“I like to compare the holiday season with the way a child listens to a favourite story. The pleasure is in the familiar way the story begins, the anticipation of familiar turns it takes, the familiar moments of suspense, and the familiar climax and ending.”
2014 Resolutions Revisited
I'm a big fan of resolutions. New Years ones. Birthday ones. I think I just love any type of list. And it's extremely hard to keep your New Year's resolutions, yes. But I think the real problem is that we're not making the right resolutions. In order to avoid the cliched and terrible resolutions we've all heard a billion times, I think the secret of making good resolutions is to make ones that don't automatically set you up for failure. Example: Vowing to "Go to yoga more" is a lot less daunting of a resolution than promising to "Go to yoga two times a week." Does that make sense? Another tip? Don't make monthly goals, make seasonal goals. Four seasons sounds a lot roomier and more relaxed than twelve months do in my mind, but maybe that's just me.
In any case, I try to come up with good resolutions and here are what my 2014 ones were, if you were interested.
Check Facebook only once a day and take Sundays off.
Did this happen? Not even close. But I definitely went on it way less than in 2013. This is where I learned that I shouldn't be so restrictive since I'll be less successful in the long-run if I have ridiculous expectations.
Watch at least three documentaries a month.
This resolution might make me sound like a loser who yearns to be cooler by being more into documentaries and that's exactly right. I did it and yet I'm not cooler than you somehow.
Read at least two books a season.
Did it! Yeah!
Try two things off Pinterest a season.
Did it! Gonna do it again.
Apply for editor jobs at least five times a week.
Hahahah, didn't even remember this was on the list. Tip #2: Don't make long resolution lists.
Volunteer at least once a month.
Did it only for the first seven months. Fuck.
Do pilates at least five times a month.
Did this every month with the exception of stupid September. Goddam you September.
Juice at least four times a week.
Nope! Nowhere NEAR that many times. This one was way too lofty. Gotta aim lower for next year.
Never Google Kim Kardashian again.
COMPLETED! And this one felt good. I used to Google her a lot in 2013 to see her different outfits and pretty face and body and etc., but it was harming me more than helping me so I wanted to stop and I did.
Stop reading The Frisky.
This was a hard one, but I accomplished it. Maybe it doesn't seem difficult to you to stop reading something, but it was. I used to go on that site maybe twice a day, every day. And then somewhere along the way it became way less about women-centered topics and interesting articles to focussing more on pregnant celebrities and top ten worst dressed lists. I had to stop.
As you can see, I wasn't entirely successful - but the things that did happen? I'm pretty proud of those. I also wrote down every day that I either went to the gym or went to pilates last year and figured out that I went 137 days out of 365. That's 37.5% of an entire year that I was at the gym. Do you know how insane that is considering I hadn't given a fuck about exercise for, oh, say 27 years? 37.5%! I think that's incredible. And obviously I'm not saying that everyone needs to go to a gym, but, like, that's insane for me and makes me crazy happy to accomplish something so (typically speaking) out of character.
I'm still thinking of some new ones for 2015, so when I do there will be a post about that in a few days. This was an especially self-indulgent post AND I'M NOT SORRY!
The Real Downton Abbey Will Open As A Hotel
On Valentine's Day, Highclere Castle (the real name of Downton Abbey) will be opening an on-site hotel called London Lodge (despite the name, the castle and its hotel are in Newbury, West Berkshire, not in London). The estate was built in 1793 and is home to the Earl and Countess of Carnarvon and has already been open to tourists for some time. There are organized Downton-themed tours that take tourists to see the building and grounds, but this will mark the first time that visitors can stay overnight.
"And while the period charm is intact, there are modern amenities in the hotel rooms, including TVs, Wi-Fi, mini-fridges, and electric kettles available.Rooms at London Lodge begin at £350 ($540) per night."
Ummm... this is really neat. I'm a fan of the show (not a wildly big fan, but a fan) and if I were ever near this castle - I'd likely want to go on one of those tours. Paying $540 a night seems a little nutty, but for any super fans this would be the best thing in the world, I'd imagine.
Under The Stars
It might be abnormal to choose this as one of the top three songs from The Lion King, I realize. But do you remember the scene when it first played? At night? 'Cause it was memorable as hell. Love this so much.
