It seems that lately I don’t have really developed, coherent topics for posts. I also haven’t been participating in the Project 365 daily photo challenge this year, so I don’t have a lot of photography to share at the moment either. Nonetheless, I’m feeling a desire to write over here and just witter on about my day, my week, my life. I hope you all don’t mind that it’s a bit of a hodge podge at the moment.
So annoying when the big themes in your life aren’t really bloggable, isn’t it? Personal relationships, work stuff. You know the drill. Any idiot knows you don’t blog about work. My boyfriend, fantastic as he is, is a private person. He hates having his photo posted anywhere online. The first words out of his mouth when he sees someone pull out a camera: “Don’t put that on Facebook, please” (at least he is nice about it). He’d surely be uncomfortable if I made his stories a part of my blog. After all, he didn’t sign up to have his life documented on the internets by his girlfriend. He’s part of my life, and my life is the subject of this blog, of course, but I like to stay away from writing anything too personal about him — anything that really would be his story to tell, if he chose.
Speaking of my boyfriend, here’s a little story I feel like I can tell you, because it is mostly about me: he’s going to be out of town over Valentine’s Day, so I was asking him if he wanted to do our Valentine’s Day thing the weekend before or after his trip, and he was all, “Hmmm?” It turns out I’d given the impression (mostly unintentionally) that I don’t like and/or don’t “do” Valentine’s Day. Not the case! What I’d meant to convey at the time — and I don’t know exactly what I said, but what I meant — was that I don’t want to exchange expensive gifts or go out anywhere fancy or make a big production of it. I do enjoy things like cards, or small nice things, like, say, I might bake him a batch of cookies or give him a small, fun/funny item. Or we could cook dinner together and get a nicer-than-usual bottle of wine. You know. A little fun, nice acknowledgement of the day, but not a big huge deal.
Right? Right. So of course I had to try to explain all of that when I became aware of the miscommunication and lord only knows what I actually conveyed during the whole conversation because I was so flustered. Like, NO, please don’t spend oodles of money on seasonally overpriced flowers and please don’t stress out, but, you know, don’t ignore the day, either. Ai yi yi. Stupid holiday. And what is the deal with cards? Are you a card person? I LOVE cards. Finding neat ones (I love Etsy for this purpose), choosing ones that remind me of the person, making my own, sending them in the mail, everything. Are cards a Girl Thing only, though? Do men not like cards? Hmpf.
So what else is going on? Well, I finally replaced the pair of brown glasses that broke last fall. I like to keep a brown pair and a black pair in the rotation for outfits with different color palettes, but my last brown tortoise pair, a cheapie set from Zenni Optical, had broken — and it was the second pair of Zennis to break in that exact spot. So, cheap and fun as Zenni is, I didn’t want to order from there again.
This time I tried Warby Parker. If you don’t know them, they operate on the same principle as Toms shoes: for every pair you buy, they donate a pair to a needy person. I like that philosophy. I also really like their styles, their prices ($95 for the frames and lenses; add on an extra $30 if you, like me, are blind enough to need high-index lenses — still a good deal compared to my optometrist’s shop) and their at-home try-on program where they’ll send you five pairs to try on, free of charge, and you just send them back in five days (free shipping). Totally not being paid to advertise here — but I do wholeheartedly recommend them if you’re in the market for new specs. I did the home try-on twice, trying a total of 8 different frames, before I decided on these:
These are the Colton in hazelwood. I love them!
In other news, Egon the Dachshund just turned seven years old. (His birthday is on Groundhog Day — weirdly appropriate for a dog bred to hunt small burrowing rodents, right?)
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He enjoyed a quiet celebration at home with his person and step-person, went for a roll with his wheels, spent some time wrestling around with his blankie in the most dignified manner, and received several luxurious ear scratches and shoulder rubs. Happy birthday, short guy!
