down from the ceiling drips great noise

The little bits of creativity commonly known as "word verifications" never cease to amuse me. Maybe it's cause I like words so much. Maybe it's cause I like made-up words even more. Maybe I'm just really easily entertained.

Top winners for today:

scucka! - Okay, the exclamation mark is added - but doesn't it just feel necessary?

pishatang -I feel like this could be a name for an epic fish tank or a really cool scarf, likely neon.

dioink -This is now the official name for the like flick I sometimes give to the forehead of my dear ones who are behaving ridiculously.

pastshag -A little piece of hilarity shared by an unknown comrade on Martha's blog.

Also, I'm taking a cue from Martha's awesome blog, which I stalk diligently, & naming this post with a lyric from a great song by Mum. I first heard this song on a video for Rising Star Outreach made by the awesomely bearded Matt. I was smitten. With the song. & my little ones.

Speaking of Rising Star, our 5k Fun Run was a great success last Saturday! We raised well over $1,000 for the school in India. Much love & thanks to everyone who came to the run, donated, sent out facebook invites, or helped me out with flier distribution. You guys are the best!

This One's for Gooj

Today is my mommy's birthday! Cue the cake with lots of candles & a chorus of raucous happy birthday singing. But because she's kinda far away from me & I can't bake her a cake & jump on her, I thought I would do the next best thing - a photo essay of why I love her so much, complete with a couple of her favorite songs. yay!

She's so pretty - who would think she's turning 50?
& she can totally rock the pashmina.

She loves me even though I'm a pest & always takes me "The Way I Am."
bother bother bother bother bother!

She still holds me, even though I'm kinda big now.


She comes to see me at football games.


She poses ridiculously with me in front of nature's wonders.


She's got GREAT legs. *whistle* Foxy even at fifty.

She loves my daddy after over 30 years - she'll always be his "Brown Eyed Girl."
& they have really cool hairstyles. :D


She keeps our family from going totally insane.
I love my Gooj - she's so much more than just my mommy. She's my confidant, my late-night editor, my nurse, my head chef, & my bestest friend. We have our on language of movie quotes, silly quips, & old sayings. We are Goojah & Boojah. We have awesome dance parties & look at our reflection in the mirror as we "Sway." We sometimes we sing harmony with "Hallelujah" & sometimes we just sing out of tune. Gooj is the queen of silver linings; no matter how tough the going gets, she always finds a bright spot among the clouds.

They say your mother is the most influential person in your life - I know that's true for me. She taught me to walk (I still get pointers on how to walk in heels). She taught me to talk, which is why I say "market" instead of "grocery store." She has taught me how to love & how to forgive, how to be fearless & how to accept my limits. She taught me to swim, & she taught me how to stay afloat when it feels like everything is sinking. She taught me how to cook without paying much attention to recipes. She taught me how to be a duck. :) She taught me how to be me.



Much love always, Goojah!
Happy Birthday!
Cake date later?

Running for the Stars

Rising Star Outreach, the non-profit organization that I worked with in India, is hosting a 5k & breakfast to raise funds for the school in India. The run will be on the morning of October 10th in Timpanogos Park, just off the highway in Provo Canyon.

All money raised with go to support the kids in India.

This site has a great article & I link to the poster I designed - check it out!

You can also join the facebook event HERE!!!

If you like running, walking, super cute kids, or eating breakfast ( & who doesn't like at least one of those?!), this is the charity event for you! Please be there!

send an email to rsofunrun@gmail.com to register - only 10 bucks to run & that INCLUDES breakfast!

Fashion Frenzy

I am not fashionable. Really, I'm not.

Today I am wearing my jeans tucked in to a pair of flowery rainboots. This is not a fashion statement. In fact, I think I look a bit ridiculous. But it drives me crazy when the hems of my pants are all soggy, so, you do what you gotta do. (I'm not sure whether the fact that I'm wearing a fabulous Jones New York scarf is saving me or just making me look more absurd - probably the latter, unfortunately.)

