insights into my cosmic fabulosity

Where did you begin 2008?
According to my sister, already asleep on my couch. :-/

What was your status by Valentine's Day?
Same as always...happy being me with my friends and loved ones.

Were you in school (anytime this year)?
Getting close to the end of my Ed. Specialists degree

Did you have to go to the hospital?
Nope.

Did you have any encounters with the police?
Not that I remember...

Where did you go on vacation?
I went to Boston for Audrey's graduation...I hope that counts...

What did you purchase that was over $500?
shutters and siding repair...although I paid for it in 09, they were put up before Christmas

Did you know anybody who got married?
Harriet!

Did you know anybody who passed away?
'08 may have been relatively death-free, although my heart goes out to the Dowlings with their loss right now.

Did you move anywhere?
nope, I love my house.

What sporting events did you attend?
high school football, basketball, and softball games; State track meet; Carolina basketball and football

What concerts/shows did you go to?
I went to see Benji Lee when he drummed for someone at Headliner's; and Drivin' and Cryin'

Where do you live now?
Columbia

Describe your birthday.
started at Delaney's with Allison and friends, moved to Congaree Grill with Lisa and Allison, etc, heard the Blue Dogs, ended at Salty Nut with a bunch of strangers/new-BFFs

What's the one thing you thought you would never do but did in 2008?
update my resume

What has/have been your favorite moment(s)?
spending 2 weeks on the side of a mountain with my close friends; my new BFFs--the Hateful Girls; Wet Willy's; the Wii

What's something you learned about yourself?
I am stronger than I would like to admit to myself somedays.

Any new additions to your family?
Audrey got a dog for Christmas

What was your best month?
June maybe---that was when I went to Santa Fe and played pool with the superintendent of Las Vegas

Made new friends?
strengthened some bonds

Favorite Night[s]out?
Santa Fe was one long night out, and then there was dancing in Charleston in December

Any regrets?
Nope.

Overall, how would you rate this year?
It's been a pretty good year

What would you change about 2008?
I would have played more golf.

Other than home, where did you spend most of your time?
School, of course

Have any life changes in 2008?
I got bangs! Oh and I found a church. :)

Change your hairstyle?
see above

Get a new job?
still a lit coach for the time being.

Do you have a New Year's resolution?
Maggie and I are walking every day and so far it's working!

Buy anything new from eBay?
the Wii

What was/were your favorite purchase[s]?
the Wii

Get married or divorced?
divorced.



just kidding.

Get arrested?
Nope.

Be honest - did you watch American Idol?
Nope

Did you get sick this year?
Had bronchitis over Christmas, but that was it.

Start a new hobby?
I did some jewelry making last winter

Been snowboarding?
No

Drank Starbucks in 2008?
no way

Are you happy to see 2008 go?
not necessarily happy, but I rang it in well with my friends

You know how sometimes people on your friend's list post about stuff going on in their life, and all of a sudden you think "Wait a minute? Since when are they working THERE? Since when are they dating HIM/HER? since when???" And then you wonder how you could have missed all that seemingly pretty standard information, but somehow you feel too ashamed to ask for clarification because it seems like info you *should* already know? It happens to all of us sometimes.

Please copy mine below, erase my answers putting yours in their place then post it in your journal! Please elaborate on the questions that would benefit from elaboration! One-word answers seldom help anyone out .


1. First Name: Dianne

2. Age: 30

3. Location: Columbia,SC

4. Occupation: High school literacy coach--kinda like a teachers for teachers; I work on bringing content area literacy into our classes at NHS. I really do like it, although I miss having my own kids most days.

5. Partner? I'll say Garry, my roomie, but he is out until August, so I'll say...TK

6. Kids: No kids, but I have a Maggie. Some insist she is a dog. I beg to differ.

7. Brothers/Sisters: I have one sister that just moved back down South. She's been in Boston for 3 years getting her M. Div. and now is Director of Christian Education at Sunrise Presbyterian on Sullivan's Island. What a life!

8. Pets: See #6.

9. List the 3-5 biggest things going on in your life:
1. Looking to replace all three appliances in my 100-year-old house. Its a huge step for me! The only other thing I've done is replace the roof and paint the bathroom.
2. I'm winding down the work on my ed specialists degree in literacy and still debating the phd program.
3. I'm back to walking everyday! maggie and I are getting up by 6:30 every morning to walk 2 miles.
4. I just returned from Santa Fe where I was a guest at a literacy symposium. Very small, very nice, and I was very pampered!

