Happy New Year!!!

I just want to wish everyone a very Happy New Year for 2009!


I also thought it would be nice to take a minute to reflect on some of the things that we [me, Jeff & Allie] did in 2008 that made it so awesome. I know 2009 will be even better ;D

Then, at the bottom I've included some resolutions that I hope we can use as a guideline for the coming year.


I hope I didn't leave too much out, it's hard to remember everything ;D

2008 Family Fun:

• Spent spring break in Florida and had a wonderful vacation. Allie brought her friend Nylet and my mom and dad even stopped by for a couple of days. It was a great time at the beach.
• This will seem kind of morbid, but Jeff & I spent a few days in AR with his family when his granny passed away. We really did have a good time visiting with everyone, so even though we were there for a sad occasion it was nice.
• Jeff's family [mom, sister, brother-in-law and 2 nephews] spent a few days with us over Memorial weekend. We spent one day doing touristy stuff in Dahlonega and Helen and another day at Six Flags.
• Allie & I spent some time in Evansville visiting with my family during the summer. We were able to see my grandpa and some of my uncles, aunts and cousins.
• Jeff's dad spent a couple of days here right before Thanksgiving. We had a great lunch the day he left @ Sushi Nami. He showed us how to properly eat sushi [like cleansing your palette with ginger in between types - who knew?]. He also had us try several kinds of sushimi [just plain raw fish] - it was surprisingly good, especially the salmon.
• My mom, sister and nephew came to spend Thanksgiving with us. For the first time ever we did the "Midnight Shopping Madness"! We had a great time - we shopped from Midnight to 9am!
• Allie & I spent a couple of days in Evansville before Christmas. It was good to see Grandpa feeling a little better.
• We all started mountain biking again.

2008 Jeff Awesomeness:

• Logged nearly 500 running miles in 2008 - WOW
• Mountain biked at Central Park alone - lots
• Got a promotion, raise and title change at work - yeah!!
• Worked really, really hard so that Angie could continue to stay at home and work instead of getting a "real" job ;D
• DIY projects - ran electric, phone and network cable in the basement; hung drywall in basement; and painted the main level of the house

2008 Fun for Angie:

• Trained for and competed in a sprint Triathlon
• Trained for and walked in the Atlanta 2 Day Walk for Breast cancer in memory of my grandmothers
• Played tennis [Alta spring and fall leagues] and went to playoffs in the fall
• Spent a girls week at the beach with Debbie, Sonia and Lou
• Started playing poker monthly for a girls night out
• DIY projects - Painted faux treatment on one wall in living room; helped Jeff with paint in the rest of the main floor; helped tape & mud drywall in the basement

Allie's 2008 Accomplishments/Fun:

• Finished her freshman year with all a's and 1 b
• Got her driver's permit
• Had the best summer ever just hanging out with her best friends [Kate, Same and Katy]
• Had a great time going to concerts ~ a total of 5
• Went to Six Flags several times over the summer with friends
• Spent a lot of time at the pool this summer just hanging out
• Started mountain biking again
• Is getting great grades this semester [she works so hard]!
• Got her first car ~ a silver Beetle!
  

2009 Family Resolutions:

• Eat at home more [cook more ;D]
• Be more active [mountain biking & hiking together]
• Keep a close eye on what buy
• Try to get more sleep [all of us stay up too late]
• Pick up after ourselves so the house will stay cleaner
• Spend more time together as a family

My 2009 Resolutions:

• Eat healthier foods and think about what and why I'm eating
  
• Improve my tennis game
• Take Max for a 30 minute walk daily [at least most days]
• Keep up with house work better [try to keep main floor company ready at all times]
• Continue to grow my business

I'm not very good at this, but if I'm going to talk about all the great things that happened in 2008 I guess I need to touch on a couple of not so good things too. Jeff's granny passed away earlier this year and she will be missed a lot - she was always full of smiles and laughter. Also, my grandpa has been ill all year and in and out of the hospital. It has been very hard for me to watch him while he is so sick and frail. It's also been hard to see how tired it's made my dad - it has really taken a toll on him as well.