Valpo Studio (Previously Taking a Bite out of Life)

When The Husband is Away, the Girls Will Play.

2013-05-20T17:27:00.002-07:00

Ryan is out of town for a few days (including his birthday, boo.) for some networking, and interviewing opportunities.

This would be the perfect opportunity to go a lil cray-cray, am I right?

When I go out of town, my husband takes that as an invitation to pound a whole pizza by himself, rent a bunch of movies, and to not shave. So that got me thinking, what should I do?!

I thought, oh hey, I could prance around in my unda-getup! So, ya know... the second I got home from dropping him off yesterday, we had a lil bit of this action:

(don't tell my husband that there were suddenly a bunch smoke, lights and jiving guys in our living room...)

And then it was about lunch time so... well...

But that's nothing out of the ordinary.

What next? I know! A bubble bath. Me thinks:

Or, a luxurious shower (because you just can't shower unless your husband is out of town?)

And like the wild stallion I am, I went to church, and repented for having all those hulking black men hip thrusting in my living room on the sabbath :)

Later I had some girl time which lead to pounding a full dish of brownies:

and other than that, I've just been sneaking around the housing and pretending no one is home whenever the doorbell rings,

Eventually I went to bed at the wee hours of the morning. And, no. No, I wasn't just so lonely, and couldn't fall asleep without my spouse which led me to calling him at 3 am to which he did not answer.... Because that would be pathetic. I'm a party animal and was up late doing totally awesome party animal-stuff.

Here's the thing though: I'm really unoriginal, and frankly pretty shameless. I do ALL of these things when he is home anyways, so what am I supposed to do in order to seize this rare occasion?

Yea, I don't know Either.....

To the Mom...

2013-05-12T20:35:00.001-07:00

To the mom who was strong enough to naturally birth 7 children, and gracefully bury 1...

To the mom who was organized enough to dress her children in themed and matching clothes...

And still does....

To the mom who didn't get mad; she got the camera:

To the mom who loves her children despite their oddities...

And to the mom who taught me how to woooork it.

(High heels and pajama's anyone?)

How many people do you know, who, rather than getting boiling mad over spilled fucsia paint on the stairs, solves the problem by painting the stairs fucsia?

That's what I thought.

To the mom who rarely is in the pictures as she is always the one taking them.

And hasn't aged a day since 25...

And who is the world's best cheerleader,

I love you!

AND let's not forget the other momma's in my life!

To the mom who was strong enough to birth 5 children and adopt 1,

and to the mom who created my favorite person in the world:

To the mom who makes me feel like I've always been a member of the family...

And to the mom who is a chef, a band groupie, a chauffeur, and party planner.

To the mom who is just as beautiful inside as she is out, (and who's warmth and kindness can make the devil himself sing rainbows)

I love you!

TGIF

2013-05-09T20:09:00.001-07:00

Tomorrow is Friday!!!

Who's ready for the weekend?

And for your weekend viewing pleasure...

The cutest thing ever.

Why are teens so self conscious?

2013-05-07T17:46:00.000-07:00

I'll be the first to admit that I did not have perfect self-esteem when I was younger. Likewise, I'll also be the first to recognize that I was (and frankly still am) a chubbers, with all of my wobbly bits and dimples firmly grounded and planning to stay :)

We blame the media for a lot of false senses of how we, as humans, should view ourselves. With photoshop and hollywood mass producing life size barbies, it's hard to not feel a little inferior when you stare at yourself in a swimsuit for a few minutes before going out, mildly defeated and regretting the horizontal stripes, to the summer air. For years I have racked my brain trying to figure out how to provide confidence to my future daughters who will be, most undoubtedly, condemned to mature in a confidence-deficit world. Occasionally I think that I've come up with a game plan to thwart the critical ideas of the world, and then I run across an article like this.

Title:

"Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Explains Why He Hates Fat Chicks"

Yea, you read that right.

Abercrombie and Fitch, (known for their expensive "cool" clothes, and advertisements selling cosmetic surgery) honestly tries to repel plus sized women. Is anyone feeling a little less confident in yourselves, or is it just me? I'm ashamed to admit that I remember wanting to wear Abercrombie and Fitch clothes in High School thinking that they would make me cooler and prettier, so I guess in that aspect their marketing strategy was pretty successful, but heavens! My mom used to tell me I couldn't shop there because of the "Teen Porn" on the walls and because they were outrageously expensive, little did I know that they probably wouldn't have had my size anyway!!!

