2012 Wrap Up

In my opinion, at the end of every year, if you're living right, you should be able to look back on the year you've just lived and say that it has been the best year of your life so far. This year was no exception. Take a look at my recap of some of my favorite moments :)

January:

We started this year with a bang, having an incredible New Year's Eve party as our goodbye to our beloved apartment, The Jersey Floor.

My best friend got engaged!

Went to the hot pots up in Idaho several times with friends for some late night fun.

February:

I went to the PostSecret event in Boise with Dani and David. It was one of the most worthwhile, inspiring things I've ever been to.

I found out Dani was pregnant with my baby J :)

Spent several hours in Logan with Noelle, David, and Moriah planking and owling. So dumb, but so so fun.

March:

Spring Break in Seattle/Portland with Carlie, Chris, and Moriah.

Got my third tattoo. It's in Greek, because I've always loved Greek mythology, and it means "calm."

Got to see my cousins Buzz, Lars, and John and my Aunt Sarah  who were in Utah from Minnesota. 

April:

Got to go to Dooce's book signing in Salt Lake!

One of my professors hired me to edit thesis papers for international students.

This quote from Moriah: "You see this vodka?! I AM A DOCTOR." :)

May:

Dani and I got to see Robyn who was home from her mission for a week.

I felt baby Jaxson kick for the first time :)

"I've never wanted to be black because I've always been super paranoid of getting sickle-cell anemia."

June:

I turned the big 2-1 and went out with friends to celebrate.

My best friend got married! One of the most beautiful days I can remember.

Went to San Francisco with the family. Went to Alcatraz, a Giants game, and more aquariums than anyone in my family but me wanted to go to.

July:

Had a super fun, drunken girls + David night where we went to Beehive Grill and then to see Magic Mike.

Had our biennial Anderson family reunion in Midway.

Started organizing Kenzy's classroom for the upcoming school year.

August:

End of summer dinner with my family at Elements.

My baby sister turned sixteen!!

I began my second year of college at Utah State, along with my best friend David!

September:

I watched an entire season of Grey's Anatomy in four days with the reasoning that I should procrastinate all of my schoolwork at the beginning of the semester instead of stretching it out over several weeks.

Met Kenzy's adorable fifth graders for the first time and started going to her class on a regular basis.

Got my annual head injury just when I had started hoping that I would maybe be able to skip a year.

October:

MY NEPHEW WAS BORN! 

I threw my first baby shower for the mother of said nephew, my best friend Dani.

Made my blog public. This was a big deal for me and was very nerve-wracking. But I'm liking it :)

November:

Had a blast working with my favorite people on Thanksgiving and then having a quiet dinner with my parents and siblings.

Was lucky enough to get invited to go to The Killers concert last minute. It was INCREDIBLE.

Had a catch-up Jersey breakfast with Colton, Carlie, and Noelle. 

December:

I got through my finals week-barely.

Passed every single one of my classes with good grades AND finished with math forever.

Had a great Christmas Eve and Christmas and a wonderful holiday break thus far.

This year has been wonderful. There's been ups and downs, but overall I'm so grateful for the life I live and the people in it. I know some pretty amazing people. And now we've come full circle. Our Jersey New Years Eve party 2.0 is tomorrow night and I am stoked about it. Cheers to you, 2012. You were pretty spectacular :)

Recent Events

I haven't had a lot of time to write lately due to finals week and work, but there has been a ton going on! So here are some recent happenings, in bullet point form, because I'm feeling a little lazy.

• Fifth grade Christmas party: 30 cards with handmade snowflakes on them, candy canes, chocolate, musical chairs, and Frosty the Snowman. Success.
• Out of nowhere I had a windfall. Six of my textbooks that were listen on Amazon sold, and 4 of them have been on there for over a year. I'm feeling very fortunate that this happened at this time of the year so I could get Christmas presents for everyone. 
• I passed all my classes!! This was expected, but I actually did pretty well when I wasn't expecting to. Example: I wrote a ten page paper the day before it was due that compared the two books The Ebb Tide and Heart of Darkness. Got an A on the paper. Didn't read either of the books. 
• After passing my stats class, I am officially done with math FOREVER.
• Liz and I had a blast decorating for Christmas.
• My work Christmas party was incredibly fun, and full of delicious spinach artichoke dip.
• I found gas for $2.95 a gallon!!
• I tied with one other person for the high score in my Literary Analysis class.
• I've been babysitting quite often and I love it! I babysit for the cutest, most hilarious and inquisitive kids. Conversation sample:

B: "Why aren't you married yet?"

