2009 Wrap Up Survey
Found it!
1) Was 2009 a good year for you?
Oh, yes!
2) What was your favorite moment of the year?
I think it was Chaz and Elizabeth's wedding in New Orleans, an entire weekend of eating amazing food in New Orleans with great friends, my husband, and my three-month-old baby. It was the end of my maternity leave, the last big hurrah of summer, and the first time I realized that having a baby was going to enrich, rather than end, the things I loved to do.
3) What was your least favorite moment of the year?
I had a big, dramatic, yelling, crying fight with yamguitar on the phone while driving in the rain during my last month of pregnancy. That sucked.
4) Where were you when 2009 began?
I was fast asleep in Chaz and Elizabeth's guest bed in Charlotte, NC.
5) Who were you with?
droid18
6) Where will you be when 2009 ends?
It's already happened, it was last night, and I was in my very own, soon to be refinanced (fingers still crossed, but it looks like it will go through) home.
7) Who will you be with when 2009 ends?
droid18 and I decided to have "a few" people over at practically the last minute, which turned into quite a large party of some of our very best friends: Keith, whyvette, baby Alana, kungfubadboy, Angela, toddler Addison, Cathy, Charles, Rivka, captnsparrow, gypsyariana, apersonalchef, John, yamguitar, and elliedee.
8) Did you keep your new years resolution of 2009?
I didn't make any resolutions for 2009. However, I did finally keep a resolution from 2008, which was to quit caffeine. While I do indulge very occasionally (last night being one of the occasions), I am mostly caffeine free. I miss it (oh, how I miss it), but I find that I do sleep a lot better at night now than I did when I was drinking a Coke a day.
9) Do you have a new years resolution for 2010?
I have limited myself to two: fix household budgeting imbalance of spending vs. saving and lose enough weight to be out of maternity clothes by the end of the year. I am certain I can do both of these things with just a little more discipline.
10) Did you fall in love in 2009?
Watching droid18 love being a daddy made me fall in love with him all over again.
11) If yes, with who?
See above.
12) If yes, do they know?
Yes.
13) Are you still in love with them?
Yes.
14) You regret it?
No.
15) Did you breakup with anyone in 2009?
Nope.
16) Did you make any new friends in 2009?
Do new babies count?
17) Who are your favorite new friends?
The babies!
18) What was your favorite month of 2009?
It's gotta be August. That was the month when Vivian turned three months old and finally started exhibiting some signs of personality, we adjusted to being a three-person family, and we went to New Orleans. There was a lot of joy in that month.
19) Did you travel outside of the US in 2009?
No.
20) How many different states did you travel to in 2009?
The usuals: Virginia, North Carolina, and Indiana. We also went to Louisiana.
21) Did you lose anybody close to you in 2009?
No.
22) Did you miss anybody in the past year?
I missed Kelley and Allison like crazy and still do. They've already been through the infant thing with Owen, and I would have so much liked for us to be able to share our experiences with each other. I still consider them to be my best friends, but we're losing touch, and that sucks. I also miss l_bee and her children (whom I have always considered to be mine as well). I absolutely loved it when everyone came to Atlanta for Thanksgiving and I had ALL of "my" children at the same time.
23) What was your favorite movie that you saw in 2009?
It was a little indie flick called Arranged about an Orthodox Jewish woman and a Muslim woman who strike up an unlikely friendship while teaching at a public school in New York, mostly because they are both in the process of having their marriages arranged.
24) What was your favorite song from 2009?
I know this is terrible, but all of my favorite songs from 2009 were songs that I wrote myself. I wrote some adorable songs for Vivian, and I am quite pleased with "Summer Love," the song I wrote for Chaz and Elizabeth's wedding.
25) What was your favorite record from 2009?
Mine! (I know, I know; how conceited can I get?)
26) How many concerts did you see in 2009?
As usual, I saw all of the Atlanta Opera productions; Akhnaten was my favorite. I went to PiratePalooza. That might be it.
27) Did you have a favorite concert in 2009?
Philip Glass's Akhnaten
28) Did you drink a lot of alcohol in 2009?
No. Though I probably could have drunk more than I did, I didn't really miss it all that much. There were some really nice glasses of wine right after Vivian was born, though!
29) Did you do a lot of drugs in 2009?
More than usual, certainly. I had a C-section and a tooth infection requiring a root canal, both of which came with copious amounts of painkillers.
30) How many people did you sleep with in 2009?
One.
31) Did you do anything you are ashamed of this year?
Even after being told my glucose levels were too high, I continued to eat sweets while I was pregnant. According to my doctor, the baby was probably too big to have been delivered vaginally at full term. She was early and butt first and had to be delivered by C-section anyway, so that kind of lets me off the hook, but I am going to take my diet more seriously next time. I also had a couple of things I could have handled better or differently, but why dwell on the past? I've been forgiven by the people affected, and I am moving on.
