(Please note that I scrambled to publish this during my lunch hour today, so if you check back and notice that some of the answers to these questions have been either changed and/or flushed out since then, you are not hallucinating. Thanks for playing.)
1. What did you do in 2010 that you’d never done before?
Where to start? As uneventful as 2010 was in a lot of ways - no change in address, job, or the number of people living in my home - I still experienced countless memorable moments. First of all, I turned 30. Watched my baby boy turn one. Locked my daughter in the car. Completed my first half-marathon. Paid for my children's first haircuts. Took said kids to the beach. Witnessed a live birth. Joined a book club. Attended my first same-sex marriage celebration. Enrolled my oldest child into "preschool." Got myself knocked up with baby number three. Watched my not-so-baby girl ditch her crib for a toddler bed, potty train, and turn three (upcoming post on that last one, someday).
2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
Here are the goals I listed for 2010:
- Complete the Mini-Marathon in May CHECK, THANK YOU VERY MUCH
- Attend 8/10 company racing circuit events CHECK
- Volunteer again (1 hour/week for a elementary school reading program I used to be a part of) CHECK - Though I did decide against signing up again at the start of the new school year
- Build a six-month emergency fund FAIL
- Have regular date nights with Luke FAIL
- Be a more patient mother UP FOR INTERPRETATION, and I'll kindly thank you to keep your nose out of my personal affairs
- Visit family in Chicago every 4 to 5 weeks FAIL
- Take a family vacation HALF CHECK - We did take the kids to the beach up north and did a few other summery activities, but we had to abandon plans to stay at a hotel and bunked with Luke's parents instead
- Take a full week off not related to maternity leave (no babies in 2010!) HALF CHECK - While I did take off the week of Thanksgiving and the week of New Year's, there was a fetus growing in my uterus - not exactly what I had in mind for a baby-free vacay, you know?
As for the "Will I make more for this year?" part, there are certain invevitables that will be accomplished this year, and I'll get to those in a minute, but in regards to goals, I'm taking a new approach for 2011 and choosing instead to focus on a single word that will serve as my theme for the entire year: prepare. As in, prepare my body to give birth and care for a newborn again; prepare our house to be put on the market in 2012; prepare our finances for another addition and for selling our house; etc. I feel like this is a transition year for my family, as we gear up for big and exciting life changes slated for the future.
Now for (some of) the inevitables:
- Pay off credit card balance, which continues to serve as the proverbial/financial thorn in our side
- Paint the kitchen and the kids' bedrooms and bathroom
- Revamp the backyard and frontyard landscape
- Deliver a healthy baby (I sure hope this is inevitable)
- Enroll Kara into an official preschool class and Nathan into some sort of program this fall
- Lose the baby weight gained from pregnancy number three (again, thinking positive here)
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
My sister Samantha gave birth to my lovely niece, Rosemary Lyn.
4. Did anyone close to you die?
Fortunately, no.
5. Which countries did you visit?
Unfortunately, none.
6. What would you like to have in 2011 that you lacked in 2010?
I want to say money, but that's really shallow, isn't it? Let's go with patience instead. You can't have too much of that.
7. What dates from 2010 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
May 8: The Mini
October 11: Baby-Making Day
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Running the Mini.
9. What was your biggest failure?
Managing money. Keeping my temper in check as a mother.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
I "caught" a case of patellofemoral pain syndrome resulting from overtraining and poor choice of running shoe. Other than that, just a couple colds.
11. What was the best thing you bought?
Kara's tuition for preschool.
12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
My brother Geo's, for taking the sheriff's test.My brother-in-law Jason's, for serving our country. My sister Ryan's, for making it through a horrific experience this spring. Kara's, for her potty-training achievements. Nathan's, for his overall charmingness. Luke's, for continuing to rock the stay-at-home parenting gig.
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
I learned about two couples who are divorcing near the end of the year, and the behavior of the husbands in both instances is still appalling to me.
14. Where did most of your money go?
Visa. Diapers. Wedding expenses and car repairs. Yes, we are boring.
