how do you spell MUSKOX??

i generally don't blog about work, because its

a) silly and who really cares and b) its not really professional.

but today, i got a phone call that was too good to not share with whoever wants to know. an excerpt from the convo:

hi, this is courtney."

"hi, i'm calling from the martha stewart show. we need a silhoutte of a muskox before the end of today please, our deadline is very tight."

i'm speechless. rare for me, i know.

"um, sure, i'm on my way to a meeting but let me get your name and number and i'll call you back within the next hour."

one hour later:

"muskox, yes, do you mind spelling that? i'm unfamiliar with the term."

"sure, no problem. [she spells it.] we need a silhoutte for an upcoming show we're doing."

we go through the process of who this lady had spoken with earlier that day, etc. Turns out my employeer occasionally provides file photos for media members when photos are unavailable via internet for free.

five minutes later i call back..."yes, martha? turns out we do not have any muskoxen silhoutte photos at this time. i'm sorry. have a lovely day."

so later i googled this muskox thing. its a descendant of the wooly mammoth, closer to the goat and sheep family than an ox, typically docille unless its mating season, when the male gets extremely aggressive and charges everything in sight. (its named for the odor that emits from the male, a stinky "musk") my dad is right when he says you learn something new everyday!

turns out their wool is EXTREMELY valuable. $40-$80 per ounce! so, my friend bonnie and i are going to raise these muskoxen and harvest their wool. i figure with a herd of just two or three we could make at least $10,000 our first spring. split three ways between us and our "chief of public relations, photography, and other random things" justus anderson, we'll be millionaires in no time.

plus we'll reside on the frozen tundra of alaska or canada and live the good life. you can't put a price on happiness, can you?

my top three name choices for my muskox?

vladimir. katelynn. and carrietta.

~the two-thousand and ninth year after christ's death~

"Yet the gross national product does not allow for the health of our children, the quality of their education, or the joy of their play. It does not include the beauty of our poetry or the strength of our marriages; the intelligence of our public debate or the integrity of our public officials. It measures neither our wit nor our courage; neither our wisdom nor our learning; neither our compassion nor our devotion to our country; it measures everything, in short, except that which makes life worthwhile. And it tells us everything about America except why we are proud that we are Americans." - Robert Francis Kennedy

Is anyone proud to be an American anymore? I'm not really sure. Well, I am sure. There are the John McCains and the Nolan Ryans and the Sally Rides who are sure proud to be American. Heaven knows Sarah Palin is proud to be an American. (insert fake accent here.)

I selfishly cannot wait to share with the cyberworld and the five readers of this silly "blog" the adventures I encountered over Christmas break. The conversations about death and Heaven, my near arrest while wearing footsie pajamas, my mom's kidney infection, Colorado, and good times with grand and great-grandparents.

But first I feel it is necessary to say Happy New Year. 2009 is sure to be better than 2008, because every year we live is the best year ever, right? I hope so. I don't want to find myself looking back at a year, gripping the handles of my wheelchair, saying in a croaky voice "Well, gee, I sure do wish I could re-live 2017. That was the year..."

No. We are on this earth for a purpose, and a short time at that, and we are called to move forward.

Paul told the Philippians: "Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:13b-14, NIV)

In America, the economy has taken a stab in the neck. Jobs are eluding qualified people, young and old. Murders run loose in the street and numerous governors/politicians are corrupt. People are going hungry in America and abroad every single day.

On the home front, we face a year without the life and smile of Jay Chenoweth. My grandfather's Alzheimer's is advancing. My brother and I cannot seem to be in the same room as each other for more than 30 minutes without someone yelling hurtful things.

But, a new year is here rather we are ready to tackle it or not, rather it has an obvious sunny shine to it or not.

However-I cannot count my blessings on my two hands. I cannot count my blessings on 100 hands! I met the President, interned at the White House, moved to a new city without any huge hiccup. I graduated from college. (WEIRD) I'm moving back to Texas and some one's going to give me a certificate to teach young minds. My parents are, for the large part, in excellent health. My mom's parents AND grandparents are still alive and doing GREAT. My grandfather survived a massive stroke this fall. I have grown closer to old and new friends and clearly see God through their presence in my life. I found an amazing church in DC and will miss its message and beautiful music immensely. God became more real to me as almost everyday of 2008 passed. Another year went by and I still consider my parents at the top of my list of closest friends and confidantes on the planet. I know that Tom & Cathy are two of the biggest things I take for granted in this world. And, our dog, Sam, finished his 13 great years on earth.

