Welcome To My Worst Nightmare

...I wonder if you can even rent this movie anymore?

A Week In August

"O merciful God, be though now unto me a stronger tower of defense, I humbly entrust Thee. Give me grace to await Thy leisure, and patiently to bear what Though doest unto me; nothing doubting or mistrusting Thy goodness towards me; for Thou knowest what is good for me better than I do. Therefore do with me in all things what thou wilt; only arm me, I beseech Thee, with Thine armour, that I may stand fast; above all things, taking to me the shield of faith; praying always that I may refer myself wholly to Thy will, abiding Thy pleasure and comforting myself in those troubles which it shall please Thee to send me, seeing such troubles are profitable for me; and I am assuredly persuaded that all Thou doest cannot but be well; and unto Thee be all honour and glory. Amen-"

Lady Jane Grey
(1537-1554)

My dear crony sent this to me these last couple of weeks. It's great to know that even back in the 1500's people had reasons to write such incredible poetry.

for anyone else who gets roped into American Idol

when you think America is going downhill one of the most popular tv shows does something like this...i can't help but wonder, where did this come from? it's really cool, but i wonder what inspired it. (besides the Truth, obviously)

...and, yes, i sadly admit that john and i watch this show (only the tuesday episode) we really enjoy spewing out our opinions at the television. we even voted once. mostly, we enjoy being able to be as critical and opinionated as we want.

inspiration

top fives...

5 things you can't live without under 5 dollars:
1) orbit gum
2) coffee
3) new iTunes song obsession
4) gobstoppers
5) good shampoo

5 favorite movies:
1) Stand By Me
2) Lord of the Rings
3) Billy Elliot
4) Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
5) X-Men

5 Songs I could listen to over and over again (and do):
1) Our House-Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young
2) Happiness is a Warm Gun-The Beatles
3) Tiny Dancer-Elton John
4) Rocky Mountain High-John Denver
5) Cannot Lose My Love-Sara Groves

5 People who have had a positive influence in your life: (besides friends and family)
1) Hans Peter Royer
2) Louisa May Alcott
3) Corrie Ten Boom
4) Stephen King
5) whoever introduced John's parents to each other (so they could have him. obviously.)

5 moments that changed your life forever
1) Marrying John on June 2nd
2) Stepping off a crowded Ukrainian airplane to an open field with no idea where to go
3) Listening to T.D. for the first time in the Sports Hall Lounge
4) Rachel's birthday that began blessed friendships
5) the day i let go

5 current obsessions:
1) Finding Chaco Shoes size 8 for under 50 dollars
2) Law and Order re-runs
3) Across the Universe soundtrack
4) The Cosby Show
5) late night laughter

5 places I would like to go (in order of reality)
1) Michigan (and around)
2) Belarus
3) California (i'm itchin'for another amusement park visit)
4) England
5) Ukraine

5 peeps that should also do this:
1) Everyone
2) One
3) Who
4) Reads
5) This

Where Are You Going?

One of my favorite childhood songs was in a commercial during the 60's...crazy that my mom can remember this.

a year ago today...

this happened.
its hard to believe that ALL this has happened since.

the condo turned into....

...this!!! (praise Jesus!)

i said goodbye to my old room...

and married John!!!

and saw all these dear friends again!

We rode in a canoe on a hot summer day

saw the CP's again....after many long years

my brother married the love of his life...

We carved lovely pumpkins...

Enjoyed our first Christmas together...

And celebrated our first married New Years!!

....what a year....
and so many more to go.

Defiance Trailer

This movie is going to be incredible.
Too bad it's not going to be around until September...

6 More Days, People

and the long wait will be over!


LOST Season 4

Allow me to brag a little....

I just realized that when Andy comes home for a visit we rarely talk about his music or whats going on with the band.
I found out two pretty incredible things, sadly, without him telling me.
#1. His band played a show with Butterfly Boucher. Know who she is?
#2. His band was recently in Nylon Magazine.
These are kind of big deals (in my opinion, of course)
Apparently I'm not the only one that finds these guys incredible.

PAPER ROUTE

There's little twang in the beautiful electro atmospheres of this Nashville three-piece.

