hilarity in general: life with jessica and arthur

Arthur's baby

2012-01-05T18:49:00.001-06:00

Towards the end of October, Arthur decided that he had a grown up job, and a grown up wardrobe, so he ought to have a grown up car. I didn't have much say in the matter, so we went down to carmax (thanks to our friend Cara in the ward) and bought a car. Arthur could go on about how awesome it is, but I think it suffices to say that it's nice, a great ride, and the seat warmers and sound system are awesome.Behold! The VW GTI:

... and one very happy husband.

I'm pro-cras-ti-nat-ing, dee-dee-dee...

2011-11-07T14:27:00.001-06:00

(note... read the title of the post to the tune of 'I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts...)

Hey yall. I've been meaning to update for awhile, because I have some crazy news that is totally blog-worthy. But, what say ye? Have I no time to post?

Why yes, it's true. If you've been keeping up with me on facebook or twitter, you know that I'm officially doing NaNoWriMo... or National Novel Writing Month. I've had an idea for a novel for awhile now, and lo, has it been written? NO! So, I'm dedicating November to writing my novel. At least getting me disciplined to write my novel.

Problem: It's really hard. Really really hard. I suppose it's just part of the process of getting in the habit again, but somehow I remembered writing in college being a lot easier. Maybe it was the adderall. Maybe.

Anyway, with any luck I'll make some more posts that you know, are informative. In the meantime though, the silence on my end, is really just the sound of the keyboard clicking away in Microsoft Word.

Big Changes

2011-09-28T21:56:00.001-05:00

As I said in our last post, we felt the need to squeeze in the last bit of summer before.....

Arthur started his new job!

Earlier in the summer our good friend Paul introduced Arthur to his team at AT&T and the slow process of hiring began! After about a month, we can safely say that Arthur really enjoys his new employee, his team and the type of work he does.

One thing that we had to do was revamp his work wardrobe-- he was specifically asked to wear shirt and tie everyday-- and neither of us mind. Arthur really enjoys dressing up for work and I don't mind in the slightest-- he looks good!

On his first day of the new job! And his new job has facilitated other new changes to be announced soon...

South Padre Trip

2011-09-28T21:44:00.001-05:00

In the middle of Dad being in the hospital, we went to the beach. It wasn't an all of the sudden pick up and go thing-- we had planned this little vaycay for at least a month. Arthur is a beach person and has to go during the summer. So we went with our friends Justin and Michele and met up with Dorothy and Aaron and their friends Dave and Carlo-- who graciously hosted us.

And you know what? It was the perfect thing. There was nothing I could do for my dad or my family because we were 8 hours away at the beach. It made me realize that there is so much out of my control and that I need to chill. And take time for me.

Michele being a goof on the ride down.

We stayed at Carlo's house. Now, when friends invite you to a beach house, in my mind, a sandy shack appears, and I expect to rough it for the weekend. Not this time. I was floored by the beauty and decor of Carlo's beach house-- which has now set the standard for all beach houses in my mind. A few of my favorites:

Really cool mirror in the master bath.

Kitchen that I would take in any house.

Great mix of traditional, modern and beachy things-- it felt like we were staying in a great house that happened to be at the beach.

It was SO relaxing. I only really hit the beach for one day and even though I shade bathed (there is such a thing, and yes there is photographic evidence) for a good chunk of that time, I still got burned. So I also did a lot of reading, sleeping and general vegetation...

The burnt and fried crowd takes refuge.

We had a great time out at dinner one night...

And goofing around on the pier afterwards. The second night we cooked in, after a trip to walmart. And hey:

Wal-mart does get trashier when it's pink.

Overall it was a great trip and a great way to finish out the summer. Thanks Dorothy, Aaron and Carlo!

The Tuesday that wasn't the best ever...

2011-09-09T00:39:00.001-05:00

Some of you may or may not be friends with my dad on Facebook. For those of you who aren't, all you're missing out on is post after post of training updates. That's what my Dad does: he trains for triathlons. Which means he does a lot of running, swimming and biking.

Tuesday about two weeks ago I was standing in Target debating what chocolate to buy for my visiting teacher. My phone rings, and from the ringtone, I can tell it is a family member. (all immediate family members get Robert Earl keen's "Merry Christmas from the family" as their distinctive ringtone. It's very effective in rushing to the phone or screening a call.) I pick up the phone expecting to hear my father's voice.

But it's not my dad. It's a woman's voice.

"Hi Jessica, you don't know me but I am with your father and he has been in a bike accident."

Our family friend Kazuyoshi got my dad a road ID for christmas. Its this little wristband with my dad's name, and three contacts of people he knows. We never thought we would ever need to use it. We were wrong.

In the less than a minute phone call, the woman tells me where my dad's accident is, and that they have called 911, EMS is on the way and that I should go straight to the hospital downtown that specializes in Trauma. All I can say is ok. One of the last things she tells me, is that, "He is still with us."

I power walk through target and when my feet hit the parking lot, I break into a run.

While driving faster than I have ever driven in Austin, I also manage to dial and speak with no less than 3 family members and a home teacher. After I get off the phone and have at least 20 minutes left to the hospital (which I made it to in 10 FYI), I pray like crazy. I do not want my Dad to die.

You see, for having a world-famous cycling athlete call Austin home, and for having some really great roads on which both professionals and amateur enthusiast cyclists can train, Austin's culture and road works are actually not that biker friendly. People in cars drive like they own every inch of asphalt. New and renovated roads are built without shoulders. I've witnessed people clip bikers and keep driving like they did nothing. Sadly, many bikers die every year in Austin from traffic accidents-- and to help bring awareness to how many people lose their lives on Austin's streets-- the ghost bike campaign was set up. White bicycles are set up at sites where people lost their lives while cycling in Austin. My stomach churns every time I see a ghost bike around town. As I'm driving, all I can think about is if Austin will have to add another ghost bike.

Once I get to the hospital though, correct information is dispersed and I can breathe easier: Dad was injured, but not fatally. He doesn't have a head or spine injury. Just maybe some broken bones.

Make that 9 broken ribs, a punctured lung and some serious road rash: (WARNING: really graphic photos below)

Dad thinks he hit something, or something hit him: either way it sent him flying superman style, into the air. He had enough time to roll and brace himself and he landed flush on his right side and slid a few feet. Although there was literally no one to witness and call in the accident (the woman who called me, found my dad on the side of the road 10-15 minutes later), after driving by the site several times, I have no doubt he was hit by a car. It makes me angry enough to start a campaign in Austin with red bikes for every serious injury caused by a bike and car interaction.

A week, some serious meds, and some amazing drug-induced quotes later my Dad was able to come home. I'm so happy that he's doing so well, and that he's here with us.

Instagram

2011-09-08T23:28:00.001-05:00

Are you on Instagram? I have to say, it's one of my favorite apps. Find me and we'll be friends.

the decision: gluten free and me

2011-09-06T22:23:00.001-05:00

So earlier this year, Arthur and I went on this diet called the paleo diet or the paleo solution. Or in other words, the caveman diet. Eat like a caveman-- basically vegetables and meat. We ate a lot of guacamole and rotisserie chicken. And it lasted about three weeks.

The first time we cheated on this diet, we both had rushed home to feed the missionaries and ordered a pizza. I had a piece. And about an hour later-- I sat on the couch, clutching my stomach thinking, "I am going to die."

That experience put the idea in my head: maybe, just maybe I was allergic to something I had eaten. The contents of pizza aren't that rare or unique-- I started paying attention as I ate things: what made me feel good? What made me feel bad? Even though I had an idea as to what I was allergic to most of this summer, I just didn't want to face facts-- it would require a major life change.

But then towards the end of July, I had to go to the doctor. I've been facing some major hormonal issues lately and even though we don't have health insurance, I've been so frustrated that I felt I needed to go to the doctor. (if you're really curious as to what's going on, shoot me a message, I'll tell you.) and it was at the doctor that I was told for the first time ever, you have to lose weight and get in shape.

So I figured, what better time to test my food allergy? At the beginning of August, I stopped eating anything with wheat in it.

Why wheat? Well, if we go back to the pizza incident-- I hardly ever ate pepperoni. Cheese and other dairy never bothered me. I liked the taste of tomatoes and other fruit. What was left was the crust.

And for the rest of the summer, I took mental notes every time I ate something with wheat in it. And the result? Cranky, tired, sluggish, bloated, angry Jessica. Every. Single. Time.

So, after the doc laid down the law, I figured, why not try it out? And so I started to eat gluten free.

Changed my life!

I can't tell you what a difference I feel-- I haven't had this much energy in years. Literally the words, "I'm tired," have been coming out of my mouth 3 to 4 times a day since I was eighteen, no matter how much rest I had gotten or how much diet coke I had pumped into my system.

And you know what? It's not that hard to do, that is eat gluten free. Once you have a slip up and eat something with gluten in it once, and then an hour later, double over in pain, you avoid gluten like the plague. I don't ever feel tempted to eat cookies, or cake or ice cream. (yes, lots of different types of ice cream have wheat products in them) Who wants a fruit bar? This girl.

It's the start of something really good for me (I can feel it) and I just wanted to share. and to prepare y'all: Any recipe I'm sharing in the future will be gluten free.

Oh and Wendy, p.s.-- I gave up diet coke. In June! Holla!

Trip to Utah

2011-09-05T20:05:00.001-05:00

At the beginning of July I took a weekend and headed up to Utah. It was a last minute decision made possible by my sister in law's father who was able to get me a buddy pass on the airline he works for. So grateful!

But why did I take a weekend? One reason: Friends.

(I look so goofy in this pic!)

My closest friends from college were getting together and I just didn't want to miss out. As much as I like my friends that I've made here in Austin since living and getting married here, the bond that you share with girls who you were single with is unlike any other. If someday in the eternities, if it's possible to be next door neighbors, they're the ones I'm picking.

We didn't get enough time together. I wanted to spend way more time catching up, and really getting to know their kids but alas, when your kids are little, there's only so much time you can get. I'd show you some photos, But they aren't my kids. Oh well, the pics will end up in my end of year book.

Four weddings, a funeral and a happier me.

2011-08-17T18:58:00.001-05:00

Do you have a go to pick me up film? I think I'm one of the few people who does this, but I tend to pick a movie and then for at least a year (sometimes longer) it becomes the film of choice to pick me up when im feeling blue, tired, upset or just bored.

Maybe it's the magic of the movie, drowning out the humdrum of everyday into an alternate reality where naturally, people find their lost loves, end up with the right person, get back on their feet, and win the day so to speak.

In college, my pick me up film was Under the Tuscan Sun. Then it became The new Pride and Prejudice. And then... I didn't have a go to movie for awhile... I don't know why. It just stopped.

Lately, it's been Four Weddings and a Funeral. I love this movie.

I love how it's so 90s. You can have a chance encounter with someone at a wedding, and not see them again-- you don't Facebook them, google them, or text them. You might call them, at home, on your phone. If your supposed to meet up with someone, you can't call to say you'll be late-- you're just late!
Call me crazy, but something about that is so refreshing-- it's the world of the unknown! I sometimes love the thrill of leaving my phone accidentally at home while running errands, and liberatingly, I'm without it for a few hours. It's so freeing! Don't get me wrong, I'm the most connected person out there, (Facebook, twitter, blog, pinterest, & more...) but sometimes its nice to just be alone for awhile.

And it when it comes to romance, again, call me crazy, but I think the less you're connected online, the better it is. It just brings back some of the lost mystique that dating has, you know? I'm super grateful that when my husband and I were dating, we were much more into talking on the phone and seeing each other than we were texting or face booking. (seriously-- I think it's part of the reason I married him.)

But back to the movie: I love it because it's British, and their cuss words just don't seem as bad, and that weddings no matter where you are bring out this side of people that is just interesting. And (SPOILER ALERT) even though the end isn't an ending I approve of in the slightest-- its very 90s to just leave a relationship, an important one at that, extremely open ended and very undefined, I love that "type" of relationship-- is starting to go out of vogue. More and more people I know, Mormon and not Mormon, but my age are settling down, and committing to relationships-- and that's something to smile about.

Happy 2 years!

2011-06-26T13:08:00.001-05:00

This past week we celebrated our two year anniversary. Yea us! It was a lovely year in addition to our first and perhaps flew by at twice the speed!

We celebrated by spending the night at a wellness resort on the north side of Lake Travis. Fear not, we haven't become bizarre hippies who work on our marriage by spending hours sweating it out in yoga. (although we could have if we wanted to at this place) A few months ago, Arthur retweeted a contest giveaway by a local radio station and won a nights stay at Travaasa Austin, a wellness all organic retreat, for persons who proverbially enjoy the smell of their own farts.

Listen, we're not opposed to clean water, lots of trees, or recycling. But when you go to a luxury hotel, and your bathrobe looks like this:

You gotta wonder-- is anyone thinking through anything these days??

I have to say though, we slept like royalty on our all organic bed with all organic bed linens (which were wrinkled on the bed because ironing takes up too much energy...seriously) with AMAZING blackout shades, and the AC turned down low!

The hotel has a variety of rooms and ours was a trail view room--

It felt like we were a million miles from civilization. Tranquil indeed.

On Monday morning after our locally sourced, all organic breakfast (smell your own farts, remember?) we checked out, and treated ourselves to the early bird showing of Super 8. We loved the movie, and loved that we were practically the only people in the theater!

After that we headed down to our favorite nearby small town, Wimberley (we will live there someday....) to swim at the blue hole-- a local spring-fed swimming hole. It was refreshingly cold, and really the perfect way to finish our day.

And to top it all off, my dear sweet husband got me, his silly wife a beautiful anniversary gift-- one that I had spotted on pinterest and whined about frivolously wanting for no good reason other than it's beautiful. Behold:

Measuring cups. So pretty, I don't know what to do with myself.

He really does love me.

Happy Birthday Arthur!

2011-06-25T07:51:00.000-05:00

While this post comes a little late, our celebrations did not. Arthur's birthday rolled around, and since it's the last sacred year before the big 3-0, we kept our celebrations decidedly small, albeit still lovely.

Channeling my inner Martha, for unknown and ludicrous reasons, I decided to wrap Arthur's presents in matching kraft paper, and stamp a pretty, yet still masculine design on the wrapping, and the bag. A paisley will always be masculine will it not? I think so-- paisleys scream smoking jackets, the color burgundy, and everyone's father's ties. I added some pretty but still masculine hunter green raffia to tie everything together. As a side note, remember when hunter green was THE color of the 90s? I was thrilled to visit my local craft shop and find it still stocked.

I suppose I thought that if my little Martha venture was easy enough, I could replicate it at Christmas, and become one of those psychos who have beautiful and entirely matching presents under the tree. Well it was ridiculously hard, and so while I'd like not to, I have an entire roll of kraft paper, which tells me I probably will be stamping and creating my own nauseatingly pretty Christmas wrap. Sorry.

But onto the important parts-- the presents!

Opening with anticipation

A casual, yet classy addition to Arthur's ever-growing wardrobe.

Upon organizing his ties earlier this month, we discovered he had no really good blue tie. Thus, a tie.

Struggling with the wrapping.

A great stupor of thought. Actually, he's just reading the label. A little known fact about my husband is that he enjoys a good bath. So, I thought, why not stock up on gender neutral bath bubbles so he can stop stealing (and wasting) my body wash? Not self-serving in the slightest.

Showing off his latest wares.

His last gift came a few days later, because it was bought via the intertubes, on thinkgeek.com. A nifty little cord that goes from your iphone to your car's computer. With a couple of free apps, Arthur can now drive around town and get his exact mpg, oxygen intake, and other important car facts, as well as decipher what those annoying codes mean. Nifty huh? He was thrilled.

