I never worked this hard in university. I never HAD TO. But baking school man, has given me an anxiety disorder. Kidding! I already had one.
I've posted some baking escapades over on The Oven Wall. Truffles, chocolate shops and my hatred of eclairs.
How 'bout some pictures?
Pretty much crazy about these glasses. Anthropologie. Eeee.
I want this hair on my head RIGHT NOW. I found this blog called Fuck Yeah Hair and I spend a really shameful amount of time on it. I sometimes even wish my hair was a pastel. Even though I know I don't want that. But there's a lot I do want on here. Too bad hair's not like makeup. If it was, I would totally be bald right now. Because I could have my hair back tomorrow. 
How did he do that!?
This and Bulleit Bourbon are my official sponsors* during this week leading up to midterms. Coping mechanisms are a situational necessity. Baby Duck champagne was a running contender for sponsorship but eventually lost out due to the fact that half of it is bubbles. Bubbles don't help.
Found another girl with serious game. Her voice is just delicious. Lianne La Havas. There are times that I hear stuff like Adele's first album. A little bit of Joss Stone. Little bit of Amy Winehouse. And she's cheeky which is a always a bonus. On her FB profile she says that she's nothing like Corrine Bailey Rae or Andreya Triana "but we have similar hair". And amazing hair it is. I have sincerely prayed that the Lord would give me her hair in another life. (*It's easy to get her, Andreya Triana and Corrine Bailey Rae confused. They are all British, biracial and have smokin' voices. Their styles are so different though. I heard a version of Que Sera by Corrine Bailey Rae at Glastonbury-an 8 minute version mind you- and was mesmerized nearly the whole time. I may have been mesmerized by her jumpsuit at one point. Not gonna lie.)
Her song "Lost and Found" is so heartbreaking. It's simply just how someone can so easily break into your brokenness and fuel it. Her voice is so beautiful you almost miss the meaning of the song but then you listen and then you feel sad. But you're still groovin'.
I am repeating with The Civil Wars what I did with Adele's album last year. I wake up singing it. My dreams include it. I encounter random trigger words that remind me of one of their songs. Try it out.
*Bulleit Bourbon is not actually an official sponsor. Come on now. That would be awesome though.
~P.S: Oh yeah and today I almost dropped my wedding band down the drain. Not good.
Lemon and mixed olive tapenade. 
My father-in-law bought me this cookbook for Christmas because he obviously loves me and wants me to be happy. This cookbook, y'all, seriously is so good. The pictures alone. I feel good about my skills by just reading it. It's like transferrence. So thank you Bourke Street. Australians are good for society. They do these creme brûlée tarts that are vanilla custard tarts with the caramelized sugar crust on top. Genius. Or they do bread with roasted potatoes in it. Their brainstorming sessions must be a ton of fun. Givin' the green light on awesomeness. 
You see the creme brûlée tarts? Far right? Booyah.
Having a couple days off from school has been great for my perspective. I was able to read today, drink some coffee that wasn't cold, go for a walk on the beach, workout in the daylight. I have been downright spoiled. Bankybear has it's spring finest on right now. All the trees are budding, flowers are sprouting up from the ground. And our lives are all drizzle so it's definitely spring in the Pacific Northwest. This is the point in the year that I cuddle my SAD lamp like a lap dog. "The summer makes up for it." I keep hearing this so it must be true.
I'm taking my camera out for documentation sake tomorrow regardless.
Song of the day: Little Black Sandals by Sia
Monday, March 5, 2012
Crunch
I am feeling quite sheepish and rather…swollen as I sit here. I had one of those "How did…what just HAPPENED to me?!" Last night, we had small group and it was amazing as per usual but it was SO late. Sunday nights are usually about a four hour night for me, which I cope with in my typical way on Monday: bad mood, copious profanity and solitude. Have to admit, all of those things were hugely exaggerated today.
Last night, as I was setting up everything that I was going to need in the morning outside the bedroom, I set some stuff down on one of our dining chairs and then rotated in an easily achievable occipital movement. I obviously did so a little bit faster and more drastic than was necessary because the left side of my nose met swiftly and disagreeably with the door frame of our bathroom. And it made the sound of splintering wood. Mega gross. I spent about thirty seconds waiting for my nose to start bleeding (which it didn't) and trying to figure out whether my nose was broken. I have no idea how much force is necessary to break a nose. I really hoped that being a doofus couldn't supply said necessary force. I hit my nose hard enough to break the skin on the outside, so I have a nice, bloodied divot on the bridge of my nose. Of course, at this point I'm crying just because I hit myself in the face and my eyes are making me pay for such aggression in their near vicinity.
Matt is trying to understand WHAT JUST HAPPENED and I almost wouldn't tell him out of sheer embarrassment. I iced it for about twenty minutes before going to sleep. I woke up and the 'bullseye area' on my face is so swollen. It hurts to chew, laugh, frown and certainly do anything related to my nose's intended function. I don't have a black eye. Yet. But of course I also don't know what kind of force is necessary to get a black eye either. Any time I've achieved one in the past it has been due to being RETARDED. Being hit in the face with a rolling rack, hitting my face on the side of the bathtub trying to wash my hair, etc. It's a hard knock life, you know, being clumsy. I get points for effort though.
This has been inspirational. It has also supplied me with bursts of unmitigated laughter in situations like riding the bus, sitting in lecture, and sleeping.
This and Bulleit Bourbon are my official sponsors* during this week leading up to midterms. Coping mechanisms are a situational necessity. Baby Duck champagne was a running contender for sponsorship but eventually lost out due to the fact that half of it is bubbles. Bubbles don't help.
Found another girl with serious game. Her voice is just delicious. Lianne La Havas. There are times that I hear stuff like Adele's first album. A little bit of Joss Stone. Little bit of Amy Winehouse. And she's cheeky which is a always a bonus. On her FB profile she says that she's nothing like Corrine Bailey Rae or Andreya Triana "but we have similar hair". And amazing hair it is. I have sincerely prayed that the Lord would give me her hair in another life. (*It's easy to get her, Andreya Triana and Corrine Bailey Rae confused. They are all British, biracial and have smokin' voices. Their styles are so different though. I heard a version of Que Sera by Corrine Bailey Rae at Glastonbury-an 8 minute version mind you- and was mesmerized nearly the whole time. I may have been mesmerized by her jumpsuit at one point. Not gonna lie.)
Her song "Lost and Found" is so heartbreaking. It's simply just how someone can so easily break into your brokenness and fuel it. Her voice is so beautiful you almost miss the meaning of the song but then you listen and then you feel sad. But you're still groovin'.
I am repeating with The Civil Wars what I did with Adele's album last year. I wake up singing it. My dreams include it. I encounter random trigger words that remind me of one of their songs. Try it out.
*Bulleit Bourbon is not actually an official sponsor. Come on now. That would be awesome though.
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
"I wish you'd hold me when I turn my back…"
I hung out with a friend today and found myself reflecting on marriage as I see them go on around me. I have seen people extremely important to me enter into phenomenal relationships. The relationships have absolutely been flawed, just as the people in them are, but there is so spiritual about finding a person who enters into a relationship with you and becomes better than either of you are on your own.
I feel blessed that I have a husband that I LOVE to be around. I love him, he inspires me, his is the embodiment of Christ's love to me. He makes me laugh. He fights for me and with me. I am proud OF him and proud to be his.
*BTW I think he would be straight up mortified if he read this. A giant bloggy, internet love letter to him.
Well Babe, deal with it. I love you. So there. ;)
With my friend this afternoon, I realized how comfortable I am to wander through a time where we don't really know where we're going WITH HIM. I don't really want to share him just yet. Turbulence and uncertainty become bearable when you know that at through the midst of it and at the end of it, they'll still be there.
And then you find a song that says the essence of what you are saying in a way that sounds SO much better. I don't know how I didn't know about them before but they are beyond phenomenal. Lacey turned me onto this song and I think so far it is my favourite even though "Falling" and "Barton Hollow" are W.I.C.K.E.D.
I love the stanza that starts, "Your hands can heal, your hands can bruise" and ends with "I don't have a choice but I still choose you". I love songs that hint at the complexity of marriage. When you enter the vulnerability of marriage, that person can hurt you far more than anyone else in you life but they can also bring unparalleled healing. When you enter in the commitment sombrely, you commit to them even when things aren't simple. It's not a matter of choosing to stay everyday, but each day you make the commitment to honour them, to choose them.
I also love in the video that they are in different rooms in the same house, singing the same song. Kinda like marriage. And MAN do they make beautiful music.
This may continue. This opposite schedule thing never feels natural. But I will at least try to supply you with new music each time.
P.S ~ Wicked cover of Poison and Wine with a three part harmony. Wow.
P.P.S ~ Profanity continues to be a huge issue. I've realized it makes up a large part of my sense of humour. So I'm not funny anymore. Unfortunately.
P.P.P.S ~ I made a wedding cake yesterday. What? Yeah, I did. It had styrofoam underneath. What a buzz kill, cuz you totally wanted to eat it.
I feel blessed that I have a husband that I LOVE to be around. I love him, he inspires me, his is the embodiment of Christ's love to me. He makes me laugh. He fights for me and with me. I am proud OF him and proud to be his.
*BTW I think he would be straight up mortified if he read this. A giant bloggy, internet love letter to him.
