I have been painting a lot lately.

Maybe I will take some pictures and post them. The thing I love most about painting is that time turns into salt water taffy. It totallys stretches and gets all gooey and flexible. I don't know why this happens when I paint.

Sarah Palin has ruined all flight attendant speak.

You know: substituting 'in for ing. Being folksy and approachable. Acting sassy and in charge. I can't stand any of that shit anymore because it sounds just like her. Bill Maher is right. She is a stewardess.

Post, post.

post wedding, post honeymoon, post election = post blog post. We're back in new york and all the leaves are on the sidewalk. I'll fly again on Wednesday. Jeff went back to work today. We watched our first Uconn Huskies Basketball game tonight. I made spaghetti. Now its bedtime.

Watch from start to finish.

Jeff and I are on an earthship!

Bet you're wondering what that is. Here's a hint: Its off the electrical grid, It isn't really a ship and Its made out of old tires. Go!

I love my family

For reasons that I will likely go into, in detail, at another time, our wedding turned out to be very uh...shall we say..."based in reality." Anyway this post isn't about that (everything is okay, now.) This post is about how much I deeply love my family and the people they are and what absolute champions they were on the Big Day. Not only did they prepare a beautiful wedding and reception for me and my beloved, with almost no help from us, but when things did not go as planned they rolled with the punches and made me very proud to belong to them (my new extended family as well!) I love you, guys. When I think of this day I will always be reminded of what stellar individuals you are. (If it serves no other purpose, a blog is a great way to announce these things semi-publicly. A singing to the virtual mountaintops.)

Cliches are where the goods are.

Don't avoid cliches. Just because the commonly held picture of a romantic evening evokes two lovers sitting in front of a roaring fire holding glasses of red wine wearing big dopy smiles on their faces -- this is not to be avoided. Find a way to get there. You won't regret it.

I am a wife!

You never know how the significant changes in your life will manifest. I knew that becoming someone's wife would be a big deal. But really, I have felt like some version of Jeff's wife since very early on in our relationship. We knew that we belonged to each other almost from the start. But now I am his wife and he is my husband and the difference is both profound and subtle. I have been thinking a lot about poetry lately. Just sort of wondering what makes something a poem. And it occurs to me that getting married really belongs to the realm of poetry. Marriage has its roots in the functional and transactional. But in 2008, when people (especially people like Jeff and I) don't really "need" to get married, Its significance is something more mystical. Like the light here deep in New Mexico where we are on our honeymoon. You can't explain why the slant of the sun's rays is casting a slightly different shade, or why the air is better, richer, and transformational. You just soak it in, and bathe in the resonance and sing its song.

I know a Reverend.

She's been arrested for what she believes in. She worked her heart out for "No on Prop 8" and is devastated that it passed. She is extremely intelligent and passionate. I've know her since she was born. She is marrying me and the love of my life tomorrow. I feel lucky to know her and that she is here.

Dark blue, light blue, yellow orange, black...

That is the color of the albuquerque sky from our deck. glass of wine...candles, family. Dad has a flat tire. other than that, its pretty perfect.

Ah Albuquerque....Ah Life

How much do I love the desert. Life is good right now. Probably better than its ever been. Thank you to anyone there might be to thank.

Well, well, well....

America...you got it right, in my opinion. I will not underestimate you. Wow. I am...a basket of patriotic kittens who all voted for barak obama.

What an exciting time to be alive

I am so excited and hopeful about the election tomorrow. I feel like, right now, in the present, we are making history, and so becoming a notable and remarkable moment in the past. Its one of those moments when you can feel all time, past-present-future, converging in one moment. I have a feeling that America will do the right thing tomorrow. When Palin was announced as McCain's VP candidate, I felt crestfallen. I was sure that America would fall for the Republican Hijinks that she represents. But now...I hope, I will be wrong about America and the intelligence level of the general populations. And that will make this win, if it really does happen, all the more sweet.

Doing the same thing over and over = learning and growth

It really does. It is the best way to learn about subtly, nuance, personal preference, efficiency, proficiency, and generally overall what the hell you're trying to do. I must qualify and say that I have not discovered this while pursuing a lofty intellectual goal but instead while serving sodas to 150 people in 30 minutes over and over and over and over again. As remedial as the task might be, it has some qualities that work in its favor as far as being a good learning tool: serving drinks is repetitive manual labor however there is a wide range of variables, a finite but vast range of different shaped wagon wheels that could be thrown in my path from all different directions. There are many different ways of thwarting the wagon wheels and I must choose the best course depending on the circumstance. My own state of mind, body and spirit greatly affect my ability and perception of what is going on. Also, sometimes I just don't give a shit and I just want to slam out some drinks, and other times I genuinely desire to connect with people and shine and perform while slamming out some drinks. Same activity - totally different levels of awareness. Heavy. No...I mean the carts. they're really fucking heavy. Okay. and my ideas are Heavy too. More levels. Many, many levels.

Its easier to be yourself when you don't see the same people all the time

One of my pet peeves has always been people asking me "are you okay?" or "are you tired?" or "Wow. Why are you so dressed up today?" Basically anything that I feel interrupts my doing whatever I feel like doing without attracting unwanted attention. Its so nice to have a job where I can totally do my own thing without being concerned about continuity or maintaining an annoying through-line. When I show up to work no one has any idea what I'm like at all. I could show up wearing false eyelashes and no one would say a thing. I think that's great. And I'm lucky because really I have the best of both worlds because all flight attendants participate in an on going conversation called "what its like to be a flight attendant..." and so I am simultaneously a loner who no one can keep track of and also part of a community, a conversation, and a network of cooky fun people who all want to do their own thing. Its a dream come true.

Cozy Cozy Fall Evening

Squash soup. Laundry. "Holiday" scented candles. Clean House. Sweet Boyfriend. Barak Obama ad. NIIIIICCCCCEEE!

Rain can be cold.

Today I went out into the cold, cold rain and tried to shop. I quickly became pathetic and demoralized and damp and freezing cold and went home. I think out of all weather related events I dislike rain the most. I am simply not the type of person who is equipped to handle water. I do not own a raincoat. My shoes, while designed to align my feet with the ground in a good way, have holes in them. My backpack is made out of mesh material. And umbrellas are just completely out of my league. When I see some genius walking around in the rain with an umbrella I am overwhelmed by the preparedness gap between people like that and people such as myself. Overwhelmed.

Lesson Learned.

Dear future version of Liz...

When you are fortunate enough to have a nice lovely fall day off...don't pick up a shitty trip. Sincerely, Present day version of Liz

Birthday fun!

The greatest thing about your birthday is that you don't have to do anything right to receive all of the congratulations and such. I am the luckiest person to have received such sweet wishes and kind words from the most amazing loved ones you can imagine. And I get special attention from them today just for being born! what could be better?

I like being home in the winter

its nice here. and cozy. and there is television here. and news programs. and cups of tea and all my books. and magazines.