Friday, August 29, 2008

Dropping some philosophy on you

Let me start out by saying, i don't normally do this, but i was "doinked" on the head by inspiration today and i feel i must write it down so i can remember it.

What inspired this blog has been building for awhile now and was brought in to full realization by the movie surfs up "insert laugh here" yeah, yeah, i know a movie about surfing penguins for children, *click* I'm going to another website.
well before you do hear me out.

Through out my life i have been drawing, drawing and drawing. Everyone close to me always told me i was good, but i have never felt good enough so i practice, constantly. In college i was told that i was heavy handed, in my mark making. This made no sense to me, heavy handed? *pssshhhh, isn't everyone?
And that's about all the thought i gave it.

That was until recently....
I was figure drawing the Olympians on the TV every night, and no matter how hard i tried they subject turned out stiff rigid, lifeless, i got so frustrated with my efforts i said to myself, screw it I'm just going to let my hand flow loosely and what happens happens.
and the result was Superior to anything that i have drawn in a long time.

since then every time i draw and catch myself bearing down on my drawing i loosen my hand on the image and come up the image i was looking for.
this looseness idea has been floating around in the back of my mind ever since.

Today, while watching "surfs up" there was a scene that made concrete what was floating around in the back of my mind, and that is there is a scene when the retired big z is teaching the kid how to make a surf board. Big z hands the tool to the kid and the kid hacks away at the wood.
big z grabs the tool from cody and says:
Big Z
: [teaching Cody to carve a board] All right, look. First of all, with the grain. With the grain. You see what I'm doing here?
You let the tool do the work, you see?
Just like you're riding the wave, you let the wave do the work.
You don't fight the wave. You can't fight these big waves.

and the more i thought about, it the more i realized that it applies to drawing. but it also applies to life, the more you fight the wave the more you get tossed off but if you relax and deal with your situation, you'll be able to ride it where ever you want to go.

think about it. your faced with a huge problem or project, you FREAK, you worry, you stress. does it help the situation? no. does it help you better understand what is going on? no
the only thing you can do is stay in the moment and deal with it as it comes. flow with the moment cause no matter how hard you fight you ll have to face it. so why not face it head on, and flow with it. and in the end you'll come out better than you would've fighting it.

or I'm full of crap and in which case FIGHT FIGHT LOL

OK its out of my system, take it for what its worth, keep the idea in the back of your mind and let is sit there who knows you might see a show about penguins or giraffes or even badgers (that was for you honey)that might bring you to the same realization that i did.
I know with me i might be taught something but sometimes its until I'm faced with the situation. that i finally understand what i was told. Thus the heavy handed and now after I'm graduated i finally get it.

well i don't know how to end this so ill just say

Good bye!!!

