a year in review

you know how this time of year, the end of the calendar year, people get all reminiscent of the past twelve months and begin looking back as well as looking forward. we look back to scrutinize ourselves and our lives, to see if we did all that we could have done and to see if the things we did were worth doing. we look forward to resolve to do more things, bigger things, better things. i'm not one for new year's resolutions. i like how i live and know that there are things i want to work on, but i don't need the coming of a new year to finally resolve to change those things.

instead, i give you this: a year in review. i've put together some pictures in an album on flickr that i think really put my 2006 in perspective. when i watch it as a slideshow (tip: change the speed so it doesn't take five hours) i smile. i don't think that i've captured everything i did over the past twelve months and i don't think some of the pictures are going to make sense to everybody who looks at them. you won't be able to tell that for four months we had an extra person and an extra cat living in our house. you won't be able to tell that i played baseball three days a week or that in july i got my first job in my field. but you can tell that i did stuff and that it was a happy year.

so i propose that you read the following highlights of my year and then go take a look at the album. i think the perspective from the words will help you smile more during the picture show. but if you're impatient, just scroll to the bottom for the link.

- the day before new year's eve last year, i went and got my hair cut real short. why i did that in the winter, i do not know. so we went to a party with our friends, me wearing a new sweater and a new hair cut. j wearing his drunken grin.
- it's so typical of our cats to want to lie with us on the couch
- j took his first road trip. he went to detroit with some car guys and was a changed person after that.
- i went out with some ball girls for a drunken night on the town near my birthday
- the turbo arrives in the mail and j drools while waiting for warmer weather to install it
- rolo and sandy get their pictures taken in the bright winter light
- a close up of my eye shows off the strange colour (more blue in the picture that normal) and my crazy short hair
- j flew to thunder bay to drive back with his sister, sj, who came to live with us for four months
- we went out for a fun night for alan's birthday
- easter always brings the gold chocolate bunnies so they gathered around our telus phones just like in the commercials
- j is super happy while installing the turbo (and again once the car works properly again)
- we bought a house
- the three cats finally start getting along and are seen on the perch together
- my cousin gets married down south and has a reception here in town
- a beautiful night shot of a baseball game in orleans
- i get a nast bruise when hit by a pitch
- rolo flops over your shoulder when you're in the bathroom
- we go out and have a crazy night downtown (including lots of puking and fighting and cops) and finally conquer p who passes out in our bathroom with cats walking on him
- the cats love warm, clean laundry
- the sunsets are beautiful at the cottage
- a quick trip through the bonnechere caves and total darkness
- our fridge decided it's had enough on the thursday before the canada day long weekend, try getting a fridge then
- canada day was a crazy night downtown and then an even crazier bike ride home in the hardest rain ever, and then a long and slow drive to the cottage
- a brand new shiny fridge
- finally got to play in the hope beach volleyball tournament with some mazda people. it was busy and hot and burn-y
- a mazda meet at vincent massey park with ground hotdogs and posing on the cars
- our second anniversary
- dinner and bowling for p's birthday
- our first tent
- multiple nights out at gracies with the baseball team
- a huge storm knocks trees over at the cottage with minimal damage
- j buys a windsurfer
- the mega mazda meet in the city with tons and tons of mazda 3s cruising through the gatineaus and downtown and finally ending the night at the race track
- one crazy night it stays well over thirty degrees late into the night
- the sharks get silver at the provincials in st. catharines
- fun little trip to niagara falls
- the family gathered in town for mom's birthday
- progress on the building of the house
- carly and kerry get married
- j's birthday season: out with the guys, cake at home, dinner at lonestar with the big goofy hat, cake at the grandparents' place
- my attempt at my first knitted sock
- another new hair cut
- my arm bruises big time from my first time playing volleyball in years
- our second annual potluck dinner for thanksgiving where we cook the turkey and everyone brings everything else
- the arboretum is a great place for pictures
- vik proposes to karen and there's a huge party
- j and i go see deep sea at imax
- sandy models a little pink toque that i made
- richard and j iron on freezer paper stencils
- j breaks down and gets an xbox
- it snows in october
- we get a pvr and are super happy
- until rolo spills the milk
- a fun picture of the cats in the bathroom
- rolo models a pink scarf i made and then donated to the snowsuit fund
- we join j's coworker adam as he falls off the vegetarian wagon and eats a huge plate of ribs
- we meet new friends at alan and sylvia's house warming party
- the pile of scarves that my knitting group made and then donated to the snowsuit fund
- sandy watches tv for the first time
- my second annual christmas cookie exchange
- i play hockey once a week in a league out of carleton university. rolo likes my hockey bag
- rolo gets in the christmas spirit with a candy cane
- the house is almost done and all the neighbours have moved in
- some christmas decorations get in some nasty poses
- we party with j's coworkers
- and party some more: k's work christmas luncheon, work potluck, baseball party, family party
- we catch our first mouse
- a homecoming of sorts when friends get together at richard's family christmas party for some rum... er, fun
- a crazy pink and red sunset on christmas eve
- the christmas tree and finally all the family get togethers over the christmas break

so as you can tell, we did a lot of stuff this past year. and if you've gotten this far you deserve to finally see the pictures so here you go. enjoy!