Well, hello there, 2012!

Unlike a lot of people, it seems, 2011 was a pretty good year for me.  I got married, I enjoyed full employment the entire year, and got healthy (lost 42 pounds and learned to kind of actually like exercise!).  The only “trauma” my family suffered was our car going belly up – and the loss of our beloved ratties.

Considering I had no real beefs with 2011, I must say that 2012 is already off to a lovely start.

New Years Eve couldn’t have been better:  sushi and an early night with The Husband.

After an EPIC 15 hours of sleep and I was ready to face the day!  I sweated up a horse…

Caffeinated… (it was unusually warm, so a frosty coffee beverage was warranted)

Took the Lucas with me to play while I taught a lesson…

And then was off to pick up The Child after a week at her dad’s (yay! I miss her when she’s gone!)

I’d say that the first day of the new year was a pretty damn good day.  While driving I turned off the radio and did some thinking about how I could turn this good first day of the year into a whole year of good days.

I won’t call these “resolutions” because that seems to inherently destine them for failure.

I want to make a concerted effort to be a better wife, mother and friend.  I think this comes down to communication.

• I rely too heavily on Facebook to communicate with people.
• I will overcome my aversion to the telephone.  I need to reach out and have conversations with the people that I love and care about.
• I need to think before I speak. (duh) This is not something that comes naturally for me.  I need to be more aware of how my words may be received.

I need to quit calling my sloth “me time”.  It seems I always have so much to do, often for other people.  Instead of better managing my time I burn out and end up just doing nothing.  It’s not really “rest” or “recharging” – it’s just being lazy.  Days where I get stuff done (cleaning, organizing, errands) are the days where I actually feel like I have recharged.  Marking things off my To-Do list make me feel infinitely better than sitting on my ass all day.

My life is really very good.  I want to remind myself every day to appreciate that we all have our health, a beautiful home, people who love us, good jobs and good grades.

2012 will indeed be a very good year.

Love and marriage

Yesterday was our 1 month anniversay and today marks two years that we’ve been together. 

I am happy. I am content. And I am so grateful that we had a special day with out friends and family to celebrate.

I am also lucky to have had such amazing photographers. Candace and Kelly teamed up to deliver the best photos I have ever seen.  Check them out!

My life is blessed. Truly.

Honeymoon

Snippets of heaven:  Islands of Utila and Roatan, Honduras.

We’ll be back… same time next year.

(p.s. my new camera is sooooo great! none of the below pics have been touched – they’re straight off the memory card!)

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These two…

… are super sneaky and super sweet.

The Child (and her grandmother) colluded with The Man, who bought me a freaking ridiculously awesome new camera!

I love them.

Look forward to UH-MAZE-ING pictures because I gots mad talent yo! (Well, I do in my own mind any way!)

Twelve years ago today

Today is The Child’s 12th birthday and soon enough I’ll have to refer to her as The Teen. 

I think some moms feel dread at the thought of their children growing up, but I don’t. I am so exceedingly proud of the little lady that she is becoming that I can’t wait to see where she goes.

The day she was born she gave me the greatest gift I have ever received. Not only did I gain the ability to love someone so deeply and purely, she also gave me the ability to love myself and be in awe of what I could accomplish.

Her birth is what I consider to be my greatest accomplishment. She was born at home, surrounded by family, an amazing midwife and a fantastic nurse (a feat I must give her father credit for suggesting). I learned that my body can do amazing things – it can grow a child and sustain it after it is born. And once she no longer needed my body, she taught me that I am a strong and capable woman.  We have had our struggles but because of her I never doubted in our ability to pull through them.

She has been my sidekick since the day she was born, and I enjoy her as a person and her company more and more each day. She’s not only smart, she’s beautiful – inside and out. She has the best sense of humor and can make me laugh like no other. She’s a strong kid – a fighter – but she’s got the softest heart you’ll ever know.

Twelve years ago today my life changed, and every day it gets better and better. I love you so much baby girl!

