Now I know I over analyse things

This is an absolutely gorgeous sight.... I thought they had made this up for "Tangled" but it turns out to be a real thing that people do....

Amazing....

Except there is this little part of me wondering about fire risk (see 1:27 on the counter if you don't think this is a valid concern)... and the mess those empty bags will leave behind when they finally float back down to Earth...

Still.... it would be lovely to experience this in person

Gratitude....

Today we bring a special treat...

... a chance for some cool weather in the summer heat wave!

Of course, for all of those salivating at having a hot and fun 4th of July, you're in luck... our weather will be in the high 90s and sun sun sun... but, for tonight at least... thunder, lightning, rain and in the low 70s!

Okay, I admit I am not so keen about the thunder part (I am, for some reason, frightened of the noise) but the lightning can be so much fun to watch.

I hope that last admission doesn't discredit me as an adult figure... don't tell anyone I shared that little fear with you, okay?

My love for logos going too far?

I stumbled across a site today that had a list of logos that Google has used... many of them I hadn't seen, and they were all fun to look at. For anyone interested in finding out why Google used a specific design that day, go here

I can't upload my favorites.... because they are animated. Click here to play with Les Paul's birthday guitar, and here for Jules Verne's 10,000 Leagues Under the Sea inspired view out the porthole.

.... and no, I am not endorsed to advertise Google.... but I admit I am enough of a logo geek that I am now following the postings, so I can continue to watch the new logos being used!

New project

Isn't this just darling? I stumbled on the blog of a cross-stitcher and this is a project she recently finished. I immediately had to comment on her blog and find out where she'd found this... and then promptly ordered the kit for myself.

This will be my first foray into stitching on linen, but I have been told that it is not hard to change over from aida cloth, and I love how things look that have been stitched on linen.

Of course I am happy they had this one in a kit.... my mental measurement chart will need an upgrade, because my mind was converting the stitch count into aida dimensions... and my measurements were coming out completely wrong.

Anyone else out there find this one just darling? The next project is a wedding sampler (no one seems to have a decent size image of this one, so here is the small version:

Man I have missed stitching!

Another way to put Provo on the map....

Well my future in-laws are hitting a conference in Salt Lake in August.... and I was just asked if I could pick them up at the Provo airport and shuttle them to and from SLC.

What?!?! Provo airport is for pilot training and little commuter stuff....

Nope... not anymore. This last Monday saw its first commercial flight (Frontier is the only one on board so far) via Denver. Apparently its even cheaper than flying into SLC. Provo airport is hoping to see more airlines hop on the bandwagon in the months and years to come....

Figures. I am flying Frontier at the beginning of August to meet Richard in San Antonio.... I am flying out of Salt Lake, so I am trying to work up a ride to the airport.

Wonder how much it would be for me to change that flight plan and leave from here?

later note: whew! It would actually cost me $40 more to fly out of Provo.... and get me into San Antonio about 2 and a half hours later.... okay, don't feel so bad about having already booked my flight!

Most annoying blogging peeve....

I have a blogger peeve.

Maybe its just me, but does anyone else have a problem with stumbling across a blog that interests you, deciding to follow it (just to see) and then find your reader box flooded with posts?

I checked my reader account around 6 pm last night and cleared the cache. Fast forward to just before 8 this morning when I check again.... this one blog had 47 new posts! That equals nearly 3.5 posts an hour if he'd worked throughout the night (or maybe he's in Europe where it would have been early morning/day for him?) Regardless of location.... that is just too freaking much... no matter how random a blog it is. Its a lot of graphic design (which is how it caught my eye) but they also post a lot of images of fashion, there are recipes tossed in at random intervals, and odd observations of "my buddy wore this hat the other day....."

Enough already.

Maybe this person doesn't have a job to report to.... maybe the more traffic they get to their site the more revenue they generate with advertising... I don't know. But this has got to be the shortest time I've kept anyone in my subscription queue (less than a week). I have better things to do with my time than constantly check my reader box and clear out this guys' posts on an hourly basis....

Oh... new thought. Maybe its a collaborative blog, with several authors posting whatever interests them or catches their eye. That would certainly explain the excessive volumes that is being posted.... but I am still keeping the blog deleted.

Oh the lengths some fans will go to.....

