Wrangling:{Fog-Lifter}

(Clearly, Gracie has spent the past few weeks catching up on her classics...)

June caught me by surprise this year.

I am always prepared (if cautiously apprehensive) going into May, because May has always been a crazy-busy-good month for our family. Birthdays, Mother's Day, Memorial Day, Prom, Graduations ... May is a whirlwind that leaves us, on June 1 sitting with our feet up and smiling at the wild ride of life we've just been a part of. May is good like that, and the June that follows is typically a welcome respite.

This year, though, the ride hasn't stopped yet. I think God is looking down and smiling on my tenderly, "My child how little you know... and how deeply I love you."

I was certain that this year would be a year of settling in for us. A year of homemaking and quietly undeniable growth; a year for nurturing and putting down roots.

Instead, we've been blessed with opportunities. Opportunities for growth-- upward movement, for sure, but perhaps more importantly growing into ourselves. ...Maybe I could even say "settling" a little deeper and becoming a bit more comfortable with who we have always been.

All good. But tiring :)

I guess all this is to say: I feel like I've been walking around in a bit of a fog since the last time I posted. Scootching along from A to B, & making time... but I feel that my responses have been muted in both intensity and response time. And I celebrate this, because I know it's just a phase, and that I will adapt to become present and cognizant once again. ... You know, fog can be stunningly beautiful; softening & blurring sharp edges with a water color precision ... but we still celebrate the sharp visual clarity that comes as the sun burns through.

I can feel the fog lifting all ready.

A few standout thoughts from the fog:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

On marathon training with MiT:

I'll just get right out there and say it: I love this.

I am continually blown away by the kindness of my running group, as well as my own drive to keep at it. A happy discovery was made on our June 18 group run-- I live in the same neighborhood as our pace leader, and within a 5 minute drive of another woman from our group. We've been meeting up on Monday & Tuesday mornings at 5:30 am (which is NOT easy yet, but I'm going to keep trying!) to do our runs together. This morning we added Stacey to our group, so now we are a lovely little group of 4.

Most heartwarming & impressive to me: 2 weekends ago I ran my long run (8 miles) on Friday, because I knew I couldn't get in a long run before all the wedding festivities. Dana & Heather each ran 3+ miles with me, so I didn't have to do the whole thing alone.

How did I get so lucky?! I can officially say that I am head-over-heels in love with running again.

...Who knew that all it would take was signing up for a marathon?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

*beer margaritas*

Okay, so the real reason I've been afk for over two weeks? My best friend's wedding. ...And the month of crazy fun & stress leading up to it :) (Absolutely weighted more heavily on the "fun" side ... but if anyone ever tells you that a wedding is completely stress-free, they are delusional. Simple as that.) Anyhoo...

On June 18, my partner-in-crime Kaitie & I hosted Saun's bachelorette party. We planned meticulously. Menu? (Beer margaritas, hot dogs on the grill, pasta salad, chips & funfetti cupcakes) -- check! Decorations? --check!

giggling our way through pictionary ;)

Lessons learned along the way included: running to your sister-in-law's house to get cookie cutters & fulfill MiT milage at the same time sounds like a great idea ... until you have to run 1.5 miles clutching said cookie cutters and hoping nobody actually sees what your holding & calls the cops on the "creepy running girl". Lesson Learned: plastic bags are not nearly opaque enough for comfort. Also note: when you light the grill, just step away. Do not close it or the fire will go out. *Eh hem* True story. (Insert obligatory engineer joke here. Sigh.)

Kaitie, Saundra & me

But it was all so, SO worth it. It's a night I'll never forget, and I hope Saundra feels the same. We drank out of "man-shaped" straws and ate naughty-shaped brownies. We played pictionary & laughed until we had tears streaming down our faces. We dressed up & went out dancing, and didn't get home until 3am.

All the ladies

In short, a good time was had by all.

(Thanks, Kaitie, for the pictures!)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

...And then two Saturdays ago, we gathered once again, this time to celebrate the union of Saundra and her beloved, Mike.

Just married!

It was a beautiful day, down to the tiniest details.

mimosas at the hair salon (doesn't that seem so movie chic?!)

More wedding thoughts and reflections coming your way this week, in a new 'Love Letters' post.

