Happy New Year!

On Saturday night/early Sunday morning, we all bid farewell to 2011. Some wishing the door would hit the year in its ass on the way out, some remembering the year fondly like a good friend who suddenly had to leave. I have to admit, I was completely indifferent about 2011. My life has settled into a comfortable routine and aside from the everyday ups and downs, remains fairly quiet. I am not at all upset by this, in fact, quite the opposite. Quiet is good. Quiet means simple. I like quiet.

I was looking over my resolutions for 2011--which aren't really resolutions at all, but more of a bucket list cross-sectioned with a to-do list. As a strict type A personality, to-do lists are my way of showing the world my accomplishments--one crossed off item at a time. My 2011 "to-do's" weren't much different...except I didn't actually do many of them.

I keep the list in my draft folder of my email and would check on it now and again. Clearly, I had made some "resolutions" that I felt I should make, but were a bit cliche. Things I never actually intended on doing. The beautiful thing about a list on the computer is, if you don't get to it, you can always just highlight and delete! As a type A, I wouldn't do that. Just beat myself up over what I did not accomplish!

There were a few that I did stick to and follow through on and that I will continue to work on. But, and this is probably the most important thing, there are a bunch of things I had never included on my list from 2011 that I just so happen to accomplish. I ran two half-marathons (more importantly, I found the time to train for them), I started working for trade at my local yoga shop, I spent more time with my friends. The list goes on and on, but the overall "thing" that I accomplished, that as a working mom with extra special kids with extra special circumstances, is that I finally made time for me. I never thought of adding that to my 2011 to-do list, it just sort of happend. And I'm happy that it did. Sometimes getting side-tracked and derailed is just what we need, even when it isn't part of the master plan.

In the end, I guess making time for myself is as cliche as resolving to "get fit" or "quit smoking," but as a type A, I have written the extra BIG thing down that I  accomplished and promptly crossed it off!

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It's A New Year...Almost!

The end of the year is finally upon us. For some this was a great year that will hopefully lead into another great year. For others, this year will not be looked back upon with fond memories. For me, it contains the good and the bad, but sometimes one greatly outweighs the other. While most the year was perfectly fine, the death of my dad will always color my perception of this year. No matter how good or how bad, 2011 will soon be gone.

With the new year comes a lot of new beginnings, like those pesky resolutions that will most likely take a backseat by the end of January and maybe even sooner. I don't necessarily make resolutions, but I try to start the year off with good intentions. However, they may sound quite similar to frequently made resolutions...eat better, exercise more, stay organized, pick up a new hobby, save more money... No matter how good my intentions are, they quickly fall to the wayside.

Change is hard. Even though the hope for better habits is usually the motivating factor behind resolutions, staying the same in our eating and exercising habits or organizational and financial state is much easier. After all, it has been that way for a while and things have been fine, so why put forth all the effort. But even though failure looms very near the surface, I will still start the year off with good intentions to change some habits.

Resolutions or no resolutions, I hope you have a Happy New Year!!

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"I will never ask you to wear an ugly dress, as long as you're my bridesmaid!"

Well, the wedding nightmares have begun! I’ve heard it happens; I just didn’t expect them so soon. With so much going on at the new house and moving, I thought for sure my dreams would surround kitchen and bathroom renovations. But, I guess because my next big venture is the wedding, it IS on my mind.

Last week I took some of my bridesmaids to look at dresses. Who knew this decision would be harder than picking my own dress?! There is something about the unfamiliarity of choosing a dress that someone else has to wear that makes it so nerve-wracking. Will their dresses compliment my dress? How will they look with the guys’ suits? What kind of shoes? Short? Long? UGH!!! It was certainly more confusing than picking out my own dress.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again - I’m not the girl who has been dreaming about her wedding since kindergarten. I have a vision, but it is incomplete. And my indecisiveness about everything wedding-related stems from that. I must have had my girls try on close to 20 dresses – anything they liked, anything I liked. And from that 20, we might have a top five, or a top two (depending on the day).

Everyone says, “It’s YOUR day, pick a dress you like and that you want them in.” The thing is, I don’t know what I want. Again, I have a vision, but it is incomplete. Also, I will not be the one wearing the dress. Not all dresses look good on EVERYONE (we all know that), and I value the opinions of my friends and I want them to look good.

