The Kid

Lately, I've been wondering what would happen if we could record ourselves as individuals in everyday life for one week. Then, take the footage, edit out the really mundane parts and transfer it to a VHS tape. Then label it with your name and your current age, hand it to a man with Daniel Faraday-type powers and have him deliver it to your 12 year old self to watch.

Would that be horrifying?

I don't think my 12 year old self would be horrified. In fact, I think she'd be delighted about the husband and the puppy, but I think she'd be very confused by my "professional life" or lack thereof.

Snowball

I'm sitting at Starbucks for the first time in a long time.

I got home from work a half hour early and made my way upstairs while talking to my bestie on the phone. Our conversation lasted an hour and a half and in the midst of it, I took the puppy outside, noticed he was nekkid (no collar), smelled him and realized that Todd had given him a bath before going to work (LOVE that man), changed clothes while defending my socks and pant legs from puppy teeth, made myself rotini with vodka sauce and mozz cheese, threw it in a to-go box, played with Gotham and then took him outside again, kenneled him and apologized, then hung up the phone and with laptop, purse, dinner and a cupcake in tow, made my way through the incredibly dense fog to my husband's 3rd and final birthday celebration. Jeffrey made him a neapolitan cake and it was delicious.

So.

Now I'm sitting here. Finally have a chance to get some things off my chest, off my head, whatever... and I don't even know where to begin. I think i need to write several posts because there's no way anyone would sit a read half of what I could write right now.

I'm going to elaborate. But the gist is this. Work is mundane and emotionally draining. But not in a bad way, if you can believe that. Well, the mundane part is bad right now, but I know as soon as winter passes, the Arch will be slammed and I'll be crazy busy. But I'm learning a lot about my new friends and about myself as I get to know people.

Also, August Gate small groups have started. I'm really proud of Todd for all the work he's put into making our curriculum so engaging and hearty. I'm also learning a lot about myself there too. It's hard stuff to hash out, but so necessary.

Gotham is really a great dog. I love him a lot. But i can't WAIT for him to lose his puppy teeth. I also can't wait for it to get warm so he can get outside and run in the sunshine. He'll love it.

Professionally, I'm sort of a disaster right now. I work at the Arch, but I'm still looking for a job that will let me use my degree. But I'm going crazy because NO ONE will email me back. Plus, I think I have too many interests? I want to do promotional work, I want to go back to school for social work, I want to speak Spanish, I want to be on Glee, I want to be a nurse (who speaks Spanish), I want to write something that people want to read/watch...

But really, all I need to do right now is freaking make some money. There are bills everywhere and they're not getting any smaller and I get really frustrated sometimes.

Also, our lease is up in May. And multiple realtor friends are telling us that we could be paying half of what we pay for rent if we bought a foreclosure house. So we've looked at four. They were all amazing in their own way and very overwhelming to think about owning... but nevertheless we HAVE to think about it if we wanna be good stewards of our money...

But all I can see is bank notes, bank notes and payment books and online billing reminders everywhere, and it makes me nauseous.

Speaking of that, praise the Lord, we only have one baby and he is furry and growly and has four legs.

There is just a LOT going on right now. Not to mention the two outta state weddings of dear, dear friends we're sposed to attend this year...

(sigh)

I just needed to get that out. Thanks for letting me.

Blurbs

So, it's 12th Night. The first day of my very first Mardi Gras season in Soulard. FYI, Soulard is home to the largest Mardi Gras celebrations in the country, outside of Louisiana. The money that our neighborhood bars and businesses make during Mardi Gras gives them a cushion for the entire rest of the year. I may have mentioned before that our apartment is on the local parade route. There are still beads in our tree from last year. We'll see how it goes!

***

Gotham is a trip. A couple of days ago, he was chewing on a fake flower arrangement in the foyer of our apartment. Todd told him to leave it and come on, but 30 minutes later when they were playing, Todd called him, and instead of bounding across the floor, Gotham dry heaved for a second and then threw up a handful of kibble and a plastic flower. I laughed out loud when Todd told me the story and I laughed out loud again while typing it. :) Silly kid.

