She Likes Purple

Aggieland Sneak Peek

***

We took a less-than-24-hour whirlwind trip to College Station this weekend, but it was so, so nice. Thanks to A'Dell for putting us up for the night and to her family for being so welcoming and warm. 

My family is swell.

More pictures.

August Recap

First, a question:

HOW THE HELL IS IT SEPTEMBER?

It's all a bit mind-boggling, that we have a mere four months left until a whole new year. That means Halloween is right around the corner, then Thanksgiving, then Christmas, THEN 2011, HOLY SHIT.

But, for now, August.

***

This past month I started regularly doing two things I haven't done in as long as I can recall: going to sleep at a reasonable hour and reading.

I've been offline in the evenings just as often as I've been on and let me tell you, as much as I love the internet, there's nothing quite as nice or as vital to one's peace of mind as a good book and an early bedtime.

(Unless that good book keeps you up until 1:30, I'M LOOKING AT YOU HUNGER GAMES.)

***

This month we also didn't eat out (for the most part) and, hey, we didn't die! We made a few exceptions, which I was fine with, but for the most part we ate all our meals from our own kitchen. It basically confirmed something I already knew: we spend entirely too much money on unnecessary meals. 

I'm going to try very, very hard to bring my lunch to work every day and to limit eating out to the weekends, for date nights or special family outings.

***

I've lost 31 pounds this year and have 17 more to go. It feels as if the weight is falling off ever-so slowly and that I'll never reach my goal. It's hard to keep perspective when you plateau, you know?

But, there's this: I enjoy food, I enjoy cooking (here's my September menu, if you care about that kind of thing), I enjoy running. Those are three brand-new things for me. It's hard to say I ever really enjoyed food before, not when there was so much fucked-up guilty aftermath that went along with it.

But, I no longer view food as a crutch or my particular form of self-medication. I feel I've done more for my family in terms of taking care of them and providing meals for them this year than all other years combined, and I feel I've done more for myself this year, as well.

I'm not there yet, no, and that's just frustrating, no way around it. To be close but not quite there.

But I'll get there.

When I do, drinks for everyone!

***

Style Lush continues to blow my mind. The content is just hands-down incredible. We consistently have great giveaways and fun features and the most talented DIYers I know.

Make no mistake, I am not one of them. I just organize all that talent in one place while contributing very little of it.

(Oh, and our one-year anniversary is in October. I'm lining up some great giveaways for that week. If you have a shop or store or hidden talent and want to contribute to a giveaway that week, let me know.) 

***

This month I also: saw Greenday in concert, had a fancy date night with my husband, threw a party, and went to BlogHer.

Phew. Maybe it was less of a low-key month than I thought.

***

Then there's Kyle.

Oh Kyle.

18 months has been, for us, just blissful. (Now 14-15 months was not.) He understands so much, and is so easy to talk to and get through to, and while he's doing all that BEING-A-REAL-PERSON shit, he's still a baby. There's chub, everywhere, and he's still toddling around in diapers and a little wobbly, and so soft and sweet. 

(Although 18 months did bring the toddler feet of doom. THEY SMELL OF DEATH AND ROT.)

He holds my hand, without me asking him to, and while the tantrums are brutal, they're also quick. 

He's talking more, he's laughing more, he's dancing more, he's just more, while still being so little.

He has a sense of humor and while it's a little, uh, strange -- he thinks it's HILARIOUS when we sneeze -- making him laugh has got to be the best thing on the planet. Sorry, boss, can I just quit my job and make my kid laugh for  a living because I appear to be awesome at it?

Every stage is so fleeting, so hard to remember without the help of a blog, so full of highs and lows that if you sit around think about it for very long, you can't help but cry. It's cruel, the way we are given these gifts only to have them morph into something else entirely so soon, but it's so beautiful that they're replaced with something even more amazing.

Missing who he was before is like missing a light while I live with the sun.

 

***

September holds: Kyle's first college football game, my first 10K (and lunch with Natalie), our nephew's birthday party, another birthday party, a handful of other birthdays, and the end of summer. NOT SUMMER TEMPERATURES, THOUGH, OH NO. Texas is an overachiever when it comes to being stupid.

What are you looking forward to this month?

What To Keep in Mind When Throwing a Party

I'm no party planner, but I love a good get-together. In fact, parties are one of my absolute favorite things. Here are a small number of things I've learned from hosting a handful of parties.

1. Size doesn't really matter, at least not when it comes to a party. (Ahem.) No matter how many people actually show up, a successful party isn't about size. I've been at a party with four people and a party with fifty, both with similar invite lists. Both fun.

