Goodbye 2012, you and your bitch face

I really don’t even feel like doing this this year, but what if I want to do it next year and then there will be a gap and we cannot have a gap, oh no.

2009
2010
2011

1. What did you do in 2012 that you’d never done before?
Flew on an airplane with a baby (do not recommend), became an aunt (officially), tried (and liked!) runny eggs.

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I don’t think I really made any resolutions, no. I said to myself I wanted to read 12 books and I (almost) did. (Currently reading 13 Steps Down, by Ruth Rendell.)

I don’t think I’ll make any for 2013…I just don’t have it in me right now. (Although, I loved Elizabeth’s list of 2013 goals, so I might do something similar.)

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
My best friend!

4. Did anyone close to you die?
No. PRAISE BE.

5. What countries did you visit?
None.

6. What would you like to have in 2013 that you didn’t have in 2012?
A family vacation.

7. What dates from 2012 will be etched upon your memory, and why?
November 6th (awful election that I won’t say was a career-ender for me, but it’s made things…challenging.)

8. What was your biggest achievement of this year?
Keeping LG alive and well. Not losing my marbles. (Too much.) Running my second half-marathon. Completing Whole30. Completing Whole30 WHILE training for a half-marathon.

9. What was your biggest failure?
Not finding a job.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
I had a bum foot for a couple weeks (but it didn’t bring me down) and I’ve been sick in one way or another since Thanksgiving (including having THE FLU), but nothing serious.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
We sprung for a hotel when we were in Seattle in September and we left the lady with her NanaBoppa and it was WORTH IT. We ate a nice dinner out and I took a bath and read my book UNINTERRUPTED and I fell asleep at, like, 9pm.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
All the doctors who kept my dad alive.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
I work in politics — whose behavior DIDN’T make me appalled and depressed?

14. Where did most of your money go?
The usual: Mortgage, daycare, food, gas.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
I always get excited to travel (even though flying with LG is UN-FUN) and we did a lot of that this year: Seattle three times, Portland twice, and San Diego. All to see our families, which makes it even better.

16. What song will always remind you of 2012?
Jennie mentioned “Call Me Maybe,” which: YES, definitely. Bonus points because my BFF’s daughter calls it, “Call You Maybe, Please?”

17. Compared to this time last year, are you: A) happier or sadder? B) thinner or fatter? C) richer or poorer?
A) I’m pretty happy despite the shit that’s gone down, but that doesn’t mean that I’m, like, rolling in happiness.
B) Thinner? Maybe? Maybe not?
C) Poorer.

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
I wish I’d spent more time thinking about/visualizing/making a reality all the things I want. Hell, I wish I KNEW what I wanted. I usually do. I usually have a Master Plan, so to NOT is very weird for me. I do not like it.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Been grumpy and grouchy and cranky and impatient.

20. How did you spend Christmas?
My parents just moved up here, so they came over and we watched A Christmas Story and drank champagne and played games and it was very fun.

21. Did you fall in love with 2012?
Good god no.

22. What was your favorite TV program?
I still loved Homeland and Sons of Anarchy; Dexter jumped the shark a bit; How I Met Your Mother was great but OMG WHEN DOES HE MEET THEIR MOTHER; and Mad Men is always great.

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
I did not.

24. What was the best book you read?
I’ve already talked about the books I read this year and I’m not sure I can pick a “best.” Killing Lincoln, probably.

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?
The Black Keys.

26. What did you want and get?
It’s been on my list for a couple years now and we finally repainted our kitchen cabinets. We still need to do something about the missing door on the pantry and replace the lighting, but woo! New kitchen!

27. What did you want and not get?
A job.

28. What was your favorite film of 2012?
I don’t think I went to the movies once. Did I go to the movies? I don’t even remember. I just watched The Lord Of The Rings trilogy and it won a bunch of awards 10 years ago, so let’s go with that.

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 29 and I ate donuts for breakfast. That’s all I can remember. Chris probably cooked for me, or we went to lunch. (It was a long time ago, I can’t remember!)

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
A job. (Are we sensing a pattern here?)

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept of 2012?
I tried to wear more colors and mix patterns because life’s too short to dress boring. I also went through all my costume jewelry and ditched it and have been wearing (almost exclusively, with the exception of a couple fun items I held onto) my diamonds and nicer stuff. Life’s also too short to not wear your diamonds.

32. What kept you sane?
Reading, running, yoga, crossword puzzles (shut up), friends, and Chris.

33. What political issue stirred you the most?
This is a pretty comprehensive editorial about why I was stuck at work past 2am back in August (and, well, into the morning of September 1st) and that always works me up. Anything that keeps me from my family for stupid, inexplicable, and pointless reasons really grinds my gears.

34. Who did you miss?
All my family I don’t get to see enough.

35. Who was the best new person you met?
I’ve quite enjoyed meeting (and all my subsequent texts with) a one Ms. Caitlin HB.

36. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2012.
Someone’s always got it worse than you.

37. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
“A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y and Z.” Lame? Yes, but it’s LG’s jam, man.