Yep...still me

I wish I had a dog or kid for times like this so I could pretend a broken light wasn't caused by my sheer clumsiness.

But alas, I do not.

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Dear Anonymous

To answer your question, technically no, I haven't been on the wagon. But, by my former standards, I'm driving the wagon. Last night, I topped off at 2 1/2 glasses of wine. So, if anyone had any big plans to enter me into any drinking competitions, I'd hold off.

I'm sorta rocking a health kick. No, this isn't like the time I tried to stay sober for 45 days... Although, probably wouldn't be that hard. I've quit most of my bad habits. Maybe a glass of wine at night. I now eat 1800 calories a day, instead of shots of 1800 Cuervo. I'm down to 1 diet coke a day and work out 3-4 times a week. Soon to be more - as I go into the more hard core training for my 60 mile, 3 day walk. Also, I'm hoping to solve my insomnia with melatonin. I didn't realize how badly my lack of sleep has been hurting me.

Yea, maturity has kicked in, which is nice in some ways...sometimes it can be just as boring as I expected. But, as fun as the stories have been, it is nice to not be the story for awhile. And to try new challenges, unlike defeating the newest pool contender. As Mr. M Mixologist would say "a happily partnered homebody"...hence why my friend came over to hang out instead of heading to the bar.

Not that I'm not me, just a tweaked, more settled version.

I wouldn't throw away those boas and beads just yet, folks...I'm sure there will be a reprise. ;-)

Smooches,
G

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I'm Missed

You know you're missed by your liquor store, when they serenade you when you walk in. Awwwh.

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Favorite Conversation from this weekend

Beyond getting to see some of you... and greatly missing others, I thought you'd all appreciate this:
 
Gina: I can take it, I'm a ninja.
Boyfriend: Just because you can take 10 people down by attempting to walk down a flight of stairs, doesn't make you a ninja.
Gina: grrr.
 
Smooches,
G

The V-Day Report

I almost killed my boyfriend. Yes, it was an accident. I swear! Turns out that not all chocolate is in pink wrapping because its for Valentines. In fact, if you're the confusing Ghiradelli folks its code for raspberry, to which he's badly allergic. Fortunately, being the slightly more detail oriented and literate man that he is, he read the ingredients, thus saving me from a repeat v-day in the ER.

One thing he's not allergic to are my chocolate chip cookies. Oh, and Yankees tickets. Definitely no allergic reaction from those.

Yes, kids, I survived a normal and pretty wonderful V-day. That even came with a delivery of roses to my office...and me blushing like a doofus.

There's a rumor that some of you may be meeting him this weekend. Before you go getting ideas, I'm perfectly aware of how introductory meetings have been...more an "initiation" aka "humiliation" of the introducer.

Not sure there is anything that could really embarrass me that I haven't thought to tell him, yet. But, if I did forget something, I'm more than sure he'll enjoy jumping right in on taunting me.

Smooches
G

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Blood letting

Despite my best efforts, my boyfriend has broke the code and figured out I'm not perfect.

So, it would be no shock that I've already taken a shark-bite chunk out of my leg today while shaving. Lost hair when I got my it caught in my sunglasses. Oh, and somehow I hit myself in the face with my deodorant.

At least I'm now Ph balanced and smell Shower Fresh?

Let's see if I can finally lose "bah humbug" from my least favorite day of the year.

I'm looking forward to spending the evening with someone that despite my many shortcomings, seems to be happy to spend his time with me. Hard not to love someone who's that good to me.

But if I could be omniscient (or just clone myself), there's many things I would also be doing today to show my love including:

-serenading Ms. Nicole with "Can't Smile Without You" using the 3 chords Mrs. Miece taught us on guitar
-sneaking Schmeffster a bag of Chips Ahoy
-sipping on some drinkypoos with my girls
-babysitting so you all could go out
-snuggling with my Lucky dog

Smooches,
G

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Big Surprise

Home sick for Valentine's Day weekend.

Ugh. This sucks.

Smooches,
G

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Why I Miss Aruba...reason #5320

The head of my company was here today and asked how many hours I spent on the beach to get this tan.

I didn't have the heart to tell him I'm subsidizing with the Island of Jergens Daily Glow. But, I think he may think I'm overpaid now. :-)

I also miss all of you!!!

