The year of the wedding

I know that 2009 was pretty terrible for a lot of people.  Layoffs, infertility, breakups, unemployment, divorce, you name it: 2009 seemed to have it.  And in filling out this little annual survey doohickey I'm remembering that there were some pretty hugely sucktastic events in there for me, as well.  But, overall, I think 2009 the happiest year of my life.  Am I crazy?  Was our wedding just THAT awesome (be forewarned: this post unintentionally became a bit wedding-heavy)?  Or did the good just outweigh the bad in my little heart of coal?  I'm not sure, but I can't bring myself to say that 2009 was anything but good to me.  Even if we did spend the last few minutes of it chasing our dumb-as-bricks cat across the neighbor's snowy roof. 

Without further adieu, here's the annual New Year's quiz thing! I really enjoy reading the responses people post to this all over the internet.  (2007 and 2008 versions, should you care to look.)

1. What did you do in 2009 that you’d never done before? Rode in an ambulance. Got married. Bought a non-Volkswagen.  Bought a bike of my own.  Made the decision to put a pet to sleep.  Had surgery.  Baked a pumkin pie from scratch.

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I never quite got around to making any concrete resolutions this year.  I felt like if I made it through the year without going totally broke or insane and came out married on the other end, then I would have accomplished everything necessary.  And I did, so... I win!

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? No, but I did just learn that the very first of my friends is pregnant. 

4. Did anyone close to you die? My grandmother died, and that was sad even though we weren't particularly close.  And there was also Max, if animals count.  The first week after that was pretty horrific.  I am an old pro at making myself feel bad about things, but I have never felt so completely crushed by guilt as I did in the first few weeks after putting him to sleep. It was... not good.  Honestly, I still don't feel great about it.

5. What countries did you visit? Canada, for our honeymoon.  I was supposed to go to Argentina for work in November, but then I realized that a 14-hour flight three weeks after having knee surgery was probably not a super idea.

6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009? A new house and new jobs for both of us.  (Dream big, right?) 

7. What dates from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? July 25th. No special reason. 

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?  I don't want to say "getting married" because that sounds like one of those people who has been sleeping with a pink, glittery wedding binder under her pillow since age six, just waiting to fill in the blanks with a groom's name... but I think that planning and coordinating all the details that went into that day without losing focus of why we were doing it was my biggest achievement.

9. What was your biggest failure? I'm really not sure. Maybe getting so anxious in the final run-up to the wedding.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury? Ugh. Almost a year later, and I still think about that stupid car accidentmultiple times a day.  I spent countless hours (and by "countless" I mean that I have a detailed list I'll be sending to my lawyer) going to a chiropractor, an orthopedic surgeon and a physical therapist and I've managed to get everything back to normal except my stupid, stupid knee.  In case you couldn't tell how I feel about the whole situation: it's stupid.  I still vacillate daily between feeling so lucky that things weren't worse and being really, really angry that I'm still dealing with knee problems (and very well might be for the rest of my life) while that kid who hit us has probably forgotten the whole thing ever happened.   

11. What was the best thing you bought?  Again, it's a tie. Between my wedding ring and my Motorola Droid. My god, I love them both.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration? Joel's. I would be lost without him.  

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?  Kristen Stewart's.

14. Where did most of your money go? The wedding, the mortgage, and our new car.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? The wedding.

16. What song will always remind you of 2009? Daylight, by Matt and Kim.  And Your Song, by Ewan McGregor, which was our first dance song.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
(a) Happier or Sadder? Happier.
(b) Thinner or Fatter? About the same, again.
(c) Richer or Poorer? Definitely poorer, but we're steadily repairing the wedding-sized hole in our savings. 

18. What do you wish you’d done more of? Sleeping. Reading.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?  Fretting.  This is the same answer I gave last year, and I'd be willing to bet it will be my answer next year too.

20. How did you spend Christmas in 2009?  We slept in and opened a few gifts from Joel's family in the morning.  Later, we went out for dinner and saw Sherlock Holmes in a sold-out theater.  When we got home around midnight there were parking spaces aplenty, which was a true Christmas miracle.

21. Did you fall in love in 2008?I stayed in love? This question is weird.

22. What was your favorite TV program? Tie, between True Blood and The Vampire Diaries.  Man, I wish I could love the Sookie Stackhouse books, but they are so very awful.

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?  I hate lots of people.

24. What was the best book you read? I read a lot of really great books this year and I really can't pick a single favorite.  It's a tie between the Harry Potter series, Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins, Graceling by Kristin Cashore, and The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman.  However, worst book I read is easy: any one of the Sookie Stackhouse books.  I was totally expecting to LOVE those books, since 1. I bordered on obsession over the first season of True Blood, 2. I like vampire shit, in general.  But oh my god.  They are so godawful that I haven't even been able to finish the last three books yet.  Nine.  There are NINE of these books.  I can't leave the last three unread because the unfinished task light will continue blinking in my brain until the day I die, but I'm not sure when I'll muster up the patience to power through. 

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?  Shazam.

26. What did you want and get?  Married.  

27. What did you want and not get?  A winning lotto ticket.

28. What was your favorite film of this year?  Out of loyalty, I'll say New Moon.  But coming in at a very, very close second: Avatar. 

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?  I spent my 28th birthday on the couch, feeling pretty miserable (and being smothered by a sympathetic cat).

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?  Winning the lottery.

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009? Illegal jeans, Threadless t-shirts, sweater dresses.

32. What kept you sane?  My mom, Joel and my seven thousand excel spreadsheets. 

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?  Edward Cullen, as portrayed by Robert Pattinson.  (This is different from Robert Pattinson himself, mind you.) (This answer is exactly copied from last year.  Sigh.  Still true.)
 
34. What political issue stirred you the most? Legalizing gay marriage.

35. Who did you miss? This wasn't for the whole year, but Max.

36. Who was the best new person you met?  Uhhh... I'm drawing a blank.  Did I meet anyone new this year?

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009. Biting your nails doesn't help.

Happy new year, internet.  I already know that 2010 is going to be great, if only because doing math this year is going to be SO much easier.

Comments

[Janssen]

Oh, how i love you for hating Kristin Stewart.

[Anna]

Totally totally agree on the Sookie Stackhouse books. They are SO SO bad! I mean, just terrible. I read three of them and then I just gave up because I realized that it wasn't going to get any better. And it's not like they follow the plot of the show that well anyway after season 1 so I've just decided to enjoy the show on its own.

[Erin]

Happy New Year! The year I got married was one of the happiest of my life...in spite of the bad that happened that year, so I get the gushing. :)

[She Likes Purple]

I've just recently discovered your blog, and I'm hooked. You're hilarious.

[Karen]

Aww I love the Sookie Stackhouse books! What an eventful year for you! I hope 2010 will be a good one for you!

[Han]

My great grandma passed away on the 20th Dec :( She was old and wasn't well.

We bought out own house :)

Might answer the other questions on my blog with a link back to you :)

[alyndabear]

I am so belated (I SUCK!) but you certainly had a year of ups and downs!

Big hugs to you - I still think of my Max nearly everyday, and I'm sure you do too. That's what us pet-moms DO.

x