I’ve had a really special, heart-warming, magical Valentine’s Day. I hope you did too!
My V-Day review:
Elijah, the four-year old dude I nanny, gave me a Star War’s Valentine. His handwriting is the sweetest.
Becca brought rose-shaped mini brownies to class for her and I to share. Delicious and pretty. I always love her treats.
I came home to Starbuck’s coffee and beautiful flowers from the hubby.
And then there were the date nights. I got three. (So far.)
Date night #1:
Husband and I went to see ‘The Vow.’ I’m not a huge movie person, and I’m especially not a huge mushy-gushy, romance movie person. But the moment I saw the commercial I told Robby we were going to see it for Valentine’s Day. I just knew I’d love it. And I did. Cheesy? Yes. But incredible cheese. I cried. Husband handed me a tissue. When his pizza came, he whispered to me, “I’ll share my pizza with you.” Romance at it’s finest, y’all. And as we were driving home, the dude put the biggest smile on my face. If you’ve seen the commercials, you know Rachel McAdam’s character loses her memory due to a car crash. Channing Tatum’s character is the hubby trying to help her regain said lost memory. Driving back to the house, Robby informed me, “If that happened to you, you wouldn’t forget me.” I think I laughed and asked why,or maybe he just rambled on by himself. “You couldn’t ever forget me. Our love is like…Super Saiyan, Jedi Shit.” This is Robby combining Star Wars and Anime expressions to express his feelings about our relationship. My heart melted.
Date night #2:
Olive Garden. This is a sentimental restaurant for us because our first ever date was at an Olive Garden. (Before we went to shoot guns. Husband deserves a prize for best first date. Minus the first date awkwardness and jitters, it was perfect.) And chain restaurant as it may be, it’s among my favorite places to dine. It could be the nostalgia for our first date, but I think it maybe has more to do with the endless bread-sticks and chicken dumpling soup. Call me a romantic.
Date night #3:
Robby and I had an outdoorsy date planned for tonight, but I got back from my play rehearsal late and am pretty exhausted. We postponed planned third date for this weekend (Excited!) and headed to our local Sonic and bought Limeades instead. Once we got home, vodka was added to said Limeades. I currently feel like a rebellious teenager.
And now I get four dates in one week with my Super Saiyan, Jedi lover.
I’m a lucky, spoiled and right now slightly tipsy girl.
(Lookit! All white shirts! I’m easily entertained, obviously.)
Was hankering for an adventure. Went indoor rock-climbing with the dudes pictured above. (Pat and Deesh.) Sucked at it but had a blast.
(Look! No clippy! No, I’m not that dumb. This particular wall was a free-fall wall with squishy things to fall down on. Falling was as fun as climbing. Confession: Deesh laid down to take this picture as to make me look more bad-ass than I really am. I was actually only a couple of steps up at this point.)
Had the pleasure of acting as a beginning wing-man for Deesh and Pat. They’re single and I talk to everyone (including single females), so it all came pretty naturally.
Mini-golfed.
Went on a long run in the cold. I love running in the cold. I noticed a pitter-patter sound as I was running, but didn’t see any rain. I also love running in the rain, so I waited for it. About 1/3 of the way into said run, I realized what the pitter-patter sound was when it started coming down harder. Sleet. I was getting sleeted on! It kind of hurt but was kind of fun too. Eventually sleet turned into little bitty Texas-style snow particles. It was absolutely breath-taking, and I couldn’t help but smile and maybe even laugh with giddiness as I ran. So if you were in the greater Austin area yesterday and noticed a strange girl running and giggling as ice was pelting her and snow was falling, that was I. Do not be alarmed.
Ps: Review all of the above pictures. How old do I look? 14? Maybe 16? I’m about to turn 23! I should at least look legal by now. Oh well. I figure I will be thankful for this one day.
I may be kind of delirious right now. Yesterday I left for work at 8:30 am and didn’t get home from school and then rehearsals until almost 10 (pm.) Yawn.
Things keeping me happy to be awake:
I came home after a long day on Tuesday to find wine,my favorite candy bar and mini Kit-Kats in the shape of a heart. Just to clear up any confusion, husband even wrote a note pointing to the Kit-Kats that read, “It’s a heart.”
