so good

Can I give you the play by play of my day because it was really great?!  Ok. excellent.  

It started out with a run, a good one.  
Then I went to the temple.  I volunteered to do laundry there once a month.  And today was my first day.  I got set apart and everything!  (I realize that's a really Mormon thing to say and I kind of don't know how to explain it any other way.  They gave me a sweet blessing to do my job.  That's probably the best explanation of getting 'set apart').  AND I get my very own white name tag!  I was very excited.  It was so relaxing to have a few hours of QUIET.  Ah, heaven.  As I was walking down the temple hall with a basket full of white laundry I had this overwhelming feeling that I really belong there.  Something about doing laundry, such an intimate task, made me feel so at home.  The temple is so peaceful and so beautiful.  It was a really great experience.  
Then I came home to a newly painted kitchen.  Chris does an amazing amount of things when he's home with the kids.  I don't see how he does it sometimes.  And he picked out the color himself and it looks great!    I love the rockstars diary blog.  I had read about her going to gigi's cupcakes as part of her roadtrip.  The girl loves food.  It's too funny.  So since it's in the neighborhood we decided to check it out.  And while we were there well who should walk in but the lovely Gigi herself.  We had a quick little chat and she gave us an extra cupcake for free.  Thank you Gigi!  They were SOOOO so so so good!  We each got a Hunka Chunka Banana Love.  De-licious.  She said it was her best recipe.  I would have to agree. Although, I'm partial to banana.  And the Almond Joy was incredible.  The one you see here is the white midnight magic chocolate chip.  It's the only one that made it home in one piece.  It's gone now.  I brought my camera with me but not my CF card. How lame, it's a horrible habit I've gotten myself into and it must end.

Chris finishing off the Almond Joy. 

You think that's the end.  It's not.  But perhaps this post is long enough.  I shall save it for another day.

I'm thankful for today.  It was awesome.

voting for a worthy cause!!

I know I've mentioned Chris' best friend Derek on here before...they were partners in crime on that house.  Derek is an awesome singer/songwriter.  Go check him out on CMT Music Madness!   This is one of my favorite songs of his!  You've got my vote Derek!

Yay! I'm tagged...

I actually think I've been tagged before, but usually too lazy to do it.  This one is pretty short.

3Joys:

-Conference issues of the Ensign (me and conference are BFF)

-My marriage

-Life

3Fears:

-Having fears

-Not doing the things that really scare me

-I'll think of something later I'm sure....

3 Current Goals:

-Getting my fabric design portfolio ready by the end of Oct!!!

-Mastering 4 open American Smooth routines (Foxtrot, Waltz, Tango Viennese Waltz) to compete again soon in a more challenging category.

-Upping my photography skills.

3 Current Obsessions:

-Patricia Ahn (Rose always introduces me to the best music--so inspiring!)

-Food Allergy Detective Work!

-Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop

3 Random Facts about myself:

-I like to draw on tracing paper.

-My most used kitchen utensil is the vegetable peeler.

-When I'm running I like to leap if nobody is around....although, I leaped while running on the beach and there were a bunch of onlookers.  I didn't notice them until all of the heads turned. I reenacted it later for Lindsay to capture my embarrassing moment for posterity.

I tag everyone who reads this!  And when you post it leave a comment so we can read yours, too.

pile of trash?

If you drove by this pile of trash would you become uncontrollably giddy?
How about now?
Well, I am out of control excited to find these great chairs in the trash.  I have always wanted some chairs like this.  All my best furniture I found in the trash!  SO happy to welcome some new chairs to the family.  I'm already having fun working on them.

Day 23: dresser mania

We are almost all done with moving.  We have to bring over our playset and make some curtains and we will be all set.  So here is a little peak into our new home.  This is our first dresser in 8 years!  The real shame is that I don't have a before picture.  It was pretty beat up and ugly brown.  Chris found it somewhere.  For some reason we are both really good at finding diamonds in the rough, at least when it pertains to free furniture.  The middle panel opens up and there are three more drawers in there. 

We used to have a dresser that I didn't like. I got rid of it thinking if we didn't have one we would have to get a new one eventually.  Well, I was right.  It's just that I didn't realize it would take us so long!

