On Main Street

Germany - Hof

Postcard from Germany from HofGirl

Description: No description on the back. HofGirl says: "Hof is a city in Bavaria, in the middle of Germany. Here lives 50,000 people. The weather is mostly cold and rainy. But the city has come highlights, Lorenzkirche, Signs of Fame, Theresienstein and the Untreusee." The front of the card (maybe) says Alstadt pedestrian precinct with the new fountains. If anyone has a better translation, let me know!

Malaysia - Malaysian Home

Postcard from Malaysia from azudesu

Description: No description on the back.

Romania - Romanian Peasant

Postcard from Romania from the-Teo

Description: Description is in Romanian, but the-Teo says: "Here's a photo composition of a Romanian peasant from the south of the country and his craft"

NOTE: This card came from Romania, but the sender's ID is Portugal.

Germany - Telecity

Postcard from Germany from Gutti

Description: www.bauhaus-dessau.de

Finland - Santa's Main Post Office

Postcard from Finland from lona

Description: Greetings from Lapland. Arctic Circle.

Malaysia - Orang Utan

Postcard from Malaysia from edwardnbellaforever

Description: Orang Utan or "Man of the forest" found only in the island of Borneo is an endangered species fully protected in Malaysia.

Shannon's 2009 Reading Material

I'm not sure how much I'll be reading this year. Or how much of it won't be stuff like Goodnight Moon and Hug and Pat the Bunny. Those aren't going to be listed here. They just don't need to be!

books in progress

• From Time To Time (started in June? 2008)
  
• What to Expect The First Year (ongoing!)
• Everything is Illuminated (started a long time ago...we still lived in the blue house!)
  
• Anybody Out There? (started February 17)

books just finished

• Daisy Dooley Does Divorce (started February 9, finished February 16)
• Gods Behaving Badly (started February 6, finished February 8)
  
• The Hour I First Believed (started December 26, finished February 5, commented on February 6)

Recap of 2008

Okay, so I did this last year too and tried to do 2008 without looking at 2007. It's interesting how some of the answers are the same! After I was done, I looked at some of the 2007 answers and I know they'd be different if it had been common knowledge, not a secret, that I was pregnant!

1. What did you do in 2008 that you’d never done before?
Had a baby!

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I don't make New Year's resolutions

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Do I count as someone close to me? In that case YES

4. Did anyone close to you die?
Yes, Gramma Ross

5. What countries did you visit?
planet sleepy parent?

6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008?
more sleep

7. What dates from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
August 17 and August 19 - the day I was admitted to the hospital early and the day that Baby J arrived

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Baby J

9. What was your biggest failure?
Not saying thank you enough. Not telling the people around me how wonderful I think they are often enough.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
does a c-section count as injury?

11. What was the best thing you bought?
a tie between the stroller and our own place

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Baby J

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
our government's leaders

14. Where did most of your money go?
to stuff for Baby J and a mortgage

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Baby J

16. What song will always remind you of 2008?
Hush Little Baby

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
 a) happier or sadder? b) thinner or fatter? c) richer or poorer?
happier, about the same, richer

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
sleep, spent time with Alex and Baby J

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
moving

20. How did you spend Christmas?
In K-town, introducing Baby J to the "clan"

21. Did you fall in love in 2008?
yes

22. What was your favorite TV program?
Bones.

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
no

24. What was the best book you read?
a tie between What to Expect When You're Expecting and What to Expect the First Year

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Jennifer Gasoi - children's singer

26. What did you want and get?
Baby J

27. What did you want and not get?
five extra weeks to unpack the boxes before Baby J's arrival

28. What was your favorite film of this year?
Wall-E

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
worked and had dinner with Fiona, Kamiah and Bret. 31

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
nothing. It was a pretty darn good year

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008?
umm...maternity wear for the first eight months and then post-partum-getting-back-into-shape wear

32. What kept you sane?
Baby J

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
none

34. What political issue stirred you the most?
minority vs coalition government. Obama vs McCain was pretty interesting too.

35. Who did you miss?
Kelsey

36. Who was the best new person you met?
Baby J

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008.
Talk to the bank, because it's amazing what you can do with your money! More than we thought for sure!

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
To the tune of Frère Jacques:
"Baby J, Baby J, go to sleep, go to sleep. Mommy's very tired, Mommy's very tired. Go to sleep!"
or a variation on the theme...like "Baby J, Baby J, don't you cry, don't you cry...."

It's Christmas!

Merry Christmas from our little cub elf. Oh, and from us too! Have a wonderful day!

And no, we didn't post this on Christmas Day. Gotta love future dating and automatic posting!