Sink or Swim

3 Camping Alternatives

2011-09-26T05:02:00.000-07:00

I love the great outdoors, but occasionally I don't want to experience all they have to offer--if you know what I mean. Like on my anniversary, for instance.

As much as I wanted to enjoy some outdoor time with my husband last weekend, hot showers and heat were not something I was willing to forgo.

We ended up staying at a cabin in Bay View State Park that had electricity, heat, and a nearby bathroom. There are others that have a bathroom included, but they were unfortunately booked.

Look at that cute porch swing!

We stayed warm and dry over the weekend and had an excellent view of the bay right out our front window.

Another option would be the popular Yurt.

Photo by Marya

I think this concept came from Mongolia, but Pacific Northwesterners love 'em. They're fully furnished and usually include a skylight and porch.

And my final, and favorite camping alternative...glamping!

Photo by Laura Hamilton

It's a canvas tent that includes all the luxuries of home--and then some!

Many even have hardwood floors and full dining areas. Check out this video from Alexandria Nicole Cellars for the full effect.

If you don't live in Washington, you're missing out

2011-09-20T08:45:00.000-07:00

This was the view from our cabin last weekend. We spent a few days in Anacortes for our anniversary.

Check out my Flickr account if you'd like to see more.

What I Learned Concerning Homemade Fruit Leather

2011-09-14T05:05:00.000-07:00

1) Don't let your husband buy a 6 lb. can of pineapple.

2) However, if you happen to miss him sneaking it into the cart, search for a good fruit leather recipe, thereby converting the Beast into it's smallest and least liquidy state.

3) This recipe by Vintage Chica was simple to follow, easy to leave in a low temp oven while at work, and roughly the same for any type of fruit, including canned.

4) Adjust the amount of lemon juice you add according to how tart your fruit is as well as your personal taste. I'm a fan of sweet, not sour.

5) Also, the less water you use, the faster your fruit leather will dry out. I tried a fresh strawberry batch along with the pineapple, and each took nearly 10 hours. You want it thin enough to pour evenly but not so liquidy that it takes a full day to dry.

6) Canned or fresh? Although I would still say this is an inventive way to use up extra canned goods--especially those Costco specials your husband just couldn't resist--I definitely prefer fresh. Canned fruit has already been cooked once in the canning process, and therefore has lost some of its flavor. The fresh strawberry fruit leather, on the other hand, was still delicious after 10 hours in my oven.

7) Overall, I would recommend making fruit leather because it's healthier than purchasing Fruit Roll-Ups, and it makes a nice change when you get bored with plain old fresh fruit.

I hope these tips help!

Summer Break is Good for the Brain

2011-09-12T05:00:00.000-07:00

I obviously took quite a respite from the ol' blog world, and you know what? It feels good!

Why are blogging breaks a good thing? They allow the author some much needed down-time, for starters, but they also benefit the readers. My biggest reason for taking a break was to come up with new material.

I definitely feel refreshed and overflowing with creativity. My favorite place to be! And just because I've been absent from Sink or Swim doesn't mean that I haven't been keeping busy. I've got loads of ideas that I'm really excited to share.

Everybody wins!

So, with that said, here's a little sneak peek of what's coming up:

Homemade Fruit Leather - Canned vs. Fresh

Inexpensive and Easy Wall Art

New Photography Adventures with Easy to Understand Tutorials

Being in my early 20's, I'm a beginner at most everything I undertake, so why not share my experiences and lessons learned along the way?

That's why this year is going to be heavily tutorial focused.

I'm an amateur. If you are too, then maybe this is the place for you.

Amateurs Unite!

Why people like B&W photos

2011-06-03T05:14:00.000-07:00

I recently did a photo shoot with a friend's little one and have been working my way through the editing process over the last couple of weeks.

Of the endless possibilities Photoshop offers, I'm really surprised at how drawn I've been to black and white conversion.

Why is that?

One would assume that people find black and white photos less intriguing than color, but oddly it's the opposite.

I have a theory as to why this is.

When you remove the color, your brain has less to to think about and can instantly process what's important--the emotion the photo conveys.

Turns out I'm not the only one with this idea...only these people have fancier ways of saying it.

"This photo...not just displays something, it tells a story. It is both emotional and beautiful. This is what the originality of black-and-white photography is all about." -Vitaly Friedman of Smashing Magazine

"It's classic and elegant, even romantic and special." -BetterPhoto.com

"Color is always a separate actor in a photo apart from the subject. Sometimes it's a welcome addition. For me that's a rarity. Mostly it's a distraction." -David LeBeck

What do you think? Are you a fan of black & white, or do you prefer a wider spectrum?

Spokane, WA is pronounced Spoh-Can

2011-06-01T08:30:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking about how many native city and county names we have 'round these parts.

Puyallup? Pew-all-up

Sequim? Squimm

Hoquiam? Ho-kwee-um

I've spent most of my life in this region so I know how to pronounce them all, but if I were merely visiting or had just recently moved here, I'd be totally lost.

All this to say, I spent my weekend in lovely Spoh-Can, Washington. It's typically pretty sunny in the east end of the state this time of year, but it was still cold enough to be dressed like this:

Which is why I burned my poor forehead and nothing else.

Hey, at least part of me doesn't look corpse-pale anymore. Gotta take the good with the bad!

I'm finding that a 50mm lens is great for portraits and other small subjects but no good for landscapes. Spokane has some gorgeous countryside, and I wish I had brought my little point and shoot.

It's not worth it to me to purchase a different lens for the D50 yet. They're expensive, and I'm still learning how to use the one I've got.

Baby steps. :-)

How to clean a house in half an hour

2011-05-27T10:39:00.000-07:00

I found this post on The Nest a couple years ago instructing newlyweds how to fake a clean home in 30 minutes. I've used it quite a few times myself when I've had company coming over or just plain don't feel like making it an all day process. Something about giving myself a time limit for each household task kicks me into high gear.

I thought it might come in handy for those of you hosting barbecues and whatnot.

Have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend.

Guest post at Centsible in Seattle

2011-05-26T08:31:00.000-07:00

Sia from Centsible in Seattle has invited me to do a guest post over at her blog today.

Feel free to come on over. I'll be talking about how to decorate your house with Dollar Store finds.

I love her site! She offers several different coupons a day for the greater Seattle area as well as a heads up on local events and entertainment with either reduced or free entry.

If you live around here, it's one worth subscribing to. In fact, your debit card will thank you.

Repurposing an old dresser

2011-05-24T09:19:00.000-07:00

When your husband is starting his own small business and the two of you are living off a modest nonprofit sector salary you pretty much have to make due with what you've got--which I'm actually okay with since it helps me exercise my creativity muscles a bit.

Old, ratty pillows get new covers.

Loved ones get handmade Christmas gifts.

And you find yourself bringing the outdoors in.

I had a giant metal desk serving as a pottery workspace in my studio, but it took up half the space in that little back room, and the faux woodgrain top was TERRIBLE for wedging (kneading the clay to get all the air pockets out). I hardly spent any time back there because it was so cramped, and I couldn't stand working on a surface that the clay stuck to like glue.

Time for a change.

Step 1: Find a replacement

I happened to have an old wooden dresser that, although it still had plenty of use left, was no longer good for clothing. The wood began to warp as it aged causing the drawers to scrape along the insides every time we opened and closed them.

This eventually began to leave little bits of sawdust everywhere, and let me tell you, it's not very nice to have splinters in your undies.

All this to say, furniture made of real wood can always be reused, and I knew exactly what my old dresser's new purpose was going to be.

Step 2: Make it fit your needs

A bare wood surface is much better for absorbing moisture from clay and helps avoid stickiness, so I took some sandpaper to the stain and varnish.

It was also about 6 inches too tall, so I decided to cut the legs off and bring it to a normal desk height.

Step 2.5: Call dad for the big guns when your puny $4 saw breaks

Step 3: Make the switch

Much better! I kept the top two drawers for all my small supplies and removed the bottom two in order to create more shelf space. Those little nooks and crannies will be perfect for drying smaller pieces along with storing my bats (those round disks used for working on a pottery wheel).

And there you have it. With only an hour or two invested in this old dresser, I've made myself a new workstation that'll last years.

Dressers can be used for much more than just clothing. The Nester has even converted them into tv stands with storage space and man stations for all her husbands odds and ends.

Do you have an old piece of furniture that can be repurposed? Or perhaps a thrift store find that has more potential than you thought?

Now I'm officially domestic

2011-05-19T07:57:00.000-07:00

The other day my grandma called and asked me to come over. Said she had something for me.

Now what this usually means is a bouquet of freshly cut flowers from her garden or a bag of holiday decorations for me to go through--both of which I love.

But I was beyond surprised when she brought out this box!

I am so ~~spoiled~~ blessed.

Now what to make?

I'm thinking Pioneer Woman's Knock You Naked Brownies.

Any other suggestions?

Overly ambitious

2011-05-16T08:33:00.000-07:00

David and I took the youth group on a little after church hike recently, and I chose Mt. Si--an 8 mile round trip trek with over 3,000 ft in elevation gain.

Papalars

Gorgeous right?

I knew my husband and I could muscle our way to the top and have energy left over for a little jig after reaching the parking lot again, but what I didn't consider were the few teenage students who don't really enjoy a difficult hike and loath every second of P.E. class.

This was not only very inconsiderate of me but very foolish as well since the trail was still under a deep layer of snow for the last mile.

Keds and Converse? They don't do so well in the snow.

But we made it back alive...perhaps a little worse for wear.

And now the students can all say that their crazy youth leader forced them to climb a mountain.

The Booth

2011-05-12T08:16:00.000-07:00

I spent a good chunk of the month of April planning and constructing a 5'x10' photo booth to take to weddings and other events, and when I say "I" what I really mean is "my dad with a little bit of help from moi". From drawing board to execution, it was a massive operation, and I could not have done it without him and David.

It was only a couple short years ago that I was in the thick of wedding planning for our big day, and I noticed this budding trend--renting a photo booth for the reception so your guests can go ham it up and have an extra wedding favor to take home that's unique and personal.

It sounded fantastic, but I did my research, and those little booths that spit out a series of three, tiny, low-quality photos will run you about a grand for 5 hours of use.

My co-worker, Christa, was at the tail end of her wedding planning when she approached me with this idea. She and her groom had their hearts set on having a booth for their reception, but they, also, could not justify spending an additional $1000.

One month later we had this...

...wait, you don't see any picture of this structure we labored over for two weeks? Oh yeah, that's because I forgot to take one.

But, I hope you enjoyed the photos that were taken. You can view the f ull set on my Flickr account.

And we are officially open for business! If you or a friend happen to be interested (and live in the greater Seattle area) send me an email or comment, and we'll talk!

Oldies but goodies

2011-05-10T08:58:00.000-07:00

I don't know why I just used that title. I really can't stand that phrase. Something about the word "goodie" sends a little shiver up my spine.

Anyway, now that I can post pictures up to 625 px in width, compared to my previous 325 px, I thought I'd repost some old pictures that deserve a second chance.

This is before:

And this is after:

Quite a difference, no?

If you like this look, check out Tiger Lily Designs where the lovely Annie sets up shop. She also has a blog with killer pictures, by the way.

Enjoy!

Notice anything different?

2011-05-09T08:50:00.000-07:00

Do you love it? I do!

You know what I love the most?

BIGGER PICTURES.

SAM: How big, David?

DAVID: This big!

This picture was taken with the photo booth last weekend, and I cannot wait to share how that went. But alas, it's time to go to work.

Work and work in progress

2011-04-26T09:23:00.000-07:00

I hope you all had a blessed Easter. I know I did.

There are a couple things I forgot to mention.

1) I got a promotion

I don't like to talk about work too much besides the occasional plug for World Vision, but this is a pretty big career move for me. I won't go into detail, but my new position involves relaying information to and from our field offices around the world to our awesome donors who make our work possible (very cool!), helping the customer service crew when they have questions and taking escalated calls.

Okay, so the last part is not my favorite, but it's really not as bad as it seems. World Vision is a rock solid organization capable of standing up to any scrutiny. They really make it easy for me to answer the tough questions.

Did you know that only 2% of Americans give to charity? That blows my mind.

If you're curious about World Vision, I recommend that you check out their website as well as their profile on Charity Navigator.

Enough about that.

2) A friend asked me to construct and operate a photo booth for her upcoming wedding.

Want to see what we have so far?

So it doesn't look like much, but add the massive yardage of white fabric my dad is holding along with the imitation studio lighting we've been working on and we'll have ourselves a darn good photobooth.

Also it's not really gargantuan, I just have a small living space. It's only 5' x 10'.

The bride-to-be has purchased several fun props for the wedding guests (hats, boas, grass skirts etc.) that she'll be passing along to me after the wedding so I can take this show on the road.

I've done my research, and it's about $1000 to rent a real booth for events, so I figure I can sell this service for half of that...and have much better quality photos.

The wedding is this Saturday, so we're in the home stretch. This should be tons of fun, and I figure I can use my future sales as a way to fund all my expensive hobbies. :-)

By the way, does anyone know how much you need to make before a business license is required?

No coloured eggs and bunnies here

2011-04-22T08:17:00.000-07:00

Surely he took up our pain
   and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
   stricken by him, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions,
   he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
   and by his wounds we are healed.
We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
   each of us has turned to our own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
   the iniquity of us all.

This was written by the prophet Isaiah about 700 years before Jesus was born.

No matter what you think about His followers, you have to agree, He's pretty amazing.

Happy Easter.

By Stefano Costanzo

What is it about paisley that I love so much?

2011-04-19T09:06:00.000-07:00

Lovely, no?

My sweet and talented friend Bethany made it for me in like 20 minutes. She asked me what kind of fabric I'd like, and paisley immediately popped in my mind.

Not sure what it is about that motif these days, but I've been trying to incorporate a little of it here and there in my home...like the paisley shower curtain (which I haven't even started on, by the way).

But I'm loving the fabric she picked out. The colours are fantastic, and it has a bit of Indian flair.

Honestly I won't be surprised if people walk past me and say, "Woah! Who's the girl with the rockin' camera strap cover?!"

Wall o' Plates

2011-04-18T05:14:00.000-07:00

After browsing through several thrift stores I finally hit the jackpot last weekend at the Goodwill in Kent, WA where I found 7 new additions to my green plate collection. That brought me to a total of 10, which I felt was just the right amount to begin my wall art.

Check out the adorable little teacup I snagged! I ended up gluing it to its matching saucer and sticking it up on the wall all 3-D like. C'est parfait!

I was going to use good old fashioned plate hangars and just try to ignore the ugly prongs peeking out at the edges, but my dad gave me the brilliant idea of securing paper clips onto the back with super strong epoxy. Worked like a charm! Just make sure you mix it properly--we've already had one near casualty from shoddy glue mixing.

The next step, naturally, is to lay them out in the design you want. I chose something symmetrical for my first try. Don't want to get too crazy.

And ta-da! My completed plate wall! I'd give you a larger view, but there's a BIG UGLY baseboard heater that runs smack dab through the wall and I don't want you to gouge your eyes out. The $7 Ikea lamp is bad enough. ;-)

It only took me a month an a half to carry this idea through to completion.

I believe that's a record. Hooray for being productive!

Springtime in Seattle

2011-04-10T19:53:00.000-07:00

I had the chance to go back to the UW campus again on Saturday and take some pictures of the cherry blossoms we missed out on last weekend.

And on that note, I've been wanting a layout that can accomodate larger photos, but I'm not quite ready to pay someone to design it for me. Does anyone know of a free solution? I would love to hear it!

Happy Monday everyone--enjoy my collage o' pink!

It's a Friday miracle!

2011-04-08T07:55:00.000-07:00

David and I both depend on our phones as alarm clocks--his is set much later than mine since he goes in to work after I do and his office is within walking distance. Mine, on the other hand, goes off while it's still dark outside.

When I lifted my eyelids this morning the first thing I noticed, however, was that it was much, MUCH lighter than it should be. Poor David. I sat bolt upright and said in my outside voice, "What time is it?!"

