John, You Are the One For Me, John

It snowed last night. John likes to shovel before ANYONE walks on the sidewalk to keep them from icing over in the form of little footprints.



(Hat from snowshoe-ing adventure with Roger and cousins; Stewart forgot his hat, so John gave him his and bought this one and he wears it all the time.)

Cooking is a Manly Art

I left the camera in the car overnight, so it is still foggy-lens-ish. This is not me playing with the soft-focus.

This morning I have already worked for an hour, lining up test-sites, filling out paper-work. I need to drive downtown to the office soon. John & Jen are coming up later this afternoon for turkey dinner. So I am teaching my John (as opposed to my brother JohnB) how to cook one in my absence from the kitchen.

I think I need to give more opportunities for the men in my life to learn to do things without me--they are discovering their cooking talents when it is left up to them to do the meals. I believe it is a learned skill, one in which practice and time in the kitchen makes a big difference. I know some amazing cooks who have kids who don't know how to make anything because the parent did all the work, didn't pass on the skills or the opportunities to learn by experience.

I'm guilty. It is easier to do it myself, faster, less messy.

But it is not too late.

Roxie and Sam both got measuring spoons for Christmas with a promise of lessons.

Last night when I got home from my quilting meeting we ate the most perfect LEMON MERINGUE PIE to celebrate my birthday (a day late)! I'll admit here that I took a spoonful taste of it before I had left for work, it looked so good! Bro.Jones can cook! Our friend also made me PEANUT BUTTER MERINGUE PIE! I should have let John put candles in it, because I realized later that I really, really missed them singing "Tis love brings us here" part of the song.

Stepping on Toes

Hope I'm not!

Mr. Landbeck is ghost writing this morning. Jennilyn is busy going to three different appointments and jobs today, so I am borrowing her account, and using a pic from a couple of months ago. I love her toes, but sometimes I step on them, trying to help out.

She'll be back soon, maybe later today.

Work That Body (Day)!

I grew up not very happy about a birthday after Christmas.

John thought it was cool, never, EVER having to go to school on his.

I wanted to do the share-cupcake routine with classmates for mine-never happened.

Two years apart, almost to the day. Both our parents got married on the same day--two years apart. In the same place-Salt Lake LDS temple. So they celebrate the same wedding anniversary, and we can celebrate the same/near conception day with back-to-back birthdays.

I always want to try and make it fair--if we have a big-to-do for John, then it is okay to have a party for me. He wants to try and down-play his day in favor of a big party on mine--but I won't have it. Easier to celebrate together with one cake.

Today I leave for work in a couple of minutes. No seminary until next Monday when school starts again. If my students were here this morning, we would have sung, "Happy Body-Day to you!" and it would have made me smile. I am thankful to be born. THANKS MOM! (and Dad!)

Harp concert tonight down at the Washington DC temple visitor's center. Suzanna is playing and Max is singing a couple of songs to a packed audience. I am hoping I finish early enough with work to join them in the celebrations.

If I don't get there, I know they will sing to me later. And that is okay.

Last Sunday of the Year

What a year. We are hoping for good news in the new year. Happy New Year to all of you readers.

Resolved: to think about goals next week.

Happy Birthday to my favorite husband. It's your turn for the "You are Special" plate, thank you very much.

Technology Trickling Up and Down

This photo is taken with our NEW WEBCAM! (I did play with it in Picasa, pulled out some of the intense color, pushed the glow button, played with the shadows, you know me, couldn't leave it alone, wanted to see what I could do...)

It was the first gift under the tree that we unwrapped Christmas morning, after we had breakfast and stockings, acted out the Nativity Story complete with John narrating and reading scriptures and me pounding out 5 hymns on our out-of-tune piano.

It had been a grand morning already, kneeling in family prayer and John asked me to be voice. I prayed my heart out, thankful that we were gathered, thankful for our home, thankful for family support and help from friends and a kind anonymous secret Santa. Thankful and still begging, pleading as a family for a job for John.

We take turns, one at a time opening presents, all eyes watching, practicing saying "Thank you" and being gracious recipients and givers. We started at the oldest (me!) so I picked that package still in its mail package from SLC. Cut the tape, saw the box and burst into tears. Sometimes we give gifts in re-cycled boxes, but I knew this was what the outside said. I am thankful for long-distance parents and their great gift of wanting to be in better contact.

When I need help I still hand my phone to Emma to get her to figure out technology. I know many parents who let their kids do the programming and figuring out of new tech toys. It is nice to have it trickle down from parents, too. They are still teaching me about priorities.

Thanks, Mom & Dad! (You have to remember how wide the camera is! I saw a cute love-pat Mom gave Dad on the backside during our first ever Skype call while I was talking with another sister! It is good to know your parents love each other!)

