And in these articles, girls claimed they didn't need to be rescued, and boys claimed they didn't need to be restricted to one day a year to show their love. People claimed that buying gifts was a silly tradition that people couldn't afford to do, that going out to dinner was too expensive, that people feel put on the spot, that they can't live up to the hype, that single people felt left out, etc., etc., etc.

Basically, V-Day is the end of the world, and we're all gonna die from over-exposure to love-themed greeting cards.

Look, people,
1) I was a single person, and it was fun--I bought fancy chocolates at a discount, got myself a faboo movie, and enjoyed my day. Buck up, bitches.
2) It doesn't have to be a big production. The husband and I have reservations at White Castle for the third year in a row (where they do candle light and table service on V-Day). Nobody has to cook, nobody has to drop $130 on a meal, and nobody goes home without having enjoyed a chicken ring or several. Once some strangers even accidentally set their food on fire. How's that for an exciting night on the town?
3) Nobody rescued me. How does Valentine's Day equal rescue, exactly? What are they rescuing you from?
4) You can make your own card if it is that big of a deal to you. Stick it to the man and his invented holiday designed to sell greeting cards. Or, if you're not that creative or don't have that kind of time, buy one and shut up. They cost like three bucks. Consider it a contribution to all the other times you suck at the last minute and Hallmark comes through for you and your lack of planning.
5) Don't buy gifts if you don't want to/can't afford to. Or set a spending limit. My husband and I give gifts. Will we always? I don't know. But it's fun for now. If it's not fun for you, don't do it. If your significant other wants gifts, consider this. If your significant other is happy, you will also be happy. You know this to be true. You also know that protesting Valentine's Day is not going to be an acceptable excuse to show up empty handed.
6) Buy flowers some other day. Flowers are ridiculously expensive on Valentine's Day. Under no circumstances would I expect anyone to send them to me at this time of year. Yet, when do you usually see them on co-workers' desks?

Does the above list sound materialistic? Well, that's because the people who are like, "Oh, woe is me; I don't need one day to show my love" are A) full of crap and B) missing the point.

They are full of crap because the real truth is that they don't do Valentine's Day every day. They want an excuse not to do Valentine's Day ANY day. But they can't say, "I'm a cheap-ass bastard who doesn't want to spend $100 on a special day out to make someone feel warm and fuzzy" because then they look like a cheap-ass bastard. So instead, they say a lot of stuff about how it's too commercialized and too expensive and how they're against it on principle, and blah blah blah.

And what's probably worse than the fact that they are full of crap is that they are missing the point. The point now, regardless of the holiday's roots, which according to history.com are mysterious and uncertain, is to have a special day where you celebrate (in addition to usual, run-of-the-mill love) romance--which is like love, only different because it has to do with showing signs of your love through actions which are outside of yourself. It's about wooing and trying to impress each other like you did in the beginning. It's about reminding each other what good people you are (in case you forgot somewhere between deciding where to spend the holidays or fixing the car/stove/water heater/insert appliance here). And in some sense, I think it's about making sacrifices for each other and doing things that are out-of-the-ordinary and special to show your love in a way you might not always remember to do. Frankly, I look forward to it every year as a chance to recharge our batteries. It's not like we don't do special things for each other all year or that we don't have romance--we just like every excuse to have more.

And if you're single, instead of showing romance to a partner, you can show your love with actions by sending cards to people and letting them know that they are loved. You can bake a friend cookies. You can even buy fancy chocolates and celebrate your love of your freedom if you like.

I would like to submit that Valentine's Day is the one day of the year when we try to be the lovers we wish we could be (or could afford to be) the rest of the year. We don't often do candlelight dinner, and when we do it's special. One of those special days is Valentine's Day. And we try to do sweet little things for each other, like make dinner or send love notes or bring home flowers every once in awhile or even (gasp) put on something sexy just for someone else, but in case we get comfortable and forget, Valentine's Day is there to remind us once a year of what we would like to be in our relationships (and I would argue, our friendships): generous, giving, kind, thoughtful, spontaneous, loving, selfless, and romantic. It's a day that reminds us that true love involves making someone else feel it.

