Wedding Venue

Just over a month until our big day! The estate in which we are getting married at was featured as the GR Symphony showcase house for their big fundraiser. Here is the link, pretty cool to see how the building once looked back in the day:

Click here to see Wedding Venue

I am not a baker

When I was younger, I never wanted to make the cookie dough, I only wanted to eat it. While my older sister enjoyed throwing together the butter, sugar, and whatever else goes into cookies or cakes, I much preferred using a box and adding a little oil and eggs.

It was Nate's birthday this past Tuesday and knowing that he isn't a big birthday cake fan, I decided to make and decorate a giant cookie for him, just as his mom did. I emailed her to see if she had a special recipe, but she often just used the one from the nestle's toll house bag, which I have yet to see here in the UK.

After looking up lots of recipes online, I settled on ole' trusty and bought a mix...easy peasy...just add water! Unfortunately, the dough was a bit sticky and the rolling pin was not an option. As I tried to spread this sticky dough into a big cookie, I seemed to get more of it on my fingers than have any success at "rolling" it out. After throwing some icing on it, wah-lah!


Thankfully(!) it was easier on the tastebuds than the eyes and we devoured it quite quickly. Maybe next year I will give a real recipe a try...

Youth & Art

This is a link to a video describing a project that Tate Forum is part of, sponsored by Louis Vuitton. When I interned at the Tate Britain, this 3-year project was just in its beginning phases. 5 Art Gallery youth groups are involved in the project, which is endorsed by the likes of Tracey Emin and Jude Law (whose sister is apparently an established artist - who knew?!)

Check it out, awesome progressive project!

I would like to live...

here, here, or here please.

isn't this just the cutest little bottle of beer ever?

On a walkabout

Today, I decided to take advantage of the nice weather and went for a little walk. Life has been a bit hectic these past few weeks, but things have recently calmed down. It was nice to walk around the neighborhood and although I stumbled upon a delicious looking Mediterranean restaurant, I mostly found myself fluttering about with the springtime flowers.

Swings on the playground in our complex

Flowers & leaves: spring is certainly here

Church door near our place

Budding tress in the church yard

iddy biddy blue petals

My new best friend: Berty

Blooming cherry blossom trees, reminds me of Korea

Full bloom

I've really been enjoying the vintage/antiqued effect that iPhoto offers. As you can see, the photo above is unfiltered while the following uses one. It gives a sense of nostalgia.

More blossoms

Perfect Park Day

A few friends, a few beers, and a lot of sun.

Screenprinting

This past week, I had the opportunity to participate in a Screenprinting workshop with the Tate. Needless to say, this was an exciting opportunity to not only interact with a famous artist (Allen Jones), but also to spend time at the London Print Studio producing our own work. It felt great to get the creative juices flowing again and reminded me of how exhausting it can be. Being able to understand the process of screenprinting from beginning to end was fun and my friend and I hope to return for some open studio sessions. Here is an image of a dual color print I did. First, we laid down the solid red color. The bottom part is actually a blown up outline of the place we are getting married at this summer. The second color (the flowers and plants) were printed on top of them using new screens. Hopefully, I can bring these in and do a bit more with them at the shop. I also want to experiment with some stiching on them. If all works according to plan, we might hang some up at the big event this July. We'll see if I'm that ambitious though :)

Playing catchup, ketchup

So many words could be used to describe what life has been like over these past however many months, but I honestly don't feel like sitting here and spelling it all out! Instead, here is the abbreviated version: I finished working at the GRAM last November and moved to London to be with Nathan shortly thereafter. Life here has been going very well although not without its frustrations, which are expected upon moving to a new country, right? (I'm sure many of my friends who have lived abroad can attest to this). While Nate busies himself at work, my time is spent studying and interning at the Tate Britain. The job itself is very broad and can be best summed up as helping facilitate the youth program for 15-25 year olds. Through this post, I've met some really cool young people and would love to see this type of program thrive in the States.

As spring approaches, the weather is starting to pick up and I'm trying to put in a few more runs. We have friends visiting early April who are training for the riverbank and I want to be able to keep up with them at least for the first few miles.

