| November 30 - I have no idea what to do with my life! I KNOW the universe is unfolding exactly as it should but a LITTLE guidance wouldn't be such a bad thing, now would it???? November 23 - Absolutely nothing to do here at work so I think after I write this little entry, I'll head home! Things are good in Liz Land. I'm all sorts of excited to head down to FL tomorrow morning with Alice. I can't wait to see everyone... I feel like it's been ages! I miss my mom and my brother a LOT. I miss everyone down there and tomorrow, I won't have to. :) I want to do a looooooooooooooooong ride on Thursday morning all over the place. And of course participate in the Hildick Horseshoe Classic. Rumor has it that Dad and Tom actually built a regulation pit. It will be so great to see Joan, I wish Bud and Bernice were going to be around but I'll see them over Christmas. Alice and I are planning on outlet shopping on Friday, oh yeah! We like the crowds - once a year. I hope Hetal comes, too. I love Thanksgiving. Tonight I'm going to Doc Chey's with Jana, Al, and SARA!! I thought Sara was gone! Jana's birthday is Friday. Can't wait to hang out with her. I'm spoiled this week, both Alice and Jana are in town. It's so great! I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving. :) November 17 - I got the coolest email the other day - it's so nice when people are thinking good things about you, and they TELL you about it. Things in Liz Land have been insane. We have a project due today - miraculously finished ahead of schedule and now the plotter isn't cooperating and we have an entire tree's worth of drawings that are almost too light to read. Enter Dexter the Repro Guy... just please enter soon. In other news, I DON'T NEED A ROOT CANAL! Very good news. I saw all my truck $$ dwindling away to fix my teeth, and now that's not the case! Good thing, I've already HAD a root canal on that tooth (10 years ago - holy cow). Alice will be here this weekend. She's so great. She's like "I get in at 2, I was thinking maybe I'd cook us some dinner" - YEAH! You do that, Al! I would love having dinner made for me. Not that I don't love to cook - most of you know I do, but it's so nice to have someone else do it. God I feel like so much is going on. I'm glad the holidays are here. I can't wait to go home for Thanksgiving. My mom is THE BEST cook. EVAR. I can't wait to see everyone, to do bike rides with Tina, play pictionary and wizard and trivial pursuit with everyone, go to the Ale House and see everyone, drink wine with April, etc. Jana is coming down to Florida for New Year's and we're going to Disney World - yahoo!! I haven't been there in ages and I LOVE DISNEY WORLD. If Al can get the days off, I know she'll go too. I'm excited about stuff. November 9 - I am having THE BEST day today! Strangers have been so nice to me, I got 4 totally random good mornings from passersby and wasn't annoyed or offended by any of them, a friend of mine offered me a free condo in Hawaii (too bad I have no spare cash at the moment!), the coffee lady offered me a free cookie (but I turned it down - too many points). I set my holiday travel plans, it's all so... GOOD! I also sent out this kick ass pumpkin bread recipe, it's super healthy - click here if you want it, too - three people have tried it and loved it. Yeah! OH MY GOD. Signs the apocalypse is upon us: my mom and dad called my sister and TOLD HER that they were OK with the fact she is a lesbian! They aren't ready to meet girlfriends yet or anything (not that Al has one), but it's a positive step. I'm so excited! OK so if that wasn't enough good stuff, my mom tells me that dad was all upset because he went to Dunkin Donuts and got a chocolate donut, then came home and saw it was 7 points. WHAT? Yes, everyone, my dad is counting points. I can not BELIEVE it. I nearly fell over and died laughing. Here my mom is trying to help him out and she tells him that pistachios are 2 points for 2 dozen. His reply: 'Well, Maryann, don't buy them because I'd rather use my points for my Jack Daniels!' GOOD FOR YOU, DAD!!! November 4 - Thank GOD the election is OVER. Votes cast, votes counted, and regardless, we still all woke up and went to work or school or whatever. We're still the greatest nation. So now support your president, but if you don't like what he's doing, WRITE LETTERS TO YOUR CONGRESSMEN! Write your senators, representatives, whomever. Don't just bitch about how you hate Bush or wish Kerry would have won. BE the change - DO SOMETHING about what it is you don't like. That being said... life on my end doesn't get much better than today - I had a great workout this morning, it's sunny and cool outside, I had an uber-tasty lunch and I've got plenty o' work that's not so boring to keep me busy for the afternoon. And THEN... talk about your great Thursday night TV - THE OC SEASON PREMIERE and THEN The Donald on The Apprentice! How cool is this. :) Hope you all have a fantastic week. October 27 - Just 2 days til the crazy halloween party at Jim and Charlie's - oh my goodness I'm almost afraid