One Year Ago Today

One year ago today I made the move to Olive Branch to start a huge new phase of my life.  I had worked hard to finish my Master's and searched to find the right job for me, and I found it here in DeSoto County.  The past 365 days have been full of ups and downs, triumphs and tribulations, encouragements and obstacles, but I truly wouldn't trade them for anything.  I have changed as a person over these past twelve months, and I am not the same girl who stood unpacking box after box (after box after box... y'all know I have waaaaay to much stuff for my own good) in this apartment last July.  Circumstance, experience, and, most of all, life has changed me.
Here's a brief recap, a highlight reel, if you will, of the past year--in no particular order:

I joined a book club.  If you know me at all, you know how pumped this made me.  Currently we're reading 11/22/63, which is so completely off-the-chain-and-totally-worth-every-one-of-its-eight-hundred-plus-pages.

My mom was diagnosed with cancer, had a hysterectomy and began taking chemotheraphy.  She is doing remarkably well after 3 treatments (halfway... 3 more to go!), and she will start radiation treatment later this month, hopefully.

I survived my first year of work and fell in love with my kids in the process.  I'm not by any means saying that every day was a picnic, but I really do love my job and feel like I'm where I'm supposed to be.

I have made my apartment, my own little space in this big world, mine, and I truly love coming here at the end of the day.  My personality and who I am echoes throughout these rooms, and, as cheesy as it may sound, this place makes me happy! 

I saw 6 fabulous Broadway shows at the Orpheum.  This is probably my favorite thing about living in greater Memphis and, if I'm wholly honest, one of the reasons I searched hard for a job here.  The Orpheum consistently has the best Broadway lineup outside of Times Square, if you ask me, and I always look so forward to seeing productions there.  Over the past year I saw these gems:

I bought a new (to me) car.  The purchase was long overdue, really, but a huuuuuge commitment.  I'm so excited to have a new ride, though, and it's a good thing because I'll be making payments into my thirties.  (I almost threw up when I typed that, for several reasons.)

Most recently, I officially launched my calligraphy sideline business.  You haven't heard about it?  Well, by all means, please check it out here, and feel free to refer me to any and all of your friends/family/loved ones (shameless plug).  I'm really excited about it!

I am incredibly excited and hopeful as I look forward toward what's to come in the next 365 days.  There's no way to know what God has in store for me during the coming twelve months, but I am excited about the possibilities, opportunities and experiences that I know lie ahead of me.

Honk if You Love Books

I'm not really sure what Tumblr is exactly, but, through Pinterest, I have found some pretty funny/intersting/true Tumblr accounts that I enjoy perusing from time to time.  This one called Bookfessions is one of my favorites.  The following are a few of my favorite "book truths," in no particular order...

 

The Song Remains the Same

Just a few days ago, I finished reading Jodi Picoult's latest book, Sing You Home.  I am a huge fan of Picoult's writing, and, while, for a number of different reasons you can read here, this wasn't my favorite of her books, it still got me to thinking.  One of the central characters in the book is a music therapist, and, during one of her narratives, she writes, "The music we listen to may not define who we are.  But it's a damn good start."  She goes on to ask the reader, "What songs would be on a mix tape that describes you?"
I know this might come as a surprise to some of you--NOT--but I couldn't just read that and blaze on to the next page.  I immediately had to stop and jot down the first few meaningful songs that came into my head, and, by the time I finished the book a few days later, I had my playlist finished, too.  It's, admittedly, a little lengthier than I originally intended, but every song, every piece of music included in this list means something special to me.  It might recreate a memory; it might plant a special person beside me; it might reignite a feeling buried deep inside; it might make me grab my hairbrush and hideously attempt to belt out the high notes; it might drive me straight out of my seat and straight onto the dancefloor.  It might do a lot of things; but one thing's definite:  something will happen for sure.
So, here lies the stuff I can play on repeat.  Here lie the songs I know by heart.  Here lies the music that brings me to life.

