You've probably noticed I haven't blogged in a while. Mostly because I have been avoiding this post. (Second Post of the 30 Post Challenge and I'm already avoiding... terrible, I know).
This has been a problem with me lately. Trying to find something that inspires me. My job is stressful and constant so I haven't had very much free time for creativity. So instead of something awesome that I would have if I was a little less busy, I'll give you my current "Keep Me Sane" Inspirations I have in daily life.
Knowledge - Lame... but so true. I have been like a knowledge-suck recently. Anything and everything I can get my hands on. I read articles at stop lights and research topics while sitting in traffic. It's addicting and I've been feeling a little OCD about it. I recently installed a TIME Mag app on my phone, so between CNN, MSNBC, TIME, Google, Discovery Health and Perez Hilton..... I research at least 25 different subjects a day.
I'm sure you're wondering how this inspires me... It keeps me searching... searching for something better. Some sort of new health plan, lifestyle, money management, travel destination, style or home decor, etc. It keeps me always striving for something more interesting to add to my life and I read a lot of parenting info for future reference.
For PERSONAL inspiration - the answer is easy.... my relationships.
I have amazing friends who are all embarking on different journeys in life. I love it! They inspire me on all different levels... to be a better friend, co-worker, individual.
My family inspires me everyday with their unwavering faith... both in God and in each other. They keep me striving to be the best sister and daughter I could ever be.
And of course... these two:
J inspires me everyday to be a better wife and life-long partner. He challenges me by trying to help me get back to my creative energy and inspires me by being so confident in his own creative nature. He also has made me realize the importance of being "present" in every day life and with those you love. And of course Cleo... inspires me to work out our parenting styles now before we have a our own little bundle of joy.
Hopefully I won't avoid the next post for so long... Post 3- The five songs you would have with you on a desert island and why.....should be easy. That is, if I can reduce all of my favorite songs to the 5 I like best..... ok, maybe it'll be tougher than I thought. ;)
Guilty Pleasure. Hmmm. I don't know if I will be able to define A guilty pleasure. I have SO many. I'm filled with little obsessions that keep everyday interesting... I will name one of my top ones.
RESEARCH: I'm a bit of a knowledge whore, I guess you could say. Terrible to use "whore" in a post but I really don't know how else to describe it. I ADORE researching stuff. And when I say "stuff" I literally mean everything and anything! Thank the Lord I have an unlimited data plan on my cell phone! This past month, my data usage was just over 89,000! ... I don't really know what that means but J's was only about 67,000 so it has to be a lot of use in a month! Anytime a random question comes up (such as "where did that phrase even come from?" or "what year did such-and-such happen?") I AM ON IT! I often tell J I would like to go back to college and get another major JUST so I can research and write papers on things. Lame. But EXHILARATING at the same time ;)
Just to give an example of how painfully fun research is to me, I will give you a quick story... When we lived in Vegas, I begged a friend who had been to Area 51 to take a group of us out there. He promised me that he would take us... IF ... I could find him a specific vehicle. He gave me a year, make, model, color, interior, price range, tire details, distance of purchase, etc. After only 30 MINUTES, I emailed him the EXACT vehicle! He was stunned to say the least... but unfortunately never upheld his promise.
Twitter, embarrassingly, feeds this research need. CNN updates are probably my favorite thing in Twitterland! I read an article and then click on another one, then another one, and just keep clicking until I realize I've been researching meaningless crap for a half hour. Another aid to this guilty pleasure are the How Stuff Works podcasts! I am obsessed! And listen to them over and over. You can check out their site here. But BEWARE if you download them on iTunes - totally addicting.
As I mentioned previously, two of my best friends from high school and one of my best friends from Utah got married recently. Through all of the nuptial activities I surprisingly received a lot of comments about our own wedding. Now don't get me wrong, J and I loved EVERY bit of our wedding ceremony and reception but we know that it was ... well... WEIRD. Growing up in Oklahoma gives you a very specific mentality about weddings. They need to be classy, upscale, detail oriented and fabulous!
As Joel put it when telling some of our friends about our big day: "You know those weddings that you see on TV that you don't think really exist? That was the wedding we had!"
Needless to say, Oklahoma weddings often seem to have something to prove. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying anything negative about the wedding culture in Oklahoma. It's just that seeing the wedding culture in Nevada and Utah has opened my eyes to just how lucky it is to be married in a state with such a high standard.
Joel and I assumed most people wouldn't understand our wedding and I expected the jokes and scoffs I got from so-called "friends" at our reception. BUT (to my surprise), two years down the road and I have received so many loving compliments and comments.
As one of my friends said: "Weddings always seem to be classified. There are awkward ones, tense ones, funny ones, etc. Yours definitely fell into the romantic category." ROMANTIC?! Does that mean people got it!? At each wedding I have been to this season, I have been told that! I even had some of my parents' friends tell me it was the first wedding they had been to where they could tell the couple was completely and truly in love. My response was Shock and Awe.
