NYE in the KCM....O

Yeah, that didn't quite work the way that I hoped, oh well.  :)

It's New Year's Eve, the last day of the year, and I have seen so many friends and loved ones post recaps on Facebook that I thought perhaps I would take a stab at it myself.  After all, 2012 was kind of a big deal for N and I - and as usual we have not done our Christmas cards.  I swear, we intend to complete them every year.  This year we even went as far as starting to design a card (N really wants a photo card and won't even considering using any of the cards that I have in storage) only to realize that we really didn't have any good pictures of the two of us together!  Ruh roh.

Anyway, what to say about 2012?  It was a year of accomplishing goals, that is for sure!  I finally graduated law school after four grueling years, and N managed not to kill me.  It was a wonderful feeling, if a bit anticlimactic.  I went on my first "girls" vacation as an adult to celebrate my thirtieth birthday, and no one went to jail!!  N and I slugged our way through the bar, and again, no one died.  I even passed!

N was offered a new opportunity to expand his horizons at work, which was a major accomplishment and (I personally believe) a sign of how valued he is there.  Finally.  :)  And me?  Well, I started my first "real law" job.  I'd say real job, but let's be honest, I've had a string of "real" jobs that brought me to this point, so let's just hold on here.  I proved myself to be the diva of flexibility and packed my life to transition to Kansas City, without N, and so far we're thriving in our unconventional arrangement.  After all, we hit the five year marriage mark in September, the thirteen year together anniversary in October, and no one is trading up for a new model yet.

We've celebrated many new additions as our friends have expanded their families, and I could not be happier to be an honorary auntie all over again.  Even though it means that I spent significant portions of the year drinking alone, as sitting next to a pregnant lady while you chug wine just makes you look like you have a problem.  I have watched my nephews blossom into charming little boys, watched my sister overcome amazing odds through sheer grit, and realized just how awesome so many of our friends are.  It's a damn accomplished group, that is for sure.

Not all of 2012 has been perfect.  I miss my husband, cats, family, and friends.  We've suffered personal loss, and grieved with others near and far.  But I'm hoping that what we pull out of that loss is the continued reminder that we need to grab and cherish what we have.  Which means we definitely will have pictures worth sharing in 2013.  Next year, I want to be able to show you what happened, so that eighty years from now when I am no longer here our friends and family will also be able to remember.

So raise your glass.  Have a blessed 2013.  May your challenges be few and your blessings great.  May you fail - because it means that you tried.  Hug your loved ones, and remind them why they are loved.  I will see you on the flip side!.

Kitchen "In Progress"

This past Thursday was Thanksgiving, and I was lucky enough to have my husband in town for the holiday.  After realizing that we did not need a full turkey, we decided to change the meat.  Then, one thing led to another, and we ultimately decided on an Italian theme: of Sausage and White Bean Soup, Chicken Saltimbocca, Garlic Green Beans, Italian spiced Spaghetti Squash, and Lemon Thyme Roasted Mushroom.  We went down to the Plaza for the lighting ceremony, and then came back to the house to have tiramisu for dessert.  It was a great meal!

Cooking itself was a bit of a challenge in my tiny kitchen.  Strangely, it made me feel quite excited, as though I was cooking in the Smitten Kitchen.  As an aside, I LOVE that website.  Nick and I have both been following it for years, and the new cookbook is fantastic!  As we dodged each other and struggled to get all of the dishes done on time, I definitely felt proud that we were able to turn out such a lovely meal.

Anyway, since Nick and I spent the day dancing around in my tiny kitchen, I thought perhaps it is time to share pictures of my kitchen.  The kitchen is definitely in its "good enough for now" stage.  I still have some things that I'd love to do, but they aren't going to happen immediately.  Mostly, there isn't much space, so there isn't much that you can do to it!

The rugs were cut down from a 5'x7' rug that Nick and I purchased for another space and never really liked.  The posters are from the Beijing conferences (one is Beijing at 5, and the other Beijing at 15).  I used to display them at my office at DePaul, and they work fine to bring some color into the kitchen for now.

I put the knife rack up when I first moved in, and I don't love it.  Primarily because I have so few "real" knives here, and the steak knives are just messy.  I might change it up with some magnetic spice containers (I  think that I would also like to put some on the fridge).

Remaining Projects for the Kitchen:

• Paint rugs
• Fix knife rack
• Perhaps cafe curtains of some type for the windows
• Find a way to get the awful tile applique off the wall!

Happy Veterans' Day. Observed.

Yesterday was Veterans' Day, but today is the day the government and banks are closed in observance.  So while I should have thanked all of those who have served our country yesterday, I am just now getting to it today.  Thank you.

The rest of you can be jealous of my no work status now, but the tables will be turned on Black Friday when the rest of the world is lined up outside a Walmart somewhere and I am at work. :-)

I have not been on top of getting posts out for the last few weeks, but that is primarily because I STILL do not have Internet and typing everything out on my phone is killing me. Never fear, I have projects lined up and posts to write.

What am I talking about? Even my husband does not know that I have a blog. ;-) No one is missing these posts!

AT&T is supposed to come today at 2, so with any luck I will be connected hence forth with. I am pretty sure that is not a real phrase. Oh well, sounds cool. Catch you later! I'm off to run errands.