Just for shits and giggles - check this out!

However, I can’t say I am much further along in this decision making process than I was a week ago. I’ve now seen what I like and what I don’t like, I’ve seen cute dresses, ugly dresses, formal dresses, long dresses and short dresses. And I’m still confused.

I knew the minute when I found “the one” wedding dress. It was that feeling that every bride gets. But am I supposed to feel a certain way about a bridesmaid dress? If so, I don’t think I’ve felt it.

P.S. – 8 months until “the big day”
Holy Sh*t!

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Where's The Snow?

Not that I am complaining, but it is the very end of December and we have yet to have a decent snow yet. Very odd for western PA! But I have a feeling it is coming. In fact, I went to bed last night with the notion in my head that I would wake up and there would be 1-2 inches of snow outside (3-4 inches in the mountains, thanks Demetrius Ivory). But no, not a single snowflake on the ground.

However, as I am making my way to the big ol' city, it was spitting a mix of rain and snow on me. In fact, at one point I felt my car slide a little when I went to pass the slowest car on earth. It scared me a bit, but it happened as soon as I hit the white paint on the road, so I knew that it would be more slippy than usual.

This slipping lead me to ponder, why don't our road systems have a heating mechanism under it so when it does snow or ice, we can just flip a switch and BAM! Snow and ice melted and taken care of. Wouldn't this be easier than having the plow trucks out at all hours, salting and clearing the roads? And actually, did you know in really snowy places like Alaska, they don't plow? It is much safer to drive on the snow than a cleared roadway. Makes perfect sense to me as long as the snow doesn't get so packed down that it just becomes ice like my old sled riding hills would!

The point is, it is December and I am greatful we didn't have a huge snow yet, but I have a feeling it will happen soon enough. My prediction is a huge storm come February...snowmagedon will strike again!

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What's in a Name?

Names, everyone has one. Most people have a vague idea what their own means, but few give them much more thought. These days more and more parents are thinking of using a unique name for their child. Some, I don’t think remember that in most cases a name is for life, not just for birth, therefore it must be thought about long and hard.

Take my name for example, Kendal. Maybe this won’t come to a surprise to you but before some people meet me, they assume I am a male. I have run into this my whole life. In college I sent my professor an email and told her that my sister was possibly going to go into labor and I would not be attending class the next day if she were to have her baby. She sent back a nice email, “Congratulations Uncle Kendal.” Argh. Well my sister didn’t go into labor that day so I was able to attend her class. When she called roll she looked at me as I raised my hand in attendance. She looked up at me and down at her paper a handful of times. She finally said, “Well, you’re clearly not an uncle.”

I am not complaining about my name. I like it, it’s different. But it just shows that people assume things when they see a name. I have gotten emails at work that I have been addressed “Ken.” People will ask my co-workers, “So is Kendal a guy or a girl? I want to know before I call them.”

What about celebrities? Apparently, they just don't get enough attention, so they name their kids something really dumb to stand out. There are some celebrities around today who have given their babies unique names which in the future may cause their kids to wonder what they were thinking, such as Pilot Inspektor (child of Jason Lee) and Sage Moonblood (son of Sylvester Stallone).

The problem is that many names seem like a novelty and clever at the time, but ten years down the line will you still like the name? I know choosing the perfect name for a baby can be a daunting task. Finding unique names can be interesting and time consuming. Some people choose to create unique baby names on their own or customize the spelling of more popular names.

My cousin just had a beautiful baby girl and her and her husband chose not to share the sex of the baby with any relatives or friends. They told people they weren’t finding out the sex and wanted it to be a surprise, trying something different for their third child. Finally when they had her they told me they knew the whole time and when I asked why they kept it a secret they simply said they didn’t want to be hassled on what they should name their kid. I don’t blame them.

Just the other day we were doing a large mailing and me and some of the other girls were helping a co-worker and had to put papers in addressed envelopes. One name I must mention, and may never forget was Chiffon Cabbagestalk. Yes, that was her name. I began to paint a picture of Ms. Cabbagestalk in my head. That poor woman. Someone should have intervened. I wonder, does she like her name? I would probably go by an alias name if I were her but who am I do judge, after all, I’m Ken.

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On the Twelfth Working Day of Christmas...

On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love gave to me....12 drummers drumming!

