Getting some groceries in this house again after a fabulous four days out with my parents.
Researching recipes and meal ideas for the psychoallergenic diet I'm scheduled to start next week - compliments of my new fibro doc. Also, I should copyright that word I just made up because it's chock full of AWESOME.
Finding homes for all the new toys that came back home with us over the holidays. Including Mama's awesome new toy: a sexy new KitchenAid mixer that I can't stop petting. Seriously. It was a good Christmas.
Switching calendars.
Fighting to find a balance inside my totally over-holidayed body.
Laughing at the new phrases Briony's trying out every day. My latest favourite? 'WAIT A MINUTE!'
Thinking about 2011. I'm honestly feeling very overwhelmed by all the unknowns and milestones and adventures that are coming our way, but I'm working hard to get myself to a good place - full of good perspective - before the new year begins.
It's going to be quiet for another day or two while we continue to soak up as much Christmas-related family time as we possibly can. It's been a great Christmas so far, and I can't even begin to choose words to describe the MAGIC of celebrating the holidays with a two year old.
OH. MY. GOOD-mess :)
Hope you were all able to enjoy some downtime full of new and old traditions and memories with the people you love most. I am painfully aware that Christmas isn't merry for everyone, but I hope yours was full of JOY.
I'm scraping together every ounce of holiday season optimism I can muster and going to meet a new doctor today. I don't know how many times one human being can possibly get her hopes up - hoping that THIS might be the therapy that could finally help me get one step ahead of my fibromyalgia - but I'm going to try it again today...
Honestly, I'm questioning it a little bit. I booked this appointment three months ago - this is how long it took to get in - and I was enthusiastic then. I'm not feeling enthusiastic about ANYTHING right now. The events of this past week have thrown me for a little bit of a loop and it's been full-on WORK to drag myself out of bed every morning. Yesterday, I was near tears and negotiating with Geoff to just let me hide in bed all day. Not Lindsay style. (Yes, I started back on my happy pills again today as a precautionary measure.) The stress is sneaking into every part of my body and I physically feel like I got hit by a car. I could hardly manage to wash my hair yesterday because the muscles in my arms felt like I'd spent the entire previous day lifting weights. Weird. But such is life with fibro.
I'm not sure I'm totally feeling it, but I don't want to make a decision today and then regret it and need to wait another three months for a second chance. So my mom is coming to play with B and Geoff + I are heading downtown in a few minutes to go see what happens.
I've tried a lot of things. Some predictable. Some a little off the wall. This is the craziest idea I've pursued so far. By far. Hands down. No question. But WHAT THE HECK. You don't get big rewards without taking chances.
Know what's move nerve-wracking than waiting for your baby to be born? Waiting for SOMEONE ELSE'S baby to be born!
Okay, maybe not MORE nerve-wracking. But I've been bouncing around the house all day hoping for some exciting new baby news from Rob + Vicky (and big sister-to-be Ava) Vancouver. We've been receiving updates all day and it's *supposed* to be soon... They were bumped because of a car accident that needed to use their OR first. It's hilarious how even a c-section can be so totally unpredictable. It just makes me think that every baby ends up with their perfect birthday, no matter how the whole birth process happens.
Oh my GOSH, I am so excited to be an 'auntie' again :)
Sending lots and lots of love - and prayers for another happy, healthy baby - from Winnipeg...
I'm blaming Katie a little bit for this one, but this song has been stuck in my head nonstop since Friday morning - kind of a theme song as I pick up some pieces and make a new plan to move forward.
It's actually not a bad theme song... This might end up being more than temporary. It maybe should have been 'mine' a long time ago.
Something has changed within me Something is not the same I'm through with playing by the rules Of someone else's game Too late for second-guessing Too late to go back to sleep It's time to trust my instincts Close my eyes... and leap
It's time to try Defying gravity I think I'll try Defying gravity Kiss me goodbye I am defying gravity And you won't bring me down
I'm through accepting limits Cause someone says they're so Some things I cannot change But till I try, I'll never know Too long I've been afraid of Losing love I guess I've lost Well, if that's love It comes at much too high a cost
I'd sooner buy Defying gravity Kiss me goodbye I'm defying gravity I think I'll try Defying gravity And you won't bring me down
-
I'm linking to the Glee version instead of the *authentic* Wicked version, just because it's awesome :)
No 'Friday Smile' this week... I kind of lost my job today. Over the phone. On the last Friday before Christmas.
FA LA LA LA LA.
