Best of 2005

Best music
This year I have really enjoyed Jack Johnson and Coldplay. Yeah, I know, a little mainstream but I didn't have a lot of new music resources other than Colin making me burned discs whenever I was in Indy. I just found tha these were the 2 most prevalent cd's in my player. Music is the soundtrack of our lives though- and I will remember Black-eyed Pea cd, Loveage and Blackilicious tunes. Colin always does his best to try to turn us on to hip-hop.........

Best Ringtones
I was a big fan of the Guerilla song "Feel Good, Inc" and "In my life" by the Beatles.

Best movies
It is so hard to pick just one.... Therefore, here are a couple that stick out in my mind. This summer I used a lot of Netflix since I don't have cable. I seemed to be a big fan of documentaries and the Sopranos this summer. However, I did see that wine movie "Sideways" and remember replaying a certain part on my DVD a couple of times to see if I could remember it. There was a certain part that struck a cord with me. I liked the honesty of the film.

Crash-
Much of the world's misery is caused by conflicts of race and religion. This movie evokes self-evaluation. For that I like it. Saw it with mom at the dollar movie on a whim and guess I was led to it for a reason...

Wedding Crashers
Sorry, but it just reminded me of things that my friend's and I would pull. Definitely this years "Meet the Parents".

Garden State-
Wonderful cd & great chick flick. I love Natalie Portman anyway- but that guy from Scrubs was good too.

Best part of winter
1)Getting a new bed. I got a real piece of furniture. I was stoked about my sleigh bed.

2) Progressive dinner
A supper club of friends took time out to spend an evening of traveling to everyone's house to see holiday decorations and add a piece to a full-course meal at each new destination. We ended up at the single girls house (me) for drinks/slumber party/taroh card reading.

3) Trying to start a book club.
Heathy, mom & I tried to be high-brow. Instead, it just ended up being an excuse to get together for constant laughter and a remembrance that we should just stick with our movie club. My girls make me laugh.......

Best part of spring
1) The weekend of my birthday in Indy. I may have gotten a flat tire while there but I hadn't really had an opportunity to let my hair down since I had moved back to Louisville. Case in point--I bought a Rolling Stones-like t-shirt with the sparkly tongue emblem that I wore out all weekend while there that I have yet to wear since. It was a true wild weekend....

2) Another good part about spring was not having to worry about money. I got to claim the Life-long learning credit for being in school the previous year. While I didn't go gang busters on Spring Break, it was nice to not have to check my account every 5 seconds.

3) Lastly, I had a really good time when my friends came in for Derby this year. Sister threw a party and that was just as much fun as us all at my house on the air mattress. "Can I offer you a shift change?"

Best part of summer
What was not to love about summer? This was my first real summer off as an educator. It was so nice to rejuvenate. I didn't work and was able to recharge my batteries.
Enclosed are some of the best parts:
1) Hanging out at Heath's pool and teaching the kids how to do all of the cool stuff (diving/diving for pennies/back flips/overall swimming)

2) Spending time with my sister
We went to a concert together for her b-day.
We read a lot of trash magazines.

3)Going on vacation with my family
I opted not to work in exchange for not doing a lot of traveling. Therefore, I got outta town via family vacation. It was so nice to see Natalie have no fear of the ocean. It was a definite highlight to see her ride those waves. I will capture that moment on my head for a lifetime. She is getting so big and it was nice to have the time to be a "real aunt". Some people don't get that opportunity to do that in their busy lives.

4)Reading
I hadn't had the opportunity to read anything but school books since I had gotten back in school. It was nice to actually read for leisure. Definitely spent some money at Half-Price books.

5)exercising
Since I had time, most of my summer days were spent going to the gym in the mornings and then heading down the street to Heather's. Unfortunately, I didn't lose any anticipated weight, but I didn't gain any from the ice cream runs that we frequently had after a tiring day at the pool.

6)Shannon's Birthday/Italian Fest
This was the first time that I had gone to the annual event. Something about being allowed to drink wine on a a public city block that was a huge novelty. Besides, we were all in rare form that weekend.

7)Grindstone Charleys/Back to school-last hurrah weekend
This was a spontaneous moment in Indy where I probably laughed more in one sitting than I had in a long time. My belly hurt the next day from laughing! uhhh, so did my head.....

Best part of fall
1)Realizing that I got the sweetest class at my school. I have a great group for my first official "full year".

2)White Stripes concert
This was a good weekend.

3)Big pile of leaves
George made a big pile of leaves in the backyard. It was like "king of the mountain" type of big. Mom made a pot of chili and invited us all all over. We all jumped in the leaves and then had a leave fight. We buried the kids in the leaves and took lots of good pics.

Best Book
"A Million Little Pieces".
Always a champion of the Oprah Book Club selections, this book is about the true nature of addiction. It made me think of addiction in a differnt way. I would recommend to anyone.