Been feeling crappy lately. Physically and mentally. Crappy. I'm trying desperately to keep my head above water. Sigh...day by day. The tape in my head plays over and over "Breathe. Minute by minute. Hour by hour." Hence no blogging lately. I'm not a big fan of spewing negativity and that is all that seems to come out lately.

I've also been quiet when people ask excitedly "HOW WERE YOUR HOLIDAYS???" Or maybe not quiet but I change the subject and say "How were yours??" trying to equate their excitedness, when I really want to be like "Meh". But you can't. You might as well say you hate children or puppies. You have to squeal with delight and talk about how sunshine came shooting out your ass while you and your family had a good old fashioned Christmas. Blah. I'm tempted to forgo the whole thing next year and go to Mexico. Hm. Now there's an idea. BUT...that would constitute traveling over the holidays, which is something I might omit from my life, along with at home parties where you feel obligated to buy stuff you don't need. (That was the thing I gave up last year with much success.)

We did have a lovely faux New Years on Saturday (30th) with the delicious S's and M's. We went to Il Bistro for drinks (hi, extra dirty vodka martini) and then to Maximilien Restaurant, which had the best food I've had since we moved here. It was a supreme night.

We rallyed at dinner and decided to go out to the Vogue, since it is closing. I should have called it a night. (A red flag should have been when I insisted E take my picture while I sat on the Pike Place Market pig) I knew better but was having SO much fun and let the moment take me and ended up at the Vogue. We left shortly after getting there and I felt like a dork. You know those situations where you're just like "Oh. Wait. This won't do at all. I need to be in my sweats, in my bed, immediately."

My darling PGP "tagged" me in his blog. Turns out there is a game of Blog-Tag going around in which bloggers are sharing five things about themselves that relatively few people know, and then tagging five other bloggers to be "it."

Five Things about myself that relatively few people know:

1. I learned to ride my bike on a dirt road on a ranch in Texas.

2. First time I shot a gun I was 5 years old. It was a .45.

3. My first kiss was on my 16th birthday at Gary Coleman's house. And no, it wasn't with Gary Coleman.

4. I love my 30s.

5. I tried out to be on the Real World San Francisco (the one with Puck--ew) and luckily was not picked. I went to Paris instead.

Ok, so now I have to tag 5 people:

Jean and Gerry (my lovely MIL and FIL), Erin Dolan, Becca Reidy, Emily Andrews, and Michelle Couraud.

I finished The Devil in the White City in 2 days (it ruled...so much history) and then immediately read The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri, which was beautiful. I highly recommend it. The writing is lush and at times I felt like I wasn't reading, if that makes any sense. Oooo...I just saw that it was made into a movie directed by Mira Nair and I cannot wait! She did Vanity Fair and Monsoon Wedding. I loved both.  The Indian culture is decadent and rich and beautiful and Nair portrays it so well onscreen. I'm in one of my freakish reading spouts where I read voraciously for a month or so and then I just go back to my magazine fetish for 6 months or so until I binge on books again. Next on my list is The Glass Castle and Eat, Pray, Love.

I watched the premiere of Dirt tonight and I think I'm still undecided. I want to give it a chance because it feels different than anything I've watched and it's a little twisted, which I like. We'll see.

My bed awaits.

I think congrats are in order for a certain EJA. You deserve good things dear girl.

Also, B,E and C, meet me in Mexico this weekend? I'll buy the drinks. XOXO.