2011: in review

So, it's January right? As I’ve already talked about, this year has been hectic from day one. Because of this I haven't really had time to reflect on 2011 as much as I would have liked. As I was moving back to St. George two days ago in my belonging-laden car, one of my new favorite songs started playing on my iPod. I found myself completely engulfed in just how good it was and I realized that not only was it one of my favorite songs of last year but that the whole album and artist were my favorites as well. And from this small thought a blog post was born! 

2011 favorites:

Artist: Greg Holden. he's a relatively small British artist who writes beautifully simple songs that suit his voice just perfectly. His album I don't believe you is all worth listening to but my favorite song is easily are we wasted:

(Because Greg is such an unknown artist this is the only version of this song I could find on YouTube.)

Honorable mentions: Broken Bells, Parachute, Adele, (I’m already shaking my head over this next one) Nicki Minaj, Florence and the Machine, and Emily Haines and the Soft Skeletal. 

Rediscovered artists: Jonezetta. I used to be a pretty big fan of these guys in high school buuut their newest album (which came out like mid 2009… and yes, I realize I’m way behind) has completely reconverted me. I’m a Jonezetta-liber once again. Favorite new song: paint and picture or cruel to be young. Favorite old song: communicate or backstabber. 

Album:  Ceremonials by Florence and the Machine. Favorite song: if only for a night. 

Honestly you guys, it’s one of those songs that every time I hear it I am required to turn my volume up as loud as I can stand it. It’s that good. Listen to it with headphones, trust me. 

Honorable mentions: I don't believe you by Greg Holden as stated above. The whole thing is worth listening to.

How to train your dragon OST. I fully realize that this came out in 2010 but 2011 is when I discovered it. You guys, I love this cd. I’ve always had this weird thing for Irish anything and this soundtrack manages to weave that Celtic feeling into each song so perfectly that it hushes my craving to someday see those Irish shores, if only for 24 3 minute periods. Favorite song? Forbidden friendship. I love this song so much that I based an entire art project around it. (haha if that wasn't the most pretentious thing I've said in a long time...)

Honorable, honorable mention:

Vices and Virtues by Panic! At The Disco. I just like the song ready to go, so I thought I’d throw this one out there in case you’re like me and you kind of forgot that Panic! At The Disco is still a thing.

Song: Always Remember Me by Ry Cumming. I'm still trying really hard to find someone who is willing to learn to play this on the guitar for me. Insta- Swoon.

Honorable mentions:

Replaced by Katie

What I know by Parachute

Never going back again by Fleetwood Mac

Crossfire by Brandon Flowers

Titanium by David Guetta ft Sia

Our hell by Emily Haines and the soft skeletal. 

Young blood by the naked and famous

Passenger’s Seat by Death Cab for Cutie (I realize this is an old song but I didn’t find out about it until about June-ish. not my fault I’m way behind.)

Artist I never thought I’d willingly put on my iPod: maroon 5. Stutter…. yes please. Also, moves like Jagger. I’m questioning all my own music taste at this point.

Honorable mention: John Meyer. Seriously, WHO AM I?!

Movie: if we're judging solely on the amount of times I’ve watched it, then my favorite has to be Easy A. however, I do claim The Fall as my favorite of the year. (However, I may have discovered this movie at the very end of 2010. eh. technicalities.)

Honorable mentions: 

Limitless- I loved the premise of this movie.

The Help- as much as I didn't want to let this movie affect me, it definitely did. Also, it has Emma Stone in it. LOOOOVE her.

Book: The Picture of Dorian Gray. Oscar Wilde is such a profound and talented writer and this book got me willing to attempt to love more classic works. 

Honorable mention: Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. Guys, I’m not even done with this book yet and I’m so totally in love with it. The writing is touching and beautiful and poetic. Jonathan Safran Foer is brilliant. 

New TV show: Modern Family. A girl I worked with finally got me to start watching this show and I instantly fell in love. It’s sassy, smart and entertaining, what more can you honestly ask for?

Honorable mention:

Raising Hope. The first time I watched this show I absolutely hated it. Ask Trina, I went off about how stupid it was for about ten minutes. For reasons unknown to me I attempted watching it again aaand it's now safe to say it's one of my favorites. If you like satirical humor about lower class white folk this show will definitely deliver. 

Person: Jk I couldn't do that. But Trina has put up with me for yet another year, which I feel definitely warrants recognition... just putting that out there. 

Best pet fish: Oscar. Hands down. 

Website: 750words.com, it's basically an online journal of sorts. It's based on the premise that it takes 750 words to get the creativity blood flowing through their fingers.  The creator of the website encourages his users to basically word vomit for 750 words, every single day. That's it. It’s nice, simple and private. best of all though, they take what you've written and they analyze it, telling you how fast you typed, how consistent your writing was, the content you wrote about (us, I, or them, or family vs. work, or past, present or future.) if you use the website as a brain dumping ground it's really eye opening to see exactly where your thoughts lie. 