Jasmine
Twenty years ago today (December 29th, 1994), I met my dog Jasmine. I was nine years old and she was a Christmas gift from my parents. (Quick tip: If your kid wants a dog, wait until he/she is at least eight or nine. The younger they are, the weirder they treat dogs.) I named her Jasmine because I wanted her to be named after royalty (the princess in Aladdin) since my parents named me after the Queen of England.
She was with our family for almost ten years before she passed away in 2004 and this lady was the love of my life. Everyone who knew anything about me knew that I'd lose it for awhile when she died, and I did. I dropped out of college for a bit, sat in the dark a lot and just felt awful all the time. If that sounds dramatic to you - I'm sorry, but I was upset. Even now, if I'm in a certain kind of mood and I start thinking about her - watch out.
I don't really even have a point to this post. I just realized what today was and wanted to mention it. If you come to this site to read any of my stuff, you often get a pretty good idea of the things I'm passionate about - so it seemed weirder for me not to mention this day. And if we're friends in real life and you didn't know about Jasmine - well, we definitely aren't as close as you might think 'cause EVERYONE knows about me and Jasmine. Or they should, anyway.
I know that it's probably not emotionally healthy to not completely move on ten years after a pet dies, but I don't know what to tell you. Maybe it's dumb, but sometimes I'll just say her name out loud so I can hear it and think for a split second that she never left. Fuck, I miss her.
Moral of this post? Don't love anyone 'cause they'll leave? Haha. No, but seriously don't.
I know I'm living a pretty lucky life, but I was lucky as hell to have a dog like her. After Jasmine died, my Ma said to me something along the lines of, "Yeah, this is awful. But at least now you don't have to be afraid of death since she'll be right there waiting for you when you pass away." And maybe it's abnormal to hear your grandmother discuss your own demise with you, but it helped me so much to have that thought in the back of my head for all these years.
Thanks for reading, guys.
“Eyebrow Tip: Don’t touch/tweeze/wax them until you’re 21. Trust me. Let them grow as much as they want to.”
Overnight French Toast Bake
Photo Credit: Lil Luna
Photo Credit: Lil Luna
I just made this for Christmas morning and it tasted INCREDIBLE. And I'm not even a breakfast person. If you have any sort of special occasion coming up (or even if you don't), you really should make this. It feeds a bunch of people (maybe 5-10) so keep that in mind.
Ingredients
1 loaf sourdough bread
8 eggs
2 cups milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons of vanilla
Topping:
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cold butter, cut into pieces
Instructions
NOTE: There are two separate things that need to be refrigerated overnight.
Cut up the loaf into cubes and place evenly in a greased 9x13 pan (or something similarly sized).
In a bowl, mix together the eggs, milk, heavy cream, sugar and vanilla. Pour evenly over bread.
Cover your pan with Saran Wrap and refrigerate overnight.
Mix together the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl.
Cut in butter with this mixture until crumbly and place in a Ziploc bag and refrigerate overnight as well.
In the morning, take the pan and Ziploc bag out of the fridge when ready to bake. Sprinkle crumbly mixture evenly over the bread.
Bake at 350 for 45 minutes to 1 hour depending on how soft you like it.
Original recipe from Lil Luna.
Merry Christmas!
I'm not going to get weepy, but I have the best family in the world. I'm not sure how we got this lucky, but I'm thankful as hell for these creeps.
However you're spending today, I hope it's fantastic!
Mom Says
“Wearing new pajamas on Christmas Day is extremely lucky.”
The Polar Express Book
I can't accurately describe how it feels to look at that book cover above. I'll never be able to because it's too magical to express. I suppose it makes sense that I love it so much since Chris Van Allsburg can create such beautiful things.
If there's one book that I need to make sure your kid grows up with, it's this one. I might feel especially linked to it since it was released the year that I was born - or maybe it's just that image of snow at night. I will never fall out of love with the act of snow falling at night.
We're all aware of the (somewhat creepy) animated version of the story that was made into a movie with Tom Hanks - but is it a good movie? That's up to you. I'll forever prefer the book. Please don't forget about the book!
(Sidenote: Keep an eye on your pets tonight.)