2011 – 2012
Looking back, it turns out I have done this sort of entry almost every year, with the exception of 2002, when I had just switched over to OD+ and last year, when I wasn’t back from Africa until well into the month. I’m kind of surprised at my own consistency, so might as well try and maintain the tradition.
We kicked off 2011 in Tanzania, beginning our last day of hiking Kilimanjaro at midnight local time and reaching Uhuru Point at right around midnight NYC time.
After Kili, we went on safari and saw lots of animals. Elephants and giraffes and tigers – so amazing. We finally went to Chez Panisse in January and one of S’s best friends passed away so I spent a lot of time in SF trying to be there for him.
In February, it was cold, my toenail fell off, and I paid off the mortgage on my apartment.
March is usually a pretty uneventful month, but this year we went iceclimbing, which was really neat. I traveled a lot, tried (unsuccessfully) not to eat cookies for dinner most nights and also managed to not do laundry for two full months.
April was the month that S finally moved back to NYC, I saw some great flicks at the Tribeca Film Festival, we went hang gliding in San Francisco, Jazz Fest (and seeing Chase!) in New Orleans and then the last weekend of April into May we went to the Kentucky Derby! So much fun.
The rest of May we went to lots of fun events including a gala at the NYPL, cocktails at the infamous Box, partying in a graveyard, winning the vodka Olympics, and ringing the bell at the New York Stock Exchange.
June was interesting, we started getting really into spinning, we went to the Genart Film Festival, and finally attended the Coney Island Mermaid Parade! Oh and a guy I used to work with got fired, killed his girlfriend, set her body on fire, then shot himself in the head when the police pulled him over. Yeah. On a happier note, I swam around the Statue of Liberty and marriage equality was finally passed in NY State which made for an amazing and festive Pride weekend in NYC.
In July we attended my good friend C’s wedding in Lima and hiked the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu.
Drove myself a little crazy with pre-swim anxiety in August and celebrated my birthday with a swim and boardwalk fun at Coney Island. A few days later I was profiled in the local newspaper, complete with very large full-length color photo of my thirtysomething body in a bathing suit. A few days after that, that same body swam eighteen miles in a beautiful and historic swim. I realized my dream of swimming with the Weeki Wachee Mermaids, and got to spend some quality time in their mystical spring.
September was a mixed bag – my grandmother passed away, we went to Space Camp, Fashion Week, and opening night of the New York City Ballet. Work got crazy.
October work was crazy, but we managed to get to some great events for the NY Film Festival, and I met one of my all time heroines, Lynne Cox.
In November we went to the Young Lions Gala for the NY Public Library, I finally got around to posting photos from September, and we headed off to Paris.
I spent the better part of December in Paris and had lots of fun taking French classes and exploring one of my all-time favorite cities. S re-joined me on my last weekend and we had a great time doing touristy things. I got back in time for Christmas with my family and an out-of-control New Year’s Eve.
I could tell you about my carefully selected dress, the delicious rock shrimp risotto, scallop/prime rib surf n’ turf, hand-crafted cocktails, or the truffled gnocchi but that would be misleading. I think this pretty much sums it up:
And on that note, happy 2012. Cheers!
***Okay, here’s a couple of the dress, plus bonus shenanigans***:
I’ve seen a few people do these recaps and I think they’re a great idea! will have to do one at the end of this year 🙂
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I want to see your New Year’s dress. Where did you go? Don’t leave out the good stuff!!!
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TRUFFLED GNOCCHI. What.
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Out of all the amazing things you did, your February summary made me laugh. NYE looks like it was a blast– can we see a picture of your dress without bodies piled on top of it? Happy 2012!
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you’ve lived like a rock star this year!
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Thanks! I love the dress. Asos?
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Just lovely as always. 🙂
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OMFG I love that picture. I want to be friends with that couple based solely on their taste in leg wear. If they’re couple. If not, they should be.
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What an year you’ve had! Amazing times with some sadnesses in between. Here’s hoping 2012 is even better for you.
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hahahah!!! I LOVE the dress! and your entire year!
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Another banner year for your crazy ambitious ass! Love your friend’s gold dress.
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Yet another amazing year. So AWESOME that you were profiled in the paper! In a bathingsuit no less. God, I’d rather die, haha. Happy New Year!
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you are fabulous! love it!
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Hot dress, hot boots, hot bod, hot chick! Fabulous!
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here’s to making 2012 the best yet!
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LOVE the dress, your boots, that girl’s tights, and S’s blazer. You hang out with some fashionable people.
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You look great!
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That picture in the tub says it all. Happy New Year!
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Girl, you just get better with age! Happy 2012!
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I spy red soles on those boots! Love it! 🙂
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Huge year! 🙂 I LOVE your dress! You look like you’re pouting for falling into that chair in the second picture! So funny!
