North of Here

swing of things

2010-01-10T12:06:00.005-05:00

it's been on my mind quite a bit lately that i haven't posted on the blog in awhile. i got out of my routine a few months back, and haven't quite been able to get back there again. it may be awhile before i revisit being a blog "writer." for now, here's a picture of the raviolis (1st attempt) i made after christmas. they turned out not so great, not terrible to eat but really not very pretty. i've made another batch since then, and am going to make some more tonight. the pasta stuff is tricky! i have realized now that it makes so much sense that mostly old italian grandmothers are the true pasta makers. they've had a whole lifetime to become masters at it!

this picture makes my heart happy

2009-08-13T14:30:00.006-04:00

i was unloading the veggies from my CSA box on monday, happy as a clam, and then realized there was someone singing in my kitchen, "it's a veggie fest! a veggie fest!" then i realized that someone was me. if it wasn't official before, it is certainly so now: i am a huge food geek. who sings along to their tomatoes without even knowing it? i just love these delicious, little guys!

a little veggie salad using plum & roma tomatoes, yellow & purple beans (the green beans were actually purple when they were still fresh; they lost their color when i blanched them), purple eyed peas, thinly sliced zephyr & yellow squash, shaved red onion, sherry vinaigrette, s/p & basil. delicious!!

i blanched the purple eyed peas & the beans. everything else was left fresh & then tossed together. i'm in food heaven for lunch today!

my little college graduate

2009-08-13T14:18:00.004-04:00

it's official! benny is diploma'd. last sunday he donned the cap & gown and did the walk across the stage. it turns out that there were only 2 other graduates from the computer science department (whereas there were like 45 million business degree graduates), and he was the only cum laude ("with honors") graduate out of the 3. pretty cool, huh? i'm so proud of him!

congrats, my husband! (the picture is of ben with his brother, gabe, and dad, bill)

the umbrella

2009-07-22T18:25:00.003-04:00

i took these two alexander kiddos to the park today. we played "narnia" (watchman insisted we talk with british accents. he's 4, people! this kid is hilarious!); we went down the slides; we monopolized the swing set. the highlight of the day? it was the red umbrella of course! it's so funny, the things that adults don't think about as being cool. and then a child looks at it and "it's a sword! no, it's a parachute!" genius. so we had fun charging the bushes with the red umbrella, followed by "jumping" out of a plane. (and then in my most reponsible manner, i emphasized the fact that we could only pretend jump, that to really jump we'd need an umbrella the size of a house and, of course, adult superivision. just call me bethany "debbie-downer" weaver.)

ben, the baker

2009-07-18T17:33:00.004-04:00

with all my talk about food, i just had to show off the bread that ben baked today. delicious! it's traditional french loaf made with whole wheat flour. beautiful, huh? that ben is a man of many talents..

oh happy day!

2009-07-17T14:12:00.003-04:00

i looked out my window today & saw some bluebirds happily munching away on something in the trees. and then it hit me: the figs! the figs are here! i feel a little like a cheshire cat right now, quite pleased with myself & basking in the glory of the fresh fig. and, well, how convenient! i was about to make lunch! it was destiny. so here we go, some mixed greens, some quartered figs, a little salt, olive oil, balsamic vinegar & fresh basil. it doesn't get better than that. (well, unless the figs were wrapped in some thick bacon and popped into a hot pan for a few minutes. now that is also a thing of beauty. hmmm, maybe for dinner..)

the firepit

2009-07-04T00:38:00.005-04:00

we dug this firepit, surrounded it with stones, then lit some wood on fire & scorched marshmallows. it was a thing of beauty.

ahoy, chattanooga. we'll see you tomorrow!

happy 4th, people!

2009-07-03T22:25:00.005-04:00

ben took this little sailboat out today as it was the perfect mix of sun & breeze. there were quite a few other people zooming around on boats pulling water skis, inner tubes, pretty much whatever works to be pulled behind a boat that zips along at 4o mph. there was one kid in particular being pulled around who was whooping up a storm, obviously enjoying himself. i thought he was dying at first, he was so loud. i sat around and "sunbathed" (which consisted of coating myself thickly with spf 50 and sitting in the shade), enjoying our last couple of days up here. in a minute, we'll be building a little campfire on the edge of the lawn next to the water to listen to the sounds of early fireworks which have already started. you can see them just over the ridge where they're being fired into lake michigan. we'll head over to see the real show tomorrow.

i think i'm hearing the same kid from earlier making the same "delightful" sounds from earlier. reminds me of my brother. love you, brother!

michigan 2009

2009-07-01T14:24:00.015-04:00

we are in michigan again for a week and a half. oh, blimey heaven! i've been reading this book, 'desert queen,' while we've been here. it's about gertrude bell, this woman who dashed around what was called "arabia" back in the early 1900's all alone. she had all the sheiks and warlords wrapped around her little fingers, and is pretty much singlehandedly responsible for the founding of modern iraq after world war 1. she was the first (and only at the time) female political officer in the british forces, and was friends & cohorts with t.e. lawrence, better known as "lawrence of arabia." interesting lady & wicked smart. anna thomas recommended the book to me, and i've been enjoying it immensely. speaking of anna, i just remembered her for some reason hounding lang back in florida (over the wedding weekend two weeks ago) to "meow" for her. (random hilarious memory of the moment which just made me chuckle out loud.)
back to vacation update, this is our 2nd dinner out on the deck. we did grilled tri-tip (thanks trader joes!) with a homemade dry-rub concocted out of pretty much everything we had on hand. coffee, cinnamon, orange peel, lemon zest, dried thyme, salt, pepper, sugar, and probably a few other things i'm forgetting. a fresh arugula & avocado salad with shaved raclette to go with it, and voila! delicious! we then topped it off with two bottles of wine. yeah, vacation!

from the deck: had to include the cheesy sunset picture over the water.
cheese with local strawberries & blueberries after a swim. bread we bought at a local farmers market straight from the baker, this sweet lady wearing a handkerchief in her hair & carrying a baby while her husband was playing the guitar next to her. oh, and benny looking cute.
i like this bowl. we found it at a local potter/ceramic artists studio named benjamin maier. if anyone wants to buy us the 9 1/2 inch version of this, please don't hesitate!
middle eastern / mediterranean dinner last night. lamb kebabs rolled in cumin, coriander, smoked paprika, salt & pepper, with grilled potatoes, red pepper & red onion. couscous salad with dried cherries, toasted almonds, lemon vinaigrette & fresh basil. yogurt sauce with honey, lemon, chili flake, and tons of chopped basil. and homemade whole wheat naan! it was my first time making it, and it turned out pretty well. the blades of grass looking things are actually garlic chives. yum!
it's been super relaxing being up here, like always. it'll be sad to say goodbye to the cabin for good next year. ben grew up coming here every summer, so he very much has a strong attachment & tons of amazing memories of this place. and this being my third time sharing it with him, it'll be sad for me as well. c'est la vie! we'll build new memories together! and probably dine our way through those as well..

