Great Things About 2011

While it's cliche, the end of the year is always a great time to reflect. It helps put the next year or the one after into perspective. The couple of years, I've completed a year in review. It's fun to remember all the great experiences I have had and know that even better ones are on the horizon. Here are the Great Things About 2011:

1. July 16 - Darden friends in town, engaged to my best friend and a fabulous engagement/birthday celebration to cap off the night
2. Derby 2011 (where my brother was engaged after the 6th race)
3. Great American Beer Festival (Why did I wait so long to go?)
4. Wedding dress shopping (Definitely found "the one")
5. Moving to Chicago
6. Charlottesville reunion weekend
7. April '11 - Cubs game followed by Uberstein and Art of Pizza
8. Monday nights at Tokyo sushi (I miss those!)
9. Vegas soccer tournament (still one of my favorite weekends every year)
10. Cooking Fools pasta making class
11. Q101 Jamboree Concert
12. Getting our Pottery Barn couch
13. Discovering Pilates
14. Humana Race to Taste (with an awesome race time!)
15. Brazil (Belo Horizonte, Iguassu Falls and Rio)
16. Sergio and Maria’s wedding in Brazil (absolutely amazing!!)
17. Volunteering for Boo-Palooza Wicker Park (little kids + Halloween costumes = adorable!!)
18. Brook’s 60th Birthday Bash in the Bahamas
19. Picking a caterer for our wedding (it’s going to be YUMMY!)
20. NYE 2012 @ Ana Mandara
21. Wedding Weekends: Christine and Scott, Sarah and Brian, Melisa and Chris, Madeha and Moshan, Angela and Nick
22. Brett goes skydiving!
23. Greenbrier (and shooting clays)
24. Mom’s successful Masquerade Ball in SF
25. Attending a show at Second City
26. Soccer!
27. IMAX: Transformers 3, followed by an amazing dinner at Japonais (all with great company)
28. Joe’s Seafood Engagement Celebration
29. Our engagement party

Great Moments of 2010

Every year has its ups and downs. I suppose it's just a part of the rollar coaster we call life. While the downs remind us that we're human, it's the ups that make us feel the downs are worth it. The last three years, I've compiled a great moments list. It's incredible to see what I've done and remember that each year has many moments I'd like to remember. Here are my great moments from 2010 (in no particular order):

1. Graduated with my MBA from Darden
2. Received an award for Academic Excellence (Top 10%) on the day of Darden's graduation
3. My amazing day in Stockholm, Sweden including the best blueberries I've ever had and mouth-watering dark hot chocolate
4. Visiting Swedish Lappland
5. Leadership and Theater J Week
6. London
7. Paris
8. Buying my first adult couch (to be delivered Feb 2011)
9. Receiving my Darden 10-K (Yearbook)...very nostalgic
10. Paramore in Cville
11. Duke's MBA Games - specifically the business suit swimming relay race and dizzy bat
12. Bahamas (crashing my friend's honeymoon!)
13. Receiving and accepting a full time job offer
14. Permanent placement = CHICAGO
15. Sushi Mondays!
16. Birthday in Louisville with Mack and Lauren
17. 2nd Annual May Vegas Trip with Schnepp and the man
18. San Francisco Giants win WORLD SERIES!
19. Passing my Life and Health Insurance exam with flying colors
20. Night out in SF with my soccer peeps
21. Weekend of girl time with my mom in Chicago
22. Junior League of Louisville's Second Sunday event (I was in charge of Hula Hooping)
23. Darden dinner and night out in Chicago (Oct 2010)
24. My first Ohio State football game
25. Shooting clays at the Greenbrier (Thanksgiving)
26. Follies - Darden Dancing
27. Becoming an Illinois resident (my first license after California, which I had for 12 years)
28. NYE w/ BVB, Jackie and her man @ The Drake Hotel in Chicago

Great Moments of 2009!

Over the last couple of years, I've compiled a best of list. For me, it's fun to look back on these lists and remember what I did and what impacted me.

