at long last

i've returned to the blogosphere! sort of. however did you get along without me?

since i didn't take any of my own pictures at the wedding and i don't have access to the photographer's pictures to post online and i can't rip images off facebook anymore...behold the trailer for the wedding video. yes. a trailer. awesome, no?





video by jared sattler. he rocks.

the tale of two engagements

it was the best of times. it was the worst of times. it was really just stressful times involving some art show preparation, some substitute planning, a road trip, a lecture, a demonstration, a van ride, some really gorgeous picassos and one really great boyfriend who drove, carted my stuff around for me and generally kept yours truly cool and collected, if not completely calm. (how's that for a sentence that never ends?)

okay okay, i'll get to the good part. monday morning after most of said activity had gone swimmingly, thank you very much, i was frantically trying to finish up some last-minute framing for a show opening later that night. things were not going well. i texted ben and voila, he turned up at my studio with a rose. thinking he had decided to be late for work in order to cheer me up, i gave him a big hug and blathered on about my woes. i have a question for you, he said rather seriously. what, i said, not very kindly, steeling myself for the worst. next thing i knew, he was on one knee with a ring - this ring - in his hand.

he cut right to the chase, "will you marry me?" a much better question than anticipated. i said yes immediately. we hugged. we kissed. we kissed some more. when he finally got it through my thick skull that he wasn't going to work, we finished framing my works and delivered them to the gallery. *perfect* proposal.

(after seeing this picture, i decided to give up my lifelong dream of hand modeling)

over our celebratory lunch at mcdonald's (he wanted to get sushi at our spot near my studio, but there wasn't time) he mentioned that he hoped i wouldn't be let down when i discovered his original plan. there was a powerpoint. and tshirts. the strike force might be disappointed, he said.

(he's too sexy for that shirt)

wait. wait wait wait. tshirts? powerpoint? STRIKE FORCE?! i had to know. he wouldn't tell me everything, but we agreed to go through with the original plan the following evening. we managed to keep it a secret from the entire force except for two, who gamely haven't told us exactly what dorks we really are.

so after work, we took a walk down to "our spot" on the tidal basin, near the roosevelt memorial. it was a beautiful day, a bit blustery, but the cherry blossoms were still out and i got to wear my raincoat and hat. he borrowed back the ring. as we approached one of the benches, there was some red velvet draped over it. hmmm, what is that? ben wondered aloud. why don't you see what's underneath it? i picked up the fabric to reveal a rose (the same one from the day before, which i'd left at his house).

then he was on his knee again and this time there was a speech. a good one. and i said yes again. more hugging and kissing. and staring at the tidal basin. then we walked out as the strike force converged. sadly, we hadn't been able to find any water guns with which to attack them, so we settled for giving them the truth (that we'd been engaged for more than 24 hours) instead of a surprise soaking. i mean, they did do a rather good job keeping the park ranger and other people away from our spot. except for that one jogger. they took it like professionals.

(he can by my chicken tikka masala any day. mmm-m!)

ben then took me to the restaurant of my choosing for a celebratory dinner. so with the sky as my limit, of course i chose the hole-in-the-wall indian buffet and loved me some chicken tikka masala. mmm-m.

*special thanks to strike force alpha

more peanuts

a teaser...

the last time i saw a meteor shower was more than a decade ago. and, really, it was lost on my 19-year-old self. i was more concerned with the guy lying next to me than the stars parading through the sky. the "rule" was when you counted 10 falling stars, you held hands. he counted those 10 shooting stars pretty darn quick and eagerly seized my hand, which was covered in band-aids. how romantic, he said. i laughed and decided not to tell him the band-aids were covering the warts i'd had burned off earlier that day.

so with my hands wart-free (for over a decade now) and a greater appreciation for the universe, this meteor shower was going to be different...

more comments from the peanut gallery

i posted again on the peanut gallery speaks. head on over and leave me a comment. please.

because i like to laugh

and don't know how to embed.

