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Friday Fun! (December: Michigan for the Holidays and NYE in Boston)
A disassembled Model T at the Henry Ford Museum.
Hello my lovely readers, and a happy 2014 to all!
Everyone’s always busy around the holidays, and I certainly was no exception. I cross-stitched six presents and made homemade fudge for a bunch of folks as well, in addition to everything else that comes with this time of year. My partner got us a lovely tree that we got to decorate with both of our ornaments for the first time. We had an early Christmas together, because the week of Christmas, we went out to Michigan to see his family. The drive from Boston to Michigan took us 13 hours, and the drive back took about 12. We had a lovely vacation with his family, and I was made to feel 100% welcome and part of the family. It was truly a lovely Christmas.
I’d never been to the midwest, so while we were out there, my bf made sure I got to do a bit of sightseeing. My favorite excursion was to the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn. Henry Ford invented the assembly line, in addition to starting to the famous Ford car company. The museum featured displays of cars through time, the history of racing, the history of airplanes, the history of trains, and the history of manufacturing in America. It also had a display on the history of Civil Rights in the US, as well as a display showing key items from the different decades of the 20th century. The museum also has the Dymaxion House. A model house made in the 1960s as a fully automated house of the future. Only two were ever made. In addition to all of these, there was also a special display of Presidential limousines, including the one JFK was shot in. There was so much amazing US history. We spent five hours in the museum and still didn’t see it all.
We got back to Boston and spent some time just relaxing at home, and then we got ready for New Year’s. We decided to go out to see the First Night activities and the early fireworks. Boston has one set of fireworks at 7 and the other at midnight to allow for folks who want to be inside earlier to still see a display. First Night featured a lot of interactive art this year in the Common, as well as a parade, ice skating performances, and the typical ice sculptures. The fireworks display was actually better than the 4th of July ones I’ve seen the last couple of years. Then we went home and had a quiet dinner in just the two of us. I’d spent the day making gnocchi from scratch, plus homemade sauce and cheesey garlic bread. I loved the combination of seeing the festivities and getting to celebrate inside in the warmth just the two of us.
Coming up on the blog this month, I’ve got three books from 2013 that I still need to write reviews for. I’ll also be announcing what 12 review copy submissions I decided to accept for 2014, and I’ll be doing my reading stats 2013 post, as well as a round-up of the best reads of 2013. I also have five more cross-stitches to show off to you guys. It should be a busy month here.
Happy reading!
Friday Fun! (July: Omg I Brought My Bf Home to Meet My Family and We Moved In Together and Oh and Also I Am Now Officially in My Late 20s)
How we decided to mark his/hers on our walk-in closet. Yes, that is Iron Man and Iron Patriot masks. They glow in the dark! Can you guess who is who?
Hello my lovely readers!
Someday, some archivist will look back at this blog and go “Why is it called Friday Fun when it’s never on a Friday?!” I will leave that mystery up to you, future archivist, to discover on your own.
So! On July 2nd I turned 27 and suddenly I had to start ticking off late 20s on everything. I joke about being upset about it, but I’m really not. My late 20s are turning out much much better than the rest of them *knock on wood*, so I really can’t complain. Also I honestly like myself a lot better at 27 than I did at any age prior, and who can complain about that? It is fun to joke around with bf about me being old since he’s still in his mid-20s though.
Speaking of, I brought him home to meet my family, and it’s the first time that’s ever happened, so you should kind of be able to imply what a big deal that is. My family was awesome and very welcoming, and everyone got along just fine, and it was lovely! My dad even taught us how to make doughnuts from scratch while we were home. It was just that awesome. Also, also we celebrated the 4th with them, and my uncle got fireworks to set off in the backyard. I’ve been in the city for so long, I hadn’t had a chance to do that in forever, and I really enjoyed it.
So as soon as we got back from that adventure, we had to start working on moving. With the way the rental market is in Boston right now, we decided to have him move into what was my place (what is now our place) with me and rent a garage nearby for his motorcycles (there are 5). He gave notice and had to be out by July 31st, but really we had to do it quicker than that since he was going away on a mini-vacation with his dad at the end of the month, so we wound up doing it all in 2 weeks, and honestly it was incredibly stressful, mostly because we had to spend so much time apart sorting shit in our own apartments. I had to morph everything I own down into half the apartment, and he had to do the usual sorting that happens when you move. Honestly, most of the choices we had to make were surprisingly easy. We have a lot in common, and we stressed out far more over worrying about making the other person comfortable than over the actual choices when it came down to it. As of today, we’re officially living together, and honestly it’s the best feeling ever. I get to come home to my person and my kitty every day, and it’s just wow. That’s what home is supposed to feel like, y’know?
I’m pretty proud of myself, given all of these goings-on, that I managed to finish 4 books this month. Two of them were audiobooks, and that makes total sense. I could listen while I sorted and packed. Three of them have yet to be reviewed here, so hopefully I’ll get those reviews up soon.
I’m incredibly happy it’s finally August!! Although it will still be a bit eventful. I’m meeting my bf’s mother and one of his sisters, it’s the busiest month in the calendar at my job, and I’m getting my wisdom teeth out. Phew!
How was everyone else’s July? Did you have more time for the beach than me?
Friday Fun! (Happy Birthday To Me! Ok, Ok, and America)
Hello my lovely readers!