So come on people. It's just a little holiday that lets us do something special for each other once a year. And if you were "already showing your love all year," then it wouldn't be a big deal to do it once more.

But if you aren't, which I suspect is more likely the case (because who amongst us is perfect), then jump on the bandwagon just this once and be someone's Valentine.

But I hang in there all week until I can see my husband on the weekends. And as far as keeping house goes, it ain't pretty, but we get it done as best we can. Ben's been jumping from class to work and home to sleep and back again. At least his morning class is over, so we can go back to our opposing shift work where I cook at night, and he cleans up the mess I make in the morning. His personality is better suited to putting the mess in line.

Obviously, I'm not the best wife in the world. But I did make veggie lasagna a couple of weeks ago, and it turned out pretty great. The husband liked it. I didn't have a recipe. I did have phone help from D who's cool like that and still takes my calls even though I am pathetic and pretty stupid when it comes to cooking.

The proofreading seems to have dried up, and today I got insult added to injury when they left my name off the list of names of people who helped with the big project I spent 15 hours a week on this spring when I was trying to plan a wedding. So, the lesson I'm learning as I get older and wiser is that work is just work. You do your job, and you go home. If it becomes your life, you can only be disappointed.

I'm listening to my music right now, which is always a fun bright spot for me. I am contemplating making stuffed mushrooms, but I think instead, I am going to have left-overs and go to bed.

I keep thinking that it's gotta get easier, that we will turn a corner, and we will be able to go back to normal, whatever that is. Starting with our collective health problems and the layoff, going through our useless premarital counseling sessions, and right on through this whole working opposite shifts business, we've just had a rough haul. Soon, it's gotta be time for the universe to pick on someone else.

I've always had this hatred for perfect people, people who seem to have it all together and never have any problems. Monday's and Tuesday's children, fair of face and full of grace while the rest of us are just trying to muddle through as best we can.

But you know what? I expect when perfect unravels, it's quite a shock to those people.

So, for us, it's not pretty, but we'll get through, and then we'll appreciate normal that much more. I envision us one day working less and relaxing more, sipping wine or iced tea on the patio looking out at the babies and the tomatoes as they grow happily.

For now, it's just me, the mess, the cat, and the dog signing off from the Grove.

I have learned how to freeze squash and zucchini and beans. Tomorrow I am going to attempt to freeze tomatoes. Perhaps one day this week I will make tomato sauce. I have many new talents.

Weeding is not among them, but thankfully, we are nearing the end of weeding season.

Freezing squash and beans and zucchini (oh my) is actually pretty simple. It's just warm and time consuming. Basically, you get everything ready the way you want to cook it and then you drop it into boiling water for three minutes and then stick it in ice water for six. Remove it from the water and drain the water off it. Measure it into freezer bags (in the amout you want to use later), and freeze. Super easy. Easier if you have a blanching kettle. I am working on getting one. I am currently using a pasta scoop.

Another thing I've learned is that sometimes it helps to follow the directions. Now, I grew up on a farm, so I have a basic idea of how to plant a garden. You read the directions on the little packet and sort of follow them. Except that if you follow them, it actually works!

So, next year, I'm going to do these things that I learned from this year:

1) Plant your tomatoes in cages; otherwise, they go to vine. Your mom, like my mom, might have said, "Pshaw, cages." This is probably why she's not very successful at growing tomatoes. Cages keep the tomatoes from crawling all over the garden, dying prematurely (at least I hope so--perhaps that was blight), and getting awful spots and bruises. Seriously, cage the tomatoes. Or suffer as they cause you great pain.

2) Don't plant part of your garden behind a tree. No matter how much you hate to kill a living thing, chop down the tree. Things can't ripen behind a tree. Especially yellow peppers.

