ampersander-bound

[ checking in ]

2008-07-03T06:05:00.001-07:00

Well hello there bloggie land! I'm alive! The trip is fantatical so far... I'm currently in Baltimore, MD, staying with friends from college. Just thought I'd say HI!

[ the unthinkable has happened ]

2008-06-26T16:29:00.002-07:00

I have become more of a girl than I ever thought would happen.

Not only am I bringing actual make-up on vacation (more than just concealer and chapstick, I mean)... I couldn't decide what shoes to bring.

So I'm bringing FIVE pairs.

FIVE.

What?

When did this happen?!?

I also threw a dress in my bag, just in case.

Mom... I hope you're happy! You and Sarah's evil plan to make me girly seems to finally be working! ;)

[ it's vacation time ]

2008-06-25T19:42:00.003-07:00

I am officially on vacation!

I leave tomorrow night on a red-eye to Boston, and then I'm having three solid weeks of no-work-bliss. Where am I going for three entire weeks, you may ask?

Well....

All over the damn place!

I'll be in Massachusetts Friday morning through Tuesday morning (in a different city each day); New York City Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday evening; Baltimore Wednesday evening through Saturday morning; Raleigh for Saturday; Greenville, SC from Sunday through Thursday; then back to Raleigh from Thursday to Tuesday. Then back to Phoenix on Tuesday, July 15th.

I'm so incredibly excited for this trip. I'm going to be seeing a ton of my friends... most of whom I haven't seen in over a year... some of whom I haven't seen in three or more years. Plus, I'll be seeing pretty much my entire extended family, whom I haven't seen since my sister's wedding last March. It's gonna be freaking awesome.

So, if you notice a long lapse in posting here, for once I will have a legit reason. I still haven't decided if I'm going to bring my computer with me or not. I barely have any space left on it, so I'd have to do a bunch of frantic moving-files-around and backing-shit-up tomorrow before I leave in order to have space for any pictures I take while I'm gone. But if I don't bring it, I'll only be able to take photos until my cards fill up, which will probably be really really fast, because I'm going to hopefully be shooting a lot.

So, I guess I should probably do the frantic moving-files-around and backing-shit-up tomorrow, so that I can bring it, so that I won't have to watch how much I shoot. I am bringing several cameras... a couple film and two digital. But, if I bring my computer I won't have to worry about it at all.

Therefore, thank you blog, for letting me argue with myself on you, because now I've made a decision.

If I don't post for three weeks, see ya in three weeks! Have a rockin' Fourth of July!

[ photo proof ]

2008-06-21T07:35:00.003-07:00

Well, I promised to show some photo proof of my escapades shooting a wedding from a roof. And now, I've got it. I don't have the close-ups that my boss shot of me, but I do have one that I shot of the wedding from the roof, and one my boss shot that you can see me all tiny-like. Enjoy!

[ gilmore girls makes me sappy ]

2008-06-20T08:47:00.003-07:00

So, I'm sure I've mentioned before that I absolutely love Gilmore Girls. It remains my favorite television show of life, and I have the entire series on DVD. Every once in a while, I pull it out and watch random episodes or entire seasons.

So I watched the last two episodes of the series and then watched parts Season 4 recently, and I gotta say... it makes me so damn sappy. I freakin' well up like once an episode! What the hell?!? I've never ever been much of a crier before... why is Gilmore getting me weepy? When Rory graduates Yale, and Richard tells Lorelai to just enjoy the moment, I get teary. When Rory gets her job and says "What about the rollercoasters?" and Lorelai is clearly trying not to cry, I do it for her. When Richard has a heart attack, I'm a freaking disaster. When Luke and Lorelai finally get together (both at the end of Season 4 and at the end of the series), I get so sentimental and gushy. When the whole town is cheering for Rory at the party in the last episode, tears are racing down my face.

Whaaaat is wrong with me? When did I become a sap? Now that I think about it... I cried when I was watching the Sex and the City movie, and Carrie confronted Big in the street and thwacked him with her bouquet. When did that kinda stuff start making me cry?

A few years ago, it would have been hard for me to remember the last time I had cried. I mean, I kind of giggled when Kate Winslet dropped Leo to the bottom of the sea in Titanic. Now, I'm afraid to watch the whole movie, just in case I finally do get weepy when that happens. Where did my cruel, hardened heart go?

