A whole year more incrediblerer

My friend Amy gave me this card for my birthday last year. And yep, it was serendipidous. I don't think I will soon forget the year 2013.

Since buying my house last year, all the pieces in my life fit so much better. José moving to Boston a year ago was one of my life's best twists -- a happy ending.  We are often still surprised by how natural the transition felt.
Facing History has similarly felt like a puzzle piece solved, it's a high expectations job with relaxed non-profit culture and excellent benefits.  There are always new projects and always new little nuances.  Effective January in the new year, I was promoted to Assistant Director and I feel very blessed to have a job with a full week paid vacation at Christmas, many holidays and occassional days to work from home (especially in snowy weather).

And speaking of settling into new homes, José and I both wanted to adopt a dog ASAP all year, and we are so happy to have waited for the right weekend to find Lucy, who is the most adoring, cuddly little monster when she's on our laps, but is an absolute rebel, acting fiesty and fierce when she's out in the world. 

Because of her fiesty-ness, we were lucky to find a fantastic dogwalker Stephanie who takes Lucy for twice a week playdates with another wildly-happy puppy.  She also made Lucy this Gwen Stefani-would-approve dog sweater (and yes, Stephanie has an etsy store).

 

Here's a few updates since I last wrote:

We ate out at the Legal Sea Foods Harborside for Thanksgiving Day to celebrate a year since José visited Boston.  This 'Merry' oyster was about half the size of my face.  It may be untraditional Thanksgiving, but the lobster pizza and the fish n' chips there are unmatched!

Christmas was wonderful and relaxed - we cooked a delcious home-cooked meal of arepas, pork shoulder, butternut squash and blueberry pie for dessert on Christmas Day.

...the weekend beforehand we drove out to Cape Cod where we Lucy ran free on the beach with almost no one around.  The weather was in the mid 50's, shockingly high for Winter.

I sent my mom a photo of her christmas cookie seeing its last moments (before Nom Nom Nom) at the beach. Her buttery snicker-doodles are always happily munched on.

Lucy went a little crazy at having the Chatham, Eastham and Brewster beaches to herself.

In late October, I took a week off of work to spend with my sister visiting from California and my cousin Dorota (who we had encountered last year in Losie, Poland!) who visited from the UK.  The fall colors were high 'in bloom' and it was a really nice time for all of us together.

Even though it's not a dog-friendly walk, José and I find ourselves walking in the gorgeous Mt. Auburn Cemetery every season of the year to see how it's changed.  The tail-end of autumn was definitely the prettiest and we happened to walk there at the best time -- just at dusk when leaves were still wet from rain but it had stopped raining.


(sigh)
Lucy is a handful of puppy, but the plus side is we are learning a lot of discipline ourselves in learning to teach her consistency and comfort (on walks, she is often acting as if she just heard a firecracker go off - antsy and on high-alert).  Whenever she is super sleepy in our presence, I find myself taking pictures to remember the moment!

How bout a Whoodle Doodle?

I was applying for pet insurance today and when I selected "mixed breed", it prompted a drop down with these choices:

Bagel

Beabull

Bichpoo

Cavachon

Cavapoo

Cockapoo

Chorkie

Dorgie

Dorkie

Frenchie

Goldendoodle

Havashu

Jug

Labradoodle

Mal-shi

Maltipoo

Morkie

Pom-a-nauze

Pomapoo

Puggle

Shnoodle

Sharpoo

Shih-poo

Whoodle

Woodle

Yoodle

Yorkipoo

You can't make this stuff up.  Why are there no dalmatian or weimaraner mixes in there?  Surely a Pugaweim or Daschmatian sound cool. Jose was joking that he wants to tell people who ask that she's a Djablome Haywood mix (wait for it) but... all we know is she's just a wired pointer-pup.

Fall La La La La

We have been spoiled with warm weather this September and October, and are trying to soak it in with lots of time outdoors on the weekends.  Lucy has been fun to take along on road trips, but she loves to "hot box" the car which is hysterical, especially to listen to Jose complain about the smell and open the windows constantlyy.  She's also a bit of a frenzy on a leash when it comes to seeing other dogs, so we're working with her on improving behavior a lot.

Here's some photos of adventures this past year.

