sunshine state

florida-tastic

We're back from Florida. We didn't kill each other. Came close a couple of times but overall the Christmas vacation was a success. I now know why people brave hurricanes to live in Florida. Because this? This weather we came back to? Is bullshit, my friends. The current temperature makes me want to curl into a ball and go comatose until March.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. I wore shorts, went to the beach with my family, and ate a feast of fresh fish. Pretty darn good in my book.

wish us luck

Like something out of a Chevy Chase movie husband and I are off to Florida. With my family. In a minivan. To recap, 18 hours with my family in a minivan.

Wish us luck.

Oh and if you happen to be on our Christmas card list try not to expect a card before Christmas. Somehow I don't think the 15 envelopes I received as part of my order is going to cover the 40 cards I ordered. If you do receive a card before Tuesday just count it as a Christmas miracle. I'd like to apologize in advance for the size of the card. I guess I wasn't paying attention when I made the order. My mom says I might as well have sent out 8 x 10 glossies.

on perfection. and showing up.

Husband and I had a discussion the other day about perfection. Being around perfect people and what that means for the rest of us. Of course there are no perfect people, but I'm sure most of us have come across someone who seems that way. Someone who seems to cast a shadow over you, someone who does things with complete ease, someone who always understands the question. Man, those people really annoy me. But in the end the annoyance is just jealousy, isn't it?

Husband's argument is that in striving to do the best job that we can we are in fact striving for perfection. I'm not sure how I feel about that. I strive to do things correctly at work. I strive to love my family and friends the best I can. I strive to be right. But I don't know if I strive to be perfect. Quite frankly I have a hard enough time trying to be the best me.

But here's the thing. It can be so easy to forget that we can't be perfect. Especially when times are a little tough and you are trying to figure it out. Whatever your "it" happens to be.

There will be certain points in life and certain situations where you will say to yourself, "this is not what I signed up for." You will have gotten yourself to a place or in a relationship or working a job that gives you that icky feeling in the pit of your stomach.

But the thing is, you have to keep showing up. Keep striving. Becuase that's what must be done for now. I stress the for now. And whether you make the hard decision to leave that situation or make the sometimes even harder decision to tough it out but change your attitude and how you respond to that situation, please remember that you get points for just showing up.

A friend recently share the below video with me. As Elizabeth Gilbert says, Ole!’ to you, just for having the sheer human love and stubbornness to keep showing up.

fragments of thoughts right now

First batch of Christmas cookies. Done.

Precipitation other than snow in December = a cranky Julia

Will Ferrell + Zach Galifinakis = all kinds of inappropriate funnies

Jimmy Fallon ain't too shabby of a singer. Husband had to witness me doing The Dougie after we watched this. And do my best impersonation of Salt 'n Pepa.

Wonder if that ZzzzQuil stuff works. I have an 18 hour car ride in my near future.

Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree...

hello, lover

found here

christmas tree hunt

 

 

I am a Christmas tree snob.

Live trees only in my house. I don't want anything to do with your wussy fake trees. Chopping it down yourself (er, having your husband do it) is preferable. Rumor has it that I threw a temper tantrum akin to a 2-year-old in the grocery store the year my parents decided to buy an artificial tree. This was five years ago.

My dad is the one who passed down the art of finding the perfect tree. You can blame him for my militant view on the subject. I'm not sure who to blame for husband having to chop down the fattest tree in the lot. I guess that would be me. It is anyone's guess how we are going to get it out the door in January.

Happy Holidays!

family

I lucked out. I married into one of the greatest, most loving families you'll ever come across. I am one lucky girl, yes I am.

i love us

We make me giggle. That's all.

some days

Some days are down days. Some days you stand in the never ending, speed of molasses, teeth clenching line at the post office envying some girl's coat and her hair and her purse and her svelte figure. And then you realize that she is the reason the line is not moving. She is the girl holding up the line while she haphazardly tapes together a box most inappropriate for shipping purposes. And you smile and say ha! inside because at the very least you have your shit together enough to be prepared when making trips to the post office.

And the day gets better.

currently bopping my head to

So Police sounding.  Such an 1980's looking video.  I dig it.

ohio bound

We're off to Athens, OH! I'm excited for family, food, and a jaunt around my old college town. First we have to get through the car ride. Wish us luck. I know husband is looking forward to my habitual singing of Take Me Home Country Road the instant we cross the West Virginia border. Hope everyone's Thanksgiving is grand. xoxo.

fun with friends

 

Well, I am officially a year older. Truth be told my actual birthday on Friday was not all hearts and stars. An extremely long and tiring week made for a cranky birthday girl. However, my weekend made up for it. Husband and I headed down to D.C. to see our friends (aka our D.C. family). I miss them on a daily basis and wish I could move them up here to Philly to be with me.

