A Change is in the Air

Well, it's been over two months since I last blogged. Life got the better of me and I just didn't have the energy to update. But, I wanted to make sure to post something before the year was out. Hopefully I'll get back to blogging a bit more soon. Since October we've gone on that little cabin getaway I mentioned, and it was lovely. Hoping we'll get to go again sometime in the new year, maybe around Spring Break.

I managed to host my first family holiday in our home when we had my mom, brother, aunts, uncles, and cousins over for Thanksgiving. I couldn't have asked for things to go more smoothly. My only regret is that now the "grown ups" are getting older, so things don't run as late as the family holidays of my youth. But the dinner was great, everyone loved the food, our house, my simple decorations, and thanks to Steph I was able to seat everyone in our dining room around her 6 foot folding tables! My cousin Traci's kids both said at different times in the evening that they wished they could stay the night at our house. When the kids don't want to leave I think you can feel like you've done a good job, right?

The Monday after Thanksgiving my boss unfortunately passed away. He had been sick for quite sometime, and we all knew that it was coming, but it still manages to feel very sudden when it actually happens. I'm still working at the office for now, because there is a lot to do before we can close up shop. It's strange after working for him for 10 years to not have him humming around the office, or ringing up to have us connect him to a client from his cell phone. We're helping his wife keep things in order, find attorneys to cover his current cases, get client files together to return to old clients, etc.

My boss's passing was definitely a distraction in the last few weeks of school, but I managed to do well on my finals and got the A's I wanted for the semester. I also joined the Phi Theta Kappa honor society on my campus, and volunteered with the Lone Star Film Festival this semester. I've got most of my classes scheduled for next semester, and hopefully I'll be able to pick up a lot of students in my note taking gig, to make up some of my pending lost income.

On a brighter note, I got a second part time job too. In fact, I was officially told that I'm hired earlier this morning. Starting sometime shortly after the new year I'll be blogging for the local furniture and upholstery company Simple Things. I'll be coming at it from a blogger angle, whereas the employee who has been running the blog thus far was already with the company, so I'm looking forward to learning about their business and suppliers and integrating my knowledge of blogging and familiarity with popular design blogs and social media into their virtual presence. Once they start getting their new store established I'll also begin photographing store vignettes for the blog as well, which is very exciting for me!

We're less than a week away from Christmas and I can hardly believe it. With all the above-mentioned stuff going on we've hardly had time to decorate. My brother and his wife are hosting our Christmas morning this time, which takes a lot of the pressure off. We got a small fake tree this year, which normally I'd be completely opposed to, but we just didn't have the time and energy for a real one this year. I can always leave this faux five footer packed away and get real trees, but it's nice to have something in the attic for hectic years such as this one. And, it was a mere $30 pre-lit. Can't argue with that. I need to start wrapping presents tonight. I mean, I seriously have to start wrapping presents, there's like 30 of them.

So, there you have it, a brief recap of the past few months, and what I'm currently most excited about in the new year. Also, I'm so happy to have spent another year with Josh. He's been so supportive of me while I'm working hard at school, with the loss of my boss, and he is almost as excited as I am about this new job opportunity, even though it likely means less money in our pockets. At least for a while, anyway. I couldn't ask for a better partner.

Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
via

Merry Post-Christmas

I hope everyone had a great holiday! I know I sure did. Christmas Eve was filled with lots of family, fun and food. I was up late playing Santa, divvying up candy and filling stockings. Christmas morning we had a great breakfast and everyone loved all the presents they got, including me. Josh and I opened our gifts to each other after my family left. I already knew he had spoiled me because he "forgot" our gift count limit of 5. Along with all sorts of movies and books I wanted he got me a new drive & battery for my laptop, and a brand new netbook! I can't wait to be able to take notes so much quicker in class next semester! He spent his personal money on it. I don't get to tell him how he should spend that, and though I keep telling him he shouldn't have I'm still super glad to have a cute white netbook to use for school. And on top of all that, yesterday a package came for him from Cypress. He was confused, but when he opened it he realized it was the necklace I'd wanted from Etsy. He hadn't even noticed that it hadn't arrived yet! On top of all that I got a few of the things from the wish list I shared here too- those cute boots, the flash for my Holga, the movies, etc. I am so blessed to have people who care about me, and showed me that through picking out thoughtful gifts and wrapping them up sweetly.