I still have a few clients, but this was my major income source - a guaranteed 20 hours of work every week.
I wanted to get upset. I wanted to crawl back into bed and stay there. I wanted to cry and have terribly hurt feelings (even though it was totally a budget thing and nothing personal at all). But that's not Lindsay style. So I hung up the phone and jumped into the shower. I made myself presentable and went to go meet a potential new client for lunch. They signed our contract on the spot and I'll begin work right after Christmas. I'm really excited about it - I think they're a really fabulous fit and we're going to work really well together. Then I got an email from a friend with another really good lead on some freelance writing work starting in January.
These contracts won't totally replace the one I lost this morning. But even the most hardened pessimist would call that a very promising first six hours of quasi-unemployment. It's as if God knew that I was likely to panic about this, and just wanted to reach down and let me know that it's all going to be okay. Maybe MORE than okay, because I really wasn't happy with the contract anyway - I was taking one for the team to provide my family with some stability.
Maybe it's time to really take this 'running my own business' thing for a spin and see where it can go... Briony's older now and I feel like I'm in a really good place. WE'RE in a really good place.
I'm feeling a little bit excited. Also, a little bit like I just got punched in the gut (hey, this is SCARY). But I'm choosing to dwell more on the 'excited' part :)
"I believe that everything happens for a reason. People change so that you can learn to let go, things go wrong so that you appreciate them when they're right, you believe lies so you eventually learn to trust no one but yourself, and sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together." (Marilyn Monroe)
I like them to be coil-bound, with a hook on top. I like them to show only a week at a time (but with monthly summary pages). I like to have the entire year visible somewhere on every page. I like to have enough space to write several things on the same day. And I like for them to make me laugh.
Last year, we found a PERFECT calendar that featured The Office and met ALL my requirements. I was happy as a clam. But do you think we could find the same thing for 2011? Of course not. And we checked everywhere. EVERYWHERE.
I did, however, end up finding something just as good. It fits all of my requirements - and it's based on Cake Wrecks.
It's going to be a good year. I can tell by my calendar :)
When I was 15, I honestly thought that I understood love.
Over the next decade of my life, I encountered people and situations that caused me to laugh at what I'd called 'love' before, increasingly certain that NOW I understood.
Then I met Geoff, and we got married... We made a baby together and welcomed our beautiful Briony Evangeline into the world. That's capital letters LOVE. (Right?)
I am learning that love is full of layers and levels. I am learning that it is impossible to understand. I am learning that it is everywhere.
And love in its purest expression looks like this: caring for your sick family when you are also sick.
REINDEER = RAINBOW DEER in our house this holiday season.
She's started correcting herself, which breaks my heart because 'wainbow deer' is pretty much the cutest thing ever ever ever.
-
Yesterday, I was trying to make dinner and Briony kept bringing me her little animal puppets from the living room. She came cruising in with a little shark puppet on her finger and said, 'Look Mama! It's a SARK!'
I pretended to be scared and she looked at me with total disdain. 'Mama... IT'S NOT REAL.'
Thanks for clearing that up.
-
Briony loves Hello Kitty. I won't lie... It's one of her interests that we encourage a little just because Geoff + I happen to like Hello Kitty stuff vs most other things for little girls.
But Hello Kitty has been discussed A LOT in our house lately - and now Briony will occasionally refer to her stuffed animals as 'Hello Turtle' or 'Hello Giraffe' or 'Hello Squirrel'... You get the picture.
It's kind of hilarious and kind of impossible to explain to her.
Why is it that the things you look for never come when you want them?
I was presented with yet another opportunity to work full-time in a big girl office today... I swear, these offers have been JUMPING out of the freaking woodwork since I decided not to return to a traditional 9 to 5 job after my mat leave. It makes me happy to know that I'm still employable. But it also makes me really want to kick something because I truly wish that I could pursue these opportunities... I love what I do. And I loved doing it full-time. I just can't even wrap my head around not spending this time with Briony right now.
Nothing kills all tiny little remnants of a vacation-induced afterglow quite like REALITY. Geoff went back to work last night - his first shift after vacation and, more notably, his first shift in two months because of his knee injury back in October. And today was my first day back at the office since our trip.
Of course, Briony chose not to have a nap yesterday afternoon and instead ended up hanging out with me (so of course, no work got done and she was just kind of generally clingy and miserable).
Of course, Briony was looking borderline sick all day yesterday.
Of course, Geoff and I were feeling borderline sick all day yesterday too.
Of course, Geoff ended up having a lousy night sick at work.
