Genevieve + Arthur = 8.15.08

Today Arthur and I went to his parents house to give his sister a violin lesson. His other younger sister was there and she asked to come stay with us. We agreed, and headed back to our house in Eagle Mountain. While we were in the car, his sister found one of our wedding albums behind Arthur's seat. She pulled it out and was looking through it. When she was done, I spent some time flipping through the pages. It was funny to think that I hadn't really looked through them since I put the album together. I realized that I had never really shared my wedding video or pictures with most of my family and friends.

So, I uploaded the video and wedding photos for you to see. The video was shot by my friend Katie and then I edited it. Unfortunately, I had to reduce the quality because Blogger will only take 100MB in size... so you get the pixely version.

I really enjoyed making this video and it helps me remember the day, because I really can't remember too much of it. I had stayed up the night before packing, cleaning and enjoying a "bachelorette party" with Katie. Don't worry, we didn't party too hard... ;)

Here's the video and slideshow for you to see. Before you push play, just know that I say "HELLO!" really loud in the first few seconds. After that, you can turn your volume back up. If you'd like to see larger versions of the pictures, you can click on them and Photobucket should open in another browser. Let me know what you think!

Music in the video:
First song: Winter in August from Nanny McPhee Soundtrack
Second song: I Do by Jewel
Third song: Somewhere Over The Rainbow by Isreal Kamakawiwo'ole
Last song: Standing Still by Jewel

First Friday Five

I have been in the blogging world for a long time. I actually began "blogging" when I was in my sophomore year of high school. This was back in 1998, so about 11 years ago. It was not called blogging back then, though. It was referred to as online journaling. There are a few old school sites out there that existed back when the interwebs were new.

There are a few online journalists that I have been "following" since then, and every once in awhile I will remember to check their journal. It is interesting to see that their lives have changed just as much as mine has in the past 11 years. I really enjoy looking through old entries from when they first began. I remember sitting and reading their posts when I should have been in class.

One of my favorite online journalists was someone who began "blogging" beacause she wanted to spread the word online about a con artist who had taken advantage of her. She wrote this extremely long entry all about her account of what happened. I remember this as one of my first experiences of reading about someone else's life like I was reading their personal diary. It was awkward, and wonderful. I felt like I knew this person, even though I didn't even know their real name or where they lived. She was faithful about posting every. single. day. I found that I became addicted to logging in online just to see what she had written every day.

One thing this particular online journalist would do is her "Friday Five". She would ask her readers for 5 questions and she would answer them. I looked forward to Fridays often for these entries. She still writes every day. She no longer does Friday Five, though. I just visited her blog to see that she has posted today, and no one has commented on her blog for quite some time. I feel a little bit sad for her, but I know for a fact she does not do it for sole purpose of getting feedback from others.

So, because her online journal did a lot to shape who I am online today, I figured I should begin my own version of "Friday Five". I will probably take some of the questions that she has been asked in the past, and then if I ever get asked questions through my blog, I will collect them and answer them on Friday. I am fully aware that this is a practice of someone who has many, many followers... so I am going to rely on the vast internets to get my Friday Five started.

Genevieve's First Friday Five

1. If you owned a restaurant, what kind of food would you serve?
I would love to open a Sweet Shoppe with donuts, cupcakes, chocolates, cakes, and other pastries. I don't think I would do a lot of the cooking, but I would definitely love the business side of it. I believe I would ask my husband to take care of the cooking, and I would help decorate.

2. If you owned a small store, what kind of merchandise would you sell?
I think it would be fun to make an actual eBay store where people could come and shop on eBay. I would have a "personal shopping" service where someone could come and set up an appointment to get help finding something on the site. The service could include setting up favorite searches, and getting a phone call or email when their product was available. I am completely aware that this probably wouldn't be popular, but I think having some sort of centralized place where people could come and get help buying on eBay would be cool. I can imagine booths with large tv screens to sit and shop for things. I'm sure this would never fly, but it would be fun to try. :)

3. If you wrote a book, what genre would it be?
Probably fiction. I used to be really interested in writing, and even took a creative writing class once. I wrote a weird short story about a ghost. It wasn't very good, and I spent way too long trying to get a good storyline. When I was young I wrote a lot of little short stories. I had a real hard time with character development and conflict resolution. I finally figured out that in order to make a story interesting you had to have someone die or something. ;) I don't really write anymore, aside from blogging and the occasional written journal entry.

4. If you ran a school, what would you teach?
I would run a charter school for high school dropouts. It would teach them how to be a successful adult in a non-traditional way. I am in no way a successful adult, but I know that a lot of high school dropouts sometimes just need someone to show them the way and help them figure out what they want out of their professional life.

5. If you recorded an album, what kind of music would be on it?
I would love to learn how to mix music and create a trance album. I will sit in front of our Mac and mess with Garage Band for hours trying to figure the stupid program out. There are so many possibilities for great music in that program... the problem is just figuring out how to use it. Maybe I'll come across someone someday who will pity me and spend an hour or two helping me figure it out. I so badly want to let some of these beats out! :P

There you go, the first Friday Five. Check back next Friday for the next 5 questions!

Blog-mazing

Hello friends (all 4 of you!) I didn't blog yesterday. That is ok. Remember, blogs that force their readers to endure "just beacuse I have to post everyday" entries usually suck. You're welcome.

