I'm on the "I hope your gift isn't late" train. I mailed off my Santee's gift yesterday, but the post office was full of dire warnings so it went UPS Ground instead.

It is on the way, though!

I gave my Santee gift to my shipping department last week Monday. This week Monday they called me up and started asking questions about what was in it. One week it sat! If it doesn't get there in time, I'm making them pay the damn shipping. (We have to pay ourselves for personal shipments, which is fine, just don't screw up my plans!)

There's no other way to say it - 2006 sucked royally in my household. Here's why:

- MIL diagnosed with lung cancer in February.
- I start suffering Anxiety attacks and other fun stuff
- In April, MIL's cancer found in her brain, bones and spine
- In June, DH gets sick and ends up having surgery on an abccess, postponing trip home to visit his Mom
- Also in June, my mother suffers a heart attack and has a stent inserted
- July, DH diagnosed with diabeties - travel home postponed again
- July 30, MIL died. Luckily B was there when it happened.
- September, we go on "summer" vacation out west. It snows and is cold.
- December, our cat starts showing overt symptoms of his FeLV + status. He's still with us but he's struggling.
- All Year: my job has become more sucky.

I guess a few good things happened:
- DH lost 50 pounds
- we inherited some money allowing us to pay off debts
- I learned to knit and have found it to be a good anxiety reducer
- I didn't lose any friends and gained quite a few through knitting

Bring. On. 2007. Please.

2006, the bad:
Put on 15 or so pounds
No closer to having enough savings to buy instead of rent
One of my best friends moved to Maryland early last year
Lotsa bad things seemed to happen to Buffistas this year

2006, the good:
Got another good review at work (we'll see how the bonus and raise go)
Bought a car that will (a) probably go for the rest of the oughts at least and (b) probably won't be a target for The Fast and the Furious crowd
Still loving my apartment
Relatedly, crazy landlord seems to have gotten a lot less crazy since early last year
Saw cute lawyer chick for the first time in 2 years at an Xmas party and had a good time chatting with her
Have bought gifts for or at least know what I'm going to buy everyone on my list this year
Lotsa good things seemed to happen to Buffistas this year as well

So I gotta put 2006 in the plus column for me personally, but still hoping it can be significantly improved on in 2007

I guess a few good things happened:

You made Matilda a very cute hat!

I'm ambivalent about 2006--but I worry this might be ungrateful (in a generally anxious, atheist way).

The decidedly excellent:

I saw my family AND I got my parents to travel with me to Rome, a special place for them, and the first trip together they made in almost ten years (the first trip for the three of us in 17.) My mom especially was so happy... She hadn't travelled since her accident in 2000.

I bought a condo, small but pretty.

The not-sure-how-it-will-turn-out:

Mortgage! Loans! Being tied to one place at least for a few years!

The sad:

My parents are selling the summerhouse. My grandfather built it, it's been there all my life. It hurts to think my niece and nephew won't have that. It hurts to think about the pomegranates in the garden, and that sea... And I can't help blaming myself for not being rich, or having married rich, and similar crazy stuff.

[link]

Dear Secret Santee, uh, your gift is going to be late, no two ways about it. I'm sorry; I got really sick last week and fell way behind in getting gifts for everyone on my list, but I hope to get it out to you by New Year's.

My 2006 was generally awesome. I took some fun trips, I met some great people, I got to see lots of Buffistas, a bunch of people I love got married or had babies, I didn't fail out of school, and I got a great job. I wish, as always, that I'd had more luck with dating people, but otherwise, I really can't complain.

• I took a bunch of classes and am now halfway done with my MLS. Though one class was horribly dull, the others were pretty great, and I'm still really pleased with my choice to go into this field. A lot of my friends are still struggling with figuring out what to do with their lives, and while I certainly don't have all the answers, I feel really lucky to be so happy with the work I'm doing.

• Relatedly, I started a great job in May. I work with terrific people, I have a fantastic boss who is really supportive and has been a huge inspiration to me personally, I'm learning so much and getting lots of experience, and I think I'm doing some good work. I had my six-month review a couple weeks ago and got some nice compliments and some good feedback, and am looking forward to what I can do in 2007.

• My family are all basically happy and healthy. We're a little worried about my grandma (my dad's mother), whose memory loss has become much more obvious since my grandfather died; for 2007, I hope that she allows us to give her the help she needs.

• I got to spend a lot of time with a few close friends in 2006, and not nearly enough time with other friends. School brings out the worst of my poor time-management skills, and I've been worse than ever about staying in touch with friends and making time to see them. This is something I hope to improve on next year.

• I got into swing-dancing in the first half of 2006 and discovered how much I love it. It's also a good way for me to incorporate regular exercise into my life, which is something else I am pretty bad about. Dancing took a back seat to other stuff in my life in the second half of the year, so next year I hope to start doing it again more regularly. I also started kayaking with my dad this summer, which was super fun, and something I want to do more often. I try not to get too bothered about my weight, but if I could lose maybe 10 pounds in 2007 and build up a little more muscle, I would be pretty happy.

• This was also the year of my fannish renaissance. It's sort of a silly thing to put up alongside these other big things in my life, but it's brought me a lot of joy, so I think it deserves a mention. I'd sort of fallen off the fannish radar over the last few years, but I got sucked back in this year; from SGA to Doctor Who, from Veronica Mars to Heroes, from SPN to BSG, I've really loved following the stories that they tell, and getting my geek on with other fans.

Yeow, this got long. So to sum up, I'm in a really good place right now, making good progress and doing good work, and I hope to continue that forward momentum in 2007!

Squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Allieann sent me gorgeous candy from Krema Nut Factory. (www.krema.com) I have peanutbutter carmel corn and coffee beans and covered pretzles and a giant covered pretzel and tiramisu carmels and various dark chocolate patties. And a stress squeezy thing shaped like a peanut which will live on my desk and save the lives of lawyers.

And if that isn't enough...

If my love of chocolate and regional delicacies isn't enough...

She also sent me a Hello Kitty Pez dispenser in a little purple stocking. Oh yes she did. Hee!

t covers Allieann in kisses ::smooch smooch smooch smooch smooch::

Little did I know you had a love of regional delicacies!

I'm so glad it got there in time!

• does happy present-giving dance*

This would also be an excellent time to give a shoutout to my Seekrit Santa! I got an email today from Defenders of Wildlife (defenders.org) letting me know that my Seekrit Santa (who may be trying to retain anonymity, but has a telling email address) has "adopted" a penguin in my name! Not only do I love penguins, but the money for penguin adoption goes toward efforts to reduce emissions and slow global warming, thereby preserving penguin habitats. Two great causes that go great together! I also squee!!!!!!1!!one!!

t runs back to make out with Trudy some more

Yes, well, when I started filling things out, it looked like maybe the email address wouldn't show.

Since the whole anonymity thing is gone, let me add that you should watch for more to come, although I'm not sure if it will get there before the 25th.

eta the most important part, which is, I'm so glad you liked it! I wasn't sure, but I hoped it would be a good choice.