Buon giorno!

Sarah sent me some photos from her trip to Italy. What an amazing experience!!

Breathe

I met Brian for a massage tonight. Brian is a man that I have been watching on Public Television for the past year. He has a massage and acupunture studio in Rogers Park and demonstrates massage technique on public television. Every time I have watched his show I have wanted a massage from him. He seems very genuine and kind and attentive to his client's needs.
He ended up giving me a 90 minute massage and it was incredible. He also taught me a lot about joints, accupressure points, breathing techniques, and tai chi. I walked away not only relaxed but rejuvinated. I feel stronger. And he is as kind as I thought he would be.
He has a website, for his studio. I urge you to check out his webpage. www.skylightwellness.com

If you are reading this post, please, take a minute...close your eyes...listen to the sounds around you...and take a deep slow breath in and then slowly exhale it out. Try it 3 or 4 times. It does make a difference.

Bless all of you...

The Roof is on Fire

The house across the street from Ashley's burned down last night.

Hair Did

Karla chopped her locks! I wish I could have been there to see it! I love haircuts! Karla - you look mahvulous!

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

I gave Amy my jade nesting spheres, from China. She has a whole Asian motif at her desk so it seems to fit in just perfectly.

Save the Unicorns!

While waiting for my coffee at Starbucks yesterday morning, Kurt pointed out that Starbucks appears to be taking on the social cause of saving the unicorns.
I wonder if they will make a ribbon bumper sticker out of this. Ha ha!

Passages

I am reading A Severe Mercy and it is an absolutely amazing book. i just have to share some passages that have moved me...

The best argument for Christianity is Christians...

Indeed, there are impressive indications that the positive quality of joy is in Christianity - and possibly nowhere else. If that were certain, it would be proof of a very high order.

If minds like St. Augustine's and Newman's and Lewis's could wrestle with Christianity and become fortresses of that faith, it had to be taken seriously.

Most of the people who reject Christianity know almost nothing of what they are rejecting.

My fundamental dilemma is this: I can't believe in Christ unless I have faith, but I can't have faith unless I believe in Christ. I can put it thus: I must accept Christ to become a Christian, but I must be a Christian to accept Him.

The contradiction 'we must have faith to believe and must believe to have faith' belongs to the same class as those by which the Eleatic philosophers proved that all motion was impossible.

Christianity now appeared intellectually stimulating and aesthetically exciting. The personality of Jesus emerged from the Gospels with astonishing consistency.

Suddenly I became aware that Davy was praying beside me - she had stolen into the room in her nightgown and knelt down by the sofa. I looked at the quiet figure for a few moments. I had never seen her pray. Then she spoke.
'When I was in bed', she said very softly, 'it seemed to me that God was telling me to come to you. I have prayed God to fulfil your soul.'
She paused a moment, and then she whispered: 'Oh, my dearest - please believe!'
Moved almost to tears, I whispered back - a broken whisper....'Oh, I do believe.'

The position was not, as I had been comfortably thinking all these months, merely a question of whether I was to accept the Messiah or not. it was a question of whether I was to accept him - or reject. Perhaps the leap to acceptance was a horrifying gamble - but what of the leap to rejection? There might be no certainity that Christ was God - but, by God, there was no certainty that He was not. If I were to accept, I might and probably would face the throught through the years "Perhaps, after all, it's a lie; I've been had!" But if I were to reject, I would certainly face the haunting, terrible thought: "Perhaps it's true - and I have rejected my God!"
This was not to be borne. I could not reject Jesus. There was only one thing to do, once I had seen the gap behind me. I turned away from it and flung myself over the gap towards Jesus.

***this book is incredible. i can see why you, josh, read it every year. i may just start doing the same. it is quickly becoming one of my favorite pieces of writing, ever.****

Screw the WB!

9pm CST, Fox Network: Watch Matt become a STAR! (ok, maybe not a STAR, but it's still pretty cool...)

now, I have 5 hours to figure out who the characters are, how they are related, who is sleeping with whom, and who hates whom. karla...can you help a sister out?

The Backhill Sinners

Jimmy, Amy, Kurt and I went and saw The Backhill Sinners play at Lillies in Lincoln Park. Then we ventured over to Mo's Cantina in Wrigleyville.
Good God, I need to wash the yuppie off of me now.

(and I love the photo of Amy with her mouth hanging open...please note Jimmy is drinking two beers...)

Happy St. Patty's Day

Masinter, Ash and I went to The Landmark Inn for lunch today. There was Irish celebration all around. And then Iowa lost the basketball game with less than 10 seconds left.

