a wonderful sunday.

today was a good day.
woke up early and went to church. had hawaiian haystacks [chicken free] at the church linger longer.
went home to be productive...and decided not to be since it was such a nice day.
so...
hannah, emily and i decided to go to target. there is no target in logan. so the afternoon turned into somewhat of a mini road trip and back...to find target!!

miss kiara got to come too! lucky girl.. we took her on adventures to meet geese, chase sticks, and gallop around like the deer that she is. we also documented her serious jumping skills... this girl's got hops. big time hops.

i love them. it was a much needed relaxing sunday, spent with my favorites.
[also spent listening to amazings such as fleet foxes, against me!, interpol, muse, and of course...lady gaga].

black pearl.

i was lucky enough to have delicious sushi twice this weekend.

it was amazing.

last night i had it with my best friends hannah and emily..and today i was lucky enough to have it with..

my cute little sisters!!!
[plus parents, brother, and sister-in-law]

the black pearl is so yummy.. especially their avacado rolls. i highly recommend it!

my favorite fruit.

i don't know why...but i am obsessed with avacado's.

slices with salt.

sushi with shrimp and avacado.

any kind of sandwich with avacado...

guacamole.

it's pathetic.

but, i hear it has fat in it...the good fat!

hooray for my attempts to eat healthy,

and get all trained up for the gardner triathlon coming this summer.. yikes. that's going to be interesting.

changes.

this week i got a job at olive garden. full time, baby!!
i'm super excited to start on monday, and start making a decent amount of money. working 3 1/2 part time jobs was exhausting.
however, i'm going to miss some things about these jobs..such as the little boy i nanny. his name is zac, and while sometimes he's a little stinker, for the most part he is a real sweetie.

i'm excited to take it easy this weekend, and be able to just chill out until i start full-time on monday.

this week was a good one, for many reasons. here are some:

got to go hiking with ma ladies + ryan.

played SEVERAL games of settlers of catan.

won maybe twice.

today = friday craft day with aaron.

we're going to have a legit chiaobama by week's end.

be jealous.

i also forgot to mention that my great friend emily omer is getting married!! last weekend we celebrated her birthday/engagement at her friend kip's house.. it was also her 23rd birthday this week!! i am so happy for her, and her fiance sam is SO cute!

here emily and i are...with her friends kip and..someone? i hate when i forget names.

why not?

the film festival.

last week emily and i got to go to the banff mountain film festival. it was so nice to go and see great movies as well as great friends. a lot of us were there and we loved every minute of it!
my favorite movie was the unicycling one...watching the snowboarding videos just made me depressed that i can't afford such awesomeness.


i cannot wait to go outside.

i loved the film festival because it showed so much diversity and intrigue. it makes me want to try something new...like kayaking. seriously considering taking a kayaking class this summer after watching those films.

vegetarian pizza.

the best i've ever had.

spinach, artichoke hearts, mushrooms, tomatoes, zucchini, cheeeese...and other amazingness.

yes please.

sometimes ryan, hannah and i have good ideas. such as baking a vegetarian pizza. yum!

sunshine.

i miss the sunshine today..and the warmth.

i love summer for many reasons... i love tank tops, barefooting, frozen drinks, HIKING, camping, jumping on trampolines, bonfires, laying out, staying up late.

i miss my summer playlists.. for some reason every summer i am obsessed with third eye blind, sia, sufjan stevens, jimmy eat world, flobots, and the decemberists.

i love it all.

i love being tan, and not having to be bored. in the winter it seems like there is never anything to do.

in the summer, i am outside. and i am happy.

why did the groundhog have to see his shadow????

the incomplete manifesto for growth.

 i am obsessed with bruce mau's website and works...including the Incomplete Manifesto.

click here for everything..and fall in love. here's a bit from his writings...i have decided i'm going to live my life based off of these:

1. Allow events to change you.
You have to be willing to grow. Growth is different from something that happens to you. You produce it. You live it. The prerequisites for growth: the openness to experience events and the willingness to be changed by them.