We clean up nicely, eh? (Amy & Jon, 6/25/11)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

This weekend's joyful chaos centered around 4th of July celebrations, with family & friends alike. We laughed and cheered and oohed and ahhed over breathtaking fireworks displays; and there were also moments of quiet meditation and thanks for the men and women who have fought and continue to fight so hard for us.

Jon & I hosted the family celebration this year (is there anything cuter than chubby babies in red & white stripes? I think not.), and so a majority of our weekend was spent preparing the house & yard for our guests. There were multiple moments when I caught myself standing back and watching Jon, thinking, "I may never love this man more than when we are working side-by-side." I think it's a perfect symbol of what marriage is all about. Even as we sweated and swore under our breath, it felt good to have a companion.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

And so there you have it: a little summary of where I've been & what I've been up to. July is looking busy but significantly more manageable for me (knock on wood), so I plan on being around quite a bit more. (As I mentioned above, stay alert for a "Love Letters" post later in the week!)

Your turn: Was your June a busy one? What have you been up to? How did you spend your 4th of July?

Wrangling:{Here Comes the Sun}

Happy Friday Weekend, friends! I've got so much to tell you about this week -- let the wrangling begin!

(A weekly round up. Each week I am going to “wrangle” my life's happenings into a post filled with pictures, lists & general tidbits about the past 7 days.)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

First things first: JON IS HOME!

My husband spent his week in Las Vegas living it up attending a “Developer’s conference” at Caeser’s Palace. (I know... tough break, huh?)

And while there were some *nice* things about playing bachelorette for the week (sleeping in the middle of the bed, watching ‘Gilmore Girls’ marathons & cooking meat-less meals).... and I did enjoy the pictures he sent me:



...well, quite frankly, Jon & I belong together, and it felt like half my heart was across the country this week, too. It’s the first time he’s been the one who was gone, and I missed him like crazy.

Now that he’s home, everything just feels right again.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Now, to play a little catch-up:
I would be remiss if I didn’t tell you about our Memorial Day weekend. I always enjoy our family’s Memorial Day celebration, because it involves a huge spread a delicious summery (picnic-y!) foods and lots of outside time. But this year was an especially good time.



This year, we got the BEST SURPRISE EVER, when April drove down from Wisconsin for the long weekend, with sweet baby Aurora (6 weeks) in tow. What a treat! (I had resigned myself to the fact that I would have to make-do with pictures until Thanksgiving or Christmas...)

Aren't they beautiful?

True to form, Christy coordinated a little celebration for her girls. It was a wonderful, love filled family celebration.

Welcome to the family, Aurora!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

(A few thoughts from the week straight from my heart, uncensored, but hopefully spell-checked:)

It hit me suddenly, and I wasn't prepared for it. I was washing dishes the other night, alternately daydreaming as I looked out the window and talking to the cats, who were "mrrowww-ing" and winding around my ankles (we keep the kitty treats in the cabinet under the kitchen sink.)

... Minding my own business, really.

And it snuck up on me, surprised me, and left me utterly breathless: all of a sudden, I caught myself thinking, "I am really, really happy right now."

For the rest of this week, as I think back on that moment of clarity, I immediately want to discount it. I mean, really? I've spent at least half a year now focusing in on the good, searching and polishing and celebrating each shining moment of each day-- highlighting the little things that make all the difference in my good lists. It seems incredible that one might be stunned with the realization of joy.

But there it is.

If I am completely honest with you & myself, I must admit that I’ve been working really hard to be happy lately. There have been one or two lingering desires on my heart that just haven’t given me peace. For the most part, I’ve been able to trick the ache into hiding because I recognize how I’ve been blessed. But when I allowed myself to be quiet and really listen to my heart I found that in fact I hadn’t gotten past it at all—which frustrated me and added insult to injury. There have been a lot of long, lonely nights over the past few months.

Now, I’m not saying that I’m completely over it. If I was perfect, I would have put this behind me a loooooong (got it? Hehe.) time ago. But I’m not... and it’s still a part of me, no matter how hard I try. For example: along with all the good, this past week also brought some news that felt like a punch in the gut. I felt sorry for myself for a few hours, and then pulled up my big-girl panties, forgave myself for my moments of selfishness, and moved forward.

But now somehow, in the grand scheme of things, it just doesn’t seem so important anymore. Someday, when these yearnings and dreams of my heart become a reality I will rejoice and feel doubly blessed, because I’ll know how long I waited. But for now? Well, now is pretty damn good, too.

