My weekend...in technicolor!

When there's a snow blizzard in April, you have to resort to extreme measures to get your springtime happy colors fix. 

So I went to a local nursery with my mom and sissy. It was like walking into a warm, good-smelling, color wonderland. 

Hold onto your butts...

Maybe I'm a weirdy (yes), but I think I loved these color-coordinated stacks of pots even more than the flowers. Maybe. 

And then I bundled up in mustard yellow and blue (wedding colors!) for two days in a row. 

In yo face grey skies, snow, and cold!

In yo face. 

To wear when I go there.

Look how neat this picture is. 

See that state in the picture behind me? That's Oregon. 

See that hat on my head? That's my new fedora I just got for Oregon. 

Pretty tricky how I could include both in the same pic, huh?

Preeeeetty tricky.  

Meet Rosie.

Everyone, Rosie. Rosie, everyone. 

Rosie is one of my little sisters. She is serving a mission for our church in Mesa, Arizona. She is one of the biggest examples of just flat out being crazy happy. Oh yeah. And she used to be a runway model. (I know it's hard but try not to hate her, mmkay?)

I thought about Rosie a few times yesterday because I think she would've been proud of how gloriously happy I felt all day. 

First, I had a wonderfully content time at home in the morning and afternoon. I graded final papers, blogged, and day dreamed about our Oregon trip. Then, driving to work in the evening, I turned up High School Musical's "You are the Music in Me" kinda loud and hit the repeat button. It was sunny outside. And for realz, something about that song makes me crazy happy. I have no shame. 

At work, I led a multi-family adolescent group and was reminded how amazing my job can be. I love being an art therapist. And even though it doesn't always feel like the greatest thing in the world, last night it sure did. Made me feel like all those monies we give away each month to my grad school loans is totally worth it.

Being very, very happy might be easier than we think. Like it's so easy for us to get in our own way and make up sad little stories that we tell ourselves again and again. Then the stories become our reality because that's what we've decided for ourselves. 

Weird. 

Maybe feeling crazy happy is as simple as pushing the repeat button on that awesome High School Musical Song.

Ok Rosie, so I've got the happy part checked off the list. Now you can teach me how to be a model. 

I'll start practicing my sexy walk in heels. It needs some work.   

I needed this.

{Photo by Lissa}

(LOVE Chas' smokin' hot little smirk in this pic!)

Late last night I decided that I'm done with yearning for something I don't have. Done, I tell ya. It makes me too sad, too emotionally distant from Chazzy boy, and too ungrateful for everything I have in my life. So I'm taking off the blinders. I'm pulling the plug. 

Instead, I'm going to happily and joyfully focus my excess energy, attention, and time into all the great options I have around me. Things like loving Chas, writing my book, painting, art therapy, teaching, and blogging. 

Dangjiggity, my life is full and blessed. 

You know what else I'm gonna do? 

Plan a trip to Oregon with Chas!

:::and the crowd goes wild:::

I went to grad school in Portland and have always wanted to show Chas the magical, glorious, amazing, bestest, fabulous (ok, Sam, that's enough) world of Oregon. Last night I thought, well, if we don't have a baby, we're going to Oregon, dagnammit! And we're going for my birthday in June! It's official! So take that! 

Also, since Chas and I just stayed in good ol' Salt Lake City for our honeymoon, we've never gone on a real vacation...alone together. So this trip is kinda a big step for us. I guess you could say things are getting pretty serious. 

Good for what ails ya!

Tomorrow night I will distribute my class their final exam and the semester will be over. Only, it's not over for me. I have a huge stack of final papers to grade. And then exams. And then comes the calculating of grades and entering them into an Excel spreadsheet. Lastly, I'll submit grades. And then the semester will be over for me.

{photo by Lissa}

(This picture doesn't have anything to do with any of that but it makes me happy. So I'm posting it.
So there.)

Tomorrow night also marks the end of my second year of teaching. I've taught college for two years. Whhhhaaaaa??? That's weird.

In honor of my 2-year teaching-iversary, I thought I'd share a few of...


Sam's Stress Management Class Greatest Hits!


