January 7, 2018

Sunday Stealing: A Lot of Really Hard Questions

Hello! I hope you are keeping warm this weekend since it seems most of the country is suffering through ridiculously cold temperatures. I've spent most of the last two days cuddled up with my pup, a cozy blanket, and a fire blazing in the pellet stove. It gives me plenty of time to answer meme questions. So, since I'm here and you're here, let's get on with the first Sunday Stealing of 2018.

This from Bev:

This is a questionnaire that I answer every year, because most answers change every year.  You can find it all over the Internet.  Now it's here.

End of Year Questions


1. What did you do last year that you had not done before?
  I raised vegetables in the raised beds my husband built for me. I grew up always having a garden, but had never tried raised beds before. It was a learning year with both successes and failures, but I'm a fan. We hope to build one or two more this year.

2. Did you keep your New Year's Resolutions/goals for the year and will you make/set more for next year?  What are they? What are your new ones?  I don't think I made any last year, so the keeping of them is a moot point. As for this year, I have made some resolutions promises to myself.  I will live more intentionally in the moment. Weather permitting, I will walk the dog. I will use the Total Gym I bought for a ridiculous amount of money at least 3 times per week. I will cook at home more. I will get a grip on our finances. I will use the new planner I ordered to be more organized.

3. Did anyone you know give birth? Or become pregnant?  Or adopt?
  One of our nieces had a boy in September. He has the most ridiculous amount of hair. Think Elvis in a Onesie!

4. Did anyone you know die? Or have a serious illness/injury?  Some acquaintances, but no one close.

5. What places have you visited? We didn't get away this year until after the wedding and then it was just for a long weekend in Erie, PA. We visited with some of the family we have up there, did some shopping, did some antiquing, and visited a whole lot of wineries.

6. Any new pets? Lost a pet?  I lost my sweet Beagle/Basset mix on December 4 and the house still feels empty without him in it. I've always had dogs, but he was really special with the ability to bring comfort when anyone was hurting. Our daughter relied heavily on him during tough times and is having a hard time dealing with the loss. I had a canvas photo collage made and gave it to her earlier this week. I'm not ready for a new pet yet.





7. What would you like to have next year that you lacked this year (doesn't have to be a physical thing i.e. love, job security, peace of mind...)?
Financial peace of mind.

8. What date from last year will remain etched in your memory and why?
September 23 because it was our daughter's wedding day and December 4 because of losing my dog.

9. What was your biggest achievement last year?
  Not strangling our daughter during the planning of her wedding. She had some serious "Bridezilla" moments.

10. Did you get sick or injured?
I got the flu January 2 and it took months of treatment and testing to ditch the cough, I sprained my neck coughing,  I was diagnosed with degenerative disk disease in June, and got heat exhaustion during the wedding. Honestly, none of that seemed too bad except for the cough.

11. What was the best thing you bought? A sweet little writing desk for $5 at an auction. It was pretty scuffed up, but my husband cleaned it up and stained it and it looks really nice. I use it every day.

12. Where did most of your disposable income go (money leftover after you pay for food, medical care, basic clothing, transportation and shelter)?
The wedding!

13. What song will always remind you of last year?
  Doesn't have to be a song released last year.  The Barney Song, If You're Happy and You Know It, and Itsy Bitsy Spider...all of which I have sung to our grandson about a million times.

14. What do you wish you would have done more of?  Getting away with my husband for a day or a weekend.

15. What do you wish you would have done less of?  Facebook. It's rarely very much fun these days, but I still feel like I have to check in daily and then I get sucked into reading a bunch of stupid stuff.

16. What was your favorite new TV program? Movie? Album/Songs? Or if you didn't pick up any new ones, what are you still watching/listening to? Any recommendations?
  I haven't watched many of the new shows, but I do like Young Sheldon. My favorites remain The Big Bang Theory and Scorpion. As for movies, I just read through a list of all the movies released in 2017 and I haven't seen any of them and there are only a handful that I'd even want to see. When it comes to music, I've been on a 70s and 80s kick, so nothing new on my radar.

