anywhere is…. – Page 89 – my scramblings & ramblings

Happy New Year!

1 January 2010 / reflection, ronni

It’s 2010! I rang in the new year with friends, loved ones, and Martini & Rossi Assi. It was good.

Many people are doing those year in reflection things–I did that already. But here’s my decade in reflection. ‘Cause you can’t go forward if you don’t know where you’ve been.

2000
– I bought anywhere-is.net. This domain will be ten years old in November.
– Married Chris in August.
– I got obsessed with scrap booking.

2001
– Lucy came to live with me.
– First flight ever.
– First trip to Disney World.
– 09/11/2001.
– Attended Britney Spears concert.
– Saw Janet Jackson in concert.

2002
– I find out I’m pregnant. WHOA!
– Aidan was born in December.
– Chris and I buy a house.

2003
– My life was seriously shaken up in 2003, and not in a good way. My “Christian” faith hasn’t been the same since.

2004
– I got my driver’s license and my first car.
– I turned 30 in December.

2005
– Disney World with Chris and Aidan!
– I quit my job at Nationwide after being there for five years, and became an editor at McGraw-Hill.
– Flew out to Los Angeles to spend time with my friend Amy, and to go to Disneyland!
– I got really serious about writing, and immersed myself in the writing world. Met many great authors and people.

2006
– I got an agent for my book ONLY YOURS (ONLY YOURS did not sell after being on submit for two years. I still haven’t quite recovered from that blow, even though I know now that it wasn’t the right time or book for me to debut.)
– Attended my first writer’s conference.
– Met Adam.
– Went to Vegas, Grand Canyon, Phoenix, Scottsdale, and Hoover Dam.
– Went to the Smokey Mountains in TN.
– Quit my job at McGraw-Hill to become a copy editor for Zaner-Bloser.
– Attended first Bob Dylan concert, in Ft. Wayne, IN.
– Saw Bob Dylan in concert in Philadelphia, PA.
– Chris and I separated.

2007
– I got divorced.
– Had a year of sucky money problems, depression, and losing friends, but Adam and Aidan were my bright spots. I also learned who my real friends actually were.
– Met Laurie Halse Anderson!
– Flew out to San Jose to attend Rosa’s wedding. ♥
– Car got broken into, iPod and sunglasses stolen.
– Flew to Atlanta to meet Adam’s family.
– Attended my first Sci-Fi Con–Dragon*Con in 2007.
– Flew to San Francisco to hang out with Rosa!
– Atlanta for Thanksmas.
– Went to New York City with Adam; saw Rent!
– I got engaged to Adam in September.

2008
– Aidan was in a very serious car wreck and needed 48 stitches. He bounced back well.
– Chris revealed a big secret (but it really wasn’t to all of us who knew him well).
– I moved to Chicago.
– Got to play on the set of Wicked.
– Lucy passes away May 30, 2008.
– Adam and I got married in July. ♥
– Helena joins the family July 11, 2008.
– Disney World honeymoon in September!
– The U.S. gets its first black president… HOLLA!

2009
– Went to Los Angeles, Disneyland in January. Visited friends and family. Pretty awesome.
– Met Meg Cabot, Peter Yarrow, and Sharon Draper in February.
– Saw Rent in April. Got to play on the set!
– Bought first American Girl doll!
– I decide to go NATURAL with my hair. For real this time.
– Attended DucKon for the first time.
– Michael Jackson dies.
– Met SARAH DESSEN holy cow I still can’t believe that happened. Also got to see Laurie Halse Anderson again.
– Adam, Aidan, and I went to Disney World.
– Hung out with my teen crush Ricky Luna, whose new album is beyond awesome.
– Met many new and awesome people.

So many people have come in and out of my life. Some people I thought would be my best friends forever dropped me without a second thought when I made choices they did not agree with, and in all fairness, I have done the same to people. New people have come and gone. Some of the loss still hurts a bit, but I am moving on and I am embracing all the new friends I have made. Or the old connections that have rejoined.

When 2000 started, there wasn’t a Facebook or even a MySpace. FarmVille? If someone had told me I’d be addicted to a farm game, I’d have probably laughed. Then again, maybe not. I was into the Sims pretty hard core. Broadband internet was a new thing, and blogging was done mostly with Blogger. Then Greymatter. Then b2. There was definitely no Twitter, and LiveJournal was just getting its start. People could take full bottles of shampoo and body wash on planes, and we didn’t have to remove our shoes to go through security at the airport. Britney Spears was just blowing up, and there wasn’t yet a Hannah Montana or a High School Musical. People were breathing sighs of relief that the Y2K bug hadn’t destroyed the Earth, or at least all of our computers. The iPod came around. Everyone began carrying cell phones that became more and more sophisticated. Now our phones are like little computers, doing everything except going to the bathroom for us!