In our DIY age of homegrown talent, Paper Route has, in a mere two years, emerged from their living room studio to create a sound that has much of Nashville buzzing with anticipation for their first LP and an upcoming spring tour.
With their inspirations firmly woven into their sleeves—think Björk meeting Massive Attack on an Mbox—the trio (JT Daly, Chad Howat, Andy Smith) has emerged from near-obscurity to create songs that flood with electronics, emotions, and regular bouts with insomnia. Each track's cavernous layering begs for repeated listens due to the precise sampling and heartfelt inspirations that hide and reappear upon each playback. "It usually begins with something that one of us has turned in and the rest of us sense some magic or mystery to it," says Daly of their songwriting process. "We listen, we daydream, we deconstruct and reconstruct things until we've found a moment. It's a long process, but in the end it's something that none of us could have done on our own. That's the best part about being in a band."
Even though their newest album remains incomplete, one can visit their MySpace page and taste the ’80s synths, haunting melodies, and heartfelt lyricism that have much of the Nashville music community stirring in their boots. Heavy topics run rampant throughout their productions. It's earnest but not overbearing, soaring but grounded, majestic but manageable. The compositions are in a word: divine. "Almost all the songs on the new album are about either love or God," admits Daly. "It's thematically a very resilient album for us. Where we started out singing of failed relationships, falling in and out of love, and spiritual unrest, the most recent songs carry much hope."
Tracks like "Are We All Forgotten" and "Enemy Among Us" swirl with shadows of disappointment illuminated with the hope found in Howat's thick programming and Daly's ascending vocals. The obvious standout, however, may be the near-ethereal "Carousel," which builds with digital grandeur to a soaring finale of epic proportions.
Despite their unquestionable talents, what really separates Paper Route from the rest of the DIY chaff is a commitment to their craft and their willingness to dump anything hindering the integrity of their music. "Nothing is sacred in our writing process, " admits Smith. "We will abandon anything that is not the best we can offer."
ADAM SHERRETT

myspace.com/paperroute

What do we do when he does come home?
Oh, ya know, the usual.

we have a crazy great time.
gee, i miss them.

What on earth...

Is going on?


Not too long ago Brad Renfro overdosed in LA

Brings back sad memories of the ever talented River Phoenix

this is crazy.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

can't wait to watch this guy become a legend. this song is so addicting.

Who is he?
He's a 24 year old Lebanese-born, London raised singer named MIKA
...and he's incredible.

well either way, we like him around here.

1987

This movie was my first glimpse at the "rivalry" boys and girls were supposed to have. Funny the things the Chipmunks can teach you.




The second one is probably why to this day I love animals. It also explains why I pretended my stuffed animals were babies for so long...

Christmas is quickly approaching (8 more days) and although snow will never be seen it feels like Christmas. (Even with 70 degree weather :( Guess it isn't that bad...
Can't wait for next week and the time when the family sits down to watch this (complete w/ 1980's commercials)

(and NO kidding. This is the exact commercial that is on the old tape version!)

a night fit for fun...

...and the joy of taking pizza to the park for a last minute picnic.
...and the weather being warm enough still to do so.

after this picture i thought out loud, "wow, we might
miss these days in the very far future when a kid might arrive."
and maybe its true...

but time is something we definitely have.

"So don't wait For someone to tell you it's too late Cause these are the best days There's always something tomorrow So I say let's make the best of tonight Here comes the rest of our lives " -graham colton

On another note...
Johnny and I had a blast at our second costume party.
This is becoming quite a tradition w/ us...
in public or not in public :)

Oct. 2006:
As Jack and Kate from Lost
Wow. We were but mere children a year ago
Oct. 2007
Ha.
We went as Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash
We had even practiced the song "Jackson" and were reering to go if need be...
alas, they had no 'Jackson' on karaoke, but only "Ring of Fire"
So we sang...

Oh Ohio, place I once lived....

Place I will always miss...

Gathering Leaves
by Robert Frost

Spades take up leaves
No better than spoons,
And bags full of leaves
Are light as balloons.

I make a great noise
Of rustling all day
Like rabbit and deer
Running away.

But the mountains I raise
Elude my embrace,
Flowing over my arms
And into my face.

I may load and unload
Again and again
Till I fill the whole shed,
And what have I then?

Next to nothing for weight,
And since they grew duller
From contact with earth,
Next to nothing for color.

Next to nothing for use.
But a crop is a crop,
And who's to say where
The harvest shall stop?