“He (the CEO) doesn’t want larger people shopping in his store, he wants thin and beautiful people,” Lewis said. “He doesn’t want his core customers to see people who aren’t as hot as them wearing his clothing. People who wear his clothing should feel like they’re one of the ‘cool kids.’”

Call me naive, but I'm just appalled.

DIY side tables

2013-04-20T13:16:00.005-07:00

So a million years ago we snagged these old side tables at a yard sale with the intention of re-doing them and then, there they sat.... and sat... and sat....

With a week break before school (yes, I have 2 more classes, psych!) and work start back up, I thought I'd use one of those days to re-do these side tables. Silly, silly, Valerie. 1 day turned into 5 and almost a week of sanding, painting, and varnishing later, they are done!!!

So much sanding....

and painting...

and varnishing... and then it rained.

and here we are 5 days and 15-20 movies later :)

It's true what they say: when you do it yourself you really do appreciate it more!

For the very, very beginners, here are the main points I followed:

1. The varnish was Minwax stain+ polyurethane. That poly-yadda-yadda stuff seals the wook from the elements and gives it a nice glossy finish. I used about 3 coats to make the color a little darker.

2. I did just paint right on top of the wood without sanding it all off. That will probably come back and bite me in the rump later, but for time-reasons I just roughed the surface up really fast with some sandpaper and called it good :)

3. To get that matte professional finish, I got the most satin, non-gloss paint possible. I also purchased a color that was not stark white, otherwise it would make our walls look dingy. The color was eggshell... or white sand... or something fancy like that. haha I also sponge painted it on in multiple layers so that it was not perfectly smooth.

Overall, it was worth it, but I reeeaaallly appreciated it when it was over! haha

I'm a Big Kid Now

2013-04-12T22:02:00.005-07:00

The deed is done.

FREAK YEAAAA!!!!

Bask in the glory of night-time pho-tog.

This about sums it up.

2013-04-09T18:05:00.001-07:00

It's finals week, and I'm all "Let's do this" and by stomach is like, "How about not. Let's throw up instead", and my body is all, " how about I make you feel like throwing up, but really, it's not happening", and I'm like, "Come on guys, we're all adults; work something out, because this is getting old." ... And they are like.... "No."

But the end is in sight. Finals tomorrow, family comes thursday, walk for graduation Friday, lil bro goes through the Temple for the first time Saturday, Wyoming Sunday/Monday.

And my man is bringing me the processed cheesy goodness, so yea. Let's do this.

Garage: The Clothing Addiction of an Overworked College Student

2013-04-02T19:18:00.003-07:00

That's right, I said it. I think I am overworked. And by overworked, I really just mean burnt out. Graduation cannot come fast enough!!! Don't be surprised if you don't hear from me for a few weeks... I don't know if I get internet in the deep crevices of finals and endless woe. Just Kidding :) (but really...)

(here's that go-to finals picture that I post basically every semester :)

Now it's confession time. It's odd, but I've noticed that I rarely buy new clothes since I was married. This is something I noticed in my own mother early on; why waste money on clothes when there are more pressing bills to be paid and mouths to feed? I'll admit though, I NEVER thought that bug would bite a shop-o-holic like myself. All the same, something I do find myself doing to make up for the loss is pouring precious time over wide world of internet shopping. (just with my eyes, rarely with monies.)

Still, it subdues the craving. My latest obsession you ask?

Garage.

I found them via Facebook and am hooked. Not only are their clothes the bomb-diggity, but I love the refreshing photography and ad campaign they have going. Call it the graphic designer deep within me, but they've got it going on. Check them out here!

So much cute, retro, and hippity-hoppity goodness.

Also, I've noticed something that I never thought would be, and yet, I like it! High-waisted shorts. If I could wear them, I would. Who's with me?!

I think it's safe to say without knocking on wood, that Spring is here!

Claim to Fame.

2013-03-20T21:14:00.003-07:00

Let the record show that I don't consider myself a professional blogger, or even a particular talented, funny, or deliciously retro writer in the least, but everyone loves the spotlight right?

Just a little?

I just got a phone call from my mom excitedly stating that my dad was reading the Deseret News paper that is delivered to our house weekly and said,"oh look, there's our daughter in this article..." haha As if that happens everyday or something!

