Weekend Recap, Because I Have NO IDEA What's For Dinner This Week.

Many moons ago -- you know, when I was in my early 20s -- I used to have to be at work by 5am regularly. Being the socializer I was, I often went out the night before and somehow made it to work bright eyed and bushy tailed and ready to take on the day. This ability is no longer my reality.  In fact I packed so much into this weekend that when my alarm went off this morning I couldn’t figure out if my radio was playing music or if I had been hit by a truck and the sound I heard was angels singing.  Then I realized it was Bon Jovi on the radio and while it is many things, Wanted: Dead or Alive isn't quite what I would call a Pearly Gate Anthem.  And my day began.

You all, I am TIRED.

I realize that all of you with adorable babies and multiple children are probably rolling your eyes and thinking Holly, you don’t know tired – so I won’t make this a post about trying to one up your fatigue. Instead I will show you some pictures and tell you some random things and we will call it a post for the sake of documentation, mmm kay?

For starters I spent the weekend checking a few more things off my summer bucket list  so you know despite my tiredness I am sublimely happy.  Friday my mom came out to visit for the weekend. She actually lives close by, but we both had similar errands to run and we were going to the same party on Saturday so we just made a weekend out of it. It was basically a girls weekend + Garrett.  You know he loved it.  

My mom can shop with the best of them, and Friday we did just that. After a crazy intense workout Friday morning, we headed out for most of the day to take care of business.  Taking care of business with my mom always involves at least one trip to Target where we A to Z every aisle in the store.  This is dangerous and while I love it, I do not recommend it if you are trying to save money.  My mom is a fantastic shopping enabler!  By the time we got home on Friday night we had just enough energy to have some dinner with Garrett, during which my mom got a long overdue lesson about the strategy of Formula One racing, we did a little prep work for the brunch I was hosting on Sunday, and then we all headed to sleep.

On Saturday morning we woke up early and I got to check my first item off the Summer Bucket List: Have a picnic in the Plaza in Sonoma.  My cousin Jim’s birthday was on Sunday so the bulk of my family met up in Sonoma at Sebastiani to eat and celebrate because that is how we roll.  Ok, truth be told we didn’t picnic in the Plaza, but my mom and I did get to see the plaza, because that was where we got sandwiches.  Qucik PSA: The ONLY proper sandwich choice when picnicking up in wine country is The Sonoma Cheese Factory.  They make the kind of sandwiches that God would make if heaven were a deli. Paleo diet be damned, when in Sonoma there must be sandwich consumption. I believe that is written in the epilogue of The Bible.

Then we headed over to have a picnic at a winery so I’m just going step in and call that close enough -- CHECK!  I seriously LOVE chilling with my family.

There was lots of wine drinking and baby squeezing and joke-cracking that afternoon. It was a fun, yet too short, visit with my family. All the photos are here if you enjoy that business.

Unfortunately Garrett had to work and miss out on the Saturday afternoon fun which was a bummer, but when we got home he went all out and put together an impromptu scotch/whiskey/bourbon tasting for the three of us while I did a few more things to prep for my brunch.  I don't even like any sort of brown liquor, quite frankly, but I highly recommend comparative tasting.  That's probably the coffee/wine geek in me, but it was so much more fun to taste the differences between all the different types rather than just drink a glass of brown stuff.  My favorite at the end of the tasting?

Who knew?  Never thought I would enjoy scotch on purpose.

Saturday night Garrett suggested we bust out some old family movies and all watch them together and if you guessed that this melted my mama’s little heart, then you guessed correctly. That Garrett knows just how to get brownie points, so the 3 of us stayed up way too late laughing and reminiscing about old family stories. Also, about how awful the fashion was in the 90s. I turned off those videos with no clear understanding of what purpose the mock-turtleneck served, and with extreme wonder surrounding why people ever wore matching sweatsuits. Awful, really really awful.

Sunday morning again came too quick, and my mom headed out because she babysits my little cousin Chelsea on Sundays and Mondays. After a whirlwind of a weekend my mom was off to baby wrangle. It’s a good thing I made a huge pot of coffee because you can tell by the look on her face that this little chicky doesn’t want to sit still for long. My mom needed all the caffeine she could get:

After she took off, I checked another thing of the Bucket List: Have a dinner party in my backyard before it gets sweltering. Except I didn't actually have dinner, I had a brunch, but I’m just going to call it complete anyway because Bobby Brown told me that was my prerogative. CHECK! Since Sacramento is always sweltering I thought my best bet for getting to eat outside was to do breakfast instead of dinner. Sarah, Elizabeth, Amy and Elisabeth came over and I would show you a picture of that lovely afternoon except I didn't take a single one!  I think that is the sign of good conversation if you can get 5 women in a room who document their lives via blog and not a single one busts out a camera.  Either that, or they thought my tablecloth was ugly.  I'm going to hope for the former.  

We had lots of coffee, cocktails and food -- so much food actually that I forgot to even serve the bacon I had cooked.  And no Garrett and I didn't have bacon for dinner, why would you even think that?????  Actually we didn't ONLY have bacon, there was also blueberry cake too.  We like to make sure we get in some fruit, you know?  

By the time evening rolled around I basically only had enough energy to play fashion police on the couch while watching my DVR.  For example -- WHAT IS HAPPENING HERE:

photo found here

After contemplating that I was obviously too exhausted to do much else besides go to bed.  And now we are back to the grind on a Monday.  How does that even happen?

How did you enjoy your weekend, peeps?

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July PRs, Rickshaws and Audrey Hepburn

At my CrossFit gym we track our PRs monthly. Although I am a super anal list maker (you’re shocked, I know) and OF COURSE track all of my workouts, progress and my actual Personal Records -- I like to make up superficial PRs for myself too. It’s more fun that way. In June, for example, my PR was Wearing a Tank Top While Being Anywhere Other Than My House. You all know how I feel about this, this was a LEGIT PR. Maybe next month’s PR will be wearing shorts. Yes, that’s right; I’m totally anti-shorts at the gym. Not on YOU, of course, on me. So August, maybe? To be determined. But what I really want to tell you about July’s Superficial PR, because when it finally all came together I was ready to do my best impersonation of this. 

Let's start at the beginning.  We generally we do all of our running outside at the gym. There are predetermined routes and the 400m, 800m, and 1600m routes all involve running on a busy street in town for a short period of time. It doesn’t bother me at all to run out in the middle of traffic for a short distance (there is a sidewalk and you are always running with others) but as you can imagine, running down a busy street during rush hour frequently involves some kind of cat-calling. Do you wonder if anyone has ever successfully made a love connection by hooting and hollering at someone on the street? Because these are the things I wonder about when I’m running and some underage gentleman sitting shotgun in a shiny purple low-riding Oldsmobile hollers that I have a nice ass. Thank you, kind sir! BUT WHAT WERE YOU TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH WITH THAT COMMENT?

