Baby, It's Cold Outside!

I HATE being cold! No, I LOATHE being cold!

Where did this passion stem from? I can't say for sure. I grew up outside of Salt Lake City and guess what? It gets cold there. Do I remember hating it as a child? Meh. Somewhat. I think my deep hatred for it really became noticable in college. And yes, I went to college were it got down right COLD.

Some people claim they don't mind it and the real crazies even claim to love it. One question for you people- WHY?

Cold sucks. Snow sucks. There's nothing worse than waking up and stepping on cold tiles, or even climbing out from underneath our warm comforter. Bundling up in 5 layers takes a lot of time and effort and if you are in and out of buildings all day your temperature becomes impossible to regulate. Scraping snow off your car is miserable. Waiting for the heater to kick in is awful and you know it only starts working just as you reach your destination. The non-feeling of my nose, ears, and fingers has brought tears to my eyes. By the time my toes are numb I just go ballistic!

Now I know all you snow lovers have a rebuttal. Don't you love to ski or snowboard? I did until I got arthritis (which also makes me stiff in the cold). But even before then, I only like to ski a few times a year. I was no season pass holder and it has to be a pretty nice day for me to even consider going. Don't you think that snow falling is so pretty? Falling, yes, if you can watch it from inside and never leave until June. Once it's fallen, it just turns to disgusting brown slush. Don't you love to cozy up to a fire, snuggle, and watch a movie? Sure. But I do that when it drops below 60. How can you think it feels like Christmas without snow? Because I've done it, that's how. Palm trees with lights are just as magical in my book. I actually thought I would miss Christmas without snow until I tried it. I am cured.

Let's forget snow for a minute. I just hate being cold. I can't even stand sitting in a breezy restaurant without a jacket. The source of the problem must be that I have lived in Florida and Arizona. Both are amazing. Does it get cold? Yes. But only long enough to be a novelty. My biggest dilemma is that now that my blood has thinned, it will never be the same. We recently moved from Phoenix to a city about 6 hours north and I am freezing here!

I can't imagine a scenario where living in a cold climate is an option. Thankfully, my hubby is a Californian and agrees 100%. He says that no job offer could pay him enough to move somewhere cold. Unfortunately, my family realizes that because of this, we will never live by them. So, I guess we will pick out a little island somewhere, throw away all of our sweaters and socks, and expect a lot of visitors from November-March.

The Giving of Thanks

The holidays are upon us. Once Halloween is on the horizon it all seems to go too fast!

My thoughts have turned to Thanksgiving this year. My husband and I have been married for 6 Thanksgiving holidays and in that time we have only had 2 traditional holiday experiences. Why? Well, let me be candid- I don't really dig it.

My mom's family and my husband's mother's family are regulars during Thanksgiving and both are enough to make the psych ward look normal most of the time. Not that we don't love them, my husband and I just agree that the closer we can stay to Christmas Card relatives, the better. Otherwise, our relaxing holidays turn to drama and that's just no good with us. Even before I was married my family started phasing out the traditional Thanksgiving dinner in exchange for dinner in a condo at Disney World, a cabin in Jackson Hole with just the 7 of us, or even Planet Hollywood in Vegas.

Sad? Perhaps. But not for us! We LOVE to celebrate that way! Forget the big meal for 20+ people and all the cooking and cleaning. When I was younger we had to hold Thanksgiving at one of our church buildings because my family is so dang large! I prefer the more intimate setting where I am not trying to force conversation with cousins I haven't seen in 6 years or have nothing in common with- we'll save all that for Christmas.

As for the hubby and I we have become the anti-traditionalists on Thanksgiving. Last year we had a steak dinner at a nice restaurant the night before and snacked all day on Thursday. Oh yeah, and we were all alone. The verdict? It was awesome. No stress. No drama.

This year however, we are having a traditional Thanksgiving. The great news is- it is with someone else's family! They are awesome and we are actually looking forward to it, so I hope it turns out great. At least we have eliminated the stress of traveling to one of our family's homes in exchange for something local, which is nice. Plus, all we have to bring is the stuffing and I think we can handle that.

