Tomorrow Is Another Day...

The Rose City

Last week, I was just going about my normal business of work, school, and sleep when I happened to take a glance at my little used iCal.  Much to my surprised, I saw January 19th highlighted in red with big bold letters proclaiming "NO WORK!!!"  I don't know exactly how a three day weekend escaped my notice--generally I'm counting down the days until a no work day like they're Christmas--but I didn't question it, instead I just fired off an email to Colby (Who was stuck in Korea with a broken down airplane, and probably off gallivanting about Seoul at the time.  It is so hard to be him.) to inform him that we were taking a vacation.  To Portland.

You see, as we near the end of our time here in Washington (I hope and pray), I have suddenly realized how very much there is to do around here that we keep talking about and never doing.  I visited Portland for a day once with my parents, but Colby had never been and I knew that there was so much left to do there, and since it's a two hour drive away, it seemed like the obvious choice.

So, I hopped on TripAdvisor and Hotels.com, made some reservations, got the dogs booked in a kennel at the vet, and started counting down the days in earnest.  We decided to wake up early on Saturday and drive down to the city to meet our Epicurian Excursion walking tour by 9:45.  The tour was a great way to kick off our trip, as it managed to combine breakfast, lunch, and an introduction to the city all in one fell swoop.  It sort of set the theme for the rest of the weekend: Eating and Making (Good Natured) Fun of Hippies.  You see, the one unifying theme of all the restaurants we visited were the following traits: Fresh, Local, Organic, Sustainable, and Seasonal.  These are all wonderful attributes that make for some seriously delicious food, but it was also seriously hysterical how fervent these restaurant owners were about being the MOST sustainable or the MOST organic.  I don't know, maybe you had to be there, but it was really funny to us.  Particularly when they detailed exactly how much garbage they threw away per week.  That's great and all, but seriously, just give me some beer!

However, that was not nearly as hilarious as the time the lady at the culinary school described the wine she was pouring for us as "an explosion in her mouth."  My eyes nearly bugged out of my head, and I tried my damndest to hold it in, but finally I turned my beet red face to Colby and mouthed the inevitable, "That's what she said!  That's what she said!!!!"  And then we both snort laughed in an embarrassing manner.  And that is why we love each other.

 

After the food tour we headed off to my Mecca: Powell's Books.  This place is just... intense.  It was just room after room with every available wall and floorspace covered in bookshelves and crammed with books.  After I had wandered through in awe for a couple of hours, I had to sit and sift through the books that I had been stuffing into my basket in a frenzy.  I left with a long list of books I want to buy, including The Road and The Executioner's Song, but only allowed myself to walk out with four new books: A Lion Among Men: Volume III in The Wicked Years, The Red Tent, The Painted Kiss, and Why Do Pirates Love Parrots?  Because really, why do they?  (Don't tell me!)

Following Powell's, we braved the blustery wind that had begun whipping and headed off to check into our hotel, the wonderful Hotel Monaco.  This is an extremely pet friendly hotel, and it was all I could do to not hurl myself at every passing puppy.  Colby wondered how much they must spend on carpet cleaning solution, and I must say, whatever amount they spend is absolutely worth every penny, because we could not smell a single bit of pet odor.  In fact, I may even go so far as to say it was the best smelling, cleanest hotel I've ever experienced.  Dinner that night was at the delicious Mother's Bistro & Bar, just a couple blocks away from our centrally located hotel, and we liked it so much, we headed back for an even more delectable brunch on Sunday morning.

Sunday we spent expanding our cultural horizons at the Porland Art Museum and Colby explained to me why exactly electricity costs money at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry.  Plus I got to shoot off a bottle rocket and experience an earthquake in the same day I gazed upon a Degas and a Monet.  I just love museums!  That night we decided to just go with our affinity for maternally named restaurants and I had a wonderful gnocchi and tiramisu at the Mamma Mia Trattoria.

Monday morning we packed up our bags and headed out for our last day of the Porland experience.  We had breakfast at Bijou Cafe, picked up some coffee for our parents at Stumptown Coffee (check the mail, y'all!), then made our way to Chinatown to visit the Chinese Gardens.  I had visited the Japanese Gardens in Portland with my mom in September, and I was struck by how different the two experiences were.  I am by no mean an expert in Asian gardening, but just based on these two experiences, it seems that the Japanese garden was much more forcused on actual plants and what you would think of as a "garden environment" with ponds and rocks and statuary, while the Chinese garden was much more architectural, with its focus on providing a serene, tranquil environment for scholarly pursuits or philosophical conversation.

Well, philosophical conversation AND making faces at ceramic Chinese dragons.

From there we headed over to Grant Park so that I could hang out with Ramona Quimby and Henry Huggins at the Beverly Cleary sculpture garden.  Our last stop was The Grotto, a gorgeous outdoor Catholic shrine and botanical garden run by the Order of Friar Servants of Mary, then we bid a fond adieu to the Rose City.  We stopped by the Mount St Helens visitors center on the way back home, but it was closed for the holiday, so Colby just snapped a few photos before we went back on our merry way.

Check this out:

The mountain.  Now you see it, now you don't!

I plan on debuting this amazing feat of magicry before a live audience at Spring Break.  If you can't be there, look for it to be featured in the 2009 edition of the immensely popular Girls With Low Self Esteem, coming to a Hollywood Video near you!

So, all in all, Portland was a really fun experience, made almost more so by the rather spontaneous nature of the trip.  We didn't really plan a whole lot, and didn't give ourselves any specific schedule to stick to, so I didn't come home feeling like I needed a vacation from my vacation.  We're working on a list of things we still want to do here before the end of the year, and stay tuned Twilight fans, because I'm lobbying hard for a summer visit to Forks and LaPush.

Resolute(ish)

Every year I claim that I'm not really one for New Year's resolutions, and then every year I find myself making New Year's resolutions.  I think it's a hold over, knee-jerk statement from back in the days when I really didn't make resolutions.  When life seemed like an endless road, full of possibilities stretching out before me.  When I didn't put so much thought and effort into living, and just lived.  Every year that passes, every birthday I celebrate, I feel those possibilities slipping away and the frightening finiteness of life becomes a little more real.

I know that I'm still young, that life is far from over and every day is another opportunity to do something great, but I have reached the age where I have realized that if you do want to "be anything you want to be", you have to work at it.  If you're lucky, opportunity knocks, but it's far more likely that you'll have to hunt it down with a tranquilizer gun, tackle it, and hold on for dear life.

So, anyway, all of this to say, I made some resolutions centered around becoming a better person, both in mind and body, and I'm resigned to the fact that I apparently am a New Year's resolution kind of gal.

"A man is but the product of his thoughts, what he thinks, he becomes." ~Mahatma Ghandi

1) Reading: In continuation of my somewhat belated resolution last year, I'm going to try going another year without reading any "chick lit".  I think I did a decent job cutting the genre from my reading list in 2008, with just a few journeys back into fluff territory, and I was surprised to find that I really didn't miss it and the few that I did read felt a little empty and formulaic to me.  I'm not knocking a good Sophie Kinsella or Jane Green when you need to give your mind a break, but I feel much more inspired and moved when I'm reading books with a little more heft to them.  I've always kept a list going in my sidebar of the books that I've read recently (a list that has been woefully out of date lately), but I've also started a new page (found in "Bonus Features" under my profile picture to the left) tracking the books I've read in 2009, along with a little personal review.

