One Hundred And Thirteen

Remember that one day? Well it certainly paid off, for I got into the publication, Touchstones (a journal featuring art

and literature), at my school. I actually found out back in October that I got in. Tonight was the opening reception for

the publication; I had plum forgot about it until I got to school. I didn't really want to go, but I wanted my free book. I

was oh so very glad that I went though, because my dear friend Michael Spurrier was there. I haven't seen him since

last December. It was great to catch up. So there you have it, page 113. I guess my trip to Cali paid off in more ways

than one. Being published… CHECK. Being published for graphic design… not so CHECK. I'll get there, I promise.

Baby Steps

Today started out considerably hard. All that hardness led to David taking me out to lunch to the Panda. After the

asian goodness was devoured, my fortune cookie birthed this little baby. After reading it I immediately asked David

if he wanted to go to New York. By the end of the day I realized I have taken a many a trips this year with friends (i.e.

Sydney, Nikki, Family, School, etc), as well as today. I went to lunch with David, I went to class with my faithful car

and I went to Macey's with Nikki to celebrate with ice cream. What were we celebrating, you might ask. Well, my

amazing roommate/cousin had a second interview for a job and got it! She is so great at what she does… and she

never ceases to surprise me. I am proud to have her as my cousin and I hope more trips are in our future.

Ding Dong The Fish Is Dead

It was a tough day in the Duncan-Christofferson-Rennaker household today… for our fish died. Sir Ivan Ulrich was

a happy fish and only suffered his last week swimming vertically. He was alive this morning; we came home from

church and there he was, sunk at the bottom… dead. We had a short funeral for him and then he was flushed away

to fishy heaven joining Rasputin, our other fish. Nikki commented afterward it would be awhile before purchasing another.

I Bleed Red…

How about you? Special thanks to my Mother and Father for the opportunity to attend. It was rocky, but we made it.

Halloween Daily

Tonight Nikki and I made the travel up to Sandy for some good family lovin', relaxin' and feedin'. We decided that it

would be best to spend the night there in preparation for tomorrow's festivities. My mom always has candy dishes

filled to the brim sporadically spread through out the main floor of her house. It's like Halloween everyday. Don't worry

she balances this one out by placing the fruit on top the candy so you have to eat that first in order to get to it. Yum.

The Gratefuls, The Grandparents And The Gelatin

Picture this… we're all going around the table stating and explaining what we are thankful for. First my aunt Kristi, my

Dad, my Mom, cousin Eric, his two year old daughter, Amoree, his wife, Katie, me, Aubrey, my Grandpa Bush

(photographed above) and then it was my Grandma's turn:

Grandma: "Well I am thankful that Don (my Grandpa) got new hearing aids…"

Grandpa puts down his napkin and leans over: "What?"

(A couple of minutes later) My Dad: "Rollerblades?"

My Grandma then rolls her eyes and we all laugh. Oh Thanksgiving, how I've missed you so. Fantastic company,

games as usual, plenty of leftovers, hilarious jokes from the jokesters of the Bush side and great grandkids galore.

Popcorn Tossing

Today I stayed inside as long as possible… it was terribly frigid. Until, of course a friends asked if I wanted to dine out

which led to more friends tagging along. After playing some wicked rockband following dinner, Nikki and I made the trek

to Alishia's for some frothy hot cocoa and of course air popped popcorn. They are so good at getting all that butter

mixed in. After an hour or so at Alishia's, we left her be to get to bed and made another walk to F3 to watch 30 Rock

(one of the most splendid shows). Happy Thanksgiving eve everyone. I am thankful for terrific friends, a superb

family, an occasionally warm house and hats, gloves, scarves, boots, coats and anything else that'll keep out the cold.

Green Fake Blizzards

Supposed to be the biggest thing since velcro… a white out blizzard, here in Utah? No way. We barely had enough

snow for the Olympics. But no no no, the TV said so, therefore we shall shut down schools and stores for this mere

inch of snow; it's pretty comedic really. Of course there will be bad snow up North… it's the North for pete's sake.

