February 14, 2010 at 9:09 pm · Filed under heart
Over the years, Valentine’s Day became a little mundane to us. After so many years of being together and living together, Dave and I have come to truly appreciate the daily-ness of our love and our life together. Having Valentine’s Day seems a little less private and a little less original than the holiday had intended (outside of Hallmark, I mean). It is the consumerist’s style of manipulation to make something as private and intimate and personal as the relationship between two lovers into something so publicly celebrated and flaunted. So, although sometimes Dave and I recognize the holiday for what it is, most of the time, we tend to live it like we live every other day. We tend to like our anniversaries and our birthdays more, because they seem more personalized and more special to each of us, to our family. While I love the idea of celebrating love, I don’t like to celebrate it with so many people. It sort of defeats the intimacy of the love itself, in my opinion.
Though, having said that, I really enjoyed the heart-shaped toast with pancakes and eggs that my husband had made for me today, in a celebratory gesture of the holiday. We didn’t get each other anything this year, as we usually celebrate on our anniversaries, and kisses and hugs more than suffice. The fact that we’ve been together for so long is in and of itself enough for celebration everyday, I think. I enjoy being appreciated, being acknowledged for my half of our contribution to uphold this family. I enjoy getting random kisses and the small moments of flirtation that we still have, after being together for so long. I enjoy having daily reminders that he loves me. I would rather have small doses of appreciation and love everyday than a giant dose of a present or a dozen roses just once a year.
So, maybe I’ll get some more heart-shaped toast another time. Regardless, I know he loves me, and I know he appreciates me, and there’s nothing more I could ask for.
Except maybe a epson receipt printer. Just kidding.
January 19, 2010 at 12:28 am · Filed under interests
It is just about time to start planning for our yearly family summer get-away. And by “family,” I mean the extended family from Dave’s side. Every summer, give or take a few summers, we’ve made the effort to get away somewhere for a week or two as a family. Traditionally, it was to Gabriola Island off of Vancouver Island, but that has been long gone now for a couple of years when Gran could no longer make it there due to her health. It’s not the same without her there. So last year, we went to Southern California, for the sole purpose of Disneyland with the kids. This summer, we’re looking at other places, one of which could be Hawai’i or even a cruise up to Alaska. Maybe eventually, we’ll make it to the other side of the continent, like, say, one of those myrtle beach vacations, eh? I’ve heard great things about Myrtle Beach. But for now, we have our eyes set on Hawai’i or a cruise!
January 18, 2010 at 8:53 pm · Filed under daily, heart
Well, we finally did it. We got a house. After looking at approximately 50 houses (or what feels like 50 houses!), we finally found “the one” for us. And then, after a week’s worth of intense pain and anxiety, after putting in an offer and having it accepted, the closing date finally came today, and we signed the necessary papers that make us official homeowners. Now all we need to do is wait for the day to move in, which is a little under a month and a half from now. That’s how long we have to pack to move into our lovely new home! It is tiring just thinking about it!
There are a lot of things going on in our heads. We have a lot of plans, some realistic, some maybe not so much, but we will get there in time. I can’t believe that I am at a time in my life already where I am thinking about what to do in my 30s and my 40s, and where our family is headed. I’m over the hump that most people get in their 20s, about “where shall I live?” and “who shall I grow old with?” and “should I have children?” All those things have been taken care of. Now, on to the next stage in life. It is a little insane, and a little scary, but a lot exciting.
(P.S. Please give hope and love and positive energy out there to anyone who needs it, especially in this new decade. This includes victims of the latest Haiti disaster, the abused, the neglected, the sick and the dying, even those with malignant Mesothelioma. We all need to give a little more kindness in this world. We all need a little more love.)
January 9, 2010 at 5:21 am · Filed under daily
Welcome to the new year. I should have had a decent post for the new year, but I don’t. December, 2009 went by in a rushed flash, and January, 2010 appears to be going the same way. A few changes have occurred in my life. One to be duly noted is that we’re making a giant move to a new house of our very own very soon. In the past month, we must have seen about 30 houses, and we must have looked at about 30 different types of American Standard sinks in all sorts of bathroom settings. It has been very stressful, to say the least, and I can’t wait until we are done with this whole house-hunting business. And after that, I won’t be able to wait until the whole “moving” business is done as well, and then the unpacking will begin. THEN the real fun will follow afterwards: decorating, and making our house into a home. I’m excited for that!
Happy new year, everyone. May it be productive, joyous, and full of peace for all of you.
January 9, 2010 at 5:10 am · Filed under daily
Sometimes I don’t know why the heck I still have a site. I hardly ever update it. It is strange where the internet has gone in the past 15 years. When I first started out, I was hand coding each entry to my website. Writing long, detailed entries about my feelings and thoughts, my opinions, my life, my heart. In fact, any other blog site was like that. There was no WYSIWYG programs like wordpress, and Facebook didn’t yet exist. Needless to say, then, at the time, only those who were truly dedicated to writing journal entries ever had a personal website for writing. Now, every Dick, Jane, and Sally can have a website, and it doesn’t have to be substantial at all.
My site, for instance. Case in point.
We’ve gone from writing about our lives in detail to existing in the fast food world of drive-by, spontaneous, yet pointless one-line updates on Twitter, or through Facebook statuses. It’s kind of sad that we would rather take 2 seconds to let people know what we’re having for lunch and when we last played the Wii Fit, instead of taking a few hours writing out our thoughts on the world. I would like to believe that people care more about my thoughts than my sandwich, but does that make it any easier to take some time out of each day to write some more? Not really.