And you know what’s even better? ... After months of reminding myself to look for good stuff and live it the moment ... I’m there. I am happy. ...And I want to shout it from the rooftops.

And I’m not going to apologize for being a little more hearts-and-flowery in the weeks to come. This is a sweet season in my life and I’m going to ride it out with gusto.... “sucking the marrow out of life”, as one of my favorite bloggers Kelle Hampton likes to say.

Amen.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

via

Marathon Update

It’s been several weeks now since I proclaimed to the blog world that I was actually going to do it this year. ... I am actually going to run a marathon. I think it’s time for me to give you an update!

About a week after signing up, I made another pivotal and life changing move: I joined Marathoners in Training (MiT). MiT is a central Ohio based group dedicated to training, encouraging and preparing runners for their first marathon (& half marathon!) I had known of the group's existence for some time, but it took my friend Amy to give me the push to do it.

...And I’m SO glad I did.

Last Saturday morning was my first training run with the group. We gathered at a track behind a local high school, and then divided into pace groups for our runs. I had been more than a little nervous when I received my weekly training plan and saw that I had 7 miles penciled in for Saturday, but I tried to be brave, and told myself that if I couldn’t go the whole 7 I could either cut it short, or walk. Each step I take is a step toward my goal.

Friends? Someone was looking out for me that day (...and when I say “Someone”, all eyes are on you, God ;)... I ended up in the perfect group for me (a run/walk group! Seriously, how perfect?!)... and I completed the 7 miles no problem*. The people in my group were incredible—they really cared for me: checking in periodically to make sure I was doing okay, and asking me all about my life. Having been a solo runner for quite some time now, it blew me away ... I say with 100% certainty that having the wonderful group I do made all the difference for me achieving full mileage.

I feel so good about this... I’m so confident & happy! ...And I’m definitely excited for our next run, tomorrow morning :)


*Now, I’m not superwoman. I was hurting badly in the last mile. Heck, my hamstrings were sore for the next couple days... But I was so happy I could have cried... and I haven’t felt that good about myself in a long time :)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Finally, a little list to round out the post:

Good List

1. Jon ♥
2. I have been humbled and overwhelmed by the hospitality others have shown me while my husband was out of town for the week. I hardly ate dinner alone! Thank you so much everyone. I felt so loved.
3. We got a new vacuum cleaner this week!!!!!! (Very needed, as evidenced by the exclamation points.) It’s a lovely, lovely tool. (Mama loves the vacuum, kitties love the box it came in, hehe.)
4. Retail Therapy ;)


5. (To go along with item 2) Jon’s family invited me over dinner & mudslides on Wednesday night. For those who are not familiar, a mudslide = coffee +milkshake +chocolate. In other words, perfection.
6. ...And the Wednesday night “Lucas Snuggling” was pretty much perfection, as well.
7. Carpet cleaner. (Don’t ask.)
8. Fresh fruit. Hellooo, summer!
9. Hope.
10.“Running improves my relationships with my family, my friends, everyone around me. And while my running is personal, it’s also something I give. Running can be given. –Tony Sandoval, M.D.


Your Turn!
How has your week been? Any good weekend plans?

Wrangling: {Welcoming the Dawn}

photo credit

(A weekly round up. Each week I am going to “wrangle” my life's happenings into a post filled with pictures, lists & general tidbits about the past 7 days.)

Hi friends, happy Friday!

(Oy. How on earth did it get to be Friday all ready?)

I feel like lately the weeks have been spinning by faster and faster, but this week has been in a league all its own. I've been busy at work, trying to get about a bazillion projects wrapped up in anticipation of my trip to Denver next week.

With the exception of yesterday, it's been a rainy week, perfect for nesting & getting the 'homey affairs' in order. We've spent our evenings in the kitchen, and snuggled under blankets on the couch. It's been chaotic, it's been frustrating and it's been emotional, with a bit of heady euphoria, joy and laughter. In short, it's been a beautiful, life filled, normal week.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

(First off, a Love Letter.)

(photo from April & TJ, the proud parents)

Baby Aurora,

On Sunday April 17 our worlds, hearts and lives were changed for good.

Welcome to the world, sweet girl.

