reverie

For my 13th birthday one of my friends gave me Freesia products from Bath & Body Works. This was in the early days of B&BW's heyday and so it was my first personal contact with them. And I discovered that I loved the fragrance. Around that time most people were enjoying Country Apple and Sun-Ripened Raspberry. But Freesia was different and wonderful. And so it became the only scent I wore for several years. Then one fateful day in 2001 (I believe) something terrible happened and they discontinued Freesia. And so I began the arduous task of visiting every B&BW in Omaha searching for any products I could snatch up, which thankfully ended up being a decent number. Then a short time later something fantastic happened and B&BW introduced Sheer Freesia. It was new and slightly different & I was skeptical at first, but I came to enjoy it even more than original Freesia. And so without interruption I was able to continue wearing my favorite fragrance in its new...

No my plane is not crashing, neither literally nor metaphorically thanks to the support of friends and a fun & ridiculous late night conversation with my sister. One of the things we discussed is my 3rd favorite holiday after President's Day and Arbor Day. Kidding, the top 2 are actually Christmas and Thanksgiving. President's day is a quasi-favorite as it means a day off on or around my birthday, but when it falls on my birthday it means no mail which is no fun. Anyway the holiday coming in at number 3 for me is May Day which falls on May 1 every year. It's the most delightful & whimsical holiday that most people have never heard of. Sad fact. If you have heard of May Day, please let me know. If you have not, do not fear I am about to explain it to you. :) The specific origins of May Day seem to be untraceable, but my research seems to indicate that it dates back to a Roman festival of Spring. As many of our holidays and traditions find their roots in Anc...

Today isn't sitting well with me. And that's strange because it wasn't a bad day. In fact on paper it would look like a great day. I had normal Saturday breakfast with the girls where we made chocolate chip pancakes and talked about boys. Or rather the other girls talked about boys, I was rather untalkative today. Then a quick trip to Target with Nicole where I bought a few of my favorite things: Care Bear bandaids, the new issue of Real Simple, and Diet Coke plus (that's Diet Coke with vitamins!). After we came home I ate cereal for lunch while watching my Red Sox beat the Yankees. :) Then I cooked sweet corn cake and pbj cheesecake bars (which I made up for a recipe contest & they're fabulous btw). And tonight was spent at a friend's house. Admittedly I was not in a social enough mood to be there, but I spent most of the evening playing with a tiny puppy so it was okay in that respect. And somehow I am sitting here at the end of a theoretically ...

This was on Postsecret * some time ago. It makes my heart happy. I have just started reading the book New Seeds of Contemplation by Thomas Merton thanks to Keith's recommendation. When I told my mom the other night I was stopping by Barnes & Noble on my way home to look for the book she suggested I have Raj buy the book for me with his employee discount. I had considered that, but immediacy seemed more important to me than saving a bit. And page 1 proved it was worth it, "[Contemplation] knows the Source, obscurely, inexplicably, but with a certitude that goes both beyond reason and beyond simple faith." That makes my heart happy too. I really needed to hear it this week. I know God exists too. *(Please note: content on Postsecret is not always suitable for all ages.)

castles in the sky collide with reality rainbow words were spoken in their echoes rings a regression of hope fading expectations from ears unready to hear despair yearns to claim me and steal my faith for you it's damaged I admit but a resilient heart cannot be long held down half truths only serve to further desire for ardent intercession

(I warn you from the beginning that this is decently long, but I promise it is chock full of the humor & wit & delight & emotion you have come to enjoy here, so try to get through it all you won't be disappointed . . . and if you are I owe you a cookie.) ;) While I do consider myself to be quite a fine sister, something I think you'll find my siblings will corroborate, I do not write this post to extol my own virtues but rather in honor of my sister Amber. Every time Raj mentions a sib in a post he makes her name a link to her blog. I say her because while we are blessed with another brother, he claims to be morally opposed to blogging which is really just an excuse for him to keep his brilliant wit locked in his mind and away from a mass public who may not yet be ready to handle it. Suffice to say, only Raj's sisters blog, thus any sibling mention/blog links would result in the feminine pronoun. Anyway, I like that he does that but I will entrust you to s...

I've been thinking of getting pink highlights lately, like Joss Stone. More so like what she has toward the bottom, not so much the lighter pink she has on top. I don't want to get them because Joss Stone has them, but rather despite that. It's not that I particularly like or dislike her, I'm just indifferent. And I'm not really in the habit of making life decisions based on what celebrities do. I mean, they all do seem to really have their lives put together & have excellent decision making skills ;) but I kind of just like to think for myself. And I think it would be fun. Perhaps this is something I shall explore over the summer. :)

This year Nicole & I were once again blessed to spend Easter with our family of friends in LA. We had a total of 12 people for dinner this year. (Our smallest holiday dinner since our first Thanksgiving of 10. Last Easter & Thanksgiving were around 20.) It was the perfect number of people and was actually one of the more relaxed holiday dinners I've ever cooked. Now don't get me wrong I always love cooking for others particularly on the holidays, but this was the calmest one I think we've had yet. Quite a surprise and a blessing considering this weekend was also Nicole's birthday weekend and prep time for Easter dinner was minimally available. I think that ended up working out for the best. I didn't spend tons of time planning and prepping as I usually do. I just had to let things go and turn out as the willed. I love my lists and meticulous preparations that usually surround such gatherings, but it was nice to just sort of go with the flow this ye...

If you look closely, beyond the rain and the dirt on the window, you can see a rainbow here. It's faint but it's there. I wish I could see it for you. If you can't get past all that mars your vision right now I'm not sure my promise that it's there is enough. But even if you have to wade through a monsoon before you can see it, I'll be here waiting with you for a tiny sliver of sun to break through and offer you a ray of hope. I've been feeling a lot lately that words fall horribly short. I can only say I'm sorry so many times, offer hope so many times. And despite the fact that it's always uttered in sincerity, I know it begins to ring hollow. But the words I feel I most need to say, the beckoning to stop running from God, the one thing that would make all the difference in the world, those are the words that get trapped in my throat. I'm afraid of saying them almost as much as I'm afraid of not saying them. Oh that I would have the...