Category Happiness

How to sum up awesomeness?

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2014I like to end each year by looking back and thinking about the big things and the little things, summing it up and tucking it away to be recalled in the future.  2014 was a big year.  Here is a sad attempt to summarize its awesomeness.  (Lots of links you can click on if you want more info or fun videos! Anything underlined is a link.)

Movie chat!

Movie chat!

I saw some movies in the theatre.  In no particular order, I saw Inside Llewelyn Davis, Her, The Lego Movie, The Great Beauty*, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Saving Mr. Banks, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Divergent, 12 Years a Slave, Belle, Neighbors, Chef, The Fault in Our Stars, A Million Ways to Die in the West, The November Man, Boyhood, Unbroken, Wild, The Hunger Games: The Mockingjay Part 1, Dumb and Dumber To, St. Vincent, and Gone Girl.  (*Rochester Int’l Film Fest)

Some were seen alone, some with girlfriends, some with family, some with Chris.  Some felt like they were MADE FOR ME (The Grand Budapest Hotel, Boyhood, Chef, St. Vincent); others not so much, but I love a movie in the theatre, no matter what.  (Thankful for that Mayo discount and living within walking distance to a theatre!)

Netflix DVD watching also happened, including The Salt of Life, 20 Feet from Stardom, Austenland, Iron Man 1, Iron Man 2, Iron Man 3, 10 Years, August Osage County, Blazing Saddles, What’s Up, Doc?, Here Comes the Boom, Love Is All You Need, My Life Without Me, The Tiger and the Snow. 

None of them stand out as wonderful, except 20 Feet from Stardom – that was fun.  I blogged about that around Oscar time last year.  Some were sent back without being watched – life was just too busy to sit on the couch in 2014!

Great seats for our first show!

Great seats for our first show!

The stage and Proscenium

The stage and Proscenium

 

In 2014 I saw some things on a stage.

Musicians – The Skivvies at 54 Below with Koni and Troy in NYC, Jeremy Messersmith at First Ave for Marissa’s birthday, Jim Brickman with Chris for Valentine’s Day, Paul McCartney at Target Field with Mom and Dad, Marissa and Chris

Comedians – Lorna Landvik at her Party in the Rec Room at Bryant Lake Bowl in January with John and Deadra, Mike Birbiglia at the Pantages with Marissa (on a whim, due to horrific driving conditions keeping me in the Cities longer – so glad we went! Thankful we weren’t later arrivers!!)

Plays – in Minneapolis Jenny and Chris and I saw Peter and the Starcatcher, and it didn’t disappoint the second time!  We hung out after and listened to the actors talk about their magical performances night after night… So fun.

Authors – only one in 2014!  Allison McGhee, a Minnesota author.  I still haven’t read any of her books, but she was fascinating to listen to!  I do love to listen to and meet authors!

And speaking of books – you can click the BOOKS I READ IN 2014 page on my blog to see the list of books that I did accomplish in 2014.  I didn’t meet my reading goal (again, not a lot of time to sit around and read in 2014!) but I changed my goal and hopefully set a realistic goal for #marriedlife2015.

Heading in to the first show of our trip!

Heading in to the first show of our trip!

And speaking of plays, can’t forget Broadway!  I had TWO trips to NYC in 2014! The first was in early January – a girl’s weekend with my sister-in-law/great friend, Koni.  We ran through airports to catch planes, celebrated the arrival of our luggage, we braved their elements (12 degrees, which was 30 degrees warmer than we left) and were the only ones to show up for the  cupcake walking tour of the Lower East Side.  We ate delicious meals, we SHOPPED, we saw THREE Broadway shows (Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder – the Tony winner of 2014! – Cinderella, and Matilda!), we saw people singing in their underwear at 54 Below (the Skivvies – click to see a video!), we celebrated when our flight home was cancelled, as it meant we had a bonus day to see our 3rd show, hang around the Superbowl celebrations in Times Square, and enjoy more Cake Boss treats.  Read ALL about it here.

One of everything! Yes, please!

One of everything! Yes, please!Also in 2014:

Also in 2014:

  • Birthdays were celebrated – at wineries, at the Lake, at restaurants.
  • I went to as many kids’ sporting events as my schedule would allow.
  • I continue to love my job, crazy schedule and all.  Coming up on my 3rd anniversary on January 30.
  • Someone drove through our Target exit doors, right after Chris and I walked out. Quite freaky!
  • Choir continues to bring joy and happiness to me and all who participate – can’t wait to start up again!
  • Marissa met a man that she enjoys immensely, so that’s fun for mama.  She continues in graduate school, hoping for an early spring graduation.
  • Cosmo Girls continued to meet monthly – a solid crew of amazing women that I am thankful for!
Cosmo Girls at RAC 2014

Cosmo Girls at RAC 2014

And then of course, last but not certainly not least,
we got engaged in July and married in October 2014!

The ring arrived!

The ring arrived!

Proof that he is the ONE?  When we were discussing the hows and whens and wheres of getting married, he said, “Can we get married in New York City?” Um, yes!  Most people think it was my idea, but it was his idea, which is why I love him so.  He knows how to make this girl happy.  I’m very lucky!

July to October was spent hammering out details, planning, organizing, and celebrating.  Chris moved in with me in July and that adjustment has been surprisingly smooth (further proof that he is the ONE!).  I had a wonderful, abbreviated Ferragosto week at the lake, which was almost like a Bachelorette week.  So much celebrating and planning and laughing!

