Jesse, thank you for the lovely gifts. The swan is beautiful and I love the soap. I was super excited for the Hello Kitty zip/trial stuff.

you are wonderful!

Yay! I realize my theory of gift-giving this year was to give stuff I would want, but I just love the abundance of options in a whole mess of trial sizes.

I still haven't mailed the package.

Actually, haven't packed it up. Should be going to the PO tomorrow.

Normal mail day tomorrow, right?

Me too! Trial sizes are the best. Noah claimed the pad of paper (of course... he's in a writing/drawing phase).

Mine is mailed!

So a year ago, DH, HPF, and I were jet-lagged and cranky and thoroughly wrapped in Javachik's warm welcome back to the states, and to the new year. We were able to meet so many SFistas, including Megan Walker, Consuela, JZ, Hec, and Matilda and Emmett. I managed to wound myself cutting cheese, and HPF overdid it on chocolate (!), but being with all of you for the start of the year was wonderful, and we are so very glad to know you all. Javachik, I am grateful for your friendship, always.

2011, you were tumultuous at best. I spent a lot of it fighting the sinus infection from hell (thanks again Steph for calming my nerves), sorting out DH's back problem, and dealing with some ridiculous school stuff for HPF, plus the usual elderly parent things. I sold my first two stories and (you're hearing it first here) wrote my first novel, though I'm going to be revising it a lot in the new year. Raq, -t, and Gud patiently read some of my stories. Maria and LeNubian helped me deal with the ridiculous bad bank situation. The buffista community continued to amaze me with how we care for each other. On other fronts, my mom came through some health stuff well, and I'm grateful for that. We lost DH's grandmother, who was amazing and very much loved. We missed our dog as we went through a series of firsts without her after nearly 17 years of having her there. Politics boggled me completely. The earthquake in Christchurch and the tsunami in Japan made my heart ache for people I do not know, and made me hold those people I do know a lot closer.

2012, I'm hoping you are a good year, and that you are very very good to my buffistas, me and my family, and to the world in general.

So, 2011 was very much like 2010 for me. Still enjoy my job, and my studies went well. Most importantly, Wallybee is still just lovely, and Ryan is, as he opined just after his haircut, "a boo'ful boy". Had two great holidays - Sydney, with WB's parents, and Phillip Island over Christmas. (The little boy has decided that he likes holidays. They include funparks and beaches and penguins and echidnas. And a rainbow on Christmas, that was nice.)

My 2011 was really uneventful. One job, same apartment, no major crises. Also nothing really great, which is too bad. I started 2011 dating a really lovely but ultimately unsuitable man, so ended that in the spring, and haven't had much luck in dating since. Finally got a new boss at work, but am feeling more and more like the job I'm in isn't ultimately the kind of job I want to have, so that's something to think about in the new year. Mostly I'm glad my family is more or less OK, and we all like each other (enough). My father still has Alzheimer's, but can enjoy himself most of the time, and my 92-year-old grandmother will outlive us all.

So, in short: 2011 was OK. On to the new year!

sox - congratulations on novel completion!!

billytea - Ryan continues to be v. amusing.

2011 - I feel like it was more of the same. No big highs or lows but little ones. I finally ventured out and joined my local knitting group and that was a huge plus for me. Made only tiny inroads into the chaotic mess that is my apartment. Got to hear from a vet that any time I have with my cat is pretty much a gift. (She is an elderly statescat. Or a feisty old lady cat. .. or just mouthy, and snuggly and I don't know what I'm going to do without her.)

2012- makes me happy for all the dragons in my life: a brother, a niece and 2 of the closest friends I have.