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Dear Community,
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
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Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
A look back at 2011?
So what kind of year was 2011 for you? Any memorable trips or life events? What are some things you're proud of, or things you regret/hope to do better next year? What surprised you? Any favorite books, movies, websites, or hobbies discovered this past year?
Share your memories, thoughts, recommendations, photos, links -- anything and everything about 2011 can go here.
Re: A look back at 2011?
It really wasn't a terrible year for me. 2010 was awful because my father died, so I am really glad that 2011 is leaving me with all of my loved ones alive and well.
In July 2011 there was some drama. My husband and I took in a roommate to help with the bills, and he ended up going crazy, stealing from us, and breaking all the windows in our car. We actually ended up without a home because of that situation, but we had some amazing family help us out. More on that here: http://thehunsickers.blogspot.com/2011/07/drama-so-far.html
I started my senior year in college, which has felt pretty awesome. I applied for graduation.
Nick and I moved out of a very small town that we hated and into the city of Chico, which was a huge, but positive change for us.
We celebrated 4 years of marriage, and 6 years of dating.
I was employed the entire year, and loved my job. Nick spent half of the year unemployed, but then got a pretty good paying job doing something that he doesn't hate.
Nick was diagnosed with Celiac's disease, which has done wonders for making him feel better. Now that we know, ya know?
It hasn't been a bad year. Ups and downs, but everything is temporary. I'm happy to say that we'll be ending the year in a good place all around.
The top thing for 2011:
becoming a homeowner.
(god, I love saying that).
Of course having Rose was the best part of 2011. Overall we had a good year.
We did have a memorable trip to Oklahoma City in the middle of July during a record-breaking heatwave. Although we had a good time, I don't want to do that again. We also went to the 49er game when the Niners clenched the NFC West championship and that was loads of fun. Seeing Slash and Ozzy in concert in February was a good time as well.
This would have been a great year if Mickey hadn't passed away, but I guess something had to taint the year.
It's been an interesting year, that's for sure! Lots of extremes (both good and bad), and I think I've probably learned more about myself and life this year than any other.
The earthquake/tsunami was obviously the biggest overarching ordeal I'll remember about this year. It was definitely the kind of thing that makes everything about life feel different, and that will last forever in some ways I would imagine.
Then Corey and I have been separated since the end of June while he's been deployed, so that's obviously been a big suck. On the flip side, that allowed me to spend lots of time at home with all my family and friends that I've missed so much. It's also really put our relationship into perspective and helped us realize and appreciate how strong we are as a couple. I just feel so lucky to have him, now more than ever.
I got to spend time in Hawaii, traveled to Bryce, Zion, the Grand Canyon, and Sedona, took a solo road trip to the Pacific Northwest, plus small trips to Las Vegas and San Diego. Got to see lots of cool stuff!
We tried hard (and failed) to have a baby, but I got a new cousin and fell in love with two amazing little girls back in Misawa. We're feeling good about trying hard again next year.
I guess overall this year was pretty jolting and invigorating, thanks to the good and the bad. My life definitely got shaken up all over, which I suppose isn't an awful thing to have happen every now and then. In any case, I'm excited to see what 2012 brings!
Highlights:
Getting a new job and doing well at it (not to mention making more benjamins)
DH's business taking off and doing well.
Low Points:
Losing a preganancy
My mom's cancer coming back.
Hopefully 2012 will bring many more highlights! Looking forward to the new year!!
2011 was pretty bad all over. I was laid off in summer 2010 but my job search was really began in early 2011 because we had decided to move and how the cycle goes in schools. I have applied for about 70 jobs and not gotten anything. In addition, DH has had a very small pressure sore that will heal and then come back. But pressure sores are potentially deadly and he's had surgery for infected ones before that they cannot do in the same area again. He's had this one off and on since August, which meant we couldn't go on the New England/Maritimes cruise planned with his family and he's been in bed most of the time since then. If I had gotten a full time job, I don't really know what's we'd do with him being bed bound. The whole reason we moved was for him to pursue his comedy and he hasn't been able to do it. In the long term, his health will probably prevent him from making a career of it as he had hoped to, because he wouldn't be able to go on tour. He was supposed to go on tour in August, in fact. It's very frustrating and depressing for him because he loves it and he's very good at it and it was looking promising that he'd succeed with it. And there's the whole lack of income thing and him feeling like he can't contribute. Now at the very end of 2011 we are just trying to find a way to get him to a wound care specialist.