Sitting on top of desks, eating bowls of ice cream, and chatting about what stressed us out that day.
Watching Friends while munching on homemade Oreos.
Blowing bubbles together.
The whole class singing along with Grease's "You're the One that I Want."
A student bringing in her puppy for everyone to play with.
My music therapist friend leading a drum circle.
 The acupuncturist guest speaker putting needles in student's ears.
Lots of laying on the floor in the dark for guided meditation exercises.
At the end of a student group presentation, everyone being given a whoopee cushion. 
Coloring and doing puzzles. 
Watching funny Youtube clips. 
Eating popsicles and swedish fish outside.
Playing Head's Up Seven-Up.
Listening to Michael Jackson.


....Oh yeah, and learning too. 

Yup, all those things happened. Pretty awesome class I get to teach, huh?

The majority of those Greatest Hits moments are from student's "stress soothers." Basically, throughout the course of the semester, each student gets a chance to take about 5-10 minutes and lead the class in doing something that helps with their stress. Good times.

But seriously, I actually teach stuff too.
Promise. 

A week at the cabin is worth a month in the city.

...Or even just a weekend at the cabin. That works too. 

 Mmmmmmm....

The best place on earth.

Happy Easter!

May Sponsors!

Why is Chas jumping for joy? 

{photo by Lissa}

Because Young People in Love will be accepting sponsors starting in May! 

Are you so excited?! Good. Me too. 

(Except actually I'm a little bitsy nervous. I mean, what if no one wants to sponsor the blog? That'd be awkward.)

Email me to reserve your spot:

cuposammyjo@aol.com 

He takes care of me.

{photo by Lissa}

Sometimes I have little moments of sadness. I start thinking about how I want my life to be different, how I want to be doing different things than I am now. I start feeling rather ungrateful and even say some things that I promise I don't mean. 

Last night was like that for me. Mostly, the sadness revolves around wanting so, so much to have a little cryings (code word for baby in Sam&Chas land). I was feeling unrealistically hopeless about things changing. ever. Do you ever feel that way? Like your life is just stuck in a static rut? 

But that's just the thing. In reality, my life isn't stuck or hopeless or sad at all. 

There are things I wish were different, sure. There are things I want desperately, yup. But hopeless and awful? Get real. 

I need to remind myself that I can hope for things I don't have right now, and be totally happy with my present life all at the same time. 

I was sitting, at 11pm, slouched on our couch underneath my little black rain cloud, when Chas suggested we go for a quick walk around the block. 

"Come on, babe. I'm forcing you to go. You just need to get up and out of the house for a bit." 

It. was. just. what. I. needed. 

The sky was dark, we were bundled up warm, the green, green grass smelled of rain, and the street lamps lit up the popcorn popping on the apricot trees ever so gloriously. 

We ended up walking farther than just around the block and even kept going when it started raining. 

I guess sometimes little black rain clouds aren't so bad after all. 

This blogging break brought to you by...

Some of you may not know this but I've been working on writing a book. For almost a year now, actually. 

It's about my experience going through a divorce a few years ago (yup- true story) and coming out on top.

{photo by Lissa}

I want to tell my story because being young and divorced is not an uncommon experience for many women. There needs to be more empathy and more support for women in their twenties who suddenly find themselves labeled as a "divorcee." It's a weird thing, being a divorcee. A weird thing.  

But back to me writing a book. 

I've taken quite a long break from working on my book. There were some things that didn't feel quite right, some issues I needed to get sorted out in my mind about the whole endeavor. 

And now I'm in this place in my life where, because I'm not working full-time hours, I actually have quite a bit of free time. I've been really struggling the last two months with how to fill all this time in the best way possible. Work and productivity are really important to me. Just lounging around starts to drive me crazy.

I've played around with a few different possibilities: Go back to school? Try to get a heavier teaching load? Paint and paint and paint? Many prayers have been said in this regard, looking for help and answers. 

Then, just recently, I started to get little thoughts about my book. Like small nudges or reminders of the fact that I even was working on a book at some point. Hey, remember how you're trying to write a book?

So that's what I'm doing. Starting today. 

But here's the thing- this kind of writing is really hard. It takes an emotional toll to go back in my mind and relive some of the most painful moments of my life. I usually get a little headache (check) and have to get coverage for the multi-family group with teenagers I'm supposed to lead tonight (check). After a few hours of working on my book, having to be a therapist for others is not a great idea. 

Which brings me to the whole reason why I'm even writing this blog post. 

I've been writing about hard, intense stuff for a while today and just needed a little break, a little emotional breather. 