The weekend was filled with Breaking Dawn Part II, lots and lots of good food, a sassy toddler, laughter, and football. Erika and Anthony are the best hosts and they throw awesome dinner parties. They get Buon Appetite magazine and actually cook the recipes in there. As opposed to just looking at the pictures which is what I would do. They even plan designated cocktails as part of the menu. I guzzled down some dark n' stormys and then ate my weight in ham. Seriously. It became a problem.

Here's hoping that this weekend was indication that age 33 is going to be a good year.

hats make me happy

That's all.

routine

Routine. A word sometimes said with a bad taste in the mouth. But routine doesn't always mean mundane or robot-like. Sometimes routine means comfort.

I've been asked if I miss D.C. and Virginia. It is a yes and no answer. Becuase it isn't the place that I miss. It is our life that I miss. It wasn't perfect and I certainly had my complaints (hence the move) but it was ours. It is the routines we had that I miss and the comfort that came along with them.

I miss coming up the walkway to our house and being able to see husband sitting on the couch through the big front window. I miss tapping on the window to let him know I was home.

I miss Friday nights on the couch with Chinese food and wine.

I miss waking up on Saturday mornings, the smell of coffee, and the sound of the TV in the other room. I miss yelling good morning to husband and how he'd come back into bed for a few minutes while I finished waking up.

Little things, nothing huge. But they were a routine. They were ours.

We've been so all over the place lately that we haven't had routines beyond the Monday through Friday to and from work. Today I had such a sense of relief after making a trip to Target. Such an ordinary thing to do - a routine thing - but it felt so normal. I know we will feel comfortable in our life again. It just takes time. But could our comfortable life hurry up, please?

oh johnny...

 

...you were the coolest. And my pop-pop used to wear shoes just like those.

stages

We live in an apartment. Upstairs from a man named Spank. We can hear him yell and scream on Sunday and Monday nights when the Giants are playing. We eavesdrop on his son's fights with his girlfriend who we've started calling "the slut" for no other reason than we think she sleeps over at casa de Spank and she drives a white, trashy-looking car with a tangle of pink, sparkly stuff hanging from her rearview mirror. Yes, we realize that we are sometimes mean. I'm sure she is a very nice girl. 

We live in an apartment with the hallway trim painted a color probably meant to be cadet blue but instead looks Smurf-like. There are about four layers of paint underneath which we can see because of the copious amounts of chipped off paint.

We don't have a couch. Or a real bed. Our bed is a mattress on the floor. We live sans cable. And pilfer an internet connection. I have consistently forgotten to buy a lampshade for the lamp in our bedroom. For 3 months.

This is our reality right now. Part change, part situation, part just-can't-get-it-together. This is the stage we are in.

But the other day while proactively procrastinating by writing a to-do list - sitting in one chair while husband sat in the other (remember, no couch) -  I accidentally stabbed myself in the face with an uncapped pen. I forgot that I didn't put the cap on. Husband saw the whole thing. And we laughed and laughed and laughed. Over something really not that funny but ended up feeling hilarious to the two of us. Husband called me a dork and I had no choice but to agree.

A wonderful laugh. The best kind. Kinda makes up for living across the street from an old folks home. Upstairs from a man named Spank.

when all else fails

Feeling a bit like I can't quite catch up lately. My to-do list sat untouched this weekend and I couldn't find the motivation to get motivated. Husband said I was moving like I had molasses for bones. When all else fails and my to-do list is still looming come Sunday, I cook a big meal. It makes me feel productive. In fact I cooked two big meals today in preparation for possible late nights home from work this week. I think that should make up for never changing out of sweatpants today, don't you?

hello, lover

via Anthropologie

happy halloween

Happy Halloween, ya'll! I love Halloween. Love it. It is one of my favorite holidays. Growing up, our house was the absolute best house in the whole neighborhood. My mom always went all out. Scary music, awesome decorations, homemade costumes, the whole bit. Fun fact: one year my mom dressed my brother up as a flasher complete with trench coat and black socks and dress shoes. When our neighbors opened their doors, he whipped open his coat... to show that he was wearing a sign that said "Boo!" on top of his shorts and t-shirt.

It is unfortunate that today I am quite under the weather. Sick enough that I simply drew the face I wanted on my jack-o-lantern and husband carved it for me. Sad.

The above picture shows husband waiting patiently for the trick-or-treaters. And yes, I do believe his cheeks are full of candy. We didn't get many visitors and are pretty sure that some people snubbed our place outright. I'm talking to you, Captain America. We saw you at our neighbors. Was there something wrong with our decorations? We are not pleased, not pleased at all. We have a glowing pirate skeleton coming out of the ground. What about that doesn't scream, "we have candy"?

i'm blaming it on the hurricane

I think Hurricane Sandy brought a whole lotta funk my way. Today was one of those days. Oh yes it was. One of those days with a bright moment of clarity that you know - you just know - you are not going to handle it well. And it sets in a moment of panic because you are aware that there's no stopping it, not as hard as you try.