Of course, Briony + I ended up having a lousy night sick at home.
Of course, I couldn't take any good cold meds because I was home alone with B and needed to be alert-ish when she woke up and needed me.
Of course, I slept through my alarm this morning and then felt icky and sluggish and then couldn't find anything I needed to get ready because I haven't put on makeup, left the house, or didn't make it into work until almost 11.
Of course, I made myself pretty(ish) and dragged myself in for what appears to be NO GOOD REASON WHATSOEVER.
Of course, the pay machine in the lot where I usually park wouldn't read my credit card. I was so fed up at that point that I just scribbled a note that the machine was broken and left it under my wiper on my windshield. So of course, I can expect a ticket later :)
*sigh*
I'm determined that it's not too late to turn today around... I'm just not quite sure exactly how I'll accomplish that.
So I'm having a little bit of trouble finding my groove again after vacation. It hardly seems worth it when I know that Christmas - and another major disruption to our schedule - is just around the corner... But alas, my family must eat. And wear clean clothes. And all that other stuff :)
Anyway.
Yesterday, I found a chicken in my freezer. And I remembered that there was a super easy recipe for Slow Cooker Rotisserie Chicken that I'd bookmarked to try. THANK YOU, UNIVERSE. I ended up making a totally delicious dinner (with leftover chicken... YES!) that was stupidly easy. And it was so good that I had to share.
It sounds spicy. It's not AT ALL. The only work was mixing up the spices, but our whole family enjoyed this so much that I think I'll probably just mix an extra-large batch next time and have it ready to use in the cupboard - which would officially make this the Easiest Dinner Option Ever. You can tell that it's healthier than the pre-made chickens you can buy at the store, and Geoff declared it to be a perfectly acceptable substitute. Awesome.
(I used a frozen organic chicken from Superstore that I threw in the fridge the night before. I pulled it out of the fridge just after lunchtime, left the skin on, and put the chicken on the rack inside my slow cooker on high. And I didn't put the garlic or onion inside because the chicken wasn't 100% thawed and because that's just gross. But it turned out perfectly!)
I am sipping coffee, returning client emails, answering the phone, meal planning, making lists, listening to Elmo in the background... It's absolutely incredible how everything can go right back to normal in the blink of an eye :)
A pre-baked, pre-assembled gingerbread house that comes with icing in a bag and an assortment of candy that's all ready to use?
YES, PLEASE.
I picked one up yesterday and thought it would be a fun addition to our list of family advent activities - and a fun little project for Geoff + Marilyn + Briony + I to all do together today. I totally underestimated how much Briony would enjoy it... She was ALL OVER THIS.
Mama + Dada were a little bleary eyed post-vacation, but we had a great time putting it together - with Grammy serving as photographer - and it was a fun little family holiday memory. Briony *loves* her new 'cookie house' :)
Isn't it lovely? It makes my heart smile that it looks like a two year old went to town on it... :)
Check out all the fun our little munchkin had at home with Grammy while Mama + Dada were off gallivanting...
This one brought the biggest grin in the world to my face (and a tiny little tear to my eye). It's SO SPECIAL that these two had this time together. We are *so* grateful to Marilyn for her willingness to come here and take such good care of our precious B so Geoff + I could enjoy a little time out... I think it was just what ALL of us needed :)
I just uploaded a bunch of photos to Facebook - some you've already seen, some you haven't (especially from the last two days). If you're interested, you can check them out there! I'll be adding more here after we get home and I spend some time catching up with my baby girl :)
How is it possible for a human to feel SO sad and SO happy at exactly the same time? I'm really kind of dramatically sad that our trip is winding down... But I am ridiculously excited to see Briony. I MISS HER. I'm pretty sure I had a dream last night where I could SMELL her. And I don't feel like I have any right to be sad. It's been an incredible trip - everything we wanted it to be - and how can you be sad about that?
We went back to Les Halles for breakfast today before taking our last trip uptown to Central Park. I know, it's funny that we waited until the very last morning of our trip to see Central Park - but we'd planned all along to do it this way. We had tentatively planned to be cheesy and do the whole horse and carriage thing, but we were there too early in the day. And so we walked.
We spent a little over an hour wandering through part of this massive greenspace and I was SHOCKED at how much I recognized. Like so much of this place, it felt totally familiar. You see these places in movies, in photos, on television so often that it seriously feels like you've been here before. I kind of loved that. But it was so odd to start to add context and orient yourself.