I'd forgotten to plug my phone in by my bed the night before.

"It's 7."

I may have uttered a few profanities at that point. Honestly I can't remember. I was supposed to be out the door in 5 minutes.

I got dressed, brushed my teeth, took a good ol' fashioned baby wipe shower (don't judge), hastily put some makeup on and swept my hair into a messy bun.

On my way to work (sans coffee, breakfast and lunch) I called the office to tell them I might be late.

Now let me rewind to the beginning of this week. We had scheduled a vacation to Arizona for a long four day weekend, and I had made up a couple of the hours by coming in early this Monday. Unfortunately all the return flights filled up, so we were unable to use our standby tickets and ended up canceling the trip.

I was explaining the situation to my supervisor over the phone (not hands-free...) and he reminded me that, because my vacation was canceled and I'd already put in some extra time, I didn't need to be in until 8:30 this morning.

So I gladly turned my car around and came back home. A friday with no breakfast or coffee is a VERY bad start to my weekend, especially since I should be lounging by a pool in 80º weather right about now.

Mormonism, Christianity and Witchcraft

2011-04-07T04:42:00.000-07:00

Here's my reading list for the months of April and May. Interesting, no?

First allow me to say that I'm a believer in the Bible. Nothing more. Nothing less.

However, I feel that having a grasp on the basic beliefs of other faith systems is important for all people.

I borrowed The Book of Mormon from a friend with the intentions of better understanding the Mormon community and how their faith is different from mine. I won't be posting my thoughts and opinions as I read, but you're more than welcome to share your own.

I've heard fantastic things about Francis Chan's Crazy Love, so I borrowed a copy and have not been able to put it down all day! I think this one is going to be a life-changer.

Love Life by Ed Wheat was recommended to me by my mom-in-law who's a constant source of solid, biblical advice for both David and me. Being married is one of the hardest things I've ever done, second to following Jesus and trying to love people like He does. Oddly enough, marriage kind of falls into that first category.

Why is it so easy to be unkind to the people we care about most?

One of the big questions I've been wrestling with over the last year and a half of marriage.

And The Goblet of Fire? That's just a guilty pleasure.

Blossomless Cherry Blossom Festival

2011-04-04T04:47:00.000-07:00

David and I went with our friends Cameron and Bethany and their daughter Juliana to Seattle's Japanese Cherry Blossom Festival this weekend, which was fun and all, but there was not a cherry blossom in sight.

What we did see however were lots of traditional Japanese crafts, kimonos and cute kids doing karate.

I just purchased a Nikon D50 last week, so prepare to see a ton of picture posts, at least for a while. I'd love to go on and on about the camera, but I don't want to bore any of you to death. If you've been reading here for any length of time, you'll notice a major difference in the picture quality.

Having a 50mm lens with no zoom is going to take some serious getting used to. Everything seems much larger.

Check out the entire album if you like.

This is a cat post kind of week

2011-04-01T06:21:00.000-07:00

It's been a very intense week both personally and professionally, and you know what would make me happy?

Posting pictures of my cats.

Nothing serious, just some good ol' fashioned kitty love.

Sir Whiskers is a fierce and ferocious wild cat...except when it comes to the vacuum and my hair dryer.

Gertie is somewhat less attractive, has a tail kinked at a 90º angle and sits like a person.

I feel much better already.

Have a good weekend!

I'm Pro Boneless Poultry

2011-03-29T05:05:00.000-07:00

This is the Wing Dome--named after Seattle's beloved sports stadium

It's home to the 7 Alarm chicken wing. Eating 7 of those bad boys in 7 minutes or less with NOTHING to drink will bring you local fame and glory here in King County by sticking your name up on the Wall of Flame.

This is not the 7 Alarm, but don't they look delicious?

I don't eat their tasty wings. And this is why

I have a thing about eating flesh off a disjointed skeleton.

But I love chicken and spicy buffalo sauce. I know I can't be the only one out there with this sad sequence of likes and dislikes, so why doesn't someone create a restaurant devoted to boneless wings?

Or better yet, why can't my favorite seedy sportsbar, The Wing Dome, offer these greasy bits o' heaven sans skeleton?

It feels like an exclusive party I wasn't invited to.

So I stick to the celery and one of these

GEARing up for the outdoors

2011-03-23T22:59:00.000-07:00

With camping and backpacking season fast approaching I'm beginning to take mental inventory of our supplies. Our collection's not too shabby for a couple who's only been married for a year and a half and lives dangerously close to the poverty line, but there are a few things I have my eye on this year to improve it.

(We're doing fine financially by the way...just cutting back to start David's business. I don't want anyone to worry.)

We owe a lot of this collection to our awesome parents and grandparents who enjoy gifting us with outdoor gear, giving us the stuff they don't use anymore, and letting us borrow whatever else we need.

But I'm especially excited for this season because we happen to have an INCREDIBLE hook up for brand new, state of the art backpacking equipment at %60 off retail prices. And whatever we can't afford to add to our own supplies we can rent for free.

I may never have to step inside an REI again.

And that makes my debit card pretty happy.

So here are a few of the things we don't necessarily need but could definitely make good use of this year:

MSR MiniWorks Water Filter

As long as we have a freshwater source, we won't need to pack any drinking water with us which is very heavy.

MSR Hoop Lightweight Tent

We've got a really good 4 man tent, but it's about 20 lbs (which doesn't bother me too much because I just ask David to carry it). It's ideal for car camping, which we also plan to do plenty of this year, but this one weighs in at just over 5 lbs. Much better for backpacking!

Therm-a-Rest Women's Mattress

What I love about this mattress is that it's got extra insulation in the feet and torso areas because us woman folk tend to be colder. I toss and turn all night when I'm cold, and you don't want to see me without my beauty sleep.

Therm-a-Rest Down Comforter

As it turns out goose down--a household luxury--is also perfect for the great outdoors. It's lightweight and incredibly efficient at holding in body heat. This bag will keep you nice and toasty at temperatures above 40º. And this girl refuses to camp in temps with anything less than a 4 in front of them, so it's perfect. They do make more thermal ones for mountaineering, but this is all I would need.

Even if we didn't have this fantastic connection for wholesale prices, these are still the products and brands I would be after. If you're the outdoorsy sort but your paycheck isn't the REI sort, then my advice would be to check eBay or craigslist for some good gear.

I don't have a hook up for the backpacks themselves, so I'll be keeping my eye out on the web until I find the ones I want at a price I can afford.

I'm not going to let my age, budget, equipment, or anything else stand in the way of my need for some serious outdoor time this year, and neither should you.

Typing burns calories, right?

2011-03-22T11:47:00.000-07:00

I fully intended to work out on my lunch break in the new exercise area World Vision has provided, but I forgot a t-shirt, and there's no way I'm wearing a sweaty biz casual top back to my desk.

So here I am typing up a blog post instead. In no particular order, here are the things I'm thinking about right now.

1) I'm the proud new owner of The Prestige, Pan's Labyrinth, and Becoming Jane--three movies that are defintely in my top 10 favorites. Thank you, Blockbuster, for going out of business and offering your lightly used dvds at a price I can't resist.

2) I've got a few years before baby makin' time (yes, I just said that), so I'm trying to figure out which direction my career should take. I love WV, so my desire would be to stay here until my workin' girl days are over. But what do I want to do? The possiblilities are really endless.

Some women decide to go back to work after having children, and that's totally fine, but my heart's desire is to stay home and raise my kids.

3) The food and drink in Leavenworth, WA was fantastic!

The Flavor Express makes the best fudge in town, and I'm not even a big chocolate fan.

I call this one The Candy Man. :-)

Munchen Haus Beirgarten was super fun, and their beers were delicious. Unfortunately I didn't get any good photos of that, but the happy accordion player from Monday's post is located there.

And The Leavenworth Tasting Room features wines from two different makers--Willow Creek and Pacek Cellars--and they offer a tasting of 10 different varietals for $2 a person!

We took home half a case, and I will never spend $10 for a tasting again!

That's all I've got. Time to get back to work.

Bavarian village through an iPhone lens

2011-03-20T06:09:00.000-07:00

I'm barley keeping my eyelids open after a full 7 days of being sick followed by a weekend of exploration in Leavenworth, a quaint German tourist town tucked away in the mountains of western Washington.

The last two days have been full of shopping, taking in spectacular views, meandering village streets, and consuming delicious food, beer and wine.

Sadly, I forgot my camera, so we were forced to make due with an iPhone.

Enjoy these photos while I pop in a movie and fall asleep on the couch.

Fixing another Ugly from the dungeon

2011-03-17T05:21:00.000-07:00

I was admiring this paisley shower curtain that Hannah from The New Black posted the other day, and I felt really inspired to find an easier, less expensive way of updating our bathroom.

One of my house goals for 2011 was to paint over this blue and pink tile:

But the more I thought about it and took the time to add up the cost, the effort, and the pain in the butt of not being able to use our toilet or shower for two days while the oil based paint dries, the more I was dreading the project. This was not an easy pill to swallow considering we don't own this place and all the expenses would be coming out of our own pockets.

Of course we could always work with the tile instead of painting over it ~~or burning the bathroom to the ground and starting afresh~~, but I honestly didn't believe that was possible before now.

How on earth can you make blue and pink tile look attractive?

The answer? A funky colourful shower curtain.

So I checked out the one Hannah featured on her blog and was totally psyched to buy it, but once I read the reviews I changed my mind. Many people commented on the fact that the curtain is very vibrant and 100% vinyl when it appears to be made of fabric with muted tones in the picture.

Shiny clown face paisley?

Not what I'm looking for.

So I've decided to make it myself, and I found the perfect fabric.

It's part of the Posh line by Chez Moi for Moda. The sample you see is about 10 in. so the print is fairly large scale.

David made it very plain that he hates it, but he's agreed to let me go ahead with this rather than spend hundreds painting over all the bathroom tile. If it were up to him he would either a) not do anything about this monstrosity at all or b) choose a fabric that fits within his colour comfort zone: black, white, gray, tan and brown.

The dungeon would be...well...a dungeon without me.

Photoshop makeover

2011-03-16T05:32:00.000-07:00

This is one of the coolest things I've learned so far in my exploration of Photoshop.

I removed a few blemishes, smoothed my skin, concealed the darkness under my eyes, removed shine, added some cheek colour, boosted my lip colour, whitened my teeth, tweezed a few strays, lightly penciled my brows and sharpened my eyes.

Looks natural, right?

Now this girl just needs to figure out how to do a photoshop tan!

If you'd like to give this easy digital makeover a try, I followed a general skin enhancing tutorial by Jody at MCP Actions, and a manual eye sharpening tutorial that doesn't require purchasing a pricey action by Darcy from Life with My 3 Boybarians.

Guess who's face will ALWAYS be retouched from this day forward?

Brought to you by OTC cold medicine

2011-03-14T10:53:00.000-07:00

I'm sitting here on the couch with a belly full of PowerAde and Liquid Dayquil. It's not been a pleasant weekend, so I'll keep this brief and nonsensical.

1) Why do I get the Black Plague once every few months and David's only had a small head cold in the last three years? And why, oh why, does cough syrup have to taste like liquified black licorice and poo? I know I could be taking the capsules, but David accidentally bought the liquid kind, and he's been so sweet these last couple of days, I wasn't about to ask him to go back to the store for something different.

2) I'm glad I'm getting this round of sickness over with since David and I have a ski/Leavenworth trip planned for this coming weekend. I was really sick for our last ski trip back in January, but when I only get to go once or twice a year, I would rather strap an oxygen tank to my back and have an iv drip of sudafed than miss out.

3) David and I watched the documentary Lord, Save Us from Your Followers last night, (which I would recommend for all believers and non-believers, by the way) and it made me incredibly proud to work for World Vision. I'm always happy to be a part of that team, but hearing about our work from someone else's perspective--someone who's not a Christian--was especially awesome.

4) Speaking of my work, we just got an exercise room added to the floor I work on. It was just a big vacant space, and people decided to bring in their equipment from home. We now have free weights, resistance bands, medicine balls, stability balls, and an arsenal of exercise dvds. Hello bathing suit season!

5) For those of you who are interested, I'm following two different studies for Lent. One is just a simple list of scriptures--one for each day--that I read and then journal and pray about. The other is more of a challenge presented by Act:s, a group of college-aged, Christian activists who partner with World Vision to fight for social justice.

This one is especially tough because they stretch you in ways you've never been stretched before. Over the first week, the devotions got me thinking about one of the ways that I've been tremendously blessed in my life. The answer I came up with was education. It's always been readily available to me, and learning comes very naturally to me. Easy enough.

Now I have to give it up.

What?! How in the heck...

Then it came to me. How can I bless others with this gift that I've been given and sacrifice some of my own personal learning time (Yes, I schedule learning time into my day. I'm a big dork.) to benefit someone else besides myself?

Tutoring.

So, I know what I need to do, now I just need to find a way to apply it. I'll keep you posted.

These devotions also come with a new story each week. A story about a real person somewhere in the world facing struggles you and I can't imagine.

Would that make you uncomfortable? Me too.

Do you think sacrifice and discomfort is something God might be calling you to this season?

You can follow along with these Act:s Lent devotions by signing up to receive either a daily email or a weekly outline.

Time to go rest and watch my favorite sick movie, The Secret Garden.

Attention Lentenators!

2011-03-09T12:40:00.000-08:00

Today is Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent.
Now for some of you, especially those who don't share my Christian faith (and even some of those who do), I just threw a bunch of crazy "Church" words around. Allow me to explain. You may learn something you didn't know about the Christian Church before.

Lent is a time of preparation before celebrating Easter in which believers in Jesus take extra time to pray, repent, and refocus their lives around the Gospel.

You might have heard people talk about Lent as the 40 days leading up to Easter Sunday. It's actually 46 days total, but we don't count the 6 Sundays. At the end of each week we take a break from all the heaviness of the Lenten season and take time to celebrate Jesus' victory over sin and death--almost like a pre-Easter celebration.
Traditionally, Christians choose to give something up during this month and a half to help them remember the sacrifice that the Son of God made for humanity. That's all fine and dandy, but the things we give up these days tend to be very frivolous.

Sure I could stay off Facebook or avoid sugar for 40 days, but is that really a sacrifice? And more importantly, will that point myself and others to the cross?
(Just a little something to think about if you plan on acknowledging the Lenten season this year.)
We call the first day of Lent Ash Wednesday because its focus is on repentance, and covering yourself in ash was an outward symbol of inward remorse and heart change back in Biblical times.
Here's what I'll be doing today. Feel free to join with me if you like.
1) Taking at least 10 minutes to reflect on my shortcomings and where I need God’s strength. I'll be praying for God’s wisdom and guidance, and praising Him for His love and forgiveness offered through Jesus Christ.

2) Reading and reflecting on Psalm 51--a prayer of repentance written by King David after he stole another man's wife and purposely had the guy killed in battle. It's a really honest and messy look into the wretchedness of our sin and the awesomeness of God's forgiveness.
3) And as I think about suffering, I'll be praying this Franciscan blessing over all my friends and family, including you, my readers.

May God bless you with discomfort. Discomfort at easy answers, half truths and superficial relationships, so that you may live deep within your heart. Amen.

May God bless you with anger. Anger at injustice, oppression and exploitation of people, so that you may work for justice, freedom and peace. Amen.

May God bless you with tears. Tears to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation and war, so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and turn their pain into joy. Amen

May God bless you with foolishness. Enough foolishness to believe that you can make a difference in this world, so that you can do what others claim cannot be done. Amen

And the blessing of God, who creates, redeems and sanctifies, be upon you and all you love and pray for this day, and forever more. Amen

2011 Hikes and Bikes

2011-03-08T21:20:00.000-08:00

There are several close by trails that I've been wanting to either hike or bike for the last few years but have never gotten around to. They may or may not happen this year, but I feel as though writing them down is a step in the right direction. Spring is quickly approaching and I have approximately zero outdoor plans so far.

