A wonderful vacation

Well, we're finally back from Hawaii! It was truly lovely, although I have to admit that I'm glad to be back home - I missed Morgan terribly! We stayed at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, which was truly amazing. The room was beautiful, and it looked right out over the harbor! There was even a rainbow on our second day there!

We got to go to the Polynesian Cultural Center, which was really quite fascinating. As the website states : "Many South Pacific nations are represented at the Polynesian Cultural Center, where recreated villages, exhibits and hands-on activities highlight eight of them: Samoa, Aotearoa (Maori New Zealand), Fiji, Hawaii, Marquesas, Tahiti, Tonga and Rapa Nui (Easter Island)."

In fact we learned that in the New Zealand, or Aotearoa culture, there is a carved wooden weapon known as a patu, used in hand to hand combat. The patu is basically a wooden paddle, as seen here:

The performers did a warrior dance with them, and I have to tell you, shirtless men waving paddles wasn't a bad show! Even the carvings of Aotearoa gods feature the patu!

When I found a patu for sale in the gift area, I fell in love with it! At $59.99, it was a little steep for a souvenir, but it was beautiful, and Nick insisted I get it. Anyway, when will I ever have another chance to buy an authentic Aotearoan paddle? We haven't had a chance to try it out yet as we didn't want to raise any eyebrows at the hotel and we've been pretty well crashed since we got home - 10 hours on a plane will do that to you!

Anyway, it's great to be home - now I just have to get rid of this jet lag!

Friends Award

“These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers.”

The Rules to accepting this award: “Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award.”

Bethie honored me with this lovely award, and I'm happy to pass it on! As Bethie said, it's very hard to pick only eight, but here are my choices, with hopes that you all know there are many more of you that I love!

Grace of A Day in the Life

Bonnie of My Bottom Smarts

Hermione of Hermione's Heart

Dave and Cindy of His to Spank, His to Love

Iris of Through Iris' Eyes

Joannie of Joannie Writes About...

Natty of Natty's Spanking Blog

PK of New Beginnings

Late again

Okay, I'm an awful, awful blogger. I'm late for Gratitude Tuesday again, and I've not responded to anybody's comments on the last couple of posts. The truth is, I haven't even looked at the computer for a couple of days, and when I was last on it I just glanced at my myspace and facebook profiles for a minute. I have no good excuse other than just being worn out with life and work, but I'm going to try to do better. So here's my better late than never Gratitude Tuesday - D Edition:

Daughters - sorry guys, mine is the best one out there.

Dandelions - I've always loved these sunny little flowers.

Disney - yes, I get pretty tired of hearing about Hannah Montana, but overall they have some pretty solid kids programming, and my little one has absorbed some pretty admirable after school lessons.

Discipline - as totally lacking as it's been in my life lately, it's still very important to me.

Dads - Nick is a great one, and I am beyond blessed to have the one I do.

Dogs - I love dogs, especially the one we have now.

Dictionaries - I've always found it a little bit magical to look up a new word in the dictionary, and who of us hasn't secretly looked up spanko words?

Digital cameras - we were really terrible about taking pictures before we got our first digital camera. Or, I should say, we were awful about getting them developed. We were happy to actually take the pictures. That is, assuming we had film. And batteries. But with a digital camera we never have to worry about wasting a shot or developing images we don't want, and I love taking pictures.

Date Night - how awesome is date night?!?! We don't get enough of them, but we sure do cherish them when they come along!

Okay, I'm sure there are plenty of other wonderful D words, but that's all I've got right now. In other news - only 5 days till Hawaii!

Mobile blogging again...

Hey guys. How have you all been? I know I've been scarce on here, just not much to blog about I guess. Valentine's Day was nice. Nick bought me some beautiful flowers, along with a cute card, some Ferrero Rocher, and some butterfly ear rings. Morgan picked out a pink heart wrist watch for me at Wal-mart.

Only 9 days left till we leave for Hawaii - I need to start packing! Anyway, that's about it these days. Hope you guys are having a great winter!

Gratitude Tuesday

A quick list guys - I'm pretty worn out tonight.

Cashmere
Chocolate
Cookies
Candy
Candles
Camry
Computer
Crafts
Couches
Coffee
Christmas
Cash
Cable
Crops
Cabins

Happy Gratitude Tuesday!

Gratitude Tuesday - B

Hey guys, Tuesday's almost over - bet you thought I forgot, didn't you? Nope! I've got lots to be grateful for!



