2011 accomplishments

One of my favorite annual posts is where I gather together all the books I read over the preceding year. I had been in somewhat of a reading slump, so for 2011 one of my resolutions was to read more. I got a Nook for Christmas last year, and that has helped a lot--text as big as I want and pages that turn with the click of a button. I've also started listening to audiobooks on my one-hour commute back and forth to Kansas City 3 days a week. This year's collection:



I started off 2011 hoping to do one Shutterfly photo book per month. This proved to be way too ambitious, but I did get through several. I made 3 family yearbooks, starting with 2010, then 2009, and then 2008. Then I also made smaller albums for our Spring Break trip to Europe and our 2009 trip to Jamaica. My most recent accomplishment is a little book about Annabelle's 2008 summer show Beauty and the Beast:

Click here to view this photo book larger

2011 was also a great year for knitting! I finished my red sweater early on, which gave me a nice start. Then I did a pair of socks for my mom's birthday:



I also made Annabelle a really awesome pair of skull-and-crossbones socks:



And then just today I finished up this scarf:



It's modeled after the one that Dolores Umbridge wore in the last Harry Potter movie:



I used this amazing free pattern.

My one creative disappointment for 2011 is that the blog kind of fell by the wayside. This happened for a variety of reasons--time, energy, etc.--and then once I fell out of the habit, it got easier and easier to put it off. I still do want to go back and put pictures at least in at the proper spots because I do like being able to have speedy access to those.

So for 2012: more reading, more photo books, and more knitting and a new, improved blog. I'll drink to that!

Hark!

Annabelle tried out for and made it into the District Honor Choir. This is a huge accomplishment, as our district is a really competitive one. The concert was this afternoon, and Fred and I were blown away by how good they were. I've spent this evening uploading clips to YouTube so that you can see the whole thing. Annabelle is in the back row, sixth to the right of the REALLY TALL (you'll see what I'm talking about) boy.

"Hark, I Hear the Harps Eternal":



"Calm on the Listening Ear of Night":



"The Word Was God":



"Ne Imami Iniya Pomoshchi":



"I'm Running On":