Farewell to 2013

Clearly we fell off the wagon a little bit with the blogging in fall quarter. A word to the wise, do not go to grad school and try to plan a wedding simultaneously. You'll need two separate extra budgets for alcohol and massages.


Here's to 2013, and my top 10 moments of 2013:
1) Rob moved to Chicago, 2) we bought an apartment, and 3) moved in together. 4) My grandfather turned 90 in February. I am so glad we all got to be there to celebrate with him (clearly, he was stoked to see us), as he passed away in April. I love you Grandpa, rest in peace.

5) We went to Mexico for Spring Break (in our 30s, woooo!)

6) Come May, I had a really important research trip to the Middle East and was able to conduct some great fieldwork in Oman & Abu Dhabi. 7) Rob came to meet me in Jordan, and we went to Petra, one of the places on my must-see list.

Salalah, Oman

Dead Sea, Jordan side

Petra by night

Saadiyat's Manarat exhibition center

 8, 9) When I came back at the end of July, Rob proposed! (it's worth two events!!)

This fall I started my 2nd year of my PhD. 10) My first article was published in November, and Rob and I hosted our first Thanksgiving. The food came out pretty well and we didn't set anything on fire! Hooray!

It has been a banner year, and next year promises to be huge as well. I am profoundly thankful...and profoundly exhausted, quite frankly. Here's to another week of relaxing and marking off the tiny little things off my list.

CJ&B No. 5 - Flat Abs etc

Some stellar advice here.

CJ&B No. 4 - Yogis

Whatever you carry within you - you meet everywhere. 
~ Yogi Amrit Desai

CJ&B No. 3 - Dar

is coming to town! Lovely happy accident.

CJ&B No. 2 - City on the Sound

View from a Lake Union houseboat

Lake Union and Queen Anne by night

Seattle from Kerry Park, Queen Anne

CJ&B No. 1

Image from http://swimmingpoolstories.blogspot.com

This morning sunlight streamed through the windows of the pool into my lane.

“Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.”
-attributed to Buddha

Cultivating Joy & Beauty: announcing the next project!

Since getting back from the Middle East, I've been struggling to readjust. Part of it has been the whirlwind of getting engaged, part of it is that I have a lot of free time (I know, after last year in grad school, I'm complaining?) and school doesn't start up again for another week and a half. That's a lot of time to be in my own head. The wedding industry makes me feel bad about myself, like I don't quite know how to be a woman and like a failure for not having a wedding binder or an interest in ruching, tulle and sequins (for the record: none of these will appear in our wedding). In my attempts to make others happy, I've been wandering for what brings me joy.

I had a great conversation with Ruby yesterday; when I told her about my fears and insecurities about being a bride, she said, "Fuck it!" She reminded me that this wedding is my wedding (our wedding), and told me to trust my own style (and that it was cool. Which was a nice thing to hear). After all, I can be no one else but me. I won't ever be the bride on the cover of the magazine; that's not my style. And there are people in my program who will judge me for my life choices, and I can't help that. So this project is about recognizing and owning myself, much like the Gratitude Project was about focusing on the good things in my life. This project is about cultivating joy and honoring beauty, in whatever forms they come, so I can feel myself on solid ground and accept the decisions and choices I've made, regardless of the consequences.

So here is my first post: mountains give me joy. This is looking west from Ballard in Seattle, over the Olympic Mountains at sunset. 

 More of this, please!