Moody Fingers...: adventures

Showing posts with label adventures. Show all posts

Whatever life may bring, I know I've already won.

Last night Addi went with me to get the mail. Addi looked down at the athletic wear catalog she pulled from the mailbox and grinned. "Your belly doesn't look like that anymore, Mommy. But mine does," she giggled. She turned around and patted my stomach. "Your belly's getting bigger and bigger, mommy."

Sighing, unable to deny the truth any longer, I replied, "Do you know why mommy's belly is getting bigger?" A confused Addison shook her head no. "Because there's a baby in there, you goof ball!"

Without hesitation, Addison jumped in the air and clapped her hands. "I wanna play with it!" she exclaimed.

"We have to wait, Addi. First, we have to wait for your birthday and then for Christmas. Then, the baby will be done sleeping and you can play with it."

"When the snow comes?"

"Yep. When the snow comes, the baby will too." I reached for my wallet and pulled out the ultrasound pictures. "See this? This is the inside of mommy's tummy."

Addi wrinkled up her nose. "That's disgusting!"

Laughing, I pointed out the head and the body of the baby. She laid on the floor and pretended to be the sleeping baby. When she was done playing, I got up to get a drink from the kitchen.

"Mommy," Addi called. "Why's your butt getting bigger then?"

While my sanity and the very threads that bind this woman together have been tested these last few months, luckily my sense of humor remains.

So here I am. 16 week pregnant momma.

Waiting for January. And hoping it brings a little girl.

... And we're off!

- Posted using Mobypicture.com

Like brail written on my skin... you're but a piece of me now.

Have I ever told you about my dear Calvin? We met while I was in 7th grade. He was in 9th. The first time I saw him, we were at the bus stop. Early fall morning. He was sitting alone against the brick wall of the elementary school with a binder in his lap... faded jeans and a well loved hoodie.

I was a completely different person then… quiet and awkward, afraid of my own shadow. So, the thought of actually talking to him never crossed my mind. Have you ever met someone and just knew there was something great about them, something unspoken that you just had to be a part of? That was Calvin. His eyes gave him away...

By the end of the school year, we had started talking... mainly; I just made stupid remarks about his hair or his sweater... anything to get him to notice me. I can't really recall what the conversations were about and I never really knew a lot about him. He carried comic books and magic cards and his eyes held a mischievous innocence that mesmerized me. Those were the only truths I knew about him.

His grandparents lived a block from the bus stop and on my way home, so he would humor me and let me walk with him. Occasionally, he would even let me sit with him on the bus. And to repay him and show him how much I adored him, I filled condoms with water, froze them and threw them at him. That was the last day of school... and the last time I saw him. Yeah... I've always been a little awkward around the boys. Sigh...

A couple summers ago, I was digging around MySpace, looking up the friends of my childhood and since he was one of those that I was never able to wash from my mind, I unearthed him. We know each other better now than ever before... I know he crosses my mind a lot. There are just certain people in your life that come in, get under your skin and crawl there for an eternity. He's coming to visit me in a month. This will be the first time I have seen him in 15 years and if I don't cry when I see him it will be a miracle.

I wouldn't be honest if I didn't tell you there is a part of me that's worried that the ease and comfort we've grown accustomed to will not exist in person. Two years we've weaved our way through the internets getting to know one another... Calvin's one of my best friends. Someone I'm comfortable telling anything to and someone I wish I could spend more time with. But the idea of having him close enough to touch is kind of scaring the shit out of me...

But it’s ok. I'm not mad at the feeling.

{Skips away}

Hope you brought your hat... I'm having a party.

I feel like something very large has been sitting on my chest for about two months now. I've been struggling to not let it bother me and I'm trying not to feel like I'm taking my last deep breaths, but I'm exhausted. Is there no end? My legs are tired from jumping these hurdles and I can almost taste the salty tears I've been holding back.

Shame on this song for opening the gates...

I've been telling myself for too long "something's got to change" and as of two weeks ago, I finally realized what it was. I'm keeping the details to myself a while longer, but acknolweding what has been staring me in the face, listening to what friends have been repeating for too long... and then this... well. Its enough.

Its time I set out to accomplish what I came here for.

p.s. This is not a tale of boys and heartbreak. Finally.
And that... well, that alone inspires me even more.

My head's a carousel of memories... the spinning never stops.

- Posted using Mobypicture.com

Out of the blue, Candy Man asked if he could be my baggage next time I went home.

Random questions about my childhood from close friends. People wondering why I haven't told any of you my story yet. {shrugs}

iTunes keeps spitting out the music of my childhood: Manilow, Carpenters and Strait.

