White Christmas

Last Saturday I was informed that we were expecting snow.

SNOW.

I mean, I saw snow when I was visiting here last winter and stuff, but to see it FALL?

On a landscape that was currently untouched by snow?

To see flakes lazily drifting out of a deep velvety blue-black sky, turning and twisting until they light, ever so softly, on blades of grass and twigs and front steps and car hoods? (not romantic, but true)

It had been a decade at least since I'd witnessed anything similar. At most? Never. But I can't exactly recall. What I DO know is that I was very very very excited.

SNOW.

So, needless to say, that was about all I talked about that day. Every half hour I would either check the window or inquire as to the current precipitation status.

Childish?
Yes.

Annoying?
Probably.
er, I mean, Definitely.

However, once the sun was down and the air had cooled from frigid to arctic tundra, T called to me from the landing that it was finally happening!

I scurried down a few steps and all but pressed my nose to a window next to the door.

I didn't realize that #1) awhile had passed and #2) I was still grinning like an idiot until T started to laugh at me.

Whatever. I'll take looking like a dope (especially since it earned me a kiss on the nose, just sayin). It was snowing!

Before I knew it, my view had changed to this:
So, seeing as we were the only two home, we did what anyone would do - snuck out on to the back deck and ate some snow. Duh.

Unfortunately for me, T has more experience with this stuff than I do:
Yup, that snow ball had my name on it. Fortunately, he took mercy on the shivering girl with the camera and instead launched it in another direction. I amused myself for a few more minutes taking whatever shots I could, considering that getting good snow pics is something that I have NO experience with,
And we headed back inside.

The pristine snowfall made a perfect backdrop for Christmas card photos the next day, with the Duchess included.
(Rudy is male. You'd never know. Unless you consider the ego.)

Anyway.

So we did a few takes, and after the card pic was out of the way, a snow ball fight erupted between my intended and my beautiful soon-to-be sister (in law).
Most of it consisted of staring contests, trying to psyche each other out...
Most, I said.
Luckily, I again used my camera as an excuse and got away unscathed and snow free.

There hasn't been a good fall since, in spite of big scary weather forecasts last night. I woke up excited today, only to see a fine dusting. Now it's raining. Seriously, mother nature, who do you think you are? This girl is starved for snow. Bring it ON.

(Just after I've hit the grocery store and all of my ordered Christmas presents have arrived, please)....

On the Road Again...

This morning we'll pack
again
and load up the car
again
to drive
again
back down to Virginia.

I kid. I'm not really annoyed about it... I actually like driving long distances, it gives me a chance to clear my noggin - and let's be honest, there's no jamming quite like car jamming.

On another note,
The sky has been mostly gray and overcast during our stay here in PA, and I have it under good advisement that it'll be this way, more or less, until spring dusts green on the world again in, oh, maybe 6 months or so.

After a chat discussing the merits of sunny California skies over gray Pennsylvania ones, I had an epiphany. Yes, of course the cloud cover can be seen as oppressive and sad. It could be viewed as a cover pressing down on you, keeping out the light in more ways than one. Don't levels of depression go up in winter months and aren't they always higher in cloudy cities?
But.
The cloud cover could also be seen as just that - a cover - a blanket. Snuggling you, tucking you in, holding you safe during the winter. I know that it doesn't make logical sense. Less clouds make you warmer, let the sun in, clouds don't in any real way keep you safe, blah blah blah but go with me here.

As someone who's lived without any seasons to speak of for years and years, there's a richness that I'm feeling in my life now that I have the luxury of staying in tune with the cycles of the year in this way. What if we took winter, and the chill, and the rich food, and the involuntarily slower life style and did with it the same thing that nature does? Rest, and germinate? Spend the winter months in the home, with each other, enjoying their company and planning for the next year? Then, when the summer comes, we'd spend our lives out and about, enjoying the sun, eating lighter foods, living as nature does, vibrantly and loudly and brightly? (not to mention tanned and toned, which I'm sure would happen)...

Of course, that would also require that we make it an everyday practice during the summer to get out and enjoy the weather when it's enjoyable...and nowadays most people spend all their time holed up inside, no matter the season, being entertained by various forms of electronics...

But you can bet your buttons that's what I'll be doing, especially now that time outside has lowered in availability such that the demand has increased exponentially (within me, at least!)

