Remember when... a look back at 2008

You know those end of the year wrap-ups that look back on the best of the year or the worst of the year or who died this year or the biggest news stories of the year? It’s cheesy, right? Actually, I’m totally addicted to them, dudes. I looooove those things. Even the obituary listings of those who died in the past year. There’s just something about having everything neatly organized and the chance to look back on an entire year all at once.

So, here’s [drum roll, please] FunnyGals Look Back at The Year That Was 2008. [trumpets sound here, please] I mean, you could just read back through our archives and see what happened to us. Or you could let me do it for you (dudes, I even took notes while doing it!)

2008 saw a bajillion new babies in our group of friends and family. SJ and I each got shiny, new nephews this year (SJ added to her set while mine is a stand-alone for now). And every single one of our friends gave birth (OK, perhaps not every single one, but sometimes it feels like it!)

12 new hairstyles for SJ and at least three different colors for her luxurious locks. Thank goodness she keeps her stylish glasses the same type or I would be in danger of not recognizing her.

One… that’s the number of times I convinced SJ to hug me this year. She has this weird thing where she hugs all the rest of her friends, her family members, the mailman, most of her coworkers and the first person who walks into the room after a Hallmark commercial is on TV… and she still gets weird about hugging me. We’re going to work on that in 2009.

SJ joined Facebook, MySpace, eHarmony, Linkedin, Wikipedia and any other networking site that would have her. Everyone in the world is her friend on one site or another. Oh, except me. Because I belong to exactly zero of those sites. I leave the technical stuff to her.

While SJ’s collections were limited to hairstyles and shoes, KAT collected jobs and houses in 2008. Right now, the collections stand at two houses and five jobs for 2008, but there are still a couple hours left in the year so that could change at any minute.

Injuries were at a minimum this year and it’s possible SJ had the least number of trips to the emergency room since she was 3 (although I suspect she may be keeping ER trip stories from me for fear I will wrap her in bubble wrap and never let her out of my sight). But 2008 kept its hands to itself for the most part with some soccer bruises for KAT, a twisted ankle for SJ and an attack from an angry underwire in SJ’s bra. But, still, a pretty good year.

And we should remember 2008 as the year SJ rocked the Pilates while KAT rocked the… uh… Casbah.

This number isn’t exact, but it is suspected SJ baked 92 dozen cupcakes this year. That is A LOT of cupcakes—no surprise my favorites were the ice cream cone cupcakes for my birthday (although the amount of icing on those Christmas tree ones may have edged out the ice cream cones if I had the chance to try one—my thighs are glad I didn’t)

I won't try to put a number on it, but we made a lot of new blog friends this year and-- even more importantly-- racked up the numbers on our site counter (just kidding). My bookmarks no longer fit on one page and I have stopped doing any work in an effort to keep up with everyone's blogs.

And the last part of our countdown has to be the martinis consumed (although I’m still unsure whether I should count the ones from the night before Thanksgiving that got, uh, “sent back”?) Among the highlights are the Snickers, the Chocolate Mint, the White Chocolate, that purple one, that fruity blue one SJ got, the Little Red Corvette, that other chocolate one and finally, those chocolate ones I made for the PH.

It was good, it was bad, it was sometimes ugly, but I think it’s safe to say SJ and I lived the crap out of 2008. Here’s hoping you can say the same. Happy New Year, everyone!

A Year in Review Part 1: Movies, Books and Music

It's no secret that I hated 2008. But, it wasn't all horrific. Just mostly.

But I was inspired by another blog I read to come up with a few top picks for the year, and while that forum features things written by professional entertainment writers, I'm going to go with things that entertained SJ, that may not have actually occurred in 2008, but are things that this late-bloomer happened to have caught in 2008.

Without further ado.

Top Movies 2008
3) Mamma Mia - Stop laughing at me. Seriously? I know it was cheese. I know people don't usually burst out into song (actually, I have been known to do this on rare occasions. Or not so rare. I may just do it sporadically throughout the day). The cheese factor made it, for me, the feel good movie of the year.
2) The Dark Knight - It was dark and scary, and much anticipated. I loved it. But not as much as I loved:
1) Iron Man - I'm not usually an action person. But I *Loved* this movie and Robert Downey Jr. in all his hot sarcasticness. I loved it like I love Russell Stover's Dark Chocolate assortment.

Top Albums 2008
How impossible is it for me to choose albums? Completely impossible. I'm not even sure if these came out in 2008, but they are my favorite newish albums that I just started listening to this year.
3) Promised Land by Dar Williams. Not my favorite album by her ("Mortal City" is), but I love her dearly and her fantastic lyrics and light airy voice. So. There.
2) With You by Natalie Walker. I just discovered her this year, and have been happily listening to her albums all year long. The title track on this album makes me happy to listen to.
1) Sorry. This is definitely not 2008. But. Nina Simone: Anthology. Rarely do I sit and listen to an entire album over and over again. This is one that I do.

Top Books read in 2008
These didn't come out in 2008. Sorry. I just read them this year.
3) The Wreckage by Michael Crummey. Sad and beautiful. Hard to find because he's from Newfoundland. But it's worth the Amazon pickup.
2) The Last Night At the Lobster by Stewart O'Nan. I picked up his books this year in an effort to find a local author that I could swap with my friend from Newfoundland. Ergo, I found O'Nan and read this on the train to and fro NYC. It's a quick read and a lovely read.
1) Ever year I read a classic that I missed. This year's choice, and coincidentally, my favorite book of the year: A Prayer for Owen Meany.

So I guess 2008 wasn't terribly bad, as far as entertainment goes. I'm sure there are many (ahem, Pat. Pat's anonymous commenter, KAT, j) that would disagree with me. And I'd love to hear your choices, as well.

What about you? Favorite book/movie/album?

Merry Christmas with love and a crapload of frosting...

...And to all a good night.

May your Christmas be filled with peace, joy, love, family, friends, fun, hope... and plenty of holiday "spirits!"

Thank you for stopping by our little corner of the Internet this year and keeping us company, reading up on our antics and (justifiably) making fun of us for the aforementioned antics. Have a wonderful holiday, friends!

Should I be worried that the PH turns down a little fun with me for a salami sandwich?

The Pretend Husband's obsession with meat continues... At Thanksgiving, it was turkey. Apparently, at Christmas, it's ham. The PH called me at work today all excited because he had stopped at the grocery store and discovered hams were on sale-- apparently, they normally sell for something like $30 for a nine-pounder (you can do the math...) but were on sale for $1.29 a pound. So he bought four (I should have never gotten the chest freezer running for him-- I've created a meat-loving monster).

But it was the conversation with him after his big purchase that was the best part. The 18-year-old cashier kept asking him questions about his plans for the hams, probably because people rarely buy that many. And the PH started getting uncomfortable, not because of his freaky meat-buying habit, but because he was convinced the girl wanted him. The cashier asked if the hams were for Christmas and then asked what the PH planned to do with them when he replied no. He answered, "Oh, you know, storing it for the families. I just like ham."

On the phone, the PH described for me how she just kept talking to him.

PH: "I think she thought I was flirting with her, but I was being serious. When she kept on asking me questions about hosting dinner, I had to tell her I was married. It was just way too obvious."

Me: "What was too obvious? Her flirting?"

PH: "Oh yeah, all we did was talk about meat the whole time and how much meat I was purchasing... because apparently nobody comes in and purchases three or four hams at a time."

Back off ladies, that meat-loving, socially-awkward man over there is mine, all mine!