Orange-go-round

This has been the sweetest week of vacation with Chris. I feel so lucky that we have been able to have this time. This vacation is a sweet and slow kind of thing. The luxury of so many days of quiet, unplanned peace felt at first strange. Quickly, though, I settled into it and have [...]

One day, I will live in a place like this. And make things like this in a studio like this. And grow flowers and herbs chickens and veggies and goats. And make cheese like this. But first, I have some exploring and travelin’ to do!

Meet Bufito! Chris and I have two pet toads. The larger toad is named Bufo the Vampire Slayer, or Bufo for short. The smaller toad is Bufito. (Bufo comes from the scientific name for toads. Nerdy, right?) They’re pretty awesome and entertaining. They both began croaking not too long ago, and I was pleasantly surprised [...]

Chris and I recently eloped at the Austin courthouse in the pouring rain. It was simple and sweet and just perfect for us. However, it seems that our elopement caused some people great consternation. Some of the concerns they shared with us included: 1) Ann Marie secretly hates the idea of eloping but has lost [...]

Yesterday, I went for a bike ride. For most, that is not such a big deal, but for me, it meant a tremendous accomplishment.

“You do not have to be good. You do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting. You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves.” – Mary Oliver, Wild Geese

Chris had a meeting while we were in Houston, so I spent the morning exploring. Like many cities, Houston is the most beautiful mix of old and new. I also came across the historic Gulf Building which now houses the JPMorgan Chase bank. The Gulf Building was built in 1929 and later restored. Until the [...]

Several weeks ago, Chris and I took an overnight trip to Houston. On the second afternoon, we stopped by the Houston Zoo. It was glorious. We saw these giant fruit bats that spent the majority of their time fighting with their enormous, razor thumbs. I petted some goats. Chris enjoyed the amphibian and reptile house [...]

I am my happiest when focusing on contentment and gratitude and finding these two things without first changing any outside factors. They come more easily at some times than at others. When they don’t come easily, I often find that it is because my life and my thoughts have become cluttered. Because I’m not always [...]

Well, hello there, 2011!  It’s funny to think about new beginnings on January 1st because it always feels like such an arbitrary time of the year to begin again.  I think that my feelings of newness and awakening always occur in the spring, when flowers bloom and the sun is warm but breezes still cool; [...]