2013

I only blogged 27 times in 2012.  That's a record, and not a good one.  I could easily analyze why.  I know it's because I've been dealing with a  lot of inner stuff this year.  I feel like I've been surviving.  It takes work to survive, but it's not always work you want to share with the world.  I've been sad.  I can usually keep it at bay, but reflecting and letting my guard down sometimes hurts too much when I'm sad... even if I'm just reflecting about nothing important.  I know I'm emotionally strained because I cry every time I do my centering prayer, every time I quiet myself enough to let the wall down for a little bit.  But this is a new year.  It's going to be better this year.  :)

I had a nice holiday.  I went to Altoona to do annual Christmas baking with the Kurths, Matt & Omara came down for several days, and it was nice to see them.  I got to see Tracy for a day.  My dad got a kidney stone, which was not good, but he's finally home from the hospital and resting comfortably.  He can't do anything half-assed.  The thing was the size of a pencil eraser!!!  Andrew is still recovering from knee replacement surgery.  He's working hard in therapy, and despite the facts that I'm a terrible nurse and he's a terribly impatient patient, we're hanging in there.  :)

Back to Tracy... this was my big Christmas present from Tracy: a pink cheetah bike helmet.  She wasn't sure I'd like it, and honestly, I wasn't sure either.  It's kind of a weird present to get.  But... after 4.2 seconds of looking at it, I fell in love.  I can't wait for spring to be able to use it!  Her rationale behind it was that I always say how ridiculous I look in my bike helmet.  It's just a silver bike helmet, but let's face it, bike helmets look RIDICULOUS.  She thought that if I'm going to look ridiculous, I should totally embrace it and REALLY look ridiculous!  I LOVE IT!

Here's my bike helmet story (the reason I always wear one even though I hate them so much):  One summer while teaching at the Wabash Arts Camp in Shenandoah, my class helper (my dearest Brenton) told me that he would have to miss class the next day because he had to pick his dad up from the hospital.  I told him that was fine, and I asked him about his dad.  It turns out his dad had been in the hospital for 4 months, recovering from a brain injury.  Brenton's dad had gone to pick up a bike they bought for Brenton's sister.  The bike wouldn't fit in the car, so Brenton's dad decided to ride it home.  The front wheel fell off, and his head hit the street curb.  This caused a brain injury that basically put Brenton's dad in a coma and left him in a state where he would need 24-hour care for the rest of his life.  After hearing this story, I was blown away.  When I could finally speak, I told Brenton that he had just saved my life.  I would never again ride my bike without wearing a helmet.  When I got home from camp, I went to Wal-Mart and bought my ridiculous silver bike helmet, and I never ride without it.  Never.  I think of Brenton's dad, and that makes me put that thing on my head every time, even though I hate it so much.  I didn't grow up wearing bike helmets.  No one my age did.  If you wore a helmet, you were a freak, and your parents were overprotective.  I don't think I'd ever even actually seen a bike helmet until I was in high school.  Anyway, things are different with me now.  Really different, considering the next time I strap on my bike helmet, it will be this awesome pink cheetah one.  If I'm going to look ridiculous, I'm going all out!

Happy 2013, everyone.  Let's make it a good one!

Goodbye, 2011

It's been a great Christmas break so far. I enjoyed the actual holiday with my family. Andrew and I celebrated that night. I spent all day Thursday with Tracy in Des Moines. I got to see my Hawkeyes play in a bowl game, and even though they lost, it was fun to see our team play one more time. I've done some schoolwork, and I've worked on getting play practice ready to start with the kids this week.

But the best part of the break happened on Christmas Eve. I played Mrs. Claus to Andrew's Santa in the annual Fairfield Christmas Eve parade. My friend Gay made me the PERFECT outfit. I loved it so much, I tried to think of a way I could get by wearing it to 11:00 church after the festivities were over. :) I have watched this parade most every year of my life, and I never dreamed I'd be a part of it. We had a ball. It ended with meeting a huge line of kids on the square and watching the Christmas magic happen for them.

