2011 in Review

This year-in-review post is a little late as we are nearing the end of January now, but better late than never right? Let’s see, 2011 was a pretty big year for me and my family. I think the biggest things that happened are pretty obvious but let’s try to go through things chronologically shall we.

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January 2011
Dave and I announced our engagement. Since Dave proposed on the 30th of December in 2010, we did most of the announcing early in 2011. Our families and closest were informed that day after he proposed, but the world found out through Facebook and this blog in January.

February 2011
This was a big month for me. Not only did I learn that my brother would be having a boy (and I would therefore be getting a nephew), but on February 28, 2011 I officially started Stephanie Beach Photography as a small business. I got a domain name, website host and design and got an official business number from the Province of Ontario. It was an exciting and somewhat scary time for me, but I am very glad I did it.

March 2011
My birthday happens every year, but this year, as I turned 27, I think I might have moved from mid- to late-20s. It is a scary thought, but I think I am getting old!

This was also about the time when I got my own office. An office at work with a four real walls and an actual door. It is still pretty awesome. My own office came with a larger workload and much larger jobs to manage. Though I had shadow managed jobs before, I started working on even larger jobs as a shadow project manager around this time as well.

April 2011
April was the month where Dave and I searched for and purchased our first home. We wouldn’t get possession of it and move in until later, but the exciting purchasing process definitely happened here.

April was also the month where Dave and I joined Goodlife Fitness and signed up for personal trainers. It was (and still is) expensive, but we have been going ever since and I am glad we started and stuck with it.

May 2011
Though it may not seem like much, May 2011 was when I learnt that my 2009 accident had come full circle. An advance green light was installed at the intersection where I was t-boned. It left me with a weird, but satisfied feeling.

May 10, 2011 was the day my baby was brought to me…my Nikon D3s arrived in the mail! It was a wonderful evening and the next few months allowed me the time to really learn the amazing abilities that my full-frame camera has to offer.

June 2011
Dave and I got our house! It was purchased 6 weeks prior to us moving in on June 15, 2011. At the same time, my brother purchased his house (literally we put offers down on the same weekend and ended up closing on the same day). We have been here for over 7 months now and I still love my house! We have done some work on it, mostly painting, organizing and decorating but we are planning more significant updates later on.
July 2011
Jackson Robert was born on July 19, 2011. He was (and still is) adorably perfect and I love him to bits. My only wish is that I had more free time and could go visit him more, perhaps I will plan a trip to go see him in the next couple of weeks.

July was also a big month for my photography business as I shot my first wedding as the sole wedding photographer.

August 2011

As Dave and I had combined our bank accounts when we purchased our house, I had been spending the months following that event making sure all of my automatic payments, etc. had ceased or been transferred from my old account. August was the last of my ‘student plan’ capabilities at BMO and I therefore closed my very first bank account. My mom and I opened my BMO account when I was 12 or so as I had  gotten a paper route. I remember going to South Keys or Meadowlands with Chris to get to a BMO ATM when we were in school and getting a PLoC for when Dave and I bought the Honda Fit (though we didn’t end up using it then). Good memories, but the account wasn’t worth the bank fees. Seriously, why would I pay bank fees?

September 2011
This was the second quiet month for The Great Abyss (and my other blogs too). I was struggling to keep my head above water. To be honest, I still haven’t figured it all out and have been getting more and more comments from friends, family and even clients about how I manage to do everything that is currently sitting on my heaping plate. I could be doing much better if I focused on one job rather than the two official ones I have. I could be organizing my wedding in a much more timely fashion if I so chose. But I have chosen to try and do a great deal right now and I am doing okay at it (in my opinion).

October 2011
October was primarily spent trying to get things straightened out. It was the first time in my life that I knowingly carried a balance on a credit card and ended up having to take money from my personal line of credit to deal with it. This didn’t last long as before the year was done, any debt Dave and I had was taken care of, but it was an uneasy and uncomfortable time for me.

