Another 2009 in Review

1. What did you do in 2009 that you’d never done before?
We had a baby =)

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
Yes and no, I didn't quite accomplish all of them (such as losing weight but I had a wonderful excuse), but we stuck pretty well to the everything has a place organization of our house and our goals to be more green. I would like to lose that extra baby weight and then lose some that extra post-marriage weight.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Yes, our friends Melanie, Rachael, and of course moi

4. Did anyone close to you die?
No one close but my great aunt did pass away

5. What states/countries did you visit?
For the first time in about 10 years, I did not leave the country...in fact, with baby on the way, we didn't travel much. I did visit Ohio, Virginia, Maryland, and DC...holy heck was this overall a boring travel year.

6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009?
Aside from extra money to work on some of the projects that we would like to do (it's not that we don't have the money...we just don't like to spend it)

7. What dates from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
January 31st-February 1st - a very important weekend (do the math), the ski weekend and the Steelers Superbowl
February 13th - the day I found out I was pregnant
February 14th - the day I told Erik
April 9th - the day we first saw the peanut on US and she actually looked like a baby
May 29th - when we found out our peanut was a girl
June 6th - Lauren's wedding
June 12th - Penguins win the Cup and Erik is there to see it (I felt like I had just accomplished my lifelong goal knowing he was there to see it)
July and August - 2 months of hell in the ICU
October 23rd - Brooklyn Sydney changed our lives
November 28th - our first Thanksgiving here
December 25th - Brooklyn's first Christmas
December 26th - Brooklyn's Baptism

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

9. What was your biggest failure?
Realizing it's almost impossible to keep an impeccably clean house anymore

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Nope...except for being in the hospital for the first time overnight when I had Brooklyn

11. What was the best thing you bought?
Our Nikon D60 and the theater room

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Don't really know how to answer this one...probably Erik's for being an awesome dad and Crosby's for being a wonderful big sister and getting along with B so well

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
No one's really...except maybe Tiger Woods and another person in my life disappointed me more than anything else.

14. Where did most of your money go?
Bills and my 8 page American Express Credit Card Statements

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Brooklyn and when we first saw her smiles and coos

16. What song will always remind you of 2009?
Probably "My Daughter's Eyes" by Martina McBride or "Sweet Caroline" by Neil Diamond

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? happier
b) thinner or fatter? slightly fatter - I just had a baby
c) richer or poorer? richer (in love)

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Relaxing, appreciating all the blessings we have in our life (we do this all the time but really, we are so lucky, fortunate, and blessed to be in the position in life we are now)

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Housework, worrying, and stressing over little things

20. How did you spend Christmas?
Christmas Eve by driving into NC, spending time with my grandparents then Erik's grandparents then home to change and off to church, then off to Erik's mom's then home for opening gifts at my parents then waking up Christmas morning and having our family dinner then spending time with relatives

21. Did you fall in love in 2009?
Yes, on Friday, October 23rd

22. What was your favorite TV program?
I really liked Glee ;) Top Chef, Next Iron Chef, Next Food Network Star and a few other Food Network and Bravo shows have always been my favorites.

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
I don't have time to hate people

24. What was the best book you read?
Since I didn't do much pleasure reading since I have a pile of textbooks to read, I would say Happiest Baby on the Block since it saved our sanity the first week home

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?
I guess Glee and probably realizing that B loves music

26. What did you want and get?
My camera and a healthy pregnancy

27. What did you want and not get?
I didn't get my house completely finished with the basement bar or the outside patio

28. What was your favorite film of this year?
I think we watched Marley and Me this year...I also really liked Up

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 29 and was 38 weeks pregnant. I worked, then came home and napped. Yep, that about sums it up! However, the day before, my parents, Erik and I went to the Springfield for my birthday brunch while the waitress looked at me with evil eyes while I drank my glass of champagne

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Pretty much nothing (except maybe winning the lottery) as 2009 probably was our best year ever

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009?
Scrubs :) My favorite....I have no fashion concept. My husband picks out my clothes on the rack in the store and then I just find the size to fit. I admit I have no style and wish someone would nominate me for What Not To Wear as I would rather wear jeans and a casual shirt, scrubs, maternity clothes (at the time and even for the first 6 weeks or so because I loved the loose fit and elastic waistbands until I was forced by he-who-shall-remain-nameless to buy new jeans)

32. What kept you sane?
Given the 2 ICU months, probably milkshakes and chocolate =) and in reality, Erik who managed to keep me sane and grounded

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Sidney Crosby

34. What political issue stirred you the most?
Health care

35. Who did you miss?
Some of my old friends from MCV that I've not seen in over a year

36. Who was the best new person you met?
New person...besides Brooklyn, I feel like I just formed better relationships with the people I already know

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009.
Live in the moment and cherish each fleeting second because they will be gone before you know it. My little B is growing and changing each and every day and I won't get a second chance at these moments with her

38. What was the single best thing that happened this year?
Brooklyn's birth

39. What was the single most challenging thing that happened?
Finding a balance between wife, mother, doctor, sister, daughter, friend and all the other hats I wear.

40. What was an unexpected joy this past year?
Kinda an expected joy but having a daughter and realizing how much I love seeing her smile and laugh

41. What was an unexpected obstacle?

42. What was your biggest personal change from January to December of 2009?
Starting 2009 hoping to become a mother by year's end and ending the year as a mommy

43. In what ways did you grow,
emotionally? Having a deeper understanding of love
spiritually? Having a connection far beyond this physical world
physically? More like increased size, like about 15 pounds more

44. In what ways did you grow in your relationship with others?
Most importantly, I grew more in love with my husband by seeing him as a father

45. With whom were your most valuable relationships?
Definitely with Erik and now with Brooklyn....having a better relationship with my parents knowing what they went through in raising baby

46. Who did you miss?
I miss some of my girlfriends and other friends who I haven't seen in a long time...

47. Who was the best new person you met?
Um, Brooklyn ;)

48. What was the most enjoyable area of managing your home?
I'd say this year it was landscaping the outside and finishing the theater room

49. What was your most challenging area of home management?
I'd say it's probably putting away the clothes and keeping our breakfast table clutterfree as that's where mail and everything accumulate....I did make great strides in keeping the counters clear and hopefully the secretary desk will help with the breakfast table.

50. What was your single biggest time waster in your life this year?
I would say Facebook and the Nest have to be a tie.