Thanks on Thursday

Another round of thank yous for another round of time…

1. Good friends -- I've made some good friends here in California.  It's nice to be able to get together for activities or even just to chat.
2. Good books -- After a fairly mediocre start to the reading year, I am back on track with some good books.  They left me relax and dream of other worlds.  They are my great escape.
3. Sleep -- The boy is finally giving me some consistent sleep.  I am so so grateful...
4. Baby laughter -- It never fails to make me feel better.  Love that little boy!
5. Good weather -- The great weather has encouraged me to get out and get moving.  I would never exercise this much outside when I lived in Indiana.

Odds and Ends

Here is my randomness for the week:

• I think I might be an over-achiever when it comes to certain projects (case in point: Easter social)
• Sunshine makes me happy, but also hot!  Need to always take my hat and sunscreen for walks.
• Watching 5-9 month olds "play" together is hilarious!
• Baby poo explosions always come out of left field
• I need to use my retired SU DSP so I can buy more!  This is my crafting philosophy.
• My luggage really really needs to get delivered.  I would like something to take on the plane...
• Arthur is officially crawling!  Someone save me!  And the non-baby prooofed items in the living room!
• I think my reading malaise it lifting.  Looking forward to some great books
• I really really want to go to the theater to see a movie (maybe Muppets while in Indiana?)
• Still hate cooking, but have been doing it a ton lately (and I'm not talking skillet meals or mac and cheese, I mean real recipes)
• Craving some good muffins (blueberry, lemon poppy seed, pumpkin chocolate chip, cranberry orange...)
• Flakey people seriously piss me off...  Already written off a few members of the mom's group.  We won't be best friends if you can't at least update your Meetup RSVP.  It's not hard people!

One Year Ago

Sometimes Sweet started a journal day for every Thursday. I love the idea and find it easier to follow a prompt rather than think up my own.  So, here we go:

Prompt #3: They say hindsight is 20/20, and with good reason- looking back at something always gives us a better view. We're often able to really see how our choices and decisions then shaped our today, and examine what we would have done differently given the chance. When looking back though, we often look way back, but for this exercise stay a little closer to present time and look back just 12 months. If you could go back just one year, what would you tell yourself? What advice would you offer about everything you've experienced?

One year ago I was pregnant with Arthur, but I hadn't really told people.  This takes a bit of explanation.  In summer 2012, I found out I was pregnant and promptly told everyone.  I was so excited.  And then in August, I had a miscarriage.  It destroyed me for a few months.  By Christmas 2012, I was ready both mentally and physically to try again.  But I was still extremely scared and anxious what would happen.  In January, I became pregnant and tentatively started to hope.  As March began, I was still in a "wait and see" mode.  I didn't want to get everyone's hopes up just to lose another baby.  I wasn't even allowing myself to imagine what my future would look like and be like.  I didn't want to become attached.  And so I spent most of February and March pretending everything was okay when I was a wreck inside.

Obviously that pregnancy went smoothly and I now have a beautiful healthy baby boy.  If I could tell myself one thing it would be to not worry so much.  Things will work out.  You don't always have to expect the worst.  Sometimes things really do turn out great.  It's hard for me to be optimistic.  If I could, my life might be a little bit easier.

Thank Yous

Another round of thank yous for another round of time...

1. My new mom's group -- I found a group that I really click with.  And I've found some great new friends.  I hope we can create some long-lasting friendships.
2. My daily planner from Thyme is Honey -- I have finally found something that keeps my day organized and I can keep up with it.  So easy!
3. Arthur -- Being his mom is such a joy.  Most days he's easy.  I am grateful for a relatively easy child.
4. Our Keurig -- Best Christmas present ever. I am grateful for my morning tea or coffee.  Getting up at 6am daily is tough for a non-morning person like me.
5. The rain -- We desperately need rain here in California.  It won't be enough to end the drought, but every little bit does help.  Plus, I love falling asleep to the sound of rain.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Today is my birthday.  I am now 32 years old.  And I have to say that my 30s is turning out to be a pretty great decade.  Here's to another year full of adventures, trials, and celebrations.