14 weddings down, 269 left to go

2009-06-19T10:57:00.005-04:00

we spent last weekend in florida for the wedding of our friends, isaac wardell & megan roderick. it was an awesome weekend. but can i just say that florida is HOT! and bright. the sun was piercing my eyeballs all the way into the back of my brain. i devoted most of my time to the application and reapplication of sunscreen, and then the rest of my time scampering from one piece of shade to the next.

putting all my whining aside, we had a GREAT time with all our friends. it was a beautiful wedding and everything came together so well. i took a few pictures with my iPhone, but none of them came out very well. if your a facebook user/junkie i posted a couple of shots, all very hazy.

and there's another wedding this weekend. my boss' youngest brother is getting married, and my brother-in-law, Gabe, is one of the groomsmen. and after that, we have a little hiadus on the wedding circuit until the BIG (cue wedding march music) wedding in october, when ben's baby brother, my only brother-in-law, will be marrying the love of his life, libby warren. that's going to be a good one. i'm already predicting, it'll be in top-five weddings of all time.

date night: a walk, dinner, a movie, and, yes, some crying

2009-06-04T12:23:00.006-04:00

no, ben didn't make me cry. the movie did. we moseyed around town last night on foot, ending up at the Bijou theatre to see the 9:55 showing of Pixar's new movie, "Up." [my parents: does this clip remind you of anyone you know?]

so i shed some tears during the animated feature film. i feel a little less foolish crying over the heartfelt sequence featuring the hero and the love of his life meeting, falling in love, getting married, growing old, etc, than the crying i did over Wall-E. (yes, i cried over a couple of robots and a cockroach. what can i say? i'm a sensitive gal.)

but first we hit the pavement and headed to Coolidge Park for some sushi at Sushi Nabe (best sushi in Chattanooga), only to discover they were closed for no apparent reason. so we walked another 10 steps and ended up at the Mud Pie for some "monkey-hips-and-rice" and a glass of wine. well, that's what i had anyway. ben had the much more manly "chicken kiev" and a beer. i had forgotten how much i love the monkey-hips. it's essentially a plate of deliciously seasoned rice & black beans, covered with smoked kielbasa sausage, melted jack cheese, salsa, green onions, sour cream and some addictive chemical that forced me eat the whole plate. the key to this dish: the kilebasa & cheese. those two things together make mama's palate happy. the smokiness of the sausage really is a delight.

we love this place. it's a funky, cool restaurant, the interior walls covered with these strange painted portraits. it has everything from booth seating to tall communal tables (built to give one the ability to overhear your neighbors conversation). wednesday is apparently "cuban day," so designated when the new cuban owners bought the restaurant a couple of years ago. (they offer a cuban special on wednesdays to make it legit.) there's also karaoke fridays, and open mic night on saturdays. the food is fun and quirky, and always delicious. example: thai pizza with chicken, pineapple, red bell pepper & peanut sauce. we almost ordered this since we're thai food fiends, but that smoked kielbasa i just couldn't pass up. they do have a regular section of the menu devoted to cuban food as well.

it also reminded ben & i that thursdays are 1/2 price wine , which we had completely forgotten about. it used to be a favorite of ours & our friends (all 1.2 of them). i think we might head back over there tonight for some vino.

oh, and i forgot to mention: Up was awesome! go see it!

a-driaaaannn!!

2009-06-01T11:51:00.007-04:00

i was giving ben a hard time for his lack of enthusiasm when it came time to pose with the rocky statue in downtown philadelphia. of course, i was probably a little OVER enthusiastic about the whole thing, so who can blame him? i had the theme song running through my head as we trekked our way through the city this last weekend. i think i did a little shadow-boxing as well, because, well, i am that big of a nerd (i blame my parents).

the reason we were in philly: a surprise birthday party for my college friend, bethy, the whole thing orchestrated by her very sweet husband, gideon (that's them in the picture below with the philadelphia skyline in the background). it was an awesome weekend. ben & i are both huge fans of the city of brotherly love now. i saw like 14 ben franklins roaming around the city. apparently the balding mullet is back in style!

a favorite find of ours this weekend: a restaurant called Tria down in Rittenhouse Square. i am still craving the truffled egg toast with fontina cheese and arugula. aMAZing! i'll include a picture for your salivary glands to drool over. mine keep reminiscing over the moment i cut into that egg yolk and it spilled down the sides of the thick slice of brioche toast. it was a beautiful thing.

we also happened to be there on the weekend of the annual art star craft bazaar down on penn's landing. it was awesome. tons of local and regional artists brought their wares to hock to the masses, all of them beautiful hand-made goodies. it was etsy.com on parade. i stole a few ideas for crafty things that you might receive as a present from me sometime in the future.

it was a great weekend. old friends, good company, good conversation & our new favorite city.

kohl-ra-bi: it's a word jumble

2009-05-20T23:34:00.006-04:00

ben & i signed up for our first CSA membership this year, and boy is it fun. i really mean that. every week, we (and by "we" i mean "i") pick up our box of delicious, locally grown veggies from our farmer and then head home, immediately contemplating the delicious that can be procured from these gems.

tonight, i played with the kohlrabi from our box this week. it's not actually a word jumble, but it is a vegetable. it sort of looks like some sort of alien lifeform, this pale green orb with strange, tentacle-like leaves growing from it's top. i have been contemplating what to do with it since monday, and have had various ideas bouncing around in my food obsessed brain. since it is the first of the season, i decided to head in a raw foods direction to savor kohlrabi as it is. no butter, no heat, just the kohlrabi. and to pair with it would be those beautiful baby lettuces we also got in our box. oh, the baby red leaf, green leaf & romaine lettuces with a little lemon would be perfect!

so i peeled my alien babies, julienned them on my handy-dandy mandolin (minding my finger tips, which typically i don't think twice about and end up with perfectly symmetrical cuts). my greens i cleaned & left whole. they were so beautiful i didn't have the heart to cut them up. the cilantro was lightly chopped, the peanuts were dry-toasted with a little red chili which i barely crushed with the mortar and pestle. the garlic was sliced thin and crisped up in a little oil. a little salt, a little pepper, a little olive oil, then all tossed together and voila! a delicious salad.

ben loves him some protein, so we fired up the grill and threw some chicken breasts on it, simply seasoned with a little s/p and some extra virgin olive oil. oh, and i did end up incorporating the alien tentacle leaves from the kohlrabi. they were sauteed for about 5 minutes in a pan with a little duck stock which i made last week, some rice wine vinegar & salt. i definitely will blanche them in the future before sauteing to make them more tender.

the highlights from dinner:
1. definitely the kohlrabi! it's crunchy, fresh, and has a little hint of radish-like flavor. plus it's cool to say: "coal-robbie"
2. the greens: how beautiful and fresh! i instantly felt healthier.
3. the peanuts: man, the chili flake was fantastic!
4. the cilantro: pulled the whole shindig together.

and now i'm going to go scarf down some of those amazing strawberries that also came in the box this week, maybe with some vanilla ice cream. mmmmm...

2009-02-19T18:28:00.003-05:00

The Crisis of Credit Visualized from Jonathan Jarvis on Vimeo.

I also posted this on Facebook, but for everyone who is not addicted to that particular social networking site as much as I am, this is for you. It's a really clever explanation of the credit crisis that was posted on NPR's Planet Money blog. Which, by the way, I highly recommend subscribing to and listening to the Planet Money podcast. You can find it in iTunes, and it's completely free.

recap

2009-01-30T03:22:00.002-05:00

IMG_0128, originally uploaded by thebany.

i was just looking through old photos & came across photos of michael's homecoming from iraq. they feel a little surreal now. i love this picture of michael & caden. michael eating caden's head; caden giving his best, "hmm, who is this man eating my head?" face.

i'm so thankful you are home right now, michael!!! love you guys very much..

i do love stephen colbert

2009-01-29T12:29:00.004-05:00

"you are cute." "ob-la-di, ob-la-done!"

