Wrapping Up 2008 With A Big Red Bow On Top- Wait, let's make that A Big Blue Bow On Top

It's over. 2008 is gone just about. This may have been the quickest year of my life. So it's time to review some things of note. The problem with blogging is that inspiration usually comes while washing my hair in the shower and is forgotten by the time I'm done. Well I'm still the same old me, yes I did wonder if it was too lewd to mention the shower in my blog. I am thrilled to look out the window and see snow covering the fence and roofs and cars. The extra long Fall was just not right in my opinion. Yeah, it made biking and walking to school a snap but cold and snow are what we are supposed to have and I don't believe in messing with mother nature. What has been accomplished this year? I think it's normal in this culture to try to have a bunch of huge accomplishments to put up on some sort of imaginary scoreboard that will launch you ever closer to your eternal reward or just make you feel good about yourself and all you've done. I can never seem to find many of those things to tack onto the scoreboard. Life's usually a series of small events, some I feel good about, some that wasted too many hours of my time, most that were just living the daily functions of life and taking care of this thing called family. I dare say this is how life is for most of us.

I did finally get recycling down this year. We don't have those convenient blue or green recycling cans that many communities have. But I discovered about a year ago this thing out here called the Blue Bag Recycling Program. If you live out this way I highly recommend you try it out if you haven't yet. You just get those blue recycling trash bags that you can get at the grocery store and separate your recyclables into the bags and put it all in your regular garbage can and they separate it all at the dump. Brent's skeptical that they actually do it but there was a picture on the internet with a big pile of the blue bags that had been removed at the dump. I didn't recycle any cans this year (baby steps) so maybe I'll add those in next year. You have to rinse things out so that's why I've resisted so far.

I started a blog (pretty obvious one here). I found out that I kind of like to write and that occasionally I don't completely suck at it. It's a little surprising that I've stuck with something for so many months. I'm hoping in the coming year that I can be a little more open in my blogging. Dare to say more of what I want to say. It's always been my desire to make this a forum for my thoughts and hear others thoughts too, along with the pictures and the happenings in our lives. I censored myself more than I really wanted to when it came to politics and other issues.

Speaking of politics... We elected Barack Obama as our next president! I still can't believe that in a month we will have a President Obama. I learned a lot from this election about just how difficult it can be for individuals to come together on varying political views. I think I may have even harmed a friendship or two as a result of the election. Not because I wouldn't shut up about my views or I was trying to change another persons mind. More I think because they didn't agree with my guy and when he won (oh the nerve of it all, allowing the other team to win for a change!) they were upset and blamed me in a way for bringing this terrible thing to pass. That part makes me sad. Hopefully time will heal wounds. Let me just say how grateful I am for friends who tolerate me and my contrary political views. :) Let me explain just a little about what Obama's win means to me and others. It's like this time years ago before Brent and I were married and we used to go running together after work in the mornings. We were running and talking at the same time about some issues involving our future together. I know, we should have just stuck with the running. Well the conversation didn't go well and we were having a disagreement about something important to me. Honestly, I can't remember all the details but I was upset and started crying. Crying and running do not go together because the crying makes you unable to breath. So I started gasping for air. I was hyperventilating and could have used a paper bag to breath into at that point. So I stopped running, stopped crying, and took some slow deep breaths and then I was able to breath again. It felt unbelievable to be able to breath normally again. That's how it feels. We've had an administration running our country that has basically told those who don't agree with their policies to sit down and shut up, we know what's best, you don't and we're not going to listen to you. I can breath again. I can have an opinion contrary to my government's once again and not be accused of being unpatriotic. Not be thought of as a bad American. I've always believed that when you disagree with your country's leaders it is your right and even responsibility to stand up and say something. To protest peacefully. That is what I believe our founding fathers intended. We don't need to rehash the reasons I disagree. The war, the Patriot Act, Guantanamo, etc., etc., etc. Those things have been debated ad nauseum. It doesn't mean I don't have great respect for our troops because I surely do. After all, I'm too much of a chicken to do what they do. They and their families sacrifice in the most amazing of ways. But I want to see change. I believe there is more than one way of doing things and if you're hitting your head against a wall hoping it will stop the pain and it's not working, then maybe you should stop hitting your head against the wall and take a new approach.

Another development late in this year is that I think I've got this exercise thing down again. I'm on day 33 of a 90 day workout program, working out six days a week. Finally, I'm remembering again how much I love working out!

Those are just a few notable things that I wanted to mention as this year nears it's end. What about next year? I have this weird, no reason behind it at all, belief that odd years are lucky for me so it could be a great year!