In review

I do seem to have some much needed extra time on my hands this last weekend of the year, but I'm hoping to spend it sprucing up this place. It's starting to look like a college dorm room after 2 semesters with a psychotic roommate who breaks your hotplate and eats all your Pringles. The carpet needs cleaning, the pile of laundry needs sorting and what is that smell? So, I'm hoping to update my semi-pathetic blogroll and fix these crampy borders and get a masthead that doesn't make me depressed.

With all of these ambitious ideas for the blawg, and with the other crap to take care of amongst the napping and Grey's Anatomy watching I plan on doing, I'm not sure I'll write anything in the next few days. But I have lofty goals of being the anti-slacker after the first! We'll see how that pans out since now there's no prizes involved now. Man, I love prizes.

Therefore I will do the question/answer thingy that's going around to do my own personal year in review. Here we go.

1. What did you do in 2006 that you'd never done before?
Well here I go boring you right out of the box. I don't know if I did anything new and exciting this year. I had a death-defying horse fall, that was a pivotal moment. I also saw 5 black bears in Yellowstone in the span of an hour, I found that most pleasing and thrilling. Um...I'm saving up a bunch of never done before's for next year. Yes. That's it. I will thrill you with tales of adventure in a year. Stay tuned.

2. Did you keep your new year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
Dude, I never got around to making any. I thought about it but I'm just that lazy. This year that will be number 1 on my list. Don't be so la...eh, I'll finish that thought later.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
I know quite a few people who had giant cows, another chick who shit a brick and one more who laid an enormous egg of insanity. But humans shooting through vaginas? No.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
I wouldn't say they were close to me but yes, I lost 2 people who made indelible impacts on my life one way or another and both of their passings hit me harder than I could have imagined.

5. What countries did you visit?
Like I own a passport and I don't go to Mexico anymore. You live a stone's throw from Tijuana your whole life and the thought of crossing a border loses its charm. I think it's the overpowering smell of trash and ass. Plus I can't begin to think about crossing the whole ocean in a plane. Give me a stroke, whydontcha.

6. What would you like to have in 2007 that you lacked in 2006?
Less fucking anxiety attacks for starters. I'd also like to have a nice house with my baby including a jacuzzi and add at least 2 dogs and 2 more cats into our lives and find a job and a career that doesn't make me want to staple someone's upper lip to their forehead every damn day.

7. What dates from 2006 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
February 10th. Clean scan, currently, officially, thyroid cancer free. That was a fucking good day. September, 19th, my birthday. Was relaxing and special. September 29th, the day we lost Boo. Was an excrutiating day. December 25th, simply lovely.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
I'm a terrible judge of these kinds of things. I never think I've done enough or accomplished anything that can be measured against anything. I guess I'd have to say that I keep plugging along. I want to give up all the time but I don't. I'm an enduring little bitch. I might complain a lot but I endure. And I was really proud of myself over the work I did in NaBoPloMo and with some of my photography. Yea, I kicked some ass with that shit.

9. What was your biggest failure?
Oh, lerd. Not taking care of myself. I have no excuses for the bad things I'm doing to my body on a daily basis other than self-mutilation and that shit has got to stop. Major failure for me.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Would you like the short or long list? Wait, there is no short list. I'll have to give a global answer of YES. I am the girl who's shut her left nipple in a desk drawer and tore a tendon in my pinkie by performing the hazardous feat of putting my hair into a ponytail. Have I suffered an injury. What do you think? I was also, diagnosed with asthma which I'm very unhappy about. I told those assholes back in gym that I couldn't breathe when I ran!! I hate it when I'm right about stuff like that.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
My Nikon D50 digital SLR. I want to fuck that thing.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
whitey's. He puts up with my crazy shit every day. And Rascals'. It's morbid but she's a much happier and funner cat since her sister died.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Everyone else's.

14. Where did most of your money go?
Target!! Didn't yours go there? I thought it was the law.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Our trip to Montana in September. And the prospect of moving to Portland. Well, that goes back and forth from abject panic to excitement but the excitement is there!

16. What song will always remind you of 2006?
I'm not a music head so I don't pay that much attention to it and I'd hardly be able to associate any song to a particular year, but if I had to choose one it would be that song they used when they kicked off the women on So You Think You Can Dance. Suddenly I See by KT Tunstall. Especially now that they're playing it on the radio every 5 fucking minutes which will surely burn the melody into my brain forever and kill any affection I had for it.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? Happier. Yay me!
b) thinner or fatter? A little less fat and fuck you for asking!
c) richer or poorer? Poorer and now I'm sadder for thinking of it, thank you very much!

