2012 in Review

I have done this survey every year for quite a long time, so here it is again!

1. What did you do in 2012 that you'd never done before?
Be on the board for an organization. Attend a sibling's wedding (twice!). Spend the holidays sans husband and family. Complete a full year of college.

 2. Did you keep your new year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I don't think I made any. I do want to make some for this year but they are more along the lines of things I want to do/accomplish by the time I turn 30. That will be a separate post though.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth or get pregnant?
Many friends, as usual--it's just that time of life.

4. Did anyone close to you get married?
Yes! Two of my brothers. =)

5. Did anyone close to you die?
Thankfully, no.

6. Travel?
To FL twice, and a whirlwind roadtrip to San Antonio.

7. Did you move anywhere?
No, we got to stay put this year!

8. What was the best month?
Hmm. I'm gonna say November; I got to be in FL for a wedding and spent a lot of quality time with the husband.

9. What would you like to have in 2013 that you lacked in 2012?
 A debt-free existence (at least for a little while, until we buy a 2nd car). We don't have much debt compared to some people, but I'd like to be rid of it so we can start saving for a house one day. Oh, and I'd also like flat, tight abs. ;-)

10. What date(s) from 2012 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
The cold December day I kissed my husband and sent him off to Afghanistan.

11. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Completing two 4.0 semesters of school.

12. What was your biggest failure?
Continually giving in to procrastination, and letting my running fall by the wayside.

13. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Just continued suffering from allergies and the occasional TIA (which I intend to get checked out again soon =P).

14. What was the best thing you bought?
My Cuisinart coffeemaker--I'm convinced it's the cone-shaped brew basket, but it seriously makes amazing coffee, and has made up for it's almost-$100 price tag by preventing me from buying so many expensive espresso drinks at coffee shops. Also, my new laptop and the quality backpack I got for school.

15. Whose behavior merited celebration?
My four oldest siblings.

16. Whose behavior made you appalled and/or depressed?
Certain other family members, for still not having learned that churches and pastors are not supposed to think for you, control your every move, decide who you associate with, and dominate every aspect of your life.

17. Where did most of your money go?
Plane tickets, new laptops...nothing else unusual.

18. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
My trips to FL

19. What song will always remind you of 2012?
Probably "Good Time," by Owl City and Carly Rae Jepsen.

20. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder? Sadder. Last year my husband was here.
ii. thinner or fatter? Fatter--the gym and clean eating have not been as high on the priority list the last two months. =\ But it's okay, it was only temporary and I'll be back on track soon.
iii. richer or poorer? The same.

21. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Running, blogging, Bible-reading.

22. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Spending money, procrastinating, sitting on the couch, stressing.

23. How will you be spending New Year's Eve/Day?
 New Year's Eve I'll be attending a party at a friend's house. New Year's day I'm not sure yet; maybe something spontaneous will come up.

24. What was an unexpected surprise?
 Loving my philosophy class. =) Attending one of the on-post chapels and liking it.

25. Did you fall in love in 2012?
I'm still in love with my husband, and I can't think of any other new loves from this year. So, no.

26. What was the best concert you've been to this year?
Any of the El Paso Symphony concerts I attended this year. And for most fun concert, it was Karmin.

27. What was your favorite TV program?
"Red Eye."

28. Do you dislike anyone now that you didn't dislike this time last year?
Yes; I think that's inevitable.

29. What was the best book you read?
Probably Unbroken, by Laura Hillenbrand. Absolutely amazing true story, and ironically the book that caused my first Kindle to be stolen: because I couldn't put the book down, I was carrying my Kindle around with me all day so I could use every spare second between classes to read it, and consequently ended up accidentally leaving it somewhere for a few minutes. =P

30. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Don't think I made any. But some of my already favorite artists put out amazing new albums this year: Owl City, Mumford and Sons, and Tenth Avenue North.

31. What did you want and get?
Lots of quality time with Andrew, a great group of Christian friends at Ft. Bliss, to attend both brothers' weddings, good grades in all my classes.

32. What did you want and not get?
To pay off my car.

33. What was your favorite film of this year?
Oh man. SO many good movies this year! Avengers, Dark Knight Rises, Hunger Games, Skyfall, Les Miserables, The Hobbit. I don't think I can choose. First world problem there. =P

34. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
According to Facebook, I didn't do anything because Andrew was in the field and I had loads of homework.  But I did get to go to World Market, apparently. ;-) I turned 28.

35. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Becoming an overall more self-disciplined person.

36. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2012?
Slightly more trendy. There were a lot of skinny jeans and looser tops. Oh, and flannel--I've gotten obsessed with flannel.

37. What kept you sane?
Andrew (minus the times he drove me crazy, haha), wine, yoga, and friends.

38. What political issue stirred you the most?
The election. Grrrr.

39. Who did you miss?
Family, especially my older siblings and extended family.

Five things that 2012 taught me:
1) One of the downsides of military life is moving to a new place, desperately making friends with the first people who come your way, and then having to decide if you actually click with them or not. =\
2) You get in good with professors just by never skipping class, completing coursework, and being respectful.
3) Never underestimate the stupidity of people who can't think logically.
4) "Popular" does not usually indicate "quality."
5) My husband may not buy me presents often, but when he does, they are perfect. =)

Five things you want to do in 2012:
As mentioned, I'm going to save this for a separate post. Deployment year + the last year in my 20s = lots of things I want to accomplish and experience!

Monday 10

Another blog friend posted 10 questions for everyone to answer, and I haven't done anything like that in awhile so here goes.


Monday 10:

1. Do you pronounce Visa like "Veesuh" or "Veezuh"?
"Veezuh."

2. Do you have a hummingbird feeder?
No, but I should--I've seen hummingbirds around here!

3. What's the most interesting animal you've seen in the wild?
Hmm. The only animal coming to mind right now is a ground squirrel. I'm not used to squirrels that live in the ground so the first time I saw one here I was quite charmed. They are so cute!

4. What's the last kind of cookie you baked?
Chocolate chip, as usual!

5. Which email service do you use (primarily)?
Gmail. It's the best.

6. Are you on Instagram?
No, no smart phone right now.

7. True or false: you like drinking beverages out of jars.
False. Jars have odd openings and feel weird to drink out of.

8. Have you ever done a tequila shot (no sipping!) complete with salt and lime?
I have! Shots aren't my favorite way to imbibe but they're fun every once in awhile.

9. Please point me to your Amazon wish list, if you share it with people. Is it updated?
It is here. And yes, it is updated!

10. Do you dye your hair?
Nope, never! I used to hate my hair color but now I like it, and the upkeep of dyed hair just seems like such a hassle and waste of money. I have been seriously considering putting a blue streak in it though, just for fun. lol

Hallelujah!

This semester of school is almost over! It's been the easiest one I've experienced so far, but I've still been feeling remarkably drained and uncreative the last month or so. I can't even manage to come up with decent words on my Words with Friends games--how sad is THAT?

Just two more days and it's time for massive amounts of gym time (to make up for all the time in the kitchen when my cooking/baking bug comes back *cough*), TV & movie time, house-cleaning (this place needs major attention, man), regular blog posts, reading, and SLEEP! Also time to cling to the Husband to the point of annoyance before he leaves me very soon for a stint in a not-so-safe Middle Eastern country. =(

Until then, here's a picture of my Christmas decor. Isn't it purty??