2013…uh buh bye (And BE BRAVE in 2014!)

Obligatory couple-y picture!

Dear 2013 – thanks for everything but no offense, I think I’m ready for you to go.  Age 27 in the year 2013 it’s just not good.  And so while there has been a fair amount of blue-ness this year, there have also been many a wonderful highlight. 

And so…2013 in review:

January

It’s for Lovers people!  I still think this!  I turn 27 in San Francisco.  Fabulous low key birthday, even if 27 wasn’t my favorite.  I have some funky moments and we get rid of cable (Still don’t have it!)

February

We slowly but surely recover from the holidays.  I rejoice in a clean house and watch the superbowl.  We lose a very special little boy from this world.  I start focusing on the little lights in my life.  I Valentined…I know…me, my Grinch heart is growing.

March

Work gets really really hard – I vent a bit about it...  I reminisce about being in Germany!  I write about why I think people should go to “church”  And I write possibly my most important post about why having a legal marriage means something to me.  And the response blows me out of the water and restores my faith in humanity.

April

I start the self betterment project in this month (and FAILED miserably!)  We have a beautiful Easter celebration.  We go to New York and I fill my soul with music and park pretzels and Itailan food and family!  I go swimming and find a piece of myself.

May

We go to Morrow Bay and I remember how lucky I am to have amazing friends! I stop sleeping (I’m pretty sure this is becoming a bi-annual event)  SP GETS A NEW JOB!  I GET A NEW JOB!  We are officially crazy.

June

June kind of slips away from me this year.  And at the end of June REALLY momentous things happened in California.

July

And then it was July (I’m working 2 jobs at this point…)  I win the Liebster award and in the process meet some really amazing women on the interwebs!  We also get married again this month (and have a marriage license to prove it!)

August

Glory Hallelujah we have survived the summer (more or less)  I take a few days off to celebrate!  We go to San Diego so that I can regain some of my sanity and get some big hugs from my parents.

September

In September I reveal to you how much I want Babies and how hard it is. 

October

I tell you a little bit about how we celebrated our 1 YEAR Anniversary and then went to Utah for a weekend!  My Iphone tells you what’s really up.  We went to a Renaissance Faire and a new beautiful niece joined the family!

November

We took the annual trip to the Apple orchards with SP’s family and hung out with a little monkey and his mom’s for Halloween.  And another baby joined our adopted family!  (And I want to eat him right up)  We also celebrate SP’s birthday and go to the Day of the Dead!  And I eat some bluehoo cheese.

December

I tell you about our super fast 72hr thanksgiving in San Diego, seeing Mackelemore and Ryan Lewis, and getting into the Christmas spirit.  And I talk about Lighting Up the Dark!

And we’re officially full circle.

I haven’t really wrapped my head around 2014 yet but I think my biggest focus is going to be on being brave this year.  Because I think being brave can really encompass it all.  Brave people are strong enough to be kind to others because they are secure in themselves.  Brave people are happy because they don’t focus on fear or sadness.  Brave people change the world because they take risks.  Brave people have sadness and hard times but they know how to work past it.  So I think this year, this is the year for Bravery.

So in 2014, my friends, I wish you joy and love and light.  But most importantly – I urge you to go out there and be bold, be kind, be courageous, BE BRAVE!  You deserve it, and the world deserves the brave you.

Be Brave!

Love to you all!

Sarah

My Brave face!

Light Up The Dark!

Merry Christmas my Loves!  The pastor at the church we've been attending has been focusing on the fact that the season of Christmas is really about being a light in the darkness.  So this has been my mantra for the last few weeks (and hopefully will continue to be for weeks and weeks to come): "LIGHT UP THE DARK!"  Thank you all for being a light in my life (especially during the dark times)  Have a beautiful celebration and remember to bring light and love wherever you go!

Off the Grid?

Wow you guys, sorry for the disappearing act.  Honestly I don't know where the time has gone.  Is everybody saying that right now?  This whole super late thanksgiving thing really threw me off this year.  And then all of a sudden it's the middle of December.  What the what?!

