Quote of the year

Sometimes the things people say just need to be recorded somewhere.

From a recent conversation I had with a friend about some of the guys she has dated:

"So, what--you want me to be the girl and the guy in this relationship? What are you--asexual? Like an amoeba??"


Hilarious. You know who you are.

How to Tie a Tie

I've never understood how to actually tie a necktie, and I found this website that shows all the different ways it can be done. Very interesting--and it makes me feel better about my previous confusion, seeing as there are so many ways to approach the task.

You can click on the image below to go right to the list of tutorials. They also teach you how to fold pocket squares.

Now I just need someone to practice on!

Some Assembly Required

So, today I received the chair and ottoman that I ordered off of Target.com; I spent about an hour putting them together. I have to admit, I'm happy with the results. Pretty, huh?

Now I have a nice reading chair and I won't fall asleep in my bed while reading. Theoretically speaking, of course.

Teaching

"A mind is a fire to be kindled, not a vessel to be filled."
--Plutarch

I am a teacher. Well, I am technically a trainer, but I do the same thing a teacher does... with better pay and fewer disciplinary issues. But at work I frequently feel like I am dumping information into a vessel rather than kindling a fire of individual thought, curiosity, and true learning.

I taught Sunday School today in my ward, and it reminded me how much I sincerely love to teach. I love to listen to the comments people make and see how the things we say can influence each other's perception of or reaction to an idea, principle, or person.

One of the things I love most about teaching is watching students or class members experience those "aha" moments when all of the parts snap into place and they suddenly "get it." I have no idea who this guy Stephen Brookfield is, but I love the way he explains it:


"We teach what we like to learn and the reason many people go into teaching is vicariously to reexperience the primary joy experienced the first time they learned something they loved."
--Stephen Brookfield

Kevin and Catherine

Wednesday night all of us girls went up to Catherine's bridal shower. We quilted, ate crepes, and got to know Catherine a bit. She was really personable and open, especially for having just met us that night. She and Kevin will be living on the East Coast for a couple of years, finishing grad school and working.



Thursday was the reception, and Dad and I took a bunch of pictures. I have decidedly less talent for taking candid pictures of people than I do of taking still life pictures. I always seem to snap a picture when someone's eyes are half closed.
That said, here is a selection of the pcitures I took (which doesn't really include the pictures of Kevin and Catherine's guests, since I knew about 10 of them).

"Never Having Kids"

Okay, so I feel like I should explain this to everyone, so no one gets confused or offended.

I love kids--I think they are fun, refreshing, and hilarious.

However, some of you may have heard me (possibly several times) say that I am never having kids.

This usually (read: always) happens when I am in a room/grocery store/doctor's office where there is a child who is screaming their head off, throwing a tantrum, or otherwise causing trama to their parents and those around them.

I understand that kids are just grumpy, sad, or sick sometimes. And I understand that parents only have so much control over the way their kids react to things, whether they are sick or not, or if they fall down and scrape their knees, etc. Maybe there is a good reason the kid is screaming their guts out, maybe there isn't.

So, just in case you hear me mutter under my breath "I'm never having kids," know a few things:

1) When I say this, it's usually because I picture having kids by myself and how difficult that would be.
2) This is my way of not getting completely irritated at the kids (who may or may not know better) or saying something rude to the parents (who may or may not be able to do anything about it--I realize that women with screaming babies still have to go to the grocery store).
3) Having no kids myself, I haven't developed the ability to block out endless minutes of children wailing that they want a treat, toy, or to stay at the playground for five more minutes. Or just wailing for no apparent reason.
4) I am not a bad person.
5) I really do want kids.

First pictures

So, these are the first pictures I took with my new camera. They're all of flowers... the TNI gardens are just so close (nice and handy for a lunch break).
The third and fourth pictures are from Rock Canyon, and the rest are from TNI. I didn't mess with any of the settings on the camera, so they're not anything fantastic, but it was fun to stop and notice the beautiful things that are always around that I never take the time to really look at.

Focus, Beep, Click

So, I bought a new camera yesterday. I decided to get a Nikon D60--and I am so excited to start taking photography classes. Inkley's (love them!) has a 9-part photography class series that I'm attending for the next several weeks, and then I think I'm going to enroll in a Community Ed class at UVSC.

I took a bunch of pictures of the Tahitian Noni Gardens today on my lunch break, so I'll try to get those uploaded later tonight. I don't know if any of them turned out. I was just playing around a little bit, and I didn't have a tripod or anything, so we'll see what they look like, I guess.

Book Reviews Gone Awry

Okay, so instead of doing the weekly book review (which I have obviously not been doing anyways) I just signed up on GoodReads.com. So, here is a list of the books I've read in my 52-books in 52-weeks journey (not in chronological order of when I read them). In the future I'll just be updating my Good Reads profile and not blogging about the books I've read unless I have strong feelings about them one way or another.

-Twilight by Stephenie Meyers
-New Moon by Stephenie Meyers
-Eclipse by Stephenie Meyers
-The Five People You Meet in Heavern by Mitch Albom
-L'Ecole des Femmes by Moliere
-Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry
-Anthem by Ayn Rand
-Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
-Atonement by Ian McEwan

I am currently reading 1984 by George Orwell and Le Roman de Silence by Heldris of Cornwall (pen name of an unknown Medieval French writer).

A few things...

A few things I do poorly:
-blog
-remember dates, events, and peoples' names (I have a TERRIBLE memory)
-make big decisions - though I'm getting better at this

A few things I do well:
-cook
-listen
-teach
-drive
-mediate

A few things I love:
-Puppies... but I don't want one, so don't anyone get any fancy ideas...
-People who make me laugh and think about things I never would have without speaking to them
-Indian food
-Color!!
-Order
-Change
-Heart rate monitors
-Reading

A few things I... don't love:
-People who treat me like I'm 5
-Passive aggression
-Getting stuck in the snow (and while we're at it, Spring that turns back into Winter. Boo and hiss)
-Not having a built-in dishwasher and an actual laundry room
-Being the HOA president

A few things I want to do before my life is over:
-Learn how to Oil paint
-Travel to India, Australia, Ireland, Brazil, Tahiti...
-Take ballroom lessons
-Learn how to sew well enough to make something even moderately attractive or useful
-Live in France at least once
-Learn how to (and actually) plant, maintain, and 'harvest' a great vegetable garden