Maybe I got sappy and sentimental at love and loss because I lost love. Stupid love life being nonexistent right now. Bah.

I'm going to go watch some more Gilmore Girls, before I have to go to a photoshoot. Maybe I'll make it through an episode without crying like a baby.

[ one whole year ]

2008-06-13T10:11:00.003-07:00

Today is my one-year blog-o-versary!

One year ago today, I started this sucker. We've had good times and bad together. Sometimes I have neglected it. Sometimes it's felt like my best friend.

Let's see... how has my life changed since starting this blog:

+ I moved across the country
+ I planted the seeds of starting my own business
+ My longest romantic relationship to date ended
+ I visited the Grand Canyon and Las Vegas for the first time
+ I took large strides towards making friends in a new place
+ I lived in two different, but equally awesome, apartments

I'd say that overall it's been a pretty good year. It was my twenty-third year of life; my first year on my own; my first year being away from my college friends; my first year as a college graduate; my first year as a real adult; my fifth year knowing that photography is what I want to do with the rest of my life; my fourth year of not calling Sandwich home; my first year of not worrying about exams and tests and due dates; my third year of being a twenty-something.

It's pretty fitting that I started this blog just three days after my birthday. With every year that I get older, this blog will be another year older too.

I wonder what this year will bring for me. I've officially started living my twenty-fourth year of life. Is it right to say it's my twenty-fourth year of life, when my age is twenty-three? I've been alive for twenty-three years, as of three days ago, so now I'm starting the twenty-fourth year, right? I'm going with it.

Anyone else's blog-o-versary coming up? How long have you been blogging? What's changed in your life since you started?

[ yesterday was my birthday ]

2008-06-11T18:07:00.002-07:00

Yesterday was my 23rd birthday! Woot!

I stayed home from work, and basically just bummed around and relaxed all day. I did some reading (Harry Potter One in Italian and a few chapters of Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier), playing video games (old school Mario on Super Nintendo), and movie watching (Amelie, although I fell asleep part-way through... must have been tired).

Then Jesse (yes, my ex-boyfriend) took me out to dinner (not on a date, for those of you who thought, "What?!?") to this Mexican restaurant called Sam's Cafe that's right near my apartment, and has amazing Southwest Shrimp Quesadillas (shrimp, goat cheese, roasted corn, rice... soooo good) and tasty margaritas. And our waiter was wicked cute, and carded me for my margarita, and then gave me free cheesecake because it was my birthday! Score!

Overall, it was a good day. I got a bunch of emails, Facebook messages, text messages and phone calls wishing me a happy birthday.

In other news, My Boys is back tomorrrrrrow night! So excited... I finally get to find out who PJ brought to Italy. I'm pulling for Brando or Alex. I really hope it isn't the baseball player or Thorn. You should watch it!

In other, other news, I love working at the office downtown. We share the space with an architecture company. Three really cool guys work there, and one of them has taco nights pretty frequently. Hopefully I'll be able to go to the next one. And another one owns a coffee shop a few blocks away, and frequently brings us back free coffee. Today I got a delicious iced coffee, for absolutely zero dollars. Awweeeesome!

Happy Hump Day :)

[ the search for the perfect bathing suit ]

2008-06-09T23:05:00.003-07:00

I am on a quest for a bathing suit that I like and that flatters my body. Unfortunately, I have a weird body type. Whenever I read articles about the best bathing suit for your body type, I'm always a combo of several different types.

I'm relatively short... 5'3" to be precise. I'm relatively athletic, with some extra cushion in the stomach area that I'd love not to be on display. I've got a really short torso, paired with pretty long legs... my legs are actually over half of my height, from heel to hip. I've always been lucky with the muscle in my legs... no matter how much soccer I played or how much weight I could lift with them (when I was at my peak fitness level, pretty close to twice my weight), my legs have always stayed pretty lean. I have a small butt. And to top all of that off, literally, I'm a D-cup.

I'm definitely not willing to rock a bikini. I'd prefer a one-piece, but will probably need to end up going with a tankini of sorts, because of my tiny butt and big boobs.

