lxforever

This weekend was almost too perfect for words, but I will attempt to do so in an effort to record it.

FRIDAY. On Friday I worked from home, allowing me to work outside on the patio, which was perfect in the gorgeous weather. Quick bike ride at the end of the day then off to Crave for prepartying/amazing cocktails+dinner+dessert shooters with my historic, beloved, superfan friends. Roll call (copying Michael)! Kristin/Scott/Alyssa/John/Diana/Sarah/Mitch.

(Wait, let’s back it up. Also on Thursday I met Michael and Kaitlyn for some drinks at Kitty Kat Club. Hooray for cool cousins and kiddie [not kitty] cocktails!)

(Sorry, “ROLL CALL” made me think of that.)

In any case, Crave was actually pretty fun and we enjoyed wedding stalking/cougar watching. We then went over to Southdale for SATC2 (the PURPOSE of the gathering, yo), where John departed to see Iron Man 2 while Scott and Mitch joined us still, which was cool, haha. We wound up sitting next to what Alyssa deemed ‘our’ cougars! I pointed out to her that we would be ‘cougars’ long before 20 years from now (her initial declaration). We also discussed Alyssa’s future fake wedding which would ALSO take place at Crave. Anyway.

As the critics have said, the movie was terrible, but I enjoyed it WAY too much, because (in spite of its overall offensiveness) I saw it for its potential – like, it would have made a GREAT seventh season had they not had to rush and make everyone stupid. Alas! It was nice to see the characters again and even more wonderful to see it with my buddies. Yes, Kristin and I did spend a ridiculous amount of time in college/Apt 3 watching that show and eating nachos/black beans and rice, what can I say??

Anyway, dropped Diana off then came home and sat around with my eyes shut for awhile (third row hurts, man!) before bed.

SATURDAY. We slept in a bit on Saturday and then had a leisurely breakfast while watching Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles HAHAHAHA. It was actually pretty sweet because it was a new episode where they brought in the old (aka ones we knew) turtles, and showed how silly they looked. HA. Finally we got it together and headed out to Bachmann’s to being our day of landscaping. Hmmmmm. After a ridiculous amount of back and forth, consulting 4 or more (I can’t keep track) Bachmann’s people, and calling my mom, we finally settled on our purchases after three HOURS of browsing (I am not kidding). This was unfortunate as I got frustrated AND a bit burned/weird tan on my back bleahhhhh the only place I had not sunscreened it up (I am a sunscreen fiend). Whatevs, it should go away. In any case we were very pleased and loaded up the Civic and Accord and were on our way.

Oh yeah it was SUPER hot out, too. Which I loved. But Jeff hated. Oh well!

Took a cool down shower and had lunch inside/out of the sun, then began the day/afternoon/evening of planting. This involved Jeff cutting a zillion roots, poor guy, for literally HOURS. This was deemed beyond my expertise so I just did some easy gardening stuff/hung out while I waited. Finally we got going on planting everything ELSE and I have to say, our yard looks damn good now. DAMN GOOD. I am most proud of our work with this and the final result, EVEN IF we were working til 9pm (seriously). It looks AMAAAAAZING and I love, love, love our yard so much more now! Byebye graveyard! (Also notable, this was a year ago exactly that Jeff finished digging up the roots in the graveyard – this day was the roots by the grill.) We also enjoyed joking and talking with the neighbor kids and parents too. So the pain was worth it! (Not that I did much, but that’s OK.) Our neighbors even came out at 9pm to admire it. They are really cool.

Wrapped it up, ordered a pizza, and settled in to watch Friday Night Lights. Ahhhhh what a show! Looked in vain for Elevator Girl or some other horrible movie, but no dice. That’s OK. Then to bed.

