he was about 90 years old and moving into an assisted living home. he couldn’t take all of his furniture, so we opted to keep a couple of pieces that he would’ve otherwise gotten rid of – the highlights include a couple loveseats, an extra bed for guests, and (i’m especially excited about this) a sewing machine (because as much as i love web, i will always love crafting by hand – expect updates on attempts to quilt sometime this winter) (first i need to finish a couple knitting projects…).

not including the frozen pizza we made on friday, i made our first dinner in the house last night. i like the kitchen a lot – it needs some aesthetic updating, but it’s large and it’s going a good work triangle going on. the funkiest thing in the house is amana radarange instead of microwave, though. i’m sort of weary about using it, but i suppose we’ll add that to the list i’m going to title as such: “someday-future-house-projects-that-we-need-to-prioritize-but-right-now-lets-focus-on-just-moving-in-and-getting-settled-and-enjoying-the-new-digs”.

the night that jason closed, we went to see cloud cult play at orchestra hall. i think that could be another post of photos entirely. it was a beautiful show and a fabulous ending to a very notable day, so the ticket is the first thing that has been hung on the fridge.

as much as i daydream about having clothing lines outside, the neighbor’s grapevine is covered in these little metallic bugs that i’m sure would also cover my drying laundry. so instead the clothing line poles will hold my bird feeders. i haven’t seen any little birdies on them, yet, but i’ve seen them across the backyard on another neighbor’s feeders. i have seen two little rabbits and a squirrel, though. jason saw a deer a couple nights ago, too. nature! i love it and i want it to be in my backyard.

chives that have flowered = no longer edible, right? does that whole don’t-eat-after-it-flowers thing apply to all herbs?

tomatoes that i’ll be excited to pick and cook or can in the next month. there will actually be a lot of tomatoes on four little plants.

i don’t know much about rhubarb, but i know it makes good pies. is it too late in the season for this stuff? do i need to cut it back for next spring? is this really rhubarb or is it just that weed that looks like rhubarb?

there is so much about this house to be excited about! mostly i can’t wait ’til after moving is all done to get into the front flower gardens and clean it all up in preparation for next spring! because digging in the dirt doesn’t cost money (until you realize that you don’t have all of the proper tools…).