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Welcome 2008! This year, one of my goals is to update my blog more often. You’ll notice that was a goal of mine last year and you can see how well I did by scrolling down through the 5 entries I made since January 1. I was successful in a lot of other things, though, which I’ll cover a little bit later. In addition to my blogging resolution, I’ve also made a photo resolution (no pun) to put my new Nikon D40 to work and take a daily photo. That idea is blatantly stolen from Dooce, but I thought it would be the best way to force myself to update my blog and flickr, and teach myself how to use my pretty, pretty camera. Of course, we’ll see how well that goes.
I’m finding it hard to believe another year is over already, but I suppose I say that every year. What is a new year without some reminiscing over the year past? 2007 had a lot of ups and downs,
I got to spend some chunks of time with my extended family on the Pizza side several times this year and really got to know some of them for the first time as an adult. My great-aunt Chick (her real name is Mary, but her father called her his “little chickadee” and it stuck) turned 70 this year and we went to Myrtle Beach to celebrate with her. There was a lot of talking, a whole lot of food, and many, many laughs. My cousin Vinnie’s son Zachary had just gotten a Nintendo Wii, and we passed many hours in front of the TV for group bowling tournaments. Vinnie’s wife Rosemary and I bonded over our love of tea, and she was thoughtful enough to send me a whole care package from a British tea store in Atlanta when she returned home. My cousin Dominick kept us updated on all of his adventures - at the time, he was planning for a 5 week pilgrimage in Spain which I admired and envied him for. Vinnie’s youngest, Isabella, joined Rosemary and me at the beach one gorgeous afternoon and I got to play around with my camera, taking some good shots of her playing by the ocean.
In April, my cousin Marlena was married in NJ and my parents and I attended. I got to visit with my Uncle Albert and Aunt Mary - my uncle being the last living of my grandfather’s generation (the youngest of 7).
My grandfather died when I was 10 and a lot of my memories of him are fuzzy, but the Pizzas are such grand story-tellers that I felt I got to know him a little bit more, too, just by hearing them talk about him. And boy, did they talk about him. One thing about the Pizzas - they love to reminisce, and I was fortunate to have another opportunity to do so in June when we had a family reunion at my cousin Armand’s house. We pored over old photo albums and ate family favorites (eggplant, meatballs, ravioli, my aunt’s fabulous crinkle cookies) and fondly looked back at the times when we all lived in the same place and saw each other more frequently. A month later, my parents, Aunt Chick, Vinnie & family, Dominick, and Armand and Trish met in Disney World to further celebrate my aunt’s 70 th year. It was my first trip to Disney with kids and I was lucky that those kids were Zach and Izzy - they are so well-behaved and such fun. I’m hoping that 2008 will have as much or more family time in store.
2007 was also “the year of the celebrity.” In April, while attending a David Sedaris reading, we ran into John Krasinski (Jim Halpert) of The Office fame. He was in Charlotte filming a movie with Renee Zellweger (who looks beastly in person, I’m sorry to say). Thankfully, Karen was in attendance, because she was the only one with enough chutzpah (yeah, I said it) to go over and talk with him. He was insanely nice and let us take a picture with him, which Karen forwarded on to a gossip journalist and got printed in the local paper.
And yes, he is just as handsome in real life as on TV, although he could stand some home cooking because he was a little bit skinny for my taste. A couple of short months later, Amber, Jamsky and I attended Book Expo in NYC and met many fun authors as well as Tim Gunn (he signed his book “Make it Work!”) and Stephen Freaking Colbert. Seriously, I still gasp for breath when I remember that I spoke to Stephen Colbert. I told him I adore him. And he didn’t run away.
While we were in NYC, I saw Inherit the Wind with Sir Christopher Plummer and got to meet him when he came to sign at the stage door. On the lower celebrity rung, Robin Givens and her entourage dined a few feet away from us at an amazing Italian restaurant in the theater district. Then, to round out the celebrity parade, Karen and I saw Keith from Six Feet Under at the OHOP in Charlotte just a couple of months ago. Celebrities and omelets - huzzah!
I got to spend some quality time with my ladies this year as well, from the aforementioned NYC trip as well as some travel time with Amber. We had an “Amber & Jen weekend of fun” wherein we made jewelry, ate yummy food, went horseback riding, and met Jim Halpert. We also took a mid-week trip to Asheville around my birthday to see Andrew Bird for the first time (mmm, Andrew Bird). Karen organized a team to volunteer at the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer in October and I’m grateful to her for it - not only did I get to have some good times with Karen, Erik, Becky, and Lee, but I was inspired to sign up for the Breast Cancer 3-day this year with Karen.
We’ve spent some weekends starting to train and I’m looking forward to more training and the actual event in November. Don’t worry; you’ll all get plenty of fundraising emails, phone calls, blog entries, etc. soon. Aside from New York, Jamsky and I did a lot of hanging out as well, deciding it was high time we socialize with the world and avoid growing into old curmudgeons. It seems to be working so far, although my alcohol intake has greatly increased in the past few months - especially when Kevin and Mike are also involved.
The biggest downside of the year was losing my Grandmother at the end of April. She passed away from kidney failure, just a few short moments before I made it to see her in the hospital. Even though I miss her terribly, I know that she must be happier now. Near the end she was feeling tired, her diabetes was causing her some pain, and her onset of dementia was making things difficult for her. She had taken to having vivid dreams that she confused with reality and it pained me to hear her talk about my grandfather as if he were still with us. Now, at least, they are together and I feel as if she is still watching over me. When my parents and I went up to NJ for the funeral, I told them that it had been so long since she had been healthy, that I’d forgotten what she used to be like. Later that weekend, lying in my hotel bed and listening to my ipod, a sea of memories came flooding back - my grandmother in the kitchen making me breakfast, lying in her bed painting our nails and watching her soap operas, shopping at Macy’s with my great-aunt Carol - and I couldn’t help but think it was a final gift from her. I am grateful to her for sending me those cherished memories.
Besides the momentous events this year, I did a lot of changing myself in 2007. I lost quite a bit of weight, got a new car, learned to live a single life, got a new haircut, started a new job, and really did a lot of introspection and got to know myself better - probably the most since college. I’ve come through the year cherishing the people close to me and knowing that despite my flaws, I am proud to be the person I am.
The year ended with a bang, too. Amber, Shawn and I drove up to Raleigh this past weekend to attend Veronica and David’s wedding. I had a blast - it was one of the best weddings I’d ever attended (aside from yours K & E) and it was so lovely to see Veronica so happy.
I journeyed home from Raleigh on Monday in time for a nap, then met up with Kevin, Mike, and Jamsky for the Avett Brothers downtown. They were a lot of fun, although the opening band was a bit more my speed. I was designated driver, so I got to watch my friends get a little tipsy. As you can see from this picture, good times were had by all, especially after some wine and champagne.
Afterwards, we headed over to Karen and Erik’s for a little after-party and I finally made it home in the wee small hours of the morning.
As a result of my frolicking, I have a bit of a cold to start off my New Year, but I have no doubt that health and prosperity will follow along shortly. I hope all of you had a great 2007 and I wish you all an even better 2008!