wedding slide show

So, our photographer is still working on editing our wedding pictures, but he did put together a short slide show of some of the pictures. You can view the slide show at www.kevinmilz.com/kouns Enjoy!

My heart will go on

So, this past week marked the ending of an era, and I feel foolish that I let it slip by without proper acknowledgment. But better late than never. After 5 long years, Celine Dion took her bows in Las Vegas as her show A New Day ended its run at The Colosseum at Caesar's Palace.
Now some may find this incredibly odd (with the exception of my friend, Julia), but I have a surprising appreciation for Celine Dion. Yes, she's got some quirk in her, she's married to a geriatric, and has absolutely no idea how to dress herself properly for the red carpet, but the woman's got pipes. There's just no arguing that.
Anyway, somewhere along the line I promised myself that I'd make it to Vegas to see her show, but apparently I lost track of time, so I never made it. However, rumor has it that she's coming to Seattle next year, and I can guarantee that I'm taking myself (and dragging SJY) down to the Key Arena so I can weep in person as she sings It's All Comin' Back to me Now at the top of her lungs (and you KNOW she will).
So, peace out, Celine. See ya next year.

Crumbs

Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.

I've heard it in the chillest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.

Hope Is The Thing With Feathers by Emily Dickinson.

I've read through this poem quite a bit lately. I agree with Dickinson that hope is penetrating and insistent; we feel its presence even when we cannot find words to express it. Yet I find that I struggle with the last two lines of the poem. Dickinson seems to imply that hope simply "is" without asking anything of or from us in return. I disagree. Vehemently. I think that hope asks much of us. In fact, maintaining a posture of anticipation, of longing, of the not-yet often requires all that I am.

One of our administrators uses honey bees to illustrate this notion. I'll attempt to paraphrase- While the majority of the honey bees in a hive are maintaining the food supply or are droning about, roughly 5-10% of the honey bees are scout bees that forge ahead to explore new food sources and potential hive locations. When the food supply runs low or another queen takes over, the bees have a greater chance at survival because these scouts have already laid plans to relocate. The entire future of the hive depends on their dedication. However, the job of a scout bee is very dangerous as they are exposed to the elements of nature; many die as they search. Scout bees live in a way that continually hopes for something different and new. While their labor allows the hive to survive and bear fruit, the work of these brave bees is dangerous and asks much of them.

All that to say, I think hope asks more of us than we like to think. It's not merely a tune we hear in the background of our lives. It is, rather, the thing deep down inside all of us that begs us to live in the midst of longing, anticipation, and desire for something new. While hope is the thing that sustains life, it requires that we not only give crumbs, but that we give of ourselves. And that is asking a lot.

the beautiful left coast

I was just looking through through some random pictures and found this one of a Seattle sunset. We have some of the most beautiful that I've seen, so I thought I'd share it with you.
Enjoy

Gettin' Hitched

So, about a month ago I got hitched. SJY and I got married in Nashville, and I have to say the wedding was absolutely beautiful! People keep telling us the evening was like something out of a movie...and I have to say that I agree. The ceremony was outside by candlelight. The bridesmaids (pictured to the left) carried lanterns and there were teeny tiny candles hanging from all the trees. It was beautiful.
I was pleasantly surprised at how good everything looked, as most of my planning was done from across the country. I'll post a picture of SJY and I together in our wedding attire as soon as I get my hands on one.
SJY and I are back to the grind of school and work. We're busy busy, so we're looking forward to Thanksgiving, when we both have the day off. I'm gonna make my famous mashed potatoes and my ultra famous sweet tea. These Seattlites haven't lived until they've had my sweet tea. It's got enough sugar to grow a nasty mouth fungus, if you're not careful. Luckly, I am.
That's all for now. Hope you all are having a wonderful season of thanks-giving and are taking time to rest and be with the ones you love.

TLK-Y

Smells like Fall

So, it's fall and I'm happy. I've decided that fall is my favorite season of the year. It took me a while to settle on it, but I finally made it official this past week. And by "official", I mean that I keep gushing about how much I love fall to SJY, friends, and to total strangers in Rite Aid for that matter.
Being a native Floridian, growing up I had always thought that fall was this ugly, sort of depressing time where you got to watch everything die...and then were forced to rake up the remains from your front lawn. Since moving from Florida to more northern areas of the country, however, I have to admit that I have been romanced by the autumn season. I get excited when I see fall colors in display windows, I have at least 2 or 3 pumpkin spice candles on hand at all times, and instead of coffee, I actually order caramel apple ciders from Starbucks all year-round. I'm not kidding. Even as I write, I'm bundled up, sitting by the gas heater sipping a hot chocolate wondering how I can incorporate fall more into my home decor. SJY put a stop to the branches of berries I brought home the other day, but I'm waiting him out on this one.
Maybe it's the crisp air that I find invigorating, or perhaps it's the beginning of a new school year, complete with freshly sharpened number two pencils, that stimulates the nostalgic recesses of my mind. But I think more than meteorology or new school supplies, fall signifies, for me, a season of change, of transformation, of the possibility for something new. Perhaps it is fitting that my wedding will take place during this time. As I approach becoming a wife and all the change that that will bring, I find that I am comforted by the companionship of this fall season. We are both in the midst of a great transformation.

Top 10

So, once again it has been a while. While I have been meaning to post more frequently, time has slipped away from me and it has been 5 months since I have last written. Here are the bullet points of some of the bigger events that have taken place in my life since this past May:

1. Closed on my house and found renters to occupy it...truly, one of the most stressful experiences I have ever been through.
2. Got a raise at work (thanks to the union I'm forced to be a member of)
3. Moved downtown to lower Queen Anne.
4. Received $150 in parking tickets in the 6 weeks that I've been a resident of lower Queen Anne.
5. My car got broken into AGAIN and my cell phone got stolen (the Seattle welcome wagon continues)
6. I was released to go back to part time nursing--I work 4 hour nursing shifts and then do computer work for a couple hours.
7. In spite of being released to go back to work, I've developed tendonitis in both wrists for which I get cortisone injections and go to physical therapy.
8. Went to the lavender festival in Sequim, WA with my mom in July
9. Developed a fairly intense obsession for lavender that has only recently begun to subside.
10. I got engaged (gasp!)

Thought I'd save the best for last. Yep, it's true. SJY and I are finally gonna tie the knot. We're not sure if this means we're completely crazy, or that we've made the best decision of our lives. I'm pretty sure both are true--and that he's probably crazier than I am.
We're getting married in Nashville on October 26th. It feels a bit surreal, almost like it's not really happening to me. We started pre-marital counseling this past week, so it's sinking in fast that it's happening to me. Most of the big things are taken care of, so now we're ironing out all the little details that come with getting married...like where the heck we're gonna do with SJY's MXPX posters when he moves in. I've offered to make him a nice little binder full of all his posters that he can pull out and look at any time he wants. Not sure he's totally going for it at this point.
I feel like we could be in one of those kitchen ads where they show two totally different people, like chic meets punk rock, and they end up with great looking kitchen appliances that meet both people's needs and standards. Not that we have a great looking kitchen, at this point--we're still in the remodeling phase. I'm just saying, I feel like that's a pretty good metaphor for two people becoming one and it not being a major disaster. That's what were pulling for. I'll let you know how it goes.

TLK