Letters to Norby #24

Dear Norby-

One year ago, you came into my life as the best little gift I could have ever received (thanks sis!). You came a little sooner than the family was expecting, at near 3 in the morning, when we were expecting to hear about you later in the afternoon. I’ll never forget that I was on my way down to Maryland to a wedding for two friends (who’s wedding anniversary I’ll always remember) when Grammy called me frantic, telling me you were here and that she knew nothing else.  All of a sudden, I was your auntie and all that mattered was that you were healthy.

Being your aunt is one of the best jobs I’ve ever had, I get to watch you grow, I get to play and have fun. I get to do some of the less then fun things like change you, pick up tons of toys, and I always get to return you to your mom. This past year has been full of many things full of you!  You’ll not believe me for years on how you use to fit in the crook of my arm and how you’d like when I rolled my Rs for you and cooed like an owl.  I can hardly believe the little baby you were has grown into a grilled cheese eating little man.

Looking forward to the next year of adventures with you. Happy Birthday Norbs!

Love your favorite auntie


(image via fun4kids)

hater, wait a couple days…

I had written a post about being all Grinch like because well everyone is getting way too into the holiday spirit so early in November, that walking into stores and seeing Christmas trees on November 2^nd was just a little too soon for my liking. Bloggers are already putting out their holiday lookbooks of must have gifts, and I was like I couldn’t even do a solid Halloween post a week ago (you all make me feel shameful). Then I was looking at One Kings Lane  and saw the garland above and was like damn it, now I am thinking about a holiday craft – how can I post about hating that Christmas has started when I am already like do you think I can make this? So much for being a hater, though I made it to November 6 before I was willing to start thinking about holiday projects such as crafts, baking and greeting cards.  I also started my Christmas shopping – sigh.

Now on my current agenda:

• Get my bum to a craft store to buy fabric, ribbon and everything to make a garland (I don’t sew well, perhaps I can use my glue gun?)
• Buy holiday cards and start addressing before it gets to the end of December and I give up
• Bake something that I can use my green and red sprinkles on, potentially gift said baked goods
• Shop for my mom, dad and sister (Norbs and my brother in law are done)
• Trying to do some fun creative wrapping this year (no more bags!)

monday after the marathon

Thanks to a good friend of mine, I’ve become a marathon spectator, having gone to several to see her compete. I actually love watching marathons, it sounds completely loony to be like I like watching people run while I stand around.  However, it’s truly inspiring to watch so many people who’ve been training for months (maybe years) push past you and complete 26.2 miles. My personal favorite thing to do is yell strangers names and encourage them to keep going (thank you to everyone who puts their names on their shirts – this allows me to feel like we are friends for the 20 seconds I shout, Go, Bob, Go!), the smiles on people’s faces is priceless when they know you are cheering them on to the end. Congratulations to all the runners this past weekend!

battle of the matts - round 1

There was a week in September where I went a little crazy and purchased concert tickets for a few shows in back to back settings. It was really one of those, on Monday – hey want to see Matt Nathanson? On Tuesday, hey want to see Matt Wertz? Finally on Wednesday, I think I looked at a show and had to be like, Jill, concerts are great but isn’t this like a bit insane? So I took a bit of a breather and decided to go with seeing two of my favorite songwriters in concert in two consecutive weeks.  Upon going to the first concert this week, I’ve decided to call this the Battle of the Matts.  Seeing as these are two artists with the same first name, and well are two of my go to music choices when I am ready to jam, I thought it would be fun to host my own battle of concerts (some of you who read the title were really hoping I was dating two guys named Matt, right? Well so does my mother – get in line).

First up was Matt Nathanson, who has a new(ish) album – Last of the Great Pretenders, that I frequent on Spotify nearly daily. The show was at Terminal 5 – which was a first time for me at this venue.  Josh Radin was the opening act- another one on my list of artists that make me happy.  Matt Nathanson was funny, his stories were great, making me laugh. One of my favorite song openings, was when he explained he wrote the song for an ex-girlfriend as a hope of getting back together, they didn’t, but she provided enough material for five albums (clearly my documentation of the story is not nearly as good as his). He was good natured and humorous throughout the show – I thought well if he ever wants to try his hand at standup that might be a good backup career.  I really enjoyed the music, the band did a great mix of newer songs and some of the old classics. I loved getting some of the stories behind the songs I often sing at my desk at work (only when my neighbors are gone), but it definitely put a personal spin on so many songs I love.

Highlights:

Favorite Songs: Sunday New York Times, Mission Bells, Annie’s Always Waiting

Audience Participation Moment: Tiny Whitney (encouraging everyone that they have a tiny Whitney Houston trapped inside them)

Bonus: For the encore the band reappeared dressed as Poison and performed Poison songs before closing with Faster

Right now this feels like it’s going to be tough for Matt Wertz to compete with, but I am hoping to be pleasantly surprised. 

photo via pinterest