A Relaxing Christmas

Christmas morning, we woke up to coco meowing (how annoying). When we eventually did get up we looked out the window to the white wonder of snow. Next we popped in the pot roast and got that started. after a nice warm shower jon and i sat down and opened the gifts we got eachother. the rest of the day was relaxing. i just worked on the puzzle jon got me and he played the video game i got him. the only thing that really took any effort on Christmas day was getting up, making the roast, and making the caramel corn. the caramel corn turned out delicious by the way.

The next day, jon and i went down to the springs and visited Mary and her family. We went sledding in the Black Forest. that was fun, the girls liked it, even though it was getting a bit chilly after the sun started setting. after that we went back to their house for meat balls and a debate between jon and matt. all in all a good few days.

My final Project for Class

Here are the six pictures i turned in for my final project in principles of photography. None of the people in the pictures were actually smoking for those of you who want to know. Also you could probably tell if you are a smoker, cause they don't hold the cigarette right somehow. Thanks to my models, hopefully i get an A. Ok, the first pic is of clouds, that is supposed to be like the photographer Alfred Stieglitz. That pic was taken and edited for my history of photo class.

a day off... finally

oh man, a day off! it feels sooo good. then again, on this day off, i have to study for my midterm test in history of photography, i have to clean up the house, maybe wash some clothes, do my drawing assignment, and other not so fun things. but, i suppose, a day off is a day off and is still good nonetheless.

looking down at my hands typing on the keyboard, they are reflecting the cloudy light coming in through the window. the winter whiteness has come about my skin. After a summer of sun and being tan this is just weird to see.

other news, i am smelling a great "cowboy" stew. i made it last night and it has been soaking in the crockpot all night. it is going to be really tasty to eat for lunch.

jon and i went to church for the first time last sunday since we moved here. that was interesting. i dont know how i feel about church bodies. seeking and following God, totally cool, same with small Bible studies and so on, but big church bodies there is just something there that gets me and all i can do while i sit in service is go over and over in my mind how fake so many christians are. i honestly dont even like the title. i would rather just be a God-seeker or something like that; maybe not even have a title, just be that good person that God wants me to be. so yeah, i finally wrote that down, that has been simmering inside me for over a year or more.

here are some photos that i have taken for my principles of photography class.

a day behind

i know, i havent been on here for quite a while. here are a few things that have happened to me since my last post. i was up in boulder with jon and we saw these girls taking a picture of this girl sitting infront of a bench. the girl sitting was a large girl and her pants were not big enough to cover her massive crack. i laughed so hard because of the girls taking the picture, the poor big girl didnt even know.

today at work we went into two inner city schools, the first, we walked in and passed a group of black pps, they were talking about being a virgin, saying up yours youre not a virgin. the next, i met this sweet old man who used to go to that school and is a photographer. after we were done outside with the football boys, we went inside to photograph the volleyball girls. we o in and no one was in there and so on... this guy showed us the team then at least five fights broke out. this security guy had to lay on top of three girls trying to stop the fight.

cocoa had a four hundred dollar surgery. there went our pay check.

the other day at work my coworker and i went up to a school near fourt collins and it was at a private school and so on. that day i drove jon's car. after the photo shoot was over i walked over to the car and the back tire was flat. there was a huge nail thing in it and so Ara and i attempted to figure out the jack, it was so different than mine. in the end we got it changed thankfully. oh to add to it, in the parking lot many of the teachers and students left the school, at least 5 or 6; not one asked if they could help in any way. that made me mad, especially at a christian school!

took photos at the broncos game yesterday. i got the job up in the champion sweet. i met several broncos alumni, including john elway and many other sweet handsome alumni.

the colorado rockies are rocking out denver! they made it to the world series, they are playing against the boston red socks. jon and i tried to get tickets, the whole server got overlaoded, and only a couple hundred people got tickets. they are going bakc onsale tomorrow at noon. crossing my fingers, hope we get tickets.

other than that, i dont remember what else i was going to write. so anyways, here is somethings that have been happeneing.

the minnesota rendezvous

i had to go back to minnesota for a doc appointment. i drove back to denver with jons vw jetta and cocoa, a kitty. here are some photos from the rendezvous on the road and with my family. we stopped to visit both grandparents, then in iowa to visit a family that were with our group in china, then i headed out and was on my way with only me, cocoa, and the long flat road ahead. the family came the rest of the way later on and we met up here. we went to pikes peak and drove around in the mountains. very beautiful with all the aspins changing into their fall wardrobes.

hectic electricity

my one day off for the week; today. i got my assignment done for tuesday, this is one i think an A isnt going to be happenin. other than that, yesterday i had to work. i got sunburn on my upper arms, its not that bad though. in the van on the way to the football field for league photos, mike and i were on 25 less than a mile from passing invesco field and the van's back, left tire went flat. all that was touching the ground was the flat rubber and the rims. that added a little life to the day. other than that. . . next week i work every day, even sunday. my birthday will be spent, sadly enough, at work. jon works every day next week and the week after training at target.

we might get an apple computer. that would be paid for thanks to jon's parents tribute to college paying (the money that we had them put in savings). it would be nice to work with the same program and system as they use at AiC.