Odds and Ends

Here is my randomness for the week:

• I have so many projects I want to start... curse you Pinterest
• need to buy plane tickets
• the kitchen floor is bugging me, but that means a deep clean with a clingy baby
• pureed peas smell disgusting
• when I get five minutes to myself, I'm so scatterbrained nothing gets done
• other moms can be super judgey (hope I'm not like them)
• wondering what Director of Membership really entails
• I'm almost behind on my blog...  I need a day dedicated to blog post writing/planning/scheduling
• my birthday is less than a week away  (Hello 32!)
• every moment spent with my baby is so precious (sorry for the sap)
• thinking we need to buy an umbrella stroller to save my back during traveling
• want to hard-core plan our summer family vacation up north (as in Northern California not the Great White North)
• there are too many movies to watch and books to read
• didn't realized how much I missed listening to the rain until this past week... love that sound!
• my wardrobe is tired and ill-fitting; wish I had money to go out and splurge on a new one
• but I did find some comfy slip-on sneakers to make me feel better about non-fitting clothes
• everyone keeps telling that Arthur looks exactly like me; all I see is J when I look at him
• I'm so far behind on my Bloglovin' reading I may just mark all as read and start fresh

Monthly Life Goals March-2014

Before I get to this month’s goals, let’s check in on January’s goals and my progress.

February goals:

• 30 Day Challenge: Cleaning of the entire house – Failed. I so did not even get started on this goal.  I did keep up with most of my cleaning schedule, but I really do need to deep clean other areas.
• 30 Day Challenge: IMDB 250 movies – Success!  Another 28 movies watched from the list.  I am behind on the reviews, but we did watch them.
• 30 Day Challenge: An apple a day – Failed. I bought some apples and just didn't keep up with eating them daily.
• Pinterest Challenge: Make 5 things from my Pinterest boards – Success!  Using a "This Week's Projects" board has encouraged me to make more things off of my boards.  I made multiple recipes and cards based off of pins from the board.  I even tried a towel laundering trick to make the fluffy and nice smelling.
• Update Netflix queue – Success!  I finally fixed our queques so that they are separated and updated.  Now I can add, watch, and delete things without J getting confused.
• Update TBR spreadsheets – 50% success.  I got most of the random lists of interesting books into the spreadsheets.  I haven't yet checked for duplicates or done
• Make Valentines for the mom’s group and stamp club ladies – Success!  We had a fun little party for the babies even though it rained out our park time and we had to retreat to a bakery.  I made 20 homemade Valentine's for the little ones.

March Goals:

• 30 Day Challenge: 200 squat challenge -- I haven't lost a pound in two months and that's with walking 5-7miles a week and watching what I eat.  Maybe this will help me shed some pounds or at least get me more into shape.
• 30 Day Challenge: Stuff Reduction -- I want to keep working on getting rid of the clutter. Every week I want to focus on a room of the apartment.  That week I will systematically go through the stuff and try to reduce by trashing, recycling, selling, or Goodwilling. (W1 Master Suite; W2 Office; W3 Living room/Kitchen; W4 Boys' Room)
• 30 Day Challenge: Photos of inspiration -- A part of my Day Zero Project, I want to take photos of everything that inspires me.  Some of this may be able to cross posted to my FMS Photo a Day Challenge for March.
• Sell read books (HPB or other place) -- I have four bags ready to go.  This will help me get rid of the clutter.
• Pinterest Challenge: Check links/clean out at least one board -- I am sure that I will continue to make things from my boards, but I really need to start cleaning up the boards.  I'm sure I have some missing links and such.
• Plan/Schedule/Finish Routine Blog Posts Through April -- I'm nearing the end of what I had prepped and scheduled around Christmas.  I want to get ahead to leave time for spur of the moment posts and new things.
• Get a Haircut -- I haven't had one since I was pregnant.  I desperately need a new look.
• Complete a Day in the Life post -- My goal is to do one of these each season.

Music Memories

Sometimes Sweet started a journal day for every Thursday. I love the idea and find it easier to follow a prompt rather than think up my own.  So, here we go:

Prompt #2: We all have songs that really mean something to us. Often just hearing it can take us right back to that place and we are able to re-experience the memory associated with the song. Sometimes good, sometimes bad, but either way music has the ability to really draw things out of us and evoke deep emotion. Choose a song that has a particular meaning to you. Tell the story of the memory associated with the song, sharing as much detail as you can. Take us there; let us experience it with you.

