C’est Halloween… C’est Halloween, Hey!

Blog title: I took French throughout my middle and high school days. Each year in French class, on our Halloween, we sang this cheesy song to a cassette tape and it would inevitably be stuck in my head for hours, days even, after the fact.

I’m not the biggest Hallowen fan for some reason. I’m not good at carving pumpkins. I’m not super-creative when it comes to costumes. I eat chocolate on a regular basis so the idea of trick-or-treating isn’t very exciting (not that I go anymore).

Camping was the plan for this evening but unfortunately TDH has been spinning his wheels on few IT Projects all week, keeping him at the office until close to 9pm each night. He’s been collapsing in an exhausted heap in my arms the last few nights. Anticipating another late night this evening, I called our camping friends and said we show up Saturday morning for a day of wineries and pizza thus ensuring a “free” night for TDH. And hopefully relaxation.  

The plan? No costumes. No trick-or-treaters. Instead we’re getting takeout, building a fire, making smores and watching scary movies. Not sure how far I’ll make it in the scary movie-thon TDH has enthusiastically planned but I’m going to try to watch the movies and avoid shielding my eyes and ears from the gore and screams on the screen.

Happy Halloween!

BOOK GIVEAWAY

Like Books? Like October?
If you answered YES to both of these questions enter to win The Pink Prayer Book today courtesy of Darling.

Don’t think you need the book? Enter to win anyway and then consider giving it to a local church, a breast cancer support group, donating it to a library or leaving it on your coffee table. You never know… it could help someone through a rough patch in their life.

All you have to do to be entered is write five things you like about October as a comment by clicking here and commenting on this post. Go! Enter! NOW!!!!

The Other

My friend KH lent me By The River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept by Paulo Coehlo. I finished the book, a mere 160 pages perhaps, in less than two hours.

For those of you who haven’t read it: The book is about a boy and a girl, childhood friends, to be exact. They meet years later and the boy tells her that he loves her. The story is about her struggle to learn to love, to trust and to ignore The Other.

The Other is part of you, the self-doubting, worry-wart, warns against love, trust, relationships and men part. The Other is the part that keeps you from being happy, living your life, realizing the beauty in every day things: earth, sun, sky, water, birds, bees. The Other is our own worst enemy.

There are many, many beautiful passages in this book about love, life and God that really resonated with me but most of all I realize that I let what this book calls The Other dictate my mood more than it should. Blame the strength of my The Other on all the failed relationships, cheaters, disappointment, heartbreak, tears and etc that I’ve endured in the last five years of my dating life. Blame the strengh of my The Other on my weakness and not casting her off sooner.

I realized any doubts or worry or angst that I have about my really wonderful relationship with TDH is not about TDH as a boyfriend at all…it’s about me. It’s about The Other and how I let her rule my life sometimes, it’s about my insecurities. I will stand up against her, tell her to take a backseat, to drown out her noise with all the “I love yous,” and sweet text messages and little notes and pictures of happiness and moments of joy and zen I have with TDH. (Not to mention it’s just plain wrong to inflict harm on a positively awesome relationship with this man because of my past experiences.)

I will have faith in something higher than humans, whether its love, fate, destiny, or God. I will believe that this is for real because as Darling and KylaBea and Little Miss have pointed out I’m happy, I’m in a functional and wonderful relationship and I should enjoy it.

So if you see a woman who looks like me, wandering around, being negative and self-doubting, that’s my The Other. Just ignore her. She no longer has a home in me.

It may take some work and some inner strength that I will surely find, but I’ll be too busy being that ridiculously happy girl who is completely smitten, who has renewed her faith in love and trust. I will be enjoying my life, and this love, and this man and these moments, because after all, that’s what we are here for.

Love/Hate the October Edition

Love: Not having to go to campus this semester thanks to online classes.
Hate: The copious amount of reading I must do every week for my Business Law class…upwards of ten hours, not including online discussions and the actual assignments.

Love: Colder weather means jeans, sweaters, boots, scarves, cute wool hats and by favorite winter coat.
Hate:  I need to turn on the heat in my apartment.

Love: TDH was the quintessential boyfriend yesterday as he was able to ignite the pilot light on my heater. Something he was definitely proud of and boasted about all afternoon.
Hate: I can hear the dollar signs clicking each time my heat kicks in. Oh, and the fact that I couldn’t successfully ignite the light on my own.

Love: Friday nights with Darling at ScrapMania (courtesy of Archivers, one of the dorkier things I indulge in). Hate: It took me three hours to get out of my corporate-structured-mind mode before I could finally get creative.

Love: Running! I did 6.5 miles this past weekend.
Hate: How hungry it makes me. I’ve been craving a cheeseburger since Saturday morning. I finally decided to quench that thirst today (my last week before No Mush! begins), and ate seasame seeds which I forgot I can’t have so now I’m groggy thanks to Benadryl. I guess I need to tape a list of my allergies to my forehead so I don’t forget!?!

