A New Year's meme! Stolen from lady_mishegas and semibold

b>1. What did you do in 2011 that you'd never done before?

Erm... baked cookies with a three-year-old. I've never done that before.

2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

I don't do resolutions. Sometimes I have a theme... last year was the Year of Learning to Cook. And I did.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

Umm... well, my cousin Stephen's wife Adrienne gave birth to their second boy, Travis. I don't know if that counts as close, since I rarely see anyone from that side of the family.

4. Did anyone close to you die?

Not really close, no one in my family, but in my wider circle of friends, the group at rec.arts.mystery lost our wonderful Vicki.

5. What countries did you visit?

The UK. Well, technically, England, since I didn't go to Wales or Scotland.

6. What would you like to have in 2012 that you lacked in 2011?

Considering that I have a roof over my head, food in my belly, people who love me, money enough to keep my bills paid (pretty much), I'd have to say I lacked very little last year. Maybe more quiet time, more sleep--you can never go wrong with more sleep.

7. What date(s) from 2011 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

25 May--the day I finally met mitchy! Oh, and saw David Tennant and Catherine Tate in Much Ado About Nothing.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

Learning to cook. I've always been a baker, but I've never been much of a cook, though I can boil an egg. I've taken over making supper most evenings.

9. What was your biggest failure?

To lose the weight I gained over Christmas 2010. It was only a few pounds, but it stuck like glue!

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

I had a persistent inflammation in the cartilage of my chest wall, which was by turns frightening and irritating. Every day was a trial of pain. Not serious pain, as I'm sure there are plenty of people out there who suffer worse every day, but just constant. And until about April, nearly a year after the inflammation first started, I'd no idea what the root cause was. When my doctor's locum suggested I might have a herniated disk in my neck, and I started taking care of my neck, it all cleared up!

11. What was the best thing you bought?

A wire-free bra. That's related to the whole inflammation thing. I discovered that any pressure on my sternum, which is all cartilage, after all, made me feel as if I couldn't breathe properly. I tried a wire-free T-shirt bra, and there was little or no pressure on my sternum--bliss! I keep hoping I'll be able to get back into the underwire bras, just because I have so darn many of them (from the Year of Interesting Underwear), but it's not looking likely.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?

Everyone who stood up for human rights everywhere.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?

Big Oil. Big Business.

14. Where did most of your money go?

To pay bills, buy food, stuff like that.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?

Well, at first, the new Duran Duran album... but then I listened to it, and was disappointed. And then there was the prospect of seeing Duran Duran when I was in England... but then Simon LeBon got laryngitis (totally not his fault!) and the shows were cancelled. But on a par with that, there was meeting mitchy, whom I've known online for years but had never met in real life. And then we did. And it was lovely! And next time I go to the UK, there will be more meeting, I'm sure. :-) Oh, and there was that thing about the play with David Tennant. ;-)

16. What song will always remind you of 2011?

"I Don't Get By" by The Sheepdogs. It was always on the radio, it seems.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder? Roughly the same, I think. I tend towards happy most of the time.
ii. thinner or fatter? Sadly, fatter. I didn't quite get rid of last year's Christmas weight, and I've added to it over the holidays.
iii. richer or poorer? My car insurance went down, but I bought health insurance, so my overall payments went up. My student loan payments went down, but I'm paying the same anyway. My internet bill went up. We got a satellite dish, and I pay into that. Gasoline is always going up. Food costs more. I'd say I'm poorer.

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?

Playing with my niece when she wanted me to. I try to, but sometimes I just can't. She'll want me to play when I've just come back from a walk, and I'm sweaty and in need of a shower, for example.

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?

Grumbling. I have a tendency, though I'm a happy person, to grumble about Things that Are Not Right. It really doesn't do anyone any good, unless that grumbling actually leads to change.

20. How did you spend Christmas and New Year's Eve?

Christmas morning was presents and a pancake breakfast with everyone. Christmas evening was dinner at my brother Dave's; after dinner involved me, my niece, and a jigsaw puzzle. New Year's Eve saw me work from 11 till 4:30, then come home. We didn't really have supper; I had some crackers and cheese when I got in, then we had some Chinese style appetizers and wings later. Mom & Mark watched The Day After Tomorrow; I saw a bit, then sloped off to watch the "William Shatner's Weird or What?" marathon on History. Someone drunk-dialled us at a little after midnight. That's all the excitement we had.

21. Who did you spend the most time on the phone with?

Probably Mom.

22. Did you fall in love in 2011?

I did! His name is Temeraire. He's a Chinese Imperial dragon. Very charming in a dragony sort of way, and utterly adorable.

23. How many one-night stands?

None, unless you count that thing with David Tennant.

24. What's your favorite TV program?

Oh, dear. Since getting the satellite TV, I've become an addict. I've discovered "Burn Notice" and "Warehouse 13". I've continued my love affair with a certain 900-year-old Gallifreyan. I still love "Castle" and "Hawaii Five-0". And I've fallen in love with "Once Upon a Time" and "Grimm".

I watch way more TV than I need to now...

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?

Life's too short for hate.

26. What was the best book you read in 2011?

Downpour by Kat Richardson. I've been loving the Greywalker series for some time, and it just keeps getting better.

Honourable mention: Ghost Story by Jim Butcher.

27. What was your greatest musical discovery?

Err... Mumford and Sons.

28. What did you want and get?

Sorry, I don't have an answer to this one.

29. What did you want and not get?

See above. I'm pretty content. :-)

30. What was your favorite film of this year?

I know I didn't see any at the cinema... never did seem to be able to find the time. And everything that seemed interesting came out in 3D. I'm not paying extra for that "experience," thanks very much. If I see Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows, it won't be till sometime this month. I guess I'll pick Thor, because I liked it better than Captain America: The First Avenger, both of which I saw on DVD.

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

I was 41, and... I don't remember. I'm pretty sure I worked. Oh, elfsausage made me a photo story on LiveJournal. That was nice. :-)

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

I don't know--I had a pretty good year. Maybe if my friends had had a better 2011, that would have made things more satisfying.

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2011?

My what?

34. What kept you sane?

The meds. Absolutely. ;-) No, I'll go with my yoga practise. That kept me from going off my nut during the insanity of work, for sure.

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

Alex O'Loughlin. Come on, look at those eyes, that face... those pecs, those abs... *drools* I think it's in his contract that he has to take his shirt off every second episode of "Hawaii Five-0," and if it isn't, it should be. (Yes, I'm that shallow.)

36. What political issue stirred you the most?

Apart from the Occupy movement? Nothing, really. We had an election here, and now we're stuck with a majority Conservative government in Ottawa, so I'm not best pleased.

37. Who did you miss?

My brother Jason and his wife Zan.

38. Who was the best new person you met?

I would have to say elfsausage's friend Rachel, and Rachel's husband Dave. I met them when I was in England, at the British Museum. They're both very lovely people. :-)

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2011:

Keep calm and carry on. There's really nothing you can achieve by getting all fussed about things.

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:

Sorry, can't think of a one.