there are years that ask questions and years that answer them

Via Sundry's blog...

Here's my 2007 list:

1. What did you do in 2007 that you’d never done before?
Made a baby. Started a blog. Celebrated a 4-year wedding anniversary. A couple of other exciting things.

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
No, no I didn’t. And yes, I probably will.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Yes.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
Yes. My Grandma, the last of the living grandparents.

5. What countries did you visit?
In my mind: Spain and Ireland.
In the fake Disneyworld Epcot Center way: Mexico, France, Canada, Russia, China. Possibly a few more.
In the real-life, actually WENT THERE kind of way: none except for the U.S. Unless Florida counts.

6. What would you like to have in 2008 that you lacked in 2007?
A healthy baby. This is currently in progress.

7. What dates from 2007 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
June 26, 2007: THERE ARE TWO PINK LINES
July 11, 2007: The people involved all know why. It was an AMAZING day.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
The baby thing, absolutely.

9. What was your biggest failure?
I lost my temper a few times too many.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Thankfully, not much. I broke a bone in my foot in April – rendering me sort of gimpy for Florida in May (there was significant time spent in various amusement park wheelchairs). I also still have that back problem, but it’s been wonderfully cooperative so far.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
My car. WE LOVE JEFE.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Besides mine?

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Besides mine?

14. Where did most of your money go?
The typical stuff like house payment, insurance, car stuff, life stuff, etc. Also: our savings.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
The same thing I’m getting really, really, really repetitive about: THE BABY.

16. What song will always remind you of 2007?
Unfortunately, Young Folks by Peter Bjorn & John.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you: a) happier or sadder? b) thinner or fatter? c) richer or poorer?
Happier, fatter, and richer – in all the ways that count the most

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Express my love and appreciation for those closest to me.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Complain and worry.

20. How did you spend Christmas?
Quietly, with Chip.

21. Did you fall in love in 2007?
Yes – over and over again with Chip. And also Yes – with that baby person I keep mentioning.

22. What was your favorite TV program?
I’d like to say Battlestar Gallactica – if it had been ON; instead I’ll say The Office

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
Beyond a couple of contestants on The Amazing Race? Just kidding. And no.

24. What was the best book you read?
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, by Jonathan Safran Foer

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Andrew Bird.

26. What did you want and get?
Is it tiring that I just keep returning to the Legume? Also: job promotion, amazing new car, Florida vacation, hardwood floors, fantastic new job for Chip, good health care. Man, I’ve been ridiculously blessed this year.

27. What did you want and not get?
World peace.

28. What was your favorite film of this year?
On DVD: Stranger Than Fiction.

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
Chip took me to a tiny and WONDERFUL restaurant that made me feel very shee-shee. I turned 33.

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
I believe that everything happens for a reason – even the BAD. Especially the bad. I can’t say I’d change anything, even though it was a rough and tumble year in many ways.

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2007?
Comfortable, off-beat.

32. What kept you sane?
My faith, my husband, my very closest friends, my family, our cats, email, blogs – mine and others, my shrink.

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Can’t say there was anyone.

34. What political issue stirred you the most?
This thing in Pakistan has me very concerned. As does Iraq.

35. Who did you miss?
The Wife, Winston’s eyebrow.

36. Who was the best new person you met?
Can’t choose just one. M, B, and A– even though we won’t actually MEET in a face-to-face way until January. Also, I want to add all of my bloggy friends. Because they’ve been amazing.

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2007.
You never know what life will hand you around that next corner.

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
Life is what happens to you when you’re busy making other plans. –John Lennon

i never update on saturdays

And yet... here I am. Posting. And I'm not even posting something interesting. Just posting. I like the bits of random advice (GOOD and BAD) that I'm hearing about pregnancy/babies/life in general. So don't stop. This is just an intermission. I want to hear MORE. It makes me laugh. It makes me think. It makes me feel like I'm not the only one on the planet that has heard more conflicting advice about pregnancy, labor, babies, and parenthood in general than I know what to do with. And which, to be honest, I'm taking with a HUGE grain of salt. (All except the wonderful things that YOU'RE ALL TELLING ME, OF COURSE).

Isn't that just one of the best things about blogging? That you get confirmation that you really ARE that weird, OR (as is more often the case) you find out that a good dose of other folks have gone through exactly the same thing. That's comforting.

Move along now... nothing to see here...

request for advice

So I know that about 99% of you are Away right now, but I'm going to ask anyway. You can get back to me, oh, sometime next year if you'd like. (Does that New Year's joke EVER get old? Yes, yes it does.)


Today's golden question:
--If you have/had children, what is one of the best pieces of advice you received - both before you had the baby, and after.
--If you don't have/are about to have children, what is one of the best pieces of advice you've heard or witnessed?

I don't care if it's practical or weird or totally serious or absolutely goofy. Come on, share!

navel gazing

You know, I have to say that we really did have a perfect Christmas. Exactly what we planned, and how we wanted and needed it to be. Thanks to me, the stress level around the house has risen immeasureably as my due date grows closer. We reach the milestone 30-week mark this week, and it's a bit strange to think how quickly the time has gone.

