My Military Man

This morning Jake woke up around 7 a.m. and proceeded to get ready for the day. Before I was able to crawl out of bed and put my contacts in, Jake was almost completely ready and wearing his Air Force service dress. Jake gave me a hug and left for his busy day.

His ROTC program at BYU has spent the past several weeks organizing events commemorating Sept. 11 on campus, and Jake is involved in several aspects including all public affairs. Let's just say this has been a busy week.

Today is a notable one for all of us. How have 13 years already passed since that unforgettable day in 2001? Like most people, I remember where I was, what happened in my life at school and home, and many of my feelings and worries.

I've read so many wonderful and touching posts of remembrance today, and I'm thankful for the opportunity to express gratitude for my life, blessings, and freedoms. And of course, I've thought more and more about Jake and the sacrifices he signed up for not only this week, but for the next several years of his Air Force career.

I never imagined a military life for myself. Finishing high school in the Washington, D.C. area, my social circles included several kids from military families. We'd occasionally head to the nearest military base, with 1 to 1 military to civilian IDs, to watch movies at the on-base theater or the such. But living a military life was never something I connected with or thought I'd experience.

Those men, women, and families make incredible sacrifices to serve their country and stand for principles they value and hold dear. Jake has offered me the opportunity to stand by his side as he follows his desire to serve and be a part of something bigger than himself. I am only beginning to have a glimpse of understanding of what that means and am trying to best prepare myself to better embrace everything it entails.

Jake has on several occasions shared his experience of turning to the Air Force. He served an LDS church mission in Nevada where he followed a disciplined schedule and dedicated himself to something he was passionate about. When he returned home and began working and attending school, he missed that sense of service, of importance, of greater meaning. After some deliberation, Jake found those things in the Air Force.

Military life isn't one I chose, but it is one that Jake chose. And today as I remember Sept. 11, I think more specifically about the service men and women past and present and all that they do. Of all that they have sacrificed and all that they work for. I thank Jake for his example and the opportunity to view my blessings and freedoms just a little differently.

Remember Sept. 11

Hey all Provo locals! I just wanted to give a quick heads up about some events commemorating Sept. 11 tomorrow (Thursday) on BYU campus. If you and your kids are looking for a way to remember/honor the tragedy, consider attending one of these events.

All events are open to the public. Well, except the football game stuff. Ya'll need to have tickets for that.

Events
7 am: 24-hour vigil begins at the Abraham O. Smoot Administration building
8:45 am: Rose-laying Ceremony at the Abraham O. Smoot Administration building
9 am: Three-volley salute at the Abraham O. Smoot Administration building
12 pm: Thad Forester presentation in the Varsity Theater of the Wilkinson Student Center
7 pm: Presentation at the Lavell Edwards Stadium prior to the Houston vs. BYU football game (ticket required)

The vigil will be going on until 7 am Friday (Sept. 12), so you can literally stop by at any point that day. After the rose ceremony, you can also bring a rose to contribute. 

How to Create Large Wall Decor On a Budget

Please allow me to introduce you to one of my favorite recent projects...this lovely frame!

I wanted one large piece of art to place above our couch in the living room. To me, small pieces made the wall feel empty, while multiple pieces made it feel cluttered. (I'm sure the full-to-the-brim bookcases on either side of the couch don't help with the cluttered feeling either.) However, we all know large decor tends to cost quite a bit—more than I'm personally willing to spend on a piece for a home I will live maybe a year in. Ikea, for example, has several large options with a $49.99 price tag; that's something I'd pay, but the options were either unappealing to me or overdone.

Let me share how I got this piece to come together. If you follow me on Instagram, you've likely seen the updates on each step.

FRAME

I started by searching for large frames anywhere and everywhere. Garage sales, thrift stores, clearance aisles. Most things simply weren't large enough. Plus, most larger (ish) frames were still selling for $20 bucks at my local Deseret Industries. $20 bucks for an ugly frame with an ugly picture and oftentimes not even real glass. I said no to that.

In one of my many searches, I found a few options. These are the pictures and messages I sent to my husband.

A. Gold frame, would still paint. Thicker plastic although it could be glass. Matted too. Smallest option. $20

B. Yellow metal frame. Would spray paint maybe silver. Plastic cover $10

C. LARGE FRAME. See other sizes in picture. No back, no glass. Slight imperfection on one side. $5. Could paint and blow up a pic. 

