Last year, I created a modified version of the yearly wrap-up that's floating around the internet, cutting out some of the questions that didn't really apply to me or for which I didn't really have answers. Here's my summary of 2009, which was pretty much one of the most fantastic years ever.
1. What did you do in 2009 that you'd never done before?
Run a ten miler. Travel to California. Got engaged!
2. Did you keep your new year's resolutions?
My resolutions were:
Try to exercise 4-5 times a week. -- Did this most of the time.
Try to eat healthy and stay within my calorie-range goal. -- Eh, could have been better, but in general I do eat healthier foods now. (Or, at least less junk.)
Try to put money into my savings each month, and not take any out. (Exceptions: Christmas shopping and vacation.) -- Nope... lack of dental insurance meant I pretty much had to drain my savings for the first half of the year. But aside from dentist payments, I did not take any out and I continued to put money into savings. I now have what I consider to be a sizable chunk stashed away for emergencies, which is such a relief considering I was living paycheck-to-paycheck a year ago. (Law school loans will do that to you, unfortunately.)
I will try to make at least one new recipe a week. -- I did make a lot more new recipes this year, but not specifically a new one each week. There might have been 52 new recipes total though.
I will only buy coffee out once a week and will try to use a reusable travel mug whenever I do. -- I didn't buy coffee out very often, but I failed at the reusable mug thing.
I will try to remember to keep my reusable shopping bags in the car so I don't keep bringing home all the plastic ones. -- I was pretty good about this for the grocery store and Target, less so for other stores.
I will floss more. -- Yes! I am doing MUCH better at this. One of my 101 in 1001 goals was to floss every day for a month and since then, I've been so much better at remembering to floss. I still don't do it every day, but probably 4-5 times a week now. The dental hygienist even commented that it appeared I was an "avid flosser."
I am going on a lipgloss-purchasing diet. I have so many floating around my house and really need to use those up! So I am trying to go all of 2009 without buying any more. (Exception: Burt's Bees lip balm.) -- The only lip product I bought (other than Burts Bees) was a bright red lipstick for a Halloween costume I didn't end up going with. It was a prop, so I think it's a valid exception. Um, but I broke the fast this morning and ordered Clinique Almost Lipstick as part of my New Years gift to myself (hello, bonus!), but the payment won't go through until after the new year, which totally counts!
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Adam's sister.
4. Did anyone close to you die?
No.
5. What countries did you visit?
My cell phone thought I was in Mexico when I was in San Diego. That's as close as I got.
6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009?
Less stress and anxiety. (This is probably true of every year.)
7. What dates from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
March 14 -- Adam and I moved in together. December 19 -- date Adam and I got engaged.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Training for and completing the Army Ten Miler.
9. What was your biggest failure?
I can't really think of anything.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
The swine flu.
11. What was the best thing you bought?
I didn't really buy anything out of the ordinary this year. New black boots? Bliss Blood Orange + White Pepper lotion?
12. Where did most of your money go?
Rent, dentist.
13. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Christmas, snow, getting engaged. (Sorry, I know I keep mentioning it. It's just pretty exciting, you know?)
14. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? Same, which is to say pretty darn happy :-) (my answer from last year)
b) thinner or fatter? More of me to love. (unfortunately)
c) richer or poorer? Richer, b/c I got a bigger bonus and a raise! wahoo!
15. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Traveling.
16. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Eating junk food. Improving my healthy eating habits this year only made it more obvious when I eat poorly how much sugar, salt and other crap affects me, both physically and mentally.
17. How did you spend Christmas?
Same as I have the past several years, with Adam, parents, brother, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins up in New York.
18. Did you fall in love in 2009?
I'm going to give the same cheesy response as last year, that I fall more and more in love with Adam every day. (Gag.)
19. What was your favorite TV program?
How I Met Your Mother
20. What was the best book you read?
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.
21. What did you want and get?
A raise and bonus. To travel and visit my friends.
22. What did you want and not get?
The Mets and Giants in the playoffs.
23. What was your favorite film of this year?
(500) Days of Summer
24. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
On my 29th birthday, I spent the wee hours of the morning watching a six-overtime basketball game between UConn and Syracuse that actually started the day before my birthday (hey, at least that meant I got to open up my presents early in the day!), met friends for Ethiopian and drinks, and finished packing for my move the next day.
25. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
More vacation days.
26. What kept you sane?
Adam. Exercise.
27. Who did you miss?
My girlfriends who live way too far away. (Same answer as last year, and probably always.)
28. What are your resolutions for next year?
Tune in tomorrow for a post dedicated to my 2010 resolutions!
