Yeah I Just Quoted Paris Hilton

thanks!

I first encountered this quote on shopSCAD.

SO what is shopSCAD...besides the most worthwhile creative outlet I have seen in a long time?

shopSCAD is a site devoted to SCAD students (OF COURSE!)

SCAD = Savannah College of Art and Design.

Just read their ABOUT page...you'll understand why this might be my greatest find this year.

ANYWHO.

This speaks to the creative i-don't-know-what-to-call-it inside of me. That THING that thrives on creating. That THING that seems highly gratified when I have written my soul on paper, painted my thoughts, or collaged (yes I just made this verb) my memories. I don't know what IT is...all I know is I LOVE it and it LOVES me when I create.

SO try it. CREATE...DESIGN...ORGANIZE

much love,

b.

Brittney...Like Britney Spears?

This is what I heard all in Hawaii. All of the Polynesians in response to "My name is Brittney" would say "oh! like Britney Spears".

So Brittany S. Pears...I hear ya girl!

much love,

b.

P.S.

Thank you thank you thank you for the trip down memory lane.

Dear Jeffery

So I have this friend: Jeff Swindle. One the persons who I respect most in the world...I know that is a sweeping statement...but at the same time it is a true statement. And Jeff has posed a question which I would like to answer.

The question is:

So, men of BYU, I ask you the same question - how can we expect our wives to stay at home if we wouldn’t be willing to do the same? And women of BYU, do you need that “intellectual stimulus” or are you satisfied with the “traditional” role of housekeeper? (which is, I might add, the noblest of duties).

Read the entire article HERE.

My answer: LONG of course

Dear Jeffery,

First of all I want to question your question. (Of course I won't just stick to the question that has been addressed to me as a woman of BYU)

I question your use of the word expect. I think too often we expect things. We expect someone to act a certain way or think within certain parameters. This expectation is, what I believe, the root of the complex.

I hesitate when someone expects me to do this or do that or be this way or that way. Expectations are very dangerous. However at the same time I believe expectation is how we organize our world.

Think about it. Expectations help us succeed. When we take classes we are expected to meet certain criteria to fulfill requirements to have success. Expectations motivate us. I expect myself to behave in certain ways to fulfill religious beliefs, personal beliefs, and family beliefs.

So expectation is not all bad.

However think of the times when your expectations have not been met. This usually equals disappointment. NOT GOOD.

So is expectation good or bad?

Well how I would answer is both. (OF COURSE I WOULD ANSWER LIKE THAT)

Expectation becomes bad when there is a lack of understanding.

Let’s take your example and run with it.

The characters include boy and girl. However many instances may ensue:

#1: GOOD

Boy expects girl to stay home.
Girl expects to stay home.
Girl expects boy to work.
Boy expects to work.

#2: NOT SO GOOD

Boy expects girl to stay home.
Girl expects to work.
Girl expects boy to work
Boy expects to work.

#3: LOTS OF MISUNDERSTANDING

Boy expects girl to work.
Girl expects to work.
Girl expects boy to stay home.
Boy expects to work.

You obviously can fill in all of the gaps.

My personal opinion, which is all I can give, is that when expectations align expectations are good. When expectations do not align expectations are bad.

So my answer to your posed question is: It depends on the couple.

I have found that everyone has an OPINION. This is great…fabulous, I love sharing. But too often we shove our opinions on others. This is not so great…NOT fabulous.

So here is my opinion, take it or leave it: Couples should work this out between themselves. Preferably before they are married and have kids (hopefully you don't marry someone who has unreal or skewed expectations about you). The same model is not going to work for everyone, so TALK; COMMUNICATE. You can even experiment and find what works best for YOUR family. But BE HONEST. If it is not working; it is not working.

SO my overall answer is let each couple figure it out for themselves (hopefully their goals and expectations align). A collective answer just won't work.

ALSO I hope everyone can remember...don't judge and expect what works for you will work for others...it might, but that doesn't mean it ALWAYS does. What matters if people are happy...so let them be happy.

My personal answer is a little more complicated and is what I think might work for ME:

I love school. School and learning is what I do. I mean I have been quoted saying something to the fact that I could go to school the rest of my life and be happy (BTW my internship mentor advised against that). However, I also believe in my future role as a mother and wife.

There have been plenty of times when I have struggled with the ideas of going to med school,enrolling in master's or doctorate programs, and building a career in my areas of interest simply because yes I have a desire to be a mom. I try to balance the idea of doing both in my head ALL the time...ok maybe not ALL of the time...but more than you would think. I have yet to come up with the perfect answer.

My answer before would have been: I have to be a working mom. I love school and learning too much to let it go.

However, these past few weeks have been very insightful. I have been living at home playing mom. I do all the things a mom would do for a household or in my case a family of three. I take the kids (well my mom) to school. I clean the house. I grocery shop. I do the laundry. I cook dinner. I mow the lawn. I tend to the garden. I make sure we have FHE and scripture study. And the list goes on. As much as I miss school, I like what I do and I think once I have kids I will like it more because when you teach (I WILL be teaching my kids) you learn; you have to or you will be a very bad teacher).

