Janus on the Backpage

I have completely lifted these questions from Sarah at The Anvil Tree. Although my answers are my own, they are nowhere near as insightful as hers. Considering the Mom-a-palooza life I lead, I'll be lucky if any of my answers are at least interesting.

1. What did you do in 2011 that you’d never done before? NaMoBloPo! Wow, that was a hike, but I'm glad I did it, and I plan to do it again next year. A few decades of improving my homework skills and I might be ready to go back to college.

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year? Um, did I make any resolutions? The closest thing was that 2011 would be my year to get some mental health issues for ME taken care of. In previous years, we'd concentrated the time & the budget on the other family members' heath/development issues; so now that DLG's immunizations were up-to-date, Scott's BP & HDL were under control & all of MLB's issues were at a "good place," it was my turn. Might I say, my life finally feels like it has its feet back under it with my anti-depressant. As for 2012 resolutions, I will not call them that. As I told Scott last night, I look forward to blogging more, doing more small creative projects, turning my compost pile more often and doing more yard work. And order something on-line once a month-- I need to be comfortable with this, and not approach it like defusing an atomic bomb.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? Nope, but a bunch of folks conceived! 2012 will be the year of the babies-- and not from me. I've been busy giving away my "baby" things to my cousins.

4. Did anyone close to you die? No, but I have helped some friends mourn and hope.

5. What countries did you visit? None, but my parents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary by taking a trip to Ireland and they brought us back some fun mementos. Likewise, MLB's Godmother and family are currently working in Trinidad/Tobago and they also went to China over the summer. I travel vicariously until we can afford passports and airfare.

6. What would you like to have in 2012 that you lacked in 2011? A full-body, 60 minute massage.

7. What dates from 2011 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? April 27, and the days and weeks that followed. Aside from being without power at my parents' house for just a little over a day, we were blessed to escape the tornadoes. But our hearts have been with all the others.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? My continuing success in cramming a bunch of stuff in a little house.

9. What was your biggest failure? That we have a bunch of stuff to cram in a little house.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury? No, aside from the usual things I shared from my germ-catchers.

11. What was the best thing you bought? We bought a print of the War Eagle that I met while I was at Auburn. It's a beautiful pencil drawing of Tiger, and when I got the chance to pet her one evening, I just fell in love with raptors. (Second best was the set of organizing shelves that we're using in our room to help organize our son's stuff. Don't ask.)

12. Whose behavior merited celebration? My kids' behavior is fascinating. MLB is only getting better and better at socializing and finding his particular nitch in the world; DLG increases her vocabulary daily, and always has something amusing to say or sing.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? My parents' behavior is appalling. In my unprofessional opinion, they are "self-medicating" their depressions with alcohol. They drink entirely too much, and then yell entirely too much at each other while being entirely irrational. My dad regularly stays up only to pass out in his recliner; one night he lost his balance on his way to the liquor cabinet, tripped, fell, smashed his glass, and sliced his hand open. He was too drunk and dazed to get up; the breaking glass triggered the house alarm, which woke my mom who found him and forced him to the ER for stitches. My mom discovered Bushmill's in Ireland, and has added a bit of that to her nightly droughts. I'm not kidding. My dad can empty a 1.75 L bottle (or 2 bottles) of Rebel Yell in a week, while my mom keeps up by consuming one or two "box o' wine." You can also add "disgusted" to the question's adjectives; I've stopped  having an occasional glass of wine or beer because of them. Say a prayer for them, y'all, that they quit before it kills them.

14. Where did most of your money go? The usual... mortgage, utilities, bills, food.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? Auburn won the National Championship back in January. Heisman winner Cam Newton was pretty AUsome! (This fall? Eh, rebuilding year and Auburn as usual. We'll live.)

16. What song will always remind you of 2011? "Frosty the Snowman" and "Let There Be Snow." DLG is in love, and we have watched "Frosty the Snowman" and "Frosty Returns" over and over and over....

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
      a) happier or sadder? Happier!
      b) thinner or fatter? fatter
      c) richer or poorer? Richer-- but not solely in money....

18. What do you wish you’d done more of? Be outside-- walking, biking, yard work or just playing with the kids. We have such great nature trails and walkways available for free, we have a Botanical Gardens membership, and even the "fee" for Monte Sano is nominal. Yep, wished I'd gotten out more.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of? Wasted time playing computer games. But I have ditched all of those aggravating, so-called "social" games on FB.

20. How did you spend Christmas? We spent Christmas Day at home, as is our tradition. For the first time in several years, I was able to attend a Christmas Eve service-- MLB was bribed, with a fluffy lamb, into being a shepherd in the Christmas pageant. (We wore ourselves out on the twelve days surrounding Christmas by being everywhere else.)

21. Did you fall in love in 2011? Why? I fell in love with my husband years ago, and I plan to stay there.

22. What was your favorite TV program? We're weird. We don't have cable/satellite service. Being in a mountain cove limits our quality access to digital signals. Not much "live" TV beyond PBS. But we did get a Netflix subscription, so Scott and I are finally catching up on the "Monk" episodes we wished we'd watched a decade ago.

23. This question has been deleted because it’s SOOO teenage emo Xanga s***. I don't know what this was or means, but I'll be glad to leave those teenage years right were they are.

24. What was the best book you read? Any. I am a book-a-holic. A bag of M&Ms would last longer around me. I actually read the last few Harry Potter books in single weekends. Since I would lose more time reading therefore getting less done, I don't read as much as I would like to. I have no favorites among what I have read. But if I find one that stinks, by accident, I'll let you know.

25. What was your greatest musical discovery? Birmingham Mountain Radio on-line.

26. What did you want and get? Well, I didn't want it, but my mom got it for me anyway. An iPhone.

27. What did you want and not get? Crown molding. (Sorry sweetie, I know how the year has been, believe me.)

28. What was your favorite film of this year? "Captain America." It was the only new release we saw, but it is worth being called a favorite. We're working our way through the other "heroes" so we're ready for the "The Avengers" in 2012.

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I don't remember, and I won't say.

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Living more in the moment.

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2011? Whatever is clean and fits.

32. What kept you sane? My husband.

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? "Fancy?" None; please refer back to #21.

34. What political issue stirred you the most? Still not stirred, but I'm irate with the School Board. I  also cannot believe the "clown car" Republican Presidential nominee race. Might have to re-elect Obama and hope that those other self-serving, loud-mouth, hypocritical idiots all retire or something in the next four years.

35. Who did you miss? Sandra, as always. I'm glad she her family are following their calling, but I miss them a bunch!

36. Who was the best new person you met? Just one? Rebecca.

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2011. Two kids are enough.

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
     "Just put one foot in front of the other,
      And soon you'll be walking 'cross the floor.
      Just put one foot in front of the other, and
      Soon you'll be walking out the door!"
      (From the Rankin/Bass show "Santa Claus is Coming to Town")