5/26/10

{nostalgia}: close to home


I've blogged about this before, but music is amazing. The grip it has on my emotions isn't fair. Once again, I blog about The Get-up Kids. I think they were there during a bizarre transitional time in my life and still, STILL every time I listen to them I get butterflies and dizzy. There was so much going on at the time. I was running, running and running in so many ways. I ran away to Germany, I came home and I tried every day to run away from there. I ran through country roads, around parks and up and down stairs in the mountains. I finally did run away from home and found myself in St. George. Still running and in love with a person that today I can see was fictional. Running to California, running back home, but ever, ever running. It was exhausting. And then one day at the end of our fictional love, the CD's went home with him, and the Get-up Kids with him. I think that's why listening to them is so shocking, I didn't for years. And thus a new chapter was opened in my life-one without running and Get-up Kids. I listen to them now and they IMMEDIATELY shock me back into this time in my life like nothing else can. It is bizarre because so many other albums remind me of different chapters in my life, but nothing like this...

In that same breath I constantly look to Jon and tell him I am so grateful for new music in our relationship. The summer I met him I was reintroduced to such albums as Pinkerton by Weezer and Final Straw by Snow Patrol. OH, and The Scientist. You see, my roommates and I that year became obsessed with a certain movie soundtrack. For those of you that have seen Wicker Park...the movie is ok, but the soundtrack is AWESOME. And we listened to it every day. Seriously though, every day. The Scientist is the last song and everytime I hear it it takes me back to Jon. It's not the original by Coldplay, but a cover and I LOVE IT.
All of this is different though-I still listen to these songs. They weren't locked away in a vault awaiting me to download them randomly and be overwhelmed. They don't shock me when I hear them, they just wash over me like sunshine offering the same warmth and comfort.

Aw, Get-up Kids. My relationship with you is complicated, and I think it always will be. Perhaps I will start running again...but not away, just around.

{Side Note} This is not an original post...now I'm wondering if I'm just running in circles...clickhere

5/25/10

{organize}: my list

So I've been compiling a list of things to do when I find the time, and possibly the place. This is a bit for my own record, and perhaps some entertainment:
  • Beekeeping. I just decided today that I want a beehive. I won't need honey in my food storage...I will be making it (and by me, I mean my pet bees will). This is something that I probably can't do here in our rental, but maybe one day when we have a house like residence.
  • Food Storage. I need to organize it. I have some...it needs work. This will be a project.
  • Cleaning up the 3rd bedroom. This has gotten so bad, I may need to go on a reality TV show to get through it. This ties directly with the Food Storage goal because I need a place to put it.
  • Cleaning out the closets. Awww sweet organization. Off to DI with some old clothes...
  • Reformatting the computer and filtering through the MASSIVE iphoto library I have acquired. This will probably take at least a month. Ouch.
  • editing. ;-(
  • My calling. I have many, many meetings I should be attending and so, SO much I could be learning and doing when it comes to indexing, the new family history website and my own family history. I'm so lucky to be here in St. George, a mecca to my mom's side of the family and a gold mine of information, pics, graves and such.
  • Catch up on scrape-booking. I'm not super far behind, just about 9 months, which oddly is how old my child is...hopefully this isn't a pattern.
  • Finish my denim quilt.
  • Start on Halloween costume...I think I'm going to do some fabulous dress. I can't decided between Sleepy Hollow or Sherlock Holmes...so many options.
  • I have SO many crocheting projects to finish I can't list them.
  • I think I want to take up fruit drying. For food storage reasons, and possibly to sell at our local Farmers Market. No One steal my idea!!!
  • Garden. I still need to plant. We started late last year too but ended up with some nice radishes, tomatoes and watermelons in our pots.
  • Digital bill planning. Currently I have a calendar that I write on...I should probably get on Quickbooks or Excel or something. This isn't fun so I put it towards the end.
  • I really want to throughly clean and perfect each room in my house to the point that I could take a picture and show people, and say things like: this is my clean house. isn't it wonderful...and just remember that picture when it is constantly destroyed. Is that a weird goal?
  • Sort wrapping paper. Don't ask. It's bad. Let's just say I love to wrap things.
  • Begin stock photography.
  • I love making cupcakes but I always buy cake mix and store bought frosting. I want to break out of those boxes and start experimenting with homemade. This may wait until winter when it is realistic to have an oven on in ones house. Mmmm...cupcakes. I'll share.
  • Fabric Design has become a new fascination of mine...I'm going to look into it.
Like I said...emptying this out of my brain on onto computer is already helpful. Posts will follow...