.......big breath in......and out.......

I needed to stop by this little spot of love and happiness that I've created on the interweb and focus on how wonderful my life is now. Aren't we so glad that the title of this blog is not Young People in Sadness? 

Yup. Young People in Love has a much nicer ring to it, dontcha think? 

I love Chas. 

The 2-way camera on my iPhone is fun to play with.

I snapped these pics yesterday. While driving. On the freeway. At 80 mph. Listening to High School Musical 2.

I call it Xtreme Instagramming. 

And I look like a cop. So that's always cool, too. 

For more Xtreme (that's how you spell extreme when you mean business) coolness, I did a guest post here and over here.

Over and out. 

   

Tuesday thoughts

Tonight is my last class of the semester. Next week is the final. I can't believe how fast the semesters fly by. I also can't believe that I've been teaching for two full years now. That is crazy town.

Sometimes, mid-lecture, I realize that a class full of students are looking up at me and listening to me because I'm their teacher. That's when I think to myself, "Woah. Who OK-ed me to teach college!?" Jeeze louise. 

But seriously, I love teaching college. 

I recently discovered the song "Defying Gravity" from the Broadway show, Wicked, and have basically listened to nothing else for the past 72 hours.

Yesterday, I wore a really darling outfit. Dah-ling, I tell ya. 

And here's a secret: 

Sometimes I think about doing outfit posts.

Then I remember that 1. I don't have a camera nicer than my iPhone, 2. Pics of me come out weird about 82% of the time, and 3. I'm not sure I'm emotionally ready to cross the bridge into outfit posting land. And I'm pretty dang sure Chas isn't ready, either.

So let's just have this all be our little secret, k? 

You know nothing. 

Ok, that's all for now. 

Thanks.

Saturday was a special day.

It was the first day that it actually felt like spring. And when I say it felt like spring, I mean it wasn't snowing. 

Saturday was also a special day because it was the first Scootie ride of the season!

(I love my pink whale helmet.)

And where did we go on our first ride? Shopping, of course! 

Actually, we went shopping for Chas. Old Navy was having a sale on cute boy shorts. $15 a pop. And get this: out of all the color options, including your basic khaki, gray, and navy blue, Chas chose this salmon color and robin's egg blue pair. That's right. He picked out those colors right away as the ones he wanted- all on his own. Amazing.

Don't worry. I also went shopping. All during the day. That's our deal. I chose to spend my fun money on new spring clothes while he uses his fun money on a spring snowboarding lift ticket.
I win.

P.S.
Be sure to check out our upgraded blog buttons! (Once again, thanks Lula!)

So grab a new button and spread the love! 

Guest post & wise words

So I forgot to tell you that I did a guest post a few days ago. Sawies. 

Check out Piece of Cake. Peace of Mind. and read the how-Sam-&-Chas-met story and find out what's Chas' most favoritest item of clothing! Enthralling, yes?

In other news,

Chas is out spring snowboarding for the day. Boooo. 

Last night, after we finished watching Step Up 3 (important detail), I was kinda sorta whining about having to spend my Saturday all alone while he's out playing. 

Then he said, "Well Sam, you should probably just try to do something fun with your life."

Yup. I probably should. 

This is a story about a girl named Lucky.

(You love that post title.)

Do you ever find yourself getting away from the moment in your mind? Like imagining how your life used to be at some point in your past or looking towards the future just a little too much? 

Yeah, me too. 

It's actually something that I'm constantly working on not doing. 

Life for me and Chas isn't perfect. We're a normal (albeit ridiculously happy) young married couple who also have things that we want, things that we pray every night for, things that test our patience. 

But mostly, there is oh-so-much good goin' on. 

So, in an effort to bring myself back to the present moment this afternoon, I'm trying to focus on some things that I have right here, right now. 

I wouldn't change these 5 things or trade them for anything.

#1.

First, and foremost, is this cute person.

That little pup look kills me. And then I tell him, "I just love your face!" 

#2.

I don't work full-time hours. There are a lot of reasons why I wish I worked more. But then there are also plenty of days where sleeping in and having time to myself is the best ever. 

I know this kind of alone-Sam-time won't happen again, especially once baby Sam & Chas is on the scene, so I'm trying to soak it up while I can. 

#3.

And then there's our basement of love. 

Welcome. 

