My Life in a Painting

Once upon a time, a little girl, about 9 years old, went to the Mall of America with her aunt. Toward the end of the expedition, they wandered into an art store. While the grownups around her had a very long and boring conversation about frames and interior decorating, she flipped through a pile of prints sitting on the table. It was there that she stumbled upon a piece of art known as "The Accolade". And she was in love.

I can remember that day like it was yesterday. I remember how reluctant I was to go into a boring art store, and how much more reluctant I was to be dragged away from that beautiful, beautiful print.

I am no art expert. Show me a painting, and the only thing I will be able to say is whether or not I like it. But for me, that is what art is all about. Beauty is, after all, in the eye of the beholder. I enjoy Monet. Picasso often freaks me out. But for me, if an artist can make me feel something, something genuine, real, something connected to what I see before me, then he or she is a success. If I look at a painting, or a drawing, and my emotions overwhelm the obnoxiously critical part of my brain, and I find I cannot critique at all, that artist has truly created.

It must be noted that I do not always necessarily like the pieces that summon such emotions. A piece that upsets or angers me is not likely to find its way to my living room wall, but it is no less appreciated for what is has done.

Edmund Blair Leighton is such an artist. Perhaps the part of me that loved him when I was 9 is the part that hasn't really changed much. You know...the part that likes Lords and Ladies and Castles and Masked Balls. The part that wants to put on a long, flowing renaissance gown and promenade dramatically through fields of harebells and thistles. That is what keeps me going back to my computer to stare at his paintings again and again.

Nathan bought me a tapestry of one of my favourite Leighton paintings, The Accolade, as a wedding gift. Its gorgeous, and it hangs on the wall right next to my bed.





I look at it every night as I'm falling asleep. There have been so many times when I've wished I could pull a Mary Poppins, close my eyes, and jump right into the picture. Wouldn't that be wonderful? To be able to live all of my favorite works of art.

And recently (within the last few years) they stumbled across this painting, also by Mr. Leighton. In the picture, the lady (whom you should recognize from "The Accolade") is tracing the shadow of her lover so she will have something to remember him by as he goes off to war. I adore it.



Of course, even just prints of this particular piece are several hundred dollars right now, so it will have to wait. It does make a lovely desktop background for my computer, though.

Thanks for reading my random ramblings about things that have little significance to anyone except myself.

Love to you all,
Lissa

In Which I Share My Love of Autumn...

Things I love about Autumn:

1) The crisp air, without humidity or allergies. Seriously, fall is the only season that I can have the windows open without a full blown allergy attack or poofy hair. And I love that.

2) Snuggles. This comes with having windows open and the apartment being really cold (but the good kind of cold...the fresh air in my lungs cold). And being cold means I need more blankies, and more snuggling time with my husband.

3) Pumpkin Spice Lattes. They are the epitome of Autumn. I have as many as I can between the day they arrive, and the day the barrista tells me that they no longer serve them.












4)Fashion. Fall fashion is my favorite, without a doubt. I can wear enough layers to make my outfit interesting, but I don't have to bundle up to the point of frumpiness (not that I do that in the winter anyway...I usually opt to look good and be cold). But fall brings back boots, legwarmers, tights, knee high socks, and trench coats. And what is better than that? Also, the September issue of "Instyle" is my favorite.















5) Books. Yes, I love literature year round, but there is something sitting in front of our (fake) fireplace with hot cocoa and a really thick novel.















6) Volleyball. Have I mentioned lately that I love coaching? It's official...I'm addicted.

7) Gossip Girl. Yes, that is right. Gossip Girl returns to me every fall, and I bask in the guilty pleasure of my favorite television show. I just watched the first episode of season 4 and it BLEW MY MIND.
















8) Renaissance Festival. Other than Starbucks and the stage, this is my favorite place in the WHOLE WORLD. I get to dress up in a pretty gown and pretend I'm a princess all day, and no one thinks it's strange. Also, everyone tells me that I'm pretty, which is always something I enjoy. And this year, the king remembered me from LAST year. That's fairly awesome.


Yes, my husband made that costume himself. Without a pattern


9) Imogen Heap. She's my soundtrack for Autumn. I was listening to her when I first glimpsed the Chicago Skyline. I was listening to her when I first glimpsed the NYC skyline. So happy memories all around. Nuff said.

10) Color. For a few brief weeks, the world is neither white nor green. It's not cold or humid. It's perfection.




Love to you all,
Lissa

Five Million Years Later...

So maybe it hasn't been quite five million years since I last blogged, but it has been quite a while. I sort of forgot about it for a while...I still read everyone else's blogs, though. :D

Life has been really great lately. Nathan and I finally found a church we both like. That's not an easy thing to do when you come from different church backgrounds. It was sort of an accident, actually. We'd been going to Bethlehem Baptist lately, but I didn't feel at home. Then we were staying in Eden Prairie for the weekend because we had a conference, and we decided to go to Grace Church there because Nathan had been there before and liked it. And also, we overslept and they have a 10:30 service. :D

And I loved it. It's a big church, but it has endless amounts of small groups that we can get involved in. The worship was great (contemporary, but I didn't feel like I was at a concert either), and the pastor is awesome. The preaching is extemporaneous, which is something that I really wanted in a church. The down side is that it IS in Eden Prairie, which makes for a good half-hour drive on Sunday mornings, but a good church we BOTH like is worth the drive.

