mad men

Happy 2010 everyone!

I thought I’d write a 2009 wrap-up post that is, uh, rather lengthy. Initially I wasn’t going to do this, but as I went through last year’s posts I was reminded of some really awesome things that occurred. I also had some fun blog opportunities for which I am very thankful.

I kicked the year off by poking fun at Dick Cheney and was wowed by Celine Dion along with several other Nashville mommy bloggers, thanks to the fabulous Alli Worthington of Blissdom Conference fame.

In February the hubby gave me an iPhone and it’s been love at first app. I asked my readers to tell me about their favorite iPhone apps in a post entitled My iPhone Brings All The Geeks To The Yard. I slept with White Trash Mom at Blissdom and drove my friend Amy Allen Clark to BFE for biscuits at The Loveless. I was interviewed by The Tennessean for an article about blogging and then everyone in the world (OK just my boss and a few co-workers) found out about my blog. The article is no longer on The Tennessean’s website, but Murfreesboro blogger Bona Fide Mama posted it. Why didn’t I think of that?

March brought a much anticipated spring break trip. I lamented about buying a bathing suit when you’re 39 and suffer from stomach flabalance. We went to beautiful Sandestin resort in Destin, Florida, for the first time and loved it! I uploaded a ton of pictures to my Flickr account if you’d like to check out our Sandestin pictures. This was the first travel review opportunity through my blog and I’m hoping we get to review more family travel destinations (oh Disney…hint hint, we are Magic Kingdom virgins!) I wrote about Miss A’s thumb sucking habit and lo and behold later she quit cold turkey so I’m glad I documented it.

FrenchBully

Miss A discovered her inner fashionista and practically slept in her new black boots. The girls got a French Bulldog puppy named Gigi vicariously through my dad. I took some of my all time favorite pictures of the girls by the Harpeth River for On A Bike, Down By The River. I also wrote one of my favorite posts of 2009 called I Wanna Be 6, Or At Least Have The Stress Level Of A 6-Year-Old. April also was the month Miss C finally lost a tooth! I became a Blogger Fit Ambassador for Lee Jeans and I wear their Slender Secret jeans darn near DAILY (see also aforementioned flabalanche phenomenon with a side of blogger’s butt).

Thomas Drugs

In May Miss C and I went to an old fashioned soda shop, Thomas Drugs, with my mom near my hometown. My sister completed her first sprint distance triathlon at the JCC here in Nashville. I toured the Fed Ex Super Hub in Memphis along with fellow Nashville mommy blogger Amy from Milkbreath and Margaritas. Miss C, our soccer girl, performed in her first ever formal dance recital and her gorgeous costume took my breath away. The hubby and I celebrated our 12th wedding anniversary and yes I did shave my legs.

Miss C tutu

The next month I joined the Sprout TV Band of Bloggers. I got sentimental in This Dress. We flew to St. Augustine, Florida, for summer vacation in what was a little reunion for my husband, who lived in that area for three years. We stayed at the Renaissance Resort in the World Golf Village and loved it! My blog was nominated for best local Nashville blog by Nick Jr.’s Parents Connect. I did not win but it was honor, as they say, just to be nominated.

Castillo

Miss A discovered my childhood cheerleading costume in July and looked flat out adorable in it. I kvetch about our local ice cream man. Tennessee Titans quarterback Steve McNair was murdered and I recalled the first time we saw the then Tennessee Oilers play at Vanderbilt.

Miss A Cheerleader

Be still my heart, Miss C started second grade in August and Miss A celebrated by dressing like the Hello Kitty Unabomber. The hubby and I celebrated my 40th birthday with a trip to a lovely bed and breakfast in Asheville, North Carolina.

In September the girls and I ventured downtown to the library one rainy, miserable Saturday and we had a fantastic time watching the Nashville Ballet. Miss A invented The Poop Ghost. I invented The Tooth Fairy Authority Mom. We saw The Wiggles at Municipal Auditorium.

The Wiggles Concert Nashville

In October I was invited to the Nissan Sedan 2010 Media Preview and fell in lust with an Altima with leather interior. Rowwrrrr. I celebrated my 4th blogging anniversary and I admitted to being in a funk over turning 40. I reflected on my extinct boyfriends and give advice on how not to dress like a Cougar in the carpool lane. We had our first ER visit ever with a child with Miss A and it scared the pee out of me! Thankfully she was fine.

