hold on, love . . .

sisters and carrots.

2012-01-25T14:18:00.004-06:00

firstly, some things that cracked me up:

hah. right.

who likes peeling and slicing [by hand; not food processor] carrots??
raise your hand. heh.

that girl enjoys pulling the smolder all too often. the second picture we took had us both smiling, but she wanted me to post this one instead. ;)
anyways, those carrots . . . are something you don't want to make more than twice a year.
butter, brown sugar, a dash of salt. carrots, with all the nutrients simmered out of them.
oh boy.

p.s. my laptop's power jack got fixed yesterday by my brilliant brother, ben. i'll have to post some pictures and the story sometime soon. ;)

i ♥ sisters. they're flippin' amazin'.

2012-01-20T23:55:00.001-06:00

lyddie says she was thinking about flynn rider's smolder here. can't you tell. lol. :)

lyddie: what's the difference between mexico and new mexico?
me: ......let's google it.
lyddie: [huge smile] yeah! because i don't wanna go downstairs and find the meaning in the encyclopedias that weigh 100 pounds!
me: ...do we have any of those?
lyddie: of course. [wink] ...IF you piled them all together, i'm sure they'd amount to about 100 pounds.
me: or more than 100 pounds.
this is us at 11pm.
not too crazy.
yet.

lyddie, brushing my hair with water [because that's what siblings do when you've had a hat on all day because you didn't feel like putting hair crap [aka gel, wax, mousse, whatevs] in it, and now you've got hat hair and it's splendid]

me: ow, that hurts. i think you scraped my scalp over there. [gesture]
lyddie: oh, i'm sorry boss. i'll try not to do it again.
me: um...that's alright, [ahem] employee. just don't do it again.

lyddie: yeah, you don't look too good.
me: thanks.
lyddie: you're welcome.

lyddie: your hair! it looks exciting! [to you ignorant folk who haven't seen megamind, this is a quote from there that she uses often on me.]
me: um. sure.

rach, lyddie, me.

lyddie: i shouldn't be telling you this, but we [beka and me] had a very, ahem, personal talk. like, i'm saying so personal. . . . i almost cried.
rach: wow, personal, huh? [cracks joke about personalness] so personal...you can't even tell it to yourself. lol.
lyddie: hey, that wasn't a funny joke, rachel. beka's solemn. not laughing. so solemn, like a pig that doesn't get any food.

i love siblings.
have i said that before?
i love my siblings.
except for when i hear, after my hair has been mussed beyond all recognition of seeming like this-is-a-sane-person, such dreaded words . . .
lyddie: where's a camera?

lyddie, putting a pony tail --a tiny one-- in my bangs as i type, distracted from reality.
me, in pain: ow, that hurts! that hurts too much!
lyddie: it's ok. pain for beauty. [gets tiny mirror] wanna see how you look? beautiful. juuuuust beautiful. ;)
me: i can't even see me.

p.s. another blog that features siblings and their awesome hilarity is ladaisi. it's one of the things that got me hooked on her blog. :) :)

link love. and life.

2012-01-18T14:57:00.001-06:00

simple ideas. elegance. but nix the cat. i'm not a cat person. lol.

hmmm. open shelving against a fresh wall of a wonderful color. rugged table. mismatched seats.

remember that snowy day to-do list from january 12? well, i did make those cookies . . . they were good.

how to be interesting [in 10 simple steps].

unfocused capture of me and a cousin's little guy. :)

in which [love looks like] a mess.
another emerging mummy post. it's all just gorgeous. and unique. and precious.
♥

coffee. little ones. yeah.

the link below sounds like something to try out . . . :)

homemade pop tarts.

love this song right now. on repeat.

sunday morning january roads. forgotten manual focus. freezing cold.

turning 27: stacey nicole.
a grounded, refreshing point of view.

yesterday, i woke up and it was blizzarding out. heh. i just invented a word, didn't i?
so i painted. and made green tea. [mostly because i was getting so tired of the too-dark espresso roast by st. arbucks. almost like brewing charcoal...] did my laundry. wore a comfy hoodie in the perfect color all day. and today i finished said canvas . . .
i'll have to update the canvas painting section of this web blog of mine someday soon . . . :)

i'm thankful for the building of trust in my Abba.
i'm thankful for breakfast blend that we picked up at the grocery last night.
i'm thankful for technology, even though freezing computers are not my idea of a fun half hour of time.

teahupoo. i'd like to know how to say that.

2012-01-16T07:00:00.000-06:00

eight days after christmas.

2012-01-15T13:35:00.000-06:00

january 2.
the camera was finally picked up, once again; forgotten no more.
hah.

it was a monday.
cold, windy, and slightly nasty.
okay.
slightly is a nice little word i've been using a lot lately, mainly in favor of my love for sarcasm. ;)
but . . . we were nice and warm in the kitchen. because that's just how kitchen are.
right around 12 or 1, we went up town with mum and lyd; mum had something --a surprise-- to show us.
turns out, there's a hallway waiting for an experimental, awesome-for-experience mural by justin and me. :)
we're going to start on it one of the next times he comes to visit.
we're kinda excited. :)
so after we discussed it with mum, her friend flo, and flo's friend kelly, the owner of most of the building, i took justin and lyd on a walk down the street to get some hot coffee and show justin our town's cute little knick-knack, gifts, cards, kitchen stuff and wine-filled coffee shop.
we got to the doors, and beheld the most horrible, saddening sight.
brown paper in the windows, and on that, a dreary message sharpie marker:

closed until january 7. going out of business sale starts then.

even though it was windy and cold and we wanted to be warm, i stood there just staring for a minute.
i probably said "i can't believe this!" a dozen times.
eventually we started off to warm up in the library for a bit before heading out for the last 4 blocks home.
the library was closed. duh. january 2. only the day after new years. :P
so we walked home. freezing.
i brewed coffee right away, and we warmed up right nice after that . . . even though it was nearing 2 and justin and jacklyn were planning on leaving right around then because of the 6 hour drive home.

jacklyn the cutie was ready to go home to see her grandma [visiting over christmas, but lives in another state] and new puppies. :)
i have not a clue what time it was when this was taken . . . but after she took her bag out to the car, it was still probably an hour before they left.

chillin' outside . . . literally.

not quite so chilly.

awesome photographer of the weekend. ;)

his face in this picture makes me laugh every time. :)

another shot of the awesome photographer. heh. heh. :)

lyddie was trying to get something in the kitchen, and told us to move.
so we did. to the back door. hah.
many amusing things, looks, and words were said between us and the rest of whoever walked by us.
a lot of laughing went on. and that's the best way to say see you later. with lots of laughing.

yet another gift.
:)
they left around 3:30pm . . . and . . . cue my post: a few random things from today.

just a note:
my dell is in need of some fixing, therefore no more posts after this, at least i can't promise. lol. might be something random if i do. it might be a week before it's fixed. never know.

six days after christmas.

2012-01-14T07:00:00.000-06:00

december 31st.
the final day of the old year.
we didn't take any pictures on the 1st of january 2012.

this is us at 1am, december 31, in the kitchen.
lyddie was the spur-of-the-moment photographer, and we laughed so much [while trying to be quiet for the sleeping house] at her jokes and random comments from her 11-year-old brilliance. ;)
she tried taking different shots, but i finally hijacked my camera and took this one. lol.
that is all.
:)

five days after christmas.

2012-01-13T07:00:00.000-06:00

it was december 30.

gift time . . . one of the good pictures that was taken.

a gorgeous, utterly perfect willow tree figurine: promise. :)

a friday.
a sleepy, beautiful, wonderful friday.
:)

it was a friday comprised of sitting in the kitchen, right there, drinking coffee and eating breakfast.
hanging out on the couch looking through albums put together by gram how long ago, pictures of her travels to different states and parts of europe. :)
eating cuties with lyd. [cue the laughing right here, for those who witnessed it.]
then, that evening, after dinner . . . we went climbing. :)
my brothers, ben and caleb, had gone climbing before with our friend from bible study. he works there [yeah...you know what they say about connections, lol], and so we got in there and turned on our own music and had a grand time. ;)

yes. stylish is the first word that comes to mind when i see this picture.
actually, psyched is the word, honestly.
it was right before we went to pick the different parts of the wall we wanted to climb . . . exciting stuff. :)
rach took this; i guess she didn't like the hats too much. sheesh. she looked adorable in it. ;)

my brothers, attacking the most difficult wall first. typical. lol. of course . . . this wasn't their first time climbing. heh.

she's. cute.
everything about her. :)
she was a trooper; constantly trying to get to the top --even the easiest wall was challenging.

jacklyn and rach. :)

and . . . i decided that this is the only other picture evidence i was there, that needs to be posted to this blog.
doing yoga poses after climbing the easy, medium, then easy wall again. three times in all. more than enough for me, considering the first time leaves your forearms tight, trembling, and jelly feeling afterwards.
pretty intense.
a great evening, all in all. :)

four days after christmas.

2012-01-12T17:51:00.001-06:00

firstly.
this book thing. that marisa posted.
[dang, she finds some awesome stuff!]

♥
amazing, right??

it was the 29th day of the last month of the year two thousand eleven.
it dawned beautiful, ordinary, and boring.
normal, in other words. ;)
it was 11am, and i had just taken new pictures of and listed the above canvas on my etsy shop, coffee.drips.art.
i unwrapped a random little snickers from christmas and popped it in my mouth.
then a sibling's voice: "beka?"
from the kitchen.
i look over.
ummmm.....why are southern illinois people in the kitchen?
it was a surprise, i'll give you that much.
and my family somehow kept it from me.
justin and jacklyn stood in the kitchen.
my word. :)
what followed was a blur of hugs, laughing, coffee brewing, and me, stunned. in my life, i don't get surprised very often. it all took around half an hour to finally set it.

fortunately, thursday was pretty darn beautiful, so we went for a walk. :)

we kind of brought the paparazzi with us . . . aka sisters. with cameras. much fun, to say the least. :)

two words: hilarious. jacklyn. :)

photo credit via my camera: my little seester rachel. :)

we got kinda chilly, and he had yet to experience out town's awesome not-so-tiny library, so we went there to warm up for a bit before heading home. :)

we found a book on s'mores. all types of 'em.

we went and got cold at the park for a while.

the little dude, reese . . . given up on swinging.
this makes me laugh every time i look at it. :)
we played a short game of hide and go seek tag around our house and the empty one next door, then came in to warm up with a card game of war [lyd and justin's favorite game to play together ;)] and some fresh coffee.

later thursday, after a quick dinner, we set off.
dad and mom, grandma and grandpa t., justin, ben, and me.
anna carpooled with our friends anna and martha--they came after the lesson; we went earlier because dad, ben and justin had never done swing-dancing before; mom has done every dance under the sun since her college years.
the lesson went good, a rather large crowd in a circle, ladies rotating every couple minutes in the lesson from man to man.
let me tell you, it's a unique experience having your older brother there at swing.
because he was a beginner, i tried to give him a couple really simple tips. like lower our hands to my waist; just as the instructor had just said. or, hold my hands like so. instead of that other way.
el oh el.
well . . . you can imagine i had to remind us both to act like responsible adults in public, because we started acting like siblings --him stubborn and i-know-what-i'm-doing-don't-tell-me-what-to-do, and me getting all up in an attitude. hah. in other words, we were bringing out the sassy 5 year old in each other. heh. not good. ;)
i never laughed so much while dancing than when i danced with ben for the first time that night.
he was so done dancing with me by the time the live band ended that song. ;)

the great news is, both justin and ben were awesome first time dancers.
i don't know if them both being drummers has anything to do with their success as dancers, but you never know. :) there were quite a few other first time people there for the lesson, and i can tell you that my brother and my boyfriend did excellently for that being their first night.
i'm pretty proud i can type that. :)
we got home by around 12:30-1ish a.m., and i made a breakfast burrito type of thing because after you dance for 2-3 hours [though i did sit with grandma, grandpa, and the guys and we just watched all the awesome dancers with their variations of charleston and lindy for a while], you get hungry. really hungry.
funny: someone was super tired by then; i guess getting up at 4 to hit the road and get somewhere by 11am and being busy, getting fresh air, and dancing at night does that to a person. ;)

to-do list for a beautiful, snowy day.

