Life's Tiny Details

First Prince & now the Princess. RIP Princess Leia. 2016 took our childhood heroes, so I guess 2017 is the time we step up & become the next generation's heroes & teach them how to be their own heroes for the sake of the future.

Third year without ornaments. I'm noticing a trend. This year I was too sick to do anything but lie around drinking broth & tea, but I wanted to say thanks for all of the well wishes! Merry Christmas, y'all!

The good news: it's viral, not bacterial. The bad news: I feel like crap & the doctor said it's going to take me 2-3 weeks to kick it to the curb. I'm basically going to be alone binge-watching Netflix for Christmas & for the next couple of weeks, so send me tv show/movie suggestions. Side note: I don't love horror. Stranger Things is about as scary of a show that I want to watch. Bonus points if you suggest something that makes me laugh out loud.

After years of trying different techniques, I finally made four successful "ice" candles. I finally figured out that the way to deal with them melting (due to temperature fluctuations outside) was to just keep them in my freezer until I want to use them. Love & light y'all.

"'Cause we all have wings. But some of us don't know why." ~INXS Twelve years ago today, on one of the darkest days of the year & only three days before Christmas, my uncle took his life. We were close. I miss him so much. We were the black sheep of the family. We loved the same music & a lot of the same movies. We could talk about anything & had a mutual love of the silent solitude of the New Mexico landscape. Sitting on a plane, flying to his funeral, I sat next to the one guy on the plane who wouldn't stop talking. I was grief-stricken & wanted to be left alone. When he asked me why I was flying back to Texas, I said I was flying back to a funeral. I thought to myself, "That will shut him up." It didn't. He asked how my uncle died. I told him suicide & really thought he'd leave me alone after that. He didn't. He then proceeded to ask me how my uncle took his life. I was starting to get angry. I said he shot himself, thinking that would be the end of the conversation. He then shared with me that his own father had taken his life in the same manner. I started listening. It turns out he was a minister & that he conducted funerals. He told me that when he spoke at funerals, he talked about a passage that referred to birds. "And my soul shall be free like a bird." That stuck with me. My uncle was finally free from his pain & his struggle. When I picked up his ashes, I looked over & there was a single bird sitting there hanging around the car. When I drove his ashes to the lake where he wanted them spread, a huge migration of birds flew directly over the car. So today, 12 years later, I hope he's flown to a place of peace. And for goodness sakes, if any of you ever feel hopeless & alone, please reach out to me. I'm listening. I'm here for you.

Wind Power. #joylovesminnesota #joylovesmn

Agua Es Vida. #joylovestrees #joylovesnorthdakota #joylovesnd

We're all in this together. #joylovessouthdakota #joylovessd #joylovestrees

Ice Planet Hoth #joylovessouthdakota #joylovessd (at Mobridge, South Dakota)

"You're killin' me smalls." ~Uncle Paul #joyloveschicago (at Chicago Skyway Chicago Illinois 60617 United States)

"Every day is a journey & the journey itself is home." ~Matsuo Basho #joylovessouthdakota #joylovessd

#joyloveschicago 🎶A Tribe Called Red🎶

The days are getting colder, have a warm heart. #joylovesminnesota #joylovesmn (at Hoffman, Minnesota)

Chicago Geometry. #joyloveschicago

United we stand, divided we fall. #joylovesct #joylovesconnecticut (at Bradley International Airport)