2010 Recap

1. What did you do in 2010 that you’d never done before? Family vacation with Skyler, including, riding in a Bentley. Ran my best pace in a race. Negotiated down the price of a car, all by myself!

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year? Halfway. My NY Resolution for 2010 involved doing several races. I did three races, but only through May. I had a stressful summer where I got off track and didn’t exercise much at all, and then Fall/Winter – our weekends were tied up and all the races I was interested in already conflicted with other things. But I’m already thinking about Spring 2011 races to challenge myself back to running more. There will be some sort of resolution to go with that, but I think I may challenge myself to do “x” number of pull-ups, since currently I can’t do a single one. We’ll see in January!

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? Lots of friends had babies – many their 2nd or 3rd child. Still happy with just one here!

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

5. What countries did you visit? Stayed in the US again, but made it all the way to Florida, at least! Hoping to see Jamaica in 2011.

6. What would you like to have in 2011 that you lacked in 2010? Two things mainly: Confidence at work and happiness in everyday life. At work I’m now in a supervisory position, and thus I need to trust myself more and not second guess myself so much. Humility is a virtue, but sometimes you just have to buck up and say “It’s not all luck, I really am smart sometimes!” And happiness – I had a rough year trying to maintain a happy baseline. I haven’t really written about it here on the blog, because it seems so whimpy and pathetic. But, there are reasons for it, I’ve learned, and so I think I’ve got it better figured out – how to keep myself positive. My two keys are: 1) take the right birth control pills that don’t make me feel sick all the time, and 2) exercise regularly. Once I got those two things figured out about three quarters of the way through the year, my world, physically and mentally, got a whole lot better!

7. What dates from 2010 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? October 9 – 17. That was our vacation. It was much anticipated and did not disappoint. I still think about it almost every day and the great time and memories that were made as a family.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? I got promoted at work, improved my running speed a few times, and Skyler got potty-trained. That’s three, but I like them all.

9. What was your biggest failure? Back to the happiness thing from question #6, I felt like I failed myself and those around me by not taking the best care of myself for most of the year. I should’ve been more active, and definitely should have gone to the doctor a long time ago to figure out why I felt so crummy most of the time.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury? Not specifically, but feeling like I’m going to pass out, barf, or cry every other day for a good part of the year was definitely a form of suffering!

11. What was the best thing you bought? Ooooh. I had some good purchases this year. My new SUV was a big one and a long time coming. I love that car. Don’t love the gas mileage, but it’s worth it! I also got a great pair of boots. I eyed them in a catalog for a long time, finally ordered them, and then they were backordered for like two months, so when I finally got them, they were so worth the wait! Also, panties for Skyler, because that meant we were no longer buying DIAPERS!

12. Whose behavior merited celebration? Ronnie’s been kickin’ butt and takin’ names all year. He works so hard and is so passionate about it. He lives what he works, and entered his first fitness-related competition (other than a race) and made us all proud.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? I got nuthin’.

14. Where did most of your money go? We still have lots of expenses – new car payment and motorcycle payment, plus daycare. But this year we’ve been way more budget-conscious, trying to get ahead and pay things off and not be stupid with our money, and it’s paid off. Christmas has not been a challenge to afford this year and on top of it we’re on track with savings for a ski trip and a Jamaica trip next year. Currently, we are comfortable. I am just enjoying it because things can change so quickly, and I already know that next year could be a very interesting year for us.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? Duh – vacation!

16. What song will always remind you of 2010? This is always a tough one – but I will go with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse theme song along with the closing “Hot Dog” song – this year was when Skyler finally took a liking to something specific, and it started with that show. She’s still very into Goofy, though since we got rid of cable hasn’t got to watch the show as much. It’s adorable to hear her sing those songs!

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? Happier!
b) thinner or fatter? Same.
c) richer or poorer? Richer!

18. What do you wish you’d done more of? Smile, laugh, exercise.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of? Feel crappy and yell at Skyler.

20. How did you spend Christmas? This way.

21. Did you fall in love in 2010? Of course I’m already in love with Ronnie, but we had two specific dates that come to mind this year that I feel brought us closer. Our anniversary spent at Capital Grille, and our date night on vacation in Florida, which was first at the restaurant we got married and then relaxing in the hot tub under the moon. Both evenings we had some of our best conversations, and it was kind of like we were dating again.

22. What was your favorite TV program? We cancelled cable this year, so I had to readjust my TV-watching habits. But we signed up for Netflix and from that started watching the Showtime series Dexter. It was so sick and twisted and gruesome, but strangely addicting and thought-provoking. The most recent season is on now, so we’ll have to wait till it comes out next year sometime to continue it. Also, we did the same thing with HBO’s True Blood, which is based off the Sookie Stackhouse books I read last year – it’s incredibly entertaining as well. For network TV, we’ve been making funny of the awful sitcoms that come on, with our least favorite being Two and a Half Men. I did get into Biggest Loser this Fall – so inspiring and just amazing how those people could change their lives!

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? normally I don’t have people to hate, but I’m just going to add that this year, I hate murderers and people that hurt other people on purpose.

24. What was the best book you read? I think I only read one book this year, and that was First Break All the Rules, a management book. It was interesting and I learned a lot.

25. What was your greatest musical discovery? The show The Sing Off.

26. What did you want and get? A new car and a vacation.

27. What did you want and not get? I really feel like this was a year to be grateful for. I think I have everything that I wanted.

28. What was your favorite film of this year? I am so not a movie buff and can’t remember most of what I’ve seen.

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I got another dinner date at Capital Grille! And family dinner of my mom’s stuffed shells. I was turned thirty-one and it was delicious!

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Did this question not get asked already? I wish I wouldn’t have felt yucky for most of it.

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2010? I always feel like I’m a year or two behind, but my main philosophy is to avoid looking like a frumpy mom. Hopefully that was accomplished.

32. What kept you sane? When I actually did it – working out. Also, painting.

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? I wasn’t much of a stargazer this year.

34. What political issue stirred you the most? I guess the health care reform stuff. Not at all sure if it’s worth anything, except for a lot of money that no one has. But, thankfully we canceled cable so we no longer have cable news and all the political issues blaring on our TV anymore depressing me and stressing me out. I am enjoying my ignorance!

35. Who did you miss? I still miss my girlfriends and wish we got to spend more girl time together.

36. Who was the best new person you met? Another work-related answer, but dang it I work with great people! We’ve had a lot of new faces start on our team this year and they are all really cool. Ronnie and I have also made some new friends this year, so it’s been fun branching out a bit and getting to know other people!

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2010. Why all the deep questions? Take care of your health. Challenge yourself. Find what makes you happy and work to keep those things in your life. This also sounds very cliche and dorky.

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year. I can’t think of any, but this is kinda fun: Song lyrics generator

Happy New Year!