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My house is filled with sand because we live across the street from a park.  I should at least try this with those messy mounds… I may have to dump water on it first.

The huge industrial sprinkler is on at the park across from our house.  WonderGirl approves.

question

What do you do when you get a heartfelt and sweet e.mail?  I feel like I either just say thank you… though it doesn’t feel adequate… or write WAY too much self-depreciating TMI stuff and unneeded advice.  I currently have 2 of these written and can’t decide which one to send.

What if I say - “You’re welcome.  It’s people like that you that make life worth living.”  See, that’s not enough.  What if I say “YOU’RE WELCOME.  IT’S PEOPLE LIKE YOU THAT MAKE LIFE WORTH LIVING.”

When in doubt, use all caps?

via good:

Austin, Texas is already home to Whole Foods, but that won’t stop a group of entrepreneurs from founding a new grocery store right in the natural food behemoth’s backyard. While the new store In.gredients will also specialize in local and organic ingredients, there’s one major difference between this venture and its hometown competion: In.gredients promises to be the country’s first ever ”package-free, zero waste grocery store.”

The idea is so simple, it’s surprising that no one in the United States has implemented it yet. (The United Kingdom, on the other hand, got the bulk food-only Unpackaged in London last year). Just like many people bring tote bags to the grocery store, shoppers at In.gredients will be encouraged to bring their own containers to pack up items like grains, oils, and dairy. If a shopper doesn’t have his own containers, the store will provide compostable ones. It’s as if the specialty bulk food section rebelled and took over the rest of a traditional grocery store. In.gredients will replace unhealthy, overpackaged junk with local, organic, and natural foods, and moonlight as a community center with cooking classes, gardening workshops, and art shows on the side.

Read more on GOOD →

Zero-Packaging Grocery Store to Open in Austin, Texas - Food - GOOD

THIS IS AWESOME!!  Husband and I have wished for this more than once.  Perhaps we shouldn’t have passed up on that job to Austin… naw, we’re good.  Still, how cool is this??

NPR listeners pick the best songs of the year (so far).  Interesting list - although Cake and Noah and the Whale are waayyyyy too low on the list.

Husband woke me this morning with a kiss and breakfast before the kids were about.  A few hours he later he left the country (briefly - but feels so much cooler to say he’s out of the country than just next door in Canada) but I’ve been all twitterpated all day.  I’m always fully aware of how awesome he is, but every now and then also I’m reminded of how there’s very little just can’t do.  Lay a wood floor?  Wire the entire house for… whatever?  Fish a popsicle stick out of whatever the Dude has jammed it into?  Cook amazing stuff from nuthin’?  Open jars?  Fix every car, computer, camera and anything else I’ve broken?  It’s pretty cool, really.

Hardee har!!

Death Cab for Cutie - You Are a Tourist Death Cab For Cutie - You Are a Tourist This song is so dang catchy I can’t sleep. this… FIRE… grows… dagnabit. Turn off, brain!!! via fz18

Death Cab for Cutie - You Are a Tourist

Death Cab For Cutie - You Are a Tourist

This song is so dang catchy I can’t sleep.  this… FIRE… grows… dagnabit.  Turn off, brain!!!

via fz18

Sometimes when I think of how awesome WonderGirl is, I can hardly breathe.  We’re creeping up on 5 years in October… and I mean it very un-cliche-like when I say - HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE?!?!

Last week at one of my gigs, an older gent in a kilt asked me if I was having a girl or a boy.  The picture above is what I was wearing that very day.  Now, I know I’ve put some weight on (although the Mii on my Wii Fit keeps telling me I’m an underweight weakling, the chubb I do have is just sitting in funny places since I was kind enough to give two humans the gift of life and they gave me the gift of love handles) but DUDE.  Now, I know I’m not pregnant, VERY sure on that, but in last week I’ve had acne, weird exhaustion and I was briefly nauseous.  That punk jinxed me into a hysterical pregnancy!!  If you have been anywhere near me in the last week, you have heard me yell about this repeatedly.  It’s way easier to yell about it than to do an actual sit-up.

