what would you do?

Earlier this week I posed a question on my Facebook page: What would you do with $141.94? 

It was a basic enough question: if you had this amount of money, what would you do with it? I didn't give any context for the question,but as my friends and acquaintances started to comment, I realized that I wasn't getting the answers I thought I was looking for. Most comments focused on giving back to the community through charity donations, taking care of essentials (bills, groceries, etc) or doing something nice for a friend.

Now, all of these ideas are great, of course! They are things that I myself have said or thought or done when I've had a little extra cash (or when I didn't have a little extra cash but wanted to help someone out or take care of my own family's basic needs).

Each month my husband and I have a designated amount of what we call "fun money." This amount is set aside for each of us to do with what we want without needing to check in with the other person or justify at the end of the month. This amount allows Braeden to get the comics he wants on his pull list, and lets me buy new clothes or get a massage, as long as it falls within our agreed upon amount.

I track my purchases in an app on my phone so I can make sure I don't go over, and as this is the last week of the month I checked in on my balance and realized I still had $141.94 left to spend, which is surprising as I've been known to spend most of my money much closer to the beginning of the month and rarely have much left this close to the 31st. Our agreement is that this money doesn't roll over so there's no benefit to spending under the amount so you can spend more the next month: the goal is to give us some breathing room so we can make some personal purchases and not feel bad about it.

So as I was, albeit opaquely, requesting ideas from the people I know for what to spend my "fun money" on, I was reminded of how good my friends are. How conscientious and charitable, selfless and practical they are. How not all of us are in a place where we can think about "fun money" and instead are just thinking about money, and bills, and responsibility.

All of this is to say that there is no wrong answer to the question ,"What would you do with $141.94." I'm proud to associate with so many generous, thoughtful, practical people. When the very first commenter said that she would donate that money to my own non-profit, how can you go wrong? But when another friend said she would buy herself a new hat, and another said she would take a class at a local craft shop, and a third said a new tattoo, I had to smile because those were the answers I was hoping for, the signs that even though we're all working to take care of other people and our community, we're not forgetting to take care of ourselves in the process.

So if you're wondering what I spent my $141.94 on, well, I still haven't spent all of it. But what I did spend went towards a new shirt and dress and a self-care visit with a health practitioner friend.

And I've still got $41.35 left to spend before the end of the day today.

... Any ideas?

in this moment

There are puppies everywhere!

Also smiles and good food and interesting conversation, and an airstream parked outside.

Right now, in this moment, life feels just how it should.

puppy heaven

We went to the Iowa City dog park for the first time today with our friends Kyle and Claire who are visiting us with their dog Joshua. I was pretty nervous since I'd not only never taken Loki to a dog park before, but I'd never even been to a dog park before: I had no idea what to expect.

When we got there what I found I'd discovered was in fact puppy heaven. We went in through the front double gates and took Loki and Joshua off their leashes before letting them into the park. I was worried that Loki would take off and I wouldn't be able to see him or get him to come back if I needed him, but he kinda hung around close-ish to us for a bit, then started to explore the park and meet other dogs and their humans. He was so comfortable and everyone was so friendly! It was like the exact opposite of our dog-filled neighborhood where just the other day someone yelled at me while I was picking up my dog's poop from their yard and I feel like everyone hates our dogs because Liza barks so much. It was sunny and lovely and even though it was my first time I felt such a sense of dog-loving community. I seriously could have stayed there all day, but we'd left Braeden and Liza at home (we weren't sure if it would be Liza's thing) and I wanted nothing more than for all of us to be there together. I'm now determined to take both our pups back every Sunday afternoon for some lovely family outside play time. Just thinking about it makes me feel happy inside.

Loki was having so much fun I couldn't get him to sit still for a picture.
He was so worn out he would flop down next to me,
but as soon as he saw another dog run by he just had to join in the fun!

Thanks, Kyle and Claire, for helping me see the light and showing me that doggy heaven was closer than I ever imagined. And thanks, Iowa City, for having the best dog park Kyle and Claire have been to in all the ones they've visited in over 20 states. Seriously. Great work!

friends

Since Braeden and I got married I have often lamented to him how I feel like we have no friends. I know we were busy with the wedding for so long and then people were out of town for the summer and and we weren't in the single's branch anymore so suddenly we were out of our previous social circle, but still: it's been rough. It's different making friends with people who have kids already because it totally changes the whole dynamic: they can't hang out late unless they have a sitter or one of them stays home or we go to their house, which is fine except it means we have to be invited, not the other way around. And people with kids have a lot more going on than we do, generally speaking, so it's hard to find time to get together to begin with. Plus did I mention that we're in the Primary so we basically only know 3 year olds at church anyway?

