Wednesday Sustainability

Just go watch it. You won't be sorry.

7:12 AM

It's 7:12AM as I type this. I've been awake for approximately 4 hours. My right eye is more tired than my left one.

Is that normal?


And oh ya. KARL SNORES LIKE A BEAST.


It's 7:15 now.

Is anyone actually reading this?... Anyone?

New Job, Fall and Pictures

I started the new job on Monday. My feelings about it have progressed as such:
Excited-> Apprehensive-> Overwhelmed-> Annoyed-> Sad-> Pissed off-> Loathing-> Meh-> Resignation-> Optimism. Ya. It's been not the funnest, but I'm getting used to it. It's so so much different than my last branch. I miss East Murray, but I also feel like a big girl having a job in a high rise in the city. Hopefully next week I'll like it more. Thus far, the highlight was working for 4 hours by myself in the drive up (It's down the street from the branch). No forced conversation (How long have you worked for the company? How are you liking the new branch? Etc...), no being watched constantly. Just me and my own music and the few customers that came through. Does that make me a recluse? Probably.

Anywayyyys... It's officially Fall and the weather is gorge. I sat outside at lunch today at Siegfried's Deli eating delicious German food and basking in the warm sunlight. It was great. Speaking of warm sunlight, I finally got the rest of the honeymoon pictures developed from Bear Lake. Enjoy.

How do you like your Oreos?

Update in Pictures

First, as promised, is a picture of my new hair. Pardon the blurriness.


Second, leaving my branch for the last time last night was a lot harder than I thought it was going to be. I fought tears as I said my goodbyes and the floodgates opened as I walked to my car. When I got home flowers and Ferrero Rocher chocolates were waiting for me. When I asked Karl why he got those things for me, he said "Because I though you'd be sad when you got home." How sweet is he?



A few months ago, Karl and I cleaned up the backyard and planted a bunch of flowers and jalapeno and tomato plants. All of them died except the tomatoes. Now we have one plant with about 10 green tomatoes on it. I'm so so so excited! Apparently tomatoes are the one plant I can't kill!



This past week I got a letter from my friend Natalie, who is serving an LDS mission in Poland. I was so excited! The last thing I sent to her was my wedding invite. As a result, she sent me this Pass Along Card about marriage (and inserted arrows with me and Karl's names). Haha. She's doing really well and is just loving Poland. She's only gone another six months! Holy cow, time flies!




Oh and Karl and I didn't end up going to the state fair. We were exhausted and I was sad, so we tried out a way cute little Italian place downtown called Canella's. It was really good and we loved the ambiance. There were pictures of the Italian family that owns it through the years. One picture in particular looked so similar to my old nonno and old nonna's (my great grandparents) wedding picture my dad has. It was very nostalgic. After, we went and saw "The Other Guys" which was pretty hilarious. It's a typical Will Ferrel movie, but Mark Whalberg is hilarious in it. What about you? Have you done/ are you doing anything exciting this weekend?

Australian mag Frankie Magazine has created the clothbound "2011 Daily Journal". It's only $23.33 USD (I'm sure shipping is an arm and a leg) and it's definitely on my wishlist. I'm so lusting after this baby.



How can you say no to that beauty?!

The End and the Beginning

So last night I got my hair chopped by the lovely Miss Leah. I love it. It's so much healthier and sassy! I'm so glad I took the plunge. I'll post pictures tomorrow.

On another note, today is my last day at my branch. It's a little sad, but more scary than anything. It's not fun to let go of the place where we feel comfortable. I've been here for 3 years, 2 positions (Teller and Customer Service), 3 managers, 3 assistant managers, 7 bankers, and 8 tellers. This branch is where I started with the company. This branch is what I know. Well, on Monday I get to dive head first into the unknown, the uncomfortable, and the more exciting job. My current coworkers did however, throw me a taco party to say farewell. So sweet. :)

The thing I will miss most is my lunches. Karl and I work 10 minutes apart and have lunch together every day. Most of the time it's beneath the giant maple at Murray Park next to the gazebo where we got married. Seeing the person you love most in the world in the middle of the work day is so refreshing and rejuvenating. It makes the day that much more bearable. Lunch with Karl is one of the things I cherish most and am most reluctant to let go of.

Today is also me and Karl's 2 month anniversary of being married. It hasn't been bliss, but I'm the happiest I've ever been. Tonight we'll be going to the Utah State Fair to celebrate with fried dough, ferris wheels, and live music. I can't wait. :)

Band of Brothers

September 5th was Karl's birthday. Karl is a really really hard person to shop for so when we were on our honeymoon and he mentioned he loved "Band of Brothers" I made a mental note to get it for his birthday. "Band of Brothers" is described as such:

"An impressively rigorous, unsentimental, and harrowing look at combat during World War II, Band of Brothers follows a company of airborne infantry--Easy Company--from boot camp through the end of the war. The brutality of training takes the audience by increments to the even greater brutality of the war; Easy Company took part in some of the most difficult battles, including the D-Day invasion of Normandy, the failed invasion of Holland, and the Battle of the Bulge, as well as the liberation of a concentration camp and the capture of Hitler's Eagle's Nest. But what makes these episodes work is not their historical sweep but their emphasis on riveting details (such as the rattle of a plane as the paratroopers wait to leap, or a flower in the buttonhole of a German soldier) and procedures (from military tactics to the workings of bureaucratic hierarchies). The scope of this miniseries (10 episodes, plus an actual documentary filled with interviews with surviving veterans) allows not only a thoroughness impossible in a two-hour movie, but also captures the wide range of responses to the stress and trauma of war--fear, cynicism, cruelty, compassion, and all-encompassing confusion. The result is a realism that makes both simplistic judgments and jingoistic enthusiasm impossible; the things these soldiers had to do are both terrible and understandable, and the psychological price they paid is made clear. The writing, directing, and acting are superb throughout. The cast is largely unknown, emphasizing the team of actors as a whole unit, much like the regiment; Damian Lewis and Ron Livingston play the central roles of two officers with grit and intelligence. Band of Brothers turns a vast historical event into a series of potent personal experiences; it's a deeply engrossing and affecting accomplishment."
--Bret Fetzer


Major Richard Winters. My favorite character. I now want to read his book.

Did you get all that? Haha. Seriously though, "Band of Brothers" is the best war movie I've ever seen. If you have a significant other that is into that sort of thing, I highly recommend buying this. It's beautifully done. It's long, I'll tell you that (11 hours), but you'll never be bored. I promise. I watched it two weeks ago (over 3 days) and haven't been able to stop thinking about it. It completely changed my perspective and increased my knowledge of World War 2. The truly spectacular piece de resistance is the addition of the commentaries by the actual veterans portrayed in the movie. It's sincerely moving. I just can't say enough good things about it. You'll just have to see for yourselves.

I can't wear fancy, stretchy headbands or "headwraps" as Urban Outfitters calls them. They always slip off and never stay put. It's a whole different story to even get them on straight without my hair getting all caught and matted beneath it. Does anyone else have this problem or am I just impaired/my head is deformed?

I hate eating at a restaurant and leaving smelling like you've just been deep fried.

Work, eggs, and Harry Potter (I know you're intrigued)

This picture has nothing to do with this post. But I love it.

So I was waiting to mention anything, for fear of jinxing my chances, but last week I interviewed for a position at another branch. I found out two days ago that I got it! I'll still have my same job, but at a completely different branch. It's called the One Utah Branch and it's in the center of downtown Salt Lake in one of the high rises. It's Utah's flagship branch for the bank I work at. All the district managers are constantly there, so there's more pressure guaranteed, but also more opportunity for advancement within the company. I'm a little nervous, I'll admit. The clientele is completely different. More wealthy professionals and less pentioners, but I feel like it'll be good to push my limits with something new. I start a week from Monday and I'm super happy/scared/stressed about it. I've been at my branch for 3 years. This is a big adventure I'm about to embark on. Wish me luck?


On another note, Karl's been home for the last 3 days. We watched V for Vendetta yesterday and V makes Evey eggs in a basket. Karl got the urge to make some for himself. He's made it like ten times since watching the movie. He texted me at work today and said this:
"So, I'm becomming an eggs in a basket pro. Like if there was an Eggs in a Basket house at Hogwarts, I would be Head Boy."

