Oh my...can you believe it is Thanksgiving week? I can't, but I love it! I'm going to be honest here- I don't really like Thanksgiving that much. The food is fine...not my fav...I do enjoy that it is the one holiday of the year that we get two days off of work. And of course, I think it is great to have a holiday that focuses on the blessings in your life...that is never a bad thing (though I think most holidays do that). For me, the real thrill of Thanksgiving is that Christmas is close by.
I do think it is important to wait on the decorating and the music until after Thanksgiving...the whole enjoying one holiday at a time thing...but I CAN'T WAIT to find a Christmas tree and decorate it. And listen to Christmas songs. And see the lights on the houses (and the Woodland Park Zoo has WildLights this year!). And wait for the snow that may or may not ever fall. Drink peppermint hot chocolate. Satsuma oranges (I already finished off a box of those). Think about getting crafty for gifts and decorating (doesn't usually happen, but the intention is sure there). And sparkly clothes for Christmas parties! Sigh and Swoon.
I've had some time off from work (more on that another time), and have gone from feeling guilty about watching Kelly and Michael each morning, to LOVING it. Oh, Michael Strahan is way more fun to watch than Regis was. While I should be spending some of my extra free time cleaning, studying, planning a wedding, etc...I have really used this time to watch Kelly and Michael. And a few other shows....
I know I have written about Parenthood before, and this is still one of my very favs. I think I cry in every single episode, but somehow it doesn't seem over the top. I have been keeping up with the new show Nashville. I'm still not totally attached...the characters aren't likeable enough...you don't know who to root for. But something keeps me watching....probably Connie Britton (seriously, go watch Friday Night Lights right now!). The show that I get the biggest kick out of (how old am I...biggest kick out of?!) is Don't Trust the B in Apt 23. Which is the worst name for a show. But the show has James Van Der Beek as James Van Der Beek. He makes fun of himself as Dawson Leary, and there are so many fun Dawson's Creek references...I regularly laugh out loud...with Brian teasing me constantly (he didn't watch Dawson's Creek...too bad for him)...they recently had an episode where he was trying to get the cast together for a reunion show and they all refuse because they hate him because he didn't pay his share of the canoe cast gifts at the end of the series....not as funny in blog form. If you watched Dawson's Creek- definitely check out Don't Trust the B.
Okay, enough, enough. I have homework to do. I'll stop with the TV talk...I've been reading books as well...maybe I'll post on some of those next. I've also been running. I do get off the couch!
Later...
Monday, November 19, 2012
Monday, November 5, 2012
An update finally...
Oh, it is certainly time for a blog update, it has been quite a while!
So much to catch up on, it's hard to think of where to start. I have had a weird last month or so.
Just to catch up on the last few months of activity...BT and I went to Boston and NYC...had a super fun trip that went by waaaay too fast (per usual with vacation, right). Boston was just as magical and wonderful as I remember it from college when I was certain I would live there one day. I love to walk the Freedom Trail and get a dose of history and still be walking right through the city. And I love Mike's. NYC was so much better than expected (from me...I just have never really liked it very much)...it was definitely a different experience having Brian's sister with us to show us around. The city felt much less overwhelming having someone who knows it! There were four baseball games...two at Fenway, one at Yankee Stadium, and one at Citi Field. All really fun experiences...Fenway was beautiful.
I started coaching a 2nd/3rd grade basketball team at the Boys & Girls Club again...which I LOVE. The girls this year are mostly 3rd graders, which means they are a little bit taller, a little bit stronger, and a little bit more coordinated. Last year I had mostly 2nd graders, and they had a tough time throwing the ball high enough to hit the rim. We have had three weeks of practices, and our first game is this weekend. Exciting!
