Laugh always

Favorite baby items

2011-12-10T12:12:00.001-08:00

Aden + Anis swaddle blanket
   Ok so maybe everymom loves these. But I think these are going to be my staple baby shower gift. Maybe I jsut love them because I have figured out the PERFECT swaddle using them..... and they are verstile. I use mine for a nursing cover. Anna likes them for chewing on. They are great!

Bobby
    No shame in this one. It is essential for night time nursing. Enough said. (Though Steve now likes it for a neck pillow haha!)

Squishy ball
    This was the perfectly designed toy for little hands. Anna will hold onto it and not let go!I love the fact that she can now play with toys. It is so much fun. I am sure I will change my mind once she is crawling and trying to eat things off the floor.

Crazy creek camping seat
    I love this stinkin' seat! We won it at the Pocotello Pump. (our favorite climbing competition). I wrote a rave review on REI.com. Once they approve it you can read about why I like it on the following link.

http://www.rei.com/product/812634/crazy-creek-the-original-chair

Bassenet mattress
    Our bassineet was a baby shower present. Our friend got it from a yard sale and it ROCKS! Expecially the mattress.....Odd to love mattress eh? Well I do! It is the perfect size camping pad for our baby. Essential pice fo gear.

Down jacket
So Steve got this old used down jacket for 35 dollars. We have both worn and used this jacket alot!! Steve's co-workeres even once told him that he didn't need to dress up for Halloween because he already looked like a hobo wearing his jacket. Regardless... we love this jacket. When we go camping with Anna, this becomes the perfect sleeping bag for her. Are we worried about her making a mess in it? Nope! Not like we would be with the other fancy pants jackets we have. It has successfully helped us go camping three times in her firstfour months of life. And so .... the old down jacket gets added to the list.

Mam binkies
Ok so this isn't quite yet my favortie. but I cross my fingers and hope so. Anna hasn't liked binkies at all. But this one she spits out the least......so maybe she will start to like it.

...........And this picture is just for good measure. This is not our favorite baby item! And Anna was only in there for the length of the picture taking.

We didn't call her Sierra for nothing

2011-10-03T14:31:00.001-07:00

Anna's climbing adventures

Anna's climbing adventures started out early. Here she is climbing a miniboulder problem in our living room. At ten days old we went to the teton's for a family reunion. She wasn't ready for the real rock yet and so she is snuggling with me under the blanket. (upper left)

At about two months old we went on a little climbing trip to Echo Canyon. We found a little cave for Anna to hang out under while we climbed. And here is a pic of her first base of climb diaper change.... wahoo?

Sometime after that, mid september we headed up to Pocotello for our new favorite yearly tradition..... the Pocotello Pump! Great climbing competion. With teh help of our dear pocotello friends, the Fry's I was able compete while they watched Anna for us. :)

And here we are athe Hill Airforce Base climbing wall..... a little free fun.

The two picture below are from our first big trip to Moab. Anna was about 2.5 months. She napped in the back seat and we found out how to successfully camp in the back of the 4runner with a baby. (I used to think there wasn't much room back there too!)

Then we ventured to Indian Creek this past weekend with several of our pals. looking at Anna's outfits I think you can tell it was pretty chilly. We lasted one night in the 4runner and the next night we chacked into a hotel. Chilly! But it was fanatastic..... Anna successfully took 2-4 hour naps at the base of climbs. I would so If I was as bundled up as she was.

First Birthday

2011-09-14T11:09:00.000-07:00

I'm typing one handed. It seems as though this will be the norm for me. Especially now that I have a little baby that LOVES to snuggle rather than to lay in her crib. I'm not really complaining about that though, because I LOVE to snuggle with her too. Here is the story about her very first birthday.

First of all I was HUGE. Everyone told me I looked so small. I think they were lying through their teeth. I got especially huge the last few weeks. Those clothes I am wearing here non-maternity clothes. But I stretched them to high heaven. They have now become members of the highly coveted maternity clothes box in the storage room. Don't all my clothes aspire to be a part of that party?

Steve worded our "birthing experience" (as other blogger/birth board moms like to say) as a whole lot less stressful than he thought it would be. He always imagined that we would be rushing into the hospital, the doctor screaming "PUSH!" I would be screaming "AHHHH you did this to me" and Steve would be crying. (Ok so I added the crying part).As you can see by the smile on my face it did not turn out that way. We chose the day to have our little girl and about 5 contractions after my water broke I was sooooooo ready for an epidural. And everything was much better after that.

Then I pushed...........alot......... for a long time.And BAM here was Anna.Although we didn't now that would be her name till Steve and I had a little name the baby talk two days later.

I stinkin' love these two photo's of Steve.

Here she is bathed and ready to meet the world.

Last of the maternity photos

2011-08-30T15:40:00.000-07:00

OK so I no longer have a baby bump! Anna Sierra was born August 2nd. (Posts to come soon I promise! But I have to do this in chronological order) I still have to show off these AWESOME maternity photos.

I was incredibly lucky/blessed to have two fantastic photographers take my maternity photos. I scheduled my first session with Tara Winsor of Winsor Photography in Utah. She very fun to shoot photos with. I absolutely loved my photos and the time spent with her. Lovely lovely. Tara is a friend of my sister and now a friend fo mine. I love it when your photographers become your friends. It makes the whole experience that much more personal. I really believe that whenever you have professional photography you are purchasing not only photos, but an experience. If you don't have fun experience with your photographer/family you will end up with an awkward family photo. (Follow this link for more information) http://awkwardfamilyphotos.com/

Tara is great. Her photos are great. (Follow these links for more about her!)

http://www.winsorphotography.com/

Then I was in Elko Nevada and my professional photographer sister said, "Hey, lets go take some maternity shots." So of course I am not going to say no! I was a lucky lady to have TWO fantastic professional photographers take photos of me and my baby bump! These are the photos that my sister Melissa Blue of Wings of Blue Photography took.

http://www.wingsofbluephoto.com/

One note about this yellow flower field. It happens to be the same one that Steve and I took our engagement photo's in almost three years ago. Now look where our love has taken us!

Pizza

2011-07-18T07:20:00.000-07:00

I suppose that the reason I feel the need to post my culinary creations is because they do not occur that often. Lately I have been especially lazy about cooking. The above pizza I made...... a month ago? Regardless, it was delicious. Chicken alfredo pizza with tomatoes and spinach. Yum yum! Plus I am proud when ever food actually 'turns out'. And this one actually did! Now I have to just learn how to make food visually aesthetic and not just aesthetic to the belly.

Babymoon

2011-06-28T18:50:00.001-07:00

Part of the trip we spent in Washington DC/ Virginia visiting Steve's brother David, wife Tina and daughter Lydia

We had a fantastic day at the Louray caverns. These caverns were discovered in the early 1800's. It is pretty cool how there is still alot of ornate features after that many humans have been through it. It was also nice to beat the heat in the caverns.

Steve and I at the "bride and groom" formation

Some touristy moments...... too bad we didn't bring our fanny packs.

Highline park in NYC. Lovely lovely. It was built on old high rail tracks (above the streets) Beautiful ! Nice benches for a big ol pregnant lady. I couldn't believe how well I held up for all the walking I did.

