Thursday, December 31, 2009

One of the best parts of my day is coming home to this:

(Picture credit to J.)

No more words now (I think I might be forgiven, seeing how it's currently 2:40 a.m. -- grrr. Don't ask.)-- but look for a couple of fabulous Amy-style lists soon :)

I'm missed you, friends, and I hope your holidays were wonderful.

It's good to be back <3

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

They say picture's worth a thousand words....


...and I think this one may be worth at least 2,000...

Alternate Titles:

"Gracie goes to the dentist"

"This makes me laugh but I do NOT think it's funny..."

"You know you're a cat owner when you see this and dissolve in giggles.... and have to take a picture of it before you get (and HIDE) a new toothbrush..."

"I didn't think I'd have to worry about my little girl 'sharing my toothbrush' with me for a few more years...." (honestly.... I didn't think I'd have to worry about it then :)

and finally:
"At least she didn't get into the dental floss.... (yike.)"


More later, I promise! Happy Wednesday, Bloggies!

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Breaking news:

Holy Moly.

If you haven't tried typing "Twilight" in for Pandora, do it.

This is absolutely fabulous "moody-writing music".

love, Love, LOVE.

All right, all right....

First of all, I feel the need to apologize to y'all because I didn't manage to get the "List Day" post up on time (again) this week. Unfortunately, this week I actually had a good reason: On Tuesday night J and I received news that dear friends of ours had just experienced a heart-breaking loss -- therefore, yesterday was spent praying and grieving for them and with them.... and, quite frankly, the last thing on my mind was writing out a good list. So, I hope you'll forgive me for that :) (..and prayers for this wondeful couple are greatly appreciated!)

Anyway, though... I'm hanging in over here, and I am pleased to give you a (somewhat more reflective and heartfelt-- as opposed to the "Thank God for coffee" usual) Good List today:

Good List (Week of 12/6)

1. J. This week was the first time I have ever had to deal with something of this magnitude with him, and he is proving himself to be a perfect partner in this-- truly my rock.
2. Family. I am so blessed to live close to my family. Sometimes it's just comforting to know that a Mom-hug is no more than 20 minutes away.
3. Life is precious. I feel like I complain all together too much about the little things-- my prayer is to shift my heart to focus on what really matters.
4. "Sometimes it doesn't matter what you say-- the important thing is that you said something."
5. Saying "I love you" and taking chances are things that should not be put off.
6. My bed is the perfect height to lean into when I'm praying on my knees.
7. Cats are amazing - they can sense when something is "off". Gracie and Baron were especially snuggly on Tuesday night.
8. I realize that it is time for me to box up all the "what-ifs" in my heart and put them away. There is no room for them anymore. This is a good thing.
9. Every once in a while, something happens to shake me and remind me once again of just how small I am, and just how big my God is. This is also a good thing.
10. "Thy will be done."

List Number 2:

Things I need more of in my life:
  • walking. Like, A LOT more often. I like to run-- but long walks are where I really get the chance to talk to myself (heh.. does that sound bad--- perhaps I meant "listen to myself/my heart")-- and they are prime time to day dream... which lead me to:
  • daydreaming. In an ideal world, I would allow myself at least an hour a day to get lost in my thought :)
  • writing. I really, really desire to write more.
  • to split a bottle of wine and really talk with J. during dinner. (This is amazing-- and we've gotten to do this a good amount recently. I am slightly ashamed to say that there have been some weeks where we eat our dinner in front of Big Bang... which, while funny, does not inspire intimacy:)
  • cleaning the house. Hah. Now before you start thinking that we are living in filth and I never clean the house (and therefore forsake me and the blog forever...) -- it's not like I don't do this. Our house is very tidy-- I just don't "deep clean" as much as I could (should?)-- the crazy part is, this doesn't just make the list bc I have standards to uphold and people to invite over-- I actually love cleaning the house (I HATE doing dishes.... but that's another story.) I just feel so accomplished when it's done :) (Obviously, Laurie didn't give me the nickname "Spaz" for nothing :)
  • baking. For pretty much the same reasons as above-- I feel fulfilled and accomplished when I do it (a resounding "Hallelujah!" for christmas cookie season!!). This may sound a little lame, but the perfect Saturday (to me) would consist of grocery shopping, cleaning, napping and baking. I am confident that J. would support this point whole-heartedly!
  • send cards to people I love, just because I'm thinking about them.

And, just for fun, a final list. This list is comprised of 7 (some "semi-secret" meaning I have not told many people yet-- and definitely not blogged about them!)) things I would like to work on during the next year. What makes this fun is that I have scrambled the sentences-- so you'll have to do a little work to uncover these desires of my heart :) Enjoy!

  • omarntah a urn
  • a ertwi rtyos
  • 5k nru 25 ntmuie a
  • 8 ntmuie nru na imel
  • a ytusd leda lebbi
  • amet sles tea
  • ot ynemo gnmaea areln ym

All right, that's it for now-- Have a happy Thursday, bloggies!!

It's almost the weekend :)

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Gracie: 1, Christmas Tree: 0

Gracie snuggled up on the christmas tree skirt. ... It's makes me think of Mariah Carey's "All I want for Christmas (is You)". Gracie was definitely my early (and I am not shy to say BEST) christmas present this year:)


So like I alluded to in the last post, this has been a week for christmas decorating in "Amy-ville".
Always curious, Gracie decided she was going to help Mama out with the tree last night. She sniffed around for a little while (and, in true catly fashion, was completely enamored with the box the tree came in!)... and soon, I was eye-to-eye with this dear little face.










Aww.

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

It's official:

...I am moving List Day to Wednesday.



