books, books, books!

I always have a list of books that I want to read ranging from the latest chick lit to more inspired classics and award winning tales. Last year I started keeping track of the books I've read and I love looking over the list to see what stories I've enjoyed. When I look back at a year of books I can usually remember what time of year it was when I read something. Last winter I enjoyed Sophie's Choice by William Styron, a story of 3 young people in New York in the 1950s. I read The Other Boleyn Girl by Phillippa Gregory in February when I went to Orlando for work (I remember lugging around that fat hardcover and reading on the plane and in the hotel). This summer, I turned to Eat, Pray, Love, by Elizabeth Gilbert, the first non-fiction book that I've read in a long time.

Right now I'm reading Hurry Down Sunshine, by Michael Greenberg for my book club. It's a book that I wouldn't have chosen to read on my own, a father's recounting of the summer when his 15 year old daughter became bipolar. It's a topic that hits close to home and I didn't know if I wanted to spend my free time dwelling on it, but I've been sucked in by his recounting and can't wait to hear what the girls in my group think about it.

Last night I looked up a list of books that have won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. I was curious to see what books I'd already read and found that I've only read a few and have a lot more to add to my list including:
Gilead by Marilynne Robinson (my mom gave me this for my birthday a few years ago and I still haven't read it even after Kyle has raved about it. This needs to be toward the top of the list)
Empire Falls by Richard Russo
A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley

Side note: As I was looking at the list there are several years when no prize was awarded. I wonder if that means there weren't any books written that year that deserved the award or if they just got lazy. Any one know?

Once (twice)

I just finished watching the movie Once, twice. I was watching it while Adam was out shopping and he came back during the last scene. I wanted him to see the scene at the beginning where the two people play together for the first time in the music store. (If you haven't seen the movie you've probably heard this song, it won best song at the Oscar's last year) So we watched that part and ended up watching the whole thing over again! It's not a very long movie, but I usually don't watch a movie twice, and definitely not in one sitting. It's one of those movies where nothing really happens. There's no big action or even any real drama, it's just about people's lives. That's what I loved. It's such a simple movie about two strangers coming together and recording an album. She plays piano, he plays guitar. They both have lost love and rediscover it through the music. They get a second chance. The movie captures carefree moments that I long for in life. Walking on the beach, laughing with friends, just living. I'm sappy and sentimental and start thinking about how it compares to my life. I can't wait to head home for Christmas and see the girls next weekend!

So, if you haven't seen Once, and like music and simple movies, check it out. Let me know what you think.

Christmas memories

Adam and I went to the Nutcracker (neither of us had seen it before) this afternoon with friends Brad and Kelsey. It was put on by a local ballet with 6 professional dancers. It was in a beautiful old theater and we sat in the balcony so we had a great view of the stage with were close to the beautifully painted ceiling. I loved getting dressed up (and Adam was a good sport and even wore his red tie that matched my shirt). I also loved the music and the dancing. Maybe this will become a Christmas tradition.

After the show we came back to our place for a late dinner. Crock pot roasts are just so easy and tasty! We got really fancy and got out our good china. To finish out the date we drove around looking at Christmas lights and singing along to the radio—it even started snowing. This is my favorite kind of Christmas celebration, spending time with people. My love language is quality time and it really does translate into all my relationships. We exchanged small gifts which are always fun, but the time together laughing and talking is what really counts. Call me cheesy, but Adam and I are so thankful for our couple friends. We just love having people to do things with!

Thanksgiving!

I'm thankful for:
a 4 day weekend with family
sitting on my parent's couch watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade—and seeing Karen dancing in it!
drinking 3 cups of coffee in the morning
going for a brisk walk in the woods with Mom and Toby
eating 3 kinds of potatoes, turkey, rolls, stuffing, etc and drinking good wine, eating one more roll and then eating pie and drinking some more wine
chocolate gingerbread (my first ever Martha recipe is a success!)
afternoon sunshine
warm and cozy socks and sweaters
sleeping late, cuddled up with Adam
we have THREE people looking at our condo next week!
catching up with old friends
playing monopoly jr with Adam's little brothers
beating Adam in ping pong
a job to go back to on Monday
a God who loves me just as I am

