Queue

Mind the gap

Take away food

Footpath

Jacket Potato

Bloody hell

Jolly good

Using me instead of my – as in “this is me pub,” “this is me mum”

Mum

Wind cheater

Jumper

Cheerio

Pavement

*This list courtesy (mostly) of my aunt (and traveling companion), Tricia.

2. My student loan payment (ironic, when all I want to do is go back to school).

3. My car (every morning she reminds me that she needs a new transmission and a new rear passenger side door) .

4. Winter (can we just skip the next 4.5 months?).

5. My recent inability to get out of bed when my alarm goes off (this might have something to do with #4).

What do you want to give up?

My Girls by Animal Collective

Each day we go about our business, walking past each other, catching each others’ eyes or not, about to speak or speaking. All about us is noise. All about us is noise and bramble, thorn and din, each one of our ancestors on our tongues. Someone is stitching up a hem, darning a hole in a uniform, patching a tire, repairing the things in need of repair.

Someone is trying to make music somewhere with a pair of wooden spoons on an oil drum with cello, boom box, harmonica, voice.

A woman and her son wait for the bus.

A farmer considers the changing sky; A teacher says, “Take out your pencils. Begin.”

We encounter each other in words, Words spiny or smooth, whispered or declaimed; Words to consider, reconsider.

We cross dirt roads and highways that mark the will of someone and then others who said, “I need to see what’s on the other side; I know there’s something better down the road.”

We need to find a place where we are safe; We walk into that which we cannot yet see.

Say it plain, that many have died for this day. Sing the names of the dead who brought us here, who laid the train tracks, raised the bridges, picked the cotton and the lettuce, built brick by brick the glittering edifices they would then keep clean and work inside of.

Praise song for struggle; praise song for the day. Praise song for every hand-lettered sign; The figuring it out at kitchen tables.

Some live by “Love thy neighbor as thy self.”

Others by first do no harm, or take no more than you need.

What if the mightiest word is love, love beyond marital, filial, national. Love that casts a widening pool of light. Love with no need to preempt grievance.

In today’s sharp sparkle, this winter air, anything can be made, any sentence begun.

On the brink, on the brim, on the cusp — praise song for walking forward in that light.

-Elizabeth Alexander (For Barack Obama’s Inauguration)

1. Someone is excited to see me everytime I come home.
2. Someone sleeps next to me every night.

Bad things about having a (foster) cat:

1. Buying cat food at the Ballard Safeway at 10:00 on a Monday night.
2. Yep, just that.

As of today, the items listed in bold are the things I’ve done:

1. Started your own blog

2. Slept under the stars

3. Played in a band (does Rock Band count?)

4. Visited Hawaii

5. Watched a meteor shower

6. Given more than you can afford to charity

7. Been to Disneyland

8. Climbed a mountain

9. Held a praying mantis

10. Sang a solo

11. Bungee jumped

12. Visited Paris

13. Watched a lightning storm at sea

14. Taught yourself an art from scratch

15. Adopted a child

16. Had food poisoning

17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty

18. Grown your own vegetables

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France

20. Slept on an overnight train

21. Had a pillow fight

22. Hitch hiked

23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill

24. Built a snow fort

25. Held a lamb (I’ve petted one in the Lake District)

26. Gone skinny dipping

27. Run a marathon

28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice

29. Seen a total eclipse

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset

31. Hit a home run

32. Been on a cruise

33. Seen Niagara Falls in person

34.Visited the birthplace of your ancestors

35. Seen an Amish community

36. Taught yourself a new language

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied

38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa (been to Pisa, but didn’t see the Tower)

39. Gone rock climbing

40. Seen Michelangelo’s David

41. Sung karaoke

42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt

43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant

44. Visited Africa

45. Walked on a beach by moonlight

46. Been transported in an ambulance

47. Had your portrait painted

48. Gone deep sea fishing

49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person (waited in line for hours but didn’t get in…SO close)

50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower (just a lovely picnic at the bottom)