If you’re wondering how he is doing lately, I am delighted to say that there just isn’t much news, which is why I haven’t really updated. He has settled into post-paralysis life really well. He’s as happy as ever — the main things that’ve changed for him are that he’s no longer allowed on any furniture at any time (he used to love to snuggle on the couch and sleep in my bed, but now he has a nice comfy dog bed he likes to lounge on) and I help him take care of business in the bathroom (yes, the actual toilet). When he’s scooting around the house, he really doesn’t seem to be limited at all, and when we go out for a roll around the neighborhood with his wheels, he can really fly!
Well, it seems I have found a lot of words to say. I’ll have to wait until next time to tell you about my new fitness regime. Please don’t wait with bated breath, though. Keep breathing.
Raveling Out 
Seven! Oh my.
I knowwww. He’s got little white hairs under his chin now.
Awww, Happy Birthday Egon! I still have his picture at my desk, which now that I’m typing that I realize sounds creepy. Eeep.
In other news: I loooooooooooooooove cards. One of my favorites is one that says “May Your House Always Be Too Small for All Your Friends” which I love for housewarmings.
(Also, a birthday one that says “I hate everyone who isn’t you”, which I received as a birthday card this year and loved it so much I special ordered it to send to another friend. Less sweet, but only slightly)
Hee hee. You’re like Egon’s long-distance online stalker 🙂
Also, those are good cards. I approve.
You know, I think it’s terrific that you had a conversation with The Boyfriend to clarify what would make you happy to celebrate Valentine’s Day. I think couples need to have MORE of those conversations, not less. Honesty: it’s the magic ingredient for a healthy relationship 🙂
The issue of blogging about The Boyfriend is an interesting one. I don’t blame yours for wanting to maintain his privacy, but I also kinda feel like if I were in your shoes, I would be missing out on something that’s important to me, which is being able to talk about my relationship on my blog. I feel like that’s just part of who I am now. I don’t care at all about Facebook; I’ve never had a “relationship status.” But I need my blog to be my thinking space, and all I can do is promise to be kind and respectful while telling my stories. I’d be interested in hearing more of your thoughts on this topic, if you care to share 🙂
Well, I may write about this at more length later, but one additional reason I don’t feel comfortable writing about our relationship here (among other more personal topics) is that some folks who read here know both of us in person, through work. It wouldn’t just be internet strangers reading what I write about, but his friends/acquaintances/colleagues. It’s about seventeen layers of awkward.
Internet strangers! Aw, Kate, I thought we were friends 😦
(Just kidding.)
I’ve been thinking a lot about a related topic: writing about local people I’ve met who may have googled me and found my blog(s). There are things I would like to write about, such as the weirdnesses I’ve encountered while meeting/dating people, but I feel like I can’t, because these people are probably reading my damn blog! Arrgh! I miss being anonymous. I may find ways to write about some of this stuff, but it’s harder because I feel really self-conscious and I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings.
Oh! Oh, no! I just mean you’re an internet stranger to him. 🙂
I think the weirdest thing of all is having people who are casual friends or just acquaintances who read along — people I don’t talk to about some of this stuff in person. It really makes it hard for me, and I feel dumb whining about it, but yeah. It limits what I write about in a huge way.
I completely agree with you about the readers who are casual friends or acquaintances. It is so hard to figure out how to write, knowing that part of your audience is neither good friend nor internet stranger. And it’s one thing if you’re writing about food or clothes or houseplants; it’s quite another to write about a relationship as it’s unfolding. It feels too vulnerable to me. And yet for those of us who write, writing is part of how we digest our lives. It’s a real loss not being able to write about the things that are REALLY on our minds.
I have taken baby-steps toward writing about work, but I am very, very careful about what I say. I absolutely think about what might happen if my boss read my blog, so I self-edit with that in mind.
I don’t think you should feel dumb whining about it. Some of us COMPLETELY understand the feelings you are describing. Also, falling in love? It’s freaking fantastic. Who WOULDN’T want to write about that? 🙂 Love is grand!