Jazzbird has flown this coop. With all the new beginnings, I figured it was time for a new blog, as well. Being a full-time student, it's hard enough maintaining one blog, much less two, so I'll be combining everything here:
Take me to higher ground...
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Friday, November 18, 2011
Turning the Page
I'm a newly-married woman :-) I still have no idea how I got so lucky. I know, it's corny, but true. I can't imagine a day of not being thoroughly in love with my husband. Nothing or nobody is perfect, but I end each day feeling grateful, loving and loved. He's not only my very best friend, but truly the most sincere and nicest man I've ever met. Of course, his being cute and incredibly smart doesn't hurt.
We had a small wedding, but I loved that I could see people I actively miss!
So, tons of changes since my last update... I'm out of the city, we've moved into our new place, tied the knot and so much school has passed that I'm already staring down the barrel of finals. I can't believe how quickly time has flown! I swear it was just summer. The whole "easing into school" thing was over before I could fully form the thought. I definitely had to hit the ground running. I'm working my butt off, realizing that studying in my 20s was far easier than my *ahem* current decade. Balancing a full life and a full-time course load has its challenges, but I'm figuring it out, learning from mistakes and celebrating the victories.
In addition to the new things I'm learning and starting on the latest chapter of my life, I'm loving meeting so many new people. I'm making some great friends along the way.
I'll admit I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving break next week. Sure, I have a paper to write, a project to do and an exam for which I'll need to prepare, but I'll have a few days off from classes, get to spend some time with loved ones, and hopefully get to push the "reset" button on my current level of exhaustion. Oh, relaxation, how I miss you! I'm looking forward to getting reacquainted for a couple of hours over banana bread, hot cocoa and snuggled up (in my new footie pajamas!) in front of the Macy's Parade on TV. (It will be weird not hearing the parade live on my corner, though, for the first time in several years)
Moving from the heart of Manhattan to a small town is definitely an adjustment. I remember when "slowing down" in my head meant moving to Queens. It's funny that living near Main St. actually means something here. Yeah, only pizza and Chinese deliver (and only during certain hours... what's THAT about?), but on the other hand, we have so much space! We not only have a quiet house with more than one room, but we occupy multiple floors. And while there aren't nearly as many restaurants (nor is there Ethiopian, sushi, Vietnamese OR Moroccan food), there are a handful of wonderful, independent eateries within walking distance, whether we want high brow or low budget. There's even pizza that rivals that of NYC!
By the way... white Christmas?? It's already white before Thanksgiving! Things are definitely a little ahead of the curve upstate. I've never really minded snow. We'll see what my attitude is about that *after* my first winter (full-time) up here, but comparing summers (strictly on weather), north will likely almost always win. Any way you slice it, I'll be grateful not trying to do the back-and-forth visiting thing during winter storms. That was consistently massively inconvenient for both of us.
We had a small wedding, but I loved that I could see people I actively miss!
So, tons of changes since my last update... I'm out of the city, we've moved into our new place, tied the knot and so much school has passed that I'm already staring down the barrel of finals. I can't believe how quickly time has flown! I swear it was just summer. The whole "easing into school" thing was over before I could fully form the thought. I definitely had to hit the ground running. I'm working my butt off, realizing that studying in my 20s was far easier than my *ahem* current decade. Balancing a full life and a full-time course load has its challenges, but I'm figuring it out, learning from mistakes and celebrating the victories.
In addition to the new things I'm learning and starting on the latest chapter of my life, I'm loving meeting so many new people. I'm making some great friends along the way.