The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Better Know a Beatle - Paul McCartney

Colbert Report Full Episodes
Colbert Report Tickets

Paul McCartney Appearance
More Funny Videos

royal tennenbaums

2008-12-17T15:10:00.003-05:00

this photo is our "family photo" from INHABIT. and to clarify, we are being purposefully serious. my friend, jess willison, in the bottom left corner with the insanely pissed off look is actually one of the sweetest people i've ever met. and check out benny's proud face! the girl holding my hand is lauren, one of my best friends here in chattanooga.

the party was a huge success, by the way. the reindeer were a no-show, but everything else was beautiful. kudos to coptix & isaac wardell for putting on the most amazing christmas party i've ever been too! our friends, heypenny, a band from nashville, headlined which was one of the highlights for us as well. you can check out their music here..

i'm famous!

2008-11-25T00:32:00.004-05:00

sort of.

i waited on some food bloggers about a month or so ago, and they recently made a post about their dinner. my name is mentioned only once :( but at least it's mentioned!

the mile high eater is the name of the blog. you should check it out. they live in denver and seem to post mostly about restaurants around there. but they have also eaten all over and have some interesting takes on restaurants that i've only ever dreamed about eating at. maybe someday *sigh*

pre-thanksgiving thanksgiving

2008-11-24T12:15:00.005-05:00

my brother in law (the crazy man with the turkey) and his friends cooked an awesome pre-thanksgiving dinner- in the style of thanksgiving dinner- last night for us and about 10 other people. it was totally nostalgic for me, reminding me of the days when i had no family in chattanooga and would therefore spend my "orphan" holidays with friends. although the "chattanooga holidays sans family" are no longer a reality, there is still something quite appealing to me about reliving those days.

ben was quite fetching in his manly apron, and helped gabe make the cranberry sauce. i undertook the very important job of offering my verbal support to the cooks while sipping some very "special" mulled cider. even cooks need a cheerleader.

INHABIT : December, 6 2008 : 9pm-3am

2008-11-20T22:11:00.005-05:00

INHABIT, the highlight of MAINx24, is coming up in a few weeks, and i'm completely jazzed about it. i've heard all kinds of rumors about ice-themed bars, live reindeer, and cirque du soleil style rope dancers hanging from the ceilings of contrapasso. it's the brain child of COPTIX, who have pulled a slew of other local businesses plus some pretty cool national brands into the sponsorship for this event.

tickets are $20 and can be purchased here. proceeds will be donated to benefit the first Habitat for Humanity house in chattanooga which is located in the southside and will be given to a family from the sudan. hence the name of the party, "INHABIT."

when: saturday, december 6th, 9pm - december 7th, 3 am
location: loose cannon studios + contrapasso
presented by: coptix

the boy is home!

2008-11-18T15:07:00.001-05:00

IMG_0149, originally uploaded by thebany.

we got up at 5am this morning to head to fort campbell for michael's welcome home. it was wonderful. they actually let us out onto the tarmac to watch the soldiers deplane. we waved flags while caden chewed on them. it was followed by a brief ceremony before the soldiers were released.

i definitely cried a lot, but was soooo happy. i am so thankful to have been able to be there, especially to watch emily & he reunite.

the photo is of michael and caden. if you click on it it'll take you to the rest of the photos in my flickr account.

and for my next trick..

2008-11-17T22:54:00.002-05:00

yep, his papa couldn't come home any sooner! this child is about to start sprinting!

the pictures are a bit fuzzy since i took them on my fancy new toy and am getting used to the built in camera. but you get the gist: caden is probably not going to be crawling for very long.

oh, and get a look of that wink in the 3rd photo. he was trying to charm me to get the iphone from me. which he did. and he promptly shoved it into his mouth and started chewing.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KIKO!!!!

2008-11-12T13:24:00.003-05:00

ok, so i'm pretty sure this is the exact same picture i posted last year from our birthday party, but i thought it wouldn't hurt to post it again.

anyway, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KIKO!!

kiko turns 30 today. wow! we've known each other for over ten years now, shared so many memories, cried together & yelled at each other. but we are the better for it. she truly is my sister, and i love her so much! i can't wait to celebrate her birthday this weekend with all our friends around.

spoil her today, vincent!!

2008-11-12T13:12:00.002-05:00

i felt i had to make another post, since the last one implied that my husband, ben weaver, is all about torturing me on my birthday. he may be a little bit about that. but he is also the sweetest and most thoughtful man alive. this picture i ripped from kiko's flickr account, since i was so busy having fun at my birthday dinner, i didn't bother to take any pictures of my own. we joined our friends on saturday night to celebrate. it was such a fun & an amazingly delicious dinner at easy bistro.

then monday, we went to my very favorite restaurant, which also happens to my place of employ, for what has become my top five dinners of all time at st. john's and with my wonderful husband. and, last but not least, i got an iPhone for my birthday!!! it is my very favorite new toy! i don't really know how to work it yet, but i have downloaded some REALLY fun games, which i plan on wasting much time playing. i have been dropping 'hints' for months to ben that i wanted one. [by hints i mean, "um, you know what you should get me for my birthday? an iPhone." or, "hey, an iPhone for my birthday would be nice." and, "if i got an iPhone for my birthday, i would be sooooo happy."]

birthday torture

2008-11-10T12:10:00.006-05:00

so i am currently at home staring at this in front of me. my husband is not here, so i cannot open these presents yet. it is incredibly maddening.
no really, maddening..

election 2008

2008-11-04T22:57:00.004-05:00

yes, for shame, this is my first vote in a presidential election. ben & i are at coptix's office with about 70 other people watching the final countdown, the west coast polls closing in less than a minute. pizza, beer & many laptops (95% of them macbooks, surprise, surprise) abound.

wow. barack obama 284, john mccain 146. no matter how you feel about those numbers, this has been the longest election and it is finally over. frankly, i'm relieved. i admit the tenor of this campaign fight has worn me out. maybe i'm a wimp. but honestly, i just want my brother home.

the cade-monster & ben (with a devious look on his face; didn't know he had that in his repertoire)

2008-10-28T14:28:00.006-04:00

my sis-in-law, emily, stopped to see us sunday on her way to atlanta to visit her folks. it was great to see her and caden. this child has the best cheeks in the world!

we'll hopefully be spending thanksgiving with emily & my brother (Lord willing he'll be back by then!) in atlanta with her folks and my mom. yeah for michael returning! please continue to keep them in your prayers as he & emily are preparing to be reunited..

Kickball Champions 2008

2008-10-19T14:35:00.004-04:00

the prize? the gold spray-painted kickball. you can bet they will be proudly displaying that around the office.

yeah for coptix!

maine

2008-10-11T12:51:00.001-04:00

The delicious lobsters, originally uploaded by thebany.

i just returned from maine thursday night from a college roommate reunion. it was a wonderful time with everyone. and yes, we did eat fresh lobster. it was delicious.

ben's run with the camera

2008-09-16T13:20:00.007-04:00

i handed my camera to ben and here's the result. thought you might enjoy a peek into the squirrely little mind of my husband.

we're back from vacation, sadly, but so glad to have been able to even go on vacation. there's something about letting your brain & body rest for a few days that seems essential, at least every once in awhile. it has also significantly underlined that if we ever decide to have kids (or rather, if God decides for us), we will definitely be pawning them off on the grandparents to enjoy a few days just to ourselves every year. (mom/dad/ann/bill: you okay with that??)

a day in the sunshine

2008-09-11T00:31:00.003-04:00

it was a beautiful day out on the lake. we went kayaking, drank some wine, laid around in the sunshine while drinking some more wine, ate delicious dinner and drank some more wine. then we headed into traverse city to a fun restaurant called trattoria stella & grabbed a couple more glasses of wine.

we're really looking forward to this weekend, attending what will hopefully be an awesome dinner as part of the epicurean classic, a culinary festival which traverse city hosts every year. good food & good wine are the subject matter for this palate focused weekend. we'll see how it turns out. it's its 5th year running & according the locals, it just gets better every year. like wine.

it's been amazing being up in michigan. it is so peaceful that it's just about impossible to do anything but relax & enjoy. and drink wine. did i mention we like wine? :)

vacation is wonderful

2008-09-09T22:29:00.002-04:00

dinner tonight:
marinated & grilled tri-tip
oven-roasted brussel sprouts & parsnips
bacon wrapped figs with reduced balsamic & fresh basil
a bottle of primitivo

everyone should take a vacation..

you can't fight the inevitable.

