A Shout Out to My Aunt Sue

A long, long time ago, my Aunt Sue took me to my first hockey game.  I wish that I could say I remembered the actual experience, that specific game itself or the overwhelming largeness I likely felt as such a small girl in a crowd of close to 17,000 people, but I don’t.  I wish I could say that I still had the ticket stub or that I could share a picture of the two of us together on that day, but I can’t.  What I can safely say though is that game was the start of my love of a certain sport and a true sense of bonding between my Aunt and I that has lasted for decades.

Why am I telling this story right now?  Well, as you know I received my proof copy of my book a few weeks ago and gave it the thumbs up.  I ordered a stack of copies, signed and packed them up. Smiling, I sent them out the door, excited for the recipients to get them.  And then it hit me like a ton of bricks. 

I didn’t specifically thank my Aunt for her inspiration and infectious enthusiasm for the Bruins.  I didn’t thank her for taking me to that very first game.  I didn’t thank her in the acknowledgements page for all the games we attended together since then; for the countless hours of talking all things black and gold.

And that is a downright huge fuck up on my part.  Because the truth is that my Aunt Sue was, and still is, one of the largest inspirations for me and why I felt compelled to tell Sara’s story in the first place.  She is the original hockey fan!  The original Boston girl, lover of all sports!

Sue was there when I found the perfect parking spot on Friend Street the night I did the research as we entered through the West Entrance of The Garden, something integral that made it into the book.  And the photo at the bottom of this post was taken that night.

Sue and I sat in one or the other of our cars together (in the other perfect parking spots that we got numerous times after that) until six o’clock when we could plug the meter in order to avoid possibility of a ticket.  We’d chat and laugh and just catch up on our lives during those times.  And I have to say it’s one of the things I miss the most about not being able to go to games together now that I moved out here to Arizona.

Sue and I shared a once in a lifetime kind of moment in 2011 when we sat in the second to last row of The Garden as the Bruins swept the Philadelphia Flyers in game 4 of the playoffs on their road to the Cup.  And then we, of course, went to the Cup parade when they won it all!

Sue answered my countless questions about the new rules after the most recent NHL lockout.  She also answered my countless questions on game play when I got back into the game after many years of not watching hockey.

Sue and I for the past few seasons have live-chatted almost every Bruins game and sometimes even had the chance to get together and have dinner at her house or ours to watch the ones we didn’t have the fortune of attending.  When we were back in Boston last November we went to a game together.  By chance the Bruins were here playing the Coyotes last December and we planned her visit to Phoenix around going to the game together.

Where was all of this in my head when I was writing out that page?  I can only hope she understands how much I’ve enjoyed all our time together and how much her love of this game of luck and skill inspired a character in my imagination.  I can only hope she understands how much it means to me.

Thank you Sue, if it wasn’t for your inspiration and friendship along the way of this journey this book never could have been.  I love you ♥

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

As of this very moment Matt is sitting in the living room, waiting for me to come out so he can open his gifties.  I cheated and already opened most of mine.  Which I pretty much do every year so it isn't any different this year.  But for some reason he wanted to wait until Christmas morning.

I just wanted to get a jump on writing out thank you cards...

Okay that's a half lie.  Sometimes I just open the presents whenever I want.  So there.

Anyway, don't want to torture him any longer so I'm heading out but before going I really wanted to wish everyone a safe and happy, super Merry and joyful Christmas day!  And if this isn't the holiday you personally celebrate then I hope whatever that one is/was becomes the most awesome of celebrations too!

Its unlikely I'll be back over before the New Year as we're going to have some out of town company over the turn of the calendar so while I'm at it hope everyone enjoys their New Year's celebrations too.

This year I resolve to pay no attention to anything that sucks.  People, places, things, etc.  I only want to put focus on the best of stuff in the world and see where the ride takes me!

Enjoy the last few moments of 2011 everyone...bring it on 2012...

Love ,
Jenn (& of course Matt)

PS If I've disappeared lately its for two reasons...

This:

And this:

After the New Year I'll share all the details about both I promise!

The End? Really? Already?

Wow, I can’t believe how fast this whole month flew by. If the last 4 weeks are any type of indication though, the next 8 before we move are going to cruise by in the literal blink of an eye! On this final day of the challenge that I set out to complete last month, I’m supposed to post a picture that can always make me smile.