I think 2009 will have a lot to smile about. The last night of 2008 was the strangest News Years Eve of my life. But that doesn't mean that I'm not blessed for the next breath I take, the next year I will live, and - I'm blessed to know that there is a mighty God who is in charge of the joy and sadness in life. Every now and then, a hard rain falls. A good man dies too young. A family hurts. But, we hold tight as the flood waters recede and the dawn breaks.

Thank goodness the dawn of a new year has already broken. Here's to running forward during the next 365 days and living life to the fullest. And here's to being proud of the red, white & blue.

A Little Christmas-time Love

"Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world, I think about the arrivals gate at Heathrow Airport. General opinion's starting to make out that we live in a world of hatred and greed, but I don't see that.

It seems to me that love is everywhere. Often it's not particularly dignified or newsworthy, but it's always there - fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, old friends. When the planes hit the Twin Towers, as far as I know none of the phone calls from the people on board were messages of hate or revenge - they were all messages of love. If you look for it, I've got a sneaking suspicion you'll find... love actually is all around."

~Hugh Grant as the British Prime Minister in Love Actually

Christmas is about one thing: love. God sent his only son so that we might not perish but have eternal life. God loves us, unconditionally, all of us, each and every one of us. I forget this daily, but Christmas is ultimately about one thing: Love.

and no, i don't know the people in this photo, i found it on someone else's blog. call me a creeper if you want.

Merry Christmas, Mele Kilikimaka, Feliz Navidad, Frohe Weinachten!

Merry New York Christmas

"Yeah I'm sending you a Merry New York Christmas
And a prayer for peace on earth
Within our time
Oh, the sidewalk angels echo hallelujah
And we understand them
Now more than ever

So call on your angels

Your beaten and broken

It's time that we mend them

So they don't fade with the season

Let our mercy be the gifts we lay

From Brooklyn to Broadway

And celebrate each and every day

This New York City Christmas"

rob thomas, merry new york xmas

Ah, New York City. Before Bonnie, Caitlin, and I departed for Manhattan, someone asked me if I'd ever been to the City at Christmastime. "No, you haven't? Well, you'll love it. Its magical!"

Magical? A city? I had my doubts. Certainly its just focused on spending money and buying gifts rather than kindness and love. I knew it would be fun but I didn't think the city would be any more magical than usual. Apparently I was wrong.

I follow a handful of blogs (in addition to my friends) none of the writers do I know personally - that focus on a handful of things - love, a few on interior design trends, and one on just randomness. They all in some way have recently paid tribute to the Big Apple, and one of them had DOZENS of pictures of Bergdorf Goodman's christmas window displays. BG is a store that is entirely too expensive and over-the-top for my liking. But its windows were spactacular, and since they didn't have price tags for me to find disgusting, I thought they were lovely. Caitlin's Mecca, Saks Fifth Avenue, was a wonder of twinkle lights, silver shiny decorations, and fake snow. It was, in a word, magical. So is spending the afternoon in New York City with good friends, no matter what time of year.

There were millions of Santas traipsing around Rockefeller Center for a "santa pub crawl." There was the guy dressed as Jesus in Dean and Deluca. There was the Egyptian cab driver who showed me photos of his kids as I rode in the front seat with him through the Lower East Side and Midtown. (Our new friend from Cali was with Cait & BonBon in the back seat.) I think my favorite moment was in Chinatown.

Bonnie muttering a few choice words as she got cash from the ATM. Me wheeling and dealing with the drug dealers. I mean designer bag dealers. Caitlin first not buying anything but then opting for some prada shades. (which she proceeded to wear as the sun went down and we attempted to find a cab in the 20-something degree weather.)

"Do you have an application?" A man with a thick accent and dreadlocks asked me.

"No." I replied rudely. I didn't have time to be ripped off.

