The Year Was 2018

As I watch Dick Clark's New Years Rockin' Eve and reminisce about the past 365 days, I once again realize how fortunate I was to experience so many great moments throughout the past year.  After a hiatus from Bails 'n Me for a couple years, I've found journaling and blogging to be very therapeutic for me.  It's been fun to catch up and capture our memories leading up to December 31st.  Below are links to blogs about 2018.

Bailey Is Cast In Winnie The Pooh  

A Year Of Shows

Stars On Ice

Sophomore Year

Comic Con

Chicago  and Summertime Memories

Halloween and Christmas

Time will tell what 2019 has in store for Bails 'n Me.  Stay tuned.  

Happy New Year!

Christmas 2018

Another Christmas has come and gone.  While many people are stressed out and rushing around to check items off their to-do list, I decided to be in the moment this Christmas season and focus on the reason for the season: The birth of our Savior.  The presents, sweets and time together with family is just a bonus.  

My favorite part of the Christmas season is Christmas Eve.  When I was younger, it was the excitement of going to my Great Grandpa and Grandma Reinking's home to open a bag full of presents and then get home to see if Santa had come to the farm.  When Bailey was younger it was "playing Santa" and seeing the excitement on her face when she saw that sack of presents in front of the tree following the Christmas Eve church service.  But now my favorite part is the Christmas Eve service itself, with the traditional Christmas carols and singing Silent Night by candlelight.  This reminder of God's gift to us overwhelms me at times.  I still get those warm, fuzzy feelings I had when I was younger.

In continuing with being in the moment, Bailey and I spent Christmas Day together.  Bailey suggested opening our gifts on Christmas Day instead of Eve this year.  She created a beautiful canvas art Bailey Seegers original for me, along with a chalkboard for us to create our own original work of art.  My gifts to her were Ariana Grande perfume and a book about her favorite boy band, BTS.  Later that afternoon we went to see Mary Poppins Returns at Crossroads Theater.  The new Dreamloungers were an awesome way to relax and enjoy this great movie.  We capped off our day with facials and fresh faces.  It was a great day spent together.    

Our Seegers Family Christmas was held the weekend before Christmas.  Once again we met up at Maple Lanes Bowling Alley.  This time together is a special way to celebrate the holiday and have some friendly competition.  It may also be the Christmas Bailey will remember when she beat Grandpa Seegers in a game of bowling, and almost beat Uncle Heath, until the final frame.  Seeing how our family is growing up sparked some nostagia in me so I decided to create some Christmas collages of Christmases past.  We are one blessed family.

I Choose Me

This past November I attended The Way Up Conference which is designed for women who work in higher education.  Being a Type A personality, I always go through the breakout sessions before a conference, identify those I plan to attend and get excited about all the new information I can learn.  One of the sessions I had planned to attend was cancelled so 2 women stepped in with a presentation based around the book, 'Stretched Too Thin'.

I've always been a believer that God works in mysterious ways and this presentation was once again God's way of intervening in my life.  Over the past 4 months I had become stressed, depressed, angry and anxious.  Some of the suggestions during the presentation motivated me to read the book when I returned home.  I was able to find a free copy to download to my Kindle and it probably sounds cliche, but I believe this book has changed my life.  Over the next week I did all the exercises in the book.  It was a great time for self-reflection and I discovered a new concept called self-care.  Sure, I'd heard about self-care before, but I was definitely not practicing it.  Being a single mom for over 17 years and developing strong independence as an adult, I often feel like I have to be self-sufficient and not ask for help.  At first self-care felt like I was being selfish, but as I began to make it a daily practice, I discovered that I could be a better mother, daughter, sister, friend, co-worker, advisor and more importantly, a better person through this practice.  It's not selfish to take care of ourselves.  In fact we must take care of ourselves in order to take care of others.

I had also recently heard the expression, 'It's okay not to be okay'.  This resonated with me and I began to ask for help and say 'no' more.  When people asked me how I was, I would respond 'okay'.  Not good.  Not fine.  Just okay.  And I was okay with that response.  I also realized that most people do not even listen for your response (or maybe even care), but that's okay too.

Stretched Too Thin refers to seasons in our lives and I realize I am in another new season of my life as my daughter prepares to head for college in a couple years, my parents are aging and I am at the mid-point of my career.  Bails 'n Me has been a special way for me to capture all the special moments in my life over the past 9 years so I plan to put my self-care into practice and reflect on this season of my life more through blogging.