You and I both know there is no chance in heck we’re getting through this one with only one thing right? I mean as an eternal optimist I’m kind of required to be the irritating person that more cynical people roll their eyes at when I run around saying how great it all is right? Because of that, you and I both (love, what you and I spoke of, and others just read of….sorry couldn’t help it) know the list of things that make me smile will be pretty long, right?

Then again I’m absolutely bi-polar, so as soon as I tell you how nice it is to finally have spring arrive in New England I’m probably tossing in some snide remark about how nice it would be if only the wind would die down too.

Ugh. I’m working on it.

Anyway, rather than post a whole bunch of photos I’m just going to list a whole bunch of stuff that makes me smile today and sneak a picture (or two) in there randomly just for fun. Thanks for reading my last month of crazy posting. I really appreciate the love and support for my random babbling. So I guess that’s where I should start huh?

• Writing.
• Having people read what I write, even if I don’t know who or where they are. (and even sometimes when I know exactly who and where they are).
• Strong coffee.
• This post.
• Making new bloggy friends that are the fun version of snarky.
• Remembering the Girl Scout oath about keeping old friends (sorry I am not linking all of you, you know who you are because you’re in my sidebar, even if you aren’t blogging anymore!).
• Spring finally appearing in white and green buds on trees and teeny flowers just starting to emerge.
• Knowing we have well more than we need to move socked away in the bank right now (which is good because Matt won’t be taking his Boston job with him after all -- which is a story for another post so stay tuned).
• Having understanding friends who won’t be totally upset if we end up keeping our furniture because of that.
• The thought of the Bruins winning the Cup before I leave Boston.

• The fact that I’m going to a playoff game at the Garden next week.

• The fact that its game 4 so if we sweep Philly I’ll be in the building when it happens.

• My current class being way less stressful than the last one was and how manageable/enjoyable the work has been.

• Free time.

• The fact that our Crane Beach sticker arrived a couple days ago.

• Knowing that for the next 2 months we’ll be spending some time every week at the beach.

• Listening to the rolling waves of the ocean.

• Making time for important people.

• Planning my birthday party.

• Working out (when I actually get my ass in gear to do it).

• Music when it fits perfectly with the mood of the day.

• Reading.

• Scrabble.

• New found resolve.

• A clean house, including the laundry.

• Flip-flops (because now that they’re on I have no intention of taking them off until I come back to Boston in November).

• That now I can take a few mornings off from writing and just relax.

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Catch up on anything you missed  30 Photos, 30 Days
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Always and Forever

Much like the earlier days of this thirty day challenge there is no chance in H E double hockey sticks that I’ll be able to keep “a picture of something you love” down to just one thing.

Since the request says something, not someone I guess I’ll be going with stuff.

Where to begin? How to proceed? Do I just list it all out or add photos as I go? Should I go with my top five and tell stories?

I think to really fully complete this particular post the thing I’ll have to go with loving today is re-runs. Yup, that’s right, I love me some re-runs. Not on television though, on this blog! I’ve written a bunch of these ‘what am I grateful for’, ‘what do I love’ posts in the past so I’m pulling out the most recent one and letting you re-read it. Because that’s just who I am today.

At any rate, there might even be a photo of something squished in there in order to satisfy the request. This works out nicely, I have the shank of the morning to do with as I wish, which is good because I have an eight page paper to write. So without further ado, here’s the re-run. With a little surprise or two tucked in, parenthetically speaking, perhaps…

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Thanks, For the Everything

I’ve been spotty reading blogs lately as well as commenting back to people’s posts but yesterday a photo and post over at Freshness Factor Five Thousand had me thinking about all the things I’m grateful for, thanks-full for and inspired to acknowledge. It’s been quite a while since I’ve put one of these lists together so it seemed like the right time to do it.

A lot has been going on here and many changes are afoot this year and I really love how every year, month, week, day, hour brings a new reason to be grateful or inspired. Sometimes it’s just nice to take stock of what we have, what we’ve had and where we hope to be so of course this list is far from all inclusive but off the top this is my own personal accounting of the awesomeness as I see it in the world. As always, in no particular order.