That being said this is going to be a bullet pointy type update because I have a lot of time to cover and its still busy time (incase you hadn't noticed...)

-Thanksgiving

Was the bomb diggity.  We drove down to san diego to be with the parents and the brother.  And it was sunny and delicious and way too fast.  It was very relaxing and really nice to do nothing except be together and enjoy each other's company. And stuff our bocas full of thanksgiving food (and mexican food)  72hr thanksgiving babyyyeee

 So much yums and a night at the Welk Resort

So much Gorgeous!

-Time out from baby making

Sorry about the last whiny blog.  I was having a moment.  And now I'm taking a couple of months to enjoy the holidays and drink wine and not jack myself up on crazy meds. More developments to come in this area in the future (I hope)

-Macklemore and Ryan Lewis

As part of our (early) Christmas presents to each other we got tickets to a Macklemore and Ryan Lewis concert.  We spent the weekend in the City.  Saw the Christmas decorations in the store fronts, drank starbucks peppermint mochas, and went to one of. The. Best. Concerts. I've. Ever. Been. To. Period.  Can we talk about how much I love Macklemore?  It's a lot people.  The music was dynamic, the crowd was insane, the showmanship was off the charts.  There was fire and confetti and crazy dancing.  A-to-the mazing!

 Christmassy Thai food and some pretty city decorations

Macklemore is in there I swear!

-The start of Christmas palooza

My parents came up here this year to celebrate the holidays at mine and SP's house.  It's kind of a whirlwind this year though because one younger brother tore his acl and had surgery so it is a balance of holiday festivities and invalid taking care of.  That being said SP and I have looked at lights now 3 (count em) times (and it's only Dec 19th!)  So I think the Christmas cheer is alive and well (despite a small bout of the plague that I have now)

 These ones can possibly be seen from space?

-Brother in-law-Birthday!

We celebrated my brother in laws birthday with some delicious pizza and a gorgeously decorated cake a la SP.  I think she has a future what do you think?  (We might have also looked at Christmas lights this night…)

The Birthday Boy and his Very Special Cake...

A close up in case you needed to see the greatness more fully

The cute fam :)

And we got a new dog

We let him out I swear!

So that's what's been going on around these parts.  This weekend will be spent hanging out with family and helping tiny Tim (aka brother) crutch around and then its back to our house for Christmas Palooza 2013 at our house!

Blogger holiday craft exchange round up coming very very soon (for real!)

Merry Christmas my friends!  Much love and good wishes as we hurtle towards a new year (I feel pretty good about 2014...but that's another story for another time!)

Blue (boo hoo) Cheese

Bring on the sushi and the deli meat and all the soft cheese you can think of.  I'm going to guzzle caffeine and alcohol and I'm going to like it.  Right now I'm sitting on the couch drinking a rum and diet coke and eating raw cookie dough with a side of sashimi (I'm really not but I could if I wanted to).  So there pregnant people, SO THERE.

It's fine, we don't want any babies up here anyway.  I mean why would we?  They aren't cute or snuggly or life-fulfilling or anything, right?!  You hear me Universe?  Don't you send me those babies because I'm too busy eating my blue cheese undercooked burger.

Ugh.

I'm having a hard time these days trying to figure out that perfect little balance of optimism and realistic expectations and attainable goals.  Is it too much to ask to get pregnant and finally finally get some babies up in here?  Maybe it is.  Maybe I've got to stop asking and start letting it all go with the flow.  But we all know how well this little control freak does with the letting go.

Lately I'm grasping for signs.  Signs that my body can work the way its supposed to (it appears that with a few medications it definitely can), signs that I'm making the right adulty choices, signs from God that I'm in the right place, signs that fat rolly polly babies are in my future.  I have a cramp - that's a sign!  I saw a baby and didn't burst in to tears - its a sign!  My mom dreamt I was pregnant - definitely a sign. I'm hungry, i'm tired, i'm emotional, i'm happy - signs signs signs.  Perhaps the problem is that it appears the signs are in another language.  One I clearly don't speak.  In fact I'm pretty sure the signs are in hieroglyphics and I don't have the key...no way to translate them.

