an early taste of spring.

Today it was 67 degrees. It was also December 30.
Last year at this time, there was snow on the ground. Or maybe it had melted. But there had been piles and piles and piles of cold, wet, ugly snow.

Not today.

Today was perfect.

Tonight, I'm wearing my new Anthropologie apron. Making lentil soup for my sinuses that are neither clear nor painless.

But I'm aslo drinking wine. And I have a special bottle chilling for later. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe later tonight during a marathon of Dexter. Yes, we've fallen in love with Dexter.

Oh and did I tell you how much I love T.J. Maxx?

Took some Christmas money there and got a $100 straightener for $25. And a new tea kettle in the most lovely retro shade of green.

Just looking at it makes me happy.

christmas this year.

we already opened our gifts.
and made cookies for santa.
we made pizzas and had appetizers.
holiday martinis
and wine.
we sprinkled the lawn with reindeer food
and tucked our niece snug into "her" bed.
cleaned up.
found a hole in the fingerless gloves i bought b. ironic.
tried on our gifts.
and i cried because the christmas card he wrote me
was so sweet.
tomorrow, santa will have come.
and we will relive christmas through the eyes of a 3-year-old.

saying goodbye.

in two days i'll say goodbye to the white and red building.
the rocket.
the spot where i sit and
type
think
talk
laugh
and type some more.
to the red booths where we've been eating lunch
and the oddly shaped green table we've been avoiding.
to the shuffle board table i never used
the four kegs
the strange mingling of two, sometimes three, songs
one from downstairs
one right above my head.
the free popcorn
and ice cream
the paid-for cell phone plan
the clients
and the mouse traps under the fridge.

and all of those things. each one. i will miss.

but not as much as the people.
the friends
the ones who have made the last seven weeks tolerable.
(and the last year a hell of a lot of fun.)

damn, i'm going to miss them.

According to Teddy.

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, and comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat."

Theodore Roosevelt.

oh, panini.

we got a cuisinart panini press for free.
FOR FREE.
it pretty much rocks.
tonight, i had an eggplant, raw goat cheese, avocado, spinach and jalapeno panini.
it was amazing.
so crusty and crunchy and toasty and made on a free panini press that was delivered to our door yesterday. free. FREE.

i like free things.

tomorrow, i'm going to become a redhead.

(squeal.)

today, i braved the post office.

and sent a signed job offer letter back to my future employer. i start january 4. (huge sigh of relief happening right...now.)

the first snow.

and, today i got a job offer. a good one. stay tuned.

sleeping soldiers.

cheap lunch.

hi, internet.
yesterday was a very good day.
i'm excited about the future.
and then today a creative director from another state called me directly.
at work.
to tell me how much he liked my portfolio.
and that he would like to hire me.
and i listened and checked out his agency's work.
and then, i went to the plaza for an appointment with my therapist.
and realized i've been feeling a lot better lately.

wait, what? therapist?
yes.
and i bet you should see one, too.

anyway,
after that i went to panera.
i ordered a bagel with hummus, avocado, tomato and cucumber.
they charged me $1.

that was the best damned $1 lunch i've ever had.

oh and hey, my brother and his wife had a baby yesterday.
eliad.
i'm now an aunt times three.

finally, friday.

creating.

i am staring at these words on a page that may or may not get torn apart by the client or a creative director or me.
and
one
by
one
i tear them down.
until all that is left is white
endless, overflowing, laughing-at-me white.

and then, bit by bit, letter by letter, i rebuild.