Bye Bye 2009

Haven't had a chance to do this until now, but here it is -- the little year ending meme that my friend, Shan (aka The Fairy Blogmother) likes to do...

1. What did you do in 2009 that you'd never done before?
I took pictures of babies that were in no way related to me.

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
No. I wanted to make a pie every week. I soon discovered that was a very unhealthy plan. Chalk that one up to the fact I was very pregnant when I made that resolution (a.k.a. Crazy). I do have lots of new ones for this year. They are all much healthier, too.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
I did!! Also, a bunch of girls from work did, as well.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
No. Thank goodness.

5. What countries did you visit?
Are you kidding?

6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009?
Oodles and oodles of confidence would be peachy.

7. What dates from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
January 23 - the birth of my third baby girl.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
I had another healthy baby despite some pretty serious medical issues (and I think that was partly because I put our lives ahead of work. That sounds completely ridiculous to type it now...but it was something that was strangely, wrongly, foolishly hard to do at the time).

9. What was your biggest failure?
Organizing photos and getting them all backed up. I lost a lot of very important, personal, photographs (including our wedding trip to Jamaica, Jamie's first day of kindergarten, photos of the girls with me the night before the baby was born...etc...) because of my lack of photo organization.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Nope. Thank goodness.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
OH!! That is hard! I got a lot of great "stuff" last year. Photography related, I'd say "off-camera flash" was a big one. Personally, I am still in love with my iPhone and now I'm obsessed with the Wii (Fit Plus, and EA Sport Active).

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
My two older girls for being the best big sisters a baby could ever, ever, ask for. They LOVE her. She is so lucky.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Jon Gosselin.

14. Where did most of your money go?
Mortgage payments, truck payments, groceries, and Rogers.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
My baby...and photography.

16. What song will always remind you of 2009?
"Poker Face". The girls used to sing this and do her little dance moves all the time. I know, completely inappropriate.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? 
b) thinner or fatter? 
c) richer or poorer?
Happier (everyone is here and well), Thinner (I've lost all the baby weight), Poorer (Mat. benefits are no longer topped up by my work).

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Napping with the baby.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Getting stressed about things that were not organized. Not that I don't want to get stressed about it this year...but that I want EVERYTHING to BE organized this year.

20. How will you be spending Christmas?
With my little family in the morning, and with my extended family in the afternoon.

21. Did you fall in love in 2009?
Yes. With a little girl I met.

22. How many one-night stands?
Well, I never had to spend a whole night standing, but I did spend a few sitting up in a chair...holding the baby...

23. What was your favorite TV program?
Dexter. No contest.

24. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
I don't hate anyone. But, I'm not a big fan of Jon Gosselin, Tiger Woods, or the Balloon Boy's Dad...that's for sure.

25. What was the best book you read?
"Photo Freedom" by Stacy Julian...I plan to use her organization plan this year and then start scrapbooking!!! Gawd! How long have I been wanting to start Scrapbooking?!?!?! It's just getting annoying at this point, really.

26. What was your greatest musical discovery?
The ukulele. ;-)

27. What did you want and get?
A healthy baby, an iPhone, off-camera flash, a Wii, back into my old pants.

28. What did you want and not get?
Kelly Ripa's body from ordering Physique 57 DVD's.

29. What was your favorite film of this year?
Oh! Step Brothers! Hahahaha. Funny...I liked that movie so much more than Dave did. It's just full of great lines! And, now that I've seen it...I can do so many more activities!!!!

30. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I'm pretty sure Davey brought me home some flowers and some Thai food and I spent the evening with my newly expanded little family. It wasn't the big bash that all my friend's had...but it was perfect for me. I turned the big 4-0.

31. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
I'd say "more sleep" but, you know, missing sleep because you are up in the middle of the night with your newborn little baby is actually pretty darn fantastic. I miss those middle of the night feedings already. (sniff).

32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2006?
"I refuse to buy fat clothes!! I will just wear my scrubs until I can pull my other pants up past my knees!!!"
"They will go up past my knees again one day, right? Right???"

33. What kept you sane?
There wasn't much to go insane about.

34. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Anderson. Hayes. Cooper.

35. What political issue stirred you the most?
Honestly, I don't think much ever changes...no matter who is elected...but I was very happy with the outcome of the U.S. election.

36. Who did you miss?
I had a good year.

37. Who was the best new person you met?
My baby.

38. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009.
The little problems will pass. Don't lose sight of what is really important.

39. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
"And how you've, how you've grown my little bird...
I'm regretting letting you fly"
-Ingrid Michaelson.

So, like, Not me.

I've always wanted to do one of those "Me/Not Me" memes. You know, the ones where you put up a picture of something that is so you, or something you like, and contrast it with a picture of something that is so not you, or something you don't like...or maybe, something you can't for the life of you begin to understand...

Well, here is a short one for you.

Me:

So, not me:

So don't even get it me:

American Idol you have wasted so many evenings of my life.