So I've decided to stop praying for signs and instead start praying for clarity and patience and peace.  I'm the queen of telling other people that "things will work out" that there are "divine plans for all of us" that things will always "come to pass as they should"  and yet I'm clearly not honoring that belief myself.

So I'm making a change.  This month we're letting it all go and in turn letting it all come.  I'm going to be more gracious, more patient, more loving and more open.  I refuse to let the pessimism take me over - because I'm pretty sure that's not doing me any favors - and it's just not me.

I will be a mother.  Some day.  Some how.

And until then.....

Blue cheese sushi baby!

Apples and Pumpkins and Monkey's oh my!

So per prediction this little blog will include last weekend's antics and the weekend before that, I apparently run a week (or 2) behind in blog world.

The Saturday before last we went on our yearly trek up to Apple Country with SP's family.  They decided they have been going for 20yrs now (wow!) every year.  I on the other hand have only been going for 3 years and it definitely hasn't lost its charm on me.  I love the apple products (hello fritters), the screaming children, and the cute shops.  This year was no exception.  We beat the crowds, ate several apple doughnuts and watched some adorable kids wiggle around for quite some time.  And all in 75 degree weather - pretty glorious.

 These boys, they love their videos!

Sunday we carved pumpkins, as this is the only Halloween tradition that I enjoy!  Mostly because then you get pumpkin seeds.

This weekend was jam packed.  

Thursday night was Halloween, and since we know how I feel about Halloween (no.), we went little kid Halloweening instead.  Some of our friends were kind enough to invite us over for dinner (or indulge us in inviting ourselves over!) where we got to see one stinkin cute monkey and hand out candy to several other candy hungry cuties.

Monkey Man!

First tastes of candy, mmmm!

Friday night we spent an evening with friends and met the newest member of the club!  He is only 3.5 days old in these pictures and practically perfect in every way.  Needless to say, I can't get enough of the snuggles.

She looks good with a baby doesn't she?!

I love this furbaby too!

 So much baby cuteness!

Saturday was SP's Birthday!  SP isn't a big birthday celebrator but I think it's important to celebrate each other and these beautiful lives we have the honor of living.  So I honored SP's life by first letting her sleep in as long as she wanted (pretty a-typical around these parts as I get bored and our dog is NEEDY!)  Then we ate some lunch and went to a really fun volleyball game.  After that we took a little nap and then went out to dinner at a newish southern food restaurant nearby.  And let me tell you what.  Pickle Chips my friends.  Pickle chips sound disgusting but they are actually from heaven.  My last words on the subject - Pickle chips amen.  The fried chicken, the gouda grits the garlic mashers there are no words except that it was A-to-the-mazing!  

Volleyball Selfie!

Possibly the best birthday present ever!

Birthday Baby!

 

Southern food coma

After dinner we rolled out (literally because my stomach was by then the size of the Hindenburg) and walked over to the day of the dead celebration going on that evening.  If you've never been to a Dia De Los Muertos celebration I highly highly recommend you find one next year.  It is a touching holiday about celebrating the lives of loved ones who have passed on.  Families build beautiful alters and provide offerings to the spirits of their loved ones.  I love all of it.  I love the connection to family, the brightness, the decor, the dancing.  It's not sad at all - its festive and celebratory and gorgeous!

And this week is shaping up to be jam packed as well with another friend dinner and baby snuggles (I'm a junkie, what can I say) and our first off Broadway Show of the season Priscilla Queen of the Desert.  Which neither of us have ever seen and we know nothing about - but we bought season tickets and the reviews seem pretty awesome - and really I saw Xanadu on off Broadway so there is no way it can be as bad as that!

Hope the falling back went well for everybody this weekend, it's a gnarly adjustment for this insomniac, but I'm getting there.  Although the darkness at 5pm definitely is not my favorite.  Here's to hoping I can stay awake past 7:30pm this week!