Here is the Washington Monument. There aren't really signs explaining why this monument was built. But I guess it was to honor Dear old George Washington. Since there isn't a statue like the Lincoln or Jefferson, I guess they picked this shape randomly..... Just kidding. Apparently it is an obelisk , an ancient Egyptian symbol. I bet a Dan Brown book should tell you all kinds of fictitious theories.

My favorite part. Steve and I got to see the Phantom of the Opera Broadway. WOW! I loved it. I was surprised at how fantastic the special effects were.

Steve of course had to show off in Times Square

Steve's favorite work of art in the MET

My favorite statue at the Met

And of course, Kevin. Willing to let us stay in his studio apartment for three nights and wander around with us for three days. Fantastic brother!

expanding belly..in reverse order

2011-06-26T21:49:00.000-07:00

Sorry about the naked belly. I even promised my self I would never do that. Then I realized that These are the only pictures I have. Oh well.

I really thought I looked pregnant in this one. HA!

mormon bachelorette

2011-04-25T19:57:00.001-07:00

Follow this link to see the "Mormon Bachelorette"
http://www.themormonbachelorette.com/

I seriously thought that the bachlor series was something to be avoided, but this seriously cracked me up. Apparently it is a pretty big deal here in Utah and even the Bachelor/bachlorettes are mini-celebrities. Well. Read it for yourself. It is odd, silly, and entertaining.

Happy Birthday

2011-04-10T16:13:00.000-07:00

Ok so my birthday was two days ago. I am a bit behind. It was a fabulous birthday weekend..... so fabulous... that it took two days to write about it. my parents came up and visited for the afternoon. Steve took me on a lovely date. What more could a girl ask for? Well, my birthday wouldn't be complete without mentioning this lady......

(Photo by Jarvie Digital)

My Momma!

The story goes something like this. My mother and father had three lovely children but wanted one more to round out the family. After two miscarriages and an attack of appendicitis...... I was born on April 8th. As my mother puts it I was a miracle that she desperately needed. But what she may not have realized was that she is the miracle that I desperately need.

My mother has been my inspiration. Inspiration is a big fancy flowery word that is often misused. To be an inspiration you can't just be important or different.

To inspire one must fill someone else with the urge to be or to do something. I think that that 'something' may even be something essential the the inspired's life! Well, my mother did exactly that. She inspired me to be a dancer. She inspired me to love the smell of dirt, trees, moss, and cold air. She inspired me to laugh. She inspired me to be kind. She inspired me to love the gospel. she inspired me to be stronger. She inspired me to be crafty and creative. She inspired me to love Christ. She inspired me to teach. She inspired me to get married in the temple. She inspired me to make good choices. She inspired me to love nature. She inspired me to be adventurous. She inspired me to do as much as I possibly can. She inspired me to go to BYU. She inspired me to date good men. She inspired me to be who I am.

I love my mother. I wish I had gotten all of her good looks (my sister took all of them first). I wish I could be kinder, sweeter, and a better cook, just like she is.

My favorite memory with my mother is driving in our full size purple van (purple exterior and interior). I am in the passenger seat, feet on the dash. She is in the driver seat. I am in a leotard and tights, probably with a bowl of dinner in my hands. She is driving me to dance lessons, down fifth street. I don't know why this is my favorite memory. Probably because it was our constant time alone. Our own time during the day to talk. Just her and I. We probably the majority of the time talked about my woes about boys. That seemed to consumed my life during those teenage years. Regardless, the conversation was always Mom and me.

So Happy Birthday Mom. This day is for you too!

doggy

2011-04-06T10:04:00.001-07:00

Since we don't have a baby yet you will just have to settle with pictures of Denali's bath time. She is definitely not a fan of bath time. I would not be either if I had to have luke warm water dripped over my body.

Denali has made some improvements lately. She will whine at the door anytime she needs to go out to.... . go potty. She has been accident free for over 4 months! She does this cute little thing anytime she wants petted, she puts her paw up on your lap. The only bad thing is plenty of guests don't like being pawed by our dog. So we are working on her only doing it on command...... and its working!

With spring break being this week, it is just Denali and I at home. Today we are going to go on a hike up the canyon just the two of us.

pee stick

2011-02-27T11:57:00.000-08:00

That line may be faint. But it is there!

We found out this Thanksgiving that we are expecting a baby in the first of August. Wow! In three weeks we will finally get to find out the gender. Somedays I really wonder if I am pregnant because I just look like I ate a big dinner rather than have a little one the size of a turnip in my belly. With a little one on the way I guess I should start being a tad more consistant on the blogosphere.

Moab we went

2010-04-22T08:08:00.000-07:00

Steve took me on a mini Spring Break! What a husband. It was fansastic. WE squeezed so much into those two days. Sport climbed for one morning. Then went hiking around to see funnel arch. Then we even went biking and running. What a long adventurous day. The next day we went to arches and climbed a tower. This one was called, The Owl. You can see pictures of Steve ontop and rapping of it below. Then we did a speed tour around Arches Ntnl. Park, I think we saw upwards of 25 arches. That just might be the most in one day ever. By the end of the mini adventure we were pooped. So ..... we drove home. Yay. Quick, fast. But we did a whole lotta. Now here are the eye pleasingest pictures. Enjoy.

Pizza Crust

2010-04-20T08:05:00.000-07:00

This is a recipe that I got from my sister years ago. For my birthday, she had given me the a la Izzy cookbook, filled with her personal recipes. It wasn't till recently that I actually learned that they were super easy.

1 cup warm water (110degrees F)
1 tbs white sugar
2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast or one packet
3 tbs olive oil
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups flour

Directions:
1. Stir water, sugar and yeast together till dissolved. Add the olive oil and the salt. Stir in the flour unitl well blended. Let dough rest for 10 minutes.

2. Pat dough into pan or on to a pizza stone using fingers dipped in olive oil. If desired add basil tyme or other seasoning onto crust. Top with yummy pizza toppings and bake for 15-20 minutes in a preheated 425 oven.

PS You don't have to let the dough rise at all!!!!

Primavera Chicken

2010-04-14T18:00:00.001-07:00

From the Tastes of home magazine. Thanks Amy for the house warming gift. This is my new favorite dinner. TRY IT!

1- 1 1/3 lbs of chicken
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 tbs olive oil
1 medium sweet red pepper (julienned)
1 cup fresh sliced mushrooms
2 green onions chopped
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
2/3 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup chicken broth
8 ounces uncooked linguine
1/2 cup peas

1. Sprinkle chicken with a 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. Ina large skillet cook the chicken in oil over medium high heat for 8-10 minutes or until no longer pink, remove from heat and keep warm

2. In the same skillet, saute the red pepper, mushrooms, onions, nutmeg and cayenne pepper until the vegetables are tender. Add cream and broth. Bring to a boil; reduce the sauce to a third.
3. Cook the linguine, drain. Add chicken linguine, cooked peas and remaining salt and pepper to desire. Garnish with Parmesan cheese if desired.

This is the tasty looking pasta imaged below.

You are what you eat

2010-03-27T13:21:00.000-07:00

I think I am becoming a little homemaker. I have been having so much fun cooking! I am pretty sure that Steve likes the eating part. Here are the lessons I have learned thus far.

