Tonight I got to see one of my best friends from high school, Kate, and her family. Kate is a sweetie and her mom always makes the best food. I LOVE when Kate comes to visit! She tells me all sorts of exciting stories about her life- most of which revolve around her winemaking adventures. She will be moving to New Zealand in January to work the vineyard of her Kiwi boyfriend, Luc. Christian and I are talking about spending some time there learning the winemaking trade (2 summers away?). I think it would be a great experience for Maia and we would get to (finally) spend some time traveling. Either way, in the next year or so, some big decisions will have to be made- Art Therapy program or winemaking? Deciding which dream to pursue is difficult but I'm excited about the prospects.

Tired

So tonight we finally put up our tree...better late than never. It's beautiful (and prickly).

I've been so tired lately- I'm not sure if it's because of my lack of exercise, stress, oncoming sickness or my less-than-perfect eating habits but I've been dragging for the last couple of days. Maia's been a little more than a handful lately...she's been waking up in the middle of the night regularly and Christian and I are having to alternate getting up with her in the wee hours of the morning. Her mannerisms of late (thanks to being a two-year-old, I'm sure) have been super-demanding, whiny, and bossy which wears me down more than I realize on a daily basis...my patience wears thin more easily these days. I know this is just a temporary slump, but sometimes the lows seem to last so much longer than the highs.

This was one of the first weekends I've had off in a REALLY long time. It started off with the Paper Pals Christmas party which was SO much fun...I've been so caught up in everything else-finals, Christmas, Maia, wedding planning- that I haven't had much time to scrapbook lately. I miss hanging out with the Pal Gals, even if I didn't get anything done. :)

Saturday my parents came into town to cut the Christmas tree(s), (one for our house, one for theirs) from our backyard. Christian, Maia and I got to go on a walk together which we haven't done in a really long time, and Harmony came for a visit (she always spoils us when she comes!) Then Maia and I went up the mountain to spend a "girls night" with my mom and sister. We made a cheese fondue and a chocolate fondue (super delicious) and watched Ocean's Thirteen and Surf's Up.

This morning we made beignets, went sledding and I got to take a nice long nap...what a perfect weekend. Oh, and to top it off, Harmony made dinner (chicken parmesan) for us tonight and bought tiramisu for dessert. I'm so full of delicious holiday food! And I love my friends and family! I'll have to look forward to starting a serious workout plan after the holidays, but eating well during the holidays is totally worth it.

Friendship

What the heck is with this weather? It feels like spring! Cruel, cruel world.

I love being home though sometimes (especially around Christmas) it brings back memories I'd rather forget. There's something to be said for moving on both physically and emotionally.

I've been thinking a lot about friends lately. I'm recently back in contact with a few friends from college whom I've missed...I hope we'll be able to keep up communication. Something about the Christmas season makes me think about everyone I've known and loved. I've made so many good friends at every stage in my life- high school, college, post-college- that it's hard to keep up sometimes. However it does NOT mean I've forgotten about how truly special and important all of my friends are/have been to me. Though our lives move forward, it's always necessary to take a moment and appreciate the people who have helped us along the way. Love to you all.

I decorated the house! Hooray for Christmas!

A slow day day today...all of the snow outside just makes me want to stay indoors and appreciate the beauty of winter from inside my heated living room. Last night I went to my final class at Joy's house (prof). It was a blast! More like a party than a class. I hadn't realized how much I'll miss being surrounded by such creative, diverse people every Wednesday night. We had pizza, lots of cookies and brownies and plenty of beer and wine. Some of us had more beer than others.

I have really appreciated being able to write again. Sometimes all you need is a little pushing to rediscover love for something you hadn't even realized you missed. I love immersing myself in a creative environment, whether it be art class or a creative writing group. I hope I'll be able to do more in the future.














I just found out I'll be pursuing something else I love (community service) as leader of a junior Girl Scout troop. Apparently they have been wanting to get off the ground as a troop but haven't had the leadership to do so. I remember the good times I had as a Girl Scout and hope I can live up to the position and be a positive role model for these girls. I'm so excited to be a part of their development as young adults.

This year I want to work on living up to my potential- my lifestyle, my body, my goals...everything I want to be that I feel I've fallen short on . I know (and hope) I will have to push myself into working harder than I have before, but I feel it will be worth it in the end. I want to look back next year and be proud of what I've done.

Sometimes it feels like the hours in a day run together in one big blur. I think back to the moment I woke up this morning and it seems like it was much more than 12 hours ago. The best parts are the moments that drift by slowly, clear bits of time in full color that get filed away in my mind for a rainy day. Today's filed memory was time spent with Maia, TT and Mom at the mall, just us girls. Mom spoiled all of us- she bought me two new sweaters, TT one dress shirt, Maia 3 new outfits and all of us coffee at Starbucks. The Orange Julius guys gave us free popcorn and we sat at Starbucks and talked. I don't feel spoiled very often any more, but I definitely felt spoiled this afternoon.
Everyone needs to feel spoiled once in awhile. I think all too often being "spoiled" has a bad reputation. For me, it is about feeling special and feeling important to someone else. As we get older, have children and additional responsibilities, those moments of feeling important become less frequent, and it often seems as if we are fading into the background, slowly but surely. Thank God for family and friends that keep us from fading away completely.

There are some days where life just seems as if it's fraying at the ends. No patience left for anyone or anything and you just feel like you want to cry. Sometimes I wish it were easy for life to do a complete 180...flip it over and everything's the opposite...or just different. It would be summer, I'd be single, not fighting the motherhood battle, and traveling in another country. I often wonder what single mothers do when they don't have extended family to support them; when they reach that moment of complete frustration, that moment when they want to give up and can't. My cure these days is to shut myself in the bedroom with chocolate or McDonalds and watch T.V. Which sounds really good right about now...

After reading and being inspired by everyone else's blogs, I'd really like to figure out this blog stuff for good.
What better way than to dive right in? And it's about time I make the leap from MySpace to blogging because, as Karen says, "you're too grown up for MySpace."
Slow day today, Christian is home sick and I am in a card-making frenzy. Here I thought it would slow down after the craft fair, but we seem to keep getting orders in. If anyone you know needs cards for any occasion, give me a call! I love being able to make $$ (though little) doing what I love, though Trisha and I have mainly been supported by our families this year. Oh well, you have to start somewhere. Thank God for parents who support their starving artist children. I've been ignoring my homework and building up a neck cramp from bending over the scrapbooking/dining room table. Oh, for the day when I have my own scrapbooking room! One step at a time I guess...

Tonight I go out to celebrate one of my friend's 21st birthday. I remember when 21 was such a landmark...hard to believe it's 5 years later already. I met Kate on our service trip to New Orleans as one of my teammates. It's these little things that remind me how important it is to participate in service and volunteering activities. I hope to be volunteering with a Junior Girl Scout troop soon and am always looking for other projects to support a good cause...this will be especially important to remember as we head into the holiday season. Whenever I think we never have enough money I try and remember those who have nothing for Christmas.

Coming Events to Support:

-Moscow Building Supply Food Drive (December 1)
-Annual Giving Tree (Palouse Mall and Eastside Market Place)
-Coats for Kids