Author: Sierra

I’m Kinda Tired of Not Being Famous

Posted on by Sierra

I never was much of an actor in high school, and people tire of hearing about it. I was just a little girl with such ambitions, and probably a little case of big britches. I knew I wasn’t good enough to be a famous actor, so I decided to conquer the world in other ways.
I seldom get jealous, but I will admit, as all my friends flock to the coasts and pursue their post-graduate careers, sometimes little demons of envy poke their pitchforks in the pit of my stomach. I have so many friends having success in the actor-realm, who are truly brave enough to live their bicoastal dreams. I have friends doing internships with Big Deal Art Curators in Santa Barbara and Big Name Magazines in New York. And here I sit, in Little Old Utah not graduating yet and working at a restaurant.
I’m jealous because I’m impatient. 
I want it to be my turn for a big, exciting career. 
There is this obnoxious worldly part of me that recognizes that I’m not getting any name recognition right now, I’m not building my ultimate awesome resume, and I’m not adding tremendously to my arsenal of talents at the moment. I’m not making any effort to go after my personal career goals, and for that reason, sometimes it feels like they are passing me by. And you know what, it’s all my fault! If I really want to do something, then I’ve really got to do something, right?!
So I am beginning today, truly and zealously pursuing one of my biggest dreams: I am going to finish my novel. I am going to force myself to write something every single day, even if my muse is not cooperating with me. Even if it’s just a paragraph per day. Because that is something that I can do. And I don’t have to be on a coast to do it. 
Does anyone have any tips on how to stay motivated, and… you know… finish something? 

Engagement Photo Dump

Posted on by Sierra
I cursed myself: I preemptively blogged! I figured that my visit at the lady doctor would be the genesis of hilarity; in actuality, it was rather routine.
Thus, I’ve been avoiding my little neglected blog. I’ve been haunted by the idea that I must make something funny that… may or may not have been funny, and may just come across as crass. And so I’ve avoided the blog world entirely.
A Disclaimer: This is more “journal-esque” than I typically write. But since my journal is neglected these days too, I figure this is an appropriate forum for my goings-on.
I’ve been watching my the apologies on the blog reel rack up as my blogger friends poetically admit that they’ve been too busy relishing the sun and flattering the butterflies to maintain their blogs. Sometimes I wish my summer consisted of making ripples in the pool with my toes. Instead, I’ve been frantically and gloriously busy.
 Doing what, you ask?
 
Here’s the condensed version (maybe just for posterity’s sake if it fails to interest the masses):

1. I’ve been working four jobs! With varying degrees of success. I’ve been maintaining my TA position in the Theater and Media Department, and loving it with my whole heart and soul. I am a Writing Fellow for an educational law class at BYU, and then occasionally managing content for Jeremy’s web design business. Finally, I admit, I took the walk of shame back to the old Tucanos. It’s a walk that many make with empty pockets and heads hung low. And truth be told, my experience back there has been nothing but delightful. You may even think I’m being sarcastic, but I assure you, I’m not! It’s been fun!

2.     2. I’ve been sending invitations, making decorations, and receiving congratulations for the upcoming wedding, which creeps ever closer every day. It’s been far more stressful than I’d ever imagined, but there are some gratifying moments as well. For instance: Wearing your sister’s wedding dress. Nothing could be more special. It’s my favorite part of the wedding  (besides the groom, of course), and trying it on makes me feel like such a bride. And you know what, when I don’t feel like a complete Bride-zilla, being a bride feels wonderful. (Pictures not included because Jeremy can’t see!)
3.    

3.           

3.     3. I’ve been battling some serious bouts of anxiety, be it my own or my family members’. The Robinson clan is seeing lots of big changes this year, and while we have momentary moments of panic, I think something characteristic of our little family is our resiliency. When the tough keeps coming, we keep punching back. Eventually, we come out conquerors. But you could probably still send some prayers our way.

4.     4. Jeremy and I put a deposit on our first little starter apartment in Provo. And it definitely has character. It is at the basement of a 100-year-old inn. The entryway is our bathroom and there’s no living room, but there IS a bookshelf with one book on it. If you TURN the BOOK, it opens a secret passageway. It makes my heart sing. To quote my good friend Eleanore Steinmetz: “Sierra, that’s incredible and awful! Incredible for your writing career, awful because we may never see the Will Be Sierra Penrod again. You’ll be stuffed away writing a Potteresque novel in your secret passageway.”—Is it bad that I kind of hope so?

