Birthday Reflection (3 Decades)

(Pics taken the week of my birthday last year)

This will be it from me until the last week of December since my friend Sarah is visiting again from Seattle. . .and then it's Christmas! So I want to wish everyone a merry Christmas now and hope you all have a great holiday!Since my last update post on Tuesday, not much to report this week - Friday Logan turned 20 months old and I wrapped all of our Christmas gifts, Thursday I didn't do much other than enjoy our new TV - and also having Lifetime Movie Network for the first time in my life, haha - and Wednesday I had a phone interview with an Emmy Award Winning production company from New York! They found my blog post I wrote last month about Cosmo's cancer (Petland - Don't Ever Buy A Dog From A Pet Store) and wanted to talk to me about being featured in an a documentary they are making! They are speaking to hundreds of people so I don't know if our story is one they will actually film for their documentary, but it was a neat surprise and exciting opportunity nonetheless!

Wednesday was also the start of Logan's full day a week at Babysitter's. It went great. She said when it was naptime she put him in the pack n play and he sat there and stared at everyone for a few minutes without making a sound and then must have realized what was going on because he laid down and went to sleep.

I guess he's not going on to a new sleep phase after all! He has requested every nap and bedtime himself this week, been sleeping until after 7 am in his crib, and Thursday & Friday took 4 hr naps. He's also eating vegetables and everything else without acting picky at all.

This age is so much better than last year! I mean, he was a doll last year and I had fun with him then, too, but - for example, earlier this week Joe and I played Guitar Hero. We received it for Christmas 2007 and played it all of the time during my second & third trimester of pregnancy. I hadn't played it once since Logan was born in April 2008, and Joe not much more than that! But these days we can do anything and everything we used to do! Yet, it's also so much better because we have this little guy in our life who is seriously the happiest person I've ever met. I pray he always is. . .don't grow up to be a bitter adult, Logan, because right now you are practically giddy nearly every minute. You love life. Every minute you are in awe of something. You have always had a light in your eyes. Don't ever let go of your positive outlook in life. You were born with this and so it will always be within you. I am envious of you!

Needless to say, life is good right now. I know a lot of people thought I was weird during the 0-7 month phase when I said it was easy - but I thought the 7-14 month phase was very hard. Maybe that's part of why I hated turning 29 last year. . .because I am surprised that thirty (on Monday, December 21st!) doesn't seem so bad anymore. I guess I've had all year to prepare, and Joe turned 30 in July, and also everyone tells me that the thirties are so much better than the twenties. I think it was that which has made turning 30 the easiest, because I'd rather be 30 and have my favorite decade in the future rather than to have it behind me. I wouldn't care to relive my twenties. Except for the part of it when I was in college :) (Wouldn't mind having some no stress, no responsibility days where all you knew for sure was that it was going to be fun and exciting!)

So, I've decided to finish this post using the "ghost of Christmas past" idea in regards to reflecting on my - in 2 days - thirty years of life based on my most pivotal years. It was fun to research this stuff and I think anyone who has lived these years will be able to appreciate this! Here's what you'd see if you came back in time with me. . .

*I was born at 2:15 pm on December 21, 1979. The #1 song that day was "Escape (The Pina Colada Song)" by Rupert Holmes. Peasant tunics were the fashion. The top movie at the box office was Star Trek: The Motion Picture. I lived in an orange house with red carpet in the living room, gold wallpaper and floors in the kitchen, and green and blue carpet in the bedrooms.

