Whittling down the Wordiness

OK, so my posts lately just seem to go on and on and for fear of losing readers (and/or commenters), I'm going to attempt a brief post! I don't do this blog thing solely for my own reading pleasure, so I will try to acquire the art of "concise"-ness. It may be a long shot, but I'm willing to try- wish me luck!

For starters on this new quest of mine, here are some quick tidbits on the life of the Masons lately:

* Great, albeit, short visit with my folks this weekend- as a result of selling their house (yeah!!!), we are now the proud owners of their beautiful kitchen table, and proud sitters of their sweet pug, Gracie, while they vacation in Maine next week.

* Stressful times for Steve at work:( and lots of reading/sightsinging/eartraining for me during the slow periods at work as I try and prepare for school this fall- aaah!!!

* Lots of practicing and going through pieces I learned as an undergrad as I prepare to teach undergrads this fall- aaah!!!

*Lots of busy evenings- enjoying dinner and/or just spending time with friends, Community Group, an NY Phil Summertime Classics concert, to name a few.

*Lots of celebrations- the birth of our Pastor's third child, beautiful baby Korey (congrats JR, Ginger, Neeley, and Judson!); birthday celebrations for Kristian, and then baby Kate , Jackie, and Desiree coming up; a fun summer fiesta party this weekend and...

*Celebrating that my brother, Daniel, has recently decided to move back east! Such an answer to prayer and we are sooo excited! More on this to come.

OK, time to stop before the rambling begins. Ha! Let's see how long I can keep the brief blogs going.

Happy Father's Day to a Dad and a Too-Dad

And Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there!

I've been incredibly blessed with amazing parents AND grandparents, so I'd like to say a few words about the two most special fathers in my life- my dad, Bob, and my grandpa, my Too-daddy.

These two men are some of the most unique men I know. They definitely don't fit any stereotypes, but in all good ways :)

My Dad
The first and foremost awesome quality about him is that he is a man of incredible integrity and deep faith. I pick his brain about in-depth questions I have about the Bible, God, and what it means to be a Christian, and he's always patient with me, answering with truth, conviction, and clarity. He reads dozens of books on the subject, the Bible in particular, and would even listen to the Bible on tape during his commute (something that always kinda cracked me up). He served as an elder at his past church for years, giving selflessly and generously of his time and money. My parents are great stewards, and have highly influenced Steve and I in how we handle (and spend) what God has entrusted to us. My dad is a man who loves God, and I respect him greatly for this devotion.

OK, to make sure this post doesn't turn into a mammoth length novel, I'll just keep this at a small sampling of a few other characteristics that I deeply respect, but that also kinda make me giggle, about my dad:

* I have never, let me repeat, never heard my dad swear in my 29 years of life. You know he's mad when "fiddlesticks" crosses his lips.

* I've never seen him lounging on the couch, pants undone, watching the game with a beer in his hands. Not that doing that is a bad thing, it's just not my dad.

* I remember with fondness when my parents and I were driving back from seeing the musical, "Beauty and the Beast" in DC and my dad got pulled over for going about 10 miles over the speed limit. That was hysterical to me- my dad getting pulled over for speeding! Even funnier however, was the officer asking what my dad had to drink that night. I couldn't resist- I responded, "maybe some milk and cookies!" My mom and I couldn't stop laughing and dad got by with a warning.

* He wears his baseball hats on top of his head, not on his head. They kinda rest gently on top of the head and my personal favorite of his is the red and white hat, that reads "Physics" in felt across the top. He's also particularly fond of his newsboy style caps, and has them in just about every color.

OK, that'll do for now. Dad, you've been an awesome father and I love you. Happy Father's Day!

My Too-daddy
Again, where do I even begin with this wonderful man I'm privileged to call my grandpa? This post could seriously go on for days and I'm not sure how to limit this, so maybe to honor my Too-Dad, I'll just do some free thinking/writing and see where it goes.

My dad's father died two years before I was born, so I never had the opportunity to meet him. I hear he was a great man, deeply devoted to his faith and family, and it saddens me that I never got to know him. Partly for this reason, my mom's father, my dear Too-daddy was especially dear to me. My only grandfather. And with a brother and two male cousins, I happen to be his only granddaughter. I'd like to think we share a special bond.

He, too, is quite a unique fellow. Some people don't know how to take him- his sense of humor, his stubbornness, his quirks, but I love those qualities in him. I have fond memories of sitting on his lap while he sang "giddy up to granny's house to get a piece of cake" and "fire bumper, eye winker, nose smeller, tom tinker, mouth eater, chin chopper..." You'd probably have to be there to get it, but us grand kids loved those songs!

