Dicey December

I'll be honest, December was rough. There were definite highlights, like Christmas, and parties, and movies, and friend time. And yet it was all clouded over by the whole "you're alone AGAIN for the holidays this year" reality. I had a couple pity parties. There were a few times I wanted to clobber some clueless lovey-dovey folks in my circle. And some of the Facebook posts with the happy families forced me into a short FB break.

On the bright side, I'm about 15 pounds lighter than I was last year. That's nice. I can handle channeling my sometime loneliness through aggressive exercise (relaxing yoga is good, too). It's all about balance.

Anyhoo, here are some December highlights!

I made some major progress in two of my long-term projects at work. Then I took 12 days off for the holidays. What can I say? I hoard vacation time.

Just thinking about my Is He Dead? friends. "I've never seen such a long dog. That dog's not right!"

I hadn't seen any snow at the beginning of the month, but the rain and cold gave me hope!

I made my peanut butter cups for a Relief Society party and a Star Wars viewing. They are my faaaavorite!!

The Relief Society party included a cookie-baking demonstration, and some tips on how to make my cookies look extra impressive (especially when I'm in a hurry). There was also a raffle for prizes. Through a mix-up, my name was entered twice and I won twice. Mortified, I only accepted the first. Lemon cookies. They were AMAZING!

December 14: The first snow day of Winter 2015. We have had a TON of snow so far. Such a nice change from the previous two years!

I love receiving Christmas cards. I love seeing my friends' families' smiling faces and receiving something in the mail other than bills :)

I  saw Jason and several of my other friends in Babes in Toyland at CenterPoint. Rumor has it the theater won't be doing it again, so I'm glad I can say I saw it. Lots of great moments and comedic timing. The sixties scenes and music were a little odd, tho.

My ward had a goal for a sister in each Relief Society and an elder in each Elders Quorum to pick a night in a 30 day period to attend the temple so that someone was there for all of the 30 days. I picked the 16th and did initiators at the Salt Lake Temple. Afterwards, I walked around the grounds to look at the lights, but I was concerned about poking someone with the umbrella I'd brought with to shield me from the snow so I didn't stay very long. The lights never disappoint, and neither does time in the House of the Lord!

Liz's birthday party is always a highlight! I pieced together a cute cocktail-type outfit, at a bunch of chocolate strawberries, and talked about Star Wars and Christmas with a lot of terrific people. Already looking forward to next year!

With the birthday girl

Chantryce and me

One of my days off work, I spent a day at the movies and saw Spectre, The Peanuts Movie, The Good Dinosaur, and Star Wars: The Force Awakens (for the third time). I managed to get my 10,000 steps in anyway by walking around The Gateway between showings.

The picture cut out during The Good Dinosaur and we spent 10 minutes hearing the movie without seeing anything. Fortunately, management rewound the film so we wouldn't miss anything. Afterwards they gave us movie passes as an apology. Oddly, the night before the sound cut out during a big-screen viewing of the Doctor Who Christmas Special "The Husbands of River Song." They also rewound the movie, thank goodness. After that, I'm a little worried something else might go wrong in the near future. Doesn't bad news come in threes?

My mom makes fantastic sugar cookies and gingerbread cookies. I couldn't get enough of the gingerbread this year. They're cute AND tasty!

Couldn't resist a few "End of the Year" apps. Here are what the internet deemed my most significant photos from the year:

Three years ago, I went to Disneyland for New Year's Eve. Two years ago, I attended a dance and an after party. Last year I played games with my best friend and her family.

This year, I had a quiet night at home in my pajamas, watching Lawrence of Arabia and 2001: A Space Odyssey, and eating popcorn and chocolate cake, and reading The BFG and Imzadi. I needed some "me" time. It was great. (I did have to ask my downstairs neighbors to turn down their music around 2 am so I could go to bed. They were very nice about it.)

Calm before the storm, maybe? Who knows. But I'm looking forward to the new year!

I had a birthday

and lots of celebrations!

The first was the perfect way to start: Besty Birthday with my Kate. She and I were born only a few weeks apart, so we like to get together sometime in the middle and celebrate each other at the same time. This year, we splurged at The Melting Pot where I ate more than my fair share of the chocolate fondue, and the excellent waiter gifted us both with bottles Garlic and Wine seasoning to take home - yummy! We also laughed and cheered when we realized we'd found each other highly nerdy and completely perfect gifts.

Kate and her vintage USS Enterprise shuttlecraft, complete with Captain Picard action figure.
When we got on TRAX after dinner, a young man exiting the car said: "Is that a shuttlecraft? Like, from the Enterprise? That's so cool!" He sounded jealous he didn't have one. Sorry, dude!

Me and my warm, fuzzy TARDIS blanket. It is warm and big enough to wrap around my body and still have enough fabric to cover my toes. Fantastic!

