As we did this time last year, let’s take another stroll through the archives to see what happened here at The Bean Blog in 2009.

In January I discovered I may be getting a little too drunk old for girl’s night out.

I began to loathe my treadmill, but I did work up a sweat as a groupie.

In February my treadmill tried to kill me so we had to break up.

I stupidly cooked two weeks of meals in one day…which I will never do again.

And I locked myself in the laundry room and had to be saved my 6-year-old.

In March I went roller skating for the first time since junior high. Also ice skating. And I sucked at both.

After running in to a man from my past I told my story of domestic abuse.

Turns out Lee and I shop exactly the same way.

In April our great state of Iowa began to allow same-sex marriage.

My friends and I had a flashback to the 80′s at the NKOTB concert.

Justis turned 17. Just one year away from 18. *hold me*

In May I once again realized how sewing challenged I am.

I overcame my fear of public speaking. Well maybe overcame isn’t true. But I gave a speech without almost peeing my pants so that was an accomplishment.

Caleb turned 7 and finally got his goggles.

After several years of college, Lee graduated with an Associates degree in LAN Management. And then celebrated his 39th birthday.

And then we got the bombshell that Justis wanted to move back to live with his mom for his senior year.

In June I debated the role of stay-at-home dads multiple times.

I celebrated my 35th birthday in Vegas.

The stay-at-home dad debate continued in to July.

My friend, Carolyn, and I were stranded at Subway.

I went to my very first BlogHer and had a blast.

In August Caleb almost drowned at the pool. And the next day he almost killed himself at the park.

Keaton turned 15 and showed his love for all things Apple by liking his new iPod touch.

I got a new piercing…in my eyebrow.

And I almost had a panic attack while school supply shopping.

In September I took shopping advice from Lee and regretted it.

I got my panties in a wad about the debate over the President speaking directly to our kids.

In October Skyler & Spencer turned 10. Finally in to the double digits…much to my dismay. My babies are growing up.

After my blog was banned because Google hates me (or something like that), I kind of lost my blogging mojo. But after months of sporadic posting, I blogged every single day in November.

Spencer broke his wrist playing football and then got his cast off right after Halloween.

My laptop failed and I almost had a heart attack. But thankfully it was fixed within 24 hours.

I had some crazy dreams where I was in a bathtub of chili with Russell Brand. Or bald.

Lee and I celebrated our 12th wedding anniversary.

And then we celebrated my friend Lori’s 40th birthday.

Lee got a job and I now have to wake up earlier in the morning.

For the first time in, well, forever I started my Christmas shopping early. But when I asked Justis what he wanted all he said was “socks.”

In December I went to visit my Grandpa at the hospital and ended up $100 poorer.

Caleb had his first speaking part in a school musical. And I forgot my camera.

The flu shot tried to kill me.

For Christmas Caleb got a broken wrist.

It’s been a good year (aside from the blog blocking and bone breaking). Let’s hope 2010 is even better (and bone breaking free). Happy New Year!

Today is November 30th. The last day of NaBloPoMo. And I made it. I blogged every. single. day. for a whole month. This makes me 3 for 3 (there have only been 3 NaBloPoMos so far, right?) when it comes to NaBloPoMo. I consider it a pretty big feet this year considering I have now blogged more in the last 30 days then I did in the whole 6 months preceding November.

Speaking of feet, it’s been a NaBloPoMo tradition of mine to post a photo of my toe socks. Except today is the last day. And I’m not wearing any toe socks. (I know. Blasphemy!) So here’s a shot of my pretty star knee highs that I’m wearing today (again thanks to Sock Dreams who truly make all my sock dreams come true…and they don’t even pay me to say that).

There. Now your life is complete. You’re welcome.

I had a doctor’s appointment today. It was just a checkup from the asthma flare-up from earlier in the month. Just doing my part to help my doc put his kids through college.

While I was waiting for him to come in to the room I realized I was in such a hurry that I flew out of the house without my blackberry. Panic was starting to set in as my hands began to shake from blackberry withdrawals. I needed to find a distraction. Quickly.

