Saturday, April 30, 2011

gratitude day 12: cold








in light of the 6 inches of snow we received last night, here are the top ten most awesome things about living in a place that is nose-hair-freezing cold until may.*

10. views at your daughter's soccer game that look suspiciously like a bob ross painting.
9. no worries about the frozen mangos melting in the back of your car on errand day.
8. no need for ice baths—as recommended by timothy ferriss, author of THE FOUR-HOUR BODY**—to lose weight. you're already shivering cold. all the time.
7. playing in the snow when your sister comes to visit for spring break. how many people who went to a florida beach can say they did that? huh?
6. snow heads. see third picture down. i found this on my back deck today, courtesy of lucas.
5. seeing your cute niece, hazel, wearing emma's hand-me-down fleece hoodie.
4. endless cups of hot chocolate. in our case, cocoa mojo.
3. and endless baths.
2. plenty of time to prepare to plant your garden. plenty of time.
1. no need to imagine the norwegian scenery in your novel, or how a girl raised next to a citrus grove would feel about her first winter there.*** all you need to do is step outside. and look at that last picture.


*this entire post might be a lie. it's possible i spent the whole day dreaming of shorts, popsicles, and lounging on a sun-warmed deck, poolside and not being grateful AT ALL for the cold.

**this book is insane. like, seriously bat crap crazy. and offensive. i think a man who writes about his sexual escapades, describing the women involved as sexual experiments and needs clinical drawings to explain how to pleasure a woman, needs more than four hours to find "incredible sex." incredible sex is found through love, commitment, forgiveness, respect, and keeping sacred things sacred. just sayin' tim. you couldn't have missed the mark more.

***this is a bit spoilery for my novel i'm revising, but look at that castle picture again! doesn't that make you want to write a fairy tale? or take a trip to bavaria where your ancestors are from? no? that's just me? oh, okay.

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

gratitude day 11: ben howard



this may seem awkward, as we've never met, but where have you been all my life? i want to marry this song; it's folk perfection. i am anxiously awaiting the release of your debut EP may 23rd in the states. until then, i'll just keep on watching your video on YouTube and wishing i lived closer to ireland so i could see a live gig. if you ever come to utah, let's plan to meet up, okay mate? you could play your guitar for our talent portion of family night or something.

love,
rachel

Sunday, April 24, 2011

gratitude day 10: clean



welcome back, self! hello friends! it's wonderful to be blogging again. so many things on my mind, but first things first. i must whip this messy house into submission with some serious spring cleaning. and to that of course i need a good spring cleaning playlist. which i share with you below. leave a comment if you'd like me to hook you up with some motivational music, friends. i love to share. [here, at my house, the daffodils are just now opening up. happy yellow promises of warmer days to come.]

i love a clean house. i love a clean body. i love a clean manuscript. i love a clean mind and a clean spirit. i am dedicating this week to cleaning of all sorts of things that have been neglected during tax season.

here's my playlist. is there any essential tunes you'd add? let me know!


Take Ya Dancin - Say Hi
Something Good Can Work - Two Door Cinema Club
Lazy Eye - Silversun Pickups
Home - Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros
L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N. - Noah & The Whale
Eyes As Candles - Passion Pit
Rolling In The Deep - Adele
All Of This - Naked and Famous
I Didn't See It Coming - Belle & Sebastian
Black & Blue - Miike Snow
Superhuman Touch - Athlete
Sleepyhead - Passion Pit
Hock It - The Blow
Ahead Of My Time (Feat. Daddy Boastin') - Teddybears
Animal - Neon Trees
Blue Skies Again - Jessica Lea Mayfield
Punching In A Dream - Naked and Famous
I Wanna Be Sedated - Ramones
Blister In The Sun - Violent Femmes
Starry Eyed - Ellie Goulding
Architects And Engineers - Guster
Shape Of My Heart - Noah & The Whale
Let's Go Surfing - The Drums
Good To Sea - Pinback
Young Blood - Naked and Famous
Different Sound (Feat. Malte) - Teddybears
This Is The Life - Two Door Cinema Club
Little Secrets - Passion Pit
Race You - Elizabeth & The Catapult
Skippin' Town - The Drums
5 Years Time - Noah & The Whale
Animal - Miike Snow
Middle Distance Runner - Sea Wolf