2020 in Retrospect

2020 - what a year!
Started the year off by saying goodbye to Nathan before he moved to MI.

I had just returned from Russia, and it was so nice to be back home.

I helped Miriam build a snowman and rode horses with Sarah :)

Target shopping with Magera, and smiling with fellow pianist, Trisha.

In LA over spring break, I got to see Vanessa for the first time since Russia!

My last semester at TU was bittersweet. Because of covid, I wouldn't get to have my senior recital.

I didn't even know this would be my last orchestra concert.

But we made it through our last, very strange semester, and graduated (without a ceremony, sadly). 

Nieces birthday parties: Aurora turned one and Amelie turned three!

Drinks and dinner with family <3

I went to LA again to visit my sister, and saw my friend in Long Beach too!

I babysat my niece Kisstance for the week and it was a lot of fun!

President Trump came to Tulsa in June, and some of us went to the rally. It was awesome!

In Russia, Emily told me we would go to Torchy's Taco's together someday.
Sure enough, I went to San Antonio to see Emily this summer, and that's what we did!  

Something else that happened this summer- my brother got married to Jessie!

Then, I got a haircut, moved in with my best friend, and started working at Starbucks as well as my music teaching!

Deborah and I hung out a lot this year in both Texas and Tulsa!

And yes, for my birthday, I went to LA once again!

A delicious dinner in Long Beach with Anthony!

Then I flew to Arizona and visited my brother and sister-in-law!

An early snow this year in Tulsa!
 My roommate and her boyfriend pose by their snowman-in-the-making :)

My Starbucks decorated early for the holidays :) Love my Starbucks team!

Took a picture with my 4th grade violin class. A challenging but rewarding semester with these kids!

 In December, I went to Colorado with my family, and we went snowmobiling in the Rocky Mountains!

We rode the train through the canyon.

And we woke up early and watched the sunrise!

In retrospect, this was a strange year with not a lot of good news in the world, but I had a pretty good year, and I am so grateful for time spent with my friends and family.

Here's to 2021!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Flight Attendant Training!

Image
I spent the month of October at Flight Attendant training! Salt Lake City! One of my good friends I met at training Taking evening walks after our 12 hours in class each day! The performing arts center in Salt Lake!  Lots of churches around the city Pretty sunsets and mountains too Getting to look at some planes outside of class Future flight attendant :) Went out with my friends a couple times :) Lunch at In-N-Out! Trying on my uniform for the first time - so excited! I got a tattoo in this shop on my birthday :o Birthday dinner with my friends!  My bestie, we spent over 350 hours in class together! Celebrating :) And ... finally we graduated from training! This was my little group - "Pod B" So happy to be finished! With my lovely friends :) Class 32 was the best! 
Read more

Medicine Park Trip!

Image
My boyfriend and I spent a couple days in Medicine Park, Oklahoma for his birthday in November. It's a cute, old town with a history as the first cobblestone resort town.   There was this cool street with little shops and restaurants A very delicious dinner A lot of neat old stuff from around the world.  The famous Medicine Park duck ;) A very peaceful evening  They had the bridge decorated with pretty lights We drove up Mt. Scott. It was quite the drive and a beautiful view! It was cold and windy, but we had a great time! A happy 24th birthday dessert :) We spontaneously decided to get tattoos at the local tattoo shop! They turned out great! Definitely recommend the Legends Tattoo shop there. What a great time spent with my very best friend!  We both recommend visiting Medicine Park if you ever get the chance!  
Read more

Moldova in May!

Image
In May, I went to Moldova for a few days with my brother and sister-in-law! View from the top of the hill at the "Candle of Gratitude Monument" in Soroca, Moldova. This is the Dniester river separating Ukraine and Moldova. I took a small bus from Odessa, Ukraine to Chisinau, Moldova. I stayed in this Airbnb with my brother and sister-in-law, Alina  The next morning, we walked around Chisinau. Above is pictured the Nativity Cathedral. We then drove a few hours to Alina's small hometown - Drochia. We stayed with her family for a few days in the house she grew up in.  Her village is so neat and beautiful. It's like going back in time. Some of the delicious food her family made for us. It was great getting to meet and speak Russian with them as well! I was a little out of practice, but they were very kind :) They butchered their pig while we were there, which is a yearly tradition. It provides meat for them year-round. Definitely an interesting process to watch. A beautif
Read more

Since School Started

Image
The first day of school this year was the Solar Eclipse! It was only a partial eclipse here. You could only see the eclispe with solar glasses on I had on, but the sun did look unusual without the glasses as well. Looking at the Eclipse with our solar glasses on. It made the lawn look strange. It created mini-eclipses with the shadows through the leaves. It was pretty cool! See the reflection of the eclipse? It made peoples' shadows look strange. Now- replacing some broken strings on my piano. When you replace a string, it has to be tuned often at first. Practicing... Nathan posing by the Bell at TU Replicating Samson in this photo ;) Tyrell Hall, I believe. The library. Lorton Performance Center (the backview) The front view of Lorton. My favorite building on campus. All of us piano students with Cristiana Pegaroro. She is a great Italian pianist, and she gave me an amazing
Read more

Does Your Phone Control You?

Image
The Norman Rockwell painting "At the Breakfast Table" Classes start back in just a few weeks :( but I know I am benefiting and learning from them. For example, one of my first classes I took last year, as a freshman, was an English and writing class. For our first essay the teacher wanted us to write about how people these days are always on their phones (especially young people, and I must admit, I have been a culprit of that myself!) Anyhow, she gave us the liberty to give our own views about it, but I think she tended to agree with my essay: How Technology Has Impacted Society Today Remember the Norman Rockwell painting “At the Breakfast Table”? A couple sits on either side of a small table, breakfast spread out before them, but something is surely amiss. The wife poses with teacup in hand, while a sad expression covers her otherwise beautiful face. The viewer cannot see the face of the husband, however, for he is buried behind a newspaper - reading. This situat
Read more