The last week has been tough. I know life's always meant to throw these curveballs at you, but the last week felt like I was trapped in a batting cage with the pitching machine cranking out fast balls and me without a helmet and a bat. (That's my American-ism for the day)
I was brought up with the notion of "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger" and the concept that you just had to take the bad things in your stride. But when it's one thing after another, you do start to wonder...."when is this going to stop?" I believe that all things come in sets of three. Well believe me, I had my three last week. And they were all totally out of character for me. First, I dropped the ball at work. I knew it was meant to happen at some point, but the way it all came about made me feel sick and left thinking that my reprimand wasn't entirely professional. Then later that evening, as I dropped a 17-inch widescreen laptop on my toe, splitting the nail in half, and creating lots of blood and bruising. I'm not a clumsy person and I'm not prone to injurying myself. I took it as a sign that I was just exhausted after the bad day at work and opted for vodka on the rocks over Ibuprofen.
The third bad thing was a bit of a shock. It was two days later over the weekend. The day before had been Zak's birthday and we had a great time going out, and then that day we'd had a very successful barbeque. I was in the kitchen doing dishes from the party and had just poured myself a glass of wine to go in the living room and finally put my feet up. What I didn't know was that the universe had other plans. For some reason I had no idea that our 65 pound dog, Sheila, had laid down right beside my feet. I turned full force ready to start walking and went flying. I came crashing down on the tile floor, with my knee taking most of the shock. My head also hit the floor (no concussion, but minor whip lash) and the crystal glass shattered, slitting my finger open. I've never fallen like that before in my life, not even as a kid. So now I'm still hobbling around with a knee twice the size of the other.
So I've had my three bad things. Time for the cosmos to send something good my way.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Getting Together
This week has been a big week for my family. Yesterday my baby brother turned 16. He's the youngest in the family and the only boy. We all got together Sunday evening for a family dinner, Zak and my sister's boyfriend included, and were fully prepared to have an enjoyable evening.
Of course, things didn't turn out that way, and the boys all had to run out on a last minute errand that would take a couple of hours. This left my mum, dad, sister, and myself having dinner together for the first time since my brother was born. There have been plenty of times when my brother's been out, but there was always a boyfriend thrown into the mix, or maybe just one of us girls were at home. We all noticed that it was the first time in 16 years that we'd had dinner as just the four of us, and ended up talking about life before the baby. Only instead of us talking about things before he was ever a thought, we (mainly my sister and I) ended up talking about the excitement of him being born: what we wanted him to be named, what we were doing the day of him being born, etc.
Zak can't get over how close we are as a family. I never really noticed growing up how we were a much closer family than the average. We all spend time together because we want to and like to, not because we feel it's an obligation. I don't dread the holidays with my family or having to go to a dinner party with them. Hell, the best parties I've been to have been with them. We all make time for each other as a group and also separately as well. I like having one-on-one time with my mum or my sister, just as much as I like talking with my dad or listening to my brother play music.
I think our closeness stems to the fact that we live so far away from the rest of our family. It's forced us to rely on each other in a way that you wouldn't have to if your aunt or grandparents were just down the road or in another city, where you had the ability to see them more than once every two or three years. We know that we'll always be there for each other. Now that my sister and I are out of the house, and I'm married, we all have our own lives. But it's nice that we still find ourselves wanting to get back together every once in a while.
Of course, things didn't turn out that way, and the boys all had to run out on a last minute errand that would take a couple of hours. This left my mum, dad, sister, and myself having dinner together for the first time since my brother was born. There have been plenty of times when my brother's been out, but there was always a boyfriend thrown into the mix, or maybe just one of us girls were at home. We all noticed that it was the first time in 16 years that we'd had dinner as just the four of us, and ended up talking about life before the baby. Only instead of us talking about things before he was ever a thought, we (mainly my sister and I) ended up talking about the excitement of him being born: what we wanted him to be named, what we were doing the day of him being born, etc.
Zak can't get over how close we are as a family. I never really noticed growing up how we were a much closer family than the average. We all spend time together because we want to and like to, not because we feel it's an obligation. I don't dread the holidays with my family or having to go to a dinner party with them. Hell, the best parties I've been to have been with them. We all make time for each other as a group and also separately as well. I like having one-on-one time with my mum or my sister, just as much as I like talking with my dad or listening to my brother play music.
