2008 in Review

Christina posted an interesting 2008 Q & A. I thought it may be interesting to review my 2008 since it's my FIRST year blogging!

So here ya go. 2008 in retrospect, 2009 to come:

1. What did you do in 2008 that you’d never done before?
Got married! It's not that I didn't think I would do it, but I've never done it before- and I never plan on doing it again (although it was a beautiful day)!

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I didn't make any resolutions last year. I wanted to be more organized (especially planning for the wedding) and I wanted to finish my master's degree.

I'm going to try and get rid of the 11 lbs I gained since the wedding- I must admit I completely gave up after the wedding- but I'm getting back on track now!

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
My co-worker in May, My cousin in August.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
My Grammy passed in October and my cousin passed last week. I hope they're looking down on me now.

5. What countries did you visit?
Ummmmm.... none. We went to Hawaii, but that's still in the US.

6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008?
A BABY!!!! Now, if I could only work on convincing my husband....

7. What dates from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
July 26, 2008 at 2:00 pm! I walked down the long marble aisle of St. Patrick Church to tie the knot!

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Master's Degree, buying a new house, getting married, all within, eh, six weeks. Yeah, I know, I'm pretty badass.

9. What was your biggest failure?
Letting myself go after the wedding- but I REALLY needed a break! Something had to give!

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Other than this nagging cold for the last 4 weeks on and off, no.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
A honeymoon!

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
No idea.... I'm going to have to side with Christina here and say that Britney was pretty amazing. I loved watching her documentary and seeing that she pulled herself together.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
George W.- yeah, he pretty much sucks.

14. Where did most of your money go?
BILLS! Mortgage, wedding, credit cards, etc.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Getting MARRIED! And my new puppy Sadie!

16. What song will always remind you of 2008?
Michael Jackson- The Way You Make Me Feel or Norah Jones- Come Away With Me. Neither were written in 2008 but they were our wedding songs- one slow, and one fast (it was such a good surprise to our guests to see the hilarious fast dance)!

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? HAPPIER
b) thinner or fatter? FATTER
c) richer or poorer? Probably the same financially, but we have more (bigger house, nicer things, etc.)

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Exercise/ relaxing

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Eat crap, work work work!

20. How did you spend Christmas?
Christmas Eve at my sister's house. Christmas morning at my sister's (to watch the kids open presents) Then Christmas at Eric's parents' house.

21. Did you fall in love in 2008?
I'm still in love.

22. What was your favorite TV program?
Real Housewives of Orange County- I just want to be as pampered as they are!

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
Not that I know of....

24. What was the best book you read?
A Pilot's Wife.

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?
I still love Dave- he will always be my favorite.

26. What did you want and get?
A new house!

27. What did you want and not get?
Bambino!

28. What was your favorite film of this year?
I am not really a movie person- I just fall asleep during movies!

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
Went down the shore- went out to eat- my niece made me cupcakes and I got lots of cool wedding related gifts (as it was three weeks before!)

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

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008?
Still pretty boring! I'm pretty conservative at work, but the budget keeps me in check.

32. What kept you sane?
Friends, my sister, my husband

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Good question.... I just like reading the trashy mags.

34. What political issue stirred you the most?
The election. Yay Obama!

35. Who did you miss?
Grammy. Jenny.

36. Who was the best new person you met?
Sadie puppy! Dogs count right?

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008.
Be thankful for what you have. People always have it worse that you.

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
I've been waiting for so long
Now I've finally found someone
To stand by me
We saw the writing on the wall
As we felt this magical fantasy

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas! Stinks that I've got a cold today, but it's nice and quiet in our house. We just home from dinner at my sister's and we're settling down for bed before going back to watch the kids open presents in the morning. Eric and I aren't exchanging presents, so we'll just dote over Sadie's stocking stuffers in the morning. I made sure to tell Eric that all I want for Christmas is to get pregnant.... and if I'm counting correctly, it would mean sometime soon!

Hope you have a great holiday!

Pretty Pictures

Some pretty pictures of Jenny.... sorry, it's the one of the few things that makes me feel better.... I love thinking about all of the happy times!

The Time Has Come

Jenny passed last night. I'm sure that she was hanging on, waiting for her brother to arrive from Germany. He made it here with his wife and baby on Saturday afternoon. Although I'm terribly upset, I feel relived that her family was not sitting at her bedside on Christmas. I'm ready for 2008 to go, and welcoming 2009.

