Happy Meme, I mean New Year!

Happy New Year (belated) and here's a quick (but yes long) meme that I enjoyed reading over at my friend Babsy's site:

1. What did you do in 2007 that you’d never done before?
   Hmm...interesting. How about I worked in the magazine biz!


2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
   My resolutions last year were very broad and vague. Sadly, I fell off track on several of them. Better luck this year, I hope...
   
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
   No, not that I can recall....well, a few friendly acquaintances from my church.


4. What countries did you visit?
   U.S. only. I'm saving that foreign business for the empty nester years...


5. What would you like to have in 2008 that you lacked in 2007?
   Control of my blood sugars and diet (I have diabetes).


6. What dates from 2007 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
   I am really bad about remembering notable dates. I do come back again and again to two losses of recent years to me--my kitty's horrible passing this past year and more importantly my grandmother's who died almost 4 years ago just one month before my daughter was born.


7. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
   Diving into a second part-time job as a magazine editor, which turned out to be a full-time job and trying to keep sanity as I juggled that and contracting gigs and two kids.


8. What was your biggest failure?
   Gaining weight and not staying in control with my diet, watching my diabetes progress (as a result, but also because it is just going to get worse regardless too...)


9. Did you suffer illness or injury?
   No "L-Shaped" toes this year (for my older readers), no injuries I can think of. Just the diabetes...which, sigh, never goes away. Notice a theme of where my mind is today?


10. What was the best thing you bought?
    4 letters--- I-P-O-D!


11. Whose behavior merited celebration?
    Hmmm....celebration? I'd say my son's changing and maturing on the soccer field and with his school work, definitely. And, my daughter's finally potty training!
    
    Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
    I have some really personal ones I could list here, but instead I'll go with the obvious answer: UnFitney, Li-Lo and Paris. (Don't know who those first two are? Go read PerezHilton...)


12. Where did most of your money go?
    House stuff mostly--we got new wood floors in two rooms. And, the hubs bought a new Mustang and sold our old car.


13. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
    Hmm...I'm really excited to go to Disney World in the spring, if we'd ever get the trip booked. I was really, really excited when I got the editor's job (if only I'd have known...)


14. What song will always remind you of 2007?
    Hmmm...they play that darn "Chasing Cars" song all the time. I don't love it (because they play it so much), but I'm drawing a blank.


15. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? 
b) thinner or fatter? 
c) richer or poorer?
    I think I am a>happier, b>fatter and c>richer (for the moment)
    
16. What do you wish you’d done more of?
    My daughter's Xmas stocking which didn't get finished and she's 3 1/2!
    My dining room curtains which are a roll of fabric in my bedroom gathering dust.
    Notice a trend here?


17. What do you wish you’d done less of?
    Worrying about projects that I haven't finished? (grin)
    Less trying to save people who aren't going to change at the expense of my own sanity and free time with my immediate family.
    I wish I'd realized my own limitations and said NO more often in general.


18. How will you be spending Christmas?
    I spent Christmas here with my family and my in-laws. It was nice.


19. Did you fall in love in 2007?
    Yes....with my IPOD. (Sorry, hubs...grin)


20. How many one-night stands? 2.
    (Oh, puh-leez...I'm just kidding. You know it is none!)


21. Favorite shows?
    Desperate Housewives and Lost...probably the same as last year's. I am also in the "I like Rachael Ray's show" camp, which I know may get me flamed in comments for admitting!


22. What was the best book you read?
    I have two really good ones TO read--Water for Elephants is the newest one gathering dust and embarassingly I haven't read A Thousand Splended Suns yet either.


23. Favorite new music?
    I love Sara Bareilles! Apparently she opened for Duran Duran, which Babs saw, so I'm even more than jealous of her now. Babs, if only you knew--she's not just like Fiona. She so much happier--I promise! Pink's last CD is amazing as well.
    
24. What did you want and get?
    For this year? I'd say a cool job that gave me some self-esteem I'd lost back and new friends in my neighborhood to which I can actually relate.
    
    What did you want and not get?
    A smaller waistline, a unexplained vanishing of excess tummy flappage from having two kids, a maid--scratch that--how about a manservant that looks like Matthew McConnehey?


25. What was your favorite film of this year?
    Hmm. Hard. Thinking on this...I have to copy Nicole and say No Country for Old Men comes to mind, even though I missed the last two minutes because of childcare issues. I loved The 40-Year-Old Virgin but that may have been last year come to think of it. Lots of let downs on movies as of late actually.


26. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
    Do we have to give numbers here? Oh, what the heck. I turned 37 and honestly, I don't remember what we did. I usually keep it pretty low-key. Dinner out with the family. I'm not into the birthday "foof."


27. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
    Learning how to eat the correct way to keep control of my ever-increasing blood sugars and lose weight.


28. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2007?
    OK, when you've been a SAHM for 7-8 yrs, the idea of a personal fashion concept beyond just remembering to get your makeup on every day and get OUT of sweatpants, well that's just laughable.
    
    I do have to say on this though...I've followed What Not to Wear on TLC for several years now and started dressing in the best way for my figure. The funny thing is, I've gained a few pounds back from my weight loss last year, but I get more complements on looking thin or like I've lost weight. It has to be the clothing styles I'm buying now, I think. It works people!


29. What kept you sane?
    I am not entirely certain you could describe me as sane this year at all. (grin)


30. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
    Hmm...I always like some of the same ones. I'm trying to think what newer ones I've noticed and I'm drawing a blank. Thinking...how about that new James Bond dude? He's pretty macho I guess. And, Barack Obama really intrigues me (in a non-fanciful kind of way!)


31. What political issue stirred you the most?
    I've finally completely bought into and gotten worried about global warming. It scares me. However, so does electing someone who want to rip us out of Iraq without a good long-term plan for dealing with the repercussions of that. Problem is, one of the candidates who wants to do that is also one of my favorites. Argh!


32. Who did you miss?
    My Austin pals, my kitty, and some of my closest pals here because we have all gotten so busy with having school-aged kids.


33. Who are you happy you have met?
    My new neighbors, for sure. 2-3 families that have eliminated the snooty factor on our street almost entirely now!


34. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2007. Here are several--
    No matter what I do, time is still going to tick by.
    I can choose to ignore my health problems and do whatever the hell I want, and my problems WILL get worse because of the progression of the disease that I have.
    Sometimes finding your dream job at the wrong time in your life, really makes that job turn from a dream into a nightmare very quickly.
    The time you have with your kids is very fleeting and you can't let anything let you lose sight of that or they'll be grown and gone before you know it.
    Choose optimism and be grateful for it all!


35. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.

It doesn't sum up my year more than it sums up changes in my attitude over this past few years. Here's the whole song..one of my favorite this year.

Anyway
Martina McBride

You can spend your whole life buildin'
Somethin' from nothin'
One storm can come and blow it all away

Build it anyway

You can chase a dream
That seems so out of reach
And you know it might not ever come your way

Dream it anyway

[chorus]

God is great,
but sometimes life ain't good
When I pray it doesn't always turn out like I think it should

But I do it anyway
I do it anyway

This world's gone crazy and it's hard to believe
That tomorrow will be better than today

Believe it anyway

You can love someone with all your heart
For all the right reasons
And in a moment they can choose to walk away

Love 'em anyway

You can pour your soul out singing
a song you believe in
that tomorrow they'll forget you ever sang

Sing it anyway

Yeah I sing,
I dream,
I love...

ANYWAY!