Fic, film, stuff, navel gazing. All in all, a pretty good year.



I'm trying to be more grateful for things - experiences, really, I'm super grateful for my health, for my wealth (as in that I'm not poor) and for my family. I can get really down about not having achieved the things in life I thought I would have by this point, so this serves as a good reminder that I've done a lot in my life. I've gained new friends, which is always wonderful - smart, up front, intelligent women with a naughty sense of humor used to be so hard to find. <3 I've lost some friends, too, and that was incredibly painful for me, but what can you do? I know I'm a lot to take, so I have to accept that I've pushed people away.

BUT GOOD THINGS ALSO HAPPENED.

January:

• filmed two shorts this month that are still sitting in the can. But it was interesting work, I met a new crew of people, and that was lovely. I did have to smoke one of those awful herbal fake cigarettes, and I continue to hate things in my lungs not oxygen related.
• this was when I was tricked into going to that horrible party, and got a great story out of. Holy Nacodotches, I still laugh at the democracy loving Indians. WOW.
• the last day of this month was when I was able to buy the domain for Hey Don't Judge Me. Best thing I did all year.

.

February

• The broken security alarm fiasco.
• I started the HIIT/TurboFire workouts and fell. in. fucking. love. Dude, these will make your heart pump like nothing I've ever done, ever.
• every other post was pretty much me promoting HDJM. [Sorry in the way I'm not?]

March

• Book of Mormon the Musical was leaked. I had an aneurysm from need.
• I pulled my old manuscript out and dusted it off. (I'm still dusting =/)
• 10th wedding anniversary trip with the Mr. with a trip to my favorite vineyard of all, Silver Oak. Came home with a case of their wine, alone.
• Dallas International Film Festival happened, one of two films I was in showed and were well received. (Wuss, still getting awesome press)

April

• The other film (this one a short film) showed at DIFF and got a lot of good reactions, too.
• THE MONTH OF THE EPIC ROAD TRIP WITH dovil.
• The one where we thought the Grand Canyon might be closed. And she was so, so ill, and yet I made her hike huge mountains. And then we partied in Las Vegas with marenfic where I won money. And then we came home with a suitcase full of horses, as one does. GOOD TIMES.

May

• Osama Bin Laden was killed, and I mention my buddy Ray and how that relates.
• HDJM started to really take off with the Game of Thrones recaps - this was the second time we were linked off boards (the first was for Big Love, marking us as a reference for accuracy. *is proud*)
• Our star recapper Sam was born this month with her hitting the sweet spot with a Thor recap that STILL gets hits. (All of her movie recaps do, actually.)
• I stopped being angry about having been a devout Mormon for most of my life. Thank you Matt & Trey! (No, really.)

June

• This was when I was sucked into Glee fandom. You can blame flaming_muse and her hammock story. (I'd always watched the show, I'd never been in the fandom until then.) You should be reading everything she's ever written. Seriously. Otherwise, don't tell me you're a Klaine fan.
• The best damn horse ever died. RIP, Doc.
• The Glee recaps and Bingo Drinking Game began, and boy, was that a lot of work. Each recap is almost 7000 words. PLUS a cocktail for each one. Loved it, won't ever do that much work at one time again, though. 9 shows at once I was recapping. Kee-rist.
• the rest of this month is a haze of shots, cocktails and swimming. <3

July

• I had to do my yearly "please stop shitting on Texas, I am Texan and we're not all Rick Perry" post.
• that awesome Harry Potter/Book of Mormon: The Musical video came out. Hey, you mark what you loved, I'll mark what I loved. :)
• I was called out on an anonymeme for having an opinion regarding my Hoarders recaps on HDJM - I felt like a baller, ngl
• the rest of the month was lost by a little something called Oblivion

August

• HDJM was featured on MetaFilter! And we promptly crashed. For an entire god damned week. I STILL feel nauseous about that.
• Warren Jeffs was found guilty on all counts. YAY TEXAS. :) (For doing what AZ and Utah wouldn't, you see.)
• I got a year older and became best friends (lol) with Matt Paxton of Hoarders. (He reads HDJM, you see. <3)
• And then Dorothy Breineiger messaged me a thank you for the recaps (she's one of the organizers and the Exec. Producer for A&E) and our website got some hard core street cred.
• had a very sad moment as a mom and vowed to cut the "fat talk" and all of that nonsense out of the house (I've never called my daughter fat, for the record. I mean that I will never say things about MYSELF, thus teaching her how to hate herself, you see.) Also had a breakthrough about my relationship with my father, and that was pretty damn emotionally draining, but life-changing. In a good way

September

• Fires all over the state left us constantly smelling like campfires
• We started selling ADORABLE PRODUCTS that no one (but for three of you, and i love each of you dearly) is interested in. That was fun to spend money on. *cries* LIVE AND LEARN.
• Started putting the Glee Cocktail Book together - I still need to fix cover art and learn how to put pay for downloads on the website before it goes up. So it can sit there, mocking me.
• Coon Pecker.
• Posted a big ol' recs list from wines and cheeses to fanfic that I enjoy.
• Again was told off for having a poll that didn't think of other people's needs. Because I'm Gallup and my polls about stupid shit are academically and socially important?