But today I made a new friend. She's in our new ward and has 3 kids—5, 3, and 6 months—and she took a bookbinding class at BYU just like I did, so tonight we got together to make books. It was really fun! It was good because it meant I got to work on some books for my current bookbinding class that I've been putting off because of fear (I don't know why but case bindings always make me very, very nervous) and it was fun to just hang out and chat with someone else about her life and things in general. Plus, she had powdered donuts: always a win.

saturday sale

Today the pawn shop that my friend Jacob works at had a crazy one day sale: of course we went to check it out. It was packed and there was tons of stuff to be had. We went with the intention of Braeden and Jarrod buying an electric guitar, which Braeden did (electric batman guitar, amp, cords, pedal, case, strings, and guitar stand all for under $200), but Jarrod found a beautiful mandolin with which he became enamored and then purchased himself. Me? I bought a vacuum. I had told Jacob that I was in the market for a vacuum (I don't have one at the Grape Escape and consequently my house was slowly being taken over by roving dust bunnies) and Jacob assured me that he had just the item for me: a durable yellow vacuum that he'd been using to vacuum the shop at the end of each day. It was $5 or $10 more expensive than most of the other vacuums, but he said it worked really well. So I bought it. And I have no regrets. While Braeden was on the couch restringing his new guitar I vacuumed my two area rugs, both entrance rugs, then fitted the tube on and vacuumed almost all the baseboards in the house. So satisfying.

Later after work Gloria came over and she and Braeden and I just hung out. I love when Gloria comes over and just hangs out and it's just the three of us and it is peaceful and perfect and we can all do different things but it doesn't matter because we are all just there together. We played this game Careers that I bought at Stuff like a month ago. It's basically like the game of Life but not as colorful and, as the name suggests, career oriented. Also, it was totally sexist. The premise of the game is that each player creates their own formula for success based on units of happiness, fame, and money. Then you travel around the board in various ways to earn these units. Certain things give you more units of happiness or fame than others, though. For example, on the Space track, being the first woman on the moon gives you 2 Fame points and 4 Happiness points, but being the first man on Mars is worth 16 Fame and meeting a mars lady gives you 10 Happiness. Herm... In the Teaching track you get 4 Happiness points when the new principal is a bachelor, and in Big Business you get 4 Happiness points for having lunch with your secretary. Pretty hilarious stuff. For the most part it was pretty fun to play. We came up with a few modifications of our own that we'll implement next time we play.

I love Iowa.

the less you do

Gloria, Braeden and I went to dinner at Jarrod's house last night before heading to campus for the Iron & Wine concert we'd been anticipating for weeks. At Jarrod's condo he mentioned to me the fact that he commissioned me to make him some books almost 2 months ago. Was it really that long ago? Fail. He made mention of how there's really no excuse for the delay since I'm only taking 2 classes and working 10 hours a week. He's totally right. What do I even do with my time? It's a mystery to me as well, folks. Certainly I've been spending a lot of time with the Braeden, but that's still a fairly new development. Before that? I have no idea. Honestly. It really is true what my mom says: the more you have to do the more you do. The less you have to do the less you do. Just because you have a lot of free time doesn't mean you'll be more productive: in fact, it usually means the exact opposite. Story of my life these days. If only I could be a structure person and set up an hourly schedule for myself then actually do the things I've said I would do at the times I said I would want to do them. Maybe I need a life coach to help me with that or something. As it is, I don't even have a regular bedtime routine. Things are just sort of all over the place. And that's fine, except then it means that somehow I only get the bare minimum done. And sometimes not even that.

The Iron & Wine concert was pretty great. It was down at the IMU, or student lounge building thing, and it was sold out: good thing Braeden bought us tickets like forever ago. Braeden joked that I was on a polyga-date since it was just he, Gloria and I because sometimes Gloria and I hold hands (like all the way through the 20 minute movie the missionaries showed us at Jarrod's house after dinner) and that made me laugh. I love Gloria and the fact that she likes to hang out with me and Braeden and it's not weird or awkward, in fact it is more fun because she is there.