3) If your plants aren't labeled, but they are in a certain section of the nursery, but you think that they look like something other than what it says, don't buy them. They've probably been abandoned there by someone who doesn't know the difference between cherry and banana peppers. Pick one that looks less pretty but has a label.

4) You can never have too much basil. Especially if you intend to make pesto from scratch. And you do. Trust me, you do. Especially with cashews instead of pine nuts.

5) You probably don't need to weed as much as people say you do, but you do need to weed a little.

6) Give things enough room. Maybe your cucumbers won't die like mine did, but they could, so give things enough room.

7) You really only need one zucchini plant. Really. And you probably don't need five or six squash, either. I'm glad two never came up.

In general, it's been a lot of fun. I love love love going out every day to look at my garden and see what's growing, and I love putting up the vegetables for the winter. I love seeing them stacked prettily in the freezer. I can't wait until next year when I actually plant it on time. I have frozen salsa for the winter, and I love it!

I very much enjoy the garden. I did not enjoy it when I was a kid on the farm, but I did follow a few simple rules. I didn't plant anything I don't like to eat. I didn't worry too much about weeding it. If I think it might work, I try it. And that's it.

I've purchased three cookbooks, one of which is here. I currently have The North End Italian Cookbook. The Buca cookbook and 660 Curries are on their way to me. I got inspired by Julie and Julia. :) We'll see if I accomplish anything.

In case you were wondering how I have time to be so domestic, for the first time in like seven years, I'm only working 40 hours a week. I'm not going to school. I'm not working overtime. I'm not working two jobs. I'm not doing any special projects. And I have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, I really like the free time. On the other hand, I feel pretty useless, especially because Ben is working again and going to school. And because I'm not busy every waking hour like I have been for the last seven (and four before that) years.

So, on the whole, it's been a change of events. And I dig the garden. And I dig in the garden. ;) And I do dig the free time even if it means I have to develop a new set of skills (i.e., keeping house because I have no excuse not to). If you need any tips (or have any tips), let me know in the comments, kids.

You might be thinking, "Oh, come on, it can't be that bad." All I can say to you is false. It is that bad.

In the first place, I now live in the outer ring suburbs. Some people at work like to argue with me and claim that it is a "bedroom community," not an "outer ring suburb." All I can say to those people is WHATEVER YOU WANT TO CALL IT. If I drive about a half a mile in any direction but north, I end up in a corn field. I call that the outer rings. If a place can be both things, it probably is, because as far as I can tell, everybody leaves at the same time, everybody comes home at the same time, and everybody goes to the freaking grocery store at the same time.

More than once, I have gone after work, and there are no baskets left. The lines are backed up into the meat department. Children are screaming as loudly as they possibly can while parents worship them in the aisles. People budge in line and act like they don't see you even though they do, then blush when you talk loudly about how people are more polite in the hood (which they are).

So, today, I said to myself, "F this sh--. I'm going to go at 8:30." In my head, I thought that this would vastly improve matters. And at first, I was right. There were far fewer people, and even though I did run into a coworker (because now I live in a small town), it was much better. And then I got to the baking aisle.

In the baking aisle, I local popular grocery chain employee (of the baby bear variety) was stocking shelves. In the city, this was no big deal. The guy (and it was always the same guy) always got out of the way when you were trying to get something off the shelf and even went away for awhile so you could make your purchase. Not this guy. This guy moved in front of me everywhere I went. He even at once point said, "Excuse me" in a snotty voice. I had like 8 things to get in the baking aisle, and the guy was in front of 4 of them. At one point, I kid you not, I grabbed powdered sugar and he was inches away from me when I turned around. Eventually I gave him a dirty look and moved on. As a former store employee, I know that employees are supposed to get out of the way so that people can buy stuff. And here I was being treated the way they treat you at 2 AM in the city. At 2 AM, I expect stock people to give me dirty looks, but at 8:30, they better just move along.