This is our new kitchen, with our new table and chairs! We have a new stove and a newly installed fridge. Also, white tiles.
This is the before shot of our bedroom.
Don’t be fooled by this seemingly innocuous bookshelf.
Or our (so far just MY) giant mountain of stuff.
Seriously nothing sexier than a man doing the handy work. Jeremy’s been hard at work making all our cabinets close tight and straight. He makes living in a fixer upper so much fun.
This is the secret passage way I told you about! Aren’t you just riddled with excitement? Aren’t you just dying to peek inside?
This is the bedroom’s current state. This is just my stuff, since Jeremy won’t move in until we are properly wedded. The bedspread is likely to change. The bear stays.
Another picture of my handyman. Couldn’t resist.
My handiwork. I’m no decorator, but books do a nice job of looking nice on their own.
5.I5. I’ve been showered! I had a lovely and classy and slightly embarrassing bridal shower thrown by my sisters Bethany and Kristy and my best friend Chloe. I had some transcontinental friends, Kelsey and Jenni travel in for the affair, which made me feel so very special. My friends far and wide spoiled me (and Jeremy) rotten.
Wouldn’t you like to know what was in this present?

 

Jes and Caitlin came even though Jes really should have been having her new baby girl that day.

 

Just because the photo loaded weird doesn’t mean I love these girls any less.

 

Some of my oldest and dearest friends at the shower.
6.    6.   I’ve been family-ing in Colorado, California, and Utah! We had a great weekend getaway where we could let go of the wedding stress and just enjoy our new family members and relax in the Colorado mountains.
My aunt Margie got married! Never a more deserving bride, and we sure do love Mike too!

 

This is sweet Doug who brought a bouquet of flowers to his mommy. Thank goodness this woman is procreating!

 

Teeny has indeed bonded with “Uncle Jeremy.” And to be honest, I think he has a little soft spot for her too.
Jeremy and I in the Mountains on Memorial Day. My family is patriotic. Please note the flag my father hung on the tree.
Jeremy sharing his love for entomology with the smalls. Kiana was especially excited that he caught a butterfly for her.

7. Mere moments after I had just been asserting to Jeremy that I was man enough to change a tire–I got a flat tire and had to put my money where my mouth was. Conveniently, I was wearing overalls that day (Because the 90’s are coming back, don’t you know?!)

Dang straight.
7.    8.   I’ve been spending time with my future husband and enjoying every single drop of time I get to just relax, cuddle, and be with him. We are that gross couple that accidentally alienates their friends with their PDA. But you’re only engaged once, and through the stress, I am loving it all.

Oh my gosh. My blog is becoming a Mormon Housewife Blog. Next blog, I will repent, I promise.

You’ve Been Warned.

Posted on by Sierra

I’m afraid my in-laws are in for a surprising treat: I am an over-sharer. I can’t help it. It’s genetic. I hold to the theory that if something embarrassing happens to you, you must immediately inform six of the nearest passer-bys, and then blog about it in order to alleviate humiliation. So frequently I do “over-share.” You may reference the following blogs for proof.
So with that forewarning in place, I want to warn the masses, but most especially my in-laws, that a blog about my experience at the lady doctor’s is soon to come.
Please still love me after.   

Our Story

Posted on by Sierra
When Jeremy Penrod and I first met, I looked like this:
It was in that pivotal moment in Stage Makeup Class, winter 2009, that he probably knew that I was the one for him. While the other girls in the class hauled in male models to apply a beard (thus the reason for Jeremy’s visit in class that day), I decided to skip the hassle of tracking down a boy that would come in early to get spirit gum applied to his face, and apply spirit gum and a beard to my own face instead. My thought process was like this: “Who can resist a lady in whiskers, right?”
Right. Apparently Jeremy Penrod was smitten.
It took several months (and several significant others) in between for Jeremy and I to finally be on the same page. When one significant other and I severed ties, Jeremy pounced. Knowing that I was an avid blogger, he eagerly accepted my request to re-vamp my blog (this very blog, in fact). Rather than taking me on elaborate dates and asking me what color my toothbrush was, Jeremy synthesized my personality and applied it to this page, seeing as he is an extremely talented web designer. We got to know each other in those waning hours of the evening, and Jeremy Penrod began to heal my troubled soul and tame my wild heart. He made me feel special again. He let me know that it was ok to be human. He validated my emotions and fostered my ability to feel. What a special guy he is. How lucky I feel.
On Friday, May 6th, Jeremy picked me up at my door looking extra handsome. As we walked to his car, I plucked one of the dandelions that have infested Provo from the ground and made a wish that I would get proposed to that night.
We set off for Happy Sumo to pick up the sushi (my favorite) that Jeremy had pre-ordered, and headed up Provo Canyon, where we often retreat when we want to get away from the world. We pulled up to our park and headed deep into the dark. We stumbled upon a small picnic set up that was barely visible in the darkness.
You know those boys that shame the guitar, those boys that serenade you with the ONLY SONG THEY KNOW, which is probably “Hey There Delilah,” and they want you to swoon and think that they are oh-so-drippy-with-awesomeness? Jeremy is not one of these boys. First of all, he is actually good. And second, Jeremy often refuses to serenade me, even after I beg and beg, and it is only on exceptionally lucky occasions that Jeremy will whip out his guitar and sing me a song.
This night was an exceptionally lucky occasion. He played “our song,” shaking with nerves, then unearthed the ring box and asked me the question girls dream about for a lifetime. But I had to say yes before I could see the ring.
So I did.
And then after sweet kisses and happy rejoicing, we raced, hand in hand, up a hill and to a pavilion where we could see my ring in all its splendor. We clambered on top of a picnic table and held each other close.
And so, I’m engaged to Jeremy Penrod. And I mean this without an ounce of sarcasm and with all sincerity and elation—Lucky, lucky me!
This is Jeremy expressing his excitement about the engagement.
These are the people that helped Jeremy execute the perfect proposal.
The ring that Jeremy wouldn’t let me see ’till after I said yes.