It was great fun to plan the week in NYC for family and friends.  Everyone was so joyful and lovely.  The blog detailing the events of Wedding Week 2014 can be read here: #woohoowedo2014.  I’ll end this never-ending blog with the ceremony that Chris and I worked on in the hopes that we would have time in the chapel for more than just vows – and we did.

2014 was sure filled with blessings!  Looking forward to #marriedlife2015!  More adventures await!

LOVE Sculpture!

LOVE Sculpture!

-NYC Wedding Ceremony October 1, 2014- 

OPENING PRAYER – Dad
COMMITMENT TO THE COUPLE / RING WARMING
SCRIPTURE READING  – Koni
POEM – Deadra
READING (If time before vows) – Robert Fulgham
VOWS
CLOSING PRAYER – Dana

OPENING PRAYER – Dad – He did his own prayer 🙂 

Dear God, for the joy of this occasion we thank You. For the friends and family who are here today to witness this joy, we thank You.  For the significance of this wedding day we thank You. For this important moment in an ever growing relationship we thank You. For Your presence here and now and for Your presence at all times, we thank You. In His holy name. Amen.

COMMITMENT TO THE COUPLE / RING WARMING – Beth

Your very presence here, in this city, in this building, shows how much you love and support Chris and Danette and their life together.  Will you promise to continue to surround this couple in love, offering them the joys of your friendship?  Will you support this couple in their relationship, at times of conflict, offering them the strength of your wisest counsel and the comfort of your thoughtful concern?  At times of joy will you celebrate with them,nourishing their love of one another?

(Hope for enthusiastic “WE WILL” from all!) And they said “WOOHOO WE DO!”

During this ceremony, Chris and Danette will exchange rings.  These rings are a strong and visible sign of their love and commitment to one another. Chris and Danette ask that you, very important and loved members of their lives, hold their rings in your hands for a moment and warm them with your love.  Say a silent prayer or make a wish for Chris and Danette and their future together.

SCRIPTURE READING – Koni

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge,it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror;then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully,even as I am fully known.

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

POEM – Deadra

i carry your heart with me ~ e.e. cummings ~

i carry your heart with me (i carry it in
my heart)i am never without it(anywhere
i go you go, my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing, my darling)

i fear
no fate(for you are my fate, my sweet)i want
no world(for beautiful you are my world, my true)
and it’s you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows

(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life; which grows
higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)

and this is the wonder that’s keeping the stars apart
i carry your heart (i carry it in my heart)

VOWS – Jimmy 

Benediction – CLOSING PRAYER – Dana

The wedding is not over – it has just begun.  Marriage is not something said and done, but a promise, whose fulfillment is acted out over time.

So for Chris and Danette, we simply pray that the promises of marriage have a long and complete fulfillment; that their love is nurtured and shared by their families and friends; and that the seasons be joyous along the way. In God’s name we pray. Amen.

READING Union  ~ Robert Fulghum ~ Read by Marissa at Starbucks

You have known each other from the first glance of acquaintance to this point of commitment. At some point,you decided to marry. From that moment of yes, to this moment of yes, indeed,you have been making commitments in an informal way. All of those conversations that were held in a car, or over a meal, or during long walks – all those conversations that began with, “When we’re married”, and continued with “I will” and “you will” and “we will” – all those late night talks that included“someday” and “somehow” and “maybe” – and all those promises that are unspoken matters of the heart. All these common things, and more, are the real process of a wedding.

The symbolic vows that you are about to make are a way of saying to one another, “You know all those things that we’ve promised, and hoped, and dreamed – well, I meant it all, every word.”

Look at one another and remember this moment in time. Before this moment you have been many things to one another – acquaintance, friend, companion, lover, dancing partner, even teacher, for you have learned much from one another. Shortly you shall say afew words that will take you across a threshold of life, and things between you will never quite be the same.

For after today you shall say to the world –

This is my husband. This is my wife.

Where have I been? What have I been up to?

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I’m overwhelmed.  I like to blog about the “goings-on” of life, but wow. There’s been a lot going on.  So, instead I’m going to give you lists of the good stuff with very little commentary – if you have questions, ask!

First, I got married in NYC.  I have hundreds of photos but instead I’ll just share with you my “check-ins” from the SWARM app on my phone.

NYC via SWARM app

MONDAY-

  • RST – our flight was cancelled Sunday morning, so we had to re-book with a different airline, avoiding O’Hare on the way to NYC.  Got in a few minutes earlier than we would have, so it was all good!  
  • MSP
  • LGA
  • Brooklyn Bridge
  • Office of the City Clerk – Marriage Bureau – Got dropped off at City Hall, which was not open, because it’s not where you get married!  I had the address, just not the correct name!
  • London Terrace Towers – Where Troy lives!  Love his hospitality!
  • Toshi’s Living Room – a Funky place; met everyone here and moved on… 
  • O’Reilly’s Irish Pub – good grub and quieter atmosphere!
  • 230 Fifth Rooftop Lounge – beautiful place!

