January 19th, 2010
Here we are, creeping up to almost a whole month into 2010. The days are passing one by one. And I hate it. Can’t I just take one moment and make it last longer? Maybe it’s the winter weather. The dark evenings. And this week we’ve been greeted with quite a bit of rain. Normally I would love this. It’s so good for nature, but when I’m driving in an already traffic-ridden commute, rain can make my days just that much more difficult.
I’m trying very hard to celebrate the small things. The little things around the house that I manage to finally complete. I have lots of little projects scattered all over the place; projects that depend on another project to be completed before another can be started. I inherited an old china cabinet from my grandma, and I had a wonderful idea to spray paint it black for some extra storage. It’s currently in our shed, half painted and just a few hours work from completion. And once that is complete I can finally put away all our glasses and barware that’s residing in a box on the top of our fridge.
I feel so torn lately, I would love to wallow in my own self-pity and frustration. I don’t feel like I’ve been the most productive with my free time, but have no clue how to make things better. How do you find a way to get your own personal “me time” as well as keeping everything together? Cleaning? Laundry? Organizing? Projects? Seriously. All that along with my poor neglected husband. And sometime in there I want to take care of myself and keep my manicure shaped up.
Ugh what a grump am I? What else did you expect with my haphazard blogging schedule: something cheerful? I am making little steps to get better. I started the 365 project on January 2nd. Some nights I don’t quite make it, but I’ve dragged my camera out three more times than I would have had I not started this project. And if that’s not taking an active role in getting my personal endeavors squeezed into my crazy day to day, then I don’t know what could be better.
I’ve also been reading Julia Child’s memoir My Life in France and spend most of my days day-dreaming about what my life would be like living in France. Until that day, I’ll just continue to slowly work on learning French and feasting on bread and cheese. That’s the same right?
A view from the top of Notre Dame. Taken on our honeymoon.
How has the winter weather been affecting you?
sidenote: No I’m not depressed, so don’t start sending me brochures on getting help or anything. This is what happens when I write a blog after working into the night.
side sidenote: If that title is not correct in French, I blame Google translator.
Tags: Home, Life
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January 4th, 2010
We’re so freaking exciting.
It is 2010. This past New Year’s Eve, instead of waiting for all our computers to explode from Y2K, we were all just so relieved to leave 2009 in the dust. Cale and I decided to celebrate in a more low-key way: by watching random TLC shows about the super-obese and primordial dwarfs, while drinking hot chocolate (the fancy kind on the side of the Hershey’s can) spiked with Bailey’s. So for those who are so anxious to hang out, be warned, we are not exciting. In fact, it’s official we’re boring.
It was so mundane, that I didn’t even realize that we were embarking on a new decade. Or that just ten years earlier, we were entering a new century. And then I remembered what I had been doing ten years ago.
me: “Babe do you remember what you were doing ten years ago?”
Cale: “No.”
me: “Really you don’t? Not even a little?”
Cale: “No.”
me: *pouts*
Cale: Hanging out with you?
me: YES!
Well Cale wasn’t anxious to stroll with me down memory lane, but ten years ago, Cale and I were spending New Year’s together! I had totally forgotten. If you haven’t been a reader for long, I posted a couple years back about “our beginning”. It started in 1998 as friends, and we were shortly boyfriend and girlfriend from 1999 to 2000. Well, as much as you can be boyfriend and girlfriend at fifteen years old. That New Year’s Eve, my childhood neighborhood threw a new years eve block party complete with bounce house and barbecue. And Cale was there. I vaguely remember the night, and I don’t even know if he was allowed to stay until midnight (most likely not). But how fun it is to know that ten years ago, we were just two teenagers running around a cul-de-sac with my neighbors, eating food, and jumping around the bounce house when the little kids left.
Here’s to many more New Years together and to actually making plans next year. The way we spent it this year was just plain embarrassing.
Tags: Entertaining Ourselves, Love, Memories
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December 22nd, 2009
A year ago I really had no clue what twenty four would hold for me. I didn’t know what steps would lie between then and now. I knew another year would come and go, but how? I had no idea. It’s about taking life one day, week, month, year at a time. And at the end of that time period, if you look back and find yourself inches closer to where you’ve dreamed you’d be, then it’s been a success. You won’t notice it right away but it happens.
My year as twenty four was one I never could have predicted, and one that without reflection could have passed by without regard. But it was a year to be proud of that is for sure. I did things and accomplished more than I could have envisioned. I may be spending my twenties as a married, career-driven, young lady, a way of life that could easily fall victim to the boring day to day, but it is still exciting and wide open for adventures and opportunities. I battled the same challenges I face year after year: eating healthy, finding time to exercise, wanting more out of life, stressing myself out more than necessary. And I will continue to face those this next year.
However, those are not the things I’ll remember my twenty-four year old self for. I’ll remember that: I made a list and took an active role in achieving the things I want out of life; It was the year I got bangs and I started to love my hair; I got a new computer and subsequently learned how to edit my photos better (and had fun with it!); I stopped hiding the fact that I don’t believe in god; I flew to Vegas two weekends in a row, once to celebrate two years with my husband and another time to meet a group of women I did not know who would have such a profoundly positive impact on me and my outlook on life; I became a sister-in-law to two adorable little twin babies who have given my baby fever a huge boost; I had a girls weekend in Shaver and got back to work to find out I was getting promoted; I photographed my first wedding and fell in love with my husband ten times over as he officiated the ceremony; My family went to Yosemite and did not see any bears; I went back to school for my masters in taxation degree; We moved out of our little cottage in the quest for more space to live; I committed to the Avon Walk and felt good to be helping a cause so much bigger than myself. I blogged less, I lived more. It was a tremendous year.
The things I learned over this past year are small things, like refusing to say no to something just because it makes me nervous. Little things that will open more doors for me in the future. I want to take advantage of all the opportunities I can. Those plans I had for myself when I was going through college, that timetable I just needed to meet: out the window. I want to live in the present, not pushing all my hopes and dreams into the unknown future. Granted, this won’t result in some huge life-altering change right away, but I don’t want to limit myself by refusing to see things as options. It’s my life that I’m leading. In the spirit of watching The Holiday a few too many times this December, I need gumption. And 25 year old Stephanie is going to have gumption in spades.
December 11, 2009: Happy 25th Birthday to me.
Happy holidays everyone, I hope you have had a fabulous 2009 and are looking forward to an even better 2010.
Tags: Life, My Happiness, Self-Reflection
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December 14th, 2009
Congratulations to Megan at http://somewhatvoluble.com/! After I entered the entries into excel and picked a random integer between 1 and 23, she was the winner! Her favorite childhood obsession:
First off, happy birthday!
I, too, LOVED carousels. I had my own porcelain, musical carousel. Ah, memories. I was obsessed with horses, though. I love horse figurines and I wanted a horse so bad when I was a kid!
We’re twinsies! But I loved all the responses! It brought back so many memories!
As for my birthday, it was wonderful. My mom and grandma came up to visit, and we went to a nice fondue dinner where I ate so much I felt like I was going to explode. A great way to start my year as a twenty five year old.
Tags: Contests
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