Good things that happened were I finally got to go to Legoland for our 5th anniversary/10 years together. I always loved Legos since I was a kid. We do have a nice place here with more room so we finally (after 7 years of living together) have a full size dining room table. I successfully hosted Thanksgiving with his family around it here... Proud of well, I guess just making it through everything. It's been hard to relive a lot of the things we went through when we were engaged and we thought were behind us. It feels like moving backward. 2010 was crappy because I was laid off but this year has almost seemed worse. I'm pretty worried I won't find a teaching job at all here because it's insanely hard to find any education jobs in this area. I'm even somewhat worried I won't if we move back to the Bay Area (which we might since there's no point being here if DH can't pursue comedy).
The pressure sore was a surprise since we had lived for 5 years with no problems with pressure sores. And, of course, it's frustrating for me to go on interviews that I think went well and not get anything. I want DH's health to improve, obviously. That's priority #1. Priority #2 is for me to get a job. Priority #3 would be for him to find something he could do to bring in income. Favorite books I discovered this year are the Murdoch Mysteries series by Maureen Jennings and favorite new TV show this year is Downton Abbey. I guess I started in late 2010 taking lots of photos of the view from our place in SJ. I've continued to here. So, I guess that's the new hobby. Things I want to do in 2012 are cook more and get DH (and to a lesser extent me) to eat better. I need to start going to the gym again. He's trying to quite smoking for the sore to heal (it retards healing of skin/tissue). I hope he will quit completely.
Donate to My Pancreatic Cancer Research Page
Did you intend these puns? Or is the earthquake just that ingrained in your subconscious?
Haha, wow... not at all. Totally didn't even realize that, how funny.
And I feel the need to amend the statement about life getting "shaken up" as it relates to the earthquake... I just read it and see it now sounding very thoughtless and cruel, like "Yeah, massive suffering and 15,000 people died, but I grew as a person, so it's ok." Not at all how I meant that to come across... I wasn't necessarily speaking specifically of just 3/11, and obviously I'd give back any life lessons I personally have experienced to have that horror NOT happen for Japan. Hopefully I didn't come across as being horribly self-centered there...
2011 was the year of travel for us. We took our first family vacation in a long time with my side of the family in April to Cancun. I took my dance team to compete in nationals in Florida in July and the girls all had a blast. We traveled back to MN for my cousin's wedding in August and DH got to meet the rest of my extended family back there. All in all, it was great having time off work and being able to relax with family and friends. I took over directing our Nutcracker this year...and received rave reviews...from everyone! I have never been prouder of my dancers (any myself:))
The only low is that 2011 did not give us a larger family. We've been ttc the whole year with no luck, which has been frustrating, especially with many friends starting their families.
Looking forward to see what 2012 has in store for us!
Married August 22, 2009-TTC #1 since 1/11
Dx PCOS and Hypothyroidism in 2004, SA 5/11-Excellent!
Cycle #1-6-Anovulatory:(
Cycle #7-metformin+clomid+acupuncture-BFP!!!
Beta#1(16dpo)-101, Beta#2(18dpo)-240, Beta#3(22dpo)-1,255
EDD 10-28-12
2011 was kind of a year of stagnancy. We did a little domestic travel, to the east coast and long weekend trips which were fun. ( probably our highs)
I had another ear surgery which wasn't too fun, and we had the car accident three weeks ago, but other than that things were status quo chez carfar.
While in some ways I'm glad ( health of loved ones, etc) for the status quo, in operation enlarge family by one child, status quo is hard to accept. I'd like some change in 2012 on having a family.
Donate to My Pancreatic Cancer Research Page
First, I'm so sorry that so many have had a difficult year. I know how that feels and it basically sucks. I really hope this new year brings everyone what they are hoping for.
2011 was one of the best years yet for me. It started with getting a temp job and then becoming hired on permanently in June. I really love where I work and the people I work with are great. I couldn't ask for more at this point. In a few weeks I'm starting a paralegal certificate program and my company has agreed to pay the total cost of the program. It's so nice to feel valued and know that people see my potential.
I also started running and have stuck with that for most of the year. I do it because I feel better when I take the time to run. I've also lost some more weight and kept it off without trying, which still amazes me every day. It's always been so difficult for me to maintain my weight. I still have about another 35-40 pounds to lose, but I know I'll get there eventually. I hope to lose about 20 pounds this next year and the last 15-20 in 2013. Overall, I feel a lot more peaceful with my weight and health than I ever before.
