Wednesday, December 29, 2010

2010, by the numbers

If you had told me on one of the last days of December 2009 that I would be living in Virginia in December 2010 and getting ready to head overseas to some unknown embassy with my family I would have laughed at the absurdity.  Instead of my usual end-of-the-year blog post in which I talk about my resolutions (because let's face it, I'm probably never going to stop swearing or start exercising every day), I've decided to do a 2010 retrospective, by the numbers.

 26--Number of chickens we started out with
   0---Number of chickens we have now
  0---Number of "store eggs" my kids are willing to eat
   1---Number of times one of my children fainted from a State Dept. medical clearance blood draw
196-Approximate number of times my children barfed
 11-- Number of states we drove through with said barfing children
  8---National monuments and landmarks we visited on the way to Virginia
 14--Times I was served iceberg lettuce salad in middle America
  3---Number of times my children whined about not having any vegetables on never-ending trip
  3---Times per day my husband ordered beef in middle America
  4--Times I Googled "how to restart your husband's heart in Wyoming"
  0---Bed bug encounters.  Yes!
  1---Flea infestation at an unnamed corporate apartment in Virginia 
  0---Pairs of shoes I bought to reward myself for all this upheaval  (Haha!  Just kidding.)
One Bazillion--Miles Mitch put on his car commuting from Whidbey Island to his unrewarding job in Seattle
Two Bazillion--Dollars we lost when we sold our house on Whidbey Island
  5---Good sources to buy sourdough bread within short driving distance of our old house
  0---Good sources to buy sourdough bread anywhere in Virginia
48--Approximate times I saw a Prius on the road per day in Seattle
  3---Priuses I've seen the whole time we've lived in Virginia
100-Days we've lived in our current rental house
100-Times I've missed my old kitchen
Three Bazillion--Minutes I spent on hold with Verizon
 42--Times I've looked up airfare prices back to the Pacific Northwest
 9---Fabulous outings in DC with the kids
 0---Trips to the wine shop (Haha!  Kidding again!)
 1--Great date night which included Full Frontal Nudity, not our own
12--Things trashed or broken by the movers
 4--Number of places we've lived in the past seven months
 0--Regrets about this adventure
36-Minutes I've spent writing this list when I should be exercising and practicing not swearing. Shit.

9 comments:

Jennifer said...

About a Gazillion -- Number of times you've made me laugh or smile over the last year recounting your many adventures.

Happy New Year to you all!

Bfiles said...

what, you don't like the pink kitchen?

this is great! glad to hear you have no regrets.

Kate said...

Loulou-thanks, at least I didn't make you cry. Happy New Year to you and Barrie.

Bfiles-I do still love the cuteness of the pink kitchen, it's just entirely impractical and tiny and my old kitchen was pretty big and awesome.

Jennifer said...

Well, sometimes the barfing stories brought tears to my eyes.

I hope you haven't spent too much time crying...

Anonymous said...

0 times my kids have barfed in the past 3 years. I am amazed at the barfiness of your family and your calm, no-nonsense, zip-lock bag approach to the phenomenon. You deserve a medal. Our next vacation is to D.C. Hope you haven't left on your overseas mission by the time we get there. Congrats on a wonderful, life-changing, exiting adventure in 2010. Way to be an inspiration to your kids and the rest of us.

Kate said...

Lynda-3 years without barf?! Olivia barfed tonight. Would love to spend time with you guys in DC. Thanks for your sweet words.

Lauren said...

I just found your blog on Sadie Abroad and I will certainly be following you. Your 2010 in Numbers is too funny and is keeping me laughing. Thank you! We're a new FS family with no regrets either. Happy New Year!

Naomi G said...

Happy New Year Kate. Jess sent me the link to your blog and I love it, makes me snicker at work.

Sadie said...

This week’s State Department Blog RoundUp is here, and you're on it!

http://sadieabroad.blogspot.com/2010/12/state-department-blog-roundup.html

Please let me know if you have any objections and would like to be removed. Thanks, and Happy New Year!