2) Writing: In short: Write more.  I suffer from a strange malady in which I lay awake nights thinking up stories and plot twists, characters and intriguing themes, then I sit down to write them all out and am completely blocked.  From what I understand, the only way through writers block is to just keep writing, even if it's complete crap (which is not to say that everything I write isn't complete crap--I am incapable of judging for myself).  My resolution for this year is to write at least one short story that I deem worthy of submission to various literary contests and journals and to write at least fifteen pages per week of the ongoing trainwreck with the working title, Gemini.  A subresolution would be to come up with a less cringe-inducing title.

"Health is not valued until sickness comes." ~Thomas Fuller

3) Eating: After spending the vast majority of this winter wishing I could either die or trade in my nose/throat/stomach/head, I have realized that both Colby and my mother are right: I eat like crap.  And I think it's safe to assume that my steady diet of candy, cheese, starches, and cereal is having a less than healthful effect on my body.  I don't expect my diet to magically change overnight, but I am going to make a real effort to eat better.  Here are my goals:

• Pizza no more than once a month
• Eat at least two servings of a fruit or vegetable every day
• Drink at least 3 large glasses of water every day
• Take a multivitamin every day
• Dessert no more than twice a week (and YES, Angela, that does include breakfast items from Starbucks)

4) Exercise: Did you know that I bought the 30 Day Shred on October 19th?  Do you want to know how I feel about it or how well it worked for me?  Well, I don't know, because I haven't so much as OPENED it.  Funny thing these workout DVDs.  You actually have to DO them for them to be effective.  Oh, and that elliptical machine sitting up in our loft?  Haven't been on it since before Colby got home from his deployment.  More than two months ago.  So, yeah, safe to say there is plenty of room for improvement here.  Improvement along the lines of doing at least thirty minutes of cardio three times a week and completing the 30 Shred by the end of February?  Yeah, I think that would do it.

So, those are my goals for 2009.  I feel like there's a certain amount of effort involved in all of them, but none of them are completely unrealistic or a set up for failure, so I hope that by the time 2010 rolls around (oh my God, that looks crazy!) I'll be able to look back on this post without feeling completely defeated.  What about you?  Did you make any resolutions this year?

(Oh!  And in case you haven't seen my tweets or Facebook--no, my house did NOT flood and I was back home by about 4 o'clock the next morning.  Thanks for your good wishes!)

Looking Back

So, I'm finally going to close the book on 2008 around here and get the rest of December all wrapped up in a neat little bow.  It was kind of a crazy month  for me and the highlights were definitely the panic inducing snowfall we had just prior to winter break, my birthday, and those other two big December holidays.

The Snow

Unfortunately, I have hardly any photographic evidence of any of these big events as Colby has developed the annoying habit of downloading all of our pictures onto his computer, then deleting them off of the camera before I can get them.  He assures me that it's easy peasy to transfer them onto my computer, but so far that's all talk and no action.  We ended up getting about 8 or 9 inches of snow in our area, and I have never in all of my life seen a city shut down like ours did.  Colby still braved Mother Nature and went to work every day, but the schools shut down on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday--before "the big storm" even hit.  Jack and Ellie totally loved romping in and chowing down on the freshly fallen snow, and I'm willing to admit that it was kind of pretty.  However, I am still not a fan of the slipping and sliding across roads and I never realized how many damn hills there are around here until they all turned into mini-ski slopes.

The Birthday
My birthday was, in a word, AWESOME!  Colby had a pretty steep learning curve when it came to my expectations for birthday celebrations, but he picked up on things after last year and when I woke up, my birthday was already in full swing.  I crawled out of bed to find him making muffins and french toast, a chocolate cake already baked and frosted, hundreds of balloons scattered around the house, and I even got a fancy Birthday Girl badge to wear.  The morning was pretty relaxing, the snow fell softly throughout the day, and that evening we made the trek into Seattle for dinner in the Market and the Pacific Northwest performance of The Nutcracker.  Dinner was absolutely delicious and we had a prime table overlooking a gorgeous view of the Pike Market.  The snow continued to fall as we ate and then headed over to the theater, and The Nutcracker was incredible. 

Funny story:  I recognized the design of the Nutcracker painted on the curtain before the ballet began, and upon reading the bio of the set and costume designer, realized that he was the man who illustrated Where the Wild Things Are, and upon receiving praise for his take on the Nutcracker in the 80's, he published an illustrated version of The Nutcracker story.  Turns out, I just so happened to own that book when I was a little girl and read it yearly, dreaming of being Clara with visions of Nutcrackers dancing in my head!

When we left the performance, we were surprised to see that the snow had begun coming down much harder and the accumulation had already increased by a few inches from the time the performance began and the drive home was more than a little scary at times.  But we survived it, and all in all, it was a phenomenal beginning to my 26th year!

Favorite gifts included tickets from Colby to go see Brit Brit perform on April 9th at the Tacoma Dome, a Nordstrom gift certificate that I put toward the brown leather jacket on my wish list, and a fantastic page-a-day calendar with a picture of a different fabulous shoe each day!

My birthday tea was supposed to take place the next day, but ended up being postponed to the following Sunday because of the snow.  I was thrilled that some of my gal pals were able to take time away from holiday plans and brave the still rather nasty weather to make it to the Meeker Mansion, and we enjoyed our ladylike tea and a tour of the mansion.  I don't have any pictures of the tea, but I do have to show you the fabulous Mad Men dress that I wore for the event.

It makes me feel just like Betty Draper.  Except without all of the crazy and the alcohol/cigarette dependency...

The Holidays
We spent Christmas Eve at Lori's house, eating good food, spending time with great people, and playing a down and dirty game of Scene It? Squabble, boys versus girls.  I always love spending time with Lori and her family because they always do such a great job of making sure that we feel included and like we really are a part of the family.  Christmas morning we woke up and did our standard stockings, breakfast, then presents routine.  It was a totally relaxing day spent with the DVD player going and amazing food just appearing before me from time to time when Chef Colby was inspired.  We got some great deals at the seafood counter on Christmas Eve, so throughout the day our entrees consisted of shrimp, crab cakes, and salmon.  Yummo!

I gave Colby Cranium WOW! and a new lens for his camera that he's been playing with ever since, so I think those gifts went over well.  Highlights of my Christmas goodies included all three seasons of Arrested Development (How had I never seen this show?  HILARIOUS!!) and my spiffy new Marc Jacobs watch (also on my wish list), both from Colby, some beautiful Banana Republic tops from my parents, and a gorgeous Manolo Blahnik coffee table book from one of my favorite girls, Shani.  We were totally spoiled on Christmas morning, and even though we missed being away from our families, it was still a wonderful day.

New Year's Eve was much quieter than last year's craziness.  We went to dinner at a yummy pizzeria and then saw Marley & Me where I proceeded to sob my freaking eyes out.  I wasn't the least bit surprised since I had a pretty identical reaction to the book, but I thought I might be able to retain some semblance of composure.  Yeah.  No.  New Year's Day we spent rooted to the couch while I subjected Colby to hour after hour of The Twilight Zone marathon on SciFi.

And that pretty much wraps up December and my musings on 2008.  I'm ready to look forward to the future and have a lot to say about 2009, but right now the dogs are crying and Gossip Girl awaits, so the new year is just going to have to wait around for another day or so until I'm ready to tackle all of those thoughts.  Ciao for now!