2. With that said, embrace the mindset that the more really is the merrier. Meaning, be welcome to new people, people you may not know well or have personally invited. Maggie wrote something that's become my new party (and, hell, life) philosophy: "if I'm going to screw up somewhere I want it to be because I don't have enough chairs, not because I left people off the invitation list."

3. How much fun you're having will translate into how much fun your guests are having. Fine, the stuffed mushrooms were burnt and that girl over there really dislikes that other one over here but as the hostess, relax, smile, enjoy yourself and everyone else will follow suit.

4. Too much food and drink is always preferable to not enough. You don't have to make everything from scratch. Hell, you don't have to heat everything up yourself. Just have lots of whatever it is you do serve. (And, hell again, it's okay to go pot-luck style. People don't mind bringing things when they're invited to a party. At least they shouldn't. If they're normal.)

5. Don't make yourself crazy. You should see our extra bath on party nights. Actually you shouldn't. It would make you talk badly about me behind my back. But, seriously, don't kill yourself scrubbing every corner and folding every piece of laundry. Throw whatever you didn't get to into a place you know your guests won't wander.

6. Details, details, details. I try to spend a little time writing down all the things I'd love to do at an upcoming party if time or budgets were of no concern. Then I try to pick one thing from that list and do that. This could mean a signature cocktail, a thoughtful favor, a really incredible dessert. It could mean anything, but just be thoughtful and genuine. For instance, after Kyle's birthday party, I mailed printed-out pictures from the party to guests who had great shots snapped of them. I also handmade the thank-you notes, which I think was a nice touch. Little things, details, thoughtfulness. Oh, it matters.

Plan a party. Enjoy yourself. Celebrate. And, invite me, if you wouldn't mind.

(Kidding about that last part.)

(Maybe.)

***

This weekend I hosted a mimosa (sunset) brunch with my best friend, Natalie. Here are some pictures from that particular shindig.

15 Years Later, I Got to Go to Their Concert

The very first CD I ever owned, way back when I was 13, was Greenday's "Dookie." They were the first band I liked, and not because my sister liked them or my parents did but because I did.

I used to listen to "Basketcase" and "She" on repeat.

They played in concert that same year, and I wanted to go so badly. I thought my friends might surprise me with tickets or maybe the tickets would just magically appear in my room. 

I was an optimistic 13 year old, wasn't I?

They didn't appear, of course, but since then, I made it a goal to see them in concert. One day, somehow.

We bought tickets for their concert last year in San Antonio but it was the day after Kyle ended up in the ER for a rather traumatic (for me) chocking incident. No matter how badly I wanted to see that concert, I wasn't leaving my boy for anything. We ate the cost and I sort of thought that was the last chance I'd have.

They came back through Texas -- Dallas -- last night, though, and Mike bought us tickets months ago.

It was a Thursday night, I had to take a half-day from work, we had to ask Mike's parents to babysit late into the night on a work night, we had to drive an hour into the heart of Dallas for the concert, the tickets weren't cheap, the beer wasn't cheap, and I can think of a dozen other things that money would have been more responsibly spent on. 

When we go to our seats, they were just taking the stage. Seriously, we couldn't have timed our arrival any better. And as they walked on stage, I teared up, and all those reasons for not going melted away. I turned to Mike and said, "I'm finally here."

They were unbelievable in concert. They were on fire, engaged with the audience, energetic. They were just incredible. They were also grateful, thankful for their fans. They brought dozens of those fans up on stage, they gave guitars and drumsticks out like candy, they brought kids on stage and let them sing. At one point Billie Joe said, "It's our honor and our privilege to perform for you." I believed that he believed that.

I feel a little silly typing all this out. I'm nearly 30! It was a Greenday concert! But how often do you get to sit at a concert as an adult and listen to the same song you listened to on the floor of your middle school bedroom?

It was a full-circle moment, and I'm just so happy we made it happen.

As Mike and I got out of the car, I turned to him and said, "There's a sippy cup in the car and I have a block in my purse. How rock n roll are we?"

Buckling down

I've been on three trips in the last month. That's a lot of meals made in someone else's kitchen.

I haven't stepped on the scale since coming back from NYC, but before this last trip I hadn't gained any weight in the last month. But, I hadn't lost a whole helluva lot either.

I'd like to change that.

I'm running a 10K next month. I'm going to my high school reunion the month after that.

(Jury's still out over which one I'm more terrified of.)