Love,
Aunt Amy

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Have I ever told you about Thursday nights? For pretty much as long as I can remember, when I was growing up, Thursday night were the busiest nights of the week for us. When we were little, we had children's choir practice on Thursday nights; by the time I reached high school it had shifted to cross country practice followed by guitar lessons. For at least 2 semesters when I was in college, Thursdays consisted of a day in the lab, followed by tedious organizational meetings.

And at some point, I promised myself that someday I would LOVE Thursdays.

Last night, as I sat wrapped in a blanket, drinking a well deserved glass of wine and blasting AC/DC through my headphones while Jon watches Fam.ily Guy... I realized, I'm here. I love Thursday nights and their promise of relaxation before the final push. Just knowing that Friday-- and perhaps more importantly, the weekend is on the horizon -- sustains and comforts me. I look forward to Thursdays now.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

(shower photos courtesy of Kaitie)

(Coffee bar: take a mug, fill it with whatever suits your fancy. It was a hit!)

Sunday was a rush. The whole weekend was, really. I've discovered that I absolutely live for entertaining. I love the planning and cleaning & anticipation of welcoming others into my home. I think that hosting a dinner party a month for the rest of my life would be heaven to me.... (Anyone in the Columbus area want to take me up on that?)

Sunday morning I woke early and lay in bed excitedly rolling through the details in my mind. At 10:30 am, my friend and co-host Kaitie arrived, and we spent the next several hours prepping decorations and favors.

(My other favorite "finishing touch" was the pillar candles in hurricane vases, surrounded by coffee beans. Looked cute, smelled amazing.)

We wrapped silvery wrapping paper around water bottles and tied ribbon around the handles of coffee mugs, we brewed countless cups of coffee and twirled crepe paper.

Although the invitations said 2pm -4pm, once Saundra, her mother and sister arrived, the party started. I think we laughed for 3.5 straight hours. It was wonderful. Being surrounded by a group of warm, witty women who were gathered to celebrate my best friend was truly uplifting.

And after everyone left & it was just the three of us: Kaitie, Saundra & me? That was awesome. The only thing better than sharing 1 super fun sophomore year of college living together has been gathering together 5 (wow) years later and catching up; reconnecting.

Being Saundra's bridesmaid (and more importantly, her friend) has blessed me in so many ways, and I am honored to be a part of her special day. ... Looking forward to June 25!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A couple weeks ago, when Jon & I were attending a family birthday party, I got a chance to sit and talk with my brother-in-law. (Read: I had relegated myself to the basement with the boys because the windows were open upstairs and I was hot; and I think Dan took pity on me because I was pretty much oblivious when it came to the gaming conversations. Truthfully, I wasn't phased. I'm used to being clueless about that stuff, haha. I was just enjoying my cake & ice cream and spacing out, content & comfortable with the company :) And while we were talking, he said something to me that totally caught me off guard. "I almost envy you, Amy," he said (I paraphrase.) "I mean, you run all the time ... and you like it."

I am absolutely floored that this is one of the ways others might see me & define me. Because in real life? This is something I struggle with on an everyday basis. I want to be a runner with every fiber of my being. But I struggle with the idea of calling myself a runner-- I feel that I'm falling short in so many ways. For example, I don't run every day. I never have... But some weeks? Some weeks I run once. I've pledged to myself that I am going to run a marathon in October, but I have a lot of anxiety about that. Quite frankly, I'm worried that I am going to slack too much on training and sabotage myself.

I know that I need to love myself in my imperfections, and to believe in my own abilities. I know that I need to push forward and not let the fears and the what-ifs hold me back.

...But sometimes that's easier said than done. I'm a work in progress, and this is definitely at the top of my "work on it" list. Between the rain & the fatigue, this has not been a "follow the plan running week" at all. But I am looking forward to a fresh start.

It's never too late for redemption.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

As you might have picked up on, this week has been kind of a dark & contemplative one for me. I think it's the natural "ebb" (ya know, versus "flow") that comes at the tail end of a bunch of good stuff.... where all of a sudden you realize that your world has stopped turning upside down and you are left seated in the quiet emptiness thinking, "hey. what on earth do I do now?"