My memory isn't just one song, but a mini playlist.  My junior year of high school, I drove a few of my friends to and from school.  We had our own little carpool.  I quickly realized that I hated listening to the radio in the morning (tons of talking, not enough music).  And so I began to create mixtapes to entertain us in the morning (and in the afternoon).  Yes, they were cassette tapes.  This was before most cards had cd players and definitely before mp3 players.  I diligently sat at home with my boombox in front of the stereo and started taping.  Every morning, I would listen to the radio until I picked up my best friend, Beth.  Funny aside: she lived the closest to school (1 block away!) but I always picked her up first.  We would pop the tape in and start our day right with some headbanging top-of-our-lungs singing of The Offspring.  And then we would cool down to some Barenaked Ladies and Five Iron Frenzy while throwing in some Korn and Snoop Dog.  It was always a party.  We would then drive around picking up my other carpoolers and eventually make it to school.  In the afternoon, we would pick up wherever we left off on the tape.  That tape lived in my car for two years.  I only played it on the way to and from school.  It was a special tape for a special occasion.  Those mornings and afternoons were my first taste of true freedom.  I had a car, I was all on my own, I had my friends with me to enjoy the ride.  Anytime one of these songs pops up in my iTunes shuffle, I immediately go right back to high school hanging with my friends and my little white Hyundai Accent rocking our way to another day at school.

P.S. I know there were more songs, but for the life of me, I can't remember them all.  And the tape has disappeared into some landfill somewhere...

At a Crossroads...

Sometimes Sweet started a journal day for every Thursday. I love the idea and find it easier to follow a prompt rather than think up my own.  So, here we go:

Prompt #1: Everyone has a time in their life they view as a crossroad. Sometimes you can see it as it's happening, and you're able to choose one way or another. Other times you may not realize you're there until you look back, and see what a turning point it really was. This week, write about a time you view as a marker in your life; a distinct place where things changed, for better or worse.

My crossroads came in June of 2011 and it wasn't all amazing.  After an entire year of unemployment and feeling stuck, I finally made a huge change in my life and moved to Nebraska to be with J and a fresh start.  I had decided to make the move almost a year before then, but I was stuck in Indiana because of a custody fight.  My ex didn't want me to move the twins to Nebraska.  And so we began an almost year long back and forth.  It was draining both financially and emotionally.  After that year, an agreement was reached.  One I was not that keen on.  But it was a change and it allowed me to move ahead with my life instead of being stuck in limbo.  Come June, I packed up my entire life into a U-haul, left my boys with mom until they could fly out, and drove 10 hours to another life.  It felt like my life started anew.  From that point forward, things have increasingly gotten better in my life.  My relationship with J has deepened.  I finally found who I could be with for the the rest of my life.  I moved into a different career.  Even though I am not currently working, I have worked in new and different fields learning new skills.  I have found a new support system of friends with like interests (crafters and moms!).  And finally, I have added another member to my family with the birth of my beautiful Arthur.  While the choices weren't optimal, I feel like I eventually made a decision and set my life on a better path filled with endless opportunities.

Monthly Life Goals February

Before I get to this month's goals, let's check in on January's goals and my progress.

January goals:

• 30 Day Challenge: Creative writing prompts -- Failed.  I just never seemed to make time for this.
• Pixar movie marathon -- Failed.  Just never got around to it.
• Create a cleaning schedule (daily, weekly, monthly) -- Done!  I looked at Pinterest for ideas, collected my own ideas, and created my own schedule.
• Clean out our health and beauty projects -- Done!  I got rid of a ton of travel sized and expired products.  Plus, any leftover travel sized containers went onto the counter to use soon.
• Take inventory of our food cupboards -- Done!  I got rid of a few thing and organized the rest.  Now I can easier grab our most used items.
• Lose a pants size -- Failed.  I'm down about 1/2 a pants size.  Hopefully my recent return to consistent exercise will make this a reality soon.
• Take a substantial walk (1-2 miles) at least once a week – 50% success on this.  While still in Indiana, I didn't walk at all (it was below zero!).  Once I got back to California, I restarted our weekly walk at Shoreline with the mom's group.  That event gets me at least 2 miles every week (sometimes more).  Now I need to commit myself to walked at least another day during the week.

