37.

So last Thursday I turned 37. For the past year, I have been referring to myself as 37 already, so it's like I get to be 37 twice in a row. And let's hope this time is better than the first time.

36 was not a great year for me, for reasons discussed here on this blog and other reasons not discussed here. I felt extremely run-over a lot of the year, dealing with one issue after the next, and realizing, at one point mid-winter, that I just wasn't happy. Which made me incredibly, incredibly sad. My life has all the ingredients for happiness - good job, great family, amazing friends, fun hobbies - but I just stalled out there for a while, caught in a bit of a black hole.

For the past few months, I've been working hard to crawl out. Life, I have realized, is going to constantly throw shit at you - you can declare "I'm going to have the best year EVER" or "I'm going to lighten up" - but sometimes life just doesn't let that happen for you. However, there are things you can control. And one thing I plan on controlling the hell out of is having more fun. Screw the chores, and the endless drudgery that can easily become your (my) entire life. I decided it was time to have fun - and over the past couple of months, I've been having a lot of it.

For example, on Friday, a small group of my friends met at a restaurant to surprise me for dinner - super fun. Then after that, we went down to the boat and stayed over until mid-day on Saturday. Fun. Then I went to my cousin's kids' birthday party at McDonalds....see, this is just one of those things life throws at you and you can't control. Loud. Insane. Not much fun (but the fries were good). Today we went to the Big E, which featured loads of food that was terrible for me but oh so delicious, as well as Jane's first time on a ride (!!). Awesome fun.

Now, I could have caught up on shopping and chores or gone crazy cleaning for houseguests we are having later in the week - but eff it. I didn't want to, so therefore, I didn't do it. And if they are checking for dust bunnies in the corners of my house, well that's just plain sad. (But really, I'm not friends with people who are the type to check for dust bunnies.)

Like I said, I get that life isn't always fun. TRUST ME - I get it. But my goal for 37 is to do my very best to make it as much fun as possible.

(How many times can I possibly say "fun" in one blog post?) (Don't answer that, Dwayne or Shane.)

better late than never

OK, OK, so I'm days late posting pictures from my sister's party. Here you go. This has been such a long day (and at this very moment I am listening to Jane screaming in her room because she doesn't want to be in bed, so my nerves are completely shot), I'm not even going to explain them. Especially the one with the bear. Because I'm mysterious like that, yo.

and then it was Monday.

I had every intention of posting some pictures of my sister's party on my blog today, but my camera is allllll the way over there in the kitchen and I'm allllll the way over here on the couch and it's just not gonna happen right now.

We kicked the shit out of this weekend. Like I mentioned, we had my friend's son's birthday on Friday after work. Well, right after I left (because, you remember, I was going to see two other friends in a play, which was just as hilarious as always, by the way) the birthday boy started to open his presents. Turns out one of his presents was an alien mask. Which, to put it mildly, Jane DID. NOT. LIKE. Greg said her screaming sounded like someone had broken her leg. So they hustled it out of there quickly.

Greg and Jane actually went down to the boat and stayed over on Friday night, which left me all by my lonesome on Saturday morning. Well, except for the dogs. Who are actually very needy. I'm finally doing my power walking a few times a week again (if you work with me or live with me, you know I complain about the five pounds I have to lose on a daily, if not hourly, basis), so I did four miles, which was great. (For me.) (Guys, it is SO HARD to squeeze in exercise, but it MUST BE DONE.) Anyway, after that I did massive amounts of shopping for my sister's party, and then spent the remainder of the day doing party prep.

The party was great, and woah, did I drink a lot. I'm not much of a drinker these days, so the four cosmos I drank completely did me in. I had a blast, and the party was a success.

Sunday, we did not end up going to the Big E - we just didn't have the energy for the traffic and the crowds and to be honest, my stomach couldn't handle deep-fried anything yesterday. So instead, we went down to the boat and stayed over last night. I slept for about five seconds, because the water was a little rough and the boat was pretty bouncy. Everyone else slept fine though, especially Jimmy, who seemed to be hogging the entire bed. How does a 30 pound dog do that?

That brings us to this morning. Greg and I drove to the boat separately yesterday, so I could fly home early in the morning. I left the boat at 6:15, got home by 7, finished up an art project for Jane (don't the preschool teachers know if they hand out homework, the parents have to do it? This is why I'm not getting my master's. I don't want to do HOMEWORK), took a shower, and sped off to work. And I was feeling pretty good about getting to work in under two hours from the time I left the boat when WHAM! - while getting out of my car in the parking garage I turned around fast to get something and slammed my forehead into the top corner of the door. I was pretty stunned and when I looked at my reflection in the window I thought I had dented my head. But I quickly found out it was bleeding. Yes, I basically piereced my head with my car door. So now I have a sweet bump and cut. AWESOME way to kick off a week. My birthday week, no less!

The end.

weekend. update.

So, so happy it's Friday - and it's supposed to be a gorgeous weekend - yay! Here's what I'm up to:

Tonight: Going to my friend's 10-year-old's birthday party briefly, then going to see two of my friends in the play Rumors -one of my all-time favorites. It's so hilarious (if done correctly) and I am really looking forward to it. Despite the fact that it's taking place at a theater I vowed never to work at again from my one terrible experience there in a show. But that's another story.