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ryn: LOL, that totally is a bathtub, I didn’t even notice! Wow, I’m slow today! 🙂
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An amazing year for sure. 🙂 Can’t wait to read all about your 2012 travels! The NYE dress was totally fabulous and sexy. Good times!
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Love the pics and your black dress, very sexy (yet classy)!! Yay for a fabulous year and another to come, cheers to a wonderful 2012!
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RYN – Thanks! You too 🙂 No Olympics for me. Didn’t get any tickets. Might try to see the cycling road race. CD xxx
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You look SMOKIN! And I’m very impressed about no laundry for two months. You must have a LOT of socks and underwear. Must learn your secrets. Honestly, though, what a great year overall.
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booooo-riiiiiiiing. can’t you ever do anything interesting?? 🙂
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Memoirs of Satine. You live. Cute dress, Foxy!
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Freak. Ing. Awe. Some.
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OMG, is your purse FURRY? You look gorgeous, amazing dress!
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You look like you’re having heaps of fun! 🙂
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Congratulations on paying off your mortgage! What an awesome achievement, and at such a young age too.
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Congrats on the newspaper profile! I think missed that one!
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Fun Nye! And I envy all your traveling. I hope to find a boyfriend I can travel with asap. And hopefully by the summer, things at the new store will be settled enough, new staff trained enough, that I can leave for a few days or a week TO travel somewhere fun. Italy and Asia is on the top of my list. So is Chicago and NY for Stateside. Eventually would LOVE to go on a safari or machu picchu
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RYN: Totally. This is how I described it in an email to my movie friends: Prime of Miss Jean Brodie + Lord of the Flies + Picnic at Hanging Rock + Secret History + Notes on a Scandal + Heavenly Creatures = Cracks.
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The dress is beautiful, and you look great in it! RYN: I’m glad you stopped by. Hello and Happy New Year to you, too!
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I love this way of doing the recap – you have had a jam-packed year! It really seems like way less than a year since you hiked Kilimanjaro. Where DOES time go?!? Happy happy New Years!
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ryn: i’m always cold too! people ask me about the temperature in a room, if it’s too warm or too cold and my common answer is,”i’m the wrong person to ask.” when i work out, i get warm, but it takes FOREVER to get there. is it because i have a naturally low resting heart rate that makes me always cold? is your heart rate like that?
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ryn: I have no idea :(:( Whatever I propose she twists around as something horrible and evil these days. I’m just backing off from proposing anything for a while. She’ll call the shots, and if they keep being violent shots, the date’s in my calendar.
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ryn: Yes, we’re looking into CrossFit too! Oh and when I wrote ‘some of you may have heard of Paleo’, I was thinking of you…:D
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Sounds like a wonderful year, full of events, dreams accomplished, great adventures, and some hard stuff, of course, but overall amazing. 🙂 I love your dress, btw! And that story about the guy u worked with… damn! I thought those things only happened in CSI!! :/
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You had me at truffled gnocchi! What a great year! Here’s to an amazing 2012!!
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Ryn: She’s getting married August 4 we’re probably not gonna go to NY till the summer. I’m trying to convince her to go in the spring since summers in NYC are gross right?
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Thanks! By the way. I don’t mean to insult NY. Those were Foodie’s words, back in the summer when I suggested me going up there and staying with him. He told me it was hot, stinky and that he would be too busy working to spend any time with me. Grr! Hopefully some day he’ll regret the way he treated me. I hope I have a boy with me next time I run into him. I want to see him jealous!
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Tanzania in January and Paris in December? I’d call that a good year! Wouldn’t even matter if you did NOTHING during the 10 months sandwiched in between there!
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Wow.. you have done more in the last year than I’d do in 20 lifetimes… you left me that nice note and then i come to your front page and see that Thoreau quote… hit me like a slap in the face…
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ryn: for all the reasons you mentioned. I’ve always loved that area even before I lived in NYC. I was very familiar with that area because of Port Authority. I always felt like I had lived there before so when I found my first apt. there I felt like I was coming home. When I left it never quite felt right but even just walking around that area I feel I lived there long ago or for a lifetime.
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Um, hi, that dress is AMAZING. I want to ring in every new year while wearing it & probably glitter shoes, too, if I’m honest.
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okay, the dress is hawt but OH MY GAWD THOSE BOOTS
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Love it!! Bill and I are planning a *tentative* trip to Paris in the fall. I have must find out all the “Must not miss” tips. 🙂
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Btw, shocking about your old coworker! Holy crap! What did he get fired for, I wonder.
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#1 I want to party with you and S sometime. Maybe once I celebrate my first big paycheck when FoodFight gets funded! 😉 #2 yes, my head is shaved on both sides. I can’t do asymmetry, although I sometimes wish I could. More photos TK once I get some nice ones taken tonight hopefully, at a dinner party. 🙂
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So what are you doing March 9? I’ll be in town 🙂
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The swim you did in August, I’d read about it. My cousins live in NY and had told me about it. So cool that you were able to partake.
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