The chaos of my current life continues, but if I can just get to Philly in a few hours and then back to Dallas tomorrow, things will get back to normal.
This weekend marked the completion of marathon number 16 I think? I should do an accurate count. I think it was my fourth time running the marathon in San Antonio. It was far from my fastest (about 45 minutes slower in fact), but it wasn't a big deal to me. First, the weather wasn't great. It was low 70s at the start, mid-80s at the finish, and sunny for most of the race. Ugh. But really, even if the weather had been good, taking off from running for a month while on vacation in China meant that I wasn't going to be setting any records anyway. Third and finally, I ran most of the race with friends. The first 10 miles with my local bestie, then the last 7 miles with someone I casually know here in Dallas who has the most amazing life story -- a marathoner for charity for years, head-on collision with a drunk driver 2.5 years ago on his way to come meet our running group early one Sunday morning, and now back to running marathons, gradually building up speed. This was his second race post-accident, and sharing his company was lovely. By that point in the race, he was mostly doing walk-run, and so I suppose technically, I might have been a bit faster if we hadn't run together, but my time only slowed by at most a few minutes, and having the company made it roughly one billion times more fun. So lucky I saw him!
Since it's Monday and I'm at my desk and about to leave town again, figured I'd do a topic where I don't have to think -- Friend Making Monday!
If you’ve taken part in FMM then you know the rules. If you’re new, please take a moment to answer this week’s question on your own blog then add your link in the comments section here at: www.alltheweigh.com so we can all see your FMM questions and answers. Please invite your blog readers to add their links here too so everyone has to opportunity to be seen. The idea is to connect with other awesome bloggers so take a moment to post your own FMM post and comment on a couple of other posts. Now it’s time for this week’s topic!
What’s in Your Fridge?
1. List a few common items that can always be found in your fridge. Spinach, bananas (not mine), blueberries (mostly not mine), apples, soy and regular (not mine) milk, cold water.
2. What kind of milk do you drink? Fat-free plain soy milk.
3. Do you prefer fresh or frozen vegetables? We usually eat fresh and I prefer that.
4. What do you currently have to drink in the fridge? Diet A&W, vodka, V8 splash (whatever the sugar-free version is called), bottled water, sparkling water, beer, various energy drinks (freebies from races, untouched for over a year), soy milk, regular milk, white wine, light grape juice.
5. How often do you clean out your refrigerator? About twice a year? I don't know really. We usually keep stuff in there until we eat it or it's bad, usually the former. Actually scrubbing shelves happens very rarely.
6. What’s the healthiest thing in it right now? Veggies and fruit.
7. What’s the most unhealthy thing in it right now? Alcohol, which we keep in there mostly for entertaining, except the wine, which I think my husband drinks most nights, but not all.
8. What do you wish you had in it that you don’t have now? Grapes. Hubby grocery shops on Wednesdays so it is getting bare.
9. How often do you shop for groceries? My husband shops (lucky me!), and he goes to two different stores on two different days each week.
10. What’s the weirdest thing in your fridge right now? There is a bag right in front with some kind of red peppers that look very spicy. As I've been out of town most of the last week (heck, most of the last 6 weeks), I have no idea why he bought them, what he's used/using them for, or what they're called.
Bonus: If you could choose one thing to put in the fridge and make it calorie-free what would it be? Cheese.
Now it’s your turn! Don’t forget to answer the questions and come back to post a link in the comments section! Happy Monday!
Monday, November 12, 2012
Thursday, November 8, 2012
More Time on the Road
Life is so hectic right now I can barely get my head around it.
Last week, we came back from weeks in China. Landed very late at night (technically early in the morning), and I had to go to work that day. Such is life when you use all your vacation time for a single trip and try to make it as long as possible. Solely my doing.
Then I had basically 1 day in the office, then we were off again to Milwaukee for a family wedding. I had to work remotely the rest of the week from a family member's house.
Got back into town this past weekend, and actually had a few normal days. Went to work Monday through Wednesday just like I usually would.
But today, off to Pennsylvania for an arbitration tomorrow.
Fly back to Dallas Friday night late, then up and out the door early Saturday morning to head to San Antonio for the marathon on Sunday.
I'm staying with a good friend, and last year her husband made an awesome dinner on the grill Sunday night after the marathon. So weeks ago, not knowing how chaotic November would be for me, I decided to spend Sunday night with them again this year.
I'll get to relax with a great dinner and some wine, and have a relaxing night in their lovely guest room.
Then Monday morning I'll fly back to Dallas. Perfect plan.