32) What was the worst lie someone told you in 2009?
I read a book that assured me that making enough breast milk was purely a matter of having confidence in myself, getting enough rest, and eating a proper diet. This same book said that supplementing with formula was the worst thing I could possibly do because then I would stop making milk. Both of these things turned out to be untrue in my case, and I put myself through a lot of unnecessary guilt and angst over the whole thing.
33) Did you treat somebody badly in 2009?
I should probably take this moment to apologize to any and everyone who had the misfortune to interact with me while I was pregnant.
34) Did somebody treat you badly in 2009?
When Vivian was born, all of my parents descended upon Atlanta, and there were moments of having a house full of family that did not go well for us. However, no one did anything with malicious intent. I also had a co-worker go behind my back and say something to my boss; it wasn't really about me, and it didn't really affect anything, but it was still uncalled for.
35) How much money did you spend in 2009?
Ugh, too much. Way too much. If it had all been spent on the baby, I would say we should get a bye, but we spent a lot of money on a lot of things. Thus the resolution to get our finances in order in 2010.
36) What was your proudest moment of 2009?
I performed at PiratePalooza after absolutely zero rehearsal of my solo material, and it sounded just like a regular Joni Minstrel show. It made me realize that all those years of working on my guitar playing and my singing and my stage presence have been worthwhile because (as Tony Brown said) now I own it. I can do it whenever I want, and I don't have to do it any other time.
37) What was your most embarrassing moment of 2009?
Oh, probably being late or saying something stupid. I feel fortunate that I can't remember any specific one; that means I didn't embarrass myself too traumatically in 2009.
38) If you could go back in time to any moment of 2009 and change something, what would it be?
I would make a decision to swear off cake and ice cream for the remainder of my pregnancy after flunking my first glucose test.
39) What are your plans for 2010?
In addition to my resolutions, I am hoping to get to visit my sister in VA within the next few months. Really, that's about it.
40. What did you do in 2009 that you'd never done before?
I gained three dress sizes in one year. I had a baby, with all the associated firsts (giving birth, breastfeeding, pumping, etc.). I had a root canal. I went to New Orleans. I felt like a grown-up.
41. Did anyone close to you give birth?
One of my best friends, whyvette, gave birth to a beautiful baby girl about three months before I did.
42. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009?
Savings, clothes that fit
43. What dates from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
May 17 - Vivian's birthday!
44. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
I have kept an infant alive for seven whole months.
45. What was your biggest failure?
It's not really a failure, but I would have liked to have a CD release party. Oh, wait, I thought of a failure: not planning ahead for Christmas.
46. Did you suffer illness or injury?
The biggest suffering I experienced from having a baby and having a root canal was financial! Those were some really large bills.
47. What was the best thing you bought?
The trip to New Orleans
48. Whose behavior merited celebration?
droid18 has stepped up and taken on the duties of fatherhood with enthusiasm, and I feel incredibly lucky to have a husband who doesn't have a problem with scaling back his work hours to be the primary caretaker while I work full time.
49. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
The family member who decided the best thing to do for a couple with a new baby was to turn their household completely upside down with remodeling projects and the family member who enabled that family member's insanity.
50. Where did most of your money go?
The mortgage
51. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Vivian, New Orleans, Thanksgiving, and New Year's Eve
52. What song will always remind you of 2009?
"Bad Day" by Barenaked Ladies
53. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? happier
b) thinner or fatter? thinner (but only because the baby's out)
c) richer or poorer? poorer
54. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Planning ahead, saving money
55. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Getting up at 4:30 a.m. to take care of the baby. (I am told this does improve with time.)
56. What was your favourite TV program?
Say Yes to the Dress, Bones, 30 Rock
57. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
No.
58. What was the best book you read?
Guess How Much I Love You (I really didn't do much adult reading)
59. What did you want and get?
Diaper service, breast pump... I won't bore you with the entire list. Just know that my friends and family are very, very good to me. I also think Vivian got droid18's eyelashes and his sweet temperament, which is just what I was hoping for.
60. What did you want and not get?
Sleep. Lots and lots of delicious sleep.
61. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I was 36, and it was the least eventful birthday I've had in years; I was just too tired to plan anything big. droid18 took me out to dinner at Ted's Montana Grill, and we called it a night.
62. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
I'm pretty darn satisfied.
63. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009?
Trying to make stretched out maternity clothes look like an intential fashion choice
64. What kept you sane?
droid18 (when he wasn't driving me crazy)
65. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
James McAvoy
66. What political issue stirred you the most?
Healthcare
67. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009:
The reason we are alive is life. That's all, and that's enough.
