Oh What a Crazy 2020!

 

1. What did you do in 2020 that you have never done before?

Hmm... umm survive a pandemic and quarantine?! Help homeschool my kids? It was a crazy year! 

2. Did you keep your New Year's resolutions and will you make more for 2020?
I kept some of them, like reading a good amount of books, and spending a lot of time with family. Some things were nearly impossible, due to the pandemic. Arnold and I didn't go on our monthly date nights, and I didn't get to meet as many new people as I had wanted, through church. 


3. Did anyone close to you give birth in 2020?
My brother and sister-in-law had a baby! My 1sr nephew, Roman Alexander. :)


4. Did anyone close to you die in 2020? 
No one close. An old coworker sadly passed away due to cancer. And my parent's sweet dog Mindy, died. 

5. What states/countries did you visit this year?
The only place we went this year was to Charleston, to visit my new nephew and have a quick vacation. 


6. What would you like to have in 2020 that you lacked in 2019?
More hope. This year was filled with uncertainties, anxiety, and loneliness. I hope this next year is better. 

7. What date from 2020 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
The day I found my biological family. I had been searching forever, and finally it all came together. It was about 3 am one morning when I first saw my biological mother's face, and it was surreal. 

8. What was your biggest struggle in 2020?
Honestly, due to the pandemic, a lot was a struggle. Dealing with the kids doing remote learning. Wearing a mask everywhere we go. And not seeing our family and friends as much as we usually do. The holidays were different... everything this year was tough. 

9. Did you suffer any illness or injury in 2020?
We are SO thankful to God that none of our family have gotten covid or anything serious this year. We had a few minor illnesses here and there, but nothing major. I accidentally swallowed my crown, which was interesting :D


10. What was the best thing you bought this year?
A new dining room set!! It is gorgeous and sadly it was backordered so we still don't have it, but I can't wait. 

11. Whose behavior merited celebration?
I have been really impressed with my biological brother, Jamie. A lot of my family have been skeptical about talking to me, and he has been there every minute. He has talked to me, gotten me answers, supported me, and tried to connect me to other family members. I am so thankful for him. He's made this process a little easier on me. 

12. Whose behavior disappointed you?
I was hurt by a few people this year, but I don't want to get into details. Life will always throw some disappointments your way, and you have to learn to move on. 

13. Where did most of your money go?
Bills like usual. I also spent waaaay too much on amazon this year (blame it on the quarantine!! ;) 

14. What did you get really really excited about this year?
Aside from finding some biological family of course, I also was really, really excited about the birth of my nephew. He had a few medical issues, but he is perfectly healthy now! I also LOVED our trip to Charleston, and I also was thrilled we were able to do our home refinance. 

15. What song will always remind you of 2020?
"Run" by Collective Soul 

16. Compared to this time last year, are you: much happier, much nicer or richer?
I wouldn't say happier.. but definitely more grateful for things I have. Thankfully Arnold's job has thrived during this pandemic, so we are still doing fine there, too. 

17. What do you wish you had done more of? 
I wish I COULD have spent more time with my friends and extended family. 

18. What do you wish you had done less of?
Worried... like usual!!

19. Did you fall in love in 2020?
More in love with Hubby ;) 

20. What was your favorite TV Program in 2020?

Virgin River is very addicting. I also got sucked into The Home Edit :)

21. What was the best book you read this year?

My favorite books this year were probably The Tattooist of Auschwitz and The Powerful Purpose of Introverts. 


22. What was your greatest musical discovery this past year?
I became a little obsessed with Dan and Shay :) Annoyed the heck out of Hubby and Brooke ;) 

23. What did you want and get?

The one perk to this year was MORE time with the kids. They were home a lot more, and I got to be more involved with their school work and their personal lives. They are probably sick of me by now ;) 

24. What was the best movie you saw this year?
Umm, we didn't watch a ton of movies this year! Mostly stuff on Netflix or ones we have already seen. We did rent the new Scooby Doo movie one night with the kids. 

25.What did you do on your birthday and how old did you turn?
I turned 35 this year! I had a bday dinner at Dos Amigos with some friends and family. Alex and his wife got to come into town and celebrate this year which made it more special :) Mom made me her homemade lasagna like always! :) 

26. What one thing would have made your year more satisfying?

If my biological mother, Donna, would have agreed to talk to me. I am still praying about it, and we will see what God has for the new year! 

