Right now, there are a lot of little kids and babies in my life it seems. Not kids of my own. John and I are happy to enjoy our nieces and our friends’ children but aren’t really ready for any of our own. But being around all of these kids and watching them grow has inspired me to write each kid in my life a fairy tale starring them. I thought fairy tales are formulaic and simple. This will be a quick, fun project to distract me when the job search gets overwhelming.

Well, it’s true, fairy tales are in fact formulaic. The problem is they are surprisingly intense to write. Magical curses don’t just befall on anyone. You have to deserve a curse. Curses can only be lifted after a deep change has occurred. Fairy tales are full of emotional and sometimes traumatic experiences, lofty ideals and hard lessons to learn. Writing a fairy tale with all the right elements but still keep it appropriate for children is hard. There’s a fine line to walk between watering it down and keeping it kid friendly. It’s so fine that I didn’t see it until I tried to write a fairy tale myself.

I like to think that fairy tales are timeless, entertaining both the young and the old. When were young we just hear an adventurous story of heroism, but when we grow up we come to a deeper understanding of what’s truly at stake for the characters of a story. I think that’s why when we revisit our favorite Disney movies as adults, we are shocked that it’s “traumatic scenes” didn’t scar us for life. I don’t know about you but I never cried watching “Beauty and the Beast” until watching it again as an adult.

I’ve combated this problem so far by writing the entire gritty story first to get it all out on paper. Then I go back and retell a simpler version that is honest but not quite as detailed. Have you ever written for children? Any tips?

Part 1 – Part 2
Music was an incredibly important part of our wedding day: it was the fabric that wove the hours together. My challenge and joy was to find melodies and lyrics that would guide us and our guests through the day (music, moreso than anything else, is one of our culture’s most recognized emotional and spiritual cues), that would also feel natural and at place for a wedding in the woods. These mixes are some of my favorite – they say so much about how I feel about life, about Andrew, and myself.

Our pre-ceremony mix was meant to provide a focus and a feel for the ceremony about to happen. As I’ve mentioned before, the party is wonderful but for Ace and I, the most important part of the day was the ceremony. We wanted to encourage our guests, with the mood set by the music as they arrived on site, to join us in our hopeful contemplation of this important step in our lives. The mix finishes out on a folkish note*, to ease into the performance of our fabulous live musicians, and ever talented friends, Joel Cathey and Faith Hefty.

I was standing up on the upper deck of our lodge when Faith and Joel began playing…I remember closing my eyes and listening to the ukulele strains of “Into the Mystic” floating up to my room as I paused and breathed for the first time that day. It was a deeply treasured moment when everything slowed down, for just a few seconds.

Unfortunately, the only recordings I have of their performance are these short videos shot by our Flippers. Have I mentioned them yet? I will soon!

*I included our songs for the seating of the grandparents and the processional at the end of this mix. They are both slightly edited down from their original songs (if you don’t have an editing software for music, get thyself a free one pronto! Goldwave saved my life in prepping the wedding music.)

After the introspective and contemplative songs that preceded our ceremony, it was time to celebrate! WE JUST GOT MARRIED, DIDJA KNOW?? Our post ceremony mix was full of songs that radiate joy and spark life, while still fitting in our easy-going feel of the day.

Tracklists are after the jump, in case indie singer/songwriters and old-school love songs are your jam.
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When New Year’s comes around, I always try to set some goals for myself, things I’m going to try to make happen that year. I try to make them attainable and fun and something that will enrich my life. In 2010, I only had two, one serious and one fun. The serious one was to finish school, which I did. The fun one was to see a taping of The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien, but NBC took him off the air before we get make it. Luckily, with Conan’s tour, we were still able to see him perform a live show last year.

Other than the obvious “Get a Big Girl Job” goal, I only have two other goals: invest more in the friendships that enrich my life and learn to make incredible sandwiches. I love sandwiches! I always feel dumb though going out to buy a sandwich at a restaurant though because it seems like something I should be able to make at home. However, somehow I can never get the right ingredients, ratio or stacking order to make a sandwich on par with something from Jimmy Johns or Which ‘Wich. Not this year though! This year, I will perfect sandwich making!

Today I started my sandwich adventure by making a grilled apple and cheese sandwich. I had never thought about apples and cheese together on a sandwich until reading Katrina at Slash of Something’s post about her husband’s apple and brie sandwich.  However, having never had brie before, I used this recipe from The All-New Ultimate Southern Living Cookbook as a way to get my feet wet. I switched the whole wheat for sourdough bread, and it was excellent!

The sweet and tart of the apples and the flavor of the sourdough just meshed well together. And sourdough grilled in melted butter is just incredible. But who knew a mixture of mayo, cheddar and apples would taste so good all melted together? Apparently, everyone except me. Enjoy this recipe after the jump. It’s quick, easy and won’t let you down. Can’t wait to share more sandwich making adventures with you. What’s your favorite sandwich?

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