2008-09-09T14:23:00.003-04:00

i some how feel i might be responsible if anything were to happen to ben. it's not like there wasn't any warning. "he went, like a lamb to the slaughter, thinking it was just a simple workout. they never heard from him again.."

2008-09-05T01:49:00.005-04:00

we're off this saturday, headed back up to the weaver family cabin in michigan for a week of working really hard at not moving too much. it should be character building for the both of us.

yeah for vacation!

this is a picture from our trip last year on one of our more strenuous days when we were forced to float around on the lake in a canoe. :) man, that ben weaver is a hottie!

REM

2008-08-22T17:14:00.001-04:00

REM, originally uploaded by thebany.

from ben's birthday celebration at the REM/Modest Mouse/the National show. that michael stipe knows how to put on a concert!

some call him.. mini-michael? (or, "yes, emily, i stole another picture from you. the devil made me do it!")

2008-08-19T18:40:00.004-04:00

emily gave caden his first hair cut. aagh! cuteness to the extreme. those cheeks are too much..

katherine's graduation & other friends

2008-08-19T01:31:00.002-04:00

my dear friend & coworker of, well, way more years than i like to admit, graduated last week. we spent the evening celebrating. a couple of pictures from the evening. me & "the girls.."

Caden cute face

2008-07-22T17:45:00.001-04:00

Caden cute face, originally uploaded by thebany.

this child has stolen my heart. emily, forgive me for stealing this image!

the onion

2008-06-11T10:54:00.000-04:00

Genetic Scientists Develop Sheep With Brain Of A Goat

a few pics of caden

2008-06-03T01:19:00.004-04:00

so here are some of my favorite shots that emily gave me this last weekend. i have to say, it is true: my nephew is the cutest child in the entire world.. oh, and the one with emily he's just at 9 weeks old. can you believe it? he looks so much older!

caden michael franks.. my new nephew!

2008-04-06T01:06:00.004-04:00

ben & i travelled to north carolina to see my brother, sister-in-law & new nephew, caden michael franks, who was born march 27 at 5:23pm. michael was able to fly in on his mid-deployment leave just a few hours before emily went into labor. whew! what a whirlwind..

1 year older

2007-11-12T14:14:00.000-05:00

it was a very happy birthday weekend... and today is kiko's official birthday. happy birthday, keeks!

tummy dancers

2007-10-01T22:16:00.001-04:00

tummy dancers, originally uploaded by thebany.

we were cultured in a festive manner on saturday down in coolidge park. kiko & i were both inspired by the performance of the zanzibar studio dancers. those ladies can move!

as there were also many booths set up with lots of interesting imported goods, i intended to get some early christmas shopping done. but the only thing in hand when i walked out was a bag of haribo gummi snails. yes, sadly i consider a unique cultural experience to be a haribo gummi that i've never seen before.

a very merry birthday

2007-09-24T16:54:00.001-04:00

Erica & I, originally uploaded by thebany.

my friend, erica jacobs, turned 30 this week. we had a really fun little get-together for her yesterday. it was a really special time to be able to spend with her and her husband, brian durham. both ben and i have shared many experiences with them. she is a special person, and someone i am increasingly grateful to be able to know and love.

happy birthday, erica!

infradig: last show

2007-09-22T16:08:00.000-04:00

infradig's playing their farewell show tonight at rhythm & brews, downtown chatty. it says on the website that it's supposed to be starting @8. of course, the starting time will probably end up being much later than that.

if you're not up to anything, you should be there. and if you are up to anything, you should still be there.

bh is out

2007-09-19T13:35:00.001-04:00

2 Bens and a B, originally uploaded by thebany.

kiko made japanese curry (yum yum) and we said fairwell to ben horner last night. bye bye bh! don't forget to write...

soldier boy

2007-09-18T11:41:00.001-04:00

what do you call it when someone gets to spend 15 whole months in a land of sunshine and soft white sand? some call it vacation. the military calls it deployment. and my brother is up and leaving for whichever you want to call it very soon.

ever since we were kids, there was no possible way to get michael to make a normal smiling face for pictures. we took a whole bunch of pics when we were visiting with them this last weekend. i actually did get him to smile like a normal person in a couple of pictures, but this one is so his true personality. i had to post it.

i love you, brother!

petoskey stones

2007-09-11T14:26:00.000-04:00

we went hiking out to lake michigan through the sleeping bear dunes on sunday. the dunes are absolutely enormous. it was about an hour hike, much to our surprise. the length of the hike is not due so much to the distance from where we parked to the lake as much as the enormity of the hills we had to climb, all soft sand mind you, in order to get there. it was worth it.

ben is looking for petoskey stones in this picture. they are some sort of fossilized stones, ancient coral or some such thing, that can be found in just about all of the lakes up here. they are also the official "state rock."

i ripped this picture from wikipedia. due to their popularity, petoskey stones are much harder to find now.

first day of vacation

2007-09-05T17:25:00.000-04:00

vacation!

2007-09-01T19:09:00.001-04:00

ben and i are headed up to michigan tomorrow for 2 weeks (!) at his family's cabin on glen lake. i am so very excited about it. we, well, ben hit the ground running the minute we got back to chattanooga mid-may. this is a much deserved rest for him.

the first week will just be us, a kind of second honeymoon (yippee!), and the second week his parents and grandmother will be joining us. this is quite a special place to the weaver family. his grandparents bought the property and cabin when dad (weaver) was a kid. ben spent the better part of many summers up there with his family. i am so looking forward to finally seeing the place that he told me about when we very first started dating.

i might post while we're up there, but we'll see. if not, it's probably because i'm relaxing by the lake :)

top 5

2007-08-27T11:47:00.000-04:00

i've been to a few extraordinary weddings. this one definitely sits right up there with the lot of them. erik and lauren are officially the zillens now.

it was an awesome ceremony, but even more so, an awesome weekend all around. we spent a lot of time up at hidden hollow this weekend with the family and friends of both lauren and erik, got to know some new people, make some new friends, and celebrate.

it was the perfect mix of things. a lot of work, a lot of fun, a little crying here and there, a lot of laughter, not enough sleep, plenty of wine, a little craziness now and then, lots of beautiful conversation, good food, wonderful company, all which culminated in a marriage. this was, as i said before, an extraordinary wedding weekend.

from a to z

2007-08-24T11:14:00.001-04:00

the arnold-zilen wedding weekend officially kicked off last night. bachelorette happenings last night were both fun and meaningful. love that girl, lauren! that's her on the left in the picture with char and i. lots of good talks and laughter all around, not to mention the good vino...

finally, some pics

2007-08-15T13:51:00.000-04:00

so our celebration weekend has come and gone. it has not been without it's intensely stressful moments. but all in all, it was a fantastic time. we had many people come from out of town plus our awesome chattanooga crew to celebrate our 6 month old marriage with us. tons of people jumped in and helped make the whole thing happen. i think at around 4pm on sunday i kept repeating to myself, "i'm insane, i'm insane. where do i get these ideas? i must be crazy!" but it all came together beautifully! it was everything ben and i hoped it would be.

