Shaved head

Once, approximately 6 years ago, I asked my husband to shave my head and he did. I'm glad I did it. I actually loved it and would do it again. Yes, I know it's uneven but that's what happens when you do something spur of the moment with a buzzer. But, it was great:





Anyway, it's time for another haircut. Any suggestions?

Rainy Sunday

My husband and I went to see "Black Swan" last night and we both loved it. I'm a huge Natalie Portman fan anyway, but this movie was so well written. Typical Darren Aronofsky: dark, captivating scenes with excellent music. Definitely not for everyone, but if you've enjoyed his other movies in the past, you'll like this one.

I decided I wanted to make chili today because it's the perfect food for a rainy Sunday. Nothing like a huge pot of chili simmering away on the stove. That is, except for a nice big bowl of chili in front of you with cheese and sour cream. This is what I just ate:



I also put a whole chicken in the crock pot, but I unfortunately forgot to turn it on till just now. This is the first time that I have tried to make a whole chicken in the crock pot, so we'll see how it turns out.

Speaking of which, what's your favorite crock pot recipe?

Art for Art's Sake

If you've been over our place, you know that we have a very, very strange collection of art. Some of you may know that I was an Art History major in college and art has always had a special place in my heart. Over the years, Nate and I have collected a bunch of paintings for our walls that have mostly come from yard sales. Today, I have decided to show you some of the paintings that adorn our walls. It was really hard to get photographs of these paintings. We probably have 50 art pieces in all, and I can make another post some other day when I have more energy.

This poor guy was sitting in its wrapping at a yard sale. The woman selling it said that her and her husband received it as a wedding present but that it didn't match their decor. I immediately fell in love with it. Mind you that the photographs don't do this piece justice. Sometimes when I am sitting on the couch across from it, I think that I can see a signature in the swirls in the art. It's really an exquisite piece out of ink:



This one is a signed and numbered print:



Painted on silk:



From a Church sale. A piece of folk art on wood:



And this one.. wow, this one. We found this piece at a church sale for $3 recently and I didn't realize what it was at the time. I just loved the inscription on the back. I'll start with that:



And you folks can figure out what this is:



I still can't get over the fact that someone donated that piece to a church and they sold it to me for $3. Unfortunately, it's pretty badly damaged with what looks like foxing but may be mold.

Sick

It seems like over these last couple weeks, it has been one thing after another. In Iceland, I got some sort of chest congestion. As soon as we got back, I had two violent migraines and ended up in the ER. On Sunday, my family was getting together and my sister said she was throwing up so she couldn't make it. The next morning my mom was throwing up, then I started throwing up Tuesday night, and my dad started throwing up yesterday. We have never been so violently ill at the same time.

Nate stayed home with me yesterday to make sure that I would be ok. I was hoping that I would wake up today and head into work, but the second I stood up, I felt like I was going to throw up. My stomach is also ridiculously painful. Anyway, I called out sick again today because I am in no state to be at work. This is the first time I have been sick that I have not been able to get out of bed at all and do anything.

I really just want to feel good enough to sit on my floor and wrap all of the presents we bought but that's definitely not happening. Check out the kids toys:

Iceland Part 3

Reykjavic had some pretty amazing street art so I wanted to devote a post to it. The majority of it was in one area. Check it out:













My favorite:

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree

We got our tree today and decorated it. It was way bigger than either of us thought. I love it!



I didn't think we'd have enough ornaments to decorate it but it worked out. We do need another string of lights though.

Iceland Part 2

Iceland had so much beauty. I immediately fell in love with the country and felt a connection to it. I'll let the photographs speak for themselves.











































The North American and Eurasian tectonic plates:

Iceland Part 1

For our Iceland recap, I want to start off with our hotel because it was just that awesome. We stayed at the Hilton Nordica and splurged on the executive room. With that, we had a fabulous view from our room. Check it out:



We had the most incredible sunrises and sunsets. I could wake up to that view every day. As a bonus to the stunning view, we also had access to the executive lounge which meant free drinks (including alcohol!) and snacks every day.











And some beautiful shots of Iceland:









And next: geysirs, waterfalls, and landscapes oh my!