Thursday, May 21, 2009

Phototastic Beards and 'Staches











Last night was the opening BBQ for the International Beard and Moustache Championship. I've been looking forward to this for 3 years since I first heard it was going to be held in Anchorage in '09. The actual competition is Friday (which I won't be attending) and Saturday nights. This was just a meet-and-greet type thing. There were people from all over the world. Some were there for fun and some take facial hair very...very....seriously.

Thursday, May 7, 2009

Bride Hair

These are some hair ideas I like for the wedding. I'm posting this on here mostly for the benefit of my sister Amy who is going to be helping me do my hair, because she is the only person who reads my blog.



Idea #1: Wavy, pinned up, classy lookin' hair.


This is the brooch idea I was telling you about. Pretty, eh?






















































Minus the flowers.










































We could also pin it up in messy-ish curls, not the perfect prom curls that most brides do.






















This is about the texture I can get my hair with that curling hair dryer...but my hair is definitely not that long!























Idea #2: Braid

Here's a couple with a braid on top and loose in the back.











































And some with two braids on top and pinned up in the back.


















I like this one alot because it looks like it would stay put really well. I may not be able to take a shower for, oh I dunno...2 days after the wedding, and I wouldn't mind leftover wedding braids at the Phish show.





















Random honorable mentions:




































































































I like these pictures. And her hair is perfect and simple.






































I was thinking, since we're on the idea of braids, maybe you and Kristen could do your hair like this:






























I haven't tried this product yet, but it's called Dirt and it gives your hair a textured day old look and feel. I might get it if I decide to style my hair curly before we put it up.























Let me know what you think!!!

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

30 Days/30 Reasons

I'm getting married in exactly 30 days.

Here's 30 reasons why I love my (almost) husband.

1. I can sing in front of him...loud and often...and he never tells me I suck.
2. He loves my cat as much as I do.
3. He's a feminist.
4. He cleans up pretty and looks devilishly handsome in a suit.
5. I have absolutely no doubts that he will be an amazing father.
6. Phish.
7. We both think farts are hilarious.
8. He treats his mother and sister with respect.
9. He will never buy me roses or a diamond or anything pink. (if you know me at all, you know that that's a good thing in my book)
10. He's a beautifully gifted musician, artist, and photographer.
11. He let's me be Player A on the nintendo.
12. He kisses me goodbye...always.
13. He never yells, never calls people names, never makes me feel inadequate.
14. I once saw him looking at a very skinny, pretty girl in the grocery store. He then turned to me with a concerned look and said, "That poor girl needs to eat a sandwich."
15. He's not perfect.
16. He's secure enough in his sexuality to wear kilts, lederhosen, and bowties.
17. Free symphony and opera tickets : )
18. My sisters love him and get along with him so well that he is often referred to as the "4th Sister"
19. We disagree and bicker about stupid little things...but the big things, the life-defining political, social, religious, philosophical views...we rock-solid agree.
20. He's not the same guy he was when I met him. Nor am I the same. We give each other room to evolve.
21. He is a patient teacher.
22. He always likes what I cook.
23. He is honest. No need for secrets.
24. There's this funny thing that happens to him when he tries to make a silly voice.
25. He writes letters to the editors/senators/assembly representatives.
26. He's not embarrassed to buy me tampons.
27. He doesn't get angry if someone breaks something of his even if it is expensive or important because "in the long run....it's just stuff."
28. He has good taste in music, movies, beer, and friends.
29. He's not afraid to get his hands dirty or clean up cat barf.
30. He makes me laugh every day.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Advetures in Domesticity

I baked.


I made some cookies for the pipeband last weekend, and in honor of valentine's day, I made them look like butts.

Ta-da!







nekkid!












food coloring makes life pretty.












Scandalous! I think they turned out pretty well!

MSA...in pictures!!




Last weekend was the Mastery of Scottish Arts Winter School. Ooohhh the fun that was had!!









The Pike Brewery










On the bus to Seabeck.


















Loy got to play Steven McWhirter's drum!



















Happy camper! We won the knockdown/ceilidh! This was right after playing in front of everyone.




















Loy and Me!












After a few drinks and a lengthy discussion about the metaphorical rebirth of a drummer, this photo was taken.





















Tyler Fry and Me. Yeah...we're tight.
















Loy and Tyler. Mallet smiths unite!

