What I didn't know however, is that it turns out I have to fly out of Dallas Monday afternoon to be in Pennsylvania AGAIN on Tuesday for another arbitration.
So hopefully it will wrap up early enough that I can come back to Dallas Tuesday night.
Then I'll get to have a normal Wednesday and Thursday -- then we have a half day of work on Friday because our office move is set for that weekend.
Chaos, I tell you, chaos. So the following Monday will be unpacking my new office. I was a little worried I had to be in Pennsylvania that day as well for a settlement conference, but fortunately the judge is letting me appear by phone. So it will be one day of unpacking at work, two days of work, then Thanksgiving.
Wow. The good news is that for most of the miles in the air, I just made the next highest frequent flyer status on our way back from China, so it's upgrade-city for me now. Well, it would be if there hadn't just been a big storm hitting Philly with major flight delays and cancellations, so now my flight will probably be oversold and/or full of flyers with a higher status than me.
Last week, we came back from weeks in China. Landed very late at night (technically early in the morning), and I had to go to work that day. Such is life when you use all your vacation time for a single trip and try to make it as long as possible. Solely my doing.
Then I had basically 1 day in the office, then we were off again to Milwaukee for a family wedding. I had to work remotely the rest of the week from a family member's house.
Got back into town this past weekend, and actually had a few normal days. Went to work Monday through Wednesday just like I usually would.
But today, off to Pennsylvania for an arbitration tomorrow.
Fly back to Dallas Friday night late, then up and out the door early Saturday morning to head to San Antonio for the marathon on Sunday.
I'm staying with a good friend, and last year her husband made an awesome dinner on the grill Sunday night after the marathon. So weeks ago, not knowing how chaotic November would be for me, I decided to spend Sunday night with them again this year.
I'll get to relax with a great dinner and some wine, and have a relaxing night in their lovely guest room.
Then Monday morning I'll fly back to Dallas. Perfect plan.
What I didn't know however, is that it turns out I have to fly out of Dallas Monday afternoon to be in Pennsylvania AGAIN on Tuesday for another arbitration.
So hopefully it will wrap up early enough that I can come back to Dallas Tuesday night.
Then I'll get to have a normal Wednesday and Thursday -- then we have a half day of work on Friday because our office move is set for that weekend.
Chaos, I tell you, chaos. So the following Monday will be unpacking my new office. I was a little worried I had to be in Pennsylvania that day as well for a settlement conference, but fortunately the judge is letting me appear by phone. So it will be one day of unpacking at work, two days of work, then Thanksgiving.
Wow. The good news is that for most of the miles in the air, I just made the next highest frequent flyer status on our way back from China, so it's upgrade-city for me now. Well, it would be if there hadn't just been a big storm hitting Philly with major flight delays and cancellations, so now my flight will probably be oversold and/or full of flyers with a higher status than me.
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Ready for Tomorrow
When I say "ready for tomorrow," do not make the mistake of thinking I am even remotely implying I'm prepared for the marathon this weekend. My head is full of what-ifs. What if the Beijing Marathon hadn't been cancelled? Would I have PR'ed? What if I'd made at least some effort to do some long runs during the few weeks of vacation in China? What if I'd at least done some strength training while we were there? What if I'd found a 24 hour gym last week and gone running after I woke up at 1 a.m. from jet lag? What if I'd had less to drink at my brother's wedding this past weekend and gotten in at least a 10 mile run or something? What if I hadn't started back to boot camp yesterday and run this morning in a final days attempt to restore some fitness that I know is 100% futile at this point? If any of that had changed, would I be ready to run the marathon this weekend? Who's to say? But mark my words, this marathon is going to be ugly -- like my time is likely to end up where it was more than 5 years ago. No chance of a RE-Q (and my last RE-Q has now expired, so I need to requalify if I want to run Boston again). Ugly. If the weather's bad, it will be hideous.
But I'm ready for tomorrow in that I'm ready for the elections to be over. I've had mixed feelings about voting this year. My best friend posted a status to FB today that sums it up well: "Having lived previously in Texas and Alabama, I appreciate living in a swing state where you know your vote matters and where the candidates actually campaign. That said, my children and I will also appreciate the end of the constant barrage of negative campaign ads! There is no excuse for showing the same ad four times during one commercial break."
When you live in a state that has no chance of changing color, regardless of whether it's the color you want, it's hard to get motivated to vote. Especially when you're out of the country for most of the early voting time and way behind at work when you return from that very long vacation, so it's hard to get to the polls on election day.
