Monday, February 28, 2011

I Had Not Intended To Write An Entire Post About The Oscars

I work Sunday evenings...we have a 5pm High School service, so band practice begins at 2. Small Groups are from 6-7 and the Student Center closes around 8. Oh, and then we have a Dave Ramsey class at our house from 8-10. Needless to say, I missed the Academy Awards last night.

I really love the Academy Awards. As I was growing up, we had parties at our house to watch the show and I have watched every year since (even last year when I did not have TV...thank you Rachel J!)

This year, I had planned ahead: I recorded everything. And I mean everything: The Show, the Red Carpet Show, the Pre-Red Carpet Show...about 5 1/2 hours of Oscars television.

I had also planned not to check any Twitter or Facebook feeds until I had watched the entire show; I didn't want a moment to be spoiled.

It should be noted: I want to watch every second of the show. I do not want to fast-forward...even through the acceptance speeches given by the winners of Documentary Short Subject or Sound Mixing. (Well, this is not completely true; I will fast-forward through the re-cap of the awards given on other nights.) I don't want people to talk over it. I really want to watch it all. (I don't care this much about other Award shows, but for some reason, I love the Oscars.)

One thing they have added in the last year or two (which I really appreciate) is the announcement during the winner's from-seat-to-stage-walk: "This is the first win and second nomination for _________. His first nomination was in ____ for _________." For years, I can remember our party of viewers asking one another: "Is this her first award?" or "Wait, didn't she win a few years ago? She didn't? Was she nominated?" I love that The Academy has chosen to help us out.

Also, I'm so happy for Colin Firth. It makes me want to write him a letter and express how proud I am of his accomplishment. Seriously, I just might.

It should also be noted: I did not just sit on my tushie all day. Post-Tivo-clean-up, I cleaned my entire kitchen (including the stove-top), vacuumed everywhere (including all of the couch cushions and underneath the over-stuffed chair)--which, is more than likely, completely O.C.D., but it does make me less grossed-out about touching my face to the couch.

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Fill In the Blank Saturday

I was tagged by Katie during Fill in the blank Friday, but I didn't see it until this morning...so I'm a day late. BUT, I was reading the entire post thinking, I'm totally going to steal this, it's a cute idea and then saw that I was tagged at the end! Destiny. ("From the Latin word: destino")

So, here you go:

1. I am currently obsessed with: Orange Juice, green apples, and my new shoes from Urban Outfitters

2. Today I am: easily irritated because: I'm not quite sure why, I just have noticed that about myself today

3. The age I am is: 28 and the age I feel is: 22 (on a regular basis) 85 (around 9:30pm...)

4. My favorite place is: Kitale, Kenya (easy!)

5. Something I have been procrastinating is: Doing my taxes (which is not a new procrastination for me; you see, I haven't done my taxes for 2009 either. Calm down, it will happen.)

6. The last thing I purchased was: A bunch of cleaning supplies (and some construction paper for a paper chain) from Target.

7. The thing I love most about my home is: The one-of-a-kind paintings from Wendy and Alanna.

Monday, February 14, 2011

Golfballs and Glassware

On my 26th birthday, I made a list of 30 Things to do Before I Turn 30. One of the things on my list: Go golfing with my Papa.

We had talked about it a few times, but more as a "someday", hardly ever a "when"...until a few weeks ago.

Papa (my maternal grandfather) made the reservations, found an extra set of clubs, stocked up on balls and tees, and even sent me an instructional video so I could prepare.

This morning, I struggled to get ready...less emotionally ready and more physically ready. What does a girl who does not own pants wear to go golfing? I didn't want to embarrass Papa, so I tried to bring a happy-medium to the dress vs. pants dilemma.

When I arrived at his house, I was told we'd have a special surprise third on the course: my cousin Logan! Seriously, these are two of my very favorite relatives (I can't say my absolute favorites since some of the others read my blog, too)...I was so excited to spend the day with them.

I tried my best to fill them in on the "30 Things" list on the way there, so they would understand the importance of taking pictures to document the day. (Yet, I was still told to put my phone away several times.)

Our clubsWe started by sharing a bucket of balls to warm-up
Practice swings: Papa and Logan
Papa gave each of us a few pointers (well, mostly me) and celebrated Logan's form
We also practiced our putting

Then shared a few pre-game beverages
At 2pm, we were off for the game...
9 holes later, we had finished. Our scores weren't very good, but we did have a good time. (When I told Papa about my goal of bowling a game of 120, he said, "You could easily score a 120 in golf!") I scored about 10 under double par. (Par: 29, Me: 52.) That's not too shabby for my first round.
Logan and I said multiple times throughout the day that we would love to do this on a regular basis. Spending an afternoon outside with our Grandpa...how could we pass that up? Thanks again, Pops! We had such a great time!

Oh, and when we came back to get our cars, Bum (my grandma) had packed a bag of glasses for me (from her china cabinet). Aren't they cool?

What did you do for Valentine's Day?

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Good (Valen)Times

Tonight, one of my small group girls held a Valentine's Dinner for our small group. It was totally her idea...so she put the entire thing together top to bottom. What a fun night it was!

8 of the 13 girls showed up (it was formal for a few schools). Ryanne had made chicken, asparagus, a vegetable medley and mashed potatoes (from scratch) for dinner. She also made pink frosted cupcakes with little candy hearts on each one. Delicious.

But, she didn't stop there: she'd also decorated the entire living room: heart chain streamer, paper bag "Be Mine"...and a circle made of pillows as the dinner table. She'd printed questions for a dinner game, too.

She was so excited to open her home to us...and I am so proud of all that she did to make us feel so welcome and cared for. Once most of the girls left, we did little things to entertain ourselves...the girls had never seen this mirror trick before and were so delighted by the genius of it. (easy crowd)
I love, love my small group. I love that they love each other, too.

Thursday, February 10, 2011

One Gym I Actually Enjoy

Recently, I've taken to listening to classical music.
Only classical music.

It all started when I got in the car and realized that I didn't want to listen to anything in my iTunes library...except for Clair de Lune (my very favorite song). So I played it two or three times and then continued with the rest of the "classical" playlist.

Two days later, that playlist was still on repeat.

The mood followed me right out of the car and in to the office, where I listened to my Debussy station on Pandora.

By day four, I was through with my short eight song playlist and wanted more...so I found a classical music radio station. (Side note: this afternoon, the 'hosts' were engaging in some banter about "The Most Relaxing Classical Album in the World...Ever! Volumes I and II", it was actually pretty funny.)

"Gymnopédie No. 1" has quickly become one of my new favorites. I thought you might enjoy it, too.

Wednesday, February 09, 2011

I Love Typography

I mean, I know I've mentioned it before...but it's really amazing just how much I love typography.

Check out the typography in these videos:

The Alphabet from n9ve



EF - Live The Language - Paris from Albin Holmqvist on Vimeo.



EF - Live The Language - Barcelona from Albin Holmqvist on Vimeo.


I mean, serious. love.

Monday, February 07, 2011

3,067 Miles of Adventure

I had to make some modifications to my 30 Things list since, let's be honest, there's no way I'm making it to eight countries in under two years. (Just think what Dave Ramsey might have to say about those trips.)

So, I chose some more reasonable locations to visit.

This map hits three of them in one road trip: 2 days and 4 hours worth of driving to see Old Faithful, Mt. Rushmore and the Grand Canyon. (We'd also drive through Las Vegas on the way.)


Totally feasible, right?
So, you in?