Just Darling...and various other drivel

*I've been hearing a song on my XM (the Highway channel) lately and am pretty hooked. I've never heard of Sarah Darling before this, but I love her voice. I hope she goes on to do something awesome!

*Today was Day 10 of my Whole30 adventure, and it went much, MUCH better than yesterday. Praise the Lord! I'll catch yall up tomorrow.

*I can safely say that this season of the Bachelorette was my all-time favorite. I didn't know if I'd like Emily at the beginning, but she was fabulous. It was nice to see a Bachelorette with morals, class, and good ol' common sense. I'm so excited she picked One F Jef!

*Yes, I'm also planning on watching Bachelor Pad. Yes, it's trash. No, I don't care :)

*I just finished reading Heaven Is for Real and LOVED it!! I remember the buzz when it came out a couple of years ago, but then I got busy and never got around to reading it. What an incredible story! I absolutely believe that little Colton went to Heaven, and his description made me even more excited about what's in store for us someday! I'm on the waiting list at the library for To Heaven and Back. I saw the author on the Today show the other day and am interested to read her account of her experience. Once I read it, I'll report back!

*My sweet friend Angie mentioned a blog on facebook at the beginning of the summer, and I started reading. And then I got hooked. And then I read four years' worth of posts, starting from his very first post in 2008. Yep. Four years. That's a lot of posts.  Matt Logelin and his wife Liz were excitedly expecting their first baby four years ago, and then Liz very suddenly died. Matt uses the blog as an outlet for his grief, and it was amazing seeing the life he;s made for himself and Madeline in the years since Liz died. He wrote a book not long ago, and it's on my birthday list. Check his blog out if you have several weeks to kill, 'cuz you'll probably be hooked.

*Seeing the Aurora movie theater shooter in court on TV today was a stop-me-in-my-tracks experience. Holy moly. There are some scary, scary people in our world.

*Do you consider 27 the end of the mid twenties or the beginning of the late twenties? I'll be there in a week, so this is need-to-know information. Please advise. Thanks.

Hallelujah!

I saw this over at I Hate Green Beans and watched it four times, so now I'm sharing it here. Absolutely beautiful. I know this song and have liked it for years, but I just adore this version. I also had no idea it was based on the story of David from the Bible...very cool. Apparently these three girls are just friends who like to sing together and wanted to make a video. Pay special attention to about 4:10 on...that's where they really get me.

Note to my friends: I am very sorry I lack the vocal skills to sing with yall and make cool videos like this. I'll be happy to go fix yall something to eat for when you're done singing together; that's about the extent of my talents!

Aren't they great? What a lovely way to wrap up a day...happy Monday, yall!

Wide open spaces

Do you ever remember your dreams? I don't often, but I've had several over the last month that I've remembered. They all involve one thing: wide open spaces. In my dreams, I'm standing in the middle of a prairie watching the sun rise or set over the horizon. I'm admiring the beauty of a completely natural, untouched landscape. I'm blissfully, ridiculously happy...and completely unburdened.

What does it all mean, man??

Maybe I need to start saving for a vacation. Until then, I'll just listen to my new favorite song on repeat...

Four states in 24 hours: an unexpected adventure

Earlier this week, Mom and I took a little 5 hour road trip to Tunica, Mississippi for a doctor's appointment. I didn't have high expectations for the journey. I figured we'd drive there, eat some drive-thru food, and drive back home. The trip ended up being one of the best trips in my recent memory. What a surprise!

The drive into Tunica was beautiful and pastoral, nothing but fields for miles and miles and miles. We even saw some rice paddies...in Mississippi! I had never heard of such. There is nothing (literally, almost nothing) in Tunica except cotton fields and casinos. That's it. We learned that Tunica is the 3rd largest gaming center in the United States. I'd like to meet the person who looked at Tunica and said, "Yes. This is where I shall build my casinos. I can't think of a more ideal location!" Homeboy had some serious vision.

We stayed in nearby Robinsonville, which is where the casinos are actually located, and were struck by the total absence of people. It was a bit creepy. I began to wonder if the Rapture actually did occur back in May, hitting Robinsonville, MS especially hard. I did a little research when I got home and found out that Robinsonville (which has "officially" been renamed Tunica Resorts) has very few permanent residents. Most of the people who live there are casino employees. Ah. Makes sense now.