Me: "Because I don't want to get married for a long time."
B: "Oh. I know why."

Me: "Oh yeah? Why do you think?"

B: "Because when you get married you have to do that gross thing grown ups do to make babies."

Me: ......."So, what movie do you want to watch now?"

• My Anderson family Christmas party was only minimally awkward. Sidebar:

I've been getting in the terrible habit at work that when someone yells someone else's name, I yell "SUCKS." Classic joke. So all of us were sitting in my grandma's house, just chatting. Everyone was looking for my uncle Eric, so they started yelling "Eric!" Naturally, I yelled "SUCKS." It just slipped out. Cue the dirty looks and mine and Liz's hysterical laughter. Other than that it went about as I expected.

Life is good. I'm a lucky girl. 

Kryptonite

Get ready, faithful readers. I'm about to tell you my two biggest weaknesses EVER.

#1 Nostalgia.
No joke. If you want to end all productivity from me just plop me down in front of an old facebook album or childhood pictures and I'm DONE FOR. I'll just slowly flip through the pictures and reminisce and reminisce, maybe text some people who are in them, and become a useless blob for the rest of the day. As I flip, my eyes will start to leak, my nose will start to run, and if you're lucky, you'll get a call from me crying about the way things used to be. Ask Dani or David. I'm the worst.

#2 Competitive Nature
I am, for real, the most competitive person I know. EVERYTHING is a competition. We're casually walking into the library? I touched the door handle first, I win. Donating blood? I was faster than the chair next to me. I win. Eating breakfast? I drank my coffee faster than you drank yours. I win. At work together? I can make a mcdouble SO much faster than you can. And it looks better. Boom. Winner winner chicken dinner. You might not even realize it's a competition. But it is. Everything is a competition.

 It's starting to become a problem. If at first you don't succeed, pack your bags. I just REALLY like winning things and being good at things. I want to be the valedictorian of everything. When I do lose, I'm generally a good sport on the outside. But you better believe on the inside I am PISSED at myself, and vow to win the next thing. I hate losing more than almost anything else. More than feet.

So, if I've ever ditched you to look at pictures or made you angry over winning something that was not really a competition (it totally was), I apologize. I'm trying really hard to get better at not being so competitive. We'll see how it turns out.

Bullets

If you're reading this blog, you've probably seen my snarky facebook posts indicating that life is treating me kindly. I just want to do a quick update (code for I'm sick of studying for finals) about the past few weeks. I only have time for bullet points.

• Jousting with David at McDonald's. I won.
• Getting five good luck cards full of fifth-grade wisdom from my cute kids.
• Rereading Harry Potter-best decision I've made in a while. Don't worry, I still cried at the end-of-year feast when they all honor Cedric. Always.
• Buying people's Christmas presents-I LOVE giving presents to people and seeing their faces when they open them :)
• Skipping a random afternoon of Monday classes and doing copper camels with David, Carlie, and Moriah.
• Attending the "Drinks and Dips 2.0" party.
• The feeling of being done with math classes for the rest of my life.
• Throwing together a presentation the Sunday before it's due and then having the professor tell me and Chloe that it was the best one she's seen.
• Going to The Killer's concert! Sweet balls it was good.
• Getting pictures from Dani all the time of my sweet baby Jaxson!
• Discovering that I REALLY like coffee.
• Jersey breakfast with Colton, Carlie, and Noelle.
• Seeing Perks of Being a Wallflower multiple times.
• Playing SongPop.

Life is good. It's the simplest things that are making me the happiest right now, along with my wonderful friends and family. I am a happy girl.