This is kind of a bummer, but I’ve come to the conclusion that I really can’t go to BlogHer this year. Two major reasons:
1. Money. I’m currently on an unpaid maternity leave, so spending a huge amount of money for airfare to San Diego, plus hotel, meals, taxis, etc.? It’s just not practical right now.
Plus, Dave’s 40th birthday is in September and we were going to try to do a family trip then, so I should really be putting any “fun” money toward a trip for all of us, rather than something just for me.
2. Lucy. My original plan, back when I bought my BlogHer conference pass in December, was that I’d go and bring Lucy with me. I’ve seen people bring babies to conferences before, and she’s tiny, so it’s easy, right? Just put her in a wrap or a sling and go. No big deal!
Only, I seem to have a baby that does not sleep through noise, so the parties would be difficult. And I couldn’t go to any sessions because I wouldn’t want to disrupt them with a crying baby. Dave has said repeatedly that I can leave both kids with him, and he can manage fine. And I’m sure that’s true, but my heart just can’t leave Lucy for three days when she’s this tiny.
So, I’m selling my conference pass. I got it at the super early bird price, so it’s only $150, if anyone reading this is interested at all.
I’m really bummed to miss it, because I love so many people who’ll be there. But there’s always next year. Money should be less of an issue then, and Lucy will be over a year old, so I’ll (hopefully) feel less guilty about leaving her.
I mean, come ON. Could you leave that face?
And for those of you who will be in San Diego: drink something fruity (preferably with alcohol in it) for me, ok?
I’ve been seeing a lot of my friends post these, and I remembered that I’ve done it a couple of yearsmyself. So, here we go again.
1. What did you do in 2010 that you’d never done before?
I tried out a job as an IT recruiter. It didn’t go well, and I quit in September.
2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I do not believe in New Year’s resolutions. But I’ll make one this year: sometime in late spring/early summer, I plan to deliver a happy, healthy, preferably human baby. Let’s see how it goes!
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
A friend who I’ve known since I was about 7 years old had a baby girl (not sure if she reads this, but hi Allison!). And about a million Internet friends had babies. (Another million of us all got pregnant this year.)
4. Did anyone close to you die?
No. Although technically, my uncle was dead for several minutes after a major heart attack, but thank God, he came back to us and seems to be doing really well.
5. What countries did you visit?
Stayed in the US. Hell, I didn’t even make it west of the Mississippi River this year. Lame.
6. What would you like to have in 2011 that you lacked in 2010?
Same answer as last year: financial stability. We’re working toward that, slooooowly.
7. What dates from 2010 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
January 27th – My baby girl turned 3 years old.
September 22nd – Found out I was pregnant with baby #2.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Besides getting pregnant? I really, really, really wanted a specific job, and I got it.
9. What was your biggest failure?
I was not as kind or patient as I should be with the people I love the most. They deserve my best, and I catch myself phoning it in way too often.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Besides scarring my elbow forever, and a few rounds of sinus-related gunk, no.
11. What was the best thing you bought?
I just blanked on major purchases this year. Dave tends to be the Head Gadget Buyer in our house, and I can’t really think of anything I bought myself. Um, I got a new iPhone after mine was lost/stolen at BlogHer? I guess that counts?
12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Catie’s, for showing me how to conquer my fears by overcoming her own, on a regular basis.
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Besides celebrities and politicians? Maybe some distant family members who I probably should not be Facebook friends with, but overall? I think everyone is doing ok.
14. Where did most of your money go?
House. Debts. Daycare. The usual.
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Babies! My own, of course, plus all of my friends who had babies or who got pregnant this year.
Also, at the risk of sounding like a total dork, my job. I really love it.
16. What song will always remind you of 2010?
A lot of songs by Lady Gaga and the Blackeyed Peas, because I listened to it non-stop when I was working out. And also because Catie learned the words to some of them, and there is nothing funnier than a three year-old singing “Bad Romance.”
17. Compared to this time last year, are you: a) happier or sadder? Pregnant ladies probably shouldn’t answer this question, as the answer is subject to change on a minute-by-minute basis. Let’s just say the same. b) thinner or fatter? Ha! Definitely fatter. c) richer or poorer? I think our financial situation is actually less bleak than last year, so, I guess richer?
18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Outings with my family.
19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Yelling.
