That intense feeling you get in your chest and stomach (and toes, fingers, ears, nose and elbows, etc.) when you see old friends you haven't seen for a while? I have that!
I am so giddy right now. This morning, I picked up our dear friends N and T from the airport, and I truly squeed! They flew in from Anchorage last night, landing here on the east coast this morning, and on Saturday, we head to OBX to hang with friends and siblings.
Work has been crazy since January 1, and I love it, but it is officially time to recharge with friends and family. Hatteras, old friend, here we come. Ready to climb all 268 steps up the light house every morning (OK, every other morning), run on the beach, kayak out into the sound, body surf in the beach, and our impromptu drum circles at night as the sun sets (this year, we are going to record those circles). I love you Memorial Day week!
Sleeping in late, or getting up early to walk in the sand. Running before the temps reach 80. Reading an entire book, then starting a second without interruption. Hanging with best friends by the pool, or in the hot tub, discussing everything under the sun. Getting up the next morning and doing all over again...7 days in a row.
This sweet birdie yarn bowl is the gift I've asked Santa to consider dropping down my chimney this Christmas. I took up knitting earlier this year, and I'm happy with my progress, but I manage to drop my yarn on a regular basis, and even the cats are no longer amused.
Fitbit. Poseidon and I have the Fitbit One™ and this little activity tracking gadget is a fitness motivator, for sure. I wear it everyday, and try to push myself to get in at least 5000 steps/day. During the day, I'm motivated to move more (which is great for the neck and back). The One™ tracks steps (even when biking or on an elliptical at the gym), stairs climbed, calories burned (including "existence" calories, calories you burn breathing, blinking, moving in your sleep, etc.), and miles traveled. This will make a great Christmas gift for folks looking for an extra push to stay healthy and active. The Fitbit One™ can also track sleep habits, but I don't use that feature. I already know I sleep.
If you know someone who lost a pet this year, consider giving them the gift of making a donation in memory of a pet. There are many charities out there. Petsmart Charities is one example. This precious angel is my own Kat, from December of last year. She wanted to help us wrap Christmas gifts, and she did a great job. Our apologies to everyone for the cat hair stuck in the tape.
Know anyone traveling in the near future? I bought a set of these Herb Lester maps for Poseidon two years ago (for our future European trips). The artwork is super, and these maps feature off-the-beaten-path sorts of things for major cities. A map devoted specifically to donut shops in New York. Paris for single travelers. Untamed London. The description they give for their Clandestine London map makes me giggle:
"The desire to see and be seen is not shared by all. For those who prefer to conduct business away from prying eyes, this map is for you.
We list 31 places with hidden alcoves and easy exits, neglected restaurants, unreconstructed wine bars, ancient pubs and even natural isolation. In these locations discretion is assured, it's entirely up to you to decide how you make use of that."
While I'm on the topic of travel, my passport expired in May, and I have to renew. I can't believe how expensive this is going to be! I might add this passport holder to my Christmas list for next year. More birds. I would have expected the whole bird motif thingy to be dead by now. It's a slow death.
I can't even believe I'm going to post these, but I can't help myself. Poseidon sent me a link to these several months ago (I'm not ever going to ask what is was he was searching for when he found them). Gnome shoes. These are neither in my budget nor my heel range, but so adorable (and sold out by now). For the cool, happy person who has everything (and a gifter who has too much), perhaps some gnome shoes for Christmas?
Poseidon has become an advocate for pangolins. For 2 years, I've searched the interwebz for pangolin "stuff." This year, I found something. A pangolin Christmas tree ornament. Doesn't everyone have a Christmas pangolin? This little dude makes us smile!
Tablescape. I'm sure the word has been around for a while, but it's new to me.
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day, and Poseidon and I are hosting dinner this year. I'm not crafty, but I do want to spruce up the dining room table. We haven't eaten at the dining room table in 3 years. Now that we've removed 27 pounds of clutter from the table (that took an entire Saturday), I'll go through 3 cans of Pledge tonight, just so the plates actually sit on the table, not floating on 3 inches of dust.
The cats are enjoying the clear table. It's a new cool place for depositing fur and those clumps of cat litter stuck to their paws. Dinner at 4!
Here's a tablescape to get you in the Thanksgiving mood...
