**I totally snagged this from Jenn, I hope she doesn’t mind!**

1. What did you do in 2009 that you’d never done before? Started planning my wedding. Other than that, 2009 has been a relatively unexciting year. I didn’t move, or change jobs, or go on any awesome vacations. Sadface.
2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I made a laundry list of resolutions last year, and probably ended up keeping less than a quarter of them. This year I decided to go with the flow. If I don’t make a list, then I can’t be disappointed in myself for not accomplishing them. I have enough on my plate in 2010 with buying a house, finding a new job, and getting married. I really just want the upcoming year to be as happy and stress free as possible.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth? A lot of acquaintances have, it’s crazy. It seems like everyone spent the better part of 2009 reproducing!! But recently my friend Blagica gave birth to her first child, Liljana, a few weeks earlier than expected.
4. Did anyone close to you die? *knock on wood* my family has been very blessed and lucky this year.
5. What countries did you visit? Sadly, none. I’m hoping to change that in 2010. *cough chris take me to europe for our honeymoon cough*
6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009? A little extra money would be nice. Some vacation time for traveling as well.
7. What date from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory and why? The Nintendo Enthusiast dinner at BlogHer. Such an amazing night.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Paying off most of my debt. Such a relief.
9. What was your biggest failure? Definitely failing to even come close to my weight loss goal.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury? Thankfully I’ve been really healthy.
11. What was the best thing you bought? A TV for our bedroom. Now we don’t have to fight over the TV in the living room!
12. Whose behavior merited celebration? All of my amazing friends. And of course, my fiancé.
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? Ugh, my grandfather. Old age sucks.
14. Where did most of your money go? Paying off my credit card, books.
15. What did you really, really, really get excited about? BlogHer, planning my wedding, seeing my family at Thanksgiving.
16. What song will always remind you of 2009? Any Lady Gaga song.
17. Compared to this time last year are you:
Happier? I’d say about the same.
Thinner? Definitely not.
Richer? A little bit.

18. What do you wish you’d done more of? I wish I spent more time at the gym, saved more money, spent more time with my family.
19. What do you wish you’d done less of? Stress out over things I can’t control.
20. How did you spend Christmas? With my fiancé. Even though he’s so sweet, it still couldn’t make me forget about the fact that I missed being with my family.
21. How will you be spending new years? In my PJs. Like most nights. What of it?
22. Did you fall in love in 2009? No because I was already in love. But not falling out of it is a total win.
23. How many one-night stands? None. Random question?
24. What was your favorite TV program? Bones, Psych and Monk.
25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? There’s people that I’m no longer friends with, but I wouldn’t say I hate them.
26. What was the best book you read? Oh god, I don’t think I can pick just one, I read so many fantastic books this year. The Thirteenth Tale was a really good one. I’m currently reading The Pillars of the Earth which would definitely get my vote for the best book, but I doubt I’ll finish 500 pages in the next couple of hours.
27. What was your biggest musical discovery? Cobra Starship. I can thank Thomas for introducing me.
28. What did you want and you got? My wedding dress!
29. What did you want and not get? Moving back to Pittsburgh (next year!)
30. What was your favorite film of this year? It’s a tie between The Hangover and (500) Days of Summer
31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old did you turn? I turned 24 and I spent it traveling to and from The Printed Blog tweet up. God I despise the Blue Line.
32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Being engaged to a wonderful person.
33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009? Mostly comfortable, but when I did dress up my style has gotten much more feminine.
34. What kept you sane? My mom, friends, the fiancé, and of course blogging.
35. Which celebrity did you fancy the most? ugh, who cares. Yes some of them are cute, but I’m not 12.
36. What political issue stirred you the most? The bailouts, healthcare reform.
37. Who did you miss? My family.
38. Who was the best new person you met? Gosh, so many amazing people. This year I made some of the most amazing friends. It was a good year for friendship.
39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009: Have a little faith.
40. Quote or Song Lyric that sums up your year: I’m lame; I can’t think of a good one

I’m ambivalent.

I’m unsure.

I’m frustrated.

I’m excited about the future.

I’m also nervous.

I’m trying to be a good friend to both of my friends who are going through a separation/divorce.

I’m sad for them.

I’m homesick.

I’m self conscious.

I’m grateful.

I’m a bride-to-be.

I’m a redhead.

I’m trying to face up to some major life decisions.

I’m trying to find the courage.

I’m a mom to some cute kitties.

I’m an older sister.

I’m a coffee addict.

I’m an aspiring golfer.

I’m a book lover.

I’m a lover of sleeping in.

I’m sarcastic.

I’m fiercely loyal to those I love.

I’m honest.

I’m loving.

I am loved.

I’m just me.

Who are you right now?

On this day 83 years ago my grandma was born.

On this day 13 years ago my grandma passed away.

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Today Chris & I completed another step on the road to marriage.

