Brian and Libby's Blog

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posted by Libby @ 8:46 AM 1 comments

Blogfreeze

Wow, this has never happened. I am having a total blogfreeze. Sometimes things happen and I think to myself "This is definitely going on the blog." Sometimes I realize I haven't blogged in a few days and I think back on what might have happened that's blogworthy. Sometimes I can't think of anything (like today) so I just log in and by the time the post editor comes up, the words just start flowing. Well, this morning, I've got nothing. This post editor has been open for a full 5 minutes now, and I hadn't put any words into it yet.

I mean, there's a lot I could write about but I guess that on certain days it just doesn't really seem like it will be entertaining for me to write about. If I don't enjoy writing it, I certainly don't want to subject anyone to read it.

Well, I'll settle for a quick update. I'm almost ready to launch the all new brianandlibby.com. I'm trying to spruce up the look of the site...limiting since I have to use a Wordpress template. And frustrating because photoshop is freezing every 23 seconds. But hopefully that will be ready to go by the end of the week. The biggest news is that Brian Howe himself PROMISES that he's going to start blogging once the new site is up. In fact, he already knows what his first post will be about (and if I didn't know he'd be mad at me for writing it when he already "claimed" the topic, I wouldn't have had a blogfreeze today). Hmmm...family blogwar dynamics. This might get interesting!

posted by Libby @ 9:27 AM 1 comments

2007...

So, like most of American I've made vows to resolution-ize some things this year. I have conveniently waited until 19 days into the new year to make these goals public...just to make sure I am serious about them...and so if they're sure-thing failures I can weed them out instead of publicizing my defeat. But so far I think I'm off to a good start. I've been learning that if you have a vision but don't specify what benchmarks let you know you're on your way to accomplishing the goal, you probably won't get there. Furthermore, if you don't specify the daily steps you'll take to accomplish those goals, you'll never get there. So, I tried to do both.

I basically took a mental inventory of the things that bother and distract me every day. The things I want to change but look back on every year and have remained pretty much the same. So, like a large percentage of the world, one of my goals involves health and wellness. Specifically, I want to get back to what I weighed in high school (as if I'll publicize what that number is, or what I have to lose to get there). I also want to start running again. Running the 5k was a huge accomplishment for me. My whole life I've told myself I'm "not a runner" and guess what, I never was! So for me to run 3 consecutive miles without walking at all (or falling flat on my face for that matter) was pretty much equivalent to walking on the moon. Now that I know I can, in fact, run, I want to run run more. A 10k...this October. That's the goal; a quite reasonable one considering that I "trained" for the 5k in 11 days (not a recommended training regimen by the way, hence the 2 months my knees punished me for the abuse) and now I have 10 months.

One of my other goals is just to get some control back in the day-to-day stuff. It seems like I'm always "too busy" lately, and as a result, all I want is downtime. Always tripping over laundry, grabbing fast food, racing from one place to the next, and stressed out in the process. And if I cut out anything to allow for a little margin in my schedule, I feel guilty for it. Skip out on an obligation, feel guilty. Cancel on friends, feel guilty. Cut out my workout, feel guilty. Leave work on time even though things aren't done, feel guilty. Can I get a witness? So, I've made a daily change that will help with this AND miraculously help me achieve my first goal too. I, the girl who barely gets out of bed by 7 (embarassing, I know) and is always rushing to work, was going to go to the gym BEFORE work and still get there at 8. Estimated wake up time = 5:30am. Yikes. It is still dark at 5:30.

So I started last week, and guess what? I loved it. I was at work on time, raaaarrrring to go (spelling?), and all day, I knew that even if I didn't leave right on time, it was ok, because I didn't have to rush to the gym before going wherever I needed to go that night. And, as a result, I have two, sometimes three, weeknights totally free. And on those nights, I can actually go home and take some time making a healthful dinner, something that relaxes me and I truly enjoy, and then do all those things I never get to on normal days. So far so good...it's been great. I'm not going to lie...today I wasn't up until 6:20 but I managed to rip myself out of bed and still get a workout in and get to work at a decent time. And after work...the evening is all mine!