click here

i promise this wallow* won't last

i've decided to make a mix tape**

please feel free to suggest your favorite break-up songs.

so far i have:

johnny cash "i see a darkness"

damien rice "delicate"

martin sexton "caught in the rain"

magnetic fields "i think i need a new heart"

imogen heap "hide and seek"

daniel bedingfield "gotta get through this"

the weepies "not your year"

annie lennox "why"

bright eyes "a perfect sonnet"

cheap trick "want you to want me"

iron and wine "the trapeze swinger"

leona lewis "bleeding love"

beyonce "single ladies"

mr. big "to be with you"

moulin rouge "el tango de roxanne"
the fray "how to save a life"
stevie nicks (and covers) "landslide"

jewel "you were meant for me"

what else?

*songs and songs only in the comments, please, or i will turn them off.

**did we really used to spend hours that way? weird.

thank you and have a nice day

allow me to introduce

the super cute, like for serious boyfriend-boy.

he...

owns a vcr

loves his couch

likes to sit on your left

hasn't seen avatar in 3D...he hasn't seen anything in 3D

knows what an erg is and the correct usage of such

is the only redhead in his family

is approximately 5 minutes older than his younger brother, 2 years younger than his oldest brother, and 2years older than his youngest sister

loves "the proj"

is a fabulous uncle

lives 15.3 miles from me

makes a good sentient program

real good. trinity-called-a-truce good.

tells stories with details

speaks fluent german

knows how to pack a duffel

is the most sincere boy i've ever met

calls me "girl" and gets hell from his family

thinks its funny when i (sometimes) swear

throws a mean slush ball

likes to take care of me

likes adventures

once owned a party wagon, which apparently ran on blessings (thanks to rd)

for serious.

when you get kicked out of the kitchen

make a picnic on the floor.

and put your back to the clutter and hope your mom doesn't aggravate her tmj as she looks at the picture. or you can block it out. literally.

red eyes are for valentine's day, right? and romance?

ohhhh red is for hungry vampires. i see. in that case, if you don't stop taking pictures, i'm going to eat the boy, with a lovely rose garnish.

look at that face. he doesn't have a clue, does he.

is it too ridiculous to post valentine's day pictures in march?

just askin.

together forever

i'd like you all to know that running and i got back together. maybe you didn't know we were on a break. (i didn't want to complain.) we were pretty hot and heavy for a while, but whenever we went out, i just felt like i was gonna explode. and each new date brought some new annoyance or source of pain. some say i was too demanding, that i was pushing too hard, trying to go too fast. we tried various counselors who fit us with new shoes and adjusted our backs. we even tried massage together, but to no avail. it just wasn't fun anymore; the rough patch continued. frustrated and exhausted, i called it off to explore my options: i swam, i cycled, i danced, i slept, but i still wasn't happy. my relationships with these others felt shallow; they weren't fulfilling. they just couldn't compare to what i had with running. i realized that nothing really gets me goin, makes my heart flutter or stomach squirm (in a good way?) like running. so, last night, i asked running to take me back, left my watch at home, and ended our brief cooling-off period. we had a lovely time together.

i missed you, baby. let's never fight again.

awsesome

sooo...

here's what i've been up to since i left my camera at my friends' house during easter dinner (it's still there)...

i ran a race. a long one. it was awesome.

i co-hosted an art reception. it was awesome.

i went to trial. a long one. it was awesome. except not.

i went to a wedding. a beautiful one. in nashville. it was awesome.

i received a call from one of my cellmates reporting that some of my art sold. it was awesome.

i went to the beach. a long one. it was awesome.

i officially dropped out of the biggest loser race. it was awesome.

now i'm going to eat another nutella-and-pineapple-filled crepe. awesome.

my prayers have been answered!

finally!

a quickie

no, not that kind! i may have a bug bite on my neck that resembles a hickey, but i'm not that kind of girl. really, people!

so. these are a few of my favorite things - today, anyway - in list form. cause that's always a favorite.

