Let's try this again, shall we?

Christmas and birthday books for the win! Technically, I've already read/listened to the Broken Horses audiobook (and I loved it, earning the "only audiobook Jen likes" award), but I enjoyed it so much I wanted the actual book ... and I'm glad I asked for it, since there are photos, etc., that obviously didn't make it to the audio version. It makes for a nice contrast to the Obama/Springsteen book, which I believe is essentially a transcription of their podcast.

Here's hoping I'm more successful at this to-do list this year than I was last year.

Cautious optimism

 

Perhaps I'll be able to finish this to-do list this year.

Strange days, indeed

Okay, so we are living through some weird shit right now, people. And there's not much that we can do but hunker down and wash our hands a lot. So I'm reading a bunch (mostly happily-ever-after romance stuff, because I don't need anymore reality, thanks), and I'm creating playlists on Spotify. Also, petting my dogs a lot, because they are gorgeous and sweet and have no idea what the hell a virus is.

Short stack

My stack of book gifts was a bit smaller this year, but I've got a couple gift cards burning a hole in my pocket, so I'm sure it will grow. 

Plan

I am not acting like anything, I am calmly reading

I won't lie, 2016 was kind of a rough year for me. Lots of good things, but also many stressful ones. This led to a lot of anti-anxiety reading, which for me means romance and mystery novels. During the move, I wasn't reading much at all, and I was pretty sure this would be my first year not hitting my reading challenge. But then I discovered Elizabeth Hoyt. And Tessa Dare. And Sharon Bolton's Lacey Flint series. And just like that, I read 78 books last year, making it five straight years of hitting my Goodreads goal.

For the first time, however, I won't be upping the ante on my reading challenge. Last year's mark was 65 books, and I'm keeping that for 2017. That's slightly more than a book a week, and that seems reasonable to me. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got some reading to do.

I'd like to introduce to you ...I'd like to introduce officially to you ... the Fizz

The other thing keeping me busy has been the latest addition to our family, Fizz (also known as Mr. Fizz, Fizzywhig, Fizzes, pumpkin, pumpkin eater, puppyface, and baby). We got him when he was just an adorable ball of fluff, but he has quickly grown into a larger ball of fluff. He is adorable and loves to chew everything. He also loves the snow. Mainly to lick it.

What a year

Holy hell, how did it become 2017? I did not approve of these changes. On the other hand, I did not approve of much of what happened in 2016, so perhaps it's best to move forward.

As you may have surmised by now, the move consumed much of the year for me. House hunting? Not as much fun as they make it appear on TV. Moving, as we all know, sucks, but I love our new house and our new town, and it's been great settling back into the East Coast way of life (swearing more, generally being angry about everything, and regularly visiting Dunkin Donuts).

"Blog more" has become an annual resolution, and I've yet to follow through, but I'm hoping 2017 will be different.

So many books, so little time

This is my holiday haul of books; clearly, I'm going to need to take the year off to read in peace.

I think we may have a problem here

This I why I'm not allowed to roam free at bookstores, people.

Just getting started

A few of my to-read books this year.

Island getaway

We went to San Juan Island last weekend, and we had the best weather and the best time with some great friends. More pictures over at Flickr.

So long, old friend

This weekend, I had to say goodbye to a relationship that's lasted more than 14 years -- really, the longest relationship of my adult life -- and it was hard. We'd been together a long time. We shared a lot of good times together, and a few bad times, too. We were partners. Sadly, cars do not last forever, and my Saturn was more than 17 years old. It was time to let her go to that great junkyard in the sky (or Lynnwood, whichever).

She wasn't my first car -- that honor went to the Beretta my dad gave me for my college graduation. She wasn't the first car I bought -- that was a '92 red Saturn coupe. But she was the first car that really felt like mine. I bought her from the dealer -- all by myself! We rode together down Rt. 9 every day; we got lost in Boston together; we went to weddings and marches on Washington together; and finally, she drove me all the way across the country to my new life in Seattle. I'll always treasure our special moments together: digging her out of a blizzard's worth of snow; jamming an entire futon in her back seat; "accidentally" driving over a traffic cone with her; repairing her hood after a window fell on it; and, of course, all 3,000 and some miles of cross-country adventure.

Athena, you were a great car, and there will never be another one like you. (Literally, of course. They stopped making Saturns years ago.)