Reading

I just started reading a new book, "A Severe Mercy". I love how much in love the two characters are. It gives me hope.
I'm only about 30 pages into it, I'll keep you posted on whether I would recommend it or not.

Let the Games Begin

I entered into a Mastercard contest today. It's a contest to write a "Priceless" commercial. They provide the film and the dollar amounts and I write the text. So the film is of a man, in a corn field, typing away on a typewriter. Then you see a glimpse of a motorcycle in the background. Then you see the man typing more, again he's in the middle of a field (very strange looking). Then you see him look at the motorcycle and you notice it's a beautiful woman driving the bike. Then you see him on the back of her motorcycle and they are driving down a road together.

Here's my text:

Lavender scented eye pillow $9
Plaid, flannel pajamas $60
Goose down comforter $110
A sleep so deep your dreams come true Priceless.


Wish me luck!

I Need a Hero!

Kurt met his hero at the Flower and Garden Show on Sunday. I think his name is Dean Richards. He does the entertainment news for WGN Channel 9, in the morning.

Amazing

There were many amazing things that occurred last night.
First, I went over to Ashley's and saw her apartment for the first time. Now that place is amazing! I couldn't believe how big and stunning her place was. I just had to snap some photos.

The other amazing event from last night was The Amazing Race! I am rooting for The Nerds and The Hippies.
I like The Nerds because they are really smart players and they do such a good job with encouraging one another.

I like the hippies because they took a moment, before reading their clue, to look around the Russian Cathedral and they have a lot of fun playing the game. They are also very helpful to the other teams.

I dislike The Pinks. These girls are annoying. All they talk about is sex, they flirt with the Frat-Boy Team (whom I also hate), and who the heck forgets their passport?? These girls are idiots and deserve to be eliminated.

I also dislike this mom. She cries all the time. Who the heck doesn't know how to dive down into a pool to get a clue?? She annoys me and should be eliminated as soon as possible.

But, all in all, the night was amazing! And I really like Roscoe Village...I think I will start apartment hunting there!

My Friend

Last night, in talking with Karla, I got to thinking about how much I cherish her friendship. And wherever I go on this earth, there are certain things that will always remind me of her. Here are a few of those things...


Every time I eat salsa con queso (or even guac) I think of Karla. Yum!!


Same goes for Cheerios. I still eat a bowl of cereal every night before bed, and because of Karla, I am more aware of how much sugar I ingest on a daily basis.


Whether I am reading one of his books, listening to him on the radio, or sitting in a lawn chair at Ravinia for a live performance, Garrison Keillor is a definite tie to Karla for me. When he starts talking about growing up in the Midwest, drinking out of Mason jars, Norwegians, etc. I remember all the times Karla and I would reminisce about the Midwest


Every Thursday night, Karla and I would get together for dinner and t.v. Although, some nights we talked so much the t.v. was long forgotten. Thursday's aren't the same without the great t.v. line-up and without my friend to hang out with. It was Karla who taught me how to cook enchiladas.


More Mexican food. Strawberry margaritas. Enough said.

Thanks for calling last night, Karla! It was great catching up with you!

Spring is in the Air

Kurt surprised me this weekend with tickets to the annual Flower and Garden Show at Navy Pier. It was so great seeing all those wonderful colors. And the flowers were so fragrant! Thanks, Love, for such a lovely surprise.

Whiskey in the Jar

Alex and I celebrated St. Patrick's day a wee bit early. Sligo!!

Michelle's New Beau

Look who Ash, Masinter, and I ran into at Chipotle! Michelle and her new, volleyball-playin' boy. His name is Chris. And this is what we think:

very cute!
strong handshake (i really liked that about him)
good smile
nice eyes (Masinter approves!)
we liked that he kept waving to Ash, even though she was ignoring him
he is tall (very important in my book)
worked at Kraft for years (shows committment! that's great!!)
Volleyball (athletic is good)
The Bachelor (both Sarah and I were like..ummm, what? But Ash thought this was good)
Not Married!! (we all agree this is a positive)

Our one question is: Did he pay for your lunch?

So, Michelle, to sum up our 2 cents - we give the big thumbs up for Chris!!!!!!

It Smells like Tornado Season!

The air outside is slightly warm and moist. It gets me all excited to watch the news, for footage of tornadoes!
I usually wait till April for my annual viewing of "Twister" but it may come early this year!

Sea Lions

Ashley - these are exotic, wild animals. you are an exotic Norweigan. Coincidence? I think not.