Top Ten of 2012

This has been one of my favorite traditions in keeping this blog. It's still fun for me to go back and look at each year that I have blogged to see my highs and lows of each year. These may be one or two particular memories, but mostly it's a chance for me to blog about what I'll remember most about the year 2012. So this year, better late than never, here it is boys and girls!

10. Working hard for the money Working at Anthropologie is the first time I've had a job consistently while in school. I have had to learn how to manage my time and money so much better because commuting to school as often as I do costs time and money. Although I can't give myself more time, I can learn to manage my time better so I can fit in work, school, friendships, family, running, and who knows what else I fill my time with! I have loved the friendships from working at Anthro....and I'm not complaining about how great my wardrobe is now either. :)

9. Friendships, both near and far This year, living at home has definitely had it's perks when it comes to friendships. I've:

reconnected with FB and guard friends from high school

 

made a few trips to Athens

and Chattanooga of course

And I can't forget Charleston :)

8. Hitting the Pavement I have never considered myself a "runner"...until this year. I started doing My Fitness Pal and I quickly learned if I want to eat more, I need to work out more. Enter running. Couch 2 5K is what sparked my consistency in running, but having races to train for really helped me stay on track. I've done two 10K's and a 5K (and even ran the whole time for the Thanksgiving 10K!) in one year and hope to keep up the pattern. 

7. Showering my (now wedded) friends Y'all. I went to a lot of wedding stuff in 2012 and with weddings comes the "before" stuff like showers and Bachelorette parties. Talk about the girly-est of girly events--and I love it. And even better that a group of friends get to get together to celebrate a friend's upcoming wedding vows to the love of her life. 

6. Ohhhh How I love the Alpha Gams! Something I did not see coming was my being put back into sorority life. On a whim this past August, I decided to help out with Recruitment while I had a break from classes and some flexibility in my work schedule. Lo and behold, a few months later I am now the Operations Advisor. I really have unexpectedly loved being back in the sorority world--especially since I have Brittany and Kathleen coming alongside to most of the Alpha Gam functions. It's been so wonderful to see how my sorority friendships have impacted my past college and I love being able to give back to an organization that has given so much to me.

5. Being an in state Aunty Living at home really allowed for some great niece/Aunt Kristin bonding this past year and those sweet moments cannot be traded for anything. Between the day to day with Charlotte to the much more frequent visits I can have now with Felicity when Kirby would stop by or I could hop over and have a slumber party at the Cleland's.

4. I now declare thee, Husband and Wife. This past year has been a year of weddings to say the least! I had several close friends get married and I love it! I think my favorite part was that I was able to be apart of, but not necessarily be in the weddings. Being able to cook for and help out with last minute details is definitely my love language, so I felt like it was blessing enough to be a part of my friend's special day! Seeing my friend's relationships celebrated on their wedding days is such a special event to be apart of and I loved every chance to do so!

 

3. So there's this boy... I haven't explicitly mentioned Brian on this blog, but it's a long time overdue. I met Brian in November at Anna and Wayne's Wedding and as they say "the rest is history". He stood me up for our first date (he was supposedly volunteering at the high school football game, but you'll have to ask him about that story), but two weeks after we met when we did go on our first date--I made him pick me up from work/be bombarded by my work friends, if that doesn't make him a trooper, I don't know what does--but I have been so happy since then. He makes me laugh, puts up with my crazy, I can talk to him about anything, and all in all, I think he's pretty great. 

2. Home again, Home again Jiggity Jig When I look back at 2012, I will definitely remember this as a time of living in a very full house. But I also will remember the reason I'm at home is for grad school and that is worth it for me. I have loved my program, being back in school, and honestly, living at home. There are some ups and downs to living at home and commuting to and from school, but it has been more than worth it. I know that I am pursuing what I want to do in my future career and sharing a house full of family is part of that journey. And hey, I kind of like living out my (not so closet) nerdiness and have loved sharing that with my grad school friends too. 

1. Precious Joni Sadly, my number one spot this year isn't necessarily a happy thought, but instead a very dear one to me that beyond a shadow of a doubt marks this year for me. Starting off 2012 knowing I was going to be an aunt for a third time was so exciting, but shortly after sharing that, I shared that Joni was taken from us before we even got to meet her face to face. Seeing how God has used this year of experiencing heartbreak, loss, and family to share these ups and downs with has been forever marked on my heart and that is something I could never, and would never, want to overlook. I am beyond grateful that God orchestrated it for me to be living in Marietta so close to family this past year and that is a blessing to say the least. Joni will always be a special memory to me and I cannot wait until I can see her precious face in Heaven one day.  