Haha, sigh. Ah well, blogger's prerogative, right? This does not mean that I will not post on Tuesdays (and in fact, since "pressure is off" now, I probably will-- my goal is to blog more. PERIOD.)-- it's just that now, if you are solely interested in the Amy-fabulous Lists (... and, selfishly, I hope that my charming and witty entries are always interesting to you... *bats eyelashes*) you only need to show up on Wednesdays.



Whew. All right, now that I've taken care of business.... on to the good stuff!



Good List (for Inaugural List Day Wednesday)


  • J. I love my husband (not first and foremost... but it's up there) for his sense of humor. J can always be counted on for an off-the-cuff remark (most of which HE thinks are funnier than <they actually are> I do-- love you, babe!)-- but every once in a while he says something that totally catches me off guard, and I laugh so hard that tears come to my eyes. ...And when I say "every once in a while", I mean at least twice a week. ...I am a lucky girl :)

  • COFFEEeeeee (I am convinced that without coffee I might not make it through this week...)
  • Christmas Decorations! We put our tree up tonight (Gracie post+pictures to follow soon-- so funny!), and I had forgotten how wonderful it is just to sit and be quiet in the lit of the tree. It's a beautiful blessing that seems new each year.
  • Lists. (Ooops, is it totally lame to lists "lists" on my "good list"? Bwahaha.... I'm done, I promise....) In all seriousness, lists help me to keep my focus, and give me things to look forward to-- as I typically list the "fun tasks" near the bottom, and the "not so fun but completely necessary tasks" near the top... and then work my way down. I am convinced that without lists, people like me would wander around aimlessly... Long live the list!
  • I get to find out if I'm having a niece or nephew tomorrow!! (J's sister is expecting her first child in April-- can you tell how excited I am to be an aunt? :)
  • Yankee Candle: "Home for the Holidays" ... Love, LoVE, LOVE.
  • Hallmark (I need to go ahead and buy some stock all ready... seriously.)
  • Today I went to the bookstore today and wandered around in blissful content for a full hour. (Erk.. well, not quite a full hour... I had to buy cat litter... which is not anywhere near as wonderful... although absolutely imperative. trust me.) Even though I walked out empty handed, something about being around all those books just fills my soul.
  • Gracie has been especially snuggly lately... and I can't get enough of it. True happiness (for me) comes from a lot of things (great book + soft blanket; sitting down to write with a glass of wine; a bath with candles; snuggling under the covers on rainy Sunday afternoons...) -- but near the top of that list is having a small, purring kitten in your lap, so soft and warm :)
  • I am living in a season of anticipation. And, though this frustrates me sometimes, I know I am blessed with the promise that I will emerge from this time with purpose and a mission... and that is worth being patient for.


List #2 . I know this next list is a bit of a cop-out (since EVERYONE is doing it)-- but it's terribly fun... and I am not one to miss out on an opportunity like this... soo:


Amy's Christmas List (pay attention, J!)


1. A new computer. Hoo Boy do I need one.... A mac book please, Santa!

2. A (omg, I can't remember what these things are called for the life of me!) "cabinet" for our dining room to store china, wine glasses, etc. in -- I loved this one from Pottery Barn.... but sadly, it is no longer available....

3. One of those big snuggly "no-sew" fleece blankets

4. The Twilight Soundtrack

5. A Spi-belt :)

Hmm... Actually, that list was a little harder to compile than I think it should have been :) It's not that I don't want anything for Christmas (unfortunately, I'm not that self-less ;)-- it's just that (and I don't know why I never remember this!) every year when it gets to December I have an extremely hard time naming what I want. I think it probably comes off the "Ooh, it's almost Christmas, so I shouldn't even think about buying anything for myself" mentality... but it's kind of inconvenient ... Perhaps the key is to make my list early so that I can beat this "mini-mental shut down" :) ....Next year, look for my Christmas list in October (*cough-J-cough*)

Let's see... I guess if I had though about it earlier, I would have told you about Thanksgiving before I got into Christmas :) This is definitely a problem with posting only 1x a week-- I have way to much to talk about! J an I had a wonderful 1st Thanksgiving together :) I woke early to do a 4mi race with my family (J. and the kitties stayed warm in bed and enjoyed the day off!) The 4 miler was awesome-- I think everyone had a great time, and I have high hopes that this will become a family tradition (... I'll have to bribe J. out of bed next year, too!) After the race, Laurie came home with me and we watched the parade and napped for the rest of the afternoon (heaven!)

In the evening, I got to enjoy my first Thanksgiving EVER with J's family, and it did not disappoint! Not only was baby Aiden perfectly delightful (at 4mos. he is really starting to interact-- love Love LOVE the baby squeals of delight!), but J. and I had a wonderful time laughing and catching up with everyone (heh.. we have been somewhat "hermit-y"-- since the wedding we have not seen any of J's extended family until now!)-- and Oh the FOOD! We enjoyed turkey (of course), stuffing, yams, spinach balls, peas, a relish tray of fresh veggies (prepped by yours truly :), cranberry salad, mashed potatoes, and cinnamon-y crescent rolls. Dessert was a choice of pumpkin pie, apple pie, pecan pie or ice cream (or any combination of the above-- I enjoyed a small slice of both pumpkin and pecan pies!) Glorious food coma :)

The rest of the weekend was delightfully lazy-- although I did (as promised) hauls myself out of the house on Saturday to get coffee and see "New Moon" with Laurie (Squeal!!!!! A.MAZ.ING. I was very much less than thrilled with the first movie-- but this was AWESOME. I want to see it again!) I'm SO excited for Eclipse (Which was, hands-down, my favorite book in the series. 6.30.2010.)

And now, it back to the grind :) We seem to have a mysterious "December 15 deadline" here at work... so things will probably be a bit nutty for the next few weeks-- at least I'm won't be bored! All right... bedtime.

More later-- and much "bloggy love" until then <3