the family dug up a few more wedding photos

Thanks to my mother-in-law, we have a few more wedding photos to share while we patiently wait for the professional photos. Thanks Gennie!

one of our best!

Jonas reaching for my owl pendant I had attached to my flowers. How fun is that bouquet?!

Nate's oldest brother Joe and his wife Sara and their girls Libby and Jenna.

Sara made Libby and Jenna's dress - these girls are sooo super cute!

I throw this one in to illustrate my niece Brooklyn's great affection for Nate.
When we came out of the temple, her first question was:
"Uncle Nate, why did you marry Aunt B?"

Nathan, Grandma Soelberg, and my father-in-law Craig

The happy couple kneel down to talk to Jimmie and Jenna on the steps of the temple.

10 of our 13 nieces and nephews pictured here:
Hunter, Cameron, Libby, Jenna, Mikyla, Monica, Terrick, Joaquin, Jimmie, and Annabelle
(held by Kate - Nate's younger sister)

All 5 Soelberg kids!
(Ben, Joe, Nate, Kate, Steve)

Beautiful Temple, Beautiful Day

My sister-in-law Kate and her yummy 5 month old Annabelle

This girl is sooo smiley, I love it!


And our favorite picture of the bunch:

I love the attitude on my face (I was annoyed at the wind I think) and his discontent at the idea of holding back my veil all day ... hahahahaha! Also, check out the face on Nathan Soelberg ...
he makes it often ... I laugh everytime!

Part IV: Why Not Buildings?

I know ... you thought I forgot about my whole SERIES about my thesis didn't you! While I have had some interruptions, I haven't forgotten about the series or the THESIS for that matter ... so on we go ... in case you can't remember where we left off ... click here and refresh your memory.

Ready?

Okay.



“WE RECYLE NEWPAPERS BUT NOT BUILDINGS?” This is the exact phrase that came into my mind one day while on my way home from work. As a result of riding the D.C. Metro to and from work twice a day, five days a week, on average I was walking by eight newspaper recycling bins a day. Also in my daily commute of two years to the American Historical Association, I walked by almost a mile of historic row houses through the Capital Hill Historic District. Having grown up in one of the most rigidly planned cities in the nation, encircled by the suburban sprawl of Orange County, I marveled daily at the variety, individuality, and endurance of historic architecture. I began to wonder why we recycled small things like newspapers, soda cans, and glass bottles fervently in the name of “saving the earth” only to demolish entire buildings with seemingly no thought of the environmental impact. Not to mention the resulting impact on entire communities. I continued to ponder this seemingly incongruous connection, to no avail. I simply could not grasp the logic behind it and even started to wonder if the connection I had drawn between recycling and buildings made much sense.

As I researched and studied the field of architectural history and historic preservation and regularly walked the Southeast and Northeast Capital Hill Neighborhoods (which I came to discover were on the National Register of Historic Places as Historic Districts), I began to ask myself questions. Out of these experience grew a desire to not only preserve the past but to be a good steward of both environmental and cultural resources. In 2006 I was not yet able to articulate the connection I instinctively felt between historic preservation and sustainability. As far as I was concerned, preservationists were missing a huge opportunity to use the chic new concept of “green building” as a way to promote the preservation, restoration, and reuse of historic buildings. All I knew at this point was that reusing a building HAD to be “greener” than tearing one down just to build a newer more “green” one – it just seemed that obvious to me."

A few photos of beautiful old buildings in various stages of restoration and ultimately adaptive reuse ... its a beautiful thing! No one builds with brick anymore ... at least not like this.







PART V (the final installment) coming soon ... I promise it will come sooner than this post did!

PART III: Connections are Made

"The context of my personal awareness of, and interface with, environmentalism has merit in understanding how my academic and professional experiences have led me to pursue this specific thesis topic. I came to graduate school specifically to write a thesis like this one. I choose the University of Oregon because of its orientation to environmentalism, as well as what the program had to offer. Its location within the Pacific Northwest, widely regarded as the leading region for sustainable practices in the United States, solidified my acceptance of attending the UO. However, before the thought of graduate school to pursue a Masters of Science in Historic Preservation and before the idea behind this thesis had fully taken root, I had the beginnings of the idea planted in my mind simply by paying attention to how I felt in particular places. I am certain that I have a heightened sense of self-awareness due to my anthropological training and thus I began to notice my feelings as I walked around the historic Capital Hill Southeast Washington, D.C. neighborhood that I worked in.



