When someone starts to read over my shoulder

Artist: Norman Rockwell

Every time I see a Rockwell painting, I have to look at it for a few minutes to appreciate the details of it. Most people only look at a painting for about 4 seconds before they move on to a new one in museums, but if I were to go to a Rockwell exhibit, I'd probably be there for days. I love that he painted people doing everyday things, like The Lineman. 

Without thinking too much about it in specific terms, I was showing the America I knew and observed to others who might not have noticed.

—Norman Rockwell

Edit: I just found out that there's a whole museum founded by Rockwell himself. What a cheeky fellow. Click here to see an interactive timeline of his life.

Confession: I'm Scared of My Gym

Guys. Do you have a workout that makes you feel like a champion? I'm talking about the kind of workout that you've done so much you could probably host a perky YouTube video and get like....100 likes. 

Wanna know what mine is?

The elliptical.

I. have. that. shiz. down.

When I walk into the gym, I swagger up to that beast and stare it down like there's no tomorrow. I hop on, tune into some Kardashians if I'm lucky to find them, and rock it out like nobody's business. For like an hour. When I step off, I feel awesome. And then I walk on out of there and ignore the rest of the machines like I'm 13 and I have crushes on all of them.

When it comes to doing other stuff at the gym, I feel like that kid in kickball who always gets picked last. I'm always worried I'll look dumb using the other machines, so I don't even try.

I realize to get in shape you need to work your muscles on other things besides an elliptical. My brain gets it.

But it's not all my fault. The gym I frequent seems to be disproportionately populated by men whose spirit animals are 'roided out bulldogs, and orange women who strip to their neon skivvies during a 5-minute mile. They don't even stop their treadmills. They do that douchebag step-to-the-side move. and proceed to strip. 

Every ten minutes they all seem to meet at the water fountain and flirt.

This is what I'm dealing with here. It's too much pressure.

So in the spirit of "doing what you've never done to achieve what you've never achieved" (ie. an alright body), I've turned to internet workouts to get my body moving.

Workouts I can do in my living room while my husband watches a movie in our bedroom. Workouts that can let me feel like an idiot in the privacy of my own home. Workouts that will help me tone and stretch and huff and puff on my own time in weird weird clothing. 

The goal? To graduate from one-trick-pony elliptical status to champion I'm-not-embarrassed-to-work-out-at-my-own-gym status. 

I'm slowly finding new workouts that make me feel like an elephant doing ballet. But it's better than nothing.

We'll see what happens.

For tonight, voila.

When I hear someone telling a funny story about me.

2013 Bucket List: Homemade Chicken Soup

This post is a part of the 2013 Bucket List series, in which I tell the whole world my goals so I have to complete them. You can read the original post here. Here is an update on one of my 2013 goals:

Try out monthly meal-planning

Cooking is hard. I love the result but never think to plan any meals. I have encountered a bunch of meal-planning pins on Pinterest, so I'm going to try them out and document the journey.

Update: 

I was originally planning on doing freezer meals, but I decided to build up my bank of tried and true recipes before I get all crazy on freezer meals. I'll be posting one recipe at a time to make them easier to find.

Homemade Chicken Soup

7 cups water

1 leftover rotisserie chicken

1 cup chopped carrots

1 bunch celery

1/2 cup cilantro

2-3 cups uncooked bowtie pasta

salt (to taste)

lemon pepper (to taste)

Boil water in the largest pot you can find to fit your chicken. Stick the chicken in and let it simmer until the water is yellow and delicious looking. 

Chop carrots, celery + cilantro and put in a separate pot. Cover with 2 cans of chicken broth and cook on medium. 

Remove chicken from pot and tear off any leftover meat. Put the meat back in the pot, and throw the chicken away.

Pour vegetables + broth into the chicken stock and add pasta. Cook on low until pasta is al dente. Add salt + lemon pepper to taste. 

This soup was so easy to make, and great if you have rotisserie leftovers. And it's about 1,000 times better than canned chicken noodle soup. 

