The Holiday Season in Full Swing

Okay, so yes...I've been beyond lax in keeping up with my blog (and yes, I realize I've started posts this way in the past!) but when things get busy this blog is the last thing on my mind.  I hope that everyone reading this is having a great holiday season thus far though!  Sure, Christmas music has been on the radio since before Thanksgiving, but it's only once we're into December that it really feels appropriate to get into the Christmas spirit.

So far I've been (and dragged my boyfriend along) to a masquerade Christmas party and a work holiday party--if there was a contest between the two, the masquerade party would have won hands down.  It's not that the work party was terrible, the company we were with was great, it's just that the party committee tried to implement a group game that was a total bust and completely killed the mood.  Plus, only giving everyone two drink tickets (regardless of if you were bringing a guest or not) was a buzz kill...no thank you to the $6 domestic bottles!

This year is also the first year I've had a Christmas tree at my house.  My family has always been an artificial tree family, but my boyfriend's family has always been a real tree family.  In the debate-that-wasn't-really-a-debate, it was decided that we would get a real tree this year.  (I'm still holding out hope that we'll do artificial next year, but I'm not too optimistic)  I dubbed the tree "Steve" (much to the chagrin of my boyfriend) and we proceeded to make him beautiful:

As you can see, we didn't start off small with my first household Christmas tree.  Nope.  Steve comes in at about 8' or so and is quite full.  He did turn out very pretty though and I'm kind of in love.  :)  I'm definitely looking forward to exchanging gifts and sharing quality time with family, friends, & loved ones in just a couple weeks.  I'd love to know what you and your loved ones are doing to make this holiday season special so please feel free to share in the comments.

In the meantime, Merry Christmas everyone!!!

Getting back into the swing of things...

It's been a while - too long really - since I've posted anything here.  I'm going to have to shift the blame for that to someone other than myself.  Why would I want to blame myself?  Silly thought, that.  Anyway, it's probably a combination of things that has kept me from getting back to this blog.  First and foremost would be my new boyfriend.  It's been a little over a month since we started dating and I couldn't be happier.  I think he put it best the other day...when you're single, you get to a point where you're content and happy so it's easy to forget how much happier you can be if there's someone there to share things with.  I'd had my eye out for a good guy to date, but things just happened so naturally with this guy that it really didn't take any effort to go from single and doing our own things to intermingling our friends, activities, lives, etc.  It always "happens when you're not looking," right?

I've also had some not so great things going on lately - namely health issues.  It's nothing life threatening, but it will affect my life for sure.  I've known for a while that I had an unusually elevated heart rate.  120 bpm is pretty normal for me.  I also have trembling hands from time to time.  I was keenly aware of how NOT normal that was when one of my friends who has Parkinson's commented on my shaking hands.  Not a great sign, hmm?  So at the urging of both my mother and boyfriend I decided to get myself checked out.  A blood test later and I was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism - and a pretty severe case at that.  The doctor put me on a couple different meds for it...a beta blocker to slow my heart, and another one to work to calm my thyroid down.  Unfortunately, my body had a really bad reaction to the thyroid medication - my glands in my neck almost immediately (about 90 minutes later) swelled up to the size of limes, my fever spiked to 101.5 at the height of it, and I felt AWFUL!  By the next morning, I still wasn't better and felt awful so I spent 5+ hours in the ER trying to figure out what was wrong.  A CAT scan, chest x-rays, cultures, and blood draws (yes, multiple) later I was diagnosed with tonsillitis. 

The ER doc claims it was unrelated to the drug...I find that hard to believe since it started to go away by itself before the antibiotics were even in me.  There's no way it was "coincidence" like he claims!  So, what to do now?  I don't doubt my diagnosis...the thyroid issues run in my family and a blood test is pretty accurate...but I also don't really care for the doc that gave me the diagnosis.  So, I'm in the process of getting scheduled with an endocrinologist soon to see if I can't find some meds that will work better for me.  In the meantime, I'm just taking the beta blocker for my heart and staying away from the pills that gave me such a terrible reaction.  Fingers crossed that I never have to go through that again!!!

So that's pretty much it.  Now that I'm feeling a bit better I have the always fun task of cleaning house ahead of me today.  Thanks for reading and enjoy your Labor Day!

6 weeks

Once again, I'm late on the update on here.  This week has been a little insane at work since we have a new guy starting on Monday so everything needs to get prepped for that; with everything else on my plate, it's just been a rough week.  The previous weekend was a lot of fun though.  My best friend from law school came up from Orlando for the weekend and another friend of ours came down for a night from Fernandina.  I always feel fortunate when I get to spend time with old friends...especially when they're the ones that make it so easy to fall back into your old routine.  It doesn't matter if it's been weeks, months, or even years...some friends will always be great friends.

After a weekend filled with fun in the sun, several adult beverages, and tasty food I was really nervous about this week's weigh-in.  Despite my worries, it was still a 1.2 lb loss putting me at 19.8 pounds in total.  Sweet!!!

Generally, things are pretty good in my life right now.  Work is going well, I'm having the chance to get out with friends more, the weather is changing so more time outside is possible, and I'm feeling better about myself.  Now if only I could manage to break out of the singles life and spend a little time with someone, that would be great!  Unfortunately, the most recent setup/blind date was less than stellar and there aren't any prospects on the horizon.  Surely there's a guy out there that would appreciate my intellect, wit, and fun-natured self, right?  I just haven't met him yet...