Smooches,
G

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Hola from Aruba

Hello my friends (hola mi amigos y amigas),

I'm hoping the Verizon lady didn't lie and that I have email access. If not, I will be working for Verizon to pay off the charges.

I am having a lovely time here in Aruba, despite some rain. Some lessons learned:

1) I'm rather sure I was switched at birth and was destined to live on an island. I love the water, the beach... Sigh.

2) I am boning up on my espanol, even though it is not the native language. B and I find ourselves mostly around South Americans. Arubians speak some mix of dutch and spanish. Fortunately, I know the international language of alcohol, so no major translation issues. Actually, I find myself saying everything twice in english and spanish...

3) La piscina is solamente para adultos. Don't go to an all inclusive unless its adults only. Don't get me wrong, y'all know I love your lil' buggers. But the kids going in the adult pool is driving me nutso.

4) The larger the man, the shorter the speedo. South Americans love to expose themselves. The women wear bathing suits with no backside. The men adore their speedos, smaller the better. Ewww.

5) Arubian Animal Life is both cute and scarier. I squealed at an iguana that came near me. Made friends with the overly happy island dogs, who we've named Raul, Esteban and Pablo Escobar. There are some random green hopping/flying things that made me crawl into B's arms as a human shield...the bartenders loved that. And some random bug that no one here could identify but was pulsating and growling at me.

6) 2011 - the year of health and balance. Ok, yes, I am enjoying my cocktails. But, I've managed to get to the gym. And, I've loaded up on fruits and veggies (beyond the fruit and tomato juice in the drinks - btw Bloody Marys - YUM. Who knew?)

I know, its probably cold and miserable there (as my boyfriend continues to point out). But, it did take me forever to have a real vacation...which after losing vacation time even after using most of it for my eye surgery, I deserve it. So I'm soaking up every bit of sun and sand.
Yes, I've been suntanning healthy too...no random G burns. I'm a light brown and applying spf 30 like mad.

I miss you all. Truly wish you were here. And I can't wait to be vacationing with you in 2011!

Btw - shout out to my cousin Vinny (yes, I have a cousin Vinny bc I'm Italian) for the awesome vacation recommendation!!

Smooches,
G

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Seriously

I woke up in a panic today. I quite literally was worried that I caused a horrible cosmic shift in the Universe because I realized just how truly happy I am.

Call it luck, call it being blessed...who knows, but hopefully it's here to stay.

Longer post to come!

Smooches,
G

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Happy Birthday Heather!

And, one more thing... my latest new favorite song and lyrics:



I ain’t got no car
And I've got one pair of jeans
They’ve been stretched too far
And now they’re weak at the seams
I can’t say what’s next
And I got nothin' up my sleeve
But I don’t lose my head
Cause it ain’t really up to me

And I’m doing just fine
I’m always landing on my feet
In the nic of time
And by the skin of my teeth
I ain’t gonna stress
Cause the worst ain’t happened yet
Somethings watching over me
Like Sweet Serendipity
Sweet Serendipity

I don’t ask for a lot
No nothing more than I need
Because I love what I got
Don’t need to play the lottery
I just want to be strong
At the end of the road
I don’t want to hold on
I want the strength to let go

And I’m doing just fine
I’m always landing on my feet
In the nic of time
And by the skin of my teeth
I ain’t gonna stress
Cause the worst ain’t happened yet
Somethings watching over me
Like Sweet Serendipity

And what will be will be
In the nic of time
And by the skin of my teeth
I ain’t gonna stress
Cause the worst ain’t happened yet

A New New Years Eve...

Five years ago, I had one of the best trips ever to a brand new place, which instantly became my happy place. The people were friendly, the food and drinks marvelous and the company I was in was the best part of it all. We went into a bar, ready to play our next game of pool and stumbled into a karaoke night that was the equivalent of watching a Broadway audition. The folks on stage busted out this number, which stopped us in our tracks and gave our skin goose bumps. I read the lyrics today and funny... take on a whole different meaning now.

To my Key West traveling crew, I hope you have yet another magical time in one of the best places on Earth. May it be filled with delicious treats from Blue Heaven and new friends and adventures.

And for my NJ posse, I hope you're enjoying the snow! For those of you that I will see this New Years, I'm ready to rock it, well... maybe just roll it because I have a flight to catch.

Smooches,
G

Whoa...

I did it. A normal Griswold family Christmas...nothing caught fire, noone locked themselves out of doors. Heck, I even got everything I asked for except an external hard drive.

