I know I'm several weeks late on this, but after seeing one of my favorite blogger friends post this list, I wanted to spend some time reminiscing about what truly was hands down the best year of my life.
2. Did you keep your New Year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I'm not into resolutions, but I have been trying to keep up with my mantras of staying positive and trusting and respecting Annie.
3. Did anyone close to you have a child? Hoo, boy, did they ever! It was a true baby boom around here. Laura, Mindy, and Becca all had children in 2010. Several more in the works for 2011 with 2 already making their appearance!
4. Did anyone close to you die? Ian Gregory, one of Becca and Joe's triplets, died in utero at 29 weeks gestation.
5. Where did you travel? Up to the cabin, a few times. To Duluth for our 5 year anniversary. A pretty light travel year, but it looks like I might be making up for that this year!
7. What dates from 2010 will remain etched upon your memory? January 31st. Obviously. April 26th, when Ben and I both returned to the working world. October 29th, when Becca had her babies. [Edited to add - December 18th!! The day my little sister got married. The biggest day of the year, obvi]
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Keeping Annie alive.
9. What was your biggest failure? I'm not one to dwell on failures, and honestly there is nothing that happened last year that should even come close to qualifying for that.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury? Thankfully, no, unless you count the 9th month of pregnancy as an illness or injury. Which, yes, kind of, I guess. I suppose the aftermath of giving birth could also count as an injury.
11. What was the best thing you bought? Probably my "new" car - a 2003 Honda Accord. Ben really was the one who picked it out, but my name was on the check too, so it counts.
12. Whose behavior merited celebration? Ben - he really is the best husband and father in my eyes. There was never a doubt in my mind that he'd be awesome at this, but he's really so much better than I could have even hoped. So patient, and understanding, and the love he has for Annie is amazing to watch unfold.
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? Honestly? I've clearly been pretty absorbed in my little family this year, so I have barely paid attention to a lot of the outside world. As painful as it is to admit, probably those that got me most riled up were strangers on message boards. Sigh... Or the comments on the New York Times Motherlode blog. Those are always good to get my blood boiling.
14. Where did most of your money go? I don't know, Ben deals with that stuff :) I assume: mortgage, bills, Target. More Target. Carters.com. Oldnavy.com. Oh, and the car was a big one too I suppose. We still have been managing to save a lot, which is great.
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? I got really excited watching Annie become a person. I've been reflecting a lot on her past year since I've been diligently working on a slideshow for her birthday party, and it's just incredible to remember that she was once a tiny blob who couldn't even control her movements, and now she's this little girl who can move with intention and is pretty quick. She understands who I am, and is so excited to crawl over to me when I pick her up at daycare. Watching her transformation has definitely been what I've gotten most excited about this year. I also get a large amount of excitement over new blog posts from my favorite blog friends, planning parties, sales on cute baby clothes, bagel Fridays at work, and helping my friends to learn about things I love, as I mentioned in this post.
16. What song will always remind you of 2010? I'm not a big music person, although it is on a lot at our house. I think my "mainstream labor" playlist will always remind me of the first part of this year that I spent at home with Annie, because it was constantly on repeat. Also "The Weight" by The Band, aka "Take a load off, Annie" :) because we listen to that one a lot around here, too.
17. Compared to this time last year, are you: a) happier or sadder?b) thinner or fatter? c) richer or poorer? a) definitely happier, although I wans't UN-happy in 2009. The happiness has just grown. b) thinner, which isn't too big of an accomplishment, given that I looked like this at the end of 2009. c) I'm not sure. Probably in overall assets, richer...? But not by much, that's for sure.
18. What do you wish you’d done more of? Actual sleeping in my bed, instead of laying in it awake, wanting to sleep.
19. What do you wish you’d done less of? Worrying about stupid things that aren't a big deal. I think I have done a good job of getting more laid back about things and trying not to let my anxiety get the best of me, but it's a constant struggle!
21. Did you fall in love in 2010? Yes - with my little Annie. It took me awhile to honestly be able to say that, but it happened and keeps happening every day.
22. What was your favorite TV program? I fell out of love with TV this year. I really didn't watch much of anything. The only one that continues to suck me in is Gossip Girl.
23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? No - just the same old, same old :)
24. What was the best book you read? I didn't read much this year, but by far the best book I read was The Help.
25. What was your greatest musical discovery? This question implies that I HAD any musical discoveries, which I didn't.
26. What did you want and get? Too many things to list. To start out the year, I wanted to give birth without any drugs, which I was able to do. I wanted to breastfeed Annie for at least 6 months, which I did. And more petty things, I wanted new boots, which my mom gave me for my birthday.
28. What did you want and not get? Honestly, nothing major is springing to mind. I really did have a great year, I guess!
29. What was your favorite film of this year? I went to one movie all year - Sex and the City 2, and it wasn't that good. I watched a few on Netflix, one I remember liking quite a bit was Sherlock Holmes.
30. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I turned 29, and I went out with many of my friends to Maxwell's - it was really fun! Everyone was gone by 10:30 - we really are getting old :)
31. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? If I wouldn't have had any sleep issues - it really does make life a lot worse.
32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2010? Ha. Haaaaaaaaa. Fashion, what's that? I guess my fashion concept is - jeans or plain colored pants and a long or short sleeved solid color v-neck top. And the most inconspicuous comfortable shoes possible. That's about it. I got a few fun things for my birthday and Christmas, so I'm trying to make a bit more of an effort with my appearance this year.
33. What kept you sane? Ben. My friends and family. The internet. My awesome coworkers.
34. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? Have really lost touch with the celebrity world, which is a good thing. I used to spend FAR too much time reading Perez Hilton, and I'm happy to say I don't care at all anymore! I still love Matt Damon, though.
35. What political issue stirred you the most? Usually the more I know, the madder I get, and the more helpless I feel, so I chose to remain blissfully ignorant this year. Issues surrounding parenting and babies were most interesting to me.
36. Who did you miss? I miss all my friends that don't live here anymore - Chelsea, Erin, Diane, Nicki, Sonja, and more I'm sure. Although I get to see them sometimes, it's not the same! I miss some friends who I've completely lost touch with - I rarely let that happen, but sometimes lives are just too different to have a meaningful relationship anymore. I still definitely miss them though.
37. Who was the best new person you met? I "met" lots of blogger friends - I won't even list them for fear I'd forget someone, but I love getting comments from them and also reading about their journeys through parenthood! I was glad to meet a lot of new babies this year too - Nathan, Abby, Grace and Sam!
38. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2010. Just chill the F out. Or as Ben says, CFO. It's probably the most important thing I can repeat to myself all the time.
3 comments:
what about your little sister getting married? that's a big 2010 event.
See? This is why I can't do things like this. Less than a month ago, and I didn't even remember. I have the worst memory ever.
Thanks for doing this! Yay!
I totally agree on the sleep thing. If we could just get more sleep - for whatever reason - we would be happier, healthier, have better memories (that's what I'd blame the omission of your sister's wedding on), more patience and so much more. Oh sleep... how I miss you.
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