I'm Back!

If anyone is still reading this, I appreciate you sticking with me in spite of my Sabbatical. Hawaii was lovely. It is my intention to write about it before those little nuances begin to slip from my memory, but I believe that the tone of our Hawaiian trip will always be with me. I have had some remarkable vacations in my life, but this trip resonated with me in a particular way. I can't help but think that all the little ways we planned ahead and saved for it made it more significant . Because, of course, all those little things made us grow closer to each other and better able to communicate. Those virtues make any experience shared by a husband and wife sweeter. So soon I will be sharing the highlights of our trip, and in the meantime I will be expounding on Christmas, and why I've been silent in this online medium.

Last night Matt and I exchanged gifts. For anyone who thinks we were premature, I assure you: this is the longest we have ever waited to do this. And we didn't even start hinting and giving clues until last Saturday. It was not from lack of enthusiasm, so I proudly ascribe it to our increase in patience. And if that wasn't evidence enough that we are adults, yesterday I called and ordered a ham. I won't be cooking Christmas dinner, but I am certainly contributing in a grown-up manner!

Matt gave me some precious gifts. It's exciting to see our gift giving show evidence of our growing to know each other better. His gifts always speak of love and generosity; this year they sang of understanding as well. I was more confident in buying for him as well, and seemed satisfied with the results.

I've been busy recently writing on my novel. Every day I am less self-conscience muttering that phrase "writing my novel." It is important to take myself seriously as a writer. After all, I've been published on this blog fifteen times!! Although I have been directing my energies towards the Novel, I miss the sincerity and interaction of blogging. So I'm back. With intentions of documenting my growth in my relationships and writing (and my lack of growth in physcial stature and general rotundness).

Thank you for reading. Merry Christmas!

P.S. The picture was taken at the Greenville County Register of Deeds office. That little snowman has been with the county longer than any of us. He makes me smile, so I included him in my picture.

Weekend #10

Today is a crazy day. I was overwrought last night, and as I was stumbling into wakefulness this morning, I could feel that I’d been grinding my teeth in my sleep. Sweet Nicole at work brought me a diet Coke and I slurped it up with gusto. Now the caffeine is racing through my blood stream wreaking havoc on my customarily caffeine free nervous system. So I have clamped my mouth shut and am steering clear of social sites on the internet. Caffeine has caused me to carry-on conversations that keep me up at night squirming with embarrassment at the memory. Thankfully, I have a respite here at work with me. A friend has lent me James A Michener’s Hawaii to read before our upcoming journey, and it is a lyrical description of adventure and beauty. The physical book itself makes me happy because it has a worn canvas cover suggesting years of reader enjoyment, and on the thick spine Hawaii is written out in faded pastel Copperplate – each letter a printed in a different color. It is charming and friendly. Here is my favorite sentence from just the first page, “Agitated by a moon stronger then than now, immense tides ripped across this tremendous ocean, keeping it in a state of torment.” My jaw aches and there is squabble buzzing around my head, but I have Michener at my fingertips and Hawaii is only four weeks away!

This weekend was atypical to say the least. Matt surprised me by taking me to a bed and breakfast in Asheville. I’ve never been to a bed and breakfast before, and found the entire experience utterly delightful. Asheville was alive with the change in season. The morning air was undeniably cold and the trees were the colors of fire. I'd always considered the suggestion to "rediscover romance" to be merely a marketing device; I now realize the distinct benefit of spending time together far away from the day to day tasks of laundry, dirty dishes, and dingy carpets that seem to stare up at me accusingly. The room was white and clean and had a fireplace. There was a four poster bed and a goose down comforter. We ate at a Spanish fusion restaurant in funky downtown Asheville. The mountainous terrain and dated architecture give Asheville a unique feel. Matt mentioned that it reminded him of Diagon Alley and that he expected to see a flying car at any minute. And sitting in the restaurant, half undeground, the flash of headlights was well above our heads. I love how Matt is imaginative to relate to my poetic side but also gounded enough to keep me from overdosing on emotions. When we got back to our "cottage," we found chocolate covered strawberries waiting at our bedside table (courtesy of the romantic Mr. Collins). We ate them as slowly as we could in front of the fireplace.

Money-Free Weekend #9

"I'm a pack rat of sorts myself. Of emotions. Not so much with actual things." - Pushing Daisies

South Carolina has succumbed to autumn. The days are mild and the evenings are distinctly chilly; the vivid blue sky is turning grey, and the silky green trees are edged with red. I have traded in my sundresses for wool slacks, and I’ve tucked away my polo shirts and unfolded my sweaters to hang in the closet. Fall is upon us and Hawaii is only a month away!

