Happy New Year (‘s Eve, if you’re reading this before the 1st)! How is everyone celebrating? Drew, Jackson, and I flew to Missouri yesterday and are staying at my parents’ place until Monday. My sister, Allison, and her boyfriend, Gabe, are here also, so it’s a full house. Drew, Allison, Gabe and I went out to see the big band play this evening and then Drew and I went out for a bit after and now it’s 10 PM and I just changed into a sweatshirt and stretchy pants and I’m watching Louis CK and feeling much more comfortable than I was 15 minutes ago in my tight jeans.
Anyhoo, I’m not making any resolutions this year. Not really. Instead, I have goals and wishes and hopes. I hope to have a baby this year and complete our family and the pregnancy and childbirth stage of my life. I hope to take a true family vacation (i.e. going somewhere that isn’t just visiting family), which we haven’t done since Jackson was 8 months old. Personal improvement goals include: start reading books again, even just one a month; make at least a couple new friends (Drew’s grandmother, whom I never met, apparently said the key to longevity is making two new friends every year, and I like that advice); eat more salad. Work-related goals: I’d love for DW to be completely self-sufficient this time next year (meaning, I don’t HAVE to rely on reader donations just to break even); and I’d love to double readership in the next year (it’s up about 40% from a year ago, so I feel good about that anyway). And, oh, I don’t know. That’s it, I guess. What about you? Is it still NYE when you’re reading this? Should we have a toast together at midnight? I don’t know if I can stay awake that late. Maybe. We’ll see. If you’re around, give a holler and I’ll check back in in a bit. If not, happy new year to you and I’ll see you back here on Monday when I head back to NYC and get back to a regular posting schedule.
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coconot January 1, 2015, 3:43 am
Happy New Year Wendy! Those sound like good goals for the year. I am visiting family overseas so it is already well in to the new year for me, and I can definitely empathize with the take a vacation that is not to visit family goal. My major resolution is to figure out what I want to do with my life when I finish grad school (hopefully next December). I also want to be better at contacting my long distance friends and family, which I’m currently terrible at, and have more green smoothies.
Dear Wendy January 1, 2015, 8:12 am
So, I fell asleep on Drew’s lap watching tV just a few minutes before the ball dropped in Times Square. But then I woke up right after and gave drew a kiss and dragged myself to bed. 2015 is off to an exciting start!
Coconot, I like all your resolutions. I may have to steal the green smoothies one. But only if I can put rum in the smoothies.
Addie Pray January 1, 2015, 9:42 am
Happy new year Wendy and everyone! I was asleep at 10:30 pm – whoops. Now I’m up watching the movie I tried to watch last night but was having a hard time getting interested – “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”. Yes, I know, it’s nuts that I have never seen it, which is why I picked it- must see what this is about. And I’m having a really hard time liking it. I’m not a big fan of Audrey Hepburn. And now I feel like I must be the only persons who thinks that – everyone always raves about this movie. Meh.
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As for my goals, well, crossfit and eating healthy are my big goals for this year. Less wine, more water- that’s a goal too. I also think this going to be a great year for me – my boyfriend moves here in less than 2 months – yay!!! Well, I guess the year is either going to be great or terrible, depending on how things go once he’s here. But I have a good feeling it’s going to be great! And I wouldn’t be surprised if this time next year a lot has changed for the better! I’m starting this year with a really positive outlook, eh!?
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Ok I keep having to restart “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” because I can’t get into it. Who really likes this movie?! Maybe I should get off DW and give it a chance.
Taylor January 1, 2015, 12:53 pm
I thought Breakfast at Tiffany’s was depressing. I haven’t seen it in years, but I remember wondering what the fuss was about. Plus, racist. The book was also a downer.
Yay, BF moving to Chicago!!
Kate January 1, 2015, 2:00 pm
I thought the book was pretty good, though yeah, not a happy ending. I haven’t seen the movie but from the trailer I think they went in a little different direction with it. I think in the book the protagonist was a gay man, but in the movie he was in love with Holly?
Lyra January 1, 2015, 11:35 am
2014 was pretty good overall…but FAST. Holy cow it was fast. I can’t get over the fact that it FLEW by. I don’t want my life to fly so quickly, you know? Highlights include, of course, getting engaged last week (!!!!), encouraging Navy Guy to adopt a cat, having a job that I enjoy, spending quality time with good friends, reconnecting with old friends…pretty boring overall, but it has been a good year.
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2015 will consist of getting married!!! (We have a date penciled in, have to tour facility and put down the deposit on Saturday.) Also we will be moving to a new, bigger place, which though is very exciting, I will really miss my little bachelorette pad. I’ve fallen in love with my apartment. I really really really love living by myself, and of course we will move in together and it will be awesome, but I’ve had many good memories here.
