Happy New Year! My Year In Review.

I hope that you all had a good 2012!  Time to start off 2013 which hopefully will be a great year.  My 2012 was a pretty amazing one.  Here is a small list of the amazing things that happened for me this year... Ok it's not small.  It's a long long list of awesome.

-Took advantage of the superbowl sales on soda.  Not gonna lie, looking forward to the sales again this year, new year means the sales are coming soon!  I anticipated the soda would last at least until our wedding in May.  It did.  Barely.

-In February my sister came to visit!  We had one of the biggest donuts EVER.

-March... was epic.  MadJam dance competition, St Paddy's Day, and the Boston Tea Party dance competition,and the special jello shot recipes for each one.  It was a VERY creative month for my jello shots.

- April was my Princess Bride themed bridal shower.  So much fun!  My sisters came up with a game where you earned a mustache by using lines from the movie in normal conversation.

-Started a new job the last day of April!  While I miss my coworkers at my old job, who have been like family since I moved to Virginia, I love my new company and the resources I have at my disposal with them. It's definitely pushed me to do the best job I can do!

-A few weeks later, in mid May, was my wedding!  It was wonderful, and I enjoyed seeing our family and friends, I was even fortunate enough that all 3 of my very best friends from 8th grade were able to attend.  The food was good, the cake was good, and I barely had a chance to eat either one LOL and I am still so in love with the dress that I picked that I joke (or is it joking?) that we will have to renew our vows often so I can wear the dress again.

-Found this lovely specimen in my garage, after nearly stepping on it...

-In July we had our annual Virginia Beach Lindy Exchange which I was (and am still) one of the organizers for.  In case you were ever thinking of planning 2 very different 100(or more) people events a couple months apart, unless it is your job DON'T DO IT!  Haha but despite some minor catastrophes that weekend (my air conditioning went out, while people were at our house dancing till dawn, the first night of the event, and the head organizer got into a minor car accident) it was a great time and was a success.  To top it off some of my friends who hadn't been able to make it in a few years were able to come!  One all the way from Jordan (yes, the country!)

-Crocheted my first ever article of clothing!  I made 2 baby sweaters!  I love making baby clothes, it's so quick and cute.

-Went to Connecticut on a Friday night on my way to Syracuse (no, it's not actually on the way) so I could go to the Swing Monkey Reunion!  What is Swing Monkey, you ask?  Well, it is a website for dancers in CT and the northeast which was very popular when I started swing dancing.  It had a forum we would all post on and was THE place, before facebook and social media took over, for us to see what dances were happening and who was going and who wanted to carpool etc.  It still exists, but now solely maintains a calendar.  But it was great going back to the old venue and to dance with my old friends, and of course to go to the diner after and get my usual bacon, fries, and curly fries.  Then to drive on to Syracuse where I arrived at like 6AM. And woke up 3 hours later to set up for my sisters baby shower, which was fun. Then later that day attended the wedding of a friend of mine from high school who is from Venezuela, and moved back here to marry her high school sweet heart! Beautiful wedding.  So much crammed into one weekend! Pictures from the Swing Monkey Reunion, I have pictures of the shower and wedding on my camera... somewhere...

-On August 10th I turned 30.  Didn't have much of a chance to have a big party though because....

-On August 15th my sister gave birth to her first baby!  Eliana Avery is the most beautiful baby you have ever seen and makes THE most adorable faces.  Eric and I were fortunate enough to both have a 3 day weekend the weekend after her birth so we were able to meet her at 2 days old.  I am completely incompetent with newborns, but now that she is older I am more confident LOL.  These are her at 1 day,1 month, and 3 months old.

-Got my rankins dragons!  I've wanted some for years, and they are adorable, and as yet still not named other than thing 1 and thing 2.

-Hit my highest ever weight sometime around here, 158, which isn't horrible but isn't a trend I wanted to continue so I started to take me some data and count my calories.

-My good friends Brandon and Aimee moved back from being stationed in Cuba.  And now are settled here for the long hall!  I was so sad when they left, and am SO HAPPY they are back here instead of somewhere else!

-Went to my first ever political event, and met Gary Johnson!  I wish he had done better in the election, but there is always 2016!

-I finally got to go to my sisters epic Halloween Party.  Nobody does Halloween like my sister.  It was also a great excuse to see "my favorite baby" Eliana.

-Got to spend Thanksgiving with BOTH sets of parents, mine and Eric's, at Eric's parents.  My mother in law sure can make a feast!  Yum!

-Christmas!!  We got to spend a few days with both families which was a GREAT choice rather than stopping by Eric's family for an hour or two on our way to my family.  It was nice spending time with his family, and his friends, and made for a much much more relaxing trip.  We even got on the road when we planned when we headed to my sisters house, which I don't think has happened in many years.  I LOVE Christmas and getting gifts for people that they will love.  Eric did a great job finding a gift for his dad, and I always love shopping for my sister.  She was the hardest this year, since of course she is now focused on being a mommy, but I know my sister and found some things I know she'd love.  And she and her husband got me the Crazy Cat Lady Game.  It's epic.  And one of the "Wild Cat" cards you inherit not only cats but YARN!  This game was made for me LOL

-LOST ALMOST TEN POUNDS!  Before Thanksgiving and somehow managed to maintain that through the holidays.  Considering my primary diet consists of pizza, chicken nuggets, and fries, that's quite the feat.  I will have an update post with some updated photos sometime in the near future!

AND!  I got to kick off the 2013 the best way ever.  I got to kiss my husband at midnight!  May not seen like a big deal but we have NEVER been together at midnight to have our kiss.  Last year, he was at work overnight new years eve.  The year before he was in California for work.  The year before that was actually the first time he kissed me, but not until like 4 in the morning after I convinced him to drive the party I was at in Philly from the concert he'd gone to in Atlantic City!  Ah, yes, fond New Years Eve memories.  That was the last New Years I spent anywhere but home (either mine or my parents.)  I am getting old.

The new year holds some great things for me!  I always start the new year with a renewed love for crocheting and knitting.  Now that I know how to knit mittens, I anticipate starting to list some in the shop.  Also, my mom got me a book of granny squares and it has left me inspired to make some things with granny squares.  My first ever sweater (for an adult) maybe?  Incidentally, the first thing I made and listed for my shop when I first opened a shop online was made out of granny squares...

I don't know what else will happen in the new year but I am super excited to see what will happen!  If you have a year in review blog, post a link in the comments!

~Katy