So many things have changed personally. I’ve gone through at least five computers. I’m living my fifth dwelling since 2000. Aidan’s grown from a tiny little seed in my body to an intelligent and kind little boy. He’s turning into a booknerd like me; once he starts reading, he will read for hours. My life is… well, I could not have imagined it being where it is now. It’s amazing what God can do. It’s amazing how life just… well, how you can’t even EXPECT anything because really, what do you know? I am filled with so much gratitude for my friends, my family, MY LITTLE BOY, Adam, the blessings I have that are way above and beyond what I need. I live in a great deal of comfort and I try my best to keep a gracious heart at all times. It’s important, and it helps my emotional well-being.

What’s in store for 2010? I don’t know, but it’s going to be fabulous and Legend… wait for it… DARY!

Here’s for a successful, prosperous, happy, secure, exciting, and amazing 2010 for all of us.

‘Til next time!

(Originally published at Anywhere Is…)

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Hibernation (Rambling, Long, Pictures, Survey)

30 December 2009 / christmas, life, pictures, positivity, ronni, survey, year-in-review

The holidays are winding down. Aidan will be going back to Ohio soon. And all that’s left is the cold winter months. Is it any wonder that I feel less inclined to go anywhere or do anything except curl up with a blanket, an electric heater, and a large stack of books and read and sleep? Ack.

Today is Aidan’s birthday. My little boy is seven. Last night he told me he wouldn’t stop cuddling with me until he turned ten. So I guess I have three years to soak up all the cuddles and cheek holds. Right now, that little guy who was just a tiny newborn is now sitting beside me playing Lego Star Wars on the Wii and loving it. He’s a night owl just like I am, and he is a funny eater like me. We both latch on to something we like and we can eat it over and over and over and over without getting tired of it. He’d prefer to wear pajamas and hang out all day than run all over the place. He reads like a maniac. He loves Disney. And spaghetti. He’s such an amazing, incredible child.

We had a wonderful Christmas! We spent the week leading up to it trekking to the UPS store to pick up many packages, and we got our ham from Honey Bear Hams. It was amazing and delicious! Holy cow it was good! I got two pounds, and I am freezing one pound while we plow through the rest. It’s expensive but SO WORTH IT. Guess what I’ll be getting for Easter! Yum. When we got to the store, the bear was out waving, and the place was so festive and bustling. The owner gave Aidan a free stuffed Honey Bear! They had samples out and snacks. It was a fun trip. Christmas Eve, I made chocolate-cherry truffle cake, sugar cookie cutouts, and chocolate chip cookies.

I also made part of the Christmas dinner so Christmas day would be more about relaxing than rushing. AND IT WAS! We didn’t have to go anywhere! Adam was the first one up, then I got up about 830 or so. We had to get Aidan up at 930 because we were too excited! Aidan was so excited and happy with his presents!

Still a bit sleepy, though.

We had a good Christmas. I got Planet Earth on Blu-ray Disc™ (oh yeah!), The Boondock Saints, and Sleeping Beauty as well. Wii Fit Plus, gift card to Barnes & Noble, shirts and sweaters, more Wii games, pots and pans, The Sims 3 World Adventures, Kit’s Desk (American Girl), The Game of Things, tea from Lupicia, the new Enya CD, a Proofreading Exercise book, so much stuff that I’m not even remembering! But the best was that my little boy was here with me!

The food was yummy and seems like making Christmas dinner was way less stressful than making Thanksgiving dinner. Maybe because I did some of it the night before. Hmmm.

Anyway, the rest of break has been relaxing. Reading a lot (for my birthday I scored $75 in bookstore giftcards!), hanging with Aidan, cat sitting, all that good stuff. The other day, we lost Helena! I’d thought she’d gone in Aidan’s room to sleep, but nope. Crookshanks was pacing and wailing like his cat world was ending. That’s when I realized she was missing. Snowball was out and about, which should have been my first clue that something was off. She’d been mostly hanging out in my room under the bed. We figured that Helena was hiding (there are a lot of hiding places here) from Snowball and that she’d come out when she was ready. Then I heard a big catfight from above and instantly knew that Helena had somehow gotten upstairs with Stinky and Stinky was unhappy about it. I found her hiding behind a counter and lured her out by banging a spoon on a can, picking her up and bringing her back downstairs where she ran back inside her true home. Silly kitty.

