Truth Tuesday

It's been a while since I've done a Truth Tuesday. It seems the past few Tuesdays I've just been away from any sign of a computer, which is perfectly okay with me. But alas, I am very near a computer today, as I'll be home until later this afternoon, catching up on housework and some of my random projects. Oh, and I'll probably keep the tv on too, just in case something really pressing comes up on the Olympics. Guys, I'm obsessed. It's bad.

Welp. . . let's get this party started.

• I wish I could say I am feeling completely ready to go back to school, but I don't think I am yet. I better embrace the next few weeks before I have to go back whether I like it or not. School will be nice though. I've always been a person that looks forward to starting a new year of school. I am absolutely sure that I'm ready for cooler weather though. It's just been too hot for my liking lately. I can't even stand being outside until evening time, or unless I'm wearing a bathing suit and there is a pool of water near. I love late summer/fall weather. It's perfect. It's still warm but cool enough that I can cope with wearing clothing. 

• It's mine and BWell's anniversa-week! This coming Sunday will be the big day. It confuses me when I try to figure out where the last year went. It flew by! But it was a good one, and I'm ready for many more with that sweet husband of mine! 

• Every time I watch Jeremiah Johnson, I want to start fighting bears and wolves with my bare hands. Kind of weird and random, but I am positive that it is one of my favorite movies. Plus, Robert Redford is the star. If I would have been born in his time (meaning I wouldn't be able to marry Brian) I would settle with marrying Robert Redford. He's a stud. Brian says he looks like a leather muppet. I say leather muppets are sexy.

• I have a lady crush on these two. 

• While at the check-out at the grocery store, I always group things together so it's easy for the bagger to bag. I think I do it out of habit, mostly, since I worked at a grocery store once. Plus, I also want to make it easier for the poor bagger. Bagger, what a sad title. Brian calls people baggers as an insult. 

• Brian and I slept out on our patio again a few nights ago. I woke up in the middle of the night with a swollen shut eye. Then I realized my arms itched. I guess we got eaten alive by. . .some type of bug. We still don't know who the culprit is. They aren't mosquito bites. We think it may be ants. Needless to say, we spent the rest of the night indoors and I held an ice pack on my eye. Luckily the swelling went down, or I would have looked like the hunchback of Notre Dame. No joke. 

• Have you guys seen Nike's commercial for the Olympics? I think it gave me the chills. I think. 

• While on the subject of the Olympics, what did everyone think of the Opening Ceremonies? I liked them for the most part. Less video clips would have been nice. And I could have done without the giant baby. And I really thought the queen jumped out of the plane at first, so I ended up being disappointed that it was actually a stunt man. But it's probably a good thing it wasn't really her. She could have hurt herself. I also just wanted more of England's history and such included, and less fluff. That's just my opinion though. Overall, I think I liked it. The ending with Paul Mccartney singing "Hey Jude" made me forget about the giant baby though. Oh, I loved that part! 

Until next Tuesday. . .now I better go weed my garden. 

My Baby Sister

Having little sisters is the best!

Chlo Jo came over to stay with me and Brian a couple weeks ago. During the day, Chloe and I beat the heat by hitting up the pool. When Brian came home from work, it was cool enough that we went for just a mini hike up the canyon. Then we stayed up WAY past Chloe's bedtime (and our own too) making t-shirts. But that's the fun of being the big sister. You don't have to obey all the rules. That way, your little sister keeps on being tricked into thinking you're cool ;).

Come again, Chloe! Now we better get Lexi to come over soon!

Sunday Best: Country Fried

button up: Old Navy, belt: JcPenny's, skirt: gift from the madre, cowboy boots: thrifted, ring: thrifted, necklace: created from my smashed penny from Jackson Hole 

For the last week, Brian and I were only allowed to listen to country music. All in preparation for my hometown's  rodeo. The rodeo coming to town is a huge deal where I'm from. I actually told Brian the other day, "The summer that I'm not excited for the rodeo will be the summer I know I've become a boring adult." 

