Another One Bites The Dust

It's that time again, folks. Another year-in-review, with a few changes but mostly more of the same. Hey--at least I got more than one blog post in this year, right? (very small yay)

What did you do in 2017 that you’d never done before?

I was a guest host on two different podcasts (Radio Ronin twice, and So B.I.G. one time). It was really fun, and I hope to do it again soon. I'll be hanging out with the ladies of Life On The Rocks, Please in a few weeks. They are awesome, and it will be a blast.

Did you keep your new years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

Yes, I did make some. Did I keep them? Well . . .

To finish the unfinished projects before I start more (uh . . .)
To spend less money on makeup (uh . . .)
To be unapologetically myself (uh . . . I still find myself apologizing for myself frequently)
To ask for what I want (I've been a little better about this, but there's lots of room for improvement)

I think I'll keep these very generic goals, and add a few more, though I'm not writing them here.

Did anyone close to you give birth?

My brother Dave & his wife Lexy had baby #6 (Eve Ximena-Renee) in March, and I was privileged to be there for my niece's birth. What a lovely experience.

My sister Sarah gave birth to a sweet baby boy (Miles John), but he was born too soon (19 weeks). It has been devastating for her and Chad, and we are all still so sad from losing him. I kinda feel robbed of getting to know my nephew, though I know he's close. Chad & Sarah are doing IVF again, so we are hoping for another miracle next year.

Did anyone close to you die?

See above.
Also, Tollene's dog Ginger died. (We got a new dog, Finn, or as Benji calls him, "Hi-Finn.")
And a very nice guy from my ward, Brad Andreason passed away not too long after Miles and Ginger. He was in his early 50's and had lots of heart problems, but seeing so many people grieving is rough. I cried a lot in August and September. (Who am I kidding? I cry all the freaking time.)

What countries did you visit?

I should really just change this question to states, but within the next 5 years I will be able to write different countries! So until that point, I'll answer: Wyoming, Idaho, California, Washington State, and two I hadn't visited before: Minnesota & Iowa. They are lovely places!

What would you like to have in 2018 that you lacked in 2017?

Confidence and organization

What date from 2017 will remain etched upon your memory?

August 30 (Baby Miles's birthday)

What was your biggest achievement of the year?

Surviving December. It was brutal.

What was your biggest failure?

Attempting to teach Microbiology. Ha! That was a joke!

Did you suffer illness or injury?

I spent a few days in the hospital with sepsis. Not fun. I got better, though I still have some lingering effects therefrom. My friend Erica Dawn had a terrible infection and was in the hospital for two months. Mine was a breeze compared to hers.

What was the best thing you bought?

Tickets to see two of my favourite bands in Seattle. Best. Mother's Day. Ever.

Whose behavior merited celebration?

Benji has been doing great. He was SO GOOD at Disneyland! I was very impressed with the way he handled the crowds and the rides!

Where did most of your money go?

Bills. Car. Food. Concerts. Gifts. Airline Tickets. Disneyland. Bath & Body Works. Ulta. Amazon. (Not necessarily in that order)

What did you get really, really, really excited about?

My trip to Seattle. The food was great, the company was great, the music was beyond great. 

What song will always remind you of 2017?

The big songs of the year (that I've heard once or twice and kinda liked) were "Despacito (Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee w/The Biebs) and "Sign of the Times" (Harry Styles). I listened to that Taylor Swift song a couple of times and it was terrible. I liked Chainsmokers (w/Coldplay) "Something Just Like This" in spite of myself. I also listened to a lot of Tom Petty (R.I.P.), but my personal favorite is "Lights of Home" by U2, which is better than all of those other songs combined.  

My album of the year is "Songs of Experience" by U2 (I know this surprises nobody). I usually have more albums, but since I've started listening to a lot more podcasts, I haven't had as much time for music. That's why three of my top ten are from U2, and two are from my community choir (Salt Lake Singers). I should probably branch out a bit more, but I was kinda sparse in my concert partaking this year.

