Looking back

Too lazy to write a synopsis of the year, I thought I would attempt a list of the year in review. My goal is to come up with 100 things. We'll see how far I get.

In no particular order, both good and bad, in 2008 I...

1. grew another year older, bringing me well in to my "early thirties" (32 to be exact)


2. found out I was pregnant


3. realized that all those girl names would have to go on the back shelf for now


4. celebrated my 2 year wedding anniversary


5. found sand dollars on the beach in Costa Rica (which broke on the journey home)


6. learned to drive a four wheel drive (kind of)


7. bought a new car


8. moved to a new place by the beach


9. traveled to New York twice for the bridal market


10. joined Facebook


11. met and spent four days with my blogger bff, Jihan


12. became virtual friends with fellow blogger Tina


13. figured out what paper prints the best quality cards


14. planned some great weddings for great clients


15. got published in my first wedding editorial (thank you Los Angeles Weddings!)


16. spent a girls' weekend in Palm Springs


17. traveled to Guadalajara, Mexico


18. welcomed my new nephew, Smith


19. welcomed my new quasi-nephew, Ethan


20. ate escargot at Gordon Ramsay's restaurant


21. went to Costa Rica for the third time and still didn't make it to a volcano
    
22. did a trunk show in Florida


23. read The Glass Castle and Eat Pray Love


24. lit my first fire in my first fireplace


25. got a camera phone (and learned to use it)


26. hosted both Sarah's and Natalie's baby showers


27. learned the importance of friendships as we had to say goodbye to a close one this year


28. lost a 16 year old student to a sudden heart attack


29. made an effort to tighten my bonds with the women in my life


30. mastered the "Country Apple Tart with Spiced Brown Butter" which took more than 24 hours to make


31. pulled off another Christmas dinner


32. lost 10 pounds


33. gained them back


34. got a new haircut


35. bought a map of stars homes and followed it (I now know where Ellen DeGeneres lives though we were swiftly kicked off her property)


36. bought my first major appliance (a beautiful new stainless steel refrigerator)


37. had a garage sale


38. almost bought a house


39. was mature enough to walk away when I couldn't afford it


40. struggled with the balance of self and family


41. attempted to be a more supportive wife


42. made the effort to cook more dinners at home


43. went on a tv diet


44. took many pictures that still need to be downloaded and categorized


45. went to the Orange County Fair


46. got on a surfboard (on my stomach for about 8 seconds)


47. took both cats to the vet


48. hung Christmas lights on the outside of the house for the first time


49. rediscovered my love for Tom Petty


50. saw The Bad Plus play at a jazz club in LA


51. became a master hair cutter for my husband


52. started using coupons at the grocery


53. paid too much money to the dentist


54. sold the Saturn


55. watched my husband turn into a total surfbrain


56. made the effort to enjoy the sunsets and the full moons


57. began to use a calendar to keep track of life


58. put hours of research into the best baby strollers


59. hosted the second annual Palmer "After Christmas and Before New Years Open House"


60. made about thirty loaves of pumpkin bread


61. paid over $50 to fill my gas tank


62. paid less than $20 to fill my gas tank


63. went on a bike ride from Belmont Heights to the Queen Mary


64. have not gotten any better at saying "no"


65. stayed home alone while Gabe went on tour


66. learned how to use about a tenth of the functions in Illustrator


67. got a couple's massage on the beach


68. put my master's degree to use


69. joined LinkedIn


70. helped Shondra plan her wedding and find her dress


71. got regular pedicures


72. spent a lot of time with my parents


73. added a new ring to my wedding/engagement ring set (I call it the "baby band")


74. got very lazy about blogging


75. started watching "Intervention"


76. discovered how great it is to sleep in Gabe's t-shirts


77. went to Palm Springs with my husband and my parents


78. got a few more wrinkles under my eyes


79. spent a lot of time thinking about family


80. switched to fluorescent light bulbs in most rooms


81. did not have time to make toffee for Christmas


82. went to Disneyland


83. returned a DVD case without the DVD (can't ever go back to that movie store!)


84. read lots of "chic lit" books


85. started reading many other "smart people would read these" books without finishing them


86. missed my connecting flight in Atlanta


87. had a barbecue for the neighbors on Newport Avenue


88. lost all of the songs on my ipod and had to reload them


89. learned to let go of a lot of useless possessions


90. used a video camera for the first time


91. failed to go to the gym more than a handful of times (and failed miserably at kickboxing)


92. beat Gabe in "Seinfeld SceneIt"


93. learned to love Gabe's beard


94. took Sawyer and Sully to the Discovery Science Center


95. started using cloth bags for the grocery store


96. almost didn't get the Christmas cards finished


97. watched season 5 of Curb Your Enthusiasm


98. paid off my personal loan


99. spent the last night of the year having a nice dinner with my husband and going to bed at 10:30


100. spent some much needed time reflecting on my life and my relationships

Wow! You would think it wouldn't be so hard to think of 100 things that occurred over the course of 365 days. I guess that goes to show that I need to do a better job of recording the moments this year (or that I need to lead a more exciting life!). Of course now that I've finished I can think of a few more. Figures. Whether captured by blog, video, diary, or pictures, there will be so many life changing moments this year. I welcome 2009 and look forward to all of the changes it will bring. Happy New Year.