Lyra January 1, 2015, 11:38 am
Oh and my 2014 resolution was “Live Simply”. I accomplished some of the goals that fell under that category, but not all. I will continue the resolution into 2015, especially paying off debt. NG and I are totally on the same page with paying off all our combined debts so we’re jumping in headfirst to pay them off when we have combined incomes!
Taylor January 1, 2015, 12:55 pm
My NY’s resolution is to be more organized. Part of that involves saying no to new things for a while. I’ve been saying yes to most things for the last four years, and now there’s a lot of juggling. I love a new year, shiny and full of all the possible things.
Happy 2015!
Kate January 1, 2015, 2:20 pm
This year I have to become a VP at the huge company that acquired my small one. That was the big thing of 2015, that sale. I didn’t want to leave because I’d been there 8 years and was really comfortable, but they didn’t have the job I wanted and I banged my head against the wall for 2 years making up the job, starting to do it, and not getting a promotion no matter what I tried. First my boss was losing it and got fired, then I guess the sale was happening. With the sale, at first I kind of despaired because I thought, more transition and no progress, but then my biggest client spoke up for me and the new company made me a deal. They have the job I want, they’re training me for it for 6 months, and did some things for me in the meantime. So my biggest goal for 2015 is professional. I am learning new sales skills, which is fun.
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My jeans just started feeling tight after a couple months of carelessness, so I’m getting that under control now with Fitbit.
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We had to re-do our benefits at work and I directed some more money to savings. We might want to buy a condo at some point, though no urgency and maybe not. I do want to retire comfortably though.
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I’d like to say Ill be less bitchy and gossip less, but eh.
Lianne January 2, 2015, 10:00 am
I wouldn’t say you’re bitchy, but gossipy, yes. I am also gossipy and it’s one of my biggest guilty pleasures. Maybe I should add that to my short list of goals? See below…
Kate January 2, 2015, 10:24 am
I work in such a toxic environment, if I tried to say I no longer gossip, people would LOL, shut the door, and tell me what jobs they’re interviewing for, who did cocaine, and who got fired but pretends they still work there.
Bubbles January 1, 2015, 3:19 pm
Stayed at home with my mister of 37 years, had some wine and watched Rockin NYE. We were in bed by 12:30! Watched the Rose parade this AM and talked to my daughter who is in Dublin for New Year. In 2015 I’d like to workout more (I have RA so working out became painful but it’s now manageable thanks to rx). We’ll be celebrating our granddaughter’s 4th birthday in a few weeks and welcoming our first grandson in the spring. We have lots to look forward to in 2015. We had a few family members get engaged last week. So looking forward to a few weddings this year. I traveled to Italy in 2013 and to Spain in 2014 with my daughter, sister and niece. I’ll see where 2015 takes me. Wishing everyone, good health, love and prosperity in 2015.
Portia January 1, 2015, 4:35 pm
Happy New Year! That sounds like a great way to bring in the new year, Wendy (and everyone else). I went to a house party where I had my fair share of bourbon on the rocks and toasted both 10 second before midnight and at actual midnight (Bassanio was a little early, but another friend made sure we were on time). When we got back, there was some drunken pesto pasta and Star Trek and called it a night.
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My goal for the year is real, full-time employment. I went straight from undergrad to grad and although I’ve had a bit of work along the way I’ve never really had a long-term, full-time job. So, that. Also, I’m hoping to get someone else (or a group of someone elses) to plan the wedding for us, because neither of us has any interest. Oh, and Bassanio wants to wear a top hat for it, which I fully support – he’d kind of have a Lincoln-type look, minus the beard, very appropriate for DC.
Lyra January 1, 2015, 6:16 pm
Isn’t wedding planning OVERWHELMING??? NG and I are in very the beginning stages of course, but I want to beat the post holiday engagement rush which is why I jumped in headfirst. The huge number of decisions to be made is insane.
Red_Lady January 1, 2015, 10:57 pm
Assuming your wedding isn’t in the next few months, I suggest just picking a few things to get done each month. I found it to be much less stressful when it was just a couple things to worry about at a time.
Lianne January 2, 2015, 10:07 am
I have to say, Lyra, the best thing I did was have a destination wedding. I think if I had done one locally and had to deal with all of the vendors myself, my head would have exploded. Literally. So, knowing you probably won’t do that, my one piece of advice to you is your own, actually – live simply. Don’t overdo it and don’t over think it. Decide what the few most important things are and keep those in mind. If you are stressing over a decision, think back to those few most important things and say to yourself, does this decision affect those things? And if the answer is no, MOA. Also, ready about Wendy’s wedding…I feel like she embodied the “live simply” mantra perfectly with hers.
