Reconciling Saints

So that's it for 2011.

If you read the posts flying about on Facebook, it seems many a soul had a horrible year and there are prayers for better in the year to come.

*shrugs*

I dunno. I had a pretty good year, all told.

What I hope for is more learning, growing and accomplishing. Oh and dreaming! I want to do more of that... and London... and Paris... Yes. That.

Happy new year friends o' mine! Try not to break yourselves tonight. I can't guarantee that I won't... 

You know, every year I try to make resolutions. Well, technically I make them but I don't exactly keep them. This year, there's things that I'm working on and I suppose that those would be my resolutions, but I don't feel like calling them resolutions. To me, the term "new year's resolution" has a bad connotation; they are things that people make and don't keep. I never keep them either, that is until last year.

Last year my resolution was to be the best me that I could be and to do (or start doing) the things I wanted to do and not the things I thought I should do or that I thought people wanted me to do. That was actually a little hard but fairly easy (there were a few bumps along the way).

It seems like a cheat to me, though, that my resolution would be to just... be. How weird is it that we need to resolve to do such a thing? Seriously, what's wrong with us?

So this year, in the spirit of just being, I give you my non-resolutions:

- Health: I'm going to continue the going to the gym thing in order to feel right in my own skin. I want to feel the strongest that I've ever felt, and I know that this is how I do it. I learn from experience. Evey time I fall off the wagon, I start feeling crappy. I'm just going to continue working this into my routine.

- Writing: Well, I've tackled a few things and as Dorey says in Finding Nemo, "Just keep swimming." So I'm going to keep writing, making time for writing, and submitting until something happens, even if it's death that happens. Get me?

- Travel: Well this one's easy! I'm off to London/Paris/Prague in March/April... then Scotland for Asef's wedding and Hogmanay in December.I'd say I have the travel thing down. Travel is important to me and I'm gonna keep doing it... even once I live in Edinburgh ('cause that is a goal, after all).

- Friends: will always be my family, and I'm going to keep making sure they're updated and remembering them and reminding them that I'm around. They mean a lot to me. Communication is important to that, especially when they're that far away.

- Wardrobe: I'm gonna keep on the look out for more Ceci-type articles of clothing and make smarter decisions about what I'm buying and that I LOVE them. I do. I love feeling great in my clothes, especially if I feel great in my own skin.

- The boyo: I'm gonna remember that he doesn't always share my crazy/ understand my crazy and keep on learning the lessons that we learned about how to just... be. Also, I've got to keep reminding myself that I'm not always totally clear with what I say and that his boy-brain processes it differently.

In short, I'm going to just keep swimming.

EXTRA! EXTRA!

Londonsquared proclaims "Fine in Oh-Nine!"

That's right kids, let's start this off right! Mlle_aubergine and I did by hitting the gym for lunch to keep up with our FABULOUS selves and make sure we're good to go for her FABULOUS party in Paris this spring.

I'm supposed to be doing a year in review today, technically, however, I got wind of London's new mantra and I had to share.

SO! This year was something, wasn't it??

Let's review:
- January - Got married... AGAIN! If this one doesn't stick, I'm done with this marriage business! Met Neely of the Lexington Contingency and she came to my wedding! Had a HUGE party with my GREAT friends...thank you thank you thank you to all that came... that was the best time EVER! and thank you to Amanda and Stephen for staying with us for most of that time/ hosting the party room.

- February - Quit job, met Matt of the Lexington Contingency, moved out of old (but AWESOME!) apartment and shipped everything in one of those PODS type things to Portland. What a month! Can you say exhausted?! Still, I felt so free!

- March - Went to Europe for the whole month and met up with London, Liad, Ami, Leigh, Ezra, Chloe, Joe, Amanda, Luke and their friend Tim. AMAZING!

- April - huh... well there was the bullshit Fiasco, hiring a lawyer, My sister's wedding, moving in with my parents, the boyo's move to PDX, staying at Chez London, Linda and Dylan being super fucking amazing! Oh and Malia's baby shower on the hottest day of the year! Half bad, half good; this month made me realize that out of bad comes some good... and I have some amazing people in my life.

- May - the fiasco continues, my birthday, outings with Liz, never leaving the gym (if you lived with your parents, what would you do?), going very close to the edge of insanity due to my mother, missing the boyo, getting the boyo for my birthday (Again, Linda's AWESOME ... she got everyone to pitch in to fly him down AND we got our own little hotel room for a week... I was walking funny for 3 days after he left), the most surreal thing ever, and May 29th was "Here's Where the Story Ends"... 2nd miracle.

- June - More outings with Liz ( the Good Luck Bar!), Big Sonic Heaven, Robert's graduation, moving to PDX, moving in with Mlle_ aubergine, feeling FREEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!

- July - unemployed but happy, being a good house elf, the boyo is unemployed, living in the City and the boyo living in the sticks, still happy, in awe of new city, my brother's wedding (parents express concern that I may be an alcoholic), land long-term temp job, meeting ALL sorts of people, writing writing and more writing, realizing I hate Summer no matter where I live, movie night.

- August - staying at Sir William's ('cause he's a nice boyo), living in the same place with the boyo, Lou(!!!), Breaking Dawn, the boyo's birthday, getting longer hours at the temp job, happy happy happy, finding our own place, things are coming together... slowly but surely.

- September - New place, Coidric and M's wedding, start writing for ourpdx.net, first time at the coast, first time camping, The Graveyard Book, Coidric puts me in contact with current job, whenever things look like they might get worse, they somehow get better.

- October - New job (thanks to Coidric), Leigh's birthday (return to LA), HALLOWEEN, love new job, love writing on this blog and on ourpdx, meeting MORE new people, loving my new city.

- November - NaNoWriMo, gym a lot with no results, Let the Right One In, Ignite Portland 4, Thanksgiving with the in-laws (kinda weird), Thanksgiving on the coast (The island of misfit toys), Diana and Prime's wedding (20 sided dice!) ... and all SORTS of inspiration!

- December - finished NaNoWriMo (that's 50,056 words baby! Now to edit it!), Pocket Heather's visit to Portland, got sick, got sick again, snowed in (!!!), drinking in local bars due to being snowed in, more writing, Melissa Lion's writing class, Back Fence PDX, lovely friends, and all out lovely year.

WOW!
that's a lot.

I wouldn't be anyone else :) Thank you to all that support me and that I call "friend," I couldn't have done it without you!