1.) What did you do in 2009 that you've never done before?
I
grew my own organic vegetables, I planted a tree, I survived an ice
storm, I discovered a taste for mushrooms, I disconnected my television.
2.) Did you keep your New Year's resolutions?
I
kept one of my 3 resolutions and that was to learn something new. I
taught myself to knit and I think I'm pretty good at it too.
3.) Did anyone close to you give birth?
Yes,
my cousin Becky gave birth to a baby girl, Adysen, and thanks to
facebook I can watch her grow and be a part of her life even though she
is a thousand miles away.
4.) Did anyone close to you die?
Thank goodness, no.
5.) What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009?
More time to do photography.
6.) What did you do on vacation?
I
rented a North Carolina beach house with 9 of my friends and spent a
whole week on the beach. We hunted for crabs at midnight, got temporary beach tattoos, we body surfed, ate tons of seafood, got sunburnt, spent our nights playing games, laughing and dancing. We watched the stars at night, even saw the milky way. We had philosophical discussions and flat out silly moments with whoopee cushions. And when we came home to Kentucky we talked about it for the rest of the year. It was one of my favorite vacations, ever.
7.) What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Learning to knit.
8.) What was your biggest failure?
Baking homemade bread. No doubt, the worst bread ever.
9.) Did you suffer illness or injury?
I caught the flu and ended up with pneumonia for over a month. It was awful.
10.) What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Planning our trip to Scotland next year.
11.) What was the best thing you bought?
New stainless pots and pans. It sounds silly but I had been using the most awful 15 year old skillets.
12.)
What day from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
January 27th, the day of the ice storm.
13.) Where did most of your money go?
Mortgage & Student Loans (which will be the case for eternity)
14.) What song will always remind you of 2009?
Phoenix "1901"
15.) Compared to this time last year, are you:
• Happier or sadder? - Happier
• Thinner or fatter? - Exact Same
• Richer or poorer? - Poorer
16.) How did you spend Christmas?
We stayed home for the holiday, just Jon and I at our house in Lexington.
17.) What do you wish you'd done more of?
Exploring the rivers of Kentucky via kayak.
18.) What do you wish you'd done less of?
Cleaning.
19.) What was your favorite month of 2009 and why?
July: Beach vacation, new friendships, Washington D.C. trip.
20.) What was your greatest musical discovery?
Horse Feathers
21.) What concerts did you attend?
Murder By Death, The Oxford Farm Report, The Love Language, Cursive, The Books, Laura Viers, The Decemberists, Bowerbirds
22.) What was the best book you read?
The Once and Future King
23.) What did you want and get?
A professional DSLR
24.) What did you want and not get?
More quarterly bonuses at work.
25.) What was your favorite movie of this year?
Avatar
26.) What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I
turned 28. My friends threw me a surprise party with home made ice
cream cake, a xylophone serenade, David Bowie's Dancing Magic Dance,
lots of laughter and hula hoops.
27.) What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
If I hadn’t been so stressed about finances.
28.) How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009?
I raided the Gap and Banana Republic warehouse.
29.) What kept you sane?
My husband, Jon, of course.
30.) Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Barack Obama
31.) What political issue stirred you the most?
The Big Three Bailout
32.) What was a much needed change?
Disconnecting my television. I love not having a TV in the house.
33.) Who did you miss?
I missed Jon, he practically lived in his Architecture Studio.
34.) Who was the best new person you met?
Donovan! One of the nicest people I've ever met in my life and is now officially my husbands best friend.
35.) What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Oh, you know... If the stock, real estate and credit markets didn't crash.
36.) Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009:
Its true "you can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink."
I've been hiding a bit of excitement from my vox neighborhood. Truthfully, I was afraid that I would jinx it if I talked about it but now that the plane tickets and passports have been purchased and the travel plans are being settled. I can finally say it out loud... We're going to visit Scotland this spring!!!