I'll admit I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving break next week. Sure, I have a paper to write, a project to do and an exam for which I'll need to prepare, but I'll have a few days off from classes, get to spend some time with loved ones, and hopefully get to push the "reset" button on my current level of exhaustion. Oh, relaxation, how I miss you! I'm looking forward to getting reacquainted for a couple of hours over banana bread, hot cocoa and snuggled up (in my new footie pajamas!) in front of the Macy's Parade on TV. (It will be weird not hearing the parade live on my corner, though, for the first time in several years)
Moving from the heart of Manhattan to a small town is definitely an adjustment. I remember when "slowing down" in my head meant moving to Queens. It's funny that living near Main St. actually means something here. Yeah, only pizza and Chinese deliver (and only during certain hours... what's THAT about?), but on the other hand, we have so much space! We not only have a quiet house with more than one room, but we occupy multiple floors. And while there aren't nearly as many restaurants (nor is there Ethiopian, sushi, Vietnamese OR Moroccan food), there are a handful of wonderful, independent eateries within walking distance, whether we want high brow or low budget. There's even pizza that rivals that of NYC!
By the way... white Christmas?? It's already white before Thanksgiving! Things are definitely a little ahead of the curve upstate. I've never really minded snow. We'll see what my attitude is about that *after* my first winter (full-time) up here, but comparing summers (strictly on weather), north will likely almost always win. Any way you slice it, I'll be grateful not trying to do the back-and-forth visiting thing during winter storms. That was consistently massively inconvenient for both of us.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Books and Life
School stuff is going along on schedule. We stopped the house hunt, though, so we're looking for a place to rent before my lease is up at the end of May. I'm starting to get nervous that I only have 2 months left in the City, so I'm trying to get in as much as possible and enjoy it while I can. On the other hand, I'm really looking forward to being with P full-time and actually living in one place, rather than straddling the two. Yay- we'll both be able to have our stuff and ourselves in one location!
My engagement ring finally came (we ordered it Christmas Eve and it arrived after Valentine's Day). I love it. I'm not a huge girly girl, but I do notice it catches my eye more than it probably should. Shiny...
I landed more freelance work, which should start up in the next week or so. Hooray! The great thing is that the launch is expected to be in May, but even if that gets pushed out, I can work from anywhere, since I'll be working remotely. This also means I can make my own schedule (as long as I get the work done, of course) and can still straddle both locations, as needed. It'd be nice if there's more work to get me through the summer until school starts. Either way, though, I have something to carry me through my current lease. And I don't need to ever put on a suit for it ;-)
Wedding plans are frustrating. With the timing, there's one weekend that works especially well with time of year and my school schedule, etc, but it's proving tough to find a venue on that date. We may have to push things out, but I'm sure it'll all work out exactly as it needs to.
I've been chewing through books lately, but I'm now a little bored with my options. I find myself craving something by a few of my favorite authors who have nothing new out. I'm in the mood for something Laurie Notaro, Liza Palmer, or Jennifer Weiner-ish. I need some strong females. (I think I've been reading too many male authors lately.)
A new theatre season has hit here and there are a ton of new things opening. I'm excited to get out there and see as much as possible. Tonight, I'm seeing Anything Goes (a friend had an extra ticket), but I plan on hitting as many rush lotteries as possible in the days to follow. I'm especially excited about Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and Catch Me if You Can.
I'd like to do some traveling this summer, if possible. The furthest I've gone is upstate (I've been back and forth so many times, I've earned a free ticket). We did go to Atlantic City for a few days earlier in the week, but I'd love to take an actual vacation before school starts (somewhere NOT experiencing a hot, humid summer). We'll see how the money and time are flowing. Hopefully, I'll still have some work coming in, but have some time to get away. One awesome thing about P's job is that he's been there so long that he's got a ton of vacation time allotted.
My engagement ring finally came (we ordered it Christmas Eve and it arrived after Valentine's Day). I love it. I'm not a huge girly girl, but I do notice it catches my eye more than it probably should. Shiny...
I landed more freelance work, which should start up in the next week or so. Hooray! The great thing is that the launch is expected to be in May, but even if that gets pushed out, I can work from anywhere, since I'll be working remotely. This also means I can make my own schedule (as long as I get the work done, of course) and can still straddle both locations, as needed. It'd be nice if there's more work to get me through the summer until school starts. Either way, though, I have something to carry me through my current lease. And I don't need to ever put on a suit for it ;-)
Wedding plans are frustrating. With the timing, there's one weekend that works especially well with time of year and my school schedule, etc, but it's proving tough to find a venue on that date. We may have to push things out, but I'm sure it'll all work out exactly as it needs to.
