For as long as I can remember, my twin sister, Emily, has always been the one who would wake us up early Christmas morning with the cries of "Santa came!" I could never beat her to it - I'd always vow to stay awake so I could be the one to see the presents first, but I would fall into a deep sleep just to be awoken a few hours later by her cries of "Santa, Santa!!!" Then she would come and get me, and we would rush into the living room to see the magic that was Christmas. The way the lights on the tree would make the wrapped gifts look, and the frantic search to figure out which of the presents were yours!
I can't remember how old I was, but one Christmas we drove all the way to my grandparents house in Ohio. I remember Emily and I were terrified that Santa would not be able to find us (after all, our house was in Georgia, not Ohio). The trip there was horrible. As a typical Georgia December, the temperature was still quite nice with the high temperature of the day reaching 60 or 70. As we inched further north, the temperature began to drop. Mom kept rolling down the window to smoke, so every few minutes we were freezing because of the cold wind blowing in.
After a ridiculously long time in the car, we finally made it to my grandparents house. That's when we realized there were no coats for any of us. Four kids, no coats. There was snow - about 6 inches of it. I don't really know why we didn't bring coats, but somehow that minuscule detail had been overlooked in the packing process the day before. The entire time we were there, we had to use some of our cousins jackets that were way too big - it was pretty comical. (Btw, this isn't really related to the Christmas story, but I think its a fun tidbit to throw in there!)
The days leading up to Christmas were filled with constant questioning by Emily and I about Santa. On Christmas Eve, we finally fell asleep after we had been threatened with the fact that Santa would not come if we did not go to sleep.
A few hours later, I heard Emily's footsteps running up the stairs to the attic room we were sharing. Expecting her familiar cries, I was instead horrified by what she was yelling "Erica, Erica, Erica - Santa came and he brought you your Duke doll!!!" I was horrified - how had she seen what presents I had gotten for Christmas, and why did she feel the need to ruin my surprise? I remember my whole world seem to crumbe in that one instant...
After a bit of crying that lasted much longer than it should, I finally walked down the stairs to see what Santa had left, but knowing the entire time I knew the magic was gone. At the end of the stairs I see what Santa had left - there were four chairs (one for each of us). On each chair there were a few wrapped boxes, and then on top of the boxes one brown paper grocery bag filled with gifts. Sticking out of the bag marked "Erica" was, in fact, my G.I. Joe Duke doll that I had wanted so badly. It appeared that the Santa that visited Ohio was not, in fact, the same Santa from Georgia. The one that wrapped ALL of the presents.
I don't know why I was so upset by that event so early in my life. I still get annoyed to this day when people tell me things that I want to discover on my own. Yesterday, Emily ran a half-marathon. Because she is in Japan, there is a 13 hour gap between us. After getting home from the grocery store this morning, I got online to check Emily's Facebook page to see what she had posted about the half-marathon. As I was waiting for my netbook to boot up, I told my husband my plan. To which he loudly yelled, "Oh yeah, it says that she ran her first half-marathon in 2 hours and 30 minutes." IT WAS THE DUKE DOLL CHRISTMAS ALL OVER AGAIN!!!!
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Birthday!
Today is my 25th birthday. That's right, I've been on this world a quarter century. Reading a facebook post by my twin sister, I realized that I should be very grateful for these 25 years that I've had on this earth. There are people out there who don't get nearly this long.
Unfortunately I don't take a lot of things in my life for granted - I really should. I shouldn't sweat the small stuff - and I should enjoy the small things in life.
It was a beautiful morning today. Chilly and clear. One of those mornings that lets you see how wonderful and amazing the world really is. The sun was shining, there were birds chirping (even though I have an intense dislike of birds...).
I've been wanting to start a blog for a long time, and I figure that there's no better time than now. I'll be using this blog to document my 25th year, and all of the things that happen. I'll sure there will be more than enough awkwardness to appease the masses.
The past week, in anticipation of my 25th birthday (and the real "beginning" of this blog), I created a list of 25 things that I would like to accomplish in the upcoming year. I started writing my bucket list a few months ago. I've only got 38 things that I would love to do before I die, but most of them just aren't possible in the next year. I needed a list of things that were more attainable. Some of them might sound stupid or really easy, but what's the point of making a to-do list if you can't actually check anything off?
1. Pay off my car! It will be hard, but its totally possible. It will be so nice to not have a car payment for a while!
2. Run in the Savannah River Bridge Run. I'm only going to sign up for the 5k. I haven't really been practicing for it, but my friend Cameron and I have decided we are going to do it. I hope that it will help me get over my fear of bridges.
