thanks,
michelle!! this sounds like a terrific way to say goodbye to a fabulous year before i embrace the new one. here goes...
1.
What did you do in 2008 that you’d never done before? take italian classes in italy!!
2.
Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year? yes i did & yes i will! (that is a whole other post!!)
3.
Did anyone close to you give birth? nope.
4.
Did anyone close to you die? quite a few acquaintances, a friend from years back, a very favorite high school teacher, & a dear neighbor.
5.
What countries did you visit? italy, haiti, jamaica, grand caymen, italy, italy again, & costa rica!
6.
What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008? i am having trouble finding something i lacked in 2008...seriously.
7.
What dates from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? the week of the
girlfriend gaggle...:-) a week with my best girlfriends needs no answer to "why"!!!
8.
What was your biggest achievement of the year? getting laundry done between travel excursions.
9.
What was your biggest failure? grumbling about little things that don't matter...things usually forgotten the very next hour, day, week.
10.
Did you suffer illness or injury? thank God, no.
11.
What was the best thing you bought? plane tickets!
12.
Whose behavior merited celebration? D.'s patience with all my travel, most of which did not include him.
13.
Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? anyone who was mean to children or animals & anyone who lied.
14.
Where did most of your money go? plane tickets again!! (fuel for our autos came in a very close 2nd!)
15.
What did you get really, really, really excited about? holding entire conversations in italian & actually understanding & being understood.
16.
What song will always remind you of 2008? leona lewis's
bleeding love that was sung by every single person (y'all know who you are!!!!) at the top of their lungs in our suburban on the way to the beach at midnight to see
noctiluca ...although after 6 months of text messages, the gaggle of girlfriends just *might* have a differing opinion about that one! & no, i cannot post the song you are thinking about L., J. & Mrs. T.!!!
17.
Compared to this time last year, are you: (a) happier or sadder? (b) thinner or fatter? (c) richer or poorer? (a) happier all the time! (b) the very same (c) richer in love for sure!!!
18.
What do you wish you’d done more of? slept on the transatlantic flights!
19.
What do you wish you’d done less of? slept while at my travel destinations.
20.
How did you spend Christmas? Christmas eve Mass with the family, gift exchanging Christmas morn, a bit o' surfing at the beach, & way too much indulging in brunch, dinner & baked goodies followed by a power nap that seemed to stretch right into bedtime!
21.
Did you fall in love in 2008? over & over again, every single day.
22.
What was your favorite TV program? the office (US version, though i also enjoyed a BBC episode or two)...bears, beets, battlestar galactica for all you fans out there!
23.
Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? awww, don't be hatin'
24.
What was the best book you read? quo vadis 25.
What was your greatest musical discovery? how to download songs from iTunes onto my iPod!!
26.
What did you want and get? at the risk of sounding like a broken record...travel!!!
27.
What did you want and not get? not a thing...
28.
What was your favorite film of this year? into the wild (though it came out in 2007, i did not see it until this year)
29.
What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? i turned 42 & the day involved fabulous company, an awesome meal, a great wine, coffee, & chocolate!!!
30.
What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? my year was immeasurably satisfying as it was...
31.
How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008? whatever fits into my backpack & looks good at my destination!
32.
What kept you sane? my soul sisters!!!
33.
Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? johnny depp (get in line girls!!!) with a bit of
edwin on the side!
34.
What political issue stirred you the most? piacere doesn't do politics online!
35.
Who did you miss? the soul sisters & my parents
36.
Who was the best new person you met? all my blog buddies (+ chef christopher) i was blessed to meet in person!
37.
Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008. let go & let God.
38.