November 2011

Dave and I put chose our venue and put down the deposit, making our wedding date officially September 29, 2012.

November was also the month in which I finished my first conceptual photography series. I am very pleased with how 99 Luftballoons turned out and have received many great comments/reviews from friends, family, classmates and followers on the internet (aka strangers).  The final product and the responses from everyone have inspired me to think of more conceptual ideas and work towards getting them completed. You can view the images on Flickr (link above) and there will be a series of posts on my Photography Blog shortly.

December 2011

After a long search (I may have been looking for all of 2011), Dave and I selected our wedding photographer. We put down the deposit and are very happy with our choice.

December was also the month in which I finished my last course of the Algonquin College Digital Photography program. Though I got my grade in January, the last class was in December. I am very happy to be done with the program and have learnt so much. More to come on this later on my Photography Blog.

And of course, Dec. 30, 2011 marked one year since Dave and I got engaged.

 

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So that was pretty much 2011. Some of the items above are a little forced to be able to get something in each month (you may have noticed). The big ones are obvious as I said before. Announcement of our engagement, birth of my nephew, purchase of our first home and starting my business officially. I started working towards my photographic dreams by starting as a wedding photographer and a conceptual photographer. I also started taking on much larger jobs at work as a project manager and shadow managing on even larger jobs earning myself my own office.

My goals for 2012 are pretty simple. I want to have a great wedding that everyone enjoys; continue advancing my photography business; continue working on my conceptual photography ideas; get closer to achieving my health goals; start my travel goals; and continue to make our home truly our own. I am also looking forward to watching Jackson grow up and really get his own personality.

Incoming House

You may have noticed a lapse inposts again...though I had time to sit down last month and put together the scheduled regular features, I have not had that luxury this month. We get possession of our house on Wednesday and are scrambling to get everything ready. Please bear with me once again as I attempt to get my blogs organized amidst all of this chaos!!

Our House is a very, very, very fine House

I'll light the fire
You put the flowers in the vase
That you bought today
Staring at the fire
For hours and hours
While I listen to you
Play your love songs
All night long for me
Only for me
Come to me now
And rest your head for just five minutes
Everything is good
Such a cosy room
The windows are illuminated
By the sunshine through them
Fiery gems for you
Only for you
Our house is a very, very, very fine house
With two cats in the yard
Life used to be so hard
Now everything is easy
'Cause of you
And our la,la,la, la,la, la, la, la, la, la, la.....
Our house is a very, very, very fine house
With two cats in the yard
Life used to be so hard
Now everything is easy
'Cause of you
And Our
I'll light the fire
And you place the flowers in the jar
That you bought today

"”Our House” – Crosby, Still, Nash & Young, 1970.

The story of how Dave and I found our house is pretty short really (relatively speaking). We decided last fall that we wanted a house and were going to try and get one Spring 2011. Around Christmas 2010 however, we learnt that the bank didn’t want to give us a big enough mortgage for us to get a house here in Ottawa. We got very depressed about the subject and put the whole idea on the backburner.
In March, a co-worker informed us that he had just bought a house. We though to ourselves, we make approximately the same amount of money, how could we not get a big enough mortgage. We went to the mortgage broker he recommended and learnt that the bank was wrong. We could afford a very high mortgage and had impeccable credit ratings.
We informed our real estate agent and started looking at house mid April. For two weeks we looked at about 15 or so different houses and found one that we thought we really liked. We also found one that I absolutely loved. We scheduled second visits for both these houses while Dave’s parents were down so they could give us a less-biased opinion. Upon visiting the fist house the second time, we noticed everything that was wrong with it and no longer liked it at all. Then we went to the second home, the one that I had absolutely loved. It was pretty much perfect for us and Dave’s parents agreed. We stared the process of putting in an offer that very afternoon. By 1:00pm the next day we had conditionally bought the house for $10,000 less than the asking price. It was a very good day.

