I've always disliked when people replace "love" with heart. Until it became a necessity.

Picture-ful blog entry for your entertainment! (Solely yours - not mine. Not one bit.)

We have about 21 inches of snow on the back porch. Here I am trying to make a snow angel but my arms are kind of stuck. I'm daydreaming about everything I can do with snow. What are some reasons I like snow? It's gorgeous, it's angelic, and when you run in it, people think you're hard-core. First up - a snow turtle. Snow man wasn't going to work out. Apparently, you need something called "skills" for that. And I know I can make apple-peanut butter-marshmallow smiles, but snow sculptures are on a different playing field. Mainly because there's no edible incentive afterward.

I've always thought that if the tortoise and the hair raced again, this guy would lose. Well, this turtle definitely would, because head is an ice block. While I was working on all my projects (more to come!), Mom set about making an abstract piece of art. See below.

At one point, she asked, "Do you need anything? A shovel? Icycle?"
Julie: "Artistic talent?"
But, as you can verify below -

I am an excellent swiss cheese sculpturer. I think there's also a Mayan god that I was sculpting joweled-hunchback man (oh, excuse me - a man with large jowels and a hunchback) and he definitely wants to break into the cheese round. Don't worry: he's got company.

It's the ancient hippopotamus god, Mohawk-opotamus! (The mohawk actually is on purpose!) He's also here for some cheese. There is an icicle in the middle of it, like a toothpick, that isn't in the frame.

My crowning glory (crown and glory? What is that phrase?) is this man. I use the word man loosely. He's presiding over the cheese distribution with a miniature-icicle-organ to use at his discretion. This stern figure has arms wrapping behind his back, ears, and a teeny bit of a jawline! Also, an Elvis hairdo. And if you could see over the deck to the backyard, you'd see the heads of about six men who just weren't shaped for the job. (Yay, puns!)

The title of my post I begrudgingly bring up here. "I love love love love snow!!!!!!!" is too long. Really, if we remember that I'm now a photographer and not wearing gloves, "I love snow" is long. So, for the first time in my life - at least since seventh grade, when I heart'd just about any boy who made me giggle:

Happy January!

"Whoa, I didn't know that's where Arizona was! So, like... Arizona is south of most of California."
"I would have said east... but that's your call."
 And yes, folks, she has her masters now.
My other side of the family has pictures on facebook. (Chris just joined the group i wish both sides of my families used facebook. Just kidding. But he might have.)

Guess what! Someone has been really helpful to me this semester and so I made a little diaper bag! Full of character! But also quite girly for their first girl. And it was difficult. I'm going back to making aprons after this.


It did turn out well. And I love the fabric. And there are pockets galore. That would be one great thing about having a kid - getting to carry gigundo bags with pockets everywhere. If someone makes fun of it, you just shrug your shoulders and pull out the baby! (Just kidding. But babies are an automatic exemption from the giant purse spectacle.)

"In being honest [about the state of the world], the Bible welcomes you to be honest as well. In its refusal to minimize, diminish, or deny the harsh realities of this broken-down house, the Bible calls us to face the facts as well. Things are not okay around us or inside us. The brokenness presses in on every side."
 - Broken-Down House, Paul Tripp

As for the New Year, I do have some questions. We talked about how there are no pure motives for resolutions... and while resolving to know "nothing but Christ and Christ crucified" would be an amazing resolution, in my mind, it lacks in ... practicality? application? I do not know how to resolve to do that, much less do it. What happened though, is that I haven't written any resolutions, and I don't think that was the point. So I need some resolutions to write down.

I'm doing fairly well on the less-meat resolution - next step (thank you, Food, Inc) is maybe committing to buying meat and produce from local grocers if possible? It is... if I can convince myself that it's worth the extra money. I think it is in theory - we'll see how important I act like it is.
Also in the food thing, I want to start sharing meals with more people, not eating by myself, watching Accidentally on Purpose online or reading cookbooks. Also, also with food - (should I have a resolution that does not deal with food?) I want to make some new things. Homemade tortellini or tortelloni? I got some new cookbooks for Christmas, and they have some fancier foods in them that I'll have to try. And more than just desserts.

Other resolutions are to keep running, swimming, to try something new - I don't know how well you know me, but I have trouble with change. I don't like new situations, new people, new phones (always like the previous one better, and still mourning the one I lost in a snowbank a few years back). Everything is scary. So I am resolving to try something, somewhere, NEW. Most likely, it will end up being a new sport or activity. I don't even have to like it. I'll try to be honest with myself about what's new. (Skipping all day? Singing instead of talking? Yeah, I won't let those count.)

Resolved to write more. Not here (go ahead, say "Phew"... Okay, done?) but creatively. All the stuff I'm too scared to put up here, I want to write.

Resolved to find a charity and donate to it regularly. I set aside a small portion of my stipend for charity, but this year, I feel like I'm haphazardly looking for something that I deem worthy (like a cricket farm!! Thanks, MercyCorps!) or just waiting for someone to approach me and say, "Do you have x amount to donate?" No one does, by the way. I found charitynavigator.org, which tells about foundations and how their donations are handled, but I'd love suggestions on what everyone else does too.