Here in Provo though, I beg to differ. Just in case the weather man was right on the nose for the first time in a while,

Alishia, Nikki and I had a fantastic girls night complete with pizza, chick flick, apple crisp, nail painting and internet clip

sharing. Blizzard my eye–sadly only at Dairy Queen. I still have yet to use my heavy duty snow boots… hello mountains.

Training Wheels Off

My little lappy is all grown up… tonight I replaced his battery and he is fit as a fiddle. Check out his battery life, up top

there. So thankful for modern day medicine; he can stand on his own now without being plugged into the wall at all

times. Also, recognize my desktop? I'll give you a piece of candy if you can… or you can just cheat by clicking the link.

A Pie Squashing Time

Last night my Mom sent me with a butternut squash, among other various sacks of groceries. I asked her what I was

supposed to do with it. "Bake it, then put butter on it with some salt and pepper." Well, that didn't sound all that great

to me, for I knew that my butternut squash was not living up to it's potential. So after church today I got pretty

ambitious and decided to make citrus ribs and a butternut squash pie with pecan crust. Who am I turning into? I

NEVER cook this much (unless it is a special occasion), especially in our itty bitty kitchen. Thankfully, Amber came

along to check out her pictures that I had edited and she did the dishes as I was cooking as well as pureeing the

squash while I basted and broiled the meat. What a life saver. We finally ate around 7:30PM (that is one thing about

cooking I dislike is timing everything) over at Moon F3. Turns out my meal and pie were a huge success… who knew?

*Please note this was my very first pie, ever! I think I will be making it again for Thanksgiving at my Grandma and Grandpa Bush's.

Cinematically Theatrically Filled

I slept in (much needed after that Harry Potter thing-a-ma-jig). After waking I dashed to my school to help Alishia out

with a school project. She has to make a movie for one of her classes. I was a secondary character, but I got there

early enough to watch a good portion of the filming–she's so talented. After finishing the takes for the day I received

a text message from my Mom wondering when she was going to see me tonight. It had completely slipped my mind

that I was going to a play with her and Nikki that night at my old High School. The Musical was tremendous (can I just

say that the music in musicals can strike an internal chord that makes my body go numb at times; it's a little hard to

explain, so we'll keep it at that). We went back to my parents house after the play to load up on groceries from my

loving mother. When we exited the play it was snowing like a mad man; I was trippin' balls I was so stoked. That all

went away though when we hit point of the mountain, for the snow turned to rain. SLC county always gets better precipitation.

P.S. Did you notice what my ticket was sitting on top of? If you guessed an amazon box… you are correct (fantastic job at recognizing

secondary graphics; you're almost a graphic designer)! I picked up my battery while I was in Sandy. Thanks Mom and Dad, you are da best!

Sketchy Chairs

It's that time of the year when everyone is asking about school. When I say that my largest stress is my Senior

Studio class, everyone and their dog wants to know what it is about. I can't say because if you already know going

into it what it is then you are most likely to A. not come to my show and B. not get the same experience if you already

knew what it was about. Every Friday I have my Senior Studio class… 9AM–1PM, ugh right? Anyways, this morning

I got very excited because I am actually coming along nicely. I just need to get some major things done in the coming

weeks. So as a present from me to you–here is a small glimpse into my BFA sketchbook. It's not much… have fun.

6 Hour Rabid Fans

Remember how I mentioned how awesome Visiting Teachers are? Well Nikki's are pretty terrific as well. She got

free midnight showing tickets of Harry Potter 7 Part 1 from her Teacher, Liz. I wasn't planning on seeing it until

redbox, but hey, free tickets. We arrived at Scera theatre around 10PM to get good seats, and we did. Lots of people

dressed up creating a photo taking frenzy. I'll admit I joined in when I saw someone had dressed up like a hippogriff.

At one point during the two hour wait people started chanting 'duel' and the crowd parted, there stood a dressed

up Harry Potter and a dressed up Draco Malfoy facing eachother with their wands. Seriously people? And then

they actually dueled, alas it only lasted 1.5 seconds, because they realized their wands don't actually work. Let's just

say if there is a midnight showing of a movie that makes people crazy, I will not be going. Next time, I want to watch it

for a dollar in the comfort of my own home with subtitles on (due to all the screaming happening during the movie and

the girl behind us asking her friend every five seconds 'Why are they doing that?' I missed a good portion of the movie).