Cooley update

I got off work at 3 this afternoon to go to our house inspection (but it's not 'til 3:45, so I have 20 stolen minutes to sit and enjoy the afternoon. I feel like a kid who skipped class and snuck home for a nap). I stopped at Zanzibar's (best latte's in Des Moines) and I love seeing all the people there just relaxing on a rainy afternoon (and I'm secretly envious that I can't join them more often). It's been one of those weeks that is in no hurry to get done with. Work isn't super busy, which is nice for a change, but I'm ready for it to be Friday tomorrow.

And yes, a house inspection means that we are in the process of buying our first house! Our condo was the perfect introduction to homeownership, but we're ready to have a yard, a front porch, and a little more room to have people over. We have our place on the market, and have signed a purchase agreement contingent on the sale of our place. So keep your fingers crossed and pray for a buyer!

In other news, we had a very uneventful summer, we didn't have any vacations, but just kind of enjoyed the things to love in Des Moines all summer and had visitors. Then Sept hit and things got crazy. I got the bug to find a house in August and by Sept our search was full force. I was constantly checking Iowarealty.com and we were going to open houses on the weekend. We limited our search to the neighborhood we're in now. We love how close we are to downtown, the neighborhoods are mature and have beautiful trees, and the houses are full of character. We found THE house in Sept. It was on one of my favorite streets/neighborhoods in Des Moines to run on and the garden editor for Country Home used to live there so the landscaping is topnotch. The wood floors, open floorplan, sunny eat-in nook in the kitchen, deck and screened front porch wooed us. It was for sale by owner, so we got approved for a loan (literally 2 weeks before the economic crisis) and made an offer. The owners weren't really interested in working with us. I was more emotionally attached to the house than Adam, but we decided if they didn't come down on the price we would walk away and start looking for houses again in the spring.

So we went on vacation a much-needed to Colorado and tried to forget about the house. Then the first week of October we got a call from the owners and they were willing to meet us in the middle. Since then we did a few updates in our condo, put it on the market (forsalebyowner.com) and signed a purchase agreement. So farm we haven't had much interest in our condo, but we're hopeful. So if you know anyone looking for a great place close to downtown Des Moines, send them our way.

In the last month we also broke down and got a second car. We were a one-car family for a little over a year and I feel a little guilty that we had to go back to two, but it was time. Adam's doing a lot more driving around Iowa for work and it's harder and harder to have just one car—when it's nice out I can walk home, but in the winter that isn't always an option, and if/when we move that won't be possible.

I'll try to keep this updated with what's going on with us selling our place and the new house. Pray for a buyer!



Colorado is GORGEOUS the end of September all the aspens were blooming!

J-School Reunion

I graduated from Drake, and I love the Bulldogs (that's me sitting on a bulldog outside Olmsted), but if someone asked why I went to Drake I will always say it was for the journalism school. There was a J-School reunion this weekend and even though I'm only 3 years out of school and serve on an alumni committee, I was still proud to go back for a panel on the changing media and learn about the future of the school. I loved my time there. It prepared me in so many ways for the what I'm doing today, what I'm passionate about, but there's something more than the learning that draws me back. It's the people, the professors like Prijatel and Renkoski who invested in our ideas and taught us how to create magazines and write and be informed journalists. It's the classmates who I spent countless hours with dreaming up a magazine and filling its pages with stories and people. I take it for granted that I still get to do that today.