2008 Was Pretty Great

Well, how about that, another year has gone by and looking back on it, I really can't find too much to complain about.  It's a bit strange how last New Year's Eve can seem simultaneously like it was a million years ago and like it was just yesterday.  2008 will probably always hold a pretty special place in my heart.  It was the first full year I ever spent as a married lady.  The first time I'd crossed the pond since college.  The year of the most romantic and magical honeymoon a girl could imagine, as well as the first time I experienced the deployment of my husband.  Friendships deepened with the girls I've met here in Washington, and I had wonderful experiences with friends who live too far away.  I felt the elation of being published as well as the confidence in choosing a careerpath and taking the steps to achieve my goal.  I've definitely hit some rough patches with this here blog, but I'm so glad that I have it as a way to look back on my year and remember the things that otherwise would have probably slipped my mind ages ago.  So, now for my annual year in review--here are the reviews for 2006 and 2007 if you're interested.  I generally take the first sentence from the first post of each month, but for my 2008 review I'll do the first couple of sentences to give them a little more context, and I'm skipping the very first post of the year, because that was last year's review.

January: I've never been really big on New Year's resolutions.  In fact, I just went back in my archives to see if I even made resolutions last year.  Answer: I did not. (And lo, my resolutions lasted for a few months before I was well and truly over them.  I think I have a couple of good ones for this year though, but more on that later.)

February: So, check out what came in the mail the other day: It's my story!  In an actual, real life, published book!  A book that somebody in the world might have decided was worth the exchange of their very own hard earned money! (I still smile when I think about that little story that could.  It only took me six years to work up the nerve to send it out for publication--with a record like that, I could be looking at a published novella in about two decades!)

March: Went to a new cupcake shop that just opened in our cute little downtown main street.  I decided on a vanilla cupcake with chocolate frosting, and Colby had a chocolate cupcake with vanilla frosting.  Clearly, I have failed spectacularly at my Lenten promise. (I think this marked the beginning of my This Weekend I... posts.  I should really bring those back--I should really also go get a cupcake...)

April: Supervisor IM:  I'm writing your going away email right now.  What should I tell people you'll be doing next?

Angela IM:  Hm.  Maybe just something along the lines of "pursuing job opportunities closer to home."

Angela IM:  Oh, and catching up on daytime soaps!

No response from Supervisor

Angela IM:  Just kidding...

Supervisor:  Okay, so I can highlight your commute time? (Snort. This still makes me laugh.  Oh man, I don't miss that job.  I miss seeing Becky on a regular basis, but not that job...  The two weeks off for Christmas was nice though!)

May: Damn, I seriously suck at blogging regularly when I'm not chained to a desk from 9-5 every week day. (A theme that has continued through the rest of the year, because seriously, blogging IS hard when you're not chained to a desk all day!)

June: This weekend was our big girls night out for the Sex and the City, and it really was a fabulous experience. (I just watched this movie again the other night, and I think I loved the movie even more the second time through.  And Lord, those clothes are just... AMAZING!  I'm sure this DVD will be on a pretty high rotation in our household when Colby is away on trips.)

July: Dear Typepad,Things have been distant between us lately.  I know it.  You know it.  There's no sense in pretending that we haven't hit a rough patch.  I know that I've been ignoring you, spending very little time at home with you and then on the few occasions when I have turned on my computer, glancing guiltily at your button there on my favorites toolbar and then navigating over to my class website or Facebook. (Well, yeah, things are still pretty much the same there--I still read a bunch of blogs, but I just don't comment like I used to, and I definitely don't blog like I used to. But hey, I posted four times in July... and six times in December--that's an improvement, right!?)

August: Somehow, over a week has passed since my last post.  I do not understand where the time is going and how the days could possibly be flying by so quickly while simultaneously dragging on endlessly.  In the words of Confucius, "Time is a sneaky, sneaky bitch." (More bitching about blogging--Jesus, Angela, shut up!  It's a wonder anyone reads this stupid website anymore!)

September: Hey, remember when I was being haunted by a numismatist from the great beyond a few months ago?  I think he (or she) might be back, and this time has more than coins on the mind. (That dang ghost... I wonder if he or she will do anything to increase our property value?)

October: Y'all, I am so tired this week.  I'm not particularly sure why, but I can tell you that I come home from work, stare blankly at the tv for a little while, stare blankly at the computer for a little while, and then try to remember to feed the dogs before I fall asleep.  What I'm saying here is that not only is this Hills recap a little late, but it's also probably total crap. (Oh, Hills recaps, I kind of miss you guys!  Turns out though, that I really stopped liking the show when it meant I had to put all of that extra effort into it.  So, now I just mock it silently in my own head.  Much more enjoyable that way!)

November: I know I have so much to catch you all up on, but I had to come out of blog hibernation today to marvel at the fact that exactly one year ago, I woke up early in the morning to the sound of raindrops to... (GET MARRIED!!!  Also, holy crap, that is the ONLY thing I posted in November.  What have I been doing these past few months?  I have NO IDEA, because I didn't write about any of it...)

December: So, November pretty much kicked my hindquarters.  November was the lion and I was the unicorn, and it resoundly beat the crap out of me all about the town.  Things started off fine and dandy.  October drew to a close with a splendid Halloween celebration involving a limousine, copious amounts of liquor, dancing, and the company of good friends. (So, that explains November... still not quite sure what I DID to become so tired, but maybe I can reflect more upon that in 2009.)

And there you have it--the jist of my 2008.  I've got a lot to say about where I think 2009 might go, and where I hope we might go, and hopefully I'll make a little time in my life to get back to this here blog.  I hope that you all had a splendid New Year's Eve and are enjoying our entry in to 2009.  Enjoy it, because this is the last year that we will be able to purchase these stylish accessories:

Sing Out, Louise!

Today was supposed to be our little before and after school care Christmas performance.  I pulled together a bunch of sweet Christmas poems and five Christmas carols and the kids have been practicing and decorating the stage (where our child care is conveniently located) and yesterday things got a little tense as we all realized that we were only one day away from the play and we still hadn't made it all the way through a rehearsal without a stop.  I was nervous because we weren't able to get a microphone from the school, and while the kids seemed excited about doing the play, when it actually became a reality their nerves were getting the best of them and I could barely hear their soft little voices over the hum of the gym air conditioning and buzzing of the fluorescent lights.  My directorial patience was tried as I tried to keep practices going when the lure of Legos and markers was only inches away, and I felt a little swell of pride when we made it all the way through an acapella version of Silent Night.

Then, this morning I woke up and logged onto the school report website to discover that school had been canceled in our district because of snow.  On the one hand, I feel a little sense of relief.  There is a pretty high degree of possibility that the show would have been an absolute catastrophe--I honestly had no idea there were so many verses to learn in Up on the Housetop for one thing--but the kids have been talking about a Christmas performance since Thanksgiving and it makes me sad that I wasn't able to deliver on it.  And quite frankly, I think the world was looking forward to my directorial debut!

Of course, all of those thoughts ran through my head in the five minutes it took me to dry my hair after the shower I'd already taken and then crawl back into bed to sleep for another four hours.  Since then I've done a bit of homework--all I have left is one paper before I finish my third class and then have two weeks off for the holidays--cleaned the kitchen, and watched Love, Actually and Britney caroling on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.  Quite frankly, as much as I hate the snow itself (that actually turned to rain around 10 am), I could get used to this whole snow day thing.

