2008: The Recap

This time last year, K and I had just finished loading up our moving van, and we dressed in our empty apartment before heading to the Rustic, our favorite little den in Hollywood. We had a great evening saying goodbye to all our friends, belting out "Auld Lang Syne" before several tipsy hugs and kisses, and eventually made it home to crash on our bare mattress for a few hours before getting up at dawn. We finished loading up the truck as I threw together some hurried blackeye peas and cornbread, burning the blackeye peas in the distraction, and then our friend came over with donuts, coffee, and a replacement can of blackeye peas so we could be sure to have our New Year's feast. Some drama ensued in getting my car on the tow dolly, but by noon we were on our way out of Los Angeles for good.

It was the perfect start to one of the best years of my life. We had some ups and downs, but my first year in Portland has been a year of relative comfort, and of course there was K and I getting engaged and then married. I now have the rest of my life to look forward to, in the town I love, with my best friend by my side. We've enjoyed travel this year, both together and independently, and a lot of good food and fun times. I've made some new friends and become closer to old ones, my friends and family are all reasonably healthy, and even though the economy is bad we're all still under a warm dry roof. So thanks, 2008, you've been good to me.

2009 looks like it's off to a good start, though I can already tell it's going to be a strenuous one. We are bound and determined to be debt-free by this time next year, and in a house by October 1. It's going to take a hell of a lot of ass-busting to make this happen (especially from me since he makes way more than I do!) but it is for damn sure going to happen or else. I'm going to split my time between two or three clubs, finish my novel and hopefully publish it, and investigate a few fledgling ideas I have for business ventures. I'm also co-writing a cookbook so we'll see how that goes. Hold me to it!

New Year's Day 2009 looks like it'll find me in my favorite place in all Portland, our wonderful little titty bar, on the first day of our new Smoke-Free Oregon!! Yea!! I'm planning on bringing in blackeye peas with greens and turkey ham, and some honey cornbread on the side, just to share with the awesome ladies I work with. But that's tomorrow; at the stroke of midnight tonight I plan on quietly sipping bubbly here in front of the fire with my beloved. I can't imagine a better place to be.