3. Go on a cruise. It's something me and Nick have been wanting to do for such a long time!
4. Visit another country. This is most likely going to be accomplished by #3. I've been wanting to go to visit another country for ages, but as I have an intense fear of flying (or really, death by flying), it has hindered any international travel. I've only been to Canada. On a potato farm. Yeah....
5. Start working on my master's degree. There is nothing that I love more than being a student. If it was an actual job, I'd be a full-time college student forever. A master's degree will also give me a huge pay raise.
7. Sew something useful. I have a sewing machine. I "taught" myself how to sew. I got really into it for about 2 weeks. I downloaded all kinds of patterns and templates for amazingly awesome stuff. But I never did any of it. All I managed to sew was some crappy hobo purse, that wasn't really a purse - more like a two sided piece of fabric that you tie into a crappy purse.
8. Grill something all by myself. I have an intense fear of a grill. Maybe its the fact that my house burned down when I was 8. Or perhaps its because my husband is more than willing to grill, and it means that I don't have to cook. Either way, I will overcome my grill-less skills and cook something!
9. Go to a Boston Red Sox Game. I've been to two games at Fenway park. I've also been to games at Tampa and Atlanta. There is no comparison to Fenway in Boston. Hopefully this time I won't jinx them, and they'll actually win.
10. Organize my home office. Me and Nick moved into our house over two years ago. My home office still looks like crap. There is no real filing system, or any actual organization at all. I need an office that will be conducive to working. Maybe I'll be able to get some work done!
Read 25 books (for pleasure). I love to read. But, unfortunately, I never get to read any more. There's always stuff to clean at the house, papers to grade, or lessons plans to work on. In order for me to get 25 books read, I know that I'll have to make an effort to read every day. 12. Stop pressing the snooze button. The snooze button and I have had a long love/hate relationship. I knowingly set my alarm clock for earlier than I need to, just so that I can press the snooze button. However, the only thing that pressing the snooze button does is making me late for work, and pissing me off because you really don't get a lot of sleep in 10 minute intervals.
13. To not spend the summer being horribly pasty pale. I am pale. I burn easily. In order for me to be tan, it requires a lot of work and effort. This summer, I will make efforts to ensure that I am not ashamed of my pasty paleness, and am always shorts ready.
14. See a sunrise on the beach. Even though I've lived near the coast for my entire life, I've never actually seen a sunrise on the beach.
15. Get braces. Because of a speech impediment and less than awesome parents, I have not received the proper dental care that I needed as a child. My teeth are one of those things that I am really self conscious about - and that I can actually change. I can't make myself any taller, or my hair any thicker. I can, however, make my teeth straighter. If I can only endure the ridicule that my students and fellow co-workers will surely lay on me.
16. Go fishing, catch a fish, clean said fish, and then cook and enjoy it. I used to go fishing all of the time as a kid. Its the one thing from my childhood that I actually truly enjoyed and miss. Nick also does not believe that I am capable of cleaning a fish, and I want to disprove him.
17. Camping. With s'mores. I've never actually been camping. In less you include sleeping in a tent overnight in my friend's back yard in 6th grade. Also, I want to make s'mores the good 'ol fashioned way.
18. Go to the Harry Potter Wizarding World in Orlando. I love Harry Potter (yes, I am a dork). I know that Nick will not be nearly as into as I would, so I hope that Emily will be back from Japan and can join me sometime in the spring!
19. Paint and decorate my house. As stated earlier, we've been in this house for over two years and we still have a maroon dining room and a harvest gold toilet in the master bathroom. I'm also second guessing myself when it comes to paint colors, pictures, pillows, and other decorations. With the help from Ikea and others, I'm sure I can make my house awesome.
20. Prove to Nick (and others) that I am "handy" by building something useful. Among my long list of fears, saws and failure rank quite high up there (possibly only topped by birds and flying). Nick is always making fun of me for saying things like "I could build that" or "we can make that." He doesn't believe I am handy. I will prove him wrong!.
21. Take more pictures. In a digital world, where I don't have to pay to develop pictures, and that they're available instantly, why don't I have more pictures? There are tons of occasions and times when I wished I would have taken pictures. I'm going to try to take at least a picture a day. We'll see?
22. Go on a bike ride or hike somewhere really nice and scenic. Or perhaps a kayak ride instead. I love nature, but because of work and other obligations I don't get to enjoy it as much as I should. I would really love to go somewhere pretty and enjoy it. I think I might enjoy the kayak the most, but Nick is pretty anti-kayak (he thinks its stupid to ride in a boat that you have to power yourself when there are perfectly good boats with motors to be used). As for the bike, I haven't been on one in years, and (imagine this) would be afraid of sustaining a disfiguring (or at least painful) injury.