1) Was 2009 a good year for you?
Oh, yes!
2) What was your favorite moment of the year?
I think it was Chaz and Elizabeth's wedding in New Orleans, an entire weekend of eating amazing food in New Orleans with great friends, my husband, and my three-month-old baby. It was the end of my maternity leave, the last big hurrah of summer, and the first time I realized that having a baby was going to enrich, rather than end, the things I loved to do.
3) What was your least favorite moment of the year?
I had a big, dramatic, yelling, crying fight with yamguitar on the phone while driving in the rain during my last month of pregnancy. That sucked.
4) Where were you when 2009 began?
I was fast asleep in Chaz and Elizabeth's guest bed in Charlotte, NC.
5) Who were you with?
droid18
6) Where will you be when 2009 ends?
It's already happened, it was last night, and I was in my very own, soon to be refinanced (fingers still crossed, but it looks like it will go through) home.
7) Who will you be with when 2009 ends?
droid18 and I decided to have "a few" people over at practically the last minute, which turned into quite a large party of some of our very best friends: Keith, whyvette, baby Alana, kungfubadboy, Angela, toddler Addison, Cathy, Charles, Rivka, captnsparrow, gypsyariana, apersonalchef, John, yamguitar, and elliedee.
8) Did you keep your new years resolution of 2009?
I didn't make any resolutions for 2009. However, I did finally keep a resolution from 2008, which was to quit caffeine. While I do indulge very occasionally (last night being one of the occasions), I am mostly caffeine free. I miss it (oh, how I miss it), but I find that I do sleep a lot better at night now than I did when I was drinking a Coke a day.
9) Do you have a new years resolution for 2010?
I have limited myself to two: fix household budgeting imbalance of spending vs. saving and lose enough weight to be out of maternity clothes by the end of the year. I am certain I can do both of these things with just a little more discipline.
10) Did you fall in love in 2009?
Watching droid18 love being a daddy made me fall in love with him all over again.
11) If yes, with who?
See above.
12) If yes, do they know?
Yes.
13) Are you still in love with them?
Yes.
14) You regret it?
No.
15) Did you breakup with anyone in 2009?
Nope.
16) Did you make any new friends in 2009?
Do new babies count?
17) Who are your favorite new friends?
The babies!
18) What was your favorite month of 2009?
It's gotta be August. That was the month when Vivian turned three months old and finally started exhibiting some signs of personality, we adjusted to being a three-person family, and we went to New Orleans. There was a lot of joy in that month.
19) Did you travel outside of the US in 2009?
No.
20) How many different states did you travel to in 2009?
The usuals: Virginia, North Carolina, and Indiana. We also went to Louisiana.
21) Did you lose anybody close to you in 2009?
No.
22) Did you miss anybody in the past year?
I missed Kelley and Allison like crazy and still do. They've already been through the infant thing with Owen, and I would have so much liked for us to be able to share our experiences with each other. I still consider them to be my best friends, but we're losing touch, and that sucks. I also miss l_bee and her children (whom I have always considered to be mine as well). I absolutely loved it when everyone came to Atlanta for Thanksgiving and I had ALL of "my" children at the same time.
23) What was your favorite movie that you saw in 2009?
It was a little indie flick called Arranged about an Orthodox Jewish woman and a Muslim woman who strike up an unlikely friendship while teaching at a public school in New York, mostly because they are both in the process of having their marriages arranged.
24) What was your favorite song from 2009?
I know this is terrible, but all of my favorite songs from 2009 were songs that I wrote myself. I wrote some adorable songs for Vivian, and I am quite pleased with "Summer Love," the song I wrote for Chaz and Elizabeth's wedding.
25) What was your favorite record from 2009?
Mine! (I know, I know; how conceited can I get?)
26) How many concerts did you see in 2009?
As usual, I saw all of the Atlanta Opera productions; Akhnaten was my favorite. I went to PiratePalooza. That might be it.
27) Did you have a favorite concert in 2009?
Philip Glass's Akhnaten
28) Did you drink a lot of alcohol in 2009?
No. Though I probably could have drunk more than I did, I didn't really miss it all that much. There were some really nice glasses of wine right after Vivian was born, though!
29) Did you do a lot of drugs in 2009?
More than usual, certainly. I had a C-section and a tooth infection requiring a root canal, both of which came with copious amounts of painkillers.
30) How many people did you sleep with in 2009?
One.
31) Did you do anything you are ashamed of this year?
Even after being told my glucose levels were too high, I continued to eat sweets while I was pregnant. According to my doctor, the baby was probably too big to have been delivered vaginally at full term. She was early and butt first and had to be delivered by C-section anyway, so that kind of lets me off the hook, but I am going to take my diet more seriously next time. I also had a couple of things I could have handled better or differently, but why dwell on the past? I've been forgiven by the people affected, and I am moving on.