So here it goes, my great moments for 2009 (no order):

1. Andrea's Wedding in SF
2. Valentine's Day Party with the Girls
3. Darden Outdoors Club's Snowshoe Ski Trip (Girls beat Guys in Flip Cup approx. 7 consecutive times)
4. Spring Break in Spain (Barcelona and Madrid)
5. Darden Follies and Carnival
6. KY Derby and My AWESOME Hat
7. Blogger Dinner at Dean Bruner's House (he barbecued burgers...yummy!)
8. Soccer Tournament in Vegas (and making playoffs!)
9. Landing an Internship at a Fortune 100 Company
10. Memorial Day Weekend in Atlanta, Nat came to visit (my first ATL weekend)
11. Fourth of July at Surfside Beach (South Carolina)
12. Pre-birthday celebration at XS in Vegas
13. Birthday festivities in Washington DC with cousin and classmates (plus a DC United game)
14. Road Trip in California
15. Brandi's Wedding in Vegas
16. Receiving Second Round Interview Invites
17. Darden Oktoberfest
18. Dinner at an alums' and Reaching Out Target Party (ROMBA Conference in Atlanta)
19. Halloween in SF (Surprised a number of friends)
20. Impromptu Ladies Night...leading to Tequila shots
21. Darden Holiday Ball
22. India!!
23. Taj Mahal
24. Interview from India...4p EST, 2:30a India time
25. Riding a Camel in India
26. The births of Jenna, Jackson and Ari
27. Having the same NYE kiss 2 years in a row

Great Moments of 2008

As I was preparing for interviews, I came across a post noting the best parts of 2007... so I thought it was only right to continue the tradition. 26 thoughts for my 26 years of experience.

1. Admitted to Darden
2. RipTide Women's Soccer Team placing first in Division I
3. Rock Climbing with the girls at Mission Cliffs
4. 10 hours in Vegas for Jackie's 24th
5. Beating my date at bowling with a score of 162 after he threw a game (3 turkeys!)
6. Giants' Opening Day
7. Crowned Master of the Funk
8. Last Day of Work at Ensemble
9. Soccer Tourney in Vegas (nothing beats Ian at the soccer field in his clubbing clothes)
10. Running the Bolder Boulder w/ Brandi in CO
11. St. Thomas for Jenn's wedding
12. Boat Trip from St. Thomas to Jost Van Dyke and St. John
13. Out in Prague with my "brothers"
14. GERMANY!
15. Going away drinks with soccer mates at the Rock
16. Surprise Birthday @ Slide
17. Having dinner at N9NE Steakhouse picked up for the entire bachelorette party
18. First Darden party at Dixon's house (the beginning of Camp Darden)
19. Darden Camping Trip
20. Section D
21. Surviving Q1
22. 100 Case Party
23. Tied for first place in Darden Cup: Soccer
24. Kym's Wedding in SF
25. LT7
26. NYE 2K9 in Vail

Great Moments of 2007

Here is a list of 25 great moments of 2007. (You get 25 because of my 25 years of experience.)

In no order:
1. NYE 2007 - shared with great friends and special people
2. GMAT - July 16th, the beginning of a whole new world
3. Darden interview invite - my first true invite
4. Surprise Birthday Party - after canceling a running birthday tradition, Cry planned a night on the town
5. Maid of Honor in Cry's wedding - I had the best seat in the house
6. Michelle flying in for my birthday surprise (for only 24 hours) - Best Sunday in the world, touch football, soccer, deep dish pizza, and Cold Stone ice cream
7. Scoring a left footed goal from 30 yards out as a defender in my women's make or break game for the season (last game of the season as well)
8. Christmas dinner with family, friends, and a 20 pound turkey. (I ate turkey all week!)
9. Trip to St Thomas to visit friends
10. NYC girls trip
11. CU Homecoming: Colorado vs. Oklahoma Football Game - 27-24 Colorado WIN!
12. Mendocino - Labor Day Soccer tournament
13. Santa Cruz soccer tournament - studying for the GMAT between games
14. Kiss and Tell Spinsters' Party
15. Snow Patrol Concert
16. My first Kentucky Derby!
17. Bay to Breakers in SF
18. Giants' Tailgate Party
19. Spinsters' Spanish Nights
20. Jay's Birthday @ Aura
21. Paris w/ Mom and G-ma
22. Sports4Good River Rafting Day Trip ...rallying to go out that night
23. Lobster Party
24. Saddle Rack for Nat/JS's birthday bash
25. Dave's house party - can't beat acting like 12 year olds in the hallway