It’s All About Me Me Meme!

I wasn’t going to pressure myself to post every day this week, but when I don’t post, I miss you guys!  Funny thing about not posting, you don’t get many comments.  Since I have nothing worthwhile to say (not to suggest that even half of my posts are actually meaningful), I thought I’d dig up an old meme.

Doing a meme these days is sort of the blogging equivalent of wearing pleated pants or shoulder pads, but I always did enjoy a good meme.  Or even a mediocre one.  So here goes.  Feel free to play along.

1. What did you do in 2009 that you’d never done before?
I spoke at a conference!

And then on this panel of distinguished bloggers.

That was certainly a step or five out of my comfort zone, but I had such a good time.  And meeting the bloggers in that photo up there?  Amazing.

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
Yeah, so um, next question?

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
YES!  My sister-in-law.  I can’t wait to get to Virginia and pinch those chubby cheeks like a crazy old auntie.  I’d love to post a picture of his adorable sweetness, but I haven’t asked permission so I’ll restrain myself.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
No, thank goodness.

5. What countries did you visit?
Oh, just Mexico, Norway, China, Italy, Germany, Morocco, France, Japan, and Canada.  And not only that, I saw them all in one day.

6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009?
Besides a new car and a deck that actually reaches my back yard and a live-in maid?  Not a thing.

7. What dates from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
I don’t think there’s a date that was particularly notable this year.  How sad is that?  Or perhaps that’s a good thing.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
See #1.

9. What was your biggest failure?
Every single time I lost my temper with my kids and my husband.  Ugh.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
If I did, I’ve blocked it out.  This might be the first year in a long time that I can say no to this one.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
Now that’s definitely the new sink and counters in my kitchen.  I still get a little bit giddy when I walk into the room and see them.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
I always hate this question.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
At the risk of having apples thrown at me, I’ll have to go with the president on this one.

14. Where did most of your money go?
Probably groceries.  Fun, huh?

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Besides #11?  This:

16. What song will always remind you of 2009?
Unfortunately, due to the two wannabe teeny-boppers in my house, probably The Climb or Love Story.  I hear those songs in my sleep.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder?
b) thinner or fatter?
c) richer or poorer?

Same on all counts, I guess.

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Playing with my kids.

NOTE TO SELF: Finish this meme and go play a game with the kids.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Feeling down.  Last winter was rough.

20. How did you spend Christmas?
Chillin’ at home.

21. Did you fall in love in 2009?
Sure did.  Thanks, Santa!

22. What was your favorite TV program?
So You Think You Can Dance.  Loved it this year.

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
No.  Hate is a waste of time and energy.

24. What was the best book you read?
I’ll go with In Defense of Food* because it revolutionized the way we eat, although now I’m reading The Omnivore’s Dilemma* and I think it’s even better.

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?
I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day by Casting Crowns*  For sure.

26. What did you want and get?
See #11.  Oh and #21.  But more important than all that, I have a healthy happy family, and everything else pales in comparison to that.

27. What did you want and not get?
Nothing important.

28. What was your favorite film of this year?
Probably Food, Inc.*  Not that it was particularly fun to watch, but it was informative and interesting, and I wish everyone knew what they’re eating and where it comes from.  Other than that, and keeping in mind that I watch very few movies, I’ll go with The Proposal*.  That was cute.

**UPDATE.  Shelly mentioned Julie & Julia, and I don’t know how I forgot about that one.  That DEFINITELY tops The Proposal, sorry Sandra.

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I was 37, and I was at the beach on my birthday.  And that’s all I have to say about that.

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Not telling.  If I do, I’ll sound like a whiny brat, and I hate whiny brats.

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009?
Sweatpants rule.  Hey, just keeping it real.

32. What kept you sane?
I’ll go with the cliche, and say my faith in Christ.  But truly, he’s the only one who will never let you down.

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
I’m not particularly impressed with anyone famous.  Except perhaps Michael Pollan, lol.

34. What political issue stirred you the most?
This whole mess over health care.  Although honestly, I pretty much ignore the news.  It only gives me angst, and I don’t need any more angst.  Oh, and Shelly also reminded me of the bailouts and the government controlling more and more.  Thanks a lot.  Jeez. 

