Ah, Regi

Regina Spektor never fails. She comes from a musical Russian Jewish family. She said that she never aspired to write songs; they just flow to her. Her lyrics are not based on life experiences, but rather on scenarios and characters from her imagination.

Pretty excited for May 29! It'll have to be a late birthday present. :)

This song is one of my new favs. According to the video discription, apparently it appeared on her 2002 album "Songs," but she's re-recorded (re-re. haha) it for this album. fun!

"Say Yes"

It's Wednesday, ladies and gentlemen!

I know that because I had to take out the garbage this morning. And after taking out the garbage, I need a little pick me up--like good music.

I am particularly fond of this song. I'm interested into looking into the band more because of it. 

The Theater Fire 

"Say Yes" is an instrumental cover by The Theater Fire (it was originally done by Elliott Smith--he said [according to wikipedia] that he wrote this song about someone in particular, which he almost never did). Wikipedia didn't even have anything on the band (whaaaaaaaaaaaat?! How could you fail me, wiki??), so I had to google them. Fortunately, they have a pretty cool website where I learned that they started up in 1995. "The Theater Fire have a knack for spinning yarns about drifters, hangmen, brothers, and lovers grappling with their own honor, trust, guilt, and loss. These tales are woven together by arrangements that include weeping pedal steel and violin, strains of accordian, mandolin and xylophone, plucked banjo and guitar, sorrowful brass and the clip-clop of found percussion. The songs combine influences as diverse as zydeco, bluegrass, mariachi, country, gospel and rock and roll - yet somehow remain  unmistakably The Theater Fire" (theaterfire.com). 

Check out the original "Say Yes" as well. It's such a nice song.

Also, allow me a nerdy moment. Remember how I did that Zelda bookmark cross stitch? Did I mention that I love nerds because they share things? Well, I do, especially now that I've discovered on zeldadungeon.net (one of the best Zelda websites I've found, btw. If you ever need a walkthrough, that's my go-to place) that they provide free links to the soundtracks. Yep, you read that correctly--I am now the very elated owner of six complete Zelda soundtracks (plus Ocarina of Time orchestrated and all the sound effects you could ever wish for). Scott will tell you I was pretty much freaking out the two days I spent downloading all of the music. I just got the soundtracks for the games I've played (meaning I left out the handheld systems games). Guess what I wake up to now? 

Just don't pay attention to the first 10 seconds and the Goron song. The middle part is my alarm.

I've never been so happy to wake up. It's been one of the funnest things to listen to the soundtracks...it's like playing the game...when you're NOT playing!!! :D  Seriously. Sometimes it kinda freaks me out though, when a boss song comes on or something. It makes me nervous. :/  

It was the highlight of my life, finding those soundtracks. Thank you for allow me a few moments of terrible nerdiness. I enjoyed it.

Jaymay

Here is the next installment in our music education: 

"Jamie Seerman is an American folk singer-songwriter from New York. She performs under the name Jaymay.
Jaymay was born on January 3, 1981, and was raised on Long Island. After graduating from New College of Florida in 2003, she was unable to find a job in book publishing and moved back to New York to play professionally." 


And that was all wikipedia would give me. I went to her website, but there was no bio section, unfortunately. 


 I like this song and another one called "Snow White."


Enjoy!

I picked this video because it's pretty much the only one I could find that wasn't live. If you want to see a fun live version, watch the video where she's playing on a street in London in front of the Albert Theater. 

1st Warm Day of Summer

**beware**PICTURE**OVERLOAD**

Last weekend was a fabulous one! We had Flat Stanley, and it was the first warm day of the year! There was even sunshine. Mah-veh-lus!! Scott and I decided to go for a walk out by the falls, following the train tracks in front of the library.

Best idea ever, right? Yeah! Unfortunately, Scott and I weren't the only ones with the brilliant thought. There were old couples, an engaged couple getting engagement pictures, skateboarders, and several makey-outy couples that also came up with the best idea ever. Nonetheless, it was still a really fabulous Saturday.

After Scott worked for a couple of hours, the mail came. And guess what I got...?!

K I gotta tell you. I looked in the mail box and I saw the big white envelope and was like...OHMIGOSH!! Super excited, right? But it was all folded over (looked like an "s", really) and just thought, "Oh NO my mailman didn't!!" Alas...he did. He folded up my teaching certificate. I seriously stood on my porch and shook my fist at him. If you look carefully, you can see bent corners. I teared up a little. Anyways, I was just glad that the tear on the envelope didn't go all the way through to my certificate.