I'm thankful for today!

Cookies, What a great way to start the day!  Why haven't I thought of this before? Well, it actually started with a spinning class.  And when I walked in (late) everyone cheered.  That was my first clue that this day was going to be awesome.  Really, everyone in that class likes to scream their way through the pain.  So any old excuse will do, even me.  Chris likes to make fun of them.  But he doesn't know what he's missing.

So back to the cookies, Mandee and I had to make something yummy in our newly finished aprons.  We used this pattern.  So cute and fun to make!

Plus it's reversible.

Aren't we cute?!

I love this picture!  So sweet.

Outside is always the most fun.  And today was such a gorgeous day.
Bentley went digging.
Chickie struck it rich and found gold.

Then after nap/work time...off to another friends house!  That's so unlike us! Two outings in one day.

Little Riley, so cute and about to turn four!

Time sure does fly.
Chickie found fossils.  Or apostles, she was a little confused as to which one it was.  But apparently it was an Apatosaurus.  And she was much too busy digging to give me much of a smile.

The best part about today is that Chris is coming home! Yay! Now I will be able to sleep again.  Good thing it's only been a few days.

poke me

I have really been enjoying this fun new book filled with one great project after another.  It is called Last-Minute Patchwork and Quilted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson.  This is where I got the pattern for the elephants and these adorable little pincushions.  Although, personally after a little trial and error, I like adding a button on each side instead of the embroidery thread because it seams to finish it off more neatly and doesn't compromise the seams in the middle.  But maybe I was just doing it wrong.  

A few of her projects require a little bit of a million different fabrics.  Which is a fun excuse to build up your fabric stash if you don't already have one.  And I really like that the projects are divided by an estimated time to finish.  It makes even the longest ones seam really do-able.
Today I'm thankful that my husband isn't really serious about wanting to run for president someday.  It would be really scary to have a ballroom dancer in the White House.  And if I was First Lady my mission would be, well, I'm not sure what it would be but one thing's for sure it would be really quirky.  No, as a nation we really don't want that.  

What would your mission be if you were First Lady, or President?

Miss Potter

This weekend I fell irrationally in love with a movie.  Miss Potter with Renee Zellweger and Ewan McGregor is everything I love in a movie.  It has a strong female character.  I especially love it when the heroine has some sort of creative endeavor.  It has a sweet sweet love story.  Insanely breathtaking scenery.  Great acting.  Subtle (hilarious) humor.  Loved it.  Aunt Darcy and Buffy you would both love this movie.  So I watched the movie and all of the special features on Saturday night, well except for the music video and the directors commentary.  Then, this morning both Chickie and Chris were very sick, so between nursing them, I watched the directors commentary while playing blocks with Bentley.  That's the nice thing about a PG movie. You can watch it with a kiddo around.  And then I started to watch it one more time, but alas, the nursing duties became too demanding.  Poor Chickie, hopefully she feels better in the a.m..  

It is about Beatrix Potter. I had no idea she was a woman.  It's a cute name.  Is that the origination of that awful name Trixie?  Always wondered about that one.  A few years ago Chickie and I went on a Beatrix Potter kick at the library and there was one book that had me laughing hysterically.  The Pie and the Patty-Pan.  The patty-pan antics had me in an uproar.  If you don't believe me read it for yourself here.

I am so thankful for creative pioneering women and filmmakers who bring a bit of their story my way.  And I'm also thankful for blockbuster by mail.

Trash Ties

Check out these cute hair thingies that Bentley got me for Christmas.  One year olds can be so thoughtful!!  It's taken me a while to actually break them out, I've had more exciting toys to keep me busy.  But these are really fun.  I'm surprised at how they are so simultaneously comfortable and have such a strong hold. In this picture I am wearing the long one as a headband and two of the little ones to hold the pig tails. I got the brown ones so they blend in really well.  Check out the Trash Ties blog. This woman is amazing!

Today I am really thankful for "the village" so to speak... you've heard the saying, "It takes a village to raise a child." And I'm thankful for my friend Beth and the prompting that made me call her.  And let's not forget what's really important... new hair thingies, of course!

