Calling Mom

I don't see my family a ton as I am sure you have all figured out. I try to shoot for two visits a year (!!! Wow, writing that is so so so sad to me, but it is what it is I suppose) with the hefty flight costs and the fact that I can't get over the idea that if I am spending that much money I refuse to go for just a long weekend. On top of that limited face to face interaction....my phone skillz....well for whatever reason, they have slid way down hill. Perhaps it is that whole thing where I secretly resent cell phones (phones that take away from human interaction just about push me over the edge these days), but I have become a really bad "caller". The lovely time difference (ok ok ok, only a few hours, but STILL it is a time difference) also doesn't help my case. By the time I am wrapped up with my evening, dinner, dishes, answering work emails, etc. it is 9/10ish, which is prime dinner time for my west coast dwelling peeps. My family and I talk fairly often (I guess my definition of "often" is subjective as I have friends who talk to their parents everyday), about once every week and a half to two weeks, my friends and I...well we rely on gchat, texts and emails to keep us connected because of that pesky time difference, 20-something-jobs, and respective personal lives that really can make it hard.

However, as much as I can write all of these justifications to valid the infrequency of my interactions, I want to vow to be better.

Image via

Errrr. Or Dad, or Sister. Or Friends.

Perhaps I am feeling sentimental, or really getting homesick :), but I am craving that interaction. To not have to get the readers digest version of what has been going on with people. I want to be able to follow-up on conversations and know something is coming up with somone.

Erica is the queen of this. She remembers birthdays, anniversaries, big test days, presentations at work, interviews, dog birthdays, favorite foods, and the list goes on. About a month ago I came in to work to find an email in the morning asking me how something went. I was so touched to see that from her! I have good people in my life.

So on my list for April personal growth items: call people more.

I can't remember where I read it, but a blogger I read wrote about the 5 minute phone call. The understanding that friends and family are busy. We all are. So don't shoot for 30 minutes of uninterrupted conversation. Enjoy the five minutes, then hang up. Make it longer if you can, but if you need to cook dinner, tie a kids shoe, get the dog from the backyard, you can and there are no expectations. This is what I will focus on. Quick, but more frequent interaction.

Does anyone else find themselves making excuses for their lack of voice to voice communication with people? I also really like the idea of sending hand written notes (Erica does that as well :)!) which maybe I can also adopt, but what else to you do to stay connect with long distance family and friends?

A Return

My head is spinning tonight. My heart is going out to one of my very best friends. There is so much that can go wrong in this world. I want to say something that she hasn't heard, or something that will make her feel better, but deep down I know the presence of people's support is sometimes the greatest (and only) thing that can be done.

It brings perspective. Sobering, metaphorical face-slapping buck up buttercup perspective. I have perspective. It may be fleeting. It always seems to be, that sense of clarity: Where to invest your time. Ridding excuses that you have used as defaults to hide behind. Covering up raw emotional wounds that when exposed, just like a scab, finally start to clot and heal.

I am rambling. Not there is really a point here, but I just ache for someone I deeply care about. I want to make some good of the bad that is happening. Feeling this clarity and sense of taking the lifebull by the horns, I hope that I am making some food out of some bad.

Hug your loved ones, tell your poodles they are the best dogs, cuddle your nieces and nephews, and take these moments of clarity and run with them.

&&&

On a slightly less dramatic and rambling subject.

I had a crazy good week last week. I was home. Or rather where my heart feels at home. It felt so good. Like wearing your favorite sweats on the weekend good.

Whistler & Seattle put on a show.Whistler gave us snow, sunshine and mountain side lodging and fresh made pasta. Seattle brought its game with sunny days, dinner with friends, and acres of clams.

I love that coast.

I have some photos, so hopefully there will be a better post about the trip but the week away did my soul good. Seeing my "sistahs", getting my last tracks in for the year, and lots and lots of chocolate.

The biggest bummer about returning from a wonderful vacation....the fact that the work week following feels like a million years long! It is Tuesday  and I feel like it is at least Thursday. Save me!

These are Some of My Favorite Things

• I have to admit I am shamelessly obsessed with the Carrie Diaries
• I am on the hunt for a bridesmaid dress for a beach wedding in September, and I am intrigued by etsy shops such as this one. (Really digging the one shoulder look!)
• A mother's love always can make me tear up and this story made me really get emotional.
• Sometimes life is just ironic. (and sad)
• My dad sent me this game, and it can get oddly addicting, particularly when answering work emails in the evening. 
• Anyone up for a cozy weekend away, complete with a historic skiing experience?

A Girl Called Drew

Drew. Short for Andrea.

It is a "nickname" that is still following me around to a certain extent. Not one my parents gave me (we keep those under wraps for family members only!), or one my friends gave me per se, but rather a self elected "nickname" that was supposed to only be tried out for one evening.

It was college. There was a huge group of girls from my sorority in Whistler for Greek Invasion Weekend, and it was a cold wintery February evening. After bar hopping, we all finally settled on a bar and ran into a group of guys from the fraternity across the street. In this group of guys was a guy I went to high school with, and oddly, whose mom was one of my elementary school teachers. He also wasn't too shabby looking ;)...so I gravitated towards him and struck up conversation. He "spatula-ed" me on to a fraternity brother of his which resulted in this:

"Hey, I'm Alex"
"Hey, I'm Drew"

So let's rewind. Prior to this moment I had NEVER introduced myself as Drew! Where this had come from, was sharing the same name with another sorority sister who was on the trip and 1) trying to keep us straight and 2) both of us agreeing that Andrea was just a "safe" name. We both talked about how our other friends had much more "adventurous" names. To prove a point, she retained Andrea for the evening, and I went with "Drew" (because that seemed so much more "edgier" ;))

So I introduced myself to a guy, in a bar, with a name I was using as a social experiment. What I learned:

1) You never know who you will end up dating for 4ish years, and that they will call you "Drew"
2) That first impressions really do stick
3) Years later I still have friends who call me Drew
4) A new-found appreciation for how much I like the name Andrea
5) If I do like a "nickname", it is An or Annie

These days. I go by Andrea. Just. Andrea

Daylight Savings Time & The Dreaded Monday

I dislike mornings. I really dislike mornings where I lose an hour or more of sleep. I don't care about the being lighter and more convenient times of the day. I love winter. I love dark mornings and early sunsets. I love cold air and heavy coats. I love sleeping in and waking up to the silence of the world, all snug and tucked in under a pile of blankets.

Birds chirping, people cutting grass, light streaming in my window. I'll take a pass. It usually just means that 4 months of unbearably hot, muggy, gross and unpleasant weather is going to happen here in DC.

This weekend was just the start of it with daylight savings time. That one hour knocked me for a loop. There is daylight at odd times, I missed an hour of sleep, and just feel whomp whomp today.

In my attempts to milk every precious moment out of my alarm this morning, I was running a bit late for work and didn't have time to make coffee to-go this morning. Lucky for me, the bus lets me off right at Krispy Kreme (this is a blessing and a curse as I am sure you can imagine) and I decided to just grab my coffee fix there. I walked in with my super human strength to not buy a doughnut to go with my coffee (remembering I had my non-fat raspberry yogurt in my purse) and was so excited when I was offered a "sample" doughnut hole. Just two sugary-sweet-chewy delightful bites, but it was so satisfying! It was just the pick-me up I need on this springiscomingpleaseshootmeandIreallydislikedaylightsavingstime Monday.