Lessons Learned

Happy New Year My Friends!

I hope this entry finds you happy and healthy after the holiday season.  A week into the new year, I find myself reflecting back on 2011 with mixed emotions.  2011 was a good year, a challenging year, a fun year and a tough year in many ways.  Here are just a few of the lessons I learned.

1. I CAN survive a plane ride!  What you may not know about me is I am deathly afraid to fly.  It has nothing to do with motion sickness, but more to do with the fear of death.  What I realized this last year was it's actually about the lack of control I have over the situation. (I know that many of you will be shocked to hear I have control issues!)  But my Mom and I went to New York in December and I got on the plane, got settled and had a really good flight.  It helped that I had Danny's iPod and could watch The Hangover (the only movie the little punk has on the iPod!) I realized that as long as I can stay focused on a task like the movie or reading my Kindle that I was ok.  Might not seem like a big deal to many of you, but this was a giant step for me.  And my mom will verify this story...I did good Mom!!

2.  I love to bake! We all know that I am NO domestic goddess.  Cooking, cleaning, laundry..hate it all! However, I spent a lot of time in December baking cookies and cupcakes for things at the playhouse and I quickly realized that I enjoyed it.  Imagine my surprise when I got up at 7:00 on a Saturday morning because I was excited to make cupcakes?!  I still HATE to cook, but making sweet treats is so fun (and a fantastic way to keep my smokin' hot body smokin'..HA!) Be sure to tune into the food Network for my new show called, "Eat My Cupcakes" (random thought....If I ever start a band I would like the name to be 'Who Ate My Poptart")

3. I'm almost a hoarder:  Almost is the key word here.  When you have lived on a limited budget for most of your married life, you have a hard time getting rid of things.  The thought is that you will use it eventually or someone you know might need it eventually.  Now that we are a 2 income household, we've been trying to clean out the basement and garage. Holy hell we have a lot of crap!  Thank god my husband likes to get shit done.  Put him on a task and he rocks!  He's also very good at saying things like, we don't need it and no one will want it.  The amount of "stuff' is overwhelming, but we are tackling the clutter one day at a time.  Now, please don't think that we sit on stacks of old pizza boxes or we have to find a corner of the bedroom to sleep in, it's really the basement and garage that need help!  I actually have furniture and you can see my floors and countertops (well...most of the time).

4.  Relationships are hard:  They take time and take a lot of work. And I'm talking all relationships.  Parents, spouse, kids, co-workers, friends....all are a work in progress and need attention.  I am lucky to have a lot of great relationships, but I admit there are some that are more work than others.  I tend to get easily frustrated with people and can often be selfish.  I need to take time to foster all the relationships in my life, good or difficult.  I really do believe that God brings people into your life for a reason and some might be there to challenge you.  Now that my kids are a little older, I hope to work on the relationships in my life.  To all my family and friends, know that I love you and I am thankful for you.  I know having a relationship with me can be tough.  Even though I really do have an awesomely super cool personality,  I know I can be high maintenance. Thanks for hanging in there with me!

5.  My kids are pretty great!  No one wants to hear people bragging about their kids, but mine are rock stars!  Danny, Abby and Tommy are the lights in my life (Abby is apparently the "noodle of light"!) All of them have a great sense of humor (they get that from me), are kind-hearted (also one of my better qualities) and are wickedly sarcastic (totally Brian).  Danny is definitely the class clown, but has a heart of gold.  He would do anything for a friend and has a deep faith that I admire.  I will miss him more than he knows this fall (yep....I'm tearing up a little). He makes me laugh and I really like him as a person.  Abby is spitfire (and I mean that in a good way) who puts her all into everything she does.  She can be very sweet (Danny would disagree with this statement) and her talent never ceases to amaze me.  Tommy is our little Bubba.  He is as sweet as he is cute. But he's also starting to come out of his shell and is really funny!  He's always willing to help around the house (the other 2, not so much) and the Swiffer is his favorite "toy".

6.  I'm addicted to The Real Housewives!  I can't help it.  Those ladies are one fantastically awesome train wreck to watch!  I am always amazed at how horrifically they treat one another but it's so entertaining!  I love all seasons (with the exception of DC...those crazy White House crashers were one of the couples and they took crazy to a whole new level!)  I like to think of myself as a real housewife.  I think Real Housewives of the CV (Cedar Valley) would be a major hit.  Come tape my family!  Watch as we sit around watching TV and eating chips.  Watch me spend 2 hours at Target (that store rocks...you know you love it), watch me scrub my toilet with an SOS pad because it's been a few days and it's exceptionally gross (we've all been there, so don't judge me).  I know the show would be a huge success.  Hell, we could tape it ourselves and post it on YouTube. Who's with me?!

7.  I need to let things go:  I am an overthinker.  I tend to dwell on comments and examine why and how they were said.  I spend a lot of time rehashing these comments and I make myself crazy in the process.  I need to not take everything as a personal attack.  I need to remember that people say things they don't always mean (of course, I don't ever do this.....) and that sometimes things are said out loud that are better left unsaid.  I need to realize that not everyone will like me (not sure why, I'm pretty awesome) and that's it's ok if someone disagrees with me (but for the record, I'm usually right!). I need to get over some of the grudges I am holding on to and start the year fresh.  Time to look ahead and stop looking back!

8.  Being an adult sucks sometimes!  Remember your parents telling you that you shouldn't be in such a hurry to grow up....man were they right!  Being an adult means bills, jobs, health issues, insurance crap, car trouble, broken appliances, a load of laundry is always waiting, dishes are always in the sink, cooking, cleaning, etc.....and then add the title of parent to that and it's a whole other set of issues, worries and stresses.  If life were like kindergarten I would be in heaven.  Coloring, playtime, snacks, recess and naps sounds pretty good these days!  Don't get me wrong, being an adult has it perks (example, Moscato wine) and I can get into R rated movies!

9.  I really would like to be a writer:  So writing this blog has made me remember how much I love to write.  I have been writing in a journal everyday since I was 16.  Writing is my therapy.  I seem to express myself better on paper.  I'm not always comfortable talking about my thoughts and feelings with everyone. Writing gets it all out of my head.  I know the things I have to say won't change the world, but I hope it might make even one person stop and think or make someone smile or laugh even if it's just for a moment.  My dream would be to turn this into some sort of career...I just haven't figured out how to do it just yet (maybe Anderson Cooper could help me!)

10.  Speaking of Anderson.....he is NEVER going to call.....damn it!  As you know I am mildly infatuated with Anderson Cooper (he is so nice to look at and so smart....sigh).  Despite almost constant stalking on Twitter (did I say stalking? I meant a few comments every once in awhile, or a few comments every day...or like 20 on New Year's Eve), Anderson has not returned my love.  It's sad really, because I am certain we would be great friends!  I know a ton about current events.  I enjoy a good political debate. And I love The Real Housewives! (Anderson is a huge housewives fan.  NeNe from the ATL is his fave!)  So we are basically the same person...although he quite rich and very famous (I'm infamous....same thing!)  Perhaps Anderson will one day stumble upon my humble little blog and see what he's been missing.  Anderson....if you're reading this....tweet me @anniezeets :)

So there you have it...what I learned in 2011.
One of my favorite quotes comes from the movie "Hope Floats" and it really sums up life.

"Beginnings are scary, endings are usually sad, but its the middle that counts the most."
Let's all make "the middle" count this year!
Stay golden my friends!

Annie