Anyone have any tips? Know any articles that will save my sanity on this issue? Because the only bathing suit I own is a probably six-year-old Speedo one-piece. You know, the kind with the circle cut out of the back. And it's a crazy green pattern that officially hurts my eyes. And I live in Arizona now, and it's damn hot. I'd like to be able to take advantage of the pool that is literally right outside my window, without feeling like I look like an absolute idiot. And without looking chubby.

Help!

[ on attempts at green living ]

2008-06-02T10:51:00.002-07:00

A while back (in November), I compiled a list of ways I was attempting to live my life as greenly as possible. I still am making attempts, and thought it was about time for an update.

What I Do To Live Green:

I have CF bulbs in all of my lights
I moved to a much smaller apartment: I use less electricity, water, etc.
I've started bringing bags everywhere I shop, or refusing bags when I can easily carry what I've purchased
I try to take short, quick showers
I open my blinds instead of turning on lights
I'm still a vegetarian, with the exception of seafood
I still rarely eat out
I still never use plastic utensils or paper plates
My air conditioning is at a comfortable 85 degrees, which is quite cool compared to the three-digit weather we've been having for weeks already
I make sure to turn the a/c off when I'm not at home or when I just don't feel like I need it
I not only turn off my computer when not home, but flip the switch on the entire surge protector -- vampire electricity is a bitch
I also unplug my television and dvd player when I'm not using it, as well as any and all chargers
I now ride my bike to work, as it's only a half-mile away -- I can now go days without getting in my car
I dry almost all of my clothing on a drying rack, and those that I don't, I dry on the Energy Preferred setting on my dryer

What I Am Hoping To Do To Live Green:

Get a basket or one of those towing-thingies for my bike so I can take it to the market instead of my car
Take advantage of the farmer's market I've discovered that is only a few blocks from my apartment, twice a week
Find a way to start recycling again -- my apartment complex doesn't have a recycling program, but I'm sure I can find one

I like feeling like I'm making an effort. Just one person making a small effort won't change things... but if everyone made small changes and small efforts... the change would be incredible!

What do you do to live green?

[ guest bloggers wanted ]

2008-05-30T09:53:00.002-07:00

Hello out there in blogland!

I'm going on vacation for a little over two weeks at the end of June, and have made a promise to my dear little friend, the blog, that I would not continue to leave it unattended for weeks at a time.

Anyone want to guest blog for me?

(Anyone know precisely how the guest-blogging-action works? 'Cuz I don't. But I wanna!)

[ dangerous occupation ]

2008-05-29T20:32:00.004-07:00

Anyone who thinks being a wedding photographer isn't dangerous, listen up:

This weekend, I second-shot at a wedding with my boss. For the first ten or fifteen minutes of the ceremony, I shot from on top of the roof of the resort.

On top of the roof, people.

And to get on said roof, there wasn't a staircase or a ladder or anything. Nope.

That would be easy.

I had to duck through a couple overgrown trees, and hop across a small gap onto the roof.

And every single step I took made the roof make scary noises.

And the roof was of course, not flat, but sloped. So my worth-shit-absolutely-horrendous-balance had to actually work for me. Luckily, I only almost-fell once. Maybe twice.

And of course, my boss got a total kick out of me being up there, and snapped a few photographs of me. In at least one, I look absolutely terrified.

Photographic proof coming once I gank the pics from work.

[ update on life ]

2008-05-25T11:32:00.004-07:00

Once again, it has been forever since I've posted. Almost three weeks. Myyyyyy bad.

I've actually been really busy. To prove my point, check out this tiny screenshot of my calendar for this month:

So it's been a busy couple of weeks. I've been working down at the studio three days a week; there have been a couple weddings recently; I've actually had quite a few of my own clients recently; I've been having events with my Meetup group pretty regularly, as well as hanging out with some of the members outside of the group; and I just started working with another business, a health product that has actually been working wonders for both my back pain and my allergies since I started using it, and will also help me get out of the rat-race before I hit 30.

I also recently decided to make a serious effort to do more reading, less television-watching and less random-internet-surfing. Reading more and having more to do has equated to less general time on the computer, with means less blogification. I used to read voraciously when I was younger, and it recently came to the point that I couldn't actually think of the last book I had read. I have definitely successfully changed that: since the middle of April, I've read six books, and I'm working on a couple more.