Too-dad used to push us along in the "frogger" (a small toy vehicle in the shape of a frog), and let us ride on the back of the moped. He even had a name for all of us- "Posty's Team." Neily-Pealy, Sam-the-Man, Super-Dan, and Beck-a-beck. We even had shirts inscribed. Seriously. We were too cool. Where'd it all come from you may wonder? Well, "Posty" was the name I gave the teddy-bear he gave me when I was five after Too-dad's last name, "Postlethwait." Yeah, try learning how to spell that as a kid!

Like my dad, my grandpa is one of the most generous people I know. Boy, does he spoil us, but we never take it for granted. He doesn't want the government to have his money :), so he graciously bestows it on all of us and loves doing so. He's also very wise with his resources and spends it where it counts most to him- his family.

Speaking of family, Too-daddy was married to my "Nana-bug" for almost 50 years before the horrific Creutzfeld-Jakobs disease took her precious life in 1995. I adored this woman, and still mourn this loss. I'll reserve more on my Nana for a post all its own, but I can't have a post on Too-dad without mentioning her. As his happiness means the world to us, we were thrilled when he met another wonderful lady, another southern belle, Mary Catherine, and remarried in 1998.

My Too-dad is a spectacular man- at almost 84, he's going strong and doesn't look or act a day older than 65. I treasure the special relationship we share very deeply.

This post can't even attempt to do justice in describing the way I feel about my dad and Too-Dad. I love them both and hope they have a very Happy Father's Day!!!

Silverware and Wood=Five Years of Matrimony!

To celebrate five years of marriage, the contemporary gift suggestion is "Silverware," and the traditional gift suggestion is "Wood." Happy Aniversary, my love- here is a silver spoon and a wooden spoon, to show how much I love thee. What???

I've actually attempted to loosely match my previous anniversary gifts to Steve to the year's recommendation, and will probably stretch this year's gift to somehow fit, but really, I don't get these contemporary/traditional gift things (unless it's diamonds of course!).

Anyhow, if I were clever, I'd use this post to try to come up with some sort of symbolism about silverware and wood, and how they relate to marriage, but I'm not that clever, and I think it would probably just end up being pretty lame anyway. I just thought the title was cute, so moving on...

Since I'm not even going to attempt to be deep, I'd just like to instead honor my husband with five things in particular that I love about him as we approach our big day this Saturday, June 14th.

1. His commitment to his faith. I love that he wakes up over an hour before me and over two hours before he has to leave for work to have time in the Word and in prayer. Even when he could really use the extra sleep, he makes his quiet time with the Lord a priority. It is such an inspiration and encouragement to me, and I respect him so much for this. I also love how selfless he is in his commitment to our church, Apostles, and the load-in/out duties he co-leads, and leading our community group. When he's scheduled to pick up and drop off the van that carries our church equipment to our morning location on Sunday mornings, he leaves our place just after 7am and normally doesn't get back home after church until 1:30-2. But he never complains. I might, but he doesn't. He gives of his time and talents joyfully. I also love how he thoughtfully prepares our CG discussions with a printed sheet containing questions, "business items", etc- too cute. He loves the Lord, and it is very evident through his dutiful and joyful obedience to Him, an obedience I am proud of.

2. His commitment to me. Steve puts up with a lot being my husband. I'm quite a handful, to say the least. He deals with my whackiness, moodiness, flutie-ness, and somehow still manages to love me. In regards to my profession, no matter how much practicing I do and how much schooling I go through, it's just not a lucrative field. But, it's my passion, and I love it, and he knows that, and he supports me in it 100%, regardless of how much it ends up costing us financially, (and the costs in time...) or how little it contributes financially. I also love the little things- how he makes me breakfast in the morning and gets my lunch ready, how he writes me sweet poems and always gets creative with my birthday gifts, how he does the laundry because he knows how much I hate it, and just how he makes sure I always feel safe, secure, loved, attractive (to him, at least) and appreciated.

3. His commitment to his research. I believe my husband is absolutely brilliant. The things he tells me about his day at work just totally floor me. I mean, he's researching brain cancer- how cool is that? (Not cool as in brain cancer itself, of course, but cool as in he's working towards learning more about its causes, effects, possible cures, etc!). I think it's pretty awesome at least, and I hope he knows how much I respect his career choice, and his commitment to its greater good. Again, he could've chosen a field that comes with a much higher salary, more prestige, less work... or even if he still stayed with science, he could've gone into the medical field or biotech, BUT, he deeply cares about researching cancer, and it's worth it to him. An almost flawless straight "A" record through undergrad (he got a B in drama... hehe) and a PhD at age 27 after just five years- he could've gone into just about anything, gone just about anywhere, but he chose a field that means something dear to him and means something dear to others, regardless of the pitfalls, and I'm proud of that.