To all those men out there who have stared, silently, in complete wonder while their wives take gasping sobs and tell you they have no idea what is wrong.... I salute you. To all those men who hug their wives tight and rub their backs while they spew forth a babble of blubbering words (most of the "words" not even sounding like they come from any language at all unless you count hysterics as its own language)... I salute you. To all those men who manage to deal with this and still have the hots for their wives... I salute you even more.

Today was one of those days. So I'm blaming it all on Sandy.

That bitch.



P.S. I realize that not every female has a little friend in their life called anxiety. Count yourself lucky if the above experience does not apply to you. But you are going to continue to read about my experiences because, well, this is my blog. Everything ain't sunshine and rainbows all the time.

new york, new york ladies weekend

I had a super time with two of my besties this weekend in New York City. I am a lucky lady to have such great friends in my life, and Amy and Kiki are two of my oldest and my best. The older I get the more I realize how special it is that we have been friends for 15+ years. I am especially glad to have had the chance to see Kiki as a mama-to-be. It is a pretty weird feeling seeing her preggers belly and remembering when we were the epitome of awkward with braces, bad hair, bad skin, the whole works.

I love New York and its energy. It is infectious. I am still unfamiliar with so much there that it feels very new and very foreign to me when I visit. Living in Philly it is now just a short train ride away, which is more than okay by me. Until next time, New York!

P.S. I highly recommend Schiller's Liquor Bar for eating, The Grey Lady for viewing handsome bartenders, and Rock of Ages for the best time ever.

flying high

Husband's friend showed him the dirt jumps in Fairmount Park. They are not so many in number and there happens to be a gentleman there living in a tent (even in the winter apparently) but he was happy. There aren't many things that husband likes more than dirt jumpin'. 

philly fall / camera play

I had a date with mom and pop on Saturday. We met in Center City and I acted as tour guide. I showed them where I work, had lunch at Monk's Cafe (Seriously. The Monk's Sour Ale. It goes down like juice), walked to Rittenhouse, browsed in Anthro and topped it all off with Capogiro gelato (the grapefruit campari is where it's at). Fall has fully arrived in Philly and I spent the afternoon appreciating how beautiful the city can be. Not many people think of Philadelphia as a beautiful city but it really is if you know where to look.

text messages from a mother

Me: I'm letting you know that I wasn't abducted and sold on the black market

Mom: Did u ever read the O. Henry story titled Ransom of Red Chief...

Me: Oh you are hilarious

Mom: Besides you would be sold on the white market.


P.S. People, if you don't know the story of Ransom of Red Chief then I don't know what to tell you. Your education in English lit was seriously lacking. It also means you probably don't know The Gift of the Magi either which just pains me to even think about.

voicemails from a father

10:34 a.m.

This is your father speaking. Giving a message from your mother. She can only wear jeans... she has to wear sneakers. And jeans. So when you pick a place for lunch she's telling me to tell you don't make it too fancy.

[frustrated sigh]

Why do I have to do this?

Anyways. [another sigh] Bye.


5:42 p.m.

It's your father. Call us when you get on the train so your mother knows you weren't kidnapped.

little houses

Wouldn't it be grand to get away to a little cabin? I wouldn't mind having a weekend away in the woods. In the woods in the mountains by a lake would be even better. Have you been to this website? Funny name!

weekend bits / camera play

Now that husband is employed, my stress level has lowered considerably. Everything feels a bit easier even if the day hasn't been a particularly easy one. I guess that is one good thing that came out of our challening year-- we feel incredibly lucky and are thankful for what we do have. I'm sure there will come a point where I struggle to remember this but for now I'm running with it.

I am no longer obsessively checking the PA teacher employment website so my attention is turning to other things. The cooler weather is upon us and I always feel a little refreshed with this change of season. I'm starting to think of things I'd like to do, accomplish and learn (or at least attempt to do or accomplish or learn). Some things on my list are:

• Learn to bake bread. All kinds. I attempted this last year and failed to follow through.
• Once the weather turns unbearable and I go into hermit mode, explore AFI's Top 100 Movies. I've never seen Annie Hall or Schindler's List. How sad is that?!
• Write more. Same goes for taking photos.

None of these are mind-blowingly difficult things but little goals are good for the soul, don't you agree? What are some things you've been wanting to do?

round these parts

Smiles happen more often.

Giggles are plenty.

Baking is happening.

School clothes need to be ironed.

Socks are worn to bed.

There is talk of carving pumpkins.

We are getting back to normal.


This sweatshirt is from here. Boo they are sold out.