« December 2003 | Main | February 2004 »
1. Read <a href="http://www.thewavemag.com/printarticle.php?articleid=21668">this</a> and laugh your a** off! Seriously, make sure you have recently gone to the restroom before reading or you might have to call for clean-up on aisle 2.
2. The HR department here at work emailed everyone to say that we could leave early today since the weather is looking, well, snowy. How cool is that?!
I love that I can grow things. Plants, plans, ideas, art projects, relationships, babies, etc. But most of all plants - there is something insanely satisfying about caring for a plant and watching it grow, bloom, and develop. Especially sensitive plants, like orchids or African violets.
So... you can imagine my absolute delight when, about a week ago, I noticed that my orchid (my baby really) bloomed two whole new stems with flower buds on them! YIPPEEE! I thought it had died - seriously! I'm so excited!! I can't wait to see their delicate little petals come out and dazzle everyone at the office. Woohoo!
We live in exciting times, I tell you.
Ok. I'm done sharing now. Hee hee.
Time for a little celebration!
<a href="http://julietmartinez.com">Juliet</a> gave birth to a precious little baby girl (angel, really) a few days ago! I am so incredibly moved by her whole experience - the tears keep blurring my vision as I type. Thank you, Juliet, for your open and generous sharing. May we all have half the grace you do.
Here are baby Martinez' specs:
Paula Celeste
Born 1/17/04
Weight 5 lb 11 oz
Length 18 in
Description as written by Juliet, "More beautiful than anything that has ever lived or breathed."
Enough said, right? Welcome, little Paula.
a seriously intense cardio workout
eating scrumptious food that your husband cooked and that doesn't make your tummy hurt
laughing out loud with your closest friends
buying a cute pair of shoes - on sale
crossing things off the "to do" list
listening to a brand new CD and loving every track
praise from the people for whom you work
talking with your brother on the phone about nothing in particular, just to connect and share some love
knowing your Mom is having a kickin' good time in Italy with her brother
slipping under super warm, soft flannel sheets and going to sleep after a very productive day
In the last two days, Paul and I have "caught up" on about 5 days of TV. I think that's both hilarious and sad, but in the end I love watching Monk again. Some of the best acting and funniest writing ever. There were other gems too - Alias and The Practice were brilliant last night. West Wing had some of the same punch it used to. And Charmed was cute yesterday.
Aahhh. Now there it is.
I have some serious planning to do this week, including a little celebration for the P-Man for graduating.
I loved the most recent entry on <a href="http://www.dooce.com/archives/daily/01_16_2004.html">Dooce</a>. Brilliant. Totally resonated in some ways for me. And I just love Heather's writing. Very cool.
Mom just left for Italy. Green does not become me.
Back to work tomorrow for the week.
Can I just say how much I love having wireless access during my meeting?
Yes. Life is good.
Notice the paucity of entries this week? Paul and I had an amazing experience at a couples' seminar this past weekend. No, it had nothing (or at least very little) to do with sex and everything to do with understanding each other better, learning some tools for communication and problem-solving, and helping solidify our foundation. It was SO eye-opening for me, and I seriously recommend it for anyone about to get married (or into a committed relationship), looking to start a relationship, just married or who has been married for a long time. Basically anyone who is looking to improve his/her relationship in any way.
It's based on "<a href="http://imagotherapy.com/">Imago Therapy</a>" and although I had a super hard time relating to his books (Getting the Love You Want, Keeping the Love You Find) the first I read through them the workshop/seminar made everything make so much sense!
So, I have been processing and ruminating on our experience and what we "learned" and have been practicing this week (again, not related to sex) and have developed a new appreciation for people who have been married for decades. Not that we didn't know this before, but it takes work - daily, often concentrated, hard work. And it doesn't ever stop. You don't get to ever put the relationship into cruise control and coast - at least not for more than an evening.
It's all good though. I understand Paulie in a whole new way (insert cheesy background music here) and I think he has a new appreciation for why I'm so difficult. (Moi? Never!) So, it's all good.