Do I really need to make any comments on this?

Probably not...though I am amazed that the Edward kit says nothing about his being sparkly.... guess an extra creative fan can always use a sparkly thread, or just hit the finished product with a spray of glitter.

So how about it craft girls....are you Team Edward?

Or Team Jacob?

Bummer I couldn't find any cross stitch patterns for those of us on Team Jasper.... but then, I don't think I'd ever be rabid enough to want to stitch it up, frame it and then hang it on the wall.

Guess I am just not as big of a fan as I thought I was.....

Best news I've read today....

I don't know where I've been, but Odd Thomas is finally being made into a movie! Starring Anton Yelchin (Star Trek, Terminator: Salvation, Fright Night) as Odd, this movie just went into filming last month and is scheduled for release sometime next year.

For anyone who hasn't read Odd Thomas you really ought to.... the series (Dean Koontz plans for 7 Odd books in total... the second best news I've read today!) follows Odd Thomas, a small-town short order cook who has a secret... he sees the restless dead; souls of those still clinging to this world instead of moving on. Wishing his life were simpler (he dreams of one day moving into tire sales) Odd cannot ignore the gift that he has been saddled with. He realizes that events around him are leading to something large and deadly coming to town and must race against time to not only find out who is the culprit and what their plan is, but to also find a way to save as much of the town as possible.

The screenplay has been adapted by Stephen Sommers, who will also direct.... now I LOVE Stephen Sommers' work (The Mummy, Van Helsing, Deep Rising). I was all but jumping up and down in my chair as this means that much of the wry humor and dialogue that makes Odd Thomas such a fun read will still be in there.

Between this and the next Star Trek film, next summer is lining up to be a lot of fun....

New Blog

Hello to all.... I have a new blog (don't worry, this one isn't going anywhere). You can find me here posting about all things wedding. I am trying to keep the tone not so gushy and lovey-dovey over here... and this way anyone who is interested can keep involved with what's going on, what still needs to be done, and you can shout out if you think I have missed something (goodness knows there is a lot I have probably forgotten to check into). Feel free to comment if you have any ideas on things I can try, advice about what may have worked for you or someone you know, or warnings about the mistakes I need to avoid.

I can really use everyone's help over here... I really have no serious clue about what I am doing and I am using this new blog to get myself organized and on-task (a challenge in and of itself... I am not the most organized of people!)

The blog is open to anyone and everyone.... feel free to pass it along to anyone you think would be interested.

Gratitude.....

Thanks to Leah, who asked if I was going to be posting more of these gratitude posts... with all that has been going on lately I had put these on hold, but it was nice to know that she enjoys reading them as much as I like posting them.

So, for today, my gratitude is for friends and family. I have an amazing support system in my life that I probably take for granted more often than I should. Knowing that if I just need a hug, all I have to do is show up at my friend's house and she'll have one waiting for me. If I need advice or information, I have siblings and parents that are only a phone call or instant message away. If I need a positive lift, all I have to do is turn to my future spouse and he is there with love and words of comfort and acceptance.

What a wonderful group I belong to....and I am eternally grateful to have each and every one of them in my life.

Texas Trip - Day Four (Part 1 of 3)

Final day in Texas....(sorry for the delay on this post but I wanted to clean up some photos to upload for this one...)

Day Four, as with every other day, saw me getting up early.

We had a lot to try and tackle today and didn't want to miss a minute of it. As it was, I was awake long after Richard left (hey, I just got engaged... it would have been a complete miracle for me to have fallen asleep quickly!) Found out that Richard had a fairly sleepless night as well.

Richard showed up with a container of raspberries to munch on (I'd been teasing him for awhile since I'd learned he'd never tried raspberries before and how I definitely had to pick some up on this trip to share with him). We shared them while I finished tossing everything into my bags (note... he now likes raspberries). I was wearing the sundress I'd originally planned to wear at dinner with his parents.... so I looked nice. Richard, on the other hand, was sporting a new t-shirt that proudly proclaimed he was a Ghostbuster...complete with VENKMAN name badge.

Men and their taste in clothes....

He offered to wear his dress shirt again since I'd hoped for a picture of the two of us together, and ran back down to the car to fetch it.... a bit rumpled now, but a moment or two with the iron had that taken care of. Wish I would have known at the start of the trip that hotel rooms come with irons and hair dryers... there's two large items I wouldn't have had to haul across state lines with me!

