Life in Photos

Goodbye, old apartment!

Moved to a new place!

Karen's graduation

Memorial day

Family Reunion

Scottish festival

New dog!

Another reunion

Working in the garden

Dave's birthday

Hanging out

Landscaping

Moving into a home without a finished yard is both good and bad at once. First of all, you might think it's just a lot of work and hassle. It's just SO much less complicated when everything is already done for you. But then, there's also this excitement that you get from starting with a clean slate. Like opening a fresh notebook--so full of possibilities, with pages ready to be filled with your creative ideas.

So although I'm none too thrilled about looking outside and seeing rocks and dirt and more rocks, I also feel inspired. I gaze out the window and start thinking. "I could plant honeysuckle along the back fence." "That would be a great place for a big vegetable garden." "Someday, I'll put a nice shade tree in that spot." I look out there at that wasteland and see potential.

But for now, I know that there's not a lot that can be done. We've built a temporary fence around a small section of the yard, planted a little raised garden, and grown wildflowers in an area of the yard. Dave dug a firepit just for fun, although I'm scared to use it since we live right next to an open field. And we've done other work, like weeding, around the property. But it is still far from finished.

Dirt, rocks, weeds...yay!

We moved into a house with a huge yard. HUGE. Like, what the crap am I going to do with all of this space huge. It really is a bit overwhelming. One thing that has helped me decide a starting point, however, is the fact that I do NOT want to maintain an extensive lawn. I enjoy having a verdant grassy area, sure, but if we put in sod all over the property our work to care for it would never end. So I've decided that xeriscaping a good chunk of the property would be the wisest choice. I plan to xeriscape most of the front yard, using desert-friendly plants, rocks, and dirt over the area. In the backyard, I want an area with grass just outside the back door and porch area, but I only want it to extend to a certain point. Then, one of the most exciting ideas: an English country garden with gravel paths, beautiful flowers, benches, etc.

Kind of like this!

Right now, though, all I can really do is dream about it, and make it happen little by little. I've been told to take it one step at a time, and eventually it will be done. Like that poem by Shel Silverstein about eating the whale, you know? One bite at a time...

And this is one whale of a big yard!

end of one road, start of another

I just began my final semester of school, in which I am taking two poetry classes. One is advanced poetry, where I'll be writing. The other is a literature class, so I'll be reading tons of poetry and occasionally writing about it.

I can't believe I've come this far. Yes, it took me a LONG time, much longer than it probably should have. But here I am! After years of balancing family, work, and school, I'm almost done with my education.

It's bizarre to consider that I won't be in school soon. I won't be a student. That may seem like no big thing, but that's how I've identified myself since i was like 6 years old, all the way until now. And soon, I will be entering a new part of my life.

So just what do I intend to do? A lot is still blurry. For an English graduate, it's not 100% clear what you'll do (at least not for me). I don't know for certain where I'll end up and just what I'll be doing, but that's my next step: to find a job where i can use my skills. We will see this spring what's out there.

I know it's taken me a long time to get here, and my journey didn't always have specific direction. Sometimes I wish I could have just KNOWN in the beginning that English was my path, so I could have rushed my way through it and I'd be long done by now. But you know what? It's okay. There are reasons, sometimes, to take the longer road. There are things to learn on the way, and I have learned a LOT.


"If I had known the real way it was,
I would have stopped all the looking around."

But that knowing depends
on the time spent looking!

-Rumi

Happy New Year!

Hope 2010 was great, and that 2011 will be amazing as well!

Update in Photos

Zoo (late summer)

Gingerbread houses (Thanksgiving break)

Put up the tree

Festival of Trees (early December)

 

Utah State Fair (September)

Thanksgiving Day, 2010

Beauty Picks of the Moment

Okay. I realize that I'm not what you'd call "glamorous" or anything--I'm just pretty normal, really. But I do (surprise!) like to look good. It's been a battle over the years when it comes to trying various beauty products and either liking or hating them (but so rarely loving them) and when something really, truly works, it's time to celebrate! Or, at least, it's time to give these products some serious recognition.