Specifically, I noticed the differences I felt at home (in a high rise apartment building in Northern Virginia - the middle of what seemed to be corporate America) from how I felt as I walked to work from the Capital South Metro station through Southeast DC. I couldn't help but notice the irony that I went from home/corporate America to work/historic neighborhood. Isn't that backwards - a commercial living environment to a domestic working one - I was all confused. I worked in two old row houses that had been renovated into one and our neighbors were all residents ... these were there homes. As mentioned previously, I have always loved old things and thus it came as no surprise that I enjoyed the walk past historic row houses everyday. I noticed the variety of shape, style, and condition even though I had no real knowledge or formal training in architecture. What I did know was this: I felt something different when I walked through a historic neighborhood. I felt a sense of richness, depth, and stability. As a deeply religious and spiritual person, I quickly developed a sense of moral obligation to understand these buildings and neighborhoods and the role they played in people’s lives and in their surrounding communities."

Part IV coming soon!

Since I brought it up - let us fondly reflect on DC and the Capital Hill area ... I miss it so. Some of these pictures I am sure I have posted before ... but they really capture the area ...

The church building on the corner of 3rd and A St?

(work peeps - help me remember!)

Jimmy T's


The Capital Building


My first Thanksgiving in DC ... this was my 2005 Christmas card
(wow has it been that long? Sheesh I am getting old)


In between the capital building and the National Mall-
the sculpture is so dramatic - i love it!


One of my favorite things to take pictures of -
the Library of Congress Jefferson Building -
this picture is my desktop ... has been for a few years now.

PART II: The Gears Start Turning

The next installment on how I came to write my thesis ... to catch up read this one first. I promise to do better and post the next two installments in a more timely manner.

PART II:

"The teacher loved the idea since the seventh-grade class was working on a recycling project that could be highlighted in the book and the entire yearbook staff seemed to like it as well. After all, they voted the theme in - "97% Recycled 3% Attitude" – hands down. I thought I was pretty clever. After the yearbook was distributed to all the seventh and eighth graders at the end of the year, with its big silver 97% and even bigger recycle sign stamped into the fake forest green leather front cover, my tune changed. It was not exactly a big hit with my peers – go figure since I was blatantly saying we were highly unoriginal. I became extremely embarrassed about my contribution and needless to say blocked the concept of recycling out of my mind for at least five years (ah, youth ... always uncomfortable about something)."


"In my world, the environmental movement – which basically consisted entirely of recycling – took a hiatus while I was in high school. Yes, I still recycled newspaper and soft drink cans, but environmentalism was not on my radar much other than basic recycling and erratic weather patterns caused by El Nino. With El Nino came a gradual awareness of the discussion about climate change for me. By 2001 I was studying Archaeology at Brigham Young University (p.s. blogger wants me to spell archaeology like this = archeology ... that is sooo wrong) and we often were reminded of the earth’s warming and cooling periods – the most recent Pleistocene (ice age) and the current Holocene (interglacial period). The lecture would often touch on the controversial issue of whether or not man was speeding up the warming of the earth by accelerating the rate of depletion of the Ozone Layer through industrial and car emissions; or if this was a natural cycle that the earth goes through and we were more than capable of adapting to it. It is only recently that the world has come to a general consensus that the rate of climate change is increasing due to human activity and that changes in behavior might need to happen. That makes this thesis more important and relevant than ever."