For me, however, the winning moment was after the parade was all over. Andrew & I were escorted to the long-term care facility and to the hospital. It wasn't super comfortable for me, but I can always play a character. And every second of me pushing through the awkwardness was worth it, because we made these people's nights. It was about 8:00 on Christmas Eve, and the facilities were quiet. Really no visitors at that time of night. Just a lot of lonely people without their families on Christmas Eve. To see their smiles when they met us... well, I'm tearing up just thinking about it. I know my mom was smiling down on me as I greeted those lovely people and brought them a little cheer on the night before Christmas. THAT was my Christmas moment, and it brought me more love and joy than I ever could have imagined.

We just watched the ball drop in New York. 2012 is less than a 1/2 hour away. I'm reminded of all the blessings that have happened this year. I'm full of hope and optimism about the year to come. I'm filled with love. Happy New Year, everyone. May all the best find you.

Spring Break

Today was the first weekday of spring break, and after a weekend full of rehearsals, I took today to laze about. I slept until 10:00, and then I had a nap from 1:30 until 4:30. My poor body has been through the wringer this past month or two, and my goal for this break is to get at least 8 hours of sleep a night. I started my third round of antibiotics on Saturday. First, it was strep throat, and now, I have an ear infection. I know being sleep-deprived hasn't helped the rate of healing. So, today was my lazy healing day.

Now, I have to get it together because I have so much to accomplish for the rest of the break. My rehearsals aren't starting until the afternoon each day, so I should be able to accomplish a lot. I may even finally get my Christmas tree down! Yes, you read that correctly. Things have been so crazy that: 1. I haven't been home long enough to even get sick of my Christmas tree, and 2. Whenever I have been home, it's been the last thing on the priority list. I would like to get it down before my company comes to see Into the Woods though. Tracy and Jeff are both coming, along with a few others here and there.

The cast of the show is so amazingly talented, and rehearsals have been awesome so far. Putting a Sondheim show up in three weeks is a little insane, so I'm really thankful for some time off from school to help preserve my sanity. When school starts again next week, it will be the fourth quarter. Where has this year gone???

Christmas in a Nutshell

Dec. 22: Last day of school. Kids dismissed at 2:30.

Dec. 23: Frantic cleaning, shopping, wrapping, and cooking.

Dec. 24: Snowed all day... the perfect Christmas snow. Finished last minute things around the house. Repairman tried to fix fridge... still leaking and not dispensing water. Part ordered. Was smart enough not to drive down into the cemetery, but hiked down in the snow to take flowers, diet coke, and chocolate covered cherries. Matt & Omara got here around 8:30. Andrew joined us for dinner (pickled ham, shrimp, chili, cheese bread, Christmas goodies, and cranberry tea). I went to church at the 11:00 service at the Methodist Church. It was the perfect Christmas Eve feeling.

Dec. 25: Matt & Omara & I went out to Dad's. We took a breakfast pizza. Opened gifts and had a fantastic lunch. Andrew & I had our Christmas that night. Watched The Departed and got a wonderful call from the McLeods.

Dec. 26: Took Andrew to the airport and exchanged a gift at the mall in Coralville. Found good deals on next year's Christmas cards and a few other things.

Dec. 27: Tracy arrived! Had a long talk, exchanged gifts, and went to Vivo for dinner.

Dec. 28: Tracy & I putzed around town, checking out all the stores around the square. Coffee at Revelations. Watched Eat, Pray, Love and had a snack. Played Mario Kart and Dance on Broadway on the Wii. Went to see the Rock Paper Scissors concert at Cafe Paradiso. Had pizza at Torino's.

Dec. 29: Tracy went home. Quiet, lonely house. Going to take it easy today before digging into a month's worth of school work that needs to be done in 4 days. :)

Hope you all had a wonderful holiday... I know I have so far!

Merry Christmas!