//
We traveled East for my brother Andy's wedding.
It was beautiful.She came down the isle to "Wildflowers" by Tom Petty.
We visited with cousins,
...saw a childhood friend, Holly
Ate at Coney Island,
and drove by the house I spent my childhood in,
It was one of the best visits I've ever had. We walked around our old neighborhood. Holly and I told our men about the adventures we had there and how things had changed.
It's normally weird to return to a place that hold so many great memories, but this time it was more like seeing a picture of a place that holds so much meaning and being able to enjoy it all over again.

bit of movie trivia...

It's been a while since I've seen "All Dogs Go to Heaven." In fact, probably about fifteen years, but somehow I still remembered the song that the little girl sang during the movie. Weird, how childhood memories like that never seem to go away.

As great as watching the movie was I was really disturbed to find out whatever happened to the voice of little Anne Marie...apparently she was shot when she was ten by her crazy dad and then he set the house on fire. Crazy. It was interesting to put a name with a face that I had grown up with...


Judith Barsi also played the voice of Ducky


Here is a bit of weirdness to go with it...the voice of Little Foot was Gabriel Damon Most of us know him as Spot from Newsies....

Well looky where he is now...
kinda gross just to be honest.

ok, I'm done.

Last week I was reminded that I haven't blogged in a very, very long time. I think a lot has happened in the last year, but there has not been a lack inspiration. No, no, dear friends. If anything there has been a TON of inspiration....I'm married to a writer after all...so here we go. It's been a while.

I traveled north to Seattle last week...
While I was there I had a magical time visiting old friends,

Made a new one,

And visited one of THE most beautiful places on earth....

I still missed this guy a bit...

(he got this black eye from when I accidentally whacked him w/ my elbow. woops.)

I love when the seasons change. Granted, I live in Phoenix so the changes are hardly visible, but where they do change is where my heart longs to be. I like the way the leaves fall and the snow packs and slushes. The way the trees bloom and everything feels lighter. I love the summer nights when you can feel the heat from the cement and the way fireflies dance around you. I like these changes and that is probably all I like of change.

A lot of change is going on and like every other time change happens I start to freak out. I wish it didn't make me squirm like a toddler in an airplane, but it does.
I guess there's a saying for this,

"obla di obla da." life goes on.

Save the date. We'd love to see you. It's comin' just around the corner. (and just barely. only 73 days left)

Life these days mostly consist of work, planning, house renovations, talking, laughing, driving, long phone conversations with distant friends, bridesmaids measurements, visa invitation letter, music brain storming, asking for help, practicing, sharing, growing, being tired, eating pizza rolls, painting bathrooms and making websites. It's one of the most fun times in my entire life.

WIsh you were all here to share in the craziness!

It's all happening!!!!!!!!!!

Well. It happened. I am officially engaged and will wed this incredible side kick and love. It was one of the most amazing and romantic times in my entire life (well, probably THE most, actually. Since I've never been proposed to before) and the Journey that the Lord has for us will be the biggest adventure of my life.

The wedding is June 2nd in the evening...I'd love to see so many of you there.

And we all know...to live, is an awfully big adventure.

"Michigan seems like a dream to me now..."

"...it took me four days to hitch hike from Saginaw."


That's right, I was so close to Saginaw I could smell it. And I could see how it would take four days to hitch hike through it. It was beautiful. It captured an essence of freedom I hadn't felt in a while. Somewhere in the midst of Michigan, I found a side of the man, whom I love greatly, that he hadn't been able to show me. It was this nature that couldn't break free because of careers, mortgage payments, sinus infections, and busy cities, but there...I saw it. It was like this whole other relationship was illuminated, one that couldn't have been illuminated, perhaps, if we hadn't traveled to Michigan. We visited his family and played with his nephews and nieces and took late night tours around his tiny hometown. I believe he showed me every, single inch of that city and it was like opening a gift every second of it. I saw his entire childhood in his gaze as he reminisced about different things and watched his heart soften. I could see his mischievous character when he was in grade school, the class clown and show off. I saw his relationship with his siblings and parents and the genuine love that filled his childhood home. Oh, and you better believe we had some great music to drive around to. It was...kind of pretty much like ...magic.

Life has been flying by and I can barely reach the coat tails that swing behind. It's an exciting adventure, of course. It's been a blessing...a long journey that Jesus has been so consistant in leading me through. I haven't written on here for a long time, but I figure it might be worth updating.

Someday, I wanna take the Greyhound from Pittsburgh and hitchhike through Michigan. And laugh on the bus. And play games with the faces.

"...I said, "be careful his bowtie is really a camera."