And now... my food is shaped like Idaho?

Fine. {dramatic sigh}
I'll look up plane tickets. Afterall, its only been 4 years.

Hey you… your nostalgia’s showing.

It’s hard to believe how little I use my computer having cancelled my internet. I rarely have it on even for music. With my newest endeavors, which I will soon share, I am finding myself needing it more and more. I’m even considering playing nice with Comcast and turning my internet back on. Realizing that I may soon be joining the 21st century again, I’ve started organizing files and folders on my hard drive. Wow… I’ve got some picture uploading to do.

I stumbled upon this set taken April 11, 2009. J’s birthday. There really isn’t much of a story here, except I had been bothering him for 2 years to go to the Amana Colonies in Iowa with me and of all days he suggest, he chose his birthday.

J is one of very few people who truly appreciates my interest in packing up and moving out for a day. We’ve made a couple random day trips, and I’ve enjoyed all immensely. This one and the Agora trip, stick out the most in my mind, though. Perhaps it’s because it’s the newest, but I honestly feel it was the timing of the trip. The ease of pressure it lifted and the hope it restored. It was the first time I had my friend back in a long time.

We left around noon and headed east. He drove. We made a couple stops along the way; The World’s Largest Hillbilly Gathering… I mean, Truck Stop and in Utica for lunch. It took us over 4 hours to get there… mainly because we were taking our time. And for the first time in a long time… enjoying the company of one another.

Come on! How can you say no this? {giggles}

6 months later, I still don't get this plate.

To this day, one of my favorite videos of J!

We pulled into one of the Colonies and made our way to the brewery, where we learned the shops were all closing in 30 minutes. We laughed, grabbed our cups and headed outside. I never appreciated beer, let alone dark beer until I met J, so I was excited to experience theirs again. It was pretty awesome… and we were quickly on our way to “goofy”.

He is hilarious and so silly sometimes!

Once we finished there, we wandered up and down a couple streets. We furiously snapped pictures. Random buildings. Our goofy faces. Perhaps, it was simply to prove we were there… but I knew where we were, whether physically or emotionally, was a place we both were mostly likely never going to be at again together. We made our way back to the car and I drove us home. We were in Amana an hour at the most and in the car for nearly 9 that day.

As 2009 nears its end, I wanted to share with you a day I will cherish always. It astonishes me how even after all we have been through and the distance we have travelled from one another, how we can still manage to find our way back to center and look back laughing.

And yes... I ate the whole bag of gummy worms.

Saturday, the lovely @jrporter and I headed east, cameras in hand and giggle boxes turned over. This is a photoblog [aka large mass of pictures] from that journey.

@jrporter and I off to Chi City in search of random acts of greatness.

@jrporter is laughing at me. I know it. Its ok, though.

She's got a great smile.

[picture via @jrporter]

"Oo... I have to tweet this!"

Just for a moment, you can imagine yourself in a far away country.

I wish this were a scratch & sniff picture.

I think the sidewalk artist saw me coming. {giggles}

Something about this picture reminds me of myself...

@jrporter getting her photog on.

[picture via @jrporter]

Initially, the drugstore had no problem with us shopping there.
We stopped for gummies, drinks... and shenanigans.

On our way to the Agora statue.

His shirt says "Weird Fish"... and I really want one.

Reason #528 that I love Chicago

Oh, Agora... how I love thee.

Have you seen these sculptures? I love art in motion... art that interacts with society and its surroundings. If you haven't been, I suggest you go. Take your time and look at the skylines from all angles.

To me, this represents those of us who wander through our daily existence, as if we were headless... never noticing the beauty in the simplicity around us. Or each other, for that matter. For me, the darkness of the sculptures represents sullenness and a sense of longing.

The sculptures were created by Magdalena Abakanowicz. The Polish sculptor explained the sculptures as this: "[Agora] must be like one body that represents so many different meanings," she said. "It's the self against the whole world." This is truly one of my favorite spots in Chicago. Click here to see more of Magdalena's work on Artsy.

The bus we waited for... that we never intended to ride.

Love this pic.. and the way we're both looking at something different...

which is exactly why we get along so well.

Shenanigans with @jrporter. "I'm alive and living in Houston."

Favorite headline of the day.

We closed this baby down.

I'm ending this adventure with my favorite little ditty, "Enthusiasm for life, by the way, is contagious." Thanks @jrporter for sharing your enthusiasm with me. You were the breath of fresh air that I needed and I can't wait until our next adventure... next time, no gummy worms.

Moody Fingers...

{tweet.tweet}