This was a very busy week for me because: a) I turned 26 b) 4th of July (aka America Fuck Yeah) c) I had a 4 day weekend d) I road tripped with my bestie to New Hampshire/Vermont to visit the fam.
Whew! I’m exhausted just typing that!
I’m like super old now at the ripe age of 26. (I tease. I had my quarter life crisis last year. 😉 ) My daddy made me birthday pie (strawberry-rhubarb, my favorite), because I prefer pie to cake. PIE TOTALLY WINS SHUSH. I also got (from family and friends): cooking gear, a window-mount birdfeeder to provide cat tv, cat toys, photoshop, and an itunes gift card. You guys are the bestest! I feel so loved. 😀
I, unfortunately, caught some sort of stomach bug so I spent most of my holiday weekend sick. Epic. Sad. Face. I have an intense love for Independence Day, so that was a bummer. I did discover, however, that I can see most of the Boston fireworks from my couch, which is awesome. Also, I had already set off fireworks in NH so admittedly I’d already had some crash bang.
Luckily I was better in time for work, so I didn’t miss any of that. I did miss the gym whilst I was sick though. I’ll be returning tonight.
Happy belated 4th! Happy weekends!
Friday Fun! (My Bday and the 4th)
Hello my lovely readers! So this weekend is not only one of my all-time favorite holiday weekends–the 4th of July aka AMERICA FUCK YEAH–it is also my birthday. Tomorrow to be exact. I’m turning 25. People have asked if I’m having a quarter-life crisis. I…..don’t think so? I mean, I reflect on my life on every birthday, and it’s always a mixed bag. There are things I’m happy with and proud of and things I wish were different, but then I come to terms with it. At first I was upset that I’m turning 25 and am single, but now I’m cool with it. Honestly, it’s fun to be single in a city. Relationships are fun, but so is being single, y’know? And thankfully I live in a time period where I wasn’t deemed an old maid the instant I turned 20, haha. 😉
This weekend will be full of fun as per usual. I’m planning a bike ride, picnic, some drinks, the gym, and of course FIREWORKS. I’ve still gotta figure out my red white and blue outfit for Monday…….
Happy weekends all!
Friday Fun! (On Thursday!)
Hello my lovely readers! You are getting this week’s Friday Fun a day early because tomorrow’s my birthday, and I took the day off work and will be staying far away from the computer all day! I’m turning 24! I have to say, ever since I turned 20, I just feel like I’m improving with age. Like wine. Only with a lot more work than it takes for wine to get better with age, because let’s face it, they just stick that shit in a cellar somewhere and abandon it, whereas I work damn hard to get better. Anywho.
By some awesomeness two of my best gal pals also have tomorrow off, so I’ll be spending the day with them, getting bubble tea, going to a farmer’s market, and probably hitting up a bookstore too. Of course one of my favorite veg restaurants will also be visited. Because of the fact that my birthday falls on a holiday weekend I tend to get my presents early or late or get informed of what I will be getting. My dad contributed money so I could get my a/c unit, and my brother informed me he’ll be giving me homemade goat cheese he made himself from his own goats. It’s a whole bunch of awesomeness. Also, tonight I’ll be going out to dinner with my third best gal pal (there are three of them), so the celebration is nicely spread out.
I know, you guys do not care this much about my birthday, but I get four days off for it and am EXCITED!! Plus, I freaking love the 4th of July. I mean, one of my majors in uni was US History. Plus! The fireworks! The drinking! The bbq’s! The music! Did I mention the fireworks? The fireworks!!
Ok, that was a ridiculously excited post, but I think that’s warranted if only for the fact that I have a four day weekend. Four. Days. Wheeeeee!
Happy weekends, everyone! What will you be reading? What will you be doing for the 4th? *waves*
Why New Year’s Is My Favorite Holiday
http://www.flickr.com/photos/foxypar4/ / CC BY 2.0
Christmas is finally over, which means it’s time for my favorite holiday: New Year’s! All week on the blog I’ll be doing a few special New Year’s related posts, starting out with why it’s my favorite holiday.
People often ask me why, out of all the holidays, my favorite is one where you don’t even get presents. Well, there are a lot of reasons.
It’s secular. Everyone can celebrate without any of that religion or country worry and mumbo jumbo. Even people and cultures who follow the lunar cycle can still also acknowledge the change of the Gregorian calendar.
There’s no societal expected norm as to who you should spend it with. It’s perfectly acceptable spend it with friends as opposed to family, but you can still spend it with family if you want to. Nobody is going around asking me why I’m not off in some other state visiting family, and also my friends don’t all simultaneously disappear for the weekend.
Reflection. It’s a regularly occurring time to reflect on yourself, your actions, your life and have a palaver with yourself and make sure your life and your behavior are what you want them to be, which leads to
Resolutions. I am all about being a self-made person. I’m about deciding who I want to be and working to be that person instead of just laying back and playing with the hand I was dealt in life, aka nature and nurture. I take initiative and choice and use it to kick nature and nurture’s butt.
Clean slate. The new year isn’t exactly a clean slate, but you can make it one if you want to or need to. You can also just make a clean slate in certain areas of your life. Maybe there’s a friend you need to come to terms with or a habit that’s bad for you that it’s time to get rid of.
New Year’s is great in that it asks you to celebrate and enjoy life, but it also asks you to take a good look at your life and make sure it’s what you want it to be. New Year’s is the best of both worlds–celebration and accountability.
This work by Amanda Nevius is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
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