Josh loved his presents, especially his super soft robe and the graphic novel. And our mom was really happy to get her new coat and the little peanut pendant necklace I got her at the last minute. But, I'd say the home run gift this year was the vintage hypnosis book we got for his stepdad, Jack. He really seemed impressed that we'd found something so neat that fit his interests so well. Etsy scores another win!

Christmas night we spent at Josh's dad and stepmom Ann's house. Along with siblings, uncles, aunts, and some of Ann's family in from Rochester, we had a wonderful evening with lots of good snacky food, fun games, and a warm fire. Again, left feeling super blessed to have so much wonderful family in our lives.

Simply Having a Wonderful Christmas Time

First off, I don't care how many people speak ill of it- I like that Paul McCartney Christmas song. Now that that's out of the way, I can share that I got my final GPA for my first semester- 4.0! Woohoo! I'm not a dullard! But, on to more important things like Christmas. Tomorrow is Christmas Eve, can you believe it? This year has whizzed by so quickly. All of our gifts are wrapped and under the tree. This year I got Josh a new cozy robe, some pajamas, a hilarious graphic novel from one of my new pals on Twitter, a video game he had on his wish list, and the second season of Kids In The Hall on DVD. I'm excited to see him open all his presents! And he wrapped up lots of goodies for me, so I'm excited to open some too.

Tonight we'll be having dinner with our awesome friend Diggy, in for the holidays from San Francisco. I can't wait to watch his latest short film that he's bringing to us, and pepper him with questions all about his next big idea. Tomorrow I've got to get some groceries for our holiday festivities. I'll do a little baking and then we'll be headed to Josh's mom's for Christmas Eve dinner.

Christmas morning my mom, brother and his family will be coming over for breakfast and gift opening. Then Josh and I will have a little time to relax and marvel at how blessed we are before we head off to his dad's house for even more blessings! Some of his stepmother's relatives will be in from Rochester and we'll have a nice evening of snacks, champagne, visiting, and Bananagrams. My father-in-law has been talking big about how he's going to kick all our butts, so I've got my game-face ready to meet his challenge!

I hope that everyone has a great holiday, with friends and family close and lots of wonderful memories made!

My 2010 Christmas Wish List (plus some other stuff)

The other stuff is that I am 99.9% done with school for the semester! I took my last math test and History final yesterday. Thanks to several extra credit opportunities, and actually studying, I got a 120 on my History test! My average for the semester came out to 107.4. Woohoo! And, despite it taking me forever, I got a 90 on my math test. I am more than pleased with that, since I sat struggling with 4 of the problems for quite awhile. I finally remembered what I was supposed to do to solve three of them, and guessed on the 4th. Funnily enough, the one I guessed I got right! I can't convey the bliss of coming home, making dinner, and having the freedom to do pretty much whatever I want. I watched 3 hours of television Monday night. It was awesome. Tomorrow I have to turn in my final Comp 1 paper, but I'm intending on heckling my teacher into grading it right then and there so I can know what I'm making. I also want to take a copy of the graded paper with me. These analytical papers on films might come in handy later, what with me hoping to major in Radio, Television, Film.

Now that school is out of the way, I really have to get on the ball for Christmas. I've got 30 gifts to wrap, and I need to do a couple of them ASAP to get them in the mail. I realized last night that I'm nowhere near having enough Christmas cards, so I need to pick some more of those up. And now, to share my Christmas Wish List for this holiday season.

























Play:

• Fujifilm Instax Mini 7s Instant Film Camera- I love my Holga, but I wanted something fun to play with that came with a little instant gratification
• Holga Manual Mount Flash- Speaking of my Holga, I asked for something to up my shooting ante
  
• Pottery Barn Wood Gallery Square Frames- You don't really play with frames I guess, but I recently ordered some of these and need more to finish my family photo gallery for the hall

Read:

• Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk by David Sedaris- Dying to read Sedaris' latest book. Especially after hearing him talk about it on The Daily Show
• The War for Late Night by Bill Carter- Carter's latest book, about Conan, that big chinned dude, and the whole Tonight Shot debacle. I think it's pretty obvious why I asked for this. :)
• Woody Allen: A Biography by Eric Lax- I loved the previous Allen book by Eric Lax that I read, so I'm pretty sure I'll enjoy this one. Lax has a great grasp on who Woody, considering he's been interviewing him for over 30 years.