I didn't feel guilty about the delicious meals I ate or the glasses of champagne I sipped while traveling. There's always something to celebrate, I like to say. Whether it's a business trip, a blogging trip, a surprise trip, or a Tuesday night at home when all the laundry happens to be done.

Life is meant to be celebrated. With a delicious meal, a glass of champagne, good company, fun.

And not just soft-lit pictures, sponsors-pick-up-the-bill, all-for-show celebrated but really celebrated. Without a camera or a Twitter stream nearby. Not for anyone else. Just for you.

I've celebrated a lot this year. I've celebrated myself.

The year I changed my life, I like to say in my head.

But hard work should be celebrated too. And it's time to finish working hard so I can celebrate some more down the road. 

18(ish) pounds left to lose. 6(ish) miles to run. Hundreds of old high school friends to see. Lots more ways to make myself proud.

Game on.

Briefly standing still

This month has been (and will continue to be until it's over) plain insane. I cram a lot into my days, my life, and that's kind of how I prefer it, but this month went from kinda busy to HOLY SHIT WHAT JUST HAPPENED pretty quickly. If I let it, this month will fly be without me even noticing, without me even taking one second to slow down and enjoy some truly enjoyable things.

Like....

The sunset in Portland.

Kyle and I having a dance party in our living room this past weekend.

Closing my laptop to finish a book.

Mike and I squeezing in a date night to see Eclipse this weekend and having an hour to kill before the movie started, so we people watched the time away. (While Mike drank the biggest blue raspberry slushie I've ever seen.)

Enjoying a nice German dinner with my mom.

Meeting bloggers in person and no longer worrying about those meet-ups beforehand.

Bloody Marys with one of my best friends. 

Crawling into Cherie's guest bed at 10 pm, which is the earliest I've gone to bed all year, I'd bet.

Leaving the house to run some errands this past weekend and then having to turn around and go back because we forgot something. When we pulled into the drive no more than five minutes after first leaving, Kyle got SO FREAKING EXCITED to be home, screeching and laughing, like MAN, I LOVE THIS PLACE. Eh, he's a toddler, who knows what he was really thinking, but that's all I've ever wanted for him, to associate his home with happiness.  

The incredibly kind ticket agent with Southwest Airlines. Good customer service is rare. I won't forget him anytime soon.

Snickers 90-calorie ice-cream bars. Delicious.

Top Chef nights with Mike.

Sitting outside The Four Graces winery, talking to Cherie about work and life and getting tan. 

Mike letting me sleep in till 11 am this past Saturday. That man deserves things I can't talk about on this blog.

Our new baby nephew, who was born last week. We have so many boys in our family, it's unreal, but they're each such a perfect fit.

Life is spinning fast right now. But not too fast that I can't hold still when I need to.

***

I leave for San Diego Wednesday, and I look forward to standing still a little bit while I'm gone. If you're in the area, come visit my company at a meet-and-greet party this Saturday night at the House of Blues in downtown San Diego. (Click on the link for more details.)

My husband is a sneaky man

I worked late tonight and had to stop for a couple groceries on the way home, and when I finally barged through the door, tired and stressed, Kyle greeted me. Oh, that's a nice way to melt the stress, let me tell you.

I lifted him up and carried him to the kitchen, and he gave me loads of kisses. I unloaded the groceries while holding him because moms can multi-task like you wouldn't believe. Then, I decided to put the empty paper bag on his head (I'm weird, what of it?), when Mike walked in the kitchen, smirking.

"I have a surprise."

"Yeah, what?"

I was still playing with Kyle, a paper bag on his head, a red pepper in my hand that I hadn't put up yet, when Mike showed me an airline ticket.

"What the fuck is that?"

(I have GOT to work on my child-friendly vocabulary.)

"You're going to see Cherie."

AN AIRLINE TICKET. TO SEE MY FRIEND CHERIE IN PORTLAND, AND MY KEYBOARD IS NOT BROKEN, I'M JUST THIS EXCITED.

Cherie and I went to college together and then she fell in love and moved away and just search her name on this site, I've written at length about her. She's post worthy, most definitely.

Oh, I just can't wait to see her.

And loads of other bloggers who are in Portland. When I texted Cherie to see if she'd be down for a blogger dinner, my phone auto-corrected it to "loggers." When I corrected it, she wrote back and said, "damn, I was excited about the ax-man dinner."

She's awesome.

But you know who else is awesome? That sneaky husband of mine.