I think our closeness stems to the fact that we live so far away from the rest of our family. It's forced us to rely on each other in a way that you wouldn't have to if your aunt or grandparents were just down the road or in another city, where you had the ability to see them more than once every two or three years. We know that we'll always be there for each other. Now that my sister and I are out of the house, and I'm married, we all have our own lives. But it's nice that we still find ourselves wanting to get back together every once in a while.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Remembering a Special Day
Last night Zak and I got to see our edited wedding video for the first time. We got a package where we had all the raw footage plus a 10 minute movie-like short that our videographers put together. The raw footage we'll see when we receive the DVDs next week, but we got to preview the short, just to make sure that nothing was really out of place.
We chose the music. Our videographer asked for a list of ten songs to choose from. So we had an idea of what could be in the film, but ultimately had no idea how they would put it together and what their vision would be. With both Zak and myself being into film and photography, we were very excited.
So yesterday evening we had my family come over (my mum thoughtfully brought a bottle of prosecco), and we all watched it together for the first time. It was a roller coaster of emotions from start to finish. I didn't know that within ten minutes you could go from laughing to crying, back to laughing, back to crying, and then laughing again. They captured just how happy and emotional that day was. The music was a key point to the film, and they timed every shot with perfection.
What made it even more special was getting to share it with my family. Being able to see it for the first time and getting to see each other's reactions was a bonding experience of some sorts (my dad's speech had us girls all reaching for the tissues at the same time). We watched it twice together and then got to chat and laugh about it afterwards.
Later in the evening Zak and I watched it twice by ourselves. It really brought home just how incredible the day was for us and how much fun everybody had. It was, from beginning to end, a celebration. I can't wait to see the rest of the footage on DVD. :)
We chose the music. Our videographer asked for a list of ten songs to choose from. So we had an idea of what could be in the film, but ultimately had no idea how they would put it together and what their vision would be. With both Zak and myself being into film and photography, we were very excited.
So yesterday evening we had my family come over (my mum thoughtfully brought a bottle of prosecco), and we all watched it together for the first time. It was a roller coaster of emotions from start to finish. I didn't know that within ten minutes you could go from laughing to crying, back to laughing, back to crying, and then laughing again. They captured just how happy and emotional that day was. The music was a key point to the film, and they timed every shot with perfection.
What made it even more special was getting to share it with my family. Being able to see it for the first time and getting to see each other's reactions was a bonding experience of some sorts (my dad's speech had us girls all reaching for the tissues at the same time). We watched it twice together and then got to chat and laugh about it afterwards.
Later in the evening Zak and I watched it twice by ourselves. It really brought home just how incredible the day was for us and how much fun everybody had. It was, from beginning to end, a celebration. I can't wait to see the rest of the footage on DVD. :)
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Boston Bound (in 3 months)
As you all know from my first blog, I love to travel. Unfortunately, life has not allowed me to do that as much as I would like in recent years. The last time I went anywhere was in May 2009 to Florida, when Zak proposed. It was a wonderful trip, but we stayed with his uncle, so it wasn't quite a full vacation.
This year I made it one of my new year's resolutions to have a holiday. Not just staying with family members, but a full-on sleep in hotels, do what we want on our time, holiday. In addition to Florida, Zak and I have only been on holiday one other time: 2008 when he met me in Holland (for a day) and then we had 3 weeks in England for him to see my home and meet the relatives. It was an incredible time, but like Florida, staying with relatives starts to wear on you after a while!
Well as of Tuesday, I am officially set to fulfill one of my resolutions (unlike the others such as drink less wine, not be so sarcastic and judgemental, etc). In May, Zak and I will have 5 days in New England. We're flying into Boston and are going to spend our time seeing as much as possible of the region, while also getting to spend a weekend with his brother who's in Submarine School for the Navy. Both Zak and I are history buffs and so the opportunity to go to this part of the U.S. is really exciting for us. Also, I've worked out that yet again I won't be able to make it back to England this year and after some research, Boston seems to have a very English look and weather to it.
We have booked our tickets and told Zak's brother (which made his day), and are looking forward to the next steps: renting a car and finding hotels. I can't wait to have the Atlantic sea air in my face, cobble-stone streets beneath my feet, May temperatures in the 50s, and drunk and angry Irish-Americans singing at a pub. Ahhhhhh, it's almost like being back at home. :)
This year I made it one of my new year's resolutions to have a holiday. Not just staying with family members, but a full-on sleep in hotels, do what we want on our time, holiday. In addition to Florida, Zak and I have only been on holiday one other time: 2008 when he met me in Holland (for a day) and then we had 3 weeks in England for him to see my home and meet the relatives. It was an incredible time, but like Florida, staying with relatives starts to wear on you after a while!