2012-01-12T14:23:00.000-06:00

fill out a job application for the sweet pharmacy/health food store in town.

make oatmeal chocolate chip [with maybe and/or cranberries] cookies.

brew more dark roast coffee by cameron's.

admire the pretty snow.
our part of the state has blue on the radar, and no break from it as far as i can see.
since my brothers do a lot of snow/lawn maintenance for people around here, it's called white gold. el oh el.
just glad it's a quiet day with no absolute need for going out . . . :) tomorrow's a different story . . .
another thing i need to do is write more on those december posts i've been working on. :)

and --can't forget this-- draw hearts in the windows.

three days after christmas.

2012-01-11T07:00:00.000-06:00

once upon a time, it was december 28, 2011.
crazy, huh?
one nice thing about this year so far is, my hand and brain have adjusted quite well to writing 2012 at the top of my journal entries.
usually i go through quite a bit of adjustment time. and writer's block. and all sorts of other things.
but, it's a good year, and there are things to write about, the words are flowing, there's good coffee, wonderful family, and a best friend who actually seems to like me a lot, and i him . . . :)
so, yes. it's a good year.

goodness me.
no clue what kind of muffin rachel made that morning, but whatever. it looks good, doesn't it??

you know those rare days when you put earrings in just for the heck of it, even though you're not going out into the freezing cold day?
yeah. it was one of those days.

redoing our bedroom, with lyd and rach: washing the walls...organizing stuff....filling holes with putty. this bedroom hasn't been painted in more than 5 years. maybe 10. so....yeah, it kind of needs a change. we want a change. and i just love paint. :)

lyddie, getting a turn at using the putty. personally, i love that part of redoing the room. but....when your cute littlest sister begs to try it....you kind of have to give in. lol.

we listened to music from my blog . . .

i took a white-washed picture of myself.

and . . . look at that. kitchen stuff . . . talk about oddness. invented in 1968. weirdness.

see that? this is a lower quality [than normal] photo of a magazine page. :P
but.
the idea is, this awesome room.
and the color.
and inspiration.
it says "this is an almost black, charcoal gray that has enough brown in it to keep it warm. it looks like all of those colors, depending on how the light strikes it."

and now for randomness:

i thought this was hilarious. i don't eat breakfast most days; 2 cups of coffee are all i'm hungry for in the first few hours of a day, but whatever. [ya know, someone i know says that coffee isn't a food group. but.....that someone knows that fact doesn't stop me from having just coffee for breakfast. bwahahahha. ;)] the whole post is pretty full of amusing things.
what do you like for breakfast??

two days after christmas. + coffee and cream.

2012-01-10T06:00:00.000-06:00

coffee and cream in high-speed slow-motion.
found here, originally.

so, december 27.
about that day. it was a good day. kind of. yeah.

i mean, who else wants an adorable, energetic mudroom like this?

my brother, ben, is kind of a creative, brilliant carpenter man, ever-growing in his awesome skills.
so i showed this ^^ to him, and he thought it was great, and i told him he needs to make one someday. hahah. he will. :)

it was a tuesday night.
me and rach found a square compact full of some random lip gloss shades, and so we played around and got the camera out. :)

lots of fun, we had. as you can see. ;)
i have no clue what time it was. everyone else was asleep, and we like to get a little crazy sometimes.
just sometimes. ;)

the one quote this certain sister of mine likes to tell me is this:

i smile because i'm your sister.
i laugh because there's nothing you can do about it.

the day after christmas.

2012-01-09T00:18:00.001-06:00

hello.
i believe some of you may have noticed a pattern in the titles of my last few posts . . .
i got a brilliant idea the other day to plow through the end of december and post whatever pictures i took each day that are bloggable. ;) so . . . here we go. december 26.

sigh.
i love the look of cream spilling into good coffee.
yes, i'm weird. i already know that.

devotional and coffee.

the best way ever to start a day.

crazy, cozy socks. :)

the day after christmas, a monday, us girls went to the next town to shop around for sales in a certain store; but first we dropped by grandma flower's house. [she lives on some land with goats, sheep and chickens, with her husband, grandpa herb. :)]

we were held there for more than an hour, still wrapped in our coats and petting her jack russel [or whatever that cute dog was], captivated by her chatting up a storm about not so random history and how mom and her know everyone in the town and surrounding areas and how things used to be and the pros and cons of modern day versus olden days and life quality and homemade things and internet and malls and franchises and dances and people who don't dance and on and on we listened and she talked and i smiled because this isn't everyday that you get to listen to stuff like that from an 80 year old lady who's lived a lot and has all her marbles.

also, a cute piece of furniture in her house that i couldn't help but take a cell phone picture of. i'd leave it white, or paint it a lovely pale gray, or a nice turquoise. it's just too cute. me and anna loved it.

p.s. this post is reeeeeaaaally good.
want to grow your spiritual muscles? a post by jeremy, aka the bohemian bowmans.

p.p.s. ok, so it's 12:16am on january 8 as i publish this...my charger is working on and off [at least it can charge sometimes, still:P] and i'm going to read a bit more of the third book in the 1st big volume of the o'malley series before sleep. :) i was obsessed with those books when i found dee henderson's writings at around the age of 13. anyone else read them before??

christmas day 2011.

2012-01-08T15:56:00.002-06:00

i'm writing this in a coffee shop that is playing ingrid michaelson.
drinking black and tan coffee.
cozy on a black leather couch.
across from me, rach is seated on a huge black leather chair that could stand to be used as a love seat. ;)
last night, my laptop charger's plug had an accident involved with a certain sibling, and all my fidgeting with it --and all three connection places-- has proven resultless.
ah well.
it says the battery has 2 hours and 14 minutes left.
sigh.
i'll hopefully only be here another hour or hour and a half.
anna's at an appointment talking to a lady who's interested in having her as a doula at her birth in a few months, and me and rach are chilling here for a while so that after the appointment is done, we can go hang out with steph, michaela, and who knows who else, while anna discusses wedding plans for/with heath and/or derek. :)
fun stuff.
it doesn't feel like sunday to me. not at all. = just a random observation.

so, this christmas . . .
it was a sunday.
it was good.
but, you know, had some sad moments because someone who lives 340 miles away had to work the days all around that holiday and the next. apparently. at the time. ahem.

so, after stating the fact that someone couldn't come up and spend some awesome bonding time on either holiday with me and my family, and we carried on with our christmas; our first christmas just our family in years.
usually on christmas day, we go over to gram's with lots of food prepped [mashed potatoes, roasted turkey, stuff like that], and gather with some of mom and gram's relatives.
not so, this year.
we came home from church and promptly did things like took naps and all sorts of other wonders.
i took a 3 hour nap. first one in a long time.
when i woke, i was recruited to the kitchen --er, the kitchen table-- to dice onions and mince garlic for every manner of fish dishes being made that night.
scallops and mushroom risotto.
shrimp, etc. creamy linguine.
creamy, cheesy, spinachy [fake] crab meat dip.
shrimp and cocktail sauce.
anna made the stuff, i made the crab dip, and ben helped anna make molten chocolate cakes. :)

and with stinging eyes the victims of onions, i ran outside to capture the sunset through the neighborhood.

1. exactly what happens when you don't have the best lighting and you forget you have it on manual and it's too fast. heh. also featuring, my crab dip and the assorted crackers. mmm.
2. jumbo shrimp. so good.
3. the creamy bechamel/white sauce with shrimp, etc in it, to pour over the pasta.
4. risotto! scallop and mushroom risotto. wow, this was good.

1. the finished seafood linguine.
2. ben, proudly holding up 2 of the several molten chocolate cakes. :)

1. dad, caleb, ben and rach. a funny little line-up. i didn't get too many good pictures of this living room time. lol. david and davidcito came over in the middle of dinnertime and joined us, and we had a jolly time the rest of the night. :) humorous, to be sure. and what's better than family, humor, and good food? psh....hardly anything. :)
2. me, wearing the hat caleb gave me for christmas [from charming charlie, that lovely store], sipping cinnamon-nut swirl coffee, a gift from a sweet lady at church. :)
3. a molten chocolate cake. heckyes.

oh. my. gosh.
3:45pm here in the coffee shop...the music that just came on sounds like the music in the beginning of Up.
no clue if it's part of the soundtrack, or something that the soundtrack was inspired by, or what.
but i'm about to tear up.
sigh.
on another note, i think they close at 4...and it's now 3:54ish as i'm publishing this...yay...we get to be kicked out sometime soon. lol. at least it's a beautiful day out.

so . . . that was my christmas. :)

the day before christmas.

2012-01-07T19:00:00.000-06:00

what happens when you put it on manual focus and forget...

unbeknownst to me, slightly blurry pictures.
what can i say? it was a pretty chilly christmas eve, and i didn't notice the focus setting.

1. my brother, caleb, with great-uncle eugene. hah. i told them to smile and pose. this is what they came up with.
2. anna, laying out a centerpiece. indian themed night. :)
3. grandma t., lifting the cover on a water-filled pot for rice. ;) hahah.
4. grandma t.'s famous apple slices. mmmm.

1. grandpa t. and uncle bob, watching the game.
2. aunt joann, reading. technically, great-aunt joann. grandma t's sister. hah.
3. great-aunt joann and me :) she's a blinker, just like grandma t., so we had to try about 5 times to get a good shot. haha.
4. me and davidcito. :) he was being a clown. this is the best of the few tries i did.

1. davidcito playing with the nativity.
2. turns out not everyone should try to take pictures of bokeh. :P
3. my downfall that night: 7 layer bars, if i remember the name correctly? just a few ingredients: chocolate. coconut. sweetened condensed milk. i'm gone right there. omg.
4. a reflection.

1 & 2: yummmmm. it was better than i was expecting. if i'd had more room [ahem--if i'd exercised self control and not indulged in two whole bars of that stuff] i would've had seconds.
3. veggies before sauteing.
4. also really good.

grandma t, slicing the . . . um . . . no clue what kind of pie that is.

1. anna, giving me The Eye.
2. anna, me, and cousin david. though . . . he's technically dad's cousin, so what's the amended title then? lol.
3. some of the crowd.
4. dad and me. :)

1. lyddie. and the earrings she made to match the theme of christmas dinner that night. :)
2. crappy bokeh shot of the lights on the bushes outside. through the window by the bed that i rested on . . . and fell asleep to dream on . . . for an hour. :)
3. rach, waking me up, playing games on her ipod. kids these days. ;)
4. the crowd, once again!

1. angel food cake and strawberries. ♥ one of my favorite cakes ever since childhood.
2. too many desserts. there is such a thing. ;)
3. grandma t. and her 2nd eldest son, uncle randy. he's spreading frosting on vegan brownies. totally forgot to try those. dang.
4. lyddie and uncle randy--both have birthdays in november, if i remember correctly. :)

1. threads of the centerpiece, and even more desserts. the christmas cookie tray.
2. the cutie seated next to me, by his own free will. davidcito. messing with a couple candles that were blown out.
3. yum.
4. cousin david and rach :) they're favorite cousins.

1. my favorite picture of an inanimate object that night.
2. ben, acting too cool for camera action.
3. ben, smiling.
4. caleb, giving a halfhearted agreement to the shutter.

1. us. being ourselves.
2. rachel. with some awesome people behind her. el oh el.

all in all, a very good night. :)

how was your christmas eve --did you do anything special or crazy, themed dinner, insane presents, different venue, too much or no snow? :)

two days before christmas.

2012-01-06T17:01:00.000-06:00

december 22, we went swing dancing.
this was the 23rd.
the 24th was when i finally wrote/posted the swing dancing post. lol.

french roast coffee that i bought at sven's.
anna having left for work; a napping little guy, fallen asleep in the most darling position ever.
a lovely, super cute friday. :)

he was truly asleep. mhmmm.

never seen such cuteness before. sheesh. :)

link love.

2012-01-06T16:24:00.001-06:00

sarah, author of emerging mummy wrote a piercing, simply beautiful post:
in which [love looks like] a real marriage.

past and present biblical handbooks for church practice [a comic].

the series on ruth that natalie is currently writing and posting.
wonderful, fascinating... :)

this week's funky search words leading to the blog:
hillsong united concert
shauna niequist blog
mom playing acoustic guitar [?]
artistic quotes
limitless tattoo
morbid butterfly [?]
1 peter 4:8 tattoos
beautiful brunette normal pic
blue hillsong images
elegant snobbery

Source: Uploaded by user via Beka on Pinterest

some sudden shaft of illumination.