Lyra January 2, 2015, 8:25 pm
The funny part is it isn’t me who is freaking out it’s my dad. He’s becoming a dad zilla.
Will write more later when NG and I get back from the grocery store…
Lyra January 2, 2015, 10:51 pm
OK so here’s the story. I have this reception venue that I REALLY like from the research I’ve done. It looks really great overall and has a bunch of the things that I’m looking for. My dad calls last night and says that he counted up the tables on the image on the website and the chairs and there aren’t enough chairs for the guest list. We haven’t even toured the venue yet!!!!! And he’s making all these assumptions!!! My take on this is that when we tell them we have 200-250 on our guest list they will cater to what we’re looking for because they will see $$$$$ when we tell them that. My dad is worried that it will be “hard to navigate” with so many tables. I’ve been cool about this the whole week, but he kept on going on and on and on and now I’m stressed about it because he kept on talking about the fact that this place may be too small. It’s overwhelming. I just want a date reserved!!!
Lyra January 3, 2015, 7:14 pm
We FOUND a place!!! It wasn’t the original one, but a different venue with the same company. I can basically rent everything from them…decorations, photo booth, etc. etc. I’m super pumped!!! Just need to figure out a more precise guest list and a more precise budget now…
Portia January 2, 2015, 4:13 pm
Honestly, I just don’t care enough about most of it. The only decisions I need to be a part of are who to invite/size and general location. Well, and that we have a generally non-religious service, since neither of us is very religious (different religions too and no one’s converting). I have a feeling we’re going to put much more effort into honeymoon planning – we kind of agreed years ago where we would go and have already talked way more about that than anything else. Along those lines, I think we’re going to have one of those honeymoon registries…
Portia January 2, 2015, 4:21 pm
I’m sure most of the stress will really just be feeling guilty that I’m not more into all that. We (and our parents) certainly have the means to throw a fabulous wedding and sometimes it feels wasted on me. Then again, I get decision fatigue easily, and second guess normal decisions so much that actually planning it would be terrible on me and I recognize that. I’m gonna have to get good at deflecting comments for a while regardless, and it’s been OK so far in small doses…
Cassie January 3, 2015, 6:35 pm
My advice would be hire someone to do it for you if you don’t care all that much and don’t want to do all the planning, or find a place that provides everything (such as a resort). Wedding planning is definitely not the epitome of fun and can indeed be stressful, but if you want a wedding versus going to a courthouse you and your fiance kinda have to just suck it up and do it. Don’t put the expectation on family or friends to do it for you. It’s not a good idea to put that stress and burden on people who care about you, ’cause that can lead to stressed friends/family, hurt feelings, and resentment. The money you would pay for someone else to do it all would be money well spent.
Portia January 4, 2015, 11:45 am
Well, if it was truly only up to me, it’s be the courthouse/eloping. But, family, and Bassanio is excited about it.
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Also, with the whole family/friends and not putting the stress on them, I get that, but at the same time we’ve also had people actually offer to plan and throw us a wedding before. Multiple people. We’ve been together a long time… In fact, I have a good friend who’s an event planner and has planned weddings before, and who has said on more than one drunken occasion that she wanted to plan our wedding. So, I see where you’re coming from, but I’ve got a slightly unusual situation… (Also I would pay my friend well.)
Portia January 4, 2015, 12:40 pm
Or I might just tell her I want her to be a guest at my wedding and ask her for planner recommendations. I’m sure she knows a bunch of great ones.
Lyra January 4, 2015, 1:13 pm
Yeah I have so many family/friends who *could* help out with things like photography, planning, etc. but I don’t want to put that on them. I want them to enjoy the day and have fun. I do have two college friends who are GREAT at organization and making sure things are in the right spot at the right time, and they both offered to be my “runners” from ceremony to reception, help coordinate to make sure everything is in the right place the day of, etc. That will help a LOT in terms of coordination. Once the day gets started they will be able to sit down and just enjoy the celebration, but it’s so nice knowing that they will be there if I need someone in a pinch.
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Although Navy Guy’s uncle is part of a semi professional jazz band and they are performing — our dance will be a swing dance! 🙂 He will give us a discount too which will help a lot! 🙂 The reception venue I chose has pretty much everything I could ever want so we will basically go through a checklist and determine what we want and they take care of the rest. For example, they will provide the cake, and they take care of all of it once we tell them what we want. Thus I don’t have to worry about it! I’m really stoked because it’s basically a venue/wedding coordinator wrapped into one. They could even take care of centerpieces and everything if I wanted them to.