Thirty day warning

The numbers and the disconnect

Number of miles I have run in the month of May:  31.92

Number of miles I have run since I began running:  43.37 (5 weeks)

Number of days I have been religiously logging my calories and exercise:  76

Number of pounds lost:  22

I have been feeling so good and fit and healthy - really for the first time in my life.  It’s not that I’ve never been thin or in decent shape – I have been way too skinny at times and have had a six-pack and serious guns - I just never worked at it before.  I work out regularly and I crave exercise now.  I have had to buy new smaller pants and my wedding dress is having to be altered down by a HUGE amount.

I’ve been pretty proud of myself.

Then I saw a picture of myself yesterday… and it’s amazing how fast all of the above numbers can be wiped out.  No amount of numbers offsets the lumps and bumps and dumpiness I see in my “skinny” jeans. 

I guess that the upside is that I actually contemplated calling in sick to work so I could exercise all day, instead of feeling like saying, ”fuck it – I’m eating.

Showered

On Saturday some of my most favorite ladies in the world threw me a bridal shower. I know these types of affairs are supposed to be the start of stocking up the couple for their new life ahead, but being of the more “mature” variety of bride it was really more about me feeling showered with love and good company.

My bridesmaids worked very hard to throw the nicest party.  Thanks especially to my Maid of Honor, Rachel, for an amazing effort; to Susan for providing her lovely home; to Marianne for coming all the way from Seattle; and to Haley for being such a big help and keeper of Rachel’s sanity!

There was quiche and mimosas and red velvet cupcakes and fruit salad…

A ton of laughs and fun chit-chatting…. such a respectable ladies luncheon!

Then there was the making of wedding dresses out of toilet paper…. (yes, we saved it ALL so don’t look at me weird if you use our bathroom and there’s a huge bag of wadded up TP next to the toilet! Just reach in a grab yourself a fist full of wipeables!)

And the models were FIERCE (even as The Child’s train turned in to a mini-dress!)…

Of course, there were prezzies! (blush)

But best of all, there were beautiful ladies…

Well, maybe ladies isn’t entirely the right word

54 days

aaaaaaaaand breathe.

Yes, people are actually coming (this is the first day of rsvp’s being received – only a few days after invites were mailed!!) and there’s still about a million things for me to do. My task list is LONG but I don’t feel the need to procrastinate. I am actually looking forward to getting stuff done.

It’s going to be such a great party, such a great trip, and such a perfect beginning.

Famous. Last. Words.

I know, I know… I said I wouldn’t make any more Weekend To-Do lists, but I am kind of all full of excitement!

It’s short and sweet:

1. EASTER WITH MY FAMILY (I can’t remember the last time The Child went to church with me on Easter, and The Man is going, too!)
2. Lessons and riding – wheee!
3. Working out. I keep looking at the clock because I haven’t worked out in two days and I am quite literally dying to get outside and sweat!

See – that’s easy

A note about #3.  I am beginning the Couch to 5K program and have already registered for a 5K on June 19th. I am bound and determined to at least become a jogger, if not a runner.  Then I can be done forever with that filthy whore terrible stationary bike that’s cramping up my livingroom!

And tell me – was this NOT written for me?? 

 I am so totally going to run my butt off!

Attitude adjustment

Yesterday afternoon I got a little upset. I know that I have honestly made some lifestyle changes because as soon as I got home I grabbed the dog and the camera and set out to wander.

Sometimes I get homesick for our little place out in the Avenues but it’s short-lived. There is so much more to do in our new neighborhood, the Excelsior.  We have a huge park two blocks away. It has very many pretty things that make you forget that your panties are in a bunch.

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The Exclesior has nature, and nature is good for the soul.

I feel better.

Clearing the way…

If you’ve been reading this tripe blog for a while you will know that I love going to the dump. Unloading massive amounts of dead weight from your life frees you up to move forward.

Last night I needed to find the last of my tax forms to file my taxes.  I waited until the last possible minute to do them because I needed to dig through the dunes of paperwork that has accumulated during the moves of last year. It was something I was having trouble steeling myself to undertake.

You know, I have a problem with that… when a task seems quite huge, I run and hide. Then, in my head, the task keeps growing and growing like some helium filled unconquerable monster until I feel like no human in the world (and most especially not I) can finish said task. Ever.

