8a.m. on New Years Eve

Max woke us up early this morning, in order to be at the grocery store when they opened at 8am. Because we've been out of town, this was our only opportunity to buy groceries for dinner tonight. The weather in San Francisco has been very rainy. Last night the storm was so bad our windows shook. Getting up that early and going out into the cold weather was not top on my list. But in his defense, the store was not packed when we got there, and shopping was easy. I was surprised that there were in fact people shopping this early, but it wasn't crazy yet. Max's dad arrived this afternoon, and it will be a dinner with the Auffhammers. Fish fondue will be the main course, along with a lot of other nibblies. Thanks to my caring, attentive husband I can eat all the food on the menu tonight, despite my rabbit diet.

Next time I write from here, it will be a new year. How weird... I hope everyone has an awesome celebration this evening. Lots of love from me and mine to you and yours. Peace in the new year for all of us!

Whole Foods at 8am.

Brokeback English

Tonight we sat in the front row of a packed theatre to see Brokeback Mountain. Certainly seeing a film with cinematography this stunning is not ideal from the first row, but I was still in awe of this big sky country story. It is essentially a love story, spanning twenty years between two people who live separate lives. It has all the pitfalls you would expect, but in the end I did not feel the desperate sadness I believe Ang Lee was trying to evoke. I was so impressed with both Gyllenhaal and Ledger, but I think the movie could have been shorter. And bear in mind when I say this I am the person who loves long, quiet, drawn out movies. But I feel there was some footage that could have been cut. If you're at all squeamish about graphic sex scenes, prepare yourself. And if you're not familiar with a traditional Southern drawl, you'll probably be wishing for subtitles -- particularly the VERY LAST LINE of the film. God! I wish I knew what he was sayin'! Overall I give this a 10 for balls, an 8 to the actors and 7 overall on my list.

Let it snow

I know, you're shocked! The latest post is no longer 'Goodbye to my favorite month'. Thanks for all the concerned emails and comments, asking why I haven't blogged this month. Only those closest to me have a real idea about how bad my migraines can be. After my birthday, things took a turn for the worse and I finally went to see an acupuncturist. In hindsight I wish I'd done this years ago. I've been getting treatments once a week and she has put me on a diet which resembles that of a rabbit. No alcohol, chocolate, caffeine, dairy, wheat, sugar, citrus, tomatoes or spicy food. All that taking away is not to be outshadowed by the things I've added, including a group of vitamins and supplements, flax seed, ginger and some Chinese Herbs that make me so gassy it's likely I could propel my own glider plane.

This will hopefully pass soon. No pun intended.

And so I am basically eating lots of fruits, veges and rice. My favorite sweet treat is dates and occasionally I go buck-wild and have some cashews. Honestly though, I would do just about anything to rid myself of these headaches, and it's amazing what the body can get used to. In fact, this resiliency leaves me speechless sometimes. I suppose we can all be grateful for that.

This week we are in Tahoe. Max's sister Tina flew in from Switzerland, and her friend Stella came in from New York. We packed the rental car (a behemoth known as the Buick Rendezvous) and drove up to this snowy wonderland. And while it is true that I do not ski, I still like it here quite a bit. The weather here is a treat - and the small dose is really all any civilized person needs of snow per year. While everybody goes skiing during the day, I have been spending the hours reading, painting and watching movies. It's been so relaxing and quiet. Tina asked if I have been bored, but I explained it's the opposite. I could spend hours, days even, all alone. I love having 'me time'. My mom says I was this way even as a child. Apparently I would sit alone in my room for hours, making projects, reading along with my LP story books, and making up songs.

As this year folds to a close, I have been thinking if there are any resolutions I would like to make. I have never done this before with any seriousness, but perhaps being in your 30's does this to you. For obvious reasons, I would like to be more generous with my health and well being. For the last ten years I have lived well, eaten rich food and maybe taken my body for granted in some ways. Next year I hope to be kinder to myself in this respect. I also intend to continue making art and being productive in my studio. Now that I am officially on the lease, I feel a lot more comfortable being in there when I work. I would like to continue my reading streak (1 book per month!) which seems to go faster the more I do it. And I would like to knock off a chunk of my educational debt.

As I write all this, I am contemplating deleting it all. It seems worse to put it in writing, which could hold me accountable later on. Maybe that's why I've never done this before!

ski champion takes a rest

I forgot about this!

People have actually been going into the hot tub at night.

Tahoe hotel.

Goodbye to my favorite month

November brings a few exceptionally joyous occasions, including my birthday and Thanksgiving. The weather changes and suddenly becomes very cold, and I begin to feel those butterflies in my stomach about Winter. I love it. I'm not a huge fan of the snow or ice, but I love snuggling up in bed at night, wearing all my scarves and gloves and watching old favorites like Home for the Holidays and Lampoons Christmas Vacation. This year's November was amazing. Thanksgiving was held at our place with Melissa and Erik, and my brother Shaun and his girlfriend Megan. It was a 7 course meal served by Max and Erik, which lasted from 4-11:30pm. There are lots of pictures coming about this soon. My best friends Jose and Ben flew in from new York, and were here to help me celebrate my 30th Birthday. My Golden Birthday! I can't believe it. When I was little and thought about what I would be doing at 30, it is obviously a very different picture in some ways. I imagined being a mother, writing collaborative children's books with my son, much like Patricia Wettig's character in 30 Something. Of course all these thoughts surrounding accomplishment and failure were swimming in my head during the day, but I suppose that's normal. Unlike last year where I celebrated with anyone who wanted to show up, I spent this birthday with my very closest friends and family. During the day I was in a bit of a funk, but the evening was unforgettable. Starting with a champagne toast and cupcakes from my favorite organic bakery Miette, followed by this amazing Indian restaurant that played Bollywood movies during the dinner. As always Max spoiled me rotten, and helped facilitate an event that I think everyone will look back on as a really memorable and thoughtful occasion. There are lots of photos coming on this as well. My new mantra for my 30's is "Less Drama". This year was filled with it, and I am determined to change that for myself in the future. I'm sure I'm not alone on this.

And as quickly as I had all my loved ones around me, so they left back to New York, and Max to Thailand for business. So I am now alone. How strange...

I hope to become more dedicated to my blog. Somehow, it was easier to maintain and write when I was in graduate school. I suppose being a real grown up, with a job and loan payments makes it harder to feel like the blog is important. But it is! And I will try to prove that by writing more.