Holy Crap!

I just signed up for an art class that i have signed up for and chickened out of for about 5 years now. i don't know why i am so damn scared, just am...oh well! i am really going to do it this year. we'll see how it goes.  if any of you want to join me for a monday morning sesh at the petersen art center i would love to have a friend to ease the tension a little. wait, i just got more nervous at the thought of someone i know seeing my work, scratch that, you are uninvited. at least until i have some warm-up time. seriously though there are lots of great classes there. check them out here. after reliving my study abroads, i remembered why i love art and why i want to create my own. here are a few reasons.

Of course Degas. The problem with Degas is choosing your favorite.

Berthe Morisot, so feminine and beautiful

Klimt's landscapes are so incredible but not necessarily what he's known for

Egon Schiele, this man changed so much about my love for art. 

Alexandr Onishenko, an artist i happened upon in Prague and am so glad i did.

wish me luck folks. i am petrified. 

An AMAZING Woman!

Chris is cousins with my best friend Allison and through both of them I have gotten to know their family pretty well. Among those amazing family members was their Grandmother Jeanne. She honestly is the greatest. She had an amazing life and raised an amazing family. She was so cute to me and always so interested in what I was up to. In the last few months of her life she was always asking me when Chris and I had plans to marry. She was so sweet and always wanted to be sure EVERYONE was happy. Unfortunately she died unexpectedly on Monday evening. Although she had a long full life and we need to celebrate  her life it is also so sad to have her gone. The Oklands get together quite a bit and in the last year and a half she has become like family to me. She will be missed but I know that she is so happy to be with her family that was patiently waiting for her on the other side. Please read her obituary so you will know at least a little bit about this great woman. 

JEANNE GRANT OKLAND WARNER 

  |   Visit Guest Book

Jeanne Grant Okland Warner 1925 ~ 2011 Jeanne Grant Okland Warner, 86, passed away August 15, 2011 surrounded by loved ones. Jeanne was born Feb. 5, 1925 in Salt Lake City, Utah to Clarence and Ruby Grant. She attended Columbus Elementary School, Irvine Junior High School, and South High School. She graduated in business from LDS Business College and used those skills during World War II at Fort Douglas at the 9th Service Command. On December 18, 1944, Jeanne married Jack Okland. Their marriage was solemnized in the Salt Lake Temple. She adored Jack and was his constant companion and best friend. Together they raised their six children in their Sugarhouse home. Jeanne loyaly supported Jack in his career, as owner and CEO, of Okland Construction Company. Jeanne was privileged to enjoy her husband's success as Okland Construction built temples, churches, and major commercial buildings across the country. Jeanne was a talented athlete who loved to play competitive sports with friends. She enjoyed tennis, golf, and bowling. She won several tournaments as a member of both the Salt Lake Country Club Ladies Golf Association and Bowling Association. She remained physically active her entire life. Jeanne was a talented seamstress and cook. She took an active part in her community as President of the Women's Group in the Sugarhouse Rotary. Throughout her life she diligently served in many capacities in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, including as a counselor in the Relief Society Presidency and as Primary President. She and her husband Jack were philanthropists and together sent 25 Norwegian students to BYU and Native American students to both LDS Business College and BYU. Jack and Jeanne's love for service led them to organize and provide vacations for many widows in their home ward throughout the years. Jeanne enjoyed collecting dolls and donated her extensive doll collection to Primary Children's Hospital. Jeanne travelled the world with her husband, Jack. They spent their summers in a family home in Norway and split time between Utah and Arizona the remainder of the year. She formed lifelong friendships and had friends all over the world. Jeanne's greatest joys and her biggest trials have come in her role as a mother. As a young mother with a six week old baby, Jill, and preschool aged son, Randy, she lost her two year old son, Jeff, to pneumonia. Later she watched three of her adult children, Jack Jr., Joy, and Jill, and her first husband, Jack, all lose their lives to cancer. Despite her trials, Jeanne remained upbeat, active, and strengthened those that mourned around her. She loved her children and found great joy in being a mother and later in being a grandmother and great-grandmother. Her children and grandchildren adore her. On October 5, 2009, Jeanne married Dr. Homer Warner. They were happy companions who enjoyed traveling and spending time together in their Salt Lake and St. George homes. Jeanne embraced Homer's children as an extension of her own family and enjoyed spending time with them. Jeanne was inclusive and accepting of all. She was quick to forgive and always generous to those in need. She was deeply loved and respected by many. Her friendly and youthful personality, sense of humor, and happy demeanor will be missed by all who had the privilege of knowing her. She leaves a legacy of strength, courage, and faith to her posterity. The family will miss the frequent gatherings she organized. Jeanne was preceded in death by her husband, Jack Okland and her children Jeffrey Okland, Jill Tuft (Tom), Jack Okland Jr. (Pam), and Joy Ellis (Scott), her parents Clarence and Ruby Grant and her brother Keith Grant (Jerri.) She is survived by her husband Homer Warner, John "Randy" Okland (Sandra), and James Okland, and sons-in-law Tom Tuft and Scott Ellis and daughter-in-law Pam Okland. She is also survived 16 grandchildren and 31 great-grandchildren. Funeral services will be held Friday, August 19th at 12 Noon at the Parley's 6th Ward, 2350 South 2100 East. Viewings will be held Thursday evening from 6 to 8 p.m. at Larkin Sunset Lawn, 2350 East 1300 South, and again 10:45 to 11:45 prior to the services at the ward. Because of Jeanne's love of children, the family suggests donations to Primary Children's Medical Center in lieu of flowers. 