Hopefully the updates will be a little more frequent and possibly in the form of a photo here or there. I'm thinking of segueing this whole blog thing into a photography thing instead and am choosing to leave you with these two snaps. One was taken in the bathroom of a gas station and the other was en route to Devon: drip drop.

6 months...wow

Time flies. It's been close to 6 months since my last post! A lot has happened in these past six months too, but I haven't been keeping up on the little ole' blogger here. Most people who read this already know that Nate and I got engaged this past July. He came home for what was supposed to be 2 months this summer, but ended up staying for 5. He had some difficulties obtaining his sponsorship number and new visa, which he needed before he could return to life in London. Needless to say, it was great to have him around for us to spend time together and also for our relationship to grow. He has since returned to the UK and I am hoping to be there in time for Christmas.

Yes, I am moving to London, which I'm very excited about. I returned to West Michigan hoping to be here for about 2 years, which I passed in September. I finish work on November 25th. Overall, it has been such a great learning experience for me at the museum and I have developed an interest in so many areas of museum education and youth programming, however, I am excited to have my Saturdays back and do feel that it is time for me to move on. What I will do in England is yet to be determined. I hope to find something part-time thus allowing me to focus more on school work.

After this semester, I am pretty sure I will be over half way through in my gradschool career (I have to double check the requirements). I've been in touch with my adviser and it has been approved for me to look into internship opportunities in the youth development field. Although I would love to find something that connects youth with art, I'm pretty open to the possibilities in that whatever I find will ultimately diversify my experiences. We will see.

Other than that, not much else is new. I moved back with my parents to save some money and boy, what an exciting and challenging move it has been. Anyone who is in their mid-late 20s and living with their parents should be able to relate. They have been gracious hosts though and overall, it has gone smoothly: I've introduced them to some vegetarian cooking and they have reminded me what my childhood was like. haha.

I'll leave you with a picture of myself side-by-side with my hunky hunk:

a trip to the past...

Who didn't have one of these...

Who paid that girl...

...to walk through the background?

video removed

oh sweetalicious

I gave up sweets for lent. It was more of a personal challenge to see if I could actually say "no" to all the donuts, chocolate, cookies and other delicious and delectable edibles that I encounter daily. I must admit, I have never been a huge connoisseur of sweets until more recently and it was not always easy to accomplish work while slices of sexy chocolate cake or plates of irresistible looking almond bars bore down on me enticing me to fail. To conquer this feat, I had to keep in mind the expression, "out of site, out of mind"...and that I did. I physically moved the chocolate cake slices to another person's desk where I could not see them, and I carefully propped a large book up to obstruct my view from the bars. I survived 2 birthday celebrations that included triple fudge chocolate cake and delicious looking ice cream cake and swore at my roommate for cooking her infamous cupcake concoctions. It was a rough 40 days.

I must admit though that it got easier, and I quite enjoyed my diet sans sugary baked goods, candy and sweet drinks (um...hot cocoa anyone?). It wasn't until this past Sunday morning at about 12:30 am when I realized it was in fact Easter. I was so overjoyed that I grabbed a handful of starburst jellybeans and popped the entire thing in my mouth. It was as though my saliva glands rejoiced at the taste of sugar and fake fruit flavoring that I started to drool a little bit out of my mouth. The past two days have been ridiculous as my stomach is mostly filled with an assortment of dark chocolate coconut treats, cupcakes, gummy bears and anything else I can get my hands on. I guess that is why we should not fully deprive ourselves of certain things b/c when we allow ourselves an inch, we take a mile. I'm toying with the idea of restrictions and limitations, but to be honest, I'm such an all or nothing kind of person - it makes it hard to find a doable medium. Say I choose only to partake in sweet endeavors on holidays and birthdays...what about when I'm camping and want a smore? Or what if my mom make's my most favorite Fruit Pizza and the day doesn't fall within the parameters I've setup? I'm taking this week to think about it and also indulging in all the naughy sweets I can get my hands on..

listen up...

...cos I gots lots to say.

