Yay! I'm glad the box got there in time, smonster! Isn't that wrapping paper adorable? I'm wishing I had bought a second roll while I had the chance. The dog cookies are made by a local baker, and the only grain in them is oats. As for the candy, that's from a local confectioner I discovered when some friends of mine had a chocolate tasting party there. So, so good...

I got secret santa'd! THANK YOU! I love the Gertrude Stein book and the kimchi paste is awesome. Also, the pistachio crack? Can't stop eating it.

Secret Santa is amazing!

Thank you, Secret Santa, for the gorgeous scarf, delicious candy, and amazing looking coffee! Three of my favorite things! The scarf has such a lovely pattern on the ends, and it'll go with everything I wear in the winter.

Yay! The scarf is all non-wool and washable (cold water). The candy is from a local institution in my home town.

I got my card and (first) gift from my Secret Santa. I have not tried the chocolate orange candy yet, but they look delicious and the journal is full of pretty fiber art pictures (and some patterns that I definitely want to try) Thank you!

Msbelle is, again, the nicest. Part of my secret Santa gift included a donation, in my name, to Heifer International. Thank you! Now I picture a cow with my name tattooed on it.

YAY! Glad you liked the journal! I found that at my LYS and thought of you immediately.

Since it's the end of the year, I figure I better get my last hurrah in with an update to my last status report (in Lurkers): SailAweigh "Delurking 1: Because we don't always check our e-mail." Oct 6, 2012 9:15:17 am PDT

Since that post, I've been promoted into a supervisory position with a substantial raise. My new department is very appreciative of me and the people I supervise are very happy to have a layer between them and the academic staff, which didn't exist before. I'm kind of sad to be leaving the course development part of the old job, but it's nice knowing my name will be on the credits for the two courses I did work on. Who knows, I may still get a chance to get my fingers in, in the new department. We have one staff member who is responsible for updating our part of the division website, but I know she has problems with it. It's a good opportunity to take on more onerous tasks (for someone else, not me) and add value to what I bring to the department.

Overall, it's been a very good year for me. I'm almost afraid of the coming year! My kids are doing well. The daughter is quite successful at work, she bought a boat this past summer, which while it was a lot of fun for her she's starting to realize the maintenance costs are a little more than she's happy with. The trade-off for fun is responsibility and she's still working on that. The son and daughter-in-law are keeping it together in Phoenix, better than many past years. The son got his medical marijuana card! I'm not sure how easy/hard they are to get, but now that he has it, he asked for a blender for Christmas so he could make weed butter to cook with. He's having a NYE party tonight and making brownies for it. ::headdesk::

I have a group of friends coming over for drinks tonight, and I have a coupon for a free on-demand movie (got my cable back with the new job -- yay, more money!) We're going to nibble on brie, fancy salami, crackers and other finger foods. If we get really daring, we may go find some fireworks. Although, I have a feeling with the amount of booze and having one of those friends a bartender, it will mean staying where we are and watching the ball drop.

So, this year is ending on a satisfying note. I know this year wasn't as positive for many of the Buffistas, so you have my heart-felt wishes that 2013 treats you all as well as 2012 treated me.

Also, Tom, you should be getting one more secret santa present. It's not coming from me, so you might not recognize it as such. It's from a friend, Jo Estep, who's a graphic novelist; I hope you enjoy it!

Oh, it's the last day of 2012.

Hmm. It's been a stressful year. My job situation has still not been resolved. I have not sold my house and moved to a better neighborhood.

We did move my parents into assisted living. That was unbelievably stressful and emotionally draining, and while the drama has mostly subsided, the work is not done. My father's trying to move out, and I have to clear out the old apartment and sell it.

In better news, I spent two weeks in Spain with my nieces last spring, and that was wonderful. I saw Bruce Springsteen live three times. I had a lovely weekend in Chicago in September.

My employers appear to still like my work (other than My Nemesis). My family is mostly fairly healthy, and I got to see my brothers at Thanksgiving. My sibs are grateful enough for the way I'm carrying most of the burden with the folks that they teamed up to buy me a marvelous new bicycle.

So, that was 2012. Some good, but a lot of draining stress and emotional drama. One way or another, 2013 will bring a new job situation, more drama with my folks, and probably (finally) an opportunity to move to a better neighborhood.

Thanks so much to the Buffistas this year, by the way: the folks in Natter have really helped me keep my head on straight while I deal with my demented mother and aging father. I can't say how much it's meant to have you all there supporting and advising me.

Oof. Last day indeed. Let's see. I live in the same house, I have the same roommate. We started getting a cleaning lady monthly, which has helped some roommate issues. We fostered a cat, and she adopted it, and we also fostered adorable kittens a few times (and would like to do it again in 2013! SO CUTE). Took some sewing classes, and feel comfortable using my machine (though now I have a huge stash of fabric...)

I got a new job, which is so far not really an upgrade from my previous job (other than in money), but I keep hoping it'll get better. I got to take a week in Mexico prior to starting the job, and also went to see friends in Baltimore and DC in August. But my big 35th birthday trip to New Orleans was canceled due to hurricane, and my Christmas travels were rearranged via blizzards.

I did manage to keep a new year's resolution for the first time--I did one 5k race every month in 2012. 12 races!

So, for 2013, I'd like to do more (non-work) travel, I will be having eye surgery in the first few weeks of the year (eep! no more glasses!??) and would like to get the job on the right track. Hoping to run some more races and get better at it, since I'm still walking a lot and pretty slow. Roomie and I have agreed on a new plan of "one cultural-type event a month" (by which we mean something highbrow we wouldn't have done otherwise--theater? ballet? folk festival?). Not sure what I'm going to do when she moves in September, if I want another roommate or not! (Pros: helps me afford my house, is around when I'm gone a lot, another person in the house helps me sleep better. Cons: All the annoying things that come with having a roommate)

Dear 2013: Please be nice to me and even more so to other buffistas who have had a shitty 2012.

Ah, 2012.

Not much of note in the first half, I guess, but over the summer I found I had to move from an apartment which I LOVED, but could no longer afford. I moved into a crappier (but cheaper!) apartment much closer to my parents, which has worked out well.

At the same time, my cat was getting sicker, and ultimately I had him put down a week before Christmas. I'm still sad about it, but not as wrecked as I was the first week. So that's good.

Still in the same job, and feeling much better about it now that we have several new employees and no vacant positions in my department. So I went from feeling stretched too thin and ineffective to being the expert in many things and responsible for keeping many fewer people happy!

I finally feel a little more settled here, with a nice group of people I know, some of whom have really become friends. So that's good.

I'm looking forward to a good 2013, possibly with some changes. I may have to move again, and am thinking about looking for a new job. Also probably a new cat. And of course, I wouldn't mind not being single, as I have been for all of 2012.