Sorry for another sad post. Two in a row. Hopefully I'll have something fun and upbeat next time. 

noelle, the best sister ever!

sisters, sisters, sisters! what in the world would we do without our sisters? i know that i personally would not be who i am today without mine. i love her so. this little post is about my "sissy" as i like to call her. noelle is the oldest of my siblings and for sure the most loving. we call her the den mother, which she absolutely hates, but it is true. she is always so aware of what everyone is up to and making sure we are all happy. LOVE HER! one of my favorite things about my sister is, no offense people, when it is just me and her. when the boys aren't around to tell us how annoying we are or roll their eyes at us. when we are alone we can do whatever we want and we do. we laugh, we tell each other about the facial hair that needs waxing, tease each other to no end, and pull each other's gray hairs out...that's right people we have them and i have more that she does! so not fair since she is 6 years my senior. sorry sissy but you are. last time we got to spend a whole evening alone together, it doesn't happen often because she has two kids and a husband she adores and i have the best boyfriend that i can't seem to be without. needless to say it rarely is the two of us but last time we watched quite possibly the WORST movie ever. i don't even know the name of it. but it was so bad. for some odd reason we watched the whole damn thing and every time we looked at each other we just laughed hysterically and kept watching, why? no idea! 

sissy and i share birthday months. this is the BEST thing ever. mine is april 13 and hers is april 23...do you know what that means? it means month long birthday celebrations for us both every year. she is so sweet to make sure i have a GREAT birthday. she's one of the first calls of the day ( this year she was first because my friend julia had had a baby like a week before and she was sleep deprived) and always takes me to breakfast or lunch on my bday. this also consists of laughing...a lot. 

ok now the mushy crap. noelle has been my cheerleader, even though neither of us would have been caught dead being cheerleaders, thru everything. she is always and unconditionally on my side. well unless we are fighting then she is not on my side :). honestly we rarely fight. especially since i never steal her clothes anymore. people who don't get along with their sisters baffle me. how can you not? she has been there when i needed advise she has been there when i needed someone to be quite and listen. she's my running buddy and will be again as soon as she pops out my second nephew. she is my favorite sister...hahaha! my only sister. but even if we had lots of sisters, she would still be my fav. i love her more than anything. what is so great about sisters is that she knows that no matter what i would drop anything i was doing to help her and i know that she would do the same. it is so refreshing to know that i have someone to always count on. 

