Oh, thank god. Last year totally sucked and except for that whole fantastic, rainbow and unicorn filled first year of my beautiful daughter’s life, I’d be happy to never speak of the rest of it again.

Unfortunately, the banks feel differently and insist on sending at least 5 (FIVE!) letters to our house daily (DAILY!) to let us know that our house is officially in foreclosure. You know, in case, we didn’t understand it in the first or second letter or perhaps during any of the 293,072 phone calls we’ve had biweekly with the banks and the lawyers and the IRS and the real estate agents in the hopes of trying to find an alternative to foreclosure as soon as Bubba first learned that his job was eliminated.

Eleven months later and we’ve been denied of the “workout options” available to us in our particular situation. The first lender denied the deed-in-lieu because we have a second lien on the house and the second lender denied our offer for a settlement of debt that would release the lien because it wasn’t enough.

(Ironically, there is not nearly as much paperwork sent to your house explaining the specifics for why you were denied.* Apparently, they reserve the paper stock for real ball-busting. [See: NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE.])

(*Even more ironically, the paperwork sent to our house telling us that we were denied a deed-in-lieu included a pamphlet that paints a picture of how the banks love their customers and do not want to see them lose their homes and advise that if you need help you should call a 1-800 number to find out information about the several workout options that may “save your home” including short-sale, deed-in-lieu, and payoff of settlement. Totally, considerate to throw that in the same letter in which you DENY us, asswads.)

Tentatively, our house will go on the auction block in early March 2010. But I have every expectation that it will be at least another year until both banks have been fully satisfied (read: off our backs), and we can finally begin to repair our credit and faith in the “American Dream.”

All I want for 2010 is my freedom.

Linda at All & Sundry posted her traditional end-of-the-year quiz/meme and encouraged others to do so too. As I certainly have not created any New Years blogging traditions of my own, I figured I could play too.

1. What did you do in 2009 that you’d never done before?
Raised a baby and, became swallowed by the recession and real estate market crash. WOOT!

Apparently, 2009 is the year I became an adult.

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
Last year at this time, I had just given birth so I don’t think I had time to make any resolutions, at least none that I blogged about.

For 2010 my resolutions are:

• to start over fresh
• to not let things bother me as much
• to be happy
• to take better care of my body
• to nurture my family

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Yes, my sister-in-law had another beautiful and healthy baby girl about three months after Boo. I can’t wait to watch these two grow up and be tight.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
No.

5. What countries did you visit?
We went to Canada once. To go to Ikea. So I could just as well say I visited Sweden, right?

6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009?
Sanity. Between learning how to take care of a baby and losing my faith in our financial and professional security, I’d like for a much more sane 2010.

7. What dates from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
Frankly, all of 2009 was a big blur. Michael Jackson dying was pretty shocking, I guess.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Breastfeeding. Making our stay at home with the baby/working part-time balancing act work. Not getting divorced.

9. What was your biggest failure?
Having our house go into foreclosure. (Or at least potential foreclosure.)

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
No. (Thank god.)

11. What was the best thing you bought?
Probably something baby related. My top favorites right now are the baby gate and the high chair. (Perhaps I should add “get out of the house more” to my new years resolutions.)

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
My husband did a pretty good job of keeping a level head this year considering he was dealing with a mostly delirious, emotional and hormonal wife most of the year.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
The Gosselins. I just cannot believe they let all that money and publicity go to their head and destroy their family WHILST THE CAMERAS WERE RECORDING.

14. Where did most of your money go?
Food. Rent. Lawyer fees. Hospital bills. Baby gear.

15. What did you get really excited about?
Cliché, I know, but all of my excitement this year has been focused around watching my baby grow. She’s so amazing!