In any case, I moved onward in my quest to buy food. And they were out of like everything. Why the guy was stocking the baking aisle, I don't know. In addition, they don't carry half the things I want because the store is, quite frankly, half the size of a normal store.

Finally I finish and what happens? Baking Aisle man comes with a forklift to the place where I am in the bread aisle, which faces the check-outs. Now, nobody can get by him, lines are backing up, and he is lifting down stock from the top of the bread aisle shelves. I need ot go back to my former store, but I don't believe extra crap was stored above the bread aisle, and certainly not near the check-outs. So by this time, I am irrate. And I don't say anything, and I finally get checked out, but by the time I go to my car, I am just livid about my grocery store trip, which took over an hour, solely because I couldn't find stuff and I couldn't get to the stuff I wanted. The store is poorly organized and small, and the staff is rude.

I used to just lose my sh-- because I was crabby, but now, there's like even more reason to just lose it.

That's installment #1 from the Outer Rings. There are other nice, fun things that are happening, but that's one that just bugs me.

Now, for me, I love spring. It's my favorite season.

But it's a bad time, school-wise. And even though I keep telling my students to hang in there, that it isn't that bad, that in five years, they won't remember any of this and what they do remember won't seem so bad, I know it's a tough time of year. And I mean every word I say--they won't remember all the details of why this time of year was so hard. They won't remember the class they had to drop or why it mattered so much at the time. They won't remember the paper they struggled and cried over. They might remember that it was hard, but they won't remember why.

They are strung tight as wires, though, and one of them is always bound to snap. Maybe not at my school, but somewhere, someone is always about to snap at this time of year.

And this year, I feel it especially keenly. I myself am stressed to the max. We are job hunting and wedding planning and moving, and it is all very stressful to me. I am working eleventy billion hours a week, and I can't keep up, and I feel guilty about not keeping up because I know that we will probably need the money very soon. My jaw is messed up, and I don't want to go to the doctor to get it fixed. On the other hand, I can't chew my food or sleep on my left side (which is my preferred side), so that's frustrating. There are a thousand and one things I should be doing right now instead of writing this blog article while sipping a rum and coke.

And instead, at this time of year, I want to sit on the balcony and sip rum and cokes.

And I tend to say whatever pops into my head lately. This year, I told one of my students who's been around for awhile (when he said that he was going to have to drop a class) that it would not be the end of the world to drop a class. I told him that in five years, he wouldn't even care, it wouldn't even matter. And you know what? It cheered him up. He looked at me and smiled and went, "That's true."

And it is true. In five years, all any of us will remember is whether or not this season was particularly good or bad and that's about it. In five years, the things that seem so huge to us right now will be gone and over and done.

I wanted this year to be so different. I didn't want to worry so much. I wanted to give myself plenty of time to plan a wedding so that it would go smoothly. I didn't want to work so much this spring. Instead, we've been sick and so forth. And every time I think we've turned the corner, some new issue pops up. And sometimes, I have to ask why I don't get what I want out of life. Why is it always something huge and major? Why can't I be the one to walk around on cloud nine, stupid and oblivious to all the perils around me? If I find out, I'll let you know. I imagine everybody thinks that about their lives sometimes. I feel like a whiner, but that's the way it is for me right now.

Everytime I see my student, I ask him if he's hanging in. And so far, so good. We're all hanging in. Eventually, May will come around. June will be beautiful and the summer will be warm and lovely.

So hang in, folks.

They culminated with a co-worker explaining to me today how she had recently developed some moles and had them removed and how, oh, she noticed that I had a mole right there on the side of my neck (which she sort of whispered as though the mole had snuck up and taken me unawares) and they were really easy to get removed and how she was very pleasantly surprised and how I ought to think about it.

Uh huh. You read that right. She informed me that I ought to have my mole removed from my neck. No, I did not ask for this advice. In fact, I was walking by to put paper in the printer, so it was pretty much a drive-by insulting.