Search his name and see how much I like him. He's likable, he's way more than likable but no one wants to hear all that mush.

Let's just say I'm so happy right now, and it's all because of him. Baby, it's so often all because of you.

Good things

I had dinner with some friends Saturday night, and it was one of those magical nights when you can talk about everything on your mind without worrying about judgment or confused glances.

We talked about legalizing marijuana and foie gras and champagne and European vacations and sex shows and why men are allergic to the dishes. We laughed and shared wine, and it was perfect.

I left feeling more whole than when I got there.

That's the sign of a good night.

***

Half-way through dinner Mike sent me a text, "Our son is dipping his fries in ketchup and licking it off."

A few moments later, "He's still licking the ketchup but now he's using his fingers."

***

Friday night Mike and I went to dinner and our waiter was fantastic, even on a busy Friday night in a chain restaurant. He had our drinks filled before we took our last sip, he was funny but not obnoxious.

We called the manager over before we left to compliment the service, and his face lit up.

"I like getting called over for reasons like this."

We left feeling full and happy.

***

Mike had a motorcycle track day yesterday, so he was gone from sun up to sun down. I had plans to clean the house, top to bottom. I didn't. Instead, Kyle and I laid in bed together, took naps, read lots and lots of books and watched House Hunters. We went outside to look at bugs and we ate cheese quesadillas for lunch with a cookie chaser.

It was the laziest day we'd had in months.

There's still lots of laundry, but it's just laundry, right? We can do laundry any old day.

***

I'm cooking dinner for a friend this weekend who's been out of town for ages, and who I've missed a lot. We may even squeeze in a movie, if we're feeling crazy.

***

I got an email this morning from a new mom, thanking me for my blog archives. I promised myself I'd never lie about my parenting experience because if there was just one person who felt less alone because of something I went through, it would make telling the internet all about my life completely and totally worth it.

I teared up as I read her email.

In a good way. 

***

Mike got home exhausted last night and even though my plans were to continue being lazy, I decided to make him dinner instead. My instinct was to tell him to have a bowl of cereal, I was tired and needed to write some, but instead I shooed him out of the kitchen and made him his recent favorite, this buffalo chicken pizza from Vanilla Kitchen. I even did the dishes afterward.

He sleepily said, as he was walking out, "I have the best wife."

The exhaustion is worth hearing that, let me tell you.

***

Kyle hugs now. Briefly, before he's off again to scale the walls or pull Molly's tail. He also blows on his food if it's too hot and he signs thank you and please, even though I didn't teach him either of those things, come on you know me better than that. When I ask him to "jump!" he lifts one leg and then the other over and over and he spent, no lie, a half an hour yesterday looking through our honeymoon photo book, pointing at Mike in each picture, worriedly asking, "Dad? Dad?" Like, how the fuck did he get in this book? CAN HE GET OUT, OMG?

Although we're not planning to have another, at least not for some time, I look at him each day and think, another of you wouldn't be so bad.

***

I sat down to write about this one bad thing that kept me fairly distracted last week, this one bad thing that kept me awake and worried and sad.

Instead, I wrote all this.

All these good things.

May recap

What a crazy-ass month this has been. Oh, we had the usual (mortgage payment! ear infection! commute that sucks balls!), but we also had the very, very unusual (visits from friends I don't see nearly enough, work trips to New York, our three-year wedding anniversary that included a very expensive dinner out that we didn't have to pay a dime for, thank heavens, and also KYLE IS WALKING WHOO).

It was a good month. A very, very good month.

***

I am still trucking along with these fitness goals of mine, and they have become slow going, my friends. I'm stalled, basically, and totally annoyed with that especially since I know it's all because of me and my occasional indulgences and the aforementioned trip to the city with the best food (and easily the best cupcakes) in the country and also an anniversary dinner where my husband was very much in the "oh, just order another glass/plate/bowl of whatever you want" camp.

Obviously I chose that night to decide he was clearly the smartest man alive and I should listen to him wholeheartedly.

I've lost 25 pounds or so. I (still) have 23 pounds to go.

When I get out of the 150s, I'm buying myself something pretty.

But, I signed up for my first 10K (it'll be in September) and on this last business trip, I visited the fitness center twice. As in more than once. That was new for me.

I think what's most important to remember if you too want to change your life (in any way) is this: it's painful and slow and full of that frustrating dance combining progression with regression with standing still. You'll know better than to do a million things you'll do anyway because you're human. It's never about those moments where you screw up or choose poorly, but about the moments you right the wrongs.

There will always be wrongs, accept that now. But how do you right them?

