The Yearly Meme: Year 11
Year 1: 2004
Year 2: 2005
Year 3: 2006
Year 4: 2007
Year 5: 2008
Year 6: 2009
Year 7: 2010
Year 8: 2011
Year 9: 2012
Year 10: 2013
Wow. I've been doing this for a long time. Someday I'll appreciate the historical record.
This year: 2014
1. What did you do in 2014 that you'd never done before?
Quit a yoga teaching job (as opposed to just not going back). Took some yoga continuing ed classes. Worked extra hours on the weekend. Participated in corporate training. Maintained a two-year-old. Met my Copenhagen colleagues in person. Started learning Danish.
2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
Didn't make any, not making any. Too tired.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Amy and Tom had Talia. Liss and Gabe had Jesse. Betsy and Susanna are both pregnant.
4. Did anyone close to you die?
No.
5. What countries did you visit?
The Poconos, Pittsburgh, Orlando, and Connecticut.
6. What would you like to have in 2015 that you lacked in 2014?
Energy.
7. What dates from 2014 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
May: Hand-Foot-Mouth Disease PLUS bonus Strep Throat. Friendcation in the Poconos.
June: Orlando for work.
August 11: Graduation from P&Eplus/HP2 corporate training!
August 15: Date Night at the Palomar Hotel!
October 12: Sarah's wedding.
October 28: Finally and officially completing my corporate training program by giving the best group project presentation.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Finishing the corporate training program. Not completely giving up on everything. Actually going running a few times. Getting to a point with Spanish practice where I am actually learning a new verb tense that I never encountered in my high school/undergrad classes. Catching up on photo albums to being less than a year behind!
9. What was your biggest failure?
Letting things get so out of hand. Ever since f was born, I've felt like I'm constantly riding the edge of a slippery slope, and this year I feel like I fell down it.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
The bout of hand-foot-mouth disease plus strep throat or something like it back in May was pretty sucky. I hurt my neck in August and that lasted a while.
11. What was the best thing you bought?
Three sweater dresses from Old Navy? Possibly the Amazon Prime membership (even though that was inadvertent, it's been so great having the two-day shipping all year).
12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
F's, as always. And actually I would include most of my coworkers here too, because I am continually impressed at how things at my current employer are run (i.e., in such a way that, though we are busy, life does not suck).
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
America's. This year has been awful from so many perspectives and it just makes me feel helpless. Can we all please stop being assholes to brown people? Please?
14. Where did most of your money go?
The yard. We did an excavation project, reseeded the grass, put down playground mulch on one site, and put up a fence, and consequently, the yard was somewhere we really enjoyed spending our time this year.
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Spending time in the yard. Seeing Pig Iron Theatre Co do Twelfth Night, which was amazing. Finishing the corporate training. Christmas vacation. Friendcation in May. Going to the Renaissance Faire. f's speech hitting the next level. Holidays with my daughter and making the magic happen.
16. What song will always remind you of 2014?
Pass
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? Sadder. I hate being sad when I have so much to be happy about.
b) thinner or fatter? Fatter. I'm 25 lbs up from where I was when I got pregnant, and 10-15 lbs up from where I'd like to be.
c) richer or poorer? Slightly richer.
18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Yoga, writing.
19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Worrying, being sad, feeling down, giving up, being tired. I'm so tired of being tired, and so tired of working so hard all the time.
20. How will you be spending Christmas?
We spent Christmas at our home. Christmas Eve was a great family day with a trip to Target in the morning and then church in the evening. Christmas day was a lot of fun, my parents came to visit and f loved her gifts. The day after Christmas was possibly the best; led by f, we stayed at home all day and did a lot of snuggling and reading. I think she needed the quiet time to reconnect after all the excitement.
21. Did you fall in love in 2014?
Same ol' love, still going.
22. How many one-night stands?
None.
23. What was your favorite TV program?
Doctor Who, followed by Daniel Tiger probably.
24. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
I try not to be a hater.
25. What was the best book you read?
I really liked the Beyonders series, possibly even more than the darker and more grownup Magicians series by Lev Grossman. Beyonders just had a lot of fun surprises. Beth Ann Fennelly's Great With Child: Letters to a Young Mother was excellent. Oh, and we discovered Scott Lynch's Locke Lamora series, which is so, so fantastic.
26. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Weird Al Yankovic's new album. Tacky, Mission Statement, and Word Crimes are my new favorite songs.
27. What did you want and get?
Sweater dresses. A functional backyard. Pretty sure we got the new printer this year.
28. What did you want and not get?
Sleep, energy, yoga.
29. What was your favorite film of this year?
I don't even think I saw any movies this year.
30. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 35. We went for a hike in the Swarthmore woods, and also had dinner with my parents. I think our date night at the Palomar Hotel a few weeks later technically counts as a birthday celebration, too.
31. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
More sleep?
32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2014?
Dresses, probably, because I'm too fat to keep buying pants.
33. What kept you sane?
F, mostly, but also Eric at work. Need to get a few more sanity outlets next year.
34. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
There are celebrities?
35. What political issue stirred you the most?
The thing where brown people keep getting murdered by police. Go gay marriage, too.
36. Who did you miss?
Sarah, Amy, Missi. The me I used to be.
37. Who was the best new person you met?
Nikolaj and Liza from Copenhagen.
38. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2014:
Even a harmonica dipped in pee can be salvaged.
39. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
I skip this one pretty much every year.
Year 2: 2005
Year 3: 2006
Year 4: 2007
Year 5: 2008
Year 6: 2009
Year 7: 2010
Year 8: 2011
Year 9: 2012
Year 10: 2013
Wow. I've been doing this for a long time. Someday I'll appreciate the historical record.
This year: 2014
1. What did you do in 2014 that you'd never done before?
Quit a yoga teaching job (as opposed to just not going back). Took some yoga continuing ed classes. Worked extra hours on the weekend. Participated in corporate training. Maintained a two-year-old. Met my Copenhagen colleagues in person. Started learning Danish.
2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
Didn't make any, not making any. Too tired.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Amy and Tom had Talia. Liss and Gabe had Jesse. Betsy and Susanna are both pregnant.
4. Did anyone close to you die?
No.
5. What countries did you visit?
The Poconos, Pittsburgh, Orlando, and Connecticut.
6. What would you like to have in 2015 that you lacked in 2014?
Energy.
7. What dates from 2014 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
May: Hand-Foot-Mouth Disease PLUS bonus Strep Throat. Friendcation in the Poconos.
June: Orlando for work.
August 11: Graduation from P&Eplus/HP2 corporate training!
August 15: Date Night at the Palomar Hotel!
October 12: Sarah's wedding.
October 28: Finally and officially completing my corporate training program by giving the best group project presentation.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Finishing the corporate training program. Not completely giving up on everything. Actually going running a few times. Getting to a point with Spanish practice where I am actually learning a new verb tense that I never encountered in my high school/undergrad classes. Catching up on photo albums to being less than a year behind!
9. What was your biggest failure?
Letting things get so out of hand. Ever since f was born, I've felt like I'm constantly riding the edge of a slippery slope, and this year I feel like I fell down it.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
The bout of hand-foot-mouth disease plus strep throat or something like it back in May was pretty sucky. I hurt my neck in August and that lasted a while.
11. What was the best thing you bought?
Three sweater dresses from Old Navy? Possibly the Amazon Prime membership (even though that was inadvertent, it's been so great having the two-day shipping all year).
12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
F's, as always. And actually I would include most of my coworkers here too, because I am continually impressed at how things at my current employer are run (i.e., in such a way that, though we are busy, life does not suck).
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
America's. This year has been awful from so many perspectives and it just makes me feel helpless. Can we all please stop being assholes to brown people? Please?
14. Where did most of your money go?
The yard. We did an excavation project, reseeded the grass, put down playground mulch on one site, and put up a fence, and consequently, the yard was somewhere we really enjoyed spending our time this year.
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Spending time in the yard. Seeing Pig Iron Theatre Co do Twelfth Night, which was amazing. Finishing the corporate training. Christmas vacation. Friendcation in May. Going to the Renaissance Faire. f's speech hitting the next level. Holidays with my daughter and making the magic happen.
16. What song will always remind you of 2014?
Pass
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? Sadder. I hate being sad when I have so much to be happy about.
b) thinner or fatter? Fatter. I'm 25 lbs up from where I was when I got pregnant, and 10-15 lbs up from where I'd like to be.
c) richer or poorer? Slightly richer.
18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Yoga, writing.
19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Worrying, being sad, feeling down, giving up, being tired. I'm so tired of being tired, and so tired of working so hard all the time.
20. How will you be spending Christmas?
We spent Christmas at our home. Christmas Eve was a great family day with a trip to Target in the morning and then church in the evening. Christmas day was a lot of fun, my parents came to visit and f loved her gifts. The day after Christmas was possibly the best; led by f, we stayed at home all day and did a lot of snuggling and reading. I think she needed the quiet time to reconnect after all the excitement.
21. Did you fall in love in 2014?
Same ol' love, still going.
22. How many one-night stands?
None.
23. What was your favorite TV program?
Doctor Who, followed by Daniel Tiger probably.
24. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
I try not to be a hater.
25. What was the best book you read?
I really liked the Beyonders series, possibly even more than the darker and more grownup Magicians series by Lev Grossman. Beyonders just had a lot of fun surprises. Beth Ann Fennelly's Great With Child: Letters to a Young Mother was excellent. Oh, and we discovered Scott Lynch's Locke Lamora series, which is so, so fantastic.
26. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Weird Al Yankovic's new album. Tacky, Mission Statement, and Word Crimes are my new favorite songs.
27. What did you want and get?
Sweater dresses. A functional backyard. Pretty sure we got the new printer this year.
28. What did you want and not get?
Sleep, energy, yoga.
29. What was your favorite film of this year?
I don't even think I saw any movies this year.
30. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 35. We went for a hike in the Swarthmore woods, and also had dinner with my parents. I think our date night at the Palomar Hotel a few weeks later technically counts as a birthday celebration, too.
31. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
More sleep?
32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2014?
Dresses, probably, because I'm too fat to keep buying pants.
33. What kept you sane?
F, mostly, but also Eric at work. Need to get a few more sanity outlets next year.
34. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
There are celebrities?
35. What political issue stirred you the most?
The thing where brown people keep getting murdered by police. Go gay marriage, too.
36. Who did you miss?
Sarah, Amy, Missi. The me I used to be.
37. Who was the best new person you met?
Nikolaj and Liza from Copenhagen.
38. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2014:
Even a harmonica dipped in pee can be salvaged.
39. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
I skip this one pretty much every year.