While he was in the bathroom changing, I did a last couple of laps around the room to be sure I hadn't forgotten anything. Once we were both ready he once again lugged my bag down to the car and drove me around front to the manager's office where I checked out of my room for the final time. Its sad to say, but I am going to miss that place....

We decided once again on Cracker Barrel for breakfast and spent a nice hour or so just chatting.... no rush, no itinerary pressing down on us (though we really did have one)... and no mentioning that I would be flying home later that day. Once again I had the thought of how wonderful it would be to see this man sitting across the dinner table from me for the rest of our lives... how wonderful now to know that this thought will soon become reality.

After breakfast we drove downtown and visited the Alamo.

I took a lot of pictures...some of Richard, but mostly of the site. Sadly, I forgot to hand my camera over to some other tourist to get our picture together.

We wandered the grounds, hand-in-hand, as the heat rose and we both began to bake. Richard especially, since he was sporting a very bright sunburn from the drive back north the day before. As we prepared to enter the Alamo itself, a large sign proclaimed the site to still be dedicated as Holy Ground by the Catholic Church and that no pictures within were allowed. An employee of the Alamo told us to turn and smile for the camera before thrusting a card into our hands and ushering us inside.

Not exactly a way to prepare yourself for something so profound... being essentially peddled by the tourist trade on your way in the doors.

Inside the Alamo is a feeling of such great weight.... calm, but you definitely feel a hush come upon you as you walk that small space (the mission is incredibly tiny). The walls are still gouged in spots from gunfire. Picturing the siege and the horror and pain that took place within those walls was humbling. Little kids on some kind of tour were tossing out questions in rapid succession and fellow tourists were laughing and talking... and I just walked reverently from space to space.

We exited to the side and immediately across the way is the gift shop.

No offense to the powers-that-be that use these funds to help support the upkeep of this site, but the center of the room is of interest because it houses various Bowie knives of the era, excavated cannonballs (much smaller than I had imagined them to be), guns and buttons.... it was a historical junkie's heroin. We walked slowly down both sides and just soaked it all in.

The outer edge of the gift shop though... well... total pandemonium. Little boys screaming as they chase each other around the store, wielding toy guns and Calvary swords, and little girls looking over all the local wildlife plushies (armadillos, bison, horses and, for some reason, monkeys). Ashtrays and shot glasses emblazoned with Davy Crockett's famous quote "You may all go to hell and I will go to Texas". Replicas of the Alamo itself... you name it, they probably had it. There was a nice book section though where I picked up a book ("Sea of Mud" about the retreat from the Alamo by the Mexican army) but, on the whole the gift shop turned my stomach... especially after just coming from the site itself it seemed rather tasteless (sorry baby!)

I was happy when we finally got out of there and back out onto the grounds, and I quickly put that behind me as I drug poor Richard from place to place to inspect the memorial plaques, cannons, a really neat baptismal font from the original mission, and other such historical fodder that appealed to me. He also patiently waited while I took photo after photo of what must have seemed odd things (doorways, windows, steeples... I went a little overboard probably in order to make up for not really getting any pictures up til this point!)

And speaking of pictures... below is a bit of what I snapped. Oh, and that shot taken before we entered the mission? Turns out on your way out you can buy a copy of the picture they took. I walked up to see what we wound up with but we didn't end up buying it... the gal snapped the picture with Richard tucked back a step or two and that hideous picture killer (perspective) had me looking miles taller and about 4 times as round. Okay, it probably wasn't THAT bad...but that's what I remember.















Next post we take on the Breckenridge Sunken Gardens... where Richard had originally planned to propose to me.

My swoon is broken...

...or perhaps its already occupied with being twitterpated over Richard....

Apparently women of the world are swooning right and left over Bradley Cooper (A-Team, The Hangover movies, Failure to Launch) speaking fluent French in an interview. Not that we understand what it is he's saying (he's promoting the sequel to The Hangover) but women are just over the moon over how the words sound rolling off his tongue...

Personally, while I think he's an attractive enough man, I am not about to fall at his feet based on looks alone... and the fact that he's spouting "ze lahnguwedge of lohve" doesn't thrill me to the core either.

