My First Wrap Up Evaaaaar!!!

1. What did you do in 2007 that you'd never done before? Went to law school. Sold a house. Moved long-distance. Managed to stick with a blog longer than three entries.

2. Did you keep your New Year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I don’t remember what they were. I always make resolutions and forget them. This doesn’t mean I won’t continue to make resolutions and hope I’ll remember.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? Yes- E&B had beautiful baby Rylee, my sister’s sister-in-law just gave birth a few days ago to sweet peanut baby Andrew, and one of my classmates gave birth to a lovely baby girl a few weeks ago.

4. Did anyone close to you die? No. My best friend’s grandmother died, but we weren’t particularly close. My heart goes out to her though, they were, and I know how horrible it is to lose a person who is close to you.
5. What places did you visit? Austin! And…that was about it. But it was fun and I got to do a triathlon.

6. What would you like to have in 2008 that you lacked in 2007? Patience and better grades.

7. What dates from 2007 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
February 11: I got my first acceptance letter to law school
May 14: I turned 30
July 3: JM concert
July 31-August 2: The Big Move
August 11: first day of law school
September 8: Jordana’s wedding
December 17: last day of finals
Christmas Eve: the girl’s birthday. Apparently 2007 was a big year!

8. What was your biggest achievement(s) of the year? Getting into law school and getting the family transitioned to our new environs without too much pain and hassle.

9. What was your biggest failure? Letting my own personal demons get hold of my outside relationships. The boy and I had a very rough time with the transition and we had to fight like hell to survive. We did…so maybe that’s more a success than a failure.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury? My neck (ow…), and a hacking cough that made my head dizzy. Oh…and I dropped our king bed frame on my left foot and I think I broke a bone in there because it hurt like crazy for about two months, and I’ve just now been able to wear trainers without feeling excruciating pain on the top of my foot.

11. What was the best thing you bought? Local 83 membership, JM concert tickets, law school books, my girl’s Barbie scooter.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration? The boy, who managed not to kill me during the last quarter of the year. My sister…who drove up to St. Paul and stayed for a week to help me clean and unpack. My mom, who did the same. The girl, who made the transition with minimal issues. My friends, who helped me through it all.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? The Bush Administration.

14. Where did most of your money go? Uh…moving expenses, tuition, gas and preschool.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? Going to law school (notice a theme here?) Moving to a new place. And as corny as it might sound, going to see JM in concert for the first time. It was honestly and truly the best concert experience I’ve ever had. I got to travel to Austin and do a triathlon there, which was amazing, and I made a really cool gaggle of law school friends.

16. What song will always remind you of 2007? I can’t say, really…this year was a musical reawakening for me- I will never forget JM playing “Neon” live…actually- yes. If I have to pick one, “Neon” it is. Older song, but two reasons: it’s hands-down my favorite JM song from R4S and he rotates it through the setlist…and I was fortunate enough to catch it. Also, it’s Jordana’s personalized ringtone on my phone, and in the months leading up to the wedding, it rung off my phone about ten times a day. After the wedding I noticed it more for its absence than its presence.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? Hard-fought happier.
b) thinner or fatter? About the same.
c) richer or poorer? Richer mentally, financially about the same-which is remarkable considering the amount of stuff we actually did this year.

18. What do you wish you'd done more of? Focusing on the boy, maybe studying (pending grades) and being more mindful of those around me during my first semester.

19. How did you spend Christmas last year? We went to Nashville to visit the boy’s parents…it was great and I think we’re going back next year. This year in the TC was hard- it was cold and very snowy.

21. Did you fall in love in 2007? Yes. I can honestly say I did.

22. How many one-night stands? I don’t know…that all-nighter with my civ pro casebook was awfully hot…

23. What was your favorite TV program? Corny but true: Dancing With The Stars

24. What did you do for your birthday in 2007? I took the day off. I never do that, but it was my 30th, so I figured hey-whatever. I got a massage in the morning, got some quality self time, then had dinner with my family. Low key but perfect for me- the best gift I got was having time to myself.

25. What was the best book you read? Hmmmm…. Dressler on Criminal Law was pretty scintillating…

26. What was your greatest musical discovery? Roster McCabe. Hands down.

27. What did you want and get? To go to law school in the Twin Cities.

28. What did you want and not get? To not have to work.

29. What was your favorite film of this year? Probably August Rush.

30. Did you make some new friends this year? YES!! And they are lovely and wonderful.

31.What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Selling our hometown house before we moved.

32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2007? Uh…is it clean?

33. What kept you sane? The boy, the girl, the friends.

34. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? Duh.

35. What political issue stirred you the most? The war. It’s getting bad.

36. Who did you miss? My dad. There’s family turmoil afoot and I wish he could get his act together enough for me to let him more into my life.

37. Who was the best new person you met? My sister. Honestly, this was the year I really met her as an adult, and she’s a cool girl with whom I can definitely hang.

38. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2007. 2007 reinforced in me the idea that life really is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans…so you must do your best to enjoy your journey. Also? I am learning that sometimes in life, you must simply not question grace-just accept, and be grateful.