Kicking off the holiday season

Almost everyone who knows me knows I'm not a fan of the holidays (other than St. Patrick's Day and for no good reason). I think it's the whole thing about not having my family around and feeling like an outsider while spending some of the holidays with friends/acquaintances and their families. It bums me out. Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful that people are willing to invite me to spend time with them and their families, but it's just not the same.

After Thanksgiving, I decided to try to make an effort to get into the holiday spirit. I finished making a whole bunch of holiday presents on Black Friday (no shopping here) and spent the evening drinking wine and putting up the tree and other holiday decorations (and silently praying that Lizzy would not take a serious interest in them).

Earlier in the year I had heard that the Trans-Siberian Orchestra was coming to Indy. I thought it sounded like fun, but you know me, I didn't want to commit to expensive tickets too far in advance (I'm working on trying to get over this fear of commitment, I promise). I checked online the day before Thanksgiving to see if any tickets were left and they still had some! Score! I decided I was going to go by myself since I waited until the last minute and everyone probably had plans and tickets were kind of expensive. I was telling my neighbor about it and he said he wanted to come. I knew he had absolutely no idea who they were or what he was getting himself in to, but he was adamant.

So the Saturday after Thanksgiving we went to the show. It was absolutely amazing. Words can't even begin to describe how awesome it was. If you ever get the opportunity to see them, you should. It was well worth the price of a ticket. And not only did they put on a great show, they also donated a dollar from every ticket sold to a local charity. They donated over $20,000 to local charities in Indy! And, they invited some members of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra to be part of the show! I was blown away. They put on a fantastic show AND involved the local community. More events should follow their lead. They do this in every city they go to! I don't have enough good things to say about them.

They totally rocked it out. Everyone (and I mean everyone) had long hair for adequate head-banging emphasis. They had stages that raised and lower so that they could walk out over the crowd so everyone had the opportunity to see them. One of their songs talks about falling snow and glittery "snow" released from the ceiling and they flashed different colored lights on it for a beautiful effect. GO SEE THEM! NOW.

Here are some pitiful shots of the concert from my phone:

And even my neighbor had fun! I think he was pleasantly surprised. I almost killed him in the process of getting to the actual concert and getting home...let me sum it up really fast: he drives a large truck, he doesn't parallel park, he doesn't ever drive downtown and he wouldn't let me drive. I think we all knew where that was headed (except him apparently), but that's neither here nor there. :)

Saturday morning antics

Lizzy and I participated in a nice little game of "chase" on Saturday morning. On the bed, off the bed, down the hall, around the couch, around the dining room table, around the chair, back down the hall and back on the bed. I snapped these after a few laps.

Signs and poems

Last weekend I was watching The Family Stone and catching up with some online reading when I realized that I was reading a poem that was actually being read in the movie...AT THE SAME TIME. I'm sure it's a sign of some sort, but I haven't figured it out yet. Here's the poem:


i carry your heart with me
by e.e. cummings

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in
my heart)i am never without it(anywhere
i go you go,my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing,my darling)
i fear
no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want
no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows
higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)


Have any ideas as to what this might mean?

(P.S.: Sorry for the super long delay in posting. I've decided I prefer to blog when I can sit outside and write, and now that it's getting cold, that is no longer possible. Sigh.)

DailyOM is so accurate that it's creepy

My horoscope for today from DailyOM:

November 7, 2010
Visionary Future Planning
Aquarius Daily Horoscope

You may be actively envisioning and planning a brighter future for yourself today after seeing how nicely previous plans have come to pass. This could have you feeling visionary, but at the same time you may realize that this is more than merely the ability to see into the future—it is the conscious use of farsighted creativity. The process from envisioning a dream or goal to living it involves the coming together of several factors. It begins with consistently nurturing our thoughts with our positive energy. When we write them down or speak them aloud, we move them into the physical world, where they have an existence beyond our minds. Using these more heavily weighted ideas as our compasses, we begin to take steps toward their creation. The universe then works with us to coordinate and cocreate the energetic and physical aspects to bring our goals into being. Today you can embark upon this journey from vision to creation with joyful expectation.

It is important to balance these hopes for a brighter future with gratitude for now, because now is the result of yesterday's creative process. If we don't like what we've created, we know we have some refinements to make in our methods. We may have invested too much energy into worry, or perhaps we need to learn to look for the gifts in every situation, which may be part of preparing us for what is to come. By living fully in the present, guided by your goals, you are a true visionary experiencing all that life has to offer today.

Karma

This made me laugh out loud. It's so true.