Here it is... check it out for yourself....



Anyone else still in control of their hormones after watching this?

No?

Just me?

Hmmmm.... maybe the swoon really is broken after all.

Texas Trip - Day 3

...hang in there, it will take awhile to get through this one...

Monday morning woke me somewhat early.... I want to say 6, but admit I could be mistaken as I was up off and on throughout the night. I could hear Richard coming down the stairs, but he went outside to sit on the front porch rather than come into the family room where I was sleeping and disturb me. I had no idea of that at the time, so I ended up laying there for awhile, until I heard him come back into the house. At that point I got up and went into the kitchen to meet him.

We sat around the kitchen table and chatted for a half an hour or so before Kim and Merce got up. It was nice being able to have some quiet time again with one another. I admit my mind wandered into thinking about being able to have breakfast with this man every morning...and I really liked the feeling.

We got ready for the day and then went to a late breakfast at Cracker Barrel. We had fun and took our time, just laughing and talking... and then we decided to go to a local museum. Turns out the museum was closed Mondays, so we went miniature golfing instead. Turns out that a couple of schools was having some sort of field trip at the course, so it was a bit of a zoo, but we finally got our clubs and made it out to the course. I admit I haven't been mini golfing in awhile, but I wasn't overly bad. We got in about 12 holes before the heat defeated us and we went inside to cool off.

By the time we got our drinks and had cooled down a bit, it was time to head back to the house to load up my suitcase and get back on the road. We had a plan to leave town by 1:30 so we could meet his parents for dinner at 6. We got back to the house, loaded up and hit the road. Sadly, this is the first that my camera came out since I'd hit Texas, as I took a few shots of Kim and Merce before we left.

Richard and I left town and headed north. We were leaving a little later than we had planned, so I didn't get any shots of the scenery (again, I'll have to get shots the next time we're in Texas). As before, had no problem filling the time with talking, and even sang along with a bunch of 80s and 90s music on my mp3 player (lots of Roxette... yes, he's as dweeby as I am!)

We were already running late, so Richard took a moment to drive me past his old school and a few other spots from his childhood, before he called his parents to let them know we were nearly there. Since we were running late I didn't have a chance to check into the motel and change, so I was stuck meeting his parents in my jeans...but at least I had a nice blouse on, so it wasn't too bad...from the front. Being me, I had sat down on a dirty bench at the golf course so I had a big dirt splotch down one leg that I couldn't wipe off.... so I just made sure I didn't turn my back on his parents. Man there are times I go nuts being me... one day without a stain of some sort would be great.

His parents were sweet...his mom, Dixie, is darling (I felt bad that she still wanted to meet me even though she was starting to get a migraine), and his stepfather, Don knows more jokes than anyone I've met. We had dinner at a cute mom-and-pop Tex-Mex place, where I went with the Carne Guisada again (hey, I really loved the stuff!) and I think we had a nice time before they headed home. Richard is insisting that his mother liked me (at least he says she said so), but apparently I kissed Richard a time or two too many while in their company.... which made me feel bad because I don't remember giving him more than a couple of light pecks. I really do need to think more sometimes....

So we left the restaurant and headed back into San Antonio, passing China Grove (from the song...how cool is that?!) and while Richard insists it was a dog, I am still claiming it was a Chupacabra that I saw along the roadside. It had large ears and was tall and lean, and doing some kind of running bounce... it was dark though, so maybe he was right.... but maybe I was.... who knows. We did, however, pass a cowboy in full regalia riding his horse down the sidewalk just down the street from my hotel, which was freaking amazing!

We decided to go see a movie, so we checked me back into my hotel, and then we went to see the late show of "Thor". We'd just settled into the movie when I dumped about a third of my sprite down my front in the dark, and tried to brush it off like nothing happened (yeah, right.... he totally noticed but was nice enough not to say anything about it, other than to ask if I was alright). The movie was great... and it was nearly midnight by the time we headed back to the hotel. Being as geeky as I am, Richard drove us past a huge cemetery that stretched on for blocks... (yes, I love cemeteries...deal with it...turns out he does too). It was a beautiful cemetery...but its a bummer that it was in an unsafe part of town. The area was freaky enough that I was happy that Richard had securely locked my door when he closed my door at the theater (I love how he does that, just makes sure its locked before he shuts the door for me...it makes me feel so safe).