***

This month I also got to meet some really incredible bloggers, including Jonna, who is so much more than a blog friend. I launched a style blog with her. I texted her when Kyle took his first steps. She offered me and Mike one of her guest rooms this fall, so we can make a trip we weren't sure we'd be able to financially swing before. She sent me the most beautiful birthday present and constantly tells me I'm smart and capable and, most importantly, I'm a good mother.

We got cupcakes in Cambridge (long story why I was there) this past week, and as we finished up and collected our things, she hugged me again and said, "you're here," and it was like being with an old friend, like reuniting with her after years apart.

I missed her the rest of the day, and I miss her still, and without blogging or the internet, I wouldn't know her at all.

To think I only used it for porn before.

(Kidding.)

I then sat (the very next night) with three more bloggers who had me laughing and nodding along with what they were saying and not once did I sit awkwardly thinking of how to fill the silence. (Not that I wasn't awkward both days, OH I WAS BUT THAT'S JUST ME.)

It was such a nice week for remembering why I do this, and it's not for free shit, I can tell you that much.

***

Finally, since I'm apparently in a very sappy mood indeed, May was really cool in that I've been making a real effort to be more kind to Mike, who is the one person on earth who most deserves my kindness. While I was in New York he (along with my mother-in-law and my mom) kept everything afloat without a single complaint. He knew I was worried about things both at home and with work, so he told me over and over not to worry, he had it covered, everything was great.

I came home to champagne chilling in the fridge, dinner in the oven, and smiles on both my boys faces.

I love those boys of mine so damn much. That's how I'd like to sum up May.

June is going to be even better, I know it.

 

Mike took this picture while I was away and sent it to me. You can imagine how much it made my day.

I sat beside you and became myself*

Three years ago, I wrote this post four days before our wedding day, and I ended it with this:

He has told me, daily, that our life will all work out, it will all be OK, we're some of the lucky ones, we're going to have fun, we have it good, we can only do our best, we have to rise above the stress and the hurt and that he loves me.

Michael, I believe you.

Let's do this.

Three years of marriage later, and I still hear those words from him regularly, and I still believe every one. I ended our vows by telling him he was the best decision I ever made, and even though deciding to have his child eked just slightly above it, it's still a very close second.

No one else knows how beautiful it is to be his wife. Even if sometimes it's beautifully frustrating and beautifully full of dirty socks scattered around our living room, I feel like I know this secret no one else knows.

It's a really cool secret. You'll have to trust me.

It was a beautiful wedding day, it's been a beautiful marriage, it's a beautiful life with, still, the cutest redhead I know.

 

Happy third anniversary, Mike. I loved you so much as we danced on that chilly California patio, tipsy and happy. Today, I love you more.

*Joshua Radin's "Today"

Full circle weekend

We had a really fun weekend. Cherie, a great friend from college, was in town from Portland, so we got our kids together and marveled over how we used to be silly drunk girls who sang really awful karaoke together and now we're mothers with mortgages and multiple mouths to feed. Then we left the kids with their grandmas, so we could go out and act like silly drunk girls while singing really awful karaoke.

So awful, in fact, that half-way through our rendition of Don't Stop Believin', I turned to Cherie and said, "We should just walk off stage now, shouldn't we?" Although we didn't, I think we really, really should have. 

Mike said afterward, "Babe, that wasn't good." And he was being kind.

Anyway, here is a picture snapped Saturday afternoon at Twisted Root, with four kids under two, all born to friends who met in college. We went from late night runs to Taco Cabana to making sure our kids stayed put in their high chairs at lunch, and no one could tell any of us how that happened. Or at least tell us in any believable way.

 

It was great to see Cherie, and I miss her already.

(A few more pictures from our weekend.)

***

And, not only is Cherie one of my favorite people, but apparently she's all the motivation Kyle needed to get off his hands and knees and toddle like the toddler he is.

Here's a crappy-quality video to prove it:

He's doing what so many of you said he'd do: just walking like he's been doing it for months, even though he only took his first steps mere days ago. 

I think it's going to be a huge let-down to him, though, when he realizes we won't always clap like maniacs each time he walks somewhere. Right now, we practically throw him a parade and offer him a pony in exchange for a few steps.

We did realize, immediately after he crossed the entire living room, that we're now officially screwed. In the best possible way.

***

How was your weekend?

Inspiration

Kyle's croup morphed into an upper respiratory infection this week and although he's doing okay, his fever is still coming and going. I don't think our weekend will suck as much ass as last, but I'm not sure we'll do much meadow frolicking either.

