Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Our Little Souvenir
So a few weeks after we got home from Europe we got some exciting news: We are going to have a baby! We are so very excited to welcome this little guy or girl somewhere around March 30, 2013.
Thursday, September 13, 2012
European Adventure 2012
It was amazing and wonderful and romantic and inspiring and adventurous and everything and trip to Europe should be. All of our plans went really smooth, we met some cool people, saw so many beautiful things, and ate the greatest food of our lives. Photo time!
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| Together in Castle Hill, Prague |
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| The milky green water of Lake Brienz, Switzerland |
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| Some mormon missionaries in Milan, Italy |
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| Eiffel Tower, Paris |
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| A church door in Genoa, Italy |
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| The old cobblestone streets of Genoa, Italy |
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| Ben geeking out over his foccacia (baked in risotto, arugala, and proscuitto) in the Mediterranean |
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| Nike of Samonthrace, Le Louvre, Paris |
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| La Spiez, Switzerland |
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| Our view in Interlaken, Switzerland |
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| The Olympics in London! |
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| The Senate Gardens in Prague, Czech Republic |
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| Base of the Jungfrau, Switzerland |
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Remember that time...
So, remember that time I was going to become THE lifestyle blogger of the Philadelphia area? I was going to write reviews, be invited to super posh parties, be given lots of freebies to review, and generally experience awesomeness? I was SO hesitant to start this blog due to my fear of failure: I didn't want to start something I couldn't keep up. I seriously stewed over it for months and months. And then we moved and I convinced myself it would be a good way our family could keep up on our ongoings and we were going to be trying new and awesome things ANYWAY, right?
So what happened? I'll tell you what happened: Life. Life happened. In the last 3 months: I have been working full time, furnishing our house (it's finally done!), started an interior decorating/professional organization business, and been called to be Primary President. Oh yeah, and then there's that whole business about starting a family, don't even ask. And a couple weeks ago we decided to flee the country and go to Europe for 13 days...in a month. Needless to say I have not had the time to blog.
Now I was about to do the girly/megan thing and start beating myself up for failing at this endeavor of mine that I was so hesitant about starting in the first place...but then I sat back and realized, why would I beat myself up for having an AWESOME life? I have an amazing husband who is excited for me to be the mother his children, an apartment I love, an incredible vacation all booked, I'm employed, I have clients before my website is even up, and I have further proof that God has a sense of humor for calling me to be Primary Prez.
So if you don't here from me as much on here, don't sweat it...because baby, I'm LIVING.
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Happy Easter!
Oh hey you, been too busy with life to blog about it--just thought I would stop in and wish you a happy easter. Love, The Geilmans
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
In the meantime...
The holidays were great, I refuse to apologize for not blogging. So there.
We went to Utah for Thanksgiving and played with my bajillions of neices and nephews. Really, true joy is becoming an insta-Aunt. Saw some good friends, and drove in a Eclipse convertible: thank you rental car company for running out of your lowest costing economy cars so we could drive around and laugh at how we must look like tools. This was not helped when I had the car one morning and was trying to park it near BYU campus to say hi to old friends and professors, and had a REALLY hard and embarrassing time trying to parallel park with nothing but blind spots behind me. Again, this image was also not helped when Ben thought it would be funny to let down the hood every time we drove up to a family member's house.
We spent Christmas at home, just the two of us. I was worried that it would feel so lonely, but it was actually really great. We skyped with both of our families throughout the day which actually made for a more family-filled holiday than if we had been one place or the other. Minus the hugs--but we made up for that by hosting the First Annual Geilman Christmas Day Nerf Gun War. Thank you Ben for the guns, but not for the many times I've been surprise hit since that first Christmas morn. I love you.
I ended my internship with the Interior Design firm and have been trying to find employment since then and generally figure out my life. Oh the tangle webs we weave. I've applied to a ton of jobs, became very intimate with the workings of LinkedIn, got hired by a Temp Agency, had a few interviews, networked like a mad dog, really considered starting my own business, and still haven't secured steady employment. Although I have become distressed some days, I haven't given up yet. I've stayed busy with some projects and stayed grateful that my husband DOES have a great job. Here is one thing I've been working on:
I look pretty arwful because I didn't shower (this was dirty work!) and wasn't aware that she would be filming. For some reason I also couldn't speak very clearly and am afraid I come off as all sorts of unprofessional. Oh well.
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| I hearted our tree. |
We went to Utah for Thanksgiving and played with my bajillions of neices and nephews. Really, true joy is becoming an insta-Aunt. Saw some good friends, and drove in a Eclipse convertible: thank you rental car company for running out of your lowest costing economy cars so we could drive around and laugh at how we must look like tools. This was not helped when I had the car one morning and was trying to park it near BYU campus to say hi to old friends and professors, and had a REALLY hard and embarrassing time trying to parallel park with nothing but blind spots behind me. Again, this image was also not helped when Ben thought it would be funny to let down the hood every time we drove up to a family member's house.
Brigham is pretty much always a blur.
