Painting of the Week: #3 Most Expensive

I have been fascinated by Klimt's paintings lately and was glad to see that one of them made the list. I'm not quite sure if it's the gold technique that I love or the way that he combines it with the oil painted figure or the sense of movement through pattern... regardless, it is a beautiful painting. What do you think about it?

The painting for this week is the #3 most expensive ever sold. Completed by Gustav Klimt in 1907, "Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer" measures 138 X 138cm. In 2006, it was sold to Ronald Lauder for $135 million which made it the most expensive ever sold up to that point until the top spot was taken by #1 and #2 later that same year.

From Wikipedia:

"Klimt took three years to complete the painting...made of oil and gold on canvas, showing elaborate and complex ornamentation as seen in the Jugendstil style. Klimt was a member of the Vienna Secession, a group of artists that broke away from the traditional way of painting. The picture was painted in Vienna and commissioned by Ferdinand Bloch-Bauer[2]... Adele Bloch-Bauer became the only model who was painted twice by Klimt when he completed a second picture of her, Adele Bloch-Bauer II, in 1912."

Laughter does a Monday good!

This is possibly one of the most hilarious things I have ever seen in my life. Nancy showed us this the other day and I literally almost pee my pants every time I watch it. Since today is Monday (and we all know how Mondays are) I pulled this video up on YouTube again to help get through the day. And believe me! It definitely did my Monday good! Check it out! You won't be sorry you did!

Painting of the Week- #2 Most Expensive Ever Sold

So I'll admit, this one I don't understand AT ALL...I guess I must be missing something.

The painting for this week is the #2 most expensive painting ever sold. Painted by Willem de Koonig in 1953, "Woman III" measures 68 by 48 1/2 inches. In 2006, "Woman III" was sold to billionaire Steven A. Cohen for $137.5 million!! It is one in a series of 6 paintings done by Koonig in which the central theme was a woman. (Go figure.) From Wikipedia:

"De Kooning had painted women regularly in the early 1940s and again from 1947 to 1949. The biomorphic shapes of his early abstractions can be interpreted as female symbols. But it was not until 1950 that he began to explore the subject of women exclusively...During this period he also created other paintings of women. These works were shown at the Sidney Janis Gallery in 1953 and caused a sensation, chiefly because they were figurative when most of his fellow Abstract Expressionists were painting abstractly and because of their blatant technique and imagery. The appearance of aggressive brushwork and the use of high-key colors combine to reveal a woman all too congruent with some of modern man's most widely held sexual fears. The toothy snarls, overripe, pendulous breasts, vacuous eyes, and blasted extremities imaged the darkest Freudian insights..."

You'll have to let me know what you think. But don't get too freaked out by the "dark Freudian insights" you might find. :)

Amazing, Amazing, Amazing!

So this morning I had my second doctor's appointment. Gordon came with me and we got to hear the baby's heartbeat for the first time! It was awesome, amazing, incredible, crazy, everything you can think of all at the same time! I was completely blown away! We even got to hear quite a few little thumps of the baby kicking!! I can't feel anything yet, but there's definitely something in there and I'll have to admit that it was really comforting hearing that little heart pumping away. I had stressed myself out several times in the previous days worrying that they would find something wrong, but from what I've heard, that's a pretty regular occurrence before every appointment you have- no matter how far along you are. It was actually kind of funny because before he put (whatever you call that thing they use to listen to the heart beat) on my stomach he said, "Now it's pretty normal to have a tricky time finding the heartbeat at this stage in pregnancy so don't worry because if we can't find it, we'll just use the ultrasound." Then, pretty much the second he put it on there and turned it up, we heard it! Amazing!

Well, we've just passed the 12-week mark and are counting down the weeks till we found out if our little peanut is a boy or a girl! They say everything is looking good- apparently I need to gain a little more weight (never thought I would hear those words) because I've lost a little from that wonderful thing called morning sickness. Other than that, everything is a-ok! Just looking forward to September 28th (or somewhere around there) when we get to welcome our new addition into the world. We're so excited and it's never felt more real than this morning!

5 Realizations I Had Last Night

5. I love setting a fancy table. It's a blast! I love fun glass goblets, pitchers, serving dishes, all of it! Now if I could only convince Gordon to buy some "fancy" dishes so we don't have to use the Corell, but I guess there are worse thing, right? I mean, we didn't have to eat on paper plates and call it fancy!