Why America? Whhhhhyyy????

Eight Things Meme.

This is a little meme that my friend Widney Woman tagged me for awhile ago. If I've tagged you, or if you just wanna' play along, let me and WW know so we can both see your answers. Here goes...

8 Things I'm Looking Forward to:

1. The heat and sunshine of the summer.

2. Getting some good glass for my camera - and eventually getting a new camera.

3. Fitting into my old, pre-baby, clothes.

4. Getting the books that are on their way in the mail as we speak.

5. Heading back to horse-riding lessons with the girls (I love the horsies).

6. Riding a bike again (I haven't been riding in, literally, years).

7. All the great first that are to come with Colie, especially hearing her first laugh, her first words, watching her sit up, roll over, and crawl for the first time. But, not walking...that's getting too big. She needs to stay my baby.

8. The future...it feels kind of exciting right now.



8 Things I'll do Today:

1. Take care of the baby.

2. Drink coffee.

3. Blog and read blogs

4. Work-out

5. Take pictures

6. Laundry

7. Hopefully cook something veggie for dinner

8. Take Jamie to the doctor's (I think she is having trouble hearing well)



8 Shows I Watch on T.V.:

1. I am so excited to say Rescue Me!! It's been off the air for so long due to the writer's strike and whatever the hell else was holding it up. I just love that show and "Tommy" looks really good. I think he's been working out in the off-season and, sigh, I just love his strawberry blonde hair (not normally a great thing on men, but he wears it well). I'm loving Michael J. Fox's character on there, too! Only 4 episodes?? Really? That's too bad.

2. American Idol (I'm routing for Danny).

3. Man Versus Wild with Bear Grylls (that guy is amazing).

4. Jon and Kate plus Eight.

5. All the Gordon Ramsey shows (Hell's Kitchen, Kitchen Nightmares, The F-Word...although, they ate a horse on the F-Word. The woman even went out to the field to pick the horse she wanted killed. Oh dear lord, what is the world coming to? Next we'll be eating kittens).

6. Well, anything/everything on The Food Network, really. If I just had The Food Network, Showcase, and TLC I'd be good.

7. CSI and CSI Miami (I can't get into the N.Y. one. Way too far-fetched). I think that George Eads, who plays Nick Stokes on CSI, is a really good and under-rated actor actually. He's moved me to tears a few times on that show.

8. Dexter and True Blood: these are both excellent shows that I've gone on about before. But, sadly, neither is on the air right now so I'll just lump them here together.



8 Things I wish I Could Do:

1. Win the lottery

2. Sing

3. Knit

4. Drive a stick

5. Keep having babies so I always have one around

6. Take *the* most amazing pictures

7. Get more organized

8. Have a week away with just hubby and I once a year without worrying about the girls.



8 People I Tag:

1. Laughing Leah Loves Lilies

2. Ellyphant

3. Tales From the Fairy Blogmother

4. Pregnant Stephanie

5. Gohn Crazy

6. Wave the Stick

7. Midwest Moms

8. And You!

What's With the One-Word Answers??

I was going to do another post in the "Things to be Grateful For" (sorry for the poor grammar), genre, but my old, old, old pal over at Widney Woman tagged me in this game of "The One Word Meme". I'm so thrilled to be picked to play that I thought I'd show my gratitude by playing along right away! Although, I do like me some adjectives and adverbs...so this may be tough for me but...here goes...

1. Where is your cell phone? Hmmm?
2. Where is your significant other? Outside.
3. Your hair color? Dark-Blonde
4. Your mother? Alive.
5. Your father? Deceased.
6. Your favorite thing? Sunshine.
7. Your dream last night? Forget.
8. Your dream/goal? Self-Employment
9. The room you're in? Office
10. Your hobby? Reading
11. Your fear? Failure.
12. Where do you want to be in six years? (MY) Office
13. Where were you last night? Home
14. What you’re not? Dishonest
15. One of your wish list items? Couch.
16. Where you grew up? Ontario.
17. The last thing you did? Ate.
18. What are you wearing? (Preggo) Jeans.
19. Your TV? Dexter!
20. Your pet? Several.
21. Your computer? (Frickin') Slow.
22. Your mood? Anxious.
23. Missing someone? Yep.
24. Your car? Truck.
25. Something you’re not wearing? Socks.
26. Favorite store? Chapters.
27. Your summer? (too) Short.
28. Love someone? Several.
29. Your favorite color? Pink.
30. When is the last time you laughed? Today.
31. Last time you cried? Hmmm?

If you want to play along with this meme...please Do!! And, be sure to let me know so I can go see all your one-word answers. Hey...this is kind of like asking a kid about their day at school, isn't it?

The Purse Meme

The Fairy BlogMother did a post a long time ago about a purse meme that her pal Leah had started. I thought this was a great idea for me to get in on - since my purse was so full of stuff that I didn't even know what I had in there anymore.