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I have to say, in your situation, make sure you ask your friend if this is something she absolutely wants to do. As you well know, drunkenly saying that she wants to plan your wedding is totally different than actually wanting to plan your wedding haha. 🙂
othy January 1, 2015, 7:55 pm
My best man wore a top hat for our wedding. And we stuck a King of Hearts playing card in it. My mom apparently took issue with the card, and asked my MIL to ask Othello to ask the best man to take it out. Othello just laughed, since we’re the one who supplied the card. It does look fantastic, and it made a great prop for our pictures.
Portia January 1, 2015, 9:51 pm
Wait, what problem did she have with the playing card?? That’s such an innocuous thing. And I love that you guys gave him the card, it sounds very Alice in Wonderland.
othy January 1, 2015, 10:51 pm
Yeah, my mom’s a little formal with regards to weddings. I never understood it, because she isn’t really formal about much else. Although, my brother got married by a guy in a referee outfit, and I think it just about killed her.
veritek33 January 2, 2015, 9:25 am
My dad wore a top hat in my parents wedding. Looked like a total badass. Fully support.
Kate January 2, 2015, 10:12 am
I think my uncle did too, but like a summer version, with a seersucker suit.
Portia January 2, 2015, 4:14 pm
All these top hat stories are making me really happy 🙂
Lianne January 2, 2015, 10:03 am
Happy New Year! We had such a fun NYE. We had my sister-in-law, her husband and another friend and her husband over for cocktails and dinner, then we went to a prohibition party at a local restaurant that has a space for live music, etc. It was fun to go out, but not be at “da club” where you can’t move and everyone is sweaty and trying to hook up. It was a classy affair and we got to dress up.
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As for goals in 2015, I have a few. One, go to the gym at least 2 times per week and get my fitbit back on. Tied to that, cut back on drinking during the week to be more healthy. Professionally, I want to master my new job and feel like I have my feet under me by end of June. Because at that point, we want to try for a baby – which brings me to goal 4: get pregnant.
TaraMonster January 2, 2015, 12:22 pm
I had such an amazing NYE. A small group of my friends went out for dinner and live jazz where there was swing dancing. Some of the people dancing were professionals and they looked so awesome and now I want to take swing dancing classes. It was intimate and perfect and I drank too much champagne. Plus the new guy I’m seeing came along, and though it’s SUPER early, we had so much fun, and I really like him and he wants to take swing dancing classes with me and and and I’m trying not to get ahead of myself here!
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I too have some goals, and not resolutions, and I had them already, but mainly they have to do with staying healthy (emotionally, physically, financially, etc). I saw this cool idea about making a remembrance jar instead of resolutions- so you label the jar 2015 and you decorate it. Then throughout the year you write down things that happen that you feel proud of or good about and stick them in your jar. They can be big or small. Then at the end of the year you take them out and read about how awesome the last year was. I love this idea and I’m totally doing it! Happy 2015 everybody!
mylaray January 4, 2015, 2:53 pm
I got back from Russia last night and I turned 25 on NYD so I’m off to a good start so far 🙂 I never make resolutions but this year mine is to make more of a difference for others. My husband and I also plan to start the adoption process this year so that’s exciting and nerve wracking. We are corny and have a theme for each year. Last year was the year of travel and this year will be about family and spending time at home.
Portia January 4, 2015, 9:05 pm
Russia sounds awesome! I mean, I imagine it was a bit chilly there, but it’s got to have been really interesting. What was your favorite thing you saw? (If you can’t tell, I’m really jealous!)
mylaray January 4, 2015, 10:39 pm
It was really cold! I’m Russian so it was great to have my husband see my culture up close. We went to St. Petersburg which I had never been to. I loved all the beautiful cathedrals and architecture the most. I also loved all the little artisan markets. I felt bad though about buying so much because the rouble has been falling. But everything was gorgeous and reminds me I really want to get to Prague next.
Lyra January 4, 2015, 11:57 pm
So jealous of your trip!! Prague is gorgeous — I went there for a few days on a college trip in 2010. I wish it hadn’t been in January though…brrr was it cold!
MsMisery January 6, 2015, 12:55 pm
In November I quit my job of 13 years (we lost a client and I was going to be laid off). I started at a new place I am pretty sure was committing insurance fraud (or at the very least, very poorly run). Then my old job called me back with a new, better position so I started off the new year with a new job at my old company (all seniority reinstated). Very glad to be back.
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As for goals or resolutions… I am going to *try* to eat better. And maybe go places. I’m pretty meh about both.