I was avoiding a “year in review” type post–mainly because I am getting bored with the same ol’ same ol’ of the blogosphere…that is until I was inspired by one of my favorite bloggers–Scary Mommy–to go through my own posts and choose my favorite from each month to capture what my year has been like.  Here’s what I came up with: 

January:  Scratch that Itch {the one where I make it known that I’m itching to do more than laundry & make lunches!}

February: When I was my Husband’s Girlfriend & My Psychiatrist told me to F&%K off {I simply could not choose; both make me smile!}

March:  Help! I’m living with an addict! {the one where I reveal one of my son’s addictions, amongst others.}

April:  I showed them who’s boss!  {the one where I finally put my foot down and mean business.}

May:  Friends are the Family we choose for ourselves… {apparently, this lesson was learned over and over again this year.}

June:  Lessons from the Tiki Bar {the one where I get tipsy during the day & share some great deep life lessons.}

July:  Temptation and Weakness at it’s best {the one where I do, or don’t do, something really disgusting in the name of temptation}

August:  I weigh more in my kitchen than I do in my bathroom {self explanatory…}

September:  Our Best Summer Yet {it truly was, and boy do I miss it!}

October:  What to Expect When We Meet… {a little note I wrote for my bloggy pal Mellisa to prepare her for when we meet in person}

November:  Last night, I dreamt I was pregnant {no, it’s not about wanting another baby!}

December: Thoughts on the New Year {some more deep thoughts from moi!}
I hope you enjoy reading through these posts and reminiscing with me about 2010!  If you posted a recap of your year, I’d love to read it–please leave a comment and share a link!

That basically sums up my life from ’02-’04.

My parents threw me a graduation party on January 26, 2002. Everyone important in my life was there to help me celebrate my accomplishment. Little did they, or myself for that matter, know that they would witness something big happen to me that night, something that would lead me into the next chapter of my life.

That’s right, the gym teacher proposed!! He got down on one knee in front of all of our friends and family and asked me to marry him. A handful of people knew, and it truly explained the extra hustle in my moms steps that day. Soon after our engagement, we set the date: March 29, 2003.

The rest of ’02 was busy….busy planning our wedding, busy adjusting to engaged life, and busy trying to figure out what exactly I was going to do with that life. I graduated with a degree in Communications, but only survived 2 months commuting to a nearby city to work as someones slave in an Advertising firm. I. HATED. IT.

DaddyMac & I decided to buy an embroidery business that my aunt ran for many years. She was getting ready to go back to work and built herself a nice, little home-based business. To me, there was no job more ideal–being my own boss, working from home, being creative with the actual work, and yet taking care of everything from the books to the customer service. After hiring a flatbed to move the ginormous machinery into our basement, I was officially in business (with a few extra “odd” jobs along the way–substitute teaching, and coaching a local high school cheering team!).

For the rest of ’02 and straight into ’03, I did what any normal bride-to-be does: workout, diet, and workout some more. Life was great, and we were happily married on March 29, 2003 (and I was happily 108 pounds to boot!).

The months following our wedding and honeymoon were elating. And on October 31, 2003, it got even better. On a whim, I took a pregnancy test. We weren’t trying, but we weren’t preventing, and I was a few days late. That test was positive! I was a wreck–every emotion went through my entire body in like .5 seconds. I had to wait to tell DaddyMac ’cause he was at work, and since I couldn’t bare to keep the secret, I called my stepmom & a close friend of mine right away.

I didn’t have the easiest pregnancy, but it certainly wasn’t the worst. And even though Buckaroo spent 10 days in the NICU because he was born 6 weeks early, I brought home a healthy, handsome baby boy in the spring of 2004.

Adjusting to life with baby was exactly as you’d expect–no need to elaborate there! We got the hang of it, but it took some time. Getting decent sleep took time. Getting back to a routine took time. And getting back to my pre-baby weight took a lot of time. Heck–that really never happened! But none of it mattered because being a MOM to Buckaroo was all I could ask for.

The fall of ’04 is where my hypochondria veered its butt-ugly head. I always knew I was a worry wort, but being a Mom sure brought out the “best” of it. I started to worry about all sorts of stuff, all day every day. Obsessing over things. Mainly my health. I just wanted to live forever to spend every waking moment with my bundle of joy. I didn’t want to die of a heart attack, or cancer, or some other fatal issue that an otherwise healthy 24-year old could suffer. I went for big time blood work, echo cardiograms and stress tests to rule out all the “crazies” in my head. And when they all came back normal, and my anxiety was still there, I had to turn to professional help and even had to go on medication.

But, you know what? By that Christmas, I was feeling much better and was certain that ’05 would rock!!!

Want to know why I am writing about ’02-’04? Read HERE.

I had survived “Y2K,” was swept off my feet by the gym teacher, my anxiety started to subside, I turned 21, settled into my college commuter lifestyle and prepared to graduate with my bachelors degree in Communications at the end of the year–and for those of you keeping track, that would be 6 months shy of 4 years!

My relationship with the gym teacher was most certainly at the next level since we were living together by the end of 2001. To ring in the new year, we escaped to Montreal for a long weekend. I was certain this would be the weekend he’d propose.

Montreal was like no other city I had ever visited. Everyone was so polite, the streets were immaculate, the buildings filled with character. It was freeeeezing. We walked hand in hand throughout the city for hours. It would be the perfect place for him to ask for my hand in marriage–maybe shortly after we kissed to ring in the New Year.

