Keepsakes

Posted: May 1, 2014 | Author: Mika | Filed under: Secret Garden | Leave a comment

Some gems from first grade.

"March 6, 1991. Today is the sencod day of spring! I dreamed the bushs have flowers! Ther are vilot roess on these."

March 6, 1991. Today is like the sencod day of spring! I dreamed the bushs have flowers! Ther are vilot roess on these.

Here you have it, proof that I once was not very good at spelling. Check out that bottom line! Half of the last sentence is misspelled. Impressive.

March 11, 1991. Would you like an egg? Easter egg? [teacher] Yes! I love the egg!

As far as I can tell, the egg itself says “”Ninga Egg” which I assume is meant to be “Ninja Egg.” TMNT was a thing at the time, right? And maybe it’s a Cadbury creme egg oozing out there.

March 20, 1991. My Dad came home from England, and he bought stuff to share. [teacher] hurrah! hurrah!

I might get some details wrong here [I was only in first grade, after all], and I’m sure my family will correct me in the comments if I do, but what I remember is that my dad – who was in the Air Force at the time – was deployed to England during the Gulf War. My six-year-old brain could not figure out why he went there when the fighting was somewhere else, yet I still worried that he would die in combat. And . . . even better . . . he was a nurse in the Air Force, so the chances of him being injured or killed in combat – in England – were pretty nonexistent. But I worried as a six-year-old does that the world, in its inexplicably complicated ways, would find a way of making my fears a reality. My dad didn’t die, though (thankfully), and in the picture I drew a school kit he brought back with a pencil case, pencil, eraser, and pencil sharpener. I don’t actually remember this school kit; I do remember British Monopoly, a bear or puppet bear, and a bookmark. Still have the bookmark.

March 22, 1991. I love you! The sun is up!

I sound way more cheerful as a child than I do as an adult. Huh.

March 25, 1991. The sun is up?

I’m not sure why this is posed as a question. Was it a cloudy day? Was I having a philosophical moment? Regardless, happy 7th birthday, Jarom! Oh wait – here’s the reverse of this page:

March 25, ’91. The next day of school my dad is coming at 11:00. and he has some money from england! [crayon] yes! It will look neat! Fun! will you get some?

Wow. I made my own teacher-comments. That is great. I do vaguely remember my dad coming to my class, which is obviously a big deal as it’s about the only thing I remember from first grade. My teacher’s name was Ms. Bocox, and boom. End of first grade memories.

March 26th, ’91. I got some money from england! (from my dad) [teacher] I’m very glad he came!

So, question. What did my dad talk about when he came to my class? No idea! But, in a memory attached to this one, we made a thank-you poster for him afterwards. I remember this because we had to figure out how to spell Lieutenant. Which I have just noticed starts with “lieu,” and I will now have no trouble spelling. (Wait, did I just admit to not being sure how to spell lieutenant until a minute ago?)

April 26th, 1991. I always dream the same thing. I love you!

This is by far my favorite. Here we have a Latina girl being carried away/dropped by a large bird, crying out for her Latino lover to HELP! SAVE ME! We had recently gotten new across-the-street neighbors; my new idol was their oldest daughter, Esmeralda, who was 3 years older than me. Plus, I grew up in an extremely diverse area, so I’d already had lots of friends of different ethnicity. I felt so boring and plain with my shockingly white skin and blonde hair. Far better to have beautifully black hair and lovely skin! I just wish I knew the background of this little story. Why is she being carried off by a (guessing here) pelican from her romantic dinner date? Sigh. Such a mystery.

Today is… May 29, 1991. I am wearing a dress. [teacher] You look lovely. Is today special? Is that why your wearing a dress?

Okay, two things. 1. My teacher used the wrong “your” and it makes me cringe. 2. HOLY EARLY NINETIES! Check out that hair! And the sleeves on my dress! I’m so proud of this drawing as what is most likely how I envisioned myself looking, not how I actually looked. That’s right, I desperately wanted to have awesome hair and puffy sleeves. Unsure what’s up with the splotches on the dress, but overall, I am thrilled with how this turned out.

While I’ve been writing this post, I’ve been trying to recall what else was notable about first grade. So far, nothing. What do you remember about being in first grade? And which of my pictures is your favorite?

Recent projects

Posted: April 30, 2014 | Author: Mika | Filed under: Bridge to Terabithia | 5 Comments

I haven’t been very creative lately – or anything, really, except lazy (maybe “relaxed” is a nicer word). But I’ve done a few projects since my last post about commissions.

