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Here’s to a Great 2008

December 31, 2007 By

Photo © Richard Young Photography

So, here it is New Year’s Eve. I have just under 12 hours left for this year, and I’m tying to get it all done. Today is house cleaning day. Never mind that I haven’t started yet, or that there’s partying to be done tonite. And of course since Boyfriend and I are partying with our East Coast friends, that means midnight is at 9pm PST, when the ball drops in New York, so no showing up at this New Year’s party at 11pm.Yes, today is house cleaning day – an activity that I admit gets neglected until it drives me bonkers. And it’s junk food eating day. I think there’s some sort of law or something that says that everyone must make a New Year’s resolution to lose weight and/or eat better. Boyfriend and I have that one in mind, which means that we have a lot of junk food to finish off today.

Since I already did my yearly wrap-up with my Christmas Post, I’ll blog about what’s ahead for 2008.

The Blog:
I have made the decision to switch to WP. Once I get paid (since this is the week without a paycheck as I switch from weekly to bi-weekly pay) I’ll get that part done. I can’t wait! It will be so exciting to do all the things I want to with my blog since I’ll be able to create different pages. My head is spinning with thoughts of all the possibilities!

The Job:
As you know, I’ve been at my job for 6 months now, and I recently got hired on permanently, which means I can take advantage of their benefits. I’d like to go back to school and study accounting, which is something I realized I actually like (not like when I took it way back when). This is a course of study that can take me anywhere, and I can take advantage of my education immediately since I’m already in the finance department of Big Company. With that in motion, there’s nowhere to go but up!

The Boyfriend:
Since I met him, my life has been better than I ever imagined it could. Sure, Aunt Flo steps in every month to try and tell me otherwise, but she can take a flying leap for all I care. Boyfriend is awesome, and we are going to continue that so in love it makes you sick thing through 2008 and beyond.

The Personal Miscellany:
I gained a ton of weight on prescription anti-depressants, which I finally was able to ween myself off of last spring. I haven’t been able to kick the weight though, and motivation has been in short supply. Personal and job upheaval hasn’t helped. Now that things are steadier, and they have the WW Cult at work, I should be able to find the motivation to stick to it. I haven’t needed the meds either, instead choosing vitamins which, except for Aunt Flo’s interference, have worked quite well. I’ll have my health insurance in effect April 1, which will be great because I’ve put off going to the doctor for well visits, so this will be the year to get healthy all around.

I also want to get more organized. Boyfriend and I have a 1 bedroom apartment, so it’s been really cramped since I moved in. We don’t know if we’re ready to buy a house or just move into a 2 bedroom. Either way, I want to get my stuff out of the garage. Yesterday I cleaned out my email and cleaned up some of my music, but I want results I can see. Over the next month I hope to organize my desk area and at least unpack the rest of my books so that the bookshelf isn’t so empty. That’s about 10 boxes of stuff that already has a home, and will give me a good sense of accomplishment. I’d like this next year to be more organized and less cluttered, not just with my material things but with my life overall.

I hope all of you have a very safe New Year’s Eve, and here’s to a Great 2008! Cheers!

Filed Under: Health, Holidays

Christmas Goodies

December 26, 2007 By

I have to say that this Christmas was the best one I’ve had since I moved here to Vegas 4 1/2 years ago. Having Boyfriend to lavish love, affection, and gifts on was a huge part of that. I finally finished his stocking, which turned out quite nice (if you don’t look at the stitches). It’s in his favorite colors – the main stocking is black velvet and it’s hung by a red velvet ribbon. It’s also quite a bit bigger than a regular stocking, which is also something that he enjoyed. “I wish I had a stocking like this when I was a kid – it’s bottomless!” he exclaimed.

To give the illusion of Santa, I woke up before dawn and filled it with some yummy foods, a jacks and ball set, and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Two-Disc Special Edition), which Boyfriend is watching right now. I also got him a new blender, which he’s been saying he wanted, a tin and calendar featuring the art of Michael Godard, and a character portrait based on his astrological chart from Equinox. I got one when I was in London about 10 years ago, and it was quite good. Boyfriend thinks his is pretty decent too.

