 |
| apple juice toast |
 |
| midnight 2012-13 |
[I wrote this in early January and forgot about it!]
It’s time for my
second annual reflection based on Simple Mom’s “20 Questions for a New Year’s
Reflection”. I copied the exact questions here, but go get the free printable from Simple Mom.
These are all
answered from my perspective, but I made Matthieu jump in on questions 5, 6,
and 7.
1. What
was the single best thing that happened this past year?
telling my husband that I
am pregnant
2. What
was the single most challenging thing that happened?
financial fall-out as a
result of moving and under-employment
3. What
was an unexpected joy this past year?
forming new friendships,
growing others, and reuniting with old friends
4. What
was an unexpected obstacle?
hormonal imbalance causing
months of emotional and physical challenges
5. Pick
three words to describe this past year.
Anna: transitions, toddler, compromise
Matthieu:transition, toddler, poor
(Uncanny!)
6. Pick
three words your spouse would use to describe your past year—don’t ask them; guess
based on how you think your spouse sees you. (If you’re not married, have fun
guessing the answers from other friends and family, or just skip this
question.)
Anna: I think
Matthieu would describe my 2012 as: fun,
discouraging, changes
Matthieu: I think
Anna would describe my 2012 as:graduation, career, sexy
7. Pick
three words your spouse would use to describe their past year—again, without
asking.
Anna: I think
Matthieu would describe his 2012 as: exhausting,
exciting, milestones
Matthieu: I think
Anna would describe her 2012 as:bootylicious,difficult, delayed
8. What were the best books you read this year?
The Adventures of Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne (translated into Finnish), Scripture Stories for Children (LDS from
the early 90s), Ten Little Goblins by
Pamela Jane Manning, The History of Love
by Nicole Krauss, Bossypants by Tina
Fey, Grandpa Green by Lane Smith, Jade by Taru Mรคkinen
9. With whom were your most
valuable relationships?
I don’t like to name
friends for fear of leaving someone out, but my Utah County girls know who they
are. I always value my relationships with my parents and brothers and sister
and all my in-laws. My husband and daughter are sacred to me, and I spent more
time (quantity and quality) with Alexandra than anyone this year, lucky me.
10. What was your biggest personal change from January to December
of this past year?
I started reading more.
11. In what way(s) did you grow emotionally?
I became more empathetic in
some ways.
12. In what way(s) did you grow spiritually?
I allowed myself to self-evaluate
my spiritual state candidly.
13. In what way(s) did you grow physically?
I grew an avocado-sized
baby!
14. In what way(s) did you grow in your relationships with others?
I got two more nieces; yay!
15. What was the most enjoyable part of your work (both
professionally and at home)?
I learned a lot about editing,
writing, networking, and blogging, and about my strengths/areas needing
improvement in my freelance editing/writing/translating work. I get
satisfaction out of organizing my home.
16. What was the most
challenging part of your work (both professionally and at home)?
I would like to work more (work
with more clients and write a good, monetized blog), but my progress is slow
and I feel frustrated. I resent, procrastinate, and feel guilty about
procrastinating housework.
17. What was your single biggest time waster in your life this
past year?
Lazy escapism via the
interweb.
18. What was the best way you used your time this past year?
reading to Alexandra
19. What was biggest thing you learned this past year?
You can feel joy and sorrow
at the same time, and probably will the rest of your life. Fight for the joy to
dominate.
20. Create a phrase or
statement that describes this past year for you.
The ebbs and flows are frustrating, but the river
is still moving forward.
I made up an abbreviated version for Alexandra and answered on her behalf.
1. What skills did you practice most this year?
complex sentences, vocabulary, and narration;
praying; climbing; hurrying; group play; persuasion; eating with fork and spoon
and drinking from regular cups; dressing and undressing self (with a little
assistance); all pottying skills (but refusing to use it); beautiful singing
voice; memorizing songs and books and sayings; making up words, copying/being
copied, tickling and other silliness for humor
2. How big are you?
36” [91.4 cm] (tall enough to ride some “real”
rides at the Mall of America amusement park); 30 pounds [13.6 kgs]; hair
halfway down back
3. In what ways are you more mature emotionally?
participatory (social) play; expressing
frustration, sadness, anticipation, regret, and gratitude; empathy and
comforting others; taking/giving/waiting for turns
4. What did you enjoy most about daily life?
reading; watching shows; going to the playground;
playing with grandparents, aunts/uncles/relatives, peer-friends and cousin-friends
5. What was most challenging about daily life?
when mom is on the computer for long stretches
of time and when dad is at work/school for long hours; trying really hard to do
something but not mastering it quickly enough for own high standards
6. What are your catch phrases?
“I’m Woody!” “I’m a princess!” “Give me [ ].” “Can you read it, please?” “I want to [whatever someone else just
mentioned]!”and endless talking about anything from goats to commanding dogs to
colors to categories of vehicles, etc.
April 2012:
 |
| moving out of our apartment of 3 years (we were sad) |
October 2012:
 |
| Matthieu's 30th birthday party (Big Bang Theory theme) |
