I hope everyone had a great week and a very Merry Christmas. I usually have a weekly series, Week in Review. This week I thought it would be fun to do a Year in Review instead. So enjoy a recap of the year and share thoughts about yours.

Favorite Books
I am realizing I didn’t write a single book review for the blog this year even though I did read a lot. I wonder if I should start including book review posts again in 2020 or nix them all together. What do you think?
Anyway, on to my best reads of 2019…
Tell Me More: Stories About the 12 Hardest Things I’m Learning to Say by Kelly Corrigan. This book spoke to me. So much so that I re-read it. So much so that I plan on giving a copy to all the moms in my life for Mother’s Day next year. So much so that I plan on going through and highlighting my favorite parts before giving the copies out. It is insightful and truthful and funny and perfect.
Elenor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman. I think I am behind on discovering this gem. It is another one that I will probably re-read, which doesn’t happen often. If you haven’t read it yet, add it to your list for 2020.
Favorite Movies
I can tell we are doing alright because we are paying for our very own instance of HBO. Yep, that’s one of my benchmarks for how well the hubs and I are adulting. Most of the movies we watched this year weren’t brand new in the theaters but streamed from the comfort of our home. So these may not have been released in 2019, but we watched them for the first time this year.
BlacKkKlansman.When a good movie is based on a true story, that makes it even better. This sounds unbelievable, but it is about how a black police officer infiltrated the KKK in the 1970s.
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald . There was a lot going on in the movie and took me watching two times to catch how the backstories and characters related to what I already knew. Even though there was a lot going on here, I still enjoyed this movie. I am sucker though and will return to the wizarding world anytime it’s offered.
Favorite TV shows
The Mandalorian. DisneyPlus got us hook, line, and sinker with this new series. It is the main reason we subscribed, and baby Yoda has us returning excitedly every week. I haven’t liked the latest trilogy of movies, but the side stories have been solid, including The Mandalorian.
Russian Doll. I didn’t watch this for the longest time, thinking that the Groundhog Day type loop gets old easily and has been done before. One late night I was tired of scrolling and finally gave it a go. I was pleasantly surprised that it executed a twist to the repeating story very well, and Natasha Lyonne is a pleasure to watch.
Favorite Blog Posts
This is actually a plug! I am going to be hosting a blog meet and greet in January asking bloggers to leave a link to their own favorite post of 2019. So be thinking about what you have published on your blog and would want to share. I’ll be highlighting links that get shared in my 2020 Week in Reviews.
Best New Discovery
Leonardo’s Children’s Museum. We had the best weekend earlier this year in Enid, OK. Leonardo’s was easy for all three kids to explore and for me to keep an eye on them all. We could have spent the whole day inside or at their fairytale playground. Napoli’s down the road offered a delicious meal after we had worked up an appetite.
The best local to OKC discovery has been the salad plate at the Mediterranean Deli. I’ve been a fan of this place for more than a decade but only got hooked on their salad plate this year. You can pick 4 salads from their deli for only 6 bucks. It is fresh, filling, and affordable.
Biggest Struggle
Lack of sleep. My sweet baby girl has been an amazing addition to our family, but she has not been a great sleeper. It’s been hard trying to get through work every day on a few hours of sleep for over a year. Then it’s been hard coming home trying to be a present parent and spouse.
Biggest Achievement
Weaning. Just in the nick of time for the new year, the baby is completely weaned (this week!). It’s helped her and I sleep better through the night.
Side note, she’s well over a year old now, but I can’t stop calling her “the baby”.
Fox25 reached out earlier this year to collaborate on doing some online Back to School videos with them. It was a unique experience the kids and I got to share.
One Word to Describe the Year
Foggy. The sleep deprivation has been no joke. There were many times I was awake feeling like I was walking through a dream.
Hopes for 2020
Focus. Last year my hope for this year was to try to find a balance between work, home, and all the extras. Technically I did all the things. I didn’t do anything well though. I am realizing I am at a time in my life where I need to trim the fat temporarily if I am going to make it through.
So I have stepped back from a few elected responsibilities at work. I have also submitted my last post as a contributor to the Oklahoma City Blog, and I am still looking at what else I can take off my plate. I’m not sure what that looks like for this blog yet honestly. But I hope by cutting back I can be more focused at work while I am work and on home while I am at home.
Thank you to everyone and anyone who has taken a moment out of their day to read anything on BigAndPinkyToes this year. I appreciate your time and comments and our friendships.
Tumultuous. I love that Deli. It is right down the street and is so good! I’m also stepping back from some things to have more time with the family. Happy New Year to you!!
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My work is right in your neighborhood I think!
Good luck to us! Happy new year:)
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“Interesting” might be my simple word for 2019…among others. I hope you and your family are having a wonderful Holiday season and have a happy new year. Best, Teresa at Food on Fifth.
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Interesting, that’s a good one. It could cover everything good and/or bad. Thanks for leaving it here 🙂 Happy New Year to you!
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I can’t believe how big your little one looks now. Isn’t she still that teeny tiny baby that you blogged not that long ago?
My word for 2019 would be unexpected. There were many changes that I didn’t expect both good and bad.
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I know! It breaks my heart how time goes by so fast in some ways.
Unexpected. That’s another good one. It could cover so much in that one word.
Wishing you an amazing 2020!!
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Hi Lacey! I would love to see you post some book reviews on your blog again. 🙂 I actually tried to read Eleanor Oliphant this year, too. I couldn’t quite get into it though! How fun that you’ll be doing a link up in Jan. Can’t wait to see which posts you highlight.
The playground looks like a blast & the salad plate from the deli looks delish. Baby is so cute! & yay for getting her completely weaned. 😁
Will you be sharing the back to school vids you made with Fox25? Would love to see them!
Happy New Year!! I hope your sleeping schedule improves in 2020. ❤
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Okay cool. Thanks for the input. Maybe I will start the book reviews up again. The Elenor Olipant book, I liked how she knew she was so weird and didn’t mind. Then I just got curious what made her that way.
I linked the best video in this post, but maybe I should do an entire post with all the videos in one spot?
Happy New Year to you too! I can’t wait to see what 2020 has in store for you ❤❤❤
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I actually liked her character a lot, too. You should try reading Close Enough to Touch by Colleen Oakley– I have a feeling you’d enjoy it. 🙂 Looking forward to reading your book reviews if you do decide to post some again!
❤ ❤
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Additionally g it to my to read list now. Tha is for the suggestion!
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