There’s A Lot I Shoud Be Doing

^ see above.

That. All of that. Instead, I’m sitting here staring at the large mess on my floor of Christmas that has yet to find a home (ya know, because it’s only in a temporary home due to the impending move BACK to Hawaii so it’s far easier to lay it all out on the ground and have it stare back at me), the piles of e-mails that need a response, and the daunting task of updating all the millions amazing blog readers I have on just what exactly I’ve been up to.

All of this would be fine and dandy if I didn’t have family to spend time with, a bridal shower AND bachelorette party to attend (for myself) and a fiance who has to go back to Hawaii far too soon than I care to admit.

In the meantime, I’m trying to get all the ducks in a row. This also means my camera skills have been lacking. BEAR WITH ME, FRIENDS, 2014 IS ALREADY ROCKIN’!! #pardonmyabsence

1. Our Christmas was amazing. We were both so spoiled and got to eat way more food than we should have. Our big present to each other was our sweet new pup (arriving February 2014), so we’ve been anxiously preparing for her. Dog beds, dog leashes, dog collars, oh my! Our conversations consist of making travel arrangements to pick her up (she’s on a different island than the one we live on) and all the fun activities we’d like for her to do with us. See: surfing. Stay tuned for lots of puppy pictures this spring.

2. Dane and I traveled with Sarah & Mister to surprise our friend Casey for New Year’s Eve (and Sarah’s birthday!) and IT. WAS. AMAZING. And so ends a lifetime’s worth of surprises this season, eh?

Special credit to Dane & Mr. BassetCase & Mr. ClassicWithAPop for their picture taking and video making skills while we visited 🙂

But really, I don’t think it could have gone any better. There was squealing, laughing and hugging…and that was just on her porch before we even got inside. See the official surprise video here. Our time together consisted of wine, shopping trips, cooking (and subsequent eating) and a whole heck of a lot of love. Not to mention ringing in 2014 with Cards Against Humanity, Hynotiq and two of the most cuddly basset hounds you’d ever want to see.

As Dane and I made our way home on New Year’s Day, the topic of blog friendships (see: fake internet friends) came up and we discussed the craziness of how these things happen. As in, driving to visit friends for New Year’s Eve that we’ve never seen before in person–ya know, the types of things you see on Dateline episodes. But the reality is that the friendships I’ve formed with both these lovely ladies is more comparable to friendships I’ve had my whole life, bonding over exchanging of texts, e-mails and Google Hangouts, sharing in the joys and lending a shoulder in the sorrows. I’ve said it before (and I’ll probably say it a million more times before blogging becomes obsolete), this blogging community is truly a beautiful thing.

3. Moving. Shipping things to Hawaii that our movers were unable to take is a real buzzkill, so if you’re in the market for one of those–check out the shipping rates to Honolulu.

This weekend includes 1 bridal shower, 1 bachelorette party and 1 hunky fiance who has to board a flight back to Hawaii. One of these things is not like the other.

I’m praying this impending major snowstorm keeps him here a bit longer #selfishhopes
In the meantime, I’m hopping on the “be healthier, eat healthier” for 2014 train by ordering Chinese takeout and snacking on chocolate truffles. HAYYY CLEAN EATING!

Next week, I hope to be back to my regularly scheduled programming 🙂