For the record, I made it to the last day of early voting. We were back in town and due to jet lag, I was at the office well before the crack of dawn (and completely exhausted by early afternoon), so I stopped on my way home from work and was able to quickly get in and out. Whew. There were a couple things I actually cared about on the ballot where there is at least some chance that my vote matters -- the sheriff and a bond proposal. However, as to president and many other options on the ballot, either my vote doesn't matter, or I just don't know/care enough about the issues -- I have mixed feelings on electing judges anyway (and don't get me started on partisan judges in the first place,) and judicial races composed about 90% or more of our ballot here.
But the main reason I'm ready for tomorrow is I just want it to be over. Having been in Wisconsin for the last few days for my brother's wedding, wow, I'd be even more ready if I lived there. At least we don't really have any political commercials on TV here at least for President. The political ads and phone calls there were non-stop. I'm especially in awe of the China-hating (on both sides) that seems to be so prevalent and interesting in light of our trip there last week. But the main reason I'm ready for tomorrow is because I hate the awful things people, including friends, say and the extreme partisanship. I'm not naive enough to think this is something new or getting worse, though I understand that inclination, I feel like this is nothing compared to say the 1800 election. Extreme partisanship, hyperbole, etc. has a long and storied tradition in this county and that's not changing anytime soon. But what has changed is now it's in my facebook news feed! That wasn't the case for someone in 1800 who wanted to ignore the hate and spin and misleading statements. But it's just a shame to feel like I don't like some people who I know full well I do like when they're not spouting politics all the time.
The good news is that living in the US, I don't feel like the election is really that important. We're lucky enough not to have a candidate at could completely chage our world -- that whole checks and balances thing helps. Unlike in other countries, there's no real communist party or anything like that with any chance of winning today. Sure, some important things could change based on who is in office, and there's always the possibility of something crazy happening, but history is a strong predictor, and this country has been very stable for very long, and I don't really think either of these candidates will change that.
Anyway, I'm ready for tomorrow, be it the result I'd prefer or not. I just hope it's a definitive answer one way or the other!
But I'm ready for tomorrow in that I'm ready for the elections to be over. I've had mixed feelings about voting this year. My best friend posted a status to FB today that sums it up well: "Having lived previously in Texas and Alabama, I appreciate living in a swing state where you know your vote matters and where the candidates actually campaign. That said, my children and I will also appreciate the end of the constant barrage of negative campaign ads! There is no excuse for showing the same ad four times during one commercial break."
When you live in a state that has no chance of changing color, regardless of whether it's the color you want, it's hard to get motivated to vote. Especially when you're out of the country for most of the early voting time and way behind at work when you return from that very long vacation, so it's hard to get to the polls on election day.
For the record, I made it to the last day of early voting. We were back in town and due to jet lag, I was at the office well before the crack of dawn (and completely exhausted by early afternoon), so I stopped on my way home from work and was able to quickly get in and out. Whew. There were a couple things I actually cared about on the ballot where there is at least some chance that my vote matters -- the sheriff and a bond proposal. However, as to president and many other options on the ballot, either my vote doesn't matter, or I just don't know/care enough about the issues -- I have mixed feelings on electing judges anyway (and don't get me started on partisan judges in the first place,) and judicial races composed about 90% or more of our ballot here.
But the main reason I'm ready for tomorrow is I just want it to be over. Having been in Wisconsin for the last few days for my brother's wedding, wow, I'd be even more ready if I lived there. At least we don't really have any political commercials on TV here at least for President. The political ads and phone calls there were non-stop. I'm especially in awe of the China-hating (on both sides) that seems to be so prevalent and interesting in light of our trip there last week. But the main reason I'm ready for tomorrow is because I hate the awful things people, including friends, say and the extreme partisanship. I'm not naive enough to think this is something new or getting worse, though I understand that inclination, I feel like this is nothing compared to say the 1800 election. Extreme partisanship, hyperbole, etc. has a long and storied tradition in this county and that's not changing anytime soon. But what has changed is now it's in my facebook news feed! That wasn't the case for someone in 1800 who wanted to ignore the hate and spin and misleading statements. But it's just a shame to feel like I don't like some people who I know full well I do like when they're not spouting politics all the time.
The good news is that living in the US, I don't feel like the election is really that important. We're lucky enough not to have a candidate at could completely chage our world -- that whole checks and balances thing helps. Unlike in other countries, there's no real communist party or anything like that with any chance of winning today. Sure, some important things could change based on who is in office, and there's always the possibility of something crazy happening, but history is a strong predictor, and this country has been very stable for very long, and I don't really think either of these candidates will change that.
