My Great Big Sears Catalog Wish Book Chanukah List

I have been so crazy busy this week! It's that special time year in my office when things get extra busy and extra hectic. And then to make matters even more exciting, one of my co-workers was home visiting family (home being the Philippines) and the other was out sick for the later half of the week. I have several blog posts in the works, one about the sentimentality of this time of year, and one about how my life of the past several years resembled the sitcom Frasier (in female form though, of course). I've been trying to figure out what I want to do with my life, cause what I'm currently doing ain't it. And I've been trying to talk myself into going to a meetup.com event, or out with the girls, or to an event at the shul that's right across the street (seriously, right across the street, how much easier could it get?), even take myself out to the movies for heaven's sake. Something!

But somehow, navel gazing just seems to be my calling lately. So, I've decided, for tonight at least, I'm going to pull down my big Sears Catalog Wish Book in the sky, and give you my Chanukah list. Especially since it starts tomorrow night. just call me Last Minute Charlie. My mom does.

1. First, and mostly, I want these shelves from Ikea. I moved into a loft (read studio) but a spacious one at almost 1000 sq ft recently and thought these would be just the thing to delineate some living areas.

2. I need a mattress. Currently I'm sleeping on this fabulous air bed made for camping. Considering that, it's really not half bad. But I've been lusting after one of these.

3. A flat screen TV. (definitely don't need one, since mot of my tv viewing has been online, but since this is a WISH list...) Somewhere between 32-40' should be a good size. And did you know that some tvs now have apps already built in, so you can view things from Amazon instant viewing or Netflix right on your tv, sans needing a computer to do it? I'll also be needing a bracket to hang it on the wall. One that will let me swing it out and turn it right or left, so I can view it from the sofa, bed, or kitchen if I'm cooking/eating.

4. I FELL IN LOVE with this electric fireplace. I thought it would look really cozy right underneath that big screen tv I'm getting!

5. Shelves to fit right under my windows. I have these great (almost) floor to ceiling windows that span my entire outside wall. They're about 30" from the floor but go all the way up to the 13' ceiling. I want something that can do storage underneath but could also be a type of window seat for the cats especially, but also me and/or guests. I found these options at Ikea too. And this. And this. And this. And this. And this. OK, so Ikea has a lot of options! Don't they always?

6. Closet organizer/built ins. This is definitely not a priority, but would be oh-so-nice. My new place came with a walk-in closet. It's big enough that if I didn't have closes in there, I could probably fit my full size bed in it. Yeah, it's sweet!

OK, Those were the big ticket items. Now for the much more manageable (read: smaller) items:

7. cutting board. The one I have is plastic, so my knives are making groves that stuff is getting caught in. It's just gross. The one I have also keeps shifting while I'm cutting, so food prep get tricky. This one is glass, which is what I should have gotten to begin with. its footy things so it stays in place, plus it's HUGE!

8. Trash can. Right now, I have nothing. I'm just keeping trash bags in the area where I intend to put trash cans. I really want a stainless steel one to match my fridge with a lid. But the spot I have is under my counter, so I'd like something that I could pull out. Plus if it had multiple spots for recycling, that would be great too.

9. Rebounder (trampoline). Just large enough for one person to exercise. I've been eating healthier, and have discovered that I'm really liking the lifestyle set out here (Blog post number three to write). She recommends rebounding for exercise, and I've read some positive things about it from other places as well. There are also some exercise routines to go along with it.

10. Wake-up Light alarm clock. Since I'm going to be living this healthier more well adjusted lifestyle, I'll need to be up earlier in order to have time to do all that. Since it's still so dark out in the mornings, I;m having trouble just getting up in time for work. I thought maybe one of the new alarm clocks they have that simulate the sun rising may help.

11. For the cats, a Cat Genie. This one specifically. If you have not heard of these, seriously, you need to check them out. I first heard of the company when they were still fairly new, about 5 years ago or so. If I'm remembering correctly, they're local to the Philly area.

So that's my list. I don't know how many of you, if any have seen The Christmas List. Basically, the main character, who's around my age, works in a department store where they have a mailbox to Santa display. She goes home and writes out a Christmas list, and then somehow it makes it's way inside Santa's mailbox. The rest of the movie revolves around all of her wishes on her list coming true! Ever since I saw that movie I keep imagining the big red mailbox they now have at Macy's. You know, this one, and what would happen if I dropped a wish list of my own down one of them. Yes, I realize I'm in my mid-thirties, but I girl should never give up on her active imagination. Sometimes it comes in as a really handy best friend. Anyway, I figure, hitting "publish" on this post will send my list out to the universe and somehow the right one will hear... right?

(If that's true, whoever's listening, please send me the man of my dreams. I've been waiting quite a while. I'm pretty sure I'm ready, already.)

12 & 13. I'm adding one more thing that I forgot. Well, two actually. I need better carriers for the cats. I was thinking something with wheels. and then I found this for him. It'll hold up to 25lbs! And there's a slightly smaller one for her. This way it would be much easier when I have to take them to the vet, or to visit my mom for a weekend, or say during a fire drill. This will have to be blog post #4.

New Year, New Diary

The holidays always make me think of Bridget Jones's Diary. Perhaps because her story starts during the holiday season with that infamous turkey curry buffet. Perhaps it's because with each passing year, the holidays continue to remind me of just how single I still am. (I've been enamored of Bridget for the past 15 years or so.)  And with Bridget being the ultimate singleton, I suppose I feel a certain kinship with her right around now. I've even gone so far as to find the original newspaper columns that started it all, and re-read her holiday mis-adventures through the years.

And so, I again found myself this year googling one of my favorite heroines to see what this new year brought for her. I was pleased to discover that the on again, off again third Bridget Jones book/movie is definitely a go (possibly for this coming year)! I then went a sorted by videos, and came across this little gem. Now I realize that being the opening credits of the first movie, I've seen this segment a zillion times. But you know how sometimes it takes until the zillionth and one time to notice something? Well, that was me when I noticed that the show Bridget it watching on the telly is none other than Frasier. And that's when it hit me. I'd turned into Bridget!

I discovered Bridget Jones back in my early twenties when mid-thirty seemed quite a distance off. And although I could relate to her, and enjoyed her adventures and misadventures, I was positive that I'd have my stuff way more together than Bridget did by the time I was her age. And here I am. At the ripe old age of 36. But I actually feel like my life is resembling Bridget's more and more, rather than less and less. Even to the point of spending my evenings alone (albeit with two cats) with a cheap bottle of wine and Netflix. (well something had to get updated after 15 years!)

Ah, Netflix! That wonderful, incredible, bane of my existence! The movies! The tv shows from my youth! The tv shows I was too young to really get into when they were actually on! And even recent shows! All there, for my instant viewing pleasure! With a continuous playback, so once one episode finishes, the next one starts in just 14 seconds! I had gotten hooked on Frasier a while a go. Being 11 seasons long, it took several months to get through it all. So the other night, I took a break from Frasier and that was when I found the clip from Bridget Jones and the parallel to my life, and thus the irony of it all just sort of hit me a bit hard.

So at that moment I decided something had to change. And I thought to myself, "What would Bridget Jones do?" Well, she'd write it all down, of course! "New year, new diary" and all that. So, here it is, or will be, in all it's gory details. Keep reading! It should hopefully will be quite interesting. As the end of 2012 has been very eventful, (more on this later) considering the past several years of my life, 2013 promises to be the start a really great chapter in my life. Singleton, or not.