Ya. We've been reading HP a lot. We're on book four. And I love my husband.


This is pretty much Karl.

Oh goodness.

Yesterday was interesting, to say the least. Karl and I met for lunch and as we were walking in he told me he was having some bad cramps that had just started. We went in, ordered, and started to eat. Right after Karl's first taco, the pain intensified. It kept getting worse and worse and worse. I insisted we go to Insta-Care and he agreed (he never goes to the doctor, so this was a big deal). Once we were there his eyes began to tear up and he threw up in one of the side rooms. They moved him to another room where he was writhing in pain. He turned super pale and I'm not going to lie, I got really scared. I'd never seen anyone in so much pain before and I couldn't do anything to make it better. I was stressed and scared so I did what I always do. I cried. I rubbed his back, but nothing would make him feel better. He was sweaty and hot and doubled over with pain. Now Karl's not a guy who whines when he's in pain. He once drove himself to the hospital holding his severed finger in his hand. "No big deal." Last winter he caught his hand in a machine and put a giant hole on the top of his hand. "It doesn't hurt that bad." But yesterday, he could barely speak. I knew it had to be bad. After a urine test, they told him he has a kidney stone. They gave him an anti-nausea shot and a shot for the pain. In that order. Karl wanted to kill the nurse, especially because the only time he felt better was while throwing up. They sent us downtown for a catscan at another clinic and sure enough, the kidney stone was there in all 2 and 1/2 millimeters of horrific torture. They told him it would pass naturally but he'd have to be on plenty of pills. Anti-nausea, 800mg ibuprofen, and Lortab prescriptions to be exact.

I went back to work and was horribly shaken. I had literally freaked out earlier in the day. Of course the worst thoughts come to mind. "What if his apendix exploded? What if he has a horrible disease that he didn't know about? What if he's going to die?" When I had voiced these fears to him, he said "Well, we'll track down Dr. House. In his mission to cure me, I'll almost die 3 times, then I'll be cured!" He's ridiculous. Haha. So ya. Yesterday was a crazy scary day, but we will live. Thank freaking goodness.

The last two days have been so so rough. I want to go home, put my pajamas on and watch movies all day. Sometimes I hate having to face the world. Maybe I'm agoraphobic. Or maybe I should stop looking at WebMD.

You know why they call it Labor Day?

Because the following day is the worst, longest, tiring, laborsome day ever.

Dreams

Last night Karl woke me up and told me he had a dream that Wayne Brady was at the Bare Escentuals store while we were there and all the foundation was powder except the stuff he was using was liquid.

When I got to work I went to dreammoods.com to interpret it.

I texted him this result:
"You are putting too much emphasis on beauty and outside appearances rather than what is inside."

He resonded:
"Interesting. I didn't know Wayne Brady dreams meant that."

Well now you know.




On a side note, my friend Kyle had a dream about Wayne Brady last week too. We discussed the Wayne Brady dream phenomenon and come to the conclusion that W.B. is actually capable of inception.

Ya.

Wrapping Paper

So not many people know this, but I love to wrap gifts. I just do it in a different way than normal.

I've always been a big maker of collages. I love ripping beautiful images and fonts out of my magazines and saving them for later. It's been a while since I have made a collage and as a result I have a big stockpile of pretty pages torn out of Nylon or Conde Nast Traveler just sitting in my craft box.




These are a couple of collages I've been working on for a while.

It was last year that I got the idea to make wrapping paper out of them. I took some pages I already had and looked for other pages in my magazines that had a similar feel or color scheme. I taped them together and voila! The prettiest wrapping paper ever! I get a little more detailed now, using twine, making magazine rosettes or fans, and spelling out the person's name with letters from the aforementioned beautiful fonts (or I create the letters myself). It has become my new favorite thing. :)

This is my most recent creation for the lovely Lara.:)

What I Have

I have:
today off
a lingering head cold
to take a shower
to get my day started
so many questions to ask my boss today
a community education catalog
to enroll Karl and I in a conversational Spanish class from said catalog.
to start creating again
a bowl of the most delicious Cinnamon Toast Crunch in my hand
writer's block
a little sadness about not going back to school yet
so much love for the fall weather that's happening these past few days
the desire to buy new notebooks and pens and other school goodies
enough