Walking in Des Moines

I walked home from work today. I actually wore my winter coat for the first time this morning, but it was sunny this afternoon and I figured it may be one of the last times I can walk home. After daylight savings this weekend it will be getting dark a little after 5 and if we move (like we're hoping too) I won't be close enough to walk home anymore. So I headed west on Grand under the glowing trees, walking through the crackling leaves and enjoyed some quiet time. Sometimes when I walk home I use the time to make a phone call. I love catching up with a friend or talking to my mom about the day, but instead of multitasking I let myself just walk and think and pray. It was kind of nice for a change. Something I should probably do more often. But I'm such a good multitasker (Ask Adam. It drives him crazy when I fold the clothes, talk on the phone and have the TV on in the background) Sometimes it's OK to do more than one thing at once. Like when I finally take time to iron and watch TV to distract myself from the task. Or listening to NPR in the morning on the way to work. But there aren't many times in the week when I do nothing. It goes against my nature. So if (and hopefully when) we move into this adorable house on Kingman Blvd. I will miss my walks to work. Even if I give Adam a hard time that I have to walk and he can't pick me up. So today, I enjoyed the walk. Now Adam's working late so I'm camped out on the couch, finishing Beneath the Marble Sky (my first bookclub book) and waiting to take banana bread out of the oven. Life is good.

The History of Love

I finished The History of Love by Nicole Krauss at the pool today (can you believe it's the last day the pools are open in DM for the summer? I'm glad I decided to go this afternoon). I was on a deadline to finish this book, it's due back to the library tomorrow. I think I must have read about it in a magazine, I don't think I would have picked it up otherwise. It wasn't as fabulous as the reviews led me to believe, but it was a good story. My favorite quote is this:

"One by one, families broke off with a goodnight and a squeeze of the hands, suddenly grateful for the company of neighbors. Doors closed to warm houses. Candles were lit in windows. Far off, in his perch in the trees, Kafka listened to it all: the rustle of clothes being dropped to the floor, of lips fluttering along naked shoulders, beds creaking under the weight of tenderness. It all caught in the delicate pointed shells of his ears and rolled like pinballs through the great hall of his mind."

It's been a quiet weekend in DM, which was needed after a busy week with friends visiting from out of town and too many late nights watching the Olympics. I can't help it, but I get kind of addicted to all the swimming and gymnastics and can't stand to miss anything! (even now I have it on in the background. I can't miss Shawn Johnson's floor routine! It doesn't matter that I've already seen her do it countless times, when the first notes of August Rush start playing I'm hooked.)

Back to friends visiting from out of town. I was telling Adam how lucky we are to be somewhere that may not seem that exciting, but that is a central location for our friends who have moved away to come back and visit. In the last month alone we have seen Becca and Dan from LA, John and Lynette from Portland, and Dave and Taylor from Cedar Rapids. We are blessed with great friends in DM, but it's always special to see people you've known for years and catch up on what's going on in their lives and share a meal. Anytime anyone wants to visit know we have an extra bed and would love to cook a meal for you.

favorite lines

I finished reading eat, pray, love last night and decided that I want to start documenting my favorite lines in books before i take them back to the library or put them back on the shelf. I'm always finding turns of phrase or compelling descriptions when I read and logging them in my memory, but how often do i ever return to them? So I'm going to try logging them here.

Eat, Pray, Love, by Elizabeth Gilbert is the first non-fiction book I've read in a long time. I enjoyed learning about the cultures and people of Italy, India, and Indonesia and also discovering things about myself that the author was learning during her year of travels.

Here are some favorite lines, in no particular order:

"Having a baby is like getting a tattoo on your face. You really need to be certain it's what you want before you commit."

"At some point you gotta let go and sit still and allow contentment to come to you."

"We sit on the beach and watch the dangerous waves, watch the lean brown and white Indonesian and Western surf-cats slice across the water like zippers ripping open the backs of the ocean's blue party dress." (can't you just picture that? I love it!)

Maybe this will inspire me tomorrow as I'm writing about furniture...

Creative Writing

Some of you know that I have led several creative writing workshops at a nearby women's prison. It's actually something I did for the first time as a community writing class at Drake and then ended up writing a major paper on my senior year. Even after devoting 2 semesters to the concept and act of writing I was still intrigued and was able to continue the workshop with a fellow graduate and friend.

It's one of those things I appreciate when it's over, but there are those weeks in the middle of it where it seems like too much time and effort and I wish it were over. Last Tues was our last week. We present a book of the women's writing from the class to the women and celebrate our writing. So tonight, since I don't have to go to workshop, I'm going to share a few of my favorite pieces with you. The only thing I ask is that you keep in mind the few parameters we have on the writing that is done in this class. It is always treated as fiction, and any comments are positive, because writing is fragile like a newborn and this writing has not been revised.