We arrived back to my hotel... he escorted me back to my room (me in my dirty bum pants and, thankfully, now dry shirt) when he kissed me... or I kissed him. At this point that part is a bit fuzzy. It was serious kissing, but he broke it off and started talking about how much he loved and respected me. He was holding my hands at this time, and then said how he'd planned to do this the next day, but that he just knew that he had to do this now. He then got down on one knee, pulled out my ring and asked me to marry him.

Oh. My. Holy. Heck. I mean, I knew at some point during this trip that he was going to officially propose, but I didn't expect this... with me all tired and in my stained pants and citrus soaked blouse.

All I could do was cry and say yes.

I hated to have to break the mood by asking if I could have my engagement ring, because he'd actually pulled out the wedding band and had put THAT on my finger. Sorry, but I wanted the pretty ring (forgive my moment of girly-ness, but I knew what the ring looked like and dang, I wanted it). We were both laughing by this point anyway, so I figured it was safe to tease him about how he'd put my ring on the wrong hand... so we laughed some more and he switched the ring over to the right finger.

He was all serious when he sat down and then began telling me things he hoped and planned for the two of us, and the life we would build together... re-iterating again how much he loved and respected me, and how he was honored to have me be his. He is the kindest, dearest man, and I look forward to having him be the Priesthood holder of our home. I loved seeing this very serious side of him, and the things he had to say had me crying even more.

He gave me another sweet (and completely chaste) kiss and then excused himself for the night... leaving me completely dumbfounded, and giggling to myself (though I blame that on how tired I was by this point).

This was so not what I expected from this night... but it didn't make it any less special, and it will certainly be a night to remember.

Texas Trip - Day Two

Day two in the big and bold state of Texas.....

Day two dawned freaking early.

Remember it was already into Sunday by the time I got back to my room.... let alone crawl into pjs, brush my teeth and get settled in my room.

We'd agreed that Richard would pick me up at 7:30 in the morning. Why so early? He was going to drive me 4 1/2 hours south down to Mission (down by the border) in order to go to church at his ward. Somehow this boy was actually excited to show me off... and I was looking forward to seeing a bit more of where he was currently living.

So my alarm went off at 6 am.... which my body rightly translated to 5 am back home. I hit snooze, rolled over, and passed right out again.... for about 7 minutes until my alarm went off again. No point in hitting snooze again, so I climbed out of bed and headed for the shower.

The nice thing about taking a long drive was that I could dress in normal clothes, and just hang my dress up in the backseat....I still had time, so I did a thorough job of ironing and was still doing good for time as it was only around quarter after 7. At that moment I got a call on my phone from Richard. He was outside and was it okay if he just came up now or should he wait in the car?

I'd just finished ironing my dress, but still had to blow dry my hair and paint my face. Luckily I have that down to about a 10-minute routine, so after receiving a perfectly chaste good morning kiss, Richard patiently waited in a chair by the window for me to finish (strange how being all girly and dolling myself up in front of him was not an issue....) I did, however, make sure that I opened the curtains before letting him in the room.... no impropriety here, thank you very much.

By 7:30 I was taking a last couple laps around the room to be sure I'd packed everything, then he hauled my bag down to the car and drove me around to the front office to check out and pay my bill. Since I knew I was staying Sunday night down in Mission I only needed to reserve a room again for Monday (when we would be back in San Antonio) then we hit the road for Mission.

I'll tell you this much, Texas is flat-out gorgeous. Considering we were on the road at a good clip, and not stopping for pictures (there were a few I wouldn't have minded taking, but they will have to wait until my next trip down south) I was just drinking in a lot of the passing scenery. Its pretty flat, with a lot of mesquite and cactus, but still amazing to gaze at. I am used to having mountains and lakes and trees to look at, and this was refreshingly different, and still a pleasure to behold. We'd drive along and the brush would continue on as far as the eye could see; breaking only occasionally for the entry to yet another ranch, or for some longhorns grazing in a field, or the odd oil pump, drilling away to untold depths.