TUESDAY

  • London Terrace Towers – up and at ’em, heading out for a walking tour!
  • Staten Island Ferry – Whitehall Terminal
  • Battery Park
  • Bowling Green
  • Federal Hall National Memorial
  • Trinity Church
  • National September 11 Memorial and Museum
  • City Hall Park Gas Lite Bulbs Fountain
  • Wafels & Dinges – Pagadder Card
  • Wo Hop Restaurant
  • Chinatown
  • Becco – great Italian restaurant with a prix fixe meal before theatre!  Toasts, tears and laughter!
  • Lyric Theatre – ON THE TOWN! A great musical during preview week. Appropriate for a bunch of people experiencing NYC for a short time – and getting the most out of it!
  • Times Square – the Red Stairs
  • O’Lunney’s – birthday drinks! I almost forgot that my wedding day was actually my birthday, as well!  So after midnight we had a toast to the awesome day ahead! I still don’t remember that I turned a year older, so maybe I’ll remain 45 forever?  

WEDNESDAY – WEDDING DAY!

  • Office of the City Clerk – Marriage Bureau – #woohoowedo2014 ! A perfect ceremony!
  • Starbucks – a brief reception, due to drizzle!  Then on to our ROLLING RECEPTION!
  • Grimaldi’s Pizzeria
  • High Line
  • Central Park – Bethesda Fountain
  • LOVE Sculpture
  • Empire State Building – 86th Floor Observatory
  • Archer Hotel New York – checked in and met the crew at the rooftop bar, Spyglass!
  • Periyali – Greek dinner! 
  • Marie’s Crisis – singing along with every song!
  • Archer Hotel New York – what a beautiful day!  

THURSDAY 

  • Times Square
  • M&M’s World – met Rob here and also went to the Hershey store!
  • Pie Face
  • MSG Entertainment HQ
  • High Line – the newish part!
  • Joe the Art of Coffee
  • Archer Hotel New York – a disco nap!
  • Guy’s American Kitchen and Bar – dinner with Troy!
  • Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre – “It’s Only a Play” – a fun play with a star-studded cast!  
  • Junior’s Restaurant & Bakery – treats for morning
  • Shake Shack – treats for now! “Great White Way” 
  • Times Square at midnight

FRIDAY

  • Carnegie Deli
  • Bethesda Terrace
  • Heartland Brewery
  • Stephen Sondheim Theatre – “Beatiful – The Carole King Musical” SO GOOD!
  • Swing 46

SATURDAY 

  • Chelsea – leaving in a downpour!  
  • Queens – Midtown Tunnel
  • LGA
  • ORD
  • RST
  • Whistle Binkies on the Lake – with Tony and Tien!
  • The Doggery

SUNDAY

  • Willow Creek Golf Course – our wedding reception!  
  • Whistle Binkies on the Lake – with Kim and Eric, Maureen and Dennis!  Yay!

MONDAY – Chris back at work, Danette unpacking!  

That was a whirlwind of a week – and I know there were stops I didn’t “check in” but it is a fun way to keep track of a vacation!

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Design K_

And then life after the wedding …

  • There was FOOTBALL!  Gunnar’s senior year, filled with wonderful highlights and honors!
  • There were meals – at Burdey’s, at Panera, at Caribou, at Jessie Street Java, at Four Daughters Vineyard & Winery, at Victoria’s, at Chester’s, at The Thirsty Belgian, at Cowboy Jack’s Saloon, at Chipotle, at Brothers, at Pho Chau…
  • There were movies – GONE GIRL, ST. VINCENT, DUMB AND DUMBER TO, and HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY PART I.
  • Garrison Keillor came to Rochester and we enjoyed his live radio show
  • Basketball has begun and I look forward to watching TRAJAN and GRACIE and REES play during this season!
  • Thanksgiving was a blast – relaxing and fun.  Highlights were sledding with Kaydee, listening to what everyone was Thankful for this year, and playing HEADS UP.  Download it to your phone or iPad if you haven’t!  It’s a hit!
  • Notice: Not a SINGLE BOOK WAS READ!  Oh my.  I have been catching up with my Oprah magazine, and slowly reading a great book.  I am going to fail miserably at my Goodreads goal, but I’m really ok with that.  Life is SO good.

Now it’s December.  I am hoping that in December I can connect with many friends and family, enjoying TIME and conversations with everyone.  I tend to enjoy Thanksgiving more than Christmas because I get stressed about presents, but I hope that I can focus on relationships instead of receipts this December, so that Christmas can be celebrated as it is intended.

Ah, life is good!  I am blessed!

30 Days Hath September

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And since we’re already 3 days in, that means that our wedding is 4 weeks from today (meaning Wednesday!)!  It’s getting to be crunch time, and the to-do list keeps growing, but it’s all good and exciting stuff!

So much to be happy about – August fairly flew by and was filled with awesomeness!  For example –

  • A course at the U of M brought me to the Cities for a few days and Chris was on vacation so he tagged along!  He enjoyed daytime adventures on foot in St. Paul and Minneapolis and we both enjoyed nights out in the Minneapple!  We ate Mexican at Masa on Nicollet, yummy bar food on a rooftop off 1st Ave and desserts down below at Hell’s Kitchen;  we drank cider and beer at Sociable Cider Werks with Marissa and her guy, and walked through the sculpture garden at the Walker Art Center!  The highlight of the trip was seeing Paul McCartney at Target Field – amazing!  What a beautiful and fun night – and what an incredible entertainer!
  • Many date nights with wedding planning as a topic of conversation.  We’ve been to Cowboy Jack’s a few times, the Tap House and the Doggery (Chris discovered the Shallow End), and we saw “Boyhood” and “The November Man” in the theatre.  We took a trip to IKEA and the Mall of America for wedding paraphernalia, and have shopped for furniture!  Always on the go!
  • Ferragosto!  It was an abbreviated version this year, but no less fun!  We had wet campfires, hot hazy humid weather, no mosquitos, and many trips to the Hoy’s Resort for BYOB!  No shortage of good food, good drinks, good talks, good belly laughs, and good relaxation!  We watched a few movies and even danced and sang on the deck, while planning wedding reception songs! There will be photos – eventually!