Not really. This spring is ticking along and with that lies my deep desire for actual spring weather (is that the correct use of "lies"? I never get it right). There have been 4 major things on my plate as of late: work, school, training and my vacation. To begin with, work. Work has been keeping me busy as we amp up for spring workshops, spring break programming and summer camps. It's all very boring so I won't go into details at all. Then there is school, a constant presence during my "non-work" hours that keeps me awfully busy. I'm taking one course this semester but have signed up for two this summer. I might actually become non-existent as I balance two months of 6-day work weeks plus coursework. Not looking forward to it, but otherwise I will not receive financial aid. Bogus, right? Training for the Riverbank is fine. I am lucky to have a very motivated running partner who has been by my side since the beginning of the year. My foot, ankle, and knee have been bothering me though however I just bit the bullet and bought new shoes, which I hope will alleviate some of the intense pain I start feeling around mile 8 or 9...Once the race is over, I will be able to scale back on training thus freeing up more time for other things...ahem, studying. Finally, my vacation. I got to spend 10 lovely days stomping around the UK with dear friends from home, from Korea and best of all, my sweet Nathan. This long distance crap sucks, yup, anyone who has done it - no matter how far - knows it sucks. In some ways it is kind of funny b/c it is doable to carry on without your significant other around while keeping in contact through various ways forms of communication, however there is this constant dull feeling that something is missing or out of place. It creeps around and looms in the back of your mind and you don't fully realize it's existence until you reunite...and then say goodbye again. Anyway, being able to spend time together, if even for a short time, really made me appreciate everything about him and reinforced all of my feelings for him. Long story short, it was great to reconnect with friends I haven't seen in years as well as spend quality time with a guy I am quite fond of.

Sooooo, here are a few snapshots for you to feast your eyes on, note that most of these are on facebook so I apologize if you are sick of seeing them :)

"Big Red" as Jill so appropriately named my suitcase...yes, I over-packed.

First day together. I was extremely jetlag, but pushed through...

Liz (a fellow teacher from Korea) and I trying on silly hats

Animal Collective show

First view of the Edinburgh Castle. Breathtaking. This was basically the view from our hotel's entrance

View of Arther's Seat (from Edinburgh Castle) View of Edinburgh Castle (from Arther's Seat)

Freezing our bum's off after hiking up Arther's Seat and surviving the most horrendous wind and hail storm...

Hanging out with Sara & Jill

Piccadilly Circus with ole' Nate boy. He did not want to take this picture, but I made him...

Last day together. Sad.

Weekend Update

Oh what a weekend. It was Sara and Andrew's wedding weekend and with it blew in many people from across the Atlantic. Sara looked AMAZING, as did Andrew, and it was just a beautiful celebration:

This was not a great picture, but one of the only ones I have showing both of their faces

Nathan and I talked about how he would not be attending and that it would be better for him to save his pennies and travel elsewhere in Europe. I however, was very wrong and fooled and surprised...but in a good way.

It started off on Friday when I was frantically putting together a tri-fold display board for the GRCC Family Matters event the next day. My office is located near an entrance and as people enter, I can always feel the cold breeze. As the chill approached my co-worker and I, we looked up and I caught a flash of a green scarf and suddenly, I realized it was my NATHAN! I could not believe that he was there, in front of me, in the flesh. I honestly did not know whether or not to hug him, kiss him or hit him (I think I did all three as I was so surprised and felt rather shaky as it sunk in that he was actually here).

It turned out that almost everyone knew about it and I had absolutely no idea. Having him around for the weekend made the event that much better for me. Because of the nature of the weekend, it was a whirlwind. We went to the rehearsal dinner on Friday, I worked Saturday morning and then we went to the wedding. We met my family for Sunday dinner to celebrate my sister's sweet 16(!) and then left for Chicago to meet up with the groomsmen/ his new friends in order for them to fly out this afternoon. I still can't believe he was here and I'm absolutely exhausted from all the festivities. The countdown has now begun for my trip to visit him (28 days!!) and I am so excited.

I'm supposed to be studying...

