Deja Vu

Brrr.

Every year I am truly shocked by how much I hate winter. It seems to be an abstract phenomenon for me, until we hit single digits and I am reminded how overrated this fourth season is. Every year I swear it will be the last time I suffer through two, three, four, FIVE? months of depressing cold.

At this point I've lost all sense of what true warmth is. A few days ago we got a brief respite from the sub zero temperatures (it got up to SIXTY) and I was tempted to put my bathing suit on and run through the streets. I didn't, mostly because just as fast as the earth thawed, the temperature swung back to it's seemingly permanent home- hovering around thirty.

The other day I attempted to liven up our drudgery and film a typical trip to work. I spared you the audio track, because it consisted mostly of the sound of salt hitting the sides of the car, and us complaining about the sludge around us. Instead- enjoy the soothing sounds of "Winter Song" by Sara Bareilles and Ingrid Michaelson. Maybe even make a cup of cocoa- possibly the only bright spot of the season.

A day in the snowy life... from Courtney Bowden on Vimeo.

P.S. Because the season obviously don't cater to my desires, we've decided to relocate- albeit temporarily. Sunday we leave for a week in Sunny Florida to visit Dustin's Dad and step-mom. Don't blame me if we don't come back!

P.P.S. There is nothing even remotely interesting about this video. It exists simply because 1: I filmed it (which really counts as no reason at all) 2: I liked this song, and 3: I wanted to play around with video editing. At least it’s short!

Bailamos

Sometimes I joke that I should have been born Latina. Or, that perhaps I was, and someday my real father Julio will return. But no sign of him yet, so I take it upon myself to live up to my imaginary Hispanic roots.

In all seriousness though, I've always just loved Latin culture. Since I could talk I could roll my R's (Dustin is so jealous!) and we went to Guadalajara and Acapulco several times before I could walk (we unfortunately stopped going before I could really form memories of the trips). In addition, several sets of my cousins had parents from other countries and grew up bilingual (Spanish and Portuguese) which was fascinating to me. Growing up as a blonde girl in Ohio, I wanted to be a part of something exotic and exciting. I've made attempts to learn Spanish (Estudié por cuatro años en la escuela secundario y universidad), I once had a subscription to "People en Español", have celebrated Cinco de Mayo with an enthusiasm that riveled that for my birthday, and I've traveled to Mexico, Puerto Rico, and New York City (Trust me, it counts!). But one of my favorite aspects of the culture has always been the music and dancing. I've taken salsa and merengue lessons, dabbled in bachata and learned the Macarena before it was cool. In fact, of my favorite songs in High School was "Latinos" by Proyecto Uno. (Please watch the video and then try to picture me and my preppy ponytail rocking out with my Puerto Rican best friend..."Son Latinos. Say it Loud!")

Dustin does his best to indulge my Hispanic delusions. He'll take me dancing, and tolerate listening to Daddy Yankee songs on repeat, but he doesn't quite share my enthusiasm (imagine that!) So, on Sunday we were watching (don't judge) "Step Up 2: The Streets" and there was a scene where one of the characters held a Salsa bar-b-que in her backyard, complete with festive lights, great music and a packed dance floor. Immediately I asked if we could host such a shin dig, and his response was no. And his reasons? We have a sloped back yard, no Latin friends, and we'd be the only ones dancing. But I will not be deterred. So as soon as the snow melts and the ground thaws, I believe it is time for a fiesta at the Bowden's. I'll make the Medianoches and Sangria. All you have to do is dance.

A many splendored thing

Dustin and I had a wonderful Valentine’s weekend (I know...it’s only a day, but I like to expand celebrations as long as possible. Hence my birthday week each year.) We did a lot of nothing, including sleeping in, lots of eating (we made Winter White Burgers and Red Velvet Sandwich Cookies shaped like butts....I mean hearts...sorta.) and movie watching (saw Enchanted, and the equally riviting Step Up 2: The Streets). It was nice to not go anywhere for a change, and just hang out.

The main event of the weekend was going down to the Strip District an area of town that has authentic ethnic markets, a new organic grocery and all kinds of food stands (and plenty of black and gold t-shirt huts, but we digress). Our goal was to hit up Pennsylvania Macaroni Co., the biggest Italian deli in Pittsburgh (technically I made that up, but it’s probably true!). We wanted avoid going out to a fancy dinner, and instead go on a “food adventure” creating our very own smorgasbord of meats, cheeses, and snacks. We really had no idea what we were doing (when they finally called #78 at the deli counter, we were no better prepared than when we walked in). We just trusted the nice cheese lady to take care of us (she called us both “Dearheart” how could you doubt that?).

This is what we ended up with:

That's what $70 worth of meat, cheese, fruit and bread looks like, in case you ever need to know.

Mmmmm. Moldy milk.

Our choices ended up pretty good....we could have done a bit better with the variety and portion control though- Dustin quoted Anchorman about a million times (“It’s quite pungent”) and we have enough cheese to eat for about a week. But overall, it was a fun experience with delicious results.

The second part of the weekend though, was a surprise success. For our marriage small group our current homework was to list all the ways we have hurt our spouse, and vice versa. We were then supposed to pray for forgiveness and then come together to share our lists. The lesson was supposed to teach us how to share and forgive, with the ultimate goal of eliminating all of our pent up hurts so we can start over with a clean slate. Now, at first this process might sound a little like the the “Airing of the Grievances” portion of the Festivus celebration. (To loosely quote George Constanza: "And at the Festivus dinner, you gather your family around, and tell them all the ways they have disappointed you over the past year! I got a lot of problems with you people! And now, you're gonna hear about it." ) But I assure you it’s not. Well, it is I guess, but with a prayerful heart and a forgiving attitude. We had been putting it off for a while because we were hesitant to launch into such a heavy topic, but while I was still on some sort of a Vday Cheese High I suggested we just go for it. (Dustin said he had a more romantic evening in mind, but caved to my desires. Surprised?) It ended up being my favorite part of the weekend. Parts of it were difficult, but mostly it was really freeing, and brought us much closer together. I learned a lot about what he needs from me, and it felt good to have him acknowledge my feelings so sincerely. It was probably not a typical valentine’s day date, but one that I am very thankful to have shared. (For those of you wondering, we did not in fact, follow up that portion with another Festivus tradition: “Feats of Strength”.)