Once these goals are completed, I'll probably add a few more goals to the list. If you would like to join me in the 2013 Bucket List Challenge, please put a link of this post in your blog, then comment on the same post so I know you're in! 

Why I want to be BFF with Lucille Ball

15 things I would do to get rid of this inversion headache.

The Gallon Challenge.

Reenact Life of Pi.

Go on a double date with Paris Hilton.

Watch CNN for 5 hours straight. Eyes taped open.

Sit in a room full of strangers for an evening. No one talks.

Drive through a snowstorm made of screwdrivers.

Five minute of uninterrupted eye contact.
Hold a sales job. 

Renounce Tina Fey. (Sorry, girl.)

Pull an all-nighter watching boys play video games.

Go clubbing.

Read a romance novel out loud to a crowded room.

Walk a tight rope in stilettos.

Run a marathon.
Listen to Nickelback on repeat for 24 hours in the chokey with stage lights on me.

I would do them all if they would make this monster in my head go away. I would.

A Sunday Quote

"Stress is caused by being 'here' but wanting to be 'there'."

-Eckhart Tolle

And this talk by President Uchtdorf.

BTW, I think I found my happy place. And it's wherever this house is.

Friday Favorites

Shout out to my oldest brother, Brian! It's his birthday today. And you know what? I love him more every year.

What are you doing this weekend? We are putting up a huge show at the museum, so I'll be working. I'll probably try to squeeze in a date and a family trip to the temple, too. Here's some link love:


For my curly girls: how to preserve that precious blow out!

Jason Wu's sketch for Michelle Obama's inauguration gown.

9 healthy baking substitutes. Interesting!

Lake house pictures that make me want to go to there.

An interesting + unexpected way to organize jewelry.



Plus three posts you may have missed:

How to be an introvert with an extrovert's job

The perks of being an introvert

What no one tells you about being engaged

The Best Calling Ever

So remember how we've been in our ward since August and Matt got a calling in September but I never got one?

For a while I felt pretty awesome about sliding under the radar and unintentionally tricking the system by not having a calling.

And then I remembered that I actually love having a calling. It gives me an excuse to get to know people in my ward, which makes me feel less like a dumb dumb loner.

So I finally got a calling. And no one in charge knows anything legitimate about me besides my contact information. And they gave me the best calling ever. Because God is in charge, and he knows me.

Have you ever sat down and thought about your ultimate favorite-of-all-time calling? You feel excited and qualified to do it and it gives you exactly what you need?

Some people covet the high-up callings. There's a reason they want them...they have no idea how much work and worry goes into being in charge of more than four people. I had one of those callings before. I loved it. It was exhausting, but I felt like I did a lot of good. I also felt like being in charge made me look intimidating to some people so they didn't really want to be my friend. Did I mention the I had this calling while I was student teaching? My car died that semester. It was a really stressful time. I loved it, but I would never ask for it. Ever. I felt inadequate. But it was perfect for me at the time, and God knew that.

Well my new calling is perfect for me now. I'm I charge of the ward program every Sunday. I get to make something look good, and I have an excuse to meet new people, and I get to do it mostly by myself. And I'm pretty excited.

BTW, I think my first draft almost made the bishop faint. I forget that normal people can't really wrap their heads around super modern designs. I had to tone it down.

What's your ultimate calling? Why?

Someone asked to see the first draft. Here it is:

2013 Bucket List: NEW GOAL!

This post is a part of the 2013 Bucket List series, in which I tell the whole world my goals so I have to complete them. You can read the original post here. Here is an update on one of my 2013 goals:

I feel like I'm far enough in my current goals that I can add another one to the list.

I have been feeling very sluggish lately. Plus, my clothes are starting to fit weird. Time to get back on the fitness wagon. I have started to cook healthier meals, but I need to do the physical activity, too. To motivate myself, I have created a goal that will make me visually represent how often I work out (or do activity at work that could replace working out).

I will be posting a monthly workout recap calendar to share my goals and progress. Hopefully, I will reach my goals each month and reward myself with something awesome. (Maybe you guys can help me figure out a good reward).

