My favorite time of the year is here again. And in 2010, I have so much to be excited about and thankful for!

– My awesome Aidan. He’s now seven years old, in second grade, and he is officially “gifted.” He is soooo cool, you guys. You have no idea.
– My husband. It’s amazing to have someone so supportive of me, so ready to defend me, and willing to do anything to make me happy. Well, he draws the line at spending too much time in Target….
– My family.
– Finally landing a job. On October 31, 2008, I put this into the Universe: I want to work full time at Schawk. I want to be a permanent employee. Everyday I go in and hope that they see something in me that makes them say “You know, this girl is good. Her attitude is awesome, and we can really tell that she cares about and likes the work. We’re going to offer her a position here because we know she’ll bring value to our team and our company. The Universe listens. Just sayin’. I mean, this is just about exactly what they told me when they brought me on, almost two years to the date after I put that out there. So now, I am a full-time proofreader at Schawk, and now that fourth quarter is over, life is much easier! I have regular income and benefits now. It is well.
– Meeting new friends, like Jill, Meiya, Shika, the wonderful huggy people at Moksha Yoga, and the online friends I found on random communities.
– Also meeting loads of well-known people (mostly authors) like Jerry Spinelli, Barry Lyga, Ann M. Martin, Carrie Ryan, and Susane Colasanti. Oh yah, and George Hardy, star of Troll 2 and Best Worst Movie.
My little orange girl, Helena. She is so super cuddly and sweet now! She hasn’t peed on furniture/clothing/floors etc. in several months now. 🙂
Getting to see S.J. Tucker sing many times.
Discovering yoga.
My Plurk crew. They are hilarious and fun. ♥ them!
Discovering Doctor Who.
The abundance and blessings that have been and keep being rained down on us.
My awesome friends. You guys rock!

It’s now time for the Holiday Wishes Meme. I started doing this in 2006, and I encourage you guys to do it as well.

Step One
– Make a post (public, friendslocked, filtered… whatever you’re comfortable with) to your LJ/blog. The post should contain your list of 10 holiday wishes. The wishes can be anything at all, from simple and fun (”I’d love a Doctor Who icon that’s just for me”) to medium (”I wish for _____ on DVD”) to really big (”All I want for Christmas is a new car/computer/house/TV.”) The important thing is, make sure these wishes are things you really, truly want.
– If you wish for real possible things, make sure you include some sort of contact info in your post, whether it’s your address or just your email address where Santa (or one of his elves) could get in touch with you.
– Also, make sure you post some version of these guidelines in your entry, or link to this post (it’ll be public) so that the holiday joy will spread.

Step Two
– Surf around your friendslist (or friendsfriends, or just random journals) to see who has posted their list. And now here’s the important part:
– If you see a wish you can grant, and it’s in your heart to do so, make someone’s wish come true. Sometimes someone’s trash is another’s treasure, and if you have a leather jacket you don’t want or a gift certificate you won’t use—or even know where you could get someone’s dream purebred Basset Hound for free—do it.
– You needn’t spend money on these wishes unless you want to. The point isn’t to put people out, it’s to provide everyone a chance to be someone else’s holiday elf—to spread the joy. Gifts can be made anonymously or not—it’s your call.

There are no rules with this project, no guarantees, and no strings attached. Just…wish, and it might come true. Give, and you might receive. And you’ll have the joy of knowing you made someone’s holiday special.

With that said, here are my wishes for 2010.

1. A gift card, or for you to make donations to, DonorsChoose.org. DonorsChoose focuses on education. Teachers ask for classroom project materials. We donate. The kids learn. Most of these schools are high poverty, and the teachers are already doing all they can. Any amount is welcome.

2. Donations to Paws Chicago, the shelter where we got Helena. It’s a cage-free, no-kill shelter, and they are run completely on donations; they receive no city, state, or federal funding. It’s a great place. A shelter situation is stressful for the animals involved, and every animal I came in contact with there was happy and friendly. They have an extensive screening process to make sure you’re aware of your decision and commitment, and if somehow things don’t work out, the animal always has a home at PAWS.

3. Anything from my Amazon Party Time 2010 Wishlist.

4. Gift cards to bookstores, any bookstores. I love bookstores. And books. But you already know that.

5. I also wouldn’t mind gift cards to Old Navy, Nordstrom Rack, Target, Aeropostale, Filene’s Basement, or Kohl’s.

6. A mailbox FILLED with Christmas cards. Come on, guys. You know you want to indulge me. 😉 (comment with your email address if you’re interested in fulfilling this particular wish, and I will email you my address).

This is all I can think of for now. 🙂

And for the things that I’d like your prayers/happy energy for:

– My friends and family to be happy and secure.

– My mom to be as healthy as possible and to live a long time.

– A mild winter.

Happy Holidays! It’s December now, the season really is here! YAY!

*** If you do this meme for yourself, please make sure you comment with a link to the entry, OK?