Happy New Year!!!!
1. What color is your toothbrush?
orange and white
2. Name one person who made you smile today:
TS
3. What were you doing at 8am this morning?
Probably drying my hair.
4. What were you doing 45 minutes ago?
Perusing the internet.
5. What is your favorite candy bar?
A fancy dark chocolate bar.
6. Have you ever been to a strip club?
I've been in a bar when it turned into a strip club.
7. What is the last thing you said aloud?
Good. (Responding to TS asking how my protein shake tasted.)
8. What is your favorite ice cream?
That's like asking a parent to choose a favorite child. I typically go for coffee-based flavors, but am also partial to mint chocolate chip and chocolate peanut butter cup.
9. What was the last thing you had to drink?
Protein shake.
10. Do you like your wallet?
Yes.
11. What was the last thing you ate?
A lick of peanut butter from a spoon (while making the shake).
12. Have you bought any new clothing items this week?
Yes, a new black work skirt and a pair of running shorts.
13. The last sporting event you watched?
Currently watching the Mets blow a 5-0 lead.
14. What is your favorite flavor of popcorn?
Kettle corn.
15. Who is the last person you sent a text message to?
TS
16. Ever go camping?
Yes. Many times as a child. We camped instead of staying at hotels... even at Disney World.
17. Do you take vitamins daily?
No... I'm terrible about remembering to do it.
18. Do you go to church every Sunday?
No.
19. Do you have a tan?
No, but I have some freckles.
20. Do you prefer Chinese food over pizza?
Generally, yes.
21. Do you drink your soda with a straw?
Only if it is in a glass with ice.
22. What did your last text message say?
"At bar of Bangkok Joes"
23. What are you doing tomorrow?
Going down to Richmond for work.
25. Look to your left, what do you see?
My closet.
26. What color is your watch?
Gold and silver.
27. What do you think of when you hear Australia?
Hugh Jackman.
29. Do you go in at a fast food place or just hit the drive thru?
I don't really eat fast food. I guess I go inside?
30. What is your favorite number?
13
31. Who's the last person you talked to on the phone?
Probably a co-worker, if inter-office calls count.
(Hey, what happened to #32?)
33. How many states have you lived in?
Three, and a district.
34. Biggest annoyance right now?
The Mets' bullpen.
35. Last song listened to?
Probably a commercial jingle of some sort.
36. Can you say the alphabet backwards?
Yes, and quickly.
37. Do you have a maid service clean your house?
No.
38. Favorite pair of shoes you wear all the time?
Reef sandals.
39. Are you jealous of anyone?
Not that I can think of.
40. Is anyone jealous of you?
Who knows?
41. Do you love anyone?
Yes.
42. Do any of your friends have children?
Yes... and it's starting to become an epidemic. :-)
43. What do you usually do during the day?
Research, writing, meetings, internet surfing.
44. Do you hate anyone that you know right now?
Nope.
45. Do you use the word "hello" daily?
Yes.
46. What color is your car?
Silver.
47. Do you like cats?
Yes, but I've never owned one.
48. Are you thinking about someone right now?
No, I'm thinking about my answers to these questions.
49. Have you ever been to Six Flags?
Yes (Great Adventure).
50. How did you get your worst scar?
Tripping over my own feet on a sidewalk. Took a HUGE chunk out of my knee. The scar is actually kind of awesome.
1. Go to Wikipedia and type in your birthday (month and day).
2. Write down three events, 2 births, 1 holiday.
Three events that happened on March 13:
1. 1993 -- Storm of the Century (Hey, I didn't name it that.)
2. 1781 -- William Herschel discovers Uranus. (Heeheehee... I may be 29 today, but I have the sense of humor of a 12 year old.)
3. 1991 -- The United States Justice Department announces that Exxon has agreed to pay $1 billion for the clean-up of the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska.
Two people who share my birthday:
1. 1979 -- Johan Santana (heck, yeah!)
2. 1911 -- L. Ron Hubbard, American science fiction author and founder of Scientology (oh, no no nononono)
If you actually need another reason to celebrate today (other than me), today is also...
Well, today you can celebrate Friday the 13th! :-)
There are different versions of this floating all over the internet and I've deleted several of them that don't apply or I think are just plain dumb. :-)
1. What did you do in 2008 that you'd never done before?
Ran a 10K, went to Puerto Rico, went to Chicago, boxing classes.
2. Did you keep your new year's resolutions?
Here's what I wrote last year for my resolutions (having a blog is handy like that):
My goals for this year are: (1) go to the gym 4X a week, exceptions allowed for vacation and illness (this one is sort of resolutiony), (2) complain and whine less (notice, not cut it out altogether, because really, that's just part of my charming personality), and (3) become more organized in life, home, and finances.