4. Not every inch of your counter has to be covered in stuff. I swear, yesterday after we finished cleaning up our "fancy" dinner I just had to clear things out of the kitchen. I felt like we were drowning in things we never use and don't need! It's just taking up space but not DOING anything! I hate it! Stop the madness!!

3. There are just too many projects and too little time. We went over to see a friend's townhouse last night and were just amazed by how cute it was! Totally decked out from top to bottom in the cutest things! We all live in pretty much the same floor plans and our houses look exactly the same from the outside but what differences on the inside! I can't tell you how many times I've seen them paint kitchen cabinets on HGTV but when I really get thinking about doing it I woos out! I was totally inspired last night to finally get it done. Hers had turned out so so cute! Now if I could just figure out how to fit it in with the nursery we have to get done before the baby comes...

2. I love good television. I mean GOOD television. I miss good television. The last few nights they've been playing Anne of Greene Gables on KBYU and I just love it! Call me a nerd if you want, but I'm just SO sick of all the crap on TV. With 75 different channels you'd think you'd be able to find something decent on at any given time during the day but no! I mean seriously, people! What happened to good shows like Family Matters and Home Improvement? The Pretender and Alias (a bit of a stretch on the "clean" I know, but still...)? Anyone remember Sea Quest or MacGyver? What happened to those shows that make you feel better and thoroughly fulfilled and not like you just wasted an hour staring into the abyss? With a few exceptions (Jericho and Prison Break) I've just had enough. I must be getting old...

1. There's no replacement for great friends and family. We've been so lucky to find such awesome people so close by. Our "two-doors-down neighbors" and our "around the corner, down the street buddies" have just been such good friends to us. And what can I say about awesome family?!?! We always joke that we became so close because if we didn't then we had no one to play with- a relationship of necessity- but really, what would we do without you guys? Thank goodness for blogging that keeps us all connected! I love it that we're talking with family, extended family and friends almost every day! (And sorry for getting all mushy on everyone, I guess it's the pregnancy talking!)

Well, so I guess last night was a night of realizations and new projects to do and things to come up with. We'll just have to see where it takes us I guess. Happy Friday everyone!

A side note on the painting of the week-

I recently came across an article about the most expensive paintings ever sold and was pretty intrigued to find out which ones take the cake. I decided I'd start posting the top 10 most expensive paintings ever sold as painting of the week- not that too many other people will care much- but I thought it would be an interesting way to learn some new things about paintings a lot of us have seen or maybe some you haven't ever seen. So I apologize if you're bored to tears!

The painting for this week is the #1 most expensive painting ever sold. Painted by Jackson Pollock in 1948, "No. 5, 1948" sold for $142.7mil in 2006. (Can you imagine!?!?!) The painting was done on an 8 x 4 feet sheet of fiberboard, with thick amounts of brown and yellow paint drizzled on top of it, forming a nest-like appearance. I actually just learned that he started numbering his paintings instead of naming them to force people to look at the picture for what it is- pure painting. I've heard a lot of different people express their feelings about whether or not a Pollock painting is worth even 50 cents (as they would say, their 5-year-old could paint the exact same thing) but I've always been intrigued by his paintings. And believe me, I've seen several art students TRY to replicate the same affect his paintings have and haven't seen one come close yet. Needless to say, standing in front of an actual Jackson Pollock is definitely on my personal 'bucket list'.

Our Stud Lax Player

It's been so awesome the last few weeks watching Mark in action on the lacrosse field. Last night proved to be the most exciting game yet as BYU beat #8 Arizona State in a "fight to the death" game that ended in a score of 17-15. Mark had an incredible game with 6 goals and 1 assist, several of which were truly amazing to watch! My personal favorite was his behind the back shot on the goal. Amazing!! The team as a whole played awesome as well. The defense definitely held their own with a rough and tough Arizona team and the offense just kept scoring goals! Somehow all the players made it through the game in spite of horrible officiating that only seemed to be going Arizona's way. (On that note, I've never heard mom call anyone an idiot so many times in one night. It was definitely something to behold...and absolutely hilarious!) All in all, it was an exciting night and definitely the highlight of my week so far. BYU now sits at #4 after losing to Michigan (now ranked #1) in a heart-breaker of a game a couple weeks ago. Hopefully revenge will be sweet! We love our player #2 and hope the winning streak continues for all of our lacrosse playin' cougars!

