Almost. But not quite.

I tried to cheat and get a head start on my 2009 to do list, but the universe Metro Community College wouldn't let me just yet. I found a couple one day and one month classes at Metro that I wanted to take but enrollment isn't open yet. I have to wait until January 14th.

I did another little photo session with my friend's nephew last weekend. I'm hoping to get those pictures up tonight or tomorrow. Or Friday. It's a four day weekend. There's lots of time to get things done.

Speaking of taking pictures of peoples' kids...

Sissy's baby should be here any day now. That is going to be awesome. I was offering to photograph the actual birth in all it's terrifying glory, but in the event that she has a c-section I don't want to be anywhere near her hospital room. I just watched a c-section birth on National Geographic a few days ago and it was pretty alarming. Let me tell you something, pregnant chicks are tough cookies. I can't even get an IV without crying and here this woman was laying awake on a table with someone's arms in her gut. The lady on NatGeo kept pulling the little partition down so she could see what the doctor was doing. I was screaming, "PUT IT BACK UP!" at her the whole time. Oh, and she gave birth to twins so I got to see the freakfest twice.

And when I say "freakfest" I obviously mean "beautiful miracle."

Know where I wish I was right now?

Anywhere but the office.

How about on vacation?

During the winter months it's always nice to visit somewhere that's warmer than the place you just left. Last winter we went to San Francisco. (Then again on our honeymoon.)






The year before that we went to Memphis and New Orleans. We drove! It was snowing when we left Omaha but by the time we got down to NOLA, Matt and I were wearing shorts and t-shirts.



Anyone else notice that Matt and I are standing in the same positions in both pictures?





Technically those two trips weren't "vacations." At least they weren't for Matt. He had to go to those places for work. Poor baby. I tagged along to get a break from winter and work. This year though, he's going to South Bend, Indiana. Not exactly warm and sunny I wouldn't think. Maybe I'll sit this winter trip out...

It's like a blog high-five!

This makes me happy, because really, what bride woman doesn't want to be admired by strangers?

Matt and Christine get Hitched on Rocknrollbride.com

Duchess of Carnegie

This woman is my new hero:

cnn.com - Duchess of Carnegie, 96, refuses to leave home

I love that she thinks she's worth $10 million. She is the living embodiment of brass balls.

Binge and Purge

It's about to be the beginning of a new year and I'm once again feeling the need to purge my life of the unnecessary. This year though, It's a dangerous combo of Spring cleaning and reading the book Eat, Pray, Love. That book is moving me to make changes in my life. I'm ready to make some emotional and spiritual (for lack of a better word) changes. (I'll blog about that later though. I have page 95 earmarked for a blog entry.)

But before I can make changes in my emotional life, I feel like my home and physical surroundings need to be cleaned out. For starters, my closet(s) and dresser drawers. I can't even begin to tell you how much junk is shoved away in those places. I did about two weeks worth of laundry yesterday and it astonished me to see all of my shirts folded up in one place. It was outrageous. I have about two drawers full of shirts. Some of those need to go. I'm really sentimental when it comes to certain items like shoes and dresses. I keep my nice shoes forever. I have a pair of magenta patent leather pumps that I bought about six years ago. The last time I wore them was August of 2005 (yes, I remember) but there's no way I would get rid of them. Same with dresses. I have a closet full of vintagey, pretty dresses that I would never part with. They just feel too special to get rid of. To me those things aren't clutter.

But two full drawers of t-shirts? Two full drawers of cheap cotton? Come on. That's stupid. Jeans that don't zip anymore? Why would I torture myself that way? Those need to go too.

The kitchen is also packed full of junk that needs to be cleaned out. We essentially have two of everything as a result of getting married. Obviously, only one set needs to stay. Four months have gone by and we still haven't cleaned out the kitchen. We just shoved everything into the giant cubby hole in the dining room. That cubby is a blessing and a curse.

Blessing = Storing bulk toilet paper from Sam's and a deep fryer.

Curse = Storing everything else on Earth in there too.

