2009's Besties List - Part II

For those of you who tuned into my 2009's Besties List - Part I, here is the second half for you. I had a lot of fun answering these questions, mainly because it was a challenge to remember things from the beginning of the year! But, it also gave me the opportunity to relive those moments again and appreciate all of the great memories that I have made this year.

Part II...

Word or phrase. A word that encapsulates your year. "2009 was _____."

2009 was inspiring. And I LOVE to be inspired!!!

Shop. Online or offline, where did you spend most of your mad money this year?

Banana Republic (http://www.bananarepublic.com/) – hands down. But I’ve gotten better this year. I have a bit more self control. You know, the economy and all ;-)

Car ride. What did you see? How did it smell? Did you eat anything as you drove there? Who were you with?

First of all, I must say that I love road trips. I think it stems from driving everywhere with my family as a child. I love pulling into random small towns, going to random small town convenience stores and checking out the people, and counting down the miles to my destination. My best car ride of 2009 was to Shreveport, Louisiana with my then-boyfriend and his parents, for a wedding. Most road trips this past year have been alone, so it was nice to have some company along the way. I had never been to Shreveport, nor the highway that gets me there from Houston, so it was all a bit of an adventure. Throw in two parents who didn’t know me very well, and it was entertaining! Lots of driving through small towns, sharing family stories, some occasional snoozes, stops for ice cream, and some serious jam sessions singing to great worship songs and Broadway musicals.

New person. She came into your life and turned it upside down. He went out of his way to provide incredible customer service. Who is your unsung hero of 2009?

JDH – he came into my life early in 2009 and gave it a good whirl for sure. The timing could not have been more perfect. Although he really isn’t in my life anymore, he truly made me want to be a better person, he made me more passionate about God, he inspired me to reevaluate choices that I have made in my life, he taught me more about myself and reminded me of things that I had forgotten, and he is the example of a truly Godly man. He is my favorite new person of 2009 and reconfirms the notion that God puts everyone in our lives for a reason, even if it is just for a short while.

Project. What did you start this year that you're proud of?

I had wanted to do a photo wall in my house for a while. So, I had my fav photos of places I’d been cropped and printed, then dragged my BFF to Hobby Lobby with me and picked out all of the framing; some custom, some off-the-shelf, and my photos are now complete and quite perfect actually. (Side note: I haven’t actually hung them yet, but at least the hard part is over!)

Startup. What's a business that you found this year that you love? Who thought it up? What makes it special?

Pinot & Picasso – a truly enjoyable experience complete with wine, nibbles & real painting to unleash an accountant’s creative side buried deep within (http://www.pinotandpicasso.com/). And I love that you get to hang out with your friends and heckle each other throughout the process. Now what to actually do with my paintings???

Web tool. It came into your work flow this year and now you couldn't live without it. It has simplified or improved your online experience.

I don’t know if I just haven’t noticed this in the past, or it’s just more prevalent, but I love “one-click shopping” on the sites that I frequent. What’s better than just logging in, selecting your items, and pressing one button? Bam! They know where to send your purchase, what credit card to charge, and it is an online shopper’s paradise.

Learning experience. What was a lesson you learned this year that changed you?

Sleep on it. I know I’ve heard it for countless years, but I’ve noticed the importance of it a lot throughout 2009. I’m an emotional person. I get super excited by some things, can feel immensely hurt by others, and tend to react passionately in both situations. What I’ve learned, is that my initial reaction is the most intense and will cause me to want to do something, be it sending an email, making a phone call, blogging about it, whatever it may be. BUT, it’s usually an emotional reaction that deserves a few hours, or a night of sleep, to be tamed down a bit. So, I’ve learned that when I feel so passionately that I need to react to something that happens, I make myself sleep on it. Sometimes for a several days. And if I still feel passionately about it, then off I go. If I don’t, I’ve just saved myself, and possibly some others, from some sort of drama that wasn’t necessary. Try it!

Gift. What's a gift you gave yourself this year that has kept on giving?

Two things: First, my grind-and-brew coffee maker. It is my best friend in the morning. And I love when I buy whole beans from the coffee shop and the clerk asks me if I would like them ground, and I proudly say “No thanks, my grind-and-brew coffee maker takes care of that for me”. Second, my oh-so-comfy-yet-trendy-and-casual jacket from Nordstrom’s. I bought it kind of on a whim on my way out of the store, and it has surprisingly become a staple in my wardrobe. And I forced myself to not buy it in black or grey, so it actually gives a splash of color to my wardrobe (btw – I’m wearing it in my “Night Out” photo in my Part I post!)

Insight or aha! moment. What was your epiphany of the year?

An epiphany is defined as a “sudden intuitive leap of understanding, especially through an ordinary but striking occurrence”. So this is where we’re supposed to be living out our normal daily lives, doing our normal routine, and something hits us like a bolt of lightning and we go “AHA! I’ve lived my whole life not knowing this. How could I have survived all these years! Now life makes perfect sense.” Ummm, nope. None of those this year. It’s not that I haven’t learned anything this year (I’ve actually learned a TON), but nothing really that I would categorize as an epiphany. I’m still waiting for everything in life to make sense. I think I’ll be waiting a while :-)

Social web moment. Did you meet someone you used to only know from her blog? Did you discover Twitter?

I became a blogger!

Stationery. When you touch the paper, your heart melts. The ink flows from the pen. What was your stationery find of the year?

I love Papyrus cards (http://www.papyrusonline.com/) - for birthdays, babies, weddings, just because occasions, anything at all really. I dig them. They make me so happy and I want to give them to everyone all the time.

Laugh. What was your biggest belly laugh of the year?

Ok, so I know there have been A LOT of good belly laughs this year, but I can’t remember them all. So, I’ll stick with the most recent. This involved a photo of one of my friends making out (I think she used the term “mouth rape”) with her husband at a table at a work Christmas party, completely oblivious to the fact that the picture was being taken. AND, the best part is that the other person at the table was smiling and posing for the picture, not realizing that my friend & her husband were not actually LOOKING at the camera, but making out instead. There were several big belly laughs happening for a while amongst the group that saw the photo. And I know that it’s a guaranteed belly laugh at any point in the future. I’m protecting the guilty on this one :-)

Ad. What advertisement made you think this year?

I can tell you what advertisements made me want to pull my hair out and scream: “Every kiss begins with K” for Kay Jewelers just around the holidays, and any of the Geico caveman or “stack of money with eyes” commercials (and I STILL do not insure with Geico, by the way). I honestly don’t remember that many ads, but I do love this one from Traveler’s Insurance (I don’t know what’s into me with the insurance companies…):

"In this spot from Travelers, featuring music by Ray LaMontagne, we follow along as a worried dog searches for, and ultimately finds, the smartest way to protect his most prized possession."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5G7bGBUlx2M – click the link to see the commercial on YouTube

Resolution you wish you'd stuck with. (You know, there's always next year...)

I make it a habit not to make resolutions. They’re too easy and too fun to break :-)

Thanks for taking part in my 2009's Besties List. I look forward to what 2010 will bring and wish everyone many blessings and the best memories to come in the New Year!