Our Valentine Christmas

Merry Christmas! We certainly have felt loved this holiday season. And we have enjoyed many fun and festive activities. We went ice skating with friends, picked out a Christmas tree at Mr. Wizard's frozen custard (see below), went to a Mannheim Steamroller concert at the fabulous Fox Theater, made gingerbread houses with the Gertsches and the Newmans (see below), attended a holiday party at the cozy Biehl home, shot some holiday breeze with Adam, Brain, Laurel, Ben and Liza around the Allen's fake tree with real pinecones, and trimmed our home with evergreen and poinsetta (my sister, Laurel, says we are the winners because we weren't too lazy to decorate this year...implying...). I also enjoyed a lovely evening with girlfriends while Mark was interviewing at UCSD. Some of my new girlfriends came over and we had holiday treats and watched "Meet Me in St. Louis." Being locals, we all had an especial appreciation for the beginning of the trolley scene when they take the "Skinker" sign off the trolley. And a special thanks to the enrichment leaders in the Lindell ward for the holiday enrichment activity. I learned how to make the big red bow in the center of my evergreen and poinsetta garland (see below). THANK YOU SO MUCH to everyone who has helped make our St. Louis Christmas so wonderful. The very best part has been the love and the friendships. I can't believe how lonely I was just a couple months ago. The last month has been a very, very happy one for me and it is because of everyone who has made Mark and I feel loved and appreciated. I hope you enjoy the following visual snippets of our fantastic holiday festivities:

Here you see a couple pictures I took for our Christmas cards (sorry if you didn't get one this year...I was forced to stick to a family only policy because of all of the fun I've been having and my compulsive need to design my own cards). I'm sure I looked silly to all the passersby on Wydown, running to and from my tripod in short sleeves in the freezing cold.



And here you can see some of our festive trimmings. Notice the Mexican nativity (I love it!), the bow I made at enrichment, and our lovely Christmas tree in three different lighting scenarios.





Gingerbread houses! We had so much fun. (I stole the pictures from Chelsea and Kevin's blog.) Pictured first are Jillian, Chelsea, and Kevin Gertsch. Then Blake and Marie Newman. And finally, US!




Since we are leaving for Colorado and Columbus, on Friday the 19th at 5 pm (YAY!!!), we decided to open our presents to each other on Monday. (Family Home Evening!) Laurel is staying with us this week, so she enjoyed the festivities with us and took some much appreciated documentary photographs. First you see Mark, fake-grumpy because he had to wait for me to do all kinds of chores before I was "ready." Then you see our before picture. And then, the after picture. If you look closely you will see that I got "Dance, Dance, Revolution Universe 3!" FUN! If you like to dance-dance, you should let me know and I will arrange a dance-dancing party. Don't worry, we aren't very good.




And finally...drumroll please...the highlight of our first 2008 Christmas post...

...We've elfed ourselves!! Thanks to jET for the idea. And thanks to OfficeMax and Jib Jab for making it all possible. Seriously, this is hilarious, so if you have trouble loading the video, be persistent.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
p.s. We can't wait to see you fam 1 and fam 2!

We're famousish!!

...or maybe just pretty. But pretty is something, yes? Check out our wedding photographer's website: www.jrgeoffrion.com

You will see us in the intro, and then, on his main page, we are the main image. Also, if you scroll over "Information"-"Contact Form" you will see us again. Really, though, the American Gothic idea was a stroke of genius which, since JR is a genius, is unsurprising. Go there (www.jrgeoffrion.com) and you will see.

Photography

Here is some proof that I still use my camera:

Thanksgiving!!

Mark and I met my parents and Meara and Lucien in Keokuk for Thanksgiving. Mark was awesome and made a big festive dinner. He even made some gluten free dishes to accommodate our guests. Below are some pictures from our Thanksgiving weekend:



Mark wearing my sunglasses 'cause he forgot his. Nice, huh?



And, as always, the river...



...was beautiful; so...



...eat your heart out, Jessie!!!



On the way (ok not really "on the way"), but as we were leaving town, we went to Rutledge, Missouri, to shop at the Mennonite dry goods store there. It is awesome!! We love it. That cart full of goodies was part of my birthday celebration.



