The Year in Review: 52 Words

Okay, like P.O.M., I am sort of hi-jacking the idea from Runner's Lounge, and writing a review of 2008 in 52 words or less (one for each week, get it?). But it's not a review of my running year- since I didn't run the whole year- instead it's a review of my year in general. And since I only started blogging in June, there's a lot of stuff from the beginning of this year that you don't even know about. So it will also be a way to get to know more about me (as a Scorpio, I try to maintain some air of mystery, but really, I can't help but talk about myself).

We all know that I have a hard time being succinct, but because I'm limited to only 52 words, it can't be very long (and of course I won't use full sentences). Oh, and since I'm totally detail-oriented and anal, it's exactly 52 words (if you count half-marathon as one word) and it's in chronological order. Here goes:

Big Brothers Big Sisters

got a passport

first cruise plus road trip and Magic Mountain

reached highest weight since 2001

lump on breast- turned out nothing

went off the pill

started running, 5k's, 10k's

brother moved to Denver

watched lots of Olympics

knee pain, calf pain

undefeated football team

training for half-marathon

So, that's the recap of 2008 for me. The highlights (and lowlights), if you will. It's hard to believe another year is almost over, and that I still haven't lost the weight I gained after getting married- ugh! But I have to say, 2008 was definitely better than 2007. In some ways, I have high hopes for 2009, but in other ways, I'm nervous about what the (near) future holds. I hope to get pregnant, and finish my first half-marathon (not necessarily in that order), and maybe finally unpack the boxes in our basement (we moved in 2 1/2 years ago- I think it's about time). But I'm worried about the economy, and how the Hubs' job will go (he works in finance). I'm also worried about my family and their finances (luckily, my practical husband has our finances in order, so we are fine- at least for now).

But I can't dwell on the negative, especially in the winter, or I could end up really depressed. Instead I'm going to think about how fun this Christmas will be, spending time with my favorite family members, and getting to see my brother again (he flies in tomorrow). It's most likely it's going to be a white Christmas, so that's also a plus (although I really hate driving in the snow, and I'm learning that running in the snow isn't so much fun, either). But back to the positives (see how easily I get off track- I think I have blogging ADD). I'm looking forward to continuing my running, and reaching distances and milestones that I've never reached before. In fact, this Saturday's 9-mile run will be a new milestone, because if you remember the last time I attempted 9 miles, my knee pain prevented me from making it past about 6 miles, and I had to walk the rest the way home. And back in May (when I first started running) I never would have thought that I'd be running a half-marathon so soon. I can't believe it will be here in less than a month- in fact, it's 4 weeks from tomorrow.

Anyway, the party is tonight, and it's been snowing most of the day, so that should be fun, dealing with traffic and the freezing cold (it's a whopping 25 degrees right now). But it will be nice to have a fancy dinner out on the town. A funny thing is, our company owns the Holiday Inn Brand, but we're having our party at the Sheraton (because there's not a Holiday Inn with a big enough ballroom for all 800 of us). We decided that if we're up to it afterward, we will be seeing "The Day the Earth Stood Still". It should be a fun night, but I'm thinking with all the snow, I will 95% be resorting to my Plan B for my run tomorrow.

And before I sign off, here are a couple of pictures from the weekend.  The first one is from the drill team competition. My sister is in the front. The stands are a little empty, because the bigger schools were all sitting on the other side (different size schools performed facing different directions for different judges). And it was the night before the main competition. This dance was just the officers.

The next two pictures are from Sunday dinner where we celebrated my dad's birthday. There's my cute little sister and her boyfriend (sorry, it's a little blurry).
This is me and the Hubs and my nephew (notice his new sweet Vikings hat that he bought in Denver). Don't you love that squinty little smile? Maybe we can take a picture like this some day with our own little midget. Wouldn't that be cute?
Sorry I don't have more pictures of the dance competition, but I mostly took videos and they're too long to post here. Besides, they're all of my sister and not me, and this is not her blog (although I think she's on MySpace, LOL). Well, I'm off for now. Have a good weekend, everyone!!