Okay, well, here I am again.

Turns out it's New Year's Eve.  I guess that means people don't sleep peacefully in their beds at 10:30.  By people I mostly mean my neighbors.  Whom I LOVE, really really I do (that's not sarcasm, Ashley I think you are sweet and adorable), but maybe a little less yelling and jumping?  Turns out we share the same floorboards.  Poor Tonyface has to work in the morning.  I don't, so I can stay up blogging and editing pictures.

One time we made Irish Nachos and drank some fancy Target juice.

Another time we made cinnamon and sugar tortilla chips.

For Thanksgiving I put together an outfit and got vain about it.

The next day we got a Christmas tree.

We made Maya wear a shirt collar.

We had a little visitor.

I drew a picture.

And we did NOT stay up to party all night for New Year's because we are GEEZERS.

2010

I thought about doing a month-by-month recap of my year like I've seen other blogs do, but I decided that I didn't want to be so organized.

So in the words of Inigo Montoya, let me sum up.

This year I got married.  What a pretty big deal that was.  Almost everything else that happened this year stems from that one event.  This year I bought my first pieces of furniture.  I got a piano.  I set up a kitchen and organized bookshelves and tried different duvet covers on our bed.  This year I finally learned what it is to sleep with someone (and I don't just mean what you think I mean), to share all my living space with someone, to begin putting a home together with someone.  This year we built a fence.

We got a puppy...

...and then decided to find a better home for her while we got used to being married, and then 6 months later we got another puppy...

...and we're so very glad we did.

We also got kitties, lost one, found it, and then had to say goodbye to the other sooner than we wanted.

This year I learned about debt, and credit scores, and loans.  I learned about disappointment, heartache, hope, and the power of silence.

I learned about emotional loneliness, and I'm learning again what it takes to make and keep friends.

This year I've experienced the unrivaled joy of being happy with what I have and looking forward to what the future may bring.


So, my New Year's resolution is to soldier on.  To keep my feet moving forward and not backward and not standing still.  Soon we'll enter our second year of marriage and I just know there's going to be challenges I didn't expect, as well as triumphs and other things, and I hope that by this time next year I'll have achieved some goals and know more than I do now.  I hope everyone has a happy New Year.


love,
kayla

Brain Dump

I should probably not be looking up Final Fantasy 4 walkthroughs for my Gameboy Advance right now. 

I should probably be asleep in my bed with my head on my pillow and my butt all scooted up against my sleeping Tony.

Remember when 11:00 wasn't late?  I do.

Would it be bad form to pop the bubble wrap sitting next to me right now?

Tony got me Beauty and the Beast for Christmas, and we watched it tonight.  Do you know that Tony saw Beauty and the Beast maybe once or twice when he was younger and didn't remember hardly any of it?  Tragedy.  He sat and watched it with me, and laughed at the funny parts, and asked me if he was my Beast and if I danced around and sangs songs like Belle when he wasn't home, and he seemed a little swooney over how pretty Belle is.

Beauty and the Beast is my favorite.  Have you read this?:

Do so.

I'm kind of a fairytale lover.  I'm pretty much a sentimental person.  When I play video games like Final Fantasy, I put the characters in order according to their relationships to each other.  When #7 came out, my best friend and I would play it after school in my basement, complete with voices and everything.  We don't hang out anymore, but we still talk about that.

I still have dreams of my first car.  Her name was Towanda, and when I came out of stores and crossed the parking lot to her I was certain that she was happy to see me, like a faithful dog might be.

We're buying another car tomorrow, because both of ours died right before Christmas.  I'm excited about it, and I'll post pictures once we get her. 

She's yellow and I'm thinking of naming her Belle.

Merry.

Hello.

Was your Christmas merry?

Ours was.

We woke up, opened presents (gameboyoldschoolnintendoreloadingkitt-shirtbeautyandthebeasthandmadeblanket+miscellaneousstockingstuffers.  Now that's done, let's move on.)  And then we were treated to a tasty mountain breakfast up the canyon at Silver Fork Lodge by my lovely mother and stepfather.  And then, we snowboarded.  Guess who's learning her toe edge, and also learning about jumping up after a fall?

Snowboarding is exciting to me, because it's something I never thought I'd do.  Mentally or physically.  Strapping me footly into that board was a fear conquered in itself, and actually sliding down the mountain with some amount of speed is another.  This year I'm grateful for a patient husband.

So now we're looking forward to the New Year.  I'm not big on resolutions, but this year I may have something.  Nothing big or concrete, but something that works for myself.

I love Christmas, but I'm a little glad it's done with now.  Our first Christmas together was memorable.  I feel we've got some traditions started, but only time will tell.  The best part, though?  Seeing family.

This year, I got to know my sister better.

