Well, it's been so long since I posted that I forgot what my blog looks like. Thanks Facebook.
Briefly: the girls had birthdays, we got a black lab from the shelter, Remy started hockey, I picked up the elementary-school-choir-accompanist gig, snow fell, and the 'mamavan' devolved into a sad, gimpy, downtrodden machine.
We've had a major shift in our sports agenda (other than the hockey thing) - Kira, by guest-playing a couple of scrimmages with her old soccer team, has decided that ballet sucks and she just wants to get back on the soccer field. I'm thrilled with her decision-making ability, and with her overall soccer ability, really. Also, the ballet bill goes down by about 50 bucks a month! She does have to suffer through two more weeks of ballet because November's paid for and I refuse to let her skip paid stuff.
I am rackin' up the Mom Titles: first, Soccer Mom; second, Stage Mom; and now, Hockey Mom. My mom's friend Jean Vezey told me recently, "Hockey isn't just a sport, it's a way of life." (I remember going on long drives in Fairbanks with her to drop Russ off at practices, in 1980something) There is just gear for every body part... practices sometimes three times a week (they're 4-year-olds!!)... and a whole new set of parents to meet. Remy totally loves it - and he stays upright now almost all practice. The best part of hockey is when Kevin gets to help the coaches out. Lots of Daddytime.
Cinder is our new dog. I brought her home on September 28th. She's 5 human-years old, black with gray on her chin, pretty well trained and really, really food-obsessed. Her first owner lived in Anchorage but somehow the dog ended up at the Palmer shelter. Her name was Kiera - she still perks up when we say Kira's name, but she's learned her new name well. It's nice to have a dog around again, especially for the girls. Remy just likes to push her around and yell at her, but I'm hoping that will change. It's clear how much he wants to take out his frustration on some being that won't push back - so we need to change what frustrates him so much, or give him a punching bag I guess!
There's been an increase in the number of times per week the kids ask me, "What kind of new car would you buy, Mama?". They engage in a lot of wishful thinking... Remy will say, out of the blue, "Mama let's go buy another car today and get rid of this stupid one." I wonder if they're embarrassed or something? During my Nome trip in August, the van finally whined its last whine and the power steering crapped out. So they're happy it's not whining anymore, but I think it stresses them out seeing me try to crank that steering wheel with every fiber of my being. It would be fixed if it weren't for The Schedule. On the bright side, snow and ice on the road make steering almost normal again.
I finally caved this week. I gave in to pressure from society to fight the aging process. I opened the Crest Whitestrips door prize I won in the spring... and I bought myself a little tube of wrinkle magic, Ultra-Lift. It's not a 39th-birthday, mid-life reflection thing, I just thought I'd try a little self-respect and see what happens. I may go off the deep end and buy something for age spots.
Now, back to knitting little things for Taia to sell in her 6th-grade economics project... Hopefully by my next post I'll have speed-knitted a dozen scarves, Ultra-Lifted many wrinkles and whitened my teeth by 5 shades.
Monday, November 08, 2010
Thursday, September 02, 2010
belated wishes
My mom's mom, Nuz Doyle ('Golovin Gramma') celebrated her 86th birthday last Friday! We love and miss you Gramma.
My dad's dad, Billy Hoogendorn ('Papa') turned 89 yesterday! Love you Papa!
To everyone else in my family I missed sending birthday wishes to, well, you know me... and of course I love you guys too :)
My dad's dad, Billy Hoogendorn ('Papa') turned 89 yesterday! Love you Papa!
To everyone else in my family I missed sending birthday wishes to, well, you know me... and of course I love you guys too :)
Monday, August 23, 2010
Nome
Nome is a whole peninsula-sized comfort zone for me. Peggy and I just got back last night from five days up there, staying with our brother and his awesome wife and kids. Dad visited me and Peg last week and surprised us with the offer of tickets! Our kids were starting school so they and their dads had to stay behind...
