1) Things at work have been good for me this year. In fact, within the same two week period I was offered a raise, and a recurring freelance gig for a resort company. Although this all happened towards the end of the year, it has made me a happy girl who finally feels like she is making strides to achieve some of her career goals and therefore, it receives first mention.
2) At the very beginning of June me and Pat FINALLY moved in to our own place once again, after four years of roomates! I absolutely love love love having a place to call our own, to decorate with only our things, and to be nice and neat and ours only. It is something I have been wanting for a long time. Though it is only a rental, it is a nice little house perfect for us right now. I sincerely hope to never go back to our college living situation. I feel our relationship has only grown stronger as a result. ( house tour I / II )
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| [[ our new house. ]] |
3) Though I would have liked to have gone to more concerts, especially with Pat, I did get to see my favorite, Deftones (!) and even scored an autographed vinyl (after standing in the rain for several hours) !!! I bought the tickets for the two of us and literally an hour later Pat found out he had to go on a business trip *whomp whomp*. So, when I saw a posting online about signed vinyls for the first 50 people in line, I came up with a master plan to go for it and get one for him... ok, its kind of for me too. Though this was a lot harder then I thought it would be and I got suuuuper sick as a result, the framed souvenir hanging in our office makes it totally worth it. Not only that, but they played an amazing set including Passenger, which I devoted an entire term to in college for my Expressive Typography class. Hurry up and come back please, we need to see you again, together this time. Me, Pat, and Tony also went up to Portland to see Memphis May Fire, who were awesome live, though playing in a pretty awkward venue. They are pretty small still, so the boys got to talk to them for a while which was cool. Keep up the good work, and come back to Portland soon please, perhaps at the Roseland this time.
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| [[ deftones concert w megan. ]] |
4) At the end of June me and Pat took our first vacation together just the two of us and it was amazing! We went to New York City to visit my older sister Leah and explore together. We did so many things the week we were there and ate so so well it was sad to say goodbye when it was all over with. We went to MoMA, The Met, The American Museum of Natural History, Grand Central Terminal, a million restaurants and bars, Brooklyn for some shopping, ghetto Brooklyn for some awesome fireworks and the greatest sunset I have ever seen, a couple toy stores, a Yankees game in the Bronx, became quite familiar with the subway, explored all around Central Park including the Boathouse and Belvedere Castle, got a personal convertible tour by Adil through the city, walked Highline Park, shopped in Soho, and spent over five hours in the most amazing beer garden that Pat instantly fell in love with. Oh New York, how I long to see you again. To look at all of our NYC pictures click on Key Posts where everything is separated by day.
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| [[ the city. convertible tour. kiss. frida at moma. brooklyn rooftop. the view. beer garden. yankee game. highline park w leah. sunset. all of us. pat at the met. ]] |
5) There were two marriages this year. On February 12th everyone came together for Tiff and Jason's wedding at the base of Mt. Hood. I was lucky enough to be one of her bridesmaids and had so much fun being a part of everything and partying with all of my long lost design friends at the reception!! I am super happy I took a million pictures! And I must say, the bride looked stunning the entire day, and the groom not too shabby himself. This was definitely one of the best parts about 2011 for me. July 23rd me and Pat also attended our friend Sam's wedding in Washington. My favorite part of all was him adorning a thong over his tux when it came time to throw the brides garter. Awkward.
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| [[ tiff & jasons wedding: the group. me/pat. tiff/pat. me/tiff. ladies. me/megan. ]] |
6) Weddings were not the only parties we went to this year. We had an awesome NYE party at The Nines hotel in Portland. For Colleens birthday we had a Robot Party where you guessed it, everyone came dressed as a famous or made up robot. Me and Pat's costumes turned out pretty awesome, even though people were calling me Gaga Robot. Colleen was Rosie from The Jetsons and hers was the best! In the summer we all met up at Colleens cabin for Morgan's birthday and to see Fran who was visiting from California. I kidnapped Pat for his birthday and threw him a mini surprise party at Ground Kontrol in Portland, and we all met up and went roller skating for Panda's birthday. Finally there were two Halloween celebrations, one downtown with my design friends (I went as a nerd), and the second at a house party with Pats friends (me, Pat, and Tony were the Mario Brothers and Princess Peach).
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| [[ nye party. robot party. cabin. pats surprise party. roller skating. halloween nerds. mario brothers. for halloween. ]] |
7) This year I turned 25, making me a quarter of a century old! That is a big one and it really weirded me out at first. Pat even got me something I have been wanting since high school, my very own longboard! Thanks babe. Me and Pat also celebrated our 6th anniversary in Newport to get a new picture with Wally the Walrus, whom we have been visiting since year 1. I cannot believe it has already been over 6 years already! We were babies when we first started dating, but have grown tremendously as a couple. I love this man soooo much. :)
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| [[ anniversary picture w wally. ]] |
8) Most significantly for us as a couple, while in New York exploring Belvedere Castle Pat got down on one knee and proposed to me!!! We are now officially engaged! (To no ones surprise I might add, my mothers response was, "Its about time, and I am saying that to you, not him!"). Pat was a good boy and even asked my dads permission before hand, which I absolutely appreciate. I cannot believe I did not figure it out since he was acting so weird up until then! He even said he had been carrying the ring around every day which would have scared the crap out of me. Click on the this --> link <-- for the proposal details.
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| [[ engaged at belvedere castle. ]] |
9) Sunday September 18th marked the one year anniversary of Johni's passing. We watched some movies that reminded us of her like Tangled and Alice in Wonderland, and made some corn bread. It was a hard day, as I knew it would be, but the saying is true, time does heal, and I am starting to laugh when I think of her more than I cry.
10) Finally, on Saturday December 3rd, me, my little sister Meagan, my mom, and step dad Dean went in to visit his sick father. I had a feeling at the time that it would be the last time I saw him, so I wrote a little post to summarize my feelings. I was happy when I found out that he actually got to hear my words as read by my mother on a later visit. When I saw an incoming call from my mom towards the end of my work day last week I knew what it was about. On the afternoon of Wednesday December 28th Dan Tabert passed away. Just a few days after Christmas, and a few days before the New Year. All of his children and his wife had been with him all morning, so it seemed only fitting that when they said goodbye once again and left for lunch he decided it was time to go. I am really happy that me and Meagan got to see him when we did just before his health took a final turn for the worst. I will always remember that surprisingly strong hug goodbye he gave each of us before we left the room. :)
Goodbye 2011. Hello 2012.
