This weekend I’m heading to Florida for a few days for my cousin’s wedding. True, I haven’t actually talked to this cousin face-to-face or on the phone, well, in 15 years or so, but his mom is a loyal reader of this blog (Hi Aunt Sandy!) and one of my favorite people so off Darling and I go for a few days of family, fun and sun. A mini family reunion of sorts.
It’s also a rarity that I’m not somehow involved in this wedding in a way other than attending since I’m pretty much a perma-bridesmaid. Or if not a bridesmaid I tend to be the executive bride’s helper as was the case with the last few weddings Irish & I attended.
I thought that just for fun I’d take you through the last few weddings I’ve been in.
My college roommate’s wedding, circa 2005 (worst tan line known to man…):
My childhood friend’s wedding, circa 2007, in St. Thomas (most beautiful setting ever):
My (other) college roommate’s wedding, circa New Year’s Eve 2007 (complete with chipmunk cheeks):
My best friend from high school’s wedding, April 2008 (I’m on the far left, in case you couldn’t tell):
and most recently, my best college friend’s wedding in September 2008* (probably my favorite dress out of all of them and I have seven dresses total as we had two dresses for the one above!):
(I was in my cousin’s wedding in 2000 but that was pre-digital camera and I can’t readily find a photo to post so you’ll have to do without.)
If you know of anyone who needs a professional bridesmaid feel free to pass my name along. It’s been a whole year since I’ve been in a wedding and I’m actually itching to be in one which is rather shocking!
Evidently Mother Nature decided Fall didn’t need to make an appearance this year despite my compelling Top Ten List, because for the past week we’ve had the heat on, huddled under blankets, and enjoyed a warm glass of tea before retreating to the warmth and coziness of our beds. Why? Because the outside air feels like the temperature of an iceberg.
We’ve also been covered in a constant shade of gray thanks to the lovely clouds above. Don’t get me wrong, I do love my rain but after awhile it can indeed get to be too much. Especially when we’ve already had four more inches than is normal for this time of year and when you have to go to work each day rather than stay home and cuddle in bed with an endless supply of books and movies.
So, while I enjoy pulling out my boots and select fall styles, I’m not ready for my winter coat. Or frost on my car. Or seeing my breath when I’m outside.
Dear Mother Nature, if you’re reading this, please, bring back fall! Just give us a few days of it to ease us into this really cold-need-a-scarf-where-are-my-warm-socks-I need-a-hat-and big-freakin’-coat weather. I’d appreciate it greatly.
As corny as it sounds, I believe John Lennon. It seems to be that way for me: I make plans and somehow at the end of the year, I look back and only a few of the things I’ve hoped to accomplish have come to fruition. It’s not for lack of trying or setting my mind to it but as is true with life, other things come up that need my attention or that challenge me and I try to never back down from a challenge. I’ve learned to go with the flow more, the importance of not having every moment of my day scheduled. But I often wonder, how in the world I will actually do all the things I’ve dreamed of accomplishing?
After reading Nilsa’s post on Life Goals, I realized that I am more of a small picture person which I like to think makes me more present in the now and perhaps explains why I like the Lennon quote so much. (Not to say I don’t think about my future because I do, but I want to enjoy the here and now and then enjoy later when I get to it.) Rather than making a Bucket List, I came up with a list of things I’d like to do to make my 26th year another great one. Some are life changes, other personal challenges and others are things that I’m amazed I haven’t yet tried.
Here they are, in no particular order:
* Run one 5k Race a month, preferably ones for a charity. (The hope is that I could work up to “bigger,” races as the year goes on.)
* Read at least seven books. One must be a memoir. Another historical non-fiction.
* Get down to my goal weight and stay there!
* Go fishing. Learn to bait a hook.
* Meet two more bloggy buddies.
* Start a real pen & paper journal.
* Volunteer 60 hours at the Rescue Ranch. I can’t wait to get started even though I know I’ll be working through bitter cold and sweltering heat.
* Cook one new dish and bake one new recipe a month. Ideally the bulk of the recipes would come from the old school cookbooks I’ve inherited from my Gram and the Martha Stewart Cupcake book.
* Take piano lessons (again).
* Travel to another baseball stadium, preferably the New York Yankees.
* Learn how to knit, courtesy of my Gram. First project: afghan.
* Finish that darn Masters of mine and leave formal schooling behind for good.
* Get back to nannying/babysitting. (I used to babysit all the time and lately I miss it.)
* Catch up on my scrapbooking/photo printing, sending pictures to the appropriate friends and family.
* Start Yoga and become a regular. This goes hand-in-hand with learning to meditate and getting to my goal weight and staying there.
Any recommendations for things that absolutely must be included in my list?
This past weekend turned out to be one of the best birthday celebration weekends I’ve had in a long time. I didn’t spend it drunk and hungover but instead very in the moment.
My brother came into town to surprise me (one of the best surprises ever!), I made some style changes to my bedroom meaning it’s almsot the way I want it to be, had beer with my favorite three men in the world (Irish, my brother, my dad), received ah-mazing presents from my long distance friends, Irish and my family as well as scoring tickets to a Deluxe Suite at the StL Cardinal’s last game.
Originally I had four tickets to sit in the nosebleeds which is really one of the best ways to see a Cardinals game but then Irish’s dad had tickets to a Deluxe Suite and I had to refrain from screaming “HELL YES!” into the phone.
On Sunday five of us piled into the car to start the adventure that would entail seats behind homeplate, unlimited free food, beer, wine and soda, as well as fantastically comfortable seats, great people watching and one of the best baseball experiences I’ve had to date.
Our view from the box:
With the always handsome Irish:
With the best brother in the world:
And we saw Albert Pujols break an old record/earn a new record:
With regular season out of the way we can now focus on post-season and hopefully make it to the World Series…
Current Book(s): Work in Progress: The Wind-Up Bird Chronicles, Haruki Murakami;
Finished: Club Dead, Charlain Harris (I’m in a bit of a reading slump currently)
Current Music:
The Beatles
The Supremes
Marvin Gaye
Stevie Wonder
Current Colors:
Sunflower yellow is quickly growing on me
Current Obsessions:
Cleaning/organizing
Baking
Reading cooking magazines
Thinking up crafty projects
Current Drink:
Water.
100 calorie Coca-Cola if I need one
Slim Fast
Current Songs:
A Little Less Conversation, Elvis Presley
Current Movie: Duplicity.
Can’t wait to see Away We Go
Current TV Show:
Sons of Anarchy
Current Wish-List:
I’d like my hair to grow faster and stop growing gray hairs
Believe it or not, more hours in the work day
Current Needs:
Sleep, always sleep.
To plan my week long vacation at the end of October
Current Triumph(s):
Slaying work projects left and right.
Conquering new dishes in the kitchen.
Staying in better touch with friends and family.
Current Bane(s) of my Existence:
Not enough time in the day to read books, catch up on blogs
Current Goal(s):
Lose five pounds by December (I’ve lost a few in the last two months)
Read a memoir by one of my favorite political figures or actors/actresses by end of the year
Current Indulgence:
Homemade chocolate chip cookies
Current Blessing:
It’s fall!
Current Slang or Saying:
I’m not sure what I’ve been saying a lot of lately.
Current (Fav) Outfit:
I’m digging the preppy look: black pants, white blouse, argyle sweater/vest and lots of fun jewelry to go with it
Current Excitement:
Birthday celebration with the family this weekend.
A fun, graphic desinger wedding to attend in two weeks
Visiting my BFF and her husband in three weekends for winery trips, a pumpkin patch & corn maze excursion and lots of relaxing
It’s Monday already? I really don’t know how the weekends fly by so quickly.
* One of our co-workers had emergency surgery late last night so the whole office is in a tizzy trying to figure out how to cover his work the next week or two. Which means I’ll be working a few more hours this week. Which means blogging may be light. Which means I may be like the Tazmanian Devil, running around in a cloud of my own dust.
* Many of you know that we (meaning me, Irish, and Jack) went to visit Nilsa, Sweets & SoMi this weekend. In a word: INCREDIBLE. In many words: please go read Nilsa’s blog for now until I have more time to write about what an amazing trip it was because seriously it was the perfect little getaway. I can’t wait to return to Chicago for more visits with Nilsa and the other fabulous Chicago bloggers I didn’t get to catch-up with.
* I’m struggling to wrap my brain around the fact that tomorrow I’m turning 26, which I know is no big deal, but I can’t believe it’s really tomorrow. I’ll be celebrating in a low-key fashion with my family and Irish around me for a Mexican dinner. That’s about as celebratory as I get these days and I’m more than okay with it.
* All you need is LOVE. Congratulations to EP on her engagement! And Mel on her upcoming nuptials. And two of my near and dear friends on their one-year wedding anniversary (Miss Kyla and my BFF MelO). All the excitement has me singing the “Love Is all Around Us…” song from Love Actually in my head non-stop.
You know the moments I’m talking about. They reaffirm that you are doing just what you should be doing with your life. Or remind you that yes, this person really loves you. Or that your family really is kick-ass, hands-down the best family out there. I’ve been noticing these moments more and more as I reflect on my last 25 years and prepare for the 26th one that’s right around the corner. Here are a few of *those* moments that have really stood out to me over the last few weeks…
* Small Mexican restaurant. Me. Irish. The couple that set us up. Beer, salsa, tortilla chips. Laughter. Looking over at Irish and he winks. And then he kisses me on the cheek and he held my hand under the table. It was one of those moments where everything just felt right. Sometimes the craziness of the world can really interrupt the flow of a relationship so these moments where it’s just natural, normal and great? Well, they are really special to me.
* It’s not often that I get a day out of the office to attend client meetings but when the client has just renewed three contracts with us, I get to go to the meetings. This particular meeting took us to a town only 30 minutes away from where my brother is attending school so my boss (my dad!) and I met up with him for a late lunch at a very local, very Greek, very awesome restaurant. We were sitting on the patio chatting about politics, healthcare, college girls, bumble bees and who knows what else (all the while sending picture texts to Darling so she could see photos of “her boys” together) and I had that ah-ha moment. I felt blessed. I felt loved. I felt honored that my 21 year-old brother thinks it is cool (or at least humors us) and wants to spend time with us. This is my family and the older I get, the cooler they get. Funny how that works.
* I’ve been living at home for almost three (!) months now. There have been a few adjustments here and there but surpsingly no rough patches. It’s amazing to me how quickly I’ve adjusted to living with my parents again. I don’t feel like a 25 (almost 26!) year-old loser. In fact, I feel more responsible because I’m saving money, paying off (and not using) my credit cards, contributing to some of the daily chores around the house, and feel stable. I loved living in apartments but it always seemed semi-permanent. I love staying with Irish but due to some reservations on his family’s side that can’t be permanent (at least not yet), for awhile. I was really quite nervous about the move but on Sunday night, I had one of *those* moments where I realized I had done the right thing. I spent most of the day with Irish wandering in and out of bookstores, enjoy lunch and just having fun and when I got home my parents and I had a pizza party complete with a girlie movie. (My dad consented to watching Sweet Home Alabama with us.) We were all feeling the Sunday Evening Blahs and so I offered to make us a pot of tea. Hanging with my parents, the dogs, getting play-by-play updates on the Cards game from Irish and sharing a pot of tea brought tears to my eyes.
*This here blog started out over four years ago as a place for me to sob via the internet. No, seriously. I went through a horrible break-up and I boohooed my feelings and thoughts all over my blog for a good six months. After that I started making “blog friends.” In the last year I’ve opened myself up to meeting ”blog friends,” calling them and sending them real mail. I remember when sharing your address or phone number with people you’ve met online was totally batshit crazy but now not so much. I went from calling people “blog friends,” to “my real life friends.” In the last few months several of those bonds have grown even stronger thanks to GChats, texts, phone calls, emails and girls’ nights for those that live close to me. Not to mention the just knowing that there is a huge support group of women (and men) out there if I ever need them. It doesn’t feel funny to me that some of my best friends are people I met on the internet. It actually feels pretty damn awesome.
So, tell me, what are some of *those* moments for you recently? What kind of things do you notice more as a birthday appears?
1. Nailing a work presentation on Friday night thus freeing me to ignore work all weekend.
2. A blessing in disguise when my Blackberry stopped receiving work emails meaning I could really ignore work all weekend.
3. Going to a bar to see my dad’s band play with my mom & Gram. Bonus: my mom got on stage and sang an Irish ballad with the band. Double Bonus: my dad introduced the “three generations of women,” that he’s proud to have support him & his music career.
