artsy pants

A while ago on my house blog, I did a tour of our house. Lots of things have changed since then... paint in baths, couch in the basement, Iranian pots above kitchen cupboards, etc. and now THIS.

I finally have something above our bed! My mom and I painted this the last few days. Really my mom did most of it... like 80% of it. I kept wanting to do my 'sketch' strokes and we would both go crazy. So I stepped aside for the last bit of it and watched in awe as she gracefully brushed the rest of the bamboo leaves to the canvas.

We used my mom's oriental screen from home as inspiration and now when I see it, I think of all the times I would be practicing the piano as a little girl, stop, pout, and look up above the arch into the foyer where her screen was and think, "whyyyy can't I be outside with my friends??" Then I'd keep playing.

But now, as I look at this, I am filled with excitement; this is something my mom and I did together! AND I am proficient (enough) at playing the piano and don't begrudge my practice.

So now back to the screen. The champagne-colored gold-metallic paint overpowers the matt-and-muted green of the bamboo, so at different times of day you can see it differently:

with flash:

without flash:

happy painting to you all!

Hike X: walk to Eagle River from house

*iphone pic 

Two mornings ago we took a small hike down to the river just to look for bear tracks. Found none... bitter sweet. But we did get to try out my new "baby backback" - I guess it was comfy enough for him to fall asleep on our way back up.

knock knock

My mother and I keep truckin' through my 'to-do' list, and here is what we completed today. A nice, fresh coat of paint to make this white door a little more welcoming.

Small changes are sometimes the sweetest.

baa-a-a

A week ago tomorrow, I had a friend of mine come over so we could have some fun and some dinner. She's adopting a baby boy [any day now] and I wanted to make a mobile. Sooo... my little noggin' thought she might as well come over and make one with me! I'd just supply the hot glue and enchiladas. It was a fun night but we only got so far, so I finished it up the next day, found the sticks while at the river with my mom (she's since come to town!), and lashed it together yesterday, and hung it today.

Mont already loves watching his new found friends.

It was Sarah's genius idea to have the one black sheep in the fold. I wonder how she thought of that? ha!

Here's the lashing. I love how tousled it looks!

Oh yea.. we saved $98 by doing it ourselves. Love that!

Reeder's Digest - Mirror Lake

This afternoon was a BBQ with a bunch of friends (all but one family there were military) at Mirror Lake, North past Chugiak. It was a beautiful, sunny, and perfect day. Summer is in full swing, finally. Though we missed Mark, we certainly aren't lonely with all these friends up here. What an awesome group.

Mirror Lake is pretty big, and I'm sure it's pretty cold; even still, kids were trying to get their parents to let them swim! Lots were fishing, some were swimming, and some were canoeing. When the sea planes would come in for their landing, I could hear the parents say, "I hope their watching for the swimmers!" Ha!

Through the trees on the left (next to the tan tent) was where our spot was. I looooove Alaskan aspen (or are they birch?) trees. ooorrrrrr.... both?

Even with the bit of crying he has done since last night and today (cutting the top two (or maybe even three) top teeth), he was happy and loud at the BBQ. We almost got hit once with the kickball, but our friend Nicole literally shouldered that burden for us, narrowly missing her baby, James. Thanks, Nicole! Then Taryn Gray (no one in the world, like her) went over to the group of men/boys playing and said, "it's a lot cheaper to fix a broken car than a broken baby's head." yikes! They shifted the bases to be facing the parking lot after that while Taryn victoriously told us about her tale of spine.

Mont is my best buddy. I love having a little person with me all the time, especially when he squawks and squeals when he sees King Louis or when someone surprises him with a growl and a tickle-shake (I can't think of a better name for what it is).

I think Mont was watching kids run around in the dirt when I held the camera in front of his face. I think he wanted to get dirty too... This picture makes me laugh because of his cute little neck - lately he strokes his neck or cheek with King Louis' tale when he's trying to fall asleep - it is the funniest thing I've ever seen.