On April 29, the conditions came off the house and now we just have to wait until we get possession of our new home on the 15th of June. I sit around our rental waiting for the day wishing it would come faster but then thinking of how much is left to be done before we can actually move – we own a lot of things that need to be sorted and packed or sold or given away. We plan on doing quite a large purge when leaving this house as there are quite a few things that are still packed from when we moved here nearly three years ago.

In case you are wondering, the description of our home according to their real estate agent is as follows:

“3 Bedrooms,3 Bathrooms. Hardwood & porcelain flooring on main level. Main floor family room w/wood fireplace. Gourmet kitchen w/central isle & granite. Eating area opens to the fenced & private yard w/patio & above ground Pool.Main floor laundry. Master bedroom w/3pc en-suite & walk-in closet. Basement is near complete w/Recroom, Bedroom & ample storage. C/Air, C/Vac.”

I’m Back!!!

I know it has been a while, but I am back now. I am spending most of the rest of this afternoon sitting by an open window, enjoying the fresh air, my backyard garden and the sunlight while I blog away. In other words, there should be regular posts for the next month or so despite how busy I will likely be.

 

What have I been busy with you ask? Well for those of you who don’t already know, Dave and I have been advancing our lives a fair bit lately. We are obviously planning our wedding which is very time consuming despite the fact that we are planning a wedding that is well over a year away. We have also signed up at Goodlife gym and gotten ourselves personal trainers (to learn more about this, check out my health blog, The Road to a Better Me – it too is getting updated today). We also made one of the biggest purchases we will ever make…we bought a house. I will create more specific posts about each of these things later, but for now I think this is enough to understand just how busy our personal lives have been lately. Oh, and I am also planning a baby shower for my sister-in-law with my mom which has taken a little bit of work as well (invitations, ideas, gift shopping, etc), though to be honest, this one wasn’t as much work as the others. In fact it was quite fun to send out invitations and look at baby things.

Mission Goal 2011

In 2010 I defined my mission goal as being “I want to be happy, healthy and comfortable in 2010”. I wanted to do these things by losing weight, saving money, traveling and getting a puppy. I did not lose weight. I did save money, in fact Dave and I are well on our way to getting enough for a down payment on a house. We did not get a puppy. We did travel – we went to Florida, Quebec City and Toronto as vacations and of course the cottage on Lake Erie. So all in all, could have done better, but could have done much worse as well.
My mission goal for 2011 is unchanged: I want to be happy, healthy and comfortable in 2011. These things are likely to happen this year if I lose weight, buy a house, travel and work on my wedding plans (including the process of saving money for the wedding).

My Big News

As some of you already know, I have some  big news to share with you. Over the holidays, Dave proposed to me. It was perfect and amazing and I of course said yes. The story, since I have been asked so many times, goes like this:

On Thursday, December 30, 2010 Dave and I went to Upper Canada Village in Morrisburg to take night photos of the Alight at Night Festival. During our 2-3 hours there we walked around and took many photos of the night lights and even had fresh gingerbread, so yummy. We then got back to our car where Dave brought out the hot chocolate he had made for us and snuck in our thermos. We then drove back to Ottawa listening to the Glee soundtrack that he had so nicely downloaded and put on his new Google phone. When we got back to town he drove us towards downtown and I thought he was driving us to Parliament Hill as I had also wanted to take photos of the lights on the Parliament buildings. Instead he turned onto Sussex and parked overlooking the Ottawa River. He had music playing on his phone and had packed blankets and pillows for sitting in the back of the car - it was very nice. The evening was great and because it was so cold (it is Winter in Ottawa), the ring actually fit me.
It is now at the jewellery store being resized as even though Dave took his iron ring as a reference, it was still too small (only be about one size though). His iron ring fits my right hand but not my left unfortunately.
I am very happy and looking forward to all the planning and organization that is involved in getting a wedding set up. But first things first, Dave and I are still planning on getting a house this Spring.

