Thanks for the reminder, Mark!
Taken from my Facebook home page yesterday.
(FYI: I didn't need the reminder.)
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Monday, May 23, 2011
Sisters Weekend '11: The Sequel
(Warning: this post has a ton of pictures!!)
The same weekend that Kurt's mom, grandpa, and grandpa's girlfriend were in town, I flew out to Salt Lake City for another sisters weekend. But this time, my mom also joined in on the fun! And my swingin' pal, AllyRae! The reason I went back out was to go wedding dress shopping with my younger sister, Caroline, who's engaged to be married on July 9th. Hooray! I flew in on Saturday morning and my sisters picked me up for some fun at Antelope Island with the Jarvie! I "met" Scott years ago when I blog stalked him and commented on his blog all the time because he is a totes amazing photographer. When Steph moved back to Utah last summer, I suggested she get in touch with him because a) she's been dabbling in photography for the last several years, b) Scott is really good at it and if nothing else, could introduce her to the photography world in Utah, and c) he always just seemed like the nicest guy. Which he is! Because they're friends now. Anyway, Scott had a free day so Steph arranged for them to practicing the taking of pictures together with subjects, me and Caroline. We had a blast. It was warm and sunny, we got In-N-Out for lunch, and we just laughed and goofed off a bunch. Also, if you're in the market for a photographer for weddings, families, etc., check The Jarvie out!
Some of Scott's pics:
And some of Steph's shots. She's improved so much even from that first shoot we did in Denver back in January!
The Jarvie!
Of course, I had to goof off.
That night we met AllyRae, her husband Alejandro, and their baby li'l Xandrie at CPK for pizza, then went back to their apartment for some Dominion. And some pictures of my cutest outfit of all time:
On Sunday we went to the airport to pick my mom up! And you wouldn't believe, but I didn't get any pictures with my mom. I really am the worst. We just spent the day hanging out, eating, having fun. It was a mostly relaxing day. On Monday my mom, Caroline, and I visited my awesome cousin Carly, her baby Paisley, and her hubby Derek and then all of us and my grandma met Stephanie at Cheesecake Factory for her birthday lunch. Also, between those two things, my mom and I discovered an awesome little fabric store in Salt Lake called Material Girls and a gourmet cookie shop next door, where we ate way too many amazing cookies. Then, it was time to head back down to Provo to do the wedding dress shopping! Caroline tried on lots of dresses and looked amazing in all of them. It was so much fun getting to be there with her and my mom and Stephanie (and AllyRae who joined in and our cousin Caroline). I'm especially grateful since neither my sisters nor my mom were able to go wedding dress shopping with me. So it was a special afternoon. In the end, Caroline bought her favorite dress (you have to wait until July to see pictures of it!) and got it for a screaming deal. (We bought it from Abella Bridal, which is where I worked and bought my dress back in the day.)
It was seriously the best weekend ever!
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Field Family Visit
Kurt's mom, grandpa, and his girlfriend came to visit April 16th through the 20th. Unfortunately, I was gone for the most of that, on a previously booked girls trip to Utah. Kurt took them to Estes Park and Boulder (where Kurt's Grandpa Field lived for a few years), and down to Manitou Springs and Garden of the Gods. I got to see them for a few days after I got back. It was really nice having them here and getting to show them around our home, Denver.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Not-So-Simple Addition
9 books
+
COUNTLESS hours
=
a 27 page paper
+
One happy (slash tired slash relieved) girl
(And also an incredibly messy home)
I mailed my 27 page paper to my MFA program on April 28th.
It felt so good to be done!
After hours of reading,
marking,
thinking,
staring at the computer screen,
procrastinating,
typing,
and, OH YEAH, crying,
I was pretty dang proud of myself.
One semester left!!
Race Season Begins...
Back to posting! Always behind ...
On April 1st, Kurt had his first bike race of the season. But it wasn't a distance race like he's used to. Instead, he tried something new: a criterium, or crit for sure. Basically, it's a timed race on a loop. Kurt did the Louisville Crit. It was a .6 mile course (I think) and it was about 40 minutes long. Basically, at the 40 minute mark, everyone did 8 more laps (or something like that). Kurt did pretty all right, for having no experience with crits and also for not being a sprinter. It was definitely a learning experience for him. And ... soaked up the gorgeous Denver sun.
Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed (at least, bike shorts make you feel like you have a bushy tail)
So very excited...
And they're off!
It was 9:45 in the morning and I was perfectly warm. I even got a sun burn!
So, he had a hard time staying with the pack. But, like I said, he's a distance racer, not a sprinter.
Kurt had another race this last weekend (May 14th) and I forgot to take pictures. It was a 78 mile race. Long enough that there were feed zones and I got to hand off bottles to him. I had fun driving around the back roads in the middle of nowhere, even though the weather was cloudy and chilly. But I forgot to take pictures. :(
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Warm Fuzzies
My psych doctor told me yesterday that she thinks I'm responsible.
It made me feel good.
And I like her.
(I wonder if she'd say the same thing if she saw the huge pile of laundry in my guest room that needs to be dealt with ... )
The end.
