Another reason I married him

Often people take each other for granted, especially when they have known each other for a long time. We become accustomed to a person always being around, always listening and responding, even to trivial things.

Well, my husband isn't the chattiest of men, nor is he always tuned in to my running mouth. Sometimes he will look at me after I have finished speaking and just blink a few times and then say, "huh?"

But, despite this seeming inattentiveness, he is actually really, really in tune with me. And he just has no idea how much the small things he does from day to day, can make my day. For instance, I worked last night and got home at 1:30am. I had to be up at 5:30am for work today. And, I started my period while at work Sunday night. So, Monday morning was going to prove to be a challenge to put it gently. But no, it was fine. Granted I was (and still am) extremely tired, I was cheerful. He did tons of laundry over the weekend. Anyone know how lovely it is to walk into your closet to a stack of your favorite clothes all folded and clean and ready to go? It is like living with a fairy. And, to top it off, he had the twins' school bags all packed up and sitting right at the door, so all I had to do was grab them and go out the door.

My husband rocks.

No more 365 Days

I started this 365 Days thing over on Flickr. You take a self portrait every day for a year. It was fun for the first week, but I got sick of it quickly. I hated feeling like I had to take a picture of myself every day, even on those days when I didn't want to be me.

I think I will stick to taking photos when I am moved to take them. The 365 days thing started to feel like an assignment. And who the hell wants to see so many pictures of me anyway!

Invisible

According to Merriam-Webster, invisible means: a: incapable by nature of being seen b: inaccessible to view

I have established myself, in my life, as a strong and outspoken person. I am thought of as being somewhat abrasive and rough, even a little insensitive (or a lot, depends on who you ask).

There is another layer of who I am that is invisible to others. I am very sensitive, but not really so much about myself. I carry a lot of worry and anxiety around inside and I keep it hidden, so that those who depend on me to have it together get what they expect. The invisible part is the place inside where I put all of the things that concern me. Things like......

global warming, the HIV epidemic that seems to be sweeping the globe, the Military Commissions Act that was recently signed by Bush, the abuse that children suffer at the hands of adults, the fact that thousands of people die from hunger every day and I don't finish my food at dinner, the large disparity among the haves and the have nots in our world, the awesome and sometimes overwhelming task of raising children in a world where people seem to be losing value as people, the search for God and figuring out how to let Him in, the fear that I am not able to be a good wife to a man that really deserves it

And sometimes I can't sleep because this invisible part of me requires that I nourish it with more worry and concern. "What's wrong?" my husband will ask me. I can never find the words to explain, because there is just so much. And the conflict I feel over being so incredibly blessed in my own life while others suffer in ways I could never imagine, eats at me and takes root inside. Following that I often feel hope that the generation coming up can be the one to make changes. I feel hope that my children and their peers will be able to turn it all around, because I have to have that hope.

Rental

I have been driving this around last night and today. It is a tiny, tiny car but I am surprised how much I am enjoying it. After driving a huge, gas-guzzling Suburban for 4 years, this car feels so zippy! We had to finally rent a car while the Suburban is getting a new engine. Rain came and Kevin decided that while he loved riding his motorcycle, riding in cold rain really does suck. So, hence, the Kia.

This car has no power options. No power locks or windows. I had no idea how much I had come to rely on power locks and windows until now. Last night at the grocery store, I had to actually unlock the front door and then reach through to unlock the back door for Tristan! Yes, I know, shocking isn't it? The kids saw the manual window control and said, "What is this?" We showed them how to roll the window down with the handle and they thought that was wicked awesome. They played with it for quite some time. But as cool as that is for them, it is irritating as hell for me. The boys can roll the windows down with their feet when strapped into their seats, but can't roll them back up. So yeah, even though I told them NOT to roll the windows down this morning, and I said NO with much emphasis on the NO part, they did anyway. And then they freaked out because it was raining (duh, I told you it was) and I had to pull over and turn around to roll them up again.

Ugh....BOYS!

Mosaic

Louvre Atlanta

The High Museum of Art in Atlanta will have pieces on loan from the Louvre over the next three years. I have not been to the museum in ages and this seems like the perfect time to get a membership and force my kids to see historical art! My older child, who is now almost 11, always enjoyed trips to the High Museum, she even behaved like a civilized human while we were there. The thought of taking the twins to see art from the Louvre gives me the jitters and a nervous feeling in my stomach. While I am sure that I will be able to maintain control of them for the most part, I am skeptical about how much they will dig the whole experience. I can tell you right now that they will love walking (running) up and down the winding ramps that run through the main lobby and go from floor to floor. And of course, a trip to the bathroom will be in order because no new excursion can be complete without visiting the facilites and checking out the flushing power of the toilets.

Either way, I am totally jazzed that all of this famous art is coming to my town.

Shoe love

I am, right now at this moment, wearing the bestest shoes ever. These shoes rock, they are so comfortable. Merrell has always made a great shoe, but being able to wear these lovely little gems to work, now that is special.

I also got these, which are mucho comfortable but a little too casual for work. Love the REI Outlet site!

Baristas

Just wanted to do a shout out to all those Starbucks baristas out there, making the lattes, frothing the milk.

I love you, I love you all!

Columbus Day

In honor of Columbus Day which approaches on 10/9/2006, let me just say.....Christopher Columbus was a fucking criminal and we should not be celebrating his thieving and murdering ass. Good riddance to him.

And every kid should be required to read this: A People's History of the United States before they are allowed to graduate from high school.