Which was a wonderful present in itself.  (But the boots she bought me are cool too.)

O.M.G.

(I never say that, by the way.  Except to Tony, and then only when I'm joking.)


But seriously.  Omg.

This is an earring holder, which I think is pretty genius, because currently my earring holder is one of our glass drinking cups.  Lulz.  (I don't say that either.)  Anyway, it's from here, and it's cute.

Hey, Merry Christmas everyone.  Or Happy Holidays.  You know.  Have you guys been totally gnoshing on Christmas goodies too?  I have, and I need to stop it because it's literally making me sick.  After one particularly treat-filled day I woke up completely nauseous and my first thought was "Oh no, I'm pregnant!" (I'm not) and my second thought was "Salad."  So for lunch today I am eating grape tomatoes, avocado, and smoked ham lunch meat.  It's like a sandwich without the bread, and I don't know why I chose to do things this way because, hello, I love bread.

Please have a Merry Christmas, everyone.  Tonight we're going to my brother's house for dinner, and then I'll be continuing my Holidays tradition of one year and watching The Empire Strikes Back (A New Hope was on Thanksgiving, and Return of the Jedi will be for New Year's.)  Then tomorrow it's our First Christmas as a married couple, which I think is the best thing ever.  I love being married.  We may even go snowboarding.  And then it's FONDUE DINNER WITH DAD, YIPPEE!!!  I love fondue and dads.

love,
kayla

Christmas List

I have a hard time not buying things for myself.  Not on a daily basis, but on days like these when Christmas shopping is involved and I'm spending money anyway, I find myself whispering "No, no," under my breath a lot and steadying myself as I walk away from whatever it is I'm dying to buy myself.  You see, I know what *I* like.  And  not so much what other people like, you know?  I'm beginning to realize that I need to learn how to be a better friend.

So let's get it out of our system, shall we? Here's some things I've been drooling over whilst walking about, trying to decide what my loved ones might be drooling over.

#1.

 

I've been in love with Cat Power for a while now, and this album is first on my list of new music to buy.

#2.

Still.  They just make me all warm inside.  Via VonlenskaVintage.

#3.

These kinds of bowls are delightful and practical and I'd probably want one even if I didn't knit.  Via RedHotPottery.

#4.

I've been wanting to read this for a while now, and I saw it again while browsing Barnes and Noble with my mom and sister.  Once I finish Deerskin, I'll probably find myself a copy.

#5.

Again in the knitting vein, Spud & Chloe yarn is my new crush.

Aaanyway.  Our tree is acquiring presents beneath it, and tonight Tony, Maya, and I are heading over to my mom's house to party it up with a bunch of beloved family. 

Yippee!

No time for blog, only for Facebook status updates.

Today I: ate yummy sushi with my mom and seester, saw my daddy at work, bought a truck, went to a movie, got a babysitting gig, watched the last of The Good Guys, and then my husband volunteered to go to the store to get some cheese so I can have cheesy chili.

Fair Isle We're Having

I can be described as a knitter in the same way I can be described as a seamstress, a baker, a pianist, a crocheter, an artist...  I have a lot of interests, and am more of a dabbler than an accomplisher.  I have a hard time sitting tight with one project/technique/area of interest for too long until another project/technique/area of interest catches my eye.  The result is novice talent in many areas and true mastery in very few.  (This is frustrating for me, but I'm not here to complain.)

But some things I come back to more often than others.  Knitting seems to be one of them.  I'm really not a very accomplished knitter and have completed maybe two (2) knitting projects total; even so, I often find myself hankerin' for some yarn and needles and browsing for a fantastical new pattern to try.  Since breaching the flat/round barrier last year when I knit my first hat for Tony, things knit in the round have been calling for my attention.

Anyway, blah blah blah, this is a lot of words to say "here are some things I love and want to try."

Seriously, these are tops on my list of things I want to make.  Hard to tell in the picture, but they're mittens featuring the first line of the poem "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day."  Via nanetteb.

I am totally digging the slouchy hat style.  Via FatCatKnits.

Give love to this Dia de los Muertos pattern.  Via Erssie Major.

Classic ear-flappy goodness.  Via Julia Leeman.

Lately, Fair Isle has been making me all warm and happy inside.  My grandma immigrated from Norway and her awesome hands knit all kinds of Fair Isle things, and I think I want to get back to my roots or something.  So I'm TRYING really HARD to control the urge to rush out for new yarn and get to work on yet another project, especially with Christmas creeping up so quick and not to mention ALL THE OTHER PROJECTS I HAVE GOING and haven't finished.  Maybe after Christmas.  

In the meantime, I really think someone should buy me these socks.  Really.  Really.

 Via VonlenskaVintage.

