Farewell, 2011

And so, the time has come to bid farewell to 2011.

It has flown right on by, don't you think? I know I say that every year, but when I think back to where I was just 365 days ago, it seems like yesterday. Last year I was eagerly awaiting the new year, hopeful for what it would bring. I have to say, 2011 has delivered.

Frankly, I wanted to entitle this post: "I Hugged Tim Tebow and Got Knocked Up: 2011 FTW!" because that's just the kind of incredible year it has been. But then I realized that title might unintentionally imply that the latter was a result of the former, and considering that my blog already gets several hits per day from people Googling "Tim Tebow's wife," I thought it best to avoid confusion. But really, those two things alone could have made this year the best yet, and they were only two components of what made 2011 so great.

Let's reflect, shall we?

In January...
I went to Florida, I battled a smoke detector (causing Achilles to develop a phobia), we found a new apartment in Hoboken, I went to Cleveland, and we enjoyed (endured?) another blizzard.

In February...
We saw an incredible Idina Menzel concert at Lincoln Center, soaked up every last second of our NYC apartment, moved to and explored our new home in Hoboken.

In March...
We celebrated St. Patrick's Day Hoboken Style, saw a couple of fun Broadway shows, toured our former neighborhood, celebrity-watched at The Comedy Awards and crossed Katz's Deli and the Friends apartment building off our NYC To-Do List. Plus, Eric rocked another half marathon and I was nominated for a Shorty Award for a picture (taken by Eric) that I twittered after one of our winter snowstorms!

In April...
We went to Ryan and Amanda's wedding and had some other fun in Florida, ate a lot of cupcakes, saw some comedy, hit up the Easter Bonnet Parade yet again (although sans dog this year), went to an NFL Draft pre-party, plus the NFL Draft red carpet and Round 2, compared biceps with Peyton Hillis, stalked the Glee cast all around New York City and watched the Royal Wedding with the rest of the world.

In May...
We rode our bikes for 42 miles through all five boroughs of New York City in the Five Boro Bike Tour (I'm still not sure how that actually happened), went to a Bruno Mars concert and a Brad Paisley concert taping, saw a few celebs including The Lonely Island and Nick Offerman, saw a taping of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, and I crossed an item off my life bucket list when I HUGGED TIM TEBOW. We also took a Memorial Day weekend road trip to Cooperstown, Buffalo, Toronto and Niagara Falls (which included one new baseball stadium towards Eric's goal of visiting them all!).

In June...
We once again ate some 'cue at the Big Apple BBQ Festival, celebrity-watched at the Tony Awards, met Matt LaPorta when the Tribe played the Yankees, checked out Citi Field, and loved every second of the Glee Live concert. Also, Eric went to D.C. for the U.S. Open and I hung out with Tom Hanks.

In July...
We went to a great patriotic concert at Lincoln Center, watched the Fourth of July fireworks from Hoboken, celebrity-watched at the Harry Potter and Crazy, Stupid, Love premieres, and went on a road trip through Pennsylvania (including two new baseball stadiums) during my birthday weekend (29!). Also, I got pregnant, but there's no blog post about that. Ha!

In August...
Eric's friend John visited us, we celebrated our fourth wedding anniversary, spent a couple days in Chicago (two more baseball stadiums), and Eric weathered a hurricane while I hung out with my Gramps in Cleveland.

In September...
We watched celebrities play football at the Madden NFL Pigskin Pro-Am, remembered the events of 10 years ago on 9/11, my sister visited us, and we spent a weekend in Boston (one more baseball stadium, leaving me officially baseball-ed out for the year). Also, we shared our good news with the world - there's a baby on the way!

In October...
I met Jonathan Groff, Eric got cast as an extra in the new Batman movie The Dark Knight Rises, I felt my baby move for the first time, we saw another great concert at Lincoln Center (John Williams), Eric ran the Urbanathlon and it snowed.

In November...
Eric went to a taping of SportsNation, saw some Dark Knight Rises filming on Fifth Avenue and was a part of filming himself on Wall Street. We went to Florida for Thanksgiving and Eric's high school reunion. We also found out we're having a BABY GIRL!

In December...
I kept on loving my husband and telling you all about it, my mom came to visit, we saw lots of celebrities including Tom Cruise, I met Darren Criss, we saw The Roots and Jimmy Fallon record a performance for the NBC New Year's Eve special, and we celebrated a lovely, quiet Christmas at home.

VIDEO: Our year in pictures 

(Music is "Auld Lang Syne" by Lea Michele, from the New Year's Eve soundtrack)

Not a bad year, right? All of that on top of good health for us and our families, a great home in which to live, and lots of love in our lives. We are very blessed.

Now that we have looked back, it's time to look forward. 2012 promises to be a year like no other for us. It is strange for me to go into a new year with absolutely no idea what my life will be like in 4 months, or 6 months, or 10 months, or by next New Year's Eve. This year will bring completely new experiences and a whole new life, and next year's "look at everything we did this past year" list will look completely different. It's both terrifying and exhilarating all at the same time. I think I'm up for the challenge, and I'm excited to dive headfirst into the new year with Eric by my side and my baby on the way.

Friends, thank you for once again being a part of this past year in my life. I wish you nothing but the best in the new year and can't wait to see what 2012 brings for you. Enjoy every moment!

Signing off for 2011,

Meghan