What's Happening

Happy New Year, everyone! The past few weeks have been a whirlwind of holiday activity. TBF and I spent Christmas with m family in Bend this year, and it was a wonderful, snowy time. I heart Bend, and I hearted celebrating the holiday where the snow made everything feel truly festive. As you may remember, my parents used to live in Klamath Falls and just recently made the move to Bend. They are settling in nicely. I think my mom's favorite part of the change is her proximity to a Trader Joe's. She loves that place as was evident by the majority of our snacks emerging from the freezer with the classic labeling.

I made a bundle of gluten free treats this holiday season including gf chex mix, chocolate dipped peanut butter crackers, white chocolate gf pretzels, and these easy cake batter cookies. I'm having fun experimenting with gf recipes.

TBF and I had a quiet New Year. As we slowly chugged along the snowy passes on the way back from Bend, it became clear that I was coming down with my darling nephew's cold, so I was a slow-moving Bacon for a few days. On NYE, we went for an early bbq dinner at the always yummy Bitteroot and then enjoyed a pretty quiet and boozy evening at home.

Do you all have New Year's resolutions? New jobs and moving are at the top of mine and TBF's list this year. We've long grown out of our tiny apartment (K2 is a space hog) and are feeling like it's time to quit Seattle. Have I mentioned that we're ready fora slower pace? I'm hopeful 2013 will bring lots of exciting changes. In addition to those two goals, I have the usual suspects of eating healthier and exercising more, practicing meditation, reading fun books again, getting back into music, traveling, and finding new ways to engage in the community. Small order, right? It's weird that it's taking so long, but I'm finally starting to feel like a normal human again after grad school.

Things I'm into right now: Fun books! Where'd You Go, Bernadette? and Mindy Kaling's book. Both really enjoyable, funny reads. I'm a little bit in love with Mindy right now. Her show is awesome. The Female Eunuch to satisfy my feminist exploration, also surprisingly witty and entertaining. Klyde/K2. Sleep. Salads made with quinoa. Who knew? New recipes. Down time with TBF. The Divine Fits, Lana Del Ray, new Cat Power, and the xx. This is 40 (I don't get the lukewarm reviews. It's not a work of art but it's funny). Shiny shoes. Scarves.Mark and Jay Duplass movies (I could write whole posts on how I adore that Jeff, Who Lives at Home is a much happier version of Signs or how I can see myself in the mid-20s leading lady in The Puffy Chair). Organizing my life, which is an extension of my resolution from last year. Take that, bathroom closet! Reconnecting with infrequently-seen friends who I've missed terribly. Making plans to take trips.

Things that are challenging: Feeling overwhelmed with sadness and helplessness over terrible things happening in the world.  Still not knowing what I want to do next in my life. Pervasive limbo and the resulting frustration of wanting to move forward but not quite being at a place to do that. Clutter. Adults who do baby talk. Seattle weather + lame bus system. The fact that my hair is at the awkward growing out phase where I should be wearing scarves to cover it. Paying back school loans. Boo.

Awkward and abrupt endings to blog posts. Not sure how to wrap this one up smoothly, so I will just say bye and wish you all many good things in the new year!