Gotham is 9 weeks old today and might as well be a toddler. He can go up and down all the stairs in our building, he's teething like a baby dragon, doing really good with potty training most of the time, chewing on anything that's on his level, whining when he wants on the couch, but NOT when he needs to go out, sleeping on his back with his paws in the air and eating anything he can get in his mouth. He's also learned to sit and stay (and he does it most of the time). Also, as of this week, Gotham and I have the same favorite pillows. We have these really soft, cuddly, cream-colored fuzzy pillows that we got as wedding gifts and while he's napping beside me, he always readjusts every few minutes, inching over until he has his face in one of them. Then he'll go to sleep. I mean, I don't blame him. But those are for my face. Not his.

***

I just flipped through every one of my Real Simple magazines from 2009. I pulled out all the recipes and a few articles that were still interesting and relevant... I know I'll use some of the recipes, but I also know there's a good chance I'll barely look at this binder i'm putting together... so why is it so hard to throw them away?! I felt bad! I think it's because the layout and design of Real Simple is so unique and lovely that each issue feels like a work of art. I'd keep them if I had space, but it's probably better that I pare them down anyway...

***

It's snowing. Quite a bit. I mean, it's no Austria, but the Texas girl in me still thinks it's a LOT. I'm glad I don't work till 11am tomorrow, hopefully the roads will be clear. The snow is gorgeous but it's HARD to stop in. Even in the Element. (Which has brand new, shiny Missouri plates as of today, thankyouverymuch.)

***

At my job, I have to take pictures of everyone who comes through to go up in the Arch. I realized tonight while "watching" the People's Choice awards that if Hugh Jackman, Matthew Morrison or Josh Holloway (or Matthew Fox, really) came through the Arch with their families? I would NOT be functional. I would completely freeze up. Taye Diggs and Ewan McGregor would have the same effect. Josh and Matt Fox would freak me out because I love LOST and I especially love Sawyer. The rest would freak me out because they have beautiful man voices and they've been in major Broadway musicals.

Goals for 2009: Wrap Up

This was the first post of the year, let's see how I did...

Goals for 2009

• At least two blog posts EVERY week. Long, short, logical, nonsensical-- it matters not. Hold me to this. Please. Badger me. I need it sometimes. I blogged 70 times this year. 24 times this month, my most ever, of all time. Just 34 short of my goal, not bad. I'll try and do better next year though.
  

• Purchase Rosetta Stone: Spanish ("It's my birthday present to me! I'm SO happy!") and be able to hold my own in conversation with my friend Jose by the end of the year. Or maybe just have a conversation with Tim Sayles entirely in Spanish. Yeah, neither of these things happened. :) After I met Todd, my priorities got a little rearranged. I still love Spanish and want to learn it... I'm just not sure when it's gonna happen...
  

• New job = New challenge. Something to put my degree to use. Something more permanent. Preferably with a company called Pure Safety. Mr. Gaudreau, if you're reading this... call me? :) Wow, I can't believe I applied for that job this time last year... it's a good thing I didn't get a good job in Nashville, I would've had to leave it! But I do have a new job, outside the restaurant industry! Still working on using that degree though...
  

• Finish reading 20 books. I attempted this last year. I only made it through 16. More on that in my next post. I sure did not read 20 books. I don't even think I read ten. MAYBE six. I'll get back to you on that.
  

• Continue my adventures in cooking. Now that I own a Magic Bullet, this could get interesting. :) I'm planning my first attempt at fresh pesto this Sunday. Yeah! This is going really well, actually. I'm a big fan of cooking now (and Todd is a big fan of me being a big fan), and I owe that mostly to my work BFF from Saffire, Chef Vinny. Let the adventures continue!
  

• Eat a pomegranate. I've never done this. I'm intrigued. Ate one! Ate like 10, actually. Love them.
  

• Participate in NaNoWriMo. I might have to work up to this. Okay, I registered and I wrote some, but I didn't upload anything. But in my defense, I'd JUST gotten back from my honeymoon and was very busy.
  