Billie Holiday:  They Can't Take That Away from Me
Alan Silvestri:  Annie's Theme from Father of the Bride 
Pitbull:  Hey Baby (Drop It to the Floor)
Queen Latifah:  When You're Good to Mama from Chicago
Cat Stevens:  Peace Train
Brandi Carlile:  Dreams
Matchbox Twenty:  Bright Lights
Sister Hazel:  All for You
Crash Test Dummies:  Mmh Mmh Mmh
Jerry Goldsmith:  Tryouts from Rudy
Vitamin String Quartet:  Hallelujah
Chris Rice:  Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing
Honestly Sincere from Bye, Bye Birdie
Sarah Maclachlan:  Song for a Winter's Night
The Outfield:  Your Love
John Mayer:  Edge of Desire
The Beach Boys:  Wouldn't It Be Nice
Robert Preston:  You Got Trouble from The Music Man
The Hollies:  Long Cool Woman (In a Black Dress)
Black Eyed Peas:  Rock That Body
Pat Green:  Wave on Wave
Phillip Keveren:  A Might Fortress is Our God/Trumpet Voluntary
Judy Garland:  Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
Lil Jon and LMFAO:  Outta Your Mind
What You Own from Rent
Coldplay:  Fix You
KC & The Sunshine Band:  Boogie Shoes
R. Kelly:  Ignition (Remix)
Stevie Wonder:  Uptight (Everything's Alright)
Idina Menzel & Kristin Chenowith:  Defying Gravity from Wicked
Girl Talk:  Down for the Count
Otis Redding:  Try a Little Tenderness
Sara Bareilles:  Gravity
The Four Seasons:  Let's Hang On
Train:  Get to Me
The World Will Know from Newsies
Run D.M.C.:  It's Tricky
Dave Barnes:  Until You
John Mayer:  Not Myself
Erin McCarley:  Love, Save the Empty
Reliant K:  Be My Escape
David Cook:  I'm Alive
Haley Westenra & Conventus Choir:  May It Be
Dario Marianelli:  Briony from Atonement
Tim Myers:  Brand New Day
Stevie Wonder:  For Once in My Life
Black Eyed Peas:  Alive
Mamas and the Papas:  Creeque Alley
Nat King Cole:  Smile
The Proclaimers:  I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)
Chris Rice:  Great is Thy Faithfulness
Brooke White:  Every Breath You Take
Billy Joel:  Piano Man
Debbie Reynolds, Donald O'Connor & Gene Kelley:  Good Morning from Singin' in the Rain
Miranda Lambert:  White Liar
Glee Cast:  Happy Days are Here Again/Get Happy
MC Hammer:  U Can't Touch This
All I Ask of You from Phantom of the Opera
All-American Rejects:  Don't Leave Me
Miles Davis:  It Never Entered My Mind
Kenny Chesney:  The Good Stuff
Elvis Presley:  Suspicious Minds
Consider Yourself from Oliver!
Nick Perito:  The Green Leaves of Summer from Inglourious Basterds
Keith Urban:  Somebody Like You
Fleetwood Mac:  Go Your Own Way
Something There from Beauty and the Beast
Reliant K:  The Best Thing
Train:  When I Look to the Sky
Sonny & Cher:  I Got You Babe
Fergie:  Glamorous
Jay-Z/Linkin Park:  Jigga What/Faint
Franz Liszt:  Hungarian Rhapsody
Lifehouse:  Somewhere in Between
Black Eyed Peas:  My Humps
Jim Sturgess:  All My Lovin'
Out Tonight from Rent
Carly Smithson:  Blackbird
Tag Team:  Whoomp!  There It Is
John Mayer:  Heartbreak Warfare
Ray LaMontagne:  You are the Best Thing
David Elder & Kate Levering:  Young and Healthy from 42nd Street
Itzhak Perlman:  Tango (Por Una Cabeza) from Scent of a Woman
Celine Dion:  A New Day Has Come
Tchaikovsky:  Op. 20/10-Scene from Swan Lake
Barbra Streisand:  I'd Rather Be Blue Over You (Than Happy with Somebody Else) from Funny Girl

So, like I said, I know it's a bit lengthy, but... well, perhaps I got carried away and just couldn't stop.  If you know me well, you probably realize this kind of activity is right up my alley, so my excess playlist shouldn't really come as a surprise.  It was awfully fun, though.  If you have a bit of extra time, try one for yourself.  I'm not laying down a gauntlet or challenge or anything, so don't feel at all pressured to top my 80+ songs, either.  Repeat:  I. Got. Carried. Away.

In the Soup

Tonight I am thankful for soup.  Yep, soup.  On these nights when the air is turning chilly and the dark is coming earlier and earlier, soup makes me happy.  Soup makes me feel warm and full and loved and safe.  Soup soothes what's ailing me and warms what's cold.  Hearty meat or vegetable, broth, consumme, noodle soup, bisque, chowder, stock, miso, stew, or wonderfully rich cream--it doesn't really matter; they're all wonderful.  Whether I'm having soup with a grilled cheese a five star meal or simply a piece of fresh bread, I can't help but love it.  

"In November's gusty gale

I will flop my flippy tail

And spout hot soup--

I'll be a whale!

Spouting once, spouting twice

Spouting chicken soup with rice."

(Do y'all love that book as much as I do?)

 

Good Night, and Good Luck

Today was moving day. 
Everything was packed into boxes and hauled away in the moving truck... only to be unloaded 25 miles away in my storage unit--home to my belongings for the next year.  In all honesty, I am a mix of emotions leaving my apartment behind.  I know it wasn't much, but it was the first place in this world that was wholly mine, and I am going to miss being there.  I will miss sitting on my back porch and looking at the stars; I will miss sprawling diagonally across my bed with a good book;  I will miss my pictures on the wall; I will miss lounging on the couch storytelling and drinking wine with friends; I will miss decorating for Christmas; I will miss my flowers.  I can do all of these things at my mother's house, of course, but it won't be quite the same.  I will not miss, however, sweating to death in the kitchen and/or bathroom no matter what the time of year or the temperature; I will not miss the overly sensitive smoke alarm; I will not miss a closet the size of a postage stamp. 
Today I laughed to keep from crying, and looked forward instead of glancing back in the rearview mirror.  Just when I think I have everything figured out and compartmentalized perfectly, life, inevitably, changes again.  It's funny like that, isn't it?

In the little taupe room

There was a television

And a few spots of maroon

And a picture of...

Three friends standing under a beautiful moon

And there were teddy bears and black and white chairs

And a number of candles and a pair of sandals

And a cabinet of red and a wrought-iron bed

And a book and a brush and a note from a crush

And a quiet young lady who was whispering "hush"

Goodnight room

Goodnight room

Goodnight friends standing under the moon

Goodnight light and the spots of maroon

Goodnight bears

Goodnight chairs

Goodnight candles and goodnight sandals

Goodnight clocks and goodnight socks

Goodnight cabinet of red and goodnight bed

Goodnight book and goodnight brush

Goodnight nobody

Goodnight crush

And goodnight to the young lady whispering "hush"

Goodnight stars

Goodnight air

Goodnight noises everywhere