2008 Year in Review

Wow. What a year. This was a year like no other for us. And it was a really, really good one overall. I know it hasn't been for everyone, but it was really good for us.

Of course, the "season's arc" was the house. In January we were still deep in the throes of building. Power, paint, tile, finish plumbing, sound system, furnace, stain, appliances, woodstove, and inspections all happened in January. And then we moved in February 5th. we finally closed on the mortgage on May 5th. And it has been wonderful ever since. We keep feeling like we get to live in a brand new house made just for us every time we come back to it. It's amazing. And it's a culmination of a long, long process. I found posts in 2005 trying to figure out what we should do and looking for land. But here we are!

The rest of the year held a lot of travel. Dave's grandmother passed away and we went to Indiana for the funeral. Our whole summer was also in Indiana, filled with summer camp joys like archery and waterslides and zip lines, and oh yeah, a whole lot of work. But it also meant a whole lot of cash, and was hands down the best fundraising we've ever done.

The company is still going strong. I wax and wane with how well I carry out my administrative duties. But the actual programming, the time with the kids, is just great and keeps getting better. One of those things where time really does pay off. We've just finished up our seventh year in the field. Craziness.

This last semester was rough personally, with both of us ill for quite a while, including the bout with labyrinthitis. So scary. And we still have car issues to deal with. But that aside, the rest of the year was great personally. We had a really fabulous anniversary fling in Flagstaff and on Rt. 66 with the Lost Dogs.

We really enjoyed getting to spend time with that band and we're still hoping they come back out our way. It seems like our time with them kinda rocked their world and they're thinking about ways they can plan out a regular tour with stops to play shows for Native American kids and work with them. We will work any way we can to enable them to do this.

The other thing is, in looking back at my old posts it's clear to me that I am now in much better mental health than I was in the past. Lots of it has to do with situational stability, but I think I'll take some credit for it, too. I hope I continue to grow and mature and learn and improve.

We're happy. I know it's a rare state, so I appreciate it and I hope not to take it for granted. I hope I can carry some of this joy through with me for when times are bleaker personally. But right now, right here, life is pretty good.

Lots to do in this new year.

I posted this to LJ, figured I'd repost it here:

The year has been good, mostly quiet and uneventful, but the uneventful is a welcome change after the years of giant, Pooh-caps meriting, Life Changing ups and downs. The house and the kids grow apace, the marriage mellows and deepens apace, and mostly everyone is healthy and happy.

The biggest event was most definitely Franny starting kindergarten. That was months of tsuris and angst but it ended happily enough in Fall with a new school, nice new classmates, a school worth investing in, parents I like to talk to, and a wonderful kindergarten teacher for Franny.

I also got a promotion at work and am now officially an Associate Professor, although my joy there is tempered by the lack of serious pay raise to go with it. There is a new office to go with the new title, and I'm developing a new course for the university.

The election of Obama was great news too, although that was also tempered, by the passage of Prop 8.

I don't do New Years Resolutions, but my goals for the year are getting back into my stretch class, making more time for friends and for my husband, and writing more.

*****

Okay, so I put an emphasis on the positive in this post, which is not to say that things are perfect, but at least now most of the bad in my life is being kept at bay. There is illness too close to home, and Lord knows I've had my fill of illness taking my loved ones, but for now things are good.

Hurrah!

and, best of all, a miniature golf cart made out of a beer can! This will look really sharp next to my tin rooster.

Yay!

dances dance of relief

(Although, I must tell you that the miniature golf cart is in fact a Tuk Tuk - here in Thailand, these things sputter around on the roads, dodging through the traffic, like taxis but crapper and more dingily picturesque. They're basically the bastard child of a motorbike and a golf cart and they look like this.)

More than one edition of The Amazing Race has featured the Tuk Tuks.

Anyone familiar with Jade from America's Next Top Model will remember her calling a Tuk Tuk a "toot toot...tut tut...hooptie."

Ah, bless them. I prefer to use the meter taxis, but the traffic can suck and beggars can't be choosers, so it is not unusual for me to be seen heading homewards in one of these things.

I can think of at least three Thai restaurants I've been to called Tuk-Tuk. In India they're also called auto-rickshaws. t /tuk-tuk trivia

And in Bangladesh they are called baby-taxis.

baby-taxis

I love this!

Anyone familiar with Jade from America's Next Top Model will remember her calling a Tuk Tuk a "toot toot...tut tut...hooptie."

ahahahahaha oh Jade. Possibly my all time favorite ANTM nutjob.