We spent Christmas at home, just the two of us. I was worried that it would feel so lonely, but it was actually really great. We skyped with both of our families throughout the day which actually made for a more family-filled holiday than if we had been one place or the other. Minus the hugs--but we made up for that by hosting the First Annual Geilman Christmas Day Nerf Gun War. Thank you Ben for the guns, but not for the many times I've been surprise hit since that first Christmas morn. I love you.
I ended my internship with the Interior Design firm and have been trying to find employment since then and generally figure out my life. Oh the tangle webs we weave. I've applied to a ton of jobs, became very intimate with the workings of LinkedIn, got hired by a Temp Agency, had a few interviews, networked like a mad dog, really considered starting my own business, and still haven't secured steady employment. Although I have become distressed some days, I haven't given up yet. I've stayed busy with some projects and stayed grateful that my husband DOES have a great job. Here is one thing I've been working on:
I look pretty arwful because I didn't shower (this was dirty work!) and wasn't aware that she would be filming. For some reason I also couldn't speak very clearly and am afraid I come off as all sorts of unprofessional. Oh well.
Monday, December 12, 2011
Playing in Pittsburgh
Ben has a great job--I am constantly grateful for his employment with such a great, great company. There is some travel, but sometimes that works out really really nice if I get a chance to come along. This last week he had to go out to Pittsburgh and I was able to arrange things at work so I could come along. I was especially excited for this because of this guy:
Fred Rogers is my hero. It is here in this rugged city of steel and bridges that Mister Roger's Neighborhood was filmed and broadcast at WQED, traveling over the airwaves and into my childhood heart. Where most children grow up and out of the land of make-believe, I held on with a vigilance that borders fanaticism. It really began one summer of my youth when I found out they were going to stop running new episodes of The Neighborhood. Remembering with fondness the years of memories and early-childhood education I received from my television screen, I ran home every day from summer school (I was getting ahead--nerd, not dropout) to watch the last week of current episodes. I remembered all the good times with Mr. McFeely, Lady Aberlain (who always reminded me of my Mom), King Friday and the Gang. Riding that trolley to the land of Make Believe was my personal haven from suburban hardships. It was there that I vowed I would always remember the legacy of Mr. Rogers. Mr. Rogers and his wonderful sweaters. Seriously, his wikipedia article is actually INSPIRING. I think it's the first time a wikipedia article has ever made me want to be a better person.
My passion for Mr. Rogers was amplified, when one foggy weekday morning in February on my drive to Seminary (early morning Bible study for us Mormon kids) I was listening to the news on my Honda Civic's radio that had a way of dying and then coming back to life, and they announced the death of one Fred McFeely Rogers. My sister who hadn't been paying attention to the broadcast was startled by my hounding cry. I had to pull the car over I was so upset. Dramatic? Maybe. But this was a man who exemplified goodness and wholeness ON TELEVISION. And off--people who met him were often surprised that his calm demeanor was the same off the set as it was on. Talk about integrity!
I remember dragging myself into the Seminary classroom that morning, eyes still red from the tears. My classmates asked what was the matter and I gave them the terrible news. Of course they didn't really give a darn, but one friend in the class a few weeks later brought be a present--a small edition book of sayings by Mr. Rogers. It even had a little trolley charm attached to the bookmark ribbon--she knew he had met that much to me. To this day I am still touched by the sentiment.
So here I am in Pittsburgh, trying to get as much Mr. Rogers as I can in the short time frame (I spent most of the time in the hotel room getting caught up on projects I've put off--I'm sure the maids were confused by the Bernina and fabric scraps littering the room). Last night Ben and I drove around (getting HORRIBLY lost--Pittsburg has a way of taking you on the freeway if you make a wrong turn...) trying to find the Fred Rogers Memorial Statue. We eventually did--he sits on the North Shore in front of Heinz field watching over the city. The statue was done in an impasto style which makes for some creepy photos, but I climbed up into his freezing cold lap anyway and got a few shots. Ben was a trooper--especially since, he never even watched the show as a kid (farm kid--he had animals) and has no attachments to our cardigan-clad friend. To this day, when people ask that getting-to-know-you question: "If you could have lunch with one famous person living or dead, who would it be?" I always say Mr. Rogers. Or Sister Wendy but that's another blog post for another day. After re-reading that question I realize that sort of thing was ONLY asked on getting-to-know-you-for-possibly-eternity situations at the Y and has not been inquired of me recently. Makes me even more grateful to be done with that phase of my life.
In closing, one of these days, I will get out to Latrobe, PA and visit the grave of that great man. Will I bring flowers or a shoelace? In hushed reverence I will thank him for all the magical memories and for being something to television you rarely, if ever, see. Won't you please? I'll ask, Won't you please? Please won't you be my neighbor?