Mom and I decided to hit up the casinos, since neither of us had ever been to one. Harrah's was our first stop.

We figured out why there were nearly zero people in town...they were all at the casinos. The inside was smoky and loud, just like I'd expected. It was fun to visit a casino for the first time but much less lively than I expected. Many of the people were just plopped down in front of the slot machines, piddling away what little money they seemed to have. Kind of sad. Mom and I were going to play, but we figured we'd get laughed out of the joint by playing $0.50 each. We stopped to feed the fish in the "moat" on the way out.

{They were literally fighting over the food. I'm not convinced that they weren't piranhas.}

Next, we set out in search of the Mississippi River. Mom had never seen it and I never get tired of seeing it. We found it right behind Fitzgerald's casino.

{"I shall build a castle in Mississippi." Serious vision.}

There's something really spectacular about the Mississippi River. Knowing that the water we were seeing had flowed all the way from Minnesota, marvelling that people used to sail down it using rafts...it's pretty amazing.

We had asked at the hotel what restaurants were nearby. I didn't have to worry about eating nothing but fast food; there were no fast food places to be seen for miles. We had only two choices: casino buffets or The Hollywood Cafe. Having already been to the casinos, we opted for The Hollywood. That ended up being the best decision we made on this trip. We pulled up and were the only ones there (in keeping with the Rapture theme and all). The inside is delightfully old and decorated very eclectically. Loved it. Since we had the place all to ourselves, we went into total tourist mode...roaming all over, exploring, taking obscene numbers of pictures. All we were missing was a pair of fanny packs.

{One lone sunflower growing by the side of the restaurant. Poor little guy...the Rapture must've left him behind, too.}

{We had to squeeze our pins into a very crowded Alabama.}

Mom was in the midst of exploring when I heard her squeal. She had stumbled upon this:

We were eating at THE Hollywood. It took me a second to make the connection, but then I remembered. "Muriel played piano every Friday at The Hollywood, and they brought me down to see her..."

Take a minute, listen, pretend like you're still at Auburn and it's Tim Tyler Tuesday at SkyBar and Tim bangs the first few notes of this on his piano and everybody goes absolutely nuts and you throw your head back and sway with your friends and screech along at the top of your lungs and all is right with the world. Sigh.

The Hollywood took on a whole new level of cool once we realized it was THE Hollywood. You  know, THE Hollywood from the song and where some of the music video was filmed. In fact, I may have squealed, too.

{Marc and Muriel}

{me playing THE piano...it was too dadgum hot to wear makeup that day}

{Mom on THE piano}

We settled down long enough to feast on fried green tomatoes, fried pickles, and hamburgers. Delicious.

 The next day, after the doctor visit, we decided to drive to Memphis, which is less than 20 miles away. We crossed over into Tennessee and drove straight to Graceland. We didn't want to go in; we just wanted to see what we could see. After realizing that parking was $10 (egads), we acknowledged that we'd seen the gate and that was close enough to Elvis for us, and drove on through downtown Memphis. We somewhat accidentally found the bridge over the Mississippi River and drove into Arkansas. As you drive over the bridge leaving Memphis, you're surrounded by buildings, city streets, and the hustle and bustle of downtown. Literally just yards away, in Arkansas, there are nothing but fields and tractors as far as the eye can see. Such a huge difference in such a short distance. We turned around, drove back across the bridge to Tennessee, on into Mississippi, and headed back to Alabama. All without a GPS...I was pretty proud. I wish I had pictures of all of this, but that's what happens when the photographer moonlights as the driver.

This journey turned out to be so much more fun than I expected. Have yourself a random little adventure sometime soon. It's good for the soul.

Various and sundry thoughts on a Monday

I grew up hearing "various and sundry" to describe a random assortment of something, and I use it often. I thought it was normal until I first said it to my students this year and they looked at me as if I had multiple heads. Have you heard various and sundry? It's one of my favorite phrases. Your challenge for the week: use various and sundry in a conversation this week. And...GO!

Have you used it yet? How 'bout now?

