The Nearest Future

Adventures in Thailand

2012-05-31T08:40:00.002-06:00

photo by Jenna

Lately I've been enjoying reading about the adventures of our former babysitter Jenna. Right now she's on a study abroad trip to Chaing Mai and reading about her adventures is bringing back some memories of my own college trip to Korea (various aspects of which have been immortalized in song).

When I was in Korea I remember feeling like my very consciousnesses was expanding; it was the first time I really felt how big the world was. And even though it was *gulp* a long time ago, that trip still influences the way I look the world. It's exciting to read about Jenna having her own life-changing experiences.

I have a lot of respect for her because while I grew up with a Korean mother (and Korean food and culture) and had taken a year of Korean classes in college before my trip to Korea, Jenna doesn't speak any Thai and hadn't even really eaten Thai food before she left. Talk about culture shock!

If you're interested, follow her blog, Time for Thailand. She's a good writer and keeping a blog is part of her coursework so she'll be updating it regularly.

Roller Derby Photos

2012-05-29T08:53:00.000-06:00

I finished going through the photos I took at the roller derby a few Saturdays ago.

It was exciting to watch our home team beat the Portenuf Valley Bruisers from Pocatello, Idaho. These ladies are AMAZING.

After the game, Pain In The Nikki came over and chatted with us. N works with her husband and we had sat with him during the bout and tried to learn the finer points of the game. Nikki told Erica and I that they were having a "fresh meat" training camp in July and that we should come skate (!) I'm tickled by the idea but don't think I'm up for it. It seems like a fantastic workout but the commute down would be too much. Also, um, the very real possibility of breaking some bones.

But it was very flattering--I don't attend many sporting events where afterwards they tried to recruit me to join :)

For a detailed recap of the bout and more information about the team, see the Happy Valley Derby Darlin's site.

Garden Fresh

2012-05-26T17:33:00.000-06:00

I just finished going through the photos I took last week at the roller derby. One of the things that was so charming about the evening was that the bout was held in a vacant Food4Less.

I'm excited to share the rest of the photos with you--I'll post them next week.

I hope your weekend is shaping up nicely!

Saturday Adventures

2012-05-21T09:04:00.001-06:00

Normally we keep things pretty low-key on Saturdays but this weekend we were crazy busy.

In the morning E and I checked out a neighbor's garage sale and he was so excited by the experience that we decided to drive around and see if we could find any other sales, which we did. I scored a nice craft book and a pair of shoes and E got some art supplies.

When we got home we picked up N and Mimi and went out for brunch. Thus fortified we visited the children's farm by our house where E fed the goats and sheep and rode on a pony and Mimi checked out the animals from her stroller.

When we got home Mimi was pretty zonked so we left her and N at the house and E and I went to the rec center so I could renew my membership. We didn't know about it beforehand, but they were having "Member Day" so E scored a few free balloons and was accosted by a friendly mascot.

Next we went grocery shopping. E wanted to be a "helper" and pushed a kid cart around the store and I chanted "walk SLOWLY!" like it was a mantra.

That evening N and I went on a date down to the old Food4Less in Spanish Fork to watch a roller derby bout with friends. It was so awesome. We chatted with some of the girls afterward and they tried to recruit my friend Erica and me to come to their "fresh meat" tryouts. (Hahaha!)

After the bout we decided that since we were already down south a visit to Cracker Barrel was in order.

Yep, all that AND fried okra. --EPIC.

Bay-bee!

2012-05-17T14:33:00.000-06:00

Lately Mimi's been really into babies. She loves pointing them out wherever we go and waving 'hi.' And when I turn on the forward-facing camera on my phone and let her watch herself on the screen--well, she goes a little nuts.

Anniversary Dinner at Forage

2012-05-15T07:44:00.000-06:00

For our anniversary on Saturday N and I went to dinner at Forage. The food was beautiful and unique and delicious. A few desserts were a bit too floral and pine-y for my tastes, but that egg dish--oh my goodness. It's one of the top 10 things I've eaten, EVER. Mmm...

Wonderful food aside, the best part of the evening was being able to enjoy such a luxuriously long dinner (over two hours) alone with my N. What a lovely treat!

