Counting Down the Days

Here we go...counting down the days until the beginning of a new year, new project, and new adventures! I'm going to skip the details of my Christmas this year... I'll just say that it was rather interesting, and my Grams called it "the Christmas from hell." (I'm sure someone out there can relate). Ok, it really wasn't all that terrible, the gifts were fabulous and Christmas dinner was coma-inducing in the best of terms :)  oh, how I love home-cooked meals! 

Anyway, as my new project start date approaches I've decided that the written portion of my posts will probably be significantly shorter than these first 3...mainly because I will have significantly less time to write (thank you, 18 credits including a practicum). But, I will be sure to write some sort of explanation for the photos that I post.  I'm still sticking to my plan of posting daily...but we'll see how that goes when the quarter gets into full swing...it may end up being every other day or something like that. I'm getting excited for the new year!! (Now I just need to decide on my NYE plans...) 

And now..for a couple of photos...

This is my little brother Shane and me on Christmas...Isn't he cute? I think so haha

And this is my little sister Chloe and me tonight... I obviously lack the restraint to take a normal picture, at least she takes after me ;)

I do love being at home with my family, and since I rarely get to come home during the quarter, I spend the majority of my time just hanging out with them (this usually involves a lot of t.v./movie watching and I love every minute of it) 

I might post again before the new year...if not, stay tuned for the project starting January 1st! 

Christmas Eve

Wow, I can't believe it's already Christmas Eve! It has always baffled me how, once we reach the holiday season, the year seems to have flown by-so many memories, challenges, ups and downs all come flooding back. And yet, when we're in the midst of those ups and downs time feels like it has stopped, and sometimes like it's going backwards.  Looking back on 2010, I can honestly say that it was a pretty great year...I have been surrounded by wonderful friends, my family is happy and healthy, and I was able to share the entire year with the love of my life, Andy.  And, as much as I might complain about school, I'm grateful that I have the opportunity to continue my education in one of the best teacher prep programs in the country-it will all be worth it one day!
I am also SO excited for the coming year-what a wild one it is going to be! 2 quarters left until I start my teaching internship in the fall, my "big sister" (aka my best friend's big sister) will be getting married and I'm a bridesmaid, and Andy and I will hit the 2 year mark! And those are just the big events that I can think of off the top of my head... I can't wait to document this exciting year through this blog!
And now...for some Christmas cheer in photo form...

So, it's a little blurry because the car was moving...but I saw this car at the mall on Wednesday (the 22nd) and it was COMPLETELY decked out in Christmas lights!! Even the blinkers were wired to the lights, someone has A LOT of time on their hands, but I loved it. Kudos to this Christmas-lover. 

Also, our Christmas tree surrounded by presents :) I can't wait for tomorrow!!

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night <3

The First

So, I've decided to take on a 365 photo project... most people do this on the 365project.com website but I'm taking it a step further and blogging about it too.  The idea is that I'll take at least one picture every single day for a whole year, kind of like a day-to-day scrapbook of my life.  We'll see if I can keep it up for the whole year... To make it a little easier on myself, I'm going to start the actual project on January 1, 2011 and (hopefully) document the daily happenings of 2011.  I'll probably do a couple of posts between now and the new year to get into the groove of blogging, so stay tuned!

This was the most amazing peach sorbet EVER! Served inside a frozen, hollowed-out peach...oh, my mouth is watering just thinking about it! This is from my birthday dinner at La Fontana in downtown Seattle, where my sweet Andy took me to celebrate my 22nd...which was the on the 16th :)