Turns out I'm not boring. . .not yet! This is the one weekend out of the year that I get to put on my most cowgirl worthy attire. This year was no different. I put on the button up, the belt buckle, and pulled my boots (which I scored for five bucks) on my feet and I instantly felt ready to hoot and holler for some bull riders and barrel racers. 

There is nothing quite as American/redneck/country/lovely as going to a rodeo. At one point, they turned the lights down and the music up, and started blasting off fireworks (this was just before the bull riding, mind you). People started going nuts and my brother leaned over to me, laughing, and said, "This is so redneck." And I laughed too and said, "I know! Isn't it great?" If you haven't been to a rodeo, I highly suggest adding it to your bucket list. Just make sure you buy some boots before you go!  

You Rock A Lot of Polka Dots

While wandering about Nordstrom a few short weeks ago, I found a shirt. This shirt was covered in polka dots and the polka dots almost had a hand painted feel to them. I thought it was cute so, naturally, I stroked the sleeve and then turned the price tag over.

$98.00?????? Seriously????

So you know what I did? I said, "Bite me, Nordstrom," and I bought a $5.00 t-shirt from Old Navy. Then I spent a night in front of my television watching Fried Green Tomatoes (one of my personal favorites) and I dotted that t-shirt with fabric paint. And with every dot I painted I thought of every dollar I was saving, and it felt a lot like sweet victory.

I followed this tutorial. Now maybe you can make your own dotted shirt while sitting in front of the television watching the OLYMPICS! That's where I'll be for the next several weeks. This time every four years I become a couch potato. But it's only every four years. That's fair, right?

My favorites to watch?
Track and field, beach volleyball, and gymnastics.

 Now I must go and focus on the rest of the Opening Ceremonies. Go Team USA, bring me some more feelings of sweet victory, please!

Where the Deer and the Antelope Play

Our first day in Jackson Hole was low key. We spent the afternoon walking around to all the different shops. For dinner we ate at an overpriced steakhouse in which my steak was overcooked and I felt the cut of meat wasn't even worth the price attached to it (I'm kind of a steak snob). But we had frog legs as an appetizer which made the bad steak worth it. I'd never had frog legs and I'm all about trying new things. Take my word for it, I will take a bite of just about anything (as long as it's safe) just to say I've tried it. It doesn't hurt that I have never been a picky eater.

That night, we stayed in Alpine, just outside of Jackson Hole, because the hotels are less than half the price. It's kind of a funny little place. When we got to our hotel at 11 that night, the front doors were locked. Luckily there were still people in the bar (Wyoming and their bars) or we would have had ourselves a camp out. A nice man with a dark beard and horse teeth unlocked the lobby door and let us in. As he searched for our room keys, he peered over his glasses at us and said, "You folks are kind of late, aren't you?" Apparently the hotel locks up every night at 11. What hotel locks up at 11? Only in Wyoming. We stayed up much too late in our shabby but cozy room applying temporary tattoos to one another and nibbling on Oreos.

The next morning, we rented our rafts (no tour guide for us), and found life jackets that fit accordingly and then we were off. We had a big group of people, there were around 20 of us, the majority of us being about four feet tall or shorter, so we got lots of odd looks from other rafting groups. Onlookers probably thought we were crazy for hauling a bunch of rowdy kids with us, but it made for double the fun. After dealing with some grouchy forest rangers, we split up into groups, grabbed our oars, and we were off. Down the river we went. I loved it and tried to soak in every second of it. From the calm parts of the river when we splashed around and admired the gushing brooks running into the river, to the wild rapids which threw some of us across the raft and into the lap of our neighbor, it was a treat. Some of us also watched as a beaver plopped into the water after us. Our raft also got pulled into a giant rock wall. . .it was scary at first but mostly ended up being hilarious. And the other raft apparently uprooted part of a pine tree with their raft. We are apparently very skilled rafters. However, I can proudly say that none of us went overboard.

 And as cruel as it sound, it still makes me chuckle thinking about the two youngest kids in our raft whimpering and crying as we went down the big rapids while the rest of us were hollering and laughing. Poor children. I hope we didn't end up scarring them for life. They'll look back on it someday as a fond memory, right?