Oh yeah, and a quick note on Vitamin D.
Vitamin D, which comes to us in various foods (although, since it's usually added in from a lab, our bodies don't really absorb it that way) and via sunlight against our skin, is cited as one of the possible reasons that we get all sad and stuff when it's dark outside in times like winter and rainy seasons. Or the lack of Vitamin D, anyway. However. All you actually need in order to stay within a healthy Vitamin D range is 15-30 minutes of sun on your face and hands each day. Yes, even in cloudy weather. And, as I always used to tell my students in my health and fitness classes, cloudy days DON'T actually mean less UV rays. We just assume they do (which results in lots and lots of sunburns in rainy Florida, lemme tell ya).

So I don't think it's the lack of actual sun in winter that gets people down. I think it's the uninviting conditions outside that make us not want to go out at all. If we do go outside, even for a half hour walk or run or raking of the leaves or, heck, conversation on the phone standing in the back yard, we'll be fine.
So there you go. Put on your gloves, grab a friend, and adopt an early-evening walking practice. You'll be happier. I promise.

Happy chilly Monday!

Today's quote:
"Let us not look back in anger or forward in fear, but around in awareness." ~James Thurber

about Richmond...

#1) I have no idea how I have kept my toes for 26 years. I can't feel them MOST of the time nowadays...Richmond is COLD.

#2) Oh, no, that's right, I know how. I've lived in tropical climates for the past 8 years. I must've first felt my toes in September of 2001, during my freshman semester at UCF. Well, it's time to say goodbye. And speaking of, 8 years of hotness (temperature-wise) makes for NO winter-appropriate clothing. Time to go shopping. Anyone know any good spots in Richmond?

#3) We've arrived and caught the very beginning of the trees' changing. It's beautiful. It makes me forget about my numb toes.

#4) Richmond has bugs. California doesn't. I'm traumatized. Especially after my brother told me that you can hear the door creak as the really big grass spiders force their way into the house underneath it. Oh yeah, this door? It's to the room that we're sleeping in. And he wasn't kidding. Awesome.

#5) I heart Crossroads. In fact, this was taken 2.6 minutes ago:By the way? Pumpkin Spice lattes are delicious. Mmmm. And they warm up toes. Ok, not really, but the caffeine makes me not care about my toes anyway. Who needs toes when you're flying?

The End.

more trip recaps to come. Don't worry, I've overloaded my camera memory cards many times...

Today's quote:
"Dreams mixed with dedication are a powerful combination."
~Adèle Basheer

Happy Autumnal Equinox!

This morning I wished the facebook universe a "happy fall equinox!" and promptly discovered that many people don't know what that is.

Well then, let me enlighten you on its interestingness.
yes, I have been known to put a "ness" on the end of random words and thereby make up new ones. Get over it.

So we all know that days in the summer are longer- judging by daylight - and days in the winter are shorter. I remember wondering why in the heck, when it was cold outside, Mom came home so LATE from work when I was little...yeah, it wasn't any later than normal, it was just that in Virginia winters, the sky darkened at like 5:15pm. Not cool for a 7-year-old.

Anyway.

The equinoxes, two each year of course (one for fall, one for spring) are the days on which the amount of daylight and the amount of darkness are the same. They're the balancing points. Since today is the fall equinox, starting tomorrow the nights will now last longer than the days, until the spring equinox (which falls in March, I believe).

source

In ancient times, when people's spirituality was based on things like the harvest and the sun and its warmth, today held great significance, as it stood for the end of the light's reign for the year. Lots of stuff about winter myths, withdrawing for the cold and dark season, etc. There were various stories in many diverse cultures that explained this (Demeter, the Greek goddess comes to mind), but either way you have the general idea.

Although most of us don't still hold to that sort of thinking, I still like to take time on the equinoxes to feel the turning of the year. The fact that the nights will now be longer does hold significance for me; it will certainly affect my way of life - where I go, what I do, when I get sleepy....

I also think my life is sweeter and holds more meaning when I keep myself in tune with what's happening in nature. It is a restorative practice for me to prepare myself mentally and emotionally for the winter, which is lovely as a time of quiet, and rest, and hot chocolate, and of course the holidays (yay!) - not to mention that because of the move (this weekend, whoa), I will actually have a cold winter, not to mention a white Christmas (double yay!), which makes the equinox all the more poignant for me this year.

