The Wind Cries Mary(ann)

The last time I saw Jamie Cullum in concert was October 2006, at The Murat Egyptian Room in Indianapolis.  It was mere days before I was to meet Frank, and I was definitely in a bit of a funk. It had not been a kind year, in love terms, and the lead up to the …

Old Souls, Kindred Spirits and the Kindness of Others

Season's Greetings to you all! It truly has been a crazy year. We were literally incapacitated by snow and cold for the first part of the year.  It seemed like every time I started up the car to drive the white-knuckled 5 minutes to work, Katy Perry's "Perfect Storm" was playing on the radio.  And …

The Unpredictable

"If you want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans."  - Woody Allen It's been over a month now, since we picked up our life and moved out of Indianapolis.  We crossed 2300 miles of open road, and passed through nine states. It was a real adventure, and one that continues! But more …

In Search of Home

It's been just over a year since we moved, immigrated, back to the USA from Ireland. Evelyn is going on 5 years old.  She's started forgetting things, like how her Nana's house looked, or what her little cousins' names are, or who our doting neighbours there were.  She remembers a lot of funny little things, but not …

Jam, Goodbyes and Late Summer Ramblings

It's just after 9 a.m. and I'm finally moving.  The kids seem to get me up too early these days, but I won't let the couch call my name again today (if I can help it).  I pour my first cup of coffee - my favorite - and watch it swirl and steam up inside …

Heroes, Inspiration and Big Questions

Lately, I feel like people are thinking, "Oh Geez, here come those complaining Kellys again. Never happy." If you follow our Facebook or Twitter accounts, read my husband's or my blogs or keep up with us in any way, you will have seen a lot of up and down commentary from us over the last good …

Bookends

"Old friends, old friends, sat on their park bench like bookends." When I was in college, my summer job was working as an interpreter at a living history farm in Bozeman, Montana.  Looking back, I could not imagine myself landing a better job than this - dressing up as a circa 1900 woman, cooking on …

East Side Indy

My head is throbbing. I am jumpy, skitterish, probably unnecessarily anxious. Today was a long day - getting Evelyn off to pre-school at 8:30, coming home to catch up on dishes and try to work on an article, then work at Starbucks 12:30, taking Frank to work at 5:30, then getting a babysitter and going …

Kiddos – the hardest job on earth.

I love kids. I always wanted kids.  Yet, every day it seems I ask myself, "Am I really cut out for this?" I started babysitting at 11, was a camp counselor as a teenager, volunteered in the church nursery in my 20s and was even a nanny for a stint in Ireland, so I know …

Reverse Culture Shock

Well, seeing as you're still reading, I guess I'll keep writing.  For now. 🙂  I'm happy with a lot of the posts I've achieved with this blog over the last several years, and I don't really want to give it up.  So if you'll just be patient with my few, sporadic, posts, I'll try to …