If you want more details, I'm happy to share - y'all know how open I am about these things. So, just ask.
As I drove to work this morning, I noted the new abundance of url logos and stickers on cars. There was xplosionnightclub.com, peapod.com, kissmya**.com, and many more - all colorful advertisements diverting one's eyes from the road to the back windshield of the car in front of you. So, since I have such a super-long commute (not) I began to daydream about what it would sound like if we spoke in urls. It might sound like this:
"sendthereport.com, please."
"holdeverything.com - notdone.com, harvard.edu still needs to look at report.com."
"superlate.org! hotjobs.com - sorry!"
Or how about this?
"match.com, john_smith.com, lettucentertainyou.com, xplosionnightclub.com - superdatelastnight.org!"
"gossip.com? abfab.com!"
Anyway, I was bored. What can I say.
Here is my horoscope for today, as written by <a href="http://astrology.com">astrology.com</a>:
"Life is fine at the center. Instead of being 'it' for a game of monkey in the middle, you feel like the axis around which everything worthwhile spins. You might even be the cause of what's happening, in addition to being the main beneficiary. As the driving force, you're responsible for getting everyone else to the party. Anybody who can match your pace is welcome to stay with you and see what you'll do next. And if you're feeling generous, you might even take a few suggestions. You're happy to see a worthy contender break your monopoly on all the good ideas."
Fascinating. I have paused to reflect, as I'm likely to do these days.
And for the record, I would LOVE to take suggestions, as long as the suggestions suit me. (ha!) Seriously though, being at the helm gets very tiring. Anyone want to try for a while? I am all for breaking the monopoly.*
*As a loving footnote, I will share that the amazing Paulie has been right by my side lately, on the ball, and so amazingly supportive in ways I couldn't have asked for or predicted. The load has been lighter. I'm floating. And deeply grateful.
Despite the fact that I probably don't get enough calcium because I don't eat (ahem, rather I'm not supposed to eat) dairy, my teeth are in excellent condition, says my dentist. "Do you bleach your teeth or are they just that white?" Not to brag, but I don't do much for my teeth except brush twice a day, floss 2-3 times a week, and go for my cleaning every 6 months. Oh, and did I mention I drink lots of tea, which is SO great for staining your teeth? And I'm super grateful that I don't have any cavities (seriously, not one) and seem to have good, strong teeth.
Knock on wood.
as i
listen to the
sounds of the muted woods -
empty -
i watch
the fresh velvet stream,
steadily flowing,
moist with a young current,
steam throbbing up
veiling the verdure that lies beyond.
and i remember yesterday -
the warm beach,
the salty air,
the soft sand,
and you, angel,
laughing.
Bachelor #1: How would you describe yourself?
"I'm kind of like hair conditioner - when things are all tangled up, I smooth it all out."
"Definitely Wapner. Definitely. 3:30 PM. People's Court. Definitely Judge Wapner."
"I'm an enigma, mon cherie. You can never really know me, like really know me. I'm meant to be a mystery to women."
Bachelor #2: What is your favorite thing to do on a date?
"Stare at the mirror for hours, admiring my God-given beauty."
"Order some sushi at this cute little place down the street and go back to my fabulous apartment to watch Queer Eye for the Straight Guy."
"What? I have to take you on a date?"
Bachelor #3: If you could have one wish granted, what would it be?
"I would wish for a bigger (insert any noun here - house, boat, closet, car, body, ego, etc.)."
"I would want nothing more than to hold you in my arms forever. Seriously - I would never let you go. Not even to pee."
"I would wish for world peace."
Presenting, her royal dogness, the high priestess Tessera:
<img alt="You may address me as your royal dogness." src="http://lay-c.com/delara/archives/pics/012004/SUPREMEHIGHDOGESS.jpg" width="300" height="400" border="0" />
Just for kicks. I thought she needed a little publicity. And I love this photo. <a href="http://www.itsokaytobesingle.com">My brother</a> has way too much time on his hands.