Finally I have to suggest if you are a woman who feels stretched too thin, take some time to read this book.  It's a quick read and applying even a couple suggestions from the book could change how you live your life. 

Halloween: The Year Of Vanellope Von Schweetz

As I mentioned in a previous post, Bailey loves cosplay.  Expressing her love for DC Comics in Halloween 2016 and 2017, she decided to go with a "sweeter" costume this year.  She dressed up as Vanellope Von Schweetz from the movie, Wreck It Ralph and it's soon-to-be released sequel, Ralph Breaks the Internet.  She put her artistic creativity to work while pulling her costume together and once again created an individual masterpiece.  After passing out candy for an hour, we headed over to iHop for some pancakes and hot chocolate.  Although we don't trick-or-treat or attend the Pumpkin Patch Party anymore, we've found other fun ways to continue enjoying this holiday together.

Homecoming

Homecoming 2018 was a special time for Bailey.  A couple weeks before the dance she got up the courage to ask her friend Tex if he would like to go to the dance with her.  I won't embarrass her in this post with the details of how she asked Tex, but I will say it was done in true Bailey-style.  The same weekend as Homecoming I had scheduled a scrapbook retreat at Cedar Creek which I needed desperately.  Thanks to the modern technology of Facetime, I was able to talk to her and see her all dressed up before the dance.  You will have to ask her to share the details of this special night.  These pictures show my cutie growing into a beauty.     

Summer 2018

Summer 2018 was full of trips, college visits, surgeries, reunions, bubble tea and fun in the sun.

For the past 5 years we have kicked off our summer with Scratch cupcakes to celebrate the last day of school and look ahead to some fun.  A couple of our highlights this summer were Comic Con and our trip to Chicago, both captured in more detail at previous blog posts.

With only 2 years left of high school, Bailey began her college search process this summer, looking at theater for a major.  Knowing she liked visiting the Twin Cities, she wanted to check out the University of Minnesota.  I had done some searching of my own and discovered Riverland Community College in Austin, Minnesota which had a 2 year theater program.  Located halfway up to the Twin Cities, I encouraged Bailey to check it out.  We had a great visit at Riverland, meeting with one of the theater professors and getting all the behind-the-scene looks of their program.  The next day we checked out the University of Minnesota.  Our campus tour will always be remembered for the 90+ degree temps and high heat index, one of the hottest days of the summer.  Although we enjoyed both visits, Bailey commented on the drive home that she is open to considering other majors and colleges so we will keep shopping.

This summer was the 4th year Hope and I spent a day at Adventure Bay to celebrate my birthday.  Hope turned 40 in June so I wanted to add a new tradition to our weekend to mark this special birthday.  We got pedicures to pamper ourselves.  Spending all day at the swim-up bar and floating around the lazy river with drinks in hand is the perfect way to spend time with my sister.  I look forward to this every summer and can't wait for warmer temps and sunny skies to do it again next summer.

2018 marked my Silver Class Reunion: 25 years since I graduated from West Central.  Our class reunion was held back in Maynard with a tour of the new junior high and high school building and a picnic in Maynard Park.  18 of us reunited and reminisced about all the shenanigans from 25+ years ago.  Stories, a few drinks and some dancing around the bonfire that night reminded me that we are never to old to be young again.

Our summer was filled with lots of fun, but also a couple surgical procedures for Bailey.  Following a year of consultations with her ENT, Dr. Manoligold, it was decided that she have surgery on her left ear to patch a hole in her eardrum.  She had been losing hearing and dealing with lots of pain in this ear so surgery was scheduled on June 11th.  During the surgery the doctor also found a cholesteatoma, a collection of non-cancerous cells in her ear.  To prevent further complications, he removed this while patching the hole.  The entire surgery took 5 hours.  The Children's Hospital at the University of Iowa was a wonderful place to have the surgery.  The top floor is a serenity floor which provided exactly what I needed to keep my mind occupied.  The healing in the days to follow was long, but Bailey was a trooper.  Her ear has healed, but she still has some mild to moderate hearing loss.  We have another checkup and hearing test in January to see if her hearing has improved.  The pain the hole was causing is now gone so that is a blessing.