We didn't travel internationally this year, but we did get to go to Hawaii because of a trip my husband won through work. Next year they are sending the top employees to Argentina and it looks like he has a great chance of winning that trip. We won't know for sure until March or April. If he doesn't win, we'll be heading to Peru in September.
I was able to focus more time on hobbies like reading, hiking, fixing up our house, gardening, and developing more friendships. The hardest part of this year was probably knowing that some of my friendships have come to an end. I resisted for a long time, but I finally realized that I need to let go and that doesn't mean we still won't be friendly toward each other. We just don't need to feel the need to hang out anymore. I feel good that I've finally come to terms with that and I'm not stressed out about it anymore.
2011 was a year of change and reflection (if that's the right word).
I watched a lot of friends get pregnant and have babies. My high school had its 10 year reunion (which kind of forced me to take a look back at my quickly-ending 20's!) I saw my husband flourish professionally and personally and it has been a wonderful thing to watch, and one of the things that has kept me positive and hopeful. It's great to see him busy, happy, engaged.
Professionally (for me), it was a challenging year. I did some union work connected with my job that I was really proud of, though it was another year of watching the sad decline of Bay Area journalism. Unfortunately, I lost my job in November - the irony! - and I'm still sort of trying to make my way to the next step, whatever that will be. This little bump in the road was not entirely unexpected but still... jarring, in many ways. It's been difficult but I see it as a good opportunity to try something new and different, and in a way it's kind of exciting.
We took some fun trips: Las Vegas in June (my first time there, quite an experience, and included one of the best meals of my life), camping on the north coast over the summer, a visit to Seattle to see family and a quick jaunt to Victoria BC (those Canadians are so friendly!), and a trip to the northern end of the state this past weekend that was a lot of fun.
This year saw DH traveling a lot for work which has been tough but gave me a fresh perspective and a new appreciation for having him in my life and the time we get to spend together.
And I started running! Then got sidelined by an ankle injury that is still plaguing me
I very much hope to be able to get back into that in 2012.
This next year, I hope to take advantage of the extra free time I have
and do some things I've wanted to do for a while: Learn something about photography, take a knitting and/or sewing class, maybe try yoga, do a bit more gardening, maybe bake bread.
OH! And I finally pay off my car this year. Yay!
2011 was good to us. I plugged away at my master's program all year long, which has been really tough and majorly frustrating at times, but pretty rewarding as well. I've made some great friendships who I am anticipating being a wonderful support system when we are out in the world as working speech-language pathologists after we all finally graduate in (hopefully) 2013. Going through this program has been a major mind trip. At times I've really doubted myself but I'm beginning to realize that may be part of the process. All in all, I finished 13 classes in 2011 (18 total since starting the program), including my first 3 clinics where I began seeing actual clients both in the university setting and out in the real world. Of these, I only got 1 B and I am super proud of that, especially since I am doing all of this with a child alongside many other students who do not have families to worry about on top of school.
My greatest school-related achievement was this past semester, when I took 18 units of incredibly intensive classes (4 of them) and clinics (2 of those). I managed to earn a 4.0, and my partner and I received the top grade in the entire class for our final project (a systematic review) in our research methods class. I am still sort of in awe about that. For another class, a classmate and I had to compile a huge binder of research articles on a certain topic, make 17 copies to distribute to the class, and lead an entire 3-hour class to educate them on the topic. I had to drop out of nearly my entire social life in order to do all of this (including TN/TB), but now it's done and I am enjoying rediscovering my family, friends, hobbies and the world around me in general. Now that I am over that major hump, the rest of the program should actually be manageable. Though I have a few more gray hairs and wrinkles because of it, I feel like I can do just about anything after surviving what my classmates and I have termed the "semester from hell"!
We also bought our first home in June, which was a dream come true for us. Our house isn't huge or fancy, but it's perfect for us and we hope to be able to spend many years here. I doubted we'd ever be able to do this, especially with me being in school and not working for the next couple of years. I'm incredibly proud of my husband for his part in that big step. We're enjoying making it our own, though we have a lot of work ahead of us.
No travel this year, but I really don't get any long breaks in my program. We'll hopefully do a big trip after I graduate. I'm hoping Kyva and I can tag along with DH for a few days when he goes to NYC for a conference in February, and we hope to go to his family reunion in VT again in the summer.
All in all, 2011 was a good year. I hope we can all say the same this time next year about 2012.