tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63537013559229378542024-03-18T23:56:41.612-04:00john + rhiannaRhianna Wellshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04460257379639183345noreply@blogger.comBlogger582125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353701355922937854.post-63952662203490074002012-09-16T15:22:00.001-04:002015-03-02T11:45:12.219-05:00johnandrhianna.wordpress.com<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We've moved our blog (formerly johnandrhianna.blogspot.com) over to wordpress. Every single one of our posts and comments have been moved, so it's still all in one place. Please update any feeds or bookmarks. You should be redirected here from the old blogger blog automatically, but just in case... change it to <a href="http://johnandrhianna.com/">johnandrhianna.wordpress.com</a>john + rhiannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01969734549286060576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353701355922937854.post-14839268227140897232012-09-10T18:41:00.000-04:002012-09-10T19:13:47.028-04:00Pittsboro: A Love Story [an essay by John]<i>So you've all heard me rattle on about how much I love where we live... here's John's take. He's so good with words! </i><br />
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I find most people have a loose disinterest in nostalgia, but it’s a major component of my personality. I can’t help it; I feel compelled to elegize by the tidal circularity of living, and by the inevitable loss of the moments of one’s life that, in the aggregate, compose our existence—the way that existence winds down like a spinning top, our lives, in all their wonder, escaping minute by minute, into the unkeepable, unknowable ether.
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It drives my girlfriend crazy—and I suppose I get why. I mean, this mentality occasionally leads to my holding up a piece of discarded wrapping paper I find in a catch-all drawer and gasping, misty eyed, “Rhianna! You wrapped the Ohio State pez dispenser you put in my stocking at Christmas two years ago in this! Awww… remember? That was such a nice Christmas…” Again, I can’t help it; I’m lucky to have a lot of memories I like revisiting, the only negative aspect of this being that, as though in some Melvillian Hallmark card, everything in my life tends to symbolize everything else. So I spend a lot of time allowing the present to carry me into the past through an overwrought network of associations and sentiment.
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Now, owing to the above impulses to imbue my past with irrational romanticism, I have always cultivated a vehement sense of home, and keep that idea fiercely as a central tenet of my identity. Morgantown in the autumn, frozen winters in Granville: these are not merely places where I’ve stayed, they are places that have stayed with me, part of my understanding of self, coloring my conceptualization of the world. Because of all this, my sense of home is something like keenly honed, and is deeply important to me. But not just everywhere makes the grade, so to speak, especially when measured against the lovely specters of paradises past.
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This had become, to be honest, a real bummer recently. I moved to North Carolina in 2007, and long story short, spent four years homesick: fall was nonexistent, it hardly ever rained, there’s no Stroh’s in NC, and everyone watches NASCAR*. I mean, <em>they really watch it</em>, like they know all the drivers’ names, their numbers, the “team” they’re on, which makes next to no sense to me, owing to NASCAR’s not being a team sport— except in the sponsorship and management of the team, which raises the question of… you know what, forget it, the point is I DON’T GET NASCAR, and people who do almost never get me. And maybe that’s all that needs said: there was home— autumn leaves the color of campfires, greasy spoon diners, the filigree of Christmas lights on a drapery of snow— and then there was North Carolina with its NASCAR. Also, grits. Also, subtle xenophobic isolationist Southernism complete with sentences ending in “these parts,” and Confederate flag bumper stickers—although perhaps this is redundant having already identified the NASCAR contingent.
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Now ok, I’m being woefully narrow and unfair to NC, I acknowledge that, but I was tragically out of place: trying and failing to recognize the keystones of home in a foreign environment. Carolina Beach (my first stop in ’07) did, really, exhibit some of the above idiosyncrasies, but Hillsborough was a delight, and Carrboro would have been, if I was an entirely different person (i.e. smoked clove cigarettes). But I wasn’t a different person, and I struggled mightily to find any of myself resonant in my new southern surroundings. Or no, not new— in 2010 it occurred to me, somewhat horrifyingly, that I’d been in NC as long as I’d been in my beloved Morgantown, and as of 2011 I would have lived in North Carolina longer than any other state in my adulthood. Upon this realization my bags were packed. I’d had enough grits, enough 75 degree Decembers, enough of feeling like an outsider. I was headed back home, ready to declare my southern experiment dead. But, as it goes, a funny thing happened on the way to the funeral. <br />
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For one, of course, I found Rhi, who changed something like every aspect of my life for the better. And then, serendipitously, we found Pittsboro. Etymologically, the Germanic “boro” means “fort,” soooooooo, I guess the town was like a… pit fort? Or, I guess, many pits? Regardless, I almost instantly adored Pittsboro, finding it devoid of pits—and forts. Aside from the myriad charms of our little red house, the town itself was just full of darling wonders. In fact, this whole essay began as a list of places in our wonderful town. But somewhere along the way, after mentioning the fiddle shop, the coffee spot, the Italian restaurant offering— ready thy loins—<em> complimentary wine</em>, I couldn’t help but feel like I was falling short of doing justice to our new home. As I noted each admirable aspect of the place, I began to understand that I couldn’t really say anything to make anyone love Pittsboro the way Rhi and I do— and I’ve had lots of practice trying to get people to understand and appreciate the unspeakable and innumerable affectations of places I love. But just like Morgantown and Granville before it— like Howard, Ohio, with Frankie’s Pizza and the diviest dive bar in the world, The Derek Inn— Pittsboro is special not because of its many fine establishments, but because it resonates with some ineffable sense of “home-ness.” And it’s hard because I don’t really know what I mean by that, which maybe I should have mentioned at the start of this meandering note. But what is there to say? What makes home feel like home? The truth is, bending to romance, the sky feels different— <em>feels</em> different— in alien places. The crickets sound different. But at home, the breeze floats through the open windows just so, or, the exact same way in central Ohio in the ‘90s as in Morgantown later, and as in Pittsboro, now.
