An Impromptu Look Back at 2013

I'm not good at this nor do I usually take an inventory of my year when January 1st is a day away. But for prosperity's sake, and because I feel like this is a year in which E and I have been in some significant transition, a quick look back at the good, bad and ugly of 2013.

Disclaimer: I'm absolutely certain I'm leaving a million things out (which is why someone doing a real inventory would not start at 3pm on December 31).


Good:
- E's new gig
- Our first camping trip :)
- A weekend getaway for wine tasting and thrift store shopping (where I found what is, by my mental calculations, my most-worn dress of the year)
- Watching Roger Federer at Indian Wells again
- Watching lots of baseball, football and tennis
- The Delta Tau Chapter of Alpha Gamma Delta 10-Year Reunion
- Re-colonizing the Delta Eta Chapter of Alpha Gamma Delta at SDSU and getting to know great women as an advisor
- Throwing a fun '80s party
- Throwing a fun ice cream social
- Lots of good food
- Our precious Goddaughter turned one and is smarter, cuter and more fun every time we see her (impossible, I know)
- Our shows (pathetic, I know but cheap thrills are everything)
- Spending time with our amazing family and friends...who -- thankfully -- overall are doing well and have had many highlights of their own this year -- we've been happy to hear of and celebrate weddings, more new babies, new jobs, world travel, special relationships, etc.

Bad:
- Losing my job
- We didn't buy a house
- We didn't have kids
- We didn't somehow pay off all our student loans, inherit millions from a long-lost uncle or get funneled a fortune by a Nigerian prince... which would have helped us in achieving the house and/or kids
- The Padres didn't win the World Series (again)


Good and Bad (or Bad and Good):
- Turning 30
- Papa gave us a scare and needed a pacemaker installed... but received great care and is feeling much better
- E's sister had some health scares but is making progress in overcoming them


Ugly:
- My stringy, flat hair... good thing change is only a cut away!
- Our countertops, carpet, bathroom and all our closets... too bad that's not such an easy fix (paging Nigerian prince, we could use the cash flow here)
- My attempts at cooking, occasionally


You know what..? It was a pretty good year.

As always, it is my family and friends who make my life and story complete. My new year is only as happy as the happiness that we share. Wishing everyone an incredible 2014 full of love, laughter and new adventures.

What are you looking back on and looking forward to as we slip out of 2013 and into 2014? Are you the type to make resolutions? Any you are willing to share? If you were me, what resolutions would you make? I'm not resolution person... but this year I do have a pretty long to-do list. We'll see how it goes.

Cheers!!!

Five Years Later

Happy Anniversary to Us! 

Seriously, where did five years go? I know everyone always says things like that, but --- not kidding --- time needs to slow the heck down.

This guy. Marrying him has to be up there with the best decisions I've ever made (to say the least). It wasn't even really so much a decision as just a natural progression. I knew from very early on that we'd always be together. It's such a blessing to have found love and partnership so early in life and to be so happy together.

 

Our wedding was beautiful (I mean, there were things I'd go back and do differently, but that's the event planner in me --- the most important thing from Day One was to get married), but it was only the start of a beautiful life together.

I feel like we've already had some early tests. Heck, we had some tests before ever getting close to the altar. Not to make it sound like we've had a soap opera of a marriage --- not even close. But have we already proven that we're in it for better or worse -- I think so. Are we at all "where" I thought we'd be by this age and time in life? Oh gosh no (I found a high school scrapbook a while back where I'd answered "What do you think you'll be doing in 10 years?" with something to the effect of "Working at an ad agency, remodeling a house and chasing at least 3 children."). Is there anyone I'd rather have by my side during this adventure called life? Absolutely not.

 

 

What makes this life and love story complete is our family. We couldn't have been more blessed with people to love and support us in so many ways. Along with individuals who have life experience to put ours to shame, we have some of the best examples of committed marriages I have ever known. I am constantly inspired by the displays of love and devotion that I witness from the people in our lives. My hope is that our humble efforts show and remind you how much you are loved and how much we appreciate your impact in our lives.

 

 



So Happy Anniversary, my love. Life doesn't always follow the path we think it will, but by following our hearts we will always have love; laughter and each other. I choose you and I choose love, every single day for the rest of our lives.

 

 

 

 

Wishing you as much love and laughter as I have been blessed to cherish,

 



All is Bright

Hoping that everyone is having a bright and blessed Christmas!

 

That you had fun playing Santa for the special people in your life...

 

 

That you enjoyed nature's beauty and the miracle of the amazing world we live in...

That you felt the comfort of a higher power, a universal love... and remembered that however humble our beginnings, our destiny is shaped by our hard work, the relationships we build upon, our values and always keeping the faith.

 

 

 

That you connected with loved ones near and far...

And gathered round the table with blessings of good food and good company.