Typically, I can dress myself & look fairly decent, but I rarely do anything daring (aka bizarre) enough for anyone to call me a "fashionista." I don't read fashion magazines. I buy things on sale - which means most of my clothes are last season. My favorite jeans are four years old. & I'm not so good at the whole accessorizing thing.

So... I probably have no right to pass judgements on the "creations" of the great designers.
But seriously.

These looks are just ridiculous. & so funny that I just could resist sharing.

Haven't we all at one point found ourselves standing in front of the mirror on a Friday night wearing only tights and thinking, "Gah! I have nothing to wear with these awkwardly baggy tights! Alas!" Well, fear no more - you now have a very fashionable solution - simply steal a few doilies from your grandmother's linen closet, tuck them into a tank top, & wrap a belt around yourself. Voila! You're a vision in... fake lace.

Another example of the ever-fabulous doilie dress.
The hair really just makes this ensemble, doncha think?

There's no better way to stand out than by painting your face white & wearing MC Hammer's pajamas paired with the sailor coat. Obviously, the only thing that could make this look better is the wonderful placement of the satin bra ON TOP of the shirt. Genius. Pure visual genius.

LOVE this look - it's like... 1950s airline stewardess, sin pants.
And again, the hair! So fabulous - why did I never think of wearing my shower scrub poofy thing on top of my head? Where have I BEEN?

I must say, this look is very practical. I mean, if you're going to spend a lot of money on retro satin underwear, you just HAVE to show it off. Wearing your "dainties" on top of your clothes only makes sense.