...Add that to a whalloping dose of hormones, and I had Jon throwing his hands up in the air saying, "I just. don't. understand. women." (Yes, my love, I know. That won't keep me from trying to explain to you to get you to empathize :)

So, there were some tears, there was dark chocolate consumption and there commenced some 10+ spiral notebook pages worth of soul-pouring. But even in the midst of the dark days, even as I ached & yearned for more, I could not be oblivious to the good. I've found that life is never exclusively black or white. The good has a way of creeping in and coloring the bad; blurring and softening the edges-- painting lifetimes out of days and moments; the shadows beautifully contrasting the vibrant colors and light.

Even in the darkest night, I believe light will return. And when the sun begins to rise, I welcome it with open arms.

Today, I celebrate & welcome the dawn.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Good List

1. Jon. He is my anchor.
2. 100 watt light bulbs
3. Head phones, and dancing around the kitchen during dinner prep.
4. Digging through the archives for a sure-fire pick me up: Wedding Memories

5. Spending some quality time gardening this past weekend.
6. this post
7. Spiral notebooks. I appreciate technology, but sometimes there's nothing like putting a pen to paper. Spiral notebooks & legal pads are my favorite :)
8. Double sided tape
9. Lighting candles to chase away the gloom of a rainy evening.
10. "Expect to have hope rekindled. Expect your prayers to be answered in wondrous ways. The dry seasons in life do not last. The spring rains will come again." --Sarah Ban Breathnach

Your Turn: Any good weekend plans -- or special Easter traditions? How are you welcoming the good in your week?

Wrangling: {Green}

This is what hope looks like in Central OH.

(A weekly round up. Each Wednesday I am going to “wrangle” the past weeks’ happenings into a post filled with pictures, lists & general tidbits about the past 7 days.)

I meant to post this yesterday, I really did, but clearly, it didn't happen. It's been a really frustrating (& for some reason, extremely tiring) week for me, and when it came down to it, it really was the best for everyone if I just threw my hands up in surrender, and went to bed early.

You're welcome :)

But, here I am, fresh & new today, with your Wednesday weekly "ramblings".

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

source

For this week, it actually works out nicely that I'm posting on a Thursday, because I can wish you a Happy St.Patrick's Day!

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Actually, St. Patrick's Day is one of my favorite holidays, although I am sorry to say that is primarily because of the food. When I was growing up, my parents would make a big deal out of cooking up (what I've since learned) the American-ized St. Patty's Day Feast: corned beef & cabbage, potatoes & carrots, huge hunks of Irish Soda Bread slathered in butter, and some kind of green dessert (which varied from brownies topped with vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of creme de menthe to a fluffy pistachio pudding based dish. ... Now that I think about it, dessert was typically decidedly un-Irish...)

Source

My favorite was, hands down, the bread. My name is Amy, and I'm a carb-o-holic. ...A carb+butter-aholic, if you want to get technical. I've never attempted to make it in my own kitchen because, quite frankly, I thought it was a yeast bread... (my history with yeast breads is short but brutal. 2 attempts. We'll leave it at that. Someday I'll have to come back around and master the yeast bread, but today is not that day.) But, after my co-worker (ironically, named Patrick...) gently pointed out to me that Irish Soda Bread is a quick bread relying on baking soda to help it rise, I have renewed vigor. I intend to try this recipe this weekend.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

As you can see from the picture above, Spring is spring-ing (finally) in a noticable way in our neighborhood, and in our yard. A little green shoot courageously poking its way into the chilly new year never fails to warm my heart. I'm ready for the sunshine & birdsong & gentle breezes. I'm ready to be happily surprised by the flowers that appear in my flower beds.

...I'm not so ready to be surprised by the weeds that inevitably shoot up in droves. But, I'll take the bitter with the sweet :)

I wish I could rattle on to you about my ambitious gardening goals, but, quite frankly, gardening is not my strong suit. So, this year my goals are to (a) buy enough mulch, and (b) stay on top of the weeding. Oh, and (c) buy a shovel (like this one) sturdy enough to conquer Ohio clay. (Ugh. Ohio Clay is no joke.) Last year I had to dig out a hole big enough to transplant my mums (speaking of which, the verdict is still out whether they survived the winter or not ...).... Darn near killed me.

I think it's a good start :)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Via

Perhaps my biggest accomplishment this week has been waking early to run. I like to call it "Chasing down the dream", referring, of course, to the dream I shared with you last week.