Feeling Great it's 2008!

Happy New Year Everyone!  Hope everyone had a blast. We have been having a little too much fun with this.   The guy cracks me up and Bentley loves his dog.  We made a balloon monkey, dog, giraffe, butterfly, and Chickie invented her own spider and snake.  Nice, right?  

So after the festivities does anyone have any exciting new resolutions?  My big one is for morning prayers.  It was a sad sign this morning when we prayed before Chris left, Chickie was like, "Why in the world are we praying in the morning?"  So I guess it's a good one.  Other than that I am constantly setting goals so I'm already set with a fun stack of them for this year.  

One of Chris's goals has been to work out.  He dances all day, but he wants to actually work out with weights and etc.  So for Christmas I got him a gym membership.  Yesterday I did the spinning class. Holy Crapoli is all I can say. My legs were jello when I got off of the bike yesterday and tonight its all I can do to lift my legs. In fact, (and I wasn't planning on telling this story but...) B left a big pile of poo in the tub during his bath and it was no plastic pig.  (Last bath after bubbles arose, Olivia shrieked and declared, "POO!"  but to our mutual delight the only thing lurking under B's bum was a little pink plastic pig.)  Today, however, it was an entirely different story.  Luckily for Chickie, she was at the table with her dad eating cake and ice cream.  So I took Bentley out of the tub, put his towel cape on and set him free.  Meanwhile, I cleaned out the tub and grabbed his diaper and lotion.  Since my legs were killing me I was in no mood for chasing him around. Instead, I opted for sitting down and calling him, "Bentley let's get your diap-y on." (yeah right, right!)  Then Chickie says, "Mom, is that poo?"  Me, leaning over for a glance, "NO, that's not poo."  Chickie, "Yeah, that's definitely poo."  At which point Bentley finally makes his way over to me and I notice that his cape has a very stinky addition to it. Ughhh.  Nice big poo piles all over the kitchen floor.  Me, "Oooops."  My only defence was, "But my legs..."

Nothing like starting out the New Year with a nice good poo story.  At least there are no pictures.  I hope following your goals reaps better rewards!

blog on little blogger

I have tried to keep this blog really positive. Even my sister said, "No one can really be that happy." Usually I am. It's not a lie, but it is skewed towards the good in my life. But things have been kind of rough lately. Which maybe explains my blogging absence. Or is it my lack of blogging that has made things seem a little rough lately.
It's one of those things in life....it really doesn't matter how bad things are, it's all about how you perceive the events in your life and if you are only looking at the negative or if you are looking at all the positive. You just have to give yourself as many positive outlets as possible.
Our friend Holland told us yesterday of a missionary he knew who always added an unexpected bit of gratitude to his prayers. "Like I'm thankful for grasshopper I saw this morning." If you say everyday that you are grateful for your amazing family...it's still always true, but it becomes stale. You have to think of different reasons why. True gratitude comes to life in the specifics. That's my theory. When you give yourself the real reasons ,when you really notice the particulars of WHY you are grateful, then you begin to take notice. Does that make any sense?
I was having one of many bad days last week and two of my best friends that I hadn't talked to in a while called out of the blue. I didn't think a thing of it...until I really did think about it, and how great it was to talk to Trea in particular and what a kindred spirit she is. How much I relate to her and how it makes me feel so much better just to hear her laugh. And how ironic it is that we tend to have the very same problems. And how great it was to hear her exciting news that she is pregnant. All of those specifics make it so much sweeter than just thinking, "I'm grateful for my friends." And when I reflected on those two calls on that day, I began to feel very blessed.

A few silly random things I am grateful for:

Tim Gunn's guide to style....because I seriously need the help.

And the funniest picture ever, I have been laughing for days. It is from The Sartorialist. A great fashion blog.

Eliza Magazine

So excited about this. A modest magazine! Too good to be true?

neat vs. messy

I found two cute new blogs. One from Jordan Ferney, who on her profile lists the following under interests: nice cleaning supplies, a nice linen closet, and the best way to fold a fitted sheet. I think it is safe to guess that she is a neat freak and possible perfectionist. She obviously likes pretty things.
The other, Kyran Pittman, definitely not a neat freak, but obviously delightful. Her dandelion essay cracks me up. Especially her dad's poem to the neighbors.

