AMIEABLE

You’re thinking “wait - isn’t it well into 2010?” Yes. Yes it is. I wrote this when it was timely, I swear.  But then my computer crashed early in the semester and I abandoned it. Let’s move on.

Fellow bloggers Jennie and Isabel did a nice year summary and I’m going to copy their format (I am unsure where they got the format) since it’s easier to answer one-off questions.  My brain cannot combine thoughts into a coherent narrative format.  I’m also going to attempt to add photos to every answer to try to show as much of 2009 as possible.  We’ll see how this goes.

1. What did you do in 2009 that you’d never done before?

Well I was a bridesmaid (in my sister’s wedding) and Longball and I also went on our first vacation together. Let me clarify: we’ve traveled together but never on a trip we planned for fun for ourselves (not for someone’s wedding or a family vacation). We went camping on the San Juan Islands, Whidbey Island and Fort Flagler.

Bridesmaid:

Camping:

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

I can’t remember if I explicitly made any resolutions last year.  I probably wanted to make my usual changes (and ones probably everyone does): drink more water, take vitamins and exercise more. I definitely exercised more in 2009 since I started running regularly, but I still am chronically dehydrated.  I think I took some calcium in July.

Dan exercising on my yoga mat:

I usually eschew water for this:

As for 2010 I made a brand new resolution: take more photos and put our photos on display in albums or in frames.  Over Christmas Longball got a hold of one of his mother’s old photo albums.  We realized how fun it was to see the “normal” days documented.  All of my photos from the last ten years or so are either in boxes in my office, or in one large, confusing folder on my laptop.  I’m trying to get organized and enjoy them more.

Some “normal day” photos from 2009:

Easter morning:

When I was pureeing kale and dropped the blender:

(Longball remarked “Did Kermit commit suicide in our kitchen?”)

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

My good friend Lu gave birth to her second daughter Ella in June and we got to meet her in August.  Our friends who live across the street gave birth to their second son in September.  We got to be part of the event as we went over to spend the night with their two-year old when they went to the hospital.

(Again I’m stumped about a photo to post.  I don’t have any photos of the babies…)

Well I guess Dan’s birth mother can be considered “close” to us and she gave birth to our cat.  I’ll post a photo of him:

4. Did anyone close to you die?

No thank god.

Here is a photo of some grave at a creepy shrine on San Juan Island:

Unless of course you count Michael Jackson. Longball doing his best lawn chair “Thriller”:

5. What countries did you visit?

Zero!  We are broke!

Here’s some of us on our two trips to the coast.

La Push in February:

Lopez Island in August:

Longball pretending to be in Britain (but actually at the British camp on San Juan Island):

6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you didn’t have in 2009?

Cat health.  More free time.

Cats:

Homework (that has been chewed on) which robbed me of most of my free time:

7. What dates from 2009 will be etched upon your memory, and why?

Well August 28th my baby sister got married!

The newlyweds:

8. What was your biggest achievement of this year?

Well I did well in school.  I also got over my fears of failure and recorded a song for Alison’s wedding record and played third base for an inning in a softball game (luckily no one hit the ball to me).

Me recording the song in my parent’s home:

9. What was your biggest failure?

I routinely got angry and acted ridiculous.  I lost my shit and broke our remote by throwing it at our fireplace, and also broke our front door by slamming it.  I also fought with my sister which I hate doing.

A smaller failure.  I couldn’t figure out how to get the percolator to work on our camping trip:

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

In June I started experiencing numbness in my limbs and on one day it was accompanied by a headache with crazy visions.  I had an MRI and a visit with a neurologist and many weeks of fear, crying and a huge hospital bill.  Turns out the most likely story is that I experience migraines not only in my head but in my limbs as well.  I still have numbness but am mostly fine.

I also think I broke my toe in July.  I was wearing flip flops in my kitchen and tried to jump up to grab something from the shelf and snapped my toe back.

Luckily it wasn’t as bad as Mousie’s injury:

11. What was the best thing you bought?

Dan Wilson!

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?

I’m trying to think of something besides my sister’s wedding, I swear.  But our family received such awesome help in pulling off the wedding.  Josh (their photographer) did an amazing job:

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?

Republicans.

14. Where did most your money go?

Well in one way, most of our money went to my education in the form of student loans since I have to pay them back, but in actuality none of it left our pocket.  Probably in reality most of our money went to rent, but most of our money that wasn’t planned went to the WSU vet.  Gladys spent most of the year ill.  She underwent a surgery to remove bladder stones and when they opened her up there were no stones there.  Oh but they still charged us.  She also got asthma this year and has been in and out of the vet.  Luckily, she’s stable now.

