first and foremost, i just need to acknowledge the fact that today is my grandmother's 95th birthday. ninety-five. talk about an accomplishment. especially since she's smart as a whip and is in almost-perfect physical health.
my mom -- her daughter -- is practically a replica of grandma in terms of smarts and strength, and they are both women i aspire to be like. so, happy birthday, grandma. thanks for setting the bar so high for our family. i love you.
secondly, how were your halloween weekends? mine was good (and it started thursday night, with pumpkin beer): i went to a party with friends on friday night that continued into the wee hours of the morning; spent most of saturday lazing around my house; and then started sunday -- halloween -- by doing breakfast and errands with my friend k. and then handing out candy to trick-or-treaters at my friend's house on siesta key. a good weekend, indeed, albeit one that was a little too filled with cake, fried food, candy corn, and pumpkin ice cream. which means i'm in detox mode this week, for sure.
detoxing is just one of commitments for the next seven days, though. here are the others:
+ work on a decorating plan for my house. i want to, eventually, swap out my current coffee table, get a great rug for the living room, paint my bedroom, and diy a fabric headboard for my bed. easy, right? ha.
+ in the spirit of detoxing, planning out my weekly dinner menu. i'm thinking shrimp with aspargus tonight, and a yummy-sounding parmesan-crusted chicken recipe i read about in women's health on tuesday night. i'll report back or tweet pics (or both!).
+ following up on some awesome potential (creatively gratifying! YAY!) projects i have in the works. continuing to think about next steps, some of which i'll share with you this week.
+ starting to plan my friend s.'s 30th birthday bash with my friend t. yay!
+ not feeling guilty about the dissipation of a friendship. this is hard, guys. i am a super emotional person who was raised catholic, so guilt flows through me like blood. and before this year -- before the last six months, even -- i would have felt ridiculously guilty about a situation like this. now i'm confident that i am not fully to blame for it, and that beating myself like i would have in the past serves no purpose and benefits no one -- not me, not my friend. i am far from perfect, but i know i deserve to feel good about myself and my relationships. so: operation feel-less-guilty, in combination with operation stand-up-for-myself, commences now. (if you're going through something similar, i highly recommend reading this post by jane and this post by dominique browning, both lovely and talented ladies who have articulated this feeling perfectly.)
in the works this week, as well: two of the giant coconut cakes that i've become kind of infamous for around these parts. a friend and colleague is having a family reunion, and she's asked if i would make a pair of these baked beasts. they're pretty labor intensive, but they are beautiful and delicious and, honestly, i kind of wish more people would hire me out as a baker.
so that's what i plan on doing over the next several days (what a varied list, huh?), in addition to being here more regularly, too. tell me your goals, and i'll see you back here tomorrow! xoxo
images from sarahseven's fantastic etsy shop. aren't these beautiful? you've got to check out her custom-made wedding dresses, too. lovely, lovely, lovely. sometimes you just need some pretty on a monday.
I'm on a diet audit this week and looking for ways to cut a few calories here and there without becoming a slave to some unsustainable regime!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the link love. It's something I need to reread too as I similarly tend to turn everything on myself. It's funny, as a writer I'm able to explore ideas that I sometimes struggle to fully embody!
Good luck with your week and plans!
I need to get a little inspired this morning and this helped! Thanks for always starting the week off on a positive note, Megan!
ReplyDeleteWhat was your Halloween costume?
ReplyDeletejane, good luck with your diet audit! it's funny what can happen with some simple changes -- i lost about 40 pounds over the last two years by cutting out milk (yes, milk) and walking more. you'll do great. and thank you again for that gorgeous post.
ReplyDeleteaw, stephanie, thank you. xoxo
tsumicat, i was a cat for halloween. not very creative, but my sparkly black feline ears served me well. :) did you make it to the women's exchange? how was the mote marine bash?
A lovely list as always. I know the end of a friendship can be hard, but my mom has always loved this quote: "The key is to keep company only with those who uplift you, whose presence calls forth your best".
ReplyDeleteThe hard part is letting go of the people who don't!