The party with the family is always a highlight, and this year was no exception. My mom cheerfully cooked the weird menu I requested (Monte cristo sandwiches, strawberry salad, caprese salad, Brussels sprouts with bacon, and chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting), I was showered with gifts that included repairs at my condo, movie gift cards, and a new popcorn popper, and I had a satisfactory conversation about Harry Potter with a couple of my siblings. I even played a round of Clue with Adam, Lindsey, and the G-unit, and I won!

David's face in the background kills me

My nieces prepared a little song and dance for me, and Dave expertly accompanied them.
They even provided an encore -- be still my live-performance-loving heart!

Adam's homemade cards are always spot-on and awesome. He should go into the business.

My actual birthday was over Labor Day weekend. It's always nice when I have the day off from work, and even better when my friends do, too! I spent the morning at Jordanelle Reservoir with some friends from church and tried paddle boarding for the first time. I was surprised when I liked it as much as I did. A couple of the other ladies were jealous I was able to move from kneeling to standing without falling into the water (thank you, yoga!). Such a lovely, chill activity. I miraculously wasn't even sore afterwards.

Did I mention it was 66 degrees that morning?
It warmed up a little, but I'm grateful I didn't fall in the water.

Angie, Pamela, DeEtte, me, Melia, and Angela

Melia and me

I bought these shorts on sale at the reservoir shop that day. I've been looking all summer, so I found them not a moment too soon :P
Right after we took this photo, I realized that it was easier to maneuver if I held onto the handle at the top of the paddle. The more you know!

Phase two of the actual birthday involved some quiet time during which I ate a frozen treat from Nielsens Frozen Custard (maple walnut), did my favorite restorative yoga routine, showered, and made treats for rehearsal the next night.

Looks a little like a gnarled old man wearing a hat, doesn't it?

In the evening, Liz and Chantryce joined me for some barbecue and an action flick.
(Come on, folks. How am I still single?)

I walk past SugarHouse Barbeque every week on my way to church and it always smells amazing. It was darn good. I need to go again soon because I did not eat enough.

Gorgeous dates.
(Can you see my tiny tiara?)

Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation was just as action-packed and entertaining as I'd hoped. Also, I want forever more to sit in a lounge chair when I see movies, even if Liz commented that we're one step closer to the human predicament predicted in Wall-E ;)

Before going home, I stopped at Larissa's house (I forget why I thought I could do that so late at night. I promise not to do that to you again, Riss, before you have a chance to respond, even on my birthday). She had a gift ready for me anyway. I hadn't talked with her one-on-one in months and it felt soooo gooood to catch up a little. I love you!

Later that week, I invited her and some more of my favorite people* to join me for dinner at Brio Tuscan Grille (a place I tried when I could only eat meat and salad and wanted to return to when my diet restrictions were eased -- a good idea, it turns out) and The 39 Steps in West Jordan. Dinner was delicious, and the play was delightful. We were surprised when Larissa and our server realized they had done a play together several years ago, and then he went out of his way to make sure we were all well taken care of, including gifting me a certificate for a future visit. We were late to the play, but we were able to catch on fairly quickly, I think.

Ann, Jamie, me, Nichole, and Larissa at Brio.
The lamb chops and the sweet potato risotto are delish.

I had to get a photo showing how we'd unintentionally dressed to match.
Nichole's shoes were pink, tying into my pink shirt. Great minds think alike.

The last official birthday celebration was dinner at The Garden with a group of dear ladies I did theater with as a teenager. I am thrilled that we've reconnected, and that they were free do laugh and eat and talk and talk and talk.

Lifelong friends Katie, Suzanne, Laura, Theresa, and Suzanne

Suzanne brought her tiny baby and let me hold him for as long as I wanted.
Such a sweet, kissable, huggable little boy. Thank you, Zanny!

He got fussy, so I got fussy.
Solidarity forever!

We decided to get one of every dessert and share.
Best decision so far this year.
I especially recommend the creme brulé.

A view from the restaurant. Nice shot, Theresa!

Pretty great, right? Who is this lucky? It wasn't even a milestone birthday! I am grateful to everyone who took the time to send texts, post on my wall on Facebook, choose a thoughtful gift, and/or spend some time with me this year. I am a blessed woman. With friends and family like you, there's no way this year can be anything less than wonderful!


*On several occasions recently, people have commented that I seem to have a lot of close girl friends. I didn't realize until then that this was an odd thing. I'm a single lady, and I have a LOT of interests that I like to share with cool people. Hooray for female friends, and hooray for excuses to see them as often as possible!

The most wonderful month of the year!

December is at an end and a New Year is baring down on us. I had a fun month, full of family and friends, parties, dinners, and plays, and two full weeks off from work. I'd say I cannot ask for more, but I'm still asking for a boyfriend someday soon (just putting that into the universe).

I scaled back the Christmas decorations in my condo this year, but I couldn't do without my tree or my Swedish star.
It finally feels like Christmas!

