a collection of joy...

New Blog

2010-02-18T20:07:00.001-06:00

I have a new blog I just started. It will chronicle my experiences crafting for profit..... and probably lots of other wonderful things.

reduce, reuse, recycle...

2009-03-05T09:41:00.002-06:00

Just a few tips from Green by Design...

Bulk Stores rule! No wrapping, no packaging, no frills – just about anything you may need sits in large bins, ready to scoop. From pasta to peanut butter (self-ground) and anything in between. Just go easy on those chocolate chips.
BYOB (Bring Your Own Bag). Bring a cool-looking tote to take your groceries away in, and forgo those plastic carrier bags that stay around for the next few millennia.
Recycle. Most cities and towns have a recycling program in place for paper, glass, tin, even kitchen waste. Garages will take your old car batteries and tires. Many hardware stores will take your old paint, batteries and old CFLs.
Compost your kitchen scraps. Your flower beds will be happy
Lug Your Mug for take-out coffee; many places will even give you a discount for it.
Avoid take-out food. I know, that can be a challenge on a Friday night. But all those plastic and foam take-out boxes produce a big stream of toxic garbage.
Eat home-cooked meals. Okay, another potential mine field here, but let’s face it: all those plastic and aluminum trays that those frozen dinners and prepackaged meals come in don’t really compensate for their overload of sodium, saturated fats and missing vitamins.
Drink tap water instead of bottled water. Evian and Perrier are no longer cool.
Repair, don’t throw out. Need I say more?
Buy durable. Sure, it may be a little bit more to get the better quality product, but it will last much longer and always pays for itself in the long run.

centerpiece mock-up

2009-03-04T19:52:00.006-06:00

So I've been thinking a lot about centerpieces this week. originally I had planned on doing just the glass vase with a tall pillar candle in the center and adding some berry garland around the outside of it. But the more I thought about it the whole thing became more and more boring.

I took it to the next level. I'm now thinking of keeping the same idea but putting it all on top of some old suitcases, stacked drawers, and in this case a hat box. Adding some old books and an old b&w picture of a family member on top.

sorry for the blurr...

Since the beginning I have opted out of the traditional guest book thing. I was wanting to put cards at each table and have our guests write some words of advice or encouragement to us. I would then take them all and put them in a scrap book. I feel like this way we would look back through it more often. But I took that idea one small step further. I'm now thinking that I want to find old/vintage postcards and have our guests write on the back of them.

In the picture above I put the postcards and pens in an old ceramic bowl. Since I can remember my mom and my aunt have been collecting this particular pattern. It's the dish ware their grandmother used. I have been trying to find a way to incorporate this some how.
What do you think??

wedding head

2009-03-04T19:15:00.003-06:00

i think i have settled on my veil. what do you think? too many feathers? or just enough whim?

listening to today...

2009-03-04T15:20:00.003-06:00

Please Clap Your Hands... The Bird and the Bee

Let it die.... Feist

The Mating Game... Bitter:Sweet

a bit of inspiration...

2009-03-04T13:41:00.003-06:00

i love this centerpiece idea found at vintageglamblog.com. which by the way is a new addition to my google reader. maybe i will make a stop by the downtown mini mall later this week to see if i can add a little old school to our wedding in may. any other ideas of how thrift store finds can add a bit of glam to a wedding?

new blogs i subscribed to today...

2009-02-26T13:59:00.002-06:00

Enjoy!!

this just in...

2009-02-25T20:11:00.002-06:00

I got my wedding shoes today! I ordered them off of amazon. The color wasn't my first choice, those didn't come in my size. So I ordered the Taupe on a whim.

They fit perfectly! AND... the color is an exact match to the satin detailing along the waist of my dress. AMAZING!

re-found...

2009-02-25T16:03:00.003-06:00

Joanna Newsom

Cody, of all people, put her on a cd mix for me. I haven't spent time listening to her in a long while. But today, I find myself on her Pandora Station.

i love her quirky voice. and beautiful/imaginitive lyrics. look her up and enjoy it on this beautiful day....