Me, Tyler, Heather.










The bus back to Seattle.















This is just a little glimpse of the amazing weekend we had at MSA. Not only was it fun, I learned so much in such a short time! I can't wait till next year.

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Mastery of Scottish Arts

Loy and I leave tomorrow morning for Seattle to attend the MSA winter school. *glee!* I'm hoping to gain a lot from these next 3 days. My tenor drumming instructor will be Tyler Fry, arguably the most well known Scottish tenor drummer in the world. I would like to imagine that I will return home from this weekend as a transformed and clearly genius drummer....however if that is not the case, I will be satisfied with it just being a really fun and informative 3 days.
Photos to come when we get home!

Monday, February 2, 2009

First Post

Hello, internet. I finally got around to setting up an account and will be posting juicy details of my life shortly. Until then, here's a copy of a note I just posted on facebook, so those of you who don't know me can get a glimpse.


25 Things About Me...

1. I can't swim, and have panic attacks when I am waist deep in water.

2. For a person who's never had children, I sure do have some pretty strong opinions on parenting, breastfeeding, and education.

3. I'm getting married in 4 months and kicking myself for not suggesting eloping sooner. Aren't you supposed to look forward to your wedding day and not dread it??? Don't get me wrong, I am completely ready to be married, I just don't like the whole wedding thing.

4. I have an extra internal organ. No joke, man.

5. I'm flying to Seattle next weekend to attend the Mastery of Scottish Arts Winter School along with Loy and some other cool folks. I play the Scottish Tenor Drum and if you don't know what it is you should watch this video because it's way cool. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSZz2XqWIqI&feature=channel

6. I am one of the millions of Americans with no health insurance.

7. I just got my hair cut for the first time in 8 months. I sometimes confuse "low maintenance Alaskan chick" with "super frump girl."

8. The next pet I get will be named Prime Minister, because I think it would be fun to wake up and say, "Good morning, Prime Minister," every day.

9. I've been told I have a lisp. I don't hear it most of time though. I have a theory that my tongue is too big for my mouth so it gets in the way. It doesn't help that I have crooked teeth either. First thing I'm doing if I can ever get health insurance is getting braces. Either that or a tongue reduction surgery.

10. I am really REALLY bummed that I have a queen sized mattress and full sized Masters of the Universe sheets. What's a girl to do? I just want to wake up to He-man and Sheera. Is that so much to ask??

11. It took me 23 years to realize that it is more important to be nice than to be cool. Not that I was ever cool, but I sure wanted to be. I'm coming to terms with the fact that I will probably always be awkward and there will always be people who dislike me, and I'm trying to be a kinder person.

12. I love to listen to Terri Gross interview people on "Fresh Air" on NPR because every once in a while she snorts when she laughs and it makes my day.

13. I think Sarah Palin is out of touch with reality.

14. I sort of hate my name. I was named after a character in a crappy romance novel. Thanks mom.

15. I have a thing for post-apocalyptic love stories.

16. The type of music that pulls at my nostalgic heartstrings the most is definitely early 90's grunge. Oooohhh, the angst!

17. I don't buy new things. Almost everything I own is second hand, although you wouldn't know it most of the time. Clothes, furniture, appliances, you name it. It's way better ecologically and gosh darn it I'm cheap!

18. I hula hoop in my kitchen quite often.

19. If you tell me what happened on LOST last night we won't be friends anymore.

20. I don't own a television. Which is why I don't know what happened on LOST last night.

21. Things I detest: diamonds, valentine's day, roses, anything pink, gossip, shopping, etc. Things I love: dinosaurs, dirt, bugs, farms, my own crassness, climbing trees, etc. As a child I could relate more to Robin Hood and Tom Sawyer than to Princess Aurora.

22. I think a person can believe in evolution and creationism. "Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind." - Albert Einstein

23. Llamas are dirty gross creatures. I know this personally as I have been violently spit on, kicked, and licked by them and have been knee deep in their poo.

24. I think it's pretty rad that Alaska has volcanoes, but I'm not stoked about the impending ash fall that will likely follow. I also think it's funny that I use the words "rad" and "stoked" in normal conversation.

25. After we get married, Loy and I are going strait from the wedding reception to the airport to fly all night to New Jersey and catch a Phish concert the next day. So much for a wedding night, eh? Doesn't matter though...I'd sell a kidney on the black market to see Phish.