25.

Giving in to the Facebook trend, here are 25 things about me...

1. I have a really bad memory- I often forget when I already told a story, and often wonder how my friends know all these weird details I don’t remember telling them.
2. I love beverages of any kind- we have friends that call us the Beverage Family.
3. I am really passionate about the importance of the arts in the Christian community.
4. My grandparents were missionaries in Viet Nam during the war. They got out on one of the last civilian planes when Saigon fell.
5. I love anything I can do with my hands- playing the piano, drawing, sewing, cooking…
6. My dad used to lead missions trips to Europe every summer, and we put on programs while we were there, so I used to do really weird things like puppets, clowning and mime.
7. I eat dinner food for breakfast.
8. I have a secret obsession with Martha Stewart. Not so secret anymore…
9. At some point in my life, I want to

*Have an art studio and sell my collages

*Get my MA (and PhD?) in Biblical Exegesis and write commentaries.

10. I colour code the clothes in my closet.
11. When I was in Jr. high, I took crochet lessons at a knitting shop in our neighborhood. I became friends with all the old ladies there and would go hang out and crochet with them every week.
12. I love movies and think television is an art form. I quote movies all the time.
13. I was hit by a car (but not seriously injured) while crossing the street last year.
14. I love famous people. I don’t read US Weekly or anything, but I get a little too excited when I see someone famous. My favorites so far:

Denzel Washington coming out of a theater in New York

Joan Cusack buying Halloween decorations at Jewel

John Stamos (Uncle Jesse in Full House) filming ER.

15. I love camping and have lived in a tent for a total of 4 years (3 months every summer).
16. I completely lose track of time when I’m in the library or video store- I once left my mom waiting in the car for an hour while I ‘ran in to pick up a few books.’
17. I really hate watching all sports except baseball (only at a real game, not on tv) and football (soccer- not American football).
18. I’m really into fashion right now and love reading books on it and watching Project Runway and What not to Wear. (linking to my love of famous people, I saw Isaac Mizrahi and Clinton Kelly last year). I think clothes are a really fun way to express our God-given creativity and appreciation for beauty.
19. I have gotten really strange ailments all my life. Just one;
    

*I have a condition called leukocytoclasticvasculitis (really!). Every winter my hands get swollen with random red spots because of the temperature change.

Cool, huh?

20. I have been to 30 countries but don’t speak another language (unless you count 2 semesters of French, which I don’t).
21. I hate disagreeing with people, and I hate making decisions.
22. I wasn’t planning on going to college until the day my application was due freshman year.
23. I have a hard time understanding typically ‘American’ things- American literature, politics, sports…I always feel sort of ‘1/2 American’, which I think comes from traveling so much growing up.
24. I love people, good food, and good conversation.
25. When I am stressed, I put on the tea kettle. It’s amazing how much a cup of tea lowers my stress level.

{Inspiration Monday}

This week I am inspired by my mom's question: do you love or hate January?
Thanks to my mom, January is one of my favorite months. I love Christmas, but after the holiday excessiveness~ decorations, food, and music galore~ I like the simplicity of January. Here are just a few of my favorite things to do this month....

*start a new calendar/planner. By the end of the year, my calendar has usually degenerated to an unorganized mess, so I love getting a new one and starting fresh...

*Rearrange furniture and redecorate. After taking down Christmas decorations, it's fun to clean shelves, and rearrange furniture and accessories...I like keeping things simple in January.

*Start a new project- a quilt, art journal, or organizing project. Since I'm inside anyway because of the cold, I love getting random projects I've been putting off finally checked off my list!

*Watch a good movie/ tv show and read good books. Here are a few I've been enjoying...

Cranford. Based on the novels by Elizabeth Gaskell. I got it for my birthday and have already watched it twice.

24 starts their new season this week. How could you be bored with January when you can watch Jack Bauer take out terrorists and save children in Africa?
Home Rules, by Nate Berkus. This is totally inspiring for decorating post-3-years- in-a- dorm room. I have been tossing out my stuff from college and having fun being a grown up. :)


*In January, I always make a list of books I want to read during the next year. High on my list this year...

An Illustrated Life, by Danny Gregory. I can't wait till the library gets this in, or I get some money...

The Sound and the Fury, by William Faulkner. Kate loves it- it must be good.

and Shakespeare wrote for Money- and anything else Nick Hornby might write.

So put away your Christmas decorations, and enjoy the fabulous month of January!

{read}

Books on art that I'm loving...

Spilling Open by Sabrina Ward Harrison. As far as I know, she pretty much inspired everyone who makes art journals. There's a reason so many people were inspired by her~she's fabulous! Her other books (Brave on the Rocks, Messy Thrilling Life) are also amazing.



Taking Flight by Kelly Rae Roberts. I got this book for Christmas (thanks mom!) and am loving it. Kelly Rae Roberts shows how to make mixed media collages (I especially love her background ideas), as well as writing about different aspects of creative life.


The Creative License by Danny Gregory. One of my favorites on creativity. If you think you could never learn to draw, read this book. Danny Gregory= wicked awesome.

1000 Artist Journal Pages. I thought I was the only one who had an art journal. Apparently not. Photos of journal pages by people from Israel to Idaho. So cool.

I'm listening.

I cannot get enough of this music...

Dan in Real Life soundtrack.

I actually have listened to this so much that I am currently taking a break from it. If you haven't seen the movie yet, go watch it and then buy the soundtrack.

Sondre Lerche. So good.

Yael Naim.

Christy heard Yael Naim play at the House of Blues, and brought the cd home. Yael Naim is from Israel, has lived in Paris, and sings in Hebrew, French and English= my kind of girl. You may have heard her song "New Soul" on the Ipod commercial.

Grant-Lee Phillips, Virginia Creeper.

I'm really digging this cd and Grant-Lee Phillips' vocals and guitar. (He's the troubador on Gilmore Girls.) Worth buying just for the first song, "Mona Lisa."

She and Him, Volume One.

Zooey Deschanel (Elf, Failure to Launch, Yes Man, etc.) is my new favorite person who I haven't actually met. She was inspired by Ella Fitzgerald, Gershwin, and Nina Simone, and got together with M. Ward to record this album.

After a few years of watching clips of her singing on YouTube, I feel a little less lame being a fan now that she actually has an album out.

part one