Writer's Workshop: Rewind to Summer

It isn't the typical summer vacation, but the only tropical vacation that we've taken was our honeymoon and that wasn't summer. We have taken two summer trips to England to visit family. In fact, my husband has only ever been there in the summer, when the weather was gorgeous. He might think that it's like that all the time.

Perfect day at Windsor

 We've been lucky with our trips so far. We've missed the rain, and while we did catch part of the heat wave two years ago, it wasn't nearly as bad as a heat wave in New York.

Blue skies over London

Our next trip to England will be the first with the Baby, and it also will not be in the summer. I am not anticipating blue skies and fluffy clouds. I'm also not sure how the flight will be, but that is a post for another time.

Maybe I should cancel cable...

I've been a little MIA recently. The Husband and I have actually been spending the time together. Watching Dexter. We've started season one on Netflix streaming. We have one episode left. (Let me tell you, it was hard to not watch that last episode at midnight last night, but we really needed to sleep.)

That is why I can't start new tv shows, I get too involved. Strange how when I had a full time job, I had so much more time for tv. I watched so many more shows, and I still had time for a pretty full social life. Now I've broken up with most of my tv shows, and I feel like I can't get it all in. I knew that I would be busy once the Baby was born, but I had no idea exactly how busy I would be.

So while I think that my husband would flip out if I actually canceled cable, I am going to cut back on what I am watching. I am falling behind on everything, not just here. I'm hoping that I'll be able to focus on the revamp, as well as some consulting work that I am trying to line up. I look around, and I see all these moms who have it all together, and I feel like I am flailing around. It's time for me to get my stuff together, both online and off.

Here's to hoping that I can get more consistent with my posting.

To Deck the Halls

It's that time of year where I start decorating for Christmas. The decorating tends to fall on my shoulders, since my husband isn't quite as Christmas obsessed as I am.

Last year, we did basically the same thing that we have done in the past.

Christmas 2009

This year, everything is different. First of all, we have the Baby. Second, we no longer live in the same apartment, or even have a lot of the same furniture anymore.

We still have the couches, but we no longer have the tables. Also, since we've moved, we no longer have that window sill perfect for placing Christmas cards.

Because of the Baby, we want to have a tree big enough to put presents under, which means that we'll have a larger tree that is on the floor, not a table. We've already gotten new (shatterproof) ornaments. We are also concerned with the Baby's extreme curiosity, and how that will work with a tree in his reach.

Also, coming from a very decorated house growing up, I'm concerned that the one tree just isn't enough decoration. But we don't have a lot of places to display lots of decorations, or store them when the season is over.

Tonight is the moment of truth. The Husband will be picking up the tree on his way home from work. As much as I wanted to go as well, we decided that it would be too difficult to deal with the Baby and a tree in our car.

How did your decorating style change when you had a baby?

Writer's Workshop: Lost Friendship

I came very close to writing about the TSA. The only thing that stopped me was that I am going to be traveling to England in the next few months (with the Baby, first time he'll be on a plane), and I don't really want to think about that right now.

So instead, I'm thinking about a friend who left my life over thirteen years ago, let's call her L. (Thirteen years? When did that happen?). She was one of my best friends from high school, but when we all went to college, she decided that she wanted a clean slate, and got rid of all her friends from high school.

One of our friends (S) was dumped because L didn't like S's boyfriend. Another friend was cut off because she was still friends with S and me.

She stopped speaking to me because when I came home on a break, that happened to be her birthday, I didn't make enough of an effort to see her. My calling multiple times and leaving messages just wasn't good enough.

I know that that was just a lame excuse, and I'll probably never know the real reason she didn't want to see me again.

I did see her once, about nine years ago, while on a date with my (now) husband. She was having dinner with her parents, brother, and who I assumed was her boyfriend. I spent the entire night flipping out about being there in the same restaurant. I never spoke to her, and she never spoke to me.

Then about four years ago, I was catching the train to work, and was thrilled to find an available seat. It wasn't until after I sat down that I realized that I was sitting next to L's father. This time I wasn't able avoid a conversation, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I asked how everyone was doing, and I was thrilled to be at a pretty impressive place in my life.

I still have not spoken to L. I don't know what I would do if I did. I do think that way too much time has gone by for us to ever really be friends again.

I think about her every once in a while, and I miss her. But then I think about how she got rid of me and I realize that I am better off the way things are now.