Babies - I love babies, always have. Mine of course was the most beautiful ever, although I'm sure Eva begs to differ. I would love to have another one someday, but if it never happens, I've been incredibly blessed to have the one God gave me!



Blogs - how else would I have met all you great people?!



Bruises - but not just any bruises of course, only those lovingly worn on my bottom!



Belts - yummy, just yummy!



Bed - I love our bed. It's king size with a feather bed on top of it, and with two mattresses, it's just the right height for all kinds of good stuff!



Blow jobs - I love to take care of Nick in this very special way, and I've been told I'm quite talented!



Bend over - are there any words in the world quite so shiver-inducing?



Books - I loooooooove books.



Bible - I firmly believe it is the Word of God, and I am grateful for it's comfort and guidance every day.



Bond - James, Bond. Just how hot was Sean Connery, right?



Brothers - I have two, and they both men the world to me.



Blankets - Nick tells me I have way too many, but I love to be snuggly and warm!



Brownies - Mmmmmm!

Happy Gratitude Tuesday!

Not much happening...

Hmm, not much going on here, just felt like posting. We're getting awfully close to Hawaii, just 3 more weeks of work! Plus I have President's Day off, so only 14 more actual work days! Yay! We're doing our income taxes this week, and we should get enough back to have money to go on as well as pay off a few bills and set Morgan up for the week. She's staying with my parents, but other family members are going to take her out for some fun stuff in the evenings to give my mom a break. We're going to do a Build A Bear gift card, an adopt a baby doll day, a Dollar Tree shopping spree ($20 goes a long way at the dollar store when you're seven), and maybe a few other things. This will be the longest she's ever been away from us, and I want to keep her distracted. Plus, since we'll be having such a great time, it seems only fair to give her a big week too.

Everything has been booked, just about all that's left is getting our tax return and packing. I do need to go to the book store. It will be a long plane ride, and I'll definitely need something to read. I'm actually pretty nervous - we've never taken a trip this far, and I'm afraid I'm going to miss Morgan terribly!

Anyway, that's about all that's going on here, just getting through the rest of winter and on to warmer days. Hope everything is going well for you guys!

Gratitude Tuesday Wednesday

As many of you I'm sure have seen, my friend Grace has started back up the lovely tradition of Gratitude Tuesday. As always, I'm a day late and a dollar short, but I had a wonderful time with this when I did it before, so I'm glad to join in again. Before I get started, a quick funny story:

A couple of days ago at work a very indignant elderly gentleman called in about an overdraft fee on his account. The situation was entirely his fault, but he was very upset, and I could see that he was on a fixed income, so I decided to waive the fee for him. But I couldn't resist giving him a bit of a gentle lecture on what had caused the fee and how this was a one time courtesy. At the end of the call, I asked him if there was anything else I could do for him. "Maybe a good spanking," he answered. I could tell that it wasn't at all meant sexually, more along the lines of "I guess I need a good swift kick in the pants for screwing this up." But it tickled me, and it made me think, we offer a lot of services, but that isn't one of them! Although...perhaps it would get people to balance their checkbooks!

Anyway, I'm grateful for:

Andes Thin Mints - I just love these little chocolate treats!

AngelBrat's Blog - having the chance to write this blog has given me such an outlet, and it's led me to meet some really wonderful people!

Answers - for me, knowing is almost always better.

Always - knowing that Nick is mine always!

Apple pie a la mode - yum!

The AngelBrat Paddle - this wonderful implement is perfect for almost any spanking.

Age - Every year of my life since I turned 19 has just gotten better!

Aleve - almost always does the trick.

Autumn - hands down, my favorite time of year.

Aloe plants - my mom had one when I was little, and it was always a big deal to break off a piece to soothe a cut or a burn. Nick's stepmom recently gave us one, and Morgan finds it just as fascinating.

Arnica - nothing better for healing bruises in a hurry, although usually I prefer to hang on to them!

Happy Gratitude Tuesday!

Hooray!

It worked!

Try, try again

Okay, I'm trying to get the mobile blogging thing to work for me again. Here goes...

Night of 1000 Swats

I got that spanking last night. And yes, it was somewhere around 1000 swats. Nick got out the AngelBrat Paddle, and after much coaxing, he finally gentled me into position. Of course I wouldn't have gotten such consideration had I actually been in trouble, but this was a spanking given at my request, to diffuse some stress and help me get my head on straight.

The whole spanking was hard, and it was definitely the longest one I've ever had. But he spaced it out, giving me mostly sets of 50 with a half minute's breathing room between them. It took till almost the end for the tears to come, and they were a welcome release when they did.

