Believe it or Not

Posted on November 22, 2010 by Nora

Don’t miss the first two installations of this mini-series here: Spark and Starry Eyed.

Everyone’s teeth started chattering and their bones were soaked in cold, despite the warm down comforters they had piled on top of themselves.

He grabbed her hand as helped her climb off the roof. She reminded herself that he lived six hours away from her current residence. That no matter what happened it would be very unlikely that she’d ever see him again. “That’s that,” she thought to herself.” If anything happens, it will be just for fun. Nothing can come of it.”

********************

“Are you sure you want to sit on that couch all by yourself?” he asked, a smile playing on his lips, as he subtly pleaded with her to join him.

She joind him, albeit a bit reluctantly. Although there was no point in denying that she was drawn to him, she just didn’t see how it could possibly work out. She quietly chastised herself for being such a forward thinker and decided to enjoy the present.

He engulfed her in his strong arms while they watched some sort of ESPN late night highlights though truth be told she wasn’t paying attention. She wondered if he’d kiss her. Not more than 10 seconds later she turned to look up at him and there he was, kissing her. Soft, gentle, quick but it was enough. She drew him back down for another kiss. And then another…

“What are we going to do?” he said, his voice suddenly serious, pulling away from her.

“Ummm, about what?” Her voice squeaked. She wasn’t sure what he was asking or where this conversation was going. She wanted to be touching him, kissing him, not talking. They had limited time after all.

“I have to see you again.” He looked her straight in the eyes when he said this. Chills ran up and down her back. He was serious. He did want to see her again. A man she had met not even 12 hours prior and he wanted to see her! Again! Her mind began to race: six hours between the two of them. They both work full-time, have various life obligations. How in the world would they be able to see each other again? As if reading her mind, “It’s not that far. We could make it work if we want to.”

********************

The next morning at the farm she woke with a heavy sense of dread. They would say goodbye today, each go their own separate ways down the highway. She glanced over to the other side of the room where he lay sleeping. (He claimed he didn’t want to miss a minute of being near her, so he brought his air mattress into the room she was sleeping in.) So handsome. She knew it would be a tough morning.

******************

She somehow convinced him to join her for lunch before they departed. They wandered around her old college town for a few minutes after lunch, joined practically at the waist, both of them soaking up what little time they had left before real life called to them. He kissed her by her car. They talked briefly about seeing each other again. She led him to the highway. They got separated by traffic. She surpressed her sadness and instead called a few close friends to let them know she’d met an amazing man, recounting as many details as she possible could.

******************

Her phone rang.

It was him.

“ Hey. I’m coming to see you in two weeks. Let’s go to that wedding you need a date for. And also? I’ll be calling you every night until I get to see you again. I can’t get enough of you,” he said.

And so began a new journey with a new man.

Grace in Small Things: Week Eleven

Posted on November 19, 2010 by Nora

* Knowing all week that I’m on vacation all next week. (It’s been a tough work week but I’ve almost made it through.)

* Making plans with Erin to see her babies this Sunday!

* Finishing one good book (Never Let Me Go) and starting another (Fly Away Home).

* Late night conversations that have me giddy with laughter. (I’ve been ignoring the fact that I’m sleep deprived and have bags under my eyes.)

* Being able to provide solace to my friends from afar.

* Awesome Groupons. (American Apparel and Nordstrom Rack? Yes please.)

* Mentally planning my Christmas shopping list for friends and family.

* Sticking to my new budget for a whole week. (That’s serious progress, people!)

* Homemade chocolate chip cookies two nights in a row.

Where did you find grace this past week?

Big Flower

Posted on November 18, 2010 by Nora

No, that’s not my new Native American name.

But it could have been last Friday.

You see, I was meeting someone special immediately after work. And about halfway through the day? Remembered that in my rush to look cute and put together, I totally forgot to put on deodorant. I didn’t smell but as soon as I realized I didn’t have any on I started to panic. What if I went to hug this someone special I smelled less than pristine? That would just not be ok.

I ran to the ladies room where I found some sort of Bath & Body Works spray. I spritzed it in the air, you know, to get a whiff of what it smelled like. It didn’t smell like a 90 year old woman or a really strong botanical garden so I figured I’d go for it and proceeded to spritz it just on the inside of my wrist when rather than a spritz a gush of the perfume spray came shooting out onto my hand, onto my blouse and my pants.

I immediately messaged Lisa and told her that I smelled like a huge flower and OMG how embarrassing and how could I possibly show up to see this someone special smelling like a huge Bath & Body Works Flower/Walking Ad? This is where best friends are helpful as she quickly asked if I had any optional clothes in my car to change into. Bless her heart, she was right. I was too wrapped up in my freakout to remember that of course I had extra clothes in my car.

Crisis averted.
I didn’t smell like a huge flower when I finally got to see the someone special.
Nor did I smell gross because I also realized that I had deodorant in my car the entire time. (Yes, seriously. I laughed at myself when I remember that.)
Thank goodness because I couldn’t resist giving that someone special a huge hug.

On my to do list now? Buy mini deodorant for desk drawer at work, as well as find a few trial size perfumes I like to keep in the purse, just in case.

Any funny similar experiences to share?