2. Forget about good.
Good is a known quantity. Good is what we all agree on. Growth is not necessarily good. Growth is an exploration of unlit recesses that may or may not yield to our research. As long as you stick to good you'll never have real growth.

3. Process is more important than outcome.
When the outcome drives the process we will only ever go to where we've already been. If process drives outcome we may not know where we’re going, but we will know we want to
be there.

4. Love your experiments (as you would an ugly child).
Joy is the engine of growth. Exploit the liberty in casting your work as beautiful experiments, iterations, attempts, trials, and errors. Take the long view and allow yourself the fun of failure every day.

5. Go deep.
The deeper you go the more likely you will discover something of value.

6. Capture accidents.
The wrong answer is the right answer in search of a different question. Collect wrong answers as part of the process. Ask different questions.

7. Study.
A studio is a place of study. Use the necessity of production as an excuse to study. Everyone will benefit.

8. Drift.
Allow yourself to wander aimlessly. Explore adjacencies. Lack judgment. Postpone criticism.

9. Begin anywhere.
John Cage tells us that not knowing where to begin is a common form of paralysis. His advice: begin anywhere.

10. Everyone is a leader.
Growth happens. Whenever it does, allow it to emerge. Learn to follow when it makes sense. Let anyone lead.

11. Harvest ideas.
Edit applications. Ideas need a dynamic, fluid, generous environment to sustain life. Applications, on the other hand, benefit from critical rigor. Produce a high ratio of ideas
to applications.

12. Keep moving.
The market and its operations have a tendency to reinforce success. Resist it. Allow failure and migration to be part of your practice.

13. Slow down.
Desynchronize from standard time frames and surprising opportunities may present themselves.

14. Don’t be cool.
Cool is conservative fear dressed in black. Free yourself from limits of this sort.

15. Ask stupid questions.
Growth is fueled by desire and innocence. Assess the answer, not the question. Imagine learning throughout your life at the rate of an infant.

16. Collaborate.
The space between people working together is filled with conflict, friction, strife, exhilaration, delight, and vast creative potential.

17. ____________________.
Intentionally left blank. Allow space for the ideas you haven’t had yet, and for the ideas
of others.

18. Stay up late.
Strange things happen when you’ve gone too far, been up too long, worked too hard, and you're separated from the rest of the world.

19. Work the metaphor.
Every object has the capacity to stand for something other than what is apparent. Work on what it stands for.

20. Be careful to take risks.
Time is genetic. Today is the child of yesterday and the parent of tomorrow. The work you produce today will create your future.

21. Repeat yourself.
If you like it, do it again. If you don’t like it, do it again.

22. Make your own tools.
Hybridize your tools in order to build unique things. Even simple tools that are your own can yield entirely new avenues of exploration. Remember, tools amplify our capacities, so even a small tool can make a big difference.

23. Stand on someone’s shoulders.
You can travel farther carried on the accomplishments of those who came before you. And the view is so much better.

24. Avoid software.
The problem with software is that everyone has it.

25. Don’t clean your desk.
You might find something in the morning that you can’t see tonight.

26. Don’t enter awards competitions.
Just don’t. It’s not good for you.

27. Read only left-hand pages.
Marshall McLuhan did this. By decreasing the amount of information, we leave room for what he called our "noodle."

28. Make new words.
Expand the lexicon. The new conditions demand a new way of thinking. The thinking demands new forms of expression. The expression generates new conditions.

29. Think with your mind.
Forget technology. Creativity is not device-dependent.

30. Organization = Liberty.
Real innovation in design, or any other field, happens in context. That context is usually some form of cooperatively managed enterprise. Frank Gehry, for instance, is only able to realize Bilbao because his studio can deliver it on budget. The myth of a split between "creatives" and "suits" is what Leonard Cohen calls a 'charming artifact of the past.'

31. Don’t borrow money.
Once again, Frank Gehry’s advice. By maintaining financial control, we maintain creative control. It’s not exactly rocket science, but it’s surprising how hard it is to maintain this discipline, and how many have failed.