As predicted, I tried hard to talk him out of it, although unlike with a punishment spanking, it wasn't from fear. I just suddenly felt stupid because it wasn't FOR anything. I had been rather good, and suddenly it seemed very silly to be asking him to do this. Fortunately reason (his) prevailed, and I'm feeling much better, and very, very sore today. Thank you, Sugar!

Urg! Trying to mobile blog here and it's driving me batty!

I. Need. A. Spanking.

I've been pretty good lately, done lots of cooking and even some cleaning. You might say I've been more ANGELbrat than angelBRAT. But I really need a spanking.

I got one a few days ago, and I really needed it, but now I'm feeling kind of drifty and directionless and sad and even kind of weepy. I'm having tendencies to read way too much into random situations (friend A didn't say she liked her baby's birthday gift - she must have hated it; friend B hasn't called me in a while, I think she's tired of me; friend C didn't return that last email - I think that's her way of saying she doesn't want to be friends after all; my husband fell asleep watching TV tonight - he no longer wants my body!) As you can see, my sensible self is out hiding from my self esteem, which has gone totally crazy and is threatening to hold everybody hostage. And the house is in pretty good shape, but there are still tons of things I could be improving, and I'm finding zero motivation.

So I need a spanking. A really long one, hopefully with the big leather paddle, because when he uses it, it hurts a lot and leaves me incredibly sore, but it generally stays at a level that I can process throughout a very long session without doing any damage. And in case my dear, patient husband happens to be reading here, I'll just say right now, should you be so kind as to take me up on this, I won't make it easy. I can go ahead and tell you that not only will I not cooperate, but I'll even try to talk you out of it. Not, of course, because this is my plan, but because after five years of DD, I can see into the future, and future Tracy is going to be all scared and "what was I thinking?". Right now, while you're snoring peacefully away beside me, this seems like a good plan, or if not a good plan, at least a necessary one. But next time we're alone, I know I will be regretting the heck out of it.

Still, I need it bad.

A hobby

I've been interested in origami for years. I think there are some really beautiful creations out there, although most of the models I fold are just plain fun. A few months ago when we went to Texas I bought a book and some paper and got a little more serious about the hobby. Lately I've been playing at work. Nope, that's not what they pay me for - I throw it in for free! Recently I've become obsessed with tiny clothing, and I'm kind of tickled with how my efforts have turned out!

This one started as a prom night theme...

And turned into a whole wedding party!

A spanking and another silly meme.

I'm totally redoing an old post again! But I got a spanking a couple of nights ago, so there - this post isn't completely devoid of new stuff! It wasn't a terribly long spanking, and because I got to pick the implement it was with the small leather paddle. Still it wasn't a fun one, but it was just what I needed. Nick could see the Insecurity Train firing up, and he took the needed steps to derail it. Yay, Nick! Anyway, more fun with Photobucket memes:

1. Go to www.photobucket.com (don't sign in)2. Type in your answer to the question in the "search" box3. Copy the html and paste for the answer.

1. What is your name?


2. What is your relationship status?


3. What is your favorite color?



4.Who is your celebrity crush?



5. What will you be doing tomorrow?


while he's at work

6. What is your favorite Disney princess?



7. What would you splurge on if you won the lottery?



8. What was the last thing you bought?



9. Where is your dream vacation?



10. What cell phone do you have?





11. What do you want to be when you grow up?




12. What do you love most in life?



13. One word to describe yourself?



14. What drives you crazy?



15. What is your favorite food?



16. Least?



17. Something you're really good at?



18. Random picture:

The babysitter has been arranged, the swimsuits have been purchased, the plane tickets and hotel room booked, and it's only.......



MySpace Countdown Clocks

Meme

I found this meme over at Lessa's, and since I'm sitting up waiting on Nick to come home from a poker tournament, I thought I'd give it a whirl!

1. When you looked at yourself in the mirror today, what was the first thing you thought? I can't say that I gave it much thought - I was hurrying to brush my teeth so that I could get back to Nick!


