Year in review
It has been quite a while since I wrote a post up, I figured I could squeeze one more out by the end of the year. It has been a busy, productive, and exciting year. Amazing what happened this year. Let's see how much of it I remember. I don't do christmas letters so this will have to serve that purpose.
Pregnancies. I don't know if I like this stage of my life where everyone is popping out kids. It feels awkward, I don't know why it does, partly because it makes you feel old but that is not entirely it. Not that it feels anywhere near as awkward for me as those who are pregnant, I guess I can’t complain too much. I think it has more to do with the concept that I would be more mature than I actually am. When you think of yourself as a kid it does not seem like you should have one. Also it means my friends can come and play with me as much because now they have their own little ankle bitters claiming resources and attention. Phooey. Among the notables in this category are my sister who got pregnant about a month before us, who now has a boy. Peyton, who is ready to be done but likely will not be until mid-late January. At least three cousins on my side, at least three cousins on Peyton’s side, at least 2 college friends, at least 2 high school friends, and I am sure I am missing many more, I don’t keep in touch all that well and I don’t care to keep close count.
New Stuff. This has been a banner year for the Hopman household. It is nice to get away from the poor college student days and we seem to be upgrading our stuff like it is going out of style. Of course, it is going out of style if you believe all those commercials on TV. It is nice to be able to afford to, with all the extra work and bonuses I have received I have managed to increase my already substantial base salary by about a third. Note: I am not trying to brag, just rejoice. Also as this is called LiveJournal and I intend to keep notes on significant stuff. If you don’t like people flaunting their riches please skip to the next paragraph. If you are curious as to what we got or looking for reasons to come visit and share in the wealth you are welcome to keep reading. The list includes, a new mattress, a new grill, a new F150 extended cab truck ( can you tell I am excited by that one, it is my first truck), a new flat screen tv, a new embroidery machine for Peyton, a new Serger for Peyton, a neat Dyson Tower fan, and other assorted little things. I think that covers the bulk of the big purchases but we also managed to pay of a timeshare vacation package thing. We also managed a vacation to Florida and Universal Studios, much more economical with family there. That was a big accomplishment. Next year I expect things to settle down, we are saving for a house and have a new kid that will be requiring some extra funds no doubt.
Work. It has been busy. Not constantly but the lulls have been few and far between. I had a big vibration job in South Dakota that was 2 weeks of 12+ hour days. I had a month long vibration monitoring job that required a lot of data crunching. I have a huge brittle fracture off shore job that has consumed the last 3-4 months and looks to continue to take up considerable amounts of the next 6 months. I have gone to Texas at least 3 times, and Kansas twice on jobs. In addition to vibration they are wanting to train me in Acoustic Emissions (AE) testing. Also my boss had me take a class on Finite Element modeling at the local university. I hate school and am glad to be done with it again. High on my to do list is never take another class. Taking a class on my own time which requires me to be in class in addition to a full time job that more often than not requires 50 hours a week is not pleasant. I am pleased to say I did pass the class with an A. I did enjoy the class, found it interesting and helpful and really it wasn’t overly demanding. That being said it was an incredibly painful process I do not intend to ever repeat and hated going to class. Not because of the class but because I had to go to a class. Peyton is also glad I am done and likes the fact that I come home on a regular basis now. Also work was crazy with the moving of the office into a building we bought and renovated. Moving is tough, it is tougher still when the contractors have to come back 2-3 times for everything that wasn’t done correctly.
Hobbies haven’t really gotten much traction lately. I really want to do more leather work, I have a host of things to do. There are plenty of improvements to be made if I can keep on top of the maintenance of what we have. For the first time in my life I don’t feel constrained by money near so much as time. I can afford plenty but I don’t have time to use what I have so there is no sense in buying anything else. As mentioned this year we upgraded many things, however in this process I realize while there are other neat things that could be had, we haven’t the time to indulge in them. Weird, didn’t see that coming.
Holidays. Not as much fun as when they aren’t needed to catch up on chores. Days off have been typically used to do the chores that I haven’t gotten around to for a good while. Thanksgiving and Christmas was fun as we had Peyton’s family visiting us. We also got to visit them when Tyler came home from his Mission and I finally got to see Carlsbad Caverns. My sister Laena came and visited us here in New Orleans as well which was fun but way to crazy given everything else that was going on at the time. Our first Mardi Gras here was a blast. New Orleans sure knows how to party. I am looking forward to next year. Portia is getting the hang of holidays. She quickly caught on to the whole getting candy thing for Halloween and did a good job opening presents. She is quite the bundle of joy.
Portia. She is growing fast and as mentioned a bundle of joy but also energy. A pregnant Peyton finds it difficult keeping up. Especially as bending over becomes increasingly difficult and that is where all the messed happen which are much easier to make than to remedy. Portia is a good little helper though. She is quite proficient at throwing things away and will even help pick up occasionally. She struggles with dishes but manages to splash water all over the counters. She could swing for ages and loves playing outside and going for walks. It is both with great hope and trepidation and we look forward to how she will greet her new baby sister.
That can’t possibly be all, but is all for now. If you felt I have forgotten something important that you find to be a particularly grievous omission feel free to comment. Otherwise I hope everybody else’s year was great too and the next one will be even more so.