Category Stuff About Me

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

Peter and the Starcatcher

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I feel so lucky that on March 12 I get to see Peter and the Starcatcher for the second time!

Yes it is, Brilliant!

Yes it is, Brilliant!

I first saw it in June 2012 when it was on Broadway in NYC.  It is not a musical, but a play filled with music, and it is magical and fantastic and simple.  Prior to seeing the show I had read two of the books in the series by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson – “Peter and the Starcatchers” and “Peter and the Shadow Thieves.”  These books detail Peter Pan before he became Peter Pan, when he was simply, “BOY.”  This is an adaptation of these books and is brought to stage by Rick Elice.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xxYkdB-XEc

Above is a clip from the original Broadway cast production.  I also feel so lucky that I was a stalker and had my photo taken with a few members of the cast!

What’s doubly exciting about seeing it a second time, is that there’s a Q&A afterwards with the cast!

The Orpheum in Minneapolis is a beautiful place to see a show, so I have no doubt that I’ll have another magical, fantastic experience with the touring version of “Peter and the Starcatcher” in 2014!

I’m sure I’ll blog later this week to tell you about it!

New York City, January 2014

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One more trip to NYC is in the books, and the city never disappoints.  Nor does the company.  Troy and Luis make it so easy to be there.  I was barely recovered from the sleep deprivation before I started thinking about when I’d like to go back again!

And this time I had the pleasure of the company of my sister-in-law, as well!  We had delayed flights going to NYC and a cancelled flight home, but that only meant that we had a bonus day, with bonus walks, bonus time at Times Square, a bonus show, bonus girl-talk, and a bonus “order-in meal” for watching the Grammy’s!

We saw the new show , “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder,” which was such a hoot!  We had great seats (first row!) and we laughed as we watched the D’ysquith’s die one by one!  The man who played all the D’ysquiths was so impressive, as was the heir who was assisting them in their demise.  Very fun!

Saturday we saw “Cinderella” – the last weekend with the original cast!  It is a beautiful and magical show, and even with the knowledge that I should pay attention to certain things, I still couldn’t figure out the magic.  Very beautiful.

Saturday night we went to see a silly band who sang amazing mash-up songs in their underwear!  They’re called The Skivvies, and they had special guests come on stage and sing (also in their underwear) and it was so fun!  It was at 54 Below, which is a sort of underground Cabaret featuring a lot of Broadway performers on their nights off.  So glad we went…

Sunday morning American Airlines called and said that our flight out of Chicago was cancelled so we had an extra day in NYC!  We were able to get great tickets to see “Matilda” – and I liked it even better than the first time I saw it!  The new girl was amazing, the new Trunchbull was hilarious, and the oohs of the kids in the audience was great atmosphere!  It was just so fun!  Loved it so much!  So glad we got to stay and enjoy another day in NYC!

We also had so many treats while in NYC!  We went on a cupcake tour of the East Village (and Lower East Side), stopped at Magnolia Bakery, Pieface, and the Cake Boss Bakery.  Everywhere we went we had deliciousness and goodness.  Loved the tour with Adriana Trigiani Tours!

The pictures above are just a sampling.  I posted (way too many?) on Facebook and still have hundreds to look at.  I always love looking at the buildings – old and new – and the walks outside were very comfortable in the teens and twenty degree temperatures.  I’m not sure I’d travel in January again, unless I knew that I had time to spare for travel glitches, but I’m so glad that I went in January 2014.

 

It’s 2014 – and other things making me happy…

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2014

Time… keeps marching, doesn’t it?

