The Demise of Blogspot

Yes, it's true... change all your links to me, 'cause I'm moving! My new blog is... (drumroll please) ...

http://coolcucumber.net

Come visit me on my new WordPress blog. I'm still learning, so not everything's just the way I want it yet.

Dixie Chicks and an ode to country music

I just downloaded the new Dixie Chicks album. Instantly I feel myself transported back to the days of college in Springfield, Missouri... college. Let me preface this entry by saying that I have a fond spot in my heart for country music, particularly clever lyrics and vocals. Somehow through the friends I made in college, I grew a craving for unique country. Granted, Dixie Chicks is more of a rock-country, but I also love Diamond Rio. Patty Loveless. Now, THAT's country.

I'm writing this as I listen to "The Long Way Around" for the first time. I feel an indescribable joy in hearing it- there's such familiarity and newness at the same time. It's music like this that makes me feel as if we're driving around P'Ville with straw hats on, Hadler at the wheel (a maniac driving on all those turns) and the windows all the way down. Excellent lined up harmonies, soaring fiddle, brisk strum. Makes me remember Branson too, and the hills around it. Satisfaction. There was a sense of freedom as we piled into a car and just drove....

This is why I like country music.

Now my clothes will never be clean...

Fresh from our Dallas trip and after a strenuous first day of Camp Invention, I settled in at home to complete some long-overdue laundry. But in my stupor, I seem to have put the wrong things in the wrong places, and I'm stumped for a solution. Here's photo evidence: I googled "put detergent in the fabric softener spot" and "how to get detergent out of fabric softener place", but I've not found anything useful. Do you think I'm the first one to do this?

I could use a turkey baster to get the detergent out, but the problem is that I don't HAVE a turkey baster. But I hate wasting good Tide Cold Water by simply letting the machine run its course without any clothing. If I put clothes in the washing machine now, it'll release the detergent during the rinse cycle and then the soap won't be washed out completely. Right...?

I can't figure out what to do. Help me, please!

The Relief of Running

Today I worked myself into a bit of a wedding fever. I don't know what came over me, really, just that I felt very panicky all of the sudden about a budget and guest list and I could honestly feel the churning in my abdomen as a result of the worry. I had also neglected running this week as a result of all this engagement happiness. I mean, why run 7 miles at night when you could be sitting at the computer, reading about wedding etiquette on The Knot?

Anyway, I made myself go run at the Santa Fe Trail, which is a 10-minute drive from my house. (I didn't take this photo, and no, there wasn't any snow on the ground today.)The exciting thing is that I ran for 50 minutes and enjoyed it! I just amazed myself and really felt like a runner, instead of the imposter I usually feel like. I couldn't have run 1 mile in January, and now I'm running 4.5 and thinking I could keep going. I was very aware of the silence, the birds, my breathing (I'm trying 2 steps inhale, 3 steps exhale these days), and most of all, the beautiful stream. The only thing that would have made the run better would be to have Rob with me. When we run together, I feel like I can go twice as far.

My knee had been hurting this week and I had dragged my feet about running. Funny thing is, once I started running the pain went away. Maybe it was computer desk induced knee pain.

How We Met

I've been mentally composing this e-mail since the first date I had with Rob.

No, listen- seriously- I have! I had a feeling about this one. On our first date, when two blog-geeks went out to eat at No-No's, he said, "You know we can't blog about this date, right?". I nodded, "Of course!". I was thinking that someday I just might get an occasion to blog extensively about us, just from how well the date was going. He tried to teach me chess that night, and we couldn't stop talking long enough to play an entire game. I knew that was a good sign.

If you ask Rob, he'll tell you I hunted him down- and he's right. We both had left comments on Sexless In the City, which we both discovered reading Rolling Stone magazine (coincidentally, both of our roommates subscribed). I clicked on his blog one night while aimlessly blog-surfing and left a comment immediately. I knew he was something special. In fact, I felt all tingley inside when I read some of his archives and learned more about his beliefs. This led to many long e-mails exchanged, much thinking about who this Internet Rob was, more e-mails, lots of blog comments from both sides, and finally, a face-to-face meeting. Rob's friends James and Jules, their 4 girls, and my brother Mark were there the first time we met. The five of us ordered Chinese food and laughed until all of our cheeks ached from too much grinning. Here's a photo from that night (I was so excited when Julie suggested we take a bloggers' photo!). We look pretty darned happy! We've been occupying each other's weekends ever since. We run, we hike, we walk the dog and see plays together. We eat and laugh and watch LOST together and always are left wanting more time together. So, to the blogging world that introduced us:

we're engaged!I LOVE the ring... I'm never taking it off. :-)

Rob proposed on Friday, taking me back to N0-No's for another lovely Cajun meal. He created a CD of special music for us (there's been a lot of music swapping with this boy!) and told me all about what it meant to have met me. When he pulled out the ring I was too nervous to even touch it, so he had to! He asked me if I would marry him, I accepted, and I even got a little teary. The ring is beautiful and unique; more lovely than I could have picked out myself.

I am so incredibly happy to be marrying this man. I keep smiling when I realize I will be Mrs. Lund in 96 days. The downside? It's going to go by too slowly!
--------------------------------
UPDATE (Day 3 of engagement)
Today I told the kids in my class that I'm getting married. They all clapped for me and asked, "Is it to the guy who came on our field trip?". "Yes," I assured them. I might have annoyed my kids and co-workers at school today when I kept gazing at my ring. Must remember to not be the obnoxious bride-to-be...

The Me Album

It is my sincere personal belief that every person should have a photo album full of self portraits. A home for those photos of yourself that your mom sends you or the silly shot that proves to the world that you conquered the ropes course in 8th grade. I've got a Me Album- it's modest and only holds 3 1/2 x 5's, but it represents me in all of my glory and stupidity, even dating back to 4th grade. Here's a very typical nerdy photo of me at the 7th grade science fair.
I would like to point out that this was my first perm (ack- did I just admit to having more than one?), for which I saved both my allowance and babysitting money. I was so proud of my frizzy mop.

Flowering Trees

Ah, this is my most favorite time of year to be outside. It's still not hot yet, and everywhere I look I see this:
On the other hand, they're calling for snow tomorrow. It's never truly summer here 'til JULY.

Some Late Poetry

A Fibonacci poem, for your enjoyment:


There's
a
slight chance
I've been now wooed
by this strange new verse;
math and words beautifully collide.

Twitching

My students looked at me quizzically as my left eye fluttered involuntarily almost all day... through reading, science, math, and writing. On the bright side, I've been wanting to try a Lost-esque photo of my eye for some time.