As the kitchen clock tick-tocked-tick-tocked (and it did not stop) I sat down at the table armed with paper bags, my trusty shredder, a dozen piles and two overstuffed boxes. If I was gonna start looking for the one 1099 I was gonna go through it all.

Perhaps this all or nothing approach contributes to my slacking procrastinating… hmmmm. I think I’ll choose to pretend I didn’t just have that revelation

In the end the massive hoard was reduced to these perfectly managable file-piles.  As soon as I walk in the door they will all be slipped in to manila folders and nestled in the file cabinet.

Believe it or not, there is order there! (Note the blue tape used to keep the bulging tote closed. Yeah, you’ve really got your shit in a pile when you resort to such tactics!)

Outside, the recycle bin is now over half full. Yes, it’s one of the super big recycle bins. And, yes, it didn’t have a damn thing in it before last night.

Filling the recycle bin isn’t quite as thrilling as an outing to the landfill, but it was still pretty awesome.

And you know what? Honestly, it took me less than 2 hours. TWO HOURS. So much for the unconquerable monster theory…

Some of the crap I unloaded has been following me since we left the Avenues – last minutes bills hastily packed on my way out the door that never saw the light of day again.

Really – who doesn’t pay all their stuff online any way? And why can’t I make paper bills go away entirely??

Away went all the paper reminders of the debacle that was 2009… away went a bunch of unread magazines that I never got around to… away went random useless receipts… away went 401k statements that said the same thing month after month (You have $3.58 in your account – close it out for good you jackass!)… away went things I couldn’t find because now I know where they are.

No longer is there a massive pile on the table or in my head… I have cleared the path to breathing easier and focusing on the next thing that I will blow all out of proportion only to find that it really didn’t take that long after all. Ha!

Lessons Learned

This weekend I had grand plans to accomplish a million things, but I barely touched my To-Do list.

I did manage to fill the kitchen for the next two weeks, get the bare minimum of house-keeping done, and take care of three horses (but no time to ride even though the sun was out on Sunday).

In the future, even when I plan to have a lot of time to myself, I am going to refrain from list-making. The incomplete items overshadow the things that I did get done and I ended my day on Sunday in a rather foul and resentful mood.

I am learning that I can no longer run run run run without running out of gas. My work-weeks are the same each day: rise, shower, pack breakfast and lunch, commute, work, commute, work out, make dinner, go to bed. On the weekends I try to pack in all the neglected household chores, errands, and fun freedom I don’t have during the week.

I should have been able to get everything accomplished that I planned. But it rained. A LOT. Mucking and grooming 3 horses took a lot longer than I thought. My attitude began to work against me in ways I didn’t anticipate.

Something has to give.

I have to learn to be reasonable with my expectations because setting myself up for failure doesn’t do anyone any favors. Most especially the people I live with. If I were to make a To-Do list (which I won’t) I need to build in time to do nothing – and I need to be ok doing nothing when there are things still left to do.

Do you do that, too? Do you only allow yourself to relax once everything is finished?

Yeah, that’s not really fair to yourself, is it?

I did manage to get the bedroom about 80% completed. And I am very happy with it (post to come once I deem it “complete”).

I do also need to acknowledge that my adventures in decorating have become so much easier. The agony I previously endured over every minute decision has been replaced with a stunning efficiency and confidence. Even my crafty ideas are translating much easier in to reality. My headboard turned out exactly as I envisioned – and it cost $29.

Another good thing I eked out of an otherwise frustrating weekend was a long, hot bath. Intoxicating were the vanilla-verbena bath salts in the water and the cold pina colada in my hand…. yes, that’s the kind of thing that belongs on a To-Do list.

Oh… and I also learned that I cannot eat things out of a bag. There is just no stopping my gluttony if it involves my hand reaching in to a bag for something.

Not all lessons have to be earth-shattering, right?

Weekend To-Do List

It is going to be a dark and stormy weekend in San Francisco, leaving me with more free time than usual. The Child is at her dad’s and The Man will be working all day on Saturday, so I think I’m gonna do some stuff.