While nearing the end of the BBQ, all the parents started to round up their kids like little lost sheep. They were all covered in dirt from head to toe! Every last one of them. These two were the first to be noticed - not only are they funny every time I see them, but even more so when covered in dirt, mud, soda, BBQ sauce, and whatever else they found. I loved it so much I had to take a picture and tell them to watch The War - these kids looked like the Lipnickis! I'm taking them the movie for them to watch this week. This picture doesn't even do them justice. They just look like they have great tans compared to the reality of the situation. Jessy said to me before they left... "my kids are so FILTHY! Mont is going to do the same thing someday!" I just laughed and then thought I'll probably be taking pictures of him then, too!

Later on facebook, Jessy (their mom) said, "... an awesome BBQ with amazing friends. I really feel blessed. Might not have blood relatives in AK but I sure do have family."

So, so true. I feel the exact same. 

PS - Happy Memorial Day, everyone! 

freezing parenthood

TV shows are fun for a number of different reasons. One of the reasons they are fun for ME is that when I watch them online, I take screenshots of paused scenes. Then I get tons of ideas for decorating! Things to look for when I browse online, and things to think about when I climb into my own bed. Fun fun fun! 


For your viewing pleasure: 


Here is the master bedroom in this set's house. I love everything about it except the motel-looking art above the bed. Everything including: the seashell sitting on the dresser closer to us, the rug, the storage bench at the end of the bed, the headboard, the lamps, and I have her slippers! the paint color, the window treatments, and the molding. AH I want that bedroom!! And so cute that their little boy is snuggled right in the middle of them. What a cute picture (if this were a real family!)

Oops - ignore the "play" button in the middle! She is walking towards the bathroom in the left of the above picture. I love the lighting in the room, and the shelving, and the chair, and the glass lamp, the framed painting... the list continues..

And continues... hello floor mirror! I found two awesome leaning mirrors at Lowe's today for $111! I didn't buy them, but I took a picture. :) 

And one last shot of this couple's house, their living room. Here the ungle is clearing the floor so that he can teach his nephew how to DANCE! The shelves on the left wall are pottery barn, and I really like how they filled them. The paintings around the room are beautiful, and I love the house's charming windows and moldings. I love the built in shelves around the fireplace: 

meet Mike, Mark's brother

I was/am tempted to put this video up on my blog when I found it via a wife of a friend's of Mike's blog (does that make sense?) to show everyone how awesome Mark's family is. Michael is the one who is "instructing and leading" the synchronized act, and also the one that looks just like Mark. These Reeder boys are the best!

After the Air Force Academy's finals of last year (I was pregnant in all the pictures of the graduation from last June - maybe that'll ring a bell?), Mike and his four friends waited until they all were done with finals and then took the plunge together, and as Ashley pointed out, jumped in the order of completion. 

Now if we could just set Mike up with his dream girl!

Icy

A week ago the three of us were able to go on a Glacier Cruise of Prince William Sound. Though it was sunny, bright, and beautiful in Anchorage when we left, it was rainy, cloudy, and dark in Whittier. We thought it was funny since when we drove to Whittier last October, we kept saying to one another it looks like a ghost town with a haunted/druggy house on the hill - totally CREEPY. Once we left the busy but still ghost-like town and headed out into the sound and fjords, it was breathtakingly beautiful!

The cruise we took advertises that it is the cruise of 26 glaciers. I didn't count them, but I don't think it was that many.. though it was still a LOT of glaciers! It was astounding to see these historic blue beasts. Here is a picture, totally untouched just to show you how much blue the camera picked up. And in person, they are even bluer. The captain said they are blue because of REFRACTED light - refracted being the key word. It is not magnified or reflected, it is bent. And of all the colors in the spectrum, blue is the easiest to pick up, so blue is the prevalent and most easily noticed of the bent colors. I'm no scientist, but it made sense at the time.

The larger pieces that were further away from the glaciers were very ... big. Our catamaran kept shuddering as we pushed through these ICEBERGS. The captain could tell some of the people were nervous, so he explained how our boat was specially made to hit these ice-giants and keep going. Our boat was built for hitting the ice and for speed. It was more adventurous than I thought it was going to be; I wasn't really expecting to be shoving full speed through the Titanic-sinkers!

Out on the dark, teal water, these icebergs glow so brightly. They almost look like sparkling gems:

Of the possible wildlife, we saw about 30 Pacific White-sided Dolphins, which the captain claimed to be the fasted animals in the ocean. They were swimming circles around us when we were going 30 knots! There were lots of sea otters with babies (how come I'd get hypothermic but those little babies don't??), fishing bald eagle, dall sheep, and these birds... I can't remember their name, but they're smaller than seagulls and they are predators rather than scavengers like the gull. 