This past Saturday I went to Velika Gospa, which is the Croatian Festival held at St. Jerome’s in Bridgeport. I’m half Croatian, but until recently I haven’t given much thought to that part of my heritage. The other part of me is Irish and of course I know a lot about that heritage. Up until recently I’ve always tried to identify myself with this half, asserting myself with my Irish heritage. I’m not sure the exact turning point when I started becoming more curious about the other half occured, but I think it had something to do with my distant cousins finding me on facebook. That sounds really lame, I know. I’ve always known I still had distant relatives that lived in Croatia because my dad had gone to meet them wayyyy back in the day, but it was really cool to have them reach out to me like that and get to know one another.

Going to Velika Gospa was quite a cultural experience for me. I’m sure what I experienced on Saturday is similar to what goes on in the old country. Everyone knew everyone. Guys that looked like my dad and uncles were everywhere. Even Chris made comments about how he thought he actually saw my dad a few times. They were holding High Mass when we tried to duck into St. Jerome’s to take a look around so I got to hear Mass being given in Croatian.

Then there was the food. OHHHH the food! First of all, in a semi secret location, they were selling whole lambs and pigs, or selling them by the pound. This lamb and pig stuff was serious business. The guy in line ahead of us had called in a special order and he paid $180 for whatever it is he ordered. $10/lb = this dude ordered 18 pounds of meat!!! Sadly, they had sold out except for special orders by the time I got to the front of the line. Next year. But then I came across this goody:

Those, dear readers, are pork ražnjići. I’m not generally a fan of pork, but these were absolutely to die for.

Then for dessert: Fritule!

Basically fritule is just deep fried dough balls rolled in powdered sugar. They’re so delicious and popular the line wrapped around the entire stand and down the sidewalk.

We wrapped up the afternoon with a trip inside the church. It was absolutely gorgeous. I wish the church I was getting married in resembled this:

Religion is a very important part of Croatian culture (something like 85% of Croatians are Roman Catholic) and it shows. The church in this neighborhood is clearly the center of the community. It felt like I was at a giant family reunion and I loved every second of it.

Going to the festival definitely gave me a whole new outlook on my culture. Now more than ever, I am pushing Chris to choose Croatia for our honeymoon. Not only does it have beautiful beaches, but delicious food, and maybe I’ll get to meet my family!

**there are more pics up on Flickr! check them out here.

CC 2009 Andy Brooks

This has got to be the most uneventful Fourth of July weekend I’ve ever had. I skipped the fireworks yesterday. No BBQ plans today or tomorrow. Sadness.

Probably the best Fourth of July for me was in 2005. A whole group of friends and I walked all over downtown Pittsburgh, from the Southside all the way across the 10th street bridge to Point State Park. We ended getting prime spots for firework viewing right on the Fort Pitt Bridge.

While watching the fireworks with my friends, I remember thinking to myself “life will never get better than it is now.” When my friends reminisce about the past, we all can agree Summer ’05 was the best summer ever. A lot of us are still trying to get back there, although we all know we can’t. Things change and people change.

At least we all have those memories to look back on. Summer ’05 will always live on.

I am really excited to participate in the 20SB Looking Back Blog Carnival for several reasons: not only is this my first time participating in the blog carnival,  but I’m at another crossroads in my life so it’s interesting to look back and see how I ended up here in the first place. AND I heard that Ben & Jerry’s was giving away some free ice cream. Yum!

Here’s one of my very first posts on RLH. Enjoy!!

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“Maggie, I think you’re making a huge mistake.” That’s all I’ve been hearing lately from the friends that I need support from the most. The friends I depend on for pretty much every decision I make. This time it’s different. This decision has been mine alone, and it’s been a long time coming.

It’s true, I am about to take a huge risk and move to a new city where I know practically no one. I’m giving up everything I’ve ever known. This should scare me, but I’m more scared of staying here and being stuck. Because here, I am just waiting for something to happen. Here, I would be allowing myself to stay the same, to continue in the same old patterns.

Instead of being worried about all the uncertainty, I’m content. I feel like for the first time I’m about to find where I’m supposed to be. I feel like I have found “the one”,  cliche´as it sounds. I feel like I’m capable of being completely happy for once.

My good friend once told me “Sometimes you need to stop waiting and make your own move.” So, I’m making my own move. It’s time to see if I sink or swim.

I blame Discovery Health Channel.

Anytime there is a show about babies, I get sucked in. Case in point: my guilty pleasure to watch is “I didn’t know I was Pregnant”. I don’t know what it is about this show that captures my attention, because its basically the same story over and over again. Yet I find myself glued to the TV anytime it’s on.

Same goes for Birth Day and Deliver Me. As someone who has said repeatedly “I don’t want children” I’m addicted. Maybe its the growing part of me that says “I actually DO want to have a baby”.

I’m getting married in a year and I know for certain my future husband wants to have kids. I just can’t figure out how I will ever be ready for a baby. I can’t figure out how anyone ever is.

The other thing I notice in these shows is these new moms have a lot of help and support from family members. All of my family is in Pittsburgh, and Chris’ closest relatives are his elderly grandparents that live an hour away by train. If Chris & I remain in Chicago, we will be on our own raising a child.

I don’t normally get this personal about my relationship, but I was interested in hearing other peoples’ thoughts on the matter. Is anyone really ready for a child? I know a lot of couples don’t have the help/support of their family, so do you think that should be a deciding factor in having a child?

I am 24.

Welcome to my mid-twenties (and official quarter life crisis).