2010 Year In Review

2010 YEAR IN REVIEW

HEALTH:

This past year my health has remained stable (knock, knock). A minor biking accident Memorial weekend added a scar on my wrist but nothing more serious. Halloween weekend, the claw of a hammer below the eye resulted in a small fracture of my facial plate and a minor scar but no permanent damage.

FITNESS:

What is that? 2010 saw me completely throw fitness out the window. I didn’t go to the gym. I battled with myself as to trying to eat healthy but ultimately failing. Physical fitness included occasional roller blading, walking or biking but nothing regular and routine. I can tell that the muscle mass is disappearing and the Pillsbury Dough Boy look is not becoming!


HOUSE:

A new ¾ bathroom and egress window were added to the basement during the summer. The additional bathroom has been a blessing (I even change shower curtains less!). T’s room was updated to a Youth Bedroom with cosmetic changes in the house and some minor changes to the guest bedroom (which still seems in limbo). I got a new grill for Christmas, so maybe I will add new patio furniture in 2011!

EMPLOYMENT:

A full year of my current position completed. Early Spring I was ready to quit which lead me to pursue a foster home license. For the most part, I love my job, when I’m busy. I could do without the office politics, drama and snarky people.

FINANCIAL:

No real change. 2010 saw a rebound to the 401k. As the year ended, my employer no longer does automatic savings bonds. I’m still in limbo trying to determine what to do with that monthly allotment that was automatically done for the past 13 years! A full year on the new 15 year mortgage has me happy with the great reduction!

TRAVEL:

The year began in Colorado and a second road trip to Colorado later in January. Unfortunately there wasn’t much snow and drama ensued on the second trip. Spring Break was a first time cruise with my mom from Florida to Mexico. In August T and I went to Arizona and saw the GRAND CANYON and had a fabulous trip! At the end of the Halloween weekend I found myself on an emergent trip to Tampa Florida to say what I thought was my final goodbye to my dad. November was a quick trip to Vermont to drive a vehicle with my brother and his family’s belongings back to Michigan – their midway point to their move to South Dakota.

Travel was pretty limited due to the basement bathroom addition which I will pay off before my year of 0% interest ends this summer.

PARENTING:

This year I found myself the proud and new mother of…a teenager. T turned thirteen in March and was allowed to have a Facebook page. The year has been somewhat challenging from a parenting perspective in pushing T towards friends and independence but still being a parent. I discovered T had a girlfriend via Facebook as well as a second Facebook account. Just before Christmas, texting was added to T and my parent’s cell phones. The end of year wrapped up with learning of secrecy, 580 son texts (in 5 days!) and parental battles of privacy for a teen. I am sure I will be battling the fine lines of privacy and independence until he moves out of the house.

Drama continued with the other half, especially around November for the holidays and hunting season. He refuses to communicate with me and only talks to our son and is beginning to talk more negatively about me. Less than five years. Less than five years…

PERSONAL:

Around Spring Break I decided maybe I was ready to consider the dating pool again. Wading around in the shallow end, quickly found me trying to tread water and then get the hell out of the pool. I spent a lot of time hanging out with friends and keeping busy. I attended meetup groups and did a lot of fun things and met some very interesting people. I again slowly tried the dating thing but found dating sites beyond comical and borderline appalling. I set my standards pretty low and aimed to find someone I wanted to see more than twice. Ultimately in October after ending a brief out-of-state long distance dating, I planned a much needed out of town trip with someone that we had remained friends since going out twice at the beginning of my pool wading. We have been dating since. I’m doing my best to not over analyze and going from there!

MISC:

As mentioned earlier and in previous posts, I thought my dad was finally dying. That The Little Boy Who Cried Wolf was no longer able to cry. My aunt, my brother, myself and hospital staff were wrong. Not that that is a bad thing, but I don’t know what it is. He was denied a VAD and heart transplant and sent home with Hospice early November. Maybe by some miracle other options exist because his wife is now saying that a VAD and heart transplant are available through a different hospital and donations are needed. The end of the year presented a new issue with my dad’s wife in the communication arena which has severed the relationship even more. I haven’t heard back from them after leaving a message on Christmas. I believe he is still alive, but honestly, nothing would surprise me at this point.

In September I became a licensed foster parent. I have been called for a handful of placements that were not appropriate. I have yet to have my first placement and wonder if I ever will. The experience of the licensing process was enlightening – personally and professionally.

2011 PREDICTIONS

HEALTH/FITNESS:

I have kicked off 2011 by not making a New Years Resolution but by making a concerted effort to make my health and fitness a priority. I started with my annual physical which will have numerous follow ups for health concerns. I was prescribed Ambien for sleeping as my insomnia is becoming scary but I want to see if eating well and exercise work first! I started taking a multi-vitamin “for her” and hope it will work for me too! I am committing to taking six months of vitamins. I am making a conscious effort to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner daily as I often skip meals, especially at work. I also went to the gym two days ago and plan to add exercise back into my life, slowly and consistently. I would also love to lose 15-20 pounds but at this point, I just want to be healthy and fit.

TRAVEL:

I hope to travel more this year. T is with me for Spring Break this year so I’m excited to figure out what we come up with and whether or not we utilize another week of the timeshare, two weeks out to randomly find us somewhere new and random. I also forsee some traveling with the boyfriend, with and without the teen children.

CAR:

I anticipate that I may need a new car this year. My cruise temporarily died again last night. My car seems to be “skipping” between 45-50 miles per hour and I wonder if it is transmission related. I am not looking forward to a car payment but I need something safe and reliable!

HOUSE:

I purchased a new comforter for the bedroom for Christmas along with new dishes! I anticipate that I will likely bite the bullet and finally paint my bedroom the milk chocolate color that I’ve been salivating over for years! I don’t foresee any other home improvement projects – maintenance only.

PERSONAL:

I vow to not lose myself while dating. I hope to continue to pursue fun adventures with friends outside of dating. I will continue to push myself to be a better me rather than settle with the routine and the monotony.

Happy New Year!