Saturday morning began with a sharp dose of reality. Matt had to work, so I got up with him and helped him gather up all his stuff and kiss him goodbye. When I opened the garage door, I was abruptly reminded of our community garage sale. There were a dozen people standing at the end of our short (very short) driveway staring at me as I stood there in my ratty sweatpants and sweat shirt, my greasy hair piled on my head haphazardly. There should be some kind of law preventing strangers from being in front of your house at 8:00 am on a Saturday. If I wanted people to know what I really looked like I wouldn’t spend so much money at Sephora. After slipping Matt a discrete goodbye kiss, I slipped back inside where I debated between going back to bed or snuggling on the couch with Henry and watching Pushing Daisies. Henry and Pushing Daisies won, so we settled down on the couch and watched the Piemaker and the girl he calls Chuck solve the mysteries of life and death.

At 10:00, I packed Henry in the back of the car and headed out to pick up Lucy. Lucy is the two-year old daughter our friends Nathan and Holly. Nathan is Matt's best friend, and Holly and I are fortunate enough to get along as well. Lucy is delightful, and I'd been wanting to have a play date with her for a while. It finally worked out that Holly needed someone to watch her at the same time that I was free to do so! Lucy came out dressed in a green sweater, blue and green flowered pants and matching green and blue striped glasses. I generally have a rule that children in my presence can not be better dressed than I am, but I made an exception for Lucy. We stopped at Liquid Highway to get some lattes for the adults, and then met Beth at the dog park downtown. As we made our way from the parking lot to the dog park (all the while trying to juggle two lattes, a pug, a dauschund, and a two year old), we passed some volunteers planting. One of them called out to Lucy, "I like your sunglasses," so she stopped and twirled for them and announced, "I have a 'pack-pack' too!"

Money-Free Weekend #8

I have not posted here in a month. We have been continuing to save money and live our weekends to the fullest we can, but I’ve become too distracted living life to write about it. September has been beautiful in South Carolina. The humidity vanished and the sunshine remained. The sky burned bright with that blue that September seems to have some kind of special monopoly on. Every evening when I got home from work, the wood floors and pear colored walls in our house glowed comfortably in the lazy sun beginning to slip into evening. We loaded up on Asian pears, and I’ve made buttery pear cakes that we ate with hot coffee. We’ roasted asparagus, caramelized cauliflower and boiled new potatoes and then dressed them in olive oil and yogurt. I don’t want to place too much emphasis on my feelings or risk taking myself too seriously, but I think I have manage to shake of this bout of restlessness and discontent.

This past Saturday we woke up in Atlanta. We had gone down Friday night to help my accomplished sister Rebekah celebrate the successful completion of her CPA exam. Daddy paid (read moochers), and Matt and I stood nearby to let some of the fruit of her labor rain down on us as well. I always enjoy staying at my sister’s Atlanta townhouse. It’s like staying in a boutique bed and breakfast where you are the only guest, and you are related to the proprietor. She has the poufy guest bed with soft sheets and a fluffy duvet that is perfect for burrowing when you don’t want to face the sun. The room also has a unique alarm clock in the way of her birds who will sing you into wakefulness if you continue to ignore the sun. Her shower has thundering water pressure and her towels are like big velvety blankets. Then of course, there is her wardrobe which I like to scavenge through and her array of makeup that makes Sephora’s sample tables look stingy. Rebekah brews us lattes and makes us food. It is truly lovely.

We didn’t leave as early as we had planned (see above description of blankets, makeup and lattes for explanation), but were able to tear ourselves away in order to be home not too late after lunch time. I immediately jumped into organizing mode. Atlanta is not only home to the largest aquarium in the world and Coke; it is also home to The Container Store. I have been eyeing Rebekah’s nifty containers for quite some time and gradually made my way to their website, but this was the first time I was coming home with Containers of my own. When I was in junior high/high school, my mother’s nickname among their friends was “the Tub Lady.” It seems I am not impervious to the inevitable fate of turning into my mother. Matt had given me a budget and I was seventy cents under! That takes skills. Loaded up with my bins, I organized all the bathroom drawers and under the sinks of both bathrooms. Inspired by my own organizing prowess, I also cleaned all the surfaces and mopped the floors. I stopped short at vacuuming, because I consider it the most unromantic of all common household chores. How can you escape into the world of Jane Eyre on your headphones or pretend that you are Marie Antoinette in prison if you have to maneuver a huge plastic sucking motor around your carpets? Matt is not, however, hindered with these sensibilities and stuck his head around the corner to ask, “Are you going to vacuum?” Translation: Please vacuum; the carpets are dingy, darling. I decided that vacuuming for Matt is almost romantic, and obliged.