SUNDAY. Sunday we woke up to a cloudier day. I made us some blueberry muffins which Jeff devoured and then I hopped on my bike while he mowed the lawn. Lovely bike ride around Calhoun. Hurried to get ready to go and went out to Cottage Grove for a little appetizer/dip party at Sue’s. We were supposed to hang out on the deck but it never happened? Hm. I guess it was too hot. I took some great pictures of the boys and Kelsey came over, too. Jeff also re-hooked-up the TV. He is so useful. On our way home stopped by Fort Snelling to visit Jeff’s Grandpa’s grave. At this point I realized that it was the first Memorial Day where we could truly memorial-ize my Grandpa. Wow. So in the almost-rain we visited his grave and thought of our Grandpas. Very peaceful, very good.

Back to the house where I called Katy and caught up with her while Jeff went grocery shopping. KATY!!! Sounds like she and Rob have the cutest cats ever. And she’s also got a sweet new job where she’s basically working on a cure for cancer. My friends never fail to impress me. I also managed to fit in a trip to Target to increase our stockpile of sunscreen, among other things. We had other dinner ideas but could not resist a trip to Culver’s. Um, amazing. Watched some old Mad Men, then dozed a bit while watching the Twins. I fell asleep ridiculously early and Jeff stayed up ridiculously late (playing videogames)—so late that, at one point I awoke and came out from the bedroom to find him still awake and realized I had slept enough and could even get up if I had to. HAHAHA. (But I went back to bed til like 6.)

MONDAY. I woke up pretty early today which was awesome. Took my time getting ready as it was a little bit chilly out (50s vs 60s) and did some chores. Finally got dressed and out for a run. Can I run 5 miles? ALMOST! I think I did, but am never quite sure on Map My Run, and had to quit to walk a bit early as my shins hurt. Anyway, ran to and around Nokomis and felt really good—kept going farther! It was beautiful out and cool and not too crowded. The sun sparkled on the creek. Bliss.

Home for eggs and cinnamon bread and berries on the patio. Jeff was still asleep. Finally he woke up and I cooked him some eggs and he debated going to the gym. I drew a little bit out on the patio and happily Jeff decided to skip the gym. HOORAY! Packed us some snacks and towels and put the basket on the bike and air in the tires and set off for an amazing bike ride (lakes again, yay yay yay. I am soooooooo excited to go up north this year, even moreso than usual). Rode our bikes to Lake Harriet, Lake Calhoun, then around Lake of the Isles twice, admiring the houses and marveling over the wonderful weather. Such a PERFECT day, seriously!

Finally we nixed Harriet for Nokomis and went there to set up camp. (Lots of riding—probably 18 miles, but easy and fun of course.) We put down our towels and had some snacks and people-watched, and eventually I went in the water. Super warm! Didn’t swim for long though as we wanted to get home to grill. What a most perfect bike ride.

Home and it was only 3! SUPER score!!! Sat outside reading and taking in the sun while Jeff watered the plants. Caught up with Diana and worked on dinner. Jeff grilled up some brats and potatoes and we had beers and salad too. Delicious and still soooooooooooo nice out. Sat outside and enjoyed, then back in for a few rounds of Mario Bros. Jeff saved me every time just like Jenny used to on Super Nintendo back in 1997/8. Hooray. Then I wrote this update.

This was a most fantastic weekend. I really can’t imagine how it could have been better. (Last year though this weekend I was in San Fran for Mason’s baptism, so that was pretty amazing.) So grateful.

I just realized if I don’t post soon I will go the whole month of May 2010 without a post.

Mayday! Mayday!

(There was once an elite gymnast named Alexis Maday. What a great name indeed!)

Anyway. May has been kind of crazy (obv.). I was in a MOOD for some of it…traveling for work for a bit more of it…’competing’ in a gymnastics ‘meet’ and hanging out with Jenny for yet more…and working on a photo/videoshoot for work for even more.

The MOOD was bad, and seems to have dissipated. One can only hope.

The TRAVELING was super fun and I got to be ‘in’ with all the ‘cool’ central-bank web-nerds (um, yeah, nothing is logical about that statement).

The MEET and JENNY were fantastic, as they always should be. And many thanks to my coach Diana.

The PHOTO/VIDEOSHOOT was stressful but actually really fun and it made me want to work in a theater or on movies. HA!