Valentine's Day, Schmalentine's Day

Admittedly, my opinion on this "holiday" might be a tad jaded based on past experiences, but as a whole, this can be a tough day for everyone.  If you do have someone special to celebrate with, then you're saddled by the commercial nature of the entire day: expensive restaurants, beyond expensive flowers, calorie-killer candies, silly stuffed animals with no future purpose, etc.  If you don't have someone special, the day is an often painful reminder of what you don't have but may wish that you did, i.e., someone to share life's memories with.

I suppose I fall into that second category.  I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm a tad jealous of those that have someone to shower them with flowers and candy...but it's not something I'm going to change in the next 9 1/2 hours.  I used to laugh at my now-married older brother when he called himself "Single For Life (SFL)."  Yet I've begun to embrace that moniker for myself.  If you had talked to me a decade, or even just 3 years, ago and told me I would still be single in 2011, I would have thought that was ridiculous.  Getting married and perhaps starting a family was always something I dreamed about since I was a little girl.  But through a series of life events and relationship failures that's exactly what I am.  SFL, baby!  (These days I'm not too sure I'd want kids anymore, but a husband?  Yes, please.)

That doesn't mean that I'm not celebrating Valentine's Day though.  I can't remember if the tradition began last year or the year before, but given my SFL status, my parents have started inviting me along to their Valentine's dinner each year.  I'm still up in the air on whether that is sweet or just plain sad.  (I'm guessing it's probably just sad, but I'm holding on to the hope that it's sort of sweet too!)  This year, the dinner is tonight.  And because my poor mom is actually suffering from a nasty head cold, it'll just be me and my dad.  Yes, that's right...I have a Valentine's "date" with my dad tonight.

Anyway, for those of you that have a special someone, forget the commercial nature of Cupid's holiday.  Instead, I hope that this year's Valentine's Day is a celebration of the love between you and your significant other.  And if you're not currently paired up with someone, take a moment to celebrate all the wonderful things that you have to offer someone someday.  It's a day for love.  And that means loving yourself first!

xoxo

Ringing in 2011

I rang in the new year at a wedding last night, and I've got to say that it was an unexpectedly awesome way to begin the year.  Besides the whole "drinking for free on new year's" aspect, it was really special to spend the evening surrounded by love, excitement, and happiness.  Those feelings are infectious and I couldn't help but smile my way into 2011.  For an evening that typically falls short of expectations (I've previously had very few, if any, truly great new year's eves), last night was one to remember.  I wish a lifetime of love and happiness for the newly wedded couple.

Thinking of this new year in general, there's something that seems so "brand new" about the 1/1/11 date we have today...like it's a fresh start, a clean slate, a chance to begin all over again.  While I have definitely had some great experiences, accomplishments, and memories in past years, there are still things that I'm working towards and wishing for.  Here's to hoping that 2011 is a great year for myself and everyone else too.  While people typically make resolutions at the start of each year, more often than not those resolutions fall short of fruition.  Therefore, I'm not making any resolutions this year.  Rather, I'm choosing to live my life as best I can each day...hopefully giving more of myself to others and receiving satisfaction and happiness in return.  How did you spend your new year's eve and what's your plan/goal for the new year???

I'm alive!

It's been over a month since I posted here...but rest assured...

Despite that picture, I am not now a guitar player (though that would be pretty awesome, I'm not sure my fingers are coordinated enough for that hobby).  Life has been gobbling me up and spitting me back out...whole, for the most part. Work is nothing less than a bear lately, but I've been utilizing my weekends to have some fun.

Last weekend saw me in Cape Coral and Ft. Myers for the wedding of one of my law school friends.  It was a great opportunity for a mini reunion of friends I don't get to see nearly as often as I'd like.  Here was the BIG group of us...

And then here's one of just the ladies (which is, of course, nicer to look at)...

I've been itching to travel lately, and while this little trip kept me in Florida, at least it got me out of Jacksonville.  I have so much time off saved up at work, but no one to go on trips with (insert self-pity here).  Hopefully that will change one of these days.  Anyone up for being a travel buddy???

...and I'm off.  Have a great day! xoxo

Spring has sprung

Ahh...the season of new beginnings.  Flora and fauna alike are abuzz with new life...trees and flowers are blossoming and newborn goslings are the babies I've seen the most of (though I have no doubt just about everything is breeding right about now).

That goes for people too.  It seems like I can't jump online or talk to a friend without hearing about either upcoming nuptials or a little bundle of joy on the way.  This past weekend was spent in Orlando for the wedding of a friend of mine from law school.  It was a lovely wedding and reception and I had an absolute blast seeing some friends I don't get to see as often as I'd like.

I'm going to make a bold statement and say that the speech the groom-to-be gave to my friend during the rehearsal dinner was, quite possibly, the best speech I've heard at any of the many weddings I've attended.  Not only was his rapture readily apparent to everyone there, but he said the absolute sweetest things to his bride-to-be.  (And no, I'm not talking about sappy, cheesy lines that sound lovely but aren't worth much)  His speech was clearly from the heart...spoken from a man to the woman with whom he is madly in love.  As a spectator, it felt like the entire room melted away and all of the guests were given the unique gift of watching an intimate moment of unabashed love between a beautiful couple.  At the end of it all I have no doubt that all the women in the room (married or not) were in love with the groom-to-be...and all the guys that were there with dates were suddenly hating him for setting the bar so high.  :)

Love is a beautiful thing and I'm happy to have had the opportunity to witness so much of it this weekend!  xx