The Weekend: Choirs, Cookies and Cards

Posted on December 7, 2009 by Nora

There are some weekends that are ending just as soon as they started.

They involve fabulous nights at the Cathedral Basilica while your ears are amused by a children’s choir, an adult choir, handbells (which sound much better than they did last year), a mini-orchestra peppered with a few trumpets and of course, my favorite percussion instrument ever: the Timpani. There’s a pat on the back for yourself as you tread into a territory (this particular concert, perhaps) that you went only as a duo and never as an uno. Slowly but surely you don’t feel quite so lost at sea.

These weekends involve assisting your 85 year-old Gram out of the church and laughing about the old man who offered her gum when she asked him if he had enough room.

Occasionally these weekends involve staying up until 1 am watching Chri-Cheesy(see origin of the word here) movies like The Perfect Holiday and maybe a few episodes of The Nanny because while it’s totally obnoxious it makes you laugh and sometimes you really need to laugh. It may also involve a late night gchat with this lovely lady and excessive amounts of squeeing over Vegas 2010.

The days are consumed with baking an insane amount of cookies like Oatmeal Peppermint cookies, traditional chocolate chip cookies, Peppermint fudge, Holiday Rice Krispie treats and Chocolate Covered Pretzels with one of your best friends.

Evenings are spent as the Event Planner for your parents’ holiday party, last minute-cleaning and decorating, food prep and making sure the parents are ready for their Couples Holiday Party. Blue Moons are consumed at a local restaurant with a friend, someone you used to (gasp!) baby-sit but now have enough in common to enjoy a few drinks and appetizers while discussing how complicated dating and relationships can be and pondering the idea of marriage being a generational concept and how we fear our generation of men may not be up to the task.

The Lazy Sunday is spent finishing up Christmas cards, purchasing the “slouchy boots,” that you’ve wanted for ages, a yummy breakfast prepared by your dad, walks in the c-o-l-d with the dog, Christmas decorating and holiday merriment, talking to your brother and getting so excited for him to come during the holiday season. Part of the day is spent ignoring the nagging, empty feeling left in your heart but you take a deep breath and move forward, at least for the moment. The snow will begin to fall from the sky and for just a moment you’ll feel like little kid, hoping for a snow day, or at least a lovely blanket of white until the adult steps in and reminds you that the commute will be awful in a winter wonderland. Sleep is fought until the very last second because when day breaks it’s Monday and you’ll have to start the work week all over again. This silver lining, however, is that there are only 13 business days until an entire week of vacation.

November Recap

Posted on December 4, 2009 by Nora

Current Book(s):
Work in Progress: Up In the Air , Walter Kirn;
Finished: The Lovely Bones, Alice Sebold; Second Chance, Jane Green; Vampirates, and a handful of magazines

Current Music:
Christmas music; I prefer the crooner days: Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, throw in a bit of Harry Connic Jr, Michael Buble and I’m a happy girl

Current Shame-Inducing Guilty Pleasure:
Trader Joe’s dark chocolate after dinner mints.

Current Colors:
Black & White

Current Obsessions:
Working on my running speed
Reading during lunch hour
Reconnecting with old friends

Current Drink:
For fun: Blue Moon
Everyday: Water, Ginger Ale
To relax: Peppermint Tea

Current Songs:
“This Christmas,” no matter the artist though I really like the Chris Brown version

Current Movie:
The Holiday
You’ve Got Mail
Love Actually (my personal holiday trifecta favs)

Current TV Show:
The Nanny. Yes, I’m a dork but for whatever reason I like the show.

Current Wish-List:
A snow day.
For my sleep to be more restful.
A huge blogger meet-up.
That I could hug everyone I wanted to when I actually want to hug them rather than having to send virtual ones.

Current Needs:
A tan. Ok, well not really but I do feel quite pale.
More energy after work.

Current Triumph(s):
Never giving up.
Believing in myself.

Current Bane(s) of my Existence:
The fact that I feel the need to be asleep before 11pm. I miss my night owl-ness.

Current Goal(s):
One more pound to my first weight loss goal
Find a 5k to run in December and not freeze my a** off.

Current Indulgence:
Extra long hot showers in the morning after I hit the snooze button about four times.

Current Blessing:
Jack. Love that he’s happy to see me all the time. And all of you who read this blog.

Current Slang or Saying:
Chri-Cheesy. Darling and I made up that word. It means “Christmas cheesy.”

