StayCay 2011

We had a magical week of doing all the wonderful things our great town has to offer but we never seem to find or take the time to pencil into our otherwise rushing and hectic lives.   Friday afternoon driving down MoPac from the office I felt a freedom I haven't felt in a long time.  I was on vacation and there was no packing, no schedule or plane to catch, no requirements or pressure, nothing to forget or accidentally leave behind... just me and my family and the 9 1/2 days ahead. We had a great weekend and starting Sunday afternoon, we surrendered any chores or tasks undone, unplugged the computers, put away our phones and really began to unwind.

We bought flowers for the house, we went on walks, we worked out together(!).  There were cocktails a with our 3 hour-long lunches and 2 hour long massages.  We shopped, went to the theater, watched a movie at home and had our morning coffee on South Congress with all the sounds of the bustle of the town around us and the people watching of (mostly visiting) people in our town.  We went to Zilker park and picnicked by ourselves and also with thousands of people.  We floated in the pool and let the Shorty play 'hooky' from the nanny and hang with Mom and Dad in the mornings and all day on Thursday and Friday.  We had a magnificent date night and I took the time to make a book for my kiddo which he is now carrying around with him like some kids carry around their blankie (which makes my heart swell).

More posts to come on our StayCay as it starts to wind down.  But frankly, bloggin is a favorite thing to do that I haven't had time to do lately so this is a fun nap-time thing.  I hope that as we re-enter regular life, we can incorporate more of our Staycation way of life into the everyday.  Great in theory... we'll see how it goes in practice.

The Enemy of Perfection

So this evening as I ate my dinner, talked about work and fed the baby with the (seemingly attention-starved) cat sitting in my lap, it hit me: I haven't blogged in awhile. Was it the business trip that took a week of prep to match my week on the road? The photo sessions and related post-production endless task list? Maybe it was because of the newly-crawling, teething kiddo and adjustment to the time change and all that entails? Could it be the trips to the vet and the kitty-girl overcoming her illness that just about sent her to kitty girl heaven? Maybe it's the house redecorating? It surely wasn't the distraction of UT football. For all the times I get super busy, I still find time to blog. Why haven't I? I have tons of stories, updates and vignettes in my head, just bouncing around and itching to get out... so why?

My cousin recently emailed and asked us to compile photos and stories for my Grandmother's upcoming 90th birthday (yet another undone-to-do) and something she included at the end of the request was compelling. Maybe I should think on it a bit more until it REALLY sinks in... but on to it: "Don't let perfect be the enemy of good enough" In an effort to make things just right, don't put so much effort into it that you don't finish it and move on to the next thing.

You laugh. Think this was directed at me? Case in point?

So yes, I have managed to skip over some blog-worthy happenings which about drives me bonkers. It's one thing with things are just crusin' along, nothing to report, and I'm feeling the creative impulse to scribble. But uggh, to have content yet haven't captured it is like an itch I can't scratch. Did I mention I *actually* worked out? YES! THREE, count 'em THREE trips to Vinyasa Yoga (that's three 90 minute sessions of power yoga in a heated room). I mean, that's SOMETHING.

With all these things scrolling through my cabeza, I kept thinking I'd back-blog them. But alas, I give up. Maybe I'll have a very slow next couple weeks and have the chance to do just that. Ah, note to self: next week is Thanksgiving. Is it possible? (Time to bust out the Charlie Brown!)

And so in summary, I offer the following... Here 'tis:
-work trip damn near did me in... but I made lemonade: flew the boys to meet me in San Fran and we enjoyed spectacular weather. Even the locals were in awe.
-for now, I've managed to stave off the 2 week trip to Brazil. Seriously? Brazil. Don't get me started on the irony. and related eye-rolling frustration.
-The kitty girl is in full recovery. However, she has a new problem... for years she was a bit, shall we say, overly fluffy? (read: morbidly obese and on diet food for years, to no avail). She has dropped from ~20 lbs to a frail 5 1/2 lbs and as we have been working to pack the pounds back on, she has made progress. Along with it, she's become less irritable. whew. few things as mood altering as a cranky kitty. ESPECIALLY an hour after the baby has gone to sleep.
-yoga. see above. Mmmmmm. yay.
-the house make-over has been delightful. makes me wonder why i didn't do this early.
-we had our first over-night away from the bebe. Mr. Price and I got away for about 36 hours for a lovely stay at Barton Creek Resort while the shorty's delighted Nana got the pleasure of snuggling and playing with the little charmer. And a good time was had by all.

that's all I've got for now, team. Diving back into photoshop for the balance of the evening for a photo shoot of a babino with several large souvenirs of recent fun-gone-awry (aka scratches, bruises and bumps) that we'd prefer not preserve. good times.

over & out.

