Hold the Line

The sunset soon after we arrived at Leelanau State Park

My man and I are so pumped about this mini vacation to the Traverse City area on Michigan's lower peninsula!

We love a good road trip, and this one sure hasn't disappointed.

Not to mention the mountain biking we found today -- wow! 18 miles of gorgeous, flowy woods that we had almost entirely to ourselves. It was an incredible ride.

I was so tired afterward that I was tempted to sleep at the trail head after our picnic dinner, but my boyfriend had enough left in his tank to drive the additional 1.5 hours to our beautiful campsite on Lake Michigan.

And the next morning under the bright sky!

Cranking good tunes always helps the miles tick by faster -- and we are both feeling that this Toto song tells a little bit of our story, seeing as it took a few years for us to get to where we are now:

It's not in the way that you hold me
It's not in the way you say you care
It's not in the way you've been treating my friends
It's not in the way that you'll stay till the end
It's not in the way you look or the things that you say that you do

Hold the line
Love isn't always on time
Whoa oh oh
Hold the line
Love isn't always on time
Whoa oh oh

It's not in the words that you told me
It's not in the way you say you're mine
It's not in the way that you came back to me
It's not in the way that your love set me free
It's not in the way you look or the things that you say that you do

Hold the line
Love isn't always on time
Whoa oh oh
Hold the line
Love isn't always on time
Whoa oh oh

Nope, it isn't. Or it doesn't always feel like it is. But when it comes, when it fully arrives, ooooohhhh baby, it is worth every second of waiting, every moment of heartbreak, every tear -- it's so freakin' awesome!

Are You Alright?

We started another series, this one even more sinister: True Detective. I love watching TV with my man, and he seems to have a little more ability to watch things that deal with tough subjects than he has in the past.

And we were both pumped that our pal Lucinda was on the soundtrack tonight:

Are you all right?
All of a sudden you went away
Are you all right?
I hope you come back around someday.
Are you all right?
I haven't seen you in a real long time.
Are you all right?
Could you give me some kind of sign?
Are you all right?
I looked around me and you were gone.
Are you all right?
I feel like there must be something wrong.
Are you all right?
Cause it seems like you disappeared.
Are you all right?
Cause I've been feeling a little scared.
Are you all right?

Are you sleeping through the night?
Do you have someone to hold you tight?
Do you have someone to hang out with?
Do you have someone to hug & kiss you?
Hug & kiss you
Hug & kiss you

Man am I ever glad that we have each other to sleep through the night, hug, kiss and hold each other tight!

Sign of the Times

I am loving this song right now, even if I'm not 100% down with its message:

Just stop your crying

It's a sign of the times

Welcome to the final show

Hope you're wearing your best clothes

You can't bribe the door on your way to the sky

You look pretty good down here

But you ain't really good

If we never learn, we been here before

Why are we always stuck and running from

The bullets?

The bullets

We never learn, we been here before

Why are we always stuck and running from

The bullets?

The bullets

Just stop your crying

It's a sign of the times

We gotta get away from here

We gotta get away from here

Just stop your crying

It'll be alright

They told me that the end is near

We gotta get away from here

Just stop your crying

Have the time of your life

Breaking through the atmosphere

And things are pretty good from here

Remember everything…

Here's what this song is speaking to me:

1) I don't remember everything, but more and more, I do know when a traumatic memory is coming through and even more significantly, I can more often let it come through because when it does, my man is here to hold me...

2) Don't stop your crying. Cry as much you need, when you need. Releasing sadness, whether it is current or old, suppressed in childhood sadness, is sooo good for the soul...

Sir Duke

My man and I headed to Kettle Moraine to mountain bike today, after being thwarted by wet trails earlier in the week.

