our garden!!

mom this is for you especially.  i wish you could see our garden in person.  i think it looks better that way... oh well =)

this picture was taken June 7th....                         

...and this one (w/out prickers) June 18th

i just got done pulling a ton of picker bushes (weeds-we call picker or pricker bushes in michigan-they 'prick' you when you touch them- for any one unfamiliar with this term )

some of the pictures in this slideshow were taken 11 days ago, some of them taken today.  look for the growth in our plants from just those 11 days!

just click on the flower =)

our garden 2008

english class-potential paper topic

a topic... a topic...
the topic i will be writing about is issues of identity in women. i'm still trying to narrow the age range i'll be focusing on.

i've listened to many women around me who have opened up about things that they struggle with, the common thing seems to be that they feel like they are the only ones feeling what they feel, or that their struggles are unique to them.

i've worked with high school/junior high girls through college age women and have loved the chance to speak into their lives. the issues still linger into adulthood and now that is what i'm around.

i have wanted to write something that could be available for the women who live on campus, visit campus, or attend school where my husband does (where we live), that could encourage them, let them see they are not alone, and help them start to share deep fears, etc, with their friends.

i'm going to be handing out a survey on campus. the audience i'm intending on reaching is there, and i need their input. i want to use the results of the survey even to show them how many people are in the same place emotionally/mentally as they are.

i'm sure my paper topic/thesis/claim will evolve a good deal... i'm okay with that.

any thoughts?

buena vista (and fib ark!)

woo hoo!!

back and finally clean=)                                       

steve/laura, jen/tom, and my steve and i went camping this weekend in buena vista, co.  we got there friday, set up camp, hiked saturday.  the views were amazing while driving around.  we went in to salida to where fib ark was hosted and watched some kayakers, make-shift-raft rafters, and a couple guys surfing down the river with an oar... the arm strength!  i'm gonna start lifting=)   watch out!

the meals were great, the campground and weather were perfect for us, and we had such a good time with our friends.  

i feel like i've come a long way since we moved here 1 1/2 yrs. ago.  i was starting a new nanny position, just working to pay the bills, dreaming of when we would start our own family and being a stay at home mom.  now after different experiences, i still want kids, but not any time soon.  i've found my passion again, and it's attainable!  i've found joy again and passion for life and everything around us.  i love my friends.  

i've been moving around since i was sixteen.  now  at 26 i grow weary when i think about moving to another place, let alone another country (scotland in 2 yrs), after finally getting to a point here where we've found some friends we really connect with on a deeper level.  friends who are real with us, and with whom we can be real (and still have them invite us back... hehe).

so refreshing! 

this is life.  i embrace it.  run with it.  

eng comp. assignment- issue - recycling

i had a hard time picking an issue. 

i know recycling is important, some people don't care about it. personally, my husband and i recycle as much as possible. so i'll talk about it.

last weekend i went to downtown denver for the sidewalk chalk exhibit in larimer (spelling?) square. it was amazing what people did with chalk!

here are a few of my favorite 'chalkings'.

 at the exhibit there were different booths set up for different vendors including a booth unmanned that just had a display box with different items in different little cubbies. each cubby was labled with what the item was and how long it would take to decompose if thrown away and put in a landfill. it was amazing how long. the shortest amount of time was something like a leaf. the longest was styrofoam which doesn't decompose. diapers were rediculous, like 400 yrs or something (don't quote me). glass bottles, plastic bottles, shoes, etc. oh, and plastic bags are aweful!!! i was shocked!

it was even more encouragement to recycle. our trash just builds up over time and the amount of trash we compile in the short time we do is so vast compared to the time it takes for all of it to decompose. we are burying ourselves... this is the same world our offspring will have to live in, and many generations after. is it SO inconvenient to rinse things out well, put them in a bag or bin, and recycle it?! i understand some people don't have access to easy recycling, but there are recycling centers, so just put the stuff in bags, set it aside in your garage (it should be pretty clean after you've rinsed it out, so you shouldn't have a smell problem), and take it in when you get a good amount. less trips, still doing a great thing for future generations, and this planet. how grose to think about a planet that has so much trash built up that people have to build homes etc. on top of landfills, live next to them. a stinky mess.

reduce, reuse, recycle. good idea.

english class intro

hey guys, this is for my english comp class. we are supposed to introduce ourselves, so this may seem like somewhat of an odd entry for anyone not in my english class =)

i am 26 years old. i am married. my husband steve and i were married in august of 2005 in michigan where we are both from. we love colorado and hope to stay. he is working on his master's degree and will be done in may of 2010, so i have until then to finish my undergrad. we are moving to scotland after that for his phd work.

i am working on my BFA (fine arts with a painting concentration). i hope to teach high school art some day. i love working with young women, mentoring, and look forward to having the opportunity to encourage that age.

i love my husband. i love being with him. we love being outside. camping, hiking/backpacking, any water sport. we live right next to the platte, so we enjoy tubing when it's too hot to move. we live on campus at his school and love the community. we both love music. we met in a band... cute. he plays guitar, bass, vocals, and i play mostly piano, guitar, and once i played the accordian to fill a part in a song... anyway. i started taking tap dancing in january 2007 and love it. i love older movies with all the crazy dancing.

i had been working a lot to help pay bills etc. as my husband works on his master's. now he is working and taking classes so i can kick butt and finish my degree before we move to scotland. he is a huge blessing in my life. he is a huge source of support and confidence. he is so good to me.

i love where we live and am excited with the goals and dreams that are ahead of us, God willing!
it's nice to meet you all =)