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I guess what I’m saying is that for a long time—too long—I was looking north the way one might fawn over certain old photos: reminded of loss. I found myself saying the phrase “back home,” far too often, never meaning anywhere near where I was. Now though, in Pittsboro, with its record shop/used book store, its great brew pub, its co-op grocery—but more importantly its sky, its crickets, its breezes—I’ve found a place that inspires me to stop looking at where I was, stop dreaming of where I might go, and allows me to simply feel, of course, at home. And that, for maybe a long while, is where I am. <br />
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*<em>John wanted me to put a disclaimer saying he does not mean to be rude to all people who like Nascar, some people that like Nascar are really rather nice people!</em>
john + rhiannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01969734549286060576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353701355922937854.post-91915936786036950992012-09-10T10:10:00.002-04:002012-09-10T12:25:06.406-04:00hey hi hello.The blog has been quiet. Last I updated I talked about us going to Kentucky for Labor Day Weekend. Since coming home from that long weekend, getting back into the swing of work, unpacking, and getting some new furniture... our house has been a wreck and it's kind of been the state of our minds. Kentucky was... hmm, how to phrase... eventful? I won't go into details but I will say this: next time I go there, I'm not telling anybody, I was stressed out trying to see everyone within a 36 hour period. I'm so lucky to have a lot of people that I want to see but trying to schedule them in one weekend was a little ridiculous and not relaxing at all. I felt on-edge the whole time we were there and checking my watch to see when my next visit was does not make for good company. No one wants to feel like another appointment so it wasn't fair to my friends, family, or me. There was a lot of stuff I wanted to do but couldn't and some stuff I did that I won't do next time. Live & learn, right? Let's get to the good stuff though: we both made some new friends. John in particular found a new bff in James -- he's so stoked to hang out with him in the future, hopefully we can make that happen! We hung out with Stella & Lala, two of my all-time favorite gals. I got to see a dear friend that I haven't seen in so long & it was so good to catch up with her over some tea one night. Seeing Leigh and her pregnant belly was so amazing and surreal. And my parents are doing very well too!<br />
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Once we came home we've both been battling allergies (they are SO bad in Kentucky... where we acquired the sniffles) and rearranging furniture... so our living room has been pretty empty & won't be filled until tomorrow (hopefully). We thought we were going to have a relaxing weekend to catch up and put things back together but I got busy working with horses and we had some unexpected things pop up with friends, so... yeah... this weekend wasn't relaxing either. I'm hoping that this coming weekend we finally get to spend some time, just the two of us, reacclimating properly, relaxing on our new furniture (fingers crossed!), cooking yummy food, and so on. It'll be our last weekend together for a bit without a bunch of plans so I'm really looking forward to holing up in our house with just us and the animals. Let's hope nothing pops up that we have to do or entertain.Rhianna Wellshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04460257379639183345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353701355922937854.post-6665372092660726722012-08-31T10:21:00.002-04:002012-08-31T10:21:35.741-04:00kentucky.Today we're going back to my (Rhianna) hometown in Kentucky. I haven't been back there since Christmas and this is the longest stretch I've ever gone being away from Kentucky, 8 months and some change. Feels a little weird in a way. I think for anyone, you expect the place you've left to stay exactly as it was when you left and are always surprised to see that life has moved on and stores have opened and people have grown and all that jazz in your absence. Does this make sense? What a strange feeling it is. But I'm excited to see my parents and my friends and visit the pub that I so often frequented and eat Mexican food and hang out with <a href="http://johnandrhianna.blogspot.com/search/label/Stella">Stella</a>. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnEQNrs7VbqbPHVvOuHuMd79HmfOY-EHIgh-0lL4kP6tnoPFVHIldccgJW6UrLTam-NVhEsiLdiX9AeGTIj2T1jLK_FVZ2U6YvLLf-AboMO2-AW7p8Z-EdZE-BHPMxi9V7xEVG_ki5mc4/s1600/rky.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnEQNrs7VbqbPHVvOuHuMd79HmfOY-EHIgh-0lL4kP6tnoPFVHIldccgJW6UrLTam-NVhEsiLdiX9AeGTIj2T1jLK_FVZ2U6YvLLf-AboMO2-AW7p8Z-EdZE-BHPMxi9V7xEVG_ki5mc4/s1600/rky.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I used to live on this street, in an old house on the right at the top of that hill. <br />It's where John & I started our relationship!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><em>image </em></span><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/josematutina/2336048511/"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><em>via</em></span></a>Rhianna Wellshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04460257379639183345noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353701355922937854.post-10682776482741092192012-08-27T14:48:00.000-04:002012-08-27T14:48:34.607-04:00date!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigaR5L2CfnkU9eoMs_DXEy4h6ur0wDqCsYMDMSDgh4hMAu8zKmWYI-uMwUisKbVFPYdXypmtnzAdp6xeYugBox_H4fdbfQIqdBHmSAy6VWmQ0pSI3FyEYEkiBNgEUqYWhDGdIR5SSzZ0Y/s1600/datenightCollage.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigaR5L2CfnkU9eoMs_DXEy4h6ur0wDqCsYMDMSDgh4hMAu8zKmWYI-uMwUisKbVFPYdXypmtnzAdp6xeYugBox_H4fdbfQIqdBHmSAy6VWmQ0pSI3FyEYEkiBNgEUqYWhDGdIR5SSzZ0Y/s640/datenightCollage.png" width="640" /></a></div>
John and I went on a date to a new restaurant in town. There are SO many new places opening up in our tiny town... it's kind of amazing. We have so many quality restaurants in our town of 3,000 people. Spoiled rotten are we! John is actually in the process of writing up a blog post about our town (I'm not the only one that thinks it's the best place to live ever! I promise!), but he takes foreverrrr to compose his posts, he's a writer so he drafts and revises and drafts and revises, etc. I just spit up words all over the keyboard and post it, maaaaybe edit it later if I see any glaring spelling/grammar mistakes. Oh what a horrible blogger! Anyway...<br />
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Friday night we went to, what is arguably, the "nicest" restaurant in town. I mean this price-wise and fancy menu items & bourbon/wine lists. It did not disappoint. It's in a beautiful space, a renovated mill. Oh the floors! They are so beautiful! The exposed brick! It's lovely! Enough exclamations. We had the most charming waiter, Elliott, attending to us for the evening and boy was he helpful. We also got to talk to the owner and brag about him to her later... love that we've been meeting so many of the owners of our favorite restaurants. The bourbon list made me miss home... seeing all those Kentucky towns on the list. I decided I must have a whiskey drink, so I got a Chatham Courthouse Sour and it was fantastic. John and I got the cheese plate, that he loved... I'm not a fan of too many cheeses (I know, your respect for me just went way down, didn't it? People think I'm crazy that I'm not a fan of cheese... but let me tell you, blame my body, my body does not like many dairy products, it rejects it!), but I loved the fruit selection on the plate and ate some of the yummy bread. Then we ordered mussels. SO GOOD. We gorged ourselves on the mussels and local tomatoes, dipping the bread into the broth afterward. And then came dessert. Elliott told us the very long list of fresh desserts (this menu changes daily) and all of the options sounded delicious but I had to order the dark chocolate pot de creme because pot de creme is possibly my favorite dessert in the history of ever. It was just as good, if not better, than I thought it would be. So rich that the two of us could hardly finish the single portion we were served. I washed mine down with some french pressed coffee. Such a successful evening. <br />
