I saw this great survey on Erin's It's All Happening blog. Check her out! I would add pictures to this, but I don't really have the time or patience right now. Next year, I promise.
1. What did you do in 2012 that you’d never done before? I moved to California, I took a road trip to the East Coast, I stuck my feet (the only part I could stand, it's super duper cold) in the Pacific Ocean, and I rode in an ambulance (not wanting to repeat that). Three of those things were fun, one wasn't at all. Can you guess which is which?
2. Did you keep your New Year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I didn't make any life resolutions. I made some blog resolutions and accomplished most of those.
3. Did anyone close to you have a child? Nope. I have a few acquaintances that did, but I'm not that close with them. And I rediscovered friend had a child, but we're in the process of becoming closer.
4. Did anyone close to you die? Thankfully no.
5. Where did you travel?
- Spring Break Road Trip: Ohio (Dayton for Air Museum), Hershey PA, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh
- Move out West: Sioux Falls SD, Mitchell SD (Corn Palace), various SD roadside attraction, Mount Rushmore, Dinosaur National Park, All points in between Omaha and Sunnyvale CA
6. What would you like to have in 2013 that you lacked in 2012? A baby...
7. What dates from 2012 will remain etched upon your memory? Let's just go with the entirety of August. Joy and then sadness.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? I survived a whole summer with the boys in a new town. And I somehow survived moving 2000 miles. Crazy crazy!
9. What was your biggest failure? Figuring out my career path. I was a teacher in Indiana, lost my job there, moved to Omaha, became a receptionist, moved to California, and nothing... I want to figure out what I want to do and commit.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury? A cold after moving to California, but not a big deal at all. Of course, in August I suffered a miscarriage.
11. What was the best thing you bought? A Great America season pass. The park is about 10 minutes from our house and for $60 a piece, the boys and I spent many days completely entertained. It was a great investment!
12. Whose behavior merited celebration? I have to give it to the boys for dealing with the move and a completely new situation. The past two years have been a bit crazy, but I hope now we've found our permanent home.
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? Many many people during the run-up and aftermath of the election. I don't care what side you're on, being hateful is just not acceptable. I took that opportunity to do a serious defriending of many on Facebook. I feel much cleaner and positive now.
14. Where did most of your money go? Spring Break road trip, the move west and the boys for summer. Although the truck was covered by J's new company, we found many a new thing that needed to be bought after getting to CA. Plus vacations are always costly, but we have some great memories from our trip west.
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? Vacation and moving west. I am really loving the west coast (much much more than I thought I would). Turns out I love the bay area, I just am not a fan of Los Angeles.
16. What song will always remind you of 2012? Mumford and Sons (anything from Babel), Carly Rae Jepsen "Call Me Maybe", The Lumineers "Ho Hey", Grouplove "Tongue Tied", Imagine Dragons "It's Time", Gotye "Somebody that I Used to Know." I could go on. I really really love discovering new music.
17. Compared to this time last year, are you: a) happier or sadder? b) thinner or fatter? c) richer or poorer? Let's see. A) Marginally happier probably. Although I definitely had some sad moments. B) Fatter. That pregnancy and depression episode really helped gain the pounds. Weight loss is one of my 2013 life goals. C) Poorer.
18. What do you wish you’d done more of? Swam and exercised. I have both activities at my fingertips, but somehow I just lost the will in the fall.
19. What do you wish you’d done less of? Complaining. I really got down and complained about a ton of things throughout the year. 2013, I want to be more positive.
20. How will you be spending Christmas? I spent Christmas in Indiana visiting with my family and old friends. J stayed in California and I really really miss him. Tuesday, I'm back on the West Coast.
21. Did you fall in love in 2012? After all of the life changes, fell more in love with J throughout the year.
22. What was your favorite TV program? So many great shows to choose from. I am going to go with Doctor Who, Castle, Once Upon a Time, The West Wing (rediscovery), Stargate (SG1, Atlantis, and Universe), The League, Suits. I could go on and on.
23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? I'm going to go with no on this one. Hate is a very strong word. I may have been upset with people from time to time, but I don't really hate anyone.
24. What was the best book you read? Here's my Top 10 list. I narrowed down my 184 reads to 10, I can't really narrowed it down any more.
25. What was your greatest musical discovery? The Lumineers. I absolutely adore their album.
26. What did you want and get? Books, books, and more books. I have an addiction.
27. What did you want and not get? A baby...
28. What was your favorite film of this year? Either The Hunger Games or The Hobbit. Two amazing movies.
29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I turned 30 in Omaha and did nothing. Well, that's not true. J took me out for dinner. But I didn't have a party or anything.
30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? A baby... (notice a trend here)
31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2012? Comfort, but adventurous I tried to incorporate new pieces into my wardrobe, specifically more dresses and skinny jeans. Next year, I want to incorporate more dresses into my wardrobe and experiment with layering.
32. What kept you sane? Reading. Getting lost in a great book is my escape from all the frustrations and disappoints in the real world. It's my refresher.
33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? I don't really know...
34. What political issue stirred you the most? Anything to do with women's health. I was just disgusted with all the ideas swirling out there about "legitimate rape" and not covering preventative health care and abstinence only sex education and abortion. Ugh! If we want health babies, keep abortion, give sex education, promote preventative gyno visits, and support women and their support systems in all situations.
35. Who did you miss? My Indiana friends and new Omaha friends.
36. Who was the best new person you met? Collectively, I am going to go with my crafting ladies. I now have a great group that I see regularly. And some of those women are now great book club friends (Pam, Liese, and Angi!!!!). I can't wait to get closer to all these amazing women.
38. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2012. I can withstand much more than I thought before 2012, but I also realized that I need good support people. J is amazing, much more than I give him credit for. He was there for me during crazy vacations, moves, and major physical and mental health issues.