excellent songs with lovely bideos that make me cry with their beauty created by very talented artists

funny/sweet stories. ab, remember when you and lizzy went to alaska? this is kind of like that, but neither cold nor imaginary. what tipped off the authorities? "what struck us was that the little ones were completely on their own and that they had a lot of swimming gear with them"

excellent songs that make that booty shake (i just can't help it)

spontaneous friends that do silly things with you. and record them for the world to laugh at. stay tuned for stories and footage.

love you all
and miss you far-aways.

ps. this just in! (thanks, ashley) why i need to go hiking/snowboarding/snowshoeing/running outdoors/and my new excuse for my lack of self control regarding sugar (and everything else).

adventures in winking

a couple of girlfriends and i meet periodically to check out the dc art scene and eat delicious food. we talk about all kinds of things, catch up on each others’ lives, laugh, joke, tell stories, vent. we make up rules: it’s girls only; its refreshing to be around such vibrant, intelligent, happy women. you have to hold a fork to talk. recently, we came up with the winking challenge. we have to wink at random strangers we find attractive. or maybe not strangers. it’s an exercise in flirtation. back in the day, i was such a good flirt that i earned the official “best flirt*” title in my byu** ward. i’m not sure what’s happened since then, but we can delve into my dating neuroses another day, another post. don’t hold your breath.


anyway...

melanie and i went to the nats game last night after i victoriously replied to her email first and won her extra ticket (but not her heart; this isn't that kind of story). we were slightly disappointed that we were sitting between two old men on my left and a senior partner in her firm and his wife, on melanie's right. it meant that our flirtatious plan of asking whatever cute boys were around us how to scorekeep wasn't going to work. so instead, i attempted to remember my little league scorekeeping skills from days of yore (and failed pretty miserably) until the gentleman to my left loaned me his scorecard so i could catch up (we'd missed the top of the first). he struck up a conversation and offered me a beer. later, after melanie and i returned from a 3-inning winking-slash-food run with dogs, diet coke and gelato, but no successful winks (seriously, doesn't ANYone make eye contact anymore???), my new friend struck up more conversation. he asked for my business card and gave me his phone number, inviting melanie and i to the carlisle for dinner sometime in the future. i'm supposed to call him and leave a message if he's not there. he made sure to tell me it was ok to call. about three times. keep in mind this guy could be my grandfather. maybe he forgot he'd already told me. he was also worried that i'd lose the score card that he'd written his number on. as soon as our new boyfriends left after the 7th inning stretch, melanie proceeded to tell the partner and his wife about our exploits. i'm not sure if they thought it was humorous, strange or disgusting, but after rumors on the appalachain trail that my dad and i were dating when we hiked together, i guess nothing really surprises me. again i digress. when melanie and i left, her co-worker's wife made sure to tell us to have fun on our geriatric date. now that was nice. but – ew. and that's not the end. melanie and i metro'd home because i don't have a car, she hadn't driven to her firm that day and we'd gone straight to the game from work. i'm pretty sure the boys checking us out on the metro didn't have cars either, cause i'm pretty sure they weren't old enough to drive. i mean, i guess appealing to all ages has its advantages, but um, seriously. i mean really. seriously.

*not biggest flirt, best flirt. note the distinction.
**to clarify: i did not attend byu. ok i did, as a visiting student and then as a non-degree student when i lived in utah for the two years between undergrad and grad school. and i also attended a byu ward while i was there.

colbert's word of the day

kinda funny. especially considering my last post. click here to see what i mean...

"interesting" article...

my roommate jamila found this article on the colonial listserve and was reading it when i got home from work. so of course i had to read it and put my two cents in.  in the author's opinion, single middle-aged women are not married because he wasn't tall enough or didn't love dogs or something silly like that. i mean, seriously, give us a little credit, lady! i personally, would rather be single and happy than in a miserable marriage.  i'm also unclear about what she actually thinks "settling" is. i'd love to hear what you married people think...