A Year Wrap-Up

Through life’s lessons, I’ve learned to take things as they come, learn from them and endeavour to slowly move on.  Nothing is gained from dwelling on the past if the dwelling merely brings negative thoughts and bad vibes; and yet, without trials and hard times, one could not grow and develop, nor could one fully appreciate all the great times with absolutely nothing to compare with.  It is the savour of life.  Salt.  So, with that, let’s do a little comparison, shall we?  (And probably rub some salt in the proverbial wound in the meantime.)

Here were 2008’s ASPIRATIONS:

1. Make friends with your new sewing machine.

• First point of action: remove it from its taped up box
• Re-learn how to use it after a eighteen-year hiatus
  
• Harness its capabilities and overlook the mind-consuming danger that you could ram the high speed needle into your left forefinger
  
• Make some rawkin’ things with it, including a Rag Quilt

2. Recycle more to fit more rubbish in the wheelie bin. How can such a small family generate so much crap?

3. Revolutionise Your Blogging Experience

• Move blog (and archives–BAH!) to another server

MSN has been getting my knickers in a twist for a very long time. Despite blogging here for the past 2.5 years, becoming Space of the Week twice, being featured on The MSN Homepage and having over 207,000 hits under my belt, I have taken all I can stomach with the Nuisance. The catalyst was the most recent of changes: No basic or advanced HTML in the Sandbox. At all. Basically, you can’t make a clickable header anymore, which is why mine has huge ugly white spaces all over it. My other option is to just leave it altogether.

• Be done with Blogging

That’s a goal, right?

1. I have continued to stare at the taped up box.  I have, in my own defense, made conversation about said ‘taped up box’ and have been promised some how-to times ahead.  Don’t judge me.  Actually, go ahead.
2. I have been recycling like a mad woman — much to my husband’s chagrin (I shouldn’t really have to say that we have to travel the 45 miles to Missoula to drop it off, should I?) — and have even recruited my 4-year-old in the processes, adding this new word into his vocab in the emerging months of 2008.
3. It’s hard to believe I have been with WordPress a year now, and although I have moved the biggest majority of my posts over, I have a few months left to do.  It’s labourious mostly because I have to do it by hand, one-by-one and I am peeved that WP doesn’t allow you to export files from any server, and not just Blogger and Typepad (to name the very few).  Which, consequently, means I have lost all my precious comments too.  All three of them.  However, I have not — as the savvy-eyed among you will have noticed — given up blogging.  Although I will say, I have come very close to it, particularly 2 weeks ago.

In retrospect, although 2008 had it’s downs, there were ups amidst those downs; sweet moments I cherish.  Quiet moments as death approached both my Gran and Grandpa-in-law that I hold dearly to:  My Gran gently stroking my hair as I showed her the back of my still-thick hair (compared to my poor Mum’s!) and the still, quiet moments I shared with Clifford, a shell of who he once was.  There is nothing more bitter-sweet than to sit in a quiet room with those who are departing.  The Spirit is very strong, almost overpowering at times.  The tears would come, just from the sheer intensity of peace/love/tranquility in the rooms.

I am grateful for the departure of two thousand and eight.  It hasn’t been bad, per se, but I have done a lot of growing and molding this past year.  Things I don’t really care to revisit, but instances where I have grown the most.  One of the hardest things for me to deal with was returning to Montana after being in Scotland for three weeks.  I hadn’t set foot in the UK in five years, and naively thought I could handle it, considering my last trip was a breeze.  I was overloaded with excitement to be there, to even just stand in a supermarket (Morrison’s or Tesco) and just stare at the shelves while others meandered past, barely paying attention to my quiet enthusiasm.  Essentially, I rediscovered my homeland, something I never thought possible.  Returning to Montana was the antithesis of the trip: dormant grass, a lack of infrastructure, people, buildings, city life and importantly, my family.  What a rough, turbulent month I had after my return, and, like usual, I grinned and beared it.

So, I have waved farewell to 2008 and heralded in 2009 in great style.

We spent the day with a family from our Church and a big handful of friends.  To say their home is huge is a slight understatement.  Adding their shop and a few other things, it spans a whopping 12,000 square feet.  They have a large swimming pool, a billiards table, air hockey, a ginormous kitchen and many, many rooms.  I used a bathroom to change my clothes from sledding down their hill repeatedly (and consequently being transported back up the hill on either a Rhino or a snow mobile) and tried to guesstimate its size.  It was definitely around 16′ x 16′.  They are a great family, with huge hearts and we really had a fantastic time — maybe except for Cameron, where, on his maiden and only voyage downhill strapped onto the long plastic sled under us by my legs only, slid so far down, I had to clench his heid with my thighs in-between the air we caught.  After he retained composure, he even went in a pool for the first time (and if you think I did, you are sadly mistaken!  I am, however, going to buy a pair of women’s surf shorts and a tankini top, because that(?) my friends, is a bloody great idea!  Exclamation POINT!).

I, of course, had to stuff my face completely and ate a bit of everything everyone brought.  You have to!  What kind of person would I be if I left anyone’s dish out?!  That’s just uncalled for.

A final comparison to this time last year is that although we are a good nine days into the year, I have yet to come up with anything new I want/need to accomplish.  There’s time yet, I suppose.

