misplaced momma

I can’t believe we’re already over a week into the new year! I hope everyone had a very Happy New Years Eve and a great start to the New Year! And hopefully you found something to do for New Years Eve, even if you have kids and had to sit at home watching the ball drop.  It’s not about going out, but about being with people that you love, finding something that you like to do!

It’s funny but a couple people I talked to said they didn’t even watch the ball drop! That is the tradition I have to do every year!

This year my favorite person was with me, my baby Abby! Yes, she was up for her first new year! She woke up when we left our friends house and headed to the hotel around 10. She didn’t want to settle down until I went to bed too, and I wasn’t going to bed before the ball dropped! So we stayed up together while everyone else was having fun at the casino. But me and my baby had our own fun, and my first kiss of the new year was just perfect!

My New Years Kiss!

I’ve got 3 articles published for The Examiner! Check out my articles HERE.

Looks like I let time slip by me without answering the daily questions from Gwenbell!

December 19 Car ride. What did you see? How did it smell? Did you eat anything as you drove there? Who were you with?

The longest car ride was when we drove from FL to MI after my dad past away, with my then 2 month old! It was the longest trip ever! Then when we decided to move back to MI we had to make one more long trip! That’s 3 times we drove the 23 hour trip!

The most memorable moment was when we were lost in Atlanta. It was late and we were about to pull over for the night but we wanted to get through Atlanta first. We were tired, and hungry, and on edge from getting on the wrong highway and getting turned around trying to get back to the right place. And wouldn’t you know it, Abby had the messiest poopiest diaper EVER! It had leaked all over the place, she was covered! Her carseat was a mess.  She was screaming, and I was about in tears myself. I said, I dont care how much the hotel costs, we’re going to the first one we see! As soon as we got the room I had to put her in the sink to wash her down!

December 20 New person. She came into your life and turned it upside down. He went out of his way to provide incredible customer service. Who is your unsung hero of 2009?

Well, not completely new… but I think it counts if I saw her in a new light. It’s my step sister in law. I never really got a long with her all that much. But things changed when we came to MI and his family threw me a baby shower, and she was pregnant too. We just clicked, I think because we had something in common now. And since we moved her, she’s been a blessing! She’s shown me around to places I needed to get to, she’s watched Abby when I needed her to. She’s actually pretty much the only person I ever talk to or hang out with up here!  So she has been such a blessing to me, and I appreciate her a lot more now.

December 21 Project. What did you start this year that you’re proud of?

I’m writing more. Not necessarily on this blog, I’m still sort of slacking when it comes to that! But just writing in general.

December 22 Startup. What’s a business that you found this year that you love? Who thought it up? What makes it special?

Wubbanubs! Seriously, check it out of you have a baby, if you’re going to a baby shower or need a baby gift. BEST PACIFIER EVER!!! The babies can hold onto the animal so they don’t drop the pacfier half as much! And they’re the pacifiers you get from the hospital. These were the ONLY pacifiers Abby would take.

December 23 Web tool. It came into your work flow this year and now you couldn’t live without it. It has simplified or improved your online experience.

Picasa. I love making collages of pictures on there! I’ve made one collage for each month of Abby’s life.

December 24 Learning experience. What was a lesson you learned this year that changed you?

oh boy… that you can be a lot broker then you would ever imagine! That yes, there is a chance you could be scarping by, but you know what… Money isn’t everything, and you can get by. You may have to cut things out of your life you never thought you could, but when you’re forced to, you can realize what you can live without. And when you need it most, the money just seems to come your way. It’s a humbling experience and really tests you, but you can make it!

December 25 Gift. What’s a gift you gave yourself this year that has kept on giving?

How about life?? We created and I gave birth to my beautiful baby girl. She makes our lives worth living each and every day. She knows how to brighten our day when we think it can’t get any worse.

December 26 Insight or aha! moment. What was your epiphany of the year?

See Dec 24th answer

December 27 Social web moment. Did you meet someone you used to only know from her blog? Did you discover Twitter?

hm I discovered some mom blogger sites like mom logic and mom bloggers

December 28 Stationery. When you touch the paper, your heart melts. The ink flows from the pen. What was your stationery find of the year?

wow, I didn’t get anything new this year! but my favorite is some van gogh blank cards.

December 29 Laugh. What was your biggest belly laugh of the year?

Playing Catch Phrase with my family… see post here.

December 30 Ad. What advertisement made you think this year?

I always laugh at this commercial … but of course I can’t think of it now!! I hate that… I’ll update if I can remember it or if I see it again lol.

December 31 Resolution you wish you’d stuck with. (You know, there’s always next year…)

I dont make resolutions for the simple fact that I don’t stick with them. Why set myself up for disappointment?? LOL

CHALLENGE COMPLETE! WOO!

The other night our power went out at 530pm. Now the bad thing with that, being in Michigan in December is it’s Really cold outside! And no electricity means no heat!! When we were in FL and our power went out we had to worry about sweating to death with no a/c! But we could jump in the pool to cool down, or buy a battery operated fan if we really wanted to. One time I almost did, but luckily the electricity came back in time!