2012-01-05T17:48:00.000-06:00

“Yes, it’s beautiful,” said Gilbert, looking steadily down into Anne’s uplifted face, “but wouldn’t it have been more beautiful still, Anne, if there had been no separation or misunderstanding..if they had come hand in hand all the way through life, with no memories behind them but those which belonged to each other?”

For a moment Anne’s heart fluttered queerly and for the first time her eyes faltered under Gilbert’s gaze and a rosy flush stained the paleness of her face. It was as if a veil that had hung before her inner consciousness had been lifted, giving to her view a revelation of unsuspected feelings and realities. Perhaps, after all, romance did not come into one’s life with pomp and blare, like a gay knight riding down; perhaps it crept to one’s side like an old friend through quiet ways; perhaps it revealed itself in seeming prose, until some sudden shaft of illumination flung athwart its pages betrayed the rhythm and the music, perhaps…perhaps…love unfolded naturally out of a beautiful friendship, as a golden-hearted rose slipping from its green sheath.

an announcement.

2012-01-03T14:57:00.001-06:00

ahem.

ahehehehehhem.

i guess...i now have a pinterest.

Source: Uploaded by user via Beka on Pinterest

this is the day some of you have been waiting for, right? ;)

good day to you.

a few random things from today.

2012-01-02T19:41:00.001-06:00

dark chocolate covered caramel squares.

breakfast blend coffee. brewed fresh. in the afternoon.

francesca battistelli.

stack of library books.

pictures to import and go through.

a surprise visit from justin and his younger sister, jacklyn.

the best new year's weekend ever.
hands down.
:)

link love.

2011-12-28T11:30:00.000-06:00

oh hello friend.
is brilliant.

yep, they're all mine: for the love of lists, subtitled: why i love yoga.
darn, this makes me miss it. and the yoga place just upped their session price from $12 to $15.

penne a la betsy?
flippin' amazing. i love seafood.
i am going to make that someday. soon. i am.

a caffeine addict's guide to the world: slideshow.
after browsing through that and reading this, i will never be surprised by how anyone takes their coffee.

i want to buy this. i don't care if it's from britain...[we don't normally go for sellers outside of the u.s. but a good record? why not.] which reminds me. i have a post to write about swing dancing. :) that's why i want this dress. it would be perfect.

in the end, that dress would still be cheaper than this blue velvet vintage dress.

a paris shower curtain? well gosh, why not. hahah. and it's from target. the place of decent prices. ;) well, compared to the triple digit price it might be if it came from bed bath and beyond or anthro. :P

aaaaaand i did a guest post for the lovely ladaisi! she published it today, so hop on over there and see what's going down. it's about books. you might like it. :)

me and my daddy.

2011-12-27T00:12:00.000-06:00

♥
me and daddy :)
once in a blue moon, we actually get a picture together. and tonight [early december], after looking up maps for someplace he's going tomorrow, i opened my webcam program. :)
kind of a memorable night. :) it makes me smile.

thursday night. and lots of life.

2011-12-24T15:53:00.001-06:00

all but the top right corner dress is from blue velvet vintage.

i started writing this friday. christmas eve eve, as some would call it.
but . . . i haven't posted it because hardly anything is written. i was waiting for even a slightly witty time of writing to come by so you wouldn't just be reading shortcut, obvious explanations of a line up of pictures.
ahem.

so i'll try to fill in some blanks and all that with this mug of egg nog coffee by my side. what a lovely christmas eve.

as i was starting to write in the latest link love post, the reason why i want it, is because last night i went swing dancing for the first time in too long. i forgot how fun it is. how much i love the music. and the twirling. and the funny old men with awesome old fashioned shoes.

which reminds me. my beloved sister, anna, was just telling me that, apparently, now that i have a boyfriend, all i ever post is link love anymore. "when are you going to blog about swing dancing? your poor blog people who follow you, you never post anymore!" she told me.
ah.
so.

top picture, left to right: my sister anna, kelly, martha & stuart,

catfish [aka richard] & lauren, nancy, anna.

we went for dinner at sven's cafe.
i ordered a melty artichoke panini. and a cappuccino.

it arrived.
and i was surprised; my first cappuccino art ever. strange, i know. but i've never asked for it before, nor have i been to a place that just gives you a beautiful masterpiece by default. sigh.
it kind of made my night. :)
and everyone who noticed sighed and shook their head over my excited nerding-out over my cappuccino, with nikon in hand.

you've never heard it said or thought that i've ever been obsessed with coffee, right?
well, i have news for you . . .

anna loved mine so much, she wanted coffee after she finished dinner, so she ordered herself a cappuccino. she got a lovely flower. :)

martha, me, anna, my sister anna, nancy, lauren.

us ladies. catfish was kind enough to put up with my nikon and take some for us. [he likes sony, i guess. :P]

thank you, catfish, for that great face. :)
before-dancing group picture. :) everyone else was out on the floor with the lesson.
like stuart. that's why he's not in this shot with us.
now for some dancing . . . a grabbed a few pictures after i danced a song or two.

funny thing . . . whenever i get a chance to capture anna dancing . . . it always happens to be her least favorite dance partner. el oh el. not pictured here.

me and little zechariah, sarah and justin's little guy. :)

. . . me and my dear younger sister, rach. :)

reese. being a funny little dude. licking the window of the cold front door while we waited for his daddy to come pick him up.

rach and me, sometime this past week. smoking pretzels.

rach and me. once again. she instagram'd it. lol. doesn't everyone these days???

sunday morning. me and zechariah. kisses in the kitchen. :)
he was a tired little guy. :)

see? this was not 15 minutes later. :)
out like a light in rach's arms.

in other news, this week i have been consulting pioneer woman's site for new recipes to make for dinner. more on that some other time, probably.
in short, snapping out of a bored culinary spell brings good things to the kitchen table. ;)
i'm off to get into some dressy clothes and proceed to join the huge gathering of dad's side of the family at grandma t's for an indian food themed night . . . so, happy christmas eve and day to you! ♥
if this isn't an update on my life, i don't know what is.

peace.

2011-12-20T17:27:00.003-06:00

And God's peace [shall be yours, that tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and being content with its earthly lot of whatever sort that is, that peace] which transcends all understanding shall garrison and mount guard over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

[philippians 4:7, amplified]

this, and sara groves' rendition of it is well with my soul. [found on spotify.;)]

and most of bethel live's music. mhmm.

♥

search words and the like. :)

2011-12-19T14:15:00.000-06:00

first of all, a song.

second of all, a post called

the weight of waiting.

by them chandlers. so. good. hardly any words for it.

third of all, the title subject:
search keywords:
limitless tattoo
hillsong
hillsong united
i will be seeing you soon ♥
sandwich chair definition
josh garrels
limitless tattoos
love artistic
sunrise through a window
swing dress

um, wow?
where on earth does "sandwich chair definition" come into play??
what the heck.

in other news, dad is watching the first season of white collar.
and anna is getting the second season for christmas....which we haven't watched yet....so we're kind of excited. :) family move night shall be reinstated once again.

how nice to have someone meet you at the end of a journey.

2011-12-17T11:55:00.000-06:00

“How nice to have someone meet you at the end of a journey!” she cried, as she stepped off the train at Glen St. Mary into Gilbert’s waiting arms. She could never be sure Gilbert would meet her … somebody was always dying or being born … but no homecoming ever seemed just right to Anne unless he did. And he had on such a nice new light-grey suit! (How glad I am I put on this frilly eggshell blouse with my brown suit, even if Mrs. Lynde thought I was crazy to wear it traveling. If I hadn’t I wouldn’t have looked so nice for Gilbert.)

[via Anne of Ingleside]

creamy chicken spaghetti.

2011-12-16T18:15:00.000-06:00

lots of mushrooms.
that's the key to happiness.
creamy chicken spaghetti.
brought to you by the awesome pioneer woman! heck yeah.
seriously, make this.
everyone loves it.
[well, except for the mushroom haters and the olive haters...but oh well. they can go fry themselves an egg on toast. this dish rocks.]

there....there is a lot of this in it. that's how it turned out so good. ;)
but....who's afraid to live a little? not me.
el oh el.
or, as so and so once said....

I know it’s bathing suit season and we all need to be more conscious of every bite that enters our yappers so we can all look great in our bikinis.

But here’s the awesome part: I haven’t worn a bikini since 1993! It was in Bermuda. I was on a vacation with my kid sister Betsy and I wore that bikini like there was no tomorrow. I think deep down I must have sensed that the time was drawing near that “bikini” would one day be as foreign to me as “clean car” or “empty hamper.” And I enjoyed every minute of it.

Anyway, now that I don’t wear bikinis and worry about every fat gram and every tenth of a pound…I get to eat things like this!

And you can eat things like this, too! Just bury that sucker in your hope chest forever and enjoy life a little. [via this recipe post by the brilliant ree]

tell me she isn't brilliant.
come on.
after tonight, i have realized that the ultimate compliment to one's culinary attempts/struggles/triumphs is "that...is naughty...." said, of course, with a smile, and a reluctant hand setting the fork down next to an empty plate that has seen seconds. ;)

i really want to try making her cajun chicken pasta sometime... ohmagosh, yes.

photo credit: the pioneer woman.

link love.

2011-12-13T23:38:00.000-06:00

a little family addition.
i really want one. kinda. yes. someday. :)

10 unforgettable wedding moments.

this video. my younger siblings have this memorized. no flippin' joke.

five things i wish someone would have told me: the real world.
i'll probably be featuring vintch every other post for the rest of my blogging life. ah.

this. mhmmm. i think i should paint it or something.

wedding wednesday: etiquette.
i love the idea of freedom to do anything.

the realistic guide to love.
interestingness.

a gentleman's guide to surviving the 21st century.
the first post of the like.

a gentleman's guide to staying cool in the 21st century.
good stuff, that. i mean, from my perspective and all.

a gentleman's guide to surviving the 21st century.
the first post of the like.

a good woman's guide to the 21st century.
hah. i kinda like this guy's writing.
no....i'm not poetic. nope.

the good fight.

something charming: oh, how pinteresting!
bucket list items with darling pictures.

the end:)

DCILY: if five year olds can make espresso . . .

2011-12-09T21:24:00.001-06:00

ohmagosh. cuteness.
found here:)

seriously, how perfect.

2011-12-09T14:35:00.001-06:00

introducing . . . one of my best, sappiest finds . . . ever.
anne and gilbert tumblr.
mhmmm.

"She was his at last, this evasive, long-sought Anne, won after years of patient waiting."

saaaaaaaaaaap.
can you spell sap?

sigh.

i can too :)

my night:

2011-12-03T17:58:00.001-06:00

this little guy...zechariah. mhmm, the cutie from that post. :)

and this little girlie...eliyah, his older sister.
them, plus danny, plus minestrone soup and the rest of my family....
and....vanilla twilight.
mhmmm.

black coffee.

2011-12-01T23:33:00.001-06:00

Black Coffee - The Careless Lovers (The Official Music Video) from Joon Chang on Vimeo.

[laughing]
ohhh my.
i love that.
it's so odd. and hilarious. and awesome.
how do you take your coffee? ever drink it black?

link love.

2011-11-29T23:54:00.001-06:00

i want to go there.
cannon beach. oregon. ahhhhh. there's something about oregon that lures me.
the ocean.
coffee shops.
a loved one.
new experiences...
i feel it's all promised in a trip there.
someday, maybe.

good ol' volks.
gosh, that post and all its pictures makes me want to have one..re-do the inside a bit, then travel a little while by the coast or something.
sigh.
wake up in your own little place . . . look out the window to see the ocean on the shore, the sun shining, sparkling on the water, bright in your eyes.

reminds me of the song world traveler, by andrew peterson.

oh little me, it's okay.
i've been completely, steadily, obsessively, and restfully devouring vintch's blog.
i just love the sweetness, the beauty, the realness.

i will be sweet for you.
melted my heart.

ah! chambanachik is having a lovely spree of giveaways, so please head on over there and check them out as they roll. :)

my problem with christmas.
i completely and utterly sympathize. i'm in the exact same boat. me and abbie are definitely related somehow. :P

douse the sunrise, a new edition, is now available on my etsy shop. :) just an fyi.

and crazy people who make perfume that smells like gathering apples. sounds appealing, i must say. that, and the summer kitchen one...

new house textiles: aprons.
i don't know what it is . . .

i adore their sweetheart tablecloth. oy.

and scroll curtains...
yeah...going to exit that site now...