Every day off in September is precious and filled with planning!  So many details – but it is all so good!  Looking forward to take-off on 9/29 and everything that week brings!

Yay, September!

Spoon and Cherry at the Sculpture garden MPLS.

Spoon and Cherry at the Sculpture garden MPLS.

6.30.14

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Milestones.

SIX years ago June 30, I closed on my townhome.  Time flies, doesn’t it?  When I moved in, I didn’t have much.  Two beds.  Chairs.  Lamps.  And my old TV.  Now I have more furniture than I need, my home is comfortable and my closets could likely use some culling!

Six years ago these little guys were 3!

Nephews - 6 years ago!

Nephews – 6 years ago!

Six years ago my house looked like this:

New furniture and used furniture - still mostly looks the same!

New furniture and used furniture – still mostly looks the same!

Lots of laughs around this table in six years!

Lots of laughs around this table in six years!

These shelves are filled... love the loft!

These shelves are now filled… love the loft!

Gotta love milestones.

So thankful for everything.

And time is marching on…  it’s about ten days since the first day of summer.

I had a great time around a summer solstice campfire in Rushford and celebrated a milestone birthday (4-0!) with my guy.

And speaking of milestones, July 1 marks one year since my first date with this guy!

He enjoys coffee as much as I do! Although, he likes it sweet! Guess that's why he likes me! :)

He enjoys coffee as much as I do! Although, he likes it sweet! Guess that’s why he likes me! 🙂

Seems like we just met and that he’s been in my life a long time.

I look forward to celebrating more milestones with him by my side.

(Aww shucks!  I’m not usually schmaltzy!) 

Happy JULY everyone!

6/21/14: Summer Solstice! And summer begins…

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It is a pleasure to walk outside at night and feel the warm summer air!  Aside from all of the rain we had this week and last, we have had good June weather so far!  It’s also a pleasure to have some weekends off to enjoy the summertime!  But, as I’ve said before, I don’t usually let a little thing like work slow me down…

Here’s what has been bringing me smiles from the past few weeks:

Movies

  • Saw “A Million Ways to Die in the West” with Chris – I’m not a Family Guy watcher or a Seth McFarland groupie, but this was fun.  It’s a Western with modern language, with shocking humor and interesting characters.
  • I saw “The Fault In Our Stars” by myself on opening night.  Well, not by myself, but with a theatre filled with Tweens and Teens, swooning and sobbing.  I wish I hadn’t gone that night, because I felt more like an observer of the theatre than a movie-watcher.  I thought the book was so much better (no surprise) because I liked the parents so much better in the book, I liked their relationships so much better in the book, and the movie felt watered down and immature.  \
  • Tonight I saw “Chef,” which I think is my favorite movie of the year!  I’ll have to think back for sure (“Grand Budapest Hotel” was this year, too… hmm) but it was so fun!  A fun story about having passion for your work and doing what you love, about fathers and sons, and about Cuban sandwiches!  I almost danced throughout the movie, because the soundtrack was incredible (and is now purchased!), and I had tears spring to my eyes twice, just because of happy emotions!  Loved it!

Books!

  • There have been a few rainy days, so I’ve been reading on my Kindle and catching up on Oprah Magazine.  I finished a smutty book while on the dock, “Bettie Page presents: The Librarian,” and then returned to the world of Pride & Prejudice with “Georgiana Darcy’s Diary.”  Ah, there is something about that book and those characters.  Good stuff.  Now I”m working on “Wild” and almost finished with listening to “Whistling Past the Graveyard.”

Road Trips and Adventures!

  • For Jenny’s birthday, we had lunch at Trempeleau Hotel and went for a tasting at Elmaro Winery.  It was a beautiful Sunday and the winery was in a beautiful setting, so we sat outside and enjoyed live music, a fruit and nut plate, and some delicious wine.
  • Chris and I went to the cabin for his June vacation.  We had two great weather days, one washout day, and one very windy day.  There was reading, DVDs (Breakfast Club, War Games, The Upside of Anger, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo), and good cabin food.  There were a creche (I think) of White Pelicans who must have stopped there for the summer, and they were amazing to watch and learn about!  Who needs TV when you can watch pelicans?  And as always, the sunsets were spectacular.
  • One of the days we drove to Northfield to have dinner with Deadra for her birthday!  It was fun to explore Northfield and we had a delicious dinner in a Tavern there along the river.  The day started out breezy, cloudy and cool, but it ended up clear and calmer.
  • When I got home from the lake, I joined some peeps at the rooftop of the Tap House for Sunday Night Trivia!  We rocked (mainly one guy rocked) and got one free round of drinks and 3rd place overall.  I love trivia.  And the weather was perfect for a night on the rooftop!

Looking forward to celebrating the first day of summer at an International festival in Rochester and then I’ll travel to Rushford to see Mom and Dad and hopefully some Rushford friends!  I’m counting on a campfire to celebrate the shortest night of the year!