The other thing I wonder about:  rickshaws. 

Yep, those kind of rickshaws.

You see, during a run the other night as my entire group ambled down the street we passed a homeless man riding on a rickshaw – which frankly, is notable enough in itself. End of story. I mean, if someone told me I had to procure a rickshaw immediately as a part of some game show like challenge that all of a sudden just happened to fall in my lap, I would be stumped.  I really would have no idea where to start. So I got to wondering: where does a person with more limited resources find a rickshaw? Was it just strewn about? Did he save up for it? Did someone put their old rickshaw out on the curb in hopes that it would make its way to a good home?  I mean, it’s kind of brilliant when you think about it. It's a parasol on wheels!

Anyway, I digress.

So obviously I was thinking this gentleman was fairly brilliant, you know right up until he smacked his lips together and told me that I had very nice thighs, and might I perchance, take a moment to wrap them around him? In slightly different words, of course. I mean, I guess there’s no harm in asking, but since my boyfriend was running right next to me, the odds were unfortunately not in his favor. Awkward. I declined (OBVIOUSLY) and ran on my merry way thinking about rickshaws and resourcefulness and what my life would be like if a game show like challenge automatically appeared, but mostly I put the incident out of my mind until I was at Target the other day.

I was looking for a pair of black capris and if you can believe it (I CAN'T!) there were nary a pair in the entire Target clothing section! Not even in the juniors section where they sell things in impossible sizes like 3s or 11s! (So weird.) But lo and behold I found a pair of very darling, Audrey-Hepburn-esque slim-fitting, ankle-length pants.  I'm trying to think of one more hyphenated adjective to throw in there for emphasis but  I'm at a loss.  Some combination of crazy and desperation made me feel like trying them on, and surprisingly they were mostly adorable.  But they were also snugger in the thigh than I am generally comfortable with. Remember I do not have tiny thighs, I am chip off the old block as it were, and the old block was a defensive lineman in the NFL.  No gap between the thighs for me!  Now imagine those thighs in skinny Audrey Hepburn pants and you will realize the conundrum I was in standing alone in the Target dressing room. 

WHAT SHOULD I DO???  I mean, the hand-wringing, you know?

And then – like a voice from the heavens, I heard my little rickshaw friend validate how delightful looking my thighs truly are.  And if he could love them, I COULD LOVE THEM!  And with a self-help hug to my pride, I told those Super hot Audrey Hepburn pants to GET IN MY CART IMMEDIATELY! And those Super hot Audrey Hepburn pants now live in my closet thanks to a homeless man riding in a rickshaw.

And if we can agree on nothing else, I think we can all agree this is my Superficial July PR, no?
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Thank You Note

Since I am fond of the idea of gratitude I thought this would be a nice reminder. A gratitude placeholder, if you will. A note to myself, so the next time I feel like the world is crumbling around me because Whole Foods is (ONCE AGAIN) out of my favorite salad dressing, I can have a little perspective.

*****


Dear Holly,


Life is incredibly good right now. Savor it.


For instance, last night you slept 10 uninterrupted hours in a row because you were tired. Life is free like that – when you are tired, you sleep. When you are hungry, you cook something delicious. When there are errands to be run, you hop in the car and make that To-Do List your bitch. Weekends are easy, weeknights hold a multitude of opportunities -- enjoy this, because right now your life is your own, and that freedom is a gift.


Give yourself a pat on the back – you have lost 80 lbs, girl! While it seems easier to focus on what you have left to lose, seriously take a minute and wrap your brain around your accomplishments. You are stronger than you have ever been, weigh less than you have in the last decade, and feel like nothing is beyond your reach. Enjoy your confidence in your abilities.  Appreciate the pride you have in your body.  Even though it isn’t perfect (and probably never will be, so quit seeking that while we're at it) you have earned it!  Each muscle is a testament, every bruise has a story to tell.  You have found a way of eating and a fitness program that has completely relieved your life of diet and exercise noise. And on top of that, it has been a success! Some people struggle with this their whole lives, be grateful you have made peace with this at 32.  You have the rest of your life to get to the perfect weight/size/skill level – it is not a race. Don’t forget to enjoy the process and keep up the good work.


Speaking of enjoying the process, you are in the healthiest and best relationship of your life. Remember when you were young and single and felt like you would never find that person who perfectly shared your offbeat sense of humor, yet was also adorable, responsible, and totally up for any adventure? Remember the nights in your early 20s, mid 20s, and even in your late 20s when you thought -- Will I ever find someone AT ALL???  Well you found him. The Relationship Holy Grail, Holly, now sleeps beside you every night. When you remind yourself of how much you wanted this, and relive the work it took to get you where you are now, let your feelings of gratitude be overwhelming. The next time he forgets to pick up the meat share or adds paprika to the crock pot instead of chili powder, or wants to explain to you every specific nuance about how to drive your car – choose to laugh about it instead of getting frustrated. And the next time someone gives you a hard time about not being married yet, remember that you are not under any obligation to follow someone else’s timeline. Married or not, you are luckier than ever to have this kind of love.


Also remember to love your job. Yes the job that seems to start just a little bit too early each day. The one that requires you sit at a desk in a cubicle during some of the most beautiful days of summer?  Yep, that's the one. Love that job.  Remember that this is the job that is supporting both you and Garrett in a very comfortable manner. It wasn’t that long ago that you were stressfully living paycheck to paycheck and crying over credit card bills and wondering how you would ever make it as a functioning adult. Remember those days? I know you do because it was only 5 or 6 years ago, you can’t already be that senile. That is so far from the reality of your daily life now it is laughable, and for that, say thank you. So what if you are not doing EXACTLY what you want to be doing, when you want to be doing it. You have realized by now that if you really want something, you have the skills to make it happen. So if that’s the problem, then MAKE IT HAPPEN. But in the meantime, don’t mope about your current opportunities. Remember what a fabulous opportunity you are cultivating RIGHT NOW in that cubicle, no matter how small it is. Someone, somewhere would love that opportunity and for now, it’s sitting right there in the palm of your hand -- so care for it. Don’t be a jerk about it.


Enjoy your family, because they will not always live nearby. Remember those days of living in LA and having to hop on a plane to hang out with your mom? Well now on a whim you can A to Z every aisle of Target with her, and you know there is no better shopping enabler.  You can BBQ with your family, or watch your baby cousin learn to crawl, or have a fun night out that doesn’t involve getting super dressed up because when you hang out with good friends the dress code is always comfy. And you can do all of this with relatively little scheming because everyone is right there in your backyard. Yes, someday you may want to live somewhere that is a little more exotic than Sacramento, CA. But for now, you have a wealth of love right in your backyard. Appreciate the fact you’re your current zip code means that loneliness is never a defining emotion in your life, and this is a gift you have wished for in the past.