A dental checkup a month later led to Bailey having all 4 wisdom teeth extracted in August.  Again, she was brave and handled the procedure with courage.  People say that following this surgery, a person may be really happy or really sad.  Bailey was a combination of both, crying what she called "hap-hap-happy tears".

It was another jam-packed summer that is never long enough. 

Summer Vaca To Chicago

Flashback to Summer 2018

We love taking trips and trying new experiences.  Like Comic Con a couple months earlier, Bailey suggested going to the Supernatural Convention in Chicago.  Since we had talked about going to Chicago for a while now, I figured why not.  Over the past year Bailey had grown fond of Asian culture so she suggested also checking out Chinatown.  Both of these experiences exceeded our expectations.  (I love it when this happens).  The only downside to the trip was the tolls along the interstate (and man are there a lot) and the Chicago traffic.  Otherwise we had a blast. 

Chinatown was lined with so many shops and restaurants.  We came across a K-Pop store and Bailey was in heaven, finding so much merch for BTS and Black Pink, along with other K-Pop artists.  For a snack we came across a bubble tea shop which also had rolled ice cream.  We first discovered bubble tea at Chai Time, a shop in the Mall of America.  Rolled ice cream was a new, delicious treat for us, and it is AMAZING!  Watching the process of how this is created is really cool to see.  Bailey also enjoyed the "eye-candy" of the workers behind the counter. :-) 

On the second day of our trip we went to the Supernatural Convention.  Bailey had binge-watched this television series (all 11 seasons) the summer before.  Prior to going to the convention, I watched the pilot episode to have an understanding of what this show is about.  It's not quite the genre of television I watch, but the joy on Bailey's face throughout the day made this experience worth it.  Most of the day we spent at the panels of the cast.  They were very entertaining, similar to the laid back nature of the panels we attended at Comic Con, with a bit of colorful language.  We left with a surreal feeling of being in the same room as Hollywood actors and actresses.  It's a pretty cool feeling.

Our summer vacation to Chicago is one we will always remember and hope to go back someday.  I went into this vacation with no expectations, and was so glad I did.  Being in the moment can be so rewarding.   

Comic Con

Flashback to June 3, 2018

If there is one thing I have learned as Bailey has gotten older, it is to embrace something new and different.  The world of cosplay was just that for me.  I'm still not at the point of dressing up in cosplay, but Bailey is and that is so fun to see.  She's not afraid to express herself.

I had first heard about Comic Con from my friend Angela at a scrapbooking retreat.  She had attended a convention (Con) in Chicago.  It sounded like the kind of event that Bailey would enjoy.  We found out there was going to be a Con in Des Moines.  With it being so close to home, we decided to check it out.    The experience was a blast!  We walked into a room with vendors throughout the building, displaying really cool merch.  Another section featured artists with their own unique style of artistry.

One of the big draws to the Con is having the chance to sit and listen to panels of Hollywood actors and actresses.  We listened to a panel of Supernatural cast and Iowa's own Elijah Wood.  It's pretty surreal to be in the same room as people who have been on television and in movies.  The panels are really laid back and pretty comical.  You realize they are people, just like us.

One of the main stages of the convention features musicians, magicians and other acts.  Bailey was called to the stage to participate in a magician's act who had been on America's Got Talent.  We also caught Thomas Ian Nicholas (American Pie movies and Rookie of the Year) crank out some music on the entertainment stage.

We had so much fun throughout the entire day and cannot wait to go back.  Like so many experiences we have had together, this is one of the favs. 

Sophomore Year--Officially A High Schooler

Flashback to June 2018

Bailey's sophomore year was filled with new experiences.

One experience she enjoyed was driving herself to and from school.  Having received her driver's license in June, she now had the independence (and responsibility) to drive to and from school.  I have to admit that watching her drive off on the first day was hard, but I'm now enjoying my independence as well.  We will always remember those 10 years of car rides for drop-offs and pick-ups.

Prior to the start of school, she experienced marching band, band camp and playing in the Iowa State Fair.  Unfortunately it was not the best experience so she decided to pack up her clarinet for the last time.

Bailey also made many new friends over the year, growing closer to her friend, Halie.  She played wheelchair basketball for the first time and really enjoyed herself.  A valuable lesson was also learned for future playing...wear gloves to prevent blisters.

The fall play gave her the opportunity to meet new people and express her dramatic flair.  (Who's your Daddy?)  It was a great performance of serious drama and hilarious comedy.