Option C would require the most work. Not to mention, I didn't know if I could get a picture that big...or if I could fit the frame into my car. 

Jake's response, "I like the big one. The $5 one" quickly reaffirmed my worries and I went ahead with the $5 frame. 

Before I did anything else, I wanted to make sure it was possible to piece together the backing and image to go in the frame. Otherwise, I'd probably use this for a headboard type of project.

BACKING

I headed to Hobby Lobby's framing section to see what kind of foam boards they had available. Nothing big enough was available on the floor, but we waited for an associate who said they could definitely cut something to the exact dimensions I needed. The cost for the largest board was about $10 but then I used their 40% off coupon to get it for $6. 

PICTURE

This frame was way to big to even think about featuring a picture of Jake and me. Can you imagine that? Right above our couch? Haha. 

I did look at some scenery type of pictures with us, but nothing really worked. In fact, I found that I wasn't even liking photograph options for that size. I used my stock image resources at both sxc.hu (free site) or depositphotos.com (I got a great discount price for something like 100 downloads for $99 and use this site for lots of my client project needs).

In the end,  I was drawn to digital artwork by the user karakotsay. I liked the abstract perspective and considered options like this, or this, or this, or this.  

Jake and I both decided on this option:

PRINTING

From the start I knew I'd be printing this in black and white. Why? While I love the color, you can print in b/w a LOT cheaper than printing anything that large in color. Most office stores will allow you to print engineers prints for super cheap. These are low quality but for $6-8, it's a great option and can be switched up whenever you want. Also, I planned to paint the frame a color to help brighten up our living room and the black/white would help balance that color AND tie in the black from our furniture.

Fedex was the ONLY place I found that could print the size I wanted.  The employee there was amazing. It took maybe 6 or 7 tries to get it to print right, but in the end everything worked out great.

PAINTING

Head to Home Depot or Lowe's to purchase paint for small projects. You can get any color mixed in a sample bottle for about $3. I've done this a handful of times and the paint lasts forever!!  I got this lovely teal blue and got that thing painted. 

FINISHING UP

The final step was just putting everything together. I used a spray adhesive from a previous project to apply to picture to the foam board. Jake helped me, and we probably did six inches all the way across the board at a time. 

We'd spray, lay the picture, smooth it out, spray, lay, smooth, spray, lay, smooth. Fun process. After that, I turned the board over to and folded the excess paper onto the back side. Then we stuck the board in, got that set in...and we were good to go. 

Total cost: $22

Motivation Monday: Passion is Energy

Today's Motivation Monday comes to you from the one, the only, Oprah Winfrey.

P.S. The background is supposed to be white.
Download Passion is Energy jpg here. 

"Passion is energy. Feel the power that comes from focusing on what excites you."

I've been feeling the urge to reignite my passion, which is probably why I went searching for some great passion quotes. I have to thank Dave Kerpen, CEO of Likeable Media, for leading me to this Oprah quote via his article "15 Inspiring Quotes on Passion (Get Back to What You Love)" on Inc.com.

Even as I sit and just start write this post, I already feel the power and excitement Oprah speaks of. It's been a while since I've shared a formal post and, man, I have missed it. When I quit my full time job over a year ago, I started blogging more regularly again as a way to stay motivated, focused, and productive.

The past year has been a crazy one. I quit working full time, started teaching more and more Zumba/UJam classes, started pursuing more clients, moved several times, and met, dated, and married my husband Jake.

That whole getting married thing definitely required that I put some things on the back burner. I had to settle into my routine and focus on all the tasks I currently had. Eventually various tasks dropped off my permanent to-do list, but I've had a hard time reigniting the passion to continue doing more and aspiring for dreams bigger and better than I currently have.

I guess, in short, I've become stagnant. That is no good. I need to continue pushing myself. Doing so is actually pretty easy once I get going. For now, however, I need to go out of my way to surround myself by the ideas, environment, and motivation that gets my juices flowing. I need to focus on the things I love and the things that inspire me. I need to let go of the habits and circumstances that deflate that passion.

Question: What tips do you have for cultivating passion?

Side note: After watching this past season of "Last Comic Standing," I can't think of Oprah without thinking of this comedy bit.