I made cookies today!

2009-01-03T15:09:00.004-06:00

Because it feels a little like spring outside I added a little springtime flowers.

2009-01-02T15:29:00.003-06:00

It's only a few weeks after Christmas and I already have something on my wish list.

Watch the video and see if you find this as facinating as i do!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ch2KKtiFiLM

It's just a different number.

2009-01-02T12:11:00.002-06:00

2009.... That is the first time that I have written/typed that this year. It's strange to think about. When I hear or read about something that happened in 1999, a movie release, or world event it doesn't seem that long ago. But it was 10 years! But then again, I was just a kid. I still am.

I don't feel time passing. My list of knowledge and memorable events is longer. I am becoming more of who I am. But it doesn't feel like time is passing by. I feel more rooted in truth, love, and personal identity than I do in the time or year.

I have never really made resolutions. I don't usually keep them even if I do decide to proclaim that this year "I will diet... read x amount of books... make a quilt... grow butterfly wings." For me, resolutions are pointless and nonsensical.

But I can say that in the course of 1 year I could see myself changing in a certain way, making various lifestyle changes, learning and growing in a new area. I can usually make predictions about myself in the year to come. They don't always come to fruition. Or, they may fizzle out by mid-march. They might, however, become fully realized in my daily life.

So what do I predict for myself during this 2009 calendar year?

I might be a little greener. In two senses. I really want to start gardening. Flowers? Maybe. But mostly veggies and herbs. Maybe it's my latent maternal instinct but I really want to see something grow from seed into nurtured fruit. And then I would like to be able to make a tossed salad or sauce and say "I watched that tomato every day get bigger and fuller and more of a beautiful tomato!" (this is of course where the maternal instinct comment ends. Because there won't be a day where I say "hmmm... my child is plump and healthy! let's make a salad!!") I also find myself leaning more and more on the side of green living. Making choices and actions that help the environment that I am in, not polluting my body as much as I am, and staying conscious about how "green" choices can effect me in a good way financially.
I see myself experiencing love in ways that I never could have imagined. With people and with God.
Making bigger steps in living in the "real world". Becoming financially independent. Being more comfortable with the daily schedule of 8-5 life. Being up to date with the current affairs of the world. And all the while staying free of the hum-drum, day to day, boring existence.

And maybe, just maybe, I will post on this thing a little more frequently. Happy 2009!

Whatever Martha...

2008-11-19T10:14:00.003-06:00

A post devoted to Martha Stewart

I have found myself spending a lot of time on Martha's website durring my work day when I have nothing else to do. The following is her blog post from today... a true gem!

Snoop Dogg and I make Mom's mashed potatoes

I have to say that my life is very interesting and also kind of weird. I’m so fortunate in that I get to meet fascinating people. One day I’m presenting Maya Angelou with a Living Legend award and then I fly off to Miami and attend a Victoria’s Secret fashion show. And then yesterday, the multi-platinum rap artist, Snoop Dogg, appeared on my television show and taught me some of his very own language called Snoop-guistics. He and his posse add ‘izzles’ onto the ends of words. It’s kind of a code, or a way of communicating so that others won’t know what they’re talking about. Example: fo shizzle is how they say, for sure.

Snoop Dogg also shared –
Crack-a-lackin – means get something poppin
Chuuuch – means take God everywhere you go and everything will be all right
All hood – means good
Ball til ya fall – get as much money as you can before you die

Snoop Dogg is about to start the second season of his reality TV show, Father Hood on November 30th and he also wanted to share his Five Tips for Fatherhood.
1 – Know when to lie to your kids
2 – Know when to be mean and know when to be a friend
3 – Always stay in control
4 – Serve them juice but hold the gin
5 – When the kids give you attitude, pop ‘em like it’s hot
Bottom line – Keep your children respectful of their elders.

