Time for another annual recap. (I feel like these might be boring for other people to read, but I love reading my friends’ posts, so why not?)

1. What did you do in 2014 that you’d never done before?
* I took both of my girls on a road trip to the beach by myself. (We met up with Chris and his kids once we got there, but still. It was just the three of us in the car, I didn’t have my parents for backup. That felt huge.)
* Voluntarily brought a pet reptile into my home, and learned how to feed it live insects. THAT is not something I ever thought I’d do.

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
No and no. I view New Year’s resolutions the way I view getting your lover’s name tattooed on your body: it’s pretty much a guarantee for failure. Why jinx yourself like that?

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Lots of my Twitter friends had babies. No one in my family or immediate circle of friends, though.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
No, thankfully.

5. What countries did you visit?
I don’t think I ever left the state of North Carolina this year. That’s a little depressing.

6. What would you like to have in 2015 that you lacked in 2014?
Less clutter in my life. The physical clutter is an ongoing process – I’ve been cleaning things out gradually for a while: had a yard sale, gave a lot to Goodwill, etc. I would also like less mental clutter that bogs me down with useless, unproductive thoughts.

7. What dates from 2014 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
Other than the usual birthdays and anniversaries, I’m not sure there’s one particular date that stands out this year.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
I broke all kinds of mental blocks I had about running this year. I never thought I could run more than 2 or maybe 2.5 miles. This year is the first time I ran 3 miles, then 5, then 7, then 10. And I didn’t die.

9. What was your biggest failure?
The times I let my anxiety get the better of me.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
The “balloon sinuplasty” I had in June that was supposed to be a quick & easy recovery left me in terrible pain for about 3 months. And for all the “you’ll never get sinus infections again!” b.s. that my ENT gave me, uh, yeah. Let me show you what my medicine cabinet looks like right now to disprove that.

(I guess I should file that under “it was worth a try,” but I’m still really angry at my doctor for basically selling me on a procedure that didn’t help at all. Maybe I’m just a statistical outlier, who knows. But if I had known the outcome, I never would have done it.)

11. What was the best thing you bought?
I guess I should say Spyro Jones, because he has made Catie so happy. But honestly? The best thing I bought was headphones for the kids’ iPads. No more competing game sounds! They have their screen time in silence, and oh, it is glorious.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Chris, who lets me be crazy when I need to be crazy and never invalidates my feelings.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
The entire GamerGate scandal and realizing just how misogynistic our society still is, and how much more progress women still have to make just to be treated as equals. That was pretty depressing.

14. Where did most of your money go?
Daycare, rent, bills, same ol’.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
I registered for a half-marathon. Equally exciting and terrifying.

16. What song will always remind you of 2014?
“Let it Go,” and pretty much the entire Frozen soundtrack. It’s kind of on a constant loop in our house.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? Last year I was pretty disgustingly happy, and I still am, so: same.
b) thinner or fatter? Thinner. (Yay running!)
c) richer or poorer? I got a raise this year, so technically richer, I guess.

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
I feel like I did a lot this year. I guess organizing my house and keeping paperwork from piling up is something I should have done more.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Worrying about things that I have no control over.

20. How did you spend Christmas?
I mentioned this in my last blog post, but I spent Christmas morning with my entire family, then after everyone left, I took a nap and went for a run. It was lovely.

21. Did you fall in love in 2014?
*Fall* in love, no. *Still* in love, yes.

22. What was your favorite TV program?
Chris and I have a few shows we watch together: Homeland, Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD, Once Upon a Time. I really love all of those.

We also watched The Affair, but it’s one of those shows where absolutely none of the characters are even remotely likeable, and I’m not sure why I keep watching it. (I keep yelling at the TV, “You’re stupid and you make bad decisions!”)

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
Nah, try not to waste my energy on hate.

24. What was the best book you read?
Every year, I draw a blank on this question. Pass.

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Nothing that everyone else hasn’t heard on pop radio a million times. This is the first year I broke down and admitted that I actually kinda like Taylor Swift.

26. What did you want and get by year’s end?
Lucy sleeps through the night in her own bed now! That was pretty huge.

27. What did you want and not get by year’s end?
I can’t think of a thing that I am lacking.

28. What was your favorite film of this year?
We don’t see movies in the theater very often. Gone Girl was excellent. I liked Mockingjay a lot, and Guardians of the Galaxy was pretty fun. I just rented Maleficent and watched it with Catie a couple of days ago, we both enjoyed it.

I guess January of this year is when I took my kids to see Frozen in the theater, and it launched Lucy’s obsession that has lasted all year.

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 38. Chris and I went out for dinner at a super-fancy restaurant where we would otherwise never eat. For dessert, we picked up bo-berry biscuits from Bojangles on our way home, because balance.

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
I’ve been thinking about this for a while, and I’ve got nothing. I am incredibly fortunate.

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2014?
Hit or miss. I spent ages trying to find a pair of jeans that fit me. I just learned recently that this is apparently because I’ve lost enough weight that I’m now a size 8, so I was trying on the wrong size. (I’ve never been smaller than a 10 in my life.) Who knew?

32. What kept you sane?
Running running running.

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Oh, Justin Theroux, who I never really noticed until The Leftovers. That back tattoo? That… well. Yeah.

34. What political issue stirred you the most?
Same answer as last year: gun control, abortion rights, marriage equality, all the typical things us hardcore liberals get amped up about.

35. Who did you miss?
My grandmother passed away when I was 20 years old, and sometimes I look at my girls and think about how much she would have loved them. It’s not practical to wish she was still here – she’d be 104 years old – but I do miss her a lot.

36. Who was the best new person you met?
This feels unfair to try to single someone out. There are too many people I like.

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2014.
I can set goals for myself that seem completely impossible and actually achieve them. I need to remember that when I sell myself short.

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
“Don’t believe me, just watch.” –Bruno Mars

Happy new year, y’all!