10 weeks until the Bean is full term. How crazy is that?

The nesting instinct has hit and we're working off a 4-page To Do list - typed, of course, and also organized by month and subject because I'm just that crazy. There are other deadlines out there besides March 10. Deadlines for work, deadlines for church activities, deadlines for visitors, deadlines for taxes. It's an interesting exercise, trying to get it ALL done - and knowing that some things are going to fall through the cracks, no matter what. When I'm facing a time crunch for planning, I normally go into Hyper Efficient Mode - trading little things like sleep and food and watching a movie with my husband for the much more rewarding (being sarcastic here) tasks of organizing, planning, preparing, doing, calling, editing, errand-running, delegating, and fretting (I'm good with this last one). The challenge with facing a deadline when the deadline itself is MAJOR LIFE CHANGE and also HEALTH-RELATED is that my body simply won't let me shift into Hyper Efficient Mode. I'm sure there are others of you out there that know exactly what I'm talking about. As much as my brain and my heart and my VERY ORGANIZED SOUL would like to wake at 5am on Saturday to clean out the linen closet, my own body won't let me. My body is tired. My body says that I need that additional hour (or 3) of sleep.

I'm feeling a little betrayed by this here body. Don't get me wrong, I'm taking advantage of whatever crazy juice is currently rocketing through my veins, giving me the Will to Purge the downstairs coat closet, but I just wish I could do more - be more - accomplish more.

I realize that all of these competing desires and needs occur at this time for a specific reason: BALANCE. It's a good thing that the navel-gazing and immense pleasure I get from day dreaming about the Bean's eyelashes can force me to not run a 6-day House Cleaning Marathon. And the ever wonderful, ever patient, ever AMAZING CHIP has proven, yet again, that I married the best darn guy I could have.

I might be tired, cranky, stressed, and in need of an extra month to GET IT ALL DONE-- but I'm also blessed, lucky, and grateful for the time - grateful for the loved ones - grateful for the friends - and grateful for all of the gifts that I do have.

bleurghy all the way

Um, so. I'm here. WAAAAAAASTING AWAY. While I know that the cats are warmly ensconsed in various blankets and stripey fur. Yes, people: I'M JEALOUS OF THE CATS. For they did not awake at 4am. And then lay in bed. For the next two hours. Attempting to WILL THEMSELVES BACK TO SLEEP.

Also: despite our best efforts to dose the cats with The Lax (heretofore our New Best Friend at preventing the 2am hairball vomit-fest), they reverted to form last night. Or, shall I say, PHOEBE reverted to form at 2am this morning with the yak yak yakking. And then there was more yakking. And yet MORE yakking. Chip's statement this morning: "It sounded like Phoebe was chucking up her entire stomach in that first round, and by the second it was on to the other organs. I have no idea what she rid herself of in that last bout."

Not that you want to read about CAT VOMIT - even though it is mightily entertaining (so says I).

Our Christmas recap is short and sweet because we did NOTHING (or, next to nothing) and I LOVED IT. My girth prevented us from flying to see my family for Christmas, and our work schedules prevented us from driving to see Chip's family - so we had a quiet Christmas at home. Eve was spent at a movie, with chinese take-out for dinner. NO DISHES TO DO = AWESOME. We slept in on Christmas day and then opened some lovely gifts from the fam. Our gifts to one another included things like THE FLOOR (STILL LOVING IT) and a brand spanking new camcorder. Which, I have to add, Chip is obsessed with. I finally had to request that he PLEASE ASK ME prior to the busting out of the camera, because I was so tired of having this happen (and also very scared about capturing my cranky self for posterity). What follows is an amalgem of various filming occurances over the last week. This is an approximation...


Chip (approaching with camera - recording in progress): Look, Bean! There's your mom! Look at her belly! (see Whimsy sitting on the couch stuffing her face with sugar cookies).

Whimsy (gulping down cookie and attempting to push crumbs off burgeoning body onto floor): Hi Beanie... um, yes, this is what I look like without a shower, in my pajamas, eating cookies. Aren't I GORGEOUS?

Chip (panning around room, trying to avoid the foot I'm kicking his way): Well, Bean, this is what we've been doing today... I think your mom wants to say one more thing.

Whimsy (grimace): Yes, um, in the nicest way possible, CAN WE TURN THE CAMERA OFF? I'M NOT DRESSED FOR THIS.


Don't get me wrong, I'm totally excited for the camera. It was my idea, after all. And I think it's going to be fantastic to capture our undoubtedly hilarious pratfalls in early parenthood. I think I've just been a teeny bit cranky the last week. (Chip - you don't have to be nice here, you know exactly what I'm talking about and I've been CA-RAY-ZEEEEE.) I have decided to Blame the Hormones, because, why not? And they're at fault for most of the other exciting things happening to my body anyway. Sometimes I imagine The Hormones like little constructure workers, wearing wee yellow hardhats and using various tools to tinker with my inner-workings. When I think of them messing with my mood, however, they morph into itty bitty evil secret agents, with black hair and bushy black eyebrows, wearing dark suits and laughing evilly - all he he he HA.