Like, truly.  I know they're expensive, but they're calling to me.  If any of you happen to have a rich uncle or a really giving friend or family member, you can tell them you'll donate them to charity and then send 'em on over to me.  It would be charitable, and I would live peacefully for the rest of forever with those babies hugging my legs.

Who likes Halloween?

I'm REALLY tired.  If you point out any typos that may occur in this post, I will snore directly on you.  With my mouth open. 

And now it's time for something completely different.

Halloween was a merry time filled with fun and laughter and dressing up like other people/things.  And even as the grown adult I am now, I don't find this strange.  IN truth, I completely feast upn the opportunity to put much thought and energy into creating thrown-together, not Historically accurate in most ways, yet totally righteous costumes to wear for one night of the year.  Or however many parties we get invited to, which is usually one.

I tend to be a pirate every year.  And even on some non-Halloween days.  I feel pretty confident in my ability to dress like a pirate on a dime and in a flash.  I've been a pirate 4 times in 5 years, taking a break one year to be Lara Croft (*I should find a picture of that, cause it was every bit as cool as I hoped it would be), and then there was that year we decided to switch it up and went as Somali pirates.

So, what were we talking about again?  OH right, murder mystery parties.

This latest Halloween we wre invited by some old, beloved Highschool friends of mine to a murder mystery dinner party.  What was the theme?  Um, pirates.  Because this was one main thing I and those selfsame friensd had in common.  (We watched Pirates of the Caribbean 11 times in the theatre.  I'd say I wish I were kidding, but that would be a lie.)

We were assigned characters and it was all kinds of fun.  I was a saucy seamistress and Tony got to be the Governor or something.  All I can really remember is that his costume was way more complicated than I had anticipated, so most of it is hot-glued together.

The wife of one of my good buddies, Keala, (who also happens to be a local Utah photographer..nudge nudge...) snapped some pictures, which I am proceeding to share with you:

(The dashing be-bearded fellow in the center is Tom, who is good for many laughs.  His character didn't have any thumbs, and Tom's no-thumb one-liners seem to be all Tony and I can remember from the whole night.)

This next picture is because we though Tony made a pretty good George Washington.

Anyway, wasn't that fun?  The night truly was, and I love all my old friends, even though I miss them terribly and some days I really do just want to time travel back to the choice years of high school, just to relive some of the memories.  I'll stop lest I get heady with nostalgia.

* I found an unsatisfactory Lara Croft photo, but it'll have to do.  It's fuzzy, as cellphone pictures are wont to be, and the costume is incomplete - mostly I'm just missing my other gun and I think a leather backpack.  I don't remember.  I'm going to bed.

**All pictures except for the first and last are copyright Keala Casson Jarvis.**

Star Wars: A Rant

So, let's talk about Star Wars.

We have Leia, and we have Han (oh, do we).  And then we have Luke.  Luke, the unlikely hero who goes from Tatooine farm boy to Jedi Hero of the Galaxy in like point five seconds.  (Or several thousand years, depending on what level of nerd you are.)

And the problem I have with Luke is this.  Or maybe the problem I have is with Leia, because do you all remember the scene in Return of the Jedi when in the Ewok village, Luke and Leia are out on the bridge under the moonlight (Death Star-light?) and Luke is gearing up to face his nemesis, Darth Vader aka Dad, and that's when he delivers the blow of a lifetime to Leia by telling her that she is his sister?  And right before then he tells her that should he die or succumb to the dark side, she will be the last, remaining hope for the Rebel Alliance?  And she says "Oh no, Luke, I don't have whatever power you have.  Only you are so great and mighty!"  And he sighs melodramatically and says "I know, right?  I'm such a powerful babe."

Oh wait.  He didn't say that.  Because who the heck is Luke?!

Sure, WE know that he's big business in these movies because thanks to Classical literature we know how to tell who the main hero is.  But to the people in that galaxy far, far away, who is Luke?  A 20-something person who's got some piloting skills.  Okay, so he did blow up the first Death Star.  That obviously earned him some accolades.  And he's got his Jediness, which I guess people are knowing about.  But still.  The only hope for the entire Rebel Alliance, and therefore the galaxy?  Why the hizzle hasn't that boy been promoted to Main Commander of the Whole Star Fleet and Also Everything?

Oh right.  Because he's a farm boy from Tatooine who isn't anybody.  At least not to the majority of the Alliance.  They don't know he's the hidden son of Darth Vader, the second most evil man in the galaxy.  He's just a likeable, talented kid.

I kind of forgot where I was going with this.  I'm re-reading the novels of the films and it's bringing me to all these plot-holes and things, which would disillusion me to the wondrousness that is Star Wars if it were even remotely possible that I could ever be disillusioned to such things.  (Like how much time did it take Han and Leia and co. to reach Bespin anyway??)

