Haircut

Cut a few inches off my hair this week. So far I like it!

Love & Respect

Tonight while cruising on Facebook I ran across a guy I dated when I was much younger. He's married and has a billion kids. I was curious about his wife so I looked at her profile. I almost choked on my dinner when I read her "About me" which started with...

I have an terrific husband who loves me and I respect him...

She went on to share her thoughts on God, of course. All I could think was that she doesn't love her husband, she respects him. Not exactly in line with my personal values. But I've changed quite a bit from when I was younger.

@jamiemichelle's Twitter Wallpaper

My friend, Jamie (@jamiemichelle), has the best Twitter wallpaper. Whoever designed this did an awesome, awesome job. I want something like it!

New Bicycle!

I forgot to mention that in December I got a new bike. It's my dream bike. Isn't it gorgeous?

Chris built it just for me. The frame is by Soma Fabrications. It's a Buena Vista mixte and it's tiny. I've finally got a bike that fits me perfectly. Chris ordered all the parts in aluminum then took it to Southwest Metal Finishing to have them anodized purple. They did an amazing job in making sure all the parts match.

My bike started off as a single speed but now it has a flip-flop hub so it's a fixed gear sometimes. Most important is that it's perfect for me and I love it!!

Things That Make Me Happy

Roxie inspired me with her post about making room for happiness. It's my turn to be publicly grateful for the things that make me happy.

1. Chris, my husband and best friend
I know it sounds stupid, but I never knew married life would be this good. I love being with Chris. We laugh a lot. We share so many of the same interests. And Chris is always doing or thinking about interesting things. We could do nothing and as long as we're together I'm happy.

2. B, the coolest high schooler I know
I'm lucky enough to mentor a high school student. I'm so thankful she is in my life and for all the things she shows me. Our friendship makes me really, really happy.

3. Bentley, Mac, & Stewie, our three dogs
The unconditional love makes up for all the trouble our furry "kids" can be. It makes me happy when the follow me around the house or when they want to get in bed with me and cuddle.

4. Fat Tire beer by New Belgium Brewery
I'd like to lose some weight and am pretty sure that I need to cut back on drinking beer. So for the past couple weeks I've limited my intake. Last night I had a Fat Tire and it was so, so good. Maybe it's silly to say this beer makes me happy, but it does.

5. Being appreciated
Recently I had a few instances of people have been telling me that they appreciate me. Affirmations put me on the moon.

6. Brunch with friends
Sunday we had brunch at Jo & Celeste's house. It was kinda last minute but it was so awesome to just hang out with friends. Great food and great company makes me really happy.

7. Hearing about other people's happiness
At lunch today, Jason told me about all the fun he had at the Phoenix Idiotarod Race. It was awesome to hear his enthusiasm and happiness.

What makes you happy?

Using Social Media

Dear Social Media Managers,

My attention span on the Internet is very short. When you want me to see content you've created, please send me DIRECTLY to the content. Don't route me anywhere else. Send me directly to your content. After all, isn't that why you published it?

Be thoughtful about your audience's experience.

Case in Point
Today, Cooking Light on Twitter posted about recipes for the slow cooker. I love cooking in the crock pot because it is so easy. So I was excited to see the recipes. Unfortunately the link on Twitter sent me to Facebook where I had to click on another link which finally directed me to the CookingLight.com. There was nothing on the Facebook page that added any value.

Naturally, I was annoyed at the detour. But more important, Cooking Light isn't getting anything by doing it this way. Their ultimate goal of using Twitter or Facebook should be getting me to their site. Their site holds the value - I find their content, I can add comments. see the ads they're making money from, and most importantly sign up for a magazine subscription.*

*Disclosure: I currently have a subscription to Cooking Light magazine thanks to my good friend, Celeste. I love the magazine and often cook the recipes! I don't mean to pick on Cooking Light because I think their content is great. I've been seeing things like this too often and felt like I should point it out.

Quote of the Day

"Nothing ever changes unless there's some pain."
- Tears for Fears in Goodnight Song

New Years Eve: Then & Now

With the change from 2009 to 2010, there was a lot of talk about what we were doing ten years ago. People like to think in nice big chunks, like ten. To me, ten years is a long time. A lot changes in ten years...a lot.

