Pages

Monday, December 28, 2009

The Whines of 2009!

Welcome, Pixies, to the Year-End Edition of the Whiner's Ball! As most of you know, we consider the WW community to be a place where we can leave all of those little troubles that plague us far, far behind. I know, in my own case, having a place where I can get even the most piddly, insignificant-seeming worries off of my chest has made a real difference. I have come to cherish my WW friends, and to look forward to our discussions and relish the fact that I always have a place where SOMEONE understands. The WW community has become a virtual room where friends gather on the comfy couches and have fellowship.

2009 was a rough year for many people, pixies included. We've heard some awful, heart-breaking whines, but we've heard some positive and uplifting anti-whines as well. This is your chance to tell us about the things that 2009 brought you, for better or for worse.

You may whine in all traditional categories, as normal, and there will be a special Whine of The Year prize as well. This is given out at my sole discretion (To hell with what all the other moderators think! What a way to make friends and influence people, no?!?) for the most awful, biggest, heaviest whine of them all. Other prizes are up for grabs, depending on the category and seasonal whim. Regular weekly whines are permissible, and moreover, suggested!

To you, pixies, I send wishes for a healthy and prosperous 2010. May all of your cares be small, and may all of your joys be great! May your significant others realize your worth and make light your burdens; may your children grow to love you more each day, and may each day with your families be better than the one before. I know all the other moderators join me in saluting each of you for making the WW the place that it is today, and send you all our best and hope we keep this community alive for a long, long time to come.

Let the final whine of 2009 begin!

32 comments:

Liz Miller said...

Down below, in the comments of the awards post, I said (and I quote),

"AW: My SIL has some tentatively awesome news.

W: It has caused a knitting emergency. One baby sweater needed before the end of January. Tentatively."

I hereby add the following:

W: DAMMIT! This sweater is knitting up too fast! And I totally forgot to bring either a measuring tape or stitch holders with me.

AW: This sweater is knitting up fast! Woot!

kathy a. said...

lovely introduction, klee!

congrats, liz, on the awesome anti-whine and knitting!

apologies for jumping the gun on whines of the in-law [out-law?] persuasion, in the thread below. sometimes a pixie's just gotta whine before something pops.

kathy a. said...

AW: sweet daughter and her best friend are here -- they hit the big city and shopped, are watching videos and eating popcorn. yay! they haven't seen each other in 6 months!!

Liz Miller said...

Whimper.

sarah at ratatat said...

I'll take it as an AW that I can't even think of a whine this year that should be in contention for whine of the year?

And I second Klee is loving the Pixie community.

Whine of review: I tried to be frugal this year. And looking at my progress, I was OK...until Christmas. Bah!

Whine: How can a 10 hour a week job take up so much time?

Antiwhine: My daughter's anxiety is quieter. She is just about falling asleep on her own at night, just somewhat dramatically. My son is learning to read and spell. The baby is hitting all of her milestones except talking. And with the other two as "late" talkers, I'd have been knocked over with a feather if she had started talking on target.

Happy New Year!

KLee said...

Bad form as mod to whine, but my wonky elbow that was giving me trouble about 6-8 months ago? It has returned. And in spades. Awards may be late on Thursday because I have a doctor's appointment. Hopefully, I will get something to actually HELP it.

kathy a. said...

sarah, those are some pretty good antiwhines!

klee, sorry about the elbow, and hope the doctor's appointment helps!

kathy a. said...

year 2009 in review:

W: cat poop and cat bark.
AW: the funniest cats on the planet, appearing live every day!

W: hot flashes from hell in the spring. aunt flo followed up.
AW: i have reason to think next year might be the year for blessed menopause. [assuming that being around fertile young women over the holidays doesn't set things off again.]

W: sister has cancer; repeated mams for me, the last at some expensive-beyond-belief fireplacing brand new cancer center.
AW: sis is doing well; no cancer here; and maybe uninsured people will get access to health care soon.

W: tear-out-my-hair work woes.
AW: unbloggable good things on the work front.

W: another family funeral, and several sources of family angst.
AW: a fabulous family wedding; 2 great parties; and my beloved, my 2 grown babies, and those moments of laughter and glory.

W: why am i so whiney?
AW: ever so grateful for my online buddies in whining. passing the chocolate and beverages, raising a toast to you all!

esperanza said...

Weekly Whine of Ungratefulness: Mr. E's church has *just now* decided to do a baby shower for us, January 10. That is just two weeks before the C-Section is scheduled for Mini Baboo. Which seems a bit close, no? How many times will Esperanza have to get up to pee during the shower? That could be a game. And we don't really need anything. The few things we did need, I've gotten, since I hadn't heard anything about a shower. Not to mention that I have zero confidence about actually making it to the scheduled date, given my experience with the Sweet Baboo. Missing one's own shower is a no-no, no?

Antiwhine of the Week: good Christmas with family, nobody got on anyone else's nerves more than usual. And the two little cousins were just really, really cute.

Whine of the Year: the whole butt-on-bed/couch thing that occupied my worries for several months. I am much improved but still taking it pretty easy. I so wanted Mini Baboo to be a "Esperanza is not a nervous wreck" pregnancy, but alas.

Antiwhines of the Year: Mini Baboo's continued gestation (thanks, Santa, just what I wanted for Christmas); Sweet Baboo's continued improvements (she's only behind the milestones on speech!); a move to a really wonderful place; and the WW crew--said really wonderful place is fairly isolated and homogeneous, and I have so appreciated this community and a place for me to interact with people different than my neighbors and be supported in my whines, large and small. Leftover Christmas goodies, all around.

Sue said...

Klee - thanks for the start-up! (and it's ok for the mod to whine.)

Whine: the 2009 Trigger Point Injection Catastrophic Failure. The first round (2008) held Teh Headache off for a lovely five months. 2009 - a pitiful 10 days. Fireplace.

Anti-whine: Good physiotherapist, good massage therapist, good hubby to support me even when I whine about hurting. Better work hour boundaries despite the happiness police.

Whine: "Back to full time" says the Big. Mean. Insurance. Jerks. Not working out as well as I had hoped.

Anti-whine: I have a job.

Whine: My hair is really greasy.
(Perhaps that doesn't fall into the "Year in Review" category, but I felt it worth mention nonetheless.)

Anti-whine: I'm off to the gym to workout and shower away the "Crisco Kid" look.

Whine: Big boy kitteh has diabetes.
Anti-whine: It's quite manageable and he will be around to taunt us with playing all night for many years to come.

Whine: I can't retire for another 15 years (hey, whine big or go home, right?)
Anti-whine: I have a job.

Esperanza - boo about the late in the pregnancy. We tend to do things differently up here and have the showers after the baby comes - that way everyone gets to hold said baby and go "oooo, aaaaa" while mama puts her feet up and opens good loot. Maybe it's a Canadian thing....anyway, lots of prayers for you and Mini-Boo.

Best wishes to all the pixies. I don't know what I would do without you to listen to my whines - from the highly existential to the most meaningless little troubles.

You're are the best!

Monica said...

I'll throw in my vote for Sue for Whine of the Year.

And it's not a Canadian thing--it's less common here, but not unheard of. As long as no one shared their germs with the baby (yucky stuff going around this town), it would be *fine* with me. And it would save me the griping about Mini's gender being unknown at this juncture.

JenR said...

I'm off this week and have sent the munchkin to daycare anyway. How mean is that? We're paying for it anyway, so I might as well get stuff done around the house, right? There lies the whine... turns out I stink at getting stuff done when nobody is around to do it with me. Oh well - at least I can now walk from one end of my basement to the other. That's progress that wouldn't have happened with an alost-two year old's "help".

Sue said...

Anti-whine x3 = My hair is no longer greasy. I used my Christmas money to buy New! Running! Shoes!!! I now have snow tires on my car.

Not a bad day all the way around.

JenR - I'm the same. I can't get anything done without a team of cheerleaders urging me on. Just sayin... (that may explain why I haven't cleaned the top of my fridge in - well, a long time. Who looks up there anyway, right?

esperanza said...

Hm. I was clearly signed in with my real name up there. Monica is me.

JenR--me too. I need company and preferably a short-term deadline. Otherwise, what's the hurry? And Sue, who can *see* the top of the fridge?

Sue said...

Esperanza - exactly. It's not like anyone's, you know, TALL enough to see up there, right? (thankfully no one around *here* can see it - though the cats do get up there occasionally...)

Madeleine said...

I'm exactly the same way! I am so much less likely to tackle house projects without company. Or work projects, which is rather unfortunate and counterproductive.

The top of the fridge is a crowded wasteland at my house.

Weekly anti-whine: Home. So nice to be home. And half-way done with the trip laundry, I think.

Weekly whine: The bad cold is making the rounds of the family. Sneezy, cough-y, congested. That's us.

Still contemplating The Year That Was.

Oh, and I have one question for the Prime Minister: ARE YOU INSANE?

OK, sorry, no more canadian political whines.

Sarah at ratatat said...

I am glad I am not alone in the not being able to clean much without an audience. We should start a traveling band of watching-you-clean-and-organize-ers.

