what i'm thankful for

hi friends.  i've made it to new york and it's been a wonderful trip so far.  in the weeks leading up to this trip, i was a little worried... 10 days is a long time to be away from home when we have SO much to do.  but it's been great, because we have TIME.  time to see old friends, time to laugh, time to sit and talk with family, time to reminisce.

i have a lot of things to be thankful for thankful for this year.  i thought i'd share the 10 things i am most grateful for from last thanksgiving to this one.  i'll try to keep it semi-brief, because i have mashed potatoes with truffle oil waiting for me... that's right.

1.  that i'm surviving school.  i was so worried going into this semester that i wouldn't be able to handle it all.  but i've done decently well in school and have been able to have some remnants of a social life.  some remnants.  but i've also had time to volunteer and spend time on things that are important to me, which has been a real gift.  i will have to juggle more going in to 2012, so this was a good test of just how much i can handle.

2. it's been a good year for friends, both old and new.  i'm thankful that i've met so many new people through school, the campaign, blogging, and other avenues.  i'm also very thankful that i've been able to rekindle some long lost friendships that had fallen by the wayside throughout the last few years.  i love the people in my life and i'm happy to be adding new ones every day.

3.  i'm so, so, so very thankful for our home.  sure, the roof over our heads has been leaky at times (not literally) but when so many people have lost their homes in the last few years, we are lucky that we own such a beautiful house that we are able to make improvements to.  it's our home, and i can't wait to spend the holiday seasons there for years to come.

4.  it's been a rough year for my family.  but i am so thankful for my ever-changing family that is so wonderful in so many different ways.  we lost someone very special to all of us back in february and it's taken my family a while to re-adjust itself to what it means to exist without her.  but we've made some strides, and i hope that we are on our way to a new definition of family.  she was a great woman, a true matriarch that held us together.  we've fallen apart a little without you nanny, but we'll get it together.  we've had some great additions to our family this year - my new aunt beth, my first and most-loved nephew little man, and my cousin's soon-to-be-husband patrick (wedding is tomorrow!).  i'm thankful that i have such loving and supportive parents and in-laws.  i don't know what i'd do without this support system.

5. we have had a few ups and downs health-wise this year, but everyone in my family is strong and healthy.  i'm very, very thankful for that.

6.  i'm blogging while on vacation.  i'm thankful that i have a job that allows me to take this time off to spend with my family during the holidays and my cousin's wedding.  i'm thankful that i'm able to semi-relax on this vacation, too :)

7.  one miracle of this year is the celebration of love during the holidays we get to experience tomorrow.  i can't think of two people more in love than my cousin and her fiance and i just can't wait for the wedding tomorrow.  no black friday shopping for me, just manicures with the bride and my fellow bridesmaids before it's off to the rehearsal.  it's the perfect reminder of what this time of year should really be about - family and love.

8.  our kitties.  they just make me happy.  :)

9.  my husband, the love of my life, philip.  i couldn't do half of anything i do without him.  he's my everything.  a quick story: five years ago it was our first thanksgiving together (or rather our first holiday together) and i remember almost every moment.  holding his hand before dinner, kissing in the kitchen, choking up at the dinner table with our friends in prague talking about how thankful we all were for one another in our lives.  i was convinced it would be the only holiday i'd get to spend with him.  and every thanksgiving, i remember that feeling and i'm thankful that he's the person i spend all my holidays with.

10.  it's been a year for personal growth.  i've kind of figured out what i want to do, i've gone back to school, and my life has a direction.  and i love the direction it's going in.

happy thanksgiving friends.  what are you thankful for today?

xoxo

breaking point.

me, very unhappy.
but not as unhappy as i was today.

wow.  i guess it was my own fault, really.  i went on and on yesterday about how it was a rough week, and i was so looking forward to vacay, but friday was a bad last day at work...

today was worse.  much worse, actually.