(Not that we usually do much meadow frolicking. We're only that kind of family after plenty of tequila shots, but you know what I mean.)

(Also, taxes: that was a bit like a pap smear combined with a root canal combined with that one date I went on in college when the guy asked me mid-way if I was ready to take off my shirt.)

(I wasn't.)

Whenever life gets like this (read: stupid), I try to find pretty things and creativity to focus on. It helps me. It inspires me. Someone recently said all we have is optimism, and I kind of loved that. Especially since optimism comes as easily to me as a 21-inch waist. I fight for most of the optimism I have, so when I get some, I celebrate it. 

So, inspiration:

1. The project Documenting a Week in Your Life. We have a fancy camera I rarely use. I'd like to dust it off and capture what an average week really looks like for my family. From the late night molar scream-fests to the frazzled state of our living room to gas prices these days. Why not keep it real? Real can be incredible. So, I think I'll do this next week.

2. This thumbprint family tree. 

3. Linda's 30-day diet. I'm considering doing something similar this May. Just considering, tossing the idea around, thinking about it. I need to eat more whole foods and less processed ones. I've lost some weight so far this year, but I won't tell you how many packaged granola bars and 100-calorie packs helped me do it.

4. Making a plan to meet Julie for dinner. She's a local blogger, and new friends are fun. They don't know about all your crazy yet. (Kidding!)

5. Elizabeth's chalk marker tags for her re-designed nursery. She's brilliant.

6. This MacIntosh dress and this General Store blouse (both from Spool 72).

7. We have neighbors who have a boy around Kyle's age, and I see them from time to time and wave. But I've never gone over to invite them for dinner or properly introduced myself with brownies in hand. I'm scared the wife/mom won't like me or they won't be fun. Or, you know, they could be fantastic. My sister inspired me get to know them somehow.

8. Tyler Florence inspires me in many ways (ahem) but definitely with his recipes. They're not simple or meant for those of us without a cooking show and with a jam-packed schedule, so 99% of the time they're not right for my family. But, they do inspire me to have more faith in what I can accomplish in the kitchen. (I'm currently obsessed with making his chicken cordon bleu.)

9. Mexican sangria or, more like it, these pictures of Mexican sangria.

10. This multi-colored necklace. You might ask how jewelry can be inspiring, but there's not enough time in the world to answer that. Just trust me, it can be.

**

What's inspiring you?

Grace in Small Things: Take One

Schmutzie kicked off the Grace in Small Things campaign as a "daily reminder to take notice of the positive things we tend to overlook." I've always loved the sentiment, but the idea seemed too big for me. This is hilarious, I know, considering the name of the project. But I tend to be a Capricorn in one very specific way: if I can't do something perfectly, I don't do it at all. I couldn't figure out a way to do this every single day without disrupting the rest of my blog, so I didn't participate, even though I wanted to.

God, I'm ridiculous.

Anyway, this is my year, no matter how much the Universe would like to convince me otherwise. Hey Universe, you're not going to win this one, so quit your nonsense!

A reader suggested I make a list of five things I'm grateful for, to gain perspective in light of this crappy week, and her tip reminded me of Schmutzie's project.

Here we go:

1. Yesterday, I took the day off. I shouldn't have, but I did. After spending most of the morning wallowing, Mike said, "Screw it, let's take Kyle to the zoo."

 

It was grand.

2. Emailing Elizabeth. I can tell her anything and she doesn't think I'm a bad mom/wife/person. Just today I told her my kid was being an asshole. If that offends you, I promise not to email you the next time I need to vent. Because, really, that's just the tip of the iceberg, people.

3. Modern Family. Are you watching this show? Oh, it's the best! If you're not, you should set those DVRs immediately.

4. These lyrics: "I let the day go by / I always say goodbye / I watch the stars from my window sill / The whole world is moving and I'm standing still." I love this song because it reminds me, always, that life never waits for you to figure your shit out. You've got to keep up and hang on.

5. I ran 2.5 miles yesterday, and it felt incredible (albeit not easy). That's the farthest I've ever run. In my life. (Pause for applause.) I'll run my first 5K in a little over two weeks. Who wants to meet me at the finish line with diamonds? Or cinnamon rolls?

You can always tell me what you're grateful for. Sometimes reading your comments is the best part of my day, second only to these guys:

 

Although, not the lizard. I mean, I'm sure he's nice and all (although when I say nice, I think I mean not nice even a little bit), but I imagine he doesn't snuggle nearly as well as the two on the left.

