dianaschnuth

I started compiling data for my Year In Review way back in November because I knew this would happen. It happens every year. I want to post my Year In Review, but once January comes, I can’t find the time/motivation to sit down and do it.

This year, I finally decided to sit down and get it done during the last weekend of January. Yeah, that Sunday when there was a widespread cable outage in my metro area. *facepalm* So, I started writing and organizing in the text file I use for later blogging, saved on my Pusheen thumb drive. Then my son asked me to play Balloon Catch with him, then LEGO, in between the loads of laundry I still had to wash. So, the Year In Review didn’t happen on Sunday.

Monday was a sick day for both me and my son (at least I didn’t have his fever and wheezing cough), so it didn’t get done Monday.

Come Tuesday, though, I managed to squeeze in some time over lunch and in the evening to start gathering my data and making it presentable. Finally, this evening, I sat down after I got Connor all tucked in and finished everything up. I stayed up later than I probably should have, but it’s done, and I’m glad.

I’m not feeling the meta-reporting about my blog posts this year — instead, I’m focusing more on what actually happened during 2017. Even without the blog entry breakdown, though, this Year In Review will be chock-a-block with data you mostly didn’t care about in the first place.
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For this year’s retrospective, I’m going to lead off with the most important things:

What Made Me Happy (top 11)

(As recorded every night before bed)

1. Talking with Aaron
2. Cooking / Baking
3. Hugs (mostly from Connor and/or Aaron)
4. Working out
5. Writing / Blogging
6. Eating sushi
7. Yoga
8. Gardening
9. Playing with Connor
10. Date night/afternoon
11. Being outside

If I’d consolidated some more specific things, like “working out” and “kickboxing,” the list might look a little different, but not by much.

Other notable one-off things that made me happy:

• Wearing a sheath dress and feeling good in it
• Watching Connor eat sushi with his chopsticks and enjoy it
• Driving everyone (my grandparents, my Mom, and my son) to the Air Force Museum
• Connor being super sweet about my boo-boos from giving blood
• Watching the rain with Connor
• Setting up a WordPress plugin
• Watching Aaron and Connor play Mario

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The past couple of Years In Review have been pretty linear: able to be broken down into a chronology of main happenings, with other minor happenings thrown in. This year, there were a few main threads that seemed to tie the whole year together.

Abstract: I visited many health care professionals and got some lingering medical issues resolved (and discovered some new ones). The first half of the year was fraught with house and car issues. I rediscovered my love of film photography. And some other stuff happened, like gardening and being social and potty-training our son.

Now, for the long version…

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So, what happened last year? Not nearly as many life-altering events as the past couple of years, thankfully — not to say that things still weren’t interesting at times.

(And, yes, I know I’m getting this out a little later than usual… but at least it’s still January, right?)

During the winter of 2013-2014 (aka the Polar Vortex), Toledo got 7 feet and 2 inches of snow in total — that’s over two feet more than normal — and saw temps dipping down to -15°F. It was a particularly miserable and treacherous winter, and it killed several of my plants to boot.

We bought furniture in the spring. In March, we bought a new bed: a California King. We’re sleeping better (for the most part), and we’re no longer stealing each other’s blankies, since there’s plenty to go around. Then, in April, we bought furniture for our sunroom, so we can all properly enjoy the outdoors indoors.

In April, I got in my second-ever car accident — as with the first one, through no fault of my own. A semi driver didn’t judge the wet conditions properly and collided with me from behind on the expressway. That resulted in my first-ever trip to the ER, my first CT scan, my first case of whiplash, and my first dealings with injury claims representatives. I am now paranoid of not only being in another driver’s blind spot, but of leaving assured clear distance and being tailgated.

In May, we held our 2nd Annual Memorial Day Weekend Shindig. Ten adults and two toddlers hanging out in the sunroom on the new furniture, enjoying sausages and hot dogs and snacks and desserts and one another’s company. Good times.

In August, Toledo’s water supply got overrun with blue-green algae and its byproducts, rendering it unsafe to drink for a full weekend. Mass panic ensued all over town, of course. Aaron went out and got jugs of well water from a friend’s house, then handily found plenty of bottled water at the store, anyway.

All through the spring and summer, I got really into my gardening. I took two full days and two half-days off of work specifically for gardening purposes, in addition to spending many Saturday naptimes outside. I managed to rid my beds of the invasive Maypop vine (mostly) and get the front fence looking neat and tidy.

In September, after one of my last gardening days of the season, I got into some trumpet vine and had a severe allergic reaction. A trip to urgent care got me a steroid shot, plus steroid pills and antihistamines, and the knowledge that I am exceptionally allergic to trumpet creeper. Luckily, a co-worker’s son (who isn’t allergic) came to my house and removed it for me, taking it home and transplanting it at his own house.

Connor enjoyed his first real Halloween this year! On October 30th, he and I went to Harper’s house and handed out candy and enjoyed beautiful weather and a fire in the firepit. On Halloween, Daddy stayed home from work and we went trick-or-treating in our neighborhood in the rain. We only hit two houses, but Connor had a great time, all the same.

In November, I got new glasses for the first time in about four years. My prescription actually hadn’t changed much at all.

On Thanksgiving, we drove about 2.5 hours to Grammy’s apartment and had a Very Nice Time. Aaron’s brother came along, and Uncle Phil made a cameo appearance. It was the first time we’d seen my Mom’s apartment, and hopefully it won’t be the last.

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Seems that The Universe is intent on keeping things interesting for me. The past two Years In Review have been full of major life events; this year, while just a smidge less hectic than 2011 and 2012, still smacked of change. The major events, in chronological order:

My step-Gary died in January. I got the call from Mom on a Saturday, just as Aaron and I were heading out the door to go house-hunting. I flew down to Texas solo for the funeral the first weekend in February, and was glad I went.

Connor started daycare in February, two days a week, and thus began the endless series of ear infections from his exposure to the unwashed mini-masses. Aaron appreciated having a couple days a week to get normal sleep and get things done, and Connor appreciated getting to be social and learn new things.

We bought a new house in March, with more space for Connor to run around (indoors and out) and in a better school system. And lots of plants and flowers. And lots of room for get-togethers. Moving to a new house also meant moving Connor to a new daycare, which he loves.

My Mom moved back up to Ohio from Texas in July. I’ve seen her more this year than probably in the last three years combined. It’s been awesome; Connor really loves his Grammy.

I got into my first car accident in September. Everyone involved was OK, but the car needed a new paint job and a new wheel. And now I have a phobia of being in another person’s blind spot.

We sold our old house in late September, but not without some major speedbumps, including electrocuted contractors and copper pipe theft. We hope the new owners agree that the tranquil neighborhood outweighs all the neighbors’ leaves blowing into the yard in autumn and the distinct lack of snowplows in winter.

Connor had his first surgery in November, to get tubes put in his ears after having six ear infections in less than one year. The procedure went well, and the tubes seem to be helping immensely. Unrelated to the tubes, but under the category of medical specialists, we also learned that Connor is allergic to eggs and to our cat.

I got promoted in November, after six years at my current job.

Now for the fun part: analysis of the everyday stuff — photos, workouts, doctor visits, etc. Continue reading →