As excited as I am for Valentine’s Day and the treats that come with it, these little impromptu surprises not attached to any holiday are even more special to me.
Speaking of my dude. We were celebrating his birthday at a friend’s house last week when Lauren, a girl I know from high-school, and I started chatting. She made me smile and blush a bunch when she said that Robby and I give her hope for this matrimony stuff and that we were what marriage should be like. Friends who really love each other. She then admitted to ‘stalking’ and loving every single one of my blogs. I was pleasantly surprised. I love being stalked by cool people! This conversation also enunciated two opinions I already have:
1. My marriage really is the bee’s knees.
2. Girls? We’re all stalkers. Establishing this mutual understanding really makes for lovely conversations.
-Hubby and I are going to San Diego in three weeks! Confession: I found such a great deal on tickets but was so broke at the time that I only bought one ticket to San Diego. I just got finished buying the second one, and I managed to get Robby and I on the same flights and everything. There was a small chance that I was booking it solo to California. Glad to for sure be bringing my dude along now.
What I do at work:
For those of you who may be just tuning in, I’m not a killer motorcyclist. I’m a nanny.
Friend Deesh flattering me:
Friend Katie flattering me whilst making a funny:
3,000 dollars in tax returns. Being a broke college student does have its upsides.
Receiving my script and also finding out that I get to work with a professional actor. Our short play (“The Philadelphia”) is meant to consist of two males and one female. However, so many more girls tried out that our professor was going to make do with an all female cast. I think she knew a lot of the humor would be lost without the two males, so she worked it out and found the professional for one male role. I’ll be the only girl in this particular skit, working with two amazing dude actors. I don’t know whether to be more nervous or excited. Let’s go with excited. Yes. Excited is a good summary to explain how life has me feeling lately. And sleepy. And nervous. And busy. But mostly excited.
Firstly, let me just announce, I GOT A ROLE IN THE SCHOOL PLAY! I still can’t really believe it. I’ll be playing a bitchy/smart-ass waitress in one of the 5 ten-minute shorts Concordia is performing this semester. This may or may not have to do with the fact that I auditioned as a bitchy/smart-ass McDonald’s employee. This particular play involves a chick who has been sucked into an alternate reality where she can’t get anything she asks for. The entire play is in a restaurant setting. Needless to say, I have a bunch of fun/humorous lines and I probably would have picked this role if I could have myself. I’m excited beyond belief but also preparing to make some sacrifices. The first being that I can’t spend Valentines Day with my hubby due to rehearsals and that a lot of other free time will now be sucked away (Shit starts getting really real the week of my birthday.) But right now, I’m kind of on a natural high and have decided it will all be more than worth it. At the same time, I’m pretty tempted to fall asleep on my keyboard right now. Trying to take on the world is kind of tiring sometimes. But a good kind of tiring.
Secondly, husband’s birthday is today. He’s 29! My friends and I threw a little surprise party for him on Saturday. And when I say my friends and I, I mostly mean my friends. I spent the day with Robby’s family (Who spoiled us with cupcakes and stuff) and babysat that night, so I was short on time. Katie was more than happy to let me use her place, and Tessa bought cake and balloons (which she wouldn’t let me pay her back for.) Both of these dear girl friends prepared festivities and made everything look party-ready and perfect. They even wrote some of Robby’s token sayings all over the balloons. (IE; “F***ing A!”) Husband, being consistently late to everything (One of the reasons I may kill him before he’s 30…),showed up an hour late. My group of friends and I sat in the dark for 60 minutes, talking and giggling and once, accidentally surprising the wrong peeps. We had a blast waiting for my tardy dude to show up.
Last night, my friend Priscilla surprised me with a carton of ice-cream and we had a girl’s night of wine, dramatic tv shows and chocolate chip cookie dough ice-cream.
Today at my nanny job, I accidentally fed the two year old artichoke dip. No chips included. I thought it was pasta. Afterward,I brought hubby home some presents, studied and did my 4 days a week ab-workout routine. The boy and I just got home from Mexican-food (His favorite) date night.
