game of things.

The holidays seem to present a huge down curve in the blog world, or at least for my blog. I'm not a big blog follower; I have my friends' and a few randos that I track, but I write only because I like to write. This past month has been absolute mayhem in my world, but I'm happy to report that I'm still afloat and even bobbing a bit . . . whatever that means. I was fortunate enough to spend my Christmas with my mom's family, something I know many people weren't able to do this year. My family is anything but dull. Where there's an open arm, a hug fits. Where there's quiet time, a fart falls in its place. This couldn't have been more evident than on Saturday night when my family was playing a game called Things. OK, I love to laugh, like LOVE to laugh, but I haven't laughed this hard in awhile.

Picture this: My mom, stepdad, brother A, brother B + 1 girlfriend and my grandparents all in the living room huddled around the coffee table. The family dog, Duke, who had found refuge in my company all weekend (bless his heart he misses Maddie dog), was sprawled out across my lap. The game goes like this: A reader poses a statement and each person provides an answer, then you go around the circle and try to guess who said what. It's. Completely. Ridiculous . . . at least when you involve the filthily incredulous minds of my family. Here's a sample of what we came up with:

Q: Name things you should not do on an airplane.
A: Fart
A: Fart and say "What a relief!"
A: Ask to borrow someone's chapstick
A: Make love overtly

Q: Name something that needs to be cleaned.
A: Brother A's underpants
A: Duke's bowels
A: The White House
A: Our minds

Q: Name things you call your significant other.
A: Bubbles
A: Numb nuts
A: Please
A: Sugarpants

Q: Name things you should not do when you're naked.
A: Eat a burrito then sprint
A: Case links of sausage
A: Jumping Jacks
A: Apologize

Q: Name what you'd do if you had super powers.
A: Rearrange city buildings
A: Travel to the 1970's
A: Fly
A: Fart sparkles

You get the point.

It's not everyday that I hear my grandpa say you shouldn't make love overtly on an airplane or that you shouldn't do jumping jacks while naked, says my grandma. Nor is it everyday that you picture a naked person eating a burrito then running a hundred meter dash. By the end of the night I was rolling on the ground laughing and had done about a week's worth of ab exercises.

As one can only imagine, getting on that plane to fly home yesterday was about the most difficult thing I've had to do in at least three months.

cheers for you.

First say to yourself what you would be; then do what you have to do.
-Epictetus

Keep this close to your heart. Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas!

another wednesday in the books.

Yesterday was a pretty special one in the Land of Enchantment. I actually had been dreading it for a couple of weeks because I knew I'd be inundated with meetings, but thankfully it's over now and I'm ALIVE. During lunch my coworkers and I headed to the local steakhouse (ahh such an endearing little joint) for our Christmas party. I've been pretty red-meat-depleted lately so I ordered a bruschetta burger with asparagus. Delish. Anyway, we did a little gift exchange and here's what mine was! Mini cupcakes! Yahoooo!



When I got home from the gym (at 8:30 because I worked until 7:00--woof), this package was on my doorstep from my future parents-in-law. Can I just say that I am one really super lucky lady? Here was the note and what was inside! . . .

The cheese section really helped me to appreciate all that I have and all that I do, especially on Wednesdays like yesterday.

wednesday wonders.

This morning I awoke to a lovely headache (yet another reminder of the dryness of the desert--must drink agua!) so I took a little happy pill and chugged a Nalgene and now . . . I. FEEL. GREAT. Anyway, I have this "new" habit of waking up late, like 7:15 when I'm suppose to be at work at 8:00 late. Good thing my commute is a quick 9-minute jaunt across town. I was needing a little musical goodness to brighten my morning so I turned on the radio and fell on the country station (another "new" thing--country is nice in the mornings, people. Don't judge.). During the news brief they unveiled the results of the big TOWN VOTE last night in Portales. Are you ready for the results? Here you go!:

You can NOW order alcoholic beverages in restaurants on Sundays. Waaaaahooooooooo!!

I nearly wet my drawers laughing. I know I'm being a butthead, but really New Mexico? Wasn't Jesus's first miracle turning water into wine? Juuuuuuuuuuust sayin. I live in the real Southwest.

