2007 Year in Review

2007

January

2007 was a big year for me with lots of firsts, including the birth of my first niece, Megan Hope Holmstrom.  She is the second child in my sister Rebecca's family.  She is a little gem and such a treat to be around.  She's always happy, and such a little doll.  She has adorable blond hair and piercing blue eyes.  What a future little heartbreaker.

I also quit my job at Land Concern.  I was working there as a receptionist after I graduated and was trying to figure out what to do with my life.  I made some great friends there, and had a lot of fun times.  This is me and Diana at our Halloween party.  I was the fashion police if you couldn't tell.

This is me with my cousins Adrienne, Shawna, and Jacey, and the little one is Jolee, Adrienne's oldest.  These three are my Uncle Mike and Aunt Leza's girls.  Their whole family came down the last weekend in January and we spent a day at Disney Land.

February

After months of contemplating, a five day visit in November 2006, and much prayer I took the plunge and moved to the big apple.  As most of you know, it was love at first sight.  When I moved to New York I found a huge piece of my life's puzzle.

March

Before I started working I took what was supposed to be a long weekend trip to California (which turned into two weeks due to bad weather in New York and flying standby.)  Even though I was really stressed about not working, I made the most of my time and laid out by the pool and loved the fact that I was missing out on the fierce wind and snow back east.

I had to say goodbye to my dear sweet Cinco.  I was still making payments on her and couldn't afford to keep making the payments while not using her.  It's great not needing a car in New York but I was so sad to say goodbye to my Cinco the Civic.  Cinco was my first real adult purchase and commitment (a 5 year commitment to be exact.)  I took such good care of her, and she took fabulous care of me.  I have so many fun memories with her.  I felt badly deserting her, but the girl whose dad bought her was such a sweet cute girl, and was so excited about her, I felt good about giving her a new home.  Okay yes, I did cry my eyes out as I saw her drive away, but I'll always have my memories, right?

April

I met Brandon who is such an awesome guy and really sweet.  He treated me so well, and I'm so happy we are still in touch.  I wish him all the best.

I started my job at HSBC as the assistant for the US Rates Trading group.  This is my old desk.  I'm now on the trading floor with about two feet of working space, but it's so much fun.  I'm so blessed to work for such a wonderful man, John, or my "NYCD", as he calls himself (New York City Dad.)  He is a genuinely good guy who's always looking out for me.  He's more like a big brother than anything.  I'm so lucky to have a boss who's such a joy to be around.

May

I lost one of my best friends from high school, Lauren Marshall.  Lauren dealt with epilepsy her whole life.  She was always such a trooper and had a positive outlook on life.  We cheered together for three years (she was one year older than me) and became best friends my sophomore year.  I have a million memories with Lauren, most of them include spending time at her house, driving around, and being at cheer practice.  This picture is old but it's what I remember most about Lauren, being at cheer together.  Miss you Marsh.

I also got to go to Madison Square Garden and see my favorite band ever in concert, the Killers.  It was honestly AMAZING.  The best high ever.

June

Well I finally entered the world of mid-20s, and it's a little weird/scary.  I made the most of it and had some delicious mexican food with friends.

I really enjoyed the summer concert series put on by Good Morning America every Friday in Bryant Park throughout the summer.  Since I work at Bryant Park I had the best time seeing Diane Sawyer and different artists perform like Fergie.

July

I had the best time taking a trip back to my old stomping grounds in Rexburg, Idaho.  It was such a blast to see my grandparents, BYU-Idaho, and some of my best friends from the good ol' days.  (Not to mention eat at all my favorite places.)  Here I am with Aimee Brower and Shantay Lewis at Rigby Lake (yes, that's the best they can do when it comes to water.)

August

Casey came out to visit with his family and we seriously had the best weekend ever.  His dad definitely knows how to treat everyone to a fabulous time.  We ate at some amazing restaurants, enjoyed the luxury of skipping the subway and taking cabs, and saw Wicked from 2nd row center seats.  Besides all this, I just had a blast being with one of my high school BFFs, Case.  He and I always have the BEST time when we're together, and it's inevitable that I'll always get giddy laughing.  I love Case.

I also moved out of my Harlem apartment-woo hoo!  It was a great apartment at which to start out in New York, and I made some great friends living uptown.

September

I moved into my new downtown apartment which I absolutely love.  I feel like life really started when I moved into the financial district neighborhood.  My ward is perfect for me, and everything just fits.

My mom also came out for a visit over Labor Day weekend.  Brad and Nadia drove down from Boston and spent a couple days as well.  This picture of the girls is from my roof.  That's the view to the west, of the Hudson River and New Jersey.

My sweet Aunt Leza passed away on September 1st after a long and courageous battle against cancer.  She is one of the most wonderful women I know.  I always had the most fun with her when I was younger and visiting my cousins Adri and Shawna.  She was always a cool mom, always knowing what was hip.  She and I really bonded over our love for New York once I was in college.  She was my biggest cheerleader in my thoughts about moving to NY.  I miss her so much.

Here's my whole family in Vegas at Leza's funeral.

October

Going to Boston for a YSA educational conference was one of the best experiences of my life.  I love Elder Holland.

Halloween in New York was a treat.  Some of the best costumes I've ever seen.

November

One of my best friends from college, Chelse came to visit me for 4 or 5 days and as usual, we had the best time ever.

I was also introduced to the world of Mac.  Here I am in front of the big glass Apple store with my new beauty.

Going to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade was a lot of fun, definitely one of the items on my "to do" list for New York.

I had my first Thanksgiving without any family and it was a total success.  The food was great, the company was a blast, the hosts were spectacular, the decorations so festive; it couldn't have gone better.

December

I've said it before and I'll say it again; Christmas in New York is absolutely amazing.  I can't imagine anywhere else in the world being as festive and fun, bringing such a warm holiday spirit.

I went to California for ten days and enjoyed some quality time being with my family, seeing old friends, and eating some devine food, both prepared by my amazing cook of a mom, and at my favorite restaurants.

The year was closed with a fantastic celebration on New Year's Eve at Times Square with Curtis.  It was, hands down, the best way to ring in the new year.

I have to say, all in all I think 2007 was a wonderful year.  There were ups and downs, and many changes.  I hope everyone had a great year as well, and I look forward to seeing what 2008 holds!