I toyed with attempting the 365 day photo challenge again, then thought maybe I'll just do a weekly photo challenge. Then I thought maybe I should just blog my thoughts and my life, etc.
Why not do both?!
I'm going to use this blog as an outlet for all things Amber! It'll be a place to post about what's going on with my life, my thoughts, my poems, and yes...My photography! I hope that in some ways this will allow everyone (that wants to, that is) to feel like they are keeping up with what's going on with me and my life even when we are all at our busiest!
So, I'm going to start with a year in review of 2011! I saw another blogger chose to do a month by month review and I think that's a good way to start.
**January -
January saw my husband and I celebrating our 2nd wedding anniversary. We had opted for a stay-cation which was wonderful and we'll probably do that again another year. It's a great option for if you don't have the time or resources to travel.
**February -
February is always a fun month for me, seeing as how the 4th is my birthday! It was a great birthday too. Got together with several of my friends. We went out to dinner then bowling with drinks and treats provided by my sister. To top it off, I made it into a mustache party. I provided stick-on mustaches for everyone and we all had to wear them while bowling. It made for a lot of crazy antics, and it was definitely a good night!
This month was also the first time that I got to actually see Bobby Long! I went with a couple of friends and we had a GREAT time! Check out one of the photos I got from that show!
**March -
I don't think much happened in March...It was cold. LOL
**April -
April was great! Russ and I went to Vegas for his 30th birthday! We spent a week there. We stayed at the Golden Nugget in Downtown. We saw the sights, ate good food, swam at the pool, had lots of drinks and even went ATV'ing in the desert!
April, all in all was a busy month for me. On top of the Vegas trip, I had several photo shoots and made it to a Twins game (with my dear friends Crystal and Jason)! But, I definitely can't wait to get back to Vegas again!!
**May
May was just a good month for spending time with friends. I went to a baby shower, attending a gathering at a friends for an X-Box party night, went out for lunches and shopping. Also, attended another Twins game this month (this time with our neighbors Mike and Rachel).
**June
June was a GREAT month! On the first day of the month I attending the Glee concert! I went with some of the greatest friends and we had an AMAZING time! I laughed, I cried, I sang along! Here's a couple photos.
Needless to say, it was an AMAZING concert!!!!
Then, just a couple days later on the 3rd day of June, I was driving home from work and happened to pass a lady who was selling puppies! Russ and I stopped by and found one that we fell in LOVE with. He was immediately ours and he came home with us that day. His name is Copper and he is an amazing addition to our house. Here's a couple photos from the day we brought him home!
The rest of the month consisted of adjusting to having a puppy (Russ and I hadn't done the puppy thing before), enjoying the beautiful summer weather, going to another Twins game, went to a Saints game with my friend Kristin and just enjoying life! OOOOh, I also got a new tattoo in the month of June. My mom, sister and I got coordinating memorial tattoos for my dad. They are all guitars. They are each slightly different.
My sister's tattoo (back of left arm)
My Tattoo (left forearm)
My mom's tattoo (Right shoulder blade)
**July
4th of July! One of my favorite holidays! I LOVE the 4th of July...Parties with friends, parades, fireworks, carnival down in town! FOOD! I spent July enjoying life some more. Yet another Twins game, spending time with friends, enjoying the summer and oh yeah...Enjoying the dog!
We also got some new bedroom furniture this month. It was great to be able to re-do the bedroom a bit, give it a new feel!
The Twins game that we went to was one of the HOTTEST days of the year and I surprisingly was able to last the whole game! Here's a couple photos from the hot, hot day!
**August
August was a busy month for me. I worked a lot, had several photo shoots (and I mean SEVERAL), attending my 10 year high school reunion, a great friend came home from Florida to visit, went to the state fair, etc. Here's a few photos to share the month of August with you...Oooh, and Copper got bigger!
**September
September was another great month of spending time with family and friends. I went to the Renaissance festival (dressed as a Gypsy), went dancing with my girls, had a bonfire with my neighbors, and went to my first Vikings game! Also, we took Copper to an off leash dog park for the first time He had a BLAST!! Here are a few photos from thy wonderful month!
**October
October was an EPIC month for me, both good and bad. The month started with Russ and I heading to Maui, Hawaii for the vacation of a lifetime! We stayed for 9 glorious days. We spent lots of time on the beach, went to a luau, explored the island, took the historic drive to Hana, the popped over to Honolulu to see Waikiki beach and Pearl Harbor.
I almost cried the day we left, it was such an incredible trip and I hope to repeat it someday in the future! Here are some of my favorite photos from our trip (although it is difficult to narrow it down).
Then...2 weeks after I returned I was in a severe/major car accident.
I was driving to work (heading south on 35e in the left hand lane), and had taken my eyes off the road for just a moment. That moment was all that was necessary to change my life.
When my eyes returned to the road, I had drifted on to the left hand shoulder. I tried to pull back onto the road and went too far and was heading into the right hand lane of traffic so I re-corrected and ended up over-correcting. My car hit the left hand shoulder at an angle and flipped my car. I rolled (about 3 times) across the median, across both lanes of northbound traffic and looped back to land back in the median. I luckily landed right side up. Somebody that witnessed my accident stopped and came to check on me while his wife called 911. I had severe head lacerations and was bleeding heavily and due to the shock of the accident I was shaking uncontrollably but I was alive and thankfully hadn't broken a single bone in my body.
I took an ambulance ride to Regions Hospital on a back board with a neck brace on. Luckily, they cleared me quickly and I didn't have to have them on for long at the hospital. My mom and Russ showed up pretty soon after I did and I'm sure it was hard for them to see me covered in blood and wearing a neck brace. I was in the ER for about 6 hours, and left with 5 sutures in one laceration, 7 sutures in another and one laceration they couldn't close.
I was terribly sore for several days, and sorta sore for a couple weeks. The thing that affected me the most was the anxiety. I've never had panic attacks before in my life and started having them after the accident and my day to day anxiety was somewhat hard to handle. With a LOT of support from my amazing friends and family and a little pharmacological help, I've moved far past that awful anxiety and it only strikes now at moments of particular stress.
To give you a better idea as to exactly what I went through with my car accident...Here are some photos of my car.
I did end the month on a good note, Russ and I attended a Halloween costume party as the amazing Al and Peggy Bundy!
**November
November was relatively calm considering the craziness of October. I did a lot of healing (both physically and mentally) and recovering. I spend as much time as I could with friends and family and spent a LOT of time enjoying my new car! After the accident we got me (and 2 weeks later, Russ got one too) a 2012 Nissan Altima! I have been lusting after this car since 2007 and have been so ecstatic to have it! It's BEAUTIFUL and has plenty of amenities!
**December
I ended my year on a calm yet blissful note. Not a whole lot happened in December. There was plenty of evenings snuggled up on the couch with Russ, a couple of times of letting Copper play in the snow and as usual...Some good times spent with family and friends. Christmas Eve as usual was spent with my father's family. We always have a good time. We eat good food, play some fun games and enjoy some great conversation.
Russ and I rang in the new year at home, just the two of us and it was perfect. It was nice to have a low-key mellow night in.
Well, folks...If you've made it this far, I commend you.
I hope to post often on here with updates on my life, anecdotes, poems, songs that touch me and of course my photography...So stay tuned, I hope to provide you with some entertainment as you follow the Adventures of a Songbird!
great recap of the year!! :) so happy you are OK alive and well after such a horrible accident- so scary amber!
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