HAIR

Water pools in the hollows of my clavicle, trickles between my breasts, and slides down my spine. Slowly I run a brush through my clean hair, carefully working through the snarls, forcing it straight. I grab a towel and squeeze the ends letting the final drops of water land in the sink. Then I swing it loose, admiring the gentle curls that fall down my back, each spiraling brown tendril with a mind of its own. I dig in the basket for the bottle of mousse and shake the shiny purple tube before tipping it upside down and releasing the fragrant, white fluff into my cupped hand. Dividing it in half, careful not to spill the contents on the floor, I start sliding it through my hair like frosting.

THAT NIGHT

That night nothing mattered but his hand holding mine, filling my heart with unquenchable joy.

That night I didn’t care that my hair was windblown and my cheeks flushed with excitement making me look like a little girl.

That night we were together for the first time, discovering each other and enjoying every moment.

That night I kissed him with a passion I didn’t know or understand, my lips holding his, never wanting to let go.

That night the stars showered down pinpricks of light that danced in our eyes and covered any fears.

That night I fell in love, head over heels, crazy for you, forever. That night.

Making Pesto

There aren't many things in my life that I do and then immediately feel the need to share with others, but I figure that's a great reason for a blog, so my big accomplishment of the night (the week, the summer!) is making pesto with home-grown basil!

Now, I've been growing basil on our balcony for the last few summers, but I never thought I had enough to actually make pesto (which is the reason to grow fresh basil, right? This has been a secret desire of mine for awhile now—it also helps that I'm reading the Italy section of Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat, Pray, Love and I'm rather obsessed with the idea of spending an extended amount of time learning Italian and eating in Italy (anyone want to join me?).

In the last year, two things changed in my basil/pesto world that made this accomplishment possible. First, I received a mini food processor for Christmas (thanks Cooleys :) and second, I splurged on a bigger pot for the baby pesto plant I bought at the farmer's market. For the last 2 month I've been nurturing my basil plants, watching them get bigger and bigger and snipping small amounts here and there for pizza and pasta, but tonight after work the wait was over. I had enough leaves to make a small batch of pesto and let me tell you, it was delicious!

And to be honest it was really simple. Here's my recipe for success:
1 packed cup of pesto leaves
2 Tablespoons toasted pine nuts
1 1/2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon minced garlic
dash of kosher salt

I "processed" the ingredients 'til it was all green and wet and served over pasta with chicken, fresh roma tomatoes, and parmessan. It was divine. There are even left overs if you want to try it :)

for the love of books

If you know me even remotely well, you know that I love to read. magazines, books, newspapers, billboards. If there are words on it, I'll read it. So of course when my mom sent me this quote I had to share it:

"For books are more than books, they are the life, the very heart and core of ages past, the reason why men lived and worked and died, the essence and quintessence of their lives."--Gene Fowler (1890-1960), American journalist, author and dramatist

I grew up in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, which is now known as the city that flooded in 2008. I haven't been back to see the damage yet (next weekend) but I'm sure it will be unreal. Personally one of the saddest losses is the downtown library. My mom tells me that they weren't able to save any of the books on the first floor, which included all adult fiction and non-fiction. It's possible that they won't even rebuild the library there. I can't imagine Cedar Rapids without that building. How many hours did I spend there as a child. I was such a bookworm that I can remember summer afternoons when a friend and I would beg my mom to take us to the library for the afternoon. We would come home with stacks of books (from Babysitter's Club, to horse books, Nancy Drew mysteries to gymnastics series) these books painted the days of my summers. As soon as school was out for the summer I couldn't wait to get signed up for the summer reading program and begin carefully filling out each book that I read. I seriously think I read 100 books this summer. Granted they were short, but this summer I'll be doing good if I read 5! Those were the days.

I can remember graduating to the adult fiction section and delving into the fatter (300+) page sagas. Sometimes my friend and I would ask for headphones and squeeze into one of the movie viewing booths because watching a movie at the library was so much cooler than watching it at home. I remember the huge curving staircase that led to the kids' section upstairs. I can still picture the reading corners with their colorful beanbags and pillows for lounging on.