Pictures for Christmas!

Having WAY TOO Much Fun!

(Can you see this as guerrilla art--stencilled all-over town with spray paint? Maybe I'll do it on our garbage-recycling container! I'm not really advocating graffiti--not the vandalism part of it. Legal art, or on your own property...I do love it.)

All the kids are asleep. It is Christmas Eve morning, and a busy, full day planned. Lunch with John's parents. Christmas carolling to deliver G-ma Sandy cinnamon rolls to their neighbors (Grandpa came with us to deliver fudge along our street, singing, "Far, Far Away on Judea's Plain"). Then Max has a Maryland State Boychoir Christmas mass tonight in Baltimore that we are all going to. We have to drop him off 2 hours before it starts, for rehearsal, so we will go look at lights and then come back for the service.

When are we going to squeeze in our scripture pageant? Costumes and acting out the Nativity has been a long-standing tradition while the kids have grown up.

Too Much of a Bright Thing? Nah!

I am not afraid to play with color. Sometimes I make things worse--but sometimes wonderful things happen!


The before picture, non-tilt-ed, color okay. You can see the balloons in the chandelier from Suzu's party. Me in paint shirt (I have a job today). His head was cut off (reason I played with the colors) so we took the following one and called it the end of the shoot.


Untouched.
This is the outside of a church in Havre de Grace where Max sang earlier this month. With a little brighter colors (it was a fuzzy picture to start out, I couldn't ruin it).

That is my advice for the day: play with color! (save a copy, first if photo playing).

Salmon Hallway Revisited

Peach-salmon wall in the hallway and an abstract landscape painting of mine from high school affectionately titled, "Fjord." But it is hanging sideways. I think I already blogged about it, back before the presidential election, so a year ago? It used to hang in Roxie's room.

I am a firm believer in rotating art. We stop seeing things, and moving them around helps us notice them again. Really. Try it. Different paintings or even quilts look different on different backgrounds.

Ha. Or repaint, and see how your art looks against a new color!

Wake Up Call

Monday Morning Means Another Photo

Photo credit: me! I like this picture with our glasses on. Just another way to look at us.

I am so glad and thankful for this couple photo series project challenge! It has made me very aware of us as a team, as an entity, a unit, a subject to study visually. How we relate to each other, touch one another, lean away or towards one another, kiss or hug or just hold hands and sit by one another has been recorded for our future great grandchildren! They will know we loved each other, just by looking at us and our smiles and swooning!

On Saturday as Maxwell and Emma played paparazzi and kept snapping photos, even after we said, "Enough already!" I realized that it is fun for the photographers and the subjec.

Every Girl Needs a Tutu

Made 2 tutu ruffle skirts, one for Emma, one for Roxie. Take tulle, cut in 2 inch long strips, and hand gather as you sew them by machine onto any tiered skirt you already own. Adorable, fun, dancing skirts are the result. (I made one for me earlier this fall to try it out.) Very girly and easy to make. Good use for the bolt of hot pink netting I had on my shelf.

The thrift store cashmere sweater shrug Em is wearing is from this tutorial on making a t-shirt shrug. Love how it turned out.

Snowed-in Mornings are for Oatmeal

Photo credit: Emmalyn. Family breakfast, thanks to John.

Cooking in the Kitchen

John is learning how to make my famous fudge. I can see us as an older couple with a fudge shack in our front yard, selling 25 different flavors of homemade candy...He is a good student, and only got burned when I accidentally pulled the thermometer out too quickly and bumped into his hand. (No, he is not getting burned in this picture, just being silly).

(Emma is HOME!)

We should have had her take the photo--but she is considering going back to bed. She was home after midnight, and then woke up early to be a guest speaker in seminary. She shared her testimony of Christ and then we talked about being willing to die for your testimony and LIVING for it!

This Morning in the Kitchen

Seminary this morning included incredible yogurt parfaits, made by A, celebrating her b-day! We sang the seminary version of "Happy Body Day" to her!
Photographer, gorgeous M(from Colombia) who said, "One more" after she took this one. She is a natural photographer, fun to smile for, listening to her lovely accent.

I'm off to work in a few minutes. John is doing laundry today, watching elementary school kids and getting them off for the day, cleaning Roxie's room getting ready for Emma to come home, picking her up from airport, and continuing his job search. He is optimistic and hopeful and courageous.

And he makes me the best brown-bag lunches! But I didn't find the tomato and onion in a separate ziplock bag until I reached the bottom of my bag yesterday. A co-worker was just starting her sandwhich and was delighted at the addition to her lunch! My sweetie made someone smile yesterday (besides me) with that little gift.