I go for a low-maintainace beauty routine. I spend my share of time in front of the bathroom mirror, for sure, but I'm not the kind of girl to primp and paint for an hour every morning. 20 or 30 minutes, and I want to be done and out the door. So I'm always looking for easy ways to improve my routine, and I think a lot of ladies out there feel the same.

So here are a few of the products I've tried and loved in the past few months. They definitely deserve a try if you're looking for something new (and easy!) to make your morning routine easier.

1.) Maybelline Gel Eyeliner. This stuff is SO amazing, and I'll tell you why: pencil liner just isn't heavy-duty enough to last, and liquid liner is not forgiving enough. When I try to use a pencil, it can be like I'm carving into my skin since I have to push so hard just to make it show up. Plus, it's usually faded in a few hours. Liquid liner is better, but it can have a mind of its own. And...have you ever tried to apply this stuff if your hand is even just SLIGHTLY shaky? It's everywhere! It's not very easy to get off, either, if you DO mess up.

Enter gel eyeliner--a happy medium between pencil and liquid. It's easy to control like a pencil, but bold like liquid liner. It's SO EASY to apply with the included brush, and it's difficult to mess it up, no matter how clumsy/shaky/clueless you might be with makeup (me!).

2.) Covergirl Outlast Lipstain. I hate lipstick. HATE! So much. I mean, it's gone after an hour or so, a casualty of drinking/eating/licking my lips/whatever. And it's sticky and gross and it comes off on everything. Lipstick and me, we just don't get along.

That's why I tried this stuff--lip STAIN. What is lipstain, you ask? Imagine a really expensive crayola marker that you use to color your lips, and you've basically got the idea. This stuff is easy to use, it looks natural, and you won't lick it off in ten minutes. It's certainly not perfect...it doesn't last all day or anything. But it's perfect for people who hate feeling a sticky layer on their lips and would prefer a very thin lip covering that won't come off on anything.

3.) Garnier Fructis Leave-In Conditioning Cream. How do you feel about frizzy hair? Not a fan? Thought so. Neither am I, but I've fought with it for, like, my whole life. I don't mean that my hair poofs into an afro, but when I want it straight, little hairs tend to rebel and curl in a most hideous way. No hairspray or flatiron can tame those menace strands.

Oh, leave-in conditioner--why have I shunned you for so long? If I'd realized that THIS would be the solution, I wouldn't have snubbed it over and over again! I wasted my time on sprays and shampoos that just couldn't cut it. But THIS stuff...it works!

When my hair is still damp, I just work a blob of this stuff in, then style as usual. No, it's not a match for 100% humidity, but on a normal day when my hair would start getting frizzy, this stuff helps a lot. My hair is sleeker and more manageable.

4.) Tresemme Fresh Start Dry Shampoo. If I had to pick one favorite beauty product, this would be it. Holy. Freaking. Crap.

Many hair experts tell you to wash your hair every other day. WTF? My hair is just GROSS on the second day. I've always been a "wash my hair everyday" kind of girl, even though it sucked more time from my day. I've tried dry shampoo before, but without much luck--its weird smell and high price forced me to step back.

But this stuff? AWESOME. You don't have to wash your hair in the shower on the second day. Just shake, spray, wait a minute, then brush it out. Oil? Gone. Odor? Gone. Guilt over buying expensive hair products? Gone (this stuff if cheap!). And as a plus, it adds body to your hair! Some days, I don't even need to style my hair after using this, just a quick brush and I'm good to go. It seriously saves me like 20 minutes on my routine. Love.

Playing Catch-up (in pictures)

Memorial day. I made these decorations to stick in the grass by the graves of my grandparents.

Close-up of the decorations.

 Memorial day.

Dave finished this puzzle on his own...except for the 3 pieces I helped with :)

The garden that I helped my mom plant.

This is too amusing...

Fish at Cabela's!

Cascade Springs!

Yay for Summer!

The great outdoors! Good food! Family and friends! Hobbies!

And...free time!

I am in love with summer. We're having an awesome time, and the best is yet to come! We are excited to do some traveling and also explore some more local destinations that we've never been to before.

We've both been hard at work on our hobbies and spending some time outside (hopefully more, now that the weather's a bit nicer).

