MTV Yearbook

This is great. It's probably been around for a while, but I was reading an article about a pop song and just stumbled across the MTV Yearbook. You can click on any year (going back to MTV's birth, 1981) and see the top music videos of the year. And for me, going through the 90s videos is really like a yearbook. The embarrassing styles (yes, Missy Elliot in a trash bag), the hair (Justin Timberlake's curls), the crush (Hello, Usher), the cool girls (Jewel and Fionna), the girl with a reputation (Spice Girls), the goths (Marilyn). It's hilarious. I'd forgotten about those shiny suits from Puff, and holy-color-coordination EVERYWHERE. See if you can count how many videos between 1996 and 1998 start out like a spy movie.

cut and color

I just got back from a haircut, and Ben - my wonderful hair rockstar - did my makeup. He gave me this darkish lip color and it makes me feel so different. Fun for a while (until I eat something or stop by the water fountain). No worries, I didn't go Agnes Dean short again. Those punk urges are behind me now... today just a nice suburban trim.

Daniel called from Bali and said everything is good. He's with some very interesting people who are really teaching him a lot. They visited a batik "museum" and workshop, and he said it was very cool. It seems that they are keeping super busy without much free time. Too bad... He could have had an Eat, Love, Pray experience where he'd learn how to love himself by finding his "word" and then appropriating other cultures' religions (okay, caustic comments aside, it's a fun read). But I guess he will get to have a day of snorkeling, and that makes me jealous.

This morning Eddie arrived back from his training time in Japan. Between the time he called me at 6 and when I arrived to pick him up at 6:40, he'd managed to not only eat breakfast and talk his way out of an other hour of standing around waiting for final formation, but he'd also managed to squeeze in gathering his gear and throwing another Marine in the Grand River. Yes, it seems he had a busy morning, that guy. Apparently, this is what is done when it's the end of someone's commitment to the reservists. Another reason on the ever growing list of why I'm glad I'm not a Marine. Note to self: on his last day of duty, let mom and dad pick him up.

my moment of glory

So much happened this last semester that I never had a chance to share with anyone! During the Festival of Faith and Writing (an all around amazing event) I got to interview one of my favorite musicians: Sam Beam of Iron and Wine! It's embarrassing how geeked I was for this. We held the interview in the chapel and quite a few people came to the event. You can listen here to the entire thing! In case you cannot tell, between my nerves going crazy and the adrenaline that comes from meeting someone I admire so much, I was shaking almost the whole time. And he was a tough cookie - which I'd been warned about way in advance. He walked in to the chapel, I shook his hand, we put-on our mics, and walked out on stage. yikes. Looking back and listening to it again, it went well. Daniel took some GREAT pictures, but I cannot find them at the moment. I'll post them soon as I have them.

new life

My yard is making me so happy this spring. The flowers in the back: iris, peony, lavender, are so vibrant and happy. This year, Daniel and I discovered these roses that haven't shown up in the 2 year's he's lived in the house! Aren't they magentastic?? (that's a combination of "magenta" and "fantastic"... not so good if I have to explain it, I guess).



I've never considered myself a gardener because I don't particularly enjoy the work of weeding, mowing, even planting. But this year, after doing all that work, I'm beginning to see why people love gardening; it's so rewarding! The pinks, whites, and purples all around my house are like little treasures. Now, I'm catching myself dreaming of planting more because I'm addicted to that feeling of accomplishment mixed with miraculous wonderment. Speaking of which... a few weeks ago I discovered that "Leroy", the red cardinal who hangs by (read: bangs against) our front window, and his gray lady-bird friend had built a little nest. Not too long afterward, there appeared 3 speckled little eggs! I tried to take a picture of the lady-bird friend (from inside the house), but she flew off when Conrad ran over to see what I was doing.



You may be able to just barely see the eggs in this picture. Soon, if she stays around long enough, there will be some babies!! Thankfully, it's a super thorny bush, so I don't think they need to worry about cats. I am trying to remember that nature can be cruel (I can no longer watch the Blue Planet series because I get too upset), but I think they're all going to make it!

Wonderland

This is truly wonderful. Artist Yeondoo Jung created these photos from children's drawings. Click here for more... (via How About Orange)

tuba museum

Yesterday I attended a women's conference in Lansing with a slew of my lady-coworkers. The conference was fun (more fun? making fun of the conference), and KVGR found an amazing restaurant for dinner in Okemos... International cuisine, lovely friends, and tubas; what could be better?

new camera!

Daniel left for Indonesia yesterday (sniff, sniff), but not before giving me the cutest, coolest digital camera! So, we've been snapping pictures left and right. Now, I just have to keep posting them here. The above shot is from this last Thursday; we escaped with the dogs from the graduation party (for my amazing sister, Katy) down to the beach for a little while. Between the intense thunderstorms we've been getting, there are these clean, sunshine little moments.

These pictures are from our first CSA pick up! Since there was some late frost (right after a week of early heat), it was slim pickings, but I'm so excited regardless. Our lettuce was delicious, and we got a small shrubbery of green onions. Any recipe ideas??




Now that I have this treat of a companion (my purple coolpix), I'll be posting lots of photos!! Stay tuned