I've been chewing through books lately, but I'm now a little bored with my options. I find myself craving something by a few of my favorite authors who have nothing new out. I'm in the mood for something Laurie Notaro, Liza Palmer, or Jennifer Weiner-ish. I need some strong females. (I think I've been reading too many male authors lately.)
A new theatre season has hit here and there are a ton of new things opening. I'm excited to get out there and see as much as possible. Tonight, I'm seeing Anything Goes (a friend had an extra ticket), but I plan on hitting as many rush lotteries as possible in the days to follow. I'm especially excited about Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and Catch Me if You Can.
I'd like to do some traveling this summer, if possible. The furthest I've gone is upstate (I've been back and forth so many times, I've earned a free ticket). We did go to Atlantic City for a few days earlier in the week, but I'd love to take an actual vacation before school starts (somewhere NOT experiencing a hot, humid summer). We'll see how the money and time are flowing. Hopefully, I'll still have some work coming in, but have some time to get away. One awesome thing about P's job is that he's been there so long that he's got a ton of vacation time allotted.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Woo Hoo!
I got my acceptance letter for school yesterday. Woo hoo! So long, back-up plan! (but it's nice to know it's always there if I need it)
Monday, January 10, 2011
Turn and Face the Strange
Happy new year! I really hope everyone had a good holiday season.
My holidays were pretty spectacularly wonderful. It was certainly the best Christmas ever, for me. Not only was it my first white Christmas, on Christmas Eve, P proposed and I answered with an enthusiastic, "Yes!".
After making a few announcement phone calls (or voicemails where we tried to be as casual as possible, so as not to give it away until they called back, and one call that didn't happen on time, realizing I had the wrong contact info- oops!), we had a lovely quiet dinner to ourselves then spent Christmas day with P's family. Coincidentally, P's sister's bf proposed a day before P did, so it was quite a celebratory Christmas. One of my Christmas presents was a beautiful "Welcome to the family" quilt from P's mother, which of course made me a blubbery mess, but definitely tears of joy. Her work is just stunning. And it's a family of which I'm proud to be a member!
New Years Eve was lovely, too. We both got fondue stuff for Christmas, so had a wonderfully decadent fondue party for two. We started off with a cheddar/beer fondue (it was even low fat, but you wouldn't know by tasting it), with some spicy mustard in which we dipped some grainy sourdough and tart apples; I'd made a roast earlier in the week that yielded some excellent broth, which we used for scallops and very thin cuts of steak, perfect for hot pot cooking; finally, we capped it off with bananas foster fondue (white chocolate-based) with angel food cake, bananas and small chunks of brownies. Of course, dessert was so rich we each got in about 3 bites and saved it for dinner the next night.
In other news, it's also looking like I'll be getting into the school program I want. I won't know for sure until the end of the month or so, but I also have a backup plan, just in case. My admissions contact seemed encouraging, though. My application and supporting material is all in order (including a summary outlining everything I've done since high school- whew!), so now I wait. Yep, the other news I've been sitting on is that I'm going back to school next fall to get my teaching credential. Yikes! With a drastic change in majors, it's going to take longer than I'd originally thought, but it's something I really want, so it's worth the time. Now to get a new job so I can save for both tuition and towards a wedding (albeit a small, simple one).
So, as you can tell, there's been more brewing out here than the measly blizzards.
I didn't really make any specific hard and fast resolutions this year. Mostly, I have ongoing goals-- keeping up better with people who are far away (time differences suck and all this traveling up and down takes its toll, too), continuing on my quest for better health (I did a bit of unexpected damage over the holidays, but there was a LOT of celebrating going on, and I've already lost some of the pounds back in my daily routine), keeping focused on the long term while enjoying the moment... I'm sure there are more, but that's the gist of it.