This year, the blueberries are everywhere, plentiful on every hill. We picked about a gallon each day, the first two days with Mom on the side and back of Newton Peak, the third and fourth days with Dad on Glacier Creek Road and by Sunset. The fifth day we were sort of berried-out but decided to pick a handful an hour before our flight, down the street from my brother Willy's house. Peggy and I had a whole system set up for freezing the berries on trays so they would be pourable once frozen, no need for an ice pick :)
Dad surprised us again the first night we were there with a quick trip to Golovin! He did the take-offs and landings but Oliver flew the rest of the time. We got to visit my Gramma for maybe half an hour while she played bingo, but had to head back to Nome before dark.
We also helped Dad set a 300-foot subsistence net in front of his camp at the beach. He and Willy put it in the water at about 3 on Saturday afternoon, and by 10 that night Dad, Oliver and I were picking the fish out. I never work that hard... seriously. We got 5 silvers and 20-something chum the first night, and 26 silvers and 38 chum the next day. Oliver was in the boat with me and Dad on Saturday night when the waves were flopping us around a little - enough to make my first try at picking fish kind of HARD. It was beautiful and almost calm the next day, and Wilson was in the boat with me and Dad. Awesome nephews :) There were some big, good-looking fish but there were also some nasty half-eaten ones that had either been missed by us the first night or caught in the net right after we finished on Saturday. ICK!!!!
Bridie is so calm and tolerant of our crazy family invading her house, even while she and Willy are getting ready to move! Not just beautiful outside but inside too :)
So Peggy and I returned with ayyu (tundra tea), 10 silvers, and 6 gallons of berries each. We've also got new stashes of glass rocks and other beachcombing treasures. My buddy Marie gave me a beautiful skein of qiviut (musk ox yarn)! Score!!!!! I can't even count the number of friends and family I got to hug and laugh and catch up with. I loved every minute of this trip.
This year, the blueberries are everywhere, plentiful on every hill. We picked about a gallon each day, the first two days with Mom on the side and back of Newton Peak, the third and fourth days with Dad on Glacier Creek Road and by Sunset. The fifth day we were sort of berried-out but decided to pick a handful an hour before our flight, down the street from my brother Willy's house. Peggy and I had a whole system set up for freezing the berries on trays so they would be pourable once frozen, no need for an ice pick :)
Dad surprised us again the first night we were there with a quick trip to Golovin! He did the take-offs and landings but Oliver flew the rest of the time. We got to visit my Gramma for maybe half an hour while she played bingo, but had to head back to Nome before dark.
We also helped Dad set a 300-foot subsistence net in front of his camp at the beach. He and Willy put it in the water at about 3 on Saturday afternoon, and by 10 that night Dad, Oliver and I were picking the fish out. I never work that hard... seriously. We got 5 silvers and 20-something chum the first night, and 26 silvers and 38 chum the next day. Oliver was in the boat with me and Dad on Saturday night when the waves were flopping us around a little - enough to make my first try at picking fish kind of HARD. It was beautiful and almost calm the next day, and Wilson was in the boat with me and Dad. Awesome nephews :) There were some big, good-looking fish but there were also some nasty half-eaten ones that had either been missed by us the first night or caught in the net right after we finished on Saturday. ICK!!!!
Bridie is so calm and tolerant of our crazy family invading her house, even while she and Willy are getting ready to move! Not just beautiful outside but inside too :)
So Peggy and I returned with ayyu (tundra tea), 10 silvers, and 6 gallons of berries each. We've also got new stashes of glass rocks and other beachcombing treasures. My buddy Marie gave me a beautiful skein of qiviut (musk ox yarn)! Score!!!!! I can't even count the number of friends and family I got to hug and laugh and catch up with. I loved every minute of this trip.
Thursday, August 05, 2010
SAHG. Stay-at-home-grump.
Uh, that was an incredibly long break. I was too grumpy to write for three whole months.