I made out pretty well, too. First of all, my family back east sent me loads of junk food – Tastykakes, Drake’s Cakes, and my mom even sent me a whole pan of squares! I am so gonna need to go back to Curves when this is all over.

Boyfriend gave me some pretty decent stocking stuffers – candy, fun party-favor type toys like tops and wind-up toys, some Burt’s Bees goodies, and a new travel alarm clock since mine is barely hanging on. I also got a magazine subscription that I’ve been wanting, A Winter’s Night: Best of Christmas CD, Mr. Bean’s Holiday (Widescreen Edition), and Absolutely Fabulous – White Box, which was the last DVD I needed to complete my AbFab collection. I also got a lovely, luxurious spa-like bathrobe, which was also on my list because my cotton jersey one wasn’t doing it for me anymore.

My mom really loved the craft I made for her. It’s titled Memories of Home and Family. I wanted to capture some of the things that symbolize NH to me, and of course include my nieces and nephew, whom I love so much and really miss. My mom said it was her favorite present and made her cry.

We went to dinner at a friend’s house last night, which had the traditional turkey and ravioli (yes, Christmas dinner served by a real New York Italian!) and had a lovely evening in the company of friends. All in all, it was an excellent Christmas.

I hope all of you got what you wanted, and (as the card my mom sent says) want what you got. Merry Christmas!

Filed Under: Holidays

The Great Christmas Post of 2007

December 25, 2007 By

So here we are at the end of another year. This has been a year that, while starting out rather stressful, finds me deliriously happy at the end of it. At the end of last year’s post, I was working, but just barely. Some job shake-ups left me with a part-time security dispatch job, which did become full time, and a full time major cause of stress. I quit that job in February and quickly found another job – office manager of a small construction company. It was stress free for awhile, but I quickly realized there was not enough to do to justify it being a full-time job. I was bored, and had to move on. I quit that job and before long had a new one. This new job was through a temp agency, but it wasn’t boring and had the potential to go permanent. It took a little more time that I thought it would, but on December 10 I had my first day there as a permanent employee. I’m not bored, don’t feel undervalued, and it’s a place where I can go far if I want to. I think I’ll be there for quite a while, and it feels really good to have that kind of stability and satisfaction again.

On a more personal level, I met the man of my dreams this year. A friend of mine used to date him, and she thought we’d be perfect together. A few emails and things fizzled out from there, but we bumped into each other one evening at a social event, and have been together ever since. I guess my personality just doesn’t shine through in “Hi, how are you” emails. We met, hit it off, and life is grand. He surprised me at the last minute by attending the Chantal Kreviazuk concert with me. We moved in together, which freaked me out a bit, but I got over it and now have a very hard time when he’s not here with me. We take road trips from time to time, which, although tiring because we do these in the course of a regular weekend, they are great fun. I did have another minor freak out which almost saw me moving back to New England, but it turned out that I was so much in love I couldn’t handle it. Boyfriend helped with that by being a great listener and actually having a clue, showed his awesomeness so much more. I resolved then and there to show him how much I loved him by eating fish bait for his birthday. I lived to tell the tale, and Boyfriend had a fantastic birthday. Now we’re looking forward to our first Christmas together.

I didn’t get a chance to go back to New Hampshire this year to visit my family, and I do miss them. Boyfriend and I are talking about a visit. The California boy that I fell in love with has never been to New England but feels a calling. I did get to go to Florida again, at Thanksgiving, to spend the holiday with my sister and her family. Boyfriend didn’t come since I bought the ticket before we met, and he’s not exactly fond of Florida. I missed him, of course, but it was great to see my sister again, and see how well Mia was doing since her early arrival. She’s adorable! I don’t know who that kid is in the pictures that my sister has been sending me, but it sure isn’t the adorable little girl who greeted me at the airport with an enthusiastic HI!

So that’s my year. Having The Best Boyfriend in the World has made my life all it could be. Unlike the end of last year, things are looking up and up and up, so here’s hoping that 2008 will continue that upward swing. I wish you all a very Merry Christmas, and for those readers who don’t celebrate, I hope the rest of your December is fantabulous!

