getting lost

So I haven't seen LOST for three years, I mean I watched the first few episodes when it came on TV back in 2005, but I—for some stupiodic reason—didn't stick with it.

But tonight, everyone and their brother was watching LOST, so I watched the 8 minute 15 second recap and took the two hour plunge with three friends who are up on it and know what's going on.

I must say that I am (again) facing an addiction and may just give in this time. I may even rent the DVDs and spend a million hours catching up. And the kicker? Mmm yes. Three years hasn't changed anything.

tuesday night

Fun:

A midnight run to the grocery store with a friend equally as happy as I am at this stage in life—singing Avril Lavigne's Girlfriend and Kelly Clarkson's Since U Been Gone along with the iPod at the top of our lungs.

well said

Cari goes upstairs to go to bed, and twenty seconds later returns and murmurs, "I've got the wrong cat."

american gladiators

I think my favorite part may be when Caley yells from the background, "Harold! You have a daughter!" as if he might have died instead of just bruised his tailbone and got a little rug burn.

admiring my own sense of humor

So our friend Susannah's birthday party was last night, and it was a costume party. When I called Mike in the late afternoon to find out WHERE the party was (since I don't have Facebook), he looked up the Facebook invitation and started reading aloud to me. When the words, "costume party" came out of his mouth, I was like, "WHAT?"

I mean, two hours notice for a costume? It takes me a couple weeks to prepare for Halloween, you can't just give me a couple hours and expect it to be good.

But, fortunately I've been very funny lately, and when Mike said he thought he'd go as a cowboy, I said, "No, just dress normal and wear the big cowboy hat. I'll dress normal and wear the Rock On t-shirt I stole from Cari."

"And?"

"And we'll go as a little bit country and a little bit rock and roll."

recommendation

Just saw Juno. It was so freaking good, I'm going to feel good for a couple days, I just know it.

orion's belt

Everything has been so busy lately that I haven't had much time to reflect. And reflecting seems to be something that is in order, considering the amount of information that I took in during the retreat in Colorado, with coming off of the holidays, and with all the change going on in my life and around it.

Not that the busyness has been a bad thing. Some of it has been catching up on work—much needed work—as we move into a new season. Some of it has been getting settled into the new place and all the everyday things, like getting groceries. And still some of it has been spending time with friends now that we're all back in town and underway with the daily flow of life again.

Tonight I was standing in a group of my friends, simply being silly, and I was all of the sudden overcome with just how wonderful the people in my life are. Sometimes these moments catch me off guard, and while they are entirely unnecessary, they are also entirely indulgent. Goodness and beauty sort of crash into each other in a particular space and time and it's almost too much to comprehend.

I remember being in one of those moments a week or so ago. It was on the drive to Denver on New Year's day—I had driven about six hours and Justin had taken over the wheel. I was gazing out the back window at the sunset when I fell asleep. I awoke later to the soft intermittent chatting of two of my favorite people in the world from the seats in front of me. Joe Purdy was on the radio and Orion's Belt was bright as it could be just on the horizon. I-70 around the Kansas/Colorado border has no lights to hinder the view of the stars. I just sat there, speeding down the highway, thinking that there was no place in the world I would rather be. For that moment in time, I was exactly where I wanted to be, yet I never could have predicted it.

I am thankful for these gifts—these moments of goodness and beauty colliding—when I realize that this life is way different than I ever would have expected, and how thankful I am for that fact.

winter retreat 2008, photo tour

Click here to see all the pictures of the fun part of the trip—the part before we all started getting the stomach flu.

It was actually quite wonderful. Every year the place becomes more familiar, the drive more memorized. Colorado is beautiful, absolutely.

domestic fun

I don't know which is funnier, Henry answering verbally to his name being called or Cari sliding her cat across the hardwood floors.

who knew

Just in case anyone was wondering, the absolute BEST time to come down with the stomach flu is two hours into a ten hour drive in a packed out car. Seriously, SO. MUCH. FUN.

word up

Check out our project for 2008. Every Monday.

Now Mondays aren't so bad after all, are they?

in honor of cari, and not just because it's her birthday

Today was Cari's birthday. The big two-seven. I think she had a great time, complete with Kansas's Carry On Wayward Son being blasted from the sound system as she walked into the dining hall for breakfast. Her birthday always falls on winter retreat, and it's always a pretty fun deal. There were balloons and streamers and we made her an entire playlist for breakfast music, so everyone got to enjoy Jump! and The Final Countdown and such. (During which I—for you Arrested Development fans—put my knife in my mouth and my napkin over my face and did GOB's dance.) We also got to enjoy a hilarious culinary treat from Isaac and JD, which had us in fits of laughter for three rounds.

Later in the day, Cari and I decided to check out a little place called Mothers Bistro in downtown Buena Vista. It was great—quaint and good coffee, nestled below Mt. Princeton with a killer view.



Looking back, I cannot fault the barista for her mistake. We did show up in Cari's Buick Century, walk in with our outdoorsy bags, pull out our Apple Computers and cameras, and proceed to watch videos of how cute our cats are together now that they are roommates.

When we went up to order, we both ordered a latte of some sort and a dessert. I looked at Cari and said (rather excitedly—who knows why), "Ooh! I'll pay since it's your birthday!" So the barista rang us up, gave us our desserts, and said, "I'll bring your drinks right out to you." We sat down, and when she brought us our drinks she gave Cari's to her and said, "I put whipped cream on it since it's your birthday," then turned to me, handed me my drink and said, "And I put whipped cream on yours because it's her birthday." And she smiled. We said thanks.

Oddly, a bit later, the barista approached us and asked if we'd like a birthday picture together. Caught slightly off guard, we awkwardly agreed. I handed her my camera, and she snapped a shot of us. She looked at it, "It's a good one!" she said.



As an hour or so passed, the sun went down and the barista started her round to turn on the lamps in the bistro. She lit a candle and set it right in the middle of the round table that Cari and I were sitting at. Cari said offhandedly, "Hm. Candlelight." The barista smiled again and said, "Yeah, a little romance for you two."

Yeah, STOP THE RECORD.

Cari started to correct her, then gave up. "Oh we don't need... I mean we're not... We have no... Nevermind."

I looked at her shaking my head and said, "Man alive. Every year."

on the road again

Sightings on the drive to Colorado:

Hawk count: 14
Wild turkey count: 11
Jackass grazing: 1
Coolers in the middle of the highway: 2