my cat likes cheese...

is that weird? I find it strange that every time I get cheese out to use, Clio smells it and comes looking for hand outs. She may not even be in the same room and she somehow senses it. I'll be slicing some cheese for a sandwich and all of a sudden I look down and there is Clio on a stool next to me waiting patiently (or not so patiently) for a bit of cheese. I guess I should be able to identify, since I absolutely love cheese myself.:) And just like me, she likes all kinds. Maybe we're both slightly crazy...

here you go Marge (and anyone else who's interested:)...

Marge tagged me and it seemed like a good idea, so here it is:

8 Things I'm Looking Forward To:
1. vacation in a few weeks
2. Having our own house, one day
3. Not working full time/being able to pursue my art more
4. Tarantino's new movie, "Inglorious Basterds"
5. Christmas (I get seriously excited about this holiday:)
6. Having kids, one day... but not today:) (this ones for you, Alaina:)
7. Marge's wedding
8. Dinner :)

7 Things I Wish I Could Do:
1. Stand up comedy
2. Dance
3. Sing and/or play an instrument well
4. Travel more
5. Printmaking and bookbinding
6. Read faster (my "to read" list is ridiculously long)
7. sleep better at night

6 Shows I Enjoy: (there several others, this list isn't quite long enough:)
1. Family Guy
2. Project Runway
3. Lost
4. So You think You can Dance (and really any dance show)
5. Scrubs
6. the Office

5 Favorite Foods:
1. Cheeses of all kinds
2. Fried egg sandwich
3. Strawberries
4. Tacos (the way we make them-- lots of delicious toppings:)
5. Any pumpkin or lemon dessert

4 Guilty Pleasures:
1. People magazine
2. certain reality tv shows... more than I would like to admit:)
3. snickers bars
4. java chip frappucinos

3 Favorite Smells:
1. Coffee
2. Freshly mowed grass in the summer
3. campfires

2 Frequently Visited Websites:
1. Facebook
2. Etsy

1 Person you would like to have lunch with (dead or alive):
this is a hard question for some reason... but I'd kind of like to meet and chat with Bono

I think Marge already tagged everyone I would tag, so I'm not going to tag anyone... but you should do this.:)

a legitimate question...

so I was helping a customer at the register today and he was counting out the change he had dumped all over the counter and he looks down at this quarter and goes: "since when did Guam become a state?"... and I said: "seriously Guam is on a state quarter? That's really weird." And I would have been ok with that being the end of our conversation (especially since the transaction was complete and a line was forming behind him), but apparently this guy knows a bit about politics. He proceeded to tell me how Guam is pretty far from becoming a state, that Puerto Rico is much closer (fyi if they wanted to be a state, our government could vote on it and they'd be part of the union tomorrow... that's how close they are:), and went into several of the logistics of how one becomes a state (something about populations and constitutions and whatnot). Being not very politically savvy, nor having much of a vested interest in the "discussion", my side of the conversation went something like this: "oh, I see... well, that's very interesting... I did not know that... ok... yeah... good work Puerto Rico..."

the week in review...