These are awesome times and life is good. Things will always change – some will get better and some will get worse -- but right now, make sure to acknowledge that you are lucky. And if you remember only one thing from this letter, please remember that.


Love,


Holly

The Path vs. The Prize

image found

There are two things speaking to me from the internet this morning, and I find when the internet sends you a couple of coincidentally thematic things in a row, it is best to listen. Except, of course, when that message is "Buy expensive things you can't afford."  Then I try to tune it out, but oh how that is hard!  When the messages are more introspective, however, and less consumer based -- I certainly try to pay attention.

There are no coincidences, you know. Only glitches in The Matrix.

Do we need a gratuitous Keanu shot on this Wednesday morning?  Yes, yes I think we do. 

So the first thing I read this morning was this post on Zen and CrossFit over at The Five Tribe.  Honest to god, do you know how many times I have set and arbitrary goal for myself at the gym that has no basis is fact or experience and then have been DISAPPOINTED that I didn't achieve it?  Many more than I would like to admit actually, and the insanity of that is not lost on me.  Not that this does not makes the disappointment go away, but since I am at least aware of it, I feel like I am not totally hopeless.  

I don't know where it comes from:   this desire to set goals and push relentlessly until I achieve them.  It is so god damn hardwired into my brain.  I know that sounds a little obnoxious on first glance -- oh, woe is me, I love to set goals and achieve them...my life is so hard!  Also my diamond shoes are too tight and my money clip is just waaaaaaaay too small!  Sigh.  The thing is, it's not the goal setting that is so awful, it is the narrow-focused drive that it sometimes awakens inside of me that pushes for achievement just for achievement's sake.  The drive to cross something off of a list, to check a box, to identify with a number, to have an experience under my belt.  This is a productive flaw to have, I realize -- better than the fierce and narrow-focused drive to stay in my bed -- but it is also one that needs to be kept in check not only in the gym, but in life in order to maintain balance and sanity.  Good things, both of those.  Things that elude me on occasion.   

I'm still working hard on trying to just Be.  To show up and try hard.  To realize that when I am out running, even if I am bringing up the rear, I am still lapping everyone who is at home sitting on the couch.  This alone should be a victory for my demented and focused (and sometimes competitive) brain, AND YET.  I find it hard to have purpose when I don't have a goal, or a drive to achieve.  I fear that if I let that go, there will be nothing left to see or do.  While I will never be a person who doesn't set goals any more than I will ever be a person who doesn't breathe daily  I know that I can try my best to control those achievement impulses and redirect that energy to enjoying the journey. The journey itself can be enjoyable!  

Let's all chant it together!  

Ok, or not.

Then a few clicks later I read this little gem of a story posted by Melissa over at The Clothes Make the Girl: 

There is a story of a young, but earnest Zen student who approached his teacher, and asked the Master:

“If I work very hard and diligently, how long will it take for me to find Zen? The Master thought about this, then replied, “Ten years…”

The student then said, “But what if I work very, very hard and really apply myself to learn fast — How long then?”  Replied the Master, “Well, twenty years.”

“But, if I really, really work at it, how long then?” asked the student.  “Thirty years,” replied the Master.

“But, I do not understand,” said the disappointed student. “At each time that I say I will work harder, you say it will take me longer. Why do you say that?”

Replied the Master, “When you have one eye on the goal, you only have one eye on the path.”

And then all of a sudden, the light bulb went off.

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May Is The Cruelest Month

Obviously T.S Eliot and I disagree on that point, but since this is my blog I'm going with it.  This year May has absolutely been the cruelest month and if I could bottle the excitement I have surrounding this long weekend, we would never have to find another alternative energy source again.  It is the gateway to June and let's just say Mama needs a new month!  Although I am not even a mama, by the way, so I don't even know what possessed me to even say that.  My brain is fried like an egg in those 1980s drug commercials.  Please send help! 

It all started at the beginning of the month (and if that's not the most uninformative sentence I've ever written, I'll be damned!)  You see the first week of the month was last minute preparations for Garrett's birthday party,  which means for at least 7 days I was a curious cross between  domestic whirling dervish and a chicken with its head cut off.  It was just as ridiculous as it sounds, I assure you.  But then on May 7th we had the party!  And we survived!  Hell, we even had a good time! Our stress was over, right?

Not so fast.

For starters, my kitchen sink backed up first thing that next morning.  And there is nothing quite like waking up hungover to a house full of food covered dishes in the sink as you watch the water back up.  Obviously this made the 11 AM Sunday Brunch, to which 10 people were going to be in attendance, seem a bit more complicated than it needed to be.  Thank god we have a sink in the laundry room that is deep and I had a good friend staying over who not only wakes up early but also knows how cracks good jokes in a shitty situation or I may have just killed myself right there.  But brunch prevailed -- even if I did burn a few bagels -- and it seemed like there was going to be a light at the end of the tunnel. 

On Monday May 9th we called out a plumber and he talked us into spending $300 to hydroflush our pipes in order to remove the clog.  Upside:  Having it fixed.  Downside:  Spending $300 the day after you throw a food + booze filled party for 50 people.  But whatever.  Life would go on.  Well until the following morning when we woke up and tried to shower and that was now backing up.  It hadn't been clogged AT ALL the day before, but suddenly it is plugged tighter than Rick James' Jheri curl.  Coincidence?  Yeah, we didn't think so either.  Especially since the plumber had warned us that hydroflushing sometimes moves grease and debris to other areas of the house, but never enough to cause damage. 

So we called the plumbing company again and they were just shocked!  And boy did they try to convince us that it MUST BE a coincidence.  But they would be glad to help us out...for $175 more.  And then when Garrett asked to speak to the person in charge we were told he was "far too busy" to talk to us.  Ahem, noted.  From now on I am far too busy to recommend Bonney Plumbing.  What actually was a coincidence though -- an awfully timed coincidence, in fact -- was that some seal on our guest bathroom toiled busted that day too and started leaking.  We were a hot plumbing mess and at this point, I pretty much tried to convince Garrett to move to a plumbing-free yurt in the woods, where we could braid each other's hair, marinate in our natural musk, and eschew all of society.  After he puked in his mouth a little, Garrett talked me out of it and the short story of the plumbing problems is that they are now all fixed:  NO THANKS TO THE STUPID PLUMBING COMPANY.  But I trust no one even wants to hear the long drawn out verrsion of that story, because I am still telling this story and so far we are only May 10th.  Are you exhausted? Because I'm exhausted just remembering it. 