The first lesson I learned is that pizza's are really easy to cook. (and cheap.... oh and fast) Pizza always seemed like such a special treat as a child. And now we have pizza's all the time. My sister sent me this awesome pizza dough recipe that takes almost no time to cook. Plus they are a good 'recycler'. Where you can put whatever you have in the fridge on it and use up those odds and ends

The second lesson I have learned. Always buy doughnuts from Mexicans who show up at your door. I have some weird experiences buying food from people at my door. In college there was this crazy woman who sold bread to our apartment every year. ( no matter where we lived) She had a new sad story each time. The weirdest bread we bought had a plastic baby in it, maraschino cherries, and I think jalapenos. She called it 'party bread'. Anyways back to the doughnuts. This poor man was out of work and trying to make an honest dollar. Ohhhhh and were these doughnuts good! The best I have ever eaten. Big, not too fluffy or dense, covered in granulated sugar, still hot. So good, that Steve and I chased him down the street to buy more.

The next lesson: Ice cream is delicious. Especially with left over whipped cream from the wedding reception. See I had left all the whipped cream I had bought for the wedding in Provo on our wedding day. Luckily Lisa and Julie kindly picked more up for the reception. Of course this left 13 bottles of whipped cream for us to find what to do with. After distributing it between 8 people, we still had plenty left. Maybe the many bottles of whipped cream in the fridge explain our recent weight gain.....hmmmmm.

One lovely wedding present we got was a cookie mix and frosting and sprinkles. Here are the result..... yes they look burnt. They kind of are. I don't believe in using timers. HAHA Maybe I should try. That will be lesson four. Regardless Steve said these were delicious.

Lesson five: I can make stuff up. Ok so hamburgers is not really hard to make up. But look at these... .YUM! In the ground beef I added a chopped up onion, and an egg plus some oats to help it stick together.

Lesson six: I can cook something delicious. This was by far my favorite recipe. Steve's Sister Amy gave us a cooking magazine recently. This delicious recipe was in it. Honestly. This is my new favorite dish. I will post the recipe tomorrow. TRY IT! and it is sooo easy.

And this picture is just funny. Steve and i went to my cousin Alli's ballet with my parents and sister. It is a casual nice event. And Steve comes in this. My mom, sister and I couldn't help but giggle. Yes, those are the same pattern on the pants and the shirt. Steve said " It matches, the squares are exactly the same size." What an engineer! Regardless a good time was had by all

loooooong jacket

2010-03-21T17:43:00.000-07:00

I wish I had a picture of Steve's father Jim in a jean jacket. Appartenly jean jackets are defintely his style. Steve told me that he loves jean jackets, just like his daddy. Soon he will be carrying a minumum of two very sharpened number three pencils in his pocket. But since I met Steve hasn't owned a jean jacket. His went up missing years ago. This weekend we were in the BYU bookstore wandering around. Steve was awefully attentive to this clothing rack. He sheepishly told me how much he liked this jacket. I looked.... and it was 75% off! "Let's get it". He hummed and hawed, not wanting to spend the whole TEN DOLLARS. So he wore the jacket around the store for a looooong time. Till he fell in love and couldn't resist the soft cotton any longer.

Silly post, I know.

RIP BYU

2010-03-11T18:03:00.000-08:00

Couldn't have survived with out the these three ladies. I love you all! Four years of friendlyship.... and counting

Aha! Izzy studying

As I am nearing the end of my BYU experience, I thought it would be nice to be a little nostalgic. What better than making a list of classic BYU experiences that I have experienced. And of course the classic BYU experiences that I missed out on.... or only have a few short months to accomplish.

Experiences had

1. Got married. Honestly this is the PRIME experience at the ripe age of 21. Definite Oh la la moment.

2. Went to the ice skating rink

3. Recieved an engagement ring

4. Went to the nicklecade

5. Fought with roomates over dishes

6. Had an allsports pass ..... went to football games.

7. Ran up the RB stairs.

8. Been to many a hot tubs.

9. Got pranked in the dorms. Thank you baby duckies!

10. Turned blue.

11. Slept in the floor in a hallway.

12. Shared rides using the ride board.

13. Got told to be quiet from the podium at church.

14. Found my best friends forever across the hall in the dorms

15. Became an avid user of public transportation.

16. I *will* roll down the hill by the library into the under ground window with Alli

17. Ate a Smart Cookie (RIP)

18. Ate at JDAWGS

19 Had a date up Rock canyon

20. Went on a date up to the Y

21. Kissed at squaw peak

22. Been in EVERY possible BUILDING on campus

23. Made cookies on the lights at the bell tower

24. Bought many chocolate covered cinnamon bears

Experiences missed

1. For four years I have walked down the testing center scores to see my test scores, and not once was I greeted with a tasty treat from a pal at the bottom of the stairs. I guess I should leave a note and a treat for a friend first.

2. Never gotten lost in the HFAC. I don't really think it is that confusing.

3. Never voted for BYUSA president

4. Stopped going to devotionals.

5. Never in the police beat. Alli almost was though. Thank you Provo boys and MMMMbop

6. Never was pregnant or had a baby

7. Never asked to give a talk in a BYU ward

8. Never Donated blood in the WILK

lovelies

2010-03-11T16:49:00.000-08:00

Steve and I received many BEAUTIFUL quilts for our wedding. I previously did not realize that receiving wedding quilts is a tradition. But it is a tradition I now love. The first quilt was just a special present for me from Steve (with lots of help from his mother :) Steve made it years and years ago, deciding to give it to his future wife. Steve gave it too me the night before our wedding, so I could cuddle with it to help calm my nerves. He is so sweet! The next two are from his mother. I really should take pictures of the two of them. One is a foresty flannel and the other is a pattern called "around the world" Steve calls this one though around the world on steroids. It is incredible! Another quilt we received was quilted by Steve's grandma. The best part is that the top was originally pieced by her mother. I feel blessed to have this as an heirloom, along with the quilts from Kathryn (Steve's mom) and Steve himself as heirlooms too. My mom and another family friend also gave us down comforters. I think Steve and I need to move to Alaska so we can have all of the quilts on our beds at once. In the mean time, we are rotating.

This picture was just too adorable to not post. Yummy steak, and a flirty apron.

Surprise! It is short.

Valentines

2010-02-26T20:47:00.000-08:00

Dear Post office,

I am 100% certain that this Valentine was received damaged. There is no possibility, maybes, or buts. But the Valentine inside warmed our little hearts so much, that there wasn't a better place for the crumpled and torn Valentine than on our fridge.

After hearing about everyone else recieving a lovely Valentine from Lydia, Steve and I were a bit sad. Until ours arrived in the mail a few weeks late. I do not think I have ever seen such a funny piece of mail in my life. Do you see the piece of tape across the front. I am supprised that it was able to hold it together for the rest of its journey. HAHA!

It was the cute Valentine. Loved it! Steve and I received another Valentine from our nephews Clyde and Will. Definitely equal in cuteness. Thank you!

I'm not going to lie.... I was very excited for Valentines day.

Here is the story. Unless you count my elementary school crush and the fact he gave me a little cut out valentine that said something beyond "You're cool" or "friend", then Steve was my first Valentine. Of course most boys Mom's in elementary school fill out their Valentines for them.....so he probably didn't even know that he sent me a secret luuuuuv message.