Jose kayaking under the Zikam Bridge during a guided tour of the harbor and river. We cracked up about learning that we don't need to share a double kayak ever again:

We've been really into pancakes and coffee on the porch on the weekends:

Boston's little ducklings were supporting the home team in June

Sol Lewitt murals at the Mass MOCA museum:

I loved this little non-art exhibit at the MOCA, below:

Lucy at Fresh Pond just a day or two after we first adopted her, eye on the squirrel:

One of my favorite hikes is World's End in Hull where a New England forest directly meets the ocean... it took us three attempts to get Lucy there in weekend rush hour (first time she peed in the car, second time she barfed in the car...oh, the joys) but we made it last Sunday:

 Way up in New Hampshire, not far from where we adopted Lucy:

 and at the entrance to Franconia Notch State Park, NH:

Let Lucy Come Over

Wulp.

We have a wiggly waggidy puppy and boy does she ever love to be the center of attention.

We found this little sweetie through a friend's recommendation of a humane society in Conway, New Hampshire next to the White Mountains.  So she came with a bonus little roadtrip!  She is a pointer mutt, and seems a little pit bull or boxer in the ears, but we don't know her exact muttiness. She is incredibly bright and observant, joyful in playfulness, and just the right size (bigger than a beagle but smaller than a lab). We thought we were getting an "adult" with her being 19 months but it was clear from the first few days that she's a puppy all the way (probably for another six months). She needs a long walk every night and a lot of chewing, but Jose and I look forward to that walk at the end of the work day.

I trade off every other day being cool and happy with this, with feeling overwhelmed from puppy drama, behavior training, and errands/shopping lists.  But we had both been sighing and staring with longing eyes at dogs whenever we went outside the house for the past six months... it was time we gave one a home.

feeling amelie

I have been going through the annoying administrative task this week of upgrading my phone to an iphone and updating/syncing/fixing the address book contacts for 3 days now, plus all the apps and music and photos and everything, but finally when I got to the fun part -- ring tones -- today and was looking for tunes to wake me up in the morning, I realized that La Valse d'Amélie is exactly where I am right now. Very happy times.

I've been accussed of sometimes not taking enough people pictures on vacation.  Here's a few photos from a really beautiful visit home in early June to see family and friends including Dad and sister below.

Love in the air

A few photos of the "To Boston With Love" quilts which debuted at the MFA last weekend.  These little valentines from around the world brought joy and cheer to Memorial Day weekend and remind me a lot of the patterned Rex Ray raindrops that wallpaper my twitter page.

from mfa.org:To Boston With Love is an installation of more than 1600 hand-sewn flags created by quilters from nearly every state in the US and from countries around the world. They convey inspirational messages of love, peace, and hope and highlight iconic Boston images.  The project was a grass-roots effort conceived by Berene Campbell of Vancouver, Canada, and organized locally by Amy Friend of West Newbury.

Love, Watertown

This past week, I was visiting friends in Texas when a bit of a rampage of anxious excitement and terrified stress hit Watertown at precisely 1 a.m. in the morning, Friday night. The whole world was watching the news unfold on live television as the city of Boston shut down and law enforcement searched door to door in my neighborhood for the second Boston Marathon bomb suspect, who had been identified by the FBI just hours prior. Jose texted me when the SWAT team came through my house with a police dog and I could imagine how uneasy his stomach must have felt even just thinking about it. I felt ill all day and was addicted to reading the Boston Globe's twitter feed for a few days straight. Certainly a lot of Bostonians were at least mildly traumatized, and are working it out through public events, memorials and personally consoling one another. Patriot's Day, already an enormous day of pride in Massachusetts and an annual holiday here, will forever be a memorial day as well. 

In all of this sorrow, I still find myself feeling grateful that the casualties were not worse. Grateful that we have renewed strength and hopefully tighter security at public events, too. And grateful that we live in a place where this doesn't happen every day, but when it does happen, it reminds of us of the warmth and protection that exists in our community.

I love this sign from one of my neighbors.

One fine day

Ever since I moved into my little casa in waterbell last year, I feel like I'm hearing and feeling a new rhythm in my life, just like a favorite song, and it's exactly the one I was always looking for. Living in this house, I often pinch myself that I am exactly the picture of what I ever wanted to be when I grew up (minus the twenty pets I always daydreamed I'd have...no llamas yet). My home and my surroundings are comforting and simplified. And if I want a dark blue bedroom with a red door where I can sit on the bed and write in my journal, I'll just paint myself a dark blue room with a red door (where I am now sitting on the bed and writing in my journal).