Things Are Looking Up

2012-05-11T11:26:00.002-06:00

N just sent me a link to this video. Downtown Abbey + Fresh Prince of Bel Air = just the sort of awesomeness I need after this crazy week.

Another sign that things are looking up is that it's our wedding anniversary tomorrow. 11 years!

There is no one I'd rather go through life (and all of its assorted plumbing catastrophes) with than my sweet, funny N.

I hope you have a lovely weekend--see you next week!

Torn Up

2012-05-09T08:56:00.002-06:00

This is what my bathroom looks like right now:

What you can't get from the photo is the sound, a loud, low grumblely growl of a roar of 3 industrial fans plus a dehumidifier going full blast confined in a small room. We turned them off to sleep but I still tossed and turned most of the night, mostly from anxiety.

I get stressed out enough when my home is torn up due to my own choices (i.e. my kitchen update) but when something out of my control happens and I have groups of strangers tramping through my house and our routine is thrown off completely I just get depressed.

Blarg

2012-05-08T07:33:00.003-06:00

I've been feeling a little run down lately. It's nothing major, I just have the feeling that, try as I might, I can't quite fit my arms around everything.

One of the things that's been bothering me is that E is going through a rough patch and I'm not sure how to best help him and so I feel rather helpless as a result. For the past few weeks he's been quite anxious about things in general. Last night he and I were going to walk down the street to drop something off at a neighbor's house and halfway there he started sobbing and clinging to my leg concerned that our house "was far away." I tried to explain that he could still see our house and that it wasn't going anywhere but he was in a panic so I took him home.

From what I could tell from talking with him afterward part of it is a residual effect of our trip to Disneyland. When he asks to go back to Disneyland (everyday) we talk about how Disneyland is far away and so we can't go there right now and so I guess he thought our house was going to disappear or something? I don't know.

He's also been afraid of going to the bathroom, to preschool, and to bed lately and I don't know what do do other than reassure him that everything's going to be alright.

And Mimi, while still very sweet, has been getting her molars for the last month or so she's been a lot needier than usual. And I think she's also getting ready to go from two naps to one so her sleep schedule is sort of out of whack.

Yesterday I put her down for her usual morning nap and got out the paint to work on touching up the cabinet doors but I had to cut it short because she wouldn't go to sleep and instead wailed and kept calling out "Mom! Mom! Mom!" which I'll admit was cute (but frustrating).

Work is still keeping me busy but it's likely that my contract position is going to go away after June. My department's budget has been cut so they're going to have to let me go, but they might get to keep me if something comes through at the last minute. I've mostly already made my peace with it since there's nothing I can do about the situation but the uncertainty of not knowing for sure gets to me sometime. I hate not knowing.

And last night our master bathroom toilet overflowed, enough so that water was leaking from our family room ceiling below. And so today I've got to call our home insurance and a plumber and try to get it sorted out.

So....yeah.

Folk Music For Your Friday

2012-05-04T10:39:00.000-06:00

A few years ago I posted a video of two Swedish sisters singing a Fleet Foxes song (seriously, listen to those harmonies!) and now those sisters are grown up and have a band, First Aid Kit and are performing on Conan and whatnot (coincidence?--you decide!)

I got their new CD, The Lion's Roar, last week and it has been on repeat in my car ever since. It's piercingly lovely with a real strength running through it that reminds me in a way of early Dolly Parton which I also love.

If you like folk music I hope you'll love the album. Listen to more of their songs on their MySpace page.

I hope you have a lovely weekend. Two of the most wonderful men I know have birthdays today: N and my dad, so we'll be celebrating all weekend long. We're having cake and presents with the kids but I think I might be looking forward to eating without our lovely progeny at a new-to-us restaurant the most. I love spending time one-on-one with my funny N.

These Two

2012-05-02T08:02:00.000-06:00

Lately, E has turned into an ever-negotiating little guy who wants to know "why?" about everything and who is just starting to realize what a big place the world is (and is therefore suffering from a bit of anxiety). For the last week or so every night when I put him to bed he begs me "don't let the sun go down!" His faith in my abilities is both flattering and a bit heartbreaking.

And Mimi, well, lately Mimi is just everywhere. She's not quite walking on her own yet but she gets around astonishingly fast. Unlike her brother she flagrantly disregards any and all admonishments to "leave it alone!" and loves to pull things out of cabinets and strew them about.