Anyway, I'm ready for tomorrow, be it the result I'd prefer or not. I just hope it's a definitive answer one way or the other!
Monday, November 5, 2012
FMM: Ten Reasons to be Thankful
Well, this week officially marks my "return to normal." We got back from China last week, then had to fly right back up north for a wedding in my family. We came back to Dallas yesterday and made our big "return to boot camp" this morning, which is step one of "return to normal." However, I technically have a marathon on the calendar this weekend (Rock and Roll San Antonio), and I have to go to Pennsylvania for work, so it won't really be a "normal" week. But some normalcy is better than none. I spent time yesterday uploading all our pictures from the trip to snapfish and I am shocked by how many we took. I think the total number is over 1000! I need to work on a "highlights" album, as well as pulling some favorites to share here.
Since it's Monday and my brain is still way behind, I'm doing Friend-Making Monday again. If you’ve taken part in FMM then you know the rules. If you’re new, please take a moment to answer this week’s question on your own blog then add your link in the comments section here at: www.alltheweigh.com so we can all see your FMM questions and answers. Please invite your blog readers to add their links here too so everyone has to opportunity to be seen. The idea is to connect with other awesome bloggers so take a moment to post your own FMM post and comment on a couple of other posts. Now it’s time for this week’s topic!
Ten Reasons To Be Thankful
1. My sweet husband. After weeks of traveling around China, encountering all kinds of different cultural things, struggling with language barriers, and more, I still can't get enough of him. I wish we could spend every second of every day together sometimes. I feel like we're such a good team. He's a good sport about my huge list of sights I want to hit in some cities, and he balances me out when I get too stressed about trying to explain that we want the taxi to take us to a certain temple -- he's more inclined to just go for the ride. I'm so lucky to have found him, and I'm also so lucky I held out for the right guy, rather than getting hitched to the first guy I thought I loved and felt marginally compatible with...
2. My family. Being with them this weekend for my brother's wedding reminded me how much fun they are. Of my 6 brothers, now 5 are married and they have all picked amazing and fun women (and they are all stunningly beautiful, which makes the "amazing and fun" part maybe more surprising). I have nieces and nephews that think I'm the bomb for no apparent reason. And even better, we all get along well, I have the best time when I'm with them, and I can't imagine being born into a better bunch! I've also been fortunate to marry into a great family. I enjoy going to visit my in-laws and love spending time with them.
3. My job. Lots of lawyers end up not liking their jobs. Big firms will show you the money, but at the expense of your life. Small firms don't have the money, and the work is kind of for the brain-dead (largely, obviously, there are exceptions). Although it took me about a decade of practicing, I finally found the perfect balance by working for a company -- the money is good, the work is challenging and interesting, my co-workers are great, and the hours are wonderful -- the main issue with the hours is that I like the job so much, I could happily just keep on working!
4. My health. I was going down a very unhealthy path for a long time (see above about your life at a big firm). Too much alcohol and unhealthy food, too many dinners at my desk, too many all-nighters, too little exercise, too few "extra-curricular" activities. But finally in 2004, I started running regularly with co-workers, training for my first marathon that year. And then in 2007, I added cross-training and weights several days per week, which made a huge difference in my running and in my body shape. And then finally in 2008, I worked on cleaning up my diet. That brought it all together and I would say I became a much healthier person. But aside from all that, I'm also blessed with good genes and good luck. Not much cancer or other disease in my family, no obesity with my siblings or parents, good luck in avoiding any major accidents.
5. Tied into that, my running buddies. I've had a wonderful group of friends with whom I've run several days per week for many years now. They are frequently the reason I get up at an ungodly early hour to go run. We frequently have similar goals, and even when someone is taking a season off from racing, it's a fun enough group, that person usually joins in anyway. I feel like I've been through so much with this group -- a couple people have moved away, which stinks, but our group has been through job changes, weddings, divorces, deaths in the family, having kids, deciding not to have kids, job losses, injuries, etc. It is amazing how important people become to you when you spend hours talking each week without any distractions. I'm so lucky to have this group, and I know the two guys who have moved away miss it a lot.
