more for my gma...some highlights of life :)

minus the fire...

oh happy day!!

this morning in general conference they announced one of five new temples to be built...Urdaneta, Philippines!!  My last, longest (7 months) and most beloved area!!  Kay saya saya!

for grandma

thought I'd post some things I've been making the last year so I can show them to my grandma--all else are welcome to peruse as well. enjoy.

(leslie made the PB&J scarf--I take no credit for that hotness!)
 

If you were a chicken..

what would you be for Halloween?

seriously.

Open letter to vegans

Dear vegans,

I love the crunch of egg shells in my hands.  You're really missing out.
love,
erin

Red Letter Day

September 10th is an important day for me

7 years ago today I started my MISSION TO THE PHILIPPINES

and

today I paid off my STUDENT LOANS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(and these were no weeny loans)

2 very big and important goals in my life: the mission took just under 2 years of hard HARD work, and paying off my loans is the result of just under 2 years of full time work (and budgeting).  I'm extremely grateful for the people that made the pay-off possible (Mom for the personal school loans when I needed them, Leslie and the Kittermans for helping me get my job).  THANK YOU!
Next feat: actually graduate. 
more on that later.
<3 e

anticipate

and other notions of tenderness.

coming soon. 

Day of Poo

somedays the world just smells like poo.  this is that day

heat induced epiphany: the phantom-MJ connection

this past week has been wicked HOT.  because I live in Boston and am used to having one hot day a year (somewhere in August) I do not have air conditioning or a swamp cooler.  all I've got is a fan and a top floor apartment that traps heat like the devil in Georgia.

During the peak of the heat it got so bad I couldn't sleep for two nights and just kind of wandered around the apartment towing my futon mattress and trying to find a sweet spot. without my permission my mind decided to seek solace by singing "Rock with You" by Michael Jackson, over and over and over.
and over. You'd think that sleep deprivedly laying in your sweat in the middle of the kitchen floor singing "all night!" would eventually make you lose your mind, but instead somewhere around 4:20 a.m.
I had an EPIPHANY.  
Who is weird and sometimes a little bit creepy, but also endearing because of his undeniable talent and desire to please?  Michael Jackson.  Who has a face that can be disturbing to look at in good lighting?  Michael Jackson.  Who wants to rock with you, all night?  Who wants you to give in and ride the boogie with him? who owns a monkey? you got it.  MJ.
and you know who else....?   THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA.  Please consult the evidence:

phantom:
Close your eyes and surrender to your darkest dreams!
Purge your thoughts of the life you knew before!
Close your eyes, let your spirit start to soar!
And you'll live as you've never lived before ...

Softly, deftly, music shall surround you ...
Feel it, hear it, closing in around you ...
Open up your mind, let your fantasies unwind,
in this darkness which you know you cannot fight -
the darkness of the music of the night.

Let your mind start a journey through a strange, new world!
Leave all thoughts of the world you knew before!
Let your soul
Take you where you long to be!
Only then can you belong to me ... 

michael:

Girl, Close Your Eyes
Let That Rhythm Get Into You
Don't Try To Fight It
There Ain't Nothin' That You Can Do
Relax Your Mind
Lay Back And Groove With Mine
You Got To Feel That Heat
And We Can Ride The Boogie
Share That Beat Of Love

I Wanna Rock With You (All Night)
Dance You Into Day (Sunlight)
I Wanna Rock With You (All Night)
We're Gonna Rock The Night Away

Out On The Floor
There Ain't Nobody There But Us
Girl, When You Dance
There's A Magic That Must Be Love
Just Take It Slow
'Cause We Got So Far To Go
When You Feel That Heat
And We're Gonna Ride The Boogie
Share That Beat Of Love

And When The Groove Is Dead And Gone (Yeah)
You Know That Love Survives
So We Can Rock Forever

I'm not sure yet what all of this means.  Perhaps another couple of sleepless nights and I'll have more to go on.  For now I do know at least two people capable of mixing these songs and I really think one of them SHOULD. could be the next gray album, serious.
-e

                 -MJ and the phantom--a trick with mirrors?? maybe

welcome back!

How was your weekend?

need it

need it something fierce

Erin is

a spazz.

weekend in review

-saw Babies in theater. yep, babies are cute.
-discovered Gourmet Dumpling House, the best thing ever to happen to Boston's Chinatown. can I live on dumplings?
-finished Harry Potter Six. and cried. I know that's nerdy, but it was so sad!
-tried to live off of chocolate chip cookies. success?
-visited the beautiful Boston 1st ward. the church is true.
-wandered Forest Hills cemetery. found out that ee cummings and Anne Sexton are both buried there. sat on lawn sculpture and contemplated death and trees.
-bust out my mad crochet skills. happy birthday grandma, taika and mary elizabeth!
-SLEPT. and slept and slept and slept. this morning it was still hard to get up.

sibs

This last less than a year I've had the delight of hosting all three of my siblings in my lovely home of Boston, MA.
(the last of which, Jeff, left this morning..sniff sniff...)

thank you to them for ditching their lives (including a then fiancee, a wife, and a total of nine kids), flying across the US, and bringing me some fabulous times.  It makes me feel loved and reminds me how much I dang-the-heck-shout-it-from-the-rooftops love you too.

xo

the earth and me

oh baby I love the earth.

I love the way she smells (most of the time)
I love her kiss on my skin when she's sunny
I love the drama of her rain when she's stormy
I love the power in the churning of her oceans
and I love the fatness of her hills

I love the vegetables and fruits that are born out of her
they delight my body
I love the animals that live in and on her
they delight my soul

Today I decided I loved the earth enough to beat the bus home with my own two feet
then the earth loved me right back up and gave my new garden a sprinkle

I think we have a good thing going.

happy earth day.

I enjoyed this woman's blog post about the occasion, so I pass it on to you. enjoy.

the other week it rained..

and rained

and rained

and rained.

 

four days straight. of the serious stuff.


the good news was..

at our house

 

there's always something nice to do