Everybody and their grandmother likes to camp 'round these parts, so making reservations at a good campsite needs to be done several months in advance. The beauty of hiking/backpacking and biking is that I still get my outdoor fix, but I have the freedom to go at a moment's notice. The only problem is that if I don't plan it ahead of time...I don't do it.

And just to clarify, when I say biking I don't mean pedaling up a mountain side. I mean a leisurely ride on a nice paved trail with a picnic basket and a bottle of wine. I never really got into the whole mountain biking thing. I'm barely coordinated on my own two feet--throwing in a bicycle is just asking for a catastrophy.

We do enjoy the occasional easy "camping trip" complete with hot showers and a roped off swimming area as well as jumping on our bikes for a quick ride to Starbucks, but there's something about climbing elevation into the quadruple digits and biking 10 mile trails that makes my butt look really good during swimsuit season.

With that said, here are some biking and hiking trails I'd like to try this year:

Mount Si

We hiked Little Si (the peak this photo was taken from) last year and it was a piece of cake. I'm looking forward to a bigger challenge with a better view from the top this time.

Boulder Lake

12 miles round trip, super secluded, and easy terrain. This one would make for a perfect prayer hike.

Paradise Glacier Trail (Mt. Rainier)

It would be a crime to live here all my life and never hike Mt. Rainier National Park.

Upper Big Quilcene - Marmot Pass

We missed out on backpacking through the Olympic Rainforest last year, so I'd like to make up for it. This year's trip will be about half the distance but three times the elevation gain. Lord help me.

Cedar River Trail

Over 12 miles of paved gorgeousness. I can't believe I have a bike trail this beautiful less than 20 minutes away.

Des Moines Creek Trail

This trail was just reopened, and it heads straight for the Puget Sound. Ride 5 miles through pretty forest, then go play on the beach. Sounds fun to me.

This should keep my busy for the spring and summer of 2011. Hopefully I'll get to use my snowshoes a couple more times before winter ends as well. Anyone else excited for outdoor adventures? Trying anything new this year?

Snowshoeing: If I can do it, so can you!

2011-03-06T21:55:00.000-08:00

In honor of my dad's birthday, we decided to head up to the mountains this weekend and go snowshoeing. I was a first timer, and although I used some muscles that are typically in hibernation this time of year and will most likely be a little sore tomorrow, it was a great adventure and one that I would recommend for people of all ages.

David and I were given two pairs of snowshoes for ourselves about a year ago, and the other two we rented. I called several different sporting goods stores to find the best deal, and we ended up going with Sports Authority. Their prices were about half that of the other local stores, and their equipment was great.

If you don't like to ski or snowboard or, like us, love winter sports but have a tough time coming up with the cashola for lift tickets, this is a great way to get out and enjoy the snow at a slower pace and a smaller budget.

It was also perfect for taking pictures! When I'm trekking through woodland trails rather than racing down groomed slopes, I find there are many more photo opportunities, so I'll let the rest of this post speak for itself.

Okay, so I wanted to show off the cake I made for my dad too. Pineapple Upsidedown is my fav.

And one more for good measure.

Doesn't God make the coolest stuff?

These Aren't Your Grandma's Dishes

2011-03-03T22:13:00.000-08:00

Last week I mourned the rejection of my cabinet idea, and truthfully I'm still a bit frustrated about it, but rather than continue to stew and weep over the injustices of life, I'm channelling my house-decoraty energy into a new idea. One that, once completed, will hopefully be a focal point of our living space and take some attention off the uglies that are not in my power to change.

A plate wall display.

Aren't they lovely?

These photos are all taken from The Nesting Place, my favorite decoraty blog and a major advocate for us lowly renters.

Here's what I've got so far. I've decided to hunt for plates of different shades of green while remaining in the same family of hues. And while I'm staying away from anything with a graphic design or a pattern on it (umm, hello grandma's china collection?) I might throw in one or two funky ones for kicks.

These are the only three I found in a week's worth of thrift store hunting, so this might take a while. A perfect project to take my mind off of all the oddities in my house that can't be changed.

If you can't fix the ugly, focus on something else!

Lotsandlotsofcalories=award winning recipe

2011-03-03T05:54:00.000-08:00

First let me say something that's been on my mind all day.

I think yesterday's post would have had more traffic had I titled it "Naked Limbs" instead.

Glad I got that off my chest. Moving on.

I attended my first ever Oscar party last Sunday. Although I never got around to seeing all the best picture nominees, I still had a ton of fun walking the red carpet, making my award predictions and watching the results unfold.

But everyone knows a night of skinny movie stars in designer gowns wouldn't be complete without a food competition. A ridiculously fattening food competition.

The instructions were to bring a creative dish for the potluck, gleaning inspiration from the blog This Is Why You're Fat.

Go ahead; you know you want to look. I'll wait.

Now, although my dish doesn't score high points in the creativity department, the calories (Oh the calories!) more than make up for it.

I call it Heart Attacaroni.

And since I know you're all eager to consume an entire day's calories in one sitting, I've decided to pass the award winning recipe on.

Oh, and I did win by the way! Awesome, right?

1 Prepackaged macaroni and cheese entre (I used one from Stauffer's that serves 10)1 Package cheese singles1 Pint heavy whipping cream1 Package bacon plus bacon grease1 Bag potato chips1 cup colby or medium cheddar cheese

1 Prepackaged macaroni and cheese entre (I used one by Stauffer's that serves 10)1 package cheese singles1 pint heavy whipping cream1 package bacon and bacon grease1 bag potato chips1 cup colby or mild cheddar cheese

Cook the macaroni entre according to its instructions, and while it's in the oven fry the bacon to desired level of crispiness.

Warm the whipping cream over medium-low heat and add cheese singles torn into small pieces. As they begin to melt, lightly whisk it into a deadly heart-stopping cheese sauce.

When the macaroni is done cooking, mix your bacon, bacon grease, cheese sauce, and half the bag of potato chips into it. You may need a bigger dish than the disposable one that came with the frozen entre.

Spread remaining potato chips over the top of the mac 'n' cheese and sprinkle your cup of cheese over the top. Cook at 350 for 15-20 minutes, then broil for two.

If you'd like to read something actually movie related from Oscar night, check out Cam Knows, a blog written by one of the party hosts. He's got an entire rundown of the award show.

Naked Branches

2011-03-02T05:26:00.001-08:00

Top three reasons I love my new house accessory:

1. It was free

2. I'm reusing it

and

3. I love bringing the outdoors in

We had a great Chinese New Year celebration with some friends a few weeks back, and I stuck the gnarliest branches I could find into this vase to hang all the red gift envelopes from.

A couple days after the party I began to disassemble my makeshift tree, but once it was stripped of all the fancies, I really liked the look of it.

So I've decided to keep it intact, and as soon as I find the time to grab a can of spray paint at the store, these beauties will be turned white. That should stand out really well against the green wall methinks.

Also, I've been spending a good chunk of my free time exploring Photoshop. On the first two pictures I used Pioneer Woman's Quick Edge Burn and the piano features her Vintage action at 60%. What do you think?

Sad day for a lowly renter

2011-02-25T06:35:00.000-08:00

When it comes to living in a rental, there are usually two schools of thought.

1) It's not my place, so why should I make any improvements to it?

and

2) I might as well make this place reflect my personality while I'm here, even if it costs me some time and money.

I used to fall into the first category. In fact, right after I got married, I was a little resentful that we couldn't afford to buy, but God really did an overhaul on my heart, and I've learned to be content with where I'm at--not only that but to actually enjoy it.

"The Dungeon" has, over time, become a tearm of endearment, and once I'd learned to wrap my mind around the concept that being a renter is not so bad, my mind began to fill with all sorts of ideas to transform this basement/duplex into a relaxing dwelling that I'll be proud to one day look back on as David and I's "first place together".

I love posting all my ideas on here as well as their progress and completion, but there's one in particular I've been tossing around for the last year--one that would instantly revamp the look of this 1960's basement:

Adding simple paint and trim to the kitchen cabinets, transforming them from this

to this

What's not to like?

Something apparently, because the landlord said NO. Even with all the expenses out of our own pocket, he still wasn't willing to budge. Said he likes them the way they are.

Aaaand, now I'm slipping back into my category 1 tendencies.

I know I shouldn't take it personally, but my pride is a little bit bruised. I really thought this was a good idea and an easy way to not only make the place more livable for us, but also to add value to his home.

Although I would like nothing better than to sit here and sulk, browse the internet for house listings, and dream of a day when I can do whatever I darn well want to my kitchen cabinets, I know it would do me no good.

I have to make due with what I've got...somehow.

So, I'm taking another leaf out of the Nester's book. It's a fantastic idea that will hopefully take some attention off those horrid faux woodgrain cabinets.

I'll post on that next week, and in the meantime maybe sneak some stylish hardware onto the cabinets.

Rocky Mountain Hardware

I'm a Photoshoppin' fool!

2011-02-22T05:17:00.000-08:00

You're reading the post of a proud new owner of the world's formost photo editing software. That's right, these fingers are typing on the very same keyboard that, only moments ago, was used to explore myriad new commands for Photoshop CS4!

I could sing from a mountain top!

A little extreme you say?

If you've ever used it, you understand what I mean, but if you haven't had the pleasure here's the free Ps CS5 trial (the latest version). Give it a try, and see what I'm talking about. You'll have so much creative power at your fingertips you won't know what to do with yourself.

Remember the special 31 Days to a Better Photo series I was reading along with back in October? Well, I was pretty bummed that the last 10 days focused on editing when all I had (and all my poor computer could handle) were iPhoto and Picassa.

Don't get me wrong, they are both useful tools that make the photo editing process very fast and easy, plus they're FREE, and we all know that free is my favorite price. However, there are some major drawbacks to freebee software. I was pretty much limited to one-click editing, which means poor quality and not a whole lot of creative control. For those reasons, I sometimes even preferred photos straight out of camera to those that had been edited.

Anyhow, now that I've jumped on the Ps bandwagon I decided it would be a good idea to go back and peruse through those last 10 lessons from 31 Days, especially her YouTube Photoshop tutorials.

I've definitely got a long way to go, but here are a few before and after samples thusfar:

Obviously the changes are pretty subtle. I haven't worked up enough courage to do the crazy stuff yet. These were all taken at the University of Washington in Seattle, and my little model is Juliana, my blog and real life friend Cam's daughter.

My mental vacation to Narnia

2011-02-17T06:38:00.000-08:00

This picture is my new happy place. Which is only fitting since it was taken at The Happiest Place on Earth.

Andy and Laura Pinnell of Studio 517 (my go-to photographers) took a recent trip to Walt Disney World and took this picture in the Journey Into Narnia exhibit which features reconstructed sets from Prince Caspian.

If you've been reading here for any length of time, no doubt you've noticed my love of CS Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia. I tell my friends with excitement and anticipation that my first kid's nursery will be Narnia themed, but they just laugh and shake their heads as if to say, "Dear Lord, let's hope she changes her mind when the time comes..."

The set in the picture is particularly awe-inspiring, so I've asked Andy and Laura to hook me up with a ~~mural for my bedroom~~ 5x7 copy to keep at my work desk. I'm sure most of my coworkers will know what it's about, but if you aren't familiar with the story, let me fill you in!

Aslan is a talking Lion with magical powers who created a world called Narnia.

Sounds weird, but it gets better I promise.

Many years pass and an evil queen takes over the land he created and oppresses all the creatures. After a hundred year reign of terror, four children find a magical passageway to Narnia from our world. They believe it's by accident, but they soon find out that they were brought there to fulfill an ancient Narnian prophesy stating that four humans (two boys and two girls) would put an end to the queen's tyranny and bring peace back to Narnia.

One of the brothers betrays his other siblings and accepts a bribe from the queen to turn them over to her. She does not succeed with her evil plot, but instead the boy is rescued. Although he's safe from harm, his betrayal must be paid for...by death!

Aslan, creator of the world, willingly lays down his own life in exchange for the boy's. He hands himself over to the queen and her army to be mocked, tortured and stabbed. That table in the picture is where the sacrifice took place.

But the story doesn't end there; the next day as the two sisters mourn over him, the stone table splits in two and Aslan returns to life! The boy is pardoned of his betrayal and goes on to become a king of Narnia.

It sounds pretty bizarre for a childrens story, but it's incredibly profound. Hearing this story as a little girl helped plant the seed that eventually grew into the faith I have now as an adult, and once in a while when I start to have doubts and confusion I like to set aside the heavy load of theology I've picked up over the years and just go back to my happy place.

Sometimes Narnia (talking animals and all) makes more sense to me than heavy books with no pictures that teach proper hermeneutics, eschatology, and exegesis--and I think that's how CS Lewis intended it to be.

What helps you make sense of your faith?

So I took some pictures

2011-02-14T06:00:00.000-08:00

I've really been wanting to improve my photography skills on the whole (and let me tell you, I've got a LONG way to go!) but right now I'm working on portraits in particular. Pictures of landscapes, cityscapes and nature are all beautiful--don't get me wrong--but for me, capturing all the "people moments" is top priority.

Have you ever heard anyone say, "Man, I wish I hadn't taken so many pictures of my kids as they were growing up," or "Honey, it was a waste of time to take all those photos of just the two of us when we were first married."

Consequently, I've been practicing my manual shooting this morning, trying to get the perfect settings for portraits. Don't laugh, but I only had one subject available to me at the time...

...Sir Whiskers.

Things I've learned:

The dungeon is DARK! Even in the middle of the day, our ~~bunker~~ house doesn't get much light.
My camera's ISO goes to 6400...doesn't mean it looks pretty. It has a tough time at 200.
Using the widest aperture is a good thing for portraits. (Thanks Christy!)
We're officially saving up for another camera--starting now

And now I'll show you a pretty cool looking photo I took so I don't feel so bad about myself. ;-)

1/80s f/4.0 ISO 200

Oh yeah, and happy Valentine's. Sometimes I wonder if St. Valentine would laugh should he ever find out what his holiday has become.

Superbowl Sunday minus the football

2011-02-08T21:31:00.000-08:00

So, I didn't watch the Superbowl this year...why do I feel like I've commited high treason by admiting that?

It's not that I dislike pro football--I even have a few favorite teams, but this particular event tends to be a sensitive subject for those of us Seattle Seahawks fans who are still upset about Superbowl XL.

In short, one of the referees purposely made a couple calls in the Steelers' favor. It was a very close game, and those of us rooting for the Seahawks (along with even a few Steelers fans) firmly believe that we should have won. The ref himself even admits that these bad calls had a major impact on the game. Some say that he was paid a large sum of money to make them, although he says they were simply mistakes.

But I'm over it...really.

So I've been thinking to myself for the last few football seasons, Why do I do this every year? Why do we all get together to yell at the TV and get all worked up over a system that's been corrupted?

And after some serious reflection I've found that the most enjoyable aspects of the event are the good food and friends. Which is why we decided to have a couple friends over for dinner and dessert this year and watch the farthest thing possible from pro football...

...The Fellowship of the Ring.

And we were having such a good time hanging out and talking that when Gandalf died I didn't.even.watch.

Yes, you read that right.

That has to say something about our newly founded tradition: Superbowl Sunday minus the football.

Did you watch the game this year? Or have you made your own tradition?

Free solutions for camera flash glare

2011-02-01T20:37:00.000-08:00

I can't stand the way my pictures come out when I use my camera's flash. Faces are washed out, there's light glaring off the hard objects, and there are nasty shadows everywhere. A $10 to $20 diffuser would fix this, but I'm not willing to spend that much on an opaque piece of plastic when photography is just a minor passtime of mine.

But does this mean that we lowly point-and-shooters should suffer these harsh effects everytime we're faced with a poorly lit subject unless we fork over the cash for something better?

Not at all.

Today I have three free solutions for making a simple flash diffuser for your camera. These ideas come from a friend of mine, Andy Pinnell, who owns a camera the size of a dinner plate that weighs more than Sir Whiskers (which is saying a lot these days). He and his wife own and operate their own photography business called Studio 517. They did an incredible job shooting my wedding, and they're always willing to share a bit of advice about their passion.

