Wrapping Up 2016

Wrapping up 2015

1. What did you do in 2016 that you'd never done before?
   Gave birth
2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions and will you make more for next year?
From Last Year
• A bad habit I'm going to break: Eating when I'm stressed/bored/sad/celebrating
  LOLOLOLOL
• A new skill I'd like to learn: light woodworking parenting
  Well, it happened whether or not I was ready for it!
• A person I hope to be more like: Someone who can easily socialize with others
  I have had to meet and socialize with many new moms to get out of the house and feel like part of a community. It has been very good for me and for baby.
• A good deed I'm going to do: Donate my time
  Like...what time? I did end up making freezer meal(s) for new mom(s) in my area, and I stepped up to take on a role in my local parenting network.
• A place I'd like to visit: England
  Again, pregnant. And then had a baby. Travel overseas for no reason other than to travel? HAHAHA.
This Year
• A bad habit I'm going to break: Eating cheese outside of meals
• A new skill I'd like to learn: Hand Lettering/Bullet Journaling
• A person I hope to be more like: Someone who can be self aware without feeling awkward about themselves
• A good deed I'm going to do: Donate to a Food Pantry
• A place I'd like to visit: An Alpaca Farm
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
   Well, I did, haha. It does't get much closer than that! Otherwise, yes, there were a few other babies joining mine in 2016 :)
4. Did anyone close to you die?
   Fortunately, although I did lose many childhood idols this year, no one closely related to me passed on.
5. What trips did you take?
   We went to PA for a wedding, and TX to visit with family.
6. What would you like to have in 2017 that you lacked in 2016?
   A full night's sleep
7. What date from 2016 will remain etched upon your memory and why?
   April 8th, the day our daughter came into our lives. Of course, I already forget most of the pain and stress, but I will always remember how that tiny little person joined our family.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
   Having a birth that was nearly the opposite of my birth plan in every way, and still feeling as though it was everything that it should have been.
9. What was your biggest failure?
   Just my big mouth...again.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
    My femoral nerve was damaged when I gave birth. I was unable to walk for days. I fell twice (hard). I laid in a hospital bed, needing everything to be handed to me, afraid to shower because I was a fall risk, seeing physical therapists and a neurologist in addition to the lactation consultants and pediatricians. My spirits were high—I had a brand new baby, after all, but it was tough. Thankfully everyone was supportive, and no one withheld her from me if I felt I needed her, because there was no way for me to take charge in that position. I finally left the hospital five days later with a full leg brace (never needed it, thank goodness), and a walker. I barely made it to my front door that first day, I had to pause in the middle of my lawn while my family brought out a kitchen chair for me to rest on!
    
    Once I got home, I managed to fall a third time in our bedroom. There's still a hole in our drywall shaped like my backside!
11. What was the best thing you bought?
    We bought a Subaru Outback. I have never had a new car for myself, and it has been very exciting driving around in one of the top safety rated cars with my kid in the backseat (I am so cool!)
12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
    J, because when I wasn't 100% myself after our daughter was born, he took it upon himself to be present and he took more time off from work than I thought he would (and that I thought he would be able to). He made sure we were both taken care of.
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
    Drumpf - many of the people who voted for him. And especially people who complained that those who "lost" the election were mourning the loss. Oh, I'm sorry that I have feelings. I'm sorry that I'm feeling exactly what you did eight years ago.
14. Where did most of your money go?
    That brand new baby (and car)
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
    Can I mention that I had a baby enough times?
16. What song will always remind you of 2016?
    Cecelia and the Sattelite by Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness | Closing Time by Semisonic
17. What do you wish you'd done more of?
    Sleep!
18. What do you wish you'd done less of?
    Stress about things outside of my sphere of control.
19. How did you spend Thanksgiving?
    With our Massachusetts family and friends.
20. How did you spend Christmas?
    In PA
21. How will you be spending New Years?
    Probably sleeping, because the baby isn't going to let us sleep in on January 1st!
22. Did you fall in love in 2016?
    Every single day, with my babe and with my husband.
23. What was your favorite TV program?
    I watched a lot of things on Netflix, but not one of them was especially memorable...remind me to answer this question when I have time to process shows again, instead of just consume them mindlessly.
24. Do you "hate" anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
    I think that I've come to decide that "hate," even the mild pretend "hate," is a completely wasted emotion. This doesn't mean that there isn't anyone that could have made this list, just that I choose not to participate in this question anymore.*
    *I have added an addendum to include the strong sense of dislike that I feel for people who mark up library books.
25.  What was the best book you read?
    Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, and Little Blue Truck
26. What was your greatest musical discovery?
    
27. What did you want that you also ended up getting?
    An Outback, a Vacuum Sealer, This Circle of Neglect.
28. What did you want that you did not end up getting?
    Oddly enough, snow. Last year was miserable, but this year we only got one snowstorm, and I had to snowblow our driveway being miserably pregnant because it was the one day J had a work trip this winter, and plow companies wouldn't come out to our house for such a small amount of snow (enough snow to keep me homebound, too little snow to warrant an emergency).
29. What was your favorite film of this year?
    Amanda Knox, the Netflix documentary. It was illuminating, even to someone who was pretty familiar with the case.
30. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
    I turned 32. I am sure that Jason and I had a nice dinner, but what I really remember was taking the day off from work, scrubbing the sink, and pampering myself all day long with a face mask and a foot soak (scrubbing the sink was nesting, gratifying, and something I do all the time now).
31. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
    I grew a lot from it, but I can't imagine how different my story would be right now if I hadn't damaged my nerve in April. I still suffer from side effects from that trauma now, and it wasn't even "that bad."
32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2016?
    A continuation of the maternity pants theme, until they stopped fitting (because the baby was out! Not the other way), then yoga pants and sweatshirts.
33. What kept you sane?
    My husband, and yoga
34. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
    Benedict Cumberbatch, America Ferrera
35. What political issue stirred you the most?
    Just the election in general made me so unbelievably angry. I'm glad that I'm in a like-minded Massachusetts bubble, but I was appalled at how senselessly callous some people can be in the name of politics. Things that they would not normally say about someone are fair game as long as it's an us-vs-them argument and they neglect to remember (or care) that their loved ones are sometimes "them."
36. Who did you miss?
    My grandmother, as always
37. Who was the best new person you met?
    My baby :)
38. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2015
    Always close your mouth when a baby's mouth is near yours, because they just might puke into it for funsies and without warning.
39. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
    

    Of all the things my hands have held, the best by far is you. - Andrew McMahon