5/22/10

{nostalgia}: wedding photography

I'm feeling very nostalgic this morning. Rachel and I shot our last wedding together last night and it mad me a little sad. I love wedding photography. I love the giant dresses, I love the chaos, and I love the cake. I'm also suddenly feeling a little old. Not too old, but realizing that I'm past some of the more juvenile parts of young weddings. It's sad not having the business that we once did, but we just don't have the time! Weddings are HUGE, and when I mean huge I mean 30-40 hours of editing huge. Now that I'll be home it seems like something I could more realistically tackle, but not with Paisley. And I don't want to do it alone. I've grown accustomed to having a buddy with weddings. It's nice. We flow well, and at this point with as many weddings as we've done, we're like a well oiled machine. That was part of the fun part-shooting this wedding took me back to a short time ago before babies, husbands and so much going on in life. A time where if we weren't shooting a wedding every weekend, we were editing a wedding every weekend. It was fun. We had good times...

I'm excited moving forward to do things on my own, but I do miss you Rachel... ;-)

5/20/10

{photography}: modeling

Check out the newest photoshoot I did here. My baby sister wants to be a model.

{update}: update

I finished my Candida "cleanse." It's been weird eating sugar again. I don't like it as much and I was only off it for 21 days! I tried to chew bubble gum today and didn't even like it...I can't eat a whole pan of brownies anymore...it's so weird. But good. I lost 10 pounds...that's pretty exciting. I'm really looking forward to being at home because the first thing to do on my list is to work out. every day. I seriously have a list of things to do that will last me at least a year-and it continues to grow! I'm going to start with catching up on housecleaning-that should last at least a month, and then get started on finishing quilts, scrapebooks, editing, etc. I've got to completely clear off my computer and reinstall-that's going to be a huge project. Oh and Jon and I have to get things going with our calling too-I'm just excited because I'll actually have time to really get into it. We're the Family History Consultants, which is something that I love to do, and now we'll have time to do it! And we're going to go camping a lot more. Oh, I am so excited. I love my job at Bath & Body, I really really do, but I love my family so much more and I really look forward to devoting my time to them instead. It's exciting.

5/10/10

{blessings}: a breath of fresh air


(Paisley at Cinco de Mayo...she loves maracas)


Oh my what a week. My mind is still spinning. Here's the Laundry List:
  • JON GRADUATED!!!! Oh my gosh it is still so exciting! This has been many years in the making and I am so happy for him. It's been rough!
  • JON GOT A NEW JOB!!! This was incredibly unexpected and extremely surprising and wonderful. They actually found him because the college referred him and really liked his work. They need a full time employee to be their Art Director, which is just what Jon was hoping to do someday!
  • I GET TO STAY HOME! I can't wait. I have list after list of things to catch up on and do. I just can't wait to clean my house and hang out with Paisley...
  • JON QUIT HIS OTHER JOB!!! This was one of the most exciting happenings. If you'd like to hear the full story, call. It's funny.
  • I smashed my knee taking pictures...the camera, thank goodness, is still very well intact.
Among all the chaos we had both sets of parents come visit, on Mother's Day Weekend (busiest weekend other than holiday at Bath & Body Works). I had to work through the whole weekend, making things extra busy. We're glad to be on the other side, taking a breath of fresh air...