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Running the Mini and just being a runner in general. Going to the beach. Watching my sister give birth to my niece. Paying off one of our personal loans.
16. What song will always remind you of 2010?
"Rocketship Run" by the Laurie Berkner Band, because we listened to it and the rest of that CD so much throughout the second half of the year, among our many travels back home. Also, "I Gotta Feeling" and "Break Your Heart" always remind me of training for the Mini.
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? Honestly, probably a little sadder.
b) thinner or fatter? I weigh less than I did at this time last year, but my belly has extended beyond my kneecaps thanks to Number Three, not from devouring too many potato chips), so...neither?
c) richer or poorer? Poorer. Much, much poorer.
18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Travel. Save.
19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Worry. Yell.
20. How did you spend Christmas?
Opening presents with Luke, Kara, and Nathan, playing with their assortment of new toys, and wasting away on the couch.
21. Did you fall in love in 2010?
Not with anything new.
22. What was your favorite TV program?
Fringe and 30 Rock. We still have yet to obtain an antenna for watching basic stations after disconnecting satellite, so we bring my laptop home and watch them online. Makes it hard to watch anything but shows we absolutely cannot miss. Since that fateful August, I can count on one hand how many episodes I've seen of All My Children.
23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
No.
24. What was the best book you read?
How about most enjoyable? Committed by Elizabeth Gilbert. I didn't love it as much as Eat Pray Love, but I adore her voice and writing style.
25. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Here comes a loser parent-type answer: Laurie Berkner. We listen to music from our "regular" mix of CDs with the kids, but I like having something that's geared for them, too. And the songs are so much fun. If you don't have Rocketship Run in your collection, I highly recommend it.
26. What did you want and get?
Pregnancy number three!
27. What did you want and not get?
More money. (Again with the shallow. I assume you are sensing a theme here, yes?)
28. What was your favorite film of this year?
From the theatre? Because I saw two movies in an honest-to-goodness movie theatre this year for the first time since 2007: The Lovely Bones in January with work friends and Eat Pray Love in August with my new friend Jen. Both flicks were disappointing compared to their literary counterparts, but HOT DAMN it was fun to be at the show again.
29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
Luke and I held a joint birthday party for Kara and Nathan since it falls nicely between their actual birthdays. I turned 30.
30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Traveling. Saving. (THEME, people).
31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2010?
Work: Out-of-season New York and Company. Play: Yoga pants, capris, and racing tees.
32. What kept you sane?
My family.
33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Um, Joshua Jackson? From Fringe? You know, because he's hot?
34. What political issue stirred you the most?
Attitudes in the U.S. regarding length of maternity leave. Three guesses as to why!
35. Who did you miss?
Same folks as last year: my sister Ryan and brother-in-law, Jason. Jason is currently serving his second tour in Afghanistan, while Ryan continues to make a life for herself in Germany. He's due home in June, at which time they will begin the process of relocating to their next assignment - this time in the States!
36. Who was the best new person you met?
My new niece Rosemary. What a cutie.
37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2010.
"People first, then money, then things." This is actually a personal finance quote from Suze Orman, but it reminds of how long I was fighting my priorities and the order of their importance. Then, one day this fall I took the time to write a very important list - not a life list, and not a pros and cons list, but an important list just the same - that made it crystal clear what I most value in this life. Luke is in agreement, and we are finally ready to start going after it.
38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
"Some people aren't lucky like us" - courtesy of LeAnn Rimes, from the song that played during Sarah and Leslie's first dance. Luke and I ran into a lot of obstacles this year, but we came out intact. I wish every couple we knew could say the same. Nevertheless, we are so, so grateful for our children, and our health, and each other.
I don't think your savings/money answers are shallow. You aren't reaching to be a millionaire (but let's be honest, none of us would turn that down if there weren't strings attached). Although money doesn't buy happiness, it does prevent some contentment and security. I think it is a good goal and desire as long as you keep it in check.
Posted by: AJU5's Mom | January 11, 2011 at 02:35 PM
Good job in thinking throught the past year. Some time I might try to do that work.
Posted by: daddyd | January 11, 2011 at 07:41 PM