We Found a Dress (and no one died)

Little Sis, Big Sis and the one they call The Blessid Mother embarked on a journey Saturday, Jan. 17, to find a wedding dress for Little Sis. In three or so short and (relatively) painless hours the search was over, *the* dress was purchased, and no one died.

When all is said and done, my mom, my sister and I love and respect each other, but our similarities often make it hard for us to peacefully co-exist for extended periods of time and in confined spaces.

We are all very independent, strong-willed and sometimes stubborn creatures. While we can be cool-headed in other circumstances, for some reason, in one another’s company emotions can escalate and circumstances deteriorate at a break-neck speed.

We were all keenly aware of these facts when we piled into Mom’s Sonata and headed to David’s Bridal.

Amazingly, we (“we” being Little Sis) found a dress in less than three hours with only a few bumpy patches. All possibilities were considered, including walking barefoot down the aisle and hemming to the hilt.

In the end, Little Sis will do neither – but she did find a winning dress.

Progress is Slow & Painful

I've accomplished a lot of things this weekend - nothing all that important or interesting, but necessary.

I did some organizing and some pre-emptive "spring cleaning." The winter is a good time to sift through the crap and figure out what I really need and what needs to go. Lightening my personal load is important because if I decide in a moment's notice that I want to get the heck outta here, I don't want to be burdened with a lot of crap I don't need.

The only way you know what you need is by going through and assessing the value of each item. I am working through the spare bedroom and trying to pare down my collection of newsclippings, which is probably my biggest burden.

Although I haven't made a formal list of new year's resolutions, I have at the forefront of my brain a list of goals and every day I am taking steps closer to accomplishing them. Key words sum them up - cooking, health, fitness, music, persistence, patience.

Today I played a chord on the guitar and I was very excited. It was the "G" chord and it actually sounded right. Awesome. I am kind of disgusted by how long it took me to get to the point where I could play it and for a short time was convinced my fingers must just be too fat, or finger nails too long. Now I have no nails and I played one chord. I am thinking about taking lessons to speed the process a bit. But I guess I am not really in a HURRY. Besides, I need to save my money for "college."

If everything pans out right, next fall I am going to start taking some Digital Media classes at Northeast Wisconsin Technical College. I have a meeting in Green Bay this week with an advisor to talk about their flexible adult programs and payment options. The reality is the journalism industry is a scary place to be and a girl has got to have a backup plan. In another two months my company is doing more layoffs and while I think they are only interested in frying the big fish - you just never know.

Besides that, I really am not crazy about living here. I mean, my house is nice enough, and certainly cheap enough, but I am convinced this area is no place to live if you are a single person. I hate knowing everything has gone to bed by 9 p.m. and the nearest "big" city is a 45 minute drive. Big cities are nice (and this "big city" is small by other people's standards) because there is more stuff to do and more people to meet (under the age of 40).

THis is a nice place to visit, but not a nice place to live if you are me.

Things to look forward too: My sister is coming home from Mexico next weekend for a visit and we are going to paint the town. That will be nice. It's been a long time since I've gone out and danced the night away. Then Sunday we are looking for *the* dress. Her wedding dress, that is. And potentially my bridesmaid's dress. That should be fun.... Ok... probably not. I will try to think positive about this... but the whole thing kind of makes me feel ill.... I am not sure why. I mean, I am happy for her but...still makes me ill....maybe because I have to wear lavendar? Maybe because I have to fly on a plane for her nuptuals? Maybe because she might never move back to the states? Maybe because it makes me revisit my doomed engagement 3 or so years ago? There are lots of reasons why this could potentially make me feel ill and want to drown myself in delicious margaritas and/or apple puckers and journey to the happy land of inhibition. Unfortunately the land of tremendous heartburn often follows quickly behind.

I have decided to get a tattoo. It is just a matter of where and when. I know that this will really make my mom happy. Whenever I have mentioned the "t" word in the past, she has given me a look like I suggested we go drown some puppies: profound horror. It will be a tasteful little piece and I have asked an old friend of mine to draw it for me. He is a pretty good artist and he would take the task seriously. I don't know when this will happen. It will be a great surprise to everyone. Mwah ha ha. Trish, you better support me in this - you have two of them and I don't think you regret them.

So I "cooked" today. I made this tasty strawberry, walnut salad with poppyseed dressing, lettuce and spinach leaves. Yummy yummy. How do you like me now? I am going to try to do more "cooking" this year, as it could potentially be cheaper and healthier than eating other crap... Keep in mind, if I cook one meal once a month, I will be doing more than I have ever done before in my life. That reminds me, I have some eggs I need to hard boil for lunch tomorrow. Go me.

I am also going to try to do a better job of being organized and keeping my house clean - because that is what you are supposed to do. But at the end of the day, living life is still more important to me than shiny countertops and I vow to abandon cleaning when life strikes!

Life is too short

Life is OK. It could definitely be worse; I have a job, a steady paycheck, bills I can pay (for the most part), my health (for the most part) and great family and friends.

So is it bad to want *more* or dream about *bigger and better* things when I am lucky to just be where I am?

I am not sure.

On one hand, I feel like I should keep my eyes to the ground and my fingers crossed, ever pressing on in the direction I am headed ... On the other hand, I want to dream and strive for something better and take steps to reach another goal.

It's a tricky business...

Day 2

It's Day 2 of the New Year and things are still going well! I am a little bit sleepy at the moment, but aside from that 2009 is treating me kindly. I am thankful for all of the special people in my life and that my UTI appears to be going away. I hate UTIs. This weekend I plan to do some SERIOUS reorganizing of my house... and some cleaning too. I wish it wasn't so cold in the upper level of my house. Then I might actually spend time up there besides sleeping. Even that isn't too pleasant: I dive beneath the chilly covers and rub my limbs together to generate heat. If that doesn't work, I roll into a ball.

I resolve... to read

One of my New Year's resolutions this year is to read more. I am happy to say that I have no shortage of material. Trish provided me with three books and I have two at home that I am also planning to read and maybe engage in a blog dialoge with Trish about some of them. They are...

"Women Who Think Too Much: How to Break Free of Overthinking and Reclaim Your Life" by Susan Nolen-Hoeksema

"The Four Agreements" by Don Miguel Ruiz

"You're Broke Because You Want to Be: How to Stop Getting By and Start Getting Ahead" by Larry Winget

"Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim: Essays" by David Sedaris

"A New Earth" by Eckhart Tolle

Let the reading begin!

Happy New Year!

Somewhere in Northern Wisconsin, a group of people have gathered to celebrate the New Year in a special way: by plunging into the icy waters of Lake Michigan. They call themselves "polar bears;" I call them insane!

I celebrated the New Year, too.

I went shopping.

I have the distinction of being the first sale of 2009 at New York & Co. in Southridge Mall. The shopping experience was unlike any other I have ever had - simply put - bliss.

There were no crowds, the sales associates were friendly without being overbearing and almost everything was on sale. (It was the "big BIG sale.")

Adding to my pleasure was the fact that the size I previously wore was now too big! I had to buy a smaller size.

Bliss.

I left the store with three pairs of pants, four underwear, and a sweater - all for the low low price of $72. $72 that was paid for with $75 worth of gift cards.

I hate to be redundant, but...

Bliss.

So I started the New Year blissfully happy and it is my resolution to remain so for as long as humanly possible.