They have to rebuild it. Even if it's not in the same place, you can't have a city or a town without a library. Where else can kids start to dream about other worlds and discover adventure and triumph love and despair?

OK, so I'm getting a little sappy and sentimental now, but that library really was a significant part of my childhood.

sharing a car

Adam and I have shared a car for 9 months now. We didn't set out to have only one car, but when Adam was in an accident that totaled his car, we decided to trade in my old car for something more reliable and make do with one at least until it was paid off. I'll be honest, the first couple months were rough. We both worked downtown so it was easy for him to drop me off, and if I needed the car during the day I could drop him off. But it was hard adjusting to not being able to hop in the car at the end of the day and come home. It forced us to communicate with each other more and be aware of our schedules. Now that it is nice out I can easily walk to and from work, but some days that isn't the most convenient either. But we've adjusted and while there are still times when it's not convenient we're making it work.

Then Adam got a new job 5 weeks ago, that wasn't downtown and it involves more driving during the day and our one-car household doesn't work so well anymore. That means we've (really Adam) has been car shopping. I appreciate having a car to take me where I need to go, but shopping for a car is about the last thing on my list of things I want to do. The good thing is that while we need another car sooner rather than later, we can make do with one for now and wait to find something in our price range.

self editing

Does anyone else who blogs self-edit? (as i was re-reading this i added the hyphen between self and edit) Maybe it's because of my job, where I am constantly editing myself and others, but when I start to type in this empty white box, there are times when I can't make my fingers communicate with the keys for fear of what they will say. I know that contradicts the point of having a blog. This is supposed to be a place for me to share with family and friends and just put things out there for someone to read, but there is an insecurity of what people will think that I struggle to overcome. This worrying about what other people think has plagued for a long time. Maybe it's part of being a perfectionist. Or maybe I'm more of a private person than I realized. I love to read other people's blogs, and get a peek into their lives, but I haven't seemed to want to reveal much about my own. Part of it is that I need to get over myself and open up to people. I'm always asking other people questions, focusing attention on them rather than myself, but how often to I let them get to know me?

my job

In January I started a new job (at the same publishing company). I am now product editor for Country Home magazine. I loved the people I worked with at Remodel, but I was never passionate about the content. My new job is a much better fit. Not many people can say they shop for products and look for trends and get paid for it. I still have a lot to learn, but so far I'm loving it. Last week I spent 3 days in Dallas with a group of editors touring a gift show, going to design centers, and shopping. We were wined and dined and treated like royalty. I know I have a pile of story folders waiting for me when I get to my cube on Monday, but that doesn't even sound so bad.

why blog?

I've had this blog for over 2 years now, but my posting goes in starts and stops. For a few months I'll be good about posting most weeks, keeping readers updated on what's going on in my and Adam's life and then I'll go through a dry phase where I forget to blog or just don't make time for it. One reason for this is that I haven't decided what I want this blog to be. Should it just be a place I record what's going on in our lives and post pictures? Or am I willing to commit to it and start writing creatively and personally about my thoughts and feelings? The latter is what I've wanted to do, but haven't had the nerve to do.

I recently read this article in the New York Times magazine about a young woman whose life was a blog (it was her job, literally) and it made me think more about this medium of blogging and what it means to me and this generation. Some people are so willing to pour their hearts out in cyberspace revealing personal details and feelings that they don't even share with their closest friends. Why is that? I think part of the reason is that we long to be known, even our deepest darkest secrets. It's liberating to release all those thoughts and emotions to the great unknown regardless of whether any one is reading it. But when do we go too far? When do we get to the point where we have compromised ourselves, our reputation, our relationships by revealing every gritty detail online? There are times when I think it is better to keep things to yourself or better yet actually talk to someone about it rather than hide behind a blog. That said I'm the queen of hiding behind words whether it's a letter, an e-mail, or an IM conversation. I am full of words and thoughts and emotions, but I am much more comfortable hiding behind the letters than see your reaction to the words. Sometimes this is a blessing, but more often than not I think it's a curse. It's a blessing when I'm able to encourage friends with a card or note when I can't see them, but it's a curse when it means that I avoid confrontation and the hard conversations that nobody likes, but really shouldn't be avoided. I have always been this way. It was the way I was raised, the way I learned to deal with conflict (by avoiding it). In many ways our technologically savvy society has only allowed me and others like me to be this way. We hide behind text messages, facebook comments, and e-mail instead of learning to interact with people face to face. Sometimes I wonder if given the choice if people would rather give up one on one time with a person than their cell phone or computer.

Aside from not wanting confrontation (because then someone might be mad at me) I am a writer by nature and that means I can form my thoughts so much better and say what I mean without being flustered much better in an e-mail or letter than in a conversation. I know that really isn't an excuse for not talking to someone, but it sure is easier.

Those who know me well know that while I do send lovely letters and e-mails, when I'm really comfortable with you and ready to open up I'm all about quality time (it's my primary love language). To me quality time is sitting over a cup of coffee and talking for hours, one on one, going for a long walk (my mom taught me this), or just sitting and chatting. So I guess, all this is to say maybe I will start revealing more personal details on my blog, but if you really want to see the true Andrea, meet me for coffee or join me on a long walk. And I'm curious what other people think about our society's dependence on electronic communication.

spring storms

I got in a run after work and it was sunny and nice, but now I've closed the windows in preparation for a scattered storm. Even though the house is all closed up, I still find myself sitting in the shelter of our balcony, watching the dark storm clouds roll in, the white underbellies of the leaves expose themselves to the sky, and hearing the thunder rumble. I don't think we've had a good spring storm yet, and I'm ready. I can almost smell the change in temperature in the air, feel the cool breeze and even a few rain drops. I got my appreciation of weather from my mom who watches the forecast and dopler radar almost to the point of obsession, but it's something i love about her. She always appreciated little acts of nature, like thunderstorms, new leaves in the spring, snow storms in the winter, and fall. She lives in the right place (Eastern Iowa) to appreciate all the seasons. That's where I get my excitement about little things from.

feels like home

Feels like home is an appropriate title to this post as Adam and I were back in Cedar Rapids on Saturday to see our mom's (and I was listening to the Norah Jone's album with the same name).

Cedar Rapids is only 2 hours away, so it made for a long day, but we're so fortunate that we're able to get back to see family so easily. Sometimes I think it would be nice to be closer, to celebrate birthdays and have dinner, but I won't complain.

It was a busy day seeing both of our families, but we divided our time and I think were able to spend some quality time with everyone. Our first stop was the Schmidt residence, where Adam always knows he can find a "Schmidt" sandwich (which has my mom's perfect combination of mustard, mayonnaise and love that I can only try to replicate). I will always love walking into my parent's house (I really don't have any claims to it since they moved into it after I graduated from college). I love our home in Des Moines, but when I walk through the front door of 185 Dows Lane I can let my guard down completely and be a kid again in some ways. I always know my mom will have something ready for lunch or dinner or dessert, but it's not just the food. It's the eternal welcome that is there. I know that my parents would drop everything to spend time with us. They appreciate our visits, but there is never any pressure to be there. And even though I've never "lived" in this house, it still has all the familiar comforts of growing up: the couch I can always sprawl out on and take a nap on, the quirky tv remote control that never seems to work, the cupboard in the kitchen where I know I can find a stash of chocolate, the piles of books and magazines on the coffee table (much like my own) where I can snoop into what everyone's reading, and the walking shoes by the door, just waiting for a chance to get out for a walk. These are only minor glimpses of my vision of home, but they are so tangible I can't help but look around our condo (and the ever present pile of shoes by the door, chocolate stashed on top of the fridge, and the couch strewn with pillows and blankets) and see that we are making it feel like our own version of home.