Clearly, the world is ending, but I can live with that.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Smooches,
G

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2010: According to G

Last New Years Eve, I eagerly wrote to you all, my dear friends and readers, that I had a feeling that 2010 would be MY year.  In fact, I was determined to do everything better this year. Did I succeed?
 
Well, if you go to the 2nd day of 2010, you'll see that I changed my tune to call 2010 the year of debt and destruction.  I found out I needed a second eye surgery, threw out my back, lost my Metrocard and destroyed iVanka, my second iPod and countless other things.  I stayed strong (well, I tried)...continued to go on miserable dates, worked way too much, stressed way too much and went through a 2 1/2 month recovery from my surgery.  Oh, and let's not forget the great refridgerator incident of August.  But, I learned things along the way.  I honed my mixology and cooking skills during Snowmedggedon, took my annual trip to Vegas - this time with an Elvis wedding (scratch one off the bucket list), learned you need a water line for an icemaker and as always, made my own fun along the way. 
 
One day near the end of August, I woke up and my vision was clear - literally and figuratively.  Then, something big happened.  After 6 years of blogging about my dating adventures, I met a boy.  Not just any boy, the right boy.  And that's about when things went from good to great. 
 
I'm not going to lie.  Of course this whole "being in a relationship" stuff is a lot of work.  You people have years of experience on me and I'm basically trying to rapid age myself to learning the ropes.  For awhile, I doubted whether or not I could actually do this, or if I was destined for the life of a chronically single girl.  And the simple truth is, I could, in fact, be a single girl forever.  But I don't wanna.  I like making someone smile.  I like having someone who likes to make me smile... shows up with flowers, cookies and soup when I'm sick... buys me a mini-sized stuffed dog who he named Slick because he knows Baxter is too big to travel with, but knows I miss Baxter when I travel... oh and by the way, calls Baxter by his name and complies with my desire to name inanimate objects.  Like I said, the right boy.
 
Is he perfect?  Of course not.  Is he perfect for me?  Well, all signs point to yes, which is why I decided to bring him home to mom and dad, who have not met anyone since my prom date.  Now, this is not without comedy.  I mustered the courage to tell my parents at Thanksgiving that I was seeing someone.  I wish I videotaped the reaction - my mother's giddy grin and my father's confused look and response of "he's not The Situation, right?" when I mentioned he was from North Jersey.
 
But from the moment we walked in the door, I could tell that they saw exactly what I see - a truly, genuinely, good and kind hearted person.  I didn't get a word in edgewise in the conversation between him and my dad.  They have some bizarre inside joke going too of "tell your dad I said X", then my dad laughing and saying "tell him I said..."
 
Yes, it is weird.  But, I am without a doubt, amazingly happy.  But, really truly, it isn't solely about the boy.  I just feel like this entire year, I finally let go and that is when everything just began to flow. 
 
Take today - my office closed at 1.  This usually means that I'd work until 2 or 3, go home and sleep.  But, I decided to take the time and enjoy myself without direction.  Next thing you know, I'm off to Virginia to have lunch with him... then I finished up my last Christmas gift and stumbled upon this great outdoor market.  For once, I decided to just go where the wind took me.  And that, my friends, is how I stumbled upon realizing that I had found myself living my life.  Not that I didn't *live* before... but learning this art of balance has taken me my entire life.  To know when to make time appear and disappear... to know when to pause and soak things in.  The smell of the city... purusing a market.  Things I'd never even think of to make time to do.
 
Again, I credit you all for teaching me... letting me really absorb how you all find balance and not live in a crazy world of "have to". 
 
2010 has been an amazing journey for me. It has, in fact, been MY year.  Not by luck, but by me finally making it so.
 
The year isn't quite over yet, but I'm prepared for whatever antics may come.  But for now, I will end with the hope of continuing to say:
 
And she lived happily ever after.
 
My love, warm thoughts and best wishes to all of you this Christmas.  I look forward to continuing this story... especially after the New Year when I jet off to Aruba with my best friend.
 
Smooches to all and to all a good night,
G

When there are no words...

 
Well, more like no time to write the words.  I have a blog post coming, but in the meantime, I thought I'd throw a little nostaglia at you.  And yes, I'm 34 years old and I still do believe there is a Santa Claus.  And this year, especially, has convinced me to keep being the same goofball that never stops believing that every once in awhile, everything falls into place.  More to come...
 