The Day Before Emma Comes Home!

My computer is in the sewing studio/Emma's room. I have a day to get ready for her company again. John reminds me she is not company, she is family.

Family accepts the piles, the projects in process. She will love me anyway, even if we end up dragging a mattress into her sister's room for her to sleep on. During the school year, I am spoiled with a whole room to spread out in, leave stuff out. Few people have seen the depths of this room in person. It is a sign of pure trust and friendship to let you into my inner sanctum when I am creating.

Maybe John will get a job offer today and I won't be daily blogging a couple photo? I could take a two-week break, focus on getting things done. Will you miss me? Will I miss doing this?

More on Body Language in Photos

This pose could have its own name: The Nose Smash. This is from this morning on the Love seat!
I mentioned tilting in couple photos, what I had noticed about the body language and how the lean in, taken at the time of the photo or edited in with the "straighten" button, communicates unity.
So leaning away=irritation? I can't remember what I was thinking at the moment of this photo--ohh, yes I do. It's all coming back. (Amazing that photos can help us remember feelings!) John was whispering things that he thought were funny to help him not be irritated at our photographer son (who was not giving us any count down of when he was going to snap the picture, which really, really irritates John), and I told him that didn't help me relax or smile hearing those thoughts out loud...So we have here documented what happens when I DO NOT feel united. Irritated. What a horrible emotion. Clear as the pose.

Filtering My Life for You

No exciting details of my first day of work. No news back yet from John's interview last week. (I've never been able to say, "Cross my fingers" since my dad's serious explanation that the origins of that phrase harks back to swearing by Christ's cross. Is that even true? I'll have to snopes it later.)

But the thought fits in with my filter theme for the day.

What childhood beliefs do we hold on to firmly/stubbornly and how do they filter our view of the world today? If I change my rose-colored glasses for clear ones, what will stand out more?

Filter.

Edit.

Change.

Highlight-draw the eye to something specific.
This is my favorite one. A tint of original, so not full saturation. If I could pick and choose my coloring, this would be it.
Sepia can be a nice look, but doesn't do anything for us in this shot.
Scary! Filtering with choosing GREEN makes me look blushing red, which I am, often...

And filtering for RED washes us both out. Looking vampire-ish. This picture does not feature the tilt option the other three have. Nice to control the angle, move heads left or right by skewing. IN COUPLE PHOTOS I HAVE NOTICED THAT DOING THIS CREATES THE IMPLIED BODY LANGUAGE OF LEANING INTO THE OTHER, OFFERING SUPPORT, BEING UNITED. Look at the difference of a straight on shot, and the tilted ones. Love this feature of Picasa.

Show and Tell over.

I painted the Manger!

Last night was Susquehanna Ward's Christmas party!

Best new ideas for other activities committees: buffet line was outside of the multi-cultural hall, so the whole gym area could be set up for tables and chairs. The tables were all labeled with names, like "Stable" "Wisemen" "Judea" "Star" and we were called by tables of 3 to go to the YW room and sign cards for all the missionaries and service men and women, then up on the stage to take a family picture in the stable, then to the scout room next to the kitchen where the buffet was spread it. That way people could stay sitting until they had something specific to do, and not just wait in a long line all night (past years have been nightmarish that way).

Simple but beautiful decorations, lights on wires above tables, mini-trees along stage.
Our family was asked to sing all 5 verses of "This is the season, beloved of the year, sing a rhyme, Christmas time soon will be here, tell the true story, of Jesus' birth..." Primary song.
Suzu did a wonderful job playing the harp. Three year old Bella told her mommy, "I hear angels singing!" when we started. The harp made us all sound good, but we missed Emma's voice!
Bro. David Mattson (gpa to 4 Primary kids in our ward) made this manger years and years ago for the Primary when we did a pageant. I painted in the hay, and protected it with polyurethane. It still looks good at least a decade later! (Doesn't get hard use). We've posed newborns in it, after some serious padding of that center "V" shape.

Every Room Needs Light!

Inspiration quilts have polka dots, stripes all in various turquoises and browns (and why do I not have a pict of that quilt? JC Penny's does). Ultimate room make-over would have ME make the quilt and then I would design the paint to match/coordinate!

This is the fun light I painted (spray paint primer over gold-tone and ceramic ugly old lamp) and the hot glued turquoise boa.
Beaded curtain closet, with mounting board still unpainted in this photo--it turned white and blends with molding now. Fishing line, beads, hot glue over knots, and stapled to board then board screwed to top of door frame.
Closet wall will show just above shoes.

I just had to add this in as a surprise, to make the room feel complete. The sisters' brother saw this and said, "Ahh, you got "I am a child of God! in your closet!"

I need to come back and paint one for him.