My happy dance

I told Emily that I was going to fill out my application with her, and I didn't. I am ashamed. : (  When I saw there were a couple of job positions available, I had a freak out and just did it. Buuuuuuut I still wanna skype and I'll help her do it!! It was actually way easier than I was expecting it to be.

So it was after this happy occasion that we went out to the library (where I got In Cold Blood by Truman Capote. I have this kind of morbid curiosity inside of me that's just dying to read it). Anyways, I also wanted to show off my cute (well, I think it is...looking at the pictures I'm like, hm, maybe not as cute as I thought, but it'll do) outfit. I've had this dress since last summer. Laurie bought it for me for my birthday/student teaching. I knew it had potential, but I couldn't wear it by itself...it was just too bland. And I didn't know what to add to it! I kept thinking, if only I had navy blue tights...anyways, I found this old shirt that I never wear anymore and decided to make upcycle it into a cardigan. I want to shorten it still, I just haven't gotten around to it yet. Next time I wouldn't wear these red shoes...I'd wear my more subdued red flats. And I love love love the belt! I found on Pinterest (where have you been my whole life?!?) a tutorial for several belt knots. You can bet your bottom dollar the next time I'm at DI I'm going to be looking for long belts. 

Here is a documentation of our first spring Saturday outing. : )

Because I told Tasha next time I was on railroad tracks, I'd be a damsel in distress.

Scott made me do this. For McKenzie!

~The End~

Our Weekend with Flat Stanley

How many elementary school teachers have heard of Flat Stanley? Yay! If you haven't, that's ok. Thanks to wikipedia (my official source for all knowledge/information), we can learn about him:

"Stanley Lambchop and his younger brother Arthur are given a big bulletin board by their Dad for displaying pictures and posters. He hangs it on the wall over Stanley's bed. During the night the board falls from the wall, flattening Stanley in his sleep. He survives and makes the best of his altered state, and soon he is entering locked rooms by sliding under the door, and playing with his younger brother by being used as a kite. One special advantage is that Flat Stanley can now visit his friends by being mailed in an envelope. Stanley even helps catch some art museum thieves by posing as a painting on the wall. Eventually Arthur changes Stanley back to his proper shape with a bicycle pump.


The Flat Stanley Project was started in 1995 by Dale Hubert, a third grade schoolteacher in London, Ontario, Canada. It is meant to facilitate letter-writing by schoolchildren to each other as they document where Flat Stanley has gone with them. Dale Hubert received the Prime Minister's Award for Teaching Excellence in 2001 for the Flat Stanley Project. The Project provides an opportunity for students to make connections with students of other member schools who've signed up with the project. Students begin by reading the book and becoming acquainted with the story. Then they make paper "Flat Stanleys" (or pictures of the Stanley Lambchop character) and keep a journal for a few days, documenting the places and activities in which Flat Stanley is involved. The Flat Stanley and the journal are mailed to other people who are asked to treat the figure as a visiting guest and add to his journal, then return them both after a period of time. The project has many similarities to the Travelling gnome prank except, of course, for the Flat Stanley Project's focus on literacy."


So there it is! The fabulous and fun Miss Riley is doing Flat Stanley, and I was only too happy to participate!

We decided to take Flat Stanley out with us on a Friday night date to Wendy's.

Stanley saw a car get pulled over! Unfortunately, we were late and missed the car that actually got pulled over. We just managed to get the cruiser before it pulled away too!

So....delicious...

On Saturday, we took Stanley to a place we just knew he'd love:

Guess what else is cool? On the Idaho Falls Public Library website, I found out that: "The children's classic, 'Where the Red Fern Grows,' was written during the period when the author, W. Wilson Rawls, lived here in Idaho Falls, Idaho from 1958 to 1975. To commemorate this event, a statue has been placed on the lawn of the Library. Our thanks go to the generous support of people from all over the United States who helped this dream to come true. The life-sized statue depicts Billy Coleman and his two hounds and was created by Marilyn Hansen, a local Idaho Falls artist."

Lucky Stanley! So we got some pictures of him with the statue.

That was a super cool bench. It was sea themed.

And then guess what book we found...? 

We had fun reading together.

Thanks, Blake, for letting us join you on your Flat Stanley adventure! He'll get put back in the mail on Monday to end his journey in Idaho Falls. We had fun!

MUS-ic

Pandora

Did you know that apparently the Greek gods offered her "seductive gifts"? Her name means "all-gifted" or "all-giving." Her other name is Anesidora, which means "she who sends up gifts," up implying from below, within the earth (Hephaestus, under Zeus' orders, molded her out of the earth. It was part of the punishment because of Prometheus' theft of fire).