Chris has a Summer Solstice birthday, but he gets t work.  I’ll bake him a cake for when he’s done with this 7 day stretch!

Yay summer!

There shall be eternal summer in the grateful heart. ~Celia Thaxter

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Always so much to be thankful for!  We are marching in to June and the calendar is filled with fun things on the days that work isn’t scheduled (and even on some days when work is scheduled!).

Here are a few things I am thankful for from the past few weeks —

  • Friday nights!  Spent a seemingly rare Friday night off at Jabbers (and evidently the last Friday night we’ll spend there, as it just closed!) getting in some Jabbering with Jabber Juice.  Fun fun.   And even after work last Friday night, it was fun to sit outside on the patio at Fat Willy’s!  Fridays still rock!
Love this selfie with Rushford in the background!

Love this selfie with Rushford in the background!

  • Rushford friends and family – had a lot of fun showing Chris around Rushford – the bluff, the new coffee shop – and hanging out with friends.  Take Note! sang at the ExpoCulinaria and it was a lot of fun with good food tastes and good company!  Followed by more good food and a good campfire at Brenda and Roger’s!  It was chilly so that fire felt good!  It was a Starry Starry Night!
  • Speaking of Starry Starry Nights – loved the time with Beth at the painting event by Wine & Canvas!  It was a challenging painting but I think we did a respectable job – and it was so fun!
Love Starry Night with Rochester Wine & Canvas! And Beth!

Love Starry Night with Rochester Wine & Canvas! And Beth!

  • Memorial Day weekend I had to work overnights, but I still was able to indulge in a last minute invitation to hear Temple Grandin speak on Friday night, followed by coffee at Chester’s!  And Monday Chris and I went for a good meal on a rainy afternoon before I went in for night four. I always manage to fit in the important stuff!
Love last minute invitations and loved hearing Temple Grandin again! She's something!

Love last minute invitations and loved hearing Temple Grandin again! She’s something!

  • Trajan turned 15 in May and we celebrated him at Texas Roadhouse!  I also love that I’ve been able to help out and drive him to his basketball practices in the Cities and to watch him play a few games.  He’s on a competitive team and they are all so fun to watch!
Love this kid who isn't afraid of the saddle on his 15th birthday!

Love this kid who isn’t afraid of the saddle on his 15th birthday!

  • The weather has been great so I have been getting in some great walks!  Some with friends, some with Chris, and some with his daughter and granddaughter.  It’s been fun to play with a 2 year old again!
Love this guy and love hanging out with a 2 year old every once in a while! It's been a while...

Love this guy and love hanging out with a 2 year old every now and then! It’s been a while…

  • Books – I’m finally on a little reading streak!  I finished Allegiant, moved on to The Fault in Our Stars (heartbreakingly beautiful… just lovely), and Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares (a fun little read with dares all over NYC!).  I bought a used Kindle so it’s exciting to fill it up (it holds a TON!) and look forward to reading it at the end of the dock.
  • Audiobooks – I’ve officially been an Audible member for a year!  Yikes… I have purchased more than I’ve listened to (sound familiar??  I guess I’m growing my TBL (To Be Listened to) pile, as well!).  I tend to buy the long books that I want to read but doubt I’ll have the time or stamina for.  So far I’ve listened to 11.22.63, Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?, Fin & Lady, Ready Player One, The End of the Affair, The Goldfinch, and The Boy Who Was Raised As a Dog.  I’m currently listening to Whistling Past the Graveyard for book club (if they don’t give up on me!).  Love listening in the car, still, but much less commuting time so now it’s while puttering around.  Love it!
  • Movies – always thankful for movies!  Movie nights at home on the couch, movies while trying to sleep, movies in the theatre with a tub of popcorn.  Love them!  This month in the theatre I’ve seen Neighbors (pretty funny, Seth Rogan stuff) and Belle (interesting story about Britain’s position in the slave trade business).  From Netflix on DVD I’ve seen Here Comes the Boom (very funny and fun!) and Love Is All You Need (unexpected story about Danish people traveling to Italy for a wedding, with Pierce Brosnon! Pretty good!).  Mindless instant viewing includes Drop Dead Diva (series) and The Sweetest Thing (Cameron Diaz craziness that was pretty fun).
  • Of course, Jimmy Fallon always makes me laugh, which is a thing to be greatly thankful for.  Fun stuff.  Look for his clips if you can’t commit to an entire week of shows!  🙂

As usual, I have much to look forward to, as well.  We are working fewer weekends than last summer, so I’m looking forward to that!  I am penciling in fun plans with friends and family – so give a shout if you want to get together!  Let’s make this the best summer ever!

If a June night could talk, it would probably boast it invented romance. ~Bern Williams

It’s May! Tra La!

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It’s crazy how fast the days and weeks go.  I’ve had the goal to post weekly for the past few months, but I have not been successful for many weeks in a row!  It’s good to have a goal, right?

