Archive for December, 2009
A Week of 2009: Favorites
Of course, some things remain constant over the years. My favorite person will always be my son. My favorite food will always be pasta. But most things change as time goes by and I have new experiences and interests. Today, I’m listing my favorites of 2009 – things that are new to me this year, and likely to change again in the future.
Place to be: In my home. I’m not a homebody (I don’t think) but I am just so happy to have this wonderful, cozy, beautiful new home that it is my favorite place to be – to relax, to hang with others, to play with Braden, to eat, drink and be merry!
New possession: I guess I’m a bit of an indecisive person – that, or I just appreciate A LOT – because I’m having a hard time deciding between my iPhone, my Canon PowerShot camera, and my new Dell laptop (that I’ve only spent a total of an hour on thus far). I’m going with the Dell. My justification is this: the camera is a replacement for a broken Canon PowerShot, so not really new for 2009, and [spoiler] the iPhone will find itself a home elsewhere on this favorites list.
Quote: “A parent should love their children more than they hate their ex.”
Wine: Oak Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon. There’s a story here. At a restaurant I love, I always order the House Cabernet. The first time I tried it, I was trying to choose the cheapest glass of wine because my friends were buying. But one sip and I was in love. IN LOVE. It is so smooth with not a hint of sweet. And it comes in monstrous glasses at this particular restaurant. After about my third visit since my discovery of the House Cab, I decided to ask what it is, so I could enjoy it at home as well. The waiter gave me the name and when I got home, I began my quest to find this wine. I started at the usual places I pick up my wine: the grocery store, Target, the liquor store down the street. No luck. I searched online and found that the wine is carried at Binny’s. Binny’s is about 20 minutes from my house, so Doug and I made a trip out there one Saturday. I made a mental note of how much I would allow myself to spend on a bottle of this wine: $30.00. I usually buy $10.00 bottles of wine, or Trader Joe’s’ infamous Charles Shaw for $2.99 — so this was going to be a treat. I search the aisles, but to no avail. I asked the guy at the wine counter if they carried Oak Vineyards. He pointed us to the front of the store. And there it was!!! (Imagine clouds parting, sun shining down, and church music playing.) Stacked by the case, I had trouble locating the price. Once I found it on the back of the display I nearly dropped dead. $3.99. My entire world changed at that very moment. I felt as though I had been very, very, very good and God was rewarding me. I bought a case. One for me, one for my friend, one for Doug’s sister-in-law.
Restaurant: Reality Bites. This great little place with a trendy atmosphere and amazing menu of tapas and regular meals. They have great food, friendly wait staff, sexy ambiance and flights of beer and wine.
Pastime: Blogging
Bands: Train, Zac Brown Band, Nickelback, Three Doors Down, Kings of Leon
Singers: Rob Thomas, Jamey Johnson
Songs: Need You Now by Lady Antebellum, Save the Day by Train, Her Diamonds by Rob Thomas, Closer to Love by Mat Kearney, Whatever It Is by Zac Brown Band, Dreamgirl by Dave Matthews Band
Indoor entertainment: ROCK BAND!
Two Things Braden Says: “I’mashowya” ~and~ “You’re the best mom in the whooooollllle world. I love you sixty hundred.”
Thing I don’t have anymore: Sirius Radio. After a year and a half of being spoiled with a huge selection of commercial-free music at my fingertips (in my car, on my computer, on my iPhone), my subscription ran out and I’ve decided not to renew for now. Damn practical decisions.
Beer: Bud Light Harvest Wheat. Yummmm. So much flavor! I used to drink Bud Light when I drank beer. Then they introduced Bud Light Lime, which replaced Bud Light for me in the warm months. Now this Bud Light Harvest Wheat is replacing Bud Light for me in the cooler months. Bye Bye, Bud Light!
Fashion trend: Long baggy sweaters/shirts, leggings, chunky boots, leg warmers. Yes, all worn together. I was going to include brightly colored jelly bracelets, but I’m afraid you might come kick me back into the 80s, and I have no desire to re-live grade school what-so-ever.
Color: Teal. Okay, come and get me. I deserve it.
Book: Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella
Make-my-life-easier item: Hands down, my iPhone. Phone, camera, calculator, Internet, email, maps, directions, Google (voice activated search, translator, reader), weather, music, alarm clock, voice recorder, photo album, video player, address book, calendar, handheld game, time-passer, babysitter… ALL IN ONE!
Blog Post (mine): So hard to say, they’re all so good! So I’ve “narrowed it down” to seven. Obscure Injury, I don’t remember God., Old Lauren, The Perfect Date, An Awesome Little Team, In the Face of Fear and You Can Have the Blender, I’ll Keep the Friends.
Blog Post (other): Yesterday and today, as I mentally prepared this post, I was debating between a couple of favorite posts I’ve read on other blogs. Which one will make the list? And then today I read a post that trumps all other posts I’ve read this year. Penelope at Single Mom Adventures wrapped up the month of December with this beautiful post of gratitude.
These are the topics that come to mind now. I think it will be fun to compare this list with the same list for 2010.
What are your favorites this year?
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( 9 so far )A Week of 2009: New Relationships
The days are numbered, indeed. 2009 is on its way out and I thought it a good time to pay it some respect and due credit. So this week on MLI will be a week of 2009.
When I first typed the title of today’s post into my WordPress post editor, I typed “A Week of 2009: Outstanding People in My Life.” And then I decided that I might offend the fabulous people I know and love who may not have made mention. So rather, I’d like to share some of the new, rewarding relationships that have blossomed for me this year.
