Weekend Mirths

When Monday comes I sometimes feel like the weekend was uneventful, but once I get to listing things out I realize it's probably because so much happened so fast. Take this weekend for example: Friday night Jefe and I volunteered for a program called Friday's Kids Respite. If you like Utah County, I highly recommend looking into helping out with this program. It's only every other Friday night, and you babysit special needs children so that for a short three and a half hours their parents can live a normal life, or even go out on a date. It's so rewarding and the kids are so great.

Saturday was all about rest and rejuvenation, with a bit of housework thrown in. Saturday night we walked around the mall and got ice cream, then watched "Sneakers". The last time I saw that movie I was probably 13 years old, and somehow, years later, I still don't understand it all the way.

Sunday we enjoyed blueberry almond pancakes and after church went out to enjoy the flash of spring weather.

{Sunday special breakfast, pancakes}

{our favorite park}

We finally finished things of with a batch of fresh, homemade doughnuts. Recipes on our Sunday delights to come.

{little holey circles of delight}

I came into work this morning and drooled all over my computer screen when I saw this gown from the SAG Awards red carpet. Goodness me. I want it. Isn't it gorgeous? It was definitely my favorite.

{January Jones, "Mad Men"}

The Sundance Film Festival wrapped up this weekend. All last week I thought about how fun it would be to go up to Park City, alas, I didn't feel like standing in an endless line waiting for tickets.

The movie I'd most like to see this year:
Buck by Cindy Meehl, Audience Award Documentary

So, next September 16th or so, I need to register for a purchase timeslot, which then I will use to purchase tickets sometime in early January. Hopefully there will be some good options next year, and hopefully there will be some left-over tickets for me to snatch up. Most of all, I hope I can remember to register!!

I hope you had a relaxing, or event-filled weekend, whatever your preference. Have a great week! Countdown to Friday: 4 more days to go.

Forrest through the Trees

I've not only been hinting at this project for a long time, I've also been working on it for a long time. Don't be fooled, however, this project is EASYYY. I just began with enthusiasm, got lazy in the middle of it, began again and stopped again, then finished with a bang. What really got me to finish it was all the people who kept coming into my house and asking why I had squares covered in newspaper hanging on the wall. Sheesh. People. ART.

For this project, you will need:
Newspaper
Scissors
Modge Podge (a craft glue)
4 8x8 canvases (or choose your own size)
3 in wide paint brush
an exacto knife
clear packing tape
sticky tack-that squishy, sticky stuff that makes pictures stick to the wall and come off easily
acrylic paint
foam roller or foam brush
water

{trimming the newspaper}

The hardest part of this project is finding some actual newsprint. Newspapers these days are apparently just printing pictures, so this part can involve lots of trips to the newsstand, artful maneuvering of scissors, and maybe some frustration. Don't let this deter you though! If newsprint isn't your thing, you could alternatively paint the canvases, texture them, or cover them with paper or tissue paper.

Just do your thing.


Once you've prepared your newspaper, adhere them to the canvases with Modge Podge mixed with a teesny teensy bit of water. Do not over apply! This will cause major wrinkling and bunching to occur. Use the Modge Podge very sparingly, brush it over the backside of the paper, and quickly smooth the paper onto the canvas.

{stencil pictures, printed and tape-covered}

Find some pictures of things you would like to stencil. I chose trees. To me, trees are symbols of life and love and beginnings, so I found a variety of pictures, fitted them to a page, and printed them off. Then (at the suggestion of my wonderful and artistically gifted sister) I covered each page, back and front, with clear packing tape. The tape will create an impermeable barrier so the paint doesn't leak through.

Using an exacto knife, cut out your stencil. Remember that you're dealing with negative space as you cut out the picture, so whatever you cut out will be the shape of the image. And it will be solid, unless you cut out inserts, like I did in this picture to show a break in the trunk of the tree.

Place sticky-tack on the back of the image, center it, and secure it down. Then, with a moist foam brush or foam roller, brush the paint in the stencil. Hold down more intricate cuts if you have to-this will help you get a cleaner edge.



After the paint has dried, remove the stencil

{completed stencil}

{artwork, finished and displayed}

And voila! There you have it! Beautiful artwork that means something to you, that you made yourself. Display it with pride, and you'll never have to cringe when people ask you what you have hanging on your walls. Instead, you can reply, "Oh that. Oh yes, I made it. Isn't it lovely?"

PS- Oh that. Oh yes, that large turquoise canvas, I painted that. During radiation therapy. This is it's debut to the world, my gallery showing if you will. With the addition of the tree stencils, my composition is complete.

Tuning Out the Tube

The Mister and I have recently started a new thing, partly in rebellion to the high cost of entertainment, partly so our brains don't turn to mush. We've traded watching TV for listening to music. So far it has been a pretty seamless switch.

Don't get us wrong here, we like TV almost as much as the next person, and we're not going hippy granola on everyone-trust me, you wont find me living in a 500 ft square box living out in the middle of nowhere, gathering berries and boiling nuts in a bark dish, no sir, not this chick-so we still watch a few shows.

{eco house...there is no place for my shoes in there}

As previously mentioned we both love love love BONES, and now we both love watching Biggest Loser while eating cake and doing crunches (simultaneously...try it...it's what I like to call "the ultimate indulgence"). We just find TV a bit annoying.

Hence, the decision to tune our ears to music and give our eyes a rest. There's a lot more dancing in the kitchen, humming along, belting out, and general goodwill in our household, despite the occasional banter about what song to listen to next.

Here's the trouble: we haven't bought any new music in like a year...or more! I feel so un-hip and out of the loop now. We both love our old favorites, so we're not desperate or anything, but maybe if you have a few suggestions you could help bring us into this musical decade. Leave me comment about what you're jammin' out to now (feel free to share multiples).

And anyone can comment-no need to have a blog or a google account.

Help a sista out :)

P.S.- speaking of old songs, all this chatter got me wondering about if CMS still plays the Vitamin C, "Graduation Song" at the end of every school year....

Good things die hard I hope.

Weekend Mirths

{german pancakes with peach sauce, a sleepy Sunday morning breakfast}

This weekend left me wishing that every weekend was a three day weekend. There was just not enough time to get things done, so the two days were a whirlwind and not exactly restful. Even Sunday, our usually very quiet, relaxing day got a bit of a pick-up.

{the Jefe, recovering and de-stressing aka playing solitaire while wrapped up like a baby}

We've recently been asked to teach Sunday School to the 8 year-olds in our church. I had no idea what 8 year-olds were like-toddlers, yes, teenie boppers, sure, but 8 year-olds? They're like the awkward in-betweens so we were more than a little nervous. I'm pretty sure I sweated through my sweater while we sat in class waiting for them to come.

Thank the heavens-it turned out great in the end. The kids are really sweet and talkative, which is always better than silent I suppose, and I'm excited to come up with fun lessons so church isn't, ehem, boring (I haven't been struck by lightning yet for saying that....).

Other highlights included running my first 5 miles since August. I'm still alive. So I guess there's more where that came from. We also scrubbed the house, did a few scattered art projects, and had a popcorn and movie night.

{art randomness-an oil pastel drawing for the kiddies}

In other news-this week marks the start of tests. From now on, I only have 3 measly weeks without a scheduled test until the end of the semester.

Now excuse me please, I must go back to the grind.

Thought of You

This viral video is an amazing collaboration between dance and animation. The dance was coreographed, performed by dancers, and then translated into 24-frames per second of the dancing.

The result is a beautiful composition overflowing with fluidity and, I must say, it's rather enchanting.



I've always loved art, and I love finding little treasures like this where expression is taken to a new level that is beautiful and inspiring. I hope it helps you get through the remainder of the work week....'cause the weekend is a' comin'!!

Thank heavens.

Have a glorious weekend!

A Year and a Lifetime

This topic yields what my creative writing professor used to term a high-level "threshold of difficulty". There is so much to be said, and so much to be done to give proper due to this topic that the task becomes a daunting one-I feel that I will never be able to communicate everything that I feel-and therefore it is easier to mull things around in my head than to actually share them.

However, this is a topic that I definitely need to share. So this is me telling you that one year ago today, I received the official diagnosis for Hodgkin's Lymphoma, a cancer of the lymph system, and the thought of it still makes me a bit weepy.

