A Rainy Night In

I walked him to the door and opened it, letting in the cool and wet night air. He turned and looked down at me with a wide smile.
"Thanks for helping me arrange my furniture," I said.
"Thanks for helping me with my essay," he replied. A pause.
"We make a good team," he added.

I nodded with a grin. "See you tomorrow..."

He turned to start down the winding pebble-filled pathway that leads away from my new front door. The tree that shadows my front step hung wet branches down, and he ducked to avoid them. The landscaping lights threw circular patterns of beams along each curve of the path, looking a little like pools of water that had each just had a stone thrown in to create a ripple effect. As he walked away he looked back and said, "God natt, Corinne."

I walked inside and shut the door. Looked around. There was still some unpacking to do, but I truly already felt like I was at home. All my familiar things were out and in prominent places... my cute white mirror, my little loveseat with the brown and cream print cover, the portrait of my mom when she was a teenager that I got for Christmas, my beloved Mac, the candle-holder made from a wine barrel plank from my uncle, my seafoam green silk pillows...

I climbed up the tall wooden ladder to my loft, slid into my big cozy bed, and read a little bit before I fell asleep to the beat of the rain on the skylight.

I'm in love with this place.

Moving Day

What I will miss about my little place...

*driving through my darling neighborhood to get home
*the tiny window-paned front door
*it's incredible weather-proofing, never got too hot or cold in there
*the little stone pathway down the side of the house to get there
*coming home at night and feeling a warm breeze and pausing for a moment on the front lawn to see our good view of hills outlined against the star-speckled night sky
*my regular running route around the neighborhood, over to the golf course, and always a pause to stretch by the bench overlooking the San Roque Valley by the lawn bowling club
*how my landlord will go out to pretend to mow the lawn but really because he saw i was coming or going and wanted to chat
*walking to Trader Joes or Taco Bell or over to the condo compound
*how compact it is and how i had a place for everything, easily accessible
*the tile work in my bathroom and kitchen
*my address... i thought it was cute
*being so close to work, no freeway driving at all
*the fact that it was my first place of my own
*of course i've made some good memories there, and i'll have to say goodbye to the scene of them... but seeing as this is the fifth move since i graduated college i suppose i'm used to it

such is the life of a girl in her mid-twenties. cheers to the new place and new memories. cheers to my dear second family who own the new amazing studio i'm moving to and will greet my arrival tonight with margaritas. and cheers to all my friends who will spend some precious hours of their weekend to help me move... pizza and beer all around.

outnumbered in 2009

I started the day by sitting on a bench by the sand at the Goleta Point Beach this morning. It hit me as soon as I got near the sand and saw the movement of the waves rolling in and out that I hadn't been at the beach much lately. Usually that sight is so familiar to me, like that friend that lives in town that you are in touch with the most and usually know what is going on with them day-to-day. The beach and I haven't been as close lately due to the colder weather, darker days, holidays, and all the busy-ness I've had... But we are going to spend some more quality time together as the days get lighter, and since I'm moving just a few minutes closer to one of my favorite beaches to visit at sunset.

I will also be getting to know some beaches somewhere else, far far away, come next month...

I'm going to spend a few weeks of our winter in New Zealand for their summer.
This is a dream come true, and I can hardly believe it's actually happening.

The photo on the header of this blog is of one of the first beaches in that country on my list to see... and explore, and read by, and run along, and take pictures on. Maybe when I return I will replace the photo above with one of my own from the same spot.

I've been wanting to go for over 4 1/2 years now, and the fact that I planned for and saved over this past year and now to make it happen is one of my biggest accomplishments thus far. I like to dream, but it can be hard for me to take action sometimes.

So here's to a 2009 full of adventure. A year with backpacking and hostelling. A year with a cruise to Mexico with dear friends. A year where I get to do more work that I love than I have been in recent years. A year with taking more chances but secure in the fact that I know myself well enough to handle whatever may come.

And like I decided on New Year's Day and wrote out on a pretty little card to see every day, here's to a year where I (among other things):
*am more in the moment instead of imagining the next step or how things could be better
*try two new recipes every month
*am less self-absorbed
*am more in touch with my brother
*live with as much honesty and straightforwardness as possible
*pray more specifically, which enables me to focus and pray more frequently
*eat more natural less processed foods
*keep working on being someone that others feel understood by

Happy New Year to you!