February goals:

• 30 Day Challenge: Cleaning of the entire house -- I plan on implementing my cleaning schedule that I created in January along with a general deep clean of the apartment.  Room by room, area by area, I want this place to be a good starting point for the rest of the year.
• 30 Day Challenge: IMDB 250 movies -- I do a twice yearly movie month anyway.  I though I would make this February's movie month focus on the watching a chunk of those 250 movies I committed us to watching almost two years ago.
• 30 Day Challenge: An apple a day -- Kind of silly, but I like the challenge.  Plus, I love apples.
• Pinterest Challenge: Make 5 things from my Pinterest boards -- My boards are being cluttered with all kinds of ideas, but I don't usually do anything besides look at them.  I resolve to make at least 5 things (recipes, crafts, etc) from my boards.
• Update Netflix queque -- I need to finish transferring my movies over to my profile so J quits bugging me.  There's no real easy way to do it.
• Update TBR spreadsheets -- Another not fun chore, but these spreadsheets are in sore need of some cleaning out and organizing.
• Make Valentines for the mom's group and stamp club ladies -- Arthur and I signed up for a Valentine's day party with one of the mom's groups.  My goal is to make my own little Valentine's for all the babies.  I have some great card making ideas.  Plus, Michael's has all of their Valentine's supplies on sale.

Thanks for the New Year

I haven't done one of these post since a little after Arthur was born... Time to get back into the habit.

1. Indiana family and new family -- For a great Christmas break even with the snow and canceled flights  It was nice to see everyone and have everyone meet Arthur.  We had tons of fun.

2. A friend's successful surgery -- A friend who had surgery right as I left for Indiana is on the mend.  So thankful for her good recovery.

3. California weather -- As nice as it was to see family for Christmas, I did not miss the extreme cold temperatures.  I even caught a horrendous cold while there.  Thankful to be back to the lovely warm weather and sunshine.  I've been wearing sandals nonstop since getting back.

4. Monday mom's group meeting -- Every Monday we meet to walk at Shoreline, grab lunch, and generally catch up.  I probably wouldn't be walking this much (2-3 miles each time) if not for the chance to hang out with some pretty cool moms.

5. My own bed -- The bed in my mom's guest room is just so uncomfortable compared to my own.  As soon as I got back, I started sleeping better again.

Monthly Life Goals January

Yearly New Year's Resolutions never work very well.  They're usually too much, too long, and too ambitious.  I decided to take my cue from many other bloggers and shorten my life resolutions to smaller chunks.  I'm aiming for monthly goals.  Some of these monthly goals will be 30 day challenges and others will be one time events.  I want a nice mix of goals that are more likely to be accomplished. I started my monthly goals with January 1st, but have obviously waited until I returned to my blog to post my first month's goals.

January goals:

• 30 Day Challenge: Creative writing prompts -- I crave writing, but always seem to push it aside for other activities.  I hope this makes me focus on writing if for only a few minutes a day.  This is also a goal for my Day Zero Project.
• Pixar movie marathon -- On my DZP list.  We received Brave and Monsters University from "Santa" for Christmas.  Woohoo!  Two more to add to our list.
• Create a cleaning schedule (daily, weekly, monthly) -- I need to be better at cleaning on a regular basis.  I clean but it tends to clump together into one epic day after which I am exhausted.  I saw the idea of daily, weekly, and monthly cleaning routines on other blogs.  I love the idea!  This goal is to create a schedule and then get started.
• Clean out our health and beauty projects -- Part of a year long clean out project.  I want to start with the bathroom cabinets.  I probably have expired make-up and other randomness that can be cleaned out.
• Take inventory of our food cupboards -- Another part of the clean out project, I need to do a serious inventory taking of our food cupboards.  We have a multitude of random sauces, spices, and other things.  Some may be expired.  Others just need to be rediscovered so they can be used.  Plus, knowing what's in there should help with grocery lists and meals planning.
• Lose a pants size -- The holidays are over.  It's time to get serious about losing the pregnancy weight plus some.  I gained weight after my miscarriage in fall 2012.  And I obviously gained weight while pregnant in 2013.  I want to get back down to my comfort zone (size 8-10).
• Take a substantial walk (1-2 miles) at least once a week -- This should help with the previous goal.  I need to become more consistent with my walking.  Meeting the mom's group on Mondays should help me keep this goal.

Top Ten Tuesday -- 2014 Goals and Resolutions

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish.Each week we will post a new Top Ten list complete with one of our bloggers’ answers. Everyone is welcome to join.  If you can’t come up with ten, don’t worry about it—post as many as you can!

