Easton

I had a great time in Ohio with the Miami girls. It was a quick trip and slightly ahead of schedule - we usually meet up in December for our Christmas shopping and have done this for a few years now. It is always fun to be together and I absolutely love this shopping area. Can you tell that we were successful?!


The sunshine felt wonderful. It was a beautiful weekend and we took advantage of it by bouncing around from store to store. I really got a good laugh from my co-worker Kris. She called for something on Friday and asked what it was like. I explained that the layout could be compared to Monopoly....Nordstrom, Macys department stores and AMC theatre on the corners. B&N, Crate & Barrel, Tiffanys and everything in between. Restaurants galore! So, Kris asked if we take one quadrant at a time. Ha! We are so random and go all over. No agenda. No timeframe. It is glorious! This time we had lots of coupons Thanks to Kate and her new approach to money management - Dave Ramsey style! I just love my Miami Girls.

The people at Hampton Inn were very accommodating. Kate forgot to tuck in the shower curtain and flooded the bathroom. Shortly after, a bottle of wine shattered in the entry! It was somewhat entertaining, so of course there is a picture of the girls with the clipboard from our man Marvin who kept coming up to assess the damage!

Strings of lights create a canopy at night. Horse and buggy rides are available too. Big Christmas tree at the center. So fun.

See you again next year, ladies!

New Music

I borrowed a bunch of random CDs from my brother Ben and the album description for The Avett Brothers caught my eye. I haven't actually listened to the music, but these words are lovely!

The words "I" and "Love" and "You" are the watermark of humanity. Strung together, they convey our deepest sense of humility, of power, of truth. It is our most common sentiment, even as the feeling of it is so infinitely uncommon : each to proclaim these three words with his or her very own heart and mindset of reason (or lack thereof); a proclamation completely and perfectly new each time it is offered. Uttered daily and nightly by millions, the words are said in an unending array of circumstances : whispered to a newborn in a mothers arms; shared between best friends on the playground; in the form of sympathy -said by a girl to a boy, as the respect continues but the relationship does not. It is said too loudly by parents to embarassed children in the company of their friends, and by grown children - to their fading parents in hospital beds. The words are thought in the company of the photograph and said in the company of the gravestone. It is how we end our phone calls and our letters... the words at the bottom of the page that trump all those above it, a way to gracefully finish a message, however important or trivial, with the most meaningful gifl of all : the communication of love. And yet the words themselves have been the victims of triviality, a ready replacement for lesser salutations among near strangers, burst forth casually as "love ya." Truly? To what degree? Why, how much, and for how long? These are questions befitting of the stature of love, though not the everyday banter of vague acquaintance. The words have also been twisted by the dark nature of deceit : To say "I love you" with a dramatic measure of synthetic emotion; a snare set by those who prey uponn fellow humanity, driven to whatever selfish end, to gain access to another's body, or their money, or their opportunity. In this realm, the proclamation is disgraced by one seeking to gain rather than to give. In any case, and by whatever inspiration, these words are woven deeply in to the fibers of our existence. Our longing to hear them from the right place is maddeningly and simultaneously our finest strength and our most gentle weakness.

The album "I and Love and You" is inashamedly defined by such a dynamic of duality. As living people, we are bound by this unavoidable parallel. We are powerful yet weak, capable yet temporary. Inevitably, an attempt to place honesty within an artistic avenue will follow suit. This is a piece which shows us as we are : products of love surrounded by struggle. The music herein is, in many ways, readable as both a milestone and an arrival. A chapter in the story of young men, it bridges the space between the uncertainty of youth and the reality of it's release. The record is full with the quality of the question and response. As far as questions go, there are plenty-normally residing within the tone and delivery of the lyrics themselves, which, ironically, are sung with so much confidence. Among songs and thoughts so driven and purposeful, the most basic relatable doubt comes through with a resounding clarity. Outside of the eternal theme of romantic love, the album speaks thankfully upon a landscape of light-filled rooms, word-filled pages, time machines, forgiveness, singing birds, ocean waves, art ,change, confessions of shortcomings, and reasons to continue on. Hope and a cause for smiling follow naturally. In the midst of all this, there are allusions to the less-than-ideal conditions of life : the loss of memory, the inability to control temper, insecurity, indecision, jaded indifference, and the general plague of former and current weakness. "I and Love and You" is an album of obvious human creation, chracterized by it's best and it's worst. Emotional imperfection is a reality for those who recorded the piece, just as it is for those who will hear it. The conclusion of the song from which the title is taken admits that the words "I love you" have become "hard to say". And perhaps that difficulty is as common as it's counterpart. Perhaps the inability to say these heaviest of words is as much a part of life as the lighthearted candor of those who say them without any difficulty at all. And so it ends with the phrase whispered to and by those of us most defeated and most elated... I and love and you...

Ski dance

This is one of those videos you watch and think "really?!" and laugh out loud.

Click Here and enjoy!

Uncomfortable Humor

My brother and his friend Greg introduced me to the "Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!" at the cabin this weekend. They had three seasons to watch! Unreal. I can't believe that I actually found some of it slightly humorous. The sketches are so random! I'm totally in the dark when it comes to stuff like this on cable TV. I've always known my brother Ben has an odd sense of humor...this was a little over the top.

We had a nice time up north! My mom and I decided to go on short notice - sun was shining, perfect day for a drive. I was amazed at all the bright orange gear people were wearing in the trucks that passed me on the highway. Tonight on the way home, I decided to follow the hatchback with a road bike on the rack. It was a safe option, considering I almost threw up in my mouth when I got close enough to a car in front of me with two deer tied up in a tarp with bungee cord securing them on the back of an Astro van. Eeeewwww. Not Ok!

I schooled the group at a card game called Nertz. It was fantastic! We might spend Thanksgiving weekend at the lake too. Love it there. Nice sunset too.