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During the dinner we discussed some BIG PLANS that we are SO EXCITED about. Caps are so neccessary here. Basically, our lives are awesome. And we ended the evening at home watching Disney movies... we've been on a big Disney kick lately. The rest of our weekend was lovely... we ate a lot of chili because it was chilly here & made us feel like fall. We repotted plants and moved some inside, we framed forgotten pictures and placed them on the walls, we did a lot of "Cozy-fying" our house and it was worth it. I was a homebody before but now I'm even moreso. Anyway... that was our weekend! Hope yours was awesome too!!! Rhianna Wellshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04460257379639183345noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353701355922937854.post-59835628850626321632012-08-24T09:04:00.000-04:002012-08-24T09:04:23.610-04:00let's try italian.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLT2ysAxnBjosOXZ_739p-d3EQGw1iV0bhhPFvWClGEynpaGnt76AMw_-H2Ttvt6TZ1NorbyVde2JrjPCAEsqz5NQzylSjC65EGyddY8zxQ9oHY0xP87DGsD2e_hfTMD72svbhK6LsAfA/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLT2ysAxnBjosOXZ_739p-d3EQGw1iV0bhhPFvWClGEynpaGnt76AMw_-H2Ttvt6TZ1NorbyVde2JrjPCAEsqz5NQzylSjC65EGyddY8zxQ9oHY0xP87DGsD2e_hfTMD72svbhK6LsAfA/s640/photo.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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John and I were driving around trying to find a place to eat last night. We were celebrating something so we wanted to try something new. Our first choice option was closed... so I told him we should try this Italian place we hadn't been to yet. It's tucked away in a small part of town we never drive by so we always forget it's there. We went in and we had an amazing dining experience. The lady who owns the little restaurant is also the chef, everything is made from scratch daily with fresh, local ingrediants. Sounded pretty good -- we put in our order right away. We LOVED the pizza and the broccoli parmesan that we got -- the noodles in the broccoli dish were the best I've had... so good! But this place gets better... we kept noticing people had little plastic cups with wine but didn't see any alcohol on the menu so we asked about it (our waitress was new and didn't know we were new too!) and turns out, the wine is complimentary. You just serve yourself and leave a tip if you'd like! Um, what?! It was so good. So we cheersed to free wine and to other good things happening in our life and then topped it off by sharing a ricotta & nutella calzone. We died right then and there from good food and wine and happiness. We found a new favorite place in our town... can't wait to take visitors there!Rhianna Wellshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04460257379639183345noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353701355922937854.post-3555545486859365622012-08-21T17:57:00.001-04:002012-08-21T17:57:23.284-04:00simple.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We live a pretty simple life but we live an extremely happy one. Voluntary simplicity is something that's been on my mind a lot lately. Scaling back, taking just enough, reduce/reuse/recycle, all that jazz. John and I have had some pretty serious talks about our values and things we think we do well and areas where we can improve. We have found that we have never felt more content in our lives and that may or may not be attributed towards our goal of living simply. Taking the time to make homemade products (cleaning supplies, laundry detergent, shampoo, etc), buying groceries & making our food instead of pre-made food or going to restaurants for every meal (this area we can certainly improve upon, as we like to frequent one of our local restaurants... let's chalk that up to supporting the local economy, mmmkay? ;), buying clothes & household items & furniture at the thrift store, less tv, more books/writing time, recycling everything, buying only "needed" items. Not only do we spend less money, but we find that our level of happiness has vastly improved. There are still many areas we need to improve upon, but for the most part we love how we live. We have learned that the acquisition of things doesn't make us as happy as some people would have us believe. We are far from perfect, but at least we can say that we're happy. As some guy named Gandhi said, "live simply so that others may simply live." Rhianna Wellshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04460257379639183345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353701355922937854.post-35027117162913625902012-08-19T21:51:00.001-04:002012-08-19T21:52:12.181-04:00cows.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN2pFVgXP2nRG5L7jXYnAob89xIG8t71uGYpJhLndyr0oGBoZ7zZiRHkv3G8uM5b7P1-izaQOsTl46XCQO8_yw8I-6yx5kW6b72729OdWhAQav8rHGNWljmDtU5JLm2UzzWk_u8kyaoDM/s1600/phonto.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN2pFVgXP2nRG5L7jXYnAob89xIG8t71uGYpJhLndyr0oGBoZ7zZiRHkv3G8uM5b7P1-izaQOsTl46XCQO8_yw8I-6yx5kW6b72729OdWhAQav8rHGNWljmDtU5JLm2UzzWk_u8kyaoDM/s640/phonto.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Our landlord asked us to feed the cows for a few days. There's only seven of them in the pasture. When he first put this group in they were much smaller, so it's been fun to see them grow. They are super curious about Rory and she likes to play with them along the fence. It's fun living with cows. I'll be sad when this particularly fiesty group leaves, but it's always fun when he (our landlord) brings in another group of babies.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEaFZyHzsG9QYptA2zTnRPewRJIFWEs54Avyk5xPn-wR39976uezwwgz6o2_1d-ksEV6M7VaJXgA0SlJmPlCyyi1nU2VcW4Ycdq32K06ZY7uN98WTikKlSRcLDiI0bObo7vrylpkSs-8w/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEaFZyHzsG9QYptA2zTnRPewRJIFWEs54Avyk5xPn-wR39976uezwwgz6o2_1d-ksEV6M7VaJXgA0SlJmPlCyyi1nU2VcW4Ycdq32K06ZY7uN98WTikKlSRcLDiI0bObo7vrylpkSs-8w/s200/photo.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
In other news, our neighbors bought a few chicks a few weeks ago. They are growing pretty fast too. When we were out feeding the cows one evening our neighbor boy (starting fourth grade this week!) proudly showed us how he takes care of his chicks at night. I only got this one blurry picture because they were scrambling around the coop. It will be so fun when the chicks get a little bigger because then they will just roam around our yards. Our old neighbors had a bunch of chickens, roosters, & turkeys, so I've missed having them dawdle around the yard. I especially miss the turkeys, maybe I can convince our neighbors to get a couple. Can't wait to have more chickens around again though... fresh eggs!Rhianna Wellshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04460257379639183345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353701355922937854.post-1134710793830680632012-08-17T09:56:00.002-04:002012-08-17T09:57:51.538-04:00random friday.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmg6d90KoWpOGcxYR9PFp1QxLTzWS1ijVcIzdtXhBh-L4vaPiPQf0tZprgheLmgPyFIgAUAnh5KzUjwxnMecd2kSzjF4m2gO0bqNqH5_9eWC0MgTNjYlcxQWkZRh2l-G_cU2AjdvgBtC4/s1600/ljhands.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmg6d90KoWpOGcxYR9PFp1QxLTzWS1ijVcIzdtXhBh-L4vaPiPQf0tZprgheLmgPyFIgAUAnh5KzUjwxnMecd2kSzjF4m2gO0bqNqH5_9eWC0MgTNjYlcxQWkZRh2l-G_cU2AjdvgBtC4/s640/ljhands.jpg" width="432" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">W-A-T-E-R</td></tr>
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Instead of a thankful list, I'll give you a random list. Here is my week in sentences.<br />
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+John and I were reunited after a weekend apart and we celebrated by buying a laptop and <em>The Prince of Egypt</em> at Walmart. <em>TPoE</em> was only $2.96 and I was way more excited about that than a laptop. I kept exclaiming my excitement and singing the Mariah/Whitney song. Don't worry I watched the movie right away, before we even opened up the box containing the computer. Priorities.<br />
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+I drank a ridiculous amount of water (super ridiculous!) and did jumping jacks to get my blood flowing so I could get some blood drawn for labs. I have really crappy veins so I have to work really hard to not have a horrible experience with giving blood/getting IVs. My preparation worked! But then I promptly passed out and laid on a dirty floor for a while. Success?<br />
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+John's friend Pete arrived Wednesday night to visit with us for a few days. His sense of humor is the best ever. He has a special OhioHorses.com license plate that has a horse's head on it and it just says "HEY." Hey-larious.<br />