Well Babe, deal with it. I love you. So there. ;)
With my friend this afternoon, I realized how comfortable I am to wander through a time where we don't really know where we're going WITH HIM. I don't really want to share him just yet. Turbulence and uncertainty become bearable when you know that at through the midst of it and at the end of it, they'll still be there.
And then you find a song that says the essence of what you are saying in a way that sounds SO much better. I don't know how I didn't know about them before but they are beyond phenomenal. Lacey turned me onto this song and I think so far it is my favourite even though "Falling" and "Barton Hollow" are W.I.C.K.E.D.
I love the stanza that starts, "Your hands can heal, your hands can bruise" and ends with "I don't have a choice but I still choose you". I love songs that hint at the complexity of marriage. When you enter the vulnerability of marriage, that person can hurt you far more than anyone else in you life but they can also bring unparalleled healing. When you enter in the commitment sombrely, you commit to them even when things aren't simple. It's not a matter of choosing to stay everyday, but each day you make the commitment to honour them, to choose them.
I also love in the video that they are in different rooms in the same house, singing the same song. Kinda like marriage. And MAN do they make beautiful music.
This may continue. This opposite schedule thing never feels natural. But I will at least try to supply you with new music each time.
P.S ~ Wicked cover of Poison and Wine with a three part harmony. Wow.
P.P.S ~ Profanity continues to be a huge issue. I've realized it makes up a large part of my sense of humour. So I'm not funny anymore. Unfortunately.
P.P.P.S ~ I made a wedding cake yesterday. What? Yeah, I did. It had styrofoam underneath. What a buzz kill, cuz you totally wanted to eat it.
Friday, February 24, 2012
"They're our objects of affection. That can mesmerize the soul."
This is what I was doing while I was 'studying' last night. Bourbon in hand (because my other coping mechanism is conveniently absent), I found this.
And then I could not stop laughing. Oh Jesus. So funny. Seriously doubt the Mother Mary was a helicopter mom. She was probably just…sane.
So I talked to my bench partner at school about me giving up profanity for Lent. She was sweet enough to commit to do it with me. I told her that she didn't have to because profanity in our environment is almost self-sabotage. But maybe it's a good thing for us to do it together, the whole "unevenly yoked" thing. I just bastardized that verse. Sorry God. Bri: 0. God: also 0. No one is winning.
Anyway, I have asked her to swat me whenever I swear. And to my surprise (and appreciation!) she has obliged. I've only been hit twice. She even told me that I should get an elastic for around my wrist for when she's not there for me. Love Lex. Long time. We're gonna beat thisbitch situation together.
Definitely went running in sleeting rain today. Felt so good coming back from it but my hands were frozen. When your hands are constantly clenched as if you are holding an imaginary sandwich because you simply CANNOT move them. And then you get feeling back. And then you get the shakes. All of this while you're trying to turn the knobs on your bathtub on. I'm beginning to sound like a bit of a masochist, aren't I?
Fotos:
Moozh showed me this back. The coveting that commenced was INSANE.
Found this picture. Jean Luc Picard is the MAN.
Nature is amazing. Poland's "Crooked Forest". All bent at the trunk 90 degrees. All facing North.
My sister and I were just talking about this song. Oh my freakin' goooooosh. Mutemath is the new obsession of my heart. I would totally marry Mutemath if I weren't already married to Chai Eggnog…and Sleeping In, which are content to be sister wives.
I quoted Space Jam today. For reals. It came out of my mouth and I KNEW it was Friday.
Love somebody today.
And then I could not stop laughing. Oh Jesus. So funny. Seriously doubt the Mother Mary was a helicopter mom. She was probably just…sane.
So I talked to my bench partner at school about me giving up profanity for Lent. She was sweet enough to commit to do it with me. I told her that she didn't have to because profanity in our environment is almost self-sabotage. But maybe it's a good thing for us to do it together, the whole "unevenly yoked" thing. I just bastardized that verse. Sorry God. Bri: 0. God: also 0. No one is winning.
Anyway, I have asked her to swat me whenever I swear. And to my surprise (and appreciation!) she has obliged. I've only been hit twice. She even told me that I should get an elastic for around my wrist for when she's not there for me. Love Lex. Long time. We're gonna beat this
Definitely went running in sleeting rain today. Felt so good coming back from it but my hands were frozen. When your hands are constantly clenched as if you are holding an imaginary sandwich because you simply CANNOT move them. And then you get feeling back. And then you get the shakes. All of this while you're trying to turn the knobs on your bathtub on. I'm beginning to sound like a bit of a masochist, aren't I?
Fotos:
Moozh showed me this back. The coveting that commenced was INSANE.
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| Will Leather Goods. |
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| Amnesty International |
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| Discovery Channel |
I quoted Space Jam today. For reals. It came out of my mouth and I KNEW it was Friday.
Love somebody today.
Sunday, August 14, 2011
"Nature reigns here in all her wanton luxuriance, adorned by a thousand wild graces." Frances Brooke
Hey y'all, it's been a while! Many, many moons ago there's was a date known as July 11th. This was the day that I was supposed to return to the 'real world' from my vacay away, finish up some "minor" schoolwork and then have the rest of the summer to putz around Bankybear. But then July 11th arrived with a strange expression on its face. And then that 'rest'? That didn't happen. And then I got my ass kicked.
Moozh and I departed to the Land of Plenty in the middle of a distance course that I was working. Canadian Literature, I thought, 'Pssh, no biggie. I've read Atwood and Munro and a little bit of Cohen. I wrote a friggin' feminist rant on Ondaatje's 'Cinnamon Peeler'. I'll be fine." And then my teacher and all the course work laughed and said, "Ha! Oh NO YOU AIN'T!" So July 11th rolled around, a day I may here forth reference as The Rapture, after which I had taken a leisurely day of wine cocktails, sleeping masks and examining my tan lines to recuperate from my 'jet lag'. I planned to return to my course work with a fresh mind and some pithy anecdotes to use to introduce myself to new classmates and to endear myself to friends. My last course of the summer, Modern Jewish History, began on The Rapture, and that would be a uniform and convenient date to move ahead with everything. And then the jazzy tan faded on my rose coloured glasses as I sheepishly realized that I was in for more work that I was expecting. A HISTORY CLASS -what the frick was I thinking!!?? And then on top of that, I realized that missing over a third of the distance course I was working on, even though my teacher didn't get to see my vapid expression everyday, was a serious incident.
And of course in the midst of this is always interpersonal stuff. Moozh and I made a serious course correction. Moozh is doing culinary school! His Sommelier and Cicerone course starts in the fall and then his culinary arts course starts in January. He has a pretty pretty set of special wine glasses for his wine course that I am not allowed to touch because I break EVERYTHING. And 'My wife broke my wine set' doesn't really hold up. Sounds kind of like "My dog ate my homework." Our life is so empowered now. The idea of 'vision' or 'direction' was totally foreign to me. I'm not the kind of person that plans out my whole life. But the past month has shown me that vision is not about that. It is about having something that your life is pointing towards. Regent, as holistic and beautiful and considering how many gifts it blessed us with, was not that vision. This decision, this redirection of Matt's, helped us to envision OUR life, not just my life with writing and Matt's with theology. In the midst of deciding on a new direction for Matt, we were able to decide on a new direction for us.
So when I witnessed the date today I felt a bit out of the loop. It has been over a month since the Rapture. Both of my classes are now finished. My Modern Jewish History class I did actually pretty well in it which is only indication that there is a God. The jury is still out on my literature class but I felt the final exam went better than the entire course. My history course only fuelled my morbid fascination with Jewish people. I stood outside the Hillel house on the Yoob campus after the first few classes trying to convince myself to go inside. I decided not to. I have a fat stack of books on the Vichy Regime of France during the Second World War on my desk and I totally will read them. I will then need to watch SNL or maybe Seinfeld. I watched Defiance the other day and it kind of made me feel better. "See the Jews do fight back! Sometimes." Even though Daniel Craig has his model pout going almost the whole movie. Liev Schreiber and Jamie Bell are so sweet in it. Can I say that Jewish names in historical movies are the bomb? Tuvia? Zus? Fiddler on the Roof has Tzietel and Bielke. Cutesters.
And Vic was wonderful. We got to see my aunt and uncle who just relocated there. Their house is amazeballs! And they live in one of the coolest neighbourhoods in the city. But we got to see everything we wanted to see and eat everything we wanted to eat. We saw our old place, Fifth St, Bubby's. And then some of my favourite friends from Vic that I had fallen out of touch with we ran into by accident on the street. Totally sweet.
Well, happy August to everybody. I know it's seriously belated but I just realized I got here.
P.S ~ I start volunteering at the UBC farm this week! I had my orientation yesterday and I am so pumped. I'm starting late in the season but I just want to get my fingers in some ground. They grow so many beautiful things there, including hops! They have their own smokehouse and their own bees. This is on my bucket list!
P.P.S ~ Radiohead could seriously be on the soundtrack to my life. I know that I have previously said that I want the soundtrack to The Assassination of Jesse James to be the soundtrack to my life and that stands true. But Radiohead is allowed to be on there. This was the song my sister and her new moozh danced their first dance to at their wedding. My number one favourite part of weddings is seeing the groom's face when he sees his bride for the first time. But I have decided a serious runner-up is the song they choose for their first dance. I know not everyone puts a ton of thought into it, but I love that moment. I teared up during their first dance as my sister's sang "You're all I need" into her new husbands ear quietly as they danced together. Oy, beautiful. Matzel Tov and all that. Sheesh, getting all teared up writing on my blog.
