I think I can, I think I can...

The last few weeks have been CRAZY for us. But it's slowly winding down. As I type, Daniel is on his first day of filming his short film here in Grand Rapids. I only have 3 small events left, and summer is in sight! Didn't think we'd make there, but it's finally the end of April... or the promised land as I like to think of it.

The BEST news in terms of winding down is that Eddie is coming home on Sunday!!! Yes, he will be back in Michigan by 5:30 Sunday evening. Even as I type those words I'm tearing up, so I plan on just being a teary-fool for the next week.

The funny thing about living in "the urgent" for 3 weeks in a row, is that now that I'm getting back to normal, it's really hard to concentrate! Like, today I have no fires to put-out, so I'm just going through email, writing here, looking at my favorite blogs... but I still have things to do! I guess this is what could be commonly called as burn-out? All of my energy has been used up so I need a day of silliness. Not to mention, Patty Griffin is here at Calvin tonight, and I'm just way too excited about that.

The bad news is that we had quite a scare last night. Conrad ran out in front of a car and got clipped. He's okay... nothing broken or internally hurt. I just took him to the vet this morning, and we may have some x-rays taken on Monday to look at his hip. But he's pretty freaked out and Daniel and I are pretty freaked out. This may sound silly, but in the midst of all of our busyness, this shook us up a little to remember how fragile life is and how quickly we lose perspective.

it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Unless you were in Michigan for Christmas this year. That's right, we had a 60-degree Christmas on the beach, and now we have a White April. You just can't win.

So, brief catch-up... the Festival of Faith and Music was so amazing. The Sufjan concert was fun, and EmmyLou and Neko were amazing. I could write and write (or gush and gush) about EmmyLou and what an amazing person she is, but we all know that already. The weekend was nonstop work though, so I'm glad it comes only once every 2 years.

Easter weekend was very relaxing and low-key. Back when it was sunny, we talked about going camping, but seeing as the weather took a turn for the worse, we stayed here in GR and enjoyed just chillin. I made some curtains for the kitchen, and they turned-out pretty well (considering my nonexistent sewing skills). We had Easter lunch with Chris and Lisa, our friend Jenn, and another couple with 2 little boys. It was a great meal and, in the spirit of community, we all stayed there eating jelly beans and talking until it was almost dinner time.

These next few weeks are full for both Daniel and I. So full, I don't want to think about it. One day at a time, right?

light to eat by

Finally we found the perfect dining room lighting! And you'd better believe it's a pink chandelier. Think of it as whimsical. I saw it in an antique store window in East Town. So the room looks so good now - although now that the lighting is strong, I think I need to do some touch-up painting... just when you think you're done...

What do you think?




We've enjoyed a half-cleaning, half-lazing day here at home. After a good breakfast at the Real Food Cafe we worked around the house, then crashed to watch "Babel". This may ruin the possibility of a film-writer career for me, but honestly, I did not like the film. Actually, several critics did not like it much either, so I guess I could be the snob of the snobs. We also have "Wordplay", a documentary about crossword puzzles, so I think we'll have to watch that to recover. Did I mention it's snowing outside?

movie and blog

We just finished watching "Hoop Dreams", an amazing documentary about what basketball means to young men in inner-city Chicago. I loved it. One of the most detailed and well-paced documentaries I've seen.

Tomorrow is a "Friday" for us... Yay for working at a Christian school! When I went to public school, Good Friday was an "optional" holiday, which you would think everyone would take, but most people had sports practices they couldn't skip, or didn't want to be seen as "religious fanatics". We were planning on going camping, back when the sun was out and we could see the grass. But now that everything is under 2 inches of snow and our winter coats have made cameo appearances, I think it's a great weekend for watching movies and cooking over the gas stove - not the campfire. No sense in wasting those marshmallows, though! Better stock-up on the wood for our adventure-less fireplace.



On another note, I'm loving this new blog I just discovered, How about orange. I really appreciate the DIY attitude.

april poetry

my friend Kristin is an English teacher, and so she pays attention to things like April being poetry appreciation month. So, every day in April she chooses a poem and sends it around on email. The poem today was appropriate...

"Introduction to Poetry"

by Billy Collins (U.S. Poet Laureate)

I ask them to take a poem
and hold it up to the light
like a color slide

or press an ear against its hive.

I say drop a mouse into a poem
and watch him probe his way out,

or walk inside the poem's room
and feel the walls for a light switch.

I want them to waterski
across the surface of a poem
waving at the author's name on the shore.

But all they want to do
is tie the poem to a chair with rope
and torture a confession out of it.

They begin beating it with a hose
to find out what it really means.

After a long weekend of work, it's nice to remember that there's lots of things like poetry, English classes, commemorations, etc. going on all the time. I think people call that "perspective".