Lately I've Been Loving:

• This for online list-making and instant Post-It access. It has changed my life. CHANGED MY LIFE, PEOPLE. If you are a Type-A planner and don't mind having "one more thing"...this is for you.
• Discovering healthy food that actually tastes delicious! And doesn't take hours to make! And doesn't make me buy a bunch of healthy ingredients that I don't even know how to pronounce! (Okay confession: I actually didn't know how to pronounce "quinoa" until about 4 weeks ago. KEEN-WA my friends. KEEN-WA.)
• Finding excuses to make really, really, really extremely delicious sweet treats that are NOT healthy but ARE totally freaking amazing and will jolt you awake the next morning when you calculate just how many cookies you consumed the night before. Ohhhhh myyyyyy gooooodnesssss. Please don't make me confess that number publicly.
• This book. Go read it. You will not be sorry. (Unless you are the non-fiction type like my husband and are all "I just don't really get into fiction" to which I say, *HUGE EYEROLL*. Also I love you.)
• Planning, thinking, dreaming about our upcoming adventure in India. The other day Adam said, "I think this will be a growing experience for us." I think he's right. To all those who are making this experience possible, thank you.

Resurfacing.

O.
M.
G!

YOU GUYS. We have had such a crazy whirlwind life lately! I mean that in a "we are currently getting vaccinated for rabies" kind of way. Soooo yeah. The whole bat thing? Worst nightmare.

I promised my mom I wouldn't write anything really stupid on the Internet so unfortunately friends, I will have to leave the story there. (Hi Mom! See? I do listen!) Suffice it to say that it has been an incredibly frustrating past two weeks. But, we have survived. And in the midst of icky circumstances, we have seen the light of kindness shining through. To those of you out there who have been those light-bearers, thank you.

In other news, I finished a final last week and promptly realized um, APRIL!? Where did you go?! And how is it May?! And how is it that we are leaving for India in a few weeks?!

And who has been squatting in our apartment, throwing things here and there and forgetting to wash dishes and leaving expired milk in our fridge?!

?!?!?!!?


In the midst of all the craziness, I have been growing more and more excited about our upcoming adventure. If you'd like to learn more about our India trip, jump on over!

I hope spring is being good to you friends.

...OH! I almost forgot! I made these apple crisp muffins a few weeks ago and they are SO INCREDIBLE! Please go make them immediately! I had to make a few tweaks to the recipe since I didn't have everything on hand and they still turned out great! (I used regular flour, regular sugar, and honey instead of maple syrup.) Enjoy!

Namaste.

So there I was doing a yoga video on Sunday night. Adam was gone, and I had big plans that included really productive things such as painting my toenails, watching a chick flick and sipping some tea on the couch.


A cool evening breeze blew in and I was soaking the moment up, congratulating myself on really taking an evening to relax.

In the middle of my downward dog, I heard a little something. Hmm that's weird I thought. That sounded kind of screechy. Like a bat! I shuddered. Ugh. I don't know what I would do if I saw a ---

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!" I screamed as a flitty furry thing flew INTO MY LIVING ROOM.

AND LANDED ON MY FLOOR.

I stared. Terrified.

This is not happening. This is not happening. Oh crap. Oh crap. Oh crap.

It didn't move.

I dashed onto the porch, propping the screen door wide open.

Please oh please oh please leave. I prayed, knees shaking.

Nothing. Still lying ON MY FLOOR.

Oh crap. Oh crap. Oh crap.


I banged the door a bit. And then a bit more.

Surely this noise will scare you just a bit so that you'll LEAVE ME ALONE. GO BACK OUTSIDE! YOU BELONG OUT HERE YOU IDIOT!

Nothing.

Trapped on the porch, I weighed my options. Things were looking bleak. My purse and keys were on the opposite end of the apartment. No way was I walking by THAT THING.

But my phone...

I glanced warily at the unmoving furball.

If it would just stay there and let me get a bit closer I could reach my phone on the coffee table just a few feet away.

I can do this. No I can't. I have to. I'm going to get rabies. What if it touches my hair? OH MY GOSH what if it flies at my face and I see it's eyes and...

Stop it. You need your phone. It is your only hope.

I took a deep breath.

I dashed.

Just as I grabbed my phone, IT MOVED.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK! I screamed as IT FLEW BY THE LAMP AND BEHIND OUR COUCH.

I darted into the hallway and slammed the door shut.