Any tips on how to get rid of a food baby?

Back home, jiggety jig!  It’s rainy and gloomy here in Wisconsin, but I’m happy anyway since it means I am NOT on an airplane with a 1 year old anymore.  HOLY SNAP I take back everything I ever said about the baby stage, with the not sleeping and the grossness thereof, it’s nothing compared to the Tasmanian Devil phase of toddler-hood.

Anywho, did I miss anything???  I am just getting my brain screwed back on.  There are verra few pictures of me from the trip, since I was behind the camera 94% of the time, but we did manage to get to the temple twice - once for us, and the second for a photo shoot with the kiddos.  The one of us as a family was hysterical - but here’s us in our US glory in front of one of the best places I know on earth.  Dagnabit, I love this man.

Resting my tootsies at church. What a fantastic vacation this has been!! Originally, I’d hoped to go to Savannah and a few other lofty ideas on our trip to the ATL. But with a napping toddler, even heading across town is a Herculean effort (of course, across town is an hour or more trip, as opposed to the 42 seconds across our wee Wisconsin town). It’s not my season for that - we all know travelling with a toddler can be horrifically exhausting (we did attempt across town and oh… the humanity…). So we stayed close to the in-laws house, and have had such a wonderful, relaxing time.

Yesterday I had two shows at the most lovely Scottish thing in North Carolina, and the husband drove up to catch my evening show and then take me home in the wee hours of the morning so I could come to church today. We got to have dinner, and have some kid-free conversations… so heavenly!! I’m thrilled to be at church, surrounded by loved ones, and especially to get to spend Father’s Day with the beet baby daddy I’ve ever had.

Tomorrow morning it’s back to reality and cheese country, but for now I’m soaking up some sweet deep south and loving every second.

There is a Lyndel in the front seat, post greatest sushi buffet in the universe. Vacation is currently AWESOME.

We’re on our way to the Milwaukee airport!!! I’m gonna be in the south in a few hours, then 5 shows this weekend at a Scottish festival on the lovely North Georgia mountains. Then a whole week to play and eat Krispy Kremes!!! AAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!

GPOYW

So, I THINK my Mormon.org profile is alllmost approved.  The website is being wonky.  My previous pick for profile pic wasn’t enough of my face, so I sat down and tried to take one.  This was the one I went with - I think.  I may just change it.  Because this is me we’re talking about.

Also, did I mention I’m leaving for Atlanta in 2 days?  To play a bunch of gigs and have a family vacay of sorts in between?  Because I am.  It’s for two festivals - on in Tennessee, one in the north Georgia mountains. The whole family is going, and in between I hope we can manage to get to the temple, play, eat sushi and maybe even get to see Savannah.  And if we’re lucky, I can stop freaking out about how rusty my fiddling is (as usual) and find something that fits to wear AND looks nice in 500 degree heat.

(via realreason)

That’s WonderGirl. Yeah, if you follow the family blog, FB or my music blog (and FB page) you’ve seen this a kajillion times by now. But how can I not share it again and again?? Even if she never picks up the violin ever again, the fact that we were able to get TO this place boggles my mind and makes me super giddy. I don’t expect to do anything really great in my life, but this might be the closest I’ll get to super awesome. I’ll stop now before I get TOO full of myself and karma decides to teach me a lesson and she throws nothing but hissy fits for a week. Not that I speak from experience…

Yesterday couldn’t have gone better.  Playing at the lake, shopping with WG while the mens snoozed, going out to dinner… it was the ultimate summer day.  Seriously, I have such a crazed relationship with Wisconsin.  I can’t handle the winter, and them BLAMMO, it gives me a day like this.  

I know if I just accepted it and stopped getting mad at the weather, I’d probably be a whole lot less stressed.  But it’s a better hobby than being addicted to crack.

random quote from King of the Hill that made husband laugh longer than usual

CANNOT STOP LAUGHING.

My feelings exactly about my first Young Women’s meeting tonight.  Teenagers scared me when I WAS a teenager.  BAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.