I saw this great survey on Erin’s It’s All Happening blog.  Check her out!

1. What did you do in 2013 that you’d never done before?  Hmmm... This is actually a really hard question to start with.  I guess I'm going to have to say that I visited a few new places and I worked as a project manager for a tech company.  I'd say that my short contract job was definitely a learning experience.

2. Did you keep your New Year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year? Just like last year, I didn't make any New Year's resolutions.  I did make some blog and reading related goals and mostly completed those.  In 2014, I am introducing monthly goals/tasks instead of a big year one.  I think shorter easier action-oriented goals will work better with my life.

3. Did anyone close to you have a child? Yeppers!  That would be me actually!  I had a beautiful baby boy Arthur.  If you've read any of my blog posts since October, he appears often.  A friend's sister had a baby boy during summer and a friend had a baby girl in the fall.  I met both of them this winter break.

4. Did anyone close to you die? My grandfather died this year.  Actually he was never related to me, but as he dated my step-grandmother for ~20 years throughout my childhood, I considered him a grandpa.  I hadn't really seen him since my grandma's funeral a few years ago.  I know his health had declined dramatically.  It was his time.

5. Where did you travel? I went back to Indiana for the boys' Spring Break.  We celebrated their birthday a week late.  Then in the summer, we had one last big family road trip before the baby arrived.  We visited:

• Legoland in Southern California -- Not as exciting as I hoped it would be, but the boys seemed to enjoy themselves.
• Disneyland and California Adventure -- So much fun!  I was glad the boys got to enjoy it before Arthur came.  I will not be doing Disney with an infant or a toddler, so it will be a few years before we even think about going back.
• Las Vegas -- Not a fan...  the entire town just felt so cheap and plastic, I couldn't really get behind it.  Plus, I was pregnant and it was 120 degrees during the day.  We just couldn't get out to see things.  We did see Penn and Teller's show at the Rio, ate dinner at the Tournament of Kings at Excalibur, and went to the Shark Reef at Mandalay.

6. What would you like to have in 2014 that you lacked in 2013?  More time with the twins...  I feel like I'm missing so much.  I would love to have them full time.

7. What dates from 2013 will remain etched upon your memory? One date: October 15th.  Can you guess who arrived on that day?

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? I made it all the way through a another pregnancy and c-section.  I really dislike being pregnant, but I really like the outcome.  I got a baby boy out of my discomfort.  It's worth it.  Just don't expect a happy pregnant me.

9. What was your biggest failure? Probably still not figuring out the job/career thing.  But, that's okay.  Right now I'm focused on being a great mom.  We'll revisit the career question towards the end of 2014.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury? Nope, unless you count pregnancy.  Some days it sure felt like I had an illness and injury all rolled into one.  

11. What was the best thing you bought? Anything baby related.  This time, I have really gone the minimalist route in terms of baby crap, but I'm really digging the baby carrier and the stroller/carseat combo.  They make it much easier to get out and about with baby (something I just couldn't do as easily with the twins).

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?I'm going to say the twins again this year.  They dealt with a working and pregnant mom through the entire summer.  We still got out and did things, but some days I just couldn't do much.  They handled the situation like champs.  And vacation went much smoother than 2012's road trip east.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?  There's a few people I can think of...

14. Where did most of your money go? Summer activities with the boys, summer road trip, and prepping for baby.  My paycheck went towards paying down some loan debt and financing our vacation and nursery.  Because of me working, we got to go on the vacation that I envisioned for the family.  

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? Arthur, of course.

16. What song will always remind you of 2013? I can never pick one, so here's a small list: Imagine Dragon's "Radioactive," Lorde's "Royals," The Lumineers' "Ho Hey," The Neighbourhood's "Sweater Weather," Bastille's "Pompeii" 

17. Compared to this time last year, are you: a) happier or sadder? b) thinner or fatter? c) richer or poorer? A) Happier. Who can't feel happy when playing with a giggly baby? B) Fatter. Pregnancy weight is still sticking around.  I've got a plan for January and the rest of the year.  I will lose weight!  C) Poorer.  Babies are expensive.

18. What do you wish you’d done more of? Cherished those few days with Arthur.  I find that the sleep deprivation effectively wipes your memory...

19. What do you wish you’d done less of? Eating?  Haha!  I didn't mean to gain 30 pounds during this pregnancy, but somehow it happened.

20. How will you be spending Christmas? Another Christmas spent in Indiana with the family.  It's been a lot of fun.  Arthur and I will be flying back home to California next Tuesday.

21. Did you fall in love in 2013? Of course I did.  And his name is Arthur Dent. 

22. What was your favorite TV program? Lots of choices but really Sherlock (rewatch in anticipation for S3 in January), Doctor Who (so sad to see Matt Smith leave), Elementary (finally started CBS's Sherlock show and was shocked to find that I really like it), Alpha House (Amazon show), Sleepy Hollow (new campy favorite), Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead, The League, Psych.

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? I really don't think so...

24. What was the best book you read? I can never narrower it down to one book.  I'll have my top ten books of 2013 posted tomorrow.

25. What was your greatest musical discovery? Lorde and The Neighbourhood

26. What did you want and get? Books, books, and more books.  I have an addiction. (Exact same answer as last year, but it was fitting)

27. What did you want and not get? I think I got everything I wanted this year.

28. What was your favorite film of this year? Initially I couldn't think of a single great movie from this past year.  Turns out we didn't see a ton of movies that released in 2013.  I had to take to Google to look at others' lists.  After perusing, I would answer: The World's End, 42, This is the End.  Two comedies and a historical biography... weird collection, but really good movies.

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I turned 31 this year and did absolutely nothing for my birthday.  I'm actually okay with that.

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? More energy. Pregnancy and new parenthood are exhausting.

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2013? Attempting non-hippoish maternity wear on a budget.  I ended up buying a ton of dresses and some non-maternity tunics.  At the height of summer, I was wearing the same few maternity tanks every day.  Now I have to figure out what to wear even though I'm still carrying the extra weight.

32. What kept you sane? Reading.  Always my answer to this question.

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? No one...

34. What political issue stirred you the most? I was very excited to see the ruling against DOMA and Prop 8 and then to see a ton of states legalize same sex marriage.  Woohoo!  Legal equality!

35. Who did you miss? The twins

36. Who was the best new person you met? More new crafting friends and a few new mommy friends.

38. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2013.  I really like being a mom.  I'm very excited to experience the early years all over again with Arthur while experiencing the coming teen years with the twins.