So anyway.  Did you know this is my 100th post?  I hope you didn't, because that would be weird, but it is and I guess I had to spend it on Luke Skywalker.  Perhaps it's fitting, because the previous 99 posts were also about absolutely nothing.

Did you know I have a Christmas tree?  Did you know how much I love my Christmas tree?  Because I love it oh so much.  It fills me with warmth and peace and pine-scented happiness.  It is a most full, most magnificent tree, and we got it at the grocery store because the usual tree lot didn't have ANY Christmas trees the day after Thanksgiving, and goshdangit if we didn't need a tree the day after Thanksgiving.

I never know how to end posts, so instead of continuing to ramble, I'll leave  you with this.

Simplicity in Soup

Sometimes, in my busy, very grown-up sophisticated life, I forget about some little things.  The salt of life, easily forgettable yet intolerably important details that make life richer and grander and at the same time simpler.  Wearing socks when it's cold is once example.  Making sure your eyeglass/contact prescription is up to date to prevent headaches and partial blindness could be another. 

Today the nuance I remembered that has improved my immediate life beyond measure, is to put crackers in my soup.

So please take this moment to think of what details you're forgetting, and I urge you to right that wrong. 

And guys, stay warm.

Holiday!

Happy Thanksgiving, all y'all.  Sorry I've been MIA for a little bit.  I've been spending some time getting ready for this big ol' happy Christmas that's on it's way, and then I got burnt out from that and stayed up late being not productive.  (Cough.)  BUT.  Today is Thanksgiving, oh joyous day of happiness and thankfulness and eating until you puke.  !  Our Thanksgiving will not be very big.  But that's okay.  No family coming in from out of town (shame on them), and probably not a gigantic smorgasbord of foods, but I'm sure it will be sizeable and at any rate delicious, because my beautiful Mommy and lovely sis-in-law Julia and I will be making it, and I ask you how that could not be ideal?  As this is my first Thanksgiving as an Official Married Person with a Home of My Own and the responsibilities thereof, I will be contributing in a smallish way,  by bringing only a desert and a salad.  But oh a desert and salad they will be.  You see, they will be these:

A Pumpkin Roll Cake

and

A Spinach Pomegranate Salad.

I know you know that sounds scrumptious, positively.  I'm about to head to the store to get the needed supplies before I turn my kitchen into a cavern of things that smell good and are yummy, and maybe I will let you know how the recipes are after I conquer them.  I even made my own vinaigrette for the salad, so my tastebuds at least are preparing for an epic experience this eve. 

I sincerely truly hope you are all having a wonderful Thanksgiving Day, and that your Thanksgiving Evenings will be equally awesome.  If you are finding in yourself a lack of enthusiasm, might I suggest turning on Pandora and creating a station around Jenny Lewis and Empire of the Sun?  Because that, even being not holiday music, has been filling my home with an atmosphere quite festive and has helped me along whilst I vacuumed and scrubbed and swept and de-greased in preparation for the baking which is about to happen.  Dance as well, cause you're home alone with the pup and you know you want to.

Here's a wintry photo I found a long time ago from I don't know where, to help you get into the spirit of things:

lub,
kayla

Suddenly, pictures! Lots and lots of pictures.

Tony's best friend, Enrique, works at a gold mine about 5 hours into Nevada, in a teeny town called Round Mountain.  Really, there's nothing there at all.  As you can imagine, it gets pretty lonely out in the middle of nowhere, so we went to visit him last weekend. 

Tony and Enrique are all into guns right now, and on a previous trip they discovered this mining settlement that had been abandoned for one reason or another which also serves as the perfect place to unload a lot of ammo.  So we went shooting.

This is Enrique and me.  Enrique is an incredible shot and shamed us horribly.  I wasn't too bad with this one gun, for some reason.

Here's a righteous photo of the boys.  Note Tony's security with his manliness in wielding that adorable little gun.

I love the kid.

The dogs came too.  The cute little one is Lily, Enrique's pitbull puppy.  The black one is our baby, Maya.

It was a little chilly, so I spent part of the day huddled in the truck, knitting.  Cause I'm just cool, you know?

The location was completely rad .  It reminded me of Fallout: New Vegas, for those of you who know what I'm talking about.  While the guys were setting up targets I wandered around and took some photos.  I really wanted to capture the sun-bleached, atmospheric desert quality that I felt there, so I tried to let tons of light into the lens and get all the desaturated deserty colors I was loving so much.  (The minty sage green and ultra pale yellows and browns are my color combo crush right now.)

You can see the whole set at my Flickr account.  I'm pleased with how they turned out.  It was refreshing to just let loose with the camera and snap to my heart's content.

Peace out e'rybody.  I made vanilla pudding from scratch tonight and there's no way I'm going to let it just sit in the fridge for later.  Night!
kayla