You can see my feature in the article "How Bloggers Make Money" written my the lovely and talented Kylie Lewis! Disclaimer: I'm the novice money-maker, not the full-income hot shot, so don't take anything I said as scripture! Funny thing is, I actually have the cookbook created by the first bloggers interviewed in the article, I'm such a giddy fan.

Enjoy the article HERE!

And I'll try to remember all of you little people when I'm in the New York Times someday ;)

Juuuust kidding! It's so funny because after I read this article online a few weeks ago, I don't think I've written on my blog since! Mention a persons name in print and suddenly they get a big bad case of blogger stage fright. My name is Valerie, and I'm scared of spiders, gaining 100 lbs when pregnant, and blogging :) It's whatever.

And also... did I ever tell you about that time I had a stare-down with a goat on the freeway?

OkcooljustcheckingbecauseitwasLEGEN-waitforit-DAIRY.

Alright, that's enough, Valerie. Back to the books. (repeat after me: three weeks, three weeks, three weeks...)

Harlem Shake

2013-03-02T15:46:00.000-08:00

So before I was married, I told myself that I wouldn't become one of those boring haggard women who get married and, try as they might, cannot keep up with the times. I was gonna be hip ;)

News flash: I'm sooo not hip, or with the times. Almost every pop-culture song, gossip, or icon that's been huge for months I am just getting around to hearing about. Yesterday was proof of that.

I work at AskBYUI and the University Lost and Found on campus, and yesterday was our beloved Lost and Found sale. It's basically a glorified garage sale of everything that has not been claimed for 3+months. A co-worker came up to me and said that we were going to make a "Haarlem Shake" video.

You can imagine my deeerrr-what's-that?-I-am-ancient expression.

Ladies and Gents, you can see the AskBYUI Harrlem Shake video via Facebook HERE.

(I'm in the American flag mask)

Also, this week I received an early graduation present from my in-laws! Greatest thing ever.

To which I am just:

AND Ryan and I came home from class yesterday to find a 12 pack of Diet Dr. Pepper on our front porch followed by none other than this exchange of looks:

Thanks to the sweetest neighbors ever! (who also happens to blog over HERE!)

Are you guys enjoyed GIF's lately as much as me? I thought so...

Anyway, enjoy your weekend everyone! As for me and my house... We will stay in bed for the remainder of the day and try to kick this head cold!

The Honest Truth: Being Poor is Hard Some Days.

2013-02-28T20:06:00.003-08:00

This won't be the normal light-hearted post. You've been warned.

Being poor sucks. I know we hear "Woe is me, I'm poor" all the time... but, gosh.... It's a downer.

I'm a pretty open book, no secrets with this one and with that, I have no problem admitting that as a newlywed in school, we basically live off loans. As someone who had gotten through college debt free until now, this has been a big challenge for me. Up until today, I've come to terms with this, but today something just snapped. Not really snapped actually.... broke.

When I was in High School, I asked my parents for a car, and they said no. My dad said "If you want a car, then buy one!" So, for years I worked two jobs and saved until a week before my High School graduation, I purchased my baby! A 1999 Toyota Carolla with only 75,000 miles. Convinced this car would last for years of easy driving, I gave basically my life savings in exchange.

(awww chubby cheeked 18 year old me!)

NEVER have I had trouble with this car, and it was always our reliable vehicle.

Over a week ago, my car broke down as I was driving home from Utah. Ironically, one minute I'm driving and thinking how blessed I am to have such a good car, and the next minute the engine just stops. (Karma or coincidence?) With only 117,000 miles on my golden child, I was shocked to say the least. Stranded at 8pm two hours South of Rexburg, my brother and I began walking 2.5 miles to the nearest gas station in 30 degree weather when someone so kindly turned around and drove us to a truck stop. Again, SO thankfully, my brother had a co-worker driving that way on the same night and picked us up on the way. Leaving my car in the middle of nowhere was a hard thing to do.

With lots of phone calls and driving, My sweet husband was able to tow it the next day, and in Idaho Falls a half hour away was where she was left to await diagnosis.

Wednesday, they told us one of the cylinders in our engine was cracked and it would cost $2000 to fix! Ok, the $100 we paid a week earlier for a car battery in Ryan's car felt like $1000 so $2000 basically feels like 2 million, my first born child and the last can of Dr. Pepper.

As if that wasn't enough, today it got better.

