10 years together

Today is mine and Jason's 10 year anniversary of being together. It's pretty crazy to think:

1) We've been together for 10 years!

2) 10 years has passed since that?!?

3) How did 10 years already go by?!?

4) Are we old?!?

In any case, despite the wonder at the passing of time and our desire to stay forever young, I can't imagine any 10 year span without my Jason.

I love you.

And to show it I made a grid with 10 frames, one for each year. Just think how tiny the pictures will be when we reach 20 years, 30, 40, 50...can one even fit that many pictures in a grid?!?

Looking back...

I discovered this thing where I can look at the old pictures from my blog. They are saved all together in an invisible file in the sky somewhere and what fun it is to look back at them and reminisce. Here are a few of my favorites:

Practicing yoga at 6:30 am in our little Hillsborough house. Viktor joins.

Hula hooping in our Hillsborough yard with my hoop from Jason. What ever happened to my hula hoop?

Strawberry picking in Hillsborough. Skipping down the aisle. 

Hammock water happy place

Alex! Boat!

My favorite meal ever...20$ Whole Foods salad

Passed out in Bryce's jeep after a day at Carolina Beach with Jessica and Bryce...circa 2011?
Was it too many Miller Lites or too many Britt's Donuts?

Another lake goodie. I like the look on my face to Jason in this picture.
Love and Funniness. 

Reading a story to kids at camp the day Viktor came to CFS. 

Book club! Man, I miss those ladies.

Edie pooping at the South Dakota KOA campground "pet walk", which was actually more of a dirty field.

Campfire chillin' with Marissa at the New River Gorge this past September.

The New River. I do love to sit on rocks by the water.

This guy. 

Never the Same Rock: A Guide to 2015

On our New Years Day stroll along the McKenzie River, I couldn't help but be reminded of a saying/story/idea/whatever you want to call it that I've heard a lot. I especially remember being told this ad nauseam at Bikram Yoga Teacher Training.

 It goes something like this:

A rock is never the same rock because every drop of water that passes over it changes it

I think there might be a story that goes along with this idea, something from the Gita, but I can't remember right now. 

Anyway, on our snowy walk I kept thinking about how I'd been on this trail many times and maybe even seen these same river, rocks, trees, etc... but that it was all different every time I'd seen it. 

In this way, we are just like the river rocks or even the river itself, changing and being changing by the things around us. In 2015, I want to remember this. I want to hold it close. Because if we are never the same rock or river or whatever, then every moment is different. Every moment is the first and last of its kind, and therefore should be noticed, even revered.

This is my guide to 2015, and 16 and however many 20-whatevers I get to have after that.

So Organized!

This is my new Moleskin calendar in which I will write down things and maintain an organized lifestyle.

Yep.

Live it.

I wouldn't worry too much if I were you

This looks awfully familiar doesn't it? Just replace the date and you have the posters advertising the recent idea that the rapture/end of the world/apocalypse/second coming of Christ/etc... is happening tomorrow.

Now, I'm not much of a believer in this mumbo-jumbo-saved-souls-rising-into-the-sky-while-the pits-of-hell-open-beneath-us kind of crap; especially when we have no idea of if, when, or how it will actually happen. I mean, even Jesus himself (supposedly) said "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only" (Matthew 24:36).

I do find it interesting that people are constantly trying to set dates for the damn thing. If we're all going to fly into the sky or burn in hell anyway, what's the use of trying to predict the day that it's going to happen...whoever guesses correctly isn't going to win a jar of jelly beans or anything. Should we be living in constant fear that it's going to happen any day? Minding our P's and Q's just in case of rapture? Probably not. Shouldn't we all be on our best behavior (karmically speaking) anyway, despite the fear of a burning eternity?

Furthermore, we are much more likely to suffer an "end of the world" type situation due to global warming, nuclear war, or some insurmountable natural disaster a la The Road, 2012 or The Day After Tomorrow. And there's definitely no way of predicting that and if one could predict it, it would also be pointless.

So, I hereby grant all of you the right to not be worried about tomorrow, 12/21/2012, or any other predicted apocalyptic due date. I, for one, will be drinking a cold one on the beach tomorrow afternoon and if I am swallowed up into the bowels of hell, then so be it.

How'd you fit all that into 24 hours?

Upon rising at 4 am, Jason and hustled ourselves off to run the American Tobacco Trail half marathon. I don't know if I am supposed to publicly admit this or how incriminating it is in the first place, but in the spirit of full disclosure I will divulge: I was not officially registered to run the race, but ran anyway, thereby making myself a bandit runner. Don't worry, I didn't take a medal or any of the shwag- only water. And, I didn't cross the finish line; I ran to it and then splintered off, so as not to be discovered. A certain official race contestant was lucky enough to appear on the News and Observer website, looking strikingly athletic and overall badassedly:



After meeting all goals (I finished in 2:05, besting my previous half marathon time by 6 min and Jason coming in under 1:30), I hit the road to drive 4 hours to Cullowee, NC for my greatly anticipated seminar "Is There a Children's Book in You?". Highlights from my drive include listening to many episodes of RISK!, finally getting the scoop from my beekachu, and maybe listening to my new favorite song on repeat for a while.
Cullowee, meaning valley of the lilies, is tucked between two mountains and appears to be a tiny town consisting of a Bojangles, Western Carolina University, and The North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching. I will spend the next 4 days here retreating and writing. Here's my little room which somehow feels like something in between a Howard Johnson and rehab. Or, rather, what I would imagine those things to be, since I have never spent the night in either.




And maybe, somewhere nestled in between a Goo Chomp and a piece of steamed broccoli, there is a children's book inside of me. Although, now, I'm feeling like there might be a memoir waiting to bust out instead.

Things that need to happen before it gets warm

I know it's only February, and I think it's 25 degrees outside right now, but I got to thinking about Spring for some reason. Then, it made me sad at the possibility of bidding adieu to winter. So, I've compiled a to-do list of things that I would like to do before Spring hits:

1) One more snow, please?
2) One more snow day, followed by a 2 hour delay
3) Chicken Soup
4) Use Crock-Pot 1-3 more times
3) Find cute spring dress to go with boots
4) Order 10,000 lbs of allergy medicine in preparation for spring pollen
5) Fire
6) Make myself sufficiently sick of red wine, so that I will be ready for white
7) Find out if I will be running the New York Marathon in 2011
8) Find out if I will be attending school in the Fall
9) Wear scarves and hats as much as possible
10) Write a children's book

Happy New Year!

This year in news...

Talking and hand gestures



Smiles


Wine


Fire

Occupied

A seemingly not busy weekend actually turned out to be quite busy.

It was filled with:




And then some




And...


Followed by some




And then we




And to top it all off...

miss judging time

Plink Plink Plink.

Can you hear the sands of time plinkety plopping down upon me?

Why is it that certain things that should not take very long take all day??

One simple thing.

5 minutes ago it was 9:00 am. Now it is almost 3:00. Where did the day go?