Smooches,
G
 

"DEAR EDITOR: I am 8 years old. "Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. "Papa says, 'If you see it in THE SUN it's so.' "Please tell me the truth; is there a Santa Claus? "VIRGINIA O'HANLON. "115 WEST NINETY-FIFTH STREET." VIRGINIA, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except [what] they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men's or children's, are little. In this great universe of ours man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge. Yes, VIRGINIA, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus. It would be as dreary as if there were no VIRGINIAS. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished. Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies! You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas Eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if they did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that's no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world. You may tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived, could tear apart. Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, VIRGINIA, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding. No Santa Claus! Thank God! he lives, and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay, ten times ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.

It's TREE Day!!!

Yayyyyyy! Its my favorite holiday tradition. In just a few short hours, my beloved B, his pal Ron and I will be heading out to get the G staple, my annual Griswold family Christmas tree.

Last year, I think I mentioned that I may have had some Christmas spirit influence on some of my favorite folks. Well, this year, I'm proud to report I'm certain that I have.

How do I know? For starters, B told the plan for where the tree would be in my home this year in AUGUST, which requires rearranging the entire room.

His reason for moving it, was so it could be even BIGGER.

And, if that wasn't enough, when I asked him when we were moving the furniture, he responded:

"Not before we get tree. TREE. Big TREE."

All this from a guy who tried to convince me that table top trees were the only trees that I should have.

Well, I think my work here is done. Another person transformed by medicinal and magical holiday spirit.

Life is pretty good, kids. I have some other fun news that I'm sitting on, but will reveal soon enough.

Smooches,
G

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Dysfunction is the New Normal

I didn't tweet this Thanksgiving but it was recorded by my neighbors who said "I think you could possibly get a recording/movie/reality TV show contract if Fox or CBS saw these clips!"

Yea, we're still the same fun lovin' dysfunctional family. Nothing caught on fire this year, thankfully. I think we may have finally embraced our dysfunction. I mean it only took 34 years.

I had a great time this past week. Saw friends and family, partied like a rockstar (hey, I never said I was completely retired - sometimes those dancing shoes have to come out), played dress up with my niece and got to spend some quality time with my posse.

I got to be thankful for everything I have - and its a lot. And now its back to the grind as I'm in California for the next 24 hours.

But the countdown begins to my favorite party of the year...

Can't wait to be back to retox in Jersey in just a few weeks.

Smooches,
G

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I'm No Hero, But Sometimes I Work for Them...

Let's face it, I complain about work all the damn time. For almost 12 years now I've worked in healthcare public relations, and for most of you, that means nearily nothing. I'm not offended, we rarely know what are friends and family really do for a living. I know that Schmotty does stuff to computers, Missy does stuff with the law, and so on. And I'm not even going to even attempt to understand the hardest role most of you play as parents.

Most of you only know the work I've done with Dr Atkins...a few of you saw me in the background on tv. And so on... And for as much as I complain you probably wonder 1) why its so damn stressful and 2) why I keep doing it.

When Dr. A died, we held a memorial. It was a largely orchestrated event, and I was stunned to see that the people who knew him the least were the ones that were most touched.

Was he merely a doctor that tried to get you to give up bread? Well, that's one interpretation of the story. However, when you read the news today and people talk about limiting your sugar intake, well...he played a mighty big role in changing that. He warned me numerous times about what would happen to us with obesity and diabetes. Sadly, its all come true.

When he died and I finally decided to leave the company, I left with one big goal. I needed to work for something or someone that had the same passion he did. I saw it, I may not have fully understood it. But I knew for me to do what I do, I needed to believe and be inspired with someone who had passion.

So, I searched. I turned down some incredible opportunities to work on things I love...WaWa, Ikea, casinos...you name it.

And then through a series of fortunte events, I was introduced to a mental health nonprofit. And I was struck for a mulititude of reasons, that I must have this job.

I pursued it like nothing I've ever done before. And when I met the woman who was one of the founders, I knew why. Because she had the same spark that he did. She had the passion and was able to bring it out in others.

Sadly, she passed about a year ago and today she was honored at the National Institute for Mental Health. A place that barely existed until the 80s, when people like her stood up and had the courage to admit they had a problem and needed help.