Here's an example of what the calendar will look like.

Once these goals are completed, I'll probably add a few more goals to the list. If you would like to join me in the 2013 Bucket List Challenge, please put a link of this post in your blog, then comment on it so I know you're in!

2013 Bucket List: Homemade Boba Tea

This post is a part of the 2013 Bucket List series, in which I tell the whole world my goals so I have to complete them. You can read the original post here. Here is an update on one of my 2013 goals:

Try out monthly meal-planning

Cooking is hard. I love the result but never think to plan any meals. I have encountered a bunch of meal-planning pins on Pinterest, so I'm going to try them out and document the journey.

Update: 

If you follow this blog, you've probably heard me talk about Boba Tea before. California is pretty culturally diverse, and I always heard people talking about Boba but never understood what it was...until I moved to whiteywhitesvilley, Utah. 

Life....

Boba Tea is an asian drink (usually tea + fruit juice + milk) with tapioca pearls (boba) at the bottom. If you get it at a shop it'll come in a fun drink with a plastic lid fused to the cup and a huge straw to suck the boba up. It's srsly delicious. 

Anyway, I found this great place in Orem and got addicted for a minute. Like all of my obsessions, it came in while a burning fire and left pretty quickly. Well, the fire came back with a vengeance one night at the book store. Luckily, the book store was by my all time favorite Boba place. I drove by, hoping to get a quick fix, and it was closed. Not night night closed. Like, closed closed. 

Like all things in Utah Valley, the store had started much like my obsessions (eager, excited to please), then burned out quickly when the owners realized it takes more than a wish and a dream to make a business stick in Utah Valley. The store was gone. 

(BTW, if I'm ever crazy enough to start a business in Provo, I will do everything I can to get the hipsters into it. The hipsters are the key to success. Without them, you're doomed.)

I was pretty sad for a minute until I realized there was an asian market down the street from my house. Lately I'm all about trying out new things. Perfect! I found a recipe on Pinterest and decided to make my own. "If the entire continent of Asia* can do it, so can I!" Firey obsession, check.

*gross exaggeration

I followed the recipe on this blog to get boba that would last a couple days in the fridge. It took 5 times as long as regular boba, and the next day the pearls were ruined. Just do the quick version. 

Here's a quick recipe for boba:

Ingredients:

1/2 cup boba (tapioca pearls)

1/2 cup sugar

6 cups water

1/4 cup milk

1/4 cup fruit juice (I used peach juice from a can of peaches)

Boil 4 cups of water on the stove. Put boba in water and boil for 5-10 minutes (until boba is soft to the core).

While boba is boiling, steep two bags of your favorite tea in water. I used herbal citrus tea. Let it cool in the fridge or freezer.

Pour boba into a strainer. Rinse with cold water until the boba is lukewarm. In a container, mix 2 cups warm water with sugar. Pour boba into the simple syrup mixture. If you want, you can leave the boba in the syrup for a few minutes to soak up the sugar.

In a glass, mix cooled tea with milk and fruit juice (you can use any kind of juice).

Use a spoon to transfer boba to your tea cup. Make sure you get some of the simple syrup to sweeten the tea. 

Enjoy! 

PS: The tea above was citrus herbal tea + peach juice from a can + simple syrup + milk + boba. 

Artist: Fernando Botero

Ok...I know this painting is not the most pleasant thing. I realize that it's a picture of a bull rider dying and going to heaven. I also realize that most of you might like to see something a little more upbeat. 

But...this is a manifestation of one of my favorite things about art. I love that art is a medium for emotion. All kinds of emotion. In life, we do not always feel happy or pleasant. We experience death and weird things, and I like any kind of art that makes me feel something. 

Plus, I've never seen a painting that shows someone's body + their spirit together on the same canvas. 

So here it is, folks. Weird, fabulous, emotional, real art. 

My Doppelganger

My mom just sent me a text that basically said, "Look at the latest issue of Good Housekeeping! Drew Barrymore looks just like you!" She may also have implied that I am prettier than her, but we're just going to chalk that comment up to the fact that she birthed me. 

