Perfect '10?

The '00's had their ups and downs, but now we're at the dawn of a new decade and I'm looking forward to what 2010 will bring.

When I look back over the last year, I realize I dated a lot but I also had a lot of break-ups. But none of them hit me as hard as the back-to-back deaths of two dear friends in November. After the initial grief, I find I'm in a very happy space, taking life as it comes and focusing on the little things that bring me joy. Yes, I wish I had someone special to share my life with, but instead of focusing on the lack of someone, I have been finding so much to love in all I do have. I live in a fantastic city, I have a good job, I've got a great new friend in NM, and I have a wonderful loving family. Oh, and I'm 3 sizes smaller than I was at this time last year! (Yipee!)

For New Year's, I'm heading to Amsterdam. GED lives there now and invited me to spend a few days. We've been speaking for the past couple months, and he gave me one of the most heartfelt apologies I've ever heard. We've been friends -- and sometimes more -- for 11 years now, and that's not something I can easily or want to throw away. And I hate being alone at New Year's. So, although I'm excited to be going, I'm also not putting any expectations on what this means or what happens next.

Happy New Year to you all! May 2010 bring many more exciting experiences to blog about!

Christmas Memories

Christmas was wonderful, although my visit went much too quickly! I had 2.5 days in Austin with Jenn, Anthony, Anna & Colin (and saw my uncle Tom, as seen in this pic) and then 2.5 days in Houston with my parents, Steph, Al, Paige, Graham and Evelyn.


Here's Jenn reading the Christmas story, with dog Francesca listening in. I took Francesca on a run -- or perhaps I should say she took me -- between the wind at my back and her energy, I ran much faster than I usually do on the treadmill!

Colin is still very snuggly, and one of my favorite moments was watching a movie with him on my lap. He's almost too big to do this, but I really love getting those snuggles! Anna is growing up FAST, and she got a lot of pleasure out of picking out gifts for me, including bright pink lipstick and a beautiful beaded necklace and earrings.

After church, the kids came over to Nana & Grandad's and we did crafts. I showed them how to make funny glasses out of pipe cleaners, although Evie didn't want to wear any. She's happy that the Christmas Chihuahua came out to sing "Feliz Navidad." After Evie went down for a nap, Nana and I went shopping with the twins. Paige was my buddy, staying close by and hugging on me or holding my hand almost constantly. :-)


Graham -- or Grahammie the Hammie -- tries on the blinking nose for the Rudolph model in the front yard.

Graham made me smile when he gave me a goodnight kiss and then ran to his mom blushing and saying, "I can't believe I gave Auntie Emily a kiss!"

And here Evelyn pretends to nap, watching her Grandad, who really was nodding off. As soon as he closed his eyes and started to relax, Evelyn would say, "Grandad!" and wake him up. :-) She also delighted me and Nana when we came to see her after her nap and she ran to us giving us tight hugs and saying, "I missed you!" So sweet.


Again, I come home with a full heart. I feel so fortunate to have so many wonderful people in my family, especially all the little dear ones.

Merry Christmas!

I am so thankful this Christmas for so many blessings -- for family, for friends, for a decent job, for a warm place to live, for a church family, and for readers and commenters to my blog. :-)

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

Walking in a Winter Wonderland

It snowed! When I heard it was coming, I was so excited. Of course, most NYers groan and don't look forward to 8-12 inches of snow, but it's still has novelty for this Texan-NYer.

My friend NM asked me if I wanted to meet for dinner last night, even though the snow had already started. Of course, I said yes. If you have the right "equipment," including snow boots, gloves, scarf and puffy coat, and the subways are still running (which they were), it's not so bad. We met on the Upper East Side at a great Chinese restaurant and watched as the storm increased outside. At some points, the wind was blowing the snow sideways, and at times it would go one direction and then change to the opposite. You could see sheets of snow coming down.

After dinner, we walked arm in arm to the subway stop. We agreed that it's beautiful at first, when it's still all white, not sludgy gray from the cars or yellow from the dogs' urine (hopefully it's dogs'). NM commented how she loves to set the first footprints in new snow (me too), and I love the squeaky feel of it under my boots. The only part showing is my face, and I bury my chin and mouth in my scarf, so it's not too bad.

Then I got back downtown, and there are fewer buildings here to block the wind. Wow, it was a powerful wind! Only the last block or so was really difficult. But before I hit the wall of snowy wind, I was giggling and taking pictures in City Hall Park. Most came out so snowy, you can't tell what I was aiming at, such as a lamppost or a beautiful evergreen. And I took a self-portrait so you can see just how much of me is bundled up.

