Marching along

2012 has treated me very well so far. I've been to a ballet, an opera, and a cabaret. I've spent time with my family, my girlfriends, my boyfriend, old friends, and my new coworkers who are becoming friends as well. Alex and I have been setting aside time to plan our trip to France and it's turning out to be quite a jam packed vacation. I'm getting more excited by the minute!

After looking forward to a nice long weekend in February for President's Day (which I spent on Long Island with my family), March seems daunting. March - the month with no days off. Granted April doesn't have any days off either but April is my birthday month so it gets a free pass.

March has just begun and it is full of activities - a wedding, two performances (one with the Centre Symphony Orchestra and one with the South Shore Symphony), an information session for the program I am interested in beginning this summer at NYU, and a full social calendar.

Life has been marching along. City living brings its renter's troubles. Last week I had a leak behind my sink (that I didn't even know about) which had to be repaired. Several times. Other than that, I've been enjoying this mild winter and watching the weather melt into spring. We lose a precious hour of sleep this weekend but I intend to make the best of it with a trip to the Met to see an exhibit I've been eyeing for a while now.

My Funny Valentine

Valentine's Day has always been a favorite of mine. It's the perfect excuse to eat chocolate and wear red. Last year, I remember feeling very alone and very sad about the failed relationship that I had just ended. This year I'm grateful to have awesome friends who got me through that difficult time and a wonderful new boyfriend to celebrate with.

As a gift to Alex, I cooked him a delicious meal.

Heart-shaped ravioli with tomato sauce and chicken parm (with a side salad not shown).

And as a gag gift, I got him a pet rock - complete with a leash! The back story: After a TV special on silly vintage toys, we laughed our heads off at the segment about the pet rocks. We are quite the goofy couple. The week before Valentine's Day, I received many pictures of large fish because that's what he joked he would get me if I told him what was on the Valentine's Day menu and ruined the surprise. He makes me laugh. And who doesn't love a guy with a good sense of humor?

He gave me three guide books about France - one about Paris, one about the French Riviera, and one about French wine. I was so impressed with his thoughtful gift. Each book has beautiful pictures and so much information. I can't wait to read them all as we map out our trip!

Four Eyes

A few weeks ago I realized I hadn't read a book in 7 months. My mascara was constantly running down my face. I got crazy awful headaches at work. By the end of the day, I was dizzy and nauceous. When my boyfriend and I are cuddled up on the couch, I tended to back away so that I could see him better.

I thought to myself: "I don't need any help seeing. My eyes are just fine. Maybe they're just tired from years of studying hard and hitting the books. Yeah, that's it. They're tired. They'll be better after [insert lame excuse here]. I mean...only old people wear glasses and I'm not old. I just need to take a large step back from the counter to read this packet of oatmeal. That's totally normal, right?"

Wrong.

Reluctantly, I headed to the eye doctor for an exam. Turns out, I'm far sighted. (That means things far away look crystal clear but things up close are a big blurry mess). I knew what was coming. After all, I had waited 7 months to get my eyes checked because of my fear of the eye doctor. After a series of tests in a bunch of very large machines, I went into the dreaded eye exam room.

The eye doctor was extremely kind and gentle with my eyes. She explained that my right eye was way worse than my left and that I have an astigmatism. A stylist worked with me to find the right frames for my face and coloring. I ended up with these.

I need to wear glasses while I do anything up close - reading, on the computer, etc.

So the moral of the story is, I'm getting older, I need some help to see things up close, I wear fabulous glasses, and I'm still the same awesome me I was before...only now I can see!