Steph, Emma and I celebrating at the Branson Landing.

My friend Bridget has long been describing to me how when her and Andy started dating they just knew it was right. She always said when it’s right you will just know it without question. To be honest I had always thought she was full of garbage. I also used to think it was ridiculous when people would get engaged without dating for at least a year or two. But then I met Stephanie. She is more than I have ever hoped for in a wife, so needless to say that I am thrilled that she is the one who will come into my old house and make it a home. Bridget told me she thought that Steph could be the ‘one’ the first time I mentioned her, and as it turns out Bridget knows a lot more about relationships than I had given her credit for!

At any rate, I am excited for what lies ahead for the 3 of us and am thankful for all the support from our friends and family. Things are so drastically different than I would have expected a year ago, and yet my life has never felt so complete and full of purpose and direction as it does right now.

43-Yellow, 23-White, 20-Blue, 14-Red

It has to do with your inner motivations. Not what you do or how you act, but what motivates you to do so. Apparently I am primarily motivated by a need to be having fun in life. Which I find fairly interesting because many of my YELLOW traits are in direct conflict with my WHITE traits. Guess that explains why I am the way I am.

If you want to find out your primary color you can go to this web page. Feel free to post your results here!

Here is a condensed version of my personality, though like I said I think I’m just as much WHITE so I am not quite as simple as a single color.

Yellows are motivated by Fun. They are inviting and embrace life as a party that they’re hosting. They love playful interaction and can be extremely sociable. They are highly persuasive and seek instant gratification. yellows need to be adored and praised. While yellows are carefree, they are sensitive and highly alert to others’ agendas to control them. Yellows typically carry within themselves the gift of a good heart

Yellows need to look good socially, and friendships command a high priority in their lives. yellows are happy, articulate, engaging of others and crave adventure. Easily distracted, they can never sit still for long. They embrace each day in the “present tense” and choose people who, like themselves, enjoy a curious nature. Yellows are charismatic, spontaneous, and positive; but can also be irresponsible, obnoxious, and forgetful. When you deal with a YELLOW, take a positive, upbeat approach and promote light-hearted, creative, and fun interactions.

I should also point out that the report says “The combination of yellow and white is the most well-liked and personable of all personalities…” Go me!

As we were eating, the sun gradually started coming up and one of my cousins proclaimed “you can see the mountains out the other windows!”. So with much excitement I ran across the restaurant to see for myself. I’m sure to everyone else it was perfectly routine to see the sunrise reveal the distant mountain range, but to me it was a truly spectacular sight.

Anytime I visit places with mountains now it’s always exciting to catch that first glimpse in the distance. To this day I always anticipate the spot on I-70 in eastern Colorado where on a clear day the front range first becomes visible (it’s mile marker 370).

Over the years I have seen many a mountain range come into view, but my very first sighting from the dining room of a Village Inn will probably always be one of my favorite memories.

So what does make me feel more connected to God? Things like this sunflower next to my house with it’s perfect double spiral pattern. Every time I see something like this I feel as though I’m standing before direct evidence of God’s presence among us. Humans can make a cheap plastic imitation, but only God can make a tiny seed that converts water, dirt, and sunlight into flower that forms these bright colors and patterns without any human intervention. And if the design alone isn’t enough, it interacts symbiotically with countless other creations. Seeing things like this reminds me that I am not here by sheer coincidence of two colliding stars in a universe without purpose.

While it doesn’t make me a better person, being out in the world that God created, and appreciating His works of art make me feel much more connected to Him in a way that simply attending a church service surrounded by all things man-made can seldom do. In a way I suppose taking this photo and showing it off to the world is, albeit unconventional, my song of praise to our creator.

The name Shortleaf comes from my obsession with conifers and Missouri’s native Shortleaf pine – one of my favorite trees. A guy in Maryland had already registered the domain, but he was kind enough to let me have it for my site! So a big thanks to him.

Also, I am not alone in my creative web ventures… Bridget is making neat earrings, Ian & Co. are doing a project with Adam’s grandpa’s treasure-trove of old slides, and Shelf-life is making some pretty cool “hang-downs”. So I must know a lot of creative people. I bet all of these project doers are left handed.

Anyways… this concludes the promotion of my new photo site for the time being!

I bought this new ultra concentrated bottle of laundry detergent (not the one pictured btw) and every time I go to use it, I find it very awkward to pour. The spout was at a weird angle, and the way I held the bottle, the detergent would just kind of spill and dribble over the side and miss the spout all together. After using the bottle several times, I thought to try pouring with my right hand. Sure enough, the detergent poured straight through the spout nice and neat.

Just one more thing I can add to my list of right handed biased products.

Somehow I was able to do something not many can do – embrace all of my geek attributes and package them in an oh-so-sexy manner. As you well know, my treedroppings.com website is proof enough that anything can desirable if packaged correctly.

Just examine the evidence and you will see what I am talking about:

Clearly there is no denying that while it may have been a long road, I finally matured into something that would make any momma proud.

A contributing factor to assist me was being accidentally scheduled for weights instead of gym class. Weights was reserved for athletes only – something I most definitely was not. But I wanted to capitalize on WCHS’s mistake and use it to my advantage. In order to prevent from being kicked out of the class, I had to join a sport. So naturally I joined swimming, and later diving (which I was actually quite good at!). I still like to brag about the fact that after 4 years of weight class, I held 3 of the 4 school weight lifting records for my weight division (bench press, squats, and power clean for those who care).

My friends in high school ranged from preppy, to grunge, with a dash a punk. Since I obviously had no style of my own (and still don’t) I just borrowed from everyone else to create my own unique blend I like to call “Whatever my sister buys me”.

Another noteworthy event from high school was that I netted my first official girlfriend. Then a second, and third… it was clear that “Project: Ryan Reformation” had been an outright success.

As with any profound reformation, it takes time. One can’t simply up and change the very essence of their being. But I did start wearing jeans and sports related t-shirts instead of sweat pants and nintendo shirts(because it was trendy – NOT because I suddenly started liking sports). And of course don’t forget the infamous silk shirts that I championed so proudly. For many people, this was the worst time period of their life. However, I look back at it as one of my favorites.

The main idea of this time period was that I finally realized how uncool I had become and while I wasn’t particularly unhappy, I decided it would be in my best interest long term to do something about it. But was I too late?

During this period I discovered my love of science, geography, and being a geek in general. I was also into gymnastics. I don’t think I ever realized that my interests were “uncool” because I seemed to draw others into my interests. I started a very selective gymnastics club on the playground that seemed to interest about half the kids on the playground. I then later helped start a group called “KAP” which stood for “Kids Against Pollution”. I don’t think we ever really did anything other than hang out and talk about pollution, but it was a nice try none the less. Just goes to show you how confidence in what you are doing can go a long ways. Shortly thereafter I started my filmmaking career using a primitive VHS camcorder which was what ultimately would allow me to make a name for myself later in high school.

Although I was an uber-geek, I enjoyed who I was and what I was doing. So it really didn’t matter to me if some people thought I was lame.