February of last year Steve and I had been on two or three dates. Valentines day came around and we were enamored. Steve offered to spend the the big V-day Saturday with me. It was snowing all day long. The big soft and wet snow flakes. Very romantic! Plus Steve had a broken leg, so we had to spend the whole day indoors. We put a roast in the crockpot and went over to the children's library. In the back of the library there were big comfy couches with lots of children running around. We both grabbed our favorite children's books and read them to each other all afternoon. Steve of course picked a book that labeled all the different dog breeds. I read all of the childrens books that my grandmother has written. Steve was at frist suprised that I had a few of them memorized.... until I explained the whole my grandma is the author deal. In the middle of reading a book. Steve just reached up and grabbed my hand from reading the book. That's right. No awkward hand sliding business. He liked me and just went for it. It was a lovely Valentine's day.... officially he wasn't my Valentine yet. But..... he would be

This year, Steve played the part of Mr. Valentine oh so well. I'm so grateful! I came home from school and Steve had hidden Valentines presents all through out the apartment. He was so excited and impatient that he couldn't wait for me to stumble upon them unbeknownst, so he pretty much spilled the beans on all of them. See the heart shaped box........ Filled with chocolate covered cinnamon bears...... my favorite. Oh it is lovely to have a Valentine. I could say all sorts of mushy lovey things right now. But to save you I will just stick with how much I love candy.

If stizzy were

2010-02-07T16:57:00.000-08:00

Izzy

if I were a day of the week, I'd be friday!
if I were a time of day, I'd be noon
if I were a direction, I'd be "Mush"
if I were a tree, I'd be a scrawny one
if I were a tool, I'd be mean
if I were a flower I'd be wild
if I were an instrument I'd be in the Lords hands
if I were a color, I'd be manilla
if I were a fruit, I'd be raspberries.
if I were an element, I'd be Ti
if I were a food, I'd be shredded lettuce.
if I were a place, I'd be there
if I were a material, I'd be travertine
if I were a scent, I'd be smelly
if I were an object I'd be a squishy pillow
if I were a song I'd be Party in the USA

Steve

if I were a day of the week, I'd be Saturday Morning!
if I were a time of day, I'd be Happy Hour.
if I were a direction, I'd be orthogonal.
if I were a tree, I'd be the really really big one on Avatar.
if I were a tool, I'd build you a coffin.
if I were a flower I'd be a Columbine near the summit of a tall alpine peak.
if I were a musical instrument I'd get winded easily.
if I were a color, I'd mail my self to Crayola.
if I were a fruit, I'd make myself into a smoothie.
if I were an element, Stephenonium.
if I were a food, I'd be in your belly.
if I were a place, I'd have a geographical identity disorder.
if I were a material, I'd be PHANTOM!!
if I were a scent, I'd be an apple Jolley Rancher.
if I were an object, I'd be a number 2 Black Diamond C3 Camolot
if I were a song I'd be Flight of the Bumblebee Techno Remix.

She who Laughs, Lasts.

2010-01-30T08:00:00.001-08:00

new home

2010-01-27T17:05:00.000-08:00

Ok blog.

I got married. Married. Today I found myself repeating Amanda Lindsay, Amanda Lindsay, Amanda Lindsay, because all day I kept on introducing myself by my maiden name. (Woah I was a maiden. I plan on posting a whole blog article about the wedding day. But Ia m waiting on the professional pictures to chronicle the event.

But first. Lets do a funny marriage blog moment

That's right I attempted to make the infamous Izzy pancakes. Which means "tastes like baking soda." Somehow no matter what I do I always mess up pancakes. I thought that maybe with my new found power from the goddess Demetor (of the hearth and home) I would be able to produce the golden fluffy and tasty pancakes Izatt's are so well from.

I think that posing precariously on the countertop aides in the zen ambiance that pancakes need to bake properly.

Here is a birds eye view of our apartment. Steve thought that this made it look much larger and more beautiful.
Our next adventure was to set up a tent and lay out our sleeping bags. If you notice in the bottom left corner there is our TV very close to our tent. We laid in the tent and watched movies all night and for the next couple of nights. Of course our floor is heated radiantly. Thus warm floors and sleeping on the floor= very very warm. Over all it was a very very silly idea.

Oh and our fridge. Here is what our fridge looked like from our first few days living here. We of course promptly went to the grocery store and wisely used many of our lovely gift card presents to fill our tummies.

marriage

2009-12-17T23:42:00.000-08:00

I promised to finish up the India posts. And that I compeltely plan on doing. But boy has this semester gone wild. I am very thankful for it to be over.

But I just thought I would say..................Im getting married. In three days.

Holy Cow.

Mountains, Big Mountains

2009-10-08T18:11:00.000-07:00

Well, how in the world do I do justice to this adventure blog? I seriously, should have just blogged while I was in India. But the Internet was never reliable. Now, jamming all the awesome, incredible experiences into one blog just might not be enough. This is what I am going to do. I will do several blog posts about different experiences, but definitely not in chronological order. Probably intermixed with the regular everyday adventure blog posts. Today will just be a teaser of the pictures of ..... that's right... the HIMALAYA!

How do I start this?

Oh... yes this was a Hamblin Geology Research field trip to India...A sure blessing and learning experience. But I won't bore you all with the Geology...... I know no one else wants to read about suture zones, thrust belts, or melanges.

Well, Delhi was smelly, muggy, dirty, and loaded with people. It definitely had its own vibe. As the plane landed, I thought, "Holy Cow, What have I gotten my self into?"When we first drive from the airport to the University, I definitely realized the world is much bigger than my tiny little world. The first night in the University of Delhi guest house I was all by myself. I walked into the bathroom and there were buckets everywhere. Soon I learned that every bathroom has at least five buckets of all sorts and sizes. But my first thought was "What in the world do I do with all of these buckets?" Anyways, that night..... Jet lag set in. I honestly couldn't sleep, With a 11 1/2 hour time difference, who could? In the morning I made an awesome discovery. Ok so it's not an awesome discovery to the millions of people that live in Delhi, but They have monkey every where. They are like squirrels!

I realized early on in the trip I should have taken a nicer camera. I thought.... I will be backpacking, traveling very light, hiking, dirty, etc...I realized early on.... that was dumb. How often do you get to go to India. Probably once in a lifetime and I seriously just missed out on rocking pictures. Luckily some others had great pictures. So maybe I will borrow some of there's later. In the meantime.... Here are my regular pictures.

This is a picture from Hardiwar. Smelliest place I have ever been. But is a very sacred location where They take the ashes of the dead and float them down the Ganges. Just like the Ganges through out the rest of India, it is used for bathing, every day needs etc.

Typical Indian street....

Finally, we made it to the mountains... the glorious mountains. the biggest mountains. Ok so this doesn't really look that big eh? We drove up in a bus up to the mountains at night. I never saw the Himalayan driving. So when I woke up in the morning, It was dark and foggy. As the sun rose, I caught my first glimpses of the Lesser Himalaya.

More.... Bigger... Prettier Mountains to come.....

In the next episode of the Izzy Geologic Adventure of Elevated and Muggy Wonder

Izzy gone wild

2009-07-31T22:45:00.001-07:00

Funny story of the evening

Lauren and I spent most of the night watching girlie girlie movies. It felt good to giggle and feel like a girl. I think I have had it up to my nose in manly dirty mining business for the summer. No more I tell you

Anyways the funny moment.