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+We called a spade a spade and just went out to dinner last night at our favorite restaurant in town... For the third time this week. Lazy. (But. Delicious.)<br />
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+It's Friday Friday Gotta Get Down on Friday! If I were a mom of young children I would want the Fierce Fab to be my babysitters... they are so darn cute. I found some old pictures, so that's what that is up top. It's from a play I did 5+ years ago called <em>The Miracle Worker</em> and I played Annie Sullivan, teaching Helen Keller how to spell/say/know "water." I'm a big deal.<br />
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Happy Friday!Rhianna Wellshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04460257379639183345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353701355922937854.post-80455698279623698442012-08-16T15:36:00.001-04:002012-08-16T15:36:37.052-04:00lunch.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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S and I went to the co-op for lunch today. We both got the vegetarian lunch special and they didn't have my favorite drink, so I got this instead. Basically, it promises to give me superpowers. The slimy grit mixed with the tartness of the raspberry make this kombucha magical apparently. S and I decided with our new found superpowers we will create world peace. <br />
<br />
Our action plan:<br />
1. smile and give everyone in the world a hug and tell them they're wonderful.<br />
2. give everyone a puppy. (or a kitten if they aren't dog people.) (<span style="font-size: x-small;">there is no plan for if these people don't like animals in general because we can't imagine a world where this is the case</span>.)<br />
3. watch the world come together in harmony.<br />
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Happy Thursday to you. I hope you have a beautiful day. You're wonderful.Rhianna Wellshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04460257379639183345noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353701355922937854.post-73177055739267810972012-08-13T14:19:00.000-04:002012-08-13T14:19:04.739-04:00busy season.We are starting another busy season in our lives. The end of summer and fall always bring visitors and places to go and people to see. It's lovely. I love having people over to our house and entertaining, but sometimes you do need a break - so it's been nice that we've had a little bit of a lull. John was away this weekend, but I was still around... but now our "busy season" is officially starting. This week we have a friend visiting and this weekend I have training for working the equestrian events for the Special Olympics in my area (I'm SO excited because I used to work Special Olympics for years but only in the swimming events, this is my first time with horses -- this year I've been working with a therapeutic riding program & will be helping some clients in the Special Olympics), visiting Kentucky & bringing our friend Shane along with us, John has another trip planned, we both have a wedding to attend (anyone remember my "housewife?" Well, she's getting married in October and John is marrying her! how fun!), the actual Special Olympics, then my birthday & Halloween (we might try and go for a trip), and then Thanksgiving is right around the corner and we might be hosting some friends for that... PHEW. I'm exhausted typing all this out. <br />
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I've been good about posting more lately and I'm going to try and keep it up. I'll just say that the "schedule" option is awesome. I make a bunch of posts at once when I have time and then schedule them to post through the week. Brilliant!<br />
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So. Many. Words. Okay, here have a picture of my baby girl. She's my favorite. We had a bunch of major cuddle sessions this past weekend while John was gone. <br />
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Rhianna Wellshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04460257379639183345noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353701355922937854.post-17003805251770222602012-08-09T14:31:00.000-04:002012-08-09T14:39:54.964-04:00an awkward night at the mexican restaurant.Last night John & I went to run some errands in the next town over (still in our county) and afterwards decided to eat at the Mexican restaurant before heading home to watch the Olympics. As soon as we walked in and were seated we knew it was going to be an interesting experience. We were seated at a booth in the bar area which happened to be the unofficial "high school kids hang out" that night. You see, even though this town is bigger than ours, it's still really small & there still is not much going on... and bless their hearts, there's not much to do besides hang out at Wal*Mart. So, okay, we're the oldest in the room aside from two men in their late thirties sitting at the bar. <br />
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While we sat amongst the giggles and flirtations of all the kids across the room, our conversation was mostly reminiscing about the summer before senior year of high school and the weird music choices this establishment was playing: a country song (John was a bit horrified that I knew all the words to the country songs... I have to remind him of my Kentucky roots, that stuff just seeps into my brain without me even realizing it), then a rap song, then a Top 40 hit, then an old country song, then another rap song, and then Cooperhead Road. It was when Cooperhead Road came on that things started to get really weird.<br />
<br />
Five girls (I'm guessing 15-16yrs) were seated at one of the booths at the far end of the bar area (John & I were in the middle of the room, right across from the bar), when Cooperhead Road came on two girls started stomping their feet in rhythm, and then one got up and started dancing. Now, I'm not hip to all these choreographed dances... I mean, I know my fair share as a faithful wedding attendant, but I did not know this particular line dance that this girl was doing. I want to point out that Ponytail (that's what we will call this girl) was the youngest looking one in this group... if she wasn't with the other girls that looked a bit older, I would've guessed her age to be about 13. I'm pretty sure that Ponytail was about 15 though. Anyway, Too Much Eyeliner, Curly Sue, & Tries Too Hard decide to join their friend Ponytail in this dance. Now there are four girls dancing to Cooperhead Road in the middle of a Mexican Restaurant at 6pm on a Wednesday night. The fifth girl in their group stayed at the table. John and I are bemused by these girls clearly seeking attention from the bartender, men at the bar, and their classmates seated on the opposite end of the bar room. So Creepy Bachelor #1 gets up from the bar and at first I'm horrified because I think he's going to start dancing with them, but he just goes over and moves some tables and chairs out of the way for them so they have room... then sits back at the bar with Creepy Bachelor #2 and they watch the girls a bit and then return to their drinks. Cooperhead Road ends, the girls sit down, giggling about their performance. A few other random songs play until the girls get up and Tries Too Hard gives the waiter her iPod and tells him to start playing a certain song. He complies, and then suddenly we are in the middle of a dance club - booming bass, dirty lyrics, the works. Some older women walk in to sit at the bar and are taken aback by what is going on in here. The four girls have gone back to their "dance floor" and start another one of those choreographed line dance things but this one has some bumping and grinding in it. Creepy Bachelor #1 let's out a "yeaaaaaah" as the girls shake their booties. CB #1&2 both turn their chairs to stare directly at these young girls. The bartender and the waiter are smiling at the girls, the old bachelors are leering, their classmates are contemplating coming over and dancing... this is what this little gaggle wants, clearly. John and I are getting super uncomfortable because Ponytail has affixed her "bedroom eyes" on the old creepsters while she shakes her hips, CB #1 is still letting out "yeaaaahs" as the girls dance and talking to CB#2 about the young girls, and we are sitting in the middle of a Mexican Restaurant at 6PM on a Wednesday night in a tiny town in our country county and there is booty-shakin music blasting in this room. I tell John that we have to leave now, he whole-heartedly agrees... because there are many things wrong with this picture and Creepy Bachelor #1 looks like he is so close to bumping and grinding all up on Ponytail (who looks SO young, y'all... so young) and pedophilia is just not for me. These girls were no longer just having fun with their girlfriends. And I had one of my first "I'm getting old moments" when I legitimately wondered "where are their mothers?!" while simultaneously wishing I had grabbed condoms to hand out to everyone in the room and tell them to "make good choices" and "remember: no means no." Oi vey. It was so awkward. I told John I was glad we were leaving before the cops are called (this music was LOUD and there were young girls bumping and grinding while grown men leered). As soon as I walked out into the sunshine I shivered all the skeevies off and wanted to shower to get the look of those men out of my whole being. Ew.<br />