...but I'm updating instead...
It feels good to be a student again. Despite the differences between my current studying environment (entirely online) and everything I've ever known before, the general feeling of being a student remains the same. Deadlines, time management, homework, readings, writing, thinking, procrastinating...the list could go on. I like it though, it keeps me on my toes and not lazy. I've also started revisiting coffee shops again. I mentioned this to Nathan, followed by, "I'm such a cliche", but in all honesty, I really forgot how much I love coffee shops and more importantly, studying in coffee shops! To fuse one's love of coffee with learning is heightened by the aromas of roasting beans, the distraction of other people's conversation, and what used to be, the accompaniment of a cigarette. Those days are long gone though, but I do find this setting to be calming.

I'm sitting in the newest coffee shop to downtown GR called Madcap. It's lovely and filled with natural light, almost too much, I had to turn my chair sideways b/c the sun was blinding me. Note: SUN in GRAND RAPIDS in JANUARY! My Lord, it is a miracle. I should face my chair into it and blind myself at this occurrence. My coffee was french pressed and delicious and I guess my only complaint would be that the table is a stitch tall for the chairs, but that my friends is minor (and could probably be chalked up to a height deficiency of my own).

Anyway, program planning and implementation calls. Yes, I am that awesome.

so many things to report (!)...

-- I've been accepted into the online MA in Youth Development at the University of Missouri-Columbia and will start classes very soon!

-- I am going to to London, England from 3/21-3/30 to see my babe.

-- I have begun a training program for the 25K in May

-- Unfortunately, I have been struck down by Satan with a nasty cold, which makes things difficult for training, but I will prevail.

-- We have two new shows opening at GRAM and one of the artists is actually coming!

-- Sara's wedding is in exactly 1 month. She was approved for her VISA so that is exciting news for her. As much as I hate saying goodbye to her, I am so super amped for the event and am happy for she and Andrew both.

Anyway, that is all, even though so many things are going on, I feel in control (except for this stupid stuffy nose, sore throat and overall grogginess)...

How good of a speller are you?

Try this baby out:

Spelling Test

(almost) farewell dear President

I have been awake since 4am, why? I do not know, but it has allowed me an ample amount of time to "surf the internet" as kids say these days. Ran past the top 25 Bushisms of all time and thought I would share:

1. "Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we."
—Washington, D.C., Aug. 5, 2004

2. "I know how hard it is for you to put food on your family."
—Greater Nashua, N.H., Chamber of Commerce, Jan. 27, 2000

3. "Rarely is the question asked: Is our children learning?"
—Florence, S.C., Jan. 11, 2000

4. "Too many good docs are getting out of the business. Too many OB/GYNs aren't able to practice their love with women all across the country."
—Poplar Bluff, Mo., Sept. 6, 2004

5. "Neither in French nor in English nor in Mexican."
—declining to answer reporters' questions at the Summit of the Americas, Quebec City, Canada, April 21, 2001

6. "You teach a child to read, and he or her will be able to pass a literacy test.''
—Townsend, Tenn., Feb. 21, 2001

7. "I'm the decider, and I decide what is best. And what's best is for Don Rumsfeld to remain as the secretary of defense."
—Washington, D.C., April 18, 2006

8. "See, in my line of work you got to keep repeating things over and over and over again for the truth to sink in, to kind of catapult the propaganda."
—Greece, N.Y., May 24, 2005

9. "I've heard he's been called Bush's poodle. He's bigger than that."
—discussing former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, as quoted by the Sun newspaper, June 27, 2007

10. "And so, General, I want to thank you for your service. And I appreciate the fact that you really snatched defeat out of the jaws of those who are trying to defeat us in Iraq."
—meeting with Army Gen. Ray Odierno, Washington, D.C., March 3, 2008

11. "We ought to make the pie higher."
—South Carolina Republican debate, Feb. 15, 2000

12. "There's an old saying in Tennessee"
—I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee—that says, fool me once, shame on—shame on you. Fool me—you can't get fooled again."—Nashville, Tenn., Sept. 17, 2002

13. "And there is distrust in Washington. I am surprised, frankly, at the amount of distrust that exists in this town. And I'm sorry it's the case, and I'll work hard to try to elevate it."
—speaking on National Public Radio, Jan. 29, 2007