That you surrounded yourself with the people and pleasures that light you from within...

And that the holidays and coming new year bring you tidings of comfort and joy.

And on December 26, I always remember my Grandma Carol... she made Christmas warm and wonderful. Happy Birthday to someone taken from us far too soon.


Love and Joy Come to You,

#ThrowbackThursday: Christmas Edition

I've been going through tons of old family photos for a project (that I don't think will be ready in time for Christmas... bad elf, Leila) and some of my favorites are the Christmas pictures :)

There's literally hundreds of pictures I'm missing... This project has made me wish I'd stated a long time ago on better organizing all the old family pictures that are somewhat collected in albums, boxes, etc. I can think of plenty that I wish I had at the moment, but nevertheless.... There are still some gems here making me feel pretty cozy and nostalgic!

Found this treasure of a Christmas Card from
my grandma's family when she was a tyke

"Helping" little bro

With my cousin :)

 Baby bro destroying the tree

Probably the best Christmas pic ever -- my mom puff-painted

 coordinating sweatshirts for us all and then they tried to take a "nice" picture,

this was the best of the bunch so it's what was sent in the Christmas cards that year

I think he had just learned this trick....

Ana making tamales as a toddler...

... and as a tween.

The making of the tamales :)

"Christmas Comes to IB"

back when we were still just "Boyfriend and Girlfriend"
and when he had #JonSnowHair

The grandparents making tamales in their adorbs matching aprons :)

Back before everyone started getting married and having minions!

Our first (and so far, only, haha) annual Christmas Card from the Alvarez's

at The Merriest Place of Earth for our second anniversary :)

last year's holiday party

 

Do you have favorite photos from all through the years? I really need to work on scanning in all kinds of old pictures from my parents' and grandparents' albums and boxes... Besides enjoying albums and maybe getting pictures printed on a coffee mug or something, anyone have cool ideas for using these pictures around the house?  Maybe next year I could use them to make a garland of some kind?

May your days be merry and bright,

The Last Five: TV Shows We've Binge-Watched

Do you have some time off for the holidays and need TV programming to fill your days and nights?

Have you already watched every Christmas special and It's a Wonderful Life more times than the law should allow?

Do you want to get your Netflix money's worth?

Is it sad that I thought this deserved its own post (in chronological order)? Probably.

Nevertheless.

The Walking Dead.  We got hooked right around this time last year. Like, to the point that we almost blew off the Holiday Boat Parade of Lights to watch Season Two (we took a break to go see the boat parade, it's a delightful annual tradition). To the point that E dreamt of a zombie attack and sleep-punched me in the head (luckily his fist was buffered by three layers of blankets so I was cushioned from the blow). To the point that we came home at 8pm on New Year's Eve to start Season 3.

• What I keep telling my brother and his girlfriend who kind of fell off the wagon mid-Season 2: just get through it, or if you must, just skip ahead and watch the finale of Season 2 because I didn't realize how boring Season 2 was until we got into Season 3. Also, Season 3 is kind of frustrating because it keeps building up and can feel slow at times, but the payoff is worth it.
• Come for the zombies, stay for the Arm Porn: i.e. - Norman Reedus gets better every. season. (How is he equally lovable and sexy being tough and insanely vulnerable? Also, see photo below for a completely true story.)
• On that note, 50 Shades of Grey: Almost every character (at least the ones with more than a few minutes of talking time) is totally complex. They have good moments, they have bad moments. They can be heroic and weak. They make tough choices and stupid decisions. You hate them one episode and are in awe of them the next. This isn't a show about surviving a zombie apocalypse, it's about humanity and building society.
• Which character am I most like? Honestly I wouldn't have survived more than about a week. But I'm sure I'd be like Beth... probably not overly enthusiastic about killing things but I'm happy to pitch in how I can, whether that's taking care of the kids or helping to decorate the camp.

We also really enjoy The Talking Dead, although we often don't watch it until a day or two later and it can sometimes take us like, 90 minutes to watch because we keep pausing and injecting our own analysis (it's best that the two of us watch it alone because we're obnoxious).

Game of Thrones. It's as epic as everyone said it would be, even if it took me a few episodes to get the hang of who people are, where they are, why we hate certain people, get used to the limb-chopping, etc.

• Favorite Person: Jon Snow (obvi, I like cute boys with long curly hair despite his generally poor decision-making skills. Sidebar: Trying to convince E he should grow his hair out again to be more Jon Snow-esque.. he tells me it's not as curly, I tell him he knows nothing.) Also, this video is awesome if you enjoy a good training montage.
• What Makes Me Want To Throw Things At My TV: Whenever Theon Greyjoy chews soemthing, Ugh. Stop. HOWEVER - his situation has dragged on too long and -- sidebar -- I ADORE the squid fireplace (as shown below).
• Person Who Needs To Be Introduced To Daenerys Targaryen's Dragons The Sooner The Better: Joffrey, duh.
• WTF Moment (besides the Red Wedding): The Red Lady getting naked just to do some moderate leeching of Gendry... like, sure she's got a nice bod but why was that necessary? It wasn't.