New Old Roommate

When Justin moved back home last year it left a void in my and Dave’s social life. He visited us a couple times since then and we of course stayed in touch via Facebook, email and Skype but it hasn’t really been the same.
I am happy to announce that he recently found a job here in Ottawa and has since moved in with us until he finds his own place. It is really great having him back in Ottawa and even better to have him so close by. There have been lots of games played and reminiscing done – good times had be all.
Today also happens to be Justin’s birthday – Happy Birthday Justain.

Garden 2010 Part III

I spent a little while out in the backyard this past weekend getting to know this year’s tulips (I realize they are the same tulips bulbs as last year and are therefore the same colours in the same spots, but the quality of each is a little different). This is the latest photo of my backyard tulips. Other than the fact that there is little grass in the backyard, and there are giant thistle-y weeds present (I have to get some gloves before I can remove them), the backyard is once again a pleasant place.

Strange House in Safety Harbour

Near Clearwater, Florida is Safety Harbour. Inside this area is not only a lot of cute shops and cafes and a really great pier from which one could see manatees (we didn't see any when we went unfortunately) but also a really interesting house.On the corner of 12th and 3rd Avenue there is a really neat, but weird looking house I am affectionately calling the Strange House. The Konings had been here before with some friends who winter in Florida as well and knew that Dave and I would love it. We arrived early in the day and got a ton of really great shots that I am just starting to go through. I have included a couple in this post, but I am sure many more will be posted on my Photography blog (as well as my Flickr account).Around the perimeter of the property were painted bowling balls, which were incredibly photogenic. There was so many things to see here that one could make a million trips here and still see something new. There were creatures and objects in every nook and cranny. The following two guys were my favourite (that I saw while I was there) quite possibly because of the frog-like creature on top with his little camera.It doesn't take too long to get to the house, nor does it take very long to take a few shots here. The hard part is leaving because as you walk out you are bound to see something you want to shoot and then something else immediately after that. The Konings must have been sitting in their car for nearly 15 minutes waiting for me to walk out of the yard. Definitely a must see if you are in the area.

One Minute Writer #52

Write about an instance of positive peer pressure you have experienced or observed.

As I have mentioned several times throughout the life of this blog, I am a hermit. I am a massive homebody and don't really see anything wrong with it for the most part. That being said, the reason I don't find any problem with it is likely because I have extremely outgoing friends who occasionally force me leave my house and have fun.
When I was younger, my friends would have to use peer pressure to get me to leave the house and do something with them. I would inevitably enjoy myself in whatever it was that they got me to do, but they still had to force me to do it - and I normally didn't give in easily.
Nowadays, I am more likely to leave the house when asked to do something with friends though this may be because my current friends know me better and have similar interests. In other words, the invite me to things they know I would really enjoy, but more importantly that I know I would really enjoy.

Renovated Home

For the last few years, home has been Ottawa. But at the same time, home will always be Prescott. Recently though, my parents have renovated the house and upgraded many features that they have been talking about for years.
My dad is taking advantage of the home renovation tax and environmentally upgrading the house. He has increased the insulation in several parts of the house, installed a tank-less water heater and new windows throughout.
One of the biggest things they have done to the house is the installation of a downstairs bathroom/powder room. My dad has been talking about this and planning it for the last twenty years and for many of the past years, this room was used storage for the Proctor and Gamble products. It has a black and white theme with slight hints of mauve and purple and looks so great.
Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of it when I was home, so you will have to take my word on this.

Meadowlands Christmas

A couple weekends ago Dave and I spent several hours 'putting up Christmas' in our house. We set up the tree and our stockings and even got a large portion of our gifts wrapped - it was a rather productive time. We did have a few issues with the tree, like the very top bit not being strong enough to support our star and Dave having to MacGyver an attachment piece for it.