The Cat In The Hat In The Sky

I scurried home from school tonight to catch the pink sunset. The snow capped mountains were tainted pink against

the cobalt blue sky in the East. To the West… this was the sight to see. The pink clouds streaking across the sky

remind me of the Cat in the Hat story where they can't get the pink out of anything. Does anyone know what I'm saying?

The WAAAA-mblulance

Today was not so great. I'm having a pretty lousy week and it's only tuesday… oh my blah. But to keep things light,

here is a lovely photo of a fire truck. This is one of three in front of the Provo library today; as well as four ambulance,

and two fire and rescue trucks. I have no idea what was going down, but as I was walking back to my house the

paramedics were coming down the steps from the library and loading up their trucks–photoed just in time. Also, aren't

visiting teachers one in a million? Mine brought me coconut rice tonight. Day = 1,000% better. Have you ever had it? Yum…

Steakin' Out The Place

Remember how I've been meaning to hang things up? Well, I finally got that second 'poster' up; what, you don't hang

meat in your hallway? Don't worry this was a temporary installation. I did it for a school project, and then… I ate it!

Cause and Affect

This is the picture that yesterday left in our kitchen. It was actually much worse but I couldn't take it anymore. Yesterday

was the most we had ever cooked in our kitchen. Nikki made two pies, I made two jello salads and we also made

some candied yams. Then when we got home we just dumped everything in our kitchen and went back out. I don't

think we'll be cooking that much in our kitchen anytime soon. The dishes just wont end. It wouldn't be so bad if we

had a dishwasher and a disposal. But I guess this is learning experience for when I live in some tiny itty bitty

apartment in some swanky city in the coming years. Sometimes washing dishes can be therapeutic–others, just gross.

Pre-Thanksgiving Chow Down

Thanksgiving is such a fabulous holiday… why not have it twice this year? Well, Nikki, Moroni and I thought that same

thing. So we did it: notified friends of old and new to come together in such a gathering around the Moon apartment's

clubhouse ping pong table. And we fit… all 19 of us. Moroni and Diane are not pictured here because they were still

dealing with the turkey. We had all the trimmings and such a terrific turn out. We may just have to make this a tradition.

(Nikki, Ben, Camille's roommate, Camille, Dani, Joubie, Andrew, Dan, Cameron, Porter, Roger, Leah, Bethany, Amber, Jamie, Aubrie and

my empty seat; Rachelle showed up a tad later, so I guess that makes an even 20).

Grey Chair Sentenced

Today, all day, I sat in this chair. Doing various projects, catching up on some television (since we don't own it) and

I even skyped with my Dad. Yes, ladies and gents, my Friday night was spent sitting in a chair glued to my laptop.

At least I have a lovely chair to sit in at a semi-organized desk in a room that is NOT my bedroom or the kitchen. Lucky me.

Dear Lappy,

…You are to be getting an upgrade very soon. I know I know, you've been with me through thick and thin. Not to

mention impromptu homework parties, planned homework parties and all nighters. But let's face it… your battery life

is pretty–how should I put this–egregious? Sure, why not. Thank you to my loving parents who have ordered us a

new battery, we wont have to worry about this embarrassment in public of you not lasting three seconds while unplugged.

Jump for joy everybody, for I'm going wireless.

Mint Cocoa Mustache

After coming off such a 'blah' day yesterday, my day started out very lame (even though I dreamt vividly of someone

I've never met). In the morning I mulled over the stinky thought of having to completely start over on my James Victore

poster (we received feedback from him yesterday; this poster will be the bane of my existence). As I mulled, I did my

daily routine of blog binging (reading all the blogs I follow). In doing so I found out that my most favorite band's lead

singer went solo and has an album out. Of course, I bought it; his voice is like mint chocolate. Much like the hot cocoa

I drank tonight after watching Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, again. I love watching movies again and hot cocoa solves all.