Heat
Hot water
Cups of tea, coffee and clean drinking water
Bacon & blue burgers (hmmm, that sounds pretty great right now & yes, I know its 9AM)
An open mind
Family
Friends
Fun times with both of the above
Music that gets me through the hard times
Music that inspires me to acknowledge the happy times
Playing the drums and the man who is teaching me to do so
Winning the lottery (this happened by playing the Lost numbers, it was kinda cool)
Having a little extra to donate to charity because of the above
Fruits and vegetables
P90X (this hasn’t happened much since starting school but I’m hopeful to get back soon)
Facebook
Ability to ingest information as I start my journey toward an MA in English (yeah and also the ability to bullshit with the best of ‘em because of all the information we’re expected to ingest)
Inspiration
My sewing machine
My paint brushes
Muscles to work hard and work out
Yoga
A healthy dose of cynicism
Showers and toothbrushes (Which I can’t use for a while because of the thunder. Well, the shower anyway)
Creativity
The library
Snuggling
Lost
Gas in my car’s tank
Agents who have rejected me & my novel (I really need to get back to the book again, and by that I mean editing the second one before I’m supposed to be starting a third!)
Football (I’m adding hockey to the list…go B’s in the playoffs!)
My bloggy friends, some of whom I consider to be my closest friends in the world
Writer’s license
Cannoli
Enough money to pay the bills
A little extra left over to save for our upcoming move
Strength I’ve gained through adversity
Books
Hair dye
The end of eras, relationships and experiences
All six senses
Silence
Crackers
eBay and the people who buy what I sell (and I’ll add craigslist to that even though there are some very odd people on that site
Fabric
A roof over my head
Poetry
Wool socks & winter boots
Flip flops and bathing suits
Sunshine
The power to change
The knowledge to know when to do just that
The sense to know when not to
A voice to speak how I really feel
The couth to know that some stories should be kept private forever (yes even during this blog challenge I plan to ensure some stuff is kept close to the vest, just in case anyone was wondering)
Basil
Road trips
Victoria’s Secret
Rainbows and sunsets
Hugs
Stars
Art in every form
Love in every form and sense of the word
My terrycloth bathrobe that I’ve had for 15 years and still love like it was brand new
Laughter
Intention
Acceptance
And of course, the unrelenting, unwavering, love and support of my husband; without it I would have been committed years ago. ♥

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And if you stuck around to read the above re-run post you’ll be happy to know that today is Matt’s birthday -- so happy birthday babe! You got a note in the shower, a blog shout out, I posted on your Facebook wall…guess all that’s left is to text you. And so ends my list with the thing I really love, not as much as you, you see, but I still love technology.

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Catch up on anything you missed  30 Photos, 30 Days
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Hate Is a Strong Word, Or Is It?

Today I’m supposed to share a ‘picture of something you hate’ and it’s stressing me out to have to choose something I have that much distaste for. In all honesty I don’t know if I really hate anything. Strong dislike, irritation towards, discomfort with…sure. But hate? Hmmm…

So there are those who will ask, if I don’t have an impassioned reaction as strong as hate, then how can I have the opposite reaction of the blazing strength of love? In many ways I would have to agree with the theory that you can’t have one without the other.

Call me a middle of the road kind of gal, peace keeper, anti-boat rocker, or any other made up turn of phrase to describe someone who just enjoys life on a nice even keel and there you’ll have me.

It isn’t to say that the words ‘ooh I hate ‘blah-blah-blah!’ don’t come out of my mouth every so often. It happens. In fact I think it was just this morning that I was cursing out my current, completely disjointed, overly expectant class and I all but guarantee the word hate was used. Likely multiple times with a whole bunch of curse words attached.

But I don’t really feel that way. More like completely irritated with it. Why? Because in six days it’s over and I never have to take it again, I get my A and move on. It doesn’t stick around to poke me over and over again with its annoying, chubby finger. I never have to see it, hear about it or experience it again.

I guess that means I really feel that to actually hate something it needs to be a constant in your life. Much like love, it needs to be there all the time or at the very least a constant reminder. For example, I’d say out loud that I love “The Goonies” and with just about every single cell in my body that word love rings true. I know all the lines by heart, have the poster on my wall, etc., etc. It is something that has been in my life for a long time and warms me inside to think of it. To me that’s one expression of love (but it isn’t tomorrow’s selection so don’t think of it as a preview).

So, with that in mind I keep sitting here thinking about what makes me cold inside. What, as a constant in my life, turns my heart to stone and my veins to ice? What do I detest so vehemently that I could truthfully use the word hate to describe its very existence in my world?

