'Splosions!

If you know me at all, you know I freaking love the 4th of July.  It's such a wonderful holiday.  I could spout off a bunch of founding fathers stuff and yay America and whatnot.  It would probably ring false and/or sarcastic though.  Probably because I would be at least partially sarcastic about it.  I love my country very much, but I think I'm pretty realistic about it - we're messed up in a lot ways.  If you haven't watched Newsroom yet, you really should.  Sorkin, man, he'll get you riled up.  This might be one of his best speeches ever.



So even that last half it rosy colored glasses in my opinion, but it was at least better.  And I get the point.  It's not anymore, but it could be again.

All the same though, I love the 4th of July.  BBQ's, chilling outside with friends and/or family all day, then watching people blow shit up.  It's a great holiday.  It's brilliant.

So last night we went and literally got on a train to fireworks town.  No seriously.  After work we headed to Osceola, Wisconsin, boarded a train, rode for about an hour, took a short bus ride and arrived in Marine, Minnesota for fireworks basically on Main Street.  Which were pretty much right over our heads.  Like, bits of firework falling on us, right over our heads.  Pretty awesome.  It was a great time.  Really the only thing that kind of sucked was that the air temperature was roughly that of the surface of the sun.  Holy fuck it's hot out.  So incredibly out.

Then we took a bus back to train back to Osceola and drove home.  Which is to say, we had a great night but didn't get home until really late and I haven't even looked at my pictures yet.

So here are some pictures from Lake Superior quite awhile ago.  (Thus the old signature.)

doesn't that look inviting?

Don't you want to go sit there next to the lake?

Aaaand pile some rocks on the arm of your chair in a... neat looking way?

Happy Fourth of July, Y'all!

Maybe This is Heaven

It's been suggested that Heaven may be located in Iowa.  It's been suggested that Heaven may be, based on picture books, a partly cloudy place.  Some people may try to tell you that there's no such thing as Heaven. I may be one of those people.  It kind of depends on my mood, honestly.

Well I've been to Iowa.  And I know some damn fine Iowans.  But I'm fairly certain it's no paradise.

I'm not one for too much certainty in life so maybe I'm down with the partly cloudy description.  The picture books do seem to suggest it.

And again, I'm not one who's too big on certainty.  I don't really know what's going to happen tomorrow much less in the hereafter.  I very nearly minored in theology in college and really all that taught me was that religion is messed up.  If there is a god - that's one seriously confused supreme being we've got ourselves.  That or one incredibly certain supreme being who's just being dick for fun.  Or something else entirely.  I really don't know.  I prefer the confused route.  Anyway...

There's this other thing

I don't often "name" my pictures.  Because that seems too much like thinking they're actual like "art" or something.  It's taking myself entirely too seriously.  I'm not really down with that.  I start... I don't know, it gets weird, I don't like it.

However... If I did name my pictures, I would probably call these "Heaven One through Five"

Because seriously - if I got to pick.  If I were the supreme being (confused, certain and just being a dick for fun, or whatever) and I got to make the call.  This is exactly what it would look like.  Baseball fields with corn in the outfield are nice.  You know I like a catch with my dad.  Gates made of pearl sound really nice too.  Hell, I even like harp music most of the time.  Give me the lake any day of the week.  I'll take it.  That's fuckin Heaven.

You Talkin' To Me?

So.... yeah.  Good vacation.

That is to say, GOOD VACATION.

Okay I guess it was more like BEST. VACATION. EVER.

Why you ask?  Well... let's see... ummm.... Oh yeah, THIS HAPPENED!!!!!!

Um yeah.  I got engaged.  I'M ENGAGED!  I'm sorry I just really, really like saying that.  Even typing that is really fun.  Engaged, engaged, engaged, ENGAGED!  Me!  Woo!  (that was all in a very sing-songy voice in my head, by the way.)

So here's the story... 

