Deep Freeze

Florida winters are notoriously mild. Even here in North Central FL we're used to hard freezing temps over night but full days spent in the 30's? Nope.
Our neighbors down the street had their hose spraying lightly over night across a big bed of ferns and succulents in their yard. You Northerners will have to tell me if this is to help the hose or the plants, but either way it made a spectacular show.


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Happy Merry

A week spent in the mountains makes my heart happy and my life slow down.
Cheers to a fabulously relaxing vacation where I left the house 3 times in a week to go to antique shops and the grocery store. The drive home may not have been to wonderful but an extra 3 hours in the car is a small price to pay for such snowy bliss this xmas.


This was the scene under our tree before I packed up all the shiny gifts and managed to fit them in 3 boxes - one that we were taking over to Meggan and Ben's so it could go to Sarasota in our absence.

The early drive

EG in the car

Obligatory road trip car photo

The first snow we saw in South Carolina

Finally in Tennessee. Early, meet your cousin Bethany.

Hates the beach, loves the snow.

Every morning on the breakfast table, at least three kinds of home made jam.

gramps

The last morning of free roaming

Hi Florida, after three extra hours on the road we're home.

I love a vacation that is full of food and naps and movies. We spent a lot of time just relaxing with my brother and Kathryn - drinking the xmas gin and playing apples to apples.

side note: My brother and I are now so similar that we both gave our dogs red hoodies for the cold, gifted each other the same bottle of gin (Hendrick's), bought woodland animal dog toys for the girls, brought Apples to Apples to play together, and then Kathryn picked out the exact blush I already love and use for us both. We win.

So many sweets and snacks and really, I wish I could stay for weeks at a time. The peanut butter chocolate pretzel sandwich things were the biggest hit of my treats. Oh, and my dad couldn't get enough of the rocky road brownies. I'm glad I didn't make chocolate popcorn as Erin and Craig sent up a great big bag along with other goodies from Deb's chocolate shop. Things like dark chocolate berry bark and gingerbread toffee. My mom outdid herself too with 7-layer bars, 4 kinds of oatmeal cookies, chocolate chip cookies and a lot more.

Let's just say I'm making a cake to bring to work for tomorrow and I won't be eating any of it. My teeth are choco-ed out.
I can't wait to ring in the new year - now to see what's going on around town!

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Good things are happening again.

Or, the bad things have stopped because we've accepted them and are working past it. It's hard to tell sometimes. Whether the storm of crap has ended and that's why it's easier to breath, or if it's because you started looking beyond the now and the universe follows your lead.

I smiled a lot more last week. Collin worked in Orlando Monday night through Wednesday and I used the nights to pump out the xmas ornaments we're gifting family and friends. Productivity really helps to bring me out of a slump.
Then a spontaneous ladies' night at 101 with the girls Thursday melted a little stress from the week and started off a weekend of relaxed company.
Bonfire and beers with the dogs at Cindy's Friday night and after a busy Saturday daytime (errands, work, errands, enameling) she came over to our place and we watched Fight Club on TV and did nothing. It was great. Even got to hang out with Collin after he got out of work because I was still awake!

I finally got Dave Ramsey's book in at the library, too. Picked it up while I was out running those errands on Saturday (like dropping off an etsy order at the post office).

Crap. Now we have to actually start doing the real work.

Good timing though - at least more this week than the last. I think if this book had come in in the thick of financial stresses I might have been a bit overwhelmed and emotional to read it properly (aka without extreme guilt and self-loathing). However, in a better space I realized that we are alright. From reading a little about the baby steps we managed to accomplished #1 ($1000 savings) a long time ago and it turns out the debt snowball was what we were already doing. Well look at that. I will say that we were tested by this last months emergencies - real ones like vet bills and necessary car repairs - and got discouraged. It's nice to have $1000 in savings but what do you do when all your emergencies in a two week span total double that amount? Cry. If you're me. Also if you're me you break the cardinal rule and put some of that shit on those credit cards you hadn't used in about 6 months (Dammit!) so that after xmas you can start the new year off by paying off those newest charges asap before getting back to baby step #1.

