happy christmas eve!

today i got to spend the first part of Christmas eve at work.

as i looked out at my half lit up little christmas tree and an empty shop i started to feel well... bored... and sad that i couldn't just go home.

so...

i wasted a little time on the computer, and...

... pouted, and...

wasted more time on the computer... till i thought i would fall asleep! but then...

my dear dear friend, tami, came with all sorts of treasures just waiting to be wrapped! so...

we had a little gift wrapping party in the back... well, i wrapped while tami painted... she got a little distracted.

thanks, tam, for making this Christmas eve just a little more special and a lot more fun!

Merry Christmas, everyone!

a sure sign...

...fall is gone and winter has arrived

(i think i waited too long to carve my pumpkin this year)

"what porcelain lamps?" you say...

they're works in progress...

and for some happy finished porcelain product...

here are some vases that have been sitting unfinished on the shelf for months! so happy to have them done. and they actually turned out pretty nice!

*

more pictures will come when the lamps are finished. i just got a little excited and had to share.

rain is my friend

"oh let the rain fall down and wash this world away. oh let the sky be gray. cause if it's ever gonna get any better it's got to get worse in a day."

as i was at my little shop today (mmm... still there, just not being productive) this 'bishop allen' song came on over the ipod air waves and made me smile. it was one of those moments of pure bliss.

a customer was happily painting at her table, while i was creating porcelain lamps (no easy task let me assure you) and bopping my head to the happy tune. and yes, the rain was literally falling.

i told kara (one thing i LOVE about my job is being on a first name basis with my customers and creating real relationships with them)

*side note*: the other week one of my customers stopped in to pick up some things and when she saw me gave me a big ol' hug just because we hadn't seen each other in a while. it kind of made my week.

(continuing on) that this was the perfect song for the day, and how it made me happy. she laughed and told me about how she grew up in seattle and "trust me" rain is not fun after you've gone more than a few months with no sunshine. point taken.

well... now the song is over, kara has gone to pick up her kiddos from school and head home, and i sit here with a table to clean and porcelain lamps to finish... but the rain is still here keeping me company.

anyone out there?

hellooooooooo!

it's been long time, folks, and i'm kind of curious to see if anyone will read this considering the time lapse since my last post. we shall see.

here is what i've been doing...

1. bought a house

2. worked tirelessly (amidst many food and dance (yes i said dance) breaks) on that house

3. moved into that house w/ my roomie and pal, miss jo

4. left for ukraine

5. 2 days later arrived in ukraine (thanks to a missed flight and detour to london...not a terrible thing)

6. 2 weeks later came home from ukraine

7. started a small group study on God's truth (big thanks to focus on the family and dr. del tackett

8. continued to work on my house

9. started a project at work where i make 32 ceramic pieces by nov 1st (this deadine has been moved back a week...and might get moved back further...boo)

10. tried desperately to catch up on this little goal i call read the bible in one year. something i am WAY behind on.

11. tried and failed to mow my lawn before it gets horrendously long...bother

12. finished 3 vases that i may or may not post a picture of later...how's that for commitment :)

13. tiled my kitchen backsplash...one wall at a time...from 11pm-1am...3 nights about a week apart from eachother...yeah i like to linger in my unfinished projects...i still have yet to grout

14. sewed halloween costumes for 1 neice and 2 nephews

15. planned out my own halloween costume (sarah i might give you a run for your money this year...nah probably not)

16. started reading a book this morning for a study tonight that's on chapter 6...

well there you have it...my life in 16 bullet points...is that sad? that last comment sounded sad.

you know i could have put more, but didn't for the sake of the you (whoever you are)...not because my life is only worth 16 bullet points...but because i thought it might be overwhelming to read my life in 2000 bullet points...smart, right?

yeah, smart...not sad at all.

two tales, one tail

and over a month later...goodness!  why does it get so stinkin hard for me to post on my blog...i just don't know.

anyway, i promised an ethiopia story and two ethiopia story i shall tell...i'm feeling very generous today.

