2016!

1. What did you do in 2016 that you'd never done before? Went to two concerts while pregnant (included in firsts are seeing Macklemore and Billy Joel), visited Madison Square Garden and the Statue of Liberty, got stranded in Madisonville with no wallet and no gas, felt a reaction to the election in my bones, won a game of Monopoly, planned a little family trip to a cabin at Broken Bow, experienced a very fast and intense labor, did a bohemian/dream catchers/feathers/lace themed party where I ordered all the food instead of making it, actually enjoyed going to a museum- The 9/11 Museum in NYC

2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I didn't make any last year, but this year I have one in mind. We've been doing a marriage counseling course as a favor to a friend of mine, giving feedback on the units, and so I have an idea that ties into that project. Last year I had a list of To-Do items, we finished 2/3rds of them, so they will rollover into 2017. 

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? I did! Francie was born on the same day as an old acquantance's little boy. Also Maggie had Maisie, and Brittney had Hafen.

4. Did anyone close to you die? thankfully no, but I did have two people close to me lose their dads, which has been so hard to witness.

5. What countries did you visit? sadly, none. 

6. What would you like to have in 2017 that you lacked in 2016? Zero clutter, or at least reduce it by 50%. I'm looking at the kitchen gadgets, and cutting down my wardrobe next. It's even easier because our city has a program now where you put items to recycle out on the curb on any normal recycling day and they will pick it up. It's good for housewares, clothing, etc. I see myself filling up green bags regularly!

7. What date from 2016 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? June 20th because that's when I gave birth to Francie Rose! 12:30 am- we missed the palindrome birthday by 30 minutes. 

9. What was your biggest failure? Not asking for help and not controlling my anger the last month before giving birth and the first month or three after.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury? Postpartum Depression, although luckily I was able to name it early, talk to my midwife early, and deal with it through specific vitamins and just the awareness that it was ok to have it and to get through it. I'm so thankful it was a mild case.

11. What was the best thing you bought? A ring sling. We use it frequently now, and it makes shopping so much easier than lugging around a huge stroller.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration? Whitney has inspired me this year through her journey of fostering with the intention of adoption. She's had a crazy ride but her story just inspires me rather than scares me away from the idea.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? No comment; or the person who got our debit card information and posted fraudulent charges that's caused us to open a whole new main checking account, and deal with all of the automatic transfers/bills to pay. Big hassle!

14. Where did most of your money go? Home improvements! The best place for it to go. We updated our entryway with new paint, light fixtures, stairs, and a new banister and had the office painted. We also got the trees trimmed and ripped out all of the landscaping in the front in preparation to update it in the spring.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? Refinancing our rent house. We shaved off 2 years of payments, switched to a 15 year loan, got a lower interest rate, and a lower overall payment. On our way (slowly) to real estate monoply! haha

16. What song will always remind you of 2016? Anything from the Hamilton soundtrack!

17. Compared to this time last year, are you happier or sadder? happier!

ii. thinner or fatter? carrying a little extra fluff from breastfeeding
iii. richer or poorer? richer

18. Is there anything you wish you'd done more of? sleep

19. Is there anything you wish you'd done less of? let anxiety take over in general. I realized this year I have anxious tendencies but I'm working to notice it and let it go.

20. Where will you be spending the Holidays? We spent the week before in Houston, Christmas Eve and Day at home doing our family routine of pillow fort, Christmas movies, cookies, and tipping the pizza guy an insane amount. We also stayed one night at the Gaylord and it was a zoo! Next time we will go earlier in the month and stay on a Thursday night.

21. Any athletic achievements? Giving birth in 2.5 hours counts to me!

22. Did you fall in love in 2016? Sure! With our new family unit.

23. How many one-night stands? none

24. What was your favorite TV program? I officially stopped watching all Real Housewives because they weren't adding any value to my life. I still watch a few shows on TLC, and I re-watched the entire series of Parenthood. Love documentaries on Netflix.

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year? I don't give energy to hatred.

26. What was the best book you read? Underground Railroad, or the Hamilton book Bean found that talks about the process of writing the show. I also re-read my favorite of all time A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, and that, combined with Bean's granny, gave us Francie's name.

27. What was your greatest musical discovery? Hamilton and In The Heights!

28. What did you want and get? A huge stack of books! I made a Pinterest board of books I wanted to eventually read, and I opened a box on Christmas filled with books. I asked Bean how many of them he bought, and he said, "All of them." How amazing is that guy?!
     -What did you get but forgot you wanted? New bowls. I've been planning to purchase a set of dishes that I'm in love with; I was gifted 3 bowls that I loved from using them at a family member's house.

29. What did you want and not get? 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep. I was pregnant the first half of the year and dealing with a new baby the second half! Fingers crossed for 2017.

30. What was your favorite film of this year? Straight Outta Compton. I know I'm super late on this one, but we don't get out to the movies very often, especially with a new baby, so we had this recorded for awhile. I was underwhelmed by Bad Moms and fell asleep watching Sisters, although that one was super funny.

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I turned 33, and I think we went to dinner at Cheesecake Factory. Strawberry Martini, sweet corn tamale cakes, and banana cheesecake with hot fudge for the win!! (This was before I quit dairy to help Francie's tummy).

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Nothing. The most satisfying things have been creating this new family unit, dealing with the hard emotions that come with big changes, and staying on top of my work. I just love my binders and getting everything done is so satisfying I didn't even want to take off when the baby was born. I also loved the projects we worked on and the House Party we planned for Francie.

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2016? I cut 10" off my hair and colored it, the coloring part which I haven't done since I graduated high school, so I've been wearing it down almost every day. It's given me so much confidence because it looks like I really tried hard when all I did was wash it at night, french braid it, and let it out in the morning. I got a new pair of jeans and they are a little higher rise (mom jeans!!), and I wear a nursing tank 24/7. I feel like I have grunge hair and casual, boyish clothes. Also I wear so much less makeup because it's stressful! When I finally do get on eyeliner and masacara I feel amazing!

34. What kept you sane? Bean, as always. He's the best of all time. Also my dad helped a lot around the election. There's nothing more amazing than listening to your dad passionately describe why he believes in women's rights, because you know he's talking about your own rights.

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? It's funny when you follow celebrities on Instagram or other social media, for me it's dimished the appeal because maybe they aren't that smart, or they are full of themselves, so it lowers the admiration level. I still love Ruby Rose (even if she doesn't seem super intelligent) and Jared Leto (even if he is totally full of himself). You don't have to be smart or humble to look h-o-t-t. haha!!

36. What political issue stirred you the most? The election, of course. It's the craziest one I've ever seen and the influence of social media in people's decision making is unprecedented. The radio shows I listen to have an abundance of interesting material to wade through. Also the new law in Texas about burying/cremating fetal remains. That would have had a huge impact on me if it were in effect last year because I basically had an abortion procedure (D&C) to avoid the physical and emotional toll that my first natural, at home miscarriage had on me, but I would have had to pay more than the hospital fees. And I didn't choose it. I wanted those babies. I shouldn't be penalized for taking care of my mental, emotional, and physical health, and neither should anyone else. 

37. Who did you miss? Liz, of course. We visited her grave so I could show off Francie, and explained to Abs who she was and that she died because her body got sick when she had a baby in her tummy. She's starting to understand it more, and even told our new neighbor kids the story about how Aunt Liz is under the ground.

38. Who was the best new person you met? Abby's teachers at school. They are awesome.

39. Rate this year on a scale of 1-10:  7... lost a few points because of my behavior around the end of pregnancy and early newborn stage