[via]

i hope you have a wonderful wednesday :)

the best weekend. ever. ever. eeeeever. :]

2011-11-27T22:39:00.001-06:00

well, this is the follow up post that i promised to those dears that commented on the last post.

thursday night was pretty darn good.
they [justin, jonathon, and jacklyn] arrived at 7:30; an hour or two earlier than i was guessing at first, since it's a 6 hour drive and it was, after all, thanksgiving. family gatherings and all, ya know.

friday was awesome.

i read a chapter of 12 + me to rach, jacklyn, and lyddie until 1am.
anna, jonathon, justin and i went to meet martha, where she was ringing bells with her mum for the salvation army . . . it was a gorgeous day, but oh so cold and windy.
we sat at caribou coffee for a bit; laughed over swing dance stories and people we've met there and stories from the restaurant where anna works, and a song title that neither anna nor i could finish saying.

when we got home, we made vegetarian tacos, and then lyd challenged justin to a game of war with cards, and a complicated string of games took place. lyddie, mostly winning . . . laughing at her brilliance and/or good luck. ah, dramatic siblings. ;)
we took a short trip to church to practice dance with me, it being the special we did today.
after practice, i napped in a pew and the guys were awesome and set up some trees for Christmas decorations . . .
we came home, the guys had an adventurous game of air soft in our front and back yard [ahem]...

then we parted ways [guys to gram's house and me upstairs] and two of us got fancied up.
you might be able to guess.
well, some of you. ;)

you're welcome for the gif.

mhmm. i guess i should come out and say it now, shouldn't i??
meet my boyfriend.
justin.
:)
he happens to be the younger brother of my best friend, pj, whose family we've known for about 10 years.
he's hilarious. sweet. plays drums. loves God and people.
i kinda really like him.

we went to the restaurant for dinner around 5:30. stopped by to see chelsea and her husband [good friends from bible study] so he could meet them... :)
anna got a few pictures of us with the handy dandy flash on my camera.

after a lovely discount because anna works there; a while of eating great appetizers and gelato; lots of talking and getting to meet all the people who anna's been telling me amusing stories about these past couple months . . . we headed home around 8:30.

the family was playing spoons when we arrived.
so what do we do when we get in there? sit down and start playing.

photo cred: ma seester, rach.

then someone requested a dessert.
so, what do i do?

i start making those famed pumpkin cake bars. ;)

after the 'rents went to bed, we all headed over to gram's house to watch wolverine with a borrowed projector on an empty wall.

mum came to give us a container of the bars that had finished baking . . . someone pushed pause on the movie, and i don't even have to describe how fast they were devoured by all the siblings. i stepped into the kitchen to find several of them rubbing their stomachs. rachel told me i shouldn't
have made them; they were so naughty...hah.

because of the impending arrival of early waking time for some farm work bonding with dad and cousin david, justin went to bed around 11:30 and the rest of us finished the movie.

the guys came home just before 10, cleaned up nice, and then i watched the first half hour or so of the green lantern with them and the sisters at gram's . . . came home with justin around 11:30am to start lunch: chicken curry.

after chicken curry, anna, jonathon, caleb, justin and i headed off to meet heather, derek, steph and casey [and ryan and michaela] at a coffee shop for a couple hours.
hilarious time over coffee. :)
some of them got to razzing me, and after some comfortable conversation and teasing from everyone, even justin, about some amusing things and quirks of mine, heather gave a few of her cents: "i approve of justin; he gives beka a hard time!"
hah. hah. thanks. i approve of him, too.

sadly, i don't have any pictures on my camera of the gathering; i'm waiting on casey to post some pictures on fb so i can save a few for the date. hence the lack of photos right now for saturday afternoon out. stay tuned for an update.
. . . when we got home from the coffee shop, i washed dishes and justin dried . . . he's kind of an awesome dish-washing partner. ;)

sarah, justin, eliyah and zechariah came over after they got some house-hunting done. it was all good. :)

justin holding not-so-little zechariah.

. . . fill in the blank. :)

soon enough, i started on making one pan of lasagna while another pan from a friend sat, warming, in the oven. a pan of chocolate cake may have went into the oven, too.
right before everyone started arriving, we both sat down on the kitchen rug against the cupboards and closed our eyes. i'm lucky enough to have second and third winds; he was hitting rock bottom from his day starting at 3:45am --all good stuff, though of course quite tiring-- and sadly, he doesn't have second winds as to my knowledge yet. super freaking early mornings do that to a person, i guess. :P we're going to have to try to change that . . .

grandma and grandpa t. came over; so did uncle bob, cousin david, and david-cito.
talk about the most wonderful party ever.
afterwards, justin and i started washing dishes --him, drying--

as you can tell, saturday was jam-packed and a grand, lovely time.
grandma t brought a pan full of her famous apple slices.
everyone loved that. :)
after the eating and clearing the table was done; we started doing dishes.
grandma t came by our side. "can i help dry? or wash the dishes?"
me: "uh....the position's already filled..." [insert smile here]
grandma: "are you saying you don't want my help?!"
we all laugh.
grandma: "well?" [smiling expectantly]
me: "well....i guess i could let you do the silverware." huh. my least favorite part of washing dishes.
grandma: "alright! put the plug in and get some water and soap in that sink!"
i stepped back and didn't return to my place until after the dishes were all done . . .

how could i interrupt that?!

it was a darling sight.
to be sure. :)

when everyone left, tiredness hit us again.
someone snapped a picture of it for posterity, obviously, or else this picture wouldn't be here. ;)

rach and jacklyn amused themselves with blogger and youtube vids by julian smith and playing classics by colbie and jason mraz --lucky; i'm yours. you know; the classics. ;)

then, lyddie challenged him to another round of war.

oy. i swear, it's his favorite game ever now; that utterly amusing littlest sister of mine cracked us up [and herself while she was at it] endlessly while she beat him once again with the cards.

all us siblings went over to gram's to watch a movie . . . then someone suggested charades.

everyone was brilliant.
i don't mean to steal the spotlight that everyone envies, but i sincerely sucked.

he asked me to shoot him. :)
[didn't you?? ;) ]
turns out, it was a scene from a film i haven't seen . . . the matrix.

yay for motion shots. lol.
because there was church the next day . . . and supposedly sleep is a necessity . . . us girlies went home to sleep and the guys had some chill time.

sunday was full and beautiful and more sweet than bittersweet.
there was a ton of meeting people . . . so much of our church is just like family; so, of course, all these people got to meet who they'd been hearing about, and vice versa.

pretty little jacklyn :)

when we came home from church, we had lunch . . . then they packed up . . .
then it was picture time.

rach got into photog mode after her little rampage of funness in the car.

us at the park while they were having fun.

. . . now we know what it is to be on the other side of the camera.
it's not that bad. ;)

as i said on fb, my younger sister, rach, is brilliant. she almost fell off the bench edge getting this of her own inspiration. :]

shoe photo credit: anna. :D

today was the coldest day of this whole weekend. hence the fingerless gloves. but hoods off for pictures.

left to right: ben, caleb, anna, rach, jonathon, justin, me, jacklyn, lyddie.

all of us :)

the men.

the ladies.

and . . . see-you-later's . . .

thus ended a very wonderful weekend.

how was your thanksgiving? :)

thank.you.

2011-11-24T15:25:00.001-06:00

3:11pm
Only 9 more minutes, then I wake Dad up.
Him, Caleb and I came home 15 minutes ago…earlier than the rest of the family from the huge family gathering with Dad's side of the family.
I’m tired.
So tired.
Not too full. Thank God for self control. [Finally. ;) ]
When Dad and David come home from the farm, we plan on finishing Capt. America, then starting in on some chick flicks. David says he’s going to stay and wait it out till “he” comes.
El oh el.
So…line up?
Letters to Juliet
Leap Year
Roman Holiday.
Yes. Chick flicks.
And leftover chicken noodle soup.
As we wait for some very dear friends to come . . . there may be a post coming on that. :) Some of you know what I'm talking about . . . It's finally Thanksgiving weekend! YAY!
It looks like it could rain.
Check out D's post on thanksgiving.

Today . . . is a very good day.
I plan on brewing some peppermint coffee after said nap, and cleaning/organizing until Dad and David come home. :)
Then let the fun and waiting begin. :)

artistic endeavors: coffee types. and faces.

2011-11-21T23:47:00.001-06:00

september 7.
i was on a coffee kick in the canvas world. mhmm :)

see the ice cubes? el oh el.
even that one has a face. :)

dang, i wish i could find that lip balm somewhere. rachel perry. best stuff ever. and yes, you read that right: chocolate bliss. :) dangit, internet; can't you find it supplied somewhere for me to buy 3 at a time or any at all? lol
oh wait.
speak of the devil.
i just searched it and found this bull crap deal. 3 lip balms for 23.99 plus 2.00 s&h: on ebay. what the!! that. is. crazy. :P so going to search for a better deal....

and my personal favorite to paint:

today i went to work.
a friend from church owns a store with her husband --good quality, awesome furniture and beautiful wood pieces and taxidermy and all that great stuff. thursday she trained me for four hours, and then her and her husband went up north to enjoy what a lot of people enjoy doing this time of year. :)
ya know. guns and all that.

so i worked from 10-5 on friday, the most blustery, chilly day ever. sold 2 pine candles to a nice couple who were looking at some living room furnishings and a bed frame of lovely aspen.

and then i worked today from 10-5. sold two night stands to a lady who browsed for a long time, then came to me and said "i want those two." sweet customer. really patient and understanding.
funny thing...2:30, no one new coming in, i called ben and we talked for a while....half an hour, to be honest....and it ended with me asking him to bring his self over with the tiny 4-cup coffee maker, coffee beans, the grinder, water, and milk in a jar.
mhmmm.
i asked nicely, reminded him how bored i was and how much he loved me/i loved him, and my beloved brother was at the store's door with a box of blessed supplies at the end of the 34 minute call.
all i could do was laugh as he lounged on the office couch and i ground beans, brewed a full tiny pot and offered him some from my thermos because he didn't bring one for himself. :)
quite a memory, even though when anna heard of it she was shocked and appalled [are they the same thing? lol] and may have called me a few things like wimp, weirdo, and princess.
i don't like being called princess.
but anyhow. that's besides the point.

we drank egg nog with whipped cream on top, and watched 10 minutes of a new set of dvds anna bought--more of the business of being born.
ricki lake and/or ina may gaskin....definitely read/watch stuff by them if you're interested in having bebes. el oh el. or...don't listen to me.

after 10 minutes of that, and a few minutes of family time around the table, anna, ben and i set off for bible study 10 minutes away. we're studying philippians with a group of young adults and, this time, pastor chuck is leading it. every week lately, he's had a lot to say that just speaks straight to the heart of stuff me, anna, chelsea, and everyone else are dealing with. it's flippin' amazing to witness something like that weekly. so thankful for how God's spirit moves and He speaks through down-to-earth people of all sorts.

oh. and, because my little sister tagged me, tell me this:
if you could describe me with one word, what would it be?

this night is finished off by writing someone special and listening to the avett brothers on spotify. pretty darn good. i'm thankful for it all.

i have a cherry pie to make for the huge thanksgiving lunch with dad's family thursday, so wish me luck...

a short love story in stop motion.

2011-11-18T23:25:00.001-06:00

A SHORT LOVE STORY IN STOP MOTION from Carlos Lascano on Vimeo.

here's some loveliness for you.
watch it. i got it from marisa's twitter. thank her.
i love the different sort of art.
and the light. and the story.
and...seeing it all happen in less than 5 minutes makes me want to cry.
just like the first half hour of that darn movie, up...

*sniff sniff*

reminds me a little of this...which i found on jessica's gem of a blog: words fitly spoken.
i went through every page till i hit the beginning.
it's all good. :)

post title: link love.

2011-11-17T23:41:00.001-06:00

i want to go to the ocean someday.

sigh.

everyone loves photobooths....don't they?
everyone go awwwwww. this thing and its story is freaking adorable.

on another hand, i've become obsessed with jj heller's music on spotify and her blog....my favoritest part: decorating. i. love. her. style.

also: awesome or awkward. el oh el. but pretty awesome. hahaha.