This chick Rosie Thomas opened for Sam Beam (his beard made me fall in love with facial hair all over again). Her songs were all about disaster which she told us in her hilariously high, squeaky talking voice (it reminded me of Mel from Flight of the Conchords), but once she started singing she had this beautiful melodious low alto. What?! It was totally jarring every time she went from talking to singing. Braeden and I bought her cd When We Were Small (or rather, Braeden bought it and I will borrow it...) which, sadly, has only singing and no talking, but it's pretty great none the less. She came on later and sang with Sam Beam, too, and it was pretty great. The whole show just had a great vibe to it. Sam made you feel like it was this little bitty concert, which, while it wasn't Madison Square Garden by any means, it was definitely big enough that he could have just stood up there and played his songs, but instead he chatted with the audience and talked to us as if we were old friends.

I love Iowa.

what's with today, today?

Things that I did today:

• Some yard maintenance: swept up some leaves around the side door, put some stuff in the garage, turned the open trash cans upside down so they won't accumulate stagnant water.
• Laundry: the dryer stopped working again so I had to finish up my one load at the neighbor's house: I have the best neighbors in the world
• Cleaned up the studio: since my initial move-in the studio has gotten less and less organized and more and more useless. Today I finally stopped  being afraid and dove in to put everything back in its place. Braeden also helped me take the door off its hinges so now I have to keep it clean since you can see into it from the living room. Good motivation. Also, the door was über obnoxious because it opened into the room in a weird and intrusive way.
• Went to Stuff Etc: my friend Autumn asked me to make her guest book for her wedding in December (so exciting!!!) so I went and found some fabric for the cover today. Their colors are dark teal and silver with a peacock feather accent, so I was hoping to find some kind of crazy peacock patterned something, but alas, no luck. I did find a great satin-y robe though that I think will work just fine...
• Went to Institute: I love my Institute class here so much. We always have awesome discussions, and there are great people and food and it is fun.
• Hung out with the Braeden face: he makes me happy

Additionally, yesterday we took Stephanie's challenge to try the green smoothie a second time. I found a recipe for it in a random Kiwi magazine I found in one of my boots (why are all these strange magazines following me across the country?) so I felt better about the proportions, plus I used the standard baby spinach instead of the funky Farmer's Market spinach so it was so much better. You may view our various reactions below:

Gloria, Me, and Braeden with our fancy London Hard Rock glasses filled with green smoothie take 2.

Bottoms up!

Cue the crazy eyes. Clearly a sign of a successful smoothie. A+.

Additionally, here is a final letter for the letter series of posts. I found these envelopes at this amazing Amish thrift store that Gloria introduced us to and they were only a buck twenty five for a whole box of them. Amazing. Below is the first letter I ever sent using one, to my friend Erin. Because she is amazing.

flip this

Tonight I went with a bunch of friends to see The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at the Cedar Rapids Theater. I had seen the musical previously in NYC with my family and thoroughly enjoyed it, so when Gloria and I saw an ad for it playing in Cedar Rapids, we decided that we had to go. We invited a smattering of people, with 8 of us going in total. And you know what? It was great! We bought the tickets the night of so they were half price ($12 instead of $25), I sat next to my friend Keith who laughed riotously at at the right parts and explained the regional jokes to me ("Columbus Circle is this dinky little town where lots of immigrants live."). When the musical ended we all wished that it wasn't the last weekend so that we could tell other people to come see it, too: the theater was sadly about half full. They had posters and things for other shows that will be there in the future, and I think I want to try and make this thing a tradition. Or something...

After the show we went out to eat at the Dublin City Pub (which was literally one of 2 places open after 5 pm. On a Friday night. Do they not know that after 5 is when people eat dinner? Come on, people. Get it together!) The food was delicious and despite the fact that we were all IDed before we were allowed in, it was a great atmosphere. The music didn't get too loud until about the end, but we were also sitting right by the juke box so maybe it was our own fault? Our waitress was even nice and helpful despite the fact that none of us ordered drinks so her tip margins went way down. What a sport!

All in all it was a great night! Great people, great entertainment, great food, perfect night. I love my friends. Also, Iowa.

