2008

1.  What did you do in 2008 that you'd never done before?

Wow.  I am so lame that I don't think I have an answer for this one.  

2.  Did you keep your new year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

I had three resolutions, which were to do more yoga, learn photography, and figure out my

hair.  I figured out my hair.  That was it.  What kind of freak has their hair as a resolution?

3.  Did anyone close to you give birth?

Last year, I answered that my co-worker gave birth to a baby boy.  Well, she did it again

this year.  Then, I gave her a box of condoms.

4.  Did anyone close to you die?

No

5.  What countries did you visit?

I went to the Bahamas with my husband and 7 other couples.  It was such a fun trip.  We

had a blast....

6.  What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008?

I would like to have more patience with my teenager.  She is stressing me the hell out.

I need to remember that she really is a good girl and is acting like a teenager for a reason.

I, too, was 14 once.  I need to remember that....

7.  What dates from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

The whole month of June pretty much sucked.  But, on a happier note, April 19th was

pretty great.  It was my parent's 50th wedding anniversary and was a great day.

Ohh.....one more date is November 4th.

8.  What was your biggest achievement of the year?

I think that my biggest achievement was finally letting go and realizing that I can only 

take care of myself.  This was huge for me to realize and accept.

9.  What was your biggest failure?

Geez...I don't know.  Perhaps it was the period of time before I figured out #8.

10.  Did you suffer illness or injury?

I fell while running and about busted my ankle.  My ankle will never be the same.  It is

always a nagging problem.  I also had a anxiety issue in June, but that resolved itself.

11.  What was the best thing you bought?

Geez....such tough questions.  Am I wrong to say my favorite thing of the year is my new

green coat?  It's super cool.

12.  Whose behavior merited celebration?

I would probably have to put my husband at the top of the behavior rockstar list.  He has

been such a voice of reason and really knows what is "right".

13.  Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?

John Edwards.  Being a cheater is bad enough, but when your wife is ill on top of it?  That's

appalling.  And, of course, I have to throw in Spencer Pratt.  He makes me want to punch

people.

14.  Where did most of your money go?

Bills, bills, bills.  It seems like I've been sending a lot of money to our car repairman this 

year.  He always buys us drinks when we see him out on the town.  I always order 

something expensive.  It makes me feel better.

15.  What did you get really, really, really excited about?

The trip to the Bahamas was the highlight of the year for me.

16.  What song will always remind you of 2008?

I listened to a lot of Abba this summer because of Mama Mia.  

17.  Compared to this time last year, are you:

a) happier or sadder?  Happier

b) thinner or fatter?  Thinner

c) richer or poorer? Richer, but also poorer in my retirement account....ugh.

18.  What do you wish you'd done more of?

I wish I would have used more green shopping bags.  That is my goal for 2009.

19.  What do you wish you'd done less of?

Stressing out about my kids growing up.  It's life.

20.  How did you spend Christmas?

At home with just my family.  Quiet and nice.....just the way we like it.

21.  Did you fall in love in 2008?

I fall in love with my family and friends a little more every day.

22.  What was your favorite TV program?

This should say what WASN'T your favorite TV program.  That would be easier for me 

to answer.  I love TV a little too much.  Thursday night TV is my favorite.

23.  Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?

No......hate is a word I don't really like, but if I have a hatred for a person, it would be

Spencer Pratt.  He is evil.

24.  What was the best book you read?

Probably the whole Twilight series.  I was so excited about it.

25.  What was your greatest musical discovery?

I am lame.  No greatest musical discovery at my house.

26.  What did you want and get?

Inner peace

27.  What did you want and not get?

A rock hard body

28.  What was your favorite film of this year?

I loved Burn After Reading.

29.  What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

We had two couples over for dinner.  My husband cooked and I drank bottles (yes, plural) of wine.  I was 38.

30.  What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

One more Caribbean vacation with friends.

31.  How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008?

I've been into scarves and colorful shoes this year.

32.  What kept you sane?

My crazy-ass husband keeps me sane.

33.  Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

This one never changes.  Dave Matthews

34.  What political issue stirred you the most?

The whole election thing made me crazy, but it also made me even more passionate on

my positions on abortion, immigration, and gay marriage.

35.  Who did you miss?

I really don't miss anyone.  I get to talk to my friends and family every day.  Email is a 

really good thing.

36.  Who was the best new person you met?

I haven't really met any new people.....soo.....I guess my answer is Lizzz  Lemmonnnn.

37.  Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008.

Never drink multiple bottles of wine by yourself on your birthday....or any day.

38.  Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.

No

Incognito....

I haven't posted in so long that you probably hardly recognize me. I'm going away until the new year. This blog is so tired and I have nothing to say of interest. Happy Holidays!

Bangin.....

I can cross off one item on my 2008 resolution list. This blurry photo was taken with my phone. Obviously, I need a new phone.....

Parents.....

I talk to my parents at least once a day. Sometimes, I talk to them 5 times a day. It just really depends on what the day brings. If there is a cute shirt on sale at Pamida for $2.99 and it's senior citizen day (20% more off, perhaps?), then we might talk 9 times because my mom isn't sure if she will really get use out of the shirt. What if the color is wrong? Our cell phone plans let us talk for unlimited minutes for free and I must say thank goodness for that since that $2.99 shirt ($2.39 with the senior citizen discount) would end up costing more.