My top 10 SONGS of 2017 (or, the songs that have meant the most to me this year)

10. "All Praise to Thee" by Elaine Hagenberg

9. "The Work of Christmas" by Howard Thurman/Dan Forrest

8. "Top of the World" by Greek Fire

7. "The Sky is a Neighborhood" by Foo Fighters

6. "Solid Gold" by Tom Chaplin & JONES

5. "Take Me As You Found Me" by Anberlin

4. "Landlady" by U2

3. "You're the Best Thing About Me" by U2

2. "You Don't Know How It Feels" by Tom Petty

1. "Lights of Home" by U2

And the concert list for this year (short but great): 

Young the Giant (2.4.17 at the Complex)
U2 with Mumford & Sons (5.14.17 at CenturyLink Field)
Depeche Mode (8.23.17 at USANA)
Offspring/Sublime with Rome (9.30.17 at USANA)

I had tickets to see Foo Fighters, but ended up selling them. I'm such an idiot.

I should really add my top Podcasts of the year, since that's become a thing:
10. The Park Hoppers
9. Rolling Stone Music Now
8. S-Town
7. Gregg's Guide to New Music/Ticked (tied)
6. Radio Ronin
5. This American Life
4. Baconsale
3. Life on the Rocks, Please
2. Awesome with Alison
1. Heavyweight

Compared to this time last year, are you:

   Happier or sadder? Not sure at the moment. It depends on the day and how much sleep I've had.

   Thinner or fatter? Don't ask.

   Richer or poorer?  We just got back from Disneyland. I'm feeling very poor at the moment.

What do you wish you’d done more of?  

Exercising.  Spending time with my boy.

What do you wish you’d done less of?  

Staying up too late, saying yes when I really want to say no.

How will you be spending Christmas? 

Honestly, I'm not sure

Did you fall in love in 2017?

Not so much

Who were your best friends?

Peggy, Heather. My sisters.

What thing did you do that was meaningful to others?

I spent LOTS of time taking and editing pictures this year (and several of these sessions were free of charge); I hope they are meaningful to others, or what the hell am I doing?
I also worked really hard on the Christmas Program for my ward/choir (I'm the ward choir director), and coordinating and practicing with all of the groups, getting them to participate, writing, copying, etc., etc. It was rough, but I think it turned out well, and I hope it was a nice and meaningful meeting for everyone involved.

What were your favorite TV programs?

The Mindy Project, Madam Secretary, Designated Survivor, This Is Us, Mr. Robot, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel 

Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?

Not really. There are people who I really looked up to in the past, for whom the shine has dulled a bit. 

What was the best book you read in 2017?

I did not read a lot this year. The best book I read was "Origin" by Dan Brown, with "Artemis" by Andy Weir coming in a very close second. They were both excellent. I keep thinking I'm going to read more once I get caught up, but I'm never caught up anymore.

What was your greatest musical discovery?

How good the Offspring still sound! They were rocking! Subime--not so much.

What did you want and get?

Disneyland for Christmas. Yay! (And never again!!)

What did you want but did NOT get?

A Kindle. Good lord--this has been on my list for like 5 years now.

What was your favorite film of this year?

I actually liked Star Wars Episode VIII, though it's getting a lot of flack. I LOVED Baby Driver (which I got to see in a critic's screening with Kenny D) and Wonder Woman, but Dunkirk was AMAZING. Best film of the year, hands down. 

What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

No idea. I turned 38. Gads, I'm getting old.

What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

More sleep. And a lot more sex.

What kept you sane?

Friends. Good people at work and church and in my life.

Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

I'm currently crushing on Adam Driver, a.k.a., Kylo Ren, a.k.a., Darth Tall Jew. I don't know what it is, but I'm hooked.

What political issue stirred you the most?

I've been following Seth Abramson, an Attorney and Criminal Law/journalism professor on Twitter. He has been following and analyzing the "Trump-Russia Thing" for months now. He uses a lot of different reputable sources, and he explains things in such a clear, fascinating way. It's SO MUCH to take in that it hurts my brain sometimes, but I feel like I'm watching Watergate unfold before my eyes. Can I just say--Bob Mueller is THE MAN.  

Who did you miss?

