Some things:

Totally not reader-friendly, nor succinct, nor necessarily all that well-thought-out:

• I can't stop watching My So-Called Life. It was a bit before my time but watching the teen angst seep into each storyline sometimes makes me double over with laughter and other times brings me back a few years to the braces-wearing, pre-hair-gel-finding girl who nervously stepped on that bus for the first time. So funny to remember what mattered then (which skirt your wore with your cheerleading outfit; who asked who to prom; etc.), what drove me crazy (the term "family time"; the unending desire to be accepted; etc.) and what I dreamed about (first dates; a prestigious college; being known and not boxed into a stereotype that I created and also hated; etc.).
• Still processing our trip to the Dominican Republic. I'll post some photos soon, hopefully. (Technical difficulties, including, unfortunately, a stolen camera...waah, waaah...has proved this difficult.) This has been the hardest trip to "recover" from both physically and emotionally and while mercifully I think we are finding words that speak truth into this harsh reality and begin to find, to seek, that balance again (and hope along with it)...it is still a work in progress. As it probably should be. As a good friend said, experiences such as these make you want to kick into high gear and do anything and everything because you were blind but now you see ...but also, reality is sometimes just too much and too overwhelming and not at all fitting with my idea of how things work or should work or justice or for the visual learners, it feels like my internal equilibrium just got smashed to smithereens, which makes me want to lock my door, eat a whole bag of Robin Eggs and drink Diet Dr. Pepper in my sweatpants. In a nutshell.
• Totally and completely have dropped the ball on the fair trade issue. My apologies. I actually have exciting developments to share but just haven't taken the time to make things official and also, well, just see bullet #2. I will jump back into this soon.
• We're about to celebrate one year of marriage! Unbelievable. And also, the best thing ever.
• Thanks for letting me (over)share my so-called life (yuk, yuk, yuk) and still being friends with me. Blogs are so weird sometimes, you know? Like am I really sharing this information for your benefit or for my own therapy? And how strange we relate (or feel like we're relating) in digital platforms. The whole "Is this building community or breaking it?" argument. I'm not sure. But thanks for reading. Now maybe go ask someone what's going on in their life in person, you know, just to even things out. 

Happy over-contemplative Monday!

p.s. Watch this and tell me you don't love it (minus the cheesy voice):