Even with our unique ideas of how we like to enjoy our Thanksgivings (which we will no doubt continue), I am glad that there is a day focused on giving thanks. I have so much to be grateful for, even in hard times, and I hope I can remember that every other day of the year.

Getting Old

I have started feeling old this past year. I am 27. I get nauseous more often than I am used to. I can only ride a roller coaster once. I don't like a lot of loud noise. My high school pictures have started looking dated. I get dizzy. My depth perception seems to be changing. I don't love the idea of getting less than 9 hours of sleep no matter how fun the alternative. What is my deal?!

I was at a friend's home when her neighbor stopped by for some chit chat (someone I had never met before). She was maybe 5-7 years older than me with 2 children and somewhere in the discussion she mentioned her desire to get breast implants because after having kids, they just weren't sitting where they used to. I said, "Forget kids! I feel like my breasts are sagging and I haven't even had kids yet!" She just let out a half laugh and said, "You must be 27, then," with a smirk on her face.

Whoah. That came fast! At least I found comfort in the fact that other people go through this at about the same age. I asked about 8 girlfriends of mine (all older) when they started feeling this way and the general consensus was late 20's regardless of children and other variables. I always thought I was a little ahead of the aging game because I deal with 2 chronic illnesses for which I am heavily medicated. In other words, my body thinks it's about 55 (my doctor says 65). Mentally, however, I feel stuck at 22. The difference between the 2 can be extremely frustrating, but for the first time this year they have started to meet in the middle. Scary!

So, bring on the anti-aging skin care routine- even if I feel old, I am determined not to look it!

The New Kid

I remember in 2nd grade we got a new girl in our class half way through the year. I had been on vacation with my family and came late my first day back. Everyone was obsessed with this girl, whom we will call Jennifer. All the boys had a crush on her and all the girls were inviting her over to play at their house. Everyone wanted to sit by her in class. I was kind of taken back by it all, although she was adorable and seemed friendly. At recess, as a group of us were trying to get to know her, I asked another girl, "So how long had she been in our class? When was her first day?" Remember I had been out of town, and I felt way behind. The girl said, "Today."

WHAT?! This poor and very lucky girl! We were all smothering her! I later became friends with her and she was quite delightful. I knew her all through high school even. I just think it was so funny how we were all so intrigued by the unknown. Who was she? Where did she come from? Why did she move here in the middle of the year?

So, when I moved just before starting 6th grade I didn't know what to expect. Would people want to be my friend, too? Nope. Nada. I started my first day a week after everyone else and the whole year was torture. To this day, I remember it as one of my most lonely and difficult years. I was awkward and shy and spent the year basically alone. ALL alone.

I have since recovered, but my point is that I have never had a good experience being the new kid. I bring this up because my husband and I just moved to a new city less than 2 weeks ago. Our last home, in Phoenix, had finally felt comfortable after 3 years there. We had friends, we had lives, and we had a home that was now worth nothing near what we paid for it so we decided to get out. We were lucky and did get out, but it was a really hard decision. It's the first place in our marriage that felt like "home" and held so many memories.

Now that we've moved on, we are trying to adjust to our new surroundings. Today was our first week at church. I love/hate that day. Church has always helped us feel settled, no matter where we are and brings us to meet people quickly that we get to know and eventually love. No matter how many changes we encounter, church is a constant. The difference is the people at church and sometimes getting to know people and feel welcomed and accepted is REALLY HARD! It took me a long time to feel that way in Phoenix. I've tried to open up and put myself out there and hopefully make friends, but it can be so frustrating.

Nevertheless, we are moving forward. I just wish people were more inclined to treat us like Jennifer from my 2nd grade class.

Hello World!

I'm a married woman in my twenties just living life and trying to learn a few things along the way. I'm starting this blog to express my feelings and share some thoughts and ideas while remaining anonymous. I've learned that being "private" and being "anonymous" are very different. Whether people care what I write or even read it at all doesn't matter as much as having an outlet to share these things. Feel free to stop by and leave comments or just browse.

So, who am I? Well, I'm sure you'll learn somewhere along the way.