Memories, Dreams and Reflections (remembering 2011)

This past year was full of ups and downs. More downs that ups I would say. I had a breakdown and I stopped blogging for two months. The most important thing is that these days we’re all happy and healthy and that’s what matters the most.

Linking up with Ashley. Thanks to her I was inspired to put together that post which brought so many memories.

1. Me

This year was definitely a self-portraits year. I hadn’t taken so many self portraits in my entire life as I took in this single year.




2.  I Love You

My Valentines card for my husband 🙂

3. Still laughing

A month ago I spent all day chasing my daughter with a camera while trying to make her to say all the words that she knows. It wasn’t an easy job. I still laugh when I remember that day…

Her favorite GOP plan
Her favorite GOP plan

…but especially when I watch this movie:

4. Winter Wonderland

This picture was taken a year ago on January 20th. This is California, so I can’t provide you any pictures with snow. This year it looks just like a year ago. Beautiful weather with almost no rain as well. I know it’s not good for us if we do not have the rain but honestly I don’t miss it. The only time I miss snow is Christmas time. For me Christmas Eve and New Year without the snow is the weirdest thing ever… . You would think that after more than 4 years in CA I got used to to having Christmas without the snow, but it’s not that easy. It’s still weird and unnatural for me. lol

January 20, 2011

5. Birthday

Our Little One 1st B-day. Just her and us and an ice-cream b-day cake. What else would you ask for. We had such a blast trying to convince our daughter that this big hat won’t hurt her. You can read more about it here.

1 Year Old

6. Friends

Me and a talented Polish photographers from Bay Area. We spent May 3rd, 2011 together shooting Polish Mass Celebrating Beatification of John Paul II.

My family and our friends from East Coast visiting us in November. Such an amazing time we had!

7. I was inspired

This year one of my biggest inspiration I got from Polish Mama on the Prairie which gingerbread cookies made me to want to make something very christmasy myself. You can read about it here:

While looking for a good recipe I discovered one of the best cookies ever which I think will be on my table more often that only once a year for Christmas 😉

Gingerbread cookies

8. Spring Fever

Last year we had great opportunity to watch mamma dove hatching eggs and later taking care of her little two babies until they flew away a month later. It all happened on our patio. She used one of my pots to make a nest out of it. More pictures here and here:

Patio Doves, April 8th, 2011

9. Travel or Vacation

Being able to hop on a back of my husband’s motorcycle is always a great thing. It does not happen very often, though. Not since our Little One was born.

This year we went for a funeral of Jethro Pettigrew – the president of the San Jose chapter of the Hell’s Angels motorcycle club who was killed this Fall in Reno. The funeral was in San Jose so we didn’t have to go far but still… it was great to get out on the motorcycle and to see all those biker hanging out in one place. Amazing experience!!! And this time I didn’t hide my camera while riding and I’m really happy about that.

For more pictures from this event you can go here.

10. Summer Days

Our daughter for most of this summer was walking barefoot. She wasn’t very good at walking, yet, but when she got the rhythm it was almost impossible to catch her!

May 8th, 2011

We visited many local parks and gardens. One of them became a favorite place of mine! – Nola’s Iris Garden. Such a beautiful place!!!

June 1st, 2011

And we’d been learning how to swim.

11. A day in my life

12. All smiles

Now when I look at those messy days I smile.

Even these days, my daughter is not the cleanest eater. She makes mess and she likes to play with her food, but it’s nothing like it used to be months ago. I wrote a post asking: “When is the right time to start teaching your kid manners?“. When I did that I wasn’t in a good mood, and I was getting really tired of my daughter eating habits. It was July 21st.

Today she is great with handling the spoon but she still prefers her fingers. Using them she is not that messy anymore. Yeay!!!

and one more picture that always makes me smile is our daughter doing yoga. She still does that but not so often. She used to do it all the time a few times a day.

13. Autumn Harvest

14. Family or Home

At the beginning of this year, on January 13th my husband got me a coffee maker. It came in with a bunch of stuff and a two packages of coffee. I was the happiest mamma ever.

Why coffee maker (and coffee) where I should be talking about family or home. Well… where mornings begins with relatively big cup of dark coffee there my home is.

My family like cemeteries and graves. We’re weird like that 😉

So this year we went to Colma, the city of which motto sounds: “It’s great to be alive in Colma”. Why? Hmmm… With 17 cemetaries for humans and one for pets, the dead population outnumber the living by thousands to one. Awesome place!!!

15. Celebrate!

Of course, 4th of July, 2011.

16. Let’s do it again/17. I miss you (it)

I join this two themes together.

One word: pierogi!

I love pierogi and I hate making them at the same time. They are so delicious, easy and simple to make, but to make them takes too much time. (easy recipe how to make pierogi from scratch here). Whenever I make them it’s always not enough. Since I moved to U.S pierogi are the most craved and missed dish. This year those feelings are even bigger as a pregnant me crave Polish food much more than normal.

18. Beautiful

I know it might sound weird but I find beautiful big dogs. The bigger the dog the more beautiful it seems to me! And I find beautiful rising kids with animals around. Can’t understand (other than allergy) why people don’t like and want their kids to be around animals… . This doggy is not ours. We met him this year in my doctor’s waiting room. This doggy was hers as well as one more, tiny bit smaller, rottweiler.