And then it was back to the hotel to do our last few minutes to packing (we'd done most of it the night before... I was totally wired after Wicked) and check out of our hotel. The taxi ride to the airport felt SO short, and before we knew it we were through security and having lunch at La Guardia, waiting for our plane.
As we took off and gained altitude, we plane turned and give us a perfect view of Manhattan. Very slowly, the clouds began to block our view until there was nothing left to see.
Yesterday was our last full day in NYC and we didn't want to waste a moment. Our first stop of the day was Soho where we grabbed coffee + breakfast goodies from Balthazar (YUM) and tackled our official Shopping Morning with visits to the MOMA Design Store, Uniqlo, Topshop, KidRobot for Geoff, and a bunch of other favourites that we simply do not have in Winnipeg.
One notable stop was at the WIRED pop-up holiday store to visit Oi - cellular furniture designed by friends of mine. Oi is a client of mine and I worked on some of the PR when they were chosen for this year's WIRED holiday gift guide, so it was very cool to get to see what I'd been working on. I so rarely have that opportunity doing freelance.
After lunch and a quick stop back at the hotel to drop off bags, we took the subway uptown and walked the 'good' shopping streets... I'll pause here to wipe away a single crystal tear. With an unlimited credit card getting billed to someone else - and my husband does NOT count - I could have done some very serious damage in this city. It was super cool just to see, and we managed to sneak in quick stops at a bunch of other places on our list - the Plaza Hotel, Serendipity, Bloomingdale's, Tiffany's, FAO Schwarz (that piano is awesome), the cool glass cube Apple Store, Toys R Us (there's a freaking FERRIS WHEEL in there!), Bryant Park... And a stop at the world's largest Build-A-Bear, of course, for our little B.
Again, there's no way I could even make a proper list of everything we did and saw and experienced. It's just incredible to me that there's SO MUCH in such a small space. London is close, but this takes it to another level.
Let's pause here for a moment, shall we, and talk about how happy New York makes me. Geoff's been bugging me to decide if I like London or New York better, and I will die insisting that they're just DIFFERENT. But this trip to New York felt like a visit to my mothership. And I fought that a little, because it seems so incredibly shallow. But I WORK IN ADVERTISING. And very much on purpose. I eat this stuff up. And it was just FUN to me to be at the centre of all of it - even if we were just visiting.
Dinner was at Maze by Gordon Ramsay. At risk of sounding incredibly obnoxious, it was okay. It was GOOD. It was totally more than good. But it wasn't the best meal we had on our trip. (Funny, hey?) I think that Del Posto has ruined us for all other food forever. In a good way.
The Gershwin Theatre was just down the street and after showing our tickets we were surprised to discover a mini-museum set up in the lobby. We saw an original production script for Phantom of the Opera, the skull used in the Broadway production of Hamlet, the scribbles that would become the song 'Tomorrow' in Annie. And I think it was even more special to see it because it was so absolutely unexpected.
And then (...drumroll please...) it was time for WICKED. We has booked it thinking we would save the best for last. And it was glorious. It was absolutely everything I had hoped it would be. The only thing that would have made it better was seeing the original cast - with Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel - which is clearly not a possibility. So it was perfect.
Which made it the perfect ending to our kind of perfect trip.
(I'll finish this up later. Just want to get it down a little before I start adding new memories today!)
Went to the Met. Had my mind blown by so many things... Saw a bunch of paintings that literally brought me to tears. Saw everything from medieval armour to Egyptian mummies to ancient Greek and Roman artifacts (some from places we've actually been) - and got to walk inside of a pyramid tomb that's been reconstructed inside the museum. Crazy. Can't decide if I love the Met or the British Museum more, I just LOVE THEM and wish I had another week just to spend inside checking it all out and soaking it all in.
Travelled down to Rockefeller Center - saw a bunch of ridiculous stores and places along the way. Walked around the skating rink. Checked out the ginormous Christmas tree. Just generally had my moment of just being there and soaking it in because I've wanted to see this in real life for a long, long time.
Did Top of the Rock where we went up to the very top of the building and saw a great view of the city - including Central Park (which, even though everyone tells you how BIG it is, is still SO MUCH BIGGER than I realized) and the hotel where John Lennon died 30 years ago TODAY. Random.
Went to MOMA. Cried a bunch more times over a bunch more paintings. Cried again just a little bit when I realized that we'd seen both paintings from Olivia (Briony's favourite book) today - I MISS HER. Can't decide if I loved MOMA or the Tate Modern in London more, I just LOVE THEM.
