but it's had it's good times -- the ones we made -- mostly while jetsetting, cruising, traveling. spending precious time with my parents while i recovered from spine surgery -- time is the greatest gift and i knew it every day.

celebrating thirty in st maarten on a catamaran snorkeling in the clearest blue water this sunshine freak has ever seen.

black ribbons and lace. his grip on my ponytail. sweet everything's. black tie, balconies, and champagne. cocktails and then some.

i managed to be on four (!) cruises this year -- new year's bahamas, jamaica, mexico; march birthday - nassau, st thomas, st maarten; october transatlantic crossing including barcelona, cartagena, two canaries -- lanzarote and tenerife, and morocco; and the southern caribbean for christmas to nassau, st thomas, antigua, grenada, dominica and aruba.

not. too. shabby. let's just say, life could be worse.
it seems so ridiculous to say it felt deserved, this abundance of riches -- but it was a fucked up year and the best of it was on a ship on the great blue seas with my favorite people in the world. 10/10. those handfuls of days compared to the months of agony-- but forward, forward:

i got back to the business of being normal again, after trauma - - physical therapy with my awesome new PT who Gets It Completely and is awesome, regular therapy, exercise (finally! heaven. sanity. endorphins are real!). all of the walking.

and work, the thrill of dull monotomy -- taking the metro, using my keycard, office chairs, payday, when finally the accounts are trending up.

and no pain. none. i maybe take an advil or a tylenol if i'm flying/road tripping/having a long travel day. and i follow orders, of course i do (lawyer) -- such a questioner by nature but also a rule follower. i am nothing if not an excellent patient. i do my exercises. i don't bend or lift heavy or crossfit -- i walk and i swim and i am the thinnest i have ever been in my life.

i like to mark the time with the little things:

drinking: kir royales. that rum punch on the catamaran. ice water with a straw. chocolate protein shakes -- glamour, always.
wearing: lululemon, full stop. cashmere everything, leggings tucked into boots, fatigue green jackets, a yellow coat in a sea of black. lace. cat ears. basically, whatever the fuck i want.
eating: lobster, shrimp, sushi, pasta only while out.
playing: pokemon go, yes.
reading: finally back at it. jclose's the hopefuls - set in dc, hungry heart, amy schumer's the girl with the lower back tattoo, kg's celebrity run ins, jessi klein's you'll grow out of it. as a gift to my love i am reading way of kings -- and enjoying how much fun he is having that i'm accepting influence ;)

xx
to a sense of renewal, of ease, of normalcy in 2017. i am looking forward to this year in a disgusted way, a weird way and a happy way -- but looking forward, i am.

the way of kings & queens -- onwards, and upwards.


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