20. How did you spend Christmas?
We stayed in our pajamas most of the day, watched movies, and ate a ton of food. It was heaven.
21. Did you fall in love in 2010?
Already in love. Stayed there.
22. What was your favorite TV program?
LOST. And I’m still sad about it ending. Other contenders: Project Runway, Big Love, Hoarders.
23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
Nah. I try not to hold on to grudges as a rule.
24. What was the best book you read?
I started several books and didn’t finish a single one. So I’m going to say “The Help,” because I finally finished it this year, and it was a damn fine read.
25. What was your greatest musical discovery?
I’m currently obsessed with Crowded House, but since everything I’m listening to is well over ten years old, I don’t think that counts.
I also can’t stop playing this guitar piece that Dave shared on Facebook recently.
Catie loves it too. She said she’s going to learn how to play that when she’s a grown-up, and immediately asked me to play it again when it was over. She watched it carefully, and said, “I think this is a song for the baby Jeegus.” I get what she means, it sounds reverential and almost like something you’d hear in church. I just love her way of phrasing things.
26. What did you want and get by year’s end?
Pregnant.
27. What did you want and not get by year’s end?
A million dollars.
28. What was your favorite film of this year?
Inception.
29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 34, and we went out to dinner. Dave got me a couple of really good gifts, as he always does.
30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
If my parents had been able to sell their house and move to North Carolina. Fingers crossed that it’ll happen before baby #2 arrives!
31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2010?
Jeans and sneakers. Currently wearing maternity clothes from 2006 that are way too small on me. It’s totally adorable, trust me. (Ha!)
32. What kept you sane?
All of the weekend mornings when Dave would get up with Catie and take her out so I could sleep late. He’s a keeper, that one.
33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Same answer as last year. George Clooney, and Josh Holloway from LOST (if you don’t know who he is, do a Google image search. You’re welcome).
34. What political issue stirred you the most?
I spent way too much time and energy way too fired up about too many things.
35. Who did you miss?
My mom. I wish she lived closer. Hopefully soon!
36. Who was the best new person you met?
After BlogHer, there are far too many to list.
37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2010.
I need to focus more positive attention on the people I love, and make sure they always know exactly how important they are to me.
38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
“I could get carried away,
but not anymore.
What was it I heard you say?
You love me cuz I’m strong.
I hope that you’re not wrong.”
— “Hot Gets a Little Cold,” Cyndi Lauper
Ok, I tried to install a plug-in last week that would allow for threaded comments (you know, where you can reply to a specific comment rather than just tacking it on to the end), because I thought that sounded cool. It didn’t work, and now nobody can leave comments on my site at all. I’m talking to my web host tech support people to see if they can help me. Hopefully I’ll be back up & running soon!
First of all, it’s apparently National Delurking Day.
So if you read this site but never comment, today is the day that you’re supposed to say something. Even if it’s just a simple “hi.” It’s kinda nice to know who’s out there in the big bad Internet, you know?
Ok, moving on to the BIG NEWS of the day…
I GOT A JOB!!!
If you read this post last week, it’s the one I referred to as “Job A.” It’s full-time, working-from-home. I don’t want to get into too many details about what I’ll be doing because I’m not sure how prudent that is. It’s still in the IT industry, although it’s in an area that I have absolutely ZERO experience with, but it still sounds like it’s going to be a lot of fun.
Now, I just have to figure out how to accommodate Catie in all of this. She already has daycare two days a week, and that’s great. I think I have a temporary solution for the other three days of the week for now. The main thing is going to be finding a preschool for her in the fall. And of course, most of the preschools around here are enrolling kids, like, right now as I type. I’m not worried, we’ll figure it out, it’s just going to take some research to find something that’s a good fit for all of us.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna go wake up my baby girl from a nap and take her to the movies to see “The Princess and the Frog.” Because days like these needs a little celebration.
1. What did you do in 2009 that you’d never done before?
Bought a house. (Technically, our house in Washington, Dave already owned when we met. So this was our first house purchase together.) Flew to the UK.
2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I try not to make New Year’s Resolutions as a rule.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Yes! My cousin Cat had baby Austin.
4. Did anyone close to you die?
My aunt – technically she’s my dad’s first cousin, but she was like an aunt to me. I wouldn’t say we were super-close, but she was a very sweet lady, an all-around good person, and she’ll be greatly missed.