And if you're wanting to see a little snow, here are some pictures from our very cold and snowy (but beautiful!!) day in Leavenworth.  I don't think my feet have ever been as frozen as they were when we got back in the car to go home.  I was seriously worried about frostbite for about ten minutes there.

Just a pretty farm house we passed on the way.  I thought it looked like it should be on a Christmas card.

Colby made fun of my umbrella until I explained to him that snow is just frozen rain, justifying the use of an umbrella.  Then he still made fun of me.

The prettiest Santa I've ever seen.  I told him he was lovely because I thought that sounded more masculine.  Colby laughed at me.  Noticing a trend?

Did I mention that it was cold?  And that I almost fell down about nineteen times?

Warming up with peppermint tea and a hot buttered rum.  I really wanted to like the hot buttered rum, but I wasn't totally won over.

Baked goods and hot chocolate are just more my style.





And the main event--the town lighting.  It was a beautiful lighting ceremony, complete with Christmas carols and a big countdown, and despite the fact that I couldn't feel any of my toes, I really did enjoy our snowy day in Leavenworth.

Oh, and Colby was there too!

So, that's been about all of the excitement around these parts lately.  My birthday presents have started trickling in--so far a gift card to Nordstrom (SCORE!) and a mystery text from my parents about a gift that will arrive some time in February and then once a month after that for two years.  I'm thinking Puppy of the Month club?  I'm doing a snow dance for another snow day tomorrow and the forecast is looking promising, then this weekend birthday celebrations will kick into high gear with a schmancy dinner at Matt's in the Market followed by a performance of the Nutcracker, and then a high tea with friends on Sunday afternoon as long as the wintery weather doesn't interfere.  I'm so excited about presents and tasty food that I don't even care that I'll be officially well past the hump of the "early 20's" and embarking on my journey into the later years.  I have a feeling they won't be so awful, but that's another post for another day.  For now I'm going to enjoy my last few days of 25 and enjoy the rest of this wonderful day off!

Ugh

I'm probably the only person in the world who is NOT dreaming of a white Christmas.  No, scratch that, I'm certain my mom is not dreaming of a white Christmas.  So, yeah, me and my mom, not dreaming of a white Christmas.  Do you know why?  BECAUSE SNOW KILLS!  And also it's really fecking cold.

We're supposed to be heading back to Leavenworth, Washington tomorrow for the Christmas tree lighting.  I've been looking forward to this trek all year as it's supposed to be one of the most beautiful Christmas towns in the country.

This is the forecast for tomorrow:

 

The only silver lining I can find to this is that at least we'll already be on our way back home, battling certain death by snow and ice, by the time it gets to the "Feels like 9 degrees" portion of the day.

I'm off to locate my long underwear and every scarf I own.

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

I just love Christmas.  For a lot of reasons really.  I love how it's a season all about showing people how much you love them.  I love getting Christmas cards from people near and far, and being updated on the lives of those I don't get t spend as much time with as I'd like.  I love the nativity story and how this is the one time of year that I don't get all doubty and skeptical about religion.  I love the traditions of hanging stockings and decorating the tree with family and I love picking out and wrapping gifts.

And let's be really honest, I like presents.  And between my birthday and Christmas, I have two present occasions within five days of each other.  What's not to love about that?

Both Colby and my mom have been not so subtly asking for and reminding me to give them my Christmas list, so I put a little post together with a few of my favorite things.  Because, if Oprah can do it, so can I.  Words to live by, I think.

For some reason, I never hesitate to impulse buy things things like clothes, makeup, and books, but I very rarely buy any movies.  I happened to go to Target last week when they were offering up seasons 1-6 of Gilmore Girls for $15 each so of course I had to snap up a few of those, but that was definitely the exception rather than the rule, so there are all kinds of DVDs that I'm constantly wishing I had and then not buying.  Like these for example:

Anne of Green Gables: The Collection
Sex and the City (the movie)
Enchanted
The X-Files: The Complete Collector's Edition

Cinderella
The Little Mermaid
Alice in Wonderland
Sleeping Beauty

The King and I
Sweeney Todd
My Fair Lady
The Sound of Music
Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella

Now, just because I'm always buying clothes and accessories for myself, that doesn't mean that there aren't things that I still want and can't justify as easily as a silky, purple top from Target.  And with winter settling in for it's loooong stay in Washington, I am a really big fan of having a lot of cozy, warm outfits.

Soia & Kyo Double Breasted Leather Trench (XS)

Soia & Kyo Empire Seam Jacket (XS)

Banana Republic 3/4-Sleeve Belted Sweater Dress (XS)

Tahari by Arthur S. Levine Sweater Dress (XS)

And for some fun accessories to wear with my warm and toasty winter outfits, what more could a girl want but to smell good, have a great looking bag, and of course, be punctual?

Marc by Marc Jacobs "Molly" Round Dial Metal Watch
(Fun fact: I have not owned a non-sporty watch in over three years?  How sad is that??)

Coach Op Art Sabrina Brass/Khaki
(The one I really wanted was the graphic orange, white and grey print, but it's no longer available.  And THIS is why I support impulse buys!)

L'Occitane Jasmine Eau de Parfum Travel Set

This list could probably go on and on forever and ever, because as it turns out, not a whole lot has changed since my epic lists to Santa of days gone by, but I think this gives a pretty good overview of my heart's desires.  So, hopefully this doesn't leave Santa's elves with a whole lot of confusion or bankruptcy, and honestly, I promise to love anything anyone decides to bestow upon me, especially if it is this:

Thinking About Just Hibernating This Winter

So, November pretty much kicked my hindquarters.  November was the lion and I was the unicorn, and it resoundly beat the crap out of me all about the town.  Things started off fine and dandy.  October drew to a close with a splendid Halloween celebration involving a limousine, copious amounts of liquor, dancing, and the company of good friends.

November commenced with my decision to accept the promotion and take the child care site director position which came with a sizeable raise and additional hours and just a few days later, Colby returned home from his deployment.  That day also brought with it Illness #1 of the month, a cold which dragged out over the next two weeks as we spent a weekend in a charming bed and breakfast in Leavenworth, WA and then entertained house guests for the next week.

Then I was informed that there were some fairly sordid activities going on right beneath my very nose at work, and I'm still not sure if I should talk about them publicly, but suffice to say that a lot of children got some very Serious Talking Tos by a lot of Very Important People and Angela had the joy of being interviewed by those same Very Important People.  The situation seems to have been defused, but it will certainly be hanging over my head for a long time to come.

Upon the departure of our house guests, we planned to have a romantic evening in the city to celebrate our anniversary, plans that were postponed by the arrival of our good friend rotavirus.  Colby was taken out on Saturday, and I took my time following suit, but surrendered to Illness #2 of the month by Tuesday morning.  The next two days I spent moaning on the couch, willing my body to just give in and die already, and that is the story of our disappearing Thanksgiving holiday.  I celebrated the pilgrims arrival in and subsequent rape of this New World with a packet of saltines, some ginger ale and a black cherry popsicle.

By Friday morning I was feeling a bit more human, but by the time bedtime rolled around I could already feel that familiar ache in my throat and I woke up Saturday morning with yet another cold, bringing the Illness count up to three for the month.  So yeah, while November had its high points, it is with a happy heart that I bid it adieu and welcome December with open arms.