"There is a bat in our apt!" I texted Adam, trying to be all cool and nonchalant.

(HA, HA. I know.)

I waited approximately 8 seconds before calling him.

He answered and heard a tearful, "THERE IS A BAT IN OUR APARTMENT AND I'M IN OUR HALLWAY AND IT IS MOVING AND I AM NOT WEARING ANY SHOOOOOOOOES!"

I sniffed.

"What!? Are you okay?"

"Yes. NOOOOOOOOOOOOO! IT JUST CAME INSIDE! And it WON'T LEAAAAAAVE. And they CARRY RABIES!"

"I'm coming home."

"Okay," I cried.

"I think you should just grab a book and hang out and I"ll be there soon," he said reassuringly.

"I don't HAAAAAVE a book," I sobbed. "The books are all INSIDE. With the BAT IN OUR APARTMENT and I won't--hicuup--go--hicuup--back in there."

"It's going to be okay. Why don't you just play Tetris on your phone until I get there?"

"Um, okay." I said.

Fifteen minutes later, he pulled up.

"What's your plan?" I said.

"I don't have one," he said. "Just go in the bathroom, shut the door and I'll let you know when it's safe."

"Okay," I said. "But be careful."

And would you believe that my dear sweet husband took a broom and swatted all around our apartment in search of that little critter?

He sure did.

And would you also believe that HE NEVER FOUND IT?

Oh no he didn't.

And so, friends, while that night most certainly cemented my fear of ANIMALS UP IN MY SPACE and also expanded the definition of a true hero (and also true love), it did NOT leave my with any sort of peace of mind.

So, yes, what I'm saying, in short, is: I saw a bat enter my living room, my husband came home to save me and that bat may or may not have escaped.

Which also means, there may or may not still be AN ANIMAL LIVING IN MY HOME.

Help.

Announcement!

Hi friends!

I have exciting news!

We are going to India this summer!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As some of you may recall, India is kind of a big deal to us as Adam spent six weeks interning in Bangalore in 2009...then came home to me and popped the question!

We've been planning this for awhile and are so, so excited about this opportunity.

In fact, we started a blog specifically about our trip!

We invite you to follow us to learn more about what we're doing, why we're going and see really adorable photos of the girls that got Adam to dance on a rooftop.

Woohoo!

(I just can't stop exclaiming!)

A time to plant.

We are part of a community garden right now and though we are probably definitely the least knowledgeable, it is cool. Gardens are fascinating--what? you throw some stuff in the ground and then you EAT IT?! (...and all my farmer ancestors just rolled their eyes). Of course this is all supposing that something ACTUALLY GROWS. And in the Robertson experience, well, it does not. Or rather, it does and then the Evil Chipmunk eats it all. But I digress.

Though many, many other people have done much more work on the garden than us, it has already been fun to see the progress. Things are sprouting! YES!

It's a hopeful time as we push away all the things that could go wrong, and instead shrug and smile and say "Well, here's hoping!"and "LOOK! Here's another one! It's really GROWING!" and "What are we going to do with a plot full of kale?!"

And of course, doing this all in community is another experience entirely. It is messy. We don't know what to expect. We aren't really used to this sort of thing and my oh my people are complicated! But we all keep trying, smiling, waving, wondering what is to become of all this and why, exactly, we ventured out from our apartment cocoon to hang out with a bunch of opinionated strangers.

But it feels good, like somehow like we are going back to our roots a little bit--yes, because we city slickers are growing our own food but also because we are choosing to acknowledge those that live around us. And to open up our lives a bit.

It seems timely for us too, as we look at our lives and where we want to go. We celebrated two years of marriage. We are both working toward some goals. We are about to embark on an adventure overseas. We are forever trying, fighting, to make room in our lives for others.

Seeds are planted.

We are watering, weeding, keeping one eye on the sky.

We still have a lot of growing to do.

But look! Things are sprouting!

Some things:

Oh hi. Still here. I've done that thing where I write a post out get almost done and then delete it all. This has happened on several occasions lately. But it's a new week, so I'll give it another go.


