Holiday Updates and Upcomings in Open Diary 2001-2018 (Pre-Prosebox)

Can you believe it’s already December 11th? We are coming to the end of 2007!! What a year. I’m FORTY years old! I got engaged! I traveled to yet another continent! What is the world coming to??? I suppose I should update on what’s going on and what’s coming up. Are you excited? I am, so here goes:

A New Name for Grrr: WOW! I got some fantastic responses to my previous entry asking for some suggestions to a new, more positive name for Grrrrr, my fiancé. I LOVED “Jack” and “Mr. Snap”, but for now I think I’m just going to have to call him The Future Mr. Snap (because I don’t want to count my chickens before they hatch). I know it’s kinda long-ish, but oh well. Better than Grrrrrr (Grumpy, Grouchy, Grumble, etc….). Snap is happy and snappy and so what if it’s kinda gay. My guy has all the best qualities of a gay man without going there.

[Hey…I DID hit the jackpot, didn’t I?!]

The Future Mr. Snap’s 38th Birthday: So yesterday was The Future Mr. Snap’s birthday. I woke him up with a coffee and a cupcake with a candle on top and a very quiet rendition of “Happy Birthday”. And I had him open presents as I was trying to get ready for work. He was completely surprised by the telescope! Bummer that it was such a cloudy, foggy day because he was working from home yesterday and couldn’t see squat. I called him periodically from the office throughout the day, and while he was pleasant, he was kind of distant. Like maybe he was missing something (probably his kids). I tried to figure out what might pull him out of his mini-funk. And then I figured it out! There’s a new hotel close to home that he’s been watching very closely. It’s tres chi-chi la-la, and for some reason my semi-gay fiancé has been hot to trot over this place—the art-deco architecture, the fountains outside, the hoity-toity-ness of it all. I looked up the place on citysearch.com, and the restaurant inside is rated the #1 new hotspot in town! No WAY would they have a reservation available. But I called anyway. And guess what? Table for 2 @ 8:15—perfect! I told them it was my fiancé’s birthday. Long story short: I did goooooood. He was very impressed that I got reservations at this venue in the first place. We were early so we sat in the bar area and had a cocktail. And good, good, deeeeeep conversation. And for some reason, the atmosphere and the situation and the planets aligned just so….and there he was again….falling in love with me. Not only could I feel it, but he told me. Over and over. He told me how pretty I am and how special I am to him and oh-my-gosh-we’re-getting-married (!!!) and how I’m going to be such a great stepmother to his kids and how proud he is of me—that he can see big changes for the better (read: alcohol and bickering, etc) and that he appreciates everything that I’m doing and on and on and on…. And I ate it up like ice cream. Oh, and dinner wasn’t bad either!! The celebrity chef came out as we were about to order, and I stammered a bit and The Future Mr. Snap told him that I’d been gushing about him. And the food did NOT disappoint! And we got a delicious piece of cake with a candle on top, and I told TFMS to make another wish…. Yeah. It was just about a perfect evening. I think I made him happy last night (including just before nodding off to sleep!). These are the good things to remember—I don’t even care if I did spend half my month’s savings….worth it!

The Challenge: Going okay. I am trying to run every morning. Granted, it’s not a lot (especially this morning—I had to get up at 4am so I could get a little workout in before taking The Future Mr. Snap to the airport at 5:45….yaaaaawwwnnn). But I am in 6th place currently. I told myself not to get all wrapped up in the leaderboard and standings and all the stuff. But I can’t help it—I just got knocked out of 5th and it’s making me CRAZY! AND…here’s another little gory tidbit: I’m actually GAINING weight! Granted, not a lot (1/2 pound), but I thought I’d actually lose a little. Why is this happening? Am I getting more hungry because I’m burning more calories in the morning, therefore eating more during the day? Or am I gaining muscle (I doubt this because doesn’t running simply burn energy)? I’m baffled. Not concerned. Just curious. Confession: probably the Tootsie Rolls in my desk drawer. Oy. The good news: they are gone!

Holiday Parties: I’m really into the party season this year! I don’t have a ton to attend, but for some reason I’m feeling quite festive this year. Good thing The Future Mr. Snap likes to dress up (a little—we consider skinny dark jeans and a black velvet blazer dressing up for holiday parties) and go to these things too!