*I went to the farmers market today for the first time this season. I spent $20 and came away with a bounty:

{I inexplicably left out my onion, cabbage, and new potatoes. They were sitting on the counter inside, feeling dejected.}

{I love a good speckled egg.}

There was a group of dulcimer players providing shopping tunes. I so admire people with musical talent, especially people who can play instruments that are a bit out of the ordinary. They were playing old hymns and were quite popular. I talked to one elderly man who wasn't planning to buy anything, but he saw the group playing and decided to stop and listen for a while. He said his mother used to play the dulcimer and it made him think of her. {Heartstrings tugged.}

*I heard this on one of my XM country stations this afternoon and wanted to scrub my ears out with bleach, just to rid myself of the sounds. I wanted to invent a time machine and go back to the happy, peaceful time before I heard this song. What. The. Heck. I refuse to embed the official video because it features greased-up, short-short-wearing, redneck girls dancing on poles. Not kidding, and I don't want that mess on my blog. Take a listen, and then pass the ear bleach.



*History nerd alert...Did you remember what today was? Read up. It's worth remembering. This is also worth a click.

*I went to the eye doctor this morning to pick up my new contacts. I've been wearing my new contacts all day, and now feel as if they are superglued to my eyeballs. On the uncomfortable scale, I'm sittin' at a 14. I have a love-hate-hate-hate-hate relationship with contacts.

*I want so desperately to have a green thumb. Nearly everyone in my family does, my mama especially. I have a desert rose that a student gave to me at the end of my first year of teaching. Four years later, it's still alive. {Insert enthusiastic fist pump here.} It's only flowered once, when she gave it to me, and I thought it's just been dying really, really slowly. But this past week, tightly closed pink blooms have appeared. I've checked on my plant multiple times a day, waiting for the blooms to open. My patience was rewarded this morning; two of the blooms were waiting to greet me!

{yesterday}

{today...sweet, flowery victory!}

Happy new week, yall!

Camp Carrie

I've never been a gigantic fan of Carrie Underwood. I think she's beautiful and have always thought she was talented, but I've only loved a few of her songs. I've been a lukewarm fan...until now. I've officially set my tent up at Camp Carrie. My work friends have been passing this video around like crazy on facebook, so I thank them for introducing me to one of the most spectacular vocal performances I've ever been fortunate enough to witness. Holy heavens...you can't tell me her voice is not a gift from God. Amazing. I love how Vince Gill (who is just splendid in his own right) steps back and lets Carrie shine.

Our ESL teacher Cindy said this morning, "I want this sung at my funeral, just like this. And I want Carrie to be there to sing it." Let me know if you're as wowed as we are!

A minefield of randomness

A minefield, I'm tellin' you. Watch your step!

1. I need somebody to come do lesson plans for me. Somebody...anybody. I've got 28 sweeties showing up at 7:30 tomorrow expecting something to do, and I'd rather go outside or take a nap than plan. Help a sista out!

2. The 2011 "Take A Bunch of Fifth Graders and Their Parents to Our Nation's Great Capital for a Week" trip is rapidly approaching, and this teacher is excited about making trip #2. Catch up on last year's trip here: (the "I'm too tired to recap right now", Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5). I'm completely aware that this may not be interesting to anyone but me; humor me! This truly is a magical trip, and I am PUMPED about going again. Last year I spent most of the week battling a sinus infection and suffering as the antibiotics waged war on my poor stomach. I'm hoping to be functioning at more than 46% this year! I'm also thrilled to be able to take my new (well, bought in November) camera along. I got two of my favorite shots ever last year, and I'm not sure if I'll be able to top these:

3. The weather this weekend has been sunny and breezy in the high 70s. Absolute perfection. I've practically lived outside, only coming in long enough to use my NetiPot (and, you know, sleep). Pollen is the bane of my springtime existence, and the NetiPot is my weapon of choice. Bring it, pollen.

4. I watch this video at least once a day. The baby's reaction is so very precious. If you think I wouldn't blow my nose all the time if this were my baby, you are sorely mistaken.

5. These little jewels are my new favorite snack.

I like Greek yogurt better than regular yogurt because it has more protein and calcium. These three are the best, in my opinion, but the lemon is my all-time favorite. It's like sunshine on a spoon. Really, really, ridiculously good. I've got a mango flavored one hanging out in the fridge, so I'll report back on that. Try not to lose sleep over it until I do!

6. Does anybody know how to move my categories, followers, and archives up closer to the top of the page? Right now, they're close to the bottom where you can't see them until you scroll way down. I just taught myself how to embed a YouTube video, but can't manage this one. If anybody knows, I'll give you a virtual high five for helping me figure it out. Who doesn't want a virtual high five?!