Life is really good. I need a nap. But naps can wait. Life cannot! Now excuse me, while I watch a movie with the birthday boy and hopefully do not drool on him whilst snoring.
It’s official! Husband and I are going on vacation at the very beginning of March! As we’re on an extremely tight budget, I’ve been scoping out the best deals online for about a week now. By this I mean I’ve been obsessively searching for (practically page refreshing, but not quite) airline tickets on the internet. I didn’t really care where we went, as long as we found ticket prices under 200 dollars a pop. I actually loved the spontaneity and excitement of knowing we were going somewhere together soon, but not yet knowing where. Last night I finally made a decision when I found a deal I just couldn’t pass up. So Guess what, Guess what, Guess what? March 1st, I fulfill an eight year long dream of visiting California. I can’t put into words how giddy I am. But I shall try. Right now. EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!! <<< There you go. That’s a tiny part of my giddiness put onto a computer. I feel like a kid on Christmas right now (Or really, just me on Christmas.) San Diego, here we come!
Other giddy moments lately:
Finding and blowing/wishing on dandelions with the littles ones I nanny. Being around kids so much really helps keep in tact the magic of life.
Date night with my boy.
A fellow classmate/new friend did the sweetest thing for me yesterday. She knew I hadn’t bought my book yet and that we have an upcoming test. I planned on just studying notes and googling terms. Last night after class, she walked up to me and handed me her book. I was confused. “Won’t you need this to study?” She responded with a shrug, said she already studied and I could give it back to her on Tuesday. I gave her a hug and left the classroom feeling heart-warmed and relieved. No googling terms for me this weekend!
My friend Becca and I share a class together, and have taken to writing one another notes this week. Above you can see the page we filled up with random doodles and words. I love sharing a class with this chick. Not only does she make the time fly faster, but she has taken to bringing me random treats to class. Candy, Girl-Scout cookies and once even a whole meal. I have sweet friends.
The above picture is me trying on a pair of size 5′s. That were too big for me. I did a happy dance in the dressing room. I haven’t been in the size 3 arena since I was a teenager. I’m doing another little happy dance right now, just thinking about it.
I really like life right now. Life seems to really like me right now too. Hopefully that doesn’t change anytime soon.
A couple of evenings ago, hubby and I took one of our gift-card presents and treated ourselves to a lovely date night. 2012, or what there’s been of it thus far, has been pretty great and full of happy stuff. Hopefully I’m not jinxing anything when I say I have an inkling that the rest of the the year will follow suit too.
I mean, how could it not when I have such a dreamily hot husband? Hee.
And if that’s not enough, I have a list of 2012 resolutions to help the whole year live up to it’s full happiness potential:
-Go on a cruise.
-Watch the sunrise.
- Join/Try out/Volunteer for new things.
-Decorate my house.
-Do at least one of the following: Zipline, Skydive, Bungee-jump.
-Travel to at least three new states. (I did it last year without making a goal, so seems pretty attainable.)
-Visit best friend up north.
-Explore more of Texas.
-Eat healthier. (This especially means no significant undereating/cracker/baby food diets, missy!)
-Maintain current weight. (Within 5 pounds either way.)
-Take a yoga class.
-Go camping.
-Continue working out at least 5 times a week for 30+ minutes. (This isn’t hard for me as I get pretty grumpy if I don’t, ((Must. Have. Endorphins.)) but seems like a nice thing to add anyway.)
-Begin lifting light weights.
-Buy something from Etsy.
-Read at least three books a month OR 40 in a year. (outside of school.)
-Read more non-fiction.
-Try my hand at more arts and crafts. (It still counts if results suck.)
-Pick up a new hobby.
-Take more time to relax/enjoy alone time.
-Treat and be as giving to loved ones as well/much as they treat/give to me.
-Take a big chance on someone or something.
-Stay 22 forever.
-Make significant progress in novel I’m attempting to write.
-Improve both organizational and financial skills.
-Take Little (of Big Brothers Big Sisters) to visit my house.
-Cook 15+ new recipes, and record them in recipe diary husband bought me.
-Maintain or improve current gpa. (3.55)
-Do something that scares the crap out of me.
-Do something incredible. Or somethings incredible.
