Goodbye 2011 Meme

1. What did you do in 2011 that you’d never done before?  Hm... can't think of anything.
2. Did you keep your New Years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year?  Kinda sorta.  I did get more serious about my spiritual life, and I did continue decluttering.  These are my goals again for this year, along with becoming more fit.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth? Nope
4. Did anyone close to you die?  For the first time in a long time, I can say no, no one I love died.  May it be so for 2012 as well.
5. What countries did you visit?  The depths of despair and depression, but otherwise, I stayed home in the USA
6. What would you like to have in 2012 that you lacked in 2011?  More health and fitness, more free time to paint and knit, more time with dear daughter and son-in-law.  Oh yes, a significant other would be nice.
7. What date from 2011 will remain etched upon your memory?  March 27 and 29, and April 1.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?  Forgiving my daughter.
9. What was your biggest failure?  Not forgiving another person who used to be very close to me.  Still working on that.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?  Um.... yes.  
11. What was the best thing you bought?  My wonderful droid phone, the HTC EVO Shift!  How I love it!
12. Where did most of your money go?  Money?  What's that?  Providing a home, utilities, food, insurance, transportation and medical care for myself, one little dog and four cats.
13. What did you get really, really, really excited about?  I guess this means excited in a good way, right? Hard to think of anything that I got excited about in a good way, other than my DROID PHONE.
14. What song/album will always remind you of 2011?  Nebo E Zemla.  Go fig.
15. What do you wish you’d done more of?  Praying.  Knitting. Walking. Sleeping.
16. What do you wish you’d done less of?  Stressing about things and people I can do nothing about.  Worrying about a child that has to make her own way in the world.
17. How will you be spending/did you spend Christmas?  Christmas Eve at my church, and Christmas Day with dear daughter and son-in-law at their adorable apartment for a fantastic meal and presents
18. Who did you spend the most time on the phone with?  It would be a toss up between dear daughter and Xenia - texting.  Actual phone conversations, that would be my beautiful cousins Roseanne and Ethel.
19. Did you fall in love in 2011?  Not with a person, but with my DROID!  How I love you, Droid!
20. How many one night stands in this last year?  None.  I don’t do one night stands.  
21. What was your favorite TV program?  Doc Martin. House. Royal Pains. Grey's Anatomy.  Do we see a pattern here?
22. What was the best book(s) you read?  Letters to a Beginner - its one of my most favorite books and I read it nearly every year.  Other than that, The Way of the Pilgrim and The Pilgrim Continues His Way which I hadn't read in a long, long time.
23. What were your favorite films of this year?  The Help was the absolute best!
24. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?  My birthday is on September 14th and I turned 56.  I spent it studying iconography with the master iconographer, Xenia Pokrovskaya.  They sang Many Years to me at lunch, which was sweet.
25. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?  Dear daughter not eloping.  That was horrible, but not as horrible as the way I found out about it.  Having someone I trusted not betray my trust. I'm still not 100% over these two things, but I'm doing my best.  Otherwise, more money.  More free time to paint and knit.   Having a special someone to share it with.
26. What kept you sane?  My dear friend and sister of my heart, Xenia.  Knitting.  Prayer.
27. What political issue stirred you the most?  The polarization between the far right and far left.  There is no one in Washington that represents my best interest.
28. Who did you miss?  My mother.  She was the only one that never betrayed my trust.  How I miss you, Mom.  But its not forever.  We'll be together again. 
29. Who was the best new person you met?  Not a new person, but I've spent more time at St. Martha Mary Monastery, and am forging stronger relationships with the nuns there.  That has been the best.
30. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2011.   Be careful where you place your trust.