looking back at 2008. . .

so before I had a blog I had a livejournal. I've actually had a livejournal since like 7th grade. sometimes for fun I'll go look thru my livejournal and see where I was or what I was doing 3 or 4 years ago. It's actually sorta interesting. I've really changed alot and learned alot since then. Anyways so I couldn't remember if I had a resolution last year. Usually I come up with something but never do it...like lose weight, eat healthier..etc. haha But last year my resolution was the hardest resolution I had ever made . Technically I don't really know if it was considered a resolution or not.. it was kind of a challenge. My friend Katie Jo posted a challenge for herself and for her friends.

She wrote "My challenge for everyone this year. including me (in the words of a song I heard recently): "...stop, take some time to think, and figure out what's important to you..."

I did it. I completed my first New Years Resolution (Challenge). I am so proud of myself. I did this and more. EVERYDAY I realized what was important to me.

So this post is going to recap my life of 2008 and look forward to 2009.

January thru March Justin & I planned our wedding almost every nite. It was starting to be a ritual...go to work, come home, eat dinner, wedding planning...every day. I was starting to worry CRAP what will I do after the wedding is over? haha This is all i've done for 3 months...and will probably continue to do for 3 more months until the wedding. Also in March Justin had a men's softball tournament in Kentucky. So we drove down to Kentucky for Border Wars. It was really really COLD. I had alot of fun down there with all his friends who became my friends over the rest of the year....but I think it was the coldest weather I had ever set out in for hours... **Picture is of JC & I at our hotel during this trip.**

April and May I finished up pretty much all of the wedding plans. JC played alot of ball during these two months. Sometimes he'd play 2 or 3 times during the week for league ball and then he'd play tournaments on the weekend. It seemed like I was constantly at a ball diamond but I had so much fun. JC's guy friends became my guy friends and I felt like I was sorta part of the team even thought it was just a bunch of guys. I was kinda like their mascot or cheerleader haha. I had so much fun traveling all across indiana to watch them all play. April 29 was our 7 year dating anniversary. It was weird that it was the last time we could have a "dating" anniversary because next year we'd have a wedding anniversary. Just two days before our "dating"anniversary the wonderful Sam McGranahan of The Roxy Studio took our engagement pictures. It was so much fun. JC was kinda "not so sure" at first but he came around after a few minutes and I think he actually enjoyed it, even though he wouldn't admit it. **the picture to the right is one of my favorite engagement pictures**

June was a really busy month. Every weekend we had something going on. JC was either umpiring a softball tournament or playing in a softball tournament. He made alot of extra money to help put on the wedding but it was definately a hectic month. I also had my bachlorette party/bridal shower during June. Every June is super busy for us because it is the "peek" of umpiring season for JC and then of course he still plays softball.. so we always have alot going on...then on top of all that this year we had wedding planning too. **picture on left is us at Demo Derby in July**

July was here before you knew it which meant our wedding was just a few weeks away. I had everything pretty much done with by the beginning of July except for paying off all our wedding debts. Photographer, DJ, Reception site, hair stylist, etc. So JC continued to umpire every weekend so he could make extra money to put towards the wedding. On July 4th we went to the lake in Sullivan to watch the fireworks like we do every year and on July 18 we went to the demolition derby to watch some friends that derby every year at the Sullivan 4-H Fair. On July 26, 2008 Justin & I were finally married at 4:29 pm. It was the best nite of my life. The whole day was so fun. JC & I slept in until about 10am then we took a shower and I got my make-up on and he ran to the Dairy Queen and bought me a hot dog because I was so hungry. I headed over to the church about 11:30 and my bridesmaids were there getting there hair done by my hair stylist. I hung out there with them just laughing and telling stories and then getting my hair done. JC showed up so I talked to him and everything was just so casual and fun. No nerves or drama or anything. So we started getting dressed and took some pictures and at 4:29 pm our slideshow started of how we became and the wedding followed. We loaded up in our non-air conditioned limo..haha and drove on down to the reception...The rest of the nite was so much fun just hanging out with Justin and family and friends...But the nite may have been too much fun for my groom because he drank a little too much and I couldn't get him up for our flight to Florida..haha So we had to cancel and get another flight...So the last few days of July we spent in Orlando, Florida. It was so much fun. The best thing of the whole trip though was spending quality time with my new husband and watching his face when he saw all of the cool stuff in Florida. He had never been there so everything was so amazing to him. And I Loved that I got to share that with him. We were planning on trying to go back next year but with what happened in August we don't know if we will be able to. **picture at right is one of our wedding pictures** **picture at left is us at Gatorland in Orlando, Florida**

