Goodbye 2008!
It’s been a truly wonderful and busy year. I’ll take a moment to reflect on some of the things we’ve accomplished this past year:
Personal
- Andy learned to play the guitar
- Planned one heckuva wedding (if I do say so myself), which included completing a bunch of fun wedding projects, and most importantly marrying my perfect match and the absolute love of my life
- Was featured on Tip Junkie for the jewel case calendars I made for my wedding girls. (I also created a little 2009 calendar freebiefor all you crafty DIYers who wanted to make your own.)
- Managed to successfully complete NINE (Andy) and TEN (Laura) whopping MBA classes out of the 15 required for our degree!!
- Andy (re)discovered his talent and love of cooking
- Bought a new Yukon which, was unfortunately only because I crashed my beloved Jeep
- Sent out a BUNCH of Christmas cards! (Primarily b/c they doubled as wedding thank you cards)
Professional
- Served as Treasurer for Quad City Business Referral Alliance, one of my networking groups
- Added custom wedding invitations and vinyl decals to my list products offered by my small business elle Z designs
- Got a nice plug from one of my woodworker customers on his blog
- Got promoted at work
House & Home
- Gave the dogs a haircut…and decided Petco does a better job
- Finally found the best way to trim the dogs’ nails
- Refinanced my house to save a little when the rates dropped
- Then we bought and furnished a new house just months later
- Thankfully sold my other house shortly after; two mortgages is NOT a good deal…I’m speaking from experience.
- Andy somehow, someway managed to move a shed all by himself
- I actually sort of got into decorating for the holidays
I’ll have to ask Andy if he has anything to add that I may have missed. I think the biggest accomplishment would be the MBA classes. Andy and I have really worked this program at an aggressive pace. We’ve sacrificed time with our friends, our family, together, as well as our own personal free time in hopes that this will help solidify a foundation for a better future for ourselves and our future family. It’s been tough at times, but not THAT bad. So if you’re even considering it in the least bit, start now! (Kudos to Kim for taking the plunge!) Even if you just take one class at a time, who cares when you finish? You’re never too old, too young, and you’ll probably never have the time, so just do it anyway; The time is now. Carpe diem!
Looking ahead to next year, let’s start by saying I haven’t been a big fan of the title “New Year’s Resolutions” for some time. Don’t get me wrong, I love the idea of them, but it seems I’ve had the same resolutions for the past 10+ years – eat better, exercise more, do more, be more, etc. Blah, blah, blah. That being said I am a huge fan of goals, which is basically the same thing but without the self-imposed calendar year deadlines attached to them. Goals can start and end any time of the year and I like that idea better. So, in lieu of resolutions for 2009 I’ve started a page for my 2009 goals. I will add to the list and cross off items as the year progresses.
What have you accomplished in 2008? What do you hope to achieve in 2009? If you don’t want to list them here, please link to your own site!
Happy New Year to all!