23. Rescue an animal friend. I hate seeing all of these cute dogs and cats out there that don't have a home. If / when me and Nick finally get our backyard fenced in, I'd really like to get another animal.
24. To bowl above a 100. To most people this might sound stupid, but to me its a perfectly good goal to obtain. I've only bowled above 100 once before - a 103. There was only one other person there to witness it. Luckily there is an awesome new bowling alley about 5 miles from my house. Once the newness wears off some and it isn't so crazy crowded, I'm going to start bowling and trying for a score of 100+.
25. Give some thoughtful considerations about motherhood. Yes, I want a baby. I think all women experience their biological clocks at some point. I've finally reached that point in my life where having a baby wouldn't be the worst thing to happen to me. I have a house, a job, an awesome husband. So, we'll definitely have to see on this one (by the way, this is the last on my list, the only one to require another human being, and also the least likely to be accomplished).
Pew....now to dinner because ITS MY BURFDAY!
Unfortunately I don't take a lot of things in my life for granted - I really should. I shouldn't sweat the small stuff - and I should enjoy the small things in life.
It was a beautiful morning today. Chilly and clear. One of those mornings that lets you see how wonderful and amazing the world really is. The sun was shining, there were birds chirping (even though I have an intense dislike of birds...).
I've been wanting to start a blog for a long time, and I figure that there's no better time than now. I'll be using this blog to document my 25th year, and all of the things that happen. I'll sure there will be more than enough awkwardness to appease the masses.
The past week, in anticipation of my 25th birthday (and the real "beginning" of this blog), I created a list of 25 things that I would like to accomplish in the upcoming year. I started writing my bucket list a few months ago. I've only got 38 things that I would love to do before I die, but most of them just aren't possible in the next year. I needed a list of things that were more attainable. Some of them might sound stupid or really easy, but what's the point of making a to-do list if you can't actually check anything off?
1. Pay off my car! It will be hard, but its totally possible. It will be so nice to not have a car payment for a while!
2. Run in the Savannah River Bridge Run. I'm only going to sign up for the 5k. I haven't really been practicing for it, but my friend Cameron and I have decided we are going to do it. I hope that it will help me get over my fear of bridges.
3. Go on a cruise. It's something me and Nick have been wanting to do for such a long time!
4. Visit another country. This is most likely going to be accomplished by #3. I've been wanting to go to visit another country for ages, but as I have an intense fear of flying (or really, death by flying), it has hindered any international travel. I've only been to Canada. On a potato farm. Yeah....
5. Start working on my master's degree. There is nothing that I love more than being a student. If it was an actual job, I'd be a full-time college student forever. A master's degree will also give me a huge pay raise.
6. Learn how to curl my hair without looking retarded. I'm 25. I should be able to curl my hair by now. I failed to learn this skill when most girls do, as I was full-blooded tomboy for the majority of my early life, and then when I finally wanted to learn I was too ashamed to ask for help. So now I am 25, and so completely awkward that I cannot even curl my own hair. Awesome.
7. Sew something useful. I have a sewing machine. I "taught" myself how to sew. I got really into it for about 2 weeks. I downloaded all kinds of patterns and templates for amazingly awesome stuff. But I never did any of it. All I managed to sew was some crappy hobo purse, that wasn't really a purse - more like a two sided piece of fabric that you tie into a crappy purse.
8. Grill something all by myself. I have an intense fear of a grill. Maybe its the fact that my house burned down when I was 8. Or perhaps its because my husband is more than willing to grill, and it means that I don't have to cook. Either way, I will overcome my grill-less skills and cook something!
9. Go to a Boston Red Sox Game. I've been to two games at Fenway park. I've also been to games at Tampa and Atlanta. There is no comparison to Fenway in Boston. Hopefully this time I won't jinx them, and they'll actually win.
10. Organize my home office. Me and Nick moved into our house over two years ago. My home office still looks like crap. There is no real filing system, or any actual organization at all. I need an office that will be conducive to working. Maybe I'll be able to get some work done!
Read 25 books (for pleasure). I love to read. But, unfortunately, I never get to read any more. There's always stuff to clean at the house, papers to grade, or lessons plans to work on. In order for me to get 25 books read, I know that I'll have to make an effort to read every day. 12. Stop pressing the snooze button. The snooze button and I have had a long love/hate relationship. I knowingly set my alarm clock for earlier than I need to, just so that I can press the snooze button. However, the only thing that pressing the snooze button does is making me late for work, and pissing me off because you really don't get a lot of sleep in 10 minute intervals.