No matter how long I stewed, how long I tossed around all the things, places, people, events that I have a mild distaste for, only one kept bubbling up to the surface. It made me laugh to think of it. It was so clearly obvious. All of you probably figured it out long before I did.

It’s winter.

Snowy, icy, have to wear 800 layers just to walk to the car, slush in your shoe, nowhere left to pile the white crap that falls from the sky, fuck its freezing, there aren’t enough blankets to keep warm, even turning the heat up doesn’t cut it, damn it is that shit ever ugly as hell after a couple cars drive by, there is no such thing as blue skies, sunshine comes with 50 mph gusting winds, my fucking eyeballs have frozen inside their sockets, hot chocolate ain’t even cutting through the ache in my bones, abso-fucking-lutely hate you, winter.

No shock, no surprise right? It surprised me that it took so long to come up with it, honestly. I kept thinking about how there isn’t anything in my life that I detest so fervently that it would still be in my life so I can say I hate it. But until this moment, clearly there is.

Then I stopped to think. After all the mind bending, tumbling around, attempting to come up with something that irritates me to the level of hate, if all I could come up with was winter’s snowy, icy, cold and clutching grasp then in a little less than three months from now I’ll be free of all hate in my world!

Sure Phoenix gets their own version of winter and after a few summers at 115 I’m quite sure that the 40’s and 50’s will feel quite cold. But no way on this earth will it ever look like that picture up there. And if it does there won’t be any room left to hate because the world will surely be coming to an end so I'll be enjoying my last few minutes with a whole lot of love thank you very much.

The countdown to the end of hate is on -- ten weeks and five days…

Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock…

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Catch up on anything you missed  30 Photos, 30 Days
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Thanks, for the Everything

I’ve been spotty reading blogs lately as well as commenting back to people’s posts but yesterday a photo and post over at Freshness Factor Five Thousand had me thinking about all the things I’m grateful for, thanks-full for and inspired to acknowledge. It’s been quite a while since I’ve put one of these lists together so it seemed like the right time to do it.

A lot has been going on here and many changes are afoot this year and I really love how every year, month, week, day, hour brings a new reason to be grateful or inspired. Sometimes it’s just nice to take stock of what we have, what we’ve had and where we hope to be so of course this list is far from all inclusive but off the top this is my own personal accounting of the awesomeness as I see it in the world. As always, in no particular order.

Heat
Hot water
Cups of tea, coffee and clean drinking water
Bacon & blue burgers
An open mind
Family
Friends
Fun times with both of the above
Music that gets me through the hard times
Music that inspires me to acknowledge the happy times
Playing the drums and the man who is teaching me to do so
Winning the lottery
Having a little extra to donate to charity because of the above
Fruits and vegetables
P90X
Facebook
Ability to ingest information as I start my journey toward an MA in English
Inspiration
My sewing machine
My paint brushes
Muscles to work hard and work out
Yoga
A healthy dose of cynicism
Showers and toothbrushes
Creativity
The library
Snuggling
Lost
Gas in my car’s tank
Agents who have rejected me & my novel
Football
My bloggy friends, some of whom I consider to be my closest friends in the world
Writer’s license
Cannoli
Enough money to pay the bills
A little extra left over to save for our upcoming move
Strength I’ve gained through adversity
Books
Hair dye
The end of eras, relationships and experiences
All six senses
Silence
Crackers
eBay and the people who buy what I sell
Fabric
A roof over my head
Poetry
Wool socks & winter boots
Flip flops and bathing suits
Sunshine
The power to change
The knowledge to know when to do just that
The sense to know when not to
A voice to speak how I really feel
The couth to know that some stories should be kept private forever
Basil
Road trips
Victoria’s Secret
Rainbows and sunsets
Hugs
Stars
Art in every form
Love in every form and sense of the word
My terrycloth bathrobe that I’ve had for 15 years and still love like it was brand new
Laughter
Intention
Acceptance
And of course, the unrelenting, unwavering, love and support of my husband; without it I would have been committed years ago. ♥

A Collection of Positivity Twenty Years in the Making

Fortune cookies completely fascinate me. To think ‘if I had grabbed for that one instead my little jolt of positive reflection would have completely changed’ is something I relish in. Call it fated destiny or whatever blah, blah you like but I love to open up those little sweet treats to find the inspiration inside. I have been collecting some of my favorites for apparently much longer than I remembered as I discovered a whole slew of them yesterday.

