My last post about the fire was a downer. It is very saddening, but I do have something pretty dang funny to write about, and I think it will cheer me up and anyone who needs a laugh right now.
I've discovered I married a sleeptalker. Several nights he's woken me up with his talking, and so far it's been nonsensical. Not long ago I woke up in the middle of the night and came to the realization that he has been working at a call center too long. His mumbling was along the lines of, "Don't stress about your phone plan. Don't worry. We're here to accommodate you...we're here to accommodate you..."
He's said some other funny things in his sleep, but nothing compared to last night.
I woke up to this noise (sort of a whistling, but more airy), and saw Jake with his hand in the air, moving it back and forth. It made me think he was dreaming he was playing with a toy airplane. But then he started talking. Here's what came out of his unconscious mouth:
Jake: "Look at the floud." (Yes, floud, pronounced like "cloud")
Me: "What?"
Jake: "The floud. I see a floud."
Me: "A floud? What's a floud?"
Jake: "You know! A floud, a ring floud. Like where we put our rings. It's big and black."
Me: "A ring floud? Like a ring pillow?" (me thinking of our wedding rings and the ring pillow for the wedding)
Jake: "No, a floud!"
Me (as I burst out laughing): "You are dreaming! What the heck is a floud?!"
Jake: "No I'm not!! I see it outside! It's black like a cloud!"
Me (still laughing uncontrollably): "You're dreaming! You're talking nonsense!"
Jake (now hurt with me because I don't understand): "No!" (in a whiny voice, and he rolls over away from me).
It took me a few minutes to stop laughing into my pillow. Before I fell asleep, I vowed to remember every detail of this conversation so I could tell Jake about it in the morning. This morning, he didn't remember any of it of course. Funniest thing I've ever heard in the middle of the night.
Maybe I should write down all his unconscious pearls of wisdom. Hope you enjoyed it this one :)
Monday, June 27, 2011
Deja Vu
Eleven years ago, Los Alamos and White Rock (my hometown) were evacuated due to a raging wildfire, the Cerro Grande, blazing in the beautiful Jemez Mountains. Now, a raging wildfire has once again prompted evacuations (for now, just voluntary), and my parents and my sister, brother-in-law, and niece are staying in Albuquerque.
This feels eerily similar. I am five hours away, yet I still feel the exact same stress I did at 2 in the morning the night my family packed up our most precious belongings and our pets and drove to stay with my grandparents in Nambe for 6 days or so. The drive took about 6 or 7 hours, which usually is only about 25 or 30 minutes. The traffic stayed on our street for about 4 1/2 hours. Which was kind of good, because we kept remembering things we should have packed and walked back to the house to retrieve them. This stress I feel is very specific, and I have only felt it these two times.
The Cerro Grande fire burned 47,000 in about 2 weeks. The present one, the Las Conchas fire, has gotten up to nearly 45,000 acres, and it's only been 24 hours. My heart is breaking. I love those mountains; they're just as much home to my family and I as our own house is. I know that fire is somehow good for nature; it provides the means for new life and growth. But it still deeply saddens me.
One of the saddest, most haunting, but also most beautiful sites I have ever seen was a few days after we came home after the Cerro Grande fire. It was not completely out, but contained enough that residents could return home (the lucky ones, at least. Too many homes were lost). My family and I drove up the middle road from White Rock to Los Alamos. Burned trees and ground everywhere. Closer to when we got to Los Alamos, I looked out my window and there, standing among the trees that were now black sticks, with the sunlight casting a dazzling yellow light, was a lone doe staring at us on the road. It broke my heart, but it was still beautiful. I was the only one who saw it. I imagine the deer was confused, lost perhaps, not knowing what to make of the new scenery (which may not have been the case at all, but that's how I thought of it). That site still haunts me.
I should feel grateful that I'm not there right now (it would probably upset me even more seeing it live rather than just through pictures), but I would give anything to be with my family. I feel so helpless here.
We need rain, desperately. And less wind. It cannot be said enough.
This feels eerily similar. I am five hours away, yet I still feel the exact same stress I did at 2 in the morning the night my family packed up our most precious belongings and our pets and drove to stay with my grandparents in Nambe for 6 days or so. The drive took about 6 or 7 hours, which usually is only about 25 or 30 minutes. The traffic stayed on our street for about 4 1/2 hours. Which was kind of good, because we kept remembering things we should have packed and walked back to the house to retrieve them. This stress I feel is very specific, and I have only felt it these two times.