16. What song will always remind you of 2009?
I’m not even sure it came out this year, but “Boom, Boom, Pow” by the Black Eyed Peas sticks out. The first time I heard it was on Howard Stern and he was doing his thing — playing the song whilst singing over top of it and pausing intermittently — and at one point he mentioned that he thought that it was going to be the theme song of the summer. It was funny and for some reason stuck in my mind.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:

– happier or sadder? Both. Happier because of the family we have created but sadder because of all that we have lost.
– thinner or fatter? Thinner. As I should be, since this time I was about 2 weeks postpartum.
– richer or poorer? Poorer financially, but richer emotionally. (*PUKE*)

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Enjoyed the moment.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Freaking out about things I can’t control.

20. How did you spend Christmas?
Traveled half-way across the state to be with family. Worth every. single. moment.

21. Did you fall in love in 2009?
Yes, with my baby.

22. What was your favorite TV program?
I don’t know that it was my favorite television show but for most of the year I had TLC on non-stop with a constant rotation of Jon & Kate + 8, Little People Big World, 18 Kids and Counting, What Not to Wear, etc. Then last month, Comcast stopped airing QAM channels and I have been in total withdrawal.

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
No.

24. What was the best book you read?
What’s a book? Between the baby and keeping up my blog, the only time I had to read was for the mail.

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Again, I didn’t have much time for to “discover” music this year but during those few months that we had free cable MTV and VH1 introduced me to Taylor Swift (You Belong With Me), Miley Cyrus (Party in the USA) and Lady Gaga (Paparazi). (*Hangs head in shame*)

26. What did you want and get?
To watch my baby enjoy the holidays with family.

27. What did you want and not get?
A Canon XTi. A new laptop. An end to this foreclosure shenanigan.

28. What was your favorite film of this year?
I didn’t watch any new movies this year.

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
Hmm. My birthday? I turned 31 but I don’t remember . . .

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Not having to deal with our house going into foreclosure.

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009?
Anything that allowed quick access to my boobs.

32. What kept you sane?
I was not sane (read #6)

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Fuck celebrities.

34. What political issue stirred you the most?
I’m not a big fan of any political issue — middle class seems to be out of the target demographic for everything.

35. Who did you miss?
My grandfather.

36. Who was the best new person you met?
It’s totally cheesy but the best new person I met this year was Boo. Yeah, yeah she was born in 2008 but she was just kind of a blob then — this year we watched as she blossomed into a real person.

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009?
Life truly does suck.

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year?
“Welcome my son, welcome to the machine.”

Boo’s first birthday was the week before Christmas. (Poor kid.) We spent the day together as a family baking cupcakes (for the baby) and preparing a steak dinner (for the parents). I fashioned together a birthday outfit (which took me weeks to put together so watch it…) and then, like a good mother, I forced her to pose for some photographs so that years from now when I question why she is acting that way I am reminded of what I did to her.

Once the impromptu photo session was over Boo opened her presents. And, considering her birthday was a week before Christmas there were a surprisingly large number of presents for her to open thanks to Amazon.com and her very generous grandparents.

After opening presents we made our way into the kitchen for the ceremonial First Cake where Boo was properly stripped of her fancy clothes, strapped into her highchair and presented with a homemade cupcake decorated with rainbow sprinkles and a single candle.

We sang.

She ate.

And then we promptly fished cupcake out of her mouth because like a dipshit I used Angel Food instead of regular cake and the Angel Food was way too spongy for someone with only one tooth to chew.

Thankfully, a few days later she was able to find out what it was like to actually swallow some cake when we visited Grandma and Grandpa C. and they surprised her with TWO(!) more cakes.

These cakes were not only made of regular cake that crumbled into actual pieces a one-year old could chew but were also decorated in her current favorite character, ELMO (who, by the way, she has only seen on TV once in her life but for some reason every time she sees him she is drawn to him like a magnet — guess, those Sesame Street folks really know what they are doing…).

Needless to say, Boo’s Birthday was extraordinarily special this year. Not only because we were able to celebrate her first year of life but also because we were able to celebrate it in some shape or form with those whom she loves and with those who love her. I realize she will probably never remember either of her first birthday parties but we will and we are so appreciative of everyone who celebrated with us.