Also, I am in love with all of her handmade gifts on her site now. Actually I think her issue devoted soley to the topic came out last month. That being said... if i love you, you might be recieving a unique gift from me for Christmas

2008-11-06T15:52:00.003-06:00

I love this image. I found it at cnn.com. This image makes me think of two things...

1) A cultural icon can be an image, a symbol, a logo, picture, name, face, person, or building or other image that is readily recognised, and generally represents an object or concept with great cultural significance to a wide cultural group. A representation of an object or person, or that object or person may come to be regarded as having a special status as particularly representative of, or important to, or loved by, a particular group of people, a place, or a period in history.

2) "They don't think he's merely going to be president.They think he's been elected savior." Stuart Rothenberg of the nonpartisan The Rothenberg Political Report on the Democratic expectations of our pres-elect.

Although he may be a great and respectable man, he is still just a man.

"Let every person be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God" (Romans 13:1)

Redeemed with a vengance!

2008-10-28T15:03:00.002-05:00

Greetings from the City of Denton Solid Waste Department!

If you didn't get the memo (because you live in some other city besides my fair Denton, or because I have turned into a J.D. Salinger type recluse)... you should know that I am now working at the CoD Landfill... no trash, no dumpsters. I am the receptionist at the operations building. The only dumpsters I really deal with are the cute miniature replicas of the curbside bins. They hold my pens and highlighters.

It's been about a month and I am enjoying it so far. I do really tedious mind-numbing tasks in the lobby area practically by myself all day. BUT, people come in and out and when they do I get to say hello and share witty banter and sarcastic chit-chat. Thus redeeming the mind-numbing aspect... Ahem, almost redeeming I mean.

Yesterday I got off work of a particularly braindead day and was almost useless for a few hours. Today I challenged myself to fix it, and fix it I did!! Today I have been listening to a podcast from the Ohio State art department. I am currently in the 4th session of a course on the history of western art. Remembering/learning a lot from my beloved past in the AH classroom.

maybe tomorrow i will go over some of the great books that I have been reading... maybe i will

2008-09-28T11:06:00.004-05:00

My camera is broken. It has been all summer. Really it's just the screen that's broken. But still it's very sad and tragic.

Lately I have been so loved and taken care of by our God. I have been doing the job search thing, which is not a fun thing to do. It has been a little bit over a month of sending out about 5-10 resumes a day and getting no responses. And Friday I realized I have $70 in my bank account and about a week until I have to pay rent. (sheesh!) The same day God provided. I will now be working for the City of Denton doing administrative stuff. I start Monday and get paid Friday, the day my rent is due. (again, sheesh!) Also, I have been more and more realizing how good the Spirit is. I so love the days when I am more attune to it's soft whispers. And even more loving the reason why I have this in the first place...

4But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, 5he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, 6whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.
Titus 3:4-7

What are you thankful for??

2008-09-16T10:50:00.003-05:00

This post is slightly inspired by Natties from today... only because it's been so long since I have posted anything that it's funny that I'm even going to try.

Well I'm going to try later and leave you with this...

This is my new back yard from inside my new room. I think later today i will give you a tour of the new house.

Enjoy today.

Life lately...

2008-05-28T18:43:00.009-05:00

Here is a quick picture update about my life so far this summer...

I am here at Marietta for the summer. I really do love this place. This is a view out onto the back yard and patio. One of my favorite things about the house is that it is walking distance to Art 6, Chopsticks, and if I am up for it the Denton library.

In a description of me I feel like there should always be the following sentence. "Amy likes all things pretty." Not the vain, shallow pretty. I like all things aesthetically pleasing. I am a huge color nerd. I love putting them together (like a puzzle.) I love my new light pink coffee table. These flowers were just 5 bucks at Albertson's, and the table was free from the wonderful Katie King.