Quote a song lyric that sums up your year. "the moment i let go of it was the moment i got more than i could handle; the moment i jumped off of it was the moment i touched down." thank u by
alanis morissettethat's all for me, folks! if you do this meme, please drop me a line so that i may enjoy your answers. ciao for now...
it seems so fitting to me that my parents' passings were during the month that begins with the feasts of All Saints & All Souls...st. benedict wrote in his 'rule' to 'keep death daily before one's eyes'...
during november this directive to remember death is not so difficult for me to follow...
last night at the All Saints vigil Mass, fr. T's encouraging words reminded me that for most of my days i do not spend enough time thinking on the Last Things...nor do i usually frame the context of my thoughts & actions around my final end...
does what i am thinking, doing, creating in my everyday life matter toward this end?...
in other words, am i doing what i am supposed to be doing right here, right now. i so often find myself looking down~ looking at the nitty-gritty very small picture...
forgetting my purpose, forgetting to look up~ keeping an eye on the end of our journey...
this feast reminds me of where i am going...
& it reminds too that we do not navigate this alone; we have friends for the journey, friends in very high places! their examples of holy lives, their intercessions available to us now offer much comfort to us each day...
no labor going on here!!!...
have a blessed holiday!
i very much look forward to visiting blogs i dearly love again now that my internet fast is complete. i have truly missed the beauty of your words, dear friends!
this week's prompt for 
speaking of candles, if you are so inclined...i am begging 
jp wrote about father reggie 
after all these requests & the accompanying thoughts about the burdens these wonderful folks bear, it is with great joy i also share some good news...last fall renae posted 
across many miles, even oceans...words that tie us, that bind our hearts...
i re-read them & i feel such a joy & a peace... 
D.'s parents arrived friday night, escaping the great cold & snow of the northeast! their first order of business~~ a flurry of activity in my kitchen, filling our home (& refrigerator) to overflowing with good eats, enabling D. & i to engage in some serious Christmas preparation catch-up! we spent the day driving (ever-so-slowly) from place to place singing carols in the car & chatting with all kinds of friendly folks in the same Christmas-prep boat as us. we finally made it to the UPS store, arms ladened with treasures to send far & wide with some time to spare. oh, what a delight to arrive home to find a delicious meal, compliments of my dear in-laws, & the lights strung on our tree, compliments of our sweet babies...
today, it's baking, baking & more baking!! tonight, we decorate our tree & follow with some relaxing & games by Christmas lights & candles. in spite of how i love to travel, there's no place like the comfort of home & the joy of family!
when we last left you at the internet cafe, a whole day of roman roaming stretched out before us before the evening's Mass. Little Man & i did the logical things like enjoy an espresso...
eat more gelato (come to momma, you sweet little thang!)...
drool all over the bakery windows...
inhale deeply of the smells of the season...
stumble around undiscovered corners that spill beauty...
& even occasionally take a rest...
before attending the Solemn Pontifical Mass...
sung by Cardinal Hoyos at 
one of our friends was a server for this Mass...
& another who is also a "
monday found us on a train for firenze...
one of my very favorite parts of this trip was seeing all the Christmas festivity...
& enjoying the early dusk & all the magical lights...
there were open-air markets everywhere, filled with delights to charm the child in everyone!...
our favorite meal on this trip (not counting gelato) was hands-down chef chris' homemade spaghetti...
the next morning came very early, as we made our way to citta' del vaticano for a papal audience. we arrived in a fog (not necessarily from the late night before!) for a wait that was well worth it...big props to whomever can guess what is missing from this photo...
we were very blessed to be indoors & close to il Papa...
(
after the audience, it was on the train again, this time bound for pisa! now, everyone assumes pisa is all about the tower...
but for us on this trip it was all about blog buddies & science too! we had the pleasure of seeing 
our last day in roma found us saying goodbye to friends over a wonderful dinner at our (second) favorite ristorante~ 
& 
did you brave the night filled with pirates & ghosties & fairies & cowboys?...
did you walk the path lit with surprise?...
did you let a smile fill you with silly delight?...
did you dare to enjoy a bit of the spooky booty?...(yes, soul sistahs, you know it!)
aaahhhh...a lazy weekend at home! a crisp fall night spent in the "enchanted forest" & several hours by a campfire will do wonders to revive one's soul! (&, yes, of course, i ate all the chocolate! shhhh...don't tell boyworld.)