Of course, it's not off to the greatest of starts as yesterday my alarm clock failed me and this morning I woke up with the voice of a 60-year smoker, but there is still Christmas and my birthday to balance the scales, so I have high hopes for the month over all.  My house smells like cinnamon, the stockings are hung by the chimney with care, and Christmas tree number two is going up this evening, so I'm already feeling better about life.  I'm going to try to be more present around here, but if I've learned one thing, it's that when I'm not sitting in front of a desk all day every day, it's best not to make too many promises about publishing entries and keeping up with my reader.

Fashion Dilemma: Halloween Edition

Halloween is approaching rapidly, and I'm trying to put together the finishing touches on my flapper costume.  I have the main pieces pulled together, but am still waiting for my back-seamed stockings to arrive and need a couple of other little accessories, which is where you, my favorite readers in the world come in.

First question, I need a bold red lipstick, but I'm having trouble finding a shade that is less five dollar hooker and more Thoroughly Modern Millie.  Keeping my coloring in mind (pale and... pale), does anyone have any suggestions for the perfect red?

Second question, a shoe dilemma.  Here is the dress I'm wearing:

And here are my shoe options:

A) Black Gemma

B) Brown Regina










I'm torn, because I think that the black shoes are a little more dressy, plus they match the black feather in the headband, but the brown shoes have a very nice vintagey feel to them and are a pretty neutral brown.  So, seriously, if I'm going to give Daisy Buchanan a run for her money on Friday night, I really need your help!

This Weekend I...

... Successfully gave my two weeks notice on Friday.  My boss was incredibly understanding, and made the whole thing so much easier for me than I would have expected.  Now I have two weeks left to go before I'm gallivanting around Italy and no longer collecting a paycheck.  I haven't started to regret my decision yet, but there was a very large man overflowing into my seat on the train this morning, so that might have something to do with it.


... Went to dinner at Can Can to celebrate Colby's birthday, and fell absolutely in love with burlesque!  I really hate the idea of strip clubs, but for some reason when you add French music and red lighting, the whole thing becomes so much more classy!  It also helped that these guys and girls were incredibly talented dancers and acrobats.  I'm ready to go back for another show!

...Loved the music that was played during the Kabaret Verboten, specifically this song by Rasputina.  This video doesn't do it justice, but all of us at our table were cracking up from the very beginning.

...  Had a wonderful Easter dinner at Lori's house, followed up by a viewing of Michael Clayton.  I find this self congratulatory poster for the movie interesting, because we pretty much universally hated the movie.  Gorgeous George there was really the only redeeming quality.  Imagine Erin Brokovich without the boobs, emotional involvement, and sense of self mockery, and you've got Michael Clayton.

... Made myself sick from eating far too much Easter candy.  Apparently I've lost my tolerance for Dove chocolate eggs, and am suffering from a pretty serious sugar hangover today.

I hope you had a very Hoppy Easter, and hopefully spring is well on its way for all of us now!

Testing... Again

Friday was going so well... I managed to give my two weeks notice without dissolving into tears, we had our monthly company happy hour which meant free drinks, and Can Can for Colby's birthday was amazing.  Then we got home and I discovered that my blog had broken.  After 36 hours of trying every tech solution under the sun, things appear to have righted themselves, so now I'm just making sure this posts properly before I go get ready for Easter dinner.

Fingers crossed!!

And of course, Happy Easter!  I hope you're getting to eat more Reese's Peanut Butter Easter Eggs than I am.  (Current count: 0)

Deep Breaths In.... and Out...

I need to find a pillow so that I can scream into it desperately for the next five minutes or so.  Maybe then I'll feel a little bit better.

I'm giving my notice at work today.  I have my resignation letter all typed up, and I've spent the past 24 hours rehearsing my speech in my head in the hopes that my propensity to word vomit won't overcome me while I'm meeting with my boss.  I just really hope that we're all able to part on good terms, and no one harbors any resentment toward me for not sticking this out longer.

Confrontation.  It is not my favorite.  My method for breaking up with a boys or ending friendships has always been to just stop calling in the hopes that eventually they would get the message.  Horrible?  Yes.  Do I still really wish that were an option with my job right now?  Absolutely.

So now I'm just sitting in my chair, shaking like a leaf from a combination of nerves and the lack of heat in our office, waiting for my boss to get here so that I can set up a little meeting with her for early this afternoon.  Oh please God, let me get this over with!

Additionally, I have still not been able to figure out what the heck is going on with my domain registration.  I bought the URL through Wordpress, and I've attempted to contact them with my questions twice and haven't heard anything back yet.  I'm starting to get the idea that wickedlyscarlett.com is gone for good--or at least the next year--and that makes me sad, because I'd already formed a deep attachment to it.  We had all kinds of plans for the future together, and now they're all coming to pieces.  I will not be ignored, Wordpress!

But all is not lost.  There is still the prospect of Colby's birthday dinner tonight, and I feel confident that a well made cocktail could help pull me from the depths of despair.  And of course, Easter has managed to sneak up on me once again, and we've made plans to go over to my pretend mom's house on Sunday to celebrate the day that Jesus rose from the dead and rabbits customarily hide eggs.

If I can only get through the rest of this day without throwing up or hurling my computer against a wall, I think I might be off to the start of a rather pleasant weekend.  Here's hoping!!

This Weekend I...

...Became obsessed with Jon and Kate Plus 8.  I alternated between feeling maternal twinges and abject horror at the concept of having six infants, never mind one!

...Smiled at the beauty of the irises in my Valentine's Day bouquet finally blossoming.  The striking orange daisies finally met their fate in the garbage can this morning, but the yellow lilies have now begun to bloom.

...Finished twenty-five wedding gift thank you notes before I realized that I didn't have enough stamps or return address labels.  I ordered new return address labels, effectively giving myself a 3-7 day extension!

...Edited the first fifty six pages of my story and wrote another 4,000 words.

...Vacuumed, dusted, and washed and folded EIGHT loads of laundry.

...Sighed and swooned over the tempestuous love affair between Lizzie and Darcy.  I love the Keira Knightly version of P&P, but the BBC classic just never gets old!

How was your weekend?

Valentine's Day Optimism

I held the giant hairbrush in my hand and belted out the words to "Strawberry Wine", Melissa stood behind me, a hair straightener held to her lips, my backup vocals.  The other girls sat on the beds, giggling and singing along to the chorus.  When the song was over, we collapsed to the floor, laughing hysterically, reaching for the bright red Bartles & James Strawberry Daiquiris.  It was Valentine's Day during my freshman year in college, and we were all together, single and loving it.  The fluorescent lighting flickered overhead, and the radio was blaring the mixed cd we'd labored over earlier in the day.

We talked about going out, but every time we decided to go, a new, better song would come on and we were forced against our wills to dance around the dorm room, screeching the lyrics and opening more wine coolers.

"Who do you want to be your Valentine?" Melissa asked pointedly, a sly grin crossing her face.

I shrugged my shoulders and blushed mightily.

"I bet you want Colby to be your Valentine!" she crowed, and my embarrassed giggling said it all.

Two years later, I was sitting across the table from Colby at a bustling Italian restaurant.  It was our second date and I was still in awe of the fact that he had asked me to be his Valentine.  I'm pretty sure I ate fettuccine alfredo, but I honestly don't remember a thing about that night aside from where we ate and how bummed I was that my carefully curled hair was stick straight by dessert.

The next year, my senior year in college, we returned to the same Italian restaurant.  We had celebrated our one year anniversary the weekend before, and I would be lying if I said I wasn't keeping my fingers crossed for a romantic proposal.  (What can I say, I'm from the deep south, when I got married last year at 24, I was practically an old maid.)

