the.simple.things

kenya tid.bit

2008-07-24T10:07:00.003-05:00

just wanted to post one picture for now. thank you everyone for praying for me and the team. this picture was when i got to see my girls that i had so much fun with last summer. they are now in 5th grade and some are starting to speak more english which is fun! they were yelling hello to me from across the school yard through the window. pretty much made my day! it was an amazing experience, i will post more stories soon.

wipe.out

2008-06-26T00:39:00.002-05:00

stumbling upon this new tv show made me have to run for the kleenex to dry my tears because i was laughing so hard. ABC's show "wipeout" is basically random people who think they are coordinated [some do look like they do] going through this crazy impossible obstacle course. once again, i picture the guys and gals around a table in some planning meeting coming up with these obstacles for regular joe-shmoes to go through so that we can have a little more laughter in our days. genious people, it's genious. maybe i just needed to have a good 'ol belly laugh tonight, but who can resist a 56 year old woman getting knocked out by a wall full of punching gloves....or the man that looks like he could be a decent athlete going over the gigantic red balls, being knocked around like a rag doll into the water below. hilarious people, it's hilarious. i'm going to bed tonight giggling about it.

matches.

2008-06-05T10:31:00.004-05:00

i don't know why i get a kick out of things like this that i found. probably because this company didn't just want to make matchbooks, but thought they would bring smiles to those who use them. i mean come on, how funny that they put FACES on the matches? hilarious. so...here's to you pyros, smokers and candle lighters out there...hope you find that this just puts a random smile on your face. and thank you Japan...for having a sense of humor!

this one is for you, joanna!

2008-05-27T13:10:00.006-05:00

this is why i love japan. hello kitty was just named the official tourism ambassador for the country. look how proud she looks... ha ha....oh i love it.

who would buy this?

2008-05-24T15:02:00.003-05:00

i can't think of a worse way to start my day in the morning. someone thought this would be a brillant way to wake up.
the sad thing is that there were people probably sitting around a conference table of some sort that brainstormed the design of this product. in my mind it probably went something like this:

theBoss: we need to design a creative alarm clock
designer1: what kind of alarm clock?
theBoss: one that makes people frustrated and frazzled in the morning
designer2: how about an alarm that punches people in the face instead of a "alarm sound"
theBoss: no, something more annoying...
designer1: i have an idea! let's design it so that when the alarm sounds, puzzle pieces fly off into several different directions around the room....AND...the person now has to FIND the pieces, pick them up, place them on the appropriate shapes to make the alarm stop.
theBoss: brilliant. let's go with that.

really...stop using it

2008-05-10T23:13:00.004-05:00

i have begun education a few people among my small circles about the overuse and abuse of this font.

[to be said in a very over-dramatized way]
now is the time not to be silent anymore. it is time to send this message out to the world. *with a fist raised to the sky* we must stop people from using this font, it's name is "comic sans"

In 1995 Microsoft released the font Comic Sans originally designed for comic book style talk bubbles containing informational help text. Since that time the typeface has been used in countless contexts from restaurant signage to college exams to medical information. These widespread abuses of printed type threaten to erode the very foundations upon which centuries of typographic history are built.

While i recognize the font may be appropriate in a few specific instances, my position is that the only effective means of ending this epidemic of abuse is to completely ban Comic Sans.
*selection taken from bancomicsans.com*

there are so many font/typefaces to choose from. if you need help finding free fonts, i'll give you a handful of websites to get you started. although this post may sound like this is my life long goal to banish this font...i just simply think it's funny that people keep using it. especially the medial, legal and restaurant menus. i just may start posting pictures of comic sans abuse. because i think it's funny.

madeTOshine

2008-04-30T01:06:00.005-05:00

i realize there is no correct way to mourn or grieve one that has grown so dear to a heart. for some reason, this blog post is something that i have put off...because in this world that we live in now, posting this is making losing audrey a real thing. i want to honor her, communicate clearly the person that she was...but words just fall short. but it's all that i have, so here it goes:

i could count on audrey for several things [this is not a complete list] but here are a few,
#1 a hug as a greeting, and a hug as a goodbye. and these were good hugs, not the wimpy hug accompanied with two slaps on the back. we are talking a real squeeze here. :)

#2 always knew that i had good company at the dinner table during family gatherings. sometimes included some sort of beverage going through the nose due to some serious laughter happenings.

#3 an occasional necessary eye catching when something "interesting" would happen among groups of family members. something that non-verbally communicated, "did that really just happen?" or "did they really just say that?" was also coupled with some smirks or grins.