Next I came into work (only a couple minutes past the hour) and called my mom to tell her to be on the lookout for my brother's Christmas gift coming via Postal Serv. Funnily enough he called her last night to tell her the exact same thing. I guess great (and biologically similar) minds think alike. Ahhh life's wonders. I then proceeded to chat her ear off while she was making Christmas baklava (ohhhh maaaahhhh gawwwwd YES) and other delicious cookies which will no doubt hurt my waistline next week. Once I mentioned the headache + happy headache pill remedy she said, "Ohhhhhhhhhhh so THAT'S why you're so chatty today!" Ouch, Mom. I responded with a really mature, "Oh yeah? Well you made me so you clearly made me chatty." Good one. Point: Mom.

She ended the conversation by telling me that it was almost time for the Price is Right to come on and I nearly burst into tears. I do miss the days of hearing el capitan get out of bed and watching him put on his flight suit through my baby bird morning eyes, then trudging to the kitchen to make us a coffee and yogurt breakfast . . . followed by some serious couch and PiR time, gym, lunch with el cap', then more randomness until el cap' came home. All things considered, it's probably heathier for me to have a job. I could feel myself becoming a Hermit with each drop of the Plinko chip . . .

Today is a pretty wild day in the non-profit world. I'm busy advocating (one of our overused words, like "synergy" or "historically" or "get exciiiited!" in other lines of biz . . . ) for a couple of my clients today and will be here until a healthy 6:30 this evening. I've never been more ready for mountains. BOOM.

night at the coffee shop.

Sometimes life throws you curve balls. You either hit them out of the ballpark, catch them or they catch you straight in the schnoz. I think everyone experiences all three.

Tonight I worked at the local coffee shop and even though what I really wanted to do was sit at home and pretend to study, it was good to get out and serve some Joe. The kid who was working with me is a seventeen-year-old Evangelical Christian. He's found and been saved by Jesus and wants to share that. It's a pretty nice thing to see around here as oppose to the countless pregnant girls and crazy boys. We had a long conversation about his life and faith--amazing how open he was--and I added a few tidbits of "I'm 24 you're 17 so I'm older and wiser" knowledge to the talk, which I was sure to keep PG. It's hard to make a teenager understand the real ways of the world until they experience it themselves, but I appreciated his naivete nonetheless. It was refreshing actually. Consider that a good curve ball.

Well in the midst of my shift, I realized that I wasn't going to get out of there at 10:00 as expected. "Closing" means you stay at least an hour late. At least. I was trying to contrive ways to sneak out early, but then considering I was one of two employees there I knew that wouldn't happen too easily. Sooo around 11:30 we finally locked the front door and went our separate ways. Schnoz ball . . . I have a mega busy week ahead and could have used a little beauty sleep. Such is life.

Funny things were happening tonight that I couldn't help but laugh to myself about: Customers, weird random coffee shop jokes, meeting a girl from Michigan who's in love with Suh and was wearing his Lions jersey . . . we exchanged numbers naturally. Anyway, as I was washing my hands I saw this taped to the wall:

If you look closely you'll see that this was created by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, my alma mater. Ahhh the little things. It was nice to end the evening with a great connection to a curve ball. And now? Snugglefest 2011 with Georgeman. Booyah.

sludgy day.

You know those days that happen every now and then and it feels like there's not much that goes right? Although I don't believe it's healthy to think that way, I do know it's OK to have down days. All things considered, I'm not sure my down days are really all that bad, but my immense fatigue paired with some ridonculous things that have happened today have nearly sent me over the edge. I kind of feel like my brain is trudging through molasses at the moment.

Despite all of the chaotic garbage that has piled up on today, I keep focusing on the light at the end of the tunnel which is: 5:00. Also, last night I read this prayer in Oprah's magazine and loved it. It's been helping a lot today. :) Enjoy:

May today there be peace within.

May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be.

May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith.

May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you.

May you be content knowing you are a child of God.

Let this presence settle into your bones and allow your soul the freeom to since, dance, praise and love.

It is there for each and every one of us.

procrastinator pants.