Solution #1 Scotch tape

This one is the easiest to do, but not ideal if you don't want tape goo stuck on your camera. I ended up using about 8 layers of tape to get the desired amount of light diffusion.

Solution #2 Milk jug

This quick fix is perhaps the most difficult, but if you cut it out just right, it'll stay on securely without any tape or rubber bands, and it's easy to use over and over again. Use scotch tape to cover any open areas. I used part of the jug handle, and it snaps on perfectly! Definitely going to save this one.

Solution #3 Vellum or any other opaque paper

This solution may cost up to $1 if you buy the real thing, but I'd give parchement or wax paper from your kitchen a try first to see if it works for you. For a pop-up flash, I just made a few folds in the paper, wrapped it around the flash and added a rubber band to secure it.

You can use any of these budget friendly diffusers with a camera that has the flash built into the front, but it might take a little more creativity to fasten them on.

I think the milk jug provided the softest light. The shadows in the background and the glare off the pot were significantly reduced with solution #2.

Which one do you think looks best?

f/4.0 1/100s ISO 200

Click to make it bigger.

Because I can't afford $10 movie tickets

2011-01-27T22:07:00.000-08:00

I wish I could keep up with all the movie buzz every year, but, like many others, I can't fathom spending hundreds of dollars to see all the latest and greatest films in theaters. A date night here and there won't break the bank, but when the awards ceremonies roll around, I always feel like a big doofus having only seen 2 or 3 of the nominees at most.

The Golden Globes have come and gone, but it's not too late for the Oscars.

AMC puts on a Best Picture Showcase every year--an all day marathon of top notch movies--for just $30 a person. A few locations will be showing all 10 best picture nominees in 24 hours while the rest break it up into two consecutive Saturdays--the 19th and 26th of February. It's typically $30 a day for the two day event, but I'd like to wait and find out how much the 24 hour gala is.

I know an entire day at a theater sounds pretty brutal, but you can come and go as you like throughout the day and take a nap during The Kids Are All Right and Winter's Bone which I probably wouldn't even watch if they were available to stream instantly on Netflix.

So if you're a movie fan and broke as heck like myself, then check it out!

Pillows before and after

2011-01-26T06:51:00.000-08:00

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that I was working on these petal pillow covers, and I finally finished them this weekend.

They turned out really well for a girl who's hardly touched a sewing machine since Home Ec. in the 7th grade.

The instructions were easy enough to follow, but cutting out all the little felt petals was time consuming. If you're going to try this I would recommend enlisting someone to help. Perhaps a husband, child, or sibling.

This small project only cost me $6, and really changed the look of my living room. Just a few more turquoise and green accessories, and I'll be set for spring!

Here's the before:

And here's the after:

Looking for affordable entertainment?

2011-01-24T17:44:00.000-08:00

Don't overlook you're local high school! There's a ton of talent to be beheld, and plays, concerts, athletic games and talent shows are usually $10 or less per person. You may even be one of the first to witness a future celebrity in the making...

...and here's the part where I brag about one of my youth group students...my pastor's daughter to be specific. David and I went last Thursday to a talent-show-like competition (she's very insistent that it's not a talent show) and had a great evening for only $5 a piece. There were several very gifted students who bravely stood up in front of hundreds of people to share their vocal talents.

Perhaps I'm a smidge biased, but Michaela was the best in my opinion. She had the rockin' accompaniment, the crowd pleasing song, the cute outfit, and of course the killer voice. The whole enchilada!

It's pretty loud, so you might want to lower your speakers to half mast.

She came in second place by two points, which may or may not have had something to do with the voting system. This event doubled as a fund raiser, so they had extra votes for sale at $1 a piece, and let's just say, my pastor is not exactly Scrooge McDuck with such a small congregation. (Just to be clear, I use that simile to convey wealth, not stinginess)

But even with such a close second place she still had a great time, and we're crazy proud of her.

Although I'm sure some of that enthusiasm can be attributed to several practice sessions with an all male jazz band. ;-)

Onion Eyes and Carmel Carpet

2011-01-18T18:04:00.000-08:00

It's been a very exciting week with my transition to the 30 Hour Famine team. My schedule is even better than I thought it was going to be, and it's awesome to have a nightlife again--not that I'm a party animal or anything, but I would much rather be curled up on the couch watching a movie with David at 8pm than be at my desk making phone calls.

I truely love the Famine, and I'm not just saying that because I work for World Vision. I had a chance to participate in the 30 Hour Famine when I was in middle school, and it's something that's stuck with me for the last 10 years. I really stunk at fund raising, but fasting for 30 hours with my friends to raise money and awareness for those in severe poverty is something I otherwise would never have experienced.

My life has never been, by Western standards, extravagant, but the fact that I'm blessed beyond belief compared to those in developing countries is undeniable.

We get so cozy and complacent with our three bedroom two bath homes, our two or three well maintained vehicles, and our pantries full of food, that we seldom think of those who don't even know when there next meal will be or how far they'll have to walk to get water that won't kill them from deadly parasites.

It's not wrong to have things, but we're all called to help those who don't.

And I'm a little passionate about this. Can you tell?

Okay, I'll step down from the soap box now and tell you about an unfortunate incident from last night that involves hot gooey brownie coming into contact with my freshly vaccumed floor.

I rushed home from work yesterday to make a desert before we headed out to see some friends of ours. I chose the Gheridelli Carmel brownies, and let me tell you...t'was pure chocolatey perfection.

I was able to pull the finished brownies out of the oven just minutes before we had to leave, and as I balanced the pan on an oven mit and reached into my purse for the car keys, the pan toppled to the floor, and hot gooey brownie colided with my light tan carpet.

I did not handle it well.

In fact I recall throwing my purse down, bursting into tears, and having a Charlie Brown moment: hanging my head, and dramatically stating that "everything I touch gets ruined!"

The good news is, I'm completely over it, the bad news is, I now have hardened carmel stuck in my carpet. So today's post work project will be finding a way to get it out without giving up and burning the place to the ground.

On a lighter, less arson-related note, my brilliant husband has discovered a way to avoid that horrible rubbing-alcohol-in-the-eyes sensation when cutting onions.

I've tried chewing gum--doesn't work. Squinting my eyes--the vapors still find their way in. And my aunt recommended holding a piece of bread in my mouth while I cut, but it seems to me this would impare my vision, and I like my fingers too much to try it.

While cooking together a couple nights ago, David came into the kitchen wearing these...

Smith ski goggles--worked like a charm!

Plus...I think it looks kinda sexy.

What I do in my David-free time

2011-01-11T20:45:00.000-08:00

I love my husband dearly, but we've had short fuses with one another lately. It could be that he's coming down with something, and me? Well, I'm just moody on occasion.

Whatever the case may be, I'm really enjoying a few hours alone this evening while he goes to hang out with friends. What makes it even better is coming home at a regular hour. I forgot how nice it is to have more time to unwind and get a few things done around the house before heading for bed.

And speaking of work, it's official! I've joined a new team within World Vision, and my schedule will be changing to an early, but enjoyable 6 am to 3 pm next week. Answered prayer!

So besides some minor marital discord, I'm in my happy place this evening, and I thought I'd show you all a few of the things on my to-do list.

-Make some progress on my petal pillows

I'm a bit challenged when it comes to sewing, but these pillows are really simple. The most time consuming part was cutting out all the felt pieces.

-Make the bed for once? Check!

Nothing better than crawling into a freshly made bed that's already warm. The electric blanket was an AWESOME Christmas gift from David.

I realized after looking at my bedroom pictures that I forgot to include a couple of things on my list of house goals for this year, so allow me to amend:

Our bedroom has been badly neglected in the decoration department, and it's time it was fixed. Besides some paint on the walls and a few pictures, we could also use a headboard, some window mistreatments, and perhaps even an area rug. What is it about a bed with no headboard that looks trashy?

Moving on.

- ~~Finish~~ get close to finishing Sense and Sensibility.

That's another reason why I'm really looking forward to this schedule change--more reading time. If you aren't familiar with Jane Austen's stories, I encourage you to check them out. You should be able to download them for free on any e-reader, and if reading isn't really your thing, no worries, just watch any of the movies based on her books produced by the BBC. Those British folk really know their period pieces.

-Watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer to my heart's content

It's my alone time. I'll do what I want. :-)

Inspiration, or stealing ideas?

2011-01-11T07:00:00.000-08:00

Over the last couple of years I've been taking a snapshot or two every time I see a ceramic piece I really like. That way I can remember the particular element that caught my eye and try to work it into some of my own pieces. There are obviously a couple of moral quandaries with this. For instance, these pictures are always taken in stores or galleries where photography is a no no for this very reason.

They fear that someone will try to copy their ideas, and I know there's a more eloquent and professional way of putting it, but I've forgotten what that is at the moment.

So it might be a teensy bit illegal or frowned upon, but I do it anyway because I view it as seeking inspiration rather than copying. It's not as if I'll create an exact duplicate--I just like to glean a few ideas here and there.

Consequently, it might not surprise you to find that I'm of the opinion that there is nothing new under the sun. No piece of art is completely original, and all artists are influenced by something.

I'm not quite sure why, but I'm particularly drawn to these two. I love the idea of functional pieces with a bit of savoir faire--which I'm sure is entirely the wrong adjective to use, but I really don't know how else to explain it.

Handles that appear to have grown right out of the cup or peeled to the sides of a pot like the bark of a Madrone tree have been catching my eye for a while. They have an understated elegance that I'm excited about incorporating into my work.

That is, if I ever find time to sit down at my wheel again.

Goals for the Dungeon

2011-01-06T10:29:00.000-08:00

I've been waiting all week to be part of The Nester's link up on house goals for 2011. I wish I had the money to fly her out here so she could transform the Dungeon into an oasis using only clearance items, second hand store finds, and things I already have but never saw the value in.

In short, she's the renter I wish I could be.

I know I make jokes about living in the bottom half of an old house that appears to have been built by Mr. Magoo, but with The Nester's help, I actually feel a little bit of pride in being a lowly renter as well as hope that I can turn this place into a home--for however long I'm here.

So, without further ado, here are my house goals for 2011:

1) The Kitchen

-The cabinets
I saw this cabinet update idea a long time ago on the BHG website. Just some paint, trim, and wood blocks, and I'll have a fresh look that should take 40 years off those old things.

-Paint

-Just because you're a renter doesn't mean you need to live with white walls
-Storage
-I'm not crazy about having all my serving ware on top of the cabinets and fridge.

And I thought I would throw in a picture of the DaySpring Ever Grateful memo board I won in a giveaway at The Nesting Place. I love that thing!

2) The Bathroom

-Paint
-Again with the walls
-I know I've been talking about it forever, but the blue and mauve tile is KILLING ME. It needs to go white this year before I combust.
-New faucet fixture

3) The Bedroom

-Paint
-Somewhere to sit
     -Maybe a small bench or trunk at the end of the bed
-Outlet on the ceiling
     -I know I've said it before, but I need to find some other way to plug my stuff in without letting cords hang from the ceiling, as well as ditch the old blue college reading lamp.
-Walls
     -Along with paint, I could use a few more pictures and things. I just need to find a way to fasten them to concrete. Who the heck builds a house with concrete walls?!
-Night stands
     -I love having a bookcase right by my side of the bed, but I would like two matching nightstands even better. I need as much space as I can get in there since it's only a 10 by 11 square foot room.

I also have some goals for the pottery studio, but I think it will always be a work in progress. And is there really any way to make that kind of thing aesthetically pleasing? I'll give it some thought.

Well, I'm glad to have all that off my chest, and I hope you enjoyed.

Happy new year house dwellers!

Good News...with a 5% chance of DISASTER

2011-01-04T09:38:00.000-08:00

I'm really hesitant about posting this, but there's a 95% chance my schedule will be changing back to normal next week! Some of you might know that for the past few months I've been working 'til 9pm with Thursdays and Sundays off. I know it's not the worst schedule in the world, and I've probably been a big weenie about it, but I miss my husband, dangit! And not having consecutive days off is a drag, especially around the holidays.

If all goes well, I'll be joining a special team at World Vision that works with youth leaders around the country. Right up my alley!

Anyway, two supervisors confirmed it last week, but for some reason I'm still in a bit of denial. What if they change their minds at the last minute and I've already broken the news to my friends, family, and coworkers? How embarrassing!

So until I'm actually driving to work in the morning and planning what I'm going to do on my glorious two days off, I'll stick to 95% certainty. That leaves me a 1 in 20 chance that something will go wrong. Then when the bottom does fall out, I can tell my family, "Well, it was bound to happen."

I'm a paranoid weirdo. That's why I think of these things.

Goals Revisited: It's that time again

2010-12-30T13:13:00.000-08:00

Preparing for Christmas was like taking on a second job this year what with all the homemade gifts and baking/chocolatiering. What does any of that have to do with celebrating the birth of Jesus? I've no idea. But it was a fun experience, and one that I will likely try again in the future.

My family members seemed to enjoy their handmade ceramic wares, and I was just pleased that nothing was broken beyond repair in the process. If my cups hold water, I call that a success!

The leftovers are gone, the presents have been opened, and the Nativity scene will soon find itself back in a box and stuffed atop a shelf in the closet, but there's one Christmas tradition that lingers well into the new year...

...a nasty cold/flu/plague.

Lovely.

And maybe it's the low grade fever talking, but this year I'm just not interested in setting any new year's resolutions for myself. I'm just where I want to be in life, and I don't want to search for reasons to be discontent.

Of the 14 goals I set last year, I only accomplished 5.

I know they're little; sorry about that. You can click on them to enlarge. Or don't. I'm not too concerned about it--just excited for the new year. As the writers of Lost would say, whatever happened, happened.

And if you haven't watched Lost, you should start. Like now. 2011 is going to be a great year for you.

Finished Products and Lessons Learned

2010-12-15T10:07:00.000-08:00

1) Less is more, except when it comes to the foundation of your pieces

2) Glaze is much better dipped than painted on

3) You can re-glaze high fire pieces if you don't like the way they came out the first time. (I was told in college that you can only do that with low fire)

4) You don't have to make handles the way your professor taught you.

5) Next year start earlier if you want your loved ones to receive real art rather than simple functional pieces like cups and bowls.

Fixing a dumb mistake

2010-12-14T09:54:00.000-08:00

Here comes another pottery post. I promise I'll throw a little variety in soon, but for today I'd like to show a really simple and even beautiful technique for fixing the blunder I make most often: making the bottoms of my pieces WAY TOO THIN.

The bottom of your pieces made on the wheel (cups, bowls, vases, etc.) need to be nice and sturdy to support the rest of the clay body. If you make it too thin, chances are you will bust right through it while you're trimming (taking off the excess clay to give it a finished look), or it will heat and cool much faster than the rest of the piece in the kiln and cause a big ol' crack in the bottom.

Three of my pieces had bottoms of less than 1/4 inch so I tried to fix it by putting a piece of slab on the bottom.

Even with all the scoring (roughing up) and slip (wet, glue-like clay) the makeshift bottoms just didn't want to stay on in the bisque firing.

Normally I would just toss the three pieces, but Christmas is approaching fast--no time to hit the re-do button! So I went to plan B.

And put broken glass in the pieces with the thin foundations. When the kiln heats up, the glass melts into a little pool, and when it cools you get a really interesting crackly look.

No typical art consumer would buy this--it would be obvious to them that I had made a mistake--but its functionality is still in tact, and to be honest I kinda think it looks cool.

I think my family will love it.

Before and Afters from my 1st firing

2010-12-10T09:31:00.000-08:00

I'm wiped. And I have a huge headache--presumably from all the fumes I breathed in yesterday. So today's post is going to be mostly pictures. I'm sure I won't do this every time, but I figured I should carefully document my first firing for nostalgia's sake.