Ten on Tuesday: Holiday Edition

Posted on November 16, 2010 by Nora

1. What is your favorite breakfast pastry?
I love the souffles that they have at Panera. They are just so delicious (and addictive). I also love, but they are harder to find, the Pillsbury Caramel Rolls. OMG. So amazing. When I do find them I buy a few tubes of them as they are super rare.

2. Were you ever in a Thanksgiving or Christmas play?
Oh, this is mortifying. Yes, I was. I was the gaggle of geese in the Christmas play when I was in 3rd or 4th grade. I had to go in a circle with the other geese and say “honk! honk! gaggle of geese!”. I think it was a spoof on the 12 days of Christmas or something like that?

3. What is your favorite clothing accessory?
Scarves, especially this time of year.

4. What is your favorite item of clothing?
My skinny jeans from Ann Taylor Loft. (No, they didn’t pay me to mention their name, but if they want to give me free clothes and do a review that would be more than ok with me!)

5. What is your favorite color and why?
Blue of any kind. It soothes me. It goes with most anything. And I just plain like it.

6. What is your favorite type of Christmas cookie?
The Peppermint Oatmeal cookies I made last year. They are so amazing. Cookie bar= oatmeal carmelitas. And holiday in general? Peppermint Fudge.

7. What is your favorite scent (food, perfume/lotion)?
Food= baking bread, fresh baked chocolate chip cookies
Perfume= I love my Light Blue by Dolce & Gabbana but I’ve been wearing it for almost two years so it’s time to pick out a new one!

8. What is your favorite household cleaner?
Oooh, well anything by Trader Joe’s makes me happy, or anything from Whole Foods. I like the “all natural” aspect plus the ones from Whole Foods are made locally and I like to buy local when I can.

9. When you were a kid what did you want to be when you grew up? And what did you actually grow up to be?
Wanted to be a ballerina, the press secretary for the President of the United States, a lawyer, a leader for a non-profit group and a model. I don’t think I’m grown up yet but right now I wear about 12 different hats at my company and am in a directorial position.

10. What is the last song or album you bought?
The last album I bought was John Legend’s latest, but I download a bunch of stuff (legally through the Zune Marketplace) and the last thing I downloaded was Ray LaMontagn’es “Till The Sun Turns Black.”

15. Currently I am…

Posted on November 15, 2010 by Nora

I am…

…. the kind of person who can’t sleep in past 8am on a Saturday. I find this incredibly disturbing for many reasons, but I suppose I’m finally an adult.

…. someone who watches both College Game Day and Sunday Football. I shout at the tv, cheer on my favorite players and laugh with Corso. I don’t recognize myself as I used to despise football but it’s really kind of fun.

…. a girl who actually cares about her fantasy football team, stats, and the players. It’s really turning into an addiction.

…. a huge fan of homemade cupcakes. I think I need to make the chocolate cupcakes + homemade icing again soon.

…. incapable of handling more than one or two social events per week. Just call me old?

…. a believer in love again. All you need is love.

…. really bad at returning phone calls and sending out snail mail. It’s really not intentional. I blame the weather, the leaves on the lawn, the dog that needs to be walked, the book that begs to be read.

…. less worried about the future and the things I cannot control. It’s kind of an amazing feeling to just let it all go.

…. much more go with the flow. This is taking time, but I’m learning slowly but surely that I can’t control every single thing in my life.

…. incredibly full of school spirit for my college football team. (Go Tigers!) There are days where all I want to do is move back to my college town, be a professor and just enjoy the energy that comes from my college town. So amazing.

…. in love with Ray LaMontagne and have him on repeat all of the time. His voice is so soothing and the lyrics to his songs are so incredibly romantic.

…. smiling, laughing and hoping every single day. It feels good to be happy.

…. incredibly excited for the upcoming holidays and all they will hold for me! I’m ready for fires and hot chocolate, decorations and presents, holiday music and parties.

Care to share any of your “I ams” today!?

14. Quotespiration v2

Posted on November 14, 2010 by Nora

Ok, so not so much a quote as a thought but I still like it.

{via}

8. The Way we Love

Posted on November 8, 2010 by Nora

I tend to wear my heart on my sleeve, fall hard and fall fast and throw myself into the all-consuming love that takes over my heart. In other words I’m the epitome of a hopeless romantic, doing anything and everything I can for my significant other. I’ve learned the error of my ways over the course of my relationships, working to tweak and perfect my ability and love-style.

Last week during a mini-trip to Barnes & Noble with Darling, she asked me if I thought I could ever love the way I loved in my last relationship.

Good question, right?

{image via WeHeartIt}

The short answer is no. I don’t think that the love we have and the way in which we love will remain the same from one relationship to the next. That would make for a rather dull existence and uninteresting stories.

The long answer, while still no, is a much better answer. I believed I learned a lot in my last relationship: what not to repeat, what to improve upon, how to improve my capacity for love to allow someone in and yet I’ve learned how to protect myself, how not to lose sight of myself and who I am and want to be. I believe that each love in our lives is unique, each bears a different kind of love, a different kind of purpose. I believe that each time we fall in love, we love better, harder, smarter. Just like no to snowflakes are alike, no two loves can be alike. Everyone is different and in my opinion (and experience) each love is better than the last. Despite the heartbreaks I’ve endured I am always looking forward to the next time I fall in love: excited for what it holds, what it will teach me, the possibilities that lay before me.

What do you think? How does our capacity to love change over time and after heartbreaks? Do you believe we get better at love?