So, (1) For the most part, yes I did keep this resolution. The only times where I didn't stick to this was when traveling, sick/injured, had visitors in town, and slacking off a little during the holidays.
(2) I hope I did this, but I guess the person to really ask about that is TS.
(3) I think I did become more organized, especially in finances. Not that I was ever terribly unorganized in finances, but I have a whole pay bill/save money schedule thing that I have been sticking too pretty well. I suppose my home is pretty much the same amount of organized and, believe it or not, going to the gym regularly helps keep my life/schedule more organized since I try to make sure I can work that in and do the other things I want to do.
All in all, I think I did pretty well.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
A friend, a co-worker, a cousin.
4. Did anyone close to you die?
My uncle's mother, Stella, following a battle with Alzheimer's. My uncle was her only child, so she would spend many holidays with us. Because my uncle and aunt do not have any kids, my brother and I were like pseudo-grandchildren to her.
5. What countries did you visit?
None other than the U.S.
6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008?
More financial security.
7. What dates from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
February 15-23 --> my Puerto Rico trip. It was an amazing, much needed trip that really helped me lose some of that anxiety I had been carrying around for years. I turned off my phone and the internet and just lived the island life.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Sticking to my workouts as much as I did.
9. What was your biggest failure?
Failure? Me? But seriously, I don't really feel like I had any major failures. I suppose I didn't lose as much weight as I wanted, but I didn't gain any either and I have been eating better, so that's not a real failure in my book.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
stress fracture
11. What was the best thing you bought?
Um... wow, this is hard. I didn't buy much this year. Oh! My flats! I finally discovered a pair of flats that didn't make my feet look like boats, and they are so comfortable it's like wearing slippers to work. I have three pairs now. :-)
12. Where did most of your money go?
Rent.
13. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Trip to Puerto Rico.
14. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? same, which is to say pretty darn happy :-)
b) thinner or fatter? about the same, probably a little thinner, and definitely in better shape
c) richer or poorer? richer, b/c I got a bigger bonus this year!
15. What do you wish you'd done more of?
traveling, visiting friends
16. What do you wish you'd done less of?
stressing over money
17. How did you spend Christmas?
with TS and my family
18. Did you fall in love in 2008?
I fell more in love with TS... how cheesy is that? :-)
19. What was your favorite TV program?
How I Met Your Mother = AWESOME!
20. What was the best book you read?
If I can just find the time to read the last 120 pages or so today, I will say the final Harry Potter book.
21. What did you want and get?
President-elect Barack Obama
22. What did you want and not get?
The Mets in the playoffs.
23. What was your favorite film of this year?
Hmmm... that's a hard one. The Batman movie was great, and I also really loved Once.
24. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
On my 28th birthday, I went to a hearing, had cake at the office, went to a bar for happy hour, and then had take-out and a deliciously awesome pina-colada cake. Yum!
25. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
More money so I could have traveled more.
26. What kept you sane?
A much needed vacation.
27. Who did you miss?
My girlfriends who live way too far away.
28. What are your resolutions for next year?
I've already discussed my resolutions here. I did very well with my Holiday Resolutions, except the reusable gift wrap thing. Oh, and we recycled the paper instead of shredding it b/c my mom couldn't think of a place to store all the shredded paper. :-) So far I am doing well with my Annual Resolutions as well.
And that's that! Happy New Year everyone! May 2009 be your best year yet!
Found over at Rancid Raves. (I'm also trying the scheduled-posting feature for the first time ever with this one, so let's see if I don't screw that up. If this shows up around 6 p.m., I'll have done it right.)
(Argh, it did not work. Need to learn how to future post.)
A is for age: 28
B is for burger of choice: black bean
C is for the car I drive: 2002 Hyundai Elantra
D is for your dog's name: I don't have any dogs now, but in the past had Holly and Rascal.
E is for essential item you use every day: watch
F is for favorite TV show at the moment: How I Met Your Mother
G is for favorite game: I love games! I think I have to go with Pictionary, but I also love Trivial Pursuit and Catch Phrase and Taboo and Cranium and...
H is for home state: New York
I is for instruments you play: Flute, piccolo, Guitar hero guitar.
J is for favorite juice: lemonade!
K is for whose bum you'd like to kick: My own, into shape!
L is for last restaurant at which you ate: Willow, for a WCR event.
M is for your favorite Muppet: Aloysius Snuffleupagus
N is for number of piercings: 7 (all earrings)
O is for overnight hospital stays: Aside from being born, 5 days when I had my appendix out.
