16 December 2013

Mohs Scale

What was your favorite blog post?

This one by Crappy Mama! I'm not a mama but I can do a little in each one! http://crappypictures.com/crappy-mohs-scale-crunchy-mamas/

14 December 2013

BLAZE

Where did you spend your money?

We tried to not spend money this year! We tried to save save save! I think the question we should pose next year is, what did you save up for? Or, what did you give up to save money on?
So we did spend some money in the end. We bought this crazy tall maple tree, an autumn blaze maple. The tree-nursery guys put the rootball in the car and then suspended the tree in the air, dangling from the trunk of it. It was a long 4 mile drive home. When we got it home, we dug and dug in a heavy rain shower to get it in the ground. It's currently firmly planted with snow clinging to its thin red branches. It's about 16 feet tall and hasn't shifted or bent in this crazy wintry weather. We love you AUTUMN BLAZE!

Ish.

What astonished you?

Hmmm. I come up short on this one every year. And this time around I'd have to say DEATH. Losing close friends who were in the prime of their lives was heartbreaking, gut-punching, and every other astonishingish words I can come up with. Even today, we learned that our friend Andy died of a heart attack on a trip. Life is short for all of us, and even shorter for some of the best ones around. I hope next year's astonishing question is more uplifting and life-giving than this one is.

TIMESUCK?

When did you celebrate?

Well I did get married this year! We mostly celebrated being done with planning the big thing! We also celebrated the arrival of Parker! She's 5 months old and a big slobbery mess! Finally, I currently celebrated my first class being finished for the semester. It was a huge timesuck, but I'm glad I kept up on my homework. 98% in the class is a nice way to slide into student mode.

13 December 2013

I was a fool for love!

What were your favorite songs? 

Things arranged by Zedd. I have the musical taste of a teenager these days. If you look at my starred Spotify list, you'll see a big variety:

Tegan & Sara
Sweet Honey in the Rock
John Tibbs
Pink Martini
Gungor
Over the Rhine
Sufjian Stevens
Dry the River
Lake Street Dive
Otis Redding


In religious music this year, I love singing any text to the Hyfrydol tune! The alto line is surprisingly harmonious! If you're currently cradling a blue hymnal in your hands, please stand and sing hymn #410. The music is so perfectly creepy and the words are perfectly optimistic! It's like The Munster's are singing words written by Mr. Rogers!

12 December 2013

CIRCLE!

What was the best book you read?
The Circle by Dave Eggers. It still causes me to think even after I put it down. It's also creepy and totally realistic. It could actually be a reason I don't really say too much online....wait, no, that's just pure laziness bursting through.

Musichoneymoonclassvacation

Where did you visit this year? 

I had lots of travels this year as usual. 

I heard music here (http://www.michfest.com/) for 7 (!) nights! Ferns were everywhere! The weather was cold at night, since we were in a tent! The food was great! Huge paper lanterns were launched into the night sky on the first evening!

I honeymooned here (http://www.sugarloafwomensvillage.com/Accommodations.html#2) for a week in April! Mosquitoes, humidity, seafood, sand, gobs of books! It was perfection!

I went to class here this semester (http://www.niu.edu/regional/rockford/). I-90 was completed under construction so there was a lot of speeding and then hitting the brakes and repeating of that scenario.

I also vacationed here (http://www.saugatuckcity.com/) this summer in a very last minute trip of camping! We ate well, spent time at Lake Michigan, and watched the fireworks until the mosquitoes chased us back to the car!


11 December 2013

Grease, reused!

What was the most delicious meal I ate?
 Toughy! I rarely remember things I eat! People ask me all the time, what were the all-time best and worst meals at orientation. I can hardly come up with wretched or wonderful meals to comment on.
My mom made huge crabcakes during Thanksgiving week. They were all crab and no filler-that's pretty rare if you ask me!
Over Memorial Day weekend we camped on a bitterly cold weekend next to Lake Michigan. The upside was the bacon. We bought a pack of bacon and cooked several slices in a really nice cast iron pan in the fire. After it was cooked up, we cooked everything else in the delicious bacon grease for the rest of the weekend! Ooh boy it was delicious!

10 December 2013

Dancey! Dental hygiene! Bloody stumps!

Let the navel-gazing begin! If you're blogstalking me and not recording your own thoughts, then you're a sore year-end loser and you need to get a life! Get on the bandwagon and come along!

When were you most grateful?
Dancing my feet to bloody stumps at our wedding reception last April! (I have a little feeling these posts will be wedding/Crystal related, so there's your wee warning.) Looking back at our 1000+ photos these past few months, has shown us that we have really dancey friends. I am grateful that our dancey-souled friends and family really showed up for us on that wintry mix of a day in April.

Of course, I'm most grateful for my Crystal. She helps me in so many ways. I have excellent dental hygiene (I floss nightly!) because of her. I wait to start eating until she's ready! I try and listen to almost everything she says instead of shrugging off deep conversations! Here's to 2014, honey bunny! 

14 March 2013

Hibernating

This blog is hibernating. Stop looking here for updates. It's not gonna happen.

06 January 2013

...

Mary Oliver made it look so easy. Trees. Birds. Words.

03 January 2013

Cinematic Observations with less Snark!

I've been taking the Dan way lately. Yep, walking. 1 1/2 laps around my perimeter road Cinema Drive once a day usually at night and with one dog. I almost have all the cul de sac streets memorized but I get forgetful around the Martin Lane and Tracy Court area.

Observations on the neighborhood that continually run through my head:

Man, this nativity stuff is ugly.
Motion lights lead my path in the darkness. Yessss!
Why do the biggest trucks always block the sidewalks?
There's an over-abundance of all white Christmas trees in these houses.
Isn't it nice that all the doorbells are illuminated? Where would we ever find them if they were hidden in the dark?
People watch a lot of tv on big flat screen tv's. These living rooms look like hospital rooms with the tv's mounted.

That is all.