6. The opportunity to see the world. This is a bit related to things like my husband, my job, and my health, but I love to travel. Without those few things, it would be different -- I'm glad all three of those work well for me to get to indulge my love of travel. I think it's so important to be a citizen of the world, to learn about what's out there, to get out of this US bubble, or the English-speaking bubble, or even the first-world bubble. I've long loved to travel, beginning with that first trip to Europe in high school, but now I'm finally really getting to see the world. I'm so glad my husband is game for unusual trips, and I'm so glad I have a job with vacation time (though of course I'd love more!), and I'm so glad I'm healthy enough to travel. I should also mention that I'm glad my husband is on board with making some tough financial decisions to make sure that our world travel dreams happen -- sometimes not spending money on what we want in the moment to make sure we can take a big trip every year.
7. Living where I live. Between a trip home to the great white north in the last few days, and the devastation the superstorm, I'm so happy to live in Dallas. We're fortunate here to have very few natural disasters, and what I consider to be perfect weather for a vast majority of the year. It makes me so happy to be warm -- having to bundle up this past week at home just reminded me how miserable that makes me. It's fine for a week, but I'm so glad we don't have to deal with it often here. While it is hot in the summer, I meet my running buddies at 5:15 in the morning, and it's manageable to be outside and active at that time and in those temps. On a smaller level, I love our house. It's just enough space for the two of us. It's new construction, which means very little upkeep. It's a condo, so it means no outside maintenance. It is a good fit for us, and every month, it gets closer and closer to being all ours.
8. My friends. This should be much higher on the list, but I'm not really putting the list in order of priority. Part of what makes me happy to live in Dallas, despite being so far away from my wonderful family, is having a bunch of friends that I love. We both have godchildren here in Dallas, and it makes me think friends are the family we choose. We have a fun bunch to spend time with, so many common interests.
9. Technology. Is it bad to say I'm thankful for my iphone? Last year at Christmas, we ran out of gas along a highway in Wisconsin. What would we have done before cell phones? Walked I guess, or taken a chance on trying to flag someone down. But with the phone, we were able to call for help and tell them exactly where we were. When we were lost in Chongqing China last week, we were able to turn on data roaming and pull up a map to show our exact position, rather than trying desperately to find someone who spoke some English or spending hours lost. Plus, it lets me stay in touch with my family, it let me manage to make sure no complete crisis arose at work while I was gone, etc. Beyond the iphone, wow, I love having a DVR...
10. My accumulation. I definitely have a bad habit of holding on to things, but at the same time, I am fairly frugal (the whole thing about not spending needless money so we can travel) and I am happy with the material possessions we've amassed. I look around my living room -- a beautiful silk rug I bought in Thailand, an 8-panel oriental screen I bought through an art dealer, a couch, chair, table and armoire I spent days selecting with my mom in town many years ago, a dining room set I inherited from my parents, the hutch that is now filled with beautiful things we got for our wedding, pictures on the wall documenting our travels. I do need to purge more, but I'm glad we're at a comfortable level.
Since it's Monday and my brain is still way behind, I'm doing Friend-Making Monday again. If you’ve taken part in FMM then you know the rules. If you’re new, please take a moment to answer this week’s question on your own blog then add your link in the comments section here at: www.alltheweigh.com so we can all see your FMM questions and answers. Please invite your blog readers to add their links here too so everyone has to opportunity to be seen. The idea is to connect with other awesome bloggers so take a moment to post your own FMM post and comment on a couple of other posts. Now it’s time for this week’s topic!
Ten Reasons To Be Thankful
1. My sweet husband. After weeks of traveling around China, encountering all kinds of different cultural things, struggling with language barriers, and more, I still can't get enough of him. I wish we could spend every second of every day together sometimes. I feel like we're such a good team. He's a good sport about my huge list of sights I want to hit in some cities, and he balances me out when I get too stressed about trying to explain that we want the taxi to take us to a certain temple -- he's more inclined to just go for the ride. I'm so lucky to have found him, and I'm also so lucky I held out for the right guy, rather than getting hitched to the first guy I thought I loved and felt marginally compatible with...
2. My family. Being with them this weekend for my brother's wedding reminded me how much fun they are. Of my 6 brothers, now 5 are married and they have all picked amazing and fun women (and they are all stunningly beautiful, which makes the "amazing and fun" part maybe more surprising). I have nieces and nephews that think I'm the bomb for no apparent reason. And even better, we all get along well, I have the best time when I'm with them, and I can't imagine being born into a better bunch! I've also been fortunate to marry into a great family. I enjoy going to visit my in-laws and love spending time with them.