Mark and I were hoping for a good family portrait on this water-vessel, but the guy who offered to take our picture didn't snap a very flattering picture of us... so here's one I grabbed of my boys when we were trying to get Mont to look at me. I think Mont likes his home-land. hah!

ohhhh my funny little boy. Not only is he quite a looker, but he is so FUNNY. I am seriously laughing all day with this boy; except on the face-butting occasions when my eyes are watering.. that's not too funny, but sometimes he thinks so.

This isn't a very depicting picture of him - not a normal expression of his - but I love how soft and well mannerly his hair is being in this picture.

He's still working on those gums, and at this moment he found Mark's jacket. Mark probably is going to laugh when he sees this picture of himself - probably, because it makes ME laugh! Mark is as funny a dad as Mont is a funny boy. I love these two:

Happy glass-ee-ayes to you too! (the couple sitting across from us were from Kent, England and I loved hearing them say "glaciers" the entire time)

let me water your plants?

Aren't babies the cutest in sun hats? *iphone

This morning was another warm, sunny day, so I put back my shoulders and braved the mosquitoes and spiders, bears and moose to give this little boy some grass exposure (he only rolled onto it once, but hey, that's a start!). There was only one run in with a spider (quite a muscular one, if I might add) that ran onto my towel. But I swatted it off with my paint-swatch-book-mark. Mont enjoyed watching the kids on the street who are now FREE since school's last day was yesterday.

King Louis even got a little sun too, and I think we all avoided bites.

age

we can do it!

Tonight I am proclaiming my woman-power as I BBQ by myself!! I had Mark teach me how before he left, and as I type this... my timer is tick, tick, tickin' away.

bbzzzzzz... Better go turn the kabobs!

meet me in St. Louis

Mark's iphone picture email to me this afternoon.
Subject line: Love you.
What a kindred spirit.

PS - the last post, a happy weekend, was also my 500th!

a happy weekend

Motherhood..

Messy.

Crooked, toothless, eye crinkling, nose wrinkling smiles.

Happiness and joy. 

Sleepless, tired nights that drain us all. 

Wrestling tickle matches that I always win. For now.

Hugs and eating shoulders, kisses, slobber, wet noses, or tears.

Diapers. 

Stinky diapers. 

Missing socks that somehow he stashes for chewing on later. 

Green beans? yuck. Bananas and oatmeal? yes, please.

Tears cried by both Mont and myself, 

crocodiles tears and happy alike.

Naps; 3 hours long or 5 minutes short. 

Grabbing hair, jewelry, keyboards, cookies, and clothes.

Bath time. Rubberduckie. Washcloths. Splashes.

Protection of someone so small, sweet and 

dependent can turn any woman into a momma bear.

Overwhelming sense of pride and joy 

when Mont makes someone else happy. 

Small things become great. 

Measurements are no longer measured in years 

(at least not for now). 

They are measured in moments. 

Colors are brighter.
Joys are more joyful.
Love is more overwhelming.
Life is more vivid.
Excitement is more FUN.
Dancing has more bouncing.
Singing has more shrieking.
Laughing has more hiccups.
And smiles are more plentiful.

Happy Mother's Day to my mother. 

To my mother-in-law. 

To my Grandmothers. 

To my Grandmothers-in-law. 

To all mothers. 

To those who are trying to be mothers. 

To all who have loved like a mother.

Happy Mother's Day.

*PS - when I took this picture, Mont had; 

...rolled off the bed (bump on his forehead)

...been awake for 6.5 hours

...had just eaten

...already used this bib to try green beans

...lost a sock

...cut a tooth

...and laughed nearly all day

... .. exhausted himself, utterly.

recipe reeder

All my old recipe cards never seem to find a place other than in a messy pile behind a cupboard door. That is... until now! 

For a while now I've been compiling old, loved, and treasured new recipes into an online compilation site. I'm not sure how I found it anymore, but I finally ordered it for myself and it arrived just yesterday. 

I nearly forgot to take pictures 

(that's why the left flap is a little crinkled 

- my greedy hands wanted to tear off that paper!)