Happy Birthday my love. You mean the world to me.

Graduation gifts...

2011-06-15T18:23:00.000-05:00

To yourself, might be the best thing ever. Case in point:

Thug Life. Fo' Reals.

ALIVE: Jessica and Arthur!

2011-06-08T23:35:00.000-05:00

I know it's been awhile, and if you're our friends who happen to live in town and see us, then you know we're alive. But if you live elsewhere, I realize our web silence may appear as though we might be dead. I apologize for possibly giving you concern. We're not dead.... it's just been a couple of "those" months. The kind that make you fall in bed every night exhausted, become an expert at eating things while driving and talking on the phone at the same time, and glance at the calendar and wonder, "Where did the time go?" I finally saw our friend Amy recently, and she told us, "We haven't seen you in what seems like forever..." and when I told her about our past month or so, all she could say was, "Wow."

So prepare yourself, this post is a whole bunch of "Wow."

Where were we last? SXSW had just happened right? I was really happy to have my husband back after many moons of benadryl induced sleep. (That's the only way I sleep when Arthur is gone-- Benadryl.)

First, we lost one of the good people of the world.

Trevor Searle died in a skateboarding accident at the beginning of March. I didn't know Trevor personally very well, but he was good friends with my brother who is on a mission, my mother taught him for several years in Sunday School, and Trevor's Dad, Ryan, was my Sunday School teacher (one that left a lasting impression on me) when I was a youth. Ryan and his brother Jeremy were also very close to Harrison as a youth, as well.

But when I went to his funeral, to pay my respects, I truly grieved. Trevor was one of the really good people in our world-- at 17. He was the kind of kid who befriended everyone, had an amazing zeal for life, was beloved by parents, grandparents, school teachers, church teachers. He was an amazing brother to his siblings, an Eagle Scout, and was fully committed to going on a mission for our Church and going to Utah State University. It was a huge loss for his family, but also for his church family, and our community at large. He had already started a non-profit for families in his young age as well.

I'm not going to lie, I left his funeral feeling really downtrodden. While it was an uplifting funeral, in that his family talked about being together forever as an eternal family, I was still upset at the Lord's timing. I know He has a reason, and I have faith in that-- but it shook me to my core-- as to why. And over the rest of March, I just had to come to grips with the fact (again) that I will never know why-- with a lot of different things. Life is constantly going to give me "Why, God, Why?" in all kinds of forms-- like a good kid in the ward passing away. And it's up to me, to grieve, or (with lesser trials) to be frustrated or just to deal and to recognize that I do have faith in the Lord and that I have faith in his timing, however painful it might be.

Next, I decided to celebrate my birthday with a friend.

Tara and I's birthdays are less than a week apart. So it made sense this year to do something together. So the Saturday before my birthday, we decided to invite as many of our friends as possible and hike Enchanted Rock. It actually turned out to be just me, Tara, Michele and Arthur, go figure. And you know what? It was really fun. It was one of the first quite warm days (in the high 70s, maybe 80s, not like really hot) and it was beautiful out there. For those not in the know, Enchanted Rock is this giant pink rock dome in the middle of nowhere about an hour or hour and a half outside of Austin. It's a quick and easy 25 minute climb to the top, with spectacular views of the Texas Hill Country as it's the highest geographical point for miles...It was a very fun and simple way to celebrate a birthday, especially with what had happened that morning.

That morning I learned of some really dreadful news.

Let me preface this with a little back story. The ward I grew up in, and which I happen to live now, has some of my parents best friends in it. They're best friends because they're great people, and they raised their families together. And those other couples-- there are about 5 other couples besides my parents-- with their children are like extended family to me. They are the best of the best-- cream of the crop people, who I could turn to for anything, anytime. I love all of them in different ways, and yet, in the same way-- like second sets of parents.

So the morning that we were about to go out to Enchanted Rock, as we were finishing up breakfast, I get a phone call from my dad.
The kind you never want to get, ever.
And on the other end my dad sounded heartbroken and hallow and very very far away.
My father with hesitation and great difficulty quietly told me that our good friend, Mike Theodosis had passed away of a heart attack early that morning. One of our other friends Vince, had gotten a frantic phone call around 6 am that morning, and he jumped out of bed and beat the paramedics to the Theodosis' home, but there was nothing to be done. Mike was 52 when he passed away and left behind his beautiful wife Sally and four lovely young adult children.
(This is a lot harder to write than I thought it would be and I am crying still writing this....)

Mike and Sally and my parents went to Italy together twice-- they are great travelling companions and good friends-- the very best of friends. Mike was tough and smart and every bit of a guy's guy-- he loved cars and guns and hunting and he was funnier than anyone I know. My brothers always said and knew that if they ever did anything colossally stupid as teenagers, that it wasn't my dad that they had to worry about but it was Mike-- because they knew that Mike would be the friend my dad would call to find my brothers and beat sense into them! And they were scared of Mike even though they loved him. And as I was reflecting, I realized that the reason I felt safe, even thousands of miles away at college, was that of course, my parents were there for me, but if for any reason they couldn't be, I knew that I could call Mike or Sally, and at the drop of a hat they would be there for me. What more can you ask for in a friend? I grew to love Mike even more as I started to date Arthur, because they were such good friends (after an initial period of realizing they had met the other smartest guy in the room...) and because Mike was such a great role model for Arthur. Despite being tough and a "man's man" Mike had a soft heart and was the kind of person who was constantly serving others and looking to Christ in all things. Arthur looked up to Mike and Mike let him and I am so grateful for that, as is Arthur. I love this picture of Mike and Sally at my wedding, because they were such great supports to Arthur and I as were getting married-- they beamed like my parents when we got sealed in the temple and I was so happy to share that day with them.

Mike's funeral service was on my birthday. All of us as a family piled into one tiny bench in a very crowded chapel and said goodbye to him. I will never forget sitting next to my brother Harrison, who at one point truly started to cry his eyes out, and me start to cry because he was crying and then looking over at my husband and see him squeak some tears out. And then to read my little brother's letter home that week and say that when his mission president called him to break the news, he just started to weep in the street. We all miss him so much.

Shortly thereafter, my parents came face to face with a really hard decision.

My parents built a beautiful house that I have lived in most of my life. We moved there when I was in the 8th grade, and it truly is a unique home that screams "Brett and Claire" in a very tasteful way. For a number of reasons, my parents have considered selling it for over a year. And they waffled, and went back and forth and weren't sure that this was what they were supposed to do. Because you don't build a house like my parents house and expect to move. Ever. Seriously-- that house is my family's house-- it's where our family grew up. And to even think about saying goodbye to it was hit-you-in-the-stomach hard.

But they had good reasons to sell the house, sentiment aside. And they were dreading it, but they made the decision that this is what they had to do, even though there were houses in their neighborhood that had been sitting on the market for months, and that real estate was really shaky. None of us were sure the house would sell at all. This economy after all, doesn't lend itself to houses like my parent's house.

So we had once last big dinner at the house.

We got out the china and Mom fixed a big Easter dinner and we had the Harrisons over and had one huge family meal. And it was so fun. And so fitting. Easter is the holiday of new birth-- of resurrection-- and in some ways, letting go of the house was a new birth for my parents. A Hard one, but a good one.

And so, hoping for a miracle commenced. With a lot of faith based action.

There was a lot to do to get the house ready to put on the market and it required a lot of hard labor and resourcefulness. The house was challenging to keep up when there were three kids at home to do yard work, and pool work and clean, but none of us had been living at home for quite sometime. It was overwhelming to look at what had to be done, to get it market ready. And I am so proud of my parents for looking at that problem square in the eye and tackling it. Because I get anxiety just thinking about it now. It was a HUGE job.

And you know what? My parents' dear friends and even some of our ward members came to our rescue. They lovingly put in service hours helping us in a week get the house in selling condition. I was floored by their generosity. How do you say thank-you to people like that? (With a thank-you note. Which I have yet to write! There are so many!) When I think about members of the church living in a zion like society I think of things like this-- there's no other way to describe it but pure love, for which I am so grateful.

Somewhere in between all of this, in a haze, I decided I needed a day off to do nothing. So I took the Royal Wedding Day off.

I arrived to work one day after a lot of work at my parent's house, and after not sleeping well at my house, and thinking about more hairstyling drama, I just said no. No more. I need a break. So I scheduled myself sometime off, that happened to be on Royal Wedding Day. And yes, I got up at the crack of dawn, and watched the entire thing. (I don't have a DVR or Cable so that was my only option) I even got myself some McVittes Digestives and had some herbal tea while I watched the entire thing. Arthur thought I was insane.

But I loved it--every second of it. It makes me believe in fairytales and that good things happen to good people everywhere! I love her and how she's a commoner, and I love that the Prince is brave enough to get married as he is a product of quite possibly the worst marriage in history, and I loved the pomp and circumstance of it. I loved that they looked so nervous and yet so happy! And my favorite part of the ceremony was all the hymns they sung-- especially Jerusalem. I love that everyone in England knows the words. I wish we sung it in our Church! (It makes sense sort of, an apocryphal story of Christ visiting England) See this video below:

Love love love it. Oh and as a side note I'd like to point out that she and I have very similar tastes in wedding dresses. (See our blog header) I got a lot of texts that morning proclaiming that I was fashion forward!

A few days later, after looking at numerous pictures, reliving the most fairytale wedding ever, I got really great news.

The house sold. In three days. THREE DAYS!!!
I'm not the kind of person who marvels at everyday miracles-- the sun rising, birds singing, fresh air or green trees. Sometimes yes, but most of the time, no. And you know what I should. Because I think when we look at those kind of miracles in every day life, we can expect Miracles in our own lives. I did not expect this Miracle. I didn't think the house was going to sell. Not for the exact asking price, and not in three days, not in a small neighborhood where 6 other houses were on the market for several weeks with no bites.

But it was a miracle, and an answer to prayer. Many prayers in fact.

And so the hard work truly commenced-- sorting through 13 years of life. What do you keep? What do you donate? What do you toss?

I kept my american girl dolls. I kept my wedding dress. (duh.) I kept quilts and my favorite stuffed animal. But I had to get rid of a lot. And I found some really funny things in there, that my 13 or 14 or 15 year old self thought were really important.

Apparently, I went through a big rule phase. Where I gave myself lots of rules to live by. Judging by my handwriting of one piece of paper I think I was 15 or 16 at the time. Looking at this, my mom started laughing and I said, "When did I stop being so ambitious?" And then I answered my own question: college.

Somewhere in there we celebrated Mother's day.

Happy Mother's Day mom. I love you. You are the best for a million different reasons that cannot be put into words.

In the middle of sorting and donating and keeping and tossing we decided to do some nannying for some friends.

They aren't kids that need to nannied actually. They're teenage boys that need light minding. But it required not living in my own house for a week, and dealing with dogs, and allergies, and eating lots of junk food. It pays well, and for every time our friends offer, I will go and "nanny." But it was the timing that was just a bit inconvenient. At least I got to see Thor.

And in the middle of that, it was my sister-in-law's birthday.

Happy Birthday Ashley! You are the best and only sister in law I have. I appreciate your humor, your fashion sense, and your intelligence, plus a lot more that I can't think of at the moment, but truly know I appreciate.

Immediately after all of that, my husband and my sister in law graduated.

Luckily Ashley and Arthur graduated from the same college (different schools) and so we got to sit together in the Erwin center through one long graduation ceremony.

I am truly SO PROUD of Arthur for his accomplishment. Many don't know that Arthur didn't graduate high school, but dropped out in the 8th grade, got his GED, practically emancipated himself, and starting going to community college, saving for a mission, and working full time AS A TEENAGER. He beat all kinds of odds and haters and nay-sayers who said he would never get here. Well-- not only did he graduate but he did it with style! He has truly learned the value of an education and hard work and he's an inspiration to me as well as those around him.

In prep for his graduation, I decided to design and send out my husband's graduation announcements and party invites. This happened in between the Royal wedding, somewhere in between sorting through life, kinda sorta while nannying and before the actual graduation. Looking back, I don't know how I had the time to do this, but somehow I did.

I don't love graduation announcements. They're stuffy and formal and boring. So I decided to create some that reflected Arthur's personality, his major and career choice. And I had a lot of fun doing it.

I decided that it would be great to have the old intertitle that used to show before a movie started in the theater. A projectionist used to load the film into the projector, and then the numbers 8, 6, 4, 3, 2, and then "Picture Start" used to flash across the screen before the actual film began. This is called the film leader and we only see it now as a "flashback" moment in movies typically. Picture Start might be a great way to say Career Start or Life after college start.

The old film leaders often had hand painted text but after looking at quite a few I realized that they were very close to the Futura font-- which totally makes sense, from a historical stand point, where film and type meet. (For non typographical weirdos like me, Futura was designed as a purely geometric font in 1927 and is kinda sorta lumped in with the Bauhaus movement. 1927 was the start of modern movie making with the release of the jazz singer, the first "talking" picture) Inside film joke #1

On the reverse side, I used two fonts also inspired by movie making. Courier, the typewriter looking one, is the standard font which all screenplays are written in. Inside Joke #2!

The other font, the tall and skinny one, is a new font, that was inspired by the titles of Dr. Strangelove: Or how I learned to stop worrying and love the bomb, Stanly Kubrick's classic film. Inside film joke #3

Lastly, I created a small insert card for the party we decided to have. (Not pictured...my photo editing software isn't up, and I needed to blur my address and phone number...sorry!) I wanted it to feel like summer, since it was happening on memorial day weekend so I used a slightly larger version of the same font for the word celebrate, and in a slightly deeper hue from top to bottom.

In my dream world, I get to do this kind of thing every day.

Then it happened, my parents actually moved.

It was hot and tiring and overwhelming. Do you know how much crap is in a house after 13 years? Tons. Things you don't even see, ever, when it's your house, when you're living there. There was this moment that I was walking around, double and triple checking everything for stuff we had to throw away (I found a suitcase of pictures, a fake plant, some manila envelopes, some tupperware....all hiding) and I looked into what was our informal living room, and the way the light was just pouring in on the empty wood floor... it just hit me, full force. We will never be here again. This place that held such great memories, beautiful ones, funny ones, and so many friends, it will never be ours again.

And as I drove out of the driveway where I almost always run over the stupid little bushes on the left, for the last time, I cried a little. It was like saying goodbye to a faithful, well loved dog-- you know it will be happy with someone else, but you still miss it a little.

And being a crazy person, I decided to host a party for my husband not 48 hours later.

And this wasn't a casual party. I sent paper invitations for crying out loud. So what did I do? I spent two whole days baking. And cleaning. It was awesome.

The party was great. I invited people who have been great supports of Arthur over the years, friends and some new peeps to shake things up a bit. If I had it my way, I would have invited like 10 more, but I had about 20 people show up and that is maximum capacity for our apartment.

And did I take pictures? Nope. Seriously, how do you people do it? I NEVER remember to take pictures, ever, unless I'm like at home. And this party was at my home and I didn't take pictures. Thankfully Michele did.

But she didn't take pictures of the food, and I was kinda sad about that.

Have you heard about this great site called Pinterest?

Its the best. Seriously. You "pin" things to boards that you like visually and you share it with friends. Almost all of the recipes I used for the party came from pinterest.

Such as these:

These peanut butter and pretzels dipped in chocolate were the runaway hit of the party. Recipe here.

These cupcakes were a bit of a disappointment, even though I followed the recipe to the letter. What was even more maddening was that I took them the next day to another grad party, and told an acquaintance that they were a bit disappointing (I thought the cake was kinda dry. The frosting--divine!) and I didn't know what I did wrong and she proceeded to tell me what I should do next time. Thanks for your uninvited advice. I really wanted that. I feel even more like a loser with my cupcakes. Insert inappropriate words and mean thoughts. Recipe here.

These cookies tasted like heaven and air. Recipe here.

This was the easiest dessert ever, and most everyone loved it. Recipe here.

This lemonade was not so easy to make, but tasty although a bit tart. I would make it again provided I had more time, and a juicer, and less people. Recipe here.

All of these I found on pinterest! I love the site. If you want an invite, let me know! Get to pinning!

And now it is June.
I've already laid out by the pool (for very short intervals, natch), seen some great movies (Thor, X-men, and moooore), celebrated my dad's birthday (happy birthday dad!), but it is very shortly Arthur's birthday (I'm in panic mode. Seriously.) and then our Wedding Anniversary. And then my brother's birthday. Oh and Father's Day too. Heaven help me.

It doesn't stop does it? Nope, it doesn't. And you know what-- I told you this post was a whole lot of "Wow."

Art in the home

2011-04-18T22:06:00.000-05:00

Just thought I'd throw a blog post out here about art in the home, because truthfully, I'm always wondering what I should stick on the wall, and I think what other people stick on the walls of their home is fascinating.

Arthur and I are both very lucky to have artist parents, and so quite a few of our walls are covered with art that they've done: sadly, neither of us picked up the artist gene. I sincerely wish we did-- maybe one of us in the future can find some time to refine our fine art skills.

As for now, I'm always looking for something to stick on the wall that is both beautiful and affordable. I'm slowly growing tired of my canvas'd ikea frame creations-- but they'll have to do for now.

Recently however, I found the website, 20x200 that does limited edition affordable prints-- and their collection is quite broad. Naturally, I fell in love with this:

BG-0004, Bert Teunissen
This image comes directly from the website 20x200.com
It is still available for purchase in a variety of sizes.

In so many ways it just hit home-- it reminded me of the miles I traveled to and from school during semesters, with my brothers, and the aching beauty you can find out west. For me, it was those times that I bonded the most with my brothers, and made strong resolutions about where I was going and what I was doing with my life.

So I bought it. And I told Arthur he had to like it too! Thankfully, he likes it as well.

And here it sits. It hasn't found a home on a wall yet, and quite frankly, I don't think it's going to. I like it leaning up against the wall there. Our "entry" table was too crowded, and our "mantle" doesn't have enough space either. So there it sits, being lovely.

One of the things I loved about the home I grew up in was that my parents were happy to put lots of art on the walls, and that art was often very gospel centered. Plus, especially when I was young, they took great strides to make sure us kids experienced art a lot-- we got to sketch with dad if he was sketching, and one of my favorite things to do as a kid was to go to an art museum (now that I think about it, maybe I was a bit different than the average kid...)

What I'm really trying to say, is that I'm an art snob to some degree-- especially when it comes to gospel centered art. Mormons have an amazing history of art, and if you're Mormon and you don't know a lot about what our people have striven to create-- please do yourself a favor and learn about it! We have a beautiful history that deserves to be on our walls in our homes and as a people we've been called to create the best the world has to offer.

So, what I'm really saying-- is that I'm really picky about gospel art, and especially pictures of the Savior. I won't lie-- most art depicting the life and times of the Savior that can be found in Mormon homes makes me gag. To me, nothing about the Savior's life was ordinary and his life was so beautiful, and so the art should in someway reflect that-- it shouldn't be ordinary in any way and it should be beautiful in a way that makes you pause and consider the art, the medium of the work itself, the manner in which it was created as well as the subject. And I've always felt that the Savior's life was so raw and so powerful that art depicting his life should be that way too-- I can't stand art (in general) that doesn't challenge you as a viewer.

So that being said I was pleased as punch to find out that I could get (somewhat) affordable prints or giclees of the following. I want these on my walls!

Touch me Not, Minerva Teichert, 1939
Image courtesy of BYU Museum of Art

Christ in a Red Robe, Minerva Teichert
Image courtesy of BYU Museum of Art

Every Knee Shall Bow, J. Kirk Richards
Image courtesy of jkirkrichards.com

Christ Among the Lepers, J. Kirk Richards
Image courtesy of jkirkrichards.com

J. Kirk Richards is my favorite living Mormon Artist. I already own two of his works:

Cherubim and a flaming sword, J. Kirk Richards
Image courtesy of jkirkrichards.com

I bought this print when I was like 15 or 16. I still love it. It hangs on my wall in a little gold frame.

The Last Supper, J. Kirk Richards
Image courtesy of jkirkrichards.com

This one was given to me by my mother a few years ago. I have yet to frame it, because I need to get it custom framed (it's an awkward, non-standard size), and because I'm not sure where to put it. Does it belong in the dining room or kitchen, because The Last Supper, is of course, a meal at it's basic level? Or does it belong somewhere else? Anyone have any suggestions as to where this print would be most appropriate?

What are some of your favorite pieces of art? What do you hang on the wall? What would you like to put in your home?

SXSW

2011-04-18T11:11:00.000-05:00

Mid March in Austin is always a crazy time because one of the country's biggest tech/music/film festivals goes on for about a week and a half. Every year I swear it gets bigger, and every year I swear I'm gonna go but, then I remember that I am not a hipster, and that I have a life to attend to.

Arthur however, had a great time this year attending dorkbot, promoting a future tv show about a competitive food eater, and working with a production company that does work for VEVO-- the music video people. Working that gig had some serious perks like attending the closing show which featured kanye west, jay-z, John legend and more. It's a shame the show was wasted on him, someone who knows very little about hip-hop!

photo by daniel boczarski, from hypetrak.com

He chronicled all of this over at his blog which you can check out here:

http://www.actlab.utexas.edu/~kingofthesofas/?p=398

At the end of the week and a half let's just say I was thrilled to get my husband back. No more sleepless nights!

A place of my own

2011-02-17T22:43:00.000-06:00

As part of my effort to accomplish one helluva large goal this year, I decided it was high time to get myself a place where I can write. I knew from past experience that it needed to be a desktop computer (I cannot write on a laptop to save my life, no idea why) and it needed to be mine: one where it wouldn't be used for husband purposes or entertainment purposes.

Luckily I have an awesome husband who can build a computer for dang cheap.

Behold!

The cube! And it's RED!

Just to brag about it's smallness... that depth is not even a foot. I can have my small space, a computer, and eat it too!

Overall: fantastic and small and exactly what I need. I've already done some writing. (Yessssssssssss.)

Valentine's Day

2011-02-17T22:32:00.001-06:00

In our quiet way, this is what we did for the day of looooove:

Our tradition: cupcakes from Hey Cupcake! We get really excited about them.

And our celebration?? We busted out our china and made a nice dinner, complete with some martenelli's. Loverly.

Cold Weather!

2011-02-17T22:26:00.000-06:00

It was inevitable that we would get cold here sometime during the winter months. It was uncomfortable, and at the same time, I was overwhelmingly grateful, like on the morning that I took this:

Grateful that is, that I don't live in a place where it's cold very often. I'd go cuckoo in a colder clime like the Pootah. (Utah!)

But every once and awhile, cold is a little fun.

I mean, how many more snow days will I really experience? Probably not many.

But it does give me the opportunity to make things like Baked Potato Soup. It was delish, and if you click on this link, you can get much better photos, and a tantalizing recipe. Still, I felt like it was a gastronomic feat, and deserved a few photos.

Leeks! I never get to use them, and they're so tasty. And even though this recipe uses a WHOLE head of garlic, it's not overwhelmingly garlic-y. (Now, aren't you intrigued???)

Po-tay-toes. Lots of 'em.

Step one. Can't remember it, but it was easy.

Step two. Took the longest, but it was worth it because it filled the house with the most aromatic delight you could possibly imagine.

Potatoes added. This took a little while, and I had to puree some of it afterwards o get a smoother texture.

I would have taken a better picture, but this was after I had scarfed a whole bowl, and then realized I should have taken a pic for the end result. It was amazing.

The $1000 laundry load.

2011-01-25T21:49:00.000-06:00

Or so it seemed at first.

When Arthur and I first got married, we briefly lived in an overpriced apartment that came with a washer and dryer. No big deal.

Then we moved to our current apartment, but alas, it didn't come with washer & dryer.

To the rescue came our friend Rodd. His parents departed on a mission to Europe, serving as doctors for all of the LDS missionaries in western Europe. Rodd moved into his parents' condo, and had no use for his washer/dryer, other than to let them sit in storage.

Kindly, he let us borrow his set. Until now. Rodd's parents have returned, he's moving out of their condo and he needs them back.

And so we made the first major adult purchase in our married lives: a washer/dryer set. We've also bought a used car, but somehow this seemed bigger. Maybe it was bigger to me. We debated back and forth on the type of washer/dryer to get, where to get it, etc. I spent a Friday night intensely studying washer/dryers at various home improvement stores. We bought new style front loaders, although the most basic you could buy. It seemed like a good compromise-- new technology that we could depend on for quite a few years to come, but without all the bells and whistles that the more expensive models came with, and that we could do without. After all, with front loaders, we were already spending $200 - $300 more per unit than we would on a standard set.

They finally arrived yesterday. I got stuck between the wall and the dryer trying to install them. After a little while (read: 3 hours without husband assistance, 30 minutes with his assistance) they were ready for the first load. Cynically, I thought, "Here goes the most expensive load of laundry ever."

I nearly watched the whole thing. I was awestruck. It's SO much quieter than our last set. It hardly used any water. It spins at like supersonic speeds! I was thrilled to open the dryer and find perfectly clean, fluffy, not over-dried, just right clothing. I did another load this morning of towels, and came home this afternoon to pull them out of the dryer, and they were still fluffy and soft!

Worth every penny my friends-- I've happily done several loads of laundry-- and I'm the type of person who waits and waits and waits until I absolutely have to wash laundry because you might be without clothes the next morning-- I hate laundry that much.

Something tells me, I don't hate laundry anymore. Now if only I had something that would do all the folding...

Farewell Miss Holtz

2011-01-25T21:11:00.000-06:00

On Saturday we got together to celebrate Dorothy as a bachlorette.

She is a beautiful bride.

And she was a fantastic bachlorette!

I was actually thrilled to go out with the girls-- Amy and I were talking to and from our various activities and we both decided that girl time was overly essential. Its one of the things I've missed the most since moving back home-- because most of my girlfriends live out west.

But you know, I'm on my way to getting some solid friendships here. For example, I thoroughly enjoyed dinner conversation with these two ladies here.

The night included dinner, laser tag and-- dancing. I haven't been dancing at a club since well, college. It was pretty fun.

favorite pic of the evening!

Letting our true colors show!

In honor of the nasty weather...

2011-01-18T17:57:00.000-06:00

... a little beauty.

I thought they were the most gorgeous shade of purple.

The quite sad thing about tulips is, you rarely see the inside-- that burst of color!

I thought they were appropriate, given my house looks so bland, post-christmas.

This is a fuzzy picture. Apologies. But I wanted to show off the lovely painting my dad gave us for Christmas. I like it leaning there. Feels nice.

Merry Christmas and all that jazz...

2011-01-15T21:44:00.000-06:00

I know the title sounds incredibly sarcastic, but the truth is, I had a terrible time letting go of this past Christmas season. Perhaps it was because it happened so fast, or that we had so much going on. At any rate, I'm just now getting over Christmas. Its 2011. Time to look forward to a new holiday, something to gear up to. Maybe I should throw a Valentine's Day Party. Is that cool? Do people do that? How can I decorate without drowning myself in pink, red and hearts all over? hmmmm.

Here's some photos of our Christmas though:

I lucked out. He's so handsome.

Yummy Yummy Yummy.

Aren't they cute?

Dad's reaction is PRICELESS. Exhibit A) What's this?

Exhibit B) A New PHONE????

I have to hand it to Ashley and Harrison for greatest surprise gift ever. They got a brand new blackberry for my Dad that had been refurbished-- for get this-- $10! His old phone was in dire need of replacing and this did the trick.

Mom holding her fun gift: a new shuffle ipod. (Not a touch shuffle. I am not that rich.) She does however groove around the house with her white earbuds in, oblivious to you if you're trying to talk to her. It's awesome.

More yummy yummy yummy. Ashley made lemon meringue pie and we all loved it!

Sitting around, shooting the breeze.

Classic Ian.

This is one way to do Christmas cheer

2010-12-17T08:07:00.000-06:00

Yes, that is a Christmas tree perched a top an SUV. It's even got Christmas lights that are working. I feel like this is an appropriate time to quote my favorite character from 30 rock, Jack Donaghey who would feel a kinship with SUV Christmas Tree man, "Only terrorists say Happy Holidays. Merry Christmas."

By Candlelight....

2010-12-17T08:04:00.000-06:00

everything is supposed to be more romantic, right?

Behold:

Not using the toilet. If you ever had musings on how the mood would be by effectively peeing in the dark-- let me enlighten you: it's creepy. There's a scene in the movie, Elizabeth, which is about Queen Elizabeth the 1st, and at one point, all of the people who oppose her and make her life miserable in court are killed as they go about their business everyday. One of them is on the toilet at the time. I always thought-- Sheesh, that was awful-- they couldn't have waited, like a minute or two?
No. I understand why. After peeing in the dark, you should know that is this is the most vulnerable place you could possibly be. Nothing could stop anyone from harming you. You're peeing, for goodness sake. It's all you've got on your mind. You aren't thinking a medievil assassin is lurking behind the shower curtain.

The lights are back on now, and we're safe using the toilet, fyi.

(For the record, they inexplicably went off--everything electrical in our bathroom just stopped working. I had to call maintenance, and they took their dear sweet time getting here.)

O Christmas tree!

2010-12-13T23:43:00.000-06:00

It is that time of year again. Christmas. Joyous!

There may not be presents under the tree this year, but that's because we gave ourselves a Wii. And we're playing with it already. It was an easy way to cap spending on Christmas this year. One gift, one purchase. Loads of fun.

One of my favorite things about Christmas in my home growing up, was that my mom always had our table set in Christmas plates, with special napkins and a special tablecloth. We ate with those plates the entire month of December. This year, I decided that it was time to invest in some Christmas tableware for the same reasons-- it really makes it feel like Christmas, and that every meal is special when you come home to a table that is fancy and already set. (Although I have yet to find goblets that go with the whole table. The Kate Spade drinking goblets that go with our china really don't match, they're too dainty. I was thinking something clear with big heavy cuts in thicker glass. Anyone have any suggestions?) A special shout out to my friend Krystle who was more than happy to give me (although I heartily protested) her red chargers.

But I did have to do a new centerpiece-- the simple white candle has moved to the bathroom. And so I made the above tree by following this really easy tutorial that I marked a couple of months ago in the blogs I read. It was so simple that I assembled it on a sunday afternoon, while still combating the aftereffects of some benadryl (generally cantankerous mood, sullen stares at one or more family members at any given time, barbed half-mumbled sentences... it was a pretty sight).

The view over all of our dining nook. Merry Merry Merry.

I also might add that in efforts to eventually use my desk and office space, I got around to buying a chair, at the good old Ikea, and brought it home, and amongst all this Christmas splendor, screamed like a Scandinavian power-lifter, attempting to "easily snap in" the plastic chair to the metal base. Arthur was lost in the space time continuum gap known as "finals week," otherwise I would have put his manly man muscles to work. It struck me as particularly funny. Nevertheless, please hold me to my purchasing power, and anytime you see me, ask me if my butt has been sitting in my Scandinavian power-lifting chair. That is the goal-- because when I sit in the chair, I should be writing my little heart out.

Hold me to it blog friends, hold me to it.

New Callings!

2010-12-13T22:56:00.000-06:00

Well, the year is over, and we've changed callings!

For our non-mormon friends, a calling is a responsibility within a mormon congregation that typically takes place on Sunday or during the week. Since there are no paid clergy in the mormon church, most mormons happily volunteer for callings and often get assigned callings by the congregation's leadership that they might find challenging or difficult, or in some cases, easy and enjoyable. The idea is to serve others in the congregation and develop new skills in areas where you might not be so comfortable. Most of the time it means teaching a sunday school class on sunday.

Which is what we've been doing all year-- except our sunday school class was made up of children from ages 18 months to 3 years. In other words, it was about a five minute lesson and 1 hour 55 minutes of managing toys, potty breaks and learning baby talk. I won't lie-- it was hard. In July, I thought December would never come! Most callings don't have a time limit on them-- you serve until a different calling becomes available and your time and talents might be used better elsewhere. Uniquely, our congregation gave us a promise when we agreed to teach Nursery, that we would only serve for 1 year. How smart! I've never looked so forward to the new year!

But I have to say, I will miss it just a little. We've become friends with our little people-- they have such distinct personalities and they are really fun. I was going to post some pictures and a hilarious video from our last day-- but then I realized that they are not my children, and I don't have the right to post their images on the internet. :(

Our new callings? Our congregation's leadership seems determined to keep us together (I'm not complaining at all!)-- Arthur and I will be jointly serving as the young single adult advisors. Basically we'll be teaching a sunday school class aimed at young single church members in our congregation from ages 18 to 30.

Rock on, rock on.

Gratitude

2010-11-25T20:52:00.000-06:00

For the beauty of the earth,

For the beauty of the skies,

For the love which from our birth

Over and around us lies,

Lord of all, to thee we raise

This our grateful hymn of praise.

For the beauty of each hour

Of the day and of the night,

Hill and vale, and tree and flower,

Sun and moon and stars of light,

Lord of all, to thee we raise

This our grateful hymn of praise.

For the joy of human love,

Brother, sister, parent, child,

Friends on earth, and friends above,

Pleasures pure and undefiled,

Lord of all, to thee we raise

This our grateful hymn of praise.

We can't count our blessings enough... we have too much! Happy Thanksgiving!

Hook 'em.

2010-11-25T20:34:00.001-06:00

Well, it hasn't been the best of years for "our" team, but still it was fun.

The good thing... it's not over quite yet. Right now it's half time and the score is tied. Hook 'em-- BEAT those AGGIES!

Happy Birthday IAN!

2010-11-15T18:09:00.000-06:00

Happy Belated Birthday Ian!

Your birthday may have been in September, but that doesn't change the fact that you are 19 or cool.

I already did a tribute to Ian earlier this year....

so I feel its a little redundant to go over the same points.

Anyway, Happy Birthday!!

Happy Birthday Mom!

2010-11-08T17:27:00.000-06:00

Actually, Happy Birthday in august. Because that is when my mother's birthday is.... in my defense, we were really busy that weekend, marrying my brother off.

But my mom is great. Here are some things you might not know about her:

My mom is intensely creative. Give her some fabric and she will make something, sometimes, without use of a sewing machine.

My mom is kind. She has a gentle outlook on life.

My mom is really funny, especially when she is tired. She makes smiles worth having.

Happy Birthday Mom! (Belated on my blog, I know) I love you!

Families are together forever...

2010-10-30T14:53:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, we watched as our friends buried their twin baby girls, Sierra and Faith, who were within a week of beginning life here on Earth. It was exceptionally heart breaking to watch two parents bury children they never got to know. Our hearts go out to Michael and Kasey right now, and their three older children.

I was feeling particularly down after the service, even though we had planned to go to the temple last night anyway. I was sad the entire way down to the temple, until the moment I sat down in the temple session. After that I felt my spirits lift a little (and it helped that I got to sit next to my friend Erika too). By the time I got to the celestial room, I felt so much better. Its one thing to say you know that families can be forever together, and another all together to feel the power and reverence behind those covenants we make to actually become together forever.

"Part of the process of reaching into the eternities comes when we must deal with the experience called death. This life is hollow without a belief in and an understanding of immortality. Said Paul, “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.”¹¹ The Atonement and the Resurrection of the Savior are the grand keys that open the locks of immortality. The greatest fulfillment of these blessings, if we are worthy, comes to us in the holy temples of God. Within their sacred walls, those who hold the power and authority bind in heaven that which is bound in earth." President James E. Faust.

I said to my dad yesterday, "How can words about living together forever take away the sting? It just doesn't seem adequate enough." His answer surprised me, "It can't away the sting. Those words aren't adequate enough. They are words. True peace comes from hope in the Savior, hope in His atonement and hope in the resurrection."

I felt a lot better after contemplating these things in the temple. Many times I find myself at work, or out with friends and I find myself absolutely flummoxed as to how they can find meaning in life without the gospel of Jesus Christ. I would be an absolute wreck of a human being without knowing who my Savior is, or what He has done for me. While I'm devastated for our friends' loss of their children, I find myself thanking Heavenly Father that they have the gospel, that they have temple covenants and that they know their Savior.

We're alive...

2010-10-22T20:04:00.002-05:00

...promise. We're just busy as heck. And for that I'm sorry. Someday soon you'll get an update, with pictures and lots of words that will be great.

For the beauty of the earth...

2010-09-28T21:23:00.000-05:00

it's been outrageously beautiful the past couple of days here in the ATX. I was struck by how lovely everything around me truly is, as I was going to the grocery store. These photos may be pedestrian, but I hope they convey the richness of the blue sky, the sparkling sunlight, and the soft greens that make the world sing.

Satisfaction

2010-09-26T00:51:00.000-05:00

It's a darn tootin great day when you can go from this:

mass chaos, disorder, plain laziness...

to this:

Orderly, can-find-it-got-a-place-for-it-finally-using-those-hat-boxes organized. WHEW!

Here's the thing...

2010-09-23T12:07:00.000-05:00

Preface: this is a rant. I've been medicated for a cold in the past 24 hours, and so don't take anything I say here seriously.

I've had this on my mind for a few months, so I think I'm finally gonna share:

College was not what it was cracked up to be.

Eeeek! I know, I said it. Give me 30 lashes, or what have you. I understand that my sentiments are not shared by the general populace, and that makes me weird. Get over it, I've been weird for awhile, and I'm not gonna change anytime soon.

Here's my reasoning behind taking the college experience down by a few notches:

-Unrealistic expectations. Between hearing rosy glossed over memories from parents, seeing how "awesome" college is in the television/film arena, and in my case, getting spoonfuls of what is supposed to happen in college from my cultural background (find the love of your life by 21, get married and have babies before graduation)-- all of that just set up for loads of disappointment. My university was not the same one my parents attended 20 years earlier. It in no way represents any university found in a tv series or a movie. And those cultural expectations? That happens to maybe 10% of the people who went to the same university I did. Lemme tell you, it's weird when the things that your culture says are supposed to happen to you on a certain time frame don't happen on that time frame.

-My college years were miserable. Don't get me wrong, I met great people, I had a fantastic education, and on the whole I came out a better person. But you couldn't pay me to go back and do it again. I dealt with more outside stress, more worry, more anxiety than a person my age really should have had to. You know how people look back and wistfully remember the great times in college? I won't. My college years were defined by anxiety, depression, worry. The best lesson I learned in college (and the one I'm most grateful for) is how to get out of bed, how to keep going and how to move past all the bad stuff going on in life, and get things done.

--You know how I know college wasn't what it was cracked up to be? Life after college! I can't tell you how much I've loved my life after college-- it's been great. I joined an LDS singles group that was much more healthy in terms of how young LDS adults dated and courted one another. I found the love of my life and married him. I've been able to really strengthen my family as an adult living nearby, and have countless opportunities to serve. I live in a ward with great people, who are incredibly understanding of different people in different phases of life. I have a job where I get the opportunity to live my standards and share the gospel all the time.

I think my biggest criticism of the college experience, is that some look back at college and go "this was the best time of my life, and my friends are the best from college, and it was so great and it can never get any better." How can you say that? Shouldn't the next phase of life just get better? Shouldn't we be aiming to improve on our circumstances, to live more outside of ourselves, to serve others, to love more, to live the gospel with greater enthusiasm-- in other words-- to live life as our Father in Heaven would want us to live it-- better?

How can we do that if we hold on to a time and idealize it as the "best" when really the best is yet to be?

ok, I think I've made my point. end rant.

New Blog

2010-09-10T08:13:00.000-05:00

I'm not abandoning this blog, but starting a hobby blog with some friends. Since it's essentially a recipe exchange, I thought I'd open it up to all my friends everywhere-- all the deets explaining how it works are on the blog, on the second tab. I'm really excited about it, and hope it takes off!

http://texasdinnerfeast.blogspot.com

best weekend EVAR!

2010-09-07T18:28:00.000-05:00

No seriously, it was one of the best weekends we've had in quite some time.

We got invited to go camping. I can honestly say, I wasn't that excited about it.

But I was wrong. Soooo wrong. Because with a little cool weather, this is what greeted us:

Gorgeous. I was dumbfounded. Camping here didn't seem like it would be a possibility in Texas. We were invited for the whole weekend, but we couldn't get subs for nursery, so we only went down friday and saturday. It was so much fun, even the simple things like playing the guitar, cooking over the fire, and just staying up late and talking, knowing that the only thing to do in the morning was sleep in!

Round the campfire with the girls.

Amy, Kjersti, Me, Amara, Michele and Rhe. Oddly enough, everyone except Kjersti (and Amara of course) went to girls camp together as youth. I would have never guessed that 10 years later, we'd still be friends, and that we would still be camping together.

This is the view from the top of that hill in the first picture. Awesome. The hike reminded me of how out of shape I am. But the view was well worth it.

As my sister in law would say "PRESH"

On the way down the hike, we made a stop in a very nice cool cave, that you kind of had to shimmy through the entire way. This was the entrance.

This is Michele being a cave monster. Her husband is afraid of caves. Yup. Clearly, she thinks its worth mocking, and I'm kind of glad she did, because we now have this picture.

In front of me.... hubby dearest.

Behind me, Michele and Amy. Goobers.

Stud Muffin.

Amy's husband Steve, who was our fearless leader.

Freaking out in the cave. (I look awful, but it's a funny pic)

Hiking down-- way easier than going up!

Sadly, I have no more pictures for the rest of the weekend. We had a fantastic time swimming in that river, and then nice and refreshed, taking off for the ride home. I totally slept the whole way.

Then monday, we hung out with our friends Rawle and Krystelle at Barton Springs. No pics there either. Lame.

We ended up having dessert at the Goodalls that night with the family and watching the Bosie State vs. Virginia Tech game.

What did I tell you? Perfect weekend. How could you cram in more friends, more fun, more excitement? Answer: You can't. Sorry, we win. :)

Lastly, I'd like to throw out a shout out to Kjersti and Nate who made the whole weekend possible. Thank-you! And just for you, a little video. (I'm still figuring out my new phone, so the video wasn't as high quality as I wanted it to be... but you get the idea)

The state of bedding today...

2010-09-01T08:36:00.000-05:00

While browsing around last night, looking for new pillow shams (ours are in a sad state, and no one ever told me that in marriage, your husband would insist on strange things like sleeping on the pillow shams) I came across a wide variety of bedding, most of which made my eyes want to leave their sockets and hit the ground seeking shelter.

For example:

Romantic isn't it? But on closer inspection:

Why yes, someone has sewn toilet paper into bows on a duvet. This is the kind of thing I'd pay $268.00 for.

I was going to show you some more hideous bedding like this one, that I swear my mother had circa 1990.

Or this one, that any self-respecting man would sleep in.

But this one, takes the cake. Because what person wouldn't want a picture of a girl on their bed?

Classy, just classy.

Football!

2010-08-29T11:52:00.000-05:00

It comes every year, and it never ceases to amaze me. This year the battle of the lakes played out on the University of Texas' field, in front of 30,000 fans.

This was just as the game was starting.

Hello Huge-ness!

We had a blast with family members, ward members, friends from the community and our new neighbors/friends/ward members Krystelle and Rawle. And Lake Travis continued their winning streak with their 47th consecutive win, which you can read all about right here. (It's kinda a big deal)

Marriage....

2010-08-29T11:40:00.000-05:00

It was what brought us together, on August 14th. My brother Harrison got married to sweet Ashley, and it was a pretty wonderful day.

I'm not such a great photographer. The happy couple kept moving! They are beautiful and sweet though!

Later on, after the ring ceremony, before the reception.

You might notice that Arthur and I are conspicuously absent from all of these photos. We were entertaining the guests, and no one noticed us missing until half of the photos had already been taken. :(

Beautiful no?

You might also notice that Ashley is wearing two different dresses at different points in the day.

This is not a diva move. Ashley was taking her bridals the day before the wedding and the zipper broke. As in she couldn't get out of her dress. Luckily, the tailor across the street was able to get her out of it, and said she could have it done by 2 pm the next day-- in time for the reception but not the sealing.

Ashley is such a trooper. I would have cried, melted down, thrown a fit, and made someone stay up all night and fix it. Ashley calmly called a good friend, and that wonderful good friend let her wear her wedding dress to the temple.

Good thing good friends come in your exact same size, and with a wedding dress waiting to boot. Kasey did save the day. :)

things i think about

2010-08-03T22:29:00.000-05:00

I'm a little bit bored tonight, and the internet is proving uninteresting, so I thought I'd write about the kinds of things that float around in my head all day long-- the stuff I find interesting that I want to learn more about, or see more of, or make more of.

I think about....

future home.

This is kind of a broad category. Since Arthur and I have no idea where we'll be in a year, probably either Austin or LA, (but let's face it, the possibilities are wide open) I often try and imagine our future house. It could be small and cottage-y or small and boxy or a duplex. How many rooms will it have? Will there be a baby's room? Since I read a lot of design blogs, I star my favorites, usually with pictures I like, as though to say, "File for later-- good idea." It makes me feel a lot better about the future when I can picture things as though they might be. Like a baby's room-- got that one figured out completely. Unisex. No pink, no blue. Zebra throw on the floor. White as the primary color, sea green as the second color and with a pop of mandarin orange as the accent color. See? Not so scary, no unknown.

Is it good design?

This stems from being a designer's daughter. My father is constantly remarking about the quality of design of an object or thing. Usually, sports equipment gets a remark like, "Nifty design, huh?" (which means he thinks it's good design) and computer related items (especially printers) get remarks like, "This is just unparalleled BAD design." Good design has the hallmarks of being easy to use, aesthetically pleasing, and purposeful. Bad design is characterized by redundancy in usage, jarring or flat out ugly to the eye, and overwhelmingly frustrating to use. So why do I think about this all the time? Everything falls into either/or--good design or bad design. And while it's easy to look at an object and judge it's good or bad design, the judgement can move beyond objects. For example, my boss' method of doing Laundry is good design. It's a smart organizational system-- efficient, purposeful. (2 laundry baskets 1 clean, 1 dirty. 1 load of laundry every day, first thing in the morning. By the time you leave the house, clean dry clothes exit the dryer to be folded in clean laundry basket. There are never clothes on floors or beds, clean or dirty, there are never unfolded clothes.) Arthur and I's office is entirely bad design. There's too much going on in one room, a shortage of storage and no plan to accommodate new stuff. Bad design. Thus, I'm always trying to reorganize my life to fall into the "good design" category. Even if I'm doing something mundane, I always try to improve on my usage of time. Like now-- while blogging, I could be running the dishwasher. Much more efficient. brb.

The wants vs. needs game-- to do style.

Now that I work full time, I don't have 2 plus hours to clean up the house every day. Before, I would just suck it up and clean, and do chores and be done with it. But now, I have to balance errands and chores with lesiure in a limited amount of time. I can't just suck it up and do it all at once--because I just won't do it. There has to be incentive. So, I create a game of if/thens. If I put all the items away in the bathroom, then I can paint my toe nails. If I scrub down the counters, then I can read my blogs. If I vacuum the floors, then I can watch a movie. There always has to be a reward for doing the work. You can go ahead and say it-- I am five years old.

The story.

When I was unemployed, I made several references to writing something. I wasn't lying-- I have a massive, huge, epic story in my head. It's been percolating in my brain for months. Sometimes I ignore it for awhile and it comes back to me in dreams, in visions of the places in the story, in the sounds and even the smells and textures of the beginning. It is a very real place, with real characters. The problem is, the characters aren't fully formed yet. It's like they have shells, but they're hollow on the inside. I know who they are, and what they represent, but their voices, they aren't talking yet. Maybe my fellow writers will understand-- but the characters just aren't talking yet. I've never had this problem with my writing before-- if anything strong, distinct and different voices from my characters are my strength. And they've always just come. Maybe it's because I haven't done a lot of writing in a long time, but when I write, they all sound like me. Its devastating. I feel like it undermines all of my writing. Any tips or suggestions on how to move past this?

Well....those aren't all the things I think about, just some. Glad to give you an inside look to my head.

Home Improvement

2010-07-29T21:25:00.000-05:00

Remember when I had that big internal debate about paint?

Well, I did it. While ago too.

And I looooove it!

The flash may drown out the contrast, but the recessed wall there is a slightly lighter shade than the rest of the wall.

And it's the same shade as the one in our dining room:

Still love it. Lessons learned:

Painting with two people makes things a lot easier.
Plastic drop clothes aren't that great. Buy the canvas ones.
Martha Stewart Paint isn't the greatest. 2 coats were needed on every surface painted, the colors looked slightly more blue when finished then when on the wall as a sample, and I had to go back to buy more, because again, the coverage wasn't fantastic.
Paint makes everything look awesome.

Maybe a few of you noticed that awesome little sofa table in our living room. Kudos for such a keen eye. A few weeks after I finished painting, and after a looong hard week, I was perusing craigslist on a slow Saturday at work, when I came across this beauty:

Antique. English. Wood. Marble top. 80 smack-a-roos. I was all over this and fast! I kid you not, I have been picturing a table like this in my mind's eye since the minute we moved in here. I was over joyed to find it.

And while Arthur liked it the way it was, you might have noticed that I really don't care for brown.

To the Paint!!!

This was after 2 coats of Behr paint and primer in one, in the non mixed, white as white can be semi-gloss. I paused there and thought that maybe I wanted to keep it there. You know, "rustic."

And then I remembered that I don't do shabby-chic/things that are cutesy/anything with a saying on it and that my heart stops for contemporary and modern design.

So I continued to paint. And behold:

Le project fini!

I will admit, I couldn't stop staring at it for like, the first few days.

It's a beauty.

And you know what my favorite thing about it is? The handles. They're not the originals, as I discovered when I took them off to paint, and saw the original imprints themselves...but I love them just the same. They're like dimples on a baby's face. How can you not say, "That handle is adorable." I know I can't.

One more, just to get the overall effect.

Now I'm looking for a lamp. Something big. Bold. Funky. Maybe like this:

Expensive West Elm Lamp. Figures.

Thoughts? Suggestions? Places to get a badass cheap lamp? Do tell.

Oh, and we painted our coffee table blue. Bright friggin blue. I like it! No one else has said anything yet, but you know, I don't care. I'm the only person I know with a blue coffee table.

Surprise!

2010-07-26T15:43:00.000-05:00

So, I might have mentioned that my parents both turn 50 this summer. Unfortunately for them, both of their birthdays fall on other important family events-- Ian graduated on my dad's birthday, and Harrison will get married on my mom's.

So, I decided to throw them a surprise party NOT on either of their birthdays to show them a little love. Because 50 is a big deal. And you shouldn't have to share it with someone's graduation or wedding.

It turned out great, and I was very fortunate to have our good family friends the Hazens loan out their house to host. Because my apartment will not hold more than 10 peeps.

Mom's Initial Reaction

Out of focus, but this is a better surprise face.

This is my Dad lighting the two candles on their cake with the coolest lighter EVER-- it's shaped like an automatic weapon. Only at the Hazen's.

The Birthday Kiddos.

And I have to brag on myself for just a minute. I really wanted to send out a cool invitation...so I designed one myself, using Adobe Illustrator. This is how it turned out.

I'm super proud. I'd like to take an Illustrator class to further my skills because this was just plain fun.

In the past week...

2010-07-21T19:27:00.000-05:00

I've done the following:

*transformed my hair with something called a Brazilian Blowout, in a quick 5 hours, on my day off.
*become really excited about meeting the new young couple in our ward, and failed to introduce myself twice. (Dang Nursery!)
*Nearly collapsed in Nursery out of exhaustion.
*Driven around town to repair Arthur's glasses which snapped after a child head-butted him, in Nursery.
*Become more familiar with the bathrooms in my life, since I've caught a stomach bug that really doesn't sit well after every meal. So fun.
*Worked a full and crazy week, and felt drained by the end of every day.
*Lived out of a suitcase, back and forth between my home, my parent's home and the house where we are pet sitting.
*Not slept in my own bed for over a week.
*Gotten up at 2 and 4 am on various nights to let the puppy pee. So fun.
*Spent evenings reading, hanging out with family or taking late afternoon naps while Arthur is on set.
*Threw my parents a surprise party with about 30 guests.
*Excessively lied to successfully surprise parents.
*Spent one day at my own home, which felt like vacation, despite needing to desperately be cleaned.
*Successfully picked out a pattern for a dress to wear to brother's wedding.
*Unsuccessfully have found fabric to make said dress out of.

Exhaustion has set in. T-minus 2 days till I can go home, and sleep in my own bed. T-minus 2 weeks until Arthur stops filming. T-minus 2 weeks and some change until wedding madness can be over.

So, I think I get my life back in like 3 weeks.

Harrison's Birthday

2010-07-12T17:56:00.000-05:00

My brother also celebrated a birthday not too long ago. He's 22 now. Here are some things I enjoy about him:

well.....gee... there's something....

just kidding.

Harrison is really great at:

motivating us to do the right things. he's a pusher-- and I mean that in a good way. Ian and I would be less accomplished individuals without him.

dedication. Harrison does things, and does them well, even if they're hard. I still think he has a tapeworm, that I have lovingly decided to call Ed, that helps him keep so skinny, but until I'm proven correctly, let's just say that his workout regimen, while not as intense as my father's, is inspiring.

his cute fiancée. I like her as much as, (if not perhaps more some days) than him. She's a major plus. Cute new sister! Woo!

Being cool. Harrison has been cool since he was inside the womb. Seriously, I know, I went to school with him. Other people would tell me, "Oh you're Harrison's sister." And he went by just Harrison. There was no need to clarify whom they were talking about. I recognize that the cool factor is a gift, as sometimes he keeps the rest of his family members in the cool zone, by correcting us on our uncool ways. Someone has to do it, so it might as well be him.

His quirky sense of humor. I'm starting to think more and more that I wasn't nearly as blessed with the humor gene since Harrison got home from his mission. He's for sure funny-- it's just hard to explain how he's funny.

Happy Birthday Hermano!

Arthur's Birthday

2010-07-12T13:54:00.000-05:00

Arthur turned 28 not too long ago, and while we celebrated with lots of friends at our pool, I don't have any pictures yet.

Last year's birthday, 27.

Here are just some of the things though that I love about Arthur:

That cute smile...still the same now,

as it was then:

His general happy attitude: while I am mostly grumpy especially in the morning, he is always happy, and thus always surrounded by lots of happy people. He makes friends where ever he goes, and loves to serve others around him.

His wealth of knowledge on just about everything. Including Cichlids. (hahaha) Arthur has an inquisitive mind and is always learning.

Figuring things out from the get-go.

His drive to do a little more, a little better, all the time. Arthur is always on the lookout and often gets great jobs, internships and opportunities. He's such a hard worker, especially with the creative things he loves!

Directing at the beach

Doing a great Mr. Incredible impersonation.

How much he loves me. :)

Happy Birthday sweetheart! I love growing old with you!

Anniversary Get-away

2010-06-21T15:14:00.000-05:00

For our anniversary, Arthur planned a weekend get-away that was a complete surprise to me. It was great!

We headed down to New Braunfels, through Wimberley. (Also the first time we've been to Wimberley. Take Note: We've decided we want to live there in the future.) For those who aren't aware, here's where New Braunfels is in relation to Austin:

Like Fredericksburg, where we went on our honeymoon, New Braunfels is a product of early German immigrants to the great state of Texas. It's nifty. We stayed at the Kuebler-Waldrip Haus Bed & Breakfast.

I don't know if you can see in the photo above, but the part of the house to the far left with the darker grout-- that part was built in 1847, and it was a one room home about the size of my kitchen and dining room. When the current owners bought the property and decided to make it into a bed and breakfast in 1987, there were 6 layers of wall that had just been built on top of the original limestone and plaster. We didn't stay in the main house, we stayed in the farmhouse.

It was nice. The bed was ok (it was two very comfortable twins pushed together, which I thought wasn't so classy) but the breakfast was out of this world! Plus there were critters to greet us everywhere:

This place had the biggest stick bugs I've ever seen. Kid you not, there was one twice this size walking around as well!

For dinner, we went out to Gruene, (pronounced Green) Texas and had a fabulous time. The old part of the town has been preserved very well, and is a hub for the nightlife in the New Braunfels area. We went to the gristmill, a restaurant complete with a beirgarten, in a salvaged mill on the edge of the river. The atmosphere was awesome. The food, decent. Overall, a fantastic dinner.

Doesn't look like much...

But it's one cool old mill and a great place to have dinner.

Waiting for our meal!

Our view from the tiny 3rd floor. Very nice sunset.

One of the really cool things that we got to see in Gruene, was an authentic Texas Dance Hall, like you see in the movies. Truthfully, there really aren't that many left in Texas, but because they were/are a mainstay of small town life, you kind of have to travel to the sticks to see one. It was awesome.

The beer signs lit up and people two-steppin'. So Texas.

You may not see most of me, but I like this one because you can see the front of the hall very well.

This is the rest of the Gruene Old Town (it's so dang charming):

The next day, after our fabulous breakfast, we drove out to float the Guadalupe. Typically, most people float the Comal (which is a tributary of the Guadalupe, that is in New Braunfels) but due to flooding of the week previous there was still a lot of debris to be cleaned up, so we floated the Guadalupe instead which Arthur had never done. (I've never floated anything but the Provo River before, so this was a new experience for me as well.)

It was one of the most relaxing things ever. Its like 100+ degrees out, and you're bobbing along like an ice cube that won't melt, because you're in the coldest water ever. It feels great even if it makes your toes and fingers numb.

However, it's not so great when you fail to use sunscreen properly. The spray on stuff is deceiving--you think you're covered and you aren't! This is quite possibly the worst burn I've had in years-- Especially because I was burned all along the tops of my legs-- which have never been burned before. So the rest of our weekend was spent wallowing in bed, applying Aloe and Solarcaine and taking copious amounts of ibuprofen. Good thing I called in subs for Nursery! We still had lots of fun though, and I'd go float the river again, just next time I'd bring sunscreen you can rub in!

June 20, 2009

2010-06-21T13:32:00.000-05:00

A year ago, yesterday, we got married.

All I can say for the both of us is this... it was one great year! To infinity and beyond!

Paint!

2010-06-16T20:46:00.000-05:00

Since we've renegotiated our lease and we'll be staying in our apartment another year, I feel like it is time to paint. Just two walls, which will take an afternoon and make our place look so much better. Currently, Arthur is against me on this color scheme:

The darkest color matches our couches, and the second, our mirror. I want to paint the walls, (see them here, the one with our mirror, and the one with the big painting in the dining room) that light dove gray. Still a neutral, but it will make the crown molding pop, and relax the eye in the whole space. Maybe if I'm lucky, I can get the recessed wall that light sand color.

What other color schemes would work and not overwhelm our place?

I like the gray in this:

Is it so wrong that I enjoy gray so much? It's such a good neutral!

How about the grey (second from the left) in this one? Its a little more intense, a bit more taupe-y.

Clearly, I can't break away from grey. Do I need help? I don't think so.

Also, does anyone else think it's nutty to paint walls in an apartment? It's an afternoon's worth of work. So far my mother is really the only one who thinks this is a fabulous idea. (Pout face)

P.S.-- all images copyright color-collective.blogspot.com, a truly fabulous blog.

So true...

2010-06-16T20:27:00.000-05:00

this is from a letter home from a friend of mine who is serving a mission in Italy.

"Following the spirit is so hard sometimes, because often we just tell ourselves that it is our own minds, our own thoughts, but its always better to just follow. Elder Bednar talked about how often we wont realize the consequences of our actions immediately, but that the "sun pops over the horizen for us at different times." There are often clouds that obstruct our view, but that revelation is never dramatic. We often have sufficient light to press forward."

How often have you seen the sun rise and the sky be filled with noon day light? Never. It is slow, it is gradual, it is different for different people at different vantage points. But there is always still light. LOVE that quote!

Ashley's Bridal Shower

2010-06-14T16:18:00.000-05:00

I blogged about this awhile ago, but I just wanted to share the cute pics of my future sister in law's bridal shower we had like a month ago.

This is the cute sign I made. I'm still very proud of my paper skills. :)

The Bride with her hosts, Connie and Barb.

This is the fantastic cake that Barb made. I will obtain the recipe, someday.

We were all matchy-matchy that day-- black and white, myself included.

Oo-la-la! Cute, but I'm filing this away in the "not weird to think about" section of my brain and ignoring it.

Speaking of the wedding though, I have yet to find something to wear. I thoroughly combed shabbyapple.com today and wasn't very impressed. I don't want to wear black (or weird colors that look good on everyone but redheads) to a wedding. Thoughts? Ideas? I need a cute modest dress!

Star Wars.... in Concert!

2010-06-14T14:03:00.000-05:00

So, we got a really unique opportunity to basically go to a Star Wars Symphony at the Frank Erwin Center with our friends Justin and Michele. It was awesome! In addition to the fantastic music and laser light show narrated by the guy who plays C-3PO, they had on display original costumes and artwork.

Sadly, I have some great video of the concert, but it appears as if my blogger doesn't have the upload video button. So, here's a picture:

My brother Ian... a great guy.

2010-06-13T21:51:00.000-05:00

Also about a week and a half ago, my brother Ian graduated from high school. It was a little weird going back to the same place I graduated and watching almost verbatim what happened to me when I graduated. (Oddly enough, I can't remember Harrison's graduation at all. I know I flew home that weekend, but I don't think I went...)

And as the kids with colored tassels walked up there, and people went on and on about the kids with special scholarships and who are already solving the oil spill crisis, I thought, how silly. I was one of those kids and it has not made a lick of difference what I did in high school. I also thought about how the ceremony hardly highlights what kind of people were graduating and that a piece of paper saying that you passed your classes doesn't really do a person like my brother justice.

So, I thought I'd brag on my little brother for a moment, because he deserves it:

Ian can make anyone, anywhere, at a moments notice, laugh like they've never laughed before. He's the funniest person I know, and if I had a quarter for all the times, I've nearly had milk/juice/soda/other liquids launch out of my nose because of him, I'd be a rich woman.

Ian doesn't judge. He has friends from across all walks of life, and he respects them for who they are. He's constantly reminding me to judge others less, and to be more kind to others around me.

Ian kicks ass at the guitar. Literally, within the past year and a half, he's taught himself how to play and he can play any kind of music well, at the drop of a hat. They had some band at his graduation, and I felt sorry for them, because those kids thought they were good. Ian is way better.