So maybe try to jump on the equinox bandwagon - take a moment today to reflect on the year, the spring and summer, and now the upcoming Autumn. How was it? What did you like? What did you not like so much? How can you make this the best autumn and winter possible? For me, it'll include enjoying every drop of this crazy road trip and all of its accoutrements, and to make sure that I take full advantage of the freedom and the potential to reconnect that all of this time spent with loved ones will bring. Who knows the next time that I'll get to see everyone this much, maybe never... So make some goals! Remember where you are! And happy autumnal equinox! (now you know what that means)

Today's whiteboard quote:
"The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing you will make one."
~Elbert Hubbard

Wedding Weekend Recap

We're definitely into the following week, and I have nearly fully recovered from the craziness that was this weekend. Let me explain.

We flew out Thursday night, after a mixup with the sis (a.k.a. driver to airport) which required us getting an impromptu cab.

I'm not the biggest fan of cab rides. They're always so awkward.

ANYway, after a red eye flight that included plenty of snoring from behind us and uncomfortable positioning, along with clock changes and random layovers -

3 flight delays. I crocheted, T slept on my shoulder in JFK-Kennedy airport. I think a girl across the aisle from us snapped a picture on her phone. What the heck...

-finally, we arrived in Richmond. I picked up my rental car. Oh,

...let me mention. I love California right now. It is freaking cold back East. Brrr.

-I dug out my coat from my checked baggage, hightailed it through the frigid air into the rental car garage, and saw, my rental Buick.

...wait a second...

The last, and only other, time I rented a car I got the little economy one. All weekend (this was coincidentally for another wedding in April '08) I felt like I was driving a matchbox car, and not in a good way.
This time, I decided that, since the economy, compact, and mid-sized cars were all the same price, I figured why not? It'll be nice to ride in, say, a Chrysler Sebring (which was my first love of the automotive variety, and the description on the website for that car type).

And I get a Buick. It was like driving a very smooth, Titanic-sized boat.

But, by Saturday evening, I was used to it. All was fine. And taking a break from my little Saturn to drive a car with seat-warmers was quite nice. Especially when it was in the teens outside.

So, Friday morning, we had breakfast/lunch with the Moms in Richmond. It was lovely. Next, down to the big E to check into the hotel, hurrying to get ready for the rehearsal, then said rehearsal and later, the rehearsal dinner. Which was more like a festival, there were so many people there! I knew, 5 perhaps.

With college friend Kelly and the coolest 6th grader ever:

And with T, of course:Back to the hotel, and to sleep. The next morning, after sleeping in after the bridesmaids' brunch (that was 8am for me!) I snuck out for an hour and visited by beloved Melissa and baby Nicholas, who I thought about stealing. Hey, he could fit in my carry-on! :)

Then, (drumroll please...) the wedding. It was gorgeous. There were about 5,000 people in the wedding party, my little song went just fine I guess, and it was great to see all the folks who I haven't laid eyes on in nearly a decade.

After the vows were said and everyone was on their way to the reception, T and I dodged back to the hotel to grab the camera (which I had awesomely forgotten...dang those little purses) and then followed suit.

How does 6 miles down a country road feel like you've been driving all night? Love it.

T and I at the reception, this pic taken by a bartender (of course):...and this is where I started to get self-conscious. I had a wine glass in my hand, of course, and when I felt awkward, I took a sip. And when I didn't know what to say, I took a sip. And when, on the wedding video playing on the wall for those who didn't go to the ceremony my face appeared and people noticed it was me, I sipped.

And when my glass was empty I, as auto-pilot as everything else, refilled.

Yikes.

Poor T.

But I think (hope) he's the only one who noticed.

Emporians who're reading this, don't correct me :) All things considered, especially my amazing boyfriend who attended to me all night and during the following morning's (early) plane ride back to CA although being quite annoyed with me, it was a lovely time.

And not just cause of the ice sculptures at the wedding. And a photo booth (see initial pic). Although those were awesome.

Oh, and the macy's dress (I swear that it only looks like I have a weird pudge):Happy Inauguration Day!

2008 Holidays, Part II

I left off at the band performance.

