Happy 2011 and 2010 in Review!

2010 was a great year. It marked our 10th year of friendship and our 1st year of marriage.

We hope that 2011 will be just as great, if not better than 2010.

Our 2010 in review:

We got a giant snowstorm (still hoping we'll get another this year)!!!

I changed my name, turned 25, and got bangs.

Maitha came to visit from Belgium!

I saw Hanson in NYC for a five night concert series while visiting friends and family.

I started eating red meat again. And I LOVE IT.

We spent July 4 at the lake.

Erin came to visit from LA.

We celebrated Grandma's birthday at Martha's Vineyard.

We took a trip to explore Puerto Rico.

We saw Train in concert.

I met Hanson while visiting my friend Christine at PSU.

We started cooking a lot more. Some favorite dishes were salmon, orange curry chicken, and chili.

We went to our first ever football game.

We created and celebrated "S'mores Day."

We went to Hersheypark for our one year anniversary, started a new tradition, and ate our anniversary cake.

We saw Carbon Leaf live with tickets I won.

We went to a Caps game with my family.

We got a little bit of snow.

We spent Christmas Eve with my fam, Christmas with Jason's, and then my fam went to Utah.

Last night, we rung the new year in together with a kiss, a game of Scrabble, some pizza and sparkling wine, our new red and yellow underwear (brings good luck and happiness in various countries, apparently), and a "rabbit! rabbit!"

Tonight we plan to cook something up and watch the Capitals take on the Penguins in the Winter Classic!

LET'S GO CAPS!!!

Hope everyone's New Year's Eve was fantastic and we wish you all the very best in 2011!

Photographs

Oftentimes I find myself thinking, "this would make a great picture" as I go through life. Then I don't take the picture because I'm embarrassed to squat down or contort my body to get the shot I want in public. I don't know what my problem is. I almost always carry my crappy little point-and-shoot and yet I miss photo opportunities constantly because of this embarrassment. Walking to the bus stop after work today I found a sidewalk covered in leaves. Something about it called to me. I walked on to the bus stop, knowing I was passing a great photo opportunity. But then I got over it. I turned around. I squatted on the ground in front of people waiting for their bus and cars sitting at a stop light. I took my picture. And you know what? It was worth it.

I liked the color version because it's orangey and you can make the leaves out a little better, but with my terrible point-and-shoot's quality (especially at night), its terrible grain looked much better in black and white. Almost like some good ol' TMAX film... but not quite as good looking ;)

One Year Ago Today

One year ago, I married the love of my life. I love you, Jason!

July 4th Weekend in Picture Form

Film

I want to get back into shooting film.  There is a new iphone app that shoots like a Holga. I have always wanted a Holga so I can have fun with their dreamy-quality photos. Now I have a digital version of one (as long as I have Jason and his iphone with me, haha)! Yes, it's terrible quality and very pixelated but it's still fun to shoot even if they're not fantastic in the end.

The other day we got a thunderstorm. A real one. Thunder and lightening. It only lasted a few minutes but it was beautiful.

As much as Jason and I love thunderstorms, we have one little dude in the family that does not.

I still want a Holga. And I still want to shoot film again on an SLR. I have my dad's old film SLR from maybe the 70's? It has a very 70's looking strap on it so I'm going to go with that. I took a few shots with it back in middle school and haven't really touched it since. I think it might be broken - many of the shots were half dark, but I'm going to buy a roll of film and see what happens. Why not, right?

It's June? Seriously?

Life certainly hasn’t been slow! Allison says I’m still in “calm bride mode” and I plan to stay that way! Sorry for the lack of updates... This will be a big post!

Last weekend I helped Jakob make a cake for his elementary school's spring fair's cake decorating contest. And he won the blue ribbon!!! He was SO EXCITED and we were all so proud of him! Coincidentally, my dad's birthday was also around that time so we celebrated it with the cake!



My dad, me, and Jake (Jason was there too - he took the picture).



Jason and I spent the Memorial Day weekend at the lake - this year was a much better drive - we didn't hit any traffic! There were tons of people there - probably around 50 or so - and it was a blast! We got the jet skiis and boats out and even got into the water to swim! During an outdoor break, some of the ladies (Ali, Morgan, Linda, and Diane) took some time to look at old lake pictures while Terry looked on.



The view from the house.



We drove back early on Monday morning to make it to the block party on my parents' street to see all of my old neighbors... one of which even offered to marry us!

The Friday before Memorial Day weekend, my friend (and bridesmaid!) Ali came to DC for her brother's wedding so I got to see her for a nice little coffee break from work! I hadn't seen her in years, so it was sooooo good to see her! Please note: she works outside everyday and I am a cube monkey with no windows!



Jason and I have been looking around for an apartment for about 2 months now, hoping that we would find a place now so that we wouldn’t have to stress out about it later (our lease is up at the end of August). We ended up putting a deposit down on a place that is a little bigger than our current place and is only about a mile away (meaning we can still get to the dog park easily which is a major selling point). But... we weren't told to actually sign the lease so we're not exactly locked in (we don't think). So we're still on the lookout for a cheaper place but have the stability and peace of mind knowing that we have a place if we don't find anything better. We are NOT looking forward to moving. Again. It's not enjoyable to move each year, especially at the end of August when it is HOT out. We're obviously on the wrong cycle. Thankfully, this year we have moving helpers (thanks Eddie, Jessica, and Joel!!!). We’re hoping that with three extra heads and six extra hands things will be faster, more fun, and less nightmarish than last year’s moving experience!

My Uncle Steve sold me his old D-SLR for dirt cheap ohhh over a year ago now and I finally got lenses for it! I LOVE how beautiful the pictures are. A good camera and good lenses make ALL the difference. Here's my favorite subject:



I can't believe the wedding is now less than half a year away. I really only have four months left to plan everything which is a little crazy... but we're getting there! I just want October to be here already!