14. "We'll let our friends be the peacekeepers and the great country called America will be the pacemakers."
—Houston, Sept. 6, 2000

15. "It's important for us to explain to our nation that life is important. It's not only life of babies, but it's life of children living in, you know, the dark dungeons of the Internet."
—Arlington Heights, Ill., Oct. 24, 2000

16. "One of the great things about books is sometimes there are some fantastic pictures."
—U.S. News & World Report, Jan. 3, 2000

17. "People say, 'How can I help on this war against terror? How can I fight evil?' You can do so by mentoring a child; by going into a shut-in's house and say I love you."
—Washington, D.C., Sept. 19, 2002

18. "Well, I think if you say you're going to do something and don't do it, that's trustworthiness."
—CNN online chat, Aug. 30, 2000

19. "I'm looking forward to a good night's sleep on the soil of a friend."
—on the prospect of visiting Denmark, Washington, D.C., June 29, 2005

20. "I think it's really important for this great state of baseball to reach out to people of all walks of life to make sure that the sport is inclusive. The best way to do it is to convince little kids how to—the beauty of playing baseball."
—Washington, D.C., Feb. 13, 2006

21. "Families is where our nation finds hope, where wings take dream."
—LaCrosse, Wis., Oct. 18, 2000

22. "You know, when I campaigned here in 2000, I said, I want to be a war president. No president wants to be a war president, but I am one."
—Des Moines, Iowa, Oct. 26, 2006

23. "There's a huge trust. I see it all the time when people come up to me and say, 'I don't want you to let me down again.' "
—Boston, Oct. 3, 2000

24. "They misunderestimated me."
—Bentonville, Ark., Nov. 6, 2000

25. "I'll be long gone before some smart person ever figures out what happened inside this Oval Office."
—Washington, D.C., May 12, 2008

This year I promise to eat more fried foods...

Holy Happy 2009, I can't believe that it is the new year already. The haps of the last 366 days of the year (it was leap year wasn't it?) can be summed up in 1 word...Righteous, haha. It has been a great year filled with many goods: Family, old friends, new friends, Nathan, Obama, soccer, first races, good books, better wine, new restaurants, favorite restaurants, kittens, rock band, shop hopping, angel reuniting, camping, san francisco, and the list goes on...(sing "and the list goes on" as if you were singing, "and the beat goes on"...that is what is happening in my mind)...it has also been a year filled with bads, but I will spare you my list.

Now that we have successfully made it in to this new year without the internal combustion of the earth, or the reincarnation of dinosaurs, I am glad to say that I have a few new resolutions. Last year I tried to give up fried foods (not including french fries) but today at lunch, I had these delicious buffalo balls - yes, while ordering, I had to refrain from saying, "Can I please have the balls of a buffalo", and the second these delectable little bites hit my taste buds, I knew I would be getting them again, very soon, like maybe this weekend. They are these delicious cheesy tater tots, deep fried to a crisp and slathered in spicy buffalo sauce...c'mon, how can one resist something so unnatural but so freaking delicious! So, I bid last years resolutions farewell and promise to eat most all greasy little snacks...

As I do most years, I hope to read one book for pleasure per month. This usually tapers off come March, but I will try harder this year. And then there are many little things: driving less, training for the riverbank or at least keeping motivation to work out, eating healthier (with the exception of fried foods of course), shopping locally, spending necessarily, conserving energy and being less wasteful, frolicking more in the great outdoors, being a better friend/girlfriend/daughter/sister, keeping a positive attitude, and just being a better person in overall.

I leave you with a few pics from last year. Yar.

Fun reunion with former roommates (January)

Meeting this girl, who quickly became one of my favorites, (Jan)

which subsequently, led me to meet this guy, who is my favorite. (pic taken in September?)

Seeing Obama speak in GR, (May)

and watching/celebrating our future President (November)

Go AMERICA (July, duh)

Visiting with Jilly in Canada (August)

Vacationing with Kayleen, Paul and Melissa in San Fran (October)

Yay '08, bring it on '09.