abandoned!

I can't believe I have abandoned this blog. It is sad. I should write here more. It's strange to think that what I am writing here is like an open journal. All the world to see, or for no one to see. It would be cool to just write whatever I was thinking and not feel the need for censorship. And then the idea that I should write about certain things, or in a certain way all crop up and stomp on the art that would like to come out in the form of writing. It's corrosive and unpleasant. It keeps me from wanting to leave anything on this page, but rather keep it inside, or just type it in a personal place for no one to see.

But when you want to vent, and you really need to type, it's sometimes bad to put it out for everyone to read, though it's so easy to release it by just getting it out there -- and out of your system. Because this blog is old. I'm linked on my mom's homepage. I can't just go off the handle.....she may start worrying about me.

And when it comes to other things, like mundane details in my life, I think to myself "who really cares!?" I can't bring myself to write about it -- because it's kind of like writing on a public bathroom wall: Where many can read it, but most won't care.

So... what to do with this blog. Should I keep it alive? Should I make it a travel journal? Should it become a place where I drone on about my love for Hawaii and tropical places? That's where the name came from -- a festering desire to go to Hawaii -- and as I sat on a stool, surfing the internet for good flights and trip packages, I was considering the trip on my own, just for the sake of GOING.

Should I make a different site, and only invite exclusive friends to the web address? Hmmm. I may have a good name for it.

Maybe I should read about security and seeing if this blog site has a setup where people can only view the page with a password or something.

Research is not what I'm in the mood for.

Which is what I'll be saying in 2 weeks when I'm schooling again, and forced to do just that.

Block Party

I am planning a party for all the neighbors in our building to (hopefully) attend. This is a group of people who come from all walks of life. The only thing that some may have in common with another is the fact that we live in this building together.
But I think it is long past due that we become more neighborly with our neighbors. So we are being the brave ones to host a "gathering. " I am going to make the invites up tonight, but I am really wondering what all I should have to do... We have cards, board games, and the wii, and food and drinks. What else do you think I should have/offer? Or do you think they would actually come and have fun for 2 hours just talking and listening to music?
That's another thing... what kind of music should we have? What's good all around?

Birthday Laughs

My mom called me today to wish me a Happy Birthday. Later, Andy and I are talking after dinner:

Andy: "Did you tell your mom 'thanks for popping me out'?
Becca: "Yep, in other terms of course."
Andy: "They should have a birthday person's mom's card."
Becca: "Mom used drugs to have me."
Andy: "She used fertilizer?"

I was referring to the epideral mom had. Andy was meaning to say fertility drugs.

GOP vs Democratic

The election season has brought about the term "GOP" as a replacement of "Republican Party".

GOP stands for Grand Old Party - founded in Jackson, Michigan in 1854 as an anti-slavery expansion for activists and mondernizers. This was the party that Abraham Lincoln won the Presidential election i n and ended the American Civil War.

Now, over 100 years later, the Republican party is still referred to as the GOP, yet the democratic party is the one that brought a black president into the white house. 16 years ago, Bill Clinton also won over 92% of the black voters and held office within the Democratic party.

The Republican/Democratic parties are certainly not what they used to be. They don't stand stand for what they used to. At All. They evolve - just as our tastes should.

So I encourage everyone to refrain from relating themselves to a particular party. You don't know what this may bring to mind in a conversation with someone else -if you refer yourself to being one or the other. They may have been brought up in an age where it meant something completely different than what it does today- in this very moment - with the people in power within these two parties.

Summer Summer Summertime!

Andy and I in downtown Chicago

I finished reading Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell. Such an excellent book, I would recommend it to anyone who has been looking for a spiritual philosophical book to get them thinking. It is one of those books where you can read a chapter and think about it for days. Then go back for more, and there is more that makes you think. It was terrific.

I then read "Blue like Jazz" by Donald Miller. I heard it was a good one too, so I gave it a shot. It was definitely different than Velvet Elvis, yet still highly entertaining. I laughed out loud many times.

Andy and I celebrated our 1st Anniversary in July!

Doesn't this cake look awesome?!?! It tasted as good as it looks. Graciously given to us by Aunt Loretta.

We first went to the Indiana Dunes and went shopping at the outlet mall. Fun! Swam in the hotel pool and had a nice relaxing day. The next day we went to Chicago and stayed at the lovely Palmer House. We somehow managed to get the best room in the hotel. The top floor in the executive suites, the only room on the floor with a window facing Lake Michigan. It helped that we booked it ahead of time I'm sure, and that we stayed there on a Sunday night. Our anniversary was on a Monday this year. Sunday night we went to the Chicago Chop House -Andy's favorite! We had tried going there before on previous Chicago trips but they were always booked. Again, we got the best seat in the house. This idea of reserving in advance really works.

