We’re getting close to the end of 2006 and Nancie posted a good overview in her blog on her year, so I’m stealing some of her questions for mine.

What did you do for the first time in 2006?
The most important “first” was that I got engaged. I also joined a church, and Thomas and I went hanggliding, though we still need to take the second part of our class.

Any births?
My cousin had a baby, and a couple of my friends are pregnant, but not due until 2007.

Any deaths?
Not that I can think of, thank goodness.

Any weddings?
Four weddings - Jane and Bill, Nancie and Tory, my cousin, and Thomas’ friend from high school all got married. We were able to attend 3 of those.

Any trips?
It was an unusually low travel year for us. We went to Oxford, MI for my fraternity reunion, to Bloomington, IN to see our friends, a trip to NC to see family, and to Abeliene, TX and Savannah, GA for weddings. And I went to Phoenix, AZ and Thomas went to California for business. We did not make a single VW bus campout this year.

Any visitors?
We were able to host Thomas’ parents for a couple days, and my family for Thanksgiving. A couple friends crashed at our place as they migrated down to Atlanta. We still need to get the rest of Thomas’ family down to see our place.

Any illness/injury?
I got poison ivy pretty bad a few times, fell down the stairs and got a permanent bruise, and now I’ve had the flu for nearly two weeks. Thomas had a knee injury from our hanggliding class. Clover had the most issues this year and ran up quite a bill at the vet.

Any big purchases?
I bought a wedding dress (actually my Mom bought it for me). Thomas and I bought/rented wedding related items, though some of those will finish out the payments next year. I bought my new camera, and we got new bedroom furniture. Thomas also got his motorcycle and gear and my engagement ring. It’s been an expensive year.

What did I watch on TV this year?
We’ve really done a good job of giving up TV. I’d say we average maybe 5 hours a month, and most of that goes to fluff - reruns (7th Heaven, Gilmore Girls), whatever is on The Learning Channel (Miami Ink, What Not to Wear), or The Home and Garden Channel.

What movies did we see?
Our list is pretty long due to Netflix, but for the theater, the ones that stand out are Talladega Nights, Borat, Jackass 2, and Little Miss Sunshine.

What books have I read?
I’ve been listening to a ton of audiobooks - some of my favorites have been by Chris Bohjalian, and Jodi Picoult. Other than that, I’ve been reading about wedding traditions, etiquette, ideas, and strategies.

What music did I listen to?
My music taste changed a little this year - I started listening to country. We went to a couple bluegrass concerts too.

What did I do for my birthday?
Honestly, I don’t remember - I had to check my blog. My friends came out to Joe’s Crab Shack for dinner. I was truly surprised that so many showed up. For Thomas’, we were in Abeliene for my cousin’s wedding.

What is my fashion?
Thomas and I both grew out our hair. He is now siding on the Carolina-boy look, rather than the NCSU look. Mine is past my shoulders. His attire focuses on keeping safe and warm on his motorcycle, and mine hasn’t really changed - dress pants and blouse for work, and jeans and teeshirts at home. I’ve been buying more fitted shirts, I guess. My favorite clothes stores are still Eddie Bauer and Ann Taylor Loft.

What kept me sane?
Two things - I’ve been drifting some from my public blog to my private one. The community is much stronger there, and since I can control who can read it, I tend to be more open in it. It has been my outlet.

The other item is Google Calendar and Google Spreadsheets. Thomas and I use the online spreadsheets and calendar to keep track of each other’s To Do lists and schedules.

What news stories did I follow?
Sadly, the ones that stand out are Madonna’s international adoption, TomKat’s baby and wedding, Jon Benet’s wannabe-killer, the kidnapped Austrian girl, and the openings of the local Trader Joes.

What did I miss?
This year, I missed living in Bloomington, evening time with Thomas, traveling, boardgame nights with friends, and a 5 year plan. I feel like there are more uncertainities in my future now, or maybe I just got some of my big accomplishments - grad school, buying a house, getting engaged - out of the way, so my 5 year plan seems more vague, or maybe less exciting. I’ve also been less social, so I miss that too.

Any lessons learned?
I’ve learned a couple little lessons on how to be a grown up, and being who I want to be instead of who I think I’m supposed to be. I’ve realized that houses are alot of work, and that people aren’t usually in their first house forever. I also learned I’m a wannabe hippie, I want to live in a college town, and wedding engagements are a challenging time.

The photo in this entry is a pileated woodpecker that we’ve seen in our yard a few times and have never been able to photograph. Finally, this weekend, I was able to get a shot of him.