So much to do, so little time - 2009 in review

The year went by quickly, again. It seems time flies after you turn 15, and hits the speed of light once you turn 30.

2009 started with a blow - my grandfather passing away. And it ended really well, with Sean Goldman returning to the US and the fact we were able to spend the Holidays with my family in Brazil (something I hadn't done since 1998).

One of the highlights of the year certainly was seeing Cate Blanchett live doing a Streetcar Named Desire at the Kennedy Center, in November. Okay, I'll rephrase that: one of the highlights of my life!!!

I also bought a new car in July and have been driving around quite a bit - all the way to Toronto, for example. Spent Memorial Day week at the theme parks in Orlando, went to NYC and had a blast with friends, been around quite a bit. Oh, that includes my first time ever protesting - at the Bring Sean Home rally in March, in front of the White House; first time at a press conference - Congressman Chris Smith introducing HR 3240 in July; and my first Congressional Hearing - Left-Behind Parenting testifying before Congress in December.

Of course, let me gush over my little T, who started kindergarten and turned 6 in a great Spongebob-themed birthday party prepared by yours truly.

I am also happy to report I read more books than in 2008, which included the Twilight Series (not Saga), which I have a love-hate relationship with.

Push (Sapphire)
Water for elephants (S. Gruel)
The Weight of Silence (Gudenkauf)
Middlesex (Eugenides)
Breaking Dawn (Meyer)
Kabul Beauty School (Rodriguez)
Eclipse (Meyer)
New Moon (Meyer)
Twilight (Meyer)
The Other Queen (Gregory)
A Reliable Wife (Goolrick)
The Virgin's Lover (Gregory)
Color me Butterfly (Marlow)
A Long Way Gone - Memoirs of a Boy Soldier (Beah)
Fahrenheit 451 (Bradbury)
Watchmen (Moore)
The Vampire Lestat (Rice)
The Sleeping Beauty Proposal (Strohmeyer)
The Queen's Fool (Gregory)
Letters to Ebay (Farkas)
Smoke Screen (Brown)

Seen in theatres in 2009, but not written about due to lack of time...

New Moon
Couples Retreat
Toy Story 1 & 2 (3D)
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
Julie & Julia
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (3D)
The Proposal
Up! (3D)
Night at the Museum 2
Monsters vs. Aliens (3D)
Coraline (3D)
Marley & Me

It was about one movie per month, which is pretty good for a parent. Best movie was Up! Pixar does it again, and Carl reminds me so much of my husband's late Grandpa. I was in tears during the beginning of the movie - who wasn't?

Well, Happy New Year, everyone! Health, Peace, and $$$ in your pockets as well (cause we need it, right?). Here's a wish for better days!

The last post of the year

Wow, where did the year go? It seems every year goes by faster and faster.

This year was pretty rough. I spent most of the summer working my behind off, including weekends. I had to endure painful moments thinking of my grandmother's illness, and now my grandfather's. I lost my great-aunt a week after my birthday.

But there were good parts too. I joined a book club. I turned 30 (that was not so bad LOL). My not-so-little T turned 5 years old and is smarter than ever. I ran into my old friends during a trip to Brazil. I spent more time with my parents, especially my dad who now retired. I had my kitchen and powder room remodeled. My goddaughter came to visit. Yeah, I guess life is still good.

Then, there are books... I kept a new year resolution, I read more. I mean, a lot more. I started in February and slacked during my trip to Brazil, but even like that, I was able to read all of these (chronologically, last one on the top):

The Boleyn Inheritance (Gregory)
Marley & Me (Grogan)
One Fifth Avenue (Bushnell)
The Other Boleyn Girl (Gregory)
Married Lovers (Collins)
Blindness (Saramago)
The Constant Princess (Gregory)
The Opposite of Love (Buxbaum)
Memoirs of a Geisha (Gould)
The Secret Life of Bees (Kidd)
Nineteen Minutes (Picoult)
Jane Eyre (Bronte)
The Ivy Chronicles (Quinn)
The Friday Night Knitting Club (Jacobs)
Bee Season (Goldberg)
The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald)

Most of these were pretty good, but the worse by far was Bee Season. Ugh!

In 2008, I was also able to see more movies in the theatre than I had done in a while.

Madagascar - Escape 2 Africa
Blindness
The Dark Knight
Space Chimps
X Files: I want to believe
Mamma Mia
Wall-E
Kung Fu Panda
Sex & The City Movie
Nim's Island
Horton Hears a Who

The best movies I saw this year were Wall-E and The Diving Bell & the Butterfly (even though the latter is technically 2007).
The worst? The X Files!!!!!!!!!!! It let me down... And Tropic Thunder, another 2 hours of my life I've wasted...

Well, Happy New Year, everyone! Health, Peace, and $$$ in your pockets as well (cause we need it, right?). Here's a wish for better days!