*1982-1984, my parents separated when I was two and their divorce was final when I was four. I stayed in our house with my mom, while my dad lived in a couple of apartment complexes. My mom was a Spanish teacher, my dad worked for law enforcement and was in the National Guard. Ronald Reagan was President. My Fisher Price Tape Recorder was my favorite toy. I received my first Cabbage Patch doll and Care Bear. I loved Sesame Street and Mr. Rogers' Nighborhood on PBS. We had 4 channels on our antenna television set. My mom's favorite show was Dallas and I remember her watching the finale' with my grandparents. My dad's favorite was M*A*S*H. MTV launched music videos. Michael Jackson was The King Of Pop. The PG-13 rating was introduced. Top grossing films were ET, Star Wars Episode VI, Ghostbusters, and Indiana Jones and the Temple Of Doom. My favorites of that year when I got older would end up being Footloose and the Brat Pack's St. Elmo's Fire. The Neverending Story came out a year later. I played with my boy friends' transformers and knew who He-Man, Superwoman, and Hulk Hogan were.*1986 my dad remarried and moved into a nearby house. The Challenger Explosion happened on January 28th. I hated Garbage Pail Kids. I started first grade. My favorite singer was Madonna. My favorite song was "Bad Boys" by Gloria Estefan and The Miami Sound Machine. I wore leg warmers. Women did aerobics for exercise. Loved Flashdance. I was Punky Brewster for Halloween and wanted to be her forever. I loved My Little Pony and Rainbow Brite. I thought The Clapper was very cool (and my dad bought it). Cracking an egg in a skillet always made me want to just say no to drugs. It was hip for boys to wear an earring. Everyone ate McDonalds. I wore jelly shoes. I wasn't allowed to watch Dirty Dancing, but I did anyway! My favorite show was Our House, it aired on NBC Sundays from 7 to 8 pm. My mom's favorite was Kate & Allie, on Mondays from 8 to 8:30 on CBS. We loved Who's The Boss and Growing Pains on ABC Tuesdays 8-9 pm. On Wednesdays we watched Highway to Heaven, NBC, 8-9 pm. On Thursdays we watched The Cosby Show and Family Ties NBC, 8-9 pm. My mom watched Cheers after I went to bed. I loved Johnny-Five!!! (I saw Short Circuit in the theater) Goonies had come out the year before.

*1987 my half-brother was born, son of my dad & stepmom. One of my all-time fav songs, Alone, by Heart was #1 that week (July 9, 1987). I started second grade. I had a sticker collection. I loved Barbies. Bubalicious bubble gum. I tried Lee Press On Nails. Red was the popular color of nail polish. I took plastic cartoon lunchboxes to school. I loved Debbie Gibson and Tiffany. Jon Bon Jovi! For fashion, denim jackets became popular as well as Hawaiian shirts. Head bands. The Facts Of Life. My favorite TV show was Star Search. My mom's was ThirtySomething and The Phil Donahue Show. I had a VCR at both my mom and dad's house, my favorite VHS' to rent were Back to the Future, Karate Kid, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, and Superman. My dad owned our first computer! Never had Nintendo but loved playing Super Mario Brothers at friends' houses.

*1988 my dad & stepmom divorced, my mom married my stepdad who was an assistant manager of a major company and we moved to a new town (2.5 hrs from where I had lived since birth). I started third grade. I loved Book It and Pizza Hut! My favorite activity was rollerSKATING. I wore Esprit clothing. I wore banana clips and barettes with woven ribbons. My favorite commercial was Oscar Mayer. Loved Tiger Beat magazine. Judy Blume!!! Rap or Hip Hop music - Mc Hammer vs Vanilla Ice. My favorite band was New Kids On The Block, especially Joe. I had a boom box. Saturday morning cartoons rocked (Smurfs, Scooby Doo, Inspector Gadget, Jem and The Hollograms, The Gummy Bears, etc). We had cable with Nickelodeon!!! And VH1. My mom became a fan of The Oprah Winfrey Show. Received a pink and purple 12 speed bike for Christmas! President Bush was elected. Boys at school had rat tails, men wore mullets. I had a perm. The top ten songs were:
1. "Need You Tonight," INXS
2. "Look Away," Chicago
3. "Roll With It," Steve Winwood
4. "Every Rose Has Its Thorn," Poison
5. "Got My Mind Set On You," George Harrison
6. "So Emotional," Whitney Houston
7. "Seasons Change," Expose
8. "Baby I Love Your Way/Freebird Medley," Will to Power
9. "Could've Been," Tiffany
10. "Never Gonna Give You Up," Rick Astley

