As it turns out, there was quite a bit of information I was able to learn about the blog from last year, after all!
So, here is My Real Life 2011 in Review!
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
The concert hall at the Syndey Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 23,000 times in 2011. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 9 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.
Today I turn 40.
Today I turn 40 and life is good.
Today I turn 40 and I am holding a baby in my arms and I am dancing in the kitchen and I feel as though I am 22 and just starting out in the world.
Today I turn 40 and I look back on the mistakes I’ve made and realize how much I learned from them. I mourn for the roads I did not travel, yet I rejoice where the roads I did take have led.
Today I turn 40 and I find myself surrounded by good people. Friends I have known since childhood, whom I love as my sisters; friends I have made along the way who take me for who and what I am and like me anyway; family who is near and willing to help anytime for any reason; a husband I have known since I was 16, loved since I was 22, and is truly my best friend; and children who make my heart ache because I am so in love with them.
Today I turn 40 and I like me. I am comfortable with who I am and no longer feel the need to fit anyone else’s mold. What you see is what you get, and I think what you are getting is pretty damn good.
Today I turn 40 and I want to share with you something that I found online a few weeks ago. It’s not my autobiography, but it certainly could be. And as I turn 40, I’m excited to walk down this other street and see what adventures lay ahead.
AUTOBIOGRAPHY IN FIVE SHORT CHAPTERS
by Portia Nelson
I
I walk down the street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk
I fall in.
I am lost … I am helpless.
It isn’t my fault.
It takes me forever to find a way out.
II
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I pretend I don’t see it.
I fall in again.
I can’t believe I am in the same place
but, it isn’t my fault.
It still takes a long time to get out.
III
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I see it is there.
I still fall in … it’s a habit.
my eyes are open
I know where I am.
It is my fault.
I get out immediately.
IV
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I walk around it.
V
I walk down another street.
Santa brought Monkey Girl “Just Dance 3” for Christmas.
She already had “Just Dance” and we have enjoyed it immensely.
But, the commercials for “Just Dance 3” looked like a lot of fun, so Santa thought she might enjoy it. The amount of use it’s getting from her suggests that Santa was right.
I’ll admit, though, it’s not just Monkey Girl who is enjoying this gift.
The music selections are fantastic and overall, it is fun and hysterical to play.
“Party Anthem USA” is Monkey Girl’s favorite selection, and it’s a good one, while “Hit Me Baby One More Time” has me feeling like a robot with a short circuit.
In a huge shout out to fans of “How I Met Your Mother,” the game has “Let’s Go to the Mall“ by Robin Sparkles. There are no two bigger HIMYM fans than Real Man and I, so when we saw that as one of the song choices, we laughed our patooties off.
“Forget You” by CeeLo Green is absolutely exhausting. I must have an inhaler nearby when I rock out with that one. I’m hopeful that once the bronchitis is out of my lungs, I won’t need the inhaler after that selection, otherwise, I’m in worse shape than I thought. But, it’s a rocker, bronchitis or not.
“Venus” by Bananarama makes me cackle every single time the chorus comes on, as the moves are exactly like those of Joan Cusak at the school dance, in “16 Candles,” and believe me when I tell you I searched high and low for a video clip of that scene in the movie to show Monkey Girl. We’ll just have to DVR next time it’s on tv.
Of course, there are many, many more songs that are fun to play with and a lot of dance modes for playing with others or playing alone. Monkey Girl also enjoys the Simon Says mode, which gives you directions in the middle of the game that you have to follow.
One of these days, I’m sure we’ll find Baby Monkey secretly videoing us with the iPad, and if that happens, I’ll be sure to share the video on here, with you.
Or not.
I hope you all had a wonderful and safe New Year’s Eve and that your 2012 is everything you are hoping for!
As for me, it was a wonderful night with Real Man and the monkeys.
This is the day when bloggers usually share their goals and dreams for 2012.
It can get a little wordy.
However, this year, I’ve been able to simplify what is usually a long, drawn out list of resolutions.
So, here are ten things I’d like to do (or not do) in 2012!
.
The blogs that I read are all doing very different things for the end of the year.
Some are linking to the posts that had the most hits on their blog in the past year.