What was also amazing was that during the long drive south, Richard and I kept up a non-stop conversation with no effort. I knew we had no problems filling the hours with phone calls and Skype, but it was nice to have that easy camaraderie in person. I also discovered that Richard is infinitely patient, as the poor man had to answer question after question that I peppered him with about the things I was seeing. It must have been worse than driving with a toddler... he'd just finish answering one question when another one would pop into my head. But he'd just smile and answer me, and sometimes tenderly kiss the back of my hand, which he held for the drive down (turns out automatic cars really can be good for something...like freeing up a hand to hold!)

We actually made good time (maybe it was my incessant questions pressing him to drive faster?), and we were able to unpack my things and I had a chance to chat with his sister (Kim) and brother-in-law (Merce) before it was time to change and head to church. We'd met and talked before on Skype, but it was nice to get to meet them in person.

By this time the temperature was soaring. Up to this point I didn't know what all the fuss was about.... I'd flown in the night before and it felt nice out... not too hot and the humidity just added a slight cooling touch. When we'd left my room that morning it was still cool out... but by the time we hit Mission it was nearing 105 and I was a puddle of melted girl. I am not a fan of heat under the best of times and this was pretty draining. Luckily it wasn't a long drive to church (his a/c is rather spotty).... and we were back into air conditioned coolness.

Church with Richard was quite the experience. For starters, I don't remember ever being in such a small congregation... if there were 50 people in attendance I'd be surprised. Everyone was nice and friendly, and I was introduced to what seemed like everyone in a very short time. Sitting together in Sacrament meeting was a bit of a hoot at first because, as I stated before, I am a bit taller than he is, and so we had a few moments of whose-arm-is-going-where before the meeting started. I wasn't worried about introducing myself in Relief Society, although the sisters apparently gave Kim a hard time about being sure to be there to introduce me. The time came for me to be introduced and my future sister-in-law was nowhere to be found! So I introduced myself (I'm not that shy really, so it was pretty easy). It helped that, including the primary age gal we had in the class and myself, there was I think only 13 women in the room. In fact, the Relief Society joked about how I really ought to join their congregation rather than haul one of their members all the way to Utah, where there are already more than enough members of the church. I think there may have been one gal not-so-thrilled with my news though. As soon as she heard I was marrying my boy her face sort-of fell. I think there may have been a bit of a crush there, because she didn't look my way again for the rest of the meeting.

I can't count how many people who couldn't wait to tell me what a wonderful man I was getting in Richard... which was oddly touching. That and his Bishop kept glancing at us during the meeting and smiling at us.....I'd accuse Richard of paying everyone off, but somehow I am sure that it was completely sincere.

After church we had to wait while Kim and Merce met with the Bishop, so Richard and I sat quietly in the chapel and just talked. It was nice to just be alone with him again, no matter how brief the time. Then we all drove over to Chuck E Cheese, because Merce's nephew was having a birthday party, so we trooped in and spent the next couple of hours surrounded by screaming kids and being introduced to yet more people. It was kind of fun, but it felt odd to be partying with a huge mouse while still dressed in my church clothes. If I'd only known ahead of time how windy it was in Texas I'd have packed my jeans along... as we were leaving the car and walking into the restaurant a breeze popped up that had my skirt twirling up to my hips! You better believe I held it down everytime we stepped outside again, and had Richard walk behind me to block the wind. That was NOT the kind of impression I wanted to leave behind.

After the party we headed back to the house where we had planned to watch an episode of Doctor Who (that had apparently failed to air because TiVo hadn't recorded it), so we settled for a funny comedy show "Hot and Fluffy" that had me in stitches. They had all seen it before, but apparently its a favorite because everyone was laughing along with me. I found all the big-guy "fluffy" jokes a complete riot...so much that there were tears rolling down my face by the time it was over.

I was getting pretty sleepy by the end, so Richard blew up the air mattress he'd bought specifically for my visit and set up a fan to help keep me comfortable before everyone headed off to bed. I'll give her this... Kim is quite the watchdog.... no excessive kissing when she's around! As frustrating as it was, I have to say I am grateful for her little interventions....

And as for the fan? Well, I actually got too cold in the night and finally had to crawl off the mattress to find the switch to turn it off. What can I say but I am too much of a cream puff to handle what Texas was tossing at me.... what a wuss I am...but, all-in-all, it was a very nice day.