Today, in Bullet Points

People, I'm overloaded. Can't do any decent writing today. But I know you're just waiting on edge to hear what I've been up to, so here we go:

• Scraped my car windows not one, not two, not three, but FOUR times.
• Checked the snow emergency website like FIVE times.
• Drove all the way to work and then all the way back, so I could work from home and avoid rush hour.
• Felt grateful for my sweet little SUV, which powered me through the snow like nobody's business.
• Got a phone call from my auto body buddy, who asked how my new car was doing.
• Sang along to the radio.
• Did some research about British English and the differences between British English and American English.
• Ate some reheated hot-and-sour soup. And a box-made Ghiradelli dark-chocolate brownie (They are SO GOOD).
• Cooked dinner—honey-soy glazed chicken with bell peppers and snap peas stir-fry—with my handsome husband.
• Did the dishes.
• Went to the bank, dropped off dry cleaning, chauffered the dog, got crunched at the chiro.
• Daydreamed about the trip we're taking in less than TWO WEEKS!
• Heard my massage therapist warning me to stop carrying the weight of the world.
• Edited some fun stuff.
• Gave the UPS customer service people an earful.
• Listened to some new mp3s: Charlotte Gainsbourg, Regina Spektor.
  
• Made more to-do lists.

To do, to do, to do. . . . . .

Obligation

Lately I've been doing a lot of thinking about how busy my life has become. I keep thinking, "Oh, after this I'll have some free time," or "Oh, once this passes I can do x, y, z."

You know what? I don't think that time is ever going to come. That really is just dawning on me in a real way.

Which means I'm going to have to learn to adapt and learn that I'm not going to be able to do everything, and that I can't judge my relative success or failure in life by the number of Yeses and Nos that I have to give people when they ask me for something--no matter how badly I want to do something.

It also means I have to prioritize. I don't like the word prioritize. it seems to suggest that some things can be truly counted as more important than others. I'm always afraid I'm going to hurt someone's feelings or let someone down. And saying "Oh, this doesn't fit on the priority list" seems like the coldest thing ever, even if I'm just saying it to myself.

And that means I have to make sure to schedule in time to spend with my husband that's not just the daily living-together stuff that any cohabitators would have. Same goes for my dog, my family, and ... myself.

It means not overcommitting so that I feel consistently overwhelmed on a weekly basis. And consistently frustrated and feeling like I failed when the to-do list spills over from week to week, month to month.

We all need time to be creative and daydream or blow off steam. It makes us more productive and happy in the long run. I wonder how long it will take me to truly take this advice for myself, no matter how much I believe it for other people.

Dunzo

NaNoBloMo, I have completed you!!! Total domination!

Sure, I phoned it in some days, but November is a TERRIBLE month to create this little pastime.

With my four-day weekend, I said I'd be productive, and I've definitely made the effort. No going out, rying to not spend money, and getting stuff done that has been on my to-do list forever, so that I can enjoy the month of December and its holidays. Today I have to motor through a LOT of stuff, but I know it will feel good when it's all done, so off I go.

Wish me luck.

frozen

Sorry kids, I have really been phoning it in lately on the blog writing. Last week was really busy and I've got a to-do list a mile long. I promise some quality posts coming as soon as I thaw from freezing this morning.

William had his first bike race, and despite his chain falling off and taking a slight fall, he looked great!! Pictures to come.

Also, today it snowed. Boo Urns.

On My Mind

*Starting a new job--in a related field, but not what I have been doing for the past five years--and being the new girl.

*Grandma's 82 this week. She still looks beautiful. I hope I remain person who's full of vitality by then.

*Life is going too fast. The summer is slipping by, and I've been swamped.

*I'm broke. Waiting for a first paycheck after being underemployed is rough. Serious.

*Starting work around 9 is SO MUCH better than starting around 8. Hallelujah!

*Must.Start.Thank-you notes for the wedding.

*Must get keys made, stamps, oil change.

*Must prepare house for photo shoot next week.

*Finish writing freelance pieces (I interviewed Jane Seymour this morning!)