I don’t know when I’ll get time/inspiration to journal again, so I’m gonna do my 2009 Wrap Up stuff here:

Read the rest of this entry »

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Happy! :) (Pictures)

22 December 2009 / aidan, christmas, life, pictures

Aidan’s here! YAY!!! That was a bit of drama. The airport was crowded in theSouthwest line, but we’d gotten there early so whatevs. Plus Aidan’s flight was delayed so double whatevs. They had a separate line for the UAs, and I learned that on a regular day, about 10 UAs come through. During the Christmas season, about 200 UAs go through! Aidan was the only one on his flight, though. The ticket agent let us both go to meet him (which they sometimes do if you ask nicely–but the rules are that only ONE parent can meet the unaccompanied minor which annoys me because the first thing Aidan does after he hugs me is ask for Adam on the times they don’t let him wait with me). Because of his flight delay, we had to move from gate to gate trying to figure out where he was coming in. I was freaking out. But we got him and all was well. And as always, someone came up to me and complimented me on how well-behaved and polite Aidan was on the plane. I have a good little boy.

After getting lost on the way from the airport, and then a Target run, we finally made our way home. Aidan was super excited so he didn’t go to bed ’til late, then he was up early the next day…. MY BIRTHDAY!

I slept until about 10:30ish or so, then came into the living room in a haze. Adam and Aidan were both staring at computers, but they saw me and gave me big big smiles and hugs. Then Aidan made this for me:

Toy Melissa & Doug birthday party set

And Adam got me this:

Martin backpack guitar. It’s small and light and I can learn to play guitar for real this time! It also smells amazing.

We went to Naperville, where we hung out at Anderson’s Bookshop (I really do love that place) and we met my friend Theresa and her family and we ate dinner at Five Guys.

Aidan at Five Guys

Then we had dessert at Cold Stone Creamery. After the two families parted ways, Adam, Aidan, and I drove around and looked at some lights on houses, then we headed home and watched Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol. It was a WONDERFUL birthday! I’m 35 now, and I have a feeling life’s about to get even more awesome!!

I had a little bit of eBay drama as well. I looked on Adam’s wishlist and saw it on eBay… the price was too good to be true. The seller had 100% feedback, though, so I wasn’t worried. I ordered it and paid right away. Then, after not hearing from the seller at ALL, I went to her profile. Her feedback had plummeted to 76%! I looked a few days later, it was down to 50%. Now I was getting concerned, but I knew that eBay had that buyer protection thing going on. So, after seven days and after contacting the seller, I opened a case. Still no info from the seller, her feedback was in the TOILET. I went today, and her feedback was -2. I have NEVER heard of that before! But there it was. And she was no longer a registered user. I ended up getting refund from eBay though, so YAY for buyer protection. Unfortunately, I won’t be getting that gift for Adam, but I think that what I got in place of it will make him happy.

So, it’s way after midnight, so that means THREE days until Christmas!!! YAY!! Here is my all-new to do list.

01. Go to grocery store to get wax paper, powdered sugar, shredded cheese, gravy, green beans, and a triple berry torte. Oh yes.
02. Read A CHRISTMAS CAROL by Charles Dickens.
03. Bake cookies with Aidan!!
04. ……

Wait, what? That can’t be it. It really can’t. Oh well. I’ll take it. Because yup, cards are all sent, presents wrapped (except for a few that might or might not be coming still), shopping’s done, menu’s planned, place is pretty clean (just needs to be straightened up). This is good.

In about ten hours, my friend Deborah is bringing a kitty cat for us to watch for a few days. The cat’s name is Snowball, but she’s a black cat! I’ve met her before, but she is shy. I’m sure that Helena and Crookshanks will be happy to have her, but she might not be so happy to have THEM. I hope it goes well. And I hope she doesn’t destroy the tree!

I need to get to bed. I have a kitty to welcome tomorrow. ‘TIl next time!