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Most awkward Mexican restaurant experience ever.Rhianna Wellshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04460257379639183345noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353701355922937854.post-67774475062893453392012-08-08T14:09:00.001-04:002012-08-08T14:14:00.207-04:00his dark materials.<div style="text-align: center;">
<em>Into this wilde Abyss,<br />The Womb of nature and perhaps her Grave,<br />Of neither Sea, nor Shore, nor Air, nor Fire,<br />But all these in their pregnant causes mixt<br />Confus'dly, and which thus must ever fight,<br />Unless th' Almighty Maker them ordain<br /><b>His dark materials</b> to create more Worlds,<br />Into this wilde Abyss the warie fiend<br />Stood on the brink of Hell and look'd a while,<br />Pondering his Voyage; for no narrow frith<br />He had to cross.</em></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
— Book 2, lines 910–920</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
[John Milton, <em>Paradise Lost</em>]</div>
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There are some books I love so dearly and are so clear in my mind that I feel as if I've experienced them, actually lived and explored that world. <em>His Dark Materials</em> is probably my most prominent example of this since I have a hard time remembering if I've seen a movie of all of these books because I can picture the story so vividly. Of course, I have seen the first movie... you are probably familiar with, at least with the name, <em>The Golden Compass</em>, but that movie doesn't even scratch the surface, and it's not the most vivid in my mind... it doesn't have Cittagazze, or the World of the Dead, or Will... oh dear Will! I love these books so much that it brings tears to my eyes just thinking about them. I've read the series several times, but I've read the last book, <em>The Amber Spyglass</em>, the most. Over Christmas break John and I listened to the entire series on audibook -- what a joy that was! It's a perfect book to have read to you. <br />
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I've been aching for those words in my life again so I went back to the library to check out the audiobooks again. Listening to Lyra's adventures before bed, while driving, or even at work (when I have time to do work that doesn't require complete concentration) are a great way to get those words in my heart again. Man, am I thankful for these books. <br />
<br />
If you haven't read them, you should. John and I had so many wonderful discussions about "big" topics while we listened to them. Life, the nature of humans, the universe, religion, politics, death, ancient history, physics... it's ridiculous how many topics you want to mull over and discuss with people when you read these books. And Lyra & Will are two of my favorite literary characters (... as well as Mrs. Coulter, though not because I love her, but because she's so complex). I can't say enough good things. The characters, the writing, the plot, the message... these books are top notch.<br />
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<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">[I wish I had a running count for the amount of times I've talked about these books on all of my social media outlets... all of this is probably super redundant. I just wanted to post about it today because it's been so strongly on my mind lately.]</span><br />
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<em><span style="font-size: x-small;">fyi - I don't know the original source of the image above. I found it on a blog and they didn't give credit. I apologize for not crediting an original source properly. But how lovely is this image? I love that it captures something important from each of the books.</span></em>Rhianna Wellshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04460257379639183345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353701355922937854.post-80446803482484445752012-08-03T15:10:00.000-04:002012-08-03T15:16:08.449-04:00thankful list.This week I am thankful for positive people. It's so nice to be around positive people constantly. I'm a lucky girl lately. Life is more fun and the things that aren't so fun are more bearable. Sometimes I think, particularly with the younger generation, it's not cool to be happy or excited about things and I just don't get that... nor have I ever. Positive thinking & exuding positivity are the way to go. Look on the sunny side, fake it til you make it, smile, CHOOSE JOY. Life's not always easy but it doesn't always have to be hard. <br />
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Say hi to a stranger, hold open doors for someone, smile at the parent struggling with children at the supermarket or restaurant, ask the checkout person how their day is going, genuinely listen to the people that are talking to you. And more importantly, pat yourself on the back and tell yourself (out loud!) a few things you like about yourself. You are amazing!<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I hope you have a wonderful weekend!</span> </div>Rhianna Wellshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04460257379639183345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353701355922937854.post-25286044894638431232012-08-02T09:00:00.000-04:002012-08-02T09:00:01.496-04:00nostalgia. #452Penny, my large sassy cat, <a href="http://johnandrhianna.blogspot.com/2007/11/meet-penny.html">was once a new, small little babe</a>. So sweet to remember. Er, wait... maybe not sweet, she was still sassy as a wee one. She's a handful, but we've been through a lot (a lot a lot) together. I love her.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Vintage-Rhianna pics. I was probably 21-ish in these photos. Ew.</span></div>Rhianna Wellshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04460257379639183345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353701355922937854.post-63230670059208652752012-08-01T10:30:00.000-04:002012-08-01T10:30:01.280-04:00from Ode to Broken Things....<br />
<br />
Let's put all our treasures together<br />
-- the clocks, plates, cups<br />
cracked by the cold --<br />
into a sack and carry them<br />
to the sea<br />
and let our possessions sink<br />
into one alarming breaker<br />
that sounds like a river.<br />
be reconstructed by the sea<br />
with the long labor of its tides.<br />
So many useless things<br />
which nobody broke<br />
but which got broken anyway<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">-Neruda.</span>Rhianna Wellshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04460257379639183345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353701355922937854.post-86334745310169046202012-07-31T21:17:00.001-04:002012-08-01T09:46:29.658-04:00summer skin.So let me get girly here for a bit. I've been getting way more into skincare & make-up lately. Skincare because I'm not gettin' any younger ;) but make-up because it's just plain fun. Here are some things my face (er, and body) love.<br />
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Well do this left to right.. the usual.<br />
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1. So <a href="http://lushusa.com/">LUSH</a> makes <a href="http://www.lush.com/emotionalbrilliance-us/">cosmetics</a>
now and it's probably the greatest thing in the world. I sampled some
things the other day but only ended up buying the Believe lip color...
but trust me, I wanted it ALL & I'm going back for more soon. This
color is a great coral-ish pink and you can put it on as light or heavy
as you want, it lasts so long (I hardly have to retouch during the day),
and you can use it as a blush too -- which I do... every day. It feels
good on your lips. As if I needed another reason to love this brand.<br />
<br />
2.
