Best of 2008....

The juggernaut that is Twilight:  A friend hounded me to read these books and when I got to the store to purchase them, I discovered they were in the Young Adult section.  I passed thinking that they were not for me.  My friend kept after me though and I ended up thanking her for keeping on me about it.  I loved these books.  They were romantic and wonderful to read.  You can read my review of Twilight at my books blog that I share with a couple of friends:  Awaiting Diana Blog

The Red Green Show:  A PBS jewel!  The first time I ever saw this show was the Christmas special, Red Green Does Christmas.  Bill and both laughed until we cried.  I have not laughed like that in a very long time!  A lovely show that I encourage you to check out if you have the chance.  You can also rent this show on DVD from Netflix - which is what Bill and I plan on doing this January ;)

PBS:  We have recently acquired a PBS channel and both my hubby and I enjoy watching on the weekends.  Now, I cannot say I agree with much of anything else PBS does, but I DO enjoy Masterpiece Theatre a great deal as well as a few of the other shows they air.  All in all, a good thing!

All Day Kindergarten:  Oh, did I hate the thought of sending my sweet daughter off for a whole day of Kindergarten at the beginning of the school year.  I almost didn't do it, but in the end, I know in my heart of hearts that Maya is a social butterfly and needs to be with other kids.  We live in such a rural area that school is her best chance for forming solid and meaningful relationships with her peers and other adults.  So, off she went - and she is thriving.  Her teacher is very pleased with her and so are we.  She is a star and her worry wart mother has nothing to worry about.  I am still not 100% convinced that all day Kindergarten is for every kid, but it works for my kids.

Facebook:  Facebook is a lot of fun - and most of the icky stuff that happens on myspace doesn't happen on Facebook.  I have a myspace account - for complaints only.  I actually use my Facebook account and have a lot of fun connecting with friends all over the world on it.  If you are not a member, consider joining.  It is a lot of fun!  You can find a link to my Facebook profile in the sidebar on this page.

hermit crabs:  I got roped into letting Maya and Owen have hermit crabs.  I didn't want to do it, but both of my kiddos love their hermit crabs - Broom Stick and Tiger are their names - and help me take care of them.  Over all, a lot less expensive than getting a puppy, and quite educational as well.  In the Spring, both kids get to get a kitten so I am sure the hermit crabs will be forgotten then.

Clairol Perfect 10 Hair color:  I used to always - always! - have my hair professionally colored but it is really expensive so I didn't do it all that often.  However, I seem to suddenly have much more gray hair that I used to have - and you all know that I am not going to put up with that, so - I decided to try at home hair color.

I was scared to death I was going to mess it up, but I haven't so far.  After trying a couple of different kinds of color, I have decided that Clairol Perfect 10 is the best.  The color is not flat.  It is very easy to apply and your hair feels great when you all done.  They even have a website where you can see all the colors and find what works best for you:  Clairol Perfect 10

Awaiting Diana Blog:  Awaiting Diana is a book review blog that I started with my friends Marja and Karol.  It is called Awaiting Diana because this is where we hang out while we await the latest novel from one of our favorite authors, Diana Gabaldon.  We are not a fan blog or fan forum - just a discussion group.  If you like to chat about books, please join us!  

Blog  or  Discussion forum

   

Netflix:  We live so far out from anything that renting movies is almost out of the question.  Enter Netflix, which is wonderful.  You simply sign up, add movies to your online que and enjoy.  The movies arrive in the mail and you keep them as long as you want - no late fees and no driving to the video store to return movies.  They also have *everything*  for every one.  The whole family takes turns choosing movies which is a lot of fun for the kids.  An inexpensive bit of fun the whole family enjoys.  Check them out:  Netflix 

I have few regrets about 2008.  One of my biggest is that I don't seem to be able to manage my time as well as some of you can.  I never seem to have time to do online things in particular.  For example, I have not been blog hopping in months.  It's awful - and I feel horrible about not visiting other bloggers out there.  Not sure how to rectify this, other than to look forward to when Owen starts Kindergarten in the Fall!  LOL

Best wishes to one and all for a safe, peaceful and prosperous 2009!