Goodbye 2009

We had such a fantastic year in 2009, that it is kind of hard to see it go. I tried new things, welcomed a lot of visitors, took a few trips, said goodbye to some great friends and met several new ones. Looking through my photos from 2009 made me nostalgic (if you can be nostalgic about things that happened less than 12 months ago.

January 2009

The year started with the tail end of our New Year's Eve party. This party was kind of a farewell to a group of our friends. We had nine friends move to different places all over the world within the next few months, and we miss them madly. We braved the crowds to see Obama's inauguration, then joined our fellow soldiers/spouses at an inaugural ball. I had a good excuse to buy a ball gown, we saw Barack/Michelle & Joe/Jill dance, and we were entertained by Bon Jovi and Josh Groban, among others. Quite a night.

February 2009

Levi & I drove to Savannah, GA to do a little exploring, then on to Disneyworld and Universal Studios, then met up with some old friends on our road trip home.

March 2009

Took a little road trip to Pittsburgh to see Adil and Ashley, saw the Andy Warhol museum at Carnegie Mellon, the French/Indian War museum at the point, ate wonderful food and incredible ice cream. Came home and saw Brendon Small in concert with his School of Rock. I got a new job at Earth Day Network. We drove up to Central PA to pick up our baby chinchillas, Snuggly Buggles and Scrambles the Death Dealer.

April 2009

My friend Shari brought her kids for a visit and we took them on the monument/museum tour. We saw everything from the Capitol to the cherry blossoms to the Holocaust museum to the White House and made huge meals for the seven of us. Flight of the Conchords concert, backstage at Earth Day on the National Mall where we met The Flaming Lips.

May 2009

Played with a pinata at Cinco de Mayo. Mom & Robyn came to visit over Memorial Day weekend. I showed them all of my favorite spots in DC, we met an old lady named Happy at the FDR Memorial, cried with the biker veterans at the Vietnam Memorial, saw pandas in the rain at the zoo, played on the giant at National Harbor, fed squirrels, and got yelled at by guards at Arlington Cemetery.

June 2009

Levi was promoted to SSG. I ran my first 5K in the pouring rain. When the weather finally cleared up for the summer we went on a hike with Mike & Suzie and relaxed at our new favorite winery in Maryland.

July 2009

Another road trip to Pittsburgh where we spent hours at the aquarium and zoo complete with a baby seal and baby elephant. Ryan came to visit for the month and we went to Busch Gardens, New York, the Late Show with David Letterman, Great Falls and took a West Wing tour of the White House. We crammed so much in, and it was one of my favorite months of the year.

August 2009

Yard work and painting at an elementary school for the Lockheed Martin volunteer day, zip lining with Sarah, kayaking for the first time, and dozens of bands (and $11 beer) at the Virgin Music Festival.

September 2009

Gramma & Grampa came to visit and we went on a tour of the U.S. Capitol. Levi and I did a high ropes course (another first) with Sarah, and I quit Earth Day Network (yay!) and got a job with Levi at Lockheed Martin. Now Levi and I commute to work together.

October 2009

Such a month... Our Make a Pizza party was a hit, Mom came to visit and we drove to Pennsylvania together to see the Amish people in Intercourse, went on another Capitol tour, toured the National Cathedral. I visited my family in Southern Utah where we went to Bryce Canyon, Snow Canyon, enjoyed the desert, carved pumpkins and had an incredible time. Tobi and Brady visited and we ran around in the rain, had all manner of fun with our friends and went to Six Flags. Whew. Another one of my favorites.

November 2009

Took a mind-blowing trip to Manzanillo, Mexico to see Ashley & Adil get married, snorkeled a coral reef and sunken ship, ATVed in the jungle, ate the best food and hung around in our swimsuits all day. Around the World party was a blast and the food was wonderful. Cajun Thanksgiving with friends then regular Thanksgiving with coworkers.

December 2009

Getting ready for Christmas, lots of shopping (hey, it's a highlight for me). Went to the National Christmas tree with Josh & Karen, moved into our new office. Visited family and friends in Salt Lake City where we saw everyone after way too long, went out to eat way too much and opened lots of gifts (yay!). Wrapped up 2009 the same way we brought it in... a New Year's Eve/birthday party with our new friends.

Good luck 2010... you have some huge shoes to fill.

Something to Write Home About...

I've had a blog for a while, but it was mostly full of little diddies that I wrote and not much about me. Considering that I don't want anyone to read my little diddies, I figured that was not the best use for a public blog on the internet machine. So, I replaced it with something that I don't mind sharing.

For me, blogging is kind of like the grown-up version of leaving my diary around the house so my mom would read it. I love writing about myself and knowing that someone else is reading it. So, read away. Of course, since i have never been very good at writing in a diary, I probably won't be very good at keeping up a blog. But I'll do my best.

I, like millions of others, am hooked on Lost. And I am ecstatic that it is not one of those shows that is taking a break. Au contraire, while my other favorite shows are on hiatus, Lost came back from the not-quite-dead. Thank you J.J. Abrams, for getting me all excited and giving me something fictional to hypothesize about from Thursday to Thursday.

I am also enamored with finding new music and downloading as much of it as possible. Legally, of course. Since Levi is hunting down bad guys in the evenings these days, I have been spending a good deal of time finding new stuff to please my ears. The Darjeeling Limited soundtrack is fun and different and makes me want to see the movie again. The Elected is a good time... it is Blake Sennett from Rilo Kiley doing something on the side. I knew I liked a few Grandaddy songs, but I love their "Just Like the Fambly Cat." I didn't know if I was going to like "In Rainbows," the new Radiohead. But, I do. Thank you Joe for that little masterpiece.

Here's something to write home about... I quit smoking when we made our big move from Texas to DC. I figured it would either be a big mistake or the perfect time to quit. Turns out, it was perfect. I quit the weekend before Christmas and I have been 95% successful. That 5% comes from two nights when I was out drinking heavily with smokers. Oh well, what are ya gonna do? Anyway, the only time that I really, really want to smoke is when I drink. I also want to smoke when I talk on the phone, when I'm alone, when I am in a car and when I am walking. And right after I eat dinner. But those times are not as bad as when I drink. If anyone can tell me how to get over that alcohol+cigarette craving, I would be eternally grateful. As would all of the other smokers/ex-smokers in the world. Kids, don't start smoking. You know, I think the idea of quitting was worse than the actual quitting. Because the one thing that makes me not start again is the thought of having to quit. Again. Man, it is a good thing I never did heroin.

Enough about bad habits. I would like to welcome all of you to my not-quite-first blog post. My first post on this blog. That turned out to be kind of a downer. Keep coming back and get to know me a little better. Or a lot better, depending on how excited I get about this whole blogging thing.

Until next time...