Moozh and I departed to the Land of Plenty in the middle of a distance course that I was working. Canadian Literature, I thought, 'Pssh, no biggie. I've read Atwood and Munro and a little bit of Cohen. I wrote a friggin' feminist rant on Ondaatje's 'Cinnamon Peeler'. I'll be fine." And then my teacher and all the course work laughed and said, "Ha! Oh NO YOU AIN'T!" So July 11th rolled around, a day I may here forth reference as The Rapture, after which I had taken a leisurely day of wine cocktails, sleeping masks and examining my tan lines to recuperate from my 'jet lag'. I planned to return to my course work with a fresh mind and some pithy anecdotes to use to introduce myself to new classmates and to endear myself to friends. My last course of the summer, Modern Jewish History, began on The Rapture, and that would be a uniform and convenient date to move ahead with everything. And then the jazzy tan faded on my rose coloured glasses as I sheepishly realized that I was in for more work that I was expecting. A HISTORY CLASS -what the frick was I thinking!!?? And then on top of that, I realized that missing over a third of the distance course I was working on, even though my teacher didn't get to see my vapid expression everyday, was a serious incident.
And of course in the midst of this is always interpersonal stuff. Moozh and I made a serious course correction. Moozh is doing culinary school! His Sommelier and Cicerone course starts in the fall and then his culinary arts course starts in January. He has a pretty pretty set of special wine glasses for his wine course that I am not allowed to touch because I break EVERYTHING. And 'My wife broke my wine set' doesn't really hold up. Sounds kind of like "My dog ate my homework." Our life is so empowered now. The idea of 'vision' or 'direction' was totally foreign to me. I'm not the kind of person that plans out my whole life. But the past month has shown me that vision is not about that. It is about having something that your life is pointing towards. Regent, as holistic and beautiful and considering how many gifts it blessed us with, was not that vision. This decision, this redirection of Matt's, helped us to envision OUR life, not just my life with writing and Matt's with theology. In the midst of deciding on a new direction for Matt, we were able to decide on a new direction for us.
So when I witnessed the date today I felt a bit out of the loop. It has been over a month since the Rapture. Both of my classes are now finished. My Modern Jewish History class I did actually pretty well in it which is only indication that there is a God. The jury is still out on my literature class but I felt the final exam went better than the entire course. My history course only fuelled my morbid fascination with Jewish people. I stood outside the Hillel house on the Yoob campus after the first few classes trying to convince myself to go inside. I decided not to. I have a fat stack of books on the Vichy Regime of France during the Second World War on my desk and I totally will read them. I will then need to watch SNL or maybe Seinfeld. I watched Defiance the other day and it kind of made me feel better. "See the Jews do fight back! Sometimes." Even though Daniel Craig has his model pout going almost the whole movie. Liev Schreiber and Jamie Bell are so sweet in it. Can I say that Jewish names in historical movies are the bomb? Tuvia? Zus? Fiddler on the Roof has Tzietel and Bielke. Cutesters.
And Vic was wonderful. We got to see my aunt and uncle who just relocated there. Their house is amazeballs! And they live in one of the coolest neighbourhoods in the city. But we got to see everything we wanted to see and eat everything we wanted to eat. We saw our old place, Fifth St, Bubby's. And then some of my favourite friends from Vic that I had fallen out of touch with we ran into by accident on the street. Totally sweet.
Well, happy August to everybody. I know it's seriously belated but I just realized I got here.
P.S ~ I start volunteering at the UBC farm this week! I had my orientation yesterday and I am so pumped. I'm starting late in the season but I just want to get my fingers in some ground. They grow so many beautiful things there, including hops! They have their own smokehouse and their own bees. This is on my bucket list!
P.P.S ~ Radiohead could seriously be on the soundtrack to my life. I know that I have previously said that I want the soundtrack to The Assassination of Jesse James to be the soundtrack to my life and that stands true. But Radiohead is allowed to be on there. This was the song my sister and her new moozh danced their first dance to at their wedding. My number one favourite part of weddings is seeing the groom's face when he sees his bride for the first time. But I have decided a serious runner-up is the song they choose for their first dance. I know not everyone puts a ton of thought into it, but I love that moment. I teared up during their first dance as my sister's sang "You're all I need" into her new husbands ear quietly as they danced together. Oy, beautiful. Matzel Tov and all that. Sheesh, getting all teared up writing on my blog.
Friday, June 3, 2011
"Sing out loud, gonna get back Honey. Sing out loud, get away with me…"
Jesus is my best friend.
Last night at small group each of us prayed for a 'simple blessing' that we wanted to ask the Lord for. Some people asked for new clothes, some people asked for a nice bottle of wine (we're mostly all students so we have really simple pleasures). Me, I asked for a sunny day. It was the simplest, most rewarding gift I could think of. And guess what? Today. Was. Awwwwweesome. I was, with all of the other wheedling Bankybear-ites who have been so deprived from Vit D, out on the beach in my bathing suit. Sunglasses, the smell of sunscreen and the glistening condensation on the side of iced drinks peppered the lawn. One of my favourite things to do is to lay back in the grass and read. The wind was just cool enough and the sky was cloudless. On my run, I was brought to near tears because I was SO happy. In so many words, I loved today. And God is good.
We have such great friends. This week Matt and I had dinner with a couple different friends of ours. They each had us over for dinner and made a point of mentioning celebration that I got into my program. So sweet! I have fallen so in love with many of the friends that the Lord has brought into Matt and I's life. So many diverse people with so many different gifts and passions and going after many different things but each of them have been such a blessing to us.
I fly out to Cowtown a week from tomorrow. Whoooa! I feel like I've been anticipating this for months and now it is nearly upon me! We're getting everything sorted out with packing and tickets. I have my outfits for the weddings. Moozh and I are figuring out our emcee magic for my sister's wedding. Lots to do but I'm so excited to head out and have time with my families. My sister in law's lingerie shower is tomorrow so I will be sending her positive vibes.
I love tats! Check this one out. So beautiful and intricate. Found it on Pinterest.
Another great song. She has such a beautiful, simple voice.
Also check out The Golden Age by The Asteroids Galaxy. It's on a Heineken commercial right now which is how I found it but she's adorable and it gets stuck in my head every time.
I found this on Pinterest too. I love the quote. It just keeps spinning in my head.
I hope it is sunny where you are and that you have a slurpee in your hand. If you don't have the latter, rectify that.
P.S ~ Book of the Moment: Green Grass, Running Water by Thomas King.
P.P.S ~ I've decided that I'm going as Rooney Mara as Lisbeth Salander from Girl with the Dragon Tattoo for Halloween. Kick ass character. Bitchin' style. Rooney Mara had her lip, eyebrow, nose and nipple pierced for REAL for the role. Commitment.
Last night at small group each of us prayed for a 'simple blessing' that we wanted to ask the Lord for. Some people asked for new clothes, some people asked for a nice bottle of wine (we're mostly all students so we have really simple pleasures). Me, I asked for a sunny day. It was the simplest, most rewarding gift I could think of. And guess what? Today. Was. Awwwwweesome. I was, with all of the other wheedling Bankybear-ites who have been so deprived from Vit D, out on the beach in my bathing suit. Sunglasses, the smell of sunscreen and the glistening condensation on the side of iced drinks peppered the lawn. One of my favourite things to do is to lay back in the grass and read. The wind was just cool enough and the sky was cloudless. On my run, I was brought to near tears because I was SO happy. In so many words, I loved today. And God is good.
We have such great friends. This week Matt and I had dinner with a couple different friends of ours. They each had us over for dinner and made a point of mentioning celebration that I got into my program. So sweet! I have fallen so in love with many of the friends that the Lord has brought into Matt and I's life. So many diverse people with so many different gifts and passions and going after many different things but each of them have been such a blessing to us.
I fly out to Cowtown a week from tomorrow. Whoooa! I feel like I've been anticipating this for months and now it is nearly upon me! We're getting everything sorted out with packing and tickets. I have my outfits for the weddings. Moozh and I are figuring out our emcee magic for my sister's wedding. Lots to do but I'm so excited to head out and have time with my families. My sister in law's lingerie shower is tomorrow so I will be sending her positive vibes.
I love tats! Check this one out. So beautiful and intricate. Found it on Pinterest.
Another great song. She has such a beautiful, simple voice.
Also check out The Golden Age by The Asteroids Galaxy. It's on a Heineken commercial right now which is how I found it but she's adorable and it gets stuck in my head every time.
I found this on Pinterest too. I love the quote. It just keeps spinning in my head.
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| Saying Images |
P.S ~ Book of the Moment: Green Grass, Running Water by Thomas King.
P.P.S ~ I've decided that I'm going as Rooney Mara as Lisbeth Salander from Girl with the Dragon Tattoo for Halloween. Kick ass character. Bitchin' style. Rooney Mara had her lip, eyebrow, nose and nipple pierced for REAL for the role. Commitment.
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| W Magazine |
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
"Lift your eyes and let me, cuz baby I'm an alien like you…"
Yo y'all!