New Years Eve 2000
Autumn and I spent NYE in Austin, Texas with our friends, Taylor and Kris. We went downtown for the festivities. I remember getting there just before midnight. There were huge crowds of people in the street, lots of lights, fireworks (I think), and huge video screens. We counted down, yelled, and headed to the closest bar.

The bar we got into was Aqua Lounge, which I only remember because I wrote it on the back of my photos. Kris tipped the bartender very generously for our first round, which paid off the rest of the night. The bartender made stiff drinks, gave us shots, and gave us tons of attention. Naturally, we drank a lot that night. I remember it being a lot of fun, but not anything specific.

I was wearing some ridiculous heels, something I seldom do any longer, and the walk back to the car was torture. Taylor was kind enough to give me a piggy back. I'm sure we were a hilarious sight. When we got back to Taylor's apartment, I got sick from drinking too much and spent the rest of the whee hours of the morning throwing up or sleeping on the bathroom floor. Not exactly the best way to start off the new year.

Worst than spending the night being sick, I learned the next day that my long-distance boyfriend kissed another girl because he was so convinced that I'd be kissing another guy. Thank goodness what happens at the beginning of the decade doesn't define what happens for the rest of the decade.

New Years Eve 2010
This year Chris and I went to a neighbor's house. They had a small party with other couples and all their children. It was a blast watching the kids ring in the new year at 7pm and 8pm Phoenix time. Eventually the kids were put to bed and the other couples with kids left for home. We hung out with our neighbors until 11 o'clock and were back to our house before midnight.

Chris and I rang in the new year from bed, which was exactly perfect!

December

Weather
December was overall a great month. This year December was a very, very cloudy month for Phoenix. It was cloudy so often that I found myself cursing the weather. (I never curse Phoenix's weather in the winter. It's perfect here!) Luckily the weather in January has been making up for it. It's absolutely gorgeous and I haven't even needed a jacket during the day. We've been spending lots of time outside, which is lovely.

OK, back to December! The early weeks of the month were the hardest for me since Chris was away from home quite a bit. The last couple weeks of the school semester meant he was wrapped up in projects and lots of group meetings. By the time finals were over, I was pretty jealous of all the time school stole him away from me. Though it helped remind me to appreciate all the time I normally get with him.

My parents came to visit for a weekend. We had only a few plans, but ended up mostly staying around the house. I think the cold & cloudy weather did it. I loved just hanging out with them and talking. We also baked holiday cookies, cooked lots of great food, watched The Blind Side in the theater (and loved it), and went out to eat a couple times. It was an awesome weekend. I hope they visit us again soon.

Due to catching a cold, Chris and I missed a few holiday parties, which was a huge disappointment. But we were healthy for Celeste & Josiah's Dessert Party. It was a fun time with lots of sweets!

Out of Town Visitors
We were blessed with a few more out of town visitors in December as friends were in town for work, visiting family, or just passing through.

I got to see a friend from grad school, Aaron, who was here doing work. David & Arianne drove from Texas to California to spend the holiday with family. They stopped in Phoenix for a quick lunch with us. Later in the month, Cinnamon & Andrew were visiting family for Christmas. Luckily they stole away from the family for a couple hours and had dinner with us. Stewie just loved Cinnamon and she is now claiming him as her Phoenix boyfriend. (I don't think Andrew is too jealous.)

David & Arianne

Cinnamon & Andrew

Reconnecting with B
A highlight of December for me was reconnecting with B, the young woman I mentor. We hadn't seen each other in a couple months so it was great to catch up. She turned 17 in November, which reminded me how fast time moves the older we get. She's so positive and happy. It's amazing how comfortable we've become having known each other for over a year. Time is an important component of building trust.

We saw New Moon, the second movie in the Twilight series, in the theater together. It was great to hear her gush over the actor who plays Jacob. This past year I read all the books in the series and thought she would enjoy them as well. So B's Christmas present was the first three books. (The fourth isn't in paperback yet.) It was wonderful, wonderful to find out that only a few days later she had already begun the first book and couldn't put it down. I'm glad she's reading and enjoying it. Most importantly, I'm glad she's back in my life and that we're spending time together.