I'm constantly having to remind myself that we just started this process and we're so young. When I do, I am super stoked on our potential. We're still 5.5 years from 30. Finishing step 3 (the real emergency fund of 6 mo. expenses) is the goal and hopefully with motivation we can also save up a hefty home down payment with a great rate on a 15 year mortgage.
Who really knows though, right?

I'm determined but I'm still a little anxious about "living like no one else now...".
Some of his more radical ideas I just can't swallow for ourselves. Like, we could sell Collin's drums, but really? No effing way. And if we do that and sell some furniture we could move into a littler apartment but it's the same deal.
I'm not there yet (if I ever will be). I want to stay here because I think it's unfair to have a large dog in too small a space and we have too many benefits that aren't monetary. Like access to the Thomas Center for dog walking, great neighbors that help us not have to board Lucky when we travel, a utility bill half paid for by our landlord in exchange for letting her use our address as her own, updated (safer) plumbing/hvac/fireplaces and do you know how much it costs to move? A lot.
Most of it though, we're going to do.
Some expenses will just have to go - like the "credit protection" I have on my amex and vices we simply do not need to keep feeding. We need to keep better track of our stuff - Collin especially with tips and freelance, his variable income. We have to know exactly what we have so we can make sure to live well within our means. I have to be better about the budget, too. It's all to easy to say that I can spend extra at the grocery store because we're eating out less this month but if I don't do the math and don't move the money, it won't happen. It will all just over spend.

We're also lucky that we've been able to provide for ourselves in unexpected ways this year. Just this past couple weeks when we're really struggling, I make 4 sales on Etsy and Collin gets a fat stack of subpoenas. Maybe I won't get those prescription sunglasses right at xmas, but I'll get them sometime and I want more to be out of debt than anything else right now.

January will see a lot of mint.com and spreadsheeting, I tell you what.
Much love to the coming 2010

(much love to my 100th post)
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proof

That I was once a high school cheerleader.

Came across this on the sidebar slideshow (say that 5 times fast, eh?) and had to reminisce for a moment. Ahh the bruises and sunburn and fabulous arm muscles.
I actually wore that uniform to school on many an occasion. And I'm pretty sure the skirt came to just below my ass. How can you respect a dress code after walking the halls in things like this?

Truth is, I quit cheerleading at the start of football season after it was revealed to us that because of 9/11 we weren't allowed to fly to Dallas for the national competition we'd won a bid for at cheer camp that summer (sidenote: that was the first time I ever went to Gainesville!). What a bummer. I was definitely not in it for the football or social implications. The cheerleaders weren't really at the top of the totem pole as far as popularity went at VHS.
We had a great football team (State Champs '00) and still do actually - whatup Trey Burton. That's just not what I loved about the sport.

So goodbye tiny skirt and bloody noses.
I went back to the world of ballet and blisters.
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Whoa

One week (less now even) until the big show at GLAM!
(What happened to October and November? Sheesh.)


Since my last post I've been trying to finish up the loose ends involved in preparing for my first craft fair. The show down at Vicki's was cake - send my items and show up for the opening party to eat, drink, and maybe talk to a few people about my work and the process. Mostly just eat and drink though.
This one, I have to provide everything I need to both attract people to my area and make me look professional enough to want to buy something. Except the table, that comes with the registration and I am SO EXCITED about that.


Kim over at The Sassy Crafter has graciously put some fabulous tips on her blog for n00bs like me that were an awesome help in addition to the various Etsy.com resources for those just breaking into the craft fair scene. Now, it's all coming together. I cannot wait to take a million photos next weekend of everyone's amazing items and all the pretty smiling faces supporting Gainesville's local artists.

In the past 10 days I...