Leaving for the evening. Lauren tries several times to turn on the porch light. Doesn't work. Captain Izzy ( that's me folks ) declares, "No worry Lauren I have my flashlight." I instincivly lift up my shirt, show of my shiny white belly and saunter out of the door.

Photography and Such

2009-07-30T15:22:00.000-07:00

I picked an awesome photographer for Steve and my wedding. Scott Jarvie

My sister is super excited ( I think maybe more than me) and is trying to win a chance at a workshop with him. She is playing the game JaG. More info on that here .

So check him out and check her out.

Camp Steiner

2009-07-22T18:29:00.000-07:00

Let's just say this was a stinkin' rockin' weekend. Amy and I drove up deep into the Uinta Mountains. Where we found this crazy looking mountain man. Unshaven, smelly, dirty ragged clothing, rugged tan. And I even let that boy kiss me!

Camp it self was lovely. No electricity. Little running water. Gorgeous views. Smelly pine trees. And stars as far as the sky could see. Perfection.

This is the little cabin Steve stays at. Apparently he is the most rockin' climbing director. Lucky enough to get a cabin all to himself at this Boy Scout camp. It is the most beautiful cabin in the world. Granted it doesn't have fancy granite counter tops, or polished wooden floors. But there are plenty of mosquito's and chipmunks to make the soul happy. Seriously though. There are two couches downstairs. A loft upstairs with a old bed and some shelves. The old dirty wood floors are covered with a slab of carpet. And to top it off..... an amazing fireplace. I love this cabin. I am still trying to convince Steve that we should work at Boy Scout camp after we are married. He would feel quite silly working at camp for .... eight summers? But the cabin is.....soooooo... worth it.

The activities of the weekend of course included climbing. I love how Steve is belaying laying down while his sister does a bomber power move.

The views were INCREDIBLE at Steiner. And when I say incredible I really mean INCREDIABLE!! (think french). Everything sounds more beautiful in French.

We started a club called the Mountain Goat Girls. Club goals are simple. 1. Climb mountains often. 2. Love the mountain. 3. Love the goat girls.

I is Baby Goat

Amy is Mama Goat

Climb a mountain with us..... and we just might let you in the club.

Oh and you get to be the president of the club if you have a baby on a mountain. (No not conceive a baby, give birth to a real live baby)

Family

2009-07-12T20:00:00.000-07:00

7 children
10 adults who think they are children
Family loaded with Fourth of July excitements
43 pictures
And this was the best one we got.
The single picture where at least one family member wasn't making a goofy picture
We are actually all smiling! (Cheesy grins definitely.)

We definitely put the fun in dysfunctional.

I just might turn him into a Mountain Man

2009-07-02T20:34:00.000-07:00

For our last weekend adventure Steve and I went and taught Boy Scouts blackpowder rifles. Pops had offered to teach the men at Woodbadge this lovely skill and we tagged along.

If you're going to teach boys to shoot a Thompson Hawkin model 50 cal, You have to of course dress up. This is the same gun that Jeramiah Johnson used. "This here is the gun, that shot the bear, that kille'd me. "

The weekend was a stinkin' blast.

My Pops wanted to get some pictures in our Mountain Man get up. Steve thought these would make great engagement shots. I am a little bit less unsure about that one. HA!

Pops ... of all people.... Pops told me to show a little leg.

PS ... thats a pistol in Steve's and Pops belt. What goofs!!!

D&C 58:27

2009-06-06T15:54:00.000-07:00

I know not everyone wants to hear the mushy details......but frankly I think they are pretty darn amazing! So I will spare the tears and snot. But to put the excitement simply.

I'm in love.

The little love story began with a blind date, a broken leg, lots of gasoline, plenty of awkward moments, rock climbing, Rock Canyon mornings, Sunday afternoon, dancing in the kitchen, "Worlds Best Couple Champions", yucky cookies, Super Novas, cooking attempts, long talks, hiking, lots of laughter, and childrens libraries.

and it ended with a pretty blue ring.

Thats right Ladies and Gentlemen...... Stevie and Izzy are engaged! As in to be married. Betrothed. Tying the knot. Jumping off the edge. Beyond the point of no return. Or as Courtney told me yesterday, "You FINALLY picked the right one."

The story goes as this.....

We hiked a really big mountain

Got all sweaty and gross but we were super hardcore.

Steve told me we would go on adventures of the rest of our lives

and I said YES!

trips with Pops

2009-05-12T17:25:00.000-07:00

My dad and I try to go on a backpacking trip each summer. I was wandering about my mom's computer and found pictures of last years trip to Cold Lakes. This is honestly my favorite spot in the Ruby's. It's hardly used unlike Lamoille Canyon.

There are hardly any pictures of my Pops. I had to literally steal the camera from him and sneak pictures. Otherwise Pops loves to take pictures of me plus the scenery. ..... hence the following.

This is the summit over into to Robinsons Lakes.

Cold Lakes
Little summit to Old Man something or other..... It really looked just like an old man! I felt like an old man when I hiked up to the top. PS check out those biceps!!

WOOT WOOT! I definitely cannot wait to go on a backpacking trip with Dad this summer. The plan is to do the Ruby Crest trail.

This is my first step to being a rock model. This is my end goal of being a Geologist.... Who cares about the science! Just got to make this metamorphic core complex look good!

MMMM My favorite part of backpacking.

climbing

2009-05-10T15:03:00.000-07:00

Teaching the girls to climb on things. Yup. Yup.

They need some more adventure!

2009-04-28T22:30:00.000-07:00

goal:

Have another sleepover with the girls. Here's pics I found from our most recent sleepover.

The end of an era

2009-04-23T23:01:00.000-07:00

Two years and nine months ago four scared little teenage girls moved into Helaman Halls. No friends. No boyfriends. No parents. I'll admit it I was scared. Ok so maybe the other chicas were tough. I wasn't. I walked into 1108 Chipman Hall, and there was Hello Kitty and purple everywhere! I thought. Ohhh no what have I gotten myself into. Long story short, Alli and I became the bestest of friends. Later the girls in the hall were running around trying to get to know everyone! Two blonde girls were hanging in the back of the crowd. Dressed in grungy PJ's and ponies. They defintely did not match the perky fashionista image of Chipman Halls. I thought to myself, "Hey those could be pretty cool girls." Later after Heidi, Amy, Alli, and I became inseperable, I found out that Amy wrote in her jounal regarding that night, " I like Alli she seems like a cool girl. I'm not so sure about that Izzy, she seems too perky and too happy."

Freshman year: Wow. Could we have ever been a crazier bunch of girls. I believe that our Chipman experience can be summed up in two words. The Cannon Center. Every day at 6 o clock on the dot. 1108 and 1109 would knock on each others door, and say FOOOOOOD now. Easily. Spending every stinkin' meal together. We even made a movie abot the Cannon Center.

Sophmore: Then it became time to move out. We couldn't bear not being able to spend dinners together. It was quickly decided.... were moving the Villa (ironically the apartment with the smallest amount of kitchen space in all of Provo). And thus the Era of Apartment Two began. Apartment two is iconic, its grand, its supurb, its ours, and it looks like a prison, But it was home. Our roof leaked, two girls went to the ER, WE met Jason ( the apartment mascot) we had a silly halloween party, the pizza and beer tradition continued, Izzy sucked at cooking pancakes, sometimes people didn't do their dishes, we had mushy grass, we checked the mail everyday, pimp date nightwe ran out of toilet paper, we had an ugly sweater party, we cried, dinners on Sunday, we laughed, we went to Elko, we took Top Model photos, we had two new girl additions to the Apartment Two legend.