Honorable mention: 

pinterest.com; those who know me, know how visual I am. I'm pretty sure one day I wished I could save everything I loved on the internet in one, visual spot, and somehow someone heard me and decided to call it Pinterest. And that's how it came to be. Pinterest helps me organize all the wonderful/weird things I find on the internet in one easy to see place. This helps to cut down on the number of tabs I have open on my browser at any given time, which apparently isn't normal if I am to judge based off people's reactions when I open my web browser. 

Web series: Very Mary Kate. I quote this, not even kidding, daily. Everything from "be quiet evil dragon, I'm trying to have a conversation *disgusted look*" to "my toes is froze, my nose is froze, and my kimono's froze" to "gross.com/stabmeintheheart.html" to "don't cry M cakes, it's gross" to "ooh Nana Troll Face will be thrilled." to "comet, comet, comet, comet, comet. Yay, I have an island!" to "'NYU? more like N-why are you yelling?' 'I'm not yellling.' 'Yes, you are you're so loud!' 'No, I'm not. I'm sure of it, I'm emotionally shut down.'" to "can you bring me a blanket? it's like really brrrrr in here" yes, I just pulled all of those from memory. I can watch her videos over and over and over again and they're still just as funny every time. 

Honorable Mention: I don't know if he counts but since this is my list I'm making it count; Peter Lee Johnson takes popular songs and plays them on his violin and then posts the songs to his youtube channel. And he's freaking good at it. I know I've posted some of his covers on here before but his music makes me so happy that I have no problem talking about it again. 

Picture: (to the right) This is one of the first pictures I took with my new lens. Everything about this makes me so happy, and that's what photography is supposed to do, right? Right.

Habit acquired: chewing ice. I feel bad for everyone who had to deal with me for the six months of this past year where chewing ice was my thing. So sorry Trina. 

Honorable mention: 

-Doing my nails. I never thought I’d be one of those girls who spends stupid amounts of time on her nails… but now I am. Still unsure how I feel about this.

-completely disregarding time. This is definitely one of the more dangerous, albeit freeing, habits that I've acquired in quite some time. 

Habit vanquished: Chewing Ice. Turns out I really was anemic and all it took was consistent dosage of a small white pill, once a day to rid me of it. Who knew, right?

Best decision: getting a job at Kiddie Kandids. Not only did I get a chance to work with some really great people who helped me learn a lot about what's important in life, but I also gained confidence in my own photography skills. This has already benefited me tremendously. Oh, and I earned money so I could continue... you know... living. 

Worst memory: losing my job in September. Looking back, I probably did the most growing as an adult in September; it was easily the most impacting month of the year for me. I met some of the greatest people in my daily life today back then and I also lost some of the most influential people in my life as well. I got a job that furthered my passions. And I took classes that solidified choices I was making with a career path in mind. Win some, lose some.

Best purchase: My lens; 50mm f/1.8. This baby has make it possible for me to take the shots I've been craving for over a year now. Everything is more crisp and a little closer to perfect. 

Honorable mention: stereo for my car. In July I broke down and spent about $100 on a sound system of sorts. It's not the best but it's definitely better than listening to the 75-ish CD mixes I burned in high school every time I drove back and forth from Logan to St.George. I used to listen to the weirdest stuff....

Worst decision: To bleach and re-dye my hair myself. I have too much hair and not enough patience for that to have turned out well. But I’m too cheap to go and have it professionally fixed so to this day I still have nice and patchy hair. Awesome. 

Honorable mention: to be the one with the utilities under my name at my apartment during the summer. My two old roommates still owe me a collective $140. That's an entire paycheck to me. This still bugs me daily. 

Biggest accomplishments: Losing weight. Yes, I realize that's such a girl thing to say, but it's the truth. Not only do I feel better physically but I feel better about myself mentally as well. 

More Life Altering Things: 

*Parent’s moving from the house I've lived in since I was seven. 

*In July my grandfather died. That was the first funeral I've ever been to for someone that I was not only close with but who had actually impacted my life as well. It was pretty rough. 

*Keeping a more consistent blog; I wrote nightly in a journal from the time I was 16 until I turned about 20 and started going through a rough patch that I didn't want to remember. Blogging has helped me write down and keep track of more of those memories I don't want to forget. 

*My roommate from last year, Katie Berryessa-now-Gish got married in June. 

Best realization: that I’ve finally overcome most of the short comings that have been holding me back since I was 14. I've managed to conquer unnecessary social fears I've been harboring for far too long. Also, my happy days have outweighed my stressed out days, and that is the most clear mark of a good year. I’ve done a lot of growing this year, a lot more than I was expecting out of my second year from school. 2011 has definitely been a year that I can look back on and see that the blessings have overwhelmingly outweighed the trials.