Fashion Advice

(Pre-script: To get the most out of this post, possibly including but not limited to a dose of wardrobe savvy, you'll want to read it as the song " Superman," by Five for Fighting plays. Go down to the playlist, click on the song, then come back and resume reading. I'll wait...) (...still waiting...)

If Derek ever asks me what he should wear, I like to say something like "how about the breastplate of righteousness?"

He laughed the first couple times...but now I think it's just getting old.

As for the rest of you...feel free to direct your fashion questions to the comments section of this post. I will do my best to give a swift and appropriate response.*

-XOXO,

*Responses may vary greatly from case to case.

Covered Bridge Park Dancers

(pre-script: To get the most out of this post, please read it as the song: "Heavenly Day" plays. Go down to the playlist, click it on, then come back and resume reading this post. I'll wait...) (...still waiting...)

Dancing takes many different forms.

We discovered a new one at the park today.

I have no idea what it's called, but it involved about 7 people strapping jingle bells to their shins, holding large sticks, performing some choreographed moves that involved tossing and catching each others sticks and randomly singing at certain places, as a mandolin player and a violin player played the accompaniment. Oh, and there was also a girl who's job it was to stand on the side and catch any wayward sticks. She was necessary at least a few times.

-XOXO,

Baby turned 2

(Pre-script: there is no prescripted song for this post. Just hum "happy birthday" to yourself.)

-XOXO,

The amazing tricks of my cat Jake

Pre-script: To get the most out of this post, please read it as the song: "Sweet Pea," by Amos Lee plays. Go down to the playlist, click it on, then come back and resume reading...I'll wait...) (...still waiting...)

When I was six years old, I had a cat named Jake. He was actually my cat, since I loved him the most. Jake actually came to our house accidentally; One night, when we got home, he was just there, on our porch, with a torn collar that had no tags or other source of identification. I remember that we gave the cat some food, and low and behold, he was there the next day...and the next day...and the day after that...until finally after about a week, my parents decided we could adopt him and actually let him inside the house. I used to pick him up and carry him around like a baby. He had a magic trick that I have never seen repeated by the cat species of the world. Since Jake's food and water dishes were right next to each other, he would push one piece of his dry cat food into the water, let it soak, then pick the cat food piece up with his paw and put it in his mouth. Yes, you read that right. My cat fed himself with his paw, one piece of cat food at a time. Folks, even if you're not a cat person, you have to admit that that is a great trick. Jake was also good at sneaking onto my pillow at night and falling asleep. I would wake up in the middle of the night and my pillow would be covered by the cat...who would never leave me even a corner. Have you ever been a 6 year old trying to get your sleeping heavy cat off of your pillow in the middle of the night? If not, let me tell you, it is very, very frustrating for a child, even a child who adores her feline friend. At other times in Jakes life, he narrowly avoided certain death situations, like the bee bee gun shots that mysteriously appeared on him one day, and the time he got caught in the next door neighbors rabbit trap...the neighbor who raised and skinned rabbits and kept pigeons as we spyed over the fence from our fruitless mulberry tree...that's a whole new post...

-XOXO,

All over the map

I'm looking at a blank page wondering why I can't think of anything to say. What is wrong with my thinking? Where did the inspiration go? I need to email someone I don't even know. I need to clean the house. I need to enjoy the quiet of two sleeping children. I need to bake 2 cakes. Instead I'm sitting here trying to write a blog post. I could say some really awesome things right now, I'm just sometimes not willing to be very revealing in a blog. I'm going to call a friend instead. Hold on...called the friend, had a good conversation, and the head space I'm in right now is this, peeps: Life isn't just a tidy little box. Open your eyes and be deliberate. You can put the award on your chest, walk tall, and wear it proudly for the world to see, and everyone will congratulate you, but I, for one am not inspired by that. I think you'll have a rude awakening when the lid doesn't fit and all of the contents come pouring out. Look beyond your peripheral vision. The whole entire world is even bigger than that.

-XOXO,

Bumper Sticker Culture

(pre-script: To get the most out of this post, possibly including, but not limited to, a little bit of common sense, go down to the playlist, click on the song "Big yellow Taxi," covered here by the Counting Crows, or "The Boys of Summer," by Don Henley. I'll wait...) (...still waiting...)

"...Out on the road today,

I saw a Deadhead sticker on a cadillac.

A little voice inside my head said

'don't look back, you can never look back.'"*

While driving today, I saw a green minivan with two distinctive bumper stickers. The first one said "Where she is queen, He is king" In the middle was a picture of Mary holding baby Jesus. They both had halo's over their heads. The other bumper sticker was for a Catholic Radio station.

Please let me know if your life has ever been changed by a bumper sticker.

That's all I have to say about that,

For shizzle.

-XOXO,

*From the song "The Boys of Summer," by Don Henley

Basically,

i don't want to be a book

with a title that indicates

that it is closed before it's ever been opened.

if I found a piece that was hidden

or missing or invisible

i want to hold it in my open palm

on a day when the sun is blinding

on a day when the sound has been turned off

(Sometimes there are too many words,

Sometimes there just aren't enough.)