Speaking of exhausted, when I woke up the following morning I felt like I had been hit by a truck and proceeded to need to call in sick to work for the next 3 days because I was fully convinced I was either dying or that a Brazillian Rainforest had settled in and made its home in my sinus cavity.  Something useful to know about me at this point?  I don't EVER call in sick.  I'm just not a person who does that unless I physically can't make it in.  And I couldn't.  For those 3 days, plus the entire weekend following I was a giant pit of deathly sickness who could not move about the house without duct taping a box of kleenex to my face.  It was very pretty.   

So since I was teetering on the brink of death, you can assume that our house was just full of life and beauty and energy and rainbows for that entire week.  But then one day it was May 16th!  We were halfway through the month and I was beginning to feel normal.  So normal, actually, that it was almost blissful.  There was breathing!  THROUGH MY NOSE!  I mean it was a miracle, happening right there on my face.  Is there a more grateful feeling than that of being returned to health after a yucky illness?  I argue there is not.  And I was so damn happy that Monday to go back to work.  Our house had returned to its stasis of awesome, and we could finally get back to the regular routines of our lives.  But on Tuesday when I woke up, Garrett was perched on the precipice of death threatening to jump unless I got him some duct tape so he could go to the damn bathroom without flooding our house with snot.  He was very pretty too.
That ass-shaped dent that I had left in the couch was apparently just a primer for the ass-shaped dent that Garrett ended up leaving the following week.  And we are completely out of duct tape.

Just when you'd think all was lost though, finally last Saturday we were both able to go to the same BBQ at the same time!  Garrett was just starting to recover and it was lovely to have a nice night out.  Our gym had an Anniversary Party so we showed up and put our party shoes on and it was a blast!  Also, it was the night I decided to try Sweet Tea Vodka and Lemonade for the first time, which was uh...an experience.  The jury is still out on whether it was a pleasant experience.  I mean, it was definitely pleasant while I was drinking it.  But the morning after?  Um, not so much.  A Paleo diet has improved my body in every single possible way, except in its response to a wild night of drinking. 

Hangover city, baby.  The entire next day was a wash.  And then it was May 23. 

I was staring down the barrel of a long week, ready for this month to just be over already, when my back started to mysteriously hurt.  Not my lower back, mind you, but the middle of my back on the upper right side.  It felt like a crappy pinched nerve in the neck, except right smack in the middle of my back.  Luckily my uncle is a retired chiropractor, so I had him adjust me and things were ok for a day or so.  Then, on Tuesday it popped right back out of place, only this time it was SO. MUCH. WORSE.  It wasn't just a twinge of discomfort, but major pain (no Wayans Brothers in sight) that could not be relieved.  It hurt to stand, it hurt to sit, it hurt to lay and most inconveniently -- it hurt to breathe air.  No big whoop, you know, if you are an sea creature, but the last time I checked I WAS NOT.    

It was back to see my uncle again who asked what the heck I had been doing to throw my back out in such a grandiose manner?  My back was crunch-tastic!  Obviously there had been some major trauma in between my first adjustment and my second.  So you can imagine my embarrassment when I had to tell him this second injury was brought on by this new eXXtreme sport I'm doing called:  getting dressed.   Yeah, it happened when I was putting on a pair of pants.  It was so quick and awful that I walked by a rack of jeans this morning and had PTSD flashbacks just thinking about.  I'm lobbying to go into work pantsless from now on, but so far nobody is in my corner.  

Three days, and many Advil later, I would say I'm feeling 90%.  But that 90% is about to go into a 4 day weekend where I plan to do nothing more than read a stack of trashy magazines, take bubble baths, go to brunch, babysit my adorable baby cousin, pour through library books, and watch as many episodes of DVR'd Bravo TV as my little brain can handle...and it can handle A LOT.  I'm so thrilled that when I come up for air it will be a new month, a new season and I'll have a host of new things to focus on. 

So Goodbye May, and good riddance!  

Don't let the door hit you on the ass...
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Summer Bucket List

Though we aren't doing anything super exotic, like heading to Maui which we did two summers ago, I am definitely planning on enjoying the next few months.  And it just wouldn't be like me if I didn't make a To Do List to celebrate (Hot damn, I love a good list!) Yes, I am still working on my overall 2011 Goals but I'm just considering this a short term subset of that list.  

Here are some ways I plan to enjoy this summer.

Adventures

Go miniature golfing with Garrett (can you believe we have never done this together?)
Hike Feather Falls (our favorite local hike.  OMG, can't wait!)
Go Wine Tasting (if we hit up Amador, I can cross this off my 2011 list too.  Multitasking!)
Have a picnic in the Plaza in Sonoma  (Gina and Jim, consider yourself invited)
Get to San Diego to visit my cousin (Hi Jen!  You are missed!)
Pack Dinner and a blanket and head to McKinley Park
Spend a weekend in Chico with my family
Go to the beach (um, and wear sunscreen!)
Have a rollerskating date with my cousin (Flashback!)


Superficial Goals  (hey, we all need some)


Buy a cute new bathing suit (old ones are still cute, but no longer fit, woot!)
Find a maxi dress that doesn't look like a tent when you put it on (Help!)
Make a ridiculously delicious Paleo dessert
Cook something with Bison
Finish redesigning and migrating website (this will involve calling a professional, I'm sure)
Get over my flabby arm phobia and just buy some damn tank tops in which to work out
Get a few pedicures (for everyone else's sake.  ;)
Have a dinner party in my backyard before it gets sweltering


Relaxation


Read outside as often as humanly possible
Spend an evening drinking Mai Tais and (finally!) put your Maui photos in an album
Make an effort to get 8 hours of sleep per night (so hard in the summer because it's SO DAMN HOT)
Enjoy your garden and can your little heart out when those tomatoes get overwhelming
Make Jam




Honestly, I can't wait.  

What are you up to this summer?
________________________

Calling In Sick

So -- for the past few days I have been sick as a dog (or...erm, a cat?) and curled up on my couch feeling sorry for myself in between episodes of blowing my nose.  Obviously no one wants me to expand on that anymore than necessary.  You are probably also sick of LOLCatz, and I am agreeing with you in spirit, but it was either a cute picture or an entire post on THE SICK, so I think you will agree that I let you off easy.  Anyway, I thought I'd post some links to some random oldies but goodies in case you are new around here and may have never read them.  

For example:  

I think almost everyone here in the States are experiencing nice(ish) weather, but in case Mother Nature is being a bitch in your neck of the woods here are 12 Songs to Download When You Need Some Sunshine.  It's an old playlist, but a good one. 

Are you feeling like something in your life is right outside of your reach?  Maybe you are closer than you think.  Always something good to keep in perspective. 

Need some dinner inspiration?  I Can Make Anyone Love Brussels Sprouts.  And I have. 