As if we couldn't afford it earlier, this didn't help. Basically, we could scrape the bank for a used battery with almost as many miles as my old one, or buy another used car, neither of which we can afford. We've pretty much decided that we are going to have one car that doesn't run, and invest in a bike. Which is all fine and dandy until I move to AZ and my husband stays. One of us will be carless, and as student teaching doesn't pay, the broke-ness just keeps growing.

Just under 4 years of having this car (calculated over $1200/year+insurance and maitenance), she's a gonner. I'm too young to bury my baby.

So here I sit in my living room, digging for some answer; something I could have done differently... looking for what I can sell when I realize that... I really couldn't have tried harder. We're both students, we both work, we pay 10% of our income in church tithes, ALL of our furniture is used and I've counted 3 things in my sight that I purchased new (not gifted, not thrifted and not leftover from our wedding.) We coupon, we turn the heat on as we leave and enter rooms, I only buy new clothes on birthdays and christmas, and have furniture made of cardboard and pallets. Pretty sure even if I sold everything we own, it still wouldn't be enough. And though I know I sound like an ungrateful brat right now, life can be just plain ol' disappointing sometimes.

As my parents have reminded me, everyone goes through this, but gosh dangit... never did I anticipate my first car, my reliable pretty baby, to do it.

There you have it. Today is a hard day.

And I have a cold.

And there really is no more Diet Dr. Pepper in the fridge.

If you can think of anything else that I can complain about, let me know. I'm on a roll ;)

Now, if you are feeling as depressed as me, scroll a few more inches down and watch John Travolta from the previous post dance, and dance, and dance without breaking a sweat. That's what's pulling me through.

Good News and Bad News told in a series of GIF's

2013-02-23T00:32:00.000-08:00

So here's the deal.

I have good news and bad news. Actually a lot of it.... but let's start with today:

This morning I got on the computer thinking it's about time my praxis score from January has been posted and it's the moment of truth; pass or fail.

I open my score to see I PASSED!!!! And above average at that! I was ELATED!

And may have done a little of this:

and this:

and a lot of this:

Because every good victory dance involves fine hip thrusting...

Now, husband and I have been all over the place on what our living arrangements are going to be like in the fall. I have to student teach, and Ryan is in school, or will do an internship. It's kinda frustrating because our futures depend on other people's choices. It sucks not knowing what to plan for, and knowing that there's nothing more you can do to change the cards. I was awaiting my student teaching assignment, and Ryan is awaiting internship decisions. Either way, things were looking grim. Here's the thing, Ryan gets to choose where he interns (roughly). He seeks out companies, interviews, and knocks their socks off. Me, not so much. I have 4 choices. I can student teach in Idaho (local placement), Salt Lake Utah area, Las Vegas area, or Mesa AZ area. 4 options, and 3 that would result in either my husband having to put off school and move somewhere with me for 4 months, or worst case scenario, us living in separate states for 4 months. I was able to choose 3 top priorities and one had to be out of state, even if you are married. So naturally, I chose the school district we live in, the school district a half hour away, and one other school I was most impressed with which happened to be in Mesa, AZ. I interviewed and yesterday the assignments started to come.... but not mine.

So I call the student teaching office and asked if I'd been assigned yet, and they they said that I hadn't been placed yet and were all, "You'll just have to wait..." :

and I was like:

(Quick Insert: I don't know why my font went to all-caps here, I apologize)
Ultimately they said they had the power to assign all the way up to the week before. So I told them the situation and they assured me that they obviously try their best to place locally for married couples so that they do not have to be separated...

I waited patiently and later today I saw a message in my e-mail. Subject line: "Student Teaching Placement"

With much anticipation, I opened the e-mail.
My reaction went a little something like this:

Then this:

It wasn't pretty.

Here's what I read:

Translation: I'm moving to Arizona. Husband is not. Army wives, I don't know how you do it, but I do NOT want to be tucking myself into bed every night.

Husband came to get me after work and was all:

and I told him what happened and naturally we agreed that,

In my opinion, if you are married they shouldn't assign you to student teach states away. Try to place me locally, my rear!
Student teaching office,

and

Every time I open my e-mail, the subtle reminder of 4 month separation from my husband is there. again and again and again.

And on top of the separation, paying two rents does not sound appealing nor plausible. So, if you live in Mesa and want to offer your couch to a hip-thrusting homeless me for 4 months, hit me up.

In the mean time, heads are gonna roll!
At least I passed the Praxis :)

Too. Busy.