2. How much cash do you have on you? $2.30

3. Whats a word that rhymes with 'Door'? More


4. Favourite planet? Earth

5. Who is the 4Th person on the missed call list on your cell phone? Probably Home.


6. What is you favourite ring tone on your phone? All the Same by Sick Puppies.

7. What kind of top are you wearing? right now, 2 t-shirts and a sweatshirt - it's cold!


8. Do you label yourself? sometimes

9. Name the brand of shoe's you are currently wearing? New Balance.


10. Bright or dark room? Bright, unless I'm trying to sleep!

11. What do you think about the person who took this meme before you? She uses beautiful imagery on her blog.


12. What does your watch look like? Brushed silver Fossil with a square blue face.

13. What were you doing at midnight last night? Sadly I was sleeping.


14. What did your last text message say? Still playin poker, actually doin pretty good.

15. Where is your nearest 7-11? Gosh, we used to have them here when I was a kid, but I haven't seen one in years.

16. What's a word you say a lot (not yes or no)? sir.

17. Who told you he/she loved you last? Morgan.

18. What was the last furry thing you touched? Pancho, our chihuahua.


19. How many drugs have you done in the past three days? None.

20. Favourite age you have been so far? Maybe 30, but I've not been 31 all that long, so we'll see how it goes.


21. Your worst enemy? laundry

22. What was the last thing you said to someone? I love you.


23. If you had to choose between a million bucks and the ability to fly, what would you choose? I'd go for flying. I'm pretty sure I could qualify for some high paying jobs if I could fly.

24. The last song you listened to? I don't actually remember. Something on the radio in the car I'm sure.


25. Whats your favourite number? 7

26. Where did you live in 1987? with my parents since I turned 10 that year!

27. What do you do when vending machines steal your money? Really the only vending machines I ever use are at work, so I tell my boss's secretary.

28. If you had to get a tattoo, what and where? I have one, but my next one will probably be a butterfly on the back of my neck.

29. If you could be fluent in any other language, what would it be? French.

30. Are you touchy feely? With people I love I am.

31. Name three things that you have on you at all times? my ear rings and several rings.


32. When was the last time you WROTE a letter to someone and mailed it? Probably about three months ago at work.

33. Can you change the oil on a car? Nope - I married a mechanic!


34. How far back do you know about your ancestry? a couple of hundred years.

35. When showering, do you start the water and then get in, or get in and then start the water? Get in, but I always take a bath and shave first, so I'm already in when I start the shower.


36. Do you moan in the shower like the people on the Herbal Essences adverts? Noooo...

37. Have you ever showered with someone of the opposite sex? Yes.


38. Have you ever been forced to share the shower with one of your siblings? No, that would be creepy, although I was not quite four when my brother was born, so my mom would bath us together when I was really little.

39. How old do you look? People tell me about 27.


40. How old do you act? Less than 27 most of the time.

41. What was the last song you sang? I don't remember.

42. Do you kiss with your eyes open or closed? open if it's a quick kiss, closed if it's a long sexy one.

43. What is the sexist thing about Condoleeza Rice? Her poise.

44. Who's the sexiest famous woman alive? Angelina Jolie

45. Who's the sexiest famous man alive? Sean Connery.

46. Does every family have a crazy uncle? mine has a crazy aunt.

47. Does playing the guitar make a man/woman more attractive? Definitely.

48. Have you ever had sex in a tent or sleeping bag? Yep, in fact, there's a good chance Morgan was conceived in a tent.

49. What about in a boat? Hmmm...no. Many times in and at the lake, but never actually in a boat.

50. Should guys wear pink? Not according to Nick.

So tell me about yourself...

Last night Morgan spent the night with my mom, which left Nick and I alone for the night. After we dropped her off, I asked him if he wanted to head for Wal-Mart and get some dinner. We needed to pick up some lotion (working in an automotive shop, Nick's skin gets really dry in the winter). But he said, "Why don't we just go home first? I need to take a shower." So home we went, and while Nick took a shower I folded some laundry.

While he was upstairs, his cell phone rang. I didn't answer it, because 9 times out of 10 it's just one if his friends, and I figured he could check it when he came down since he couldn't talk then anyway. If it was my mom, she would just call the house. Then it rang again. And again a few minutes later. Finally he yelled down and asked me if my phone was ringing. I yelled back that it was his phone. He yelled back again.

"Is YOUR phone ringing?"

"NO! My phone is still in the car!"

"Go get your phone!"

So, a little irritated by this point (seriously! It wasn't my phone ringing!) I got up, went out to the garage, and got my phone out of the car - and saw that I had six missed calls. All from home. While I was holding it, it rang again.

"Um, hello?" I answered.

"Is Tracy there?" Nick asked warmly.

"Um, she might be. I can check for you. Would you like for me to give her a message?"

"Yes, tell her I'm wondering if she's ready for our date.

"Um, I think she is."

"Okay, tell her I'll be there in less than five minutes."

Nick came downstairs while I was madly trying to find something more suitable than the fleece sweatshirt I was wearing. He looked very nice, so I grabbed a black sweater and headed for the bathroom, tossing back an apology for my incompetent message service.

Within a few minutes we headed out to the car, where he opened the door for me and got me settled. He climbed in the driver's side, started the car, and said, "So, tell me about yourself."

So for the next few hours we got to know each other all over again. We had dinner at Cracker Barrel, where he bought me a beautiful glass bird paperweight. After dinner he asked if I'd like to see a movie. Knowing that funds were tight, I suggested we check out the dollar theater. (Actually, it's recently become a $4 theater, but each ticket comes with popcorn and a drink now). This particular theater is all the way across town, but he gamely headed that way. Unfortunately when we got there, there wasn't a thing playing I wanted to see. So I suggested we stop at Wal-Mart and get a movie and take it back to "his place."

I picked out Juno, which I'd been wanting to see, we got a few other things we needed, and we headed back to the house.

We decided to get comfortable and watch Juno upstairs in the bedroom. Unfortunately, I got so very comfortable snuggled up to him that...I fell asleep! I know, I know! It's horrible! When I woke up this morning I felt terrible, and I immediately set about making it up to him. I must say, I don't usually give head on the first date, but I suppose you could consider this the second date, so I went at it with enthusiasm.

When he had recovered a bit, he very sternly let me know that I had been very rude to him, having him drive all the way across town and then changing my mind, then having the nerve to fall asleep on him, and he wasn't the type of guy to take that sort of thing. Then he very firmly bent me over the bed, pulled down my panties and showed me just what happened to such rude girls!

He spanked me soundly, then scooted me back up onto the bed to show me that all was forgiven. What a wonderful first date - I'm in love!

Photobucket Meme Redux

I was looking back through old blog posts, and I came across the ones where I did the Photobucket memes. Not to just shamelessly recycle old material, but they were really fun, Photobucket surely has new answers for me, and hey, it's my blog after all, so I'm going to do them again!

1) Answer the questions below.
2) Take each answer and type it into Photobucket.com.
3) Take a picture from the first page of results and post (use the HTML code or else it won’t post).
4) You can't copy the persons answers who posted this before you!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. The Age you will be on your next Birthday.



2. A place you would like to travel.



3. Your Favorite Place( Somewhere you've been).



4. Your Favorite Object.



5. Your Favorite Food.



6. Your Favorite Animal.



7. Your Favorite Color.



8. Your dream job.



9. Your dream car.



10. The Name of your Pet.




11. The 1st name of your current love.



12. Your nickname.



13. A bad habit of yours.



14. Your 1st Job.



15. Your Grandmother's Name.



16. Your Favorite Book.



17. Your Favorite Band.



18. Your Favorite character.


19. Your favorite thing to do.



20. Your favorite implement.


(Yep, it's all over Photobucket. Remember folks, you saw it here first!)

21. Your favorite position.

A Sad Occasion and a Selfish Spanko

Tonight I went to a memorial service for the husband of a lady I work with. He was only 39, and now she, at 36, is a widow. Last Friday she came home from work and found him unresponsive. She called an ambulance and they got him to the hospital, where they found that he'd had a stroke. Unfortunately he never came out of it, and he passed on Sunday.

I've known my coworker for nine years now, but I'd only met her husband in passing. The service tonight made me wish I'd known John better. I know that at a funeral, naturally everyone is going to focus on the good qualities of the deceased, but you could really tell that he was just a great guy. His uncle runs a ministry that focuses on helping the homeless, and, John was very involved with it, despite numerous health problems that made just taking care of himself difficult and eventually led to a tragically early death.

My heart breaks for his wife tonight, and it makes me even more grateful for Nick.

On another topic, I'm due for a spanking sometime in the possibly near future. It's for a financial issue, although not an overspending issue. Here's what frustrates me: when I've done something wrong, Nick is pretty good about dealing with it (eventually). And that's a good thing. But when I need a spanking for something else (stress relief, etc) I don't really feel like I can count on it happening.

The much promised birthday spanking, for instance - never happened. And what I wanted from the birthday spanking was less a playful experience than a slate cleaning experience. And the night before New Year's Eve, I mentioned to him that the next day would be our 5 year DD anniversary and asked him if he would give me a sort of here's-what-I-want-you-to-focus-on-for-the-future/start-the-year-fresh spanking. The next day nothing was said about it, so finally, as we waited for midnight to roll around, I asked him about it. He looked surprised and told me he didn't remember the conversation. Okay, we were in bed when I asked him, so I could see that I had probably misjudged the sleepiness factor when I asked him, so no big deal. But then he said, "Okay, how about this - tomorrow it's happening, no matter what, come hell or high water." Except it didn't. Not the day after that, either. Or any day since then.

