Kitchen organization.

Six and a half weeks until I get to marry this boy.

I am a little bit obsessed with the Apartment Therapy and The Kitchn blogs currently...

I just came across this post on The Kitchn:

"Discover the Kitchen Style for Your Meyers-Briggs Personality Type!"

Ben, ISTJ:

"You in a nutshell: Responsible, neat, and orderly. You love systems and rules. 

Your kitchen style is Restaurant-Inspired. You have no use for frivolous things in the kitchen. Everything should be totally functional, and if it doesn't serve a purpose, out it goes! Like this restaurant kitchen, you prefer stainless steel countertops, which are easy to clean, and everything within easy reach."

Emily, ENFP: 

"You in a nutshell: Curious, talkative, and aspirational. 

Your kitchen style is Bohemian. You have a strong artistic side, and love a cozy, carefree kitchen with plenty of colorful tea towels, throw rugs, fresh flowers, and artwork — whatever strikes your fancy! It's not clutter, it's personality!"

Ah, well. We'll compromise. 

Let the grand adventures begin!

I'm in love, I'm in love, and I don't care who knows it!!!

A semi-regular glance at this blog would suggest that it is about:
Jesus, poetry, family and friends, and reflections on a small, happy life.

It's not.

It's about what brings me joy.

And I wrestled with posting about this because I prefer to pretend
I only love everything above.

But:

I HAVE FALLEN IN LOVE WITH

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA.

The Sci-fi show that ran from 2004-2008.

I am so deeply enamored, on so many levels

that I've been alternately embarrassed/concerned.

IS THIS NORMAL?! WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?!

First of all,

it's a TV show.

I like relaxing to Grey's or Bones on Netflix like the next girl,
 but I've certainly never considered buying posters of my favorite shows' casts to hang in my house...
before now.

Second of all,

It's called BATTLESTAR GALACTICA.
HELLO.

THIRD of all...

I am IN LOVE. ENAMORED.
(I started to write "obsessed", but that gives the wrong image. I've been obsessed with unpleasant things before. This is a happy and joyful obsession.)

Like, I've journaled about it IN MY PRAYER JOURNAL twice in the last ten days.
I brought it up as an example in class.
...I have on more than occasion had to catch myself before I started talking about it in response to the question "What's new".
Weird. Pathetic?
Right?!

I was reassured, however, during one of my many recent google searches about the show's history (are you seeing this?!), to discover that this is apparently a common phenomenon.

All of my (normal, thoughtful, engaged-in-life) friends who've seen it immediately validated my experience.
"Oh, of course you're obsessed. That's what happens."
"We lost months of our life to that show. It was great."
"So have you reached the Battlestar-evangelist phase yet?"
(at which point I pulled out my phone and showed them the multiple texts I'd sent to multiple friends that day begging them to start watching it.)

THIS SHOW IS MAGIC.

I'm in love! I'm in love! And I don't care who knows it!

So.
My spring-in-small-town-Oregon life...

is filled with lit candles, rising bread dough made with home-grown herbs,
sewing projects and walks past vineyards and small children doing crafts upstairs and friends over for dinner.

And in my home, right next to the fresh flowers in a vase on the windowsill and the twinkly lights strung all over...

you very well may soon see a giant poster of the Battlestar cast, hung up with pride.

(Do you think I should tattoo one of Kara Thrace's quotes on my body somewhere? Oh gosh I just love her.)

Super B...est friend.

Me:

"I just can. not. understand. why people care SO much about who wins a football game."

Mary:

"Oh, you can too. Think about how you feel watching Grey's Anatomy. 

Or reading Little Women.

We care about fictional characters dying;

they care about football.

It's like a story for them...

the story of... a team. Or something."

One, I just love her.

Two, that actually did really make the whole sports thing make more sense to me.

Me knitting while "watching" the game with friends last night.

"Do the things! Win the points!"

Chris & Hannah.

I held this little-BIG boy at the hospital the day he was born, peeps.

And Hannah not long after.

It would freak me out that they are so old...

if seeing their personalities develop and getting to hang out with them

wasn't the most fun thing ever.

We had some fun re-taking a couple photos from the summer I lived with them, when they were 3 1/2 and almost 2.

2008

2013

2007?

2014

from summer 08:

"...Today I was on the computer in the living room and Amy, Christopher, and Hannah were eating lunch in the kitchen. I overhear this:

Amy: Christopher, what are you when you put your spoon in your nose like that?
Christopher (age 3 1/2): A... a WAL-rus!
Amy: Yup!

And then she calls to me, "Hey Em, by the way, did you teach them to sing, "I am the eggman, I am the walrus"?"

I totally did!! I'd forgotten but a couple weeks ago Christopher was putting his spoon up his nose and exclaiming about how he was a walrus. Like any good baby-sitter, I immediately taught them to sing "I am the eggman, I am the walrus" in a chorus. But then they went to the beach for a week and I hadn't thought about it since.

Me: Oh yeah, I did! Wait, did they say it again?
Amy: OMIGOSH. They've been fighting over who gets to be the eggman and who gets to be the walrus for a week!!
Me: SERIOUSLY??!!!!! Aahhhh!!! That makes me so excited!!!!!
(then I run into the kitchen to see if, in fact, they do remember the things I teach them and right on cue...)

Christopher: I AM THE WALRUS!!!
Hannah (20 months): No, IIIII the walrus!!!!
Christopher: I'M the walrus, Hannah, you are the eggman!
Hannah: III the egg-maaaan!!
Christopher: I am the walrus!
Hannah: I the egg-maaaan!!"

Here's one of me and baby Christopher in 2006...

I never re-took it with him, but looking through my photos from this break it made me laugh to realize I'd re-taken it with Lyla!!

"What are you grateful for?"

My church had a photo booth at our Thanksgiving service a few weeks ago. These pics by Fawn and Feather just came out and are making me pretty happy.

Morning long-distance family time.

Happy Halloween.

Rapunzel, Thomas the Tank Engine, and Bob the Builder

A furry orange monster and a giraffe-princess-spider-monster, with their awesome mom the Sorting Hat

The giraffe hat (its only real claim to giraffe-ness):

 A high-speed shark and a pink bunny

.the weather outside is frightful but the fire is so delightful.

Easy cure for the Monday blues:

a stop at the dollar store for Christmas apparel

and dinner with joy-bringing friends.

who could be crabby looking at this?!

Peas in a pod.

.time to make halloween costumes!

one of my absolute most favorite activities of the whole year.

i'm so serious.

so far on my docket:

a rapunzel in a blue dress with a princess-crown-hat and flowers in her hair

a pink bunny

an orange monster that has three eyes or maybe ten and is ALL ORANGE, EMILY!

a high-speed shark. not to be confused with a low-speed shark. but which will not show off its high speed with a jet pack because sharks don't wear jet packs and anyway the flames would go out underwater...

and possibly a pink princess, or a pink giraffe, or a pink giraffe-princess, or none of the above because we're two and our glares could freeze lava so don't ask me what i want to be for halloween.

sister!

cousin party for the week in our mother's hometown.

attempts at a tandem bike happened yesterday.

A beautiful night in the neighborhood.

My neighbors across the street threw a barbecue last weekend.

At the end of the night,

after about five hours of talking, playing with kids and chickens,

and going delirious with bliss over meat that had been marinated for three days and then smoked over hickory (can you tell i'm still thinking about it?),

everyone went home...

to get their guitars.