SLC: changedowndances

For those of you in Salt Lake I am just giving a heads up for something to do this weekend. The dance community has grown a lot over the last few years and with the opening of The Sugar Space in October 2007 the possibilities for new and emerging artists to show their work has been greatly expanded as well as offering a great variety of classes. This weekend a friend of mine will be showing an evening of work called 'Bridging'. Go out and support Chantal, the dancers, the space, the scene.... all of it.  From Changedown Dances:

A show about getting to know a person, a community and a country is happening this weekend at Sugar Space for the Arts and it is called 'bridging'. 

Produced by Sugar Space Artist in Residency and changedowndances
Perfomances by Nannette Bayles McMullin, Krista Arnott Di Lello, Jordan Wonnacott, Evita Johsnon, Lindsey Challis, Chantal Downing and Heather Arnett. Featuring work by Heather Arnett and Brittany Ann Gadbury. Also choreography and direction by Chantal Downing.

Sugar Space
616 East Wilmington Ave 2190 South SLC
Show starts at 7:30
Tickets are 10$/ 8$ students and teachers /5$ young ones are welcome.

More information and photos to be found on the {group page} on facebook.

Crafty Cozy

After a year of living here I have finally broken down and gotten a mobile phone. I have resisted simply because I don't like the thought of being reached at every moment of the day. But a some events have passed that made me think having one for an emergency would be a good idea. For example: locking my keys in the apartment when both roommates were on holiday, a friend meeting up (often) an hour late, or a child not being at the bus stop where I should be picking them up. And it's on these occasions that being connected would be super handy (hehe... which, conveniently, is what the Germans most commonly say for cell phone: "Handy"). And the reason you need to know any of this? Because what's a Handy worth having if there isn't something to keep it warm and safe? Just another excuse to make something cheesy, right?


So there it is. My handy cozy in my favorite color and one gigantic old yellow-cream button. The whole button situation is a bit chunky, but I think I will keep it.

Miss Rogers Neighborhood

With the intent on sitting down to more productive projects I got totally sidetracked this evening by {this} rad site. Tilt Shift Maker takes your photos and, with a few clicks of the button, transforms them into miniature models reminiscent of Mister Rogers. Like I said, too much time was wasted on this site today, so click with care. I found some photos came out with better results than others. Be sure to check out their {gallery} and {flickr group} for some awesome examples. More photos and a few tips after the jump. To view any photo larger just click on it.



Shots with a good depth of field work better than shots with everything at the same distance. Despite this I think the above shot still works relatively well.


A scene works much better than a close-up shot of just one subject.


Taking a shot from above always works well because you get a lot of depth.

What would I do without her?

This photo is from just over a year ago at the Beehive Tea Room and was the last outing my mom, sister and I had before my big move.

What is Mothers Day in the U.S. is Mother's Day here.  Finally, a non-religious holiday these two countries have in common.

The question stands, what would I do without my mom?  I am certainly in no rush to find that out.  While I loved my mom growing up, I never understood her, or got her, or even felt truly connected to her.  Thankfully that has shifted as I have gotten older and she is now the most important person in my life.  I do not put that lightly.  I appreciate all that we have been through to get to where we are.  I love that we have vastly different philosophies on life and can appreciate each others differences and go on loving and supporting each other.  She is always there for me and is honest with me when there is something that she doesn't agree with.  And I know I can talk to her about whatever is up for me.  She has helped me through a lot.  And while it is obvious to say that I wouldn't be here today if it were not for her, I will say it anyway.  Beyond my physical body, I wouldn't be HERE today.  It is her example of strength, hard work, determination and love that have helped me along the way.  And despite all our differences I can see the ways in which I am so much like her.  Sometimes that scares me because what child doesn't want to be their "own person"?  But much more often it joys me and I love those parts of myself.  I see what an incredible, loving person my mom is and I can only hope to one day be as good a mother as she is.

Happy Mother's Day, mom!  

I will leave you with this, a poem written by my student, a nine year old German girl, for her mom.  Guess which line is my favorite.

M   is for the marvelous meals

O    is for the outrageous laughter 

T    is for the time she spends with me

H   is for the hugs she gives

E    is for the enormous brain she has

R   is for the right way she always goes

Together that is Mother, a word that means the world to me.

WE: Current song following/describing your life.

dancing grass, originally uploaded by formica.

Read about the Weekend Exposure Project and play along. Have you got a Weekend Exposure topic idea? Email me with any thoughts....I get stuck sometimes.

Thousand-Hand Guan Yin

via a facebook friend
As long as you are kind and there is love in your heart
A thousand hands will naturally come to your aid
As long as you are kind and there is love in your heart
You will reach out with a thousand hands to help others

My version of souvenirs

1. Hypotrochoid Art Set (Amazon has it) 2.  Iron Me On (Urban Outfitters)  3.  Owl Stickers and Round Playing Cards (Paperchase)

Some go on vacation and bring back t-shirts, postcards, and shotglasses.

I go on vacation and bring back brown sugar.

That's just the way I roll.

I found a few other sweet things along the way too.

