hootenannie

When I was in high school, a traveling magician came to perform at my church.  I can’t remember if he had some evangelical message that tied in with his magic show, or if he was simply a man trying to make a living turning tricks in front of anyone who would watch – but regardless,…

Top 5 movies That Thing You Do! Jurassic Park Children of Men While You Were Sleeping Dumb and Dumber Top 5 albums beginning-to-end Lorraine :: Lori McKenna Living With Ghosts :: Patty Griffin Women & Country :: Jakob Dylan Wide Open Spaces :: Dixie Chicks The Good Things :: Jill Phillips Top 5 things that…

On Friday morning, I went skydiving – and I smiled the entire time.  Do you need proof?  Oh, I have proof. Here I am with my dad beforehand.  Smiling. Here I am about to climb onto the plane with my instructor/partner/my-entire-life-is-in-your-hands guy, Matt.  Smiling. Here I am in mid-air.  SMILING LIKE IT’S THE BEST THING…

I cannot believe what I’m about to do tomorrow. Hint: it involves throwing my body out of a plane and barreling back toward the earth at 125 mph. *And yes, the next day I will be going Rocky Mountain climbing.

Sophomore year of high school, my algebra class was the last period of the day.  Every Friday, in the last two minutes before the bell would ring, the teacher would stand up in front of his squirrelly students and give the same speech: “I know you’re anxious for the weekend.  You’re thinking about all of…

Last week, I took several days off of work to be with these guys: This week, I’m back in the office. And I’m having a really hard time with it.

A few weeks ago, I made an ill-advised decision: I was going to get bangs. Never mind that my hair grows straight back, not forward, and naturally parts down the middle – very Alanis Morissette. I’ve spent years training it to part on the side, blow-drying the hell out of my cowlicks – but if…

“Is it okay for me to jump?” he yelled. I watched him pump his legs back and forth, swinging higher and higher until he was holding steady at a significant height. He and his brother had formed their own sort of Olympic game, gaining momentum and then jumping from their swings to see who could…

“Time and tide wait for no man, but time always stands still for a woman of 30.”  -Robert Frost I may be less than a day in, but I can say with confidence that I love my 30s. Today has been the best ever – breakfast with a full house of guests and sisters and…

As some of you may know, I’ve spent the past few summers climbing as many 14ers (mountains over 14,000’ high) as I can.  There are 54 in Colorado, and while I’m not sure that I have a goal of climbing every single one of them, I love the challenge and adventure that each one brings….