Friday Night Good Time

I put together a little album last night of my favorite books. Over the past few days I have been typing up my memories and notes about each book, and then took pictures of each cover. I kept the mini pretty simple and it will be easy to add to.

The Promise of Spring

Although I know that spring has not arrived to our part of the world, and will not for some time, today felt like it was nearing closer. Tyson and I hit the park for some sun and then visited my Grandma.








I may have inherited my love for red from this lady.  :)  Tyson is playing with a vintage Snoopy train that my aunt unearthed awhile ago.  He loves it.  Shocking, I know.  

After a week of painting...

my craft room is finally all fixed up (pretty much) the way I want it. I wish I had taken a "before" picture, because the difference is unbelievable. All you need to know is that the cabinets were a darkly stained brown, the walls were a dark paneling, and there was hardly any lighting. Someone who previously owned this house used the room as his dark room, (he was a photographer) and filled in the window that used to be there. While it is the perfect place to have a dark room, if the lights are on, it is a dark, dreary dungeon of despair. Dusty used it as his office before switching jobs and now it has become my crafting arena- it's hardly conducive to enlightened creating. :)

I took action. I painted the cabinets high-gloss white, and the walls a nice cool gray/brown. I think the overall effect is much more pleasant.

























There's no way it will stay this neat and tidy for long. I think this project has cured me of painting for at least a while. It took much longer than expected, but so worth it.

Sweethearts.

So perfect for this time of year, the Sweetheart tag. I rarely do these, but I thought this one would be good to put into writing, and will probably go straight onto a scrapbook page, or in an mini.



-Thanks, Tricia, for the questions.

*Where did you first meet your sweetheart?

I went home for the summer after a year of school and the same with Dusty.  Our parents live in the same valley.  We never knew each other before that however.  He came into the video store where I was working and made it a point that I got his name.

*What do you remember most about him/ her?  

I remember the way he was dressed, which was nice, he's always been a good dresser.  I recall that he had facial hair (which I talked him out of after we were "dating").  His little giggle drew me in right away, and just basically how handsome he is.

*Who asked who out first? 

Funny story really.  My dad met him at the our church house and talked him into asking me out.  Dared him to actually.  This was before I had even a clue who he was.  Then Dusty came to the video store to scout me out, and I guess he liked what he saw because he later called me up. I had to turn him down the first time because I had to work and his Mom helped him realize that I wasn't rejecting him, so he asked me again.  :)

*What did you do on your first date?
We went miniature golfing on a group date, (I got a hole in one), ate pizza, and watched a movie at his house.  It was a freaky movie too.  I think Domestic Disturbance.  I suppose the only good part about that was that we had a good excuse to cuddle during the scary parts.

*What were your favorite things to do together when you were dating?
We liked to watch movies, because I could bring free ones home, we liked to talk and take drives, go see new places.  Pretty much the way we are now, come to think about it.

*When was your first kiss with your sweetheart?
About a couple of weeks after we had started to see each other.  I must admit, I was the one to make the move.  How could I resist?

*When did you first realize you loved him/her?
After we had been dating about a month.  It seemed like we connected in every possible way.  We had the same goals and lifestyles, and I knew that I never wanted to be parted from him.

*Who said it (I love you) first?

I think I did.  

*How did he/she propose?

Since we talked and talked, we basically decided we were getting married in conversations that we had.  But to make it more romantic, Dusty drove me up a canyon, carried me across a river, and asked me to marry him on our own special "island".  Later, together, we picked out the ring and when it came, he took me to the golf course one night where we could see the stars and city lights and asked me to marry him again, "officially".  To tease him, I remember hesitating slightly, and I found out later that it really did scare him.  

*What are two things you remember most about your wedding day?
Gosh do I have to narrow it down to two?  I remember driving down to St. George with my Dad to meet up with Dusty to get our marriage license, and listening to the soundtrack of Last of the Mohicans.  The workers in the Temple called me the "backwards bride" because we took our pictures first, and then I got out of my Wedding dress to go through the session and sealing.  I remember our ginger-ale toast that we did as a connection to the ginger-ale parties me and my friends would have before our luncheon.  After we were married, I was changing out of my dress into my clothes in one of the Church house rooms after the luncheon, and Dusty walked in.  I made him leave before I remembered that technically it was okay now.  He was my husband. So funny.    As a side note, we didn't have any receptions.  Instead, our parents gave us the money and my parents also gave us a piano.  Definitely worth it.  Thanks for the good idea Mother dearest.

It's interesting,

I blog all about what is keeping me busy, what I find fulfilling in my life, and yet, somehow, I am leaving out one of the most important things in my life. The piano.

Perhaps it's because it's as natural to me as breathing. So I don't even think about it, or mention it. But it is also as necessary to me as breathing. Piano is my stress outlet; my natural high. I play daily, as an enjoyment, to learn new pieces, to keep myself grounded.

If I'm feeling frustrated, I take it out on the keys, usually fast and furiously. Most of the time I play my favorites or makeup something new.

My favorite composer for piano is Chopin. Each melody is a treasure that seem to fit my hands so well. I'm just a sucker for the melancholy, hauntingly beautiful music pictures he paints. I never tire of any of them.

I also love the delightful pieces of Mozart. They are stimulating, whether in Major or Minor. I love to play Bach, but I know that he is not fun to listen to persay. One of my favorite contemporary composers is Eugenie Rocherolle. She has some wonderful pieces.

I think my biggest goal concerning the piano is to not let my hands become lazy and unfamiliar to the keys. I know how quickly that unfamiliarity can come. I hope to avoid it. For some reason, Heavenly Father blessed me with this talent and love, and I cannot shirk it. I feel that I must always be willing to share it somehow. It can still be scary, but it can also be invigorating.

I really have missed teaching these past couple of years. It used to be such a focus for me and it's refreshing to start back up again. Like opening up an attic window and letting the cleansing, cool breeze brush by the curtains and push out the stagnant air that has settled. All of my piano teachers were a BIG inspiration to me, and I love to pass what I learned from them on.

So, I may not mention the piano again for awhile. Maybe I will, but over the years I have come realize that it is more than just a hobby or ambition. It's my place of sanctuary.

2 excerpts

from my sketchbook/journal.

Click on the pictures if you can't read it.

Trains+cousins=super good time

Tyson loves Thomas the Train and his cousin Lily. So you can imagine just how happy he was when we got to visit and then discovered that she had a whole set of trains- pretty darn happy.

Keeping busy

Sewing swing bags for sisters

Doing housework

Making pillows with fun fabric from S-I-L


Buying my favorite flower

Wasting time on Facebook.  P.S. Geo Challenge is really fun.

Cooking yummy Chinese Food

Hosting Super Bowl parties

Letting the children run amok.

Playing with my boy.

Wondering how I got so lucky.

Book Club

Over the past months, the book club that some of my friends and I had going has gone to the wayside. Every time we get together we say that we need to get it going again. Well, ladies, I have found the perfect book. It's The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins, which I believe I mentioned in my last post. I devoured it and decided that others would love it to. So, probably around the second week of March lets have another Book Club night. Write it on your calenders, reserve the book, (or borrow the copy of mine), and I'll see you then.... I'm so excited!

*If you're interested and have never come, feel welcome! We always love to have lots of of people there.