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.

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?”

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.

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.

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.

Well this year, I decided that I’d like to give something away for my birthday again. Why? Well it’s just so darn fun. And there are so many of you I just love, and I wish I could have a huge birthday party with all of you, combined with wine, girly movies, and makeovers of course. Since I can’t logically do all that, I’d like to spread some fun and prettiness your way in honor of the fact that I’m steadily getting older.

Sigh.

Danni has a lovely little carousel necklace in her ohhellofriend etsy shop that I just fell in love with. Because if I may share a little tidbit about myself: I used to love all things carousel and unicorn related. I have a box of porcelain carousels stored safely away at my mom’s house. My room used to have a lovely little unicorn wallpaper border, all adorned with pastel colors. Really that necklace is something that the moment I saw it, it took me right back to that little girl, carefully organizing her figurines by height (seriously. That was me as a child. OCD much?)

What’s a birthday without some childhood photos?

this can become a part of your own jewelry box!

So for my birthday, I am going to buy this as a gift for one of you! All you have to do is leave a comment with one of your childhood obsessions, be it a boy band, the care bears, you name it! (One comment per person please!) The contest will close at 11:59pm on Friday December 11th, and I will announce the winner on December 12th.

But really, I’m about to be twenty-five. Like a quarter of a century. Like it’s time for me to grow the eff up.

So in honor of growing up and being an adult, this year we’re donating money for Christmas. Because during economic downturns, the non-profit groups get hit the hardest. Which is something you hear all the time, but still don’t take action. At least I know we don’t. So we’re using this holiday as our catalyst to spread our good fortune with others. One of the first places we donated was the honors program at the college I graduated from. As for the charities, we still have to decide on that one. It’s all so overwhelming! Do I want to help the puppies at the SPCA or what about the starving children? Or diseases? There are so many people and animals and causes that need help in any way.

So here’s my proposition, anyone out there that was already planning on getting me a birthday or Christmas gift. You? Yes you. Mom or Cale? No, not you guys. You’re not off the hook. Instead of spending the money you were going to spend on me, choose your favorite charity and send it that way. At a loss for where to donate? Well I’ve got just the place for you:

This upcoming July 10-11th I’m participating in the Avon Walk in San Francisco. I’m pretty excited about it. It’s two days where we walk a marathon the first day and a half marathon the next. All to raise money for breast cancer research. A sea of pink will be crossing the golden gate bridge and weaving through the streets of Marin. I’ve never committed myself to something of this magnitude, but I’m glad to do so for such a great cause. I have quite a large sum to fund raise, so if you’re at a loss at what to get me for Christmas or my birthday, please donate towards my walk; it’s tax deductible (if you itemize) and goes to a much better cause.

Until then, I’ll just be getting my booty in shape because walking 39 miles? yowzers.

P.S. Since when is it already December? Seriously?

It’s not home until there are some puppy kisses

We moved. Our lives were packed in boxes and moving in between two houses starting Wednesday of last week until this morning. (yes drawn out and painful).

And I’m TIRED. But we’re in our new home. Enjoying the ability to stretch out and getting used to all this space we now have to breathe.

One hundred thousand thanks to my mom, sister, and brother who came up for Thanksgiving this weekend, but got roped into cleaning the old house and moving a few straggling items. And all the help that came from Cale’s family in the heavy lifting and car swapping. Seriously who would think it took all that just to move out of a tiny little cottage?! Yikes.

So tell me, how was your Thanksgiving?

P.S. I don’t miss the old house so much after scrubbing behind the washing machine.

But in the dream of more space, I started browsing Craiglist for two bedroom houses to rent. I had no expectations of finding anything. Clearly it was a far reaching dream: two bedrooms, a big backyard, a detached house, in Sunol, with lots of trees and nature, all for only a little bit more than our already ridiculously-amazingly-low rent for the Bay Area. Who was I kidding? Impossible.

Apparently not. There it was. Two bedroom, overlooking Cale’s favorite golf course. Of course the rent was quite a bit higher than what we wanted to pay, but with utilities included, we thought it wouldn’t hurt to at least look at it. Horrible horrible idea. We both fell in love. Cale’s eyes went so wide looking at all the space. You would have thought it was a mansion. I liked it a lot, but wasn’t sure how I felt about the added cost. We talked it over and came to the conclusion that the added expense really wasn’t worth it. So we put it out of our minds (as much as we could).

Then a couple weeks ago, I left for training. And waiting for me when I landed was an email from the landlord saying they were going to lower the rent, and since they were really keen on us, wanted to know if we would be interested. What a wonderful distraction when I’m all the way in Arizona! Cale was a trooper fielding all my questions, videotaping a detailed tour of the house so I could envision how we could make it work and ironing out all the details. You would think that I was on board right off the back, but I really wavered. We have had such a wonderful experience with our current landlords and cottage. What if it wasn’t as good? Do we want to spend the extra money? But over the week, I became convinced. We both canceled our gym memberships to offset the additional rent. When I got back home, we met the landlords at the house again, and finalized all the details.

So over Thanksgiving, instead of stuffing ourselves and taking a nap, I’ll be busy painting and Cale will be moving our things to the new house. To say that my stress levels at the moment are high, is a drastic understatement.

goodbye our little gravel road

sidenote: If you have our current address, we will be keeping our Post Office Box, so there will be no changes there.