the next project for the pace sister singers :)

maybe we can switch out names though...serenade nephew peut-être?

pace sister singers

so the pace sisters music video...for reals :)

purses, bags, clutches...

fortuantely or is it unfortunately?...i'm probably above average on this one.

[source ]

scissor runner

very excited about this music. and maybe seeing them in salt lake :)

ken of the barbie and ken

there is one little man who i definitely want to take to toy story 3.

not so hot legs

so i decided to play soccer for the first time in more than 5 years last saturday. about 15 minutes into the game while trying to block a goal, i popped my left knee out of socket. the second time in less than a year. suck.

i wish i could say that i blocked the goal. no such luck. i did manage to do a pretty awesome drop and roll (from what i hear). all i know is after the sickening collapse of my knee i threw myself to the ground and rolled a few times. the motion also caused my knee to realign (phew) because what's almost worse than having it pop out in the first place, is trying to convince someone to help me pop it back in.

so yeah. right now i'm not feeling that my legs are very hot. on the bright side i'm getting great use out of my hello kitty ice packs :)

[pic ]

forrest yoga

oh whitney houston

i've been listening to whitney houston's songs from the bodyguard again and again and again in the car. singing along when i am definitely not hitting the notes like whitney. i love it.

so the bodyguard movie is a little terrible but also kind of awesome.

whitney houston plays a diva who has a hitman out to get her. kevin costner (he of few emotions) plays the former secret service bodyguard who has to protect/put up with her. of course they fall in love. the movie came out in 1992 hence whitney's costumes and outfits are pretty fantastical.

oh and i totally do the hand motions along with whitney. love it.

happy happy birthday

happy birthday to the incredibly handsome boy on the right.

who is single, ladies.

he is uncle buddy, deceptively hilarious, loves his sciences, has an awesome collection of animal and fish figurines, knows how to exercise on parallette bars, has insurpassably strong convictions, is incredibly gentle and bares a strong testimony of our savior, jesus christ.

i love you nelson :)

finger candy

i was home in texas last week and my mom had given me baby clothes she saved for my children. i told her it would probably jinx me if i took them with me so she agreed to hold on to them. and now i'm posting a bunch of pictures of rings. oh well.

here's the thing. if i have an opinion on something it's typically a pretty strong opinion. so i thought i'd share :)

i personally don't really like traditional wedding/engagement rings. i'm not really a diamond girl. but i am a jewelry girl, kind of hardcore in fact. so here are some rings that i think could possibly work as a wedding/engagement ring but don't fall into the typical category.

looking at the pics i've collected i don't really shy away from yellow gold. however i think most of the above rings could be just as appealing in a white gold setting. i don't really want a ring that sits high. with a faceted ring i appreciate a hammered band but with a polished stone i like a smooth band. so nothing to fancy, i'm a casual girl. the last one is of a diamond but it's small and very unassuming.

anyway. now that i've posted this i'm probably hosed on ever actually getting one but whatevs. my friend alex used to get the tiffany's catalogs just so we could pick out which engagement ring we'd choose. us girls can be so silly sometimes :)

[ sources]

aged cheddar and apple melt

so one of my all time favorite grilled cheese sandwiches i learned from lamia and jessica. it involves sourdough bread, brie, green apples, onions sauteed in apple juice and of course all of it is toasted in butter.

enter in aged cheddar and apple melt:

raisin bread, aged cheddar and sauteed apples. toasted melted goodness in butter. i'm definitely going to try this soon.

[source ]

[comic ]

[pics ]

[pic ]

[pic ]

[pic ]

the five love languages

so before diving into the five love languages the book first addresses a few issues. such as limerance versus real love. limerance is the falling-in-love experience which is completely different than truly being in love.

first, falling in love is not an act of will or conscious choice. second, falling in love is not real love because it is effortless. third, if you are falling in love you are typically not genuinely interested in the personal growth of the other person. any 'purpose' is in terminating your own loneliness (btw i love the phrase terminating your own loneliness :)

falling in love gives you the impression that you've 'made it' and you just need to stay there. this is the point where all the potentially annoyances or flaws are over looked or seen as endearing. what happens when this so called 'honeymoon' stage is over?

it goes on to say that you should be looking for a love that not only unites emotion but also reason. find someone who chooses to love you, who sees in you something worth loving. a love that is intentional.

so yes there can be shooting stars, deep overwhelming emotions but there also needs to be that choice to love. deciding to meet your significant other's deep, emotional need to feel loved.

so. i'll get to talking about the five love languages but first a little yadda yadda from me. throughout this book i began to wonder if applying the concept of speaking your significant other's love language could have saved my relationship. throughout the book though i told myself that it can't be onesided, everyone involved needs to be actively working to choose to love.

then i get to one of the last chapters in the book where the author gives an example of a woman who came in and spoke of how her husband was completely despondent about her and working towards their marriage. didn't want to attend marriage counseling, wouldn't constructively work with her to even discuss how to improve their marriage, etc.

the author then wrote out this plan for her to execute (note her alone):

1. tell your spouse that you have been thinking about your marriage and have decided that you would like to do a better job of meeting their needs. ask for suggestions on how you could improve.

any suggestions will most likely be a clue to their love language. if not suggestions are made then think of their complaints which should also be able to point to their love language.

2. the for six months focus your attention on their love language. after each month ask for feedback on how your doing and further suggestions.

3. if your spouse indicates that there is an improvement, wait one week and make a specific request. something that you really want your spouse to do for you.

if they do it, you will know that they are responding towards your needs. if they don't, continue to speak their love language.

this process begins with you speaking their love language and hopefully results in them speaking yours in return. hopefully it results in a marriage reborn.

so. i read this chapter and become a little frustrated. over and over again i have heard from people that you can't have a one sided relationship. and i know that the idea of the 'plan' above is that the end result would no longer be a one sided relationship.

anyway. what i'm getting at is periodically i wonder if i should have tried more, stayed longer, etc. i think most everyone in my situation might feel the same way from time to time. this chapter, providing a clear plan to try and get your significant other to respond made me think that way for a moment.

but. i did the right thing. it was absolutely the hardest thing i've done in my life but definitely the right thing.

the five love languages

next book on the relationship circuit...the five love languages.

so my old boss/relationship guru teresa gave me this book after i got out of a serious long relationship. again she said i needed to read it and that it would seriously help in having successful future relationships.

there is a quiz in the back of the book which helps you identify your love language and of course i promptly took it (not having read the book). my answers were all over the place and inconclusive. my mom said that having been in a relationship that failed i probably couldn't very accurately identify my love language (in fact the book also mentions that if your 'love tank' has been seriously low for an extended period of time it will be difficult to discover your love language).

so about a year later...take two. according to the book (and author gary chapman) there are five love languages:

words of affirmation

quality time

receiving gifts

acts of service

physical touch

most people speak one of these love languages (in some cases you can be bilingual). the key is to find out your significant other's love language and learn to speak that to them.

for example if your significant other loves spending time together; whether that's taking a walk in the evening, sitting and talking on the couch or even doing an activity they'd like (bike ride!!); then you make sure to take the time and do that for them.

the point made by the book is that if you can speak your significant other's love language and they can speak yours then each of your 'love tanks' will stay full. which results in a loving successful relationship.

this book was a much quicker read than the last primarily because it had quite a few interesting stories that he then used as examples for applying the five love languages.

i have also been quizzing a lot of my friends about their love language which is very very entertaining :)

so cute

so the kiwi is a flightless bird.

dear future husband,

please find me quickly. we are missing out on so much time together. oh, and i will make yummy picnic lunches for our bike rides.

love,

katy

[pic ]