I just completed my midterm for the class I am taking this quarter. I was feeling really nervous about taking a class...for a couple of reasons. First, I haven't been in school in almost 8 years...that's a long time to not worry about studying or taking tests or doing assigned reading. Second, I just haven't been feeling overly confident in my intelligence. I feel like that is a weird thing to say...I had been feeling like I wasn't learning anymore, my brain wasn't being challenged...not necessarily that I wasn't smart, but that I was losing capacity to get smarter. And then finally, just being concerned about having the time for school. BUT, I have loved it. I am doing well in the class, I feel like I am really learning and grasping concepts...it has made me feel more confident. Sooo, today is registration for next quarter, and I am planning to take two classes. Once again, a little nervous, but certainly feeling more confident.
Brian and I have been moving along in our wedding plans...kind of. We have the date and venue confirmed. That was a huge relief. We are getting close to picking our caterer. We decided on some colors. we had the opportunity to bring our moms to the venue (which felt reassuring to have other people say they liked the place as well)...I have tried on a million dresses and am feeling a little bit stressed about that at the moment. I have liked plenty of dresses and would be thrilled to wear any of them...but they are all just way too expensive. Why can't I just find a nice Anthropologie dress to wear? And not the BHLDN line, because those are still wedding dress prices. I want to pay for a nice dress that I love...like at Anthropologie. Bah.
I have also been struggling a lot with anxiety recently. I mean, I have always been a worrier...but this feels different. I know that I am in kind of a weird spot in life at the moment, which I'm sure has something to do with it. I am living in a place that I know I won't be in for long...aka, do I even want to unpack anything, when I know it will need to be repacked in a few months anyway? I have started school for a new career path that I am very excited about, but still feels like a long way off and a lot of hard work and possible failures to get there. My jeep just broke down...which we all knew was coming- she has been such a trooper for so long, but means we will need to buy a new car....which we knew we would need to do in the next couple of years anyway...but still...we are spending ridiculous amounts of money...wedding, tuition, new car, new place to live soon, etc at a time when I wish I was just putting everything into a savings account for the future. And...I'm getting MARRIED. Which, I have to say, of all the different things causing anxiety for me, getting married is the one thing that is NOT stressing me out. It is the one aspect in all of this that makes me feel really GOOD and not scared and calms me down. I am so incredibly grateful for Brian.
I also know that at times when I am particularly struggling with worry, or anxiety as it is, usually means I'm not spending enough time with God. Every Sunday at church for the past several weeks, I have felt like God is speaking right to me and my situation. I mean, almost word for word what I need to hear. And I feel relief for a few hours on Sunday. And then Monday comes, and I have no idea what I'm doing. Yesterday, our pastor talked about taking an 'airy step' (the phrase came from a hike he went on where the guide book described this leap of death as an 'airy step')...that accepting that things are out of my control, and letting go, and putting all of my trust and faith in God is ALL I CAN DO. Again, it was what I needed/wanted/hoped to hear. And then we had Communion. And somehow I think that made it feel different. It wasn't passed around, or an organized row by row procession...it was sit and pray about what you need to pray about and then come up on your own and take His body and blood. It was like every week I was being told the things I needed to believe, and still wasn't able to listen...and so finally God was like 'fine I am going to give you something physical...take this physical nourishment-Communion- and KNOW that I am with you'. So I am working hard today to fight the Monday anxiety. When it starts to creep in, I'm praying. I have always, ALWAYS been taken care of...what is with the doubt? Working on it big time.
Have a great week.
So much to catch up on, it's hard to think of where to start. I have had a weird last month or so.
Just to catch up on the last few months of activity...BT and I went to Boston and NYC...had a super fun trip that went by waaaay too fast (per usual with vacation, right). Boston was just as magical and wonderful as I remember it from college when I was certain I would live there one day. I love to walk the Freedom Trail and get a dose of history and still be walking right through the city. And I love Mike's. NYC was so much better than expected (from me...I just have never really liked it very much)...it was definitely a different experience having Brian's sister with us to show us around. The city felt much less overwhelming having someone who knows it! There were four baseball games...two at Fenway, one at Yankee Stadium, and one at Citi Field. All really fun experiences...Fenway was beautiful.