A Literally Sweet Victory

Posted on by Sierra

Fear not, friends. This will not become a cooking blog. But I did want to report on my relative success that was the Nutella cupcake.
No, No, it’s no “Cocoa Bean,” or “Sweet Tooth Fairy.” But thanks to Jeremy’s manly whisking ability, my immutable persistence, and pulling the cupcakes out of the oven five minutes too early, I think we ended up with a real hit here!
Be proud of me a little?

Jumping In… Cupcake Style

Posted on by Sierra

I’m a complete disaster with an apron and a whisk. I missed that part of “Life 101” where you learn to cook and bake and stuff. Recently, however, I’ve felt this weird magnetic pull to all things actually edible instead of processed… and I’ve been cooking! A lot! To great success by-and-large.

But mostly, I just leave the baking to the pros. Baking is very different. Baking is hard. There are a lot of mistakes to make when you are baking. Typically I make all of them, and that is just with the Betty Crocker mixes too.

But not today! Today, I found a recipe for these:

And you know what? I’m going to make these dang NUTELLA cupcakes if it kills me. 
These are probably some of the more advanced cupcakes in the world. From what I understand, it involved injecting nutella into the center with a pipette. I’m still trying to understand the science to this. It’s probably madness to start baking with a cupcake of this caliber.
But I promise you this: These cupcakes will not look this beautiful. They might be burnt and they will likely be crumbled. But watch out world. 

Today, Sierra Robinson is putting on an apron. 

Writer Fingers

Posted on by Sierra

I’ve never felt quite at the top of my writing game as I did when I was in France. I was an au pair for a lovely little french family, the Michea’s, and they had a charming little balcony that overlooked their little villa. I could lean over the railing and touch the romantic laundry billowing from the romantic laundry lines. Nightly I would pull up this little table, while Laetitia would make me a cup of Lipton herbal apple cinnamon tea (a treat I still cannot find in the states), and I would light this little lantern and write by tea light. And it was magical. All the writer powers that be were with me those nights.


Yet writing is a fickle talent. 

Sometimes the words through your veins like blood cells, and sometimes they clot the second they reach the page.

But tonight, I’ve got the fingers. So I put on my french singer mix, lit myself a tea light, and I am going to let the words come out.

Tell me, dear readers, what are your talents? Are they fickle too?

Tell Me True

Posted on by Sierra

So, a recent survey of Google Analytics yielded some interesting results. I have readers in Yemen!? What?!

Basically, I am curious to see where my blogger readership actually comes from. Who is simply surveying my site, while who is actually reading it? Please comment on this blog and provide your state or country, but you can exclude all personal username info.

However, if you would like to tell me anymore about yourself, I am dead curious to know :).

Thanks friends!

I’m finally hardcore.

