c'est la vie!

i'm entering... you should too!

2010-11-16T12:29:00.004-07:00

There's too many cute things to choose from - and by checking out each of the shops you'll find even more!!

giveaway

2010-03-24T10:01:00.003-06:00

Hi - I've teamed up with another artist to do a 2 in 1 giveaway - Check it out here!

(image courtesy of papersquid)

doggie duvets

2010-02-10T11:29:00.004-07:00

Reduce, reuse and recycle for your pet too!

Just fill this optional 'Stuff Sack' full of old blankets, pillows, clothes, rags, etc. and cover it with one of the stylishly designed duvets and you have an eco bed for your pet filled with smells from home. :) Found here Molly Mutt the Dog Duvets from Molly Mutt: $20 – $45 / Optional Stuff Sacks: $10 – $15.

simple vie update

2010-02-05T12:04:00.005-07:00

I've added some new stuff this week - check it out! They make great affordable gifts for friends and family! If you like what you see please pass the link around, I appreciate all of you help!

simple vie!

introducing... simple vie!

2010-02-02T09:13:00.003-07:00

In an effort to kick this economy in the backside, I've started doing some work on the side to earn some extra money. SO I started my own shop on Etsy.com to list some items to sell, this is a start there's more to come this week - pass this info along to your friends & family please and check it out! www.simplevie.etsy.com

january fun

2010-01-29T09:46:00.002-07:00

So the second week in January we had some Idaho Fun - some of you may not have heard of such a thing, but we went to visit our Fam in Idaho and had a blast! We joked, played, ate yummy food, went bowling, and talked and laughed late into the night! Thanks for being great hosts, we look forward to our next visit!

We also had some fun babysitting our other nephew - he played wii for hours, that's right he has skills! He's growing up so fast - I can't believe he'll be two this year!

vegas! vegas! vegas!

2010-01-29T09:46:00.001-07:00

I'm back from my birthday celebration!!! We had a great time - thanks to my awesome friends and sis for helping me ccelebrate my 26th! You're the best!!! Muah!

and so it begins

2010-01-26T12:10:00.023-07:00

So this weekend was quite productive as far my list goes, I've crossed one item off and also added a few. We visited Las Vegas with a few friends and my sis, and had a great time. I've also received a few suggestions as far as some of the other items goes, as well. I'm meeting with a new group to begin design competition for a Holocaust Memorial tonight, see details here and look forward to what that has to offer.

LIST:
~~To read a book in its entirety.~~ I finished it! Now on to the next book... any suggestions?
To participate in more design competitions - two down 1 to start
To start taking the ARE - harumph.
To become LEED GA and eventually AP - more studying :/
To see at least one of the EAE buildings on my list, see this post
To start practicing French, even if it's only with my dogs at first.
To get fit - I'm loving YOGA right now!
To learn Euskara - that's going to be a tough one seeing as I can barely pronounce my family name.
To design some type of art for my house - painting, building, or something cool.
To pay off my last credit card!
To blog - just for me not anyone else, and when I get behind it's cool - because who cares?
To start planning out my own organice garden, avec permaculture and complete with compost pile.
To raise chickens and possibly bees....um... yeah... strange I know
To stop crossing my legs when I sit - it's bad for your posture you know?
To volunteer at an animal rescue.
To buy supplies to set up a photography studio in the basement.
To enjoy.
To make my first bottle of wine - egunsenti vintners
To start learning to play the bass.
To travel anywhere and everywhere I have the opportunity.

intentions

2010-01-22T11:36:00.010-07:00

Main Entry:	intention
Part of Speech:	noun
Synonyms:	aim, animus, design, designation, drift, end, hope, impulsion, motive, object, objective, plan, point, purpose, struggle
Notes:	intent implies a sustained unbroken commitment or purpose, while intention would imply an intermittent resolution or an initial aim or plan

Okay so I'm not into New Year's resolutions, but I do have a list of things going in my head all the time, along with all my future travel plans of course, so I decided to jot a few things down with the intent that when I read it, it will remind me that it's one of the many things I want to work on. Then I can add or subtract as I go, because they are just an casual list of things I've been thinking about lately. I'm hopelessly behind on blogging, and then I decided what the hell? I'm stressing myself out over something that doesn't matter it's just for me anyway, so why stress about how to upload 400 pictures from the last 6 months? But for the record Blogger's uploader is ridiculous. So here's to my 26th year, may it be filled with life.