But it isn't so much the cancer part that gets the waterworks going, it's the amazing outreach that I felt from so many people who blessed my life in innumerable ways and helped me to where I am today. With so much help, cancer seemed more like a time for personal steeling and growth, rather than a time of tragedy and despair.

I now know that we never go through anything in life alone. And what we may think is "our" life is really a grand composite of the love, and relationships, and experiences that tie everyone together.

Thank you to so many of you who reached out to lift me up in time that, for many, spells the end of life or at least life as they know it. Today I am cancer-free, returning to my usually lively self, and above all, I'm a stronger, happier, Rachel.

Weekend Mirths

It started out as a simple country weekend. Friday night I cooked us up some country fried steak (if you're interested, I recommend this recipe for country fried chicken, substitute cube steaks at your leisure), we lazed around, and then Saturday we broke in Jeffrey's gun.

{a really, really excited Jeff Jeff}

{my carhart is pretty sexy, right?}

At least 200 bullets later, we felt sufficiently American, and had gotten Jeff's scope all dialed in but the crosshairs had split-so we had to return it and get a new one which means more of the same fun to come. Only with much less bullet waste this time.

Saturday night we finally decided to leave the country behind and take our chances on the big city. We got all cleaned up and headed into Salt Lake to see the comedy troupe, The Left Field.

{Rose Wagner Theatre, were the show was held}

We laughed so hard...I'm pretty sure I cried and I almost stopped breathing all together once. If you'd like to see such a spectacle, the DVD will be for sale sometime we were there for the recording night so you might even get lucky and see me gagging on my own air as I laugh most attractively......if I had known I'd be laughing so much I would have payed more attention to when it comes out. If I had cared more I might not have laughed so grossly for now it is recorded for eternity. Oh well. Good times.

Monday we had the family over for a game and movie night. I found out I am not nearly as good at Scattegories as I used to be-Jeff and I used to dominate. I'm blaming my lack of domination on the nuclear waste that got dumped in my body for 7 months. Oh well. Good times :)

Seriously though we had a great night with my brother and his wife and our cousins. We ate two whole batches of caramel corn and a whole lotta swedish fish.

I also finished a fabulous art project I've been wanting to do for some time. More to come on that, but here's a sneak peak:

I hope your weekend was lovely. Thankfully the next one is fast approaching....

Annie Get Your Gun

I may have failed to mention that Jeffrey finally got his Christmas present last weekend, one that he hoped and hoped for, and all he has talked about all week long is using it this weekend.

This is what all the excitement is about:

{this somehow looks wrong on my blog, right?}

Yep. I got him a gun. A Ruger 10/22 semi-automatic with a scope. A big thank you to my cousin Kaitlin, who happened to buy one of these for her husband, who then let my husband shoot it, which then made him obsess over getting one, which meant I heard about it for three long months, and now, it has a home in our home.

Cool fact: It's actually MY gun. It's registered in my name because that was the easy way to do it, but I'm nice enough to let Jeffrey use it every now and then :) So really, this post could be titled, "Rachie Get Your Gun," cuz I love me some target practice.

We're pretty excited about it.....I hope you all ("y'all" might work better here, substitute it if you like) can share in our down-home, back-woods happiness. God Bless America.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Daily Tidbits

I love tidbits. Tidbits are akin to nibbles, so naturally I love to nibble on things-especially really tasty things, such as the lovely ideas available courtesy of our friend, Martha Stewart.


Dabbling in Martha's recipes and taking peeks at the various crafts her magazines showcase is a guilty pleasure of mine. I'd rather read Martha Stewart's Living than Us Magazine anyday. Sadly, I've never bothered to actually subscribe to the magazine, because frankly, as much as I love Living, I love shoes and such much more. However, just the other day I discovered that you, and I, and everyone can get friendly emails of recipes or craft ideas from our dear friend Martha. This link will take you right to the page where you can select what emails you'd like to receive as daily (or weekly) tidbits.

Then get busy enjoying!

{craft: tie-dyed leggins (!!!!)}

{recipe: lemon meringue cupcakes}

{organization: double-duty closet}

Make a Wish!

This a great year for wish making, and I especially can't wait for 11-11-11...I've got to think of a big one for that!

However today is a good warm up exercise, so at 1:11 today, 1-11-11, please excuse me. I'll be busy making a wish.

Hope you have a great day!

Winter Semester has begun!

Along with Winter Semester, winter weather has finally descended in Utah Valley. Due to the inclement weather, and since it's hard for me to sit through a single class period without some kind of online browsing, I've recently turned my attention to lovely winter coats. Because, let's be honest, when all you wear for five months straight is a coat, (a). who cares what you wear underneath it, and (b). you can never have too many.

Varying Degrees Coat, ModCloth

Rolvenden Coat, ModCloth

Let's Go Upstate Coat, Ruche

Collar Me Impressed Coat, ModCloth

Exception to the Rule Coat, ModCloth

Toast of the Town Coat, ModCloth

Black and White City Paper Tweed, Ruche

Cute as a Button Coat, Ruche

European Studies Coat, ModCloth

Cottage in the Woods Coat, ModCloth

Tipped Faux Fur, Juicy Couture

Once Upon a December

So prior to finals week I basically had a month of exams, then finals week came and Jeffrey and I had three days to take 5 finals each. Then we needed to pack up for a much, much needed Christmas break vacation. Oh glory. It was fabulous. Everyone kept exclaiming, "This is soooo great!". And it was. It might have been the best vacation ever.

We started out at my parents' house, where nostalgia overwhelmed me as soon as I stepped off the plane in Cleveland. I hadn't been home in a year and a half, and so home had never felt more like home. I love my parents' house. I love my old room. I love how my mom has the whole house decorated for Christmas, and how she never forgets to put flowers in my wall vases to welcome me home. Everything about going home felt so special, peaceful, and rejuvenating.

After a week at home, the family all went down to the Outer Banks and due to some unexpected weather, we had a lot of time to do the things we never get around to doing in the summer because we're too busy frolicking on the beach. So we visited 4 lighthouses, took a ferry to Ockracoke Island, the last stand for the pirate Blackbeard, watched movies in the theater room without feeling one bit guilty about missing sunshine, flew kites, jumped from the hot tub to the icy pool and back to the hot tub again, searched for shells at all hours of the day and night, and drank many, many mochafauxpucino's in the ship watch.

Since when I look at blogs I'm always looking for the pictures, I've decided to provide you with a photo essay from the greatest vacation yet.

bon apetit!

Cutting down the Christmas Tree!

{this was a first for Jeffrey and Robyn}

Black and White

{ the girls}

Christmas Eve

{we saw thousands of Nativities, this one is made of newspaper[!]; traditional chimes playing}

Christmas Day

{big presents this year: a semi-automatic .22 for Jefe, a big shiny nice camera for me}

The Outer Banks!

{the night of our arrival; usually the trip takes us 10 hours, with the wild weather it took 14!}

First day at the Beach

Family Pictures at the Currituck Light house

Ice Breakers-as the days got warmer the ice on the bay melted back farther and farther, and so one day we decided to take the paddle boat out and see how far into the ice we could paddle. Let's talk about how that turned out to be a major workout...my buns and thighs are still feeling the gratitude.

The Most Glorious Sunsets

As another brief overview of a 2-week vacation where we did more things than I could possible list, let alone be expected to remember with the sort of memory I'm dealing with these days here are some other great highlights:

• Met my best girls at Beans Cafe for breakfast. Two hours later we all realized we were still sitting around chatting.
• "The game of....Things"-it's so fun! you have to try it out; it's a new family favorite
• Ocracoke Island-the cutest, sleepest little southern island. We found an adorable art gallery, drank orange cream sodas, visited the lighthouse and milled around almost the enitre island.
• Climbed to the top of the Currituck Lighthouse-over 200 stairs!-and looked out on the wild blue yonder
• Rode bikes to the beach
• Went shell collecting at night. The tide was so low there were sandbars exposed and we found tons of "rare" shells like angel's wings, baby's ears, conchs, huge clam shells, and bunches of mini shells

(and yes, in case you're wondering, we all wore the same Outer Banks sweatshirts ALL week long-with pride)