We are back from our whirlwind visit to Illinois. Pictures on flickr. Not much to report from that -- got there Thursday night. Went to the park and the store on Friday morning, then helped my mom scrub floors at the farmhouse and drove around the East and West Timber and through Rabbit Hollow. Opened presents Friday night. Helped my parents paint primer on walls of three of the 5 rooms in the farmhouse, and two ceilings on Saturday. Dinner from Steak and Shake on Saturday night. Came home Sunday. Now I'm home to watch the Rose Bowl and do my year in review blog stuff.
This is one reason why I shouldn't make New Year's Resolutions.
In all, I finished the Shelby Foote series and read 29 other books. Not bad, but not great.
Lose weight! Ha! I went the other direction. I gained. Blargh.
But what the hey. I'll make the same resolutions again this year, minus the Shelby Foote. So here we go again: 40 books, 40 lbs.
In other meme-age: Back before I was a dot-com, I had a couple LiveJournals. Here's my annual year-end meme, a little later this year. And renumbered, so that numbers aren't missing in the middle, which is why it only goes up to 38 and not 40.
1. What did you do in 2006 that you'd never done before?
Bought a TV that cost more than a computer.
2. Did you keep your New Year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
Hahahahaha. See above.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Some acquaintances, nobody very close, though.
4. Did anyone close to you die?
No one close enough for me to attend a funeral.
5. What countries did you visit?
Just other parts of this one.
6. What would you like to have in 2007 that you lacked in 2006?
A better run in the stock market.
7. What date from 2006 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
Uhhm. None aside from the usual ones.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Not killing the kid.
9. What was your biggest failure?
Not teaching the kid to read.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Only dropping the damn log on my toe.
11. What was the best thing you bought?
TV! TV! TV!
12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Tom's sitter, who remains one of the nicest people I've ever met.
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Mark Foley. A certain friend going through a rough patch.
14. Where did most of your money go?
House stuff. Dining room set, TV set, probably some other set.
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Seeing Ruby Falls.
16. What song will always remind you of 2006?
I Don't Feel Like Dancin', as it was off the first CD that I bought after pledging to get back into buying music. That, and the Young Prince looked hilarious chair-dancing to it in the back seat.
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder? About the same. Maybe even happier, if that's possible.
ii. thinner or fatter? Fat-fat-fatter.
iii. richer or poorer? Just keep moving up. Last year's answer applies: Richer in all senses of the term.
18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Photographing and videotaping the Young Prince and the rest of the family.
19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Not get enough sleep.
20. How (did) you spend Christmas?
A nice cozy weekend at home. Eating goose and watching DVDs.
21. Did you fall in love in 2006?
Yes. With our new log-splitter.
22. How many one-night stands?
With the log-splitter? Too many.
23. What was your favorite TV program?
I watched all the back episodes of Gilmore Girls and liked those, but this season sucked. I am partial to House.
24. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
Hate? No. Feel disappointment toward? Yes.
25. What was the best book you read?
Shelby Foote was probably the best, but I also really liked The Alienist.
26. What was your greatest musical discovery?
The Monster cable that lets me charge my iPod in the car as it plays.
27. What did you want and get?
These. A happy kid. More money. A dining room set. A big TV. Pretty much everything.
28. What was your favorite film of this year?
I only see kids' movies the year they come out. My favorite film I'd never seen before this year was probably Hi Life.
29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I worked. 35.
30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Last year's answer still applies. Having a jillion dollars. Short of that, my year was pretty darn good.
31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2006?
Slightly more professional.
32. What kept you sane?
Family. Chocolate.
33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
I still don't know what this question means. Which one did I want to sleep with? Or which one was I most impressed with their behavior? I don't think I really have a good answer, either way.
34. What political issue stirred you the most?
Well, probably the election.
35. Who did you miss?
I didn't really miss anyone very much. It was nice.
36. Who was the best new person you met?
Probably the guy who joined my staff last week. Or maybe Maliavale.
37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2006:
How to manage different people in different ways. When to be understanding vs. when to throw chairs.
38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
Here comes the sunshine
Here comes that son of mine
Here comes the everything
Your photos turned out nice! Hope you had/have a good new year!
Posted by: summercamper | January 01, 2007 at 06:08 PM
Aww! Thanks for the shoutout. I'm glad we've become friends. And I'm also glad you dug that Scissor Sisters album.
In other news, I read "one-night stands with the log-splitter" (or some variation thereof) having accidentally skipped the previous question, and I was like, is that some odd euphemism/nickname for her husband? File under didn't want to know! And then I figured it out. Whew.
Posted by: Maliavale | January 01, 2007 at 06:50 PM
Happy New Year!
And HAHAHA on Malia's comment.
Posted by: nabbalicious | January 01, 2007 at 11:54 PM
Mmmm... Steak and Shake...
Posted by: Darren McLikeshimself | January 02, 2007 at 08:07 AM