"And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years." - Abraham Lincoln

Anyway, this is just to start:

To read a book, in it's entirety - I have a half finished one waiting
To participate in more design competitions - two down 1 to start
To start taking the ARE - harumph.
To become LEED GA and eventually AP - more studying :/
To see at least one of the EAE buildings on my list, see this post
To start practicing French, even if it's only with my dogs at first.
To get fit - I'm loving YOGA right now!
To learn Euskara - that's going to be a tough one seeing as I can barely pronounce my family name.
To design some type of art for my house - painting, building, or something cool.
To pay off my last credit card!
To blog - just for me not anyone else, and when I get behind it's cool - because who cares?
To start planning out my own organice garden, avec permaculture and complete with compost pile.
To raise chickens and possibly bees....um... yeah... strange I know
To stop crossing my legs when I sit - it's bad for your posture you know?
To volunteer at an animal rescue.
To buy supplies to set up a photography set in the basement.
To enjoy.

oh...

2009-08-27T14:11:00.003-06:00

As I sit here... waiting... hoping... wishing (whatever good that will do) that our house may finally sell.... I go over the 75+ homes that we've seen in the last 3 months, trying to imagine living in them in my mind, what great design ideas I could explore in our new house. I stumbled across this neato lamp today.
Then I imagined this over the bar in the kitchen.... I could go on and on...

I have a fantastic idea for a headboard too... but that will wait... with me.. as I wonder.. and continue to wait... to find out... if our house will finally sell. the end. ho.. hum.. de dum..

4 years

2009-07-16T16:45:00.004-06:00

For our 4th anniversary we decided to do something other than the usual dinner night, so we picked up a BBQ picnic and a bottle of wine, and drove up Big Cottonwood Canyon to Donut Falls. The weather and the drive were beautiful, and we had a romantic dinner near a stream. Then we hiked up to the falls which were not quite as beautiful as they used to be since the filled it in. some... I think. Regardless the night was perfect and romantic. I look forward to spending many more nights like that together.

take a look

2009-07-15T13:19:00.001-06:00

julio

2009-07-15T09:38:00.003-06:00

One of my most inspirational professors from college Julio Bermudez, recently published an article in 'Faith & Form' magazine, after years of research. He posted a list of buildings, that in his research are ranked highest for eliciting EAEs, Extraordinary Architectural Experiences. I have been to a few of the places already, but most of the others are already on my list of what I will see, with a few additional others, such as the pyramids in Egypt and Santorini. I love dreaming of the places I will visit in the future....

...and meag's

2009-07-08T17:55:00.002-06:00

nic nic b-day.

2009-07-08T17:52:00.001-06:00

I forgot to post pics from Nic's belated birthday dinner, so here they are, taken at one of our fav restaurants Cinegrill.

st. kitts

2009-07-08T17:47:00.002-06:00

Beach day!

Antigua

2009-07-08T17:26:00.006-06:00

st. lucia

2009-06-30T19:12:00.011-06:00

Okay so I know I've called the past four islands all beautiful, but they are and this one almost tops the list, hell even Oprah vacations here, it's so pretty. Okay so I was a little naive when I booked the shore excursion here, but when it said "The world's only drive-in volcano," I imagined driving in this mysterious vehicle through the jungle to tippy top of the mouth of volcano where magma and lava ooze and boil. It wasn't. don't get me wrong it was cool, but if you've been to Yellostone, which I have, it's doesn't seem quite so impressive. Maybe it was the gusts of rotten egg swallows your breath, so disgusting that you can taste it through your nose AND your mouth. Yes it really was that bad, but beautiful!

We stopped for a photo op at a look out point and this amazing basket weaver was there selling baskets, he sold all of them and in my traditional form of waiting until the last minute, as the van was leaving I asked him how long it would take to make another basket. Before the words had come out of my mouth, he was already weaving, and I'm not kidding, he answered with, "Don't you worry baby, this basket will be finished before your tour leaves, and if they try I will hop on and walk back after I finish." Within minutes my basket was finished! It was truly amazing, and an awesome souvenir, which by the way I had to sneak through security... oops.

Sulphur Springs, the water was not nearly as stinky as the collapse volcano with oozing nauseous gases and it's supposed to be really great for your skin, the problem was it was about 100 degrees and too hot for me. This guy was one of 3 to get all the way in from our group.