Wait a minute, let me back up and share the full story.

The day we got back from Cali I ordered a treadmill. For the past few months I have been weighing (pun very much intended) the options between the gym or a treadmill for my home. The treadmill won because I considered that when I used to go to the gym that was typically the only thing I used anyway. For just slightly more than an annual membership fee for just one of us, now Matt and I have that gym right here in our home (wow, how infomercial does that sound?).

Well, not yet exactly.

It should be arriving this week so for the past few days I’ve been doing what I do best -- de-cluttering my environment to make room for this extra large item that is coming in.

There are a few boxes we have yet to unpack as I knew that they were things we couldn’t do much with. Framed photos we don’t really have wall space for here, fabric for OPP (other people’s projects) and a final box that I have been carrying around with me for what feels like forever -- “Memorabilia”.

Within that box is another smaller box I labeled “Box of Memories”, this is the one in the photo above. I created it out of corrugated cardboard that I fashioned into a base and sides which are scotch taped together, then a top that is “hinged” on one of the longest sides. The cover and opposing long side have holes punched near the edge and the whole thing is held together by a fluorescent orange shoe lace. It was quite an ingenious bit of MacGyver-ness if I do say so myself!

Every so many years I go through this box and I’m always re-surprised by some of the items that I find: a mug received for graduation that has every class member’s name printed on the back, my bible and diploma from graduating CCD, a 6” railroad nail I salvaged when they took the line out in the early 80’s, the lyrics to both The Rose and Amazing Grace (for Holly ♥), a postcard from a pen pal who visited Astoria, Oregon where The Goonies was filmed, the program and ticket stub from when Dane Cook starred as Danny in our high school production of Grease (and a stub from his very early years act at the now defunct Catch A Rising Star in Harvard Square), Svetlana Boginskaya’s autograph, and all 4 years worth of my varsity letters for gymnastics.

Sorting through the box instead of just bringing it to the basement was just too tempting as I considered how long it had been since I had last done so. Ticket stubs and programs from productions and sporting events, postcards from other places, my HS diploma and then at the bottom of the box, plus taped all along the inside of the cover, were tons of fortunes from cookies that I had been collecting for I’d guess more than the past twenty years.

As a self proclaimed clutter free kind of gal it mystified me that I would keep such a thing as tiny little scraps of paper but then I started to read them:

“If you continually give you will continually have.”
“Serious trouble will bypass you.”
“He who knows he has enough is rich.”
“You should be able to undertake and complete anything.”
“Your life will be happy and peaceful.”
“Every man is a volume if you know how to read him.”
“Trust your intuition. The Universe is guiding your life.”
“The only way to have a friend is to be one.”
“You are going to have a very comfortable old age.”
“You are a person of another time.”

All of a sudden it hit me. All of these awesome self improvement gurus are just doing what I’ve been doing all of these years, collecting their fortunes and following the advice inside as a way of daily life!

My older ones were definitely uplifting and they all remained inside the box but as of now I am living my life by one of the more recent ones I have taped to my computer monitor:

“Love is a present that can be given every single day you live.”

Happy Father’s Day

It feels appropriate to wish a very happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there in this great big world. Being a dad is a great thing, to enjoy time with your kids and share the everyday joy and beauty of their growth is something very special. Taking time to appreciate all the little things they do and recognizing that they are an awesome part of this big world will cause them to grow into wonderful people!

Take time to give your favorite dads a big hug and kiss today and thank them for all they do for you and others!

This is my dad…

This Polaroid was taken on Christmas about twenty three years ago. The bench, or stepstool, is what I gave my dad as his gift that year. I had made it in wood shop at school and from the moment I started it I knew it was going to be for him. My dad has been a carpenter / craftsman / contractor just about my entire life and I was very nervous that he would appreciate this gift. He loved it and could not stop hugging me for it.

I will be hugging you back a little later today dad. I know you don’t read this but it still seemed like the right thing to do to say happy Father’s Day and I love you.