So anyways, I've obviously made a conscious decision to make these resolutions public, and I wouldn't have done that if I hadn't considered the repurcusions of slacking off and, perish the thought, failing. So I consider it all of your responsibility to check up on me from time to time and make sure I'm taking steps towards accomplishing my 2007 goals!

posted by Libby @ 10:46 AM 2 comments

Red High Heels suck

This morning I was subjected to both seeing and hearing Kellie Pickler's new song "Red High Heels." It is the absolute worst song I have ever heard....Ever. Coincidentally, it is also the most horrible video ever made. I was subject to both at the gym this morning. The worst part: the chorus is still in my head. It's too late for me, but you can still save yourselves.

No disrespect to Kellie. I remember actually thinking she had a good voice at times on AI...not so much the case with this song. I'm sure she's a swell small town girl and all, but the proof is in the pudding:

"Well you can watch me walk if you want to, want to
I’ll bet you want me back now don’t you, don’t you
I’m about to show you just how missin’ me feels
In my red high heels"

And yes, she co-wrote the song.

posted by Libby @ 10:22 AM 0 comments

Sickness and new coffee, part 2

Well, as it turns out, the new coffee isn't as bad as I thought. Remember how I said it tasted exactly as horrible as the old coffee? Well it was. It was actually the old coffee. The pots and all were new but they were still using up the old crap. The new stuff is manageable for my day to day and with my great savings I will treat myself to a Starbucks here and there. Sa-weet.

And the sickness, it turned out to be real. So real in fact that I lived on the couch for two days. I used to love sick days. Well, let me rewind. When I was a kid, I hated them. Sick days meant Abaji (my grandpa on my dad's side) came over to "watch" us. I use that term loosely because Abaji "watching" us when we stayed home sick pretty much consisted of Abaji laying on the couch watching CNN all day, the sick child making Abaji frequent cups of tea and the occasional sandwich, and Abaji lecturing us on what I refer to as his key points. These key points, which, if you have ever spoken to Abaji, you already know, have been the same for the last 30 years (if not longer), and are as follows:

1. Education is the most important thing in the world.
2. The American school system is failing us for only teaching us our times tables up to 12. Abaji insists we learn them up to 16 (which is what you did if you stayed home sick).
3. Every Christian must have a full, working understanding of Islam.
4. Every single one of his offspring must be a Republican, or he will cry.
5. Tattoos are of the devil.

So anyways, unless I wanted to serve tea and learn more about the above, I would go to school. Don't get me wrong, I love Abaji. There is no one like him in the world. But when you're 9 years old and have the flu, making Abaji tea, watching CNN and reciting multiplication tables up to 16 isn't really a relaxing day home from school. Some would argue that it was worse :)

Then when I was older and my mom was home, sick days were like the lap of luxury. Laying on the couch, mom making us food and serving us tea, and of course, the elixir. My mom always made us this special concoction when any of us were sick. I believe it cures everything...part ginger ale, part orange juice. Perfect for a cold, even for those with a sensitive stomach. The elixir has followed me into adulthood and I found myself sipping on OJ mixed with Citrus soda (it was that or Dr. Pepper) through a brightly colored straw last week. Hey, when you're sick, you have to do whatever it takes to make yourself feel better. Thanks for the elixir Mom. I promise it will be passed down through the generations!

posted by Libby @ 8:52 AM 1 comments

Sickness and new coffee

I think I am getting sick. I have that scratchy, painful-to-breathe feeling in my throat and although my left nostril seems ok, my right nostril is somewhat of a fountain. I would usually "plug" the fountin with a tissue of some sort and just let it chill in my nose rather than wiping it every 7-9 seconds, but I have learned that this is frowned upon in the workplace. Fortunately there are not a whole lot of people in the office this week... :) haha

