farewell, 2008!

First off, here are a few pictures from our laid back NYE. Our friends came over, stayed the night, and we hung out in our PJs and ate fondue. Pretty fun! For tons of holiday and NYE pics, check out my IRL blog.

First, cheese fondue & appetizers:Then some board games, several shots and finally some chocolate fondue:Me and my friend:Horrible pic, but it's our happy little family! Cheers to '09!And here's a pic of our lucky cabbage. I hope you all ate yours because we need all the luck on our side that we can get!!

Now, back to our regularly scheduled programming:

I am so glad to see this year go! Looking back, it has been a pretty horrible year. Lots of disappointments. But there were some good times. I thought it might help me to recap my year a bit.

I did lots of traveling. Trips to Naples (FL), Phoenix, Tucson, DC, Vegas, Hilton Head, St. Louis, Michigan, Ohio, Chicago, California, and Chicago (again). Some for work, some for play...some for a little of both!

We celebrated our 2nd anniversary. J turned 30.

Lots of time with my nephews

2 Dave concerts

4 IUIs

2 HSGs

1 Surgery

0 BFPs

A lot of really rough times. A lot of disappointment, heartache, tears and anger. A lot of frustration and even some jealousy.

But a lot of really good times, too. A stronger marriage, an amazing husband. A ton of education about my body. Some new discoveries and still hope.

Nevertheless, I am happy to close the door on 2008. It will not be missed. Not one bit.

As for my resolutions this year, this is what I've got:

1. Get up with time to spare! (Since my office is so laid back, I can come and go and have a tendency to work more 8:30-5's than I probably should. And I love the feeling of being early...having time to spare...time to stop by Starbu.cks if I want...time to change twice if I want...)
2. De-frump! (I am a shopper. A big one. So obviously I have a TON of clothes. And because of selling l.ia soph.ia for fun, I have a TON of great jewelry (that's the whole point of me selling it!) I used to manage a bank, which meant a full suit and heels every day. Now, while my job is still a professional one, I don't have to dress up unless I have a meeting. Most days, business casual is good and I can always get away with a PU logo! Plus, I walk across campus which makes the heels harder to do. This has all resulted in me wearing more casual clothes, forgetting about my really cute and dressy things, and pretty much banishing the heels to the back of the closet. This must stop.)
3. Keep up on cleaning and picking up. (I think this will forever be on my resolution list...)
4. Read more. (I have a list of 100 books that I wanted to read in 2008 & 2009. I'm only about 20 in and I don't foresee myself reading 80 in 2009, but I don't feel like I spent near enough time reading this past year. Less internet, more books.)
5. Cook more often. Utilize our many cookbooks and focus on using at least one recipe from each of the cookbooks that we have over the course of 2009.
6. Go to bed earlier. (See #1.)
7. Go to church more. (I enjoy it. It refreshes me and makes me feel better. I don't do it enough.)
8. Lose 30 lbs. (If we are doing IVF, we have both agreed that we NEED to lose some weight. I would feel amazing if I lost 30. It should be more like 40, but I think 30 is a good goal. From there, I can see if I have further to go. We have agreed that we will not do an IVF round unless I lose the weight because I don't want to have any reason to look back on in the event that it doesn't work.)
9. Exercise 3x a week.
10. Do another 5K!! (Improve my time. Prepare for a 10K.)

J's Resolutions are this:

1. More romance. (=more nookie!)
2. Run a 10K
3. Less of the Negative Nancy attitude
4. De-frump also (Dress better for work)
5. Lose 25 lbs.

There it is. Documented. Now I have to hold myself accountable!! I love reading other people's resolutions, so share yours!

HAPPY NEW YEAR, my blogging buddies!!