#4 always had a partner for the scavenger hunt, or any other game.

#5 partner in crime when it came to being goofy. audrey would never let me do anything without joining in with me.

the list goes on and on...

aud was someone to have some great deep conversations with, and then in the next minute be laughing so hard, tears are squirting from our eyes. someone to sing at the top of our lungs songs from RENT driving into the small town of fonda. and she was someone who always seemed to end up in the chair next to me. i loved that. and i told her all the time that i did.

at her funeral...it seemed fitting that beads were handed out. audrey, you always knew how to have fun. but there was also this theme of honoring aud's life by "loving someone better"...because let's face it, she understood what it meant to love people. she truly was someone who was created to shine, someone who was MADE to shine. and that is what she did. it's all over her face, literally...that smile, those eyes, that heart....it shined. and you know the crazy thing? she is still shining. praise God for that.

love someone better. to me, that is a life worth living. a life full of love. i want to look back on my life knowing that i did that. audrey, you showed us a great example to shine the way God created you and to love people the way He made you to love, with no excuses. it was an honor to call you cousin. it was a blessing to call you friend.

i miss you.

your smiling, shining face is forever burned on my heart.

i went to AZ.

2008-03-20T17:46:00.006-05:00

andrew+olivia+beautiful view=smile on sara's face.

we love being irish.

baseball game with my dad.

celebrated being irish with the fam.

i wore sandals.

the seeds are safe!

2008-02-26T23:02:00.001-06:00

this fascinated me today. thought i would share.

a "doomsday" vault has been opened in svalbard, norway. this vault holds many of the seeds of plants from all over the world in case something horrible happens to the world....life can still grow!

so, a bunch of people [or a few] got together one day and they were like, "what if a huge bomb came and killed all of the plants on earth? we should probably do something about that!" so they built this huge vault in the middle of nowhere! to me, it makes me feel good knowing that there are smart people coming up with things like this.

the best part about this whole story [ok maybe not the best part] but this town that the vault is in, is so remote that the people in the community are required by law to carry a gun when they leave the town limits because of the polar bears in the area. how crazy is that?

ok i'm done.

we can all sleep tonight...the seeds are safe.

sNOw.

2008-02-25T17:54:00.007-06:00

ok. so we all know that this winter has given us a beating, and that we all lose in this fight because even now as i type, my poor little car gunther is getting cover again by snow and the slush from cars passing by.

but come on people...it really is pretty. it's inconveinent, but nevertheless: pretty. i would suggest a few things for those of you that are suffering from a little cabin fever:

1. write a real letter.
2. catch up on your blogs.
here are a couple that i find entertaining...
>underconsideration.com/brandnew/ [DISCLAIMER: this is a graphic design blog...these guys are hilarious, taking shots at people who have re-branded well...and re- branded not-so-well]
>brewingculture.publishpath.com/
>postsecret.blogspot.com/
>collidemagazine.com/c/
>ilovetypography.com/ [for those of you that join me in a love of typography!]
>fredricksamuel blog [another design one...sorry but it's good]

3. take random ingredients from your cabinets and create a culinary masterpiece. [i doesn't have to be good...it's all about the process.]
4. color coordinate stuff.
5. read a book. [now there is a concept]

just a few suggestions. just don't look out the window.

trust me...it's still snowing.

my little liv.

2008-02-07T16:36:00.000-06:00

i get to celebrate this girl this weekend....and i'm really excited. this picture just proves to me that we are related! ha ha!

hmm....

2008-02-07T16:32:00.000-06:00

i bought new socks yesterday.

they came in a reseal package. um...........mr. manufacter-er: why must you package socks this way? it's not really up on my priority list to keep my socks in a "freshness" package. i'm pretty sure that it's ok with me and the rest of the world that air gets to our new socks.

made me laugh.
the end.

more dimes.

2008-01-20T14:59:00.000-06:00

so...not saying it's a resolution or anything, but i'm just trying to get healthy again so i was in snap fitness the other night. just one night after finding the dime on my previous post. haven't seen one in awhile, now they are everywhere!

i put my stuff in the little cubby hole, and saw a dime sitting in there! i thought, "whoa...that is sweet." then sat down on the floor and started stretching, and i look up....another dime!! there were like 30 people in the gym at that time...and those dimes just sat there. just thought i would share some more "dime sightings" God is faithful. dimes or no dimes, i know that He is, but He is so gracious to remind my silly little heart of that truth.

dime.