I guess what kills me is that I don't know how to fix this. I know and can accept that one of my biggest needs is for the occasional serious (non-punishment) spanking. It's obviously important that the punishment ones happen too, but those I try to avoid, not only because they really, really hurt, but also because the fact that I'm getting one means that I've somehow screwed up and put stress on our lives. So I'm not about to do something to earn one just because I'm feeling the need to be spanked.

I've never been the type of person who was comfortable with that kind of manipulative bratting. It's selfish and thoughtless, and it completely undermines all the good that DD can do in a marriage. However that leaves me stranded when it comes to just getting the reset button pushed. It's hard enough for me to ask without feeling like I'm talking to a brick wall, regardless of how promising and attentive he may seem at the time.

We've done the whole maintenance thing, and while that had its time and place, we both feel like we've grown beyond that, and that at this point it would just feel forced and fake (as it began to feel toward the end of the time we practiced it).

But of course this whole part of this post leaves me feeling incredibly guilty, because what Nick does for me in doing DD at all is so much more than he signed on for when we got married, and I truly am grateful for all that he does. He's very good at disciplinary spankings, and not the just actual spanking part of it. He's good at the lecturing, at taking me to the point where I need to go, at knowing that it's not something that can be handled in the time it takes to beat my behind, but rather involves giving me time to process the experience, cry myself out, and come back out of my cocoon.

And yet, selfish as it makes me feel, sometimes I need another level.

I did this meme last January, and I thought it would be interesting to do it again this year.

1. What did you do in 2008 that you’d never done before? Went to Houston, won a trip to Hawaii (although we've not gone yet).

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I honestly can't remember last year's resolutions, but we've decided to make some financial changes this year.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? Yes. Unfortunately she also got divorced. We also found out that Nick's sister is pregnant. Sadly, still not me, although at this point that would be something of a financial disaster.

4. Did anyone close to you die? My grandfather

5. What countries did you visit? Just this one.

6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008? A SLR digital camera

7. What dates from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? March 3, the day my papaw passed away, and June 26, our 10th anniversary.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? I don't know how much of an achievement you'd consider it, but I did win that trip to Hawaii.

9. What was your biggest failure? Probably that we could have handled our money better.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury? Not unless you count strep throat

11. What was the best thing you bought? Probably my car - it's been a great investment so far.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration? Morgan has really gotten it together with school. She had some issues in October with not really wanting to get her work done, but she's improved 110%.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? A couple we've known for years and years and actually introduced. They both just gave up on their marriage and decided to get divorced rather than putting any effort into fixing things.

14. Where did most of your money go? Bills, food.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? Our trip to Houston.

16. What song will always remind you of 2008? Anything Hannah Montana. If I never hear Hannah Montana again it will be too soon, but since Morgan sings the stuff in her sleep, I'm probably not that lucky.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you: a) happier or sadder? Probably happier b) thinner or fatter? About the same c) richer or poorer? Probably about the same, although we really should be richer

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

19. What do you wish you’d done less of? Eating out.

20. How did you spend Christmas? With family, eating, opening gifts.

21. Did you fall in love in 2008? Yes, with my husband and daughter, every day.

22. What was your favorite TV program? Lost

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? Nah

24. What was the best book you read? I couldn't even begin to narrow that down.

25. What was your greatest musical discovery? That Itunes will let you redownload your purchases if your hard drive crashes!

26. What did you want and get? A better car.

27. What did you want and not get? A Nikon D90

28. What was your favorite film of this year? Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Fireproof

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I turned 31, and I hung out with Nick, went shopping, went to see the movie Fireproof, and stopped to visit with some friends.

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?More money? Definitely more money, and a baby, or at least having one on the way.

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2007? Same old jeans and cute shirts I'm afraid.

32. What kept you sane? Nick beating my butt when I got too stressed, although I probably could have used more of that.

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? Mmmmm....Josh Holloway, although Harrison Ford wasn't bad either.

34. What political issue stirred you the most? No politics here, please.

35. Who did you miss? My friend L

36. Who was the best new person you met? I can't really think of anyone new I met in real life that made a big impression, but I met lots of great people on here!

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008. Life is not fair - sometimes the people who make the worst decisions can still end up swimming in money.

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year. I can't really think of a good answer for this one.