There's no sense in trying to recap all of summer. I basically drove to soccer 4 nights a week, caught a cold in May and kept it, lost my sense of smell, babysat a couple of days a week, sent the girls to Girl Scout camp, stayed up too late every night, and tried to keep up with Kevin and the kids and their outdoor lifestyle. Sometimes during quiet moments, I'd think of something to write here... and then not write it.
The grumpiness comes from not having the freedom an income brings. I've been stringing along on the stay-at-home-mom circus for nine years... I've of course loved being able to share my kids' lives - but they're rapidly approaching the Really Expensive Stage, and I just want to make things better, to contribute, to make my own decisions about money... to not feel so desperately vestigial.
School registration is in four days, school actually starts in fourteen days! I know Kira will be just fine... Remy will have a freakin blast in preschool... but I worry and worry about Taia. Middle school brings with it the fresh horror of mean girls with better clothes and spidery networks of frenemies. My sweet, scrawny superbrain-girl could just get crushed, and I'm scared at the same time I'm excited for her to be where she is in life.
There's no sense in trying to recap all of summer. I basically drove to soccer 4 nights a week, caught a cold in May and kept it, lost my sense of smell, babysat a couple of days a week, sent the girls to Girl Scout camp, stayed up too late every night, and tried to keep up with Kevin and the kids and their outdoor lifestyle. Sometimes during quiet moments, I'd think of something to write here... and then not write it.
The grumpiness comes from not having the freedom an income brings. I've been stringing along on the stay-at-home-mom circus for nine years... I've of course loved being able to share my kids' lives - but they're rapidly approaching the Really Expensive Stage, and I just want to make things better, to contribute, to make my own decisions about money... to not feel so desperately vestigial.
School registration is in four days, school actually starts in fourteen days! I know Kira will be just fine... Remy will have a freakin blast in preschool... but I worry and worry about Taia. Middle school brings with it the fresh horror of mean girls with better clothes and spidery networks of frenemies. My sweet, scrawny superbrain-girl could just get crushed, and I'm scared at the same time I'm excited for her to be where she is in life.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
changes
We've had a major alteration... no competitive soccer for Taia this summer! She and Kira will still get to go to soccer (day) camp in June though.
Taia's team, which I was the newbie manager of, just didn't have enough players on the roster. We had seven girls training over the winter, two backed out, one didn't really qualify, three more showed up for tryouts, more backed out... we scrambled for days up to the deadline and could not make it work. Too bad, because the five who were signed up are really good at soccer. It feels like failure on my part as manager, but - I'm not going to beat myself up over it.
Having that huge time commitment go away, and the big wad of cash back too, is sort of a relief, actually. Taia decided to take ballet through the summer. That means less driving to Anchorage, but probably more driving around the valley shuttling Kira and Remy to soccer. Kira's such a great player, I can't wait to watch her games. I think Littledude may be ready for once-a-week turf time. Well, as I'm writing I'm wondering if that will work out - he's got such emotional highs and lows that I can easily picture him freaking out on the field because somebody stepped on his toe or pushed him out of the way... eh.
Another major change around here: we're not suffering from Computer Stress Syndrome anymore. I bought a Mac desktop. I couldn't stand the old PC anymore. Every day I'd daydream of setting it down on the driveway and hearing the satisfying CRUNCH of it dying under the wheels of the van, CRUNCH CRUNCH mwa ha haaaaaa!!!! It was bad. Macs are just a whole new ballgame. Stress-free.
Last change: I've got bangs again and I look like a dork.
My friend's friend told her that they thought people who drive minivans looked like their souls had been ripped out... which, if you think about it, is probably a pretty accurate statement. Lots of minivanners are trying to tune out the piercing screams and stupid sibling-fights happening three feet behind them, thinking about the next form to turn in or the second fundraiser that week they've got to throw at their friends and relatives, wondering how to make the car funk go away, mentally timing dinner prep and the next ten loads of laundry, remembering to return library books and dvds (late of course) and once in a while catching a glimpse of their stupid haircut in the visor mirror. They exist in the practical world of sliding doors and maximum capacity, with memories of having kept up with everyone else and their sporty cars free of unidentifiable food-like objects in the seat cushions or fingerprints all over the windows. I accept the stereotype as long as I can continue laughing at guys in their 4-foot-lifted hemi-powered trucks with tinted windows full of stickers, proving how awesome they are by gunning past dork moms in minivans.