My, my, my it's been such a long time. I finished my class on Friday and then had to whip up a presentation on Archibald Lampman in 36 hours. I have been weaning myself off of the escapism of blogs. It's for the best. It's all about school until we leave for the weddings (which for me is 11 days -wheeeeeeeee!). I make it into town to catch my sister's bridal shower, so I don't miss ALL of them. Fun gifts and even more exciting is that our sisters are marrying great men!
The lovely BJ turned me onto this wicked website called, Pinterest, which is just a new danger to me. You can pin stuff from all over the place so you get to see what other people have pinned and also pin some of your favourite stuff for other people to see. I have discovered so many new things that I will have to relegate to the back of my mind so that they don't distract me from…life. It's like StumbleUpon. Geez.
I have to make specific mention of how blessed I feel by our church. Moozh and I were getting really discouraged with the whole 'church shopping' thing. We had tried out so many churches that didn't feel right. We didn't want to be those people that look for the 'perfect' church or a church that is customized to them. That church doesn't exist. But there was something about the churches that didn't…feel right. But the minute we walked into UTown, we felt like something just clicked, or settled rather. We felt at home in a way. I think I've cried every Sunday (which is a good thing). I've spent time one on one with three gorgeous women of God from the UTown community. Prayer, community and worship have taken on entirely new meaning, and almost a fresh light.
Fun stuff!
This chick is a UBC grad. They sell her stuff at the UBC bookstore. Check out her blog because her designs are hysterical.
New song that I think is such a great love song. The lead singer, Sebastian Pigott, has a really cool voice. Like Moozh's friend Kimmy would say, falling in love is finding someone who's sin is compatible with yours. Feeling like we are alien to everyone else, Love is the safe place where you not only feel like you can be the alien you are an be completely loved in it, but also that you've found the alien that you are meant for. You can love them for who they are. I'm blessed by my Alien everyday ;)
Happy Tuesday!
My, my, my it's been such a long time. I finished my class on Friday and then had to whip up a presentation on Archibald Lampman in 36 hours. I have been weaning myself off of the escapism of blogs. It's for the best. It's all about school until we leave for the weddings (which for me is 11 days -wheeeeeeeee!). I make it into town to catch my sister's bridal shower, so I don't miss ALL of them. Fun gifts and even more exciting is that our sisters are marrying great men!
The lovely BJ turned me onto this wicked website called, Pinterest, which is just a new danger to me. You can pin stuff from all over the place so you get to see what other people have pinned and also pin some of your favourite stuff for other people to see. I have discovered so many new things that I will have to relegate to the back of my mind so that they don't distract me from…life. It's like StumbleUpon. Geez.
I have to make specific mention of how blessed I feel by our church. Moozh and I were getting really discouraged with the whole 'church shopping' thing. We had tried out so many churches that didn't feel right. We didn't want to be those people that look for the 'perfect' church or a church that is customized to them. That church doesn't exist. But there was something about the churches that didn't…feel right. But the minute we walked into UTown, we felt like something just clicked, or settled rather. We felt at home in a way. I think I've cried every Sunday (which is a good thing). I've spent time one on one with three gorgeous women of God from the UTown community. Prayer, community and worship have taken on entirely new meaning, and almost a fresh light.
Fun stuff!
This chick is a UBC grad. They sell her stuff at the UBC bookstore. Check out her blog because her designs are hysterical.
 |
| vckystxx.com |
New song that I think is such a great love song. The lead singer, Sebastian Pigott, has a really cool voice. Like Moozh's friend Kimmy would say, falling in love is finding someone who's sin is compatible with yours. Feeling like we are alien to everyone else, Love is the safe place where you not only feel like you can be the alien you are an be completely loved in it, but also that you've found the alien that you are meant for. You can love them for who they are. I'm blessed by my Alien everyday ;)
Happy Tuesday!
Thursday, March 17, 2011
"Everybody look to their left, everybody look to their right…"
Whoa. I just read my previous entry. Kind sounds like I was watching a tv show while I was writing. Which I was. Resolution #1: No creative multi-tasking. That is how you get personality disorders.
This week has gone by so fast and has really been so bizarre. Quite a bit of tension has been released but I feel a bit like I'm wandering around waiting to be the victim of slap-ass. Or the Gobble Gobble game. Have you ever played that? It's when you try to grab the skin underneath your opponents chin and you hold it until they say "Gobble gobble!" It's a bit like "Uncle" but so much better. My sister is the queen of that game. I, consequently, always lose. I've had bruises under my chin.
Next Friday will be the culmination of my year at UBC. My application to the creative writing program will be in and the Lord has it from there. Everything will be awesome, I know it. If my original plan had worked, I would be in Toronto studying fashion at Ryerson University and I would be so unhappy. Instead, I am married to my hot husband, I live in an adorable hobbit hole in a beautiful city and I'm in a program that, though at times it infuriates me, leaves me inspired and eager to slog through the frustration. The Lord has been teaching me a lot lately just about trusting him. And to not worry and fixate on the minutae of my life but find joy in all that is going on around me. My sister-in-law AND my sister are getting married this summer. The Lord is so in their relationships and in how they are moving through life. We've had a couple of friends pop out gorgeous healthy babies that will be presidents and wholesome pop stars one day. Flowers are growing! Out of the ground!
Aside from that, I have lots to keep me busy. Today was the first day that my swim was really impressive. I think it has to do something with me…eating before hand. Why has nobody told me this?! I am trying to wrap my head around personal genomics. One huge 'hella yeah' to whoever not only understands that but is majoring in it. I pretty much just nod when they ask me if I understand so that they won't keep me after class and say, "So, umm…should you be here?"
And allergies are here! Woot.
Linkies:
~ Umm I don't know about y'all (because I'm southern now) but these sound phenomenal. Like some of the comments say, I don't know if these would make it into anything but my mouth but they would be uh to the mazing.
~ My heart is warmed by how everyone is using all they have at their disposal to raise financial aid for Japan. Go onto any site and type in "Japan Earthquake Relief" and it is beautiful what you find.
~ This has been on my mind a lot lately. I don't know if it's because of anxiety over career or anxiety over pregnancy. Maybe it's because I'm writing a paper on stay at home dads. Either way, imma obsessed.
~ This is beautiful, especially as a table centrepiece.
~ Ha, I don't know why I found this so funny. It's actually really cool in it's own way. A different kind of boudoir session. Ummm safe for work?
~ I think I'm gonna make this. This seems to be the only way I can wholeheartedly take in St. Pat's this year.
Tomorrow's TGIF!
This week has gone by so fast and has really been so bizarre. Quite a bit of tension has been released but I feel a bit like I'm wandering around waiting to be the victim of slap-ass. Or the Gobble Gobble game. Have you ever played that? It's when you try to grab the skin underneath your opponents chin and you hold it until they say "Gobble gobble!" It's a bit like "Uncle" but so much better. My sister is the queen of that game. I, consequently, always lose. I've had bruises under my chin.
Next Friday will be the culmination of my year at UBC. My application to the creative writing program will be in and the Lord has it from there. Everything will be awesome, I know it. If my original plan had worked, I would be in Toronto studying fashion at Ryerson University and I would be so unhappy. Instead, I am married to my hot husband, I live in an adorable hobbit hole in a beautiful city and I'm in a program that, though at times it infuriates me, leaves me inspired and eager to slog through the frustration. The Lord has been teaching me a lot lately just about trusting him. And to not worry and fixate on the minutae of my life but find joy in all that is going on around me. My sister-in-law AND my sister are getting married this summer. The Lord is so in their relationships and in how they are moving through life. We've had a couple of friends pop out gorgeous healthy babies that will be presidents and wholesome pop stars one day. Flowers are growing! Out of the ground!
Aside from that, I have lots to keep me busy. Today was the first day that my swim was really impressive. I think it has to do something with me…eating before hand. Why has nobody told me this?! I am trying to wrap my head around personal genomics. One huge 'hella yeah' to whoever not only understands that but is majoring in it. I pretty much just nod when they ask me if I understand so that they won't keep me after class and say, "So, umm…should you be here?"
And allergies are here! Woot.
Linkies:
~ Umm I don't know about y'all (because I'm southern now) but these sound phenomenal. Like some of the comments say, I don't know if these would make it into anything but my mouth but they would be uh to the mazing.
~ My heart is warmed by how everyone is using all they have at their disposal to raise financial aid for Japan. Go onto any site and type in "Japan Earthquake Relief" and it is beautiful what you find.
~ This has been on my mind a lot lately. I don't know if it's because of anxiety over career or anxiety over pregnancy. Maybe it's because I'm writing a paper on stay at home dads. Either way, imma obsessed.
~ Ha, I don't know why I found this so funny. It's actually really cool in it's own way. A different kind of boudoir session. Ummm safe for work?
~ I think I'm gonna make this. This seems to be the only way I can wholeheartedly take in St. Pat's this year.
Tomorrow's TGIF!
Friday, March 4, 2011
"I'm speechless and I don't know where to start..."
This week is over.
I feel like I've been whapped (Whapped? Yes.) over the head with a frying pan. My head is just full, full of deadlines, group projects, social activities. And now full of mucus. Overshare? Probably.
I was regrettably (Regrettably? Sure.) absent from my Russian class today so that I could sleep off the four-day migraine I've had this week. I picked out some spicy chai tea to make my nose run a little. It didn't quite do that but it did make me feel warm. And I am alone for the day which will help things. Moozh Cimpatichini is almost better at reading me than I am sometimes and yesterday he could tell I was spent. He thus left me the house today to sleep (and blog) to my heart's content. He is my favourite.
