My motto for 2010:

I bought a magnet for my fridge that says this. Mine is Burberry Red.

 I think it says it all.

You can get yours here and read the story behind the phrase.

“But I think it’s LIFE”

My dear friend Brittany commented on this post the other day about how she related to needing a good cry now and then. I can only imagine how she must feel now. She is a newlywed with two, brand new,  BEAUTIFUL, twin baby boys that the doctors highly doubted would make it to today and is experiencing a whole new world of things, both good and bad. Not to mention, probably going through every single emotion at least once a day.

One part of her comment kind-of rocked my soul. She said: “I don’t know what is up with December, but this just wasn’t a happy one for me…some may say it is post partum depression, but I think it is LIFE!”

Thank you Brittany.

Thank you for reaching out and letting me know that I am not alone. That I am not crazy, because sometimes it takes someone else’s voice or encouraging words to convince you of your own sanity. You are a strong, beautiful women, and an amazing mother. I love you and everything will work out, because God never gives us more than we can handle.

And guess what, I think it’s just life too.

Christmas Vacation

I think I am going to take a little blog vacation and really enjoy the holidays. I have a total of 4 work days left in 2009. I want to soak in the season and prepare for the new year.

Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Oh, and safe travels should you find yourself on the road.

xoxo

Stifled

Sometimes life sneaks up on me and kicks me in the ass. This happens  more often than I’d like to admit. It’s like, seriously, WHAT. THE. FUCK?! (Yeah, sometimes life makes me say fuck.)

I drive home at least once a month. I get up on a Saturday at 5 am and hit the road. I throw on my iPod and 2 hours later I arrive at my parents. At least once or twice -or twenty- times during that drive a song will come on and it will make me cry (ok, sob) and it feels so damn good.

Last weekend my sister went with me so I was unable to have my monthly cry. Instead we got into vicious arguments both on the way there AND back. Sandwiched between those wonderful events was a HUGE fight with my boyfriend in which left me puffy-eyed and exhausted. (Thankfully that conversation ended productively and I feel confident about the direction our relationship is headed.) By the end of the weekend I was emotionally and physically drained… There was life, kicking my ass AGAIN. I mean it’s Christmas, don’t I deserve a break now of all times?  I only made it until noon at work yesterday and then I went home and slept for four hours, although I literally feel as though I could sleep through winter.

I am reminded that even though this is “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” many people are, at times, struggling through life. Some people get horribly depressed during the holidays. So keeping this in mind (and recapping the shiteous weekend I had), yesterday I made sure to be extra friendly to the barista at Starbucks and the sales associate at Macy’s. When customer’s call at work I have made sure my tone of voice is welcoming and that I seem eager to help them, because you never know what kind of day someone is having and how you could affect that. I am reminded of the saying “If we all threw our problems into a pile and saw everyone else’s, we’d grab our back!”

Long story short: be kind to one another, for you never know the load they are carrying until you take a walk in their shoes. Oh, and it’s totally ok to have a good cry now and then, because if you keep it all inside you will eventually explode.

Dear Pelican Hill,

Please stop emailing me. You already broke my heart with your $70,000 catering bid. Our wedding budget is $20,000 MAX. So, Unless you are offering to cover the difference , we will not be having our wedding at your beautiful resort… (Well, maybe if we sell some of our organs on the black market. From the pictures you continually entice me with, it almost looks worth it. I can function with one kidney right?)

Love,

The Bride-to-Be on a budget

With 16 days to spare

I have finshed my New Year’s Resolutions.

Oh, by the way..

Did I mention it is 5 degrees in Chicago right now?

As in 1,2,3,4, FIVE!!

That probably means it will be BELOW ZERO (as in negative) when I fly in tonight.

Brrrrrr…

Unexpected

At 11:30am yesterday I got an email form my fiancé. It was a job offer that had been extended to him. I was so excited! He has been so stressed about graduating and not having a job and now he potentially had one. It wasn’t the exact position he wanted, but it is with the company he wanted, so there is always room for growth.

Then I scrolled down and found out that we will be MOVING!! The job is still in California, but not in Orange County. It’s not even close to the beach.

I knew there was a huge possibility that we would have to move. I just think I was in denial about it. I called my fiancé on my lunch and we discussed the whole situation. We agreed that he should take the job, as it is a GREAT opportunity, especially in this economy. Last night we decided that he would move first and then I would follow a few months later. It’s somewhere close enough that we could easily see each other on the weekends.

