I must be having the worst bad day in the history of bad days. All the bad things that can happen in a bad day? They happened to me today. Isn’t it weird how that seems to happen?

I like to think of myself as strong, but today reminds me that I am really a delicate porcelain cherry blossom that can be destroyed with one well-placed finger flick.

So let’s all look at the expression of joy that is this little dog:

Via Cute Overload

UPDATE: Thanks for all the kind e-mails and calls. I feel very loved. I am fine. I just had a bad day. Yesterday involved tricky conversations, accountants, and broken voice mails. Today involves laughter and really ripe grapefruit. Hooray!

Now that Kyle and I have a mortgage, we have to be more frugal with how we spend our free time. So we are being more creative, picking activities that cost less but are oddly enriching in their variety. This weekend, for example, I made Spanakopita for the first time, went thrift store shopping in the rain, visited the San Jose Museum of Art, and had Indian buffet (among other things).

The art museum has long been one of my favorites in the Bay Area. It’s smaller, but more discriminating in what it displays. I find that the art they have there is often more relevant and interesting to me than art in other museums in the area.

This time, they had series of Picasso sketches and Goya etchings. The etchings were Goya at his creepiest. They are called Los Caprichos, a set of 80 etchings that are satires of the church, society, etc. Even though Goya made these etchings in 1799, they are still somewhat disturbing to look at what with the witches and goblins and decapitations and pedophilia and whatnot. This is, after all, the man who painted Saturn Devouring His Children. I thought they were fascinating. You could just stare and stare at each one. (However, I did have to raise an eyebrow at some of the parents who were showing these etchings to little children. Talk about the stuff of nightmares. Some art is for adults!)

Church in San Jose shot through an art museum window.

We also hit the thrift store jackpot this weekend. I got:

Three owl trivets

A fondue set

A $15 leather office chair

Also: A monkey bowl, a vintage casserole dish, a water timer for sprinklers, a scoop for the cat food, and a new (never worn) shirt. There’s something so satisfying in bargains.

2006 was full of excitement and socializing. By contrast, 2007 was much slower and more introspective. In some ways I like that better, but there’s less to brag about at the end of it all.

My accomplishments for 2007 included:

Published in many magazines and newspapers
Bought a house
Judged a book contest
Drove across the U.S.A. (WHILE IN ESCROW, I might add)
Celebrated my 5-year wedding anniversary
Held the Word Pirates reading at the Phoenix

Got a kitten
Kyle published the sequel to Knoppix Hacks
Went to an opera
Planted a garden
Shot a gun
Went wine tasting, hiking, picnics, the zoo, etc.
Joined a church
Read over 80 books
Held a Kentucky Derby Party
Opened an Etsy store
Went to concerts and festivals
Painted, knitted, made jewelry, and was artsy in general
Turned 31

Here is a year-end survey (read my 2006 survey here):

Where did you begin 2007?

I don’t remember. I think Kyle and I were so tired after the usual Christmas escapades that we stayed home and played DDR.

What did you do this year that you’ve never done before?

I shot a gun, bought a house, judged a book contest, and drove across the USA

Did you keep your New Year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

I did not keep as many as I usually do.

Did anyone close to you give birth this year?

Nope. My friends don’t seem to reproduce.

What countries did you visit this year?

Just the U.S.A., but a lot of it.

What would you like to have in the next year that you lacked this year?

I would like to have some new things happen in my career

What date from this year will remain etched upon your memory - and why?

June 22, 2007, my five-year wedding anniversary.

What was your biggest achievement of the year?

Buying a house.

What was your biggest failure of the year?

There were quite a few failures this year, one of which was my garden. It just didn’t produce like I thought it would.

Made new friends?

Allan and Christy are our newest friends. Hooray!

Did you have any encounters with the police?

I got hassled a lot by The Man this year. I got tickets for not wearing my seatbelt and parking in wrong places, I had to go to court for accidentally skipping jury duty, I had taxes to deal with, and my car didn’t pass SMOG. The government bled money from me every month this year. Welcome to middle class, I guess.

What was the best thing you bought this year?

I guess I’m supposed to say the house, but my real answer is my new camera.

Whose behavior merited celebration?

Everyone is moving on up this year. Kyle published a book, Tony was in The New York Times, Marcia got a new awesome job at FM. 2007 was year of accomplishment for my friends.

Where did most of your money go this year?

The house. Taxes. Buying things for the house. The government. Eating out.