Other new events...well, as most of you know, I am not returning to school this fall. Nathan is, however, and he's looking forward to classes starting at the end of this month. Summer has gone by so fast! But to all you college fanatics, you can relax, because I am, without a shadow of a doubt, returning in the spring. It's all set. I'm sure by the time first semester is half over, I'll be dying to go back to school. Nathan is glad I'm taking a break, because it will give me time to do his homework. :D

I do start volleyball on Monday, which I am looking forward to with both excitement and nerves. What I'm NOT looking forward to is all that time in an unairconditioned gym. On the happy side, this preseason I will be the one blowing the whistle, not the one running my ass off. :D

So there you have it...a Lissa Hoarn Life Update. I'll try to keep up the whole blogging thing...no promises though.

Love to all!
Lissa

A Lovely Day

So the weather today was fairly perfect. It was sunny and warm, but a nice breeze kept everything comfortable. Nathan and I packed up a lunch and made our way over to campus for a picnic with our friend Seoyon. We ate on "The Island", which is a lovely little island on Lake Johanna connected to campus with a bridge. There is a tiny little chapel up on a hill, which is apparently a popular makeout place, although we have yet to experience that for ourselves.








After said picnic, we signed out a canoe and spent an hour or so perusing the lake. It was lovely...and I actually ENJOYED all this time spent outdoors, which is a bit strange. And I didn't have a single sneeze or itchy eye...although I did develop a serious case of the hiccups. It gives me hope about the upcoming trip to Montana.






I apologize for poor picture quality. These were taken on my cell phone.

Love to all!!!
Lissa Hoarn

Here's to Paying Jobs I Enjoy...

Two major things since my last blog.

The first is that I interviewed for a coaching job at North St. Paul High School (Morgan's school)...and I got it!! I am officially the new coach for their 9th grade team! I had a meeting with their Varsity coach yesterday. I couldn't be more excited. The program is so well organized, and I get to do so much! Besides coaching my own team (which is actually 2 teams of 8 girls. The 9th grade team is split into "A" and "B" teams.) I get to go to several camps this summer, and a 2 day, overnight coaching clinic in St. Cloud. I'm going to learn so much!!! The sad thing is that I am going to miss the camp that I really, really want to go to...because I'm going to be in Montana. The camp is for 6th-9th graders, which would give me a good idea of what my team is going to be like this year (since it will be all 9th graders.) But don't worry, family...no thoughts of backing out. I can't wait for June 13th!!!




Not going to lie, though...the whole thing is a bit intimidating. I'm the youngest coach by far...and the only female. But everyone that I have met so far has been great, and great at answering questions. The other intimidating factor is that I'm in charge of 15 or 16 girls...and I'm on my own a lot. The 9th grade team plays opposite the JV and Varsity teams. So if they have a home game, we have an away game. And I don't have an assistant. (Sheryl, I may need some help...) But I plan to spend the summer getting to know the NSP program, and studying the game as much as possible. I'm determined to be a bad-ass coach.

It's going to make for a crazy fall schedule, though. After my two matches (A and B team), I either bus back to the school, if we played away, or drive to the school where the varsity game is. I get to sit on their bench and take stats. I'm almost as excited for that as I am to coach my own team. I think I'll learn a ton.

Go Polar Bears!



The second thing just happened this morning. Nathan's sister Caroline called to offer us a job watching her two older boys 3 days a week. It's basically the same schedule as Mom has...Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. I'm really excited for this, because we were looking for a nanny job we could do together. It's even better that it's with family, and we already know and love Jacob and Nicholas.

So it looks like that's our summer! It's going to be busy, and fun, and crazy! And I intend to accomplish several goals, such as weekly visits to the library to pick up intellect-expanding literature, learning French (we have the Rosetta Stone program...and I am dying to be bilingual), working out regularly, and eating healthy food. All in all, it should be a very productive few months!!!

Love to all!
Lissa Hoarn

I Hate Young Talent...but Really I'm Just Jealous.

Saw this link on someone's facebook wall the other day. And so I watched it. And watched it. And watched it.

Two questions come to mind.

1) Why does a 6th grader have so much talent?
2) How the heck did Justin Beiber get famous when there is talent like THIS in the world???

Copy/paste this into your browser, and enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxDlC7YV5is&sns=em

Love to all,
Lissa

The Ralph Roister Doisters

So near the end of every year, the NWC theatre department hosts a lovely part for those who have been involved in the several productions throughout the year. We car pool over to a lovely (and gigantic) boat on the Mississippi River, and they feed us oodles of good food. Then we have an awards show (The Ralphies...almost as prestigious as winning a Tony), sprinkled with several skits, puppet shows, and entertaining speeches. After all this, we go outside on the giant deck, and dance in ridiculous ways to ridiculous music. So. Much. Fun!

The dress code for this prestigious event is "Fractured Formal", which is basically formal wear, with a twist. The size and style of the twist is up to you. It was a fabulous (and very late) night, and unfortunately, we didn't charge the batteries on our camera, so pictures of the event itself are nonexistant from the Hoarn camp. We did, however, take pictures of our outfits. Which were fabulous.



My lovely outfit...the stockings don't show very well in this picture, but they were bright orange...and one leg had fishnets over it, the other didn't.




Nathan's outfit...yes, we coordinated.



My hair...Nathan actually did it. It took three bumpits and a LOT patience.





I'm madly in love with this veil...and I finally had an excuse to wear it!



And at the end of night, after removing three bumpits, five ribbons, and several packs of bobbypins, I could have passed for Aslan's twin sister.



Love to all!!
Lissa Hoarn