2013-02-20T21:00:00.001-08:00

You know you are too busy when you don't have time to catch up on your favorite blogs or even inform your readers about.. oh... life?

Bleeeehschoolyouarethemurdereroflove!

Forgive me?

I Love Our Love.

2013-02-15T00:24:00.000-08:00

Photo Cred: Liz Adams

Glasses, Oh Glasses.

2013-02-09T10:28:00.001-08:00

Hey Ladies!

So it's confession corner over here, are you ready?

I don't actually wear prescription eyeglasses (minus minor reading glasses). GASP! The glasses in that picture to the right are totally fashion glasses from Urban Outfitters and I'm not ashamed one bit :) In fact, I have a fatty crush on huge framed glasses because on bad hair or make-up days, they pull all the attention to their funny selves. The element of distraction is a beautiful thing.

Husband and I were talking the other day about how glad we were that neither of us needed glasses because they can be so expensive! Then we got talking about our future bebes and I began wondering; Three of my brothers have glasses and my dad has glasses.... who's to say I will never have to buy glasses in the future!

I began looking at online eyeglasses (because I have nothing better to do than shop online for something I don't need yet haha) and have found a gem; possibly the cheapest glasses online. So, all you glasses wearers (whom I was totally jealous of when I was little because gosh-dangit, you just look so sauve...) I have a treat for you!

With the help of GlassesUSA, bring in the coupon codes!

GlassesUSA.com is giving a discount on their (already inexpensive) frames for you lovely readers!!!!

HELLO! WHO DOESN'T LOVE DISCOUNTS!

Take 30% off frames [with single-vision Value Lens Package] + FREE shipping (*"premium" frames excluded*) by using the code: EYECANDY30 during your checkout.

30%+free shipping! That's awesome.

So if you're in need of some sassy frames, check em out! They even have retro glasses which totally tickles my fancy!

BUT WAIT! THERE'S MORE!

For your entertainment, below is a virtual mirror where you can check out some of the available frames. Thank you technology! haha

Now don't have too much fun ;)

Saturday is a Special Day

2013-02-02T10:34:00.003-08:00

Saturday is a special day.
It's a day to snuggle and sleep in.
Stay in your pajamas and clean the house.
Paint.

Today it's a good day because:

I woke up to a shoulder massage from husband.
The day is mine.
I have a minute to blog.
I have a nice home to clean.
I'm full of gratitude.
I get to work out.

I get to go through the temple later for family members.
I'm happy and content; I really like those days.
I'm listening to this:

Happy Saturday :)

Ode to snow

2013-01-29T17:30:00.002-08:00

You may or may not be wondering why I haven't posted for a while... You see, I had to thaw out.

Snow:

I am quite done with you. We all knew this wouldn't last, and yet you just keep coming back. You freeze my car doors shut so that I look all ghetto-like crawling in the passengers side to door, you get us stuck in the snow on the way to school (twice), you freeze my toesies, and you just plain suck. When you are around, I am highly prone to emotional impulse buys like manly trucks and cruise tickets.

About a foot in 24 hours!? Really?

My husband hates you.

And so do I.

Good Reads

2013-01-18T11:29:00.003-08:00

Guys. It has only been 2 weeks into the new semester and I feel like I've been in my classes FOR-EV-ER. Easily the hardest semester of my life. (Easily the hardest? Does that make sense? I'm saying it anyway!) The good news is.... (drumroll please).... I'm graduating this semester !!! That's right, after this semester and student teaching in the fall, I will be a real, life sized, certified, bonafide, Art and English teacher(to-be)! Can I get a "whoop whoop" (raising the roof, raising the roof)

That is... If I can survive. Every morning I hit the ground running and drop exhausted into bed every night. But it feels good, and as long as I can ignore the laundry needing to be done, car needing to be cleaned and house needing to be organized, I can keep my cool just fine :)

In one of my English education classes I am supposed to read a young adult literature novel every month until I die (easy right? haha).

This month: Divergent. Anyone heard of it? I'm not too far in, but like any other futuristic, dystopian novels (which I love), so far so good!

Also, I'm now officially a GoodReads profile owner, so if you are on Good Reads, find me (Valerie Stratford)! It's like the Facebook of book-readers. Every nerd's social dream come true. haha

How cold is too cold?

2013-01-14T19:25:00.002-08:00

Rexburg. Short and sweet.

