frozen

It's that time of year…the one where my mood turns about as a gray as the sky. It's been freezing here lately, and a second Polar Vortex is on tap for the week. Ack! Help! To compound matters, Erik and I have been pretty swamped with deadlines, and, as a result, our home/pantry is slowly deteriorating into into chaos. On the bright side, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel: I just finished one of the last deadlines of the rush and Erik's trade show is this week, so we should have a bit of a breather come next week. Which is awesome, because we're off to a long weekend in New Orleans. Huzzah! I've only been once (when Amie and I went to Mardis Gras in college, which sounds much more debaucherous than it actually was), so I'm pumped to see more of the city and shovel in lots of delicious eats. Also, I think Erik is plotting for us to go visit some of his stores, so there may be some "heyyyy, how did we end up at this men's clothing store?" in there, too. Ha.

winter break

Just got back from a weekend trip in North Carolina. I had bought my mom tickets to see Shen Yun in Raleigh. The show featured Chinese dancing, singing, and quite a bit of Falun Gong propaganda; a little weird, but mom loved it. Other than that, and running some errands, we didn't have much on the agenda. I ate lots of delicious home cooked meals, walked around the lake, went swimming, watched movies, and slept in. It was so relaxing! I swear, I'm more rested after a trip home to the suburbs than a spa vacation...

2013 recap

Happy New Year, everyone! I have to say that I was a little sad to say good-bye to 2013, since it was one of the best years of my life. The biggest event of my life occurred last year: We got engaged and immediately started planning our wedding. In August, my friends threw me an amazing bachelorette party, where we swung on trapezes high above Manhattan. My mom and brother came into town a week before the ceremony, and it was fun to spend time together as a family in NYC. On September 14, Erik and I said our I-do's on the best day ever (with a lot of help from our friends).

My goal was not to let wedding stuff take over my life, and I think I did a pretty good job of it. I went on surf trips to Costa Rica (twice!), and filled my time fun active adventures: a yoga retreat in Vermont, girls' trip in Southhampton, freezing camping weekend upstate, and spa trip to Arizona. I also made multiple trips home to North Carolina to spend time with mom. Erik and I also went to San Francisco to celebrate a wedding and visit family, and rung in our mini-moon with a blissful trip to Negril.

Oh! And, last but not least, I met a lot of deadlines and took on some office gigs, plus trained for and completed two half-marathons and the full NYC marathon (my first!). What a year, right? Here's hoping that 2014 year will be equally exciting. It's looking good, since it's my year -- the year of the horse!

holiday recap

Hope everyone had a very lovely holiday! Mine was peaceful and low-key. We stayed in town, since I'm headed to NC in two weeks, and it was just what the doctor ordered. On Christmas Eve, Kim and I went surfing in the 35-degree weather. With our 5-milimeter wetsuits, gloves, and booties, it was actually comfortable. We both caught fun little waves, and the morning was picture-perfect: a blue-to-orange ombre sky over an empty ocean. Getting out was another matter; we basically ripped each other's suits off while screaming at the freezing cold. I was laughing so hard I collapsed onto the icy concrete. It was insane and pretty much the best time ever. The rest of the day was spent napping, lounging with Erik, and eating lobster rolls. On Christmas, I actually relaxed and read (finished two books and a bottle of wine!) and caught up on some cleaning, cooking, and movie-watching. An unconventional holiday, for sure, but it was just right. Who says the holidays have to be hectic?

relationship advice

Maybe it's because we're both laid-back, but Erik and I rarely argue. In fact, we didn't have out first serious spat until, well, six years into our relationship! But every once in a while, we do get annoyed at each other. Which is why a conversation I had recently hit home. I was interviewing a relationship expert for a story, and she said something along the lines of, "In every argument, there's the thing that happened and the story that you tell yourself. It's important to mind the gap between the two." Isn't that so true? She recommended using the phrasing, "When you did X in Y circumstance, I felt Z." I followed this advice last week, and it worked. When I brought up an issue that's bugged me before, our conversation went more smoothly than in the past. It also helps that Erik is pretty much the sweetest guy in the universe. Yup, I married a good one!

day at the ballet

After a week of bikinis and flip-flops, it was rough coming back to deadlines and snowstorms. Grumpy! Fortunately, I had a mid-week break that put me in more of a holiday mood. Amanda invited me as her plus-one to an event, where we got to play ballerinas with the NYC Ballet. I'm about as klutzy as they come, but it was fun and we got to wear leg warmers. After a delicious lunch at the gorgeous restaurant in Lincoln Center (who knew?) and tour of the stage, we watched a matinee showing of the Nutcracker. I hadn't seen it in years, and the plot is pretty crazy. Killing an army rats and then feasting on a bunch of junk food? Balanchine must've been a born-and-bred New Yorker. It was such a lovely festive day and melted a bit of my Grinch-like attitude. How many more weeks till summer?

costa rica fun

I'm home from another incredible surf trip with six incredible ladies and lots of fun new friends! The conditions were perfect for learning, and we spent five hours a day in the water. Super excited by how much we all progressed. The surf camp people sent us home with video footage of our waves, and, after watching mine, I realized that my strengths and flaws in the ocean are the same as on land. While I'm good about charging without fear, I need to work on my patience and selection. (Can't tell you how many times I took off on a close-out, only to paddle back into the perfect waves behind it.) I'm also excellent at setting and achieving goals. My latest: getting barreled by age 60. Mark my words, it'll happen; I wanna be the gray-haired lady tucked inside the wave!