Girl Confessions

1. Here’s my favorite picture of the week, taken by my friend Charlesanne.  If this picture doesn’t make you happy to be alive and grateful for sunshine, nothing will. So sweet.
 

2. I have TWO new features coming up on the blog…a brand new link-up called Reality Check (stay posted for more details!) and a new series on local thrift stores…I’m super excited. 

3. There are finally new shoots on my lucky bamboo. Maybe there’s no such thing as luck. But if you knew the survival rate of any plant in my apartment, you’d think it was a lucky bamboo, too.



4. Don’t forget to mark your calendars for the May Day Follow Fest! It’s a great way to discover new blogs and build your readership.




5. I'm giving in to the James Cameron charm and going to see Titanic 3D IMAX this weekend. I expect it to be even more terrifying and kleenex-worthy than usual.

6. My mom just sent me this snapshot from her days in the Navy…isn’t she beautiful?



7. Sometimes it’s hard to stay in the present moment. Especially when I have things to look forward to like pay day or Green Day’s new album or a road trip with my dad this summer…To be at peace with today, this minute, this second…that takes concentration.

Stay posted…Chapter 2 of our love story will be up tomorrow!

Alright, lay it on me. Confessions this week?

love, elizabeth

Dance Break

Today I’m feeling that first weird nostalgic feeling I get, right before the spring. I’ve said this before but I feel like all the best things that have happened to me, have happened in the spring. Kyle and I fell in love in the spring, we got married in the spring…and with the sun shining today, it almost feels like the winter is on its way out (cue blizzard?).

So in honor of the first stirrings of spring, here’s a song from our past. I borrowed this CD from Kyle when we were dating and they played this song as the processional at our wedding.

How are you feeling about spring? Is it almost here or a long way off for you? If you’re married, what music did they play at the end of the ceremony?

love, elizabeth

The Versatile Blogger Award

One of my regular reads is Struggling Happiness and this morning, I got a surprise from the author herself, Sara. Look what she sent me! I love Sara’s blog and I find her absolutely inspiring (oh, and PS: she works in the ER which is my secret fantasy job…I’m sure Sara is laughing her butt off at me for that but whatever). The point is, Sara is awesome and you should go read her blog. The end.

Here are the rules of accepting this prestigious award:

Thank the person. THANK YOU, SARA!!!

Share 7 things about yourself.

1. I love Green Day. It doesn’t matter what I’m doing…If “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” comes on the radio, I turn into an hysterical teenage girl again. I’ve seen them live. Twice. Next time I have vowed to actually make it on stage. To this end, I have memorized “Longview” and “Basket Case'” in case I am called upon to sing because the girls that go up there always SAY they know the lyrics but then NEVER know the lyrics and just end up screaming and jumping up and down and flashing Billie Joe and well…it’s embarrassing to watch.

I will, instead, be like this girl.

Photo credit

2. Kyle has tried to teach me to skateboard. It began with me stepping onto his board and ended about 8 seconds later when I fell off and received the nastiest, purplest looking bruise of all time. You win again, Tony Hawk.

3. I have entire conversations with my dog. And the way she cocks her head and gives you this knowing look…well, you’d have entire conversations with her, too.

4. On stage I have played a crazy mother, a nervous housewife, an autistic poet, an anarchist, an old woman, an unborn child, the wife of a Nazi, a kidnapper, the kidnapped, a school girl, an actress, a warrior, a peasant, a woman on the brink of suicide, and a man.

5. I can’t whistle. Gajillions have tried to teach me. To no avail. I remain whistleless.

6. In high school, I wore combat boots. All the time.

7. My favorite movie is Who Framed Roger Rabbit? I realize that film just oozes sophistication so I’ll say this, don’t be intimidated by the somewhat meta-cinematic interaction of live action actors and animated characters.

“Roger, darling. I want you to know I love you. I've loved you more than any woman's ever loved a rabbit.” – Jessica R.

So there’s seven things…and then…

Pass this award on to 5 other recently discovered blogs.

Seriously, if you haven’t visited these women…you need to!

First Comes Love, Then Comes Marriage, Then Comes Life

Karen in Progress

Jennifer March

The Best is Yet to Come

mrs. alana’s miscellany

love,

elizabeth

If I Lose Everything in the Fire

You're going to have to excuse me and my inner fangirl today. I really try not to idolize other couples or relationships, especially celebrity couples. We all know that, statistically, famous people who marry each other don't seem to have a great track for staying the course. But there are a few "high-profile" relationships that I really do admire or think about.

If you don't know me, you don't know my long-standing love for Green Day. That's a totally different post but suffice it to say, I think they're poets and I think they speak for a disaffected generation that desperately wants to be affected. Aaaaand they're probably the most amazing live act I've ever seen. Oh, and I should probably also mention that Kyle and I basically fell in love listening to Green Day. One of the first presents he ever gave me was American Idiot. The only summer we spent apart, I had his copy of International Superhits on repeat. "Poprocks and Coke" was the recessional music at our wedding. My last two birthdays, Kyle has taken me to see them live. Green Day has pretty much been the soundtrack to our love story.

Source: greendaymind.wordpress.com via Kyle on Pinterest

Billie Joe Armstrong met Adrienne Nesser during GD's first tour when she asked him where she could get a copy of Green Day's album. After an on-again, off-again long-distance relationship, they got married in the spur of the moment on July 2, 1994 in his backyard.  The Armstrongs just celebrated their 17th wedding anniversary (a lifetime for a marriage in the entertainment industry). They have two sons.

In an interview about their early years, Adrienne said, "It was a whirlwind. I was pregnant, and his band was everywhere. It was completely overwhelming. We were just trying to navigate it all — it was a bumpy ride for sure. It took years for us to find our footing. ... But sometimes I think it was all those trials that made us stronger and brought us to where we are today."

I think I'm most inspired by Billie and Adie because they have been so open about their struggles to stay committed to each other in spite of some unbelievably difficult things. They've been honest about the mistakes they've made and the continuing fight it is to keep their relationship healthy. I also really admire their commitment to their family and to making the world a better place. Adie, who has a degree in sociology, has worked as an activist, an earth-friendly fashion designer, and an advocate of green living. The whole Armstrong family volunteers together for Habitat for Humanity, among other organizations.

"Adrienne is the only woman I'll ever love." - Billie Joe Armstrong

One of my favorite songs written for Adrienne...

What about you? Anyone have a famous/literary couple they've always kind of liked?


love, elizabeth


PS: Omg, you guys...Two. Posts. Till. Giveaway. Clue #4: Sassy and sun-friendly...