Happy Thanksgiving, Amphitrite
ETA: My lazy version of tablescaping. I just didn't have it in me!
My Pinterest addiction wore off ages ago, but I popped over there last week for just a minute, long enough to realize that competitive creepiness-posting is a popular sport on the old Halloween pin boards.
I did not have much time to waste spend, but I was inspired to go in search of my own breathtakingly spooky pictures (I did try to find the original sources for these pictures, so obviously I had some time to waste) and wow, I found some striking images. B o o.
I'm not going to bore anyone with the "What I did for Christmas" spiel. Most everyone who reads my blog knows that Poseidon and I spent Christmas in Alaska visiting our dear friends N. & T, and I won't recap everything, as a matter-of-fact, it would be difficult to write about this amazing trip, so I won't. But, I am going to upload one of my favorite pictures from the trip.
Me and a bear (and Poseidon ready to dial 911 if necessary):
This post is 100% fluff. Blue Christmas lights have always been my favorite. They are just so stunning against a nighttime backdrop. Beijing's blue fiber optic Christmas tree just made me say, "Pretty" out loud. B E A U T I F U L.
Because the management company of the complex where my office is located has been pumping bad, very bad, Christmas music out into the courtyard since Monday, I'm a little on the snarky side today. I wouldn't mind so much, because I'm feeling the Christmas spirit and all, but they are playing the same 3 damn songs over and over and over and over and over. The sound is making me want to seal Santa, all of his elves and everything else Christmas related into an escape-proof cell, in the jungle, with every jingle bell ever made (I would never do that of course, because I am a greedy one, and I still want my presents).
I have a smidgen of crankiness in me, but my will to get over it is strong, and I thank Friday for that. This week has been one of the longest weeks, ever, for no real reason other than I can't look at one more pretty process flow chart or troubleshoot one more XML file. I keep thinking if I stare at it long enough, the XML will rewrite itself. It is Christmastime (don't get annoyed that I'm using a big red font here) and magic stuff can happen, can't it? I just saw a unicorn outside.
OK, here we go:
I doubt 2 - 5 of this Five for Friday post will compare with this first one, but please read on or you will hurt my feelings. I found a blog post this morning that had my sides aching from the commentery on strange Christmas lyrics, and the post is better than that peanut butter I had for breakfast. I will give you a sample, but please--pretty?--read the full blog post so you can laugh so hard you get cramps (then you can go home for the day):
"And why is the couple planning this sham snow wedding saying to the
parson, “Hey, man, you can do this wedding when you’re in town.” First
of all, I think it’s just a tad disrespectful to refer to this snow
pastor as “man”, second, “when he’s in town?” You just crafted
him out of snow! He’s not going anywhere, you didn’t even give him legs.
I’m pretty sure he can officiate your creepy snow wedding any time." - Buster Blonde from Persephone Magazine
If
brash impiety makes you nervous or uncomfortable, then please look away
from the magnet. Everyone else with a sense of humor? You are
welcome. Poseidon bought this magnet for me a couple of years ago. The magnet hangs proudly, on our refrigerator, for all to see. This morning, while leaning on the countertop, trying to wake up, and blindly digging my spoon into my jar of peanut butter, I saw it and it made me laugh.
Seriously, each and everytime I see this magnet, I sniggle (snort and giggle at the same time). "So, where is my fucking pony?" By the by...I'm still waiting for that pony.
Christmas gits = gift wrapping, and gift wrapping is an art. I start out thinking, "Oh, this should be easy." But the finished product looks as though I studied every gift intently, broke them down completely, then reassembled them into something resembling little abominations marching off an assembly line of mass reproduced Cubist art.
"Next to a circus there ain't nothing that packs up and tears out faster than the Christmas spirit." -- Kin Hubbard
Few truer words have been spoken, and this quote reminds me of a Christmas card my sister bought years ago (I blogged about this once before). The card had a happy shiny Christmas scene on the front, but the inside read, "Merry Christmas, but just remember at 12:01 am on December 26, it's back to F' You Charlie."
Great reading for those with a privilege bias. Just kidding. Sort of.
"Orphans, dead parents, lonely children at Christmas, morose spoken word recordings, everything you love about the holidays. Move the turkey over so you can fit your head in the oven." -- April Winchell