Looking Back; Looking Forward -updated

1. What did you do in 2008 that you’d never done before?
Katie: I said "I do."
William: Got married in beautiful Hawaii.

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
Katie: I don't know that I made any last year. I think having goals is a good thing, ultimately. If I were to throw a few out there, I'd go with:
Getting published nationally
Keep doing yoga and dance
Make more things—be creative and crafty
Stay committed to good blogging (that's been lacking lately)

William: I didn't have any, so yes! I'll try to do more artistic projects and enjoy things other than TV. I would also like to be a kinder person. I would also like to mentor again for Big Brother Big Sister.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Katie: Lots of blogging pals sure did! We're waiting on a couple coming in the new year.
William: Not this year, although a few close friends did become pregnant.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
Katie: No. Thankfully.
William: No.

5. What countries did you visit?
Katie: Dakota, Ramsey, Itasca...oh, wait. Did you say countries, not counties? Yeah, none of those.
PS I wrote this before Sundry, but didn't finish so I couldn't post it. Just so you know I didn't steal her joke.
William: America, the land of the free. Seriously though, this is sad as i used to travel all the time. Maybe in 2009 we will make it to Thailand or I will be able to go to Morocco for work.

6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008?
Katie: A sense that our world is being righted again.
William: A competent president.

7. What dates from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
Katie: May 27, 2008. Extra sunshiny, breezy, and hot. My wedding day was perfect.
June 14—our reception at home, complete with tornado.
William: The day we got married. Election Day. My birthday, getting surprise cupcakes from Katie ;)

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Katie: Not completely and totally melting down when I lost my job; in the past I'd have totally lost it. I'm not great with change and have been actively working to go with the flow. I feel like it was a huge turning point in my maturity.
William: The biggest thing was getting married. I entered my first bike race, although it didn't turn out as well as I had planned. Making Katie laugh when she was down about her job. I have also begun managing larger projects for work.

9. What was your biggest failure?
Katie: Allowing myself to feel defeated over small things.
William: Still getting overly worked up over small matters (people cutting me off, people who park next to fire hydrants, financial matters, people who ask how you are and then walk on, watching MSNBC, there were so many I will end it there)

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Katie: Well I did have the rock bottom attacks of stomachaches, but that has been mostly under control lately.
William: I was invincible in the year 2008.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
Katie: Probably our marriage license. And our helicopter ride in Kauai.
William: I believe I bought Katie's engagement ring and wedding band in 2008. It was originally a Tiffany style ring and we went with something more unique. She smiles every time she looks at it, and I that will continue forever - err as long as I don't act like a dumbass and piss her off.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Katie: Obama, baby! Tina Fey.
William: Obama, especially since everyone was trying to make him look like the angry black man. Also, if you have ever seen an interview with Barack and Michelle, Michelle did not take a back seat! She shut him up if he was ever exaggerating.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Katie: I think I probably went on enough about people who really appalled me this year. Sarah Palin tops the list.
William: The Fat Cats on Wall Street. Sarah Palin, Joe the Plumber, Sean Hannity, Joe Lieberman, again i should just stop there.

14. Where did most of your money go?
Katie: To paying off debt. Six months to go!
William: To 856 sq. ft. of high ceilings.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Katie: Duh. The wedding.
William: Our wedding was pretty damn exciting! The honeymoon in Kauai. My bike trip to Duluth.

16. What song will always remind you of 2008?
Katie: "Anything You Want" by Roy Orbison. Our wedding song. And the Iz Hawaii-style mash-up of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World".
William: Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World. And Boogie, Boogie Hedgehog. Oh, and Business Time.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
Katie:
a) happier or sadder? Tough call, because last year at this time so much was left to look forward to. But I'm awfully content and looking forward to making new goals.
b) thinner or fatter? Fatter, 8 lbs more than the wedding.
c) richer or poorer? I'm in better shape, but I have a long way to go.

William:
a)happier or sadder? Happier.
b) thinner or fatter? Neutral, since high school I have always been 170-175.
c) richer or poorer? Richer, but not by much.

