aka "2014 in Review"
1. What did you do in 2014 that you’d never done before?
Rode the SkyWheel at Myrtle Beach.
2. Did you keep your New Year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I didn't make any because I never keep them. HOWEVER. I have let myself go. So I really need to lose weight. I know, I know.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
I feel like surely somebody had to, but ... not that I recall. But I know some people who will NEXT year!
4. Did anyone close to you die?
No.
5. What places did you visit?
Disney World/Orlando, FL. Myrtle Beach, SC. Boone, NC. Hershey, PA. Vergennes, VT. Fort Ticonderoga. The Strasburg Rail Road. All points between Creedmoor and Vermont and back again. Including New Jersey. That was AWFUL. We were planning to go to Williamsburg this Christmas season but that didn’t work out.
6. What would you like to have in 2015 that you lacked in 2014?
A bigger house. A shorter drive to get to Target. More savings. More money.
7. What dates from 2014 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
I still remember dates from the now-distant past, that I shouldn’t. IF I remembered any (which I don’t and won’t) it would be the day Patrick started kindergarten, except I’m not sure if that was Aug. 25th. Or the 27th. Or maybe the 28th. See?
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
I took a road trip. With the children. And got really close with my neighborhood friends.
9. What was your biggest failure?
Letting myself go. Spending too much time reading Outlander and thinking about how dissimilar my life is. (HAAAAA.)
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
I didn't but James hit our deductible and then some. (Sigh.)
11. What was the best thing you bought?
A smart phone? Oh no wait, I personally didn’t buy that. Um. Hmm. The Sherpa blanket from Costco. And I am rebuilding my childhood Cabbage Patch Kid collection vicariously through Audrey.
12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
The kids? We’ve all survived kindergarten so far.
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Mine.
14. Where did most of your money go?
Bills bills bills. Medical bills. The house. Blah.
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Sarah and her family came and we got a beach house with them. Of course I knew she would be skinnier than me and I would feel like a fat cow and that tempered my excitement.
16. What song will always remind you of 2014?
Still on the Line. Tim McGraw. I think I bought two CDs the last two years and that was one of them. (The other was the Frozen soundtrack. Runner up song of the year is Let It Go because STILL.) Still on the Line reminds me of a couple of the songs from Set This Circus Down which is tied for my top album of all time (with Back Home Again) (don’t judge).
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? I'm probably trending toward sadder but not for any particular reason. Post-holiday funk? General worry about money? General worry about the state of the world? Don't know. And I'm not really sad or anything, purely talking comparatively.
b) thinner or fatter? Fatter. I need to start working out with my friends instead of eating and drinking with them.
c) richer or poorer? Poorer. We have too much debt. I don't actually know if we're poorer. I think about the same. We actually did pretty well contributing to 401ks and we refinanced the mortgage. We didn't spend our savings but I don't know that we added to it and I'm not going to go do the math in case we did not add to it because then I'd be depressed. We still have credit card debt and have added some medical debt. Boo.
18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Being present. Writing emails to my far-away friends.
19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Thinking about the past and people and things that I shouldn’t.
20. How did you spend Christmas in 2014?
We opened our presents at our house in the morning, then my parents (and Kevin from Boston!) came over in the afternoon. We also had breakfast sausage casserole after a one-year absence.
21. Did you fall in love in 2014?
No.
22. What was your favorite TV program?
I retroactively got into Once Upon a Time. I really like it.
23. What did you do for your birthday in 2014?
I have no idea.
24. What was the best book you read?
I am still re-reading the Outlander series. I LOVE THOSE BOOKS. I feel like there was something else.
25. What did you want and get?
Audrey sleeps by herself in her bed and all the way through the night!
26. What did you want and not get?
New yoga pants. The credit card(s) paid off. A bathroom remodel. A new house. Fit.
27. What was your favorite film of this year?
I just today saw “Into the Woods” and since I can’t remember any other movies I might have gone to, that wins.
28. Did you make some new friends this year?
Not really but I got a lot closer to some friends.
29.What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Winning the Powerball and not having to worry about money.
30. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2014?
Stretchy yoga pants. [Same as last year.] With boots. [New for this year!]
31. What kept you sane?
Chestnut praline lattes. And before that, almond lattes from Parker & Otis.
32. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Would you judge me if I said Ben Roethlisberger? Of course you would. [Haha, 2010 FTW!] I think I’ve also said Ben Afflect before. He’s dreamy. If you want a new one, hmm. The Prince Charmings from OUAT and ITW. I know *others* would say Hook, and he is certainly hot but…
33. What political issue stirred you the most?
Ebola?
34. Who did you miss?
Who I always miss. Also, sometimes, my previous life. Not like I want it back, but man, those were some good times. [I have made no progress since 2010.]
35. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2014.
Let it go. (HAHAHAHAHAHA. And this would be something to ASPIRE to, not something that I do.)