The first night we were there, I got insanely drunk at the bar. Somehow, our conversation went towards marriage. The gym teacher totally blew off the topic every time I brought it up. Finally, when my drunken state of mind could no longer handle the dissing, I started crying my eyes out–no, bawling to be exact–telling him how I was certain he was going to propose to me that weekend and how I was wrong and that he’ll never ask me to marry him. He shook his head, and said that, no, in fact, he was not planning to ask me to marry him that weekend but that he did love me very much.

Before you start having sympathy pains for me, just know this….he already bought the ring and had a plan to propose less than one month from that exact date that my drunk a$ was whining in the bar. Of course I didn’t know this, and luckily I didn’t scare him away that night.

Despite that great let-down, we had a fantastic weekend in Montreal and rung in the new year in an Irish Pub watching Dick Clark’s New Years Rockin’ Eve. I would have had it no other way to ring in the next remarkable year of my life.

**I am choosing not to touch upon 9-11, though I realize it was a significant part of 2001. Like hundreds of thousands of people, I can tell you my every move, and every detail about that day. But I am going to choose to keep that private.

Why am I writing about 2001? Read HERE.

On New Years Eve 1999, I was prepared. I had my car filled with gas, a stash of bottled water, peanut butter and crackers in my trunk, and $100 cash in my pocket (which at 19 years old is loaded!). I was prepared for the dreaded “Y2K.” I was certain that as soon as midnight came, something terrible would happen. Lights would flicker, power would be turned off, the streets would be black. People would be running around in hysteria screaming, “Oh no! It’s Y2K!” But, not me. I’d be nestled in my fully-gased up sportscar snacking on peanut butter and crackers because I was smart enough to take the necessary precautions that the media urged people to make.

I guess you can say I’ve always been a worry-wort. But I would not say that is when my hypochondria started. That, my friends, starts a few years later.

Midnight on January 1, 2000 brought nothing but a new year, a break in an unhealthy relationship, and a budding romance. 2000 also brought the start of my 20′s.

In early 2000, my anxiety over “Y2K” got the best of me and I started obsessing about things like being away from home, and not feeling safe. I was suffering from anxiety attacks almost daily. I decided with the help of my parents and my soon-to-be-broken-up-with boyfriend, that I’d move back home and attend our local county college until I felt better. I took a job as a reporter for a small newspaper in town, and started building my new life back at home.

My youngest sister, Auntie Em, was in Kindergarten that year, and my mom was a volunteer at her school. My mom, who was always on the lookout for a good job for me, or a nice guy to date, started telling me about this super-cute gym teacher at my sisters school.

“He’s young, and so great with kids.”
“He dresses well and always looks put together.”
“He speaks so well.”
“He’s single.”

My interest was peaked, and I used my job with the newspaper to meet him. I decided to interview him about this program he was running with the kindergardeners that he named “Scooterville.” He set up the entire gym with cardboard box buildings, used tape to mark lines in the road, and had all sorts of traffic lights and road signs made up. He gave each child a “license” and a scooter, and taught them lessons in road safety while playing around “town” on their scooters. It was adorable.

After that interview, I wheezled my way into his school for a few more interviews, making sure to stop in to say “hi” along the way. I also found myself driving my little sister to school so that I could greet him at the door as she walked in.

One day, I came home and my sister Kel-Bel said, “Mom got you a date with the gym teacher!”

WHAT!?!?

Her response, “Yeah, I told him you thought he was hot.”

First of all, who says that!?!? Second of all, WOO-HOO!

The end of April, we had our first date. And by the end of June we were dating exclusively. That summer I turned 20 years old, and the gym teacher and I had a blast. We went to lots of concerts & fun parties, he took me out to dinner all of the time, and we spent lots of time at his place. You know, talking. There was an almost 10-year age difference between us, but that obviously didn’t matter ’cause I refer to him daily on here as DaddyMac!

Y2K brought calmness to my anxiety (hadn’t a clue it would rear it’s ugly a$ head years later), peace to an unhealthy relationship, and excitement with a new one. I finished up my semester at the county college and applied to be a commuter at another state school. Life was good.

Wondering why I am writing about the year 2000, read THIS.

The cover of this weeks Time Magazine really caught my attention.

One word just made me realize that life is going way too fast.

DECADE.

Time is referring to global matters, such as the threats to our national security and economy, when it suggests the last decade sucked. Those issues have certainly shaped the state of our country.

My last DECADE was filled with ups and downs, mostly “ups” mind you, but a roller coaster nonetheless. It was in this DECADE that I’d meet the man I’d spend the rest of my life with, graduate college, become a mom and CEO. It was also in this DECADE that I’d loose loved ones, have shifts in family dynamics and suffer from a battle with anxiety and depression. These things have all shaped who I am today. And it’s the outcome of these events that will help me choose a path for the next DECADE of my life.

I am going to randomly post over the next month about each year of this decade, and share with you a just few things from each year that have shaped me into the woman that I am today. Those of you who read my blog regularly know that I am open and honest. You know I like country music. You know that I love my children and husband. You know that I am a hypochondriac. But do you know why I am the way that I am, or why I like the things that I do? Hopefully through these posts, you can get to know me a little better.