  

  It wouldn't be weird to have this fireplace
  in a suburban home, right?

Sidebar #2 - My Aunt Gloria designed some of the jewelry that Daenerys has worn, cool right?! You can see it here - http://www.pinterest.com/farringnearrain/game-of-thrones/

Sidebar #3 - Once you've gotten to know the characters you will find this video hi-freakin'-larious. The people behind this are genius..it's gold... like, this is what Glenn Beck should be telling people to buy to secure their assets.

Orange Is The New Black.  It's smart, it's sassy, it's diverse, it tells interesting stories. This article summarizes most of my concerns.

• Most Compelling Inmate: Pennsatucky. Yes she is absolutely nuts but I absolutely have to know what she does next. But I am also dying to know Suzanne's life story.
• Made Me Cry Moment: Pretty sure it was Piper saying goodbye to Larry in the first episode. Also when Miss Claudette finally had a visitor.
• I Cannot Deal With: Healy you sonuvabitch. I really started out thinking you might be alright. I hope your green card wife makes you miserable.
• Have Such Mixed Feelings About: Pornstache. Part of me feels sorry for him. Also E nixed the idea of being Pennsatucky and Pornstache for Halloween. No sense of fun, that guy ;)
• Unintended Consequence: E now calls me "Chapman" whenever I wear my college sweats. Whatever, I love my school and my worn-in sweatshirt. #SorryImNotSorry

House of Cards. Dear Netflix you are so good to us. ohhhh Kevin Spacey -- you make me simultaneously want and fear you. Princess Buttercup - are you ever not stunning (except when you're being a B)?

• Person I Started Out Not Liking Who Has Grown On Me: Zoe Barnes, once she started doing actual journalism (it still exists!).
• The Event Planner in Me Adored: The impromptu moving of the CWI gala to the outdoor entrance of the hotel. Of course it still looked great and the BBQ ribs are going to be better than any hotel rubber chicken dinner.
• Why I Couldn't Make It On Capitol Hill: I still have some integrity.
• Reason I Don't Fast-Forward Through That Chase "Pay-Your-French-Teaching-Crafty-Babysitter-With-Your-Cell-Phone" Commercial: Because Lucas is in it. Also, I didn't really buy him as an undercover cop who would pose as picking up high-class hookers. Not because he doesn't come across as a legit actor (the "Surrrre, send her an extra $20 for teaching our kid French" little nod is a total Dad move -- you know the one), but because he just seems nice and normal.
• Phrase I Have Been Randomly Texting to E and Want to Put On A Tee-Shirt: JUSTICE FOR PETER RUSSO

The League. Had heard good things and even watched an episode or two sporadically but finally dove in at the insistance of a good friend who warned me to prepare for the crude humor.

• Person Who Needs a Break: Andre. Poor guy. How he tolerates those guys and being the butt of their every joke I do not understand. Like, most of it I can laugh at but seriously just be nice once in awhile (the clothes are awful, agreed there). Sidebar #4: When Worlds Collide Moment - my first observation of the show was "Doesn't this guy look like a gumpy Peter Russo... Justice for Peter Russo!!"
• I Still Don't Understand: Does Pete have a job?
• Why I Only Played One Season of Fantasy Football: I drafted really well but got kind of attached to my players and when they started getting injured I felt bad about dropping/replacing them.
• Probably Wasn't Supposed to Absolutely Love This Moment, But: Promising a romantic "Terrific Lady" weekend that involved a posh hotel room, dressing up, classy drinks sounds fun, but political talk puts it over the top.
• Phrases We Have Been Over-Using at Inappropriate Times: "Fun With Feces" and "Try the Veal, Child."

And I would be remiss in not mentioning that our first TV series binge-watching experience came via Mad Men. Still such a great show. The clothes! The hair! The Don! The -isms (alcohol/sex/race/age/etc)!

Ok, but the only thing about watching three seasons worth of TV in 3-4 weeks is the huge let-down when you have to wait for more episodes to be completed, and being on normal-people-time, waiting a week between shows and months betwwen seasons. RUN ON MY TIME BECAUSE I HAVE DARYL DIXON AND JON SNOW WITHDRAWLS!

What shows are you binge-watching (or regular-watching)? What should I add to my list? What are you getting emotional over and to which characters are you unreasonably attached? What kind of actual hobby should I get? Most importantly, WHEN ARE DARYL DIXON AND JON SNOW GETTING NAKED (not together, the TV and Internets couldn't handle that)?

Happy viewing!!!!