Ian has personality. Serious personality. Ian is a good guy, but what I like about him is that you feel like things are real with him. So many kids are good kids, but have personalities like limp vegetables. Not Ian. He gets along well with everyone, and still stays true to himself.

Happy graduation little bro. You no longer have to go to class. Congrats!

Happy Birthday Dad!

2010-06-13T21:19:00.000-05:00

For those unaware, about a week and a half ago, my father turned 50!

Here are some things that I love about my dad that you might not know:

* He knows by heart and can sing along to every Lyle Lovett song out there. *

* He perpetually talks to himself. You might be having a conversation with him, while he is also having a conversation with himself and thinking about striking up another conversation, with you guessed it, himself. I've taken on this habit, and I, like him, use the justification "People who talk to themselves are superiorly intelligent"*

* My dad has a perpetual thirst for knowledge. He's constantly reading books and articles regarding science and history that most people would pass off as "boring." On the contrary, it makes him that much more interesting-- I've yet to come across a subject that my dad knows nothing about-- he can talk to you about anything. *

* My dad is the most disciplined human being I personally know. That's saying a lot. I know quite a few people who are seriously disciplined-- but Dad takes the top prize. My dad makes goals, figures out what he needs to get them accomplished, and does them. He never waffles, or does anything as he puts it, "half-assed."

* He also is an incredible gardener. He can feed the masses with what he grows every year. Someday I'd like to see him wear one of those wide brimmed hats "gardeners" are always wearing in the movies. (Think about it and you'll know exactly what I mean)*

*He gives excellent advice and is the epitome of a kind, loving father. He sets the bar in what a dad should know about the gospel of Jesus Christ, and he's an example of how we should live our lives according to the gospel.*

Happy Birthday Dad!

Bare Nekkid

2010-06-13T20:27:00.000-05:00

Not really. But this concert rocked!

Unfortunately, while I did take some video, the sound quality my little camera has is quite subpar. So, here's another picture:

It was an awesome concert. And it was freeeeee!

Happy Things...

2010-05-28T20:13:00.000-05:00

I've had a lot of things get me down this week, most of them have made me just clamp my teeth and try to grin and bear it (like unexpectedly having to shell out for new tires on our car in order to pass state inspection. sigh. don't get me started.)

I realized I haven't posted on here recently, and that's mostly just because life has gotten busy. Don't worry, there will be catch-up posts on the things I've been working on (Hints: Office, Portraits...). For now though, I'd just like to talk about things that make me happy:

Seen this show? It's from across the pond, and even though I've seen all three seasons before, I recently revisited them and probably laughed just as hard as the first time through. Maybe it's because I married a nerd and I can totally relate in a way that I probably couldn't before. You can rent it through Netflix.

Sleep. Really good quality, dream inducing, wow-I-just-slept-for-an-ungodly-amount-of-hours-but-it-was-worth-every-second sleep. Arthur and I collectively have been suffering from a head cold for about the last month. Seriously, nothing is better than sleeping and not being interrupted by coughing, hacking, sniffling, aching or shivering. I'm so grateful for good health. (Also, I'm not a fan of beds with curtains, but I really like those in that picture!)

People who happily listen to what I have to say, and thank me for my suggestions. There was a woman at the salon the other day who is planning a wedding for her daughter and was happy to discuss the finer points of flowers, color schemes, and good cake with me. I felt so validated. Our friend Justin also does this every time we come over-- he asks what I think of what they've done with the decor in their home (they just moved into a brand new house) and I feel so important! It's nice to have people like your opinions and trust what you say. I'm not so brazen as to start another blog about what I think is important, (I'm not that arrogant) it's just nice to feel the perk of being appreciated once and awhile.

My wonderful husband. Just today he brought home a hey cupcake! just to cheer me up. He's the one who can make me laugh no matter how I'm feeling and encourage me to follow my dreams and live up to my potential. He's my best asset and I'd be lost without him. Love Love Love him.

The gospel of Jesus Christ. I don't talk much about faith on my blog, I'm not sure why, but I'm truly grateful for the hand of the Lord in my life. When I'm feeling lost or confused or frustrated, I love that I'm able to get down on my knees, pour out my heart in prayer, and know that He hears me. It's the biggest greatest blessing I have in my life, and it makes me so happy.

Those are just a few things that make me happy. There's plenty more, but this would be a long and tedious blog post if I listed them all. (Isn't that what happens when you start counting your blessings?)

Mom

2010-05-09T12:02:00.000-05:00

Mom--

Today I am giving a talk in church about mother's day and in the spirit of being nice to everyone, I'm not going to talk about how my mother is amazing, but rather on how we can improve our relationships with our mothers.
So I'm going to take the moment here to say to you that you are the best. Thank you for staying home and raising me, forgoing a career when it would have made life a little easier. Thanks for teaching me how to do just about everything, and instilling in me a love of the arts, and teaching me how to truly have joy in my life. Thank you for teaching me the gospel, and being nice to me and forgiving me even when I wasn't so deserving of forgiveness.

I love you.

busy busy busy

2010-05-08T22:53:00.000-05:00

Since our last post our calendar kinda read like this:

Tim and Ruthi's Wedding-- a true Austin event (it sounds odd to say keeping it weird, but that phrase totally fits the bill) it was lovely to see all of our friends who are now married and living on the other side of town, or still single.

How to Train Your Dragon-- cute movie but better because we went with our good friends Paul and Elizabeth, who we truly don't see enough. Its nice to have another couple who laughs at all the same parts as you do in the previews.

The best movie EVER-- Arthur and I ventured out to the Alamo Drafthouse to go see "The Good The Bad and The Weird" a korean western. You'll have to believe me when I say it's the best movie I've seen in over a year. That and I had an awesome steak sandwich while I watched the movie. <3

Bridal Shower fun-- I may have eaten one of the best cakes ever at my future Sister In Law's Bridal Shower. Yes, they're not getting married till August. She's doing a study abroad of sorts in Egypt though, and gets back a week before they get married, so that's why there's 4 bridal showers in the next 3 weeks in her honor.

Hello Lake Pflugerville-- in a weird non thinking fit, I ventured to up to Michele and Justin's or what I have dubbed "the other side of the planet" during rush hour traffic. Fortunately, I arrived in time to see some of Pflugerville's finest taking advantage of the good weather. Unfortunately, I didn't take pictures because it would have been much too obvious.

The Last Weekend-- Now the semester is nearly over and I regain my husband come Monday. But this weekend, all we've been doing is fighting off a serious cold (Arthur), and preparing to speak in church. (Me)

Oh.... I also got a job. Receptionist work. Part-time.
Yay me.

Optional Instructions: Employ husband.

2010-04-11T22:03:00.000-05:00

That's what the instructions for hanging a wall shelf should read. Use husband. Because this is what happens when someone (me) who doesn't know how to put a bit into a drill properly, decides to hang a floating shelf:

Why is that every tool in the house combined with an odd assortment of decorating items?

Why yes, yes it is.

Are those gigantic holes in the wall, where a floating shelf should be? Yes. The fourth whole over, that really dark one-- yeah, accidentally put the anchor screw all the way through the dry wall on that one. So what did we do? Plaster'd her up, waited another day, and put my husband to work using the kind of anchor screws that actually anchor. (Note: Don't ever use the screws or anchor screws that Target gives you in the product. They will not work. You think we would have learned our lesson with our blinds...)

The results? Voila!

Ok, it's a little color bland. I should probably introduce color into the candlesticks or put a photo of something quite colorful in place of where the saying plate is.

View with the whole room. Awesome!

And one more time just for kicks. It's beautiful.

I love you Arthur. And I promise, I will never wield a drill again.

Winning on the Radio...

2010-04-07T18:28:00.000-05:00

Behold, what might these be?

(Sorry for the crappy iphone pic)

So, if you can't read that, those are 2 tickets to go see The Barenaked Ladies in concert.

They're the fellows who sing this song:

One of my favs. Also, they sing this little ditty you might have heard called "If I had $1,000,000" Go ahead, google it, and transport yourself back to the 90s when you didn't have responsibilities and everyone had money still.

Yeah. Them. GREAT band.

So those two tickets, to that GREAT band, did I buy those tickets?

Please, it's me. I was known in high school for going to school the next day and saying, "No way! [X band] was in town last night? They're my favorite! Dang it!" For growing up and living in the live music capital of the world, I've been to surprisingly very few shows. So alas, how did I get my paws on these tickets???

Well, before spring break, I was on my way to Michele & Justin's house, listening to the radio, when a contest came on. And I kid you not, I almost changed the station, because I have very little patience for talking on the radio. But I didn't. Instead, I heard the DJ ask this question:

"What celebrity has said that if they could, they would shave their head?"

And of its own accord, my hand picked up my phone, dialed the radio station's number, which I magically knew (years of listening and never calling-in perhaps) and within seconds, I was on the air with DJ.

Wanna know what my answer was?? Huh?

This man:

You may or may not be aware, that my husband met this man, Robert Pattinson of Twilight fame, at the austin film festival, when the film How to Be premiered, and my husband frantically ran around trying to get the sound fixed for the showing. Arthur insists, and I believe him, that R-Patz is a blithering english idiot.

So, my one step connection to R-Patz combined with the fact that you cannot pick up a magazine anywhere without something about him in it, has given me 2 items of R-Patz trivia.

1) Supposedly, R-Patz does not shower, and you can smell him before he enters a room. (Explains how the hair stays in place, eh?)

2) R-Patz has said that as an actor, 50% of his performance is his hair. (which I find scandalous, as a former actor. belittling. ridiculous. HAIR? ACTING HAIR? please.)

Going off of trivia bit number 2, I told the DJ that it was Sir Robert. I was correct. I won the tickets. Happy Happy Joy Joy!

If you're wondering, I totally got all squeeky voiced on the radio because of excitement. Figures!

It's Official!

2010-04-03T00:36:00.000-05:00

My brother is engaged! Like a true Texan, he got down on one knee and proposed tonight to his sweet, wonderful girlfriend Ashley, on the Lamar Street Bridge over looking downtown. (Style points, bro, style points!) I am SOOO happy for them, and I'm looking forward to August 14th!

cake, cake, cake.

2010-03-29T23:27:00.000-05:00

There's a cartoon floating around out there, perpetuating this myth that pie is better than cake over the long run. It's kinda funny, in a I'm-someone-who's obsessed-with-pie-and-I'm-going-to-express-my-rage-in-a-nsfw-cartoon, but I have to tell you its a lie.

Cake is so much better than pie. Fact, pure and simple.

Which is why I volunteered to make my own birthday cakes (yes, plural) for my week long celebration of birth. I may or may not have a slight obsession with making cake. It's really fun. And I'm really good at it.

So, I thought I'd branch out from my usual, and try something new for our family celebration of my day of birth, which happened on Sunday.

Hmmmm, what kind of cake have I not had in a long time, that I'd really like?

Boston Cream Pie! (And that is irony, due to the aforementioned preferential treatment of desserts, and that Boston Cream Pie isn't really Pie!)

I didn't use some special recipe but just the plain one out of Joy of Cooking. You can find it, on page 732, which then lead to pages 714, 755, and 794. (So annoying.)

Follow what I did in the following fotos:

Premiere, le gateaux:

Shiny cake pans, covered in shiny fake butter, or whatever the heck Pam Baking Spray is made out of.

Some buttah. Some people are real sticklers for unsalted butter when they bake. I'm not. Bring on the sodium!

Dry ingredients! Including nifty cake flour! Hey--guess where I shop?

Stuff that goes in with the buttah. Delish.

Secret Ingredient! (And uh, what buttermilk is low-fat? Seriously?!?)

Before assembling all the dry ingredients, I had to sift the cake flour. If you were unaware, cake flour has the consistency of powdered sugar. It's fluffy and has the tendency to clump and after sifting, there is more than you measured out. Magic indeed. However, I was lacking a sifter...so I used my jumbo colander. Still did the job.

Here we creamed the buttah, sugar, eggs, and vanilla.

And then you add the dry ingredients alternating with the buttermilk. Except I forgot to alternate. Oops. I think it still turned out ok. Fluffy huh?

Golden and Delicious! Success!

Next, Pastry Creme!

I can't quite remember what's in this. There are definitely egg yolks. Oh and some flour. Maybe some salt or baking soda? I dunno, look it up. The objective was a light yellow color though: mission accomplished.

Then the exciting part: watching milk boil. It's so much more fun than watching water boil. (sarcasm)

After this, I combined that light yellow stuff and the hot milk, put it back on the stove, and started whisking as the cream starting thickening at an exceedingly great rate. I didn't have a third arm, so I couldn't take a picture.

Then, the next day, after letting things chill for awhile, I made the chocolate sauce. I didn't take pictures. I was over taking pictures for the prep part. Sorry.

But not for the big reveal! Voila!

Oh yeessss! Boston Cream Pie! And it tasted good. Today, when eating some of the leftovers, my brother Harrison told me, "I am DOMINATING this cake."

Which in man-speak of course, means, I really like your cake.

This is my kitchen. You can't see the counters very well, but they're laden with specks of buttermilk cake crumbs, pastry cream, chocolate butter frosting and every dirty bowl (read: all my bowls) in my house. Between this and making THE strawberry cake for our ladies' craft lunch tomorrow-- I've effectively destroyed our kitchen.

le sigh.

(But! Isn't my new blog layout nifty? I got it by logging into draft.blogger.com and clicking the design template button. Its new!)

Spring Break Recap

2010-03-24T11:43:00.000-05:00

I'm having a really hard time getting going this morning, so I figured now would be a great time to recap last week since we actually left the great state of Texas for the first time as marrieds, to venture up to Utah to visit family, friends and get away for a week.

For those of you who aren't aware of the bizarre Lindsey Family mode of traveling, let's just say, that to normal people we are maniacs. We get in the car, and we don't stop driving until we get there. Most people make the trip to Utah from Texas in about two days, and they might stop somewhere in New Mexico. We did it in 19 hours. Yup, My father has created traveling-we-better-be-making-good-time monsters.

After passing out on Tuesday night, on Wednesday, I got to catch up with my best friend Wendy and see her baby, Naomi (aka The Nomester), who is SO CUTE. I also got to eat my favorite salad with Wendy at Bajio which was like a weekly ritual for us when we were roommates! I so wish we lived closer so that I could help her out with The Nomester, and obsessively watch TV on DVD with Wendy (like we did when we were roommates), and help her take down the aisles at Nords with her stroller. Hey Wendy, does Iowa have a Nords? How far of a car drive is Texas to Iowa??

I also finally got my haircut-- I have this thing where I'm really untrustworthy of hairstylists, and I really haven't found someone I love here in Austin-- so I went up to Salt Lake and had my old roommate Mini (Vanessa) cut my hair. She did a FABULOUS job! I promise, I'm going to get it styled all nice and purdy, and take a picture. And then, if you live in Utah, or like me are just visiting, and you're in dire need of a cut, you will know where to go!

My grandfather is a coach for the capstone engineering project(s) down at BYU, so one morning, at the crack of dawn, we went with him to check out the projects he was working on with the students. That was fun to see-- I never knew what was inside those weird mini-aircraft hangers just south of the Wilk. Turns out they're some kind of Hut (I think of grass leaves when you say Hut, but you know aluminum siding works too) and they house all the top secret stuff the engineering kids work on. Just FYI, if you go in there to look at their stuff, they will stop everything they're doing to stare at the people from the outside world. It's not awkward at all.

After that, I got to drive Arthur around Provo and show him all the places I lived and tell him about the wards I was in, and what things were my favorite about what places. Surprisingly, he really liked Provo-- especially the old houses that are South of Campus. I know they're dumps to live in, but I think if I was stuck in Provo, maybe we'd try to make an effort to live in a historic home instead.

