Happy New Year

goodbye 2008... and good riddance...

It did bring some good things, such as bringing my Jim into my life as my boyfriend, and later my fiancee. It brought the opportunity to move to my dream city and follow one of my longest and dearest held dreams. The Lord has blessed me richly this year.

2008 wasn't all fun and games though. It brought the challenge of telling my employer and my family that I DIDN'T have a degree and that I still had to take a night class while working full time. It brought the constant battle of being in the car all the time. It brought on the realization of walking away from my dream job and dream city and led to a lonely existence here in Tennessee. I'm grateful for my coworkers who have been a God-send. They have loved me, supported me, and held me accountable to so many things in my life.

This year also brought the loss of my grandfather. It was really the first close relative that has passed away. We are still dealing with the wake that lung cancer left behind...

Then there was the cancer scare. After being tossed around from medical professional to medical professional and several tests, what they thought might be cancer, turned out to be nothing... That was... fun?

The there was the debit card fiasco... Nothing like having your only form of payment taken and used for all it's worth and then some the week before Christmas is a LITTLE unsettling...

And then there was the totalling of my car. I'm still feeling some of the physical effects of that as well as waiting (not so) patiently on a police report to be filed. 2009 will be rung in with insurance claims and hopefully, soon, a new car.

I'm grateful to my roommate who sat with me tonight and kept me company after my evening didn't go as planned. A puzzle and a few movies from Blockbuster were a great way to *almost* ring in this year.

To 2008 I say thank you, but I've had enough... 2009, please be gentle, life is about to get CRAZY(er)! In 2009 I will make the transition from bride to wife and I'm so ready.

I'm going to bed now... Before the ball drops, and well before the dawn of a new day in the central time zone. See you in '09.... May it be better than the last.