Anyways, my job is sort of like the Office at times. We don't have a Michael Scott-like character, but we have a lot of the other characters, and things can be embarassingly absurd at times. Take, for example, my morning coffee ritual. They have free coffee here but I am physically unable to drink it anymore. It's Maxwell House or something but it tastes like sludge and I do have some limits when it comes to what coffee I will drink. So for a while I brought coffee from home but that gets to be a huge inconvenience. Buying coffee out is a treat for me; at $2 a day, I can't seem to justify it as a daily expense. Fortunately there is a cafe downstairs that brews Seattle's Best, and although it is a dollar for a cup of coffee (still beyond what my budget allows), the price drops to a mere 50 cents if you bring your own cup. Yes, we all carry our mugs downstairs, fill them to save 50 cents, and then spill as we walk back up the stairs, via the stairwell that will forever smell like hazelnut creme to me. It's pretty good though, and I can find fifty cents in one of Brian's pockets on any given weekday, so it's been working out for me.

You can imagine how pleased I was when I heard that we were getting NEW coffee upstairs in the kitchens, AND we were going to have the opportunity to choose it. This meant I would save my fifty cents a day, the burns on my hand, and the coffee stains on my pants. Hoo-ray! So the coffee distributing company really does come in and hang out in our kitchens all day with 4 varieties of coffee for us to taste and vote on. For me the choice is clear...the "fancy" something or other blend was phenomenal, bold and rich with a smooth finish. My co-workers however did not agree, and an overwhelming majority of them (84% according to our office services manager) voted on the Breakfast Blend. Let me describe it for you: IT TASTES EXACTLY LIKE THE CRAPPY MAXWELL HOUSE WE ALL COMPLAINED ABOUT FOR 4 YEARS. I have tried it 2 days in a row now and I'm not sure if they're actually still using the old coffee or what, but it officially sucks.

Why am I so upset about this you may ask? It's hard to say. Maybe I was ecstatic at the prospect of really good free coffee every morning on the same floor as my office with unlimited refills. Maybe I have no life. Maybe I just have no life at work. Maybe this is one of the most exciting things that has happened at work in a while and when it was ROBBED from me I had a hard time dealing with it...

posted by Libby @ 11:15 AM 1 comments

Good times

Back to the daily grind. Brian and I were saying this morning that we feel like we got a false sense of a "break." I use the term loosely because although we were not in our daily routine, and although we thoroughly enjoyed the last couple of weeks, they weren't as restful as we'd have liked. We fully acknowledge that this is our own doing...hey, we love a party.

Anyways, we had an incredible Christmas with my family in Syracuse, an exciting weekend before New Years (Brian spoke and he did PHENOMENAL...check out the message, it should be up later today in the northwaychurch.tv media center), an incredible New Years Eve with new and old friends, and a fireplace, football, junk food and friend-filled New Years Day. I can't count how many times we said something to eachother to the effect of "this is a good day" or "we have a lot of great friends" or "we have it good" over the past couple of weeks. Nothing and no one is perfect but we can acknowledge that we have it pretty good, and we will try to remember that as frequently as possible.

One of the highlights of the weekend was celebrating Jeremy and Shelley's engagement. Yay! What exciting news. Talking to them and thinking about what these next months will bring really brought Brian and I back. We were all sitting around...a bunch of "marrieds"...and I made an off-handed comment; something to the effect of "oh, to be engaged again, now we're just married." I thought better of it later, and told Brian that although our engagement and wedding were fabulous, I wouldn't trade what we have now for anything. I can't believe we've been married for three and a half years already, or how much better things are every single day. I can't imagine what it's like to be married for 30 years if you keep falling a little more in love every day. My mom sort of summed this up in a message she record for us on our wedding video. Believe it or not, she said she hoped that our wedding would turn out to be the low point of our marriage, because every day would be better than the one before. She was right. It was incredible, but looking back, I guess you could say it has turned out to be the "low point."

So Jer and Shel, we are sooooo happy for you guys and the next few months will be amazing. But we wish you the same...that every day will be the best one yet, and that when you look back in 5, 10 or 30 years, these wonderful times of wedding bliss will pale in comparison. :)

posted by Libby @ 8:30 AM 0 comments