And oh, did you notice - it's my first posted photo! Ha! Will the madness never end?
I am still sick. Kind of. I have the remnants of a cold and am in the middle of a sneezing fit, but for the most part I am vertical and mobile. Which is good. I even worked out today. Which is great, because several specific body parts and I were getting tired of laying in bed resting and not doing much else - much as I am sure I will covet such moments of rest in the future when my schedule is once again out of control busy.
But I digress.
Technology has made it possible for me to stay on top of email, converse and consult with colleagues, check voicemail and make phone calls - all from home, even when I am sick. And that is a good thing as well because, as you may already know, there is nothing that stresses me more than coming back to the office after having been on vacation/sick/out of town for work or whatever and seeing 200+ unread email messages in my inbox, half of which are replies to replies to replies. Someone has got to get rid of the "reply all" feature.
Then again, I look forward to a productive week at work. And I am even organized about it - I have a list! What else. We shall see if my plan to limit interruptions in order to get things done actually works.
Oh, and did I mention that in the midst of all this fun I have to get a booster immunization shot tomorrow? Yeah. I suppose it is nothing like the joy Lacey is feeling from not having caffeine. I feel your pain, sistah.
How many catalogs or retail promotions can one receive before being considered out of control and insane? At one point, I think we were receiving at least 30 different catalogs. No joke! And not by choice. Catalog and retail companies are clever - anytime you sign up for one catalog, you automatically start receiving all the subsidiary and other related catalogs as well. Crazy.
Here is a sampling of what we were getting at one point (seriously!) in no particular order:
The Company Store
Company Kids
Land of Nod
Pottery Barn
Pottery Barn Bed + Bath
Pottery Barn for Kids
Sur La Table
Sundance
Eziba
Crate & Barrel
Lord & Taylor
JC Penney
Carson Pirie Scott
Coldwater Creek
Eddie Bauer
J Crew
J Jill
LL Bean
Harry & David
Jackson & Perkins
Garnet Hill
Michigan Bulb Co.
Anthropologie
West Elm
Performance Bike
Nashbar
Bronson Vitamins
Williams Sonoma
Dick Blick
Marco Paper
Red Envelope
Ann Taylor
Ann Taylor Loft
Paper Source
Shall I continue or do you get the picture?!?
Crazy.
But now we only get the ones we want (I wrote all the other ones and kindly asked them to take us off their mailing list) and we only get them occasionally. What a relief to know that 1,000 fewer trees will be milled into paper each year just for our household.
Happy new year and all that.
Actually, the whole new year's eve thing fascinates me. We spend much of the evening waiting - waiting for people to come over, waiting for midnight, waiting to make a resolution, waiting to make a toast, etc. Not that any of those things is invalid or bad or anything. But it's just odd to me that the whole evening is about delayed gratification. Anticipation. Fascinating.
And I've had my share of incredibly anti-climactic, non-celebratory and even painful new year's eves. So I don't have a great love for this holiday necessarily. Here are some milder highlights from the past:
The first new year's eve Paulie and I spent together was in Florida, and we watched a bowl game. Syracuse was playing someone. Who knows, and I don't remember who won. We did have fun together though.
One new year's eve was spent on a Greyhound bus from Atlanta to Chicago. That trip was actually kind of fun because of the company, but any overnight trip on a Greyhound bus is shady.
And the first new year's eve Paulie and I spent together in Chicago, my sweetheart had a 104 temperature while he fought off a horrible flu. Boo.
At least this year was "normal" - whatever that means.
We had a wonderful group of friends over, and everyone had (I think) a great time hanging out in various ways. I was feeling just well enough (having been sick all week) to help set things up, but my fabulous friends and amazing angel of a husband did a lot of the work. (Special props to CM as usual.) I got into my pj's and rested pretty soon after midnight. I'm still not feeling 100%.
So, after all that meaningless jibberish, happy new year. I hope whatever resolution you make guides you toward your chosen path in life.