Fine-feathered Friends

You may have noticed the silhouettes of two birds in the heading of our blog. These birds aren't just hip, retro decorations, but actual representations of two parakeets found in the Miller home. We started with the yellow one: Scooter. I found her over a year and a half ago - clinging to the side of a pick-up truck outside my work. The yellow bird didn't hesitate to step up onto our hands. I decided to save the poor thing, and our lives have never been the same. After almost a year of watching Scooter suffer alone in her cage, we decided to acquire a boyfriend for her. We purchased him from Animal Arc for $17. After a few days of absolute terror, Gilbert, as Laura named him, finally began moving and eating in the cage. Today, they are fine-feathered friends, and very noisy friends at that. (I feel terrible for the couple that lives in the apartment below us.) Fortunately for us, there is a strange mechanism in their brains that tells them to shut up when we cover their cage. We love them, they're great things, we recommend parakeets to anybody wanting to spice up their life.

Scooter in her first months

Helping me give a haircut to Harold

The two women in my life

B.F.F's

Sorry, I don't have any pictures of Gilbert- I promise we don't play favorites. I need to get them from Laura, I will post them.

Rediscovering photobooth

It has been over two years since the purchase of my Apple Macbook. Anyone familiar with Apple products understands both the joy and shear pleasure that the photobooth application provides. After having neglected the application for over a year, I "rediscovered" it during our sunday afternoon nap. Here are a few pictures taken during our nap. Enjoy!

This one is my favorite.

Very silly.

No. I change my mind, this is the best.

I hope these pictures make your day as fun as my afternoon was!

I want one.

Since I've joined the world of blogging I've discovered that there are a bazillion blogs that basically show off all the cool things people have found via the internet. These kind of blogs overwhelm me. They only bring to my attention what I already know: that there are far too many neat/cute/fun things out there that I want. It's probably better for me to just stop looking; ignorance is bliss, right?

I'm not trying to be one of those blogs, however I happened upon this item and for some reason, felt compelled to show it. It's by a small company run by two women called Band.do. I want one. I think they're super cute, and although I have no idea when and under what circumstances I'd wear one, I wish I had it anyway. Too bad they're all hand made and over a hundred dollars. Sometimes I just really wish I could time travel; I think I'd look great in this at one of Gatsby's parties : ) But since that's not happening anytime soon, I think a more realistic idea would be to just not look anymore.


I think this one is my favorite.

Chicago

A couple weeks ago I was able to go to Chicago for the first time on a business trip (also the first time without Bret since we've been married. Not fun). The company that I work for in Orem, QuicKutz, is fairly big in the world of crafting so we attended the Craft and Hobby Expo (or CHA). Most of the people that went had been to these expos many times already, but for me and a couple other girls, this was our first experience. I knew it was going to be big because we'd been preparing for it for months, but I still couldn't help but be overwhelmed by it all.

I'm continually amazed at how passionate these men and women (let's face it, mostly women) are about their hobbies and the craft industry in general; you can only imagine how great the people-watching was too. Just as an example, I think I read on a T-shirt something like, "Because scrapbooking is cheaper than therapy."

I don't mean to make fun because I sincerely respect people who are passionate about something. I think it's healthy... to a certain extent anyway. And I must admit that I really enjoy working in an industry that people live for, even if I necessarily don't.

Here are some pictures from the trip.

the demo area

the girls



Because I had never been to Chicago before, I was really eager to see the city. On our first night a few of the girls went downtown. Before we even left, Laura Giddens, another girl from work, and I made a goal to visit the Art Institute of Chicago if at all possible. Luckily it's open late and even free on Thursday nights. We had a great time and we saw a lot of great art. I love being in museums, especially with someone else who appreciates it the way I do.

One of my favorites

Laura's favorite

I had no idea this was even there. Funny.

Laura and I outside the museum

girls about town

Special thanks to Andrea and Amy for some of these great pictures.