A Fresh Start

Yesterday was Spencer's LAST DAY at Halliburton!!This, ladies and gentlemen.. was a happy day.

It's been a rough routine with a 2:1 work schedule.
My husband being gone for two weeks at a time, home for a week.. SUCKED.
With his decision over a year ago to start working for Halliburton, we both decided it would be so good for us. Give us some space, and let us figure things out through a challenge.
We def know how to handle a challenge together.

As newleyweds though, this work arragement was less than appealing.
Being at home by myself has had it's pros and cons, but nothing is better than being home together.

I feel like we have a Fresh Start!
A new life together, new jobs, a new ward.. (which I totally have mixed feelings on..)

To say the least,
I'm excited for a new adventure.

Spencer I'm so proud of you.
I love you more than anyone!


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BEST. purchase. EVER.

Those of you who know me, know that I'm a total sucker for infomercials. I love them. Within the last few weeks as I was doing a set of lashes on Fatalie, we had infomercials on the TV for some back noise. [She might love them even more than I do.]
The infomercial was for Jack Lalanne's Juicer.
I was sucked in after watching an orange turn to pure frothy juice.
An apple carrot peach mixture into something amazing. I imagine it tasted so wonderful.
I had to have it.
I told family if anyone was wondering what to buy me for being so awesome, the juicer was the way to go. Not kidding, I thought about this juicer for 2 weeks straight. I remembered I had some old bed, bath and beyond gift cards I never used, and like a heaven sent message I found a 20% off coupon for BBB in my Country Living magazine. Yup, the juicer that is sold at BBB in the "as seen on TV" section IS MINE.
Seriously folks, this was the best purchase I have made in quite some time. If not ever.


This is PURE fresh juice from one green apple.
These are the remains of the apple that couldn't be used. Just shot right into a back compartment convenient to throw away.
I will have a hard time drinking bottled apple juice after tasting how good this was. So much different, and soo good.

The Jack Lalanne Juicer was the WAY TO GO!
Even Spencer thinks it's GREAT!
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Little Prayers

In Primary last week my lesson was on Prayer and how we can pray for anything. For part of my lesson I planned to ask the 6 kids in my class what are some of the things we pray for?
Keep in mind I teach the 4 year olds. So I was expecting answers like "when we are scared" "to bless the food" "to say thank you"
... you get the point...

I asked, "What are some of the things we pray for..?"
the SWEETEST little girl jumped up and shouted "FOR YOU TO HAVE A BABY!!!!"
Heaven help me. The other teachers in my class and I about DIED.
 she continued to say, "you play and play and play then get a baby in your tummy!"

The conversation stopped there as I seriously could hardly go on teaching the rest of the lesson..

For everyone's info, we are NOT praying for a baby right now haha but I appreciate the little prayers from my 4 year old Primary Class. I have the best calling in the world. 
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A Delicious Dinner!

When Spencer is home it's a rare occasion that we actually cook at our place.
Our schedules are usually so jam-packed with plans that are centered around eating out or eating somewhere else. Family dinners, date nights etc..
Last night was one of the few times we've been able to make dinner together and
 it. was. delicious.



Spencer made some AWESOME BBQ Chicken on the grill! I threw together a salad and marinated some fresh asparagus. Our salad had avocado, strawberries, bleu cheese, homemade candied pecans and my homemade red wine vinaigrette dressing. The asparagus was marinated in olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper and garlic.

We LOVED dinner last night.
Enough for me to blog about it.

XOXO
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Summer

WELCOME SUMMER!
Yesterday was OFFICIALLY the first day of Summer, which means the kick off to boating, pool time, BBQ's, fireworks, parades, snow cones and all around nice warm weather. Last Saturday I went boating with JnK up in Heber-
The first boating day of the year!
If this is what Summer has in store for me, I'm SO excited..
On the other hand..
YES, I wore sunscreen. 30 SPF. This was the result of 5 1/2 Hours of being on a boat.
5 days later, my sunburned forehead feels like snake skin.
Let the peeling begin!
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Process

Art as a physical process is something that I've made time to start exploring. I say 'physical' because it's painting, and gluing and spraying--it's tactile and hand held. I use the word 'process' because images take shape, are destroyed, recreated or reconceived and are manipulated yet again.
So as you might be able to tell, we found a TV on the street one night, and our friend carried up to the flat on a dare. I just rewatched the shaky video of the 5 floor climb. When we were all almost at the top, I asked him what his motivation was. "Love," he responded. I want to think on that as I explain the rest of this story.

