Dear Readers:
I am tired and more than a bit discouraged tonite. I’ll probably wrap myself in my favorite black sweater and curl up with a pirated episode of an HBO show in a moment (thanks JohnW!). A mindless diversion to finish off a long day.
But you, can you send me something to get tomorrow off to a great start? Can you tell me what’s made you smile lately? Because hearing your joys will undoubtedly be a huge boost for me.
–Eating lunch in the department with a colleague. a vigorous discussion about the various Indian Removal Acts, the Trail of Tears, and how long and hard one needs to study to pass the French language exam.
–Feeling confident in my knowledge that the War of 1812 was with the British. And they burned our White House. But we won.
–A cup of tea with John in his office at midday.
–The trees at UCI, because they are blooming and dropping petals into John’s dark locks.
–Carrot cake w/cream cheese frosting and chopped walnuts on top.
–A lovely Valentine’s Day evening. Full of gifts from my beloved.
–Counting down to the imminent holiday weekend. knowing that we will celebrate the Pres’ birthdays in style.
:)
–three small pale-green pear-scented candles burning on a blue & white china plate on the table in front of me. fresh and lovely.
–celebrating john’s birthday in our own special way this afternoon. followed by an afternoon nap. waking up and finding tobyjoy curled into a small ball between our pillows. staring at john as he slept with his dark curls spilling across the white bed linens. and contemplating 18 years together. heavenly.
–eating leftover ‘tres leches cake’ in a bowl of cold milk for breakfast. oh-so-sweet and tasty (where are those fresh peaches when you really need them?)!
–wearing short sleeves because it is 80 degrees in SoCal today. time to get the seeds sprouting in my garden!
:)
-playing Ticket to Ride with some pretty smart friends at Elise’s Bday party. Winning by such a landslide that no one was even willing to tally points. I RULED from Winnipeg to Santa Fe and throughout the West. Wow, it feels pretty darn good to be a railroad magnate.
-Kristen’s cute little baby bulldog that took a liking to my robotic leg, and gave my titanium ankle lots of slobbery loving.
-getting a new battery in my watch and they even fixed the little date thingamajig to the right date for me. Amazing. All this time I’ve never even used the date function!
-buying something for John’s birthday (reminder: Feb 3rd). Knowing that even if he doesn’t LOVE this particular item, I WILL! [Note: I’ve also bought him some things that I know he will like, but I just couldn’t resist the pull of this one particular item that’s really more for me than for him]
:)
-“Studying” at the Gypsy Den after Meeting: speaking of death, of school, of pursuing one’s dreams.
-A free ticket to the PSO. Lucky me that I keep running into people with spare tickets. The absolute bliss of a seat so close to the orchestra that I could reach out and catch the sweat as it dripped off of violinist Cho-Liang Lin‘s brow. Absolutely amazing, breathtaking, heart-stopping, and gorgeous. As Carl St. Clair explained so eloquently just before the concert, this Brahms concerto was rich and full-bodied like good chocolate. And he was oh-so-right.
-Focusing on school. Again. Intensely reading in coffeeshops, the grad reading room, my office. Remembering why it is that I am pursuing this crazy dream of a PhD.
-Riding my bike home from school last night. So cold that my eyes were tearing, my whole body shaking. Walking in the house and expressing gratitude for a warm hearth.
-a new box of mikan oranges in the mail from my mother-in-law.
-finding this site and giggling at the misfortune of cats who look like hitler (click on the ‘best kitlers’ tab on the left to see those with the closest resemblance).
:)
–burning GameBoy’s old homework in a firepit (photo above). And the sparks, as they blew around the beach in the dark, they looked like stars
–first day or Winter quarter classes for me. Printed syllabi. The promise of fresh new start.
–Giving lots of stuff away on freecycle over the weekend. The lightness of it.
—garden catalogs.
–sitting in bed with John last night. Making up silly acronyms. Giggling myself to sleep
—this photo, because I know what it is.
–getting a UPS package from electronics company this afternoon What? Isn’t Xmas over with? Then opening it up and finding a cordless phone as a gift from an acquaintance. (Note: those of you who know me well know that I am not a phone person. In fact, I probably only use the landline phone once or twice per week). Our current phones are laughable anyways–under our bed in case of emergency: an old princess-style model cobbled together from random phone parts and has no ringer. And in the LR: an ancient cordless phone w/a weakening battery and a connected answering machine–given to us by friends who moved to Japan two years ago. So I’ve just figured I would get a new phone someday via freecycle so I’ve never bothered to replace either of them. But now, a brand-spanking new cordless phone. That’s a first in our household.
