John Mayer and Jessica Simpson?

Together? Seriously? Yuck. I thought Mayer would have better taste than that. It strikes me the same way as when Ben Afflec and J. Lo got together. Bummer.

Now, back to the real world...

What's up with the long wait list for the dermatologist?

So, I have this spot on my nose that keeps breaking out, and I decided that I should probably get it looked at. Third time is the charm in my book. I've had lots of pimples in my life, because I happen to have oily skin (thanks to my parents). But, I've never had a pimple go away and then come right back again a few times in a row. I've also never had one that hurts b/c it's just burried. Maybe it's just the particular spot on my nose, but I can definitely tell that it's there.

After talking with a friend who had a similar problem, she said she finally had to go to a dermatologist to get it taken care of. So, I got a few recommendations from people I know and all of the dermatologists were booked until early to mid October. I guess business must be good for the skin doctors. So, I have to hope that this darned thing will go away again so that I don't have to live with it until my appointment. And then hopefully the doc can do some test to figure out what the heck is going on.

I never really thought I'd have to go to a dermatologist for anything, unless I found something weird going on with a mole or something. But, it's probably a good time to go and figure out how to take good care of my skin so that I age well and don't end up with skin cancer or something.

Now, I just need to make a dentist appointment. Ugh.

Doggie driving lessons

Well, at least people in other countries do some incredibly stupid shit, too: Car crashes when woman lets dog take wheel.

Weird day

Today was a really weird day. I got some interesting news from someone, though I can't even allude to what it is. Suffice it to say that it was shocking in some ways, and not so shocking in other ways. I am supportive, but sometimes it's just hard to know how to categorize certain information, you know? Anyway, it was that kind of a day for more reasons than that. Just interesting stuff going on in the lives of people I know...

Shoe woes

As many a friend has pointed out, I have a wonderful collection of shoes. Tonight, L. and I went through every pair and I got rid of a few that I just never wear or that have inflicted their last blister on my poor feet. (And yes, I have a fabulous boyfriend to sit with me while I go through my shoe collection, no matter how boring it is to him - God bless that man!). However, there are a few pairs that I continue to keep and even wear, despite the fact that they end up killing my feet by the end of the day. Dumb, I know, but there is just something about heels that can make one's attitude quite spicy.

In any case, I always wondered how stars, such as Sarah Jessica Parker, could constantly wear such strappy heels and not want to cut their feet off at the end of the day. I was happy to see the comment in this picture gallery that even she admits that the Manolo Blahnik and Jimmy Choo shoes have wreaked havok on her feet. So, it's not just me! Thank God.

I can say that I've been a big fan of the recent trend in flat shoes, even though I still go gaga over the heels in the shoe store. But, now that I intersperse flats and heels, things seem to be getting a little bit better. I just hope that designers continue to make cute flats for those of us who have done such damage to our feet by wearing adorable heels.

One year

So, it's been exactly one year since my marriage ended. Well, technically, since C. left - our divorce wasn't actually final until December. But, the day that he left really was the end for us, and the time was really just a formality of selling the house and getting through the waiting period for divorces in Washington state.

I took some time to reflect on things today and to think about how different my life is now than it was then. I think overall, this last year held some really wonderful things for me, and I'm definitely happier about my position in life than I was before.

L. asked me the other day whether or not I was still disappointed about my divorce. It was an interesting question, because on one hand I am disappointed and probably always will be in some way. The disappointment comes from the fact that I had to get divorced at all, especially when I wasn't even given the chance to try at all. The hardest part for me will just always be how it happened, and not that it happened. I don't really know how to explain that, but that's really what bothered me the most. You can get over a person, but sometimes it's just hard to get over the circumstances. And, of course, since my dad left my mom in a similar manner, I have double experience with these circumstances. So, the fact that I was able to move on at all is somewhat of a miracle to me.

I'll probably always have some doubts, but as my counselor said way back when (very wisely, I might add), love is, in the end, just a leap of faith. You can do all kinds of things to ensure that you don't repeat patterns in the next relationship, but there's never a guarantee. It kind of sucks that that's the best a trained professional can come up with, but it's true. So, as she said, you just accept it and move on, otherwise you miss out on all kinds of wonderful things. And it turned out that she was right. I might have missed out on L. and all of the wonderful experiences that we've had if I had decided to stay in a rut.

I think that where I am right now is really how my life is supposed to be and how I always wanted it to be, and I was just never going to have it this way with C. Being single opened up some doors for me, such as meeting people who I never would have met otherwise, and experiencing things on my own for the first time in my life. And I'm with someone now who enjoys spending time with me and makes me a priority in his life. I can't even begin to explain how great that feels. I didn't even know what I was missing until it hit me smack dab in the face. It's weird how you can be going along with the status quo so long that the deficiencies become the norm.

Anyway, it's been a tough year in a lot of ways, since grief doesn't always make sense. But, I made it through and had some really great things happen, which reminded me that when one door closes, another one will open. I'm still not sure if I'll ever entirely figure out what went wrong with C., but at least I'm closer to understanding myself and knowing what I need to be happy. And I guess that's the best lesson I could have learned from all of this.

Oh, and I'd just like to say thanks to all of my friends and family who stuck by me and helped me through the tough spots. I am definitely a lucky girl to have such great people in my life.