PART III ... coming soon.

maybe you don't care ... then stop reading

in conversation with my thesis chair (or adviser if you prefer) he was telling my that the first paragraph of my introduction was more appropriate for a preface. basically what he was trying to say was that it was way to casual and conversational and not academic and professional enough to be put into the "official" thesis document. i had edited down something i had written a few weeks ago about my journey to writing my thesis for that opening paragraph and now i am a bit sad that no one will get to read the original document it came from ...

never fear ... that is what the blog and you people are for! i have decided to post it in installments ... short parts to help you see my thought process for why i went back to school, why Oregon, why historic buildings, why sustainability, so-on-and-so-forth.

like the title says - stop reading if you don't care (don't worry I will never know because I don't look at my viewing stats ... it won't hurt my feelings in any way ... its only my life's work thus far ... no big deal.)

let us begin.

the (working) title of my thesis is currently (I have changed it three times already):

Historic Preservation and Sustainability in Portland, Oregon: Evaluation of the Sustainable Reuse of Historic Buildings

pretty boring title ... I know... but its not a book ... its an academic thesis. its not about being glamorous and sexy ... its about calling it what it is so that some poor graduate student doing research in the future will know if they need to read parts of it for their research paper or not. i always appreciate those books and articles that have apt titles reflecting what they are ACTUALLY talking about.

that being said ... let us really begin.

PART I:

"I have had a very basic feeling for quite sometime that the past has much more insight into the present and future than society often cares to acknowledge. Therefore, the concept of keeping historic buildings in use as a response to the sustainability movement made sense to me on a lot of levels long before I began to study this interface. Growing up in the mid-Eighties and becoming cognizant of the world in the nineties (1989 is the first year I realized what a year was … I was 6 years old and it probably had to do with being in kindergarten) it was an era of “recycle, reduce, re-use” (“and close the loop” – is how the saying went). While the emphasis of environmentalism of my suburban world was on recycling of newspaper and aluminum cans at home and not much place else in the small scope of my life, the impression of the three R’s was profoundly made on me. So much so, that as a member of the yearbook staff for my middle school in 1997 I suggested the brilliant theme* of “97% Recycled, 3% Attitude.” I was not so much expressing my zeal for saving the planet as I was making commentary on the social and pop-culture phenomenon of the 60s and 70s fashion and music coming back into vogue. I was raiding my parent’s closets for clothing they wore in high school and combing thrift and vintage stores for bell-bottoms and hippie shirts** after all – even I couldn’t help but notice how much we were recycling the culture of the past."

* note ... this is sarcasm and will be explained in the next paragraph to come
** note ... if i had pictures of the year book or of middle school i would post them, but they are stored away in california at my parents place ... sigh ... that would have been good.

running and writing

Ran a ten-minute-mile for the first time in my life yesterday. I had to convince myself to do it every step of the way. Don't be too impressed, I quit after one mile.

In all honesty I had already run 2 miles at my usual 11 1/2-minute-mile pace before deciding to give it a go ... the first 10 minutes of running are my least favorite so I couldn't start the ten minute mile right away. Come to think of it, the last 5 minutes are no fun either ... which leaves a solid 10-15 minutes of feeling alright while running ... this "feeling alright" is a relative feeling of course.

Update: I am 4 pounds away from my goal weight! So far I have lost 38.4 pounds in six months ... yeah, I almost don't believe it myself. Crazy. I must say - the last 10 pounds are the hardest and by far are taking the longest. So if you need some inspiration ... a motivator ... a cheerleader ... I promise you I can help. Drop me a line.

In other news ... I have OFFICIALLY started writing the first draft of my thesis (everyone scream YAY!) For the first time I feel like I can actually do this and have a vision of what it looks like. For soooo long ... like before I even came to graduate school ... since like 2006 ... I knew what I wanted to write about (Kelly - remember those talks on the way to the metro from the gym? "The Greening of Preservation" I believe was the title ... well its changed a bit since then ... but the general idea is very much still there!) The research, writing, editing, and re-writing process is a beast ... but I can honestly say that it has actually started to click (I am sure there is more writers block in my future).