I started coaching a 2nd/3rd grade basketball team at the Boys & Girls Club again...which I LOVE. The girls this year are mostly 3rd graders, which means they are a little bit taller, a little bit stronger, and a little bit more coordinated. Last year I had mostly 2nd graders, and they had a tough time throwing the ball high enough to hit the rim. We have had three weeks of practices, and our first game is this weekend. Exciting!
I just completed my midterm for the class I am taking this quarter. I was feeling really nervous about taking a class...for a couple of reasons. First, I haven't been in school in almost 8 years...that's a long time to not worry about studying or taking tests or doing assigned reading. Second, I just haven't been feeling overly confident in my intelligence. I feel like that is a weird thing to say...I had been feeling like I wasn't learning anymore, my brain wasn't being challenged...not necessarily that I wasn't smart, but that I was losing capacity to get smarter. And then finally, just being concerned about having the time for school. BUT, I have loved it. I am doing well in the class, I feel like I am really learning and grasping concepts...it has made me feel more confident. Sooo, today is registration for next quarter, and I am planning to take two classes. Once again, a little nervous, but certainly feeling more confident.
Brian and I have been moving along in our wedding plans...kind of. We have the date and venue confirmed. That was a huge relief. We are getting close to picking our caterer. We decided on some colors. we had the opportunity to bring our moms to the venue (which felt reassuring to have other people say they liked the place as well)...I have tried on a million dresses and am feeling a little bit stressed about that at the moment. I have liked plenty of dresses and would be thrilled to wear any of them...but they are all just way too expensive. Why can't I just find a nice Anthropologie dress to wear? And not the BHLDN line, because those are still wedding dress prices. I want to pay for a nice dress that I love...like at Anthropologie. Bah.
I have also been struggling a lot with anxiety recently. I mean, I have always been a worrier...but this feels different. I know that I am in kind of a weird spot in life at the moment, which I'm sure has something to do with it. I am living in a place that I know I won't be in for long...aka, do I even want to unpack anything, when I know it will need to be repacked in a few months anyway? I have started school for a new career path that I am very excited about, but still feels like a long way off and a lot of hard work and possible failures to get there. My jeep just broke down...which we all knew was coming- she has been such a trooper for so long, but means we will need to buy a new car....which we knew we would need to do in the next couple of years anyway...but still...we are spending ridiculous amounts of money...wedding, tuition, new car, new place to live soon, etc at a time when I wish I was just putting everything into a savings account for the future. And...I'm getting MARRIED. Which, I have to say, of all the different things causing anxiety for me, getting married is the one thing that is NOT stressing me out. It is the one aspect in all of this that makes me feel really GOOD and not scared and calms me down. I am so incredibly grateful for Brian.
I also know that at times when I am particularly struggling with worry, or anxiety as it is, usually means I'm not spending enough time with God. Every Sunday at church for the past several weeks, I have felt like God is speaking right to me and my situation. I mean, almost word for word what I need to hear. And I feel relief for a few hours on Sunday. And then Monday comes, and I have no idea what I'm doing. Yesterday, our pastor talked about taking an 'airy step' (the phrase came from a hike he went on where the guide book described this leap of death as an 'airy step')...that accepting that things are out of my control, and letting go, and putting all of my trust and faith in God is ALL I CAN DO. Again, it was what I needed/wanted/hoped to hear. And then we had Communion. And somehow I think that made it feel different. It wasn't passed around, or an organized row by row procession...it was sit and pray about what you need to pray about and then come up on your own and take His body and blood. It was like every week I was being told the things I needed to believe, and still wasn't able to listen...and so finally God was like 'fine I am going to give you something physical...take this physical nourishment-Communion- and KNOW that I am with you'. So I am working hard today to fight the Monday anxiety. When it starts to creep in, I'm praying. I have always, ALWAYS been taken care of...what is with the doubt? Working on it big time.
Have a great week.
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