I can’t seem to figure out how to get that info, but I can see which post had the most hits ever on the blog.
I find it funny that that post was the one with the most hits since the blog began.
340 people wanted to see Monkey in the Middle hula hoop.
Or wanted to read about how we spend snow days.
Two posts, one day.
Maybe that’s the key to high numbers…post more.
I hear you tremble…no worries…once a day is what I’ve got right now.
Other blogs are posting what their resolutions are for next year.
I’ll be getting to that tomorrow.
So, I decided I would simply share my favorite New Year’s related thing I’ve seen online this year.
I love Zooey Deschanel, and I’ll pretty much watch anything she does, and when I saw this, I knew it was my New Year’s Eve post.
So, enjoy and have a wonderful New Year’s Eve.
Be safe.
There is just something about the age at which kids learn to read.
We’re in the midst of it with Baby Monkey and I had forgotten how much fun it can be.
He’s a little behind in the whole “learning to read” thing, as his attitude is that school is all about playing with his friends and he don’t need no fancy learnin’.
However, despite his best efforts to the contrary, he’s learning.
And now, everything is about spelling.
I am no longer “Mom.”
I am “M-O-M” and RealMan is “D-A-D.”
He tries to spell everything.
When dinner is over, he proclaims himself “D-U-N, done!”
Of course, when dinner begins, he says things like “Tuna Noodle Casserole??? Come to papa!”
But, that’s a post for another day.
The magic of reading is the fact that it opens up the world for you and creates such a sense of independence.
When you can read, you become a little less reliant on those around you, and everything is a little less of a puzzle.
It makes you feel like a big kid.
And so, Baby Monkey learns to read and becomes a little less of a baby, and while I celebrate his latest achievement, my heart aches a bit as he takes one more step away from needing his M-o-m.
My fear of dolls has been well-documented, I believe, here at the blog.
Clown dolls are a particular problem for me, but any doll can really be an issue for me, if I think about it long enough.
I know I’ve shared the stories of going on tour with our handbell group and needing to sleep in a small, twin bed with Kim, because the dolls in the room were looking at me.
Or, of housesitting, and sleeping on the couch in the family room instead of the guest room because the dolls in the guest room would be mad if I put them in the armoire and it would give them more reason to come alive while I slept and murder me.
Yes, dolls and I have had quite a history.
However, I am fully aware that many people love dolls.
They have large collections and they take great pride in their vast array of dolls.
And I’m cool with that, and I’m cool with those people.
However, the other day, I stumbled upon an article about Demi Moore’s doll collection.
Didn’t know she had one. Doesn’t seem like a collector of dolls to me.
Of young men, perhaps, but dolls? No.
As much as I’m terrified of dolls, I’m still curious about them, and so I clicked on the link.
Mistake.
Big mistake.
There are doll collections, and then there are horrific doll collections.
So, sit down, brace yourself, click here, and check out a few of Demi’s dolls.
And tell me you don’t think they are some of the creepiest things you’ve ever seen.
I dare you.
The build-up to Christmas can be excruciating.
Particularly for children.
Five more days, four, three two…
Am I on the naughty list or the nice one?
Will Santa bring me what I want?
In the days before Christmas, children are like kernels of corn in a pot full of boiling oil.
Shivering, shaking, trembling, just about to pop.
And then it comes.
In our house, at least, Christmas Eve bedtime is one of the easiest ones of the year, and that’s saying a lot because we don’t have many bedtime woes in our house.
Yet, on Christmas Eve, it’s like they’ve given in to the inevitable.
Santa’s on his way and what will be will be.
They close their eyes and sugarplums dance and all is well with the world.
They wake in the morning and it’s Christmas and dreams are fulfilled and life is good.
But don’t blink, because just like that, Christmas is over.
It’s always been amazing to me that something for which we have so much anticipation just ends so very, very quickly.
I’ve always thought Christmas should last for a few days, so the event matches the build-up.
But it doesn’t.
So, now we spend our days playing with our toys and trying to unwind and rid ourselves of the remaining tension of the build-up.
Because even though Monkey in the Middle declared this “The Best Christmas Ever,” they are already talk about next Christmas.
And so it begins.
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