11 Great Things About 2011

I love the end of the year. I love all of the year-in-reviews on tv and in People magazine. I love the "Top 100 songs of the decade" countdowns on the radio. I love new calendars. (Aren't new calendars great? I spend a lot of time reviewing my planner and calendar options, trying to find just the perfect calendar. I know some of you know what I'm talking about!) I love making resolutions and shopping for work out clothes. Notice I said I love shopping for work out clothes, not working out. But before I make my resolutions for 2012, here's are 11 fabulous things about 2011:

1) I got married! On October 8th, I truly had the wedding of my dreams. We had so much fun. Even though I have type-A tendencies, I am proud to say that I kept my bridezilla-ness to a minimum. I loved, loved, loved the planning process. If I could be a wedding planner professionally, I would.

2) Honeymoon in New Orleans! Tom & I wanted to go someplace we hadn't been before, and New Orleans fit the bill. We visited the WWII Museum (amazing), took a walking tour of The Garden District (loved the cemetaries) and we drank hurricanes. Oh yeah, we also ate. A lot. We ate some of the best food I've ever had in my life. Gumbo. Beignets. Muffattas. Fresh oysters. Yum.

3) My sister got married! On November 5th, Amanda and Marc were married in Cincinnati. Gorgeous ceremony. My sister is ridiculously beautiful, so you can imagine what a beautiful bride she made.

4) I have a new brother and sister! In September, my mom & dad added Frankie & Lola to their family. Clearly my mom didn't think she had enough to do with 2 fall weddings! Curt & Cheryl have been dog-less since Lucy died last year, and they were really missing some canine companionship. Boston terrier puppies might be just about the cutest puppies in existence. But man are they rambunctious!

5) I had 2 of the best wedding showers ever! In August, my mom's friends hosted a joint shower for me and Amanda. It was so nice and so generous of them to do this for us and we loved every minute of it. Later in the month, my sis and a long-time family friend (ok - my old babysitter, but she's really kind of like a big sister) threw a shower for me. The colors were yellow and grey and it was wonderful! Friends came from West Virginia, Cleveland, Pittsburgh and North Carolina. It was so nice and I felt so loved.

6) My BFF visited! This gets it's own notation because Lori NEVER gets to go anywhere without her kids. She flew in for my shower in August and we had all kinds of crazy girl time. We stayed up late watching Sister Wives and drinking wine coolers. Fabulous.

7) I went to North Carolina! Vacations were limited this year because I was saving up my time for the wedding and wedding-related events. But I did get the opportunity to travel to the Tar heel State twice. Tom & I went in January so he could meet the Potter family. (Talk about baptism by fire! But Tom did great - was a little overwhelmed at first, though.) My mom and I went down in July so she could work on the flower girl dresses.

8) I said bye-bye to retail! I quit Toys R Us in November and haven't looked back. I haven't been able to really, truly relax during Christmas for 20 years. This holiday season was amazing. I baked cookies. I actually enjoyed shopping and decorating the house. I got lots of reading done and relaxed a lot. It has been amazing.

9) I love my book club! I really have connected to my book club friends. They're awesome and I love that our book club keeps growing. Being in a book club gives you the chance to read books that you normally wouldn't read, and we read some great books in 2011.

10) I made some great friends! Thanks to my new husband, I met some wonderful people. Some are Tom's co-workers and some are people that Tom grew up with. (Tom, by the way, has a ton of friends that he's had since he was a kid. How many of us can say that?) And every single person that I've met has just been so wonderfully nice and accepting of me. I'm truly grateful for that. I also had the chance to (finally!) meet some of my sister's closest friends. You know, those people that you feel like you already know because they've been a part of your sister's (or whoever) life for practically forever.

11) I got married! Okay - there are bunch of other things that I could list as #11. My parents are both healthy and happy, despite throwing weddings for 2 daughters. Within 30 days of each other. Mollie continues to be the smartest kitty in the world. Despite some crazy health stuff this year, everyone in my family is healthy. I made paella for the first time. We started a bunch of new family traditions (pancakes on Fat Tuesday, anyone?). But the very, very best thing about 2011 is I happened to find Tom and somehow convince him to marry me. And, gosh darn it, it took me long enough! To quote my cousin Cara Lee when she met Tom, "Well, it's about darn time"! Despite being a "bride of a certain age" (coined by MOB Cheryl), I felt like a total princess on October 8th. And that, my friends, is why I'm listing this twice.