I realize I threw about 10 different rules out the window in loading my kiln, but girlfriend here is broke and simply could not afford to buy more shelves and posts to keep things off the kiln floor. Nor could I afford to do multiple firings. I don't want to see the look on David's face when he opens the electricity bill this month.

But everything came out pretty well with only a couple casualties. Much better than I had expected! Stoneware is usually an orangy colour after bisquing, but you'll notice that some of the pieces are much darker. That's only because I used two different kinds of clay--both high fire stoneware.

Here is the small, or junior, cone before firing.

And here it is after. That little cone tells the kiln when to shut off, and because I'm a big nerd I promise to do a post on how that works.

And here is a before and after of the large, or senior, cone. A perfect bend!

As I mentioned before, there were a couple of accidents, but thankfully all is not lost. I'll show you later how I plan on fixing the two pieces that weren't so fortunate.

What husbands are good for

2010-12-09T11:22:00.000-08:00

I have many irrational fears.

Spiders
Lightening
Needles
Outer space
Needles (yes, I doubly fear this one)
Authority figures
and the list goes on

But there's one I forgot about this morning...electricity. I won't even jump start my own car for fear that I'll get shocked, and if the Christmas lights blow a fuse I'd rather throw them away than try to replace it on my own.

It's ridiculous.

So this morning, I went to the Clay Art Center in Tacoma, came home, loaded my kiln, and prepared to begin the firing when I realized it was unplugged.

We only have one 240v outlet in our house so my kiln has to share with the dryer. I've already told you about some of the shoddy work in our dungeon, and when I saw this sinister looking metal plate hanging out of the wall there was no way on Earth I would be the one to swap them out.

So I called David who works less than 5 minutes away from our house and asked if he could come home and do this terrifying task for me.

He was here almost before I hung up the phone, and the kiln is now plugged in and heating up to cone 04!

My knight in shining armor... :-)

What to do when you're waiting for clay to dry

2010-12-07T09:27:00.000-08:00

Easy. Write a blog post and work out for a change.

All my gifts have officially been built, so the hard part is over!

Now I have to wait for all my pieces to reach a phase known as bone dry (no moisture left) before I can bisque fire them. Bisquing happens at about 1930º Fahrenheit, or cone 04, and the intense heat is what changes the material from clay to ceramic.

On a side note, my husband has been asking me to throw away those awful yellow pillows in the corner for almost a year now, but I can't bring myself to do it. I've got plans to recover them after I'm done with all these Christmas gifts, and I stumbled upon an awesome idea this morning to make it happen, but more on that later.

And yes, those are beads inside an ashtray. The beads are for my cutie pie niece's present and the ashtray is for my upstairs neighbors who like leaving us gifts in our back yard of the cigarette butt and empty beer can variety.

Just thought I'd return the favor.

My first ever firing is scheduled for this Thursday. The Skutt 231-18 is OLD, but it's been well cared for and all the heating elements are working, so everything should go smoothly. Please pray that I don't burn the dungeon down and, more importantly, that all my gifts come out beautifully.

T'was the Month After Christmas

2010-12-06T10:44:00.000-08:00

Twas the month after Christmas and all through the house
Nothing would fit me, not even a blouse.

The cookies I'd nibbled, the eggnog I'd taste.
All the holiday parties had gone to my waist.

When I got on the scales there arose such a number!
When I walked to the store (less a walk than a lumber).

I'd remember the marvelous meals I'd prepared;
The gravies and sauces and beef nicely rared,

The wine and the rum balls, the bread and the cheese
And the way I never said, "No thank you, please."

As I dressed myself in my husband's old shirt
And prepared once again to do battle with dirt---

I said to myself, as I only can
"You can't spend winter disguised as a man!"

So--away with the last of the sour cream dip,
Get rid of the fruit cake, every cracker and chip

Every last bit of food that I like must be banished
Till all the additional ounces have vanished.

I won't have a cookie--not even a lick.
I'll want only to chew on a celery stick.

I won't have hot biscuits, or corn bread, or pie,
I'll munch on a carrot and quietly cry.

I'm hungry, I'm lonesome, and life is a bore---
But isn't that what January is for?

Unable to giggle, no longer a riot.
Happy New Year to all and to all a good diet!

-Author Unknown

The Best Painting of Mary EVER

2010-12-02T15:41:00.000-08:00

This might be the strangest post I've ever written, but when I saw this painting of the virgin Mary I knew I had to share it with both of you.

Maybe you've seen it before. It's called "The Annunciation," painted by a late-19th and early-20th century artist named Henry Ossawa Tanner, depicting the announcement of the angel Gabriel that the teenage, small town girl, Mary was about to be supernaturally impregnated with the Son of God by the Holy Spirit.

What I love about this painting is that Mary looks 14 or 15 rather than 35 as many artists depict her. You can tell she's lived a humble life, and she looks scared and confused. I also love that Gabriel appears as a bright light rather than a winged festooned creature.

I really enjoy many of the silly Christmas traditions--the music, the tree, the sugar cookies--they somehow have a way of lifting our spirits and bringing us closer together for a time, but this? This touches my soul.

I want this picture hanging in my house. The way that God intimately reaches out to a sinful, scared and confused humanity never ceases to captivate me.

I hope you're all enjoying this Advent season!

It's not really cheating if someone handmade it

2010-12-01T10:08:00.000-08:00

Although I don't completely agree with the tradition of finding/making/buying a gift for each family member for Christmas (too much pressure...not enough Jesus), I still feel compelled to join the masses every year in the hunt--or in my case, crafting--of the perfect presents for my loved ones. I always feel a twinge of guilt and panic when a few of those around me say, "I was done with my shopping and wrapping in August!"

Not that I'm a total procrastinator, but I find myself at this place each year: Less than a month to go and so far, no gifts for anyone. A whole month left may not sound that bad, but add full time work, part time school, taking care of a house, and a few episodes of "How I Met Your Mother" for sanity's sake and I don't know how I can possibly finish everything in the next four weeks.

C'est impossible!

I've you've committed to making handmade gifts and are starting to feel the pressure like myself, perhaps consider doing things the easy way....handmade...by someone else!

My friend Bethany makes the coolest antique button rings, each one unique!

I have a cute black and silver one that I've had several compliments on already. Visit Bethany's shop, check out pretty jewelry, fulfill your "handmade" promise, and stay within your Christmas budget. Mom's, sisters, wives, and friends will love them as much as I love mine!

Not every kiss begins with Kay, people...

Greenware

2010-11-29T22:01:00.000-08:00

Remember the creepy back room?

That's where I've been spending the majority of my free time the last few weeks. Not because I enjoy the creepy--but because of the vow I took months ago to give nothing but homemade Christmas gifts this year.

I thought to myself, what talents do I have that I can share with my friends and family?

Besides tap dancing and bargain shopping?

Well, there's always pottery. And although I wouldn't quite call my ceramic work talented, my loved ones might find my handcrafted gifts useful or, at the very least, a little endearing.

So I've been throwing, building and scuplting my heart out over the last three weeks, and I've already got 6 peoples' gifts constructed--that's over half way done!

With four weeks left before Christmas (can you BELIEVE it?!) that should be just enough time to finish building, bisquing, glazing and firing the rest. Not much room for mistakes...and this will be my first attempt at firing in my new kiln.

Stay tuned for a potential disaster.

Never thought I'd marry a guy like this...

2010-11-01T10:45:00.000-07:00

I grew up with a dad who came home from work every day smelling like sawdust and dirt in a pair of Carharts and steel-toed boots. You see, in my mind, heroes don't wear capes, they don tool belts and hard hats. As a little girl, when I imagined my future husband, I pictured someone just like my dad--calloused hands and all.

Though David may look very different, he's the same on many levels: imaginative, compassionate, driven, understanding, godly, and great with kids.

Today is his first official day at his new office, and, though he's unlike the husband I expected, I couldn't be more contented with our life together as brand new small business owners--living in our dungeon.

We're a match made in Heaven...and I mean that in the most literal sense.

Oddities from "The Dungeon"

2010-10-22T11:05:00.000-07:00

Of all the quirky things in the basement I like to call home, this one is by far the strangest--and the most difficult to disguise.

A beautiful tall bookcase, housing all my little treasures...but wait. Look closer and you'll see...

...an outlet on the ceiling?!

Yes, it's true. There are only two in our bedroom: one on David's side of the bed, and one on my side. David, having already lived here before we got married, claimed dibs on the ground level outlet.

I use my phone as an alarm clock, so I have to keep it plugged in by my side of the bed every night. Obviously a simple solution would be to share his outlet and just ignore the ceiling one, but who knows what kind of drama would ensue were I to clamber over him in the dark every morning to turn it off or push my beloved snooze button.

I know what you're thinking.

Clambering over my husband every morning? A tangle of limbs in the dark?

Trust me. Not as romantic as you'd think.

Also, I'm a big reader, so I like to keep that old, blue college dorm room lamp by my bed.

So besides rewiring, any suggestions to make this arrangement work better for us?

And I feel it's time to ditch the blue lamp and get something a little more sophisticated. Any ideas?

Thank you, readers!

Let's see how the day goes, shall we?

2010-10-18T10:08:00.000-07:00

Yesterday started off great. After church we headed to The Northwest Trek (a zoo that features animals from the Pacific Northwest) and met up with my sister's family.

We had a great afternoon, and I wish I could have spent more time with them, but we were hosting a wine tasting later that evening for some of my coworkers. We had to get home to set up.

Homemade wineglass markers and a table full of food pairings all ready to go, along with everything I made beforehand. Now all that's left is for the guests to arrive...

...7:00...

...7:05...

...7:15...

...7:30...

Only one person actually showed. Sad, right?

The weirdest part? I don't even work with him anymore! But the evening wasn't a total loss. We hung out, had a glass of wine, and went to Target.

Yes, Target.

Oh, and now he might be interviewing for a sales position in David's office. So, I suppose things could have gone worse.

But here's the real kicker--today's my birthday, and in just a couple hours I have to go face all the no-show-ers.

I'm feeling a bit dejected and embarrassed.

Not really how I wished to spend my 23rd birthday, but that's life.

Here's to hoping #24 is better.

Glitter makes everything better

2010-10-14T15:27:00.000-07:00

So last night I went to pick up David from the airport. He's been in Chicago on a business trip since Sunday night , and let me tell you--I've been a wreck! It was my first time sleeping alone since we've been married, so yes, I was a little lonely. And the fact that I started a crummy new schedule at work and watched Becoming Jane three times certainly didn't help.

I love period films--especially those in association with the BBC--so I'm not sure why it took me so long to finally see it. But now I have, and my life will never be the same.

A little dramatic perhaps?

Sure, but I would honestly give this movie my highest recommendation. Ladies, if you haven't seen it, put it in your Netflix queue this very minute! Dudes, if you haven't seen this glorious film, do it for the ladies.

But anyway, David is home, and our October is back on schedule. We're getting ready for our wine tasting party this weekend, which means two things: decorating for fall, and having the whole house clean for a change. I won't bore you with the cleaning details, but here's a little fall decorating tradition I picked up a couple years ago:

Instead of the usual pumpkin carving, I like to decorate them. It's a really fun change from the old tradition, and, with one quick trip to the local produce stand for a cart full of $0.50 pumpkins, we were able to make a youth group activity out of it.

You'd better believe all of my decorated pumpkins will include some form of glitter and/or metallic paint.

It's my mark.

Shooting in the M mode

2010-10-11T08:09:00.000-07:00

To be quite honest, I know absolutely nothing about photography. Without the handy little symbols, like the running man, flower and face, I'd be totally lost--and even some of those confuse me.

But I've always wanted to learn, and, lucky for me, it seems my opportunity has finally arrived in blog form, and during my birthday month no less!

You heard me, birthday month. :-)

Anyhow, about a week or so ago I was making all my usual stops in the blog world, which included the Nesting Place of course, and was excited to find that for the month of October, The Nester is focusing on 31 Days to a Less Messy Nest.

And let me tell you, I'm a PERFECT CANDIDATE for organization tips!

But wait, there's more...

She's not the only one focusing on "31 Days to a _________". There's a whole group of 'em! But my favorite happens to be 31 Days to a Better Photo over at Life With My 3 Boybarians.

She's taking the entire month of October to tackle teaching the art and science of photography a day at a time, so I jump on my laptop every morning (regardless of the time I have left to get ready for work...) and learn something new. Which means I should be pretty much professional by Halloween. :-)

So without further ado, I bring you my first venture into manual shooting. So long auto mode!

These gourds are the only subjects in my household that would stand still long enough to shoot. ISO 200 f/8. Notice the fine detail in the background?

ISO 200 f/2.8 and I can't remember the shutter speed for either...but see how the background is now blurred? Pretty cool!

I wish I could have more adventures with aperture, but that's as wide and narrow as the lens on ~~David's~~ my Nikon Coolpix P90 will go. Maybe I'll have a fancy pants Cannon or Nikon one day, but this is great for a beginner.

Only 20 days left of photography basics--if you've always wanted to learn, like me, go check it out!

It's about time

2010-10-02T19:15:00.000-07:00

Things have been busy around the Levang house this week. I'm trying to make the most out of my last few days with a normal work schedule before things go topsy turvy, and David is right in the thick of opening his new business. We've been spending lots of quality time together in preparation for the crazy times ahead, but it's been bittersweet.

We're officially one year into our marriage and more in love than ever.

At least I think so...

Which is why I'm a little sad and anxious about the coming months. We've got a pretty good foundation, but it would be foolish to assume this is going to be easy. With me working noon to 9pm and David putting in around 60 hours a week to get the business up and running, our time and nerves will be stretched thin.

Please pray for us if you think of it. We'll need all the help we can get to make sure our second year of marriage is as sweet as the first.

But enough of the serious stuff. Time to see what I've been up to these last few days.

David and I are hosting a blind wine tasting in a couple weeks for some of my coworkers and these are the number markers and covers I made for the wine bottles. I was looking for a burlap material at Jo-Anns, but when I saw a yard of this light brown fabric in the remnant bin for under $2 I couldn't say no.

These are the wine scoring cards. I've never done a blind wine tasting before, but I hear that the cheapest one often ends up being the best. Should be fun!

The reason I love decorating for fall is two fold. One, if you go with a basic harvest theme, you can leave it up for three solid months. (only truly lazy people think about those kinds of things) And two, it's cheap. Just bring a little of the outdoors inside, like these pumpkins and gourds. Instant fall!

Remember the terrariums I made for Mother's Day? The two I kept for myself have done so well, I had to take the tops off today to give them more room to grow! Unfortunately, I think all the other recipients of my Mom's Day gifts have killed theirs. :-) (note to self: don't give anything living next year)

And lastly, it just wouldn't be fall without the giant ceramic pumpkin.

My dad and aunt made this together in 1977, and my family has put it out every year since I was a kid.

About a month ago I stopped by the yard sale my dad was having, and I saw my beloved pumpkin with a $3.00 sticker on it!

Needless to say, I brought the family heirloom home with me after giving a short lecture to my dad on tradition.

Now I just need to convince David that it's totally worth taking up our limited amount of storage space to keep a massive ceramic pumpkin in the family.

I hope you're all enjoying the season as much as I am!

Getting Fired: 5 Stages to Acceptance

2010-09-24T19:03:00.000-07:00

I know it's been a while since I've posted. This has just been a heavy season for us--meaning weighty, not overweight, but yes, that too. Some huge life changes have taken place, like my new job and our decision to become small business owners, but you know how it is. These things tend to come in threes.

David lost his job today. His boss wasn't very happy to find that he'd soon be managing an office in competition with hers. The strange thing is, we're not really upset about it. Of course it sucks big time to know that you were "let go" from your last job, but if anything it'll give David some much needed time off and a chance to get an early start on his new business venture.

Also, it's semi-humorous to think that we've both been fired in the last couple months.

I'd say that pretty much makes us professionals on the subject, which is why I've written these five stages of acceptance just in case you, heaven forbid, happen to join us here in the ranks of the vocationally terminated.