Running in the morning just works for me. Not only because the older I get, the less I want people to actually see me running (hah! sad but true.) but because I (honest to goodness) LOVE it. To me, the quiet, twilight, waking world is nothing short of magical. I love the feeling of "shaking out the cobwebs" in the first mile, gaining new awareness of my body as a gradually wake through the repetitive movement. I love the perfect, quiet darkness, and the smallness I feel as I move through it. I love the solitude.

How could I have forgotten how much I love this? I hope I never forget again.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Alternatively, sleeping in (every other morning) and snuggling with this fuzzy face is pretty wonderful, too.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Happy Thursday, friends. What has been the best part of your week so far? ...Any fun St.Patty's day plans?

On love ...

All right, full disclosure: I meant to publish this post... uhm, Monday :) I had my poem all typed up and the photos queued up in i*photo to edit, and then I got distracted. ...You know, it happens especially to those of us that are blessed with shorter than average attention spans Sigh.

But, you know what? Rather than table this post and save it for another occasion (which, realistically means that I send it to the post graveyard... I have so many 'beginnings' in my "edit posts" category, eagerly awaiting redemption...I digress...) I have decided to publish it today, two days after Valentine's Day. Rebellious, no? But I'm doing this because, you know? when it comes down to it, and you strip life of all it's frills and formalities... it's all about love.

So I've got a little poem at the end of the post for you to enjoy... but first, I'll take care of a little business :)

You may remember that in this post, I hinted about a new thematic series that I was going to work on throughout the rest of the year... My birthday tribute to my father was the first in the series.

As I was "taking a blog time-out" in December & working to find my voice, my first order of business was to step back and take a look at what I've been writing. And very quickly it became clear to me that my favorite posts, the ones I was most proud of, were on the subjects I am most passionate about. "Well, duh", I'm sure you're thinking... but this was kind of a hard won revelation. There is such a variety of good writing out there; different audiences, different approaches and different conversation styles; and I think (a necessary) part of my growth included dabbling in a little bit of everything (everything except food blogging. I mean, a girl who eats cookies for breakfast really has to draw the line somewhere, right?)

But, with that said, I know what I feel good about, and that's the direction that I'm headed with Amy Around the Corner. I'm calling the new series "Love Letters", because essentially, that's exactly what it is: a series of love letters to the people in my life who have made a big difference in my world.

I've always been better at writing than speaking my mind-- ask anyone. And love letters? Well, they're kind of my specialty. See, even though Jon & I have known each other for (woah.) 10 years, and have been "together" for 8, there was a time (about 6 months total, during my sophomore year of college) that we weren't dating. ...But I was still madly in love with him (ugh. romantic, sure. fun? Noooooo.) and because I believed with all my heart that we would end up together someday, I wrote him a love letter for every day that we were apart. Which, you know, gave me a lot of practice ;)

So while this new series may not be your typical "romantic" love letters, they are love letters all the same. Because if there's anything that I've learned in my 24 years, it's that I've never regretted telling someone I love how much they mean to me. ...So this new series is to honor & celebrate that. (Look for the tag "Love Letters".)

And now, without further ado:

For my Valentine:

When I first met you I was young

... In fact, that I had no idea

what true love really was;

that this kind of love could actually exist.

I was idealistic, I was a dreamer

I was stubborn and unyielding to reality.

But you believed in me

You stood beside me when I could hardly bear

to see

myself.

You loved me.

I owe my world to you, and bringing you into my life was one of the best things that has ever happened to me.

(P.S.: Gracie, Mama is so proud of you for the way you handled yourself at the vet on Monday. I knew you were scared, but you did so well, just snuggling into me as if to say, "Please take my home now!" You were so good. Thank you for handling the situation with grace, and living up to your name :)

P.P.S. : And because Monday today is all about spreading the love, much much love & happiness to this lovely lady, who just announced that she & her husband are expecting their first child! Congratulations, Samantha!

Hint, hint....

Stayed tuned for a special post coming at you tomorrow morning.

I'm super excited about this post for many reasons, one on them being that it kicks off a new "thematic series" that will continue throughout this year.

Pssst: here's a hint...

Anticipation

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"The first fall of snow is not only an event, it is a magical event. You go to bed in one kind of a world and wake up in another quite different, and if this is not enchantment then where is it to be found?" - J. B. Priestley

Well, hello December!