Be Still My Soul

Yesterday was a strange day. I was in a melancholy, reflective mood. I was also restless. This resulted in me entering my irrational behavior of worrying my life is over.

When this happens, I start worrying I'll suddenly wake up and be an old lady, on my death bed, all my dreams dead with me. I start worrying about every minute of my day wasted. I dwell on it. I obsess over it. I convince myself I must be a failure and I'm going to die a forgotten old hag.

And then I remember I'm only 21 years young. And when I begin thinking of the things I have accomplished during the course of those 21 years rather than dwelling on the things I have yet to do, I realize I've actually done quite a lot.

I blame a lot of how I felt yesterday on the fact that I'm a woman and it may have been my time of the month, and I also blame it on the fact that I was completely worn out after rafting in Jackson. These two things combined resulted in a very low key kind of day. And I think too many low key days make me depressed. I get kind of obsessed at times with staying busy. Ask my poor husband about it. I constantly have to be doing something. I'm constantly planning. Constantly scheming. Constantly taking on new ideas and projects. Constantly being active. Constantly wandering somewhere new. Constantly doing something. It's just the way I am. And I know it can be tiring for all those involved in my life. But if I don't keep myself busy, my mind spins and spins and I start worrying I'm wasting time. And the last thing I want to do is waste time.

So yesterday, I finally decided to pull myself out of my self-pity and do one little productive thing. So I went to the grocery store. I bought everything I would need to prepare a dinner for my pal that would make him proud to call me wife. I also bought a new shade of nail polish. Then I picked the line with my favorite grocer  lady working. She was pleasant, as always, and asked what I was doing for fun that day. I told her nothing much, but I had just gotten home from rafting in Jackson Hole. Then we talked about river rafting. And that's when I realized I'm an idiot.

How dare I pity myself for thinking I am not leading an important enough life, now, at this very moment. I just went on a trip to Jackson Hole! I'm young! I have an awesome husband! I'm going into my final year of my college degree! I'm not afraid to use lots of exclamation points!

And I have lots of dreams. But I don't have to accomplish all of those dreams today. Otherwise, what would I do with the rest of my life? Die young, I guess. But I'd prefer to die old, I think.

I need to learn to be okay with sitting still sometimes. I need to learn to be okay with keeping my mind quiet. Being still is not bad. Actually, it may be something I really need. Someone just teach me how to do it, please? I think if I can learn to be still and quiet my mind, I may actually get to my dreams much more easily than by just chasing after them like a chicken with its head cut off.

I think being in the mountains, surrounded by both the calmness and wildness of nature quiets my mind the most. On Sunday, Brian and I took a drive up to Tony's Grove. We snacked on carrots and lounged on our quilt. We were able to just rest and chat and breathe in the cool mountain air. As I closed my eyes and focused on the smell of the pines and the warmth of the sun on my cheek, I felt inspired. I didn't feel rushed to get to the next thing. Instead, my mind slowed and I was able to let thoughts come to me rather than try to think up thoughts myself. It was nice. I think I'll do it again soon. But as for the pity party, like the one I had yesterday, I don't want to do that again anytime soon.

Ironically enough, my very favorite hymn is Be Still My Soul. Perhaps it would be a nice reminder for me to just be still a moment if I kept the lyrics in my pocket or somewhere close.

 

Instagrams & Milk: Jackson Hole Style

We got back from Jackson Hole on Tuesday night. It was beautiful and we had a great time with our family friends. I even brought back a couple souvenirs. Sunburned cheeks and stiff shoulder blades from all that rowing through river rapids. Oh, and we also brought home a beautiful vintage tablecloth too.

River rafting is my new favorite thing. But more on the whole Jackson Hole extravaganza later. For now, I'll leave you with the instagrams I gathered while on our little trip.

 The ever famous antler arch

They found some super stylish "bison" hats 

 My lucky smashed penny.

 I consumed my first frog leg. It was alright. 

