the sociology of kate: 01.2010

the beginning of last year was pretty busy, so luckily when i finally had time to review 2008 (in april), i wrote about the first few months of 2009. so, i'm going to cheat and paste those below and add to the list. :)

january 2009

rang in the new year in milwaukee after some fun in chicago. viva the year of kate!
turned 33...what the?
J-term class to New Orleans and back
took a mini-break to TX

february 2009

spring semester starts and i'm not at all prepared for two new courses and stats. (lamented 8 a.m. classes)
exhaustion from j-term lingers
started the match.com thing again
fundraiser for new orleans. the students did a good job though we didn't raise a lot of funds
signed up for a gym membership

march 2009

awesome spring break! spend a few days in dubuque with dennis and then the rest of the break in albuquerque catching up with friends i haven't seen in too long. this included some high quality time with my friend haley and baby kate (and dan too of course.)
discovered how cool park farm winery is
happy to get a contract for next year even if it didn't have a raise on it
finished watching Six Feet Under series. wow!

april 2009

conference in des moines. caught up with old friends, made some new friends, and had a great time connecting with my colleague
iowa gets gay marriage!
good times with dennis, erin, and brent at the casino on a random monday night
fun easter weekend with mom that involved sushi, wine, shopping, and a champagne easter brunch

may 2009

finished up one of the most challenging academic years yet
celebrated with mom and dad for their 35th wedding anniversary
started teaching what ended up being a very long and very annoying night class at the community college
awesome camping trip with dennis
welcomed baby alivia to the world unexpectedly. congrats monica and patrick

june 2009

went to see bob schneider in chicago with jen and jed
went out for coleen's birthday and discovered pub quiz trivia at 180 main and met some AWESOME new friends
camping trip with the duhawk crowd
started working part-time at park farm
went to see Music on the March

july 2009

celebrated July 4th with sara in college station and met some new friends
had a fantastic trip to vegas with jody
discovered how fun karaoke is on thursday nights at the yard arm (and met todd for the first time)
got to hang out with my nephew luke in dubuque

august 2009

traveled to san francisco for the ASA conference. first time to the west coast and it was a great experience
finished long and annoying summer class at the community college
bought a new car
went to the Iowa State Fair with mom and dad and dennis
got together with high school friends for a 15 year reunion
started the 2009-2010 school year

september 200

trip to texas for labor day
camping trip with dennis at little wall lake
went to see Wicked with dennis and it was AWESOME
caught up with duhawks at homecoming

october 2009

went to st. louis to see my brother and his family
discovered i'd gained some weight since the last health check i had in 2008. :(
started running again. :)
went to new york city with shelley!!!!
surprised mom with tickets to see Wicked for her 60th birthday
first date with todd
hung out with my mom, my aunt deb, and my cousins ashley and kelli for mother/daughter weekend

november 2009

went to see bob schneider with todd in madison, wi
found out i got hosed out of going to ireland next year
went to kansas city with mom for our Wicked weekend
thanksgiving at uncle dave's house and at home!
discovered that i had lost about 10-12 pounds by the end of this month

december 2009

went to some holiday parties
enjoyed canceled classes due to blizzard
went x-mas shopping with erin in madison
had one of the busiest finals weeks yet
took todd to m'town to meet the family for our christmas celebration
enjoyed some of the newish holiday traditions (Holiday Inn with dennis and mom, x-mas eve at Jon and Deb's, candied bacon...)
had an awesome gift exchange evening with todd
celebrated new year's eve with many fantastic friends in dubuque!

this has been a really phenomenal year. i've met so many new people, visited new places, accomplished goals, and continue to grow at work. this year also gave me the opportunity to get closer to old friends as well and i really feel good about where i'm at with my life. :) i do have some things i want to achieve in 2010 (less debt, more publications, continued healthiness, improved teaching) and i really believe that i will be able to get all of those things accomplished. i think 2010 is going to be an even better year!!!! i'll keep you posted. :D

happy new year!