2022 in review

Here we are again. I'm not sure why I still do this. Part of me wants to start blogging again. Do people still blog? Do people read blogs? Anyway, I like at least having this yearly snapshot of my life, so here we go!

1. What did you do in 2022 that you’d never done before?  Hmm....I self published our book on Amazon. It was previously traditionally published but our contract ended in 2019. It's available again with a new cover.

On the Edge of My World https://a.co/d/adoDYV3

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I don't make resolutions, but I do want to refocus on my eating habits and try to drop a few pounds.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? A beautiful lady I only know through social media gave birth after 8 years of infertility.

4. Did anyone close to you die? Adam's Uncle Ron passed away in November

5. What countries did you visit? Ha, no.

6. What would you like to have in 2023 that you didn’t have in 2022? A true end to the pandemic

7. What dates from 2022 will be etched upon your memory, and why? Accepting a job with direct reports. It was a big step and something I used to be strongly against doing. 

8. What was your biggest achievement of this year? My new position at work

9. What was your biggest failure? I refuse to focus on failure 

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?  I had a herniated disc in June that seems to be flaring up again. Also my doctors became concerned about my chronic low white blood cell counts, which took a dip recently. I had a bone marrow biopsy a few weeks ago to pinpoint the cause of my neutropenia. Genetic results are still pending but they found no abnormal cells which is great. They think I have a congenital condition, but they want to determine which one.

11. What was the best thing you bought? Way too much Holo Taco nail polish

12. Whose behavior merited celebration? Pushing myself at work

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? The repeal of Roe V Wade, for one thing. The political climate in this country right now terrifies me.

14. Where did most of your money go? Bills and Amazon

15. What did you get really excited about? When we got Rainer one year ago tomorrow!

16. What song will always remind you of 2022? Anything from Taylor Swifts Midnights Album

17. Compared to this time last year, are you: a) happier or sadder? b) thinner or fatter? c) richer  or poorer? I've decided this question doesn't take me to good places mentally and I shall abstain from answering it.

18. What do you wish you’d done more of? Reading

19. What do you wish you’d done less of? Stressing out

20. How did you spend Christmas? We'd planned to have my sisters over, but Michelle tested positive for covid Christmas morning and it all kind of fell apart. We just had a quiet day at home and then video called them on the afternoon.

21. Did you fall in love in 2022? More and more every day with my husband and kids. I will never change this answer

22. What was your favorite TV show? The Orville. Please bring it back, Seth MacFarlane!!!

 23. What was the best book you read? The Almost Sisters by Joshilyn Jackson. I also enjoyed The Anthropocene Review by John Greene

24. What was your greatest musical discovery? TSwift Midnights and also some of her more recent albums I hadn't really listened to 

25. What did you want and get? For my family to stay safe and healthy-still true

26. What did you want and not get? To spend time with friends and family. Sadly still true. We are the rare ones still being super cautious. 

27. What was your favorite film of 2022? Offhand the only film I remember seeing new this year was Red. Very cute.

28. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? It was a blessed Saturday! I did not have to work and we had Texas Roadhouse for dinner!

29. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? No pandemic, obviously.

30. How would you describe your personal fashion concept of 2022? Work on top, lounge in bottom. Still my work from home standard. Also I did a new manicure every week this year

31. What kept you sane? Adam and the boys, YouTube, Netflix, music, painting my nails.

32. What political issue stirred you the most? Roe v Wade and the threat of taking away the rights of so many people

33. Who did you miss? My sister, my grandparents and my great aunt and my little Gabriel and all the friends and family I haven't seen in person this year. This did not change 

 34. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2021. You can get used to most things

 35. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year. Coming up empty here! Gonna give myself a pass.

Still Surviving - 2021 in review

We survived another year. It wasn't much better than 2020, but we were more used to it, right? It wouldn't be right to miss my only post of the year! 

