how do you measure a year in the life?

can you guess what show I saw by the title of this post?
yep, it was "rent"

my culture companion: danielle


the start of our evening: the paramount club
(complete with private bathrooms which was a super big score during intermission!)


the view from our seats

my review: AWESOME!
I sort of knew the premise of the show before going but wasn't familiar with much else. it was surprising how much I liked it, much more than I thought I would. there were even tears during portions...what? nothing of what I expected to feel.

a big thanks to shandel for passing along her season tickets for danielle and I to use. we truly appreciated it and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

..how do I prefer this face to another...

my little sister got engaged last night!

congratulations katie and jeremy! I am so happy for you.

now it's on to the planning stage...my FAVORITE part!

why can't you be in a good mood?

how hard is it to decide to be in a good mood and be in a good mood? ("say anything")

apparently, it's a little more difficult than I thought.

here's a look back at my calendar, it might explain where I've been.

march 2

my friend cindy was diagnosed with breast cancer; stage 1 but grade 9

march 2-6

my mom undergoes numerous cardio tests to find out why she's been so tired

march 7

my friend angie had little samuel jeffrey 10 weeks early; tiny but healthy

march 9-31

cindy struggles with making a decision between lumpectomy and mastectomy; I listen

march 25

my mom found out she might have had a heart attack; what?

april 1

cindy has surgery; I stay the night and make meals

april 4

my great aunt has a sore on her leg that the doctors thing might be MRSA; my mom is not allowed to go near her

april 6
aunt jean's sore is not MRSA or staph; possibly just a spider bite

april 6

cindy finds out the cancer was not in her lymph nodes; yea

april 8

but discovers the cancer was detected close to the chest wall; which opens up a higher risk of rogue cancer cells taken up residence in the chest muscle

april 13

my friend hailey has little levi abraham; 8 pounds 12 ounces

april 14

my mom has her first appointment with her cardiologist; he isn't convinced of the heart attack theory, but is worried about her EKG baseline numbers; she schedules a heart cath procedure

april 15
saw "say anything" on the big screen with friend erica; want to let you all know that john cusack is even dreamier in this movie on the big screen. LOVED IT!

april 17

I fly to palm springs to meet levi, get a little sun, and play auntie for a long weekend

april 22
mom has heart cath procedure; one stent successfully put in and no additional open heart surgery needed (PTL!)

april 24
drive home to spend time with mom and dad; monitor her recovery and just be

april 28
mom's follow-up appointment with cardiologist; he's happy but putting her on lots of medication that she'll most likely be on forever. she says it's a small price to pay. I agree.

april 28

exhausted

I'm working on getting my tank full up again. stay tuned for more stories of this adventurous city life!

candy, I call my sugar candy

did you know...

1.
it takes six minutes to make one peeps chick

2.
original peeps have a shelf life of two years

3.
more than 5 million peeps are produced each day

4.
peeps have been the most popular non-chocolate easter candy in the united states for more than a decade.

I think they are disgusting but they remind me of my grandma kitty who LOVED them so they can't be all bad.

so you think you can dance?

do you?

because the people camping out in preparation for the open casting call in seattle sure do.

there was an energy surrounding the moore tonight; people are dancing on the sidewalk and it feels to me like I imagine new york and broadway must feel like.

view on my walk home from work.

but I'm confident in my decision to stay home...and stay dry.

I definitely CAN NOT dance!

brown paper packages tied up with string

I'm on a roll with the "sound of music" references aren't I?!
well, I know lisa appreciates it even if no one else does.

my mom is the sweetest. sometimes she sends me surprise packages. just because.

see what I found in my mailbox this week...

oh, how I've loved this green party dress! for over a year, I've admired it, taken pictures of it, fingered the tulle on it.

what I love about it:
soft, dreamy green color
poofy skirt with layers
ruched bodice with peeping tulle at neckline

maybe my wedding dress (one day, don't read into anything here!) will be similar? how fun would it be to have a retro, tea-length party dress to wear for your special day?


and look what I opened today...

I spotted this quilt the same shopping trip as the green dress. there are a few worn spots, a few holes. but the colors are bright and cheery still. I don't think it's been hand stitched but it's been well loved, and it shows.

I love that!


thanks, mom! you spoil me so.

snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes

this was the morning view from my window.


isn't friday the first day of spring? what is going on around here?