Fred Rogers is my hero. It is here in this rugged city of steel and bridges that Mister Roger's Neighborhood was filmed and broadcast at WQED, traveling over the airwaves and into my childhood heart. Where most children grow up and out of the land of make-believe, I held on with a vigilance that borders fanaticism. It really began one summer of my youth when I found out they were going to stop running new episodes of The Neighborhood. Remembering with fondness the years of memories and early-childhood education I received from my television screen, I ran home every day from summer school (I was getting ahead--nerd, not dropout) to watch the last week of current episodes. I remembered all the good times with Mr. McFeely, Lady Aberlain (who always reminded me of my Mom), King Friday and the Gang. Riding that trolley to the land of Make Believe was my personal haven from suburban hardships. It was there that I vowed I would always remember the legacy of Mr. Rogers. Mr. Rogers and his wonderful sweaters. Seriously, his wikipedia article is actually INSPIRING. I think it's the first time a wikipedia article has ever made me want to be a better person.
My passion for Mr. Rogers was amplified, when one foggy weekday morning in February on my drive to Seminary (early morning Bible study for us Mormon kids) I was listening to the news on my Honda Civic's radio that had a way of dying and then coming back to life, and they announced the death of one Fred McFeely Rogers. My sister who hadn't been paying attention to the broadcast was startled by my hounding cry. I had to pull the car over I was so upset. Dramatic? Maybe. But this was a man who exemplified goodness and wholeness ON TELEVISION. And off--people who met him were often surprised that his calm demeanor was the same off the set as it was on. Talk about integrity!
I remember dragging myself into the Seminary classroom that morning, eyes still red from the tears. My classmates asked what was the matter and I gave them the terrible news. Of course they didn't really give a darn, but one friend in the class a few weeks later brought be a present--a small edition book of sayings by Mr. Rogers. It even had a little trolley charm attached to the bookmark ribbon--she knew he had met that much to me. To this day I am still touched by the sentiment.
So here I am in Pittsburgh, trying to get as much Mr. Rogers as I can in the short time frame (I spent most of the time in the hotel room getting caught up on projects I've put off--I'm sure the maids were confused by the Bernina and fabric scraps littering the room). Last night Ben and I drove around (getting HORRIBLY lost--Pittsburg has a way of taking you on the freeway if you make a wrong turn...) trying to find the Fred Rogers Memorial Statue. We eventually did--he sits on the North Shore in front of Heinz field watching over the city. The statue was done in an impasto style which makes for some creepy photos, but I climbed up into his freezing cold lap anyway and got a few shots. Ben was a trooper--especially since, he never even watched the show as a kid (farm kid--he had animals) and has no attachments to our cardigan-clad friend. To this day, when people ask that getting-to-know-you question: "If you could have lunch with one famous person living or dead, who would it be?" I always say Mr. Rogers. Or Sister Wendy but that's another blog post for another day. After re-reading that question I realize that sort of thing was ONLY asked on getting-to-know-you-for-possibly-eternity situations at the Y and has not been inquired of me recently. Makes me even more grateful to be done with that phase of my life.
In closing, one of these days, I will get out to Latrobe, PA and visit the grave of that great man. Will I bring flowers or a shoelace? In hushed reverence I will thank him for all the magical memories and for being something to television you rarely, if ever, see. Won't you please? I'll ask, Won't you please? Please won't you be my neighbor?
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| Here I am at the Children's Museum of Pittsburg where they have most of the original puppets used on the Show |
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| There's that sweater! Most of the workers giggled when I told them why I was there at the Children's Museum, obviously without children. There were also pieces of the set I got to see, as well as his shoes! |
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Say Goodbye to Fall
I had my first fall out here in PA and boy howdy--what a season! Sometimes I was worried my eyes would have aneurisms the colors were so vibrant and beautiful. Utah isn't known for it's beautiful falls, unless you take that drive up the canyon that I never did and San Diego, well, I won't even go there.
Anywho, we got back from Thanksgiving in Utah (more on that later) and all the leaves had done their falling and I guess it's now officially winter. Except we had amazing 50-60 degree weather for another couple weeks (can we say "I Love Philly"???). Fall ate too much turkey and slipped into a coma before we could get the Christmas carols out. Although I did cheat this year and start listening to Christmas music the week before thanksgiving--go ahead, hate me.
For those out there who felt those autumn colors were swept away to soon, here are some photos I snapped on my neighborhood walk. They really don't do the tri-state-gorgeousness-that-was-fall justice, but it will have to do. My eye balls were too busy having spasms most of the time to remember to take photos.
Anywho, we got back from Thanksgiving in Utah (more on that later) and all the leaves had done their falling and I guess it's now officially winter. Except we had amazing 50-60 degree weather for another couple weeks (can we say "I Love Philly"???). Fall ate too much turkey and slipped into a coma before we could get the Christmas carols out. Although I did cheat this year and start listening to Christmas music the week before thanksgiving--go ahead, hate me.
For those out there who felt those autumn colors were swept away to soon, here are some photos I snapped on my neighborhood walk. They really don't do the tri-state-gorgeousness-that-was-fall justice, but it will have to do. My eye balls were too busy having spasms most of the time to remember to take photos.
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