It just goes to show that neither neat or messy is wrong. We are all so different. That is what makes life beautiful.

I'm thankful for new inspiration.

Love Love Love - Tristan Prettyman

This is the song Katie and Rose are singing in the picture above. What a great song!

Headline News

There is nothing like seeing your house on the front page of the local paper with the words "housing market appears to be in a free fall." At least they must have picked our house because it looks like a slice of Americana, flag and all.

Other than that today has been really fun. I ran in the opposite direction today...shocking, I know. That is how I ran across the paper in the first place. I came home, showered, and got ready and dressed in a fresh pair of pajamas. Then I started making my fun wallet from Amy Butler's book In Stitches. She gives really great instructions. I'm excited. It should be fun.

Today, I'm thankful for pajamas!

Penelope the Movie Trailer

Penelope the Movie Trailer

Buffy found this. It looks like the cutest movie ever(we hope), but it hasn't come out yet. So sad.

Sam made his top ten movie list on his blog. I started to do mine, but then I realized that I already had them on my profile. Although, I did leave out Empire of the Sun and Gone with the Wind. I also really like Sweet Home Alabama.

While on vacation the girls went and saw Becoming Jane. Buffy and I LOVED it! We went to this cute little theater. The kind that only plays one movie at a time. It even had a balcony. Very cute. It also had Vegan propaganda in the lobby. I (loving anything resembling a magazine) helped myself to a vegan "starter kit", and now I really don't know if I can ever eat chicken again. So sad. The funniest part of the evening was when we put Preston in a van with 5 kids under 5 at bedtime. He was definitley the hero of the night. I wish I had a picture of that. Popo was there at home to help him out and when we called to see how it was going the two year old was feeding the baby a bottle and the older kids were eating shrimp for a bedtime snack. Very funny!

And as for books, I finally finished Great Expectations. I really loved it, LOVED IT! I am waiting for my great expectations. I know exactly what I will do with them. I was inspired on my trip....

Today I'm thankful to be home!

artist me

I had a dream last night that artist me was lost and had several maps and was desperately trying to find her way...somewhere. Back to regular me perhaps. This blog is called another self portrait for a reason. There was a time when I felt like squidward with self portraits all over my house. I guess I was hoping other forms of art or self-expression would count as well. But I guess it's just not good enough for artist me and she is feeling desperately lost. Crafting is just so much more instant gratification. You can make a lot of things quickly. Paintings take longer. Paintings take hours at a time...which I don't have a lot of right now. Last Friday a man came to look at our house (it's for sale) and he was commenting on my art work. He said it reminded him of Alison Moffett's work...who I went to school with, and he had been the interim art director for a short while during that time. Anyway, to compare my work with hers is a gross overstatement...I wish. He was telling me that since graduating she has moved to Paris and become one of the 6 up and coming artists. So maybe that's where this dream came from, jealousy?

When I first was considering changing my major I was taking a walk around and peeking in studios. I came to hers and she was working on a huge rocket painting. There is no way I can really describe it. But it was cute. I was mesmerized. We talked for a while. And even through the years as her work evolved, it was really fantastic. Look and see for yourself here, here, and here. Mine never was. But maybe it can be if I keep working at it. I made great grades though, because I'm an excellent student. And intellectually I get it. Although, there is that special something missing from my work. But then again...isn't life supposed to flow. If it isn't really working in one area then doesn't that mean that you haven't quite nailed down where exactly you are supposed to be?

And then there is the wii. We have been playing Brain Academy. After you take a test it tells you what job you would do well at. I have gotten: Investor, Doctor, Meteorologist, Consultant, and finally Fortune Teller. Chris has gotten: Improve actor, musician, fashion stylist, and fortune teller. And his grade is so much higher than mine. I can't wait to take this game and play it with the rest of my family and see what everyone else gets. But if I plan my future according to the all powerful wii....then art is apparently not my strong suit.

Today, I'm thankful for finding a fun new blog to read. Thanks, Mandee.