Long ago and oh, so far away

I got my college class newsletter the other day, and it pointed out that around this time 20 years ago, we were spending our first days on campus at Wellesley. I was suitably horrified, of course, but I was also kind of intrigued. Had I written down what my first days at college were like? Did I have any horrifying photos of that time?

Well, I did write things down, but not as much as you'd think. And, when I went looking for that old journal, when my curiosity got the better of me, I discovered that it was exactly 20 years ago today that I had my first day of classes. What I wrote down then doesn't really bear repeating (I noted my class schedule, some of the people I had met, the usual), but what struck me was that it was a bit more melancholy than I remember being. I know we all tend to see the past through rose-colored glasses, blah blah blah, but I really remember having a good time at Wellesley. Sure, there were bad times (all-nighters writing papers, friendships lost, the usual), but I mostly remember being happier than I had been before.

Apparently, however, that's not the sort of thing a pretentious 19-year-old writes in her "journal." She's got to be angsty and shit, and talk about everyone being phony -- at least I had the good grace to point out that I was phony, too. Bygones. The point is this: I am old. College was a long time ago. Many things have changed, but my love for the Dew remains constant, as well as my predilection to point at things in photos. And as much as I usually think I'd love to go back to that time in my life, I really would rather not. Although I do wish I still had that sweet Star Trek t-shirt. That was the bomb.

Some pictures say it all

I promised more pictures, and here's one of my favorites. Let's face it, people: You can put the woman in a fancy dress, slather on the makeup and false eyelashes, and throw jewelry and a manicure in the mix, but she's still the same Jen. I always do the Dew, even on my wedding day.

My friend Lisa Scanlon Mogolov got this great shot, but our fantastic photographers Max and Cyndi from Hitched Studios got even more. Check them out on their blog, if you're so inclined. I'll try to make this my last wedding post, but somehow, it seems unlikely.

Sadie, Sadie, married lady

So, we did it! We got married, and it was fucking awesome. I'm slowly getting back to non-wedding related things (like blogging, and reading, and sleeping through the night), but it's kind of sad to realize it's all over. It was a fantastic wedding, and it was so good to be surrounded by friends and family and lots of alcohol. It's weird not having that thing to focus on anymore, and it's a little weird having the two rings on my left hand now, but I'm getting used to it. I'd say that this will be my last wedding post, but you know that's not true. I haven't even seen the professional photos yet! Until then, the last picture I took all gussied up on my wedding day:

Always on my mind

These days, my upcoming wedding is pretty much on my mind all the time. I don't want to blog about it too much, because there's not much more boring than hearing some chick complain about choosing her "colors" or floral arrangements or linens -- most of that stuff bores me, and I'm the freaking bride here. That said, we're reaching the "threat level orange" stage of Jen's anxiety. I keep having the weirdest dreams -- some directly related to the wedding (like the one where I put on my wedding gown and it was see-through) and some not (I'll just leave it at dinosaur killer-robot buildings).

I did manage to pull something useful out of all this wedding worry, however: work. My awesome alumnae magazine published my essay on choosing a wedding gown -- the first essay I've had published! It's an accomplishment. It also snagged me this sweet-ass wedding-cake topper. I'm totally taking this lady everywhere with me and putting her in photos throughout the wedding, just like the traveling gnome. Don't say you weren't warned.

Truth

Truer words were never written on cotton and made into a t-shirt, people.

Geek girl's first con

Over the weekend, J.R. and I went to Emerald City Comic Con -- it was my first time at ECCC and my first con ever, really. (Unless you count work conferences that center on publishing, and since I did get to talk to the editor of Playboy, perhaps it should count? Bygones.) J.R. and the kids have been going the past few years, and I've been too busy with work to take off for a Friday through Sunday escapade to hang out with out other geeked-out fans. Until now!

I have to admit, it was pretty awesome, and not just because I got to see multiple panels on Supernatural, my current TV obsession of choice. (Okay, it was due in large part to all things Supernatural.) I got to see Nichelle Nichols (Lt. Uhura to those who don't know) help a couple get engaged; I got to see many, many tricked out costumes (we can't figure out why Poison Ivy is such a popular costume, but our weekend tally was somewhere around 19 Ivys); and I got to see both Jim Beaver and Mark Sheppard (Bobby and Crowley!) twice (and Kevin Chan, aka Osric Chau, lined up for a question for Mark). In sum, it was fucking awesome. I highly recommend, and I hope I can go again next year.

More pictures here, but really, a phone camera can only do so much, people.

To-do list