2011 in review

       By now we're a week into the new year, so we've all had a week to look at our list of New Year's resolutions, get depressed, shred the list, and go eat some ice cream.
       Let's look back at 2011 for a minute, shall we?

       On New Year's Day, I made the Pioneer Woman's cinnamon rolls to distract myself from the sad truth that my sister had just flown back to America without me. This was after I dropped her off at the Warsaw airport, took the wrong bus twice, got kicked off the wrong bus twice, and cried all the way back to the train station.
       But look at that beautiful new baking pan, eh?? Do I know how to party or what?
       I do. I really do. This year on New Year's Day, I washed my kitchen cabinets and signed up for life insurance. Whooo! Call MTV!

      On Valentine's Day, I took myself into Warsaw and ate baklava.
      No picture of the baklava exists. You understand how that goes. Please enjoy this picture of Warsaw instead.

       In May, three Americans arrived in Warsaw. One was Obama. I went to Warsaw (hang on, there's a theme going here ...), got a haircut, hung out for a while waiting for Obama to show his face (no such luck), and sat in an outdoor café with a blissfully relaxed lunch.
       I miss Europe. If you want to take two hours to eat lunch, you jolly well can. Nobody's going to look at you funny.

      The other two Americans were my parents, although technically my mother's a New Zealander of Australian descent, but that's OK. We had a super time in Kraków and — yes — Warsaw.

       I left Poland on June 30 and spent a few days at my parents' house before moving into my current residence. Then followed a summer of tomatoes, sunshine, sundresses, happiness, and pie.
      Can't forget the pie.

       In late September, I was thrown headlong into ten weeks of General Biology madness, made even more interesting by a work schedule that kept me up until 4 a.m. before two of the three 9 a.m. exams. I'm not complaining about that work schedule, mind you. I love that job to bits. When I found out I got it, I danced around my flat for longer than I care to admit, emitting squeaks of joy. But you'd think those exams could have been on another day than Thursday, wouldn't you? There was only a 27.27%* chance that I would have one exam on Thursday, and instead, I had two. Well, whatever. C'est la vie.

       In November ... I had no birthday. None at all. I turned no older. I shall be 21 forever. My lovely coworkers decided to surprise me with a Triscuit tower ... just because.
       That's me realising that they built it for my birthday, not to goof off. Aren't I a good coworker to assume the worst?

Sweet potato dinner rolls

      December was marked by THE END OF BIOLOGY. I also got in all the cooking, leaf-raking, floor-mopping, jogging, sleeping, eating, and breathing that had previously been impossible.
       I'm being absurd, of course. There's no way I'd jog unless I was being chased through a deserted maternity ward by a grizzly bear. Oddly enough, that was actually a dream I had last week. And yes, I was jogging as a result, so I can trust that to be a motivating factor.
       I've been exploring my new cookbooks in my spare time and have already discovered some yummy recipes, so stay tuned for more culinary adventures in 2012! Also, thanks to y'all so much for coming by and reading. I truly appreciate each and every pageview and comment I get. It's like double-chocolate brownies all day, every day.
       Happy new year!

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*Or something. Don't quote me on that.