this image, however, is actually from the wedding ceremony itself which happened back in january. i have finally uploaded a few images from that onto flickr. hope you enjoy...

upguppy paused

2007-08-01T12:16:00.001-04:00

quick note: ben informed me two days ago that upguppy has slapped a general password onto their website. which means it cannot be accessed. by anyone. they are still in the development phase and are not ready to release it or have the general public using its functions. i guess its kind of like building a house. you don't move in when just the frame is up. you have to wait until atleast the walls and roof have been put on as well. although some of our friends might dispute that (ahem, monty).

that all being said, i just wanted to let you peeps know in case you click on the upguppy links that i posted AWHILE ago.

script

2007-08-01T11:30:00.000-04:00

the summer went really well at camp glad. i have been challenged greatly in certain areas, such as perseverance and objectivity when faced with conflict. i have felt a great deal of grace from the Lord many, many times.

getting up extremely early in the morning is not one of my strong points. me and 5:30am don't get along so well. ben was so encouraging, getting up with me and making me coffee while i was in the shower. i'd drop him off at work and then head out for the church.

it was a struggle to put a smile on my face as the kids started to roll in the door, but i realized very quickly that it was up to ME to set the tone for the morning in the kitchen. so i'd bury my face in my coffee cup and then come up for air with hopefully a greeting that was loving and welcoming. there was 'great success' often, but not always. something that gurney said very early on about not just teaching the kids but also learning from them was frequently in the forefront of my thoughts.

i was challenged in this every day. to be the "adult" voice in conflict gave me cause to reflect upon myself in many ways. i am generally, and especially in this camp glad environment, prone to think i am always right. it is often difficult for me to see that i might actually be wrong, and even more than that, that is not about being right or wrong. it is about the relationship, the communication, the love and grace that the Lord has shown us that i must give as well as receive in relating with the kids. it is an intangible doing that only makes sense in the actuation, the letting go of my own pride and sense of justice and instead asking for and allowing reconciliation and love to be the only thing i want. and there is no recipe for that. it is simply a doing.

as i am thinking about this, it has struck me that it makes so much sense why when God's Word became flesh, it was not as a thing, but rather a person, Jesus Christ. it would be so much easier for me to grasp in my brain a list of rules, but an impossibility to fulfill. truth only really happens in relationship with another person. the Lord has chosen to have his justice make sense in a person who has in turn chosen to reveal himself in truth to us through relationship with us. and it makes really good sense.

relating to another person well... i'm not even sure what that means only that it is kind of addicting now that i've gotten a taste of it.

all this working with kids? well, it is just hand in hand with all the other life stuff that the Lord has given me, such as learning to know and love my husband better, my family, my various relationships. it's all the same thing. the varying degrees of how much energy put where and into which relationship is an important thing to be aware of, but it doesn't make the doing in those relationships any different.

"upguppy" or "i spent the first 3 months of my marriage watching my husband create this pretty cool website which you should check out"

2007-05-30T10:10:00.000-04:00

here it is, the website that ben's been working on for what seems like forever. mind you, this is just the alpha draft. they are not quite ready to move forward into the beta. i think that it still turned out pretty cool.

it's a top-10 ranking site allowing anyone to rank anything and everything they can think of, from their top-10 movies, to top-10 hotels they've stayed at, or even more serious topics like top-10 pressing issues of our time. if you check it out, please note that it is still in testing phase (evidenced by one of the first rankings you see "coolest coptix employees").

blogging hiadus

2007-05-29T11:42:00.000-04:00

the blog has taken the back seat for the past little while. transition has been relatively smooth, but i have yet to set back up in front of my computer. i'm tentatively rethinking the purpose of this little guy, mostly because it originally was intended for updates on life after i moved up north. moving back south has thrown me for a bit of a loop. so a new title and a new purpose might be in the works.

oh, and my digital camera needs to be retired, so pictures might be a while in coming.

white men can dance

2007-04-20T01:59:00.000-04:00

i've watched this so many times, because, well, it is really, really funny. and in light of all the recent "rove-scapades" from ron and josiah q., i thought i would post it. enjoy.

Daily Show - MC Rove

visitors, updates, ramblings...

2007-03-14T15:28:00.000-04:00

paul and capria jaussen were in the city this last weekend visiting the rotten apple for the first time. ben and i got to hang out with them sunday evening. it was, of course, excellent. i had not seen either of them since they moved to seattle 2 years ago. not much has changed except for capria's hair length (lucky girl can pull off anything!)

and on to other news...

ben and i after much deliberation and consideration have decided that when our lease runs out (may 8) we will be leaving shelter island and moving back to chattanooga for a time. there are many reasons for this move, which i will not get into here. we made this decision a couple of weeks ago, but have not had the opportunity to share the news with everyone yet.

in lieu of this, we have both been caused to reflect on where we are now and what this means for us. the future plans we both had before we got married now seem farther away. yet there is an energy that seems to drive us both together and forward, though we know not to where we are going. is that faith? is that the Lord leading us? it is something we are both in prayer about. what this means for both our former plans for school we have no idea. neither ben nor i have given up on our dreams and goals. but they seem to be transforming into something else.

the words "relationships, friendships, community" are all becoming part of our dialogue more and more. and questions come after. what does the relationship between ben and i mean for the relationships with the rest of our community? and where does our community lie? we are in the process of learning about these things in our context of marriage. and this is beautiful. to share and be shared with. to know and be known. to love and be loved. and when we recognize this, we both look outward for those who are in our community, desiring to be with you again, to give to you these things that we are learning and growing in together.

this time here on shelter island has been a fruitful one. a place of healing, growth, solitude, learning, rejuvenation, and heck, an extended honeymoon...

snow!

2007-02-27T14:24:00.000-05:00

i was starting to wonder if we'd ever actually get snow up here. i mean, when i think of an island, i think palm trees, white sand beaches, mangos, coconuts (kiko, you with me?) so, it got cold, but that's been about it until now.

we got our first snow fall. i'm experiencing it with a mixture of feelings. it's beautiful and adds visual texture to the already cold environment. that's great. but for a girl from california, i've finally realized the need for snow shoes. my feet have been perpetually cold and wet for the past week. (i'm such a baby...)

i've never lived in a place that truly represented the 4 seasons. california is almost seasonless, and chattanooga gets A snowfall maybe every 4 years. how fun to finally see a white winter AND to enjoy it with dreamy weaver.

'footprints' are from right outside our front door. 'flowers' are the hydrangeas from the back patio that were so beautiful and lavender in colour when i originally moved to shelter island. i guess they don't do so well in the icy conditions. ah, they'll be back...

nuptials

2007-02-12T23:43:00.000-05:00

for some reason, i can't seem to upload a larger image here. but this is a shot from the bweavers wedding ceremony. thanks to em franks for taking some pictures. we're hoping to have some more images to put up on flickr as soon as we collect the lot of them from my mom and brian durham.

ta da!