I'm pretty lazy when it comes to finding out about make-up
(particularly foundation) and skin care products. This and the next
product are here because of <a href="http://www.that-is-all.com/">THIS GIRL</a>...
she's a fellow ginger and a make-up guru, I get lost in her videos. I
love that she has very similar coloring to me so I just try out whatever
looks good on her -- it usually works. In her <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdS6A8Vuvq4&feature=plcp">everyday foundation video</a>, she recommended <a href="http://www.amazon.com/SKIN79-Beblesh-Autheticity-perforations-Sample/dp/B004R6HIR6/ref=pd_sim_bt_1/190-5432237-4166739">this</a>. I bought some of this BB Cream off <a href="http://www.amazon.com/SKIN79-Beblesh-Autheticity-perforations-Sample/dp/B004R6HIR6/ref=pd_sim_bt_1/190-5432237-4166739">Amazon</a>
and it. is. awesome. The Koreans have skincare down. This is now all I
use on my face for foundation. It looks amazing, it smells amazing, it
feels amazing.<br />
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3. <a href="http://www.cosmeticscop.com/">Paula's Choice</a> has changed my skin. I use several of her products now and have been for months. I basically <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aq2dBV8tM40&feature=plcp">copied Ashley</a> once again, with a few changes to fit my specific needs. Pictured is the cleanser and it's pretty great.<br />
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4. I wear <a href="http://www.lushusa.com/Vanillary-Solid-Perfume/03279,en_US,pd.html?start=1&q=vanillary">Vanillary</a>
every single day and have been for a while. I prefer LUSH's perfumes
in the solids and this is hands-down my favorite scent. I love it
because I can wear it everyday, day & night, and it works. Plus
it's super duper cheap. :)<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Skincare essentials. Lovin' it lately.</span></div>Rhianna Wellshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04460257379639183345noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353701355922937854.post-91838506705596199652012-07-30T14:38:00.002-04:002012-07-30T16:29:09.886-04:00blogging. (a Rhianna post)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Like a lot of internet-y people, I've been blogging for many a year. Most of my earlier online journals were "friends only" and it wasn't really until I started my <a href="http://chateaux.tumblr.com/">tumblr</a> account that I started posting things publicly. I kept livejournals from 2003-2007, and then I switched to a blogger account in 2007. I could cry now that I can't even figure out how to get back into my old livejournals (not to mention that my first ever I deleted... sob!) because I'm sure they are filled with the most delicious whiny garbage. BUT! I can get into my first blogger account because I still have the same email I used for it. I kept that (private, friends-only) journal <em>Fluctuat Nec Mergitur</em> as I called it from 2007 - 2009. And then at the end of 2009 I started exclusively using Tumblr before making another blogger account -- <em><a href="http://rhiannabrooke.com/">Rhianna Brooke</a></em>. And then of course, started this <em>John + Rhianna</em> blog where I imported all the posts from <em>RB </em>(so they're all basically one blog). So that's the background on my blogging journey. Anyway, I was reading some of my old entries from my first blogger account, <em>FNM</em>, and decided to go ahead and import all those old posts onto this blog too so I'd have them all in one place. I deleted about 1/4 of the posts because they contained things I don't want out in the open on a public blog, and the rest of them are really scattered entries -- super random, mostly lists -- because it was a private blog and only a handful of people that I knew read the posts and, like always, I kinda blog just for me so I have some memories. I did not import the comments since it was a private blog. Now when you are looking at the <em>J+R</em> archive it goes all the way back to 2007, but just know, the archive contains posts from three different blogs, from three very different Rhiannas. <br />
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It's nice to look back every now and then, but these days I'm focused on moving forward and the adventures yet to come. I have a love hate relationship with blogging, putting thoughts on the internet makes you very vulnerable, but I'm to a point in my life where I don't feel a need to make things "private" and I am comfortable (enough) with the things that happened, and completely content with my present, so we'll keep this open now. <br />
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<em><span style="font-size: x-small;">image <a href="http://seankeeley.com/how-to-blog-learn-online-blogging-blogger-intro-sports-webinar-nunesmagician/">via</a></span></em>Rhianna Wellshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04460257379639183345noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353701355922937854.post-78857631656146515902012-07-27T13:52:00.001-04:002012-07-27T13:54:39.508-04:00home.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWO9Bl37I5QToOh-ihb73BxhPIODZsDK2f-X8nDzALhh2knqr8qulxU4fgAxWi9Ih8gk-_4vqhVNfjs-rZ8r3W19oZSBpGe18sHwqWCCgWN6jNgsAUwyKoCRy7fnUJxguRJy1Lhv0uMgE/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWO9Bl37I5QToOh-ihb73BxhPIODZsDK2f-X8nDzALhh2knqr8qulxU4fgAxWi9Ih8gk-_4vqhVNfjs-rZ8r3W19oZSBpGe18sHwqWCCgWN6jNgsAUwyKoCRy7fnUJxguRJy1Lhv0uMgE/s640/photo.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
John and I were discussing the idea of "home" last night. We feel like this place is our home, yet it feels weird, like where we grew up is also still home to us. We feel like we have two homes right now in this transition time. Wondering when we fully move into one and out of the other. Maybe you never lose the feeling of home where you grew up, maybe you lose it when you start growing up your own family in the new place. Can you really feel like two different places are both home? Does it have to be one? It will be interesting to see.<br />
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The above picture is from our home- where we grew together and where we will start the growing up of our children. We love our home.Rhianna Wellshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04460257379639183345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353701355922937854.post-9608018460737417942012-07-25T11:00:00.000-04:002012-07-25T11:00:50.544-04:00"after all, we're not savages..."<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNvqkASpHE4_zX0i1odk24V8MUTAjOlyAyv1N9Flf1q0zI11D1e2BXlBGUqGMKYVUPh2HrfckMsaAWnSRren2rcN9gHxrz172yCx5DLYFHNHEyrtbsB5m-EQ5YR5niohyphenhyphenoIc7wp2cI9uI/s1600/names.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="488" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNvqkASpHE4_zX0i1odk24V8MUTAjOlyAyv1N9Flf1q0zI11D1e2BXlBGUqGMKYVUPh2HrfckMsaAWnSRren2rcN9gHxrz172yCx5DLYFHNHEyrtbsB5m-EQ5YR5niohyphenhyphenoIc7wp2cI9uI/s640/names.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
When the internet is down in a setting that relies heavily on the internet, people start walking around looking like they are lost. Isn't it a funny thing? We forget how to function for a moment before busying ourselves with other offline tasks. I always worry that people will get stir crazy, I instinctively look for a conch shell, *just in case* it gets all <em>Lord of the Flies</em> up in here. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiF_eXh85Acj-ROpJO-C2NgiOPpS-Friuikh4k0MJbA0YfofjRRhcQia9YNc_TSTFiNSJIjK__RGR9UIWoNJz6E6KXpfZmU2fB8WvWiPHkUpGLkdbX8wN5rHdaFJ8T2EsSRk74EM8wwUo/s1600/lord-of-the-flies-savage-boys1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="277" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiF_eXh85Acj-ROpJO-C2NgiOPpS-Friuikh4k0MJbA0YfofjRRhcQia9YNc_TSTFiNSJIjK__RGR9UIWoNJz6E6KXpfZmU2fB8WvWiPHkUpGLkdbX8wN5rHdaFJ8T2EsSRk74EM8wwUo/s400/lord-of-the-flies-savage-boys1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">luckily it's back up, so this isn't us... </td></tr>
