Stuff coming up to be excited about

It's my absolute favorite time of year, and there are SO many things coming up to put on the calendar:

Samantha and Casey's son Samuel's first birthday
Dad's birthday
James' birthday
The Singing Christmas Tree!
The Passion Play
Lee's engagement partayyy
Mary and Mel's annual driving through decorated neighborhoods to see pretty lights with hot chocolate or flavored cappuccino in hand

Hark how the bells...

I love this time of year. Love it. It's simply the best, and I'll argue the point to anyone who'll listen. For a two-ish month period of time, all seems right with the world. I can't start listening to Christmas carols soon enough. I know if I dust off the holiday albums too soon, people will think I'm crazy, but I couldn't even hold off 'til Thanksgiving this year. This week I gave into temptation. The sounds of Jewel and Mariah Carey (yes, Mariah Carey) and Trans Siberian Orchestra doing the songs I love most have begun to fill my car, and I couldn't be happier.

The music this time of year just makes me giddy. And I love the chill in the air, the bite that makes you bundle in coats and scarves and gloves. I love fireplaces. I love snow -- even if in sunny South Carolina I'm left only with pictures and fantasies of it. I love poinsettias, blankets, berries, wreaths, bows, pies. The meals, the desserts, the time with family, the green, the red, the gold and the silver all fill me to the brim.

When it does snow, is there anything better than lying down in the bed of white, arms and legs outstretched, making snow angels? Building snowmen? Hands and noses red and raw and so cold and numb they burn?

I love stockings and candy canes and, for a short while, the sensation that everything, the big, the small, the important, the miniscule, everything will work out. Everything will be ok.

Amore

I love...
the way a song can take you back
the power of words
embracing
knowing everything's going to be ok
letters
hidden beauty
the way hot coffee warms your hands
the colors of fall
keeping a journal
eating chocolate chip cookies fresh out of the oven when they're warm and gooey
Scrabble
time with family
surprise phone calls
finding the perfect dress
feeling refreshed after a run
daisies
reading a good book
the feeling of accomplishment
giving praise to God
satisfying conversations with friends
photographs
being in love
getting lost in the moment
stability
understanding
how purple makes me happy
satin and lace and pearls and all things frilly
dreaming...

What is "inquiry" for $300 Alex?

Will I ever be all I hope to be?
Will I ever accomplish all the things I hope to?
Will I make a difference somehow?
Do I want too much out of life? Do I dream too much? Dare I dream for everything, for it all?
Why are life decisions so difficult? Why does pain accompany joy and the pang of fear go hand in hand with hope?
Is it crazy to be happy, uncertain, amazed, crestfallen all at once?
What is normal? What if what was, what is and what will be are far cries from one another?
What if there are no answers?

I'm sad -- I was entirely too diligent applying sunblock while at the beach this weekend and now have NOTHING to show for my hours of lying on the beach and sweating my butt off. Oh well, c'est la vie.

In other sad news, my pedicure from a few weeks ago is started to not look so great anymore. Ah, if only I had money in excess to get manis and pedis on a whim...

In less shallow news, I've been reading The Kite Runner and thoroughly enjoying it. I'm almost finished, and it's to the point now where I'm sneaking in a few pages here and there every chance I get. I can't wait to finish. I definitely recommend it.

Vices

I've been thinking a lot about my vices lately. Been trying to identify them all. A few are pretty blatant, but I feel sure there are others.
Obvious ones:
-my addition to coffee
-my propensity for cursing
-interrupting others (especially when I get excited)
-talking entirely too loudly
-laughing at inappropriate times
-having little to no willpower when it comes to junk food
-shopping when there's no money in the bank

The wedding weekend the first weekend in August was lots of fun. It started with me getting my first ever pedicure on Friday morning (thanks in part to Mel for a Christmas present gift card). Somehow I had managed to go 24 years without ever experiencing the wonder that is the pedicure. It was 45 minutes of pure bliss, and after it was all said and done, my toes were a pretty pink. ANYWAY, then P and I headed to Lexington for wedding festivities. The rehearsal dinner was at a farm in a quaint little barnhouse, and the menu was Southern favorites: bbq, fried chicken, rice, etc. It was quite the good time. Then Saturday the wedding was at 6 p.m. and was absolutely beautiful. The reception afterward was another good time of course.
Last week ended up being another short week for me because I got to be out of the office all day Friday to go to Columbia for a workshop where I got to see my Lee (another perk!). We met up beforehand at Mickey D's for breakfast, did the workshop thing for the bulk of the day and rounded out the day with ice cream at Marble Slab. Yum.
On Saturday, I went and visited my dear friend Rachel, whom I hadn't seen in FOREVER. Her kids are growing up so fast, it's just hard to believe. We had a great time catching up.
Then Sunday was a great day at church. Mel and I joined the choir. Yay!