2017: A Year in Review

It doesn't feel like the end of the year without the Review!

1. What did you do in 2017 that you’d never done before?

After many years of hemming and hawing, I got my first tattoo!  It's a heart on my right wrist, made up by the boys' fingerprints.  I love it!!  I THINK I may be a "one and done" when it comes to tattoos, though.  

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

I'm not a "New Year's Resolution" type of person.  I'm more of a "Make Plans and Goals" kind of person.  That being said....i made a goal of being healthier.  In some ways I did well--started drinking protein smoothies for breakfast and cutting back on the ice cream.  Then my stress-eating tendencies came out late in the year and well, My Fitness Pal shows me to be the same weight as I was last year at this time.  Turns out I'm a fantastic maintainer.  Goals for 2018?  Wag more, bark less.  Maybe get some more sleep, who knows.  

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?  I covered maternity leave for one of my co-workers, she had a baby in June.  

4. Did anyone close to you die?  Not close anymore, but one of the residents at my first property management job died in September.  We kept in touch for ten years after my leaving that job.  She was a wonderful person who dispersed fantastic advice, I'll miss her.  Traveling to that site will be weird, not stopping in to say Hi.  


5. What countries/places did you visit?

We had an AWESOME trip to Disney World in June!!  Can't wait to go again in a few years.  

6. What would you like to have in 2018 that you lacked in 2017?
Honestly, 2017 was a shit show in a lot of ways.  I'd like for 2018 to be a kinder, gentler year for my family.

7. What dates from 2017 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?   On October 19th, my mother had a small stroke.  Things ended up being OK with time, but it was rough.  

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Instead of achievements, I'm going to call them lessons.  

A.  When it comes to your kids, it's amazing how strong you can be.  Especially when strength is all you've got, and what you really want to do is fold or crumble, but you stand strong.  

B.  I've always had a hard time asking for, and accepting, help.  I think it's because I'm usually doing to the offering and helping.  But when it hits the fan, you have to learn to let people help you.  And man, I had a lot of help this year.  I've had friends and family members flock out to help us get through stuff, and I'm forever grateful. 

9. What was your biggest failure?
I refuse to call anything a failure this year.


10. Did you suffer illness or injury?  Nothing major.  


11. What was the best thing you bought?
For Mother's Day, Brian got me a cleaning service!  At first it was weird, but I cannot tell you how wonderful it is for someone to come to your house once a month and clean your bathrooms, floors, etc.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?

Skip.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?

Donald Trump, and many of his supporters.  Actually, the supporters were more appalling.   (this answer is too good not to keep)

14. Where did most of your money go?

Living expenses.  Pretty boring, right?  

15.  What did you really get excited about?

Disney World....and Universal Studios to see Harry Potter's Wizarding World.

16. Compared to this time last year, are you:

a) happier or sadder? A big ol' mix of all of it.

b) thinner or fatter? Right about the same.  (BTW, I hate this question.)

c) richer or poorer? Both, rich in some ways and poor in others.  It all offsets in the end.

17. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Read.  Knit.  Socialize.  Maybe not in that order....

18. What do you wish you’d done less of?

Work.  I took on a second property in May, and I covered a maternity leave and a manager vacancy this summer as well.  At one point I was providing coverage for FIVE SITES, bringing work home often, working long hours, going back after dinner, etc.  I often wondered "just how in the hell are you doing this, Ginny?"  But I knew all along that it was just for the short-term, and the bonus at the end of the year was worth it!

19. How did you spend Christmas?

We had a big family celebration at my house a few days before, and then my parents came on Christmas Day.  

20. Did you fall in love in 2017?

I've been in love with the same man for 19 years.  NINETEEN YEARS, holy crap.  

21. What was your favorite TV program? 

Eh....nothing really grabbed me to be a "favorite."  Though I do love that Will and Grace came back with new episodes!  

22. What was the best book you read?

I read 26 books, which sounds kind of low for me.  I really enjoyed "The Nest" by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney.  


23. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Pass.  