P is for people you were with today: TS, work people, Carolyn!
Q is for what you do with your quiet time: sleep
R is for biggest regret: I have a personally philosophy of no regrets, because I strongly believe in the butterfly effect. But I suppose if I could change one thing and somehow have everything else be the same, I'd have gone to one of the law schools that offered me money so that I wouldn't have massive amounts of debt looming over me. (But then I wouldn't have met all my law school friends, or ended up with the jobs I've had, etc., etc.... so it's not worth it.)
S is for status: Taken.
T is for time you woke up today: Woke up -- 7:30 a.m. Got out of bed -- 8:40. (Hey, it's a holiday and I'm not even expected to be here at work.)
U is for what you consider unique about yourself: Umm... people have said my hair color is unique. Does that count?
V is for vegetable you love: Oh my... it'd be easier to say what vegetable I don't love. Turnips. Blech.
W is for worst habit: whining
X is for x-rays you've had: back and knee
Y is for yummy food you ate today: As of the time I'm writing this, all I've had so far is coffee, but I am going out to dinner so I bet that'll be yummy.
Z is for zodiac: Pisces.
Ahh, nothing like a good meme when you're stumped for ideas. (Stolen from Monkey.) (This one required a fair amount of googling on my part.)
The rules are pretty standard:
A. List of 100 items
B. Bold items you've eaten
C. Cross out items you'd never consider eating (hmmm... as a vegetarian, I am guessing there will be many strikeouts.)
1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos Rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar (which leaves me wondering, who eats cigars?)
37. Clotted cream tea (I've had it in Devon, no less.)
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects (not on purpose, but who hasn't accidentally swallowed a gnat? blech)
43. Phaal
44. Goat's milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth $120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald's Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini (Now, if that said vodka martini... )
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S'mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin (Maybe I have? Wiki tells me it's a food additive and sometimes found in toothpaste.)
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs' legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake
(via Monkey)
1. How do you like your eggs? So many ways. I guess my faves are on a bagel, egg & cheese sandwich or a spinach and goat cheese omelet made by TS. (He really does make the best eggs.)
2. How do you take your coffee/tea? Coffee -- a little whole milk and splenda. Hot tea -- straight. Iced tea -- with some lemon.
3. Favorite breakfast food: I am totally a breakfast person, so I'm gonna have three: favorite during the week quickie breakfast - greek yogurt with banana and honey; favorite typical weekend breakfast - the aforementioned bagel, egg, and cheese sandwich; favorite indulgence breakfast -- french toast
4. Peanut butter: Skippy creamy.
5. What kind of dressing on your salad? Usually balsamic vinaigrette, but sometimes ranch when I am out.
6. Coke or Pepsi? diet wild cherry pepsi (although I don't drink soda much)
7. You're feeling lazy, what do you make? pierogis or stir fry
8. You're feeling really lazy. What kind of pizza do you order? thin crust jalapeno and pineapple (yeah, Monkey!)
9. You feel like cooking. What do you make? risotto
10. Do any foods bring back good memories? Christmas cookies -- my mom and I would always spend the weeks up to Christmas making several batches to give away to family members and the guys my dad worked with. Nothing makes me happy the same way the smell of cookies and the sound of Christmas music does.
11. Do any foods bring back bad memories? Two -- fish from Red Lobster (the first and only fish, other than tuna fish, I ever had) because I threw up all night afterwards (it was the flu, not the fish); and homemade hot chocolate because I threw up all night afterwards (from appendicitis, not the hot chocolate). Oddly, I never ate fish again (I never wanted it in the first place, but my grandma made me try it), but eventually I drank hot chocolate made with warmed milk on the stove again. I still think about the throwing up though -- you don't quite forget projectile vomiting very hot liquids.
12. Do any foods remind you of someone? Lots, actually. You can probably pick a person and I can associate a food with them. But the first that comes to mind is that sour cream and onion dip reminds me of Carla. I can't even begin to guess how many containers of sour cream that girl and I have been through together. :-)
13. Is there a food you refuse to eat? Generally, these days, meat.
14. What was your favorite food as a child? ice cream! (some things don't change)
15. Is there a food that you hated as a child but now like? brussel sprouts
16. Is there a food that you liked as a child but now hate? bologna
17. Favorite fruit and vegetable: Oh man, this is way difficult. I love so many of them, I hate to choose. Fruit: fresh pineapple. Vegetable: asparagus
18. Favorite junk food: ice cream!
19. Favorite between meal snack: ice cream! um, kidding! (sorta) I don't know if I have a favorite... I guess just whatever I have on hand.