Now, back to business...

Staying with the theme of birthday cards, I made this card for my friend Sarah whose birthday actually proceeded Jared's. (Don't worry, she did get the card on time.) Fun fact: Sarah has a twin brother Matt who was the ward clerk in my freshman ward. Small world.

The front. I bought the little cage stamp at Stuff Etc. This was the first project that I used it on.

Here you can see that the cover paper is made from scrap paper, again from Puragory. I love it. The book is a flip book, so this is the first page. Can you guess what it's going to spell...?

Happy birthday! (The complete message read: Happy Birthday Sarah!!!)

Then I wrote a little personal note on the back page.

This was my first real flip book. I would call it a success!

Tomorrow: envelope and letter all in one.

august isn't the only one who can do card tricks

Here are some things that I need to start doing:

• going into work on some kind of regular schedule: this coming and going when I please is nice and flexible but also stressful for me to make sure I get enough hours every week
• drink more water
• eat all my meals: somehow dinner keeps slipping past, uneaten... also sometimes breakfast
• sleeping in my bed instead of on the couches in my living room like a hobo
• changing my clothes every day instead of sleeping in them and wearing them again the next day (ok, so I only did that once, but it really should not have happened: I am not homeless, I shouldn't smell like I am.)
• morning scripture study: I think it'll be better than my sometimes-at-night "schedule" I've got going on right now
• making books because I like to, not because I'm being forced to by The Man

In other news, I made this little baby for my friend Jared's birthday at the beginning of the month. I was inspired by this kid August in our branch who does all kinds of crazy card tricks (he's also the one who hypnotized those girls last weekend: a man of many skills). This card is a flag book, just like the one yesterday, but larger. Also, for a birthday. So, you know, different in every way.

The front...

The crazy, punny inside!

Tomorrow: Flippity floppity birthday goodness.

green smoothie...it seemed like a good idea at the time?

So my dear friend Harold Miller (aka Stephanie Goodson) recommending this amazing green smoothie recipe to me. She RAVED about how great it was and how she's obsessed with it and it is the best thing ever. Green? Smoothie? Two of my favorite things: I had to try it. The recipe, as related to me by Harold, is as follows:

Take a blender. Fill it half full of spinach and add a little water. Then put either a banana or pear or strawberries in and blend it. It looks gross but tastes just like whatever fruit you put in. So healthy and good for you!

I tried some pears, since I'd bought some for this express purpose from this guy at the Farmer's Market on Saturday who had an amazing moustache. I also bought the spinach at the market and maybe that's where I went wrong: it seemed a little more substantial than the spinach I usually buy at the store. Here is a photo play by play of how it went:

Hmmm... It's really green. Also, a little lumpy...

Well, I'll try it anyway.

Uh....

Wellllllllll....

At least I tried it, right?

I'm a little disappointed that I didn't like it. It reminded me a lot of these green grass nutrition shakes my dad used to make when I was little: they smelled like a freshly cut lawn. I seemed to have had a spat of unfortunate ending recipes lately, which is always a bit disheartening. However, I might try the rest of the green smoothie as a popsicle, because everything is better as a popsicle: fact.

This is what I did this morning instead of going to work.

favorite things

Sometimes I feel like a crazy person because I've taken to talking to myself and laughing out loud at things when no one is around, often much louder than I do when there are people present. It's not really my fault: when you live alone most times when you're at home you are alone. And that means not only is there no one present to share my surprise/shock/entertainment with, there is also no one to tell me to quiet down.

I've been doing lots of self-exclaiming and laughing today as I've been reading about my new friend Jacob's job at a pawn shop on his blog. (Warning: his blog has a built-in music player so if you are at work and/or in a place that you don't want music blasting out of your computer in an unexpected way, you might want to take a moment to mute your speakers before clicking on the afore linked blog. Once you are sonically prepared, however, please do check it out: your life will never be the same.) His stories are both hilarious and almost unbelievable in their sometimes absurdity, an impressive combination. Additionally, I sympathize with his useless degree feelings: that is how I felt this last year when I was taking care of kids and doing other people's laundry: I went to college, for this? Really?

Additionally, another new friend, Charissa (KUH-rissa, not CHUH-rissa. Obviously), recently shared this amazing paper clothes link with me (later I found this article that talks about it at greater length and made me even more enamored with it). I met Charissa last weekend at our LDS weekend party thing through Jacob: we complimented each other on clothing (her on my scarf and me on her skirt: "€5, Italy, no big deal") and, because we are girls, that made us instant friends. Also she is amazing.

I think the idea of paper clothes is so facinating—I especially love that these have the details drawn on them as opposed to sewn on and that some of them fold up into envelopes attached right on the clothes that also serve as decorative elements. I am so intrigued by the idea of paper clothes that I want to go and make myself a paper skirt. Right now! But I will try and restrain myself. (It will be easy since I don't have a sewing machine, or any Tyvek handy.) Maybe if I save up enough of those USPS Tyvek envelopes I could piece something together: that would be amazing! (Dear Pen-Pals: take note! You can help me achieve this dream!) It would also be very eco-friendly, another thing I love. A day of favorites, indeed!

oh the hemorrhaging!

Do you ever have those days/weeks/maybe months where your emotions just seem stretched so thin that you have to remind yourself to breathe? I just had one of those weeks. It was one of those unexpectedly tough weeks, where lots of things just happened at all once for no apparent reason, and every one of them added to my stress little upon little until it was almost comical. To give you an idea of what I mean, let me give you a brief, general summary of what happened: a long weekend away from home followed immediately by my first house guest, discussion of neglected friendships, the growth of new friendships, the prospect of new relationships, a dinner date, and a message from a long-avoided former admirer. I have never felt more sought-after or more confused about why.

Despite the stomach ulcers that I'm sure were formed this week, it was also a good week for lots of reasons: I felt like I learned a lot about myself and about other people, about good and bad communication, and about self-restraint. These times of trial and self-discovery are hard. But they have to be that way. I'm learning how to be grateful for them.

Part of the healing process was jump-started yesterday when I got a mix cd and letter from my dear friend Erin and it made all the emotional hemorrhaging of the last week seem to fade away and the world made sense again.

I love mail. Also, Erin.

you scream

There is nothing like a good Double Scoop after a long day of garage exploring, dinner making, and concert going. Especially when it has Sprinkles on top.

PS My Beard DVD came today! No, it's not a DIY beard DVD, it's a documentary about 6 guys who agree not to shave or trim their beards for 6 months and their lives during that time. I. Am. So. Excited.

i scream

There are few things more disappointing in life than when you are expecting a Double Scoop and all you get is a single scoop—and the single scoop is plain ol' vanilla.

i feel much better, both body and soul

I had a rough day today. I'm not really sure why: I was productive around the house, got some gross application stuff out of the way, laundry...things I'd been putting off for a while are finally off my plate. I think my problem was that I started thinking about next week: it is going to be a crazy week. I have a friend coming into town and all of a sudden I have a million things to do all at once. Classic. And as my day progressed it just seemed to get worse and weird and I knew it was all in my head, it was just my attitude, but there seemed to be nothing I could do about it. I felt like I was having a mini-panic attack on my way to class, which, on the up side, got me there in a swift half hour instead of the usual 45 minutes.

Lucky for me I have a friend like Gloria. I went over to her house after Institute tonight and we just talked and were together (I think one of my problems is that I spent so much of my day alone today. That's never good for me). I just love Gloria. I really do. Talking to her tonight made me feel, as she put it, "much better, both body and soul." I love that we are friends, and neighbors, and that she walked me halfway home tonight in the dark and that she gives me a hug when we part and that we understand each other and that she is a hippie. I am so lucky to know her. She completes me. Thank you, Gloria, for being my friend.

army blues

Tonight Gloria and I went to an Army Blues Quintet concert in town and it was great! The bass player was from Orem and went to BYU. What? Small world. He is also married (sorry, Gloria) and has a new little son named Ethan that he wrote a song for and they played it and it was great. I love songs that are written for people... Especially if that person happens to be me. Fun fact.