*Get laundry done

*Must see friend Fatty's house

*Glad my friend is back

There's always just so much it feels like. I've been looking forward to getting my life back a little bit after the wedding... That hasn't happened yet. I need a breather, people!

Any advice for what you do to relax—or keep on top of your million things you have to do?

blur

it has been a whirlwind week or so.
this weekend we finished one registry--woo hoo!
went shopping for bands. i think we found 'em. haven't bought yet.
reading a very good book--called infidel. need to finish!
was 40 degrees today. tomorrow is supposed to be FIFTY degrees colder. and it rained. awesome. ice everywhere i bet.
intermittent stomachaches. boo.
much tired. must rest.

special topics in chaotic schedules

i have to keep this short. i have two back to back all-day meetings tomorrow and thursday and i'm wiped out.
people are already getting our save the dates! we just sent them yesterday at lunch! i'm amazed by this. crap! our website we tout on the card isn't ready yet!
oh well.....
so you probably won't hear much from me over the next couple days ... back to back meetings, major deadlines (read: late hours), a rehearsal dinner, errands to run, a wedding to be in on saturday, when it's supposed to be 35 below.... i'm wearing cuddl duds under my dress i think!
i can't wait. i'm so excited to be in the wedding .... william is a groomsman too, so we get a practice walk down the aisle!

everybody's workin' for the weekend

hi friends. this week will be a crazy one, i can just tell. i'm overbooked already. and it's only monday.
i have been running all night and i'm wicked tired. my eyes are starting to close as i type this. so i must run.
but coming soon: the bachelorette party i'm planning. a bridesmaid dress story. how i love target. my just-thinking-about-all-the-stuff-i-have-to-do-gives-me-heart-palpitations month of december.

but for now: beauty rest. god knows i need it, with my two giant blemishes and wrinkles around my eyes.

maui, take me away

i'm sort of at a loss tonight for a blog. i've been gone all night, again, and i have a flurry of thoughts i'm just not able to articulate at this exact moment. i've also been going to bed waaaay too late this week, unable to wind down, and it is making getting up in the morning pure torture.
i did want to comment on something nanette said (can i use her any more in this blog? you'd think she was paying me or something. it turns out i just enjoy her blog), though, which is that you probably wonder how i could possibly be an editor without ever using capital letters, or, even being creative very often. i'm still working on that transition between working-writing and home-writing, and i find not editing myself so much to be extremely liberating. plus i hate the shift key. as it turns out, i have crazy attention-to-detail skills when i feel like (or am being paid) to use them. (*i freelance, people, and i guarantee results*). hey, i have won spelling bees!
i'm so glad it's wednesday. this week is going ridiculously slowly. must. get. to. weekend.
wedding updates: we have booked our flight! we are getting married in hawaii and we have transportation there! six and a half months. that is coming up fast, when you consider december will fly by with holidays, work schedules, and my lovely kilipino coming home to visit from paraguay-land. we should really get going on registering, sending save-the-dates, and the like. like, really really.
;)

here, there, and everywhere

thanks for your comments on yesterday's blog. as usual, i'd love to refine and reword and all that, but it sounds like it resonated with a few of you. i love comments, it helps me understand what you guys are all about too.
today was a hectic day, lots of meetings and appointments, rounded out by a seminar presented by the campaign for safe cosmetics, which is something i discovered about a year ago and have been interested in since. i'm too tired now to recap that, but perhaps in a future blog.
some days are just like this; leave the house at 730 am and come home at 10 pm. i don't care for that schedule much but it was an info-packed day. now i feel like i need to shut my mind off and relax.
some of you know me in real life, and some of you just know my typed words. . . and some people i know in real life might not know how much of a worrywort i am. basically, what i'm saying is, i don't know how to relax, really. i mean, give me a beach and about nine days and by day seven i might be there. but i need to learn to relax on a daily basis. reading helps; zombie-ing out in front of the tv is vaguely helpful (but not really refreshing/recharging).
so those of you out there: i'm begging (so please don't leave me hanging with no comments), how do you relax on a daily (or weekly) basis. what can i do in a half hour or so? it can be anything, even if you think it's silly. help a girl out.