Here’s a list of things that have made me happy since Christmas –

  • Christmas with the family on the Ponderosa.  A snowfall, a bonfire, good food and laughs with family.  Bliss.
  • “Phantom of the Opera” at the Orpheum with Marissa and my mom (and Mo’s friend, Tricia).  The music didn’t disappoint, the set was beautiful, and the chandelier dropping made me jump!  Good stuff…
  • Lots of Laughs (LOL) with Land O’ Lakes (LOL) at their Christmas party at Goonie’s Comedy Club!
  • New Year’s Day movie watching with Jenny and Chris – The Secret Life of Walter Mitty at the Wehrenberg (loved it!), and take-out Chinese and Don Jon via my new AppleTV (also making me happy – thanks Chris!).
  • The day-after-New-Year’s-Day movie watching with Marie – Saving Mr. Banks – a tear-jerker, for sure!
  • A “Grand Getaway” to Minneapolis (and St. Paul) – the Minnesota History Center for Speakeasy Saturday, a double-date with Deadra and John to see Lorna Landvik at her Party in the Rec Room at the Bryant Lake Bowl, followed by a retro-bar crawl to Nye’s and Honey and brunch at Ike’s.  Good stuff.  I’m a lucky gal.  🙂
  • Celebrating Chris Riggle’s birthday with her today!  Pizza and brownies… nothing fancy but it was sure delicious!  It was fun to catch up!
  • I made my Goodreads goal for 2013 – 32 books read.  I set my goal for this year at 36 and am optimistic that I can make it.  🙂  I’ll continue with Audible for a little while longer, but I’m collecting enough that I have a few banked up to read!  Below is a list of the books I read in 2013 – looking forward to hitting more in my TBR pile in 2014!

Looking forward to spending more time reflecting on what my theme for 2014 will be… do you set New Year’s Resolutions or goals?

Happy (Belated) New Year!!

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns)
Wishin' and Hopin'
Perfect
Pope Joan
Mad About the Boy (Bridget Jones, #3)
Paris Was the Place
Falling Together
Freud's Mistress
The End of the Affair
Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America
Ready Player One
Playing for Keeps (Neighbor from Hell, #1)
Fin & Lady: A Novel
My One Square Inch of Alaska
The Night Circus
The Promise of Provence: A Novel
11/22/63
Little Wolves
Stories I Only Tell My Friends
Elizabeth the First Wife
The Accidental Tourist
Sick Girl
The Silver Linings Playbook
Gone with the Wind
A Week in Winter
84, Charing Cross Road
Tell the Wolves I'm Home
Silencing Sam (Riley Spartz, #3)
Mistletoe Mischief
Swim
Missing Mark (Riley Spartz, #2)
The Next Best Thing
A Highlander for Christmas (Children of the Mist, #5)
Forget Me Knot
Stalking Susan (Riley Spartz, #1)
Shunning Sarah (Riley Spartz, #5)
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
The Postmistress
High Line: The Inside Story of New York City's Park in the Sky
 

12.24.13 What’s Making Me Happy

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Merry Christmas everyone!  It has been so long since I posted (more than a month!) and I’ve done many things, so I’ll try to catch up with a whirlwind post of what’s making me happy:

  • I love firsts – even the first day of winter!  It means the days are getting longer and we are heading towards spring, instead of away from summer.  There was a year when I had a party for every first day of the season (or last day of the season, depending on where it landed in the week).  Maybe someday I’ll reprise, but for now know that I quietly celebrated and remember.
  • I’ve seen movies –

On Netflix DVDs:  

  • Frances Ha (a girl wants to pursue dancing career – and avoid growing up!), 
  • The Kings of Summer (boys build a home in the woods to avoid their families), 
  • Smashed (a married couple goes separate ways when one decides to be sober)
  • and at home right now is The Salt of Life (an Italian movie starring the man in Mid-August Lunch, the inspiration for Ferragosto!)
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

My Christmas DVD Traditions: 

  • Elf
  • Love, Actually
  • The Holiday
  • Family Stone
  • Emmett Otter’s Jug Band Christmas

On Netflix Streaming:

And in the Theatre:

  • About Time (I loved this so!  I thought it had such a great message of how to live life… soooo good!  Bummed that it didn’t stay in the theatre long – I will be buying this!), 
  • The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (So fun to see this with the girl who loves it best – Gracie.  We went on opening night, so the theatre was filled with other lovers of the series, and there were cheers and boos and sighs throughout.  A good movie!), 
  • Dallas  Buyers Club (Not a feel good movie at all, but outstanding performances, and a thought-provoking glimpse into the government/ pharmacology difficulties in obtaining medications.), 
  • Philomena (a great British film about a woman who goes in search of the son that was taken from her in the 50s while she was “banished” to a convent as an unwed mother – great story, great performances, great movie),  
  • Delivery Man (Vince Vaughn finds out his sperm-donating days have wielded him a passel!  It was not as funny as I like Vince to be, but it was a pretty good movie), 
  • Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (and so it does.  The story is original and the point they make about 24 hour media is pretty spot-on. Not great, but not a bad sequel.), and 
  • American Hustle (I love that “some of this really happened” was the tag line at the beginning of the movie.  Christian Bale and Jennifer Lawrence were amazing, and the story was fun to follow. )
I do indeed...