I can also honestly say that its amazing how the Lord helps you get your "to do" list done when you put Him first. I have noticed that as I put my church calling (job/work/responsibilities for all you non-peeps out there) first and serve and make time for people that my capacity is enlarged ... capacity to write, to read, to think, to listen, to comprehend, to express, to serve, to love, and to give is all increased at the same time. As I read the Book of Mormon everyday I feel the peace and reassurance that I can get through whatever comes my way as I seek to know my Father in Heaven better and to emulate my Savior Jesus Christ. Reading the BOM everyday is something I have never been good at but I re-committed to do it after a challenge by my Bishop starting February 1st ... I am happy to report that I am keeping it up and really really enjoying it! So that is my testimony ... put the Lord first and He will help you push through it all and get it done. Not that I don't have hard days or unproductive days or even terrible, horrible, rotten, no good, very bad days ... but just that I have a better capacity to breathe and know that this too shall pass ... and I remember the things that are really important. I feel blessed.

futuristic boats and and nameless eels (CROATIA TRAVEL LOG)

The historic island/city of Trogir (a UNESCO world heritage site, by-the-way) sits between the mainland and another larger island and is linked by foot and car bridges. You can read the history of the intact medieval city here. As a result the "Riva" or waterfront is the "it" place to park your HUGE yacht. Some of these boats looked like they were capable of not only sea voyages, but underwater and space travel as well ... these are boats of the future ... unfortunately the biggest ones were foreigners and not Croatians.




On an island, the name of which I cannot remember, where less than 100 people lived and only the small harbor had electricity, we romped around some long forgotten limestone houses and communities. We were lucky enough to have our own private boat and captain waiting for us to hike the few miles up to it, especially since there was only two ferry stops a day - 9 am and 12 noon. The island is so small that it doesn't even have a school, it shut down a few years ago since only one child lived here ... how strange is that. He ended up going to live with grandparents on the mainland. Something about that makes me a little creeped out ... not that I normally think about schools of the number of children that live in a town or neighborhood ... but doesn't that just seem kind of ... final. It makes a place feel even older. In the harbor area, the only place with electricity on the island, there is a really old church (of course) still standing with its fake facade (picture above) that started out as the real facade until they realized they couldn't afford to build such a big building. It now has a bit of a courtyard and I really really like it.

Another really cool thing about historical Dalmatian is the water catchment systems they set up. Oh, P.S. the coast of Croatia is called the Dalmatian Coast architecture and town plans, according to wikipedia: "Dalmatia is a region on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea, situated mostly in modern Croatia [... and] signified not only a geographical unit, but it was an entity based on common culture and settlement types, a common narrow eastern Adriatic coastal belt..." The climate is Mediterranean ... so its like southern California ... a bit arid at times and so they try to catch all the fresh water they can. These huge limestone (historically) and concrete (more recently) slabs lay in sloping expanses, in essence funneling the water into storage cisterns or wells. The water is channeled (above) into the well through a gravel and sand filter (below).

This particular well (below) located in an abandoned village on the coast was recently quality tested by the regional government and rated as having some of the purest water in the area! The owner, who heard through the grapevine (or at the local cafe) that American students were interested in documenting their little town, randomly meet up with us at the village and wanted to show off his well. His son, who now lives in Sweden was visiting and was kind enough to translate for us (another example of people speaking multiple languages ... Croatian, Swedish, and English ... sigh). He said that there was an eel living in the well and that is why it was so clean! I about died ... and then he said that the eel was 45 years old! I said ... wait ... how do you know he is that old and how do you know he is still alive (i was shocked and thus not thinking clearly that they put him in there that long ago and that he would float to the top and the water would start tasting bad if he were dead ... all good points). Then I asked if he had a name ... because hey at 45 ... he is part of the family! They roared with laughter and the son had to ask his dad to make sure he did not have a name (i thought that was funny). They said no and then I proceeded to ask if I could name it ... to which I got the response ... "no, you cannot Christen our eel" ... ahhhh, good times!

(home of nameless eel)

ready to ge my passport stamped again

You may be in planning mode now, but this isn't just about idle thinking. You have an uncanny sixth sense that won't steer you wrong. It's as if you can see the future and can organize the present in a way that allows you to reach your goals. It isn't time to negotiate, so be prepared to do it by yourself if others aren't enthused by your ideas just yet.

This is really a perfect Horoscope for me because I just started planning my summer ITALY trip! YEAH for traveling! I will be in Oira, a small town in Northern Italy's Ossola Valley attending a Field School for Historic Preservation. I will be learning how to read cultural landscapes and record and analyze the buildings in them ... plus I get to work along side a master Italian Stone Mason restoring a historic structure! And I get 9 credits toward my graduate work for this ... sweet huh!

