Recently in radvent Category

Okay folks, it's pretty clear I've dropped the ball on Radvent. But is anyone surprised? I'm great on inspiration, weak on follow-through. Always have been, always will be.

Nevertheless, I've at least THOUGHT about how I would answer each prompt, and yesterday as Adelle and I were jamming to some MGMT on the iPod, I remembered the Rocking Out post from December 5. I love hearing about what other people are listening to, as well as sharing my own playlists. So here are my top tracks from 2010.

Jonsi - Go Do. Can't embed this one due to copyright restrictions, but it's worth clicking the link to see the beautiful video and hear the ethereal voice of the lead singer of Sigur Ros. This is the first music Adelle ever heard outside the womb, on the drive home from the Birth Center. I love having such a precise sense-memory of the joy and awe I felt on that day.

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros - Home. Exuberant. Lovely. "Home is wherever I'm with you."

Florence + the Machine - Dog Days. A few years ago, I started getting way more into upbeat, fully orchestrated pop music than the mopey, depressing singer-songwriter crap I enjoyed in college. Florence is great at doing artsy with sparkle and pep. Adore the crazy-ass video.

Bright Lights Bigger City :: Cee-lo. Oh, how I love Cee-Lo. Don't bother watching the video, which is pretty sexist and stupid-gangsta. But it's such an awesome jam.

Janelle Monae - Tightrope. Nothing makes me happier than this song. Don't dance to it. No, don't. Seriously, try really hard. Don't you dare dance. Stop it!

MGMT - Kids. These dudes are so weird. I hate this video. Don't watch it unless you want to be traumatized. Just click play and navigate to another screen.

Mumford & Sons - Little Lion Man. Warning to sensitive ears, liberal (but, I think, powerful and justified) use of the f-bomb. Love these guys and their driving banjoes. I know you're with me, Lis!

Laura Marling - Rambling Man. What's with all these messed-up freaky videos, man? Oh well. I love Laura and her beyond-her-years voice.

Willow Smith - Whip My Hair. Aaaaaand finally. My guilty pleasure. What, you thought the rest of these were guilty pleasures? Oh no. You ain't seen nothin' yet. I absolutely love this sassy number by the 10-year-old daughter of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett. Haters gon' hate, so just whip your hair.

Okay, there's more, but Adelle's up from her nap. (I think she overheard me whipping my hair.) Tell me, what did you rock out to in 2010? And what was your guiltiest pleasure?

if you don't know what to do,
do the next thing. water
the plants. cut the crusts of old bread
for the birds and feed the fruit
rinds to the garden. empty
the grounds from this morning's
coffee and tuck them in
with the hydrangeas, prepare
them for winter. let their black sleep
give way to blooms of springtime blue.
open the windows. unsettle
the dust on the sills and in the corners
so there will be space for new air.
let the rooms have room
to breathe, to be filled again
to the brim. there is much we can do
when we don't know what to do.
remember there is strength
even in standing still. let the world
do what it will all around you.
let the history of what was -
the old molecules of skin, hair and bone -
fill you up. let them become you.
you will carry them with you,
wherever you go, whenever
you are ready.

-fall cleaning by laura burhenn

In an effort to bring some discipline and creativity to bear on this holiday season, I'm going to attempt this sweet blog project by Princess Lasertron. (Which, by the way, what a terrific online alias-slash-business persona, am I right? How have I not heard of her before now?)

Here's how it works. Every day, Princess Meg posts a prompt like the one below. I will respond to that prompt here (and also at a private Tumblr I'm working on with some local friends). My plan is to sit down with a cup of coffee during Adelle's first nap of the day and bang it out. It probably ain't gonna be too deep though, y'all. A few bullet points, a few photos. There's a baby to wrangle. Household chores to studiously ignore. Facebook statuses to update. Ahem.

Anyway. Here's to a new beginning.

According to Livejournal, this is what I was up to five years ago. (Remember Livejournal? No, just me, the sole cyber-nerd among you?)

• In 2005, I still lived in Michigan. I worked at Calvin College, thinking and talking and obsessing about pop culture. I was getting restless.
• In 2005, I was writing a blog called Evangelical Expatriate. I was still wrestling deeply with questions about what kind of Christian I was and wanted to be. I guess in some ways, I still am. Looking back, I'm proud of what I wrote there.
• In 2005, I got married to Nathan and we created our compound-named family. We celebrated our first Christmas in a tiny apartment with a single space-heater. We didn't have enough vacation time left to go home to our families on the East Coast, so we spent Christmas day driving around Michigan's Upper Peninsula, crossing over into Canada. We had dinner at the only place open, a Chinese restaurant.
• In 2005, we were pretty sure we were going to move to Philadelphia. I was seriously contemplating a new career as a librarian. I was volunteering at a library and it felt immediately right - one of the few "eureka moments" in my life.
• In 2005, I didn't know any of you [the friends with whom I'm doing this project on Tumblr] except for Josh & Kathryn. I didn't know what I had to look forward to.