A Break Through and also Very Late CDP Ideas

I haven't been blogging much lately. And I couldn't quite find the words that would make it clear what had changed and why. And then, as she often does, Temerity Jane posted something that is everything I've wanted to say, but with better phrases and also funnier. So go read this post, change the names and the circumstances only slightly and you've got a decent approximation of where I've been for much of this year. And I guess the only solution is to power through. And since I USED to like this blog and got quite a bit of joy from it, I want a solution. So I'm here, powering through. Sort of.

Anyway, remember that I told you that I signed up for the Crappy Day Present Exchange and I was going to write a post about some of the things I like so that whoever was unlucky enough to have pulled my name has some ideas for my CDP box? And that I made that promise as part of a post entitled "Follow Through: A Mile Stone" and yet (not so ironically) did not actually follow through on that promise? Yeah, me neither.

Anyway, this is SOOOO late in coming as to be supremely unhelpful, but I'm hoping that whoever drew my name is a procrastinator like me and is just now getting around to looking for ideas for CDPs. So. Without further excuse-making-ado, here are several things someone somewhere might like to know about me, in absolutely no sensical order and with no rationally explainable exclusivity.

1. I like coffee and coffee-flavored things.
2. I am also a tea drinker, because NO IT IS NOT AN EITHER OR SITUATION.
3. If I had five dollars to spend on something frivolous, I would probably buy chocolate or a cheap paperback.
4. I have pierced ears and I like dangly (but not chunky) earrings. I wear the same simple chain necklace with a cross charm everyday, but I wouldn't mind a change. I like bracelets, but find them kind of annoying when I actually remember to wear them.
5. I have a thing for pretty notecards, sticky notes, and other stationary-like items, even though I rarely use them. So I guess I'm a stationary collector?
6. While I like the look of pretty pastels and dainty, feminine prints, I usually gravitate more toward rainbow colors or jewel tones and bold, abstract patterns.
7. I have long hair and I love headbands and clips, even though I most often just throw it in a ponytail.
8. I love to cook and bake, especially bread, and I'm always looking for new recipes.
9. I do not like toffee, peanut brittle, or fake peanut butter flavor. But I love salted caramel, real peanut butter, and fruit flavors in chocolate.
10. I'm not really into knickknacks or clutter, so most of my surfaces are covered in books, candles, and picture frames. As far as candles are concerned, I stay away from the floral scents and the "baked food" types. I like more earthy (plant-based, but not really flowers) or beachy aromas (clean breezey things), if that makes any sense.
11. I listen to country music more than any other kind, but I'm not really that picky when it comes to genre. My iPod looks kind of schizophrenic. And I'm always curious about what other people love to listen to.
12. The only space in the house that is mine (to decorate, not like I don't USE the other parts of the house) is my bedroom and it's done in purples (like my gorgeous couch) and silvers/grays.
13. Fall is my favorite season, both because of the colors and the scents in the air.
14. I'm a wimp when it comes to spicy foods.

Okay, fourteen is a pretty stupid number to end on, but that's all I've got and if I start to over think this, I will never post it and I'M POWERING THROUGH. I apologize to the person who pulled my name and wish you better luck the next time around. ;)

Enough About Me. How Are YOU?

Have I said lately how much I love my readers? Well, since I haven't been saying much of anything for a while now, I guess not. So here goes, YOU GUYS ROCK! The comments you left me on my last post made me smile all day long. And it made me realize that, although I totally needed to write that post, if only for therapeutic reasons, I was being pretty negative and very self-focused.

SO! To remedy that, today I want to hear about you!

1. How did YOUR year go? You can do the list thing that I did, summarize each month, or even just used a general "It went badly!" or "IT WAS THE BEST YEAR OF MY LIFE!" But I want to know how you feel about 2011, the Year of Ugliness and Pain the Year of "Character Building" Moments.

2. Do you do resolutions?
       a. If so, what are a few of yours? Are you good at keeping them?
       b. If not, do you do something else like set goals or make wishes or just hold on tight and hope for the best/expect the worst?

3. What do you hope for in the next year? Even if you're not a resolutions kind of person, you probably have expectations for the next 360 days (give or take a few, since I can't be bothered to look at today's date or check to see if it's some kind of leap year, which has always seemed like a slightly ridiculous concept to me and by ridiculous, I mean I don;t really get it...), so what are your EXPECTATIONS?

4. What do you already have planned? Are you going on a big trip or expecting a child? Planning a wedding or about to undertake a big move? Aside from the"expectations," what do you ALREADY know about this elusive beast, the Year of 2012?

Basically, I just want to know more about you. And I want to know how everyone else felt about 2011, may it die a fiery death be a jumping off point for many good years to come. Plus, I'd like to be a little bit less self-involved. Because I could medal in navel-gazing if it were an Olympic event. And by navel-gazing, I mean being self-centered. Because I find little pleasure in gazing at my ACTUAL navel, which is surrounded by more flab than I care to admit and has never been a gaze-worthy navel. Wait. What am I typing? I have no idea. This is what happens when I try to blog while tweeting AND texting with two different people. Forget everything after "self-involved," okay? Thanks.