3. My job. Lots of lawyers end up not liking their jobs. Big firms will show you the money, but at the expense of your life. Small firms don't have the money, and the work is kind of for the brain-dead (largely, obviously, there are exceptions). Although it took me about a decade of practicing, I finally found the perfect balance by working for a company -- the money is good, the work is challenging and interesting, my co-workers are great, and the hours are wonderful -- the main issue with the hours is that I like the job so much, I could happily just keep on working!
4. My health. I was going down a very unhealthy path for a long time (see above about your life at a big firm). Too much alcohol and unhealthy food, too many dinners at my desk, too many all-nighters, too little exercise, too few "extra-curricular" activities. But finally in 2004, I started running regularly with co-workers, training for my first marathon that year. And then in 2007, I added cross-training and weights several days per week, which made a huge difference in my running and in my body shape. And then finally in 2008, I worked on cleaning up my diet. That brought it all together and I would say I became a much healthier person. But aside from all that, I'm also blessed with good genes and good luck. Not much cancer or other disease in my family, no obesity with my siblings or parents, good luck in avoiding any major accidents.
5. Tied into that, my running buddies. I've had a wonderful group of friends with whom I've run several days per week for many years now. They are frequently the reason I get up at an ungodly early hour to go run. We frequently have similar goals, and even when someone is taking a season off from racing, it's a fun enough group, that person usually joins in anyway. I feel like I've been through so much with this group -- a couple people have moved away, which stinks, but our group has been through job changes, weddings, divorces, deaths in the family, having kids, deciding not to have kids, job losses, injuries, etc. It is amazing how important people become to you when you spend hours talking each week without any distractions. I'm so lucky to have this group, and I know the two guys who have moved away miss it a lot.
6. The opportunity to see the world. This is a bit related to things like my husband, my job, and my health, but I love to travel. Without those few things, it would be different -- I'm glad all three of those work well for me to get to indulge my love of travel. I think it's so important to be a citizen of the world, to learn about what's out there, to get out of this US bubble, or the English-speaking bubble, or even the first-world bubble. I've long loved to travel, beginning with that first trip to Europe in high school, but now I'm finally really getting to see the world. I'm so glad my husband is game for unusual trips, and I'm so glad I have a job with vacation time (though of course I'd love more!), and I'm so glad I'm healthy enough to travel. I should also mention that I'm glad my husband is on board with making some tough financial decisions to make sure that our world travel dreams happen -- sometimes not spending money on what we want in the moment to make sure we can take a big trip every year.
7. Living where I live. Between a trip home to the great white north in the last few days, and the devastation the superstorm, I'm so happy to live in Dallas. We're fortunate here to have very few natural disasters, and what I consider to be perfect weather for a vast majority of the year. It makes me so happy to be warm -- having to bundle up this past week at home just reminded me how miserable that makes me. It's fine for a week, but I'm so glad we don't have to deal with it often here. While it is hot in the summer, I meet my running buddies at 5:15 in the morning, and it's manageable to be outside and active at that time and in those temps. On a smaller level, I love our house. It's just enough space for the two of us. It's new construction, which means very little upkeep. It's a condo, so it means no outside maintenance. It is a good fit for us, and every month, it gets closer and closer to being all ours.
8. My friends. This should be much higher on the list, but I'm not really putting the list in order of priority. Part of what makes me happy to live in Dallas, despite being so far away from my wonderful family, is having a bunch of friends that I love. We both have godchildren here in Dallas, and it makes me think friends are the family we choose. We have a fun bunch to spend time with, so many common interests.
9. Technology. Is it bad to say I'm thankful for my iphone? Last year at Christmas, we ran out of gas along a highway in Wisconsin. What would we have done before cell phones? Walked I guess, or taken a chance on trying to flag someone down. But with the phone, we were able to call for help and tell them exactly where we were. When we were lost in Chongqing China last week, we were able to turn on data roaming and pull up a map to show our exact position, rather than trying desperately to find someone who spoke some English or spending hours lost. Plus, it lets me stay in touch with my family, it let me manage to make sure no complete crisis arose at work while I was gone, etc. Beyond the iphone, wow, I love having a DVR...
10. My accumulation. I definitely have a bad habit of holding on to things, but at the same time, I am fairly frugal (the whole thing about not spending needless money so we can travel) and I am happy with the material possessions we've amassed. I look around my living room -- a beautiful silk rug I bought in Thailand, an 8-panel oriental screen I bought through an art dealer, a couch, chair, table and armoire I spent days selecting with my mom in town many years ago, a dining room set I inherited from my parents, the hutch that is now filled with beautiful things we got for our wedding, pictures on the wall documenting our travels. I do need to purge more, but I'm glad we're at a comfortable level.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)