Wear:

• Mossimo Western Boots- I'm working on growing my boot wardrobe. These are from Target.
• Enamel necklace from etsy- Don't tell me if you click this link and it says sold- I'm being a good girl and not peeking!
• The Looping Lanes and Soft Bow belts, both from Anthropologie- both also appear to be gone form their website, so really hoping somebody bought me at least one. Fingers crossed!

Watch:

• Mystery Science Theater 3000: I Accuse My Parents- one of my favorite MST3K flicks. It's amazing how few of these I own, and yet how much I adore them.
• Star Wars Trilogy- Yeah, I don't even know why we don't own this yet. I routinely don't buy the movies we love. I'm crazy.

Well, that wraps up my 2010 wish list. Technically there's a bunch more stuff on my list, but these are some of the highlights; the things I am most coveting.

Heralding the Holidays

Ah, I've finally reached the weekend. Things haven't gone just as I was hoping this week; still lots of work to be done on my final English paper and put my Math test off until Tuesday, so I've got a lot of school work to do this weekend before things get wrapped up next week. Yesterday was so rough that by the time I got home I was completely done in. I showered, put on my pajamas, and immediately got into bed. Josh got home to find me reading the new issue of Real Simple that had come in the mail. He did chores, gave me some snuggles, then fed me yummy Spinach & Feta pizza. That husband of mine really is the best. And of course last night's Conan episode really cheered me up too. Did you guys see She & Him? Totally amazing.

I managed to finish almost all of my Christmas shopping this week, and almost all of it on Monday as a matter of fact! Between a BIG Amazon order, which should be arriving today, and a shopathon with Mom I pretty much just have stocking stuffers left to buy. I do however still have all those gifts to wrap- yoinks! But that'll be waiting until I'm done with my school work next week.

Today has been quite a bit better. I got some work done and it's been quite in the office. But, even better than that, this evening Josh and I are going to participate in one of my favorite holiday traditions we've started. We'll be getting our Christmas tree after work, and we decorate it while watching The Muppet Christmas Carol and over a dinner of fish & chips, Old Speckled Hen, and some bread pudding for dessert. The Muppet Christmas Carol is one of my most favorite holiday movies (although I do have a lot of favorites, ha) and I haven't even let myself watch it yet, so I get to see it for the first time this season. I hope everyone else is having fun getting into the holiday spirit!

Post Christmas Catch-up

Oh my! I'm finally starting to feel back in the swing of things. Of course, it follows that there's still New Year's to get through too so who knows how long this feeling will last. Christmas eve turned out to be quite eventful, in that we practically had a blizzard in these parts. It started snowing before 10 that morning and it just kept coming. It took forever for it to start sticking, but once it did it accumulated rather quickly. The roads eventually started to ice over too. Mom and my brother Justin and his family were supposed to be coming over for dinner and presents. Mom still made it, but Justin had to make a quick stop by himself to deliver gifts since my niece came down with a bug that day. What bad luck! But we had a nice evening anyway. The snow finally eased shortly after Mom arrived. I roasted a chicken, which we had with stuffing and roasted veggies. We lit some candles and opened a bottle of wine and had a nice leisurely dinner. Afterward we played a little Beatles Rock Band to show Mom what it was like, and then we had apple cider, egg nog, and opened our presents. My bro called so my niece could say Merry Christmas to us all. We visited for a little longer and then we helped Mom out to her car. Her door was frozen shut, which took some yanking, and I had to scrape her windshield off for her. Luckily she just lives around the corner, so she didn't have far to go on the slick and slippery roads. Then Josh and I put on the new pajamas Mom gave us, had some cocoa and more nog, and watched Muppet Christmas Carol before settling in for our Christmas sleep.

Christmas morning we had a nice sleep in and woke up to glistening snow all over our yard. I previously had hopes of taking a little family portrait in front of the house, but all the cold and snow called for a quick readjustment. I set up the tripod and snapped a pic of us in our Christmas pajamas on the sidewalk instead. Then we had some bacon, hash browns, eggs and coffee for breakfast and opened our presents. We spoiled each other as usual! Josh loved all his presents, and I of course loved mine. He got me most of the stuff I posted from my wishlist. Then I got changed and went outside to make a little snowman. I just couldn't let the white stuff melt without a few minutes of fun in it. We spent the rest of the day enjoying our presents and then got ready and headed to his Mom's house that evening. I helped Deana in the kitchen while the guys watched a movie. We then had dinner and opened gifts, finished the movie over dessert, and headed back home.