^_^
Friday, May 6, 2011
Shout Outs!
Today is turning out to be a super fun day for me.
And I'd like to bring your attention to two of the people who have had the biggest influence in that:
First off, is my good old friend, Mo.
She and I have been friends forever!
Since freshman year, 7 years ago.
Man, time flies!
She's doing a fun thing every Friday where she features her friends' talents.
So, check out her blog--
not just for my post,
but for the awesomeness and beauty that is Mo and her world.
The second is a newcomer.
Kristy at Hyphen Interiors.
I'm not sure how I stumbled onto Kristy's blog, but it was only a few weeks ago.
(Oh wait, she was mentioned on Young House Love, one of my favorite decorating/DIY blogs.)
Now her blog is one of my favorites!
Well, I won a give-away today
AND
She's a total doll and if you love the world of making your house beautiful,
you'll love her.
I hope you're having a fabulous Friday too.
^_^
Chemicals vs. Personality
I had kind of an interesting train of thought last night. It was sparked by a critique I received at my writing group. One of the members commented that my submission was not consistent in its quality. (I actually could feel that as I wrote it, but it was one of those situations where I just needed to get something on the paper, regardless of the consistency or anything like that.) He mentioned that the other writers in the group are consistent, and he wants me to be as well because he knows I can be.
This was not news to me. Consistency is not something that I excel at. There are piano pieces I’ve been playing for over ten years. And I still make mistakes every single time I play them. Habits are incredibly hard for me to implement or break (but I think that’s probably true for many people). And of course, there are my moods.
Which made me wonder … does this consistency thing stem from being bi polar, or is it just part of my personality type? I’m what you call a “quick cycler”: my moods can drastically change once, twice, three times a day. Sometimes multiple times in an hour. From what I know about my illness, the majority of those with bi polar disorder are not quick cyclers, and they’ll stay in a mood (depressed or hypo/manic) for weeks, months, even years. I can’t even imagine that! Even my depression stages are marked by times of hypomania, and vice versa.
How many other personality traits of mine are linked to bi polar? My tendency to jump to the worst conclusion. My zany-ness. My perfectionism. My tendency to overload myself. My creativity. If you took away these things and more, would I even be me?
I know that in the next life, when I have been resurrected, I will have a perfect body (no more asthma!) and whole mind (no more attacks of the crazies!). Will I be the same person, with the same personality? Will Kurt still know his wife? Will I still be someone who he loves?
I believe the answer to those questions is yes. I am me. Bi polar is a part of who I am as a mortal and it has definitely influenced my thoughts, actions, interests. I firmly believe that. But I also feel like those parts of my personality are not necessarily bad things. The bad things from the illness are the mood swings, the psychosis, the obtrusive thoughts, the depression, the panic attacks, the racing thoughts, the impulses, the spiders in my brain. Those will be gone, but you’ll still know me. :)
This was not news to me. Consistency is not something that I excel at. There are piano pieces I’ve been playing for over ten years. And I still make mistakes every single time I play them. Habits are incredibly hard for me to implement or break (but I think that’s probably true for many people). And of course, there are my moods.
Which made me wonder … does this consistency thing stem from being bi polar, or is it just part of my personality type? I’m what you call a “quick cycler”: my moods can drastically change once, twice, three times a day. Sometimes multiple times in an hour. From what I know about my illness, the majority of those with bi polar disorder are not quick cyclers, and they’ll stay in a mood (depressed or hypo/manic) for weeks, months, even years. I can’t even imagine that! Even my depression stages are marked by times of hypomania, and vice versa.
How many other personality traits of mine are linked to bi polar? My tendency to jump to the worst conclusion. My zany-ness. My perfectionism. My tendency to overload myself. My creativity. If you took away these things and more, would I even be me?
I know that in the next life, when I have been resurrected, I will have a perfect body (no more asthma!) and whole mind (no more attacks of the crazies!). Will I be the same person, with the same personality? Will Kurt still know his wife? Will I still be someone who he loves?
I believe the answer to those questions is yes. I am me. Bi polar is a part of who I am as a mortal and it has definitely influenced my thoughts, actions, interests. I firmly believe that. But I also feel like those parts of my personality are not necessarily bad things. The bad things from the illness are the mood swings, the psychosis, the obtrusive thoughts, the depression, the panic attacks, the racing thoughts, the impulses, the spiders in my brain. Those will be gone, but you’ll still know me. :)
The Graduate
Here's to you, Mrs. Leslie!
Today, my mom receives her Masters Degree!
At ... older than 35!
(I'm pretty sure she'd kill me if I said how old she really is.)
My mom dropped out of college her junior year to support my dad.
When I was in high school, she decided to complete her English degree using BYU's Independent Study program.
She graduated from BYU the same day I did.
(And would've walked with me except Papa passed away the day before.)
No rest for the weary, she immediately started on her post-graduate degree.
After today, she can put a MS behind her name!
Leslie AMAZINGWOMAN, Masters of Science
in Library Science
I'm so proud of her!!!
Mother of 5
Grandma of 2 + 1 on the way (Mandi's pregnant again!)
