I got new glasses.

I must confess: the change felt more dramatic than it is. Especially when I looked at these pictures side-by-side. (I can't really say that I knew exactly what I looked like in my new glasses, since I was blind and relied completely on two adorable friends to tell me which of the 200 options looked best.)

No wonder no one at the office noticed my lunchtime eyewear change. Note to self: For a major statement, should have gone for the green glasses.

OLD

NEW

I'll consider it a modern update to an old classic. What do you guys think?

From Gold's Gym

I just got a birthday wish email from Gold's Gym -- giving me a coupon for a day of couch-potato-sitting, snack-eating, nap-taking revelry. That's different from every other day ... how? Thanks for the gift, Gold's.

I'm back; but wishing I could get away.

You know what would be incredible? If in 2010, I got to go to my current top 10 list of new places to go. Sometimes I wish I was rich. It would be too much travel, since most these places are really far away -- and a trip to a far away place each month (or more often) would be really tiring. Even if I do have a secret desire to be a nomad.

I clearly stole all these pictures from the Internet, so thank you, Internet, for sharing all your pretty pictures. I know I should have credited people specifically. I'm sorry.

In no particular order:

The Great Barrier Reef, Australia

Kyoto, Japan (In March. Definitely. Cherry Blossoms all the way.)

Jerusalem, Israel

St. Petersburg, Russia (maybe as the final destination of a cruise through the fjords.)

Washington, DC

Antarctica (I clearly chose a picture that looks like heaven for all you people who think I'm crazy.)

Machu Pichu, Peru

The Taj Mahal (I should have just gone in March. But this gives me an excuse to go back to India!! Woot.)

The Grand Canyon

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Honorable mentions (there is not enough time in my life to go all these places!!):

Iguazu Falls, Brazil/Argentina

Patagonia, Chile

Giza/Cairo, Egypt

Edinburgh, Scotland

St. John, Carribean

New Orleans, Louisiana

Chicago, Illinois

Prague, Czech Republic

Nairobi/Mombasa, Kenya

So... many... more... SOMEONE STOP ME BEFORE I HURT MYSELF!

With love.

So, for the last little while, I've been waking up at like 3 in the morning. When I can't get back to sleep, I've discovered that it can be a good time to catch up on a few blogs!

While I was browsing (which is generally a skill in which I find myself lacking), I found this blog about my adorable niece, Annie. And so, reader, since it's the month of February, I'm going to introduce you to my family, and the reasons I love each one of them. I hope it's not too boring for you, but -- well -- you weren't getting anything from this blog for the last several months (years?) anyway.

This is Anne-Marie.

In some ways, she reminds me of how I imagine my younger self -- except more awesome. (Mostly just that she's kind of a little person with a little voice, kind of like I was. BUT she compensates by blowing everybody's mind with her intelligence, perspective, and determination. All. The. Time.)

I love Annie for having her photo face worked out at a young age.

I love Annie for her love of music and how good she is at creating it.

I love Annie for being strong enough to let people know what she wants when other people would be afraid or back down.

I love Annie for having things figured out when sometimes I don't. She inspires me. It's good to know there're people that are going to take the world by storm. Annie's one of them. She already has.

$90,000 per second.

That's what people pay to run an ad during the Super Bowl.

...

...

I think I have more to say about Super Bowl ads, but I can't right now. My mind is a little blown.

My favorite thing I've said this year.

"She threw me off with her generosity, just like everyone else in this stupid town."

(After several people gave me the right-of-way when it wasn't my turn -- causing me no end of confusion, the woman at the drive-thru window in an unnamed [at least to me, at that time] Utah town offered me complimentary tiny orange sherbets.)

PPE (Poetic Party Entertainment)

When I was in high school, my AP English teacher said many quotable things. But one, in particular, was that it was always good to have a poem or two under your belt for parties. Whip one of those out, and you'll be the belle of the ball -- with all around awed by your wit, grace, intelligence, and charm. So we were required to memorize this poem, which I still remember pretty well. (I didn't look it up, so you could go compare.)

Loveliest of Trees

by A.E. Housman

Loveliest of trees, the cherry now

Is hung with bloom along the bough,

And stands about the woodland ride

Wearing white for Eastertide.

Now of my threescore years and ten,

Twenty will not come again.

And take from seventy springs a score,

That only leaves me fifty more.

And since to look at things in bloom

Fifty springs are little room,

About the woodland I will go

To see the cherry hung with snow.

Were you in rapture? I know. I know. You should see me do it IN PERSON! (Actually, I'm certain I'll be too wimpy to recite it for you.)

Here is my other party entertainment option:

Could Have Been Worse

by Bill Dodds

My friends have not seen London;

They've never been to France.

But yesterday at recess,

They saw my underpants!

I kicked a ball, my skirt flew up,

And I know what they all saw.

The girls all stared and blushed and laughed,

The boys said, "Oo la la!"

I've thought a lot about it,

And this conclusion I have drawn:

I'm embarrassed that they saw them,

But I'm glad I had them on.

What's your vote on my party entertainment? Do YOU have a poem handy?

Freshening beads? I'm in.

Kind of wish I had one of these right now. Really, I get that it's wasteful and American consumer-ish, but I just really like brushing my teeth. So much better than gum.

A Halloween Fright

Do you know what's scary? Leaving your house with all your doors closed, and coming home to find your front door wide open!

Everything was still in my house -- computers, credit cards, unmentionables (which really aren't that unmentionable, let's be honest), everything. There was no one hiding in my closets or under the bed or in the bathtub. But it's enough to make sure you're awake.

I'm thinking somehow it was the wind. I'm hoping? Either way, I feel very lucky. But I also feel like I need to call my dad and fix the locks on my door. Dad?

Egg-head

So, lately I've been in the mood to make things with eggs. Bready things with eggs. Which means: German Pancakes, Yorkshire Pudding, and Dutch Babies.

I started with German Pancakes a few weeks ago. A BIT less fluffy than I would have liked, but still airy and light; definitely acceptable for a first run, baked in the completely wrong dish.

Second: Yorkshire Pudding, last Sunday. Yum, in theory. Hardly like a Yorkshire Pudding at all in reality. More like a dense muffin with a tiny divot rather than a pillowy container for gravy.

Last: Dutch Baby. The original love. The perfect Saturday breakfast food. I discovered it almost 10 years ago at a restaurant near Seattle, WA. My loyalty has been strong. I couldn't go out this morning, but that was ok, because I was thinking: This is going to be the winner. I'll never be happier than knowing how to make this.

The elements were thinking: HA! You get the flattest, thickest, egg-bread/pancake that you've ever seen. I'd show you a picture, but it's too humiliating. Thank goodness for homemade Strawberry Jam (ahem, syrup).

And good thing love means never having to say you're sorry (or so I hear), because otherwise I would owe my cooking an apology. In my case, practice doesn't seem to make perfect.