-Continue going on adventures, trying new things, meeting/getting to know new people, loving on others and living life as fully as possible.
I’ve gotten pretty decent at this accomplishing resolutions/goals stuff. That’s a good feeling. So 2012 resolutions? I plan on owning you. Be ready.
“Follow me and everything is all right, I’ll be the one to tuck you in at night; And if you wanna leave, I can guarantee, you won’t find nobody else like me.”
Hello there and Happy New Year! I had a wonderful,safe,fun and slightly crazy night spent with friends at a local bar and later back at my very own house. My friends like my house. I like that my friends like my house. Because I like my friends and my house. (And the alchoholic goodies that friends bring along to my house.) You know those moments when you just feel completely wrapped up in happiness? And, you kind of just think to yourself, “This is perfect. I am happy.” I had one of those moments. Friends and I were sitting right next to a live band at the bar, and we were all drinking, laughing and singing along to a great rendition of Uncle Kracker’s, “Follow me.” I’m young and alive and surrounded by sexy,wonderful people who love me. I’m starting a new year with a new dress, splendid folks and so many great plans and ideas already in mind. To top it all off and as luck would have it, I had just found a sparkly New Years hat to celebrate with. I just looked at all of the faces around me, and mixed with the music and the atmosphere and life in general, I just felt like jumping up and down out of pure joy. But sitting there basking in the glow and taking it all in was just as great.
Pictures of a, as my friend Melody put it, “crazy fun time.”
As most of you probably gather, my friends mean the world to me. One of my resolutions (That list coming soon) for 2012 is to be as good to my loved ones as they are to me. My best friend Tessa left me feeling like I’m off to a pretty good start a couple of days ago. She blog-commented,
“And Christina, you’re absolutely beautiful. I love that you’re my best friend. My mom said the other day, “you really found a rare one with Christina. She seems to be a really good friend”. Indeed!”
If I was more of a crier, I would have cried. Instead, I just felt really heart-warmed and blessed. Ringing in the New Year with her and so many other of my closest friends seems to be a good sign for the rest of 2012. I can’t wait to see what this year has in store for me.
I’ve been procrastinating on starting my 2011 review just because it’s been such an amazing, eventful year and my organizational skills are crap. I wasn’t sure how I’d put it all together. I did a lot of debating and decided to do a monthly review, whilst ending each month with the new years resolutions I accomplished in that time frame. As I had to do this mostly by going through old blogs, I ended up feeling overwhelmingly grateful. This year has been so great,and this is mostly due to the opportunities and wonderful people I’ve been blessed with. I can only hope 2012 lives up to what my 2011 has been. The way things are looking so far and as long as the world doesn’t end (Fingers crossed!) looks like it’ll be quite the competition. I’m thankful for this year and beyond excited for the next. Well. Without further ado, here is my 2011:
January:
-Went to Louisiana for the first time. Gambled and had a romantic time with the hubby.
-Went kite-flying for the first time since childhood with a couple of my close girl-friends. Had a blast.
-Went to my first hockey game.
-Rode a mechanical bull
Resolutions accomplished:
Ride a mechanical bull,Travel,Try more outdoor activities, Discover/ Do at least 15 new things in Austin.
February:
-Had a photo shoot with my on campus radio show, Un Poco De Todo
-Played in (Texas!) snow
-Auditioned online for a country radio show I’ve listened to since childhood. Had my radio audition played on air and was told the dj’s really liked me. Amusingly enough, I was only aware of all of this because other people heard me on the radio and informed me of it.
-Hubby, as usual, made my Valentines Day very special.
-A friend made a pasta meal for me at my house, and days later a dude coworker made me pasta and brought it to work. I felt the noodle love.
Resolutions accomplished:
-Maintain and better on campus radio show, Discover/Do at least 15 new places/things in Austin
March:
-Friend Crystal brought Ferrero Roches to my work on the same night I came home to a giant Twix bar from the hubby. I felt the chocolate love.
-Was completely and ridiculously spoiled by friends and hubby and coworkers for the entire week of my 22nd birthday. Mimosas, breakfast, chocolate-covered strawberries, flowers, clothes,cookies, cakes, birthday songs,etc….The works. Felt very loved. On birthday weekend, had reserved seating at a fabulous rooftop lounge in downtown Austin.
