2011 recap & 2012 aspirations

After seeing others posts, I take it I am not the only one who thinks 2011 absolutely flew by? Seriously, it doesn't seem like one year ago today that I posted this, listing off my 2011 wishes. Time flies.

2011 had its ups and downs, good times and bad times, happy times and sad times, stressful times and calm times. But hey -  that is how life goes and that is how life will always be.

In 2011...

I rode in a jet for the first time to Disney World, participated in a mock trial, witnessed the world not ending, had an epic giveaway, finally purchased my Nikon D3000, adopted a Winter White hamster, concluded that I am a mixture of Southerner and Northerner, became a freshman in high-school, attended my great-grandmother's one-hundredth birthday party, had an engagement photo shoot with Jeremy & Jenny, passed the driver's ed written course, enjoyed Christmas Eve with my MeeMaw and Christmas day with my grandparents and now I will just have to wait eleven and a half hours for 2012 to give new highlights, memories, and loveliness.

Basically I really only have one main aspiration for 2012:

Expand on photography. Experiment with and purchase lenses, learn tips and tricks with my camera, have more professional looking photos. In a nutshell, I would love to become a better photographer.

I really cannot believe this is actually my last post for 2011. Wow. Just wow. However, I cannot wait to see what is in store for this upcoming year. So many memories waiting to be made.

What are your aspirations for 2012?

favorites//Christmas & 2011

I could ramble on and on about Christmas because there was oh-so-much that I loved about it. Instead though, I have created a little list with some of my favorite things.

In no specific order...

Awakening at an ungodly hour and knowing it was Christmas day//Waking up the whole family//Christmas music//Unwrapping gifts//Taking photos of my parents unwrapping their gifts//Snitching several many pieces of chocolate//Traveling to South Carolina//The scent of supper cooking//Lounging around & chit-chatting//Feeling gifts and wondering what they were//Eating wonderful supper cooked by my grandmother//Being fascinated by gifts

Also, I linking up with Rachel's favorite photo of 2011.

A few of my favorite photos from 2011 {And when I say "few", I mean few. There are so many that I love}.

 {my family's photo for our Christmas card 2011}

 {first purchase from forever 21: shoes}

 {my best friend and her two sisters}

 {brother & sister. This was from a family photo shoot I did a few weeks ago}

 {one of the cutest toddlers in the entire universe: lydia.}

 {jenny & jeremy: engaged.}

 {my two silly and awesome friends (who are sisters): beth & breanna.}

 {Kiley and me trying on pumps in Cato}

{leaf drenched in water after a thunderstorm.}

 {chocolate milk. oh yes.}

{One of the very first photos I took the day I got my Nikon D3000.}

{goofing off with emily grace & kiley.}

 

Probably my favorite photo from 2011. This shows the epitome of friendship and I will treasure this photo forever. And yes - that is, in fact, yours truly that they are holding.

 

What are some of your favorite things from 2011?

A Couple of Ways...

...to start off the marvelous season of Summer are...

...*adopting* a Winter White hamster and naming him Milo...

...and an Oreo Klondike bar...

Are you doing anything to celebrate this day?

Jammin' at Winter Jam 2011

My three friends and I went to Winter Jam 2011 last night and it was A-W-E-S-O-M-E! This year the number of people that attended broke a record....21,000 people! Honestly, when we got there, we thought we were going to get really crappy seats but no...we got (in my opinion) the best seats EVER. We sat behind the stage on the first and second row. We saw everyone singing just fine, and we even smuggled autographs!



The bands/singers that were there are the following:

Chris Sligh

Chris August

Sidewalk Prophets

Red

Francesca Battistelli

David Crowder

Kutless

KJ-52

Newsong

Newsboys

Tony Nolan (speaker not singer or performer)

                                    The lead singer of Sidewalk Prophets (he was soooo friendly!)

The lead singer of Newsboys (Michael Tate) made eye contact with us and blew us kisses...twice!

Because of where we were sitting, we actually were able to interact with the bands and it felt more personal than if we had been sitting at the front of the stage. We saw the bands go up on stage, leave the stage, walk around behind the stage. It was seriously awesome. And epic. One of the singer's there (a rapper...KJ-52) was walking around and we would wave to him, talk to him in a span of about five seconds, have him sign our papers, and a guy who rapped with him was starting the human wave.

At intermission we saw this hottie signing
(Chris August)

We would lean over the bars, wave our papers like psychos and get the band member's attention

(lead singer of Newsong)

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After the show...

(Lead singer of Kutless...Jon Micah)

(Chris Sligh)

My favorite beyond favorite part of the night was this:

While the Newsboys were on stage (they were the last band to perform) the drummer would randomly throw his drum sticks behind him because they would get beaten up (he was going crazy on that drum set!) and quickly get a new pair. And once when he threw one behind him, it started rolling...and inching it's way towards the end of the stage...and inching....and inching...and then it stopped. Then a backstage worker came to get it and almost EVERYONE on the row we were on were leaning over and stretching their arms out pleading him to keep it. He looked at each of us, and handed it to....me! I was ecstatic. You would have thought someone had just given me one hundred dollars.

What's even better is that after we were on our way back from the concert (and stopped by Krispy Kreme to get a doughnut) I saw that the drum stick had been autographed by the drummer with a sharpie AND the drum stick smelled like cologne! Yes, I smell...well...lots of things.

Sorry this was so long. I tend to over type and not write very nicely when I am excited about something. :)

What the Future Holds...

2011 holds so many things. Things that are exciting, nerve racking, fun, blah, interesting, and so much more. American Idol will be coming on in a few weeks, my sewing class is starting next week, home-school group starts back next week, I will be doing mock trial (gags), experiencing flying on a jet for the first time (along with Disney World for the first time), (hopefully) going on vacation, purchasing my Nikon D3000 AND Lightroom. Honestly, 2011 is probably the year I have been most excited about!


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Do you guys remember a few weeks ago when I posted about having those awful cramps? Well, we called the doctor, made and appointment and everything, and what do ya know? The cramps went completely away about a week or two before the appointment scheduled. I would like to thank you guys for all of the prayers and most of all, God!


Also, about a week or two ago, I noticed that my little hamster Benji was abnormally bloated on his sides. I knew it wasn't him suddenly getting pudgy or anything, so my dad and I took him to the vet. The veterinarian said that it was a bacterial infection in his (Liver or kidneys....can't remember which one) and gave him some cherry flavored medicine for it. So if you guys would, please keep little Benji in your prayers.

(I nominated Benji to be 'Pet of the Day' on this site, and he was! Like his little badge on the photo?)

What are your plans for 2011?

2011 Wishes

2010 has just flown by and now it is time to head into 2011. As we head into this new year, I plan to fulfill the following...

• Purchase the Nikon D3000 and Lightroom
• Open up my online boutique
• Have my goal of at least 100 followers on blogger
• Learn how to cook chicken (don't laugh....ok fine, go ahead)
• WIN Mock Trial
• Figure out how to work Print Shop
• Do some sort of acting class (I am so ready to do something with acting besides musical theatre)

I hope you all have a Happy New Year! Don't drink too much! ;)