Friday before

I finally got around to (or rather, realized I hadn't yet) updated the blog playlist to the christmas list. Better late than never!

Today is the last day in the office and I will soon start some serious Xmas shopping to make up for lost time (too many nights until 8pm at the office lately). YAY for Christmas being in full force. =)

Motivation & Marble

Clearly blogging makes me a better version of myself: apparently griping about my own inadequacies works as a call-to-action. (Oh, wait, only on occasion. See any references to 'excercising') After seeing in black-and-white text yesterday and realizing that "my lack of decision making with regard to the flooring was soon to become the bottleneck" (I believe those were my exact words... at least, that's what is blazoned in my mind) ... I actually did something about it.

In fact, not only did I MAKE a decision on the flooring, I already located and purchased the lovely carerra marble which will be picked up this weekend and installed starting next Wednesday. Whoo-hoo!

Meanwhile, the wood will be placed upstairs Monday so that it can 'acclimate' to the room for at least a week prior to them starting installation. Who knew?

For those always asking for pictures... here's a visual, albeit a not-very-good one (from my phone) Don't know why the center of this picture turned out reddish. Maybe that's a special feature of the camera. =) Anyway, it is a white & grey marble. ta-da!

Yawn

...Before I bore myself off this blog... it's time to spruce it up.

and it's almost the SECOND half of the year. which means one thing: time for a new playlist! (woohoo). so there are a few songs i just couldn't get enough of so they'll show up again, but i tried to refresh it. The Asia songs: China & Japan references... gone. All the French songs... well, [almost] gone.

What's still around? Can't seem to get enough of Lauryn Hill beatboxin to the 70's remake, hopeful songs like Ohh La La and Wagon Wheel, the hottest song ever: Desire, sprinkled in with wake-me-up songs, close-your-eyes-and-pretend-it's-Friday-afternoon songs and some pull-the-shades-after-the-sun-went-down-and-slip-away songs.

Anyway, the playlist is my modern mix tape replacement; now that mix tapes are merely a relic of our memories, maybe found in a shoebox somewhere. Sorry you can't pop it in as you drive down the road, but go on and pretend there was a some block letters on the case dedicating it to you. =)

200!

Wow- Price Posts has 200 posts (actually 201 if you count this one).

That is a LOT of rambling.

I think it keeps me quieter at happy hour. It certainly empties my head of it's swimming thoughts and memories I cling to. Good times, good times.

Comments fixed.

Sorry team. Thanks for letting me know. xxoo~me

Blog Backlog

Dear Blog Readers,

I am remiss, my sincere apologies. Here it is, the begining of the year and nothing to read online during your downtime ...and I am not helping.

You see, dear reader, I have a backlog of blog posts that I have not yet posted because I have not yet uploaded the pictures to the posts. I've not yet included the pictures because I hadn't downloaded the pictures from my camera. Seems that it took me so long to do that, there was a backlog of pictures to organize and back-up. Turns out, once I realized that task was a bit more overwhelming that I'd realized (that of sorting), I just kind of ignored it - went along my merry holiday way... celebrating too much, sleeping in too much, watching movies and teaching my nieces to say my name (successfully, I might add!! more on that later). As you may know, I did start editing down pictures from the beginning of the year which leaves -who knows how long- until I get to the end of the year and to the task at hand.

This is no excuse, dear reader. I have heeded your call for reading material and I pledge to do better-- to catch up on my blogging backlog! NOTE: this is NOT a new years resolution, as I haven't and clearly shouldn't. My goal is to upload the pics tonight to the blog backlog and post those puppies! (wish me luck)

Best,
me

P.S. Madeleine can now say "Aahh Meh-Muh" for of Aunt Emmie (she can't say her 'E's just yet) and she's quite proud when she says it, too. Meanwhile, we had a delightful Christmas Day with the TriPrices - who refer to me as Aunt Em-lee and freely pull me from room to room for various adventures. My heart swells with pride. =)

Trying to figure out how to post from my phone...

100 and counting

This is actually post #101. but it doesm't really count since it's really just a post about posting.

happy friday from a coffee house in new york's west village... where i finally got internet. and my "got" i mean lifted and by 'lifted' i mean piggybacked. you get the picture.