I also got to meet one of Arthur's old mission companions, Johnson (who on the mission was paired with an elder with the last name Ovary. Yup. Elder Johnson and Elder Ovary. Seriously.) He was HILARIOUS! We had a blast watching the BYU game with him, you know the one where they won? Johnson lives in Lindon, and in an 100 year old farmhouse! It was so cool!

After that we decided we wanted to go see Temple Square and started to head up there with my brothers but we ran into some nasty weather on the way, so we ended up taking a drive instead. We went up to Snowbird, turned around, saw the Draper Temple (which is TINY!) and the ridiculous ostentatious houses next to it, and then took the new road over the mountain, into the backside of Alpine. It was fun.

And you know what's really lame about all of what I just wrote? I didn't take pictures of any of it! I'm TERRIBLE about getting out a camera and just photographing the here and now-- it's a goal of mine to actually have photos to put in a scrapbook in the next year or so! About this point in the trip, Harrison started bugging me to get out my camera and start taking pictures. So, now you can see some of the things we did:

Thursday afternoon after our drive, we stopped at my aunt's to borrow some movies. One of the highlights was definitley getting to see the baby of the family-- he was very little and not even walking when I left Utah. Luke is my aunt's 2nd son, and he totally knows how to work a crowd. He's got more personality in his pinkie then most people EVER have. Here, Harrison got to be the chosen one to read to Luke.

Reading is one of his big things right now. Even if it's just identifying the animals in the pictures.

On Friday, I got to meet up with Adis and help her dress a set at the LDS Motion Picture Studio, before we grabbed lunch with our mutual friend Whitney, and went and saw The Bounty Hunter together. Just after I graduated, I spent about 4 months making student films (for free...) as a costume designer. On one film, Whitney was my director, and on the others, Whitney and Adis and I (and a few others) were the lowly Art Department. Needless to say, we really bonded with all the long hours, and I seriously miss these girls. Even if it's catching the early bird show of the day and sitting towards the back and gabbing about what's going on in the film department-- what I wouldn't KILL for that here in Austin! And of course, I totally forgot to take pictures.

I left 2/3 of the way during The Bounty Hunter (I'm kind of curious as to how it ends-- I think I can guess- but we were just moving into the transition between the 2nd and 3rd acts when I left) to meet up with my brothers and husband before we hightailed it to Draper, and met with my cousin Jeremy. Jeremy is also known in the entertainment business by his stage name, Tenacious J, on a little program called Nitro Circus. I'm joking about the little. Nitro Circus was one of MTV's most popular shows in the past 2 years, and they're currently gearing up to make a feature length film. So it was AWESOME to get to sit down with Jeremy and ask him questions about what it's like to produce for television, and have him show us around his office, where they do a lot of the "thinking" (or not thinking depending on your view) of what goes into the show, see some cool editing, and the shop where they keep a lot of the fun toys. (Motorcycles) Again, LAME ME, forgot to take pictures.

After saying bye to Jeremy, we went up to see Temple Square. Arthur had never been. In fact, minus the 3 weeks he spent in the MTC, this was Arthur's first trip to Utah.

This is us inside the conference center. Notice our matching eye wear. Yes, mine are crooked. Don't we look cute and related?

Despite having been to the conference center many times, I had never been up to the roof before, and I was really excited to get up there. The view is excellent and the free-form gardens are cool, I just wish it was a little warmer the day we went.

This is a mural up on the roof. It's made of black marble and the images have been sandblasted on. The story about how it came about is really cool-- years before the conference center was made, a woman in the church's publication department was asked to make a mural of images composed of members of the church from all different time periods, races, nationalities, etc. She made the mural, and never heard about what it was used for again, and was shocked to find it as a large art piece on top of the roof of the conference center when she took a tour! What's really cool is that the image makes a V in the center, and you can stand and see your reflection joined with the mural. You can barely see us in the picture above. We're the dark shadows in the reflection of the fountain. The caption reads:

" And this gospel shall be preached unto every nation, and kindred, and tongue and people."

So, in this mural, you can literally see yourself as part of the members of those who have received the blessings of the gospel across time and across the world. Awesome huh?

After Temple Square we went back to our grandparent's house to have a family dinner, and an early birthday celebration for Moi.

The best part of the trip was definitely hanging out with family members we really don't get to see that often.

Also, I got one of the best birthday singing experiences ever. Little Luke has a hard time discerning that birthdays only happen once a year-- so every birthday is his birthday. Here in this picture we started singing Happy Birthday, and he began to cover his eyes with embarrassment.

And here, we're blowing out the candles together! I totally don't mind sharing my birthday like this!

Finally, on Saturday morning, while I packed and got ready and prepared for our trip home, the boys went Snow Shoeing in American Fork Canyon with Uncle Scott.

Can't you feel the love between brother and brother-in-law?

Hello Mr. Optimistic.

Looking too cool for words.

Ruggedly Handsome. And squinting.

On the mountain!

And that was our trip. It was SO nice to get away from the day in and day out hum drum. Truly, I wish we had a little more time than what we had. There were so many people I wanted to see and hang out with that I just didn't get a chance to call or say hello-- there weren't enough hours in the day! Maybe this summer. Arthur and I are thinking about taking a trip out west to LA, anyway, so maybe we'll make it a grand tour.

My Charitable Husband!

2010-03-14T10:47:00.000-05:00

See something missing? Guess-- please tell me you noted in a blog post a few months ago that I swore this thing was going to be gone, and now (squeal!) it is! I'll give you a hint... it's oversized, a nasty shade of green, and we never sat in it...

YUP! The Armchair! My husband's loved and prized armchair, which I have hated since well, forever, is gone! You know what the surprising thing is? He got rid of it! A friend of ours has been feeling poorly, and had been saying that if only he had something nice and soft to recline in, he would feel so much better. So my charitable husband volunteered his armchair, on long term loan. (Or so he thinks....mwhahahaha)

Genius comes in many many tiles.

2010-03-14T10:33:00.000-05:00

I've developed a slight addiction to an iphone app called "words with friends." Apparently, I'm the last person on the planet to figure this out, but it's been really popular for awhile now. Basically, it's scrabble on the phone, and you take turns between yourself and friends. Did I say it was ridiculously addicting?

Well, our family played an actual game of real scrabble and did surprisingly well. Are we the only ones who discuss the merits of a good board? I hope not, because this is worth sharing:

Great Board, huh? And you know, I almost won. My mother beat me out last minute. Go figure.

Sunny Day, Sweepin' the Clouds Away...

2010-03-14T10:16:00.000-05:00

So this pic was taken actually a week or so before the warmest day of the year.

But the idea is the same... GLORIOUS! The weather here in Austin has finally warmed up, and it's changed everyone's mood-- hello happy! This past week Mom and I got together with our friend Connie and had creative craft day. I didn't actually make anything crafty, but instead I got a good four to five hours in of quality writing.

Something about sunshine is so inspirational!

Job Interview

2010-03-02T20:53:00.000-06:00

As many of you may well know, a few weeks ago I excitedly posted on my facebook that I had a job interview. I've been looking for a job with an administrative type role for awhile, and fortunately, I have the luxury of taking my time, and really looking for a job that I would enjoy. While the unemployment rate in Austin is a lot lower than the rest of the country, it's still an extremely competitive job market out there, and believe it or not with my fabulous resume, I haven't gotten many leads. So I was really surprised, and kind of thrilled that I got a call back from a company I had sent my resume to-- mind you I had sent my resume out to many many different companies, so when they called, I had them describe themselves to me. They're a moving company that's been in business 10 years, primarily in Florida, and they just moved their headquarters to Austin. We agreed on a date and right before we got off the phone, they told me to bring my drivers licence and social security card with me.

That last little bit didn't sit well with me-- who brings that kind of information to a job interview? Were they just looking for a warm body to do some kind of work-- not someone with my sweet and awesome skills? It kept bothering me-- really deeply bothering me, that something just wasn't right. So, I turned to my friend, the trusty internet, to do a little research. Since they're now a national company with offices in both Florida and Texas, I figured that someone out there had worked for them and probably said something about it online. All I googled was the company name and the phrase "work for." I dare you to look at the results you get on the 5th, 6th, 7th (and so on) hits on the internet. I'll let the search results do the talking, but the gist is this: This is one moving company you really REALLY don't want to hire, and if you have a shred of moral fiber in your body, one that you really don't want to work for.

I felt kind of sick. What do you do in a situation like this? I decided that professionally, I was obligated to go to the interview, even if I wanted nothing to do with the company. At least it was good interview practice right? This is what greeted me the morning I got there:

Yup, it was a warehouse, and really quite creepy. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with working out of a warehouse, it was just obvious from the other kinds of companies next door that these people weren't of the same caliber: no logo, no obvious service industry. No happy people going about their happy business. Just half of the company name on the door and an address. Believe me, it only gets better.

I get inside and the woman who is supposed to interview me, isn't even there yet. While I'm waiting I can overhear the receptionist on the phone having a conversation that went like this:

Receptionist: "Ma'am, hi I just talked to the driver, and he doesn't know when he's going to be there. (pause) Well, yes I understand, but he just doesn't know. He was in a bit of a hurry, he was loading a truck, (pause) Right, but I just can't give you a firm date of when the truck will arrive. (longer pause) Well, he did mention something about Monday (pause)"

I tuned out after that and then my eye caught a post it note, stuck to the side of a computer monitor. It read, "FRAUD. Paul, 555-555-5555"

The woman who interviewed me finally came in. She looked like she came from Jersey Shore and had an accent and make-up to match. Before interviewing me, she instructed the receptionist to and I quote, "go into these old contracts and change these parts" Not change the template for the contracts to reflect new policies-- but to change old contracts with people already attached to them-- change those contracts. So honest, so honest.

We went into the actual warehouse, where believe it or not, from floor to ceiling high were people's belongings, stacked in nice neat rows. This was not as they advertise, secure and climate controlled. Believe me, with minimal effort you could break into that place. And it was frigidly cold, because it was basically outside.

The rest of the interview was fairly normal, but it was shot as good interview practice. I kept fearing a member of the russian mafia was going to come out from the stacks of furniture, guns blazing, swearing, spitting caviar and swigging vodka, and threaten me to take the job. The result was me giving the worst interview ever: I sat on the edge of my seat, nodded a lot, and said "Uh-huh" with the best Minnie Mouse voice you have ever heard.

It was an experience to be sure. In fact, it's downright hilarious, and I still have a hard time believing it actually happened. What's even more is that I can't believe in this day in age, as a dishonest person you think you can do bad business and that a record of it won't show up on the internet. Just a moderate amount of research gave me the whole truth about this company that is now attempting to continue bad business in another part of the country, escaping their record in Florida. Not so. We live in an age of a binding record of truth on the internet, one that for the most part, can never be erased. If you harm, hurt, mislead others or attempt to cover up your lying, cheating, scandalous self, you will fail. The internet will more than likely reveal your true self. If there was a lowest common denominator for living a moral life, that would be it. The real benefit of doing honest good work is a peaceful conscience.

So that peeps, is my story. And if you happen to be in need of someone with great administrative and leadership skills, awesome creativity, an articulate writing style as well as serious web savvy knowledge, for the record, I am your woman. You can check out and download my current resume at the bottom of my linked in page.

Snow Day!

2010-03-02T19:26:00.000-06:00

Behold:

Indeed last week, the great white fluff visited our very own backyard, (or front yard I suppose) and fell from the sky like fluffly little cotton puffs all the day long. I think Arthur would have prefered we go out and make a snowman or something, but since I spent the past 5 years enduring altogether too much snow in Utah, the appeal of snowtime play has dwindled considerably. AND to top it off, I was terribly sick. Seriously, on the day it snowed I had the worst cold of all time, and I spent most of the day in a Nyquil induced snooze.

So sad.

Love, Love, Love

2010-02-16T16:42:00.000-06:00

A year ago, on Valentine's Day, Arthur proposed to me. It was awesome, and a memory we will truly cherish. And now, the day that is supposidly crass commercialism, is significant for us. Here's what we did this year:

On Saturday Morning, we saw this movie. And I have to say, it kinda sucked. There were some performances and some story lines that were meaningful and memorable (particularly Julia Roberts') but on the whole: crappy chick flick. Comes nowhere near Love Actually, which is what I think Gary Marshall (the director) was aiming for.

We then visited my favorite trailer cuisine in town: Hey Cupcake! Arthur indulged in the Double Dose, and I took on the amazing delicious Red Velvet.

I may or may not have helped a certain sibling create this flower arrangement for his significant other. It was fun pretending to be a florist for half an hour.

Finally we concluded our pre-valentines day celebration with Pizza and Beer (of the root variety) and a little Olympic Games watching. Sometimes, its the simple things that really make your heart feel a flutter.

Not to be outdone, Arthur brought me home these lovelies. I'm not a traditional rose fan, but these just said beautiful!

Finally, for the actual Valentine's Day, we got together with our friends Michele and Justin and had a little celebration, complete with Valentines Day cake.

Now, this may look like a nice chocolate cake, with a lovely pink frosting heart-- but you would be wrong. This is the one, the only, THE strawberry cake.

Once upon a time, I lived with a girl named Lindsay D. We had only been roommates for a month or so when valentines day rolled around, and the rest of us roommates hadn't experienced her baking prowress, when she whipped out this little sucker--- THE strawberry cake. Being stupid idiots, we shared the cake with our close guy friends, and created somewhat of addiction for our close friends at the time. For the following year, at every birthday celebration, every party, every chance where you might think "Oh I might make a cake" (which in Provo, is like every other week) Lindsay and her fabulous cake showed up. I have seen this cake gone and devoured in less than five minutes. It is a legend.

Lindsay never claimed that the recipe was her own, and openly admitted that it came from a book called "The Cake Doctor." After copying the recipe myself, and recreating the cake at my grandmother's house, did I discover that the recipe is actually, over 50 years old (or thereabouts). My great-grandmother loved this cake as much as I do, and my grandmother had a copy of the recipe in her own mother's hand, to whip out and show me that THE strawberry cake, has been somewhat of a legend, for quite sometime.

The secret is fresh strawberries in both the cake and the cream cheese frosting. I have noticed that some people aren't as big cream cheese frosting fans as others, so bearing this in mind, I now only use the cream cheese frosting in between the layers of the cake, and as decor on top.

If you'd like a copy of THE Strawberry cake recipe, comment, and I'll email you a copy. Trust me, my great grandmother and I (and about 100+ other Provo-ians) aren't liars-- this is a real crowd pleaser.

what's it called, a sabbatical?

2010-02-05T08:42:00.000-06:00

After my last disastrous post, in which I probably offended everyone I know, and worried most of the general populous, I decided it needed to be deleted. I'm not going to post on here until I can feel comfortable with writing about things that make me happy and that people want to hear about. Besides, I really want to devote all of my writing energy towards my project.

Maybe I'll just post pictures in the mean time.

Merry Christmas

2009-12-25T00:01:00.002-06:00

Merry Christmas from us to you!

O Victory! Thy name is Kitchen!

2009-12-24T13:03:00.000-06:00

Howdy folks! I hope your Christmas Eve is going splendidly... mine, not so much. I woke up with a terrible sore throat this morning, but I am not letting it deter me from Christmas Cheer. Behold, I have created this:

Babka!

You can find the recipe, with picture instructions, here.

At the moment I'd like to thank those lovely ladies, Jacqui, Connie and Sally, who pitched in and bought me this for my bridal shower:

KitchenAid of power, where would I be without you? Answer: Hungry and frustrated.

Merry Christmas Eve, Y'all!

Happy St. Lucia Day!