Lately it seems like both E and Mimi are changing and growing up noticeably every day. It's both thrilling and bittersweet.

And in other news, I am *this close* to finishing the kitchen update. I can't wait to share it with you!

Tulip Festival

2012-04-30T07:25:00.000-06:00

Last week I took my mom and her friends to the tulip festival at Thanksgiving Point. The flowers were stunning. Every time I visit the gardens I'm impressed by the amount of work it must take to create such a lovely place.

The festival's over but the gardens are still worth checking out. It's a great place to turn the kids loose and let them run around.

MeeMaw's Birthday

2012-04-26T10:21:00.000-06:00

My mom is in town to attend BYU's Women's Conference with some of her friends. Earlier this week was her birthday so my sister Jan, who is an AMAZING cook, whipped up some tasty Korean food and I picked up a Costco cake (I have ambitions but am sadly basically useless in the Korean kitchen).

Singing "happy birthday" and blowing out candles proved to be so much fun that the grandkids wanted to have turns at it too.

Multiple times :)

Technical Difficulties

2012-04-24T22:54:00.000-06:00

Phew! Our DSL line was down from Friday night until earlier today and it seemed like FORever.

Instead of being an responsible adult and using my time offline productively by getting stuff done around the house I moped around and fretted over the work I needed to be doing for my job. Oh, and I played a lot of Draw Something on my cell, burning through my monthly data allowance in the process.

Do you guys play Draw Something? If so (and you want to further enable my procrastinating problem) ping me. My user name is TheNearestFuture.

For your Friday: Goth Edition

2012-04-20T10:47:00.012-06:00

Watching this brought back a memory from the 80s: I'm six or so and perched on the bathroom counter watching with awe as my sister Jan cakes on the eye shadow and shellacs her bangs so they hang down over one eye. The Cure plays in the background (or course).

When you watch the video notice how the girl almost breaks character when she starts to peel the orange. She's trying so hard--it cracks me up. God bless goths.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go dig out my Cure cds.

I hope you have a lovely weekend!

Maphead Signing

2012-04-18T14:17:00.003-06:00

We had a fun time at my brother-in-law Ken's book signing last night. Since he moved to Seattle after winning all that money on Jeopardy we don't often get the chance to see him speak so it was neat.

Thanks to our friends who came, especially Stephanie and Nick who graciously entertained my kids for a while. E and Mimi were up way past their bedtimes and E's tiredness manifested itself in a spectacularly manic manner so the extra hands were much appreciated.

California Instax Photos

2012-04-17T08:00:00.003-06:00

I took my new Fuji Instax Mini camera with us to California. It's a fun little camera that takes credit card-sized instant photos.

I like using the Instax Mini for family snapshots since its film is readily available online and it's also less expensive than the The Impossible Project's Polaroid film (which I tend to save for more ambitious endeavors).

There is just something so cool about watching a photo develop in your hand.

Ken's book signing

2012-04-16T10:58:00.004-06:00

My brother-in-law and Jeopardy! champ Ken Jennings is in town for a book signing for the paperback edition of his book Maphead.

Maphead is a fun and informative read even if you're not especially into geography and maps. It would also make a great gift, especially for any dads or grads you might need a little something for.

If we can find a sitter N and I will be there--come hang out and say hi! :)

Tuesday April 17th, 7:00 pm

The King's English Bookshop, 1511 South 1500 East, Salt Lake City

Legoland

2012-04-12T19:42:00.001-06:00

E's cousins are really into Legos and so we went with them to Legoland for a day. It's a little pricey: admission is almost as much as it is at Disneyland even though Legoland is much smaller. But the kids had a great time.

E loved the rides but my favorite part was seeing the Lego models. The attention to detail was amazing! They had a large section of Star Wars dioramas which were especially fun.

Easygoing Mimi

2012-04-10T08:01:00.008-06:00

I love this sweet girl.

Mimi was a real trooper on our trip. While we were at the parks she was usually content just to chill in her stroller.

But for the record she did go on a few rides at Disneyland: we took her on the submarine ride and into the Tikki Room theater which she loved.