while i was at school (and really just not feelin it, by the way), i got a text from philip.  see, we have been using the downstairs shower for a few weeks now while we finish the upstairs bathroom makeover.  it's a pretty small space, but i repainted it last summer and we did a few little updates to make it useable.  another thing you need to know about this story is that our basement is uber-gross.  i refuse to go down there (i think that's where hostel was filmed), so it's just philip that goes down there every once in a while to retrieve or store something we don't use often.  today, it was his bicycle.  we put them away about a month or so ago, knowing it was too cold to go bike-drinking anymore.  but today he needed to get a part at the hardware store while i was at school, so he was going to bike.

but as he walked down the stairs into the basement, he noticed something curious.  the wall, along the right side of the staircase, was black.  so he touched it.  and when he touched it - not only was it soaking wet to the touch - but the wall caved in when he touched it.  apparently, whoever installed the bathroom shower with it's fancy greek-blue tiles installed it right to the drywall.  which doesn't hold up to moisture well.  so there was a giant puddle in the basement, and so far it seems to just be dumb luck that we have been using the bathroom shower and it hasn't fallen in to the basement.  there could be mold growing, but we haven't been able to find out just yet so that's another post for another awesome day.

so as of today at, say, 3pm, the downstairs bathroom is strictly off-limits.  it's upstairs bathroom only for us, which of course isn't finished yet, so that's not really as great as it sounds.  but i found out about this at exactly the wrong moment (would there ever be a right moment to hear this news?), as i was feeling totally overwhelmed with school.  and it's worth mentioning that instead of eating lunch on our noon break today, i got in a fight with my dad.  so i was feeling especially awesome.

what i guess i'm trying to say is, lesson learned.  i will never again post that i'm so stressed and it can't get worse.  because it can and it did.  but it's kind of funny, because this was my longest streak yet- i haven't had a day off since columbus day weekend and i won't be done until monday.  so i don't know how many days total that is but it's quite a bit.  i thought i was handling it all well - lots of stuff going on at work, increased responsibilities with the campaign, the home stretch with school - but it all just came crashing down today.  i did some serious therapy-crying on my way home from class.

but to make it all better - my mom was waiting at our house for me when i got home :) we had wine and brainstormed ideas for the fancy new downstairs bathroom we'll have to renovate now.  and then we all went out for moules frites at indulge.

the bright side?  our next house project will be remodeling the bathroom... downstairs.  suggestions anyone?  also - moms make it all better.

til tomorrow when i update you on the UPSTAIRS bathroom...

xoxo

fill in the blank stressful-friday

guys.  it's been a rough day.  for real.  it was one of those days where nothing really went my way, and just when i felt like i couldn't possibly handle ONE MORE THING something else happens.  when everyone needs me to solve all their problems but i can't seem to solve my own.  it was a long one.  but finally, i am done with my last day of work before vacation.  

siiiiighhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

just some blanks tonight, school tomorrow and sunday, then it's vacation time.  i'll have most of the day monday to sleep in, clean the house, pack and prepare.  i love those kind of days.  now if only i would wake up tomorrow and it would be monday... 

1.   a nervous habit i have is   just one habit? picking at my cuticles.  twirling my hair.  fidgeting.  shaking my leg.

2.   something that makes me sad is  well, there is something, but i'm not going to make it public.  but it makes me sad from time to time.

3.  today i am thankful for  my upcoming vacation!  it is crazy stressful right now getting ready for the trip - but once that moment, my favorite moment, arrives it will all be worth it.  and i get to see my loving family, some amazing friends, and watch one of my favorite couples tie the knot.  nothing could be better.

4. my favorite room in my house is    my living room. it's the only room that's actually done - no paint, no decorations, nothing missing.  so i love hanging out there because it is what the rest of my house will feel like someday... 

5.  i can't stand  intolerance, racism or stereotyping of any kind.

6.  if i had an extra $100 to spend on whatever i wanted today i would  look for christmas presents!  i have picked out a few so far and can't wait to do more holiday shopping!  that being said i might also be a little selfish and spend this fake $100 on something for my house for the christmas cocktail party :)

7.  the last person i hung out with was  my girlfriend walker, who came over on wednesday night to drink wine, eat thai food and help me dye my hair.  high school style.  it rocked.