to say 2012 was an eventful year might be is definitely an understatement. each year I feel as if my life has gotten more exciting than the previous one and this year further proved that to me. pictures have always been my favorite method or reliving memories so here are some of the highlights of this past 366 days (did you forget about the leap year?!)
i began 2012 with my best friend and sister, dana, one of my besties from college, katie, and thousands of fellow festival goers at lights all night in dallas, tx. This was my first large scale festival and it definitely will not be my last.
i was finally able to attend my first new orleans mardi gras and in style no less. dana's teammate (my stud sister played volleyball at southern methodist university invited us to attend the endymion parade hosted at the superdome as her parents are big participants in the annual event.
my company was a corporate sponsor for an event called wine, women and shoes in march and a couple of co-workers and I were able to get tickets for our table. little did we know we would be asked to volunteer to walk in the show - terrifying and exhilarating all at the same time (note: I am no model!)
something i'd wanted to get involved with was non-profit committee work and in 2012 i was a part of candlelight ball committee on the materials & awareness and logistics subcommittees helping to plan the child abuse network's inaugural event on april 23rd, 2012 at the mayo hotel; the first of its kind with the event progressing to three separate levels throughout the evening.
and just two days later i was signing the deed to purchase my first house! at 23, it was on of the scariest things i've done but i love my home and i loveee living in my cute little neighborhood in tulsa
in may dana graduated from smu with degrees in advertising and accounting with a commencement speech delivered by the impressively intelligent condoleezza rice. dana, we're proud of you for your accomplishments of being a student-athlete and double major but i hope to never sit through three graduation ceremonies (until my own children's of course)
then just before my 24th birthday in june i finally got to cheer on our oklahoma city thunder as they took on the san antonio spurs during the playoffs in okc with a large group of my friends. loud city could not be a more accurate name for an area. i can't wait to see my next game, although maybe not squeezing ten adults into a double queen motel (yes, motel) room. but hey, at least i snagged a bed.
the tulsa drillers' baseball games: a favorite of mine during throughout the summer especially on thirsty thursdays when it seems everyone just knows that's the plan for the night. during the season opener a famous little tulsa born and bred band, hanson came back to town and sang the national anthem and emily and i were the giddy twenty something girls reliving our childhood as we got a hug and a picture from our favorite member, taylor hanson...swoon
in august i enjoyed the perfect little getaway with my friends emily and elaine to a little fisherman's town just outside of cancun, mexico to puerto morelos. it seemed like forever since i had taken a (somewhat) relaxing vacation and what better place to jet set than the sandy beaches of me-hi-co where the margarita are bottomless
once i was back home and unpacked it was my turn to help my my new roommate and bestie allyson move into one of my spare bedrooms...it's been a riot ever since :) i feel so blessed to have met allyson and have her live with me. we've become good friends, our friends have become good friends and life is just that much sweeter.
i've never been one to enjoy working out and therefore don't exercise as much as i should. i played volleyball at school and still play co-ed about once a week but i took up tennis as another way to sneak in exercise and ended up loving it (and not sucking too terribly)! paige and i played in the cascia classic for our first tournament. we were second in the consolation bracket..more practice?
and a substantial part of 2012 was that i developed a greater passion for trying new foods and more often cooking my own. i love learning about new restaurants, eating meals prepared by tulsa's celebrated chefs (which i hope to do more of), and trying my best to almost never make the same recipe more than a couple times.
but of course i couldn't forget my little lion man, franklin who stole my heart after the untimely passing of my other little nugget, elton. yes, im officially a cat lady. honestly, i always have been. there's just something about those kitty purrs and kitty paws i can't get enough of.
whew, i told you there was a lot going on in 2012; and those were just the highlights. i don't intend for (hopefully) any other post to be this extensive but i couldn't help but include so many of those moments that i appreciate for making me laugh and smile this year. i want this blog to be a vehicle to consolidate all that 2013 and thereafter has in store for me whether that's fun times spent with friends or family, experiences volunteering on committees and non-profit boards, my ongoing passion for cooking and eating delicious new foods, the process of making my first house into my home, and everything in between mimosas (see what i did there?). but mostly i can't wait to have this blog years from now as a means to look back and see how these experiences will change in the future.
i've got a lot to learn about this whole blogging thing -- for instance, getting all my pictures aligned and in the same general shape... -- but i guess that's all part of the experience!
so here's to 2012 and an even more eventful 2013!
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