Isn't she amazing??
Monday, May 2, 2011
May Goals
Well, it snowed today. That's right, May 2nd. Crazy, huh? But that's mountain west weather for you. I think that's the only thing I dislike about the weather here--frequent cold snaps well into spring. That, and how dry it is. My sinuses, eyes, and skin don't like the lack of humidity very much. Regardless, May is a great month, no matter where you are. It's green and there are flowers and it's getting warmer. So many good reasons to smile!
My goals for the month are just two:
1) Write every day. My friend Lindsay is doing that right now and she said she's made huge improvements on her book and writing. I really need to do that too. Especially since my thesis (aka book) is due at the end of the year and it's nowhere near done (in completeness or quality). And I really want to get my YA fantasy completely edited through a second draft by the end of summer. So I plan on writing at least an hour every day, and thoroughly editing one chapter of the YA fantasy a week. I started yesterday and while I didn't get much actually written, I did spend a lot of time staring at the computer and wondering why I'm such an awful writer (it was one of those days). Hopefully today will yield better results!
2) Thoroughly clean the house by the end of the month. Stuff like cleaning the oven, washing the windows and blinds, dusting weird places like the bathroom vent and ceiling fans. Those sorts of things. Because the house is a disaster. Don't look at me! It's not ... oh yeah, it is my fault. ;)
My goals for the month are just two:
1) Write every day. My friend Lindsay is doing that right now and she said she's made huge improvements on her book and writing. I really need to do that too. Especially since my thesis (aka book) is due at the end of the year and it's nowhere near done (in completeness or quality). And I really want to get my YA fantasy completely edited through a second draft by the end of summer. So I plan on writing at least an hour every day, and thoroughly editing one chapter of the YA fantasy a week. I started yesterday and while I didn't get much actually written, I did spend a lot of time staring at the computer and wondering why I'm such an awful writer (it was one of those days). Hopefully today will yield better results!
2) Thoroughly clean the house by the end of the month. Stuff like cleaning the oven, washing the windows and blinds, dusting weird places like the bathroom vent and ceiling fans. Those sorts of things. Because the house is a disaster. Don't look at me! It's not ... oh yeah, it is my fault. ;)
January-April Goals Recap
I can't believe it's May! Parts of the last 4 months have dragged by, but April was gone in a blink. I'm glad, though. Because my semester is over! Huzzah!!
So, here's the recap of my goals for those 4 months:
1. Be diligent about my physical therapy exercises. I'm dying to get back into kickboxing, weight lifting, cycling, and swimming. During my school residency, my legs ached from not being used very much. So to do that, I need to do my PT exercises every four hours. And sit with good posture. I already walk/stand with pretty good posture. Success! And now I'm back to exercising almost regularly again (taking it easy on my core exercises, just doing what he gave me to do, not veering from that quite yet).
2. Stay on top of school work. That means working a little bit every day. I'm usually one of those binge people. Don't work all week, then on Saturday just kill myself by reading/researching/writing for hours on end. Not the brightest way to tackle such a daunting semester. I'm registering with the office of disabilities at my school this semester, but I only want those accommodations to be a last-minute resort. I've managed to turn everything in on time so far in my college/graduate career. I can continue that trend in my third semester. All things considered, I did pretty well. I didn't have to turn in any assignments late, so ... success!
3. Keep the house clean. Yes, yes, an on-going goal for me. But with school going to be so heavy and the big kitchen reno going on, this house is going to have a tendency to look pretty scary most days. Definitely a failure. But I don't care. :D
4. Take time every week to read/write for fun. I think this is important. I would say every day, but that's not likely. Success on the reading part. Not so much on the writing part. That paper killed all desire to write any more than I had to. Oh well. So we'll say ... partial success!
So, here's the recap of my goals for those 4 months:
1. Be diligent about my physical therapy exercises. I'm dying to get back into kickboxing, weight lifting, cycling, and swimming. During my school residency, my legs ached from not being used very much. So to do that, I need to do my PT exercises every four hours. And sit with good posture. I already walk/stand with pretty good posture. Success! And now I'm back to exercising almost regularly again (taking it easy on my core exercises, just doing what he gave me to do, not veering from that quite yet).
2. Stay on top of school work. That means working a little bit every day. I'm usually one of those binge people. Don't work all week, then on Saturday just kill myself by reading/researching/writing for hours on end. Not the brightest way to tackle such a daunting semester. I'm registering with the office of disabilities at my school this semester, but I only want those accommodations to be a last-minute resort. I've managed to turn everything in on time so far in my college/graduate career. I can continue that trend in my third semester. All things considered, I did pretty well. I didn't have to turn in any assignments late, so ... success!
3. Keep the house clean. Yes, yes, an on-going goal for me. But with school going to be so heavy and the big kitchen reno going on, this house is going to have a tendency to look pretty scary most days. Definitely a failure. But I don't care. :D
4. Take time every week to read/write for fun. I think this is important. I would say every day, but that's not likely. Success on the reading part. Not so much on the writing part. That paper killed all desire to write any more than I had to. Oh well. So we'll say ... partial success!
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