For Jarom’s birthday, I made this lemony quote from Portal 2. I haven’t played the game, so I can’t comment on that, but I worked really hard on making something Jarom would love. It’s hanging in an awesome frame (and hand-painted mat!) in his office, so I guess he likes it well enough.

Overall I still looooooove these baby shower invitations I did for my friend Bridget.

My friend Kimberlee’s daughter had a pink poodle-themed first birthday party.

I got to design my own alphabet of drop caps for the four-volume hardcover edition of Spark. Go me!

This wasn’t my original idea for our 2013 Christmas cards – I hoped to actually screen print a folk design – but I ended up with this cross stitch-inspired card.

I did these for a fellow babyloss mom (surely there is another term, but I usually say “Dead Baby Club buddy” and that’s maybe worse) when she and her husband were able to adopt a baby boy last year. Hooray!

One of my favorite quotes: “There is adventure in simply being among those we love.” From one of my favorite series (The Prydain Chronicles). Unfortunately, I hate my handwriting! It just looks so . . . unpracticed.

My brother- and sister-in-law had me design 2 baby announcements: this narwhal and the hedgehog below.

OH MY CUTE.

101 things I didn’t do

Posted: April 29, 2014 | Author: Mika | Filed under: Bartleby the Scrivener | 4 Comments

A long time ago, I made a list of 101 things to do in 1001 days. And guess what? Didn’t finish. My 1001 days ended the day I graduated from BYU – so it’s been a good two years now. But why not revisit my list and see what I’ve managed to cross off since then?

Goal progress: 64/101

1. eat a Kong Kone
2. go fishing
3. keep the house tidy for 1 week
4. catch a butterfly
5. have a family portrait done
6. eat lamb. RARE lamb.
7. go walking at least once a week for a month
8. take lunch to Jarom on campus
9. make a pillow
10. see a movie on opening day
11. read 15,000 pages in a year
12. ~~potty-train Evan~~
13. memorize the state capitals
14. donate blood
15. fly a kite with Evan
16. finish my degree
17. finally make that quilt for Grandma Hillery
18. go horseback riding
19. ~~hike the Y~~
20. have a picnic
21. watch It’s a Wonderful Life
22. watch Miracle on 34th Street
23. teach Evan what noises animals make
24. go to the dinosaur museum
25. ~~bring my total reading to 100,000 pgs since 2004~~
26. get a pedicure
27. drink an entire bottle of Martinelli’s
28. go Christmas caroling
29. hang up the laundry when it’s done for 5 loads
30. go to the temple every week for a month
31. go to a photo booth even though Jarom thinks I won’t
32. make bread
33. drink enough water every day for a week
34. complete the 100+ Reading Challenge
35. complete the Classics Challenge
36. complete the Countdown Challenge
37. complete the What an Animal II Challenge
38. complete the What’s in a Name? Challenge
39. write a letter to my folks
40. take a picture of the kids every day for a month
41. stop eating dessert/snacks/treats for a month
42. invent a recipe
43. enter a cooking contest
44. give a talk or lesson in church
45. go camping
46. win something
47. volunteer
48. buy 5 books
49. paint a picture
50. make this mirror
51. fill up my moleskin journal
52. write in my journal at least once a week for 6 months
53. talk to the landlord about a recycling bin
54. play chess with Jarom
55. buy a vacuum
56. read at least 50 of the books on my list
57. eat 5 servings of fruits/veggies daily for a month
58. no fast food for 2 months
59. get our portraits framed
60. read 5 books to Evan
61. find an album for our wedding photos
62. buy new cushions for the kitchen chairs
63. open a savings account for Evan
64. don’t get a haircut until 2011
65. watch 10 new movies
66. write a poem
67. create a piece of art and frame it
68. travel internationally
69. send 5 postcards
70. make a birthday calendar
71. teach Evan to sing 3 songs
72. create a “me” style
73. make a pizza from scratch
74. bake madeleines
75. make maple-walnut cup pies
76. pick fresh fruit off the tree
77. get a 4.0 one semester
78. stick to a routine for 1 week
79. go to the lighting ceremony at Temple Square
80. finish reading Crime and Punishment
81. make root beer
82. host a Murder Mystery dinner
83. get away for the weekend with Jarom
84. finish the cool onesies for Krista’s babies
85. grow herbs in the kitchen
86. win a game of six-dice
87. learn a new word
88. go on a bike ride with Jarom
89. buy a bike trailer for Evan to ride in
90. start or join a book club
91. write a living will for myself
92. do yoga 5 times
93. write a personal statement for my law school application
94. read the Book of Mormon in 1 week
95. bring cup pies to the sisters I visit teach
96. ~~grow a hyacinth~~
97. watch at least 1 extended edition Lord of the Rings
98. watch all the Harry Potter movies in 1 week
99. introduce myself to 5 new people
100. do the assigned reading for church before class for 2 months
101. go to the zoo with Evan