Here is a list of a few things that have made me happy in the past month or so…

  • The first Friday in May I finished my class!  That meant that in April I wrote four papers, participated in online discussions, and read books and journal articles to prepare.  I’m glad that’s behind me and now only wait (with bated breath) for the grade.
  • For that class I read the book “The Boy that was Raised as a Dog,” which is a good book about the research that Dr. Bruce Perry has done on the brains of children who have been affected by traumas.  It was good and I recommend it to people who want to know more about trauma and children.  We’re going to read it for work, which is going to be fun.  Always better to discuss books!
  • After that last class, I stayed at Deadra’s and we had a good chat, with good wine, followed by good sleep and good donuts (Glam Doll Donuts!) for breakfast.  That weekend was also filled with basketball, choir practices and performance at St. Mary’s University, and the Kentucky Derby at a Mexican bar.  Gotta fit a lot in when I have the weekend off!
  • Not a single movie in the theatre in the last month!  Lots of meals out and ordering in and DVDs, though!  I’ve watched all three Iron Man movies, August: Osage County (really good!), 10 Years (Channing Tatum, why not?!), Blazing Saddles (classic comedy with crazy racist storyline – meh – don’t think I’d recommend it!), and tonight I watched What’s Up, Doc? (Babs and Ryan O’Neal – comedic genius? “Love means never having to say you’re sorry” “Corniest thing I’ve ever heard!”).  Marissa and I rented Labor Day (just ok – sad life, she had) and Chris and I are slowly watching House of Cards (I hate politics – why am I watching?? It’s good!).
  • I’ve read Divergent, Insurgent, and am currently reading Allegiant.  Looking forward to finishing and discussing with the 12 year old who told me this last book “would hurt me.”  Also ripped through Where’d You Go, Bernadette? which was so quirky and good!  Next (or soon) I’ll read The Fault in Our Stars so that the 12 year old and I can discuss that!  So many books.. have some catching up to do!
  • World Book Night happened!  My peeps and I met after we got done with work that night and we book-bombed the hospital downtown and went out for cocktails afterwards.  It was a nice night – and giving people free books is harder than it seems!  Maybe I’ll blog more about it later.
  • I had to work overnight for Cinco de Mayo, so I just had to reminisce about celebrations of the past… see photos below. 🙂
  • Mother’s Day was relaxing and busy – more basketball, girl time with Marissa, cookie making, toes polished up and a meal or two out.  Can’t believe it came and went.  Time does fly!
  • This weekend brings more singing in Rushford at the Expo Culinaria!  Looking forward to that event with my peeps!

Well, it’s been busy and wonderful – and I hope that your May is the same!  Enjoy the few Cinco de Mayo pics from the past below!

Off to read!

 

The fixings for a good Margarita…
Cinco de Mayo meets Kentucky Derby day! Juleps before Margaritas!

 

4.17.14

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In the name of Procrastination, I’ve been wanting to blog all week.  It’s Palindrome Week, after all.

4.10.14 – 4.19.14.  I love stuff like that.

I’m finally giving in, with the hope that getting a blog off my chest will allow me to actually write a paper on “Larry.”

So here, we go.  Things that make me happy, with a PALINDROME twist!  And there are random photos from the past 4-6 weeks in a slide show at the end of the post, if you have patience and can get there!

*NURSE, I SPY GYPSIES. RUN! /*NEVER ODD OR EVEN – Some random Palindromes for work stuff:

  • I am working on my clinical social work license, so I am taking a class to get more clinical content hours.  It meets the first Friday of the month for 9 hours.  I have three papers due by the first Friday of May and then it will be done.  It is interesting and learning is always fun – but papers?  Not so much.  Oh well.  Soon it will be behind me.
  • Driving to class was harrowing in April.  Gross.  I’m ready for the winter driving to be behind me, as well.
  • I worked a lot of overnights in March – 8 to be exact.  I worked 5 in one week as an experiment.  I think it worked for me – it’s nice to stay in the “up late, sleep all day” routine, so that transitioning back doesn’t have to happen as often.  We’re short-staffed right now (after LeeAnn left), so the schedule is crazy.  And it’s crazy spring time, so I think I will have to practice a lot of self-care on work days and on days off.  Ah.

*IN WORDS, DROWN I.  I’ve been reading some books.

  • I finished listening to The Goldfinch.  It was looooong but a good read.  Theo Decker (“Potter”) has his life changed forever while at a museum with his mother at around age 11.
  • I finished Divergent just before seeing the movie, and now am almost done with Insurgent.  I hope for answers in the 3rd book.  I’m not as pulled in as a certain 12 year old I know.  She loves the relationship.  She said she’d loan me Allegiant but I needed to know that it would “hurt me.”  She cried for quite a while when she finished.
  • I did a review of My Wish List: A Novel, which you can read more about here.  I can’t wait to see the movie!
  • I’m reading The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog for my class, and it is interesting and terrifying.  I put down Mo’ Meta Blues until I get through that Divergent series!  Can’t stop now!
  • My Kindle and nook apps are filled with books that need to be read… I can’t wait for this class to be over!

*SO MANY DYNAMOS!  Since I last blogged, I’ve seen a few movies:

  • 12 Years a Slave – Certainly not a ‘feel good’ movie, but very powerful.
  • Divergent – I liked the movie a lot, much more than the book.  I thought the changes they made were meaningful and the movie just flew by!
  • The Grand Budapest Hotel – This movie was made for me!  Whimsical, magical, and unpredictable!  I had a smile on my face throughout the entire thing!
  • The Great Beauty – The opening film of the Rochester International Film Festival and the 2014 Best Foreign Film Oscar winner.  It was long, riotous, and a little obtuse.  I read an article about it the next day which helped me understand it a bit more, but it was a joy  to watch, so that’s fun, even if it was hard to understand.
  • Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Iron Man 3 – For some reason I had the urge to watch these movies, so I got them on DVD from Netflix.  They were pretty fun, but I’m kinda done with the superhero movies for a while.

