Welcome to the rest of your year.

I have mixed feelings about the new year. I think people (including me!) take it as a time to purge, a time to reflect, and a time to start over. Which is admirable, but how many of us do this year after year and nothing ever really changes? By February we've gained all the weight back, stopped whatever good habits we started, and go back to our old bad ones. I guess I also believe change happens anytime (and over time) and also change happens anywhere with any sort of catalyst. But, if you do start something new, or quit something old, or otherwise stick to whatever it is you want to accomplish in the next year, I wish you all the best. In my own reflection over the past year I've realized that 2008 was a year of MASSIVE life changes for me. Most good, some bad, all for the permanent. I found some new things I love though, and this post, though I said it would be the good bad and ugly....is really just going to be another "best of." Only, I'm not just sticking to books. I'm talking about all my favorites!

Best Book: Terry Pratchett "Nation." I've talked about it before, and I can reiterate. I love this book. I love Terry Pratchett. I wish I'd been reading his work so long ago. But at least I know now.


Best Conspiracy Laden Thriller written by a prominent blogger: Cory Doctrow "Little Brother"


Best Audiobook: Technically it came out in 2007, but I heard it in 2008: Jay Asher's "13 Reasons Why."


TV's best of the best: Pushing Daisies. Oh, I am sad to see you go. Damn you network executives!



Best Twitterer: Tranquil Mammoth. If he is who he claims, then holy crap, TM, you are a funny man, etc. If he isn't, well, I'm still entertained, and that counts for something.



Most addictive blog: I seriously can not go a day without checking "Cake Wrecks." I can't bake for the life of me. Cake decorating is completely beyond my scope of skillz I could acquire in this lifetime.


Webcomic I still read compulsively after all these years: Questionable Content




Best Radio station: 93.1 XRT...Thanks to my fab hairstylist Whitney for turning me on to the greatness that is a radio station that in one car trip played good ole radio friendly Bowie (Space Oddity) and the nigh miraculous old Cure (Jumping Someone Else's Train.)


Store that I want to buy all my clothes from for 2009: ModCloth. I already rarely wear pants, and now I'm thinking about switching directly to the adorable dresses found at this store.


New Favorite Thing: TV show marathons on USA, TBS, and TNT(they know drama.) Over the past few weeks I've caught up on all the back episodes of "House" and "Bones" in just a couple of days. Deeeelicous!

Old Favorite thing I still love: The holidays and xmas music. I'm sad they are over and am not looking forward to the next two months of winter without the cosmetic benefit of greenery, whimsy, and twinkling lights.

Us, in front of our tree, outshined by the lights. Here's hoping everyone else gets to enjoy their favorite things over the next twelve months.