This and that.

Every week I remark to anyone with a functioning ear "I can't believe it's (fill in the date!)" I think it began January 31 and has continued. Seriously, where has the year gone? It's almost July.

We really need a vacation. So if you have any ideas about where to go for a week's time I'd love to hear them. Right now my top picks are Savannah, New Orleans, Julian (a little more local), or somewhere I can fall off the grid and hopefully have a mojito. I have seriously dragged my feet updating my passport post marriage so suggestions need to stay in the US.

Last weekend I had a whirlwind Father's Day celebration, akin to Mother's Day. I do think it's smart doing it back to back, but there are drawbacks. The first being that I am a bonehead and bought a fridge without an ice maker because I didn't think we had the connection. Well we do and it just dangles, taunting me each time we have to refill our ghetto tray. Secondly, I am taller than my fridge, which makes engineering storage for parties of 18 rather tricky. But, we get 'er done. Having my mom's side over was really fun, and of course we got to give everyone a house tour. Good times had by all. My mom left her camera and I tried to steal the photos on it, but alas, I do not have the same USB cord.

Sunday night I had my in-laws over for Father's Day part II. Again, good times had by all. I don't know what family gatherings were like before Mason was around. Clearly we just sat around staring at each other quietly over dinner.

In honor of these visits I made a "quick stop" at Home Depot for potting soil. Yeah right. The produce aisle is the new hardware store is the new garden section. $40 later with herbs, succulents, and flowers in tow, I headed home. Yeah I probably spent too much but I can say that basil may have just been bumped as favorite herb to mint. I'm putting that fragrant little herb in everything, especially lemonade. See mojito craving above.

Speaking of plants, I also bought a great arrangement of peonies at Trader Joe's. It's the simple things in life. I have no photo as it's been so crazy and they are now dying, but they were a gorgeous shade of magenta and really brightened the living room.

A few other firsts-we had our friends Virginia and Shawn over for dinner Tuesday night. Virginia is pregnant and vegan which made for a challenge in dinner plans-however, a challenge I wanted to take on. We feasted on artichoke and bean crostini (Parmesan ok'd by V, and I kept some crostini sans proscuitto), tofurkey sausages with hummus, bell peppers, onions, on pita bread, as well as a garden and fruit salad. Shawn made silken tofu mud pie. Pretty tasty and most of all, good time had by all.

Last night Scott went to his first yoga class with me. There were times I could not look at him because I knew I would snort-not because of anything he was doing, but rather what the teacher was asking us to do. This particular teacher utilizes some interesting breathing techniques to say the least. His favorite part-being able to stretch his shoulders and reach his hands around his back and touch his fingers, on both sides, whereas I am unable to do it on my right.

Now as the week ends we have plans to celebrate Rob and Kerri's birthday this weekend and I'm off to Ashley's baby shower on Sunday. Seriously, it's almost July???

Where's the confetti?

When I paid off my student loan in 2009, I waited for a congratulatory letter in the mail. Something just to even file away saying those magic words: $0 balance.

When I completed payments on my Honda, I did receive the pink slip from my parents, who graciously more than helped me pay for that car, but still no congratulatory letter-not even to them, who really deserved it.

We paid off our honeymoon to Fiji a few months after the wedding and CapitalOne did not have anything in the mail besides my next statement.

Now, Scott's truck is paid off (exclusively by him) and still no letters with confetti or large type proclaiming "Congratulations! No more car payments for you!"

Scott very wisely responded with his rationale-why should there be praise for doing what you are supposed to do? Touche. But this type-A likes the positive reinforcement. I know companies have templates on top of templates of collections letters. I think someone needs to invest in the party letterhead. They have 30 years to work on it because I'll expect it when this house is paid off.

No title.

Two months, three losses. You don't have to be a mathematician to comprehend the numbers. Closer to some than others, though it all feels like a disbelieving sucker punch. I am beginning to see the worst side of aging.

It's hard to find anything positive in the past two months in this respect, only that I am aware of three new babies coming into the world. I suppose that is the circle of life at its finest.

I struggle to find words of comfort to express to the grieving families as well as the answer to the question on everybody's mind. Why?

30 by 30

I will turn 30 in January of 2014. That gives me nearly 3 years to make a go at this benchmark birthday list. Note to self-no excuses.

1. Learn to sew...something. And then practice it to further the skill.
2. Landscape the backyard.
3. Take an epic trip.
4. Go to the Getty.
5. Find my perfect shade of red lipstick.
6. Do a daring activity. Possibly sky diving.
7. Find an exercise activity beyond walking and do it regularly not sporadically.
8. Visit the south.
9. Go to Napa.
10. Find some coveralls and take a tour of the space under our house. The attic and I are already acquainted.
11. Find my favorite bottle of wine. Not just the cheap stuff.
12. Make a fabulous four course dinner.