When we got home we did a "holiday puzzle." For me, anytime is a good time to do a puzzle. For Mark, the holidays are a particularly good time to do a puzzle. So, in keeping with his, and to begin our new tradition, we did a "holiday puzzle." (Note: this specific puzzle is also considered a "holiday puzzle" because Mark gave it to me for Christmas last year, and, as we all know, Christmas is a holiday.)



On Sunday morning, we woke up to our first SNOW!!! We had a few flurries earlier, but this was the first time that flakes of snow collected themselves on flat surfaces and remained there for long enough to take a picture. What you see above is the view from our kitchen window...lovely.



AND...since I am the coolest wife EVER, Mark got a pre-Christmas present! And XBOX 360 elite!!!...yea!!!! All in all, it was a pretty great Thanksgiving break. Thanks to Mom, Dad, Meara, Lucien, Joan and Co., the xbox, snow, the "holiday puzzle," Rutledge Dry Goods, the kitchen window, my sunglasses, and the mighty Mississippi (whew...) for making it all happen.

Family Home Evening

First, the confession. Mark and I, although we by default spend Monday evenings together, think ourselves in awkward circumstances for the whole FHE package, i.e. song, prayer, lesson, activity, treat, prayer. But, the last few Mondays have looked a bit more like traditional FHEs, and so we share...

Two weeks ago, a couple in the ward invited us and some others to go ice skating in Forest Park and then to enjoy games and hot chocolate at their apartment. There wasn't a lesson or prayer, but when we received the invite, it was to a "combined FHE." It was nice to have people think of us for a gathering of that sort. We just might be making friends. Wish us luck.

Last week, Mark needed to deliver turkeys to some families in the ward. So, he invited me along and we made an FHE out of it. Again, there wasn't a lesson or prayer, but we did find ourselves at the Bishop's house, which makes it an official Monday-night church activity, which (by default) makes it FHE. Right? Do you follow my logic? Anyway, it was nice to get out and serve people. We heartily recommend it.

This week, Mark and I went to Mr. Wizard's frozen custard and bought...a Christmas tree!! You thought I was going to say frozen custard. You were wrong. No frozen custard for us. We have $50 riding on Mark's ability to attain and maintain a certain physique and it's almost time to pay the piper. But we weren't even distracted by the custard. We were way too excited about our Christmas tree! (...stay tuned for pictures of our tree...TRIMMED!)

Below are some pictures from ice skating:




(From left: Mark and Careen, Amy and Elliott, Danelle and Adam)

My Co-workers

Working from home is sad sometimes because when funny things happen, I can't lean over and share a giggle with my neighbor. But, being the resourceful creature that I am, I have developed a method for sharing my giggles. I get on google and start a chat with Mark. Sometimes, he doesn't respond right away, but that is actually better. I get to imagine how he is reacting to my little funnies and then, when I get his actual reaction, it's like I've shared a laugh with two different people: imaginary Mark and real Mark. Now, even though I know my husband pretty well and usually know about how he will react, I let imaginary Mark have all kinds of reactions, just to spice things up. I might even give imaginary Mark a completely different name, so as to further separate his identity from that of the real Mark. But, I hesitate, feeling like this coarse of action may start me down a slippery slope that could deliver me to the unfortunate land of serious personality disorders. Speaking of naming people, though, here is a peak at the giggles shared by me, imaginary Mark, and real Mark:

me: So, you have a daughter and want to name her after two different women named Alice...is the answer to name her Alice Alice? Some people think so.

me: Here's another. You want to name your daughter after a woman named Jeanice, but you want to call her Jean...is the answer to name her Jean Jeanice? Some people think so.

me: And there are people who can't decide between the names Charmayne, Lydia, Wilma, and Mildred...and they think the answer is to name the child Charmayne Lydia Wilma Mildred. Horrible.

me: ...and no matter how you spell it, you can't name your son Ferry. I am trying to convince myself in says Terry, but...

Mark: I kinda like ferry

me: you would

Mark: yes I would

me: do you like "Alice Alice?"

Mark: yeah, but I think that another alice would be good
Alice Alice Alice Valentine
maybe a hyphen

me: Or AliceAlice Alice Valentine

Mark: Alice Alice-Alice Valentine or Alisalice

me: Alice is starting to look like a funny name...like if you say shampoo or chicken over and over.
Or Alisa Alice...which reminds me that Jean Jeanice is also an option

Mark: Jeanalice-Jeanice Alicejanice Valentine
its a keeper

me: i like it
don't you feel better now that we have that on hand?