Taia's team, which I was the newbie manager of, just didn't have enough players on the roster. We had seven girls training over the winter, two backed out, one didn't really qualify, three more showed up for tryouts, more backed out... we scrambled for days up to the deadline and could not make it work. Too bad, because the five who were signed up are really good at soccer. It feels like failure on my part as manager, but - I'm not going to beat myself up over it.
Having that huge time commitment go away, and the big wad of cash back too, is sort of a relief, actually. Taia decided to take ballet through the summer. That means less driving to Anchorage, but probably more driving around the valley shuttling Kira and Remy to soccer. Kira's such a great player, I can't wait to watch her games. I think Littledude may be ready for once-a-week turf time. Well, as I'm writing I'm wondering if that will work out - he's got such emotional highs and lows that I can easily picture him freaking out on the field because somebody stepped on his toe or pushed him out of the way... eh.
Another major change around here: we're not suffering from Computer Stress Syndrome anymore. I bought a Mac desktop. I couldn't stand the old PC anymore. Every day I'd daydream of setting it down on the driveway and hearing the satisfying CRUNCH of it dying under the wheels of the van, CRUNCH CRUNCH mwa ha haaaaaa!!!! It was bad. Macs are just a whole new ballgame. Stress-free.
Last change: I've got bangs again and I look like a dork.
My friend's friend told her that they thought people who drive minivans looked like their souls had been ripped out... which, if you think about it, is probably a pretty accurate statement. Lots of minivanners are trying to tune out the piercing screams and stupid sibling-fights happening three feet behind them, thinking about the next form to turn in or the second fundraiser that week they've got to throw at their friends and relatives, wondering how to make the car funk go away, mentally timing dinner prep and the next ten loads of laundry, remembering to return library books and dvds (late of course) and once in a while catching a glimpse of their stupid haircut in the visor mirror. They exist in the practical world of sliding doors and maximum capacity, with memories of having kept up with everyone else and their sporty cars free of unidentifiable food-like objects in the seat cushions or fingerprints all over the windows. I accept the stereotype as long as I can continue laughing at guys in their 4-foot-lifted hemi-powered trucks with tinted windows full of stickers, proving how awesome they are by gunning past dork moms in minivans.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Springbusy
Pardon my absence... all my free time lately is spent on genealogy... or on Facebook. I noticed that I stay away from blogging when I've got a black cloud over my head for days, or weeks. There's negative stuff I can't shake, and not blogging about it is the best way to avoid what comes naturally: me sticking my foot in my mouth.
In February, Kevin built an ice rink in the front yard. He was totally dedicated to the rink, going out two times a day to spray it with more water...It was in perfect shape for about a week until we had a few warm days. The kids loved it! Taia was one of the last 5 spellers on stage in the spelling bee;. Kira did great kneel jumps during the Junior NYO competition in Anchorage; I put in a lot of work towards our Girl Scout troop's booth at the World Thinking Day event in Palmer - I admit to retaining my micro-managing Hover Parent skills...but they're not as strong as they used to be. Really.
The short version of March: I started managing Taia's soccer team (biiiiiig learning curve); we watched the Iditarod Re-Start at Willow; spent Spring Break at Red Shirt Lake just like last year; I went back to part-time babysitting; the kids had dental appointments; Kevin had 5am flights all month and also flew to Anadyr, Russia; we sold Girl Scout cookies; and... the SUN came back to our part of the world.