Sophomore year was one of new experiences and lasting memories.   

Stars On Ice

Flashback to May 6, 2018

As Bailey has gotten older, I've enjoyed giving her experiences for her birthday presents.  This year her birthday experience was tickets to see Stars on Ice.  During the Winter Olympics, she watched the figure skating competitions and fell in love with some of the skaters who were going to be featured in the show.  There were also some former Olympian ice skaters, Meryl and Charlie, whom we adored while watching Dancing with the Stars a couple years ago.  This show exceeded our expectations.  It was more than just ice skating.  The show did a fantastic job combining skating with individual and group performances and some great music and entertainment.  We loved it and hope to catch another show in the future.  In the meantime we will have to relive this experience through the videos below.

Jason Brown

Shib Sibs

Charlie and Meryl

Karen Chen

Nathan Chen

Adam Rippon

It's Showtime--A Year At the Gallagher Bluedorn Performing Arts Center

Flashback to Oct. 2017-May 2018

When I received the 2017-18 Gallagher Bluedorn Performing Arts Center Series brochure in the mail, I decided to take a closer look at the shows coming to Cedar Falls.  One of Bailey and my all-time favorite shows was going to be making a stop in March: RENT.  As I looked closer at some of the other shows, I got excited about the opportunity to catch more theatrical and musical performances so close to home.  Being an employee of UNI, I could get a discount on shows so I decided to treat Bailey and me to a year of 7 shows.  We were not disappointed.  Seeing live shows is something that we have enjoyed doing together so this was a great way to spend some quality time together.  This is a rundown of our 2017-18 GBPAC shows for the year.

Dirty Dancing--This 80's movie classic was always a favorite of mine.  Although it's hard to top the OG with Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey, it was an enjoyable show.  We even got to carry watermelons at the pre-show entertainment.

Straight No Chaser--This acapella men's group from Indiana was one of my favorite shows of the year.  Their show is mostly cover songs with amazing harmony.  The first act was pop cover songs, followed by a second act of holiday favorites.  This group is definitely a must-see if they make it back to GBPAC.  Their Disney parody was one of the best sets of the show (see below).

The Lion King Parody

The Little Mermaid Parody

Shoulda Put A Ring On It

The Price Is Right--The organization it took to pull off this show was amazing!  Contestants Row, The Big Wheel and Showcase Showdown were all featured, along with Plinko, Cliffhanger and Punch-A-Bunch.  A UNI student even won a trip to Hawaii.  This would be another must-see if it comes back to Cedar Falls.  Bailey and I had a blast (and were glad we were not called up to the stage).

Gobsmacked--Reading through this show description, it sounded like the kind of performance that Bailey and I would like.  The show gave us Pentatonix-vibes and was a great evening of entertainment.  The beatboxer has won world-wide competitions.  He gave a solo performance which was jaw-dropping.

Rent--Still a family favorite that never disappoints, and always gets me in the end.  The music, the set, the plot, the actors....need I say more.

Riverdance--The acoustics of the clogging and the musicality of this show cannot be described in words.  It was an awesome show with extremely talented performers.  I cannot imagine the endurance it must take for the cloggers to put on this show.  Truly breath-taking!

Black Violin--This simple show was also amazing.   It incorporated cover songs, along with original pieces.  The music of a violin is so satisfying.

This year of GBPAC entertainment was something I will always treasure with Bailey.

Oh Bother--Black Hawk Children's Theatre Presents Winnie The Pooh

Flashback to April 2018

Drama runs in the Seegers family.  Not family drama, but rather a love for acting.  Bailey caught the bug in February and decided to try out for the Black Hawk Children's Theater production of Winnie the Pooh.  From the tryouts to the final performance and all the practices in between, she was in her acting element as Raccoon, one of Rabbit's cousins.  The commitment of the theater means evening and weekend rehearsals, along with long nights leading up to opening night.  Bailey had a blast and made some great new friends throughout the entire experience.  I loved watching her try out in February and caught every weekend performance of the show in April.  The director, Anita, saw lots of potential in Bailey as they worked together.  For one of the shows for the elementary school kids, she called on Bailey to step in for Owl since the actress for this role was sick.  She rose to the challenge.  Bailey has some mementos from cast mates to remind her of the friendships and joy this experience provided.  It is one we will always remember.