It's not just that this is blatently rude, which it is (I think I can say that with a lot of confidence). It's that between working in excess of 60 hours a week, worrying about Ben's job search, frantically trying to finish wedding details, attempting to lose enough weight to fit into my stupid dress by April 9th, and tyring to start packing, I really don't have time to worry about a mole on my neck that I've had SINCE THE SIXTH GRADE.

And in the sixth grade, it caused me a lot of worry and insecurity. And as I went into high school, I thought about having it removed. But then my best friend had one removed, and she had a big scar that bugged her almost as much as the original mole did. And then I decided that to go through all that pain and the annoyance of wearing a bandage on your neck for several days/weeks just to end up where you started--i.e., silly and insecure--was stupid.

Why do people think that they can just say just whatever the hell they want? And why do I seem to care when they spout off?

And more importantly, does anyone else think that I need to take time out of my day/life to have the enormous (and apparently irritating to everybody else) mole removed from my neck before the wedding?

What do we think? I have to admit that this whole experience has pulled up my old worries about it. I am a little concerned that if this person is staring at my neck and thinking about how I could have my mole removed that everyone is looking at my neck and thinking about my mole. I used to think it looked like a Frankenstein bolt, and I've been having flashbacks to that rather silly image (it's not that big).

So, are you? Staring at my mole, I mean? And should I care?

He's a good worker, and he'll get a good recommendation from his boss, so there's no worries there. The company he was working for just doesn't have enough work right now. He is a pre-press technician, and he's really good with computers, especially Macs. (Boo, Macs, says this PC user!)

Thanks, peeps. I just figure the more people keeping their eyes open, the better. (And I have his permission to share this info.)

When I was younger, I used to love the smell of my mom's spice cupboard. She had a big green turny thing that had to levels so that you could spin it and see all the spices on it (in theory). (It was usually so full that things would fall off of it at random intervals, and then the whole thing would get stuck.) I used to open it just to smell all the flavors mingling together. It was always delightful. I'm not sure I've ever told anyone that before. Maybe Ben.

When I moved into my apartment, one of the things that I loved was that it had spice cupboards built into the wall, and when I opened them, I could still smell the spices--bay leaves, thyme, rosemarry, and other spices all mingling together in a savory aroma. Of course, I didn't know how to cook, so after I moved in, the cupboard was usually full of condensed soup.

But now that I do know how to cook, I have been carefully selecting a spice or two each grocery trip to add to my cupboard. And it smells delightful again. I love opening it and looking in at all the little bottles of ground up flavors as the scents waft out towards me. I love smelling garam masala and basil and rosemarry. I love the way the coriander and the cardamom overwhelm everything else. I love the tiny little bottle of vanilla extract. I love my seasalt grinder and my pepper tin. I love the enormous bottles of cumin and turmeric and Chinese 5 Spice that I got from Target in their Archer Farms spice section (which is the best deal around, especially if you use a lot of something). I think back on all the things I've learned how to make, and I look forward to all the things that we are going to make, and I can't help but feel good inside. The whole thing makes me smile.

What I want to get is the bottle that has a few strands of saffron that I saw in the grocery store the other day, but at 15 bucks or more a pop and with no real use for it, I guess I have to hold off. I once had a lemon saffron chicken dish with dill rice at a Greek restaurant that I loved and would love to try to duplicate. But ah, well, times are tough all over, I guess. You gotta take your smiles where you can get them, even if your meals don't include saffron right now.

I have been saying this would happen for months now. It has been an on-going debate between Ben and me.

I'm not sure why it needed to be delayed again, but enjoy!

Also, I am sick, so send some get-well-quick vibes my way.

Of course, I've been freaking out. I now have two lists going. I am nearly to the point where I have determined that this whole wedding thing has stopped being fun, and I now want to elope. And my mother likes to remind me that I have money invested, to which I like to point out that it might be worth that cost to just pull the plug now and hop on a plane.