Life lately:

• We recently joined a community garden in our neighborhood. Have I mentioned we aren't gardeners? This fact (and it is a fact) causes a bit of anxiety considering we Robertsons are in charge of a humble plot that is to yield cucumbers. For everyone. So yeeeeeeah. No pressure. Anxiety aside, it is a really fun experience so far.
• Awesome recent discovery: these are on Netflix. Score!
• Soon I will get to share something exciting with you! Are you on the edge of your seat? You should be! Okay that is all I have to say for now or I will spill the beans. (PLEASE NOTE: This is not code for "pregnant" so everyone be cool.) It does, however, involve packing a bag.
• Last week was kind of a bummer. We had to call it quits on something fun we were planning. It wasn't the end of the world or anything but it was still not awesome. HOWEVER, in the middle of feeling kind of blah and a smidge dejected, Encouragement kicked us swiftly in the pants and said, "HEY YOU! You've got a lot to be thankful for so FUGETABOUTIT!" And then I cried happy tears. (You are shocked, I know.)
• I am reading this book and I love it. It's about a father writing to his son at the end of his life. It is beautifully written and I especially love the idea of legacy woven into its pages. Please read it. I mean if you're into that sort of thing--"that sort of thing" being AMAZING LITERATURE and sweet old men and generations and history and love and faith and death and life. NO PRESSURE OR ANYTHING!

Step it up.

I recently devoured Mindy Kaling's book and LOVED IT!

I giggled more than once as I sped through it (seriously--if you are looking for a fun book that will add another celebrity to your "We Would So Be Friends" list, this is it!) but instead of making you sit through poorly-delivered comedic moments like my dear husband, I will just share with you a chapter tucked in the back of the novel that stuck out most to me.

"Married People Need to Step It Up" she asserts and talks about how some of her married friends are the most depressing people to hang out with--always talking about how much work marriage is and how hard it is to get a babysitter for date night. Basically, Kaling writes that despite the odds and despite the horrible statistics when it comes to love and marriage, she still believes in it and wants it for herself. And in so many words, married people need to stop making it look so horribly, dreadfully hard (bordering on impossible).

I'm not sure exactly why this struck me but it did. Maybe because I am coming up on the two-year mark of being a Mrs. myself (!) and probably also a lot because I remember the many years I spent standing up at various weddings for my friends and begrudgingly flying solo (note: I don't remember who it was that said at the time I "totally reminded them of that girl in 27 dresses who has a bazillion bridesmaids dresses and is always single" but for the record THAT IS A HORRIBLE THING TO SAY TO SOMEONE SO PLEASE STRIKE IT FROM YOUR VOCABULARY IMMEDIATELY!).

I only have two years to draw upon when it comes to married life and I know that is just a blip really.

But it's true that marriage gets a bad rap sometimes and while I think that it is really, extremely important for people to all understand that relationships are all different and all hard and that marriage is by no means an easy answer or some perfect moment where ta-da! life becomes all sparkly and easy-peasy...it is also really, freaking awesome.

I know without a doubt that I am a better person because I have Adam by my side and I would like to think he'd say the same about me. It isn't always fun or pretty, and there are some serious challenges that come with it. I don't deny any of that and I think to do so is really a disservice to everyone.

But it is also good. It is good in little ways--he listens as I tell him about what so-and-so said at the office today CANYOUBELIEVEIT?! and I sneakily throw away all his socks with holes in them because seriously it needs to be done. It's nice to have someone get your inside jokes and be your plus one when you have to go to that thing where you won't know anyone.

But the best is that you get to feel known. And it is also kind of the worst because when you are known, you can no longer can you hide your crap or keep the ugly from bubbling to the surface now and then. And you see their ugly bubbling to the top sometimes too. Along with the just plain annoying.

BUT (lest you think I am doing that thing where you say one thing but actually take the other side) this is all still a very good thing! Because it makes you better. And it makes you grow. And it makes you realize that you are loved just as you are (to borrow from one of my favorite movies ever).

And the best, totally bizarre part is that even when you mess up and even on days when you mess up AND he messes up and you are both quite grouchy and things are really NOT FUN and THEN you realize your milk expired again AND your parking ticket is due etc etc etc...it is a Great Mystery, my friends, but it is so very true that somehow love does prevail.

And I know that it sounds very simplistic and I know and you know that love seems to be failing all around us sometimes. And I don't know what to say about that and I won't pretend to have some quick fix or even any answer at all because I don't understand it either.

But I do know a couple things about marriage. At least what two years can teach a girl. 

So, let this be a reminder to me today, tomorrow, next year, and 33 years from now when like my parents, I get to celebrate my 35th wedding anniversary:

Be thankful. Fight for it. And step it up.