Looking Back, Looking Ahead

I was tagged by Nicole over at her (very most excellent) blog, Living. And I am writing this in advance so I can sleep in, relax and basically vegetate on New Year's Day.

Directions: Copy and paste these directions and place them at the beginning of your post. Fill in the categories with your own answers. Tag three other people at the end of your post to complete this meme. Don’t forget to link back to the person who tagged you!



Three joyful things that happened to you in 2008:

1. I spent meaningful time with my Nan.
2. I survived hockey season 2007 - 2008
3. I got a job unexpectedly that I absolutely love.


Three things you learned in 2008:

1. That marriage takes alot of work, even an "easy" one.
2. That I was very ready to quit being a homeschooling mother.
3. That all those people who said "it" would get better with time were right. If better means more bearable that is.


Three things that made you laugh in 2008:

1. My crazy teenager with his snarky sense of humor.
2. My boys' antics on the trampoline together.
3. A good friend who can always make me laugh. Usually at myself. Doofus.

Three things that made you cry in 2008:

1. Hormones. Pretty much I am blaming them for all my tears.
2. Grief over past losses, grief over FEAR of future losses.
3. Watching Obama win.

Three things that made you smile in 2008:

1. My Family
2. My Friends
3. Diet Coke

Three things you will never forget about 2008:

1. Our trip to St. Louis
2. Hearing the sound of my husband screaming over his phone that he had gotten hurt in an motorcycle accident and to come help him.
3. My grandmother.


Three of your nicest memories from 2008:

1. My birthday.
2. Girls Nights Out. All of them! With all the girls.
3. Time with my sister. I really value our adult friendship

Three changes you made in 2008:

1. After 11 and a half years I went back to work.
2. Morning Coffee became the favorite part of my day
3. I started blogging


Three accomplishments you achieved in 2008:

1. I survived mentally and emotionally through some very tough times.
2. I am employed, and liking it.
3. Making choices to take care of me, more often at least.


Three things you are looking forward to in 2009:

1. "Big Medical Procedure" upcoming in the spring.
2. Being the mother of TWO teenagers.
3. My fifteenth wedding anniversary.

And so I tag ... Debi P at My Boys ... Our Lives, Andi at Today's The Day They Give Babies Away and Lea at Everything but the Kitchen Sink

A little more to know about me

'A gossip is one who talks to you about others, a bore is one who talks to you about himself; and a brilliant conversationalist is one who talks to you about yourself.'

My first meme ...

Its supposed to be 6 quirky things about me, but seriously I am not that quirky. So how about 6 things about me you didn't know? In no particular order ...

1) I love to text. Love getting texts. Am a quick texter. Seriously, why talk when you can text?

2) The rocking chair in my living room is my favorite possession. It was my great grandmother's. My mother's water broke while she was sitting in it when she was pregnant with me. Its old. Its ugly. Its creaky. And its MINE. It's so closely tied to my kids idea of being mothered that when Caden was little and sad he's cry "rock me louder mommy" - Knowing we'd end up in the chair together rocking our hearts out.

3) I have 5 friends from high school (hi girls!) and we are in contact almost daily. We have our own website. We do girls' trips once a year. We are as different as can be (right wing, left wing, SAHM, lawyer, counsellor, American, Canadian). But we are sister-friends. The strange thing? In high school, we weren't that close. Actually, a couple of us hated each other. Sometimes life is strange.

4) I have several hundred cousins. My maternal grandmother is one of 17 kids. My other grandparents each had at least 5 siblings. If you have a relative from Maillardville, we are related. Of course, its bonus points if you know where Maillardville is because it isn't really found on any map. I never, ever escape relatives. I registered Greg for high school this year, his school counsellor grew up with my dad. In Mallairdville.

5) I lived in the Philippine jungle for 4 months when I was 18. I got typhoid. Strangely, despite having travelled all over Asia, the Caribbean, the USA and Mexico I have never been east of Saskatchewan in Canada.

6) Between kindergarten and grade 8 I attended 11 schools. I never went back to the same school twice, and twice switched schools half way through the year. This also takes into account the fact I skipped a grade. We moved a lot. My mom was very picky? Really I don't understand the logic. Half way through grade 8 I moved to the school I graduated from. My first day of grade 9 was the first time in my entire life I wasn't the "new girl" on the first day of school. I will never forget that feeling.

So, anything else you want to know about me?