Year 2014 Recap!

Hello everyone!

I haven't done a year-in-recap kind of a post, but this year has been such an incredible year filled with so many adventures that I thought it deserved a recap post.

It's hard to believe that I was at Rice studying earlier this year. I mean, I feel like I've been in Boston, studying at BU for years!  But apparently, that is not the case and I was, in fact, at Rice celebrating Mr. Lin's birthday with my lovely Rice studio just earlier this year!   aww, I do miss these lovely faces  =)

oh, and there's nothing like pictures of the Rodeo to remind you that you were very much so not in Boston when these were taken... haha

2014 was also the first year David and I competed in open level ballroom/latin competition!  Well, David had competed at that level before, but it was a totally new experience for me  =)  It was really fun, and I hope we get to do more of it in the future!

May of 2014 was a bitter sweet month as I prepared to graduate with my Master's degree from Rice - Shepherd School of Music.  I was uber excited to move to Boston and start a new chapter of my life there, but also, I knew I would miss all of the awesome friends I had made in Houston.

It was an incredible 2 years in Houston though, and I'm glad I got to know so many amazing peeps during my time there  ;)

But wait!  Before I could move to Boston and start my Doctorate degree, I took a few 'detours' during the summer.  First, to Korea,

Then, to Taiwan,

Then, to Virginia (Garth Newel Music Center) with the Meadowlark Trio,

Then, to Cali, meeting so many awesome people along the way.

oh, and sometime during all of that, I turned quarter of a century!  I am so blessed to have had incredible friends who threw me a surprise birthday party, as well as having this guy in my life who took me out to Uchi for a birthday dinner  =)    Quarter of a century has been good to me, and have I mentioned just how incredibly blessed I am?

After that wirlwind of a summer, I finally got myself to Boston.

a new home, new school, new friends  =)  all so exciting!

I'm so happy I found these girls to share the beautiful apartment that we call home.   

and for the roomy adventures that we take together  =)   Oh, one of my roomies, Shawn, also has a blog, so check her out here  =)

In November, David and I took a little trip to Cancun, Mexico, to celebrate D & D's wedding as well as our 2 year anniversary!  It was such a memorable trip, and I hope that we can go back there someday  =)

we stayed at Nizuc Resort and Spa during our stay there, and we absolutely loved it!  =)

David and I have been doing this long distance relationship thing this year, and though I don't have the best track record for doing long distance, it's been going well so far!  I think it works because we get to see each other every month or two, and We were so happy to spend Thanksgiving together this year  =)

A weekend full of wonderful food and company!  check out some of the posts here and here!

I am so incredibly lucky to have had so many amazing people in my life, like Bayla, my quirky and amazing teacher at BU.  She has made my transition to Boston so easy, and she has been a lifesaver in so many ways.  I'm so excited to spend the next 3 or so years with her learning and improving my craft  =)

2014, you have been good  =)

I'm so thankful for my family and my friends in all different parts of the world, and I can't wait to see what 2015 has in store!

Hope you all had a wonderful 2014, and hope your 2015 is filled with endless happiness, love, blessings, and peace!  =)

Thanks for stopping by, and Happy New Year!

--Janny

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Happy New Year everyone!

I'm currently at home practicing away for my upcoming auditions, so it's not very festive around these parts, but I hope that you are all celebrating/enjoying the end of 2013 and the beginning of 2014 with your loved ones! The years that really stick in my mind are 2008 and 2012 because they were my graduating years, and it looks like 2014 is also going to (hopefully) be joining the ranks of the 'memorable' years!  Already almost done with my Master of Music degree...  I can't believe it!  haha but I am so excited to see what 2014 has in store for me and my loved ones  =D

Last year, I made a huge list of the year's highlights and what I was thankful for, so I considered doing that again, but I decided that I am thankful for much of the same things!  It's not that I don't think they are less important or that I'm less thankful, but let's try something new for this year, yeah?  