Posted on by Sierra

You must understand: I am a pansy.  I have reason to suspect that I am cold-blooded. I am always cold if the thermometer drops below 70 degrees. And even sometimes if it is 70 degrees, my feet are typically cold anyways.
So whenever I see a “hardcore jogger” jogging in any sort of inclement weather, I give them a vicarious shudder from my passing car, and burrow deeper into my sweater.
However, since it’s basically the summer months, I have decided that it’s about the right time in my life to finally work jogging into my life’s regimen. So this morning, resolute in my determination, I looked out the window. If there is even a teensy cloud in the sky, my jogging outfit consists of the following:
1.     1.Whatever shirt I was wearing to bed…
2.     2. Covered by a warmer long sleeve shirt
3.     3. Customary jogging shorts
4.    4. Woolen Leggings beneath the shorts.
5.    5.  Sweatpants on top of that.
6.    6. Snowboarding socks
7.    7.  Also, usually last nights smeary make up to ward of creepy construction workers that whistle at you while you jog. Gives me peace of mind anyway.
Still, I braved the perfectly fine looking morning and began my jog.
Have you ever been in one place and it’s not raining, and then step into a place right next door and it IS raining in that place? I literally ran headlong into a storm that passed over my apartment and began torrential downpour right along my path. Not only that, but winds reached hurricanic speeds, yanking the blossoming white flower petals from the trees. It looked like I was running through a tornado of snow petals! I realized with pleasure that if I had driven by myself in a car, I would have shivered vicariously for myself!
On my way home (which, admittedly occurred five minutes after the start of my jog), I passed a bunch of other hardcore joggers along the way. Rather than pitying and admiring them, I finally felt a sense of solidarity with them (even if they were wearing shorts and t-shirts). With pride and pleasure, I crossed “being a hardcore jogger” off my life’s bucket list in one day!
I’m never doing that again!
Don’t you just like the look on her face? Hardcore. Determined. Warm.

Noah Installment 2: Hand Bell Day

Posted on by Sierra

The hand bell tables indicated that it was going to be another horrible day in music class—another day where we had to shove our hands into smelly gloves worn by other smelly fifth graders, another day where we had to play “Hark the Herald, Angels Sing,” for the fiftieth time. We ushered into the classroom with various groans and found our numbered spaces on the risers with juvenile melancholy.
 “No Noah today?” Asked Mrs. Reynolds, her graying eyebrow twitching with ill-disguised pleasure. Class without Noah at least made things a little easier.
  The class exchanged perplexed glances. Hadn’t Noah ushered in with the rest of us? Hadn’t he uttered a dirty word under his breath when he saw the hand bell tables?
 Mrs. Reynolds perched herself behind her hand bell table and began another tiresome lecture about how we were never to touch the bells (lest our fifth-gradery-ness was contagious and infected the barrel with cooties). Behind her frameless glasses, she gave us looks that could raise our blood pressure.
The first time it happened quickly. Only a few people barely spotted the massive blue cabinet door open and close behind Mrs. Reynolds’ lecture. A slight whisper exchanged ears. The next time, Noah decided to savor the reaction a little more. The cabinet door opened, just a crack, and he inserted one index finger out the crevice. Slowly, and one by one, all of his fingers joined his index. From the risers, we just saw a disembodied hand waggling his flirtatious phalanges at us. There was giggling from the risers.
 Mrs. Reynolds chose to ignore it at first. Until various appendages of kept materializing from behind the cabinet door every five minutes or so. She started to blush, and get agitated as the giggles mounted. She checked her dress, and felt her bum for a wedgie. She ran her tongue across her teeth to see if breakfast was still lodged between two of them. Figuring that her appearance was normal,  she strapped each one of our souls to a lie detector with her eyes, but none of us yielded the secret source of our laughter.
 Finally, after a prolonged absence (Noah had a way with comedic timing), Noah decided to reveal his true identity. Slowly languishing in the laughter that sustains a class clown, Noah peeked his entire head out of the cabinet door. The risers erupted with uproarious laughter now. Mrs. Reynolds swung her head around frantically looking for the final source of the eruption, but Noah had nimbly tucked himself behind his safe haven again without nary a snap of sealing cabinets. Mrs. Reynolds was flummoxed and upset.
About midway through the class, Noah got bored or hot or something. The cabinet door opened its final time, and Noah silently crept out. The class collectively inhaled, certain that Noah would meet his doom. Noah darted right past Mrs. Reynold’s foot without being noticed. Now he was hiding underneath the hand table, so the entire class could see him except our woe-begotten teacher. Unfortunately, it seemed that there was little way to get to the risers from his current location. Then that characteristically devilish grimace slid across Noah’s face as he caught sight of Mrs. Reynolds’ foot. The class was silent, in solidarity for our comrade and his quest.
Noah reached down, every second of his hand’s dissent feeling laboriously slow, and then he pinched Mrs. Reynolds’ foot. She hopped, and yanked her gaze downward, but Noah was as quick as a jack rabbit. He withdrew his hand, and darted silently back onto his numbered spot on the risers. Mrs. Reynolds never even realized he was back. I think she even chose him to be in the first batch of students to play the hand bells that day.