Around the US in 30 Days

Ok, so nothing that ambitious, but I did find out today that I'm Vegas bound in May for the Gourmet Housewares show. Days upon days of the latest crazy inventions that you absolutely must buy right now to ensure your proper status as home cook. It'll be crazy and I love it.
The good and bad side is that it's in Vegas. B and I went to Vegas last year and it was AMAZING. Loved every minute. I was hoping he could go this year, but it's just too much--he'll be finishing his first year of grad school, moving to Birmingham (ee!), and doing some case brief thing in hope of landing a law journal. (As you may have guessed, I generally just nod during our converstions about law school.)
So looks like it'll be just me and Sin City. To be honest? I'm super excited.

I leave on Friday for New Orleans for B's friend's wedding. He's never been, so we're staying in the French Quarter and doing it right from the start. I'm counting the days...

Loose Ends...

B has a place to live!  Super exciting.  I saw about 5 places, ranging from "charming" holes in the wall to super-cute-but-expensive fully done apartments.  He picked a room in a house about five minutes from here.  Totally fine by me!  I can't believe it's been almost 3 years since we've been in the same city full time.  Visits, yes.  Vacations, yes. But really living, day-in and day-out, no.

I'm excited, but I'm also pretty scared.  I know we're compatible, and that our lives are compatible, but still there's some great fear that somehow things will just ... *poof.*  I am very anti-poof.

Care, my college roommate, says I try to overcompensate when I'm anxious and that I displace my angst.  I tell her she should get a hobby. But in this case she's right.  I have this weird inner draw to find the perfect place for B to live and, if I can find that 'perfect' place, then everything will be great this summer.  I know it's crazy, but it's something I can control.  Must relinquish control.  Must go back to faith.

Here's the place he decided on.  It has azalea bushes, so I know Grandma would be proud. Perfect?  We'll see.

Must Buy: Jessie Steel Aprons

Resisting for now, but I'm more than certain that these aprons will be in my possession sooner rather than later. ...and maybe a cast-iron skillet.

Bucket List

Ok, so my list is less of a "to do before kicking the bucket" and more of a catch-all for the things I'm afraid will slip through the cracks...in the bucket? Maybe I should call it a bridge list instead.

Things I'm doing these days:
1) Looking at apartments for B. B. and I have been dating for 5 years now. Nope, not a typo. And that's exclusively. We dated for a year before that on and off. If we'd gotten right down to it, we could currently have someone who could write their name with a fat pencil. Crazy. B. is moving here for the summer for internships at a few law firms, so I'm spending my lunch hours this week running to and fro and trying to leave a trail of notes as to where I'll be should "Bob" turn out to be a "lotion on the skin" type guy. So far the leads are good, and I'm sure there will be more to follow.

2) Planning showers/bachelorette weekends for high school girlfriends who are getting married. Next one is later this month (eek!) in North Georgia on the lake. Should be amazing, if I can get myself organized enough to plan it.

3) Writing a LOT at work for our summer grilling guides. Luckily, my assigned section is Drinks, so I'm spending most days researching mojitos, coladas, and anything fit for a tiny umbrella. However, as good as that may sound, there's an equal amount of time spent coming up with synonyms for "refreshing."

Webster defines "beginning" as...

Who ever knows how to properly begin something? I remember those terrible presentations (read: chapel talks) in middle school where every guy (no girls allowed!) began his devotional talk with a short anecdote about something light, say "Sin" or "Dying to Self," and then followed with the cliff-hanger "Webster defines 'sin' as..." It's a cop out. Granted, so is beginning anything with a question (see above). But it can be hard to get started.
So let's go:
1) Anecdote: When I was little, about 13, my Grandma took it upon herself to teach me how to make a "man-worthy" dinner. We pan-fried hamburger steaks in her ancient cast-iron skillet, steeped green beans in bacon grease and oleo, and crafted what could possibly be the most perfect banana pudding I've ever seen. I asked her, once I was grease splattered and up to my wrists in vanilla pudding, when was the "proper" time to make such a dinner for a guy. Certainly the time devoted to such an evening would necessitate some sort of commitment from the consumer, I thought. But Grandma knew better. She'd lived to cook for her husband, her children, and now her grandchildren. "When?" she asked, "Well right from the beginning."

Webster defines 'beginning' as something, I'm sure, but I like to think of it as not a true start, but rather the first glimpse someone has into the world which has welcomed them. This isn't my beginning, but it is ours.