Blog and Reading Resolutions:

1. Read over 50,000 pages -- Dropped it a bit from last year.  I like having a fairly manageable page goal instead of a book number goal.
2. Get rid of at least one box of books -- Again, same as last year.  Really want to free up space in the office closet.
3. Add in my new features/update weekly schedule -- Really this is adding in more of my Project Life spreads and my monthly goals posts.
4. Focus on reading my own books -- Not necessarily a library ban, but limiting my visits.  I have way too many books sitting in the closet to constantly be picking up outside books.  I'm setting a goal of 80% of my 2014 reads to be ones I own.
5. Focus on my perpetual lists -- In fact, I am using my perpetual challenges for a majority of my year's reading challenges.

Life Resolutions:

1. 30 Day Challenges --- Instead of yearly goals, I need to focus on smaller and shorter goals.  So, I will be posting monthly goals containing a mix of one time activities and 30 day challenges.  As an added bonus, many of the 30 day challenges I am scheduling will knock off a few Day Zero Project goals.
2. Documentation through Project Life -- I started in October and am absolutely loving the process.  I hope to keep my momentum through 2014.  I purchased a January PL class through Studio Calico to start the year off right.  Hopefully I will get some good tips and inspiration to sustain me.  I will be sharing our spread monthly.
3. New food adventures -- I don't really like to cook, but I love new recipes.  I want to focus on trying at least one new recipe a week.  I have many cookbooks and multitudes of recipes saved online.  I need to start weeding out the crap and the ones we love.  Maybe I'll create theme months... or weeks... or quarters.  This is one of the new features that I'm still thinking about starting on the blog.
4. Losing the baby weight -- I gained 30 pounds with Arthur on top of the extra 15 I had been carrying around since my miscarriage in August 2012.  I want to make 2014 the year of getting back to being comfortable.  I want to get down to my prepregnancy weight.  I'm starting this off with a January month goal of losing a pants size.  I'm eating better, I just need to exercise more.
5. Exploring the Bay Area -- I feel like we've only seen a fraction of things in our area. Since we won't be taking a big out of area vacation this year, I want to spend the year exploring our local region.  I've already got a few ideas of fun with the boys during the summer.  I'm also kicking around a possible weekend trip to Yosemite...  In fact, my word of the year is EXPLORE!  I don't really follow through with all the One Little Word hoopla, but I am going to attempt to use my word and feature it in my Project Life pages.

Revisiting the 2013 blog and reading resolutions:

1. Read over 60,000 pages -- Nope...  Got pretty close with 53,622 pages.
2. Get rid of at least one box of books — Definitely accomplished this one.  However, I think we only got rid of one box.  I hope to make a bigger dent in 2014.
3. Finish any series started — I did a fairly good job on this one.  I joined the Seriously Series Reading Challenge to help me focus.  With that, I finished 10 series.  I'm hoping to repeat my success next year.
4. Finish 75% or more of the reading challenges I join —Woohoo!  This is the first time that I met this goal.  So excited!
5. Read more on the iPad — Read more than I have ever have before on the iPad. But I still need to decrease our physical book inventory.  I'm sure I'll keep reading ebooks in 2014.
6. Be stricter about DNFs — I DNF'd 3 books this year.  I probably could have added about 2 more to that total, but I'm okay with not.  I am getting better at putting books aside if they don't interest me at all.
7. Read the book before seeing the movie — Fairly decent job at this.  I read a ton of books that I had already seen the movie years ago.  I also read a few in anticipation of their movie release.  Continuing this in 2014.
8. Do at least six readathons — I did 10 throughout the year.  Great accomplishment.  I'll probably do most of these for 2014.
9. Focus on my perpetual lists -- Failed at this goal.  I read maybe 6 books off my perpetual lists.  My failure is the reason I decided to change up my reading challenges for 2014.
10. Limit by book buying — I think I only bought 7 or 8 books throughout the entirety of 2013.  I call that a success!  Unfortunately, I probably added about 30 free ebooks to the iPad.  I really need to work on resisting those free deals.  Just because it's free, doesn't mean that I have to download it...

2013 Life Wrap-up

January

I found out that I was pregnant again.  Woohoo!  This one had much better results than the last, but I had to wait nine months.  As soon as I found out, I was down with nasty all day nausea and general ickiness.

February

I just remember feeling miserable all month.  I really suffered from the nausea this time around.  I don't remember it being as bad with the boys as this one.  I had to request anti-nausea medication from the doctor.  It helped, but I tried not to use it very often.