saturday runaround

it's like i have a inner clock i can't turn off, and it's permanently dialed to "hurry! hurry! go! go!" it's a sickness, people. even if i have nothing to do, i can find a way to fill a day to the point where i'm overbooked. since we've been out of town the past couple weekends, i had a lot of making up to do.
today i: slept til 11:30 (heaven!).
made it to my hair appointment at 12:30
got a new 'do. . . cut and color. i'm now about five shades darker than i was at my summer lightest blonde. . . now i'm more golden and brown. it's the darkest i've ever been, but i am really liking it. it makes my pale gray eyes look much more blue. i love my stylist. she reads my mind, and then makes it ten times better.
got a random call from my sister and we had a late lunch and shopped at j crew together.
i bought this:

gorgeous, right? i'm in love. i have a hard time finding jackets. if they are big enough in the chest, they hang like a box, or the sleeves are too short, or the shoulders too narrow. i heard it's sold out everywhere (that color) and it was a return just today. rockin'. it was meant to be.
then onward to get an outfit for tonight's halloween party. my sister graciously offered up her scrubs. she's a nurse and her husband is a doctor, so we're fully outfitted with scrubs, lab coats, gloves, and a stethoscope, plus a pin that says "trust me, i'm a doctor." yes! can't get much easier than that.
then onto target to get a shower gift for a wedding shower i'm attending tomorrow. i've got about a half hour to get ready for the party so i must run. hopefully photos later.

crazy, crazy

hi there. i'm back in crazy mode with my professional life, which will continue through the weekend and into next week, so stick with me if posts are few and not very well thought out.

it's finally gotten cooler here. it smells like fall in the air. nooooooooo! i will go kicking and stomping my feet. it's just not right. it's not officially the end of summer yet, but tomorrow's only supposed to hit 55 degrees. my building hasn't even switched our heating/cooling to the heat side, so we don't have heat! i'm seeing blankets and hot showers in my future.

god, thinking about this now, i feel like i could really go for a Vichy shower. too bad, no cash. maybe i can treat myself after this work project is over.

william and i haven't been up to much, seeing as how i have been professionally preoccupied. molly has been reaping the benefits of long hours over at my parents' house, where my dad feeds her "beef, with a little bit of gravy, like she likes it." seriously? my dog is going to get obese.

we have started looking into places to stay on our honeymoon; we're going to kauai after we get married on maui. there are some really kick ass places for super reasonable amounts ($140 a night? $100 a night? sold!)i really hope that if we do the helicopter tour my fear of flying doesn't kick in. i don't want to take xanax for that (yes, i medicate on flights, no other times). i wouldn't want to be all zoned out for that! i can't believe how fast our engagement is going... time has just flown.

ok, off i go to edit some stuff. i hope you are watching tv and eating ice cream for me. can you relax for me and send me some of that energy? thanks, friends!

shortness of breath

unfortch, this is going to be a little short entry again tonight. i stayed up too late last night, and now i have to write these letters for my dad (long story) and i'm tired from staying up late and i was crazy busy all day and i stopped and had dinner with my parents and they invited me since i was without "my beloved" as my mom calls william (well they invite him too, but i think they felt sorry for me), so we had dinner and i chatted with my mom about various things in my life since we barely get to see each other for more than like five minutes....yes that was one sentence because that's how i feel like my life is going lately. constantly running on top speed during the week, multitasking, freaking out, running out of time, ahhhh!
but good things today: my new planner is working out quite nicely at work, i had a very nice lunch at a new restaurant (i had a kobe beef cheeseburger and hand-cut fries, not very adventurous but it tasted awesome, plus it had sun-dried tomatoes on it), i had good corn on the cob and tomatoes for dinner, it was ridiculously sunny out (although too hot!), molly was excited to see me. william is with a friend, so i'm sure he's enjoying himself too.
sad: i rented some documentaries (gimme shelter, the weather underground) but i can't watch them in time before the return date.
man, it's just been a busy couple of days. and tomorrow i'm attending a bris. never done one of those before. i assume i bring a gift, right? any help out there?
anyhoo, i know this is a disappointing entry but i must be on my way. if i finish up these letters, i'll post the videos i was promising. and a better blog.
but i'm still on my goal! posts most days!