I live in a large apartment with 9 other people. There are seven bedrooms, two couples and three sets of roommates. Some of us work in IT, finance or marketing. A couple  of us are teachers and one or two of us are fully funemployed.  We don't have a social space other than the kitchen, nor do we keep the same schedules. We have pretty unreasonable neighbors who live above said kitchen, and our landlords have been a little less than polite with how interested they are in most of us moving out. This has put a lot of strain on how often we want to congregate or how comfortable we all are with others hosting friends and guests, (which has been kind of a bummer now and then.)
One of my colocators is this American girl who I was really excited to have move in. She likes biking and music and sharing food so there hasn't been any drama.

Neither of us are really artists with a capital A, but, between the supplies we both had, we decided it would be fun to get together and paint on canvases, cut stensils and make collages. And there sat the TV on the piteous little couch someone is usually sleeping on, come the weekend.

We talked a lot about what we should do with it.  Everybody wants a TV fish tank now and then but in the end we decided to turn it into a planter for the english ivy we've got going on the balcony. Maybe I should have waited to write until the plant was ready to move in but this is post is at it's root about process.
Here is the plant hanging out in the hole we cut, before most of the painting happened
And here's where the process gets...involved.
We asked that everyone give something compostable over to the plant in its new home, you see we want to feed the plant with a little bit of everyone. Something given, not taken. Intentional, not happenstance-ical. It almost feels like a spell--like a prayer for our house to flourish and prosper. Plus everyone has been invited to paint something on.  In this way the TV has been a way for us to mend some of our fences, get to know each other better, and most importantly, remember why we like living together and spending time around our house. It's also kind of cool that we could take a device that pretends to be social, but can be just as alienating, and force it fully into the realm of community. Even with it's cord ripped off, this TV will be viewed. Plus it's art and it's functional. So in the end, what's my motivation? LOVE. 
And what an arduous climb that can sometimes be. 

What I'm learning from this project is not to be afraid of errors. If I do something I don't like, instead of giving up and and saying I've ruined it, I try to look at my gaffe as an opportunity to take the lines or colors in another direction. Once you relax and trust this, you realize there are no mistakes in art, but there is space for ingenuity.
At one point when I was feeling quite sure of myself I decided:
Art is destruction
and birth
and destruction

           and the viewer
and birth again

If you can strip away some of the pretention from that stanza, what you're left with is all that I have said above plus what the viewer brings to the piece and what it will mean to them. Art may not be eternal, but that's still not a very good argument against making it. I for one am not dissuaded--lacking in talent though I may be.

Well it's time for me to lay in the park for awhile.
Oh, and if you like the way I laid out the photos, I downloaded this free application. It's the best photo collager I've found. Happy Wednesday, may you make everything of this week that it deserves to be.

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Fatalie's Graduation

I cannot believe that Fatalie is a High School GRADUATE!
I know I'm a little behind on all of this but I guess better late than never!

It seems like just yesterday we were outside playing together when we took this awesome gem of a picture..

Now this little Ginger is all grown up!


Mom with her younger twin, Natalie with the awesome bouquet I made her!

Nat with her boyfriend Cole.
These two are freaking weird. But I sure do love them.

Natty sitting on stage. She was chosen to speak and did a KILLER JOB!
Natty had so many treats! Dinner, flowers, a lei-
I didn't get any of that.
Probably because my parents knew I barely graduated. Apparently attendance has a part in grades. haha who knew..
Nat and Jeff are by FAR the smarty pants in the family.
Nat you may be all grown up, but we'll ALWAYS know how to have fun together.

We are all so proud of you and can't wait to hear about your adventures in HAWAII.
LOVE YOU SISSY!
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CRAZY!

Well the last few weeks have been CRAZY! It's been a while since I've been keeping up with the blogging world and a lot has happened! Here's a quick update..
 I cut my bangs..
I did some more lashes..
 I watched these little family of birds grow up..
 Had my first pool day of the Summer!
Looking forward to lots more of these
Forgive the iphone picture..
My parents basement flooded which has been a total NIGHTMARE. Still helping out with this mess..

Went to Fatalie's High School Graduation, went to my first Farmer's Market, Applied for an additional job, went to a viewing, pulled double duty at work, offered to babysit, learned a song on the Ukulele, had my first Etsy sale, had girls night, bought something awesome and had a date night. Needless to say it has been a full-packed couple of weeks.

I am a very happy lucky girl.
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Choose my own adventure!

You wake up in a cave to the sound of a loud beeping and no coffee being made.
What do you?