(Originally published at Anywhere Is…)

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Twelve Days Left! (Pictures)

13 December 2009 / christmas, pictures

I can’t believe it. Only 12 days until Christmas. Where did the time go? The days go so quickly anymore. Aidan will be here in six days!! So exciting! It’ll be his first Christmas in Chicago! I really hope it won’t be too cold to take him to Chriskindlmarket, Navy Pier, and stuff like that. But we’ll have fun watching holiday programs and baking cookies, so no matter what, we’re going to have a good time. Santa specifically requested chocolate chip cookies, so we have to make sure some are waiting for him Christmas Eve. (Plus I want to eat some, too!)

To Do List Revisited:
~~01. Task I’d rather not discuss online.~~ – DONE AND DONE! And it wasn’t nearly as bad as I was dreading!
02. Make doctor appointment.
03. Go to doctor (this ties in with #2).
04. Order “baby” honey ham (unfortunately, not Honey Baked–the store is too far away–but there is a Honey Bear Ham place right around the corner that has super Yelp reviews, so I’m going to go with them!). – Oh yes. I went to Honey Bear Ham, and the guy gave me a sample. HEAVEN. I pick it up December 24.
05. Clean Aidan’s room. (It’s mostly done, but I need to do a bit of rearranging and such. His room turns into a storage room when he’s gone, and I like to make it look like a bedroom when he’s here.)
06. Plan Christmas menu. (Ham is already handled.)
~~07. Plan Hanukkah menu? (Will ask Adam if he wants something special.)~~ – We went to Eleven City Diner.
~~08. Address and mail out holiday/Christmas~~ cards. – Most of them are done and mailed.
~~09. Finish Christmas~~ shopping.
~~10. Wrap presents (before~~ December 19) – Some are wrapped. Some are not. You know how it goes.
~~11. Mail packages (before~~ December 15) – Yeah. That. Shipping costs = WALLET DRAINER. Part of the reason is that I’d rather go to the UPS store a block away than to the U.S. Post Office. You know the UPS store jacks up the U.S. Mail prices for convenience, but the post offices here… blah.

New Things To Do:

12. Buy groceries for Aidan’s visit and for Christmas.
13. Read A CHRISTMAS CAROL by Charles Dickens.
~~14. Project~~ for a few friends of mine. – Sorta started.
15. Book Aidan’s return flight to OH. I hate doing this because I have to pay a ton of money to send him away. Worst chore ever.

I still have to get gifts for Chris & Matty and my stepfather Greg. Then I need to mail those items, and my mom’s gift as well. I’ll do that Tuesday. Tomorrow, I will go downtown and finish my shopping once and for all. Michigan Avenue, here I come!

Adam needs to buy stuff for EVERYONE in his family. He’d better hurry. These twelve days are going to speed by, and stuff still needs to ship!

TWELVE DAYS!!

(Originally published at Anywhere Is…)

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Holiday Rambling (Pictures)

8 December 2009 / christmas, life, pictures

Seriously, how is it that I’m at home all day doing stuff, but the days STILL don’t seem long enough to do everything I ~~want~~ need to do? In addition, days go so much quicker when you’re doing stuff at home rather than being in an office. I try not to sleep in too late–I have my alarm set for 10:30am, the absolute latest I am allowed to sleep. I usually get up before then and turn the alarm off.

Maybe it’s because it’s the holiday season, it just seems like there is so much to do. Well, at least I’ve put the tree up. Funny story, that. I’ve had a tree since 2006. I got it from the free table at Zaner-Bloser. It was probably an old tree then. Crooked and threadbare, but those of you who were around then, know how much I was struggling financially. My priorities were not about getting a super amazing Christmas tree, so I made my free one work.

The free tree in 2006. Totally crooked.

You can really see how bare it is here:

The free tree… and Aidan. This picture is from 2007. I can’t believe how different Aidan looks compared to then!

I put the tree up last week and just let it sit there bare. I was unhappy with it, but I figured that I’d work with it once the decorations were on it. I put the decorations on it and I was WAY MORE unhappy with it. I HATED it suddenly. I couldn’t get it to fake being straight anymore, you could see right through the thing, and then… and then… it started pitching forward. I would try to sit it up, but it began pitching forward more and more. Adam said it was fine, but I knew, in my gut, that it wasn’t. But I went back to playing Cafe World anyway. And then it happened.

THE CHRISTMAS TREE FELL OVER

Fortunately, I only lost three ornaments, and none of them were ones I were particularly attached to, but I am a little bit sad about the Harry Potter one. My Disneyland 2009 one and the golden banana ornaments were OK, and that’s all that mattered. Adam and I went out that night and I got a new tree from Target. Pre-lit, six feet, good times. Here she is:

A tree that’s straight and full! I love it! So do the cats. They keep lying under it. I wonder what they’ll do when/if I put presents under it?