Being that it was only 20 degrees outside, and the later it gets the more the temperature drops, I was a little worried. We weren’t so worried about ourselves, we can bundle up with blankets when we go to sleep. But that is not safe for babies! So all I could do for Abby was put a onsie on under her PJ’s, but the warmest PJ’s on (fleece) and leave her socks on, which I normally do anyway because her feet tend to get cold without them. And I put her in her sleep sack.

I figured the heat had to come on sometime during the night because Consumers Energy said that a substation blew and 4800 ppl were without electricity in our city! So I knew they had to be diligently working on it! But I told my husband if he wakes up after we go to sleep check on her and i’ll stay up holding her with a blanket wrapped around us if she’s too cold. Well, I woke up and checked on her. I felt her cheek and it was cool but it wasn’t cold, so that was good. The only other thing that would be exposed were her hands, so i felt around in the dark for her hands… I found them nice and toasty underneathe her head!! What a smart, smart baby!! She kept her hands warm by putting them under her head! I was so proud lol.

Luckily the electricity kicked on at 1130pm. It was 6 hours without it! It didnt get too awfully cold, but I was happy I could actually sleep after that, knowing it was back on and I didnt have to worry about my Abby.

GwenBells challenge check it out here

December 18 Shop. Online or offline, where did you spend most of your mad money this year?

Oh Boy… Walmart?? lol. That’s where we grocery shop now! That’s about all the money we’ve been able to spend this year… I did buy a pair of jeans when we moved to Michigan from JCPenny for about $17. I didn’t need any in Florida, all I wore were shorts, capris or dress pants to work… who needs jeans in Florida? But actually, baby stuff is what we’ve bought the most of, we spent a lot of money in Target back in Florida… no targets up here That’s my favorite store too!! I miss it! haha.

But if you add up all the receipts I bet that walmart wins…Sad… I kinda hate that place…

Some songs are only good enough to be a favorite of the week, or the month, and then they’re just overplayed. Looking back on this past year, there are a few that jump out at me for being good, not just for the moment, but worthy of being in my list of top 10 of the year. Click the link below to find out who made the list!

Check out my recently published content on AC:

Top 10 Songs of 2009

Gwen Bell’s Challenge Dec 17th question…

December 17 Word or phrase. A word that encapsulates your year. “2009 was _____.”

HECTIC…. CRAZY…. LIFE CHANGING….

Refer back to my post about the major events of this year and you will see why!!

December 16 Tea of the year. I can taste my favorite tea right now. What’s yours?

I like green tea with mandarin Orange flavor. And I love to drink anything hot in my awesome Tinkerbell mug I got in Disney! (pictured below)

Ooops I got behind on the challenge! I’m doing Gwen Bell’s challenge and here are the questions to catch me up!

December 10 Album of the year. What’s rocking your world?

I would have to say my favorite song right now is Use Somebody by Kings of Leon. So if I could buy an album it might be that one, either that or Beyonce because I know I’ll like a lot of her songs!

December 11 The best place. A coffee shop? A pub? A retreat center? A cubicle? A nook?

Can I go back to Florida please!?!? This weather is killing me! I knew it would be the roughest winter, getting back to the cold, so I tried to brace myself… it’s sort of working but I’d still rather be in the warm sunshine! I had a cute little spot on the beach I liked to visit. It was kind of out of the way and in between a hotel and some houses so there was never a ton of people there, which I loved. And it was easy access, I didnt have to park far away, so it wasn’t a hassle.  I just had to drive kind of far to get there so I didnt go often, it was a special treat when I did go!

I loved just putting my feet in the sand, instant relaxation

December 12 New food. You’re now in love with Lebanese food and you didn’t even know what it was in January of this year.

Plantains! I was introduced when I first moved to FL in 07 by one of my Latin co-workers. She took me to a place called La Granja (something like that…) and they were gross! But then I went to visit a friend and she made them for us with this meal she made us for lunch, they were AWESOME! Here I thought I didnt like them but the way she made them just made me realize that I didnt like the way that resturant makes them. So I tried them again at a different resturant, now that I knew I liked them one way, and they were good there too. So that one place almost ruined it for me!

December 13 What’s the best change you made to the place you live?

umm…well we just moved this summer… so unpacking would probably be the best change haha.

December 14 Rush. When did you get your best rush of the year?

oh, I talked about this already in another question for this challenge… here… laughing so hard that you can’t control yourself… thats one of the best rushes for me, feels so good!

December 15 Best packaging. Did your headphones come in a sweet case? See a bottle of tea in another country that stood off the shelves?

I think it was this year…I wished I would have taken a pic of it too, but I didn’t. Rialeilani sent me a baby gift. It was a personalize blanket with a frog head with my daughters name on it (the theme for her room is frogs and ducks!). I’m pretty sure she bought it from someone on etsy. They folded it all cute to actually look like a frogs body, and it was in this cute plastic wrap bag with crinkled paper on the bottom and tied with pretty ribbons. It was adorable! I loved it!

Comedy with a little drama is what made television interesting this decade. Laugh at Friends. Catch some drama with House. Tune in to vote for America’s next Idol. These are just a few shows included in my top 10 list of the decade.

Read the full article by clicking the link below!

Check out my recently published content on AC:

Top 10 TV Shows of the Decade (2000-2010)