I was invited to a house-party at a co-worker and friend's house.  I decided to go, alone, even though I was going to know very few people there.  I am normally very shy and going to a party alone where I would know almost nobody was very out-of-character for me.  I ended up having a wonderful time and stayed until 1:30 in the morning.  I met some new and interesting people.  I learned a new game.  Needless to say, I was very happy with my decision to go. 

I was invited to a girl's lunch with 5 or so other ladies at work and decided to go.  I was so busy laughing the entire I had a hard time actually eating.  :)

Another co-worker/friend invited me to go with her over to her new house during our lunch hour this past Friday.  Even though I typically don't like one-on-one time with people I'm not really close with, I decided to say yes.  I enjoyed spending time and talking with her, seeing her new house, and playing with her new puppy.

I made an impromptu trip to Syracuse this past weekend to visit my sister and ty on bridesmaide dresses.  If you know me, you know I don't do impromptu trips.  I am all about organizing and planning ahead.

My company organizes a bowling "tournament" every year.  It's just one of many activities sponsored by my wonderful company, which I typically decline to attend due to social anxiety.  A co-worker/friend really, really wanted me to come and be her partner so I said yes.  That will be coming up next month.

After reading the Hunger Games Trilogy I decided to get a bunch of the girls at work to also read it.  I'm also talking them all into going to the theater to see the movie made from the first book when it comes out on March 23.  Maybe do dinner beforehand.  I almost never organize outings.  If someone else organizes something I will sometimes go, but rarely initiate.

1. I was down half a pound on the scale this morning.
2. Despite waking up late this morning, I still made it to work in time for my 8:30 meeting. 
3. I got out of the office and went to lunch with my boyfriend and a couple of other co-workers.  It was too rainy and cold to go for a walk and I really needed to get away from the desk.
4. I had been avoiding calling my doctor (because I hate the phone and I hate doctors) but I finally did it today.  At it wasn't as scary as I was expecting.
5. I got a new prescription for my sleep disorder.  This gives me new hope.
6. While picking up my new prescription the woman at the pharmacy desk told me how much she liked my glasses.
7. While at the grocery store we picked up a small ice cream treat.
8. Taco burgers for dinner!  One of my favorites.
9. Glee is on. 
10. I had plenty to complain about, but I managed to stay positive instead.  :)

What's on your bright side of today?

modern colonial with large yard and garden in the suburbs

 

This was pretty difficult for me to answer. 1.  It's hard to describe something like that in so few words and 2.  I'm not entirely sure I really know what I want.

I think I'd prefer a newer home to an older one (although they can certainly have a lot of character). 

I'd much rather live in the suburbs than in the city or in the country way out in the middle of nowhere.

I'd love to have a large yard with lots of nice landscaping.  My current yard has lots of trees which is nice and almost reminds me of a park, but I'd also like to have a nice sunny area where I could grow lots of nice vegetables and other flowers.

Sometimes I think I'd love to have a nice big pool.  I really enjoy swimming, but I wouldn't enjoy all the work that goes along with it.

I'd love to have a nice big kitchen with granite countertops and an island.

I love the sunroom I have in my house now, as well as the patio. 

I'm dying for a walk-in closet and master suite which is lacking in my current house.

I also dream of living on the water -- either an ocean or a lake.

And a professional interior designer would be great to decorate my perfect home.  I'm no good at that stuff.

What about you?  How would you describe your perfect home in ten words or less (or more if you like)?

1. That we were able to afford the really nice trip that we went on.  I don't take it for granted.
2. That I was able to see my grandparents again.  Even though my grandfather didn't know who I was it was still nice to see him and my grandmother was really so happy that I came and that she was able to meet my boyfriend.
3. Any day where the weather is nice enough for me to go out for a long walk on my lunch hour or after work.  Yesterday we had really crap weather and today isn't much better (scratch that, just looked out the window and it is snowing again), but there was a string of days that were actually spring-like.
4. That one of my favorite bands is going to be touring near me this summer and I was able to get tickets in the 6th row.  Even better, they are co-headlining with a friend's favorite band so a group of 5 of us are all going together.  :)
5. That deer and/or rabbits don't like primroses or daffodils.  They have managed to eat ALL of my tulips and crocuses so primroses and daffodils are all I have flowering right now.