anyways, the cool weather hit denver today. dont think it will stay too long but i absolutely love it! peace,

the license beuro

and life goes on. another day of stress. so i woke up this morning to a fine, beautiful day. then i ate some cereal, read the paper (ok, so i didnt read the paper), checked my email, and other things, like doing the dishes for example. anyways, i got an email from my dad, another one with a letter from the state of MN saying they are going to revoke my license if i dont go in and get a doctors signature. now it has been two years since i have been off the sezure medication, i have only had one stupid sezure in my life (which was all a guess anyways), and it has been over 5 years since i had the brain tumor. i'm ready to be left alone, just let me live my life like a normal person. everytime i think about it lately it ticks me off and i just feel so helpless and just want to cry.

then, to go along with everything else, work is stressing and school is long, and i just want my girlfriends to be here with me. jon is great, i love him dearly, he is always lifting me up and keeping me going, but i want a friend outside of the home. i wish my girlfriends lived nearer. a night out on the town sounds great, if money werent a factor.

next week is my birthday, i turn the big old, way overly celebrated, 21. i work prety much all day on friday and saturday. my birthday will be another one spent at work. i hate being an adult. how about i dont tell any one and go run out to the mountains and get into my own little world again, the one of photography and poetry, the one that has left my side for quite a while now and needs to make a comeback.

a crazy thing, i was talking with this girl in my class yesterday, and she mentioned how nice it would be to just be able to take a picture of what your imagination is making. that is something i totally wish. i have all these words and feelings and pictures that come into my mind, but i cant draw them, i stink at drawing. the only way those things get out is through words which normally stuck in my mind like stop and go traffic, never getting to where i want them to go. or every so often, the green light hits and they all come out into this delicate form that no one else sees, or even knows about.

so i'm rambling; there is a lot on my mind. stop reading if you dont want to hear the rambling.

a dream... ever since i was a little girl and my parents would take us kids on vacation to the black hills, i have always wanted to live in the mountains. i want a house/cabin amongst the evergreens and aspin trees. where the aspins slowly change color in the fall to this bright yellow hue. where the smell of nature blows with the breeze into my home. where a small stream quickly rambles over the rocks and then and swiftly runs down the mountain side. where i could lay in bed at night and only hear the stream, crickets, and the clappping of aspins outside my window. in the winter the fresh snow will sparkle, untouched, in the new days sun and the smell of the log fireplace will comfort me. a place where late at night i could look up at the sky and see no sign of human light polution. where the stars will sparkle and glimmer in delicious delight to my eye. and every so often a stream of light will shoot across the sky, and i will make a wish. where in the night light, i could sit in emence peace with only my dog wagging its tail in the moons magnificent light (like snowy, painting the air with her white tipped tail, the only thing you could see in the night light). so i wish my life was always a dream. but dreams always end at some time or another and then again, so does life. life is but speck in God's eye. i am but a speck, almost as if i were just that small far away star in the galaxy in the makers eyes; left glowing, but barely large enough to desire any eyes attention.

long time, no post

so a lot has happened during the time of no posting.
first off the brakes on the car were squeeking horribly. jon took it in to midas for a free checkup while i was at work last week some time and they said the right calliper was bad, and that it is wearing down the brakes on that side really bad. jon ended up taking off the tires and putting them back on a few times (he had to run to the store for something a few times, and its far enough away not too be able to walk). finally he ended up just changing the brakes and putting lube on the right calliper, the calliper still needs to be changed but that we are planning on getting done some other time.
next to that jon started school the day after the car fiasco. he has two math classes and some general and religisious studies classes. seems like he's gannna like the math classes the best, supries suprise.
i have just been working and working and going straight from work to school on tuesday thursdays. the class is cool and all but its four hours long and i get freshman fatigued; they talk non stop and it ticks me off, they need to shut their huge traps and learn something. with work, its going good but mike always says im not loud enough: i dont want to yell. it isnt my thing to yell, unless i'm pissed off or fighting.
yesterday jon and i drove on I-70 straight into the mountains. suprisingly the car got prety good gas milleage, even though we were climbing 7 degree grades at certain points. we checked out a lot of the different ski towns and some were pretty prissy with huge million dollar houses, but the mountains in general were gorgeous. one town we veered off on had a lake and back in the woods and was very peacefull. someday i want to live in the mountains (just a dream, we will see where jon and i go after college and where we can get jobs).
anyways, here are some photos taken from the last few weeks, enjoy.

I love my friends

Jenny came over this weekend. She left today around 1:00. I hate saying goodbye to good friends. That girl, just plain awesome! Her, Jon, and I hung out friday after she came here and we talked and had a movie night (like the old'n days for her and I). I miss some of the old'n days like that. on Saturday we went to the zoo and checked out all the animals, even though the crazy animal attack earlier this year to one of the workers, and the whole OSHA fiasco. after the zoo, we came back to our place and cooled off with water, freezies, and air conditioning! in the evening Jenny took us out to dinner and we walked around the down town out door mall. the sunset was gorgeous! Today we went to target so Jenny could pick up the tv show House, then we just sat on jon and i's new couches and relaxed, talked some. it was great. having a husband is great, but a great girlfriend is something that i couldnt go without. my heart smiles, while my eyes tear up. Love





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I Love Penguines!

Estes Park, CO

yesterday was a good day. jon and i headed up to boulder and then decided to keep going. we ended up in estes park, co. it is in the middle of the gorgeous mountains and was awesome. here are some of the pics that were taken up there.