archi loves mary-jane

finding happiness

2012-02-06T00:58:00.000-06:00

Do you ever find yourself feeling down? I don't. or I hadn't in quite sometime, but for some reason I was getting really really sad through the whole of December and January. I'm not quite sure what it was that had me aching, but I was not in love with my life. Bri was still as cool as ever, we hung out with nice friends, saw funny movies, I cleaned up and made lists {these are all things that usually make me happy. } But there was something missing. I wasn't being responsible, and I would set goals for myself and immediately disregard them. I was getting mad thinking, "if I can't even keep a small goal, like reading a specific book, how will i ever achieve my more lofty and intimidating goals."

I, like everyone else, had made some New Year's Resolutions, and this year I didn't want to overwhelm myself. { like I usually do } I set up a list of about five short goals that I could work towards accomplishing just for the month of January, but I completely threw them out the window practically the next day and it really upset me. How could I not keep a single goal for one day? Then I started applying these same questions to my everyday life: "How can I not return any e-mails or phone calls?"or "How can I not take the time to make my bed,"or simply, "How can I not stop eating an entire gallon of ice-cream?" I started asking these questions and realized that these were new problems.

In the past I haven't been completely M.I.A when contacted and I haven't been the type to constantly let commitments fall through. I felt completely out-of-control physically and mentally. My thoughts were scattered and I couldn't feel any real direction in what I was doing. Too much ice-cream may seem like a minor problem, but it was more than that. There was a general apathetic, almost comatose approach to life that I had never really encountered. I was frustrated and saw myself spiraling down a path I didn't want to be on. { notice I'm using past-tense here. }

Around mid-January, I started sharing these feelings with one of my sisters, after I had shared my deepest feelings of inadequacy and self-worth problems with her, I shared with another sister. As we shared heart-felt conversations I started to note that all of my sisters had been through/had similar experiences that I had. There words of love and encouragement helped to boost my morale when I was feeling my lowest.

This past week has been a really amazing week. I've been doing a
"love your body, love yourself 14-day challenge" and I've been loving it.
It entails eating more healthily, eating treats on only two special occasions, exercising at least 10x, and drinking tons of water. I've also added my own personal 14-day goals into the mix; including spiritual fulfillment and general organization and cleanliness goals.

I think it's really been working for me because it's only 14-days and I feel like I can do anything for 14 days. Valentine's Day marks the end of my "the new happy me challenge", but I really like the changes I'm feeling and would recommend this pick-me-up re-boost to anyone who already made and broke there New Year's Resolutions as well.

I hope you all enjoyed your weekend! Here's to the new week. Let's approach it with confidence and determination.

just a couple of kids --- on rooftops

2012-01-31T19:07:00.001-06:00

{ first photo by Ryan }

We had a great weekend hanging out with the Odoms, the archis, and eating treats. Bri wants to live in this warehouse...or any warehouse. I want to live in Paris, but I think Bri wants to live there as well. We're still waiting to know where we'll be in the fall. Hopefully somewhere cool.

If you could choose any city to live in where would it be and why?

fun with stella

2012-01-25T20:16:00.002-06:00

My little niece had this project for her first grade class where you take a little "flat stella/stanley" around your town and show it the coolest things about your city. We really had fun and discovered some cool new places.

We found this artists warehouse near the "Sculpurworx" garden. Bri almost cried he loved it so much. And for the rest of the night he kept making sneaky plans on how we could possibly live in that warehouse. { it's not for sale and all the windows were broken out of it. } I wish we could somehow live in that warehouse though...it would be sweet.

my birthday

2012-01-21T19:22:00.000-06:00

It was my birthday! It was such a lovely day. My boss showered me with special gifts and when I got home from work, Bri had whipped up amazing coconut chicken over some spinach with tomatoes and cucumbers. RECIPE HERE //loved it!

lee visit

2012-01-19T18:56:00.000-06:00

We really loved having the Lees here for a visit. We ate till our stomachs hurt and had a grand celebration for Brian. We watched "The Baxter" and took some lengthy walks. Diane, Konrad and I shopped until we dropped... and then we shopped some more. We can't wait to see them again!

bri presented his thesis

2012-01-17T22:20:00.003-06:00

I was so proud of him. It was hard for me to contain my usual xena-warrior-princess-cat-calling during the applause afterwards, but some how I managed to keep it all in amongst the somber if not severe architects. He was confident and collected throughout...even though he was secretly sweaty and nervous. I loved it. More pictures and details on the fun we had with the Lees later, but for now these:

{ precious father-son moments at the top of the chase tower }

working, building, never stopping, never sleeping, working, making, some for selling, some for keeping

2012-01-06T20:05:00.000-06:00

We're keeping it real here in H-town, With Brian only days away from his, that's right you guessed it, "thesis presentation" we've been drowning in teeny-tiny wood-chips, glue, and paint. The Odoms have been helping on the fronts of model-making and feeding patrol. They brought us some Whatty's just the other night around midnight. I will eternally love them for that choice.

