Happy Halloween everyone! Today, Chris and I intend to celebrate this festive occasion by packing for Jamaica tomorrow, buying candy and hoping the trick-or-treaters will actually open the fire door in order to come to our apartment, and watching a "Ghost Hunters" live event on the Sci Fi channel. Not the most exciting Halloween in the history of Halloweens, but tomorrow we'll be in Jamaica, relaxing on the beach without a care in the world. :-)
I hope everyone else has a wonderful and safe Halloween!
Friday, October 31, 2008
Friday, October 24, 2008
Cute picture of my boys
Chris and his baby. Oreo has really gotten used to Chris cradling him and carrying him around like that. lol Now Oreo thinks he gets to climb all over our laps so we have to hold him like that and pet him.We've created an adorable monster.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
The Infinite Wisdom of John Mayer
I have this thing I do. Once a CD makes it to my car's CD player, it pretty much doesn't leave until I've entered a new season of the year. I listen to the same 12 or 13 tracks over and over and over until I actually start hearing things I didn't hear the first 100 times I heard them. lol
It's not really a conscious decision to do so. Mainly it's laziness. But this time, I'm beginning to realize the genius of John Mayer's "Heavier Things" album from 2003.
From the song, "Wheel:"
"And you can't build a house of leaves
And live like it’s an evergreen
It's just a season thing
It's just this thing that seasons do
And that's the way this wheel keeps working now"
I've been turning over in my head the idea of starting my own writing business lately, and it seems like every time I'm thinking about a specialty while I'm driving my car, this part of the song comes up and I realize I have to turn my ideas toward more long-term endeavors if I expect them to last.
The book I've been reading about the subject, "How to Start a Home-Based Writing Business" by Lucy V. Parker, talks about how sometimes your original idea will fail and you'll have to come up with a new one. And so I've been trying to figure out if I would have the confidence and resilience to bounce back with a new idea or plan. And then these lyrics begin playing over my car speakers, from the song "Split Screen Sadness:"
"Cause I can't wait to figure out what's wrong with me
So I can say this is the way that I used to be"
Hearing him sing about looking forward to the failures and flaws so that he can become a better version of himself really gives me confidence. It makes the potential to fail a little exciting because it's just another opportunity for growth.
The other thing that worries me is that I just don't have enough experience or specific training to be my own boss and write professional-grade material. And again, John Mayer's jazzy soothing voice echoes in my little white Grand Am and gives me hope (from "Bigger Than My Body"):
"Someday I'll fly
Someday I'll soar
Someday I'll be so damn much more
Cause I'm bigger than my body gives me credit for
Why is it not my time?
What is there more to learn?
Shed this skin I've been tripping in
Never to quite return
Yes, I'm grounded
Got my wings clipped
I'm surrounded by
All this pavement
Guess I'll circle
While I'm waiting
For my fuse to dry"
It's not really a conscious decision to do so. Mainly it's laziness. But this time, I'm beginning to realize the genius of John Mayer's "Heavier Things" album from 2003.
From the song, "Wheel:"
"And you can't build a house of leaves
And live like it’s an evergreen
It's just a season thing
It's just this thing that seasons do
And that's the way this wheel keeps working now"
I've been turning over in my head the idea of starting my own writing business lately, and it seems like every time I'm thinking about a specialty while I'm driving my car, this part of the song comes up and I realize I have to turn my ideas toward more long-term endeavors if I expect them to last.
The book I've been reading about the subject, "How to Start a Home-Based Writing Business" by Lucy V. Parker, talks about how sometimes your original idea will fail and you'll have to come up with a new one. And so I've been trying to figure out if I would have the confidence and resilience to bounce back with a new idea or plan. And then these lyrics begin playing over my car speakers, from the song "Split Screen Sadness:"
"Cause I can't wait to figure out what's wrong with me
So I can say this is the way that I used to be"
Hearing him sing about looking forward to the failures and flaws so that he can become a better version of himself really gives me confidence. It makes the potential to fail a little exciting because it's just another opportunity for growth.
The other thing that worries me is that I just don't have enough experience or specific training to be my own boss and write professional-grade material. And again, John Mayer's jazzy soothing voice echoes in my little white Grand Am and gives me hope (from "Bigger Than My Body"):
"Someday I'll fly
Someday I'll soar
Someday I'll be so damn much more
Cause I'm bigger than my body gives me credit for
Why is it not my time?
What is there more to learn?
Shed this skin I've been tripping in
Never to quite return
Yes, I'm grounded
Got my wings clipped
I'm surrounded by
All this pavement
Guess I'll circle
While I'm waiting
For my fuse to dry"
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Apothecary Media Storage
We recently purchased this piece to store all of our CDs and DVDs. It doesn't hold the full-size DVD case, but it can hold a couple hundred of the slim line cases. It's a bit shorter than I thought it would be from the picture on the Target.com website, but all-in-all it's a cute, well-made little piece of furniture.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Pancakes for Two?
I decided to make pancakes for Chris and I this weekend ... but I accidentally put twice the amount of milk in them. So I ended up having to make a double batch. I'm pretty sure we'll be eating pancakes for days. Here's our mountain of pancakes.