27. How would you describe your personal fashion statement this year?
Cute but comfy... jeans and cute tops mostly. Way more days were casual thus year. 

28. What kept you sane this year? 
Jesus, hubby, and friends!!

29. What celebrity did you fancy the most? 
Ken Jeong from Masked Singer was hilarious :) 

30. Who did you miss this past year?
I missed all my babies and my few friends when I left my job to stay with the kids 

31. Who were the best new people you met this year?
Well obviously my top person would be JAMIE!! :) I met so many people in this journey, including Trevor, Cindy, Peggy, Donnie, Connie, Gail, and Dennis. A lot of them are new family! :D

I also made some new church friends! I have enjoyed getting to kmow them. 

32. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned this year:
Never take things for granted. Before this year I didn't always take the time to remember how blessed we are for our health, our home, jobs, and time with people we love. We used to be able to gather in large groups with whoever we wanted. We used to hug everyone we saw, and exchange small talk at church on Sundays. We let the teachers who are qualified teach our kids. I won't take them for granted again, thats for sure! The point is, be thankful for everything and everyone you have in your life, because it could be taken away tomorrow. 

Christmas 2020!

 

My brother and his family came into town for a few days. Baby Roman is now 4 months old and was so much fun to play with. on Christmas Eve we hung out, watched our church service on the tv, ate a yummy dinner, and opened gifts. 

Mom loved all the snuggles with Roman. Actually, all of us did! Even my Grandpa, who is 88 was loving it. This was Roman's first trip to Grandma and Grandpa's house! 

We took our gingerbread house kit over to moms' because Arnold honestly HATES putting them together and we thought Uncle Alex would have more patience with the girls ;) They were having a lot of fun and doing great, but SOMEONE didn't pay attention to the directions ;) And the house fell completely flat! :D Oh well, there's always next year. They did enjoy eating all the candy! Next year we have planned to have a family competition of building them! 

3 Generations! We should have gotten mom in this picture too! 

I got a little too excited and bought Roman tons of gifts. I had so much fun, though. Poor little guy just couldn't hang, and fell asleep in the middle of all the present opening :D

Mom and Dad surprised us big time (i had no idea) and got us the Roomba! They have one and love it. We have already run it twice at our house, and its amazing how much it picks up. Poor Max and Sheldon are terrified of it though. Sheldon barks when it gets close to him, and Max just runs away :D Mom also got me the Pioneer Woman knife set I had been wanting! Dad just rolled his eyes.. he will never understand. 

Mom's big gift this year was a new puppy! Her and Dad's 15-year old dog, Mindy, passed away earlier this year. Mom had been very lonely lately, and always wanted another dog. Dad got in contact with some people in SC who had dachshund puppies and he got her one! Mom named her Willow, and she is adorable. Mom already has her in a collar with a little pink bow, and she been spoiled with lots of toys already (including from me! ;) She is very playful, and likes chewing on everyone's shoe laces, hiding toys under her dog bed, and chasing people around. She has really gotten attached to my dad and Caleb. She likes to lay in their laps and go to sleep. Poor thing won't know what to do now that all the Christmas chaos has calmed down! 

The girls wore their matching Simply Southern shirts. They said "True Love was Born in a stable."

Christmas morning was a little different this year, because we didn't go ANYWHERE this year. We stayed in our PJs, and everything was low-key, which I think Arnold loved. Rachel got an ipad, a knockoff apple pen, and an app to draw with. She also loves playing Roblox these days. Brooke is getting a room redo, and we plan to get her new blinds, curtains, etc. 

Arnold was easy to buy for-- just got all guitar-related stuff! Two LIFE IS GOOD shirts that have guitars on them, guitar socks, guitar pics, a guitar sign, and a little guitar man pen holder for his desk at work. 2 of his gifts didn't make it here in time, but I'll just save them for his birthday, which is on New Years! 