I work in a department with 3 other people. We live in our own little worlds with tall walls between us but those walls are so thin that we often talk to each other all day long. On my left, is my friend whose mother is battling liver cancer. She called me this morning to let me know she wouldn't be in because her dad had to be taken to the emergency room last night because of stomach issues. I can't understand why his stomach is so upset. On my right, is my friend who just told me that today is the 17th anniversary of her father's death. She had tears streaming down her face when she told me that in 4 more years, she will have been without her dad longer than she was with him.

I find myself so many times getting frustrated over talking about things like a $2.99 shirt from Pamida. Today reminded me that I need to step back and enjoy these times and not take them for granted. Unfortunately, the phone will stop ringing at some point......

When Friendship Goes Bad...

How do you respond to a random text message from an unfamiliar number......but familiar enough to know it is from someone in the town you grew up in......and the text message is so mean it makes you cry? Do you do what you want to do? Do you call them back and say what you really want to say? Even if it is hurtful and mean? It would feel so good to do that.....but, I just can't. So.....I will say it here and not to him.

Last Thursday, I had a text message from a familiar, yet unfamiliar number. This is what it said. "I was lookin at a yearbook and you were SKINNY?????" What is that really supposed to mean? Is it supposed to mean....you are such a lard ass now that I can't even believe you were that skinny? Does it mean you are such a lard ass now that I had forgotten you used to be so skinny? I really have no idea what it is supposed to mean. All I know is that it hurt my feelings. Do I know I could lose 20 (or more) pounds? Hell yes, I do know that. I have been struggling with my weight for the past 14 years. It is a daily struggle for me. BUT, in the past couple of years, I have grown to accept my body for what it is and I have been relatively OK with it. I am extremely fit. I exercise at least 4 times a week. I am strong. That is a huge deal to me. Do I wish that I could lose the weight? Yes, I do. Do I obsess about it like I used to? No, I don't.

Well, I didn't....until I got that text message on Thursday. I really didn't know who it was from. I put some feelers out and got a message from one of my BFF's that she figured out who it was. And, when I found out....I cried. This person and I were close. Very close. Back in high school, we hung out a lot. The summer after my freshman year in college, we hung out about every night together. He'd pick me up on his motorcycle and we'd cruise around for hours. We were tight. It was never more than a friendship. We then each met our spouses and things changed. I moved away and we both had kids and fell out of touch. I see him about once a year and saw him in August at a class reunion. I guess the size of my ass gave him the right to send me a text message in November on a random Thursday.

The 12 year-old me wants to call him and tell him that I truly of him. THE MEAN STUFF I TYPED HERE HAS GONE AWAY FOREVER....it wasn't very kind of me.

The 38 year-old me will call him on Monday morning and tell him that I have no idea what I have done to make him feel the need to hurt my feelings and that life is too short to have friends like him and to please delete my phone number from his phone.

Of course, the 12 year-old trumps the 38 year-old since she just posted her thoughts on the internet.

I'll be selling No CoHo t-shirts on this site soon.

Hope....

I have been weeping at the most inconvenient times in the past two days. I have been pretty good at keeping my uncontrollable weeping hidden from the rest of the world, but while on a phone call with my boss yesterday morning, he finally said, "You are so bawling, aren't you..." Why, yes, I was bawling.

I can't even explain to anyone how excited I am over the outcome of the election. I have tears streaming down my face as I type this. This country is a mess. While I don't think it's going to be an easy fix, I do at least feel hopeful that we are headed in the right direction. It gives so many people hope.........and that's what we all need right now.

While our next president's race had nothing to do with my decision to back him and obsess over him for the past two years and even pretend he's my boyfriend at times, I do have to add that it is so overwhelming to me that we are going to have an African-American as our president. I think that is why I am so weepy. This is so huge. This is historic. This is awesome....

Vote...

Did you go out and vote today? Believe it or not, I have not voted yet. I had been asked repeatedly to go and vote early. For me, there's just something about voting on the actual day. I am taking my son with me to cast my ballot later this afternoon.

We made it through Halloween without spilling fake blood all over my car seats. I was pleased and pleasantly surprised. The excitement of the night was when our neighbor knocked on our door at 10 PM with a photo of a girl taken off the internet. She saw this little girl on some news channel that was taken from her home in Chicago by an internet predator. She was convinced the girl was at our house trick or treating earlier. My hubby looked at the photo and said that he knew who she was talking about.....but it wasn't her. We then had the police knocking at our door at 11:30 PM asking my hubby questions about the girl. The poor little girl that was taken........poor, poor girl. Why do people do this? People are sick....

We found out later that the girl trick or treating at our house was not the girl on the news. She was just a local girl trick or treating. I'm sure her mother will never bring her back to our neighborhood again.

We used to watch America's Most Wanted all the time and whenever we'd go out to eat or to the bar, we'd always "see" someone from the show that was featured that night. Of course, it wasn't the person, but we would be convinced and then realize the person was the wrong race or something. I would not be a very good sketch artist or good at picking someone out in a line up.

So, changing subjects has never been my strong suit so this will be abrupt. Sorry.

How about that extra hour of sleep? Do you enjoy the time change? I do...even though it's dark when I leave work. The neighbor on the other side of us leaves for work every morning at 5:30. Yesterday, he left at 4:30. He works 30 minutes from home. I wonder what he did for an hour while waiting for work to start? Poor guy forgetting about falling back an hour!! I bet the first thing he did last night was switch his alarm clock.

Conner asked me last night while I was outside grilling chicken why I never use the George Roloff Grill anymore. Maybe she was watching an episode of Little People, Big World before she asked me?? I don't know. She wasn't convinced it was a George Foreman Grill. It was kind of funny.

If you haven't done so already, go vote today!! Have a good one!