The Whale.

This is a true story. I was crying when I read it. Absolutely touching, inspiring, and beautiful in every way...

"... If you read a recent front page story of the San Francisco Chronicle, you would have read about a female humpback whale who had become entangled in a spider web of crab traps and lines. She was weighted down by hundreds of pounds of traps that caused her to struggle to stay afloat. She also had hundreds of yards of line rope wrapped around her body, her tail, her torso, a line tugging in her mouth. A fisherman spotted her just east of the Farallon Islands (outside the Golden Gate) and radioed an environmental group for help. Within a few hours, the rescue team arrived and determined that she was so bad off, the only way to save her was to dive in and untangle her. They worked for hours with curved knives and eventually freed her. When she was free, the divers say she swam in what seemed like joyous circles. She then came back to each and every diver, one at a time, and nudged them, pushed them gently around as she was thanking them. Some said it was the most incredibly beautiful experience of their lives. The guy who cut the rope out of her mouth said her eyes were following him the whole time, and he will never be the same."

-via Gina Rene's facebook

I hope your weekend is full of perspective and tender mercies, and encounters with inspiring animals (my dad already has, with pelicans).
PS. LDS friends, enjoy Conference! We get to feast on the word.. what a blessing!

Charley Harper.

So, I totally have a copy of the above print on my wall in our office (I'm looking at it right now). And I stumbled upon it in the weirdest way..

Once upon a time, I was sitting with my mother at 2 in the morning in the Pomerado hospital, waiting for my best friend/sister to get admitted and whatnot to have her cute baby. Seriously, we were waiting for at least 2 hours to find out if they were even going to let her stay.. and so in the meantime we sat waiting in the silliest little family waiting room, with the lights off.. it was the middle of the night, and we wanted it that way! Mother and I tried to rest, but couldn't possibly do it with all the excitement and anticipation. So naturally, I grab the most relatable read in the room which was a "Bird Watcher's Digest Magazine." Haha.. awesome. It was that or parenting magazines galore. Anyway, being the animal enthusiast that I am, I was just looking threw it and I found the above image in a centerfold type situation in the magazine. Don't tell, but I tore it out because I thought it was beautiful, and it was doing the print a disjustice sitting in the lobby of a maternity ward. Bam. I now have it framed, and appreciate it more than any "aunts to be" at that hospital probably would. Well, I eventually found out who the artist is, and I just love him! Charley Harper sticks mostly to birds, but does a lot of nature scenes as well, and I think they're just fabulous! Oh, also dear mommy's, he has an ABC's book for the kiddos. Shoot, I would buy it for myself. Anyway, I think the talented man passed a couple years back, and so I will be sure to celebrate his life by using more of his prints with my future work. And of course I plan to own more myself when the home I live in needs more radical artwork. (:

These are some of my fav's..

This last one is my fav, but you're not surprised are you?

Pelicans on pier posts = endless summer continued! YESS!

PS. It's still hot outside and I'm IN HEAVEN! A big fat thank you for sticking around this long dear warmness. Please feel free to stay as long as you'd like!

Summer,

Don't go.

If you turn around and leave me in like a week... SO HELP ME, I'll miss you like crazy for a whole year! --goodness knows you don't show up until July as of late-- Sometimes I feel like I'm the only person living in Utah that doesn't really care for Fall.. but she's just not as wonderful as you are! "Yeah but, she's got all sorts of pretty leaves!" ..you know what I say to that? I'll take every shade of green on my leaves over orange and firey-fart colors any day! Granted.. those colors are pretty. I've digressed..

Dang, I definitely didn't get enough of you this time around, so hopefully you'll stick around indefinitely. I don't care if weather people and politicians freak out, GLOBAL WARM IT UP!!

WARM WARMNESS FOREVER!

I declare endless summer. Andrew and I want to move to Hawaii for this movement to be real for us. ..seriously debating it (well, I am at least, ha).

So in celebration of the best season ever, here are some nautical things I'd love to buy and wear for the next 8-10 months, assuming my plea meets reality of course.

1. Ella Moss 2. UO 3. J.Crew
(via CostalLiving)
4&5. Toms

Mrs. Dyer & I should start a petition of some sort to make this official. Or, this post IS the petition, and you can sign in a 'comment.' Do it. Pledge your agreeance! Or maybe I could turn into the "Blue Witch" or maybe a "Green Witch"..like in Narnia.. and make it Summer, but never Labor Day (Narnia clarification: the white witch makes it winter, but never Christmas). I'd prefer to be called the Blue or Green Mermaid if that's the case. That sounds better.