(^_^) *WAVE

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Fishing is dangerous



During my fun unemployed adventures, I went fishing yesterday with my Dad and his 2 neighbors, Claudia and Karen.  It was so much fun. We didn't catch very many fish (We let Claudia reel in 2 fish and Karen reeled in one). It was a slow day fishing, but a great day to relax.  We went up to Strawberry Reservoir and it was a beautiful blue sky day. I loved it. I even got to captain the boat. (like the hat.)  ;)  I love being on the boat and just laughing and having a good time. There were a few sketchy times along the way of course.  
My dad loves to look around at the scenery. He has always done this and probably always will. Occasionally, he will wander along the road, which is fine if you know this is how he drives. Unfortunately, my neighbors didn't know this. 
There were a few times he hit the rumble strips on the side of the road and scared them half to death.  (he always jokes that when he hits the rumble strips he is just cleaning the rocks out of the tread of his tires) It was kinda funny because my dad totally just laughed it off while they were just freaking out.   During our time on the lake, we were pulling in for a break to one of the docks there was a huge gust of wind that spun us 
around in a circle. It took my dad a few times before he was able to get us in a position to tie to the dock. A little scary, but he eventually got it tied with no swear or short tempers.   
The pinnacle of the trip had to be when my dad asked me to help him load the boat. So he had gotten the boat loaded onto the trailer and secured with a clasp to the front of the trailer.  He just needed me to move his truck up the ramp. This is where all the action movies I have had to watch came into effect. I went running off the dock and jumped onto the boat ramp.  I thought it was maybe only 6 inches down to the boat
 ramp, but I was off by about a foot. My feet were going a lot slower than my body and I totally fell.  With my lightening fast reflexes (yeah right),  I was able to roll out of the fall, but not before I landed on my wrist.  :)  Yeah, I am a totally clod. I am sure it was at least entertaining to watch and thankfully only Claudia saw.  My wrist is still a little sore.  I am only this accident prone because we don't have insurance right now. I haven't had anything happen to me in years and now because we don't have insurance all this stuff is happening. (we will be insure as of the first, thankfully.)  So now my war wounds are my wrist, my elbow was scraped along with both my knees,  a huge, ugly bruise on my shin from hitting into a cooler on the boat, and my back is still a little sore.   Knock on wood that is the only things that happen to me!  I am going to LA tomorrow come hell or high water.  They will be taking me on a stretcher if anything else happens.  :) 

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Travis Checking in......

hey everyone!

having molly at home has been nice (^_^) i love coming home to her and her smiling face. im glad she is happy(^_^). she is going fishing tommorow and i know she is going to clear out strawberry lake lol. meanwhile i will be at work, i love the job but i am soooooooo looking forward to having 3 days off. i hope to be updating my odarkcity.com this weekend and get some metal gear solid 4 under my belt plus some quality time with my cous jt.

and let me just say we are currently watching the democratic national convention and let me tell you 3 things we notice. 1) people dont pay attention to the speakers 2) the warm up speakers are the most bland and monotone speakers, i have ever heard this leadbetter lady has good stories but does not understand how to use emotion to accentuate ANYTHING! 3) the random cheers and boos at things democrats are supposed to not like just now this senator leadbetter was talking and no one was cheering or anything throughout her entier speech filled with valid points, but when she mentioned big business BOOOOOO! LOL wow.... also what is with the dumptruck backup beeping while she is talking? whats with the 80's pop songs inbetween speakers.... so many questions lol well better get going its a long week left talk to you later true believers!

Travis

Monday, August 25, 2008

Yeah, I'm old....

This weekend we went to Pineview camping with Trav's family.  It was a great weekend, except for one little thing.  I was playing hacky sack with Trav and Kimi.  All of a sudden I felt a little pop and that was it. It totally tweaked my back and I have been down ever since.  I have been laying around the house for all day today. :) I have been catching up on my Gray's Anatomy. (They are a lot better on DVD than they were on t.v. because 1)no commercials, and 2) they add a lot to the show)  I have been so lazy, but I guess this is the summer that I take it a little easier. (what between the unemployment and now this.)  
Anyways, camping was a blast. We got to hang out and chat with Trav's Cousin, JT. He is so freakin' funny.  We all stayed up and were talking around the campfire.  It was so much fun.  I love to listen to all their inside stories about when they were growing up.  All they do is try to upstage one another with funny memories.  It is a riot.  I love when Trav and JT get together because they tease and act just like brothers.  
Well it is back to relaxing on the couch. :) Hopefully, my back will be better by the time LA comes on Friday!  (I will be ok on Friday. I am going to be great by Friday!) 

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Tag...

So here is one of those fun little surveys I got off my friend Jan's blog.  And now since I have a little free time I thought I would fill it out. :)  So here we go....

What were you doing 10 years ago?
 
