Family Reunion 2007 - Pittsburgh, PA

We had a super radtastic time in Pittsburgh :) It was an awesomely successful family reunion in my opinion, and I can't wait for all of us to get together again. I feel pretty blessed.

I didn't take a whole lot of pictures since I felt like I was in a dream pretty much the whole time. I wish now that I would have snapped some of Jana cutting Mark's hair in her kitchen, and of Sugar the itsy bitsy pup, who I wanted to stuff in my bag and run away with. but anyway, here are the pics I did manage to get. enjoy. :)

We rode the incline up Mount Washington, got some ice cream...
and an awesome view of the city

Rosebud, my sister

Chris, my brother
The Mattress Factory

Ashley & Chris

Jana, My Mom

The Andy Warhol Museum

@Bar 11

uh oh

Mark's knee says "NO!"

ZOMG

Mark is up to 3 miles a day. I'm in awe. :)

Spoke too soon...

so i THOUGHT that a sabbatical was in my near future, but apparently not. the nanny service offered me a temporary assignment starting next Monday and running through the beginning of Sept. and i just can't turn it down. I'd feel too guilty not making any money for that long.

news update

Starting in Aug. I'm going to have about a two month 'sabbatical' and then I'm going back to nanny for Ilena in October.

I'm so excited that things are working out so awesomely. I really love the Norris clan and i was feeling so bummed that I might have to go work for some rich people in Mission Hills and make alot of money. lol. but i'd be miserable. and i'm on a journey of happiness, not $$$! right? right!!

Mark just got a part-time job at his tattoo shop, Rose Tattoo Parlor, in the River Market. This of course on top of his 9-5. He's basically working for tattoos, and to meet alot of VERY interesting people. :D He's very psyched about it. Also, Mark has lost almost 30 pounds so far people!! He's actually RUNNING!!! HOLY CRAP!!! he's up to about 2 miles A DAY!! I can't even believe it! seriously you guys, I've been attached to mark like a barnacle for 10 years, and this is a pretty amazing development! he's totally my hero!

We are taking a trip to Pittsburgh, PA Aug. 9 - 13 to meet my mom, Jana and my half-brother Chris. My half-sister Rosie is traveling from Cape Girardeau and will meet us there. We've met up with Rosie once a couple of years ago in Kansas City but this is going to be for the most part, a first time family reunion for us. Pretty Exciting!

We're still planning on trying to start a family of our own soon, but I think it's going to be a long road for us. There have been pretty much nothing but tests so far so it's been a bit nerve racking. Anyhoo, don't mean to get all sad on you, but send some prayers or whatever our way! :)

Bleech!! A Gnat just flew up my nose! grosssss!!! lol.

Love,
Phoebs (Mark says "hullo!")

Sharing Art

I was thinking about our trip to the Kemper and how I was sad that I didn't have any pictures. I remembered this particular painting because both Mark and I really loved it. So I thought I'd share.

Jules de Balincourt, Blind Faith and Tunnel Vision, 2005,
oil, enamel, spray paint on panel, 78x58 inches

And since I was thinking about Modern, I thought about how, in the new Bloch Building at the Nelson, a guard was sort of jerky to me as we were looking at this pretty fantastic installation:

These are pictures I pulled up from the web, so that's not exactly how it looked at the Nelson but it was super cool nevertheless.

Excerpt from the Nelson-Atkins' website:

Kiki Smith: Constellation

June 9, 2007—October 28, 2007

Kiki Smith’s Constellation is a meditation on the infinity of space and our human desire to know and tame it – to make it our own. In this room-sized installation, the artist brings the vast dome of heaven down to earth, where cast glass animals and stars sparkle and glow at our feet. Arranged upon a plane of night-blue Nepal paper, these miniature symbols of distant constellations awaken wonder and remind us of the mystery that compelled ancient astronomers to chart and name them.

The interrelatedness of nature and its parts is a pervasive theme in Kiki Smith’s work. She explores the human and animal, the celestial and earthly, the macrocosm and microcosm. Like the poet, mystic, or natural philosopher, she approaches our universe with reverence. Like the contemporary scientist, she is driven by a desire to understand.

yeah, those little dark specks? those are cast bronze "animal scat". :D

Just Curious

Does anyone read this blog? Please comment to let us know how we're doing! :)

Sunday Afternoon Art Explosion

Last weekend we took our first ever trip to the Kemper Museum of Modern Art, which was pretty cool, but not very big. I came away with some pretty bitchin magnets too. This weekend, we thought we'd go to the Nelson, since we hadn't been since they redid it. It was pretty awesome. No magnets, but lots of picture. :)

Asian Art Reigns Supreme !

That's Marble!

Stained Glass Ruelz!!

My Favorite Spot in the Nelson

Frannie Hearts His Daddy

Who's In The Cabinet?

It's Rin and his evil glowing eyes!

Why does Chi look so Guilty/Evil?

So Cute!

Landscaping on the Fourth of July

Frannie Awaits Mark's Return

Look @ Pete's freakishly flexible neck!

Estate Sale Fevor

Mark and I had a marathon estate sale binge yesterday and it was super fun. We were going to go to the Omaha Zoo, but instead hit a ritzy garage sale down in the "ridiculously big houses" neighborhood. I scored a stuffed panda, but otherwise it was pretty lame. From there we hit an estate sale in waldo that we totally bagged some awesome stuff at. It was 1/2 price, so we got a 10 dollar turntable, jazz records, some classy table linens, some cool asian tins, a framed chinese watercolor of kittens, a couple of decorative trays, a scarf, and a 70s stuffed owl. from there we happily drove all over chasing sale signs for about 3 hours. suprisingly the nicer neighborhoods had the least interesting stuff. in our opinion anyway.

it was funny how rabid people were at these sales though. I walked into a room and spotted an awesome quilt on a bed and commented on it to mark, some lady practically screeched "I BOUGHT THAT!! IT"S MINE!" lol. then later when we were leaving, i complemented her quilt and jokingly said "i'm so jealous! you totally scored!" so she clutched the quilt tighter and gave me a sour look. wow, okay weirdo.

anyway, we're hooked! we're going to scout out sales for next time in the paper and get up earlier. :)

Ilena aka: Squeely McSnufflesnort

Happiness

I am wrapping up my second week as a full time nanny and it's totally....awesome!!! I love hanging out with my little elfin baby "Smooshymuffinpants". Even when she's shrieking in my ear, it's cute because she snuffles and snorts.

I'm patting myself on the back. I think I found my niche. I'm fascinated every day, and never bored. I've been reading while she sleeps and i'm up to "Month Five" in "What to Expect The First Year". I'm all exited now that I actually have a reason to read baby books. I used to go to the "Parenting and Baby" section of Borders and feel like a weirdo childless lurker. lol.

I'm such a sap. :D

Out by the Speedway...YeeHAW!

Last nite we went out by the Kansas speedway to Cabellas (my own personal hell on earth, the insane collection of stuffed animal carcasses and "Gun Library" about sent me over the edge) so that Cyndie could return some hiking boots.

They've built a whole huge shopping area out there called "legends" so we ate and walked around and got some ice cream and watched the storms come in. It was pretty cool. I'm a big fan of big animal statues, hence the pictures.

Also, Mark has lost about 20 pounds since he wore those pants last, and lost them about 2 feet up the driveway, on the way to the front door as we came home, but decided he would just shuffle the rest of the way in like that. lol.