I was surprised how much I liked the blues concert actually. There was something about the music tonight that made me really reminiscent and it was like the music was directing my thoughts and feelings in a subtle but direct way. It made me think a lot about the different ways that my life could have turned out. I could be married and have a 3 year old by now, and probably still be living in Utah. I could be back in Ecuador working for the organization I volunteered with last year. I could be in Boston working and going to a bookbinding trade school. I could still be at home making bank and living with my parents, but feeling sort of lost and purposeless. I could be engaged to a boy who told me that he would join the army band to support our family if we wanted to have kids right away so we would have a steady income. And it's really interesting to me that all of these options are totally realistic: any one of these paths could have been chosen at any time in my life, and sometimes it was more obvious than others if not choosing them was really the right thing to do. But you know what? I'm really glad that I am where I am right now. I know that this is where I'm supposed to be. So I know that there are good things yet to come: and that makes me happy.

shake shake shake

I love people who make me laugh. I once had a friend who told me that he was friends with people who he thought were interesting and had interesting opinions to share. I thought that was admirable and made him sound intelligent and open-minded. I thought about myself. Was that true for me? Were my friends intellectuals with whom I would often discuss world or ethical issues at length and whose insights I found intriguing and varied? While I certainly do have a friend or two with whom I occasionally discuss those types of important issues with, the majority of my friends fall under a much different category: people who can make me laugh. Also, people whom I can make laugh. It is a simple yet beautiful symbiotic relationship which I find to be perfectly pleasing to my soul. And I think I found a few more of those friends today.

a story of nasel deformity and deliciousness

There is a kid in my singles branch who will go unnamed. Tonight I learned that at a dance he once left a girl on the dance floor in the middle of a song to go get a glass of punch. She cried. It was decided that the only possible excuse for this must have been that the girl had one nostril and he didn't realize until halfway through the song. This logic is flawless. It also inspired me to take this picture:

Do you think that simply having one nostril would cause an immediate abandonment on a dance floor? Let this picture guide your conscience.

On a more sensical note, I hosted dinner group tonight and made pork chops and they were actually amazing. Jared, who is a rather well-versed cook himself, said that they were the most delicious pork chops he had ever eaten. That made me happy. If you too wish to make a record-breaking meat meal, buy Williams-Sonoma The Kid's Cookbook and see page 71, or just follow the recipe below:

Baked Pork Chops with Apples

Ingredients:
4 red-skinned apples
1 T sugar
pinch of ground cinnamon
4 boneless porkchops
salt & pepper
2 T butter, cut into small pieces

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Cut apples into slices and pile into an 8 in square baking dish. (In the cookbook, because it's written for kids, it very specifically describes how to cut the apples into slices. I will spare you the details, but if you feel you need to brush up on your apple-cutting skills—or just love really delicious, simple recipes—I recommend you purchasing the book itself. It is one of my favorites.)
3. Sprinkle the sugar and cinnamon evenly over the apples.
4. Generously sprinkle both sides of the pork chops with salt and pepper. Tuck the chops into the pile of apples, rearranging the slices around them. Scatter the butter pieces over the tops of the pork chops and apples slices. Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil.
5. Bake for 40 minutes. Then remove the aluminum foil and continue to cook until the pork chops are lightly browned and the apples are tender, about 20 minutes longer.
6. When serving, scoop up the apples slices and the juices and place them around the chops.

Makes 4 servings.

I made this recipe successfully tonight for 6, by simply adding half the amount to the recipe (6 apples, 1.5 T sugar, 6 chops, 3 T butter) and baking it in a longer, rectangular Pyrex dish, so feel free to do the same.

PS I got asked out on a date tonight and it made me happy. Hopefully he won't see this one-nostriled picture of me until after our date next Friday...

ps i love the farmer's market!

Gloria, Jarrod, and I went to the Iowa City Farmer's Market this morning. It was Gloria and my second time and Jarrod's first and I am just in love with the Farmer's Market. Farmer's Markets make me so happy that Jared (not the same person as Jarrod but their names are pronounced the same—not confusing at all) said to me two weeks ago, "Is this your first time at a Farmer's Market?" No. It was not. I just love them so much they make me happy and I can't stop smiling, that's all.

Today at the market I bought some green beans and apples for dinner tomorrow (I'm hosting our dinner group and making pork chops baked in apples with green beans and rice on the side—so excited!), some beeswax for bookbinding, apricot goats cheese, fresh mozzarella, dried apple chips, and, perhaps most importantly, some cockscomb flowers (see pictures).  I saw them at the market and instantly fell in love. These pictures don't really do them justice. They are fluffy and coral-y and red-magenta-y and amazing. Jarrod went out into the yard and cut the greens and other flowers and helped me arrange them and do they or do they not look amazing?! MUCH better than the pure hosta arrangements I'd tried earlier.

