Project 365: January 2009

Our month in summary….

We had a fun month! We karaoked, Matt had a super fun gig, we celebrated Chinese New Year, we got a new president, and we dealt with lots and lots of snow…the only major bummer of the month was when we had the flu.

Let’s see what February brings us. More gigs, more snow (I’m sure), and we’ll be traveling to Los Angeles and Las Vegas in a few weeks.

And may all your Christmases be green…

The holidays can often be a time of consumption. This year I’m trying to reduce the amount that we consume.

NO HOLIDAY CARDS. I made an e-card that I’ll be sending out this week. Between envelopes and the fact that half the holiday cards I’d send out would probably ultimately end up in the recycling bin (or worse — the trash!!), it doesn’t seem worth it to me to waste the paper. And if anyone is dead set on having a hard copy of the card I made, they can print it out themselves. I think this will reduce a lot of waste.

This year we are also choosing not to travel. With family in New York and California, I’ve had to travel almost every holiday season since moving from New Jersey in 1997. This year, we’re not even going to New York. We’re staying put, enjoying our time off in Boston, and relaxing.

Matt and I are not exchanging gifts this year. I also told Matt not to get me anything for my birthday in September. There’s nothing that I really want or need right now. Instead of exchanging gifts, we’re just going to out for dinner. Plus, our anniversary is in September, my birthday is in September, and Matt’s birthday is in November. I feel like the last few months of the year we have a lot of reasons to exchange gifts…so, we may as well skip Christmas. We’re still celebrating the holidays, but I don’t really feel like I need anything. I don’t think Matt does, either.

President Elect

I must have blocked out many things associated with Dubya’s presidency, because for some reason Clinton’s 1992 election and inauguration are a lot more vivid in my memory than George W. Bush’s.

I remember thinking it was pretty cool that Clinton played the sax, because at the time I was pretty into my clarinet. Woodwind power!

Headache

I have a headache and I don’t feel well.

That is all.

Height, and my lack of it.

I am 5′1″. My pants are always a little too long, even the ones I get in the petite department. Sometimes people think I’m even shorter, thanks to scoliosis-induced poor posture. AND, I can’t wear cute high heeled shoes because my feet are very wide and flat. (Waiting for Spice Girls-esque platform shoes to make their comeback)

Anyway! I never realized that my shortness was anything noteworthy until first grade, when my classmate Justin thought of a clever joke: “Is your aunt an ant?” Meaning, ants are small, and so was I, and perhaps it was an inherited trait from an equally small aunt.

Ahh, the wit of six year olds.

I was also given the name Pipsqueak, albeit lovingly, from a summer camp friend of mine.

I was self-conscious of my height, and my self-consciousness worsened when my gym teacher would explain an exercise for the class to do and then say: “But Krissy won’t be able to do this, because she’s really, really short.” And then when I was 10, I was going to enter a contest at Bradlees, because I wanted to be a catalog model but a friend of mine crushed my modeling aspirations because I was too little. (I miss Bradlees, by the way. I still have a pair of pants from there circa 1995.)

I waited for my growth spurt, but I never really had one.

Oh well — so maybe I am a pipsqueak! And maybe my pants are a little long. And maybe my aunt is an ant.

Blonde at heart?

I’ve had a few serious airhead moments today. First, I went winter coat shopping and was gone for about an hour and a half…and when I came home I realized that I:

a) Left the back door open (luckily the screen door was shut so Levon couldn’t get out!)

b) Left the grilled cheese maker on

c) Left stuff from the refrigerator out on the counter

And then a few hours later:

d) Locked myself out of the house.

I blame “d” on the new Prius. Because it has the SmartKey thing, you don’t need a key to unlock the car or start the car. It’s got a little clicky thing, and you can keep it in your pocket or pocketbook, and it recognizes when you’re near the car. With my old car, I’d find my keys first, but I made the assumption that they were in my bag. I need a SmartKey for the house so then I never need to take out my keys! Well, except for the million discount cards I have on it — CVS, Star, Stop and Shop, Modells, the gym, etc.

Sometimes I am really running around like a chicken without a head. I’m the type to panic because I can’t find my glasses — but meanwhile, while I’m wearing them.

Finally Legally Changing My Name

Can you believe I’ve been married for over a year?

