I stayed up late last night composing my new year/ end of year post and stupid typepad promptly ate it.  My bad for not saving it along the way, but typepad why you gotta do me wrong?

Anyway, here is the abbreviated version:

Things I accomplished in 2005:

1.) Friends: I always complain about my lack of satisfactory friends. This year I saw a big improvement in this area: a) My good friend J from college and I found each other again and I couldn’t be happier. I just wish we had more time to hang out. B) I buddied up to Dawn and convinced her to move to my neighborhood and join my plot for playground domination.  I can’t wait until next year when I am not working so we can hang out even more often.  Social butterfly that she is, Dawn also introduced me to her plethora of friends, some of whom are now  my friends.  C) The Killer Ladybugs continue to rock the house.  The KLB are some of the smartest, funniest, snarkiest folks I have the privelege to know.  Two years ago, who would have thought that I my favorite bloggers would reach through the computer and become my IRL friends?  *smooch smooch* to the KLB Brigade.

2.) Mamahood:  I finally found my groove this year.  I am feeling more comfortable with the balance of my life as a mother and my life as a regular person.  I am better suited to be a good parent to a verbal three year old than a wordless slug, so I now manage to hang with M much longer before I have the overwelming desire to claw my eyes out with boredom.  I still haven’t figured out the complicated rules to M’s Dora the Explorer pretending, but overall we have made progress.  Did I mention that M has successfully completed potty training (except for the occaisional poop)?  Wooo hooo me!

3.) The House:  Since we didn’t even have heat last year at this time AND we spent 6 months without an oven, the house has improved exponentially in the past year.  Maybe one of these days we will actually get around to hanging up curtains in at least one room.

4.)  Adoption:  The paperchasing is DONE.  Now we just print out some pictures and sit back on our heels waiting.  We don’t know when it will happen, but if we are lucky, next year the HFC will be home safe and sound.

5.) Ten years with A (off and on):  A and I first hung out recreationally (outside of work) at his new years eve party in 1995-96.  While it hasn’t always been easy, he is still the coolest guy I know.

6.) Hiring the cleaning gnomes:  It seems silly, but having someone else come scrub my toilet alleviated a signficant amount of stress from my life AND my marriage.  I love the gnomes.

Things I am looking forward to in the 2006:

1.) Meeting the HFC.  Where are you my baby?  I hope you are safe and snug in someone’s loving arms until I can get there.  Hopefully this will be the last new year I will ever spend without knowing who the HFC actually is.

2.) My job ending and getting to stay home with M and the HFC.  Maybe by then I will grow enough patience to play TWO whole games of candyland in one sitting.  Not likely, but we can dream.

3.) Meeting more of the KLB live and in person.  Party at my house, BYOB (bring your own babies).

Things which have not improved in the last year, but life goes on anyway:

1.)  The Inlaws:  This year saw no improvement in our ability to set boundries with the inlaws.  Again at the Xmas visit last week, we were blindsided with a completely inappropriate request for money by SIL.  Also, to quote my MIL from this visit "You need to improve M’s nutrition.  She only eats terrible food.  Maybe you should quit your job so you can prepare a appropriate dinners for her."  and "You both look sloppy.  Successful people dress in better clothes than that. Don’t you have any self respect?"  Ahh, that was a lovely visit, let me assure you.  Onward and upward into the new year!

2. My job.  I will tell you all about it when it ends but until then, let’s just say I am counting down to that day with much anticipation.

3. Keeping in touch with far away IRL friends: Peg, Liz, Giao, Scott, Saskia, George and Anna — I wish you could all move in next door so we could talk every day.  Sorry I don’t call more often, but I think of you lots.  Maybe this year I will do better.

4. The God Damned Yucca plant: It still will. not. die.  Apparently, there isn’t a poison on this planet that can kill this thing.  My yard looks like it was struck by a nuclear bomb and still the damn thing grows and grows.  I will send a lovely gift to anyone who can point me toward a sucessfull Yucca eradication plan.  Once spring gets here, the anti-Yucca campaign will once again begin in earnest.

Uncharacteristic blog-related mushiness :

It has been tons of fun sharing my life with the people who read my blog for the past two years.  My days are more interesting now that I have hundreds of friends in the computer to share them with.  Thanks to the vast majority of you for making my life more fun and interesting. 

To the trolls: well, you can just go bite my big plastic penis. : p –8