Unlock

I love that the car we bought last summer has a remote to unlock it, it's so convenient. I subconsciously must think it unlocks everything though because I always push it when I am headed to our other car and sometimes even to unlock our apartment. That would be so great if it worked. But it doesn't.

Butter

We regularly keep 3 kinds of butter in our fridge. The sticks for easy measuring when cooking, the spray for convenient buttering of toast, muffins, etc. and then the tub stuff because ... ? ... sometimes we run out of one of the other two. I love the butter spray because you can put as little or as much on as you want. Maybe I'm just not that great at working a butter knife but sometimes to get butter spread on the whole piece of toast, it sometimes seems to be more than the ideal amount. So that's my recommendation for today. Butter spray. yeah, it might cost a little more, but if you eat less butter it will help your heart. One draw back I do have to mention is when you spray your toast, be prepared that it will be spraying whatever is behind it as well- depending on how good your aim is.

the weekend stamp

On Friday we went to see a friend's band play, it was fun, great band. And the hand stamp they gave us was almost bigger than my hand. I remember being single and more frequently doing things on the weekend that required a hand stamp. Although they were ugly and probably contribute to the ink poisoning I'm already going to get, but it also made me feel like I had a productive weekend. I went out and did something fun, that's why I had a big faded blot on my hand.

Coveted Talent

Do you know what talent I've always wanted to have? I wish I could go running really fast down some grass and then just do a series of hand springs and end with a couple of flips. It just looks like so much fun. And it seems like a good way to release some energy when you're really excited about something.

Leftovers

Brandon and I decided to celebrate that I finished my book and go out to dinner and then see a movie. It was on Halloween so we missed all 10 of the trick or treaters that would have come by our house. We have a huge bag of candy sitting in a bowl, so to anyone who has kids that want a second run around with their Halloween costumes, feel free to come by our place.

Alleluia!

October is over. I illustrated a book in a month. It was insane. But it was worth it. If you are curious what it takes to complete a full color children's book in one month here are some things that make it possible:
don't bother cleaning for the month- consider the clutter a developing art project, eat at Zupas as many times a week as possible, only expect to see all of your friends an accumulative time of twice, you'll have time to go to the gym exactly zero times or less, frozen pizzas and Little Ceasars will save you time from making dinner, other frozen meals work as well, don't bother showering or changing your clothes, it's not like you see anyone (okay, I didn't really do that, but you could), watch at least 3 seasons of a TV show while you work, whether it's interesting or not, listen to at least 4 audio books, let your spouse buy you flowers and awesome slippers for working so hard, and even though it seems like the month will last forever... it will eventually come to an end. Alleluia!

Surprises

Today Brandon came home earlier than expected, which is always a great surprise. Not only that, but he was carrying flowers! How sweet, huh? Then, as if that wasn't enough he bought me new slippers! My old ones were getting kind of floppy and they definitely aren't made for going outside. Now I have nice fuzzy shoe/slippers. The best part was I had looked at the exact pair he picked out and wanted to buy them, but he hadn't even been there to know what kind it was. He just knows what I like. He said I deserved a surprise for how hard I've worked on this book all month. I'm so lucky.

Sweet old lady

I've mentioned before some humorous things about helping out Hazel, a cute 91 year lady. We were trying on shoes today and she always has a difficult time finding ones that are comfortable. She was trying on quite a few pairs and then she had on a pair that she was considering buying. I don't think she could tell what the pattern was on the shoe, perhaps just an abstract black and white pattern. Really, it was skulls and cross bones. I laughed to myself, kind of hoping she would buy them. (she didn't though)

Those boots

Looking at that old mission picture (see below) reminded me of those ugly boots that I wore for SO long in the wintertime. I had a district leader who would tell me how hideous my boots were. (he must have thought I didn't realize that since I wore them all the time) He told me that I had to burn them immediately when I got home otherwise I would never get married. I refused though and I still have them. (in case anyone would like to borrow them, they're very durable- still in great shape- maybe a little smelly) I am glad that I can now say that I proved him wrong. (I would have said that over a year ago, but I forgot about it)

Heaters

Now that the cold has set in and we are drinking large amounts of hot chocolate, we are also using our heater way more than I would like to. It's not even close to the middle of winter and it already seems like our heater is running most of the day. The reason for this is that our door and windows are so drafty- really old with big gaps, it's like we're heating a tent. It's not very effective.
If we didn't live in a tent and ran our heater this much I'm guessing our apartment would feel like the apartment of some friends I had on my mission. They were from Africa and didn't really like the cold. In the middle of a Toronto winter they would cruise around their apartment in flip flops and shorts because they cranked their heater on so high. We would come in with our boots, hats, gloves, scarves, 3 pairs of socks, thermals, fleece skirts, another hat, sweaters and coats, and just start shedding layers as fast as humanly possible so we wouldn't get heat stroke upon arrival.