That was our last Valentine's Day together.  Over the next few years, the distance, a brief but heartbreaking split up, and a deployment all conspired to keep us apart.  This year I was thrilled that we were finally living under the same roof, that we would be celebrating our first Valentine's Day as a married couple.  That we would be celebrating five years of unforgettable Valentine's Days.  Today, Colby is on the other side of the country, where he's been since last Friday, awaiting a possible, but unlikely deployment.

If I'm being totally honest, I'll admit that I'm disappointed.  We were hoping that tomorrow we would be flying to New York City to visit friends, see Rent before it closes, spend our weekend wandering the streets of Manhattan.  So, of course, I wish that things could be different.  But then I would be wishing for another life.  When I started dating Colby all of those years ago, when I waved him off as he drove away from home and started pilot training, when I stood in the audience and clapped as he got his wings and then his assignment to a far corner of the country, when I promised to love him for all of the days of my life, this is the life I willingly accepted.

I will never be happy to see him leave for two weeks or four months or a year.  I will always cry a little bit that first night, and rage against the Air Force when they use so little common sense in their logistics.  But I will always be fiercely proud of him and what he does for his country every single day.  I will always support him from near as well as afar and I recognize that I will probably spend more hours talking to him on the phone than sharing dinner table conversation.

Our holidays will often be spent apart, or rearranged to fit our schedules.  And this probably won't be the last Valentine's Day that I spend home alone watching Love, Actually.  But even still, I would choose this life of uncertainty and belated holidays with him in it before I would ever choose a life without him.  I will never consider myself anything but the luckiest girl alive to have found this gem of a man who is my Valentine every day of the year.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Mardi Gras Mambo, Down in New Orleans

But in Seattle it's cold, grey, and rainy.

If I had to choose one time of year to go back home, it would without a doubt be Mardi Gras weekend.  I've gotten old enough that the thought of partying on Bourbon on Lundi or Mardi Gras is enough to make me want to pass out from exhaustion, but the feeling of joyousness and debauchery in Southern Louisiana on Mardi Gras weekend each year is infectious. 

How I miss standing in the elements all day to watch the gorgeous parades, throwing elbows so that you can catch that perfect strand of (admittedly worthless) plastic beads, walking up and down St. Charles with a watered down Hurricane in one hand and a Hand Grenade in the other, debating between running for shelter from the flying golden coconuts or risking life and limb to catch one, searching high and low for a public bathroom when you just can't hold it anymore, getting lost in the warehouse district because you can't find parking, the smell from the exhaust of truck after truck hauling around benevolent drunk people, and the endless slices of king cake.  Oh, the king cake!  I'm getting all misty eyed over here.

It's just a part of what makes Louisiana so special.  I spent so much of my life desperate to get out of the South and experience other parts of the world, that I never appreciated just how amazing the place I grew up was.  Where else in this country are the people granted a legal holiday just so they can go get drunk and gorge themselves on delicious food in preparation for the solemnity of Ash Wednesday?  I was shocked when I got out of school and discovered that the rest of the world still had to go to work and school on the Monday and Tuesday before Lent began.

So, today I'm celebrating in my own way--already this morning I've had a delicious chocolate cupcake and a full fat, whipped cream topped, venti hot chocolate from Starbucks.  Before the day is out I plan to have had a chocolate chip and M&M cookie from Subway, a package of Reese's Peanut Butter cups, a pint of ice cream and if I can find one, a Cherry Chocolate Dr. Pepper.  I'm hoping that this will be enough to tide me over for the next forty days, as I'm giving up anything dessert related for Lent.  No chocolate, no cake, no cookies, no ice cream for the next forty days. 

I didn't realize until just a few years ago that giving up an item for Lent is a predominantly Catholic ritual.  It seems as though almost everyone back home observed Lent in that way, and though I've abandoned the practice for the past couple of years, I'm ready to go back to my roots.

It would just be so much easier if only I could scream out "Throw me something, Mister!" and get a long string of faux pearls before the end of the day!

Holiday Post-Mortem

Ah Christmas, it seems as though it was oh so long ago.

Oh wait.  That's because IT WAS.  I just really don't understand why it's so hard for me to take the time to plug in the cord and download pictures from our cameras.  But anyway, I finally got around to it last night, so the time has come for my Christmas and New Year review.

As you may remember, I wasn't incredibly excited for the holidays this year.  I was coming off of the wedding high, I was going to be away from my family for Christmas for the first time, and I was skeptical about how fun Christmas could actually be with only two people participating in the festivities.  Let me tell you though, it was actually really fun!  So fun in fact that I lobbied hard to cancel on going over to a friend's house Christmas night because I was enjoying just being curled up in my pajamas on the couch watching Christmas movies.  From Colby, I got the fabulous Malan Breton bag from my Christmas wish list, as well as Ratatouille, which I'd never seen before but ended up loving.  I got Colby a Nikon D40 to replace his super busted, screen cracked, rubberbanded together digital camera, but because this is the way my life works, I ordered it a few weeks before Christmas with 4-6 day delivery and we got it on the 26th.

 
(Ack, it's me with no makeup!  Shield your eyes!  Except for the purse.  Would you look at the awesomeness of that purse?  I can fit a book, umbrella, huge wallet, and mountains of random crap in there and it still looks all shiny and beautiful and stylish.  Love it.)

So, in the end, yay Christmas.  Christmas, by the way is officially not over since we're still getting presents and cards in the mail almost every day.  So, this entry is still entirely relevant.

New Year's was pretty much a total blast.  I drank so many martinis and Mai Tais that I was practically swimming in rum and vodka.  But it was SUCH GOOD rum and vodka.  And I was still totally and completely able to stand on my own two feet when we went outside to watch the fireworks.  Which?  Sucked.  Apparently there was some kind of computer malfunction with the show, and so we stood there perplexed as the minutes ticked by without any booms and flashes, and then became even more disgruntled when all we saw were the fireworks pictured below.  A friend told me that eventually they got the show going manually and it got a little better, but by that point our friends were practically passed out on the street and we decided to go ahead and get them home.

As you can see from that last picture, when we got home I decided to not only feed the dogs, but sit on the floor and give them positive affirmations and encouragement as they ate.  I am the best drunk dog mom in the world.

2008 Resolutions

I've never been really big on New Year's resolutions.  In fact, I just went back in my archives to see if I even made resolutions last year.  Answer: I did not.  Actually I said almost exactly what I just said: I don't really do New Year's resolutions.

It's not because I feel like they're depressing and I'm just setting myself up for failure.  I'm a big believer in goals and I often set short distance goals for myself throughout the year--NaBloPoMo was a big one, as was my weight loss/fitness challenge over the summer.  I've never really been able to think of any big year-long resolutions that needed planning out and starting afresh at the beginning of a calendar year.

But for some reason, this year is different.  There are things that I would very much like to do this year that I think could really have a very large impact on my own life and the lives of others around me.  So, without further preamble, here are my resolutions for 2008 and my plan of attack for achieving them.

1)  Remember to send cards for birthdays/anniversaries in a timely manner (within one week of the appropriate date).

