family ties

Happy holidays, everyone! I hope everyone was surrounded by love, joy, and happiness. I spent my Christmas with Erik and his wonderful family down in Northern Virginia. It's so interesting being in an interracial relationship; our families are so very different. His is a big, bustling clan (four sisters and three nephews!) with blended families spanning Cuba, Colombia, Peru, and Ecuador; mine is quiet, nuclear (divorce is still a bit taboo), and super Chinese. Even so, there are so many similarities that unify every family—the worry about aging parents, the inside jokes, the adorable and embarrassing photos. Hoping to get the greenlight so I can post some of ridiculously cute baby Erik. :)

merry conundrum

How amazingly creepy is this window display I spotted on my morning run? Chalk up another reason why I love the holidays! Although it just occurred to me that this year has been a little weird. I usually love the holiday party circuit and all of the fun, drinks, and catch-up convos that ensue. But it's been hard for me to answer the "what are you doing for Christmas?" and "how've you been?" questions this season. Instead of the breezy, cocktail-appropriate answers I dole out, what I really want to blurt is "I'll be with Erik's family, but also worrying about my mom" and "This fall has been really hard, but I'm hanging in." Anyone who knows me knows that I tend to wear my emotions on my face, so I've been skirting a few festivities; it's just too hard to churn up frothy conversation. As the weeks pass, my soul is getting lighter and returning back to its normal Sharon-esque self, but, for the time being, I'm giving myself a little pass.

holiday break!

Today was the last day in the office before a week-and-half break! It was so lovely celebrating with such a fun group of coworkers. (Although part of me felt like Leo DiCaprio's character in Growing Pains for busting up on the holiday party. "What's up guys? I'm your new son/editor!" Ha.) I have to knock out some freelance assignments during my time off, but I'm excited about having a little bit of breathing room. It's been a crazy-hectic few weeks, but what is life if not exciting?

yearly wrap-up

The wonderful thing about writing a blog is that all of your old thoughts are stored in one place. I love reading old journals and entries and remembering how you felt at that exact moment. Like, in fourth grade, how I wrote a list of "Boys That I Might Like," which included no less than 10 fine fellows in my grade. Ha! Thank goodness I've become more discerning with age. Anyway, I was clicking through past posts and came across my goals for 2011. Since we're nearing the year's end, I thought it would be fun to do a check in. Here goes...

1. Goal: Go with my gut.
Status: Check! This year, I took a leap of faith and quit my job, one of my best decisions to date. And even though some incredibly tempting and wonderful leads have crossed my path, I'm sticking with my intuition and taking the road less secure for the time being.

2. Goal: Put more research in investing.
Status: Check pending. I put some more in the stock market, and I'm planning on starting my IRA next week. Helping my mom has reminded me of the importance of planning. Although you have to live for the now, you also can't forget the future.

3. Goal: Do things that scare the bejeezus out of me.
Status: Check! Besides going freelance, meeting new people, and sliding down a volcano, I also faced my greatest fear in life this year: My dad passing away, and my mom being all alone. It hasn't been easy, but we're making it work—the best we can. And I've come to realize, that even the hardest of hard times, things aren't so bad when you have friends to pick you up and faith in yourself.

4. Goal: Take more time for myself.
Status: Check! Although I still have some work to do on this goal, I'm happy to say that I've taken more vacation and personal days this year than ever before. In 2011, I've travelled to San Francisco, Canada, Los Angeles, Nicaragua, Miami, Paris, and Rome, plus enjoyed some fun surf and skip trips. More importantly, I visited Raleigh many times—and got to spend a lot of my dad, something I'll never, ever regret.

Friday picture

Hear that? That's the sound of my heart growing three sizes. Happy Friday, everyone!

holidaze

I can hardly believe that it's nearly Christmas! Maybe it's the warmer-than-usual weather or my hectic schedule, but this holiday season has really snuck up on me. I'm headed to DC to hang with Erik's family and finally meet his dad. (For most of our relationship, he was living in Ecuador.) I'm told he looks like a Colombian Sean Connery...

[Pic: from my morning walk]

love

Um, how cute is the love of my life? [Pic from Glenna and Tony's superfun wedding. Their photos are amazing!]

little letters

Dear relaxing weekends,
I just can't get enough.

Dear ladies with immaculate outfits and shiny hair every single day,
Please tell me your secrets.

Dear podcasts,
Color me behind the times, but you're amazing! Why haven't I been listening all along?

Dear "real women,"
Apologies for stalking you for magazine stories.

Dear Tim,
Thank you for enduring a grueling 10+ years of studies so I can text you in the middle of the night with my weird health issues.

Dear pilgrims/baby Jesus,
For reals, why did you guys have to have such big events so close together? December is crazy!

my (new) morning commute

Excuse the sporadic posts! I'm still getting the hang of this whole going-to-an-office thing. I can't believe this used to be my lifestyle for the better part of a decade—only having a few short hours outside of work or getting to work! Have I gotten soft? Also, where is my professional wardrobe? It's day five, and I'm already out of outfits. That said, there are some lovely perks of re-entering society, including (but not limited to) exploring a new neighborhood. My new office is near the High Line, an old railroad track turned cool walkway, and I make a point to stroll on it before work. Not a bad way to start the day!

the daily grind

Last week, I started a fill-in office gig—a fun new challenge! But what I wasn't prepared for was my serious case of office culture shock. I'm finding the whole routine of putting on clothes, looking nice, fighting my way on the subway, learning new protocols and chatting with coworkers totally exhausting. While I'm loving working with such a smart, cool group of people, it makes me realize that I value freedom and flexibility more than stability and security at this moment in my life. On a related note, hats off to all of you working moms out there. Balancing my life, plus my mom stuff, and work feels like an insane juggling act—I can't believe that you guys do it every single day!