life outside the mae-osphere.

Do you ever get tired of hearing about Mae? Sometimes I feel like we only blog about her (she is our most favorite thing). So, this post is going to be all about Jayson and I. That might actually be really hard for me!

I have grown really close to my sewing machine lately. My mom and dad bought me a really sweet bernina sewing machine when I graduated from college. I thought it was really prophetic or ironic--I got a college degree but the tool I'd use the most would be a sewing machine. It has really proved to be true. I use about 1.4% of my psychology degree and plenty more of the skills I learned from my mom (cooking, sewing, etc). One of my favorite projects recently was this little birdie.

I can't wait to make a bazillion more of them, and give them to every child I know. Maybe one of them will appreciate it more than Mae does (shoot, you see--there she is again).

I've also been working on a quilt. I was invited to participate on a group quilt: four people complete the blocks to an entire quilt, all working on the same pattern. Then you swap 3/4 of your blocks with the other three people. Except for...I decided I want to keep all my blocks. Isn't that awful of me? I knew Denise wouldn't let me down, but I didn't really know the other two girls. If I was going to spend hours and hours making a quilt, I wanted it to look cohesive. I think it was really terrible of me, but I was afraid I'd never make a quilt again! But I have really liked it, and actually found more fabric I love and plan on quilting again soon.

My other hobby has been running. Remember how I plan on running the Rex Lee run? And how I had an amazing training plan? Well, winter, the flu, and a cold kicked me while I was down and I didn't train very well. About two weeks ago I realized the run was upon me and I was not prepared. So, I've been getting my tush out of bed almost EVERY SINGLE MORNING and I've been running. Today I did 2.5 miles. That may not sound like a lot, but considering I almost died running one mile two weeks ago, I count it as a major accomplishment.


My main source of motivation (other than the race being one week away) has been my iPod nano and nike+. Have you guys seen these? They are amazing. I am totally in love. The receiver plugs into your iPod and the sensor goes in your shoe. It keeps track of how far, how long, and how fast you are running (or walking). You put in your weight and it tells you how many calories you are burning. You can set it for a distance, or time, or calorie burn and it will tell you how long until you reach your goal. You can set a "power song" so when you get low on motivation, it will boost you up (mine is currently set as rock and roll by led zepplin). When you get home, you can plug it into your computer and it will show you your run and you can see exactly where you started to slow down, etc. It is phenomenal and I don't know how I ever ran without it.

I feel so high on motivation that I plan on running the Hobble Creek half marathon this summer. I was training for the Moab half marathon the year Jayson and I met/got engaged. My training program gave way to Jayson, who was extremely more enjoyable than the treadmill. I have since felt that I have let myself down, and I need to make it up to myself. I need to find a good 10k to run in about June. Anyone know of a good one?

Along those health lines, Jayson and I joined weight watchers again. Now there are several in my family how are members: Debra, Teresa, Amy, Joy, Jayson and I. There are others who are doing the program, but who aren't fully enlisted (i.e. don't pay the high membership fees). I stopped going about November, just because I missed a few weeks for vacation, and then Christmas came and it was going to be cheaper to rejoin than to keep my membership current. That was a bad idea in general, because I gained a few pounds in the process. I am determined to get and stay at my goal weight...and obviously I didn't learn it all last time, so I'm back. We've done great so far this week. I'll let you know on Saturday what our numbers look like.

Jayson has been spending a lot of time with his photography lately. But it has a new twist: film. Seth introduced Jayson to his rolleicord while we were out in NYC. It is a sweet vintage camera that shoots medium format film. Jayson loved Seth's camera, and found one on ebay at an amazing price.

He has fallen head-over-heels for film and medium format cameras. He is like a kid at Christmas every time he picks up his film. If he can't pick up his film the day it is due, he will call one of his friends to pick it up for him--he can't wait an extra day. He wants to take pictures all the time now. Here is what the rollei looks like:



Our friend Toby found another medium format camera at the pawn shop the other day. Unfortunately he wasn't able to get it, so I grabbed it for Jayson as a gift. It is a Mamiya and has interchangeable lenses.



The thing that most amazes me about these cameras is how technical you have to be. You have to take your light reading, set your aperture and shutter speed manually, focus the camera while looking down into the view finder that is totally backwards (and really hard to figure out), wind the film and snap the picture. But I think that technicality is what makes it so romantic for Jayson. It makes us both realize how much precision is required of photographers both old and new.

Both of his cameras are excellent and take beautiful pictures (actually, we haven't had a roll developed from the mamiya yet). Jayson now spends a lot of free time checking out other medium format cameras and accessories for his two new cameras. I'll get some of the pictures he's taken on our blog soon.

That's what we've been up to. Now, we're getting ready to enter our hectic season at J Dawgs. We have several catering jobs booked for April already, so we're trying to enjoy every free moment we have now. Thankfully the sun is shining, my tulips are finally venturing out of the dirt, and we have much to enjoy and be thankful for. Life really really is amazing.