Enameled on fine silver for the first time. WHY DID THIS TAKE ME SO LONG?
Watched the Gators kick butt - twice!
Raided Smiley's Antique Mall for vintage baroque picture frames
Enameled necklaces, bracelets and another bowl
Perused the Gainesville Fall Arts Festival with Eve, eating an arepa and a mug of lemonade/cherrywine mix
Attended an art show at Daacha where I saw many friends and watched collaborative painting and my friend Adam drumming inside a box.
Spent way too much more money on supplies
Took advantage of and used our new gas fireplace every night since it's been installed
Worked a full 40 hours at the lab
Celebrated with friends for Cindy's birthday at The Top (nom nom corn nuggets)
Walked Early and Foster to the dog park
Got jealous of everyone who had Veteran's day off work
Ate delicious food out in Archer with Gabe and Jen, finally seeing Religulous
Got paid
Listened to Metal played in the second bedroom
Assembled more and more and more for the show
Loved on Lucky all warm from sunshine in the open windows

It has been busy, but lovely.
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fantasy vs reality

Last night I made spaghetti and meatballs. With half of one of those frozen garlic bread loaves with that are so good with their too much butter and seasonings built right in.
It was a really simple night.

I got home early from work and we relaxed and watched TV. Collin watered and looked after the yard while I started dinner. We went on a walk with Early down to the Thomas Center as the house filled with the smell of our meal.
After it was all done and we were both satisfied we just kept looking at each other and smiling these wide, bright grins. These looks on our faces kept saying, "I love you. And I love our life together." and we were both so sincere.

I said last night to him that I wouldn't change a single thing about my life. That I have not the tiniest piece of my life to complain about. Now, I know this isn't the first time I've felt that way. I've been in just the right place and time in my life before; happy and fulfilled. Now though, the present, feels more permanent. It is more permanent. I'm older now and more aware of what I need to make me happy vs what I want that could make me happy. In the past years I've been successful in sifting through the both and really focusing on my needs - things like a loving partner, a comfortable home, a handful of good friends, a satisfying yet enjoyable job.
These things I now have.
Sure there are parts of my life I would improve on; debt and Collin's school status are the two big ones but I'm not worried about them because we're actively working on all this together.

Yet I find myself asking whether I am simply settling or lucky to have found this place where I want to stay and raise a family? Why would I run off to start over in another city when I'm not unhappy here? I think it would take some miracle job for Collin and I to make a move and I just don't see that happening. Some of our friends are becoming restless though. Many moved here for college and are just tired of this town. I understand. Had I moved here for the same reason we would have probably jetted off to some other corner of the country by now. Maybe not though. I'm not a wet blanket or anything, I just like stability, and the comfort that comes from living in one city longer than two years. As Collin said to me once when we were still long-distance-dating, "I'm not a waffler". A handful of friends are starting to put some roots into our community as well. One just bought a house this past year. I find myself even more content knowing that we could be building the extended family we reach out to for the next 20 years.

I once heard about a study that stated womens fantasies were much more frequently about domestic life and milestones rather than sex (to hell with trying to find it, this was so so long ago). I want to say that they simply asked of both sexes, "What are some of your fantasies?" and let them answer openly without prompting. Thoughts about getting married, owning a home, landing a dream job were frequently first thought of by women - I am not surprised. This is me, but especially after marriage I find this to be true. Is it this way for most married women? Is it because we know we can have good sex when we want (assuming our husbands are similarly willing to drop anything for a romp) and these are the things in life about which we aren't sure? Are fantasies supposed to be your ultimate dream reality or something you can have if you're just patient and work hard?
Am I doing the fantasy thing wrong? Or am I, in part, living my fantasy already?
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SOLD

Thanks Chris!




I hope your new lady friend has a happy birthday later this month
Also thanks for helping me to cross off (or in my case, turn pink) #26 on my list of 101 things to do. Even if we did kind of cheat because we did the whole thing in person and then I just asked you to "buy" it on Etsy so I can get some sales feedback. You're a true friend. Read more...