Now don't get me wrong yes I miss school and I miss work. But there is something fulfilling about managing a house.

So when I meet that one guy who I decide to spend the rest of life with (yes that is kind of mushy) we will decide together. Because I feel I could do both. I would love to be able to work and still be a mom, but I would also love simply being a mom. We will decide together what is best for our family and what will be the most fulfilling.

I will have what I would like which is yeah I would like to have a career...but I won't have it if it compromises my family.

So in the end my answer is: just wait and see. We will make the decision together like hopefully we will make every other decision.

Alright that was the LONGEST answer...whew...A+ to all of you who made it through...I didn't expect you to though.

So tell me...what do you think?

much love,

b.

P.S.

Sorry for all of mispellings...it was a long documents...please forgive!

Quick Draw

Yes...this has two meanings. One of which I have known from growing up in Wyoming and watching western's with my grandma. The other I discovered last weekend, which I like A LOT more.

Around this time of year in the little Cody, Wyoming a huge event takes place called the Quick Draw. This is where artists from around the region...or just artist get together and have a quick draw (literally).

The event begins with breakfast and a silent auction of much of the artists' work. I fell in love with certain artists as I often do. Then a bell sounds and the Quick Draw begins. The artists arranged around the courtyard at the BBHC (yes the Buffalo Bill Historical Center) have one hour to create a masterpiece.

I loved seeing the creative process. It was also fun to see the artists whose work I had fallen in love with. I began quickly to understand that artists really do have their own signatures...their pieces are so uniquely them.

My mom, who so graciously introduced me to the event, and I made the rounds about 3 times. So I got to see the art in many different stages. After the hour is up another bell rings. The artists much finish and frame their pieces.

The audience then proceeds to a fabulous auction!

I decided learning the art of auctioneering would be...well SO COOL!

The auction was so fun. Especially the bidding wars...on one piece the bidding got up to about $10,000!!! I love art, but SERIOUSLY???

I think if I am ever rich, art auctions...or maybe just actions in general will be my favorite hobby...SO INTENSE...ok only during bidding wars...but STILL.

Here are some pics!

There were all types of art...

Scultpures:



Paintings:



Pastels: This was one of my mom's favorites



I found some of my favorite artists (so when I am rich and run my own ranch-May through August-I can have this art in my home there):

Duke Beardsly: reminder to self he has this set of four that I want to hang on a wall...red, blue, mustard yellow, and orange...something like that

Before:



Almost Finished: WOW that use of color is AMAZING



Donna Howell-Sickles: I just loved this piece



Nancy Dunlop Cawdrey: perhapys the most unique. She paints on silk and uses salt for texture. Also her use of color in the animals is so vibrant

The very beginning:



During:



Ten Minutes Left!:



So of course you know me SO competitive...the result is a contest. Mom picked her favorite piece and I picked mine...which ever went for me was the WINNER!

Mom's: a truly ingenious use of white space...LOVE



Mine: yes aren't those the craziest colors..you know me I love odd colors



I am happy to report: I won! but mom's piece put up a very good fight.

So here's the mother-daughter combination: very blurry sorry!



So THANKS MOM!!!

I have to say I LOVE art...it is so beautiful and there is a lot to think about...I hope to one day be the owner of fabulous art. OK secret sharing time: I used to want to take an oil paiting class at BYU...maybe I still will. Maybe just maybe I will be a creator...not of fabulous art...but of art...that is completely me.

much love,

b.

Skinny and fat have become my new s-word and f-word

That is from Miss Carly Larsen from the Women's Serivces & Resources (WSR) at BYU.

Not that I had an s-word or f-word before that I used...but this is my new motto.

You know me...I LOVE women's health, so this I think could be considered up my alley.

SO the big news is that WSR is pitching a new image and campaign: Recapturing Beauty.

I just got their news letter: Sophia (I just love that) and the articles are top knotch. Check it out on their blog.

Here's a taste:

OH WAIT A SECOND...whew I just thought...what if they don't get this because I haven't given them ANY background..that would be bad.

OK so these are all about the struggle between innner and outer beauty...ah yes I am sure you are just as familiar as with these two frienemies as I am (and yes that was a allusion to the new film coming out: You Again..I can't wait to see it!)

Anywho Checks these clips outs:

From Anna Packard, PhD:

For the first time in my life, my body took on a completely new meaning to me. It was no longer about what my body looked like but what my body could DO. (She is talking about pregnancy..FYI)

From Carly Larsen:

With all of the voices telling me to hate my body, change my body, and punish my body, my own voice was lost.

I started looking at my body in terms of what it does for me. way: My arms that reach, stretch, lift, comfort, hold, hug, carry, and create; My legs that bend, balance, walk, run, jump, dance, support, and kneel; My torso, where my heart beats, my lungs ex-pand, and where, one day, a miracle will grow and be protected.

From Brook Schultz:

We’re conditioned early in life away from “beautiful.”

So the most courageous thing we can muster is to call others beautiful,
to which they so quickly reply, “Oh, no, I’m not! Look at my arms/love handles/pinky fingernail.”

...someone should love me the way I am and that someone should be me first.

