month o' marriage

That’s right folks, I’m setting a theme for July. In my case, a theme can be a daunting thing - if past patterns of posting serve as predictions of the future, this post may be the last one for the month. But I’ve been feeling literary of late, and I’ve been thinking a bit on the subject. So, here goes. Stay with me. If you dare.

I married Clark five years ago this month. five. While I plan to be married to him forever after, this small landmark evokes a lot of feelings and reflections, and I thought I may as well share them. Of course I’m no expert on marriage, but my evolving sense of the meaning of marriage in general and my own unique relationship with my husband have been surprising, continuing sources of joy. I admit it's a little self-indulgent, but I'm starting with the story of us.

Act One, part one - "more than friends"

I met Clark when I was yet a babe. Just eighteen. Sometimes I still can’t fathom what brought me to Snow College, but I’m forever grateful that I spent my freshman year of college there – for many reasons, not the least of which is the inception of my friendship with Clark. At Snow, I lived in a dumpy apartment with three other girls, and Clark camped out with a rather hodgepodge group of boys in the next building. I worked in the campus post office and he worked at the campus radio station hosting a weekly show (among other things).

Truth be told, Clark spent the majority of his time with the three girls who lived upstairs from me, developing a crush on each of them in turn, though nothing romantic ever blossomed.

I dated a few people, but none for very long. Clark would occasionally pop into my apartment and charm my roommates and me with his disarming wit. We became friends and I may have even developed a crush on Clark's brother at some point (which I don't really remember, but there is some documentation to prove it in the e-mails Clark and I sent each other). In March of 2001, it became clear to me that I would move home and go to the U of U – a prospect I had mixed feelings about. I had come to love the tiny town and college and had scholarships for the next year and a position as the president of the dance co. But, my effervescent friend Katie was at the U, and though I didn’t know it then, we had some extraordinary times ahead of us.

image

Home for the summer and outside our college social circles, Clark and I did all kinds of summer things together. When most of our mutual friends went back to school in August, we still had each other, and that fact provided some consolation for our feelings of abandonment. We were friends - the best of casual friends but often joked that we were "more than friends." I think we both knew that was really true, but, as you know, timing is everything.


Up next: Act one, part two - the Misadventures of Mormon Missionaries, starring Elder Gardner and Sister Heightman (though never in the same scene).

fall fun

So, it's been a while since I've streamed my consciousness here. I just haven't really felt like writing. . . Well, maybe I have felt like writing, but I couldn't allow myself write recreationally when I have so much obligatory  writing to do (see Administrative Ethics. I never wrote this much in an English class). Anyway, here I am.

Fall has already melted . . . or, rather, frozen into winter around here, and I can't wait for Thanksgiving. Despite my loathing of all (most) things Halloween, I had fun taking the nieces and nephews trick-or-treating. This year Clark put together a great costume for the obligatory Halloween fun at work.

it was more effective in the dark - complete with flashing lights

I wasn't home most of the time he was constructing this amazing costume but every night after class I would come home and see the progress on his robot. One night while I was away, he got stuck in his costume - for an hour. Somehow, he got out of it without ruining it before I got home. I found a distressed-sounding text message much too late to be of any help.

In other news, Clark placed second at the poetry slam put on by the Eagle Rock Art Museum. It's a fun event that the museum puts on twice per year. The facilitator randomly assigns people in the audience to rate the poets and then she averages the scores. Before the finalists are announced,  she passes a hat to collect whatever the audience is willing to donate to the winner. Last spring Clark took first place. His winnings: $90 and some change, a half-empty pack of watermelon-flavored gum, and a cigarette. This time he made off with a gift card to Barnes and Noble.

kudos to clark

Clark was recently recognized at his company for his mad skillz. By editing video for it's upcoming convention, Clark saved the company "tens of thousands of dollars" as announced at a pre-convention meeting. He got a Home Depot gift card out of the deal - 25 whole dollars - a sweet kickback from those tens of thousands in savings (?!).

