A look back at 2011

Sitting down to reflect on the year that we had in 2011, I was convinced that it would be tough to find much content. I couldn't really come up with a whole lot off the top of my head, and to be honest, it feels like the year was a cyclone of drama and frustration.

Then I started combing through my archives from the past year.

To my surprise, we had a pretty good year. There was still a fair amount of bullshit and drama, but there were also a lot of really fun memories made. I enjoyed reading the posts again and being able to relive some of the better moments of 2011.

I am really glad to have come across so many good things about the past year, because I was convinced that this one needed to be erased from my memory. Isn't it funny how much the negative weighs in your mind over the good? Even when, as you can see below, the good was pretty damn great.

All in all, I have to say that I have changed my mind since I began writing this post. I am not going to remember 2011 as a horrible year that sucked the soul out of my being. Instead, I will remember it as a great year of firsts, discoveries and fun.

I'm going to try and forget about the bad stuff. It's not worth the pain it causes to remember.

Favorite movie:
Usually we end up with different movies to list as our favorite for the year, however, this year Brett and I both agree that the best movie we saw last year was In Time, I wrote about it here.

Favorite song:
Sail, by AWOLNATION (Brett)
Pumped up kicks, by Foster the People (Kaylyn)

Favorite album:
Lil'Wayne - The Carter IV (Brett)
Coldplay - Mylo Xyloto (Kaylyn)

Highlights:

• We traded my Jetta for a Jeep (here)
• We spent a week in Moab with Chaz and Shay for Jeep Safari (here, here, here, here, here, and here.... what? I really enjoyed myself, and there was a lot to write about.)
• Brett got me a Kindle as a compromise to a much more insane request that I had made (here and here)
• Shay and I threw a murder mystery dinner for our Halloween party this year (here)
• The second annual Mardi Gras Bash at Chaz and Shay's (here)
• We went to the U2 Concert, again with Chaz and Shay (here and here)
• A week of doing nothing in the mountains (here)
• Witches Night Out at Gardner Village with the ladies (here)

Things that we found on the Internet and fell in love with:

• My Drunk Kitchen
• The greatest breakdancing video in the world
• Instagram
• Marcel the Shell, with shoes on
• Vimeo staff picks
• Madeon - Pop Culture
• Sophia Grace Brownlee singing Super Bass, by Nicki Minaj

Tough stuff:

• Losing my Grandpa
• Steve Carrell left The Office
• Being betrayed by family

Cheers to an amazing 2012!!

Dark passenger revealed

If you watch Dexter, and you have not seen this seasons finale, don't read this post. I purposely waited a little while though, so that I wouldn't spoil the ending for anyone who does watch.

Last week we watched the season six finale of Dexter with the Schlange's. Okay, so we didn't watch it with them, but we did watch it at our house at the same time that they were watching it at their house and we spent the whole episode texting back and forth. That's how we do dates these days. What? Commuting is expensive.

The episode moved at the pace that most others usually do, and things were pretty intense the whole time. It's always a nail biter. The texts that we were sending back and forth were mostly a string of predictions and an occasional "oh FUCK!" when something really good would happen.

The whole thing went by way too fast though, and when we realized that there was only a minute and thirty seconds left of the episode, I found myself a little baffled about how they planned on wrapping it up. He still hadn't killed the bad guy, and I was getting a little worried that it might not happen. As he usually does, he was taking time to explain to his victim the reasons that they were lying on his kill table before plunging a knife into their chest. This is always my favorite part. Then, as he was rambling on about how insane Travis was for thinking that the murders he had committed were all part of God's plan, Deb walked into the church where Dexter had set up his kill room.

At this point, I almost had a heart attack. Then, right as Dexter lifted his knife Deb walked in the room and watched him stab the doom's day killer through the chest.

I could not believe it.

With the show having two more seasons left, I am totally baffled. I thought that they would have waited until the last season to reveal who Dexter really is to the people around him. What are they going to do now??? I am seriously dying to see what happens in the next season, and now I have to wait in suspense until next September.

This is going to be a long damn year.

Thank you secret Santa

The secret Santa gift exchange this year was once again a success!  I had so much fun deciding what to send to my recipient, and I hope that she enjoys it! She had my name last year, and I absolutely loved the gift that she sent me so I was really looking forward to sending something fun to her and repaying the favor.

My secret Santa this year really paid attention! I was so stoked to open my package when it arrived to find this:

A bottle of Sparkling Moscato, a pink and black wine case and a pink and black corkscrew.  Seriously awesome.  Thanks to Sun Child for the great gift! I have already polished off the bottle, and it was delish! The case will come in handy quite frequently, and I appreciate that you took the time to make sure that you would send something that I'd really like!! 

Thank you Pserendipity for arranging the exchange again this year, it is so much fun and I am definitely looking forward to next years exchange. 

What a waste of a day

I spent my day Saturday doing some Christmas shopping. It was a nightmare. Will you please remind me next year to get my Christmas shopping done by June?  Please?

The traffic was ridiculous, and parking at any store I went to was nearly impossible. I didn't know that many people even existed in the state of Utah, let alone that it was possible for all of them to occupy one Wal-mart. That was where I drew the line. I walked into Wal-mart and made it about forty feet into the store before I turned around and walked back out. It was a cluster-fuck, and I wanted nothing to do with it. I refused to fight the crowd just to wait in line for an hour to purchase my three items. I'd rather pay a bit more and go to another grocery store.

