two thousand & eleven

I am so very much behind but Goodbye 2011 and Hello 2012.

A very Happy New Year to everyone. Thank you to all readers for your support and encouragement this year.

I've never written yearly reviews but I thought I'd kick it off for the first time for 2011. While I was going through photos of 2011 I realised that although it was fairly low key I still experienced some amazing things and I'm so glad that I took the time out to write this blog and relive those memories.
It has been a very blessed year and I'm looking forward to what 2012 will bring.

Some of my highlights:

Spiritual:
In my spiritual walk I have certainly grown and have had a deeper understanding of the word of God and it has been a great fresh experience for me. Studying the book of Isaiah through BSF and getting a whole new perspective of the old testament was a big eye opener. Another highlight was my dearest friend Miss K got baptised and it was a privilege to see her testimony. Our church is changing and moving forward, new pastor which means new beginnings which I'm very much looking forward to in 2012.

Cooking and Dining Adventures:
Well who would have thought that a simple Donna Hay cook book gift given by my mother in law would have me be obsessed with perfecting my extremely bad cooking skills. Her books inspired me to learn, to cook for my husband and generally to eat more healthy rather than eating take out. From then on I bought more cook books (bazillion trillion cook books haha) from a variety of chefs and I continue to challenge myself everyday.
Since I've developed a passion for cooking I've also become more interested in fine dining to experience quality dishes. Best eating experiences for me this year are Movida, Rockpool, Aria, Din Tai Fung, Bodega. Spice I am, Clover Cottage, Point Albert and Xanthi.

Travel Adventures:
Lots of travelling this year but mainly between Victoria and NSW to catch up with friends and family. We went to Tamworth for my husband's birthday and that was a great time and of course we lived in Sydney for two months.

Personal Adventures:
The biggest highlight has been seeing my aunty and her family for the first time after 18 years (read about it here). Another one is a lovely moment of Dad telling me that the photobook I put together for him for his 60th was the best gift he ever got. I spent hours scanning photos and put a book of photos which celebrated his life.
There are a few things I'm proud of, one is that I've become healthy and have lost nearly 10KG's since the beginning of the year. I have been walking or running nearly everyday (sometimes twice a day). I've turned into a meal-planner and haven't stopped meal planning thus far! I thought I'd stop after a week but I've kept up with it. WIN!
The other is that I've come along way with Photography and have had an amazing time learning more about it and being a part of projects such as the birth of this blog, my first wedding shoot and experimenting with film (film blog posts here, here and here). Let's not forget my two new toys, 5DMKII and Mamiya M645.
How can I not mention Music? My favourite band Emery came down from the US to play and that was a HUGE highlight for me. I also discovered Oh Sleeper and saw them live and they blew me away. The album I've listened to the most is Eisley's The Valley.

I can't finish this review without mentioning my husband. I've had a great year with my dear husband who is the rock of my life. In all aspects of the highlights that I've mentioned above he has been apart of it to encourage and support me. We have had so many laughs, silly jokes, bird noises, talking in russian accents and creating russian characters. We became obsessed with TV shows such as Roswell, IT Crowd and the most recent Smallville. We played music a few times together, he'd play guitar and I'd sing a long to Eisley, Emery or Copeland songs (oh the fun). Many entertaining dinner parties and making new couple friends. For the more serious times we've shed tears, we've challenged one another, we supported each other spiritually and have learned more about one another.

If you've read this far, I'm impressed and you deserve a gold star.

Happy 2012!

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