Best Time To Shop...

I'm convinced the best time to shop is on Saturday night at 9 pm.  I just got home from Target and it was AWESOME.  There was no one there and they were restocking the shelves for tomorrow.  Score!  So, now I'm home wrapping.  Eric is out with his friends and I've got really boring Saturday night shows (that I actually enjoy) on.  Yay- sweatpants are a fabulous thing!

Hope all is well- please keep Jenny in your prayers.  Her brother, sister in law and niece arrived here from Germany this afternoon.  When we told her they were coming, she did actually open her eyes a bit and stick our her arm.  I'm just hoping she's not in pain.

Thanks for stopping!  Please leave your comments- I love reading them!

It Doesn't Seem Fair...

I went back to see Jenny tonight. I was at the hospital for awhile last night and they decided to move her to hospice. I was shocked that they were moving her because although she was sleeping a lot, she could wake up, wave, and give you a thumbs up or down to answer your questions.

Today was a different story. I got to the hospice after work and it seems as though things really turned. Her breathing is very labored, she's almost completely unresponsive, and she feel almost "gone." So, needless to say, it was much harder than being there yesterday. Seeing the priest come in confirmed my every last fear..... it really is the beginning of the end.

All I can do is hope and pray that she's not suffering and that her family will someday will be able to cope with the pain of losing someone so wonderful, so soon. It truly doesn't seem fair. It makes you question life, God and your morals. Why do good people have to deal with so much? Hasn't she had enough? Hasn't her family been through enough? Seriously, I don't know how they can do it.

So Jen, if you're listening someday to me, you're the best, I love you.

"Because I have loved life, I shall have no sorrow to die." ~Amelia Burr

Too Young.... Too Soon

My cousin is battling brain cancer.... for the second time at 26. Although she's a fighter, she's had her "maximum" of radiation the first time she had cancer. Unfortunately, although they removed most of the tumor, there's not much she can do. She's in the hospital now, but her parents are considering moving her to hospice. As far as I know, hospice means... the end. It's so heart-breaking. She's a great person, and a true hero to have even dealt with this once, let alone twice.... and no complaining whatsoever. So, we're waiting. She was in a hospital in VA, where she lives, but her parents had her choppered up here on Monday. I'm going to run over to the hospital tonight to visit. She can't really speak, but she's coherent and alert. I'm going to try real hard to pull it together all day and put on my strong face, because I know she's the one who's strong, not me.

I feel terrible for my mom, who is her godmother, not only because she's losing a god daughter, but she's also losing her best friend. She's so worried that Jenny's mom will never be the same.

There's so much negativity right now, I don't even know how I feel like Christmas is coming. Many of our friends are going through divorce, my grandmother passed, Jenny's sick, it's just a lot all at once. Although I do feel extremely grateful to be alive and healthy, I feel most worried for those who are not in my shoes. I'm going to say my prayers and hope for the best.... because I do believe in miracles.


"Each of my days are miracles. I won't waste my day; I won't throw away miracle. "- Unknown

Favorite Things

FYI- before I start talking about food, I MUST introduce my favorite Christmas Candle:
And it's not because I'm married to a Puerto Rican guy and I love all things Spanish, but I LOVE Feliz Navidad. Not too cinnamony (Is that a word?) and provides a YUMMY smell in my house!

Okay.... now on to food:

First, I made fudge..... YUMMY!!!

These are the ingredients I used:

I can't believe that this disgusting mess made WONDERFUL fudge!
Miss Sadie taking a nap while I'm hard at work in the kitchen!

The finished product:Now- on to Chex Muddy Buddy Mix!

First, I took all of the topping indegredients and melted them in the microwave.
Then, you add them to your Chex cereal.

Mix 'em up! I used my hands. It was a little messy, but it got the job done a LOT easier!
Then, you put the mix in a bag with powdered sugar and SHAKE it up!
Then, I layed it all out on the counter to cool.
My husband told me it looked nasty, but once he tried it, he was addicted.

See- I CAN cook! (er- well..... bake..... I can do SOME things!)

Christmas is coming! Here's what I did this weekend:

Our Christmas Tree

Just Call us the Grizwald's!

Santa

The staircase

Eric's mom made this wreath!

Stockings and christmas trees!

The Buffet Table Santa Collection

Daddy and Sadie

Sadie's a sleepy girl!