Summer, I love you.
And that's all I have to say.

Love, you're biggest fan-
Arica

Post-Challenge

{photo via Flickr}

Well folks.. we made it. We cheated once or twice for school/work and a date for some gelato that was 'going out of business' the next day.. but other than that.. we definitely lived off of food storage. Andrew was joking around and said we probably got a C (I thought more along the lines of a B) but with a standard "BYU curve" in place, that would have bumped us to at least a B+ or A- hahaha. But yes, it was nice to filter through our food I guess, but man oh man am I excited to buy goods and fresh produce... IN SOME SERIOUS BULK. Yes, I think we learned a thing or two.. like what should we really stock up on, and what will we miss when it's gone, and how the poo would we eat if the electricity was out? (yeah.. we're going to have to get some propane burners or something)... so thank you Bishop for the challenge, even if you WERE/ARE on a 2 week cruise in the Bahamas!! (TRUE STORY).. that sly man. So there you have it. So as a word to the wise... basically it's always a good idea to stock up when places like Bath and Body Works do the crazy soap sales (by 10 for a nickle).. and stuff like that. Haha.. because you never know when you might run out and when disaster might STRIKE!

HELLO COSTCO & SMITHS!
I can't wait to greet you tomorrow. I'm going to dress up because it's been so long since we've seen each other.. (:

Pelican

Flashback..
One time, my now attending Dixie State sister and I, decided to get as close as we would dare to this here pelican.. and snapped a shot with the piercing eyed bird with a beak the size of my body.

Luckily I'm still alive and without wounds to tell the tail.
The end.

Have a happy weekend full of piers, parks, & sunshine. (:

Goosebumps

So I've been cleaning the LAST of my stuff out of my parent's home while I've been here. The last of which included old sculptures from high school (which are totally awesome might I add) & THESE...

My fabulous collection of R.L. Stine's Goosebumps! Yes, possibly nerdy, but I've kept practically the whole set.. and will continue to keep them for my children to decide if they like to spook themselves like their mother.
So upon this discovery, we (my sisters & I) decided to give one a go.. and well, have had a good laugh so far! Except Alex.. we scared her a couple times. Anyway, we're half way through and are pretty excited to finish it off. Haha. Should be a hooting good time.

"Readers beware, you're in for a scare!"

Once Upon The Caribbean

We saw this.. The Flying Dutchman..
And it was magical.
(not even kidding people.. when you hit up a Disney cruise, you get all sorts of goodies!)

Thanks for remenising with me. (:

Hummingbird Feeder

All growing up, we've had lots and lots of hummingbirds visit our yard each year.  One year a mother even decided to nest in one of our palm trees.  It was lots of fun watching her care for the 2 baby eggs and watching them hatch.  Dad would always lift Ash, Abby, & I to take a peak.  The babies have since returned to their home each year.  We can usually tell when it's them because they fly around together.  It's a really fun thing to watch.  Anyway, we've had the standard hummingbird feeder up for years now, and we just had to replace it.  Of course father bought another 'plain Jane' one, but if I could have done it, I would have picked out something with a little more zest to it. Like this one. (:

'Swine Weeks'

{photo via Flickr}

NOTE: This is not your typical 'Swine Flu' post...

So, my little sisters (grades 9 & 12) were called out of school for 2 whole weeks. In fact, the WHOLE HIGH SCHOOL was called out for 2 weeks.
Last Friday, a boy at their school threw up on campus (excuse the raw terminology.. I don't know how else to put it), went to the doctor, got tested, & tested positive for the 'swine flu'. Mission Hills High School went up in a frenzy & announced that school would be out for the following 2 weeks. I imagine students were ecstatically jumping in the halls like "HECK YA!" Although, when they said canceled.. they meant CANCELED. No athletics, no AP EXAMS, ..NOTHING.
Now in my opinion (and many others).. this was going a bit overboard. I hate to break it to you folks, but more people die from the 'regular' flu each year & the only advice anyone has to give if you come in 'contact' with the virus, is to 'rest & wash your hands'. ..Awesome, thanks for the help & all the proactive advice..
Anyway, this all lasted 2 days for the poor kiddos. The school called everyone back last night and said something along the lines of, "Syke! We cleaned the school and have now realized how screwed we'll be if we don't finish the STAR testing this next week!" Haha. Gotta love the education system. Well, the teens are crushed, and currently in school.. but there are SOME who have lucked out. My sister Abby booked a cheap (and when I say cheap, I mean KILLER INEXPENSIVE) cruise with her friends next week to Canada. ..CANADA? Yes, the Mexican Riviera ships are currently unable/not allowed to travel south of the border, and therefore have left them no other direction to travel. So off to Canada the ships go, for around $300 & a week long trip. Way to milk the cercumstances Sis.. hope you have an awesome time next week while you technically 'ditch' school to "Swine and Dine on the Cruiseline..er."