We also learned that the tree would look better with both white and blue lights rather than just the blue ones we got during the Boxing Day sales last year. So the goal this year is to get some white tree lights so that we can have both next year (excess blue lights will be used to decorate some windows as we don't have any window decorations this year - at least not yet) - we also need a tree skirt. I am really happy with our Christmas decorations, we obviously have a blue and white/silver theme going and I think it looks really pretty and very Christmas-y.

25 Random Things About Me

The idea for this post was taken from TwinspirationalRunner - thanks.
I thought I would do a little post about me. It is completely random stuff that you may or may not already know, and hopefully it will be fun to compile.

1. I get anxious when I have to make a phone call. (even moreso when it is work related);
2. I love being good at 'domestic' tasks like cooking, baking and sewing;
3. Fall is my favourite season;
4. I wait until the last minute to do any sort of cleaning;
5. I know how to spell most words, and when I am wrong, my guess was usually pretty close;
6. I absolutely love spreadsheets. If I can put some information into a spreadsheet I will. If I get to design a spreadsheet (and yes it is a design) then my day will be a good one.
7. I have been to many funerals in my life, but the hardest death I ever had to deal with was my family pet - Eddy (Eddy's death made me pose a lot of questions to myself which were very difficult to answer);
8. My weight is a very touchy topic. I want to lose it, but like most overweight people, do not want to put the effort in;
9. As mentioned in a previous post, I love very odd combinations of food like salt and vinegar ships and grapes;
10. I think of myself as an artistic engineer. It is an odd combination, but I am relatively good at math and engineering in general, but also quite good at the arts (photography, general painting and sketching, etc) and I enjoy them both;
11. I like to go into Danier (and other leather stores) and smell the wonderful leather smells;
12. I rarely ever win anything;
13. I am a perpetual learner;
14. I am really good at organizing things. From events to items - if it has to be sorted or organized, I am really good at getting it done;
15. I love buying or getting new stuff - even if I have little to no use for it;
16. I love children's movies - especially Pixar movies;
17. I can handle extremely stressful situations (like a job get screwed up at work), but get extremely flustered and frustrated with the simplest of tasks (like finding my keys);
18. I love answering surveys;
19. Car rides make me sleepy;
20. I have an eye for photography and love most everything about photography in general;
21. I am a very jealous person. I can get jealous about the stupidest and most pointless of things;
22. I have few friends (though the ones I have are good ones) and for the most part, I like it that way;
23. Photography makes me happy;
24. I am almost always early when I need to be someplace new;
25. I think lists are fun.

One Minute Writer #41

Is there a part of your life that's a mess? Describe it.

My house! Dave and I are currently living in a pig pen. Seriously, our house is so absolutely disgusting right now. Luckily, a friend may be coming to stay with us for a little while and we will need to clean it up before then. I wish we weren't both so lazy when it comes to cleaning.

One Minute Writer #36

What would be your perfect night out?

My perfect night out is actually a night in. Sitting around watching movies or playing games, hanging out with Dave and possibly friends if they are available.
If I have to go out at night, it would likely be photography based or to see a movie in theatres. Perhaps a dinner out with friends, though if I have my way, this is done during the day and consists of shopping as well.
I am a homebody, I accept this.

One Minute Writer #35

How do you feel when you walk into your home after an out of town trip?

This summer Dave and I have gone on a few trips and he himself has been away for business a couple times as well. Usually when we return from some time away from the house, we feel relieved, though tired. I usually feel more relaxed as I have my things around me in case I need them and I am anxious to get whatever photos I took during the time away onto my laptop. Lately though, I have become restless upon arriving home. I think this is due to the state of our house. We usually try to clean up the house before we head out for a trip, but we pretty much always fail. Before heading out to the cottage, we had no time whatsoever and did absolutely nothing to clean up. Therefore, when we got home, the fridge was full of spoiled food and the kitchen was a mess. Fortunately, it did not smell as we did take out the garbage before leaving. If the house is not clean or at least tidied up a bit, before leaving for a trip, coming back to it afterwards isn't as relaxing as it should be.