Initially I was very taken aback by this news, but after letting it sink in, I am actually really excited. This could be exactly what we need; a fresh start together. A new place to make new memories. (ATTN: these memories will NOT include alpacas, emus, or potbellied pigs.)

Isn’t funny how life can turn on a dime?

Discovering a slight disadvantage to living in Southern California

You wouldn’t think there were any. I mean, the weather is fantastic. There is every kind of restaurant you could ever want, the BEST shopping, anything you can think of to do, you are a few hours from Mexico, a few more hours to Northern California, and the beach is just down the street! (Literally. The beach is at the end of my street. I know, how blessed am I?)

Well, you’d be wrong.

Last night I wanted to live anywhere but here. You see, I am going to Chicago TOMORROW and it is currently 32 degrees, feels like 20 degrees, and SNOWING according to weather.com. I needed to find snow boots. I own two pair of UGGS, and they are warm and all, but the soles are not meant for slush, snow, and salt. So, I scoured all the stores down here to find NOTHING suitable. Why would there be? People down here think winter is when the temperature gets down to 55 degrees. I was so frustrated. After going to three different malls and deciding that I would spend whatever amount necessary, I ended up at Irvine Spectrum. I checked every store there and after finding nothing, I figured I would just buy another pair of UGGS and hope they don’t get ruined. I headed over to Nordstroms.

When I got into the shoe department, all of the sudden the Heavens opened up and a light shined down  onto these:

I grabbed the first “Shoe Specialist” I could find, tried on my size, and bought them. They are perfect and they were about $50 cheaper than UGGS. SCORE! Who knew Nike made snow boots? I guess they are really popluar too because they only had 1 size 6 left and they had just gotten them in on Monday.

Now all that is left to prepare for my trip is to pack the heap of clothes I have set out on my floor.

Ordinary

Last weekend was delightfully splendid.

(Except I found out that I am potentially marrying an eardrop Nazi. Seriously, if the future hold marriage and children for us than I will be the one administering any type of medication. I would never want a child to suffer like I did. (Ok, so maybe he actually made me do it like the prescription called for, but still, it was horrible.) Yes, my ear is better for it but that is beside the point.)

We really didn’t do anything too spectacular. Saturday I completely rearranged my furniture. ALL. BY. MYSELF. Thank you very much. When the BF got home from school we went to get my Christmas tree which was only $24.98 and sized perfectly for my little apartment, which depressed me because I always pick one that is too big and the BF has to modify it using a steak knife (since I don’t own a saw). Good times those were. But not this year. The tree is little and fits exactly where I wanted it to. Dammit!  Then we went to the discount theatre and saw Where The Wild Things Are. I am going to have to go back and reread that book because I don’t remember it being how the movie was. It was different, kind of sad, but really well done. On the way home we made an ice cream stop for the $1 Ben and Jerry single servings.

Sunday I got up around 7am and let the BF sleep in while I made us breakfast. We watched Overboard while we ate our eggs, sausage, and toast then got ready and went our separate ways for a few hours. He went to get a haircut and pick up things for dinner while I went and tried, unsuccessfully, to get the rest of what I need for my trip that IS IN TWO DAYS! I knew that he hates shopping (or maybe shopping with me because I kind of get like the Rain Man at times) so I didn’t mind at all that he went and did his own thing. We I got back we sorted the laundry to take it to the laundry mat and headed over. While the clothes were in the washer we decided to grab a bite to eat at this little sushi place. When the laundry was finished we went home. I decorated the tree while the BF relaxed and played some video games. Later I cooked his favorite dinner and watched the season finale of Sons of Anarchy (Brit, I was totally disappointed. Were you? Have you even seen it yet?).

It was a relaxed, yet productive weekend and we got some really good quality us time in. We REALLY NEEDED us time.

Sometimes doing ordinary life tasks together is better than the most lavish date. I appreciate having someone with me who is willing to help me tackle the mundane To-Do List that piles up over the week. It helps to lighten my load a little and allowed me to enjoy some of the weekend.

I also enjoyed us a little but more.

 (Minus being pinned down twice a day to have my eardrops put in and then scolded for not keeping my head down so they won’t run out..)