1. headed to big bear this weekend to breathe fresh air and ski. cannot wait for open spaces.
2. next week is march, which means a new month and peas are in season. guys, i love peas and want pea soup and pea pasta and pea everything.
3. cooper the dog. she is our neighbor’s dog and she hangs out with us in her free time, which is a lot. she currently is walking around my room sniffing everything and probably wondering where jeff is.
4. new hat and gloves and headband for this weekend from melissa, because she’s an american hero.
5. i got a new planner. i don’t care that it’s nearly march. it was 50 percent off and it’s for all the to-do lists i try to keep in my head that tumble to the ether on the drive home.
have a fab weekend, chicakdees. catch you in march.
Folks, the new Mat Kearney album came out this week (on Theo’s first birthday, what a sign!) and it’s really speaking to my soul.
When I was in college, I was in love with Mat Kearney. His album that came out in 2006 was my life album. The summer I came back from studying aboard my mom took me to Borders (RIP) in Ann Arbor to see him live and get my CD signed.
When I get my named signed on things (which I guess doesn’t happen as much anymore) I always tell people “Jen” because a) that is what my family calls me and b) I hate being like, “It’s Jennie. With an I-E.” So when Mat Kearney asked me what my name was I said, “Jen.”
He wrote “Jenn.” I still have that CD. I strongly considered changing the way I spell my name. (I didn’t.)
I love him and his music, and I am so, so happy that another album is finally here. It’s been a while, Mat.
Onto “Just Kids.”
First of all, the first song includes an excerpt from the above spoken word piece, which just is amazing.
This is one of my favorite parts:
This is for the benches and the people sitting upon them For the bus drivers who drive a million broken hymns For the men who have to hold down three jobs simply to hold up their children For the nighttime schoolers And for the midnight bikers who are trying to fly Shake the dust
Second of all, Moving On, Heartbeat, Ghost, Los Angeles…they all are just beyond.
I suggest you take a listen on Spotify today. I’ve made a playlist of my fave Mat Kearney songs from over the years, in case you live under a rock and you don’t know who he is. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
Today is my sister’s thirty-first birthday, and although I am not to celebrate with her I started the day feeling excitedly like it was my own birthday. Nikki’s thirtieth year was absolutely the most exciting one of our collective lives yet…she had the cutest son of all time, and I got married (a marginally less exciting event, if I do say so myself.)
Seeing Nikki being a mom has once again prepped me to follow in her footsteps (someday…calm down people!) and know that I’ll have someone to ask a million questions a day. She did the same for me when she got married, when went to college, when she played high school soccer, when she learned what movies were the coolest in the 90s…I could go on, and on, and on. She’s pioneered my life for me in ways I will never even be aware of (like learning how to put your hair in a ponytail without brushing it for 30 minutes first, driving a car, using dry shampoo, having a 9-to-5 job, a 401K) that I just take for granted.
She’s also hilarious. And she doesn’t take any bullshit. And she loves a challenge. She doesn’t like to talk through things – she likes to ACTUALLY do things. She’ll try anything once (or probably, ten times) and she likes just about everyone, everything, and nearly all foods. She’s basically my hero packaged into a tinier blonder version of myself. (Please see below. That is a strangers house where Jeff told us to go get on the bear…so obviously, we did.)
I cannot wait to see what 31 has in store for her, but I know it’s going to be a good one. I can feel it in my bones. Every year is an adventure as part of the Palluzzi clan, and as it expands to bigger and better things (read: marriages and babies and headstands and everyone finally into yoga thank goodness) I am excited every time we celebrate anything together. I can’t wait to sing Happy Birthday to you via video chat, Nikita. Love you ‘round the moon.