Resolutions accomplished:
Focus less on cultivating new relationships and more on maintaining the ones I already have.
April:
-Went to hubby’s cousin’s wedding. My first wedding to go to in adulthood besides my own. Drank too much. Danced with the in-laws. Had an amazing night.
-Left my job at Starbucks (of two+ years) to become a nanny. Had mixed feelings about this. Excited to start a new chapter. Sad to leave behind my beloved coworker buddies.
- Had a blast and made an A in my Martial Arts Class.
-Arguably took part in the most insanely amazing bowling league to ever exist.
Resolutions accomplished:
-Look into finding a better paying job, Improve skills in bowling league, Learn/Have fun in upcoming Martial Arts class.
May:
-Traveled all over New Mexico with my friend Katie. Met Indians, saw the wonder that is White Sands, played with snow in May, ate a burger with an egg on top, and visited about 343242 other places I will never ever forget. Had the time of my life and barely had to pay anything for it at all. (Thanks to amazing Katie and her wonderful grandma!)
-Made this Youtube video on my trip to New Mexico, which is by far my favorite of any video I’ve ever made. Perfectly captured the magic of said trip.:
-Hosted a jewelry party.
-Went from dark brown to light blonde and shoulder length to chin length. Loved it.
Resolutions Accomplished:
Travel, Go on a road trip.
June:
-Started nannying. Loved it even more than I thought I would.
-Parasailed
-Made sushi for the first time. It looked horrible but tasted amazing.
-Went tubing with buddies.
-Met my blogging friend (now in real life friend!) Jenny.
-Changed my blog domain and had blog ‘business’ cards made.
-Participated in a charity bikini car wash.
Resolutions Accomplished:
Help the community in multiple and creative ways, Try more outdoor activities.
July:
-Family reunioned it up in Colorado.
-Went horseback riding in the Rocky Mountains.
-Wore flip-flops while climbing up a mountain and played in the snow whilst wearing a dress. Fun? Yes. Recommended? No.
-Best friend Tessa bought me milk and cookies.
-Went and participated in my first ever nude lake. Felt brave and free and exhilarated.
-Went to Louisiana with my boy again.
Resolutions Accomplished:
Travel, Do something absolutely, spontaneously crazy.
August:
-Bought cute, matching journals with my Little (of Big Brothers Big Sisters.) This could be considered a small celebration of our one year match.
-Friend Jennifer treated me to a free sushi date.
- Received a heart-melting scrapbook and letters at the end of my summer nannying job.
- During a stressful and grumpy week of mine, Husband surprised me with a flower-filled glass swan, a new computer mouse and a sweet card. He put all of this inside a brown paper bag which he drew a bat and poop on. Inside the card he wrote, “I love you,even if you’re bat-shit crazy!”
-My best friend, who lives up north, came to visit me.
-My brother and two best girly friends took a mini-road trip and vacation to the beach.
-Rain-danced on a baseball field. It didn’t rain, but it was a pretty neat experience.
-Friend Kimber and I had a sleepover. She cooked me blueberry muffins and I found out she has a very comfy bed.
- The best dude friend and I went to our first deaf football game.
-Decided I needed to lose weight and started that journey. Three+ months later, I’ve lost almost 30 pounds.
-Partook in my first 5k. Loved it.
Resolutions Accomplished:
Help the community in multiple, creative ways; Focus less on cultivating new relationships and more on maintaining the ones I already have, Try more outdoor activities.
October:
-Husband and I celebrated our 2 year wedding anniversary.
-Bonded with my girlies at Chelsea’s awesome bachelorette party. Wore a very sparkly dress.
-Went on a field trip with my Intro to Counseling class and discovered the benefits of Equinox (horse) therapy.
-Road-tripped it to Little Rock,Arkansas with the husband. Stayed at my first Bed and Breakfast, and was pleasantly surprised at what an incredible,beautiful state Arkansas turned out to be.
-Attended Chelsea and Jake’s wedding, which was also my first ever open-bar wedding. Had a wonderful night celebrating love and happiness and tipsiness with some of my closest friends.