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling

52. Kissed in the rain

53. Played in the mud

54. Gone to a drive-in movie theatre

55. Been in a movie (Emerson Film Festival?)

56. Visited the Great Wall of China

57. Started a business

58. Taken a martial arts class

59. Visited Russia

60. Served at a soup kitchen

61. Sold Girl Scout cookies

62. Gone whale watching

63. Got flowers for no reason

64. Donated blood

65. Gone sky diving

66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp

67. Bounced a check

68. Flown in a helicopter

69. Saved a favorite childhood toy

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial

71. Eaten caviar

72. Pieced a quilt

73. Stood in Times Square

74. Toured the Everglades

75. Been fired from a job

76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London

77. Broken a bone

78. Been on a speeding motorcycle

79. Seen the Grand Canyon

80. Published a book

81. Visited the Vatican

82. Bought a brand new car

83. Walked in Jerusalem

84. Had your picture in the paper

85. Read the entire Bible

86. Visited the White House

87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating

88. Had chickenpox

89. Saved someone’s life

90. Sat on a jury

91. Met someone famous

92. Joined a book club

93. Lost a loved one

94. Had a baby

95. Seen the Alamo

96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake

97. Been involved in a law suit

98. Owned a cell phone

99. Been stung by a bee

100. Read an entire book in one day

47/100…not bad for 23 years, I guess.

Thanks for the idea, Holly!

Here, there, Everywhere:

2008 brought trips both near and far.  I traveled to San Diego (to visit KJ and Justin before they moved back to Seattle), Eugene (to see Mamma Mia on stage for the 5th time), Denver (to see my sister graduate!), Belize (for some much needed sun), just over the mountains (for a couple crazy camping trips), Salem (to see Mary & Nolan get married), New York City (to visit Kerry and live it up in the Big Apple), and finally Pittsburgh (right after Christmas for my grandpa’s funeral).  

2008: The Year of Babies!

It really was.  And it still kinda blows my mind that so many of my friends are now parents!  Lillian Faye (born to Justin & Katrina on 7/1), Belle Bastille (born to my cousin Amy & Eric on 7/14), Kaden Drew (born to Scott & Amy on 8/27), and Saylor Reese (born to Ashley & Tyler on 9/23).  

Super Shows:

I can think of few better ways to beat the Seattle blues (which take place from October-July) than seeing some of my favorite people in concert.  Not to mention, the gorgeous Seattle summers are perfect for enjoying the awesome outdoor venues we have.  Sia & Augustana at the Showbox, Sasquatch and Dave Matthews at the Gorge, Celine Dion at the Tacoma Dome, and Alanis Morissette at the Paramount.

Weddings, weddings, weddings:

My summer “wedding dress” got a lot of use: Holly & Dustin (6/28), Rachel & Ben (8/2), Mary & Nolan (8/22), Kimberly & Todd (9/6), Jessica & Anthony (9/12).

Big events in the life of Carly:

Moving into my apartment in Queen Anne, watching Barack Obama become our next President, celebrating Seder for the first time, seeing more snow in Seattle than ever before, having a “foster cat” for the last 4 months, Sex and the City & Mamma Mia coming to the big screen, seeing Tim Winton at Elliott Bay, starting a blog, turning my favorite number, wearing the best Halloween costume yet, and ringing in 2009 with so many of my friends. 

So there you have it…what have I forgotten?  Check out facebook for a visual version of 2008.

It’s important.

Thanks, Marie, for this interesting and visually-appealing way to look at the recent conventions:

Words They Used

Here’s my eight, in the order that I read them:

The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver

I read this book in 9th grade English.  We all were assigned partners and had to pick a book from a list and read it on our own and present it to the class.  It was the first time I was really responsible for researching and gaining insight from a book on my own. It made me realize that I actually had my own opinions about literature.

Hamlet by William Shakespeare

Thanks to a wonderful high school English teacher, I actually understood and LIKED Shakespeare. 

Traveling Mercies by Anne Lamott

The first time I ever read a book about faith that felt intelligent, true, and achingly real.  It was hard not to put Bird by Bird on this list too.

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

This is one of those books that completely sucks you into the world the author has created.  And you can’t get it out of your head even weeks after you’ve finished it.

The End of The Affair by Graham Greene

One of the most creatively and brilliantly crafted books I’ve ever read.  Plus, I read it in England, which makes it that much better.

Cloudstreet by Tim Winton

Ahhh…where to start?  This is probably the only book I could read over and over and over again and love it more each time (reliving Cloudstreet, if you will).  The language, characters, and themes are beautiful and timeless.

Literary Theory: An Anthology edited by Julie Rivkin & Michael Ryan

History of Literary Theory was one of my top 3 classes in college.  I learned how to think about writing, books, and life in a new way and stretched my brain in ways I never thought possible.

Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life by Amy Krouse Rosenthal

The most uniquely formatted book I’ve ever read.  It made me realize that any life is book-worthy and taught me to notice daily details in a new way.