7. We sang "Amazing Grace" at church this morning. Not much lifts my spirits on a Sunday like singing "Amazing Grace". Delight.

8. I still need someone to take care of my lesson plans. See #1.

Happy new week, yall!

Big ol' footprints

I have a wonderful devotional book that I love because it makes me think. Yesterday morning's reading really struck a chord with me:

"In our faith we follow in someone's steps. A parent, a teacher, a hero---none of us are the first to walk the trail. All of us have someone we follow. In our faith we leave footprints to guide others. A child, a friend, a recent convert. None should be left to walk the trail alone." (p.190)

photo source

It struck me how many people I think about in both my everyday and monumentous, life-changing decisions. Family members, former teachers, friends, coworkers, students. I think about what those I know have done in similar situations, what they would do if they were in my shoes. I think about speeches I've been given and experiences I've had. I think about examples and non-examples I've seen. The footprints I'm stepping in are tremendous.

I talked to both grandparents and both parents tonight. I realize how truly blessed I am that they're all in my life, and I'm thankful to them for the examples of faith and good living they've given me. I don't make many decisions without thinking about what any one of them would do first. They inspire me and provide me with more guidance than they know.

This passage also makes me wonder about the footprints I'm leaving for those who will come behind me. Will I be an example of what to do or what not to do? This makes me want to try harder to have a positive influence on those around me, particularly my impressionable little fifth graders. I pray that God will help me make good decisions and leave perfectly placed footsteps for those around me.

In whose footprints are you stepping? Do you ever think about the footprints you're leaving behind you?
***********************************************************

I thought this song by one of my faves, Eric Church, fit this theme nicely. (I celebrated my latest birthday "with" Eric Church...you can read all about the sweatiest night of my life here.)

Welcome back to my life, Kenny

Once upon a time, I was a Kenny Chesney fan. Things were good between us. Then, I began to notice that all of his songs were about island living . . . high school . . . college . . . the good ol' days. Like, to the point where I began to wonder if Kenny was actually a Rasta man with a frattoo and a killer state championship ring.

I swore him off. Done. Well, until I heard his latest song. I didn't want to like it, but I do. I'm willing to let him back in. But Kenny, one more song . . . just ONE more . . . about sand or ocean water or football or nervous first dates with the homecoming queen, and we're done forever. Don't let me down.

Lullaby Carol

The choir sang a beautiful song at church yesterday and I loved it so much that I wanted to share it here. It's called "Lullaby Carol" and it's written by Molly James. It may be old news to other people, but I'd never heard it before. It really made me stop and think about that sweet little baby Jesus (literally) carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders from the night he was born. How awesome.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaO8TnlaipQ

Lullaby Carol by Molly James
Lullaby baby, now reclining, hush, do not wake the infant King,
Angels are watching, stars are shining over the place where Jesus lies.

Lullaby baby, now a'sleeping, hush, do not wake the infant King,
Soon will come sorrow with the morning, soon will come grief and bitter tears.

Lullaby baby, now a'dozing, hush, do not wake the infant King,
Soon comes the cross, the nails, the piercing, then in the grave at last repose.

Lullaby baby, now a'waking, hush, do not stir the infant King,
Dreaming of glory, gladsome morning, conquering death, its bondage free!

China Grove

Today I met DennyJ, Mimi, and Grandad in Tuscaloosa and we drove out to Hale County. The second Sunday of September is Homecoming Sunday at China Grove, the church my great-grandmother MawMaw grew up in. It's out in the middle of nowhere on a no-room-for-two-cars-to-pass kind of road in a there-ain't-no-indoor-plumbing-to-be-found kind of setting:

It's a pretty drive, though. We got there early enough to sit in the church and listen to some note singing. I'm fascinated by note singing. Although I can read the music, I can't keep up with the pace of the songs so I have to just listen. It's a cool experience to sit in this simple wooden church with no air-conditioning, with all the windows opened, and listen to these people sing.

I found myself today wondering where MawMaw liked to sit, if she sang along at the top of her lungs, or if she was a silent "appreciater" like me. I also started wondering what will become of this pretty little church as the years go by.