All night I've been actively avoiding finishing my third and final project for the semester. I think it's because my mind has tricked itself into believing that because it's due at midnight Saturday, I have all the time in the world. Wrong. Tonight is pretty much the only night I have, yet here I am at 10:00 looking at treasures on Backcountry.com. Mostly I think I'm sick of staring at a computer screen reading (skimming) journal after journal of Cognitive Behavioral studies. Essentially, I'm needing to write ten pages to elaborate on this statement: Cognitive Behavioral therapy focuses on reconstructing thoughts and maladaptive behaviors in order to create a healthier person . . . and it works.

Blah blah bloo blee blee.

Backing up a few hours . . . I enjoyed a mightily productive day at work, checking box upon box of work off my listomania. Tomorrow I'm looking forward to a "down day" in preparation for the onslaught of meetings next week. I told my dad tonight, after a dual venting sesh which made me laugh, that I'm going to be a rag doll by Friday afternoon. Good thing I'll be in Breck by Friday night and if I don't have a beer in hand it could get ugly.

Then I knocked out a fantastical workout at the gym and am proud to say that I now can do full, official, real-deal push-ups. Cartwheels are still another story, but push-ups? Piece of cake.

I came home to dinner already made . . . and really can't explain how wonderful that is. I spent the next hour trying to figure out how to make that happen on a regular basis . . . crockpot is my only answer . . . and I just came up with that now.

After that, I played a little round of fetch with my cat. Don't believe me? Check this out (and disregard the background conversations . . . I'm a novice YouTuber): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewvpUaLmuqM

All right. Back to mi papel.

holiday biz.

Who doesn't love the deliciously divine smell of chestnuts roasting on an open fire? . . . Who has no idea what that actually smells like? Listening to a few holiday tunes on the telly reminded me that I'm among the latter, but I do know what pine smells like. OH and I also know what pine looks like, especially after putting up this bad boy in the Nancy Lo casa:

That's over seven feet of Christmas love in our living room! Is is sad that I want to keep it around all year? Ask anyone that question and I'll bet they tell you the same thing.

Anyway, today we Eastern New Mexicans got our first big "snowstorm." OK people, I grew up in Nebraska and know a blizzard when I see one . . . but that doesn't mean I'll still cross my fingers for a snow day after seeing only a flurry in the air. Good news for me, here their perception of a snowstorm is much different. Flurry = blizzard = we might as well build storm shelters in New-Antarctica. I have a feeling this mindset largely is due to the lack of snow removal operations in the area, but also because there is overall lack of precipitation in the area, so anything we get is a HUGE deal. I'm not saying I mind. I was let out of work early and here's what my drive home looked like. Mind you, this is comparable to a mild Nebraskan winter day, but hey, I'll take it (besides, the roads literally were nothing less than a giant sheet of ice so naturally I busted out my granny driving skillz for the occasion):

 

When I got home, I made sure George and Stella had a proper introduction to snow. After strongly considering tossing them into the lawn, I opted to let them discover it themselves. George forged into the openness with me, but Stella was a huge pansy about it . . . oh well. Mostly they just did this:

Losers. We'll try again tomorrow.

As for me, it only felt right to be wearing my flannel-lined Carhardt's while frolicking through the snow:

Mmmm warm pants. Now, and for the past few hours (gross, I know), I've been planted on the couch working on a research paper. Nothing like finishing up a semester at the last minute! Seriously, how else would I do it? At least I have my lovely little friend to keep me company:

Love the life you live. And be thankful for little moments like this one. I'm lucky; George does this every day. :) Aaaaaaaaaaand back to my paper.

a merry little song.

Little Big Town performed this a capella on the CMA Christmas music special the other night as I was decorating the house. They sang it as a tribute to our military servicemen and women. You better believe it brought me to tears.

http://www.myspace.com/music/player?sid=85190363&ac=now

I just bought it and plan on listening to it on repeat until "real" Christmas comes, which I was informed won't actually occur until the beginning of January. I can't wait.

christmas list.

Tonight I finished decorating the living room for Christmas. I was watching a country music special while wrapping the lights around the tree and hanging all of my childhood ornaments from the branches. I even went a little overboard and lit a pine-scented candle. Sometimes what is most simple in life is what's best. There's beauty in it all. The key is learning how to appreciate it.

This year I only have one thing to ask of Santa:
Bring my soldier home to me safe and sound.

 It's by your side I make my home.