Yes- we are the blueman group! SURPRISE!! Not really...sorry for the holiday let down. Hope you dont have another one of those this year.
Drums make me think of a couple of things. First would be my sister-in-laws nephew who has been drumming since he could move his hands. In fact, this year for his birthday he got a whole drum set. I am calling it now...future rock star!
I also think of Phil Collins rocking it out on the drums, Katie could attest to the love for Ringo Starr of the Beatles, and I totally remember my middle school band director (don’t judge me) just putting us all into a trance whenever he played. He was really good.
Drums also make me think of heartbeats. It is that constant beat within us that keeps us moving throughout the day, accomplishing our goals and living our lives to the fullest. This holiday season may be crazy and hectic, but I am glad that I get to live my life to the fullest and share it with my family and friends.
So for all of you, I hope you survived the 12 working days of Christmas, because we know we almost didn’t, and were able to learn a bit more about the meanings behind each story to us.

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On the Eleventh Day of Christmas...

On the 11th day of Christmas my true love gave to me... 11 Pipers Piping!

It’s that time of year when many thoughts focus on gifts - finding the perfect one, finding the one thing someone has asked for - as in “the only thing I want this year”, or just finding anything to get it over with.

With all this energy being expended to shop for, pay for, wrap, and deliver all of these gifts, I began to think of all of the most memorable gifts, both ones I gave and ones I’ve received. I could not think of anything that had to do with piping, other than people with good pipes, such as Adele (man that girl can sing), oh, and I also thought of cake icing piping. That all seemed too boring once I started talking to the girls at lunch about all of the unforgettable gifts I have gotten and received. Here are my top 11 most memorable gifts.

1. Received: Last year, for my birthday I received an all-expense paid trip to Las Vegas, it was awesome!

2. Received: Back in 8th grade, I had a boyfriend and for Valentine’s Day he gave me a gold chain with a charm. The charm had vertical text, about 2 inches long and in all caps it said, TAKEN. Need I say more?

3. Gave: The same 8th grade boyfriend wanted, in return, for Valentine’s Day, Wu-Tang Clan cologne. Yes, I am serious. So I had this other boy I was friends with go to the mall and purchase it for me. Along with the cologne was a little bonus gift. It was ONE earring - a small W stud. Don’t judge me, it was what he wanted.

4. Received: When I was about 10 years old I had begged and begged my parents for a dog. Sadly they kept saying no and that it was too much responsibility. When Christmas-time came around I thought this was my perfect opportunity to tell Santa this is the only thing I had wanted. I wrote him a letter and anxiously counted down the days of Christmas. As time passed I realized that dogs are probably pretty expensive and I would hate for Santa to have to spend all of his money on a dog for me. So I wrote Santa another letter and told him that I would leave him an envelope of money outside on my roof (which was conveniently located outside of the window of my bedroom). After I put the letter in the mailbox I ran inside and got together the money I had saved and put it on the roof. About a week later I got a letter from “Santa” that said he did not need my money and to please get the money off of the roof. What a great guy. That year, I got my wish, a yorkiepoo named Cocoa. My parents said that they didn’t write the letter. Maybe there really is a Santa!

5. Received: Back in college my friends and I went to see one of my favorite bands, it was a birthday present. To my surprise the band sang me Happy Birthday- it made my day!

6. Received: When I was in kindergarten, for my birthday, my mom’s friend gave me a bikini that had two cow heads to cover my chest. I was mortified and cried when I opened it and realized what it was. There is a picture of me wearing it on a trip to Florida with a big smile on my face. I tried to find it for you all but didn’t have enough time to dig through old photos. It was actually a very cute bathing suit.

7. Gave: In 1st grade I gave my best guy friend a hamster for his birthday. I thought I was a pretty cool friend.

8. Received: For my 21st birthday my friend made a surprise visit and drove all of the way from Illinois to celebrate.

9. Gave: This year for Christmas I took my 3 year old niece to get her ears pierced. She didn’t even cry. I, on the other hand, had tears in my eyes.

10. Gave: For my grandmas 82nd birthday I gave her 82 pieces of Sarris chocolate, it is her favorite kind.

11. Received: The gift of life. I am so blessed to be surrounded by such wonderful people who have shaped me into the person I am today.

As the holidays near, I am sure you have reflected on both gifts you have given and received. What are your most unforgettable gifts?

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