We spent all day Saturday and Sunday packing up our house and moving into my parents’ house. Phew! That was a LOT of work! Even with an awesome team of helpers. (Thanks Mom(s), Dad(s), Dan, Ginger and Leila!) So, while things are settling down here, I might be MIA for a few days…
I come from a long line of worriers through my mom’s side. When my mom was growing up, every time she’d leave the house her parents would call out one last warning, “Be careful!” The world is a scary, dangerous place. Because of the fear it instilled, my parents made a point to be different. When we’d leave for school in the morning, go out on a date, or take off with friends for a sleepover, instead of saying, “Be careful!” they’d smile and say, “Have fun!”
I’ve always made a point of doing the same. People often tell me, “Be careful!” when I’m leaving… my boss, friends, Jason’s boss as Precious and I were leaving for the Tampa airport last week. And I answer back, “Ok… Have fun!” Because, really, we’re always careful, smart, calculated, paying attention, right? But what really helps to counter the anxiety that starts creeping up before a big adventure is a reminder to have fun.
So, wherever you’re going: Have fun!
2 Comments | 
Family, Other | Tagged: be careful, Family, fear, have fun, life, philosophy, principle, worry | 
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Posted by mahlbrandt
We switched banks. That seems like a blog-worthy topic, right? Have you been or will you be affect by the recent increase in checking account fees among the major US banks? Jason and I had three checking accounts at one of the big corporate banks (I don’t want to slam them as it’s been industry-wide policy) and with the increased fees that are starting next month we were going to be paying around $45 a month just to have three checking accounts with debit cards. Whoa! So not worth it. I suggested we start carrying cash only and get pistols but Jason found a better solution. We have a small local bank chain called Avenue. We have been so pleased with their great customer service and of course, the lack of fees! They have a really cool vibe since they started out as a musicians’ bank. Beyond the pretty hummingbird logo, they have a city loft style lobby with free snacks and drinks and a guitar set up, ready to be played while we wait. But we never have to wait because their customer service is that good.
A great company is worthy of a blog post, I say. If you’re in Nashville, we highly recommend Avenue Bank. Switching banks is a big ole’ pain in the butt—it took us 6 weeks to get everything migrated to the next account—but worth it.
4 Comments | Art, Art: graphic design, Art: music, Other | Tagged: avenue, bank, banking, fees, money, Nashville | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt
Not the most exciting news in the world, but I thought I’d point out that I made some updates around the ole’ blog. I updated the House Tour and Family links at the top of the page.
I changed the widgets on the left side of the page, changed the order of things, updated the INSPIRING BLOGS and FRIENDS BLOGS.
1 Comment | Other | Tagged: blog, updates | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt
“Song and dance are the result of an excess energy.
When we are normal we talk,
when we are dying we whisper,
but when there is more in us than we contain we sing.
When we are healthy we walk,
when we are decrepit we shuffle,
but when we are beyond ourselves with vitality we dance.”
—Eugene Peterson
2 Comments | Other, Other Things: Wise Words | Tagged: quotes, wise words | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt
This week, while Jason and I spend some time purposefully disconnected from the internet, I’ll be sharing some of my favorite recent blog discoveries. Be back soon!
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Cindy over at Zach Aboard wrote about the importance of teaching your kids to swim. They live on a boat so it’s obviously very important to them. I grew up with a pool in my backyard for my first 5 years so it was very important to my parents, too. I started taking swimming lessons (“water initiation”) when I was 6 months old and by the time I was in preschool, I passed a water survival test where I jumped off the high dive at the YMCA full clothed and swam to the other end of the olympic size pool. Thank you very much, Mom and Dad. I love how Cindy put it:
“Swimming is not a sport, or a pastime, or a summer thing. It’s a life skill. But for some reason people spend more time and effort teaching their kids to ride a bike than swim. If your kid never learns to ride a bike, it’s really no big deal. I don’t ride. If your kid doesn’t learn to swim, they could die.”
Photo from “Water Baby P.S.A.” on Zach Aboard. (This makes me want a waterproof camera so bad!)
2 Comments | Other | Tagged: children, parenting, swimming, water baby p.s.a., zach aboard | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt
This week, while Jason and I spend some time purposefully disconnected from the internet, I’ll be sharing some of my favorite recent blog discoveries. Be back soon!