(Oh! And as a follow-up to my last post, no wonder it hurt like it did! I broke my toe, vs. just a sprain. It's still a bit bothersome, but pretty much back to normal. I've certainly done worse!)
My holidays were pretty spectacularly wonderful. It was certainly the best Christmas ever, for me. Not only was it my first white Christmas, on Christmas Eve, P proposed and I answered with an enthusiastic, "Yes!".
After making a few announcement phone calls (or voicemails where we tried to be as casual as possible, so as not to give it away until they called back, and one call that didn't happen on time, realizing I had the wrong contact info- oops!), we had a lovely quiet dinner to ourselves then spent Christmas day with P's family. Coincidentally, P's sister's bf proposed a day before P did, so it was quite a celebratory Christmas. One of my Christmas presents was a beautiful "Welcome to the family" quilt from P's mother, which of course made me a blubbery mess, but definitely tears of joy. Her work is just stunning. And it's a family of which I'm proud to be a member!
New Years Eve was lovely, too. We both got fondue stuff for Christmas, so had a wonderfully decadent fondue party for two. We started off with a cheddar/beer fondue (it was even low fat, but you wouldn't know by tasting it), with some spicy mustard in which we dipped some grainy sourdough and tart apples; I'd made a roast earlier in the week that yielded some excellent broth, which we used for scallops and very thin cuts of steak, perfect for hot pot cooking; finally, we capped it off with bananas foster fondue (white chocolate-based) with angel food cake, bananas and small chunks of brownies. Of course, dessert was so rich we each got in about 3 bites and saved it for dinner the next night.
In other news, it's also looking like I'll be getting into the school program I want. I won't know for sure until the end of the month or so, but I also have a backup plan, just in case. My admissions contact seemed encouraging, though. My application and supporting material is all in order (including a summary outlining everything I've done since high school- whew!), so now I wait. Yep, the other news I've been sitting on is that I'm going back to school next fall to get my teaching credential. Yikes! With a drastic change in majors, it's going to take longer than I'd originally thought, but it's something I really want, so it's worth the time. Now to get a new job so I can save for both tuition and towards a wedding (albeit a small, simple one).
So, as you can tell, there's been more brewing out here than the measly blizzards.
I didn't really make any specific hard and fast resolutions this year. Mostly, I have ongoing goals-- keeping up better with people who are far away (time differences suck and all this traveling up and down takes its toll, too), continuing on my quest for better health (I did a bit of unexpected damage over the holidays, but there was a LOT of celebrating going on, and I've already lost some of the pounds back in my daily routine), keeping focused on the long term while enjoying the moment... I'm sure there are more, but that's the gist of it.
(Oh! And as a follow-up to my last post, no wonder it hurt like it did! I broke my toe, vs. just a sprain. It's still a bit bothersome, but pretty much back to normal. I've certainly done worse!)
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Clumsiness
It's time for Clumsy Move of the Month (or CMM). No stitches or casts this time. Why is it that the little things are so annoying? I sprained my big toe last night, causing me to swear up a storm and definitely not want to kick things (I was not doing any kicking during this fancy move). As one of my friends put it (on a prior seemingly-impossible move that I couldn't begin to describe accurately), "I SAW you do it and even I don't know how it happened!". So, here's my time to just say "oops" (I did it again). It's more annoying than anything. Luckily, ice is my friend and I generally have several packs on-hand (as does P, thankfully, since I did this at his place). Ah, well, it could definitely be a lot worse.
Thanksgiving was wonderful. P's family did the big dinner on Friday, so Thursday was just the two of us. We made a great, relatively-healthy feast together and enjoyed it leisurely. It was a perfectly-relaxing, great day. Friday was very nice, as well. I really like P's family a lot. I feel very much accepted and at home.
This year I feel extra thankful for my friends and "logical" family (to borrow from Armistead Maupin, referring to the family of choice extending beyond biology), even if we don't communicate one-on-one as often as I'd like. If I call you "friend", know you are loved.