The Cerro Grande fire burned 47,000 in about 2 weeks. The present one, the Las Conchas fire, has gotten up to nearly 45,000 acres, and it's only been 24 hours. My heart is breaking. I love those mountains; they're just as much home to my family and I as our own house is. I know that fire is somehow good for nature; it provides the means for new life and growth. But it still deeply saddens me.
One of the saddest, most haunting, but also most beautiful sites I have ever seen was a few days after we came home after the Cerro Grande fire. It was not completely out, but contained enough that residents could return home (the lucky ones, at least. Too many homes were lost). My family and I drove up the middle road from White Rock to Los Alamos. Burned trees and ground everywhere. Closer to when we got to Los Alamos, I looked out my window and there, standing among the trees that were now black sticks, with the sunlight casting a dazzling yellow light, was a lone doe staring at us on the road. It broke my heart, but it was still beautiful. I was the only one who saw it. I imagine the deer was confused, lost perhaps, not knowing what to make of the new scenery (which may not have been the case at all, but that's how I thought of it). That site still haunts me.
I should feel grateful that I'm not there right now (it would probably upset me even more seeing it live rather than just through pictures), but I would give anything to be with my family. I feel so helpless here.
We need rain, desperately. And less wind. It cannot be said enough.
Friday, June 24, 2011
Candles
Here are the three candles I made yesterday and today.
This one has three wicks in it. Clear gel with orange-ish gem stones. I like this one so I'm keeping it for myself :)
This is the one that I talked about in my last post, you know, the one that looked like urine? I dug out the gel and remelted it, added some red, and made it orange instead.
This one I put into a cute little tin that my mom gave me for this purpose. It has blue gel, silver gem stones at the bottom, and a green ribbon around the lid.
I kind of want to sell these (and a lot of others, obviously) at an arts and crafts fair sometime.
This one has three wicks in it. Clear gel with orange-ish gem stones. I like this one so I'm keeping it for myself :)
This is the one that I talked about in my last post, you know, the one that looked like urine? I dug out the gel and remelted it, added some red, and made it orange instead.
This one I put into a cute little tin that my mom gave me for this purpose. It has blue gel, silver gem stones at the bottom, and a green ribbon around the lid.
I kind of want to sell these (and a lot of others, obviously) at an arts and crafts fair sometime.
Truthful Friday!
I haven't done this in a while, make a list of some random "truths" about me. They can be about me in general, or about me specifically in this minute.
1. I decided today that I want to make it a goal to visit one national park in the US each year. Maybe sometimes it will be just with Jake, maybe with some of his family or some of my family or later with our children. So far I've been to Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Rocky Mountain, Mesa Verde, Great Sand Dunes, Hawaii Volcanoes, Carlsbad Caverns, and Grand Canyon (although I hardly remember it; I was very young). I may have been to Arches and/or Canyonlands; we've been to that area near Moab but not sure if we were actually in the parks. Only about 50 to go :)
2. I have mixed feelings about being a housewife for the time being while Jake is working and I'm waiting to start teaching my online class next week. I am definitely appreciating the break and it's actually been kinda fun being a homemaker, but I do go a little stir-crazy when I run out of things to do.
3. I am very nervous about my second year in grad school. Because it means thesis (or comps; I'm leaning toward thesis but the thought of it stresses me out). I feel like I should be starting it now...
4. I changed my mind (again) about where I want to live. Oregon.
5. I'm totally obsessed with our wedding pictures right now. We got our prints a few days ago, and I've been filling sooo many frames with them. Our apartment is bombarded with wedding pictures. That's normal, right? Being obsessed with them for a while? I'm sure eventually I'll take some down and replace them with other photos...
6. I already want to go on another vacation. Going from beautiful tropical humid weather and sandy beaches and warm ocean water to dry, hot, desert and wildfires isn't fun.
7. Yesterday I went on a gel candle-making frenzy because I was trying to distract my mind from something. One came out really cute, one I'm going to finish today, and one came out the color of pee. So I put a pinkish-colored ribbon around it to try to make it look less like pee. Now it just looks like decorated pee. Darn.
8. There are some people who I really like and who are really awesome but are just awkward to talk to one-on-one. Or maybe I'm the awkward one and I make it awkward? Or maybe just certain personality types, when placed together in a one-on-one situation, combine to make awkwardness. My advisor is one of them. He's an amazing professor, smart, funny, and enthusiastic, and I have no problem speaking up and sometimes joking with him in class, but it's totally different when I meet with him in his office or something.
9. Have you ever had a panic attack? I have, three times in the last three years. They're crazy. Out of nowhere, you feel a sense of doom, like you're not going to make it much longer, and you start trembling and hyperventilating. Luckily, each time I've had one, someone else has been there to get me out of it. Yes this is probably pretty personal, but it's a truth.
10. I'm not a very graceful swimmer. I mean, I CAN swim, I can keep myself afloat and move as needed, it's just not pretty. Which is sad, because I used to be, when I took swimming lessons at the pool when I was younger. I could gracefully do the front stroke and back stroke and could dive straight and evenly. I lost all that. Now when I dive, I flop over and my legs flail.
And now a few photos from the honeymoon!
1. I decided today that I want to make it a goal to visit one national park in the US each year. Maybe sometimes it will be just with Jake, maybe with some of his family or some of my family or later with our children. So far I've been to Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Rocky Mountain, Mesa Verde, Great Sand Dunes, Hawaii Volcanoes, Carlsbad Caverns, and Grand Canyon (although I hardly remember it; I was very young). I may have been to Arches and/or Canyonlands; we've been to that area near Moab but not sure if we were actually in the parks. Only about 50 to go :)
2. I have mixed feelings about being a housewife for the time being while Jake is working and I'm waiting to start teaching my online class next week. I am definitely appreciating the break and it's actually been kinda fun being a homemaker, but I do go a little stir-crazy when I run out of things to do.
3. I am very nervous about my second year in grad school. Because it means thesis (or comps; I'm leaning toward thesis but the thought of it stresses me out). I feel like I should be starting it now...
4. I changed my mind (again) about where I want to live. Oregon.
5. I'm totally obsessed with our wedding pictures right now. We got our prints a few days ago, and I've been filling sooo many frames with them. Our apartment is bombarded with wedding pictures. That's normal, right? Being obsessed with them for a while? I'm sure eventually I'll take some down and replace them with other photos...
6. I already want to go on another vacation. Going from beautiful tropical humid weather and sandy beaches and warm ocean water to dry, hot, desert and wildfires isn't fun.
7. Yesterday I went on a gel candle-making frenzy because I was trying to distract my mind from something. One came out really cute, one I'm going to finish today, and one came out the color of pee. So I put a pinkish-colored ribbon around it to try to make it look less like pee. Now it just looks like decorated pee. Darn.
8. There are some people who I really like and who are really awesome but are just awkward to talk to one-on-one. Or maybe I'm the awkward one and I make it awkward? Or maybe just certain personality types, when placed together in a one-on-one situation, combine to make awkwardness. My advisor is one of them. He's an amazing professor, smart, funny, and enthusiastic, and I have no problem speaking up and sometimes joking with him in class, but it's totally different when I meet with him in his office or something.
9. Have you ever had a panic attack? I have, three times in the last three years. They're crazy. Out of nowhere, you feel a sense of doom, like you're not going to make it much longer, and you start trembling and hyperventilating. Luckily, each time I've had one, someone else has been there to get me out of it. Yes this is probably pretty personal, but it's a truth.
10. I'm not a very graceful swimmer. I mean, I CAN swim, I can keep myself afloat and move as needed, it's just not pretty. Which is sad, because I used to be, when I took swimming lessons at the pool when I was younger. I could gracefully do the front stroke and back stroke and could dive straight and evenly. I lost all that. Now when I dive, I flop over and my legs flail.
And now a few photos from the honeymoon!
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Movies!
I think it's time I update my movies-I-want-to-see list. There are a lot of good movies coming out, and I'll forget them all.
Flypaper
50/50
Breaking Dawn
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 2
Moneyball
Cowboys vs. Aliens
Horrible bosses
The Vow
Turtle
The Descendants
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
The Raven
The Darkest Hour
Flypaper
50/50
Breaking Dawn
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 2
Moneyball
Cowboys vs. Aliens
Horrible bosses
The Vow
Turtle
The Descendants
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
The Raven
The Darkest Hour
Saturday, June 11, 2011
All for love
All for love. The title of the song for our first dance as husband and wife.
Jake and I have been married for two weeks, and I'm not sure if there is any better feeling in the world. I am so happy to be starting the rest of my life with him, and look forward to everything the future holds for us.
I wish I could describe the wedding in full, but it would take hours! I'll break it down as best as I can.
On Thursday before the wedding, I had my bachelorette party with my 4 bridesmaids (my sister, matron of honor, and my three closest friends). We had appetizers, drinks, and games at my sister's house, then went to Santa Fe, shared a pizza on the plaza, and then went to a bar called El Corazon where we had drinks and latin danced!
The next day, me and two of my bridesmaids got manicures and pedicures, then the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner was later that day.
Finally, THE DAY arrived. I slept surprising well the night before. I thought I'd be up all night, but I think the two Tylenol PM and extra strong herbal Sleepytime tea helped :) Erin sent me this text message that morning: "Good morning (almost) Mrs Stupka!...YAAAYYY IT'S FINALLY HERE!!" My cousin's fiance, Lindsey, came to my parents' house and did all the bridesmaids' and my hair and makeup. We all headed to the church, and got dressed and put on our jewelry and last-minute beauty touches in the office. My bridesmaids and flower girls and mom all looked beautiful! My dad came into the office close to ceremony time, and cried upon seeing me for the first time, all dressed and ready. I had been really relaxed the whole week, up until I heard the processional music at 1 PM and Joan saying "It's time for you all to start heading down." That's when my heart started beating harder and my knees started shaking and I had to tell my dad to not let me fall down.
My something old: A golden pin in the shape of a music clef, with three pearls. It used to be my great grandma's, and I pinned it on my bouquet.
My something new was, well, several things: My dress, veil, shoes, headband
My something borrowed: My mom's original wedding ring that I wore on my right hand
My something blue: The jewelry set my parents got me for Christmas for this occasion; the earrings and necklace have my birthstone, blue topaz.
"Butterfly Waltz" was the song the wedding party and I walked down the aisle to. I saw my groom standing at the end of the aisle, a huge smile on his face, and tears pooled in my eyes and a lump formed in my throat. My dad walked me down, pulled the blusher veil back from my face, kissed me, hugged my groom, and handed me over to Jake, who had tears coming down. The ceremony was beautiful, and the whole time I felt happy and complete.
The reception was just as amazing, but in a different way. So much fun and happiness and celebration. Plenty of dancing, good food, tons of laughter, and good feelings generating from everyone. Seeing everyone there made me love them all more!
At 10 PM, Jake and I left the reception through a shower of bird-friendly rice and into a decorated car, off to the beginning of wedded bliss. We stayed the night at Sunrise Springs Resort in Santa Fe. The next morning, I got this text message from Danielle: "Congrats Mrs Stupka you looked so beautiful! I am beyond thrilled for the two of you! Have an amazing honeymoon!! :-)" And an amazing honeymoon we had! The day after the wedding, we headed to the airport in Albuquerque. We first had to fly to Los Angeles, oddly, and had dinner at the airport. We left LA at about 9:45 PM, flew overnight, and landed in Miami at about 5 AM. Around 9 or 10 AM, we left Miami and made it to St. Lucia at about 1:30 PM, then were taken by van to the Sandals Grande St. Lucia. What a beautiful, amazing, fun, and relaxing place! Our room was beautiful, complete with flower petals and champagne; nothing too fancy and not a huge suite, but perfect for us. That week we did plenty of watersports (snorkeling, Snuba diving [yes Snuba, not scuba], jet skiing, hobie cats, and of course, swimming), a rainforest biking trip which ended with a refreshing dip at the foot of a waterfall, ate tons of delicious food, had some awesome drinks, and soaked in the beautiful Caribbean island. Last Sunday we flew to Miami and stayed the night in a 5-star hotel near the airport (free for us, thanks to Jake's dad's credit card rewards points). Monday we got into Albuquerque and went to my parent's house where we opened all our wedding gifts, and of course, did laundry for free for the last time in a while. Tuesday we came to Las Cruces, where I moved in with my new husband :)
Since then we've been organizing all our new gifts, packing up a lot of old stuff for Goodwill and a soon-to-be-college student my mom knows, and relaxing and enjoying the beginning of our new life together.
This post is a very limited description of all the fun and happiness that our wedding day and honeymoon held. Perhaps some pictures will tell the story better than words can, but you will have to wait for those! I have many photos from friends and family, but I'll wait to post some pictures until we get the professional ones in. Of course, you will have to check Facebook once we have them, but that will have tons more pictures that I'd post on here :)
For all who have given their support and faith and love to us during this time, thank you! We are so happy right now and grateful for everything many of our family and friends have done for us. I am so obviously in the honeymoon phase right now, and I'm totally diggin' it! I am head over heels for my husband!
One of the photos from our complimentary photo shoot in St. Lucia
Jake and I have been married for two weeks, and I'm not sure if there is any better feeling in the world. I am so happy to be starting the rest of my life with him, and look forward to everything the future holds for us.
I wish I could describe the wedding in full, but it would take hours! I'll break it down as best as I can.
On Thursday before the wedding, I had my bachelorette party with my 4 bridesmaids (my sister, matron of honor, and my three closest friends). We had appetizers, drinks, and games at my sister's house, then went to Santa Fe, shared a pizza on the plaza, and then went to a bar called El Corazon where we had drinks and latin danced!
The next day, me and two of my bridesmaids got manicures and pedicures, then the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner was later that day.
Finally, THE DAY arrived. I slept surprising well the night before. I thought I'd be up all night, but I think the two Tylenol PM and extra strong herbal Sleepytime tea helped :) Erin sent me this text message that morning: "Good morning (almost) Mrs Stupka!...YAAAYYY IT'S FINALLY HERE!!" My cousin's fiance, Lindsey, came to my parents' house and did all the bridesmaids' and my hair and makeup. We all headed to the church, and got dressed and put on our jewelry and last-minute beauty touches in the office. My bridesmaids and flower girls and mom all looked beautiful! My dad came into the office close to ceremony time, and cried upon seeing me for the first time, all dressed and ready. I had been really relaxed the whole week, up until I heard the processional music at 1 PM and Joan saying "It's time for you all to start heading down." That's when my heart started beating harder and my knees started shaking and I had to tell my dad to not let me fall down.
My something old: A golden pin in the shape of a music clef, with three pearls. It used to be my great grandma's, and I pinned it on my bouquet.
My something new was, well, several things: My dress, veil, shoes, headband
My something borrowed: My mom's original wedding ring that I wore on my right hand
My something blue: The jewelry set my parents got me for Christmas for this occasion; the earrings and necklace have my birthstone, blue topaz.
"Butterfly Waltz" was the song the wedding party and I walked down the aisle to. I saw my groom standing at the end of the aisle, a huge smile on his face, and tears pooled in my eyes and a lump formed in my throat. My dad walked me down, pulled the blusher veil back from my face, kissed me, hugged my groom, and handed me over to Jake, who had tears coming down. The ceremony was beautiful, and the whole time I felt happy and complete.
The reception was just as amazing, but in a different way. So much fun and happiness and celebration. Plenty of dancing, good food, tons of laughter, and good feelings generating from everyone. Seeing everyone there made me love them all more!
At 10 PM, Jake and I left the reception through a shower of bird-friendly rice and into a decorated car, off to the beginning of wedded bliss. We stayed the night at Sunrise Springs Resort in Santa Fe. The next morning, I got this text message from Danielle: "Congrats Mrs Stupka you looked so beautiful! I am beyond thrilled for the two of you! Have an amazing honeymoon!! :-)" And an amazing honeymoon we had! The day after the wedding, we headed to the airport in Albuquerque. We first had to fly to Los Angeles, oddly, and had dinner at the airport. We left LA at about 9:45 PM, flew overnight, and landed in Miami at about 5 AM. Around 9 or 10 AM, we left Miami and made it to St. Lucia at about 1:30 PM, then were taken by van to the Sandals Grande St. Lucia. What a beautiful, amazing, fun, and relaxing place! Our room was beautiful, complete with flower petals and champagne; nothing too fancy and not a huge suite, but perfect for us. That week we did plenty of watersports (snorkeling, Snuba diving [yes Snuba, not scuba], jet skiing, hobie cats, and of course, swimming), a rainforest biking trip which ended with a refreshing dip at the foot of a waterfall, ate tons of delicious food, had some awesome drinks, and soaked in the beautiful Caribbean island. Last Sunday we flew to Miami and stayed the night in a 5-star hotel near the airport (free for us, thanks to Jake's dad's credit card rewards points). Monday we got into Albuquerque and went to my parent's house where we opened all our wedding gifts, and of course, did laundry for free for the last time in a while. Tuesday we came to Las Cruces, where I moved in with my new husband :)
Since then we've been organizing all our new gifts, packing up a lot of old stuff for Goodwill and a soon-to-be-college student my mom knows, and relaxing and enjoying the beginning of our new life together.
This post is a very limited description of all the fun and happiness that our wedding day and honeymoon held. Perhaps some pictures will tell the story better than words can, but you will have to wait for those! I have many photos from friends and family, but I'll wait to post some pictures until we get the professional ones in. Of course, you will have to check Facebook once we have them, but that will have tons more pictures that I'd post on here :)
For all who have given their support and faith and love to us during this time, thank you! We are so happy right now and grateful for everything many of our family and friends have done for us. I am so obviously in the honeymoon phase right now, and I'm totally diggin' it! I am head over heels for my husband!
One of the photos from our complimentary photo shoot in St. Lucia
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