We're so blessed to live in such a nice, inexpensive apartment. 

#4.

This is Chas' birdhouse for his soul. I painted it at work and brought it home. 

Because Chas needed a birdhouse for his soul. Naturally. 

It's filled with love notes from me. Every time he goes out of town on a shoot, I write him a note, tuck it safely inside his birdhouse, and he takes it along with him. Then, on his first night being away, he reads the little note and remembers how much he loves me. 

Yesterday, I discovered his birdhouse sitting ever so unassumingly atop our bed's headboard. 

Silly boy.

#5.

Chas said this a little while ago:

"Sam, thank you for having such a cute blog." 

For real. That's when I wonder if life could really get any better. 

And I'm reminded, yet again, of how lucky I am...

how lucky I am right here and right now.

Just thought you should know...

Remember how Lissa did a courtesy shoot for us? Oh that's right. How could you forget? I've basically plastered this blog with nothing but her photos ever since. 

But seriously. Can you blame me? 

And now, the fabulous Utah photographer extraordinaire, Lissa, is having a special sale! 

In May, all her photo packages will be 35% off. 

So hurry it up already and get in cute matchy-patchy outfits with your love dove! 

Lissa will take care of the rest. 

Sam's ABCs

I've seen this on a few blogs and thought it would be a good way to let Young People in Love's newest followers get to know me a little better. 

{photo by Lissa}

Age: 25

Bed size: Queen

Chore you hate: Doing my hair and putting on makeup. I just want to be able to snap my fingers or wiggle my nose after I get out of the shower and...*poof!*...it's all done!

Dogs: My family has a Labradoodle named Archie. We love him to pieces. Also, I live for puppies. 

Essential start of your day: Cereal. Preferably a cinnamon-y kind. 

Favorite color: Mustard yellow. 

Gold or silver: Silver. 

Height: 5'5".

Instruments I play (or have played): Does the recorder in 4th grade count? I hope so. 

Job title: Art therapist and adjunct professor. And love dove. 

Kids: Not sure what this is asking...I'm generally pro-children. :) 

Live: Salt Lake City, UT. 

Mom's name: Liesa

Nickname: Sam, Sammy, Samajama, Samwise, Samalama-ding-dong, Sammy Jammy (the possibilities are endless, my friends).

Overnight hospital stays: No, thanks. 

Pet peeve: Cupboards and drawers left open. Just close those suckers already!

Quote from a movie: "And there's nuthin you girls can do about it!"

--Mulan

Right or left handed: Righty tighty. 

Siblings: I'm the oldest of five girls (Hailey, Sarah, Rosemary, and Elizabeth).

Time you wake up: Depends on the day. On average, I'd say somewhere around 7am-10:30am...ish. 

Underwear: Uhhhh...yes, please? 

Vegetables you dislike: Lots. Mostly cooked spinach when it's all limp and sweaty. 

What makes you run late: Not much. Being late bugs. 

X-rays you've had done: Teeth, lungs, collar bone, wrists. 

Yummy food you make: Mac & Cheese. From scratch. Kill it. 

Zoo animal: The penguins at the Central Park Zoo in NYC are crazy! Love them. 

Ta-da! 

So there you have it. Now you know lots of hugely important information about me all the way from "Age" to "Zoo animal!" 

I just love fun facts. 

Reason #2829 why I love Chas

We made a quick trip to the store last night for some ice cream and root beer (family night sweetsy treatsies). On the drive home, Chas enthusiastically pointed out a super cute pup (he knows what I like). Then this little gem of a convo happened: 

{photos by Lissa}

Me: What would you name that little pup, Chas? 

(3 seconds of serious contemplation)

Chas: (very decidedly) Fluffcakes. 

Rock & Roll & Vote

If you haven't already heard, there's this band called Fictionist. And they're in the second round of a competition to get on the cover of Rolling Stone. And I went to high school with two of these guys.
(See? I told ya I'm cool.)

So take a few quick seconds and vote here for Fictionist! You can also download 4 free songs here! 

Thanks, friends. 

Pretend fashion blogger!

You can find me here today:

So head on over to Freckles in April if you wanna see me trying to know stuff about fashion.

(Pretend I didn't ask my 14 year-old sister last night to go shopping with me so she can help me buy cute spring clothes. Annnnnd, while we're at it, let's also pretend that basically this entire outfit doesn't belong to that same little sister.)

I'm cool. 

Paintings for a Busy Bee

Busy Bee Lauren asked me to do a portrait of her and Ted. 

Two separate paintings that are better when they're together.

Want a portrait of your very own?
Well that's perfect because I'd love to paint one for you!
Email: cuposammyjo@aol.com

Cozy

Basically the only good thing about never-ending April snow is getting to bundle up in stripes. 

You know what else is fun? Chas having some time off of work almost all week. On Tuesday we were super duper productive and did lots of chores and cleaning together. We even got up at the 8am alarm. 

It was a big day for us. 

But that was Tuesday. 

On Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, the day didn't start until at least 10am. Just the way we like it. 

Along with sleeping in, we've been sure to waste lots of time hanging out on our couch. iPhone games like Doodle Jump and Angry Birds have also gotten considerable face time. Yesterday, Chas didn't shower until he got home at 10pm...from playing basketball. Then, after he smelled so fresh and so clean, clean, we cuddled up on the couch and watched a late-night movie. 

We should probably try to leave the couch this weekend

...and shower.  

a little Sam film

For three seasons, I sold my art at the Beehive Bazaar. Good times. 

Just before my very first Bazaar experience, one of the two women who run the whole show asked if her husband could come to my little apartment and shoot a mini artist profile film about me and my work. I remember being soooo stoked about it. 

Painter Samantha Card from oi on Vimeo.

You love the slow-mo blinking action at the end there, huh? 

(Yikes.)

It's been over two years since this was made and I had almost forgotten all about it! 

I stumbled across it earlier this week and thought I'd share it with all my bloggity blog friendy friends (what?) in honor of the spring Bazaar next month. 

It's strange to see myself in this little film and think about what my life was like then. 

It was fall. Chas and I were newly engaged. I was living in a darling apartment above a flower shop boutique in Provo, Utah. My last name was Card. Goodness gracious how so much can change so fast.

Although, I do still live in a darling apartment. Let's be honest.  

Scoot ya boot!

We have a scooter. 

It's name is Scootie but it will also answer to Scoots and Cutie Scootie. This is the closest thing we have to a pet. 

Scratch that. 

It's the closest thing we have to a child. That's how much we love our little Scoots. 

And now that Scootie's looooong winter's nap is finally coming to an end, you'll probably be seeing much more on this blog about the adventures of Sam & Chas & Scootie. 

Because we are excellent parents, we took Scootie to the doctor for a well child check-up. And that's when we discovered...

...scooter heaven. 

After much searching, we finally found a scooter shop that specializes in rill dill scooters like Buddy, Stella, and Kymco! Finally. If you know anything about scooters, you know that the world is getting overrun with super cheap, poorly-made Chinese scooters. Stumbling upon the SL Scooter Company was a tender mercy. Not only do they sell nice, dependable brands of scooters, they apparently also do a lot of restoration work on vintage bikes. 

How amazing is that blue Stella with the side car?!

And that pink one with the skulls and cross bones seat? Probably Avril Lavigne's scooter. Probably. 

pins & needles!

Just so you know, I teach Concepts of Stress Management at UVU. 

Chas came to visit my class last night and this is what happened. 

Needles. In. The. Ear. 

We do crazy things in my class, I tell ya. Craaaaazy things. 

I had an acupuncturist guest speaker come in and do a presentation on acupuncture (duh) and Chinese medicine. This is the highlight of the semester. Hands down. 

She starts off by going around and needling 5 points in all the students' ears. Some students say no thanks but the vast majority usually take the plunge and go for it. This is always followed by phones being whipped out for ear pictures. Chas joined in the needles fun and I joined in the picture-taking fun. (I've also had my ear needled before but decided not to this time for whatever reason.)

Then Nina, the magical acupuncturist, gives a captivating run-down on Chinese medicine theory, Chinese herbs, her acupuncture success stories, and the benefits of alternative forms of health care. Next comes the demonstrations. She saves the best for last. 

Nina does three different demonstrations on student volunteers. Each demonstration involves fire. My personal favorite is when she ignites a slice of ginger root and then, while still burning, rubs it along a student's bare back with homemade salve. 

Yeah. This presentation will blow your mind.

Seeing my students' reactions to the acupuncture presentation will never, ever, ever get old. 

Just another night teaching college. 

Don't even worry about it.