So here I am, writing about silly things like the evolution of blogging. Sometimes, I write about other silly things like wireless security systems or baby play mats. Argh. The only consolation is that I do have a journal site somewhere out there that I keep generally private, but I still don’t update it all that often, unfortunately.
Well, I’ll keep on plugging, I suppose.
October 3, 2009 at 9:50 am · Filed under daily
I am ssooo in need of a vacation. Maybe a month-long, in my fantasies. Ha! I’m looking forward to next summer, which hopefully we’ll get to go somewhere through one of those awesome family travel deals that you always see and read about in advertisements. We’re looking at Hawaii, but the plans aren’t solid yet. It will be a family vacation, just like we’ve done almost every summer. This past summer, we went to Southern California (Disneyland!), so next summer we’ll do something different. The more the merrier, in my opinion. But regardless, I’m looking forward to some small breaks. I feel extremely exhausted, what with all the house renos, painting, cleaning up, etc. It doesn’t feel yet like “home” right now. I can’t wait till it’s all done and we can live our lives again. But for now, I fantasize about having a mini-vacation. At least Thanksgiving is coming! And then Christmas!
September 29, 2009 at 8:49 pm · Filed under daily
I haven’t talked a lot about what it feels like to live and work in the same community. I haven’t been able to do that since I was still living in California, which was quite a few years ago (seven, to be exact, if you wanna get technical). But now that I’m settled into a community, it feels good to be able to positively contribute to the community I actually live in. The community I am raising my child(ren) in. Not to mention, doing this makes a lot of my expenses waay lower, like auto insurance, and gas spendages, and even car maintenance. Oh, how I miss living and working in the same community. It feels good for the soul. Plus, I like knowing my friends are close by, and I don’t have to be all over the place just to make plans with them.
September 29, 2009 at 8:45 pm · Filed under daily, heart, interests
I’ve been toying with the idea of possibly starting my own business. Actually, I’ve been toying with this for a long time. Years, even. I sometimes get the vast urge to do something really creative with my artistic endeavors, like open up a greeting card store, or try my hand at a web design business again, or making photography as a full time job, or.. or.. well, you get the idea. But, I never really get around to actually taking the next step after “thinking about it.” I’ve never consulted with business plan consultants, and I’ve never really mapped out any sort of concrete plan. Maybe one day, as a retirement gig, I can do it. But for now, I’m really happy being a mental health therapist. For now, I really enjoy being able to help my community stay mentally happy. Happiness is a great business to be in.
September 29, 2009 at 8:28 pm · Filed under daily
It’s been a long time, hasn’t it? What used to come naturally doesn’t come so naturally anymore. And by this, I mean the world of blogging. I hardly have any time outside of work, family, and personal life to stay online long enough to get a decent blog entry out. Plus, I think I’m that much more guarded now that I am a mother and now that I have more to protect. It’s not just about me anymore. Getting my world out there for all to see comes with a price, and I don’t feel like I need to share this privilege with just anybody. What used to be a comfort no longer is. I find that interesting, and a little sad at the same time. I didn’t think for even a second, just 5 years ago, that I would ever lose the need to write my thoughts out for the whole world to see. And suddenly, out of nowhere, this need for me disappeared. I’m not sure if I even want to have it back. It’s not as comforting anymore. I’m finding a lot of comfort in so many different places. Surprising, yet fulfilling places.
But, I will still try to blog as often as I can.. which probably isn’t very often, so don’t hold your breath. 
But while I’m here, I may as well update you on a few things. We’re very busy around here. Lots of renovations going on in the house. We just repainted the kitchen. Finishing the job up from a few months ago, when we started with new counters and floors. Now we’re almost done, and we need to just put on new knobs and curtains. Dave is also currently painting the hallway white (getting rid of the old stenciled flowers painted onto the walls.. eek), to make it look fresh and clean again. This place is spiffing up nicely. Sooner rather than later, I can see us gettin’ a house of our own! One can dream big, right? I’m not looking forward to the moving part though. No matter where it is (even moving companies New York style can’t help with this), the moving part sucks.
We are all doing very well. I am so in love with my family, it’s amazing. Through thick and thin, through thick and thin.
June 13, 2009 at 11:06 am · Filed under daily
Wow. It’s been a while since I’ve updated. There’s not a lot going on, except that there has been everything going on. I can’t believe it’s been almost a year that we’ve made the birth announcements for Lily. And now she’s almost one year old.
Since last I posted here, several things have happened. Exciting things.
- I’ve started a new job — on Wednesday, in fact. I’m excited about the prospects, and will be a little protective of it until I feel safe enough to announce what I do in public. It’s an awesome job, nonetheless.
- We’ve hired two cleaning ladies to come and deep clean our home twice a month, so I don’t have to do it on the weekends on my day off. Dave does all the other daily and weekly chores (what a man, huh?) while I’m at work. But it’s not fair for him to do even the deep cleaning stuff, and I don’t want to do them when I can be playing with Lily on my off days. It’s the best decision/investment we’ve made regarding the house in a long time.
- Lily is now 11 months old! And doing so many great things! Check out her website for details on all the new, exciting things she’s doing!
I will update more as the time goes.
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