-Discovered the joy and therapy of soup-making.
-The best girlfriend and I went to the Gypsy Picnic, a scrumptious food-trailer festival in downtown Austin. Ate and Hula-Hooped. Fun and Yum.
-Celebrated a great Halloween with some of the amigos.
Resolutions Accomplished:
Travel, Go to at least 3 Austin events (I’m pretty sure I ended up way surpassing this one),Discover/Do at least 15 new places/things in Austin.(and that one)
November:
- With a couple of tech-savvy dude friends, started up a project for my first ever web show (Coming in 2012) & finished the video intro.
-Met my first celebrity, the twelve year old Chandler Riggs of The Walking Dead. Was completely starstruck and acted like a ten year old girl.
-Hung out with a monkey in my sign language class.
-My friend Samm spoiled me by bringing me cookies and Starbucks in the same week.
-Spent Thanksgiving with my in-laws. Wasn’t prepared for the all day drinking and had a little too much fun. (Puked in the in-laws toilet)
Resolutions Accomplished:
Meet a famous person,Discover/Do at least 15 new places/things in Austin.
December:
-Met two of the members of the youtube sensation, Dude Perfect.
-Tried moonshine for the first time.
-Had a great semester at school. Four A’s, and one B, which brought my overall gpa to 3.55.
-Was video-taped while role-playing a counseling session in Intro to Counseling. Reviewing myself later kind of reaffirmed that I should really consider counseling as a future profession.
-Went on a train ride with the in-laws and Santa.
-Went to a fabulous Christmas party and had a small,cozy one of my own.
-Caught up with friends and family and felt spoiled with lots of gifts and love and giggles.
-Speaking of giggles. Yesterday my best guy friend came over and he started cracking me up with his dance moves. Between my fits of laughter, he informed me, “I don’t show anyone else this. That’s how comfortable I am around you.” Awesome.
Among the 5 that I didn’t accomplish, I’m probably most irked with the, “Be more financially responsible.” (Just a total fail on my part) and the “Make only A’s and B’s (I made one C . In Old Testament. A required course at my university that I really just didn’t care about. Grumble. Still, over a year period I’ve made 6 A’s, 3 B’s and one C. I suppose I’m still okay with that.) Among the 19 that I did accomplish, I’m probably most amazed that I didn’t break my phone. I never thought I’d accomplish that one. I break everything I touch. Of course, I still have a couple of days to go on this one….
More than anything, I am just blown away by what a near perfect year this has been. I knew it had been a great one, but upon review, it is still amazing all that’s been accomplished and how spoiled with love I am. At the end of 2011, I’m feeling grateful and proud and content. 2012 is already promising to be another wonderful year with so many projects, opportunities and adventures in the works. Not to mention the people who have helped make this year so splendid are following me over into the next one too. Still, 2012 has a hell of a lot to live up to.
2011, I love you. 2012….You’re looking good over there.
Wednesday night was spent with three of my best girlfriends, chatting and laughing (a lot) and eating and drinking and being merry. Tessa gifted me a Half-Price books gift card and two beautiful bracelets. She knew I’d love the gift card, but was worried about buying me jewelry. She knows I only wear accessories if they mean something super special to me. Anything from this girl is something special, and this means I’ve officially added two pieces to my jewelry collection. The whole night left me heading home with my heart feeling completely full. It only became that much more full when decorating the tree with my hubby, whilst also sneaking in lots of kisses and slow-dancing to Christmas music in our living room. The entire evening felt…magical. Yes. That’s the perfect word.
The next day, Melody, a friend I haven’t seen in years came over to my house. She arrived around 2:30 for our planned “reading date.” We didn’t read. At all. We talked. And talked. And talked. About everything and nothing, for what seemed like maybe an hour and a half. It was 9pm by the time Melody finally made her way to the door. We chatted for almost 7 hours straight. The time kind of just slipped right past us, and in that time I feel we created a friendship much closer than the casual one we had before.