Day after Christmas consisted of Josh leaving very early in the morning and me sleeping in. I spent most of the day in my pajamas with the after Christmas blues, watching movies and stuff off the DVR. Went out that night with Holly to see Holy Moly at the Aardvark, followed by some post drinking Fuzzy's Tacos and back home to bed. Josh got home on Sunday, we grabbed some lunch, and then headed back out to House of Blues for the Rock School showcase and the Back In Black concert. Monday we slept in, then got ready and hit the road to Austin to see Woody Allen. I'll write about that in another post though, cause that was a big life moment for me!

Here are a few pics from our holiday weekend. You can see a couple more here.

Christmas Vacation

I will be leaving work shortly and off on my 5 day break. Hopefully be able to find some time to share Christmas photos in the next few days, but they'll be busy ones. Tonight I'll be trying to finish wrapping all the gifts and ordering a pizza so I can focus on them. Tomorrow I've got a lot of work ahead of me- cleaning house, setting the table, and preparing a Christmas Eve feast for ourselves and my mom, brother, sister-in-law, and niece. Josh and I will be spending the morning of our first Christmas in our new house just the two of us. Looking forward to sleeping in, breakfast, and leisurely opening our gifts to one another. Christmas night we'll be with Josh's mom, step dad, and brother- no doubt stuffing ourselves like we usually do and maybe playing some games. Josh has to jet off to Houston on Saturday, which makes me sad, but he'll be back already on Sunday. Sunday night he's got a show at the House of Blues in Dallas. Which brings us to my new most favorite part of our holiday break, Monday we'll be driving down to Austin to see Woody Allen and Eddy Davis's New Orleans Jazz Band!!! I am beyond excited for this. I discovered they were going to be in Texas today and was able to find good tickets. Not cheap, but I conveniently got a Christmas bonus yesterday that I didn't know what to do with. And Josh is taking off work and getting back on the road after one jaunt to go on another one as a special Christmas gift to me. Guys. I'm gonna be in the same room with Woody Allen. Listening to him play delicious New Orleans style jazz. So basically, I've got a date with heaven on Monday. I didn't know I could get any luckier, but then I did. Happy holidays everybody!!! I hope everyone has a fantastic Christmas and that your wishes come true! I know mine have.

Josh's Christmas Gifts 2009

Once again, Josh has promised to not peek so that I might share with you what he'll be finding from me under the Christmas tree this year. Josh actually asked for some stuff this year, and pretty early in the season too, so I had an easy task ahead of me. Didn't take me too long to decide what to get for him. Here's a peek at his presents. His gifts look a lot more colorful compared to last year's.























The Complete Monty Python's 16-Ton Megaset: Flying Circus, Justice, Volume 1 graphic novel, Mirror's Edge for PS3, Striped sweater from Old Navy (sold out), Moongel dampening gels (stocking stuffer), Flight of the Conchords Season 2 DVD, The Acid House by Irvine Welsh, digital tuner and metranome, Drumsticks and brushes (stocking stuffers)

My 2009 Christmas Wish list

This year I decided to do just one post on some of the things I put on my Christmas wish list, a la Olivia at Gnome Sweet Gnome. So, here are some of the things I am hoping to find under the tree this holiday season.


















1. A set of filters and some film for my Holga camera
2. A water color set, sketch pad, and brushes (inspired by Emily)
3. I always ask for books- shown: The Groucho Letters, My Life In France, Woody Allen: A Biography, The Photographer's Eye, Blink, and Bill Wood's Business
4. Some glass replacements for my old, plastic food containers and a new compost pail from Crate & Barrel
5. New slippers with a hard sole
6. The Grab Bag of Swell Season 2008 tour posters
7. A Darcy proposal mug and Pride & Prejudice ornament from Etsy seller Brookish (currently sold out)
8. The Muppet Show Season 3 on DVD
9. Bakelite necklace from Etsy seller PetitOiseau

War Is Over

Yoko Ono and IMAGINEPEACE.com have made the famous "WAR IS OVER" poster available on Flickr in 65 different languages. Downloadable in a full 3000 x 4000 poster size, or smaller. I find them incredibly beautiful, especially looking at the collection as a whole. Here is a sampling. View them all here. Happy Christmas.















English














German














Arabic














American Sign Language