Speaking of food, you've read my weight loss story haven't you?  If not, it starts here.  

Have you read the story of the biggest coincidence of MY LIFE, thus far?  (Pretty pictures of Maui included.  Oh, how I wish I was in Maui?  Are people even allowed to get sick in Maui?)

One of the biggest (and scariest) things I learned last year was that Living with Less Really Can Be More.  Intention really is sort of a radical act of self- love.  Re-reading this post one year later, I'm happy to report it is all still true except IT'S BETTER! 

Hopefully I'll be back on my feet by the end of the week.  Cross your fingers for me, will ya?  My red little nose can't take much more of this!
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Partyin' Partyin' Yeah! *

I put together a little BBQ on Saturday night that started out as an intimate evening with family and a few friends.  We were celebrating the fact that Garrett was turning 30 and what better way to do that than with some hot dogs and beers and a cigar bar for the boys, right? 

By the end of the evening, however, there was a lot of this going on: 

I hadn't even realized what a good dance floor our patio made.  But once I did there was no stopping me.  And there was a lot more of this:

I think it is safe to say a good time was had by all. 

I started out in a cute party dress but the weather didn't cooperate so eventually I ended up in capris and a sweatshirt.  The latter outfit ended up being way better for shaking your booty to Snoop Dogg though.  

I have lots of things to say about the night:  how I have some of the nicest and most considerate friends on the planet, how I really feel about party planning (OMG!), and about HOW RAD MY WHOLE FAMILY IS, but I am about to go throw my 11th load of laundry in the washer and the plumber is going to be here any minute to fix our kitchen sink and guest bathroom toilet, so ya know -- real life is calling.  

In the end though, Garrett had a fantastic time!  Since that was the overall goal, I feel pretty happy about things.  The only thing I am bummed about was that I wanted at least one picture of us together looking happy in our cute outfits to commemorate this birthday milestone.  When all was said and done, there was only this:

But damn if we were happy as clams at high tide in this picture.  See also: maybe a little tipsy.  But frankly that too is worth commemorating. 

*Apologies if you now have a Rebecca Black Earworm
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You Know What, I'm Just Going To Put This Out There

There are times when I think it is helpful to hold your tongue, but there are also times when I think you need to be direct and ask for what you want.  Ahem...Universe, are you listening?

I want to write a book I feel proud of.

I want to work at a job that makes me feel inspired and appreciated.

I want wake up in the morning and feel excited.

I want to go to sleep feeling accomplished.

I want to feel like I have enough time.  Time to relax, time to finish projects, time to learn.

I want my days to include cooking and reading and writing.

I want to feel ownership. 

I want to push myself physically.

I want to work hard.

I want to take on something scary and feel confident that my best will be good enough.

I want an adventure where it all works out in the end.

I don't think this is too much to ask...do you? 
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Random Updates + Bloggy Stuff

I'll Have the Pancakes in the Age of Enlightenment 

In various forms this week I have seen/heard/read the Voltaire quote that deals with the idea of all of us only being able to tend our own gardens.  I don't really believe in coincidences so I kind of feel like maybe The Universe (dun dun duuuun!) is slamming me over the head with the idea that I need to quit worrying about everyone else and just do my own thing.  Or, in the wise words of Ronnie and Sammy from the Jersey Shore --  "You do you and I'll do me."  I feel like I should win some sort of prize for discussing Voltaire and The Jersey Shore in the same paragraph, no?  The Universe could also just be telling me to finish fertilizing my garden beds too, which I have added to my To-Do List this weekend. 

What the World Needs Now is Another Celeb Memoir

Speaking of things I am planning on doing, since I love talking books with you all so much that I've decided to start something new around here.  It's going to be called I Read Celebrity Memoirs So You Don't Have To -- I will let you connect the dots on what that is going to be about.  I figure it will make me feel slightly less guilty about all the trashy celebrity books that I read if I can tell you about them.  I will consider it a noble deed, eradicating the need for others to read bad celebrity memoirs.  This is the cross I will bear for you, dear reader.  And since we are on the topics of books and reading, I'll be posting my monthly book list on Monday, and there were some interesting ones this month -- even a celebrity memoir (or two...Jeez, I've got a problem.)

Coming Soon to an Unambitious Blog Near You

I've been thinking a lot about this blog lately and some of the things I feel like doing with it.  Don't worry, this it isn't anything conceptual.  I'm not "changing my niche".  I don't plan to "build a brand".  I don't need this blog to "take me places."  This will not be a platform for my future "world domination".  I also do not plan to overuse quotation marks (though I can make no promises about Caps Lock.)  None of that is what this marination is about.  I'm talking more on the superficial front.  I have a bazillion ideas that run through my head each day about things I should post.  But then my brain starts to short circuit or I think -- dude, you don't even have a category for that, you can't post that -- and then I don't.  Which is dumb, so I plan to stop that.  

I read a lovely quote this morning via a link on Making it Lovely and it the following line struck me:

If you wait around for the clouds to part and a bolt of lightning to strick you in the brain, you are not going to make an awful lot of work.  All the best ideas come out of the process; they come out of the work itself.

This was meant for "artists" but I consider writing to be under that umbrella and I just loved hearing this idea again.  It's not about waiting for inspiration, it's about churning out garbage and finding the gem.  In my mind I consider this website a journal of my life, but there is just so much that I forget about, miss the opportunity to post about, or just plain get lazy about documenting for fear that it will look out of place or people won't get it or won't care.  But you know what?  The truth is that I look out of place sometimes and in that way it would be the most accurate portrayal. 

Don't worry I'm just talking about doing some fun voyeuristic things like A Day in the Life -- don't you love those sort of fascinating looks into other people's lives?  Or I might jump on Sarah's bandwagon and do 30 LittleThings.  Maybe I'll start photographing what I wear again -- it's been a while and I basically have nothing to wear so maybe that will reinvigorate my creative side.  Who knows.  Like I said, superficial stuff that makes me happy.  This is a blog, not a branding document. 

I hope you will stick around for the ride!
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Things To Do This Week -- in bullets!

What are you up to this week?  I'd like to accomplish the following in my spare time:

1.  Figure out what I'm doing with my life.
Oh this could be the longest bullet, but since I don't talk about My So-Called Professional Life here it will be real short.  Rest assured, the steps involved are taking up quite a bit of space on the To-Do List.

2.  Get my freaking garden in order 
120 square feet, people.  This is a lot of space to manage with novice gardening skills, you see and I'm beginning to get anxious.  I have like 50 plates spinning relating to this garden -- seeds, little plants, direct sow, herbs, summer vegetables, flowers?  HOLY MOSES.  And now I must also test the soil in my garden beds since according to Finny this will help me grow a bazillion produce items?  What am I even going to do with this alleged bazillion items?  Sigh.  I need a To-Do List for this item on my To-Do List.

