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.:)

so I took an unintentional hiatus from blogging...

and I will be back soon, I promise. This is just to say that I am indeed still alive and have plenty to blog about, but have just been insanely busy with this thing called life.:) Hope you all are doing well, I will be with you shortly... (I hope:)

i want a tree house!:)

Since architecture is now part of one of the sections I run at work, I've come across some interesting house books. My recent favorite is a book called "tree house living". I seriously think that living in a tree house is an awesome idea. These aren't like a tree house you had (or didn't have:) as a child, they are actually places you can live or have as a vacation home. Some of them are several hundred square feet and they are so creative and innovative.

One of the things that impressed me the most is that the builders who were showcased in the book do not harm the trees in any way. They won't even nail into the tree or cut it. Instead they use braces and stilts etc to secure the home. They also take into account the future growth of the tree a custom build the home in accordance to the laws of nature and to your own creative imagination. In looking around a bit more on the internet, it seems that these are becoming a more prominent trend and that most builders are being environmentally aware.

As I was doing my internet browsing about tree house living, I came across this sweet article about other non-conventional houses that are using pre-existing resources and therefore support green living. You should check out this article: http://www.thedailygreen.com/living-green/blogs/recycling-design-technology/treehouses-building-green-recycled-homes-460509.
After reading this article I have a secondary dream: to live in a refurbished airplane.:)

it's been one of those weeks...

I've been feeling decidedly discouraged. No single event brought this on, just all the circumstances of life combined I guess. I'm looking forward to some good news one of these days... and to feeling like our life is in a forward motion and not so much a standstill.

Last week I finished listening to "I, Robot" (Isaac Asimov). It was very good, although much different than the movie. I really don't even see why they share a title. They are both good, but just very different. The book is composed of short stories, some of which involve same characters and all of which have to do with the struggle between robots and humanity to co-exist. It's a very good book. Now I'm listening to "the Colorado Kid" by Steven King; I haven't decided what I think yet.

The "Lost" season finale was last night (complete with a 15 minute power outage during it due to the storm). That show never ceases to amaze me... and irritate me.:) I think every episode creates more questions than it answers. I don't know how they'll possibly ever get everything to make sense. It's pretty crazy and very good. It has to be the most intricate tv show ever created.

At work yesterday a customer sarcastically said to me: "well aren't you friendly and smiley today." Not quite sure how to respond I said: "what do you mean by that?" At which point she gave me this annoyed look and said: "you're just very cold." This was after a very brief buy interchange in which I had just been my normal self and was just doing my job. I found it incredible that she felt she could pass that kind of judgment on me after we had only spoken a few words to each other (not to mention the fact that she didn't seem like much of a peach herself and knows nothing of my personality or my life). I'm not sure what she expected me to be like. I realize I'm not the smiliest or bubbliest person you'll meet, but I always strive to meet customers needs and to be friendly in my own way. I was glad that the other employees standing in the vicinity of the incident had no idea what triggered the woman's statement and thought she was out of line. Customer service is always interesting. People never cease to amaze me.:)

Sorry this is a bit of an eclectic post. I was having a hard time formulating my thoughts so I figured I'd just include it all.:) I'm looking forward to hitting up Chicago and the Green Festival this weekend. I feel ready to get away for a couple days and do something different. Chicago is always a good time and we've planned in some "chilling out" time, so that will be nice.:) 3 days off from work!

I finally made them myself...

So I finally decided to try my hand at fish tacos. Obviously I really enjoy this dish, since this is my second post since I started my blog that talks about them.:) I was craving them Wednesday as I drove home from work so I made a quick stop at Kroger to pick up the essentials: a fillet of cod fish, cabbage, tortillas and a marinade seasoning packet. I couldn't find a fish taco seasoning, so I picked out a baja citrus blend that turned out to be really good. I've never made them before, so it was a bit of an experiment, but Luke and I both really enjoyed them and I'm sure I'll be making them again soon. Here's what I did:

-I marinaded a half pound of cod fish (any mild white fish would do) according to the package recipe (oil, water &vinegar plus packet). I used half the packet, but could have done a quarter for the amount of fish I was doing. I also added some fresh minced garlic and some lime juice to the marinade for extra flavor punch. I let it marinate for about 45 minutes. Then I sauteed it in butter in a skillet for a few minutes.

-For toppings I thin sliced some cabbage and about half of an onion and sauteed it in butter and a little salt (I like it to still have some crunch to it when it's done). I also mashed a ripe avacado and added lime juice and salt. We also used some sour cream (plain yogurt would be good too).

-We used the small fajita sized flour tortillas. I just warmed them up for a few seconds, put the fish in and all the toppings and we had fish tacos. It's a pretty quick meal to make.

Neither Luke nor I are very big seafood eaters, so it's nice to find a fish dish that we can both enjoy (and something I actually crave from time to time:); it adds a bit of variety to our diet. I will readily admit that I used to think the idea of fish tacos sounded terrible until I gave them a fair shot; there was no turning back. Trust me.:)

here's what's been happening...

Today I went to my chirpractor for the 5th time in two weeks. I've been having some issues with my right shoulder, which had dramatically increased in the past couple of months. So a couple weeks ago I finally decided I'd better get it dealt with. After explaining the issues I was having, Dr. Fuller determined the problem. Some sort of miscommunication between my brain and the nerves in my shoulder... I don't fully understand it, but my right shoulder was incredibly weak and He said if I didn't get it dealt with, it could lead to rotator cuff issues. Anyway, long story short, 4 cold laser sessions and several adjustments later, my shoulder feels better than it has in many months. I still have some sore muscles, but the improvement is so drastic, and with a little massaging my muscles will feel better too. I stand squarely behind chiropractics!:)

Friday evening we had the first Friday open studio night at the Harrison Center. I always enjoy these evenings. It's a bit hectic (going straight after work and everything else) but it's worth the effort. I don't often sell much, but the opportunity to talk to the general public and get feedback on my art is something I've really come to appreciate. Ashley (my sister-in-law) also displayed some jewelry and book arts in my studio on Friday, which was fun. My new studio is working out pretty well, and I enjoy my new studio-mate Allison. I have several new painting ideas mulling around in my head (a few Edgar Allen Poe inspired ones) and I'm getting excited to get back in my studio and produce some new work. Time has been a bit scarce with our move and everything else that has been going on.

In other news, I finished listenting to "Rosemary's Baby" (Ira Levin). I was riveted. I thoroughly enjoyed it. The writing style was very effective for the kind of book it is. Levin builds suspense well. I knew aspects of the story, but not the whole thing. It was interesting the way he would give clues of what was to come and you just wanted Rosemary to know what you were slowly figuring out.:) I checked the movie out from work to watch (incidentally Mia Farrow read the book on cd and is also Rosemary in the movie); I'm pretty excited about watching it.:) Next up, I will be listening to "I, Robot" by Isaac Asimov. Luke recently read this book, and really enjoyed it. From what I hear, the movie took a great deal of liberties so I'm interested listen to it and see the differences.

Hope anyone reading this is doing well!:)