Oh, and if all that wasn’t enough, Dustin got me an amazing gift:

Last season’s J.Crew Bubble Necklace in Sweet Papaya

I had been dreaming of it long after it sold out on the website, and he painstakingly searched it out online. (Or, maybe I sent him 5 links to it on ebay and he took my not-too-subtle hint. Tomato, tomahto.)

Hope all of you had equally delightful holiday!

The butt cookies also wish you a Happy Belated Vday!

No, I love YOU more...

To Dustin:
I love you more than....
...Kraft Macaroni and Cheese.
...Jim loves Pam.
...myself (at least I try t0).

To Courtney:
I love you more than....
…the Eagles
…a fresh made pizza.
…I love being right.

xoxo

What about you? What pales in comparison to your sweetie?


See more sweet (and funny) sentiments here.

100th Post Spectacular!

That's right folks, Bowdenisms has reached quite a big milestone: 100 Posts. (TA-DA! Crowd noise......cheers.....epic rolls of thunderous applause!.....crickets?)

Now, if this was a sitcom celebrating our 100th episode, we'd kick back, take a break and let a clip-show do all the work. But No! Because you deserve better! (And by "you" I mean the faithful reader, i.e. my mother, and anyone who also has a blog and knows what it's like to not get any comments. That's pretty much our fan base here. Not that there's anything wrong with that!)

In thinking about reaching triple digits, I started to examine my goals for this blog. We started about a year ago, as kind of a lark, not sure what the point was, or where it would lead. There are a thousand reasons to start a blog, ranging from loving the sound (or type?) of your own voice, to dreams of Internet stardom. I'm not sure that in the beginning, Dus or I had a real plan- we thought we'd try it out, have some fun and see if we had anything interesting left to say after a week and a half. Apparently we have plenty left to say....you be the judge of the interesting part.

So we've got a good start on the longevity aspect, but the real question is: why bother? We're just two of the billion or so people tip-tapping away at their keyboards everyday. Will our little niche on the Internet ever get noticed? Probably not. Will I be remembered as an influential online writer of my time? Not likely. But I think the biggest mistake in blogging is doing it for other people. The times I've enjoyed it most have been when I ignore who might read it, forget the imaginary pressure that I "should" write more often, and just do it for me. So on that note, I give you the top 3 reasons I blog:

1. To preserve memories. I love being able to look back on a week, month, or year (!) ago and see what we were doing, and relive memories told in my own voice- it's like a diary but with better pictures. I'm excited to look back in a few years, and see that yes- we did sleep til noon, watch a crap ton of TV, host some sweet parties, and yes- it was amazing. The part I think I need to do a better job of, is upping the honesty, and showing the not so exciting parts of our story. No, I don't want to bore you with the daily grind of our lives, but if I'm a bit more forthcoming about our trials, I think it'll be more rewarding to look back on later. So I hope for many more holiday slide shows, and some frivolous reality TV posts, but most of all I hope to be honest about my successes and my fears, aiming to create a somewhat accurate time-capsule of my life. Even if it's just for me.
2. To express myself. Part of the reason I sit down to write every 4 days or so (statistical average, by no means have I been able to create a regular rhythm to my posts), is because it's fun! I like telling stories, sharing things I love, examining my thoughts and sometimes just creating some Internet nonsense. Sometimes I'll sit for an hour searching for the exact right words to express the swirl of thoughts in my mind. Other times I'll post a picture, write a caption and call it a day. But the blog has become a part of my life. During outings I think about how to best recap the action, on special occasions I dream of ways to showcase it here. At it's simplest, it's forced me to take more photos, but at it's best, it's forced me to live more actively. I've made lists as a form of public accountability, I've professed my love for my husband and I've lamented growing older. I've taken my swarm of thoughts and emotions and formed a tangible version, recorded in my own style.
3. To connect with others. Despite saying that I keep a blog primarily for personal reasons, one of the big benefits is the interaction with people. I've reconnected with faraway friends through their sites, and I've met new people through an expanding Internet circle. It's been a way for me to update family on our lives, and given them an opportunity to know us in a way they may not have otherwise gotten the chance.

So, those are my favorite parts of this online adventure so far, and a glimpse into the future of our journey. Thanks for joining the Centennial Celebration. Hopefully we'll see you again in 100 more.

Six-Burgh

We did it! (Yes, we. I have transformed into a full fledged Steeler fan- I wear black and gold and refer to successes as “our”. Don't worry though, this doesn’t negate my love for the Eagles....it merely gives me an AFC favorite to cheer for too!)

Our friends Carrie and Sean threw a great Superbowl viewing party! The pre-game ceremonies were good (Faith Hill and Jennifer Hudson are SO good), the commercials were entertaining (My Favorites? Career Builder and Cash 4 Gold), the food was delicious, and the GAME....was awesome. I really like football (I hesitate to say love because then Dustin will make me watch it even more!!) and I really get into the Superbowl every year, but it was incredible to live in the city of one of the competing teams. There was so much excitement, and joy and FUN. I know a lot of that comes from the fact that we won....but I think that with a night of tough game action, and jokes among friends, you just can't lose.