Before the Wedding

To avoid rambling, never-ending posts, I'm breaking up Mary's wedding into two parts: The day of and the wedding itself! So first things first, the "before". More recipe posts are on their way, but all of these recipes were put to the test at the "getting ready" brunch. I had to work 8-12 on Saturday morning (womp, womp) but thankfully, Bonnie and my mom came to the rescue and pulled through! The night before I had made extensive "to do" and "to pack" lists for the team and even labeled each container in the fridge. Type A much?

Anyways, my mom heated up, repacked, and sent all of the "pretty" things that were more serving appropriate. She and my dad helped pack up Bonster's car and she was off the meet up with the bridal party at the hair salon. The salon was super awesome and basically let us take over. Bonnie did an awesome job of fancying up the set up!

The food was a hit and the muffins and cookies were about the only things edible that were left!! I guess there's only so much room for sweet stuff, but don't worry, the Mardis clan took care of the leftovers we had. The was best by far was getting to spend time with friends, especially the bride. She was practical, level headed Mary (as expected) and was beyond grateful for the goodies we provided! I could not have pulled this off without lots Bonnie and my mom and the stress of dealing with work and packing up the stuff knowing I couldn't help set up was all worth it when we got to enjoy company together. 

Alexa joined us for the last little bit before we had to pack up. The bridal party left for Mary's house as a quick pit stop before heading over to the church while Bonnie, Alexa, and I made our way to the hotel so we could check in and get ready for the big night. It was so nice to get ready with girl friends again (sigh, I miss the college years of having that luxury even for getting ready for class. Silly, I know.) We made it to the church in plenty of time to see the groom, our groomsmen friends and just hang out for a little bit. Guests started arriving and Bonnie and Alexa stepped up to pass out the programs while I ran around doing little errands for the bride/bridesmaids/family. Next up, the ceremony!

The Road to Mary's Wedding

So I normally do this post before the actual wedding day and I started this post at least 4-5 times last week, but time got away from me and it just never happened. But it is happening now! 

So I've known Mary since high school. I couldn't tell you the day or time that I met Mary (which is a creepy gift that I typically have for specific memories like that), but all I know is that before I knew it, we were apart of FB #2 and apart of each other's lives forever. 

We both went to UGA, but lost touch over the years...different schedules, different friend groups, you get the gist. We had a little reunion in 2010 over Thanksgiving with a group of our high school friends, FB included of course, and were reconnected at long last! That was the first time I met Dan. He and Mary met on October 20th in 2006 at a Halloween Party while she was at Georgia and he was getting his PhD at Tech. Dan got his undergrad at Florida, but other than being 0 for 2 for school choices, Mary thought he was pretty alright.

In early 2011, Dan proposed to Mary while they were traveling in London! We got the overjoyed text from Mary while she was traveling. Before long, FB started getting together to catch up and celebrate Mary's upcoming wedding! Mary wanted plenty of time to plan, lose some weight, (holy COW she looks awesome now!!) and figure out work/living situations for she and her fiance :)

 Over the next year and a half, I got to hear so much more about Mary and Dan's relationship and how much they meant to Mary, but even better, I got to know Dan when we went to Vegas!! He was such a great sport to put up with all of the girly talk and picture taking!

Even though Dan was in Portland, there have been a couple of weekends he's made it in town, St. Patrick's Day was probably my favorite.

I have loved being in Marietta and so close to Mary so she and I could spend some intentional time together as friends. The way our friendship has grown one on one and our FB friendship has meant so so much to me, especially to share honestly as the wedding quickly approached.

Getting to help plan and celebrate Mary's Bachelorette party has been another gem in our friendship/wedding approaching celebrations of course!

And now that the wedding weekend has come (and gone...), I was so glad that I got to celebrate her love with Dan!! Mary's friendship means so much to me and that fact that even if life got in the way for a while, our friendship has grown stronger with the test of time. Dan is the perfect match for her, beyond a shadow of a doubt. Their wedding was so perfectly them, but more on their awesome wedding celebration later!