Hot off the presses. 

And here it is!

 This wasn't the original cover I had selected; the one I chose had earthen wheat loaves, topped with a homely-looking oatmeal atop wooden butcher blocks. Because I took my sweet time compiling all these recipes, it was no longer available. So I quickly selected this; I love it! 

It now sits on my buffet table in place of the Cookies book that you had seen previously. Only down side to this was I could only order 100 recipes with this book; but it says I can add more... so I may just do that. When the time comes of course. 

9 months

This little prince and myself have been quite sick this week; thankfully I think I'm joining him in the upswing of things.

I realized tonight that I never took a picture of this cute cupcake while he was awake, so I ran down and took this while he slept. On his right side. Just like his momma.

9 months! What a funny little fellow he is. Today he scooted backwards in a windy zig-zag for about 8 feet, and is finally figuring out that he can roll over and have just as much fun doing that, as he would if he had stayed on his back and power-kicked his little legs. I don't mind his slow-speed at figuring out this mobile-thing; I've got the rest of his childhood to keep him reigned in!!

Power-kicking (I just came up with it) is what Mont does when he's on his back and needs to pass some time being happy. Yes, all babies do this... but not as fast as this little one (I bet you a dollar). I'll put him on the floor at church and let him kick his little heart out. He'll get crowds of people huddling around him just oo-ing and aa-hing over his fast little legs just going and going. I think we've successfully blocked aisle traffic 3 times now.  (my little crowd-stopper)

I love, love, love this little man.

I'm married to a Famous

Mark came home from work today and told me a friend in the squadron said his picture was on facebook. The picture he was referring to was the one he had given to a friend he made while stationed in Turkey over Christmas. This new friend of his owns a carpet business from which we now proudly display two snazzy carpets in our own home. Getting back to my point. I was excited when Mark told me this because I haven't seen a picture of this "wall" of Generals' Pictures, nor have I seen the picture of him (Mark warned it me it was going to be Classic-Mark).

When he was in becoming friends with Gokay, Mark asked him if his picture could go up on the wall alongside all of these big-wigs. Gokay laughed and said something along the lines of, "Why not?" I think that sealed the deal; they'll be friends for life.

So here it is, folks:

The Mark:

(far left)

drip drip drop little april showers

Anyone recognize that song from Bambi? Well.. I do, and I could sing you the entire song if you'd like. Never mind, I retract that offer.

This week has been beautiful. Perfectly warm with a cool breeze, some times it's sunny, some times it's rainy and perfectly grey and calm. I love rain clouds.. let me hear ya say "yea!"

"YEA!"

little slice of heaven

Why do I love chocolate so much? I don't know why so many do, but it's crazy. Mine and Mark's cravings are usually so different; I say sometimes that we switched food roles; I crave salty, he craves sweet. Normally it's the man who is at the ball game with a hot dog and the girl with a candy box and a soda. But when I do crave sweet, it's typically chocolate.

About once a year I will splurge on the "All-American Chocolate Cake" from this place. It is the yummiest,  richest, but yet, oh so perfect. Sometimes rich can be too much; but this cake has the yummy part down. Just like their pecan pies; the best ever!

I dare you to try it. I triple dog dare you!

midnight madness

Last night Mont was having another toss-and-turn sort of night. We decided to just get him out of bed at 10:00 because we just wanted to play with him; it was still light then. Around 11, when it was good and dark, and while we were tickling him and laughing with him, I had the thought, "what would we be doing if it were just Mark and I?" .. We'd probably be out driving around looking for bears!!!

So that's what we did (but this time, we took our new little adventurer with us). It was unsuccessful, but a lot of fun. Mont was jabbering the whole time in the back seat; probably trying to convince the bears to get their pictures taken.

Two days ago my neighbor a few houses down was cleaning her back porch windows when she saw two big grizzlies just right on the river! She has a better view of the river than we do from her house. She told me this when I was just beginning to walk, and it was only 2 hours after she saw them, but I couldn't find them... I was both relieved and disappointed. I still haven't seen a grizzly in the wild. Don't you worry about me, either. I had Buckwheat.

...and one big can of bear spray.

...off to Neverland!