We had taken an expensive cab to the restaurant and decided to walk off our dinner back to the hotel. Andy was so impressed i walked over a mile in heels. I said, "try to walk a mile in my shoes!" ha ha. Then we watched a movie we brought and started searching around for stuff to do. We didn't plan this part of the trip because we figured there would be tons of things in Chicago. On a Sunday night? Not so much. There were reject no-names at the comedy clubs (we you-tubed them), and no cool bands at the hot spots I knew of. In all of our google searching, we found that Shirley Johnson was this large black woman who sang the blues. (Andy's mother -also named Shirley.) We sampled her songs on amazon's website and pictured this being Andy's mom. We roared in laughter.

Then we decided to go back downtown to the Redhead Piano Bar. We had passed it in our walk earlier, and Andy had heard of it before. Seemed pretty cool. I wised up and got my socks and nike shoes on to take the 1.5 mile walk this time. I bagged my heels in my "purse" (aka laptop bag) and then headed out. It worked out well because the dress code required nice clothes and this way, my feet weren't going to kill me PLUS we didn't have to blow money on cab fair.

They have a large list of martini's. Their specialty. I had never had a martini that I actually liked, I confessed to our waitress. She was helpful and picked me out a winner. I wanted to drink

5 of them. But they were $12 each, so Andy kept

me at a 2 drink minimum. They were worth it. And two drinks to me is like 5 drinks to someone who actually drinks. So I was having a blast.
They played the Billy Vera and the Beaters song, "At this Moment". I went up and sang with the piano guy. It was great. That's one of my favorite songs of the 80's. They played "Colors of the Wind" and I couldn't stop thinking of how weird the song sounds like from a piano bar setting. It was just out of place. Andy video'd me making fun of the guy belting out the tune. We had this huge table of 40 something men and women come in and sit by us. They were acting all obnoxious and loud. As if they were 18. It added to the entertainment value of the night.

The next day, (our official anniversary) we went to Navy Pier where Andy asked me to marry him. We found the bench in the Crystal Gardens that he proposed and took pictures together. As you can see, we wore our authentic Hawaii outfits to remember our honeymoon.

The bench that we sat on when Andy asked me to marry him, had a information board (like you see in a zoo) about the Hibiscus flower. It's a Hawaiian flower, and if they would be something you could buy (and not die immeiately after) we would've used them in our wedding. US States have designated flowers -- this one is our relationship flower.

It was a perfect weekend getaway and a fabulous cap on an awesome first year of marriage together.

Nuevo coche

We got a new car. It is a Toyota Scion TC. It is the perfect car for us. Andy is so happy to have his car back - so he doesn't have to drive my old green car anymore. Which, after 190,000 miles, the old Ford Tempo still runs! God has definitely blessed me for having that car last so long and have so few issues. But, it was time to get a different car. We both drive so much and Andy was never comfortable with the idea of me driving the old (potentially unreliable) car. He gave me a timeline months ago -- that by March or April, we'd have to find something different. It worked out well.

Me by the new carAndy by the new car in his new ski coat

My Dreamy Men

What do Adam Levine and Paul McCartney have in common? Many things I presume, like selling records, touring etc. But a less obvious commonality is that I have dreamt of both of them.
I saw Maroon 5 in concert a couple years ago in Milwaukee. It was an amazing show. (VH1 is showing a Maroon 5 LIVE show right now. It reminds me of when I saw them.)

A few weeks after I saw them, I dreamt that Adam and the rest of the band met me after the show and followed me home. We stopped in Mendon and they asked me.."What is there to do around here?" I laughed and said, "Let's go to Kalamazoo." So we drove up there and hung out all night. We were in Denny's drinking coffee and eating breakfast at 2am. It was an invigorating dream.

A few weeks ago, I had a dream that Andy and I were in Kauai again. This time it was with family.. (my mom was there.) We were all sitting in a souvenir store/resturaunt of some sort when suddenly Paul McCartney walked through. Mom was the first to look up and gasp in excitement. Then I turned and looked. I got up and started walking toward him. Andy smiled and said, "oh no..." my mom just watched intently.

I approached him and smiled. He was impressed to be recognized by a girl old enough to be his daughter and welcomed me with, "'Well hello Love. Do you know who I am?" I was nervous and excited and digging through my head for his name. In order to answer quickly, I just said, "You're only my favorite Beatle." Hi grinned. Then it came to me. "You're Paul McCartney!" He was flattered and put his arm around me. Then he said, "let me take you to my store." - referring to a store that he apparently owned (all created in my dream.)
I looked back and mom gave me a look like "Where are you going with Paul McCartney....."

He took me across the street and showed me his little shop. It looked just like the other stores on the island - full of the same sort of souvenirs and things. You would've never known that it was owned by a British music icon.
We had great conversation (of which I couldn't recall when I awoke) and he hugged me a few times. He gave me a nice little kiss before I left. And I was so excited over it.
I walked back across the street gleaming. Mom and Andy saw me when I came back and Andy rolled his eyes and laughed over seeing my expression. My mom said, "Don't you tell me that you kissed Paul McCartney!!!" I responded by saying, "Okay. I won't tell you!!!"