Lastly, this quarter is off and running. I took a spinning class this morning (not new... but my first class) and am learning bundles about adolescent psychology, educational psychology, and covariance structure modeling. Did you know more and more middle school and high school teachers are reading aloud to their students and saying it helps? Did you know that all polar bears are left-handed?

My bologna has a first name - and my applesauce has a surprise ingredient!

I went apple picking last weekend and picked up pounds and pounds of apples. I have been making applesauce almost daily and eating apple crisp all the time. (Of course, with classes going on now, I am a little busier, too.)
Here I am waving to the camera - really to Calah, because I've made applesauce with her for the past few years, but was unable to this year. "Hi, Calah!"

Then, I chopped apples, put all the chopped-pieces on the knife and slid it off into the pan. This process worked, most of the time, but when working with knives, that 5% of the time makes a big difference.
Here is me wincing at my little wound/ gigundo paper clip. I'm icing it and elevating it because I'm halfway into the applesauce and I want to finish.

Side note to everyone that I have delivered applesauce to: You did not receive this batch. I'm eating it - but only me, just in case the redish tint is not from the Johnathons.
This was supposed to be a picture of the time I finished, to let Calah know that this goes a lot faster when she's helping me. She can also see my second gauze pad attached to my thumb, and that I remembered to peel the apples this time! You win some, you lose some, I guess.
This is how my roommate found me when she came home. Stirring the applesauce with one hand and elevating the other. I'm just glad there's no picture of me using the computer with an elevated hand. (I ended up sitting on the floor with my computer on the table so that my elevated hand could still type - who says blondes aren't - what's that word? - smart. (Sorry, relative who actually forgot the word smart, I had to include it.)
While I took this for Calah, who you can pray for, by the way, because she got sick over the week - this picture applies to everyone who reads this blog, and probably some more people too.

I wish you were here! (x 100). (+5.)

That much.

Load O' Photos (That rhymes, right?)

This is a nice post of family photos from Christmastime.
Aiden, my nephew, made his way up with his parents (Cory and Kelly) on Christmas day. Check out his Nike Shocks.

Ben and Aiden

This picture is supposed to focus on Cory and Kelly (Cory perfected the Chandler face from Friends).. but if you zoom in, Aiden is grabbing Dad's nose and they look really funny. Almost as funny as Dad looks when he dances to Aiden's Jumparoo jungle ditty.

I don't really know what's going on in this photo. Kristi? and Chris... who doesn't appear to be that affected by her at the moment. Maybe this is a normal occurrence?

All of us kids... after this photo, we were all instructed to "look normal." Don't know why. Kevin, Kristi, Dan, Julie, and Chris. (Kevin recently texted me saying "ya i know it sucks." To which I responded - "Did you mean to send that to me?" Kevin: "my bad homie.") I'm so glad I have friends in my life to educate me so that I'm not such a n00b.

My last picture for the Christmas spirit, and then the bitter swimming-spirit will show up soon - Remember my desire for a hippopotamus? I have learned that hippos are very angry people. While teacher says they are vegetarians, they have gored people to death and are very hostile and aggressive. But doesn't this hippo just make you want to scoop him up and adopt him? Some people think I should set lower goals in life than to own a hippo, but if they're all this cuddly - I just don't know any more.

Bring on the Christmas music!

Happy Thanksgiving!




In the Fort Worth stockyards, there is a cattle drive at 4:00 pm every day - pretty much amazing; all 11 of them.


Above: putting the polo on Sammie (well, Dan is checking the score.)

Here's Sammie's one and only trick! ... She kind of knows the command "sit" but she thinks it means "Run to the tv room!" If you tell her to sit in the tv room, she just kind of stares... but if you tell her to sit in the kitchen, this is what she does.

I can't believe now I'M writing something about Sammie...

My sister makes me laugh.

I just talked to her on the phone, and she was telling me about a chicken hat that Dan wouldn't let her buy. I had to ask - for Sammie, or for you? (For her.)
She then proceeded to tell me that Sammie's birthday is coming up next month! And her wishlist is on Petsmart, just so I'm aware! Then, I hear Dan in the background reminding Kristi that his birthday is next week, and maybe I should be reminded of that.
This just goes to support my theory that she really, really, REALLY likes Sammie. In fact, if you look at her blog, the most recent update consists of pictures of Sammie along with Sammie's "captions." Dad and I had a mini-discussion about the amount of times he and I are mentioned in her blog - I had a shout-out on my birthday, and then was mentioned when I visited (but if you look at it, it turns into a story about Sammie, including her most recent height and weight.)
So, Kristi, I'm halfway making fun of you, but realize if I had a dog as cute as Sammie, I'd do the same thing. I'm kind of doing the same thing with all my little students, except I like to combine them into one entity.
this picture seems appropriate, since it looks like Kristi and I are a happy married couple with our big-boned baby. Kristi and Dan, how about a pose like this for Christmas cards this year? Or you can dress Sammie up in her raincoat...

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