March

March is always a big month in my life.  It's mine, J's, and the twins' birthday.  It usually coincides with Spring Break so I get to see the boys for a week.  This past year, I treated myself to a zombie movie marathon for my birthday.  I also traveled back to Indiana to spend Spring Break with the boys.  We pushed their birthday party back a week so I could be there to have fun with them.

I also got a job this month!  Completely out of the blue, a coworker of J's called me to see if I was interested in joining the team.  I ended up  accepting an offer to be a short-term contractor and project manager for a new project at the company.  The position ended up lasting until the company's acquisition in October.  I definitely learned from my time as a project manager.  Not my favorite profession, but interesting.

April

I officially announced the pregnancy this month after waiting until past the 12 week mark.  I didn't want to deal with the aftermath in case I lost this one also.

May

Busy working...  Plus, my pregnancy issues lessened to the point that I could function fairly well on a day to day basis.

June

The boys arrived to spend the summer!  I really missed them!  At the end of the month, we embarked on our crazy summer road trip.

July

This month was mostly about spending time with the boys and working.  At the end of the month, my mom came to visit for a few days before flying back to Indiana with the boys.  We went to the beach (her first time seeing the Pacific!) and San Francisco.  It was a fun time!

August

Right after mom and the boys left, my job was reduced to a part-time at-home as-needed position.  I was a little bitter at the circumstances, but that's life.  I got back into reading a lot more and started prepping for Arthur's arrival.

September

The nursery finally started coming together this month.  We ordered and assembled (okay J assembled, but I did order) the crib and travel system.  I had my local baby shower.  I also started mentally preparing for the arrival.  Overall, I got very tired of being pregnant and suffered through lots of insomnia and general pain.  Mid month I treated myself to my first ever prenatal massage.  It was worth every single penny to get some relief from the constant pain. Through all the pregnancy stuff, I worked a little bit here and there.  At the end of the month, it was announced that the company had been acquired.  J's department went with the acquiring company.  My department was spun off into a new company.

October

Arthur arrived on his due date of the 15th.  To be fair, we ended up scheduling a c-section for my due date.  He came mid-month and the rest was just a blur.  We got acquainted with baby.  We tried to find a routine (haha! like infants follow routines).  It was an interesting busy month.

November

Another blur of a month.  The baby and I joined a mom's group.  We also got out and about a bit -- taking walks, going to stamp class, going out to eat.  It was a lovely month with even lovelier weather.  We are so spoiled in Sunnyvale.  It was in the 60s and sunny almost everyday.  We could still wear sandals!  And we only needed a light jacket.

December

Arthur and I flew back to Indiana for the Christmas holiday.  I was very scared about flying with a 2 month old, but he was an absolute angel.  No crying, no fussing.  He slept most of the time.  And when he was awake, he was happy and alert baby.  I just hope our return trip tomorrow is the same...  Overall, it was a lovely time with the family.  We even had snow on the ground to get me into the festive mood.  A great way to end 2013.

2013 In Review

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.

Vacation Time

It's time for my annual blogging break.  I'm home in Indiana for Christmas.  Looking forward to seeing Arthur's first Christmas with the family.  We have a ton of activities left before I return to California.  I'll be back to active blogging after the New Year.

Thanksgiving Thanks

I used to do a Thankful post on almost every Thursday.  Somehow I've gotten completely off track with those.  This thankful list is to make up for all the Thursdays I've missed lately. I'm thankful for...