Happy Father’s Day to all the awesome dads out there, you know who you are!
♥love♥

The Little Things Count the Most, Always

The end of another calendar year draws near and it always causes me great nostalgia for just about everything from friends, new and old, family, living and passed on, and places, those I have been to and those I intend to see in the upcoming year. Aside from my birthday New Year’s Eve is my all time favorite holiday and the night is always memorable; the fact that most years I shed a little tear for the passing of the calendar is purely tied to my heavily reminiscent personality.

My mom used to have a big party every New Year’s Eve, the house was filled with her friends and it was the one night we were allowed to stay up late if we could make it; my earliest memories of Saturday Night Live are attached to one of those parties. One year, back in high school, four of us from the gymnastics team decided to get dressed up and go out for Italian food and when I went to shake cheese on my ravioli, the top came off, which prompted all of us to laugh the entire night. Another year, my best friend had some of her college friends come up to party and we all got hammered on champagne right in the middle of the street at the Boston Harbor as we watched the fireworks with about 200,000 other people. As the clock ticked over to the highly hyped Y2K I gained some geographical space in North Carolina with a friend, her husband, sisters and other family and as soon as the lights did not actually go out forever we all passed a joint around.

As I get ready to celebrate moving nine years into the new millennium, things in my life have changed dramatically but one thing remains the same -- I never spend New Year’s Eve with people I do not love. If the year to come is a reflection of the way we rang it in then I certainly want to be with the people I love, doing exactly what I want to be doing at that moment. In recent years, with the exception of a very blurry memory of a visit to my sister’s a couple years ago, Matt and I have generally spent the evening with S & B; we have dinner, chill at their place, pop champagne at midnight, hug all and kiss our respective other half and end up falling asleep at approximately ten after twelve. With them having four month old babies this year, who knows if any of us will even make it to see the clock tick over.

This past year was up and down, back and forth but so many shades of grey in many areas of my life so I have been thinking back to New Year’s Eve last year and trying to remember how I spent the time as we rang in 2008. The four of us toasted to change and growing families as well as friendship and bonds that will never be broken. This got me thinking about new people in my life, how giving and kind they all are and how so many things can change from one year to the next.

Over the past year I have met some amazing people through blogging and even though we are all very different people when it comes to age, gender, rearing, religion or writing style the common thread is that we all enjoy supporting one another’s achievements. I have met two wonderful gals outside of our little virtual world, Trayce and Bridgete, and I suspect that everyone else is just as fantastic as these two gals because, frankly, I do not surround myself with people who suck. (Yes, I stole that line from my sister but it is rare she finds time to read my blog anyway so it is likely she will never know it. And if you do, thanks Wendy.)

One new friend, Rose, was so generous recently and sent me this beautiful Christmas ornament that she hand painted just because, what a thoughtful gift! I do not have a tree so it is dangling from my candle holder instead.

Ginger was kind enough to mail me a box of henna hair color after I mentioned thinking about giving it a try (I am still a chicken right now but someday…).

I do not know what the future holds but I do know that this coming year is sure to be full of great times and adventures, family, best friends, writing, selling, new friends, creativity and exploration but most of all a heaping pile of gratitude for how far I have already come. Ringing in 2009 in two short days I plan to toast to new adventures and amazing success for everyone I know and love. Have a safe and happy New Year everyone.

I Am Thanks Full For…

The order is how they all entered my brain but nothing on this list is really any more important than another item (except maybe food lol). Consider this the condensed version. Enjoy a day full of food, love, football and festive thanks everybody!

Health
Happiness
Love
Smiles
Laughter
Ocean
Sunshine
Rain
Plants
Flowers
Matt
Family
Friends
Connections
Food
Amazing conversations
Quiet days
Fun nights
Red wine
Food
Did I mention food?
Football
Fun
Music
A pen and paper
Fabric
Obama
Nephews
All five of my senses
My sixth sense too
Road trips
Wendy
Being employed
Being unemployed
Making new friends
Chucka Stone Designs
Rock Band
Positivity
Air
Memories
Pictures
My mind
The Dictionary
Baseball
Coffee (I have no idea how this was not first lol)
Late night lovin’
Scrabble
Ingenuity
Perseverance

Randomness Goes On Forever

It happened again, the dreaded tag. It has gotten to the point where I do not think it is possible to share anything else random about myself without revealing way too much information. Although, that has never stopped me in the past so why should it stop me now?