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Resolutions? Nay, Aspirations!

He apologises in advance for making anyone’s uterus ache.

My biggest hurdle of 2007? It was tiny. A tiny little package of frogs, snails and puppy dogs’ tails. My trip-and-land-flat-on-your-face of choice was transitioning from one child to two. It was a complete adjustment in its entirety. Shifting from a self-sufficient, independent toddler to coping and managing (and ENJOYING) two little souls really threw me for a loop. You go from knowing, loving and embracing your current routine then, in the blink of an eye you’re thrown headfirst into a place of familiar unfamiliarity; feeling lost and discombobulated all in a hair’s breath. My fingers felt like huge sausages, cumbersome and clumsy. How could I change this tiny one’s nappy or bathe him delicately? My footsteps and voice were suddenly booming and echo-y. Excuse me? But how do you care for the soon-to-be bellybutton again? Sorry, I forget. I know I’m meant to know, so I won’t ask. I’m the old-timer here; seasoned and under control. So while I’m standing haphazardly in my pink hospital gown and gorgeous blue slipper socks, speed-reading up on it on my fact sheet so I don’t have to call on the nurse, a jet-powered stream of baby pee covers his face, legs, arms, hospital bassinet–and quite possibly the adjacent wall.

No option now but to call the nurse.

Once I adjusted to my life slowing once again to the pace of the little one, I relaxed, breathed and approached it differently. It took quite a few weeks to realign everything. So, I metaphorically stand before you now and say: If and when the time arises, I’m hoping 2-3 is not such a long-winded, confusing event. Emphasis delicately placed on the if.

So, this brings me to 2008 and all It has to offer. You should know, I haven’t made a New Year’s resolution in years. I decided a long time ago, I would rather set goals for myself rather than come up with some collection of senseless ideas that I would probably never keep. [cough, mutter] Like exercising. Sometimes the goal is lengthy and time-consuming, like Learn to Touch Type (post script: without cursing at Mavis Beacon) or Teach Yourself Basic AND Advanced HTML. Sometimes they’re simple, like Learn How to Play Backgammon (even if your opponent happens to be the bias Computer) or Take More Photographs.

I usually don’t come up with the aspirations until post-Ne’er Day, but I do come up with them nonetheless.

1. Make friends with your new sewing machine.

• First point of action: remove it from its taped up box
• Re-learn how to use it after a eigh****-year hiatus
  
• Harness its capabilities and overlook the mind-consuming danger that you could ram the high speed needle into your left forefinger
  
• Make some rawkin’ things with it, including a Rag Quilt

2. Recycle more to fit more rubbish in the wheelie bin. How can such a small family generate so much crap?

3. Revolutionise Your Blogging Experience

• Move blog (and archives–BAH!) to another server

MSN has been getting my knickers in a twist for a very long time. Despite blogging here for the past 2.5 years, becoming Space of the Week twice, being featured on The MSN Homepage and having over 207,000 hits under my belt, I have taken all I can stomach with the Nuisance. The catalyst was the most recent of changes: No basic or advanced HTML in the Sandbox. At all. Basically, you can’t make a clickable header anymore, which is why mine has huge ugly white spaces all over it. My other option is to just leave it altogether.

• Be done with Blogging

That’s a goal, right?

Domestic Bliss

Husband back at work
It was nice while it lasted
Entertain myself?

Twelve long days of bliss
No vacation time taken
Company time off

Helped around the house
Much more than I expected
And all from his heart

We worked together
To reach goal of a clean house
Before New Year’s Day

13 December Goals

1.  Maintain the look of the Christmas tree, even if you have to tweak it.

2.  Cover blank spaces on selective walls.

3.  Start reading again.  No, Llama Llama Red Pajama does not count.

4.  Spend your birthday money on yourself, not the house.  This includes the mission of goal #2.

“dis-uh-BEEL”, 5.  Get the boys to start and end the day wearing trousers.  See dictionary.com Word of the Day: dishabillenoun:
1) The state of being carelessly or partially dressed.
2) Casual or lounging attire.
3) An intentionally careless or casual manner.

6.  Stop attending Pampered Chef Parties.  Attendance to date:  August, October, November, December.  Break the cycle, youcandoit!

7.  Stop spending and start spendthrifting.

8.  Ignore any and all self-advice regarding budgetting.  It will be your quiet ruin.

9.  Use the new vacuum to bribe small children.

10.  Eat Santa’s cookies shamelessly.

11.  Stop mentally writing blogs in your head as you fall asleep.  You’re already sentimental, no need for plain auld mental.

12.  Spray Pre-school with a 6% bleach solution and thank the MOTHER(!) who brought their kid to school with PINK EYE.  That’s conjunctivitis to me and you.

13.  Maintain the secrecy of spouse’s Christmas gift for the first year ever.
Last year was a dismal failure.  After DH signed up with Amazon Prime last year, it would have been a GOOD idea to make sure the CONFIRMATION OF DELIVERY e-mail went unnoticed.  DH’s train of though:  “your package has been shipped(?)  What package?  *Click*  Oh.”  Being 38 weeks pregnant I did what any good gestating woman would have done.  I bawled my wee Scottish eyes out.

** I may even be inclined to post photographic proof of any of the above points as evidence materialises.  Watch this Space.