1. What did you do in 2021 that you’d never done before?  Ummm...there isn't much opportunity to do new things just now.

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I don't make resolutions

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? Nope

4. Did anyone close to you die? I wasn't close to him, but my Uncle recent past away from Covid. Get vaccinated people!

5. What countries did you visit? Ha, no.

6. What would you like to have in 2022 that you didn’t have in 2021? Less suckage

7. What dates from 2021 will be etched upon your memory, and why? Little things, like our personal state fair day, Christmas, special snack days with the kids

8. What was your biggest achievement of this year? Work stuff and surviving

9. What was your biggest failure? I refuse to focus on failure 

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?  Thankfully no!

11. What was the best thing you bought? Mostly stuff for the house and clothing or nail art indulgences

12. Whose behavior merited celebration? I have kept up my weight loss, which is awesome

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? The continued ignorance of people who refuse to help end the pandemic 

14. Where did most of your money go? Groceries, it feels like

15. What did you get really excited about? We are getting a puppy literally tomorrow and I'm really excited  about it!

16. What song will always remind you of 2021? Anything from Hamilton, which I've been obsessed with all year

17. Compared to this time last year, are you: a) happier or sadder? b) thinner or fatter? c) richer  or poorer? About the same across the board

18. What do you wish you’d done more of? Sleeping. I don't sleep enough 

19. What do you wish you’d done less of? Stressing out

20. How did you spend Christmas? Another quiet ne at home, just the 5 of us. The weather was warm and we got laser tag for the kids so we went outside to enjoy that 

21. Did you fall in love in 2021? More and more every day with my husband and kids. I will never change this answer

22. What was your favorite TV show? We binge watched Grays Anatomy, which I loved

 23. What was the best book you read? The Hamilton companion book

24. What was your greatest musical discovery?  Hamilton

25. What did you want and get? For my family to stay safe and healthy-still true

26. What did you want and not get? To spend time with friends and family. Sadly still true

27. What was your favorite film of 2021? Hamilton again

28. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? Work, as always. Next year my bday is on the weekend!

29. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? No pandemic, obviously.

30. How would you describe your personal fashion concept of 2021? Work on top, lounge in bottom

31. What kept you sane? Adam and the boys, YouTube, Netflix, music, paint by number 

32. What political issue stirred you the most? The freaking madness from January 

33. Who did you miss? My sister, my grandparents and my great aunt and my little Gabriel and all the friends and family I haven't seen in person this year. This did not change 

 34. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2021. You can get used to most things

 35. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year. Coming up empty here! Gonna give myself a pass.

Will I post more in 2022? Let's see!

Never been so happy to see a year end

 

Wow. We freaking made it! Well, almost. Personally, I am not setting foot outside my house until 2020 is officially over. I feel like it might have a few more punches to throw and I'd like to avoid them! 

I haven't posted in a year, but I figured it was a year to document, at least at a glance!

1. What did you do in 2020 that you’d never done before?  Lived through a Global pandemic.

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I don't make resolutions

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? Not unless you count people I follow on YouTube.

4. Did anyone close to you die? My stepfather-in-law Richard, our dog Gracie, and my coworker Kerry. This year sucked.

5. What countries did you visit? I've only left my county a handful of times this year, I definitely didn't leave the country.

6. What would you like to have in 2021 that you didn’t have in 2020? Less anxiety about everything, even marginally less.

7. What dates from 2020 will be etched upon your memory, and why? Early March, when the world shut down.

8. What was your biggest achievement of this year? Just keeping it together, working from home, helping supervise the kids virtual learning, and not being a total shrew to my family.

9. What was your biggest failure? I refuse to pick a failure this year. It was rough enough.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?  It wasn't a great year for my health. I had a detatched retina in June that required surgery. I have recently been dealing with a random rapid heartbeat. So far, everything checks out ok, but it's an ongoing concern for me. But I didn't catch Covid!

11. What was the best thing you bought? Clothes that fit!

12. Whose behavior merited celebration? I have lost 60 lbs since September 2019 and kept it off. I am very proud of that and I definitely feel better physically and mentally because of it.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? People who refuse to wear masks!

14. Where did most of your money go? Bills, though we saved a lot on gas this year!

15. What did you get really excited about? Painting my nails! I think I've only had naked nails a couple of weeks this entire year!