Anyway……now it’s summer which I have so much love, love, love for. The heat! The sun! The long days! I just want to be awake all the time. But lack of sleep = bad MOOD so I am fighting the urge to stay up at all hours.

I have an amazing rest of the week ahead of me. First, I had lunch with Anna P. today…so nice outside and always wonderful to vent/chat with her. Then I will shortly meet Diana at The Local for WHISKEY WEDNESDAY, hurrah!! Tomorrow I will be in to work very early which is sometimes fun, then go get my hair cut (which is like a spa treatment for me), then go see Michael for a long overdue hangout at the KKC. THEN on Friday I will be meeting my friends and other fans at Crave for a pre-SATC2 party/then seeing the movie. Um, yeah. Pretty much best week ever.

Then this weekend I plan to hang out with Jeff and plant the graveyard (note: not really a graveyard). And ride my bike! My bike! My bike!

Then next week is HITF hangout times with Angela/Tiffany/Pete, and Diana, all intermixed.

Then park classes begin again. Which I love, but I also kind of love my evenings off. So one evening of park classes might be good, rather than a fake second career? Who knows. But I DO LOVE my Parks kids and the programs there, so much!!!

Anyway, yes. MAY DAY! Adios.

“They’re kind of vulgar about women – but they really respect women.”

—Amber

“…and Kristin’s can be about families.” -Alyssa “Great! Familywrecks!” -Kristin

—re: “The Magazine”

Things I can never get back (and maybe didn’t realize in the moment how lucky I was to have them) — yet somehow it’s okay:

-HS (many parts, anyway / many people)
-Floor Four
-Apt 3
-SC2K
-HITF
-etc…

What am I missing now / what is it now? I should look around, find out, know, so I know what to save and savor now for later.

I never get the urge to flee — I only have the impulse — to hold on more and more tightly.

Love weekends where we don’t have many plans. Last weekend was one of those. Thus I feel the need to document it.

On Friday I came home from work and went on an early-evening bike ride. It was gray and a little chilly but beautiful for March so there were a lot of people out and about, mittens and hats and all. I was accosted by an old man on a bike who basically told me my bike was junk and where I should get a new one, but he was pleasant so that was OK.

I rode past Hiawatha, down to Minnehaha falls, which were beautifully blue-y frozen/unthawed all at once, then to the Mississippi which was full to the brim, then up almost to the U, at which point I had to turn around for fear of darkness/hunger. Everyone on the path was so friendly and almost everyone said hi to me (and me to them of course). Biking in March! I biked in November, too – how lovely!

Once home I warmed up in the shower and then Jeff and I had the classic and delicious meal of pizza, beer and ice cream while watched basketball/hockey/Heroes. Delightful. Due to this caloric overload, we passed out relatively early after Jeff going on an Epic Journey/me playing on the Touch (addicting).

On Saturday I got up a little bit early to do things around the house, then we were off to the gym to lift. (Finally that Spartan workout is getting a teeny bit easier, ugh.) In honor of my half-birthday (HA), I bought myself a fancy tea latte at Caribou, which was pretty darn good, and then once home drank that while getting ready to watch Big 10s LIVE on the Big Ten Network. Bless the BTN!! I then spent the next several hours watching gymnastics (Iowa was the star surprise! Loved them), sitting on the couch, eating lunch and then candy, texting Diana and surfing on the Touch. Live gymnastics! Tea latte and then candy! Tiny computer in my hands! Nothing to do! It doesn’t get too much better. I also hacked around with WordPress at some point, which is becoming my new obsession, much like discovering CSS in high school. Ahahahaha.

At some point Jeff went to the store and returned, and I probably did something productive. I then made us a delicious meal of shrimp pesto penne (actually farfalle) from our archive of WH/MH recipes. YUM. We watched some more b-ball and I could tell that once again I would fall asleep early, so when Erik texted asking Jeff to come over I told him to go for it. The boys proceeded to watch wrestling at Erik’s and I proceeded to eat jellybeans/watch a horrible Lifetime movie (I just couldn’t stop myself, it’s awful) and fall asleep on the couch. Kind of like a sleepover….with mySELF. Awesome. Jeff eventually came home and I went to bed for realz.