This was the last stop on the tour, and for $5 who could resist this?! Fresh off the grill chicken, seasoned crab cakes, and fried sweet bread... mmmm... my mouth is watering...

barbados

2009-06-30T18:04:00.009-06:00

Barbados was awesome, the weather was beautiful, and the water a perfect 85 degrees! Here we took a catamaran sail and snorkel excursion, they even made us and authentic Barbadan (?)
lunch aboard the boat, complete with Rum Punch! We stopped just off shore and the turtles were everywhere, they were so cool!

I look so hot while snorkeling, I don't know if it's my squinty eyes or my swollen lips, there's just something...

This little guy came right up and knocked the camera with his head, up close and personal.
Don't worry he's alive.

dominica

2009-06-29T21:11:00.009-06:00

Dominica (which is not DOM-in-ica btw, it's DOM-in-EEKA, which I learned by saying the former and being corrected) was beautiful! It was not a favorite of some, but it was one of our favorites, it was so relaxed and had an amazing diverse landscape. We took a tour to Trafalgar Falls and the Emerald pools, with a few stops along the way. We had the most amazing tour guide, that knew thousands of facts about the island, its history, animal & plant life, and everything else!

Trafalgar Falls, as we were hiking up to the falls, a monsoon rainstorm hit out of nowhere!

Our tour guide, and a land crab.

This was a brand new bus that had been delivered to the island and then crushed by a tree the next day, during a hurricane.
The oldest tree on Dominica, 108 years!
Dominica was used during the slave trade and much of the infrastructure that was built during that time is still there, in the photo above this was the building where the slaves were held, and below is where they were auctioned.

This was one of our stops along the way Mr. Nice's fruit stand, here we sampled a variety of fresh fruit, including coconut, pineapple, mango, and cocoa beans (below) which were really interesting; gooey and sweet, for those of you that are interested.

Words to live by...

The Emerald Pools are named after the way the light comes down through the canopy of trees.

This was also our first formal night, Mike's favorite ;)

st. thomas

2009-06-29T20:36:00.005-06:00

St. Thomas is a beautiful island, we spent the day wandering around downtown and then took a taxi to Magen's Bay.

The view from the top of the island.

The Coconut Man!

the long awaited cruise recap | san juan

2009-06-29T17:18:00.007-06:00

We spent the first day of our vacation in Old San Juan, we stayed right in the old part of the city, and walked everywhere! The weather was beautiful, and the food delicious!

The old cemetary near the fort.

Fried pork and plantains, with yummy rice and beans!

The second night we got on the boat we bought drinks ate lunch, sushi and headed to the room for a quick nap, got up and headed for dinner! Gotta love cruises.

mmmmm.... my fav, creme brulée......

we're...

2009-06-27T10:57:00.000-06:00

...having a open house today! Wish me luck!

post graduation festivities

2009-06-24T18:50:00.006-06:00

After graduation the festivities continued throughout the weekend! With three BBQS. My mom through a party for all my friends and family and we had yummy Mexican food and margaritas!

Danielle's mommy and sister Tamara were so thoughtful and threw us a post graduation fiesta, complete with handmade Chilean food, and the most delicious empanadas! Mmmm my mouth is watering thinking about it!

After our lunch we were serenaded by Danielle and in awe of Tamara's mad banjo skills... She really knows how to 'Boil Them Cabbage Down.'

very niccceeeeeeeeeeeaaa.

graduation 09

2009-06-24T18:22:00.005-06:00

Flashing way back to May 8th, I graduated! Finally! It was a long stressful and fun journey, and it's finally over! I'm lucky to have a job lined up and have been working since!

ok so this time... really.

2009-06-22T15:39:00.003-06:00

I will be updating soon, I finally got my graduation pics, and borrowed a cord to update all my pics.... I will force myself to do it TONIGHT! But brace yourself/ves for a photo overload!
Until then... our house is for sale so tell all your friends!

http://www.spotlighthometours.com/tours/tour.cfm?tourid=17206

And check out this awesome video!

mia

2009-06-01T08:25:00.001-06:00

Sorry I've been MIA, so many exciting things have been happening and in all the shuffle I've lost my camera cord.... so there's so much more to come, very soon!