I love to get mail, don't you?  I mean, mail other than the seemingly endless supply of Val-Pak coupons, Safeway fliers, JCrew catalogs, and bills.  I particularly love receiving pretty cards in the mail for my birthday.  I assume the rest of the world enjoys that same occasion of opening an envelope and finding a brightly colored, oftentimes sparkly card just for them.  So, of course, I always feel terrible when I realize two months after the fact that I completely forgot to send a card to mark the milestone event that has taken place in the life of someone I love in any special way.  I feel that this makes me, if not a rotten friend or family member, at least a rather thoughtless one.  And I don't want to be thoughtless.  But I am ready to admit that I need help.  My brain is no longer the steel trap that once it was, and it's time to make use of little reminders that could help me be successful in this resolution.

A couple of years ago, my mom got me a great little card organizer box with a bunch of dividers in it that say things like "Birthday", "Engagement", "Wedding", "Illness", etc.  So, over my next few trips to the grocery store, I'm planning to stock up on a bunch of cute cards to keep on hand, filed for their various occasions, focusing mainly on birthdays and anniversaries since those seem to be the most frequent events.  I ordered this perpetual calendar to keep all of the dates in one place, and I think I'll hang it on the wall near the pantry, since I seem to spend a lot of my time there.  It just occurred to me that I can also buy a few gift cards to keep in the box as well and then I can just stick those in the cards of the friends and family with whom I exchange gifts.

This probably seems like a fairly minor and ridiculously easy goal to successfully accomplish, but I'm notoriously terrible about correspondence, so to me it's a very important habit to create.

2) Limit all clothing/beauty product purchases and work lunches to $300 a month.

Colby and I are planning to combine finances in the next month or so, and quite frankly it's something that I'm very nervous about.  I'm a bit... lax when it comes to my financial awareness and budgeting, whereas it seems that for the past couple of years Colby has squirreled away every extra penny.  And that's great.  I mean, my left hand ring finger and I really appreciate it, just as I appreciate the roof over my head and bills that are paid each month on a regular basis.  But it's time for me to grow up, stop just appreciating it, and actually contribute something other than a constant parade of fabulous shoes to our household.

I settled on the amount of $300 because I'm expecting this amount to cover everything from a sandwich from Quizno's, to getting my hair done, to a new pair of jeans, to my Proactiv deliveries.  If I can keep it well below $300, even better.  Honestly, there's no reason that I should be spending more than that each month, but I blame a lot of it on the boredom relieving qualities of online shopping.  That $10 shirt from Old Navy may seem like a really great deal, but when you combine it with six other great deals, it's alarming how quickly the deals start to add up.

I always keep a notebook in my purse, so I'm just going to start keeping track of my purchases every time I make them by writing down what I bought and how much it cost.  Once I hit $300, I'm done.  It doesn't matter how much I'm lusting over a pair of shoes or how much I need a new bottle of shampoo.  I already have a zillion pairs of shoes in my closet that can tide me over to the next month, and there are plenty of bottles of "back up" shampoo in my bathroom cabinet.

Not only will this go a long way to helping me save money, but I think it will be a great exercise for me in prioritizing.  For example, this month I'm getting my hair cut and colored, so maybe I'll be able to buy a bottle of foundation and a couple of hot chocolates at Starbucks, but that's it for the month.  Then, if I still really need a new pair of tights or a new sweater, I can reassess in February.

I'm very interested to see how much my level of spending changes when I'm keeping a closer eye on it than when I'm just randomly buying every good deal I come across.  After reviewing past credit card statements, I really do think this is a very attainable goal with just a little bit of restraint and a teensy bit of deprivation.

Of course, I'm still working out whether I want to hold myself to this resolution in April while we're in Italy.  I really had my heart set on some beautiful Italian leather goods, so maybe I could file some of those purchases under "honeymoon spending"!

Sneaking Back in For 2008

Well, how about that--I thought I'd give myself a couple of days off from blogging and it turned into a nearly two week long hiatus.  I have so many stories and pictures to share from our amazing holiday, so let's just pretend, over the next few days, that Christmas wasn't over a week ago and New Year's Eve stories are still vaguely relevant.  Today I'm going to stick with my tried and true method for a 2007 year in review and take the first sentence from the first blog entry I wrote each month.  It's been such an incredibly busy, life-changing, and wonderful year, I can't wait to look back over it!

January:  Well guys and gals, it's time to start getting used to writing yet another year on your checks! (It is so weird that I wrote that a year ago, because I remember writing this entry.  Heavens this year flew by...)

February:  I would like to begin by saying that yesterday was a cold, rainy day, and I received a phone call at 6:45 telling me that the wing commander had released a delayed reporting time of 10:00. (February was a hectic month of moving, and just one week after I wrote this entry I officially separated from the Active Duty Air Force, packed up my apartment in Arkansas, and headed to my parents' house where I lived for a month while waiting for Colby to come home from his deployment.)

March:  Update:  Colby is officially back on US soil, so hooray for that! It'll still be a week before I see him, but now I can pester him with phone calls constantly!  (And Colby did arrive in Louisiana a week later, surprising the ever living crap out of me by showing up at my house three hours before I was supposed to be meeting him at the airport.  That month we had two marvelous parties thrown in honor of our upcoming wedding and we spent four days traveling across the country for our second Louisiana to Washington drive in just over a year.)

April:  This is going to be a short post because Colby is leaving this weekend for a 10 day trip and we've still got about five million things to do before then including paint a room, wash dogs, mow, and figure out the damn TiVo.  (This was the first deployment that Colby left for since we crossed the threshold of our lovely yellow house.  The lovely yellow house that I promised pictures of way back then and still haven't produced.  But all the rooms are painted now!  And we just have a few more windows to buy curtains for!  So maybe it will happen in 2008!)

May:  I have nothing to wear.  (I finally got my closet cleaned out and a lovely summer/spring wardrobe in place, just in time for the clouds to roll in, the temperatures to drop, and now I'm bemoaning my desperate lack of clothing appropriate for a 15 minute walk each morning in freezing rain.  Thank God for after Christmas sales--because really, this dress was an absolute winter necessity.  As was this one.)

June:  When it comes up in conversation that I am currently unemployed, so many people make the typical envious comments, but then quickly add the fact that they couldn't handle the boredom, that it would drive them crazy. (My God, how I miss being unemployed.  I was always well rested, the laundry got done, the dishes typically ended up in the dishwasher, and the house wasn't always a total disaster area.  Sob.  Also, as this was the month that the Wednesday Wedding Weigh-ins began, I was a total superwoman when it came to regular workouts.  I really miss my running.)

July:  My God, my titles are atrocious.  (Hey!  That's still true!!  I never have been good at titles...)

August:  I haven't fallen off the face of the earth... yet!  (August was a fairly eventful month--we had a number of fun social events, another fun wedding shower, this here blog turned the big two years old, I thought about buying myself some boobs, and I got a job in the big city.)

September:  I got home last night at 10:30 after 12 hours of airport exposure and have spent all day today prostrate on the couch, only heaving myself up for necessary bathroom breaks, to forage for food, and to blow my nose since I appear to have been infected with the Airport Crud. (I spent the rest of the month recapping my awesome NYC bachelorette party, with little vignettes on re-entering the world of the working woman.)

October:  So, I have been utterly exhausted this week, which is a great opener to talk about our last day in New York since it can be summed up thusly: 1) Exhausted, 2) Pumpkin Pancakes 3) Drowsy, 4) Chocolate Milkshake, 5) Really tired, 6) Rice Pudding.  (A month after returning home from my NYC trip I FINALLY stopped talking about it and instead focused on beginning to freak out about wedding plans.)