Lots of papers. That's pretty much all I could tell.



Oh dear. Lots of mess. What is all that stuff?



An organized mess.

So, let's see...

• some fruit strips for the kids if they were to get hungry (I deduce this woman is a mommy).
• some candy that was handed to us at the Canada Day Parade (further evidence).
• an empty "Jelly Belly" container - I thought I should keep it because I could refill it with jelly beans and put it in the girls' lunch as a treat.
• Three toothbrushes. Yep. I had three toothbrushes in my purse (this woman must have braces or something).
• Oh, and there is my urine specimen container (and she is pregnant). Not used. Don't worry.
• A little plastic, toy mirror. Never know when you are going to need one of those.
• Some packets of Splenda, some Tim Horton's gift certificates, and a "free coffee" from the "Roll up the Rim" campaign (Has...or has had in the past...a rather significant addiction to coffee).
• A medical requisition form - ultrasound and blood work.
• A calendar from my dentist's office.
• Oh, and my passport. Good place to keep it. (She is also likely to jot off to Paris at a moment's notice - very devil-may-care kind of personality).
• Some spare change and my keys...but...funnily enough...no wallet (apparently expects her husband to pay for everything all the time - or she relies on the kindness of strangers).

Oh dear.

Well, the detective work would have been fairly bang on...up until the last couple of items.

Clearly, this purse over-haul was long overdue.

Much better! Now I have my wallet in there and my keys and I have pared it down to one toothbrush. But, I still can't fit my nice, big, day timer in there...or my camera. Every good mommy must carry a small digital in her purse for those surprise, super cute, moments you know. Only one answer that I can think of...

Meet my new purse. Isn't she pretty? They just happened to be selling purses at work one Friday (they sell things outside of the cafeteria fairly regularly...for some reason. It's usually jewelry, or pj's, or books, or stuff for kids, sometimes even scrubs...this week it happened to be purses!).

Now I can fit my wallet, my toothbrush, my keys, my day timer, and my camera in there no problem...and still have room for my passport. Paris here I come! Oh la la.

Tagged! 7 Fun Facts About Me

I've been tagged! What fun! Thanks to the lovely Storm at All Things Cherished for letting me play.

Here are the rules:

1. List these rules on your blog.

2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog.

3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.

4. Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.


And here are 7 things about me you may, or may not, have known...

1. My favourite T.V. show of all time was "Moonlighting". My husband's name is David, and my daughter's name is Maddie. Coincidence?


2. I have metallic body parts. I have a metal rod and two metal screws in my left arm and three big metal screws in my left knee - all the result of being hit by a car in my 20's. The x-rays are really cool.


3. What I like: I consider myself to be extremely loyal and very trustworthy. If you tell me something in confidence - it's vaulted. What I dislike: my "down-smile", my outie, my braces and, usually, my hair.


4. I love animals and I have had many, many, different pets including dogs, cats, a rabbit, ferrets, rats, mice, and birds. I think my most beloved pet was my ferret Molly. She was the smartest, sweetest, little pet in the whole world and I still miss her.


5. I am addicted to coffee. If I don't get a cup of coffee by 10 a.m. I will start getting really cranky. By 10:30 I'm miserable and I will have a headache that will continue until the next day. I take it with a bit of skim milk (not cream...that is completely gross and makes my coffee taste like someone melted a stick of butter into it) and 1 packet of Splenda (no other sweeteners...nothing with aspartame...only Splenda. If you don't have Splenda I will accept two rounded teaspoons of sugar).


6. The movie character that is most like me would be "Sally" in "When Harry Met Sally". Can you tell? Well, I just want it the way I want it. ;-)


7. I will not allow Dave to leave the house without kissing all us girls and saying "Good-bye". If he ever did that would be tantamount to a huge fight. We are very keen on saying big "Good-byes" around here...you'll notice that if you ever witness one of us leave and see the rest of us hanging out the window yelling "Good-byeeee! I looooove yyyoooooouuu!" 40 or 50 times. I must say this is my doing - something inherited from my Dad. I often wonder if our neighbours think we are gonzo...but I don't really care.

[I told Dave that I was doing this and that I was trying to come up with 7 "interesting" facts about me. I asked him if he could think of anything. He quickly said, "How about the fact that no other person in this world has ever heard you fart". Uhhh...okay...thanks honey]

So, there you have it.

Now I have to tag 7 other people. I really don't even know 7 other bloggers, so I'll have to borrow some of them:

(Of course) the wonderful Shan, at The Fairy BlogMother

and my lovely friend Simone, at Widney Woman

and the beautiful Michelle, at Bleeding Espresso

and I think I'll tag the clever Jen, at A2eatwrite

and the adorable Leah, at Laughing Leah Loves Lillies

and the brave Kellan, at On The Upside

and cool Karen, at Virtually There.

Thanks again, Storm. I really didn't have much else to say today. :)