Vacation, all I ever wanted...

The topic of vacation continues to come up lately, in part because we've been inundated with advertisements for travel destinations and vacation deals, and in part because we have been planning a vacation for October of 2014 that seems really far off. If there is a vacation fairy, please oh please visit us! A few days on a beach in Mexico sounds divine...

Two fun things.

1. In the car today, "Moves Like Jagger" came on the radio and Sailor says, "Oh hey! That's my jam!" 2. I ate the first lemon cucumber I grew in our little deck garden today and it was delicious!

Weird day.

After spending two hours on hold with the IRS (for someone else), when I was finally connected, the agent was unable to hear me and hung up. I decided that I needed to get out of the house at that point, so Sailor and I headed off to Uwajimaya to pick up Pocari Sweat and maybe a fun Japanese or Korean treat. I am driving my folks' car and stopped at the gas station to fill up, but pulled in behind a truck and didn't realize I was in the diesel bay. A very nice attendant came up and let me know I needed to pull forward after the truck left, but when I tried to restart the car, it made a very unpleasant sound and wouldn't start. I tried again and got the same sound and no start. The attendant said to put it in neutral and he'd push it forward to the correct gas pump, and we both thought maybe it would start after sitting for a few minutes while he filled the tank. It didn't. After a few phone calls and another push over to a parking space, the tow truck driver showed up and asked me to try starting it so he could hear the sound I described to the dispatcher when I called. It turned out the battery was dead and just needed a jump. However, that also meant I needed to go get a new battery if I wanted to drive it again after today, so I headed off to Sears. 3.5 hours, a new battery and alternator later, Matt showed up to meet us and we went to Red Robin to enjoy what was left of the day. We never did make it to Uwajimaya. What did I learn today? If your car won't start and is making a b-r-r-r-r-r-r-r (imagine rolling R) sound, it means your battery is dead. Also, tomorrow there will be treats.

Nothing but t-shirt and undies all day...

My three-year-old regularly passes on wearing pants if he can get away with it (which is most of the time at home). He struts around in a t-shirt and his underwear and does crazy dance moves and karate chops the air. He puts his bare feet and legs on the couch pillows and drinks apple juice from a frog cup and flips through books, looking at the pictures and telling me what the stories are about. He sits cross-legged on the fluffy, red rug and builds Lego mountains or traces the lines in his tracing book or pulls out the fire station set and talks into the handset about the emergency his guys are going to go handle. He puts on his Captain America mask (still with no pants) and informs me that he is going to save the day, or one of many monster or animal masks and charges through the house, insisting I stay out of his way. Clearly, this kid is living the life. Most adults I know wish they had things so good.

Time flies.

I realize it's been over 4 years since the last entry and quite a bit has changed. We had a baby in March of 2010 and my life has become all about being a mom. Having a kid is by far the best thing that has ever happened to me. He's smart, funny, goofy, thoughtful... amazing. I really lucked out with how great this kid is. Two years ago, we bought a condo in a suburb of Portland and a little over a year ago, I was laid off from my job of four years. I've been home with my son since then and can't believe how fast time flies by.

I went back and reread this whole blog from the beginning between yesterday and today. There's some funny stuff and some sad stuff and some stuff I'd forgotten about that made me a bit nostalgic. I'm going to try to pick this writing thing back up and see how it goes.

Post-Christmas Whine

It's the same every year: lots of food, drink, presents and merriment followed by a bloated, melancholy feeling that leads to my post-Christmas whine. Why can't we hibernate for the whole month of January? No holidays after the 1st until the end of May?!?!?! That's five months! Guh. I should have won the lottery by now... Is it 4pm on Friday yet? When is it my turn for a raise? Do I really have to get up and go to work? *whine*

The build up to Christmas high leaves us crashing for a few weeks and inevitably ends in a cold/the flu. My man already has some sort of head and chest gunge with the coughing and sneezing and sniffling... I'm likely a day or three behind as the tickle in my throat is telling of a less than pleasant few days of tissue making a semi-permanent home in my pockets. EmergenC and zinc will become an integral part of breakfast and while my friends are out playing, I'll be laying comatose aside from the occasional nose blowing session.

This year is particularly tough because of the unusual snow and below freezing temperatures that came the week before Christmas and stuck around until the 26th, only to be replaced with dirty streets, 40-something degree temps and an ugly blahness that has washed over the city. To me, the snow was beautiful. And though it caused some folks grief by keeping them indoors for a week, I appreciated the time alone with my sweetie and dog and movies and good food and much needed rest. The normal go-go-go of December was replaced with stay in-stay in-stay in and I loved every minute of it. I suppose I'm just not ready for it to be over.

Reread

I read my paper journal from 4 years ago and can't believe how full of angst I was. How terribly lacking in self confidence I was. How worried about everything I was.

I look at my life now and it seems my worries have become more adult - money, work, when and if I will have babies... all of these things have brought me to one conclusion:

It's time for a beer run. Cheers!