2009 Year In Review

I could have been proactive and sent out Christmas cards. This is the first year that a) the thought occurred to me, although it was after I noticed everybody had already sent them out; and b) I thought it sounded fun.

So here's my 2009 Year In Review:

January: Bought a new car (an '07 Honda Accord, gray-blue) after spectacularly rolling my car in a snowbank in that hell hole called Ontario, Oregon. I also soon learned that everyone else in Utah bought a gray-blue '07 Honda Accord as well.

February: Experienced a relatively quiet and uneventful month. I was on the FHE committee where we hosted Snuggle Fest 2009 which was basically nachos and a movie in the cultural hall where couches, love sacs, sleeping bags, and camping chairs were brought in. We got some serious stares from people when we announced it at church. I thought the idea (and title) were clever and catchy. If I hadn't been on the committee, I would have surely come out of deep admiration for the deep thinkers who thought that idea up.

March: Another uneventful month. I traveled to St. George for a work conference and started to discover how much I love my job.

April: Bought a ticket to England! Also experienced indoor sky diving and went to the Hare Krishna temple in Spanish Fork for the Festival of Colors. I am curious if I sustained any lung damage after inhaling so much colored corn starch.

May: Went white-water river rafting where I was told the waves were going to be epic. Turns out that rafting on a super big, inflatable raft is pretty much like all of the other times I've done it: slow and easy and not exciting at all.

June: A busy, tiring, and exciting month. I spent more time in my car driving from state to state rather than standing on solid ground. I traveled up to Washington for my youngest sister's high school graduation where we got caught in a rain storm just as the graduation was about to begin and ultimately turned my semi-straight hair into a ball of frizz.

That same day we received word that my grandpa had passed away which, although was expected, was terrible to experience over the phone and not to have been able to be there to formally and lovingly say good bye. Two days after arriving back in Utah from Washington, Kaylin and I packed the car and headed up to Oregon, which incidentally is one of the worst drives one can do. The speed limit is 55 mph and if you step a toe out of line the cops will somehow know it, find you, and exact unmerciful treatment on you like you're some kind of terrorist. It was fun, however, to spend time as a family and reflect about the amazing life my grandpa led. He truly was a man among men and I could only be so lucky to find someone like him.

One day after arriving back in Utah from Oregon I embarked on the mother of all trips: England! An overwhelming experience in which I was able to experience a country I have always dreamed of traveling to. I still dream about it. I think the best part about my trip was meeting fellow members of the Church and gaining a new perspective on what it's like to be LDS outside of the US. It was wonderful and humbling. I also discovered that all of the clothes I bought in England are way softer than the clothes over here. Seriously, I should have bought more. Soft like butta.

July: Went on a camping trip with my cousins where Kaylin and I made a traditional sausage, egg, and pancake breakfast for the family. Also finished Bleak House by Charles Dickens which has earned residence in my Top Ten books at Number Three. I was also called to be the co-chair of the Ward Activities Committee--a calling which I love because it reminds me of all those times in college when I planned campus activities and thought I ruled the school. I also tried to recuperate from my whirlwind June.

August: Turned 29 and spent it with some of my best girlfriends. It was quiet and understated and as all birthdays go, it was fabulous. Also learned how to make a diaper cake with Kaylin which we gave to our cousin as she adopted her first little baby--an adorable monkey named Gracie. Work also turned up the heat and I was left working serious amounts of overtime as I juggled four construction projects. Somehow August always turns out to be the busiest month of the year for me.

September: Bought a heart rate monitor and took a trip to San Diego for work where I discovered at a work conference that people who are allegedly experts in communications can't communicate worth a crap. Read The Kite Runner and The Time Traveler's Wife and was slightly underwhelmed, I think because I waited so long to read them.

October: Said farewell to my dear roommate Allyson who decided singledom was for the birds. Also threw the pinnacle of all Halloween parties which was subsequently shut down by the cops.

November: Thought a lot about paying to have my car vacuumed and detailed since it had gotten too cold for me to even entertain the thought of going outdoors. Started reading Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell--a book I haven't yet finished but is also looking to rank in my Top Ten list.

December: Traveled home for the holidays and luckily did not total my car. I also learned that I'm terrible at video games even though I made a valiant effort on my parents' Nintendo Wii.

There you have it, folks! Much love out there to all of my friends and family. You truly do make my life better and more fulfilling.