¡Marianísima!

Our family room looked like this at first…

and honestly, it’s not a lot better now. Unpacking comes in fits and starts. We’re overrun by cardboard that needs to be recycled or stored in the garage. But now, at least, we have clear pathways to all exits — which means the cardboard may burn up, but we won’t go with it!

Our merger of households did not include a sofa, but between us we had seven (7) cocktail shakers. Yes, I counted because it became funnier and funnier with each cocktail shaker unwrapped. What does that say about us?! I’m going with “We like to entertain,” because “We’re booze-hounds” is just unflattering. That said, in looking through the photos of the year, there quite a few photos of drinks.

While we still lack a sofa, none of our guests have complained, since we have a full dining room table and all the makings of some photo-worthy cocktails.

We’re moving! I’m so excited that Husband and I are finally going to be living together. That’s the great part. The bad part is that moving actually requires a lot of work. Even though I’ve been in a one bedroom apartment for 8 years now, I’ve managed to amass a fair amount of stuff. Most of the boxes in that picture are full of books. That stuff’s relatively easy to pack, so it went first. Progressing to the stuff that requires care and wrapping slows things down considerably, and no matter how hard I wish for it, they just won’t pack themselves.

Instead of packing right now, as I should be (move is tomorrow), I’m writing this. All week, I’ve  been lovingly looking at design blogs, salivating at  images of beautiful, well-decorated homes. Then I realize that we’re going to be living for a while like students. We have no couch (ours were both old and not worth hauling), few chairs, and a crapton of books. Our living room is going to become a library, and our first guests will have to fight over our two comfy chairs. The rest will have to make do with folding chairs.

It’s thrilling to think about building a home together, and a little overwhelming at the same time. I get particularly procrastinator-paralyzed at the thought of the all boxes which must be packed TODAY. Guess I should stop this madness, and get back to it.

Stay tuned for pics of the new place. Once again, I’m resolving to post more.

I’ve lived in and around San Francisco forever, so I’ve seen my fair share of wackiness.  But yesterday’s was amazing: a  woman carrying a sign.  On one said, it said “Goodbye violent regime of Bush”  and on the flip side, it said “Hello violent regime of Obama.”

So far, unremarkable political protest or anarchistic statement.  What was noteworthy?  She was wearing a skirt, with polka dot tights, big boots…and a big woolly wolf mask.  She was dancing on the corner, and in front of any car that stopped for the light at the corner of Duboce & Mission.  It inspired my passenger to say “She dances to her own drummer,” but really she had headphones on.

The lesson learned?  Always carry a camera! I was so bummed that I had just taken mine out of my purse. I wouldn’t even have to write anything, simply post the photo with the caption “San Francisco.”

Yay!  Check out one of the prettiest pictures ever…

No bailouts or magic formulas here.  I had racked up debt due to some overspending,  a brief period of unemployment, and then a longer stint of not making enough money.  Once I got a regular job again, I decided I was tired of paying interest, tired of being just like all those other over-strapped Americans.  I had gotten into the mess myself, and was determined to get out of it by myself.

I listened to Dave Ramsey who advocates paying cash for everything, and watched my financially savvy bofyriend as he did that every day.  I started a (mostly) cash-only diet, which has been much more successful than that other diet.

I geeked out with spreadsheets and budgets, read articles and blogs about frugal living, personal finance, and investing. I started putting as much as I possibly could toward my credit card every month.  I enjoyed watching my balance go down, and the monthly interest rate decline with it.  My goal was to pay off my credit card before the end of the year, and I accomplished that a whole month early.  It feels really good.  It’s been a looong journey.

Then, as if checking off my financial resolution for the year weren’t enough…on the very day I paid off my credit card, I walked into the Gap and bought a pair of jeans off the rack.   In a regular store!  Yay.

(OK, I have to admit that the dear boyfriend did more than act as a cash-only role model.  He’s been a ridiculously generous gentleman who takes me out more often than I deserve.  Thanks, D, if it weren’t for you, I’d have been eating beans and rice the whole time!)

Actually, the most damage these ghosts will do is to give you a serious sugar rush.  Oh, and if you start them too late, as we did, they’ll keep you up until indecent hours.

I know, some are more ghostly than others, but all were fun to make.   I’m no Heidi Swanson, but I do occasionally have fun in the kitchen.   Trying to take decent pictures of the phantasms gave me renewed respect for photographers in general, but food photographers in particular.  Those mouthwatering photos are way beyond the simple point-and-click.  Not to mention that you have to have a clean kitchen with lots of space to get the best angle, especially if you want an action shot of your partner in crime.  Maybe next time!