Yesterday Ohioans ushered in the new month with a day of continuous (if not sticking) flakes. ...And it was good :) I know that in a couple weeks months I will be sick & tired of winter weather (although, to be fair, by mid-January we're pretty much done with snow, and well into the season of slush. Yuk.)-- and, frankly, I hate shoveling snow as much as the next person-- but to me, the first snow is magical. I love the way it softens the whole world, the way it brightens up the night, and the comfort it brings me, as I remember holiday seasons past.

We decorated the house this weekend (we meaning, of course, my sister and I, as J happily hands over the decorating tasks and resigns himself to playing video games in the 'man cave' for the duration of such projects ;), and it really puts me in the Christmas spirit to come home and light the tree -- I think it takes away a little of the heartache I feel each day when the sun sets at 5 pm.

And, in addition to decorating the house (pictures to come!), other things are happening over here, too. BIG things, as a matter of fact :) Assuming that you aren't google-reading, you've probably noticed that Amy Around the Corner has experienced a little face lift! (Do you approve?!) As anyone who has ever watched a small child knows, long periods of quiet rarely mean that nothing is happening :) There's been a lot of dreaming and scheming going on over here (in addition to ... you know.. attempting to have a life), and the dreams began to come to fruition last evening, with the help of a few fabulous seasonal beers, a little chocolate, much consultation of "the googles" for html help (note to self: add "learn html" to next year's goals.) and of course, my fuzzy sidekicks:

(Clearly, "help" is a relative term. Heh. Actually, Laurie took this picture on Saturday!)

Granted, I still have quite a bit of work to do, but I'm pretty bounce-off-the-wall excited about the whole thing. (uhm. And in the spirit of complete honesty, I just took a 30 minute break from writing this post because I have another blog window open, and I was reading past posts, courtesy of the new links. ... I may or may not have cried when I stumbled upon this post. I was clinging to every word. This is why I write this blog.)

And now, I'd love to catch you up on November in typical Amy-style:

Good List

1. J. I think I fell in love with my husband all over again on Tuesday night. No kidding. I had been having a bad day, so when I came home, I headed straight to the kitchen for a glass of wine to cook dinner. By the time I had finished up with the homemade cranberry sauce (YUM), J had arrived, and we stood in the kitchen and talked to each other for over an hour. The deep soul-searching, soul-growing kind of talk. It was incredible, and it reminded me once again how absolutely perfect he is for me.

2. Crafty, Home made (home baked) goodness. As we focus our energies inside for the winter months, I am finding so much joy in creating, whether it be baking, writing or, in the most organic sense of the word: crafting. Here's a picture of the diaper cake I made for my SIL's baby shower in mid-November. ... I know it's not perfect (I like to think the slight lopsidedness adds charm :), but I was very proud of it.

3. Christmas comes early for our (extended family) this year, as my SIL and her husband are expecting their first child (a BOY!) in mid-December. I'm so excited to meet and hold the little man... he is so loved all ready. I'm going to be an aunt!

4. Anticipation. Both my biggest source of frustration, and my biggest blessing. Right now I'm riding high on the blessings, and working hard to squash the lingering doubts.

5. Adrenaline. I've decided that 2011 might be a year of risk for me-- or rather, a year of taking risks. It's said that sometimes with the greatest risk comes the greatest reward, and I'm ready to take a couple (big for me) leaps of faith. I'm scared, yes... but more excited to see where these things might lead.

6. New (super cute) boots. Delightful.

7. Family. J and I were blessed with a very family centered Thanksgiving weekend: Thanksgiving dinner at Grandma's, Friday night dinner with Jon's sisters and their families (including bambinos to be!), and Saturday was decorating & dinner with Laurie. Good, good stuff.

8. Fabric softener. This stuff almost makes me want to do laundry. Almost. (Although, while we're on the subject, I had quite the mountain of laundry to tackle this weekend. It's a miracle blessing that that's done!)

9. Letting friends (including blog friends!) motivate me. I'm taking a cue from Bobbi and doing a 31 day yoga challenge during the month of December (so far, so good!)

10.

This . It just makes me happy :)

picture source

All right, your turn! What have you been up to? Is there snow where you live? What has been the best part of your holiday season so far?