Well. The few things in red are my since-graduation accomplishments. Here’s the deal, though: a lot of these are goals I no longer care about. For one, I have no plans of going to law school anymore, so #93 (write a personal statement for my law school application) is irrelevant. I’m not willing to submit myself to a Kong Kone (#1) again because it will just make me sick, which is a stupid thing to do intentionally. And do I really want to go fishing? I’d rather stay home and sleep. Or read. Or discover a way to sleep AND read at the same time.

So I’m revising my list, replacing some undone items with more reasonable and relevant goals. (As a side note, I must have originally started before we had June!)

1. have lunch with Brandon Sanderson
2. make a king-size crochet blanket
3. keep the house tidy for 1 week
4. go to a temple open house
5. have a family portrait done
6. eat lamb. RARE lamb.
7. go walking at least once a week for a month
8. take lunch to Jarom on campus
9. make a pillow
10. see a movie on opening day
11. read 15,000 pages in a year
12. ~~potty-train Evan~~
13. memorize the state capitals
14. donate blood
15. fly a kite with Evan
16. finish my degree
17. finally make that quilt for Grandma Hillery
18. go horseback riding
19. ~~hike the Y~~
20. have a picnic
21. get 50 people to participate in Doubleplusgood Day 2015
22. watch Miracle on 34th Street
23. teach Evan what noises animals make
24. go to the dinosaur museum
25. ~~bring my total reading to 100,000 pgs since 2004~~
26. get a pedicure
27. make a crochet doily like my great grandma did
28. go Christmas caroling
29. hang up the laundry when it’s done for 5 loads
30. go to the temple every week for a month
31. go to a photo booth even though Jarom thinks I won’t
32. make bread
33. drink enough water every day for a week
34. complete the 100+ Reading Challenge
35. complete the Classics Challenge
36. complete the Countdown Challenge
37. complete the What an Animal II Challenge
38. complete the What’s in a Name? Challenge
39. write a letter to my folks
40. take a picture of the kids every day for a month
41. stop eating dessert/snacks/treats for a month
42. invent a recipe
43. enter a cooking contest
44. give a talk or lesson in church
45. go camping
46. win something
47. volunteer
48. buy 5 books
49. paint a picture
50. complete my 30th birthday reading goals
51. fill up my moleskin journal
52. write in my journal at least once a week for 6 months
53. talk to the landlord about a recycling bin
54. play chess with Jarom
55. buy a vacuum
56. read at least 50 of the books on my list
57. eat 5 servings of fruits/veggies daily for a month
58. no fast food for 2 months
59. get our portraits framed
60. read 5 books to Evan
61. find an album for our wedding photos
62. buy new cushions for the kitchen chairs
63. open a savings account for Evan
64. don’t get a haircut until 2011
65. watch 10 new movies
66. write a poem
67. create a piece of art and frame it
68. travel internationally
69. send 5 postcards
70. make a birthday calendar
71. teach Evan to sing 3 songs
72. create a “me” style
73. make a pizza from scratch
74. bake madeleines
75. figure out how to actually do calligraphy
76. pick fresh fruit off the tree
77. get a 4.0 one semester
78. stick to a routine for 1 week
79. go to the lighting ceremony at Temple Square
80. finish reading Crime and Punishment
81. make root beer
82. host a Murder Mystery dinner
83. get away for the weekend with Jarom
84. finish the cool onesies for Krista’s babies
85. grow herbs in the kitchen
86. win a game of six-dice
87. learn a new word
88. go on a bike ride with Jarom
89. teach June how to read
90. start or join a book club
91. have Jarom do a will for me and whatever other legal stuff would be useful
92. do yoga 5 times (4/5)
93. frame a picture of Christian
94. read the Book of Mormon in 1 week
95. design the most amazing baby announcements EVER
96. ~~grow a hyacinth~~
97. watch at least 1 extended edition Lord of the Rings
98. watch all the Harry Potter movies in 1 week
99. introduce myself to 5 new people
100. do the assigned reading for church before class for 2 months
101. go to the zoo with Evan

hilleries

Keepsakes

Recent projects

101 things I didn’t do

Things we like