I also got one of those Holiday Sugar Cookie kits. It’s by Krusteaz, and it has cookie mix (enough for 5 and a half dozen… I’ll be making the half batch TYVM), cookie cutters, sprinkles, icing mix, and food coloring. Not bad for $7.50, I say. I had a hard time finding a kit. Lots to make gingerbread houses, but not to make cookies. My mom had gotten one years ago; I guess they were more abundant then. I thought I was going to have to resort to those Pillsbury cookies with the designs already in the cookie! The box is SUPER heavy! I’m going to make them with Aidan when he gets here. YAY!

The holiday stuff is coming along. Christmas shopping is just about done, the annual newsletter is done and sent (it’s a PDF so if you’re interested, comment with your email address and if I know you, I’ll send you a copy), my Rebecca doll is in her Hanukkah dress, and the lights are in the window. Here is what else I need to do within the next week:

01. Task I’d rather not discuss online.
02. Make doctor appointment.
03. Go to doctor (this ties in with #2).
04. Order “baby” honey ham (unfortunately, not Honey Baked–the store is too far away–but there is a Honey Bear Ham place right around the corner that has super Yelp reviews, so I’m going to go with them!).
05. Clean Aidan’s room. (It’s mostly done, but I need to do a bit of rearranging and such. His room turns into a storage room when he’s gone, and I like to make it look like a bedroom when he’s here.)
06. Plan Christmas menu.
07. Plan Hanukkah menu? (Will ask Adam if he wants something special.)
08. Address and mail out holiday/Christmas cards.
09. Finish Christmas shopping.
10. Wrap presents (before December 19)
11. Mail packages (before December 15)

Saturday, we took a trip to Naperville. YAY Naperville! We did some shopping and ate dinner and went to MEIJER which is always a treat for me because I freaking love that store. Adam looked and looked and looked for a decent pair of boots. I didn’t realize guys had it so hard when it came to buying winter boots, because women’s stores are exploding with the things. He found a pair at Meijer. MEIJER. See why I love that store? They have everything!

After Naperville, we went to The Book Cellar to see a bunch of Debs talk about writing and being authors and stuff like that. Such a good time. You know me, the author fangirl, right? Saundra Mitchell, Aprilynne Pike, Cynthea Liu, Lara Zielin, Darcy Vance, and Kristina Springer were there. It was fun to finally meet these people who’s LJs/Facebooks/Tweets I’d been reading for months and years. And most of them recognized ME. We also had dinner with Tara O’Shea (who incidentally knows Seanan McGuire) and Amy Vincent. That was loads and loads of fun.

Being around authors always makes me think hard about writing. When it comes down to it, I choke. A LOT. I remember what it was like when I was writing ONLY YOURS. I got so much joy out of writing that book. I mean, it was just… every moment I wasn’t writing–I was ACHING to be writing. I didn’t choke back then, I just wrote. I’m trying to figure out how to get back there. In the meantime, I do the force myself to write at least 100 words if I do open the manuscript. 100 words is not a lot, and usually I end up doing ten times that once I get going. I love books, I love reading. I love that world. I want to be a part of it in someway. I know that’s where I belong. Even if I end up a copy editor for YA novels (OH PLEASE GOD THAT WOULD BE SO AWESOME), I would still be in that world.

Is it weird to be nearly 35 and still finding oneself?

I can’t believe it’s already after 1am. *sigh* Remember what I said about the days going too fast? Apparently the nights do as well. ‘Til next time.

P.S. I miss Lucy. A lot.

P.S.S. Does anyone remember this song?
Snowflakes falling all over town, slipping, sliding, everybody rushin’ ‘round. There’s an icy chill in the air, telling us that winter’s really here. Oh! I’m so glad that winter is here. Grab your sled and let out a happy cheer because it’s snowing, blowing, all through the day. Winter winds will surely blow all your cares away.

It popped into my head when Adam and I were driving around Naperville. I learned it in fourth grade for the Christmas program. Back then, they still called it a Christmas program. Oh, the olden days. Anyway, a quick Google search showed me that many people seemed to have learned that song when they were in fourth grade. I can still hear Mr. Zarlino teaching it to us during choir practice….

(Originally published at Anywhere Is…)

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