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Katie: Write good stuff.
William: Art projects, I have so many ideas for things but I always have an excuse that it's not the right time to start something.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Katie: Freak out, worry.
William: Couch-potatoing. And crack. I wish I would have picked up less of Molly's poo.

20. How did you spend Christmas?
Katie: With family and friends, good food, and fun toys. Opening presents with William and helping Molly open her stocking stuffers.
William: With family over good food.

21. Did you fall in love in 2008?
Katie: I love that there's no capacity for loving; there's no way to not have more room for it in your life. I find more and more percentages of my heart toward my family and friends; toward William; toward cute clothes.
William: Yes, every day I fall in love. With Katie, of course.

22. What was your favorite TV program?
Katie: Still the same faves: Project Runway, The Office, Top Chef, American Idol, Flipping Out...
William: Top Chef, Project Runway, The Office, Seinfeld, Good Eats, No Reservations, Flipping Out

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
Katie: Um, no. That's pretty awesome. I hate hate. No, that's not true. I am too passionate to hate hate.
William: I probably say I hate around 10 people a day, but that might be a little overly dramatic. The big one would probably be Sarah Palin and all she tries to represent.

24. What was the best book you read?
Katie: I read a LOT of really good books this year! Topping the list: Mountains Beyond Mountains, What is the What, the Twilight series, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Infidel, The Namesake, The Freedom Writers' Diary, Helter Skelter, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle.
William: I don't think I finished a book. I get into a lot of new books, but I always get too antsy and switch to something else. [A fight ensued here; it hurts my heart he didn't read a book. His response? "How many bike rides did you take? How many pictures did you paint? How many birdhouses did you build? How many drawings did you make? There are numerous ways to relax, I choose other things than reading. There shouldn't be anything shameful about that."]

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Katie: Probably She & Him.
William: The Black Keys - no doubt. If you haven't heard them, quit reading and go buy cd.

26. What did you want and get?
Katie: A husband. A perfect wedding day. A beautiful honeymoon. Fun reception. A full-time job. Freelance work. My dog to stay healthy. Obama to be president. Family members to stay healthy.
William: A wife. A democratic president.

27. What did you want and not get?
Katie: Uh, even the things I didn't get, I lived through. ;) (But hint, hint: Chanel sunglasses.)
William: A mountain bike.

28. What was your favorite film of this year?
Katie: Maybe The Dark Knight. I feel like I didn't see that many movies that were actually made this year. We both really like No Country for Old Men but that was 2007.
William: The Dark Knight.

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
Katie: I turned 28. William made me breakfast, I went to work, I did yoga, and opened some presents. The next night, we went for couples' massages.
William: 28. We went to aloft hotel for my birthday weekend.

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Katie: If I'd worked harder at getting published in places outside my comfort zone, though I'm going to try more this year. And I'm getting published in Maui Magazine in the spring.
William: I can't think of anything.

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008?
Katie: Pretty preppy. Girly. On a budget. Tall boots.
William: Ravishing.

32. What kept you sane?
Katie: The idea that all these changes were part of life's plan. That there had to be, inevitably, scary moments along with the exhilarating ones. The idea that not all of growing up is bad. My husband, and my stress-reducing snuggler, Mo.
William: Biking really helped me cool down after work, avoid rush hour traffic(see section 9), and generally feel like a kid again.

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Katie: Obama. Hillary.
William: Obama. Heidi Klum.

34. What political issue stirred you the most?
Katie: Well, that whole issue of the most important election of my LIFETIME. I got super pissed when I found out the Palin thought women should pay for their own rape kits; then found out that most states feel that way. Oh, and Prop 8.
William: the financial bullshit and the whole election process.

35. Who did you miss?
Katie: The Kilipino. A lot lot.
William: Tim Russert. Jimmy and Lee.

36. Who was the best new person you met?
Katie: My new coworkers rock. Seriously. Our minister Ken.
William: Don't know.

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008.
Katie: That we still have a long way to go while we have still come a long way.
That sometimes positivity comes from loss.
William: 8 hours on a bike really chaps my ass, but an hour sure makes me smile.

