A Late Afternoon Winter Walk

Ben: A Study in Blues

Is it any wonder that it's my favorite color?

Love Is...

Snuggling under the kitchen table with your best friend for the afternoon.

Aawwww....

My best friend Melissa is getting married at the end of February, and she sent me a copy of the reading she'll have at the wedding. I have to share because it's so beautiful and true:

Blessing for a Marriage
James Dillet Freeman

May your marriage bring you all the exquisite
excitement marriage should bring,
and may life grant you also patience,
tolerance, and understanding.
May you always need one another -not so much to fill your emptiness
as to help you to know your fullness.
A mountain needs a valley to be complete;
the valley does not makethe mountain less, but more;
and the valley is more a valley because it has a mountain towering over it.
May you need one another, but not out of weakness.
May you want one another, but not out of lack.
May you entice one another, but not compel one another.
May you embrace one another, but not out encircle one another.
May you succeed in all important ways with one another, and not fail in the little graces.
May you look for things to praise, often say, "I love you!"
and take no notice of small faults.
If you have quarrels that push you apart,
may both of you hope to have good sense enough to take the first step back.
May you enter into the mystery which is
the awareness of one another's presence - no more physical than spiritual,
warm and near when you are side by side,
and warm and near when you are in separate rooms
or even distant cities.
May you have happiness,and may you find it making one another happy.
May you have love, and may you find it loving one another.

Blurry Photos, Brought to You Courtesy of Pent-Up Winter Energy Wrestling Night

Yes, I promise to start working on shutter speeds. :)

All of Our Training Has Paid Off

It's official. After the long-awaited Olympic ticket lottery process ended yesterday, we were notified that we will be attending Short Track Speed Skating and Bobsleigh.

Woohoo!

Phew!

He got it. At least for now...

Whoopee!

Eventually I had to leave the cozy house yesterday and see things close up.

Here are some more winter photos, NOT taken through (dirty) windows!

Winter Through the Window

Outside, the sky is brilliant blue, the sun is dazzling, and the snow is shiny with the recent coating of ice.



Inside, I'm sitting in a sun spot enjoying the warm sun and the stunning view of winter through the window.

Each year starts like this.

My mom makes a special feast. She lights a green candle for prosperity, a white one for health and a red one for love.

After the feast, we open up the special box. It contains our sealed resolutions from last year. We open them, read them out loud, and laugh.

We write new resolutions. This is not so easy for some of us.

We seal them with wax, and lock them up until next year.

We dig in to a special cake to see who will get the coin. It's always Theo.

We do horoscope readings.

And then we are ready for the year to begin.

2008 Favorites

Book:
Ben - 39 Clues by Rick Riordan
Theo - Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
Kristin - Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
Eric - The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis

Movie:
Theo - Akeela and the Bee
Eric - The Flight of the Conchords, Season 1 (which he considers a movie because we Netflix'd it)
Ben - Star Wars the Clone Wars
Kristin - The Thin Man series

Song:
Kristin - When You Come Back Down by Nickel Creek
Ben - If It Makes You Happy by Sheryl Crow
Eric - Always by Peter Bradley Adams
Theo - Viva La Vida by Coldplay

Color:
Eric - Royal blue
Kristin - Every shade of blue
Theo - Green
Ben - Blue and Red

Food:
Ben - Tiny's hot dogs (Tiny's is a local joint that sells hot dogs and cigars)
Theo - Green peppers
Eric - Malai Kofta
Kristin - Olives and black beans

Happy New Year to our favorite people!