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OK, so I gave Greta from Lilly and the Brothers some blog love yesterday. Doesn’t she have the cuties kids ever? I actually found her other blog, Picnics in the Park, initially and commented on how similar our tastes are. We got a kick out of how we both have white mid-century modern living rooms with a greenish-yellow accent wall, though I think she has some much cooler pieces like the shelving unit, clock and credenza. Her living room tour. My living room tour.
Photo from “House Tour: Our Living Room” on Picnics in the Park.
1 Comment | Other | Tagged: living room tour, picnics in the park, recommended reading | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt
This week, while Jason and I spend some time purposefully disconnected from the internet, I’ll be sharing some of my favorite recent blog discoveries. Be back soon!
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The sweetness this big brother has for his little sister totally melts my heart (and reminds me of how thankful I am that I grew up with a sweet big brother.) Greta is one of my new favorite bloggers. She’s a thoughtful and beautiful writer. Check it out.
Picture from “Are You a Yes Mom?” over at Lilly and the Brothers.
1 Comment | Other | Tagged: lilly and the brothers, recommended reading | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt
This week, while Jason and I spend some time purposefully disconnected from the internet, I’ll be sharing some of my favorite recent blog discoveries. Be back soon!
—
Along with The Pioneer Woman, I’m pretty sure that Lots of Scotts was one of the first blogs I got hooked on reading. JMom is the mother of triplets, now 7 years old, and she shares about their adventures but most importantly, she almost daily has deep revelations about life Truths through her experiences with her kids. This post, If I Marry, is not the best example of that but trust me, look around and you’ll find it (Here are some recent examples: It’s Not Your Story, The Lesson of the Red Handled Scissors and The Meltdown Meter). However, what I wanted to share with you is this quote I love from Ruth Bell Graham that she posted:
“If I marry… He must be big enough to be gentle and great enough to be thoughtful. His arms must be strong enough to carry a little child.” — Ruth Graham
Read the whole quote over at “If I Marry” on Lots of Scotts.
Leave a Comment » | Other | Tagged: if i marry, lots of scotts, marriage, ruth bell graham | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt
Run for your lives!
Seriously, we have a bizarre and fascinating, also annoying and disgusting, phenomenon going on in Nashville right now. Every 13 years by Divine clockwork, hundreds, thousands, millions? of cicadas (Magicicadas to be exact) emerge from the ground, sing, mate, lay eggs and die. All in the span of 4-6 weeks. We’re about 3 weeks into the madness right now. It’s not just a few cicadas here and there; it’s ear-piercing loud at 3pm. It’s crunchy steps through the parking lot. It’s swatting and yelping every time we’re outside. It’s cleaning splatters off the windshield several times a day. They don’t call it an invasion for nothing.
This guy (or girl) is one of the many that likes hanging out on our bamboo. Smile!
The whole event is really quite strange and I’m glad it’s almost over. Thankfully, the bugs are pretty harmless. They don’t bite. They don’t prey on other creatures. They don’t eat crops or plants. They drink the sap from trees and blades of grass. The only harm they do is cutting slits into small tree branches when the females lay their eggs. But in the grand scheme of things, this is actually a benefit — this process prunes trees and aerates the ground, so I’m told. Here’s our newly planted pear tree. Can you see the cicadas?
How about now? Can you see them?
Oh, there they are. And… this is when Lucy and I got creeped out and ran for the house. She’s OK with them until they squawk. Then she gets freaked out. And boy to they squawk. And chirp. And buzz.
The posters below (and a few others) are designed by Anderson Design Group to commemorate this crazy occasion. Anyone need a birthday gift idea for me? They’re available at CicadaInvasion.com.
If you haven’t had enough yet, check out this video I shot through the window of the conference room at work last week. My office is on the 4th floor so it’s right in the tree tops. The cicadas are so loud that I can hear them from my desk which is through a cubicle wall, a hallway, an office and a thick glass window. In the video you can hear them pinging and ponging off the window. They’re pretty clumsy.
2 Comments | Art, Art: gardening, Art: God's creation, Art: graphic design, Other | Tagged: cicada invasion, cicadas | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt
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Graphic designer, MCM interior design enthusiast, wife to amazing guitarist and hard working realtor, mama—by way of foster care, adoption and biology—and follower of Jesus Christ.
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