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.

Good ol’ TImes

This weekend we had Justin over to the house for the first time in quite a while. Because of our work schedules or his, we just hadn’t gotten a chance to hang out as much as we would have liked to. It was really great having him over because it really felt like the good ol’ times. The boys played video games and I played on my computer. I baked everyone some cookies and did the normal chores like laundry, etc but it never seems as bad when it is mixed in with video game goodness. We did eat healthier than normal as I was making us food that fit into all of our trainer’s restrictions as much as possible (with the obvious exception of the cookies – though I think it should be noted that I made a tiny batch and it lasted the entire weekend). It was a lot of fun and makes me hopeful for lower stress levels when Justin moves back in with us in February.

Happy Birthday!

I may have forgotten to post about my birthday, but I will not forget about hers. Happy 27th birthday to the best friend anyone could ever ask for --- or since you are an English major and all, the best friend for which anyone could ever ask.

Yan Day

Happy Birthday Yan!!

Way Back Whenesday: The Original Five

The original group – From left to right, Top row: Christine and Mark, Bottom row: Justin, Stephanie and Emily. We grew pretty quickly as the year progressed, but this is how it started.

Full Yet Relaxing

This weekend was a pretty good one. It started off with Dave's sister Jessica coming down on Friday evening. The three of us took some photos around town and played lots of Rock Band and Rock Band Beatles - and by lots I do mean LOTS!
We went out for a few big meals and pretty much eliminated the need for cooking by doing so which was awesome because Dave and I don't really have much food in the house right now and I wasn't in the mode to go grocery shopping.
I also got the chance to do a photo-shoot with our friend Kate, which was really fun. I am hoping to get the photos edited and to her shortly and will be sharing them everyone on Flickr and Stephanie Beach Photography after that.

Rock Band

Oh Rock Band…how I love and loathe thee simultaneously.
Justin’s parents were up over a week ago and brought his Rock Band with them. It is now set up in our living room and we have spent quite a while playing it. In fact, Justin and Dave are playing as I blog.

I like the drums the most but am still not very good at any of the instruments (guitar, drums, vocals). I do however, really like the free drumming parts like at the end of certain songs and when you want to activate your star power (I think start power is the guitar hero term, but I can’t think of the rock band term).

(image from Google – our version is also for the PS3 though the photos is the XBox 360 version).

Haiku #9 - Chris Gone

Chris went far away

She is on a whirlwind trip
She hates haiku poems

Pretty Disappointed

If you read Chris' blog, Always Standing, then you will have heard about the neat things some of her friends and co-workers did for her big trip (like hat photos, photo pins and finger puppets). I mention this because I am pretty disappointed in myself for not doing something. I thought about it and came up with a few ideas, but thought that Chris wouldn't have room for the things in her luggage or time to deal with them. I don't know why I came to these conclusions as it is a very Chris thing to do (games, etc for her trip). I have been working on a few things for later on when she returns, but nothing for her current 'travelling' status. Though I did work extra hard and wrote something like 17 guest writer posts for her blog.
Anyway, props to those that did what I apparently could not and made her trip a little more friend-filled, they are all such great ideas.

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.

Nico and Alison

On July 9, 2010, between 5:00 and 5:30pm Nicolas (Nico) Strang married Alison Campbell. As it was mentioned during the toasts last night, the two had a sort of movie-plot love. They met on when they were both travelling (separately) to Africa and despite living on different continents, they made it work. They lived in England for a period of time, and have since moved here to Canada to make a home together.
Dave and I were very honoured to be invited to their wedding as it was a small wedding in terms of guests, friends and family only. Nico even mentioned us in his speech, which was unexpected, though very thoughtful and nice.
The wedding was beautiful, the food served was delicious and all the guests were so nice. Alison looked like a princess in her dress and you could tell that both the bride and the groom were very happy to be starting their new life together. Congratulations to them both.

A Busy Summer

Throughout most of the year, Dave and I spend our weekends and vast majority of our downtime in general, doing nothing. We laze about the house playing video games and ever so slowly getting our chores done. This summer, this has not been the case. We have had trips planned and outing with family and friends and unfortunately tons of work to do. The summer has been so busy that I bought a moleskine to be able to keep track of it all. We have also had to resort to booking time off. All this being said, the things we have had planned have been really fun and I am looking forward to the events coming up, but I am a hermit and enjoy my time around the house and when I do not get to do it that often, I start to get stressed and really worn out. We have a weekend off coming up so hopefully that will help me out as my stress levels are pretty high lately.

Peachy Beachy

There once was a girl named Steph Beach
Who one might describe as a peach
The gents she did tempt
No one was exempt
But she only let Dave within reach
~ Kate Lockhart.

Kate wrote a limerick like the one above for all of the attendees of her dinner party on June 15. There was great food and company, some ANTM and good times had by all. Thanks for doing all the arranging and cooking (and writing) Kate.

Quotable Thursday #28

“It’s the friends you can call up  at four am that matter.” – Marlene Dietrich (1901-1992)

Birthday for Chris

Today is birthday #26 for the beautiful Christine. We are spending it with her at her family cottage on Lake Erie with tons of friends – should be really fun.
Happy Birthday Chris!
psst...check out my photography blog for more Chris goodies...

