Favorites of 2008

“A moral being is one who is capable of reflecting on his past actions and their motives – of approving of some and disapproving of others” – Charles Darwin

2008 has come to a close and I’m finding a moment to reflect. In 2008 I turned 26, became a soccer mom, started a blog, increased my quality family time, became interested in politics, and began finally planning a trip to Europe! I live in the same apartment, have the same job, and live in the same city. (I actually can’t say all of those things stay constant at the same time that often!) So…what were some of my favorites in 2008?

Favorite Moments/Events

• Watching Obama win the White House!! – History in the making and the end of an error.
• My son getting into GATE! – Proud parent moment #1
• Soccer game where Kiyah was voted MVP! – Proud parent moment #2
• Watching the Chargers defeat Denver to make the playoffs! (Justice was served!)
• Chrystal’s Bachelorette Party (it was a long, party filled weekend in Vegas, but SO fun!)
• Chrystal’s Bridal Shower “After Party” is a close 2nd to the Bachelorette Party! – No comment.
• Fantasy Football Champion last January! – I bought Guitar Hero III with part of my winnings!

Books

• Forever by Pete Hamill
• Blindness by Jose Saramago
• Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore
• The Autobiography of Henry VIII: With Notes by His Fool, Will Somers by Margaret George
• Dreams from My Father by Barack Obama
• Honorable Mentions – A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith, Twilight by Stephenie Meyer, & East of Eden by John Steinbeck

TV Shows

• The Office – Hilarious! I can’t get enough of scenes with Jim and Dwight together.
• Heroes – Although this show is confusing if you miss ONE episode, its great!
• Gossip Girl – The ultimate guilty pleasure
• The L Word – Outstanding characters with multiple layers. I love it.
• The Tudors – King Henry VIII and his scandalous court. Enough said…oh besides JRM. Yum. Sure, King Henry looked nothing like that, but do we really care?
• Honorable Mentions – Smallville, SYTYCD, Desperate Housewives

Songs from 2008

• Duffy, “Mercy” & “Warwick Avenue” – I just love her sound.
• Paramore, “I Caught Myself” – The drummer is fabulous and I adore Hayley Williams’ voice.
• Alicia Keys, “No One“ - The piano+Alicia’s voice = a favorite.
• Katy Perry, “I Kissed a Girl” -Another guilty pleasure
• Jason Mraz, “I’m Yours” – This song can relax me any time, any place. San Diego native and you can tell from his ‘beachy sound’
• Honorable Mentions - Saving Abel, “Addicted”, Estelle, “American Boy”, & Taylor Swift, “Picture to Burn”

Most Played on my Ipod in 2008 (not mentioned above)

• Mirah, “The Garden – I truly believe I will never tire of this song. It is fun to sing along to also!
• Nickelback, “Rockstar” - I have major jam sessions on my way to work listening to this
• Bitter:Sweet, “Dirty Laundry“  – Great sound; I picture an old smokey, jazz club song, but with a modern electric twist. Plus..I agree with everything she says!
• Pink, “Dear Mr. President” – Just a fabulously written song…even though it’s frustratingly true.
• Missy Higgins, “Where I Stood” – Beautiful song and I can relate to it.
• The Pierces, “Secret“ – Haunting, carnival’ish song. (get it?)
• Honorable Mentions – Hinder, “Lips of an Angel”,  Regina Spektor, “Edit”, Lily Allen, “Knock ‘Em Out”, & Bill Withers, “Ain’t No Sunshine”

Movies (there are a ton I haven’t seen yet. I will add a couple later if there are any worthy)

• The Dark Knight – Three words…”Why so serious?”
• Wanted – I like the concept, also…Angelina was, yet again, a sexy badass!
• Eagle Eye - Great suspense…but scary what technology could be capable of!
  
• Tinkerbell - What can I say? I still love Disney movies and this one is bright, colorful, and sweet. All the necessary goodness. Plus the part with the squirrel cracked me up!

Now here we are, already in 2009….