The people in my life continuously amaze me. They’re just so great. They make me feel and think and laugh and just be more. They make me better, and their openness always inspires me to want to be more open too. This year so far, I’ve really made leaps and bounds in opening up to those closest to me. I’m more vulnerable than I’ve ever been. But I realize where I’m at now is not enough. The other day, it randomly dawned on me that I really am holding myself back. I still keep people, and even at times opportunities, at arms length. I make friends easily. I stumble into or seek out opportunities fairly often. Because of these things, this past year has been filled with so much love and so many conquered goals that I am proud to have accomplished. (But that’s for another blog.)
But there’s so much more I’m not letting myself get to. I can feel it. I’m not letting my relationships get as close as they could and as often as I jump into things, I don’t always fulfill them. And I know this is because I’m scared. The closer I get to something/someone, the more likely it is that that something/someone could hurt me. I hate giving that power to anyone else but myself. But I have to. I have to allow myself to go farther. To get closer in relationships. To have more seven hour conversations that leave me feeling more alive. To let others see me cry, and hope that they don’t laugh. To fail horribly. To be rejected. To give others the time and honesty they’ve always given me. To say how I really feel, when I’m feeling it. To tell others what I want. To let myself know what I want, crazy and impossible as it may seem, and to go for it. If I allow myself to break through my own self-given inhibitors, no telling where this might take me.
Melody said a couple of things last night that really made me think. She first flattered me by saying that I inspired her. I don’t think I got around to saying it, but I feel the same about her. She’s the actress I wanted to be as a teenager but just wasn’t. (Because, um, I couldn’t act.) I was then admitting to her how awful I was at anything arts-and-crafts related and she just laughed and said,
“Well, you have pretty much everything else going for you.”
I guess it’s about time I use that to my full advantage.
My goal for 2012? To stop holding myself back. To allow myself.
Lookit all my goodies, y’all. An adorable little bracelet from the four year old dude I nanny. A nice bottle of sparkling moscato from his parents. Lotion, cookies (that melt in my mouth, I must add) and a Target gift-card from my lovely Katie. Leftover cupcakes from Sunday’s festivities. 18 white roses from my hubby dude. And all this before it was even Christmas week! I think I might be kinda spoiled. Not just by presents but also by the presence of so many wonderful peeps I have around me. Since my Christmas break started, I’ve been able to bask in all of the happiness and joy my loved ones and other people in general bring to my life. To further explain, here’s an outline of my past few days:
Thursday night:
I was studying for my last final when I got a text from my best girlfriend asking if she could come over for a bit. Well,duh. We tested out her mom’s Christmas gift, watched a marathon of The Biggest Loser and she asked me how to make meatballs. I don’t think I’ve ever taught anyone how to cook anything before, so the fact that she trusted me even on one of the easiest of recipes is still quite a big deal. We also decided we should have weekly get together’s involving marathons of The Biggest Loser. It felt pretty perfect doing absolutely nothing with my best friend.
Friday afternoon:
I went to my friend Emily’s, and she had homemade baked macaroni and cheese waiting for me. (See? Spoiled.) She also let me delve into her scrap booking supplies, and we were both tickled at how horrible I was at being crafty. Below, you can probably see where some of our giggle fits came from:
If you’re still confused by my air-headed ways, I was attempting to spell “friends.” The stamps confused me, so it came out, “Frienbs.”
Friday evening:
Husband brought home my beautiful roses and we had a date night at the most delicious hole-in-the-wall restaurant. I’m usually not a fan of Mexican food, but Jardin Corona is on par with Italian and sushi for me. This is a big deal.
Friday night:
Tessa and I decided last minute to go to my friend Becca’s Christmas party. I’m so glad we did. The whole night,or what I recall of it, was a blast. Highlights:
Being lost in the parking lot for 30 minutes with Tessa. We were cold and jogging around awkwardly and climbing on gates and cracking up laughing and, as always, having a blast together.
Becca, who was tipsy when we arrived, introducing me to everyone as, “This is Christina. She’s lost 30 pounds.” Later on in the night, Becca and a friend of hers were talking about another girl who got jealous easily. Becca responded with something along the lines of, “That’s stupid. I go places with Christina and she knows everyone, and that doesn’t make me mad.” Ha. Despite our many happy hours, I rarely see this girl intoxicated. It was fun.