It is WAY too cold when frost develops on the door nob INSIDE of the house, and you wake up to a power outage.

Then again, it is city wide power outages that postpone classes for 4 hours, which I'm not complaining about. Not gonna lie, when I received the emergency text from the University imploring student to come to the BYU-Idaho conference center for warmth, I felt a tinge like the end of this world was coming. haha But then I crawled back under the covers and all was forgiven... minus the no heat thing.

To my family that lives in Arizona and California, feel the wrath of my jealousy! haha

Momma needs a heated blanket and is gladly accepting donations :)

A happy and warm monday to all!

Frisked and Frisky

2013-01-10T16:47:00.000-08:00

So, we went to California for Christmas to visit Ryan's family. It was quite the adventure, and one I won't soon forget.

We spent Doomsday at six flags, ate the NASTIEST low-carb ice-cream known to mankind,

(I was burping up low-carb cardboard flavor all night! First cone I've ever thrown away.)

had Christmas Eve (12:15 a.m. so technically Christmas day) mourning the loss of Ryan's incredible grandfather (after being a quadriplegic for 23 years mind you) and met many wonderful extended friends and family at his funeral and viewing a week later.

We attended Ryan's (babe) ex-girlfriends wedding, (who breaks the stereotype of ex-girlfriends by actually being super awesome haha), for our 5 month anniversary.

(Photo cred: Papa Stratford)

Topping it all off with getting frisked in the LAX airport on the way home.

I have good news and bad news.

The good news is that it is still possible to board an airplane without ID! This was especially a relief to me as I stood in the LAX airport at 7am rushing to hop on a plane back to Rexburg for school and work!

The bad news is it is NOT easy. Especially if you happen to have NOTHING else with your name on it.

I realized just as we loaded up the car to leave that my Drivers License was no where to be found. Panicked, I attempted calling the LAX airport for an hour with no prevail.

Here’s the fun part: Got to the airport, said I had no ID. They looked at me like they'd seen a ghost! Then they asked where it was. If I knew, I would have had it with me! I was pulled aside and waited for a security officer to come. He made a few calls and asked me some questions like where my SS card was registered, and what my address was before I was married (like I remember haha), where I attend school which happens to be BYU-Idaho, basically the most non-terrorist school ever. We can't even wear capris on campus, I'm not about to bering a bomb on a plane! haha.

They asked if I had any credit cards, and naturally the only one I had had my husbands name on it, so they asked where my husband was.... uhhh.... he left me to catch the flight? (which he did.) but that didn't look very good. I had no billing statements with my name on them (shame on me for not bringing those on my vacation! haha) but DID have a prescription bottle. The only problem was the prescription bottle had my married name, and the flight ticket had my maiden name. Finally I passed the test, and all criminal-like in my sweat pants and hipster glasses, I was escorted through security, patted all up and down in places I don't EVA wanna be touched, and feeling pretty cool, barefoot in LAX, they wiped down everything in my carry on to check for explosives.

As the officer wiped down some for-married-people's-eyes-only items (mental note to NEVER pack those it a carry-on again) I jokingly said to the officer "I'll bet you learn waaaay more than you want to know about people in this profession! ha. ha. ha." Not even a hint of a smile.

I guess when people are examining you for terrorist activity, you probably shouldn't be cracking jokes.

Though the officer looked at every item and dust particle in my bag, and ironically seemed to overlook the only hi-jacking worthy object in there: exacto blades I accidentally packed with some drawing pencils! I certainly was not about to point them out. haha

Long story short. if you don't have ID, you are probably a terrorist.

Pack ID.

Pack extra ID.

Don't lose your ID, and you will get through an airport just fine :)

In other news, BACHELOR ANYONE?! Call me a girl, but I love it.

I had to put myself in time out for missing the premier, but I watched it online last night and la-la-la-looooved it! Oddly enough though, I haven't found a girl I am really rooting for. When it comes to my Sean-sky, I am very picky and sadly the cutest girl on there is obviously this seasons Beezy. Not too pleased about that.

And this girl:

Too much, too much. Not to mention psycho-50-shades-of-grey girl! SO glad she didn't get very far.

Casey coming back?!

PLOT-TWISTER! I actually think that I am rooting for her the most! haha Needless to say, you can find me perched in front of the tube every monday night from here on out!

Happy Thursday all! Here's to girly shows, airport security, and the hardest semester to date.

