pillows & paint

So please excuse the poor, poor quality photos, as usual. But! Here are the pillows Katie made! She is pretty much amazing. The last two on the right are from target {love.} but the rest are made by Katie. Talent. Pure Talent. Also, our walls are this ugly color. Like, it looks like someone poured grey, tan, and beige into a can and mixed it up and painted the walls. And it's the same color as the couch covers and carpet and tile. So basically, it's ug. So, we got some paint chips and negotiated some colors with the landlady today. For over an hour. Uh, yeah. We convinced her to let us get samples to paint on the wall. Now, like I said before, this picture is poor quality. The green on the left is the color we will be painting [if okayed by the lady] and that will be going down next weekend [between semesters so I'll actually have time].

And one of these days, I will break out the old camera and take real pictures that look good.

also, this is the stack of papers to be filed. well, actually my binder is in there too so it's slightly less. but pretty much, that's it. handouts from class that i need to put in an idea binder. lesson plans and lesson units that i don't know what to do with until i move into my classroom. anyway, that's it.

marathon in 4 days!

bucket list update

so i did it. i finally hiked the y.

very sporadic.

we just wanted a good view for the thunderstorm. which was really just a mute storm of flashes and streaks of lightning across a deep purple sky.

but it was pretty much done when we got there.

so we decided to hike the y.

my first time.

and i was still in my church clothes.

yes, my banana republic skirt, anthropologie top, and j.crew sweater (hey, don't judge---they were all on sale. and also all purchased pre-college when i was making bank or from g.ma [j.crew])

and my little target sandals.

but it worked.

and it started to rain. but only for like 10 minutes. and big huge drops. but not for that long.

and we saw a baby tarantula. but it was still a huge spider.

and the view is absolutely spectacular.

my vote is sunset next time.

so, if you click the bucket list to the right, you can see the things i've checked off. not many. but hopefully more to come! {and running through provo canyon will be done saturday for like 18 miles. i got a little check happy. and also i thought i probably would forget to check it off.}

uh...marathon in 5 days!

beach cruiser club is reallllly getting hot now. or if you don't have a beach cruiser that's fine. any ol' bike will do. well, actually, it will be really hot after next week.

now accepting applications. and that just means--tell me you want to ride with the cool kids.

the sunday morning post, 29th ed.

[warning: this may be a little long today. although, not really in words.]

we'll start off with some news:

MARATHON in 6 days!

i try to keep my mouth shut about it all but, i'm sorry, i just don't think i will be able to this week.

from the day i started my training, 5 months ago, i've run

nearly 700 miles.

691, to be exact.

will be 717.2 after the marathon.

and some weeks i did like 40 or 50 or even 58.

insane.

and now after all those runs. and the many, many hours i put in, i will finally be checking off one of my goals and moving it to my one of my accomplishments/successes.

please pray mr. right shin cooperates this next week. if he wants to be hurt after, then so be it. but please, please mr. shin. i need you to be good until 10am saturday morning.

ok, i'm done.

now, some pictures from days of yore.

cousin steph with baby cousin mike

erin with baby me.

awwww.

and steph is pregnant with baby #1.

congrats!

you may think that's bucky, but it's cashmere, our first golden. she was the sweetest dog in the world. she even let my bunny lay next to her. ok is it weird that i just got slightly emotional? i miss her. and i miss bucky. because he is the coolest dog in the world. and it's almost his bday.

and please ignore the bald head + whiteness + sun glare + tilted head = large oblong white blob.

and a christmas eve. must have been '93 because dana's a baby. and dad doesn't have any greys. and i'm wearing my new pj's i got and erin's got on her new robe.

and now, a story per erin's request.

the dang's magic carpet ride

several years ago, in the days of the dang

{an old '87 toyota celica, aka erin's first car, then my first car, and grandma shirley's [above and above pictures] old car}

erin and i were driving through the neighborhood.

one day, in high school, miss lyndi told me about something called a magic carpet ride.

what is a magic carpet ride?

well, you cruise along and have the passenger pull up the seat adjuster bar {the one that moves you back and forth} and then you just slow down and they move forward.

childish fun.

so, i told erin about it and we decided to play.

she was the passenger.

we were going about 5 mph.

and i taped the brakes.

and erin slid forward and

smack

hit her head on the windshield.

i was freaking out.

and apologizing like i had just spilled bleach on someone's fancy blouse [no, i've never done that. but if i had, i'd feel super bad.]

and we looked and beheld...

a huge crack in the windshield.

seriously?

is your head that hard erin?

well, at least it wasn't her head that cracked.

so then we had to go inside and tell my parents.

