Valentine's Day

Oh, the number one is not my favorite number (why?)
'Cause one means only me and there's no you (aw, Ernie)
But one plus one you see
Makes two, that's you and me
And it's more fun when one and one make two

Oh, one and one make two
At least I'm pretty sure they do
Oh yes it's true
One and one make two

Now, everyone needs somebody to share with
A pal to help and care for through and through
And there's no one that I've known
Who can do those things alone
It's a lot nicer when one and one make two

Oh, one and one make two
At least I'm pretty sure they do
Oh yes it's true
One and one make two

-One and One Make Two, sung by Bert & Ernie

Families, Love & Summertime

A weekend with my family in Minnesota's beautiful lake country helps to remind me what matters.

I don't need to - earn six figures/end global poverty/travel the world/be CEO - to be happy.

I'll be just fine with-

a yard and some flowers ... kids and then grandkids ... church every Sunday ... birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, baptisms ... friends to grow old with ... someone I am in love with forever ...

and a summer day up north at the lake.

______________________________
at a little wooden cabin
up in northern minnesota
we ran together down to the dock
and you jumped right off it
and from out in the water
you called me to join you
and i said baby i cannot swim
if i jump i’ll surely drown you
you said life has no limit
if you’re not afraid to get in it

and oh baby i jumped to you
since then there’s nothing i can’t do

i'm never gonna give you up
what do you got if you ain't got love

If You Ain't Got Love, Mason Jennings
______________________________

Bert, Buffalo

Blake went to South Dakota a couple of summers ago and came home with Bert the Buffalo. Little did Blake know what a part of our lives this small, stuffed buffalo would become (if he had, I worry Bert might not have made it).

Here's the thing - all of my stuffed animals were animated when I was little, thanks to my dad and brother. I had a Snork who wore a sock on his snorky thing all winter to stay warm (my dad's idea). I had a bear who was sometimes served his very own plate at the dinner table. All of my stuffed animals would pop their little heads in the bathroom door to cheer me up when I was in the tub and my mom was pouring water in my eyes. So it quickly just became a way of life. My stuffed animals talked to me, they went on trips with us, they were a part of the family. My bear went off to college with me and met Sarah's bear and the world was a happy place.

So, naturally, I expected that little, stuffed Bert would demonstrate the same behavior as my childhood stuffed animals. Imagine my surprise when I realized that Blake intended for Bert to just sit on a shelf and look cute. It took him quite a while to warm up to the idea of having Bert as an active part of our lives but finally, he could resist no longer - and I do believe that our relationship is better because of it.

This is why:

-Blake demonstrates his ability to be a nurturing caretaker by giving Bert kisses, sharing bites of his food with Bert, and massaging Bert's feet when the poor little guy has had a rough day. (And as much as he'd argue that he does all of this just to appease me, he's the one who panics when Bert is lost under the bed for a mere second.)

Bert & Blake

-Bert can express all sorts of disapproval - releasing me from the role of 'nagging girlfriend'. "Bert wishes you would remember to chew with your mouth closed." "Bert is worried that we're not spending enough quality time together." (It's handy that he speaks only in whispers and mostly to me.) Bert is often on my side - because I'm often right - and I always have an instant "2 to 1" argument.

-Bert is fun. Really. We have a constant prompt to be silly and ridiculous - to play and make each other laugh. That's the big reason.

Is our integration of Bert into our relationship strange? Yes. Are there stranger things in the world? Definitely yes. On the scale of strangeness I think we're doing alright. Maybe every relationship could even benefit from a little stuffed buffalo, who knows. Or maybe it's just us.

PostSecret Valentine Video

Postsecret: A Valentine Video

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Oh, Valentine's Day...

Yes, Valentine's Day.

The first Valentine's Day Blake and I celebrated together was themed 'White Trash' (his idea, not mine). We dressed like white trash (I had quite a hard time with this), drank Old Milwaukee, then went to White Castle AND Taco Bell. I felt sick, can't imagine why.

Our second Valentine's Day we had a huge fight, were on the verge of breaking up, and I showed up at his door with a case of Old Milwaukee - for old time's sake.

Last Valentine's Day there was an entire ocean between us.

