What a year 2008 has been.

It started with a project to transform my old blog into something that I would be proud to share. With the help of a very capable designer and some prodding from a good friend, I took the plunge and had a fantastic custom design created for Sarah’s Cucina Bella. I can’t tell you how glad I am that I did that. It was worth every second, every penny, everything.

Over the course of the year, I joined a CSA, created a kick-ass new site for moms with the aforementioned friend, moderated a fantastic food panel at a BlogHer conference with three amazing women, spoke at a public relations conference on pitching to mom bloggers, and – oh – quit my full time job to freelance and be home with my kids.

Yes, my kids. Will turned three this year and started Pre-k – oh my, I have a child in school – and Paige turned one. Where did the time go? My husband and I celebrated our fourth anniversary too.

This year, I also landed a great gig writing about parenting for SheKnows and am back to occasionally writing for the New Haven Register. Oh, and I was quoted in several places this year and – more excitingly for me – featured in First Magazine with a special recipe of mine. Yay! (Thanks Christine!!!)

What didn’t happen? My book hasn’t been published yet, due to publisher issues — but more on that next year. I didn’t upgrade my car or my house either. But I did start redecorating, which has been a blast. I’ve also checked a number of things off my 100 things list. (Now, wasn’t that a good segway?)

And so, I leave you with an update to my ongoing list. Have a fantastic night and a very happy New Year. Be safe tonight!

100 Things
(I want to do)

1. Walk down the red carpet at a movie premiere
2. Be a best selling author
3. Publish an adult novel
4. Publish a children’s novel
5. Publish non-fiction
6. Write a recurring column – Accomplished April 2008
7. Appear on the Today Show
8. Be recognized
9. Visit Mayan pyramids
10. See Italy’s countryside
11. Eat sushi in Japan
12. Buy a home in Manhattan
13. Live in London, England
14. See Africa
15. Get my PhD
16. Get an MFA in Creative Writing
17. Go to J-school at Columbia
18. Teach a writing class
19. Be a professor
20. Give a commencement address
21. Sit on a Board of Trustees
22. Buy a bigger house
23. Pay for my children’s college education
24. Be a millionaire
25. Invest in real estate
26. Take a road trip with friends
27. Have lunch with Anna Quindlin
28. Have a clean house
29. Learn how to keep a clean house
30. Be in a movie
31. Make a difference
32. Be known
33. Write a cookbook – Accomplished 2007
34. Be published in a consumer magazine – Accomplished Oct. 2008
35. Help others
36. Move back to New York
37. Have my own cooking show
38. Sit on the other side of the interviewing table (as in get interviewed myself) – Accomplished March 2008
39. Be an editor – Accomplished Sept. 2006
40. Have a successful freelance career – Accomplished Aug. 2008, sort of.
41. Learn to enjoy wine – Accomplished 2008
42. Interview Bobby Flay
43. Have a column in a major glossy magazine
44. Buy a beach house
45. Start activity planning for retirement and contribute to my savings account
46. Get my cookbook published already
47. See my friends more often
48. Learn how to manage my time better
49. …………………..to be continued