Some Stuff I Wasn't Paid to Endorse

2008 brought so many great things that I'm recording a list of my favorite discoveries (or rediscoveries) below:

• 30 Rock I have been a fan of Tina Fey ever since she began co-hosting Weekend Update with Jimmy Fallon on SNL years ago. But she has taken her talent for brilliant writing and comedic acting to a new level with 30 Rock. And you'd be hard-pressed to find a person more averse to Alec Baldwin than me, but his portrayal of Jack Donaghy is, without doubt, the funniest depiction of a rich, elitist, capitalist that I have ever seen. I look forward to this show every week.
• The New Adventures of Old Christine I love Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Love her so much I faithfully tuned in to "Watching Ellie" (2002) despite its weak plot and redundant story line. But Julia has nailed it this time in New Adventures; I smile just thinking about it. Every week she provides lines like, "Racist? Racist? I'm not a racist. I drive a Prius for Heaven's sake!" And as if Julia's comedy wasn't enough, Wanda Sykes co-stars and can match her laugh for laugh.
  
• Lime I've always been a lemon zest kind of girl. This year, for reasons I don't recall, I started using lime where I would normally use lemons, and the change is delightful!
• Long Hair I grew up associating long hair on men with chewing tobacco and crude language. I hung to that association until July when I looked at my husband and realized it had been six months since I trimmed his hair, and he looked pretty, pretty, pretty good (to be said in the fashion of Larry David on "Curb Your Enthusiasm"). We decided to give it another few months, just to see if his language digressed or his hankering for chew increased and I was pleasantly surprised to find neither occurred. Not only that, he looked even cuter three months later. So, here I sit, 15 years too late to appreciate Brad Pitt's flowing locks in Legends of the Fall. I have found Keith's new look so winsome that I am now letting Eli's hair grow.
• Trail Running Last spring the other Big J introduced me to the most beautiful and challenging trail runs I've ever traversed. From April till November I ran up Logan Canyon at least twice a week and bemoaned every city-paved run in between. There is nothing quite as exhilarating as climbing hills at top speed and then exploding down the other side. And, I have never been one to stop needlessly during a run but this summer there were runs when the sun hit the canyon below or the leaves were colored just so that I had to stop and take in the vision of it all. Running trails has become, for me, a spiritual experience as much as a physical one. If not for the Logan River, Green Canyon and Crimson Trails, I would never have survived those long summer miles without my Auburn crew.
• Podcasts As just mentioned, I left my beloved running partners in Auburn so I had to make new friends. In the likeness of a young child with "imaginary friends," my new running partners are radio talk show hosts and podcast authors. It's pathetic, really, but I love my podcasts. I love them so much I think I will dedicate a separate blog post to them in a minute.
• Blogging Enough said.
• Utah Culture I'm not going to lie to you; I was anxious about moving back to Utah. After ten years east of the Rockies, I was not quite ready to relocate to my home state. Somehow I had envisioned that Utah=Mormons=Monotony. That I, being a Mormon myself, would be surrounded by people just like me and that would be most tiresome. Turns out, I was wrong. Providence is a fantastic little town. It's true, LDS culture dominates but how can I complain when the domineering philosophy promotes self-reliance, honesty, service, health and, if you look for it, humor. I am continually impressed by how skilled and talented the folks are around here--music, art, athletics, cooking, carpentry, gardening, landscaping and homemaking. Now this is not to say I don't roll my eyes from time to time at the surprising assumptions some locals make, but all in all, this is an excellent town and I think I'm gonna like it here. (As long as I'm discussing LDS culture, I might note that another of my favorite discoveries for 2008 is the Sons of Provo soundtrack. That is what makes the outermost LDS culture palpable--self deprecation and mockery. Thanks, Curt!)
  

And, last, but certainly not least,

• Keith It's true, in the last year Keith has stomped me at racquetball, tennis, chess, Trivial Pursuit, and all-you-can-eat-steak challenges, but aside from those few things, he has played the perfect husband. I married this boy for a whole host of reasons that, in hindsight, were relatively shallow and rash. (He was just so dang cute!) But every year since I have come to adore and appreciate him more. Not one of the aforementioned discoveries would have been exciting without him. (Except maybe the lime.) For the twelfth year in a row, Keith is what made 2008 truly great!