24. What was your favorite film of this year? 

The four of us recently went to the movies to see the reboot of the 90's film "Jumanji" and loved it!

25. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

For the first time in 12 years, I worked!  The residents had a cake for me, which was really nice.  I took the following day off so Brian and I could spend it together.  We ended up watching Wonder Woman and going out to lunch.  

26. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Less stress and worry.  Getting my son the help that he needed sooner.  But hindsight IS 20/20, and not worth it to dwell.  


27. What kept you sane?
My friends, that checked up on us, fed us, offered help, listened, offered advice when appropriate.  My mom, for being there when my husband couldn't.  My husband, for his shoulder to cry on, and his jokes to keep us both sane. 


28. Who did you miss?
My far away friends and family.


29. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2017:
Never ask "Could this get any worse?"  And above all, be grateful.  



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

I don't know.

Summer is Here!

Last day of school today.  Bittersweet, as I no longer have a third grader and a kindergartner.  Here they are on their last day:

It's been a really great year for both boys.  Will had a great team helping him be the best that he could be and it looks like fourth grade will continue to be great!  Don't get me wrong, it'll still be hard sometimes.  It just feels so good to be supported.

And kindergarten....man, Sean hit the jackpot.  The teacher sent out an email yesterday to all the parents saying thanks for sharing your great kids with me, that it was a pleasure.  One thing that she mentioned is that this class really accepted each other for who they are, that everyone genuinely liked each other, was one of the most polite and respectful classes, etc.  One kid summed it up:  "There are lots of good friends with good hearts."  It warmed this mom's heart.

On to summer:  tonight is the boys' last karate class for at least two weeks.  Because they are headed to a fun-filled week with Grandmom and Grandpop on Saturday! And after that.....vacation with us!  Summer's full of fun plans--robotics camp, karate camp, trips to Six Flags, etc.  We'll make it a great one.

Happy Heart

Last Friday was the annual Hook and Needler holiday get-together, which was held at my house.  It was a little different this year because not only did we have our ornament swap, we also had taken part in a group-wide charity project knitting winter items for the women and children of a local homeless shelter.  When I first announced the idea at the end of the summer, I never expected such an overwhelming response!  Between all of us there was:

75 hats
6 cowls
5 scarves
15 pairs of mittens
3 blankets
1 pair of socks

And one child will be the lucky recipient of a handmade stuffed elephant.

Thank you my knit and crochet friends.  This is one of my favorite reasons to be part of this group!

Random Sunday Grateful Post

-My kidney surgery was a rousing success.   In fact, all of the kidney stone from hell was removed and I will not need a second surgery! I was super-nervous and I cannot begin to describe how wonderful the hospital staff was to me.  From warm blankets to cracking jokes....they really put me at ease.

-I even wrote a thank you note.  Because I believe, in these days, that there's so much emphasis on bad customer service.  When someone does a good job, tell them!

-All of that being said, I'm quite thankful for pain meds.  And anti-nausea drugs that enable me to take those pain meds.

-Thanks go out to my awesome parents, who helped out with the boys while all of this was going on.

-Honestly, Brian deserves his own grateful post.  Feeding me homemade chicken soup, doing laundry, taking care of the boys....these are all things that he does normally.  I just feel extra-grateful today and want the world to know what a wonderful man I married. 

-thankful for yarn...which has been keeping me busy.  That, and silly Facebook games and the return of primetime television.

I think that's it.  Just wanted to put all that out there...I'm a lucky lady.

Listed.

Getting a house ready to sell is hard work.  But the hard work and the insane schedule over the past eight weeks has paid off!  Our bungalow is officially on the market.  And we've never seen "her" look better than she does right now.  New laminate flooring, fresh paint, flowers and mulch, and super-squeaky clean/de-cluttered.  If it wasn't so much work, I'd be a big advocate of a "big clean" every five years.  Because though you're cleaning the house and vacuuming/dusting on a regular basis, you're not cleaning it as much as you think.