Saturday: Going to my sister's house to prep for my other sister's surprise birthday party, which is taking place tomorrow night. Lots to do, but hopefully it will be a fun. It's been a year of surprise parties in my family (my mom turned 70 in April, as you remember, and my eldest sister turned 50 this month). She is completely not expecting it - but she really deserves to be celebrated. Her life has not been easy over the past couple of years.

Sunday: I have given Greg the choice for Sunday. We will either go to the boat or the Big E. I haven't been to the Big E in about 10 years, at least, so it will be fun to go with Jane - not to mention all of the delicious foods that I can stuff my face with. (This is where you should remind me that I am trying to lose five pounds before my birthday NEXT WEEK.) (I have lost 2.)

What are you doing this weekend? I want comments!

bloativersary

Today we celebrate Junior's one year Bloativersary. To read about that saga, click here. But since today was a work day, we took the whole family to an outdoor, dog-friendly shopping mall for some good times yesterday. Enjoy the ridiculousness, including the first-ever picture of all five of us. Helloooo, Christmas card!

nine years.

I will never forget the morning of 9/11. I was at work early, and I had just found out I won a "beautiful baby" contest at work. We had been bringing in our baby pictures for a summer's worth of contests and prizes, and I won the ultimate "beautiful baby" prize that morning. (We had been stuffed into terribly small and uncomfortable offices for a few months because of renovations being done, so the contests were a morale-booster. Especially for me!) I had also received a phone call letting me know I had gotten the lead female part in a play I had auditioned for the night before. For the first time in a very long time, my life was looking up. I said to my friend Shawna, "Well, I might as well go home now. Nothing else good is going to happen today."

Minutes later, our third officemate, Jen, came in and told us a plane had hit one of the World Trade Center towers. We all imagined that it was a small plane with a terrible pilot. As everyone knows, things fell apart quickly after that.

I remember we all gathered around the one television we had in the theater, and watched the towers fall live. I remember someone saying, "It's like Hiroshima." It felt insane - I had been on the top floor of one of the World Trade Center towers during a field trip when I was young, and of course I saw them many times during trips to New York since then. All I could think of was all those people inside. I remember watching all of the state employees (who work around our building) evacuating and going home early, and watching the Capitol empty out. I remember feeling like a target, keeping my eye to the sky for planes.

It had been a particularly rough month for me personally. Four weeks earlier, my brother had been in a terrible car accident, leaving him in the ICU with brain contusions and broken everything for weeks. He had just been sent home days before, with a very long road of rehab ahead. Only two weeks before 9/11, I ended a long-term relationship. I was also in the middle of packing because I was set to move (yet again) on September 17. And all of this was not even a year and a half after my father died, as well as my uncle and a close friend.

So during a time it felt like my personal world was ending, it also felt like the entire world was ending too.

I know there are thousands whose lives were more directly and profoundly affected by 9/11 than mine was. But I will never forget it.

weekend. update.

See, I'm trying to be a better blogger here. Trying to update more, la la la. And I used to do my weekend update things, but of course after I had Jane, my weekends really crapped out on me. This week, I thought it would be nice to start up the tradition again, if only to keep me blogging more, but alas, this weekend is another snoozeville. Tough luck for you - I'm still writing about it.

Tonight: I went to see my niece in Seussical the Musical. This was, in fact, a hot Friday night out for me, in that it was actually a Friday night out. Plus, there were refreshments. Aw yeah.

Saturday: I think we are headed down to the boat. The weather is really cooling off and the weeks are slipping away quickly, so we don't have many more boat weekends left. Saturday night I have my book club meeting, where we will be discussing this. I actually really liked this book, which, if you know me, is a huge shock, as I am NOT typically a sci-fi fan. Anyway, as you know, I heart book club, so I'm looking forward to this. Also - there will be refreshments.

Sunday: The weather isn't supposed to be so hot, so we'll stay close to him. Maybe I'll go grocery shopping. OMG - I know you are jealous now.

Please tell me you are having a more exciting weekend than this....

loving this

It's no secret that I'm a massive fan of the Broadway musical In the Heights and its creator and original star, Lin-Manuel Miranda. So when I heard he got married this past weekend, I will admit to a tiny amount of celebrity-crush sadness. But oh man, this video from his reception more than makes up for it. I love how his "ensemble" is made up of his Broadway star friends as well as regular (and by regular, I mean non-Tony Award-winning) friends and family. They look like they are having such a blast!

riding around with the car top down and the radio on

When I was in high school, I didn't have a car. Sure, sometimes I borrowed my father's Buick Le Sabre or my mother's Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme, but, when going out on a Friday or Saturday night (to somewhere cool like the mall or Friendly's or Taco Bell), I would often have to rely on my friends' cars. Or, more specifically, my friends' parents' cars. Even more specifically, quite often my friend Christine's father's Lincoln Town Car. This thing was a boat. We would often squeeze four people in the front seat. I remember one time we wedged 11 (ELEVEN) people in that car. Good times. Not exactly safe times, but good times.

This is what I was thinking of while I watched Jane and her friend Olivia joyriding this weekend.

dancing queen

....well, more like a dancing "pincense" (as she pronounces it).

(consider this a bonus August Break post)