(does anyone actually know what that means?)
Happy New Year! I don't know about any of you, but 2008 wasn't a stellar year around here. It wasn't horrible, don't get me wrong; it just didn't stand out as anything special. A failing economy, a long and dragged out presidential race and nothing in my personal life worth mentioning. There have been some good things as well. I've been able to travel home several times and spend time with the fam, both immediate and extended. And both my little sister and little brother left on missions, which has definitely changed the family dynamic, but has been really neat as well. I've made some great friends out here in DC and reconnected with old ones back home. I have a job that I enjoy (most days) and that's fairly stable. Even so, I was pretty excited to see the year coming to a close. (Although it strikes me as funny that we all have this perception that 2009 is going to be completely different than 2008. Mere hours really won't make a huge difference. Interesting to see time as a purely human construct.)
I've never been good at New Year's Resolutions. I usually scribble a couple things down on the 1st or 2nd of January, promptly lose the paper and forget what I'd written down by February 1. But even with my track record, it always seems appropriate to get a fresh start and set some new goals. (And no, this isn't all of them. There are some that just don't need to be published!)
1. Leave the United States. It's been too long, and I need an adventure. Any suggestions?
2. Cook more and eat out less
3. Visit friends in Utah. I haven't been to Provo since I graduated!
4. Develop some new talents or improve at some old ones **drawing, cooking, playing the violin/piano**
5. Be better at staying in touch with family and friends
6. Practice my Italian **and maybe even find a way to use it - see #1**
7. Exercise at least 4 times a week
8. Become more organized **maybe cliche, I know, but necessary!**
9. Be more grateful for the things I have.
Forsyth Park.
Who's the biggest celebrity to come out of Savannah? That's right, Paula Deen. And don't worry, Marci and I waited in line for an hour to get reservations at her restaurant. I can feel my arteries clogging just thinking about it.
So happy to have a roommate who loves cemeteries as much as I do. The Bonaventure Cemetery was filled with these beautifully pathetic figurines.
Ooh look! A pretty house! This city is GORGEOUS.
Nathan, Becky and Emily at the beach at Tybee Island.
The Mercer-Williams house. A beautiful old Civil War-era home. But more importantly, a major setting for the book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. I don't want to give too much away, but let's just say I was sorely tempted to rip up the rug in the study to look for bullet holes.
A voodoo mask? I have no idea really what this is, but that was my dad's first reaction when he saw the pics, so we're going to go with that.
Savannah charm.
Wandering through the squares of Savannah we ran into this wedding, so of course I needed a picture. I'm pretty sure that the groom was at least 20 years older than the bride. And I'm really sorry you can't see the dresses. It was a little white trash.
Yes, we're happy to be in the South. And we look beautiful.