stole of gratitude

2009-04-23T08:21:00.018-06:00

This is my friend Danielle. Oh! Wait what? I want to note that I have been lucky to have many amazing friends that I can laugh and cry with but I wanted to take a moment to dedicate this post all to Danielle, so that everyone (and by everyone I mean anyone that reads this on purpose or by accident) knows how great she is. She and I have gone to school together on and off since 8th grade, and although we drifted apart for one reason or another throughout that period, we've been great friends ever since we both found out we would be going into architecture. Little did we know this one little thing called architecture would be the root of a great friendship and hundreds of adventures and lasting life long memories. Here is just a small collection in no particular order of just some of the great times we've had together over the past 5 or so years, and as I look at all of them I can't believe how much fun we've had together, and can't wait to see what the future holds. What this post can't show is all the time we've spent laughing til we cry over poop stories, ostrich clad boot wearing police officer videos, saying stupid funny words, and oh so many other things. I want to thank her for laughing, crying, mocking, and helping me through all of my life and school stress, but also for challenging me to think in different ways about things. She is one of the people I trust most in the world. Although she knows I am too cheap to actually purchase a physical 'stole of gratitude' I hope she know how important she's been and continues to be in my life. While looking through all these photos, you may notice that unlike many Danielle takes her moment in front of the camera very seriously, and while some may shy away she takes the chance to strike the pose of a lifetime! Thanks for being such a great friend, snarflesnookumpoop-pie! Over and out.

happy EARTH DAY to all...

2009-04-22T14:03:00.002-06:00

please remember to celebrate today and every day our beautiful earth. yeah I know I've turned into kind of a tree hugger, but I don't consider that an insult...just so y'all know.

and to top it all off....

2009-04-22T13:50:00.005-06:00

My final project for Grad school... I can't believe it's all practically over! Does this mean I have to act like a grown up or something? I don't know if I can handle all these changes. So for our last project each person had to focus on the intersection of beauty and sustainability, and design a winery for Springdale, UT... this is what I came up with.

and then Easter....

2009-04-22T13:48:00.001-06:00

My Easter weekend was spent at home this year, thanks to my Master's Project deadline....So we made the best of it by going up to Snowbird for the morning and having an amazing brunch...and even though I messed up the reservations...it was still a relaxing and delicious meal!

and next... Moab 09

2009-04-22T13:33:00.007-06:00

Snow greeted us in Moab this year, and the day we left? Sun of course, and I received an amazing triangle forehead tan....I'll show you sometime. So here it is....

Gracie loves taking pics for me, it's always interesting to see what she captures... the ones of me? Let's just say she doesn't catch me from the best angle.

not so attractive...this must have been a Gracie special.

div>

it's time to catch up!

2009-04-22T09:19:00.011-06:00

So I've been MIA for over a month, because I've been trying to finish up school.... and now I've finally turned in my last studio project, and now I've only got two little presentations, and I'm home free!!! So flash back to Spring Break in the middle of March, and I will be catching up on my blogging for every event since then!

So to start I took a short Spring Break with my friend Jamie to San Francisco for a quick visit with my dad, some great friends, site seeing and lots of food! mmmm what I wouldn't give for some Sol Food right now....

Before I left some of our close family and friends, moved to Idaho, so before they left Mike and I took our niece and nephew out for one last play date! In the matter of four hours we managed to go to the store and buy treats, play at the park in the freezin wind, draw with chalk at home, and play and eat cheap tasting expensive pizza at Chuckie Cheese! Needless to say it was exhausting, but so much fun and definitely memorable!

happy birthday hayley...

2009-03-13T08:23:00.005-06:00

One of my baby sisters turned 22 last Sunday, Happy Birthday! We celebrated with drinks, singing, and dancing the night away at Key on Main one of our favorite get together places!

p.s. no, I'm not pregnant and drinking if that's what you're thinking in your head right now... it's the shirt okay.

dum de dum....

2009-02-24T10:49:00.013-07:00

It's been awhile so here are a few random things going on...
Duke and Tucker are now BFFs
Also Duke enjoys sleeping in Tucker's bed... I really think he has no idea how big he is. (ignore the garbage it was Spring Cleaning Day!)
This is Tucker's new buddy Gracie, she's my parents puppy and they love to play together.

We're planning on selling our house in few months so we've decided it's time to finish up our projects around the house and every time I say I'm going to take before and after pictures... I always forget. Here's a semi before picture, it will probably be awhile before we have the after, but I'm excited to get it done! .... Yeah I went through a purple phase... doesn't everyone?

