**the following was written just before this past new year’s holiday…but not completed at the time due to a death in my family on the day that i wrote it…still don’t know that it’s completed now–i had actually totally forgotten about it…but when i found it, i thought i would go ahead & post anyway…enjoy**
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so last year around this time, not wanting to fall into that age-old trap of listing a ton of resolutions i knew i’d never adhere to, i instead made a list of things that i absolutely would NOT do in ‘08, thinking i’d have better luck sticking to my assertions this way…yet again, i failed beautifully. 
i thought maybe this year, i’d just recap…or rehash, as my friends often say and do–with no expectations for my year ahead—and see how that goes. if i’d created this web page earlier in the year, i’d have more documentation to sift thru from all of the past 12 months in order to list like, my favorite moments of the year…but due to my stubbornness & silly fears & reservations about putting my thoughts down, I’ve pretty much only captured the last 6 months here (the first 6 months could pretty much be summed up with one word…or one relationship, as the case may be…amazinglynecessarilybeautifullysoul-searchinglyheavenly…enuff said there). impossible to recall every moment that…struck me…in some way…without heavy prodding and/or visual stimulation, so here’s a random list of things from ‘08 that i actually did/do remember…for 1 reason or another…
–broken bones
despite a lifetime of clumsiness & masterful accident-prone-ability, this was something i’d managed to avoid before this year. playing football has its perks…but multiple weeks in a half-ton ski boot humbled the crap outta me. i am NOT the superwoman (and by super, i mean ‘able to cause amazing accidents involving other people, while stealthily avoiding serious injury to my own person’) that i thought i was…
–rock & roll hall of fame
visiting this place was an experience that inspired me–as i viewed various famous-people artifacts & soaked up a ton of trivial info about them, i was amazed at how much a single person can accomplish thru music in a lifetime–either as a solo artist or as part of a band–& how these things can affect millions, the world over…so much that even a smelly boot or elastic from underwear they wore at any point in their life can be worth something to somebody, somewhere who never met them or even saw them in person. for this reason, i’ve decided that rather than discard them, from now on, i’m saving one from each pair of sneakers that i own & have begun storing them in an undisclosed closet at my mom’s house–i don’t have the space for that kind of crap at my place…she has no idea how profitable this will turn out to be for her…she’ll love me for it i think…i think i’ll leave it a surprise for her for now…
–babies
this past year, my family was blessed with 2 new babies–the first was born to my tiny first cousin (who will ALWAYS be little Le-Le to me! )…amazing how quickly you can go from carrying around & loving on a cute little kid to doing the same to that kid’s cute little kid.
about 2 weeks later, my little sister had the second baby to steal my heart last year–making me an aunt (and professional baby photographer) for the first time. i don’t think i’ve ever kissed a dimpled cheek so much in my life…gotta get him as much as i can now–before he realizes how NOT cool i am and learns to ‘toddle’ away from me…or before he’s strong enough to overcome the kissing-choke-hold i’m practicing in preparation for his teenage years…i’m just saying…he’s gonna be a big boy…but this auntie will always get her kisses!!
–blogging
besides being one of the best (cheapest & most convenient) ways of recording some of the ridiculous things i’m lucky enough to experience, i actually have the opportunity to incite feedback from the people who were there, or those who don’t understand why anyone was, which is always fun. there’s now a spot in the world (wide web) that’s totally mine, accessible from anywhere at anytime, by anyone, where you can find all or most of the people & things i care about…along with a few random thoughts & opinions about…whatever…amazing.
–discovering the difference between the blogging i’ve come to embrace and writing with a purpose.
a couple of years ago, i began writing a random story. i would pull it up whenever i got bored or sad and change the wording or add a sentence or two whenever the mood hit me…some time passed and i probably had about 10 pages down before i realized that it could actually lead to something more…something interesting…something entertaining. i let a few close people read what i had so far, and their encouragement and questions about what will happen with the characters next have me feeling compelled to answer. i’m still working on this story today with plans of completing it and possibly publishing it within the next year. i now have the desire to become a published novelist…and it feels great. sometimes i lose focus…motivation…other times, i’m obsessed to the point that i can’t concentrate on anything else…to finish it though, is the first real goal i’ve had in some time…i must now & i will.