Sunday I woke up early again and did a little more WordPress messing and paper reading and coffee drinking. Hooray Sunday newspapers. The sun was out and it looked gorgeous, so after it warmed up a bit I eventually hopped on the bike for the brightest, sharpest, bluey-est bike ride yet. The sun was amazing and everything was incredibly vivid. This time down and around Lake Harriet. Back home to shower and get ready for Baby Laura’s party, which was a hit. I got to see many family members, including Trike + wife, Matt + Steph, Chloe, Jane and Ian, Barb + Glenn, and of course Christie, Mike and Laura. And Laura’s adorable cousins. Ian told me Minnesota made him think of “soda” so I told him Wisconsin made me think of a “CONvict” or “SINS” and Florida made me think of the “FLOOR”. He was not amused. Laura shrieked a few times much to my delight and only got upset once. She was super cute and was entranced by her birthday cards (forget the presents!). I think she thought they were books. She’s a book-a-holic already.

We had the most fantastic cupcakes by Super Baker Christie and I managed to come in second in the Baby Milestones contest. I was extremely proud of this and credit my obsession with the Baby Blog for my placement. For this I won us two peanut butter eggs which was perfect as Jeff had just seen a commercial for those hours before and said they looked yummy, to which I replied, “Then I shall get us some.” And that I did.

Home for Best Meal Ever and bedtime and reflecting on the great weekend. Oh yeah and the Big 10 got someone in the Final Four – MSU. All in all one heck of a grand weekend of nothing much. YAY.

Nicknames we have for people at the gym, partial list:

Crazy Face
Crap-My-Pants
Creepy Den Dwelling Guy
Anorexic Girl I – The One That Does Weird Walks
Anorexic Girl II – The One That Does All The Stomach Stuff
Chatty Cathy Women
Loud Talker and Creepy Old Dude
Woman With Weird Hair That Does The Leg Press Over And Over
Shorty Shorts Hot Runner Girl
Boston Red Sox

We need to grow up.

1. 1. Run to, around, and back from Lake Harriet (note: may be too tall of an order)
2. 2. Bike the mini-grand-rounds with or without Jeff (note: totally do-able)
3. 3. Try to have patience and acceptance of others on the trails, including rollerbladers, strollers, annoying runners on the bike path, etc. (note: already failing miserably)

“…And tonight, tonight,
I will have to say goodbye, goodbye
Goodbye, goodbye
Tomorrow, Tomorrow
If my heart is full of sorrow
I will call out for you”

“I took the stars from our eyes, and then I made a map / and knew that somehow I could find my way back / then I heard your heart beating, you were in the darkness too / so I stayed in the darkness with you

—Florence and the Machine

2009 is over!

I never thought I’d be happy to see a nine go.

I mean, duh, but that’s become more and more apparent every day. Thank the heavens. If only I’d been born on 1/1/80, then I could also have my life-decade zeroes coincide with the year-decade zeroes. That’s fine, though; it seems that more or less that whole decade was a good package unto itself. And now to move on!

That made no sense, sorry.

Anyway. I had an amazing weekend and so I feel the need to document it, even though it’s already Tuesday.

FRIDAY: Had to be in early for the employment #s, so I grabbed some Caribou oatmeal (my latest luxury addiction, if you can call it luxe) and slid through the snow into work. That meant, however, that I got to leave early, and at the end of the day I headed over to Edison to do some coaching/gymnastics-watching/hanging out. ALWAYS a good time, and I always learn something. What a great group of girls with a super coach.

I then went home for a LateNightSkateDate with Jeff. I thought the snowy flutteriness would dissuade our skating, but no fear! We had some snacks and headed on over to Pearl Park. I found my favorite pair of loaner hockey skates and broke out the tricks….well, I tried; Jeff really did break out the tricks, he’s such a pro. We worked on my balance and circles and skating backwards amidst the crazy kids / under the bright night lights / through the bit of snow on the ice, and I had some HOT cocoa.