16. What song will always remind you of 2020? Anything from Frozen 2, which Spotify tells me I have listened to more than anything else

17. Compared to this time last year, are you: a) happier or sadder? b) thinner or fatter? c) richer  or poorer? I am proud to say I'm thinner and richer. I'd have to say sadder though, it's been a hard year. 

18. What do you wish you’d done more of? Reading and writing again. I want to write, but inspiration is lacking.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of? Stressing out

20. How did you spend Christmas? We had a quiet but lovely day at home. Comfy clothes, games, and watching the kids enjoy the day. We missed having my sisters and almost brother in law over, but otherwise it was a normal Christmas. Santa came through with a PS5, so my boys (all 3) were happy!

21. Did you fall in love in 2020? More and more every day with my husband and kids

22. What was your favorite TV show? Star Trek Discovery

 23. What was the best book you read? I finally read Jenny Larson's books and they were hilarious.

24. What was your greatest musical discovery?  Classical and instrumental music. Its great background while I'm working.

25. What did you want and get? For my family to stay safe and healthy

26. What did you want and not get? To spend time with friends and family. 

27. What was your favorite film of 2020? I don't know if I saw anything new, actually.

28. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I turned 38. I worked and had chocolate cake, same as last year.

29. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? No pandemic, obviously.

30. How would you describe your personal fashion concept of 2020? Lol I don't know if I'll ever be able to wear real pants for an entire day again. I wear regular work type tops with yoga/lounge pants or leggings during the work day with comfy shoes or slippers. I spent most of the year in clothes that were too big for me and have just started buying new things that fit. Online shopping is hard when you don't know your size!

31. What kept you sane? Adam and the boys, YouTube, Netflix, music

32. What political issue stirred you the most? We did not re-elect Trump, thank goodness!!!!

33. Who did you miss? My sister, my grandparents and my great aunt and my little Gabriel and all the friends and family I haven't seen in person this year.

 34. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2020. I am mostly a homebody.

 35. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year. Keep holding on, you're gonna make it through, you'll make it through.

Best hopes for 2021 to anyone who stumbles onto this post on this mostly dead blog!

New Year, (almost) Same Post

I can't quite let go of this streak, even though I haven't written since last January!

1. What did you do in 2019 that you’d never done before?  Hmm...I learned to do string art.

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I don't make resolutions

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? A few Facebook friends

4. Did anyone close to you die? Grandma Long, Adam's Aunt Sandy, and just last night, My Aunt Sandy, plus our cat Tippy. 

5. What countries did you visit? Another year stateside for me

6. What would you like to have in 2020 that you didn’t have in 2019? More financial stability 

7. What dates from 2019 will be etched upon your memory, and why? Hmm nothing jumps out at me.

8. What was your biggest achievement of this year? I've still feeling good about my work

9. What was your biggest failure? I read and wrote less this year than I have in a long time.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?  Not me, though I helped my mom when she broke her shoulder. 

11. What was the best thing you bought? My fitbit versa 2

12. Whose behavior merited celebration? My kiddos accomplishments 

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? Ugh, Donald Trump. (Some more)

14. Where did most of your money go? Bills 

15. What did you get really excited about? Finding what works for me to start getting healthier

16. What song will always remind you of 2019? Shallow Lady Gaga

17. Compared to this time last year, are you: a) happier or sadder? b) thinner or fatter? c) richer  or poorer? Things are looking up for all three of these!