What’s in a Name

Like most people, I have searched my name before and realized that you can find my blogs and Flickr account through that. I have also learnt that if you search something relating to the Naruto character Kisame (specifically if you search Kisame costume) you came find photos I took of Dave and Justin’s Halloween costumes from last year. I have also learnt that if you search Winnie-the-Pooh you can find some of my photos from my 100 Possibilities Project. That being said, today I learnt that of a search term that leads to me that isn’t so obvious.If you search night beach you can find some of my night time photography photos. This is not because they were taken on a beach, or have anything to do with a beach, it is actually because they are night photos taken by Stephanie Beach. Apparently my name is not only awesome, but also quite handy at drawing people’s attention to my photos.

Birthday 2010

My 26th birthday was initially looking like it was going to be pretty dismal - full of work and little to no play. I worked the day before my birthday (a Sunday no less) and then had to work late on my actual birthday. But luckily, I have an amazing friend named Chris. For the week leading up to my birthday she left me 'birthday countdown' messages on my Facebook wall and her and Jerrica planned a birthday dinner for me at the Works (so yummy). Chris even baked me a cake - and if you know Chris you know how big of a deal that is!It was a very yummy carrot cake that I had only a tiny piece of after dinner, but will eat more of tonight. Long story short, what was looking like a boring birthday turned out to be a good one filled will friends and tons of phone messages, emails and Facebook wall posts. Thank you all.

Decade in Review (2000-2009)

I have been alive for over two and a half decades, but it is only this last one that I remember with almost perfect clarity. You see, in the beginning of 1990-1999 I was barely in school and can only remember certain moments, and even those may be contrived from photographs I have seen and stories I have been told. During the last decade though, I was 15 to 25 years old and able to remember everything - though not everything is worth remembering. Below is a listing of personal highlights and a photo of myself from each year in the past decade:

2000 - got my driver's license; house was robbed; finished technology enriched school program;

got first digital camera; became quite active in extra-curricular activities in high school. Below photo taken by me in the hallway of my parent’s room.

2001 - broke up with first serious boyfriend; travelled to Moosonee; took first college course in photography; learned how to develop film photographs; thought of becoming an architect; became co-president in several clubs (and remained until end of high school). Below p

hoto taken either by my friend Alaina or myself. Either way, it is from one of the many nights I spent at Alaina’s. Notice the curly hair – she did it and it likely lasted about 1 hour.

2002 – started using ICQ to talk to pretty much everyone; received SLR camera; learned how to take manual photos; started playing rugby on high school team. Below photograph taken by me while sitting in front of the computer in my parent’s house.

2003 - graduated from high school; started university; met best friend; lived in university residence; lost 25 pounds; stopped drinking alcohol (no real reason); employed at Forwarders' Museum. Below p

hoto taken in my residence room while I was studying chemistry with Justin

2004 - started dating the love of my life; Tyler graduated from university; moved into rented house with friends; mom diagnosed with breast cancer; worked for last time at Forwarders' Museum; failed first course ever. Below p

hoto taken by Dave. This was one of the last days of first year – Dave and I took photos of each other around campus as we were going to be apart for the entire summer.

2005 - failed second course; starting working at City of Ottawa (Eng. Assistant); started budget spreadsheet; lost 20 pounds. Below photograph by me. Taken in my room on Glen after getting my hair cut short. I think there are remnants of the first dye-job I had done (blonde highlights).

2006 - moved in with Dave (in ‘boy house’); started my first blog; saw first Cirque de Soleil show live; learnt how to make bead jewellery. Below p

hoto was taken at my City of Ottawa job - it was a co-worker's birthday.

2007 - Eddy died; stopped receiving money from parents (for rent/bills); went to Chris' cottage for first time; worked at City of Ottawa while finishing up B.Eng; got my iron ring; graduated from university; ended career as professional student (over 19 years spent full-time in school). Below p

hoto was taken by Dave. I am holding my B.Eng degree from Carleton University in my room in the ‘boy house’.

2008 - travelled to England; flew in plane for first time; got my first dSLR camera; moved into rented townhouse with just Dave; got EI for 1 month; had the first job I really hated; got my first real engineering job; started night courses in photography; Tyler got married. Below photo was taken in the London Eye while Chris and I were on travelling there.

2009 - got in a car accident; bought my first car; traveled to Montreal; traveled to Chicago; started my grown-up life. Below photo was taken by Christine Sweeton for a class assignment.
I did it – I remembered a few things from each year AND found a photo of myself from each year (though some were hard to find and most had few options). Now it is on to 2010 (though I realize it has already started). I do not know what the next decade holds for me or those I care about – though I do hope the majority of it is worth writing good things about in 2020.

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.

DJ Earworm

A couple days ago Jerrica posted a link on her Facebook wall:

Turns out it is a mash-up of the top 25 (most popular) songs from 2009 (as determined by Billboard Magazine) done by DJ Earworm. Since Dave loves music I sent the link to him and he in turn starting looking for more from him and found his website with tons of mash-ups on it including his annual top 25 mash-up from the past few years. The mixes are absolutely amazes and as another friend put it further proves that American pop songs are so similar that they can be made into one song - I add to that, if you are good enough at mixing.