32. Listen carefully.
Every collaborator who enters our orbit brings with him or her a world more strange and complex than any we could ever hope to imagine. By listening to the details and the subtlety of their needs, desires, or ambitions, we fold their world onto our own. Neither party will ever be the same.

33. Take field trips.
The bandwidth of the world is greater than that of your TV set, or the Internet, or even a totally immersive, interactive, dynamically rendered, object-oriented, real-time, computer graphic–simulated environment.

34. Make mistakes faster.
This isn’t my idea – I borrowed it. I think it belongs to Andy Grove.

35. Imitate.
Don’t be shy about it. Try to get as close as you can. You'll never get all the way, and the separation might be truly remarkable. We have only to look to Richard Hamilton and his version of Marcel Duchamp’s large glass to see how rich, discredited, and underused imitation is as a technique.

36. Scat.
When you forget the words, do what Ella did: make up something else ... but not words.

37. Break it, stretch it, bend it, crush it, crack it, fold it.

38. Explore the other edge.
Great liberty exists when we avoid trying to run with the technological pack. We can’t find the leading edge because it’s trampled underfoot. Try using old-tech equipment made obsolete by an economic cycle but still rich with potential.

39. Coffee breaks, cab rides, green rooms.
Real growth often happens outside of where we intend it to, in the interstitial spaces – what Dr. Seuss calls "the waiting place." Hans Ulrich Obrist once organized a science and art conference with all of the infrastructure of a conference – the parties, chats, lunches, airport arrivals – but with no actual conference. Apparently it was hugely successful and spawned many ongoing collaborations.

40. Avoid fields.
Jump fences. Disciplinary boundaries and regulatory regimes are attempts to control the wilding of creative life. They are often understandable efforts to order what are manifold, complex, evolutionary processes. Our job is to jump the fences and cross the fields.

41. Laugh.
People visiting the studio often comment on how much we laugh. Since I've become aware of this, I use it as a barometer of how comfortably we are expressing ourselves.

42. Remember.
Growth is only possible as a product of history. Without memory, innovation is merely novelty. History gives growth a direction. But a memory is never perfect. Every memory is a degraded or composite image of a previous moment or event. That’s what makes us aware of its quality as a past and not a present. It means that every memory is new, a partial construct different from its source, and, as such, a potential for growth itself.

43. Power to the people.
Play can only happen when people feel they have control over their lives. We can't be free agents if we’re not free.

i love this town.

just one more thing i love about my best friends.

this was our conversation today while playing settlers of catan..

LAUREN: "adam.... why were a snuggie if you're gonna roll up the sleeves?!"
ADAM: "so i don't knock stuff over."

apparently there IS a flaw in the snuggie. little does he know he's getting a miami dolphins snuggie for his birthday in just a couple weeks.

on a completely random note..

i went to my friend hannah's ballet studio in logan yesterday.

it was the cutest little building i've ever seen.

their walls had chalkboard paints next to the barres.. and the wood floors are old and creaky.

pretty much amazing.

makes me want to dance again.

or buy a super old piano.
:]

last night..

hannah, emily, ryan and i camped out.

yes, we had warm beds in our house waiting for us...

but sleeping in a tent sounded way better.

the tent is ryan's new one [purchased for our spring break adventures] and we set it up in the living room first. just to try it out.

i'm getting entirely too excited for spring...camping, hiking, adventuring, barefooting!

shocking...

for once.... i agree with sarah palin on something.
i know, i know.
shocking.
and family guy is one of my favorite shows..but sometimes they take it too far with the jesus jokes and the jokes that make fun of mentally retarded people.
make fun of sarah palin all you want [it's very easy to do]. but don't make fun of people who are  born with a condition they can do nothing about.
not to mention they're the sweetest people i've ever met.
my brother-in-law has down syndrome and he is so great.


this is a historic day.. and will probably never happen again.
cuz after all, agreeing with sarah palin on anything pretty much means you know nothing.
ha ha.
:]

sometimes....

i go to great lengths to curl my hair.

and  then i spend the whole day indoors, in sweats, playing board games with my roommates.

sigh.

hence why i'm putting this on my blog.

here is proof that i sometimes like to be girly.

only sometimes, though.

culiacan, mexico.

my freshman year of college i was able to go to culiacan, mexico with my brother and sister.
it was my first time going out of the country.. and it was beautiful.

looking back on  these photos makes it easy to remember how blessed i am.. there were so many poor people who would love to have what i have.

i am very lucky.

mexico is beautiful. and i would LOVE to go back asap.

music worth your time.

meet cloud cult, a band unlike any i have heard before

reasons why i love them:

1. they are a self-recording band from minnesota that records all of their albums with geothermal energy.