I do indeed…

As always during the holidays, there have been Musical Events:

  • Crossings At Carnegie – Becky Schlegel and the 48 High – a great, intimate setting, with fun music – a little country, a little bluegrass!  
  • Messiah “Sing In” – Always a treat to go with Beth!  This year Vicki went as well!  The music seemed harder to sing, but it was a great night.  
  • Take Note! and Winona Brass Band – our concert has been a tradition since 2006 – isn’t that amazing?  It always goes by so fast, but is a fun night at the beginning of the holiday season! 
  • Christmas program at church – Even though it was only 20 minutes long between church services, I was glad to get to the program!  Good smiles, good songs… 
  • Take Note! party – Mom and Dad opened their house for the Christmas party for the choir.  Everyone brought delicious food, we had good weather, good laughs, watched our concert, and had a relaxing afternoon.
  • Festival of Lessons and Carols at the Chapel at St. Mary’s – Gracie has been singing with her choir at this concert for a few years.  It’s a nice time to reflect on the season, listen to beautiful choral music, handbell choirs, and to sing favorite hymns.
  • Dan Chouinard and Peter Ostroushko – Such a great evening of singing and music!  The ability of these two men is awe inspiring, and they make it look effortless.  Such a great Christmas tradition I hope I will do every year!
Next year I may make a Christmas tree out of books

Next year I may make a Christmas tree out of books

I’ve read some books: 

  • Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy by Helen Fielding – It’s nice to hear Bridget’s voice again, although she really should grow up, right? It’s a fun read with Bridget antics and a few precious moments.  
  • Pope Joan by Donna Woolfolk Cross – Read this for the book club in the ED.  It’s amazing how I never want to read historical fiction and then enjoy it a lot.  This takes place in the 800s and it’s fun to read about their education, religion and beliefs.  Good discussion!  
  • Perfect by Autumn Jordan – Very short Christmas story!  Trying to “pad” my book numbers for 2013!  
  • Fin & Lady by Cathleen Schine – on audio – a story about a young man being raised by his older sister.  A good story, which probably would have been better if I had a more consistent listening schedule.  🙂  
  •  Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? Mindy Kaling – Currently listening to this on audio – I love Mindy and can’t wait to listen further. 
  • Wishin’ & Hopin’ by Wally Lamb – another short Christmas story – hoping to maybe make my goal of 32 books in 2013!  
  • Next on my list is Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell – hear it’s a great YA book!  

football_santa

And then I’ve made it to a few sporting events – 

  • Wrestling – I spent an afternoon watching cousin Trevor wrestle – well, I waited all afternoon to watch Trevor wrestle once, as he had a win by forfeit in his second match of the day and I missed his first one! 🙂  He wrestled hard and I hope to make a few more meets this winter.  
  • Basketball – Trajan is playing Junior Varsity for Mayo, and I’ve made a few of his games so far, hoping for more!  Gracie and Rees will also be playing, so hope I can get to some of those, as well!  

Phew!  I wonder how many will make it to the end of this long list!  I’m hoping to blog again before the end of 2013 so let’s see if that happens!  I know that the days ahead are filled – with work, with fun events, and with family time.  

Christmas

 

I hope that your Christmas holidays are as blessed and a blessing to you!  

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45

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45

Yes.  I’ve been absent from my blog for a while.  Life has been busy – and good!

In September

  • I went to a few football games under the Friday night lights and in the steamy heat of a Saturday – ah, September in MN
  • I spent time with friends, sitting in the creek with margaritas on that steamy Saturday, celebrating milestone birthdays, and organizing Cosmo Girls for year 4
  • I’ve been spending time with this guy I have been dating, whenever our schedules (and the stars) align.
  • I was preparing for a trip to NYC, so I had to work a little extra on the front end.
  • I made it to two movies in the theatre:
    The Family (with Chris) – a mobster in witness protection.  Robert DeNiro still has it, at 70 years old!  Amazing.
    The Spectacular Now (with Marie) – I was excited to see this, and it didn’t live up to expectations.  It was just ok and mostly depressing.  
  • I finished Orange is the New Black on Netflix, and it is worth watching.
  • I spent a lot of time listening to Broadway Cast Recordings of Cinderella and Matilda and reading My City, My New York in preparation for my (annual) birthday trip to New York City.  