So August came as we came back to Indiana and I started work back. Three days before my wedding I was told by my manager that there may not be a job for me when I got back. After she saw how upset I was when she told me that she said "oh, don't worry...go have fun at your wedding and honeymoon." So four days after I got back from my honeymoon and the day before my 25th birthday I was called back to my managers office and she said "happy birthday, he's your gift card, now I have bad news. Today is your last day." I asked her why she was laying me off instead of a few other employees that had been there less than me and she said it was because I was married and had insurance thru my husband. The other two depended on insurance thru there. Even though I was more reliable and a better worker, I was let go. So the next day, which was 08.08.08 my 25th birthday, after I went to the unemployment office to file for unemployment, I went to the tattoo parlor and got two new tattoos. I had been wanting new tattoos for a while but wanted to wait until after the wedding.... I just needed something to make me feel good. I love the way getting a tattoo feels.. (not the pain of that tattoo but the feeling you get when you get one..i can't explain it but its awesome..so much adrenaline) The next day JC, Kris, Me, Q'ball, Ronnie (my cousin), & some more guys went to Avon, Indiana for Men's State Softball Tournament. We ate at a really good mexican restaraunt in Avon where they brought me an awesome brownie and ice cream out and sang Happy Birthday to me. It is definately one birthday I won't forget. Anyways, the rest of the month I started playing softball with Justin on his co-ed league team. I wasn't working so sitting at home thru the week was driving me crazy. So playing softball on the weekends actually gave me something to look forward to. I also found out when we got back from our honeymoon that one of my bridesmaids decided to get married.

September was a really fun month too. I played softball every weekend with JC and our friends and just really enjoyed the atmosphere of being around the diamond of everyone there. **picture on the right is of Justin & I at Robyn's wedding reception**

October I continued to play ball every weekend except for the weekend of October 11 which was when my friend Robyn and her fiance Ian got married. The wedding turned out beautiful especially for only planning it in 2 months. Everything went really well and I had alot of fun. JC only came for a few minutes because he had played flag football & softball that day. But my friend Q'ball(his name is Matt Agresta, but I've always known his has Q'ball) came and we had alot of fun. The next two weeks I played softball every saturday and hung up at the diamond. On October 25 it was our league tournament. JC & I showed up to the diamond around 8 am. We weren't scheduled to play until 10 but he likes to get there early and wanted to watch the 9am game. When we got there we found out the 9 am game was a forfeit so JC, Q'ball, & I went into the school gym and hung out for about an hour..just staying warm and talking. We played our game at 10am and then hung out there. We played 3 more games that day between 10 am at 4 pm. Q'ball had drank since our first game was over at like 11am and he was pretty drunk. He struck out twice in our last game and was pretty upset when he left. He got his stuff and walked out of the dug out and out to his car before most of us had even got into the dug out. I'll never forget that view of him walking off in his orange Agresta #88 Fast Track Apparel Beavers Softball shirt and his navy blue striped softball pants..with his bag over his shoulder. I told JC hey..q'ball is really upset... we tried to get our stuff and catch up with him but by the time we made it to the parking lot he was already in his car and down the road...On our drive home I texted him to make sure he'd be there the next day because we would play like 3 or 4 games on sunday including the championship game as long as we kept winning. He didn't text back he called back and I handed the phone to JC and he said he'd be there tomorrow and he was really upset about striking out twice. JC told him that it was probably just because he had drank a little too much and that he wasn't his athletic ability or anything...JC reassured him everything would be fine tomorrow and the last thing he said to him was "Be Careful." Three hours later Justin and I were sitting at a volleyball game and got a phone call saying "Your friend...Q'ball...he's dead." I will never forget the last 8 hours I spent with him that day. We talked about so much stuff....I will never forget my birthday dinner I had that year.. he was there...or the entire spring of 2008 that I was around him. Everytime I watch the eagles play I know he's watching too. And everytime the Cowboys lose I know he's laughing... And EVERY sunday during the football games I sit by our phone just hoping that it will ring and to hear his voice on the other end... He was an awesome man and I will forever be changed by knowing him.

So far November and December has been months of staying home where its warm and just spending time with my husband and my family. We decorated our house with christmas lights and decorations and have been making and buying gifts for our family. Times are hard this year, more than they have ever been in previous years. But we are trying our best to have a nice christmas.

Stay tuned...my next post is "Looking forward to 2009."  It will be posted on 12/20.