High schoolers, I'm sorry your 'swine weeks' have come to a scretching hault..
Cruise lovers, now might be an ideal time for you to cruise to a new place..
And my friends, wash you hands and get some rest. (:

Friend

Her name is Brooke. She is the creative one from THIS post. And she's the one that writes THIS blog. Anyway, last weekend we spent Friday together in the Salt Lake sunshine, and it was glorious. That's when I bought THIS perfume. Moving on, she's a pretty rad chick, and today we ventured up once more to see if she's got talent..

..if it were up to me, I'd be like "people, she IS Tru Talent." Seriously, if you don't get some kind of acting/modeling scholarship, then they're weirdies.

The end.
Ps. Brooke, we both know there are more haynis photos of you out there than these. Don't hate me. Haha. Besides, my current occupation as your personal schoeffer entitles me to the rights of posting such photos. :)

Flashback

Circa: Christmas 2002

The card read..

GOT EGGNOG?

Drew's First Love..

Please excuse Halle's well endowed feature, she means well..

Okay, so here's the story. Andrew was about 13 years old (yes that is my boyfriend up there), and was vacationing at the Grand Wailea in Maui. Needless to say, famous people venture there. Andrew saw her in the pool and went up to her to talk to her. Then she let him into her private poolside cabana to hang out with her (yes.. a 13 year old). Andrew then says to me "the rest is history, then Jeff was born." Haha, he's such a kidder. Anyway.. he hung out with her for about an hour. Chit chatting away with her and her husband about who knows what really. She then wanted a photo with him, and afterwords said to him.. and I quote; "Don't ever forget me Andrew."

The end..
..and a pretty strange ending at that. But hey, Andrew loved it, apparently SHE loved it.. and now he has a cool story and photo to show and tell about he and his love Halle Berry. And he's been in love with her ever since.. Okay, okay, he transferred his love for her over to me and I'm totally okay with it. :)

Things..

Things you most likely NEVER knew about yours truly, that is.

What brought this post on was my lengthy sifting through all of my digital photos that I have on this laptop of mine, and I fell upon QUITE a few good memories and have decided to share a few totally random ones with you..

FACT:

I am of Native American decent..

I went to prom my senior year in THIS!.. :)
I've gone to lunch at In-N-Out with Will Smith & some friends..
I've won an Oscar ...of sorts.
I've been to a Monster Truck Rally.
I used to have a hammock above my bed.
I've flown in a helicopter ..out of my roomie's GARAGE none the less!
I've hand fed sing rays some gooey squid..

I've been to the CITY OF ATLANTIS ..twice. :)
(and I aint tellin ya where it is...)
I've been on a cruise with THESE fine citizens.
Well, there you have it. Some of the Adventures of Arica Malace (pronounced muh-lace).
Cheers!

Molecular Muse

Hey Ash bo' bash..

This etsy seller made me think of you, and your crazy science skilllzz.
For those of you who don't know, my elder sister graduated from BYU with a Bachelor in Genetics & Biotechnology. ..crazy right? Yeah, and one time I went to one of her O Chem classes and about passed out because I thought they were speaking some sort of alien dialect from another galaxy!
Anywho.. I thought these were interesting to look at, and very clever because there's more to it then meets the eye (ie; notice labels & descriptions under each piece of jewelry she has up for sale)..

Welp, cheers.. have a great rest of your weekend!

Fact

Once upon a time, I caught a chicken with my bare hands.

I was totally proud, it took me all week.
And alas, I named it Gertrude.
Behold the evidence!..

Bizarre

Ok, so I will have you know I am really feeling awesome these days. Like seriously, if pregnancy continues like it has this last week.. I can TOTALLY do this. :) Anyway, besides feeling extra-well, from the get go I have been having the most intense, vivid, real, & bizarre dreams of my life. They're not about babies (well, not usually).. they're about everything else you can IMAGINE. From flying dance competitions, to ex-boyfriends, to vacations gone a-wall. Strangness indeed. To give you a sample, two of those just metioned, actually happened just last night. So here they are (with as much detail as I can now remember.. the remembrance sure fades fast!)..