We then made our way to Longfellow Grill for their awesome late night happy hour and piping hot diner food. After a parking fiasco, we enjoyed pierogies and drink specials (Tequila Mockingbird, yes!) and then some very yummy, very calorie-y dinners. I love that place. Then home to an early-ish bedtime – skating can really wipe you out!

SATURDAY: Thanks to our early-to-bed-ness, we woke up well rested and at the same time, instead of me sneaking out of bed early, for once. We took our time getting up, reading and messing with our various electronic accessories (Touch, Wii, DS – it’s ridiculous at our house right now), and then finally got it together and went to the gym. A bit of an extra long workout with not too many Saturday gym freaks was divine. Back home to shower up, eat some eggs, and complete Saturday errands and tasks. Jeff did the grocery shopping while I enjoyed coffee and jellybeans and almost finished my book (Handle With Care, Jodi Picoult – I’m kind of addicted to her, and what a great but sad read that was indeed). (COFFEE! Black DD coffee [brewed at home – we don’t have DD here, people!] is my new fave, or sometimes with cinnamon. Who knew I’d become a coffee addict? Not me. Dangit! Anyway.)

Finally I felt guilted into starting our taxes, and that I did, after helping Jeff put away groceries. I do like doing taxes, except for when I got to the end of ours this year. Argh. (Suffice it to say I was expecting a refund and not a significant pay-in. Oh Well.) I promptly had a freak out and rushed off to pick Diana up to hit up the UMN gymnastics meet. It was best of MN. We were a little bit late due to my freak-out, but luckily Brandon had saved us seats. (Super crowded – it was Girl Scout night or something.) It was delightful to hang with D and Brandon and enjoy a VARIETY of gymnastics skills as well (yay for four teams and DIII AND DI at the same time). The gymnastics meet/seeing Diana was completely necessary as it distracted me from my tax freak-out. Thank GOODNESS.

Back home to find Jeff finishing up his version of our taxes in TurboTax. Turns out I am not a tax genius (note: I still think I am), but I don’t think TT is either. Enough! But, things were significantly better either way and so I felt good. We Hung Out for awhile longer and then to bed.

SUNDAY: I woke up super early (well, not super, but for going to bed at midnight/it being a weekend/me not having obligations, early) and expected to fall back asleep. However, I got very distracted by my book, and spent the next two and a half hours reading and finishing it. Ahhh! I hate when I finish a good book, because then I feel lost until the next one, but WCYD. I can’t make it stop! Anyway. It was sooooooooo wonderful to be cozy in bed just reading. What a ridiculously nice life I have. Just about the time I finished the book, Jeff woke up and we got started on our day. I played a little Wii and worked on Valentines and perused the paper. I’m not sure what Jeff did, ha, whoops. Well, we were Hanging OUT!

I then decided to (finally! I’d been meaning to for awhile) go for a swim, and peeled on my swimsuit and drove up to the U. It was truly meant to be – I found a FREE parking spot just a block from the Nat (note, NEVER HAPPENS) that someone was JUST pulling out of, then I got in the Rec center for FREE somehow. THEN, I got to share a giant lane in the Nat and watch some open diving (I’ll have to do that next time!), and THEN they moved us to creepy Cooke 15, which I actually kind of like, and then I got the lane to myself up there, since fewer people wanted to move. Woo hoo! (Hey, it doesn’t take much.) Swimming is so peaceful and wonderful. I <3 it. Need to do more of that. Showered and headed back home where we made up some pizzas and cookies and watched the Superbowl together - well, really the commercials and The Who. I think the Vikes not making it made it tough on some superfans (not me, but others). We had a little Hanging Out/watching stuff party! Yay. Then to bed at a decent time to cap off a wonderful weekend indeed. Yay for Feb. OK gtg, Jeff is picking me up, but this weekend I am off to SF! Does it get any better? No! Later (l8r).