5. What countries did you visit?
England & Scotland.
6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009?
Financial stability.
7. What dates from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
January 20th – Obama was inaugurated, and we got our first snow day since we moved to North Carolina. That was a great day.
January 27th – my baby girl turned 2 years old.
April 7th – the world lost Maddie Spohr.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
I decided to start a freelance writing business, and I actually made a little bit of money doing so.
9. What was your biggest failure?
Not losing weight. I tried a few different diets and seemed to go off the rails with each one. Going to be working on that again in 2010.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Nothing major. A few bad colds. We’ve been lucky this year.
11. What was the best thing you bought?
This house. My Canon Rebel XSi DSLR camera.
12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
There are seriously no less than 20 names that immediately popped into my head when I read this question. So I’ll just say: you. All of you. And yes, you too.
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Sigh. I can think of a couple of people in my real life that I could list here, but I don’t really want to name names.
So how about I remove my personal life from the equation and say Glenn Beck. Does that work?
14. Where did most of your money go?
This house.
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
BlogHer! And Type-A Mom Conference! And getting to meet so! many! awesome! people! whose work I’ve read and adored for ages. And of course I was really excited to watch my baby girl grow up this year, and also about buying a house.
16. What song will always remind you of 2009?
Um, this song. (Can’t stand the guy, but I like the song. Can’t help it.) And oddly, “Do Re Mi” from the Sound of Music, because of this video.
17. Compared to this time last year, are you: a) happier or sadder? About the same, I think. b) thinner or fatter? Fatter. Sigh. Working on that. c) richer or poorer? Poorer (see: house purchase).
18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Writing. Working out. Being a more actively engaged mother/wife. The usual.
19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Worrying. Moping. Goofing off. Eating junk food.
20. How did you spend Christmas?
At my mother-in-law’s house in Carlisle, England. It was lovely.
21. Did you fall in love in 2009?
With a house, yes.
22. What was your favorite TV program?
LOST. Big Love. Project Runway. Um… trying to think if I watch anything else. The Daily Show?
23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
I try not to waste my energy on hating people. There are people I cared about who I no longer care about, we could put it that way. But overall, I’m ending the year with far more friends than I started with, so I think we can call that a win.
24. What was the best book you read?
I haven’t finished it yet, I’m in the last few chapters, but I’m going to say “The Help” by Kathryn Stockett.
25. What was your greatest musical discovery?
I don’t think I really discovered anything this year. I’ve developed a little bit of an obsession with both Keane and Muse. Neither of those are exactly “new,” though.
26. What did you want and get by year’s end?
A home.
27. What did you want and not get by year’s end?
Well, I’m not pregnant yet, but I’m also not entirely sure that I want to be. (I keep wavering on that one, it kind of depends on the day of the week.) Hmm. You know what would’ve been nice that I didn’t get? If this house had a hidden secret passageway that was filled with unmarked $100 bills. That would be awesome. Sigh. Oh well.
28. What was your favorite film of this year?
Since I rarely get to see any movies that aren’t animated, I’ll go for the best of that bunch and say “Up.”
29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 33. It was pretty low-key. My brother & his then-girlfriend drove over from Charlotte for the weekend. And Dave bought me a Wii, which was awesome.
30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Huh. Oddly, I can’t really think of anything.
31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009?
Jeans and sneakers. Lazy suburban mom chic.
32. What kept you sane?
My family. And Diet Coke.
33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
George Clooney, always. Josh Holloway on “Lost.”
34. What political issue stirred you the most?
Probably healthcare reform.
35. Who did you miss?
It’s odd, I found myself missing my grandmother a few times this year, even though she passed away in 1996. There were several occasions that I found myself thinking of her, wishing she was there. She was such a baby nut, I know she would’ve adored Catie. I’m sad that they’ll never get a chance to meet.
I also miss a lot of my friends back in Seattle. I miss Patsy, our previous baby-sitter.
And of course, I miss all of the fantastic ladies that I had a chance to spend time with at BlogHer and Type-A Mom. I wish I lived closer to them so I could see them all the time.
36. Who was the best new person you met?
I cannot possibly pick one.
37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009.
The same rules you use for online dating also apply to Twitter and blogs: don’t invite people from the Internet to your house. Meet them in public first to decide if they’re crazy. THEN, you can decide whether or not you want to invite them over to spend the night.