". . . what does that mean, sharideth? thank you for asking. i will explain."
[laughing]

gosh, i love sherideth. i haven't said that before, have i?
breaking down marriage: part 1.
"without perfect people, there are no perfect marriages. what there is, that is always consistent, is the value of marriage. a marriage doesn’t lose it’s value over time. people lose their desire to respect that value."
i know a lot of people who should read that. oy.

well, it's 11:16pm and my crazy, crazy sister [rach] is making pumpkin pie.
yes.
and the other night, she made pumpkin pie at around this time, too.

1. if i don't absolutely have to be...

2. if i was kept up by uber hilarious sister bonding time [like pumpkin pie or cheese quesadillas and hot salsa at 1am...see below pictures for reference] . . . . . how on earth is quesadilla not in Word's dictionary?! :P

i'm not an early bird.

deeper shade of blue.

2011-11-16T21:35:00.001-06:00

here's the link for the song. :)
thanks to spotify --you know; that "very convenient lovely thing in my life" that i can't imagine living without-- i've been exploring artists i have heard about, and ones i never dreamed existed.
quite a gold mine.
even more so than pandora, for goodness' sake.
:) it's kind of a good thing...i do believe. yes, it is. :)

the civil wars, second time 'round.

2011-11-12T20:43:00.001-06:00

well, i guess i better blog about the concert before i forget about it.
tuesday night, if you weren't informed by earlier blog posts of mine, was a concert. the civil wars, to be exact.

anna, martha, chelsea, and yours truly.

we took a few girlfriends along.... :) they'd never heard the civil wars before.

waiting . . . waiting for 8 o'clock to come.

the opener band was . . . milo greene. [never heard of them or anything before this.]
well, it kind of stunned me.
they were so. good.
i just waited, through the first couple songs, for them to turn eh, but it never happened.
see, the civil wars had someone really odd and random open for them last time they came --in april-- it was this lady singing blues with her super-freaking-loud electric guitar and one song i remember especially well because the lyrics were weak and to make matters worse, the chorus was full of f-words.
oy.

so back to this band.
it was like . . . amazing.
resembled a mix of mumford & sons, and gungor --the band i've been obsessed with lately.
the guys swapped instruments a few times during their set. talk about fun to watch. :)

mhmm. talk about wicked view of the stage...and a wicked shot my camera took on manual. :D

here. we. go.

ahhh, you need to see them in concert.
it's unforgettable.

why did she laugh?
and how did i catch it all so awesomely? ;)

kidding on the last part.
but firstly, it was between songs, and john paul loosened up his bowtie.
and she commented on it.
i should make mention of the crazy people in the crowd [women, you know.] that had yelled several times earlier "we love you, johnny depp!" and yeah. obsessive people back there in the crowd.
and a positively annoying person who gave the loudest, almost painful whistling between songs during the ovations. uh, thanks lady. that seriously hurts. i won't go into what i wanted to do to that lady.

but really? look at that picture.
it's my favorite from the night.

joy is just too darn adorable.
and this was the day that i was missing having long hair. or the idea of it. because i honestly really love mine short. it matches who i am better.
spazzy. funky. quirky. ;)

poison and wine, yes ma'am.

i was psyched when i saw that i had captured this.
like, really?
one of the best i've ever gotten at any concert. sheesh.

i believe c'est la mort was another one they did with her on the piano.
i didn't listen to the song much until i read the lyrics put to pictures on a blog somewhere random.
it was then i fell in love with it.

at the end, they came back and sang "billy jean", and dance me to the end of love.
and yes, he is indeed looking at my camera.
he did that a few times through the concert. [not trying to brag or anything...hahahah...nevermind.]
so did she--she looked straight at me as she was laughing hilariously at something in their quirky conversation. :)

now for a few pictures from rach's cam. we rock it in the loo, as you can see. ;)

martha really liked mr. baldy.... ;) lol.

martha, me, anna, mum, chelsea, and rach :)
psyched smiles of i-loved-that-concert-so-much-now-i-want-home-and-my-bed-'cause-i'm-tired.

random link love:
trying too hard.
bwahahahha. i love her tips.
refrickinglax.
take deep breaths and go to your happy place.
who doesn't like that suggestion?

don't be that girl.
yes, sharideth's blog again :)
yes, i know girls who need to read that post. don't we all? :|

21 starbucks flavors that failed.
this first post, i sat here laughing at. ohmyword.

21 more starbucks flavors that failed.
yeah, not as funny [to me, anyways] but still amusing.
some of the commenters had me snorting.

one ring to rule them all.
a guest post....on sherideth's blog.
i cannot contain my interest and admiration for her blog. sorry. :)

this dress. i want. it's perfect for swinging. and it's just cute, besides.

♥

littles love clarensau.

2011-11-10T08:56:00.001-06:00

it's 9:03am.
he's sleeping, supported by a very tired left arm....going to remedy that somehow.
don't want to let him go:)

i tried to lay him down, and what does he do? starts crying like i took his paci.
looovely.
no arms, you do not get a break from this 14lb of cuteness that loves clarensau just as much as you. :)

It's like choosing between two flavors.

It's like falling in love again.
It's like wearing my heart on my sleeve.
It's like trusting that I'll be able to leave.
After the mountains start to feel like home . . .

I'm coming home, I'm coming home I'm coming home, but I'm leaving too.
I'm coming home, I'm coming home I'm coming home, but I'm leaving you.
[clarensau; coming home] i am in love with that song.

artistic endeavors: t.s. elliot.

2011-11-09T23:59:00.002-06:00

i painted this september 6.
don't you love how i fall behind in this?? that was 2 freaking months ago!
definitely one of my favorites.
ever. ever. ever. not selling this original....ever. heheheheh. :)

i'm a detail-oriented person.

you try drawing straight lines without a ruler.
it's more fun without a ruler....
i don't like rules.
;)
kidding. kinda. i'm a middle child, and you know what they say about us......rebels. ;)

nothing like something easy --pizza!!!!-- for a starving artist. hah.

sad fact: the mug in the above capture has lost its handle. :\ we are hardcore coffee mug users...it's not me i'm talking about. i give tender loving care to my favorite coffee mugs. sigh. may it rest in peace.

they provided the cutest break in my painting time ever. :)

mesmerized by my media player's graphics. hehehe. i love it when kids notice it and its coolness. ;)

almost there......

the tree that the city cut down because of one dead limb... :\

well, i wake at 6 tomorrow, so fare thee well. but i get to watch one of the cutest little dudes ever.
he's a smiley one, that. :)

see?
him and coffee...maybe a nap or two....and coffee.
it's 11:59. yowzers. :P

when your work speaks for itself, don't interrupt.
[Henry J. Kaiser]

tonight.

2011-11-08T13:20:00.002-06:00

tonight.....
we are going to see the civil wars.
mum, anna, rach, me...and a couple girlfriends from bible study. :)
i. am. excited.

it's cloudy out, and i'm painting.
thanks to someone else, i have found a new favorite song.
you get me, by teitur.

spotify has it, so i'm happy. it's pretty grand.

last night's sunset.

like a beautiful song
you heard a million times
like the rainbow's end
you can never find
. . . you get me.

just beautiful.

2011-11-06T23:24:00.003-06:00

We were alone in the windblown, gently rustic quiet of Montauk (which the sweatshirts refer cheerfully to as “the end,” because it is located at the very tip of Long Island).
We drove to a beach and we sat on the sand in our jeans and sweaters. It was just us. Even the ocean was respectfully softspoken. The beach backed up to dunes that mounded thickly and were packed into bluffs with sharp, untamed edges. Stretches of coarse, reddish scrub brush grew low and defensive over the sandy earth. We were tiny and the world was too big to ever even come close to comprehending.
[kate; eat the damn cake]

that, and seabird music.
heather and derek's engagement photos taken this afternoon [anna and me with cameras in our hands:]
the pumpkin cake bars that turned out to be everyone's favorite, prettymuch.
writing...words...love.
the sunshine through the clouds near the end of the setting.

the contrast of silver ring on her finger.
her laugh; the way he looks at her.

the windy day and all the laughing.
God's love is the threads that hold my day together.

music and the lyrics that sometimes comes with it.
it's lovely.

vous etes mon coure. [you are my heart.]

2011-11-04T22:49:00.000-05:00

i've been obsessed with gungor's music.
even more so, ever since anna ordered their newest album off amazon . . .
and i've been able to listen to nearly everything else on spotify. [thank the Lord for spotify.:]
if you're into music, what artist/s have you been listening to lately?

tuesday, the girlies in our family went on a day trip sort of thing.

trader joe's.

that place just makes me happy.
especially the way that certain store is set up.
their coffee is a lovely price...
and their chocolate...don't even get me started on their chocolate.
have i written about that stuff before?
their dark chocolate covered caramels are the bomb.
and their dark chocolate caramel bar with the roasted black sea salt....oh. my.
you know, they also have tons of other stuff; like a normal grocery store...but that's not the section i shop in at this point in my life.
oh...and their mango-apricot greek yogurt. sheesh. that stuff is too good.
their naan bread is awesome.
and that's where my trader joe rant ends.
next, we went to.....

the children's place.

i get so bored in there.
anna just ponders every other outfit looking for Christmas presents for the kiddos she nannies --sam and reese-- and all the other littles we know.
finally, we got out of there...
and i got to stop in at alterra coffee and buy the largest --a 20oz-- of one of their brews. not too bad. but not as smooth as some of caribou's or berres brothers. mmmm. :)

then...we hit the mall.
yikes.
this is where you lose me.
ask anyone who's ever gone shopping with me; i'm not good company for shopping till you drop.
nopity-nope.
in the mall, we found something that obviously was in the internet's bermuda triangle --a forever 21.
pretty sweet; i love that place. but...i only brought $9, dude. coffee and food. i'm all into the necessities only of life. ;) honestly, though, i don't need anything really right now in the way of wardrobe...just a few wants. you know how that goes? yeah.
so the second i step into forever 21 with my mom and 3 sisters, the metal detector goes off.
way to make me feel like an oddball.
because, obviously, i'm not a criminal yet.
right???
i step out...just to see if it was me, after all.
step back in...yes. it's me. must've been my camera hanging in its case by my side.
i don't think 20oz cups of alterra coffee would make store security go bonkers.
thankfully...no one paid attention to that episode.
oddness, i tell you.
:P
i browsed. seriously, some of their stuff is just strange.
i love their accessories, though. awesome prices for earrings that are not as cheap quality as other places....heckyes.
soon enough, i was done. i went out and sat on a bench, for pete's sake.
that's how not-into shopping i am......yeah.
i feel kind of guilty typing that out.
i like going with a purpose, with the money i need for what i need, and that's that.
oh --and i'm a cheapo.
i'm not into stuff that's not on sale. :P heheh. :]
so i sat on a bench, sipping the last of my coffee, watching a diverse couples and crowds pass by.
finally, my people came out of charlotte russe, the place they had migrated to.
we left and went to teavana.

great place.
love that place.
except for, you know, the sky-high prices and delicates all over the place.
there was indian music coming over the speakers, and darnit if lyddie didn't start doing some subtle zumba moves....my sisters and mom are obsessed with zumba. they go nearly every thursday and/or monday.
and i stay home...maybe make dinner....write certain people.....and, you know, i don't zumba.
i just don't.
it's not my thing.
now, yoga....yoga is a whole other story. :)
it's relaxing...stretches you....it's quiet...and the studio is clean, organized, and oh--all those lovely hardwood floors....

after a little while, i got nervous and/or bored, and took the younger girls outside.
yay for photoshoots when bored. ;)

awww, rach. you're too cute. :)
lyddie put one of those little suction rubber circles on her forehead the other night, and she's still living away the repercussions of such a smart decision. ;)

okay, this is the part of the post where i start smiling just thinking about typing.
i walked into this kitchen store with everyone....

sur la table.

and that everyone faded away.
i fell in love.
yep i did.
just like a new girlfriend confessed the other night about her love for looking at athletic shoes, i walk into a kitchen store and love the shapes and colors of the spatulas.
the pots and pans...the aprons.
[now...an apron, i did get....for christmas, from the 'rents. it's kinda gorgeous. i have a thing for aprons. :]
the shine of stainless steel.
the texture of le creuset cookware.

ahem.
enough about the kitchen place...
onto the next subject.

