2011…nothing special. A few things that were planned to happen did not. A few unplanned things did happen. In general, the year was happy, sad, exciting, devastating and exhausting. I felt let down, surprised, motivated and deflated. Pretty much consistent with any other year. Ups and downs, ins and outs. It really turned out to be an ordinary year with a few specs of joy.

What didn’t happen?

1. My wedding. The Gods were really watching out for me…
2. Dedicated completion of my New Year’s Resolution. Eh, what else is new? I’ll run that marathon another year.
3. Never got my chip from Chocoholics Anonymous
4. Continuation of my Master’s degree. I wish tuition would go on sale.
5. Still haven’t fully accepted that I’m in my 30′s AND that I’ve been out of high school for nearly 12 years.

What did happen?

1. The birth of my amazingly beautiful niece, Mila. What a fighter. Again, God’s watchful eye.
2. Awesome travels! Vancouver, Honduras (eye-opener), West Coast road trip from Washington to San Francisco.
3. Heartbreak, followed by healing.
4. Realization that time really does fly by and life is extremely short.
5. Life-changing decisions.

All in all, 2011 wasn’t so bad. I formed and strengthened some friendships, I burned some bridges (oops!), handed out some major forgiveness, held on to a few grudges, finished some great books, learned a few new makeup techniques and made some major mistakes. My gratefulness to those mistakes will shine through in 2012 when I utilize the useful lessons I gained.

A few of my favorite media-related events:

1. The renewal of ALL Kardashian shows on E!
2. The Lamar Odom trade to the Mavericks
3. The Mavericks winning the Championship. Duh!
4. The capture, not so much the death, of Osama Bin Laden.
5. Perfecting my Twitter activity
6. Pinterest
7. And last, but in no way least, GaGa.

My biggest mistakes of 2011:

1. Really? Like I’m gonna tell you. In the vault, baby.

New Year’s for me is not about going out and partying. I have no desire to go outside my apartment on New Year’s Eve. None. It takes quite a bit of motivation for me to go out any other night of the year, but the biggest partying night? No thanks. The crowds, the cover charges, the dangerous driving conditions, the police – and I don’t mean Sting. You can keep that stuff. My New Year’s celebration will consist of my mental and physical prep for the big European move. 2012 is going to be huge for me. The biggest year ever. I will spend my time reflecting on the good and bad times of 2011, choosing what to take with me into the future and what to leave behind, wishing love and light to those who are no longer in my life, forgetting the wrongdoings I’ve been shown, forgiving myself for the wrongdoings I’ve done and embracing my upcoming life as an expat. And champagne, of course.

2012 will be record-breaking. Mark my words.

Here we go…