A Recap of 2011

This has been a pretty amazing year. I’ve done a lot of cool things, been to a lot of beautiful and fun places and had lots of great visitors. The year had a few low points but we’re not going to talk about those right now because I want my 2011 review to focus on the high points! So here are the highlights, with a few pictures to remember them by, in as much of a chronological order as I can remember:

My new job! (A year into it and I still love it!)

Overnight at Ben’s winery

Spring craft weekend at the coast that was so wonderful

I started running! And didn’t tell anyone for a while.

I saw Mindy Smith in concert and it was amazing.

I completed a 5k, finally told people I was running, and then realized how much I like talking about it. Then I did another 5k and realized how much I hated events. But I still kept running!

My parents came for a visit and it was wonderful! We had lots of rest, lots of good food, and lots of fun!

David was here and we had a blast for 4.5 days in which we did not come up with a matching tattoo idea even though we tried.

Jennifer Glass was here for more than just an overnight work trip! She was also here for one of those later in the year.

Sarah the summer roommate was a lot of fun while Awesome was gone.

I saw the Fleet Foxes in concert, outdoors, on a perfect summer evening.

Montana! Stayed on a ranch, went to Yellowstone which was so very phenomenal, saw a friend from college I hadn’t seen in 10 years, and got to spend time with Awesome while he was gone from Portland for the summer.

Mama Mia! On stage! So fun!

A lot of happy hour martinis.

Went to Fossil, Oregon, with Rachel, to see Amy, slept in a cabin, saw far away galaxies, dug for fossils, went on a beautiful hike, and experienced camp life for a couple of days. We also fled a nasty stomach bug and managed to not get sick.

I realized just how important running had become, when I couldn’t do it for a while.

I went to Phoenix, met David’s friends, and then David and I went to Vegas. I know I never wrote about that trip. That’s because what happens in Vegas, while it may show up in a few pictures, should not be written down.

I started running again!

The Clarks and I went to hear David Sedaris who was hilarious!

Nicole came for a visit and it was so great! We played cards a crazy number of times.

While Nicole was here, Fall Craft Weekend occurred and I got a lot of crafting done!

Thanksgiving with Pat and his family was lovely.

Mumford and Sons concert with Rachel: one of the most amazing nights ever

Christmas. Amy was in town. We had a nice Christmas Eve service. Christmas Day, Amy and I made an excellent brunch, and later some other friends (Paul, Eric and Jennifer) came over and we had a delicious dinner: bourbon glazed duck, potato gratin with Gruyere cheese, spinach salad with pears and pine nuts, pumpkin cheesecake with a gingerbread and hazelnut crust, and two bottles of wine.

Other things that either happened throughout the year or I can’t remember an exact date:

I crocheted a lot. Massive amounts really, for me. I can’t show you pictures of it all yet because some of them have yet to be given to the people they were made for. But it was a very yarn oriented year.

Caitlin made me a dress, which I love.

Rachel made me artwork, which I will write about separately.

I learned to play Nertz, and am determined to beat Awesome somehow, someday.

I'm sure there are other highlights that should have made it into this recap, but this is going to have to suffice for now. Overall, even with the low points I chose not to mention, it was a really great year. I hope to see just as many people, places and things in 2012!