The past eight weeks have made a big impact on the ol' Day Zero List.  I've been able to cross off #2, #41, #72 and #84, respectively.   The basement took a long time to declutter and purge, but thankfully it's done.  We hired a landscaper for most of the yard and the painting of the porch, but those flower boxes are done by yours truly. 

Special thanks go out to my brother for his hard work and trips to Home Depot.  BIG THANKS to my parents,  Mom and Dad have been nothing short of amazing with watching kids, painting, demo-ing a deck and re-surfacing it, and now, taking care of our dog while showings are going on.  I don't think we could've done all of the things that we did without their help.  In fact, I know we couldn't have made it. 

Now, fingers are crossed that our house isn't on the market for too terribly long, and that we find a great new house to call home for the next twenty years or so! 

An Earlier and Earlier Start

I can remember when Christmas wasn't really mentioned until the week of Thanksgiving, the holiday sales started with Black Friday and continued.  People didn't decorate until at least the day after Thanksgiving, and Christmas Music was nil until then as well.  But every year, it gets here faster.  It's already been here for awhile, I can think back to shopping for costumes last month and thinking "Let's get through Halloween first!"  But lo and behold, it's catalog city in the mail every day, and the shopping bustle has begun.  My own Christmas cards came in the mail the other day, ready to be slipped into envelopes, addressed and sent to our nearest and dearest all over the country next week.  (And it's a great picture, if I do say so myself!!) 

No Black Friday shopping in our house.  If you've ever worked retail in your life, ever, even if it was ten years ago, you will most likely never want to shop on Black Friday ever again.  I still remember my time at the mall, working at the customer service desk that year and wishing I could crawl under a rock.

So my message to everyone out there in the throes this weekend....be kind to each other, and to yourself. Smile to your fellow shoppers.   Be nice(r) to the people who work in the stores.  Be generous to your family as you're begging the kids to sit still during the damned holiday photo. There is no such thing as a "perfect" holiday, and the memories you're making are much more important than the gifts. I know I risk sounding preachy, but so be it.


 I find myself saying the same thing I do at the beginning of every holiday season:  this year is going to be less stressful involving the holidays.  Less Stress!  I am not going to put pressure on myself.  And, as said every year.....THIS YEAR I MEAN IT.  :)

A Day of Thanks

With Thanksgiving here, it's time to count your blessings.

To my husband, I'm blessed to have a partner who is loving and supportive.  I'm thankful that we have a rule that only one of us is allowed to freak out at a time, and that we can laugh over most anything.  I'm thankful for your flexibility and willingness to help.  And your sense of humor and handsomeness aren't bad either.  :)

To my oldest:  I'm thankful for your wit and humor, and your tiny grip on this thing called sarcasm.  I love that you can make me laugh by repeating me (Chicken at Red Robin??Are you nuts??") and with your thousand-and-one knock-knock jokes.  I'm thankful for your independence and free spirit, though I don't always show it.  You've been an awesome big brother in your rookie year, and I look forward to the two of you growing up together.

To my youngest:  I am grateful for your giggles when we tickle you, and that you love to giggle!  Because I think I love to make you giggle the most.  We love you so much and, this being your first Thanksgiving celebration, are so happy you're here.  I'm very thankful that you're a good sleeper, and that you love to play and coo. 

I'm especially thankful that I am healthy and that I have a healthy family as well.  I'm thankful for having a job, and a home.  There are so many people out there today that have neither, so I am blessed to have both.  I'm thankful that I have somewhere to go for Thanksgiving, and family to spend it with.  I'm thankful to have "extra" funds that allow me to have hobbies such as books and knitting, instead of all of our income going towards necessities.   And I'm thankful for every day, and to be able to share with all of you the things that I am grateful for in my life.  

Happy Thanskgiving!

Thank a Veteran

Today, on Veteran's Day, thank a Veteran for their service!



Thank you to my favorite Veteran.  :)  I went looking for a more polished picture, but they're buried in my basement.  Here's my Hubby in his dress whites at a wedding.

A special thanks to all Veterans out there today!