Holidaze 2011, Part One: Christmas Festivities

As Life would have it, once things slowed down a bit in the last week, everything else caught up: I stand (sit?) before you a disgusting wad of funk, inevitably brought on by weird shifts in weather (71 and sunny to 54 and rainy in 24 hours), holiday stress, and 4 months of being completely inundated and running on 5 hours of sleep (nightly? weekly? no good either way).

The best part of a sick-day quarantine is that you have no choice but to avoid the ridiculous amount of errands and chores and people-dealings, unless you want to be the poster child for public health threats and wear a bag over your head. No, I sat in my apartment all day on my day off yesterday and brilliantly made sense of the piles in corners, under my crappy furniture, and shoved between things - stuff I accumulated and never took the time to deal with... 2 bags of trash and 2 more for donations later, I felt relieved that the only clutter I had left to manage was the phlemgy mess in my nose and chest. Despite the gunk load, I slept soundly for the first time in months. A lighter apartment and a heavy dose of NyQuil work wonders.

Christmas this year came just how I wanted it: slowly yet with punctuated moments of chaos and excitement, and it left just the same. In my very Catholic house, we celebrated the joy and sentiment of Christmas until the Feast of the Holy Family on Jan 6th (or maybe because we were too lazy to take down the decorations and wanted an excuse to keep eating lots of food). In a world were things often stop or leave so abruptly, the quiet transition into a new year is what I crave the most, seeing that January and February is quite possibly the ugliest time around here.

I spent Christmas this year with John's family, and they always do a marvelous job planning and cooking and decorating. My family was down in Florida visiting with my Dad who's been on assignment in the central part of the state since earlier this year - they were really supportive of my decision not to travel and fray the last little nerves I had left. (I'm leaving today for a grand NYE celebration at the beach with them, so I think it's a faaabulous trade off.) I managed to stay right where I wanted most of the short trip over the long weekend: behind my trusty Nikon. Below are some of my favorite shots from the trip. Speak for themselves. :)

*All photos copyright Breakfast at Target/Celia G Photographie - you steal, you risk the wrath.
** Blogger still isn't compressing photos correctly, excuse the grain/rough edges in some of the photos... grr.

Yummy frozen peach bellini.

Cadey and her delicious candy-cane pizza.

My Christmas tree: Pesto, mozzarella, sun-dried tomatoes, and pineapple. Sounds weird but I promise, it was SO good!

Mama C's snowman pizza.

Right here is when I discovered the enchantment of Words with Friends. And immediately downloaded it to the iPad, because I was tired of being left out.

High scorin' Mama!

Y'all thought I was kidding.

My handsome attorney.

Wondering how I scored a handsome attorney.

Da girls.

Christmas crazies.

Cadey's Christmas Steve Maddens. 

Rockin' around the Christmas tree. AH YEP.

Nana and her 2011 photo book, made by Mama C.

Christmas Day lunch across the way.

Part two around the corner... lots to share. :)

Well, Now That's Pinteresting...

I survived my exams.

I survived my last crazy work week of 2011.

Holiday parties, deadlines, and laundry... these awaited me after my end-of-the-semester chaos. I conquered them with my usual grace and charm anxiety and baffling blundery just the same.

And now? Two brilliant weeks off... but not out of the clear, yet. A flippity-gillion photo sessions to edit, a disaster of an apartment to clean up, and somehow I need to be running 8 miles 4x's a week to prepare for my 1/2 marathon in February.

But dangit, betches... I'm on my own time. And I'm kicking it off with a much needed girls retreat to the Holy City (that's Charleston, SC, for my lovelies in other parts of the world).

Don't consider this my magical return to the blogosphere just yet, but I wanted to check in and let you all know just how much all your support meant to me. I needed it, all of it, so know not an ounce of your concern or well wishes went to waste.

You all saved me a considerable amount of money on vodka.

Expect a valiant return soon -- some news to share and a few tell-all posts inspired by recent conversations -- but in the meantime, I have a tidbit of "I beg your pardon" to share with you all before I head out of town....

During my usual early morning coffee-sipping and Pinterest perusing before attacking emails and the news, I came across gem:

PINTEREST FAIL.

Congrats, Joseph - you're officially The Biggest Creeper on Pinterest. Send me the address to your basement haven at your mom's house so I can send you your award.

And to Hana, whoever and where ever you are, HIGH FIVE, GIRLFRAN.

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So don't forget, people - Jesus and Santa Claus are always watching.

And occasionally, everyone else on the internet.



I freakin' love you all.

"Breakfast at Target" Takes a Sabbatical

Y'all. 

I don't know even know where to start.

This has been, BY FAR, the worst semester of my life. My class work, my work-work (all three jobs), and my beau's tireless search for gainful legal employment have been downright painful, frustrating, and, worst of all, hopeless. That pathetic little light at the end of the tunnel seems to get farther away with each new craptastic situation, unfortunate set of circumstances, or heart-breaking dead-end after lots of time and energy wasted. Once someone who made long-term plans and decisions to get there accordingly, I find myself living a day or two at a time - because honestly, I live in terror of things to come. More work to be done. More bad news.

There comes a point when drinking yourself into a numbed stupor and rationalizing your challenges as "tests of the cosmos" make you just want to punch somebody and walk away from it all.

As my To Do list got heavier and messier and my life along with it, I found myself in a place I wasn't sure to get out of - my energy zapped, my ambitions tossed careless by the wayside, my creative breath knocked right out.... as of today I stand (sit?) before you all as a tangled mess of despair, loathing, exhaustion, and vapidness. 

The worst part?

For the first time in my life, I don't know what to do. A self-proclaimed organization and planning freak, I'm left without even the  slightest clue of how to move forward.

I need a victory. A manageable To Do list. Something to look forward to. A top-shelf cocktail and a hug.

In the end, I decided I needed to put my beloved and precious blog on a mini and formal hiatus. And for a short while, I may also be taking down my Facebook. Cutting down on distractions seems to be the first step to getting out of the crap-hole that is my existence.

(To my blogging pals, new and old, I'll be catching up in the coming weeks after I survive final papers, projects, presentations, and exams. I can't say it enough, but I do take time to read, I'm just bad about commenting due to lack of brain-power.)

INNNNN the meantime... I've compiled a list of "Best of B@T" to keep you thrilled and entertained during my (undisclosed) time away. Want more? Click "The Mean Reds"in the titlebar...

1.) I Got 99 Problems.... 

My in-depth look at the crazy - and I mean CRAZY - womenfolk in our lives.

2.) Group Projects: Welcome to My Nightmare

I swear the only thing worse than group projects is... no, actually, group projects are the embodiment of hell-on-earth.

3.) I Be Up in the Gym

As a fitness instructor, I have a few tips on how to not be a total ass-hat at the gym. Oh, and get that workout you deserve. (Yup, there are tips for the fellas in there, too.)

4.) Summer has it's Etiquette

It's December. Why am I posting about summer? Because it relates to vacays and I know some of y'all have bang-up plans to hit the road this holiday season.

5.) Workin' On My Cred': Get the Picture? (Part I)

My testament and personal reflections on the journey into professional photography. There's a Part II, a follow-up, you can find under "The Mean Reds."

With that, I'm off to down my 3rd (maybe 5th?) cup of coffee... and possibly crank up Mumford & Sons. 

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I know there are good things, good people, and good moments in my life. I'm grateful for those and hold on to them like a 2nd-grader to a pudding cup. I'll come out of this one way or another, and your patience is more than I could ask for. 

6' foot blondes are hard to keep down.