Stage 1: Denial

Involluntary shaking of the hands and a wavering voice are just a couple signs of stage one. The feeling of being outside of one's body may occur as you repeat inside your head, "This can't be happening right now."

Stage 2: Panic

Your brain goes on Red Alert as you frantically calculate your finances. However, at this stage, the calculations tend to lean towards the irrational rather than the logical.

"My children will be wearing garbage bags to school and eating saltines for dinner, I'm certain of it!"
Stage 3: Anger

"How DARE they?!" Enough said...

Stage 4: Strategizing

You take a second, more rational, mental inventory of your monthly expenses, sorting them all into two catagories: needs and wants.

"I guess my morning Starbucks ritual isn't a matter of life and death after all, and I hear generic cereal brands taste almost like the real thing."

Stage 5: Acceptance

You finally come to realize that, for better or worse, you are no longer employed, and there's nothing you can do to to change it. No re-do button. No giant eraser. No shaking up the Etch-A-Sketch. Having an understanding that time waits for no one, you take a few deep breaths and move on.

This is the step where the Christian offeres his or her situation to God and asks Him to bring the best out of it. As Maria once said in The Sound of Music, "Whenever the Lord closes a door, somewhere He opens a window."

She may have been considered a flibbity jibbet around the convent, but she definitely had her moments.

Have a wonderful weekend!

International Traveler Extraordinaire

2010-09-15T18:41:00.000-07:00

Just two short days from now I'll be out of the country, which sounds pretty impressive until you come to realize I only live a couple hours from the Canadian border. British Columbia was one of my most frequent vacation spots growing up, so you could say I'm pretty familiar with international travel...if you disregard the fact that I haven't been outside the continent of North America.

Vacations don't come cheap for a family of 6, so trips to Canada were right up our alley, which is apparently also true for newlywed couples toughing out the worst economic tempest of the last 70 years.

But I'm thankful.

First of all, I love Canada so stinking much, I actually considered moving there for a job last year. And second, we feel blessed to even be taking a trip at all.

With my new job, a change in schedule, and David possibly starting his own business in the near future, our time and money are stretched pretty thin--which are just a couple of the many reasons I'm so thankful for the region we live in with all its spectacular sights within driving distance.

Although I do hope for other anniversary trips in the future that include white sandy beaches and sun, for now I'm totally excited for our upcoming Canadian adventure and overjoyed by the fact that we made it through our first year of marriage alive and with sanity intact!

For the most part anyway.

I love my husband. I love our life together. I love our cats. I love our dark dungeon house.

And most of all, I love the idea of many more years together.

I love a good mini vacation

2010-09-14T07:24:00.000-07:00

I'm almost positive I've been blessed with the best in-laws ever!

David and I, quite literally, headed for the hills this weekend for a wedding.

His uncle and new aunt generously offered to pay for our stay on Saturday night, which was enormously helpful for us as we're still pretty newlywedded and trying to save money for our first anniversary next weekend.

The wedding venue was four hours away, so I'm especially thankful that we didn't have to make the trip in one day. It also gave us a chance to spend the entire weekend with David's immediate family--some of the most fun and loving people I've ever met. I seriously thank God for hooking me up in the in-law department.

And now for some photo documentation of our adventures:

We stayed in Winthrop, Washington, an old western themed town with a high tourist population.

David and I forgot to pack our swim suits so we ended up going to the local thrift store. I won't show you what I wore (trust me, not so cute...) but the swim trunks David bought definitely won him the "hottest man at the pool" award.

Sexy, right?

I know. I wanted him to keep them, but sadly they're headed back to the second hand store for some other lucky man to discover.

Just like a faucet that leaks...

2010-09-09T21:55:00.000-07:00

So, I think I figured out a way to keep posting regularly with this new job and my daily mountain of homework. There isn't a whole lot of down time in my customer service position, but working in a call center means waiting for a lot of...well...calls, and with the few minutes I have in between phone conversations, I can easily type up a quick posty post to keep you all informed of the latest happenings in my oh-so-fascinating life.

Unfortunately, I can't log on to Blogger and post this right away, so I'm just typing in my little note pad program in the hopes that the formatting won't end up all funky like Wednesday's post. Although, I have to say, it looks a bit poetic that way.

Besides the recent job change, not a whole lot has been going on in my life. David and I have been working on recording a few Christmas songs (he does all the hard work, I just do whatever he tells me to do). Maybe I'll upload a couple to share with you when they're done--I promise it won't be as bad as my camping videos.

Fortunately for you all, I've come to accept that the camera is not my friend.

Anyhow, I love Chirstmas, and making an album with all Christmas songs is something I've wanted to do for the last 10 years! Plus, it's also a great gift idea for our homemade gift rule this year.

Although, if they turn out terrible there's NO WAY ON EARTH I'm sharing them. They will go straight into the virtual shredder, never to be heard again by human ears!

In other news, I've had a song stuck in my head for two days straight, which is pretty typical for me, but this song in particular tends to wedge itself into my brain at least once a week.

I really don't mind though. It's so good that I think to myself, "Right on! I LOVE this song!!" while dancing to the music in my head, confusing many an innocent bystander. I can't help it. It's RELENTLESSLY CATCHY!

Marching Bands of Manhattan. Maybe you've heard of it. I would encourage you to listen to it if you haven't already, but then you might get the sickness. So we'll leave it at this. Listen...if you dare.

Happy Thursday everyone! I love 4 day weeks. :-)

Some personal stuff and a creepy lady

2010-09-08T20:53:00.000-07:00

Please pardon the formatting issues!

I don't mean to be distant.

Okay, actually I do. I've just got my hands full lately with this new job
and part time school. Both of which are decidedly more important than
the nonsense I churn out on this here web log. Although my life is
typically not so blog worthy, a couple things have happened in the
last week that I simply MUST share with the world wide web.

I have some good news and some bad-ish news. Let's start with the
bad...ish...shall we?

I'm not sure if I've mentioned this or not, but accepting this new position
at World Vision means a huge change of schedule for me. I was spoiled
with a nice comfy 8 to 5, Monday through Friday schedule with my last job,
but this new opportunity requires a noon to 9pm shift for the first 6 months
with Thursdays and Sundays off. I love this job and am certain that it's worth
the temporary inconvenience, but one major change has got me feeling a little
down.

I can no longer lead my church's youth group!

For the next six or so months I'll be getting off work at the same time youth
group is ending and parents are coming to pick up their kids. Sad!

These kids mean a lot to me, and I definitely went through a whirlwind of
emotions when David and I came to this decision. What makes it a little
more bearable, however, is that God's given us a great girl to take my place
this year.

We'll call her T.

T is actually a grade school teacher, so she has no problem keeping hooligans
in line, and I'm really excited to see what new ideas she brings to the group.
Also, I totally trust her to work alongside my husband while I'm not there. A
very important thing indeed!

Okay enough serious stuff. This isn't so much good news as just something
funny I wanted to share.

The other day I was teamed up with one of my coworkers, a nice guy from
Costa Rica, to take phone calls from child sponsors. The time was dragging
by with all the long wait times between calls, so I decided to play a game.
You know the one where one person draws a shape or scribble on a piece
of paper then the other person has to make a picture out of it?

Yeah, that one.

My coworker warned me he had no interest in playing the game nor any
skill at drawing, but I was persistent...to say the least.

We came up with some exceptionally disturbing interesting pictures, but the
one I want to show you is by far the best. A few minutes after handing my
coworker a nice squiggle with lots of potential, I received what he called
"a lady in a nice dress".

Behold:

Is this not the creepiest face you've ever seen?

I laughed so hard I cried.

I love my job. :-)

Christmas is around the corner, or so they say.

2010-08-29T16:40:00.000-07:00

So my brain has been a big pile of goo these last several days. I'm two weeks into my new job and a week into my fourth (and hopefully final!) year of college. After learning procedures all day at work, then coming home and studying, the last thing I want to do is sit down at the computer and crank out a blog post, but here I am. Why? Because I miss writing nonsense.

It's been difficult to get back into the swing of things with full time work and part time school and I'm just exhausted, so until things slow down a bit you'll be seeing a lot more of my husband and cats on here with maybe a silly anecdote every now and then.

One thing I've been thinking about quite a bit is gifts. I made up my mind a few months ago to do a homemade Christmas this year, so I'll keep you posted on what I come up with. I've already got ideas in mind for each member of my family but one...David.

I seriously have no idea what to get him, or rather make him this year, and I know many of you are thinking, what's the big deal? Christmas is still months away!

Call me crazy, but I like to plan way in advance when it comes to birthdays and Christmas. Kind of ironic really, considering that I'm planned and organized in approximately...zero other areas in life. Also, it just means a lot to me to find the perfect gift for David. He's not a man of many emotions, so I consider it a personal challenge to elicit a big response from him when he receives his gifts.

That's all I've got for today. Time for a nap! And maybe some fried mozzarella sticks! And a drink!

Tune in next time for pictures of my cat. Seriously.

What the Heck is a Jesuit?

2010-08-23T20:40:00.000-07:00

I'm into my second week now at World Vision, and I'm loving it! Aside from having a positive impact on the most impoverished communities in the world, I think my favorite part so far is getting to know my coworkers.

Although we all fall under the category of "Christian" I'm definitely learning things I didn't know before from each of them. Today, for instance, I had an opportunity to open the file in my brain labeled "Questions I Have About Catholicism" and verbally bombard one of the girls on my training team.

Poor thing. I don't think she saw it coming.

Anyhow, now's my chance to spew some of my recent findings all over the world wide web. Ready?

Let's talk about Jesuits.

I grew up thinking Jesuits were rich Catholic kids who excelled at everything. Why? Because my small town high school frequently competed against a local Jesuit school in different extra curriculars such as sports and theatre...and they always beat us...bad.

Not your average butt kicking, mind you, but a brutal massacre of our talents and skills.

So I've always had this picture of academic elitism in my mind for so called Jesuits, and it wasn't until today that the record was set straight.

In the 16th century a wealthy man named Ignatius was wounded in battle and began to think seriously about the meaningful things in life. Dedicating his entire being to the service of God, he founded the Society of Jesus--the Jesuits.

They're basically priests of the Catholic church who want to take it to the next level. With a strong belief in intellect and rational evaluation of one's faith, they are best known as advocates of education, hence all the Jesuit schools.

Growing up, I was taught that the Catholics were...well...cuckoo for cocoa puffs. Unfortunately, I think it's the same for many of us who grew up in the Christian church. What I wasn't taught was that our similarities far outweigh our differences and that our differences are not only insignificant, but often misunderstood.

Jesuits definitely aren't elitist rich kids with an aptitude for every high school extra curricular known to man. They're an order of Catholic men who encourage rationality and intellectual stimulation rather than a blind faith, and you know what? I'm a Protestant, and I agree with them.

Too Much Time on My Hands

2010-08-16T21:46:00.000-07:00

I'd say today's reentry into the working world was very successful.

Can you really say that if you were only unemployed for two weeks? And doesn't the term "reentry" sound more applicable to rescuing baby tiger orphans and setting them free in the wild again after they're grown? Ah well...

It was nice to have an unexpected vacation, but I do confess that two weeks of housewifery is definitely enough for me to realize that I'm not ready for a "home centered" lifestyle--meaning, I'm not ready for kids.

My first day on the job at World Vision was a breath of fresh air. Not only was it a break from the monotony of laundry and dishes, but the intensive training feels very similar to school...which I love!

Sick, I know.

I decided to take a short break from the blog world last week. Why? Because lengthy posts aren't really necessary when my entire week can be summed up in the following pictures.

Blackberry cobbler

Berry Blue Jell-o

Orange chicken

Laundry basket makeover

Yep, just a whole lot of food with one small project that took me less than an hour. And it wasn't even my idea. A friend suggested it. The basket, not the food.

A tough first day at work combined with the departure of two good friends overseas has left me mentally and emotionally exhausted, so I'll go ahead and wrap this up.

I'm glad to be back and looking forward to catching up on all the juicy posts I've missed.

A Tale of Two Appliances part 2

2010-08-09T10:01:00.000-07:00

Last week I showed you Mr. Washer

all on his lonesome.

Today I'd like to show you where Miss Dryer lives. And let's just say, it makes the bathroom look like a walk in the park.

She dwells just beyond that door with the slat missing. It doesn't look so bad with the light on in my pottery studio (tour coming soon!), but look what happens when the lights go out...

Creepy. Am I right?

Moving on.

She's been crammed back into a small storage/hot water closet

with no one but Mr. Water Heater for company (he's nice enough alright, but he's no Mr. Washer...that's for sure!).

If the house belonged to us, we'd be willing to do some renovations and make an actual laundry room where Miss Dryer and Mr. Washer could be reunited at long last,

but unfortunately we be renters. Arrg. (Not sure why that particular phrase calls for a pirate accent, but we'll just go with it)

In the meantime, do any of you lovely readers have suggestions for making these two spaces, my bathroom and creepy closet, a little more livable? They're terribly unsightly, and I need a quick and inexpensive fix before my brain explodes.

Yours truly,

Sam

Come see where I do my business

2010-08-06T12:23:00.000-07:00

And by business I mean laundry.

We live in the bottom half of a 60's style house converted into a duplex. Because this house wasn't designed to be two separate residences, there are a few screwy things about it...one of them being a washing machine in the bathroom.

We've put a lot of thought into moving it, but there's really no other alternative. This is the only semi-practical location in the house with access to hot and cold water.

And the dryer? It's tucked way back in a creepy hot water tank closet...the only place with a vent to the outside. It's seriously so eerie that I sometimes wait until David's home to go back there. You know...in case I don't return.

But I'll give you a peek at that next week.

For now, does anyone have a potential solution to the bathroom situation? The washing machine takes up a large amount of space, makes it difficult to maneuver while doing laundry, and is a huge eyesore.

We've thought about buying a more compact double stacked unit, but there's no way to put in a dryer vent in.

I'm at my wits end, blogworld, and I'm reaching out to you! Any ideas??

Any of you renters or former renters want to share your two cents? Answer me this: At what point do I say, "Oh well; We'll just have to wait until we're home owners to make things the way we want them. It's not worth the work right now."

Honestly, I don't know if my sanity can take it. It would be so nice to get away from the feeling that I'm living in a basement hastily converted to a home.

Do me a favor, and let's not even discuss the blue and mauve tile...

My bathroom doesn't want to be blue and mauve! It wants to be brown and green with lovely white tile. It told me so.

I'd love to keep showing you all the little quirks of my ~~dungeon~~ house in exchange for advice. It could be a long while before we buy a home, so I want to focus on making the most of what we have--with your help!

You'd think I'd have more to say...

2010-08-04T17:06:00.000-07:00

...considering I've got all the free time in the world while I'm out of work, but sadly the top item on my agenda is what to put in the quesadillas I'm making this evening.

That's not entirely true. I did have an awesome time this afternoon visiting with David's family and catching up with my brother-in-law who's just returned from a nine month mission trip overseas. That's exciting news! He's got loads to share about his travels and the people he's met. I can't tell the stories nearly as well, so I hope he'll be willing to do a guest post or two.

Prepare to be informed!

So, I sit here on the floor of my living room contemplating what to write about, aside from quesadilla fillings, and not much comes to mind, which is why I'm glad my friend Kristin over at Windy Poplars (isn't that a fabulous name?) is encouraging us to share confessions today regarding sleeping habits.

This isn't exactly a sleeping habit, but a confession nonetheless.

Ready for it?

I don't make my bed.

Like ever.

Okay, maybe if company's coming over, but otherwise I figure why go to all the trouble of making it if you're just going to sleep in it again that night?

Sound reasoning methinks.

And luckily I have a husband who feels the same!

Our bedroom will be the next area in our house to get some attention. It's too small to fit both my book shelf and a nightstand, so the luxury of a nightstand will have to wait until we get a bigger place, which makes the bendy reading lamp a must, but my old blue college dorm one needs to go.

It also drives me crazy not being able to hang anything on the painted cement walls. As a result, my walls are bare and sad. Any ideas for this? I know a headboard would take up some negative space, but I haven't found the right one yet.