Dream #1. Flying Game of 'Tag You're It'
First, you might want to understand that 'flying' in dreams is not new to me. I actually fly in dreams quite often (all growing up this has happened). And the coolest part is, that it's totally believable and I swear I can practically feel what it feels like while I'm sleeping. (strange?.. most likely).
Alright, so I am traveling throughout San Diego. My mother had set up some sort of a HUGE game of 'tag' with a one-on-one of all sorts of people. I would show up at one venue, play tag (we're both trying to tag eachother).. then move onto the next venue to do the same. But you see, I have this huge secret advantage, ..I have the ability to fly around the room to stay out of their way. So first up, I battled my cousin Katie (she actually won!). Then I went to some huge fancy resturaunt that was all cleared out and full of people. I was like whaa? ..why are there so many people here for this one? And then out she comes.. TINA TURNER. Hahahahaa. I was like, oh crap.. she's a dancing queen and I'm SURE she's got some tricks up her sleeve. Sure enough, she had sticky boots and could climb on the cealing. It was intense. Of course my flying ability seemed to shock everyone.. but her boots were almost as shocking. Anyway, I never found out who won that battle.. dang waking up. So that's the end of that one. Haha. Not so exciting, but weird non the less. And the weirdest thing is I feel like I seriously know how to fly, because I make it happen in these dreams. ..I'm such a weirdie.

Anywho.. moving on.
Dream #2- The Scorpion Bay trip gone TERRIBLE
Note: A special guest appearance in this one by Lindsay Rondo's husband Cameron and their future baby (I know Lindsay, TOTALLY random! I haven't even MET your husband! Nor are you pregnant. Haha).
Alright, so let's pretend my truck (The Black Pearl) holds 7 people. Because in the truck was myself, Ashley, Jeremy, Abby, Dad, & Cameron, who was holding the child of theirs. We were all making our way down to Scorpion Bay together in the Pearl. On our way down there were some breath taking cliffs that we had to drive around that were right on the ocean's edge (these don't really exist on the way down). So as we're making our way around these winding curves that seem to be 200 feet above the ocean, dad decides to play with the baby. Warning, this isn't such a good idea because dad is DRIVING! We make our way down this straight part in the road, only to come to a very sharp left bend. Dad turns his head quickly, snaps the wheel hard to the left, only to find his reaction a hair too late. The rear right wheel catches the dirt and slips off the side of the cliff (no safety rails?? yeah, this is Mexico remember). The truck is going TOO fast to correct the problem, and before we know it, ALL four tires had fallen off the road. We had driven off the cliff making our way into the OCEAN. Holy crap.. the 200 foot fall was in total slow motion, everyone opened the doors to get ready to jump out at just the right time. Cameron had to come up with a way to brace the baby and then when he jumped he had to launch said child into the air so that when he shot out of the water, it would be just in time to catch his baby. Meanwhile, I'm furious and emotional because this is my TRUCK and I'm still TOTALLY pregnant at this moment (Ash too).. so we just had to brace ourselves as best we could. ..BAM! We all landed so harshly in the cold water. Completely knocked our breath away. The lucky part is.. we ALL came up alive and fine. Baby took a quick swim (but it worked out fine because babies swim in the womb for 9 months, (s)he could handle a quick minute under there). Somehow, we found a way up the mountain. So we swam over and walked up the edge. All the while, I watch my precious truck nearly sinking. I was a mess. This was such a big deal to me (thinking about it while AWAKE, has me laughing at how worked up I was over my car).
..Once we get to the top, we find some desert campgrounds that we shower off at, and have to stay the night at. The next morning dad, Abby, & I would take an inner tube and float North to find where the car had drifted too (for some reason Pearl didn't sink.. maybe she really IS the Black Pearl). Even so, I was totally scared, and DIDN'T want to do it. Apparently in my dream, this stretch of the ocean was shark infested and I was SURE that we would get eaten on our way.
....Did we? I guess I'll never know. That was the end of that. But what I DO know is that I woke up TOTALLY exhausted and emotional from all of this. Haha. I was SOOO relieved to find out that I was yet again DREAMING. What a nightmare.