Matt and I celebrated our first anniversary last week, on September 22nd. And, embarrassingly enough, I still haven’t legally changed my name. I’ve been going by Kristine Munroe-Mahoney since we wed but I never changed it.

I couldn’t change it until after our trip to China (because I couldn’t get the passport and visa changed in time for the trip) and then…well, I just got lazy.

The name changing process will force me to go to two locations that I despise: the RMV, and the Social Security Office. Two places plagued by long lines and surly personnel.

Oh well. I guess it’s gotta be done.

Saturday in Maine

Yesterday was my birthday, and tomorrow is our first wedding anniversary! So, to celebrate, we went to Maine for some LOBSTAH!!!!

Fuggles IPA at Federal Jacks…YUM!!! This picture was actually a bit of a rude awakening. Upon uploading I thought, “Man, I don’t look so young anymore.” And to confirm: I was later called “ma’am” by a cashier at a gift shop.

Matt got the Lobster Feast…for $31, it came with a whole lobster, a buncha mussels, a cup o’ chowder, french fries, and a pint of beer. I got an amazingly delicious lobster roll, which while super yummerific made for a far less interesting picture.

Some pretty boats and stuff in Kennebunk(port)

And then we wanted to see a lighthouse. We’re obsessed with lighthouses and sadly we left our New England lighthouse book at home. So, we stopped at this beach so we could look it up on our phones. (I get carsick so I can’t read in a moving car.) It was cold but really nice. The smell of the ocean was invigorating!

We found the information for The Cape Neddick Lighthouse! We couldn’t go inside and it was on a little island so we couldn’t even really get near it, but I thought it was quite picturesque.

Afterwards we found a funny little bowling alley (it was in sort of a giant garage, and it also had indoor mini golf, pizza, ice cream, and t-shirts for sale) where we played a game. I won’t tell you how low I scored…but it was a little embarrassing. We had a good time anyway!!

Then we headed back down towards Boston to go to good ol’ Cabots where I got mint Oreo ice cream with hot fudge and Matt got a peanut-butter and banana sundae.

It was a really nice way to celebrate both my birthday and our anniversary.

10 Random Things

I usually don’t do memes on this blog, but this one is fun. Write 10 random facts about yourself!

1) I don’t like biting into fruit, such as apples, pears, peaches, etc. I always have to cut it up.

2) I can’t stand anything coffee-flavored. I come from a family of coffee addicts who always thought I’d follow in their footsteps by college…but nope!! Tea for me, please!!

3) I can’t wear fancy shoes. My feet are very wide and practically flat. Fancy looking shoes result in arch pain galore — if I can even get my clown feet into them! How feminine!!!

4) I’ve been a serious lip balm addict since kindergarten. I usually wake up several times in the middle of the night to apply more lip balm. I used to be embarrassed by my addiction and I’d hide my lip balm under my pillow so I could reapply in the middle of the night.

5) I can really only cook Italian food for some reason, with the following exceptions: chili, noodle kugel, homemade macaroni and cheese, and grilled cheese. I don’t follow recipes when I cook Italian food, either.

6) I exercise best on an elliptical when guiltily thumbing through a tabloid and reading about Britney’s latest escapades.

7) I would love to have a career doing voices for cartoon characters. I can do really funny voices. I really can, I tell ya!!!

8) I got glasses when I was 13 but I didn’t need to start wearing them all the time until I was 20. I got contacts a year later. I wear contacts about 80% of the time. (Not today, though.)

9) I was a remarkably picky eater when I was a kid. I went through a phase where all I’d eat was pizza and grilled cheese. My dad once tricked me into eating baked ravioli because it looked like pizza. Now I’ll eat practically anything except for beans, goat cheese, or olives.

10) I have the first half of “The Cat in the Hat” memorized by heart.

Left foot, left foot, right foot, right. Feet in the morning, feet at night.

Well, I finally got a doctor to listen to me about my foot injury! Well, actually, it wasn’t even a doctor…it was a physician’s assistant. She pointed out that I had bruising going down from my shin to my foot. I have to wear a rather irksome splint. It’s not very comfortable and it was really awful during the heatwave…but I can already walk without pain! In fact, I am hoping to return to the gym today for some low impact exercise!

I already feel myself falling out of shape after 2 weeks without exercise!