we found this little place...charming charlie.
full of pretty stuff. accessories. awesome hats. gorgeous scarves....some regular clothing and shoes/boots.
pretty sweet place, too.
i kept my eyes open for things in the colors of heather's wedding...plum....gray...... :)

i love sisters.
:)
and no, sadly, i did not buy that hat....i had thought i had lost the can-do for rocking hats since i got my hair chopped, but anna tried to reassure me otherwise...
oh well. maybe next time.

we went to qdoba for the first time ever...
i got a mexican gumbo.
ohhhhh, yum.

on the way to david's bridal [to find anna a bridesmaid/wedding coordinator dress for heather's wedding, and to order my dress, yay!] and on the way home, rach and i played hangman....
my new favorite game to play with siblings.
totally awesome bonding time.
i can rock at it...
because i love words...
but man, i just hate when rach says "hey, let's go with just a subject. bugs."
whaaaaaat?!
yeah, those are the times that i totally suck at the game.
heh.

i love these two quotes about life.....
and this picture.
it makes me want to cry.
anyone else??

my formula for living is quite simple. i get up in the morning and i go to bed at night. in between, i occupy myself as best i can.
[Cary Grant ]

people living deeply have no fear of death.
[Anais Nin]

links. :]

2011-11-02T16:50:00.001-05:00

so.
i found a new site earlier. a guide to women. a blog for men. now, i've only read about 3 posts so far from her, so i'm not like, well-versed in her world/relationship views. but....dude! i love sites like these...
amusing....informative in a quirky way...
unique!
anyhow....
yeah, i found the link off a comment on this post by ragamuffinsoul. heheh. all around fascinating. ;)

now for links. yay!
a random one: jessica, from bohemian bowmans, wrote a thing on christians and cussing.....that's always an interesting topic. heh.
the keeper.
thankfully, she admits "take all of these with a grain of kosher salt. they will appear in varying degrees and manifestations...... i realize that i’ve made her sound like the unicorn of womanhood....." amen. :)

the keeper: testosterone edition.
i love the comments.
the comment section on most posts are nearly, if not better, than the actual post. :)

in life news:
this morning, anna and i went to meet heather at a coffee shop [independently owned place, heckyeah!] so anna and heather could talk wedding plans....
i sat in a leather love seat and curled up with the yada yada prayer group book that some ladies in my church are reading and discussing tomorrow night....oh, and let's not forget the 2 20oz cups of coffee i had within those couple hours. :]
wonderful days, i tell ya.
still can't believe our dear friend is actually...planning.....her....wedding.
a wedding!
w.e.d.d.i.n.g.!!!!!!
oh my. :)

oh!

in other random news, i fell asleep last night with a letter --uh...correction: rant-- to starbucks going on and on in circles in my head.
something like....

dear starbucks,
you are fast losing my love for your coffee.
your beans are burnt.
it's not a pleasant experience anymore, your brew, in-store or otherwise.
too dark, too harsh, not smooth....
hmm......i miss that anodyne coffee....definitely should stock up on that sometime soon....now that stuff was a beautiful thing to wake up to, anytime of day.
i mean, honestly!
just the other night, i was talking to a lady who worked at a place that served starbucks...and while she said she enjoyed working with people and coffee, she mentioned in a muttered sentence how starbucks beans and brew are not that satisfying of an experience. [my more detailed paraphrase.]
i think some people are afraid to say such a thing.
or else, they just don't know better; or don't notice; too busy getting a bit of caffeine for their lifestyle to notice smoothness, pleasantness in the mouth. mild. nutty. deep, but not harsh and biting flavors.
seriously.
anyone else have anything to say about that?? or am i the only one who chooses to spend spare moments thinking about coffee and the depth of taste and not the next to-do list........heheheh. :)

happy november, by the way.
is there something you're looking forward to this month, in particular?

pumpkin. butter. cake. [and life. surprise.]

2011-10-31T17:54:00.000-05:00

saturday night [october 22], lyddie and i made this.

you knew it was time for another food/recipe post, didn't you?

wow, this was when my hair was still blonde...lol.
mmm, butter :)

what was i doing here when rachel got it into her head to get this capture?
probably writing someone special . . . and reading blogs while waiting for this good stuff to finish baking. :)

short story, you should make them.
you really should.

on the other hand, this has been one of the best mondays ever.
paint, coffee, grandpa nate [an old family friend] coming over for lunch, and spontaneous errand trips with my brother, ben . . . plus writing someone, and bible study tonight . . .
yes. a very good monday.
even with all the clouds and no visible sun.
i don't normally call mondays good, even those with tons of coffee in them. but this day . . . yes, this day is very good.

what [small or big] thing has made this day good for you?

know how to live the time that is given you.
[dario fo]

friends, dresses, and a rainy night.

2011-10-30T22:58:00.000-05:00

remember how i announced that dear heather is now engaged to her derek?
well, i'm in the wedding.
i don't know if i mentioned that.

and tonight . . . the other bridesmaids/friends and anna and i went dress shopping with heather. :)

it only took an hour and a half for heather to find The Dress...happy day!

all the dresses are going to be in plum, the color of my dress.

gray shoes and pearl necklaces...mhmm:) lovely!!

steph, heather's younger sister, and i found our dresses right off.
pretty much first dress, first try-on.
the one.

only me and steph found our dresses tonight, and darnit if i'm not tempted to re-dye my hair come march with this color for the wedding....or maybe normal dark blonde would be best. :P who knows. it'll be on the end of our loooong winter, so i might just go with some lovely change and do the dark red again. after, ya know, december-february of my natural color....el oh el.

happy-happy-happy.

we need another one of these days.
october was really lovely . . . but november's going to be a very good month.

my camera battery is dead.

2011-10-29T17:53:00.002-05:00

isn't that sad?
but this afternoon is lovely.
well, it was --after i took an advil and slept off some freaking cramps.
i plan on chocolate, [the trader joe's dark chocolate covered caramel kind;] maybe anne of green gables, and to enjoy this gorgeous, peaceful sunset from this window because i want to stay warm.

oh, and this coffee.
it kinda helps.
it's all good, right? :)

this is me, thursday night, at the end of all the meeting and socializing and all that lovely stuff :)
and did i mention that i was called on to talk about my painting and photography [me and anna do it] business --spur of the moment-- to the more than 15 people that were there?
well, it helped that it was halfway through the night. therefore, i'd met a few people, warmed up,

isn't he awesome?

yay for red, right? :)
i quite like it.

oh, and on the note of anne of green gables, here's something super freaking sweet. totally might make you feel like a bucket of sap. let me know. hahahah.

To My Future Husband:

You’ll be my Gilbert Blythe.
You know what I love about that character in Anne of Gables? He was would always there to listen to her, faithful, always seek her out, continually infatuated with Anne, he never got discouraged, he periodically rescued her, sacrificed for her, waited for her, sometimes made her mad, and most importantly- he kept trying for her heart.
First, they were friends. He got to know her personality and understand her. He was in love with her since he first saw her, but Anne didn’t want to grow up and fall in love. For years, he was patient and persistent. He never gave up.
Please be that for me.

Love,
Your Anne of Green Gables

[did anyone go awwwwww? no? ok. nevermind then.]

i hope your nearly-end-of-october night is lovely :)
go get yourself some chocolate. or something.

Our culture runs on coffee and gasoline, the first often tasting like the second.
[Edward Abbey]
...so true! i don't go for crappy brews though. different places have different reputations in my head. :P

el. eye. eff. ee.

2011-10-28T00:17:00.004-05:00

my littlest sister and her best friend:)

taken by rach.

this weekend is going to be freaking jam packed.
4th funeral of the year i get to go to [with the fam].
a kids night at church with games, food, music, and a movie.
hanging out with a family on saturday.
more music practice....
sunday: church, getting my hair trimmed, and dress shopping...
dress shopping? did i just say that?
why yes....

aren't they gorgeous? darling? absolutely too cute?

sigh. what adorable babies they're going to make. :P ;)

because heather dear is now engaged. to her dear derek. :)
and i'm in the wedding.
my first time being in a wedding!!
i'm slightly excited.
the colors are . . . as of the last i heard . . . plum, gray, white.

so i had this box of dark brown-red on my dresser, and my thought today was . . . hmmm. once i'm dark blonde in a couple weeks, i'm staying dark blonde for a veryveryveryveryvery long time. so why the heck not put this stuff on, too.
a more thorough job, and plus, red is more fun.
oy, kelsey. you got your wish, as per your comment in the last post. heheh.
red is just so darn fun.
or, in my case, in some lights, a plum....or a fire....or, ya know, fill in the blank.
then, tonight [from 5-8] i was the featured event photographer for a business to business thing in our county. held at the awesome store of one of the couples who go to our church....lots of interesting people there, nice and down to earth, good food, wonderful atmosphere, and made friends with the sweet string photographer lady to have fun conversation with :)

wow, look.
i just blogged about my life . . . [shocker! this hardly ever happens anymore!]
hahah.
and i finished off my day [ahem, 11pm] with writing a dear friend [this is where a smile is], and eating some reallygood potato, egg, cheese, and of course salsa...all done up in sizzling butter. because, you know, that's important. carbs. gotta love 'em.
oh! and listening to frank sinatra on spotify. mhmmm. :)
hardly anything better.
but i'm already looking forward to that first mug of coffee before everyone gets up tomorrow. [a rarity! hah! i'm a night owl. ;) indeed, i am.]

if i take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me.
[psalms 139:9-10]

a letter.

2011-10-25T15:45:00.000-05:00

dear certain natural hair dye brand,
why don't you have a dark/ash blond that actually dyes right?
certain people in my life would prefer i go for more natural stuff...but this is not working. for me. at all. i've tried.
ya know, something that looks like my real color . . . ?
i don't want bright blonde and i didn't want to go back to brunette....
i give up.
run-of-the-mill, unnatural-as-heck, hair dye, here i come. :P
sincerely, a frustrated user.

yeah, no title comes to mind. :P

2011-10-22T16:54:00.001-05:00

this day has been gorgeous.

the sort that makes you feel better just looking out the window.

contracting a cold [nose and throat horribleness] was not part of the plan for this week after being busy with church for the first part of it.
oy.
this afternoon i started feeling better, though.
:)

yesterday, me and lyddie took a walk. she was getting cabin fever, and i got a bit cold on the walk, but still...it was worth it; pictures, really fresh air, and beautiful weather... it all evened out in the end.

now i have a kitchen to clean...

good music to listen to... [take ryan mcallister, for example.]
and an utterly vegan version of broccoli potato hot dish to make...
and reading the post stuff jesus never said: by the bohemian husband.

also, i sold this and this canvas this week...
which reminds me: i need to paint. more. often.
i would write more deep, wonderful thoughts, but it's already 4:53pm, and it just occured to me that i'm pretty darn hungry, and i've got things to do....
so, here's to a better blogging record in the future. :)

artistic endeavors: shakespeare.

2011-10-20T17:14:00.001-05:00

remember this day?
september 5.

that was when autumn started.
hence the scarf, the sweater, the skinny jeans and tennis shoes.

seeing as how i had never painted a shakespeare quote, this was the day to do it.

. . . and that's how it turned out.
:)

so, for current news:
tuesday i woke up with a slight sore throat.
wednesday i woke up feeling better.
today i woke up feeling eh.

today. yeah. lucky you guys. a preview of a custom canvas i just finished!

i've hardly taken any pictures, made food, much less painted more than a swirl, in the past week.
it is not fun feeling less than 100%.
oy.
we're going swing dancing tonight: martha, anna, me, and we're meeting up with a few friends there --annie, heather, derek, and who knows who else.
it should be fun . . . i'm hoping the social situation brings me my second wind, because honestly, with this windy, cold, utterly overcast day, i'm not feeling that energetic.

well, now. she & him are always good. peppy, cute music when the day isn't making sense in the fog of blahness.
and . . . unfortunately, i haven't been able to find the vhs of anne of green gables.
who knows where in this house it is . . . dangit.
i really want to watch that. really. really.
we need to remedy that.
maybe the library has it? ;)

life again. and links.

2011-10-17T23:23:00.002-05:00

free spirit speak: likes.
completely awesome, that girl.

tmfs:
hmmmm.

free spirit speak: different.

the way my day is ending is one of the best ways to end a day.

bless [affectionately, gratefully praise] the Lord, O my soul; and all that is [deepest] within me, bless His holy name!
[psalm 103:1]

life.

