My year in review

At the beginning of 2009, I had a just-1-year-old son and a job. I was looking forward to a Bermuda cruise in May and a new year filled with promise.

I got to go on my cruise, and we had a great time. But two months later, in July, I no longer had a job -- a casulty of a mass layoff. While I was traumatized at first, I've now come to see that it was a blessing. Because I end 2009 as a stay-at-home mom (known by the cool kids as a SAHM) who is enjoying her son and her newly slowed-down life.

Things aren't perfect, as they never are. I get bored. My brain occasionally feels like it's turning to mush. Adult conversations are few and far between. And there really aren't many decent-paying, part-time, work at home jobs for a writer/editor/journalist.

Still, if I could sum up 2009 in three words, it would be these: Work doesn't matter. Being unemployed gave me the freedom to travel to Florida when my uncle died suddenly and be there for my aunt and cousins. When my dad had a stroke right before Thanksgiving, I was able to drop everything and head to the hospital to be with my mom and brother. (My dad will make a full recovery.) And on a more frivolous note, shopping, Christmas or otherwise, was a helluva lot easier when you can go in the middle of the day with all your other laid-off comrades. My days are mine and Boo's. My work benefits the people who really matter: My family. Someday I will go back to work, of course. But for now, I'm mostly digging on the time off, which, when you have an almost-2-year-old (gasp!) and a house, isn't a whole lot of sitting around. But I'll take it. And Boo is loving it too.

Happy new year, and may 2010 bring you nothing but good things.

A Fool-ish New Year's Eve

M and I went back and forth about what to do for New Year's Eve. After all, last year we stayed home out of necessity -- I was six days away from giving birth and big as a house. My OB had put the kibosh on unnecessary trips, so that meant a December 31 with a bottle of sparkling grape juice, a fire in the fireplace and me falling asleep at 10 p.m. So this year, I put our New Year's plans in M's capable hands. He decided we should go out and that Boo would go to his grandparents'.

Since we had a snowstorm, and I am essentially a homebody, at first I argued. But then I decided to go along with it. We had tickets to see the Fools at the Bull Run in Shirley, and after all, they were nonrefundable. So we braved the crappy roads (after all, we had Bruce, M's SUV) and freezing cold and went.

I'm glad I went out last night.

In case you're not familiar with them, and I wasn't, the Fools are a comedy band. As M put it, they are like Weird Al but R-rated. They are awesomely funny, a great, tight band and a lot of raunchy fun. We had a ball. And now my son has horns and noisemakers to play with.

So as U2 said, all is quiet on New Year's Day. Happy 2009, all, and hope you had fun last night.

The first blog post of 2008

As predicted, I fell asleep at 11 last night. Woke up at 1 a.m., turned to M and said happy new year, and then went back to sleep. We didn't do much -- just went to the Outback for dinner and then came home and chilled while M watched the Chick-Fil-A Bowl. Today, we're watching it snow and doing house projects.

I really try not to make resolutions anymore, but in case you want to clean up your vocabulary, here's a list of 18 words that have been banned from the Queen's English.

Happy new year!

A new year, yet another resolution.

I'm a writer with a blog who never posts in it.

I was shitty at keeping diaries as a kid. What makes me think things are gonna change because the format is digital rather than written in a locked book under my bed?

I have blog posts saved in my head all the time. I love reading others' blogs. So I've decided that this blog will become more readable in 2005.

So where do I begin? Last night, M and I went to see my parentals to do Christmas gifts. Yes, Christmas gifts. My little brother and his wife just bought a house, and they've been up to their assholes cleaning and recarpeting and packing, etc., so this was the first chance we got to have gifts as a family. Mom bought us all pizzas from Pizzeria Regina and made calzone. After the eatfest that December 2004 has been, I feel guilty even looking at food. I went to Weight Watchers December 30, and from December 7 to then I gained 5.6 pounds. I feel like a pig. Part of it was being the end of the day, part of it was the lined jeans I was wearing -- but it also was a direct result of my holiday gluttony. Did I forget the rules? That I can't just eat what I want and expect the zipper of my jeans to purr upwards? What IS it with me and sugar? Then again, it was the holidays, and I should just go easy on myself. Except my appetite is still huge. I would just love to have a decent relationship with food. But I don't think a woman alive has it.

Anywhoo, after gifts and pizza and patting my brother's golden retriever (even though I shouldn't have -- she's a walking allergen) , we went home and lit a fire. I don't know what it is about lighting my fireplace, but it always makes me fall asleep. Then I panic b/c I basically am falling asleep on a fire in my house. My house is my baby. If someone asks me what I did over the weekend, my usual answer is, "Stayed home. Cleaned. Did laundry." Something about taking care of our home just soothes the shit out of me. Especially on a snowy, cold, raw day, where I can just stay home in my jammies.

We woke up five minutes to midnight. I barely kept my eyes open to watch the ball drop. Happy new year, kiss kiss. Then M crawled up the stairs to bed. I stayed up to straighten up a bit after getting a bit of a second wind, ran the dishwasher, etc. This morning we had the champagne I bought as mimosas, and very expensive (and so not worth it) strawberries, as well as doughnuts. Another guilt food.

So, Christine, how's work going? It's going. I've been there three months now. After three years at my old place, I still feel out of sorts. It's a new feeling, to not be the person in the office everyone asks everything of. To not feel like the ground is totally stable beneath my feet. To really not know anyone and have to build new relationships, workwise or other, from scratch. But it's coming along. I'm well into the production cycle groove. Deadlines are my bread and butter, man. I've kept in touch with a lot of people at the old joint, especially the girl who sat next to me, but not the boss. I have a case of the guilts over that last one because we were so close, but I don't think it was a healthy relationship, and I felt I needed to end it. She sent me a birthday card, which I thanked her for tersely in an email. I'm hoping she gets the hint, but getting the hint is not her strong suit.

So, the bottom line: look for more posts in '05. But not this long. My fingers will bleed.