in a blog post...

well out with 2011 and in with 2012.  as i was thinking about what to do for my "new year" post, i kept thinking "in a nutshell".  but instead, here is 2011, in a blog post:

• i started out the year in sri lanka, finishing up a wonderful christmas vacation with colleen and the parkinsons.  
• my family went through a loss with the death of my great  uncle bud.
• we had many wonderful people come visit us in vietnam, including my MOMMA!  it was so great to share that experience with her.
• march was tough for me with the sudden death of one of my former students from egypt.  at only 7 years old, my precious salma was taken from her family much too early.  she will always be in my heart.
• april changed my life in a different way.  on april 2nd i adopted my cat, cow (who has since been named cowboy by my parents).  he was exactly what i needed and i love him SO much!
• in may i traveled to china and was able to climb on the great wall.  it is one of those "bucket list" things that everyone should experience!
• june marked the end of my time in vietnam and though it was hard to leave my wonderful friends and colleagues, it is always great to be home!  i spent the summer with my family and it went by WAY too fast!
• this summer i traveled to new york city for the first time with my aunt melissa.  it was an AMAZING trip.  i loved every minute of it and i can't wait to go back again and again! in NYC i also got my third tattoo of 2011 (holy cow!), bringing the total up to five.
• i witnessed the marriage of two wonderful friends from our time in egypt.  kathleen and simon had a gorgeous wedding and it was so great spending time with them again!
• i attended the most wonderful CISE reunion hosted by the terrific ma and pa cairo.  it was a great weekend and i wouldn't have missed it!!  
• in august, another of my WONDERFUL friends got married!  and i got to see her after WAY too long!!  my dear friend sarah was married this summer and i am so pleased that i was able to share in her special day!  
• august marked the beginning of a new adventure.  i started my job in kuwait teaching grade 5 english and so far so good.  i like my job and have made some amazing friends here in kuwait.  of course i miss home a lot but i am enjoying my time here and as we know, time flies!
• throughout the fall i had the opportunity to visit two more countries in the middle east - qatar and bahrain.  i got to visit with an old friend in qatar and straighten out passport issues in bahrain (thanks again fedex for losing my passport! lol)
• the fall also brought great news in the form of new life and new family members!  tiffany is pregnant and due in may 2012 and my aunt melissa adopted a 2 year old boy named jay!  from the sounds of things he is fitting into the family better than anyone could have expected and he is as cute as a button when i talk to him on skype!!  
• finally, december delivered a wonderful christmas trip to italy with naomi and valerie.  i visited rome, venice, florence, and pisa.  it was all magical!  more to come on that!

i'm sure there are things i have forgotten and left out, but as you can see it has been a year of mixed emotions.  ups and downs would describe 2011 well for me.  some great times and some tough times...that's for sure.  and not just for me, or my family, but for many friends as well.  so, let's hope for a happy 2012 - with more ups than downs - good health, lots of laughs, and wonderful experiences! xo