3.  Harness my inner party planner. 
Garrett turns 30 in exactly 40 days, which consequently happens on a Saturday.  Obviously there will be festivities.  The problem is mostly that being the extrovert I am, I would like to throw the World's Biggest Shindig.  And as you know having friends over for dinner makes Garrett want to take a week off from life, so obviously he would like to have a low-key mellow evening with friends.  I know it is his birthday after all, but I have some hand-wringing around the idea of such a landmark birthday going by without proper celebration.  We must compromise at some point, and obviously I need to deal with invitations.  I anticipate the management of this project to be, um...challenging to say the least. 

4.  Get some pants
The scale, that little bitch, has not really been moving for me as much as I would like in the past 2 months.  The thing is -- NONE OF MY PANTS FIT ANYMORE.  In fact, the pair that I am wearing today could probably fit not only me, but also an elephant playing the banjo.  And that is just in the booty area.  It's the biggest mindf*ck, really.  I know I am working hard, my body composition is changing but that damn scale is being stubborn.  It's lame.  And probably a post in itself, but I'm not going to do that to you today because I have talking A LOT about fitness lately and that's probably sounding a bit like a broken record. 

So...yeah -- who wants to help?
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Rejuvenation

Garrett has declared this Our Week of Rejuvenation.  (It just took me 3 tries to spell that correctly.)

I was sort of confused as to why we needed some rejuvenation (only 2 tries this time) but apparently it is partially related to the fact that in the last 2 weeks we have hosted two weeknight Dinner Parties.  And by the way, the use of Dinner Parties is incredibly hyperbolic in this instance, in my opinion, because it just means we had two couples over for dinner on two separate occasions.  This type of social interaction makes me very happy.  It makes Garrett happy too, as we love seeing our good friends, but it also gets filed under 'D' for Dinner Party in his mind and apparently exhausts him to the point of needing a Week of Rejuvenation also.  I think our oppositional introvert/extrovert tendencies are highlighted the most in these types of situations. 

The truth is I'm happy to oblige overall though because I have definitely been pushing myself lately and sometimes I don't even notice.  Two or Three days a week I am getting up at 4:30 in order to have time to sip some coffee and squeeze in a 3-ish mile run before I have to be at work at 7.  The other days I am "sleeping in" until 5:30 as I have changed my schedule at work so I am now working 9 9-hour days every two weeks and then scoring an additional week day off.  Then we are CrossFitting 3-4 nights per week, doing one long run on the weekend, and ohmygod we are also having dinner parties where I am planning and prepping the menus?  Maybe I do need a week just to relax.

Today is one of my Earned Days Off from work and I'm sitting here in my PJs drinking coffee after devouring last night's new episode of Bethenny Ever After.   In these moments, I could really get used to being a kept woman, although I would need to buy a fainting couch and a house-boy and some bon-bons immediately.  Who are we kidding though, while I'm blogging I'm also googling recipes for short ribs since I have 3 lbs that need to be used up pronto, because I am not comfortable when I am not multi-tasking so being a kept woman is probably not for me.  Also, I don't even really like bon-bons.  If you have any short ribs recipes you want to send my way, please do would ya?  We have subscribed to a monthly meat share for the past 4 months and I get short ribs pretty regularly so I'm all ears for new ways to prepare them.  I thinking on trying this recipe today.  

Obviously I am not the best at finding balance. It's a constant struggle for me, and it is not lost on me that I am a Libra and that this is such an astrological cliche.  But I have a lot of goals and things I want to accomplish and I am very good at pushing through discomfort.  I'm hoping this serves me well when I have a baby or something, otherwise what good is it, right? TELL ME THIS WILL HELP WHEN I HAVE A BABY. The truth is this also gets me in trouble sometimes so it is definitely something to keep in check.  I think Garrett's Week of Rejuvenation is a nice reminder.  He is definitely the yin to my yang, or yang to my yin -- I don't know.  He completes me, but with less squinty-eyed sappiness than Renee Zellwegger.  (Sidebar:  Can you imagine if Renee Zellwegger and Bradley Cooper had stayed together and had babies.  I think they each have The Most Annoying Faces in Hollywood, and I know that makes me a bad person, but oh my god, that kid would have come out looking like it had been hit in the face withe a bag of nickels.  The tragedy.  It is probably good for everyone that they have broken up.)  

Anyway, I had a long conversation with my mom yesterday about my current fitness routine as she loves to worry about whether I'm overdoing it. I think "Be Careful" is her second most favorite phrase to say (after "you are my most beautiful and favorite-est daughter" of course.)  I can see how from the outside it may seem like I am overdoing it, but the truth is, my goal is to get into tip-top baby making shape this year.   It is THE GOAL, actually.  And for me, success in that endeavor will be measured by whether I can lose this last 50-60 lbs.  And it ain't gonna happen sitting on the couch, youknowwhatimsayin'?  In hindsight maybe taking on a half-marathon at the same time was not the best idea since I have NO SKILLS as a runner (yet) but it seemed efficient at the time and now I'm committed and damnit if I am going to back out on a commitment -- I am quite a stubborn S.O.B. 

I reassured my mom that I'm not doing this look better naked (although hey, it's a nice side effect) or to fit into clothes better (I've always thought I put myself together nicely no matter what size I am) but I am doing it to prepare myself for the most exciting journey ahead.  And for that, I am okay with experiencing a little discomfort in the form of 4:30 am wake up calls and sore muscles pretty much 7 days per week.  But I am fully aware that this is probably not a long term lifestyle plan.  I mean, I think I will CrossFit forever because HOLY SMOKES -- THE KOOL-AID TASTES GREAT!  But maybe I won't try to Cross-Fit, lose 50lbs, train for a half-marathon, and learn a secondary sport all at the same time, you know?   Next time I'll know better.  Next time, you all. 

So anyway, rejuvenating.  We are doing it.  I'm not super good at it, but for me that means this week I will:  sleep for at least 8-9 hours per night (hello EARLY bedtime), keep my CrossFit/Running schedule (sorry, not willing to deviate on that one), spend my evenings reading, writing, taking super hot bubble baths (recovering muscles, yowza!) and of course, spend quality time with Garrett doing things like watching Top Gear and Modern Family and even Dr. Phil because those are some of the only shows we can agree on.  (Dude, Dr. Phil is FUNNY!)  I have read some great books on the craft of writing this month and I've been feeling pretty inspired.  I'll tell you about them in my March Book Review, but for now, know that they've got my creative juices flowing.  And for me, when I indulge my creative side I feel the most rejuvenated.  

What do you do when you are looking for a little bit of rejuvenation?