So I started reading all the signs on the wall. Things like “Please wait 15 minutes after an injection before leaving the office” (something I never do by way because I’ve never actually read these signs before…usually I’m too busy playing on my blackberry) and “Check with your pharmacy for medication refills.”

Then I noticed a poster about their new website launch. They have redesigned their website to be more interactive. Now you can pre-register for surgery online. You can pay your bill online. You can “visit a patient online” (which is really just messaging them so I’m not sure why they don’t just call it that, but whatever).

At the bottom of this poster it said you could find them on Facebook and Twitter.

And that’s when it hit me. Facebook and Twitter aren’t just for us tech savvy Internet nerds anymore. Now everybody’s using them. The masses are taking over our social networking tools. Pretty soon my mom is going to be following me on Facebook. And my grandma will be sending me tweets on Twitter.

This must be how the college students felt when we started taking over Facebook. I used to think they were just big whiners. But now I’m starting to feel their pain. What if I don’t want my grandpa Stumbling Upon my blog? *sigh*

This morning I got up, took the kids to school, and then came home to check my email.

After my email I read the newspaper…online.

Then I checked out the classifieds to see if there were any jobs out there screaming my name.

I found an interesting job at the University of Iowa so I got on to their website to submit an application.

While I was searching the net and applying for jobs I was also chatting with my best girlfriends on AIM. Just catching up on how their night was last night and what was in store for the day.

Eventually I stepped away from my laptop to shower and go in to the office.

In the office I got right to work reviewing the contracts that were waiting for me in my inbox. I opened them in Word and redlined them with my mouse before sending them back to coworkers.

During my break I logged on to Facebook to check up on old high school friends. And, I admit it, play a few games.

Then I logged on to Twitter to see if there was any news on Anissa’s condition. And I prayed with other bloggers for Anissa to overcome this stroke.

Over lunch I gobbled down a pizza sub while surfing the major news sites…ok, and the gossip sites.

Then I used dexonline.com to find the address and phone number of Caleb’s eye doctor so I could enter them in to my Blackberry.

Later as I reviewed a contract that referred to currency exchange, I googled the latest currency rate between USD and Euros.

Before I left to take the kids to their student-led conferences I checked several items off of my online to-do list.

At the kids’ conferences their teachers gave me a paper that included the URL to several websites the kids could go to for homework help. And the teacher gave me a computer print out of the kids’ grades including the teacher’s comments. Caleb’s teacher also talked to me about a new program they are offering in the morning to help kids who are struggling with reading. They will go in the computer lab before school and read books on the computer.

When I got home I queued up the episode of Private Practice I missed three weeks ago. My DVR was screwy that week so I need to watch the episode online.

But before I watched the show I did an internet search for connections between reading disabilities and cleft lip and palate. I read a few educational white papers from universities all over the world. I want to make sure I’ve done some homework before Caleb’s next plastic surgery appointment to see if there is any light his doctor can shed on these reading problems.

And now I’m blogging so I can keep a connection with my bloggy friends all over the country and even foreign places I’ve never been and may never be.

Can somebody please tell me how we survived without the internet? I mean I shudder to think about actually…

…writing letters to friends to find out what’s going on a week after it happend
…reading the newspaper on actual paper
…applying for a job by mailing my resume through snail mail (which was just plain mail back then)
…calling my best girlfriends on the telephone
…reviewing hardcopy contracts that had to be overnighted to me via courier and which I would have to redline with an actual red pen
…guess what old high school friends were doing
…or having to use actual playing cards to play a game of solitaire
…going to a break room to catch a snippet of CNN hoping the news I want to see is on during that time
…running a newsstand to get a copy of the latest people to find out the latest on Michael Jackson or Paris Hilton or Miley Cyrus
…opening the actual phonebook to find a number and address
…not know the currency rate until the next day’s Wall Street Journal
…writing to-do list items on a notepad with a pen
…having to use flashcards for homework help
…and getting report cards with teacher comments in the teacher’s handwriting
…having to wonder what happened on a missed television episode
…having to rely on my doctor’s expertise only for questions about our health
…living without bloggy friends.