Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had a great, safe new year. We were blessed with a low-key, but fun evening with another couple. We had appetizers here, followed by dinner at a new Italian restaurant and an hour of watching drunk people at an Uptown bar. My cousin, Stef, who lives in Florida, was back in Minnesota for the holidays and joined our toast at midnight.

As I write this, I realize a lot has happened in the last few weeks, and I have not written about it. Ben was a culinary king in December, mastering toffee (which involves stirring non-stop for 20 minutes) and cooking steak in a cast-iron skillet. My dear friends, if you like steak, you need to learn this method. It's better than the grill. We also planned our meals -- all from the Crock Pot -- this week: Monday was pork with butternut squash, dried plums and apricots; today we're feasting on barbecue chicken; and on Saturday we'll make potato soup.

We hadn't been home since Labor Day, until we had a wedding in mid-December. We returned home two weeks later for Christmas.

OK...so I maybe exaggerated when I wrote that a lot happened in December. It wasn't an incredibly significant month, but it was filled with holiday parties, baking parties, travel, hanging with friends and family, etc.

As I reflect on 2008, we've had a big year.

--I landed a job at a newspaper I love with terrific, talented colleagues. I seldom grumble about work. And I've made many friends. I am also blessed with an editor who seems to have confidence in me and who makes me be a better journalist.

--I ran four half-marathons, one 20-mile race, one marathon and more than 1,000 miles. That's a lot of running.

--We got a dog, who we equally love to pieces. Indiana relieves our stress and brings us joy.

--We traveled to California.

--We learned how to salsa dance.

--Ben got accepted into graduate school.

--My sister got engaged to her long-time boyfriend. They're getting married July 11.

I'm excited about the upcoming adventures in 2009. This year, I want to run two marathons. I've already signed up for the Fargo Marathon, which falls on May 9. Ben registered for the Stillwater Marathon on May 23. We plan to both run the Chicago Marathon. I also want to journal at least once a week for my eyes only. I kept a journal in Thailand, but have not done any other personal writing with the exception of the blogs.

Goodbye 2008. Hello 2009.