NJM 2020, Entry 14 - Thoughts on a Long Walk in These Foolish Things

Hi and welcome to Saturday! I just got back from a lovely, lovely walk with Martini and on that walk, I thought about the following:

• I think I found my new neighborhood! I was taking Martini around the Pretty Park (pretty doesn’t do this place justice - it’s a glorious, gorgeous park and not really a secret - it’s the place where people go to take family portraits in front of the lake or engagement photos amidst the weeping willows. It’s stunning and it’s in the middle of the ritzy part of town) and I decided to walk through the neighborhood just south of all the ritz on this area…past the stately old mansions with the baby grand pianos in the windows of the front sitting rooms and down the sidewalks covered in fallen leaves that resemble rose petals and on through the quiet tree-lined neighborhood, saying hello to everyone else out walking their dogs… this area just south has super cute Tudors that have been converted into duplexes or even fourplexes with pretty balconies and rounded windows and some even with hidden courtyards. There were several cute places that had For Rent signs in the yards and the prices are not cheap, but I think it would be worth it to be in this area. It’s still very much part of the city, but less gritty and much more neighborhoody. I’m zooming in on this area.

• Thanks for all of the gift suggestions for my niece! I figured out what to get her for her 5th birthday and it’s already here. I think I did a fun combo of artsy and tech (since she’s so tech savvy) and got her a kid’s digital camera and a pretty case to put it in. She loooooves to take selfies and always tries to get my phone out of my hands. Well, now she can have her cake and take her own photos! I can’t wait to see the world through her eyes and see what kinds of photos she takes. I know this is not an heirloom gift - I still have Christmas…but I think this might be something fun that she’ll enjoy. I’ve already played with the camera a bit to make sure it will be charged and ready to go when she opens her gift. I even took a couple of photos to start her out. She can erase them if she wants, but I’ll be able to show her how the camera works when she opens it.

• I have decided on a new self-care project. Since really taking notice that my jeans don’t fit anymore and finally admitting it to myself, I’ve decided to take on PB&J (which stands for Project Booty & Jeans). There. I’ve named another thing! Really, all I’m trying to do is make my booty fit back into my jeans. This involves my eating habits (i.e. stress eating, carb loading, cheese partaking, and celebratory champagne drinking among other recent and not so recent habits). And yes, I realize that life is meant to be lived, but feeling comfortable in my jeans should also be done and I know there is a way to have both - I just have to practice a little more self-restraint and take care of myself a little better. Yes, the book How Not to Die still sits on my bedside table and I know what to do and how to do it, and yes, I realize that we are heading into the Holidays…but I can still celebrate and put healthy things into my body and help myself with the fit of my jeans! My reward from all of this is to buy myself a couple pairs of new jeans!

• On one of my nightly phone calls to my parents, my cute dad told me about a new (to him/us) series he’s binging and I started watching it too. Who has watched Red Oaks? It’s about a guy who’s trying to figure out the direction he wants to take his life while working as an assistant tennis instructor at a country club in New Jersey in the 80s. It’s funny and it has some fantastic references to 80s music, fashion and the whole 80s lifestyle. I can relate so hard to some of this stuff because I was the same age during that time. I was also super nerdy and wanted desperately to be cool. Ah, the 80s.

• Gonna try to pull my Christmas decorations out at some point during the weekend. Ready to spruce up the place.

• On the social front, I need to finish up here and start getting ready to meet some girlfriends for lunch at one of my favorite outdoor spots. It’s the divey place where I hung out with S.S. a couple of times. It’s very dog friendly and very socially distanced. The weather is beyond belief and I’m just so thankful we have days like this to be able to sit spaced apart, outside. I hate that the pandemic is getting worse, but I’m pleased for being able to do this. ALSO, I’m hosting a Zoom happy hour tonight for the college girls. Not sure who all will join, but I just want to see faces. I miss faces.

Okay, enough for now. I hope your weekends is phenomenal,
GS