By the way, I can't take credit for the pics above. I found them online as I haven't yet brought my camera to a game. (I know, what the heck am I thinking forgetting my camera?!?!) But I'm sure dad has some great shots that I'm hoping he'll post on Manning Happenings one of these days. (Hint, hint) These aren't from last night's game but if you want to see more, check out byulacrosse.com.

Women's Revenge!

K, so Gordon read this to me this morning and I laughed pretty hard (not that it's a personal reflection on my life by any stretch of the imagination). But I hope you all get a kick out of it too. I thought it was pretty funny stuff!


A man was sick and tired of going to work every day while his wife stayed home. He wanted her to see what he went through so he prayed: "Dear Lord: I go to work every day and put in 8 hours while my wife merely stays at home. I want her to know what I go through. So, please, allow her body to switch with mine for a day. Amen!"

God, in his infinite wisdom, granted the man's wish. The next morning, sure enough, the man awoke as a woman. He arose, cooked breakfast for his mate, awakened the kids, set out their school clothes, fed them breakfast, packed their lunches, drove them to school, came home and picked up the dry cleaning, took it to the cleaners and stopped at the bank to make a deposit, went grocery shopping, then drove home to put away the groceries, paid the bills and balanced the check book.

He cleaned the cat's litter box and bathed the dog. Then, it was already 1:00 and he hurried to make the beds, do the laundry, vacuum, dust, and sweep and mop the kitchen floor. He ran to the school to pick up the kids and got into an argument with them on the way home. He set out milk and cookies and got the kids organized to do their homework. Then, set up the ironing board and watched TV while he did the ironing.

At 4:30 he began peeling potatoes and washing vegetables for salad, breaded the chops and snapped fresh beans for supper. After supper, he cleaned the kitchen, ran the dishwasher, folded laundry, bathed the kids and put them to bed.

At 9:00 he was exhausted and, though his daily chores weren't finished, he went to bed where he was expected to make love, which he managed to get through without complaint.

The next morning, he awoke and immediately knelt by the bed and said: "Lord, I don't know what I was thinking. I was so wrong to envy my wife's being able to stay home all day. Please, oh please, oh please let us trade back! Amen!"

The Lord, in his infinite wisdom, replied: "My son, I feel you have learned your lesson and I will be happy to change things back to the way they were. You'll just have to wait nine months, though. You got pregnant last night."

Movie Review: Vantage Point

Sorry folks! Here's another one!


The newly released movie Vantage Point is a non-stop thrill ride. Intense from beginning to end, this movie is equipped with some great explosions and a killer car chase. Not interested yet? Vantage Point, as suggested by the title, tells the story of an attempted abduction of the President of the United Statesfrom from 8 different vantage points. (And be prepared, they do show ALL 8 of them. I personally enjoyed trying to catch all of the clues offered from the 8 different perspectives, however, there were several in the audience complaining about that very thing.) If you're prepared however, this movie proves to be an enjoyable and intense watch offering a different method of story telling than the norm. My personal fave from this movie: Dennis Quaid! I love him as an actor and he surely doesn't disappoint in this film! Another highlight is a few unexpected twists and turns that continue to keep you guessing. A couple warnings about this movie. 1. Be prepared to accept some seriously unrealistic things. 2. Watch out for some language. There is 1 'f' word I can remember and Gordon said he may have heard 1 other. :( I give this movie a B-.

Movie Review: Dan In Real Life

So if you're thinkin' about hitting up the dollar theater sometime this week, I highly recommend you spend your $1.50 and 2 hour viewing pleasure on Dan In Real Life. (If it is no longer playing in your area, for sure watch for it on dvd on March 11.) Possibly one of my favorite movies in the last few years, Dan In Real Life is truly a refreshing look at how families really are- or generally should be (I mean, they actually like each other, have fun together, and generally show parents still know best!) In the movie, Steve Carell plays a middle-aged widower and newspaper columnist struggling to stay afloat amidst his 3 pre-teen and teenage daughters. When it comes down to it, Dan In Real Life is really about family relationships and the beauty of rediscovering how to live and love following tragedy and hardship. If you're a fan of The Office, you're sure to like Steve Carell in this movie as he yet again proves he's one of the "kings of comedy" and that, yes, he does have a serious and sensitive side. On the other hand, if you're not a fan of The Office, don't fret! Steve Carell is nothing like his character on the hit tv show. While there are several crude jokes and sexual references, for the most part, this movie is just a bowl full of belly laughs and some good life lessons. I give it a B+. Go see it!!!