I don't get to see Peggy often enough, but she tries to make time for me. I miss DeLayna, who is currently living in Germany. And, of course, Joyce, Susan, Brittany, Todd, and the others who decided I wasn't worth their time.

Who was the best new person you met this year?

Make it two: Lara & Erin. The LOTRP ladies are so awesome. I adore them.

Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2017.

Invest in people who invest in you. (Thank you, Alison!)

Quote that sums up your year:

Allison had so many tasty nuggets, and I learned a lot from working with my friend Daniel Blomberg on his brain consulting stuff, but I worked a lot on my handwriting/lettering this year, and I wrote this so many times it has stuck. The words are so beautiful, and the music makes me cry. This is what it's all about.

When the song of the angels is stilled,
When the star in the sky is gone,
When the kings and princes are home,
When the shepherds are back with their flock,
The work of Christmas begins:

To find the lost,
To heal the broken,
To feed the hungry,
To release the prisoner,
To rebuild the nations,
To bring peace among brothers,

To make music from the heart.
--Howard Thurman/Dan Forrest

So there it is. I'm glad I was able to get this done today (another thing off my to-do list!). I want to know how your year went. Please comment or message me or whatever. If you're reading this, I can pretty much guarantee I have thought about you recently, so let me know how you are. 

LOVE YA.

We Get To Carry Each Other

 {This is part two of little Ezra's birth story.}

The day after Ezra was born, his brothers and sister got to meet him!  It was kinda hard getting out of the door with all the kiddos in tow (especially with everyone still being a little sick), but we finally made it.

Kim, Zekey, Phoebe, Dave & Noah in front of West Valley Hospital

Into the Maternity Ward

And then to Lexy's room.

Apparently, it had been a break room before it was converted to a patient room, and it had a HUGE bathroom.  It was at least as big as the bed area, if not bigger.  It also had a lovely view of the air conditioning units on the roof.  We gathered all the kiddos into the bathroom so they could come out and meet him one at a time.  First up was Zeke.

Zekey's first peek

Then it was Phoebe's turn.

"Are you sure about this kid?"

"Yeah, he's all right."

Phoebe: "I think he might be the cutest boy in the family."
Zeke: "Oh, no she didn't!"

And {last but not least} Noah.

Noah: "I'm going to have to find a new hiding place for my Legos."

The Big Brothers

All four of the Nolan kids

The boys: Dave, Zeke, Ezra and Noah

The girls: Lex, Phoebe & Kim {Lexy's sister}

I tried to get some pictures of the handsome little man with his eyes open; I wasn't very successful.  His skin is super sensitive, so his face was really red.

Sweet baby Ezra

Everyone trying to get their hands on the baby

Ezra: "Too much love!"

Trying to wrangle all of them on one hospital bed

Phoebe: "I want to go to the butterfly museum!"

After feeding him for a few minutes, Lexy let the kiddos hold him for the first time.

I love the look on Zekey's face!

Poor Zeke did manage to bonk his head on a chair, and he got a pretty sad bump on the head.  But he was okay.

Kim, Zekey and the goose egg

And . . . I'll throw in a picture of my Benji for good measure.

We left shortly thereafter, to let Lexy get a little rest before she came home.  This is one of the last pictures I took at the hospital, and I love it.  Not only are they beautiful, but they are some of the most down-to-earth, good people who I know.  I'm so very blessed to call them family!

Family of Six

I love you guys!

The Shaping of a Life

I wanted to post some pictures of my sweet little nephew Ezra!  I was very blessed to have been present at his birth, and I kind-of did my first 'birth story' as a photographer.  It was fun, and it was such a privilege to see this amazing process from this point of view.  It doesn't hurt that Dave & Lexy are super photogenic, and they are family, so I was totally comfortable around them.

You can't tell, but that is a jar of Prego, and her shirt says "I {heart} my hubby."  I took this right before they left for the hospital on January 1st.  We got to their house on Sunday 12/29, and Lex was contracting almost the whole time.  She also had a terrible cough, so she was miserable.  Coughing  + contractions?  NO THANK YOU.    She was a very good sport about it, though.  Technically she did go into the hospital to be induced, but it wouldn't have been much longer if she hadn't.  So she and Dave {and Lexy's sister Kim} put the kids down {they had a sleep-over in the sweet Master Suite}, and they went to the West Valley Hospital, about 13 miles from their home in Goodyear.

