2008: the year in review.

2008: the year in review-- long, babbly, and now with helpful pictorial-flavoured linkage!

hobbies

* I didn't take participate in Project365 again this year, but I still took a metric shitload (an actual scientific measurement, I swear) of photographs. I did take part in Ali Edwards' A Week In The Life project, though, and that was a lot of fun, and really rewarding. I don't have my camera with me every single day like I did in 2007 (and for a while, it felt like there was something missing when I left it at home) but 75% of the time, I carry it. photography really is my zen. I've promised myself that 2009 will be the year I look into doing a little more with my photos, whether that be selling them via Etsy or some other method.
* I spent a lot of time in my studio once again, creating all kinds of things. this year, encouraged by the fabulous Lelainia, I took part in several collaborative art projects and swaps for the first time, and discovered how much fun they are. :) there is absolutely nothing better than having gorgeous handcrafted pieces of art arriving at your door from fellow creative folk around the globe. ♥ out of everything I've made this year, I think my favourite project would have to be the two altered art journals I put together: one for an exchange with Lelainia, and the other for a dear friend's birthday. they were so much fun to make, and I was really, really happy with the end product.

house

oh, my beloved house. ♥ I continued to purchase little things that make me happy when I look at them (especially little birds of all shapes & sizes), and over the winter months, managed to do a lot of de-cluttering and re-organising. I sorted out a lot of excess "stuff" that was no longer needed, and gave it away to charity, which was hugely cleansing in all kinds of ways. renovation-wise, we had a new logfire installed last month, and after a somewhat tragic incident with some hot ashes being spilled (asdfdasfk;fjh), we got new carpet laid in the hall and dining room. (thank you, insurance company. :D)

pets

Havoc and Woody are both happy, healthy and continually hungry, like all self-respecting cats. two new additions to the halo household menagerie came in the forms of Fudge the guinea pig, and Riggins, the cutest bunny in the world. I am still working diligently toward adding a dog to the family, by which I mean I wail, "I WANT A PUPPPPPPYYYYYYY!" at the mister every chance I get. :X

friends & family

* I wasn't physically at the gathering of a group of beloved online friends earlier this year, but I was totally there in spirit, and also via a phoneline, in which many drunken voices called out words of love to me. who says being on the other side of the world should matter when it comes to getting together with friends? that's totally what the internet is for. my online friends are there for me in a myriad of ways, offering love, support, encouragment and, when needed, endless gems of bitchy delight. you can't ask for more than that. ♥
* my sister continues to be awesomely talented & creative, even despite being struck by lightning, as;djkh.
* my beautiful daughter is growing up faster than I can keep track of, and 2009 will be her last year at primary school before she becomes a HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT. you guys, I can't even. when did I blink and miss all the years that have just flown by?
* lastly, but by no means leastly, my crazy, funny, stupendously wonderful husband (and who I have been head over heels in love with since I was 17 years old) continues to be all those things, even after 19 years of marriage. ♥♥♥

finances

well, we haven't won that elusive lottery prize yet. but! we have paid off our mortgage, and have enough savings to buy vitally important things like MY NEW LAPTOP. (oh yeah, and food.)

leisure

* okay, I'll admit it: I am addicted to HOGs, or Hidden Object Games. I have downloaded and played approximately 9832478927320124 or so of them, AND IT IS STILL NOT ENOUGH. I don't know what it is, but there's something infinitely theraputic about searching for all kinds of concealed things on a screen and triumphantly clicking the mouse when they're located. that makes them sound so much less than what they actually are-- which is AWESOME. but yeah, HOGs. especially Return to Ravenhearst, even if I AM TOTALLY STUCK AT THE MOMENT BECAUSE I CAN'T FIGURE OUT HOW TO HOOK UP THE TELEPHONE LINES, sdjkhfjkadfl;as. I'm also addicted to Scrabble, or more specifically, the online Facebook international version, which is actually called Wordscraper (really? wordSCRAPER?) and lets you score ridiculously outlandish totals for putting a measly three letters on a five-times word square. THIS PLEASES. (shoutout to E in the US and L in Australia for constantly indulging my obsession & playing endless games with me. ♥)
* in non-sitting on my butt in front of the computer leisure news, I read a lot of books (currently it's Stephen King's Just After Sunset), devoured a small mountain of magazines, and there were three family vacations taken in the past year:
* Christchurch in January, during which we got to see acts from the International Busking Festival. the one that sticks with me the most is the performance by Fuse that we watched late on a warm summer's night in Victoria Square. they were performing an aerial act accompanied by music from War of the Worlds, and the sights and sounds of it, along with the sense of sheer wonder and joy amongst the audience of hundreds around us, is something I will never, ever forget. it was nothing short of magical.
* Christchurch (again) in April: just me and the mister this time, and the trees were just starting to change into their autumn colours. we walked a lot, talked a lot, and enjoyed the time together. ♥
* Dunedin in April: I'm pretty sure this was my favourite vacation ever. it rained, I wasn't feeling 100%, and our motel had the noisiest plumbing in the known universe, but despite that, everything was perfect. we walked along the beach at St Clair on a late summer evening when the setting sun turned everything to burnished gold, we drove around a winding coastal road to Portobello, we had butterflies land on our hands and shoulders in a tropical rainforest, and on the way home, we stopped at all the little wayside places like Shag Point and the Moeraki Boulders.
* and, of course, there were day trips away to other places: Tekapo in July and September, an Easter Monday spent exploring rock pools at the beach, watching an Airforce exercise at the airport, and medal parades for a local Olympic hero.

and now it's December, which means Christmas, summertime, and the carnival at the beach. the kidlet has a little under a fortnight of school left before she starts six glorious weeks of vacation. there will be late-night drives around the town to see the houses lit up with Christmas lights, along with the decorations in the main street. tomorrow is the annual Santa parade, which is always a riot of colourful fun. New Year's Eve will bring a fireworks display at the beach, which we can see from our terrace. long, hot summer days, and warm summer nights, the room lit with nothing but the fairy lights on the tree.

so, as Tori Amos once said, pretty good year. :) ♥