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New Years 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!

lysa-and-me

And then on this panel of distinguished bloggers.

bloggers-brunch

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.

counters

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:

Disney-Castle-copy3

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!

ring

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.

christie-and-me

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)

Join The Conversation

20 Responses

  1. Love the ring, Jo-Lynne…what a nice Santa you know 😉 One of the highlights of my year was meeting you (and all the other fabulous bloggers) at SheSpeaks! I will steal this meme b/c I am bored so mosey on over to my blog later this afternoon! Happy New Year…see you at Blissdom

  2. Memes may be the pleated pants of blogging–but I like ’em. It’s always interesting to hear what other people are thinking. Happy New Year to you and your family!

  3. Seriously, it took a LOT longer than I expected. I can think of at least 10 other things I should have been doing instead.

  4. That was terrific! So much so that I did one on my blog…BEFORE I read how much time it took you. Cause, yeah. It was a doozy to complete. 🙂

    Hope you have a happy New Year!!

  5. Great meme! I love reading these and finding out more about my favorite bloggers. I’m definitely interested in reading The Omnivore’s Dilemma. It’s next on my list of books to get from the library! Happy New Year’s!

  6. That was fun to read. I’ve never seen a stone like the one in your ring before. What type is it? It’s gorgeous! Happy New Year to you!

  7. I guess you can count me among the pleated pants. Either boredom, or well, trying to get my blog started well…inspired me to complete this.

    Enjoyed your answers!

  8. Love this Meme! I did it too and it wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be (I have a terrible memory!) I agree with you on #13, but in order to not turn this into a political discussion I’ll just leave it at that. Have a great new year!

  9. Fun to read the memes and learn a little more about you.
    I did one too, and it did take a while! Ummm remembering what movies I saw that were new enough to come out this year…tough one!

    Wishing you the best in the New Year!

  10. Fun meme! I love Shelly too! Can I come to Starbuck’s too? 🙂 And I miss my mom too. The older I get, the more I wish I lived closer to her and to my sister both.

    Happy New Year!

  11. When you mentioned all of those countries that you visited, I had this moment when I thought, “How did I miss her posts on those experiences?” Then, I realized that you were referring to Epcot…which is still very cool, by the way. 🙂

    P.S. Your new counters are beautiful.

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