Well as of Tuesday, I am officially set to fulfill one of my resolutions (unlike the others such as drink less wine, not be so sarcastic and judgemental, etc). In May, Zak and I will have 5 days in New England. We're flying into Boston and are going to spend our time seeing as much as possible of the region, while also getting to spend a weekend with his brother who's in Submarine School for the Navy. Both Zak and I are history buffs and so the opportunity to go to this part of the U.S. is really exciting for us. Also, I've worked out that yet again I won't be able to make it back to England this year and after some research, Boston seems to have a very English look and weather to it.
We have booked our tickets and told Zak's brother (which made his day), and are looking forward to the next steps: renting a car and finding hotels. I can't wait to have the Atlantic sea air in my face, cobble-stone streets beneath my feet, May temperatures in the 50s, and drunk and angry Irish-Americans singing at a pub. Ahhhhhh, it's almost like being back at home. :)
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Tulips
Today I got home from a loooooooooooooong day at work and started my long list of housework that needed to be done. Generally, I like to clean and tidy, but today I was dreading it. Luckily the stereo blasting made the laundry, ironing, dishes, vacuuming, and other general tidying up go by a lot quicker than I thought it would. I finished off my hardwork with a small glass of white wine before heading out the door to take Sheila, the dog, for her evening walk.
As luck would have it, right as I stepped out of the front door, I saw Zak pull into the car park from work. I was excited to tell him that I'd ironed his work shirts (something I hate doing) as a nice little surprise for him. However, when he got out of the car he had a surprise for me - a beautiful bunch of tulips.
Tulips have always been one of my favourite flowers. I love the elegance of their shape, the clean lines of both petals and stems, and I love the fact that their emergence signifies the coming of spring. Also after spending two months as an intern in the Netherlands, I fell in love with the flower even more. My time over there also helped me choose my favourite colour of tulip: orange (or oranje as the Dutch say).
So as a Tuesday treat, I was given a bunch of 10 of the prettiest orange tulips that have a yellow ombre effect on the tips. I've put them on our hall table next to our wedding champagne flutes and a framed wedding photo. And for the next few days I'm guaranteed not only an excited dog when I walk through the door, but a sunny bunch of my favourite flowers.
As luck would have it, right as I stepped out of the front door, I saw Zak pull into the car park from work. I was excited to tell him that I'd ironed his work shirts (something I hate doing) as a nice little surprise for him. However, when he got out of the car he had a surprise for me - a beautiful bunch of tulips.
Tulips have always been one of my favourite flowers. I love the elegance of their shape, the clean lines of both petals and stems, and I love the fact that their emergence signifies the coming of spring. Also after spending two months as an intern in the Netherlands, I fell in love with the flower even more. My time over there also helped me choose my favourite colour of tulip: orange (or oranje as the Dutch say).
So as a Tuesday treat, I was given a bunch of 10 of the prettiest orange tulips that have a yellow ombre effect on the tips. I've put them on our hall table next to our wedding champagne flutes and a framed wedding photo. And for the next few days I'm guaranteed not only an excited dog when I walk through the door, but a sunny bunch of my favourite flowers.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Feel the Love
So as you all know, today is Valentine's Day.....the day (and night) of love. It is also the first Valentine's Day that Zak (that wonderful husband I mentioned in my first post) and I have ever truly celebrated. But rather than try to unwind enough to let the love flow at the beginning of what's looking to be a very long work week, we celebrated it Saturday night with a four course dinner at home.
The dinner was wonderful, and I got to try cooking something new. Fondue! One of our best dates was at a fondue restaurant called the Melting Pot when we lived in central Texas. So over two years later we thougtht we'd recreate the experience. We started off with a cheese fondue, which was thick and creamy and delicious. Then we moved onto our salads: mixed baby greens, cherry tomatoes, purple onion, and almonds all coated in my homemade balsamic dressing. That was the perfect cleanser before the main: a huge steaming pot of beef broth with garlic, onion, star anise, bay leaves, mushroom and potatoes, where we cooked bites of beef, pork, and chicken. I don't know how but somehow we found the room to share a poached pear for dessert. Needless to say, we were full by the end of it, but the beautiful thing about fondue is that it's a nice drawn out dinner. You have to wait for each bite of meat to cook before you can move onto the next. So it's no surprise that we were at the dinner table for four hours, eating, talking, and laughing.