Black-Out Weekend #1

In retrospect, I really wish I had named this a "Frugal Weekend Project" or a "$20 Weekend Project;" but it's too late now. The "money-free" aspect is an illusion. It seems no matter now carefully I fill up our gas tanks or load up on groceries on Friday nights, we still spend money. This weekend, my supportive, deeply committed husband was beginning to feel the pressure of my project. No man works hard all week just to be told that he can't spend any of his loot on his two days off. Additionally, my sister had suggested having a monthly "Black-Out Weekend" in which we did what we wanted and spent what we wanted without feeling the need to share it with the virtual world. As she pointed out, there is nothing wrong with occasionally spending the whole day in bed and then getting up and going out for an expensive meal. And that's hardly something anyone should be blogging about. So let us draw a curtain across this weekend's money-spending dubauchery and focus our attention on other matters.

I had originally planned to do a special post on sugar-free recipes, but Matt encouraged me to spend the time on my novel instead. It has been slow going! I struggle with getting the ideas down on the paper in a rough draft form. It is too tempting to edit just one page to death without never moving on to the next page. The extra two hours afforded by not blogging afforded me three pages of novel! However, next weekend will be another fabulous frugal weekend, and I can't wait to write all about it.

Money-Free Weekend #4

Last weekend was so busy and full, that this will be only some of the highlights. Matt, the hard working banker, had to put in a half day of work. I kissed him goodbye and then did some cleaning. The whole time wondering, how does the house get so dirty during the week? We hardly spend any time in it! At 9:00, three of my girlfriends showed up for a money-free spa party. I asked everyone to bring something for breakfast and some spare spa and bath products. I organized the products on the counter and made a little gift basket of samples I've seemed to accumulated over the years. We soaked our feet, and gave ourselves manicures. Then we ate a delicious healthy breakfast. It was as much fun as the spa, and much cheaper. Not to mention, I got my bathroom closet cleaned out in the process!

When Matt got home he changed and we ate lunch. Then we packed up our camera and headed up to Ceasar's Head. When we go there, the parking lot was under construction. We weren't sure we'd be able to make to the overlook, but we asked permission to cross the construction site. Two rangers came out to watch Matt, Henry and I struggle up the sandy hill. Every once in a while they would call out a suggestion. It seemed to take a very long time to cross that parking lot. It was a hazy day again, but we still got some breathtaking views of the mountains. And our plant pictures seem to benefit from the overcast conditions. We experimented with different settings on our camera and tried to take pictures of all striking plants we saw on our hike.

We started driving back down the mountain just before the rain that had been threatening all day poured down with vengeance. On the way home, we stopped at Walgreen's to get some of our pictures developed. It was still pouring rain, so we got absolutely drenched getting out of the car. We squeaked our way through Walgreen's, and took about twenty minutes trying to figure out how to use the picture developer thing. While our pictures were being developed, we ran over to the grocery store where I had to pick up some apple cider vinegar ($3). Then we went to pick up our pictures and got, if possible, even more wet. We were very happy to get home and get in some dry clothes. After dinner we finally got a start on our nature journal. We had a journal we'd purchased when we were dating but never used; so with that and all my scrapbooking materials, all we needed were our pictures ($7). We pulled out some field guides and started to identify some of the things we'd found. Right before going to bed we watched a movie we'd been wanting to see for a while.

Money-Free Weekend #3

Last weekend was busy, sweet, and everything I hoped to get out of this project. For a while I’ve wanted to get up early to watch the sunrise together. Matt thought it was a good idea, so we set out alarm clock for 5:00 (sun rose at 5:56 am last Saturday) only half believing we’d actually get out of bed that early. We woke up easily enough when the alarm went off, so we got up and made our way out to watch the sunrise. Matt was all ready for the day, but I stayed in my pajamas. Our sunrise plans were hindered a bit by a heavy fog, but the mountain forests were eerily beautiful in shades of gray and green. We drove up the mountain until suddenly we drove out of the fog and the sun shone all around us. When we rounded a bend, we caught a glimpse of Greenville that took our breath away. Down below the mountain Greenville was covered in a swirling white cloud with just little green peaks of baby sized mountains peaking through the top. Matt swung the car around so I could see it again. I stared at it until a car came up behind us and we had to start moving back down into the fog again. The sun was up in earnest at this point, and the fog glowed in its light.

Matt asked me if I’d be interested in going to Stax Original for breakfast. It’s a local restaurant with a bit of a diner feel that Matt and I used to frequent when we were dating. At first I obnoxiously pointed out that going out for breakfast would completely defeat my attempts to be money free on the weekends, but the look on his face reminded me why I’d allowed a $20 exception for the project. I was still in my pajamas, but Matt assured me that it wasn’t obvious. I certainly hope that was true since we saw about a dozen people that we know. Breakfast was perfect. And it only cost $7. There is something so satisfying about sitting in a booth sipping coffee out of ceramic mugs while ceiling fans spin the scent of bacon, eggs, and pancakes around your head.