I'm selling this....

architecture smarchitecture

2009-02-03T11:33:00.001-07:00

25 years ago... 80s flashback

2009-02-03T09:14:00.012-07:00

I've been thinking lately... aren't you supposed to be old, or grown up, or mature or something by 25?! That seemed so old when I was younger, but now I look around and realize no one ever grows up. I definitely have not. Well my birthday was a week or so ago, so Mike indulged me and let me celebrate all weekend (I add the rest of the week to the celebration on my own) so we spent Saturday looking for a very particular pair of boots that existed in my head. So one Cafe Rio salad and eight or so stores later we finally found them! Then we met up with all our friends, and went to eat at Macaroni Grill, where I was pleased to learn they served the most delicious mojitos. After that we waited for almost two hours to go bowling... and my high for the night? 77. Yeah it's pretty pathetic I guess the 'birthday gods' weren't shining down on me that night... you'd think I would've been able to at least break 100, but no. The next day we celebrated with my family and played cards. Thanks to all my friends for helping me celebrate! Now here's a photo montage of my birthday and some old ones too.

2009

After being serenaded by my Italian boyfriend I felt the urge to pose like this... so I did.

Note to self: Do not wear skinny jeans when going bowling, they look comical with the shoes.

So attractive.

These are my new boots, and although they were last pair of 9's in the city, they are slightly too small and squeeze my toes together... oh well fashion before comfort...right?

These are my puppies.

january cap off

2009-01-30T15:46:00.012-07:00

So it's been a busy month! School started again, we had family come and visit, I became addicted to Rock Band and wii, you know all important stuff. Plus we added a new little guy to ou house, and he's been terrorizing it ever since! We did FINALLY name him, Tucker, and he's sooo cute I can't believe it. So going backwards through the month, my friend Jamie and I drove on a whim to Yerington, a little ol' town in Nevada about 8 hours away with about an hours notice on a Sunday. It was spur of the moment to say the least, but it was fun to have company and we just chatted the whole way there and back!

This is a mine in the even littler town of Weed Heights, the name says it all. Anyhow the mine was shut down 30 or 40 years ago, and it just keeps filling up with crystal blue water, they estimate it to be about 600 feet deep.... I think that was it, Jamie correct me if I'm wrong:)

This is my new little man... he's just so cute.

Mike would not be so happy if he knew this photo was on here, but here he is with the new puppy, squinty eyes and all (that's that part he dislikes) but I think he's cute cute regardless.

This is Danielle entering into a contract for 'services' with Justin, he's looks very intrigued.

We had a site visit in Springdale, UT which right at the mouth of Zion Canyon, this is the whole crew.

Jack was baptized too, although it was quite an exhausting experience for him, he barely made it through the ten minutes awake.

As I mentioned before we had our family come visit for a few days from California, we snowboarded, ate lots of food, and played wii and Rock Band. It was fun. Now it's our turn to go visit them!

This is our snowboarding crew!

umm... creepy

2009-01-28T11:40:00.003-07:00

I'm undecided on whether this VW baby of mine and Mike is creepy or cute... or just, I can't quite place my finger on it.
Make a baby here.

and we shall call him...

2009-01-20T12:42:00.004-07:00

What? Because I seriously don't know... We've thought of Max, Tucker, Gus, Rosco, Otis, Milo, Zeus, Oscar.... and others... any suggestions?

P.S. Thanks to my road trip buddy Jamie.

what to expect when you're expecting...

2009-01-16T11:15:00.003-07:00

Now don't get your hopes up, it's not what you may think ;) We're expecting a new addition in our family, but it's not a baby it's a puppy. I'm so excited, but not so sure what Duke and Bella will think. I know I'm crazy, the animals out number the humans in our house but I just love them! I will post pics after we pick him up next week.

a winter sunset...

2009-01-08T10:47:00.004-07:00

After missing my family on Christmas we road tripped it to my Grandma and Grandpa's house on Sunday instead, this was the sunset we saw as we drove down Ogden Canyon. It was beautiful, and a little uplifting after the sad scene we witnessed before this.

christmas 08

2009-01-07T18:09:00.004-07:00

So this year by the time we had navigated through 4ft snow drifts and made it my parents house we decided to stay there, rather that run around to all our family stops. It was kind of nice except we didn't get to see all of our family! So we decided to play in the snow, until it started snowing and blowing again! When we finally ventured out that night we were in search of food... the only place open on Christmas you might wonder? Rancherito's and we weren't the only ones with that idea there were at least 8 other families there. Then we broke in Rock Band and rocked the night away...and maybe the next day.... and maybe even the next night... and the next.

so the holidays have flown by...

