2007: Year In Review

Fifth annual edition (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006). Holy mackerel. I’ve been at this for quite a while, eh?

Let’s start with this year’s highlights. But wait. Before that, let’s start with a few goals for this post.

2007 Year In Review Blog Post Goals:

Be comprehensive
Be lighthearted
Finish the fucker before midnight.

We’ll revisit this list at the end of the entry to see if we achieved our goals. And by we, I mean I, obviously. I hope this is not too tedious for you.

Now, onward! Highlights of Ought Seven!

Cormac’s arrival. I mean, double-duh. New baby tops any list, especially when the baby is as scrumptious and edible as Mac. Mackie. Mick-Mack. Mick-Mack Paddy-whack give a dog a bone. Big Mac, Mac attack, Cory-Macky Cor-Mack. I love the little nooger.

Sewing. I sewed the FUCK out of that pregnancy, I tell you what. Making my own maternity clothes, sewing bags and quilts and all sorts of shit. I got pretty good, too. And I had the time with which to sew. It was really great.

Fixing up the house. Again, still, more. This 1951 Cape Cod will never be finished, but with the boys’ room and the kitchen touched up, it sure is a nicer place to live.

Now, I ask myself, did I meet my goals from last year? Huh? Did I? Huh? Did I? Well, Myself, let’s look back and see.

Either save a bunch of money or see about moving to a new house. (A.K.A. Supersecret Plan of Ought Seven!) Also, accomplishing all the little things that go along with that.

Safely bring kid2 to term and then to his or her first birthday, which now that I think about it, won’t be til six months into ‘08.

Continue to keep my family happy and healthy and taken care of. That’s a lame goal but a sincere one.

Well! No, half-yes, and to my detriment but pride, yes.

We were really hoping this was going to be the year we moved home. Home to his hometown or home to mine, out of Baltimore and the crowds and the grit and the crap. Home to help and love and support and pierogis. It didn’t happen. The market for public school teachers in Ohio and Pennsylvania is tighter than — well, it’s tighter than an inappropriate metaphor, I’ll give you that. We got Iain certified to teach in PA but the jobs just aren’t there unless you’re willing to be a long-term (no benefits) substitute, and that’s no job for the head of the family. So we’re going to work on it again this year.

This was also the year I was (as of this writing) diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, a nasty and rude disease that is exacerbated by stress. Stress like, say, taking care of two kids 2 and under, one of whom doesn’t sleep during the day, and then working nights at my part-time job. The last six months have been, not to put too fine a point on it, pretty tough. One adjective you could use for my state of mind could be “beaten-down.” “Defeated” would be another apt one. Going home for Christmas drove home the point that I cannot continue in this vein; I either need to start working a lot more hours in order to afford the respite of child care, or we need to put our Move West plan into overdrive.

Which brings me to the second part of Year In Review: Goals! Or, as I like to say it in my head with a Spanish accent like I’m narrating futbol, “GOOOOOOOLS!”

I want to try to save money, but i say that every year.
I want to get the fucking fuck out of Baltimore.
I want to build some sort of community/network for myself in the neighborhood, because while you guys are awesome, you do not live on my street. I need peeps on the street.
I want to find somewhere to volunteer or donate money or stuff to. I wanna giiiiive.
I want to get Owen in school. The kid, he’s S-M-A-R-T. And I am not cut out to be a teacher. He needs to get out there with some friends and some learning and stuff.
Sew. Knit. Make stuff. It makes me so happy and satisfies some strange part of my heart to do it. I hope as days goes by I will be able to find the time again. I’ve hardly made anything since early fall.

I’m not sure how I’m going to make this stuff happen, but I’ve got to try. First thing to do is get me better, then get Mac on some sort of (gaddamnfucking) schedule, then find the time. It all comes down to time, and energy. If I have those two things, or find them lying in a gutter somewhere, I can make the rest of that list happen. Wish me luck, intrepid readers.

(Intrepid? Really? … Well, you did make it this far. That takes balls. Balls of metaphor.)