So, yes, now there has been a birthday.

birthday cake

birthday cake (Photo credit: freakgirl)

I flew out 9/30/13 and spent my 45th birthday (10/1/13) in NYC celebrating in style!  I’ll do a recap post of that trip later, but it was another amazing trip which makes me feel so blessed.

For my 44th year, I divided the year into quarters and made lists of 11 things to do or look forward to in each quarter.  I didn’t complete them all, but it was a fun way to organize the year.  You can read the summary posts from the first three quarters here:  Quarter 1, Quarter 2, Quarter 3.

Here is a wrap-up of the 4th quarter of my 44th year:,

my final 11 things: 

  1. Fourth of July!  Always a great time with family – relaxing time at the end of the dock, fireworks, great food and photo ops!
  2. Plan a Book Fest!First annual?  Bi-annual? Bookish food and treats?  Crafts?  Oh my!  It’s coming right up, but it’s in the planning stages!  It was SOOOO awesome!  You can read all about it here!  I am just starting to think about Book Fest 2.0!
  3. Ferragosto!  I can’t wait for my made up mid-August celebration!  More details to follow!  You can read all about it – here!  Buon Ferragosto!
  4. New York City! Looking forward to planning my annual trip to NYC!  It will make turning a year older more palatable! The trip is history – and it definitely was a great time… such a great way to spend a birthday!
  5. Books! Read and listen as much as possible! Tragic fail… keep on plugging away!  I actually did TWO book reviews and giveaways this quarter, so I guess that’s where my reading was focused – on The Promise of Provence and Freud’s Mistress – click to read more!
  6. Cosmo Girls! Start planning for 2013-2014!  Organized and rolling along!  We had a great organizational meeting and a terrific first meeting of the year! It’s going to be a great year!
  7. State Fair? Go if I can!  I guess I can – I went THREE times!
  8. Help Marissa move and get settled! Done!  It was a hot hot day we moved her in, but she is well-settled, the apartment is cute, and she is having a great time and great success in graduate school!  Woot!
  9. Ferragosto Ferragosto Ferragosto!  I have a feeling it’ll be the best ever!  Again – see above!  It was terrific!
  10. Sit down and … play piano or write poems or letters or play accordion… take time.  Well, also a fail.  Didn’t get much “time” for any of that but it’s all good!
  11. What do you think I should add to my list?

So as you can see, not even 11 things on the list, but still a fun way to remember the year.

45 years old

45 years old

And for this year, 45?  

Maybe I’ll do something creative with 45 records (remember them?) like “on the flip side” or “B Side”… have ideas?  

45 rpm, flip side? b-side?

45 rpm, flip side? b-side?

 

I learned that 45 is the sum of all the numbers (0+1+2+3+4+5+6+7+8+9 = 45), the dialing code for Denmark (+45), a gun or ammunition (.45), and the sapphire wedding anniversary.  

Elvis Costello wrote this song called 45 (http://youtu.be/KPZkldKk1WA), referring to record singles and his age when he wrote the song.  A catchy song… There are lots more songs and movies and other information you can read about online – thanks Wikipedia!  

So I haven’t fleshed out the plan or theme for being 45, but I’m enjoying every minute of it so far!

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Fond Ferragosto Memories

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Wherever you are, have a Buon Ferragosto!

Wherever you are, have a Buon Ferragosto!

And a Buon Ferragosto it was! 

Ferragosto 2013 was highly anticipated (almost the best part of a vacation, right?) and truly was a time of great fellowship and relaxation!

I was there for 10 nights and 11 days – how luxurious is that?

The weather was perfect day after day after day… and night after night after night…

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I think I was there alone for 90 minutes on the first day and 2 hours on the last day – how social is that?  

There was time with kiddos…

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And time with adults – family and friends…

Consequently, not many books were read, but oh the conversations!

Around the fire, at the end of the dock, in the French Lake Tavern, on the long walks; over coffee or wine or martinis!

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It was truly a beautiful vacation with wonderful friends.  It’s on the calendar for next year, folks, so plan accordingly!

For more information about Ferragosto, you can click here to read about the first ever (2010), the third (2012), and food memories from 2012 here.