I’m an *AVID DIVA – *“RUM… RUM…” I MURMUR. – I’ve had some nights out!

  • Chris and I had a Thursday night off so I was looking for something to do.  And lo, and behold, there is Trivia Mafia in town!  So we invited Kristine and Mike to join us for some beverages and trivia at Big Brad’s!  I love trivia and we held our own!
  • We had a grown-up slumber party at Beth’s – margaritas, pizza, and girl talk!  So much fun – and so needed!
  • Of course, there was Peter and the Starcatcher – you can read about that fun night here!
  • We had a work happy hour to say goodbye to LeeAnn!  She relocated to the Cities and we miss her much!
  • St. Patrick’s Day was a hoot.  Chris and I went to Dooley’s and parked in a booth and enjoyed bagpipes, funny costumes, good food and good company!  We had to start early since I had to work very early the next day.
  • We also had a great night at Boomers, listening to the Jukes of Hazzard.  Marie’s guy is drummer in the band and it was fun singing along and watching the clientele at Boomers.   *YO, BOTTOMS UP! (U.S. MOTTO, BOY.)
  • Another recent weekend off (they feel so few and far between!), we saw The Grand Budapest Hotel with Jenny and Tammy and then met Kristine at the Loop for dinner!  It turned into a Girl’s Night Out + Chris!  He could hang with us and it was a lot of fun.  Good conversation with good friends.
  • Cosmo Girls was a blast.  We met at the Rochester Art Center and enjoyed a guided tour (two guides/curators!) and the art project they had set up for us afterwards.  We laughed a lot, got a lot of good pictures, and learned a lot!  We had so much fun together.

*WON TONS? NOT NOW.  / *WAS IT A CAR OR A CAT I SAW? – Life is good in the simple things…

  • One of those precious Saturdays off I got to watch Rees play basketball and eat at his choice – the food court at the mall!
  • I hosted another Book Party – the theme was Books Into Movies and we drank Bridget Jones’ Daiquiries (strawberries and champagne!) and we talked about books and laughed a lot!  This is going to happen again (and again and again…).
  • Girl time with a pedi is always the best.  Ah.
  • On April Fool’s Day, I made a Screwy Lewie – so delicious!  And such fond memories of childhood slumber parties – mine and Marissa’s.
  • Spring has finally shown its pretty head (every now and then) and we’ve enjoyed long walks outside and our first dinner and drink on a patio.  Looking forward to more time outside with the nicer weather!
  • I took Gracie to B&N to shop for books for her birthday.  It was fun to peruse the book shelves and talk about what kinds of books she likes to read.  She’s growing up so…
  • The “blood moon” from the lunar eclipse was this week and we were able to see it.  Small adventures in the middle of the night are pretty fun!
  • There’s a new coffee shop in Rushford and before choir (yay choir!) Mom and I went there to get a sandwich and coffee to go!  It was delicious and I can’t wait to go again for a leisurely coffee with friends!

And now, because April is Poetry Month, here are some Palindrome poems I found online:

Poetry Is:  (Palindrome)

Poetry
Words flowing
from the heart
written down
freely.

Freely
written down
from the heart
Words flowing
Poetry.

SMILE

day brighter
load lighter
SMILE
lighter load
brighter day

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Palindrome

BY LISEL MUELLER

There is less difficulty—indeed, no logical difficulty at all—in
imagining two portions of the universe, say two galaxies, in which
time goes one way in one galaxy and the opposite way in the
other. . . . Intelligent beings in each galaxy would regard their own
time as “forward” and time in the other galaxy as “backward.”
—Martin Gardner, in Scientific American

Somewhere now she takes off the dress I am
putting on. It is evening in the antiworld
where she lives. She is forty-five years away
from her death, the hole which spit her out
into pain, impossible at first, later easing,
going, gone. She has unlearned much by now.
Her skin is firming, her memory sharpens,
her hair has grown glossy. She sees without glasses,
she falls in love easily. Her husband has lost his
shuffle, they laugh together. Their money shrinks,
but their ardor increases. Soon her second child
will be young enough to fight its way into her
body and change its life to monkey to frog to
tadpole to cluster of cells to tiny island to
nothing. She is making a list:
            Things I will need in the past
                        lipstick
                        shampoo
                        transistor radio
                        Sergeant Pepper
                        acne cream
                        five-year diary with a lock
She is eager, having heard about adolescent love
and the freedom of children. She wants to read
Crime and Punishment and ride on a roller coaster
without getting sick. I think of her as she will
be at fifteen, awkward, too serious. In the
mirror I see she uses her left hand to write,
her other to open a jar. By now our lives should
have crossed. Somewhere sometime we must have
passed one another like going and coming trains,
with both of us looking the other way.

Lisel Mueller, “Palindrome” from Alive Together: New and Selected Poems. Copyright © 1996 by Lisel Mueller. Reprinted by permission of Louisiana State University Press.

Source: Alive Together: New and Selected Poems (Louisiana State University Press, 1996)

Livin’ the Dream…

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On March 12 we went for a big mid-week night out in Minneapolis!

First we ate at The Butcher and the Boar.  Oh my.

We were food drunk!

And the play was as fantastic as I remembered!

The simplicity makes it magical.

The story is beautiful.

The acting was superb.

The comedy was hilarious.