Our wedding was every bit of weird! J grew up LDS but hasn't been a practicing Mormon since about 10. I grew up non-denominational Christian but have not found a church in Utah yet. Regardless, we wanted someone to marry us who truly knew us (both as individuals and as a couple). So.. we settled on our Native American Medicine Man who had done all of our premarital/personal counseling.
We had a Native American ceremony complete with Eagle feathers, smoke and a Pendleton Blanket Ceremony. (You can imagine the initial push-back we received from my parents). My dad read a Native American prayer too... which meant a lot to me!
We wrote our own vows which were utterly beautiful :)
Side note: I know what you're thinking.. BLANKET CEREMONY?! The ceremony is the Native American equivalent of lighting a unity candle. Basically, the two mom's each bring a blanket that is representative of the individual and place it on each person's shoulders. Then, the blanket is removed by the Medicine Man and replaced with one blanket that represents shedding your individuality and becoming one under the Creator.
Besides the ceremony, we had completely nontraditional wedding music too. I walked down the aisle to a piano version of "Hey Jude" by the Beatles.
J's lovely sisters sang the Beatles "In My Life" during the blanket ceremony.
And after the kiss, the wedding party exited to "When I'm 64" ... again... by the Beatles.
So after growing up in a culture where picture perfect weddings are the norm, you can imagine the negative feedback I expected to receive from people who were petty and immature. Surprisingly, only one group of "friends" responded in that way. And two years later, I'm realizing... people got it. They got us. They felt the love, sincerity and passion that J and I wanted to encompass our PERFECT day.
I couldn't be happier to be continuing the journey of life with J. Can't wait to see what God has in store!
Moving Forward: J and I have had a lot of discussions lately about my creative passion and reigniting my love for painting/writing/crafting/etc. I feel stuck when it comes to being creative. So, in order to hopefully reignite some passion, I was thinking about taking this 30 Post Challenge! You're supposed to do it every day but since I run out of time to blog usually, I am going to do it in 30 posts! I'm going to do my VERY best to stick to it too :)
Day 01- Guilty pleasure. Day 02- Something that inspires you. Day 03- The five songs you would have with you on a desert island and why. Day 04- What you imagine paradise to be like. Day 05- A thank you letter to someone who has changed your life. Day 06- Earliest thing you can remember. Day 07- Favorite cover of your favorite song. Day 08- Someone you think would make a good president. Day 09- Five things you want to see change. Day 10- A dream you had this past week described in detail. Day 11- Favorite picture ever taken of yourself. Day 12- Your favorite musical artist’s life story. Day 13- A memory that never fails to make you laugh. Day 14- Best mashup you’ve ever heard. Day 15- A moment, phrase, or song that has changed your life the most. Day 16- Something that you want to do within the next five years. Day 17- What you want to be remembered for. Day 18- A picture that makes you feel. Day 19- A passage from a book that has touched you. Day 20- A band that you immediately liked and the song that made you like them. Day 21- Your favorite medium of art. Day 22- Someone you would give your life up for without question. Day 23- Most awkward first impression you feel you’ve ever given. Day 24- Something you did as a child that other people remember you for. Day 25- Something you would do if no one stopped you or if you knew you wouldn’t fail. Day 26- Your definition of love. Day 27- Your definition of the meaning of life. Day 28- A moment you remember being completely happy in and a description of why you believe you were. What is your definition of happiness? Day 29- What you live for. Day 30- Ways you believe you have grown over the past thirty days.
Even though I have lived away from Oklahoma since 2007, I still get homesick. I miss my family, I miss my friends, I miss my favorite restaurants and hangouts.
This is the first summer I've actually not been intensely homesick and sad! I love how outdoorsy people are here and have been relishing in the beauty of the state. (It helps that we've had gorgeous weather).
Since I never get to use my season tickets for OU football and they RARELY even play them on a TV station in Utah, I also go through MAJOR OU football withdrawals. Luckily, REAL Salt Lake games help fill my OU void. The games are awesome! The stadium holds just over 20,000 people so it's only about 1/4 of the size of OU's which is 82,112. That makes it the 14th largest college stadium in the US. The record attendance for OU's was set during a 2008 home game against Texas Tech University, with 85,646 in attendance!
Anyways, REAL won the MLS Cup last year so it was a pretty big deal. They also have a franchise-record unbeaten home streak of 20 games. AND... they sell beer :)
Joel and I have started embracing the UT Trax system as well. I liken it to a clean, above-ground subway. It's a ton of fun and super cheap way to get from downtown to just about anywhere. AND, there's a trax station about a ten minute walk from our house!
Utah is also a great place for outdoor events. They had a ton of festivals and outdoor festivities downtown. Their farmers market is awesome and busy! AND always a good source of free entertainment :)
They also have a Twilight Concert series. Every Thursday evening, they bring bands in to perform live outside for free! That's right ... FREE! The first one of the summer was Modest Mouse... about 40,000 Utahns attended! There were so many people that the park was labeled at capacity and they had to count people in and out of the gate. CRAZY!
I'm sad to say that it's officially August which means summer is coming to an end. Summer is my favorite time of year so I am VERY sad to see it go! I'll just have to seek out more fall entertainment. Here's to hopin....
