whoo, I watched the Oscars

They weren't that great. Well, the show itself was, because host whatshisname was pretty amusing most of the time. And I loved the James Bond tribute. And though I haven't seen Silver Linings Playbook, I thought Jennifer Lawrence was so incredibly sweet when she won and she probably did deserve the award, but some of the winners I didn't think were right. But I also haven't actually seen all the films nominated, so yeah. I could definitely have done without Michelle Obama's appearance, though. It was totally wrong for her to be the one reading who won Best Picture. I mean, seriously. Just, no. Go away. PLEASE.

Beyond that, the weekend wasn't too exciting. Other than flinging myself off my snowmobile on Saturday afternoon because I hit a huge patch of ice at the top of a hill and went sliding sideways so fast that it probably would have rolled over if I hadn't bailed. The ice didn't feel very good, let me tell you that much. But five minutes later, I was fine (after I cleaned all the snow out of my helmet!! It's a miracle my glasses didn't break again...), and I don't even have a bruise, nor does it hurt. Weird. The rest of me hurts, but that's normal aches and pains from a night of riding. The trails kind of sucked, but hey, the end of the season is near. Though now there's more snow in the forecast. Eesh.

Spring could come, one of these days. Now that the snowmobile trails are almost all ice, they're treacherous and not much fun, so I'm not against all the snow melting. And since it is almost March, I want to see some green.

In other news, I hope this week is better than the last two. I am (finally) getting new glasses this week, which is exciting. Thinking about getting some hipster frames. ^_~ I'm also getting contacts, because I just can't stand wearing my glasses snowmobiling anymore. Plus if I get hipster frames, they'll be too big for my helmet...haha.

Geez, I wish I had a camera.

five things friday no. 2

1. Try this new coffee creamer; it's real milk and cream and it tastes so good.
2. I found this Stevie Nicks cd for 3 bucks last weekend. So happy.
3. I would like some oil pastels because they would be perfect for my March decorations.
4. It's National Margarita Day and if I had any of the supplies, I'd be making this one from Smitten Kitchen with blood orange juice. Alas, I don't have anything for a margarita.
5. I'd give almost anything to be exploring the British Isles. Just look at this castle in Scotland.

colour my world/a Lenten musing

The first three photos were taken in summer of 2011 (I think) at my family's home in Illinois. Currently,  I miss colour. The world is white and brown, which is beautiful of course, since we all know I adore snow. But February is nearing its end now; I find myself longing to see green buds on the trees and hear birds singing in those trees. We have another snowstorm coming; exciting as always. But as I page through my Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds catalog and pick what I will grow this year, I wish I could open the windows and feel a warm breeze. Spring breezes have a certain scent to them. I don't mean the ones that smell of manure and farms! I mean the other ones, those that smell warm.

Lent is also upon us. We sang the hymn in that last picture both on Ash Wednesday and last Sunday. When Lent comes so early, it's a bit of a shock; we think of Easter as being in the springtime. And it will be -- it comes on the last day of March. Easter, that is. So perhaps Lent being so early isn't a bad thing. As winter holds on and spring struggles to break through, we can be reminded of our Lord and Savior's struggle with Satan and death and how He won, just like spring overcomes winter each and every year.

Yes, I love winter. I kind of hate summer. Autumn is awesome. But spring is a good time to be contemplative, and that's something I look forward to as the weather warms up.

it's just a Hallmark holiday...

Can I just state blatantly that I have never liked Valentine's Day?
I actually kind of hate it.
There, I said it.

Hate is a strong word, but I have some very personal reasons for not enjoying the day whenever it comes around.
Reasons, of course, that don't truly matter anymore, but eh.

The point is, it's a created holiday (okay, they all are) that is named for a saint who was brutally murdered...and now it's all about love?
And the problem I see is that it's not about real love.
It's about commercialized buy-your-sweetie-and-everyone-else-under-the-sun-something-shiny-sweet-and-flowery.
Oh and don't forget the cards.

Seriously, though.
Gestures of love don't have to be restricted to just a few marked days in the calendar year.
Unfortunately, that's the impression the world gets when Christmas ends.
Valentine's Day is coming and you better get ready now because no day before then is remotely important!!!!!!!!!!
UGH.

Not that you can't make the day special with your loved ones.
Go ahead.
Have a fancy dinner by candlelight and maybe get her some flowers.
Chocolate is okay, too.
But remember that love is for all the time.
It's unconditional and self-sacrificing.
It's not a money-making scheme. (But then, neither is Christmas and we see what happened there...)

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

sunshine, please come back soon.

I'm at the point now where I have to continually remind myself that I love snow and winter. The problem isn't the cold and the fluffy white stuff, though. It's the fact that the sunshine has disappeared and won't show its warm face. I love bright and cold winter days, when the sun is shining down from the clear blue sky onto a brilliant blanket of snow. But these gloomy not-quite-cold-enough days just drag me down.

To keep my spirits up, I'm writing my spring cleaning list (to be begun as soon as the windows can be opened), looking up places to go snowshoeing, planning my garden, and drinking floral teas. Specifically, Berryblossom White by Tazo Tea. SO GOOD. I have my amazing friend Becca to thank for introducing me to this tea, way back when we were still in college. Okay, that wasn't way back, but I graduated almost two years ago, so....