The number of folks showing up dwindles every year. Grandad talks a lot about the huge crowd that used to show up years and years ago. I vaguely remember going when I was little, and I thought it was so cool to have "dinner on the grounds". MawMaw would help fix our plates. She would whisper to us whose food we wanted to eat and whose food would "make you sick as a dog". We would sit on the ground or on the hood of a car to eat our lunch. Once I hit my teenage years I realized, "Hey! Nobody can make me go to this anymore!" And I didn't. I was far too cool for such things. I'm glad I'm not too cool anymore.

Up on the Ridge

I bought this Monday and pretty much haven't stopped listening to it since. It's so very good. I'm a huge Dierks Bentley fan (even more so after I saw him play in Auburn four years ago), but when I heard he was making a bluegrass album, I was a little skeptical. A lot of his other songs are more country-rock, and I didn't know if he'd be believable on a bluegrass CD. Good ol' Dierks proved me wrong! He totally surpassed my expectations on this one. He's got some help from Allison Krauss, Miranda Lambert, Jamey Johnson (and some other folks I don't know), so that makes it even better. I'm impressed, but now his next CD has a lot to live up to!

It may just be me, but I think there's so much great country music out right now. I'm loving it!

this morning

I went for a jalk (jog-walk) this morning (at 7:00! woohoo me!) and noticed a precious little robin trying to pick up a worm off the road to take home to her hungry babies. I stopped to watch and thought, "My, that sure is a large worm! What a good mama she is." I moved a little closer...not a worm! Not a worm at all! Nope. Baby snake. A. Baby. Snake. I don't do snakes. I know they eat rodents, and that this is indeed a good thing. I'm actually fine with them being in nature. I just don't everevereverever want to see them. And I did today. And I'm done talking about it.

A while after my jalk, I needed to take care of a few chores. I put my iTunes on shuffle to keep me company and this song came on: Heart, "Alone" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxfdDrKO8uM. Little known fact: for as long as I can remember, I've dreamed about singing this song karaoke-style. As long as it's playing really loudly, I sound exactly like Ann Wilson when I sing along. Well, in my head I do. Since the song was already playing, I decided to practice for my karaoke debut while unloading the dishwasher. I was sounding especially good today when I heard a knocking coming from my downstairs neighbor. I hit "pause" and realized he was knocking on his ceiling to get me to hush. Yikes. He apparently doesn't share my love for Heart and obviously has no karaoke dreams of his own. I hope I get a much different reaction from the crowd when I take the stage someday.

PS--If you've never seen this music video, take a few minutes to watch it. It's 80s gold.

A scattered Saturday morning

I'm in love. With a gum...Ice Breakers Ice Cubes: Cool Lemon. This gum is like chewable Toomer's lemonade; how can you go wrong with that? I bought a new pack the other day and was upset when I reached into my purse after lunch yesterday and found it empty. I dug around in there thinking it had spilled out into my purse. Nope. I chewed it all. In two days.

I saw something outside last night that made me desperately unhappy. It was one of those vile creatures whose name starts with an "r" and rhymes with "coach". I almost looked up a picture to put in this post, but then I wouldn't be able to come back here anymore. And that would be a tragedy. Do these nasty things serve a purpose? And if they do, isn't there anything else that can do whatever it is they do, just without the grossness? Thankfully, the thing was outside and not inside...that gives me the heebs like just about nothing else. My chivalrous neighbor kindly squished it for me and said he would leave it there as a warning to all the others. I hope they see their fallen comrade out there on the sidewalk and go hang out somewhere else for the summer.

I want to sew something today. It's been a while since I've had the time (or honestly, desire) to sew, so I'm going to take advantage of this. I don't know yet what I'm sewing...I'll get there when I get there. But I'm sewing something.

I made something really good the other night. It sounds weird, but it tasted amazing. Chicken+Amy's Chunky Tomato Bisque+Frank's Red Hot+sauteed onion+kidney beans+whole wheat rotini+a little shredded cheddar on top=seriously tasty.

I've finally given in and started watching "Friday Night Lights". When it first premiered, I remember thinking that it looked like a show I would enjoy. I made a concerted effort not to watch it, because I don't like being a slave to the TV. The new season started a couple of weeks ago and I watched it. And I'm hooked, just as I knew I would be. Not only am I now a slave to my TV, I'm going to have to spend my summer renting the previous seasons so I can get caught up. Sigh.