And there were tears.

It was beautiful.

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Afterwards it was fun to Tweet with Troy – and interact with @StarcatcherBway as well!  So good.

Again… See it if you can – and if you can’t, watch this extended preview from the Broadway performance!

Extended Preview of Peter and the Starcatcher – Broadway –
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWg7J8n6RmI

My Wish List: A Novel

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My Wish List cover
My Wish List

See below for the form to fill out to win an ARC paperback or ebook of this book!

In the midst of coursework, I took the time to read this book for a blog tour.  I loved the premise (who doesn’t dream of winning the lottery?) and it is a mere 176 pages, so it was a quick read.  I read it with a highlighter in my hand (a little bit of the student coming through?) because some of the sentences and passages called out to be reread and read aloud.  Wow.  I loved the language.

Jocelyne is a 47 year old woman who married a man named Jocelyn (“One chance in millions.  And it happened to me.”)  Jo and Jo have two children, they both work hard and have what they need but little more.  They were in that place in their marriage where they were happy, content.  Their children were raised, they were comfortable being together, and their dreams were small.  He worked for Haagen Daz and she owned her own fabric store (haberdashery) and started a blog.  He dreamed of a big screen TV and a fancy car.  She dreams of being happy and having her father with a failing memory well-cared for.

She wins a large sum of money (18,000,000 Euros) and doesn’t tell anyone.  She hides the money in a shoe and then creates lists – lists of things she needs, lists of things she want – and she worries about how the money will change her life.  And change her life, it does.

“Being rich means seeing all that’s ugly and having the arrogance to think you can change things. All you have to do is pay for it.”

I really enjoyed this book.  I loved the care that the translator took with the language – I loved the writing, period!  The chapters were short, but for example, one chapter was infused with “I dreamed…” sentences.  Another is full of “I am happy with Jo” sentences.  I love that.  I love that the things on our “need” lists are called our “daily little dreams” that keep us going.   There was so much of the language of the book that really was beautiful.  It was spare but meaningful.  But the book does have a surprising twist which packs a powerful punch, so it is not without plot.

There is much I could highlight about this book in this blog, as is shown by the highlights in my book!  Whoever borrows the book from me will have to contend with the orange highlights throughout. But as the book uses few words to make its point, so will I.

This book would lend itself to great discussion and would be a great book club book.  Who doesn’t like to dream of winning the lottery?  Who also doesn’t want to dream about how money would change their life?  And it sounds like it’s going to be made into a movie!  French or American, I’ll see it!

Good stuff.  And this good stuff can be yours!  I’m hosting a GIVEAWAY!  Tomorrow I’ll give the details on how you could win an ebook or Advanced Readers Copy paperback of this book of your very own (you won’t have to see my highlights!).  Stay tuned!

Thanks Emma for the opportunity to participate in this blog tour!  More info can be found by clicking here:

Fill out this form to be entered in random drawing for a book of your own!

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SYNOPSIS

A cathartic, charmingly tender, assuredly irresistible novel, MY WISH LIST (Penguin; ISBN: 9780143124658; On-sale: March 25, 2014: $15.00) imagines one answer to the question: If you won the lottery, would you trade your life for the life of your dreams? With sales of more than half a million copies in France alone, rights sold in twenty-five countries, and a major motion picture in development, this slim yet spirited tale has sewn up the interest of the literary world.

Jocelyne Guerbette is a forty-seven year old who runs a modest fabric shop in a nondescript provincial French town. Her husband—instead of dreaming of her—wants nothing more in life than a flat-screen TV and the complete James Bond DVD box set. And to Jocelyne’s two grown-up children, who live far from home, she’s become nothing but an obligatory phone call. Perpetually wondering what has happened to all the dreams she had when she was younger, Jocelyne finally comes to terms with the series of ordinary defeats and small lies that seem to make up her life.

But then Jocelyne wins the lottery: $25,500,000! And suddenly she finds the world at her fingertips. But before cashing the check, before telling a soul, she starts making a list of all the things she could do with the money. While evaluating the small pleasures in life—her friendship with  the twins who manage the hairdresser next door, her holidays away, her sewing blog that’s gaining popularity—she begins to think that the everyday ordinary may not be so bad. Does she really want her life to change?

MY WISH LIST is an essential reminder of the often-overlooked joys of everyday life and a celebration of the daily rituals, serendipities, and small acts of love that make life quietly wonderful [provided by the publisher]

***

 

Release date: March 25, 2014
at Viking and Penguin BooksISBN-13: 978-0143124658
176 pages
PRAISE FOR MY WISH LIST

“A runaway bestseller that looks set to follow the success of The Elegance of the Hedgehog.” — Elle (France)

 “Delacourt has hit the jackpot… [He has a] knack for finding exactly the right words and for evoking feeling” — Le Nouvel Observateur

 “Delacourt has a keen eye for everyday life and for the extraordinary challenges that ordinary people face” — Le Parisien

***

Grégoire DelacourtABOUT THE AUTHOR

Grégoire Delacourt was born in Valenciennes, France, in 1960. His first novel, L’Écrivain de la Famille, was published in 2011 and won five literary prizes. MY WISH LIST has been a runaway number-one bestseller in France; publication rights have been sold in more than twenty-five countries. Delacourt lives in Paris, where he runs an advertising agency with his wife.

See more on his French website: Grégoire Delacourt
Follow him on Facebook  | Goodreads