13. To not spend the summer being horribly pasty pale. I am pale. I burn easily. In order for me to be tan, it requires a lot of work and effort. This summer, I will make efforts to ensure that I am not ashamed of my pasty paleness, and am always shorts ready.
14. See a sunrise on the beach. Even though I've lived near the coast for my entire life, I've never actually seen a sunrise on the beach.
15. Get braces. Because of a speech impediment and less than awesome parents, I have not received the proper dental care that I needed as a child. My teeth are one of those things that I am really self conscious about - and that I can actually change. I can't make myself any taller, or my hair any thicker. I can, however, make my teeth straighter. If I can only endure the ridicule that my students and fellow co-workers will surely lay on me.
16. Go fishing, catch a fish, clean said fish, and then cook and enjoy it. I used to go fishing all of the time as a kid. Its the one thing from my childhood that I actually truly enjoyed and miss. Nick also does not believe that I am capable of cleaning a fish, and I want to disprove him.
17. Camping. With s'mores. I've never actually been camping. In less you include sleeping in a tent overnight in my friend's back yard in 6th grade. Also, I want to make s'mores the good 'ol fashioned way.
18. Go to the Harry Potter Wizarding World in Orlando. I love Harry Potter (yes, I am a dork). I know that Nick will not be nearly as into as I would, so I hope that Emily will be back from Japan and can join me sometime in the spring!
19. Paint and decorate my house. As stated earlier, we've been in this house for over two years and we still have a maroon dining room and a harvest gold toilet in the master bathroom. I'm also second guessing myself when it comes to paint colors, pictures, pillows, and other decorations. With the help from Ikea and others, I'm sure I can make my house awesome.
20. Prove to Nick (and others) that I am "handy" by building something useful. Among my long list of fears, saws and failure rank quite high up there (possibly only topped by birds and flying). Nick is always making fun of me for saying things like "I could build that" or "we can make that." He doesn't believe I am handy. I will prove him wrong!.
21. Take more pictures. In a digital world, where I don't have to pay to develop pictures, and that they're available instantly, why don't I have more pictures? There are tons of occasions and times when I wished I would have taken pictures. I'm going to try to take at least a picture a day. We'll see?
22. Go on a bike ride or hike somewhere really nice and scenic. Or perhaps a kayak ride instead. I love nature, but because of work and other obligations I don't get to enjoy it as much as I should. I would really love to go somewhere pretty and enjoy it. I think I might enjoy the kayak the most, but Nick is pretty anti-kayak (he thinks its stupid to ride in a boat that you have to power yourself when there are perfectly good boats with motors to be used). As for the bike, I haven't been on one in years, and (imagine this) would be afraid of sustaining a disfiguring (or at least painful) injury.
23. Rescue an animal friend. I hate seeing all of these cute dogs and cats out there that don't have a home. If / when me and Nick finally get our backyard fenced in, I'd really like to get another animal.
24. To bowl above a 100. To most people this might sound stupid, but to me its a perfectly good goal to obtain. I've only bowled above 100 once before - a 103. There was only one other person there to witness it. Luckily there is an awesome new bowling alley about 5 miles from my house. Once the newness wears off some and it isn't so crazy crowded, I'm going to start bowling and trying for a score of 100+.
25. Give some thoughtful considerations about motherhood. Yes, I want a baby. I think all women experience their biological clocks at some point. I've finally reached that point in my life where having a baby wouldn't be the worst thing to happen to me. I have a house, a job, an awesome husband. So, we'll definitely have to see on this one (by the way, this is the last on my list, the only one to require another human being, and also the least likely to be accomplished).
Pew....now to dinner because ITS MY BURFDAY!
Monday, June 7, 2010
In the beginning...
I don't believe there was ever a time in my life that I didn't feel awkward. I've never been one of those people that others look at and think "wow, she is so cool." At 24, I don't know if that will ever happen. However, with age comes wisdom, and I now realize that most people have spots of awkwardness in their lives (I just happen to have more than others).
In this blog I plan on sharing my own awkward gems in hopes that others will come to embrace their awkwardness and eventually share their own stories and pictures.
In this blog I plan on sharing my own awkward gems in hopes that others will come to embrace their awkwardness and eventually share their own stories and pictures.
Luckily, awkwardness runs in the family!
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