I took special care to add pictures of myself to the sides of the tiny-city, since I was also involved in helping. As of late I can't help but sing a certain tune, "Stool Boom!" You may or may not have noticed the lyrics in my post title.

goals from 2011

2012-01-06T19:52:00.000-06:00

Just wanted to post and reflect about our projected goals from last year. Some were met, for example I think I was my happiest yet in 2011, but some goals were not met. Bri didn't get to adopt a toddler and I did not force myself to do push-ups eveyday... in fact: the likelihood that I would be able to do a pull-up today is worse than my chances last year. With failures cast aside and forgotten, let's explore some new goal options:

Similar to a goal I made last year, I would like to work on my upper body strength.
I'd like to sew more in the upcoming year, but I don't see an visions of sewing until at the earliest, May.
I would like to eat more vegetables.

Bri had a goal that he would work on and complete his thesis and guess what? He's almost there! He presents next week and I can not wait because that's when our new year will really be starting. Bri has reminded me of this everyday since Christmas. As I try to force epic chore days and goal collage parties he just quietly reminds me. New Years day is January 12th. New Year's day is January 12th. New Year's Day is January 12th!

More time for me to decide on my real-life goals that I actually intend on doing.

2011 in review with archi loves mary-jane

2012-01-01T23:36:00.001-06:00

{ january: whilst bri was galavanting in paris, i stayed in the states to finish some auditions }

{february: valentine's day at the louvre }

{ february: our front window view in paris }

{ february: getting to know our new neighborhood }

{ march: new discoveries }

{ march: loved friends visited- steph, aaron, shelley, julia, ryan, and ann }

{ march: visited bordeaux }

{ april: mont saint michel }

{ april: joy riding on velibs, springtime in paris }

{ april: the allenbach-lee family comes for a visit }

{ april: versailles }

{ may: leaving paris...we'll miss our new friends the wades }

{ may 17: erin and sam got married }

{ june: bri's b-day}

{ june: working hard in santa fe }

{ july: fourth party at our house }

{ july: one of many competitive dodge-ball games with s.f.o.d.a }

{ july/august: the last savage with santa fe opera = best wig ever }

{ august: mom and dad came to pick me up from santa fe and see the operas }

{ august: the lees also visited us in santa fe and saw the last savage }

{ september: bri worked/works on his thesis everyday, rarely does he have time for play }

{ october: muppets for halloween }

{ october: volleyball tournament. success }

{ november: thanksgiving with the castletons }

{ november: sisters }

{ november: pudding with the lees }

{ december: fun with the mumfords }

{ december: holly jolly festivities }

happy new year!

This year: living in Paris, Brian's haircut, new language, rejection, happiness, artistry, adventure, baking, family and fun. Loved it all... even the parts I thought I wouldn't.

love

2011-12-29T23:11:00.000-06:00

Six years ago today I married my best friend.

He takes care of me when I'm sick.
He cooks most of the food I consume.
He has become an avid opera-goer and critic.
He loves making-fun of movies and making movies with me.
He ignores most of my bad habits.
He cleans the kitchen/bathroom regularly.
He shares his favorite music and blogs with me.
He serenades me with his tenor voice and his mad guit-box skillz.
He always takes out the garbage.
He shares his dreams and ambitions with me.

I know it sounds weird, but six years has felt like a couple of days and a million years at the same time. Everyday gets better. We ate yummy sushi and played whiffle ball. I absolutely love being with Bri. And I am absolutely in love with him too.

Happy sixth anniversary!

rad

2011-12-28T22:18:00.000-06:00

We loved today. We tore up the town. Bought an after-christmas-discounted ornament and watched Bri and Ry race each other on their bikes.