Dan giving Gladys a back massage:

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?

Getting our kitten.

Did I mention my sister got married?

16. What song will always remind you of 2009?

Well I spent the first part of last year working on the research project at the pool where the college kids played music so “All the Single Ladies” will remind me of 2009 since they played it so much.  As for my own taste, “Sunlight” by the Harlem Shakes will remind me of 2009.  Longball makes us mixed CDs from our itunes and “Sunlight” was on our summer mix.

Here are some funny photos of Tim, Al, Longball and I all mining for garnets in North Idaho in the summer:

17. Compared to this time last year, are you: a) happier or sadder? b) thinner or fatter? c) richer or poorer?

Happier

Thinner

Poorer

And weirder:

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?

Reading books for fun:

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?

Worrying.

20. How did you spend Christmas?

We stayed in Pullman and received Longball’s sister, brother-in-law and niece Keelin at Longball’s dad’s home.  We spent Christmas Eve in LB’s brother’s old room surrounded by a literal shrine to the “golden boy” (complete with his Speedo on display) while I furiously knitted Keelin’s sweater and swore I would never knit again.  We made Christmas dinner in two kitchens since we were stupid and purchased a roast and a ham which cooked at completely different temperatures.  Longball’s dad is a bachelor and his kitchen was a hostile environment.  Christmas night we went to the local bar, Rico’s and I got beer spilled down my back.

We have no photos of Christmas.  Which in retrospect is good since any photo documentation would have likely included me crying, bleary-eyed and with food on my face. Here is a random photo of Donettes instead:

21. Did you fall in love in 2009?

Dan!

Here he is after his love - food - up on the counter:

I also fell in love with Orcas Island:

22. What was your favorite TV program?

Big Love. (NB: this was before I discovered “Friday Night Lights”!)

I have no idea what photo to post for this one. My sister wife:

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?

Joe Lieberman. (Again, this was more pertinent back in January) He leaves a bad taste:

24. What was the best book you read?

I hardly have any time to read books for fun these days but on our camping trip I read The Nine Tailors by Dorothy L. Sayers - a murder mystery from the 30’s that was a total blast.

Me reading (although you can’t tell):

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?

At the end of the year we discovered Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros.

Another random photo:

26. What did you want and get?

Good grades.  Fun.  New members to my family:

27. What did you want and not get?

I wanted to win some money but despite buying tons of McDonald’s fries, we did not win the cool million.

28. What was your favorite film of 2009?

I hate to admit this but probably Inglorious Basterds.  Although I also loved Up and it garnered the biggest movie cry in years.

I’m running out of photo-posting steam. Here is a photo of someone who is “up” - apparently during my sister’s wedding ceremony there were sky divers swirling around behind us.

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

I was 33 and I woke up in Waterville, Washington which is out in the middle of the state, in the dessert near the Columbia river.  We had spent the weekend in Mansfield, a small town near Waterville where Longball’s mom had grown up.  We had breakfast and drove across the state.

Main Street Mansfield:

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

The usual, more ice cream:

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept of 2009?

Cheap and comfortable.

32. What kept you sane?

Longball.

33. What political issue stirred you the most?

Health care.  As I mentioned above, I had a major health scare and had to get an MRI, which took 15 minutes and cost a ridiculous amount of money.  Luckily, I have health insurance and so I only had to spend $330 but it hit home for me how awful it would be to not only be scared about your health (or the health of your family) but be worried about how you would afford it.  If I didn’t have health insurance or parents, an MRI could have easily bankrupted us.  No one in the US should have to choose between being healthy or buying groceries.

Longball getting some Vitamin D. During my numbness/headache saga I read somewhere that Vitamin D deficiency causes something.

34. Who did you miss?

My sister.  She planned her wedding from afar and I wish I could have been in on more of the action.

35. Who was the best new person you met?

Percy, our garden gnome that we met in a shop in Port Townsend on our camping trip.

36. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009.

Even though I wasn’t really sick, and Gladys has been stabilized, I was reminded that life is unpredictable and to enjoy it as it happens.

Here is a photo of the sun setting on San Juan Island:

37. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.

Money talks
But it don’t sing and dance and it don’t walk.
And long as I can have you here with me
I’d much rather be
Forever in blue jeans.