This morning, I headed off to church. The crews have already cleared many sidewalks and streets, and there are piles of snow along the curbs. But it's still beautiful to me. I wish I had someone to have a snowball fight with!

Holiday Fun with Friends in Dallas

I can't believe it's been ten days since I blogged last. It's just been one thing after another. What a busy month! I've gone to four parties and already taken a couple trips to Texas. Then there's the incredible amount of work to get through, too. And I've "adopted" four kids for Christmas and volunteered at a local shelter, serving dinner. But those are the things I really enjoy doing this season.

So, last weekend, I went to Dallas. Although I lived there for thirteen years before moving here to NYC, I don't get back there very often, as my family lives in Houston and Austin. But my long-time girlfriends -- Wendy, Lauren and Sherry -- and I have a tradition of getting together for Christmas lunch. I usually try to see as many friends as I can while I'm in Dallas, but I don't announce my trip because I can never see everyone. I generally plan visits for meals and coffee breaks, going from visit to visit. It's busy but fun!

My flight arrived on time midday Saturday, but the shuttle bus to the rental cars took forever. When I walked into the rental car center, I saw the line for the company I had made a reservation with was the longest -- at least 20 people deep! Aarrgh! But I realized I hadn't given a credit card with the reservation, so I hopped over to another rental car company that didn't have a line. They got me in a car quickly, but I was still running behind schedule to meet the girls for lunch. So, I was speeding. And I got pulled over. I hadn't even been in the car 10 minutes! I pretended not to realize I was speeding and handed over my NY drivers license to the cute officer. I apologized and admitted that I don't drive very often. (Of course, I purposefully didn't tell him I used to live in Dallas.) And he sweetly let me off with a warning!

Lunch with the girls was great but too short. (Unfortunately, I forgot to get a picture of us until Lauren had already left.) After that, I met another friend for coffee. Leaving there, I found my face was hurting from smiling so much. (Not a bad hurt!) And there was more to come. I was staying at one of my girlfriends' houses and went with Lauren and her husband to my previous company's holiday party. Only a couple people knew I was going to be there, and it was great to surprise and see many old friends.

(I know my eyes look a little crazy in this picture, but I was laughing and having a good time!)


Before leaving for the airport on Sunday, I got to spend some quality time with Lauren's three kids, who are 6, 2 and 5 months. So sweet! It was a nice, quiet morning in a very loving family home. And the girls posed for pictures for me.

Empty Calories

This time of year is overladen with diet temptations. Although I am much more a fan of savory foods than sweets, I do have a weakness for chocolate... and creme brulee, and pecan pie, and maybe a few others...but I'm honestly terrified of putting the pounds back on. I've already gained a few, and I'm anxious to get them off. Why is it SO much easier to gain than to lose???

Of course, it all comes down to calories in and calories out. I'm gearing up (mentally and in my workouts) for next year's triathlon, so that helps keep me motivated. But don't you hate it when you decide to splurge and eat that dessert because it just looks so unbelievably scrumptious, and when you put it in your mouth, you realize the taste doesn't compare with the beauty? It's such a disappointment. Empty calories without the enjoyment.

Sometimes dating is like that, too. They look great on the outside, but they turn out to be bland as cardboard on the inside. Or freaky. Or just emotionally retarded.

Take last weekend, for example. Technically, not a date, but it still proves the point. I went out for the evening with my girl friend Never Married, and we had a great dinner of tapas and sangria at the bar at Sala. (Absolutely our favorite thing is the datilles, roasted dates with almonds wrapped in bacon...YUM! And who needs desserts when you're eating bacon? But I digress.)

As we were finishing up, the bartender kept making our pitcher of sangria magically extend with additional happy juice to keep us around. We began talking to a couple guys seated near us. One is a physician from Florida, who was visiting his friend for his birthday. Both seemed normal, and fairly interesting. They asked where we were going next, so we told them and they decided to accompany us to the club. Florida Doctor bought us a drink there, and I ended up talking to Birthday Boy while NM chatted up the doctor. Everything was going normally. I can't remember any specifics of the conversation, but we were covering the basics, getting to know each other. And then he went and got all freaky. Asked me if I ever thought about kissing NM. Uh, no! So he asked me if I would. NO! Soon after that, NM and I decided to leave, and Birthday Boy asks for my phone number. I told him no, and when he asked why, I told him his request pretty much decided that. He proceeded to spew forth a verbal vomit of ugliness and vulgarity. Very strange!

Pics from Steph's Annual Christmas Tea