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<em><span style="font-size: x-small;">images </span></em><a href="http://www.google.com/imgres?um=1&hl=en&sa=N&biw=1440&bih=806&tbm=isch&tbnid=rLDV7qBg0OsI1M:&imgrefurl=http://viewsfromthesofa.wordpress.com/2012/06/06/lord-of-the-flies-1963-review/&docid=BkWXpXr-CDniJM&imgurl=http://viewsfromthesofa.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/names.jpg&w=819&h=626&ei=1AcQUMrNNqSP7AGC14HACA&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=848&vpy=217&dur=968&hovh=196&hovw=257&tx=141&ty=86&sig=113398609059784989137&page=1&tbnh=129&tbnw=159&start=0&ndsp=30&ved=1t:429,r:13,s:0,i:182"><em><span style="font-size: x-small;">here</span></em></a><em><span style="font-size: x-small;"> & </span></em><a href="http://www.google.com/imgres?um=1&hl=en&sa=N&biw=1440&bih=806&tbm=isch&tbnid=RHSxPnp3kcof9M:&imgrefurl=http://beingfiftysomething.com/tag/lord-of-the-flies/&docid=7-GLyJOq1w4hjM&imgurl=http://beingfiftysomething.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/lord-of-the-flies-savage-boys1.jpg&w=431&h=300&ei=1AcQUMrNNqSP7AGC14HACA&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=670&vpy=221&dur=209&hovh=187&hovw=269&tx=129&ty=93&sig=113398609059784989137&page=1&tbnh=129&tbnw=162&start=0&ndsp=30&ved=1t:429,r:12,s:0,i:179"><em><span style="font-size: x-small;">here</span></em></a>Rhianna Wellshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04460257379639183345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353701355922937854.post-66987225890019667332012-07-24T11:20:00.000-04:002012-07-24T11:20:49.207-04:00yogi.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcHw-c9FQiUQDn-R6jFWTjMg2i8HJBHCF6miqV4Ps6erz5iwyZWFa10ILcqlJIt4pPnjqrQpJIhAiyE8WeuMMrLmxPfXFNw2YGfJZyxSZmLlseN-JgIAXSJI-4F1D4h1802G7KG5ZU8Os/s1600/Yogi-Teas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcHw-c9FQiUQDn-R6jFWTjMg2i8HJBHCF6miqV4Ps6erz5iwyZWFa10ILcqlJIt4pPnjqrQpJIhAiyE8WeuMMrLmxPfXFNw2YGfJZyxSZmLlseN-JgIAXSJI-4F1D4h1802G7KG5ZU8Os/s640/Yogi-Teas.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
John and I drink a lot of tea. We pretty much exclusively drink the Yogi Tea brand now. Slowly we've transitioned from other tea brands to Yogi because it's amazing and the Super Antioxidant Green Tea has made any other brand of green tea taste like dirty river water. Maybe a little dramatic? But probably not. We are super lucky that our co-op offers a gazillion kinds of Yogi Teas so it's fun to try out new ones. The flavors we normally drink are Super Antioxidant Green Tea and the DeTox. We also just bought a box of the Soothing Caramel Bedtime tea the other week and I've been drinking it at night -- very delicious. I want to try every flavor.<br />
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Even though they taste amazing, the best part is definitely the "fortune" (or really, good, zen advice?) on the tag. I love seeing what I'll get every morning and every evening. Here's this mornings cup of green tea.<br />
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Pretty groovy, Yogi Tea. You got some loyal followers in John & Me.<br />
(<em><span style="font-size: x-small;">rhymessss!</span></em>)</div><div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><em><span style="font-size: x-small;">image </span></em><a href="http://www.yoganonymous.com/free-giveaway-1-year-supply-of-tea-from-yogi-tea/"><em><span style="font-size: x-small;">via</span></em></a>Rhianna Wellshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04460257379639183345noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353701355922937854.post-78276077768254725792012-07-23T10:53:00.001-04:002012-07-23T11:08:33.176-04:00wknd update.I forgot to do a thankful list on Friday. I found myself entirely too busy. John's mom flew in to visit with us on Friday (she's still here, too! flying out tomorrow) and we've been having fun with her. Topping my thankful list last week probably would've been FAMILY -- it's so nice when we have family over to visit. It makes me feel even more content. We had a wonderfully quiet weekend filled with a Farmer's Market trip, <em>Pretty Little Liars</em> marathon (John's mom just started getting into it & asked if we could watch -- OF COURSE I said yes!), a bit of thrifting, games of Bananagrams, naps during the storms, and just having lots of long, amazing talks. It's been pretty great. <a href="http://stlaurensdayparade.blogspot.com/">Lauren</a> also sent me a picture of a sweet letter her niece <a href="http://johnandrhianna.blogspot.com/2012/03/stella-says-vol-1.html">Stella</a> wrote me -- she also has audio of Stella writing the letters. Oh how I love that girl -- I'm thankful for her too!<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><em>1. John tries to cheat at Banagrams, if someone else calls Bananas first, he just puts his letters down and says he had Bananas too. Notice how he only has one real word - denial. Seems appropriate ;)</em></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><em>2. I had a glass of champagne this weekend while we </em>PLL<em> marathoned. In a Hello Kitty glass no less.</em></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><em>3. I've never fallen in love with a couch before, but this one at the thrift store made my heart ache. A hideous cream & green crushed velvet sectional -- already claimed. John and I tried super hard to get the guys to let us buy it instead. Our friends probably would've disowned us for putting it in our house though.</em></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><em>4. One of the two Stella letters: "Rhianna, Will you please come see we're (our) garden? And please bring your dog?"</em></span>Rhianna Wellshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04460257379639183345noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353701355922937854.post-72546540523221702662012-07-13T15:28:00.001-04:002012-07-16T09:49:45.525-04:00thankful list.I've recently found myself with more "computer time" on my hands which means... no excuse to not blog (somewhat) regularly. Recently I posted my progress on my 52 Books in 2012, and on that list I included <em>The Happiness Project</em> by Gretchen Rubin as my favorite non-fiction book I've read so far this year. One thing that book taught me is to regularly list and appreciate the things in your life you are thankful for. I have to say, for a year now my whole outlook has changed quite a bit -- I've tried to cultivate a "Joy Choosing" attitude and bring positivity into every aspect of my life. So I keep regular gratitude lists in my head, but maybe I'll start sharing some with you. Sometimes I get, like, weirdly private online and tend to be kind of vague -- so I'm sorry if some things are vague, I just like to keep my personal life pretty close to my heart & small circle of confidants. <br />
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But here are five things I'm thankful for right now (kind of in the spirit of the old livejournal days with "Friday Fives.").<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic8hjAr2Ova-mDRDKYFFG819QaOngSoGg3pCKGDMlVARYSPKkhpIGG6PurzvdWcQwbk9lBTYs5o3GTSjqRRhRy7h6gKJVk84SKZUHj6WWPdsF1Rxo9zHsAkikBIyTCecheo0u4gUT3PkI/s1600/thankful.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic8hjAr2Ova-mDRDKYFFG819QaOngSoGg3pCKGDMlVARYSPKkhpIGG6PurzvdWcQwbk9lBTYs5o3GTSjqRRhRy7h6gKJVk84SKZUHj6WWPdsF1Rxo9zHsAkikBIyTCecheo0u4gUT3PkI/s640/thankful.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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1. John. Are you sick of me gushing about him yet? Too bad. Skip this one then. He has to be number one on this list because he is the ultimate positive force in my life. It's a joy to have someone like him be my best friend - positive, giving, smart.<br />
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2. Flowers. Oh how so many have bloomed the past few months. Flowers in the garden or fresh-cut in a vase, they make me so happy. John and I have gotten in the habit of almost always having star-gazers in the house... they smell amazing and have bright blooms.<br />