From Diane Spangler, PhD:

The image you see in the mirror is actually a distorted representation of what you actually look like and who are you. Your mirror image is only one-half your actual size...

WOW right? I loved reading Sophia and think I want to do some writing myself...but I will get back to you on that part (that's the perfectionist coming out in me...or the yep-I-haven't-been-in-school-for-4-months-and-yeah-I-am-a-Public-Heath-major). So just maybe I will treat myself to an editorial.

BUT please read this...and remember LOVE YOURSELF.

much love,

b.

Bring on the Brain Injury

I know I peculiar title...but check out how peculiar this is: CLICK HERE.

Yes, you read the link right. After this kind of brain injury you have a foreign accents.

If only you could choose the accent HA. No I am really not making fun...this is a crazy phenomenon.

But if I could I would was up with a New Zealand accent. YEP that is my favorite.

much love,

b.

Kazoku!!!

Alright so as much as I loved seeing all of Japan and eating all of Japan...the best part of it all was FAMILY TIME.

I went over to Japan the first time when I was about four or five...so it was kind of like meeting everyone again for the first time...but not. It's hard to explain. All I know is that although we couldn't speak to each other...there is just something about family...maybe its just an innate love.

So first I got to meet my uncle: Toru. AKA my dad's little brother...weird my dad has a little brother. It is just one of the those that if you don't grow up meeting them or hearing about them...but I just LOVED Toru. He spent the most time with us...he showed us all around and made sure we never got lost.

Here we are at the Imperial Palace:



Yeah so then we got all together as a family for lunch. I guess they hadn't been together for about 5 years...so it was pretty special.

Siblings:



Spouses:



Boy Cousins:



Girl Cousins:





All cousins:



My Dad's oldest brother: Shotaro...and what I think my Dad will look like when he is 74.



Brothers:



Childhood Friends: MY DAD HAD FRIENDS!!!! that makes me so happy



My Obaachan!!! Yes she turns 100 this year...good genes



Then:



Now:



At my aunts house we played dressed up. This is a kimono that my obaachan made herself:





And yes they took us to Karaoke: my uncle is REALLY good. My dad and Aunt well...



After karaoke with my aunt and uncle:



When we were leaving my uncle picked up all our luggage and met us at the airport with my other uncle and aunt and cousin. It was so sweet. They all made us cry when we were leaving. They stayed the whole while we were going through security, until you couldn't see us anymore.

My family was so gracious and made us feel so loved and welcomed. I can honestly say I have never been treated better in my life. They were so great.

YEAH FOR FAMILY!!!

much love,

b.

Let's Go to the Movies...

Ok so last night my mommy convinced me to watch this French film: The Chorus.



I was not too excited, but ended up loving it! The story is so touching and you just fall in love with music and teaching...and you hope so so much. Please watch..we just rented from the library...I am sure your library has it too!

This also reminded me just how much I love foreign films!

At the top of my list is Shall We Dansu (Yes the American Shall We Dance was based off of this I think...or something like that)

Another one I just loved was The Wedding Dress, a Korean film. I have never cried that much or that hard in a movie before. It is a beautiful story:



I just love these films...if you ever feel like you need to watch a movie and want to try something new...held over to the foreign film section...you might be surprised...and the reading is not as cumbersome as you think :).

much love,

b.

Tabemasho!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Alright so aside from everything else amazing in Japan...you guessed it the food was soooo OISHII!!!!!! SO AMAZING it deserves its very own blog post!!!!

Other than family...the food was my FAVORITE...I could have eaten just about everything...and that is a pretty bold statement.

SO our first night we all had noodles...YUM!



And you order them using this thing...coool:



My first rice/bean cake oooooh:



Chinese buffet with the fam...yep there is squid, octopus puffs, shrimp, egg drop soup etc...very tasty:



Yep this is okonomiyaki!!! It was the FAVORITE of ALL of us!!!!





This is the only picture of the best sushi I have ever had:



We also had the most amazing gyoza: yes tofu gyoza. It was this gyoza bar...yes they only made gyoza. The also had the most amazing sauce combos!!!!

Yummy katsudon:



Get this: eel rice burger...YUM!:



THE BEST Shabu Shabu EVER!!! well a whole like 6 course meal:

The appetizer:



The veggies:



The tastiest marbled meat:



Shabu Shabu (aka swish swish in English):



The results: With the best sauces...yum:





Yep pick it up:



Put it in, and its cooked!:



3rd, 4th, and 5th course...something like that:



Dessert: WHOA



We also ate dinner at my Aunt's house: Hiyashi Chuka...my dad's favorite childhood food...I think. It was very very yummy!!!

And we bought this for her for dessert! The Japanese have fabulous dessert and pastries and just yummy little treats.



AH it was all SO good. Also there was this melon bread that I just loved and I think I am addicted to the sparkling ginger water...I bought out the grocery store every time. And in old town there were these ice fruit treats...THE BEST! I am sure I missed a ton...there was just too much great food!

YUM I can't wait to go back and try new dishes!!!

Please go to Japan...just for the food...because American Japanese food just doesn't do it justice.

much love,

b.