2007-01-10T18:21:00.000-05:00

the expected "where was i a year ago?" post

2007-01-02T13:15:00.000-05:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE! (two days late)

after a month long hiatus from blogging, i'm back on again. of course, it being a new year, i start to think back, like i always do, over the past year. where was i last year this time? so much has changed, so many blessings, so many surprises.

story 1: after spending christmas with my brother i sent him off to join the military. he has since refound the love of his life, was married to her in august, and as of a week ago they are living in clarksville, tennessee, he being stationed with the 101st airborne at fort campbell, kentucky. that has been a wild yet wonderful ride for them.

story 2: my almost common law roommate, kiko, last year this time was also just getting to know the man who would then propose to her in april to be married this past august.

story 3: lisa riley... well, just copy story 2, but replace "kiko" with "lisa," "the man" with "trippy farmer," and "august" with "september."

story 4: charity and lang are officially empty nesters and finally became scooter owners (after years and years of talking about it)

story 5: andy, brent and morris became roommates (oh wait, they too are almost common law. silly me)

story 6: the galpins continue trucking along in st. louis. can you believe it's been a year and a half?

story 7: kristine zacharias became a home owner.

story 8: ben and anna are having babies!!

story 9: farron finally got a job that she loves.

story 10: chris totten moved COMPLETELY across the country to live and pursue music with his brothers.

story 11: isaac's music career is continuing to grow.

story 12: josiah roe and i officially became friends.

story 13: sean loftin and michelle higgins were engaged at the beginning of december (just snuck in there, didn't they?).

story 14: me? well, enough said. way too much this year, but so many wonderful outcomes. the Lord infintely has blessed ben and i in the healing and rejuvenation of our relationship. he has brought us both through so much and then back together again. it is a testimony to his faithfulness. in addition to that, my relationships have continued to blossom and grow with all my friends and family. it's been a good year.

for your viewing pleasure a very unique photo of ben and i from christmas day. we've never taken one like this before nor have i shown or posted a picture quite like this of me with anyone. simply put, this is a photo in an entirely new fashion.

the woman behind the man

2006-11-28T17:58:00.000-05:00

and we all thought it was LANG who was the computer genius. little did we know he gets all his chops from his lovely wife charity...

jk

the story really goes like this: i had a lovely week last week, first seeing friends in chattanooga and then visiting with ben weaver's family in kentucky on thanksgiving day. it was a typical thanksgiving. lots of food, family, dogs and mayhem running around. ben's family was incredibly welcoming and very easy to get to know. it was a fast week, and ended with me back in the northeast on friday, sad but true.

the martin's, who were in nyc for thanksgiving themselves, then graced me with their presence on sunday. we had dinner at vine street that night, lots of good food and conversation, and then woke up the next day to patter around in our pj's until i dropped them off at the hampton jitney stop where they caught a bus back up to the city to fly back to chattanooga.

i was giggling when i took this picture: two martin's in my house, each with a white mac in their laps, sitting in my giant overstuffed chairs. how perfect.

it was so great, though, that they came down to see me. i just love them both so much. i miss everyone in chattanooga a lot, actually. thanks so much to everyone who came to dinner at char and lang's last tuesday. i really meant a lot to see you all, even if just for a brief moment.

dusk

2006-11-15T18:24:00.000-05:00

i went back out to montauk this afternoon (this time, sadly, without ben weaver) in time to watch the fishing boats come in. to my surprise it was just about dark already.

just to give you an idea of how very east i am, this picture was shot at 4:30 this afternoon. by 5:00 it was close to pitch dark. it really gave a piercing sense of finality to the day.

i think it was lang who quoted chris mccartney to me once as saying, "darkness, in contrast to lightness, is in a sense a more true reflection of who God is because there are many variations of light. but darkness in itself is complete." there is a whole conversation in there somewhere. regardless, i do find myself in some ways overcome with reflection when i am in the dark. nothing else to see, nothing to be distracted by, just me and the Lord.

birthday's are never overrated

2006-11-13T13:05:00.000-05:00

i had a fantastic birthday weekend. ben weaver came to see me and we got to do all kinds of fun things. walks on the beach (yes, there are beaches here, lots of them in fact), a delicious 8-course dinner, lots of quality conversation. it all added up to a lovely time. i got to talk to all my best friends as well. (kari wanted to make sure everyone knew SHE was the first one to call me on friday.)

i took the beach picture on our beach "hike," and the other is from our dinner at della famina friday night. i'll be in chattanooga next week for a couple of days before thanksgiving. anyone up for group dinner tuesday night? some good ol' bethany cooking?

music interest of the day

2006-11-02T12:02:00.000-05:00

jimmy lavalle, the main man behind the music of the album leaf just released a new cd, into the blue again. after starting his solo project in 1998, he has continued to release lp's and ep's every year, all taking on unique yet simple layered techno music. (think postal service.) and then every once in a while he throws in a surprising track of strings. he has impressed such groups as sigur ros to be invited to join them onstage during live performance. they have also assisted him in the making of some of his own music. there is an interesting mention of him on funtimeok.com but get the dirt from the actual website.

i'm unfortunately missing both of his new york shows (tonight and monday), but those of you in california should try to catch him in san francisco on the 21st of november at the independent. here is a track from his new album. it's called writi ngs on the wall.

catch up

2006-11-01T19:37:00.001-05:00

my weekend was a good one. it started off with a last minute visit from ben weaver and ended with some good ol' subway hopping', crowd surfing fun with my mother. do you see my face? yes, that's happiness.

my mother got to see where i live and dine at my restaurant. we also went to a very special place i like to call the "lavender house" for hot soup and hot chocolate. it is a restaurant in a house the color of lavender that also grows and sells lavender plants and products.

we went into new york city tuesday and randomnly ran into anna thomas walking down the street. apparently even in the biggest city in the united states you can run into people. on our way to meet up with ben thomas we got stuck in the annual 6th avenue halloween parade. i felt kind of bad, mom getting suffocated by 2 million new yorkers plus not being in costume and all. but mom survived the crowds. what a good sport she is. and yesterday was her birthday, so happy birthday, momma!

CxMen

2006-10-26T10:51:00.000-04:00

i may be a sucker. but mostly i'm just continually proud of the cxTeam. they rolled out their new website this past week. despite being a completely computer-unsavvy person, i also know what i dislike about websites. and this one passed my first test: no need to scroll down on the home page! still in the tweaking process apparently, but shoestrings and duct-tape aside, it looks and feels pretty snazzy having just enough interactiveness to be fun yet not so much to be intimidating. it's simple to look at and a good example of their collective talent. as far as chattanooga web development and graphic design goes, these cxBoysandGirls are hot to trot.

one of my favorite parts of the website is the portfolio page. i've had debates with some about the drawers that slide down featuring thumbnails and links for their already developed sites. my only critique: maybe hotlink the actual images in addition to the url text(?). but the drawers are pretty sweet, giving the user a taste of the goods without having to commit to being taken to the actual websites. (i sort of hate pressing the back button every three seconds.)

with the return of beardtopia, it should be perfect. (and man, that ben weaver... what a hottie.)

my secret love of electronic music is out. seventeen years by ratatat (thanks, sarah hughes).

lost in the garden state (or, never take the new jersey turnpike for fear of going bankrupt)

2006-10-22T11:03:00.000-04:00

i drove to see my brother and sister-in-law last week in virginia. the most direct route, albeit the most expensive due to excessive toll roads, is the i-95, aka "new jersey turnpike," straight through new jersey. so i weigh my options: $50 in tolls versus a longer yet more beautiful, peaceful and cheaper drive through pennsylvania... i'm a scrooge, pennsylvania wins. and i'm off down the road, feeling pretty smart in my dirty little bob the saab.

there's one little life lesson i seem to keep on learning over and over again, namely that when i try to avoid anything that thing usually is thrown straight into my path. this is also the reason why i am a terrible liar. and true to form, in trying to avoid new jersey, i somehow ended up lost in new jersey. have you ever been lost in new jersey? i keep asking people that to which most reply, "how do you get lost in new jersey? all it is is one big turnpike." one big expensive turnpike, that is. i sort of think this is how they fund the entire state's economy. so i then decide to try and get out of new jersey as soon as possible. and my next "shortcut" turns into another one of bethany's brainy schemes into confusion.