• Submit stories to at least 2 other competitions held by Narrative Magazine. I submitted one story. I didn't get to write another one. Maybe this year. I hope.
  

• Keep a plant alive. Hopefully two. My adopted grandmother sent me home from Texas after Christmas with a baby orange tree. And I, feeling overzealous because of her belief in my ability to not kill this plant, also bought some fresh basil. I may be in over my head. We'll see. FAIL. Killed 'em both. RIP little saplings.
  

• Play Rock Band 2. Drums, specifically. YES!!! Did this on Christmas day and it was amazing!!!
  

• Multiple dates/hangouts (read: at least two) with Annie Parsons and Kara Orendorf. :) Two dates with Annie, and lots of hangouts with sweet Kara. I miss them both!!!
  

• Visit (my cousin in) Boston in September and/or Brazil (with missionary friends) in November. Um... I got married instead. Ran out of money. :)
  

• Continue to shorten the degrees of separation between myself and Baz Lurhmann. In a perfect world, have ALL degrees erased and be nearing BFF status before production on Great Gatsby begins. I can dream with the best of 'em. That's why I think we'd get along so well. :) We stayed in the same hotel as Keith Urban on our wedding night... he's married to Nicole, who has Baz's number in her cell phone, I'm sure. So that's good! Also, today, I found out that my friend Josh's new co-worker was a dancer in the original Broadway cast of Wicked, which means by degrees to Idina Menzel and Taye Diggs have shortened! AND at Thanksgiving, I discovered that my cousin Brittani's old dance instructor from when we were kids (Zac Woodlee) is the head choreographer on Glee! So that shortens my degrees to Matt Morrison as well. :) I'll take it!
  

Happy New Year, blogworld!!!

Pacing The Panic Room

I don't know this family, but this is the best thing I've read all day.




It's definitely better than anything I could write here today. :) So if you've got a few minutes, please check out Panic Room Ryan's magnificent photo account of his wife's pregnancy as well as the birthing story. He took pictures of her every week starting from 17 weeks and wrote a sweet, funny blurb next to each photo. Also, her birthing story is just crazy. Also, the transparency of this couples love for each other is evident in his writing almost immediately. It's awesome.

Reading instructions: When you click on the link, scroll down to the bottom and read up. You can skip the letters if you want. When you finish the first page, scroll down to the bottom and click "newer posts". Then scroll to the bottom again and read up. Don't cheat! It's better that way. :)

Also, I'm pretty sure there are no kids reading this blog, but Ryan's blog is rated PG-13ish for language and a couple of (tame) birthing pics. Not a big deal, but there's your disclaimer.


p.s. I am NOT pregnant. I just love good writers/moment capturers and good stories.

Fifteen-ish

I was driving tonight with Gotham (I put him in a gym bag and took him to visit Todd at work on his lunch break) and on the way home, the song "Fifteen" by Taylor Swift came on. Listening to the words, I realized that my fifteen year old self could relate to a lot of it.

'Cause when you're fifteen and somebody tells you they love you
You're gonna believe them
When you're fifteen and your first kiss
Makes your head spin 'round
But in your life you'll do things greater than
Dating the boy on the football team
But I didn't know it at fifteen...

When all you wanted was to be wanted
Wish you could go back and tell yourself what you know now

I like Taylor. I like this song. I think it's completely relevant to fifteen year old girls, who are generally itching for something to relate to emotionally. But I realized, listening to that last bit of the bridge about going back and telling yourself what you know now-- that I wouldn't do that at all. Not to my fifteen year old self. I was blessed with a relatively drama-free high school experience and a very sweet first boyfriend and while there were occasional rough patches, I wouldn't change anything about that time of my life.

I would go back a few other places though...

I'd go back to 18 and tell her to leave her high school boyfriend in high school.

I'd go back to 19 and tell her to sit down and fill out those scholarship forms and write those essays because the money you are asking the bank for IS in fact, real money. And that yes, you will actually have to pay it ALL back (and THEN some!), even if the economy is crap, so do NOT borrow money that you don't need!

I'd go back to 20 and tell her to let him go before he left for Memphis in the summer.