Let's see... I haven't posted anything lately about what's been going on in my land. Ever since that job interview, my life has changed quite a bit. I was told last Friday that I didn't get the job and in that same conversation with my Manager I was told that they are moving me to another department. I now work for a different Manager in a different building doing basically the same job. I just have a better desk.

I'm pretty excited for next Monday beacuse my little brother will be starting at eBay as an agent doing what I train. So I may get a chance to train him, which is totally awkward and totally cool. I'm excited to be able to spend more time with him since he's been living out of state for so long. Hurray!

Speaking of brothers, my big brother's birthday is today! Happy Birthday, Lil Leenard! Our family is getting together tomorrow to go to dinner and have a birthday party. We usually take some pretty funny pictures at these parties, so I'll be sure to post them. :)

So, I do have a video I would like to share with you today. Before I post it, I would like to call out that YouTube has made some interesting changes since I last posted a video. I used to be a pretty avid YouTuber with almost 1,000 subscribers. That may not seem like a lot, but it was to me. :) I tried posting a video once a week when I could and I was pretty used to how YouTube worked. The new upload feature allows you to upload larger sizes of movies, which is cool. I'm just having a hard time figuring out how to make sure it is uploaded in widescreen. I will have to mess around with the features in my video editing program to see what I'm doing wrong.

In the meantime, here is the video I made of one of my favorite parts of one of my favorite cities in the world. Vancouver, British Columbia in Canada. This was taken when Arthur came to visit me while I was up there for work. This Aquabus is used kind of like a small ferry or water taxi. I'm not sure many Canadians actually rely on it to get around, but it is still a cool feature of this beautiful city. Enjoy!

The First Day of Fall

Hurray! It's the first day of fall! Fall is probably my favorite season because it's cool enough that I can layer, layer, layer. I also don't have to deal with snow and I still have many sunny days left until the snow falls.

One of my first dates with Arthur was driving up the Alpine Loop and seeing all of the trees with their fall color. This is a video I took last year when we went again. It was so beautiful! I hope you enjoy. :)

Tim Burton Movies FTW

Arthur and I went to see a movie this weekend called 9. It was really good. I thought the little gunny sack people were so cute. It was kind of a combination of Coraline and Wallee. It was pretty intense, some of the characters in it were pretty creepy. The movie is directed by Tim Burton, which made it really cool. I like most all of Tim Burton's movies. The only one I didn't like was Sweeney Todd, and only because it was so gory. I like the music from Sweeney Todd, and I like Johnny Depp.

Speaking of Tim Burton and Johnny Depp, I'm excited about a new movie that is coming out soon. It's going to be pretty awesome. I'm a big fan of Alice in Wonderland because of the song that Jewel sings. I also like the references from Gwen Stefani's album. The original movie is pretty good too. There is a new movie that is directed by Tim Burton that has Johnny Depp in it called Alice in Wonderland. I'm really excited to see it. It comes out in March, which is awhile away, boo.

I've got the trailer for both 9 and Alice in Wonderland for you. You're welcome. :)

Here is the trailer for 9:


Here is the trailer for Alice in Wonderland:

My Husband Arthur: The Survey

I am filling this out to see how well I do. He will probably read over this and then tell me which ones I got wrong. ;)

1. He's sitting in front of the TV, what is on the screen?
If he's with me, then we're watching America's Got Talent, The Office, Ace of Cakes, Challenge or any other food/home show.
If he's by himself, he's reading the news on Wii, he's playing Wii, or he's watching the news or Survivor.

2. You're out to eat; what kind of dressing does he get on his salad?
Ranch

3. What's one food he doesn't like?
Tomatoes

4. You go out to eat and have a drink. What does he order?
If he's really thirsty, then water. Otherwise, Coke. He'll sometimes order a tea at Thai places.

5. Where did he go to high school?
Jordan High. He had lots of girlfriends. And a cool tan car.

6. What size shoe does he wear?
13

7. If he was to collect anything, what would it be?
Fish

8. What is his favorite type of sandwich?
Turkey sandwich

9. What would this person eat every day if he could?
Turkey sandwich, which he does. Just kidding - he would eat shrimp and crab everyday if he could.

10. What is his favorite cereal?
Fiber One. LOL

11. What would he never wear?
Anything pink.

12. What is his favorite sports team?
He doesn't follow sports.

13. Who did he vote for?
Obama

14. Who is his best friend?
Me. Or his fish. Or his cousins Fawn and Shy.

15. What is something you do that he wishes you wouldn't do?
Crunch ice, make messes and not clean them up, be sick

16. What is his heritage?
He has Native American in there somewhere. ;)

17. You bake him a cake for his birthday; what kind of cake?
He likes most cakes, but he usually goes for anything with peanut butter on it.

18. Did he play sports in high school?
No

19. What could he spend hours doing?
He does spend hours doing these things. Putting his arms up to his shoulders in saltwater fishtanks and playing outside in the garden.

20. What is one unique talent he has?
He is the most level person I know. He never "freaks out" and screams or gets extremely upset. He is very consistent and that helps me feel secure. I love that he doesn't change very often. I like that if everything else is changing like crazy around me, he will still be who he is everyday. That is a big reason why I married him.

Job Fail

Unfortunately, I didn't get the job. That is ok, there is a reason for it, and I am confident something else better is coming for me. For now, I will be patient.