1. Doug’s Family – I met Doug in 2008 because I knew his brother and his sister-in-law. I did not, however, have the pleasure of getting to know the rest of his family until this year. I have never known a group of people as warm and inviting as the Xxxxxxs. The first time I stepped foot in his parents’ house, I was greeted with a hug, a smile, and a face lick (from his mom, his dad and their dog – in that order). I bonded with his mom and other sister-in-law instantly, and Braden with the children. I am so blessed to have all three of these women, their husbands and their children in my life. They are such a fun (and loud) bunch – and I look forward to any time I get to spend with them. My son and I have been treated like members of the family and we could not be more thrilled to play the part.
2. My Work Girls – I started my job at the end of 2008, and over this past year have had the pleasure of making friends with five fabulous women. I think to make one real friend at work would be noteable, but five!? My good fortune is evident in this truth. These are not just eat-lunch-together friends. These are girls who I laugh and cry with. We share stories, meals, life events and funny graphics. These are my friends — and I am so grateful to have them in my life!
3. My Online Community – This sounds very cheesy to those of you who know me in the flesh, rather than digitally. But this is where the old cliche “don’t knock it ’til you try it” comes in handy. When I decided to start this blog in October, I had no idea what to expect. I thought I would write some stuff in hopes that “the right person” would read it and I’d land some freelance work or something. What I got instead was this online community of friends: writers, moms, single parents, divorcees, entrepreneurs. These are not the people I’d go to if I want to get out of the house and have a good time. They are not the people I call when I need a shoulder to cry on. But they are people with similar interests as mine, and a supportive nature that helps make chasing my dream seem a little less ridiculous. I am grateful for the online relationships I’ve formed. This goes for all of you, but a few in particular who stand out are: Los Angeles Single Mama, Jamey Stegmaier and Tiffany Noth.
4. Ex-Husband – True, I’ve known him for almost 13 years. So how does he fall on my list of new relationships formed in 2009? I have had the pleasure of forming a new relationship with a known entity over the past year. In the first 10 years, we dated, we married, we became parents, we divorced. All of those stages were very difinitive. After the divorce, however, our lives and our relationship took the symbolic form of a big question mark. 2008 was a mess for me, which rendered me unable to, and uninterested in, dealing with defining my relationship with my ex. Though the road to the present was rocky, the 2009 journey is ending in a good place. Our relationship, in my opinion, has been redefined. We are now co-parents, in the truest form. We are friends by circumstance, who support and respect each other and have vowed to work together as a team to provide the best possible upbringing for our son.
5. Ex-Husband’s Girlfriend – There is another woman in my son’s life. This was hard to absorb and accept at first. I never doubted my ex’s judgment in who he chose to bring into Braden’s life – that wasn’t the problem. I just had a hard time accepting that when he wasn’t with me, he was with another woman. But over time, as I began to repair my relationship with my ex, something interesting happened; I began to develop a relationship with his girlfriend. Now, I have a new friend and Braden has an ideal child-of-divorce situation. We are truly an odd, but fortunate group!
6. Courtney – There is nothing more exciting that reconnecting with old friends. If you’re like me, you probably duck your head in the neighborhood bar when people from your younger days walk in. Often, it’s just easier to pretend you don’t see each other than to have to put on the niceties. But sometimes, there is a gem out there — someone who got lost along the way for no reason other than your paths leading in different directions. And when they cross again, you couldn’t be happier. Courtney was one of my best friends in high school. We lost touch after graduation until Facebook brought us back together 13 years later in April 2009. We have been friends again ever since. It’s like we never skipped a beat (well, barring the death of her father, our college education, both of our marriages, my son, her two sons, my divorce, her mother’s marriage, two job losses and her at-home daycare – but who’s keeping track?). The reunion was meant to be; we get together as often as we can, our kids are the same age and enjoy playing together, her husband is awesome and we both love to write. I’m so happy to have her back in my life!
2009 has been a great year for relationship building and connecting with others for me. I can’t wait to see what happens in 2010!
Finally, I ought to add the disclaimer that if I met you this year and I didn’t mention you here, it’s not because you aren’t important to me, it’s just because I forgot you. (I shouldn’t have to explain my humor here.)
What new relationships have you formed this year? Who has come into your life and made an impact?
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( 14 so far )My Christmas Gift to You
Each gift was beautifully, meticulously wrapped. Thick, expensive paper; craft store ribbon and handmade bows; stationery tags; and an occasional ornament topper. The print on the paper matched up where the ends met, and double-sided tape held the paper in place, so as not to interfere with the beauty of the presentation. The gifts looked so magnificent, I wished the recipients didn’t have to tear through my efforts to get to the goods.
I was obsessed with gift wrapping. Every year, people would comment on the beauty of my gifts. I even entered a gift wrapping contest and won. I envied the wrappers at Von Maur who had the good fortune of earning money while wrapping gifts all day.
I was reminiscing about my prideful wrapping days as I hurriedly threw some cheap Wal-Mart paper around the gifts of plenty that I wrapped yesterday. I ran out of tape half way through, so I improvised — I ran to garage and grabbed the tape gun. Yes, I wrapped gifts with packing tape. To give credit where due, I did cut it into small pieces with scissors.
The fact of the matter is, reality set in. For a handful of years I was a working adult with minimal bills and minimal commitments. My time and money were in greater supply than demand. Wrapping gifts was half the fun of the holiday for me at that time. Today, my recipients are lucky if I remember to stick a cheap, flattened bow from the bag on top. The look on the faces when I’ve nailed what’s inside has replaced the excitement of a perfect presentation.
Merry Christmas to you. I hope that when you tear back the messy wrap of the holiday preparation, there is a perfect gift of love and happiness for you to enjoy today.
~Lauren
What is your gift wrapping philosophy?
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