Right Moon?

How to go home

1. Get on plane
2. Land in home state
3. Get in rental car
4. Drive for 3.5 hours, passing the following:
- Boot City
- Larry Lamb's Melon Market
- The women's prison
- Blann's Berries ("U-Pick/We Pick")
- The Big Peach
- Green Acres
- The house with the home-made roller coaster in the front yard
- Prominent Advertisements for The Black Buggy Restaurant and "Beautiful Rock City"
- Tri-State Speedway
- The Hoosier Auto Man
- The Flying J
- Multiple farms, factories, and fast-food drive-thru's
5. Pull into Sonnystone Acres' driveway, greet ecstatic mother waiting at door
6. Revel in the sanctuary of green grass, screened-in porches, a handsome one-eyed cat, and enough foot paths to get lost for days.

taking pictures of other people's babies

We've gone into high gear trying to arrange everything, meet all outstanding obligations, and hopefully find time to pack before heading out early tomorrow. My dear LittleBro is getting married Saturday, and although you'll surely hear me whine about how I look in the bridesmaid dress, I'm very excited about the festivities. I'm singing/bridesmaiding/sneaking in extra booze to bypass the cash bar (this being in Southern Indiana, the open bar is Beer Beer Beer).

I'm also eagerly practicing up on the portrait setting of the new camera, as this wedding brings together family, friends (and babies of assorted relations and sizes) that I very seldom get to see. That we can come together in celebration of love and life-to-come is a wonderful gift.

inaugural

First flower picture with my wonderful new Nikon D70.
[More to come, particularly as I learn to use it better...]

[quote]

"The most courageous act is still to think for yourself. Aloud." ~Coco Chanel

it's not easy being

This week's Photo Friday theme: Green

Thanks old friend

for your grace, for your Game, for so many important 3's when the pressure was on, for your humbleness and humor, for the example you set every night "pouring your heart and guts" into the game (not just for athletes and sports fans, but for anyone looking to be their best day after day, you were an inspiration). you will be missed but never forgotten.

thought

I used to be a very thoughtful girl. I actively and acutely tried to make other people feel good. I sent cards, made phone calls, bought unexpected gifts, and spent many evenings out later than I'd hoped (designated driver, shoulder to cry on, the person making sure you don't go home with that creepy old guy, etc...). As is my wont, I tried too hard. I should say it this way: I spent too much energy on all the Thoughtful Girl stuff without spending any on taking care of myself. I became a magnet for sob stories and the kind of 'friends' that suck your life-energy out with their selfish neediness.

Since I generally loathe confrontation (somebody's bound to get hurt, and that makes my heart ache), I shut down. I stopped calling, I stopped writing, I stopped talking about myself. I had to reclaim myself, and I didn't know how to do it externally.

Here's the thing: I have reclaimed myself. I've found my personal path, if not necessarily all the clear answers. I know who I am, and I don't care so much about being liked. I feel free to explore and expand and work at being my best. I still hate talking on the phone. I am still bad at sending birthday cards and answering everyday emails. I care for people again (albeit a smaller core of "close" friends), so that counts for something good, but I haven't found the way to fit the Everyday Thoughtfulness back into my routine while keeping time and energy for myself and my family.

I can't seem to balance the internal and the external of my life.

I can't say

The week has been jam-packet with pop media. The finals of America's Next Top Model, the semi-finals of American Idol, the premiere of Britney & Kevin's Chaotic... I feel like a teenager all over again, glued to the tv without any shame. Tonight we fed the frenzy with a 12:40am viewing of the new Star Wars.

My brother is a StarWarsGuy, and he will kill/disown/be really annoyed with me if I give away any details, so I'll just say this: I thought it was very good/sad/much better than Episodes I & II.

Now I'm off to rest up - Thursday's schedule involves vigorous basketball-watching.

hopscotch

public restroom wall

useless information

If you only know one [non-essential] thing about me, let it be this -
My favorite food: pickled beets

If you want to know two things about me, refer to above and add this -
My favorite daytime television program (which I record and watch daily, to my own slight embarrassment): The People's Court

If you really want to add a third thing, it's this simple -
My favorite number: 3

another church

[list]

to do/the weekend ahead:

- gallery crawl with former classmates (and Bear) to check out current photographic exhibits
- finish sewing organza wraps for upcoming Bridesmaid Experience
- wash the embarrassingly grubby car
- dispose of recently deceased houseplant
- write a letter
- creat new ipod playlists
- install shopping cart feature on the other site in an effort to actually open shop and make money
- be pleasantly surprised
- sing sing sing

how about you?

my photos

Even though you've seen these already, here's a link to my pictures on flickr. Bookmark it, won't cha?

unexpected

The man on the stoop stopped me as I passed. "Let me tell you something. You have the prettiest smile. When you smile it lights this whole place up; it's like a flower."
Flattered, surprised (and a little skeptical of his motives) I said "Thanks. That's really sweet."
The man said "No, I'm serious. Don't worry, I'm not hitting on you or anything. Your smile is really special. You should know that."
I nodded and walked on, still smiling but feeling about 2-inches taller and 10-lbs. thinner as I went.

Can you imagine how wonderful the world would be if we were all bold and brave enough to share the compliments and adorations in our heads?

lightness

Banner Day

When I was a freshman in high school, I began singing "real" classical choral music (at the time I thought of this as GrownUpMusic, because my previous forrays into the classical choral world were with a university children's choir). I fell in love with Mozart, and with several pieces in particular. I wasn't brave (or, at the time, refined) enough to audition for the solos as an underclassman, but I made mental notes. I learned the solos inside and out. I imagined myself singing them, and practiced my facial "emotions" in the mirror (nerd!) as I lip-synched to a recording.

This weekend I finally got to sing one of those gorgeous Mozart soprano solos. It was a real treat for me, and the piece was as joyous to sing as I had imagined so many years ago. Best of all, I received rave reviews which confirmed the fact that others were as moved by the experience as I was.

The cycle and the circle of life is sometimes subtle, but sometimes it smacks you right in the head. Now I realize I need a new wishlist: the pieces I'll finally get to sing in the next ten years.

let it be

Daughter

If you only knew how much those orange barrels remind me of Dad, you'd laugh out loud. This being Mother's Day (hi ma!), I'll just caption this one "Ode to the Loving Family of the Higwayman and Wife (good parents, both)".

farmhouse

unreal

don't touch

There's a beautiful courtyard outside our window. Oddly enough, it's not open to anyone other than the gardeners who tend to the watering and maintenance, so I find myself lingering in the glass-corridor downstairs for longer and longer these days (to inspect the blooms and revel in the vibrant colors). Fortunately, if you adjust yourself just so at our apartment windows, you can look down on this view for hours.