For those of you I haven't told yet, Chris and I are coming home to Michigan for Adam and Andrea's wedding reception! I'm so excited that we get to go and be there for such a special time for my brother and new sister-in-law. But not before we get to go to the wedding in Jamaica in only a few more weeks! So many fun things coming up!
For those of you I haven't told yet, Chris and I are coming home to Michigan for Adam and Andrea's wedding reception! I'm so excited that we get to go and be there for such a special time for my brother and new sister-in-law. But not before we get to go to the wedding in Jamaica in only a few more weeks! So many fun things coming up!
Friday, October 10, 2008
Halloween and Yoga with Oreo
I think I might need to start a second blog just for pictures of our cat. haha Then I can become a crazy cat lady and make up captions for what he's trying to say in each picture. lol
Chris and I bought some fun Halloween garland at the store the other day. It has spooky orange spiders that Oreo had a field day with. It seemed his mission was to rip off as many as possible. We didn't mind too much though, because it was pretty entertaining.
A few days later, Oreo began stretching out into odd positions. Maybe the orange spiders inspired him to be more like a web ... maybe he's just a weird cat. Take a close look here. His back legs are to the left, tail to the top of the picture, front legs to the right, head to the bottom. Not sure if our cat actually has a spine.
Here Oreo is getting in touch with his inner-spiderweb.
We call this yoga position the "disoriented bunny rabbit."
"Upside Down Philosopher."
And this is Oreo telling me he's had enough pictures. Now go away.
Crazy cat lady, signing off.
Chris and I bought some fun Halloween garland at the store the other day. It has spooky orange spiders that Oreo had a field day with. It seemed his mission was to rip off as many as possible. We didn't mind too much though, because it was pretty entertaining.
A few days later, Oreo began stretching out into odd positions. Maybe the orange spiders inspired him to be more like a web ... maybe he's just a weird cat. Take a close look here. His back legs are to the left, tail to the top of the picture, front legs to the right, head to the bottom. Not sure if our cat actually has a spine.
Here Oreo is getting in touch with his inner-spiderweb.
We call this yoga position the "disoriented bunny rabbit."
"Upside Down Philosopher."
And this is Oreo telling me he's had enough pictures. Now go away.
Crazy cat lady, signing off.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Cabin Work Day
Last weekend, Chris and I made the journey out to Scotia and then up to their cabin in the Adirondacks. It was the perfect time of year for a drive and to be outside in nature. The air was crisp and cool, the trees every shade of autumn imaginable.
The main point of the work day was to gather more fire wood for the winter. We went on a scavanging hunt for the perfect trees. Here's one they pulled down. I have a video of it coming down at the bottom of this post.
Here's Mike, Chris's twin brother, posing by a tree.
Another pose, same tree.
Okay ... time for some action. See below for the video footage of Mike taking down the rotted tree.
Now here's how real men work. Chainsaws!
Mike observing his dad's handiwork.
A pretty tree that remains standing.
The pond.
Chris hauls the cut up pieces away.
It's a team effort to load the truck up so we can drive back to the cabin.
Another team effort to unload, which Lisa is glad to help with. Notice Erb and Chris in the background, meerly pretending to work. (Do not notice the girl behind the camera, not even pretending).
After all the work is done, the food is eaten, it's time to sit and enjoy the woods.
The cabin certainly looks pretty in autumn.
The main point of the work day was to gather more fire wood for the winter. We went on a scavanging hunt for the perfect trees. Here's one they pulled down. I have a video of it coming down at the bottom of this post.
Here's Mike, Chris's twin brother, posing by a tree.
Another pose, same tree.
Okay ... time for some action. See below for the video footage of Mike taking down the rotted tree.
Now here's how real men work. Chainsaws!
Mike observing his dad's handiwork.
A pretty tree that remains standing.
The pond.
Chris hauls the cut up pieces away.
It's a team effort to load the truck up so we can drive back to the cabin.
Another team effort to unload, which Lisa is glad to help with. Notice Erb and Chris in the background, meerly pretending to work. (Do not notice the girl behind the camera, not even pretending).
After all the work is done, the food is eaten, it's time to sit and enjoy the woods.
The cabin certainly looks pretty in autumn.
Mirror, Mirror, on the Wall
Here are some long overdue pictures of the result of my mom's visit to Liverpool. We bought this mirror and I painted it the same bright blue as I did our built-in shelves. It's hanging in the dining room and brightening up the small space nicely.
The new mirror, the "sunburst mirror" is what my mom bought Chris and I for our apartment-warming gift. It is by far the coolest mirror I have ever seen. I'm still hoping to get more mirrors to decorate this wall with, but I'm pretty sure none will compare to this one. :-)
Here's another pic of the sunburst mirror up close.
The new mirror, the "sunburst mirror" is what my mom bought Chris and I for our apartment-warming gift. It is by far the coolest mirror I have ever seen. I'm still hoping to get more mirrors to decorate this wall with, but I'm pretty sure none will compare to this one. :-)
Here's another pic of the sunburst mirror up close.
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