story number 1.

third day in ethiopia, becca's (who i went to visit) landlady wanted to put henna in my hair...you know the stuff they draw with on your skin and it's like a rust color.  well, being the free spirit that i am, i said sure without a second thought.

exhibit a of why being a free spirit (aka. foolish...second thoughts can be very very wise) is not always a good idea: 

yeah i know, great pic, but what can you do.  look at the cute little coffee cup!  okay, so this totally does not do it justice, but let me point out one thing.  that lovely little purple scarf is very discretely covering the brightest of the bright, which in this picture would look more like the brighter of the not so bright, but oh well.  here let me try to give a more accurate depiction of what i actually looked like...

now we're talking...

okay, so when i got home i promptly scheduled a hair appointment to professionally color my hair...where i proceeded to throw up halfway through the dying process.  yeah, i'm pretty sure i had malaria...but i'm better now, just suffering from a little wounded pride is all, but now, my hair is on the mend, slowing working it's way back to my natural color (of course i found out that henna is about the most temperamental thing you can put in your hair...go too light and you'll be pink.  yey!)

story number 2.

one night becca and i were in a hotel (note, if your picturing something as nice as motel 8, take it down about 50 notches and you're there) and i suddenly heard scratching behind the headboard.  not a good sign.  the whole scene played out something like this...

me: becca!  there's something scratching!  what do i do! (consumed with mind numbing fear)

becca: go to sleep i'm sure it's fine (completely not caring)

later...

becca: now it's on my side! (surprised but not at all afraid)  oh well, just go to sleep.

me: are you sure? (still consumed with mind numbing fear)

becca: yes

later...

becca (quickly sitting up): it's in my hair!!!! (very surprised but not at all afraid)

me (seeing something dark fall out of her hair and scamper across the floor):  what was that!?! (paralyzed with mind numbing fear)

becca: i don't know...it's fine just go to sleep (flops back down and falls asleep)

me: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (shaking and hyperventilating as i proceed to wrap my hoodie as tightly around my head as possible and cover the rest of my face with my hand so nothing, absolutely NOTHING can touch my head!)  

needless to say i didn't sleep that night, but here's a picture of the room with me blissfully unaware of what's too come...

by the way, we later decided that the perpetrator was probably a little mouse...let's hope

back and no sign of swine...yet

so these past couple months i've been out...of the country...of the state...of the blogosphere...of my senses...of my mind...

but fear not! i am back and newly equipped to take this world by storm.  a few things about me that have changed since we were last bloggily acquainted:

1. my hair had a severe case of the raggedy ann reds (big thanks to becca's landlady in ethiopia...which refers back to the "out of the country" part earlier)

2. my hair was rushed into emergency therapy as soon as i got home and changed from a tacky red to a sweet dark reddish brown...much more sophisticated!

3. i have started excising a lot...i'm talking over 6 times a week a lot!  (out of my mind) and i'm loving it!  oh the things i thought i'd never hear coming out of my mouth...

4. (out of my senses) i have started going to bed earlier and waking up earlier too!  this is even crazier than #3.  seriously!  who am i?

there's more, but i'm officially brain dead since it's after 11:30, which is my new normal bedtime...i know!  let me tell you, one and all...no one is more shocked by this radical new me than yours truly.  

but another time, same place, i'll give you all my many little stories from

1. 9 days in ethiopia

2. 3 days in dallas, tx

3. all the in between

peace out, loves!

if the first one didn't convince you, maybe this one will...

...yes? ...no? ...maybe so?

what do you do for valentine's day when you don't have a man?

you have a collective date with gilbert blythe!

yes it's true. this valentine's day some friends and i decided it was high time we had an "anne of green gables" marathon...minus "the continuing story" which was a bitter disappointment! i even lit some candles to create atmosphere. (it was very romantic without the man...or as i like to call it, rotic)

it was a wonderful 9 hours (yes, i said 9) with some dear friends that i rarely have the pleasure of hanging out with...and some girls that i don't know very well at all, but had so much fun with! our list of events went as follows:

5:30 - started "anne of green gables: part 1" (green hair and all)

7:00 - started "anne of green gables: part 2" (oh matthew! *tear*)

9:00 - ZUMBA! (we couldn't very well spend the whole time watching movies w/out a little exercise! unfortunately i didn't think to capture this with my camera, but rest assured it was quite a sight)

9:30 - started "anne of green gables, the sequel: part 1" (that jen pringle is just plain creepy!)

