This has been a crazy week, but now I have KITTIES!

If only the kitties could get rid of the ants, I'd have it made in the shade. Maybe a healthy armadillo to patrol the yard...

Leprosy's not very communicable and armadillos aren't very huggable, so the chance of catching leprosy from an armadillo is pretty tiny, but that's why it's illegal to sell live armadillos in a number of states.

I also want a tortoise to nibble my lawn down, and they're all crawling with salmonella. Why are all the cute pets so diseased, may I ask.

Bad news for everyone who's had a sucktastick 2005 and are waiting for a shiny new 2006 - you're gonna have to wait longer. They just stuck an extra second onto the end of 2005.

Well, on the whole 2005 would seem like a good year for me. G and I are still both fully employed and healthy, I have a new adorable nephew, we bought a house and went to Scotland and life seems to be good.

And yet...the stuff with G's work has been going on since September, causing him a lot of stress. This in turn stresses me out. I end up feeling like a major wuss because I'm not handling it well. Compared to what lots of folks are going through, my life is easy, but I'm finding myself having little meltdowns over nothing. I really hate this.

Let's hope 2006 is a damn sight better for all.

Do the Mayan's know this? Cause they are gonna be super smug when time implodes.

This in turn stresses me out. I end up feeling like a major wuss because I'm not handling it well. Compared to what lots of folks are going through, my life is easy, but I'm finding myself having little meltdowns over nothing. I really hate this.

Hey, I know that song!

Er. While I'm here, I'll do a little wrappity up to-do thing. 2005 has continued the tradition of lots of stuff happening very fast. We bought a house, I started school, and we moved (this is my 3rd move in less than 4 years). I fell out of love with my job, but we're still, you know, hanging out and stuff, but really just "friends." But I can't wait to break up with it once I get my degree in about a zillion years.

Moving out of Somerville was definitely hard, I miss all the people and places that were so much a part of my daily life. But Salem is great and I totally am super duper head over heels in love with my - er, I mean *our*- house.

Tom = still rocks. (this paragraph was edited practically out of existence due to complete overuse of Teh Schmoop)

x-posted with my LJ

Looking back over the last year, I'm actually pretty pleased. I'm happy enough this holiday season that I wrote a Christmas letter. Of course, said Christmas letters haven't gone out yet, because I'm being stubborn and insisting that each one needs a personal note on it. But, it's the first time I've felt like updating family and friends...feeling like I have something worth updating them about. Seems pretty note-worthy in my life.

It's been a good year. In January the antidepressant, Cymbalta, kicked in, making my life quite a bit easier...not perfect, but it's easier for me to access all of the skills I've been learning in DBT (Dialectical Behavior Therapy). So, the skills training (otherwise known as therapy) has really kicked full-speed ahead. I've learned so much this year and really gotten to a level I used to wonder if I'd ever reach. We're talking about trying to kick up therapy to reach me at that new level, which is pretty exciting.

I made it through another two semesters of school...and each with some pretty amazing accomplishments. In Spring, not only did I finish three classes, but I also completed four incompletes I had lying around that needed to be done. I also missed very few classes and rewarded myself with an iPod, which I love dearly. Summer, I ended up only taking one class so I could have a little break during second session. But, I really enjoyed ASL, and am looking forward to taking the next section in the Spring of '06. Fall was a bit more challenging on a bunch of levels. My asthma gave me a lot of trouble, making me miss a lot of class. But, I made it through without dropping any classes, which was always in the back of my mind. We kept reassessing, and kept plugging away. And I did it. Well, there's one incomplete, but I'm not even giving myself a hard time about that one. It's on my Independent Study, and it won't hurt me to turn it in a month later, like it could if I had taken an incomplete in one of my other classes (one where I could have lost information as time went on). And, my grades were really quite good for all of my classes this year. I'm really proud of myself in that department.

I also started working this year. At the end of May I got a job at Castle School, a school for ED/BD high schoolers. I loved it, but there were problems, and I decided it was not in my best interest to stick it out. I left on good terms, though, and have been back to visit the kids, which they appreciate. This fall I took a job that I was offered near the same time as Castle School. Only, I never got the e-mail offering me the position. So, I didn't know I had two jobs to choose from. But, I stayed in touch with the Assistant Director of the program after leaving Castle School, and eventually was offered the position again...$1 an hour higher than their maximum for the position. And, they've been wonderful. They're used to working with students, and know that the first priority is school, and they make adjustments for that. I've been so very lucky. I really love it there. They are wonderfully patient and want to teach us to do this research. It's really an amazing opportunity.

Relationship stuff is good too. I'm learning to make limits when needed and have many loving family and friends. I've started going back to church, and found a church I feel I can call home, and a wonderful knitting/crocheting group in the church. I'm very lucky, and I know that.

I'm looking forward to a new year, full of new goals (not resolutions...because, I'm looking for these things to grow over the next several years). Gonna try a diet, 'cause that one's just a given. Gonna keep plugging away at school. Gonna work on my books (the essays on depression book, and my memoir/manual on DBT). Gonna apply for a prize scholarship to go to Oxford for summer school. Gonna continue to try to build relationships and work on those skills. Gonna keep plugging away with therapy and stuff, to try to become the best person I can be.

If there's anything I've learned this (continued...)

( continues...) year, it's contentment. I may not always be happy, but I'm usually content. I can thank Radical Acceptance for a lot of that.

Anyway, Happy New Year, everyone! May we all have the best year yet. Much love to you all. Stay safe!