Rent Increase

Every year, landlords can increase their rent by a percentage outlined in the Tenant and Landlord Act. This year was the first time I have ever actual had this used on me. Minto Corporation is our landlord and as an actual corporation rather than an independent landlord, they have certain advantages to them, but they also have some disadvantages, one being the fact that they know what they are doing very well. They are a well oiled machine that knows how to work the Act to their advantage, like increasing the rent in a timely fashion. I don't really have a problem with paying an additional $9.80 to live here, and know that I myself would be increasing the rent as allowed on an annual basis if I was a landlord. I still feel like this place is well worth the money we pay for it and am still very much in love with it.

One Year at 1212

As of June 18, 2009 , Dave and I have been renting our house at 1212 for a full year!! Isn't it exciting?!

Last year at this time, I was packing our stuff into totes, boxes and bags and we were slowly, but surely, moving them over to the new house any way we could (Thanks Yan for letting us use your car so much). After about 7 car trips, 2 or 3 bike trips and one long walk we had most of the small, non-everyday items moved.

Mom and Dad came up the beginning of July and helped us move our larger items over to the new house (thanks to all the friends who came and helped out), which took about 4 truck loads, with the trailer in tow! It wasn't until we were trying to fit it all in the house that I realized just how much stuff Dave and I owned (okay mostly just me).

Shortly after moving in, we started a garage sale pile that never made it to a garage sale and is still located in our basement. A large portion of our items are still in boxes, totes and bags to this day and will likely never be unpacked. They too could probably be sold or donated as we likely will never need or use them again.

I love our house so much and have really enjoyed the last year living in it with Dave. We have been able to purchase larger and nicer items without the fear of them being broke or mistreated, not that any of our past roommates would purposely do either of those things. We have started our own garden in tiny backyard and a gym in our basement. Our house is a compilation of stuff from our parents' homes as well as a few things we have bought for ourselves and is slowly getting closer to 'our style', though at the moment I couldn't tell you what that is. It is perfect for the time being and I hope the next year is as joyful as this past one has been.

Feathers

This weekend Dave and I finally went shopping to replace the ratty pillows and blankets we have on our bed. Initially I was just going to buy us some cheap pillows and comforters (like the ones we had been using) but we actually got some really nice ones. I even got a nice feather pillow from Zellers!!

We then travelled to Ikea and bought ourselves feather duvets (left) and duvet covers (right). We sleep with two twin blankets (and then have a large queen for the cold winter nights) as we tend to steal blankets from each other and someone ends up with a cold, uncomfortable sleep.

The duvet and duvet covers were really quite inexpensive (the entire bedding cost us less than $200) and are really warm. They look really good with the brown pillow cases we bought for our new pillows and the rest of the stuff we have in the bedroom (admittedly this isn't much as our bedroom hasn't really been decorated) like our curtains.

I have always wanted feather duvets as they are warm and comforting and seem really luxurious to me so I am of course extremely happy with out purchases. I love the sound a new comforter makes - that crinkly goodness before it gets broken in, but now all I want to do is lie around in bed.

Le Manoir

Chris lived at what she called 'Le Manoir' for about 2 years (original photo by Christine Sweeton). The owners were renting it out while they waited for the right time to tear it down and build their dream home. Shortly after she moved out the house was gone. It didn't take long, and really no one noticed the in between steps, it was just gone overnight. This week when I was taking tulip photos around the neighbourhood I realized how far along the new house had come. Luckily it is in the same style as the houses in the neighbourhood unlike the one directly behind it or the one that went up next to the house we used to live at on Glen Ave. Hopefully the exterior will get treated in such a way that it matches the houses around it nicely because the last thing this neighbourhood needs is another uber-modern home.