Filed Under: Holidays

Blah

December 23, 2007 By

Today was Day 2 of my 5-day holiday break. With nothing planned to do today, I slept until around 1:30, got up, and planted my ass on the sofa for some web surfing and tv watching. It was a relaxing day, but a blah day as well. I royally screwed up an omelette for Boyfriend, turning it into a runny scramble because I just can’t cook on stainless steel. So it turned into a low self-esteem day as well. Just when I was at my lowest, before I conked out for a long nap, I realized that I forgot to call my family today.

I miss having Christmas with my family, and since my parents are divorced, I always had two Christmas celebrations – one with my Dad’s family and one with my Mom’s. Today they were both gathering. Dad’s family was getting together at my aunt and uncle’s house – formerly Gram’s house, but Gram lives in the in-law apartment now above the garage. Until I moved away, I have spent every single Christmas day there in that house. It wouldn’t seem like Christmas without it, and even though I’m far away now, still doesn’t. Since I’ve been out here, though, I’ve always remembered to call so I can talk to everyone and be there in some way, and I missed it.

My Mom’s family was gathering at her house today. It’s not as large a gathering since everyone is more spread out than my Dad’s family, and there aren’t as many kids. It’s still a fun gathering, and I missed that call too.

I’m sorry. I miss you all.

Filed Under: Family, Holidays

Personal DNA

December 23, 2007 By

You are a Curator

  • You are straightforward and real, down-to-earth, and have a healthy respect for order and stability. These attributes, complemented by your desire to be surrounded by things of beauty, make you a CURATOR.
  • You don’t feel the need to try everything new that comes along – you know what you like and what you want.
  • You are a no-nonsense person, not someone who falls for pretensions.
  • Being strongly grounded in the here-and-now, you are practical and realistic about yourself and your life.
  • You find comfort and calmness in your habits and routines.
  • Although others might not know this about you, you strongly appreciate aesthetic qualities, noticing whether something is well-designed and stylish.
  • You have a refined sense of taste, and you want your environments to reflect your preferred style.
  • There are times when you feel insecure and vulnerable, even though you know deep down that you are a good person.
  • You aren’t narcissistic – you allow yourself to be realistic about your positive and negative qualities.
  • You’re not one to force your positions on a group, and you tend to be fair in evaluating different options.
  • You are balanced in your approach to problem-solving, not letting your emotions hold you up.
  • You prefer to have time to plan for things, feeling better with a schedule than with keeping plans up in the air until the last minute.
  • You do your own thing when it comes to clothing, guided more by practical concerns than by other people’s notions of style.

If you want to be different:

  • It wouldn’t hurt to indulge your imagination and creativity sometimes. These are skills like any other, and develop with practice, so try to carve out some time for them in your life.
  • Try to quiet your inner feelings of doubt – you will be more successful if you can overcome these worries and focus on your many strengths, such as your responsible and honest nature.

You are Generous

  • Your awareness of those around you, along with your nuanced perceptions of the world at large, makes you the GENEROUS person that you are.
  • You value time to yourself and understand how rich your private world can be—you know that you don’t have to go wild to have a good time.
  • You are excited and energized by ideas and often enjoy things more through observation than through experience.
  • This tendency gives you an appreciation for different perspectives and opinions about the world.
  • Being as aware of others as you are doesn’t mean you find it easy to trust them immediately—this is something that happens more slowly for you.
  • Despite this, you are aware of the complexities of many situations and are reluctant to pass judgments on others.
  • Although you have fewer friendships than some people, those that you have are meaningful and are important to you.
  • You value spending time alone—it is while reflecting on the world around you that you often learn something new about yourself or begin to understand something that’s been bothering you.

If you want to be different:

  • Given how attuned you are to others’ thoughts and feelings, you might find that trusting people more is a way to broaden your perspective even further.
  • While you know how much can be learned from observing the world around you, remember that much of life can be lived by experiencing it, not just by understanding it.
Filed Under: On the Internet