10) Where and for what did you go to school for?
University of South Carolina, BA in English for Secondary Education
Columbia College, Masters in Education
University of South Carolina, education specialist in literacy and reading

11) Parents? About the celebrate their 35th(?) wedding aniversary...oh wait, they just did and I missed it. Well crap. They did that while I was in Santa Fe and two hours behind. That's my excuse.

12) Who are some of your closest friends? Heather, Travis, Audrey, Harriet, Kevin, Tyler, Allison, Diane, Sonya, Kathy, Paula, Tempie, Lisa, and Brooke. I am truly blessed at this point in my life. Until I started listing, I didn't realize that there were this many people that I could call in a crisis!

The world lost a good man today. My friend Diane's husband has been fighting a glioblastoma (a type of brain tumor) since the beginning of January and the battle got the best of him.

Diane is my idol. She is so strong; it amazes me how well she has been able to organize and handle things. My only wish is that she and Mike had gotten more time at home with their two daughters. Instead, they got to spend three months in the hospital together. They had one week at home.

I'm a better woman for having Diane Starnes in my life. She emanates dignity and grace--and I can only hope that I will learn from her.

You can read about Mike's battle at www.thelatestonmike.blogspot.com.

I'm watching the Biggest Loser and I can't stand that kid Dan. He's a super dork and I really want to tell him to his face--You're not cool...you're cool by proxy. Get over yourself.

Today has been okay. I worked out this morning, had my cereal, had a tomato salad with a small bag of chips, and then a salad and Healthy Choice pizza for supper. And two glasses of wine. Its my weakness. I think I'm carrying some weight though...I can feel it. We'll see how tomorrow goes.

I dropped weight fast last week while I was writing about my eating habits. Since I've stopped, I've pulled 1.5 back in. And I know why--its wine here and Mexican there and maybe even a McFlurry in the middle. But writing about what I'm eating apparently helps me stay on track. So here I go again.

Its Friday. I don't have work but I do have guard practice. I'm starting my day with a bowl of cereal and I really think lunch will involve a Healthy Choice meal. I think that's probably my best bet. Not sure what is going to happen tonight...I might come home and veg and enjoy alone time or I might stay in Newberry to hear a band. We'll see. Whatever I choose to do, I've got to get on the road. I'll let you know how this whole eating thing works out for me.

PS...work outs have been great. I've been getting in 4 to 5 days a week, a minimum of 20 minutes. Gotta get ready for beach weather!

Its been a good few days. I'm down a total of 5.5 pounds. I've exercised 3 days this week and the eating has been good. I'm really trying to monitor my night time meals and keep them small. That gives me some leeway with lunch. The biggest thing is that I'm not eating late like I used to. And I'm taking the junk food out of the bag instead of taking the bag with me. It makes a big difference.

Today, I had a bunch of junk for breakfast--thanks to my meeting. And then a pretty balanced lunch. But it will be a salad for supper tonight!

So I got up this morning and worked out before going to school. I am tres proud of myself, but so so tired! It was a long and hectic day. Definitely a textbook Monday. I had my cereal this morning, a bottle of water while getting ready, a bottle of water while at school, and two small leftover peices of pizza. And a glass and a half of wine. Please realize that just a glass and a half is a huge deal for me. Less than a bottle is a huge deal for me. I'm going out to eat in a bit, but have no clue what I'm in the mood for. Its awful, but I'm actually in the mood for sleep. I'm so tired that I think if I just shut my eyes for a minute I would be gone for the night. I might test that theory right now...

But I've done okay. I did cereal both mornings for breakfast. Yesterday's lunch was wings with a little bit of salad. I didn't really do a dinner last night, but I had some crackers and chips--okay, I'll admit, not so good. Today's lunch was roast and rice. A very small serving of rice. I'm going to have a few slices of pizza tonight, because I'm doing so well with my water. Its back to salads, etc. in the morning.

The good news is that I've dropped 4 pounds of what was probably water weight that I was carrying around. It drops fast when I don't drink. I'm working out too, which is great. We'll see how it goes this week.

Other than that, I have a tremendous headache right now. I would love to lay out of work tomorrow, but seriously, I've done nothing all weekend. I need to just grin and bear it. I hate headaches, though.

I had some Doritos. But not too many. And I counter-attacked with a workout. Then baked chicken and veggies for dinner. And a glass of wine. Truthfully, I'm going to have a second one while in the bath. But that's not too bad.

I'm off to the Lexington 2 literacy conference in the morning to present on new technologies in education. Should be pretty good--I think I put together a nice little packet for them. Hopefully I won't need more than 30 copies.

I'm enjoying my couch time with Maggie. I plan on coming back tomorrow and getting in the corner of my chaise and finishing Rhett Butler's People. Hmmmmm...so good.

And it was ice cream. But it was the low carb style ice cream--no added sugar.