Maybe I Do Have Some Creativity After All

So I decided to take another stab at digital scrapbooking and this is what I came up with. I was putting it together while watching "Just Like Heaven" with my family. My dad peeked over my shoulder and asked what program I was using. I hesitated before admitting to using paint and powerpoint. I don't have any of that fancy stuff and I was much to lazy to download some sort of free rip off or something. Besides, I like experimenting. And it didn't turn out half bad, right?

I love this picture. I came across it as I was stealing old photos and things from my mom (and when I say stealing I mean scanning with permission). This is a picture of my mom with her grandpa, Jackson. She talked to me a little bit about the memories she has associated with this picture. That's one reason I love going through my mom's old photos: I get to hear stories I haven't heard before and I get to put faces to familiar names.

I'd like to know your thoughts on my scrapbooking attempt. You even have permission to make fun of me for using paint as a resource :) I think it's kind of funny. Have a great day!!!

Body Types and Jean Sizes

Remember that movie/book "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" where one pair of jeans magically fits four different girls? Does anyone else wish that jeans actually worked like that? Shopping for jeans can kind of stress me out sometimes. Today I was out and about and thought I would browse some jeans. I wasn't really in a big shopping mood but I found a pair tried it on (more like attempted to try them on) and didn't feel like trying anymore on. I have similar experiences almost everytime I attempt to put on a pair of jeans and they won't even get halfway up my hips and when they do make it over my hips they don't fit everywhere else. So I came to a conclusion today and I've decided to demonstrate my thoughts with pictures! Here we go...

Here are the well known body types: hour glass, apple, and pear (poor hour glass....doesn't get to be a fruit like everyone else....)

These are the people, like me, struggle to get those perfect jeans that fit every part of your lower half like they were just an extra layer of skin. And here is the fourth body shape, the shape that jeans are really made for, the stick figure....

So basically, here was my conclusion:

Jean sizes are modeled after those people so small that they still fit into their life size Barbie outfits (kind of like Angela on "The Office". Anyone remember that episode? Ok so it wasn't life size Barbie clothes.....). That is why I cannot find the perfect jeans very often.

Tina the stick bug says: "Do these make me look fat?"

Family History: Why I Do It

I haven't updated in a long time. I've felt like I didn't have anything to write about, but it's occured to me that you can always dig up something to write about. So no more excuses. Today's focus is family history -- something I spend a lot of time with.

One time I was at a cemetery not far from my home taking pictures of some graves that people had requested pictures of (a service through findagrave.com). This particular time, I had to make a request regarding care of the grave. There was an overgrown bush covering the grave and I submitted a form to get it trimmed. The man helping me with this process asked me why I was taking time to take pictures of graves for someone I didn't even know. I replied that I would want someone to do the same thing for me (and they do and a million thanks to them for their time), but there's more to it than that. It's part of the whole reason why I do family history, and that's what I'm attempting to share with you today.

I do family history because who they were is part of who I am or who I will become. We can learn from the past and the decisions people made or the things people fought for. This is a picture of my Grandpa Rieck with me and my brother and sister back in 1992.

I love this picture. I don't actually remember my granpda, but I've heard a lot of things about him from my mom. He has a special place in my heart, and this picture is proof that we actually did know each other at some point :) Another reason I do family history is because I believe I will be able to see people again after this life. My Grandpa Rieck is one person I look forward to seeing again.

This is my great grandpa Malone in his army uniform. I only have 4 resources to proove he existed: personal memories, photos, headstone, and the Oregon Death Index. I have no idea who his parents were or even if he had any siblings. He ran away from home and lied about his age so he could join the army. It seems he didn't like to talk about his family, and the records from his birthplace were destroyed in a fire. His background is a mystery that has caused me some frustration. I am determined to find his family someday or at least provide a beginning so someone else can find his family. I do family history to uncover mysteries like his and to discover as much as I can the lives of my ancestors.

I also save records/pictures so those who come after me can know me and my family now. I don't know if any of my children will take an interest in family history as I have. However, there may come a point where they want to know the stories that I've collected or gain greater insight into even who I am. I know now that I would do almost anything just to have in my hands a journal from some of my family who in all actuality haven't been gone from this earth for that long.

So why do I take pictues of graves for people I don't know or help others find their family links or scan tons of my moms old pictures I find around the house? I do it because just having a picture or a document or a headstone makes that person more real to you. Because you can create a connection to your past. Because their stories deserved to be told.

I do family history because who they were is a part of who I am or who I will become. Whether directly or indirectly, I'm affected by these people and their lives. Without certain choices made along the line, my life to this point would have played out differently than it has. I love my family and I want to feel a connection to them.

So do your family history. It takes a lot of time and it can definitely be frustrating at times, but I hope you will find the rewards as I have.

Cows With Guns

Tonight we went out to The Outback for dinner. While we were sitting there gnawing our steaks, we started singing this song. Enjoy!

This is why megan and i love the strawberry festival! Thursday night we went to the carnival they have every year. I took this picture on my favorite ride: the scrambler. Everytime i get on that ride it's like i suddenly become high on life. I laugh so hard i cry. Also megan was being thrown into me by via spinning motion. That might have had something to do with the tears. Ha ha! Here's to little adventures in our everyday lives. Cheers.

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I don't think you could ever understand how much it moves me...

I am in love with Andrew Lloyd Webber's "The Phantom of the Opera". I grew up with the soundtrack with Sarah Brightman and Michael Crawford. We used to listen to it during road trips. When the movie came out in 2004, I was so excited to see it. My parents had taken my brother and sister to see it on stage in Seattle, but I didn't go for who knows why. It's been a lifelong dream of mine to see it on stage, and the movie was one step towards the real thing.

There are aspects of the movie that I do really enjoy, but I still wanted to see the real thing. When I went abroad, our teachers were able to get enough of our money together for us to be able to do something extra in London. My lifelong dream was finally realized! Not only was I able to see "Phantom" on stage, but I saw it in "Her Majesty's Theatre" -- the place it was originally performed.

It was magical! Just hearing the music gives me chills. I don't even know how to describe how much I am moved by the musical. I get so wrapped up in it, and I always want to cry for the phantom....always. Even when I read the book (in which the phantom seems more cruel to me), I thought I would not feel bad for him in the end, but I still nearly cried.

I could go on and on about specifics and comparing the movie with the stage production, but I don't think I'll do that at this time. Just trust me, you must see "The Phantom of the Opera" on stage before you die.

To make the dream even more awesomely fulfilled, when we went to Paris, Megan and I found The Paris Opera House, where Gaston Leroux's novel takes place!! It was hard to get good pictures of me, but it is beautiful. You can't see all of the opera house, but there are still stables and 17 storeys (or something close to that). Something else we learned is that there actually is a lake underneath the opera house.

The infamous chandelier!!!

So there is a brief look at a dream fulfilled.

Congrats class of 2009! My little brother is all grown up and graduating from high school. He was one of the first to walk out of a class of about 600. Now what am supposed to do while i wait? Maybe i'll try tickling megan. That might be fun or possibly painful as she will no doubt punch me in the face as a result.

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