hootenannie

It’s the final week of my 20s, y’all.  I’m running down 30 like a lion runs down a gazelle, or, in the case of “The Lion King,” a wildebeest runs down Mufasa.  [Wah, wah – killjoy.] Nothing against the 20s, but can everyone agree that they are some weird years?  Don’t get me wrong, the…

My grandma has lived in the same house for 57 years.  Fifty-seven. She spent the entirety of her marriage there.  She raised her children there, from infancy to adulthood.  Her kids, her grandkids, and her great-grandkids have eaten in that same kitchen, swam in that same pool, and sat on that same front porch.  She…

First things first, thanks to everyone who has called/texted/written to make sure I’m okay.  I am not dedicated enough to go to a midnight showing of any movie, let alone a Batman one – and in fact, I wasn’t even in Colorado on the night of the shooting.  I am very much okay, aside from…

I can’t believe I haven’t told you about Lacey. This girl is a VIP in my life, a hall-of-famer. Two years ago, I went to church.  It came time to “greet the people around you” which, let’s be real, is my least favorite time of the service.  Usually I plan my bathroom break around it. …

Here’s a text I got last week. Seems… sensitive.

If you hadn’t heard, Colorado is burning.  There are at least a dozen separate fires racing across the state, some in very close proximity to major cities.  In Colorado Springs alone, 32,000 people have been evacuated from their homes.  The images are astounding: smoke billowing from hillsides, flames licking the sky, familiar landmarks in the…

It’s been a doozy of a week, y’all – the kind that makes you take drives just to cry, and slam your laptop shut in frustration, and call your mom only to say negative things, and listen to your “Life Support” country mix on repeat. The stress has come from every angle, and while I…

Everybody loves things. These are the things that I’m loving right now. To kick us off to a boring start, I’ll tell you that I love a water bottle. But listen, this isn’t just ANY water bottle – it’s the Nathan Quickdraw Plus. It has a hand strap so I can take it on my…

I spent last weekend in Nashville, and it could not have been better – not even if Ryan Gosling had given me a puppy.  Not if I’d found a bucket of gold. I’m at a loss as to how it happened, but in the two short years that I lived in Tennessee, I somehow developed…

For me, the year is split up into four different “seasons.” Fall is running. Winter is gym. Spring is walking. Summer is hiking. When it comes to exercise, these are my natural inclinations – during that particular season, the corresponding activity just feels RIGHT. They’re not mutually exclusive – I’ll still go on walks in…