Remember a few years ago when people got obsessed for a minute over Facebook Doppelgangers? People would post pictures of their celebrity lookalike and wistfully imagine an alternate universe in which they'd be famous instead of their non-twin. 

I'm pretty sure one of my Facebook friends has more pictures of her non-twin than of her own face! 

I didn't really see the allure because I never had a doppelganger. No one in Hollywood ever looked like me. I realize I don't really look like Drew, but I have to admit that in this picture, I do see a resemblance. Maybe my body doesn't look like hers, but from the face up, I can see it. 

And now I get the allure. The fact that someone who looks like you is famous is a little ego boost. It means that at least one other person in the universe thought they would look good on camera..and if you look like them...well, you get the picture. 

All I'm saying is, it feels good. 

Now if only my doppleganger were Rachel McAdams, we'd be in business.

What's you're doppelganger? (If you don't know, go here).

For more non-twins, go here.

edit: Um...turns out Drew Barrymore was in a movie titled, "Doppelganger." Things just got weird.

Apparently Jeannette looks like Khloe Kardashian.

IF YOU POST A PICTURE OF YOURSELF AND YOUR CELEBRITY LOOKALIKE, I WILL POST IT ON HERE FOR ALL TO SEE! 

When people start talking about politics

How to Host A Favorite Things Party

(Most of) my favorite ladies with their loot!

This post is a part of the 2013 Bucket List series, in which I tell the whole world my goals so I have to complete them. You can read the original post here. 

This is the second post about the FTP. To get caught up, read this post  first, where I explain my goals and share invites + tips.

Here is an update on one of my 2013 goals:

Throw a Favorite Things party

We finally did it! The FTP finally happened! I've been wanting to do this party for months.

When I wear heels

Winter Workout: 5 Ways To Get Moving Indoors

I don't know about you, but I am having the hardest time getting motivated to workout this winter. Last winter, I had a lot of free time and was excited to look smokin' hot for Matt when he returned from his mission. This year I'm pretty sure I have found every excuse in the book to not weather the frozen tundra and get my butt to the gym. 

I figured if I can't muster up the energy to get to the gym, I'm gonna have to start working out in my apartment. So here are some videos/tips to help you me get moving. I tried out (most of) them and I already feel more energized, happier, and excited to be healthy.

1 // JOG.FM 2 // The World's Fastest Workout  3 // The Five Minute Workout 4 // The Earn Your Shower Workout* 5 // 25 At Home Exercises

*50 jumping jacks

5 pushups

20 crunches

20 mountain climbers

30 second plank

Why I admire Martin Luther King, Jr.

MLK's "I Have A Dream" Speech

Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day! I loved looking up quotes and watching this video to remind me why I have a day off of work...and then I spent the rest of the day cleaning + cooking up a storm. I only seem to have energy to do things around the house on days when I don't have work. 

Anyway, I'm glad we have the Internet to share things like this speech for those of us who weren't there that day.

A Sunday Quote

When someone tells me they like to run

How to have your own Treat Yourself Day

Have you heard of the idea of a Treat Yourself Day? It's one day a year, where you do everything you've wanted to do, but haven't because life got in the way. The beautiful part about it is that there are no excuses on Treat Yourself Day. You can literally do whatever you want. (To see my version of Treat Yourself Day, go here and here).

Imagine your idea of "splurging" within your means. If you're Richy Rich, I'm pretty sure every day is a TYD. If you're a second-year art teacher, TYD means massages, shopping, and a fancy lunch. It also means vast amounts of doing whatever you want, like not showering and overindulging yourself on dumb internet websites like tickld.com. 

This is sounding good, isn't it? You should try it! Here's the basic formula for a Treat Yourself Day:

1. Make a list of all the things you would do in a day if you had enough free time.

2. Make a list of all the things you would do in a day if you had enough money.

3. Make a list of all the things you would do in a day if you could literally do whatever you wanted.

4. Make a list of things that relax you.

4. Kidnap your best friend and make them spend the night. Stay up late doing whatever you want. Wake up the next day without an alarm clock.

