What a year it's been....

Oh what a year it's been....a little wrap-up of 2008 in blog-posts.

I made some resolutions, sort of. (More on that in a later post, by the way.) I hosted a party for Tu B'Shevat that was full of green-y goodness. (I even made green pancakes!) My son answered a very existential question very simply, and Yael turned one. (That last link is one of my most interesting regular hits, by the way. I get a lot of traffic for "tie dye cupcakes"!)

We said good bye to Helena, who died in February of this year. May her memory be for a blessing.

I went to Israel not once but twice. In February, when it snowed (pictures here, here and here) and again in March for the Family Mission. (some pics here)

David lost his first tooth (and quite a few more, since then actually) and we celebrated Purim. I started Tuesday Torah, pretty regularly, and I went to the Devorah Quilting Kallah at OSRUI. As I prepared for Pesach, I wrote this little piece on the Seder that won me an Honorable Mention in Scribbit's Write-Away Contest for April! (I also won a matzah brie contest....) April was quite a month for me, since I also wrote a post on 60 Bloggers for Israel.

I told my favorite joke and talked about why I love Israel. I hosted my first edition of Haveil Havalim, the Jewish Blogging Carnival. I cut off a lot of my hair for Locks of Love and I started growing other things too. I tried to have a quickie (shower) with Amy. I counted Omer and celebrated Shavuot. Plus I went to a wedding and hosted Haveil Havalim again as we packed for camp.

Our yearly camp experience was fun but lightly blogged (too much fun, I think, or maybe it was Yael's daily 4am wakeup call).

I mourned Ehud and Eldad.

We skateboarded the grass, played in the yard, and grew tomatoes. I mused about community. Sammy mused about snacks. Sometimes I took bloggy breaks and enjoyed the summer. Real Simple Magazine published my thoughts on motherhood's most important tool. I sent the boys off to school (with lunch) and I ditched the disposables. I took a High Holy Day hiatus and then got really really bugged.

I was part of Blog Action Day and celebrated Sukkot (but really didn't blog about it at all, October was a quiet month here on my blog!). I participated in NaBloPoMo and stuck it out for all 30 days! We celebrated birthday after birthday after birthday in November and survived it all! We lived through history and celebrated with great joy. I was a MotrinMom and a locavore. I shared my Thanksgiving rituals here and here. And in honor of NaBloPoMo, I even hosted Haveil Havalim again!

I counted down to Chanukah with a lot of giveaways and I made baked soufganiyot, a first for me. I gave away 2 birthday parties in honor of my own birthday. And now, as the year draws to a close, my eyes and heart are in the East.


Some of My Favorite Posts of 2008:
Putting My Money Where My Mouth Is
Walking in Right Paths
Seder Night
It Takes a Village
Why Spin Instructors are Like Rabbis
May the New Year...
Freedom from Fear
Living History
Prayer for the Economy?

Since I wrote last year's wrap-up post (wow, it seems like the year went by so quickly), I've written 301 posts. I've begun to twitter and I still love my Facebook world. Plus I've read almost 80 books (see left-hand sidebar) and lived and worked....

So what's up in 2009 for the Ima?
I'm hosting Haveil Havalim again this week. I'm going to celebrate holidays and visit Israel and go to camp and the quilting retreat. I'm sure I'll rant about something and giggle about other things. Maybe this is the year that the Reading Rabbi will kick off. Or not. I'll talk about world events and about silly things. Summer will return and then autumn again. I might cook or bake or make projects. I am so honored to have you all reading and sharing my life, I hope that somehow, in some way, my blog brings you something....inspiration, or a laugh, or even a little cry.

Happy (secular) New Year, y'all. May this year bring blessings and please, please, may it bring peace.

See you on the January side!