Meanwhile, I have rediscovered my love for DDR (Dance Dance Revolution) and would like to find nice dance pads for a PS2. I want them yesterday. I'm going to bounce around above the heads of the neighbors below me who sing at the tops of their lungs all weekend long. Hopefully, my waistline will shrink in the process.

This weekend, I'm hoping to clean out the entryway closet, so wish me luck.

Put away my Christmas stuff for next year.
Figured out what I'm going to do for the reception (I think).
Done a lot of overtime work this week (4 hours of 10 so far!).
Talked on the phone to a friend or two this week.
Attempted to set a time to go bridesmaid dress shopping.
Watered the aloe plant, though it is still on a quest to die.
Figured out that I know a little bit about APA (not as much as MLA or CMS).
Accomplished one of my 1001 goals by sheer accident.
Folded my laundry (and put it away!).
Emailed several friends (though not all friends who I owe emails).
Nearly decided which engagement pic will make the paper.
Determined I will like to use comp time in May, so I will like earning it in March.
Finished my grocery shopping.
Cleaned out the hall closet.
Restarted my computer.
Purchased whitening strips.
Walked the trail at work quickly so that I don't have to think about weight.
Checked my voicemail at home and at work.
Returned most of the stuff I bought that I don't want.
Decided to keep the black sweater because it is warm and will still fit next year.
Gotten to work 10 minutes early every day since the last time I posted.
Thought about music for the ceremony and came up with a semi-plan.
Showered.

So, since I've gotten a big chunk of stuff done since last week, I feel better about life in general. Ben also did the dishes, so that's another thing crossed off my list. In fact, he cleaned up the kitchen, which was really really nice, and he has cooked our dinners this week because he's my favorite super hero, and he loves me very much.

I have made myself a promise that I will work two hours every night. That way, I will have the weekends free to sort through things and pack thing and to enjoy myself and to plan the wedding. Then I will feel better in general, I think. It has been a long time since I had a Saturday morning to do with what I will, and I miss that. I miss going to the library and running my errands and just generally disappearing for a few hours into a crowd. Or cooking in my crockpot at home. Whatever. Granted, I've only been doing this for two days, but I feel good about it. (Though it does make me very tired, but in this economy, you can't turn down work.)

Also, as part of my grand scheme, I need to get a Wii and possibly some old (but not too old or crappy) TVs. Does anyone know how to go about aquiring a Wii? For example, if you know what days shipments come in at certain stores, that could help a lot. (I think I can find TVs on craigslist or the free market, but I'm waiting to see what I need first.)

So, that is what I know. I am feeling better. Thanks for the encouragement, everybody. I feel a little less nuts. (It helps that my mom didn't email me seven times today to ask me about all the things we have left to do like she did last week.)

I hope you all are doing well, too!