20. Do you have any weird food habits? Some people think not eating meat is weird.
21. You're on a diet. What food(s) do you fill up on? Stir fry.
22. You're off your diet. Now what? All things cheese related.
23. How spicy do you order Indian/Thai? extra spicy
24. Can I get you a drink? Mostly, I just drink water... it's cheap, readily available, and non-caloric. But I'd have to say that lemonade is my all time favorite.
25. Red or White Wine? Usually white.
26. Favorite dessert? Ice cream! (Haven't we been over this?)
27. The perfect nightcap? Water. (I'm so lame.)
The Year in Review
~January~
1. Did you have a New Years Resolution this year? Not one I stuck with, if I did.
2. Who kissed you at midnight? my boyfriend
3. Did it snow where you live? yup
4. Do you like hot chocolate? Yessir, especially the white chocolate kind.
5. Have you ever been to Times Square to watch the ball drop? Yeah, because standing around all day in the freezing cold surrounded by smelly drunk people sounds just like my kind of fun. (That was a "no," by the way.)
~February~
1. Who was your valentine in 2005? I suppose that would be my boyfriend.
2. What did your valentine get you? Fancy-pants fondue dinner.
3. When you were little, did you buy valentines for your whole class? I think it was required.
~March~
1. Are you Irish? a teensy bit
2. Did you wear green on St. Patty's Day? If so, probably unintentionally.
3. What did you do for St. Patty's Day in 2005? nada
~April~
1. Do you like the rain? As long as I don't have to walk somewhere important in it.
2. Did you play an April fool's joke on anyone this year? Nope.
3. Did you get tons of candy on Easter? I got some caramel apples and candy from my mom. (And, uh... Easter was in March this year, peoples.)
~May~
1. What's your favorite kind of flower? the kind someone gives to me :-)
2. Do you like the spring? most definitely
3. Finish the phrase: April showers bring may flowers, what do may flowers bring? PILGRIMS! (duh)
4. What would you think of as a spring color? yellow
~June~
1. What year did you graduate from school? pick a school, any school... HS - '98, college - '02, law school - '05 (although that last one was in May, not June)
2. Did you go on any vacations last June? HA! No, I was studying for the bar exam.
~July~
1. What did you do on the 4th of July? Watched fireworks from the roof of our building.
2. Did you go on any vacations during this month? Um... I went to NY to take the bar exam, but I certainly wouldn't call that a vacation. I went to NYC for a night while I was up there though... does that count?
~August~
1. Did you do anything special to end off your summer? No.
2. What was your favorite summer memory of '05? Probably going to the beach with Nick and the girls for a day.
3. Did you go swimming a lot in the summer? Nope.
~September~
1. Did you attend school/college in '05? Oh, yes (but not in the fall)
2. Who is/was your favorite teacher? Who doesn't love Lazzy?
3. Did you like fall better than summer? MUCH.
~October~
1. What was your favorite Halloween costume ever? I was a Christmas tree once... and I even lit up!
2. What's your favorite candy? Sour gummy worms.
3. What did you dress up like this year? I wore a shirt that said "boo" - damn, I'm clever.
~November~
1. Whose house do you usually go to for Thanksgiving? Depends on the year.
2. Do you like stuffing? Depends on the stuffing.
3. What are you thankful for? Getting out of work in a coupla minutes. ;-)
~December~
1. Do you celebrate Christmas? The Santa Claus version. Suck it, O'Reilly.
2. Have you ever been kissed under mistletoe? Not romantically.
3. What do you want this year for Christmas? a new job, but it didn't fit in my stocking
4. What's the best present you ever got for Christmas? All I wanted for Christmas when I was 2 was one of those giant Hershey Kisses and my (not yet then) dad gave me one. A huge hunk of chocolate to a toddler is heaven.
5. Do you like cold weather? Good god, no. Although, I do get excited for snow... it's the biting wind I really hate.
The camo girl tagged me for this meme, but my answers are going to suck, b/c, well, you'll see...
*what is currently on your nightstand?*
dum dee dum...
NOTHING!
I do not have a nightstand these days. For now, I am using the windowsill above the bed as my "nightstand" and it currently holds (or at least does when I go to sleep): my glasses, my phone, my watch and ring, multiple hairties, and sometimes a glass of water.
And when I used to have a nightstand, back in the old apartment, it had my alarm clock and a box of tissues. No drawers on it, so no place to hide anything *fun* or illicit.
***
So, sorry to dissapoint there. Anyway, you were right camo girl - it could be worse. If nightstands are the portal to our souls, then clearly I'm an empty vessel.