1. London Colouring Book & Gift Guide and Finger Piano (The British Museum Shop)  2.  Chimay, Maltesers, and Brown Sugar (Waitrose-London)  3.  Body Butter and Dark Angels Facial Wash (LUSH)  4.  Sweet little pencil case (somewhere in Covent Garden)

{favorite spot} photo swap

For the last few months I have been participating in an online swap group at Swap-Bot. There is a whole variety of swapping options. Some are simple email swaps of links or surveys. I have had the most fun preparing music for mixed cd swaps and have gotten a lot of really great tea and cocoa from around the world. I would say that I have had a really great experience so far. I have been flaked on once, but it has still been not so long that I have lost complete hope of ever receiving the package.

Anyhow....I have finally now decided to host my own swap because there weren't any email swaps I was terribly interested in and I am now extending an invitation to you. What are we doing? Taking a photo of our favorite spot, whether in the home, nature, city... and emailing it to three people with a small description or story about why you love that spot. In return you will receive three photos. As you already know if you've been reading my blog, I love sharing and expanding community so this seems like a fantastic idea to me. Visit Swap-Bot and sign up for a free account, fill out a profile, then visit the swap's page to join. I'll keep the link in the sidebar until the swap is closed (May 19th). Hope you'll play along.

Bragging Rights

(I'm pointing to my AWESOME grade I received)

Ich habe meine Prufung bestanden und habe ein Eins gekriegt!!!



I met with my German teacher and everyone from my course today at an ice cream parlor to receive my certificate stating that the German government officially recognizes I can speak german. That means...I passed my test with a '1' (which is equivalent to an 'A'). I had perfect scores in my writing and speaking tests and lost a few points in the grammatical section. I couldn't be prouder of the result. And after all the stress I gave myself over thinking I couldn't learn well.

What does this certificate actually mean? Well, I am still trying to figure that out. Should I decide to study or do any kind of Ausbildung (internship/training) then having this piece of paper makes that easier. As far as it helping me get another kind of job, I have yet to figure that out. But it does mean that the one goal I set out to do in my move, learn German, has been accomplished. At least I can communicate everyday without much struggle and I have now proved to myself that I can do it.  And that, dear ones, feels pretty awesome.

It is rather interesting, though, that the day I receive official documentation of "mission accomplished" so to speak is the day I say goodbye to Ryan.  He leaves tonight for Frankfurt then flies out early for Chicago.  Details are not something I want to go into, nor do I think it is necessarily fair.  But I will say that I am feeling sad to see him leave Germany.  Coming here was something we did together and, while this move was something I wanted to do for a long time, having him there as a support and companion made the final decision easier to make.  So Ryan, if you do read this, thank you for all you have been to me.  For loving me, cheering me on and laughing along the way.  I hope your life continues to be adventurous and daring, thank you for sharing part of it with me.

Old news, but still loved

Three weeks gone by, but here are a few more images and tales from the trip to London. London. A city that I feel immediately comfortable in, despite the cultural and language quirks that are present. After a year of learning German and subsequently forgetting English, I was shocked for the first few hours after landing and found myself, more than usual, lost for words. It was utterly confusing and very embarrassing to be unable to speak my mother tongue easily.


I spent a good deal of my time wandering and hopping on local buses without a plan in mind. Which works just fine in London. Regardless of which direction you head you are bound to bump into something historic, interesting, funny, big... Seeing as this was a trip on a budget it worked out fine to not plan on much. Actually, the only planning I did extended to finding delicious and reasonably priced places to eat which, I was surprised to discover, was not as difficult as I had previously thought.  I previously mentioned the London Review Cake Shop which is a fantastic stop before/after hitting up the British Museum as it is just around the corner.  And I found the FARM Collective Shop which hosted my gleeful reunion with Cheddar.  FARM sources all food locally and it was simply delicious.  If nothing else, I am now making it a point to eat very well while on vacation. My memories won't be happy ones if they are made on an empty or unhappy stomach.  

London was fun, but the reason, or initiation for the trip to begin with was to visit Eve, a friend from high school.   She lives just 40 minutes south of London in Guildford, Surrey, a town of green hills and the resting place of Lewis Carroll.  Eve was working during the days so I took the opportunity to wander the town.  Climbing the hill to the castle ruin I found this statue.  The family home of Lewis Carroll neighbors the castle grounds though it was surrounded by trees and I was unable to see it.

There was something so amusing to me about the pink hair and the proper English garden in the country.

And seeing as I was visiting on Easter weekend it was only appropriate to have a very dramatic reenactment of the crucifixion.  It lasted a good fifteen minutes and was very, um, passionate and disturbing.  Not that a crucifixion should make one feel all warm and fuzzy but...

Happy train ride with my English author and Scottish water.

More photos {London}
More photos {Guildford}

WE: When I started having fun, I....

No Time Like The Present!, originally uploaded by anji one.

Read about the Weekend Exposure Project and play along.

This weeks topic is inspired by the book When I Started Having Fun (10 ways to make every day fun!) by Salt Lake's very own Nick James. Pick up a copy at Golden Braid Books or, if you're not in Salt Lake, order one online from his [SHOP].