a little late...

I never did follow up on my "i said yes" post so here it is. Groovy completely surprised me and proposed to me on Christmas. The silver band he presented with a "will you marry me? circle yes or no" note were pure perfection. Very apropos, not only because we share moments of silliness together, but also because we first met during our high school years. (Not that we went to the same school, so there would have been no note passing between us but just the symbolism.) The silver band, which I now wear on my right hand was the perfect placeholder until we went out and found the perfect ring together. It truly was a surprise considering I had all but given up on the idea of marriage, or at least I was trying to convince myself of that.

Now we are planning a simple, yet personal wedding. Thus far a tentative guest list is made, a vague date is set, the wedding favor is possibly decided on, a hiking honeymoon idea is a potential plan and I am finally getting past my wedding planning panic attacks. Luckily, I'm not a bridy-bride. I really want to keep it simple. Honestly, the most important thing is becoming Mrs. Groovy. That will be my name, right? ;)

still in love after all these hikes

still in love after all these hikes
Originally uploaded by misslissa13

Despite the (internal) stress, I truly loved this weekend. Spending time with Groovy, hiking, hanging with the folks, watching Sherman hop around like a mad hare, and being somewhat productive were all incredibly enjoyable. Most of the time, it is these simple things that make life worth living.

a.c.c.o.r.d.i.o.n

no seriously
Originally uploaded by misslissa13

A second hand accordion and some lessons....

Thanks to Groovy and his passion for music and the unconventional, I now know the correct spelling of accordion.

adventures in raw food

adventures in raw food
Originally uploaded by misslissa13

This here adventure into raw foods diet territory can be summed up in the statement: HOLY FREAKIN' YUM! This is a raw butternut squash rice, with cranberry, onion, coriander, cumin, onion and sea salt. I tasted it and thought the avocado and banana were wonderful compliments. This was followed by a piece of Carob Crunch Torte with Raspberry Sauce.

Today, we also received a Christmas card and pictures of two of the most beautiful little girls in the world, my goddaughter and her sister. Two kids that can be summed up in the statement: HOLY FREAKIN' CUTE!!!!

Now I am going to go cuddle up with Greg. HOLY FREAKIN' HAPPINESS!

Life is good, folks, life is good! Hope you all had moments of joy in your day, too.

don't worry, there's no quiz at the end

This will by no means make anything clearer. It will, however, back up the fact that life is never boring and is filled with lots of synchronicity. Ready for some head spinning? Here we go:

Legend:
Map 1
1 Lake Grove, NY
2 Lafayette, CO
3 Boulder, CO (apt B1)
4 Boulder, CO (apt B2)
5 Boulder, CO (apt B3)
6 Denver, CO (apt D1)
7 Denver, CO (apt D2)
8 East Providence, RI
9 Patchogue, NY






Cast of players:
Melissa - yours truly
Greg - the best!
E - ex #1
L - ex #1's wife
A - ex #2
Kerry - roommate






- Grew up in location 1, where my folks still live (yay!)
(There was an incidental move 7 miles away to Sayville, NY, but considering I am focusing on the past few...as in under 6...years, I will ignore this location....you know, to keep it simple. haha)
- Moved to location 2 to start grad school
- Moved to location 3 to be closer to grad school and far away from crazy woman I subleased from
- Moved to location 4 when A was moving out with dog S
- Moved to location 5 when things with A took a turn for the worse
- Moved to 6 with roommate Kerry when building 5 was sold and new owners were converting it back to a one family
- Moved to 7 (Greg's Denver apartment) when lease with Kerry was up and his fiance' was moving in
- Moved to 8 when 7 lease was up
- We are currently in the middle of move to 9