“I am on an epic journey.”

—Jeff, 1/17/10, while playing Zelda on the DS

I had a very nice weekend, especially for January, so I feel the need to document it. EOTD/W, as Michael would say.

The weekend began when I bugged out of work and headed over to Bulldog NE to meet up with Dave and Jeff for postwork/pre-hockey game (them, UMN vs. UND, part of my b-day gift to Jeff…I just went home!) drinks and food. Love Bulldog…finally had those awesome wonton things. (Hmmm, now that I think about it, my weekend could have technically began with pizza + pop with Anna and her sis for lunch on Friday. That too! Anyway.) Fun to see Dave as always, and of course, JEFF THE BEST! YEAH! I then headed home to start laundry, lesson plan, and watch mindless TV on the internet. Something about having the house to myself on Friday nights when I know Jeff is out having fun is superb, for realz! Very nice.

I woke up early both Saturday and Sunday, and I’m convinced that this makes for a good weekend – unless I’m going out (very rare, and I could take a nap then), there’s no big reason to stay up late, and getting up early ensures I enjoy the full weekend. (See: Calvin of Calvin + Hobbes on Saturdays.) Anyway. Got up early and went to the gym to lift, beating the totally crazy rush for once. Saturdays at the gym have become insane! I then treated myself to Caribou’s new oatmeal, which I know I could totally make on my own but is quite nice to have someone else do it, and get some coffee with it, too. I’m a sucker for the small things, ha.

Came home and did some random chores, INCLUDING cleaning the kitchen like crazy, AND the bathroom, which I’ve been meaning to do for awhile, and laundry etc., while Jeff got up and went to the gym. Upon his return we went ice skating at Pearl!! I borrowed hockey skates – a little too small, but they worked, I think I’m actually a 5 and not a 4 in men’s skates – and off we went! Hockey skates are so weird and they take some getting used to, but it’s worth it, because Jeff can teach me things! It was kind of an intense little workout, and after an hour on the ice I was tuckered out. We came home and were both totally womped – getting over colds still. Came home and sat in the big chair reading my book about the US after an EMP attack and eating candy while Jeff did the grocery shopping and then we just gave it up for the night….stayed in, watched shows and hockey and ate grilled cheese. I fell asleep at 9:30…pathetic/awesome for sure! We were just totally wiped out from the skating, gym, colds, etc. It kind of felt good to be exhausted though, weird but true.

Today I got up early again and went to church – shocker I know, but I really like this church I’ve found – then came home and worked on my recipe organization project and got ready for the Gooch. Erik came over and then they convinced Jack to stop by, too, while I was on the phone with Jenny talking about cars. It’s kind of exciting that she’s getting a car, not that it affects me in any way, but, ha! Chatted with her for some good time then watched the Vikes (“watched”) with the boys. Crazy game, I thought they would win, but did not expect a blowout. Yikes. Of course now everyone in this city is going nuts. Um, Saints? HELLO! Anyway. I then showed off my Wii Sports Resort skillz (such an archery pro if I say so myself) and we all played for awhile, then I read the paper and ate jellybeans. Erik eventually left and Jeff and I settled in to hang out (him playing DS, me on my computer – seriously, little screens aren’t the only things in our lives, right??), and then I wrote this.

Tomorrow I will probably get up and go to the gym with Jeff, then go hang out with the Edison team for awhile, then maybe get some coffee and work on Valentines. A nice day off! I also want to bake something, perhaps I shall now. Next weekend Iowa, then Madison. Lots going on, but all fun stuff. Happy MLK jr. day to all!

“How old do you think you are in heaven? / I think you’re the age that you are just before you go to school, whatever age that is… / when you’re at home with your mother all day and she just takes care of you. // I remember my mother, she would cut the thinnest slices of apple and it would just melt in my mouth…”

—Leroy Mason, June 2009

“…Last thing I remember / things were getting better / and I’d go anywhere with you.”