"You don't have an application??" He asked again with a smile.

"For what?" I demanded to know.

"An application for a new boyfriend! If you have it, I will sign and approve."

Hahaha. Laughter all around, from my friends and his.

"Oh, well, I have kids..." (someone asked me if i had kids on friday night, before they asked if they could take me to dinner, so i was thinking this would throw him off.)

"Really, me too!! I have five kids! And two wives! I would like a third! Are you interested? Maybe your friends are too??!"

"Oh, well now you're just messing with us." More ha-has. More laughter. But we walked quickly away.

If I lived there, I'd probably be sick of the tourists at Christmas. I'd probably be wrapped up in the decorations and materialization of the holiday. I'd be enthused at the thought of buying a live tree from a nearby street corner, just like they do on the tv show "Friends."

But I'm allergic to Christmas trees. And I love the clean, simple subway system of DC. And I need trees and the occasional house with a yard. So, for now, New York City, we'll have to be long-distance acquaintaces. Don't think I don't love you. But for one more month...my heart belongs to this district.

red white & blue christmas

i love the city of washington, district of columbia. but i'm not sure that i would have ever convinced myself to move here for longer than just an internship if it hadn't been for the president and the wonderful people that work for him, who i met last spring. the pace of the internship, the quality of the people i worked alongside, witnessing actions and policies of the leader of the free world, the american president...i spent the four months of my internship in wonder.

i got to share that wonder with my mom this week. all political appointees got to take a guest on an east wing tour of the white house in all of its christmas glory. the theme this year is red white and blue christmas.

the president returned from giving a speech on changes in military strategy since 2001 at west point while we were in the WHITE HOUSE.

that's right. we weren't outside for the arrival, where you feel the wind in your hair and your face being ripped off by the blades of marine one, but we saw the three helicopters approach the south lawn (two decoys, one the real deal), one hover and land, the marines step off, salutes the president, and then, he walked out (the president) and waved to the peeps gathered behing the rope line outside.

i don't care who you voted for in 2000 or 2004, or if you think he has been incompetent as president - the majority still elected him and it is so cool to see democracy in action. i so wish my dad could have been there, and maybe my brother too, and everyone else i know and love.

my mom teared up in the blue room (where we watched the action) after the ceremony was all over. we were in the white house when the president walked thourgh doors one floor below us!! all that he has sacrificed, all the lives that have been sacrificed during his presidency, just to think about all of that makes it pretty moving to witness marine one landing.

enjoy the photos. merry christmas. and, as dubya always says with a smile, god bless america. and god bless you.

i call her mom. but you can call her crazy

"its cold here in dc. want laura to know i am texas girl when i meet her this afternoon. sixteen coats of mascara. mink coat. big hair. three pounds of jewels."

my mom has just left this district after three days of fun. she got in on monday evening and left this morning. (well actually her flight was delayed, sorry mom!) the above is a text message i recieved from her tuesday morning, sent to freak me out (as a joke ha) because i had specifically asked her not to wear her "fur" on our christmas white house tour that afternoon.

my mom and look exactly alike. see below.

on the street, in restaurants, in shops, wherever - people ALWAYS feel the need to comment "oh wow, i can tell you are mother and daughter." "oh my gosh, you look so much alike." "that must be your beautiful mom over there. you are the spitting image of her."

to most of the thousands of people, i always respond with a smile, a laugh, a nod, or a thank-you. but on the somedays, after hearing it 5 or 6 times, i just want to say -"thank you for pointing that out. we come from a society that does not use mirrors, so i never really knew i looked like my mom before today." ha.

it doesn't bother me as much as i act like it does. she's bright, bubbly, always smiling. but before i tell you about our adventures, let me pause to point out - we are different. despite my need to talk to her for at least a few minutes everyday, or my need to run all important decisions by her, we are different. for one, i don't call everyone (including the grocery stork cashier) baby doll or sweetie. i typically don't have problems balancing my checkbook. i don't look at a pile of absolute crud in an antique store and think "HMM! TREASURE!" i can't shop for longer than an hour. i do believe there is such a thing as an excess of hairspray. she finds my dad a lot funnier and cooler than i do. you might say she thinks he hung the moon. i think he's a big nerd who needs to realize that mack brown neither personally knows him nor can hear him while he is yelling at the television.

all that said, she's my favorite person in the whole world. my biggest problem is that she knows this, and uses it to her advantage. haha. but really - my mom is kind, thoughtful, and rarely meets a stranger. i do get my loud voice and obnoxious storytelling skills from her. this is why i think i am so frequently perturbed at her inability to control the volume of her voice or get to the point - its like watching a video of myself. awkward.

