steph
I’ve spent more time with Steph recently which makes me happy. She’s a creative, beautiful, caring person.
moonless darkness stands between
Moonless darkness stands between.
Past, the Past, no more be seen!
But the Bethlehem-star may lead me
To the sight of Him Who freed me
From the self that I have been.
Make me pure, Lord: Thou art holy;
Make me meek, Lord: Thou wert lowly;
Now beginning, and alway:
Now begin, on Christmas day.
–Gerard Manley Hopkins
I’m speechless.
I realize my blog is turning into a place for unicorn chasers, but I don’t really care.
thanksgiving 08
The day after Thanksgiving we had a great time up in North Phoenix with Sean, Bekah, Bob, Rachel, Sean’s parents and Judah. Bob and Rachel recently had a baby-congrats! David played a bean bag game with Sean’s family and I took lots of pictures. On our way home, David and I dropped by Lola’s Tapas and had shrimp…mmm…by the way, they roast their own coffee!
steamy kitchen contest
heads up–jaden over at the Steamy Kitchen has a random comment contest running for some sweet kitchen prizes: kobe beef, rainbow wood bread knife, salt planks, photo canvas, and olive oil and vinegar…mmm…everything I love.
I love her blog because she features amazing recipes, sassy commentary, and food photography.
war is over if you want it
Today was the anniversary of John Lennon’s murder.
I was not aware of the commitment that he and Yoko Ono had to peace and non-violence. These things are close to my heart, and I spent some time today watching a video posted on imaginepeace.com. I also printed out a small poster to hang among my Christmas cards of the season. Their technique of using advertising is fascinating to me. I encourage you to watch the video. It’s a bit heart wrenching at the end, but very powerful.
WAR IS OVER! (If You Want It) from Yoko Ono on Vimeo.
black eyes
I used to do theatre makeup when I was in high school, and I loved doing it. Recently, I went over to Fun Services in Tempe and bought some stage makeup. I brought it along to Thanksgiving and entertained the boys with my magic abilities.
a little too funny
We were in Gilbert this morning and walked by this vehicle.
You can’t make this stuff up.
google reader
So I wrote off using blog feeds a long time ago because I didn’t like not seeing the post in context of the website. But then I read a post that suggested using a feature of Google’s reader called “next.” You place it in your bookmarks, and click on it. It brings you to each updated post in the actual website. Then you click on “next” again, and it takes you to the next updated site. Awesome!
I used it for the first time today, and at the very end, this is the page it took me to. And this was the text:
The End of the Internet
Congratulations! This is the last page.
Thank you for visiting the End of the Internet. There are no more links.
You must now turn off your computer and go do something productive.
Go read a book, for pete’s sake.
little brother
Last week we celebrated David’s youngest brother’s birthday. A lot of John’s friends and bandmates joined us at Sushi Eye in downtown Chandler. The restaurant was kind and bought several desserts for the whole table at the end of dinner. Later, we walked down to the brand new Irish pub called Murphy’s Law where a few of the guys drank Car Bombs. Happy Birthday John!
fresh eggs
I went to the downtown Chandler farmer’s market last Thursday after a long period of not going. It used to consist of a single overpriced farmer. This time, I was overjoyed to find fresh eggs, meyer lemons, key limes, and many more vendors. Thank you, Chandler.
holidays
I find the holidays a little stressful. Not because I am busy, but because I feel as though I need to “match” the level of giving. Which is strange because I really love giving gifts, and I really don’t expect anything back, but if someone gives me something I feel as though my gift should match the value of whatever I received. Does that make sense? Gift giving always feels particularly out of control within my family because everyone else LOVES giving gifts.
I have been trying to prepare my handmade gifts early this year. I usually supplement with purchased handcrafted items as well. And I also succumb to store bought items generally reserved for the adult males in my life. And children. I really struggle with this. I don’t want to be “educating” my family at Christmas time. I don’t intend on creating any guilt during what should be a joyous and thoughtful occasion. Meh…but then I feel guilty for the excess.
How do you handle the holidays? Thoughts?
the farm
Yay! The farm stand is re-opening this weekend at Agritopia. I love their produce. It is grown under standards that are just as stringent as organic without the hefty price tag. It’s also really fresh because the pull it from the ground usually the day before or even that morning!
new cat bed
I bought a new cat bed of braided rope for the minions. It’s great because it’s too small. Cats love too small.
happy birthday krystofer!
It’s been amazing watching you grow up (we’ve known each other since I was twelve). You have a beautiful wife and a beautiful family. You’ve been my friend through the good times and the bad, and I am better for having known you. And no one plays a better game of dangling participles than you.
ballot (with update)
I finally made myself sit down to fill out my early ballot. Ideally, I would’ve filled it out last week and mailed it. Now I must take it to my polling station anyway in order to turn it in.
I was hoping that Arizona wouldn’t be a swing state, so I could vote third party but alas, I voted for one of the main two.
I also found this site helpful. It lists easy to understand information about the propositions. Here’s a link to Arizona’s specific page. I was surprised after reading many of the descriptions–the little blurb on the ballot really isn’t enough to go on.
If you are into non-violence and hippie information–this site may also be biased and helpful for advice on how to vote. (scroll down)
I encourage you to fill out your sample ballot that you should’ve received in the mail last week, so you can take it with you to the polling station on Tuesday.
I have to say that the whole process isn’t really easy, but I please vote on things that you understand. You can always leave sections blank if you want.
**update**
A friend of mine who knows things about judicary areas of our Arizonan government recomended to me to vote no on retaining judges Buttrick, Dunevant, and Ryan.
take on me: remix?
hunh.
So that wasn’t an acorn squash. It was a melon. And I was getting prepped to stuff the “squash” with quinoa for lunch. It was grown from seeds I purchased at the native seed store in Tucson. Earlier this summer, I planted a lot of different things hoping anything would grown. Quelle surprise!
(Guess I should keep better records. Or any records.)