2009-12-21T16:15:00.001-06:00

Actually, St. Lucia Day was December 13. For those who didn't grow up reading the American Girl Books about Kirsten, the Swedish immigrant, St. Lucia Day is a celebration the Swedes hold at the start of the dark winter season, to celebrate light and to kick off the holidays. We thought we would do the same this year, just call it a little more Christmas-y.

It was a dessert night and people turned out in full force! The most popular had to be Kurstin Blumel's Christmas cookies with optional frosting-- naturally the culinary degree does always win out.

We also got to play a rousing game of Cranium, despite my mother's insistance that adults do not have to play games at a party. Well, these adults do! It was really fun, and I'd like to just say thanks to Paul and Elizabeth for such an awesome wedding gift! (The Cranium-- it's a new and updated version, which makes it much more fun)

Wall Art Tutorial

2009-12-21T15:57:00.001-06:00

After last night's party, and a couple of comments on the previous post, I realized that several people would like a tutorial of the wall art I did. I have to say it has to be one of the more easier projects I've ever done. I didn't think to take pictures while I was doing it, so I grabbed some interesting ones across the internet to illustrate the points:

1) Choose your fabric.

Lena Fabric, Ikea.com

The reasons I would go with Ikea textiles are many. First off, they're affordable. Second, I love the design aesthetic-- I like a more modern/danish/scandinavian approach to home decor, than the more traditional patterns and designs you might find in a regular fabric store. Whatever you end up picking however, I suggest going with a large graphic print, to fit the larger frame-- it makes more of a statement, and it's easier on the eye. The fabric should be a 100% cotton and the weave a little more course than a fabric you'd use for a blanket for example. If you don't buy fabric often, you should know that when it's on the bolt, it's actually been folded in half. Most home textiles come with a fixed width of around 60." (Double check when you're buying though) For our wall art, we bought a yard of each.

2) Make your frame.

I picked up 6 6' 1"x 2" peices of lumber at Lowes for a decent price. I had Lowes cut two of the pieces in half (3') for me. Then I got my dad to cut the edges into mitered corners.

Illustration courtsey of kombat.org

I put down the lumber in the pattern of how I wanted the frame to be put together. Using a triangle and a pencil, I measured exactly 45 degree angles on each of the corners. It helps to visualize in your head a frame with corners like this (almost all frames have these corners) that you've already seen. Then I got my dad to use his table saw to slice along the pencil marks. Once the lumber has been cut to the angle, be sure and not touch the ends to the ground-- the sharper the angle is, the easier it fits together.

Next I got my husband to fasten the frame together-- his parents had a framing and painting restoration business and so he was pretty familiar with how to make a frame. Using a staple gun, he put staples perpendicular to the 45 degree angle, to hold the two pieces of wood together, then took one nail and secured the corner from just one side, for each of the four corners of the frame. I think it's easier to put one corner together, then the opposite corner, and then fasten the two pieces together.

3) Stretch the fabric.

Be sure to iron out as many wrinkles as possible. Even though you're stretching the fabric over the frame, a crease (and wrinkles) will show. I suggest using a clear starch, like Mary Ellen's Best Press (seriously, the best thing since the iron for getting wrinkles out of ANY fabric.) and the steam setting on your iron to get any offending creases or wrinkles out.

Lay the fabric down on the ground and smooth it out as flat possible. Take the frame and center it over the pattern appropriately. In hind sight it would be helpful to have a second set of hands to help get the material as taut as possible around the frame.

Photo courtsey of howaboutorange.blogspot.com

Stretch the horizontal edges first. Have someone else hold the fabric on the opposite end as you, then take your end, and pull as much of the fabric as possible over the backside of the frame. Be careful not to create vertical ripples across the fabric by pulling hard. If you do, before you start stapling, just pull a little on the vertical ends of the fabric to get those ripples out-- again the object is to pull as tight as you can, while keeping the fabric as flat as possible.

Staple as close as you can to the inside of the frame-- this will keep the fabric tight as it goes over the edges of the frame. Staple both of the horizontal edges first, then stop and get ready to fold the corners and staple those first before stapling the vertical edges last.

The object of the corner, is to have as little of the fabric showing by creating a very flat fold across the bottom and top of the frame-- much like a hospital corner on a bed, or gift wrapping a present. Take the corner fabric, create diagonal fold (think triangle), then wrap the fabric across the bottom (or top) of the frame. It'll look like a small flat triangle.

Then fold the remaining fabric onto the back of the frame. Position the excess fabric from the corner to lay as flat as possible with the vertical portion that you haven't stapled yet, pull tight, and staple. Do all the corners first, then staple the remaining fabric on the vertical sides and trim the excess.

Ta-Da! I realize that last bit is confusing without pictures, but honestly, once you get to the corner wrapping part, it shouldn't be that hard to figure out.

It's the most wonderful time of the year...

2009-12-18T21:20:00.000-06:00

First, because it's Christmas, but second because I'm throwing a Christmas party which has forced me to decorate more. Let's break that down....

Ta-Da! Wall Art! These are in our living room and dining room respectively, and they were my mother's very creative idea. While walking around in IKEA about a month ago, we made a stop in the textiles department to cut out a couple yards of these awesome graphic print fabrics. I finally got around to buying the lumber to make frames (actually Arthur made them) and stretched the fabric over the frames this week. It was a little nerve racking, because I had never done anything like this before, but they turned out great. Total cost was maybe $10, and we now no longer have naked walls.

You might notice that things are still a little sparse. No worries, I have plans for it all. In the living room, in that shockingly bare corner, I'd like to place an awesome floor lamp. In the dining room, underneath the clock, I want to hang a floating shelf, to act as a faux mantle, since we don't have a fireplace.

Which leads us to what's across from these walls:

Pictures! This wall finishes out the dining room and leads into the hall. I was really happy to put up one of our wedding pictures as well as a picture of Christ. (I feel like I can say I'm Mormon-- look I have some kind of art on the wall representing the Savior!)

This is the view opposite our sofas in the living room. I apologize for the flash in the mirror-- I accidentally deleted the photo where I sneakily hid myself like a good film student should. In the future-- that offensive green arm thing will be gone, and I'd like a bookshelf of some kind there. On the recessed wall, above the television, I'd like to frame three pages of a script of one of our favorite movies as an ode to one of the things that brought us together. Finally, underneath the mirror, where the Christmas tree is now, I'd love to put a console table, or small sidebar.

Speaking of the Christmas tree....

Can I just say that I have a real talent for decorating a Christmas tree? I've been doing a little blog stalking lately and I've noticed some peeps with trees that look like giant bushes with a few measly ornaments thrown casually on here and there. Not in this Kendrick household! I'd like to thank my mother who growing up somehow delegated the decorating of the trees to me every year. My talents are clearly, all yours. I mean look at this close-up:

Pure Christmas Splendor.

It's also been a crafty Christmas here in the Kendrick household, and I'd like to show you some of the things I did this year:

These cute stockings came with the bejeweled "Merry" on them from Target. I however wanted our initials on them, so I bought some press-on rhinestones to stick on there. So not as easy as I imagined. First, with a fuzzy like texture-- it's a miracle the Target peeps got anything to stick on there in the first place. Second, placing the rhinestones on the stocking required use of tweezers, and the tiniest hand-eye coordination known to mankind. Third, I couldn't directly press the iron to the stocking for fear of burning the fabric and sending rhinestones flying, so I had to repeatedly steam those rhinestones into sticking submission. Ultimately, a good hour long project that I wouldn't really recommend to anyone. As a side note, in college, my best friend Wendy bejeweled her phone with one of those kits you could buy-- and she did a really impressive chevron pattern-- I have newfound respect for her. Seriously.

I really wish I could say I hand painted that Nutcracker, or learned how to fire porcelain this year, but actually, the funky sparkley oversize star in back is one of my Christmas crafts. (Actually, one of last years.) I made this star as part of a live nativity that went on for a church program last year, and I really wanted the star to shine from stage. So, what I did was take a really ugly outdoor metal star (seriously-- it was white with the ugliest santa/snowman thing on it)-- and spray paint it a light silver color. Then I took about 6 clear ornament bulbs, removed the little hook hanging thing from them, and hot glued them in a random pattern across the star. Next I took a TON of pickberry floral do-bobs in white, silver, and gold, snipped the greenery from them, and hot glued them to the surface of the star. I wish I could say this was quick or easy. Alas, this project took me like 2-3 days. But it sure is cool looking.

Needless to say, I'm really grateful for decor that isn't crafty, but rather just simple, elegant and timeless.

Like the porcelain luminary my mother gave to me-- it was my favorite Christmas decoration growing up even though there's nothing Christmas-y about it-- the scene is one of an old fashioned fox hunt.

Or how about the gorgeous and very modern silver bowl that was a wedding gift-- it makes M&M's look chic.

Or the beautiful crystal votives that were also a wedding gift-- I love how they twinkle and shine and throw a warm glow everywhere. (And oh alright, I wrapped some floral berries around a plain white candle. That was crafty. But super easy! )

The point is...it is feeling a lot like Christmas around here and it is the most wonderful time of the year!

Our conversations...

2009-12-14T12:02:00.000-06:00

go something like this:

jessica: would you wear something with otters on it?

Sent at 11:46 AM on Monday

arthur: otters?

I guess it depends on what it is

arthur: is it like pajamas or a otter costume?

jessica: : hahahahaha.

Otter costumes are a serious suggestion in our household!

a happy little christmas to you...

2009-11-30T20:42:00.000-06:00

No it's not Christmas yet, and I still have yet to blog about Arthur's gun buying and deer slaying adventure, as well as thanksgiving, but today I was at my parents' house getting out their Christmas decorations (because if I don't, no one will...seriously) and I had to throw on some Christmas tunes. It just felt right. Which got me thinking about how Christmas music can be a really a reflection of your parents, or what you grew up listening to, besides the standard Classical Christmas, Hallelujah Handel or Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

I loooooove listening to the Carpenter's Christmas portrait, a Christmas medley of just about every Christmas song out there, featuring quite a few 80s synthesizers, as well as Karen Carpenter's amazing contralto. However, I noticed in college that I was the only human being who knew about this album, or treated it with the reverence it deserves. Clearly, a family favorite, or just my favorite-- only to be inflicted on others by your own choice. (Some people hate the Carpenters. So so sad.)

I bought this album at a Barnes & Noble when I was like 15, specifically because it had The Barenaked Ladies with Sarah McLachlan doing, "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen," which at the time, was the best Christmas song ever. It still is hard to beat, but every other song on this album is incredible. Seriously, best album of alterna-rock Christmas songs you could buy-- I've never found another alterna-rock Christmas album that comes close. It makes me feel really Austin-y, which is a good thing, you know? Happy weird Christmas-- go check out the lights at 37th & 1/2 Street.

The title track to this book/cd (it's quite hard to find actually) is my family's theme song, for the entire year, not just Christmas. We gleefully listen to this song and sing along during the holidays with smiles plastered across our faces. You only have to know us just a little bit, and you'll get why. We're just a bunch of rednecks. (It's the truth, even though we don't drink or smoke, or eat cheese out of a can.) Anyway, I challenge you to not watch the video, but just listen to the texas drawl, steel guitar, and ridiculous lyrics, and feel like you know my family just a little bit better.

As this our, Arthur & me, first Christmas, I will definitely be on the look out for new Christmas tunes to add to our library for our traditions. What are some of your favorites to listen to? Do you have a story behind a specific song?

Subtle progress...

2009-11-13T21:21:00.000-06:00

I don't know why, but for some reason, now more than ever, we seem to be settling into our home and making what I call subtle progress-- progress towards no more boxes, no more little piles of things to be unpacked, things hung on the wall and in their place. Why after almost three months of living here? No clue. Maybe all my home making skills that have been freakishly absent my entire life, finally decided to show up. (Let's get real, Arthur doesn't have those instincts nor would I want him to have them either) Maybe it just took some time to buckle down and make decisions-- yes that painting will go there, no I am not going to keep all of these wedding cards albeit they have very nice sentiments and sparkles on them. I'm going to go out on a limb here, but I suppose what we've learned most from married life so far (one of many learned mosts actually) is that when you're married you get to call all the shots together. If together you want a minimalist zen approach to home aesthetics, then by golly, you can have it. (we don't, and we don't want it) If you want to eat off of paper plates you can kill all the trees you want, and throw away your plates. (we don't, I love real plates) If you want to sleep in on Tuesdays, and make breakfast together you can. (We don't-- that's just a pipe dream. I have killer aerobics on Tuesday mornings. Have you seen me try to walk on Wednesdays? I don't walk, I waddle)
So that's the life lesson we've been handling lately as we've tackled things like our office:

Okay, so it may look really messy to you, but the mere fact that you can see the floor, and that there are no boxes is huge. Arthur's even grinning about it. It's not done yet, but we will finish very soon. And there will be much rejoicing.

Pillows!

2009-11-12T23:31:00.000-06:00

Yes, another project! While I explained earlier that our living room is all in cool tones, I felt like we need a pop of color as well as some appropriate sized pillows for our old and over sized couches. Thanks to my mother's quilting and textile addiction, I am nearly always in a fabric store of some kind, and constantly checking out cool fabric. The latest and greatest store is the Cotton Cupboard, which just opened this summer, and already has some pretty awesome selections of unique and beautiful fabrics for the quilter, or in my case, pillow-maker in all of us.

Fabric! Bright! Happy!

My super awesome mom, who can do anything. Originally I wanted to do this project as my first sewing project, but we made it a little more complicated than beginner sewing level.

How? With welting-- which is that cord like border around the pillow's seam that gives it a nice finished look. It isn't easy to create, especially when you don't really sew.

I don't recommend cats with any kind of sewing project. They think that you got out this nifty fabric all for them-- and the welting is their special toy. Beware of kitties. Seriously.

Finished Pillows! Don't they look fantastic?! I couldn't be more thrilled!

Okay, I had to include a close-up just in case you didn't believe me. They are awesome!

Mirror Mirror on the wall...

2009-11-12T23:14:00.000-06:00

Once upon a time, I worked for a little shop that had a tremendous sale, in which I snapped up a once overpriced mirror for a mere $10. Again, tremendous sale. I'm a big fan of mirrors and what they can do for a space, so I figured it was time to get one for our living room, and at $10, I wasn't out a lot.

The steal of the century, $10 mirror.

However, the mirror was gold. Which was a slight problem. Everything we own is in cool tones. We have black couches, and varying shades of cool tones-- so the gold really clashed. I wanted to paint it, but I didn't know how-- insert my friend Connie, who can paint anything, and has painted just about everything. She directed me to this kit thing you can buy to antique, or change the color of furniture. I thought it was a splendid idea, I beelined my behind to my local michaels and bought the kit. The following is what happened:

Ta-Da! Silver! I loved it this exact color when I first painted the mirror, but I was very sad to lose all the detailing of the basket weave frame.

So I decided to antique it, using the pewter color that came with the kit. Here you can really see the color difference with the stain on the right vs. the plain silver on the left.

Halfway done! This was a really time consuming and tedious process, as well as very messy. (see picture-- those rags-- they were white. yeah.) I wanted to make sure I got every nook and cranny.

Because the pattern is just really cool looking. I mean really, now that the mirror is "pewter antiqued" I feel like it came from the celtic period or something. Well, maybe not celtic. I just think it's cool.

It took me awhile to get used to the painted mirror-- for awhile I thought I had really screwed it up-- I thought I was a little too heavy handed on the patina and that the mirror looked a little dull in comparison to when it used to be just silver and shiny. Then, I found a glossy clear coat spray, which solved all my problems.

Ta-Da! Finished mirror! It doesn't look as shiny in this light as it truly is (crappy indoor lighting!) but I'm thrilled that I finally finished it and that we finally got it hung! Hallelujah!