So the Heynas, otherwise known as B, T, and B's brother R, formed a little band and performed a set for family and friends on the 26th. It was good times, aside from the part where I slipped on a patch of ice outside the front door of the barn we were in, going down like a ton of bricks. I still have a bruise on my knee to prove it.

Yeah. Anyway, here are some pics.

Creepily awesome Santa and Mrs. Claus, by an amp:

The boys jammin out (like the lights? B decorated. Love the obviously man-done ribbons...):

T (with his rock star scruff) and I:

Tara (T's sister, love her) and her fiance Dean:

The next couple of days were more low-key, visiting relatives and such, then on the 29th we drove down to VA. I got to take T to Maymont in Richmond, my very favorite place although all the gorgeous flora is slumbering during the winter.

There's a gargantuan magnolia tree that we of course had to climb,

T was better at the whole tree climbing business than me (it's because his shoes had better traction, I swear!)

Then we snuck off into the bamboo forest for some quality time.

I love this shot.

After spending a couple of days in my town, we headed back up to PA for the last day or two.

Dinner with T's fam:

Then, it was back home!

You'd think that T would be used to the mild cold here in SoCal, since were were just in the frigid northeast. However, he complained so much in my living room that I had to papoose him. (I say papoose, he says homeless person):

Ok, I think that's it! Whew! It seemed to go by about as quickly as the time I spent typing this, can't wait to go visit the East again. How I miss this sky-

Second Down! Xmas Break is So Close I Can SMELL It

Almost there....

I just need to wrap up some course stuff (a page paper here and there, a couple evals, the usual)...\

...and then...

Home Free, baby!

Can't wait. I love school and all, but come on. I'm one of those who always has a mental To Do list pinging in the back of my mind. Crossing stuff off (and on time! gasp) is going to feel amaaaazing.

Then I can go back east in peace.

I just made a wine, I mean rhyme. Sort of. Yes, I actually typed wine by mistake. Is it time for the weekend to start yet?

Lovely Lazy Weekend

So I haven't posted in a few days because I didn't have much to say at the end of last week after a slightly torturous ortho appointment on Thursday (I'm thankful for my Invisalign, thankful, @$%^%$) and Glee Club performances on Friday and Saturday nights (rocking my "Quaker going to the prom" GC "regalia"). Besides, I thought that today I'd have lots of things to write about, like my exciting weekend of Christmas shopping and ice skating (that's right boys and girls, there is OUTDOORS ice skating here in SoCal, and I am thankful for refrigeration technology. Fo real.)

And here it is, Monday, and what did I do this weekend?

Nada.

It was awesome.

Granted, I did become a little disgruntled (a.k.a fire-breathing dragonish. Poor T) on Saturday afternoon when I realized that I was exhausted for some strange reason and my day was gone already (in hanging out around the apt, I didn't even get dressed til around 1 or 2) because I only had time for a much-needed nap before driving all the way to Pasadena for the performance (by the way, hello traffic jam...I ran in after the warmup and after the soundchecks, getting lost in the crazy maze of a church, and finally taking my jacket off about 10 minutes before we started, and 50 minutes late. Thank goodness for car-driving-vocal-warmups, is all I'll say about that).

Afterward, it was back for some band practice and midnight pumpkin cookie baking (didn't turn out so well. I didn't realize til halfway into the batter that the boys didn't have any eggs. Oops...)

Sunday morning was a walk down to the farmer's market with T, then a yummy and healthy brunch (we have to get on the good-eating train now because the holidays back east are going to be food-debauchery. Can't wait!), followed by naps, dinner, movie night (we watched Goodfellas, which I'd never seen and gave me nightmares, I'm a pansy I know). Yesterday was a one-hour-in-jeans (the farmer's market), the-rest-of-the-day-in-T's-sweatpants (that sounded much worse than it actually was, I borrowed his sweatpants because they were comfy) kind of a day. Oh, besides the fact that around noonish yesterday, I started to notice a kind of ouchy tickle in my throat...

Remember that "random" exhaustion on Saturday afternoon?