Why did I have these dreams? Well the first one, I have NO clue. The second one could be a combination of things. For whatever reason, I was thinking about Scorpion Bay this morning when I woke Andrew up for work, and so when I fell asleep I'm SURE that's why I dreamt about it. And Cameron Rondo & falling off a cliff? Possibly because they live in Hawaii, and Hawaii is totally flooded right now, and I found that out last night. Lots of water, Hawaii dwellers... the connection is a definite possiblity. ...curious.

I can definitely say this though, my nights have been TOTALLY entertaining!

The end.

Donkey Kong 64

I miss this game SO much! I would LOVE to be able to play it again someday! ..although, it would be sad because I already can assure you that I don't remember any of the tricks and secrets that I once knew better than anybody. My sisters, my best friend, and I were ADDICTED! Haha.. Ash, hook it up so that we can play over Christmas break. I've got Andrew all curious about it. :) Anyway, here's the 'monkey rap' that was in the intro. Sadly enough, I DO happen to have this memorized still. Haha, enjoy!


P.S. Lanky & Diddy were always my favorite to use. :)

Poison Rings

You may or may not have any clue what that means..
But I assure you, it is very self explanatory, and they're TOTALLY rad and mysterious. :)

Let me explain 'poison ring' to you..
The rumor is, back in the Victorian days, woman would wear these sneaky little devils. They would enclose some sort of 'poison' into the charm or 'locket' and save it for the right moment. It generally adorned the pinky-finger, for easy access. ;) It was generally taken advantage of when they were asked to mix up drinks for their dinner, or tea guests. If there was someone they wanted to ...you know, by the flick of a wrist, in goes the poison, and no one was the wiser..
..of course, until nature took it's course, and someone was keeled over.

Totally interesting history. I found out about all of this a while back when my adorable and eclectic friend Alexis Munoa (now Dyer), was wearing one that was totally precious, and she filled me in on what it was all about.

Muahhahaha. To wheel you in then OFF WITH ya!
So yes, real vintage ones still exist (like Alexis') ..and there are also new ones being produced by people just as interested as I am. Take a gander..


Ring 1 & Ring 2
I totally want to own one someday! :)

Photo

Tagged..

Upload the 4th photo from your 4th folder.

Once upon a time, I dated a boy who was a very talented photographer named Paul Ongpin. (He worked for many a wonderful people & companies. Including Blink 182 & Nixon watches.. etc) Anyway, this is just one of the many fun photos to come out of that period of time. This shot in particular was taken of me on Coronado Island in San Diego. A lovely place..

Erin Nelson, Ashley Lisonbee, Jessie Clingo..
and my new friends Heather Lee & Rachel Nilsson.

Weekend Wrap-up

Well, Halloween was successful. Birdie made a couple appearances to the local children she knows and loves. The kids play with her and usually interrupt us during potty breaks. Birdie likes that.. she then tinkles around their feet instead of in the bushes. Classic. Andrew and I spent the evening at Olive Garden (what can I say, I'm a consumer of both authentic, and Americanized Italian food), and then to the local dollar theater for a viewing of WALL-E. We had not yet seen it, and really enjoyed the film. No good movie goes without an underlying wonderful message or two, and WALL-E definitely pulls through.

Saturday was filled mostly with work. In between clients I was able to finish my scarflette! I think you will like it.. picture's coming soon. :) It's not as good as the example I've given previously, but definitely cute!
Anyway, quick story..
While on my way home from work, I stop at a red light, as most sane humans do. Behind me; however, was a small couple in a very large truck. While checking all my mirrors like any good driver does.. my eyes catch sight of THEM. They were FULL on making out.. seriously, going to TOWN. As cute of a couple as they were.. I was totally disturbed. I thought to myself.. eeh, young love, can't blame 'em. Until at the next red light. This time they were in front of me.. and I had no choice but to watch them go at it again. I was now embarrassed ..for them, and for myself, having no option but to watch this nonsense. I'm sure, and it's obvious.. they could care less, but what about the mom a car over with her innocent children? Or the lady on the other side going through an unwanted divorce? Well, I guess one thing's for sure.. this couple isn't the least bit shy when it comes to PDA, or concerned at how their actions make other people feel. They spent the next mile or so swerving like drunkards because they were so twitterpated. Intoxicated by each others very presence. How dangerous for all of us. Yikes.. well, there's no good transition from that, so moving on..

I hope your Sunday is as fullfilling as mine has been thus far. The rain is wonderful. Our warm and cozy basement is perfect. Could life get any better??
Love you guys.. see ya tomorrow. :)