Love: My relationship with TDH. I know I’m only 25 but it is by far the most mature, giving, caring relationship I’ve ever had. We’ve had no fights, only miscommunications and they have been resolved within 30 minutes, both of us expressing our feelings and thoughts, made suggestions about the issue and moved on. And it’s worked.
Hate: I’m hesitant to post anything remotely serious that he and I have discussed on here as I’m afraid of jinxing it!

Overheard at the Office, Family Dinner & From My Lips

Businessman, dressed in khakis, button up shirt, tie and loafers:

“Um, hello… is this VooDoo Daddy? Yes, it is? Great. Can you please play ‘Hey Joe,’ at 11am CST today? Yes, that’s right, HEY JOE. 11am CST. Will. You. Do. IT???”

Further proof that you should never judge a book by its cover.

******************************************

At TDH’s family dinner, where he gave his brother-in-law a tobacco pipe for his birthday (they are in a pipe club together)

One of TDH’s parents friends…

“Oh, you belong to a pipe club? I used to belong to a bong club!”

And to think I had TDH’s parents pegged as conservatives!

*************************************************

After I finished “Breaking Dawn,” last night, to TDH (and no, friends, this doesn’t ruin any of the books):

“So we should totally become vampires. We’ll never have to sleep again. We can spend forever together and run as fast as we want. It could actually be pretty cool…minus the whole needing blood to survive thing.”

TDH smiles: “Okay. Vampires it is.”

And, that my friends, is proof positive that TDH has turned me into a total dork.

1/3 of a year and other Nora Ramblings…

• Is it super dorky that I woke up knowing that today TDH and I have been dating for four months? It’s raining here today, the kind of weather most people hate but the kind TDH and I love, so I figure it’s fitting to mark our four month day with rain. I don’t really celebrate month anniversaries but it’s kind of exciting to know it’s been a smooth, easy ride so far and there is really no end in sight.
• Breaking Dawn. I’m finally on book on four of the Twilight series and I’m both excited to be done with them so I can move onto other things and slightly saddened as now I have no more tweeny vampire books to read. I suppose I’ll have to move on to more adult things like Dracula and the Anita Blake series. Or maybe I’ll work on my stack of eight books which includes “The Sicilian,” by Mario Puzo, “The Red Tent,” by Anita Diamante, “City Dog,” “Johnny Got His Gun,” and about four more books I need to read.
• Jack be Nimble. Last week on one of my first runs since I am officially done with my Physical Therapy, Jack and I were very nearly attacked by two HUGE dogs. They managed to pull their owner down the hill that he was on right at Jack and myself causing Jack to jerk me out into the road. The result? A very nervous Jack and a Nora with a super-sore left shoulder. Thank goodness for pain killers and ice. Jack has since recovered, TDH is buying me mace, and I’m afraid of dogs that aren’t on leashes (which is new for me).
• Work Grumblings.  A few work pet peeves, if I may: people misspelling and mispronouncing my name. It’s not that hard, people! Clients hitting on me. I am not at work to get picked up and asked out, I’m here to do my job.You are here to learn and you don’t see me hitting on you! Do not yell at me if the coffee is not full just because I am the only woman you see in the office. Make it yourself.
• Dessert Heaven. I take dessert to TDH’s family dinners every Thursday as my contribution. I forgot how awesome it is to bake, to have a positive, delicious smelling outcome worth the mess and flour on the floor. It gives me a chance to just be: listen to music, Jack at my feet, dance around the kitchen, expirement with recipes and I, won’t lie, I kind of enjoy the praise my desserts have been receiving. Too bad I can’t open up my own bakery.
• No MUSH! The exercise and healthful eating begins on 11/1. There’s still time to join our virtual group for support, encouragement and most of all, to make you feel better about yourself. Email me at nora.laylou at gmail dot com if you want in.
• Vacation. TDH and I want to plan an afforadble weekend getaway. Anyone have any suggestions?
• Christmas. I know it’s not that close, but it’s not that far and I am really excited. Christmas is my absolute FAVORITE. I’m already plotting present purchases, decorations and dreaming about a very White Christmas.

My Former Life: Party Nora, Part Two

This one has to be in the top three nights of partying.

SamSam’s Bachelorette Party, May 2005.

10 girls. One Cause: PARTY.

I can’t remember the exact count but if I remember correctly, which is very unlikely, I did over ten shots (times two). I do not blame anyone but myself for the events that took place that night, such as dancing on the bar with the other girls, pretending to climb a wall, accosting perfect strangers and informing them they would suck a lifesaver off of SamSam’s shirt, insisting that I not wear my heels on the way back to the hotel which resulted in my walking barefoot on a downtown street, making out with a very tall, very Italian guy named Bruno in the bar, in the street, in the hotel lobby, in the elevator, at the door to the hotel room I was sharing with the girls, and getting so intoxicated that I was hungover for two days. TWO. DAYS.