My health is stable. If I have lupus symptoms I don't notice them much, and I very rarely get that hint of head-pounding blood pressure inside my ears, a feeling I had every day in Laramie. The only issue I've had recently is a fluctuating INR, the measurement of how quickly my blood clots. I've got the home-tester so I don't have to make an appointment at the clinic anymore, but I struggle with it sometimes, not getting a big enough drop of blood from my finger before the machine times out. Once I stuck 7 fingers and wasted 4 test strips and still didn't get a result.
Now we're prepping for the big Fifth Grade Homer Field Trip. Every year the 5th-grade teachers and parents manage to get two groups of 10- and 11-year-olds down to Homer for a 4-day science field trip. Kevin's schedule worked out so that he'll stay here with Kira and Remy while I chaperone. That means I cram the mamavan full of kid gear, drive for 7 hours, and get up at 6:30 every day after sleeping on a middle school floor...! The kids get to do tide-pool observations, take two different boat trips around the area, have cookouts and do lots of marine biology-related activities. I actually can't wait, I know it's going to be a very memorable experience.
After that, the countdown begins to the Last Day of School and the ballet recital in Anchorage.
In February, Kevin built an ice rink in the front yard. He was totally dedicated to the rink, going out two times a day to spray it with more water...It was in perfect shape for about a week until we had a few warm days. The kids loved it! Taia was one of the last 5 spellers on stage in the spelling bee;. Kira did great kneel jumps during the Junior NYO competition in Anchorage; I put in a lot of work towards our Girl Scout troop's booth at the World Thinking Day event in Palmer - I admit to retaining my micro-managing Hover Parent skills...but they're not as strong as they used to be. Really.
The short version of March: I started managing Taia's soccer team (biiiiiig learning curve); we watched the Iditarod Re-Start at Willow; spent Spring Break at Red Shirt Lake just like last year; I went back to part-time babysitting; the kids had dental appointments; Kevin had 5am flights all month and also flew to Anadyr, Russia; we sold Girl Scout cookies; and... the SUN came back to our part of the world.
My health is stable. If I have lupus symptoms I don't notice them much, and I very rarely get that hint of head-pounding blood pressure inside my ears, a feeling I had every day in Laramie. The only issue I've had recently is a fluctuating INR, the measurement of how quickly my blood clots. I've got the home-tester so I don't have to make an appointment at the clinic anymore, but I struggle with it sometimes, not getting a big enough drop of blood from my finger before the machine times out. Once I stuck 7 fingers and wasted 4 test strips and still didn't get a result.
Now we're prepping for the big Fifth Grade Homer Field Trip. Every year the 5th-grade teachers and parents manage to get two groups of 10- and 11-year-olds down to Homer for a 4-day science field trip. Kevin's schedule worked out so that he'll stay here with Kira and Remy while I chaperone. That means I cram the mamavan full of kid gear, drive for 7 hours, and get up at 6:30 every day after sleeping on a middle school floor...! The kids get to do tide-pool observations, take two different boat trips around the area, have cookouts and do lots of marine biology-related activities. I actually can't wait, I know it's going to be a very memorable experience.
After that, the countdown begins to the Last Day of School and the ballet recital in Anchorage.
Thursday, February 04, 2010
Ring, busy month, and a salt lick
Found!!! Wedding ring and shinguard!
The ring was in a side pocket of my purse and the shinguard was buried under a pile of books in Kira's room.
I'm not so bothered anymore... and I'm getting more sleep, so life is good.
We've got so much going on this month - Taia's spelling bee, Parent/Teacher conferences, Girl Scouts Thinking Day, NYO practice & competition for Kira, a robotics workshop in Anchorage for Taia, and GS Cookie booth sales... on top of regular old soccer & ballet schedules. I'm grateful for all the extra sunshine we've been getting because it helps me make it through each crazy week.
This week I learned that moose will lick every part of a car that has road salt coating it. I also learned how important it is to check the driveway and the side yards for moose before sending six kids out to the car to be driven to the bus stop in the morning. My kids' childhood memories will be so different from mine... septic tanks, trees, internet, HDTV, driving everywhere, and moose licking the car in the middle of the night. Oh, and the family ice rink in the front yard...!