This is Es-two, short for Esteban two. He is a precious little kitten... for about 5 minutes a day. The other minutes he walks under your feet, knocks his food bag over and completely empty onto the floor, he attacks your feet, and chases ankle socks through the house. He is no longer living with me. He belongs to Miss Ashley and they both moved into their new house.

I really really love to cook. Breakfast is becoming one of my favorite meals. Coffee and a big breakfast with a Bible chapter. MMMM! I love starting my day like this!

I have about 3 weeks before I leave for France! I don't think it has quite hit me yet that I will be in France for 3 weeks. We still know next to little about where we will be, and what we will be doing. So right now I am just excited about serving the Arnolds. And especially seeing Jen, and how she is mom. wife, missionary, and obedient daughter all in a foreign culture. Support is going so well! Almost done. Practically done. The Lord has really shown his power and provision in this frustrating process.

Other than that I am working some. Reading a lot. And learning daily!

My Denton

2008-05-18T09:21:00.002-05:00

I have spent this morning reading and subscribing to new blogs. Among my many discoveries is this video from the MTV website from last september. Midlake gives a tour of our Denton, showing off the many quirks and gems of our city. Including the vast collection of swords displayed in the window of the Denton Mini Mall.

Yesterday I spent the day with my mom in Denton. We did the whole square thing. I love the Denton that I live in. Not the Denton that I had my freshman year. My idea of Denton then was just UNT, I35, and 288. But now Denton has many more roads, each one having something new to explore.

2008-04-23T20:26:00.002-05:00

I have a lot to post about but I'm just not feeling it right now. Instead I will leave you with my favorite picture of the week.

Current position

2008-04-16T22:20:00.005-05:00

Here I stand in this current position. To my right is a river, flowing steady and straight. Its waters are warm yet refreshing, glinting in the light as it flows. Drops! Precious and vital! As if each one contained light from heavenly bodies by which sailors once guided their fleet. The waters are impossibly translucent, charitable in letting me see the bottom of it's path. In this river's bed I see that there are a thousand generations of stones. Each stone is a passionate shade of red; smoothed and rounded by the gentle caress of the river's ebbs and flows.

To my left is a river flowing from a different source. It's path is haphazard; curving, winding, doubling back on itself as if fleeting Whim cut it out herself, only then to change the placement of the river's mouth and begin again. It weaves in and out creating its serpentine tangles so that it places its banks at my left side. The waters are deep blue. Then again, are they brown? The color changes so as to make it appear to be what it is not. The now yellow water is nearly stagnant, creeping and crawling in it's sloth-like pace. Glistening on the surface is a thick oil, making the water shine in the hazy light.

I spend my days with one river on my right and another on my left. One foot placed firmly on one shore of each. My Father stands behind me watching me cast my gaze from one to another. When they appear to be a bottomless blue, the waters on the left captivate my attention. I reach my hand out to play with the silky film on top of the stream. I wonder, will it be smooth like glass just as it shines like glass? Placing my hand in the water I move the oil exclaiming "Look Father! Look what I can do!" I claim the substance and hold it momentarily in my hand, until I see that the oil has a goal of it's own. The film quickly spreads from my palm to the back of my hand, ultimately captures all five of my fingers and progresses up my arm toward my elbow. It is here when I cry out "Look Father! What have I done?"

He does not speak. He waits to see what I will do. As the film slithers up past my elbow I find that I must solve the problem that I have created. Timidly I put a finger in the clear water to see if it may reverse the path of the oil. I withdraw my hand to find that not only is the finger the same as it was, the rest of me continues to be slowly claimed by the muck. I fall in surrender. There is nothing I can do! The oil has covered me whole. I turn and find that my Father is looking down at me where I sit, huddled at His feet. "Father, what can I do to make myself clean?" He comes down to me where I lie on the Earth, in a pool of the mess that covers me. "It is not what you do that will save you from this, my daughter. I am here to reclaim you from the filth that covers you." And then I realize that He risked descending into such filth in order to save me from my current position. It is here that I yield. I turn myself over into his arms, in which he carries me to the river on my right.