 

Nosie, sissy, mama D, den mother, you are the love of my life! Thank you for always being on my side even when i'm wrong. i hope you had a great birthday. don't be mad about the pictures. these are all i have on this computer. 

Proud to be an American!

I know that this is kind of long but it is totally worth reading. Its not very often that you hear a story like this so I recommend that you take a minute out of your busy day and read this. I found it on facebook when I was invited by a friend to join the group. I'm sure you can find it, on facebook, by searching "red fridays" if you are interested in more information or joining the group. 

Will You give this to my Daddy?

As a Company, Southwest Airlines is going to support 'Red Fridays.'
Last week I was in Atlanta , Georgia attending a conference. While I was in the airport, returning home, I heard several people behind me beginning to clap and cheer. I immediately turned around and witnessed One of the greatest acts of patriotism I have ever seen.
Moving thru the terminal was a group of soldiers in their camos. As t......hey began heading to their gate, everyone (well almost everyone) was abruptly to their feet with their hands waving and cheering.
When I saw the soldiers, probably 30-40 of them, being applauded and Cheered for, it hit me. I'm not alone. I'm not the only red-blooded American who still loves this country and supports our troops and their families.

Of course I immediately stopped and began clapping for these young unsung heroes who are putting their lives on the line everyday for us so we can go to school, work and home without fear or reprisal.

Just when I thought I could not be more proud of my country or of our Service men and women, a young girl, not more than 6 or 7 years old ran up to one of the male soldiers. He kneeled down and said 'hi...'

The little girl then asked him if he would give something to her daddy for her...

The young soldier, who didn't look any older than maybe 22 himself, said he would try and what did she want to give to her daddy. Then suddenly the little girl grabbed the neck of this soldier, gave him the biggest hug she could muster and then kissed him on the cheek.

The mother of the little girl, who said her daughter's name was Courtney, told the young soldier that her husband was a Marine and had been in Iraq for 11 months now. As the mom was explaining how much her daughter Courtney missed her father, the young soldier began to tear up.

When this temporarily single mom was done explaining her situation, all of the soldiers huddled together for a brief second... Then one of the other servicemen pulled out a military-looking walkie-talkie. They started playing with the device and talking back and forth on it..

After about 10-15 seconds of this, the young soldier walked back over to Courtney, bent down and said this to her, 'I spoke to your daddy and he told me to give this to you.' He then hugged this little girl that he had just met and gave her a kiss on the cheek. He finished by saying 'your daddy told me to tell you that he loves you more than anything and he is coming home very soon.'

The mom at this point was crying almost uncontrollably and as the young soldier stood to his feet, he saluted Courtney and her mom. I was standing no more than 6 feet away from this entire event.

As the soldiers began to leave, heading towards their gate, people resumed their applause. As I stood there applauding and looked around, there were very few dry eyes, including my own. That young soldier in one last act of selflessness turned around and blew a kiss to Courtney with a tear rolling down his cheek.

We need to remember everyday all of our soldiers and their families and thank God for them and their sacrifices. At the end of the day, it's good to be an American.

RED FRIDAYS ----- Very soon, you will see a great many people wearing red every Friday. The reason? Americans who support our troops used to be called the 'silent majority'. We are no longer silent, and are voicing our love for God, country and home in record breaking numbers.

Our idea of showing solidarity and support for our troops with dignity and respect starts this Friday - and continues each and every Friday until the troops all come home, sending a deafening message that.. Every red-blooded American who supports our men and women afar will wear something red.

By word of mouth, press, TV -- let's make the United States on every Friday a sea of red much like a homecoming football game in the bleachers.

If every one of us who loves this country will share this with acquaintances, co-workers, friends, and family. It will not be long before the USA is covered in RED.
The first thing a soldier says when asked 'What can we do to make things better for you?' is.....We need your support and your prayers.

Let's get the word out and lead with class and dignity, by example.