I've been waiting a long time for this

OK, so it didn't happen by just waiting alone, don't let Giselle Bündchen convince you otherwise. I've ignored a lot of cupcakes since January 1st, dammit. Even though I've been on this new, healthier kick since just the first of this year, it's still been one year, three weeks and five days since I first wanted to write the last sentence of this:

Since the first of the year I’ve: run two straight miles for the first time in my entire life, signed up for my first 5K (this month!), have decided go to meatless the month of March just to spice things up in the kitchen (you can see what I’m making here), can make it through the 30-Day Shred feeling pretty good instead of near-death (still Level 1, though) and have given up alcohol for Lent.

Oh, and I lost the baby weight.

You can read the rest of the post here.

I've still a ways to go, but there's not a single pound on my body right now I can blame on Kyle. The stretch marks, though? Still glaring at him for those. Regardless, feels pretty damn good.

More from the first birthday bash

I wanted to write a lengthy post about Kyle's first birthday party, but I think directing you to my Flickr stream is probably easiest, so take a look and also check out my notes and comments. 

Here you are. And here's one of my favorites to entice you.

 

Pretty cute. Kyle's not too bad either.

Let's talk about parties

In case there's any doubt, I like to throw parties. I think my favorite word of all time is community and although I like alone time just as much as anyone (give me a magazine, an episode of something teeny and bad, and a glass of champagne and I'm set), there's just something about a house full of laughing, chatting friends and family that makes me ooze bliss. I throw a party every chance I get, and sometimes I even create reasons to throw one (I hosted a champagne and cake party last fall and am planning a sunset brunch for April).

I also love perusing party blogs for party themes, favor ideas, neat little creative ways to make guests feel like kings and queens. I think I'd be a great Party Planner, but then I remind myself I'd spend my client's entire budget recreating awesome parties I saw on someone's blog. My execution: good. My creativity: not so good. Anyway, I wanted to share some of the ridiculously cool parties I've recently stumbled upon, in case they inspire you to throw a party yourself.

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Jessica with Juicy Bits might be my new party role model. I bet all her friends enjoy being invited to her kids' parties.

From her son's recent construction-themed party:

 

 

And her daughter's recent peaches-and-cream party:

 

{Photos courtesy of Juicy Bits}

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My favorite animal is a polar bear, you probably didn't know or care to know that, but there you have it. So, this polar bear party made me wish I could go back and recreate my sixth birthday party.

 

{Photo from Gillar Girl}

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Holly, with Nothing But Bonfires, put together this last-minute 30th cheese and cupcake birthday party for herself, and you'd never believe either of those things if I didn't just tell you. That she's 1) 30 or 2) able to whip up a last-minute party that looks so classy and fun and lovely.

 

{Photo courtesy of Holly}

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This truly beautiful nautical baby shower changes everything I ever thought about hosting a baby shower. There doesn't have to be lambs and ducks and pastel balloons everywhere? Wow.

 

 

{Photos from Over Cocktails}

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The Oscars are right around the corner. My husband would kill me if I threw together a viewing party so quickly (and expensively, I'm sure) but this Oscars party from last year inspires me all the same.

{Photo from Celebrate}

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How about you, any great parties you're throwing/attending these days?

You didn't know we left, but now we're back

Mike and I zipped down to College Station Tuesday night (for the night) because when you have conflicting schedules and the best Nana on the planet, you squeeze in your Valentine's night away wherever you can even if "wherever you can" happens to be a Tuesday night that is not Valentine's Day at all. Why College Station, you ask? (After some of you ask "College Station is an actual place? I thought Julia Roberts was just making it up in My Best Friend's Wedding!") Well, the romantic version is this: it's where our Valentine's (pizza and beer) tradition started, six years ago. The realistic version is this: it's about all we could afford and it's on my 2010 to-do list.

We went to school in College Station, so it's not quite as if anyone has to twist our arms to return because we really, really loved it there and really, really love going back there and, most importantly, really, really miss the food there. Funny, we racked up a ridiculous bill at our romantic dinner this past Friday night and yet the pizza that brought us back to College Station (and the wings and the sandwiches and the potatoes and even the alcohol), all under $20 a pop, made our mouth water even more.