Now, we appear to be at the end of this post. Did I meet my blog posterly goals for this entry? Let’s review.

2007 Year In Review Blog Post Goals:

Be comprehensive

Be lighthearted

Finish the fucker before midnight.

Um, God yes. Christ.
Hmmm.
First draft done at 4:38 p.m. So far so good.

January 1, 2008 | Filed Under sappy crap

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Comments

10 Responses to “2007: Year In Review”

kelly on January 1st, 2008 9:05 pm

best to all of you for this year. and reaching those goals. think about wi. many great teaching opportunities in my area.

your blog is a delight to read, supa.
Elizabeth on January 2nd, 2008 1:10 am

What an eventful year! I’ve enjoyed reading possibly as much as you’ve enjoyed writing. Here’s to hoping that you guys can pull off a move this year. It is super-nice being close to family and friends, as much as it is nice being out of the big city. The hustle and bustle is fun, but after a while, it gets to be too much. Too much so that it makes you want to move out to the middle of Arizona where they have those self-sustaining houses that are completely off the grid and become a family of hermits.

oh, hi! Yeah, the ‘burbs are nice too :o) You get that sense of being quieter, yet the Target is still within reach.
Bad Hippie on January 2nd, 2008 7:59 am

What subject/grade level does Ian teach?

I’m in Ohio, and keep an eye on the postings for friends, etc. If it’s math, he’s golden. I think the middle school in my town will actually be losing their best math teacher next year.

If it’s English, he’s well, screwed. I have at least three English teacher friends who’ve been laid off or are doing the long-term sub gig thing.

Let me know!
Tina C. on January 2nd, 2008 9:18 am

well, i gotta stick up for baltimore even though i hate it sometimes and am looking to leave also, the downtown that is, not the metro area. but i have to say, if you think you can’t get pierogis around here, you must be deaf and blind. there are pierogis everywhere in fell’s point, including for sale every saturday at the church on my street, where they make the delicious sauerkraut variety. these are homemade ukranian pierogis, far superior to polish ones, and i’m quite confident of that. also sausages and kielbasa for sale around here galore.

and while i don’t live on your street, i still got these knitting needles i’m looking to unload…
supa on January 2nd, 2008 9:48 am

@Tina, I’m glad you stuck up for Baltimore. I felt kind of bad slagging it off, in retrospect. Maybe the problem is that we’re in the county, not the city.

And I was just thinking about those needles! Tell me again when that knit night is?

@bad hippie: h.s. science. I thought the gigs would be dropping into his lap. silly me.

@elizabeth: thank you! thank you so much. i like the idea of 1.) living close to my family but also 2.) being an arizona hermit family. hee.

@kelly: thank you. i was actually figuring out the mileage from WI to OH in my head last night, contemplating. it is tempting.
Cindy on January 2nd, 2008 11:38 am

Happy New Year! Those are great goals. With the exception of #2 and #5, I’m totally with you. Here’s hoping for a great 2008!
Chris on January 2nd, 2008 12:16 pm

Terrific reflection and great goals. I’m with you on all but #2 (I am an hour or so north of there, though) and sub in my Mr. G for Owen on number 5.
Jen on January 2nd, 2008 4:16 pm

I’m really bummed about your diagnosis, MB. My best friend’s husband has ulcerative colitis. He doesn’t take meds for it, but manages it through diet. I don’t really know all the particulars other than very limited wheat and sugar consumption—maybe very dark, unsweetened chocolate? just a teensy square every once in a while? I can check with her for more info if you’re interested…
otter on January 3rd, 2008 3:34 pm

Unlisted Supa blog goal…Charm the pants off of us all non-street-peeps: Check.

(I knew I should have learned to sew pants.)
supa on January 3rd, 2008 8:42 pm

@cindy and @chris: thank you. best of 08 to you.

@jen: sure, yeah, thanks!

@otter: Pants! We can make that a goal, eh? (remind me to show you the half-finished “jeans” that are sitting in my to-do basket upstairs. they’re … freaking hilarious, is what.