And I find beautiful hand written letters and a package with a good book from a good friend which I am very thankful for.

19.Dress Up

This year for Halloween she was dressed as a dragon.

20. Macro

I like this macro a lot. I think one of the best I’ve taken this year.

And I like this one because it’s a shot of a letter from my friend in Poland.

21.Holidays

This year my husband had planned to make a surprise Valentines dinner for us. We ended up cooking it together but still, it was really nice of him.

and we spent September 11th watching 9/11 Memorial March.

22. My favorite

My favorite drink:

My favorite lotion:

My favorite pastry:

My favorite time of the day:

My favorite shot of my pregnant belly (so far):

23. Don’t ever change

I don’t want many things to ever change. One of them is my love to my family, and how my family loves me. 

The second place on this list in my passion to photograph. This year I went through a period when my camera lied untouched for two months and that was the most sad and depressed time in the entire 2011 year. I don’t want that to happen ever again!

24. Just because… So there!

April, 2010

Just because we’re expecting another one. Judging after my heartburn it will be as much hairy as the first one and it will come almost on the same day as the first one!

25. Hopes and Dreams

I hope for a good health for my growing family.

I hope for staying as happy as we are these days.

Picture taken by our friend Sam, while visiting San Francisco this year

Taken by our friend Sam.

Happy New Year, My Friends!

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26 thoughts on “Memories, Dreams and Reflections (remembering 2011)

  1. Pingback: Travel Memories | TRAVELITERATURE

  2. Jessie

    What a wonderful tribute to 2011! I did a year of selfies as well so I have a lot of them 🙂 You are a gorgeous pregnant mama and I hope that you and your family have a fabulous 2012!

    Reply
  3. lisa fogarty

    your macro… and wyatt earp pictures are my favorite Tombstone is my all time favorite movie.. I love doc holiday too… Your self portraits are so fun, the portray such a fun personality. Happy New year.

    Reply
  4. hena tayeb

    A great post.. I loved the picture of the multiple yous in the kitchen. And your little girl is adorable.. looks just like you. Wishing you a wonderful 2012

    Reply
  5. Arline Grant

    Ewa,
    Thank you for sharing your year with us. It made me laugh, it made me cry. It made me thankful for things I have and sad for some things I don’t. As always your pictures are beautiful and your “from the heart” writing…makes them that much more special. A story with each one. I wish you a year of peace and happiness, filled with the love of family and friends, and many more photos. I hope to see you again someday soon.
    Love,
    Arline

    Reply
    1. Polish Mom Photographer Post author

      Thank you, Arline.
      Thank you for being such a good friend from far away who always has the time to stop by and leave a little love in here. I appreciate that moment that we met and hoping for more in the future. This year I was so happy I finally met Cindy and Sam. Now my dream is for all of us to meet and go for a photo walk/lunch/ and evening together. I can’t promise it will happen this year, but it’s on my bucket list!
      Happy New Year my cats and birds loving friend and thank you for being here!
      Hugs from my corner!

      Reply
  6. Gina

    Love that you went to Coloma. My hubs grew up in Placerville- so that area has a fond place in our hearts. Also love that you found Earps headstone. That’s pretty cool. AND I love that you got pics from the hog. I keep telling my hubs that I am going to get him a helmet cam so I can see what he’s seeing on his rides.

    Reply
  7. Pingback: New Year Lessons from Jazz – Never stop playing! « Dancing for Joy

  8. Anika @ Pasando

    Great post! Your all smiles and self portrait are my faves…but there’s a lot of variety from the year- so pretty!
    Glad I got to see some of it through the ACoLab too. Here’s wishing you a very happy year!!

    Reply
    1. Polish Mom Photographer Post author

      Anika, yesterday and today I was just thinking about ACoLab and how long I haven’t been there or subbmited any of my photos. I need to change that this year. Thank you for the opportunity to be a part of your project!

      Reply
  9. Elizabeth Flora Ross

    Happy New Year. May 2011 bring you much happiness. I love all these pictures. But the video where she says “nose” and then starts to pick it totally cracked me up. My 3yo is in a big time nose picking phase. The other day, she came to me and said, “I have a booger on my finger. You eat it, Mommy.” Ahhhh, motherhood! LOL

    Stopping by from The Mom Pledge blog hop…

    Reply
  10. Jennifer Ward-Pelar

    What wonderful photographs! You had such a busy year! And I loved hearing your daughter talk. PRECIOUS! She’s just chatting up a storm. I don’t know which was my favorite, nigh nigh, all gone or GOP tax plan! ha! 🙂
    Thank you for sharing with us.

    Reply
    1. Polish Mom Photographer Post author

      she learned to say the GOP plan from the tv – we didn’t teach her. she didn’t want to say “all gone”. normally she does it with a hands gesture I couldn’t make her to do that that day… too bad because it’s so funny. we’re joking that in a few years her dad will have somebody to talk to because I am not talker.he is! and it looks like she’s going to be even a bigger talker that he is.lol

      Reply

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