My mother made me this gorgeous angel. She reigns over my tree in goodness and peace.
My friends say she looks like me, but I think she looks like my mom (and a little like Glinda the Good Witch).

Larissa went all-out for her A Christmas Story viewing party this year. The details were perfect, from the movie-themed food to the leg lamp she borrowed from Kristen. I didn't do much movie watching, but I did manage to catch up with a lot of people I like!

Hostess Larissa, and Chris

The "soap" was molded chocolate. This face was me trying not to think about how many other people had put it in their mouths ;)

The G-unit performed in a special after-school choir over the holidays. He's a performer through-and-through, and the true child of his parents. He hammed his way through the actions and had a huge smile on his face the entire time. He even had a solo in one of the numbers. I'm proud of him!

This smile was right after he messed up the words. Luckily, the entire choir was singing, so nobody noticed except us... and only 'cause he started laughing!

When Brandon offered Nichole, Larissa, and me tickets to see him in A Christmas Carol at Hale Centre Theatre, we jumped at the chance! Nichole and I have fond memories performing in the play, and Larissa had never seen it before. It's a lovely production, and the story of Scrooge and Bob Cratchit has a message worth learning over and over. Maybe I'll audition for it next year...

My ward organized a special event where we attended an afternoon session at the Salt Lake Temple, and then ate a catered dinner at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. My date cancelled on me, but I made myself go anyway. I knew I'd have plenty of friends there.

This was the view from our ballroom!

My table, minus Trinnette (the photographer)

I wasn't going to let Trinnette get away without a photo!

Blueberry chicken. It was different, but I liked it.

We had chocolate mousse for dessert. It tasted like frosting and was fabulous.

Terrible, terrible selfie with some of the lights at Temple Square

Peter's company rented out a theatre and had the employees invite friends, family, and clients to view The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies the night before it opened. I was the only one to dress in costume, but I couldn't not do it. It was my last chance!

The office Christmas party was at Tucanos this year. It's the one time of year that absolutely everyone comes into the office, and I'm always surprised at how many of us work from the Salt Lake office. I ate lunch with the User Experience and Marketing teams. We were surprised to see so many women together at once, since some of them work from home and others work in a part of the office the rest of us don't get to very often. I nearly blew their minds when I told them there are three other women on my development team, and one more in customer service!
We were also gifted a box of Cummings chocolates and a coupon to see a movie at the Megaplex for free. Hooray for the holidays!

I cannot say no to this chocolate cake. Not when it's free and lasts for four days (if I can restrain myself)

My two-week vacation started the next day :D

My nieces convinced me to do the unthinkable: I downloaded some games onto my phone. Now Breezy asks to play on my phone every time she sees me.

Hair Salon is Breezy's favorite, especially the "blowdryer" function.
The top left one is mine. I've accidentally shaved heads more often than I care to admit.

This Frozen Princess dress up game is also pretty fun.
These are all my designs.

Zonks's favorite is Dumb Ways to Die. I couldn't not download it when she moaned "I looooove it!" We both laugh our heads off while I read the directions and she tries to save the poor characters from grisly deaths (wow, that sounds horrible, but the game is hilarious).

I bought this cookie 'cause I was worried I wouldn't get any gingerbread this year. It tasted ok, but it prompted this amusing story:
"Dropped this cookie while walking up the stairs to my apartment (it was in a tiny bag). I exclaimed, "Oh no!" and one of my neighbors came running out to see if everything was ok. I was a little embarrassed to explain my reason, but she joked she would have been sad, too. I asked if she was the one doing laundry and she said she was, so I thanked her for the lovely detergent smell in the stairwell. Then we introduced ourselves. Nice to know another neighbor."

"For today's #creepshow, I parked for church, and these pigeons (plus a bunch more) immediately flocked to land on the street right next to my car. They then began circling and landing ON my car, so I backed up a bit so they'd get off, but they settled back in after I parked the second time. So, I drove away to park up the road. Happily, they didn't follow. But, wow, it was weird!"

I invited Larissa to join me for a day at the movies. We saw The Imitation Game, ate lunch at Five Guys Burgers and Fries, then her husband, Rob joined us for Interstellar. It's been a long time since my last double-feature, and I loved having Larissa with me!

I love this time of year when gas prices are as low as they've been all year. I remember a time when I thought $1.99 per gallon was a rip off! Filling up my gas tank for less than $20? Yes, please!

Some other notable events were watching the entire series of Ugly Betty -- which I LOVED -- and joining Aaron, Heidi, and Dave in seeing Into the Woods, which turned out to be a pleasant surprise. I've been saying since day one that I was cautiously optimistic about ITW. It's a tough show, but the movie got the tone just right and that is the most important thing to me. 

Christmas was everything I hoped it would be, and New Year's Eve was delightfully spent playing board games with my besty, Kate, her husband, and his family. Such a nice way to end the year!