October

• We added Supernatural to HDJM and it. went. bananas. Thank you, Vinnie!
• I changed my LJ's user name after being linked to yet another anonymeme where it was said about me that: "That writer is talented, amusing, and basically the biggest egomaniac shitheal on LJ, nicely disguised in a good-ol-girl wrapper." I almost cried, then I laughed and changed my name. Better response, I think. (and I am awesome and didn't comment back correcting the spelling on "shit-heel.")
• I posted a story that pretty much expresses everything I wish and want as a child for a mom and as a mom about her son.
• I BOUGHT TICKETS (bad ass ones, too!) FOR BOOK OF MORMON THE MUSICAL AND FOR HOW TO Succeed IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING. And I cried a little. (For BoM, not H2$) And then flaming_muse and I began our countdown to January
• here's a polygamous head stone. (my family)
• I reposted the original fic I had written about gay Mormon missionaries, And It Came To Pass
• Walking Dead came back. I exposed just how far my apocalypse training extends.
• Halloween shenanigans.

November

• Haze of linking people to HDJM and all of the awesome recappers we'd added (Breaking Bad! Top Chef: Just Desserts! So, so many more!) and all the cool merchandise no one wants and links to booze recipes and how Matt Paxton and I are totally in a relationship now (omg, lol) and that he and I are saving the world singlehandedly from cat poop.
• Oh, and I started writing that little fireman fic.
• And I drank a lot of wine while doing P90X to keep it all in check.
• And was accused of giving my husband cocaine.
• My feels on Twilight, let me show them to you. Again. (Spoiler alert: I hate twilight!)
• I discovered Mamrie. I want to marry her and make drinks with her forever.

December

• I added a donate button to HDJM after a few people mentioned that I should, and we had one particularly lovely person make several girls cry and feel like we were real writers, finally.
• my husband became a rock star. *cough*
• we had a HORRIBLE scare with a friend of my son's and I asked everyone to just think about how they talk to kids. Please. (He's doing well, btw.)
• My life was taken over by a handsome young man that made costumes and longed to perform and the fireman that loved him.
• I have never. NEVER. had such a response to anything I've written. People loved the Twilight sporking for sure, but this? *kisses each of you on the mouth* Thank you for that.
• I just realized that I was complaining about being sick back on Dec 13. Good lord.
• I posted yet another, are you SURE you want to friend my journal? post. You're welcome to, just...think before you click. :)
• Posted a sexy, funny story involving massage
• Posted a serious character study of a person that grew up in war-torn Serbia (and guess which one I love the most? And which one will be read the least? *shrug*)

AND THERE IT IS.

• The best things ever: after trying for almost 2 years, I launched a website that I am damn proud of. I have writers that give their time and talent for nothing more than your praise (and mine, I'm a pretty good boss, lol) and we get about 600,000 hits a month now. Not too shabby for only having truly been "live" since April.


• I made a deal with flaming_muse to pay attention to everything she does and tells me, and I think I have grown TREMENDOUSLY as a writer as a result. It helps to sit at the foot of someone that knows what the hell they're doing (and can push you in a way that makes you determined to do better. That's the best thing of it all.)


• My family is healthy, we love each other, we have inside jokes and laughter and drama and problems and in the end, not one of my children ever leaves the house without being told that I love them. And they still hug and kiss me, too.


• LJ is wonky, it's been attacked, and I'm still here.


• I had an amazing trip that will go down as one of the best of my life with one of my dearest friends, dovil, visits with old LJ buddies, found a kindred spirit in my own home town, and drank a ton of wine.


• My husband loves me, I have a roof over my head, and my sister is close enough that I can have lunches with her and be reminded of how lucky I am that she's one of my best friends.

Pretty good year, over all. Hope it was for you, too. <3 AND GET A CAB TONIGHT. PLEASE. I expect every one to be back on Jan. 1. *stern motherly look*