This. Week. Has. Been. Heeeeeeectic. I was this guy when I wish I could have been this guy. I...overprogrammed myself a little bit, somewhat in hopes that sociability and productivity would rub off on me from the people I was working with.
For now (meaning until I can get myself back together), I have pictures. Arie gave me permission to post some pics of her dress. I didn't realize that I didn't get a single normal picture of her dress, I only got try-hard pictures, as I tried to do things with my camera that I don't actually know how to do.
Pichers!
Links:
I feel like I've been whapped (Whapped? Yes.) over the head with a frying pan. My head is just full, full of deadlines, group projects, social activities. And now full of mucus. Overshare? Probably.
I was regrettably (Regrettably? Sure.) absent from my Russian class today so that I could sleep off the four-day migraine I've had this week. I picked out some spicy chai tea to make my nose run a little. It didn't quite do that but it did make me feel warm. And I am alone for the day which will help things. Moozh Cimpatichini is almost better at reading me than I am sometimes and yesterday he could tell I was spent. He thus left me the house today to sleep (and blog) to my heart's content. He is my favourite.
This. Week. Has. Been. Heeeeeeectic. I was this guy when I wish I could have been this guy. I...overprogrammed myself a little bit, somewhat in hopes that sociability and productivity would rub off on me from the people I was working with.
For now (meaning until I can get myself back together), I have pictures. Arie gave me permission to post some pics of her dress. I didn't realize that I didn't get a single normal picture of her dress, I only got try-hard pictures, as I tried to do things with my camera that I don't actually know how to do.
Pichers!
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| The sky was flawless the whole time and the palm trees were so tall! |
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| Betsy J |
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| No bride. I distractedly never got a picture of her IN the dress AT the store. |
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| She is so cute! |
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| She wanted to post on the bed. |
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| Tubule Fleurs |
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| Thar they be. Cute as ever. |
~ If I ever got Matt to try a pair of these on, I would never let him take them off.
~ Portraits using screws. Umm awesome?
~ Okay stay with me. What if you switched out the pink for grey or chocolate brown. Die of beauty? I thought so. I love yarn for decorating!
~ Can I have it! Can I have it!? Who doesn't want a house that was once a bomb shelter? Okay probably lots of people but this loft is the bomb.
Such sweet sweet music. Makes me feel like I should be waking up from a dream ;)
Monday, February 28, 2011
"There's something about the way you look tonight…"
My life is fun.
Today was pretty much hilarious. I celebrated Maslenitsa, which is the Russian festival to celebrate the end of winter, where they drink vodka, eat blinis with Nutella (or at least we ate them with Nutella) and light things on fire. We had to supply our own vodka, psssh. There were sparklers, and people speaking Russian with a fluency I just couldn't keep up with. But my lovely friend Jelsi was there to talk off the ledge (in English).
From there, I went to my New Media class which was, for the first time all semester, a little bit uplifting. I still haven't learned anything that is applicable in the REAL WORLD, though I have learned some things pertinent to the cutesy, pretend world of "being a writer". Anyways, an aggravating group project that I am slogging through (simply because I rail against group projects in general) went really well today. From there I had another group project and this time OUTSIDE OF CLASS TIME, and it went well too. The fact that I'm not eat a mega bag of chips without my hands or laying facedown on the hardwood is truly remarkable. *Proofread: totally makes sense. And some of my favourite lovely ladies are in that class. Gets the week off to a good start :)
Then I went to Regent (which is in my top ten of most relaxing places in Vancouver) and hung out with BJ while Moozh finished up a powerpoint for the big arts chapel tomorrow morning. With dancing! And pretty pictures! And Jesus!
And now I am at home, which Moozh clickety-clacketying on his keyboard in the background, musing on reducing residential waste and the effect of normalized masculinity on stay at home dads. I am at peace.
This week is totally fun too! Lots of birthdays, which means lots of birthday parties! And Marie-Josee Dandeneau of Winnipeg is in town on Thursday playing with Oh My Darling! Um, so exited. Check out her facebook page too. I basically have a HUGE crush on her.
Happy Monday!
P.S ~ Dr. Zhivago seems to be making the rounds on the big screens. I missed it this past weekend but I need for it to come back. Cossacks are meant to be seen on the big screen.
Today was pretty much hilarious. I celebrated Maslenitsa, which is the Russian festival to celebrate the end of winter, where they drink vodka, eat blinis with Nutella (or at least we ate them with Nutella) and light things on fire. We had to supply our own vodka, psssh. There were sparklers, and people speaking Russian with a fluency I just couldn't keep up with. But my lovely friend Jelsi was there to talk off the ledge (in English).
From there, I went to my New Media class which was, for the first time all semester, a little bit uplifting. I still haven't learned anything that is applicable in the REAL WORLD, though I have learned some things pertinent to the cutesy, pretend world of "being a writer". Anyways, an aggravating group project that I am slogging through (simply because I rail against group projects in general) went really well today. From there I had another group project and this time OUTSIDE OF CLASS TIME, and it went well too. The fact that I'm not eat a mega bag of chips without my hands or laying facedown on the hardwood is truly remarkable. *Proofread: totally makes sense. And some of my favourite lovely ladies are in that class. Gets the week off to a good start :)
Then I went to Regent (which is in my top ten of most relaxing places in Vancouver) and hung out with BJ while Moozh finished up a powerpoint for the big arts chapel tomorrow morning. With dancing! And pretty pictures! And Jesus!
And now I am at home, which Moozh clickety-clacketying on his keyboard in the background, musing on reducing residential waste and the effect of normalized masculinity on stay at home dads. I am at peace.
This week is totally fun too! Lots of birthdays, which means lots of birthday parties! And Marie-Josee Dandeneau of Winnipeg is in town on Thursday playing with Oh My Darling! Um, so exited. Check out her facebook page too. I basically have a HUGE crush on her.
Happy Monday!
P.S ~ Dr. Zhivago seems to be making the rounds on the big screens. I missed it this past weekend but I need for it to come back. Cossacks are meant to be seen on the big screen.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
"I hoped you see my face and that you would be reminded that for me, it isn't over."
I have told myself before, sat myself down and talked sternly to myself: you need to proofread. You're not going to have any friends if you write like James Joyce in Ulysses. It's okay to understand to understand where the predicate falls in a prepositional phrase. You can still be cool and know that. I'm sure Eddie Vedder and Helen Mirren know that too. See it's okay. Just DON'T EVER let it happen again.
You have just witnessed an excerpt from a familiar conversation between me and the voices in my head.
And can I get a high five for getting Eddie Vedder and Helen Mirren in the same sentence? So here's to more intentional editing.
Adele is like my lullaby. When I was falling asleep last night, I was hearing her songs. I woke up at 3:30am this morning and she was stuck in my head. I could hear her over the music on my iPod this morning during my run. BUT IT'S NOT AN OBSESSION.
I have just divulged things that I am thinking maybe should have been kept private…
Anyways, March is looking like it's gonna be a hefty month. I spent eight hours (EIGHT HOURS!) straight staring at my computer screen writing a new piece for my portfolio. There is dedication and pure will of focus and then there is being completely oblivious to the world around you. Matt came out of the bedroom at one point and said, "I can't stay in there any longer." And the first thought I had was, "Oh yeah. You're here too." Then my second thought was, "Maybe writing is not the optimal career for you because you are braindead. Sincerely, Me."
*When Matt and I both work from home, because our apartment is the size of Harry Potter's bedroom, one of us has to stay in the bedroom and the other person gets the main room. And if our apartment is the size of Harry Potter's bedroom, our bedroom is the size of a cutlery drawer. Matt had been in there for around four hours.*
So Resolution Number One: Share.
The application deadline to the Creative Writing Department is in 27 days! Woweee. I am borderline disturbed. I pace in our kitchen sometimes (which is three steps in each direction) when I think too hard about it. We're all good though and I know that if I don't get in the Lord has something better. I'm hoping to figure that out soon because a tight chest is no fun.
Moozh and I watched How to Train Your Dragon last night. I love psychological thrillers and foreign films, you know GROWN UP movies. But I will take a well done animated movie any day. The movie made me really want a cat actually. Something about the dragon reminded me of a cat. And made me want to be a viking.
We also watched Toy Story 3 and Black Swan last weekend after I got back. Toy Story 3 - Bril-eye-ant. Black Swan - If she doesn't win the Oscar I will be aggravated. Natalie Portman is uh to the mazing in that movie. And she is an adorable baby mama during awards season so I really just want her to win because she is so damn endearing.
Linkies:
- I want to make a clock out of something. I've even seen some cases where people just mount the clock hands on the wall. I also wanted little apothecary bottles like these. Restoration Hardware has some but I just don't know whether I'm willing to refinance my home to buy them. I don't even have a house to refinance.
- Handmade rings are duh best.
- Um. Cutest picture ever.
- How cool is this picture!!
- I want this for our wall. Also, check out PosterText. I looooove (and want) the 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea print. Something about them makes me think they would be so cool in a nursery. They look light grey in the thumbnails but apparently when they ship they are a sharp black.
- I am putting this in my dreambook.