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
Katie:
Im glad to give my love to you.
I know you feel the way I do.
Anything you want, you got it.
Anything you need, you got it.
Anything at all, you got it.
Baby!
—Anything You Want, Roy Orbison

William: Well since I don't want to sound like I am copying my wife on everything I will think of a different song....sorry it may take awhile to get my musical engines started...

When the night has come
And the land is dark
And the moon is the only light we'll see
No I won't be afraid, no I won't be afraid
Just as long as you stand, stand by me

And darlin', darlin', stand by me, oh now now stand by me
Stand by me, stand by me.

Cause I always want my smalls next to me. :)

foto time!

it's wintertime. i'm in hibernation mode. i am craving large-scale indoor projects. this happens around this time every year, more so as i get older. good thing i have a wedding to plan for and decorate!
yesterday we spent a good deal of time at william's work, working on save-the-dates (they don't mind if we use their equipment after hours, we provide our own ink, etc.). it's all designed! i must say that william did a very nice job. so we're almost ready to print and ship. i will be hand-addressing envelopes. . . i hope they look okay. a calligrapher, i am not. i used to have nice handwriting, but now that i take notes very quickly for part of my living, it has steadily gotten worse. hopefully i can access my super artsy side. . . which is not that artsy as many of you can attest (those that know me in "real life").
i am also undertaking a scanning project. . . of scanning in my family's photos. there are a lot of them, and i know we'd all like to have them, especially some old photos of my grandma and her family. i became obsessed with this notion, and with part of my christmas money i bought a pretty nice scanner on amazon this morning. also the photos could be used in a wedding slideshow at some point.
project undertaken!
it was kind of nice to work on things yesterday and today and feel marginally productive (yesterday i'd call very productive, today not quite as much, despite my trying). this month is going to be nutty. we're both in a wedding on jan. 19, so we're gearing up for that, plus my job is about to get super busy again (please no long hours, please please please). i did write two stories and do some editing, plus i cleaned a little and worked out.
oh yeah. that's the other thing. no big resolutions or anything but i am attempting to take a little better care of myself until the wedding. i'm not worried about my weight, but my flab has hit max capacity and needs some toning up. plus i'm hoping i'll get that anti-anxiety, positive mood thing that everyone talks about having once in a workout routine. i wouldn't really know--i worked out steadily the last two years of college, mostly because i wanted to avoid doing homework, and didn't see a whole boatload of results, but i guess idid feel more productive. and i had toned arms. and when i moved home, i did most of it myself, not needing a guy to carry all the heavy stuff. ok. so i probably had a lot of results. but i hate it. it takes a lot to motivate me, even more than the cellulite on my thighs. i do want to be able to go, go, go more. . . more energy would be great. . . i'd like to have less back problems and this might help, and my posture totally and completely sucks, so it'd be nice to stand up straight on my wedding day. so far i've run on the elliptical (surprising even myself with distance and speed, although nothing to brag about), and i have done some situps with a medicine ball and some boxing thing with weights. which almost killed my arms. we'll see how easy it is to get a shirt on tomorrow. no promises, just going to try to do better. and actually do it, not talk about doing it. twice already in the last week. . . will do more this week.
so anyway. i thought i'd post some of the fruits of my labor. i still need to post of my gifts and such. . . later date on that one.

this is one of my favorite photos of my grandma marion, who's my mom's mom, who died of parkinsons disease in 1994. i was close with her.


here's another of my favorites, with her twin sister and another friend. they are quite young. my guess is teens? she was born in like 1916.


another one of my favorite outfits she had:


ok, now one of my handsome grandpa, her husband. (maybe not her husband at this time)


oh, here's another favorite of my grandpa. love the fedora.



then, of course, one of her wedding day. i love this for so many reasons; my great-aunt fixing her train; they're not quite ready; the cocky pose of my grandpa, the cars in the background. and yes, she was tiny--4'11'', and he was 6'2''ish:


and, me, at age one. the glamour girl thing had already started.


more to come!