Remembering 2008.

Dear 2008,

There are some things I want to remember about you. :) There are also things I want to forget (like... the first ten months ;) ). Here are some highlights... okay, and lowlights...

Favorite Photo:

Alaura, Brenna and Mairen at gymnastics. I tried all EIGHT days I was there to get a photo of the three of them... together... where they're all smiling, and nobody is making a goofy face or giving someone bunny ears. This is it. This is the one. :) Makes me happy for so many reasons. One of which being that they've all three found a passion for gymnastics that just makes me giddy. :)

Best day: 

It's a tie. Between June 23rd (the day I found out I'd be published in Simple Scrapbooks), November 20th (my first day on the sales floor at Sharkiver's *wink*), and December 30th (my first day in Sales [as opposed to Visual Sales] at The Container Store).

Best movies:

*I realized when looking through the 250+ movies that came out in 2008 that there were A LOT I didn't get to see. And I'm thinking, had I seen them, they'd have made this list. I suppose a resolution for 2009 should be to get back Netflix! ;)*

Iron Man - Welcome back, Robert Downey Jr! I guess rehab was what you needed! You were hilarious in this. :)

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist - I SO wanted to see this twice! But I saw it the last week it was out, and the following week when I wanted to see it again, it was too late. *sigh* I will be buying this. :)

Best Scrapbooking Decision:

Becoming a subscriber to Studio Calico. What in the HECK took me so long! Sheesh! :p

Favorite Gifts:

Well, it was the year of the fruit. ;) I received my iPod Touch in March, my iMac for St. Nicholas' Day (December 6th), and my Apple tote bag (like a purse...) yesterday from my friend Amy. How do you like them Apples?! ;)

Favorite foods:

I think I ate more peanut butter sandwiches and burritos in 2008 than all years put together. Yum. :) (I'm not sick of them either!)

Favorite drinks:

Friends of mine know I HATE hot chocolate. HATE IT! Makes me want to hurl. Oh, I'm sorry... makes me want to... be sick. :) But I MISSED liking it. I drank it every single day while in junior high (12/13 yrs old). But then when you see it in reverse, notsomuch. :p Then I found Schokinag. *sigh* Extreme Dark drinking chocolate... not your Mama's Swiss Miss, Kids. Doesn't make me want to pray to the porcelain god, has the words "dark chocolate" in it, and is absolutely perfect. So yeah, that stuff... my favorite. :) 

That and the new Crystal Light Hydration in lemon flavor. Electrolytes with no sugar... yeah, baby!

Toughest Decision (EVER):

Deciding to take my husband back (and forgiving him...) after he left me. *sigh* He didn't cheat on me, so I guess that made it a *bit* easier. But seriously... I spent months debating if I had the strength to take him back... let alone forgive him for putting me through that for the first ten months of the year. But... I'm SO glad I did. And I'm also so blessed and so thankful that God gave me the strength and patience to do so. I'm SO happy now. Happier than I've been since before we were married, and boy, does that feel GREAT! :D

Epiphany:

I want kids... bad. :) One boy and one girl. We want to adopt, and I'm pretty sure we already have their names picked out. Tee hee.

Coolest Discovery:

Figuring out that I LOVE being in Sales. Love it. LOVE it. LOVE IT! I'm so in my element. So at home. So passionate. So happy.

Best week:

Visiting my sister and her family in Boise, Idaho (Oct 30-Nov 6). Impromptu trips are the best ones. :) When I found out my parents would be at my sister's house for Halloween and her birthday, I booked my flight just ten days out. It.Was.Fabulous. Best week of the year, bar none. Hadn't seen Shaina and her girls (and Tony...) in almost 14 months. Way too long. 

Mairen tripled her cute factor. Three really is the best age. :) And the fact that she can spell and read over TEN words, a few months shy of age 4... floored me. 

Alaura impressed me to no end with her leadership skills and maturity. She is growing into such a beautiful young lady... leaving some of that sassiness behind and heading into Age 7 with gusto! 

And Brenna's (Alaura's twin sister) passion for gymnastics and school... along with her problem solving, kind heart and gentle spirit made me believe she was much older than 6.75 years. :)

Best Shopping Finds:

Okay, two. I'm not a big shopper. Actually, unless I'm shopping at The Container Store or Archiver's, I HATE shopping. Just had to share that. :p

Anywho, long story short... Last year, I was looking for the perfect bag. Smoky blue, fits my wallet and a water bottle, leather, shoulder strap, clean and simple, no decorations. Easy enough? Notsomuch. Finally found it. Dooney. It was $165... on clearance! Debated. Finished my shopping. Went home. Asked the husband. He said yes. Called the store to put it on hold. They had sold it in those two hours. *sigh*

Kept looking for like... a year. Found it on ebay. The larger version (YES!) for less than a THIRD of the retail price. And about half the price of the smaller version from the previous year. I don't make large purchases like this... especially for purses, but I knew it would last forever, and I'd get my money's worth. I was right. :)

The second one. My red Mary-Janes. I did a layout about them. Seriously, that's how happy I was to find them. LOL. 

Something I Did a Lot of:

Crying. And getting sick. I hate to say it, but it's true. Next year WILL be better. Even if my health isn't better, the crying thing will be. Because this year, my husband says he won't be leaving me. And I believe him. :)

Oh! Something else I did a lot of! Watching Friends! Seriously... I'm not sure I could have made it through you, 2008, without Chandler, Monica, Joey, Phoebe, Ross and Rachel. I think I've seen every episode *at least* four times each now. LOL.

Something I Thought I Didn't Need, but Do:

A sofa. LOL. We didn't have a sofa for like... three years. We bought one the other day because we couldn't stand it another second. And getting it for nearly half off... bonus!

Something I Thought I Didn't Need, and It's Still True:

A television. :) We've been television-less for... four years now, and I'm still happy about this. :) Every year, it's more apparent.

Person I Became Close With (and didn't expect to...):

Grandpa Pendzimas. Who knew he'd become one of my very favorite people in the world?! Talking to him is truly one of my favorite things. I always smile, laugh, scoff, smirk and reminisce when we talk. And I love that our 5-10 minute conversations have turned into an hour. :)

Best Move:

Literally... moving. LOL. Growing up in California and Colorado, moving to Texas is just something you don't do. ;) But after spending winters in Colorado, Minnesota and Rhode Island, I knew I needed a warmer climate (well, rather... my *hips* needed a warmer climate). Jeremy suggested Texas. And I heard from quite a few friends that Austin was unlike the rest of Texas. I moved here... sight unseen. No job. No place to live. Husband still in Rhode Island (and deciding...). Not having ever seen *photos* of Austin. And I never want to move away from here.

My walking cane is currently retired, now that I live here, and that feels great! I haven't *not* walked with a cane during a winter since I was 17. Ten years. And though I may have to walk with one in the future, I'm reveling in the fact that I don't have to now. :)

Downfall:

Trying to please everyone. *sigh* I SO need to work on that. (Reyanna, repeat these words: "It's okay to focus on you. It's okay to focus on you. It's okay to focus on you.") 

Something I Never Thought I'd Do:

Take up golfing. And I actually enjoy it. LOL.

So, farewell, 2008. I'm glad to see you go. :)

*reyanna*

Dear 2009,

Please be better than 2008. :) I promise I won't take on too much. And I promise not to try to please everybody.

Love, 

*reyanna*