What did you get really, really, really excited about this year?

New Orleans reallyX3 excited me.

What music will always remind you of this year?

Amy Winehouse will remind me of this year because my liking her coincided with her becoming popular, and then becoming a pathetic drugged-out mess. Is there a metaphor in there somewhere?

Compared to this time last year, are you:

- happier or sadder? same
- richer or poorer? richer
- thinner or fatter? same

What do you wish you’d done more of?

Finished my novel. Man!! That is taking me a long time.

What do you wish you’d done less of?

I ate out too much. Goofed off too much.

Any new additions to your family?

Quill the kitten

How did you spend the holidays?

Valentine’s Day — Kyle and I went to dinner at Underwood in Graton

Anniversary — Kyle and I went to Fleur De Lys in San Francisco, then to an opera, then spent the night in a hotel

July 4th — Some friends came over and we watched fireworks in downtown Petaluma

Kyle’s birthday — We went to Indian food and then to Bourbon and Branch in San Francisco

Halloween — Kyle and I watched a horror movie and ate pizza

Thanksgiving– Went up to my parent’s house in Mi-Wuk

My birthday — Kyle and I went to a fancy-pants Christmas party where we ate food and Kyle sang karaoke with a live band. The next day, we went to SFMoma and looked at art, and then out to French food with some friends.

Christmas — My parents came over and we had Christmas in our very own home.

What’s one thing you thought you’d never do but did in 2007?

Shooting a gun was something I wanted to try, and did, and probably won’t bother with again. It was fun, however.

What was your overall mood for the year?

I’m not sure what that means. I will say, this was a very introspective year for me. I spent a looooooooot of time examining how I do things and then devising systems and experiments to test my methods. I was my own science experiment this year.

What was your favorite TV program for the year?

The Office, followed by Flight of the Conchords

Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?

Hate is a strong word. There are people who are no longer in my life.

What was the best book you read this year?

I liked the last Harry Potter, Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood, The Keep by Jennifer Egan, Women in Love by DH Lawrence, and Diane Middlebrook’s biography of Anne Sexton, which I am only halfway through. Finally, Six Figure Freelancing by Kelly James-Enger is a good, if practical, book.

What was your favorite film of the year?

I am apparently over films.

What albums did you like this year?

There were lots of good albums this year. Here is a mid-year rundown of some that I liked at the time. Modest Mouse, The Shins, Spoon, Arcade Fire, Wilco, and Iron and Wine also all had good new albums this year. Overall, the Winterpills was my favorite new discovery.

What concerts/shows did you see this year?

I saw an opera, The Decemberists, Flogging Molly, and someone else… who was it? Can’t remember now.

How would you describe your personal fashion concept this year?

Ok, here’s the deal: I discovered my bra size is really 32-D, not 34-C, as I had thought all my life. And while that is good, it makes it hard to find bras that fit now, so I end up buying the 34-C anyway. Only now I know why the 34-C bra doesn’t fit correctly and it annoys me.

Who was the best new person you met this year?

Quill counts as a person, yeah?

What’s something you learned about yourself?

My actions don’t always match my goals. I am going to try to fix this in 2008

What are some things you would like to do in 2008?

I would like to publish a book, finish re-modeling the house, plant a big garden, eat at a restaurant specializing in molecular gastronomy, go to a tea in San Francisco, see what a spa is like, go camping, rent a cabin on a lake, see Kyle’s family at Christmas, and have some sort of vacation, even if it is a frugal one.

Do you think 2008 will be better or worse?

I hope it will be better.

Next time I complain about my birthday, slap me. I have been getting surprises all week. One of the biggest was this lovely flower arrangement from Troy and Krista. I love getting surprise flower arrangements in the mail that say my name!

And last night, Kyle surprised me with the much-desired peacock dress. I am going to wear it on Saturday when I go to an art museum and out to delicious food with friends. But first, I have a fancy-pants holiday party to go to.

My life is good, no question.

The view out my office window a minute ago:

Now how did that happen?

On Saturday, I had some people over to trim my tree. We had hot apple cider and christened my house with Christmastime.

Leona took some pictures of the event:

Creative camera angles

Marcia

Quill was into the tree.

I don’t really understand this picture.

A picture with my guests properly posed. (I took this one.)

And finally, the tree:

Good times.

Random points:

It takes me three-and-a-half days to prime and paint a room. That is three-and-a-half full days of work.

I have no idea why it takes me so long.

I am reading a lot of literature about the end of a society, such as Helen of Troy by Margaret George, about the sack of Troy, and Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood, about the extinction of the human race. Violence and destruction and the devastating emotional aftermath. I’m not sure what’s up with that.

Margaret Atwood is one of the best writers out there today.

I am spoiled by birthdays. I am used to week-long affairs of multiple celebrations with family and friends filled with presents, special attention, and fattening food.

The fact that I only get one party this year is making me whiny. As is the fact I can’t buy the beautiful peacock birthday dress unless I want it to be my main present, which I don’t. This is what you give up when you get mortgages. Also, I think I am still traumatized by my 19th birthday where no one said anything to me all day.

Several months ago, I saw the peacock dress in a boutique in downtown Petaluma. It was blue and green swirls with clever paneling in the front. I showed everyone I know the dress, which was way overpriced. But then the other day, my size was on the sale wrack, marked down. I tried it on and it looked cute! But still too expensive, unfortunately.

Kyle has built us a closet, put up a chandelier, fixed a hole under the eaves, and is going to put in a tankless water heater. It takes me three days to paint a room.

We got a refurbished Roomba for $100 off some website. It’s usually around $300. The cats both love and fear it.

Tankless water heater: efficient energy use, takes up half the space, $300 tax rebate (this year only), and a less expensive water bill. If you add in a 10% off coupon and several gift cards, how can you not get one?

Sometimes it is hard to be tolerant of a religion that is so crazy.

Things I have to get rid of: an 8 foot mirror, a giant basketball net, wood paneling, the remains of a cypress tree, and a dryer. Want any of those things?

I like the green paint I used in my office. Yay for having a desk again!

It’s somewhat hypocritical for me to post this since my family wants to go shopping the day after Thanksgiving, but Keri Smith has a list of 10 things to do instead of shopping on Buy Nothing Day, November 23.

Every year, people complain about how Christmas is commercialized and has lost its meaning. I like the idea of consuming less so there is less distraction while we get back to why we have Christmas in the first place.

Personally, I’m making more gifts this year and cutting back on the number of gifts I give. Most of it is simply that I have less money, what with having a mortgage and all. But when I wrote a list of things to make, I was surprised by how many things I was capable of making that people might not mind getting as a present from me. I just wish I had gotten around to making my own vanilla in time for Christmas gifts. Oh well…

We’re moved into the house. It took four good friends, two solid days, and lots and lots of boxes, bags, and milk cartons, but here we are.

It’s strange to break your life down and move it to a new place. It made me think a lot about why I have so much stuff. Even though I took three trips to the goodwill after the garage sale, as I unpack, I keep putting things in a goodwill box again. No one needs this many mugs or books or clothes. My rule now: If I haven’t used it in a year and it isn’t, say, my wedding dress, I’m getting rid of it. I feel like I’m drowning in my possessions, and that’s exactly how I don’t want to feel.

On a happier note, I derive a lot of joy from every little thing that is pulling the house together. You really don’t admire the plates on electrical outlets until you live without them for awhile. And I picked a green paint for my office, one that I’m 87% sure will work with the new floors and my design idea. Such a relief. Also, we bought a chandelier for the dining room. Light! At last!

So yeah, things are coming together. We have a lot to do. There are boxes to unpack, rooms to paint, and bathrooms to remodel. But I like this house. I’m thankful for it. And hey, just in time for Thanksgiving.

Last night I dreamt that a gang of futuristic radicals had stormed all the Lowes in the world and was staging a hostile world take-over by capturing and killing everyone with ray guns. Barbara Walters was supposed to be some help in stopping them, but she was distracted by a media frenzy surrounding a video from the 1970s showing a young version of her engaged in threesomes with models that looked like Twiggy and singing folk songs at anti-war protests. Meanwhile, being from the past, I was very confused about what was going on, so I asked a cat who was wandering around the Lowes Garden Center. It turned out that I could read the cat’s thoughts, which was helpful but surprising. Then it turned out that my cat Miles was hanging out with this other cat. He was very casual about the fact that we could communicate through telepathy. After that, I ended up talking to the leader of the radicals, who had a map of Lowes out and was deciding which department to attack next. The map was really a map of Powell’s Books rather than Lowes, and as the radical decided to attach the Pearl Room next, I decided to get Miles and leave.

That is all I remember.

I have been going to hardware stores too much.