Saw a taping of Jimmy Fallon. The schedule changed, so we saw Amy Adams, 'The Situation' from Jersey Shore, and a comedian - Adam Ferara. Didn't win the awesome holiday sweater giveaway, but definitely ended up on TV because we were sitting two rows behind the girl who did. Didn't get to high-five Jimmy either, but it was a super fun experience. The Roots were so incredible... They totally make that show. And the little private concert you get before, during, and after the taping is awesome.
Walked over to Broadway and stopped for a snack along the way - some street meat for Geoff and a cupcake from Magnolia Bakery for Lindsay. Mmm, CUPCAKE. It wasn't the 'correct' location of the bakery from its moment in Sex and the City, but it was the same cupcakes and they were pretty delicious.
Saw 'Promises, Promises' - with Kristin Chenoweth + Sean Hayes. Molly Shannon plays a supporting character but was out tonight - too bad because you could 100% tell which was 'her' part and it would have been hilarious. Anyway. The leads were both in, and they were better than I'd even hoped they'd be. To see him do his physical comedy thing live... And to HEAR HER SING live... You guessed it. I totally cried again. And you would have too, if you'd been the one sitting in the darkened Broadway Theater, watching and listening to Kristin Chenoweth sing 'A House is Still a House'... GOOSEBUMPS. The other highlight for me was 'I Say a Little Prayer for You' - it's just perfect for her. Anyway. The play was amazing, amazing, amazing. I know we're seeing WICKED tomorrow, but it has a heck of a lot to live up to now.
Last stop was some quick and dirty late night pizza + pasta at Otto - another Mario Batali place. I don't know if it was all the food, or the super late hour, or the drink I had while we were waiting, but I demolished my pizza and it was SO GOOD.
Almost as good as it felt to TAKE MY SHOES OFF and crash into bed.
*Should note quickly that the schedule changed and we didn't see Ben Affleck today... It was Amy Adams, 'The Situation' from Jersey Shore, and Adam Ferara on Jimmy Fallon. It was a great show! But I would REALLY like to know how THE SITUATION published a book before I did...
WHOSE STUPID IDEA WAS IT TO USE TELEVISION/MOVIE REFERENCES IN ALL OUR TRIP POST TITLES?!
Anyway.
Today started at Starbucks, like most good days do. From there, we quickly moved on to the rest of the day's activities. It was another day that simply REQUIRED caffeine :)
Our first stop was at Ground Zero. The former site of the World Trade Center is now a rather formidable construction zone, but it was still important to me to see it. It's hard to explain the experience of standing in that place - somewhere that felt oddly familiar even though I've never been there before. I remember everything about September 11th and I've seen images of this area of New York a million times, but it was still kind of profound just to BE there. It was also interesting to see the church right beside the World Trade Center site - totally and completely unharmed when the towers collapsed. Kind of gives you goosebumps, doesn't it?
Century 21 was pretty much the opposite experience. I was hesitant to go because I'd heard how completely insane it is (think Winners for 'real' designer stuff... on four gigantic floors... with the entire population of New York PLUS tourists trying to get the best deal). Honestly? I was expecting sport shopping and it was no big deal. Primark in London was about fifty times worse, I thought. Anyway. I found a fabulous new bag and discovered that there is a DKNY baby/toddler line. Um, SERIOUSLY?! Yeah. A couple of things came home for Briony :)
From there, we were off to the Chelsea Market - which was totally cool in itself. Any place that boasts an incredible cupcake + cookie shop followed by a brownie shop followed by an incredible cupcake + cookie shop is pretty much the best thing ever in my books. It was an odd mix of business people and tourists having their little foodie pilgrimage moments. Like everywhere else, it's all decked out from Christmas - but the Chelsea Market hired a local artist to do it all sustainably. He used reclaimed white cardboard and old cue cards from SNL to make snowflakes to hang from the ceiling EVERYWHERE and it was gorgeous. I could have spent an entire day (and an entire year's worth of calories) there.
But there is no rest for the wicked... Not when the wicked have lunch reservations at Del Posto - one of Mario Batali's NYC restaurants. I feel like I've been speaking in nonstop hyperbole since we got here, but this was the most incredible lunch I've had in my life. We're talking RIDICULOUS service and more staff than diners. I am actually kind of at a loss for words. How crazy was the food? The starters were sprinkled with gold. Actual factual GOLD. Everything was *so* delicious and the experience was even better. Awesomeness.