Go listen to a song that makes you dance like Carlton from the Fresh Prince. I'm going to. And it won't be Adele. Although Rolling in the Deep makes me dance in slow motion.
You have just witnessed an excerpt from a familiar conversation between me and the voices in my head.
And can I get a high five for getting Eddie Vedder and Helen Mirren in the same sentence? So here's to more intentional editing.
Adele is like my lullaby. When I was falling asleep last night, I was hearing her songs. I woke up at 3:30am this morning and she was stuck in my head. I could hear her over the music on my iPod this morning during my run. BUT IT'S NOT AN OBSESSION.
I have just divulged things that I am thinking maybe should have been kept private…
Anyways, March is looking like it's gonna be a hefty month. I spent eight hours (EIGHT HOURS!) straight staring at my computer screen writing a new piece for my portfolio. There is dedication and pure will of focus and then there is being completely oblivious to the world around you. Matt came out of the bedroom at one point and said, "I can't stay in there any longer." And the first thought I had was, "Oh yeah. You're here too." Then my second thought was, "Maybe writing is not the optimal career for you because you are braindead. Sincerely, Me."
*When Matt and I both work from home, because our apartment is the size of Harry Potter's bedroom, one of us has to stay in the bedroom and the other person gets the main room. And if our apartment is the size of Harry Potter's bedroom, our bedroom is the size of a cutlery drawer. Matt had been in there for around four hours.*
So Resolution Number One: Share.
The application deadline to the Creative Writing Department is in 27 days! Woweee. I am borderline disturbed. I pace in our kitchen sometimes (which is three steps in each direction) when I think too hard about it. We're all good though and I know that if I don't get in the Lord has something better. I'm hoping to figure that out soon because a tight chest is no fun.
Moozh and I watched How to Train Your Dragon last night. I love psychological thrillers and foreign films, you know GROWN UP movies. But I will take a well done animated movie any day. The movie made me really want a cat actually. Something about the dragon reminded me of a cat. And made me want to be a viking.
We also watched Toy Story 3 and Black Swan last weekend after I got back. Toy Story 3 - Bril-eye-ant. Black Swan - If she doesn't win the Oscar I will be aggravated. Natalie Portman is uh to the mazing in that movie. And she is an adorable baby mama during awards season so I really just want her to win because she is so damn endearing.
Linkies:
- I want to make a clock out of something. I've even seen some cases where people just mount the clock hands on the wall. I also wanted little apothecary bottles like these. Restoration Hardware has some but I just don't know whether I'm willing to refinance my home to buy them. I don't even have a house to refinance.
- Handmade rings are duh best.
- Um. Cutest picture ever.
- How cool is this picture!!
- I want this for our wall. Also, check out PosterText. I looooove (and want) the 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea print. Something about them makes me think they would be so cool in a nursery. They look light grey in the thumbnails but apparently when they ship they are a sharp black.
- I am putting this in my dreambook.
Go listen to a song that makes you dance like Carlton from the Fresh Prince. I'm going to. And it won't be Adele. Although Rolling in the Deep makes me dance in slow motion.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
"Forgive your past and simply be mine…"
Ok whoa.
Adele's new album, 21, which as been out for a while…people: flippin' magic. I'm pretty sure I've either sobbed through every song or done a triumphant "This is bril-eye-ant!" punch dance in my living room at EVERY SONG.
She simply has a way (just like Oscar Meyer) when her voice and her lyrics and her plain ballsy-ness of captivating me. Her song "Make You Feel My Love" is my song with Moozh Cimpatichni. Yes it was written by Bob Dylan but she does it SO. MUCH. BETTER. She does covers so authentically (She covered The Cure's Lovesong on this album) and yet she never gets lost in them.
On her new album, her song One and Only is breathtaking. I was innocently waiting for Moozh to finish up his night class and bawled my face off in the atrium.
I really should just post the entire song because there's not a single line in it that isn't flawless and transcendent so why don't YOU go there, read the lyrics, cry, come back, we'll debrief over cookies. And Rolling in the Deep (which is on the I am Number Four trailer). And Someone Like You that is a better more profound version of "I'd Like to Buy the World a Coke". It'll make us all feel warm and fuzzy.
On another note, my procrastination has grown legs and is an autonomous being now. I have deadlines with a capital 'D' (which also stands for death) and all I want to do all day is eat kettle chips and watch The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer (really just so I can say I did - how awesome is his name?!). I will have time for that when I'm 'with child'. People will let you do anything when you're pregs. Until then, my sense of duty and my infallible performance driven tendencies will drag me by my fingernails to April.
Listen to the song. That's all.
P.S ~ Doesn't the fact that this weighs 15 lbs make you want one?!
Adele's new album, 21, which as been out for a while…people: flippin' magic. I'm pretty sure I've either sobbed through every song or done a triumphant "This is bril-eye-ant!" punch dance in my living room at EVERY SONG.
She simply has a way (just like Oscar Meyer) when her voice and her lyrics and her plain ballsy-ness of captivating me. Her song "Make You Feel My Love" is my song with Moozh Cimpatichni. Yes it was written by Bob Dylan but she does it SO. MUCH. BETTER. She does covers so authentically (She covered The Cure's Lovesong on this album) and yet she never gets lost in them.
On her new album, her song One and Only is breathtaking. I was innocently waiting for Moozh to finish up his night class and bawled my face off in the atrium.
"I dare you to let me be, your one and only,
Promise I'm worth it
To hold in your arms.
So come on give me a chance
To prove I am the one who can walk that mile
until the end starts."
I really should just post the entire song because there's not a single line in it that isn't flawless and transcendent so why don't YOU go there, read the lyrics, cry, come back, we'll debrief over cookies. And Rolling in the Deep (which is on the I am Number Four trailer). And Someone Like You that is a better more profound version of "I'd Like to Buy the World a Coke". It'll make us all feel warm and fuzzy.
On another note, my procrastination has grown legs and is an autonomous being now. I have deadlines with a capital 'D' (which also stands for death) and all I want to do all day is eat kettle chips and watch The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer (really just so I can say I did - how awesome is his name?!). I will have time for that when I'm 'with child'. People will let you do anything when you're pregs. Until then, my sense of duty and my infallible performance driven tendencies will drag me by my fingernails to April.
Listen to the song. That's all.
P.S ~ Doesn't the fact that this weighs 15 lbs make you want one?!
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Audrey Assad
"You could plant me like a tree beside a river,
You could tangle me in soil and let my roots run wild..."
Monday, January 10, 2011
Orphans, Kingdoms
Oh S'bucks you never cease to surprise me. I, having encouraged a dependency on having new things to obsess over, always grab the free download card at Starbucks. Sometimes I go for that and I don't even buy anything. I know, rebel without a cause. So one of their free downloads recently was "Orphans, Kingdoms" by Brooke Fraser. Never heard of her before but I do not discriminate. Until I heard her voice and had one of those moments where your face implodes into your brain as you think, "Ah, that is so familiar why can't I remember!?" It happened on the bus, SO embarrassing. So I clickity-clacked my way to her wiki page and found her to be the same Brooke Fraser that wrote one of my favourite worship songs, Desert Song. Who knew? I did not. Chances are neither did S'bucks. One of the most pleasant surprises I've had recently. She's a cool chick.
One of the things that I like is when people think really authentically about things in their life, especially things that they are giving their life to. This is not something I can say I do very well all of the time. I find it very easy to compartmentalize my liberal, secular self from by committed Christian life where I am called to believe and abide by things that liberal culture rebels against. For a long time I made that out to be in my mind that I was just "off the beaten track". Now I see it as inauthentic. And one person that blesses me everyday and who does this better than anyone I know is moozh cimpatichni. I bring this up because Brooke Fraser is a part of the Hillsong community but she is very vocal about how she wants to "disassociate herself from people that try to make a profit off of the sacred nature of Christian music." I don't exactly know how she reconciles those two things and I don't believe that just because she chose to give her career to worship music that the Lord would never allow her to be blessed financially but I think it's a really complex debate and one that not many people think about critically or honestly.
This is a recipe I can't get enough of right now. I received it from my lovely Mama, who got it from the Calgary Herald. Now there are, strangely, people out in the world who do not like cilantro. I know, crazy right? I, being the International Ambassador of Cilantro, upped the dosage in here. I also swapped the sesame oil and rice vinegar for olive oil and white vinegar simply because I didn't have the former but if you do have those things, USE THEM. It would make this immaculate. Next time, I think I will try out bean sprouts in place of water chestnuts but that will mean you have to eat the entire salad and clean out the bowl in 3.5 seconds or else it will stink and be sad.
EDAMAME SALAD
3 c. frozen edamame beans
1 c. canned corn kernels, drained
1/2 c. diced water chestnuts
1/2 c. diced red bell pepper
1/4 c. chopped green onion
1/4 c. chopped cilantro
2 T. soy sauce
1 1/2 T. rice vinegar
1 T. sesame oil
2 t. honey
1 t. crushed garlic
1/2 t. minced ginger
1 t. toasted sesame seeds
Boil edamame beans just until bright green, about 3 mins. Drain and rinse with cold water. Place in serving bowl. Sauté corn until browned, about 5 minutes. Add to edamame, along with water chestnuts, peper, onions and cilantro. Mix all other ingredients and pour over salad. Garnish with sesame seeds. Serves 4. This can be made a day in advance, but then it's best to add the cilantro just before serving. Yum!!