13-30 have not been defined, but then again I have the next 3 years to figure them out.

Ladies Night

Each Thanksgiving, my dear friend Lauren comes home from her fabulous travels around the world to hang out with Mandy and me. Laughing, teasing, catching up, and lots of girl talk always make for a night that could easily turn into a slumber party, and I am convinced we should do it one of these days.

I am very thankful to have had such good friends who don't see each other nearly enough, but always pick up right where we left off.

It's a joy to share in each other's lives, especially since they are continuing to grow and our ladies night is now including little girls too :)

E-R-I-N

For a good portion of my adolescence I can remember doing acrostic poems and brochures for every conceivable project in school. Acrostic name/vocabulary words/protagonists/antagonists poems, as well as brochures to Mecca, Jamestown, Wisconsin, and even a personal one in the mix. I am unclear as to whether teachers were advised that these were great projects that could be applied to all subjects or simply something easy to explain to 7th graders.

Either way, I found myself thinking about the classic acrostic name poem, and if I thought I'd use the same words to describe myself today. Granted, I don't have too much room for change when there are only four letters. I can remember clear as day the exact words I used too:

E-energetic
R-responsible
I-interesting (sometimes intelligent, depending on the day's math lesson)
N-nice

For someone who read a lot as a child, I'm rather underwhelmed with the language.

I think my energy physically has plummeted. Recess was an activity most kids counted down to each day. When I get home from work now I nearly bribe myself with a glass of wine to work out. And I really don't think nutritionists advise hydrating with wine. However, I think energy as it relates to stamina and achievement is still prevalent. I am not a procrastinator, if anything I jump the gun too early, thus my energy to get things done and checked off my list (or clear the table too early as I'm sure my parents remember). I like tasks done efficiently, and appreciate this characteristic in others. So much, that I must exert tremendous amounts of patience for friends on the other side of the spectrum.

To quote MXPX, "responsibility, what's that?" Seriously, I have never known responsibility since this wave of house buying hit. WOW. So long paying rent on the first of the month and calling for maintenance requests, hello homeowner's insurance, loan docs, and a mortgage. It's not to say that I am unprepared to take these head on, we just went from zero to 60 in about a month. I am convinced my looks have aged 50 years in the last few weeks.

Interesting. I was awkward most of my adolescence, being that I've been about the same height and weight since 4th grade. That was horrible as a 10 year old when your friends are a foot shorter and the boys are virtually babies. I was certainly a spectacle of interesting to the other kids in my class. Interesting today is Scott raising an eyebrow when I told him I entered a Harry Potter Ultimate Fan contest for the Ellen DeGeneres show. I wasn't selected.

Well, nice will never change because it's pretty hard for me to be mean. My parents pounded the Golden Rule into my sponge brain and I think even the most cynical soul can respond to a certain amount of courtesy politeness. Don't get me wrong, it's not given out free and easily, but I figure if I set the bar high, at least I tried. Pleasantries really do go far in customer service, and frankly, it gets you places. So yeah, I suppose I'm still nice. It would really be terrible if during this self-reflection I realized I was mean.

If I had to rewrite my acrostic poem today, things may even remain the same. We change and grow, and the "Erin" I was as a 12 year old has defined this Erin at 26.

Winner Weekend

This was a whirlwind weekend. Like most worker bees, we live for the weekend. Every Friday I start my day with that glorious hit, "Everybody's Working for the Weekend" and love ending it (if work permits) at 5 p.m. with the classic "Finally Friday" that the country station plays, and it reminds of my SL days with the 5:00 whistle.

So this weekend was jam packed with a Mother's Day Tea and then a wedding meeting with KL and Cory, who are getting married in September on National Talk Like a Pirate Day (September 19, duh.) After getting in my afternoon run, that evening The Boy and I had a lovely bbq with Krob [I don't think either read my blog but I have yet to announce that new moniker to them. Not sure how it's going to go over.] complete with burgers, sweet potato fries, beer, and chocolate chip cookies. And what could be better than completing the evening falling asleep to a bootleg version of Twilight. I have no idea where it came from, but its so ghetto that someone set up a camcorder in the theatre and put it on DVD. Awesome.

Sunday, Scott left early to surf with one-half of Krob, while I cleaned to my heart's content. Following that was the weekly trip to Target to stock up, kindly fill up The Boy's gas tank, and pop in at Costco for some bulk sized meat. Hah. Spending time with Atticus and lounging the rest of the evening (woops, no run tonight!) is a perfect way to end my weekend. Well that and the homemade pizza for dinner that is still to come...

Life is a Highway

And I have ridden it 10k in 6 years. My little Honda is racking up the miles!

And I really need to get that "maintenance required" light off.