of it. :) OK I have no time to write but I just have to do it. I can not believe how the universe is unfolding EXACTLY AS IT SHOULD!! Just yesterday I was - let's say, a bit lost as to how my life is progressing (or more correctly, how it's not) - and then this morning I was again reminded that everything is working out exactly as it should and that I should just be patient and not worry like I have been doing. Ha. Anyhow, Boston trip was great fun - I hope to put the pics up soon, since I'm redoing my webpage, the pictures section is next on the list. Man did we have a really good time though. I ate SO much, I want to use my no-weigh-in pass this week! We went to Mike's Pastry BOTH nights we were there. And dinner in the North end. And everyone was all crazy b/c of the world series. It was SO SO great to see Jess, I like her so much. She's running her marathon this weekend. Yeah, Jess!! She and I bought these awesome sweaters, they're the same - AND let me tell you what else I like, I like trying on the large sweater and it being too big so I have to try the medium and it fits! Very cool. But I love this sweater. LOVE IT. It'll be great for skiing - not that I'll be able to do that this year either - but whatever, I'll have it for awhile. Anyhow we watched the races with the coolest old guy from Harvard. It was like having our own personal little commentator. I had a very good time hanging out with Sara and Rhiannon, too. And I'm so glad that Kelley is back in my life because I have so much fun with her! Anyhow back to work before Tom chops my head off - still DIMENSIONING THE SAME DAMN BUILDING. Ugh shoot me now, please! October 14- Such frequent writing! A little commenary on life these days... I was talking with Rhiannon the other day and we were reliving the glory days, talking about something that happpened a while back and she says "god, was that only 3 years ago?" And yes, it was only 3 years ago, but it seemed like an entire lifetime had gone by in those 3 years. In those 3 years, I moved from Atlanta to Denver, returned to Florida, moved back out to Vail, and back to Atlanta. I had 7 different roommates, 3 different jobs (3 entirely different industries!), a couple serious relationships and made some of the best friends of my life. I realized who my good friends from my past were. I was a youth leader and a eucharistic minister at a catholic church. I changed my body entirely. I learned to appreciate my parents - I have always loved them and the life they've given me, but I think I didn't appreciate them and the sacrifices they made for my brother, sister and I, until this year. I learned it really is true that just because someone doesn't love me like I want them to, doesn't mean they don't love me with all they are able to give. I learned that true love never dies and that I shouldn't let go of the hope that I'll spend my life wrapped up in it. I got really good at snow skiing. I learned that I won't settle for things I don't like - that I will do something to get what I want or to change the situation I'm in if I don't like it. I learned that the human body is far more capable of accomplishing physical tasks than the human mind would allow. I'd say the past 3 years of my life were probably the hardest I've had to go through, but I managed to have a lot of fun and miracle of miracles, even though things aren't entirely worked out at any given time, I know they will be. I love my life. I love my friends. I love that I'll be 27 in 6 days, and I have so many years to keep learning all this good stuff. October 12 - I really am going to update my entire webpage, I just spent most of the weekend drunk. :) It's been awhile since I did that, though. I had a good time. Sarah Hoke and I made dinner on Friday, finished a bottle of wine while cooking and then finished a bottle while eating it! Fun night. April came to town - that girl needs to GAIN SOME WEIGHT!! It was so cool to see her over the weekend, but damn if she isn't crazy thin - she's doing a body building competition in December. April is my athletic icon, but this I don't think I could ever be inspired - not even by her - to do. We all went out on Saturday, it is so cool to have Alice around!! I made she and I some damn tasty dinner last night. Tonight she and Crystal are doing fish but I think I'll be at the gym too late to make it - sad because she's quite the cook and I'd love to have dinner waiting for me when I got home. I'm going over anyhow in the hopes they'll have some left over, but if not to eat, then to steal DVDs. I hooked up my fancy new DVD player, so now I can waste even MORE time on the couch! Jana really wants to move to Portland. I might go. But not for a while, it is SO MUCH FUN to have Alice here. :) I need to buy a plane ticket to Philadelphia for Christmas. And then I need to save all my money for a truck. I want an old Toyota, both Chris S and Doug had one out in Colorado and those things run forever. They beat the crap out of them and I know I'd do the same. So yeah, an old red toyota, xtra cab, 5 speed 4x4. I'll