Books

It all started when I was 16. I decided that I wanted to have my own copy of all of my favorite picture books...you know, the classic and sentimental ones that evoke thoughts of my childhood like candy canes do of Christmas. Innocent enough. But somewhere along the line it got out of control. I am letting you all into my sick, compulsive world and showing you all how many books I have amassed in the last seven years. What you see below is a (relatively) complete photo-documentation of my book collection:





A special shout out to Grandpa Knapp who constructed the above bookcases, and to Mom and Cindi, who are loaning them to us.



Another shout out goes to the neighbors across the hall. We thought they were reverse immigrating, but 5 months later they still live across the hall. I guess some people just furniture purge...we found the above bookcase in the hall and were not too proud to snag it.





Above: The top of the hall closet where we keep the children's books.



Above: the bottom of our bedroom closet



Above: the shelves in our kitchen where we were forced to shove all of the cookbooks

And to prove to you all that this really is an obsession, I refer you to:

Barrett, Careen. "Books." In 50 Things That Really Matter to Latter-day Saints, ed. Britney Rule, 61-63. Sandy, Utah: Leatherwood Press, 2007.

“What’s that on your face?” she asked. Her facial expression made me a bit self-conscious. She leaned in more closely and laughed.

“What is it?” I demanded.

"Book,” she replied, “You have book on your face.”

We had just come from visiting a friend who had loaned me a book he’d just bought. I must have stuck my face in too far when I stopped to smell it. Yes, that’s right, I smell books. It helps me feel close to them. I love the smell of books. People keep trying to convince me that I am just smelling paper and dust. But even paper and dust smell magical when bound with glue and thread.

My love for books began when I was in high school. My grandmother was an English teacher before she died and my mother inherited her books. I learned how wonderful it was to have a home library. When I left for college I realized that I didn’t have books on hand anymore. I determined to remedy my situation. My endeavor to create a personal library had evolved into an obsession with bound paper. My battered and worn copy of Walden by Henry David Thoreau is one of my best friends. I also have a large German atlas that I love so much that sometimes I will hold it like a teddy bear or blanket.

I’ve realized that my books are an important part of my identity. Elder Douglas L. Callister said, “If we know the books located at the bedside, we know much about the man.” If you asked me to tell you a little about myself, I would be tempted to tell you to go scan my bookshelves. In my experience, one of the best ways to learn about another person is to read a book they love.

A friend recommended I read his favorite book, East of Eden by John Steinbeck. As I did so, I began to realize why we understand each other so well. On the other hand, my roommate loves Willa Cather’s books. This one piece of information convinces me that no matter how much I love her, I will never fully understand her.

Then again, who am I to complain? Very few, if any, people understand why I hold books, and smell them, and wear their dust on my face.

My new client

I got an email last week from an attorney in Chicago asking for my help with some research. The city of Chicago wants to put in a new runway at O'Hare airport, which means bulldozing a 150 year old German-American protestant cemetery. The church is trying to prevent the city's proposed destruction of the cemetery. Their latest effort involves locating as many descendants of the interred as possible and providing them with legal representation in opposing the runway plan. This is where my expertise with German-American protestant church records comes in quite handy. I am conducting descendency research within the records of the church and forwarding my data to a couple of due-diligence/heir searching researchers from New York that I selected to do the work of actually locating and contacting the living descendents.

This is an amazing opportunity for me because I am specifically trained and qualified to do the work, I can work from my home computer, I can put in as many hours as I want (the more the better actually because the research could get cut off by the court at any moment), and it will be a great addition to my CV. So, wish us luck. Hopefully, we can save a cemetery.

I'm back.

I have received several complaints about the state of my blog. It is shameful. I admit it. I've just been feeling like my life isn't very interesting. But I am encouraged by the complaints, proving that some of you care what I am up to, even if it's dull.

I read other people's blogs and am annoyed by posts sans pictures. But we haven't taken many lately, so sorry if the offering is bland.





