best of 2009: parts 1-4
The best trip of 2009? You'd think that would be easy. Hands down, doesn't 10 days in Ireland on your honeymoon sound like a shoe in? And you know what? It was great. We got to experience lots of new things together. See a tremendous amount of a country neither of us had been to. But there was some stress leading up to it and we were still trying to settle in to married life (heck, we still are).
Truth is, I think every trip we took this year was fantastic. We had a quick trip down to Moulton/Shiner for Joe's birthday in February. Costa Rica for a week in March. Chicago in June. I had a great girls' weekend in Brenham in August. The honeymoon in August/September. Southern California (so The Hubby could be a groomsman) in September. The Hubby went with me to San Antonio for work in late September. And Nashville in November. We were busy bees.
The best restaurant moment? There have been many memorable ones this year. Eating fantastic food one night in Costa Rica with the now in-laws. The food and company was great, we were enjoying the perfect weather outdoors, the music was a little quirky but entertaining, and there was a cat lingering in wait of leftovers. Then there was the breakfast we had when celebrating the new SIL's graduation. The Riverwalk meals in San Antonio. The BBQ and home cookin' of Nashville. The Italian we had with The Brother and SIL a few weekends ago before heading to the theatre. And the time in Ireland where we wandered around trying to find a place to eat and ended up being followed around by a nice stray dog. Although, technically, that would be my favorite outside-of-a-restaurant moment.
The best article? Geez, this one is a toughy. The one I remember because I read it fairly recently was this one about the Obamas. Now, it's not super politically-charged. It's about their marriage. I like reading realistic things about marriage instead of rose-colored-glasses stuff. Makes me feel more competent.
The best book? I read a lot of wedding stuff this year and some fluff to distract me from real thinking. I guess this is the year of the last 3 Twilight books. Those just sucked me in and I did tell other folks to read them. (You know, me and the entire media world...) I read Into the Wild. The movie got me all riled up. I was so pissed at the main character and had to talk to other people who saw the movie to see what their reactions were. The book, however, painted a slightly different story and I felt a little better about the guy. Still, what a waste. Saving Your Marriage Before It Starts and What No One Tells the Bride were both good marriage prep books. The latter took into consideration that current brides don't often move in with their husband immediately after leaving their parents' home. You have your own individual life you're giving up in a lot of ways. I think that was helpful to read about in advance. And the last book I read was The Dread Crew: Pirates of the Backwoods. Even though I've never met Kate (of sweet salty, see blog link in margin), I am just so proud of her for writing this book. It's a fun read (meant for young adults but this not-so-young adult enjoyed it, too).
Perhaps what I've learned so far about the "best ofs" is that I'm either super non-committal or it's been a fabulous year.
Truth is, I think every trip we took this year was fantastic. We had a quick trip down to Moulton/Shiner for Joe's birthday in February. Costa Rica for a week in March. Chicago in June. I had a great girls' weekend in Brenham in August. The honeymoon in August/September. Southern California (so The Hubby could be a groomsman) in September. The Hubby went with me to San Antonio for work in late September. And Nashville in November. We were busy bees.
The best restaurant moment? There have been many memorable ones this year. Eating fantastic food one night in Costa Rica with the now in-laws. The food and company was great, we were enjoying the perfect weather outdoors, the music was a little quirky but entertaining, and there was a cat lingering in wait of leftovers. Then there was the breakfast we had when celebrating the new SIL's graduation. The Riverwalk meals in San Antonio. The BBQ and home cookin' of Nashville. The Italian we had with The Brother and SIL a few weekends ago before heading to the theatre. And the time in Ireland where we wandered around trying to find a place to eat and ended up being followed around by a nice stray dog. Although, technically, that would be my favorite outside-of-a-restaurant moment.
The best article? Geez, this one is a toughy. The one I remember because I read it fairly recently was this one about the Obamas. Now, it's not super politically-charged. It's about their marriage. I like reading realistic things about marriage instead of rose-colored-glasses stuff. Makes me feel more competent.
The best book? I read a lot of wedding stuff this year and some fluff to distract me from real thinking. I guess this is the year of the last 3 Twilight books. Those just sucked me in and I did tell other folks to read them. (You know, me and the entire media world...) I read Into the Wild. The movie got me all riled up. I was so pissed at the main character and had to talk to other people who saw the movie to see what their reactions were. The book, however, painted a slightly different story and I felt a little better about the guy. Still, what a waste. Saving Your Marriage Before It Starts and What No One Tells the Bride were both good marriage prep books. The latter took into consideration that current brides don't often move in with their husband immediately after leaving their parents' home. You have your own individual life you're giving up in a lot of ways. I think that was helpful to read about in advance. And the last book I read was The Dread Crew: Pirates of the Backwoods. Even though I've never met Kate (of sweet salty, see blog link in margin), I am just so proud of her for writing this book. It's a fun read (meant for young adults but this not-so-young adult enjoyed it, too).
Perhaps what I've learned so far about the "best ofs" is that I'm either super non-committal or it's been a fabulous year.
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