:)
–silent worship on the final Firstday of 2006. Quiet reflection on the past year and on the one up ahead. Feeling secure and happy, as well as motivated to make some important changes in my life. Then the joy of seeing my children embraced by Friends as they shared their thoughts and talents after Meeting.
–ringing in 2007 with friends over a game of a Ticket to Ride Germany. And coming in 2nd place, too. (note: I’ve played 4 different versions of TtR in less than 4 days. is that cool or what?) (Oh, and thanks to all those who joined us for games on Friday, too. What fun and what great food!)
–eating John‘s tasty homemade Japanese food for dinner and looking forward to leftovers today.
–spending yesterday afternoon with Tanya Sue. Her helping me re-make the red dangly earrings that I attempted to make about a year ago. Then wearing them to the party last night and feeling special because red is my lucky color!
–eating the BEST cinnamon roll for breakfast this morning, courtesy of Tanya Sue (ok, confession: eating only half a cinnamon roll because I ate the other half of mine last night at about 3 am when I was having an insomnia moment)
–John giving me half of his cinnamon roll (a loving sacrifice on his part)!
–looking back on 2006 and realizing what a HUGE year it was. With so much joy, good friends, and personal growth
–looking forward with anticipation towards a life lived with more purpose, simplicity, peace, and exuberance.
:)
So what’s a girl to do when the other three members of her family decide that the very coolest way to spend the Saturday before Christmas is to hook up a projector to a DVD player and watch all three episodes of The Lord of the Rings back-to-back?
And can I just say how mystified I am that they were all THRILLED by the prospect of more than 11 hours of staring into Frodo’s freaky blue eyes? Yah.
I was done after about an hour. Because I know how it ends. And that’s enough for me. No need to re-hash the entire fate of the universe nor re-fight the battle with Sauron. :)
| This video may appeal to those of you out there who have a fondness for the creatures of the wild west (or in this case, the Netherlands). Those of you who don’t, might just enjoy it, too. :) |
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-GameBoy’s holiday orchestra concert. His proud role as first chair of the cello section. His body swaying to the music and the dramatic flourish of his bow at the end of each song. What fervor! Yes, this is my little tap-dancing boy all grown up!
-Christmas cards from sorority sisters, college friends, new-this-year friends, and family. Seeing that we’re all getting just a bit older even though we’re still the same us
-listening to my new favorite podcast, the brief 5 min/day “Writer’s Almanac” by Garrison Keillor, as I wash the dishes by candlelight this morning because our power is out
-making gingerbread creations with Aunt Suz, Chris and Pete the dog yesterday evening. Wondering if there is any way that their masterpiece made it home to Riverside without a nibble from Pete or Chris
-the pumpkin scented candle burning in the kitchen right now. Yum!
-great-grandma’s toffee made by Uncle Dave and Aunt Autumn, sent all the way from North Carolina. Woohoo!
:)
–Watching the kitties search for mice under the Christmas tree skirt [note: our cats have never yet found any mice anywhere, but they continually search for them anyways]
–Looking at each of the ornaments on our tree and remembering their stories (they are all gifts or handmade items). My favorite today: a little reindeer hand-carved out of upholstery foam. Made for us by a Chinese grandpa who was in a free English class that John & I taught at a local church many years ago.
–Listening to GameBoy practice his cello, especially his jaunty rendition of “Let it Snow”
–Seeing GameBoy eat a caramel-chocolate-pretzel confection. His first sticky treat since getting his braces on nearly 2 years ago (they come off in a few days so we aren’t worried about broken brackets now!)
–Swimming with the kiddoes on a weekend morning and discovering that I’ve got to swim pretty hard nowadays to keep ahead of them when we race (it was 80 degrees here, unseasonably warm for SoCal)
–Turning in the last long paper I need to write this quarter yesterday. Whew.
–Lighting a candle lantern with CatGirl in my room last night. Turning out the lights and laying on our backs in bed. Basking in the lovely cut-glass pattern that was reflected off of the ceiling and walls. Enjoying my daughter’s breathlessness at such beauty.