2009-01-02T11:12:00.003-07:00

We've been crazy busy with parties, dinners, boarding, and a million other things! But we did manage to catch a night away to eat at one of my favorite restaurants downtown The Dodo, it was delish! Plus we got to shop a little and see all sorts of interesting people on Trax too!

So anyhow I plan on catching up on everything this week, so more to come soon!

sweater party 08

2009-01-02T10:38:00.006-07:00

Our friends Meag and Sean hosted an Ugly Sweater Party at the beginning of December, it was a blast! Mike and I purchased our sweaters at the D.I. and at the last minute switched because he looked so much better in my teddy bear sweater than I did :)

most of these speak for themselves....

2008-12-18T11:01:00.009-07:00

There is a sufficiency in the world for man's need but not for man's greed.
~Mohandas K. Gandhi

Think about what impact each and everyone of us has on the enviroment. Yes it's depressing, overwhelming, and makes you want togive up - BUT- Every little bit counts, we have to TRY to make a difference. That's where WE start.

It wasn't the Exxon Valdez captain's driving that caused the Alaskan oil spill. It was yours. ~Greenpeace advertisement, New York Times, 25 February 1990

Unfortunately garbage doesn't pick itself up.

There's so much pollution in the air now that if it weren't for our lungs there'd be no place to put it all. ~Robert Orben
In America today you can murder land for private profit. You can leave the corpse for all to see, and nobody calls the cops. ~Paul Brooks, The Pursuit of Wilderness, 1971
for more great environmental quotes go here

eco gift this.

2008-12-07T09:49:00.005-07:00

Seriously I stumbled upon one of the most amazing sites whilst wandering the internet for gift ideas this morning! World of Good is a Co-Op site for selling hundreds of beautiful products, each one has a story about how it makes an positive impact on the world. Some are hand made by women in India that have been rescued from prostitution, others are simply made by recycled bottle or paper. It's seriously amazing! So far I've only made a small purchase of recycled wrapping paper, but ooh I have a wishlist already! Check it out here.

bahahaha...ha

2008-12-06T18:44:00.001-07:00

See more Jack Black videos at Funny or Die

thanks daniellee.

say what you mean...

2008-12-06T18:16:00.003-07:00

....and mean what you say, it's as simple as that. I've had it up to here (I'm pointing really high) lately with flaky people! Follow through. It's as simple as that. seriously.
so there.

baby justin [take one]

2008-11-23T11:35:00.005-07:00

Justin is three weeks old today! He's just so cute! Jess + Jason were nice enough to let me practice my photography skills on him. I will admit trying snap photos of a little wiggly baby is tough, but fun, and he provided all sorts of entertainment as well! :)

fondue if you please

2008-11-23T11:30:00.003-07:00

Thanks to everybody who came, and sorry I didn't get everyone in these pics I got distracted and didn't finish getting everyone! Mmmm fondue!

tag you're it

2008-11-18T13:35:00.003-07:00

Tagged

So I've never been 'tagged' before so here it goes! Thank you Brandy!

Here are the Rules:
1. Link to the person that tagged you
2. Post the rules on your blog
3. Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself
4. Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs
5. Let each random person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.
6. Let your tagged peeps know once your entry is UP.

n0.1- I can touch my nose with my tongue.
n0.2- I'm never sarcastic. never.
n0.3- I love to travel.
n0.4- I walk too fast.
n0.5- I have a history of bad driving, it's just not on my record anymore.
n0.6- I love Dole Orange Peach Mango.

I am tagging Danielleeeeee, Jamie, Janelle, Angela, Sarah, & Tammy poo

a salt flat sunrise

2008-11-18T12:22:00.010-07:00

Danielle and I decided that just for fun we wanted to get up and 4 am (drag Mike and Brandon out of bed), drive to the salt flats and watch the sunrise! It may sound a little crazy but we had seen pictures from a class we are taking and decided it would be worth it. It was AMAZING the views were incredible. We decided to make a tradition out of it, we're going to find beautiful places that we can go watch the sunrise and document it with photos. Nevermind that is was FREEZING cold, we just forgot because it was so beautiful! I also hearkened back to my Native American ancestors and danced a Sun Dance it was really quite rejuventating until I got distracted by the salt crystals below my feet and felt compelled to dip my finger in and lick it. It is called the 'Salt Flats' for a reason, and Mike is convinced I'm infected with some type of water born disease now. Neat. Danielleee made a great video with our pics, it's about ten minutes and totally worth the watch. Ch Ch Check it out. P.S. Because of the stupid blogger photo upload none of the photos are in order, but i guess you can kind of figure it out by the sun.

pro equality

2008-11-16T23:34:00.004-07:00

I would have been there if I could've, and I'm glad Utahns are peacfully standing up for what is right!
photo from Danni C

you're all invited...