So we have quite the track record. As much as I've always been against heart-shaped boxes of chocolates and long-stemmed roses, I sometimes wonder if my life wouldn't be a little easier with heart-shaped boxes of chocolates and long-stemmed roses. I have no doubt that Hallmark is at fault for making me believe this.

I've recently become a fan of PostSecret (a community art project; people create and anonymously send postcards with their secrets) and they have a Valentine's Day themed post today - yes, love is dysfunctional, by nature. But that's okay.

Here are my favorites:

Best Auld Lang Syne Moment Ever

Harry: I've been doing a lot of thinking, and the thing is, I love you.
Sally: What?
Harry: I love you.
Sally: How do you expect me to respond to this?
Harry: How about, you love me too.
Sally: How about, I'm leaving.
Harry: Doesn't what I said mean anything to you?
Sally: I'm sorry, Harry. I know it's New Year's Eve. I know you're feeling lonely, but you just can't show up here, tell me you love me, and expect that to make everything all right. It doesn't work this way.
Harry: Well, how does it work?
Sally: I don't know, but not this way.
Harry: How about this way? I love that you get cold when it's 71 degrees out. I love that it takes you an hour and a half to order a sandwich. I love that you get a little crinkle above your nose when you're looking at me like I'm nuts. I love that after I spend the day with you, I can still smell your perfume on my clothes. And I love that you are the last person I want to talk to before I go to sleep at night. And it's not because I'm lonely, and it's not because it's New Year's Eve. I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.
Sally: You see? That is just like you, Harry. You say things like that, and you make it impossible for me to hate you, and I hate you, Harry. I really hate you. I hate you.
[They kiss]
Harry: What does this song mean? My whole life, I don't know what this song means. I mean, 'Should old acquaintance be forgot'? Does that mean that we should forget old acquaintances, or does it mean if we happened to forget them, we should remember them, which is not possible because we already forgot?
Sally: Well, maybe it just means that we should remember that we forgot them or something. Anyway, it's about old friends.

-When Harry Met Sally

Happy New Year!

Thank God I'm a Country Girl

Okay, so I'm not really a country girl. In fact, I start to feel out of place as soon as I get anywhere north of, say, Shoreview. But I understand the appeal of the small-town, slower-pace lifestyle and would love to move to the country - if only I could find a town with a progressive, free-thinking, socially conscious population. It's not because I believe that's the only acceptable way to approach life - there's value in differing beliefs and opinions - but it's just that I prefer to be around people who don't make me want to throw rocks at them when they speak.

Anyway, I've been a country music fan almost as long as I've been a music fan. And I think it's too bad that so many of us (especially in the city) avoid it. I appreciate the wholesome themes of true love, family, simplicity and faith in God.

So I share with you some of my favorite country music lyrics. (There are so many, it's hard to choose.)

I have wondered this world far and wide
I've been all around to the other side
But there's nothin' like comin' home
I wanna sit on my front porch and drink my lemonade
Cut my grass after church every Sunday
And go out on Saturday night
Live the simple life
Wake up in the morning to these fields of gold
And take a long walk down a gravel road
Carolyn Dawn Johnson, Simple Life

My grandma was a wise old soul
Took me by the hand not long ago
Said, "Son, what's your hurry, boy slow it down
Taste the wild honey, listen to the sound
Of the wind that's blowin' through the trees
Rivers flowin' to the sea
Yeah they're all headin' home just like you and me
Life's for livin' child, can't you see?"
Keith Urban, These Are the Days

'Cause it's the first long kiss on a second date
Momma's all worried when you get home late
And droppin' the ring in the spaghetti plate
'cause your hands are shakin' so much
And it's the way that she looks with the rice in her hair
Eatin' burnt supper the whole first year
And askin' for seconds to keep her from tearin' up
Yeah man, that's the good stuff
Kenny Chesney, The Good Stuff

There are also country music lyrics I hate, of course - songs about the U.S. of A. putting a boot in your ass, 'cause it's the American way. But I won't get into those, at least not in this post.

DISASTER

As long as we're talking about home organization (well, I am), I have to post this photo. It's from an ad for Smart Spin. It reminds me of my worst nightmares.

The thing is, Blake's tupperware cupboard actually does look like this. And I have, on several occasions, opened it only to be attacked by an army of improperly stored containers.

But these are the labors of love.