I’m already thinking of how to tweak the design of the meringues to make them into Christmas trees.  It’s the gift that just keeps giving.

I had barely finished toweling off the cold bay water after my swim from Alcatraz to shore when the first person asked “So, what’s next?” It kind of irritated me.

I wanted to simply enjoy the moment, revel in the fact that I’d just jumped off a ferry near The Rock and swam all the way to shore.Why were people asking, “What’s the next challenge?”

Before the swim, I told myself that if I jumped off the ferry and managed to swim a few strokes, that would equal success. Yes, in this instance, I set a pretty low bar. Of all the challenges I’ve taken on – a marathon, a triathlon, other races – this felt the scariest. I didn’t want to muck my head up any more with pesky expectations of finishing.

A few strokes in, I flung my hands in the air and cheered, “Success!” Then I kept moving…and in my head, I kept singing “Just keep swimming.” Yes, music from “Finding Nemo” (and a song from the musical “Barnum”) kept me moving. When I wasn’t singing, I was thinking, “I’m actually doing this…I’m doing something I’ve always dreamed of doing…Ugh, it’s choppy…I’m not moving…Just keep swimming…Wow! How many people get to see the skyline from this perspective?” It felt for a while as if I weren’t moving, then before I knew it I was halfway there. Somewhere along the way, I lost my friend Cheryl, but I knew the kayakers would keep her safe, so I just kept swimming. The kayakers, by the way, were overwhelmingly nice, wonderful, supportive people. They cheered, they said kind things, they put me back on course when I’d veered left, they offered to let me rest, they helped me to feel safe in what is a generally thought to be an insane endeavor.

Anyway, I blather. I finished. I was happy. I am happy. I drank beer and ate hot dogs with my cheering family and friends. They made the day exceptional; having them there made the celebration that much more special.

I don’t know what’s next. When I asked my friend Patty, “Sheesh! Why do people keep asking me that?” She said simply, “Because that’s who you are. You’ve always got something you’re working on.” When you put it like that, it’s not so pressure-filled.

Hmm…I’ve still got weight to lose. And I’ve always wanted to write a book.

My friend Jenny says that you should have a goal dress, and that it should be anything but black. I offer up my new goal dress.

So cute & sexy!

I have no occasion to wear said dress, but I’ve no doubt I can find one.

My other short-term goals are to complete nine open water practice swims between now and my Alcatraz swim, and to lose 12 more pounds (for a total of 25) by September 20, the day of the Heart Walk. If I can say “I’ve lost 25 pounds,” I will feel as if I’ve really accomplished something.

On January 1, I resolved to “climb out of the basement,” to get out of the plus-size department and into normal clothes.  Now that we’re halfway through the year, it’s a time for a status-check.

Well, I am mostly out of the basement, but now I’m in clothing limbo.  That is, most of the stuff in the big-girls departments doesn’t fit me anymore.  Yay, right?  Not exactly, because the “regular clothes” don’t fit me, either.  I’m smack between sizes.  Pants either hang off or cut off my circulation.  I’m down to only two pairs of work pants, and a couple of skirts/dresses.  I feel stranded on this plateau.

The good news: I’m smaller than I was, and I actually weigh what my license says!  I’ve had several compliments lately.

Now, for the remainder of the year, I’ve got to stop focusing on the numbers on the scale, and focus on the goals: feeling better, being healthier, and living more vigorously.  In fact, those are good goals for the remainder of my life.

I’ve been dreaming of going back to school, but there’s an awful lot of expense and stress involved in being a graduate student – not to mention the fact that I’ve been there, done that.

What fuels my dream of school is not some grand plan for my life, or some mad passion for a subject matter, but really a love of learning.I want to take a smattering of different subjects – to feed my desire for knowledge, and then move on when I have had enough.In graduate school, you’re required to hone in on one subject, digging deeper and deeper, and nothing right now calls me to study with that kind of intensity and singularity of focus.I want to learn it all!

The Master’s Degree I need is an MDS – Master’s in Dilettante Studies.(Yes, I made that up.)Some of the classes will be academic, others artistic.Here’s my initial study wish list: mosaic, drawing, economics, photography, creative writing, jazz appreciation and history, dolphins, art history, calligraphy, glass blowing.

I could place out of the following MDS requirements, because I’ve already taken them: wire jewelry making, stained glass, photography 101, Art in the Prado Museum, Italian 1, Mediterranean Cooking.

The Phys-Ed component of my study plan is all about fun.I took an awkward stab at belly dancing, and am still working on water polo.An intensive swimming workshop or some one-on-one coaching is on the horizon, and possibly another dance class.

Really, what I need is another free night per week and a community college catalog!