48 hours

I love that Mom bought my favourite cereal and stocked the fridge with root beer and chocolate milk. I love that she bought all the ingredients for smoothies, and all the goods for cookies. I love that by the time I woke up Saturday morning, she already baked a cake, and I love that the three of us had finished it by dinner. I love that Mom says crazy silly things that don't make sense sometimes and I love that we sat down and decorated cookies Saturday night.

nicole's creations were...interesting

an attempt at a nice photo with my dog gone wrong. his head looks huge! and today he "wrestled" with me and drew blood. he's always thought i was a cat or a chew toy or something.

new hammock and chairs in backyard. it looks amazing. my favourite place to relax.


my dad's sweet creation in the "renegade garden." more detailed photoshoot of my backyard and such to come.


they planted corn instead of alfalfa in the lot around my house this year...and i just LOVE it! we are just surrounded by a sea of corn fields!
on another note: i have these black sweatpants at home. they aren't actually mine. we aren't sure where they came from, but i've gotten in the habit of wearing them when i'm home. all the time. every day. they are so comfy! and, well, i don't feel like getting dressed if i don't have to.
well, i think my mom is trying to discourage it. after wearing the sweatpants all day saturday, my mother offered me a pair of her "hawaiian" pajamas to wear saturday night. now, i have other sweats i could wear. she's never loaned me her pj's before...but, they are cute, huh! now i just want new pajamas.
but as soon as i got home from church today....i definitely put those black sweats back on.

(p.s. i need to confess something. i fell in love with country music about halfway through nebraska and i can't stop listening to taylor swift. i'm a bit embarrassed but trying to play it off cool and confident. watch.)

oh! and dad is home now. and has a very hairy face. i almost fell on the ground laughing when i saw him. he just hugged me and said "what's wrong?!" and rubbed his hairy face on mine yelling "i'm the billy goat gruff!" and i said, "you're the jimmy goat gruff!" and then he hugged me again for being so clever. and then he brought out a couple bags of dark chocolate m&m's (our family has a thing) and we all settled into down to watch this scifi movie he's been into. i told him i liked the hammock and he replied "oh you like the hammock?" "yeah i love it." "oh you love the hammock" "yeah it's great" "oh, you think the hammock is great" "yeah dad! love the hammock!" "oh you like the hammock. that's nice." hahah! he is ridiculous.

and tomorrow i get to play with my twins and wear overalls and go watch harry potter. best life ever.

the trip

I made it!

i landed in salt lake thursday morning, slept all afternoon. and all night. then began the drive at 5:30am friday morning.

we're only a little crazy.

my sister: the bearded mermaid.

the most beautiful sight in the world

18 hours in the car may have side effects

so good to be home.

whiggity whack!

My my how quickly things can change!

I was all set to fly back to Iowa next week....

and then I called my parents to tell them about my bicycle being stolen....

and then they informed me they were trying to change my plane ticket to tomorrow!

And they did.

And I couldn't be happier.

So, Salt Lake City, I am coming at you bright and early Thursday morning!

Then starting the road trip some time on Friday and getting to sweet Iowa home Saturday evening.

That means FIVE extra days with my dear parents...

...and then road trip back to Provo for a few days! And then Salt Lake for a week or so!

And then back to sweet Hawaii home.

I am stoked right out of my mind right now. That phone call with my parents lifted all sorts of weight I didn't even realize I was carrying. I can't even put into words how incredibly ecstatic I am to see my family and friends. I know one week isn't a lot, but I'm sure the few days will make all the difference.

Dear Heavenly Father, You know me so well. Thanks a bunch!

missing music making

i miss playing these songs with this girl:

clean getaway from erika ann on Vimeo.


lua from erika ann on Vimeo.


tiger mountain peasant song from erika ann on Vimeo.

luckily friends in hawaii are planning an "unmusical" jam night. no instruments allowed. just inanimate objects, cans, seashells, body parts, and whatever you can find.

can't wait

do be...doobeedoo

So I'm sitting at work.

Bored.

Apparently only a handful of students need an English tutor this summer.

So my task is to create an online APA style guide. But if I work on it all the time every day, I would have finished it weeks ago. And now I'd have even more time on my hands.

Only one more test and my independent study class is finished. At last.

And I can get back to my books.

And feasting upon those glorious words. For pleasure. For two months. Before I return to forcedly and reluctantly reading what I would otherwise find entirely enjoyable. Before I return to my last four months of tests and quizzes and papers that say all the same things. Two months before I dive into the the last four months of my formal undergraduate education. That means I have six months before I have to be a real person in the real world.

Which means I should probably get on the whole "figuring out what I want to do with my life" thing.

I guess I always thought I'd get to college and I would just know what I was supposed to be. Do. Ugh. Marxism. We are what we do. Why are we what we do? Being and doing. That's just one view. But that one view is so engrained in our discourse already. Unconscious and unseperate. "Tell me about yourself..." "Well I'm a teacher../I'm a student...I'm a photographer" "I...do." "I do."

All I really want to do is sit in the sun and read books. Bake. Make people feel good. Color. Get my hands dirty. Go barefoot. Wash dishes in warm water. Decorate my house. Write. Love my friends and family. Love strangers and acquaintances. Dance whenever I feel like it. Burn insence. Explore the wilderness. Explore the world.

What does that make me be? Or is it what I already am?

I'm really cold.

And full of nonsense.

fighter beautiful hands and feet flesh lover flesh canoe

wow! it's been awhile. i coordinated an efy session last week. i'll be writing about that soon. for now, feast your eyes and ears: