before the coffee brews.

hi jeff. hey allison.

my coffee maker, the 8-dollar walmart version i received as a gift from two of my most precious gcs 8th graders, takes its sweet time in preparing my miracle morning beverage. thus, here you have me in semi-coma mode, intent on fulfilling my promise to my friend and my brother to stop this nonsense of having a blog that i never update. what can i say? i'm a trooper and a promisekeeper. (and a truthteller, but that's neither here nor there)

soooo. what is new in everyone's respective corners of the world? or midwest as the case may be? i am up especially early today. for no good reason except that lately i have been waking up before 6am, bright eyed, bushy-tailed, and totally ready for a new day. a new week. i'm actually excited it's monday. is that funny? life is just that good. seriously. the only thing that could make this morning better is nothing. except maybe a sunrise and an orange scone. but i'll take my quiet kitchen, homemade folgers, and peanut butter toast with cherry jam as a close second.

so i went back home this weekend for a tour de southwest michigan with my roommates. we did all my favorite local places--caffe tosi, silver beach pizza, two wineries, calderwood farms...it was the perfect way to spend the beginning of fall. whenever i go back, i miss living there, but i am also beyond satisfied with indianapolis. i don't think i could have chosen a better place to spend a piece of my life. people keep asking where i'll look for jobs next year. and for many many reasons, the answer is right here in indy. in fact, i would not be opposed to working for ips--the indianapolis public school system that happens to be in total disarray. you guys, i love it here.

i was teaching a piano lesson last week to a little boy named eivin and i was reading him the abbreviated and modified-for- gentleness-and-compassion riot act for not practicing. ever. as in, he doesn't open his piano books in the 167-odd hours between piano lessons and his parents have spent thousands on piano lesson for him and his brother in the past few months alone. so anyway, he stops me in the middle of my tirade and said, "you know, i'm just not sure i can fit piano practicing into my busy schedule...i'm in kindergarten now, i've got to practice my video games, and i'm learning how to read." this kid is in kindergarten. and apparently has quite the social calendar as well...he's just not sure he can find 40-60 minutes a week to practice such songs as "where did you get that hat?," "the zoo", and "tapdancing tadpoles." ah, kids.

in other news, my bro and s.i.l. jeff and mary and getting ever closer to being parents. and are being very closed-mouthed about baby names. i've already told them they are welcome to name their children after me. but i suspect the real reason they don't talk about the possibilities is that they know they'll get subverted and ill-hid opinions from family members about their choices. or at least telling facial expressions (content smile-nods or disapporving eyebrow raises). anyway, it's all very exciting, and regardless of what scandanavian name they choose, i'm sure this kidlin will be adorable and of course very much loved. and dressed like daddy in dark wash jeans and button-up white dress shirt (jeff has a self-imposed uniform.)

in just 2 short weeks, the chicago marathon will be over. the training is getting kind of old. it's not that i'm running any mroe days than normal, just that i have to go for hours at a time some days that i run. when all is said and done, i'm running or spending time in running-related activities (namely showering because i've stopped "air drying" as i did in my college days) for 10-12 hours a week. but in two weeks i will officially cross running a marathon off my "die a happy girl" list and move on to my next task: marrying into money and stopping the hunger in somalia without using violence (nod to john murphy).

and with that, it;s 7:01 and i have coffee to drink, journaling to do, the bible to read, and a whole new day ahead of me. yay. happy monday everyone :)