I'm sure you are wondering why I posted pictures of my feet. Well, they are actually representative of an important part my day. I am ALL alone, ALL day....and, actually, very lonely. I am no longer working for HR imaging (it wasn't a good fit and after 3-4 tries, I have finally quit). My work is all at home or in a library. I never see or talk to anyone other than Mark and the nursery kids at church. Our friends, the Kauwes, and my sister Laurel have moved leaving Mark and I friendless. Mark goes to work everyday and, therefore, doesn't suffer as much as I do from the isolation. But when he gets home, and would probably appreciate some solitude, I am desperate for some sort of human interaction. So, while he is on the computer for his afternoon internet ritual (emails, online surveys, and looking at the money in our bank accounts) I lie on the floor next to his feet like a cat. As I lay there, I notice things...like how the afternoon light plays with the objects in the room, like my feet. And that is why I have shared with you all this photographic study of my toes. Enjoy!


If you want to see some GOOD pictures, visit my friend Jessie's website (http://www.jessiealexisphotography.com/). She is a fantastic portrait and wedding photographer and always posts new pictures of pretty people. For GOOD pictures of a different variety, visit my sister's blog (www.johnandemmanyc.blogspot.com). There you can see my niece, Evelyn's, PRIZE WINNING Halloween costume. It is amazingly cute. Make sure you scroll down and view the videos of her new brave walk (and waddle). And don't be a stranger, leave a comment. Emma and Evelyn love to know what you think of their wardrobes, waddles, and witty writing. Here is a sneak preview...





About a month ago, Mark and I went to the mall to shop. Usually, we only go to the mall to see movies. (We go to a lot of movies.) He needed new clothes. So, we did as much shopping as you can do in 45 minutes. When we got home, Mark decided to get rid of all the clothes he had been holding onto in case he ever needed or wanted to wear them. I guess he realized that he would never WANT to wear them, and now that he has new clothes, will never NEED to wear them. We made a big pile for charity, but as I was folding all of his old button down shirts, I decided I liked the colors and patterns. So, I am currently in the process of cutting them up so I can reuse the fabric for quilting. (Yes, I quilt.) That is what I work on while Mark plays his new xBox game (Star Wars: The Force Unleashed). Some times I offer him pieces of his shirts back. And sometimes, he takes them. Below is a picture of Mark wearing what was a sleeve, as a hat. (This was last week when it was really cold here and I wouldn't let him turn on the heater.)




If my return to blogging has entertained you even a little, be sure to check back. In honor of Hallowe'en, Samhain, and the Celtic New Year, I have made a resolution to be a better blogger. Coming up...the current state of Careen's career.

The Fourth in Keokuk!

My family has been in Keokuk, IA (north of St. Louis by Nauvoo) for most of this month. Mark, Laurel and I drove up there for the 4th of July and had a great time. Mark and I went back to a spot in Illinois where we went with our wedding photographer, and therefore, you might recognize it from some of our wedding pictures. Basically, it's just a dumping ground for old train cars, trucks, sand and gravel. By the way, gravel is kind of scary to climb around on.

With all the flooding last month, bridges all up and down the Mississippi were having to close to traffic. It was very important that the Keokuk bridge stay open because all the other nearby bridges were closing. I thought this was very clever. They stacked cement roadblocks two high on both sides of the IL bound lanes. Then they filled the whole thing with gravel and had traffic drive on top of the gravel. Basically, they built a road over the road. I tried to take a couple pictures from the car. You can kind of get an idea for what it looked like. When I took the pictures, they were in the process of taking it all down, so I was driving on the IA bound lanes, which were left clear so they wouldn't even have to close the bridge to put up or take down the gravel road.

Then we went to the Keosippi mall in Keokuk where "Joe Exotic" was letting people pay to spend time in cages with his baby tigers. Apparently, people buy exotic animals online as pets. Then when they get too big, and people don't know what to do with them, they get sent to shelters. Joe Exotic is just one of these shelters. They have a wonderful habitat for the animals (ligers, tigers, wolves, etc.). They take a few animals at a time on the road to make money to keep the habitat running and to convince people not to buy exotic pets. So, below you will see Mark and I playing with baby tigers

Mark was being a nice son-in-law and made hamburgers for my family. In the process, he made friends with our dog Newton.

It was great. We watched fireworks at the park, ate pie and peaches, and hung out at my parents' beautiful riverside home. All in all, not a bad fourth.