I asked them to call me if anything happened overnight, but they just let her rest and 'ripen' (whatever that means!).  I arrived about 6:30am on Thursday, January 2nd.  This was my view at that point:

Not exactly sure what the star was for . . .

Lexy snoozing in the early morning

Dave trying to stay warm

Lex had already gotten her epidural, so she was resting quite comfortably.  The nurse was in and out (and I had to step out a few times), but Dr. Sun came in to see her around 8am, and he broke her water.

Lexy and her nurse Paula

The armbands.  They got another one after the baby was born.

Vital signs monitoring.  Baby's heart rate was 150, Mom's blood
pressure was111/64 and SpO2 was 97%.  Can you say "Rockstar?"

Contraction monitor

So we all got ready.  Lexy and I did our makeup, and Dave ordered breakfast for himself.  Dave didn't want me to take a picture of him without his hair done.  I did get one, however, of his breakfast feast.

"Put on a little makeup, makeup . . ."

. . . with a little time-out for a contraction.

Dave's ginormous breakfast 

Nurse Paula, checking stuff out.

 Lexy was dying for some water, but she had to content herself with ice chips and saline nose spray.

What up?

I love this picture! Classic!

The White Board of Doom . . . with our predictions across the top.
Dave was closest in time and weight; I was closest in height.  

Lexy's epidural wasn't really working on one whole side of her body, so they did some interesting positioning, had the anesthesiologist come back in to give her a bolus of Fentanyl, and even used the peanut ball at one point.

Betcha can't guess why they call it a "peanut ball."

The Buddha Position

Trying to get some relief

At least she wasn't too uncomfortable for long.  Around 10am, she was fully dilated.  She was bravely holding on until Dr. Sun came back.

Seriously . . . who looks this gorgeous when they are having a baby?  My sister-in-law!

Baby had a few decelerations with the contractions, so they decided to put an oxygen mask on her.

And Dave was at her side the whole time.

One of my favorites from the whole day.

Dr. Sun finally made his way to room #234 {he had spent some time next door with a lady who was SCREAMING!}, and it was time to get into position.  I took my place in the 'safety zone.'

Dr. Sun getting gowned up for his first delivery of 2014!  With Mary Ann, the nursery RN

Then it was time to push!  I had to put down my camera for a couple of minutes, as it was distracting the doctor.  So this is what I got of the pushing.

Holding her breath, and pushing for three counts of 10

And . . . he came out just perfectly!

Suctioning out his little nose and mouth

Baby was crying and peeing all over everything!

And Dave announced that his name would be Ezra Patrick Nolan.  I LOVE IT.

Bringing Ezra up for some skin-to-skin contact with mom

Sweet baby boy!

A very small glimpse of the placenta in the background

Dave & I followed Mary Ann over to the incubator while Paula and Dr. Sun took care of Lexy.

Look at those wrinkles!

Massage and APGARs

Getting weighed--bigger than any of us thought he would be!

Looking concerned

Thanks for the hat, but take me back to my mommy!

Yes, sir!

Handing him over

I took some time out to e-mail pictures to Dave, so he could send out the announcement to the family.  Then I got a few more pictures before his first bath.

And some with daddy.

A couple of him getting cleaned up.

Angry babies!

Finally drying off

Then Nurse Paula got Lexy up to use the restroom.  Since her epidural was only working on one side, one of her legs was still numb.  So she got to use this cool half-sitting, half-standing contraption.

Lexy with Nurse Paula {and being photobombed by Nurse Mary Ann}

We got ready to be transferred out of Labor & Delivery, into the post-partum room.

Ready to roll.

Me with the cutest little man!

All settled in to the new room.

I've gotta go to bed.  I'll do another post with the kiddos meeting their new brother for the first time.  It's very sweet.  This whole experience was just amazing.  I love these people, and especially this tiny boy!

*Please do not use these pictures without permission!  Thank you!