Monday night in DC we met at my house around 6 p.m. She got out of the cab looking glam - fur coat, big hair, etc. We went to dinner and, without the boys to rush us, talked and talked before we ordered, ate some shrimp and vegetable combination at a fun restaurant near my house, and talked and talked some more. We then wandered down Wisconsin and looked in some windows while freezing, grabbed dessert, and headed back to the T street and my harry potter room.

(if you're wondering how we fit into my 5x9 room, its easy - her suitcase became the new rug we walked on, and katherine let me sleep in her wonderful sleeping bag in her room, all this while she was studying for finals. as a thank you, i apparently talked to her in my sleep, but have no recollection of that.

tuesday was the big white house east wing tour. but i have lots of photos and a good story so i might just save that for another post, since this is turning into a NOVEL. sorry.

the rest of our trip was great - tuesday night we drove out to mount vernon, only to find that their website lied and the lantern-lit christmas tours are weekend only. but we went to target to grab a few things and had fun in the aisles. of course my mom thinks its okay to sing loudly in public when there is no music playing. later that night we distracted/disrupted the doctor (katherine) from her studies and had funny convos.

wednesday mom had lunch with our fun family friend lisa parcells (the parcys live in mclean, we were good friends in houston 3rd - 6th grade before they moved) and i cut out of work a little early. we went shopping at a downtown christmas market - while she was waiting for me some dude came up and asked my mom if he could take her to dinner. she politely declined. earlier that day someone had approached her and told her she was what a real American woman should look like, beautiful. ew. creepy. and probably not 100% true. haha i crack myself up.

wednesday night we had dinner with all my faves in dc - katherine, caitlin, bonnie, lauren, emma, and charles joseph caulkins. i miss the days when groups of peeps hung out at my house talking with my mom and playing pool with my dad into the wee hours of the night. i don't so much miss her telling people where my nickname "lolly" came from.

it was so easy to say goodbye to mi madre on thursday. i'll be seeing her in exactly a week! normally i've only seen her for two or three days, not nearly long enough, and have say goodbye for another month or six weeks or so. knowing that i'll be home for two weeks in a week from now? it's like, okay, mom, peace, see ya, bye.

yep, i call her mom. but you can call her crazy.

"Here if You Need Me" - great book

Here if You Need Me, by Kate Braestrup

True Story - a woman living in Maine with four children dealing with the sudden death of her husband, a state trooper who died in a car accident. She goes to seminary to fulfill her husband's wish for himself, and becomes the chaplain for the Maine Game Wardens. It winds numerous stories of death together as her family moves on from their own experience with it.

It is not a Christian book, per se, because Kate is a Unitarian Universalist - there is one point in the book that i literally closed it and was thinking "WHAT!" because -her son had asked her what it meant to follow jesus, and what would his life look like if he did that, and in her head Kate is thinking "Oh please, please dont do that..." I was shocked. Turns out Unitarians believe all kinds of things - and she believes that God is Love. She believes in Jesus, but not that he is God. At least that's what I've gathered from further reading about the Seminary she attended.

Anyways, it is a marvelous book if you are dealing with death or not. Its short and moving and funny and more light-hearted than you would imagine. It is beautifully written and will tug at your heart. For me, i walked away from it clinging to my faith and aware of the need of God's grace to understand why people die.

Kate doesn't avoid the fact that death SUCKS. But she also doesn't give in to the modern day mentality that death can be avoided. At the end, I felt as though the author was really my friend, someone I knew and trusted, who was ready to grieve by yourside at any moment, or to just share a laugh and a story from the woods of Maine.

Read it!! You can borrow my copy anytime. (Added incentive: the cover is really pretty.)