2008-11-13T19:28:00.004-07:00

We just wanted an excuse to get eveyone together, so why not fondue? I hope you can all make it, see you soon!

Host: Brittany + Mike
Location: Our House
When: Saturday, November 22, 7:00pm

Please contact me for details, and yes I mean all of you readers out there, please come!

thanks keith

2008-11-12T15:16:00.000-07:00

catchin' up

2008-11-12T08:34:00.008-07:00

I've gotten caught up in all the political issues lately because they are really important to me. However I have been doing some other stuff lately so I thought it was time to catch up! Our friends Jess and Jason had a new baby boy! His name is Justin, and he has one of the cutest little dimples that I've ever seen!

I texted Jess at 8 AM and she said I could come visit but she was only dialated to a 4 so I figured 'man they've got plenty of time!' So I arrive at the hospital at 10:30 and when I walked in Jess's sister told me he had just arrived! Talk about perfect timing!

Mike went hunting for the weekend, so my sister and I took the 'FUN BUS' to Wendover for the night!

We had to kill some time so we ate a second dinner at 11PM and then walked the entire 'strip' back to Montego Bay.

This was supposed to be my stripper pose straddling the UT/NV border but, Jackie O got in the way.

We still had two hours before the bus came to take us home, but being the frugal gamblers that we are, we survived on $20 bucks between the two of us, ate two meals, and drank 'free' drinks all night! Never the less by midnight we were beat! But we made it until 2AM and rode the bus home!

This was just a pretty sunrise one morning!

yes on 8? then yes on this.

2008-11-12T08:19:00.000-07:00

See more funny videos at Funny or Die

find good food: local.sustainable.organic

2008-11-10T16:08:00.008-07:00

"The time will come, when humanity will extend its mantle over every thing which breathes"(1781). -- Jeremy Bentham

Want to find meat, poultry, dairy and eggs raised sustainably on small, family farms? CLICK HERE

Click HERE to see the TRUTH of the animal productions that we are using...

yes we can and we did

2008-11-05T10:23:00.007-07:00

It's time for change. HOPE is here. Victory.

'The war was won, and a battle lost' -this is what I was told by Danielle this morning as I expressed joy and dismay as the results of the elections poured in.

Even in little old Utah the presidential numbers 57% R to 41% D to the 2004 Utah elections numbers 73% R to 26% D and I think this shows that people are finally waking up!

With that said it saddens me that Proposition 8 in California did not pass, change is in the future this was a battle lost but this fight is not over. Change is imminent. Proposition 2 was another VICTORY. This is the beginning of change for animal rights as well.

california's prop 2

2008-11-02T14:40:00.001-07:00

I will warn you that this is hard to watch, but it IS a reality.

hope

2008-11-02T13:38:00.018-07:00

"There has never been anything false about hope."
-Barack Obama

The upcoming election brings hope, fear, anticipation, and so much emotion for me. I think we are all influenced by the voices around us, propaganda, or our religious and spiritual beliefs, but we must not be blinded or led astray by any of these things. We must remember that ultimately within these issues such as civil rights, animal rights, war, the environment, etc. that we should put first and foremost that we are humans and we should deny no one person the right that another is entitled to, whatever it may be.
Most of all the issue that has made me think the most is the discussion about Proposition 8. I find the arguments from religious entities the ones that have motivated me to think long and hard about this issue. How can we govern who some loves? I have a hard time believing that God would deny anyone the right to love. I refuse to believe that we are only a tool for procreation, or that there is only one type of family. We are here to LIVE, THINK, and LOVE. So we must question, learn, and think and take a stand, but this does not mean it is any one's job to pass judgement on one another. So to those that find discrepancy between what a religious institution has taught you and what your heart and brain are telling you, remember whether it be God, Buddha, Allah, etc., whose job it really is to pass judgement! It is not your neighbor, family or friend's job, so who cares what they think? Take a stand for yourself! Proposition 8 is divisive and discriminatory. Plain and simple. Whether you choose to ignore that or not. I HOPE we really can look past our differences and embrace each other for them. We must think for ourselves in order to do so. If we truly do believe we are all created equal then the answer to this issue should be simple.