At least he didn't have to attend convention this year. in Florida. in August. without me. We can console ourselves by thinking of Clark's awesomeness . . . and by building a fence, deck screws compliments of Home Depot.

the couple we play on tv

Once when we were discussing the differences in how people sometimes perceive us and the reality of us, Clark said, "It's like the couple we play on TV." It just stuck with me and still makes me laugh. So here goes:

Season 4 of Clark and Lindsay in Love came to a close on July 28, 2009. The Landmark show has provided audiences with memorable moments, laughter, tears, learning, and lots of good food. And how could we forget how it all began?

The seeds of the popular prime-time show were planted late in 2000 when Clark and Linds met on the campus of Snow College and became fast friends. In summer of 2001, they started rehearsals for the dating sequence, which wouldn't be filmed until winter of 2005. Fans still talk about the pilot episode, titled 'Coming Forward' when Clark revealed to Linds over a late-night telephone conversation that he liked her "more than friends." And who could forget her stunned response . . . 'that's big'. And it was.

It still is. In fact, regulars from seasons 3 and 4 have now started a spin off and are leaving the show. "The show just won't be the same without those quirky, fun neighbors and their cute baby,"one fan complained. Frankly, co-stars Clark and Lindsay feel the same way. However, you can catch the paul, jess, and ella show here or you can watch it live, if you live in or visit College Station, Texas. Following are scenes from the season 4 finale.

Fans are waiting anxiously to see what develops in season 5.

(Okay, we really didn't spend our anniversary with Paul and Jess; they moved the weekend of our anniversary. Clark and I went out to dinner - twice, made some yummy dessert, and bought ourselves a nice piece of art - good times.)

fun times on the fourth

It was another sunny Fourth of July. A few days before the actual holiday, Mom H and long-time family friend JoAnne came for a visit and saw more of Idaho than they bargained for. We drove and drove and saw some amazingly beautiful country. On Friday, we visited the Tetons and then stopped over in Victor to pick up the veggie share (This week: baby greens mix, garlic curls, sage, spinach, bok choy, and . . . real tomatoes!).

Despite the load of food then in the car, the fact remained that the lucious vegetables were unwashed and we weren't prepared to fix the raw materials into a meal. So, we stopped in at the Knotty Pine for a spot of supper. For a tiny-town restaurant, the menu was impressively diverse and featured a mix of traditional (turkey & potatoes w/cranberry) and more interesting dishes. Mom and I each ordered "mushroom blue" (which is mushroom soup with melted blue cheese - de-lish), and shared the seared ahi tuna over bok choy and wasabi mashed potatoes. It was amazingly tasty with just one exception. If I ever get an itch to experiment with wasabi and potatoes, I now know I don't need to scratch that itch.

String Lake in Teton Nat'l Park
(Top - JoAnne, Mom H; Bottom - My uber-cold feet in String Lake)

cute Mom H relaxing by the lake

Then we had more guests. In fact, the visits overlapped. Unprecedented! Joel, Katie, and Carolyn-Kate migrated north for a summer visit. Thanks to the chill nature of our fams, we were able to sleep five people comfortably (i hope).

We had ever so much fun:

eating ice cream,

a bubble-gum 'kiddie' cone


carnivaling,

going to market,

playing music,

Joel on tamborine, CK as lead vocalist, jclark on guitar

napping,



and eating.


waiting for a table at Brownstone
while listening to live, jazzy blues

Oh, yeah. We watched some fireworks, too.

Families: thank you so much for coming to visit. We love to see you. We also love to be home. It's nice we can do both simultaneously once in a while. Thanks for the good times. Love you!

good times

On a short vacation from their vacation, the NV Gardner clan graced us with a visit. We had loads of fun making & eating pizza, playing games, shopping at the market, and eating more pizza. Thanks for making the trek to IF! We had a blast.

games galore

loot from the market

Favorite quotes from the weekend:

Sydney at lunch: "Mom, I'm having second thoughts about becoming a pop-star."

Clark: "Why do you like that food?" Jacob, in a serious tone: "because of its deliciousness."