So!  we're going to be ending the year with a look at the December Photo Project!  DPP is where you take a photo every day of December, and I'm actually rather surprised/proud that I stuck with it for the whole month!  I tend to get bored with things quickly and don't end up sticking with things, but I guess this one kept my interest for the whole month! who would've thought...  haha   

so here is the month of December in pictures! and you can also see all of them on my Instagram feed here!

^^^Day 1 and 2!  My 5 year old student wrote that on the board for me, and it melted my heart!  love them so.  then, on the second day of Christmas, I mean December, I noticed that I was wearing Christmas colors, and had to snap the picture!  haha

^^^Day 3-8! Then, I wanted to put this together to show the strange weather that we deal with in Houston. Day 3 was 79 degrees and sunny outside (in December!), then day 5 was 40 degrees.. and then by day 6-7, it was all of a sudden fall weather!  we had fall colors and leaves and everything!  Day 4, I just took a photo of my life savers while dealing with bruised tendon.. Then, on day 8 (I know the order is switched here,,,) my students performed on the Shepherd Preparatory Program Recital, and I was soooo proud!!!

^^^Day 9 marked the beginning of what I fondly remember as 'hell week', but it was ok because we had a little dance break  =)  love him so.

^^^Day 10...  yup. hell week in full force..

^^^Day 11. I ran across this in the Rice parking lot, and was SO excited!  WHAT?! there's a fellow Nebraskan at Rice?!  who are you and what are you doing here! not to be creepy, but Nebraska and Nebraskans will always have a special place in my heart!

^^^Day 12-14.  Had an awesome time performing Beethoven Piano Trio Op. 70 No.2 and Beethoven Sonata for Piano and Violin #1 with these lovelies!  and day 14 is our apartment getting a little festive  ;)

^^^Day 15.  a little Christmas date with the boy  <3

^^^Day 16-17. Hell week passed, and celebrating with a girl's night in (first time making kettle corn from scratch!) and a double date!  my first gingerbread house experience ever with our favorite double date couple documented here!

^^^Day 18-19.  I'm HOME!!!!!! love Seattle.  and my parents had a new toy in the kitchen!  I wish I could take you back to Houston with me, little Vitamix...

^^^Day 20!  SNOW DAY!!!  First snow of the year!  you can check out more pictures of my little snow dog here.

^^^Day 21-24.  Just hanging out with my little man, my mommy (with her exercise hoop!), freaking out about my doctoral auditions happening in exactly a week! (OMG!! AHHHH!!  ok, breathe...), and hanging out at mommy's clinic in the children's section!

 ^^^Day 25-27.  Merry Christmas!!!  Christmas puppy, foggy walk, and a jeweled web discovered on our walk  =)

^^^Day 28-29.  Enjoying the last couple of days with the Vitamix and boxes and boxes of fruits we always have at home!  we really go through a couple of boxes of fruits a week as a family..  and then a mommy daughter date!!  Learned that if I'm going to invest in any fashion related accessories, it should be in purses, shoes, and outerwear (in mommy's opinion).  and I think I agree because they are the ones that last the longest.  For example, I use a leather purse mommy got when she was my age!  and because she took such a good care of it, it's still in amazing shape!  She also has a coat daddy got her when they first got married, and she still wears it!  So these are items worth investing in.  I'm looking forward to building my own collection of purses, shoes, and outerwear that I can potentially pass down to my own daughter in the future!  =D

^^^Day 30-31.  Spending some more time with the little man, who is about 70-80 years old in 'human years' but still acts like a puppy.  gonna miss this handsome lil chap so much when I leave tomorrow! sniffle... but it's been a fun 2 weeks!

So that's it for the December Photo Project!  It's kind of fun looking back at how the month has been documented.  I said it last year too, but I'm so glad that I'm documenting these times through this blog and instagram because it's so fun to look back and remember the things that would have otherwise been forgotten once in awhile  =) 

Thanks for being on this journey with me, and I hope you all have a wonderful start to this new year!

Much love,

--Janny