Here's what I've been working on:

I love, love, LOVE making jewelry! Ever since I got my stamping kit, I've been going crazy with different jewelry designs and styles. I'm hopefully going to sell some, but we'll see. If you are interested, I can hook you up ;)

But anyway, things are great! I'll let you know when something a little more interesting happens...or maybe I'll post some pictures to kinda catch up on here.

New stuff!

Yay, new toys!

I am FINALLY getting my metal stamped jewelry kit! Hurray! I am way too excited about starting a new jewelry-making hobby :)

Life...

...is great!

Summer vacation begins in less than two weeks. As soon as next Friday arrives, Dave and I will be free. FREE!!! Free to spend time together and start the summer fun!

We've been looking forward to this summer break, and I think we've both earned it. I've been schoolin' full time and workin' part time, and Dave's been busy as ever teaching. It was be awesome to have a break from things. We plan to take several trips, go on hikes and outdoor adventures, and work on projects that are important to us. For example, I really want to finish writing a novel by the end of the summer. It's going to be tough, but it's something I really, truly want to accomplish. I know that Dave really wants to hike to the top of several peaks in the area, and he's getting ready to take that on.

So there you have it.

Hi!

Hi guys! Just popping by my good old blog to say hello! One day I was just like, "oh yeah, I have a blog!" So I checked, and yeah, it's still here. Even after like a bazillion years.

I'll be back soon with more.

Winter Projects

Fall and winter are my favorite seasons for getting creative and crafty! Besides the fun of making Christmas and Thanksgiving crafts, Dave and I also came up with some great ideas for decorating the apartment with cute and inexpensive homemade items.Take, for instance, this star and the pictures surrounding it:

No, this picture was not taken during an earthquake, and our apartment is not slanted :)

Anyway, we were checking out the local craft supply outlet (aka I was pretty much going nuts and buying a bunch of awesome supplies at said outlet) when I found a really huge, cool-looking barn star. It had been made to look rusted and worn, which was neat, but I wanted to paint it to match the kitchen...so that's what I did! As for the surrounding pictures, I cut them out of a calendar of antique crate labels and framed them with dollar store frames. Looks pretty kickin', huh?

Our next project was, oddly enough, inspired by two things: a blank wall space and the pattern on my purse.

After moving our bookshelf, we ended up with a pretty boring blank space on our wall. Instead of buying a painting to go on this wall, I decided that I wanted to decorate it with something Dave and I made. I actually had started to think about the pattern on my purse, and with that inspiration I came up with this:

(this picture was taken in the middle of the project)

Dave and I bought some picture frames on sale, and then went home and drew the design on with pencil. After that, we got painting and had a blast! We each took a canvas and painted over the pencil outline with either red, black or gray paint (to match our living room color scheme). It turned out great, but we are still working on some finishing touches (since we noticed some things were imperfect after putting the paintings on the wall). It was so fun to do that together! I'll post the finished product soon.

And...my latest obsession? These stamped-metal necklaces:

(from etsy.com)

I LOVE these pendants! Not only do I want to buy one, but I have this crazy notion that I could start MAKING my own! It looks like supplies for the project would be a little expensive at first, but I'm really excited at the thought of starting! Once I get going, I'll even make one for you if you want! ;)

That's it for today!

Holidays

The last couple of weeks have been amazing. AMAZING!

How are we supposed to, like, stop spending all of our time together and do things like work and go to school again?

Then I have to remind myself that the reason we do those not-so-fun things is so we can have those amazing, awesome times. Ugh. It's hard, but we've got to stick with it.

I just need to think of summer. See, that's the BEST part about Dave's job--he gets a 3 month break from work! I don't know if school will be possible in the summer for me, so WHAM! There's more time we'll have together. We just have to endure a few hellish months to get to the awesomeness.

Anyway, here's a recap of what went down the last little while:

Christmas celebrations with our families
Snow...deadly, deadly snow
Dr. Who with my sisters
30 Rock, Haibane, Nutcracker and Fruits Basket marathons!
Played with dreidels
Saw Avatar and New Moon. At least Avatar was good...
Celebrated our 4th anniversary!
Worked on my writing
Video games!
New Year's eve parties
I caught a cold :(
Went out to eat waaaaay too much
Two new rats!
I passed my classes ;)
Visits with family
Relaxing drives
Shopping!
Fun in SLC

Yeah, so as you can see I'm going with a list instead of elaborating on all the wonderful events of life lately.

