lately...

...i've been doing really well at my job and i feel as though i'm getting recognition for it from the people who matter. this is something new and different for me. though i feel i've done as well as i could at all my jobs before this, i feel like i wasn't recognized in the way that i needed. it's a nice change of pace, and i'm forever grateful for my previous jobs and what they've taught me (including the fact that in order to do my very best work, i need positive reinforcement. which now, i'm receiving!) it's all full circle, isn't it?

...nate and i have been great. getting back to that place of romance and mututal appreciation and respect, getting back to that place where we're truly communicative with each other and things are just good. we don't celebrate valentine's day, but that's because every day is valentine's day! especially more recently, we've been doing a good job of letting each other know how much we love each other and why. he's such a wonderful man, so hard-working and smart and patient and beautiful inside and out.

...i've been watching a lot of movies. when we have days off together, nate and i have gone out to matinees and we are ready for the oscars this year! i love being able to spend the day watching a film and discussing it with him over dinner--it's something i've missed, something else that we've gotten back to, that idea of being intellectually stimulated together, of enjoying art and film and the conversations it begins and the tangents that lead from it. so much fun.

...i've been craving a vacation. a real one, not just a few days off from work every now and then, but a real one, where we go places and do things. i miss my family and my friends and zipping around a place--charlottesville, dc, columbia, wherever--and getting out and about. having drinks in a bar we don't normally frequent, having a dinner with old friends, manicures in a trailer near the korean barbecue, a road trip with a new mix cd as our soundtrack. maybe sometime in the spring?

...i've been really happy and content with my life. there are days during which i spend all my time at work, there are days during which i spend all my time at home, there are days when i miss grillo or reminisce about middle school parties in nelson county, there are days when i think of france and sean and tina and our adventures and misadventures on the dimly lit streets of angers, there are days that i spend with my love, there are days that i spend on the phone catching up with my family, but mostly, there are days when i sit and i think about just how much i'm enjoying my life. i love this house and these people with whom i've surrounded myself, and my job. i love these trees and these birds and this tiny dusting of snow on the ground. i love my neighbors and my music and my pets. i love to drive in my car, admiring the sunshine on a brisk winter day, i love getting excited for the greenness and revitalization that springtime will indubitably bring.

so lately, things are splendid. and that's my update for you. update me on your life!