It's time you knew something important about me. I'm lazy. But not the kind of lazy that if you give me a hard problem I'll find a simple way to fix it lazy, more like the kind of lazy that makes one miss out on important opportunities, such as breakfast or class.
I told you a little bit about how my first french course was megaly amazing, right? Well, it was all because the professor was a  hilarious seven-year-old walking around in a my-sized body. One of her assignments was to describe a robbery to the police.
We first listened to staged accounts of robberies and she asked us pointed questions about how they went down. She then corrected for grammatical errors and wrote a relevant phrase or two on the board. We then broke into pairs and came up with a robbery scenario to present to the class. While we did so she walked among us and answered questions or made corrections to pronunciation or syntax.  We then presented to the class, who would in turn answer specific questions about each skit. After each, she would then give notes on common errors or other things we should pay attention to.
This, without even the added flair of how fun she made it, is how a verbal language lesson should go. Plenty of practice, listening and speaking. She gave us a chance to be creative and critical, but she also knew how to have a good time.
For instance: One of the students said the robber had big feet and our professor insinuated that one might only notice a gentleman's feet if...
For more innuendos please turn to page 69
This has all been my way of saying, I walked out of my French class today.
The "new" now-old professors is one of those teachers who relies on one student to keep the class moving. The stupidest part about this method is there may be other capable students in the class who just don't process as quickly, find it rude to shout out answers or prefer to be invited to speak. As for me, I fall into none of those categories. I can always practice at home, so I don't feel the need to fill the air with how fast I can respond. Many bright students are unaware that they are doing anything wrong. They think that if other people knew the answer, they would just speak  up. They don't consider their own sense of privilege or their obligation to be a participate, not a leader. It's up to the teacher to call on other students or have a private word with the Bogart in question so that everyone feels like they're contributing. If you agree, skip to the next paragraph.

Another large problem I had with her was the way she played this game that all new teachers are warned against, it's called, "Can you guess the word I'm thinking of." She would propose an adjective and then ask for the opposite. If one woman's smile is faux (false) the other woman's smile is......real, kind, sympathetic? Non, non, non, the only correct answer was sincere. And while I can say this is possibly the best answer for the direct opposite, it is clearly not the only answer. In rational real numbers mathematics there are discreet answers, and surely when it is a matter of grammatical rules there are right and wrong responses, but shades of meaning are hardly a science. And then of course I was obliged to discuss the royal wedding for the first three meetings which was clearly the highlight of my week.
So I walked out, and as I do, she finally-- after three weeks, finally-- refers to me as vous (cuz she doesn't even know my name) and she asks me,
"Will you be returning or not?"
Not. I said, over my shoulder.
And down to the office I strolled.
Granted, it's not as cool as it once may have been to walk out of class flipping the verbal bird at a teacher but I still felt sufficiently smug.
I'm getting pretty bored with complaining so let me just say that I enrolled in a longer, more intensive class that begins next month. I don't expect to like it more but instead of three free months of French class, I'm getting 6 and a half free months of class. Now with more hours and more days per week!

I guess I'm kinda sucking on the lemon of life right now because we had our Peace Corps interview yesterday. It went well enough. She told us that couples who can both speak French are in pretty high demand and she thinks she should be able to place us by next summer. Sebastien was disappointed by this last notion because he was apparently hoping to leave sooner.
Right around dinner time, We got an email saying she could get us into Morocco by the first of January if we wrote to her soon. After my initial pleasure with the quick turn around, I found I was a little disappointed because I was hoping for a country I knew less about. Like Tunisia, Morocco has had so much contact with other countries on the Mediterranean that it feels almost European. Also like Tunisia, they think they're better than everyone else on the continent and have no trouble saying as much, either.

But aside from sharpening my French skills I would also learn Moroccan Arabic, who's limits knows no bounds!

JK, it isn't a standard dialect and isn't spoken outside of Morocco. The only good it could ever be for me besides my cranium getting crammed full of newness is if I wanted to communicate with  Parisians or Moroccans.  On the other hand, Sebastien's parents would likely come visit us if we excepted the mission because they basically love Moroccan cuisine as much as French. Howevski, if we're off in some remote corner of it all, I can't see how we could really make them comfortable. Bref, these are uncertain times.

Veuillez installer Flash Player pour lire la vidéo


If you except the mission turn to page 2013
If you write an email asking for another placement, please stand by.
You have read this article Big Feet / BREF / choose your own adventure / French / Language acquisition / Morocco / Peace Corps / The Fresh Prince of Bel Air with the title June 2012. You can bookmark this page URL https://trendcelebrity2014.blogspot.com/2012/06/choose-my-own-adventure.html?m=0. Thanks!

Rain Can't Keep Celebrities Away

Despite the rainy forecast, celebrities like former NFL LB Hugh Green, ESPN Reporter Ed Werder, and former NFL QB Joe Pisarcik turned out for the morning shotgun start.