Sent out my Christmas cards.
Put away my Christmas stuff for next year.
Packed most of what I hoped to by now.
Figured out what I'm going to do for the reception.
Sent out engagement announcements to the paper.
Solidified the guest list.
Done the dishes.
Thrown out the mountain of junk mail that I am burried under.
Cleaned out the closets so that I can put packed boxes away.
Reserved a block of hotel rooms.
Decided what the cake is going to look like.
Sold the books I never intend to read.
Taken out the empty boxes that are too small or broken to pack in.
Done any overtime work this week.
Beaten Super Mario Bros. for Nintendo DS.
Seen or talked on the phone to any of my friends this week.
Chosen colors for the wedding.
Set a time to go bridesmaid dress shopping.
Watered my aloe plant lately.
Learned anything about APA.
Cooked.
Lost any more weight.
Started Taebo again.
Learned how to spell Taebo.
Accomplished any of my 1001 goals lately.
Re-posted my 1001 goals after taking them down after the co-worker fiasco.
Folded my laundry.
Read any of the magzines I have in my possession.
Emailed several friends.
Decided which engagement pic will make the paper.
Paid bills.
Applied for a passport.
Figured out the invitations.
Decided on favors.
Determined whether or not I am excited about earning comp time in March.
Purchased MS Office 2007.
Gone to the grocery store.
Taken my vitamin.
Cleaned out the hall closet.
Restarted my computer.
Found a church.
Found someone to do our pre-marital counseling.
Asked the officiant to do the ceremony.
Washed my new pot holders.
Started whitening my teeth.
Confirmed my March dentist appointment.
Thought about what I will do if I don't lose more weight.
Called Joanne.
Checked my voicemail at home or at work.
Finished all the books that my co-worker has.
Watched all the TV shows I'm behind on.
Sorted through the paper work that is in book bags from years ago.
Found a home for my cookbooks.
Returned stuff that I bought during the Christmas rush that I don't want.
Decided whether or not to keep the black sweater that Ben hates.
Started liking this damn cold weather.
Gotten to work on time once this week despite getting up increasingly earlier.
Given two craps about anything any of my co-workers have whined about.
Decided what I want to be when I grow up.
Forgiven my sister.
Decided on a song of the day.
Thought about music for the ceremony.
Thought about what kind of a shower I want (n.m.p.--not my problem).
Cured world hunger.
Figured out my faith.
Called my friend with MS to see how she's doing.
Done 8 full laps around the building any day this year.
Sent the Wellness Committee any suggestions since the last meeting.
Joined the department blog.
Packed my lunch.
Decided what I will wear tomorrow.
Showered.
Gone to bed.

Among other things... And I wonder why I'm stressed?

As I approach the new year, I always like to take stock.

One of the first things I'm going to say is that, while I have a long-standing hatred toward resolutions, I am going to make one. (OMG! LoWriter is making a resolution. Will it be to end world hunger? Will it be to lose 40 pounds?) This is the only resolution I may ever make on here, so listen up.

I resolve to be more blunt/direct/honest on this blog and to care less about who might be reading it. This may mean that, gasp, you might be offended by me. You know what? Suck it.

I have been sorting through my emails, and what I have discovered is that I used to have a lot more fun. I intend to start again. If you don't like it, you can lick it. Preferably elsewhere.

For those of you who are still left to read my blog, here are my top ten: Five pros and cons of the past year. (If I left you out, remind me. I've had a couple of alcoholic beverages this evening.)

Pros:
1.) Got engaged to the love of my life. (Sometimes, me being honest means you might gag. Deal with it.)
2.) Saw a lot of friends who have moved far, far away. (I miss you, girls!)
3.) Took a road trip with the sisters.
4.) Saw Niagara Falls at night and took amazing pics.
5.) Spent another Christmas with my grandmas and the rest of my family.

Cons:
1.) Don't know what I want to be when I grow up yet.
2.) Had an organ removed.
3.) Consequently, had less time to spend with friends and/or party.
4.) Found out my love has diabetes.
5.) Still have my same job that I've had since I got out of college. (Which is nice in the way of job security, but I'd like to move up.)

Bonus pros because pros are good:
6.) Learned how to cook and lost some weight as a result of being healthier, so diabetes was a mixed blessing.
7.) Feel better since having an organ removed.
8.) Did get to spend at least some time with some (not all) of my amazing friends.
9.) Saw history happen and didn't have to lose my faith in democracy since we elected Obama! (Yes we did!)

On the whole, this year was full of ups and downs. I'm hoping 2009 will be a little less rocky and a little more fun. I would like to lose more weight, and I would like the wedding to go smoothly. I would like to have some money left when it is all over. I would like it if Ben and I could both be healthy for three months in a row. (I am realizing that I had been sick for much longer than I thought.) I would like to mail out my Christmas cards before next Christmas, too. Sometimes, it's good to want.

The ups were high, the downs were deep, 2008 was a good year, but I'm glad it's over. Let's get on with the good stuff! :)

Thank you, email. I can see why that was extremely important information for me to know right now.

Here's something more important: It is only 2 days until Christmas. I'm far more focused on that.