End of the Year Meme

Year six of this meme! Will I ever stop doing it? Eh, probably not.

The hubs and I are celebrating this New Year's so far by trying our damnest to get the kiddo to go to bed. I don't know what's up with that, but he's take at least an hour to go to bed ever since the time change. It's exhausting and so frustrating. So that's all so far. I think afterward, we're going to watch Princess Mononoke and play Lego Pirates of the Caribbean; that is, if I don't fall asleep way before then.

What did you do in 2011 that you'd never done before?
Started a program to get my teaching license for elementary school. Fun stuff right there.

Did you keep your New Year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I haven't bothered to make resolutions in a really long time. Mainly, I want to deliver a healthy baby and try not to kill my husband while I'm at it. (Because, you know, it's all the man's fault while you're pregnant.)

Did anyone close to you give birth?
Some Facebook friends, but no one close. It does seem like everyone's popping out babies right now.

Did anyone close to you die?
No, thank goodness.

What countries did you visit?
None. Boo.

What would you like to have in 2012 that you lacked in 2011?
A second child? I dunno, that's about all I can think of.

What dates from 2011 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
November 9th, which is the day I start counting this pregnancy. Middle October is big because that's the month we went to Miami.

What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Getting to drink alcohol as much as I wanted for four whole months! Also, I finished breastfeeding at 13 months, so I'm really excited that I did it for that long.

What was your biggest failure?
Eh, I dunno. Nothing really went wrong this year.

Did you suffer illness or injury?
Nothing major. I'm having some teeth issues because a couple of new fillings that replaced old fillings aren't healing up properly. I'm still pissed about it, and I need to see if I can get them fixed (again) during my second trimester.

What was the best thing you bought?
A 40" widescreen TV for the bedroom. It's awesome-sauce. 

Whose behavior merited celebration?
My brother, maybe. He finally got himself a girlfriend and she's a keeper. :)

Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Politics in general. Sigh.

Where did most of your money go?
We kinda had one thing after another hit in 2011 in terms of money. It really sucked.

What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Getting pregnant again! Starting school again!

What song will always remind you of 2011?
Probably something one of Grayson's little toys play. Those jingles will always remind me of his babyhood.

Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder?
happier, always
b) thinner or fatter?
fatter and it's a bummer. I plan on going on Weight Watchers once I'm not breastfeeding baby #2 anymore.
c) richer or poorer?
about the same? But we're shoveling all of our extra money into hospital savings right now, so there's not a lot of cash hanging around to spend.

What do you wish you'd done more of?
I always say traveling, but we did take a big trip to Miami. I wish I had read more, but I did do a decent amount. I'm pretty happy with 2011 overall.

What do you wish you'd done less of?
Dealing with a cat. I'm so tired of living with an animal that hates my kid.

How will you be spending Christmas?
Like last year, we spent Christmas Eve with the in-laws and Christmas with my family.

Did you fall in love in 2011?
I've got two boys filling up my heart right now. I think I can find room for one more (boy or girl) in 2012, though. :)

What was your favorite TV program?
American Horror Story was full of glorious cracktastic awesome-ness. Adventure Time with Finn and Jake gave me hope that there might be something decent on TV for G when he's older. 

Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
I didn't much mind Simon, our cat, last year because he pretty much ignored baby-G. But he completely hates toddler-G, even though Grayson is very gentle and nice toward him. He tries to bite G whenever G attempts to gently pet him, and I this infuriates me so hard. I just don't know what to do about the situation since Simon is 11 and has to take constant thyroid medication. 

What was the best book you read?
I didn't read a ton, but I did get to rekindle my love of Bruce Coville's My Teacher is an Alien series. I also discovered George R. R. Martin's Song of Fire and Ice series and read all of those. People complain about them a lot, but they're very engaging. I'm currently reading the Girl with a Dragon Tattoo trilogy and liking it so far.

What was your greatest musical discovery?
Nothing new.

What did you want and get?
Pregnant, again!

What did you want and not get?
A new house. Looks like I won't get one until 2014 at the earliest. Sigh.

What was your favorite film of this year?
The last Harry Potter. Sniff, sniff!

What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned the big 3-0. Insert very heavy sigh here. But I did have a fantastic one, especially because a bunch of friends and family surprised me at the same restaurant where Dave and I 1) first ate a meal together, and 2) had our rehearsal dinner. We also went bowling. I love me some bowling.

What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Moving into a new house. Not having any pets.

How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2011?
Trying to dress my post-baby body was a bit difficult. My boobs went back down to a manageable size, but my middle didn't.

What kept you sane?
Knowing that everything in temporary and that I can always look toward the future.

Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
I wrote this last year: Johnny Depp, as always. I want in his pants.
That statement hasn't changed.  

What political issue stirred you the most?
The upcoming 2012 election. I just can't vote for a homophobe, so all Republication nominees are out!

Who did you miss?
No one really. We did try to be more sociable this year, and we were at least fairly successful. 

Who was the best new person you met?
Made some online mama friends!

Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2011:
You can't go backwards. A person from college tried to stir up some kind of friendship between us this year, after two years of nothing, and it just didn't work, especially because she hadn't grown up at all. I don't have time for nonsense in my life anymore... and I think that's a sign that I'm finally - gasp - an adult.

Happy New Year, everyone!