"Oira is a small village of about 200 people located one hour northwest of Milan by train. Nestled between the steep slopes of the towering alps, Oira lies at the north end of the narrow Ossola valley as it winds its way toward Switzerland and the Simplone Pass. Through its relative isolation, the Ossola valley has held the secret of its striking natural beauty and amazing stone hamlets for many years. The valley has a long history of granite quarrying and milling and has many intact stone villages, a number of which stand as they did in the 15th and 16th centuries."

(Italy Field School - University of Oregon)

I am sad that I will not be in DC for the summer hangin out with all my DC peeps (and the AHA girls) ... it was a really hard decision to make ... but the internship wasn't panning out in the way I had hoped and really, isn't Italy always a good idea? (ok, so the real quote is actually "Paris is always a good idea" from the movie Sabrina, but you get it) So I will be in Europe for at LEAST a month, but most likely a bit longer. I will be in Croatia for about 5 or so days as well and then ANYWHERE IN EUROPE THAT YOU WANT TO MEET ME! I am looking for travel buddies at the end of July ... let me know if you want exact dates and locations!



Its too bad I don't drink because there is going to be a whole lot of wine around me come July!

All this Italy talk reminds me of this:


And this:


And this:


Oh, and don't forget this:



Summer 2008 looks promising. Have I convinced you to take a week off of work to join me yet? 'Come on ... you know you want to.

how can you not know? PART II

Continued from this post.

Picture this:

My roommates and I are sitting around on our computers doing various things ... we start playing songs that we mutually like and reminisce about what they remind us of ... high school dances, vacations, etc.

Then i play some good sappy songs ... like Boyz II Men's I'll Make Love To You and On Bended Knee and End Of the Road - and oh, the break down in this video is priceless. AND THEN THERE IS THIS ONE - MOTOWN-PHILLY. While I realize that these songs were played at my sixth grade dance ... what I forget is that they were in 2nd grade at that time. Sigh.



They stare blankly at me and wonder why I like these songs so much ... ummm ... because they are good - Hello!

will i ever stop moving?

I am waiting for my queen size bed and ikea dresser to be picked up right now ... they won't be here for at least an hour ... and I am thinking. Uh oh ... thinking. Yeah - I agree, its a dangerous past time.

But anyway - I am doing it. Thinking about moving ... past, present, and future. I leave on a plane tomorrow headed for LAX and really I don't know when I will be back on the East Coast. Geez, I am totally getting sad. My parents have lived in Southern California for pretty much their entire lives. I joke with them that I have lived in more states in my 24 years than they have in their 35 years of marriage. As I am looking at my life packed up in suitcases I can't help but wonder when will this end? When will I feel comfortable enough to "settle down" and actually live in one place for more than a few years. I am not even talking about just living in one city or area ... an even bigger accomplishment would to be live in the same house/apartment/dwelling for more than one year. Well thinking back to my college days, I did live in one apt. for two years but I lived in a tent for two months in between those two years ... but still, I think that is the time frame to beat.

For fun - lets chronicle the locations:

1. House I was born in - Irvine, California - January 1983 - August 2001

2. Deseret Towers - Provo, Utah - August 2001 - May 2002

3. House I was born in - Irvine, California - May 2002 - August 2002

4. Sparks Apt. - Provo, Utah - August 2002 - May 2003

5. Foxwood Apt. - Provo, Utah - May 2003 - August 2003

6. Campus View North Apt. - Provo, Utah - August 2003 - May 2004

7. Tent - Escalante, Utah - May 2004 - July 2004

8. Campus View North Apt. - Provo, Utah - July 2004 - May 2005

9. House I was born in - Irvine, California - May 2005 - September 2005

10. Crystal Plaza Apt. - Arlington, Virginia - September 2005 - August 2006

11. Rhapsody Condominium - Washington, DC - August 2006 - August 2007

12. House I was born in - Irvine, California - August 2007 - September 2007

13. Hideaway Apt. - Eugene, Oregon - September 2007 - June 2008

(then who knows ... will I stay or will I go?)

Let's count it out people. That is 13 moves in 6 years. Two of those are across the country and 7 of them are from one state to another. I am tired, how about you?