Caleb got a giftcard to buy Xbox games, and a lot of new room stuff. His favorite color is red, and I got him new red bedding, a red lamp, red alarm clock, red hamper, and a red MINI FRIDGE! It will hold 6 cans at a time, and we also got him abig pack of root beer, which is his favorite. I should have thought this through though, we may never get him out of his room now! ;) Oh, and the shirt he is wearing came from his Aunt Christina and Uncle Alex, and it is SO HIM!! :)

For the first year since I married Arnold, we did not go to his parents' house for Christmas. His Mom is very scared of all this covid stuff, and didn't want a gathering. She cooks every year, so she went ahead and cooked, and packed it all up and sent it over to us by Arnold's dad. That was so nice to have a meal ready after opening presents, and it was yummy! Arnold's dad came in and stayed for a little while, while the kids' opened their gifts from them. This year was so much different than normal, and while it made me a little sad, we still had a great time with family and made memories. 

Strange Facts About Me!

 

1. I have big scars on both of my earlobes. I was wearing dangly earrings and accidentally ripped both of them open when I was little.

2. My favorite Golden girl is Sophia. My favorite Friends character is Ross.

3. I basically have the palate of a child. I can be picky. I don't like meat on a bone. I don't like my foods touching.

4. I am extremely double jointed. I can move both feet all the way outwards and inwards. I can pull my fingers and thumb back very far. I accidentally gave myself tennis elbow once because the dr told me I over extend my legs and arms when I don't even notice it. 

5. I was in honors classes in high school. I played clarinet but wasn't very good at it. I was on the newspaper staff for awhile. I skipped the day in biology when they dissected frogs.

6. I was married at 20, had Brooke at 21, Caleb at 22, and Rachel at 23. No none of it was really planned out. Yes, I worked fast :P

7. I was close to heart failure in my mid 20's. My heart was functioning less than 40%. I was under watch by a cardiologist. Thankfully my heart is back to 100% function now!

8. I met one of my very best friends in highschool, when she was 14 and I was 16. Next year we celebrate 20 years of friendship. We've been together longer than Arnold and I ;)

9. I have never seen Star Wars. I don't see the appeal. I have watched lots of Mandalorian with Caleb and Arnold. Only for baby Yoda sightings ;)

10. I have such terribly, horrible handwriting. It's like chicken scratch. That is why I am so thankful I can do a lot of work and writing on computers ;)

11. I had an imaginary friend named Elizabeth when I was a kid. My middle name is Elizabeth. We also gave Brooke the middle name, after me.

12. Our dachshund Sheldon is named after Sheldon on The Big Bang Theory. Our daughter was NOT named after Rachel on Friends. I just liked the name :)

13. I am a huge nerd. Of course everyone knows I read for fun, and record and rate everything I read. I really enjoy writing on this blog. I love learning anything and everything I can. I love playing board games, especially trivial pursuit-type games. I get irritated when people use incorrect grammar.

14. I do NOT see the appeal of the following-- coffee, leggings, designer bags like Coach (too blah and boring for me), wearing dresses, Tik Tok, The Bachelor, beer.

15. There are a few things on a bucket list I'd like to do before I turn 40-- Go on a cruise. Get a massage. Meet my biological family. Shoot a gun. Ride in a limo. Meet the Pioneer Woman (haha).

16. Our Cat named Max used to be named Molly. We seriously thought she was a girl for the first year. It's hard to tell with cats!!!!!! :D

17. Things I am irrationally afraid of-- bugs, snakes, rodents, clowns, small spaces, getting lost, not being able to breathe, driving in the heavy rain. Things I am NOT scared of-- dogs & thunderstorms.

18. I have bitten my nails since I was a little kid. I know it's bad. I know its gross. I have tried to stop. I don't see myself stopping ever. 

19. I cannot and will not parallel park.

20. I always wanted 4-6 kids. I would have had at least one more, but we stopped after Rachel due to serious complications.

21. I cannot stand wearing socks in bed. I have to sleep with the fan on. 

22. I did not have morning sickness with my pregnancies. (dont hate me!!) I never threw up. I did get very nauseous whenever I got near laundry detergent though! 

23. My college roomate, Karen, is cousins with Clay Aiken :D

24. I am pretty near sighted. I had to get glasses when I was 8. I am supposed to wear glasses when driving. 

25. I didn't get my first cavity or speeding ticket until my 30s.