At our Relief Society's service auction this past March, my friend Marlana bid and won my 10x10 canvas offer. She said her daughter wanted "Tinkerbell." I decided to do old school Peter Pan's Tinkerbell, from the same movie I did my last two canvases.

I'm not so sure I'll do "people" again unless it's on a similar background. What I did for this, was I looked at the opening credits of Disney's Peter Pan, and did one of the background stills. For the Tinkerbell, I used the shot of Tinkerbell flying away from Peter as he was about to grab her in order to sprinkle Wendy, John and Michael. The colors and design of the two different pictures were so different, but I didn't realize until I had combined the two... so the Tinkerbell looks too cartoon-y for this background!!! It was frustrating for me to realize this after I put the background around her.

Though I don't love it as much as I had hoped, I do like the details still. Let me indulge:

"2nd star to the right and straight on till morning": 

Over London (you can see the sparkly pixie dust):

Close-up of 'Tink (her medium - 

chalk, then acrylic, then more chalk 

- I couldn't get it right!):

I like her shoes.. big white pom-poms and a little bit of green:

And like the other ones, I did the sides of the canvas in case she didn't want to frame it: 

And that is numero tres!!

bear bait

Baiting bears is illegal here in the wild north. So I think my neighbors should be fined - ha ha! Seriously though! They leave this poor little fluffy thing tied up outside (with the garage door open) all day (if it's not snowing or raining). The reasons I have to be concerned are as following:

1. bears
2. barking
3. more bears!

These new renters are not military, so I'm not sure how much they have been briefed on bear safety. Maybe they have been briefed, and just didn't take it seriously? Maybe someone needs to either tell them in person, or send them an anonymous letter informing them of the unavoidable bears in the neighborhood + a brochure on bear safety. I'd be happy to be that letter-writer... : )

In my professed letter I will tell them about my run-ins, mentioned here, here, here and here.

SERIOUSLY... I'd rather not come home and find something awfully sad on your driveway, or you to walk out into your garage only to find a bear stuck inside like my bishop has done. Bathe your dog, and take it inside like the rest of your neighborhood... there's a reason there are no other out-door dogs here!

Kindly and affectionately,
your neighbor.

PS - Also, trash cans are kept inside your garage here, not on the side of your house next to my stairs.

my prom date: the chauffeur

My main squeeze went to prom last weekend as a chauffeur for one of the young men in our ward. He had a blast! And our car is spotless now, too; what a treat for an Alaskan driver!

While Mark was driving, he had a Harry Connick, Jr. concert playing on the DVD screen, and then he had a bucket of ice with some [non-alcoholic] bubbly and two glasses. Then, at the end of the night, he even helped the kid out by having a single long-stem rose ready for the door step. So much fun! Mark is great at following through with simple requests and turning them into something unexpected. What a romantic.

That's my man!

shake shake shake

In less than an hour I will be learning how to do THIS:

AH! How exciting!!

I have a Hula work-out DVD set that is called "Hula Abs and Buns" but that's not what I'm doing tonight. Tonight... I have a teacher. Our teacher, is a "wholynesian" as her family says (white girl + polynesian spirit is how I interpret it), who danced at the Polynesian Cultural Center. 

My roommates did use to say that my hips had a mind of their own at dances. I guess I was born to SHAKE IT. :)  ... we'll see if that still rings true tonight.

Update: it was SO fun. I knew it would be; how could it not with the girls in my ward?! Also, it was fun trying to keep up. Nelli would beat on her 'drum' and would say, "Koholo" or "Huli" or "Lele" or "Hela" or ... other things and it would be a quiz every time to see if we could remember what they all were! But the beat, and the swaying and the palm trees (haaaa) were all so beautiful. Maybe I can be like Nelli when we're all done; make it look as natural as breathing!

Now it's time to practice my "vocab words" for the week.

On a side note: her mother is my ever-famous quilting/sewing coach - I say coach because that's truly what she is, slash cheerleader. What a cool family! 

mug shot

While we were in Utah in February, Stacey (Mark's mom) had a couple extra photo sessions at a local studio called Fotogenix, so we took one! Thanks, Stacey! They turned out better than we had even expected with this little stud. He just wanted to stare at stuff rather than smile; but we still got a little one:

(sorry, picture of a picture)

My cute little drooler!!!