Because it was my Mom who tagged me it would be impossible for me to blow this one off and hope they did not notice I never completed it. I know my Mom and six months from now I would get a comment reading something like “Hey why did you never do that blog tag I tagged you for here?”

Instead of waiting around for that comment, here are the required seven random facts about myself. As per usual however I will not outright tag anyone else but open it up to say that anyone reading can feel free to play along if they so choose.

1. Only very rarely do I ever eat breakfast, generally I don’t eat anything until about eleven. (Have I shared this before? Déjà vu?)
2. Speaking of…I love déjà vu. There is something so mysteriously excellent about not being able to explain the feeling that something happened before but there is no real recollection that it did.
3. Since I finally got my first cleaning in ages this past July, I now floss every day.
4. Shoes and socks make my feet ache for summer. I like to be barefoot as much as possible.
5. When I handwrite anything it is in all caps and never in blue ink, I am a fine tip, black ink kind of gal.
6. If I were independently wealthy and had time on my hands I would spend a couple weeks at my sister’s house this November and take her to this show. I am quite sure she would fall in love instantly as so many of us do. Sigh.
7. After just coming out of my weirdness phase I am now at a place where I feel like I can accomplish anything -- write, blog, sew and paint all in one day and still have time to watch the Sox trounce the Rays last night.

So now that I got that out of the way here are some recent projects I have completed.

I was commissioned by one of my Mom’s friends, M to create a bag. Her grand daughter (who I happened to go to High School with, man this town is way too small) is having a baby shower in November and M wanted to give her a really nice handmade diaper bag as her gift. She is taking underwater birthing classes and is a diver so the request was made for something watery and with enough pockets for all required baby related items. This was created from a pattern, the first I had ever completed. Also the first zipper I ever installed. That is why my Mom did the zipper and I just swore a lot.


M picked up the bag this week and she was thrilled! That of course made me so happy because it took well over two weeks from purchase of fabric to completed bag. I learned so much though and will be applying those techniques to other bags in the future; hopefully even braving a zipper install all on my own. I have named it Labor of Love.

I booked a table at the First United Methodist Church Craft Fair in Melrose on November 15. This is my first fair and I am a little nervous but just pouring my positive energy into all of the items I am creating for it! I will only be showcasing fabric items like bags, placemats, coasters, etc. Here are a few recently completed items that will make their way to my table. If you are in the Massachusetts area and want to stop by to say hi feel free, I would love to see you! The info - 645 Main St Melrose, MA, Saturday November 15 from 9:00 – 1:00.

Tonight Jason is playing at The Orpheum in Boston but instead of going to see him Matt and I will be enjoying a lovely pasta dinner, then playing a nail biting game of Monopoly, with my Dad and Evil Step Mom*. It will be a bummer to know he is only seven miles away singing his little avocado off and I will not be there but in this past year I have had the opportunity to see him live twice, both times about twenty feet from the edge of the stage and both times meeting people I had never met and now call friends. I should not be so selfish in wanting that ticket and just be glad that maybe someone else (that may have not been able to go if I had) will now get the opportunity to realize how fan-freaking-tastic he is live. I will call this my passive way of sharing the love.

So whoever you are that got that ticket have the most amazing time at the show and I will say to you both congratulations and I’m sorry -- congratulations for discovering the most kick ass, talented, Hottie McHotterson making music today and I’m sorry because once you feel the Jason love there is no turning back. Enjoy the ride.

* The disclaimer for those of you new readers out there, this is what she calls herself and it is totally in jest. She is awesome, fun and not actually even married to my Dad. Although after eleven years together they might as well be, I guess its one of those “if it ain’t broke” type situations.

A Magical Weekend of Love

What do you get when you combine 800 miles, new friends, diner food, a magician, a couple brothers, the original gangsta’, random musicians, a gnome and the cutest man you have ever seen in a hat with a pom-pom? Most would say it sounds like a circus act. Those people would definitely be onto something. Friday night we experienced what is known as the Music, Magic & Make Peace Tour in the fine town of Selinsgrove, PA and when it was over we all came out feeling the love.

Matt and I drove down to New Jersey early Friday morning to meet Trayce, her daughter Katy and boyfriend Mark (who did not join us for the festivities) so the four of us could make the three hour trek out to the middle of Pennsylvania to see Justin Kredible, the Makepeace Brothers, Bushwalla and Jason Mraz perform. After initial introductions we had our first diner meal and hit the road. Conversation on the way out did not stop for one second and we could all feel the anticipation building.