The ring was in a side pocket of my purse and the shinguard was buried under a pile of books in Kira's room.
I'm not so bothered anymore... and I'm getting more sleep, so life is good.
We've got so much going on this month - Taia's spelling bee, Parent/Teacher conferences, Girl Scouts Thinking Day, NYO practice & competition for Kira, a robotics workshop in Anchorage for Taia, and GS Cookie booth sales... on top of regular old soccer & ballet schedules. I'm grateful for all the extra sunshine we've been getting because it helps me make it through each crazy week.
This week I learned that moose will lick every part of a car that has road salt coating it. I also learned how important it is to check the driveway and the side yards for moose before sending six kids out to the car to be driven to the bus stop in the morning. My kids' childhood memories will be so different from mine... septic tanks, trees, internet, HDTV, driving everywhere, and moose licking the car in the middle of the night. Oh, and the family ice rink in the front yard...!
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
...BOTHER...
Bothersome, irksome.
Like losing things, regularly. I can't find my wedding ring, after taking it off to knit more comfortably last Wednesday and putting it in my pocket. Taia lost her nice new fuzzy hoodie. Kira lost the hat I just knit for her two weeks ago, and one of her soccer shinguards is missing too. Remy... the meeting of his boundless energy, intense curiosity and his limited attention span makes for daily Thing Disappearances. I still hope to come across my long-lost PedEgg, someday.
The fish tank is a bother, after I was so excited to finally have one. I've realized that I like tiny fish with bright colors, in large groups... after adopting three enormous plecos, one 7" shark-catfish and a huge, obnoxious tinfoil barb. And of course the whole tank needs a 5-hour scrubbing.
Most bothersome is some stranger named Natalia, a girl at Taia's school who called my awesome, beautiful, smart, athletic, talented daughter "weird" behind her back. Taia came to me at bedtime and asked to be homeschooled for all of middle school, so we talked about it and I guessed something was up... then she told me about overhearing Natalia's mean words, and tears welled up in her eyes. While I was trying to use reassurance, logic and humor to comfort and reassure her, the fierce mama instinct in me was ready to seek and destroy. Taia had some experiences being bullied in Laramie, but she was so much younger and stronger in the face of it. She wasn't about to take any crap in kindergarten, but now that she's reached these almost-teen years, words hurt more and cut really, really deep.
Like losing things, regularly. I can't find my wedding ring, after taking it off to knit more comfortably last Wednesday and putting it in my pocket. Taia lost her nice new fuzzy hoodie. Kira lost the hat I just knit for her two weeks ago, and one of her soccer shinguards is missing too. Remy... the meeting of his boundless energy, intense curiosity and his limited attention span makes for daily Thing Disappearances. I still hope to come across my long-lost PedEgg, someday.
The fish tank is a bother, after I was so excited to finally have one. I've realized that I like tiny fish with bright colors, in large groups... after adopting three enormous plecos, one 7" shark-catfish and a huge, obnoxious tinfoil barb. And of course the whole tank needs a 5-hour scrubbing.
Most bothersome is some stranger named Natalia, a girl at Taia's school who called my awesome, beautiful, smart, athletic, talented daughter "weird" behind her back. Taia came to me at bedtime and asked to be homeschooled for all of middle school, so we talked about it and I guessed something was up... then she told me about overhearing Natalia's mean words, and tears welled up in her eyes. While I was trying to use reassurance, logic and humor to comfort and reassure her, the fierce mama instinct in me was ready to seek and destroy. Taia had some experiences being bullied in Laramie, but she was so much younger and stronger in the face of it. She wasn't about to take any crap in kindergarten, but now that she's reached these almost-teen years, words hurt more and cut really, really deep.
Friday, January 01, 2010
Happy Do-Over
Here's what I wrote in December 2008:
Okay so here's my list of aspirations for 2009:
talk to my Grandparents more often
organize
wash the dog
organize
learn lots of things from Martha Stewart
knit ... no more blankets!
take walks
garden in a productive way
organize
get piano and violin lessons underway
send cards and presents out EARLY yeahright
I didn't organize anything, the clutter got worse. It all migrated to my bedroom.