1. What to buy my sister for her 30th birthday.  I have a couple of ideas I'm kicking around but haven't figured out exactly what I want to get.  Her birthday is only 4 days away -- eek.
2. The warm and sunny weather down in Florida and how I can't wait for it to get that nice here in NY. 
3. My messy bedroom.  I really hate when my bedroom gets messy/cluttered.

1. Finish reading Lovely Bones.  It's pretty short and I'm already 21% through after 1 day of reading.
2. Purchase a gift (or gifts) for my sister.
3. Give the master bedroom a good thorough cleaning, including the closet.

1. Being able to dramatically reduce the amount of diet coke I drink.  I was up to 3 cans a day.  I used to buy caffeine free to have with dinner at night but I stopped buying it.  If I have it in the house I will have it so it seemed the only way to force myself out of the habit was to stop buying it.  For much of the last week I've been having water with dinner instead.  I'd like to get down to one a day, and then down to just a few cans a week.
2. The weather.  Seriously.  There is even more snow and a lot of rain in the 10-day forecast.  It's rather depressing.

1. We watched a documentary called "Fat Head"  last week.  The synopsis from IMDB: "A comedian replies to the 'Super Size Me' crowd by losing weight on a fast-food diet while demonstrating that almost everything you think you know about the obesity 'epidemic' and healthy eating is wrong."  It's a worthwhile watch, in my opinion. 

We both had an amazing, amazing time.  I think the pictures below kind of sum up the trip nicely.  They are all from the resort we stayed at.  We had a rental car but for the most part we didn't want to leave.  It was approximately 85 degrees and bright sunshine every single one of the 6 days we were down there.  I felt myself relax as soon as we checked into the hotel and we first walked outside by the pool and ate an early dinner over looking the ocean.

On the day of our return flight, I was so not ready to leave.  Apparently some other higher being or greater force didn't want me to leave either.  Our flight was at 9 AM but we sat on the tarmac for about 4 1/2 hours before acutally taking off.  It was supposed to be a 40 minute hop to Orlando.  We finally got to Orlando and of course we missed our layover flight so had to scramble around to figure out how we were giong to get home.  They gave us tickets for another flight that would get us back home around 10:30 PM.  The real kicker was that particular flight was first going back to to Fort Lauderdale first (a.k.a. the very same place that it just took us about 6 hours getting there from).  Luckily we got the last 2 seats on another stand-by flight that would get us home at 6 PM and was direct.  So it took us just over 3 hours to get down to Florida on a direct flight and close to 10 hours to get home.  It was a bit of a sour note to end the vacation on, but it could have been worse. 

When we arrived back in NY back on the 5th, it was 32 degrees outside.  Today, it snowed.  I tried to bring the beautiful weather back home with me, but apparently it didn't work.

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Although people, Americans especially, are putting off marriage later and later as the decades progress, it's still fairly common to get hitched when you're in your early thirties or sometimes even before. However, not all of us thirty-somethings are ready for this particular milestone. Whether we haven't met the right person or we're waiting for financial security and our careers to reach a certain stage, we find ourselves in the single camp while more and more of our friends are taking the plunge. Of course, getting married is a wonderful life experience and is perhaps one of the most important moments in a human being's life. But what do you do when all the friends who used to be available to have a night on the town have morphed into creatures from a distant planet of respectable, settled down responsibility? Here are a few tips.

1. Demonstrate a desire to still hang out, even if it's in a family setting.

One thing I noticed when many of my friends had settled down and we would not hang out as often was that they assumed I wasn't interested in family time. That is to say, my friends associated the single life with single socializing and figured I, as a single person, would think family time was lame. But having dinner with your married friends is one of the most enjoyable things ever, especially when kids are involved. Demonstrate a desire to do the family time thing, and you'd be surprised by how much closer you'll be with your married friends.

2. Find some younger friends, or friends who are not on the marriage path yet.

Of course, there will still be times when you want to go out as you used to when you were in your twenties, and your married friends will not always have the time to do so considering their commitments to spouse and children. As such, you should consider casting your nets wide. There are plenty of thirty-somethings who are far from ready to get married, and hanging out with people who are a few years younger than you can be fun, too.