E is already asking when we can go back to Disneyland: we told him that we have to wait until Mimi's big enough to go on Space Mountain with him :)

Happiest Place on Earth

2012-04-09T09:35:00.007-06:00

A week ago we drove to Anaheim to spend a few days at Disneyland with my brother-in-law and his family.

Disneyland during spring break was, as you might imagine, extremely crowded. But E had a blast riding the rides. He especially enjoyed the roller coasters and wanted to go on Space Mountain again and again. E also loved the fireworks. Every night when they started he would turn to us and exclaim, "Mama, Daddy, my wish came true!" with this expression of bliss on his face.

After Space Mountain, It's A Small World was E's favorite ride--he still breaks into the theme song at random moments :)

This was our first time going to Disneyland as a family and I have to say, I was impressed. I know they're well-known for their customer service but it's totally true: their staff is really great. Everyone was cheerful and helpful and everything was sparkling clean and well-run. So much so that it didn't even seem like that much of a rip-off. ($3 for a bottle of water? Eh, fine--look at the smile of my kid's face!)

The thing that struck me the most was the complete absence of snark or irony. The ride operators never got snippy or rolled their eyes (I'm looking at you, Legoland) and the actors were very committed to their roles and radiated cheeriness. I was thoroughly charmed but more gratifyingly, so was E.

Spring break, woo!

2012-04-06T07:23:00.002-06:00

I know I've been MIA lately I have a good excuse: last weekend we packed up the kids and drove to California!

We went to Disneyland and a few other fun places. I'll sort through my snapshots over the weekend and post some next Monday.

I hope you have a nice weekend and a happy Easter!

For David

2012-03-29T13:20:00.007-06:00

Back in February I made this pen-and-mechanical-pencil set for my brother David's birthday. He's a big shot at Union Pacific so I used a buckeye burl wood which I thought looked rather executive-ish.

Lately in woodworking I've been making some drawers to fit into E's closet organizer. We really need the storage but they're nothing pretty to look at yet. After I get them put into his closet I'll show you a before-and-after.

I Heart Art: Sarah Jane

2012-03-26T08:00:00.008-06:00

I've been a fan of illustrator Sarah Jane's work ever since I saw some of her fabrics at a quilting shop. To me, her work is sweet but not saccharine. I like how she captures the magic of childhood in an endearing and classic way.

I was browsing the Sarah Jane blog over the weekend and saw that she had some new inspirational children's prints:

This was my favorite print in the new collection. There are versions for girls and boys. You can also personalize the print to match your little one.

You can see a few more of her new inspirational prints here.

Sarah has a number of other art prints; this family tree is another favorite of mine.

Wouldn't it make a sweet gift for a new niece or nephew? This print also comes as a fabric panel; I love the idea of making Mimi a quilt with it.

If you like Sarah's work, check out the Sarah Jane blog and shop.

(All images in this post are from Sarah Jane Studios)

Hungry Mad Men

2012-03-23T15:12:00.003-06:00

Our showing of The Hunger Games last night was fun. N and I grabbed a quick bite to eat and then went to the theater and said hi to his coworkers. We had snagged some extra tickets for N's parents so they joined us too.

Back when the mania over the books was going on I read them to see what everyone was talking about. I thought the first book was by far the best, with book two being okay but with three being a hot mess. But I thought even the first book had some issues, particularly with the ending. But the setting and the survival-thriller aspects of the story were engrossing and I thought it was a fun read.

The movie wisely emphasizes the best part of the story and leaves out some of the more mystifying details. The best parts like the characterization of Rue are taken directly from the book while they leave out bits that seemed odd in the book like the faces of the dead kids being incorporated onto the mutant dogs.

The production design is great but the best thing about the movie is Jennifer Lawrence's performance. She is great. I've liked her ever since we saw her in Winter's Bone at Sundance a few years ago.

In Winter's Bone she plays a no-nonsense Ozak mountain girl who has to track down her deadbeat drug-dealer father in order to keep her family together. It's a great movie (with mature themes) and in hindsight it seems like it was an 100-minute audition tape for Lawrence's part in The Hunger Games.

So yeah, even if you haven't read the books I think it's worth seeing The Hunger Games.

I hope you have a nice weekend. Ours is going to be pretty low-key. The highlight will probably be watching two hours of Mad Men.

And on that note, an Nintendo-style Mad Men game just for you: