"...for many of us (tattoos) are deeply personal, extremely important daily
reminders of who we are, where we come from, who we have loved, where we
have been, and
who we aspire to be." -Lisa Congdon
I saw this quote and loved it, because that is exactly how I feel about my tattoo. I had an idea for a tattoo for 7 years; at one point it was going to be "hope," at another it was going to be in elvish (LOTR geek here), but then I settled on "love" written in my own handwriting. I was 25. Weeks before I found out I was pregnant with Soren.
This tattoo isn't a representation of romantic love. It is there to remind me that Jesus loves me deeply, that I'm called to love everyone in the same way, and that I fail at it all of the time. Love isn't limited to your friends, or the poor, or orphans and widows. It's for those you just don't connect with, those who bully, murders, terrorists. I need to be reminded everyday.
I've missed the teal streak in my hair. Once I get my hair cut, I'll be bringing it back!
I've wanted a nose ring for almost 8 years now. Anyone in know a good place in Houston?
I love the placement of that tattoo. I want another one, but if I do it, it'll probably be in white ink, since I haven't planned it for 7 years. If you are in Houston and are looking to get your first tattoo, I'll tell you where to go and go with you to get it! I'm an enabler.
1, 2, 3
7 months pregnant. Yes. We have waited a long time to put it online, but with only a couple of months left and the bump being a bit more obvious, we decided it was time. Our wee Wiese is due in the first days of October.
We are a mixture of excitement and nerves; for a long time the pregnancy was surreal (I didn't really start showing until a month and a half ago), but now that this baby will be here in 9 weeks or so, we're nervous.
The morning of the anatomy ultrasound we decided to find out if we were having a girl or a boy, with the intention of keeping that to ourselves until baby showers. Now our family knows, and with that friends in San Antonio, but we still have a couple of showers in Houston.
So, in two months we go from a family of three (we count Samson), to a family of four!
The pops of color are so great in this room. Working that into my guest room!
I've been quiet here lately, but I've been keeping myself busy:
• Full-time office job hunting
• Keeping up my own design/illustration/photo business
• Planning a bridal shower and bachelorette party (making them awesome on a budget is a challenge)
• Secretly giving awesome advice for a bachelor party
• Making art for a room redecoration that needs done desperately
• Finishing off final details of vacation, while getting super excited (how early is too early to pack?)
• Going to shows for my husband's band! (He's the bass player)
And trying to remain social, meeting new people, plus general house care. It seems like I always have appointments, meetings, and such at 2 pm. I don't know why that's the magical number.
I'm loving this time though; I feel productive, and life is good. Design has been rolling in, and I traded photography for a cake. Life is swell!
Last October I said 2012 will be great. I can say that the above list (minus vacation) was not in my plans for 2012, but I know it's going to be the best year yet!
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I am usually a sucker for design blogs, but for a couple of months now I have been reading a blog
written by Casey Wiegand; she has a beautiful soul, full of compassion. God has
used her posts to comfort me and challenge me to have more faith.
At times, when I get caught up in daydreams about a new car,
or the couch that I want for my library I get overwhelmed by the lack of
freelance work I’m getting. I worry about how I’m unable to get nicer things,
forgetting that I have more than I need already.
Casey and her husband have so much faith that God will provide
what they need when they need it, not just for them, but their two beautiful
children. Reading her words has moved me in many ways to be a better person.
I don’t want to give away all of her awesome qualities and
details; you can check that out on her blog
here.
I recently took a look back at photos from our 2009 Honeymoon in San Diego. Suddenly I was seeing so much potential in them, and these are a few of my favorites. The above photos are from Ocean Beach. The last in this set is printed and waiting for a frame at our house.
We loved Ocean Beach! There are so many surfers, and with an excellent telephoto lens, we were able to see up close. I hope to find a place to hang this in our house, but for now it remains digital. (also at Ocean Beach)
Surfing is on my bucket list, but as soon as I stuck my toe in the Pacific, I chickened out. If you have never been in the pacific, it's cold...at least in May in San Diego it is!
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This pier was a quick walk from our hotel. San Diego is GREAT for walking. We walked most places, and never broke a sweat. A couple of times we made a two mile trek to Balboa Park, walked around there, then walked the 2 miles back, and never sweat. Ever. By April in Houston I step outside and instantly sweat. These Wieses love San Diego!
And my favorite photo is below. I'm proud that I took it. This photo is a place on the edge of Balboa. I hope you enjoyed a little glimpse of the city with perfect weather!
I love the Christmas season! The lights, giving, and cool weather (sometimes) that make this season great! I especially love the break in summer heat that makes you want to sit close to your loved ones, and bundle up for a movie. Add a Caramel Macchiato to the equation and you have perfection!
With all of that said, I thought I'd share some of the Christmas decor around our house!
If you don't like "mushy" things...stop reading now. :D
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| Daniel at his Mustache themed birthday party. |
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Last night, as Daniel let himself give in to sleep, I found myself wide awake, captured in thought by an overactive brain. These thoughts were not worrisome, but pleasant...they were about my husband. So, I wanted to brag about him:
- For over a year at the beginning of our marriage, I brought work baggage home, and complained a lot...took out my frustrations on him. He was patient with me all of that time, never pointing out how flawed my response was to a bad work situation. Even now, when I apologize repeatedly for that time in our life, he will shrug it off as if it was nothing.
- When I make up songs as I go about chores, he manages to harmonize with me. I don't know how...it's like he knows what I'm about to sing.
- Only two people express support of my art, and make me feel proud of it, and he consistently does that. As an artist you can be self-conscious, because there is no clear answer, but he gives me confidence and assures me that he is not biased.
- He graciously puts up with my obsessions...and they can change in a matter of hours. One day I can be obsessed with Abbey Lee Kershaw, the next morning babies, a week later Vampire Diaries (it's a guilty pleasure...) and suddenly I could not care less about those, and I'll be all about Blythe Dolls.
- Daniel never pressures me about a conventional job. He supports me completely (more than I do myself) in freelancing. And though he realizes that my imagination is large, he knows I have a grasp on reality and will find something more conventional when we need it.
- He's silly. And releases the silliness in me. And he laughs with me. Instead of giving my a "you're crazy" look, he goes along with it.
Basically, he's the most awesome person I know. And I need to find ways to pay him back for the love, patience and joy he gives me.
There is no haze clouding the reality of how amazing Daniel is!
It is weird that going home by myself just made me feel like I was on Spring Break during my early college years. I didn't have to miss Daniel, because it was like being in another part of my life.
These photos are some of my favorite moments at home.
Photo 1: Never EVER estimate the will of Becky Buck (my mom); if she thinks something needs to get done, it will! In this case, a fake tree on this ledge, only reachable by one of those giant ladders, needs to come down. Of course, her thought is, those ladders are too troublesome to actually use. Solution? Tip over tree with 20ft pole. What you are seeing is what happens when you tip it...it hangs upside down. And I'm smart enough to know that she'll drop it on my head if I get near it. So I just take a picture. 20 seconds after this photo the tree falls to the floor, almost flatting my dog, while my mom and I crack up at the clumsy take down of that tree. My dad rolled his eyes when we told him.
Photo 2: My dad looks like he's concentrating on something REALLY important. He's really just watching CSI.
Photo 3: Samson has no issue posing, much to the envy of my mom. I saw a basket, and thought "Puppy in a basket? Why not?"
Last week was full of pretty good laughs. My mom is funny!
I really look forward to showing you a couple of projects I've been working on!
