Army of Me

Yesterday was a little different around our house. Sammy had a twelve hour play date with my sister. I had an entire day to myself. As I looked forward to this, I had a lot of ideas of what I should do and, in the end, abandoned them all. Because the truth is I missed Sammy. That is the longest I've EVER been away from him (I know...I KNOW!) and add that to the fact that I know he was having more fun without me than he'd ever have at home with me, hurt my heart. So, for the first few hours, I moped and cleaned up the house. Put all of Sammy's stuff away and then dropped to the floor of my quiet, quiet house for some solitude (it was pretty nice to just lay there without fear of a toddler jumping in my stomach!). I was going to stay home and write or do those 1001 little projects that get pushed to the side when living with a two year old, but it was too quiet. I needed to get out, instead.

I showered and got ready for the day and went shopping. I needed black dress pants for an upcoming reception and I knew that task would be better suited to do alone. It didn't take long to find what I was looking for (complete with new sweater and jewelry to go with the pants), so I decided to browse some stores. I ended up buying a few more things (lesson 20: I shop and spend way more money without Sammy than with him. Good to know!). Throw in a small late lunch and a quick trip home and evening was suddenly present. Then I went to my sister's, double checked the new outfit and checked on Sammy and it was time to pick Isaac up from work (lesson 53: taking hours to get out of the house and then browsing and wasting time really CAN fill up a day!).

We had adjusted Sharon and Sammy's day o' fun a little to accommodate going over to Lora & Dave's house for dinner, Rukus and Rage. In the end, lessons were learned and I can't repay my sister for taking a day of her own and spending it with Sammy. It was nice, however, to get home and hear that Sammy had done well and he was tucked away, sleeping in his bed. It seemed, from my point of view, that things went ok. At least I think my sister is still speaking to me! I will completely understand, though, if I don't hear from her for a few weeks while her nerves repair and she finishes off her to-do list that was surely neglected!

If You Start the Year Random, Does That Hold Prophetic?

1. New Year's is such a random holiday to me. New Year's Eve is my sister's birthday. Twelve years ago my ex-father in law (who remains one of the best men I've ever known) passed away on New Year's Eve. I remember that eclipsing everything else, of course, as I tried to be what you need to be in those situations. And every year in between and since is usually filled with games and friends and food. This year I slept the sleep of the dead. I loved it.

2. What would make a 21 year-old girl believe that she is in danger of becoming an old maid and essentially give up on ever DOING anything with her life as she desperately searches for a man? So much opportunity wasted, if you ask me. Which she didn't.

3. Speaking of wasted opportunity...we are watching the first season of Mad Men on DVD. Finally. I could NEVER have been a woman in the early 60s. Seriously.

4. And continuing a theme: I love when guys are so intimidated by strong, opinionated women that their only mode of defense is mockery so ridiculous that it makes them look stupid.

5. Isaac bought a wii and Rock Band 2 this week. I may have lost my husband for a little while.

6. Rock Band 2 illustrates NICELY why I failed piano. Twice. Instruments are lost on me.

7. I spent yesterday holding a beautiful 5 week old, 9 pound baby. For several hours straight. He still has the new baby smell.

8. Sammy spent yesterday saying "Mommy put the baby down?". Hee!

9. I used to be religious at keeping a journal. I have them (still) starting from when I was around twelve and my friend from down the street died of a brain tumor up through Sammy's first few months of life. My life, in all it's glory, is chronicled nicely. As Sammy started getting older, though, it's another habit that fell away (I'm sensing a theme...). I'm missing it tremendously, lately; that need of a safe place to work out life. So, I found this last week (Isaac got it for me last year at Christmas. In orange, of course) and have decided it will do nicely to kick start something I honestly miss. I just hope no one wonders what happened to Tawnya's missing two years!

10. A song to start the new year. It's stuck in my head from the 54 daily viewings of Curious George I'm subjected to. Good thing I love Jack Johnson...