*1991 my dad married my current stepmother, an Army nurse (she had 3 adult children who lived in another state) and moved into a new house (still in the same city). I started sixth grade. I wore side pony tails with scrunchies. Biking shorts! I had a walk-man. I wore high-tops, boys wore pump shoes. I had straight hair but permed bangs that I always hairsprayed. Boys had flat tops and shaved lines in their sideburns. I loved snap bracelets. I remember when Pee Wee wasn't a pervert. I said "not" after almost every sentence. I got my first period. :p I used the expression, "Gag me with a spoon!" Fluorescent or neon clothing was in style, as well as hoop earrings (I'd gotten my ears pierced when I was 4). I liked Milli Vanilli - until finding out they were fake. Wilson Phillips. Nelson. Amy Grant. Full House and TGIF!!! I'd never heard anything about sports or knew a team until the Chicago Bulls. I had a Best Friends necklace. I watched Saved By The Bell. America's Funniest Home Videos had premiered the year before. My stepdad and I watched MacGyver on Monday nights from 8-9 pm on ABC, my mom watched Murphy Brown from 9-10 pm on CBS. My favorite show was Rescue 911 on Tuesdays, CBS, from 8-9 pm. We watched Unsolved Mysteries on Wednesdays from 8-9 on NBC, and what would be my favorite for 10 years: Beverly Hills 90210 on Fox, Thursdays, 9-10 pm. I also loved the NBC Sunday night movies - in fact, that summer one was filmed in the town where I lived based on a family from another town. Little did I know my husband would be from there and was friends with the actual family (he took one of the girls to homecoming and is still friends to this day with her sister. . .sadly, the one he took to the dance committed suicide the following year).

*1992-1993: Junior high. Fashion was the midriff shirt, exposing the belly button (which was often being pierced for the first time). Body suits. I wore leggings and felt stylish. Even the ones with stir-ups! Flower dresses. Pink was the color of nail polish. Grunge came into style - baggy jeans. Overalls. In another year flannel shirts would be in style. So would Alanis Morisette. Baywatch. I read all of The Babysitter's Club books (and had their calendar and game). My favorite commercial was "I've fallen and I can't get up." I had a trapper keeper and all Lisa Frank folders. Talk to the hand. . . yeah said that. My favorite game was Girl Talk. I tried Buns, Legs, Arms, and Abs of Steel. The top 10 movies of 1992 were: Aladdin, Home Alone 2, Batman Returns, Lethal Weapon 3, A Few Good Men, Sister Act, The Bodyguard, Wayne's World, Basic Instinct, and A League of Their Own. The #1 song was "All 4 Love" by Color Me Badd. In 1993 the #1 song was "I Will Always Love You" by Whitney Houston. My favorite was "I Swear" by All 4 One. The top 5 movies were: Jurassic Park, Mrs. Doubtfire, The Fugitive, The Firm, and Sleepless in Seattle. My favorite author was R.L. Stine (loved Fear Street books). Read Teen, Seventeen, and YM Magazines. People started rollerblading. President was Bill Clinton. In a couple of years Clueless would come out.

*1998 I graduated from high school. My stepdad became manager and transferred back to where I lived the first 8 yrs of my life and he & my mom still reside there. Everyone now had a CD player and e-mail address/used the internet. I knew The Macarena by heart. Nsync vs Backstreet Boys. The year before came The Titanic. Loved Celine Dion. DC Talk, Jars Of Clay, and other Christian alternative music was big amongst teenagers, as well as blue and green nail polish. Had gotten my driver's license in '96 and drove a Chevy Blazer -- Smashing Pumpkins was big that year. Friends. . .and The Rachel Cut. Had my first kiss in '97. The top 5 songs in '98 were: "Too Close" by Next, "The Boy Is Mine" by Brandy and Monica, "You're Still the One" by Shania Twain, "Truly Madly Deeply" by Savage Garden, and "How Do I Live" by LeAnn Rimes. The top 3 movies were: Saving Private Ryan, Armageddon, and There's Something About Mary. The top 10 shows included Touched By An Angel, Early Edition, Sabrina The Teenage Witch, and Sister, Sister which had all been my favs for the past several years. I was also addicted to Days Of Our Lives when the character Susan was on. Kickboxing was the popular form of exercise. I moved away on my own for the first time as I started college. Preppy clothes were in style - khakis, capri pants, skinny jeans, sweater vests, and wool scarves. The zig-zag part. The following year I watched Dawson's Creek and saw American Pie at the theater. Barney and Teletubbies were popular with the children.