Junior: We never thought the love and laughter could end. But it has. It's half empty. Heidi and Alli moved out. Onto Izzy and Amy. Soon the three new additions to the apartment two legend will leave too. Even worse, girls are getting married and graduating. We are now grown ups. Scary eh? Apartment two has broken up. Yup. But the memories this year..... even better than the last. A big ol' proposal right in the living room ( biggest legend of them all ), failed clubbing nights, dancing around and singing to Abba, a rocking Halloween party, more time spent with the apartment mascot Jason, a baby Christmas tree, dinners at the Pi and Offbroadway, poker, carving pumpkins (jsut like every year) Izzy still sucked at making pancakes, we were much messier, no one did chores for the last three months paper sword fights, If Izzy was in the room the apartment was always messy, smoke disaster,

When our kids ask us about our little college lives. It can be summed up "Apartment Two."

Middle Earth

2009-04-18T14:23:00.000-07:00

I promise all of my tuition dollars are well spent. I am becoming a real Geologist. Promise.
Here's the abstract from the last paper....

"The Geology of Middle Earth can be adequately described in a series of eight major events. The geologic map of Middle Earth is Figure 1 and is useful to aide in orientation. The first major event recorded was the creation of the Pre-Cambrian Shield, and next the Jurassic subduction of the Gondorian Plate under the Shire Plate. The Jurassic ended with a suture of the Gondorian Plate and the Shire Plate. The Early Tertiary is marked by hotspot initiated rifting and the Middle Tertiary Howoon Formation. The Late Tertiary is the beginning of the subduction of the Belfalas Plate under the Gondorian Plate. Correlative extension occurred also during the Late Tertiary in the Grey Mountains. The Quaternary is marked by continued subduction and extension. The Sauronian plate and the Gondorian plate also began to rift apart in the Quaternary. The most recent event was an eruption of Mt. Doom in 2004 AD."

Here's the map my professor so awesomely drew. Woot!

Here's the cool figure I drew. Ok so it isn't as snazzy. But I am pretty proud alright?

Seriously though. All semester long we had labs concerning the Geology of ME. We spent it analyzing chemical analysis, describing hand samples and thin sections. It was a really cool project. He basically took rocks from different tectonic settings around the world and created geology of ME. We then had to figure it out for ourselves. In the end I had soooo much data that I couldn't put it all in my paper. Holy moly.

Dudes. Geologists are nerdy. honestly and truly. What have I gotten myself into.

But if a professor is going to give you a reasearch project like this... honestly does he expect it to be serious?

Here's the ending

"The most recent event was the basaltic eruption of Mt. Doom in 2004 AD. This basalt is a correlative formation of the basalts of the Lonely Mountains, thus indicating possible anorogenic origin. The trigger of the eruption was most likely due to an increase in volatiles. The specific volatile that was introduced into the Mt. Doom volcano was the creature Gollum as he fell into the lava clutching the One Ring, after a scuffle with Frodo."

End of the Semester Wrap up

2009-04-15T18:00:00.000-07:00

Lessons Learned:

1. Life is wonderful without Calculus
2. I still cannot make cookies for the lives of my future childrens sakes!
3. Prayer is important.
4. You can eat spaghetti every night for a week and not die!
5. Ramen is still disguisting.
6. I can't pull allnighters any longer. I am an old lady. 1 am is the latest I can do school.
7. Alli and I cannot keep a clean room. But if you keep lots of storage buckets under your bed you can hide lots of mess.
8. Boiling potatoes should not be left on the stove for hours at a time
9. How to do my own taxes
10. Alli is very capable of beating me up. But as long as I run fast enough or climb high enough I'm safe.
11. Don't set Alli up on a date ever.
12. Bunches of new climbing skills... woot woot!
13. The drive to Logan isn't very long when you are excited.
14. I am a master sterogram maker. My prof now calls them Amandagrams
15. I can go without doing laundry for almost a month. (thats alot of undies!)
16. Being 21 and in Provo... ROCKS.
17. You can't sit in the childrens section of the Logan library unless you have children. You get kicked out.
18. Shale gas is really really boring.
19. Patience is a wonderful wonderful virtue
20. I am really really good at spitting.
21. I have to study really really hard to be any good at geology. All those natural smarts went to the other siblings
22. I have refined the art of shopping at thrift stores
23. A few new creative ways to do crunches
24. Where the Andromeda galaxy is ... oh and Betleguese.
25. Facials rock.
26. Sigma one is the maximum stress direction.
27. There is a subduction zone south of Gondor.
28. I need my big sister Miss Melissa. Goodness. I call her too much.
29. I need my Momma!
30. I'm going to miss dear old apartment two.

For Mom

2009-04-12T20:58:00.000-07:00

Since I wasn't home for the first Easter ever! Here are the lovely pictures for the day.

Pretty Easter Dresses.

Conference Weekend!

2009-04-05T12:31:00.000-07:00

Guess what? Jamie and Lisa came all the way to Provo!!! And to make the weekend even better. Jamie got some Conference tickets and I was able to go to Conference for the first time. Man Jamie and Lisa are incredible! They made the weekend so very much fun. Oh yes and Steve too! Goodness look at those girls ain't they just beauties?

A bit o' summer

2009-04-03T16:49:00.000-07:00

On the Loose

On the loose to climb a mountain

On the loose where I am free

On the loose to live my life

The way I think my life should be.

For I've only got a moment

And the whole world left to see

I'll be looking for tomorrow on the loose.

Have you ever watched the sunrise

Turn the sky completely red?

Have you slept beneath the moon and stars

With a pine bough for your bed?

Do you sit and talk with friends

Though a word is never said?

Then you're just like me and

You've been on the loose.

On the loose to climb a mountain...

There's a trail that I'll be hiking

Just to see where it may go

Many places yet to visit

Many people yet to know

So in following my dreams

I will live and I will grow

On a trail that's waiting

Out there on the loose.

On the loose to climb a mountain...

So, in search of love and laughter

I'll be traveling through this land

Never sure of where I'm going

For I haven't any plans.

So in time when you are ready

Come and join me, take my hand,

And together we'll share life

Out on the loose

On the loose to climb a mountain...

