For Auld Lang Syne

Happy New Years Eve! Hope everyone has a fun and safe night of celebrating the old and bringing in the new! I figured I’d celebrate by doing my annual year end survey (third year in a row! though the others are hidden from public eye) and reflecting on the past year. Sending wishes to you all that the new year brings all the happiness and joy you deserve. Thank you for reading and can’t wait to see what 2012 brings.

1. What did you do in 2011 that you’d never done before?
   Donated blood. Painting classes. Went on a girls weekend. Got a massage. Went on a real grown up week long vacation. Adopted a second dog.
2. Did you keep your new years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
   Some of them and I do plan on making more for next year, maybe carrying on some from this year. It’s nice to have some measurable goals for the year ahead.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
   No one in my immediate family but a few friends from back home had babies.
4. Did anyone close to you die?
   Grandpa. <3
5. What countries did you visit?
   As usual, none and amazingly enough, our travel in the US was quite minimal this year, save for some road trips close to home and a work trip to Missouri in June.
6. What would you like to have in 2012 that you lacked in 2011?
   Peace. Acceptance. And ATVs.
7. What dates from 2011 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
   February 4^th – my last day at the bank; February 7^th – first day at the hospital; April 23 – my 30^th birthday; June 5^th – the day we adopted Baxter; June 6^th – the day my grandpa died; October 15-21 – our trip to Gatlinburg
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
   Finally getting a new job where I could make a healthier balance of work and play.
9. What was your biggest failure?
   Our grand plans to rebuild the deck kind of fizzled when we realized the cost associated with it wasn’t conducive to our budget and the time we had.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
    I had a recurring cold throughout the month of October and November. And I sprained my ankle again in October. But overall, I was fairly healthy this year.
11. What was the best thing you bought?
    My iPhone 4s – am totally in love with this thing and am so glad I waited to upgrade, instead of getting the 4 when it came out. Also, I didn’t technically buy this, since Steve got it for me, but the laptop I got for my birthday is A-MAU-ZING! <3
12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
    Steve – as always, he only gets better with time. I fall in love over and over with him every day.
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
    Sadly, it was mostly people who you wouldn’t and shouldn’t expect it from.
14. Where did most of your money go?
    Bills. Travel. The house.
15. What events did you get really, really, really excited about?
    Our Gatlinburg trip in October. Christmas. Girls weekend in July. My birthday.
16. What song will always remind you of 2011?
    “Give Me Everything (Tonight)”, Pitbull. “Someone Like You“, Adele. “Awake My Soul”, Mumford and Sons.
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
    i.happier or sadder? Happier, infinitely
    ii.thinner or fatter? The same size
    iii.richer or poorer? Richer, both monetarily and life in general.
18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
    Spend quality time with Steve away from all of the gadgets and idiot boxes in our house.
19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
    Not held such high expectations for others because they never fulfill them.
20. How did you spend Christmas?
    We spent Christmas at home – dinner on Christmas Eve with friends, pajamas and Christmas movies. Just us Christmas morning then dinner with my parents at my place.
21. Who did you spend the most time on the phone with?
    Probably my mother or Jess – they’re the only ones I really spend time on the phone with.
22. What was your favorite TV program?
    Sons of Anarchy.  The Walking Dead. American Horror Story. The League. Always Sunny in Philadelphia. 
23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
    There are people I strongly, strongly dislike and they’re about the same people.
24. What was the best book you read?
    The Harry Potter series – read them all in a few weeks.
25. What was your greatest musical discovery or rediscovery?
    Adele. Mumford & Sons.
26. What did you want and get?
    iPhone 4s. Laptop. A new job. A second dog.
27. What did you want and not get?
    People to realize their fault in certain situations and apologies for that.
28. What were your favorite films of this year?
    Bridesmaids, Fast Five, Horrible Bosses, The Adjustment Bureau, Battle: Los Angeles, Super 8, 30 Minutes or Less, Rise of the Planet of the Apes
29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
    See here
30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying
    If people matured a little and stopped being so entitled and fake.
31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2011?
    Same as it’s been for probably the past five years or so – put together but comfortable. Jeans, nice shirt, oxfords.
32. What kept you sane?
    Steve, friends and wine.
33. Whom did you miss?
    Grandpa. <3  And I missed a lot of who people used to be, or rather, who I thought they were.
34. Who was the best new person you met?
    All of the wonderful people I work with at my new job.
35. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2011:
    Amazingly enough, there were a few:  Say yes if you don’t have a good reason to say no.  It’s not fair to me to worry and hinder myself over someone who won’t worry or help themselves. The best thing to do is let it go and let the chips fall as they may. Their bad decisions are not my fault. At some point, you have to realize that some people can stay in your heart but not in your life. The only people who should matter to you are the ones who act like you matter to them. A little eyeliner goes a long way. Keep calm & carry on.
36. Do you have any lost feelings of others.
    I have many lost expectations of others.
37. Quote a song that sums up your year:
    In these bodies we will live, in these bodies we will die. Where you invest your love, you invest your life. – “Awake My Soul”, Mumford and Sons

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