2011-10-16T22:39:00.001-05:00

weekends are for:
ignoring your blogger account and lazing around.

watching your sisters enjoy zumba in the town square. hah.

and strolling through the booths with dad.

getting coffee with a dollar pawned off the younger brother, and a couple quarters from a great uncle.
missing the whole family in southern illinois.
and the sweetie who was born while anna and i were down there.

a new container of italian roast by trader joe's. we haven't had it for probably a month.

early wednesday morning, october 5

lots of thoughts.

phil joel music. randomly.

and that's the end of a post written on a very interesting sunday evening. sigh. :)

i love old people.

2011-10-14T00:22:00.000-05:00

. . . makes me think of gram. and grandpa jack, who died when mom was still young.
dangit, those people in that picture are freaking cute. [rach just said she could see me doing that someday. hahaha . . . thanks.]
here's the post where i found it.
bohemian bowmans always has it spot-on. gosh.
i so do what she does . . . imagine what they were like when they were young; the tough and happy, bright spots they went through to get here, everything. life is just precious.
:)
so . . . has anyone missed me?
el oh el.

black and white films, coffee, and yarn . . .

2011-10-03T18:35:00.000-05:00

i experimented with my hair today.
i don't know if you noticed.
i plan on getting it wet and spiking it the normal way before heading out for bible study with anna and ben...
but a few of the siblings are voting keep it.
now all i need to get ready is the blue pair of button earrings that look like those plug-style ear thangs, and some eyeliner . . .

but anyways, earlier this afternoon i had the need to watch this old classic.
there's nothing like some bogart and bacall. :)

so i curled up with a blanket and coffee, picked up a skein of light latte colored yarn and a crochet hook [i haven't done such things for probably more than a year] and did most of a scarf while watching to have and have not.
it was good.

it's getting more exciting, with jen's due date getting nearer and nearer . . .

i'll just say that :)

ah! and a song i've become obsessed with this afternoon, thanks to kelsey.
have a lovely tuesday tomorrow :)

staple guns and the like.

2011-10-02T21:26:00.000-05:00

no, i'm not working on my wingback chair yet.
sigh.
aren't you disappointed.
[well, those of you who remember those posts around this time last year, el oh el.]

lovely blade.
*shiver*

the other night . . . oh. wow. september 22 . . . i went out to the shop and had ben let me try my hand at putting canvas on a frame for a painting that i have yet to start. :)

yes, the staple gun and me had a date.
i never thought that day would come.
it was almost as freaky as i'd imagined it to be.

and there's the brother.
doing the corners that i have no clue how to do.

get this: he's starting to read this book by ted dekker and tosca lee, and after seeing the cover, he made this with the woodburner:

he's done icons from robin hood bbc and ted dekker's circle series, and people love those.
also, [continuing the shameless plug] if you ever want a beautiful wood pen, here is where to get them.

also, a random fact: i'm really psyched about getting to see the civil wars again in november . . . :)
this was our first time. flippin' amazing. mhmm.
i hope you all had yourselves a good sunday. the whole day was gorgeous like this for us:

what was something special that happened in your day?

p.s. read this blogging/relationships post by jeff goins. it's so good.

a beautiful october beginning.

2011-10-01T18:37:00.000-05:00

yes, this was breakfast.
and then i made cinnamon chip scones.
what a morning this was, i tell you!

well.

well. [again.]
it's 3:50pm.
crazy unmatched socks.
insane hair with no mousse. [yes, again, martha. hahaha.]
loud music . . . this song: calling you.
dishes to be done.
i'm going to clean, clean, clean . . .
even though right now i feel like dropping . . .
curling up in a cozy blanket [even on the floor] and taking a nap.

5-6 mile hikes to that to a person and their legs.
but it was gorgeous, so . . .
it all evens out in the end. :)

and, what's better than girlfriends and exercise??
nothing.
that's what.
exercise by itself is stupid.
but double-duty . . . plus wonderful photo ops . . . a very good time, indeed.

this music: something in the water. ice on her lashes.

at 11, anna and i carpooled with martha to a nearby area of hills and forest and sand [hah!] and leaves . . .
it's just starting to turn colors around here, so i got some really delicate color palettes on camera.

we took a few detours and had adventures, due to the place not having many signs at all.

hey, they didn't even have a map where there should be one.

the point of the hike, kinda, was this elephant rock that martha wanted to see . . .

a slightly snobby lady on one of these horses told us a couple vague directions.
we ended up going the wrong way, thanks to her vagueness, and ended up getting the right directions probably almost a mile later from two hunter dudes coming peacefully up the path out of the wooded trail, one with piercings all over his face and the other with a voice to tell us reason.
el oh el.
we went through the maze of downed branches here and the guys were coming out of the woods. hah. funny that i took a picture right before it happened.

when we finally got there, we found it did not, in fact, look anything like an elephant.

trees like lothlorien! all winding together...

. . . steepness to climb before finding the end point. lol.

wait for it . . .

and believe me, i checked out the trail further up....there was nothing past this. this was it.
it looks like a whale.
a freaking whale.
but hey, it was fun.
they should rename it so people don't get their hopes up and dashed with the reality of the non-elephantness of it all.

it's totally a whale. see the jaw? i know my whales and dolphins, from being obsessed when i was 10-12.

5:21pm
let's face it: i'm not getting a nap today.
oh well.
the only thing left to do is grind some beans and brew coffee up to the 6 for the 3rd time today.
. . . it's days like this that i'm not sure i want to have kids of my own.
rach and lyd: playing monopoly . . . [oh yeah, sweet siblings bonding time? hah.]
15% yelling [random stuff with and at each other], 20% fake violence, 30% laughing, 35% annoying each other.
"don't tear apart the living room!"
yeah, that's me.
when they're older it doesn't matter if they're cute anymore to balance out "those days".
because when they're older they know what's acceptable and what's not. :P
but anyways, in the end, i'm just kidding about the no kids thing.
if it's possible, i'd like a few. 4 sounds grand. maybe a couple more. but no less than 4. even if we have to adopt. there's just something about having siblings.
there are phases when they drive you nuts and there's almost nothing except annoyance between certain pairs, but still . . . when everyone's actually growing up [no longer middle-little children] it's. awesome.

6:30pm
i like boiling potatoes for dinner.
and not just because they're flippin' easy.
i mean, they are good with butter and sour cream and pork seasoned salt. :D
but, even moreso prefer doing quick brown rice. the kind we get in a 5lb bag. hah.
even even moreso, i could go for some vegan fettucine/spaghetti tonight . . .
i might be making it soon anyways, because i told some certain people that i'd make it when jen has her bebe . . . which might be sooner than we think! who knows. as i've said before, babies are an unpredictable business when done natural. hahah.
unpredictable is good.

artistic endeavors: african tree sunset.

2011-09-30T18:29:00.000-05:00

i just remembered it's been a while since i've posted a canvas.
which means there's art i've done that you people have probably not seen . . . even on facebook. ;) haha!
i'll remedy that today.
just . . . after i go pour myself a cup of this breakfast blend at 4pm.
:)

august 5
it's not my personal favorite.
you know one of those days when you just want to try something new? play with different colors, stretch your skills a bit, maybe?

this was one of those days.
not done for anyone or even for me, but just for the sake of doing something different.

there. now i can say i've posted this canvas.
:P
:)
i love kate briles' about page. it's a wonderful post to read all in itself.

right now, my cute little sister [lyddie] is making a batch of chocolate chip cookies, claiming that the zumba class [either here because she's memorized some of it] or there will pay off for the pound of butter in the dough.
hah!
oh my. i just love kiddo perspectives.
and . . . the sound of music is on.
my, my...i love that film.

Maria: I can't seem to stop singing wherever I am. And what's worse, I can't seem to stop saying things - anything and everything I think and feel.
Mother Abbess: Some people would call that honesty.
Maria: Oh, but it's terrible, Reverend Mother.

funny, this is me, today: puzzling over where to start with gathering the fabric in to make a skirt with elastic top :P . . . and the canvas above, scrubbed.
sigh.
some things in life have to be redone.
and sometimes, they happen to be things that can be redone.
how awesome is that?
el oh el.

There's nothing more irresistible to a man than a woman who's in love with him.

[the baroness]

[talking about pink lemonade]
The Baroness: Not too sweet, not too sour.
Max: Just too, uh... pink.
. . . i'm sorry. i can't resist all these quotes from that film.

lyddie-boo and me:)

Maria: You know how Sister Berthe always makes me kiss the floor after we've had a disagreement? Well, lately I've taken to kissing the floor whenever I see her coming, just to save time.

manual focus. i kinda love it sometimes....

i'm listening to some josh garrels music.

this is what i love and miss in the wintertime; staring up into branches that reach for the sky
and grow stronger each year
and let the sun and seasons turn themselves colors.

benjamin :)
the older brother who rocks at painting and carpenter stuff. yep. :)

[no, i don't run. i grabbed the nearest pair of shoes because the ground is still wet from earlier. who likes wet socks? not me.]

[i need to go darker. and more ash blonde....someday soon....]

finally.

black.
the book i'm reading [mainly] currently. only so far as this chapter.

shall get farther.....soon. :)

pumpkin cookies. + salted caramel buttercream frosting. = something good.

2011-09-28T23:07:00.000-05:00

the other day, leanna posted about blessed assurance and wonderful pumpkin cookies that will add a an extra pound to your thighs. and they taste good [obviously] and they melt in your mouth, and there's caramel involved . . .
so hey, of coursewe had to try that recipe out.
thanks, leanna.
and thanks, anna, my dear older sister, for making them.
i ate five of them tonight.
sigh.

*shakes head*

50-100 push ups and 10 pull ups tomorrow . . . [i suck at pull ups.]
here it is.
your fate.
because really, it's all worth it. ;)

salted caramel buttercream
1/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp water
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla
large pinch of salt
1 1/2 sticks salted butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar

pumpkin cookies
yield: 5 dozen
     1/2 cup sugar
     1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
     1 cup butter, softened
     1 cup canned pumpkin
     1 teaspoon vanilla extract
     1 egg
     2 cups all-purpose flour
     1 teaspoon baking powder
     1 teaspoon baking soda
     1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
     1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
     1/4 teaspoon salt
     3/4 cup finely chopped pecans

i tell you . . . i love chelsea's blog. and i just love how she writes about being a mom and wife.
so darn real and sweet and tough and all that. i want to be kinda like her when i grow up.

jesus having coffee.

2011-09-27T17:06:00.000-05:00

that's one very recent search that led to my blog.

via this picture.
to this post: hurting fingertips.

this ending of september has been very moody.
the weather, everything.
so much rain, off and on, and so much cloud cover . . . it's interesting trying to stay off that roller coaster and
choosing to feel bright, find joy in more than the sunshine that's lacking . . .
this picture ^^ is a custom canvas for this lady who contacted me via etsy. :)

but i did succumb to a nap after lunch. and when i woke up, someone had made chocolate chip cookies and i was craving coffee.

and then i was looking at interior design books, which consequently, are full of beauty and sunshine and stimulates my mind.

and this morning i woke up to news that jen is getting closer to having baby cate . . .
any. day. now.
anna and i are all packed up, ready to fly out the door and start the road trip down there.
quite excited, to say the least.
but hey, practicing patience is always a good thing.
right??

i. love. that.
ben is so making it for me someday. :)

well. i'm off to bake something. or something. i don't know.

today's writing of life.

2011-09-26T23:54:00.001-05:00

peach bellini candle? mmmm.

watch over me.

today had so much rain in the first half of the time, i was longing for a pair of wellies, a cute raincoat, and an umbrella.

i skim-read a christa parrish book [watch over me] because i've read it before but i was hankering for a random quick read in the quiet later-morning early-afternoon.
tonight, anna and i went to bible study; we finished up 1 peter and 2 peter, and next week we're starting on philippians. should be good. :)
that was today.
now, it's 11:53pm, i'm tired, and my laundry still needs to finish in the drier. then: sleep. i can't wait.

a paragraph of life.

2011-09-24T22:21:00.000-05:00

this weekend is finally looking up: tomorrow night is a good friend's wedding; i'm working on a weebly site for the wildflower cafe where i painted that mural with ben; i've got a cold cup of mango ceylon tea by my side in a huge red mug; cozy socks and pjs on; spent the evening with some of dad's side of the family for a 1-year-old's birthday; writing back and forth with a good friend; little sisters watching the timeless classic road to avonlea; waiting for anna to get home from work with stories of patrons and quirky servers and random stuff like that; a kitchen to clean; and waiting for october to slowly creep up on us and dawn new things, including dear jen and craig's first little bebe. :)

wonder in daily life.

