babies having babies...

is anyone else captivated by teen mom on mtv these days? i started watching it last year during it's premiere, my favorite teen mom is maci, smart girl (aside from getting pregnant in high school that is). i'm almost 30 years old and can barely imagine being a mom now, i was a total moron at 16, certainly not capable of taking care of a child that's for sure.

a whirlwind christmas...

the festivities of christmas are over for us and it's back to work for me today. as usual we got spoiled beyond belief, i am in love with all my new gifts! thank you to everyone who was part of our holiday.

we started off at my dad & stepmom's house and then went to my godparents later that night, both in new york. as you can see we made out like bandits at dad's house. my sister thinks i'm a freak of nature for being so excited to receive a new vacuum for christmas, or the fact that i was thrilled to start fresh with a new day planner in 2010!...



i am totally smitten with my cousin Ryan's little boxer, Fritzi...



my sweet cousins watched penny for me, she really loves them because they take her out in their big backyard to play a lot...



and then we came back to boston to celebrate with my mom & stepdad, my stepsister even flew in from across the pond...



as you know, i collect salt & pepper shakers. my stepdad managed to find the most outrageous ones for my collection...



my mom is an expert sewer too and made me this wonderful pillow as a memento of our trip to peru earlier this year. they also got me this wonderful construction detailing book from 1912...


this is my favorite series of photos from the night. the boyfriend calls my mother HoYo (long story) and in return she calls him ChrisCo...it's a bizarre relationship...


as much as i complain about how stressful the holidays are i really do enjoy the time i get to spend with my family, it's never a dull moment!

the best part of my day...

the best part of my day is having these two sleeping beauties under my desk snoring away...

the headaches from hell...

did you know that over 30 million americans suffer from migraines and that i'm one of them? they aren't just regular old headaches... they are blinding pain in one side of my head, followed by extreme sensitivity to light, noise & smell, and i often become nauseous. debilitating to say the least, i've gone home from school & work before because of them. I started getting migraines in high school and they got worse in college, i would have at least one a week. when i graduated it become 2-3 a week. after many failed attempts to find the cause and trying things like not wearing my glasses or staring at a computer too long, keeping a diet journal, drinking more water, more exercise, less stress, i finally sought medical attention. they put me on zomig which doesn't prevent the migraine but treats it once it's started. if you have migraines you should absolutely go talk to your doctor, it was the best thing i ever did. my doctors have chalked my migraines up to heredity. my nanna used to have migraines and would have to sit in a dark room in complete silence until it subsided. but i'm sure she didn't have the relief of a little pill back then.

there was a nice piece on migraines on nytimes.com, people talking about their own experiences with migraines. i was suprised that there weren't more younger people on it, but it's nice to hear i'm not the only one regardless.

guitar hero christmas lights...

these people have way too much time on their hands, but i still think it's cute...

last minute gift ideas...

the boston globe has a nice little feature today on 20 gifts under $20. with the pending snow storm looming i think these 'yaktrax' might be a good idea to stock up on (especially seeing as i wiped out on black ice in concord earlier this week at a site meeting- totally embarrassed)...

snow, snow, go away...

weather forecasting is the only profession where you can constantly give inaccurate information and still keep your job...

"I wish we knew where it was going, but there is quite a bit of uncertainty with this one at this point," said Jeremiah Pyle, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Taunton. "Right now, it looks like it's going to be a glancing blow for the Boston area."

let's hope they're right on this weekends weather forecast for boston, 1-3 inches, that's all the snow i can live with right about now. i absolutely HATE shoveling snow, hate it. snow should be reserved for skiing and that's about it.

what was she thinking?...

do you talk to your dog like a human? do you ask him/her questions assuming the will respond? do you think your dog whole-heartedly understands you like no one else in this world does? well i do.

let me preface this story with a little video. we have a squirt bottle of water we use to scare the cat away from things he shouldn't be on or doing. he hates this bottle, you don't even need to squirt it, just the shaking of the water will do the trick. unlike graydy, penny happens to love this bottle of water, so we squirt her in the face with it sometimes and she tries to catch the water...not the brightest dog. the boyfriend said i was 'ruthless' in my squirting last night, which i happened to catch on my cell phone...



after we watched the video i immediately felt like the worst 'mom' in the world for it. so i laid down in bed with penny, showered her with kisses, profusely apologized, and then proceeded to talk to her, like she was understanding my every word. and then she scooted closer and licked my entire face (which was so covered in slobber by the end i had to rewash it)... i like to think that was her way of forgiving me. she really is the sweetest little dog...

with all this said, it made me think of a few books i would like to read...books that try to understand pooches on a deeper level...

inside of a dog: what dogs see, smell and know by alexandera horowitz

what the dog saw and other adventures by malcom gladwell (who wrote blink & the tipping point)

soul of a dog: reflections on the spirits of the animals on bedlam farm by jon katz

pretty please paris...

i REALLY want to go to paris. i know i've said this before, but i'm serious. i even stopped in the book store yesterday and bought frommer's paris guide 2010 and started to earmark & highlight my future trip...


and then i went as far as going into the children's section and looking for one of my favorite childhood books, madeline, as if i needed any more convincing...


positive thinking = positive results...right?

glass balls galore...

my mom handed down a few colored glass balls to me that she no longer had use/space for...i think they're gorgeous and i'd hate to pack them back up at the end of christmas only to be brought out in another year from now. i think this would be a nice thing for me to collect more of too, but i'm not quite sure how to display them in my tiny apartment either (we're sort of busting at the seams as is). any suggestions?...

handbag crush...

more window shopping yesterday introduced me to paris' jpk handbags which i now have a major crush on, although i'm not liking the $245 price tag for these babies. they're similar to longchamp's le pliage nylon bag, which i also have a slight obsession with...

VS.

window shopping daydream...

yesterday i had a little time to do some window shopping in one of my favorite boston boutique's, mint julep. window shopping when you're broke can be quite depressing, however, i came across the label wooden-ships and my heart started to beat quickly and i broke out in a little sweat, i had to have their stuff! luckily i left my credit cards at home, but i'll be back...

holiday cards...

a friend sent me a photo of the homemade holiday card we sent them, hanging on her tree (as they were meant to be)...

photo of the dogs credit goes to li of fat orange cat studios

swallowed by the sea...

did you see on boston.com all the houses on the islands that are falling into the ocean? poseidon must be pissed about something, it's such a sad sight seeing homes being swallowed by the sea. this one in nantucket particularly caught my attention since my sisters in-laws have a house there..

or how about these houses in chatham on the cape...

playing in my head...

totally crushing on Railroad Earth's Seven Story Mountain this morning (listen to it here). I think my boss is about to strangle me for humming it since the minute i walked in the door today...

Oh lord, to see a light, but fail in strength to follow,   

  Sometimes it's hard to let it go. 

Oh lord, to fail in heart, and each day grow more hollow,   

  Sometimes I just don't wanna know. 

But the road that led me here, it's begun to disappear.   

  Sometimes I wonder where I am. 

Oh lord, to hear a voice, but let it fade and wallow,   

  Sometimes it's hard to let it to. 

Oh lord, to find the words, but keep them in and swallow,   

  One day the top is gonna blow. 

But the road that left me here, it's begun to disappear.   

  Sometimes I wonder who I am. 

Oh lord, to stumble blind, for years without knowing,   

  Sunrise has burned my eyes again. Oh lord, to fumble ...?  Sunrise has burned my eyes again. 

It's a seven-story mountain. It's a long, long life we live. Got to find a light and fill my heart again. 

It's a seven-story mountain. It's a long, long life ahead. Got to find a voice and fill my throat again.