On the way home, we heard this Stevie Wonder number:

Music is a world within itself
With a language we all understand
With an equal opportunity
For all to sing, dance and clap their hands
But just because a record has a groove
Don't make it in the groove
But you can tell right away at letter A
When the people start to move

They can feel it all over
They can feel it all over people
They can feel it all over
They can feel it all over people

Music knows it is and always will
Be one of the things that life just won't quit
But here are some of music's pioneers
That time will not allow us to forget
For there's Basie, Miller, Satchmo
And the king of all Sir Duke
And with a voice like Ella's ringing out
There's no way the band can lose

You can feel it all over
You can feel it all over people
You can feel it all over
You can feel it all over people

You can feel it all over
You can feel it all over people
You can feel it all over
You can feel it all over people

You can feel it all over
You can feel it all over people
You can feel it all over
You can feel it all over people

You can feel it all over
You can feel it all over people
You can feel it all over
I can feel it all over-all over now people

Can't you feel it all over
Come on let's feel it all over people
You can feel it all over
Everybody-all over people

And I thought: "Yes!" I CAN feel it all over. Alive. Strong. Vigorous.

And of course, in lovvvvvvvve...

The Wonder of You

My man and I just finished watching the mini-series Big Little Lies. We really enjoyed it, though parts of it were tough to watch.

The last episode featured one of the characters performing this song:

When no-one else can understand me
When everything I do is wrong
You give me hope and consolation
You give me strength to carry on

And you're always there to lend a hand
In everything I do
That's the wonder
The wonder of you

And when you smile the world is brighter
You touch my hand and I'm a king
Your kiss to me is worth a fortune
Your love for me is everything

I'll guess I'll never know the reason why
You love me like you do
That's the wonder
The wonder of you

I've never been a big fan of Elvis, but this song is gorgeous, and I sure can relate to feeling wonderment in love...

Billionaire

The graduate!

Super exciting to celebrate the milestones in my kids' lives and there are some big ones this year, including my youngest finishing up middle school. That's right, two in high school next year!

As per usual, the graduation ceremony contained some choice choral covers, and the most memorable was this one:

I wanna be a billionaire so frickin' bad
Buy all of the things I never had
I wanna be on the cover of Forbes magazine
Smiling next to Oprah and the Queen
Oh everytime I close my eyes I see my name in shining lights
Yeah a different city every night
Oh I swear the world better prepare for when I'm a billionaire

Yeah I would have a show like Oprah I would be the host of
Everyday Christmas give Travie a wish list
I'd probably pull an Angelina and Brad Pitt and adopt a bunch of babies that ain't never had shit
Give away a few Mercedes like here lady have this
And last but not least grant somebody their last wish
Been a couple months that i've been single so you can call me Travie Claus minus the ho ho
Ahaa get it
I'd probably visit where Katrina hit and damn sure do alot more than FEMA did
Yeah can't forget about me stupid
Everywhere I go I'mma have my own theme music

Oh everytime I close my eyes (what you see what you see brah?)
I see my name in shining lights (uhuh uhuh yeah what else?)
Yeah a different city every night oh I swear the world better prepare(for what?) for when I'm a billionaire
Oh oh oh oh when I'm a billionaire
Oh oh oh oh

Don't know that she will be a billionaire, or that she wants to be. But I know she'll be successful at whatever she decides to do...

Shape of You

This song has been on repeat in my head over the last few days:

The club isn't the best place to find a lover
So the bar is where I go (mmmm)
Me and my friends at the table doing shots
Drinking fast and then we talk slow (mmmm)
And you come over and start up a conversation with just me
And trust me I'll give it a chance now (mmmm)
Take my hand, stop, put Van The Man on the jukebox
And then we start to dance
And now I'm singing like

Girl, you know I want your love
Your love was handmade for somebody like me
Come on now, follow my lead
I may be crazy, don't mind me
Say, boy, let's not talk too much
Grab on my waist and put that body on me
Come on now, follow my lead
Come, come on now, follow my lead (mmmm)

Especially the chorus:

I'm in love with the shape of you
We push and pull like a magnet do
Although my heart is falling too
I'm in love with your body
Last night you were in my room
And now my bedsheets smell like you
Every day discovering something brand new
I'm in love with your body

There's so many magical things about love. And loving someone's body is definitely high on the list:

Oh I oh I oh I oh I
I'm in love with your body
Oh I oh I oh I oh I
I'm in love with your body
Oh I oh I oh I oh I
I'm in love with your body
Every day discovering something brand new
I'm in love with the shape of you

That I am - in love with the shape of my man!