18. What do you wish you’d done more of? Reading and writing

19. What do you wish you’d done less of? Stressing out

20. How did you spend Christmas? We had a quiet but lovely day at home. Comfy clothes, games, and watching the kids enjoy the day

21. Did you fall in love in 2019? More and more every day with my husband and kids

22. What was your favorite TV show? The good place

 23. What was the best book you read? I did a lot of rereading when I read this year

24. What was your greatest musical discovery?  Lol the Frozen 2 soundtrack

25. What did you want and get? First family photos in 6 years

26. What did you want and not get? We didn't go away for our anniversary like I had hoped.

27. What was your favorite film of 2019? Frozen 2 (sorry)

28. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I turned 37. I worked and had chocolate cake lol

29. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Less stress and anxiety in general

30. How would you describe your personal fashion concept of 2019? I kept up my haircut. I kept it mostly comfy this year however I could

31. What kept you sane? Adam and the boys, family and friends, audiobooks, music and YouTube 

32. What political issue stirred you the most? Donald Trump is still president

33. Who did you miss? My sister, my grandparents and my great aunt and my little Gabriel.

 34. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2019. Some years are going to be nothing spectacular, and that's ok.

 35. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year. 

Crash through the surface, where they can't hurt us
We're far from the shallow now

Today he would be two

My Gabe, I'm missing you today and every day. Love Mommy.

Another New Year

I haven't posted in ages! But old habits die hard so I thought I'd check in with my New Years post.

1. What did you do in 2018 that you’d never done before?  Hmm...I took on more of a managerial role at work, acting as direct supervisor for someone.

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I don't make resolutions really 

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? A few Facebook friends

4. Did anyone close to you die? Thankfully, no.

5. What countries did you visit? Another year stateside for me

6. What would you like to have in 2019 that you didn’t have in 2018? I would like to gain some financial stability 

7. What dates from 2018 will be etched upon your memory, and why? AJ's first day of school

8. What was your biggest achievement of this year? I've made some great strides at work and feel very accomplished in that arena

9. What was your biggest failure?  Weight/healthwise.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?  Nothing major this year yay!

11. What was the best thing you bought? Our newish car, its fancy!

12. Whose behavior merited celebration? Work stuffs (no wonder I don't blog more, I'm so boring!)

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? Ugh, Donald Trump. (Some more)

14. Where did most of your money go? Bills 

15. What did you get really excited about? Adam and I are thinking of taking a little trip for our 15th anniversary this year

16. What song will always remind you of 2018? The entire soundtrack of the Greatest Showman (still obsessed)

17. Compared to this time last year, are you: a) happier or sadder? b) thinner or fatter? c) richer  I think I've stayed steady in all areas this year, for better or worse 

18. What do you wish you’d done more of? excercising and writing

19. What do you wish you’d done less of? Stressing out

20. How did you spend Christmas? We had a quiet but lovely day at home. Comfy clothes, games, and watching the kids enjoy the day

21. Did you fall in love in 2018? More and more every day with my husband and kids

22. What was your favorite TV show? I binge watched The Good Place and loved it

 23. What was the best book you read? Turtles all the way down by John Green

24. What was your greatest musical discovery? The Greatest Showman lol

25. What did you want and get? New car

26. What did you want and not get? I didnt manage to get family photos done

27. What was your favorite film of 2018? The Greatest Showman (broken record)

28. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I turned 36. I worked and had chocolate cake lol

29. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Less stress and anxiety in general

30. How would you describe your personal fashion concept of 2018 ? I still love leggings. I got a cute dress and chunky sandals last summer I really loved. Oh, and this year I finally ended up with a haircut I love

31. What kept you sane? Adam and the boys, family and friends, books, music and YouTube 

32. What political issue stirred you the most? Donald Trump is still president

33. Who did you miss? My sister, my grandparents and my great aunt and my little Gabriel.

 34. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2018. Some years are going to be nothing spectacular, and that's ok.

 35. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year. 

When the sharpest words wanna cut me down
I'm gonna send a flood, gonna drown them out
I am brave, I am bruised
I am who I'm meant to be, this is me

6.28.18

I'm sitting on a tiny bench in a love little oasis. A fountain in the pond burbles cheerfully. The sun is hot but a light breeze ruffles my hair. At my feet are flowers. In front of me is a birdbath. There are few toys scattered nearby.

It's a beautiful place, but it's a sad beauty.

The bench sits near the headstone commemorating too many babies gone to soon, including my Gabe. I find small comfort that I can visit this pretty place and do a tiny thing for the child I planned to do so much more for.

Two years ago you left us. I miss you, sweet baby boy.