New Year’s Eve

Let’s recap all of the major events of 2011, the most major-event-filled year of my life thus far.

• My nephew, Kentaro was born!
• I started taking photography more seriously.
• I gave a concerto recital. It went really well. In fact, it is one of the pieces my fingers are still comfortable playing.
• A huge earthquake hit Japan, just off the coast near where my brother (and his wife & my new nephew) live. Everyone is safe but it was a hard few days… especially when we spent an hour and a half talking about it in my next class (Earthquakes and Natural Disasters) and everyone laughed about it.
• I learned how to waltz & foxtrot at my uncle’s birthday party, and my father and I were partners. Someone said, “You know, the next time the two of you dance together, it will be at your wedding.”
• I took some pictures for a couple friends in the music school that were met with rave reviews from faculty around the school.
• I gave my senior recital and it was wonderful and everyone was so supportive — and I passed!
• Ryan and I signed the lease on our first place together.
• Ryan and I went to California to visit Tom & Logan. The weekend before finals, we weren’t studying, but hanging out in San Francisco with our favorite people in the world.
• I graduated from college!
• I moved home for a month where I got paid to play piano. While I was there, my car got totaled & I had a wedding shower.
• In July, I turned 22, celebrated the 4th of July, got the keys to our new apartment, saw the midnight premiere of Harry Potter 7:2, celebrated Ryan’s 23rd birthday, had a bachelorette party where I got REALLY drunk, moved into our new apartment (the day after said bachelorette party, so I was really hungover), had a dinner date with Matt & Kristee, dealt with a flower-near-disaster, picked up my dress, picked up Tom & Logan, met Brittany(!!!), and GOT MARRIED(!!!!!).
• Went on our honeymoon and spent 7 blissful days soaking up the Caribbean sun.
• Started teaching 30 children, a huge increase from last year’s 10.
• Launched Laura King Photography.
• We watched all of The Big Bang Theory and Inuyasha and Psych and Reaper and a couple other shows. We are really good at staying up really late to catch up on shows we find out about long after they’ve begun (or ended).
• We house sat for Ryan’s parents, which means somehow we went about a month without buying groceries. It was awesome.
• I shot 2 boudoir sessions and decided I absolutely love it.
• Logan decided to leave Apple and take a job in Portland. Now we are thinking about moving there, too.
• We put up our tree in our first apartment together to celebrate our first Christmas together.
• I spend every single day thinking about just how incredibly lucky and happy and blessed I am to be living the life I am living. We may not have a lot of money, but we are happier than anyone else we know.

This year has been absolutely perfect, and I am so beyond excited to see where we will be in another year.

Have a wonderful, happy, safe evening, and I wish you all of the absolute best in the coming year.