someday when my life has passed me by

I have things to say. And I have memories to document and lists to make. 

But there is something to be said for putting the pen and paper down, for procrastinating, for ignoring the details and the proper spelling and the decimals and the chronological order, for listening to new songs you kind of hate just for the experience, for letting sugar melt on your tongue, for tilting your head back and closing your eyes and feeling the air enter your lungs and just living for a minute.

the doctor ordered

Checking out some honeymoon destinations.

North Korea -- yay or nay?

you've got to pick up every stitch

The snow is everywhere. There's so much of it. This morning I had to pry the door of my car away from its cold blue body before climbing in, and a long line of cars with blinking turn signals stalled my drive to the office. But it's amazing. Stepping outside is like walking into a snow globe. Every time I feel the crunch of ice under my feet, I can't stop smiling. I want to bundle up in a warm scarf and hat and gloves, and spend all day outside discovering, making tiny, terrified Calvin and Hobbes snowmen. Whatever happened to snow days? I thought that was a thing.

When I was a kid, I thought it would be amazing to live in snow because of what I saw on television. Daytime shows and cartoons where neighborhood kids enjoy snowball fights and elaborate battles with forts and various snow-weapons. Hikers scaling Mount Everest. Romantic scenes featuring couples ice skating and taking leisurely walks together. That bit in Groundhog Day where Phil carves the ice sculptures.

But there are a lot of things that no one tells you about. So, for those of you who haven't experienced the joys of snow, here are a few:

1) It is loud. I mean, it is deafening. For the first few weeks at least, it's delicate and powdery and majestic. But when you set foot on the sidewalk, the noise comes as a surprise -- until your ears have taught themselves to tune it out, it is so peculiar. Each step compresses the flakes until they're packed tight, and unless you're in a noisy part of the city, the crunching sound is all you can hear.  

2) It is really, really cold. On TV, people stand around in a flurry to chat and have meaningful discussions and drive the plot of the episode a little. Nobody does that in real life because in real life, the snow hits you in the face and gets in your eyes, and it's hard to have any serious conversation with another human being while being pelted in the corneas with infinite pinpricks of ice. Also, women don't wear short skirts with boots, but no tights. Nobody does that, and if they do, they are FREEZING. If they say they aren't freezing, they are also lying to you. When it snows, people shout "Goodbye!" and then rush to their cars and into diners and seek shelter in any place that looks like it might have heat or at least be sealed off from the swirling snowy wind.

3) As I learned during my first year of living here, snow often hides layers and layers of solid ice, and ice is slippery. And when clumsy people like me encounter slippery ice, we fall. Usually in front of people. And they usually laugh, though it usually causes excruciating pain. America's Funniest Videos has trained our country well. 

4) Snowball fights aren't really that much fun unless you enjoy being freezing cold, injured and wet at the same time. (Which no one does.) Although maybe I just haven't experienced a great snowball fight yet. Any takers?

5) The roads and sidewalks become muddy and are quite an eyesore after about three days. I am very grateful to the dedicated citizens of the Greater Cleveland area who spend their mornings plowing the streets and clearing out my driveway so that I can leave my house. Those people are awesome. That is not an easy job. When a plower (Plower? Snow plow driver? Snow plow person? Hmm) clears the roadway, the snow that has been cleared has to go somewhere. It is not like mowing a yard, wherein each blade of grass can be contained in some sort of bin, or shredded into a million tiny pieces and redistributed atop the freshly cut lawn. Instead, the snow turns brown from the dirty tires that have rolled over it, and it gets pushed off to the side of the street, where it piles up and forms a border around the road. If you visit a large Ohio store with ample parking, you will see enormous hills made of dirty snow in the middle of the lot. 

6) Snowflakes are truly beautiful, even without being under a microscope.

7) When it starts to melt in the spring, it does not smell great. 

8) There are toys that you can use to play in the snow. And I mean there is an entire industry devoted to making toys that people can use to play in snow; there is probably even a trade magazine about it. Just look at this and this! OK, other than the snowball-thrower, it seems just like the kind of gear people use to build sandcastles, but I don't really understand the point of sandcastles, either. Not awesome professional sandcastles, but the little ones people use store-bought molds to construct. If you're not building the sandcastle with your hands and a standard pail-and-shovel combo, you're probably too old to be building a sandcastle. And besides, you're at the beach. You're bored? At the beach? How? Did you know that you're at the beach? Same thing with snow. If you live near snow and you have time to play in it (ahem, children), that is awesome. Play in it. But stay away from the muddy sidewalks. And watch out for the yellow snow. And the freezing-ness of being outside. And snow blindness...hmm.

You know what? Nevermind. 

It's a magical world. 

the sun's in my heart

Cutest lookbook ever:

Ahh, ModCloth. How awesome thou art.

I am a traveler of both time and space

2011 Pros

I went to Louisiana. I got to see my family. I got to see Leigh, Eric, Joe, Christa, Kera, Rayce, Evan, Jordan, and many other awesome people from Louisiana. I went to my cousin Jill's wedding. Bryant and I celebrated our nine-year anniversary and started officially planning our wedding. I got promoted and became a professional editor. I learned how to use Quark. I gained another full year of writing and editing experience to put on my resume. I made my first trip out of the country and went to Germany. I also went to Galveston, Texas; South Bend, Indiana; Washington, D.C.; Chicago; and Gettysburg. I entered a writing contest. I saw Battle: Los Angeles and discovered Grooveshark. I went to a dermatologist. I tried and tried and tried.

2011 Cons

Somehow, I still haven't seen Caddyshack. I lost/messed up/destroyed my cell phones. I didn't see Leslea or Cody or Devon. I didn't vote. I gained weight. I was awful, and I was pathetic at times.  I started reading books, but never finished them. 

All that I hoped would change within me stayed

Wherever you are, whatever you're doing, I hope you had a lovely, cold, quiet Christmas.

Pity the fool

The best cover ever/why you should go see The Muppets movie immediately if you haven't yet: