When does water expire?

Sometimes I have water bottles that sit out overnight and sometimes I wonder if it's still okay to drink. It's just water, right? Can it ever go bad? What if I put it back in the fridge, then is it okay to drink? What about a water bottle that sits out for a month, or a year? Is it okay? What about water in a glass? A few hours? A few days? At some point there is at least some dust collecting going on, if not more. What are your water drinking strategies? Do you have a reason behind them, or just habits?

I'll know I'm successful when...

There are a few things, besides money and power, that I look forward to as ways that will signal to me that I have become a super successful illustrator:

A. Bethanne will call and ask me if I will take an intern.
B. I get paid to travel to cool places just to write my name for people.
C. I have to get mad at people because they are copying my style.
D. I learn about copy rights and actually care a lot about it because people keep stealing my images. Maybe I even hire a lawyer, or just talk to Aaron a lot. (I don't know if Ronnie still exists, otherwise I might have mentioned him in there also)
E. My work environment has significantly upgraded to include my own computer, an art desk not in the living room, paints that cost more than $40 and maybe even a couple of ipods.
F. I no longer frame my artwork in frames from the dollar store or Michael's clearance rack. (I probably shouldn't do that anyways, maybe that's partly why I'm not super successful yet.)

I don't believe in ironing

It just seems so unnecessary. It takes an extreme case for me to think ironing is required. My mom told me she didn't realize how strongly I believed in not ironing until I transported my wedding dress in the car from Provo to Seattle and still didn't see much of a need to iron. I think clean clothes are important though, to an extent. Sometimes clothes with artistic stains are just inevitable and that doesn't usually stop me from wearing favorite articles of clothing. Clean smelling, that is what really matters. (Unless you are going to an athletic activity in which case it's okay to put on clothes that smell from the last athletic activity because there are just going to smell again anyways. And then you shower right afterwards.... right afterwards.) Let's hear it for wrinkled clothes everyone! Maybe if we get rid of our ironing board we will have room in the closet for our Christmas tree.

Special Skills

As many of my friends and family know I have a love of soap carving. I don't do it all the time, but I still really enjoy it. When I was in NY and saw people all over the streets by the Met selling art stuff I thought it would be fun to set up a little table and try to sell soap carvings. I only had time to go for an hour or so and no one bought any. However, I did have a lot of people admiring my carvings and people seemed really excited about it, especially the family from France who asked to take a picture with me. I have never lost hope that someday, somehow, this could be more than a hobby.
Well, every now and then I search the internet for people looking for illustrators. In the process I found someone starting a gallery in Salt Lake that is planning on exhibiting a variety of mediums from local artists. I emailed her about my soap carvings and she said she is interested in seeing my portfolio! I don't actually have my soap carving portfolio put together yet, but I guess I better get to work on it. I've heard they have professional soap carvers in Asia. I think it's time America branches out the art industry to include this great professional as well.

CM Party

Last night Brandon and I went to his Construction Management opening social. It was great, lots of good food, fun people to hang out with, even one of my illustration friends was there, a chicken wing eating contest, and the best of all: dance dance revolution. I have only played a small number of times in my life but I think it is incredibly fun. Even though I am not any good at it, no one else there was either. So I came away with 2nd place and a blockbuster gift certificate! oh yeah.

Partially eaten plastic spoon

We have a rice cooker and it comes with this nice flat spoon. It's wide and white and plastic and it works really well for browning meat on the stove because it's not wood and it doesn't scrape up the pan. Recently I realized though, that the spoon is getting smaller and is deformed around the edge. I guess when we scrape at a hot pan it melts and it leaves a little bit of spoon on the pan, which gets mixed in with the food, and then we eat it: the food, with a little flavoring of white spoon.

How to feel old when you're young

Recently I found out about my stake aerobics and yoga classes in the mornings, they are really fun and a great workout. Each day is a different teacher and I've experienced different areas of soreness on my body. After the workout yesterday I am having a hard time getting around, I have to move slowly and sit down careful, hold onto a chair when I pick things up off the floor, and my whole body aches. It's kind of ironic because these are the things that I hear you do when you get old. One of the reasons for exercising is that you are in better health so that you don't feel as miserable when you get old. But why wait for all those things when you can experience them now?

And that's how to feel old when you're young.

My basketball prime

I am pretty sure my basketball prime was when I was in 6th grade. I was really good in 6th grade and I think I've just gotten worse since then. Sad, I know. The other day I played some one on one with Brandon and I actually won! We played until 10, my shots counted as 5 points each, his counted for half a point, so I won 10 to 3 and a half. But let's be honest, he wasn't really trying. I'm planning on going to our Stake open gym night to play some more basketball, maybe what I learned in 6th grade will start to come back to me.

O Christmas Tree

Even though it is after New Years I think our little 4 foot tree still has pretty good odds of being up for awhile. Two main reasons:

1. we don't have many decorations in our living room and
2. we only have two places to store things, our coat closet (full) and under our bed (also full)