Everyone at the Atlantic City Country Club were optimistic that the players would avoid the rain drops, but as you can see in this video that wasn't the case.

In addition to the aforementioned celebrities, others featured in the highlights include Eagles broadcaster Mike Quick and former NBA All-Star John Starks.

2012 Rainy Highlights 
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It's Aways Sunny in Atlantic City

Despite the rain throughout the day, here's a look at some of the highlights of the 2012 Ron Jaworski Celebrity Golf Challenge. 

The tournament was highlighted by the appearances of Eagles Quarterback Michael Vick and LPGA tour member Amanda Blumenherst.

2012 Tournament Highlights
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5 writers who would make terrible flatmates

We've all had them--that roommate from hell. Cloaked in little more than ill-smelling underwear,  cloistered in holdfasts of dirty cups and cutlery, listening to songs you're embarrassed recognize through the walls and you'd just about die if you heard them having sex. 
Whether it's their condescending notes, mid-week bender or the fact they're simply too chatty in the morning, a good coloc can be hard to find. 
Now I know you think you've had it bad, but here are a few American writers who would make any asshat you've ever had to share a bathroom with come away with the Handsome Boy Modeling School seal of approval. 
Oh my god, they're gorgeous!


Gertrude Stein
At first Stine would seem like an awesome roommate, she's this free-thinking lesbian type who can totally get you into all the right parties. You'll meet interesting people, eat well and maybe even pose for a painting or two. But eventually she's going to want to talk at you. You doubtlessly have not bothered reading her best known work, The Making of Americans and not just because she's a woman author. Let's let Amazon open up to a random page for us, the top of 765 should do the trick.

Yeah, now imagine her trying to explain why she's late on the water bill this month. 
A BILL IS A BILL IS A BILL, STINE!


William Carlos Williams
I know what you're thinking--he's a doctor, that'd be cool. Instant med-kit, you just saved money on insurance and might even be able to get your hands on his script pad from time to time. All of that sounds great until you consider he's going to leave you notes from said pad about how awesome the lasagna you brought back from the Olive garden was. 
He knew you were saving that for lunch, that bastard!
William S. Burroughs
Anybody might feel bad for a guy who was trying to buy his way out of a Mexican prison sentence. But do consider that he was on his way there for accidentally missing the glass of gin he planned to shoot off the head of his wife for the umpteenth time ...in front of his son...who would go on to drink himself dead.  Basically, inviting a junky with a penchant for excessively young male prostitutes to share a toaster with you says less about his sense of judgement than it does about yours.


Hemingway
The very definition of an American. Full breasted, (especially in his later years), came of age with the Indians and grew old running rum from Cuba. His major appeal as a flatmate would be how the ladies come flocking like the salmon of Capistrano.  He wouldn't be the best wingman, but he's totally up for taking a hike with you, trekking across some endless vale, spearing a basking shark for your supper and getting you Moldova-level hammered around the campfire that night. Plus, he's got a cat. But when it's all said and done he's the kind of guy who talks women into abortions while they're out on safari and you can be pretty damn sure he'll never think it's his turn to bring down the empties.


Ayn Rand
Let's pretend that she doesn't follow up an introduction as to where she can keep her shampoo bottles by demanding your premises and axioms, just this once. She's still the kind of coloc that will take your clothes out of the washing machine as soon as it's filled up with water and throw them behind the dryer to rot. When confronted, she will spin the sort of rhetoric that will not only give you the distinct impression that she hates women, but also that she finds your lack of faith in the free market system disturbing.  
Plus the shitty waiter from Dirty Dancing read her book. (Yes, the one who put Baby in the corner!!) Do you really want to take to table with that sort of company? 
Great "E" there at the end.
The whole thing is going to look especially cute if she ever gets pregnant.
Not to mention suddenly be twice as ironic.
But take heart, not all American writers would be terrible housemates, 
Robert Frost, for example, knows that fences make good neighbors and when he's not busy appreciating how great it would be to be able to walk down both trails at the fork, he's concerns himself with staying awake and keeping promises. Like a sir. 


You: Hey, Rob--did you get to the d--
R.F: The Dishes are done, man.






And that's about all we have time for. Thanks for stopping by the Post Modern Talko. 
It's so postmodern it doesn't even know it's a taco.



You have read this article Ayn Rand / Dumb and Dumber / Gertrude Stein / Handsome Boy Modeling School / Hemingway / The dishes are done man / The Making of Americans / William Carlos Williams / William S. Burroughs with the title June 2012. You can bookmark this page URL https://trendcelebrity2014.blogspot.com/2012/06/5-writers-who-would-make-terrible.html?m=0. Thanks!