To do

2009-04-02T13:58:00.000-07:00

Things I want to do in the next three minutes
Get up. do some structure homework.
Pick up my room
Brush my teeth

Things I want to do in the next three weeks
Take some finals
Turn 21
Go to the ER (tradition in apt 2 apparently)
Dance till my little buns burn
Say goobye to the dear apt 2 life forever
Go on at least 10 runs :)
Gamble
Visit Steve-o
Climb some rocks
Hike Timp

Things I want to do in the next three months
Be a gold digger ( in more ways than one)
Go backpacking with just my daddy
Visit one place I have never been before
Teach Mallory and Courtney some skills
Laugh as much as possible
Visit Utah
Make a quilt
Learn to cook
Explore Lamoille Canyon by myself
Go on many adventures with my best pals
Hike the tallest mountians
Say "Nameste"
Backpack in the Himalayas
Backpack in the Unitas
Be a Beauty Queen
Play pool

Things I want to do in the next three years
Laugh, Laugh, Laugh
Be a stinkin' good professional Geologist
Be a Master Geologist
Visit ALASKA! (live there??)
Find some more tall mountians
Hike a volcano
Make a rock on my rock hammer with lava!!
Live life- light and easy
No stressin'
Visit a beach.
Become a rock climbing guru godess
Graduate from college (debt free!)
Skinny dip
Run a marathon
Take another Ballet class
Learn to keep a clean room
Get a little doggie

My windshield wipers tend to never wipe off the rain

2009-03-31T19:13:00.000-07:00

There's a lightpost on the corner of a well used street. Whenever I stop at the red stop sign and look up at it, through my dirty water stained windshield, the lightpost flickers off. I don't know why the light post feels that it has to turn off whenever I am in need of its dull flourresent beam, but it does. Every single time. At least the lightpost follows it's routine.

I know that everything is ok with the universe. The earth is still rotating, beans are still growing, children are still laughing, and the stars are still shining. Everything is ok tonight. Things are great.

If the lightpost is famous to me because it never forgot what it was supposed to do, then I know that I can be famous to something else. Pass it on. Do what your supposed to do. Do it well. Enjoy it. Love it. Be famous. Things are ok. Love the universe.

read this one.

2009-03-23T00:18:00.001-07:00

SO I am

1. Supposed to be finishing my art paper. (uggh.... I am no good at such subjects)

2. Finishing packing for Texas.

But my face is congested and I do not feel like concentrating.

BUT

I found my old blog from back in high school. I seriously have not read it for over a year. It is worth a good laugh.

http://www.xanga.com/bowling_shoes

I was such a little punk! Beauty Pageants must have softened me up.

Vanity

2009-03-22T22:59:00.000-07:00

Dearest family,

It was either to post pictures of me or more rocks. I have a feeling that even though I think the rock photos are cool (Bridal Veil Fold is the stinkin' heart of the Sevier Orogeny), you might prefer pictures of me. Maybe I am just vain.

I was looking for fossils the whole way up. I didn't find one. It's my excuse for climbing slow.

This picture was on the forelimb of the Bridal Veil fold. Thats right, and I am in the middle of it. (PS can't you see the cleavage it's amazing. And I don't mean my lack thereof....I'm talking about the rocks!)

Last Straw

2009-03-18T21:51:00.000-07:00

Today I bursted out laughing in the middle of our relatively quiet apartment.

"Izzy, Why" Heidi asks.

"Because I'm happy."

Shoot. No one even had to say something funny. I laughed just because.

Dearest family,

Last semester sucked. I was not a happy gal. Which is unlike Miss Izzy. (Calculus is my secret reason). Goodness. Maybe it's just the massive amounts of sunshine that has invaded Provo. (I took a nap today on the lawn outside the Eyring and accidently only burned the right side of my body. Yuck. I hate sunburns)

Meh. Ok.
Updates (I like lists)

1. I'm going to Texas/ NM next week! Yay! There will be lots of sunshine there
2. Test on Friday in Petrology. I call it my rock birthing class.
3. One of my friends thinks that women are pregnant pretty much all the time. He said I was pregnant. Odd fellow. I laughed at him.
4. Presenting at Spring Rearch Confrence this Saturday. EEK! The head dude for Shale Gas at UGS will be there. Ok I understand that that doesn't mean much. But when your presentation is on shale gas resources within Utah, you would freak out too.
5. I watched bits of Charlie and the Chocolate factory. By watched I mean danced around and sang the songs.
6. I'm going to Elko two weekends from now. Shoot. I miss being home this much <------------>
7. Mmmmm get to start the old interning business diggin' for golden treasures on May 11ish Woot
8. Did I mention I get to go to the Himalayas. Reasearch I do there might lead into a masters thesis of sorts. That means I could go to India again.
9. Started looking at Grad Schools. The list so far: UAF, BYU, U of U, UNR. Any other suggestions? I learned that the UAF kids are much to cool and outdoorsy. They might hate my beauty queen abilities.
10. I'm going to miss seeing Miss Jana ( well Mrs. ) When she comes to Utah. :(
11. Rock Climbing on Friday and Saturday. Could life be any more beautiful?
12. Heidi pranked me good yesterday.... oh man. Stories to tell

Moments.

2009-03-15T20:55:00.000-07:00

Dearest Provo.

Artsy shot.... almost impressive.

Steve and I

Dino tracks.

Look at that HUGE conglomerate!

Parowin Gap

Crammed 20+ people in a van and tromped through prison grounds. Oh Geology.

I love this woman! Miriam. Gah! You make Geology for me.

Beautiful camp spot at the Virgin River

Look at that perfect gamma ray log profile!

recently

2009-03-02T19:47:00.000-08:00

So if you don't think this picture is cool....... well..... you're probably pretty regular then.

oh and.....

HIMALAYAS

nuff said

Dearest familia!

Life has been wonderful lately. Beautiful. Ok so I am drowning in school. But since that has been the story of my life for the last three years, we'll just ignore that one.

1. HIMALAYAS

2. Trips the DI

3. Plenty of cool Geology trips to keep myself entertained.

4. Got an A on TWO papers..... that hasn't happened.... since high school.

5. I think I failed a humanities test today....but thats ok. I am not good at art related subjects

6. New friends

7. Veggie burgers.

8. Running and crunches

9. Professioral compliments

10. I don't have school on tuesdays (ie tomorrow!)

11. I'm even grateful for trips to ... places.... even if I hate driving.

amen

2009-02-19T08:11:00.001-08:00

I am avoiding at all costs starting my homework. I know that once I start, I won't be able to stop. Homework vomit. It is like a disease. A sick, tourturing disease. Homeworkioititis. Blech. Anyways, so I thought, "Hey, maybe I will blog something profound." I haven't thought of anything yet.

*crickets*

Story time.

I have been trying to say my prayers in bed right after I wake up. This is not a good idea for me for several reasons

1. I turn off my alarm at least four times before I wake up. Thus closing my eyes and curling up (ie kneeling) is just asking for me to fall asleep.
2. I am nto awake at all till after I take a shower
3. My bed is really really comfy

Yesterday morning, I was saying my prayers just as usual..... which meant pretty much falling asleep, just as usual. I found myself drifting in and out of sleep. Once I realized this, I knew it was time to wrap things up. I blurted out, "Talk to you later." And jumped out of bed. No amens. HAHAHA! I was pretty sleepy. I guess this just means that Heavenly Father and I are finally becoming pretty good friends.

engagen' folks

2009-02-16T21:23:00.000-08:00

We made our apartment into a little "love nest"

Look how romantic a little BYU apartment can be!!

Congrats to the Future Mr. & Mrs. Rafferty

tentin' up

2009-02-07T22:31:00.000-08:00

I got really excited about my new tent ( Thank you Blues!! ), so I set it up in the living room. and we had a mini-campout.

See no evil, Speak no evil, Hear no evil.

It was a good day with a rockin' tent!

Friday.