I was a just starting my Senior year of high school. I think I worked at Arby's and was dating a member of the football team who shall remain nameless. :) 

5 things on my to-do list today

Go to Salt Lake ATC and find out info (check)
Clean Kimi's blankets (check)
Look for jobs
Make dinner tonight
Wash Trav's car

5 Snacks I enjoy
Frozen grapes, Oreos, Trail mix, Coffees and Chocolate

5 Bad Habits 

Leaving the dishes for someone else to do (sorry Trav)
Spending too much time on the internet
Chew my nails
Impulse buy (I am usually really good but sometimes the shopper in me just takes over, kinda like how the Hulk takes over Bruce Banner's life.  There you go Trav a comic book reference! I know you love them)
I am very bull headed. 

5 Places I have lived

Sunset, UT 
West Glacier, MT
Redmond, WA
Ogden, UT 
North Salt Lake, UT 

5 jobs I have had

Weber County Assessor as an Office Specialist
The Gap as a Stock Supervisor
Glacier Wilderness Guide/Montana Raft Company as an Office Girl
Kid to Kid as a customer service person
Arby's as as shift supervisor.   
(I have had more than 5 jobs but here are the most memorable.) 

5 things people don't know about me

I met Trav and 3 weeks later we were engaged.  (but we waited for a year to get married. I was apparently anxious for the diamond. ;) ) 

I collect magnets from where ever I go on vacation.

I love to look up how famous celebrities died. (creepy, I know,  but so addictive... thanks JT for turning me on to the website dearlydeparted.com) 

I have chewed my nails ever since I was little. I start chewing more when I am nervous or scared. 

I am a sap for lovey or inspirational stories. I now cry at everything. During the Olympics, I can hardly stand to watch the stories about the athletes because I will start crying. I am such a wimp! ;) 

5 people to tag

Like Janalyn said, just everybody should do this. 
I love these things. :) Such a waste of time, but so much fun to do. Thanks Jan!  






Friday, August 15, 2008

Here we go without a net!!!!!

So yesterday I quit my crappy job. :) I feel so liberated, but everyone is asking what are we going to do now?  Heck if I know, all I know is that for once in my life I just impulsively changed my life. I am alway the one that plans and plans and plans.  Now it is my turn to live life on the edge. (I guess this is about as wild and crazy as I get.) I am excited not knowing what I will be doing on Monday. (Ok I kinda know, I have co-created a support group called Spousal Support with another unemployed friend and I will be following their guidelines of what to do while unemployed. Right Matt!?!  Right. LOL)  For once in my life I have someone else taking care of everything. I am seriously so used to taking care of everyone else that it is nice to have the roles reversed. (So at this point, I must give a serious shout out to my hubby who is now my meal ticket!  Love ya honey! And thanks for all the support and love through this trying week! ;) ) 
Well I have already represented all the unemployed by cleaning my house this morning. (I mean really cleaned it, like scrubbing the floor and moving furniture around. This is tough work!)  I now have big plans for the weekend starting with a sleepover with my nephew, Kai.  Can't wait, nothing makes you appreciate free time like spending it with a little kid.  I am sure he is going to want to go, go, go.  I can't take all this activity, I am used to sitting at a cubicle and doing nothing.  Well I am sure there will be a ton more posts because I don't have to fit blogging into my busy schedule, it will be the only thing on my schedule. ;) Have a good day, I know mine is going to rock! 

Monday, August 11, 2008

My new job...