32) What was the worst lie someone told you in 2009?
I read a book that assured me that making enough breast milk was purely a matter of having confidence in myself, getting enough rest, and eating a proper diet. This same book said that supplementing with formula was the worst thing I could possibly do because then I would stop making milk. Both of these things turned out to be untrue in my case, and I put myself through a lot of unnecessary guilt and angst over the whole thing.
33) Did you treat somebody badly in 2009?
I should probably take this moment to apologize to any and everyone who had the misfortune to interact with me while I was pregnant.
34) Did somebody treat you badly in 2009?
When Vivian was born, all of my parents descended upon Atlanta, and there were moments of having a house full of family that did not go well for us. However, no one did anything with malicious intent. I also had a co-worker go behind my back and say something to my boss; it wasn't really about me, and it didn't really affect anything, but it was still uncalled for.
35) How much money did you spend in 2009?
Ugh, too much. Way too much. If it had all been spent on the baby, I would say we should get a bye, but we spent a lot of money on a lot of things. Thus the resolution to get our finances in order in 2010.
36) What was your proudest moment of 2009?
I performed at PiratePalooza after absolutely zero rehearsal of my solo material, and it sounded just like a regular Joni Minstrel show. It made me realize that all those years of working on my guitar playing and my singing and my stage presence have been worthwhile because (as Tony Brown said) now I own it. I can do it whenever I want, and I don't have to do it any other time.
37) What was your most embarrassing moment of 2009?
Oh, probably being late or saying something stupid. I feel fortunate that I can't remember any specific one; that means I didn't embarrass myself too traumatically in 2009.
38) If you could go back in time to any moment of 2009 and change something, what would it be?
I would make a decision to swear off cake and ice cream for the remainder of my pregnancy after flunking my first glucose test.
39) What are your plans for 2010?
In addition to my resolutions, I am hoping to get to visit my sister in VA within the next few months. Really, that's about it.
40. What did you do in 2009 that you'd never done before?
I gained three dress sizes in one year. I had a baby, with all the associated firsts (giving birth, breastfeeding, pumping, etc.). I had a root canal. I went to New Orleans. I felt like a grown-up.
41. Did anyone close to you give birth?
One of my best friends, whyvette, gave birth to a beautiful baby girl about three months before I did.
42. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009?
Savings, clothes that fit
43. What dates from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
May 17 - Vivian's birthday!
44. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
I have kept an infant alive for seven whole months.
45. What was your biggest failure?
It's not really a failure, but I would have liked to have a CD release party. Oh, wait, I thought of a failure: not planning ahead for Christmas.
46. Did you suffer illness or injury?
The biggest suffering I experienced from having a baby and having a root canal was financial! Those were some really large bills.
47. What was the best thing you bought?
The trip to New Orleans
48. Whose behavior merited celebration?
droid18 has stepped up and taken on the duties of fatherhood with enthusiasm, and I feel incredibly lucky to have a husband who doesn't have a problem with scaling back his work hours to be the primary caretaker while I work full time.
49. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
The family member who decided the best thing to do for a couple with a new baby was to turn their household completely upside down with remodeling projects and the family member who enabled that family member's insanity.
50. Where did most of your money go?
The mortgage
51. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Vivian, New Orleans, Thanksgiving, and New Year's Eve
52. What song will always remind you of 2009?
"Bad Day" by Barenaked Ladies
53. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? happier
b) thinner or fatter? thinner (but only because the baby's out)
c) richer or poorer? poorer
54. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Planning ahead, saving money
55. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Getting up at 4:30 a.m. to take care of the baby. (I am told this does improve with time.)
56. What was your favourite TV program?
Say Yes to the Dress, Bones, 30 Rock
57. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
No.
58. What was the best book you read?
Guess How Much I Love You (I really didn't do much adult reading)
59. What did you want and get?
Diaper service, breast pump... I won't bore you with the entire list. Just know that my friends and family are very, very good to me. I also think Vivian got droid18's eyelashes and his sweet temperament, which is just what I was hoping for.
60. What did you want and not get?
Sleep. Lots and lots of delicious sleep.
61. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I was 36, and it was the least eventful birthday I've had in years; I was just too tired to plan anything big. droid18 took me out to dinner at Ted's Montana Grill, and we called it a night.
62. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
I'm pretty darn satisfied.
63. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009?
Trying to make stretched out maternity clothes look like an intential fashion choice
64. What kept you sane?
droid18 (when he wasn't driving me crazy)
65. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
James McAvoy
66. What political issue stirred you the most?
Healthcare
67. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009:
The reason we are alive is life. That's all, and that's enough.