2011-09-23T15:08:00.000-05:00

Thursday, September 22, 2011

11:38pm-11:51pm

I wonder . . .
There are nights that I look forward to that first sip of coffee –and the grinding of the beans, the sun pouring in the windows, rinsing the filter, pushing the start button—into the next day.
I wonder if it’s the things we look forward to, that fill our life with wonder?
And my, my . . . how many things do we already look forward to, or how many things could and should we teach ourselves to build up to look forward to them –and how much joy and wonder would there be?
I wonder.
The things that make us smile –we could bring the number up with simple choices to savor them, couldn’t we?
And how close will we let ourselves to the edge to love, to care, to reach out hands out to touch the sky or what we think is blue, cool expanse brightened by the sun; toes balanced on the edge?
We could fall. And hurt. And learn and turn away from the choice to become bitter, but rather start climbing another mountain.
Or something else could happen; we could fall be lifted on the wings of wonder and joy and gratitude and touch the clouds.
Of course, climbing mountains and touching clouds won’t be our whole life.
But for moments of joy that could be paralleled to such things.
Such times that fill the soul.
Such times that our souls feel out of breath and weary, tired of existence and trying; waiting for a day to feel new again, hopeful again.
Such times that our soul connects with another.
Such times that grow a smile on our mouth and welling up in our eyes.
Such times that even bring our soul low, searching for bright specks of goodness in the bottom of the river of life.
Such times that make us laugh or sigh inside, with wonder that such good could exist in someone else; that such good could exist and happen to us.

Gratitude is the root of joy.
[brennan manning]

this afternoon.

2011-09-22T17:07:00.001-05:00

do you have any idea how perfect this dress is for swing dancing?
no?

well, it is.
fact.
too bad it's from anthropologie and way over $50 no matter where you search online.
anna met a lady at work who was wearing this dress . . . she came home and looked it up.
an ebay seller had an XS dress posted for $88. holy. frickin'. cow.
sigh.

[crawls into nearest uncrowded corner to sob.]

it's one of those really chilly days.
painting and warm food and hot coffee.
i even woke up to it raining --ever so slightly, so i was planning on going out to sit and drink some coffee in a cozy hoodie, yoga pants, and socks and read books for a long time. no go. rain slows things from happening.
i'm going to see if those chairs are dry. it still sounds like a good idea, even though this will be the third brew of the day . . .

yep. that's the plan.
and....these for dinner.

wordless wednesday: coffee in autumn.

2011-09-21T17:32:00.002-05:00

i took this picture after lyddie snapped this one of steph, me, and heather.

unfortunately, anna wasn't in the vicinity at the time of this picture taken, so she didn't get in...

...nothing better than friends and good coffee and the most gorgeous tuesday afternoon leading up to a huge dinner with more family coming over. :)
[psh, this was almost wordless ;) compared to most of my posts, it counts. lol.]

vegan fettucine. and life.

2011-09-18T18:07:00.002-05:00

it's one of those drowsy sundays.
rainy. chilly. beginning of fall.

lately: life's been life.

[picture above and below: taken by rachel on wednesday:]

i'm on page 4 of black. reading it with a friend. :)
also, skim-reading this book by john van epp. i cannot for the life of me remember which blogger mentioned it in one of her posts . . . but i thought it sounded interesting enough, and indeed, he does have some very interesting points to make.

i . . . just brewed some coffee. a breakfast blend, even though i woke up hours ago, have been to church, held that sweet zechariah, sung this song with my sister anna, went to a family-like potluck. fell asleep on the 40 minute drive home. sleeping on a rainy day is a bad idea for me; i wake up feeling weird, disoriented, and just weird.
random songs by iron and wine are playing now, and i'm . . . reading different stuff and writing thoughts about children and God and dreams. it's not as me-centered as that sounds.
i just love realizing how, after reading different sites and everything, most of my thoughts toward men/women and children and ideas of life would be considered labeled ______ by some people. feministic, by some. conservative, by others. but even that some people would look down on me for my thoughts and views, and judge me and try to change it all . . . it leaves me feeling very unsettled about what they're inadvertently or purposefully labeled, themselves. especially if i know they believe in, say, the same God as i do. because then we come down to the beliefs we fence Him in with; our perceptions; the boxes we've created over time and we think He lives in them. mhmm. right. the resurrected son of God doesn't live in any box we create full of our ideas mixed with a bit of His simple piercing truth, complicated by our pride and confusion.

vegan fettucine
8 cloves of garlic [minced]
saute in water until green.
add:
1 can of coconut milk
3/4 tsp pepper
3/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp salt
4 squeezes of fresh lemon
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
cook until it thickens a bit.
serve on fettucine or spaghetti :)
and . . . enjoy!
surprisingly, yes, we all love this.
it's just a key thing to have it right then, hot and fresh.
it starts to taste not-too-stellar when it gets lukewarm.
:)

ah, this mozzie quote makes me miss white collar.
the second season should be coming in at the library any day now . . .

love is a temporary madness,it erupts like an earthquake and then subsides.

or:
paranoia is a skill, the secret to longevity.
[mozzie]

ohhh my....make me laugh. his delivery of these quotes really does make them.

what's going on with your sunday? your week? :)

tomato-ravioli masterpiece.

2011-09-17T15:41:00.001-05:00

1. cheese-filled ravioli, cooked
2. fresh picked basil, minced
3. fresh heirloom tomatoes, diced
4. dash of salt to taste

if you're not [unfortunately] allergic to any of these simple ingredients, make it and cue the happy sighs. :)

artistic endeavors: wildflower cafe. tree mural.

2011-09-16T17:15:00.002-05:00

so i painted a mural.
over the course of saturday to monday.
but i should give a hefty dose of credit to my older brother, ben.
he's freaking amazing with paint, walls, and helping in every detail that's needed.
older brothers are wonderful. i'm pretty darn lucky.

saturday:
7:40-10? primer

sunday: 3:30-5
7:30-45
11-1am tree

monday:
10-12:30
birds and tree refinement
5:00-6:30pm

as for the pictures taken next to ben's cell phone at around 12:39am....

so surprised, i was, that i didn't start foaming at the mouth...

the limbs and twigs were about to drive me crazy.

of course, it might've been the hour at which my brain doesn't like

to be doing creative, repetitive, on-demand stuff. hah.

there is three more birds to paint.

but this is it, for now. [see below]

mural: finished.
:)

besides this writing, my brain is pretty fried for creativity because of all the output of these past few days.

so all you get are pictures. no ponderous, good, inspired writing or anything.

hah.

oh, and here's a bit of a mural journal i kept in a random notepad inbetween crazy painting hours.

saturday night:
i will never again be surprised
when something beautiful
doesn't come easy. {holy crap; totally a quote for everything in life.}

9:36pm
there are some really rowdy people coming out of the bar next door....
and really noisy people making music [uh hard rock?] in an apartment upstairs across the street.
oy. this is what it's like to "live" in town, huh?

beka marie updated her current city to Lucca, Italy. hahahahhaha

tonight: sanding and priming 101 with ben. :) the wall at wildflower cafe is in need.
tomorrow night sometime: the start of the mural.

the world's like a science
and i'm like a secret
and i saw you lingering still...
[she & him]

okay, so it was pretty darn lovely standing in the middle of the most quiet time for a highway, ever. [explanation below:]

i also thought of the notebook...and the dancing in the street....and watching the lights change....

yep. so gonna do that someday.

monday early a.m.:
12:28AM
i think i might have a nightmare of painting a tree sometime.
every time i forget how horrid the experience is.
every. tiny.detail.
dear God.
i could die after this.
i could die when i am 95 and never painted a tree again.
never a mural again.
never.....only canvases.
and only when i want to
what i want to.
i hate people dictating to me.

1:33am
big adventures happen when you least want or expect it.
1:16am we left wildflower.
but not in the red van.
on foot.
the key broke. heh.
by 1:20-26am, we were home.
by 1:33am, we have biked there and he drove home while i biked home.
whoa.
i need sleep.
but can i just say, i dominated in the whole walking thing.
i'm conditioned to walk; he's not as much. :D [he prefers biking. lol.]

and thus ends the tale of my first real live mural. ;)

people who like my hair cut.

2011-09-14T16:46:00.001-05:00

old men like my hair cut the best, i think.
it sounds more awkward than it is [unless you hang out with my older sister anna, who's gorgeous and a wonderful person but can truly bring out some awkward stuff if she's in the mood to tease you, ahem], but it's true.

that's ma seester. ♥

and i only start to get weirded out about it when anna starts teasing me hardcore about said older men.....
urgh.
anyhow, she has her fun.
we just got back from singing to some older people at the nursing home up the street.
every second wednesday of the month, at 2pm :)
in the hallway down to the dining room with the piano, there was this lady, half sleeping, half staring at the fishies in the tank. so sad. kind of reminded me of gram, though, in her last few weeks. :\
i admit, i moved straight on, because i didn't want to stand there pondering it and start crying and be late for the people who were waiting for us . . .
there was this new little lady, stella, who sat on the left side. petite, bright, and just cute.
"hello; my name is stella seymour." i shook her small, old hand.
"my name's rebekah," i told her.
gosh, you can't help but smile at her.
"ah, good to meet you." her gaze shifts to stare at the top of my head. "you've got really pretty hair! it looks good on you!"
me: laughing. "why, thank you!"
then, anna's next to me. stella looks at anna. "can i please have a drink of water?"
anna: "uh, sure, i'll go ask."
stella: "well, i think you can find one right in there," she gestures to her right; the kitchen doors are right there. hah.
anna: "hold on. i'll go see." she goes to talk to the activities organizer lady.
then, the lady next to stella leans over. "that girl doesn't work here; she's a singer!"
stella: "oh! my. i didn't know that. i'll make sure to apologize."
oh. my. word. you have no idea how cute she was when she said all that. i wasn't cracking up because i wanted to hear it all, but inside i found it all hilarious and all i could do was smile.

and another lady. her name is jerri, says anna. jerri sat next to stella.
i've written about her before, i swear i have.
she stared at my shirt. it's from c28...and it's got some lyrics from david crowder band's song how he loves.
"ah! my!" she's smiling. then she starts to read it. she's another one who's got her older head screwed on straight, thank God. i love meeting older people like that. "Jesus is jealous for me . . . he loves me like a hurricane. whoa! like a hurricane!" her face and reaction is so comical. "well, boys, stay away!" she laughs.
"most of them do," i assure her, laughing. "pretty much all the bad ones stay away. hahaha."
"ah. that's good."
:)
that lady's so darn sweet.
i want to be like her when i'm old.
please God, let it be so....

me and mr. steinke. hilarious.

then, after mom talked about some scriptures and word pictures, i picked up my acoustic guitar to do a special. earnestly i seek thee. i had to tune the strings up because i haven't played it in a couple weeks...my bad.
so, as i'm tuning bit by bit and listening to the notes, mr. steinke beckons me, sitting behind miss stella.
"you." he nods. "yes, you. come on over here."
so i'm like huh. has he lost a marble or two since i last saw him? i truly hope not. but really, i don't get called over very often. heh. heh.
i walk over, with my guitar.
he smiles. "i like your hair!" he states, quite emphatically.
everyone laughs. especially anna and rachel, who were both anticipating who knows what from this grandpa.
"i do; it looks great on you! and also, you should sing a song in alto. it would sound really good with everything else."
"well, i sing whatever works for my voice." i smile.
gosh, so hilarious.

sigh.
there's nothing like getting a dose of time with old people.
what would the world be without them?
i don't want to know.

p.s. i have all these [mostly library] books to read. er...look through.... :)
black is next. :D

just for laughs.

2011-09-13T16:50:00.002-05:00

hahahha. oh boy.

*snort*

bwahahahah. totally thought that before, but i don't have that problem.

sigh.
oh, the funniness. so cute.
sadly, i have no inspiration for more than this.
so all you get today are laughs.
hopefully you laughed.
because that's the end.
and i'm off to make some vegan fettuccine/spaghetti.
but wait. my sister is gorgeous.
i took some pictures of her before she left for work today. :)

p.s. a mr. darcy party: by she breathes deeply.
one word: awesome. though...i've never imagined mr. darcy with a mustache...that's more of a "dr. watson and sherlock" air. :)