I think all in all I went to about six stores, yet it took ALL day. I finally got home after being gone for nearly seven hours, and only wanted one thing to ease the pain of it all....vodka.

I don't plan on leaving my house again until Christmas is over.

Hopefully my boss won't mind.....

Secret Santa 2011

It's time for this year's Blogland Secret Santa! Pseredipity has been hosting a Secret Santa gift exchange through her blog for the past three years, and this will be my second year participating. Last year was a blast, so this year I am really looking forward to doing it again. I know who I'm going to be shopping for, and I can't wait to see what she thinks of the gift I choose for her.

I know that it is really helpful for the person you are shopping for to post a few hints, since most of the participants don't know each other, so I figured I'd share some things about myself to make things a bit easier on my Secret Santa.

1. If you haven't already figured it out, I love books. I love to read and someday I hope to write a few of my own. Browsing through bookstores is a favorite past time of mine. I have a small collection of books that are signed by the author and hope to continue expanding that collection. I also have a kindle that I take with me wherever I go.

2. Pink, black and grey are my favorite colors.

3. I love things that keep me warm.  Hoodies, socks, scarfs, blankets, hot chocolate, etc. - I am not a fan of being cold, so anything that will keep me warm is always a bonus. The only thing you shouldn't consider in this category is a Snuggie. It would be a waste of your money.

4. I drink a lot of wine. I drink a lot of anything, really, but wine is a favorite of mine lately. My favorites are Riesling and Moscato. I used to have one wine glass that I would use all the time, but sadly it broke a few weeks ago.  I also collect shot glasses.

5. I love movies. It doesn't matter what genre.

6. I have a serious sweet tooth.

7. I like jewelry. I wear a necklace and earrings every day.  The only type of jewelry I don't wear are rings.  My wedding ring is the only one that adorns my hand.

Dear Secret Santa,
Hopefully this list will help you out with some ideas. Please don't feel obligated to choose something that is related to this list though. I'm sure that whatever you come up with will be wonderful! I look forward to seeing what you pick, and finding out who the hell you are.

Do you dare to take a RISK?

As of last night, when he finally fell asleep around eleven thirty, my poor husband had been awake for close to sixty five hours straight. He woke early Monday morning, and between work and class, he didn't have much free time to work on a big project he had due for his finals. This meant that he really only had the option of working through the night to ensure that it was completed on time.

As I slept, he worked.

I felt so bad each morning when I would awake, and walk down the hall into the office to see him sitting there in front of his computer, still. Lack of sleep has never really taken too much of a toll on him because he has always been somewhat of an insomniac, but I still felt horrible knowing that I was completely rested, and he had been staring at a computer screen all night long while consuming mass quantities of energy drinks. Knowing that he wouldn't even get to take a morning nap, because he had to go to work for the morning and then to class after.

The project was turned in on time, and the teacher proclaimed that it was success. Everyone who has seen it has been impressed with the detail and effort that he put into it. He is definitely an overachiever.

I feel so lucky to have such a dedicated man that I can call my own. He inspires me everyday to become a better person.

For your viewing pleasure, Brett's final project for his AE animation class:


RiskCommercialProject from Brett Scothern on Vimeo.

The contents of my weekend

It was a busy one, that's for sure.

I spent Friday night with Brett trying to help me figure out how to melt chocolate. I know that sounds fucking retarded, but if there is one thing I can say about myself, it is that I don't really know my way around a kitchen. He is a much better chef than I am, so I would not have been able to do this project without him. He was able to figure out what we were doing wrong, and set us back on the right path.

I was making four dozen Oreo truffles for a cookie exchange the next morning, and when the chocolate wouldn't melt right I almost had a mental breakdown. They had to be done that night, because if not I would have nothing to take with me to the party.

Brett had spent the majority of the day, in the midst of finals week, building me the display for my cookies that I had dreamt up the day before and sprung on him like a total asshole. He did it though, and it was so much more amazing than I could have imagined it. Because of him, I won the award for best display at the party:

My vision was Santa's sleigh on a rooftop, being pulled by Reindeer. I'd say he nailed it. 

Then after the cookie exchange was over, Shay and I (FINALLY!) went to see Breaking Dawn, part 1. I had heard mixed reviews about it, so I didn't really know what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised. As usual. I have really enjoyed the film adaptations of these books and watching them come to life. Now I just have to wait a year to see the next one.  Damn.  

December snuck up on me fast this year

The only snow we have had thus far in 2011....fine by me!

I know that it's December, and there's nothing that I can do about it, but I'm just not ready yet.

I'm not ready for snow. It was supposed to bombard us yesterday, but it didn't come. I can't tell you how relieved I was when I woke up this morning and looked out the window. The fact that there was no snow on the ground meant that I had ten more minutes of sleeping to do because I didn't have to go out and clean the snow off of my Jeep. I'm not going to be happy when it finally does start falling, because if it's held off this long, I have a feeling that means it's going to be a rough winter.

I'm not ready for Christmas. I am usually so excited for Christmas to come that I just can't stand it, but this year for some reason, I'm just not. I didn't put up my tree, instead I am using the wooden tree that Brett built me last year as a cookie display. This year my heart is just not in it. I'm not sure why.

Who knows, maybe I will come out of my funk.  One can only hope.