1. Spend some extra time at the barn and take a ride or two in the rain.
2. Super clean the kitchen and do a little decorating in there.
3. Super clean the bedroom and do a little decorating in there.
4. Work out until I fall down – watching my heart rate skyrocket on my shiny new heart rate monitor.
5. Grocery shopping and cook ahead for the week.
6. Church on Sunday.
7. Go to a thrift store.
8. Attempt a fantastical artistical project using the big box of fabulousness mailed to me a year ago from Arkansas. Yes… I do believe the time has come.
9. Oh…. and I feel the need to plant some things and add some living green things to our home.

Happy Weekend everyone! May you all be well, safe, happy and healthy.

Pants

I think I am going to need some new ones soon. (And this is with the waist on the smallest tab!)

I want to thank my family for their patience in this time of re-prioritization. First I was making dinner A LOT. Then The Man got a job where he works until 9p, so The Child started to get a little short-shrifted. Then The Child and I started cooking together. Now I am working out A LOT and dinners are getting brief and The House is suffering, too.

I will figure out how to be a lean and healthy super woman. It’ll just take some time to figure out where and when to make it all happen. I have a sneaking suspicion that I will have to start working out before work *shudder* in order to also take advantage of daylight savings time and get out to the barn after work.

All this while coming in to the final stretch of wedding planning. Easy.

116 Days

… til the Big Day.

We sure got a lot accomplished in the few weeks after we got engaged, but then pretty much did nothing. For months.

The last two weeks we have picked up our slacking pace and have been, again, getting a lot accomplished.

• Hopefully by the end of next week I will have all my ladies dressed and shod.
• The men have their clothes picked out and we’ve even got a few measured and ordered.
• Invitations are at the printer.
• The wedding cake flavor has been picked (not easy when we love ALL cake!). I think it will be the most AWESOMEST wedding cake ever made – and made with love by my amazing Aunt Judy!
• The groom’s cake has been designed and it’s going to be UH-MAZE-ING. And hilarious. And also made with love by my little sis, Katelyn.
• Katelyn is also my hero because she volunteered to come stay with us a few days before and help us execute all the last minute details. (OMG THANK YOU!)
• We got that awful registering thing done and behind us. (AWKWARD!)

I was starting to panic when I realized that we were kind of in the weeds, but I am feeling really good about things right now. Every time we face a new To-Do on the list, I am so happy that The Man and I always seem to have a lot of fun tackling it! He and his best man were champions this weekend and picked out all the mens’ clothes themselves and did an amazing job!

We’re sure having fun with this and the best part is that every time we start to get stressed we stop and think about what is important – a big fun family gathering with a great meal – and it really takes a lot of stress off! Oh, and always choose the shiny thing! HA!

Apologies for the lack of postings here, but Vegan Lazy has totally been taking up all my blogging energy

Won’t you come to dinner?

With much help and patience from The Man, I have done it. I have fully, perfectly and exactly realized my artistic vision and style, in the form of a place to dine.

We have transformed this in to this….

One small space contains everything I love in this silly hobby of mine…

• a very modern classic tulip table – bought from Rachel so she could get one she really wanted
• sleek and sexy black lacquer chairs - yard sale $50, former 80′s crap
• Regency-esque chair seats – fabric on super sale, my first adventure in upholstery
• they feel like they belong together – yet nothing comes close to matching

The Man may even let you sit in his chair. Its arms are sturdy and inviting of long after-dinner conversations.

And if we have too much fun and end up on the floor, there are plenty of beautifully curvy lines to surround us while we giggle.

Such busy little bees we were

Ok, all y’all know that decorating is just about my most favorite hobby in the world. Moving in to this house has been a very long process… more settling in than decorating. This weekend we finally got around to some PROJECTS – YAY!!

A big fat gigantic THANK YOU goes out to The Man for being a perfect project partner! He helped when I asked, did an amazing job, and steered clear when I was acting a total maniacal bitch not so pleasantly.

First up… The Man and his friend finally got rid of the God-awful, non-functioning light fixtures over the fireplace. They are much more appropriate to the house and cast a lovely light, if I do say so myself!

Ten Days

since this post…

Chip, chip, chippin’ away…

“Unhappy People”

Words of wisdom from the dearly departed Jack LaLanne - may he rest in iron pumping, jack jumping peace.