Listmania: Things I learned in 2009

I love lists. I make them all the time. At home. At work. In class. In my head. While I'm working out. Via microphone in the car. Seriously. Love them.

Enter in new blog idea for 2010: List of the Month. What better way to kick-off this brillz new blog idea than a recap list of the important things I learned in 2009.


1) The Firm is the best gym in Minneapolis.
I meagerly stepped foot into "Diva Doug's" step class in January of 09 and haven't looked back. Nate lost a bet and he had to attend, and he hasn't looked back. The staff is amazing. The workouts are kick-ass. The music is deafeningly loud. There are no frills, fluff, or gimmicks. It's just hard-core working out. And Doug is the cherry on top.

2) Great Food Fast > Nigella Express 
Sure Nigella gave us Rocky Road Bars, and Sesame Peanut Noodles, but Great Food Fast keeps giving and giving. We had more failures or mediocre dinners with Nigella, and god love her, she has some weird ass directions.

3) Costco is actually worth talking about all the time
It was a mere 9 months ago when Nate and I stepped into Costco with high doubts that we would actually save money without coupons (Gasp!), and that we would still not understand how every conversation seemed to end with Costco. Well one American Express/Costco card, and an upgrade to Executive Member later, we are full-fledged members. We eat our words. And we are fine with that. We heart Costco.

4) Travel is the Bomb.
You would think this wasn't a lesson that needed to be learned. But lets just say 2009 drove this home, especially for me. You don't have to travel far for a good time , especially if family is there. Traveling with girlfriends is always fun, from Boston to Vegas,. Travel with your hubby isn't so bad either! And a tropical vacation to escape MN in the winter is always a must.

5) The only exception to #4 is Branson, MO.
This is a destination you should take people to only if you want to punish them, or they are over the age of 75 and therefore have blurry vision and poor hearing. No offense to Andy Williams...because that guy is sick. (In a good way, although I am willing to bet he may actually be sick too).

6) You don't always keep all of your resolutions.
So I had a list of 5 resolutions for 2009. Five. you would think that was doable. But alas, I failed to come through on all 5.

- I "only" read 31 books, although if you added in my school books I would have definitely hit 36.
- I finished my first half-marathon. CHECK!
- Volunteering more...technically yes, but not necessarily the level I was thinking. Half-Check.
- Investing...bleah. Didn't happen. Anyone want to give me a crash course?
- Plant and consumer first garden: CHECK! And it was delicious, and is getting bigger next year.

7) Life is short.
This is a lesson my family has unfortunately learned all too much the last few years. So many little things consume our daily lives that really don't matter at all in the big scheme of things. While this lesson if one learned the hardest, it definitely will have the biggest impact on the future. Less worry, more fun. Live in the moment.

Well, there you have it. All important lessons from 2009. Looking forward to what can be learned in 2010...