While we were home we also drove by Xavier, my high school. I started there my sophomore year (1998) which was the year it opened (2 Catholic schools in the city merged) and I don't remember the last time I drove out there. It's amazing the rush of memories that hit when we pulled into the parking lot. Some things have changed: there's a new sign at the entrance, the trees are bigger, and there is a new parking lot, and overall it seems a little smaller than I remember. I showed Adam the area I would always park the old blue buick and we looked at the tennis courts and football field. So many good memories. I am so fortunate to have had such a great high school experience. I've always loved school (I'm that girl) but I took it all in while I was there: playing tennis all 4 years, singing in the choir, being in musicals, working on the newspaper, going to football and basketball games, even cheerleading. And who could forget the senior prom, my and Adam's first date. It was a good place, where I made a lot of friends, learned a lot, and probably thought I had things pretty well figured out when I left.

The one thing we didn't do while we were back was drive by the old house on B Ave. While it's still my instinct to turn there when going home, I'm learning the new streets and they are starting to feel like home.

for the love of spring

Hopefully I don't jinx us, but I think spring is finally here to stay in Iowa. And even though it was a long, long, cold and sometimes horrible winter, the joy of spring is upon us and it's almost enough to make me forget all those cold days. I was talking to a friend who lives in California today, gushing about being able to sit out on our balcony and watch the leaves starting to poke out on the trees and she said she pretty much takes the nice weather for granted anymore. I guess that's one thing we don't do in Iowa.

Adam and I went for a walk tonight and I couldn't stop talking about all the trees and the vibrant colors everywhere. I think we are just so starved for color and signs of life in the winter that when everything starts blooming in the spring we can't help but smile. One street we walked down smelled amazing. I seriously wish I could bottle up the smell of fresh blooms and cut grass and save it for a rainy day. I think my favorite trees right now are the magnolias, crab apples and cherry blossoms. They look like giant cotton balls or enormous sticks of cotton candy, all fluffy with blooms and sweetness. I wish they would stay all year. I love the green too, so vivid and almost fluorescent, but there's something about the flowering trees that I fall in love with. No wonder people fall in love in the spring. What's not to love?

Tulips!

It was a beautiful day for tulips. We drove over to Pella around lunchtime and basked in the glory of sunshine, more tulips than you could count, delicious pastries (we waited in line for over half an hour for Dutch letters, but it was worth every minute), and the best part: a parade! with floats and everything. It has been awhile since I've been to a parade. I don't know what it is about marching bands and cute little kids waving that turns me into a kid again. I was hopping around and dancing and waving at everyone (some day I'll be in a parade, I don't know if I could contain myself) Seriously, seeing all the cute families marching in their wooden clogs, almost tempts me to live in Pella for a year so we could be in the parade. I really think every member of the town participated in the parade. It was over an hour!

Maybe this will be the year we'll go to the parade of all parades...the ROSE BOWL parade in Pasadena. Oh my

Sunny Sundays

It's almost the end of April, but I think Spring is finally here to stay in Des Moines. Adam and I started the day by walking to church (it's only a few blocks away) but I love not having to rely on a car to get everywhere. Then I met a friend for coffee and we sat outside soaking up some more sunshine.

But the most exciting event of the day was taking our bikes out for the first time. I've lived in Des Moines almost 7 years and heard people talk about the great trails we have but never gotten to enjoy them. Adam and I got bikes the middle of March and have been looking at them longingly waiting for nice weather and time to get out on them. We headed down to a trail that starts about a mile from our house. It was like we discovered a whole new side of Des Moines. It was the Bill Riley trail and it wound down around the Raccoon River, through trees that are just beginning to bud, and through a disc golf course. So many people were out enjoying the day, and of course Adam tried to say hello to everyone we passed (my friendly husband, what can I say). It was a great ride, but Adam tells me that I need to learn some common bicycle courtesy. I seem to tend to zoom around walkers without really paying attention. I think I just get excited and want to go fast, but I probably do need to do a better job of sharing the trail...

To finish the evening we bought a steak and fired up the charcoal grill for the first time. Unfortunately our charcoal was old and it was windy and we never could get the coals warm enough so we ended up cooking the steak on the Forman. It was still tasty, but disappointing that it didn't have the charbroiled taste. Maybe it's time for us to upgrade to a gas grill. I'll keep you posted.