Taking a Bite out of Life gets a make-over

2013-01-02T15:24:00.000-08:00

I don't really know how to say this, so I'm just gonna say it:

I've changed my blog. You see, for some time Taking a Bite out of Life was begging for a new look. It kept saying "Valerie, I've grown out of this title and I want a fresh appearance!" just like any other self respecting blog, and I would respond, "In due time young padawon, in due time."

Really though, my inner self was thinking:

I decided I was too busy to do it while in school and with all of the other new years resolutions of change and improvement, so came the blog make-over as well.

With that being said, Laaaadies and gentlemen, Taking a Bite out of Life will now be known as Valpo Studio!

I really hope this doesn't prove horribly confusing, but it was time that I put to rest the title my 18 year old self so wittily concocted and moved to a more centralized name. You may learn more about its new title in the "Start Here" tab at the top of the page.

In other news, I apologize for being to MIA over the past few weeks. Vacation for some means a break from school and work, whereas for me it means a break from all intelligent life, technology, and any pants without a stretchy waistband! Sadly though, vacation is coming to an end and this girl is back in action. In fact, I am proud to announce that I'm FINALLY an Iphone owner! I feel like such a cool kid :) So follow me on twitter and instagram to your hearts content cause things are about to get craaazy! haha

I hope everyones vacation has been as relaxing as mine! Hang in there with the changes, and I will too!

Muah!

Free Printable

2012-12-07T14:57:00.000-08:00

Because everyone who knows me knows I love nothing more to slap words on a photo and use it as decor, I have for you all a Christmas Printable. Truth is, I cannot figure out how to add this as a PDF for the life of me... So we're going old school drag and drop style. Good luck! haha

It's simple, but I think it's juts so pretty :)

Enjoy!

My husband loves me so much that...

2012-12-04T19:10:00.000-08:00

...He gives me puppet shows when finals suck all the happiness from me.

And because I'm basically a 2 year old trapped in a 21 year old's body, they are sort of the funniest things ever to me.

They are stupid, but I love them.

And him.

Judge me. haha

I'm sexy and I know it.

2012-12-01T11:47:00.002-08:00

I was lying in bed, warm and snuggly under the covers, listening to the rain pattering on the window, seeing the sun stream through the blinds and thought ... yea.... I could do this. This is good.... Then I got out of bed and being the swanky adult I am, saw it was 11 o'clock and caught a glimpse of this head of crack addict hair as shown below.

Mugshot oooor mugshot? I submit that this is mugshot material plucked right off the streets of the projects.

It's days like these that I'm just overflowing with gratitude that my husband still loves me. haha

Thankfully, when I wake up like this, I remember people like this and am reminded it could always be worse.

Can I be honest here?

2012-11-26T22:26:00.001-08:00

Because who isn't mourning the loss of a vacation week right?

When the alarm on Ryan's phone went off this morning, I have never wanted more than to be a four year old at that moment. To hang around all day, be fed my sammiches in little triangles and to watch Rugrats all day.

It chimed it's cruel it's-Monday-back-to-the-grind tune, and all I wanted was pie.

Ok, not literally pie (but really), rather everything pie represented to me this past week.

Pie for breakfast, pie for lunch, pie for dinner. Pie meant no term papers, no answering e-mails at the office, no being forced to put on make-up and walk out into the cold world.

It meant the smell of my home. My own home; the one I grew up in, and my own bed. The smell of oil paint and floral incense that lingers in the walls of my bedroom. It meant no dishes screaming at me to be done; no feeling of money being sucked from my wallet every time we turn on the heat in a meager attempt to make our apartment a house rather than a necessity. Depression and pie do not co-exist. Pie meant the fridge was full. I could eat cheese, and as much as I wanted, because I wasn't paying for it. I could sleep in and not feel rushed by any responsibilities scratching on the window to be done.

I could write, and do my nails, and take naps.

I love naps.

I got home cooked meals without the pressure of preparing them; wondering if they are even edible or worthy of serving at all. And somehow, the dishes got done after I ate. I didn't have to touch a single sponge. The house was bright, a candle was always lit, and the decorations found their way on the walls.

There was a Christmas tree, not a blaring space in the living room that represented $100 in your pocket or a tree to fill the gap, but an actual tree dotted with the ornaments of my childhood.

Yep. I really miss pie. Needless to say, motivation for school these next few weeks are slim to none.

I need a big motivation pill to swallow with a tall glass of sparkling gratitude. That is all.