2011, Week 4

Having a January birthday means that week 4 was all about celebrating me! Well, as much celebrating as I would allow, which really wasn't much. Honestly, I wasn't in the mood to be the center of attention. My friends wouldn't let me ignore my birthday, though, much as I tried. Saturday night I went to dinner with Rachel and Bethany (Red Lobster cheddar biscuits, yum!); Sunday (my actual birthday) was spent hanging out with my friends at church and piling three girls (me, Amy, and Amanda) and three dogs (Zack, Ranger, and Brodie) on the sofa bed to watch a movie (ha!); and on Monday I played hooky from work (it was planned ahead of time) and ran all over Fort Worth with Amy. A package from my family on Tuesday rounded out the birthday celebrations. Even though I wasn't inclined to acknowledge my birthday, I was really thankful for friends who want to celebrate my birth. It really was a good birthday weekend.

2011, Week 3

The biggest blessing of Week 3 was having a day off school for Martin Luther King day. That day always comes at the best time - we've been back at school for two weeks after the holidays and are just desperately in need of a break. I spent the weekend giving my apartment and Brodie both a good cleaning, watching a couple of movies (I know, I'm a slacker), and visiting another church. Then, on MLK Day, Rachel and I took off to downtown Dallas to play tourist. Turns out, there wasn't a whole lot to "tour." We visited Thanksgiving Square, drove around looking for a Starbucks, walked around the Galleria Mall for a while (Amanda drove over and joined us there), and ended the day with pizza at Boston's (yum!). It was a nice time to hang out together without much stress, and to celebrate both of our birthdays (hers was the week before, mine the week later). I am truly blessed to have Rachel as my friend.

2011, Week 2

The second week in 2011 started with a trip to see Jim Brickman and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra with my friend, Alissa. It was so good! Jim Brickman was really funny, the singers he brought along were quite good, and the music was phenomenal. I love his songs! Later in the week Amy "kidnapped" me for lunch - it's really nice to have friends drive all the way to Dallas just to share lunch with me on their day off. I also finally took down my Christmas decorations, though the boxes stayed in my apartment all week because it was freezing outside and I wasn't willing to be out on the balcony any longer than necessary. While I was packing the decorations in the boxes, though, I realized I couldn't find Brodie. Look where I found him - in the storage closet! He took advantage of those boxes being out of the closet to do a little exploring. Silly little dude!

2011, Week 1

Week one saw me trying to make the most of the last days of my Christmas vacation - scrapbooking, watching Bama clobber Michigan State in their bowl game, taking Brodie for a long walk, and working toward one of my three New Years Resolutions by trying out a new church. And then... school/work started again. Whew! It was exhausting this week! It didn't help that Brodie got sick in the middle of the night Monday night so I didn't get as much sleep as I wanted. But all in all the week was good - my class went well, we made a lot of progress in discussing Paul, and I spent my evenings relaxing, preparing for class, and enjoying my first fire of the new year (and no, I haven't taken down my Christmas decorations yet; that'll be next week.)

Change of approach for 2011

So, making sure I had a photo for every single day in 2010 was a lot of pressure. Some days there really wasn't anything exciting to take a photo of - that's why I ended up with pics of my phone, or other really random things. And I had a LOT of pictures of sunsets and Brodie (obviously). I've toyed with a couple of different ideas for 2011, because I liked the concept of having a lot of photos for the year, photos of random aspects of my life. One blogger I know of is taking a photo each week that fits in with a certain (set) theme. I've considered that but I don't know that I could commit to someone else's themes, especially since I don't fit the profile of the typical blogger/photographer (a parent taking pics of kids). I considered doing "A Photo of Brodie" each day, but that could get old really fast.

So, I've made the decision to do a photo each week rather than a photo each day. I think I can get more variety that way, and it's less pressure. So, I hope you enjoy a glimpse of 2011, as "scene through my lens."

January 1, 2011

Wow! Can't believe I made it a whole year with a picture each day!

I'm not sure if I'll make it through 2011,

but I'll start with a pic of Brodie and me

all dressed up in our Bama gear,

ready to watch the TIDE ROLL in the Capital One Bowl.

49-7 over Michigan State - woohoo!

December 31

New Years Eve in the Big D -

I joined a few friends for the festivities in Victory Park,

complete with bands, dancing, massive crowds, and fireworks.

Happy New Year!

December 30

Road trip back to TX, just Brodie and me -

we made a stop in Tuscaloosa to walk around the stadium.

And of course, I had to take a pic of me and my boy with The Bear.

December 29

Working with Dad to finish building the new desk

for my scrapbooking room. It's so cool,

made even better by the fact that my dad made it for me.

December 28

Brodie has apparently moved on from his sock fetish -

I found him with this particular garment

when I walked into the laundry room this morning. Cracked me up!

(Can't believe I just posted this pic on the internet!)

December 27

"The Dog Whisperer"

In reality I was holding a piece of cheese and they all wanted some.

December 26

It wasn't a white Christmas, but it was a white "Boxing Day"

(no idea why the day after Christmas is called that).

This is mom and dad's house,

beautiful with the Christmas lights and light dusting of snow.

December 25

Happy Christmas!!!!

We didn't have any little kids to experience Christmas

with this year (Layton's only a month old

so he didn't have any idea what was going on),

but we still had plenty of fun opening gifts on Christmas morning.

December 24

My family with our personal Santa - "Tommy Claus".

He's been visiting us on Christmas Eve

ever since I can remember.

It wouldn't be Christmas without him.

December 23

A fun Christmas photo shoot with my cousin

Holley's new baby, Layton. He's so adorable!

We got so many great pics -

but I think this one is my favorite.

December 22

The Isbells and the McKnights (mom's sister and her family)

at Lights of the South. They have a walking path

so you walk around the extensive light display,

and then you end in an amazing castle of lights.

It was a neat way to kick off our family Christmas this year.

December 21

My sweet boy enjoying Mom's beautiful Christmas tree.

December 20

Baking and decorating sugar cookies with Ben and Mom.

They were delicious, and looked really pretty too.

December 19

A friendly game of tug-of-war between Brodie and Harley.

They were so funny!

December 18

Road Trip!!!

Driving to Georgia with Brodie and my cousin Colton.

Brodie liked to stand on the middle console

so he could see out the front windshield.

(So thankful Colton was able to ride along,

keep me company, and help drive.)

December 17

This sunrise is the reason I was a few minutes late for work this morning. It was absolutely brilliant -

I couldn't resist taking a few minutes to snap a few pics.

December 16

The Cambridge ornament I made for myself

to commemorate my first year of teaching.

The back has the names of all the students in my class.

December 15

Thank you to Amy for snapping this great shot

of me and my Brodie - I love it!

December 14

My favorite new ornament of the season -

I love snowmen, and the turquoise makes this one awesome!

December 13

I realize I'm almost 3 weeks behind on posting,

so here we go with some catch-up:

They say everything is bigger in Texas -

that includes the sunsets. Amazing!