A year in review

One thing is for sure -- 2008 was a CRAZY year! When I think back on it, I mostly feel stressed, but so relieved that it is over. So much happened. And the end of 2007 was so great! I went on a fun trip to celebrate my friend Michelle's 25th birthday to see stuff in DC, NYC, Philly and Gettysburg. Then in December I had the awesome opportunity to go with friends to Italy for a week. Not even a week back to work after that, and I was off to WA to spend Christmas & the New Year celebration with Mom & Dad and Matt. 2 weeks home. It was awesome. I came back to VA in the early days of 2008 and went back to work. The night after my first day back to work, I found out my company went bankrupt and I abruptly lost my job. So started 2008. (and today marks the one-year 'anniversary' of that shocking day filled with panic). Luckily there were some good things that littered the year as well.


An incomplete list of events of 2008:

JANUARY

• Lost my job unexpectedly
• Became an independant contractor
• Despite stress and a horrible day at work, my roommates helped me celebrate my 26th birthday and actually turned my day around
  

FEBRUARY

• Found out that the townhouse that we were renting was getting put up for sale.
• A group of us girls went out to dinner and then saw Step Up 2: The Streets on Valentine's Day. I can always count on the gals to make V-Day fun.
• Ordered the Twilight books and got immediately and totally obsessed.
  

MARCH

• Uh......... I got nothing.... Although I can probably accurately say that I was stressed at work.
  

APRIL

• Took a sister's trip to Richmond. Comedy club, ordering food to hotel room and lots of shopping were involved. A GREAT time!!
• My bathroom flooded
  

MAY

• Bathroom finally got fixed
• The annual trip to the Outer Banks (Duck Beach) commenced. Again got totally fried by the sun, but had the best time!
  

JUNE

• Traveled to St. Louis for my Nephew's 8th birthday and his baptism.
• Got on a road bike for the first time ever (bicycle - not motorcycle) and LOVED it.
• Became a W2 employee again -YAY! - of a newly formed company; BVMP (Bohlin Vendor Management Professionals). One of 3 employees (including owner/boss), new job title: Senior VMS Analyst.
  

JULY

• Awesome Independence Day celebration with fun set-off-yourself fireworks including exciting and kind of scary mortors.
• Lots of house hunting
  

AUGUST

• Coldplay concert; Viva La Vida! AWESOME.
• BVMP trip to NC. Weekend spent on the lake wakeboarding, tubing and driving the boat.
• All the roommates split up. We all moved to different homes, and the process couldn't have been more crazy or stressful. Sad.
• Traveled to Utah for Tasha's wedding and got to meet up with old friends again and see some family.
  

SEPTEMBER

• Because none of the things that were supposed to get fixed got fixed in my new place, a fresh rain storm caused a ton of water to pour through the huge hole in the ceiling of my bathroom.
• My friend Michelle paid me a visit from WA
• Bought myself a new 46" LCD flat panel tv
  

OCTOBER

• Took a trip to St. Louis to celebrate Matt's 19th birthday
• Finally bought myself a road bike!
• Went camping for the first and only time this year.
• Road trip down to Charlottesville to watch UVA take on UNC in what turned out to be a really fun football game
• Hosted a fun pumpkin carving night
• Went trick-or-treating with my Nephews and Niece in WV.
  

NOVEMBER

• The huge laundry list of items to be fixed in my new place finally got taken care of
• Met with a tax consultant to help me figure out the crazy 2008 tax year - the result of which caused much dread...
• Recieved the sudden and very saddening news that my Grandpa Blakemore died.
• Traveled to WA for my Grandpa's funeral and had my whole family together. Got to see some extended family members that I hadn't seen in many years.
• Thanksgiving at Tami's with Richard in tow - it was the last year of this tradition of Thanksgiving at Tami & Jeremiah's home, as they are moving to Germany.
  

DECEMBER

• This month started off with a bang of Christmas decorations and Christmas music. All things Christmas were welcomed by me. Such excitement!!
• Traveled to NYC with Julie for a quick whirwind tour of Christmas in New York! (accompanied by Richard - hooray!) I have wanted to do this for years.
• All Christmas shopping was done online, with the exception of some purchases from the DC outdoor Christmas Market. Brilliant.
• Spent an evening in the District to admire the National, Capitol and state Christmas trees with fun friends.
• Christmas Eve I picked up my parents from the airport (thank goodness for that 24 hour window of time with no snow in Seattle so they could get here!) and we visited Arlington Cemetery to see all the Christmas wreaths displayed. An awesome sight.
• Whole family was together in WV starting Christmas Eve and the excitement could not have been more tangible.
  

Much football was watched this year. I loved it and it is fun to be with people who get excited about the games. Takes me back to growing up with my older brother and my dad who instilled this excitement in me as well. I was happy to be among friends that brought out this recessed interest of mine.

Throughout the year, I have gotten in touch with old friends, strengthened existing friendships, made new friends, and even let some friendships go dim. I appreciate all the friends I have had and all the great acts of kindness they have showed to me.

Always constant in my life year to year is my thankfulness for an awesome family. I have always felt and continue to feel loved by them. I can count on them for love and support through the most joyous, heart-breaking, stressful, and happy times in my life. I've found that it never wavers.

The close of 2008 was a special time. It was a time that I will remember forever, as my entire immediate family was together for Christmas - all 17 of us (my parents, my siblings, my siblings' spouses, my nieces and nephews). Mom & Dad with all their kids haven't been together for Christmas in at least 10 years and it won't be able to happen again for another long while, as Matthew prepares to serve a 2 year mission for the church and Tami & Jeremiah start a new 3-4 year adventure in Germany. It was our Christmas Miracle.

More details on the fun and activities in another post. I'm excited and look forward to a new year. I'm putting my hopes in to 2009 and am eager to see how it plays out. I'm working on a list of resolutions to post later. But for now...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!