Brian and the New Camera

For Christmas/birthdays, Brian and I bought ourselves a new SLR camera (this one) -- something we wanted to get before our honeymoon in May. We've both enjoyed playing around with it, but Brian especially has loved learning its bells and whistles. With his time off from school, he's been studying the manual and practicing the different settings. Today he went to a nearby park to test it out, and I thought I'd post his photography. Looks frameable to me!

2012, Here I Come!

I almost never make New Year's resolutions. But with the changes ahead in 2012, I decided that now would be a good time to write down some of my top goals for the upcoming year.

I tried to make each goal as measureable as I could, following advice from one of my favorite blogs.

Even though I feel a little silly announcing my resolutions on my blog, I'm doing it any way to hold myself accountable.

...So in 2012, I aim to do the following:

Wake up early enough each morning to eat a healthy breakfast and pack lunch. This might seem simple enough, but especially lately, I've found myself hitting the snooze button far too many times. Though I'm not late to work, I feel rushed getting out the door and often grab a quick (insubstantial) breakfast. And when I don't pack a lunch, I'm tempted by all the unhealthy options in our hospital cafeteria. Plus the cafeteria costs extra money. Not smart.

Exercise three times a week. Because it's good for me.

Run the Road Race Series again. I loved doing it for the first time this year, and I'm hoping Brian will run it with me in 2012.

Run a half marathon. Yes, I was supposed to run at least one half marathon for the Road Race Series this year, but I didn't.  (I didn't run any more of the races after the first 10 miler.) I will do a 13.1-mile race!

Start graduate school. I would like to enroll in a local MBA program for the fall semester.

Blog at least two times a week. I started this blog in May and have thorougly enjoyed blogging! But I've only done, on average, a little more than four posts per month. In 2012, I want to blog more often and take more pictures to capture our memories.

Enjoy a happy, fun marriage with Brian. Most importantly, I want to put our marriage first in 2012 (and all the years after, of course), as we adjust to married life together. Marriage is the biggest change we'll face in 2012, and I can't wait! Without getting too cheesy, I look forward to embarking on this journey with Brian and growing in our relationship together.

Celebrations

My birthday has turned into a birthweek! I've been celebrating my 24th birthday since Monday! I feel so grateful to have such wonderful family and friends who have made this week so special.

It started with a joint celebration with my co-workers. My co-worker Amanda's birthday is Dec. 28, so she had us all over to her apartment after work Monday for a cocktail hour to celebrate both of our birthdays.

On Wednesday, Brian took me to dinner at Felicia Suzanne's for my birthday. We met Avery, Allie and Lizzy afterwards for a drink at Alchemy.

Thursday, I celebrated with my family, and we ordered my favorite pizza from Ciao Bella.

On Friday, my actual birthday, Brian came over for appetizers before the second annual Ruff wacky tacky Christmas party. I also visited with the Weltons and was so excited to see my own stocking on their mantel!

The Christmas party was a blast! Brooke and Daniel are such wonderful hosts, and Brooke made delicious holiday appetizers. 

Christmastime at Laurel Hollow

Happy Birthday to Brian

Happy birthday, Brian!

Because Brian and I couldn't be together today on his actual birthday, the two of us celebrated his 24th year while he was home for Thanksgiving by going out to dinner at Circa. At the end of our dinner, the waiter presented us him with this beautiful plate of macaroons! Luckily, Brian shared.

Hope you have a wonderful day, Brian!

Sewanee Lessons and Carols

It feels like Christmas time is officially here after attending Sewanee's Lessons and Carols service this weekend! Thanks to Brian's parents, Brian, my parents and I got tickets to attend the Saturday evening service, and it was just as amazing as I'd hope. Brian's sister Meg and her boyfriend Will came, too! The church -- All Saints Chapel -- is gorgeous as it is, but this weekend it was very festive, decorated with branches from pine trees, berries and hundreds of candles. As promised, it was a breathtaking service with an amazing choir. Here are some photos from the trip!

Shenanigans, where we ate lunch Saturday

We showed my parents The Cross, a Sewanee landmark

The view from The Cross

Mom and Dad

Brian and me

Brian, me, Meg and Will before Lessons and Carols

Inside All Saints Chapel

Brian and me after breakfast this morning at The Blue Chair