12:30 - started "anne of green gables, the sequel: part 2" (ahh...that blessed bridge) complete with ice cream sundaes! (kudos to tara!)

the evening ended at a very late, but very fulfilling 2:30am. as i flopped into my comfy pillow top i felt very happy indeed with visions of a simpler time and words like "tragical" filling my sleepy head. goodnight miss anne with an e.

some pics of the evening

don't the memories just come flooding back! "...in dark foreboding, languid tones. he fervently stroked her alabaster brow..."

romance!

oh, gil! (actually, for the record, i never really cared all that much for gilbert...i fear i just made a few enemies...but in the spirit of the night i got a little carried away)

the gals (minus me and kimberly)

oh beloved website of ideas!

i found the most prettified(i thought i made that word up, but apparently spellcheck considers it valid...interesting) website/blog of all time! i love it! it's basically a compilation of photography, recipes, fabrics, decorating ideas, clothes, pretty shops...anything that stirs visual inspiration. in fact, i have it set to my favorites at work so i can use the ideas in my shop. smart, eh!



check it out at www.jubella.com

i look like a brit!

apparently, i've found my movie star clone, a british actress by the name of charity wakefield... i love that name, wakefield. it sounds so... so... british! i've always felt a strong connection to england, and now i know why!
*
cindy at mom and dad's office proudly informed me that she and her family have been watching bbc's version of sense and sensibility and they all agreed i look exactly like marianne. i haven't seen it yet, but am excited to see how good of an actress i am.
*
okay, i realize i'm taking this whole thing a little too far, but i've never looked like someone famous! well i guess i've been told i look like reese witherspoon before, but i don't think i look like her very much. besides, amber looks a lot like her, and it's never as fun to look little like someone when you have a friend who looks more like them. don't worry amber, i harbor no bad feelings towards you!
*
what do you think? is it a match? can you tell which one's me?
i'm sure mom and megan are rolling their eyes right now at how i took this so far as to pose like her.

painting for the children

yesterday i spent a good portion of my day at the all women's gym my dear sis used to be an instructor at. no...i was not exercising. for those of you who don't know, this gym was suddenly closed last fall (very sadly) and recently two of the old instructors decided to buy it and re-open it, new and improved (very happily)! if you want the full scoop go here and here.

anyway, i was asked to add some whimsy to the childcare room by painting something on the walls... anything. i agonized over what to paint and finally after surfing anthropologie's website for the bazillionth time i found some inspiration in the form of a pillow. i simplified it down a few notches and then headed on my merry way to the gym yesterday afternoon.

as usual, what i estimated to be a 3.5 hour project turned into a 6.5 hour project...funny thing, no matter how long i think something will take it always takes double! i think i should start guessing lower.

after i took a dinner break i headed back to the gym with snack, diet pepsi, my laptop, and 'road to avonlea' in tow. (what i good is painting if you don't have a miniseries to go with it!)

well, about a half hour later sweet miss eren (one of the new owners) showed up with a key so i wouldn't have to call her at who knows what hour of the night when i left and a snack in case i got hungry. what a dear! thankfully she is a lot healthier than i am. lets do a little compare and contrast here...

her snack.... my snack...

thank you, eren!

after all my work was finished i was pretty excited about the final product. it actually turned out better than i thought it would! so, i decided to share a few images with anyone who's interested...