We were up at the lake with my family.  My mom's family has been going to the same resort (and by resort I mean, like 12 cabins on a lake, not a spa resort or something) for, like, 60 years.  I've gone for a week every summer since I was, well, I guess about a 2 month developed fetus in my mama's belly.  I've never missed a summer.  I've even thrown in a few MEA weekends and Labor Days.  It's my favorite place ever.  When I was 17 and went to France for two weeks I came back and told my parents I just wanted to buy Paris and just have it, like, as my house.  The Lake still wins.  The Lake > Paris, okay?

Another bit of back story:  For Mother's Day Steve's mom asked for a picture of the two of us.  While looking through our photos we found we hadn't really taken a nice photo together for about a year.  So we've been trying to take more pictures when we actually do things.  

So we wanted to take a couple nice pictures together while we were at the lake.  And weeks ago Steve started saying things like "well, I think I'm going to take one of my nice shirts, maybe you could take a sundress or something and we can take our Christmas card photo" and so on.  All of this seemed more or less reasonable.  Perhaps a little overly concerned about a picture... but sometimes it seems like Steve just forgets he's already told me something so he tells me a whole bunch of times.  Regardless, I did not think much about it at all.  So on our third day there it was nice out and Steve said "let's take the boat out later, take a nice picture with the sunset."  Seemed like a good enough idea to me.  Steve got my aunt and my brother involved in convincing my nieces that ice cream would be better than a sunset cruise.  (They were sold before my brother finished saying the word "cream.")

We got out on the lake, found a pretty spot and with a nice view...

I think it's a pretty nice view anyway.  I might be biased, but I don't really care.

Steve set up the camera on the tripod and (sneaky guy) actually put it on video (later he told me he actually didn't even know how to set the timer and the fact that he didn't ask me probably should have clued me in.)  He came back over to where I was and I started preparing for the photo and he said "well I have to get down on one knee for this one."

Ever the elegant, loquacious, lady; I replied, "What?"

He proceeded to get down on one knee and say some really very romantic things that I'm not going to share with the whole world.

My next comment - again because I am such a wordsmith - was "Are you kidding?"

I remember now having the little thought in my head "If he's messing with me, I'm going to punch him.  He's going over the side of the boat and I'm driving away without him.  This is not funny."

Reasonable assured that he was not, in fact, kidding (this had much to do with the AMAZING ring I now had possession of) I kissed him, told him I loved him, I think I officially said yes at some point, and started grinning like a crazy person that really didn't end for a long time.

After we came back in off the lake my aunt (Steve's co-conspirator) had prepared a little party for us with champagne and cheesecake and lots and lots of hugs, and explaining to a six-year-old the difference between a fiance and Beyonce, and oh my god my face hurt from smiling and I so didn't care at all.

Oh yeah, there was some kissing too.

We proceeded back to the cabin Steve and I share with my parents, there was more Champagne, I got to look at a whole booklet of stuff dedicated to my ring, more face-splitting smiles (seriously I look like a crazy person in most of the pictures.  I bring new meaning to "crazy-eyes."  Okay, not new meaning but... more... well I think I bring more crazy to "crazy-eyes.") and so on and so forth.  

At some point, thankfully, the sides of my mouth stopped trying to wrap around my ears and we calmed back into our general, all-around cuteness.

Almost entirely crazy-eye free!

I'd love to tell you that it's been that since then.  But we're back in the real world now.  I spent most of my first day back at work just reading my email.  Oh and let's see, on Sunday my brother and my nieces went home (which was expected and normal but it still blows) and both of my parents left for their new home in Dallas.  Sunday was not a good day.  Oh yeah and we have like 50 loads of laundry to do (because when you come within 20 miles of the lake makes all the clothes and towels and any other cloth-like material you may have with you immediately becomes filthy, it's one of the many charms of the lake) and still have to unpack about 5 boxes.  Joy.  Pure Joy.

Oh yeah and I have to get up in like 7 hours to go to work again.  Peace out.