Pandora has been my savior when it comes to music. I need new music pretty much every other day. And Pandora is how I fulfill this need. I find it a very fitting name for that online radio station. So, well done, Pandora creators. Well done.

With the help of Pandora, I have decided to do a "song of the week" type of thing, more for my sake than anyone elses' (just to help me keep finding new music to be interested in).

I just can't help but love what I've discovered.

I've got a good list so far. You guys know how I love to share music. 

So here is the first installment of our weekly music education:

Noah & the Whale

Honestly, I'm not entirely sure how I don't already know about them. How could I have possible gone 6 years without them? I don't even know. But it was love at first listen. 

"Noah and the Whale (stylised "Noah & The Whale") are an English indie folk band from Twickenham, London, England formed in 2006.^[2] The band consists of Charlie Fink (vocals, guitar, ukulele, mandolin), Tom Hobden (fiddle/keys), Matt "Urby Whale" Owens (bass guitar), Fred Abbott (guitar/keys), and Michael Petulla (drums). ... The name 'Noah and the Whale' is a combination of the title of one of the band's favourite films, The Squid and the Whale, and the name of the film's director, Noah Baumbach.^[3] They are also avid fans of the film director Wes Anderson, who helped produce The Squid and the Whale; the group's e-mails, and many of their MySpace blog posts are signed "Sic Transit Gloria", a phrase frequently used in Anderson's film Rushmore" (thank you, wikpedia). 

"Love of an Orchestra"

"Blue Skies"

"5 Years Time"

I really, really love all three of these songs. I love most of their songs. They make me so happy.

So, enjoy! Normally I don't plan on doing three songs per artist. Just a song will do, I think. But I just couldn't resist sharing three of my new favorite songs with you!

I'm just SEW enjoying my free time

People always ask me what I do with all of my free time now that I'm done with school and I'm not working (don't have a full-time job. I've been hired as a sub--woohoo! Foot in the door! So I'm doing that and nannying now). Well, there are some days that I'm a total lazy bum and just play Zelda all day, but there are other days too where I do cool things!

Scottie (with the help of my fabulous in-laws) got me a sewing machine for Christmas. Aaaaaaaaaaaaahhh! All my sewing dreams come true!! Except one tine detail.

I don't know how to sew.   :(

Sew... I enlisted the help of my mom and Laurie. Laurie suggested a receiving blanket and some burg rags as my first project, as they were simple. And it was! She took me to Porter's and we picked out some gender neutral fabric, since, y'know...I'm not pregnant, and am therefore uncertain of future baby's gender. And ta-da!

I made a very cute (if I do say so myself) set for my friend Natalie and her baby. Silly me though, I forgot to take a picture.

Out of no where I kind of decided I really wanted a jean skirt. I must have seen a picture of a girl in one or something. Anyways, I remembered that Sara and I back in our high school sewing class made a few jean skirts. So I took an old pair of jeans that were just too long, and turned them into a skirt. I'm not sure how to wear it though...I'm still experimenting. Are they even in?? Oh well. I like it.

Then I went home and my sweet, sweet mommy bought me a skirt pattern, fabric, and some buttons. We got the majority of the skirt done in 2 days. Yay! I finally got it all hemmed last week so I got to wear it to church yesterday! Can I say I love it? Because I really do.

disclaimer: I'm not a model. I'm not very good at posing. I learned that during my senior pictures, and that fact was reaffirmed during my engagement and wedding pictures. But it's still fun. :)  We took this after church. On fast Sunday. That means I hadn't eaten anything all day and it was 4:30 in the afternoon. I may have been getting a bit....shall we say...disgruntled? Impatient, perhaps?

Not quite ready for the shot...

A little TOO ready...

Scottie you're making me so ANGRY! hahaha

I attempted to make a matching flower.

Oh and can I send a shout out to Sheena? Hey Sheena! THANK YOU so much for the prettiest tights! I got several compliments on them. :)

Mom also bought me all the DMC thread I needed to cross stitch this totally epic pattern. The only problem is, I have yet to find aida cloth big enough! So I may have to suck it up, go to Porter's, and buy a yard so I can do it. :P  Anyways, since I haven't been able to work on that one, I decided to make a bookmark out of a scrap I had.

Yay! It's a Zelda bookmark! This is pre-finish, though. I used Fray Check on the edges and then I used the blue thread to stitch it to the felt to hide the back. Sew cool. Power, wisdom, and courage unite! I found this website that has a bunch of free Nintendo themed patterns. Does life get much better? Not really! Now if only I could find the aida cloth I want...!

Anyways, let this be proof to all those who may think that I lounge around doing nothing. I'm trying to develop other talents. I'm all sorts of inspired!