Can't wait for '08...Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! Hard to believe it's 2008. Also hard to believe it's been two months, just about, since I last blogged. But just before you think I've acquired silent partner status of the trash can studio blog, here I am...kicking off the new year with a new resolution to blog more. It took me several tries to log on this morning because I forgot my blog username and password. But fear not! I have returned.

My lack of blogging hasn't been the result of a lack of events to report on. The last two months, in fact, have been pretty jam-packed with activities. November highlights included a dance performance and a trip to Chicago for Thanksgiving, where we stayed in a swanky hotel, ate at some fine establishments, visited with Derek's family, and just soaked up the excitement and energy of the city. November quickly turned into December and the holiday season swallowed us up. More events, concerts and performances marked the past month...a food sampling event in St. Paul, the Zenon Dance performance at the Guthrie, the British Ad Awards at the Guthrie followed by dinner at El Meson in Uptown (delicious!), my work holiday party at the Varsity, an evening of dinner at Masa followed by a performance of "A Don't Hug Me Christmas Carol," and a trip to Lake Geneva and northern Illinois for the holidays.

In contrast to all the hustle and bustle of city life, we also went up to Clam Falls, Wisconsin for a day, where Derek's dad has a cabin. Here we enjoyed the quiet and calm of the woods, where we snowshoed and ate smoked trout. The next day (this past Saturday), we were back at it, attending a great concert at the Cedar Cultural Center featuring two local bands and a great local solo act: Roma Di Luna, the Pines and Jeremy Messersmith. Finally, on the last day of the month, we closed out the year in true trash can studio fashion: with a great dinner at St. Paul's Sakura, my favorite sushi restaurant, where we ate crab dumplings, marinated octopus, a variety of sushi rolls and a bean paste cake for dessert unlike anything I've ever had before. We closed out the night with drinks at the Muddy Pig, a great, comfortable bar also in St. Paul.

I've been on vacation for the past two weeks and have had a lot of time to reflect on the past year, and this blog represents a lot of what 2007 was for me. It's been a year of transformation and change -- and all for the better. Physically, I've changed addresses and my body itself has changed (no, not in the delayed-onset of puberty kind of way!). I had a somewhat significant injury in mid-2007, which resulted in surgery and pretty much turned a lot of things upside down. This physical transformation left me unable to run or dance -- previously two huge parts of my life. When you run every morning before work and then spend several hours running on the weekend with friends, suddenly not being able to partake in this activity is a little bit of a shock, to say the least. And when you're also dancing three or four times a week, during which you're also enjoying the company of some of your best friends, any changes to this schedule are going to be noticed. So I'm pleasantly surprised at how I handled this change and how my life has taken a turn for the better.

I know it may sound melodramatic, but my injury opened up my eyes to a lot of things and forced me to enjoy more of the smaller moments in life and appreciate the things and people around me. This leads me to another aspect of my "change" in 2007. I think I've changed my outlook and attitude, and, like Derek said in his entry yesterday, I've learned to live and love more than I ever thought possible. Maybe it's unfortunate in some ways that it took an injury to open my eyes to all of the blessings and opportunities in the world around me that I didn't see before, but I'm so, so thankful for it.

I remember lamenting to Derek at one of my lowest points, when I was laid up post-surgery and in a cast, that I didn't know myself anymore and felt like I'd lost control of everything -- my body, my schedule, my routine, my comforts, my security blanket. It turns out, though, that this injury tore down a lot of the remaining barriers that truly were keeping me from fully enjoying everything around me. I guess it took "losing control" to really regain a center and sense of purpose. Don't get me wrong -- a lot of this transformation had already started to occur before the injury, thanks to other changes and developments 2007 brought. But something so minor in the grand scheme of life -- a physical injury -- resulted in a major life shift.

Whether small or big, trivial or significant, I learned a lot in 2007. I like dessert and Thai food. I like the outdoors for more than just running. Cooking and cleaning really are in me -- it just requires a little coaxing to bring them out. Nothing tops a hug and a smile from a loved one. The most important things in life aren't things, but the relationships you grow and maintain.

As Rose Kennedy said, life isn't a matter of milestones, but of moments. 2007 was comprised of the moments that make a good life. To steal a line from Derek, I look forward to not just living in 2008, but living well. Here's to all the hopes and promises of 2008. I can't wait for more moments that the new year will bring, and look forward to sharing them in this blog.

Peace, love and happiness in '08, everyone!