March is so much better than February

Wow, who knew there were such crazy trends as bad months??

Here's what's goin' on so far:

1) I had a great vacay, which you already read about
2) Last Saturday, I found my iPod in a ziplock bag on the hood of my car. Yup, some nice citizen actually returned it to me. I'm still wrapping my head around that one.
3) H2B is getting out of the Army early. Not as early as January, but 17 whole days sooner than his contract. 23 days and counting...
4) Since H2B will no longer be in North Carolina, I just bought my LAST place ticket into RDU. A one way ticket since we'll be driving home together. Our first really long road trip, I hope it goes well!
5) The weather might not be as nice as I'd like, but I haven't turned the heat on in our apartment for about 3 weeks now. I can't wait to rejoice in my gas/electric bill.

Baltimore is not my friend

Well, it's official. I've been working at JH longer than I've been at any other job and even longer than I was a full time grad student. Which also means I've lived within the Baltimore city limits longer than any other city. I have really mixed feelings about this. At the end of the day, I like Baltimore. The parts I don't like aren't really Baltimore's fault though. I hate the winter weather, which is much worse in a lot of other cities. People here can be super rude, which again could be worse (NYC).

Over the past couple of weeks, however, Baltimore has really pushed me to edge of hating it. First, my neighbor hit my car and then did not leave a note. Hello! Did he think I would notice?? Then, over this past weekend, my iPod was stolen out of my car. And after several days of warmish weather, we're back to cold with snow/slush in the forecast.

My mom would tell you that February has never been the greatest month for me. An interesting theory, that I didn't always necessarily believe, but I'm starting to come around on it. Only 11 days until this cursed month is over...

And yes, I'm aware that this is not positive or optimistic, but happy thoughts can only take you so far. However, in keeping with my resolution, I will end on an upswing: work is going really well after a several week downturn. Yay.

Aaah Weekend!!!

What a great weekend! H2B was in town since he had Friday AND Monday off for MLK day. He met me and some friends and coworkers at our usual Happy Hour spot at 5 and we all had a really great time. Happy hour went into over time, we didn't get home until about 9:30 or 10.

Saturday was a marathon. For someone who rarely likes to leave the house for extended periods of time on a weekend day (I mean really, if I need to go to Target and the grocery store, I break it up and do one per day), I'm amazed at myself for having this much stamina. So here was our Saturday:

Event #1: Crate & Barrel for our first wedding registry experience. Super overwhelming to pick wine glasses from an entire wall of them! But we had a good time and didn't disagree on much. Dishes, silverware, cookware, etc! The kitchen is really H2B's domain, so I deferred to his preference most of the time.

Event #2: Lunch (and a beer) at Buffalo Wild Wings. A nice break to clear our heads before Event #3

Event #3: Macy's for wedding registry part two. This time I was running the show, sheets and towels are some of my favorite things and The Hotel Collection is just so yum!

After that we went home for a short rest before

Event #4: Drinks with some friends at a bar near home. Super fun but we had to cut it short so we wouldn't be late for...

Event #5: Dinner with other friends at a Baltimore fav, The Brewer's Art. The food was excellent, as was the beer. And the wine. And the company!

Sunday, H2B and I stayed close to home and made soup for lunch and a yummy yummy casserole for dinner. Finally some relaxation!

Monday, H2B left super early to beat the inauguration craziness of DC. Since it snowed all day, I spent the day in bed. I read a little, I watched a little TV, and I took a couple of naps. I also did some online wedding registry management. An altogether great weekend! Now I am back at work refreshed and ready to get stuff done!

Adjusting or Adapting?

I've been meaning to post on this for awhile now. This winter I've noticed a marked change in myself. I'm not as cold (or bitter about the cold) as I was last winter. I've even gotten into the habit of putting a coat on before leaving the house in the morning (I sometimes forgot last winter and it was not fun walking out the door!) although I still dislike the inconvenience. The other day it was in the 30s and I really didn't feel that cold walking outside in my work clothes with a coat and scarf.

I'm wondering, however, is this just adjustment and getting used to feeling cold or have I adapted and so do not feel as cold in the more wintery weather than my past homes? An interesting philosophical question, don't you think? ;)



As an off topic update, my 2009 fitness and eating plan are going great! The scale is moving in the right direction and I'm feeling more energetic, which also helps with the positivity and optimism. What a great year so far!