Merry Christmas!
Originally uploaded by AllisonStein

Although I missed wishing everyone Merry Christmas, here’s a sincere wish to all for a 2011 that brings you health and happiness, with a minimum of hysteria and histrionics.

For me, 2010 was a year full of ups and downs, hits and misses, adventures and cats. I just didn’t blog about there here very much. The shorter formats of Facebook and Twitter and Flickr have been more in keeping with my “Oooh, shiny!” attention span. I’ll try to do better in 2011. (I do read my friends’ posts, even when I don’t comment. Lurking — It’s what I do.)

All in all, 2010 was a good year. A quick recap, mostly as a personal reminder of where my time went:

January – I started a contract as a technical writer at Sprint, and I made a quick trip to South Carolina, where I showed my old stomping grounds to my Sweetie, spent the night at my Auntie Ona’s, and spent a weekend with my Sweetie’s family in a rented house at the Isle Of Palms.

February – I got another year older, played show and tell with my art at the KaCSFFS meeting, and was flogged by the Winter That Would Not End.

March – Got my iPhone, saw the Trans-Siberian Orchestra in a rare non-Christmas concert, and continued to be flogged by the Winter That Would Not End.

April – Went to SFWA’s Nebula Awards weekend and watched the Space Shuttle Atlantis launch for what was believed to be its final flight, toured Kennedy Space Center, and took 2nd place in the Mixed Media category in the Sprint “Art from the Cube” art show.

May – Spent most of the month either getting ready for, attending, or recovering from ConQuesT.

June – Went to SoonerCon with my pal Sherri (aka Conbarbie) to show my art and celebrate Yard Dog Press’ 15th Anniversary and the publication of “A Bubba in Time Saves None” which included my short story “They Blamed Sherman”. Spent a weekend with Sweetie’s mom in Eureka Springs.

July – Went to the Campbell Conference at KU. And worked. A lot.

August – Went to the NFPW Communications Conference in Chicago, got new glasses, and worked. A lot.

September – Got a little soggy at the KC RenFest and finished my contract as a technical writer at Sprint.

October – Displayed my art at Archon, the Longview Literary Festival, and the KaCSFFS Writer’s Workshop. Attended Jon Stewart’s Rally To Restore Sanity in Washington DC with my Sweetie, his kids, and their posse; spent a day at the Smithsonian with my Little Sister and my dinosaur-loving nephew (and my Sweetie). Had dinner and a great chat with two long-lost friends from SC. Started designing a new kitchen, and got a much-needed new stove and fridge. Kicked off the job search.

November – Showed art at Contra. Spent Thanksgiving at Mom’s with the ENTIRE family. Continued designing a new kitchen and bathrooms. Continued the job search.

December – Continued the job search and had several good interviews. Continued designing kitchen and bath. Spent Christmas with my Sweetie and his son. Made progress on the house renovations when Sweetie and son removed the old carpet from the bedroom and office (which forced me to pack up the clutter and organize my chaos).

So, that’s 2010 in a nutshell. I intend to blog more regularly in 2011.