35. Who did you miss?
My mom.  I wish she (or we) lived closer.

36. Who was the best new person you met?
I met so many awesome people at Blissdom and She Speaks, but the person I met this year who first comes to mind is Christie.  I mean, we “met” like three years ago, so she’s not really a “new person” this year, but we met face-to-face for the first time this fall.

As far as truly new people go, I have to mention Shelly.  She is someone I’d love to meet at Starbucks if we lived nearby.  And I’m going to stop right there because if I keep going, I know I’ll leave someone out that I didn’t want to exclude.

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009.
I learned so much about food, I don’t know where to begin, but I feel like I should come up with something more philosophical than “raw milk doesn’t make my stomach ache” and “whole food is where it’s at.”  But truly, while I re-learned plenty about people and relationships and the fragility of life, there was nothing that was terribly new.

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.

God is not dead, nor doth He sleep. (See #25 for the song reference.)

This short, but powerful truth sums up not only this year, but it pretty much sums up everything.  People fail us, sickness and death and strife divide us, but no matter what happens, God is on his throne.  He is not dead, and he doesn’t sleep.  I find this incredibly comforting as I see people struggling with grief and doubt and discouragement.  2009 has been good to me, but we don’t know what the future holds, so I cling to this truth and trust that no matter what 2010 has up its sleeve, my faith will remain firm.

Finally, don’t forget to link up to my 2009 Blog Recap Carnival tomorrow.  And leave a link in the comments if you do this meme so I can come visit!

*big bad affiliate links (just doing my part to keep the FTC happy)

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Since I’m an old school blogger and I’m all for old school blogging making a comeback too, I figured I’d play along with Steph and Nell and do this meme. I miss memes. I always was a sucker for a good meme.

It’s about our children’s names.

1. Do you have any cultural or religious naming traditions?

Nope.

2. Did you or your partner come to the marriage with pre-selected names?

Nope.  Okay, so far this meme is a snooze.

3. Did you consider the sound of the first and middle and last names together? Did this make any sad eliminations?

Oh yeah.  I analyzed the sounds of the names to death.  I’m sure that’s no surprise to those who know me well.  I analyze EVERYTHING to death.

4. Did you have veto powers?

I pretty much had all the power, lol.  My husband could nix any name he didn’t like, but I pretty much came up with them all.

5. Did the baby naming cause arguments?

Not really, but we didn’t decide on my 3rd child’s middle name until I was in the delivery room.  My husband still doesn’t really like it, but how can you say no to your wife when she’s in labor?

6. Do you think it is easier to name boys or girls?

Neither.  I had a pretty easy time with all three.  Except the whole middle name thing with my 3rd.

7. Did you eliminate names because of people from your past or present who you don’t like or because a certain image comes to mind.

Um, hello?  I was a teacher.  That eliminates half the names in the naming books, right there.

8. Did you / would you survey your children to get their thoughts on the name?

Nah.  Although we did run it by them just for fun.  It was cute to hear them try to pronounce the names we were considering.

9. Did you tell people the name or possible names before the baby was born or were they “in the vault”?

Have I ever had an unspoken thought?  No, I have not.  We talked names constantly, and since we found out the babies’ sexes in utero (how do you spell that?  couldn’t find it on google), we would call them by name while I was still preggo.

10. Did you use baby name books?

Nope!

Drumroll please…What did you name your kids?

Unfortunately I keep my kids’ names private, although I’m dying to reveal them just this once.  Isn’t it a bummer that there are so many sickos in the world that some of us feel we can’t share our kids’ names online?  Of course, you all probably know the first letters of their names – DCR.

We call my son by his middle name, which is also my husband’s middle name and my dad’s first name.  My son’s first name is my husband’s dad’s first name.  Got all that?

My girls weren’t named for anyone.  I just chose names I liked.

Because my name is so unusual, I was determined to name my kids ordinary names that they wouldn’t have to spell their whole lives.  I pretty much achieved that, although both of my girls have names that can be spelled 2 ways, so I still end up spelling them from time to time.

Wanna play along?  Consider yourself tagged!

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