Challenge Day #19 (continued)

Gah. All right... apologies for the broken up posting ... I'm having some blog issues today ... my "save now" button is doing all sorts of wacky things... {Hehe... J would probably ask me (lovingly, of course) if I was experiencing an "ID-10-T" error...} Anyhoo..

So since I've all ready given you the scoop on Sunday's 1/2 (the final thing I will say about it is this: I ate a banana yesterday, in preparation for the race. You may remember when I told you I don't like bananas. Well... I can report to you that nothing has changed on that front. That's dedication, friends... :)-- now I am free to tell you about the rest of my week (because it really wasn't all together consumed with nerves about this weekend's race!) ... And the week has been (as a whole) a good one.

Of course, we had a few "eyebrow-raising" moments (as you might ascertain, "eyebrow raising moments" are significantly better than "hair-raising moments" ...eeep!), which included a limping Gracie (she was probably more embarrassed than anything-- she's fine now!), a leak under the kitchen sink (gahhh), and racing outside in the wee hours of the morning to drag our trash to the curb (... as the trash truck pulled up next door. ...Our trash is usually picked up well after we leave in the morning, so this was quite the surprise :-/...) Actually, overall, this picture pretty much sums up my week (I shall count this as the photo for challenge Day#19):

Yup, it's been a 'fuzzy until I get my 2 cups of coffee kind of week. Whew, I'm tired ;)

But, as usual, the good came right along with it. My good surprise of the week came on Tuesday evening, when J and I were discussing our upcoming 1st Anniversary (I still can't believe it's almost been a year all ready...) This year for our anniversary, we're going to do a little "weekend getaway" at a State Park, and we're really excited about it :) I asked (jokingly, as I was relatively certain we had discussed it before, and decided "no"...) whether we were getting each other presents for our anniversary-- and imagine my surprise when J told me he had all ready gotten me something! After I picked myself up off the floor (don't get me wrong, I know, without a doubt, that my husband loves me ... but this gesture & planning ahead really surprised me!), it hit me: Hm... now I've got to think up something to get him (I had planned a couple cute little things... but that was before we mentioned the p-word presents...)

If anyone has cool 1st Anniversary gift ideas, I'm all ears! Do tell :)


Aaaand, that pretty much sums up the week. There's some good stuff (in addition to Sunday's race excitement) coming up this weekend, but I'll tell you more about that when we get there!

And now, a LIST for you!


Good List:

1. J. I love that even after 8+ years of knowing each other, the man can still surprise me :)

2. Chunky turquoise jewelry, that effortlessly moves from summer staple to fall staple.

3. New OPI nail polish. Ah, LoVe!

4. Swag Bags.

5. Silly Kitties. (You MUST watch this! I laughed until I cried ... and then? I watched it again :)
6. Crisp mornings. It was in the 60's this a.m. Positively delicious!

7. Coffee ...

8. September is coming-- and with it, so much promise! (i.e., 1st Anniversary Getaway, Races every weekend, Labor Day holiday...)

9. Apple Picking. One (unexpected) positive aspect of having such a hot summer is that the apples are ripening earlier this year. This weekend is the first U-Pick-'em weekend of the Fall, and I am so excited. (I am absolutely, unapologetically in LoVe with and ready for Fall.)

10. "What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

And with that, I'm off to get a couple things done before I can really start my weekend :) Do you have any fun plans for your Saturday & Sunday? What tops your Good List for the week?

Wednesday morning PSA

Because this stuff is near and dear to my heart, here is your August opportunity*, you central Ohioans :)

http://cahs-pets.org/

* I would like to state for the record that I would LOVE to do this (and I firmly believe that cats are something that are better in pairs -- you could adopt a mama & baby or siblings! -- J & I will not be able to participate in this. Not because I don't want to ... but rather because we are getting a little close on the J-mandatory cat:kid ratio ... Have I told you about this yet? The basic concept is that I am allowed to have only 4 "dependents" (not including J, hehe) at once-- which means 2 kids, 2 cats; 1 kid, 3 cats, etc. ... Even though we're not close to thinking about babies yet, I like to keep my options open :) ... Maybe the next time something like this rolls around I will have worn J down a little bit ...

I'll be back later tonight for "List Day". Happy Wednesday, bloggies!

Challenge Day #6: Date night

Because sometimes mid-week date nights are, in fact, absolutely necessary.