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.

i could tell you that this is my favorite flower, but i’m not sure it’s the truth. i proclaim every flower i see to be my favorite. so i’ll just tell you this is one of my favorites, for sure. and it’s growing on my front steps!

these are survivors i picked out of the mess that was my flower garden attempt last summer. i decided i didn’t have enough time or energy to devote to another flower garden project, so i was sort of cleaning up the area and discovered these guys, growing strong during a chilly minnesotan spring.

bleeding heart, periwinkle, lamb’s ear, and day lillies.

wikipedia just told me that periwinkle is also a kind of sea snail. the more you know!

this is me tonight: i drank a nordeast grain belt and watched the season finale of glee online. i laid on the floor. the kitties wrestled around me. didn’t turn the television on at all. it’s just quiet, except for the tick of the clock and the gurgle of the kitties’ water fountain.

in one month, i’m going to san francisco again! i’m bringing my special dude and we’re going to hang out in golden gate park, i want to see that japanese tea garden. oh! and this time i will make sure to see the full house house from alamo square. i’m also be attending voices that matter: web design. i’m excited! this lady needs an airplane ride.

i cry at loads of things.

i just cried at last night’s glee because the wedding was so darn cute. do you watch glee? i’m a recent adopter.

i cry during a league of their own and various episodes of grey’s anatomy.

but i’m tired of talking about crying. did you know it snowed in minneapolis today? what a mess. i’m glad i’m not doing any thanksgiving travel ’til thursday. i’ve been sitting on my couch, all warm and cozy with kitties, for hours!

on my last full day in vegas, i parked myself in front of the wave pool for a good chunk of the morning. i meant to go back later with a real camera (i had only brought my cell phone and postcards to write) but wore myself out thoroughly later in the day.

those cushy red chairs cost extra.

i ate a very expensive burger for lunch. i’m worth it. sweet potato french fries were worth it, too.

a stroll through the luxor…

a brief moment at the excalibur…

i confess: i was headed back to the mgm grand for the lion habitat. i’m a crazy cat lady, after all.

tongue sticking out! kitties are funny.

the sex and the city slot machines are located right outside of the restrooms. just a little tip from me to you.

meow meow meow i don’t think i took enough photos of lions.

“oh, man, it’s still daylight outside?” it’s true that time doesn’t really exist in vegas.

mario brothers! i totally didn’t tip you guys enough.

i don’t remember when i started to get really tired. i think i was inside the bellagio. walking around the strip is really hard after a week when it’s really hot and you’ve been eating way too well.

i watched the fountain show again.

i walked inside to turn around and head back to mandalay bay. but, oh! balloons! my next action item as a tourist was to attend a hot air balloon festival. (another post about that coming soon!)

i also meant to find the dale chihuly glass but i’ll have to do that another day. i was so tired; i had to sit down for a rest after the bellagio turned out to be 15 miles long. at some point, i hopped a monorail to aria and then detoured through the monte carlo, but all i wanted to do was get back to my hotel so i didn’t take any photos of this tiny, tiring adventure.

i think i should’ve stopped and had dinner here (nine fine irishmen), but i had a pretty awesome dinner back at the border grill. so it all evens out. next time!

see those tiny people just off center in this photo? that’s the backstreet boys. no big deal. (my inner groupie was dying to be standing in the puddle with the rest of those girls, but i had a chair and a margarita… and no ticket. so, you know.)

ah, border grill. your ceviche was so delicious!

too bad i didn’t have my long lens. i should maybe start traveling with that.

i only spent about $15 at the slots in las vegas, and mostly i was just hanging out, waiting for a waitress to happen by.

by the end of this day, i was so exhausted and ready to go home the next morning. ’til next time, vegas!

after my incident in the desert, i took a wrong turn (or, rather, missed the right turn) and ended up with a scenic drive down the strip in las vegas. not that i had any energy for it, but i took advantage of the situation by snapping photos when i was stopped. which was pretty often. traffic is pretty bad on the strip.

i didn’t start taking photos until i was way past the stratosphere, but i still had a glimpse in my side mirror.

anything i know about vegas, i learned from a movie.

i wonder how the osmonds feel about having their faces almost as tall as this building.

and, finally, i had returned to the security of a cell phone charger and a bed. later in the evening i joined coworkers at aureole before retiring for the evening.

we got to see someone – a “wine angel steward” – fetch a bottle of wine from about halfway up the column.

in the morning i joined a couple coworkers and rapid world cup fans down at the sports book. biggest. tv. ever.

he’s a german. totally awesome mullet. (and i think he was serious? i’m not, though.)

i went to happy hour at china grill a couple times. i was very pleased with their price for sushi.

elephants everywhere!

i also fell in love with the border grill. great chips and salsa and delicious margaritas! the ceviche was also really tasty after the day i spent walking the strip – really cooled me down.

oh, and the patio had a really great view over the pools.

how many photos is that so far? I guess let’s keep going, i’ve got a ridiculous amount more to share but the organization might be weird.

to do for next time: ride the roller coaster at new york new york.

another to do for someday: go to real new york.

i love a good lens flare!

mgm grand was the destination on the evening these photos were taken.

remember when david copperfield did those specials on tv before all sorts of other wacky magicians came along? i loved those shows, especially when you would get to “interact” with him during the card tricks made for viewers at home.

this photo was taken on my way back to mandalay bay. i skipped a whole bunch because the event at the mgm was the attendee appreciation party for cisco live, details of which i’m saving for another post. onward!

rumjungle. i shoulda gone back for more, but got distracted.

my coworkers and i made a special trip to paris.

we ate ridiculously well at mon ami gabi. steak roquefort: oh, my.

and, with the bellagio right across the street, we had to take in the fountains after dinner.

and now i need to take a break because i took about five million photos on my last day, which was entirely on my own. so! stay tuned.