I love riding around in groups...it reminds me of elementary school.

post-christmas glow

2011-12-27T19:21:00.002-06:00

I always tend to get a little depressed when December five and twenty has passed because there is so much anticipation up to the day. I should be happy because I have other exciting things to look forward to such as; New Year's Eve and my anniversary, but I don't usually make any specific plans for either date...probably because I'm too blinded by my obsession with Christmas. Thus I am struggling with post-Christmas blues.

I think Bri was feeling the same way today, although his sadness was brought on by his upcoming thesis presentation deadline. We decided to take a long bike ride and enjoy the nice weather at a near-by park. We were both discussing how we were missing our youthful days. We miss Italy, we miss Paris, we miss Aspen, we miss our little apartment in Logan...but then I remembered something...We are still young! We're still in our youth. I'm not 19 anymore, but I am still in my twenties and I need to take advantage of everyday I am given. Not that our lives will end or anything as we get older, but there are certain things, for example: living the life of a transient hobo, being in school, eating fast food at midnight...etc these are all things that I won't really be able to/ want to do in a couple more years. So we're going to live it up in the new year.

I'm trying to seriously consider my goals for the year 2012. I would like to really set some that I might actually follow through with rather than my usual "be nice to everyone," "read tons of books," "get tons of $$$$$$,"and my personal favorite (I've been using this goal since the eighth grade...probably) "get fit and be healthy." I'm going to be brainstorming all week for my "more specific and realistic goals."

happy holidays

2011-12-25T14:13:00.000-06:00

I hope your days were merry and bright.

christmas doings

2011-12-21T15:04:00.000-06:00

{ looking very proud }

{ delicious pull-apart bread and our nice christmas tree }

{ zoomy tricks }

{ the bread exploded out of the bread pan }

{ self-timer mis-shoots }

{ bri in his usual holiday spot... working on his thesis }

{ again happy about my first attempt at a bread needing kneading }

Hello all! I hope you are all enjoying the fun of the holiday season. Bri is really working hard on his thesis, but he's promised that he'll take a break on the 23rd-25th...so keep your fingers crossed that he can get lots of work done before that.

While Bri's been frantically working I've been trying out some recipes and watching Christmas movies. You should try out this warm cinnamon pull-apart bread. It's really delicious. My edges were a little crispy but inside was just right. I think I'll make it again for Christmas morning.

Check out the recipe here. The only ingredient I had to buy was active dry-yeast!

this is how we do...

2011-12-19T19:43:00.000-06:00

our ugly Christmas sweaters. We were invited to our first holiday party a couple of nights ago and we absolutely loved it. There was some awesome pictionary and egg-nog for all. Also a lovely kitchen dance party at the end. I really did love it.

I was also impressed with Bri's creativity in making my hat and brooch, and his entire sweater.

my baby b

2011-12-07T19:32:00.000-06:00

I love this little guy...maybe a little too much. It's crazy that he's not really a baby anymore. Now I have to call Bri "big Bri". Getting old is weird. But I do have to say I love being an auntie and I'm so happy the Mumfords let me mooch off of them every once in a while and let me hang out with this little dude. "Little Bri" likes trains, he likes chips, he loves music, and occasionally he'll dance around with me. Pretty cool

christmas { tree } in connecticut

2011-12-04T19:07:00.000-06:00

I loved going searching with the Mumfords for their tree this year! We started out with some delicious croissants and began searching. They were feeling extra picky this year because they wanted a really really tall tree and they were hard to come by at this farm. Finally we drove to a separate property to find their giant tree. We saw Santa, some old friends, and felt the Christmas spirit seeing a nice family work together (the farm was family-owned, and Tam and I were way too nosy about how everyone was related to eachother.) I really enjoyed it. I think almost as much as last year.

fao

2011-11-30T12:43:00.000-06:00

Fun with Tam, Baby B, and Aaron. We met up with Aaron at the legendary toy store, FAO Schwartz. I loved seeing Bri get excited about all the toys and I loved watching Aaron test out all of the merchandise. We saw a magician, played the giant piano, and test drove some toy planes and cars. It was a really good day in the city.

mumford's new hood

2011-11-29T02:00:00.000-06:00

Visiting my sister in Connecticut is always a treat. She and her husband always take care of me and make me feel right at home. My first adventure with the Mumfords was checking out their soon-to-be new city, Farmington. Tam wanted to drive around and check out some of the neighborhoods so we made a day of it and met-up with Nathan for some lunch. (He works in Farmington these days as a dentist, thus they want to move there.)

Nathan and Tammy showed me this really cool little bakery with amazing sandwiches and cakes. I would recommend it to anyone.

More Chirstmas-goodness in Connecticut to come.

thanksgiving with the castletons

2011-11-24T01:25:00.000-06:00

We absolutely loved seeing our families over Thanksgiving. We met up with the Castletons bright and early Thursday morning to take some "family pictures." (with anyone who could make it.) It was cold and we were all grumpy, but we accomplished our goal of getting one picture. Ha ha.

We also had a very exciting "Thanksgiving pudding" with the Castletons... although no one announced a pregnancy or anything. It was so much fun watching my little nieces and nephews waiting so patiently for their string to come untangled so they could get to their precious gifts.

Time with family is always too short. I have visions of all the fun we'll squeeze in over the span of a 4 day period and before you know it, it's time to fly away and I have hardly spoken with every family member. Kind of sad, but it's good for me to realize I can take it easy and it's okay to catch up with my sisters over the phone rather than face-to-face. I don't know when we'll be able to have another Thanksgiving at home, but I'm already looking forward to it...whenever it is.

thanksgiving surprise

2011-11-22T15:41:00.000-06:00

We had such a blast with the Lees over Thanksgiving. Bri and I met up with Diane in the afternoon and anxiously awaited everyone's arrival at the Lee home. We went to a pizza buffet and stuffed ourselves. Aubrey and I especially enjoyed the dessert pizzas.

Afterwards we had "thanksgiving pudding" where we opened the first gifts of the holiday season. Usually Diane just wraps some selections from the dollar store, but this year there was an extra special gift with a tag for Diane and Konrad. Inside were the cutest little baby shoes you've ever seen. We were so surprised and happy for the Powells. They are going to be the best parents. I can tell by the way they announced the pregnancy. Brian cried/ has been crying ever since the announcement. I don't know if his approaching thesis deadline has anything to do with it, or just the sheer emotional happiness and joy that follows these kind of announcements.

castleton girls

2011-11-21T15:16:00.000-06:00

On Monday Bri and I flew into Salt Lake City. I got to have a quick visit with one of my best friends from my USU days. We laughed and looked at some cute little boutique shops. We also ate at one of my favorite Utah chains, Cafe Rio.

Later that night I got to meet up with some of my sisters for a special girls night. The husbands were on for baby-duty so we could hang out and see a movie. Sar made some mad chili and Tam loaded us up with candies and popcorn for the movie. I hate admitting it, but we did go see the Twilight sequal. I almost died of shame and embarrassment going to it, but it ended up being the perfect platform for me and my sisters to laugh loudly and make fun of horrible acting and screen-writing...I guess I loved it for that.

My sisters are not only beautiful, smart and sweet, but also comedic geniuses. I felt like we were at a sleep-over in junior high. My cheeks hurt from laughing so much by the end of the evening. Loved every second.

our friends are beautiful people...

2011-11-14T23:43:00.001-06:00

Our friends are beautiful people and they let us take their pictures. Lucky! We are not pros, but I think some turned out pretty nice. Can't wait to practice my photog-skills on them again soon.

archi's world

2011-11-03T17:16:00.002-05:00

Recently Bri and I have both been simultaneously busy and procrastinating everything. The good: this situation is propelling our reading and running ambitions. The bad: we're not really ever accomplishing anything. Bri has a meeting with his thesis professor tomorrow to help him stay on track and I have a coaching to help me remember how to sing. Bri's upcoming deadlines and duties have forced him to a new location; we've been sitting all day at a near-by Starbucks. It's hilarious that we're even here because the mentality that someone needs to go to Barnes and Noble or Starbucks to accomplish something is exactly the kind of thing that Bri would usually make fun of. Weirdos who think the only place to get some work done is at the 'bucks.' So far so good for Bri. I guess he'll be retracting his former ideas and judgements of these establishments. He's been very productive and working really well today.

Yesterday I was walking across Rice's campus and I found this amazing new building called Brokman Hall, built for the Physics department. I was really impressed by the technique they used to create the columns.{pictured here} They laid wood and poured cement down the pillars creating a look that kept the wood texture and mixed it with cement's color and composition. I didn't take any pictures of the columns. Too bad. The environment around the building is beautiful. Feel free to check out more details about the project on archdaily.

{my archi is a celebrity! his picture in on the rice website and this is him presenting last fall.}

I love this guy.

i played in a church volleyball tournament this weekend

2011-10-30T14:45:00.000-05:00

i loved it.
we took third.
pretty impressive.
cool new friends.