DOWN with motivation!

does anyone else feel like their motivation abandons them just when they need it most?  i have had the hugest lack of motivation to get just about anything done lately...to eat healthy...to exercise...to study my Bible...to clean my apartment...to clean my shop...the list goes on and on!  and i'm sick of it!

so mr. motivation (don't know why i associate that word with a male) this is to you...

we're through!  from now on i will pay you no heed!  you've burned me one too many times and i will no longer let you determine whether or not i get something done!  you will rue the day you ever messed with me!  i am determined to live how a see fit and you no longer have the pleasure of being any part of my success!  haa!

....hmm, i wonder if this constitutes as a form of motivation...

on this journeeey...to the paaast!

this story goes back a few months...right before a period i like to call the blogging dark ages...

it was november, a cold one at that, and my father and i decided to go for a weekend road trip to the music city (aka. nashville, TN) to finally finish the long awaited journey on cd. (most of the time if people compliment me on this project, the one thought that goes through my head is, "yeah, thanks, i'm soo glad it's done!")

well, while we were on this trip i decided to take a few pictures of all the glory for those of you out there who wonder what it's like to be involved in an exciting recording project. well, let me preface this by saying it's not very exciting. mostly it's a lot of tedious work...fun tedious work, but tedious none the less.

anyhow, these pictures are long overdue their original intended post date so without further ado, i present you with...

A JOURNEY THROUGH A NASHVILLE STUDIO TRIP IN PICTURES!

here's dad still working into the wee hours of the morning on "twilight." seriously folks, we had just finished like a 10 hour day (that might be an exaggeration cause i really can't remember) we got some chinese food, watched "get smart" and then phmm! he was back in the chair with the head phones. i couldn't believe his stamina! once i left the studio i was done. no more music for me! it was starting to make my head hurt!

This is what i spent that time doing...

like i said, a recording project requires a lot of tedious work.

NEXT DAY:

this is me sadly LOCKED outside the sound room! see the tears forming in those pitiful eyes? all alone without a soul to turn to! no friends...no comforts...EXCEPT....

COFFEE! and in a tennessee mug with hearts all over it none the less! seriously, this mug and the blessed contents within made my weekend... most of which i spent slightly shaky. oh, the bliss of caffeine.

they finally let me in so i could take this nifty picture of the mighty men hard at work in their wheely chairs. i resumed my spot on the sofa (where his picture is taken from) and continued to read my pal, ted dekker...you know, in between all the recording, opinion giving, and decision making.



see...here's me at work...scrutinizing over the details of something though i don't remember what...probably "twilight". hmmm. everytime i say that word i think of the vampire movie, which is really sad because the actual song is pretty stellar and inspirational. kudos to you, shaun groves! notice:

1. i'm shoved back into the kitchen. i smell sexism!
2. mr. heartsy tennessee coffee mug!

all in all, it was a good, very long, and very productive weekend. on the way home dad and i listened to "showdown" on cd...yes, it was a ted dekker filled weekend. and strangely enough, about a week after we got home i started going through recording withdrawal and told dad we should do another cd. i think for now, though, we'll just enjoy the fruits of our labor.


oh, and can anyone tell me what the title of this post is from? if you can there might be a special reward...

the questions that plague me...

1. what do you do when you just have to have something sweet but there is none to be found and you can't leave to go get some?

this is a question that i stumble across often in my life. do i lower myself to calling someone, begging for them to help their poor sweetless friend out or do i just endure, in utter agony, longing hour after hour. i ask you: what do i do?

2. does having red hair really affect one's personality?

i've been perplexed by this question for years, but have yet to find a concrete answer. all of the redheads i know have the personality to go with it. every last one. i don't know about you, but i can't ignore that kind of evidence. at the same time i don't know every redhead that ever lived so there could be one out there who doesn't fit this stereotype...but it's hard to imagine.

3. if you could travel through time could you change the past, therefore changing the future?

or would it be like in lost where no matter how hard you tried, you couldn't change things...where fate or whatever would always somehow stop you...

well, there you have it...the questions that i don't know if i will ever figure out...but they plague me none the less. i'm sure there are more, but i can't think of them right now...maybe another post for another day.