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My Life is an Episode of Modern Family

photo




Have I told you this story before?  I'm sure I have but I am too lazy to look in my archives.  I do this in real life too -- tell the same stories over and over again -- so listen this is just what it would be like in real life, ok?

Oh, before I tell you this story -- HAPPY FREAKING FRIDAY!  Man is it just me or has this week felt long?  Also contributing to my end of week super-sloth-ness, we hosted friends for dinner last night (hooray for mid-week dinner parties!) and while it was so much fun: we stayed up too late, I enjoyed one too many cocktails, and this morning my alarm sounded like a sledgehammer to the head.  Can you believe when I was going to bed last night I actually had the audacity to say "Hmm...should I set the alarm for 4:30 am so I can get a run in at the gym before work?" 

BAHAHAHAHAHAHAH...snoooooooooooooooze. 

(Balance is not a concept I really understand, YET.) 

Anyway, so back to my story.  The one you have probably heard, yes.  You see Garrett and I do not fight very much.  Sure we disagree about things, but we're generally good at coming to a resolution without much fanfare which is why I don't have many raucous tales of mug shot worthy disputes on this blog and just like the cliche, we rarely go to bed angry.  I kind of like it this way, actually.  But about 6 months ago not only did I spent the entire evening pissed and sobbing at Garrett, but I also went to bed at like 8pm -- AND I WENT TO BED ANGRY -- alert the press!  At the time I think Garrett found it the most befuddling because he could not figure out what he did wrong. It was very much this exact scene  from Modern Family.  Frankly, we are Phil and Claire.   Well, actually Garrett is just Phil.  I mean the resemblance is just uncanny at times.

So, what made me so angry?  Let me tell you:  he took every single book off of all 3 of my beautiful (and quite obviously, in my opinion) ORGANIZED BY COLOR Billy bookcases in our guest bedroom.  And when I came home he nonchalantly said, "Oh, I decided to reorg the bookcases since there was no rhyme or reason to them."  Actually he didn't say 'reorg' because that would be lame, but the truth is, I didn't hear much of what he said after I walked into my the room that once housed my BEAUTIFULLY ORGANIZED BY COLOR books and saw them strewn about all over the floor.  Hours of work now just tossed about into piles (gasp!) organized by authors' names.

Something about this just made me so incredibly upset, but I think no one was more upset than Garrett, who just kept waiting for Ashton Kutcher to show up and tell him he was being Punk'd.  That never happened though, and I just went to bed crying.  My god, again, sometimes my melodrama seems so LAME the morning after.  Anyway, it has now become something we laugh at because, really?  How can you not.  But we have also established the importance of hereinafter all books being organized by color, so you know:  Duh! Winning! and all of that crap.

So!  All of this to say, Modern Family rules.  And this video kind of turns me on:

Happy Friday, Friends! 
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These Are My Confessions

It's mid-week, I'm feeling a little feisty, so how about a round of some confessions.  I hope I have now gotten that terrible Usher song in your head.  You're welcome.  So I've got a few to get off my chest -- how about you tell me some of yours so I don't feel so bad?  It will be fun, I promise!


Confession #1 -   We have a gorgeous shower in our master bathroom.  GORGEOUS.  It's one of my favorite parts of our house.  It's spacious and lovely and full of some of my favorite things And we haven't used it regularly in, oh almost 12 months.  I mean could you die?  Why on earth would you do that, Holly?  Well, mostly because we are lazy and because keeping that glass clean is a downright chore with all the squeege-ing and drying and treating with waterproof substances and stuff and it adds almost 10 minutes on to your shower in the morning.  When Garrett went back to working at Peet's and his wake-up call started coming between 4 and 5am, he started showering in the guest room to save time in the morning.  And then I got jealous and threw my shampoo in there.  And now? We just use the guest bathroom.  THE GUEST BATHROOM! 

Can you believe that?

God, that's embarrassing.  I'm hoping the act of telling you will force me to quit acting like a dummy.  A lazy dummy.   

Confession #2 -   You all, I am feeling super conflicted!  When I get married I am not sure I want to change my last name.  Now this is probably a post in itself, but the truth is as Garrett and I talk more about wedding planning and timing and babies, etc I get more panicky about the impending possibility of changing my last name.  I am the only Woodcock still standing of my close extended family and I am proud of that name.  Yes, it's kind of a tragic last name that I couldn't wait to get rid of when I was 12, but now that I am 32 I have had plenty of time to adjust.  And I do like it.  And I am attached to it.  And it does make me feel connected to my dad who is no longer around.  And all of those other feminist arguments that go along with keeping your last name.  (Why doesn't Garrett want to be a Woodcock?  Come on, it's a waaaaay better name for a boy, you know!)
But we talk about it often and Garrett REALLY wants me to change my last name -- and you all Garrett does not want for much.  He is the most supportive and loving partner (obvs, or I wouldn't even be considering marrying the guy) and he so rarely does anything besides go with the flow, and he has told me on a number of occasions that it is important to him that our children and our family share the same last name.  And his last name is not a bad name.  It's a lovely name actually (Franklin) would go just fine with my first name, and in theory I like the idea of the family we create together all having the same name, but WHY OH WHY does it mean I have to give up my name?  Sob.

Ay yay yay --  how did you make that decision? 

Confession # 3 - Just to lighten things up a bit -- I'm listening to Ke$ha on purpose you guys.  Who am I?

Confession # 4 - I miss the internet when people blogged because they liked to write.  Now it is all about niches and advertising and HOW CAN YOUR WEBSITE BE GROWING IF YOU ARE NOT GIVING YOUR READERS WHAT THEY WANT?  Well what about what I want?  I maintain this site.  I spend time here putting my proverbial pen to paper as an exercise for myself.  As a hobby.  As something I do for fun.  Why does that have to make me feel like a slacker?  Why do I have to categorize my interests into a niche?  Why do I have to be more one dimensional so that "my target audience can get what it needs"?  I feel irked by this.  I love stumbling upon a great personal blog where the author is a lovely writer and talks about LOTS of different things.  Those are my FAVORITE reads actually.  When did this become uncool?


So what do you want to confess?  You'll feel better, I swear.  I'm all ears...

ABCs of Me

A. Age: 32.  Holy smokes, is that right?  OY!

B. Bed size: Queen. Our bedroom won't fit a bigger bed but I wouldn't want one anyway.  King sized beds always make me feel like I'm sleeping on the other side of the room from Garrett.  Obviously I feel this way because we have no kids, I reserve the right to change my mind.