One of the things that I like is when people think really authentically about things in their life, especially things that they are giving their life to. This is not something I can say I do very well all of the time. I find it very easy to compartmentalize my liberal, secular self from by committed Christian life where I am called to believe and abide by things that liberal culture rebels against. For a long time I made that out to be in my mind that I was just "off the beaten track". Now I see it as inauthentic. And one person that blesses me everyday and who does this better than anyone I know is moozh cimpatichni. I bring this up because Brooke Fraser is a part of the Hillsong community but she is very vocal about how she wants to "disassociate herself from people that try to make a profit off of the sacred nature of Christian music." I don't exactly know how she reconciles those two things and I don't believe that just because she chose to give her career to worship music that the Lord would never allow her to be blessed financially but I think it's a really complex debate and one that not many people think about critically or honestly.
This is a recipe I can't get enough of right now. I received it from my lovely Mama, who got it from the Calgary Herald. Now there are, strangely, people out in the world who do not like cilantro. I know, crazy right? I, being the International Ambassador of Cilantro, upped the dosage in here. I also swapped the sesame oil and rice vinegar for olive oil and white vinegar simply because I didn't have the former but if you do have those things, USE THEM. It would make this immaculate. Next time, I think I will try out bean sprouts in place of water chestnuts but that will mean you have to eat the entire salad and clean out the bowl in 3.5 seconds or else it will stink and be sad.
EDAMAME SALAD
3 c. frozen edamame beans
1 c. canned corn kernels, drained
1/2 c. diced water chestnuts
1/2 c. diced red bell pepper
1/4 c. chopped green onion
1/4 c. chopped cilantro
2 T. soy sauce
1 1/2 T. rice vinegar
1 T. sesame oil
2 t. honey
1 t. crushed garlic
1/2 t. minced ginger
1 t. toasted sesame seeds
Boil edamame beans just until bright green, about 3 mins. Drain and rinse with cold water. Place in serving bowl. Sauté corn until browned, about 5 minutes. Add to edamame, along with water chestnuts, peper, onions and cilantro. Mix all other ingredients and pour over salad. Garnish with sesame seeds. Serves 4. This can be made a day in advance, but then it's best to add the cilantro just before serving. Yum!!
Monday, November 15, 2010
We are yours, and yours is the kingdom
Are you spiritual, religious, agnostic, or atheist? Do you think there is one path to God, or many?
I like what G.K Chesterton says. "You can either get your head into the heavens or try and get the heavens into your head. But it is the man that tries to get the heavens into his head whose head explodes." And it's when we get caught up in the humanization of spirituality that I think it gets lost. Matt wrote a wicked and very articulate paper on the belief that what is meant by theos is become unified with God even in our mortal life, to embody his characteristics and his "likeness". It is not, as some would say, pantheism, for us to strive in this but the aim of our faith.
I find Christianity very conflicting. Matt and I are church shopping right now after being at a church that, for all the reasons we left, really helped us to clarify what we are looking for and what is important to us. And my fuse is so short on many of these things. It gets under my skin and I get really angry really fast. I find it amazing and in some cases so sad how people can believe certain things.
As for salvation, I believe that there are many paths that can lead you to encounter God, that can shake you out of who you are to see him. But I do believe that when Christ says, "It is only through me..." that he really means he is the only way. And there is peace in that. There is peace in knowing that our Saviour, who is full of grace and empowers us to live and better and more fulfilling life, that is his goal to get us there and he is willing to put all of who is he is and all of who we believe him to be into that.
I get overwhelmed talking about these things lately. If only I believed myself to be funnier, different, more captivating topics than this would be easier to write.
These things make me happy now.
- Chai eggnogs! The red mugs are back. Shits getting real.
- Plaid circle scarves. Like THIS ONE! Anything autumn coloured lately. It's mine.
- Pumpkin. I'm totally not done with it.
- This song. :)
- Shearling lined jackets. I live in mine. Live in it.
- Having a cuddle buddy every night.
- Real mail! Like handwritten, fun mail where you have your name handwritten on the front and who wrote it to you likes you.
- When people are just authentic. We went to Tenth Ave Alliance and they were just so real. The announcer (who is the church intern) was taking her time with the announcements and then she pauses, "So we're actually waiting for the worship band to get here." And from then on the night was relaxed. I wish I was more authentic at times.
P.S~ This is a great song.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
"Not ready to make nice, not ready to back down"
What was your favorite song this year? Five years ago? Ten years ago? Twenty?
NaBloPoMo has considerably made up for the lame question they prompted last week. This is a similarly awesome question. Awesome but difficult because there are simply So. Many. Good. Songs.
My favourite song this year? John Butler Trio came out with a new album this year! So did John Mayer. Assassin from the former I listen pretty much on repeat. So cool. This is Revolution by John Butler Trio. Their vids are piii-yump. Since we got to Vancouver, I've been listening a lot more to worship music. Doesn't mean I'm crossing over okay? No Focus on the Family and Modest is Hottest t-shirts for me. Phil Wickham's You're Beautiful is perfect. And Hillsong (I KNOW OKAY?!) do a version of Desert Song that usually brings me to tears. My album of this year though (not that it came out this year but the one that I can't stop listening to) is The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford soundtrack. Longest title ever but magical. The piano and the creaky violin. Nick Cave is an Aussie genius.
Five Years Ago? I was sixteen years old. Oh boy. I was tucking homemade skinny jeans into vintage high heels and sculpting my mohawk to defy gravity. When I look back on my musical taste at that time, I'm really not too embarrassed of it. I was getting into the Red Hot Chili Peppers with Arie. I pretty much lived on RadioBlogClub and that's where I found out about The Innocence Mission, Blonde Redhead and Caravan Palace. All good music. And the album of choice of the year was most definitely Moulin Rouge. Reminds me of eating focaccia from the Bee Bell Bakery with Mama, Arie and Cami on Arielle's birthday roadtrip to Edmonchuck.
Ten Years Ago? I was eleven so this will be more embarrassing. I KNOW I was listening to Hanson and being suitably obsessed. I think this was also the crossover period between Hanson and N'Sync. Yeah I was one of those who proclaimed that the Backstreet Boys sucked balls (of course I didn't say that then) and went with the runner up. Even fewer were those who favoured 98 degrees. At least I wasn't one of those.
*The halloween party we went to last weekend put on "Backstreet's Back" during the dance party and it was friggin' awesome. A whole bunch of twenty somethings who knew ALL THE WORDS. Ultimate win for the Backstreet Boys.
Twenty-Years Ago? I was probably listening to "Jesus Loves You" or something from the Donut Man. Just coming up on your second birthday, I doubt there's a lot of autonomous choices. This prompt would be infinitely cooler if you were writing in your forties and you could reflect on Simon and Garfunkel. Or even my partner in crime who did the whole 'grunge' thing! Awesome. I feel so left out.
Christmas Project! Not that I don't already have four (count 'em) handmade (aka sewn) Christmas gifts to make. I am so so so excited for them because I know the giftees will love them but I am forcing myself to start now so that it doesn't come to the day before we leave for Cowtown and I'm sobbing because I sewed over my finger in a rush.
But these wreaths are so cute. I probably wouldn't go quite so far with the felt flowers but instead swap it out for some plaid wraps/bow-things.
Friday, October 29, 2010
"I love that boy and he is my friend...I wave to him from very far"
Oh Russian, how did this happen between you and me? Oh yes, I ignored you. I know how much you don't like that. Duly noted.
Casa del Dempsey (I pillaged that from here) has been a scholastic internment camp lately. I feel like it's been a little too long since I said, "Yo Husband I love you like for real". I've been saying it in my head because life is moving at the speed of sound. My artful and persistent propensity for procrastination has reared its head once again. I had tricked myself into being VERY proactive thus far and then I did a research proposal that I had known about since Sept 7 last night at one o'clock in the morning. Matt didn't feel sorry for me. I didn't either.
K and whoa. This is magical. Magical.
We're church shopping right now which is lame. Though it makes me kind of heavy hearted to be in this process, Matt and I are praying a lot more together and we're talking about what we're looking for and what we need which is perfect.
He becomes more and more of my favourite person everyday. To doing a bum dance while he's flossing his teeth (after I convinced him to), to the eternal improvisation of his 'Baby come to bed' song when I'm brushing my teeth and to his ceaseless, imaginative, god-honoring, locked-like-a-steel-trap mind. To making me laugh, and making me mad. To constantly reminding me to strive to be what God intended us to be for each other. Mwah!
I love these. They are my favourite. Brown ones. Happy Fall.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
I can tell you mine, I can tell you mine, I can tell you lies
What is our capacity to be changed? And what seeps into the cracks of our synapses to facilitate that change? What is the Trojan Horse of our heart? I know for me it is music. I can hear something over and over again; I can be trying to memorize something or wrestling through an idea. Put it to music and that's all it takes.
Matt and I watched a movie the other night, on the recommendation of the Schantzs, called The Kingdom. Scott was talking about the very last scene in that film where the four FBI agents are talking about their project in Saudi Arabia. One of their comrades was killed and Jamie Foxx says, "I told her don't worry. We're going to kill them all." It was a very striking scene in the film put to a kick ass song by Explosions in the Sky. It calls to mind something very profound about justice. Justice is something very amorphous though. It can be seen as vengeful or motivated out of anger and how do we as believers encounter that. How do I reconcile the fact that if someone harmed my husband, I would hunt them down and beat them to death. How do we change our path, a path that is shaped by our history. How do we exonerate those motivated out of hate towards us, while still being authentic. I don't believe that God would ever condone blood thirst but the God I believe in, you don't have to read much through the Old Testament to see a God of consequence. How do you forgive? How do you live in a world where so many people are motivated our of hate, where it is instilled in them from so early in their journey.
