twenty-two.

Well today's my twenty-second birthday. Which is just strange to type, I barely got used to being twenty-one! And now today I'm like an old fart, I'm 22. Ridiculous. So anyway, here are some highlights from the year 2011 / the year I was 21.

• The first full year that Trevor & I dated.
  We started dating August 2nd, 2010 and 2011 was the first year we were together for the whole thing. :) On August 2nd of this year will be our two year anniversary! And after that, hopefully many more. Over there is a picture of Trevor & I at the Thayer company Christmas party this year :)
  
• Got my violin fixed!
  My beauuutiiifulll violin which I got in like...2006? I think, broke on Easter Vigil in 2010. I was devastated - the bridge cracked and the soundpost was rolling around in the violin. I was really broke and the time and couldn't get it fixed. :( But my boss, Chuck, bought me a brand new violin to use in the meantime!! I played it all summer long but then finally decided to get my real violin fixed. I teared up when I first started tuning it, missed it so much. <3

• Went to Colonial Williamsburg!I got to go with my whole family (minus my brother Rob) to Williamsburg in Virginia, where we had a whole week full of history & fun :)

• Went on my first business trip :)I went to Toledo, OH to the headquarters of Spartan Chemical Company to learn about their program, CompuClean. Yes, I work in the janitorial supply business. But along the way Dulcie & I got to explore the city! We shopped and went to the art museum there :) Great memories!!! To the right is a picture of all the people at the seminar. Needless to say, I was the youngest. :P
• Turned 21!
  Ok this one's kind of obvious. Like, duh I turned 21. But what happened as a result of being 21 is that my tastes, as far as alcohol goes, matured greatly. I got really into beeeeer this year. Before I just drank whatever, whatever was cheap and available. I had no idea what a lager vs a pale ale vs a pilsner or what. So I learned a lot as far as that's concerned. The beer I had last year on my 21st was a Blue Moon Belgian White; that was first time I drank it and it's still a favorite to this day.
  
  
• Learned guitar (kind of)
  I always dabbled a little when it came to guitar, but 2011 was the year that I really worked on it. It's a good instrument to carry around with you so I'd bring it to the beach! It was a great instrument to learn because I found a songbook of Beatles and then a Simon & Garfunkel book in my mom's music, and brought them EVERYWHERE with me. This is one of my favorite pictures from this year, me playing guitar for my little cousins on my Grandma's deck.

• Became friends with 65 people?
  According to Facebook, I gained 65 new friends in 2011. That's not counting the people I met who I didn't end up adding on Facebook of course :) but this new timeline thing makes it really interesting to look back on the past year of your life!

Also, this is the year I started this blog! I've been at it for about seven months now, and it gets better every post I'd say.

So looking back on the year, I'm content. I've had a 21st year filled with family more loving and more fun than any I could ever ask for, friends who fill all my spare time with awesome memories, and a boyfriend who is always there for me, no matter what. And I am so grateful to have another year to spend with all of them :)
Happy birthday to me! Thanks for everything.