5. Pick one thing from each list and do them. Go to sleep that night feeling like all is right in the Universe. 

6. Repeat as needed.

Pretty easy! What would your version of Treat Yourself Day include?

How I feel when the weekend starts

Friday Favorites:

Welcome to the weekend! Hopefully your boobs will thank you at least once for not taking them to boob jail this weekend (name that show). I am excited because my Favorite Things Party is tomorow! I'll have an update on that soon enough. I'm also working on some exciting life changes that could be a big deal, so you know I'm gonna be all about the pro/con lists this weekend. Here's the link roundup!

31 unexpected street views found on Google maps

The 20 most beautiful children's books of all time

Being a teacher means making your own lunch on the daily. I couldn't find a cute lunch bag that fit my needs, until I found this shop on Etsy. Now I have two bags in rotation that make me happy to carry around my lunch all day.

An unexpected art class for teens in Park City, Utah (If I could take this, I would).

Plus, three posts you may have missed:


On being a champion of truth

How to staycation

What every single girl needs to hear

10 things that will have you asking, "Why didn't I think of that?"

I'm not much of a gagdet person, but I have found some things on the internet lately that have blown my mind. You know those things you see, and immediately think, "Why didn't I think of that?" Yeah, these products are like that. They're so practical that most people could probably think of them...but no one did...until someone did. It's like modern art. You could have made that; but did you? No. Someone made it for you to enjoy! Here we go! 

this runner's bracelet

this trash can

this ottoman-turned-guest-bed

this ice-cube tray

this usb-wall-plate

this windshield snow cover

this object-finder

this handy-dandy apocalypse water-saver

the broom-groomer

the best hair brush ever

Artist: Berndnaut Smilde

Um, can we talk about the fact that this artist has created indoor clouds? Who does that?! This image isn't photoshopped. He literally figured out how to perfectly control the climate of an empty room to hold a cloud. Check out this article to find out how he does it. 

"I'm interested in the ephemeral aspect of the work," Smilde said in an email. "It's there for a brief moment and then the cloud falls apart. It's about the potential of the idea, but in the end if will never function." - Berndnaut Smilde

How I feel when my best friend comes to have a sleep over

2013 Bucket List: Cruise Saving Update

This post is a part of the 2013 Bucket List series, in which I tell the whole world my goals so I have to complete them. You can read the original post here. Here is an update on one of my 2013 goals:

Save enough money for a summer cruise

Matt has been wanting to go on a cruise for a while now. My family has been on a few, and we loved them. We have a teeny bit of debt to pay off, but once that is done, we are moving forward full-steam to save for this trip. We are putting 5-10% of each paycheck in a glass jar and aren't allowed to take that money out once it's in. Hopefully by April we will have enough to go to the Bahamas! I always say I want to do cool trips like this, but never make them happen. I always worry that we have more important things to pay for. But if we don't do things like this now, they will never happen, and then we'll wake up one day, 90 and too frail to do anything cool. I always thought that you do what you prioritize, so we're prioritizing a trip this year.

UPDATE:

We're getting pretty excited to go on this cruise to the Bahamas in August! I'm getting some pretty heavy cabin fever here in the frozen tundra of Utah, where inversions suck out your soul and the cold takes whatever's left. Dramatic? Maybe. True? True.

As of 12/31/12 I had $153.00 in my cruise jar. This does not include Matt's cruise savings. Who knows how much he has...I'm too lazy to ask. Maybe it'll be a nice surprise later on!

Update: 1/4/13: Cruise jar has $233! And we only have one more debt payment left! We are planning on flying into Miami a few days early to relax and enjoy the beaches. This means my BLC will probably be getting another goal...lose some weight. Surprise, surprise. We'll see how that one goes.

Once these goals are completed, I'll probably add a few more goals to the list. If you would like to join me in the 2013 Bucket List Challenge, please put a link of this post in your blog, then comment on it so I know you're in!