Once we arrived it seemed as if we might be in the wrong spot since there could not have been more than 100 people in line but sure enough there was a poster with Jason’s face hanging in the window. As the doors opened we could hear music playing and at first I thought it was piped in but to my surprise the Makepeace Brothers (Finian and Ciaran with a friend Conor on bass) were sitting right in the lobby jamming out for all of us. Their sound is unique and I definitely dug it. We got a double shot of these guys as they also played a few songs on the stage inside to open up the show.

Considering the lack of people in the line we expected a very small auditorium but it turned out to be quite large and had really cool acoustic panels on the ceiling. I took this shot before the show began and later Jason mentioned how it looked like that Lenny Kravitz video or a spaceship.

It is difficult to pinpoint who played when as the entire show morphed into an ensemble cast of characters but Justin Kredible gave us a magical introduction and interlude between each set, performing his tricks and slight of hand with a dry sense of humor and fantastic wit.

I had never seen Bushwalla (Billy Galewood) live, but stalked him on YouTube, so I really had absolutely no idea what to expect from his performance. He did not disappoint. I have been to a lot of shows and seen many various styles of acts before but there is nothing that comes close to the energy that he puts forth on stage. I was in awe of the clearly obvious love he has for performing. I felt a little bad though because after all “It’s hard to be a Gangsta with a basket on your bike.”

During each set a whole load of musicians came out to play. They almost looked like Jason and his band but if so then they must have been in disguise because I really thought that afro, mutton chops and moustache were real. They were hot and played great.

After a short break, the moment arrived as Justin pulled Jason out of, not a hat (that would be way too freaky) but a big tent. He was greeted with the cheering and clapping he deserved for wearing such a heavy weight hat when it was almost seventy degrees outside. They opened with Make It Mine, the lead off track, from his upcoming album (We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things.), and combined with a few oldies (1000 Things surprised & delighted me!) he played many new tracks as well. On stage Jason was joined by Toca Rivera (hand drum), Ian Sheridan (bass), Eric Hinojosa (keys), Michael Brown (drums) and the Grooveline Horns (who brought the brass hard core). There was lots of banter back and forth between the guys (especially with Toca who laughed at Jason for forgetting his own lyrics) and a positive vibe swirling around the entire performance.

The entire set list included:
Make It Mine

Geek in the Pink

Dramatica Mujer (Not So Usual)

Dynamo of Volition

Beautiful Mess

If It Kills Me

Sleep All Day

The Remedy (the “everyone knows this one” song ended up breaking into Wonderwall)

1000 Things

Live High

Only Human

Butterfly

I'm Yours (The first single from the new album burning up airwaves near you)

He also came back with the entire band in an encore to perform No Stopping Us and Fall Through Glass. Those were amazing but then the band took off and Jason grabbed a guitar, walked out to the edge of the stage and acoustically performed You and I Both for all of our eagerly snapping cameras. I have never heard silence (perhaps better described as intent listening) like that which emanated from the crowd during the last bit of this song. His passion for performing certainly shined and I got the sense he could have played this one song quite literally forever if given the chance.

In the car on the road back to Jersey at midnight, the four of us were high on the love and the short conversation we had with Billy in the lobby after the show, not to mention the caffeine we all ingested at the diner down the street. Matt and Katy nodded off first and I tried my best to make it but about an hour out I fell into sleep as well. After all, it was 4:30 AM and that marked my twenty second hour of awaken-ness. Even the euphoria of having seen Jason does not allow this old body to make it twenty four hours anymore. Thanks to Trayce who is obviously nocturnal and a wonderful soul to have done all that driving!

After a full night’s sleep and another fun filled meal of diner pancakes and great conversation, Matt and I took off late afternoon on the final leg of the journey – heading home. The two of us will see Jason again when he comes to Worcester* and just maybe we will have the steam to wait like groupies after the show to meet him this time. No matter what happens in two weeks, the memories from this wonderful weekend will bring magical peace forever. To everyone who took part in the joy I am holding up your sign, you rock!

* Because I live in my own fantasy world where Jason actually reads my blog, I would like to point out the pronunciation so he is not embarrassed by the screaming Bostonians who will correct him if he does it wrong – it is Wuss-ter.