Today was a snow day from work and with very few urgencies weighing on me at the moment, I just read my new project, To Kill a Mockingbird and followed up on loose end emails. To that end, I realized I haven't had a chance to blog since January.

Days have been full and are flying by quickly, but it's actually been the opposite of busy. I have been relaxing, strolling, listening, and taking life at a much slower pace since the first of the year. 

One of the best experiences of last year was a surprise reunion at Thanksgiving with one of my close friends from highschool, José.  I wasn't expecting to start a relationship after just packing up from Colorado last year, but after José visited Boston, we both realized that we were just the piece that's been missing from each other's lives. He took a chance and moved up to Boston over New Year's weekend and we're really enjoying living here together, turning over a new leaf.

Be here now

Just wanted to share some motivating words of advice from OmGal for the new year.  I would add one more bullet: don't let's continue being hooked to our cell phones like a life support machine. As my friend Ellen and I like to say, just be here now.  The addicted-to-texting-and-scrolling-facebook lack of eye contact that we all have is really unpleasant and uncalled for.  And in the car... even sitting at a red light... trust me, I sometimes can't resist, but is inexcusable. It could end up taking a life.  Put it in the trunk.  Or turn your phone settings so it can't take calls in the car.  Maybe for old time's sake, just listen to the radio.  You might learn something.  My friend Dan also reminded me at Christmas "Facebook creates a false sense of connection".  So my resolution is to quit it, and just call or see friends in person once in a while, especially when not driving.

Here's the blog (courtesy of rebeccapacheco.com):
"
9 Small Ways to Start New

Whether you want to change your body, clear your head, or renew your spiritual mojo, here are 9 tiny tips to create big, bright changes.

Make this your mantra: Eat whole foods. Whole foods are characterized by being as close to their natural, original states as possible. Skip the latest diets and cleanses, quit vilifying carbs, and save yourself the trouble of counting calories. Here’s your new nutrition plan: Eat real food.  Think about where it came from.  Understand how it got to your plate.  Savor meals.  Eat mindfully and watch how it can change your body and your life.  Promise.

Less reality TV; more reality. Look, I don’t want to be a downer, but too much TV over-stimulates your brain (especially before bed), fattens your ass, saps your creativity, and erodes the personal, one-on-one relationships with real people that matter in your life. It’s fun to watch shows that entertain, inform, and inspire, but cool it with the incessant background noise, relentless channel-surfing, and late-night brain drain.

Forgive someone. Speaking of real people . . . They make mistakes. Big ones. Hurtful ones. Unforgivable ones. Forgive them anyway. Besides being the compassionate thing to do, it’s crucial to your health. The anger we feel toward others, when allowed to fester, pollutes our thoughts.  Take it from the Buddha, “All that we are is a result of what we have thought.”

Get thee to Goodwill. Most of us have too much stuff. Get rid of what you don’t need; give it to someone who does. It’s a wonderful way to create space, physically and psychologically.

Turn your world upside down. If you only do one yoga pose in your life, ever, make it an inversion (a pose in which your head is below your heart, directing fresh blood to your brain).  Headstand is one example but so is a simple standing forward bend: Stand with feet hip-width distance apart, knees softly bent; fold your torso over your thighs.  Hold opposite hand to elbow, and be sure to relax your neck.  Now, breathe.

Get acquainted with karma. The word karma actually translates to mean “action.” To that end, good actions beget good actions and negative ones do the opposite. Volunteer in your community; help friends in need, or simply commit to one good deed per day.  Once you take action, it’s fun to watch the changes occur—mostly in yourself.

Leave home. Taking a mental holiday need not be expensive or time-consuming, but it’s important to get a change of scenery on occasion. Drive to the beach for a day; spend a weekend in the mountains, or simply pack a picnic and people-watch in a different part of your own city. Experiencing new places and people keeps us young.

Write it down. No matter what your life goals are, you are more likely to achieve them if you write them down. Trying to lose weight? Keep a food diary. Need to get your personal finances in order? Write down everything on which you spend money over the course of a month, then strategize where you can make changes. Hoping to cultivate a better relationship with someone special? Send them a hand-written, heartfelt note. Writing things down allows us to see the truth in black and white, and that is the most powerful step toward change.

Meditate. It always helps. It never hurts. It costs nothing. It improves everything.
"

Amen to that,
Lara Sue