I experienced the first good snow of the season while upstate. It made for a beautiful ride back home, with snow-dusted hillsides and sparkling tips of evergreens in contrast to their core, green hues. I was also able to catch an under-populated bus, which made things even more pleasant, outside of the walrus snoring in the back (or was he the egg man? no, definitely walrus, goo goo g'joob). I can only hope when I finally dozed off a few hours into the trip that I gave him no competition.
Thanksgiving was wonderful. P's family did the big dinner on Friday, so Thursday was just the two of us. We made a great, relatively-healthy feast together and enjoyed it leisurely. It was a perfectly-relaxing, great day. Friday was very nice, as well. I really like P's family a lot. I feel very much accepted and at home.
This year I feel extra thankful for my friends and "logical" family (to borrow from Armistead Maupin, referring to the family of choice extending beyond biology), even if we don't communicate one-on-one as often as I'd like. If I call you "friend", know you are loved.
I experienced the first good snow of the season while upstate. It made for a beautiful ride back home, with snow-dusted hillsides and sparkling tips of evergreens in contrast to their core, green hues. I was also able to catch an under-populated bus, which made things even more pleasant, outside of the walrus snoring in the back (or was he the egg man? no, definitely walrus, goo goo g'joob). I can only hope when I finally dozed off a few hours into the trip that I gave him no competition.
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Life
Happy almost Thanksgiving. How did it get to be mid-November? When did time start zooming by at light speed?
I've still been doing a very small amount of consulting, but looking for something permanent, job-wise. There's also still that other iron in the fire I can't talk about yet. Soon, but it'll be a couple of months there (and isn't really related to the current job search).
I'm still greatly enjoying living in the first-person plural. I'm entirely smitten. We are planning on living together when our leases are up. It's a huge step, but a welcome one. I realized the other day that any nervousness is far more an excited kind of nervous than that of concern. And to be candidly sappy, there hasn't been a day since I met him that he hasn't made me smile. It's a wonderful thing to realize. I can barely stand myself ;-)
That's about it with me. My health is improving, my sugar is very much under control and my latest round of hip injections has me soaring through with a bit less pain. My weight has hit a brief plateau, just shy of 60 lbs lost, but it's starting to budge a bit again in the downward direction. I try and be patient, but at least I haven't gained anything back. Knowing that I was able to actually lose weight over the holidays last year has me optimistic. There are a couple of big holiday dinners to maneuver through, but it's doable. I know with P's family there are always salads and vegetables, which helps. Things are so much easier when the entire dinner isn't sopped with gravy and butter. I'm baking the rolls, so I know they'll be grainy, too.
I hope everyone reading this is having a great November. Happy Thanksgiving, all!
I've still been doing a very small amount of consulting, but looking for something permanent, job-wise. There's also still that other iron in the fire I can't talk about yet. Soon, but it'll be a couple of months there (and isn't really related to the current job search).
I'm still greatly enjoying living in the first-person plural. I'm entirely smitten. We are planning on living together when our leases are up. It's a huge step, but a welcome one. I realized the other day that any nervousness is far more an excited kind of nervous than that of concern. And to be candidly sappy, there hasn't been a day since I met him that he hasn't made me smile. It's a wonderful thing to realize. I can barely stand myself ;-)
That's about it with me. My health is improving, my sugar is very much under control and my latest round of hip injections has me soaring through with a bit less pain. My weight has hit a brief plateau, just shy of 60 lbs lost, but it's starting to budge a bit again in the downward direction. I try and be patient, but at least I haven't gained anything back. Knowing that I was able to actually lose weight over the holidays last year has me optimistic. There are a couple of big holiday dinners to maneuver through, but it's doable. I know with P's family there are always salads and vegetables, which helps. Things are so much easier when the entire dinner isn't sopped with gravy and butter. I'm baking the rolls, so I know they'll be grainy, too.
I hope everyone reading this is having a great November. Happy Thanksgiving, all!
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