38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
“There is no home like the one you’ve got,
Cuz that home belongs to you.”
— Jenny Lewis, “Barking at the Moon”
Yes, that song is from “Bolt.” I’m sorry. It’s all I’ve got.
The lovely and amazing Mrs. Flinger has issued a challenge for some of us bloggers to try to write better, and since I lurves me some Mrs. Flinger, I figured what the hell, I’m in.
First assigned topic? My most embarrassing moment.
I’ve been pondering on this one for a couple of days, because there are so many to choose from. Horror stories involving your first period? Been there. Pooping during childbirth? Done that too. And since I didn’t meet my husband until the ripe old age of 28, I have plenty of embarrassing dating mishap stories too. (One of my personal favorites? The time I was making out with a boy and I got a nosebleed. Neither of us noticed until I had bled all over both of our faces. We looked like a couple of extras from a bad zombie movie. Traumatic, to say the least.)
Then I realized that my most truly embarrassing moments involve alcohol, and the over-consumption of it. (I promise, I’m not an alcoholic. I hardly ever drink now. I just flirted dangerously close to being one when I was in my 20’s.) But there’s a lot of good fodder there. Puking in public? Yep. Being so lovey-dovey from the booze that I’ve made out with total strangers, even those of my own gender? Um, yeah, that too.
But there’s one that keeps standing out in my mind: Halloween 2004.
What’s funny is that I just checked my blog archives (which go back to August 2003, when I started this little site) and I noticed that I never mentioned anything about it, because I was so horrified at my own behavior.
Dave and I had been dating for about five months. One of my girlfriends invited us to a Halloween party, and we decided to go, even though my friend was the only person there that we knew. I dressed as a Catholic school girl, Dave was a priest. (Note: neither of us is Catholic.) Dave also wore a Bill Clinton wig and black lipstick, but I don’t remember why. We just thought it was funny at the time.
So we get there, and there were significantly more men than women, and I didn’t really know any of them, and I felt a little bit slutty and uncomfortable in my costume, so I did the most natural thing I could do, and got completely drunk.
I don’t remember much of the evening, honestly. There are pictures, and they make me cringe every time I see them. I’ve never posted a single photo from that night, but since I’m opening up and sharing my embarrassment now, here you go.
This is seriously the least embarrassing photo of me from the entire damn night.
Oh hi there, Cindy DrunkFace!
So, yeah. I was drunk and made a general idiot of myself. No big shock there. And really, it wouldn’t have been a big deal because I didn’t know any of those people and I would never see them again, so what do I care?
But then, somehow I ended up in the bathroom with the guy who was hosting the party. I’m not even sure why, I think it was because my bracelet broke and he was getting me a safety pin to fix it? And the dude was kind of sleazy, and Dave insisted that he was hitting on me (maybe he was, I was too drunk to notice), but while we were in the bathroom, I started telling him about Dave and how in loooove I was with him, but we hadn’t officially said “I love you” to each other yet, and I was so crazy about him, and I was so tortured about it because what if he isn’t in love with me like I’m in love with him, and blah-blah-drunken-rambling-blah.
Then, someone comments to Dave, “Hey, where’s your girlfriend?” And Dave realizes that I’m… uh… in the bathroom. With another guy. With the door closed. So he comes to get me, and in my drunken-rambling state, I slammed the door on him when he tried to open it. Let me repeat that in case you missed it: I slammed the door on my boyfriend so I could stay in the bathroom with another dude. And of course, all I was doing in the bathroom was talking about Dave, but how in the hell was Dave supposed to know that? So he was pissed. As anyone would be in that situation, really.
When I came out of the bathroom, Dave said it was time to go, and as soon as we got in the car, he told me how pissed he was. I sobered up enough to suddenly realize that holy crap, he’s about to break up with me right here because of how freaking stupid I am. So I burst into tears, and I told him I loved him.
And that was the first time we said our “I love you”s.
Three months later, we got engaged.
This past Halloween, I reminded him that it had been five years since the first time we said “I love you” to each other. He said, “Oh yeah, the night I almost dumped your ass.” I pointed out how happy he should be that he didn’t dump me then. It’s funny, though, that even though everything worked out ok in that situation (exceptional, even), I still cringe whenever I think about that night.
———————————————-
Want more embarrassing moments? Here are the other people in the (W)rite of Passage challenge.