Unlike the work I do in obesity, you can't see mental health issues. You may not know what it is like to be trapped in your own mind, unable to get out. I've witnessed it too often in my lifetime, hell, to an extent I lived it and continue to do so.  Seeing and living mental health issues brings upon a mixture of emotions that range from frustration to sheer terror.  Some people are afraid to even say they have a problem, some people don't even believe it.  It's a complex situation than can result in very unfortunate issues - isolation, eating disorders and sadly, suicide. 

I know people go to work every day, and its just a job. People tell me what I do is "just a job". And there are aspects in which that is completely correct.  But, at the end of the day, I am me... and what I've come to learn about me is that for better or worse, I have been exposed to and have a great deal of passion in my own right.  It just so happens, is that my passion is for people.  And one part of my "job" is to make people with something real and important to say, get heard.  Fortunately, you know, that me being a loud Italian, helps me get that job done.
 
I would never be so ignorant to say that my role in getting folks heard is any bigger than just that, one small part in a big play.  But those small roles, have led me to enormous opportunities to be a part of passion and greatness.  I've had the opportunity to hear thanks from folks, whether it was a diet or a medical treatment that "saved their lives".  I don't take credit for that, but I'm glad that I can be a part.  It makes me feel pretty damn good in fact to know that work that I've done has translated far and wide.  Somewhere, there is someone that is taking a first step towards better health because I helped spread the word.
 
I also would never be so ignorant as to not thank all of you, who play similar roles every day and rarely get thanked for them.  You may see my work in a paper or on TV, but I get to see you work in the children you raise and ok, I will be so selfish as to say, the smile you bring to my face.  I know you think I'm crazy when I tell you that you're all my heroes.  You all are each so special in very different and unique ways.  And, with my passion being people, I get to see that in each of you.  I see the amazing value that all of you bring to the people in your lives. I may now be blessed with beyond perfect vision, but that is one thing I've always been able to see clearly.  It's one of the few skills that I'll admit to with great pride. 
 
If you're still reading, I'm on a roll, so I'm going to try to explain that with a quote from As Good As It Gets:
 
"I might be the only person on the face of the earth that knows you're the greatest woman on earth. I might be the only one who appreciates how amazing you are in every single thing that you do, and how you are with Spencer, "Spence," and in every single thought that you have, and how you say what you mean, and how you almost always mean something that's all about being straight and good. I think most people miss that about you, and I watch them, wondering how they can watch you bring their food, and clear their tables and never get that they just met the greatest woman alive. And the fact that I get it makes me feel good, about me."
 
I can't think of a better thing to give thanks for this Thanksgiving than that.
 
My continued love to you all.  I look forward to seeing some of you soon. 
 
Smooches,
G 
 
 

Cat is Out of the Bag...

You may want to call to get me a psychiatric evaluation. Apparently, someone has stolen the real me, and replaced me with someone who needs to be domesticated. Last night, I left a happy hour at 9:30 after only three beers. Tonight, I decided to bake... chocolate chip cookies by request. Pictures of the cookies are included to prove it. I decided I would also try my hand at banana bread which is currently baking away in my oven that is probably saying "WTF - the girl has used me more in one night than in the five years she's lived here."

I finally used my cute pink mixing bowls and guess what?! I have appliances that don't make drinks!! I used a hand mixer and bought a cookie sheet. Hell, I even used those reusable grocery store bags when I went to the (yes, holy crow) supermarket.

I had to balance out all this domestication, so I went to my liquor store to buy some Kahlua. Only, my guy wasn't working, so no one even greeted me with "Hey Gina".

Wow, a lot has changed. Your girl appears to be growing up. And the weird thing is, it doesn't even seem all that weird. I actually feel exactly where I want to and should be.

Don't worry, I won't ignore the guys with the pretty white coat that zips in the back if you decide to call them. I'm sure the goofy smile will probably have me committed. :-)

Smooches,
G

Here Comes the Love Train

When I was on my way to Alcatraz, a photographer snapped Nicole and my picture. He said, "You can see your smile from outer space."

That's about right for me today. Its that time of year, kids. The time where I feel this overwhelming sense of gratitude that despite how much the Universe continues to screw with me...its all ok.

I have many, many things that make my smile seen from afar, for starters, I have you all.

And a lot more... Today is a very, very good day.

Can't wait to see some of you for Thanksgiving. Just wear sunglasses so I don't beam too close.

Smooches,
G
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