2009-01-18T10:38:00.000-08:00

Children, I dropped calculus! I was not a happy gal for the first part of this semester at all! Considering how things did not go well in the happiness department last semester, my little neurons needed a break. Granted I am going to have to take it next year and hte new class is just as hard. But for now I get to take a much COOLER class. Which makes me mucho happier. This class of wonders is stucture. Basically we traverse out into the wilderness and do real Geology!

Apparently a strike and dip is worth falling off a CLIFF!!!

Pride Rock was Mineral Fork Tillite.

Lovely Provo.

Miriam!!! She is the best. Let me tell you! If it wasn't for this gal I would never ever get through Geology.

Were just pretending.

Lily

2009-01-18T10:35:00.000-08:00

I just had to post this picture of my best new little gal Lily.

breathe

2009-01-12T19:59:00.000-08:00

There are just some days that are better than the rest. Today was just one of those days. All I really feel like I need is to be content with the day. You know that dear, lovely peace, that everything went as well that it could. That the Universe is finally in ravelling and taking a little break of its own. You can lay your head on your pillow, breathe, and let your heart slow down a few beats..... Beautiful.

These days are few and far between. My mind is iching to let those natsy worries about tomorrow sneak in. Not having enough time, too much work, not enough brain power, inadequicies.

Dearests,

Love today, live today, laugh today. Breathe.

The fruits of my labor

2008-10-24T17:43:00.000-07:00

After and Before

Merged skies

2008-10-23T15:55:00.000-07:00

This lovely photo.... I merged. Woot! Three photos in one

1. Eraser
2. Crop
3. Color Levels
4. Visible merge

After and before. I completely changed the sky in this phototgraph.
1. Quick select wand
2. Lasso tool
3. Gradient
4. Paint brush

scanned image!

2008-10-23T11:38:00.000-07:00

After and Before

The crop tool was my friend.

I also discovered how to use the bandaide tool. This was a really cool discovery. I was able to get rid of little bright splotches. I found anotehr new cool tool. The CLONE TOOL.

I also used the burn and dodge tool. It took a bit of effort to figure out to use it correctly. The hardness is defintely important!

I tried using the blur tool. But I didn't like how it altered my picture.

baby geologists in action!

2008-09-03T20:52:00.000-07:00

Proof!

2008-09-03T20:39:00.000-07:00

This is for you Missi..... I can cook! Absolutley delicious

Oatmeal cookies

Ingredients
1 cup shortening
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs well beaten
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
3 cups oats (we use Quaker Quick or Old Fashioned. Do NOT use instant.)
3/4 cup chopped walnuts (use 1/2 cup if using raisins)
1 cup raisins (optional)

Method
1 Cream shortening and sugars, add eggs and vanilla and beat well.
2 Sift flour, salt, baking soda and cinnamon. Add to first mixture and mix well. Add raisins and nuts. Add oats last.
3 Spoon out by rounded tablespoonfuls on to greased cookie sheets. Bake at 350°F. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove to wire rack. Cool completely.
Makes about 2 dozen cookies.

Mole-geologist

2008-08-25T15:02:00.000-07:00

And thus.... this summer.... I was a mole

I had a "baby"rock hammer

But it was enough for my geo-digging purposes

I crashed the Kubota quite often in the ribs

Down the portal

bahama mama

2008-05-16T18:04:00.000-07:00

Whelp.

First the medical report.

Knee= patella bursitis = housewives syndrome = painful shots in the knee.

Throat = coughing for a month = hypersensitivity to air = WTF?

Second the Bahamas report.

Ok I have a zillion and a half stories to tell.... but lets allow the pictures to do the talking

Pleistocene montastrea coral

AAH! Studying Geology...... takes a whole lotta effort ..... especially in such a beautiful location .

The everglades.

Andros Island... a very poor and untouristy island....we spent most of our time here :)

Interference Ripples.

The ooid shoal!

I rolled out of bed... and saw this every morning.

Peloids (shrimp poo) YA!

.............more to come.

The Final Dred

2008-04-17T16:34:00.000-07:00

My apartment has a terrible curse.

Every finals we end up spendi ng in th E.R. Everyone has had their glory time in the E.R. .... except for me. Thats right something is going to happen to me. Maybe i'll need stitches or I'll get my appendix removed. Doesn't it just sound lovely. At least this time it will be my roomates turn to spend the evening in the calm, quiet study environment of the E.R.

Whelp

I can say I am on my way.

My knee is killing me to a lucky spout of tendonitis that has been ailing me for several months. I woke up this mornign with an infested throat. And now the coughs are coming in. An icing on the cherry is that My back is starting to kill again. This happened last semester where I couldn't even sit up through class without crying. Yucky. Basically life sucks.

But I can't be completely negative.

Next week I'm going to the Bahamas!

It just comes natural

2008-04-11T18:25:00.001-07:00

I generally hate driving.

There are two exceptions.

The first is when I am driving to my home in Nevada. Nothing beats blasting the Rascal Flats song, "As The Days Go By", while pulling off on the Elko exit. I get a little bit of adreneline rush everytime I see the sign that says 11 more miles to Elko.

The second is at work. Everyday I have to make a trip over to the Ellsworth building to make a used furniture inventory. I get a15 minute break from work and I get to blast the music as oud as I want and practically scream along to the songs. It is my own little concert hall everyday in that tiny service vehicle.

:)

Thou art older than most carbonate rocks

2008-04-08T22:15:00.000-07:00

Today I turned 20. I am successful. I have beat teenage pregnacy. That is one thing I will never have to worry about happening!

Today was rather un-birthdayish. I was at school from 8-7 today. Did a bit of homework. Went swing dancing for a bit. Now I'm gonna blog for a few minutes and get right back to the old homework grind. Yuck. My lovely birthday present today was a beautiful pink gerber daisy. Mind you that wasn't from my boyfriend.

Whelp. The big pre-21 year. Here's the things I will do this year.

1. Go to the Bahamas

2. Play Ultimate Frisbee

3. Work in a gold mine

4. Dance under the stars.

5. Have my heart broken by a Cowboy.

6. Learn to cook

7. Go on at least 4 Gelogy trips.

8. Pass Calculus 112 & 113

9. Backpack the Ruby Crest Trail again

10. Snorkel

11. Become pretty good at rock climbing

12. Go hunting

13. Have lunch wth my Daddy a few times

14. Become less addicted to Facebook

15. Become a better Photographer

16. Learn more about rocks

17. Teach Mallory and Courtney some skills

18. Wrestle George and Clyde

19.Go to Heidi and Amy graduation/weddings

20. Kiss someone I love

The first blog about rocks

2008-04-07T14:49:00.000-07:00

I like rocks.

I could probably even write poetry about rocks.

And frankly I hate writing poetry.

Eerr. I guess this is the part where I say "Welcome to my blog."

This blog is about my adventures.... adventures only. Yesterday a boy told me that how I once told him that I wanted to get married after college, was a turn off to him. He continued to tell me that my priorities were out of order. Whelp, that comment inspired this blog. My priorities are in order. Basically I want to become a rock genius (geologist), travel the world, have adventures, and laugh always. Sure marriage is important.... but for goodness sake. I'm 20! (well tomorrow I am). I think I would rather have a few more adventures before I become a little miss wifey.

Cheers!

(P.S. This picture is from a recent climb I went on. The mount in the back is King Fisher and the one in the foreground is Ancient Art. Both are of the Culter formation.... more like Cutler Crap! This stuff is super crumbly :( )