In Summary

I guess when you get old, you get sick. Or, maybe that's when you travel via airplane. Either way, I've been there, for more than a week. This morning I feel better. Finally.
Disneyland=Magical. Although I am glad I don't have to walk around soaked to the bone (Nathan loved that rapids ride at California Adventure) and looking like hell. Have you noticed that looking great on vacation doesn't happen? I mean, at least not when you're more concerned with having fun.
Went to the cabin this weekend with the fam. It was super windy, and it even snowed yesterday morning. I mostly slept, because that's all I could do energy-wise.
But now I'm rested and ready to party! (Almost)
Save me from my solitude.

What to do When You're 30

* Go to lunch with someone you love
* Give blood (it's a great way to celebrate life)
* Go get a makeover at Sephora, but be warned your age makes it take twice as long as you think it should
* Eat a piece (or two) of Godiva
* Change clothes in a car speeding down a major thoroughfare in heavy traffic (you ought be the one driving, but be careful, because it's easy to get the seat belt caught in your shirt and you have to start the whole process over again)
* Party with your family, biological or curated, because they love you best
* Kiss someone (and make your friends do it too)
* Get a really good neck massage
* Celebrate the accomplishments of others
* Play Truth or Dare, and endure taking someone's shirt off with your teeth, and kissing your friend's boyfriend, who is really her brother
* Get asked out on a couple of dates
* Ask a couple of people out for other dates
* Wake up and realize you haven't grown a second head, and that you feel even better than you did when you were 29

PS. Going to Disneyland won't hurt either...

T-Minus 3 Days and Counting

Here's another list of things I love:

1) While watching "Something Borrowed" with Daniela and Bubs on Saturday, D gasped and started hitting me. "Oh my gosh! The Hamptons!" I generally don't react that way when I see images of the old family homestead, but it made me happy that she was so excited.

2) My fake relationship. There are two wonderful boys in my life and I love them both in a friendly, platonic, flirt-way-too-much way. The success of our relationship is anchored on a few things. A) We pretend to be in love with one another. B) They pretend to fight over me. C) I pretend to pit them against one another. D) I never tell either of them who I prefer. E) I am secretly sure they like one another about 10 times more than they like me, combined. F) I have no romantic feelings for either of them whatsoever. But that's our little secret.

3) TLC's "Extreme Couponing." That show is ridiculous and addictive. I'll admit, I've been clipping more coupons recently, though I know I'll never be the person who gets $1,000 worth or merchandise for $3.25. And have you noticed how most of the people on that show tend to be, um, hefty? I'm pretty sure it has something to do with all the highly-processed foods they stock up on for free. I need some fresh produce discounts, people!

4) My friend Sean McKissick. I called S for our annual birthday chat last Friday (he's a whopping week older than I am, and as weird as it sounds, it makes me feel better). He was groggy when I called, having seen the midnight showing of "Thor." I told him he's getting nerdier with old age. I told him I was a little worried about my own birthday and he said, "Oh, don't go telling me about your existential crisis. I'm LIVING IT!" Hahaha. I'll join him in said crisis in just a few days. But I think I'm in the process of moving from acceptance to embracing my age. I'm ready for my close-up in an anti-aging skincare commercial.

Reality Isn't So Bad

It's happened-- full-fledged panic about turning the Big 3-0.

You know what, though? It's not really getting older that bugs me, but it's where I thought I'd be in my life by now that does. There are a bunch of things I think I'm "supposed" to have done by now, and I'm lagging behind a bit.

Here's a picture of me from a few birthdays back-- I think this was the year I turned 27. I love this picture.

Paul (one of the besties) had just taken me out to dinner and brought me back to the family farm for a surprise party that wasn't really a surprise, but it was still so fun. That's Jeff's head to my (your) right. He took me home that night. Just after he left, I got my annual birthday phone call from Sean and his wife. I'd had a pedicure that day, and I'd eaten at Sweet Tomatoes. That night, Blair sang karaoke (The Backstreet Boys, as I recall) and I met a boy who'd sweep away my summer. Look at how tan I was! Look at my hair. Back then, I still wore a watch because I didn't care that it wasn't elegant. This is one of those pictures I would hope captures the way people think of me.
And here's another picture I love: a recent one of my precious little nieces in their Easter clothes.

They look pretty angelic, huh? Or how about this one of Zoey, wearing a traditional Polish outfit: When I bought that little dress in Krakow so many years ago, I imagined putting my own child in it. But Zoey and Paizlee are about as close as you can get, so it's fitting and suits my purposes just fine. Zozobra looks so sweet. But you know what else I love?
I'm pretty stoked this kid is willing to ham it up for the camera and put on a fake mustache. I treasure this little bit of reality just as much as the posed pics.

Also, here's a video of Paizlee. You'll probably look at it and think, "So what's the big deal?" But she's always congested and sounds like it. This video is so classically her. She and Z put their hands on your face and will tell you, "Say Chano!" What does this mean? Oh, nothing in particular, but it cracks them up. So I like it. P also likes to squeeze people's noses. When she does it, she says, "Haunt, Haunt" (her variation on honk, honk, so far as I can tell). I don't know where the kids get this stuff, but I'm happy they do. They're so wild (and intimidating-- I have to take care of them by myself this week, and I don't know how I'm gonna manage), but I'll take them over a posed Ralph Lauren ad any day.

I guess it's OK we use media to give us a point of reference or some inspiration for what we want our lives to be like, as long as we don't let it control us. I can't let the world tell me where I should be by now-- how much education I should have, where I should have traveled (and where and why I shouldn't have), what my wedding (according to statistics, should have happened several years ago) ought to look like, and what material possessions should clutter my home. But I guess it doesn't hurt to hear some suggestions here and there.

I saw this picture in Selina Lake and Joanna Simmons' "Bazaar Style." I hope I'm not causing a copyright ruckus for putting it here. The photo is by Debi Treloar, and it inspired me to no end. The one I made wasn't nearly as fancy, I'd wager, but it's real... a month of work real. Sitting on my daybed real. Broke six sewing matching needles real. If you were to see it up close, you'd notice that it doesn't begin to compare with the original. But I still love it.

Likewise, I don't know how I measure up to where I was three years ago, but I'm kickin, anyway. Today, I'm real.