Luckily, or unluckily rather, my sis has a friend who is going though an unfortunate divorce and we are going to give her a lot of our extra stuff. See, purging the house and stocking my karmic cache. Plus, it gives me a deadline to actually get this stuff done.

And that my friends brings us to the office.



It's actually gotten worse since I took that picture. And there is no one to blame but myself for it. It doesn't need to be cleaned out, it just needs to be cleaned. For some reason my offices are the one area of my life that are always messy. I'll chalk it up to the creative nature of my job.

2008 Recap

In lieu of a real blog post I'm doing this. You should do it too...


1.) Where did you ring in 2008?
Omaha Playhouse, hanging out during Rave On

2.) What was your status by Valentine’s Day?
Engaged

3.) Were you in school (anytime this year)?
Took a few classes at Metro, nothing too interesting

4.) How did you earn your keep?
Web Monkey

5.) Did you have to go to the hospital?
Technically yes, but only because that's where my doctor's office is.

6.) Did you have any encounters with the police?
Nope!

7.) Did you know anybody who got married?
Who didn't get married? Mike and Jen, Ryan and Tammy, Jay and Alicia, I'm sure there's more.

8.) Did you know anybody who passed away?
No one that I knew personally.

9.) Have you run into anybody you graduated high school with?
Only on Facebook.

10.) Did you move anywhere?
Matt and I moved into our first house.

11.) What sporting events did you go to?
I don't think I went to any. We thought about going to an Oakland A's game but didn't make it.

12.) What concerts/shows did you go to?
The Boss, Police, LOVE, Kings of Leon, The Raconteurs, Elvis Costello, countless Moses Prey and Y&T shows.

13.) Are you registered to vote?
Yes, I am.

14.) If so, did you do your patriotic duty on [last time you were supposed to vote]?
Why, yes I did.

15.) Where do you live now?
Omaha, my own house.

16.) Describe your birthday.
I was given my very first surprise party at Espana. I got drunk. It was fun.

17.) What’s the one thing you thought you would never do but did in 2008?
I went to Las Vegas and witnessed the more incredible thing imaginable.

18.) What is one thing you regret from this year?
Nothing really. I guess I would regret not using my time a little more wisely at some points.

19.) What do you want for Christmas?
I didn't want much but ended up getting a lot.

20.) Any new additions to your family?
I gained an entire family.

21.) What was your best month?
September! Got married, hung out with lots of friends and family, went to San Fran for a week.

22.) What from pop culture will you remember that happened in 2008.
The hype that was The Dark Knight, how politics became pop culture.

23.) How do you plan to ring in 2009?
Once again at the Omaha Playhouse. And for the next three years I'm afraid...

24.) What has been your favourite moment?
Getting married, running a 1/2 marathon with Kate, seeing my sissy pregnant

25.) What’s something you learned about yourself?
I learned that there is something I want to spend my life doing after all.

26.) Who has been your best drinking buddy?
I did most of my drinking with family members, Eric, Jen and Mike, Kate...

27.) Made new friends?
Jen and Mike!

28.) New best friend?
They're all the best.

29.) Favourite Night Out?
Every night on our honeymoon was awesome. We walked around the city, ate at great restaurants, drank at cool bars.

Merry Day After Christmas!

Matt and I woke up pretty early today and went post-Christmas present shopping. We agreed to get each other a PS3 for Christmas and waited until after the big day so we could hopefully cash in with some gift cards. This year the big winner was Target with $105 in gift cards so we went there and spent it all at once. Plus some.



I also got Matt a couple of video games he wanted and he got me some nerd movies on Blue Ray. Clockwork Orange, Pan's Labyrinth, Planet Earth and March of the Penguins.

Total. Nerd.

Don't think I didn't want the Lord of the Rings trilogy too. It's not out yet though.

Blue Ray will blow your mind. That business is outrageous. The Planet Earth series alone is worth investing in the system.

I have been antsy and bored all day today - despite the PS3. It was beautiful outside for the first time in a couple of weeks. An astonishing 57°!!! I think it gave me a little spring fever - not a good thing to have in December.