(p.s. the picture is me & my companion posing with Wiarton Willie- Canada's version of Punksatony Phil.)

One Man's Trash....

20" Toshiba, probably from 1985. Slight green tint on the bottom half of the screen. Brandon just found a new TV for us in the dumpster behind our apartment. He is pretty excited and we are watching Rudy on it right now.

Best Deal Ever

My sister commissioned me to do an illustration for her friend's wedding. It was a simple picture and I only took a few months to get around to it. The best part was my payment - 10 free meals from Zupas! (one of my favorite restaurants - and she just so happens to work there) Not only do I get free food any day of the week I want, but it is so delicious! I don't have to cook, do any dishes, and on top of that there is free delivery and fun visiting with Heather thrown in as well. If she had my name for Christmas, I know exactly what I would ask for.

Baby-sitting Highlights

We have been watching our nieces (ages 8 & 5) for a few days while their parents went to NY. Lauren (5) had some entertaining things to say. She told me that we should buy a house, and that I don't know much about houses, only apartments. Little does she know I have not lived in a one bedroom apartment my whole life.
Since I had a lot of paintings to finish, I took over the kitchen table with painting supplies. After a few days of painting day and night I was informed they had never left a mess on the table for that long before.

When Brandon was reading them a book I brought (Roger the Jolly Pirate) he was telling them how I knew the author and Lauren asked if he was a real person, Brandon responded yes. I heard her asking a few more questions throughout the book like, "So this really happened?" and I'm pretty sure she thinks Roger the Jolly Pirate is real and that I know him personally.

How I am dishonest...

BYU has absurd parking regulations. You're not allowed to park in visitor parking if you are a spouse of a student, but whenever I'm going up to campus I'm there for business purposes, nothing related to my spouse at all. So that's my rationalization when I use visitor parking.
However, after I park as a non-student I go into the HFAC and use the really large expensive scanner that they have for students. I'm not a student, but I figure I'm still paying tuition and Brandon could do the scanning for me if it really had to be a student. And that's my rationalization for that one.
I realized that these conflict though, I'm rationalizing that I'm not a student in anyway, then I use student services. So now the question is am I dishonest for doing both of those things, or only the combination of the two? Or only if I steal the scanner while I'm there? (that would be so awesome to have)

Creepy

While Brandon was at school this evening this really creepy, large man kept staring at me while he walked by our apartment. Even though it wasn't that big of a deal, it freaked me out and I was too paranoid to get any work done so I went to the mall until Brandon finished his test. While I was at the mall I found some great shoes that I bought. Thanks really creepy man!

A Horrible Wife

I used to try really hard to make balanced meals, lots of vegetables, etc. Lately I have been doing a lot less cooking, it just takes so much time and I haven't made it a priority. So we have been eating more pizza and frozen food than ever before. I just went to the store and probably 90% of what I bought came from the frozen food section and it barely fit in our freezer. I keep telling myself it's just for a few more weeks, but I am scared I am starting a really bad habit. If Brandon and I are starting to look a little wider, now you know why.

Addiction Requirements

Brandon has been giving me a bad time lately because in the past few weeks I have watched almost 2 seasons of Smallville. Yeah, I know, who would actually admit to that? Cheesy lines, bad acting, but I watch it anyways. I just wanted to find a show that's not too trashy. And I don't have the patience for 24, you have to wait so long for a conclusion. Brandon teases me that I am addicted to it, much like my many many friends who have experienced the 24 addiction. However, I just want to clarify to anyone who might hear this rumor, it is untrue. I do watch hours and hours of Smallville, but I assure you it is not because of an addiction, but out of complete boredom. I have no one to talk to while spending hours a day with just paper and pens. I could become like Beatrice Potter and talk to my drawings, hoping they will come to life, but I am saving that for a last resort.

New Post

For those of you who have given up on checking Brandon's blog because he never writes anything, he actually posted a new one and it's really funny. I have watched the video clip close to 20 times now and I think I have all the songs memorized.

Saints in Ghana Art Show

Some of my friends from BYU are putting on an art show in the HFAC. Tomorrow night there is an opening reception from 6:30-8:30pm. They did portraits of people they met while they were in Ghana for 2 months. There are some really great pieces, so if you live in the area you should check it out!

Winter

One of the best parts about winter time is the gallons and gallons of Stephens Mint Hot Chocolate I will consume. Costco's 4lb tubs are the way to go. Tis the season.