2008-01-15T10:22:00.001-06:00

i feel like i have told these stories a million times. but it happened again today, it's worth noting.

when i worked at jag's java...i had a co-worker named Allie. she had a grandpa who was a pastor back in the day. he and his wife were down and out and having some financial and personal difficulties. so, one morning, her grandpa got on his knees and prayed that God would give him a sign, that he would know that God was watching, He was there, and that He was faithful. her grandpa knowing full well that he shouldn't put God "to the test" but just prayed because he knew that God really does want our prayers. so he thought that he would pray for dimes, not for financial purposes, but as a sign that God was faithful, He was there...as a sign. you never "find" dimes, pennies maybe, but dimes are hard to just find in random places, so that's why he prayed that.

so ever since her grandpa prayed that, when he needed it the most, to know that God was there and He was faithful....he would find a dime. so Allie's dad started praying for dimes...then finding them randomly when he needed it. then Allie and the rest of her family did the same. so when i was working with her at jag's, Allie was having a hard time just figuring out the next step in her life because she just finished college...and was anxious about the who's, what's, when's, and where's of her future. the day that she told me this story, a man who came through the drive through...who NEVER tipped....gave her a handful of dimes as a tip! there were like 25 dimes in his fistful! i was giggling because i thought that was a creative tip, and her face was just shocked as she took the fistful of dimes in her hands, when in her head all she was thinking was, "God, you are faithful"

she told me the story after that, then i was inspired to pray that same prayer of dimes.

since then, i have found dimes in many peculiar places. and everytime i see one...i just smile and shake my head, pick it up and say a simple prayer of thankfulness. i found one right in front of the door of prairie lakes before the first River [our college ministry] last year. one i found in Nigeria, Africa [that one freaked me out]. find them in my car seat. randomly on the road. on the deck of my parent's house at Fitztoberfest. and TODAY i found one...it was on the floor of the sound booth at prairie lakes. there are a lot of reasons why that particular dime is important to me. but the placement being where it was, i just smiled again because God is incredibly faithful. not because He gives me the presence of dimes, but i am human......and it's nice to have a reminder in front of my face.

catching my breath, day four

2008-01-13T11:12:00.001-06:00

ode to the smile makers.

catching my breath.

2008-01-12T12:28:00.000-06:00

this picture demonstrates exactly what i have been doing the last few days. lots of coffee [caribou] and books. *breathe in, breathe out* next time, i will not wait so long to get away. this has been like food for my soul.

art.

2008-01-11T10:45:00.000-06:00

there is an author/artist who inspires me so much. she said...

"art isn't meant to be pretty.
it is meant to evoke.
trust the mess.
trust yourself.
leave ripples."

i feel free when i read that. even just looking at art, experiencing it...that i don't want to look at art and think, "that is pretty." or even, "that is NOT pretty". does it stir something inside? does it evoke some feeling? does it bring up a good/bad memory?

just something i'm thinking about. remembering how much i love art. i lost that for awhile. it sounds so cliche, "art is everywhere". but it really is. i will not be ashamed for noticing it, and pointing it out to whoever is around me. and even creating my own art....trusting the mess that stirs inside of me...trusting myself and how i have been wired. and at the end of the day, i would love to look around and know that i left ripples.

it's funny.

2007-10-26T14:35:00.000-05:00

why are there "spoilers" on mini-vans? i passed one the other day and just thought that was funny.

dy.ing

2007-10-22T11:53:00.000-05:00

i took a different look at fall this weekend. fall is my favorite season, but really...it's about death. everything seems to be dying, but it's a beautiful thing. without getting too deep...i am looking around feeling like it's ok to celebrate death knowing that life comes out of it. i am appreciating the sights, smells and sounds of fall. there is nothing better than finding a tree that looks like it's on fire. o it's so beautiful.

see[ing]

2007-10-04T17:04:00.000-05:00

i want to see more. not just the physical sight of things, but seeing with new eyes, fresh eyes...ones without the veil of bias or lack of perspective, or of prediction. things that i have become custom to, the ordinary. am i able to dip down and see the everyday, the ordinary with new eyes? let me give an example:

i have been living in cedar falls for a good four years now. went to school here, have worked at the same place for awhile...what i noticed today was how friendly people are in this town. really they are.......one lady smiled at me as i was turning to get to work this morning. i didn't know her, she didn't know me.....a smile. i think what i loved the most about that, was that i noticed. and it's now 3:00pm and i am still noticing.