Year End
I feel like I should be doing some sort of wrap-up post here or something. Whenever I try to do that, I always feel like I'm underachieving somehow.
So instead of listing things I did or wanted to do, here are some of my favorite memories from 2006:
St. Patrick's Day--which happened to be the night of our wedding rehearsal dinner. It was at
McCormick & Schmick's and all our close friends and family were there. I had a blast.
My wedding--lots of it is blurry, but I remember how gloriously blue the sky was, particularly when Ron and I were taking pictures at the Art Museum.
The Hawaii tosties and Amstel Bright in Curacao.
Driving around during our honeymoon. I can't tell you how many times we got lost, but it sure was an adventure, complete with goats, cows, lizards, wild dogs, old churches and some of the most stunning landscapes I've ever seen.
The
Italian Festival in June. So much good food and laughter at bocci. Also, my brother-in-law was totally wasted at Bingo and was screaming the numbers back at the 90 year-old announcer. Good times.
The Summer Cocktail Series. We didn't branch out to as many places as we said we would--actually off-hand I can't remember going anywhere besides El Vez and Vintage. Of course, that Meg was in love with the guy in the Vintage bathroom was pretty funny. At any rate, I always looked forward to these nights out.
Driving down to Maryland, to the trailer down by the river. When you're driving through the country backroads at sunset, the cornfields really do look like fields of gold.
Running around Chicago with Ron. After his two-day exam was over, he and I did just about every possible touristy thing in one day: Hancock building, Sears Tower, deep dish pizza, an architecture tour, Navy Pier, Millenium Park. I know the reason we were really there was for Ron's exam, so it wasn't nearly as much fun for him as it was for me, but it was one of the best trips I've been on.
Speaking of trips, our fall trip to Mystic, CT and Newport, RI was another favorite in the 2006 memories. I had been to Mystic before as a kid and I think it's fun to rediscover a place as an adult. Things seem so much larger when you're younger. I think I just really enjoying exploring places with Ron. He makes everywhere more fun somehow.
Our cocktail party in November. I've always admired how Ron is able to bring together friends from every phase of his life. At that party, I saw Meg (my friend from high school), Kim and John (my friend from college and her husband), along with Michelle and Christy (friends from the city here) all having a great conversation. It gave me a warm fuzzy feeling.
All in all, I had a fabulously fun year. Lots of time with my friends, and I was able to go on several out-of-town excursions. I have a feeling 2007 will hold even more adventures.
Resting
After an exhausting day of running around doing last minute errands, including entering a "Toys R Us" for
this, I'm finally laying on my couch, watching "Love, Actually" with Ron. I'm finishing up one last batch of cookies.
Frankly, I don't want to see any more cookie dough until next Christmas.
Tomorrow night will be the first time I participate in the "7 Fishes" on Christmas Eve at the in-laws'. And by participate, I mean I'll be in the same room. I've made chicken parm and baked ziti for myself.
Merry Christmas!
Peace
So for weeks I've been in the holiday spirit: shopping, decorating, wrapping, baking, and so on. But it's not as if life has been a bowl of cherries either. I've had an argument with my best friend, my mother un-invited me to Christmas and there's been some stuff that I'd rather not go into here. I've been angry a lot of the time at a lot of people. If you're one of those people, I'm sorry.
You realize this time of year how foolish it is to waste your time on the unimportant stuff. And that's what most of life's headaches are: unimportant. So this Christmas, the best piece of unsolicited advice I can give you is to clear your heart and mind of the unimportant and make room for peace instead.
Merry Christmas, everyone. May Santa bring you all on your list.
Success
I finally attempted
pizzelles yesterday. Know what? They're not nearly as difficult as I imagined. I suppose they're time-consuming, since you can only do 2 at a time, but they also only take 30 seconds for every two. So it seemed to me to fly by and was a refreshing change from my usual cookie baking which is put two cookie sheets in, wait 5 minutes, switch which sheet is on which oven shelf and then wait another 5 minutes for them to be done.
Or more likely, I switch the shelves the cookie sheets are on and then forget all about them until they're burnt.
Merry Christmas!
Sometimes, just sometimes, I love CNN's
Lou Dobbs.
Curacao
So I was daydreaming about my honeymoon today. Nice people, lovely architecture, beautiful beaches, loads of time to rest and relax. One of the best finds there is the
Amstel Bright, which isn't sold in the United States. It looks very much like Corona but it's lighter somehow.
Another thing I miss are the Hawaii tostis. It's like a grilled cheese with ham and pineapple. I've actually recreated them here at home, but it's just not the same somehow. I can't tell you how many afternoons we spent on the beach having Amstel Bright, Hawaii tostis and fries with mayo. They put mayo on everything down there and I swear it just worked for some reason.
