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!:)

the commute...

Now that we're living on the southside, I'm spending alot more time in the car driving to and from work. This is probably the primary downside of our move, but it's a small price to pay to be able to use this house for the time being. In order to make the drive more bearable, I've been listening to books on cd. I've always enjoyed passing time in the car this way and Luke and I often listen to books on cd whenever we are driving any sort of distance.

A couple weeks ago I listened to, "I like you: Hospitality under the Infuence" by Amy Sedaris. It was very humorous and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Amy Sedaris is extremely witty (although somewhat crass at times) and while the book is hilarious, it also offers some helpful tips and interesting party ideas.:) Last week I listened to, "2001: A Space Odyssey" by Arthur C. Clark. It was a great listen. I really like the movie and was interested to to hear the book that it was based off of. The forward offered an interesting aspect to the book and movie combo; apparently Stanley Kubrick (who directed the movie) decided that he wanted to make a sci-fi movie about man's place in the universe and so he came to Clark and requested that he write a book for him to make movie out of. Kubrick was pretty involved in the writing of the book. From what I understand they were writing the screenplay at the same time as the book. I just found it interesting that the book was written in order to make a movie. Anyway, the book is great and it makes a great companion to the movie. Where the movie is somewhat vague and mysterious, the book goes into detail about the thought processes of David Bowman & Hal etc. Both are excellent by themselves, but together they make a great pair.:)

This week I'm listening to "Rosemary's Baby" by Ira Levin. I'll let you kow how it is.:) I love that my work let's us check things; we usually have a decent selection of books on cd, so I should have plenty to report on in the coming months.:)

thoughtful communication

I recently read an article in a Yoga Journal magazine concerning a topic I have devoted some thought to in my life: the words we speak, how they affect others and the value of silence. To quote the article: “Our bodies and subconscious minds hold the residue of every kind or cruel word we’ve ever taken in.” The article takes a more metaphysical approach than I want to get into, but the crux of what they are saying is important to understand as we live our lives. The words we say have the ability to build up or damage those within hearing distance. Words have a power that should not be taken lightly.


I have often been hassled about my tendency towards quietness and the fact that I don’t necessarily like to talk a lot. I won’t pretend that this is a conscious decision on my part, it’s really just my nature/personality, but I will say that if I don’t have something to say, you probably won’t find me running my mouth. It took me years to become even remotely adept at small talk (something I still struggle with) and it wasn’t until my college years that I really felt comfortable talking to a stranger. I don’t see much point in talking just for the sake of talking. That being said, I don’t judge people who are naturally more outgoing than me (shyness can be a bit of a curse in our society), however I don’t have much patience for those who feel the need to constantly fill silence. I happen to enjoy a bit of quiet once in awhile. I value it. And I will admit that it is one of the reasons I was attracted to Luke; he didn’t feel the need to talk all the time or to impress me; we both understand the meaning of companionable silence. There have been times in my life where I wished to be a better conversationalist, but overall I have learned to accept my own communication style.:)

Whether you are a quiet person or a talkative outgoing person, the article offered some good, practical advice to consider and to help a person think before speaking. Consider these three questions: Is it true? Is it kind? Is it necessary? These questions are of course somewhat open to personal discretion (depending on your definition of these things), but they do provide an excellent guideline for us as we consider our words. Imagine if we took the time to answer these questions before speaking? How many remarks would we keep to ourselves? The flip side of this is that there are times when we should speak because it is necessary, but where we might try to convince ourselves otherwise (a particular dilemma for Christians). Asking ourselves these questions should help us evaluate when to speak and when not to speak.

Several years ago I made a conscious decision to try to say something positive when a person I knew came up in conversation (particularly when this had a negative tone). I know I haven’t stuck to this 100%, but after awhile it became somewhat second nature and something I still attempt to abide by. I have much to learn and progress to make with my words, but thinking about it is at least a start. I need to challenge myself more about this and strive towards wisdom and discretion in my conversation habits. Let’s start changing our thought patterns in an attempt to be more thoughtful speakers.

ode to an iron skillet

I love my iron skillet- If I could choose only one pot/pan in my kitchen, it would be my iron skillet. This may be due, in part, to the fact that Luke and I love breakfast food for any meal of the day and that the iron skillet is perfect for eggs, sausage, bacon, even french toast or pancakes. Early in our marriage, I introduced Luke to my version of the egg sandwich and the rest is history (they are pretty much a staple for us:). My iron skillet is the most used pan in my kitchen and I've found it to be extremely versatile. The iron skillet is the perfect tool for browning meat, sauteing vegetables, grilling chicken or fish, frying rice... you name it. It is easy to use and easy to clean, which is a winning combination.:) I use my iron skillet so often that I don't even have a place for it in a cabinet, it just sits atop the stove waiting to be put into service.
So here's to you iron skillet! You make my kitchen happier, my breakfast tastier and my life easier.:)