...I failed to mention a moment at the Friday night performance where all the members were rushing around getting ready to file into the main chapel, and I was reaching around someone to get into a cabinet. She was coughing into a hanky - not an "oops there's something in my throat" cough, or even a "sip of water just went down the wrong pipe" cough. No, it was one of those rough, rattling "I have disgusting strep throat-or-some-such-other-unfortunate-winter-illness" kind of a cough. I didn't think much of it, you hear people coughing all the time. Until. She removed the hanky from in front of her face, turned to leave the cabinet area, and coughed. In. My. Face. DISGUSTING.

I remember thinking at the time, "oh no that can't be good", quickly followed by "okay little immune system, go to work! I will not get sick, I will not get sick, not get sick....." (I totally believe in the power of affirmations, can you tell?)

And here I am, Monday, sore throat, tired, a bit achy (which may have just been the yoga and Pilates that I did yesterday afternoon. Forgot to put that in there. It was after the nap and before the movie, and yes, I do choose to exercise on my mat in T's room just to inspire him to work out too so I can watch...I'm allowed to do that!)

Anyway, along with affirmations, I'm a big believer in kicking illnesses a#$ by the following methods (depending on the illness), so I'll choose to drink one glass of water each hour, and eat only things loaded in Vitamin C, with the odd carb here and there.

The end. I'll let you know how it goes.

Candycane Happiness -- no, just kidding.

Yesterday evening, when deciding what I'd wear today, I did what I've been looking forward to for weeks, maybe even months -- skipped over to the downstairs hall closet and got out my fleece jacket and scarf.

Yay! The cold season has finally arrived!

This morning I got dressed, wore my knee-high socks and boots (yessss!) and did my old faithful banish-the-cold routine: Scarf on first, two and a half wraps each way, tuck the ends, then the jacket over all, buttoned and belted, thank you.

I clip-clopped out to my car and was on my way to work. I even had to use the rear window defroster! Yup, I was excited about this.

Then, while driving, someone or other on the radio said that we'll be getting up to 75 degrees this afternoon, then up to 80 tomorrow.

Sigh.

Is it because of global warming? I know I'm in California and all, but come on! It's nearly thanksgiving and still not even consistent sweater weather. Not cool. (no pun intended, but it works.)

Yesterday as I was running an errand on campus I was exquisitely aware of the cool breeze chilling my cheeks and neck, and I thought how much more lovely the world looks right now with crispness in the air. Yes, it looks just as lovely in the early spring when the non-frigid winds are starting to thaw everything out, but the loveliness is different. Right now, at this time of the year, it seems to me that you need the cold in order to get the most out of the season.

Then, I realized something. It's only the temperature. How hot or cold the air is should have no bearing on my happiness anyway. It's such a silly thing. Well, maybe not NO bearing - I can understand being just a bit more happy if the weather matches, but less because it doesn't match? There's just something wrong with that.

It seems to me that we're always chasing something. Something material, or a relationship, or things that are career-oriented... isn't it only that what we all really want is to wake up happy, looking forward to the day, then live a happy day, then go to bed - happy? And the things and people that we chase are just ways that we think we can get that feeling?

The sad thing is, it seldom works. For me at least, once I've gotten those things that I thought would give me that all-is-right-with-the-world-and-I-am-all-of-a-sudden-an-infinitely-more-awesome-and-happy-version-of-myself-feeling before, I looked around and realized that it wasn't all it had been cracked up to be in my mind. I still felt like something was missing. It's not that I didn't appreciate what I'd achieved, but I didn't feel like I thought I would. So, it was on to the next thing.

But if that's the way that life is lived, you'll never be happy. What about deciding what things have really given you that feeling? Not what seems to give OTHERS that feeling - I think that's where most of us make the mistake, we see other people happy (or seeming like they're happy), so we think by having the situation or things that they have we can feel the same way. We're not those people. The same things won't make us happy.

So, what does?

Then, how to get it? And, more importantly, how much of it do we already have? Maybe we don't notice, or it doesn't help because we always want more. Well, something that's been true for me is, yes, there can always be more. And there can always be less. So it's good to appreciate what we have. Not as a fear-based "oh my gosh I may lose this" kind of appreciation, just with a gratitude for the things that make our lives sweet.

And, if we don't have what we want, how can we get it? I always used to practice the "what would the perfect version of myself, the one I want to someday be, do right now?" question. It almost always worked. And, it was hardly ever easy.

I should get back to that.

So, in closing, this has been yet another PSA to pay attention! Who knows what you're missing and wish you hadn't?