November:  November 1st.  The first day of NaBloPoMo.  (Okay, well, that's two sentences, but I feel like November was a month worthy of two sentences in my recap.  I love reading through all of the entries from November, and just cannot begin to say how incredibly glad I am that I managed to successfully post every day and really put that month in a sort of time capsule for myself.  I get the warm fuzzies reading the posts now, and can only imagine how glad I will have that little collection of wedding memories in years to come.)

December:  The morning of November 24, 2007 at nine o'clock in the morning, my alarm clock went off, heralding the last day I would wake up as an unmarried girl.  (December was full of wedding reminiscences, holiday preparations, and my 25th birthday.)

2007 really was a remarkably good year, and I wonder if it's even fair to hope that 2008 will be anywhere near as wonderful.  It does have a lot of potential--I already have a trip to visit one of my best friends in her new apartment in San Francisco later this month, two weeks in Italy this April, and the resuming of our Girls at War plotting over the next few weeks after a lengthy break for both myself and Lynn to plan our weddings and move houses a few times!  Of course, 2008 won't be all sunshine and roses.  Colby will be gone for a four month deployment starting in June, and due to absolutely ridiculous airfare and a lack of vacation time after I blow it all on Italy, I don't know if I'll see my sister or parents again before next year's holidays.  But I'm going into this year with a great attitude and plenty of plans.  All I can do beyond that is wait and see what life has in store!

I wish you all a very happy and blessed 2008 and look forward to taking this journey together one step at a time.  Happy New Year!! 

Quarter Century

Twenty five.

I think I can no longer argue the case that I'm not actually in my mid twenties, because "mid" implies "middle" and 24 is a whole solid YEAR before the middle of 20 and 30.  But now, I'm there.  I've hit the mid-twenties and gone up a whole check box on forms.  There's something comforting about still being able to check that 18-24 box with a black pen.  It's very definitely lumping you in there with college aged kids, young things that have just turned 21 and can legally drink, the mature ones who have a year of legalized drinking under their belt and are surprised to find it not nearly as fun as it was two years ago.  Now, I'm in the 25-35 check box.  Categorized amongst the women with high powered careers, women with a herd of beautiful, cherub cheeked children.  I suppose I could choose to view this in a positive light and say, well, at least I'm on the younger end of the spectrum again, but I see it differently.  I see it as leaving that carefree, 18 year old Angela further in the past and moving closer toward "future Angela"--whoever she may be.

It's not depressing, but it's certainly... daunting.

Yesterday was probably the most anti-climactic birthday I've ever had.  When I finally made it into work an hour and a half late, after the train broke down 20 minutes from my office, and I had to catch a bus that was going goodness knows where, and then take a wild guess as to where I should get off the bus, there was banana bread, cinnamon buns, and made to order omelets waiting for me, followed up by a 20 minute professional massage.  So, that was quite lovely. I got a birthday card filled with kind birthday wishes and an iTunes gift card from my coworkers, which is always incredibly nice.  And we had our company holiday party in the evening, complete with decent food, free drinks, and the gift of an iPod Touch for all of the employees.  That was also amazingly nice.

I think the problem lies in the fact is that I was hugely spoiled in my childhood when it came to birthdays.  My mom would always wake us up with a rousing chorus of "Happy Birthday", then, when we emerged from our rooms, the den and the kitchen were covered in balloons, banners, and other excessive birthday decor.  Usually, there was some kind of special breakfast and then a gift to open before school, or if it was the holiday or a weekend, before we began the day's festivities.  When I was younger there was usually a big fun-filled kid-packed birthday party, and as I got older I opted for a dinner out at a favorite restaurant.  When we were done eating, there were always scads of presents to open, followed up by the presentation of a beautiful homemade cake of my request, ablaze with candles to be blown out while everyone sang "Happy Birthday" again.

In short, it was almost always a perfect day, centered entirely around the birthday girl or boy.

It's hard to compete with those kind of memories once you're an adult.  Someone, I think maybe it was wordnerd, made the brilliant comment that it's much easier to have fun when someone else is making the fun FOR you.  It's a little more difficult when creating the fun is up to you.  Colby did what he could--he did wake me up with a somewhat more subdued version of "Happy Birthday" than what I heard in my childhood, but still, the thought was there.  When we eventually dragged ourselves home from the Christmas party, he had a gift waiting for me, even though he'd already bought me this fabulous coat (in black) for my birthday a few months ago, so that I wouldn't freeze to death every morning wearing my Arkansas version of a winter coat.  So, I did get to open at least one gift on my birthday, and now we shall have raging Scrabble tournaments throughout the year, and I'll be able to teach him Extreme Scrabble, which my cousins taught me how to play when I was home for the wedding.

So, it's not that it was a hugely horrible, terrible birthday by any stretch of the imagination, but I think it was certainly my first "adult" birthday.  And in just a few days I'll be having my first "adult" Christmas.  It's so depressing to think about that it almost makes me want to start popping out babies so at least someone will have some fun.  (Kidding, Colby, kidding!)

But our stockings are hung by the chimney with care, we have fun plans for Christmas Eve with Lori and her crew, and if Colby's present would please, for the love of Pete, come in the mail sometime soon, maybe we'll actually have some presents under our tiny, but lovely, little table-top tree.

Today is my last day of work until January 2nd, and since I plan to spend the next 11 days sleeping and going to movies exclusively, my posting and commenting will probably be fairly light.  So, in case I don't get a chance to say it later, I want to wish you all a Merry Christmahannukwanzakah (or a Happy Winter, if none of the aforementioned apply!) and a Happy New Year!  Thanks for sticking it out with me through 2007, and I can't wait to see what 2008 brings for us all!

Taking Care of Business

So, is anyone else as tired of seeing that whiny post down there as I am?  I wanted to post something this weekend to make it be gone, but before I knew what had hit me, it was Sunday night and I was falling asleep on the couch with a pounding headache.  But I'm here now!  And while I'm still feeling mucho exhaustion, I'm feeling much less Grinch-like.

Friday evening I left work a little early so we could go to Colby's work Christmas party.  I was a little Grinchy about that, because seriously, who wants to pay twenty five bucks for a crappy dinner and THEN find out that there's a cash bar?  Where's the Merry Christmas in that?  But there was a huge dessert spread, so I ate my weight in sugar cookies, chocolate candies, and cakes.

I slept like a log that night and didn't open my eyes until 11 o'clock on Saturday.  It was absolutely lovely.  I allowed myself a few hours of vegging out on the couch, and then we got busy cleaning out our kitchen cabinet hand-me-downs and replacing the contents with all of our shiny new wedding presents.

We just unloaded half a garage-full of furniture, clothes, and other random "stuff" to Salvation Army, and it looks like before the end of the year we'll have another quarter of the garage filled and ready to go.  I also designed our Christmas card on Saturday night and finalized our Christmas card list--I got it down under a hundred addresses, but just barely.

Sunday just about killed me again as we braved the shopping centers during the final days of the Christmas rush, but we got tons of fun new pressies for ourselves using gift cards and exchanging duplicate registry items and also got our Christmas shopping almost completely finished.  Colby just has to pick up a few gift cards tonight, and then the next few days will be devoted to wrapping and boxing up presents to ship out and getting the Christmas cards addressed and mailed out.

So, all in all, I feel much more ahead of the game this week than I did on Thursday, and now there are only four more wake-ups standing between me and an 11 day break from work.  Those four days just can't pass quickly enough!!