Mixed-up Valentine

> A good graphic designer always makes her own valentine cards, right? I admit I didn't for a long time, but I've done better since this blog post a couple of years ago. 
> I started with a "Valentines Eve" surprise (and boy was it a surprise!) After I made the bed yesterday morning, I taped several cut-out hearts to the sheet under the covers on Gene's side of the bed for him to find as we went to bed last night. After I finished washing my face, I found him sitting on top of the covers, and I started scheming in my mind about how to make sure he got under the covers before turning off the light. I pulled back the covers on my side of the bed, and couldn't stop laughing. He had moved all the hearts to my side of the bed (who does that? he's so funny!) Here's where I got my idea...he came up with his "response" all on his own.
> For his valentine today, I made a mixed up message that he'll have to unscramble then assemble. I used a different font and background color for each word so it won't be too tough to unscramble and put the message together—it IS supposed to be more fun than work ;-) I printed the letters onto pre-cut label stock and left the backing paper on. I attached each sticker to a Hershey Kiss, which I used to make a "trail" leading into Gene's office. As he decodes each word, he can adhere the stickers to the marks on the accordion-folded card, which will spell out my valentine message. I'm kind of excited and hope it's a fun way for him to get his chocolate (well, what's left of it...there were a lot of leftover kisses! Maybe I should have made a longer message...)

Mind the Gap

> Gene and I love to hike. We're not majorly outdoorsy, nor are we impressive when we hike, but we really enjoy doing it. We usually go on a couple weekend trips a year in spring and fall (my favorite seasons for hiking) and we take advantage of the beautiful state where we live. On a recent trip, we went to Kolob Canyon and we explored a couple trails we hadn't hiked before. On our way home, we decided to take a detour and we went to see the Parowan Gap—where an ancient river cut a 600-foot deep "notch" through the hills, according to this article. (After seeing it though, is "notch" really the right word??)

> The Parowan Gap is neat as you come upon it. At first, it feels like you're on the wrong road—you're out in the middle of nowhere—then all of a sudden you turn, and the road points you right into the middle of it. It's awesome! I took a bunch of pictures, but I don't think it can really be photographed in a way that gives you a sense of what it's like to come upon it. It's big, and there's nothing around it. So if you try to capture it with the vast nothing-ness it's surrounded by, you lose the sense of its size. If you try to get its size, you lose its isolation. It's a neat juxtaposition. You just have to see it yourself. 

> Then there are the petroglyphs. The guidebook said the place was covered with them. Being a designer, I LOVE petroglyphs. I mean, they're neatly designed, they were made to endure, and to communicate. As far as I'm concerned, the people who left these visual messages years and years ago are my design predecessors. 

> Once we parked, I was disappointed to see all the fences. (It always makes me sick to realize these fences HAVE to be put up in order to remind some people to respect something that's irreplaceable). Anyway, the side of the mountain is covered—I mean covered—with petroglyphs. It's so cool to look around at all the different designs. As you walk on the road through the gap to the back side of the hill, it appears that part of it has crumbled down, and there are boulders, again, just covered with more petroglyphs. 

> It's not a big place, but we were there for quite awhile—looking, taking photos, and just enjoying an amazing little place with a lot to see. (And no, I didn't digitally retouch the sky, it really is that blue).