The Perils of Lime in the Sun

Public Service Announcement:

Did you know that lime juice can give your skin 3rd degree burns in the sun?

Well, I didn't. And so it is five weeks later, and I still have scars on my hands and stomach to remind me of our first day in Mexico. Thankfully, the semi-circle on my upper lip has gone away (I have to credit the SPF 45 and the wide brim hat for blocking out most of the sun. The not-as-bad burns look like a speckling of age spots on my left hand.

Mr. Price's hand is still torn up; his was much worse than mine. In fact, we were at dinner last weekend and I noticed the waitress staring at his hand. Five weeks later! In case you were wondering, when I say 'third degree burns' I mean bright red, water-filled blisters. The only other time in my life I've had something similar is when I seared my hand on the iron.

I'll post pictures if I can remember to take some. Of the prolly 20 people who have asked, "What happened to your hand!?" 1 person knew that lime juice could do that and 1 other said they thought it was a myth…besides for that, all other people were surprised. (of course they could have just been faking it for me, and really thinking, "you moron, how did you not know lime juice + the sun = massive skin burns!!")

So anyway, my hope is that the next time you find yourself poolside or on the beach squeezing a lime into your drink, you can remember my sad, pitiful tale and learn from our misfortunes. Then you quickly rinse that lime juice off before you, too, have a permanent reminder.

Endorsed by the Coalition of Vacationers Against Lime Burns.

Rockin out

Hi team blogger-reader-friends!

Today i am doing chores around the house that i have been postponing for ages. In between letting coats of paint dry, i have been making a play list. Is your volume on? 'Cuz if it is, i'm guessing you already noticed. You can stop it if you you're not feelin' it or just don't want your cube neighbor to hear the party at your desk.

I've added songs that could either (a) classify as a theme song for me (b) a current/recent favorite that i can't get enough of or (c) noteworthy in my life.

Do you have a theme song? Let me know and I'll add it.

Otherwise, enjoy the tunes.

On Creating A Blog....

Hello, my name is emprice and I’m a blogaholic. I'm not ashamed to admit it. I am addicted to blogging. Granted, there seems to be a sort of pattern where I get totally engulfed in some sort of hobby for a few weeks and then move along... nonetheless-- this one has been slow developing and now I find myself swept away!

So I have come to terms with my newly found addiction to blogging. Who knew this could be such fun! I can't believe I didn't start doing this YEARS ago. Honestly, I'm a little disappointed that I didn't. Good times, people. GOOD times.

I love the insight it gives you to a friend's life. I mean, seriously... It's all the stories you would never think to tell someone if you were doing a lets-catch-up phone call or an it's-been-way-too-long series of emails... But it's the stuff of life. “The good stuff” in my opinion.

Another brilliant thing is: I can do it at work! Although I cannot access any personal webmail accounts from work...yes, they are all blocked (and IF you find a work-around, the loophole is usually closed within 2-5 business days because heaven forbid that during a 60 hour workweek, someone may take 5 minutes to check their personal email...I'm not bitter or anything).

So in spite of the attempt to cut me off from the rest of the free world... I can at least hop on your/my/any blog and again feel reconnected. It's a beautiful thing.

On telling friends about said blog...

While I spend plenty of time thinking about funny or random tidbits to rant or reminisce about, it seems I quite regularly forget to ever tell anyone about this little blog. Opps.

So here's the bonus... I’ve been remembering to tell peeps about it lately and lo and behold...those friends mention their blog and *kapow* ~instant blog karma! I get to peruse another friends' blog and get that magical 'reconnected' feeling. Or even better... they're inspired to start/return/revive their own blog.

On style.....

Since I have found myself so entertained with the blog lately, I decided to give her a little love -- a face-lift, if you will. Sure, the 'ol girl isn't that old or anything but couldn't we all use a day at the spa every now and then. So tonight I have changed the background/layout. Not sure if I’m 100% on it yet... I kept bouncing between two or three designs and then there were things I didn't like Sooooo I did some brushing up on the HTML skills and revised them. But for now I'm going green (the one I modified the least, of course.)

Open to comments/inputs. Anyone? Anyone? ...Bueller ..........Bueller...........?

Which brings me to one last point.... if you're reading this, you are one of a fairly small crowd. Should you feel so inclined, please post comments so I know that

e v e r y o n c e i n a w h i l e ,

some one is actually reading my ramblings.

xoxo~me