Norm threw it down this morning. We're moving through Acts right now (which I am mega pumped about. I LOVE Acts) but this series is going to take us 22 months. Which is a long time. January of 2012 we'll be thinking about something new. Early in Acts, the Holy Spirit is talked about a lot. The Holy Spirit has always been this entity to me that I didn't have anything to associate it with. I knew God. I knew Christ. I knew the Holy Spirit was kick ass and I knew it was important, I just didn't know why. I'm finding it now. The more I dive into the Word, the more I own it. I've always felt it but I feel like it's mine now. We have the BEST community around us right now. Scott and Jo are SO great. But on Sunday, Norm was talking about the Holy Spirit and what it means to be changed by it. You have Salvation by being changed by the Holy Spirit, by it dwelling in you. The 'Spirit gives you utterance', it gives you a new language to speak in, a new mission. Norm asked, "Why would the Holy Spirit dwell in you and make that change if you don't want to be part of the change." It's a valid question but at the same time there are numerous examples of Christ being part of our lives when we don't deserve. Sarah had something on her fb the other day about "Mercy is something we get that we unfortunately deserve. Grace is something we do not deserve." Christ entered into this whole bowl of shit for us. With us in mind. Knowing that and choosing that (actively wanting it) is where the change happens.
~P.S: Oh yeah and today I almost dropped my wedding band down the drain. Not good.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
"I have to be careful...you're a bubble in my hand."
Last night was the first meeting of the Regent Spouses' Network which is precisely that: women at the end of their ropes because their husbands are working on their Masters. I kid but it was very cool to get around other women who are at such unique parts in their lives. One is in her mid forties with grown children. One was mega-pregnant. One had four boys. There were a couple of us newbies first years who all shared a similar sentiment that we were "so very very not ready for babies and if God is ready for that for us he has some preparatory work to do". Some are American, some were from South Africa.
Sitting around in a circle, sipping coffee and mowing on these bars that were miraculous wadges of chocolate and shortbread and this gooey, melty-mouth centre filling that somehow made me understand why it must be so hard to wean yourself off crack. I could introduce myself to so many girls my age who are married and have husband's studying and that is one thing that I have struggled to find since I got married. I find that Christian circles are like breeding pools for women like that but they can sometimes be...well lets be honest, they can be kind of weird. These ones though ('these ones' makes it sound like they're playing cards), were so sweet. Great senses of humour and really eager to get involved with each other. Conversation did stray at the end, guided by an adorable girl from Cape Town, to the bunk driving in Vancouver. Not only is it a steering wheel on the other side but it's driving on the other side of the road. She and some of the other International girls agreed that it was a hard transition. I made sure they knew that I've been driving on the right side of the road since I started to drive and Vancouver still makes me apoplectic. We shared cheap grocery stores and tips on cool places to go and great places to shop. I'm not local but I live in an easy part of the city to live in. A couple of the girls live very south so it's a train and two buses to get anywhere. Oy. The Americans were very excited about the free health care. I didn't want to ruin by telling them to look at their health care payments on their next paycheck. It only looks free.
We played a nice, simple, Christian-y game of get to know you questions involving Smarties. It made me realize that there are overwhelmingly inane questions associated with getting to know someone. Some of the questions were fine like 'where's your favourite place you've visited' which people are fairly content to answer and 'favourite food' which got a unanimously positive feedback but then questions like "what's your husband studying' and 'what's your favourite thing about being married' that are to the one totally whatever questions and for the second, a question that I don't mind answering but it's just such a vapid question. Whether you're in your first year of marriage or your twentieth year of marriage, the answer to something like that can't be encompassed in seconds or in any situation where it's followed by "Can I eat my Smarties yet?". You want to know someone and trust someone before you can really get into the meat of that question. I also don't think that some people ever think about that. It's something in their hearts that they own but they've never put it into words for someone else before. And sometimes there is no reason to. There are fun, conversational questions that you can ask when you're meeting new people and trying to get a conversation moving. Like something about a hidden talent or favourite joke. Everyone wants to tell something about eating with chopsticks using their feet or their favourite 'why did the chicken cross the road'.
I've been so blessed to see and understand God's presence in our marriage this past week. Coming back to Vancouver this summer after our holidays, I felt apprehensive about the social aspect of our lives. I've learned a lot about myself in the past couple years just about how I operate as a social animal. Namely, I'm not an animal about it. I am timid when it comes to introducing myself and I am shy about sharing things about myself. If I am with someone I know, it is slightly easier but alone I have to consciously prep myself not to be self-loathing and nervous. Moving to a new place always brings to focus this struggle and I have to be careful not to extrapolate that and read it into my self-worth.
In praying a lot about it, I found that the Lord has been bringing me opportunities to push myself in that respect. Westside has been such a wellspring of nurturing community and then being at school I have the opportunity to interact with people that will profoundly shape and challenge me in these coming years.
Scott and Jo got a dog which is so adorable and wonderful. He's a poodle but like a dude poodle not one of the froofy gay poodles. He's all shaggy and his name is Hendrix. We went over the night they got him to see him and he had been so excited earlier that he had thrown up.
~ This is a super cool song.
~ And so it this. This song always makes me think of painting last summer. Such a crappy job but the actual painting was pretty. I was caught by the owners of the house shaking my booty to this up on their roof a couple of times.
~ And this is a massively wonderful song. She totally blisses out at the end but whenever we sing this at church I sob through the whole thing.
Do Svidanya!
P.S ~ Russian is still totally awesome and it will be totally awesome until I have to actually do something with all of those letters. I will let you know how much I cry when I have to conjugate a verb.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Vanny and Raven Hope
MMMMmmmmmmmmboy. That was quite a couple days.
Monday was so great. High spirits, made the ferry when we didn't think we would. Lovely Hannah rescued my water bottle for me and delivered it by hand. Ran into Christina and Johannes (also so lovely) AGAIN because they are our dopplegangers (I guess). Drove into Van on a cool but beautiful day, singing along with Foreigner and John Mellencamp, sights set on Ikea.
And then I bought the wrong map.
So, we missed our turn off but we had a map (after I got the right one) but there was another 'major roadway' coming up. Maps should really be selective about what is in fact a 'major roadway'. Ours wasn't. Not in my opinion, anyways. And that's what's really important in this story. So we continued along the roadway and then we got...kind of lost. EVEN WITH A MAP! It's absurd. Anways. Totally not the only absurd thing in this story.
So we somehow got off the bridge and got situated in Coquitlam where we encountered the WORST DRIVERS IN THE WORLD. Somehow not aware of the term 'blind spot'. So sad. And Coquitlam is also the land of the vertical climb. And this is a very bad thing in a uhaul. So as we achieve 500 ft above sea level in a couple of meters and boxes topple over in the back, we then realize that there is an irritating median between us and the road we need. And this happens a couple of times. And then I ask "what's burning?' and my husband calmly replies, "It's us." Oh sure. Just the tires, thankfully. Just! We finally catch a break onto the road, ignoring the smoking rubber smell and drive into New Westminster.
By this time my perfectly well-intentioned hydration habit is catching up to me and when I see the next traffic jam, I decided I can't...quite. So I pee on the side of the road and we're off again. Finally, the big blue and yellow comes into view. We were both about ready to throw someone through a plate glass window and we weren't even in Ikea yet. We grabbed what we needed in there and got out as fast as possible. Luckily, the Trans-Canada was right there. We sped along it and missed the turn off which led us right into North Van.
No kidding.
So we pulled over into a parking lot, took a deep breath, fixed our resolve and turned around. I'm obviously not a very good co-pilot. When we finally got into Mount Pleasant (which has been plunderously changed for the Olympics, we ran into more irritating median trouble. After screaming at the windshield, we turned down one of the narrow-like-a-bronchiole streets, clipped a mirror and finally pulled over in front of Scott and Jo's. While Scott and Matt when to see whether it was a mirror or a small person, I told Jo about our day.
And then Lovely Jo aks, "What were you doing in New West?" which was exactly what I needed to make me laugh finally. They made us delicious dinner, we went for a relaxing walk with the dog they were watching for a week and then cratered for a nice long sleep.
Scott and Jo were brave and sweet enough to come back and help us unpack which went super smoothly. Matt and I went for a big shop at Safeway (because we left all of our refrigerated food in Victoria by accident -maybe a nice parting gift?). We called a cab because we had a small nations worth of food with us and a super nice guy named Raven Hope picked us up, gave us some great advice about shops nearby and his facebook info. "If you ever need a friend in Van," he said.
Vancouver, despite our first tour of the ENTIRE city, has been very good to us. We have a really organized landlord, really sweet neighbors and a beautiful neighborhood to grow in.
Bri
P.S I think I've mentioned this before but I'm obsessed with Glee. I make Matt sit through it with me and he really gives it an honest shot, bless his heart. Anyways, the last episode I saw had this great song on it. Go figure, I go from posting worship music to Lady Gaga covers.
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