4. His "all or nothing" passion. Steve doesn't really do anything that's important to him less than 100%. For example, he's recently gotten very into photography. He'll spend hours on a picture making it just right, seeking out comments and suggestions on how an image can be improved upon, investing in better equipment- and this is just a hobby! He also really enjoys to cook, but rarely has the time to do it. So when he does have the time, he loves to surprise me with a carefully planned meal. Not just any meal, but dinners that require special trips for special ingredients, and take hours to prepare. He's even printed menus to match, on occasion. Makes me melt :)

And finally, enough of the sentimentalk talk, here's one final quality that I love about Steve...

5. He's hot. I'll spare the elaborations here ;).

It's been a great five years, my love, and I hope this didn't make you blush too much;). Happy Anniversary and I LOVE YOU!!!

Museum Mile - Love it here!!!

In one of the in-flight magazines during our flight out to Spain, we read that the 30th annual "Museum Mile Festival" in NYC would take place on Tuesday, June 3, offering free admission to nine different museums from 6-9pm. Huh! What a great opportunity for us take a chunk out of No. 1 on my "Thirty by 30" list,

"Hit the major NYC museums- Met, MoMA, & Natural History Museum for starters"

AND enjoy our awesome city with another reason why we love it here. Last night, it was off to the Met- we came, we saw, we didn't conquer...

We obviously weren't the only people to think a free museum night was a great idea, so it was pretty packed. And only the first floor was open to visitors. But, it was a fabulous, albeit short hour and a half whirlwind through one of the world's greatest museums. Lots of cool stuff to be seen, and was seen, in that brief period, and we're really looking forward to returning and enjoying another one of the incredible aspects of NY.

So, to mirror last week's post, here are some other things that rock about our city, state, and/or country that struck us while we enjoyed a different city and country a couple of weeks ago:

* Drinkable tap water and free bread. It's not that the tap water was unsafe or undrinkable in Spain, BUT, we weren't able to get it anywhere! No matter the type of restaurant/cafe/bar, tap water was just not an option. And all of those bottles of water at the equivalent of $3-$5 each really added up, not to mention the waste of throwing away all that plastic! As environmentally friendly as Spain was in many other ways, mentioned in the previous post, this was one area where they could learn a lesson from the US of A. And the basket of bread that is given before meals would show up on the bill at the end! This happened at just about every place we dined so we eventually had to specifically decline the bread, much to the waiter's shock and dismay.

* Faster service. Don't get me wrong- I love to take my time at a nice restaurant and really savor the food, ambiance, and company. But, when it's just lunch time, and I'm sitting indoors with a beautiful day outdoors and lots of sight-seeing to be done, my time could be better spent than waiting for my next course. In general, our dinners in Barcelona would last at least a couple of hours- sometimes we thought it was a bit excessive, but we were on vacation and it was late in the day so it was somewhat of a luxury to just relax and take it all in. We could let the slow service slide. But on our last full day, we decided to do a prix-fixe lunch with yummy paella, and ended up being indoors at that place for over two hours! Not exactly how I intended on spending that time on a gorgeous afternoon, but alas, thus is the lifestyle.

* NYC's abounding musical performances. Granted, most classical music concerts/recitals take place during the evening, with matinees on weekends, but, if I searched really hard, I have a feeling I could find some type of performance going on during the day on any day of the week here. I desperately tried to find some type of concert, any concert, during my one day by my lonesome in Barcelona; I did internet searches, asked tourist info kiosks AND the locals, and visited several music halls, finding nothing. There certainly were tons of things going on in Barcelona, but let's be honest, you simply can't top NY in this regard, which is another huge reason why I, in particularly, absolutely love it here! (* Related sidenote- saw the ballet last Wed and am seeing another one this Sat, going to the Phil tonight, then I'm playing with the worship band for church and in the orchestra for an opera company's concert this Sun, too- love that!*)

* Nude beaches here are the exception, not the norm. Nude beaches there are the norm, not the exception. Going topless was more common than baring it all, so while most of us American ladies don't appreciate seeing a multitude of other ladies showing off what their mamas gave them, even worse were those who did think it was acceptable to bare all. I mean, power to them for having the guts and self-esteem, but come on, put your clothes on, I don't wanna see that.

Of course, we could go on and on about why we love our city, state, and country, but I'll keep the list short with the aforementioned items that stuck out in particular during our trip. We had a great time in Spain and truly loved it there, but there's no shortage of reasons why we simply love it here, too!