"oh, hey. yeah, we were playing magic carpet ride and erin cracked the windshield. and we think she may have a concussion. nbd."

so some advil and $200 later, all was well with both the dang and erin.

the end.

requests for stories or other things are requested.

i will do my best to pop em up that day.

happy bday sara!

happy bday to the craziest girl around.

SARA!

she's quite the woman.

mechanical engineer. {smart}

laker's fan!

{game 1: check. for you sara. and because they are good.}

erin and sara at a laker's game.

her fav?

shannon brown.

she loves his arms.

part of the family.

{ / tries to steal my spot--easter, mother's day, everything! just because i'm 800 miles away. but her parents are far too, so we'll allow it.}

seamstress.

but this is not a photo of that.

poet.

who would know it?

see here.

actress.

{i stole this picture from you em.}

model.

friend.

{aw...}

truly of many hats.

or lampshades.

or just super fun and does crazy things in antrho.

and of course.

sara has fallen under my spell. well, i didn't even need to cast one. she is just that cool. she likes to abbreviate and make acronyms for everything. thanks erin for passing that on. but thanks sara for being weird with us. T. m.y. l.y.

and one more thing.

i think it was just over a year ago that i showed sara "kittens inspired by kittens". and she loved it. and she still does. and so do it. and we always quote it.

so here you are sara. a little work break.

happenings.

sara wants me to blog more since i don't as often as i used to. i'm sorry sara that i have more to do than my life can handle. but i love you. come visit. i'll have time for that.

so here are some pictures from my phone [as usual. i'm too lazy to get out the cannon and upload the pictures. not to mention, my computer is 4 years old and needs more memory, so iphoto is a little slow these days. also, the old cannon is really old and takes horrible photos. so dana, please, you have that beautiful nice nikon. please give me your cannon. THUS, the pictures from the phone.]

my nightstand.

how much do we love the lamp?

also, my favorite family picture.

"the face".

seen here.

SHIN SPLINTS.

the worst.

if you don't know what that is, it's pretty much the muscle tearing away from the bone.

i've had them multiple times. but now is definitely not the time.

marathon in 10 days!

so we're taping.

and icing {still}

and rubbing {still. and still painful.}

and praying {yours are welcome.}

and we got some new orthodics.

you can do it, shiny.

[also, please notice the calf. if i were a chicken, then you'd want to eat that drumstick, wouldn't you? so juicy. thanks, marathon training.]

um totally saw this deer on campus today.

and then 4 hours later saw it again but up a little bit on the hill. and we decided it was pregnant. so it's a doe. a deer. a female [pregnant] deer.

and katie and her mom made this for our apartment.

inspired by the sign my parents, g.ma, and i saw in park city.

and that is all.

oh wait, no. it's not.

so you think you can dance is back.

and did you see the deaf guy on there?

amazing.

[i looked--not on you tube yet. just wait.]

oh also, the sound on my computer works again.

i no longer have to wear headphones.

waiting...

at the airport.

some pictures from erin's graduation.

congrats, grad.

she was so excited to see me.

[of course.]

beautiful mother.

oh some more pictures.

these are from way back in the day.

aunt's wedding.

mother made my dress.

and hers.

erin's bday some time when we were young.

erin hangin' on the giraffe fence.

not much has changed.

boarding...

addendum: the sunday morning post, 28th ed.

some more reminiscent photos.

probably more for my viewing pleasure than yours,

but it's still fun.

'06-ers.

senior end-of-year choir show.

that would be lyndi and i smack dab in the middle.

rich folks.

and later in the same show.

dorothy.

[please notice huge shoulders and extremely high neck.

and i bought black shoes and painted them with red acrylic paint and then red glittered them. crafty.]

and then i graduated high school.

and dana and sara and their friend nicole were funny things for halloween. well, nicole looks super cute. dana and sara are just hilarious. maybe i'll borrow one of them and wear it to our halloween celebration for all my 2nd graders.

oh, you've seen this before.

couldn't pass it up!

now we're into '07.

once upon a time, dad turned 50. and we had a big surprise party for him. but we didn't for my mom because she didn't want one. not her style. we went to cirque du soleil instead.

then there was easters.

and mom got erin and i fruit and veggie baskets.

[and i wish i still had those shorts. i had them from 7th grade until last year. that's 9 years.]

and that's all for right now. when mother is off of her computer, i'll be going back for more. it's just so fun.