I hope everyone is doing fine, and may this new year be a great one! I know I've said "no resolutions!" this year, but in truth I have a few goals that I am bent on accomplishing. Good luck to those of you who have goals set for the new year...it's going to be sweet!

(Coming soon: creative projects update)

Stick Figure Guy

This guy is a celebrity. I mean, he's everywhere you look, either showing you an example of what you should do or warning you of what NOT to do.

I've never met him, but I sure respect some of the crap he goes through just to keep us safe. Here are two examples of this guy's selfless actions:



Thank you Stick Figure Guy. You make the world a safer place for the rest of us.

At Last

Finals are done. No more school until January! I'm pleased.

This semester has been difficult, but rewarding. I took a poetry class that was very valuable, and I feel like I have come a long way because of it. I took a Topics in Literature class that just blew me away, and I know that I will never forget the readings and experiences from that class. My early American lit class isn't one that I particularly cared for, but I won't complain. And Humanities was interesting...at least I got a much-needed break from English courses two times a week.

Dave is great! He is getting into the teaching groove and developing his style. He used to come home stressed out, which made both of us a little touchy. Plus, our differing schedules made for less time we got to spend together. But now he's enjoying his job a lot more and we are able to adjust our lives so we get to spend more precious time with each other.

We moved our home base this October so that Dave could be closer to work and to upgrade to a nicer place. We loved our little place, but it was time to move on. We now live in a beautiful apartment that is more than we could have ever asked for, with all the features that we always wanted to have but could never afford before. But don't get the wrong idea--we got a steal on this place. We love it here! Of course, weird neighbors always make the dream of owning a home more and more desirable.

One of our two pet rats, Smudge, passed away last month. We were really upset about this, and didn't think we'd get any more rats to keep our remaining rat, Cecil, company. But we caved, and have since added two baby rats to our family :) These guys (Vivi and Dash) are great pets and we have a lot of fun with them!

We bought a new car before we made our move. It's a Hyundai Accent, and Dave has loved driving it to work. He totally offered it to me to be nice, but I figured that he deserved the new car since he has a career now :) That leaves me with the old Cavalier, but she's still running strong (although those new tires did cost a bundle...sigh).

We are coming up on our 4th wedding anniversary this December. Exciting!

So things are great! Sorry for the lapse in posts--I just didn't have the time or the energy. I'm going to try to do a bit better.

Look out for another update that delves into our recent creative projects!

Staying Fit

I feel as though I've put this question out there before, but here goes: how do you stay fit during the winter months?

If I go running outside rignt now, I'll die on the ice. We can't exactly put a treadmill in our apartment. I'd love to be able to run more than anything, but at this point it looks like our only option is an exercise bike (since they are somewhat quiet).

Thoughts?

(p.s. Update is coming up soon!)

Hello

...how are you?

Local Stupidity: Home Cooking...Babies?

I know what you're thinking: "OH MY GOSH! These people are cooking babies!"

Exactly.

I think a revision of this title is definitely called for.

Oh, wait...this IS the revised edition. Well, I hope no babies were harmed...

Joining Forces

So I have this blog called Local Stupidity, and I love it so...but...I can't really expect to keep that going when I'm barely breathing life into this main blog anymore, so...

I'm not going to get rid of Local Stupidity, but I'm abandoning it for now. Instead, it will join forces with this main blog. I'm going to start posting my hilarious findings every once in a while right here for everyone to enjoy.

Edge

We are right on the edge of something amazing.

You know how, in many marriages, the couple starts out with goals? And then there is usually one big goal that is what will make just about everything else in their life plans possible?

We are moving into a new stage of our lives.

We're still in transition. It's not like the hard times are over, but the end is in sight and we are pushing through to get there. In fact, this might turn out the be the hardest part of the journey. But we're so close, and we know we can do it!

We are really excited to be at this point in our lives together. So many dreams are going to be possible for us soon!

It's good to be alive.