Okay, that part was relatively simple. Here are some crazy synchronicity (see if you can follow):
- All players involved were originally from Long Island (some never left)
- Began friendship with Greg when we were teens living 9 miles apart
- Greg and E went to HS together
- Me and L went to HS together
- Greg and L graduated the same year
- Me and E graduated the same year
- E shares a birthday with my father
- Lost touch with Greg some time after Community College
- While dating E, we both took a poetry class taught by A
- E broke up with me and began dating L, engaged 6 months later and eventually married
- After class ended and grades were in, I began dating, and eventually becoming engaged to A
- A introduced me to Transpersonal Psychology which is how I learned about Naropa University for my grad work
- Moved almost 2000 miles to 1, then 2, and, while at 3, A moved to CO
- Moved to 4, 5, then 6
- I did not know roommate Kerry while living in NY. Met him through a mutual friend from LI about the time when Kerry's former roommate moved out and I needed a place. That worked out well. Got a place to live and gained valuable friendship.
- Kerry's fiance' and I share the same birthday
- While at 6, found Greg's profile online stating that he just so happened to be moving to Denver the next month
- Greg moved, friendship reunited, love grew
- Moved in with Greg at 7
- Moved about 2000 miles together to 8
- Planning and in the process of move to 9
- E and L also live at 9

Did you follow all that? Did not think so!










Map 3:
Greg and I both moved about 2000 miles to fall in love with each other and move back to a place (C) 11 miles from where I grew up (A) and 6 miles from where he grew up (B). And we'll be living down the hall from E and L.






Okay, I think I got this all of this straight. Life is certainly never boring!

groovy tomato

groovy tomato
Originally uploaded by misslissa13

Greg is working a long shift at work today. As I spend my day boxing up some of our things, I have lots of time to think. Packing up books and mementos belonging to Greg, I look at the wide assortment of books, from punk to Buddhism to beer to DIY. A good reminder that he is intelligent and curious and can hold his own in conversation and debate. Placing some back issues of UTV in a box, I take a short break and skim through a number of his columns. I think back to having met him so many years ago and to the coincidence of him moving to Denver while I am living there, of reuniting our friendship and realizing that I found love, of our week-long move cross country, and of setting up our first apartment. I remember our first kiss near my car on the street next to his apartment on Sherman Street. I think of introducing him to yoga and of days spent biking on trails together. I recall the mini-vacations we took to the White Mountains and the Berkshires to go hiking.

This has been a great day, not just for the productivity in the packing process, but in the moments thinking about my love. The longer I am with him, the more wonderful I realize he is. I do not know what our future holds, I just want to spend today enjoying the fact that I am with him - this amazing man who supports me in being my best.

my model citizen

Today, I would like to share one of the things I love about Greg: his no BS, quirky, ranting writing-style. I have always loved reading his stuff. He is honest, raw, sometimes gruff and hysterical in his cynical realism. We first met back in the late 1980s when I snail-mailed his early zine, Watching Sister Vomit, so I could learn and network for my own zine Remote Exile. He had a column "Model Citizen" in the publication Under the Volcano for about 16 years (they recently stopped producing the print version). Well, he decided to start an online blog, Greg Groovy Model Citizen. This morning I read his profile again and it was a perfect reminder of the above-mentioned reasons as to why I love his writing:

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"About Me:
Turning PUNK into a bad cliche since 1985...or at least responsible for turning the last of the literate finger tips into black (probably toxic) ink covered digits. After the demise of WATCHING SISTER VOMIT, the MODEL CITIZEN began his days as a disgruntled columnist (ahem.. BASTARD AT LARGE) for the bi monthly toilet reader Under The Volcano, besides regularly helping irregular readers pass some harsh movements.. very little other positives can be attributed to the MC output. Attempting to keep up with the Jones' and other high brow levels of douche baggery.. the Model Citizen has joined the rank and file epidemic of global virtual schmuckdom and started blogging-though the riotous punk phrase would be something like.. typing - I mean 'fighting for change'."

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I am hoping he gets inspired to get back into writing full-force. Perhaps I can encourage him to re-post some of his earlier pieces as an archive so those of you who did not get the pleasure of reading his column in UTV can get a chance to see them.