I'd go back to 21 and help her unpack her car BEFORE she drove to church for Christmas Eve service, so that everything wouldn't get stolen...

But I'd also warn her about about cowardice masquerading as nobility. I'd beg her to get the answers she needed and then "leave the past behind, though it [kept] finding ways to get to [her] heart". I'd promise her that no amount of apparent compatibility would be worth the drama and heartache of the next year... but she probably wouldn't listen.

And finally, I'd go back to 22 and tell her to love the loan grace period, stop buying cd's and start saving a little and paying that mug off before she got hit with thousands of dollars in interest payments.

Silly, silly girl... I'm glad its all working itself out. :)

Would you go back?

p.s. Surprisingly enough, I wouldn't tell her a word about Todd. It feels a little cruel, but I couldn't live with myself if I ruined the best surprise of her life. :)

Christmas, Christmas, Christmas!!!

Wow, it's been a jam-packed couple of days, filled with family and food and friends from outta town and puppies and presents and lots of driving!

We had Christmas at three different houses this year! On Christmas eve, we spent the night at Todd's parents place. We woke up to snow on Christmas morning, ate amazing cinnamon rolls for breakfast, opened our gifts (in addition to helping us pay for Gotham, his parents gave us lots of fabulous stuff for our fireplace, plus Glee soundtracks, house shoes and TOMS, etc.) We were also very entertained by the puppies; Gotham (who will be 8 weeks this wednesday), Roxie (a 6 year old boxer) and Emma (a 2 year old micro-shih-tzu, who didn't want a single thing to do with Gotham). Gotham and Roxie got along great and wore each other out. Gotham also learned how to go down the stairs (video to come!) and didn't have a single accident outside on the day after Christmas! Yay! Definite progress.

Christmas afternoon, we bundled up and went off to the Grandparents house, where we ate a hearty lunch, gave Gotham a piece of ham because we left his food at home, played Rock Band 2, watched UP, and then ate dinner. In between all of that, Todd and I slipped out to visit the home and family of one of his college roommates. We took Gotham with us and when we arrived, we were met by two more puppies (Ruby, an 8 week old black lab, and Lucy, a 7 week old yellow lab) and a dog (Barkley, a 6 year old chocolate lab). SO many puppies. Gotham loved it even though Ruby sort of beat him up (a la Nala v. Simba).

We had company Sunday afternoon and Saturday evening as well! (Gotham's starting to get excited whenever unfamiliar-smelling people come over.) Two of Todd's groomsmen and their wives came into town for Christmas from Nashville and Chicago. We had Mike and Amanda over for frito pie and met Scott and (a different) Amanda for brunch at Benton Park Cafe. (It had snowed the night before and the roads weren't clear yet, so we also managed to slide into three different curbs on our seven-minute journey there.) But it was really nice catching up with them.

Then last night, we drove back over to Illinois with Gotham in tow to visit Todd's cousins who live on a farmhouse in Worden, IL. Cool family. The dad re-built the whole house/lodge himself, first cutting the old house in half with a chainsaw, then rebuilding the front half in one year, and the back half the next year. The house looks like an ad for Pottery Barn: Lodge Edition, including a giant, 20 foot tall fireplace, made exclusively of hand-picked, hand-washed river rocks from a neighbors' creek bed, sitting atop 40,000lbs of concrete and a built-in blower that heats the entire house. The two daughters (15 & 13) are absolutely adorable. They also barrel race in rodeos, shoot coyotes, catch giant disgusting fish (and gut them too, no doubt), received cows for Christmas last year and rifles this year, and have mounted deer heads in the house. Never before have a met I beautiful little porcelain-looking 13 year old, asked her what her favorite food was only to hear "Deer" as her answer. Not venison. Deer.

It's a different world.

That night, we ate an fantastic meal that included lasagna, made with ground beef from from one of their own cows. Ah. Mazing. Also, right before dinner, they brought one of their pet goats in the house. They said his name was Cupid because he was born on Valentine's Day.

In short: never has there been a Christmas quite like this one :) I wouldn't trade it for anything.