BLAH-ish

Ninja ____ Freakin ******* RAD
Spiffy +++++++++++++++++++ Jeebie Weebies
Seriously?!_______ Tool ---------goo!
o rly? ............face! face face face
***************nifty -+-+-+-+-+-+-+NCMO
~~~~~~DTR----- player/playa shitake




Slang is SO COOL. ( < that's slang, too, typically used by Chloe) Just look at the color & interest it adds to this sentence.

"Whoa, man, that is one freakin spiffy ninja!"

Translation - "That is a really impressive person." blah.

Thank you, slang! And many thanks Pherd, Scott, & Amelia for their supes ( < CVD slang) wicked awesome ( < Jess slang) verbage( < Kels slang).

What are your favorite slang words? Or just favorite words in general?

Dreams

This is why I'm studying Humanities - not to be a lighthouse keeper, specifically, but because it's something I love.

Yeah, so the formatting sort of cuts off half the comic - sorry about that. Check out the real thing HERE.
Or you could just click on the image for the full size effect.

I have about a hundred ideas floating around in my head about "what I want to be when I grow up" (whether I will ever really achieve that "grown-up" status is still a topic of debate). These ideas stretch from teaching high school English & Literature to working at a museum in the publicity department to owning my own antique bookstore/bakery (My Kneads). A wise woman (okay, it was Oprah) once said, "Find your bliss. Once you've found what makes you blissful, find a way to turn it into a career."I don't have a solid plan. Yet. Someday I will. But for now, I love what I do. I learn, I cook, I blog, I love, I flip, I dream, and yes, on occasion, I think seriously about my future. I'm not sure what it holds yet, but I'd like to think whatever it is will be surrounded in a hazy cloud of happiness.

In conclusion - listen to this song - Life is beautiful - sometimes you just have to look up & see the beauty that surrounds you.

.

Aaaaaaaaaaand... I'm done with the Taylor Swift as the first song on the blog. Toldja it wouldn't last.

Words of Wisdom

Sometimes I go on these wild quote binges. It starts with thinking of a quotation that I've heard, but want to get exactly right, so I look it up. Then there are always a few other quotes on the page... which often are linked to more pages, sometimes even organized by SUBJECT. sweet. It's like Pringles - you just can't stop.

Here are some of the gems from my latest quote binging accompanied by some of my favorite paintings.

If you were all alone in the universe with no one to talk to, no one with which to share the beauty of the stars, to laugh with, to touch, what would be your purpose in life? It is other life, it is love, which gives your life meaning. This is harmony. We must discover the joy of each other, the joy of challenge, the joy of growth. -- Mitsugi Saotome

Let us not be satisfied with just giving money. Money is not enough, money can be got, but they need your hearts to love them. So, spread your love everywhere you go. -- Mother Theresa (this seems like it should be a slogan for Rising Star Outreach)

My Ajay. :)

I am extraordinarily patient, provided I get my own way in the end. -- Margaret Thatcher

A kiss is a lovely trick designed by nature to stop speech when words become superfluous. --Ingrid BergmanHave courage for the great sorrows of life and patience for the small ones; and when you have laboriously accomplished your daily task, go to sleep in peace. --Victor Hugo

Creativity requires the courage to let go of certainties. --Erich FrommYou may be deceived if you trust too much, but you will live in torment if you don't trust enough. --Frank Crane

If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change. --Buddha

The only thing that makes life possible is permanent, intolerable uncertainty; not knowing what comes next. --Ursula K. LeGuin

The moment one gives close attention to anything, even a blade of grass, it becomes a mysterious, awesome, indescribably magnificent world in itself. --Henry Miller

A thing of beauty is a joy forever. --John Keats (also used in "Mary Poppins" cool. )

If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder, he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him the joy, excitement and mystery of the world we live in. --Rachel Carson

When Words Fail, Music Speaks

Author's Note: I stole that awesome title from little Miss Julie - thanks for sharing!

I feel like the fact that the first song on my blog could be classified as part of the "country" genre needs a bit of explanation (& it will probably last...hmm... three days). So here's the explanation:

I like music. A lot. & I'm all about the lyrics (please see every other post on this blog even remotely related to music for more evidence). Also, I like taylor swift kind of a lot. shhhhh - don't tell. This particular song is awesomely fitting in my life right now, in a sort of ironic happy ending way. If that sounds vague, it's supposed to be - I'm learning that a little ambiguity isn't such a bad thing after all.

So, for all of you out there (*ahem* Jason H. - you know who you are) who listen to this blog more than you read it, give me a shout out opinion on the new country-ish additions & let me know what you want to hear more of. If the lyrics are good, I just might give it a spin.

& now I've got to run, baby, run & finish my D&C assignment. You don't understand how helpless[ly distracted] I get.

Author's other note: I dunno what's up with the font size on this - it's being stubborn.

Turning Twenty at the Taj Mahal

I should be working on Spanish homework but... this is also worthwhile, right? Here are a few more of the many photos, with short captions. (Short because if they were longer I'd feel a bit more guilty for neglecting my homework.)

India is definitely the best place to turn twenty - here's why: our tour guide greeted in the lobby of our hotel around 6 am with a beautiful Indian pashmina (aka super amazing scarf). Then we traveled about three minutes by air-conditioned bus to the Taj Mahal to watch the sunrise. This experience really can't be described in words; the beauty of the Taj Mahal is ethereal and graceful, changing in the different hues of the early morning light. My twentieth birthday continued in its amazingness, but here are a few images from my first few hours as a twenty-year-old.

The inner walls of the Taj Mahal complex - I can't see it, yet!
But aren't the gates beautiful?

The gates of the Taj Mahal aren't lauded as much as the
mausoleum itself, but they are stunning. And so HUGE.
Those walls are definitely a forceful yet
beautiful guard for India's lovely lady.

My first glimpse of the Taj Mahal... I may have shed
a few tearsof happiness and gratitude at this point -
I really could notbelieve I was actually there,
seeing such a magnificent structure.


One of the most beautiful sunrises I've ever seen.

Kimbo, my love, & me showing some early morning lovin'.


Fact: There are actually two main domes on the Taj
Mahal - the outer dome,which you see here with the classic
Indian "onion shape," and the inner dome,which forms
the soaring and unsuported ceiling above the mausoleum.
Our amazing tour guide, Nithan, told us that between the
two domes therewould be enough room to for twenty
elephants or something crazy like that.

Fact: All of the designs and decorations on the Taj Mahal
are madeof semi-precious stones inlaid in the white marble.
The marble used for the Tajis slightly translucent, giving the
building its soft glow as the light penetrates the surface.

Fact: The Taj Mahal has a beauty all her own. Go there. You'll see.