Alive

Wow. Thanks for all the love and support! I've got a reader full of great blogs again thanks to all your comments.

This weekend we headed out to western Maryland for a ski trip with a bunch of our friends. We had a great time. Make that an amazing time. I even went skiing and have a nasty bruise on my leg to prove it. I cooked all the meals for our "family dinners", we played lots of games, watched lots of football, and spent many hours in the hot tub. We also killed more cases of beer than I care to admit, but everyone needs to let loose now and then, right?? Don't worry, I'm detoxing this week.

The best part is that I didn't think about my miscarriage almost the entire trip. I was lying in bed Sunday afternoon after we returned from skiing and realized that I had not thought about miscarrying once. And in that moment when I did start thinking about it, I didn't cry. I just reflected on the fact that it happened, but I wasn't overwhelmed with sadness. As I continued thinking, I actually felt like I was on a trip to have fun, not that I was on a trip to help me forget about everything that has happened. That's an additional crappy thing about going through something traumatic...you are in a daze for a while. You do things and go through life because you have to, instead of actually living your life. I felt alive this weekend. That's progress.

Wedding Recap!

I think my body is finally letting me know that I need to slow down and take it easy. We have traveled the last three weekends and it has finally caught up with me. I am not sure if I have a cold, allergies, or something else, but I am so congested and I know I need a good night's rest ASAP. Before I venture to bed way early tonight, I wanted to show you the few pictures I have from the wedding this weekend!

AJ and I were the only people from our grad school crowd that made it to the wedding, so I was really glad we made the trip and I know my friend was happy we were there. Here is the dress I decided to wear. I bought it at Banana Republic a few months ago and wasn't sure if I loved it, but after wearing it the other night, I have decided that it was definitely a good choice. 

There was a 4 hour break between the end of the ceremony and the cocktail hour, so AJ and I holed up in our hotel room (it MONSOONED during the entire break) and watched the Harry Potter marathon while drinking some Blue Light and playing cards. 

Here we are at the cocktail hour. Ignore my red nose, this was when I was first starting to feel sick! 

We had a lot of fun this weekend, but now I am ready to slow down and spend some quiet time in DC until we have to begin the process of moving!

20SB: Looking Back

This post is a part of 20SB’s Looking Back Blog Carnival, and Ben & Jerry’s is awarding free ice cream to lucky bloggers and readers! For more information, including how to participate, click here.

I've been at a loss for interesting blog topics lately, but lucky for me, and all the other blocked bloggers out there, 20 Something Bloggers is having a Blogger Carnival! The topic is "Looking Back" and they want to see what we were like back when we first started blogging. So before I reflect on how I've changed since I first began blogging, let's look at a post from April 24th, 2008, only the 5th post I EVER wrote.

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Thursday, April 24, 2008

Blog Social Skills

My secretary at DSS left my calendar open today so that I would have plenty of time to pack up my stuff, say goodbye to all my tutees, and catch up on the last minute office gossip. Most of my day was spent on the latter, but I still ended up having a lot of free time this afternoon. After finally posting again, I got sucked into the blog world and spent most of the afternoon browsing others' blogs. Two hours later......I found some I like, commented, and have added a link to them on my page.

But, now I feel awkward.....

I guess it's because I don't know the blog world social etiquette. Is it weird to comment on someone's blog if you don't know them? Should I introduce myself before declaring that I'm a "reader"? What are the rules, what are the rules!?!?*

I suppose it sounds pretty stupid, but I feel like I'm back in 8th grade and I'm the new girl at school who is trying to make some friends. It especially hits home since I am moving to a new city in two weeks! I guess I feel like it is strange to try and make (blog)friends because I have always had the convenience of a surefire network of potential friends (i.e. first college roommate, cheer team, grad program, etc.) and this is more open/unrestricted and also carries the possibility of rejection. Does that make sense?

I think this is a nice description of the situ:

Ultimately, I'm sure it's no big deal and people would be flattered to know I find their writing interesting, but until I am comfortable as a blogger, I will fret about my blog social skills!

BTW, I love someecards. They are hysterical and often speak to me!

*Does that phrase remind anyone else of the Betty Crocker commercial where the kid flips out that Santa is going to leave because someone ate the cookies? LOVE THAT COMMERCIAL

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And we're back to present blogger time. Now that you've peeked into my past, I hope we can still be friends.