Blah Blah Blah…

Remember my copperplate print that I spoke of? Well here it is; I finally remembered to bring it home so I could

photograph it. It's only a proof… it will improve over the next couple of weeks with some textures and shadows. But,

this definitely sums up my day. "Ugh"… that is how I am answering life's big questions. 'Ugh' to dating/marriage; 'ugh'

to my actions after graduation; 'ugh' to finding out who I am/want to become; 'ugh' to why the chicken crossed the road.

o_O

French Lighting

I walk passed this lamp post everyday, this and three others just like it. Isn't it terrific? Reminds me of something you

would see on an old French post card. The leaves are beginning to carpet the ground–you can't see a thing. Snow is

coming, I can feel it… the bitter cold has come and the clouds are getting lower: I want an excuse to use my boots!

More Spoonage

At church today I wore my most favorite piece of jewelry… this spoon handle that my Grandpa made–I guess it runs

in the family. I always get such gracious compliments towards it, and I always credit my Grandpa with the creativity.

Also, wasn't the CES fireside truly amazing tonight? I love them so much. Nikki and I were talking about how the

apostles are always so bold because they are speaking to such a specific audience: the young adults of this church.

Hangin' Donkeys

Today I challenged myself to hang at least two posters around our apartment (our walls are too white for my creative

juices to flow). I didn't even accomplish that… for this was the only thing I acheived hanging. I made this back in 2008

when I lived with Stephanie at Alpine Court. It was from our first Sunday in that ward; Bishop Ross was doing an

object lesson on helping those around us get to where we all want to end up (or something to that effect). The donkey

drawings were up on an overhead projection, and us being the Sunday school scallawags that we were turned to

each other and said "So does that mean my roommate is a donkey?" Later that week I made this poster… clever, eh?

Hello My Name Is…

Tonight I had a couple of old ward reunions. The first one was from when I lived at Alpine Court and the other was

from when I lived at the Colony. One was an organized reunion and the other was a birthday party. It's amazing how

you can not see people for ages and they can recognize you; on the other hand it's amazing how people you have

seen not so long ago don't have any idea who you are, unless they look at your name tag. Can I get a wha', wha'?

Rockin' The Moccasins

Oooo today. T'was good, no, fantastic. I produced my first proof for my very first etching in printmaking. I received

tremendous feedback on my Victore poster. Ate a child's lunch. Did homework. in the library. for reals. Attended yet

another lecture series that made me re-evaluate my life plan after I graduate. At the end of the night… watched 'V for

Vendetta' at Glenhaven 2 wearing my oh-so-very comfy moccasins. Breaking them out for the first time this season.

I've had these pretty little mamas since my freshman year and they never get old… always in style–my kind of shoe.

Not So 'True Blue'

Check out my new do. Done by the lovely and talented Megan. She did my hair right after my car got broken into, and
just in time for Halloween. Only this time it was a bit different… she tried a different blue. She first started putting blue
in my hair during Christmas break, but it would always fade after a couple of washes. This time the blue is super
bright and has yet to fade. Lately, when people notice it, they'll say the phrase 'true blue'. No, my hair is not blue for
the sake of BYU. I don't even go there… it's just the greatest color that compliments black hair. Thanks again Megan!

Comfy Court

After a birthday dinner for Porter, Nikki and I went to a volleyball intramural game. Porter, Roger and Moroni are on
the team. Out of the 249 photos I took, I just could NOT get over this one. It's a classic… sorry Moroni, I just had to.
Nonetheless they won, hardcore; their team is so great. Takes me back to the days of Aubrey's volleyball games.

Pumpkin Porter

Today is Porter's birthday (the founder of the 'meat sweats' phrase). He has turned a whopping twenty-two on this

day. This kid absolutely loves everything made out of pumpkin. So in honor of his birthday Nikki made him a pumpkin

cheesecake (that girl is such a terrific baker, no doubt about it). We devoured the cheesecake and then played our

beloved Rock Band, actually it's Porter's. Thanks… Happy Birthday Porter. Remember: goodnight never never land.