best of 2011 | best of the best

It's the last day of the year and I've been thinking about the best experiences and the most memorable moments of 2011.

It's been a crazy year and it's hard to whittle the list down to the ten best moments. It was a year of sacrifices as I focused on being a small business owner, and the growth and successes of Funnelcloud Studio were certainly highlights of 2011. We got to tour the West Wing, took our annual beach trip to the Outer Banks over Memorial Day, and had a fun summer which included romping in a field of sunflowers, going to Screen on the Green, and jumping on the bed. We cooked up a storm, battened down the hatches for Hurricane Irene, and experienced an earthquake. A full year for sure.

But when it comes down to it, the following are the best of the best of 2011. The top ten best experiences, in no particular order:

SURPRISING LARRY WITH 40 BIRTHDAY CARDS. (Larry picked this as his #1 moment of the year "because it was actually 40 moments!")


A WEEKEND TRIP TO ST. MICHAELS, MARYLAND - full of crabs, beer, sitting by the water, and adding John Deere to our family.


DINNER AT VOLT. Delicious.


OUR WEEKEND AT LUMINHAUS to celebrate Larry's 40th birthday. (So many great experiences from that weekend, my favorite being our hike at Mount Pleasant.)


A VIRGINIA WINERY TOUR BY LIMO to celebrate my 33rd birthday.


GAINING A PEN PAL AND FRIEND THROUGH E-BUDDIES. I love this program (an e-mail pen pal program that pairs people with intellectual and developmental disabilities with peer volunteers) and am convinced I have the best buddy in the world. We exchange e-mails every week and getting a message from my buddy always makes my day.


A WEEKEND in NEW RIVER GORGE, WEST VIRGINIA with friends and dogs.


GETTING AN iPAD. (Had to include one materialistic item on the list! I love this little gadget, and it helps me read a lot more books and is a great tool for my business.)


REUNITING WITH A GROUP OF MY DEAREST OLD HIGH SCHOOL FRIENDS - all of us in one place for the first time in 16 years!


MAKING SOME GREAT CONNECTIONS through blogging and meeting a great group of new friends.

Looking forward to all that 2012 will bring! Happy last day of the year!

Cheers!