1. My beautiful new baby boy Arthur -- He is such a joy.  Even at only 1 1/2 months, he has such personality.  Can't wait to see what he does next.
2. All the nurses and doctors at Kaiser Santa Clara -- Even with some complications during surgery, Arthur and I had a great birth and recovery experience.  I was especially grateful for the skin-to-skin time immediately after he came out.  I didn't get that with the twins so this was extra special.
3. J -- For being there for me throughout and helping around the house, especially right afterward.
4. Nick and Alex -- For being awesome sons.  And for their excitement at officially meeting their baby brother at Christmas.  I can't wait to spend time with all three of my boys.
5. Caffeine -- A new parent's best friend.  I cut back to almost nothing during pregnancy, which makes a small reintroduction that much sweeter.  I don't consume much, but it's nice to have a strong cup of coffee in the morning to get my day going.
6. Friends and family -- For all the congratulations, best wishes, and gifts.  While we have kept mostly to our little family of three, it's nice to know that others are thinking about us.
7. Christmas -- For the time to spend with friends and family.  I'm looking forward to visiting with everyone, and showing off Arthur of course.  And I get to meet two babies born this past year.  And I get to spend two whole weeks with the twins.  And I get to have awesome home cooked meals (thanks mom!).  And hopefully we get a white Christmas (I miss those living in California).  And I get to go eat at all the restaurants and shop at all the stores that I don't have in California.
8. The good weather -- For allowing Arthur and I to get out of the house even if it's just a quick walk to the coffee shop.  If we still lived in Indiana, it would be difficult to make myself get out and about in super cold temperatures.  Here I can still wear sandals if I want and Arthur only needs a light blanket to be snug.
9. Books -- For keeping me awake and entertained during those middle of the night feedings that seem to drag on and on.
10. Candy Crush on the iPad -- See #9
11. Fellow parents on my Hellobee board -- We are all supporting each other through the struggle of the fourth trimester.  They validate my feelings, fears, and joys and I hope I do the same for them.  Wish I could meet all those ladies and the babies in person... especially my baby birth day twin whose experience so closely mirrors my own.

10 Commandments

Swiss/British philosopher and writer Alain de Botton has come up with a modern list of 10 Commandments for atheists to live by.  I often hear that because atheists do not believe in any higher power, they have no moral code.  That is not true.  Generally, atheists have very strong moral codes. These are the values that I want to instill in my children.  Separating the religion/lack of religion aspect out of this list, I think this guy has captured some decent values for just being a good person. Check them out.

1. Resilience: Keeping going even when things are looking dark.
2. Empathy: The capacity to connect imaginatively with the sufferings and unique experiences of another person.
3. Patience: We should grow calmer and more forgiving by being more realistic about how things actually happen.
4. Sacrifice: We won’t ever manage to raise a family, love someone else or save the planet if we don’t keep up with the art of sacrifice.
5. Politeness: Politeness is closely linked to tolerance, the capacity to live alongside people whom one will never agree with, but at the same time, cannot avoid.
6. Humor: Like anger, humor springs from disappointment, but it is disappointment optimally channelled.
7. Self-awareness: To know oneself is to try not to blame others for one’s troubles and moods; to have a sense of what’s going on inside oneself, and what actually belongs to the world.
8. Forgiveness: It’s recognizing that living with others is not possible without excusing errors.
9. Hope: Pessimism is not necessarily deep, nor optimism shallow.
10. Confidence: Confidence is not arrogance – rather, it is based on a constant awareness of how short life is and how little we will ultimately lose from risking everything.

A note of change...

After reading many articles about the changes in GoodReads' policy, I have decided to close my account.  For a well-crafted blog post about the changes and their implications, please read this post from Pictures in the Words.  Thalia lays the issues out much more eloquently than I ever could. Now the problem is finding a substitute.  I ruled out LibraryThings and Shelfari, but am currently playing with BookLikes.  I'll let you know when I make my final decision.  Until then, adios GoodReads.  You were handy until you started attempting to screw over reviewers.

Addendum: Here's another great post about the issues with GR with GR's original post and response from inquiries on Sept. 23rd.  This one is from Pretty Deadly Reviews.

Bloggiesta Day #3

Completed today:

• Make review templates for books in TBR piles -- I added all the books that I plan on reading through the rest of 2013.  Not a huge amount of book review templates, but a few to get ready to read and review.

Look back at my large goals list:

1. Clean up various pages (About; Quotes; Blogs; Review Policy; Thankfuls; RCs)
2. Check any broken links
3. Reinsert missing pictures on past blog posts
4. Update tags for old posts and drafts/scheduled
5. Prep templates/posts through December
6. Update Day Zero Project (page and actual website)
7. Clean out Bloglovin'
8. Make review templates for books in TBR piles
9. Prep 2014 feature ideas -- write templates, samples, create badges, etc
10. Update Music Monday spreadsheet
11. Update series to book reviews with links to my reviews
12. Update Movies spreadsheet
13. List/organize 2014 TBR
14. Update TBR spreadsheets
15. Fix formats on selected old blog posts
16. Digital Decluttering Challenge from Books A True Story (added)
17. Add book summaries to older posts(added)

Obviously I didn't finish all my tasks, but I made some serious progress.  I plan on keeping with my goals list throughout this next week.