If you’re reading this on your mobile device or in an email, you may need to click through to the site to get the full effect!
There are many photos included in slide shows – vibrant and fun!

Will you join me next year?  

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What’s Making Me Happy 8.8.13

Walkie Talkie Book Club 3 Comments

cropped-happiness-quotes-facebook-cover-18.jpgIt is the 14th annual Happiness Happens day today, sponsored by the Secret Society of Happy People!  Thought I’d do a quick “what’s making me happy” list to commemorate.

  • The Timehop app makes me so happy.  I know I’ve mentioned it before (haven’t I?) but it’s an app that shows my social media posts from the last 1-5 years, as well as one thing in history from this day.  Today it showed me my blog posts from the past few August 8ths (about school libraries and domain names), my Facebook posts and pictures (regarding gardens), and my twitter feed.  Reminded me that Xanadu came out 33 years ago today and that it’s been one year since I purchased my own domain name.  All good stuff.
  • My new glasses are making me happy – even though I feel like everyone freaks out a little when they see them!  It’s pretty funny.  They are a statement and so comfortable.  It was such a good buying experience.  I also am so happy to have my rose-colored Coach sunglasses turned into prescription sunglasses!  Since I stopped wearing my contacts, I didn’t get to wear them as much, so now I’m happy to be able to wear them – and to stop squinting while driving!
Yay! I can wear my rose-colored glasses all the time now!

Yay! I can wear my rose-colored glasses all the time now!

  • It made me happy to dream a little about winning the lottery last night – I actually made a list of what I would do if I won some money.  It clarified the travels I would love to do and how “stuff” isn’t as important as adventures. 🙂
  • The music video of Mumford and Sons is quite a hoot – many smiles from that!  http://youtu.be/rId6PKlDXeU  Click to watch it yourself!  Find the surprise!
  • I was asked to participate in another Book Blogger Book Tour!  I will be receiving a book and review it during their book tour!  September 17 is the date I will be reviewing Freud’s Mistress by Karen Mack and Jennifer Kaufman.  This book tour is sponsored by TLC – the website where I won a box of books from!  Love books!
  • Still on a high from the Superbowl of Books held the last week of July… so much fun.  Maybe instead of twice yearly, we will have to do it quarterly!
  • Anticipating great fun at Ferragosto this year!  I truly think it will be the best ever – and I haven’t even heard from some of you!  🙂  My kitchen is a mess with bags of food packed and ready, my suitcase is out with the important stuff in it (swimsuits and towels!), and I have many Ferragosto-type beverages packed and ready to go!
  • Having every weekend in August off is so exciting!  Last weekend I had a great day long road-trip with this guy I’ve been hanging out with (woot!  maybe more about that later???).  Lots of fun stops, including the Marine Art Museum in Winona, Lakeview Drive-in, the Great River Road (?) in Wisconsin, a winery, River City Days in Red Wing, and dinner with Beth and Doug in Lake City.  The day ended at Whistle Binkies on the Lake, sitting around the firepit with whiskey and bread pudding.  Ah.  It was a good day.  And then to the lake on Sunday with Marissa and Jenny to see the Rochester Grimsrud’s.  A perfect summer weekend off and a preview of my upcoming Ferragosto time!
  • I heard through the grapevine (my mom’s Facebook page) that Marissa is going to be able to move in early, so that last weekend in August that I don’t work I will be able to help her move in and get settled!  Very excited that it can happen, as I work overnights that first weekend in September/Labor Day weekend, so I will be tired and zombie-ish.
  • Speaking of working overnights, that’s what I’m doing now.  Well, I mean last night and tonight and tomorrow night.  But I slept pretty good today – almost 7 hours – and I survived night one without much trouble.  That makes me happy. 🙂
  • Watching Jimmy Fallon daily on my computer makes me happy.  Last night I started looking at plane fares for NYC in October!  So much to plan, which is almost the best part of a vacation – and hopefully Jimmy Fallon will be part of that trip!  Woohoo!!!  Troy – we’ve gotta talk!  🙂

Well, that’s all for now.  Must get out of bed, get some food, and get ready for night 2!  But tell me — what’s been making you happy lately?  How are you celebrating Happiness Happens HappyThon today?

Secret Society of Happy People

Secret Society of Happy People

 

 

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