—Pete Yorn and Scarlett Johansson

“I am dominating shit. I am DOMINATING! Today is a good day for me being a MAN. It really is!!!”

—Jeff Akervik, 12/31/09, 1:43 am

Letter (joking as always) from Leroy, 2000

I don’t want to make this one too devoted to the decade, because I can hardly sum up a decade when I started it off in high school yet, but there are a few things I’d like to point out.

First, two articles that kind of made me go, “Huh. Yeah. Good point. Damn it.”
Tiger Woods, Person of the Year (AKA The Great Bamboozle)
The Big Zero. (I know, I know, but don’t worry, I’m not too into Krugman’s Kool-aid, seriously)

Second, Y2K and remembering that. Really, I was a senior in HS 10 years ago? Yikes. But I remember it well. Tons and tons of Jello, traveling party (starting at Andrea’s and ending at good ol’ 6733 with games in the basement and shorter-than-me friends in the living room), random fire / fireworks at Picnic Point, nothing big happening in the world at large as far as technical fears go (other than the blinking stoplights Sharan and I drove by) but lots going on in my very not-at-large HS life that I won’t get into but you can probably guess. It was a pretty pivotal NYE/NYD, and pretty swell at that, and it’s pretty cool to have started out a new year/decade/millennium in that kind of memorably remarkable way at least once in my life.

(Not that I intend to make it to the next millennium or anything.)

This will be a swell NYE in itself in that I have many of the things

Third, I can’t imagine another decade that involves so many crazy swings and changes – I mean, really, can you imagine the teens ending in as different a manner from their start as did the zeroes? HS to college to ‘adulthood’ and all of that? Yeah, no. But I’d wager that if any decade can come close, it’ll be this next one. Or something.

So, … back to matters at hand. 2009!!!

Year In Review

I think it’s being said pretty much everywhere, but 2009 was not the best by any stretch, and that turned out to be true for me in some ways as well. However, a lot of the things that I’ve let become so anxiety-inducing and up-in-the-air are on some kind of path, however obscure, towards being revealed (or so I hope), so I’m pretty optimistic about what lies ahead. (And what lies within. Or so I keep telling myself and hoping and wishing. This is the goal….always the goal.)

And also, it’s pretty dang hard to top 2008, which was completely amazing in almost every way – which of course only served to magnify the faults of 2009. OK, enough disclaimers (for now!). Let’s try to start positively here.

HIGHLIGHTS OF 2009:
(1) Getting to be with my family so much when it mattered the most; seeing how important life is to someone and how such a full life can be something of a miracle. Obviously the biggest non-highlight was my Grandpa’s death, but just being there and seeing how incredible it can be for my family to come together and support him and one another—and gathering around and hearing his stories, and seeing him cling to life so fiercely—was very powerful and something I will never forget.

(2) Magical baby Mason. He is the cutest little nephew anyone could ever ask for, and I am even more honored to be one of his Godmothers. Somehow being that to someone so precious makes me feel a little more responsible for how I view my faith/spirituality, and so highlight (2b) of the year has to be whatever forces collided to bring me back to something of that sort. Still not sure what that is, but it works for me. OK, that’s enough of that. Another highlight to this one (2c?) is of course little baby Laura. She’s such a tiny cutie and it is nice to have her and the Bauers ’round town. (We will get together soon, I hope! I’ll work on that.)

(3) Health! Duh! I’m grateful for that every day that I walk, run, swim, skip, do gymnastics, do a handstand, dance around, whatever. Seeing health taken away from people makes me that much more grateful for my fortune in this arena. I do what I can, but so much of it is luck.

(4) Gymnastics! I made a comeback this year, but in a different way. Sure, I did the Gleason’s meet in May, and did some things that made me pretty proud, and I’m still hoping to continue seeing what I can do, perhaps. But I’m talking about coaching. I’m not sure what inspired me, but I called around and landed myself a little coaching gig at a park near my house. This led to applying for a HS coaching gig, which I didn’t get, which is probably GOOD (remember, I’m trying to be sane!), but thanks to a very generous someone, I got to volunteer coach for a Minneapolis HS team instead, at my leisure. But I’m really excited about this new class, teaching something I love in a non-club/non-suburban setting, working with kids again and figuring it all out. And many thanks to the previously mentioned kind someone for showing me the ropes, too. COACHING! WHY did I ever quit??? (This may be another piece of the puzzle. We’ll see.)