rainy, foggy, way too much traffic. i think the northeast hates me, or atleast is having fun testing my determination. probably both. my eight hour jaunt turned into a nine, ten, eleven, twelve-thousand year long excursion, through hill an dale, valley and forge. i think i saw the netherlands at one point.

i'm still not really sure where i was or how i got there, only that eventually some kind person in a toll booth told me how to get to virginia. that was after he told me he thought all people from pennsylvania were idiots. i asked him what he thought about people from tennessee. "are you from tennessee, sweetie?" "yes sir..." "i love people from tennessee!" i laughed and drove on.

just shy of lisa loeb, yet with an almost velvet undergroundish flair... mirah's sweepstake prize

libations

2006-10-15T13:19:00.000-04:00

i am a big fan of the "dinner party." there is something quite unique in my mind about sharing conversation over food and wine. at least two of those (three according to science daily) are an essential part of life. everyone needs to eat and everyone needs to relate to others, i.e. have relationships conducted over the wavelength of communication, direct conversation being the most common form of this. put those elements together and you have the perfect evening.

from start to finish:

1. form a plan
PLAN: invite friends over to eat and drink (it's really as simple as that, though asking said friends to come bearing gifts is also recommended)
2. buy food
3. cook food
4. eat food with friends
5. drink wine with friends
6. talk
7. look at huge mess that must be cleaned up
8. avoid mess (but breathe a sigh of relief when kiko offers to clean)
9. talk some more
10. drink some more
THE END

that all being said, i participated in my first dinner party on shelter island. it was all those things listed above minus one. i reminisced about my chattanooga crew and all the awesome dinners we shared. but it was a great time getting to know people a little better here.

an mp3 from mudhut, a funky mix called dark lady.

goooooaaaaaallllllllllll!

2006-10-13T13:01:00.001-04:00

woops. england lost 0-2 against croatia in the euro 2008 qualifier. it's funny, i thought stuff like this only happened in u-8's. one funny headline: "you don't know what you're doing, gaffer" and the article found here ("i didn't expect all this own goal abuse") makes me love the british press.

signs and more

2006-10-10T19:56:00.000-04:00

i seem to have discovered an interest in signs. i just can't seem to get enough of them. so here's one more i saw today. i actually ate my lunch here as well. the sign peaked my interest making wonder the various ways they might serve soda for a midday meal. disappointed, i discovered it actually was a normal restaurant. nobody who worked there seemed to know why the restaurant had that name. but i did have some pretty delicious fish and chips...

in more new, has anyone else come across the ONE campaign? i was introduced to it by my now former roommate, cara cote, before i left chattanooga and have since gotten regular e-mails from them. it's fairly interesting, an "end poverty/hiv/aids" endeavor which has a very recognizable face at its head: bono. anyway, i got this e-mail from them today about having "house parties" this month in support of the ONE campaign. i was a little confused by it, imagining peeps packed in a house, drinking too much and dancing on tables. so i got on the ONE website to actually learn something about their organization. it seems to be more of a celebrity commercial than anything else. the "notable signatories" part of the website is filled with pictures of brad pitt, george clooney, fergie, penelope cruz... you get the picture, and very sleek black-&-white pictures of all of them there are. is this another place to post actor headshots or is it a useful organization? i don't have the answer.

mostly i read about the campaign trying to convince the american government to contribute ONE% of their budget (i think i read it correctly) in order to put an end to poverty/hiv/aids in our lifetime. i am sort of back and forth on this issue. why is it that we are asked to go to other countries to provide relief work because it's the "american duty, being a decadently wealthy nation and all," yet when there's a known genocidal maniac ruling a country, how dare we "tell other countries how to run themselves," by removing said maniac from power? i'm not underscoring our responsibility in the poverty issue. it's one that is near and dear to my heart. i think it's that feeling of bored celebrities deciding which issues are "cool" to tackle, and then throwing stones at the american government that kind of bothers me.

it's another one of those frequent jerry maguire moments.
- american government: "this is me out here for you!... help me help you,... HELP... ME... HELP... YOU!"

(really i'm just jealous of those sweet b&w headshots. how can i get me one of those?)

i like pretty things

2006-10-07T12:05:00.000-04:00

if you want to see some really pretty, funky cool decorative things go to stray dog designs website. it's all handmade stuff with a lot of colour, character and uniqueness to each piece. i love it all. it's awesome to see companies like this coming out of chattanooga that are getting national recognition as well. they apparently went to the international gift fair in new york and got the city hyped on their goods. anyway, their website rocks, and is done by none other than my good friends at coptix. i love these guys. they are way too talented for their own good.

van damme left his imprint in nyc

2006-10-06T13:56:00.000-04:00

i went to the city this week and this is the only photo i walked away with. i'm not sure why... it's the korean war memorial statue in battery park. if you can't see the title of it, it's called "the universal soldier."

psalms and over the rhine

2006-09-30T06:58:00.000-04:00

i was searching for an mp3 link yesterday (by the way, if you find one for mirah's nobody has to stay, let me know. i found a link on funtimeok.com but they left threatening messages about "hotlinking" their mp3's. apparently "that's not cool" in computer land??), and came across over the rhine's flown free. they were requested last year to write a song about psalms 124 and 129 based on the new translation of the book of psalms by eugene petersen (found in the message) and this was the result. very simple, yet very new city fellowship.

psalm 124:8
our help is in the name of the LORD who made heaven and earth...

the russians

2006-09-29T11:53:00.000-04:00

my russians are gone. back to moscow! nastia on the left, ilya on the right. now that they're gone it's way too easy to communicate with my staff. i asked ilya what he's going to do when he gets home...
"buy a mercedes benz," was the reply.

we had a quite hilarious conversation the other night, the three of us. it mostly consisted of teaching each other randomn words in our respective languages. don't ask.

so i will miss my russians.

here's devotchka's how it ends for your listening pleasure.

i saw the sign

2006-09-27T23:06:00.000-04:00

today, i found this street sign:

in any other part of the world, one might wonder why this street was given this name, you know ponder what church might have existed on the very same spot long ago...

there is no guessing game on long island. you've got a church lane? you've got a church.

i also happen to live on school street which is the very same street on which the only school on shelter island can be found. it's pretty common around here to find only one item of anything in any given town. so it also follows why each street has been named according to that thing located on it. i think it's rather convenient. to find the ferries, you first find ferry road. to find the hospital? yep, hospital road. it hopefully gives you a pretty good idea of how small the towns are out here. kind of funny considering new york city is so close and like a million of everything can be found there...

...i saw a very aptly named fishing boat today when i was on the ferry heading into greenport. the poor fishes. but doesn't the sky look amazing? it truly is beautiful out here...

sitting ducks

2006-09-20T21:37:00.000-04:00

today was a day off. like yesterday. so i went to the beach! it started off nice, and then chilled off pretty quickly. it was only me and one other person out there enjoying the ocean. tourist season is pretty much over on shelter island (s.i.). this is nice in many ways since it provides an opportunity to take pictures. i wish i had a better camera!

these are the beach chairs that typically are a hot item and hard to come by on any given holiday. today i had my pick.

fashion sense

2006-09-20T00:24:00.000-04:00

i was just skimming through the internet and happened upon the fashion section of the japan times. these are pictures from a recent fashion show. any thoughts?