I checked out Martha Stewart's book Cooking School from the library but it was just... boring.
Kevin did all of the gardening.
Our dog Chena died in May. :(
I didn't do any walking, or exercising for that matter.
I didn't line up any kids for any music lessons.
I did knit, but only when I wasn't depressed or wasting time online or reading a book.
I sent out presents three days before Christmas... so, yeah.
I did get to visit my grandparents, though. We spent time in Golovin with my Gramma Nuz, and in Nome with my Papa Billy. I visited Nanny in Anchorage, sometimes with my dad, sometimes with the kids, but not enough - I did find newspaper articles from 1928 when she journeyed to Newark to be part of a reindeer/Eskimo/Santa exhibit in a department store. That's her favorite memory, we hear about it often.
I don't know if I should just try for a do-over of last year's resolutions or forget the whole resolution thing entirely. I remember thinking more than once last year, how do people find the motivation or energy or desire to even get up in the morning?
There are some firsts I pulled off in 2009... I roasted a turkey and cooked our whole Thanksgiving dinner! I learned how to play chess. I drove to Minneapolis from Bemidji. It sounds like a dull, dull life - but it goes by so quickly because of the kids' activities, their streaming conversations, their silliness, their neediness.
This past year was the year I actually felt the effects of aging more than I felt the effects of illness. I have a huge smile wrinkle or two that I choose to ignore, many gray hairs I'm not likely to dye, an understanding of "dress your age", and I think I'm getting thicker the way dogs get as they age. Yeah, that. This year also brought the realization that visiting with friends and family is such a rare thing, it's priceless.
So, maybe I'll try a resolution Do-Over, or maybe I'll just keep on managing the dull daily chaos, with those priceless moments here and there.
Okay so here's my list of aspirations for 2009:
talk to my Grandparents more often
organize
wash the dog
organize
learn lots of things from Martha Stewart
knit ... no more blankets!
take walks
garden in a productive way
organize
get piano and violin lessons underway
send cards and presents out EARLY yeahright
I didn't organize anything, the clutter got worse. It all migrated to my bedroom.
I checked out Martha Stewart's book Cooking School from the library but it was just... boring.
Kevin did all of the gardening.
Our dog Chena died in May. :(
I didn't do any walking, or exercising for that matter.
I didn't line up any kids for any music lessons.
I did knit, but only when I wasn't depressed or wasting time online or reading a book.
I sent out presents three days before Christmas... so, yeah.
I did get to visit my grandparents, though. We spent time in Golovin with my Gramma Nuz, and in Nome with my Papa Billy. I visited Nanny in Anchorage, sometimes with my dad, sometimes with the kids, but not enough - I did find newspaper articles from 1928 when she journeyed to Newark to be part of a reindeer/Eskimo/Santa exhibit in a department store. That's her favorite memory, we hear about it often.
I don't know if I should just try for a do-over of last year's resolutions or forget the whole resolution thing entirely. I remember thinking more than once last year, how do people find the motivation or energy or desire to even get up in the morning?
There are some firsts I pulled off in 2009... I roasted a turkey and cooked our whole Thanksgiving dinner! I learned how to play chess. I drove to Minneapolis from Bemidji. It sounds like a dull, dull life - but it goes by so quickly because of the kids' activities, their streaming conversations, their silliness, their neediness.
This past year was the year I actually felt the effects of aging more than I felt the effects of illness. I have a huge smile wrinkle or two that I choose to ignore, many gray hairs I'm not likely to dye, an understanding of "dress your age", and I think I'm getting thicker the way dogs get as they age. Yeah, that. This year also brought the realization that visiting with friends and family is such a rare thing, it's priceless.
So, maybe I'll try a resolution Do-Over, or maybe I'll just keep on managing the dull daily chaos, with those priceless moments here and there.
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