Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

I apologize for my great absence. Good things are on their way. Good goals for the coming year. Here is something to keep you entertained until I have another spare moment.

Sunday, I took part in a show that was purely enjoyable. Some of my friends, also known as The Riflemen, played a reunion show. Their keyboard player was out of town, so I got to play. It was very fun. Good music, good people, good beer.

Photos: Tim Weilert

More posts to come, including some of my goals for 2010 and some updates from the holidays.

Also, can my hair grow now please? This is the goal. *Sigh.

She's splendid.

And I love this....

Other photos from Weheartit

Merry Christmas Eve!

Homemade Chai and Toast with Apricot Jam

Snow on the Ground

Presents under the tree.

And a candlelight church service tonight.

My Dearest Northwest....

I hope to see you sooner than later.

You have been on my heart these past few days.

My Weekend, As Seen From My Iphone

This weekend was grand. To top it all off....here is a recap, thanks to my new phone. I don't know how I ever lived without it.

The start of a new tradition that has been in the Hollen's for a long time...BLINKO!

I don't know how well you can tell...but this picture is Ryan's car FULL of music gear. Love it.

Ryan and I played a show at the Taproom. I discovered a love for New Belgium's Frambozen Brew. Yum!

I was in Scene Magazine! :) (It's weird to see photos of me pre-tattoo on my shoulder!)

Ordered this book....drank some chai.

Bought this book for 2 bucks.

Ended up getting these shoes after an endless search for the ones from the previous post. These were cheaper. :)

Ate sushi. It had been FAR TOO LONG!

Ryan signed the receipt for the evening with a very large pen.

Went and saw Danielle Ate the Sandwich, our dear friend and amazing songwriter. She's rad.

Drank lovely coffee.

Band practice today with the Rifleman. I will be playing a show with them on the 27th because their keyboard player is out of town. It will be fun!

And last but not least, I finished wrapping all of the presents for Christmas!

Phew. What a good weekend! :)

It's on Sale....and I have a coupon...

I'm drooling over these. I came home during lunch to try and convince the hubby that I needed them, yes needed, (My love for boots=pathetic.) I have a coupon, they are on sale. His excuse.....

Only if I can find some cool Oxfords or something.

My husband is awesome, clearly. I try to convince him I need shoes and his clause to the agreement is only if he can get some too! I'm one lucky girl! :)

And...

I'm pretty much in love with this band at the moment.

Merry Christmas to Us!

I don't think words can rightly explain the nerdy excitement in our house this evening. We got IPHONES for Christmas from the parentals. We look like such little nerds downloading this app and figuring this and that out.

I'm in love!

What a good evening this has been!

A Girl Can Dream....

*Sigh*

All clothing was found at Mod Cloth.

One More Thing...

Happy 6th Month Wedding Anniversary, Babe! :)

I love you! :)

Pondering....

It has been a very long time since I’ve sat down and written something of worth, or even of deep thought. So many of my posts are my latest creative endeavors, my current crafty likes and dislikes, and the sort. I used to sit down and type out so many of my experiences, sitting at Starbucks for hours upon hours at a time, just pouring out my thoughts with no end in sight.

It has been a while. But, I have had something on my mind this weekend. Something good. Good questions stir up the soul and cause us to dream again, to hope, to anticipate, or to reorganize our lives. I like questions. I used to be so embarrassed to ask questions when I was young. I would become so frustrated with my mom when she would ask someone even a simple question. But, after many years of shyness and stupidity, I found that she actually got answers and I was left with an unasked question. Questions are healthy things, challenging things, scary things.

I finished the book, The War of Art, last night. It was a good read; very challenging and thought provoking. I like books like that, the ones the make you think about your life, your art, your own weaknesses and procrastination. Near the closing of the book, the author presents two questions that have been rattling around in my being the past day or so.

“If you are feeling really anxious, what do you do?”

“If you were the last person on earth, would you still do it?”

I believe that these two questions determine the life of an artist, a musician, or any creative being that ever has felt the call towards something other than a life of mediocrity and simply just getting by.

These two questions challenge me. I know at times, I can answer the first question with an answer birthed in the caverns of a musician’s soul. I pick up a guitar. I go to the keyboard. I run for my moleskin and pen. I grab my camera. Yet, in all of life’s craziness, sometime I run to sleep, or overeating, or endless amounts of draining television that just helps me avoid my procrastination and the creative forces that are screaming from somewhere deep inside of me.

That should change. I feel like I used to be a person of such discipline and organization, yet years of hardship and learning some lessons the hard way seem to cause me to run to places I know will only slow me down or take me off track.

That needs to change.

I have been carrying the second question with me all day. If there was no one else to hear my music, to look at my photos, to read my words, would I still persevere? Would I still take the time to create something of worth, even if i was the only one that would be there to realize the birth of it all?

I would love to answer with a resounding yes. But, at times I feel like I’m always trying to please someone or something. Deep down inside though, I know I couldn’t live without the idea of creating something, of writing music, of picking up a camera and discovering an aspect of the world I didn’t see before, of picking up my moleskin and writing my thoughts out on the pages. I also know that God has placed a calling upon my life that can never remain silent. It has been something that was birthed in me long ago and still burns daily, as a constant reminder.

I’m still going to ponder these for a while. I need to.

How would you answer these questions?

Do they dig deep in to you like they did in me?

In 60 Years...

If my husband and I can be even close to being this cool, I'll take it. Seriously. Love it.

Bookstores and Chai

This day has been lazy, extremely lazy.

I played a show last night at the beloved Coffeetree/Anthology Bookstore. It was a grand time. I introduced a few new tunes and even threw in a Christmas song. It was really fun! I like when shows are enjoyable and it doesn't feel like work. That's the way it is supposed to be. Hopefully I'll have some photos soon....cause this was taken by a phone! :)

I slept in this morning til around 11 or so, stayed in my pjs until about 3:00, then went to B&N with my wonderful husband to spend some gift cards we've received for Christmas. There are few things I truly adore in life.....love, the church, music, rain, bookstores, photography, vinyl, etc. Add a tall chai into the equation and I'm set for an evening of pure enjoyment. We scored a lot of good reads that I can't wait to delve into.

The Hollens also gave us some more ornaments for our tree this year that I'm ecstatic about. They are the perfect color. They gave us two hearts and another that says Christmas 2009. It is our first Christmas as a married couple and these are perfect. (Sidenote...our six month anniversary is tomorrow! Time is flying by!)

Ryan has just finished his student teaching portion of his degree and currently is sitting next to me ever so diligently typing his huge assignment for the end of the semester. He even made a little list of to-do's, which I was so proud of. I'm obsessed with lists! I guess I'm rubbing off on him! :)

I'm also currently obsessed with THIS blog. The idea of being able to take an entire year to discover more about your marriage and travel all over the country is incredibly appealing. And, you get to travel with one of these puppies! I like this one....

There's Nothing Like....

Work Christmas Parties....

And little fury friends that sneak into your house!

I also feel as if I'm going through a mid-life photography crisis. I feel like I want to start all over again and revamp everything I do! I don't know. I don't even know where to start! It's just one of those frustrating creativity days I guess. And I don't like it!

Rock!

I have a lot of posts backed up...but for now, this will do. :)

One of my bandmates moms created this piece of awesomeness. If only you knew how close this portrays some of us. Enjoy. :)