I have headboard commitment issues.

And because I know you're all dying with curiosity, yes that is a Harry Potter book on the floor.

And that is in fact a collectors Narnia wardrobe jewelry box on my shelf.

That it's placed beside my Chronicles of Narnia set is purely coincidence.

Seriously.

I'm not some kind of weirdo fantasy novel lunatic, even if I do have a Tree of Gondor tattoo.

Job update!

2010-08-03T15:49:00.000-07:00

Fantastic news!

As it turns out, my season of unemployment will be brief. Very brief.

I was just offered a job with World Vision and will be starting in two short weeks!

Instead of waking up each morning, dreading going to work, I'll be leaping out of bed with a jaunty, "Good morning world!"

Well, maybe not that enthusiastically, but it will definitely be encouraging to know that, in a roundabout way, I'm helping children in poverty all over the world.

Life is good.

Hope you're all having as good a week as I am!

The old lemonade out of lemons anecdote

2010-08-02T13:21:00.000-07:00

There are a couple sad things I'd like to share with you today, but I've been wondering how to do it without eliciting unhappy reactions. Because that's not the purpose of my sharing them.

I want us to stop for a minute and take a look at the bright side.

We've all got unfortunate "stuff" in our lives, and the truth is, it sucks! But, like flying a plane above the cloud bank, there are two ways of looking at it. A blanket of dense drizzle and darkness below, but a white cotton ball carpet lingering just above.

I'm not saying suffering and hardship don't exist, but there is a side of beauty to be seen when you examine circumstances from another angle.

Everything can be redeemed.

So here goes:

I lost my job on Friday. Not a layoff, but a termination.

I got sacked.

I was discharged.

I was given the pink slip...

...the ax...

...the boot.

All of the above. So what now?

I was sad for a couple days, but, choosing to look through rose coloured glasses, I now see that this is a whole new and exciting chapter for me!

I'M FREE.

No more mourning the end of another Sunday, loathing the thought of another day in that place.

I finally get to ask myself, What do I want to be when I grow up?

It's a scary place to be, but alongside a strong faith in God, I've got a plan, and I'm ready to go out there and rock the socks off those potential employers starting this week!

In the most professional way of course...

I can't wait to share with you how it goes!

The second item is more a matter of selfishness than sadness.

Two of my very good friends (who live less than 10 minutes away) have been offered a two year gig with the Peace Corps. They're heading to the Dominican Republic in two short weeks, and...I'm sad.

There, I said it.

I'm sad they're leaving. I know this is a fantastic and life changing opportunity for them, but I can't help feeling like I'm being left behind, especially now that I'm unemployed. Their lives are moving forward at warp speed and mine has suddenly come to a screeching halt.

They are dear friends--and two years seems like a lifetime!

At our age, two years can bring enormous change. Although I'm super excited for their upcoming adventure, I'm also sad we won't get to share these next 27 months in the same way we do now.

Selfish, I know, but processing this has helped me to realize that God's got a different story for my life. It likely won't involve me jumping on a plane and flying to a remote location, but it'll be exciting in it's own unique way.

My story may not share the same rising and falling action, but it carries a common theme, protagonist, and resolution.

That should be a constant source of joy and contentment.

I'm definitely not there yet, but it's something to work on...

...while I'm not, you know, working. :-)

Have I said too much?

2010-07-29T11:24:00.000-07:00

There's something important I want to share with you today. Blogging Basics 101.

Go ahead. Check it out. I'll still be here when you get back.

What I love about this blog is that the advice and information it gives is directed toward the beginning blogger: those of us that don't know a lick about HTML and are probably making every rookie mistake in the book. I've been to other blogs about blogging and been totally befuddled by their fancy lingo. That's why I refer to this site whenever I have a question about blogging, and if it doesn't have the answer, there's usually a link to one that does.

Put simply, BB101 has helped to make Sink or Swim what it is today.

"You mean a directionless meandering of posts that have little to no relation to one another and are filled with questionable and even hazardous advice?"

Trust me, it used to be a lot worse! You should check out some of my very first posts.

On second thought, don't. I'm too embarrassed.

The point is, I've committed every blogging blunder known to the world wide web, and BB101 has been there for me every step of the way, gently correcting my mistakes and pointing out my folly.

Like a guardian angel...

I came across this post on 5 Blogging Mistakes to Avoid the other day and rule #4 got me thinking: Do I share too much personal information on this here web log?

I've given away my full name, both maiden and married, without even considering the dangers, and I know that in the past I've also shared the names of friends all willy nilly. If you are one of them, I sincerely apologize. At one point this blog's title even included my last name. Big no no.

I doubt that any of you Sink or Swimmers are going to hunt me down and kill me, but sadly there are a lot of wackos out there that love to collect personal information about people for the soul purpose of harming them or just being plain creepy. A year from now, who knows who will be reading this blog?

I don't want to be paranoid or cause any of you unnecessary fear, but we have to be realistic.

Which is why I'll be signing up for a new email address specifically for Sink or Swim and going back through old posts to edit sensitive information.

Check out Blogging Basics 101. You might learn something you didn't know and possibly become privy to a few common mistakes!

Why I Love Teenagers

2010-07-27T12:22:00.000-07:00

1) They're super fun when enclosed in small spaces--like this 15 passenger van

2) If a boy has long hair, it's practically mandatory to fashion it into some kind of girly up-do or braids

3) They have a strange immunity to freezing cold water of death

4) They're just plain cute

5) They let me post pictures like this on my blog :-)

6) Any form of horseplay--like sleeping bag wrestling for instance--will entertain for a good long while

7) Henna tattoos are the biggest hit at any event

8) My little bro is one of 'em

9) Silly face pictures are a MUST (pardon the No-Makeup-Sam face)

10) Again with the cuteness! Also...I have minions to carry me around whenever I like.

Kidding!

I love these guys, and it thrills me beyond words to watch them grow into adults and begin to ask the big questions about God knowing that David and I have played a part in it.

Happy Tuesday blogger buddies!

Why it's Not Good for Man to be Alone

2010-07-23T08:56:00.000-07:00

As David and I were packing for the youth group camping trip last night, I shouted from the bathroom, "Babe! How many rolls of toilet paper do you think we'll need? Three? Maybe four?" To which he replied,

"We're letting them use ours?!"

"Of course we're letting them use ours! Are you serious right now?"

He rolled his eyes and said, "They should be expected to bring their own if they want it. We don't have to supply everything for them..."

"But really David? You would deprive them of toilet paper??"

Clearly we don't see eye to eye on what constitutes a basic necessity.

Have a great weekend! I know we will :-)

Thoughtless Thursday -- It's the thought that counts

2010-07-22T11:01:00.000-07:00

I'd like to give a big world-wide-web shout out to my brother Drew on his 19th birthday!

He's been overseas on mission for 8 months now, and we miss him terribly, but God's doing some awesome things in his life and using him to bless people around the world.

Although I'm overjoyed about this adventures, I wish he could be here to celebrate--or better yet, that we could be there to party it up with him! But he'll be home in a couple weeks, so it'll have to wait.

He's a great guy with an infectious personality; you Sink or Swimmers would love him! Maybe I can get him to do a guest post when he returns to the states...

Anyway, Thoughtless Thursday wouldn't be complete without a picture or two.

Studio 517

This was taken at the wedding last September. Aren't they a couple of handsome brothers? You should see David's whole family. They're like picture frame models! You know, the pictures of gorgeous happy people they use to fill empty frames at the store? You can't help but be happy when you're around them.

This one I shamelessly borrowed off of his Facebook page. I think he was somewhere in Israel when this was taken. What a grown up, eh?

I'm not even sure if he reads this, but all the same, Happy 19th Birthday Drew!!!

Blog Designs: To Pay or Not to Pay?

2010-07-21T09:20:00.000-07:00

My blog design's days are numbered. Literally. I was just notified this morning that The Cutest Blog on the Block will be discontinuing this background on Friday the 23rd. That only leaves me two days to decide what I'm going to do.

Is it time to invest in something unique and tailored to my blogs personality? Or should I stick with the freebies?

To be quite honest I fear blog design commitment, and I don't really have the money for trial and error right now, but I'm checking out a couple designers who I think have got what it takes to fashion a great new look for Sink or Swim.

Until then, I'll pick another free background and keep movin' right along.

Speaking of the blog world though, is anyone else experiencing a lull in traffic (comments, visits, etc.)? For those of you who have been around longer than me, is this normal for summer? I'm not concerned or anything--just noticing a pattern.

There's a positive correlation between the amount of sunshine this time of year and the fullness of people's schedules. Who really wants to be in front of a computer screen when the nice warm outdoors are beckoning and there are so many projects to be completed? Not me!

But the weather STINKS here in Seattle. We've got gray skies until around 1 o'clock in the afternoon, then it clears up and reaches around 70°. Golly! I might actually get to put my snow boots and long johns away for two whole weeks this year!

It's not actually all that bad, but I can't say I'm surprised that people get depressed living here. It's nearing the end of July and I wore long pants and a sweater to work yesterday and kept my space heater on all day. In fact, I'll most likely have to pack my rain jacket for the camping trip this weekend just in case.

Although we're going to be well prepared for cool weather and maybe even some rain showers, I'm still hoping the dreariness clears up and we're blessed with views like this instead:

When I see photos like this I'm convinced that 10+ months of rain and clouds is well worth a handful of sunny Pacific Northwest days.

Youth Events Drain my Brain Juice

2010-07-20T15:52:00.000-07:00

I'm a little scatter brained this week.

You're thinking, how is that different from any other week?

Let me explain.

Every other week I don't really have an excuse for my lack of focus--it is what it is--but this week I actually have something to blame it on...in a good way!

David and I are taking our church's youth group on a camping trip this weekend, and trust me when I say It's A LOT of work! We're doing all the planning for the event, and although we only have a group of 10 kids and 3 adults going, there's still a lot to cover. Music, games, prizes, food, lessons, transportation, rules, chaperons, sleeping arrangements, location, supplies, THE WHOLE ENCHILADA.

I'm working up a sweat just typing this out. But of course that could be due to my overactive sweat glands.

Kidding folks!

Anyway, your prayers for safety and meaningful time spent with the kids would be greatly appreciated.

You guys rock!

Poverty:

2010-07-19T13:34:00.000-07:00

The state of not having enough money to take care of basic needs such as food, clothing, and housing.

Good morning/afternoon/evening! Feel free to take your pick depending on your particular time zone. Today I want to share something that's been on my heart.

A couple months ago, David and I began sponsoring Lulie, a little girl from Albania, through World Vision. One of my good friends who works at the World Vision headquarters told us about their sponsorship program, and when I saw Lulie's picture folder I felt lead to use some of the money God has given us to bless her life. That $35 a month makes little to no difference in our lifestyle, but it means the world to hers.

I could tell just from that one little snapshot that she's a spunky girl, full of personality, and it broke my heart to find that she wasn't enrolled in school even though she's of age. Her father is unemployed which leaves her mother earning a living for her family of 5. I don't know for certain, but there's a good possibility that Lulie isn't attending school because she needs to stay home and help her family, can't afford the proper clothes and supplies, or both.

My heart had one of those How the Grinch Stole Christmas moments where it grew and grew until it busted the frame wide open when I received her first letter in the mail this weekend. Funny thing: I felt the need to write her on Saturday, so I was sorting through our stack of World Vision envelopes to find the one that contained my preprinted mailing labels and instructions and I came across one that was new and unopened...from Albania!

I carefully opened it--wanting to preserve every piece as a treasure--and read her letter. Although I didn't understand it since it was in Albanian, I think I spent a longer amount of time just looking at her precious little handwriting than I did reading the English translation that came with it.

She's now enrolled in school and doing really well!

Awesome, right?!

That's just one of the ways that our small gift helps Lulie and her entire community. World Vision addresses all the basic needs like food, clean water, and healthcare, but they also work hard to make the community sustainable by building schools, clinics, and churches as well as establishing proper agriculture techniques and microfinance systems to improve the economy and help families to support themselves.

With prayer, the hard work from World Vision, and a small amount of monthly support from David and me, Lulie has hope for a better life.

Ready for a devastating fact?

According to UNICEF, one billion children in the world are living in poverty. One out of every two children do not have their basic needs such as food and water met.

Let that sink in.

I wish I could sponsor them all--get to know and love each one of their individual personalities--but it's just not possible. The only thing I can do is tell everyone I know about it and hope and pray that some of you are willing to give a little to help a lot.

Let me tell you...the reward is so much greater than the cost.

Another tale of awkwardness for the blog

2010-07-16T09:14:00.000-07:00

You know when embarrassing things happen, and you hope no one was watching...but someone is always watching?

Those situations seem to happen to me a lot. Tripping. Dropping food in my lap. Accidentally walking into the men's bathroom. I've done it all, and there's always a witness--except for yesterday.

I was busy getting ready for work in the morning. I'd already put my makeup on, done my hair, and brushed and flossed my teeth, but I decided to take it a step further and use some mouthwash to be extra ready for my dentist appointment that afternoon.

I'll let you in on a little secret:

I hardly ever use mouthwash.

Barbaric, I know.

Anyhow, I swished away while contemplating my oral health, and when it came time to rinse I leaned over the sink and, without a second thought, spit right into my hair!

Dripping blue liquid, I quickly looked around with that wide-eyed guilty stare to see if anyone was watching.

The coast was clear.

(I realize I'm blowing my cover by telling you this story, but like I said, I've grown used to people witnessing all my blunders.)

I turned the faucet on and rinsed the sticky mess out of my once perfectly styled tresses then used my flat iron to ~~burn the crap out of them~~ dry them off.

The adhesive effect was gone, but the minty freshness lingered throughout the day.

Happy Friday everyone!

Sedatives are a girl's best friend

2010-07-15T10:51:00.000-07:00

I'm a little anxious for my dentist appointment this afternoon. I haven't had any cavities in the last 4 years (thank goodness!), but I have an old filling that's giving me some trouble...

...spreads nasty rumors about me...

...never pays his rent on time...

...and talk about rude!

Not to mention he makes flossing in that general area almost impossible. I think that's the offense the Dr. is mostly concerned with. So my troublesome filling is getting evicted today, and we're bringing in a new tenant, but not without the assistance of one of these:

Hence the sedatives.

See, I'm not a big fan of needles. In fact, as far as fears go, they're definitely in my top five along with spiders and tsunamis. And Novocaine needles happen to be some of the scariest around.

But my Dr. is good to me and prescribes happy pills for the anxiety.

So in a few short hours I'll be taking one of the aforementioned pills and sinking into a calm and complacent state of mind while David drives me to the dentist.

Wish me luck!

What to do when you run out of Netflix dvds

2010-07-14T09:32:00.000-07:00

and forgot to put the ones you've already watched in the mail on Saturday...

...and Monday...

...and Tuesday.

Do you mourn the lack of How I Met Your Mother episodes and dramatically proclaim it "The Great TV Famine of 2010"?

Nope.

Because that would be pathetic. Not that I've ever done it before. Especially not for Smallville... Come on, people--I'm not that addicted!

Instead of moping around the house and grieving your loss, go for a picnic!

Better yet, take one of these!

And enjoy the view on the way... ;-)

He's adorable.

And now for a discussion of utmost importance.

My hair.

The question is easy: bangs or no bangs? But the answer? It eludes me. That's why I need your help.

Here are a couple pictures from around this time last year:

And here's what I look like this morning:

They say bangs take 10 years off. That would put me at 13...but I have to say, I do prefer the bangs. They're something of a security blanket for me.

What do you think? Should I keep rockin' the grown out look or stick with old faithful?

Remedy for a bad day

2010-07-13T10:57:00.000-07:00

I didn't blog yesterday. Not because I didn't have anything to say, but because I was sad and anxious. And venting? I don't really believe it's advantageous unless you're actually working towards a solution rather than just complaining for the sake of being heard. That's just my opinion. I know some of you are big fans of the vent. Fans...vent...? Get it?

Moving on.