(5) LAX. Not L.A., but LaCrosse. I spent a weekend there for my cousin Lisa’s graduation from nursing school (GO SLICKERY) and for Mother’s Day with my mom, which was absolutely perfect. I wouldn’t trade that one-on-one time for anything. It was a very nice weekend.

(6) I got a job with a great boss and a fair amount of security for the time being, at a place that does stuff I’m interested in. Tough to do sometimes, and good for my level of insanity in ways. I’m trying to calm down.

(7) I finally gave blood. And it was totally fine (although my seemingly neverending appetite increased tremendously because of it). Go Me. I should do it again soon, too.

(8) Family and Friends. Internet and real-life! Close and far away! Old and new! I am blessed (blessed?!) with a bevy of wonderful people in my life, family and friends alike, that make every day full of fun, support, caring, memories. Too much love.

(9) Jeff. Duh. He is my constant, my light, my rock, my guiding star throughout all of the drama I put myself through. He believes that I can do anything and only hopes that I can start to see the same, too; and he’ll support me however I need it to get there. Every day I am reminded of how lucky I am to be married to him and have him in my life. He is amazing!
Gushing aside, highlight 9b is of course celebrating our first anniversary. Another sunny November 1st at the SPSC. Here’s to many, many more!!

Well damn. 2009 looks like a pretty swell year. So what’s all the whining about? Trust me, very little of it can outweigh the positives. But it still remains. Here goes…

NON-HIGHLIGHTS OF 2009:
(1) LeRoy the Great passing on. Still miss him. And of course I’m not alone. What a force. I know it is hard for all of us, but for my Grandma especially (of course) it’s so tough. I think of her often and send her my love.

(2) Leaving HITF. God, that sucked, and still does. I can’t really explain other than it still amazes me how many good people I met there, how lucky I was to be there with them, and how much of an impact said people had.

(3) The economy in general, and the people it affected in particular, especially those close to me. The sadness that no one really winds up paying for this other than those who weren’t really messing around to begin with. Those who suffered as a result. The whole giant shebang, really. What a scam.

(4) Personal struggles that I’m still dealing with and navigating around. Like I said, I have a good life, so it’s nothing insurmountable or really that crazy, but let’s just say things were a lot rougher in 2009 than I expected them to be, and while it’s all on the upswing, it’s still a struggle. Bleah. I just don’t know. Lucky for me to have the friends and family that I do to make my way through it.

I think I’ll stop there, because #1 is plenty on its own. And, important disclaimer: despite crabby that list was in ways, I know that I have a fantastic life and world and gifts and everything compared to so, so, so many others. I continue to be an extremely fortunate (and just plain lucky) person and I hope to never lose sight of that fact. So much gratitude and thankfulness.

So, that was that – 2009, the year of the 9, no match for its predecessor 08, of the horrible 8s, and so my faith in numbers is a little jaded.

AND SO! 2010:

Thoughts / ideas / percolations / hopes / resolutions? for 2010:

coach! This I am already slated to do, starting Monday.

write something a little more substantial, i.e., not on the internet.

draw! I have a few thoughts on this, too.

relearn calculus? maybe? just to see?

other things….the worrying….the up-in-the-air….but that’s not really a goal, just a process, and I’m already working on it

try to do what I want and stop worrying about the rest. See above.

um, how about a health goal…maybe a 5k in under 25 minutes? A triathlon? BHS or aerial on high beam? All or none? We’ll see. I guess, just keep staying healthy.

Have fun!!! Always a good goal….my 3rd-grade life philosophy!

Happy New Decade and Binary New Year to you and yours, and may 2010 be merry and bright!!!