A Year In Review: 2008 (aka the longest post you'll ever see)

2008 was good to me. for fear of this post being any more wordy than it needs to be, i'll let some photos tell you why.

January: looking back at my calendar (gimme a break, it was 12 months ago), it seems like the only eventful occurence during the first month of the year was a trip to vegas to celebrate my aunt's 50th birthday. unless you count a dentist appointment, a facial, or a volunteer shift at the OC marathon eventful. so, here we are in sin city with my favorite cousin who's now a mommy to a beautiful baby boy:

february: i spent 10 idyllic days frolicking around london, where my little sis was studying fashion design, and rome, where my dear friends paolo and federica showed us a taste of the good life. homemade pasta, espresso stops, dusk at trevi fountain and gelato on cobblestone streets. i fell in love with rome -- and with the world -- all over again:
march: met a boy. took me 3 months to figure out he sucked at life. i only post it here for posterity's sake, so when i'm old and gray and hopefully not blogging anymore, i can still remember life as a twenty-something. meanwhile, celebrated dani's birthday at lucky strike:april: nothing says spring like spending a couple days in washington, d.c during the cherry blossom festival. it was a lobbying trip through the anti defamation league's glass leadership institute of which i am a part. i met a personal hero, abe foxman, and knocked on the door of my local congressman at the capitol, asking him to basically change the world:

may: memorial day weekend. spent four glorious days in san diego (my old stomping grounds) with my best friend. drank to our hearts' content. met my boyfriend. played hours of catch phrase. had margaritas in old town with old friends. in that order...:june: i spent 3 weeks dogsitting for chelsea's pug, winston. crazy little pup. work was insane... i spent a big portion of weekends preparing for our annual golf tournament and then finally relaxed when we got to the course and drove around on a cart drinking every beverage in sight... i mean, handing out beverages to the golfers who spent $350 to be there that day:

july: i was a lucky girl to be able to spend 4th of july/my birthday in san francisco with some of my best friends and my boyfriend. we danced. we drank. we stayed at the westin in union square for 3 nights free. we rode bikes across the golden gate bridge and picnicked in the park. we visited book shops galore and watched fireworks from a rooftop lounge:august: this was a month of celebrations, celebrations. melissa's birthday in l.a, sarah and diego's birthday/anniversary dinner @ cucina alessa, joanna's birthday in l.a, gila's wedding, and a charity event @ the local zoo: september: if you know me, you know how i spend my septembers. festival of children, a monthlong program at south coast plaza that showcases the work of children's charities: october: one of my favorite people in the world, norman, came to visit his orange county buddies for a few nights of debauchery (i wouldn't have expected anything less from him):
november: after a complete work-related meltdown, i spent a week in paradise to relax, rejuvenate and eat seafood and guacamole. nuevo vallarta's grand mayan resort was so good to us:december: aside from a brief 3-day stint in the hospital for gall bladder surgery, december was a perfect way to finish up the year. holiday celebrations galore, quality time with friends and family, the annual podlas family chrismahanukwanzakah brunch, and a midnight kiss on new year's eve to round off the year:

thanks for being a part of my life in '08. stay tuned...