So I just got done with my new job... I don't know if it really counts today because I just went to a team building activity at the Energy Solutions Arena.  I got to meet a bunch of people that I would work with.  They all seem super nice and excited to have me there. I am can't wait to actually start and do some work. The girls I met were a little overwhelming because they proceeded to say how no one will be there to teach me, and that they don't know what I do and so they can't help me learn it, but they promised that it would be nice. I am a little worried because the best thing about their job seemed to be the fact that they were able to get off work when they needed because the state was so lenient.  I don't know if that is a good thing. I don' t know if I picked the wrong job or made a huge mistake. At the activity, they had the speakers Amanda Dixon (who seriously bugged the hell out of me because she laughed at her own jokes the whole time) and Richard Evans, the author of the Christmas Box book.  They were both very good speakers, let me rephrase that, they both had really good points that actually made me think.  I really liked the idea that Amanda had.  She said that we should just accept the fact that we are who we are.  (like you shouldn't be sad/mad because someone isn't married, not pregnant or wanting to be out of debt) You should just realize that that is who you are suppose to be.  So I need to just be happy being Trav's wife and Kimi's mom and quit being unhappy that I am not pregnant or in my own house. I need to realize that is who I am suppose to be and just accept it.  Very smart and really refreshing to try to think of it that way.  I will work on it. :) Richard Evans just was talking about how when he was 12 years old he heard a millionaire give a talk about money. And he has written a book about how he made it happen. They gave us a free copy of the book, so if anyone else wants to read it let me know and you can totally borrow it. The first step is to realize that you want to be wealthy... so that one is the first step. So since I haven't read the book yet that is one I will tell you about.  He was like you need to decide that first and commit to it. You are suppose to go home and write it up. So does a blog count as writing it down?  lol I guess it is close enough for now.  I have pretty much rambled on a lot more than I was planning on. Sorry this one isn't as carefree as they have been in the past, but for some reason I think that it is pretty great therapy to write it all down.  :) Thanks for reading! :) Talk to ya all later. 

Monday, August 4, 2008

Travis- checking in............

molly does a great job with our blog but i thought i would drop my 2 cents in. so if you haven't seen it yet Dark knight is a comic book on film. this is what every comic book fan has been waiting for this kind of film is what most of the bat man comics are like so if you like this movie you'll love the comic. as for myself my new job is awesome i cant believe that i get to make logos and designs for a living, i always thought growing up that the options where doctor, fireman, policeman, lawyer, scientist, painter. i never knew this was a job. its not Seattle but its a stepping stone to where ever we want to go. I'm excited for Molly's new job it will dramatically cut down on her drive, and so far the people seem awesome. bear lake was a great very relaxing, Kimmi is doing well and i have played metal gear solid 4, you are a solder in the middle of a war but you arnt involved in the war you are just moving through it towards other goals not involved with the on going war. its a great concept. the graphics are amazing i am in awe of it. I'm glad molly is reading a series she likes its been a long time since she has enjoyed a series like this. well i think i have rambled on long enough until next time *wave

The Happenings...

Hey guys...
So this weekend was so much fun. I went with Trav and my parents to Bear Lake. I totally love that place. I have been going there since I was little and it just makes me feel so peaceful. I don't know what it is with that place, but I feel like it is where I should be. (a little bit corny, but oh well) :)  
On a totally separate note, this is my last week at the assessor's. I am so conflicted about it all because I have been around all these people for the last 3 years. They are like family. I almost have seen them more than I have seen most members of my family.  (I like some of them even more than my relatives!  ;) ) I think it makes it worse because I don't have anything to do this week so I just sit there thinking about how it will be so different next week.  I am excited to start new in Salt Lake City, but am sad to leave the past. I wish there was a way to bring your past into  your future sometimes.  I hate the bittersweet feeling of it all. I shouldn't get all teary-eyed when I am looking up mobile home accounts!   :)  
Oh and I cut my hair.  Just to add a little more drama to my life, I went and chopped my hair all off.  :) It was a decision I made in right mind but I fear that it was a bit rash in the deciding stages. It is a little short and a little to late to come to this realization. (it will grow back and at least it isn't a bad hair cut.)  (Travis mentions that at least my hair will grow back unlike his that is gone forever!  That is true.  Very Very true!)  lol 
Well now back to my books... I just started the Twilight series . I have been reading them for about 4 days and am done with the first 2 books. (starting the 3rd tonight.) I am seriously considering this an addiction.  (and not a cheap one at that, at least there are only 4 books in the series, so far.) Well off to get my fix! :)