C. Chore you dislike: I don't like many chores, but I am lucky in that Garrett does most of the household management. I REALLY hate dishes, but since Garrett does just about everything else I will at least do those.  Well, I wash -- I make him dry.  :)

D. Dogs: We don't have one but definitely want one.  We've already agreed on a name:  Lyndon "Bones" Jizzle. 

E. Essential start to your day: Coffee + a HOT ASS shower.  I do not do anything luke warm.  Even if I can feel my skin drying out the entire time, the shower must be hotter than hot.  It's why I buy lotion, yo.

F. Favorite color: Acid Green. 

G. Gold or silver: Silver, mostly.  But I can rock a little gold every once in a while.

H. Height: 5'10 in flats.  This is why I don't really wear heels much anymore. 

I. Instruments you play(ed): I have no musical skills whatsoever.  I "played" the violin for months without ever knowing how to read music in Elementary School.  I was a total rock start, I assure you. 

J. Job title: Senior Commercial Underwriter.  It sounds a lot more exciting that it probably is in real life.

K. Kids: Yes please.  Sooner, rather than later.  Not that we'll be getting knocked up tomorrow or anything, but you know -- if it happens....

L. Live: Sacramento, CA for now.

M. Mom’s name: Sharon

N. Nicknames: My last name is Woodcock.  I've had A LOT of nicknames. 

O. Overnight hospital stays: None that I can remember.

P. Pet peeves: People who try and make themselves sound more interesting or erudite by listing things they hate. 

Q. Quote from a movie: "Melrose Place was a really good show."

R. Righty or lefty: Righty!

S. Siblings: None.  I'm a lonely only.  Except I'm not lonely!  Remember all those cousins I have who are my age?  It's like the best of both worlds.

T. Time you wake up: 5 am on weekdays, 7 ish on weekends.  But I go to bed suuuuper early.  Like Nursing Home early.  I love my sleep!

U. Underwear: Yes, I wear them.  And I'm not the type of person who is interested in talking about my underwear with the internet thankyouverymuch.  Oh wait, would you look at that, I guess I am. Huh. 

V. Vegetables you don't like: mushrooms.  Just not really a fan.

W. What makes you run late: The fact that I get up early.  I know, you think I'm nuts but it's true.  I used to have to be at work at 8 but would get up at 5, remember?  That's a lot of time to get sidetracked watching Real Housewives or making chili or whatever.  I just lose track of time and start projects that take longer than I anticipate.

X. X-rays you’ve had: Many X-rays of my chest and sinus cavity to discover what the hell was causing my persistent cough and severe allergies.  Turns out switching to a Paleo diet made all my symptoms go away.  Sweet!

Y. Yummy food you make: I make some sweet ass Artichoke Parmesan Dip.  Remind me to give you the recipe sometime. 

Z. Zoo animal favorites: Zoos are depressing, just like circuses.  UGH! 

*Idea unoriginally and shamelessly stolen from Ashley at NeverHomeMaker

I'm Baaaaaaaaack

So we are back from our Great Road Trip That Wasn't!

Oh, hadn't I mentioned that?  Yes, we ended up having to scrap The Great Southwest Road Trip of 2011.  Well, sort of.  

(And it wasn't for any lack of fabulous suggestions mind you, because many of you got a A+ when it came to making recommendations for that trip and I thank you for that.  They are stored in my little idea book for the future!)

The short story is that the whole thing ended up being much more complicated (read: expensive) than we originally anticipated.  Especially when you are trying to drive SUV rentals over 2 state lines.  We were Last Minute Larrys about the whole thing and in the end we realized that we were looking to drive about 2900 miles in 5 days (we wanted to make sure we had about 5 days to spend with The Parents before flying home) and after that realization the trip just started looking more like a comedy of errors and less like a vacation.  We ended up just buying plane tickets to New Mexico and hanging with Garrett's parents for 6 of those 10 days instead, and can I tell you -- buying last minute plane tickets saved us like $1,000 compared to renting a car (not to mention all that time) so seriously -- YOU ARE RIDICULOUS, RENTAL CAR COMPANIES!  But that is another story for another time.  


For the 4 day weekend that preceded our New Mexico adventure, we ended up scratching the Road Trip Itch by driving down to the Central Coast to visit with my good friend Sarah which turned out to be a fantastic idea.  There were scenic drives, ice cream at the beach, steaks and sunshine, bike gangs and olive oil tastings.  I mean, it basically had all the fantastic things you need for a fun mini-weekend getaway.  We took a scenic route home that included trips to two different bookstores, repacked our suitcases, slept for a few hours and then flew our tired tookuses out to New Mexico.   

The sacrifice of flying there for 6 days was that we ended up having to save the northern part of the state for our next trip (Oh Taos, I will see you one day!)  Since Garrett's parents live about 3 hours South of the Albuquerque Airport we concentrated our exploration in the Southeast part of the Southwest.  It was a more relaxed trip than we would have had trying to do all that driving so in the end I'm so glad we made that decision.  I guess I am getting old because there is just something so alluring about a vacation where you just get to go home.  Even when it's not your home.  Having Garrett's parents cook for us, laying around and chit chatting in person instead of on the phone, reading books, hiking and playing with the animals was just awesome.  And we even squeezed in some touristy things to boot, which I will totally tell you all about once I have the energy to upload the pictures.  
 
Obviously we are still in the recovery phase of vacationing you know?  Monday was all about getting back to work and just surviving (Note to self:  Stop schedule flights that land at 10pm on Sunday night when you have to go to work Monday morning.)  Yesterday afternoon our house turned into a ceremonious post-vacation laundry jungle, and last night I went to the Grocery Store around 9:30 and absolutely filled my cart to overflowing levels because otherwise we were going to be eating toothpicks and wilted spinach for breakfast today.  Though I was smugly proud of going through all of our perishables before we left, our kitchen was a bit post-apocalyptic when we got home, which was inconvenient since we immediately jumped back into CrossFit and started our Half Marathon Training.  Obviously, it was only a matter of time before we starting eating each other. 

Even though it was freezing ass cold last night I diligently looked at my weekly grocery sale papers, created a menu plan and made a grocery list.  Of course then I got to the eerily deserted store last night (duh! It was almost 10 at night!) and realized that all of the sales that I had just carefully ogled didn't actually start until TODAY.  Which, really? Is such a rookie mistake.  The upside is I did manage to make it home with some food so we are no longer eyeballing each other post workout like those scary cannibal gangs in The Road. 

So ANYWAY, this is my long winded way of saying Hello!  I'm back!  I can't wait to sit down and chat and tell you about my adventures!  But a girl has got to catch her breath a minute and since Garrett is having dinner with a friend tonight, I plan to spend the evening ignoring The Internet and making out with my DVR if that's alright with you?  I hope you will forgive me but I may just go a little crazy if I don't confirm that Camille Grammar is still a nut-job.  We all have our quirks. 

It feels good to be home.