"Eri Utsugi debuted her mercibeaucoup brand at Japan Fashion Week this March with a catwalk show involving animal-shaped afro wigs and a shower of confetti swept along the runway by models. YOSHIAKI MIURA PHOTOS"

garden of eden

2006-09-19T20:27:00.000-04:00

one of the perks of living on long island is the plethura of local fruits, vegetables, eggs, bread, CHEESE, WINE, that can be found when driving down any road. my road of choice right now is highway 25. this takes me down the north fork. on highway 25 you can find farm stand after farm stand to pick and choose from when shopping for local goodies. today i chose this special stand. it's also open the latest, a whopping 7pm, every evening.

did i mention wine? yes, long island is also home to many vineyards. apparently the climate here is conducive to certain types of grapes, especially the gewurztraminer, riesling and pinot noir varietals. i have already found a favorite as well. it happens to be the first wine i savored in my new dwelling place, the lenz vineyard gewurztraminer, ben's choice. that boy has immaculate taste...

addendum

2006-09-17T22:53:00.000-04:00

i had a request from one mrs. howard to post a picture of my "porch." it is not a porch, as you can see, but a sort of small courtyard. i love it.

home sweet home...

2006-09-17T18:29:00.000-04:00

i'm officially living by myself for the first time ever. i have mixed feelings about this. first, since most of y'all know how annoying it is to move, i've made record time in getting unpacked and things placed where i want them to go. some might call this "setting up house." ben being here really helped with this, of course. he moved all my heavy stuff, helped me clean, helped me put shelves up, helped me stay on task, etc. he's awesome and i love him more than i can possibly desribe on this blog. but still, when you live with others it takes FOREVER to get things situated because everybody has an opinion about where things should go, how they should function, who gets what shelf in the bathroom, in addition to who gets what bedroom and has to take out the trash first.

however, i've had approximately a total of 30 different roommates over the past 8 years. while this may seem like a lot, it's pretty much on par with everyone else i know. and come to think of it, i've pretty much been roommates or housemates with everyone i know. weird... anyway, this has conditioned me to actually enjoy sharing space with others. there are of course all the usual little annoyances i've never gotten over. "they never clean..." "their junk is all over the living room..." "i'm the only one who buys toilet paper..." "if they can just wipe down the counters after they cook..." "who took my sweater?..." or better yet, "hey, isn't that my sweater you're wearing?..." and the list goes on until eternity. but these things are so small in comparison to sharing space and life with others. i love sharing life. and front porches ("kiko, you are stoops..."). and food. and wine. so living alone really isn't something i'm looking for in this world. i know that we are meant to be in communion with others. people weren't meant to be alone. we're told that from the very beginning of the world.

that all being said, here is a picture of the living room in my new house, my fortress of solitude. if i was to live anywhere by myself, this definitely is the place to do it. (unfortunately, although his image is captured in the background of this picture, ben does not come with the house.)

'x' marks the spot

2006-08-18T12:01:00.000-04:00

this is shelter island. it is located between the north and south forks of long island. well that's what the locals say. i say it's in the crotch of long island.

shelter island got its name from some group of indians (native americans) a long time ago. "the indians called shelter island "manhansack-aha-quashawomock", which means "an island sheltered by islands". and that is exactly what makes this island so special." (i stole that from osprey's online guide). it was originally settled by the manhassett indians in 1652. if you look on the map at the tip of the south fork, you'll see montauk. (if any of you value the movie eternal sunshine of the spotless mind, you'll be excited by this little factoid... "meet me in montauk...")

anyway, shelter island can only be reached by boat. there are ferries that run between it and long island that bring all the cars over. the two islands are really not that far from each other, so of course my first question was why don't they just build a couple of bridges? the answer: exclusivity. these people love their secret, hard to reach hideaway. and i have to admit, it is pretty cool. it also means zero crime rate. all the people out here leave their cars and houses unlocked. it's kind of in the same category as lookout mtn., only even more ridiculously separated from the world.

sarcastic remarks aside, it is a beautiful place. it's very relaxed, and even the "fabulously wealthy" wear wrinkled shirts. i was sitting out front of vsc the other night and a couple came riding up on their bicycles. yes, they were there to eat dinner. i've even seen a couple of people bring their dogs with them to the restaurant (i know that just thrills you, mom). we do ask that they sit outside. sorry pooches.

my father's glory, my mother's castle

2006-08-16T12:06:00.000-04:00

so, i thought i would take some "artsy" photos of my current and very temporary residence. but then i realized: how do you candy coat a hell-hole? and yes i do mean "h-e-double-hockey-stick" hole. my front porch being the entrance to this castle, well, it speaks for itself. so to explain: picture #1 = front porch; picture #2 = my boudoir (notice the two fans in the upper left hand corner of the picture... when turned on to full blast they provide a sound barrier between me and the party kids coming in at 4am); picture #3 is the lovely kitchen (the girl being melanie, my rockin' cool roommate... i'm not being sarcastic either: she IS rockin' cool and makes fantastic desserts at vine street cafe, hereafter being referred to as vsc).

this is my residence, my abode, my kingdom. (and i thought andy's house was bad... jk, d)

now for new york...

2006-08-14T22:57:00.000-04:00

i'm in new york now. i flew into jfk international airport at 4:00 yesterday. chris and sydney picked me up in a beat up red subaru and we were off! flying out of the airport, taxi drivers honking everywhere, all of us on edge. oh new york city! you are a special place! we drove out of the city towards the eastern edge of long island, the dirtiness eventually fading into a very tybee island like coast. after about an hour and a half, we were on a ferry crossing over to shelter island, then on to vine street cafe, the place that i am working at, to have dinner. chris immediately started introducing me to guests as his "new assistant manager." oh yes, that's me! dirty, tired, haven't brushed my teeth since before i left north carolina earlier that day. "hi, nice to meet you. don't worry, i do clean up well. your hundreds of dollars spent on food will be safe in my hands. you can trust the dirty southern girl..."

that all being said, i did get some sleep last night, realizing before i hopped into my temporary sleeping arrangements (i swore i would never lay my head down in a bunk bed again, but oh well) that i had left my toothbrush in the hotel in north carolina. after buying a new one today and having lunch with my new boss and his girlfriend, i had time to do my devotions and reflect over the past few weeks.

so, they have been quite busy. i finished up my summer at day camp and said goodbye to all the great kids i've had the pleasure of working with this summer. i've been to three weddings, my brother's taking the cake although they have ALL been beautiful. i put in my notice at work, got a new job up here and moved out of my house. there have been people coming out of the woodwork left and right to encourage me along and people that i've been blessed to encourage as well. i've been able to spend time with all the people that i love in chattanooga, having dinner together, going out to lunch together, making cider together, hanging out on front and back porches together, having coffee together, drinking wine together, laughing together, praying together... and most importantly our most gracious Lord has also given me the opportunity to heal two very crucial relationships. i've been looking through my photos taken yet again realizing that i have been so blessed with knowing and learning from so many amazing people. it's pretty cool, really.

this post is devoted to pictures of my last few weeks. i love you all, my friends and family!

brother and (new!) sister

2006-07-28T11:59:00.000-04:00

my brother is getting married soon. and by soon, i mean in 2 weeks. and i'm so excited. i finally get to have a sister! and also so exciting is that i am going to be the best woman in his wedding. quite untraditional, but apparently we westcoasters "like to do things differently" (or so said a customer that i had last night at the restaurant).

michael and i have a very close, special sibling relationship. yes we fought like cat and dog when we were young. but what siblings don't? i mean really... we are only 21 months apart in age. we were raised doing and learning basically all the same things at the same time. this is probably why we fought so much and so hard. but even when we were young, he and i exhibited the type of relationship that has brought us so close at this point in our lives. michael was always the passionate dreamer and protector and i always knew what needed to be done. (so much so, i was nicknamed "bossy" at way too young of an age. please act surprised.)

it has been such a pleasure and blessing to see him moving on to this stage of life. his soon to be wife, emily, is such an answer to prayer for me as well. i wanted him to be with someone i could be friends with too. and he's found that.

congratulations michael and emily!