Why I want to be BFF with Zooey Deschanel

A Sunday Quote

"Repentance is a change of mind, i.e., a fresh view about God, about oneself, and about the world...repentance comes to mean a turning of the heart and will to God, and a renunciation of sin to which we are naturally inclined." - Pearl of Great Price, Repentance

edit: Guys, I have to admit something. I have a great testimony of the Gospel, but when I go to a new ward, I have a hard time getting motivated to go because I feel so alone without friends at church. For the past few months, instead of being proactive and making friends, I have been pitying myself for not being cool enough to have people flocking to me by now. BTW, our ward is 90% new people who are thinking the exact same thing... I go to church, and am slowly learning peoples' names, but it's a very slow process for me to feel completely myself. 

We recently got a new RS president who has been focusing on ward unity lately. Today she gave a great lesson that made me realize something: if I want to have friends, I need to be a friend. She talked about how repentance is not some scary thing you do when you've done something horribly sinful, but "a change of mind, i.e., a fresh view about God, about oneself, and about the world...repentance comes to mean a turning of the heart and will to God, and a renunciation of sin to which we are naturally inclined." - PoGP. She asked us to repent about our thoughts about feeling lonely in the ward, and to be a friend first. 

So I'm repenting. Instead of feeling weird about not knowing anyone, I am going to be proactive about making friends and learning together at church. I'm excited.

Things I Love: Hyperbole and a Half

I'm always on the hunt for dumb internet stuff that makes me go, "Man, I legitimately understand what this stranger is talking about." Hyperbole and a Half is totally one of those things. 

This girl talks about things that people think, but don't know how to address... in hilariously bizarre comics. I mean, she depicts more truthful facial expressions with Paint in one post than that girl from Twilight shows in the whole series. She has taken a blogging break to deal with her clinical depression (which she also talks about in posts...in a really human and funny way), but her archive is pretty great.

An excerpt from her post "Why I'll Never Be an Adult": 

When I feel like being an adult, at first I'm like: 

And then like a week later I'm all:

And then I'm like...

See? This girl is preaching truth. Straight. Up. Truth.

Thing I Love: Hot Stone Massages

Guys. Have you ever had a hot stone massage? Would you like to know what they feel like? Let's just say that I felt like this the whole time it was happening:

That's right. I walked into the salon feeling like a fatigued old woman with too many worries, and in that hour and a half, I may have turned into Jennifer Aniston. My cares literally melted away and I may have had an outer body experience contemplating the universe.

The point is, if you are so visibly stressed out that your husband decides to give you and your best friend a Treat Yourself day for Christmas, take him up on it.

Friday Favorites

This drawing is appropriately titled "That January Feeling". I've been feeling like this all.month.long.

What are you doing this weekend? One of my Christmas gifts from Matt was a girl's day with Jeannette. She drove down from SLC to escape Winter Storm Gandalf (that's what Matt is calling it) and we've been having Ghetto Thursday. What is Ghetto Thursday, you ask? PJs all day. Simultaneous internet time in bed. Yummy comfort food. Homemade boba. Project Runway, Snooki + JWOWW + Double Divas. Best ever.

And then we're having girl's day tomorrow! Massages, lunch and shopping, courtesy of Matt. He even scheduled a day with Jeannette before he told me about it. It couldn't have come at a better time, because this week has been about 12 years too long. My whole body hurts from getting back into teaching (standing all day, driving all day, getting up early), so I'm pretty pumped! Points to that wonderful husband of mine. Time for Friday Favorites! 

A foolproof scientific way to get on The Price is Right.

If you're like me, you buy food and it goes bad before you can eat it. Here's a list of 31 groceries you can freeze to save make your groceries last longer.

I got hooked on boba in California, and haven't found a great place to get it here in Utah. Then I found this recipe to make boba tea at home. Jeannette and I made it and it was so good! 

Man. Sometimes it feels like only bad things are happening in the world. A list 26 things that restored our faith in humanity this year, to balance that list out.

I have definitely already watched all of season 3 of DA. Don't worry, I won't tell what happened, because I hate spoilers. But if you want to have a viewing party, here are some Downton Abbey party printables. You're welcome. Please invite me.