4. Puppy shopping with Darling. She’s looking for a new dog to add to the family, preferably a Border Collie Mix. We didn’t find the right one this weekend, but we are on the right track. I may or may not have fallen head over heels in love with a Terrier Mix puppy but wound up not adopting him because he was spoken for come Sunday morning. (I really wanted him but trying to be a responsible adult wanted to discuss it over with Irish who was at an all-day bachelor party.)
5. Enjoying the huge Art Fair StL puts on each September. Four or five streets are filled with Art vendors, music (live & DJ), food and of course, amazing people watching. Best person watching: Adult male, mid 50s, long white curly hair, non-descript hat. Ladies short shorts and black high heels with a white tank top. The reason I noticed him? He has better legs than me and walks in heels better than most girls I know.
6. Finding a birthday present for Irish and a unique wedding present for our friends who are tying the k not in less than a month. Irish is nearly impossible to buy for so I always go out on a limb with some of the presents I get him; I think he’ll like this one.
7. Taking an afternoon nap with Jack while listening to Felicity (almost done with the show!) in the background followed by a brisk 2-mile walk.
8. An hour long chat with Kyla. Eye-opening, inspiring, heart-warming and lovely. (Those words describe both Kyla & our phone call.)
9. The quiet of my parents’ house which I find rejuvenating.
10. Seeing Irish after being apart for five days.
What’s your Grace in Small Thing from this past weekend?
Following Tabitha’s lead it’s time for me to stop slacking and write a proper post. About Me (duh). Specifically, what’s new and what’s up with me:
* Happy! Happy! Joy! Joy! Two of my best friends brought me good news this week. One is moving in with her boyfriend this weekend which is a great next step for them. The other one called to say that she and her husband are taking a walk down Baby Lane. I literally did happy dances for both friends when I found out.
* I’m hooked on phonics. I have a book glued to my hand as much as possible. I’ve started taking one to work for the rare occasions I enjoy a “real” lunch hour, leave one stashed in my purse and have at least four ready-to-read books at Irish’s and a large pile at my parents.
* Follow your Feet. (Can anyone name what movie that line is from?) I haven’t posted a lot lately. The biggest reason is stress some of which is from work, some of which I bring upon myself. When I feel like that I don’t want to overshare or be a debbie downer, not to mention my creative juices are totally sucked out of me by the end of the day. Over the last few weeks I’ve been acutely aware of the fact that I can indeed control my stress and anxiety levels so I’m taking it one day at a time. I don’t make myself feel bad if a project takes longer than I thought or if something unexpected takes place. I make my daily to-do list in the morning, rather than the night before. The result: I’m sleeping better, planning less, thinking more positively and breathing easier. I’m just reminding myself to put one foot in front of the other and taking it one step/day at a time.
* Fall. It’s coming. Leaves are changing from green to yellow, orange and red. The mornings are crisp, car windows are fogged up and evenings call for sweatshirts and jeans. Jack is extra cuddly. Irish and I are making grand plans for the next few months (trip to Chicago, visit my best friend & her husband for a fall winery weekend, MU Homecoming and more). The social calendar is pleasantly filling up and I’ll be taking a look at my graduate school options too.
* Slim Gym. So my body, which is normally pretty cooperative, decided to get one whopper of a strep throat/sinus infection combo (which is 90% of the way gone now) and has killed my exercising efforts for the last two weeks. Starting next week I’m reorganizing my health & fitness goals. Irish and I are challenging each other, in the most friendliest of ways, to each give up one thing we know we enjoy a bit too much/too often. I’m going to the gym four days a week again and if I have time for more? Great. If not? I won’t make myself feel bad about it. I’m contemplating starting Bikram Yoga to help with the relaxation of the mind and body. I’m a bit behind on my 5k training as a result but I’m still going to give it a go in October especially because this particular 5k benefits the school one of my favorite kids that I used to watch. Above all, I’m going to remember to take it nice and slow. Change won’t happen over night, but attitudes can.
* Twenty Faux Birthday. My birthday is in less than three weeks. I’ll be 26 on the 29th. I kind of want to hold onto to 25 because it’s been one hell of a year for me. I’m not really sure how I feel about this birthday; I have no big plans other than having a mini-party at my parents house with Wii games, beer and delicious dinner cooked by Darling. 26. Weird.
And no, I didn’t forget what today is. I just know that even eight years later I still can’t do what/how I felt (feel) justice in a post but suffice to say:
