Tuesday, January 1, 2013

What a difference a year (and change) makes

**Full discloser - Foul language ahoy!

I cracked open my blog after reading through a friend's.  I guess I've been pretty lax.  Over a year has gone by since I've posted anything.  Yikes!  I know the reason - mobile kid, longer commute, work that doesn't allow personal internet usage much beyond the basic sites - but still.  Small excuses when considering the record I was trying to keep of my family.

I think the best way to catch up is a short list of things that have happened since the last post.

*ahem*

September 2011
Craig started a new job.  It was retail.  It paid crap.  It was not in his field.  BUT!  It was for a good company.  It was money.  It was not the shitty emotional back-and-forth that was the church "family" of the past two years.

October 2011
I started a new job.  It paid less.  The commute was longer.  Still not in my field.  BUT!  It was for a good company.  It had lots of growth potential.  It allowed me to cut the last tie binding our family to the most fascinating/fucked-up/manipulative/self-promoting families I have ever been in contact with.  There are days I miss the drama but being removed from that is SO much better for my blood pressure.

I also interviewed for a promotion at my new job but didn't get it.  It was good practice and it gave me focus to keep trying.

November 2011
I got really lucky and started working from a closer office of the company for about 6 weeks.  My commute shortened considerably right around the holidays.  So lucky!

December 2011
I interviewed for a promotion with my company and got it.  Baby steps!

Ella's first truly interactive Christmas.  She loved the lights and requested The Twelve Days of Christmas with John Denver and the Muppets every day during the season.  Fantastic!

January 2012
A dear friend of ours lost her mother.  She and her sister offered to rent us her mother's house for an astoundingly wonderful rate.  We were able to give our notice to the apartment complex and get all of the moving items sorted.  It was such a relief to know we'd be moving out of that place.  There were a lot of grateful tears.

February 2012
I started my new position.  Longer commute in miles, shorter in time.  More more step up the ladder!

March 2012
We moved into our new place!  Moving is always a pain but so well balanced with the sweetness I felt at sitting in the back yard after dark listening to quiet neighborhood noises while my husband worked and my daughter slept.

Deb and I completed our first 5k - Cove to Clover.  We walked it but what a walk!  The first mile is a ridiculous grade up.  It was fantastic and we set the goal to run it in 2013.

Ella's second birthday was a low-key affair with just a few friends.  She started using the potty on and off.

April 2012
Parent visit!  Lots of yard work, outdoor time, and happy times.  Potty no go - not even the grandma could help.

Craig got a promotion!  No more retail!  His shift changed and we started to see a lot more of him.  Bliss.

Allison and Jason got engaged!  They also asked Craig and I to be in the wedding.  Plans were quickly changed and made to make it to Pennsylvania in time.

May 2012
I completed my training and arrived on my team and on the floor.  Pretty cool and a little bit daunting.

June 2012
I am nothing but a pest.  I set up an Individual Development Plan and began to pester my boss about mentoring opportunities and job shadowing to start preparing for another promotion.  He wasn't the most supportive initially so I found my own mentor seen during my own personal time.  Eventually my boss came around and set me up with a couple more opportunities.  I also signed up for the first of 9 courses in a designation for insurance.  Baby steps.

July 2012
Company trip to corporate!  I was able to fly out the weekend before and visit my family in Indiana for a few days.  So much fun!  It was a mini-vacation.  My parents flew up to help Craig out by keeping an eye on Ella.

Sunday School family cookout and Waterfront Parade.  Ella loved the toe-tow truck but was terrified of the Seafair Pirates (though she talked about them non-stop for about a month.)

August 2012
Pennsylvania vacation!  We flew out for Alli's wedding and got to introduce Ella to a lot of family in much too short of a time.  It was so much fun and so stinking hot!

September 2012
Potty time success!  The month of September Ella was doing great!  And then it began to go downhill.

October 2012
By October, she was flat-out refusing to use the potty.  She also passed the stomach bug around the family on Halloween.  On the bright side, we had an awesome third annual visit to Craven Farms to pick a pumpkin and she made a really stinkin' cute ladybug!

New car!  My beloved VW started bleeding hundred dollar bills and finally had to be put out of its misery.  Now we have a car that can actually hold our family plus other things.  Woot!

Ella fell in love with Minnie and Mickey Mouse - big time.

November 2012
Where to begin!  I passed my first course in my designation.

I interviewed for another promotion and got the job!

Ella and I flew to California for Thanksgiving to spend some time with my family.  We left Craig to his own devices - he gets the BEST HUSBAND EVER award for agreeing to be alone on Thanskgiving.

December 2012
Ella gave everyone the stomach bug again - jeez I hate throwing up!

Finished sewing the Christmas tree skirt just in time for Santa!

I finally admitted to myself that I am failing in my weight control goals and I found a doctor and began a dialogue.  I don't know where it's headed but I feel like I'm on the right track.

Ella is officially potty-trained!  We had a UTI scare mid-month and Craig and I made the executive decision to pull the pull-up/diaper plug cold turkey.  She's 2 weeks in and going strong with only a few accidents.

Santa came and came big to the Falvo household this year.  It was a Minnie Christmas!  We spent the holiday with friends and just reveled in Ella's new grasp of holiday songs - she's still singing Rudolph and Frosty all over the house.


Other notable mentions: Our Sunday School class is the highlight of my Sundays - I love the families we see.  Craig's in the process of figuring out a group of his own and another friend has a family breakfast once a month that's on hiatus now as she's due to have her second kiddo any day now.

And here we are, January 1, 2013.  Last year was unexpectedly wonderful.  2009 was the abruptness of moving and acclimating.  2010 was a year of baby that ended in the shit storm that was the church.  2011 was survival.  I was so happy when 2011 ended and I could say a giant "Fuck You!" to it.  I didn't expect much of 2012 and it was wonderful.  New friends.  New jobs.  New home.  More breathing room.

I don't know what to think about 2013.  I know that now that we're a bit more secure financially I need a few new goals.  I think/hope 2013 will be a year of personal and family growth.  With less time spent worrying over where the next car repair or dentist bill is going to come from, we can spend a bit more time thinking of family activities, personal goals, etc.

Goals for 2013
1. Health: I'm going to jog a 5k, drop some weight, and start weight training again.

2. Crafting: I'm going to make a summer dress for Ella and a sewing machine cover to replace the cut open pillowcase I currently use.

3. Hobbies:  I'm going to start writing again.  I'm going to blog more.  I'm going to figure out how to make damn good biscuits instead of my current hockey pucks.

4. Intellect: I'm going to pass 4 courses toward my designation.  I'm going to read through the works of Kurt Vonnegut.

5. Family: Craig and I are going to try and date night it up a bit more.  I'm going to take it on myself to plan one family outing a quarter (at LEAST).  We have ocean, mountains, urban, and rural.  We need to get out more.

6. Friendship: I'm going to reach out to a few more people at church and work I'd like to know better.  I'm going to try and set up an on-going game night with our close friends to keep connected and get some use of Craig's games.  I'm going to visit the new friends with babies to get my baby fill and make sure they feel loved and connected while going through the sleep-deprived isolation that is the first few months of a mother's existence.

It's a big list but it's a good one.  :)  Happy New Year!  It's good to be back!




No comments:

Post a Comment