I’m not sure how I feel about Pinterest. I get the appeal of a virtual corkboard, especially if one is planning a big event like a wedding or a fundraiser, or decorating their home and looking to collect ideas, or wanting inspiration for a wardrobe update. And I think it’s super fun to scroll through other people’s pins and ooh and ahh about what they’ve “liked” and “re-pinned” and marvel at the cute names they’ve come up with for their categories (I mean, how many ironic or pun-filled titles can people come up with in place of “recipes?”). But I feel like in order to use Pinterest, I’d have to give something else up. I already can’t handle Twitter – my brother has to basically REMIND me every so often that I have an account. I started this blog to keep up with my writing – but now that I am freelance writing and volunteering ON TOP of a full-time job (where I mostly write), it’s getting harder and harder to show this site my love as well. I can’t live without my daily dose of Huffington Post – and too many of my friends are having babies and getting married to give up looking at their pictures on Facebook.
So I feel spread a little thin on the internet. And I really don’t like spending too much time on the computer. I’d rather be looking at something that isn’t on a screen (I say this while simultaneously drinking a tall glass of hypocrisy that goes down smooth as I type this very blog).
I guess what I’m really saying is – in order for me to feel okay taking a more active interest in Pinterest (oooh, I rhymed!), I am going to need to let go of another time-wasting internet habit. And I can tell you right now that it’s NOT going to be CatalogLiving.net – because honestly, sometimes that’s the only thing that gets me through a hard day….

This blog could possibly be the poster-child for the term First World Problems.
And for that, I apologize.

Even though we don’t know exactly when we are leaving, John and I know that we will be moving back east relatively soon. I actually remember that when we were on our first date (which neither of us thought was an actual “date” at the time) we talked about wanting to leave Los Angeles. Not in the sense that we were stubbing cigarettes out with the heels of our cowboy boots and saying things like “Let’s get out of Dodge” with raspy voices – more like we just both felt a pull. It was the kind of conversation where you are both acting like you are just casually asking questions, showing general interest – when what you are really doing is trying to find out if the other person wants the same life as you want so that you can be married in a few years… We talked about our families and about the cost of living, and about how we couldn’t explain why the Atlantic was so much better than the Pacific.

And now that this time is upon us, I’ve started to create a “bucket list” for the West Coast. The thing that makes this hard is that while simultaneously wanting to have new adventures here before we leave, we are also trying to save as much money as possible so that when we move it won’t be stressful and unhappy. Striking that balance can be pretty hard, but we are trying to make it work. And since I have a best friend in LA and a best friend in San Fran – I’m sure we’ll be back to cross things off that we can’t cross off in the next 6 months.

A conservative list of the places we still need to see together:

*Big Bear*  – Since we just went on our first ski trip in Tahoe last weekend, we could attempt more than a bunny slope the next time around….

*Big Sur*  – We’ve passed through, but never taken the time to soak in the views, sun and surf in this impressive location.

*Mexico’s Pacific Coast* – We hope to make this our 1st Anniversary trip. I am currently scavenging Groupon Getaways for deals to resorts in Cabo, etc. Hopefully we’ll make it work!!!!

*Grand Canyon* – This doesn’t technically apply as a West Coast attraction. But it does seem like a great place to conveniently pass by when we are on our way across the country. So we’ll attempt to work this into the move.

Other things that were on the list that we’ve already crossed off successfully: Skiing in Tahoe, Hiking in Yosemite, exploring San Francisco together (including Alcatraz), biking and hiking on Catalina Island, eating traditional food in Solvang, gambling in Las Vegas, and drinking wine in Santa Barbara.

And you know what’s great about this? Is that I can’t wait to do and see all of these new things with John. I marvel at how much goofy, silly fun we can have together. And I marvel at how I am actually getting better at having fun and being adventurous because of his presence in my life.

How lucky I am.

The best part of waking up….

In an attempt to make advance good on my third of several New Years’ Resolutions, I am going to do something very dangerous here: I am going to tell you my resolutions. This is dangerous because of what inevitably will occur around April or May of said new year, when a friend might come up and ask how I am progressing on that novel…. As my face flushes, I will mumble something about a disaster at work or my chronic bronchitis and walk away quickly.

But, what the hell. I might as well tell a few people (by a few, I mean the 4 of you who read this) – and perhaps the knowledge that my promises are recorded on the internet will help me to be a little more diligent about my commitment to my resolutions.

1. Dance more – I am starting here because it is the easiest of all the resolutions. I dream of dancing. I think in movement and have visions of choreography while listening to Florence and the Machine. I am a Dance genius actually. My only setback is that… I… can’t… actually… dance. So, I make the pledge to dance, whether it be in a class or in my living room or in the rehearsal space at the office, at least once a week. Which will be a whole lot more than I do it now, because now I only dance in my car.

2. Learn Spanish – This has been on many a list. But this year will be my year to become bi-lingual. Mostly because I just really have absolutely no excuse at this point. I live in Los Angeles! I work with people whose first language is Spanish! I have endless resources that will help me learn and practice this language!

3. Write more – This one might seem just as easy as the first – but the difference is that I actually write most days, for hours. Sometimes I just edit or revise, but many of my days at work are spent writing – it’s what I get paid to do, which is kind of awesome when you think about it. But I want to write more for pleasure. I find myself wanting to zone out to an episode of Real Housewives because my brain is so tired after work – which brings me to my next resolution…

4. Watch less TV – We have a really awesome sectional and a cat that loves to cuddle. These two things combined with a small apartment can create a perfect storm that forces me to lie prone under a quilt and be perfectly content with whatever Lifetime movie is on at the time. I can still watch a half hour to an hour of TV a day if I want – but other than that – it will be turned off. I feel like watching too much TV this year has actually made me less smart. And we can’t have that.

5. Get out of debt – I don’t even have that much. I am so close to paying off my car and I have one credit card balance that haunts me. It shouldn’t seem so daunting but it does. I need to clear this debt, so that I can take on new debt in a few years (in the form of a house) and not be totally overwhelmed by it. I am looking into debt trackers and payment plans that I can download onto my phone or Ipad to help me track everything and be methodical about it. I will let you know what I find!

Happy Holidays! I am off to Maryland and Georgia to spend time with my family, and I can’t wait.

This is going up just because it makes me feel a little bit better about a conversation I had today regarding my future. I think it has become a routine for some people to think that they might have some say in what I do with my life – that they might have some ownership over my decision making process. And that’s just not true. And I think it’s high time I stopped asking permission to live my life and change my mind and move forward in the direction of my dreams.

So you can sit with your all-knowing smirk and pretend to have no interest in my plans or my hopes and fears. I do not need your blessing sir, nor do I need your support. I’ve gotten this far without it.