3. Plan get-togethers well in advance to give your family-centered friends some time to arrange for babysitters, etc.

Although the married life is described as "settled down," it's not nearly as boring as some people make it sound. Married people can have fun, too. The conflict arises when you don't plan accordingly, since those who have family commitments work on schedules while the unmarried among us can afford to structure their social lives in the last minute. That being the case, make sure to set aside a specific time at least a week or two in advance, and offer to help find a babysitter if needed.

These were the most helpful points of advice for me, especially at a time when I thought my friends was dropping like flies after getting married. You don't have to segregate your social life between "marrieds" and "unmarrieds." You just have to find some balance that takes into consideration your somewhat different lifestyles.

By-line:

Alvina Lopez is a freelance writer and blog junkie, who blogs about accredited online colleges.  She welcomes your comments at her email Id: alvina.lopez @gmail.com.

After months of debate and hours hunched over the computer researching, the plane tickets have been purchased and the hotel reservations have been booked.  My boyfriend and I are both horrible at decision making and are also very frugal, so between trying to read every  possible review for every possible hotel and typing in various flight departure and return dates to see what the best possible price we could get was, it was a very trying and stressful experience.

I think we are both very happy with the fruits of our labor, though.  All the sweat and tears were worthwhile.  We decided Hawaii was too expensive a trip for us right now but still wanted to go somewhere nice.  We settled on southern Florida.  We picked what seems to be a very nice hotel and splurged just a little for an oceanfront room with a balcony.  We also added to the agenda (consisting mostly of sleeping in late, sitting by the pool or on the beach, reading, taking lots of walks, and eating at a few nice restaurants) a day to drive an hour north to visit my grandparents.  I have not seen them in about three years and they have never met my boyfriend so I am excited about this.  My grandfather will be turning 98 in a few months and my grandmother will be turning 91, so I really want to get there to visit them while I am still fortunate enough to have the opportunity. 

So the countdown to when we leave at the end of the month begins.  We did a bunch of shopping today (bathing suits, cover ups, shoes, shirts) so I'm pretty much ready to go and I'm hoping the time goes by quickly.  My soul could use some R & R and a little Vitamin D right now, that's for sure.

1. That did not catch/have the stomach virus/food poisoning that my boyfriend was afflicted this week.  Also that I was able to work from home and take care of my very sick boy without guilt.
2. That my little sister was finally able to find a good teaching job.  I am sad that she will no longer be living in the same city that I am and will be far away, but I am happy for her.
3. That Sunday was a much better day than Saturday.
4. That we did not get the snow that a lot of places seemed to get overnight.  My sister woke up to 14 inches of snow and was snowed in (but still had to get to work, of course).
5. March is here! 

1. My new sleep medication.  I started it a week ago and still haven't been able to tell if it's really helping or not because my schedule has been all off this last week.
2. How to budget for a what will likely be a $10,000+ new roof this year.  Every time I spend a dollar I am thinking about whether or not I should be spending it.
3. Vacation.  I desperately want/need a week away on a beach somewhere.  I don't think it would be smart to still go to Hawaii given the roof situation.
4. The last book I finished called The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.  It was simply amazing.  Loved it, loved it, loved it. 

1. Get on a good sleep schedule and wake up rested and refreshed each morning.
2. Continue to plan an alernate beach vacation.  I hear Florida is great this time of year.  :)  And my grandparents just happen to live down there... and it's been many years since I've been... and it's much closer and cheaper to fly there and...
3. Finish reading Alias Grace.

1. My new medication.
2. Life in general.  This last week has been very rough.  This week will be better!

1. I saw Eat Pray Love this weekend while my boyfriend was out at a bachelor party.  It is almost always the case that I believe the book version of a story is better than the movie version.  In this case, I thought the book was WAY better than the movie.  Even if it did have James Franco in it.

1. My dad being willing to double check my taxes for me.  I do them using Turbo tax and he does them on paper (his preferred method).  I don't really know what I'm doing when it comes to taxes so I'm thankful he is there to catch anything I did wrong and to give me more confidence that what I am submitting is accurate.
2. 5-hour energy.  I don't like coffee or tea and I've been using this stuff to help get me up and out of bed on really bad mornings. 
3. An upcoming weekend without any social obligations.   We've had parties and other social functions to go to each of the last 4 weekends and it kind of tires me out.
4. That this last storm was not too bad and didn't prevent us from going anywhere and wasn't too terrible to shovel.  Also grateful there is very little snow predicted for this coming week (knock on wood). 
5. Getting President's Day off.  Oh wait... I didn't.  :)

1. The movie Into The Wild.  It's hard to believe that anyone would do what the young man the movie was about did.  It made me stop and think about how I'm living my own life.  This will most likely turn into a blog post in the near future. 
2. My doctor's appointment later this week.  Ick.  I hate doctor's appointments!
3. I keep wondering how/why the cable company and phone company keep screwing up my bills.  I switched my internet from dsl to cable back in early December and I'm still making phone calls to get my bills corrected for various issues.  I just noticed on my last cable bill that when we switched they also signed us up for some service that cost $5 a month to get 5 extra channels -- none of which we have ever watched.
4. Making more homemade ice cream.  I've been having a major craving!

1. Make some progress on my afghan.  I did a lot of reading last week, and no knitting.
2. Officially submit my taxes.  I'm expecting a very large refund (really must update my w4) so the sooner the better.
3. Call the cable company to get my bill/service straightened out.  

1. I'm really hoping my upcoming doctor's appointment goes better than the last one and better than I'm expecting.
2. That I'll be able to handle the new challenging work project I've been given. 

1. I seem to read things much faster on the Kindle.  I've had the thing a little over a week and have already plowed through two books.  Granted, neither one was terrible long, but I am typically a very slow reader and it takes me a while to get through even a 300 page book.  Maybe it's just that I enjoy reading on the Kindle more so I spend more time doing.  Has anyone else had a similar experience with an eReader?  Btw, I highly recommend both Water for Elephants and Room.

I'd love to read your Monday 5 Countdown.  Leave a link in the comments and I'll check it out. 

1. That we're already half-way through February.  That means we're almost to March.  And that means it's almost Spring.  Getting closer, anyway.  :)
2. The end of football season.   I feel bad adding this one, because my boyfriend loves his Sunday football, but I really have no interest in the game and I am happy that I can start spending Sundays with him again.
3. My boyfriend's sense of humor.  He always keeps me laughing and helps balance out my more serious side.
4. Knitting.  Been doing lots of knitting recently and it makes me happy.  It helps me unwind.  Very excited about my latest project.
5. My new Kindle.  Love it.  :) 

1. Sunshine and warm weather.  Also, Hawaii.
2. Books.  I've spent tons and tons of time since Friday on Amazon and goodreads and google trying to get a nice backlog of books to download.  So far I've downloaded a few free classics and bought Room by Emma Donoghue and Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen.  Any other recommendations are welcome!  (Candice @ BookishPenguin?  Heidi @ heavenisabookstore?)
3. A new wardrobe.  This seems to happen to me on a fairly regular basis.  Suddenly I find myself with a closet bursting with clothes and not a thing to wear.  Also, a new body that would make all the clothes look that much better.
4. Our grocery bill.  The last several weeks it seems our grocery bill has been quite a bit higher than it used to be.  I feel like it's much higher than it needs to be/should be.  I'm curious as to what other couples are spending. 

1. Get at least 50% through my current book, Water for Elephants.
2. Knit at least 2 more inches on my latest knitting project. 
3. Book our trip! 

1. Dieting.  I've been doing pretty well sticking to my diet plan and eating healthy, but seem to have hit a plateau.  Always frustrating, but need to remain positive and stick with it until I break through it.
2. My latest knitting project.  I've started my first afghan and it's a fairly large and intimidating project.  We'll see how it goes, but I'm trying to remain positive that I'll be able to get it finished in a reasonable amount of time and not lose interest in it. 

1. Happy Valentine's Day!!  I am extremely happy and appreciative to be celebrating just shy of 4 1/2 of being together with a most wonderful man.  The road has been bumpy, but I wouldn't want to be on that bumpy road with anyone else.  I hope you all have a day filled with lots and lots of love.  <3

Please join in the Monday 5 Countdown fun and link to yours in the comments.  We'd love to see it!