"We have an obligation to pass along to our children a more tolerant, a more decent society."--Samuel L. Jackson

yes we can

2008-11-02T09:58:00.000-07:00

vote, or you have to shut up

2008-11-02T09:05:00.002-07:00

architecture quote

2008-10-29T12:40:00.002-06:00

'Architecture is reaching for the truth.'

'Art is the expression of the soul. It is the only language of the soul.'

-Louis Kahn

This image is from Antoine Predock's site he has some really interesting and beautiful work.

something you might want to consider

2008-10-24T19:25:00.001-06:00

tgif

2008-10-24T09:04:00.003-06:00

Oh someone please thank god it's Friday, I've had possibly one of the easiest weeks of school I can remember, and I'm still exhausted. Who get sick for two weeks and doesn't get better. I'm sick of this coughing phlegm shit. I don't think my killer abs can take anymore of this torture. I feel like laying a hole and dying. hack.

ahhhahahahhahahaha....ahahaha

2008-10-22T19:15:00.002-06:00

moab '08

2008-10-22T17:29:00.015-06:00

It's become a tradition for us to go to fourwheeling in Moab at LEAST once a year.... and the battle I must face nearly every weekend we don't have already have something planned is convincing Mike we don't HAVE to go fourwheeling. Oh man. Anyhow it's become a Johnson Family tradition, and in fact the first time Mike and I got to know each other was my first trip to Moab in the Spring of 2002. I'll try to pull out that vintage photo someday.

The CREW

don't worry Easton thinks he's smiling, he's not possessed though, really don't worry.

Sand Angels

Gracie and I got married, twice actually with glass rings she stole from the counter display. I picked out our marriage shades.

Only Only in Utah does someone cut off the front of a geo metro, plexi the front, and make a trailer out of it. Only in Utah.

san francisco 2008

2008-10-16T22:05:00.024-06:00

Oh boy! It's a long one. Here's our trip! We hung out with some awesome friends, and partied the day away, and we made some new friends along the way! My dad took us all over including the boardwalk in Santa Cruz and one of my favorite places in 0the world the where the Russian River meets the ocean. Then we visited this beautiful new building in Golden Gate Park, the Academy of Sciences by Renzo Piano, it was amazing! Then we even had time to meet up with Danielle, Tamara, and their hubbies for the some of my fav burritos!

The North Shore Cafe

I was trying a new angle.....

WTF?! Who is this guy?

Yeah weird I know....weird, weird.

This guy's got some kick ass hair!

?????

A beautiful sunset while we sat by the bridge

The sun was setting and the full moon came out

Johnson's Beach on the Russian River

my dad
my hubby
Where the river meets the ocean

We thought we'd get this cool shot with the waves crashing over this rock, right then the biggest wave ever hit, the shadow is the actual wave, and it crashed right down on there heads!

The new Academy of Sciences by Renzo Piano

My favorite burrito place in San Francisco we've been going there for almost ten years! Mmmmm!

i'm baaacck!

2008-10-15T22:54:00.003-06:00

We're back from SF - many pics to come!

so

2008-10-08T21:42:00.002-06:00

My friend Danielle always finds good quotes, I can't compete, but I find a few here and there and I love to travel so here's to that.

The fool wanders, a wise man travels.
-Thomas Fuller

words from albert

2008-10-06T19:52:00.002-06:00

Each day I get a new quote from Albert, Albert Einstein that is.
Here's today's:
I think that only daring speculation can lead us further and not accumulation of facts.

27 years gone by....

2008-10-06T19:31:00.004-06:00

Mike turned 27 just a week or so ago... Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy BIIIRTHDAY dear Mike, Happy Birthday to you! I sing much better when I type. You can ask anyone. His brother Matt's birthday is the day after so we all celebrated together!

...and Easton went to time out, on his tippy toes no less. He wasn't so happy.

carmelite fair '08

2008-10-06T13:51:00.008-06:00

Here are a few more fall pics I uploaded them backwards....oops. Anyway some of the photos were taken by my protege my cute niece Gracie, she's going to be quite the photographer. The festival was at the Carmelite Convent in Holladay where our group performs every year. Gracie and Easton LOVED the kids bouncey area, it was so much fun to watch them flop around!

courtesy of Jenna