And I just remembered that I have homemade dandelion wine to try! I'm nervous...it's probably terrible. But I hope it tastes decent. And that it tastes like summer, even though I'm not a huge fan of the summer temperatures.

Of course, Valentine's Day is just around the corner, too. I've never been a huge advocate of the Hallmark holiday, but hopefully Nate and I can do something fun. At the very least, I'm going to cook us a fun dinner. I found a recipe for red wine pasta which looks and sounds delicious. I also plan on making some heart-shaped doughnuts for breakfast. Though those might have to wait until the weekend when Nate doesn't have to get up at 3:30 am.

How are you keeping back the weather blues? And what are your Valentine's Day plans?

five things friday no. 1

1.  the snow is so beautiful and I don't want it to go away.
2.  the new layout of iTunes makes no sense to me.
3. as much as I love winter, I cannot wait to start my garden.
4. my favorite alcoholic drink currently is Newcastle Brown Ale.
5. sometimes I don't like our furnace; it makes too much noise. 

we all know how indecisive I am...

...so of course, as the snow falls thick and fast outside, I have been designing a new blog.
Yep.
Another new one.
But I realized that this blog started out as a personal blog and I really want to keep it that way.
As I began slowly changing elements of this blog, I suddenly began to wonder where I would make my truly personal posts, my thoughts about life and stuff.
But shhh.
This new one isn't ready yet!
It might not be ready for awhile, because I want to start this one off on the right foot.
And I can't settle on a good name.

So this blog, an incandescent wanderlust, will stay around.
No worries there.
But I want a more organized lifestyle blog where I post recipes, DIY ideas, natural beauty, homemaking, and things about marriage.

Hopefully, a few of you are looking forward to this. :)

around the internet no. 2

Two posts in one day! Yeah that's rare. But I have a few links I wish to share with you.

Real Food and Clean Eating

Eat Wild: The #1 Site for Grass-fed Food & Facts 

5 Fats That Don't Make You Fat


Gardening

Make Your Own Potting Soil


Frugal and Healthy Beauty

Homemade Lotion Bars and Lip Balm


That's all I have for today! I hope you have a lovely Monday.

monday morning vignettes and inspirations no. 2

It's snowing again. Big, white, beautiful flakes. This past weekend my mom and youngest sister came for a visit. We didn't do much other than hang out and talk, though we did go bowling on Saturday afternoon. We all did really well; Mom especially with a game of 163!! All three of my games broke 100, of which I was very proud. Yesterday, Nate and I went bowling again, during the Super Bowl. Neither of us did as well, but we were tired from bowling the day before. Moral of the story: Bowling two days in a row is not usually a good idea.

My whole house is clean, another fact of which I am proud. Many organizational things still need to happen, but the biggest part of the job is done. One of the next things that I hope to accomplish is painting our bedroom. We're thinking of a shade of green; not too pale, but not too bright. More earthy than anything. Of course, then the curtains that are in there will have to go, since they are also green. Ugly green, I might add.

As it is February, when I finished cleaning on Friday, I cut out a myriad of construction paper hearts to tape on the cabinets and windows. I will never stop loving construction paper. So versatile. I will need to make a trip to Hobby Lobby in the near future though, because I discovered I have no glitter! This is a crisis, obviously.

The month of love is upon us. Though of course we should love each other all throughout the year, there is a concentration in February. I do believe Valentine's Day is to blame, though the beginnings of that saint's day were less than glamorous. I've never been a huge advocate of Valentine's Day, partly because the various boyfriends I had over the years were never good about remembering the holiday, and partly because it's so overblown. But you know what? I like hearts and bows and shiny things. And I love creating a beautiful day for the one I love most in all the world, my dear husband.

So here's to being inspired by love, crafted hearts, the cozy snow falling outside, and mugs of hot cocoa with heart-shaped marshmallows floating on top.

(All photos taken with my iPod and edited with the app Snapseed.)

friday foodie favorites

Oh yes, it's Friday. I should be cleaning the house because my mom and youngest sister are coming for the weekend, but I've been cleaning all week (a weird obsession in this new year). And it was time to stop and eat lunch. My breakfast was sadly lacking this morning (coffee and a small piece of mango cake), so I figured I needed a fair amount of calories in my lunch. So I made a salad. I luuuurrrrvvvve salad. This salad, among a few different kinds of greens/herbs (baby spinach, arugula, chives, parsley), contained two of my new food obsessions: avocado and hemp seeds. I've had a bit of an obsession with avocado for a little over a year now, though I only just recently figured out how to cut them without mashing them... I usually mash half an avocado and spread it on toasted bread as a base for a sandwich. Hard-cooked egg goes really well with avocado. The other obsession is relatively new. I had been searching for hemp seeds for a while and finally found them at Costco. They taste a bit nutty and are super good for you. I sprinkle them on toast, put them in my smoothies, and sprinkle them on salads. So yummy. My other obsession lately is San Pellegrino. For those of you who have never had it, it's sparkling mineral water from Italy. Never thought I'd like sparkling mineral water, but there you have it. And because it's fizzy, I can trick myself into thinking I'm drinking a soda. (Club soda is good for this, too, because it's really only one step above sparkling water and still has zero calories.)