vanish. dwindle. disappear.

Yep.

Those words perfectly describe what's happening to the year 2009; to the past decade, actually. Honestly, where does the time go?

Noteworthy stuff I've done in the past 10 years (not necessarily in chronological order):

*high school graduation (good riddance!)
*i acquired 3 more degrees (AAS, BS, MS)
*a guy who stole a kiss from me in college is now gay (no, it's really true)
*I WENT TO SCOTLAND!
*i lived in Alaska for an entire summer
*i've made friends with terrific people who have enriched my life in a thousand ways
*got chubby in grad school and lost the extra weight through hiking, biking, and softball
*i discovered the poet within
*one magical word: Disneyland
*i've acquired 3 sisters-in-law, 3 nephews and 1 niece
*oh yeah. i have a career!
*i've tried all sorts of foods outside my comfort zone. (this really is big for yours truly)
*i backpacked 20 miles round-trip while getting over strep. (yeah, i'm proud of that one)
*other really, really cool stuff (i did this list on the spot, okay?)

Looks like the past 10 years have been good for this ginabean, huh? It's true, over all. Sure, LOTS of pain was endured (it's called grad school). But mostly it's been a good run. Here's to the next 10, right? (And maybe, just MAYBE, a husband and children will be thrown in the mix before 2020!)

One more thing, though...one of my resolutions for 2009 was to try a handful of new foods--at least 10. I've accomplished the goal (which grew to a list of 18 things, most of which I really didn't want to try, due to bad past experiences, or just because I've been too chicken). Actually, I've only tried 17 of them; I have yet to try crab. See for yourself:

The List

So. This evening, the last day of 2009, I'm going to try it. A group of us are headed to Red Lobster (for the seafood lover in you! -except there isn't a seafood lover in me-) sooner than later, and I can check it off my list.

Don't worry, I'll let you know how it went, once it's come to pass...