2013 Greatest Hits

Oh, Baby!
Babyface continues to be the light of my life.  He does adorable things every single day.  Like trying to hug a moving cat.  Asking for a giggle (bagel).  Trying to catch bubbles. Babyface is a full blown toddler who talks up a storm and makes his wishes known.  He definitely looks like a little boy now.  He had his first haircut this year and it was followed by four more.  We continued taking our hippie parenting classes, with My Heart's Desire attending some of the classes.  Since I was home with Babyface in 2013, I found some groups on Meetup that were a good match.

The first Meetup event that I went to was a playdate at someone's house.  As I was bundling up Babyface and packing the baby bag, My Heart's Desire asked, "You're just going to show up to a stranger's house with our baby?" Yup.  That's exactly what I did and I'm so glad because Babyface and I were both able to have fun and make some friends. In 2013 I went to more than 40 events with the group.

Books

I read a lot of books that I liked this year, but I can't say that I really loved any of them.  I love to listen to books and have been getting them on CD from the library for years.  Then I figured out how to download audiobooks through the library consortium and listen to them on my iPhone.  What I do love is my subscription to Audible.  After several friends raved about how much they liked it, I signed up for a free trial, listened to my two free books and the rest is history.

Furiously Typing
I did more writing in 2013 than in the previous few years combined.  I worked on some existing prose and wrote some new poetry and prose.  I got into a groove and once I started writing, I started having more and better ideas.

I ambitiously signed up for National Novel Writing Month and wrote 15,000 words, not in the ballpark of the goal, but a respectable amount of writing for one month.  Midway through November I was offered a job and that shifted my priorities immediately.  In addition to all of the furious typing, I also submitted 16 pieces for consideration.  One was accepted and I'll post a link when it goes live.

Family Tradition
We maintained our family traditions of our Independence Day barbeque, getting Babyface's picture taken regularly, and My Heart's Desire taking Babyface to get his picture taken with Santa.

It's All Relative

Rye on a cheetah

This was another big year for family visits.  My parents visited several times and it's so great to watch them with Babyface.  My brother's daughter was born in March and I got to meet her when she was still teeny-tiny.

She's so light!

I saw my sister's daughter Rye twice this year, once in February and once at Thanksgiving.  Rye's birthday is in November and one of the first things she asked me was why I wasn't at her birthday.  My sister swears she didn't tell her to ask that.

My in-laws visited a couple of times to love on Babyface.  Both of my sisters-in-law were married in November which equaled two family extravaganzas.  

We also traveled to Florida to celebrate Christmas with Babyface's oldest relative, his great-great-aunt Auntie.  She is 102 years old.  Auntie was My Heart's Desire's honorary Grandmother since his passed away when he was small.  She was even old when My Heart's Desire was young! It's really special to see Babyface with Auntie.

Healthy Living
To my immense surprise, I gave up sugar in August. It remains challenging. I've never felt better.  I also took a healthy living class that was very valuable.  And I took advantage of free coaching and had several personal sessions.  I'm feeling good about my healthy habits.

Guilty Pleasure
Lying in bed, reading magazines, drinking a cup of tea, while My Heart's Desire takes care of Babyface.

Thrift
I am no stranger to the thrift shops and used bookstores in my area.  If I can get it for a song, I'm very happy indeed.  I also went to a slightly overwhelming children's consignment sale at the fairgrounds and scored some great stuff, including Babyface's Santa costume. 
The local library used bookstore sells children's books for $.50.  Which is where I got many books for Babyface, including his favorite, The Very Hungry Caterpillar. I can recite it by heart.

Local Getaway
When my mom visited, she told me she was considering staying in a hotel since we have a pretty full house.  Then she offered to stay at our house and let My Heart's Desire and I stay at a hotel for a few nights.  We jumped at the chance!

We spent the days with my mom and Babyface, then My Heart's Desire and I had dinner together and stayed over at a hotel just a few miles from our house.  It's so lovely to sleep without worrying about hearing the baby.  It was a wonderful gift.

I have a friend who works at a hotel chain and we got the room at the friend price.  The thrifty apple did not fall far from the thrifty tree.