–bonfires
as stated in an earlier post–who knew sitting outside around a fire in the cold with a great group of people & cake & hot dogs could be so much fun. i definitely plan on doing more of this…if there’s gonna be cake. =))
–golf
i golfed more in the past 12 months than i have in my whole life…dunno why it took me so long to realize it could be so much fun. i’m guessing a lot of the enjoyment comes from golfing with folks who are awesome at the game, yet
1) patient enough that they don’t mind how many times i miss the ball altogether before getting a shot off…i only do this when i’m not warmed up or something. (yeah…right) =\
2) are cool enough to climb a tree in the middle of the course in their snazzy golf gear, just because we think the picture would be funny…
3) are able to hold back guffaws and only snicker quietly as they watch me fall in a sandtrap (am not making this up)
i’ve even mastered the art of not looking so shocked when i take a swing that looks right and sends the ball sailing in the correct direction…THAT’S hard.
–england
no, i’ve never been there, but a good friend spent a few months there this year & filled me in on summa the goings-on. she dispelled lots of ignorant myths about the place…and confirmed a few things for me too (see below). she’s terribly funny & was nice enough to answer every stupid question i asked. i got to see awesome pics from her day-to-day, and even a few from stonehenge…felt like i was right there!!
a few excerpts from our emails (my questions & responses are pink, hers blue..):
do those folks over there celebrate thanksgiving? Nope, I had to work Thursday and Friday. you’re a freakin’ amurkan!! i woulda started a petition for you to have those days off if i’d had advanced notice of the fact that they’re slave drivin’ ya over there. ‘days never finished, massa got me workin’
is their beer served warm? No, thank goodness….but no Miller Light or Bud Light anywhere….or Ranch dressing…ranch dressing smells like feet anyway…no big loss there. No you didn’t! next you’ll be saying you don’t like bbq sauce or hot sauce! If you do, I’m coming over there!
and seriously, sum up the ‘dental’ situation over there–are the rumors true? Not much dental insurance over here so you have to pay out of pocket…I see why they have a teeth situation. Can’t see that anyone has ever worn braces…so lot’s o teef thrown in willy nilly…this made me laugh out loud. The brits actually use the term ‘willy nilly’ and ‘tatty moggy’ whatever the hell that means…and they say ‘tick’ instead of ‘check’ and ‘bit’ instead of ‘part’….Typical lunch, ‘why, I only got a few of the best bits, where are all the good bits?’ o and ‘fortnight’…that’s a biggie…and ‘brilliant’ and ‘you’re a star’….they are just different…and very charming to listen to.
do they have a lunch time AND a tea time…or is tea with lunch? Yes, they have lunch and tea…and they call dinner ‘Tea’ as well…Proper Tea is in the late afternoon and involves tea and scones and biscuits (cookies)…what the hell do they call biscuits then?? They don’t have biscuits, they have scones…which are really dense hard biscuits….if they ever had a real biscuit they would never go back to scones.is the term “iced tea” offensive to them? Iced tea is an anomaly that they cannot understand….hahahahahaha!!!
what’s a good dessert there? Spotted dick. *GASP*
are there more nekkid people & dead bodies on their tv programs? They say the F word and you do see much more nakedness over here…sweet!!! you see lots o butt cheek…even in the commercials.
when their babies cry, does it sound like “whaaaaaa” like our babies or do they say something like “eeeeeeww” instead? Have yet to meet a baby…but I’ll let ya know if I do…
what’s something that you/we do regularly that they just don’t understand? We don’t travel like they do…we’re arrogant and obnoxious, mainly cause we rock! I’m not helping the stereotype at all. I say, ‘Ma’am’ all the time to be polite and I keep getting, ‘stop calling me ‘ma’am’ I’m not the queen!’ What I wasn’t ready for is how damn rude people are over here….old lady scraped my ass big time with her ‘trolley’ at the grocery store….i got nothing! No, oops, or sorry, mostly just got the, ‘you should get your big ass up out the aisle before I hit it again’ look.
…i could share more…but as i don’t want to annoy or offend any more Brits today, i’ll stop it there. besides, you get the idea–bottom line (hehe, i said bottom) i thoroughly enjoyed my friend’s trip to england & hope she travels again at some point…and let’s me tag along then too…it doesn’t cost me a dime. =))
i grew & learned quite a bit in the last 12 months…the thing i’m noticing is that as i grow older, i’m so much more aware of the lessons from each experience…and i retain them now–that’s a pretty cool thing. despite any failures, and/or because of them, my year was awesome & there are lots of people who share responsibility for that…and at this very moment, i find myself more grateful than i’ve ever been.
if your new year is half as cool as my last…you’ll be one lucky sunuva—