Let me now point out to you that one of them was Mother’s Day. I was hungover on Mother’s Day. Bad, bad, daughter. I mustered up enough energy and ignored the shaking (thank you Vodka & Red Bull) long enough to make our yearly ice cream and buy-mom-a-plant trek. The rest of the night I spent shoving my face full of greasy food (Lion’s Choice) and gatorade.

Although most of the night is a blur looking back on it, I know it was definitely a top five party night.

When it’s a Monday…

… one should look at things that make them smile.

Like this:

Night before Mel's Wedding

Fireside TDH

And this….

Jack!

My Former Life: Party Nora, Part One

Thanks to Little Miss, I’ve been inspired to write about my top Five Party nights, subsequent hangovers and consequences as a result of these party nights.

1) December 2001. Home from college. Recently broken up with by High School Boyfriend, still desperately to make sense of the how/why of our break-up and process the fact that High School Boyfriend (HSB) had a new girlfriend a mere two weeks after he ruthlessly dumped me over the phone. I was friends with mainly boys at this point in my life and had recently discovered drinking. Lots of drinking. We’re talking shots of Captain Morgan straight from the bottle, Popov Vodka (the icky kind that comes in a plastic bottle), and other equally horrendous and offensive drinks. Needless to say I was going through some things. 

Enter the love triangle. HSB claimed he loved me. I was interested in The Boy Next Door (TBND). Went to a party with HSB and my high school guy friends. Drank too much. Danced on a pool table. Did I mention I drove to this party? HSB, being the sober one, drove me home to my parents, parked my car and set off for home. A two mile walk in the cold, cold weather. And me? Well I ran over to TBND’s house the moment HSB turned off my car and handed me the keys. Kind of cold-hearted of me, even if HSB did break my heart.

HSB called me several times that night, sobbing about how quickly I got over him, how could I possibly be into TBND, how I was torturing him with my choices. (Um, excuse me, did he not dump me? On the phone? And then call me one day to tell me he was dating someone else? Yeah, I think he did.)

I shut off my phone to hang out with TBND. I didn’t have a curfew at this point in my life so it must have been 2 or 3 am before I went home and the next day was… hell. Worst headache. HSB wouldn’t stop calling me. I had flashbacks of me dancing on the pool table and the boys being astonished at my shot-taking ability. Talk about embarassing.

HSB attempted several times over the course of the next few months to win me back. To his credit and I’m sure my stupidity, I entertained the idea. We became really great friends, made the mistake of kissing a few times, and then the same day he told me he loved me and wanted to try again he went and slept with one of his exes (one of my loyal guy friends called me with this info). He had the balls to call me the next day and say that he loved me and ask if I was ready to give it a second try. My answer? I hung up on him. I’ve only seen him once in the last seven years and we didn’t exchange words, only an awkward smile.

As for TBND? He’s come and gone in my life, but he’s gone for good now. After the last time I tried dating him (another drunken story there, I’m sure), I realized it was never going to work. He lives in his parents basement, still recovering from a nasty divorce, and working out so much he looks like a very bloated Pop-eye. I think the clincher was last Thanksgiving morning, looking out my parents kitchen window I saw TBND escorting a girl, in her bar clothes from the night before, out of the house. Not the kind of guy I wanted to be dating.

Taking time to write these memories helps me realize what a long way I’ve come. How awesome my family, friends, and TDH really are. Well my family and friends are always awesome. The men in my life? They have been anything but…. and then TDH. He’s literally my knight in shining armor.

Stay tuned for #2….

Stormcloud

When I was little and frustrated, I used to (according to Darling) mush up my face and frown, which Darling and the Boss called my “Stormcloud,” face.

The Stormcloud face is a permanent fixture today.

For some reason which I honestly can’t figure out I’m super grumpy.

My clients, vendors and co-workers are all annoying me equally.

I’m frustrated with a few of my friends.

I’m absolutely famished and all I want to do is go home during my lunch hour and pig out on a bag of Doritos, diet soda (haha) and a turkey and cheese sandwich. Oh, and the oatmeal carmelitas I made for dessert (Family Dinner at TDH’s tonight).

My eyes have bags under them as for some reason I’m tired around 8pm lately, but if I don’t succumb to sleep at 8pm, I’m up until after midnight.

I feel disgustingly fat and therefore am avoiding mirrors altogether although I am laughing at myself as there has been no change to my pant size since the Great Back Adventure of ‘08.

I have a sore throat and headache (dear God, no flu please!).
I had to avoid throwing things at my TV last night during the debate.
I really want to be in sweatpants, watching Sex and the City on my couch and cuddling with Jack.

Seriously, Friday can’t come soon enough.