Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Relief, and Reflections on 2008

Before I get to my year-end recap, I wanted to offer a hallelujah for a MUCH better afternoon on Tuesday.

Behold, the evidence:

Entertaining himself:
A tidy pantry:


I even had half a second to make cookies:

And just think? I get to do it all over again today! (I'm only being a little sarcastic, I promise.)
And now, back to my already-written reflection on 2008:

What did you do in 2008 that you’d never done before? moved away from home, for reasons other than going to college

Did you keep your New Year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I did not make any for 2008, but there are some on the docket for 2009.

Did anyone close to you give birth? Yes! Kristen, Nikki, Mandie, Stacy, Stephanie...and all the rest of my SAL gals, too.

Did anyone close to you die? My Grandpa Beamer. He was a GOOD man, in the truest sense of the word.

What countries did you visit? Stayed planted here on American soil.

What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008? A healthy pregnancy.

What dates from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? June 29, when we learned of Daina's successful IVF; August 22, when my dear friend Daniel was married; October 19, the knowledge and loss of our twins; November 7, closing on our TN home; December 14, Seth's first birthday and first real steps; and December 15, my last day of work.

What was your biggest achievement of the year? Nursing Seth for 9 months, 1 week, and 5 days.

What was your biggest failure? Failure is such a harsh word...I didn't lose all of the weight that I wanted to after my miscarriage in October.

Did you suffer illness or injury? Yes.

What was the best thing you bought? Is it pathetic that I'm really happy about my $3 decor pumpkins from Target? But seriously, the best thing is our new home in Tennessee.

Whose behavior merited celebration? I really proud of how well Jim handles and orchestrated our move to TN. He has done so well in making the transition as smooth for me as possible, even though I was left behind in OH with Seth for so long.

Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? I'll go with a not-so-personal response to this one, and choose the media frenzy over Caylee Anthony's disappearance.

Where did most of your money go? Let's see...we had a baby, bought a car, built a deck, and bought a house. I'm not sure which of those trumps the others.

What did you get really, really, really excited about? Our vacations to California and Florida, spending time with Daina, and finally moving as a WHOLE family into our new home in TN.

What song will always remind you of 2008? International Harvester by Craig Morgan. It was in the Top 20 Country Countdown in the weeks following Seth's birth, and every Saturday morning, Jim would dance and sing along to this music video with Seth.

Compared to this time last year, are you: a) happier or sadder? b) thinner or fatter? c) richer or poorer? a) neither happier nor sadder, but I'm definitely more awake!; b) thinner, considering I was 2 weeks postpartum this time last year; and c) richer, no thanks to our investments, though

What do you wish you’d done more of? spent more time corresponding with friends

What do you wish you’d done less of? emotional eating

How did you spend Christmas? St. Augustine with lots of family. It was a full house with Andrew home from NC, Grandma up from Nakomis with Tucker, Adam and Taylor, Mom and Greg and Bailey, and Jim, Seth, and I. And a partridge in a pear tree. ;)

Did you fall in love in 2008? Only more so with my husband.

What was your favorite TV program? One Tree Hill. Love. It. Can't wait til it's back on January 5.

What was the best book you read? I think that the only book I read was Jodi Picoult's Second Glance, which was really enjoyable.

What was your favorite film this year? The Dark Knight was the only movie I saw in the theater; considering I saw it twice, I say it gets my "favorite" vote.

What did you do on your birthday and how old were you? nothing exciting this year, though big changes were on the horizon. I turned 28.

What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? NOT losing our twins in October

How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008? transitional -- from pregnant to not; and from working mom to not.

What kept you sane? friends, the blog world, my mother-in-law, and my boys.

Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? ehhh...Elmo? my heroes are real people like Sara.

What political issue stirred you the most? I won't go as far to pick on specific issue, but seeing Obama behind the "Office of the President Elect" podium stirred up some pretty powerful emotions.

Who did you miss? I missed having my paternal grandmother around to get to know Seth.

Who was the best new person you met? Oh, this is hard. "Met" as in "met in person," then Diana, hands down. But "met" as in "made the acquaintance of," then it's a tie between Stacy and Sarah.

Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008. I really CAN do what I put my mind to; if I can push through 10 months of exclusive pumping, I can do anything.

Quote a song lyric that sums up your year. "I'm a little bit of chicken fried..." This song by the Zac Brown band describes the kind of family life I want to have with my boys.

6 comments:

Sarah said...

Loved getting to know you a bit more and so happy to hear Tuesday was a good day!

Angela said...

Oh my gosh, I am stealing your list for my blog! (With my answers, of course.)
I enlarged the picture of your pantry because I think it looks *just* like the contents of mine! Complete with blueberry Mini-Wheats, Pasta Roni, French Fried Onions, and lots, lots more. Happy New Year! :)

Mrs. Frogster said...

Just wanted to say Happy New Year! I really enjoy reading your blog and stop by often to see what nuggets of entertainment or wisdom I can glean. Thanks for a great blog!

Sara said...

I stole it. :)

Kendra said...

Glad to hear this day looked better!!! I wanna play too...can I copy this?

lalalady said...

What a great post. I am SO wishing you a happy and healthy pregnancy for 2009. The loss of your twins was one of my most heartbreaking moments of 2008, to the extent that I could feel that for you. [[[hugs]]] And it's so good to see Seth busy and happy in the new house. Your pantry looks great!! Hope you guys have a wonderful New Year's Day together. Hugs, D. :)