We walked it off by wandering through a few of the shops on West 14th Street. Cool neighbourhood. And I found our family Christmas ornament in Anthropologie. It's lovely. I've picked one up every year since we got married - the first in England on our honeymoon - and it's such a fun little tradition.
We needed to drop off our (ahem... MY) bag from Century 21 at the hotel and so our afternoon had a bit of a pause in it as we made our way back uptown via the Carlton. We jumped off the subway at Grand Central just so I could see... It was one of those places that I've seen in photos and movies and television shows a hundred million times and I just wanted to see it for myself. I'm glad that I did.
Then we did a speed-tour of the Museum of Natural History. We saw giant dinosaurs, hundreds of stuffed dead animals, the origami tree, A GIANT WHALE... I loved it.
I decided to help y'all out and help demonstrate how large a dinosaur is in comparison with an average sized human female (ME!).
A tiny treasure hunt lead us to Levain Bakery. Any place with cookies as highly reviewed as Levain deserves to be taste tested and OH MY GOD. I have been forever ruined for every other cookie. It was an itty bitty place in the lower level of a bunch of brownstones and sells pretty much nothing but cookies - and milk, of course! I had the chocolate chip + walnut and it was HUGE but I pounded that sucker back on our trek over to... EEEEEEE!... The Colbert Report studio.
As much as it pains me to speak ill of my Jon, our Colbert Report experience was sooo much better than The Daily Show in terms of accommodations. I'd emailed both shows ahead of time and the Colbert team was awesome. I'll have a whole post about both experiences sometime after we get back... We showed up half an hour before the tickets were handed out, checked in with security (who were totally expecting us), and were pointed in the direction of a coffee shop around the corner. Half an hour later, we came back to get our tickets and were the first people ushered through security.
I didn't need any kind of special seating (and I told them that), but Geoff + I ended up in the front row anyway. THE FRONT ROW. It was crazy. And when Stephen came running in before the taping began, he high fived us. I touched Stephen Colbert. And he's REAL.
The show itself was really cool. I loved both the Daily Show and Colbert, and both were very different experiences. Like Jon, Stephen took time to answer a bunch of Q+As before the show and, also like Jon, he was genuinely funny in his answers. The guests were Julie Nixon Eisenhower and David Eisenhower. They were fascinating. She's the daughter of former President Nixon and he's the grandson of former President Eisenhower (and the 'David' behind Camp David). They met when they were eight. It wasn't a particularly funny interview, but it was super interesting and it was just kind of incredible to be in the same room as these people - and one seat over from their daughters in the audience.
Dinner was at Les Halles, the Anthony Bourdain restaurant around the corner from our hotel. At risk of sounding annoying and repetitive, it was really great food. And we strolled back 'home' with tired feet and happy hearts.
Randoms from today...
Geoff + I totally had a 'date' to buy better insoles for our shoes. Oh yeah. It's come to that after only two days here :)
On a similar note, I am super grateful that I threw my Tiber River bath salts in my bag before we left Winnipeg. I travel with them quite often, and I've had a bath every night in NYC so far. They're a special kind of awesome.
I was super upset yesterday when we saw on the news that Elizabeth Edwards was stopping her cancer treatments. And then tonight when we heard that she had died... I have no idea why it affected me like this, but I'm a very real kind of SAD. I don't understand every decision she made while she was alive, but I think she was an incredibly classy lady who made the most of her time here. And my heart just kind of breaks for her kids. I can't imagine.
Sharing the journey that has taken me from being a single girl in the advertising agency world to a married mommy running my own freelance writing and consulting business (and every random adventure in between).
THINGS I LOVE: Thunderstorms, power ballads, princess camping, exploring new cities, Jon Stewart, greatest hits CDs, clever ads, packing for a trip, George Clooney, impractical footwear, movies about spies, Starbucks, reading an entire book in one sitting, a house full of friends, movies about spies, buying presents, a perfect French manicure, warm modernist architecture, getting flowers for no reason, being faux brunette, Mary Poppins, making lists on Post-It notes, decorating for Christmas, having a brilliant middle-of-the-night 'aha!' idea and then actually remembering it in the morning / THINGS I HATE: People who whine, wearing sweats in public, 2-in-1 shampoo and conditioner, birds, American tourists in foreign countries, taking down the Christmas tree, poems that rhyme, the misuse of semicolons, being lied to, unpacking after a trip, being closed-minded, naming your kid something common but then spelling it stupidly, cowboys, overly cautious drivers, fake curse words, ridiculously long surnames, strangers who start awkward conversations with you in places you can't readily escape
