balancing the new year.

Is it still appropriate to say Happy New Year on January 10th?  Well, I don't care, I'm saying it anyway.  Happy Freaking New Year!

I'm sure you can gather by my silence here that my resolutions for 2014 aren't exactly off to a great start.  Per usual, I laid out some pretty lofty goals - to workout everyday, get more sleep, write meaningful, life changing blogs that would go viral and change people's lives . . . and . . .

Then, I had to go to work.  And then it got cold.  And then I had to finish season 3 of Homeland marathon style and other super important things like Bravo and naps and, well, here we are.

January 10th.  

I'm disappointed in how little I have accomplished in the first ten days of this year, but refuse to get discouraged.  I still have 355 days to get it together and get back on track to make 2014 a happy and productive year.

On a positive note - I finished 2013 succeeding in one of my goals to get out of debt by paying off my credit cards AND my car.  I'm now the title holder of a 2007 Toyota Highlander.  She's far from a luxury car, but if you don't know already, allow me to tell you - a joy ride in car that is paid for is extra joyful.

Proving I still have some work to do in the realm of financial responsibility, I promptly celebrated my accomplishment by buying myself a pair of leather pants and booking a New Year's trip to New York to see Phish play their 30th anniversary at Madison Square Garden.

New York for was a whirlwind of music and food, two of my most favorite things.  I spent quality time boogieing with old friends and even met some new friends while ringing in the new year.  Phish does it right.  

 

Yes, that's me (and my new friend) and yes, I'm wearing a fur coat.  I also wore my new leather pants and sequins, because it's Phish and I do what I want.

After four days of overdoing it, I returned home to Atlanta to (literally) hibernate for three straight days, watching enough TLC and HGTV to convince myself I do deserve a $20,000 wedding gown and this is the year when I'm finally going to buckle down, buy a house and act like an adult.

Stay tuned for that.

Based on how I ended 2013, I'd say I still have a lot of work to do on last year's resolution to find balance.  I still live like I'm on a roller coaster, usually operating on the extreme sides of my personality, rarely some calm place in the middle. Months of financial responsibility blown in two weeks.  Four days of go, go, go, followed by three of stop. stop. stop. 

It's not the way I want to live.  So, once again, I aim to find balance in 2013.  For real this time.

As in, instead of just aiming for balance - a high-minded and overwhelmingly vague resolution - I want to identify what feeling balanced means for me and then execute specific actions that will make it a reality - and not just a nice mantra.   

Other than trying to pick up after myself a little each day so as not to require a 9-hour house cleaning once a month, I have absolutely no idea what such actions might be, so for all of you people out there who feel like they've figured it out, I welcome your suggestions.

On the writing front, I'm dedicating 30 minutes a day to uninterrupted writing sessions.  I hope that this small time commitment will lead to more, but committing to a half hour is extremely doable and a vast improvement over the writing binges and hiatuses I've taken in the past.

Baby steps.

Alright, now my new year has official started.  Break out your party pants (leather, optional).  Let's do this, 2014!

greetings and celebrations.

Merry Christmas Friends!  (And Happy Holidays, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, Festivus too!)

Whatever you're in to, I suspect many of you have visions of 2-week vacations dancing in your heads already, and if so, I am extremely jealous, as I will be working next week.  Fingers crossed for lots of baked goodies around the newsroom and no breaking news.  

Sadly, I haven't attended a single holiday party this season, but things have been quite festive around here - very festive, in fact, in the ways with which I am most familiar - baby showers and weddings.

First, Kyle's Baby Shower -

"Festive" doesn't even begin to describe the wonder of this party.  I wish I could take credit for it, but besides just a few miscellaneous contributions, most of the heavy (and fancy) lifting of her shower came courtesy of her mom and sister.  Those two created a Winter Wonderland that would make even Kimye jealous.  It was truly spectacular and a genuinely fun time celebrating Kyle, Greg and Baby G (coming January 2014).

 

My biggest contribution was a video - 21 minutes of family and friends talking about what kind of parents Greg and Kyle are going to be - understood if you don't know them, this will probably not be at all interesting to you.  However, if you're getting ready to have a baby or thinking about getting pregnant - scroll through to the "advice" section of the video where things get real, fast.

Last weekend, Jacob's super fun (and beautiful) sister Amy got married in Charleston.  Obviously I'm quite seasoned when it comes to weddings, but after participating in three days of non-stop wedding activity I'm afraid I might be out of practice.  I texted my girlfriends the Monday after it was over, "Now I understand why people get married in their twenties - because wedding festivities for a 30+-year old is brutal."

Much to my delight, Amy's wedding photographer was none other than my blog crush Olivia - it was wonderful to catch up with her and hear about all of the wonderful things she's been up to.  For a full update, head over to her blog, but safe to say she's on her way to becoming a famous photographer.

I can't wait to see her pictures of Amy - but here are some of mine as your preview of the shenanigans.

And obviously let's not forget the most important celebration of all - no offense Kyle and Amy - but my niece Katherine Gray is one month old.  While still doing very little but eating, pooping and sleeping, she still manages to impress us all by simply existing.  

So . . .no boozy tacky Christmas sweater parties over here (aren't those so passe anyway?), but December has been busy.  I cannot help but feel the spirit of Christmas when surrounded by the people that I love and care for in the midst of the biggest celebrations of their lives.  

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas - Stay safe, make smart choices, be nice, and choose love.  

I'll be back before the New Year to share all the highlights and low lights of 2013.  

stupid crap.

I was at my friend Lisa's house last weekend when she said to me, "When are you going to start doing new things again and writing about it?"

My ears started to perk up at her interest in the blog, as she continued her thought.

"I need an excuse to do stupid crap."

I laughed, and then quickly scanned my memories of all of the shenanigans Lisa and I have participated in over the years - both for the blog and also those NSFB.  Though I'd prefer to think of them as adventures, life-changing moments, lasting memories made, I guess "stupid crap" applies to most, if not all, of them.

"We definitely don't need an excuse to do stupid crap," I reminded her.  After all, I was doing stupid crap long before I started this blog, and I'll continue doing stupid crap long after the blog goes away.

But she's right.  The frequency of my doing new things and writing about them has leveled off considerably since I turned 30.  My health and sanity have depended on my accepting the normal of my everyday life and finding wonder in that, but I still crave adventure, spontenaitey and travel. 

Back in October, a last minute trip to New York to spend some time with (and surprise) friends I hadn't seen in a while beckoned, and I gave in.  Sometimes listening to that devilish voice inside your head that keeps taunting you, "Just do it! Just book the ticket!" is a very good thing. 

And in three short days, I managed to fit in a great deal of stupid crap:

1. Smorgasburg - Brooklyn's answer to food trucks, featuring dozens of vendors serving delicious and eclectic food "to go."  Duck dumplings, Pork Spring Rolls, that Ramen burger you keep hearing about everywhere - they have it all and it's all delicious, and by New York's standards, relatively inexpensive.    

Plus, it's the best place to mingle about hispters in their natural habitat -- there were plaid shirts, ironic mustaches, and Buddy Holly glasses as far as the eye could see.

 

2. A stroll through Brooklyn, while indulging in, hands down, the best ice cream sandwich I've ever had.  It almost cured my sadness over Georgia losing to Vanderbilt, which I watched unfold on my Twitter feed.

3. A walk across the Brooklyn Bridge.

4. A going away surprise Italian dinner executed perfectly for my friend Laura, followed by bar dancing (with a Reserved section sign as a prop). 

5. An original Banksy, one block from Lauren's house. 

As of yesterday, I'm headed back to New York for the New Year.  If that's stupid crap, well then, bring it on.