I've been tagged!

Okay - so Becca tagged me a couple of weeks ago, but I haven't gotten around to making the actual post until now.

A. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning.

B. Each player lists 6 facts/habits about themselves.

C. At the end of the post, the player then tags 6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

In deciding what to share, I realized this should probably be renamed "6 Indicators That Karla Really is a Nerd." But, here it goes!

1. My high school mascot was a potato, a Russet to be exact. It's true, I was a mighty Lady Russet! Shelley, Idaho also holds the Miss Russet Pageant, celebrates Spud Day, and gets out of school for 2 weeks in the fall to harvest potatoes. No joke.

2. I have been known to watch CSPAN...in my spare time...for fun. What can I say? I enjoy the political scene! I have also had close encounters with a few big and semi-big shots: John Roberts, Dick Cheney, Harry Reid, Jon Huntsman Jr., Mike Crapo, and Dirk Kempthorne.

3. The enjoyment of playing dress up hasn't exactly faded for me. I have a particular fondness for wigs and crazy hair do's (as demonstrated at the top of this post and below).

4. Although I enjoy watching movies, I am not a movie buff (does that make me a movie wimp?). People are constantly amazed at the movies I have not seen. For example, I hadn't seen "The Sandlot" all the way through until last week.

5. Bugs, birds, lizards, trees, and such fascinate me. I can distinguish a loon from a coot, a pinnate leaf from a palmate one, and a lepidopteran from a coleopteran. I have my father to thank for most of that.

6. I have never had stitches, but I have had staples twice (both times on my head) and a broken hand (sustained while trying to do a back handspring during lunch recess in middle school).

Now it's my turn! I tag Angela, Holly, Kristen, Paige, Rachel, Sara, Tiffany, and Valerie! And yes, I do know how to count, that is more than 6 - the more the merrier, eh?

Happy Election Day!

Don't forget to vote today!

And the winner is...

As many of you know, Jeff has been busy preparing resumes, interviewing, and weighing the pros and cons about where he will work after graduating with his Master's of Accountancy in April (yes, a bit early, but that's the way it goes in his program). After much deliberation and discussion, we are happy to announce he has accepted a job in Boise, Idaho! Hooray! We are so very excited! My heart really has been leaping for joy!

Boise is such a great fit for us. We love how it is big, but small at the same time. We are stoked to be living in the capital city - maybe I can get involved in politics again! It is such a beautiful city - what city with the nickname "The City of Trees" wouldn't be? And of course, we are excited to be living in Idaho again.

Jeff's start date is August 1st, so we still have quite a while to anticipate, prepare, read up, and become even more excited for this big change. What a great stage of life to be in!

Picture courtesy of Wikipedia

yesterday

Thinking about yesterday...

* about stepping out into the Halloween morning. The crisp fall air, cloudily subdued skies, the bright orange of the trees, being dressed head to toe in my black costume. I loved it! It was like I was entering the pages of a spooky novel.

* cherishing the excitement of the little trick-or-treaters. I can still see that little cowgirl, blue eyes wide with excitement, exclaiming the words "We get yummy candy!" I was also brightened by another cutie who joyously said, "Oh I LOVE Hershey's!"

* Lesson: Take a few moments to look around, enjoy the simple things, and write them down to take it all in and remember. :)

BOO!

truly scrumptious!

Pumpkin Cake

easy and oh, so delicious!

Ingredients:

1 spice cake mix

1/3 cup oil

3 eggs

1 can of pumpkin (15 oz.)

Directions:

Mix ingredients together.

Bake at temperature and times shown on cake mix box.

*I like using a fluted/bundt pan - cupcakes might be fun, too!*

Take 'er out and cool.

Frost generously with cream cheese frosting.

And, most importantly, ENJOY!

photography class

I have been wanting to take a photography class for the longest time and I finally did*! The class was on how to use a point & shoot digital camera to take better shots. The teacher, Bryan Niven, is an amazing photographer (check out his work here)! I decided to take the class after seeing the shots he took with his digi as posted on his blog. Can we say amazing?

One of the best parts of the class was the section on how to take focused close-ups. Pretty cool, eh? This type of shot also works well for products, demonstrated below with some earrings I made. Angela took some great shots with her camera, too.

I haven't been in "student mode" for quite some time, but it was fun to get (somewhat) back into the groove, even if it was only for a 4-week class. There's something about sitting in lecture, furiously taking notes, and reviewing concepts that is invigorating and exciting. I'm not sure I'm ready to go back to the early morning study sessions, hours in class, and late night study groups of my undergrad, but I think I can handle one class next semester.

*Shout out to Jeff - thanks for suggesting I take the class!

happy, happy birthday Jeffrey dear!

to you - from me!

why i LOVE photoshop elements

Because I can make my photo look like this!

weekend gems

Another weekend - another trip to Idaho! 2 consecutive weekends in the Gem State is pretty much unheard of for us these days. We're hoping for a successful interview, delicious home-cookin', a round of croquet (fingers crossed!), a Wii bit of fun - good, quality time with the fam.

For those of you sticking around Utah for the weekend, this boutique sounds like a gem, too. Get the details here and here. Go with a friend and support your local crafters!

I looked out the window and what did I see?

Little did I know back in May that my birthday begonias had a special surprise in store for me. After a while I noticed one of these plants is not like the others - it's a pumpkin plant! Where did it come from? How did it get here? Who knows - I'm just happy I caught a shot of one of its beautiful yellow blossoms.

so what do you do when you wake up at 5am?

Go take pictures of the temple, of course!

I woke up at a little after 5am on the other morning. Instead of going back to sleep, I decided to make good use of my time by going to the gym. Since photography was on my mind, I decided to take my camera along, just in case. On the way to the gym, I saw the temple spire and decided to go take a picture.

NOTE: Using the self-timer works wonders for night, or early morning photography!

pay it forward

I've been wanting to get in on the blog swap fun for a while, and I finally have on Kristen's blog! I decided to do the same thing on mine, so here's the scoop.

PAY IT FORWARD: i will send a handmade gift to the first three (3) people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. you may not receive it tomorrow or next week, but you will receive it within 365 days! the only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog. (so, you must have a blog to participate.) i can't wait to see who I will be giving to. to join, just cut and paste and comment away. so get posting.

Who wants to swap handmade goodies?

baby kicks

Here are some pictures of my latest in baby gift giving - handmade shoes! I found the free pattern here. A few mods here and an embelishment there brought me to the final product.

I've also been experimenting with some appliqued onesies, as well. Put it with the shoes and you have a nice, little, color-coordinated package!

Inspiration

I realize I'm becoming somewhat of a slacker on posting to my blog. It's not that I don't think about blogging...in fact maybe I'm thinking about it too much. I just want to make sure I'm happy with what I post and when. Still trying to figure that all out...

I find myself spending much of my time looking, admiring, and loving so much of what is out there in the world of blogs. I can't help but be amazed at the gifted people I share the blogosphere with. Check out Marta's words, Rachel's style, Sally's smiplicity, Nicole's photos...wow! Talented ladies!

With that, I'm starting to realize the trick is not in finding creative inspiration, but in not letting the dreaming keep you from doing. I need to do a lot more doing. What good is dreaming without doing?

The goal: Get going and doing!