Several important facets of my life feel unstable right now--a telltale sign that something big's about to change. I really wish I was one of those people who embrace and even thrive off of change, but the truth is, I'm a wimp. Change terrifies me to the point of heart palpitations and sweaty palms.

Let's just say, I'll be glad when things have shifted and settled a bit, and I'll wait until it's all said and done to reveal more.

But enough of that.

Here's what helped me take the edge off when I got home from work last night:

We caught Sir Whiskers mid-itch.

But you know what I love even more than margaritas with mini umbrellas and kitty cuddling in my camo sweats? Confining the cats in our small bathroom and chasing them around with a hairdryer after their flea bath.

This alone is enough reason for getting a cat.

It seriously turned my frown upside down, and by the looks of things, they didn't hold it against me.

On a side note: I use Dawn dish soap (the regular blue kind) to wash my cats. It kills the fleas and doesn't irritate their skin, plus it's way cheaper than cat shampoo. If it's safe enough to use on otters and ducks in oil spills, then it's good enough for my furballs.

I'll leave you, my faithful readers, with a question that could very well make a significant difference in my quality of life. I've successfully grown out my bangs enough to blend them in with the rest of my hair, but I;m not sure it's a good look for me. Should I keep 'em long or chop 'em off?

Told you change stresses me out!

Wheel in the sky keeps on turnin'

2010-07-09T11:47:00.000-07:00

I'm sooo going to blast Journey while I throw on one of these (fingers crossed!) new wheels:

I know, I know. It's not a Brent or a Shimpo Whisper, but girlfriend here doesn't have over a grand to spend on a wheel. These two are pretty decent, especially for my budget. Believe me when I say that not all wheels are created equally. My last kick wheel was a hunk o' junk--couldn't even center a teacup on that darned thing! Which is why I'm in the market for a new one.

I'm attempting to do a handmade Christmas this year, so I've got to get movin' on the ceramic goods!

Happy Friday!

A night to remember

2010-07-08T11:05:00.000-07:00

Less than a week after the marriage proposal we had the wedding night hotel room picked out.

(Priorities, people...)

The Seattle Airport Marriott: classy, stunning, and seductive. After touring no less than 10 hotels, we knew this was the place.

Between a full day of wedding festivities and an early flight out of the SeaTac International Airport the next morning, we were definitely looking forward to a relaxing night (and some "one on one" time) at the Marriott.

When we arrived that evening, the lobby was much more full than when we had toured it five months previously. Amidst the hotel staff and the typical out of town visitors, there were groups of people wearing fuzzy animal ears and tails. Thinking to myself, maybe it's just a gathering of animal rights activists, I pushed it to the back of my mind and continued up to our room.

David later suggested we take a romantic walk around the atrium before bed, and as we headed downstairs I saw that the group of animal lovers had grown exponentially. Now there were not only ears and tails, but full mascot costumes, many of them. As we walked hand in hand around the atrium, I glanced upward to see many empty mascot heads peering down at us from the windows.

Beyond creeped out at this point, I began to piece things together...

I'd once seen an episode of CSI highlighting a group of people who call themselves the Furries. They dress like personified animals and attend conventions. Some members take it so seriously that they actually believe they are an animal when they put on the costume and take on animal behaviors--including mating.

(I'll give you a moment to overcome the nausea.)

After describing this revelation to David we both felt uneasy and decided to wade back through the crowd of sweaty "animals" and head back to the seclusion of our room.

The next morning I waited in the check out area while David ran out to the car. While making small talk with the girl behind the desk, the previous night's "gathering" came up. I said something along the lines of, "Who the heck were those people?!" She leaned toward me and said in a hushed voice,

"Do you ever watch CSI?"

Man plans, and God laughs

2010-07-06T09:51:00.000-07:00

If that's true, then consider me a comedian.

David and I have been talking a lot lately about the direction he'd like his career to take, and I think it's almost official. Official enough to share with my readers anyway. He currently works for an insurance company, and loves it. The man was born to sell, I tell ya.

Anyhow, he's always had a bigger picture in mind of starting his own agency: something akin to owning your own business, and he sees this taking place within a year.

Of course there's always a risk, but let's just say most agents are very successful.

I'm really excited to see him flourish as a business owner, and I'm certain he will. It might be a little rocky at the start, but he's a determined guy, and when you're doing what you absolutely love, the rewards will follow. That's what my dad always told me. Figure out what you have a passion for first, and let the money come second.

So with finances aside, here's my 5 year plan.

Finish school within the next two years
Work on my ceramic skills and begin selling within the year
Make enough money selling pottery to supplement our income within two years
Buy a house within two years
Start havin' babies within 3 years

David doesn't know about the baby part yet. Every time I bring it up his eyes glaze over and suddenly there's "an important phone call to take". When we got married I said at least 5 years.

Turns out I like babies more than I thought.

But I'm not the only one to blame here. During our engagement he said he wanted 2-3 kids. After the wedding it became 4.

Yes 4.

If he expects my poor uterus to perform at that capacity, then I guess it makes sense to start a little earlier.

Oh, by the way, we're adopting that last one...or two.

He doesn't know about that yet either.

Systems are down!

2010-07-02T11:10:00.000-07:00

Here's a little glimpse of what it looks like outside my office:

Notice the puddles everywhere, and no, that's not a river. It's a rain soaked freeway onramp.

Why does the sun hate all of Western Washington this summer?

On top of this torrential downpour in July, I feel a nasty cold coming on. I hit a metaphorical wall this morning with extreme fatigue and a sore throat. Thus my only focus is making it to the end of the day so I can go home, lie down, and watch an obscene amount of How I Met Your Mother.

My illnesses usually last a week or more and come on about every other month.

Hey, immune system! WHAT GIVES?!

The light bulb in my brain went off on Tuesday when my dentist explained the benefits of wisdom tooth extractions.

You know how babies sometimes get high fevers and infections when they're teething? That's because bacteria seeps through the gums and into the bloodstream while the teeth are cutting their way through the tissue, and it causes illness. Many adults, like myself, have wisdom teeth that only came in part of the way and are often times crooked. The Dr. said this is like having a constant open sore, and after a while it wipes out your immune system.

I'm meeting with him again in a couple weeks to go over my x-rays and set up an appointment for surgery.

Bring on the pliers--get these harbingers of death out of my mouth ASAP!

The good news is that we get to leave at 2 today, and it could not have come at a better time.

I hope you all have a fantastic weekend celebrating our country's independence. I've got three days ahead of me with nothing in particular planned. Time to get some rest! Hopefully I'll be 100% next week.

See you Tuesday for the outlandish story of my wedding night.

Odds and Ends

2010-07-01T14:33:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I forgot to tell you this buuuut...

I'M A BIG WINNER!!

I haven't won anything since a well played game of bingo in the seventh grade. Who remembers stuff like that? I do. Because I L.O.V.E winning, but it never seems to happen to me. Which is precisely why I can't believe I didn't tell the world wide web that I, Samantha, was a big winner last week!

The Nester (oh how I adore her!) hosted a DaySpring giveaway to win either this white board and easel

Or this cake stand

They selected one out of every 100 entries to win, and I was lucky number 700...something.

The cake stand is lovely, but I chose the white board. The wrought iron scrolly look of the easel goes really well with our kitchen.

I couldn't be happier if I just had a child. That's how strongly I feel about winning. Mostly because I need a white board more than I need a baby right now. The tides will turn eventually. And by eventually, I mean in 10 years.

Or 15.

Now for a couple evaluations.

I made this focaccia bread recipe last night, and it was a huge hit! The sautéed onions mixed into the dough are really the key ingredient. They keep the bread moist and add just the right amount of flavor. I was ~~too lazy~~ in too much of a hurry to let it rise all the way before baking, but not to worry. In repentance for the error of my ways I sprinkled some Parmesan over the top, because nothing says I'm sorry like cheese.

It's culinary perfection as far as I'm concerned!

Making breads by hand is a lot of work, but this was oh-so-worth it.

I've also been pondering which trajectory I want this blog to take, and I think I've finally made up my mind. As much as I love posting about the day to day goings on of my middle class life, I feel I need a little more substance. A niche, so to speak.

So while I continue to share with you my mundane and not-so-mundane experiences I would also like to discuss more about my endeavors into the world of ceramics. I have a strong feeling this is going to be a big part of my life for a long while, and I think it's a good idea to keep a journal to record my acquisition of skills and blunders along the way. It serves a double purpose in that when other things such as newlywed life, raising babies, and going to school come and go, this blog will still have an anchor in art.

With that said, have I mentioned that the kiln David bought for my birthday is HUGE?! It takes up half my studio, which is fine by me. :-) I'll post pictures once I get that room cleaned...next month. It's one thing if I just tell you about my embarrassing home keeping habits, but posting pictures takes it to a whole new level.

Speaking of my blog, does anyone want me to continue with the Matrimony on a Budget posts? Does anyone even remember what that is?

It's where I like to give advice on how to ~~cut corners~~ save big money on your wedding and still be fabulous.

And speaking of advice, do any of you fashionistas out there know if leggings and boots will still be in this fall? Girlfriend wants to get her hands on a pair of leather boots for a good deal while they're still out of season.

Segue.

This summer has got me all nostalgic about preparing for "wedded bliss" this time last year, so I'll be sharing stories here and there about our big day--starting tomorrow with our wedding night...and a Furry convention. If you don't know what a Furry fan is, make sure to check out the link, and/or watch season 4 episode 5 of CSI. Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 are on YouTube. Be warned--it's pretty disturbing.

See you tomorrow for a look back at my misfortune and a good laugh! :-)

A free education...for men only?

2010-06-30T09:01:00.000-07:00

Last night I came home exhausted after a dentist appointment followed by an hour and a half of sitting in stop and go traffic. Now, it might have been the combination of these two things that had me on edge, but I didn't react very gracefully when my husband relayed to me the information he'd picked up at the latest guys church meeting.

They're working towards a stronger core of men to lead the church. I'm all for that, but their plan of action has got me miffed to say the least. They'd like to offer a free three year seminary type program to any men who are interested. Just to be clear, that's the academic equivalent of a Master's Degree.

As far as I know, seminary is open to both men and women. Why should we be exclusive and even--dare I say it--discriminatory? If I want to go to seminary I have to enroll through a Bible college or university, and it'll cost me thousands, but my husband will get the education for free from the local church we're both members of.

I love my church dearly, but I feel this is an insult to my intelligence and my gender. I understand perfectly that it's biblically wrong for a woman to be an elder, but why should that restrict me from receiving the same education the men do--at the same price?

Am I crazy, or does this sound a little lopsided to you?

Professional corner cutting advice

2010-06-29T12:06:00.000-07:00

During the summer our small group--which is not so small these days--meets twice a month for a potluck dinner. No one staked a claim on hosting tomorrow's gathering so guess who volunteered us last minute? And guess which wife has taken a mini vacation from housework to enjoy the 3 sunny days we've had so far this summer?

Along with fixing food for the potluck, because goodness knows I won't have time before they arrive tomorrow, and starting season two of How I Met Your Mother, I should probably tidy up the house a little. You know--scrape the dried up pancake batter off the counter (that stuff is worse than glue!), wipe the paw prints out of the bathroom sink (a telltale sign my furballs have been licking drops of water from the faucet after coming in from outside), and pick up the mini Corona bottles off the coffee table.

Aren't we classy?

Anyhow, it's time to access the trusty corner cutting database stored in my brain. About 6 months ago I read an article from The Nest on how to Fake a Clean Home in 30 Minutes, and I thought I'd share with you my little summary/modification.

Declutter (5 minutes)

Pick up all your junk!

Throw away whatever garbage is laying around--mini Corona bottles and such.

Put dishes in sink - if they have food stuck on them, let them soak

Put shoes, mail, pillows, throws, and whatever else is lying around back in its proper place

Wipe Down (15 minutes)

Put cleaner in toilet bowl to soak

Spray down all visible surfaces in the kitchen and the bathroom

Once your're done spraying, make the rounds again wiping it all up

Wipe down the dining room table

Clean mirrors and stainless steel surfaces with glass cleaner

Pull the shower door or curtain closed

Scrub the toilet bowl and flush

Dust (2 minutes)

Just hit the main items:

TV
Coffee table

Entertainment center

Large frames and collectibles

Sweep (3 minutes)

Quickly go over the kitchen, bathroom, entry way, and living room (depending on floor type, of course)

Empty (2 minutes)

Put dishes in the dishwasher

empty bathroom and kitchen garbages

Stock and Display (3 minutes)

Put fresh hand towels in the bathroom

Make sure there's extra TP available

Put fruit in a bowl--it's quaint and charming. Trust me.

Dim the lights and light some candles to hide little imperfections from your guests

A guaranteed success!

Now what to do about the sweat I've worked up running around my house like a crazy lady right before company arrives?

SOS is MIA

2010-06-28T11:05:00.000-07:00

In short, our beach youth group trip got cancelled and we ended up having my little brother stay with us over the weekend. I loved it, but at 13 years old he's kind of a handful.

I don't think I've uttered the phrase, "Put down that machete!" so many times in one day before...

Please Lord, don't let this be a foreshadowing of my future.

Understandably, I was hoping for a slow Monday at the office, but no such luck. One of my coworkers is out sick so I'm covering two stations.

In the meantime, here's a song I just discovered this morning off an album called Sink or Swim. I thought I'd share it with you. :-)

Newlywed stuff

2010-06-25T11:08:00.000-07:00

This time last year I was a complete basket case with my wedding right around the corner.

You're lucky I wasn't a blogger. Seriously.

This summer I get to do more planning, but I'm excited because it's the fun, relatively stress free, anniversary variety. We were totally blessed to spend two weeks in Mexico for our honeymoon, but we haven't taken a vacation since then. For those of you doing the math, that's almost a year ago.

Any newlywed couple will agree that after the chaotic--sometimes even disastrous--first year of married life, a vacation is very much in order! I'm not saying David and I are on the rocks or anything; that first year is just tough. Whenever an "I" becomes a "we" there are bound to be some adjustments. Remember the stress of doing group projects in school? Now multiply that times infinity.

I guess infinity is a little dramatic. Maybe more like one hundred. Yes, one hundred sounds about right.

The point is, we're overdue for some downtime so I just booked a weekend getaway to Victoria, B.C., Canada for our first anniversary.

cleverdame107

I love Canada to such a degree that sometimes I think I was born in the wrong country. I really do mean that.

Anyhow, like a true bargain queen I scanned Expedia for a good deal on a hotel and found a ferry that will take us round trip for a total of $40. Now all we have to do is wait a couple months.

I won't say exactly when we're going to be up there, because you never know what kind of psychos might accidentally stumble upon this and decide to rob us blind.

On that cheery note, I bid you farewell and happy weekend!

Thank Heaven for Thoughtless Thursday

2010-06-24T10:32:00.000-07:00

My brain has gone temporarily missing, so I'm glad I just get to share a few random pictures with you today. The company I work for is hosting a large event this afternoon, so I'm mentally preparing myself for what I like to call Schmooze Fest 2010.

I'm the receptionist, so all our customers know my name but I hardly remember a single one of theirs. I get the feeling there's going to be a lot of this going on:

"Oh, hi Sam!"

"Heeyyy therre...sport."

Now that I'm all in a frenzy just thinking about it, let's begin.

David and I got a wild hair last Saturday and decided to paint a couple walls. Although many people frown on painting rental houses, we think it's a good inexpensive way to put our own spin on things and make it feel more like home. This is a colour called rye grass from the Martha Stewart collection. Pardon the graininess of the photo; I'm experimenting with ISO settings.

Which is why I took pictures of our mini Coronas...

Low ISO with crisp detail.

High ISO with less sharpness, but for my subject I think this works well.

They're only 7oz each. Cute, huh?

And here's a close up of Melvin incase you didn't believe me the other day about my paper crane talents.

Random?

Yes.

Thoughtless?

Very.

Happy Thursday everyone! Thank goodness it's almost the end of the week. Check out Life in the Fulmer Lane to link up and play along!