I feel lucky that for all the time that Zak and I spend together, we still have something to talk about. We are each other's best friends and even though we've been living together for nearly 4 years now, we're still able to have (and want) good conversation. I'm happy that our first Valentine's celebration was as husband and wife, and that we were able to have such a good time together.
Happy Valentine's Day, Zak. I love you.
The dinner was wonderful, and I got to try cooking something new. Fondue! One of our best dates was at a fondue restaurant called the Melting Pot when we lived in central Texas. So over two years later we thougtht we'd recreate the experience. We started off with a cheese fondue, which was thick and creamy and delicious. Then we moved onto our salads: mixed baby greens, cherry tomatoes, purple onion, and almonds all coated in my homemade balsamic dressing. That was the perfect cleanser before the main: a huge steaming pot of beef broth with garlic, onion, star anise, bay leaves, mushroom and potatoes, where we cooked bites of beef, pork, and chicken. I don't know how but somehow we found the room to share a poached pear for dessert. Needless to say, we were full by the end of it, but the beautiful thing about fondue is that it's a nice drawn out dinner. You have to wait for each bite of meat to cook before you can move onto the next. So it's no surprise that we were at the dinner table for four hours, eating, talking, and laughing.
I feel lucky that for all the time that Zak and I spend together, we still have something to talk about. We are each other's best friends and even though we've been living together for nearly 4 years now, we're still able to have (and want) good conversation. I'm happy that our first Valentine's celebration was as husband and wife, and that we were able to have such a good time together.
Happy Valentine's Day, Zak. I love you.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
The first post
A few weeks ago, a good friend of mine started a blog. It was one of her new year's resolutions to try having a blog for a year, so that come 2012 she could look back and see what she'd learned and achieved in the last 365 days. I find that as some what of an inspiration.
I'm not quite as sure about what I'm wanting to achieve with this....inner peace? To find my voice? To be a bit more open? I don't know yet. Maybe I'll find out along the way and maybe I won't. Either way, the concept of a blog has always interested me and I've admired the people who are bold enough to put their lives out there for the public to view.
A little bit about me....I'm English and live in Texas. Towards the end of 2010 I married my wonderful husband after 4 years of being together. We have a dog and a pet rabbit. They are our children, and I'm sure there will be many stories about them on this blog. I'm very close to my family, my immediate family is the only family living outside of the UK. After 20 years living abroad and away from your relatives, I suppose it's only natural that you come so close to your parents and siblings. Afterall, they're the only family around when it comes to the holidays (which is something I enjoy. There's never any bickering about who's house we have to go to and which side of the family gets visited the most at Christmas, etc). My interests are traveling (bank balance and holiday time permitting), reading, cooking, and photography. It all sounds a bit cliche, but it's true. I get a huge kick out of finishing a book, experimenting in the kitchen, getting lost in a new place, and I have named my camera in the way that people name their children (it's Dennis by the way).
So there's the basic rundown of me and my life. The past has been interesting and diverse, and I just hope that the future is just as colourful.
I'm not quite as sure about what I'm wanting to achieve with this....inner peace? To find my voice? To be a bit more open? I don't know yet. Maybe I'll find out along the way and maybe I won't. Either way, the concept of a blog has always interested me and I've admired the people who are bold enough to put their lives out there for the public to view.
A little bit about me....I'm English and live in Texas. Towards the end of 2010 I married my wonderful husband after 4 years of being together. We have a dog and a pet rabbit. They are our children, and I'm sure there will be many stories about them on this blog. I'm very close to my family, my immediate family is the only family living outside of the UK. After 20 years living abroad and away from your relatives, I suppose it's only natural that you come so close to your parents and siblings. Afterall, they're the only family around when it comes to the holidays (which is something I enjoy. There's never any bickering about who's house we have to go to and which side of the family gets visited the most at Christmas, etc). My interests are traveling (bank balance and holiday time permitting), reading, cooking, and photography. It all sounds a bit cliche, but it's true. I get a huge kick out of finishing a book, experimenting in the kitchen, getting lost in a new place, and I have named my camera in the way that people name their children (it's Dennis by the way).
So there's the basic rundown of me and my life. The past has been interesting and diverse, and I just hope that the future is just as colourful.
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