2. they are all vegan.

3. they use only recycled materials and donate all of their profits to environmental charities.

4. over 100 of their songs were written after lead singer craig minowa's 2-year-old son kaidin passed away. they are all amazing.

5. they are a group of 3 couples, all married.

they have some of the best music i have heard in awhile. it's very rare to find a band whose cd doesn't come out of my cd player for days.

i already know this is how this band will be for me.

check them out here and here.

valentine's day.

*taken at a park bekah showed me in hyrum.

i did many fun things this weekend..

-saw valentine's day with mi madre, and loved it. spending time with her is the BEST thing a girl needs. i miss her already.

-tuned my sister's guitar for her and tried to teach her jack johnson.

-held my little niece for hours and hours. 

-spent a day in slc adventuring, and got to see the fletcher's [my favorite family], and sarah hoer, whom i miss.

-went lap swimming with my papa.. surprise surprise.

-bike shopping with my brother.

-spent valentine's with my family... and got to eat this adorable cake.

celebrate independence.

in an attempt to be more optimistic about the worst holiday ever invented... i've decided to spend this valentine's day celebrating my independence.
i am a girl who does not need to rely on anyone but myself. while sometimes i have felt like this pushes me away from people, it is a blessing at the same time. it is great to know that i don't need anyone else to be happy.
[with the exception of my family and great friends].

the things i love

1. family

2. logan family

3. chocolate

4. great movies

5. the ocean

6. the sunset

7. my long hair

8. when people smile

9. nail polish

10. my cat, nesta prime

11. bracelets

12. when there's an available pull through spot in a parking lot

13. kissing. just in general.

14. fireflys

15. music

i hope those of you also celebrating "single's awareness day" can remember all the great little things in life that can be your valentine.

:]

and remember: "no reason is needed for loving." -paulo coelho

so excited.

spring break 2010 is going to be one for the books.

i get to go with these lovely people...

on the biggest, longest road trip ever.

my record previous to this was the trip i took last year with the bentley's to northern california. about an 18 hour drive with 3 unhappy little ones. haha.

this trip will beat that though.

52 hours of driving total.. if we decide to go to the grand canyon [which adam is set on].

first stop:
lake tahoe

to visit our good friends scott & molly who live there.

lots of hiking. lots of chillin'.  i can't even wait.

second stop:

somewhere outside of san francisco.

one day we'll spend hiking the country outside of san fran, exploring the wilderness of nocal. the next ryan's friend is going to show us the sights of the city.

fisherman's wharf. ghiradelli [prob spelled wrong] square. golden gate bridge. alcatraz. chinatown. SHOPPING.

third stop:

highway 1 as far as we can go.

it's going to be a ridiculously beautiful, leisurely drive.

with views like this:

fourth stop:

san diego

to stay with ryan's brother and with the help of him, and some friends of mine in that area... we're going to surf, tan, and chill on the beach all day.

also spend some time in the city. because san diego is awesome.

fifth stop:

grand canyon

this is going to be a ridiculously long trip... but totally worth it, seeing how none of us have been to the grand canyon. so why not?

sixth stop:

zion national park

on our way back we're going to need somewhere to crash so that we don't want to kill each other after 40+ hours in the car.

zion's is beautiful. and we'll get to camp even MORE!

finally, after all that driving, camping, beaching, etc, we'll be back to good old logan town. and i'll be sure to tell you all about the wonderful trip.

i just hope my friends won't want to kill me after 52 hours in a car with me.

oh, and guess who else gets to come?

she is one lucky girl, in for the road trip of a lifetime!!!

happy weekend.