17. What was the best book you read this year?  How many did you read?
  I've mentioned it before, but the best book I read was easily, Driven by Eternity by John Bevere. I didn't keep up with my book list, but I'd guess at the very least, I read 30, but it was probably more.

18. What did you do on your birthday and how old were you? Did you feel differently?
  I turned 53 this year, we didn't do anything that day, but did go out for dinner that weekend, and nope...53 feels pretty much like 52.

19. What political or social issue stirred you the most? The horrible divide between us all and the tolerance that was lacking on both "sides" even though everyone was demanding it.

20. Who was the most interesting new person you met? I can't think of anyone new that was all that interesting.

21. Describe how a relationship changed.
  I'm not sure what caused the change, but I am so very thankful that the relationship with my son and his wife is a lot easier now. We actually joke without worrying about upsetting anyone, have conversations, and I feel a lot freer in my interactions with their kids.

22. Do you think you are still the same person that you were at the beginning of the year?  How so?
  No, I know I'm different because God and I hashed out a lot of things over the summer. I hope what I learned has made me kinder and therefore closer to living by the description of love given in 1 Corinthians 13.

23. Summarize the year in three words or less. Bonus points for doing it in one word. Explain. Reflective, focused, busy.

24. How have people around you changed?
As she has dealt with having a baby and being a wife, my daughter has gained maturity and respect for all we've done for her. She now seeks me out for advice or to listen to her rants.

25. What have you learned throughout the year? (Other than crafts) That I like who I am and how to be comfortable in my own skin.

26. Did you learn any new crafts or techniques? What was your favorite thing you made? I went with a bunch of "girls" I graduated from high school with to a painting class at a local craft venue. I painted a cute Christmas sign on pallet wood and gave it to our daughter for Christmas.

27. What changed about your physical appearance? (Hair? Wrinkles? New makeup style? Etc)
My hair is shorter and I lost 35 lbs.

28. What are your hopes and dreams for the new year?  (Some suggestions-family, travel, work, lifestyle, hobbies, pets, appearance)
I hope to continue losing weight, see more of my son's family, take a shower in the newly remodeled bathroom, spend more time doing fun things with my husband, and see everyone treat each other with respect and kindness.



13 comments:

  1. I can relate to so much of this post! Congratulations on the weight loss. That's a lot of work.

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    1. Thank you! I'm trying to get serious about it this year. That happened without much effort so imagine what I might be able to do if I actually work at it!

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  2. Stacy, it sounds like it was a good year for you. I love that your numbers 2, 21,22, 24, 25 and 28 especially!

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    1. In retrospect it was, though as we were planning and doing the work of getting the wedding off the ground I didn't think I'd make it through. lol

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  3. I loved the idea of a photo collage to remember your dog.

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    1. I was able to get it from Snapfish.com. They did a great job and it arrived within a couple of days. Normally they are rather expensive, but for a couple of days after Christmas they had 60% off on the whole site.

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  4. Your cough? Now I don't feel like such a lone ranger. I'm blessed to have escaped the bug the last few years, but now I'm fearful this crud is headed to my chest for the next several weeks. So weary of trying to explain to my boss that I'm really not sick; I just can't shake the bark.

    I love Elvis' collage!

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    1. For most people it seems like a combination of steroids, antibiotics, and an inhaler is what finally shakes the cough....though, and this is frightening, even that isn't working for a couple of people I know.

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  5. I received a new planner for Christmas from my husband and am eager to use it. I thought I'd wait until I wasn't germy with crud, though, blah. Congrats on the weight loss.

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    1. I would have love to set mine up and get it organized while I was off this weekend, but it hasn't arrived yet. :/

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  6. Lovely list. Very thoughtful. I don't make resolutions either. I just want to be in the moment, alive and awake.
    Good for you to use your home equipment. It's there and you don't have to go to any gym unless you want to. I have a Wii and love to play tennis on it.
    Loved that song selection. so sweet and pure!
    #24 especially resonates with me.

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    1. That is exactly where I want to be in this life.
      The songs....they have been on a continuous loop in my head this past year.
      #24...is a day I wasn't sure I'd live to see. I am very thankful for it.

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