New Years MEMEs

For some unknown reason I skipped these posts at the end of 2015. I am kind of sad about that now, but I must not have been in a very reflective mood last year. This year I am a day or two late, it has been a rocky start to the new year. Aaron and I both had a rotten cold the past three days. Luckily though our families helped us through and we are both on the up swing.

Exercise #1

1. What did you do in 2014 that you'd never done before? Became a supervisor.

2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year? My goal was to simplify and organize. I made progress.. but its a constant battle.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? Ben Ben became a father, and some of my cousins.

4. Did anyone close to you die? Grim dog.

5. What countries did you spend time in this year? Just America.

6. What would you like to have in 2017 that you lacked in 2016? My life is pretty damned good. My biggest wishes are for other people.

7. What dates from 2016 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? June 10th, date of my FET.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Becoming supervisor

9. What was your biggest failure? Not recording it! LOL... bad with pictures, journaling, blogging

10. Did you suffer any serious injury or illness? Nope!

11. What was the best thing you bought? A new van

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and/or depressed? The American Electorate

14. Where did most of your money go? Daycare, mortgage, eating

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? MFIP contracts. Thanksgiving trip to Des Moines.

16. What song will always remind you of 2016?  Shut up and Dance

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? happier
b) thinner or fatter? fatter (mostly due to pregnancy!!)
c) richer or poorer? richer

18. What do you wish you'd done more of? being mindful

19. What do you wish you'd done less of? facebooking?

20. How did you spend Christmas? In Duluth - Santa came to our house, then we went to my parents for the day. ILs came up and spent it with us as well. There was a Christmas Day Blizzard, but everyone made it to the celebration and home safely.

21. Did you fall in love in 2016? I stayed in love.

22. What are the main websites you used? Facebook, What to Expect, Amazon

23. Did you write anything worth reading this year? No, I hardly wrote anything.

24. What was your favorite TV program? Supernatural, various cooking competition shows, Voyaguer

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year? I try not to hate people in general, but Donald Trump comes to mind.

26. What was the best book you read? I mostly just read book club books. I enjoyed Book 2 of the Raven Cycle, and I enjoyed Etta and Otto and Russel and James

27. What was your greatest musical discovery? Piano Puzzlers on MPR

28. What did you want and get? A promotion, a pregnancy

29. What did you want and not get? A living niece/nephew

30. What was your favorite film of this year? I dont even know what movies came out this year or what I saw. Oh! I know! Magical Beasts and Where to Find them!

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? 32. I have no idea what I did.

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? If Trump hadn't won the election. If we had our first female president about to be sworn in.

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2016? I discovered Lularoe!!

34. What kept you sane? The help and support of my family and friends.

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? David Tenant, Dean Winchester

36. What political issue stirred you the most? The election. Black lives matter.

37. Who did you miss? My graduate school friends

38. Who was the best new person you met?

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2016? We don't live in the idealistic world I had come to feel like we did.

40. What word or phrase sums up this year? Waiting

Exercise #2

1 minute ago... I was watching watching The Crown
1 hour ago... I was helping get the kids ready for bed
1 day ago... I was nursing a migraine, trying to make it through parenting.
1 month ago... Working on MFIP Contracts
1 year ago... Preparing for a trip to St Louis for Christmas
1 decade ago... I was in the middle of my first year of grad school.
1 lifetime ago... I think I was in revolutionary in Russia

5 minutes ago... Talking to Aaron, trying to remember what movies we had seen this year
5 hours ago... I was cleaning out under the sink (new years ... motivation)
5 days ago... Hosting a holiday party at work. Pizza Luce!
5 months ago... awaiting anxiously news of if this pregnancy would work out
5 years ago... I was massively pregnant with Benjamin, waiting to go into labor!!

Exercise #3

The rule is simply: Post the first line of each month of my blog from the last year.

JANUARY: On December 22nd we left Duluth MN and drove the 10 hrs down to St Louis MO to visit my ILs. We arrived back home on Saturday (Jan 2nd). Here are some highlights from the trip
FEBRUARY:  Ben... his personality. How do I describe it? The easiest way I think is - he likes the bad guy. 
MARCH: On Friday night we took Ben to his first Hockey game, or, at least he first one he has any chance of remembering at all.
APRIL:   IFelicity is asserting her independence these last few days. She want's to do everything herself.
MAY:  After lingering cold, yesterday a new weather pattern moved in and we suddenly have summer temperatures (too warm for my liking!). I love being able to open the windows though, and seeing all the summer close out there.
JUNE:  (NO POSTS)
JULY:Yeah... so it has been two months since I posted. Oops!
In my defense, I have moved to some other versions of keeping track of our lives - mainly a "line a day" journal in which I keep one line as often as possible for myself, Ben, and Felicity. But I did not mean to abandon my blog.

AUGUST - December - NO POSTS