I heard this song on my drive home from Mobile last weekend. It made me laugh. Not that there's anyone I feel this way about (hmm), but if there was, I'm sure this would sum it up nicely :) Jaron and the Long Road to Love, "I Pray for You": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFJu8DCH_b0

Thursday is the last day of school. This year has flown by; of course, there were times when it seemed to drag but overall? Poof! Flown by. The kiddos are so excited about moving up to 6th grade, and I'm excited for them. I'm more sad about this year being over than past years...I think because I'm not going to see them next year. I've loved this class and even though we've had some less-than-perfect moments, I'm going to miss them a lot. Whether they know it or not, they've taught me so much. I've put my heart and soul into teaching this year, and I hope my darlings are just a tiny little bit better for being in my class.

I don't know if I've ever been so excited about summer break. I've got places to go, sights to see, friends to visit, weddings to attend, books to read, movies to watch, things to sew, a life to live...can't wait to get on it!

Crawfish Boil & my Goo Goo Dolls

The day after I got back from DC (Saturday), Neeley and I headed to downtown Bham for the Crawfish Boil. Now, I don't eat crawfish and I was still weary from my journey. But I couldn't pass up a night with Neeley, VIP tickets, and a chance to see my beloved Goo Goo Dolls. We got there in time to hear the end of the B-52s. They were...odd. Really odd. "Love Shack" was fun, but the rest was pretty weird. Train was a lot of fun, and I was excited to hear "Hey, Soul Sister" (which I think is one of the happiest songs ever recorded). The real draw, though, was the Goo Goo Dolls.

I need to preface this with a little background info. I remember Daddy taking Daniel and me to the music store when we were kids, and he told us we could buy one CD (which was still an exciting, newfangled gadget at that time). We had to agree on it, though, so I'm sure Daddy was laughing to himself thinking he was off the hook. Daniel and I didn't agree on anything. Ever. Ever ever. Daniel found "A Boy Named Goo" and we listened to it on the little preview thing (fighting over the headphones the whole time, I'm sure). Surprise...we both liked it! Daddy balked at buying it because there was a partially naked baby on the cover. (We won't even get into all the nakedness on those Pink Floyd covers and posters he loves so much...somehow naked's okay when the Floyd does it.) We begged and he bought it...I think I was 10. Fifteen years later, I'm still hooked. I know every word to just about every song. When I heard they were coming to Bham, I knew hell or high water wouldn't keep me away. Especially high water...that's what boats are for.

Neeley knew someone who was doing the sound for the Crawfish Boil so we watched the Goo Goo Dolls from under the sound tent. That was exciting enough, but then Neeley's friend told us she could take us up to the stage for a little while. We grabbed our cameras and made our way up the aisle to the stage. I. About. Died. There he was, singing "Black Balloon". John Rzeznik. With his way-cool hair, in his way-cool jeans, strumming his way-cool guitar. We took about a million pictures and died a thousand deaths when he walked over to us and smiled at us. The Goo Goo Dolls were incredible. They played enough new stuff to make me want to buy their new CD this summer, and enough old stuff to make my heart happy. I loved every single, solitary second. I need to create a bucket list just so I can cross this off!

Bust a move

Sometimes, you hear a song and this uncontrollable feeling comes over you. You have no choice but to start dancing...hard. I never want to look back on my life and regret not dancing more. If I ever danced around like a fool...by myself...and I'm not saying that I do...but if I did...these are two of the tunes that would move me:

Boys Like Girls..."The Great Escape" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGPgxoIPY6Q

OAR..."This Town" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWkTwcwhLc0

Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful for...

• family and friends
• cooler weather and less pollen, thanks to the rain today
• a much, much, MUCH better week after the supremely bad one last week
• lots to look forward to...life is really good these days and I'm thankful about the way everything has worked out...always for the best :)
• a day off on Monday...woohoo, weather day!
• my kiddos being so excited about their book groups...it does this teacher's heart good to see them absolutely thrilled about reading books and working nicely together
• my health
• Dirk fixing my taxes...avoid forking over $400 to the IRS? Yes, please.
• long chats with dear friends this week
• 30 Rock: "Liz, I don't have time to hear about whatever reject from 'The Island of Misfit Toys' you're currently dating."
• beautiful spring flowers...knowing that they'll be gone sooner than soon, I decided to take some pictures on my walk today
  

• "Hey, Soul Sister"...Train...in danger of being way overplayed, but it may just be the happiest song ever recorded...I'm mildly (mmmm, or totally) obsessed (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVpv8-5XWOI)

HAPPY WEEKEND!