But I am excited for this new adventure. Sad to leave behind my many good friends that I have made here, as well as those of you who have been in my life for awhile but happen to be here with me. It has seriously been soooo great. I love the East Coast and I love everyone I have gotten close too. I know that this move is a good one for me (as have so many of the previous moves) and I look forward to the challenge of school and meeting new people. I am also very excited to serve the Lord in a new way in a smaller church setting in Eugene - I know it will be good for me.

So, here goes nothin'.

on the lighter side (first figuratively, then literally)

Today was the most beautiful day ... I just want to soak it all in before the terrible heat and humidity grabs hold of this city. I went on a walk around Capitol Hill today on my lunch break and found some new houses that I liked ... I want to own a house on Capitol Hill someday they are just so wonderfully old and strong and detailed and all DIFFERENT (that is my favorite part - the styles are so eclectic) ... sigh. Perhaps they just looked even more wonderful today because the cool breeze was blowing through my hair and I was taking it all in.

In other happiness I saw my first fireflies of the season tonight. I remember the first time I saw one in real life. It was my first time to DC in the summer of 2001. My parents and I were walking down by the reflecting pool, making our way to the Lincoln Memorial (this was before the World War II Memorial was built). It was dusk and the fireflies were just starting to come out! It was wonderful. I was so excited to see them in real life - how they suddenly light up and then just as quickly fade into the darkness. I had read books that mentioned them, but I had never seen them, such things don't exist in the west I guess or maybe they just don't exist in suburbia.

I still want to try to catch fireflies in a jar someday ... wouldn't that be fun? Ah, these are the good parts of summer ... if only I had a porch. And some fresh lemonade. One day - when I have my Capitol Hill house!

P.S. - did you know that the process of light production in fireflies is called bioluminescence. Its function in the adult beetles is primarily to locate other individuals of the same species for reproduction. Many species, especially in the genus Photinus (genus), are distinguished by the unique courtship flash patterns emitted by flying males in search of females. Photinus females generally do not fly, but give a flash response to males of their own species (from wikipedia).

Of course the cool light action would have to do with reproduction ... figures.

the new me is sort of like the old me

Most of you know that this dark hair of mine has not always been ... well, dark. Growing up in the OC of course I had blond hair, mostly because my hair was so easily bleached out by the sun and my beach/pool going summers ... until I started working. I started highlighting my hair when I was 16 and started working during the summers and on weekends. That went on until college when I decided to go darker and while I did have a stint of highlights for a six or eight month period of time in college, for the most part I have steadily gone darker. It makes me feel older and more sophisticated, sort of.

This last October (2006) I donated my hair to locks of love and also got back to my roots ... the natural color of my roots that is. Since July (2006) I have not highlighted or dyed my hair and because my hair grows incredibly fast, when I cut 13 inches I was basically cutting off most of my dyed hair. Because I do not see my family nearly enough living across the entire continental United States they tend to forget how dark my hair really is (I too tend to forget and I see me in the mirror everyday!) It takes a while for people that we have known our whole lives to replace that mental image etched in their minds. I would estimate it takes 2-3 years for our own self-image to catch up with reality (in my mind's eye I am younger, blonder, and thinner than I actually am - one could argue that we all think along those lines). Up until about 8 months ago I would still catch myself doing a double take in the mirror, forgetting my hair was sooo dark ... and I have had dark hair for about 4 years!

So now that my mental image of myself is getting some-what in line with reality, I decided to change it up for the summer (just trying to keep my life interesting I guess or maybe I am trying to recapture my responsibility free youth). In honor of my family who still (and probably always will) picture me as a blond, I have gone lighter! I post the pictures here to provide documentation. The lighting is not the best, but I hope you get the idea. I am still trying to warm up to it - I think the front is a bit too light for my taste, but hey its just hair and it will grow. I can change it any time I want.

Me and my new hair!
(check out the pictures to the right to do a before and after comparison)

Picture is kind of washed out, but I also got my make-up done.
I told the woman that I wanted to bring out my eyes more but with
natural/neutral colors. I kind of think she pulled it off.

This is a technical shot - can you see the highlights?

This is what I do not like about highlights - it looks too streaky ...
I am waiting for them to fade.

Funny cyclops shot (my hair is never this big)!