A Three Visitor Weekend

If you don’t already know this about me, please let me tell you again: I think I have the (hands down) greatest friends in the world. Two of my Lynchburg College friends will be visiting this weekend, and I'm just tickled pink with excitement! In case you didn’t realize, “this weekend” means tonight – as in, Siobhan, I will see you in about 10 hours! And Sarah, I will see you in 10 more!

These girls really amaze me. Siobhan is moving out to California. (Let us pause to say, “Wow, Siobs! California!) Before leaving for California, she has decided to make a few pit stops to visit friends up and down the east coast. Yes, as in – she is driving – to us – completely out of her way – in the wrong direction – for one last visit. How generous, kind, sweet, unthinkably wonderful is this? And Maryland to Charlotte isn’t just a little scoot across town, you know?

And then! Sarah! Oh, Sarah! Is flying to Charlotte to then drive across the country with Siobhan! How fun! How generous, kind, sweet, unthinkably wonderful is this? You girls are going to have a blast. And thank you, thank you for adding me to your list of visits. I’m so overwhelmed by all of this love.

And then! Kellie! Ms. Kellie! Is coming this weekend too! She is a more frequent visitor/soon-to-be-resident of the Queen City. I hope you find out your moving date soon so I can make a paper chain to count down the days. Charlotte just isn’t the same without you!

I can’t wait to see all three of you. Sushi, sun, shopping, and dancing are all on the list. I love you, my sweet, sweet friends!

Cookie

One thing we are really good at is: Eating just baked cookies in bed. We pretty much have this skill mastered. Cookies can be replaced with brownies or ice-cream –anything, really – as long as it is sweet. The eating is to be accompanied by a big glass of milk, a tv show (or 3), cozy pajama pants, and a snuggly blanket. It makes my heart, soul, (and belly) smile.

And have you kissed YOUR cookie-loving-honey today?

Happy 100!

Break out the balloons, kazoos, and tigers – it’s my 100th post! Did you think it'd come this fast?  I thought a lot about what I could do and say – you know, something clever involving the number 100 or a centennial of sorts. This is to say – I thought a lot about it prior to today, like weeks prior to today, and thought nothing of it when the time actually came to get down to business. All I can think about today is: change. Not your every day quarters, nickels, and dimes, but real change. It’s something I’ve been craving for a while now – I can feel it in my bones, my veins, my soul – and it’s been overwhelming my day dreams and thoughts that drift off to nowhere. The problem is: I have no idea what kind of change I need, want, or will pursue. And I have very little ambition to make this mysterious change or figure out exactly what it is.

Dear Ambition,
Where did you go? And have you ever really been here?
Love,
Tess

This isn’t like the time when I chopped off thirteen inches of my hair or when I decided to join the gym or when I started eating tomatoes. It’s a bigger tug on my heart that is saying, “You need to do this,” but the “this” is a big white blob of unknown. And so it’s got me feeling almost melancholy (a word that reminds me a lot of cauliflower and a feeling that I never really have). So what is going on here? Do you know? Am I having a quarter life crisis? Should I go buy a robin’s egg blue moped with a matching helmet? Get a pedicure and paint my toenails sunshine yellow? Eat an entire carton of ice-cream? (Oh wait, that I have already done this week.) Maybe I should just cuddle up and reread Harry Potter.

Any suggestions? Happy 100!  And happy second to last day of grad school!

A Letter To Rex

Dear Rex,

I love your simple little life. You wear the same thing every day and greet me excitedly at the door whenever I come home. For at least two of your three years of life, you have eaten the same exact thing for every meal that has nourished your 12 pound body. You are extra snuggly – just as I requested – and love to sleep cuddled up to my side, in between my legs, or next to my face. I love how happy you are when people come over to visit and how kind you are to strangers. Any lap is a good lap for you, but I know you have your favorites. You give the best kitty kisses of sweet little licks with your sand paper tongue. And even though you sometimes drive me crazy, your insistence on playing fetch always makes me giggle and wins me over. If I leave you for more than 24 hours, I am always thinking about you (ask Ryan), and I love coming home to you and all of the toys that you have taken out of your toy basket. Your passion for eating bugs (though not contagious) is very helpful around the house, and your little pre-pounce butt wiggle is pretty darn cute. My favorite time of the day is when you sit on the bathroom counter watching me get ready, eating hair ties, knocking all of my items on the floor, and carrying around q-tips in your mouth. I even love you when you chew on the velcro of my laptop cord and stand on my keyboard when I am trying to type. Oh, to be so easily entertained. I was wondering if you wanted to trade lives for a little while – you really like people food, drinking out of glasses, and folding laundry, and I really like taking tiger snoozes in the sunshine … this will work out great. I’ll leave you a list of things you’ll need to do for my work and school. Come on, Rex, you can do it. Circle yes or no.

Love,
Me (Your Human Mother)

OKSM

After a busy weekend filled with all kinds of celebrations, I’m ready to share a song with you. On Sunday I headed over to my sister’s house to spend some delayed birthday time with her, visit with my mom, and play with Alekzander. We shopped for babies – not actual babies, but baby things – shopped for ourselves, made mermaid hair, ate dinner, and ate yummy ice cream cake (a staple in the Markovitch family birthday traditions). I’d been craving ice cream cake, so it was very convenient for Ashley to turn 28 on Saturday. Andrew came home from disc golf and grilled (yes, grilled) pierogies, which were beyond delicious.

Oh, so you’re wondering about the song? Hanging out with a 5 month old makes you realize you can sing a song about anything! And it’s so much fun! It really changes your attitude and makes you giggle while you’re walking the aisles of World Market, waiting for your sister to decide how to spend her $10 gift card. And here it is … the world debut of “OKSM” – I’ll let you figure out what that stands for. Please sing this to the tune of “Frère Jacques”:

Alekzander, Alekzander
Déjà vu, Déjà vu
Oriental kittens, Siamese mittens
Déjà vu … Déjà vu

Also, it is a unanimous decision that I should change my name to Te$Ha (you know, like Ke$Ha) and wear an Indian headdress and black body suit for Halloween this year. Have you seen this? It’s hypnotizing.