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3. Books. Okay, we get it, Rhianna, you like to read. But I can't help it... when I'm not working or visiting people, I'm most likely reading. Books take up a sizeable chunk of my time. I'm so thankful for books. I love that they broaden my mind, teach me, take me on adventures, let me cry, and let me laugh. I just treasure them so much.<br />
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4. Quiet Mornings. I am a morning person. I like to get up early and start my day... but at the same time I hate to talk or interact until I've slowly woken up -- I like to lie in the bed for a while with my eyes open & get used to the idea of the day. I love starting my day quietly, wrapped in a blanket with a mug of hot tea or coffee, reading the news or watching a mindless tv program on Netflix.<br />
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5. My New Job. Normally something I wouldn't share online, but I've been super lucky in the job market down here in NC. I've been fortunate enough to have to agonize over whether to stay at my current job or take a new one that was offered. I took the new one -- time for a new adventure. I finished up my first week and I have to say, I'm so glad I took the job. I'm in the most positive, progressive, and female-empowering environment I've ever worked. So it's making my thankful list.<br />
<br />john + rhiannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01969734549286060576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353701355922937854.post-43915105503909753502012-06-28T21:02:00.001-04:002012-06-28T21:05:17.450-04:00chlorine.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3-G1-yWk-SEv7uNnmms_KAIU2QHs1CS1m2LtTwiLBeyIXyuQ0q2rLmsYs2DiqC3ApYaYWC0unfuq6TlHNSYi-kMlxfJqgsCFuscHsnWQdTCISQKwe84A3y4Sp_0w-6e_PoVo-uDFMXmI/s1600/IMG_0758.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="157" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3-G1-yWk-SEv7uNnmms_KAIU2QHs1CS1m2LtTwiLBeyIXyuQ0q2rLmsYs2DiqC3ApYaYWC0unfuq6TlHNSYi-kMlxfJqgsCFuscHsnWQdTCISQKwe84A3y4Sp_0w-6e_PoVo-uDFMXmI/s640/IMG_0758.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Yesterday I turned on the television just in time to see a little bit of the USA swimming Olympic Trials. Oh man, did it have me feeling nostalgic.<br />
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This is why I love the Olympics: swimming is about the only sport I "get" and so it's nice that every four years, it's easy to watch it on tv and information about the sport is readily available. I'm not a very gifted athlete. My hand eye coordination is abysmal at best. But I can swim. For twelve years of my life I was a competitive swimmer. I was okay at swimming -- not horrible by any means, but I wasn't winning a state championship title either... I knew swimming would never take me to college or the Olympics, but I still loved the sport and enjoyed doing it. Swimming becomes your life when you decide to be competitive. I practiced 3 hours a day at least 6 days a week, sometimes jumping in the water before school too -- and holidays were just an excuse to have double or triple practices. Some of my very best friends swam with me and that's what kept me at it more than anything (because, like I said, I wasn't spectacular at the sport). It kept me in shape and taught me many lessons. A lot of those lessons are thanks to Coach. But <a href="http://chateaux.tumblr.com/post/982631415">writing about Coach</a> is another post. Let's just say, he was one of the greatest men I have ever met (and probably will ever meet). <br />
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But turning on the television to see those swimmers getting ready for their event... I could smell the chlorine and feel the thick air in the natatorium and I instantly went back in my mind to high school (& middle school & elementary...). To waiting around in my parka trying to remain completely dry before my heat, to Annie asking me to help her with her cap (she could never put it on right herself), to adjusting my goggles constantly, to snuggling up with Kristin & Elizabeth in our sleeping bags while we waited endlessly to be called up to the clerk of course, to hearing Coach's distinct whistle on my last 25 of the 500 free, to sitting up in the bleachers while we watched the diving meet during the middle of the swim meet, to singing in the showers after a looooong swim practice with dryland conditioning afterwards, to seeing Coach wearing a different version of the same shirt every. single. practice, and to him being the perfect example of the message he had printed on those shirts "Attitude is Everything."<br />
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So I'm looking forward to the Olympics. I'm excited to watch the swimming events. I'm glad it reminds me of a time in my life when no matter how hard I scrubbed, my skin always smelled like chlorine.<br />
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[<span style="font-size: x-small;">the picture is of my home pool that I swam in for many many many years. I got it off of the <a href="http://www.colonelaquatics.com/">Colonel Aquatics</a> site. ColA was one of the three teams I swam for over the years.</span>]</div>john + rhiannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01969734549286060576noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6353701355922937854.post-33247027186679790292012-06-27T08:01:00.002-04:002012-06-27T08:01:19.534-04:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I used to blog all the time. Every day. Now I don't. Is this what growing up feels like? Not having the need to pour out all my feelings about everything onto the internet. Of course I know there are plenty of bloggers on my reader that post everyday and I love that, but those bloggers post all the time because it's literally their job. It is not my job, nor do I want it to be. I just hate sitting in front of a computer now. I have to set reminders on my phone to write emails because I don't want to even sit down long enough in front of a screen to type out a paragraph. But I do recognize that I need, and want, to keep in contact with people and emailing is the best way for most of those people in this digital age. And maybe I need to discipline myself and set reminders to update my blog too. I <i>want</i> to write things down about this stage in our lives - before children, while we're young, while we're here -- I wish I still had that ability to surf the internet and sit and write. Sometimes I think there is a direct link between deleting Facebook and the dwindling blog. Oh well. Basically I'm just typing this because it's Wednesday morning and I wanted to watch the new episode of <i>Dance Moms</i> and I have to watch it on the computer. So I'm sitting here "watching" it and drinking my second cup of coffee before I have to get ready for my day.<br />
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So here's life. It's summer and as I get older, summer becomes more and more my very favorite season. We've been in our little red house for a year now. The longer we stay here the more we fall in love with our little town. We've both been getting active in our community and learning to live in a place where everything is closed on Sundays (and most places, on Monday too). I think we're both pretty set on staying here for a while. Before we were thinking it was going to be temporary, but that was when we didn't expect to fall in love with this town. Other than our location, both of us are falling more in love with life in general. We had a pretty gross autumn -- car problems, ankle problems, job problems... Winter got a little better, of course, we spent a lot of it visiting people in other places... Spring brought new blooms and new opportunities for us... and now Summer! Summer is when things are getting good. I'm excited about summer. <br />
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<br />john + rhiannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01969734549286060576noreply@blogger.com1