The post birth shower sounds nice to me, but I am not a big shower fan to start with :)

KLee said...

Sue and Esperanza, I *am* tall enough to see the top of the fridge, and I STILL don't care. So, unless cleanliness is really your strong suit, and YOU want to come clean the top of my fridge, dirty she stays.

I just pile stuff on top, like the cereal boxes, and paper plate holders and boxes of microwave popcorn. It's like another cabinet, only without the fugly fake wood door.

Awards will probably be late afternoon tomorrow. I'm not attending any New Year's Eve parties, so I will have time to set up awards, so get your whines in! :)

debangel said...

::waves:: hi, Pixies!

Whine/bodily fluids: am at 2cm! And had membranes stripped b/c can't take it anymore and need to get this show on the dang road! (Due date: 1/7, but Doc of Much Awesomeness is leaving town!) Owww...

Antiwhine: Show did not get on the dang road too dang early (see whines from approx. 14 weeks ago!). Also, down a pound from last week despite having applied copious amounts of Williams-Sonoma peppermint bark to my hungry gullet. 23 lbs at 39 weeks, not bad!

Whine: Feel like moose anyway, and am afraid the membrane stripping will not work and I will continue to feel like crap from sporadic contractions for the next week.

Antiwhine: I can has baybee gurl soon!!

Final whine: Am being totally self-centered right now. Not nice! But having contractions, so please forgive!

Antiwhine: Pixies are just cool like that, so I know you will! Love, hugs, happy new year wishes and virtual peppermint bark all around!

kathy a. said...

best to you, debangel, and the soon-to-be new pixie! xoxo

esperanza said...

debangel, I had been wondering! I knew you were just a few weeks ahead of me but couldn't remember exactly. Fingers crossed for baby girl's speedy, smooth, and safe arrival.

And re: cleaning. I don't want an audience. I want someone to *help* me, as long as they do it the way I want them to. Yeah, I'm fun.

Liz Miller said...

Icy roads make for fun commute.

Couldn't get a sitter for political shindig tonight, which is fine, 'cause it's way the hell out in Lovettsville and the roads are gonna be naaaaasty.

Yay Debangel!

Wait...people actually clean the tops of their refridgerators? Really?

Sue said...

madeleine - yes, the Prime Minister is a crazy person. 'nuff said.

Yay debangel and baby gurl - Happy New Year Baby!!!If you time it right, you might get all the good loot they give out to the First! Baby! of the Year!!!!

Liz - bleh to icy roads.

KLee, I hereby vow to clean the top of my fridge should you come to visit.

kathy a. said...

clean fridge tops are for
people who lack good hobbies.
pixies united!

Sue said...

I'll add an Amen to kathy a's thoughts on clean fridge tops.

Anti-whine: REALLY good conversation with a doc at the Canadian Medtronics company today re: Occipital Nerve Stimulation for chronic pain. Best part: the procedure, which is still experimental in the US, is being done weekly here in my very own province!!!!! That means it would ALL be covered by the provincial health plan if I decided to try it out. WooHoo!

esperanza said...

woo hoo for Sue and Canada! (except for the prime minister, apparently, even though I have no idea what I'm talking about).

amy said...

I'm so tired, all I can think of to encapsulate my year in whines are that once again I nearly missed the Whine this week, we don't know what's up with my husband's job, my mom fed the baby something she shouldn't have (have I whined about this?), and the house is a mess. [sigh]. Oh, and Tater will not go to sleep.

All of this is true at this very moment.

The end. Happy New Years!

Sue said...

esperanza - our idiot conservative Prime Minister has called the SECOND prorogue of parliament since he took office. Before him it had not happened in over 100 years. Idiot.

A prorogue is just a fancy word for a complete cessation of ANY of the work of parliament. Harper has put a stop to any bills before the federal government until MARCH. And my tax dollars are paying for this sweet vacay him and his cronies are taking.....

But at least I'm not bitter.

Happy 2010 everyone. May it be less whiny and more anti-whiny for all the pixies at the Whiner's Ball.

Madeleine said...

Happy New Year! Wishing all the pixies sweetness and light.

kathy a. said...

happy new year!

AW: yesterday, went to the movies with daughter and her best friend. then, had a lovely dinner with best friend's family.

W: today, aunt flo. i kid you not. my hormones are apparently easily influenced.

KLee said...

Awards are coming! Everyone hold tight!

I wanted to leave the thread up as long as possible to get the first whines of the New Year in.

Plus, I had a killer migraine, and I just got up.

kathy a. said...

klee, hope you are feeling better!