Countdown

5...4...3...2...The problem with counting down to something is that I tend to shift focus, like a laser beam, to that moment when the countdown will hit "0", and patience is not my strong suit. So instead, I try not to think about the exciting things ahead, and focus on today. Notice I said "I try," not "I do," because I'm not too successful at it. Currently I have two countdowns going: the one until I fly "home", and the one until PETER GETS HOME. Oh wait, there's a third countdown: the one until Santa arrives (I've been very good this year).

The top 10 Things I'm excited to do over Christmas break...

1. SHRED. My prayers have been answered, the heavens are dumping snow, and it's going to be a very White Christmas. I also have a stellar lineup of ski buddies this year...

2. Nights spent soaking in the jacuzzi...104 degrees and a starry sky, need I say more?

3. Christmas puzzles and working on my needlepoint stocking

4. Christmas movies, pool tournaments and testing out the new couch

5. FOOD. Park City has some of the best food around, some of my favorite restaurants- High West, Teriyaki, Szechuan, Loco, Adolph's and Flying Sumo. Escargot or Tokyo Nachos, anyone?!

6. Mornings spent at the kitchen table in front of a roaring kitchen fire, reading and drinking tea, then yoga.

7. Music: playing the piano, singing on Christmas Eve and attending church with my family

8. Tennis. Potter family tennis tournament is already in the works, and whether it's Florida or PC, my mom is a steady challenge for me to improve my game.

9. Gift giving. I absolutely love watching people open gifts, and the older I get the more I look forward to giving my own gifts! Sometimes surprises are the best :)

10. Spend time with my family and those I love most. Whether it's ice skating, bowling, xc skiing, sleepovers, running errands in the car or heading to the gym, I love each opportunity to spend time with such a uniquely wonderful and talented family.

I've been ping-ponging between busy work schedules, insomnia, and an overbooked social calendar for the past couple of weeks. It's led to this culmination of total and utter exhaustion, and drinking diet coke at 7 AM. This morning started out just like that, except with some cab issues on top of it all. Today's my work holiday party, which means I know I won't be getting extra sleep tonight anyways. Safe to say I was already in a pissy mood. The one nice part was that I chose this super cute, white/gold dress to wear for the holiday party. I was getting so many compliments on it, down to how great it looks with my skin tone.

At 11 AM I'm leaning over my keyboard, working on a project, when I hear a pop. Hmm. I sit straight up. I become aware that something has occurred with the zipper on my dress. I feel in back of me, and there's a small slit that has come unzipped. In about 5 seconds I have managed to widen that slit to halfway down my back. Talk about wardrobe malfunction disaster. I surreptitiously walk over to my jacket and slip it on, then hurry over to my coworker.

Her solution is to take off my dress and try to fix the zipper that way. Makes sense. I head to the bathroom, shimmy the dress over my head, and try to work the zipper. It's not budging. Not even a bit. I can zip the top half of my dress, but the part from my bra to my bum is fully exposed. Stumped, I'm considering my coworker's needle and thread idea, although it's quite a large area to sew. And my sewing skills pre-date home-economics class in 8th grade. I slip the dress over my head and try to shimmy it back down. It's not budging. I'm literally stuck, my dress bunched up around my head, trying to ease it down. That's when the second pop happens (let's be honest, it was coming) and the zipper flies completely off and the entire back of my dress is now wide open. I'm in shock. How did this happen?! How did my day get to THIS?! It's not even noon.

Fast forward 30 minutes later and I'm on an emergency "lunch break," wearing my trench coat, in search of the exact same dress. My reasoning is, if I can find the same dress, no one will Ever Know!! And given the fact that I've already had at least 15 compliments when I was wearing it, if I switch dresses everyone will ask about it. I locate the store, locate the dress and there is one left in my size. DONE. Then, to be extra safe, I swipe a similar, second dress off another rack. Close enough in color. I thought about explaining the fiasco at the register but let's be honest...it's a $20 dress. You get what you pay for. And it honestly does look super cute and quality made--clearly they cut costs on the zipper. So here I am, sitting straight up, same dress, more compliments, and  no one the wiser.

Some days the crises are all your own.

the original dress when I first bought it