Other odd things I ate there included broodje
frikendel and
bitterballen. I didn't know exactly what these were at the time, but I knew that they weren't for those who are a bit squeamish about where their meat comes from. They were tasty though.
I hope I get to go back there someday.
The Sadness
I'm in the unfortunate position of watching a student slowly destroy his life. Times like this, I hate my job, hate that I can do nothing but watch and pray that it doesn't end most tragically. And I feel selfish for hoping that if it does end in an unfortunate way, that it doesn't happen on my watch.
Lovely
Friday night, we braved the freezing temperatures and found the most perfect Christmas tree. We got it home with no problems and actually got it upright in the stand on pretty much the first try.
Saturday, after hitting the gym, we went to
Peddler's Village, where I stocked up on some Christmas candles. Even though it was pretty cold, it was a nice day just walking around, enjoying the scenery. We wound up meeting the in-laws' for dinner at an Italian place that serves lots of stuff not conducive to South Beach. So much to my chagrin I'm adding on another day to my two week regiment to compensate.
Sunday, I did a little baking and lots of cleaning and we decorated the aforementioned tree. It just totally makes my season that this tree isn't dead and leaning. Last night was another in a seemingly endless series of memorial services for Baby M, as well as other children. This one was a candlelight service and I knew it would be less painful than the last memorial service, but I dreaded it, regardless. At any rate, the extended family, including some aunts and uncles came over after the service for coffee and dessert. I love having people over, even if it does tip off my anxiety.
Jobs
I'm not sure when exactly my job became dangerous. My chosen profession is decidedly not dangerous. And truthfully, my job isn't really dangerous. But the potential for possible danger is what gets me.
While I'm not a teacher, I do work with students. Upper-crust students. Turns out that some upper-crust students are balls-ass crazy and you never know when one of them is going to snap. None of them have snapped at me, but you know, I figure it's only a matter of time. Worrying about these types of students, what they might do and who they might do it to, is a much heavier burden than I ever anticipated. Sometimes I wish I had a the kind of job that I could leave at the office at the end of each day.
GAP
The Gap is seriously annoying me. It's not like I buy my finest apparel there are anything, but it is where I go to buy 1.) gray sweat socks (seriously, they're perfect. Not too thick, not too thin and gray is way cooler than white) 2.) summer clothes that are essentially disposable (by June, all their summer t's and skirts are all on clearance--who cares if I only wear them once?) and 3.) holiday sweaters.
Would it kill the Gap to have a red sweater right now? I swear everything in there is either white, black or tan. I know that's not unusual since it is the freaking GAP after all but really, they usually introduce more color at the holidays. I only wear red at Christmas so I'd rather go to the Gap to get my cheesy sweater than Ann Taylor.
None an acceptable sweater to be had. Sad, really.
Slowly Decorating
I didn't get to decorate the apartment Tuesday because that particular night I had the life force sucked out of me. But last night I got out the boxes and got to work. We're getting a real tree again this year and we're debating whether to get it this weekend or next. I want to get it this weekend, but I also don't want it to be dead by Christmas, like
last year. Waiting until next weekend seems like it'll be too late somehow. I want the Christmas season to last a good length of time and it's not really Christmas until the tree goes up.
Actually, just thinking about last year's
tree makes me want to get the artificial one out of the closet right now.
Too Shiny
Dear Random Person Who Was Otherwise Dressed Appropriately for Work,
Evening shoes are not meant to be worn during the day. So those black, satin slingbacks with the rhinestone buckle really aren't an option.
Thanks,
DJ Heavy D
Happy December
So my December has been shaping up in a lovely way. I spent the day on Friday with Hope and her new baby, who is adorable to put it mildly. I love newborns like Julia because she barely weighs anything and she's portable, making her the perfect shopping accessory. Newborns also don't sleep at night and they seem to eat constantly, but hey, that's Hope's problem. Saturday we went to Meg's tapas party, which was fab, and I got a reconnect (or connect for the first time?) with someone Meg and I went to high school with. I wasn't friends with her then, but she's super nice. Anyway, on Sunday, Ron and I went to my friend-turned-bridezilla's house to so she and I could bake all the live long day. Actually, she did about two thirds of the baking because her baking skills are highly superior to mine. While we baked, the boys enjoyed
Utz's sweet salsa, and man, is that stuff addictive. So Sunday was a great success, although by Monday, for reasons I can't get into here, I wanted to pitch said friend out a window. A window on the 20th floor.
Tonight I think I'm going to decorate the apartment. It's about time, since there are less than 3 weeks until Christmas. That's right, I said it. Christmas will be here in less than 3 weeks. Get to work people! I know you have a million things to do.
Speaking of Christmas, Ron and I, because we're going for the super cheese factor this year are in search of matching his and hers Christmas pajamas. Not as easy to find as one might think.