Some random dude hitting on me by telling me I was too young to be married and that I should instead be with him. When I rejected him, he told me I could inform my husband that he had a good girl. Basically he was telling me that anyone who had the will-power to reject him was obviously a keeper. I found this more amusing than annoying. Douche bags are entertaining.
Cynthia, who I’ve met once before, telling me I looked like I weighed 100 pounds. I do not weigh 100 pounds. But I still thoroughly enjoyed the compliment.
Meeting new,exciting, fun people who made me laugh hysterically all night.
Being surrounded by a couple of the ladies who I love the most in this world.
Saturday night:
This past summer, I went out on a whim and posted an ad on craiglist looking for a nannying job. The family I found turned out to be so much more amazing than I ever hoped for, and they’ve turned into much more than just a summer nanny job. They feel more like family to me now. I’m visiting them this week and the plan is to nanny for them again this summer. (Because I have another permanent job right now, I’m going to speak to both mommies and attempt to combine the two. Five kids+One me= Taking on a new adventure?) In the meantime, Gwen and her family have definitely helped open doors for convenient, heart-warming and fun part-time jobs. I was hired for my current job because of Gwen talking me up on the phone for over half an hour. Saturday night, I babysat for a 6 month old little dude who is the son of one of Gwen’s friends. This is the same night that both ladies were at a work Christmas party. When I got home from babysitting, I was tickled to have received these new comments on facebook:
The frequent babysitter card deal actually isn’t such a bad idea….
Sunday night:
Shannon hosted a small tacky-Christmas sweater party at my house. A few friends and family members came over and enjoyed a game of perverted Apples to Apples, alcoholic eggnog, ugly clothes and lots of laughs and holiday cheerfulness. As excited as I am for the new year and all of the opportunities and adventures I already see in store, I am definitely soaking up the rest of an already amazing 2011. This partly means enjoying the heck out of all of this/these happiness, food, festivities, excitement, adventures, fun and frienbs. Er….I mean friends.
Elijah, the four-year old dude I nanny, gave me a Star War’s Valentine. His handwriting is the sweetest.
Becca brought rose-shaped mini brownies to class for her and I to share. Delicious and pretty. I always love her treats.
I came home to Starbuck’s coffee and beautiful flowers from the hubby.
Husband and I went to see ‘The Vow.’ I’m not a huge movie person, and I’m especially not a huge mushy-gushy, romance movie person. But the moment I saw the commercial I told Robby we were going to see it for Valentine’s Day. I just knew I’d love it. And I did. Cheesy? Yes. But incredible cheese. I cried. Husband handed me a tissue. When his pizza came, he whispered to me, “I’ll share my pizza with you.” Romance at it’s finest, y’all. And as we were driving home, the dude put the biggest smile on my face. If you’ve seen the commercials, you know Rachel McAdam’s character loses her memory due to a car crash. Channing Tatum’s character is the hubby trying to help her regain said lost memory. Driving back to the house, Robby informed me, “If that happened to you, you wouldn’t forget me.” I think I laughed and asked why,or maybe he just rambled on by himself. “You couldn’t ever forget me. Our love is like…Super Saiyan, Jedi Shit.” This is Robby combining Star Wars and Anime expressions to express his feelings about our relationship. My heart melted.
Olive Garden. This is a sentimental restaurant for us because our first ever date was at an Olive Garden. (Before we went to shoot guns. Husband deserves a prize for best first date. Minus the first date awkwardness and jitters, it was perfect.) And chain restaurant as it may be, it’s among my favorite places to dine. It could be the nostalgia for our first date, but I think it maybe has more to do with the endless bread-sticks and chicken dumpling soup. Call me a romantic.
Robby and I had an outdoorsy date planned for tonight, but I got back from my play rehearsal late and am pretty exhausted. We postponed planned third date for this weekend (Excited!) and headed to our local Sonic and bought Limeades instead. Once we got home, vodka was added to said Limeades. I currently feel like a rebellious teenager.
Being lost in the parking lot for 30 minutes with Tessa. We were cold and jogging around awkwardly and climbing on gates and cracking up laughing and, as always, having a blast together.