It has been a dream for both of us to go to Scotland. Not only to see the beauty of the countryside but to experience a part of our family history. It always felt like a pipe dream but thanks to the generosity of my father and mother in-law we will now have the opportunity to travel along with them, through England and Scotland for 9 days abroad!
I'm so excited I can hardly think about anything else!
I had the wonderful opportunity to catch the Bowerbirds in concert last night and I'm just as much in love with them in person as I am by ear. We showed up a bit early for some of Al's Bar's famous sweet potato fries and waited in anticipation for a few hours until they took the stage. This venue is one of my favorites, not for the sound, stage, or lights but because it's so intimate. There is a tiny little stage, a few booths and tables, little to no lighting and truth be told its a complete dive bar, but we love it anyway! I stood front row center to sway, sing and tap to the beat of their music, which was just as beautifully preformed as I had expected. The band members we so down to earth and I almost felt bad for them because the turnout was like nothing I had expected. I thought there would be lines, I though there would be crowds but my guess is there were only about 20 people there to actually watch the band. I knew they weren't popular, but I had no idea how unknown they really are. So enjoy and spread the word!
Everyone had an absolute blast, he hiked all around Natural Bridge as the autumn colors were really starting to show their glory. Then at the cabin there was organic mountain pizza from Miguels (hilarious commercial), campfires, smores, beer, taboo, cards, singing, dancing and unlimited jokes about bears (because our cabin had 34 bear statues hidden throughout). We laughed non-stop and had a great weekend. I'm so lucky to be part of this great group of people, although I'm not an AIAS member they still include me, the perks of being the presidents wife :)
Laugh as much as you'd like but I want to learn to hoop again! A local belly dancing studio is having a hooping workshop next week and it gave me the idea. I'm tight on money so I can't afford the class but I may just have to take it up on my own time, maybe even make a hoop myself with a trip to the hardware store. How much fun would it be to spin in my yard like a kid again, put on my headphones and hoop until I'm out of breath and giddy. And after watching videos like this, the grown up part of me thinks it will be a great ab workout too. It makes me smile just thinking about it.
Did you ever run away from home?
I was always running away as a child. I had a "Going To Grandma's" kids suitcase packed with travel essentials like kandy kakes, apple juice boxes, a flashlight, a bag of quarters (to call home), a babysitters club book, one of my Breyer horses, and a picture of my mom. It was all cleverly hidden under the bottom bunk bed and whenever I came home to a visibly drunk stepfather, I'd grab my bag and got walking. I can't even count the number of times I've left, mostly I'd get scared a few streets away from the house and I'd be home before anyone ever noticed. After a while I became the girl who cried "run away", my parents just ignored the fact that I left until I ran away when we were staying the summer in Virginia. I had no idea where I was and I got truly lost. Mom found me less than a mile from the house and she was a frantic mess, I felt so horrible for what I had done to her. I was nine years old and that was the last time I ran away.
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This isn't a question, it's a free way to get survey data! Le sigh.
Their service is always fantastic:
A few months ago I was in the drive through and they asked me to pull forward because my food was taking a little too long to prepare, I waited maybe 3 minutes in the parking lot when my food came and they gave me a free slice of cheesecake as a thank you for waiting!
Last night Jon made a quick stop at Fazoli's on his way home and ordered two slices of pizza and two bread sticks, the total came to $4. When he got to the drive-in window and paid for his pizza the staff asked him if he wanted free food. The man in the car ahead of him ordered a bunch of dinner items but said it was too expensive and he left. The staff said they didn't want to just throw it away. So Jon came home with 2 chicken fettuccine dinners, 1 chicken penne pasta dinner, 2 strawberry fruit smoothies, an extra large soda, 2 pieces of pepperoni pizza and 2 breadsitcks... all for $4!
So if your ever in the mood for a quick Italian meal... it comes highly recommended :)
Another comical website error page from Ravelry. Apparently I'm starting a collection of creative error messages, done plum, woops, bear mauling, octopus...