The fall brought more travel and we headed to Cumberland Falls, Kentucky, to celebrate a college friend’s 40th. But first, we had to get there. And that’s a whole notha story (there’s a reason I call myself “blonde” and it has nothing to do with my hair color). I became obsessed with AMC’s Mad Men Jon Hamm, my new favorite TV show. We searched for the Great Pumpkin.

Jon Hamm

Just a little eye candy to make sure you’ve made it this far. I know…just keep swimming, just keep swimming, I mean reading. You can do it. COME ON!

December brought another first for us as we were invited to ride in the downtown Franklin Christmas parade with friends (and we froze our booties off!) Our Akita mix Jack celebrated his birthday and I reflect on what a truly awesome beast he is.

I’m pretty excited about what 2010 holds. I say BRING IT!

Photo courtesy of Vanity Fair. OK so I may have just wanted an excuse to post a picture of a shirtless Jon Hamm.

I’m new to the Mad Men craze but it’s hit me like a stiff drink over ice…I love it. I never write about television on my blog, but since my affection for Don, I mean Mad Men, runs deep and it’s the only show I’m watching with any regularity this year I thought I’d post my random thoughts about last night’s season finale.

I considered wearing my black cashmere cardigan and pearls to mourn the end of my weekly Mad Men fix, but it’s too hot here for cashmere and hubby and I are still catching up on seasons 1 and 2. If you don’t watch Mad Men, well, I’m sorry, but considering I’ve skipped over many LOST recap posts I don’t feel too bad.

True to Mad Men form last night’s finale was unpredictable. What you see on the surface is not always the reality. Everyone has their little schemes, their deep dark secrets hidden beneath the suits and shifts, the cuff links and pearls. The show focused primarily on Don’s kick ass attempt to, as always, stay on top despite others’ attempts to pull his strings. His marriage is crumbling and he’s letting Betty go, for now, but he’s not going to sit back and let Sterling Cooper go down the drain. I loved Roger calling Joan in to save the day and I KNEW as soon as he said he was going to make a phone call he’d be calling Joanie. I was waiting for them to call Sal, though. I miss his character. I loved that Don kicked in the door to the art room. Pete’s secretary screaming, “We’ve been robbed!,” was classic.

I was a little surprised about Pete coming on board (I hate his skeevy little beady-eyed character) but even sweet Trudy and her perkiness and her sandwiches couldn’t annoy me when they all rallied in the hotel room to rebuild a bigger (and you know it will be better) Sterling Cooper. There’s something about Peggy’s character that bugs me although for once it was nice to see Pete accept her as a peer and not give her the weird possessive vibe.

I love the Don and Betty drama but the finale wasn’t really dominated by that. I love their chemistry. Betty is definitely a little girl in pearls playing housewife. I don’t think she’ll ever grow up. I could almost hear her thinking “Oh sh*t” on the plane to Reno with Henry by her side. Something’s gotta give. The scene where Don crawls into bed with Sally killed me, as well as the scene where they tell Sally and Bobby that Don will no longer be living with them. I don’t think it occurred to Betty how hard it would be to tell the kids.

I don’t think Don and Betty will reconcile, but does anyone really believe Betty will have a happily ever after with Henry? Perhaps Henry will run for political office and Don will discover some sort of dirty secret or maybe he’ll end up sleeping with Henry’s grown daughter (not sure how old she is.) I’m waiting for Suzanne the free-spirited teacher to reappear in Don’s life now that Betty’s filed for divorce. I keep waiting for her to snap, though, or for her crazy brother to reappear.

So everything that was no longer is—from Don and Betty’s on the surface storybook marriage to the Madison Avenue empire Sterling Cooper—and that will keep the writers, and the fans, busy until season 4.

Want to see something hilarious? Here’s the SNL spoof “Don Draper’s Guide to Picking Up Women.”

Jon Hamm answers fan queries on AMC’s website.

The Basket of Kisses Mad Men blog has a great interview with Hamm.

What did you think of last night’s finale?