I bought 3 stems of cockscomb and they were so thick that only 2 fit in my milk glass vase, so I pulled out this little square vase I had left over from an arrangement my mom sent me for my birthday a few years ago and it was puh-fect! I just trimmed the stem way down, wrapped the inside with leaves and filled it with water. Now I have a big arrangement for the dining room table (and dinner tomorrow) and a tiny one for my breakfast table to enjoy every day. Flowers make everything happier.

So do Farmer's Markets.

PPS Jarrod and I made Lemon Soufflé Pancakes with homemade blueberry sauce after we couldn't find the ward football pancake breakfast and it was AMAZING!

Fun fact: it is possible to whip egg whites with just a whisk, but it does take a long time and a lot of arm power: it helps if you have more than one person and one of you is named Jarrod. Here are the recipes for your culinary enjoyment (thanks Aunt Taunya!):

Lemon Soufflé Pancakes  

Combine following ingredients and set aside:
1 Cup Flour
2 tsp Baking Powder
¼  tsp Salt
2 teaspoons of lemon rind

Mix following ingredients and fold into dry ingredients:
¾ C milk
3 Tbs melted butter
1 egg yolk

Whip until peaks form and fold into combined mixture above:
3 egg whites

Adding Blueberries is also AMAZING or just serve with the Blue Berry Sauce!

Blueberry Sauce
 2Tbs. Butter
1/4 C. sugar
1 pint blueberries

Melt butter, mix in sugar then stir in blueberries.  Cook for 2 minutes, stirring.  The sauce is ready when the juice has thickened some but the blueberries still retain their shape.

landlocked film festival

Yesterday and today I attended various showings of films at the Landlocked Film Festival here in Iowa City. I found it almost by accident while walking home from class Thursday night. I saw some posters outside of a theater and on a whim went inside to find out more. I got a program of all the films being shown and talked to this woman there who helps run the festival and she enthusiastically rattled off her recommendations (which was really most of the films). I ended up watching 5 hours of films yesterday and a little more than that today. Don't judge me! I also used the opportunity to make new friends.

Friday I called up this girl Gloria who's from the branch who lives near me and asked her if she was interested in going to one of the film programs that night and she was siked about it! Then, on my way downtown to meet her I ran into this kid Jared who also lives near us and invited him to come too. He had some stuff to do but agreed to meet us downtown when he was done. It was a huge success! There were lots of great films (and several experimental ones that we weren't big fans of) but mostly it was just fun to get to know Gloria and Jared better.

Also, funny story. So when Jared called us yesterday to tell us he was done with his stuff, we were at a program of documentaries and told him to come down to meet up with us and watch those. (One of our favorites was Boat Dreams directed by Sasha Andrew. The opening shot was taken close to the surface of a still lake, as if you were skimming just above it, but it was flipped upside down so the reflection was on top of the frame and what was being reflected was below. It was really trippy and amazing.) It took Jared a while to get down to the hotel where those films were being shown, and when he finally arrived there were only two left. The one he walked in just in time for? Called Period Piece (directed by Christine Robins). Yup, it was about menstruation. Good timing, Jared. Luckily it wasn't too long and he was a good sport about it. (Side note: it was also really funny and well done. If you are a woman—or a curious member of the male gender—you should certainly click on the link above and watch it: it's only about 12 minutes long.)

Between yesterday and today I watched 2 different programs of shorts (that's shorts as in short films, not as in short pants) and liked a fair amount of them. There was a pretty funny, though slightly crude one called Action World by these guys from FND Films (sort of like Barats and Barretta, but different). There was also this clever film called Lydia and Otto that Gloria and I liked a lot. It's tricky, though, you have to listen really carefully to the dialogue. And there was a Pittsburgh Neighborhood Narrative film that I enjoyed called Squared, directed by Jeremy Braverman (no, he's not related to the family in Parenthood. They're just pretend, guys).

Basically, what I'm trying to say with all of this is that I have had a fantastic weekend. I've started to build new friendships, potentially convinced Gloria to move in with me and help me clean up the backyard (she volunteered with excitement and enthusiasm to do that), and generally enjoyed myself in a plethora of ways.

As my mom said before she left, Iowa City is the mid-west's best kept secret. I agree.