 Good movie. Quirky. But good. 

theeee best caramels 

Me and the brother after conquering our second run down the river in a rainstorm. Don't we look dangerously attractive? You don't need to answer that question. . 

You can find me on Instagram @mrskellwell. If you follow me, I would love to follow you back. And stay tuned for more about our rowdy trip in Wyoming, riding rafts down the wild Snake River. 

Open Eyes

My sister, Chlo, stayed with us last week. I had a fun day and night exploring with her. Everyone should occasionally be in the company of a child. It helps open your eyes to the wonders all around you. While she stayed with us, we swam, hiked, painted, and made t-shirts. Some pictures of our adventures are gathered on my camera. Perhaps one day soon I'll show them off here. Actually, I feel like lots of pictures are beginning to gather on my camera. I just haven't had the time to share them.

Today Brian and I spent our afternoon at Tony's Grove. Lounging by the lake, Surrounded by pines and mountains, snacking on carrots, and discussing our dreams while we watched the clouds float overhead. Tomorrow we are off to Jackson with my family to do some river rafting. I have never been, but I've always wanted to. River rafting, that is. I've never been river rafting. I've been to Jackson though. Lovely place.

As I've explained, I've been spending great amounts of my time outdoors, taking in the beauty around me. That is, when it's not too uncomfortably hot. Good thing there's always cool water around to take care of that problem. I told Brian today that I did not understand people who craved living in big cities. I understand that they are exciting, busy places where something new happens every day. But for me, I prefer being surrounded by God-made things rather than man-made things.

I'd pay a visit to the busy big city anytime though ;).

Sunday Best: Earth

blouse: Forever 21, dress: Maurices, heels: Petals&Promises, earrings: gift, bracelets: H&M 

My go-to style is always in earthy tones. Browns, greens, deep oranges, and golds. So this morning when I woke up late, I went with my go-to colors. Brown dress, cream top, and lots of gold and green accessories. So even though we wandered into our church house at the regular five to ten minutes late, I managed to not feel too frazzled as I was in my earthy tones with my favorite bangles jingling on my arm. 

And as for all the crazies always asking me when Brian and I think we'll start having kids. . .let's work on getting just the two of us to church on time. Then we'll talk.

Why Do We Fall?

I went to bed at 4 am and woke up this morning at 11 am. And I still feel a little out of it. Probably because my whole sleeping schedule was all whack. So worth it though. Last night, we drove to Ogden to go to the midnight premiere of 'The Dark 'Knight Rises'. We made a whole day of it by going to the lake in the afternoon, making an awesome dinner on the grill, and watching 'The Dark Knight'. Weeks ago we also took other preparations upon ourselves by making our very own Batman shirts and watching 'Batman Begins'. 

The movie was amazing. Better than I even imagined. It really was the cherry on top of the cake, the perfect ending to a perfect trilogy. Go see it. Please, do. I already want to see it again. And that's saying a lot since I'm not good at rewatching movies. . .especially three hour long ones. Best movie of the summer. It blew 'Avengers' out of the water in my opinion. 

I also have a new celebrity guy crush.

source

Joseph Gordon-Levitt is adorable. I think he's so charming and not to mention well-dressed. During the movie, I leaned over and even asked for Brian's permission for me to celebrity crush on him. Brian approved. But my Brian is still more charming and better dressed. 

And as for my celebrity girl crush? 

source

I have to say Anne Hathaway. It was all the talk that she landed the role of Cat Woman in the movie. I think a lot of people thought she couldn't pull it off. She kind of has the whole 'Princess Diaries' stereotype. I kept my faith in her though and I'm so happy I did. She was incredible. I feel like she just took her acting ability to a whole new level. Now I just have to count down the days until Christmas when I can see her in 'Les Miserables'. Oh joy. 

Well, maybe I'll go try to eat lunch now? Since I had breakfast at noon. I don't know how people go to midnight showings all the time. I feel goofy. But anything for Batman. And for Christopher Nolan. He is a genius. K, enough with the movie nerd posts for a while now.