Obviously I was a scaredy cat when I first started blogging and had no idea how things worked. I have come a long way since then, commenting on hundreds of blogs and reading many, many more. I have also made some amazing friends along the way and am so glad I stuck with blogging, commented, added people to my blog roll, and got out and met up with bloggers once I arrived in DC. With the exception of a few people (and my husband's friends), ALL of the people that I spend time with on a regular basis I have met through blogging. And I couldn't be more grateful for them.

I chose to revisit this particular post because I am sure there are new bloggers out there that may be feeling the same way I did way back when. Even if this post only helps one person realize that they are not alone and that they should stick with blogging, I'll be happy.

Random Thoughts

Work is crazy. I graduate soon. No time to blog. Free time spent searching/applying for jobs. Yada yada yada. You've heard it all before.

Not only has my professional life been nuts, but I have been super social lately. Yay! At least things are looking up on this front. On Thursday night I went out with my husband and his law school friends. On Saturday I went to Gold Cup with Heidi and Madga. On Saturday night we had a brief alley party with our neighbors and then went to another party at Miss Pink Pearls and Muddy Sneakers' apartment. On Sunday I met up with PPMS to retrieve my forgotten phone and ended up spending a good two hours gabbing about lots of stuff at the cutest coffee shop. Last night I hung out with the other hockey wives at AJ's hockey game. Tonight some law school people are coming over to watch the Caps game. Look at me go!! I'm really happy that I have been making an effort to meet up with people and make new friends!

In other fun and exciting news....

For dinner tonight I made my childhood favorite, a casserole, which I frivolously named "Mashed Potato Surprise". My grandma started making this dish way back in the day; she found the recipe on the back of a Campbell's Vegetable Soup can. My parents think it is hilarious that I eat this dish, given my propensity for simple, basic, non-touching foods. Somehow, this was always the exception. It was so yummy and delicious, and the prefect comfort food for a long, rainy day. I love how small things like that can brighten any day!

Impropmtu Alley Party

The school psychology Praxis II is one of the required components of all graduate school psych programs. This morning at 7:30 AM, yes 7:30 AM...I had to take this licensure exam at the University of Maryland so that I am eligible to be licensed once I complete my year long internship. I didn't really study because I spent the last two years fully immersed in all things school psych, which I felt has more than prepared me for the life of a school psychologist. I did not however, plan on having a hangover when I took the test, so now I am unsure of how well I performed.*

So how did I end up with a hangover the night before an important and very early test? Alson usually takes Kona out at around 5 0'clock, (We have finally got her on a three times a day schedule!) and last night he happened to go out the back door of our building so that Kona could be in the less traveled alley. Four of our neighbors as well as a neighbors friend were all sitting out back in the alley having an impromptu happy hour get together. I know, the alley sounds like a gross place to hang out, but ours is actually nicely shaded with trees and all the neighbors we met have the entrances to their condos back there and it is nicely kept. I did not, however, know that it was the cool hangout in our building. The way our apartment is situated, we can enter from either the front or the back, and we just never happened to see anyone out there if we did use the back door.

Anyway, Alson called me out so we could finally meet some of our neighbors, and I was offered a beer. We sat out back (antique folding chairs and a large patio table umbrella provided for a nice atmosphere) and met a bunch of other neighbors on their walk home from work, as they were headed out for the night, etc. etc. Well one beer turned into two, two turned into a glass of wine, and before you know it we were eating pizza with one set of neighbors at Dupont Italian Kitchen...and it was 11 o'clock. Yikes! I like ran home, chugged water, took some Advil, and went straight to bed so that I wouldn't be miserable when 6 AM rolled around. False, I felt terrible this morning.

Now don't get me wrong, it was really great meeting everyone and I had a TON of fun chatting with everyone, but somehow time flew by, we didn't eat dinner and I ended being drunk instead of in bed getting a good night's rest before the big test. You would think that I would be able to control myself and take responsibility of my drinking, right? Well I have rationalized that being bombarded with potential friends is definitely not something we experience everyday, and we just couldn't afford to turn down the opportunity to hang out and get to know some new people. And although it came at a terrible time in terms of "professional" responsibility, it was perfect timing for our social life (or lack there of) because I was seriously starting to get discouraged with DC and I have been missing my friends back in NC and NY terribly. So here is to hoping that we will hang out with the neighbors again and that I get licensed!

*Honestly, the test was not that difficult and I do know my stuff, I am probably just overacting and being a basketcase.