*2000 I started dating my husband on May 1st! The year of the millennium! Y2K concerns. . .reality TV began. . .DVD players. . .Napster. . .Furbies. . .Britney Spears Vs Christina Aguilera. J-Lo. Eminem. Song of the year was "Who Let The Dogs Out" by Baha Men. Remember "The Thong Song"?! Not sure which one was worse - that or "The Discovery Channel" song. Extremely pointed toe boots were in style. I wore a lot of buttoned long-sleeve shirts. Yoga and pilates were the best exercise. The Matrix. Who Wants To Be A Millionare. My dad moved into his current house (still in the same area and where they reside today). George Bush became the President.

*2002 The previous year had included the biggest event from my history: 9/11/01, the attack on the World Trade Center. I got engaged Valentine's Day 2002. I graduated from college May 2002. I had my first full-time job and lived alone for the only time. The top 5 songs were: "A Thousand Miles" by Vanessa Carlton, "Get the Party Started" by Pink, "Complicated" by Avril Lavigne, "Dilemma" by Nelly featuring Kelly Rowland, and "In the End" by Linkin Park. Scrapbooking became a popular hobby. Highlights were in. French manicures. Dr. Phil and Sex & The City were my favorite TV shows.

*2003 I got married and moved to a new state. I received my first text message and had no clue what the heck was going on with my phone, haha! Not long after that I joined what would soon become the texting craze. Designer Dogs (I bought my first maltipoo in 2005 and my second in 2006). Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey. The top movies were Lord of The Rings and Pirates of The Caribbean (which I never had an interest in, nor did I Harry Potter the year or two before. . .similar to how I am with the Twilight mania now)! The following year Passion of the Christ and The Notebook would come out in theaters - I had read the Nicholas Sparks book years before and it's still one of my all-time favs. Track suits were about to become popular (especially Juicy Couture) which I still support! Burgundy nail polish. American Idol (I began watching it in 2004)! The next year Desperate Housewives premiered (I watched 2004-2007) and the year after that, Grey's Anatomy (I watched 2005-2007) -- McDreamy vs McSteamy!

*2007 I got pregnant, my husband & I moved to our second house, and was told my first book was being published. Not long after that I was told my publishing line had closed and therefore I would not be getting published after all. Huge sunglasses were in style. Black nail polish. The previous year The Hummer vehicle had reached its most popular. David Beckham! :-) Flat screen TVs. The Tivo/DVR. Strip aerobics. The funniest movie was Knocked Up (until this year when The Hangover came out). My favorite author was Emily Giffin (Something Borrowed, Something Blue, Baby Proof, and Love The One You're With). The Go-Green/organic movement. Dora The Explorer was popular with children. Lost continued to be popular with adults the past three years, as well as Brothers & Sisters since 2006. The top 10 fads in 2007 were:
1. iPods
2. YouTube
3. Wii (esp. Guitar Hero)
4. myspace
5. iPhone
6. Popped Collars
7. Crocs
8. Mp3 Downloads
9. UGG Boots
10. iTunes

*2008 - the best year of my life - my son was born! The eliptical machine for exercise. President Barack Obama was elected so Election Gear was a fad as well as Palin Glasses, Wii Fit, Boyfriend Jeans, and Crazy High Heels. The Hills with Spencer Pratt & Heidi Montag (not by me), and The Girls Next Door. All ages began joining Facebook (as did I, although not as addicted as I was to MySpace from 2005-2008). Twitter. I went public with my blog (blogging first became popular ten years before and has not died)! I hear the kids these days like Miley Cirus, the Jonas Brothers, and Taylor Swift (much more wholesome than the way the decade started)! It will be interesting to see what 2009 "looks like" in the future, however it was not a pivotal year for me. . .so I am much more optimistic about 2010 because it already seems like it's going to be better than 2009 based on the past few months compared with last year! So I'm ready! Let's do it! Bring on year 30. . .and a new decade! :)