It was a pretty low-key day and night away, but if you are a parent, the very best hyphenated pairing someone can use to describe a day and night away is low-key, am I right? We ate lunch, we took a long nap, we saw a movie, we drove around, we had dinner, we shared a pitcher of beer and we watched TV until we both passed out (before midnight). It's a very small town, that college town of ours, and it's also a very conservative small town, where many buildings and street signs have the Bush name attached to them and where cowboy boots and hats and belt buckles are common and where the official school greeting is "howdy!" and where you wouldn't think I'd fit in at all if you know me well, but every time I drive out of that town, my throat closes a bit and my chest tightens and I look at Mike, misty-eyed, and say, "I don't want to leave." Isn't that just what home is? Not always a makes-perfect-sense fit, but where you belong all the same.

The other reason I love it there so much: the alcohol flows as cheaply as water (that pitcher of ours was $6!) and no one bats an eye if you're wearing a dirty old t-shirt to the dusty old bar.

*****

I'm back tomorrow with lots of links and updates (like what I'm giving up over the next month because I'm apparently a CRAZY PERSON) and maybe a picture of my kid, the one who acted like I was a complete stranger when I returned today. WHO ARE YOU, GIVE ME MY NANA BACK!?

Valentine's

Friday night Mike and I had an uber-romantic fancy dinner at a local restaurant. We love good food, but we also love wearing jeans and thankfully this place encouraged both. Last night I was lucky enough to have a girl's night with some great friends, although we saw Dear John, which might be the worst movie I've seen in a year's time. Although, in true Nicholas Sparks fashion, I laughed at the absurdity of 95% of it while bawling through the other 5%. Damn you, Sparks. Tonight we're cooking dinner and dessert, then watching The Amazing Race. (Then I'm shredding for like four straight hours.)

No one really needs a date on the calendar to remind them to be nice to those they're fond of, but I'm in the "sure can't hurt" camp. And not just who you share debt with, but also your friends, your cousins, your parents. Valentine's is all-encompassing, even if Hallmark wants to convince you otherwise. So, whoever you like a whole lot, tell them today. And tomorrow. And every day.

But, come on, a day that encourages chocolate consumption? Who can't support a day like that?

Kyle says "eat dessert!" today.

Love is grand.

Define handmade

On my Things to Do in 2010 list, I have "make Kyle a birthday banner by hand."

So, putting this to a vote: does it count if it was indeed made by hand, just not by my hand? My best friend Natalie (and her mom and Granny) made this for Kyle, and displaying it made me ridiculously happy and not at all stressed out, which are signs of a great craft project, don't you think?

Can I put a line through this list item or not?

Does it help that I made these cake balls all by myself, only getting assistance from my dad and husband during the tasting portion of the recipe?

 

(Recipe here. Not for those concerned about their pants fitting the next day, by the way.)

Tell it to me straight. Although, I have a few cake balls left over if you tell me what I want to hear.

A few things I considered writing full posts on today but made into bullets instead

- Our Rumble With Atmos Energy. Our meter apparently got all wonky last month, so the Atmos Powers That Be had to estimate our last two bills. December: $35; January: $520. In short, Atmos Energy should never enter one of those Guess How Many Gumballs Are in The Jar contests.

- The Mystery of the Disappearing Tequila. We had a practically full bottle of tequila in our garage (what, that's not where YOU keep your tequila? strange) and now we don't, and apparently there is an alcohol-loving thief on the loose in small-town Texas. LOCK UP YOUR BOOZE.

- I tried Level 2 of the 30-Day Shred last night. And then I died.

- It's supposed to snow on Friday. I couldn't see my screen through my tears to finish that post.

- Style Lush is still kicking ass, taking names, but there's one little thing I didn't take into account when I launched the site: that I would never be able to afford 95% of the fantastic things featured, and that's really a shame.

- How Kyle strangely threw up on himself the other night, twice, without ever waking up. He just sat up (eyes closed), puked, let me wash him off and change him and then went back to bed (then repeated all that an hour later). He seemed fine the next day (and today). Why is parenting so effing strange (and gross, my god)?

- ELIZABETH IS HAVING A GIRL!

- Life Unexpected, One Tree Hill, Friday Night Lights (or maybe I considered devoting an entire post to each)

- Mike is making Kyle's cake for his birthday party. I came home last night to an episode of Hoarders: Post-Baking Kitchens Edition. 

- I'm putting together a video for Kyle's first birthday, and it's 1) HEARTBREAKING and 2) difficult as shit to sift through THOUSANDS, I AM NOT KIDDING, of photos. It's also hard to pick out songs to dub over the video that other bloggers haven't already used. Annoying.

- Are you going to BlogHer '10? I am! Show yourselves, so I can start memorizing faces now!