Movies Watched 2009

500 Days of Summer *****
Taken ***
Kenny ****
Married Life ***
Confessions of a Shopaholic ****
The World's Fastest Indian **
Miss Potter ****
Slumdog Millionaire ****
New In Town ***
Monsters Vs Aliens ****
Bride Wars ***
Everybody Wants to Be Italian **
Last Chance Harvey **1/2
Doubt ****
Bedtime Stories ****
Wolverine ****
The Deal ***
Yes Man ***
Twilight *
Lost in Austen ****
Purple Violets *****
He's Just Not That Into You ****
Australia **
Happy-Go-Lucky **
Nobel Son *
Nights in Rodanthe **
Vicky Cristina Barcelona ****
Madagascar 2 **
Bottle Shock ***
Henry Poole Is Here ****
Brideshead Revisited ****
Swing Vote **
The Dutchess ****

Highs and Lows - My Personal 2008

Best tv in 2008: Chuck, The Office, Pushing Daisies
Worst tv in 2008: Kath & Kim, no contest

Best movie in 2008: Once
Worst movie in 2008: ...so many to choose from! Pirates of the Carribbean 3? The Ex? Mamma's Boy?

Best book in 2008: Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn or Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs by Chuck Klosterman
Worst book in 2008: Sorry. These is My Words Sorry. by Nancy Turner Sorry.

I love how I mark time...

A New Leaf. Ish.

I'm not a big resolutions person. I never have been. I figure you make a bunch of goals and, in a holiday stupor, forget about them before the month is out. What's the point of that? Besides. No one likes change. However, sometimes I see the need to...well, resolve to do better, be better and change, even if just a little bit. I try to acknowledge that when it happens - whenever it happens, and go with the process. Hopefully ending up better for it.

That's where I am now. We've been here for nine months. In that period I've become very complacent and set in a routine. I like the routine. I like knowing a vague outline of what's happening day to day. It's the complacency that is nagging me. I live a pretty comfortable life in a comfortable house set in my comfortable ways. Middle age complacency is looming large. I need to work new things into the routine and stretch and grow.

So, while I'm not resolving to put away laundry in a timely manner (the landing outside my bedroom would openly mock me if I did) nor resolving to write for so many hours a day(c'mon...I know my life), I do want to work toward something. Several ideas have floated about my head (cooking, learning something new, yoga more consistently, etc) but one stood out the most. I think I've mentioned before how much I miss reading in the quantity I used to Before Sammy. I want to work up to that again. So my goal is simply this: I will try to read more. No perameters in genre, though. It'll be a whatever floats my boat kind of thing. In order to accomplish this, I will post at least one book review per month, here. If I do more than one, great, but the goal will be one. Starting now.

I just finished The Other Woman by Jane Green. She is, perhaps, my favorite fluff, chick lit writer. Jemima J is still one of my all time favorite books. However, I've liked her other books a little less since reading Jemima. A few years ago I gave her up entirely, assuming I had outgrown her writing. A few months ago I was in the bookstore and found a new to me book by her in the bargin bin. So I picked it up. A few weeks ago, I needed something quick and, forgetting I had already bought it, picked the same novel up and bought it. When I realized my mistake, I took it back and exchanged it for The Other Woman. I started it a couple of days before Christmas and finished it shortly after. I think the break from Green did me good.

The Other Woman is the story of an engaged and then married couple, told from the woman's point of view. The other woman in their relationship is her future mother-in-law. However, the story takes some turns that are unexpected. It isn't all about an evil mother-in-law waging war on the poor, picked on bride. It's a story about life and things that can happen and trying to meld and change relationships without losing your sanity. I liked that Green seems to have grown up in her writing. I liked that the heroine had deep flaws of her own and definitely made backwards strides due to those flaws. I liked how the book explored the different relationships in the extended family and followed through with natural consequenses. I liked that the book felt real and true to life.

It was definitely a light read; most certainly not straying far from the genre, but it seemed more mature and emotional than most chick lit books dare to. Most importantly, it reminded me why I liked her books to begin with and I'll definitely be filling in the gaps with the ones I missed during my self imposed hiatus.