Current (Fav) Outfit:
My black & white small checked work pants, patent leather Red Chinese Laundry shoes, black cardigan and a scarf.

Current Excitement:
I have the last week in December OFF from work.
Christmas because I love giving my family presents.
Planning a bunch of trips in 2010 on the list so far for weekend trips: Nashville, Chicago, New Jersey. On the list for at least three days: San Fran, Florida for a friend’s shower, Seattle for work, Washington DC for work. I have three weeks vacation in 2010 so I figure I might as well use ‘em up!

Current Mood:
Extremely hopeful

Have a lovely weekend!

Then & Now: 21 vs 26

Posted on December 3, 2009 by Nora

(This post inspired by recent blogs from a few of my favorite people and the fact that I’ve slowly noticed some changes in myself and body. All things that I have no problem with, really. It’s kind of fun to see myself “grow up.”)

Then: I could wear four inch high heels until the wee hours of the night, even when dancing.
Now: I can get through the day wearing two inch heels… if I can kick them off under my desk here and there.

Then: Pulling an all-nighter to study or to party was a cinch. No energy drink needed. No bags under the eyes.
Now: Um, seriously? I need my beauty rest. Not to mention I will need an energy drink if I get less than three hours sleep and I will have (perceived) bags under my eyes.

Then: My idea of a casual night out was dinner and drinks followed up with a few shots at the local bar.
Now: Dinner. Maybe a movie. No shots. Probably not even a drink with dinner.

Then: Weekends were for sleeping in and taking endless amounts of pictures.
Now: Weekends should be for sleeping in but are instead reserved for laundry, errands, family time, organizing that can’t get done during the week and very low-key casual nights (see above).

Then: Going out until 1am during a 40-hour work week was no big deal.
Now: I’m usually in bed by 10, midnight if I’m engrossed in a book, movie, phone call or gchats.

Then: Hitting on a complete stranger was no. big. deal.
Now: My palms sweat. I’m afraid the hot stranger will want to shake my hand. And sweaty palms isn’t attractive. So he’d obviously not want to talk to me. And so I just don’t do it.

Then: I dyed my hair just for fun with such colors as cherry brown, blue/black, purpleish dark brown.
Now: Dying my hair is solely for the purpose of coloring my gray hair. It’s also the “natural,” color of my hair.

Then: I had no interest in running a 5k.
Now: I can and do run 5ks. I managed to run the “Gobble Wobble,” in 31 minutes which considering I wasn’t allowed to run for two weeks isn’t too shabby (doctor’s orders what with the bronchitis and all).

Then: I could drink four Blue Moons and not feel the slightest big hungover the next day.
Now: I pass out after four Blue Moons and wake up to find my stuff is all over the place (usually in a trail leading up to my bed), cell phone no where to be found and massive headache.

Any changes (good, bad or otherwise) you’ve noticed in the last five years?

Nora Confessions, Part IV

Posted on December 1, 2009 by Nora

You can view the first three installments of these posts here and here and here.

1. I have never, ever purchased a song through iTunes. I also do not have an iPod. (Fear not, I have an MP3 player, just not an Apple one.)

2. The first time I went on an upside down rollercoaster I was 23. My eyes were closed the whole time.

3. We had “Sadie Hawkins,” type dance at my high school, called King of Hearts which I didn’t attend my freshman year because the boy I asked turned me down. He wasn’t ready to “date,” yet. I was too gunshy to ask a boy my sophomore year.

4. I love movies like Center Stage and Step Up; so much so that I will rent the sequels when they come out though they aren’t nearly as good.

5. I had my first beer when I was 18. Coincidentally that was the first time I ever got “drunk.”

6. Any time I hear Usher’s “Yeah,” I crank the stereo up as high as it can go and sing as loud as possible. Even five years later I still love this song.

7. I’m looking for a new volunteer organization largely because shoveling poop for 5 or 6 hours straight isn’t as rewarding as one would hope.

8. I love the way acrylic nails look on other people. When I get them I love them for about a week forget to “Fill,” them and get annoyed with how they look which results in my popping them off one by one.

9. I am really bad about eating leftovers.

10. When I was in 5th grade I very much wanted to be a model so my fabulous parents indulged me and signed me up for a modeling class. I think my mom still has photos of my days as a mannequin and ridiculous walks down the runway. I didn’t give up that dream until middle school when I started getting hips.

11. I didn’t like tea at all until I was a senior in college. Even know iced tea disgusts me.