I feel the waters break the oil from my skin. Reemerged I find myself cleaner than when I began to sit at these banks. My Father has freed me.

And so again, it is here that I stand in this current position. To my right is a river, flowing steady and straight. To my left is another, flowing from a different source. Most days I see the river on my right. It's clear waters allow me to see the red stones that were there before me. I see now that this river flows a powerful red. On the days that I forget and they still appear to be a bottomless blue, the waters on the left captivate my attention. I may continue to be forgetful and allow the oil to cover my hand. But it will not claim me. My Father patiently washes away my muck. When I forget He will teach me. He is my Teacher, He is my Father. I am His alone.

2008-02-07T11:13:00.000-06:00

I have recently become obsessed with Yael Naim. Go to Deezer.com and look her up. You might recognize her voice from the macbook air ad.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5pP55u9s10

... that would be good both going and coming back

2008-02-01T16:30:00.000-06:00

'Birches' (1916)

WHEN I see birches bend to left and right
Across the lines of straighter darker trees,
I like to think some boy’s been swinging them.
But swinging doesn’t bend them down to stay.
Ice-storms do that. Often you must have seen them 5
Loaded with ice a sunny winter morning
After a rain. They click upon themselves
As the breeze rises, and turn many-colored
As the stir cracks and crazes their enamel.
Soon the sun’s warmth makes them shed crystal shells 10
Shattering and avalanching on the snow-crust—
Such heaps of broken glass to sweep away
You’d think the inner dome of heaven had fallen.
They are dragged to the withered bracken by the load,
And they seem not to break; though once they are bowed 15
So low for long, they never right themselves:
You may see their trunks arching in the woods
Years afterwards, trailing their leaves on the ground
Like girls on hands and knees that throw their hair
Before them over their heads to dry in the sun. 20
But I was going to say when Truth broke in
With all her matter-of-fact about the ice-storm
(Now am I free to be poetical?)
I should prefer to have some boy bend them
As he went out and in to fetch the cows-- 25
Some boy too far from town to learn baseball,
Whose only play was what he found himself,
Summer or winter, and could play alone.
One by one he subdued his father’s trees
By riding them down over and over again 30
Until he took the stiffness out of them,
And not one but hung limp, not one was left
For him to conquer. He learned all there was
To learn about not launching out too soon
And so not carrying the tree away 35
Clear to the ground. He always kept his poise
To the top branches, climbing carefully
With the same pains you use to fill a cup
Up to the brim, and even above the brim.
Then he flung outward, feet first, with a swish, 40
Kicking his way down through the air to the ground.
So was I once myself a swinger of birches.
And so I dream of going back to be.
It’s when I’m weary of considerations,
And life is too much like a pathless wood 45
Where your face burns and tickles with the cobwebs
Broken across it, and one eye is weeping
From a twig’s having lashed across it open.
I’d like to get away from earth awhile
And then come back to it and begin over. 50
May no fate willfully misunderstand me
And half grant what I wish and snatch me away
Not to return. Earth’s the right place for love:
I don’t know where it’s likely to go better.
I’d like to go by climbing a birch tree, 55
And climb black branches up a snow-white trunk
Toward heaven, till the tree could bear no more,
But dipped its top and set me down again.
That would be good both going and coming back.
One could do worse than be a swinger of birches. 60

Robert Frost

I found an immediate connection to this poem when I had first read it. Just imagine! To climb... to swing and boldly land out of a tree. The speaker imagines. He, as an adult, wishes to transcend from earthly monotony and swing in the birches. From here, to heaven, and back again. These words remind me to live simply and to find joy in it. I have a tendancy to make life a hurried string of days. Mr. Frost reminds me to escape and imagine. Each time I read this I find some new meaning in the words. But, each time I read the words "One could do worse than be a swinger of birches", and I find myself encouraged to boldly imagine.