I need to get back in the swing of this blogging thing.:) I just haven't felt like I have much to say... and I've been pretty worn out lately. I have completed 4 days of the "thirty day shred" work out dvd (by Jillian Michaels), which is one of the reasons for my tiredness. Some of you have probably heard about this and/or are doing this dvd. I was hearing alot about it, so I decided to give it a try and I am impressed with it so far. It is definitely challenging and I like the fact that it only takes 20 minutes (albeit a hellish 20 minutes:) a day. That's exactly what I need. Something that requires minimal time but delivers maximum results. I am already seeing my endurance increase and can tell that this is going to be really good for me. Now I just need to make sure I stick with it.:) I am in two upcoming weddings, so that helps motivate me, but I also have been realizing my need to get some exercise in my life and this seems like a workable solution for me.
Enough about exercise...:) Last weekend was great. Friday night we went to the IMA to see "Fight Club" during their summer nights movie thing. We invited several people and alot of them were able to come, which was fun. We got to hang out and enjoy some food and games and then a great movie. I also got to spend some time with my sisters and sister in law last weekend. We wanted to do this before Marge's wedding, and I am so glad that we made a priority out of it. We had a great time relaxing, enjoying good food, games and fellowship. Of course one of our favorite things to do when we get together is talk, and we got plenty of that in.:)
Work has been a bit overwhelming this week, so I have really been looking forward to today (my day off). I got to sleep in a bit and then Luke and I went to the store and picked out some food for grilling out. We've enjoyed being able to grill since we are no longer in an apartment complex. Nothing says summer like grilling out.:) So sometimes we like to go to the store and just pick out a big meal. This is usually quite a bit cheaper than eating out and is alot more fun.:) This evening I went to a bridal shower for Marge, which was alot of fun. I'm very excited for her upcoming wedding and am thrilled to have Philip as part of the family. They make a great couple.:)
Tomorrow I head back to work to mountains of books/records to deal with... good times.:)

marge has spurred me on...

Apparently she is tired of the fact that I haven't blogged. I can't believe it's been this long... Things have just been really busy and every time I thought about blogging I couldn't figure out where to begin. So maybe I'll just give a rundown of what's been going on so I can start fresh.:)

In no particular order, here's what's been happening:
~We went camping a few weeks ago, which was a wonderful time. We both love camping and always look forward to these opportunities. We went from a Wednesday to Sunday, which was a nice break. Plus Steph and Jeremy joined us on the weekend; we enjoy having other people to play games and chat with.
~I designed (with her input) Marge's wedding invitations and helped with assembly. We were both pleased with the results.
~I had the opportunity to display a few paintings for about 3 weeks at the new Element Salon & Spa in Lafayette. My sister-in-law let me know about the opportunity and I was thankful for the chance to show some of my stuff.
~Luke was gone all last week helping our friends move to California. It was cool that he was able to help them out, but I definitely missed him alot. I just tried to keep busy and not think about it too much.:) I'm very glad to have him back this week. We can get back into the swing of things and do dishes and watch our art films together.:)
~I've been listening to "Everything is Illuminated" (by Jonathan Saffron Foerr) on my commute. It's been good, somewhat graphic at times, but he has a very unique writing style. The movie is really good. I have previously read his book "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close", which I really enjoyed.
~Luke's job search has been pretty discouraging, so we appreciate continued prayer on that. Remaining patient and positive is definitely a challenge. We have been grateful for everyone's support and prayers.
~We attended "Plan 9 from Outer Space" (an infamous b-movie) at the IMA (as part of their Summer Nights movie program). It did get rained out toward the end, but it was alot of fun and we'd already seen it so it wasn't a big deal. We're going again this Friday (if it's not raining) to see "Fight Club". The summer movie nights are awesome, because you get to bring a picnic and sit outside watching a movie!:)
~Work has been decent. I always have lots to do and not quite enough time, but I'm figuring out that that's just the nature of life.:) And I really can't complain, I have a great job.
~We've been able to spend some time with our families on various holidays (father's day, mother's day, july 4 etc). It's always great to hang out with family and we are so blessed to have close relationships with both of ours.
~On that subject, we have a new niece! Mya Marie was born and she is adorable (of course:).
~Our friends taught us how to play Canasta, and since Luke and I both love games this piece of information warrants mentioning on this post.:)
~I've started several new paintings that I'm working on at my studio. It will probably be awhile before they are completed, but I'm glad to have sone direction and something to think about and work on.

I know we've done so much more in the past couple of months... but these are a few of the highlights. Life has remained insanely busy one way or another.:) I can hardly figure out what it is that keeps us going so often, but life keeps trucking no matter how much I want it to slow down. O well. God is good and always provides and that is something to be thankful for every day. I hope this post finds all of you alive and well. I will attempt to blog with somewhat more regularity.:)