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Theme of the day (since my tummy is pissed off for all the crap I've been pouring down it for weeks) taken much better care of myself.

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Wasting mental energy on assholes. And sitting in fuck-ass traffic.

20. How will you be spending Christmas?
Already done had it, out of date meme. Sheesh.

21. Did you fall in love in 2006?
I fall more in love with whitey all the time. No puking over that you cynics!

22. How many one-night stands?
Stupid question.

23. What was your favorite TV program?
Hands down you're a moron if you don't watch it - The Office. "You can't fire me! I don't work in this van!!"

24. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
Hate would mean I care enough to put that kind of thought into it, so no. Sure, I have felt short-term hate for people that were on the OK list last year, but my anger is like a volcano. I erupt, spit hot fire on you, then go back to doing my thing and you're just a petrified fucker at the bottom of the hill.

25. What was the best book you read?
A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson. He manages to weave historical and scientific fact, personal opinion, auto-biographical notes, and lore into a travel book and personal journal without being boring or condescending. It's genius. And he's fucking funny as hell.

26. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Like I said, not a music head so I don't pay much attention, but I was blown away by Imogene Heap and her haunting song Hide and Seek. I can't listen to it without crying.

27. What did you want and get?
My fancy camera.

28. What did you want and not get?
Money for that stupid car accident last year. And deserved retribution against a person who should be canned in a town square then shunned into a forest of rabid rats to live out their miserable life alone with their stupid thoughts and crappy behaviors. But I do not hate!

29. What was your favorite film of this year?
It was not a good year for movies and we rarely go to the theater because, you know, there's people there, so I'd have to say Slither. We saw it recently on DVD and were pleasantly surprised. I had such high hopes for Pirates: installment 2, but they pushed it with the CGI stuff and the icky pirate ship scenes needed to be cut down by about 30 minutes. Then it would have been my first choice.

30. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
My, my, aren't we nosy? I turned 39 this year and plan on being even more kick-ass when I turn 40. I took the day off work, got a near-inappropriate massage and an awesome pedicure, hung out at home with my kitties, took a nap, and had take-out sushi from my favorite place. We tried to go to Sea World a couple weeks later but you know how that worked out. Next year will be another blow-out party.

31. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Less bloating. Fuck.

32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2006?
How sloppy can I dress at work and get away with it? That and hail all ye yoga pants and braless boobs. That's my uniform of choice at home. Can't wear that a work, though. They might be tolerating my dirty tennis shoes and jeans on non-Friday's but my girls could not fly free. That would cause an issue.

33. What kept you sane?
whitey. Ativan. Chocolate. In that order.

34. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Fancy? What is this, Britain? Are you going to ask me my favourite colour next? I've got it bad for The Depp.

35. What political issue stirred you the most?
Politics doesn't stir me, although our shitty president gets a notice.

36. Who did you miss?
Boo kitty. Like fucking crazy.

37. Who was the best new person you met?
whitey's mom! You rock the Eagle, woman! YOU ROCK IT!

38. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2006.
That meme's ask stupid questions. No, I kid. Who can put something like that into a nutshell? Nutshells are very small and life lessons usually aren't. I learned a lot this year. I tried to shift some important focus's around but the one thing that seems new to me is what helped me make the final decision to move from my home town to a new city and state. I need to do something I'm afraid of. Something that I paralyze myself from doing because of my own fears. Something that I have (some) control over. It's going to be harder than I can imagine, and trust me, I spend a lot of time imagining this life-altering change, but I need to do it. I need to face this fear for the good of my pysche and my soul. I can't even remember who said it or where I heard it, probably Oprah, but someone said "do something that scares you" and I thought to myself. Yep, that's right on. I have a long list of complaints about my living situation but I was too scared of changing them. So now I'm doing something that terrifies the bajeezus out of me and for even making this decision I consider it a triumph in my life.

39. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
So delicious (It's hot, hot)
So delicious (I put them boys on rock, rock)
So delicious (they wanna slice of what I got)
Fergalicious (t-t-t-t-t-tasty, tasty)

Really, there was no other choice.

Now you kids go and have yourselves a very Happy New Year AND STAY SAFE OR ELSE!!