Dorkus Extraordinaire

Awkward situations come along and sometimes you just can't do anything about them.

I said "Hi" to my neighbor just now. She was walking to her car and was about 15 feet away from me. But my "hi" didn't come out very loud at all. It was the meekest "hi" ever.

Then she said "Hello!"

My brain rapid-fires: "Crap. Did she actually hear me say hi? Or does she think she's saying hi first?"

So I say "Hello!"

I guess it's better that she thinks I'm a friendly doofus (Hi, Hello!) than a snob who doesn't respond at all.

Best of 2008

I'm fully aware that it's no longer 2008. This means I'm a bit late with my traditional year-end post. But better late than never, right?

Biggest accomplishment: Starting The Blog. Collaborating with one of my dearest friends to create a place that thousands of people visit on the already saturated world wide web is my greatest accomplishment by far. It gives me a greater professional purpose, keeps me in shape and keeps me writing about topics outside of construction. I can't wait to see what 2009 brings for us!

Best work trip: My trip to Portland, Oregon. Although my flight around the Grand Canyon was awesome, you just can't beat two days of being at such a major event, seeing athletes and lines of shoes and apparel, and getting to meet editors for top fitness publications—for my own business.

Best celebrity interactions: I talked to Denise Austin! Seriously, how cool is that? Be checking in the coming months for more. Jenn and I also made Bob Harper blush via email. Hehe.

Best hair decision: Going darker with my hair! I think it just looks more natural and better. And it's so much cheaper.

Happiest moment: KU winning the national championship. There are truly no words to describe the moment, but I was on a natural high for more than a week.

Funniest find: My mom finding my diary from third grade. I got more laughs out of this than anything else this year.

Best big trip: Buenos Aires. Such a fun week, with lots of beef, wine and friends.

Best weekend trips: My trip to Phoenix to meet my mom and Kyle was a blast, and Vegas was hard to beat.

Best web find: Mint.com. Sign up at this website and in minutes you can see a pie chart that tells you that you're spending as much eating out as you are on rent. I mean...it lets you track your finances by signing up your bank accounts, credit cards and even student loans so you can see where your money goes. Cool for the money conscious.

New foods added to the menu: I made tofu for the first time (simple, yummy!) and tried Brussels sprouts as well. Now don't get all bent out of shape that I've gone all Crazy California. I've also been eating Chick-O-Sticks regularly.

Best natural wonder: Iguazu Falls. I didn't think anything could be worth two 20-hour bus trips. I was wrong.

Most amazing shopping moment: Not everyone can understand, but trust me, it was amazing.

Surprising kicked addiction: After discovering that it's a maybe-cause of my migraines, I've kicked the caff to the curb and gone for decaf when I have coffee at all, which is now rarely.

Marti's countdown
Funniest new nickname: I could do an entire post (or book chapter) on nicknames I have for Marti. But the one that currently makes me giggle is "Angel of Grace." She's definitely not always an angel, nor is she always full of grace.

Funniest Alan/Marti moment: We were out for a walk one dark night, and Marti started dragging me toward the middle of the street. I saw white painted X's on the street, and thinking she was checking them out, I let her lead me toward the middle of the street, saying "What is it girl?" When she wasn't actually interested in the painted lines, but kept pulling me across the street anyway, Alan goes, "Erin, she's not Nancy Drew."

Marti's worst malady: Poor little Marti came down with a whopper of an eye infection that took a shot to the eye, several weeks of antibiotics, eye drops, several trips to the puppy eye doctor and hundreds of dollars to get rid of. But she's still got both beautiful brown eyes!

Marti's biggest scare: Being jumped from behind by the neighbor cat. I was, of course, out of town, leaving Alan in charge. It should come as no surprise that this was when Samsi decided to strike.

Marti's new obsession: Mud. She's started chowing down along with the other dog park pups. It is disgusting. Foul. She gets three strikes and then we're OUT.

And there you have it. 2008 in a nutshell. Here's to a wonderful 2009!