put big tires on it and probably a steel truck box if it doesn't have one. I'm thinking July or so. We'll hold off on the Volvo until I decide to sell my soul to the yuppies - which I do believe I'll never be able to bring myself to do. There are plenty o' lawyers riding around in VOLVOS, how many do you know whose daily driver is a 4x4? Someday you'll know one... ME. :) I've had 3 cups of coffee, can you tell?? October 8 - I AM SO EXCITED!!! About what specifically, I don't know. :) But I've got that crazy hum - like the energy level for me is way too high. Something awesome is about to happen. October is my very favorite month - I love fall. I've had such a great October already and I'm only 8 days in. I lost 3 more pounds. I'm back to weight training 3x per week again. LOVE IT. Work is good - getting almost too busy, it's Friday and I think I'll be here late again. I am so happy right now - I feel like I'm insane or something - though I don't *actually* know what it feels like to be insane. April is on her way over here from CO. YAHOO! Good weekend coming. I guess I don't care what happens - I'm on some awesome high and I'm going to enjoy it as long as I can. I love the excitement! October 5 - Who am I kidding - my home is in the hills. Being out west made me realize that recently, I'd forgotten about so much of the important stuff I love. . Last week SaraHoke and I were at dinner and she was talking about Paris. She loves it over there and wants to move to that city permanently after school. She said it's like me with the mountains - they'll always be my true home, where I'm happiest. When she said that, I thought it was weird b/c I keep talking about a move to FL and the beach, but... she's right. Being out there was like going home. And I had SUCH a great time. Jana rocks, not that I didn't know this before, but this weekend showed me how much more amazing she was than I could ever have imagined. We spent the whole weekend laughing. I saw Micah out there, and learned to play Texas Hold 'Em at Seth and Cara's kitchen table with a bunch of other folks I didn't know. I got to see where Eric and Micah live - it's a lot like Vermont. Dirt road through the woods and all. We saw Mt. St. Helen's from the Johnston Ridge Observatory the day it erupted - we got there about an hour after it happened, but we saw the steam and all on the drive up. It was very cool. We went along the Columbia River gorge and saw all these waterfalls. We drove out to the coast and saw the rocks where they filmed the goonies and the pirate ship sails away... awesome. Anyhow the trip was a good way to put things in perspective. I needed it. I give myself 2 years before I'm heading back - for more than just a weekend. It's nice to be here, though, for now. September 27 - Well I had a great run on Wednesday last week. I ran my whole 7 mile around town super hilly loop, and didn't walk one bit of it - not even The Mother Hill. That's a first. But then on Thursday I didn't feel like running. So I didn't. And I liked the free time. And I want to go to Portland and hang out with Jana next weekend, and I'm tired of not getting any sleep and being tired and having to restrict the time I can hang out with friends b/c I'm running all the time - so I stopped! I'm not training for the marathon any more. I thought I'd feel really badly about it and regret it, but I don't - I feel great! I have a little problem when I'm stressed - I am not very good at identifying the SOURCE of my stress. So that was it, it was taking up too much time and interfering with my life too much. I'm not ready to devote that amount of effort. So yes, halfway through the training, I've stopped. Maybe some day I'll pick it up again, but no promises. I did learn a lot - like you can run a lot further than you think you can! And I'm surprised I was never injured or in any real pain - even for the 1/2 marathon. So now I have like 15 extra hours a week - it's great! This was a fun weekend. I saw First Daughter - I am not a Katie Holmes fan, and she was just so-so in this movie too, BUT - it's a really good movie!! I was surprised. Saturday night we all went out for Rhiannon's birthday. I drank a lot. Yipes. But we didn't go into the fountain or anything nuts like that. :) Sara and Jarrett were with us, it was their TWO YEAR anniversary, and some dude comes up to Sara and says that the guys at the end of the bar would like to invite her to drink with them. Here Jarrett is, radiant with the fact that he's with the girl who is getting hit on, and Sara's trying to be all nice and say "oh no, thanks, I'm flattered." Well, that's crap! I tell the guy that he can buy her and her boyfriend a drink. And he did!! It was funny. I had a good weekend. Oh had dinner with Dave M last night, nice to see him. He is still High Maintenance Dave with the highlights in his hair. Soon to be Dave the Dad! He and Missy will have a baby in April. Oh, I am going to Portland this weekend - I'm very excited about this. I took Friday and Monday off. Morton rocks! |
| Days of Our Liz (Journal) |