One of the books I just finished (as in about an hour ago!) is The Bounce Back Book, by Karen Salmansohn. It is a great little book of 75 tips on "how to thrive in the face of adversity, setbacks, and losses." The tips are amazing for helping you through hard times in your life, both small and huge. It's a really quick read, and totally beneficial. Some of the tips are the types of things you should incorporate into your daily life whether or not you are in a particularly tough spot.

Some of my favorite tips, which I'm going to work on bringing into my everyday life:

#10: Happiness is a choice, not just a matter of genes or good luck.
#22: Give yourself 120-second recharging sessions.
#35: Don't just write a "To Do" list. Write a "To Be" list.
#55: Sing your heartache out.
#58: Cultivate the habit of zest.
#70: View change as chance.

(All quoted from The Bounce Back Book)

Obviously there are sixty-nine more amazing tips, and lots more detail to the six I shared with you. I highly, highly recommend picking it up. It's less than $15, and worth every single penny.

So after that crazy tangent, I'm once again apologizing for being away so long. And once again, I am promising to try to be better. I should post about the fun things happening in my life, instead of just doing the fun things, right?!? Indeed!

[ takes me back ]

2008-05-06T17:33:00.002-07:00

I've all by given up watching television lately. I only have basic cable, so there isn't too much to pick from beyond news, various sitcom reruns, and shitty reality shows. I've started listening to my vast iTunes library and reading instead, and I've noticed specific memories are cropping up when certain songs come on.

Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen
When I was studying abroad in Italy, we were in Rome at the end of the semester, and had our final dinner at a really cute restaurant, tucked into a side road, off a large piazza. We ate outside, and were serenaded by a man playing guitar and trying to think of American songs to sing us once he realized we were American. His fly was also open the entire time. He started singing Bohemian Rhapsody, and our whole group started singing it at the top of our lungs. We even, without any planning, sang the different parts correctly (the Galileo part, mostly). Now every time I hear it, I feel like I'm back in Italy, practically yelling Bohemian Rhapsody, probably pissing off everyone within earshot, loving every second of it, and being insanely sad that the trip was over.

Listen To Your Heart by DHT
Reminds me of almost every single party we had in our senior year of college, because we always played it at least once, and every single person sang along. But in particular, I remember driving around with one of my closest friends, Brent, and we were randomly calling people. When Listen To Your Heart came on, we turned it up insanely loudly, and called our friend Hot-Dan, and proceeded to sing the entire song to his voicemail. Why? No idea, but it was fun as all hell.

Save A Horse, Ride A Cowboy by Big & Rich
Another case of belting out a song with Brent. I agreed to drive to Wilmington with him to buy his gigantic television our sophomore (or was it junior?) year of college. After bickering the entire time we were in the store, we hopped back in his car (a bright red pick-up truck, lovingly named Little Bitty), and were jamming to a country station. We were pretty much the only ones in our group of friends who really loved country music, so we always listened to it together. Save A Horse, Ride A Cowboy came on, and we rolled down all the windows and started screaming it. And when the "and we made love" line came on, we yelled it especially loud... and totally freaked out a guy next to us at the stoplight. Goooood times.

I Love Rock & Roll by Joan Jett
Our senior year, most of the parties I went to were at my apartment. We had an awesome party apartment. And one of the most fun parts of the parties we had, and several chill evenings as well, was that one of our friends had the XBox Karaoke game, and was actually willing to bring the entire game system over so we could play it. And two of our guy friends, Aaron and Scott, were so incredibly determined to get a perfect score. But after trying on one song maybe four or five times, they gave up for the time being. Kelly & I decided to sing I Love Rock & Roll... and totally got a perfect score on the first try! It was absolutely fantabulous.

Cecelia by Simon and Garfunkel
One of the a capella groups at our school sang this song as their alumni song at every concert... any alumni from the group who were at the concert would get on stage and sing it again. I think I actually prefer their version to the real version. It was so much fun, and always so good.

Accidentally In Love by Counting Crows
My friend Darrell, who I had known since our freshman year, was in an a capella group in college also (same one as Jesse), and finally got a solo song our sophomore year. He's an incredible singer, and would also sing to us whenever we asked him. When he found out he got a solo, he came sprinting to my room, and was so excited he could barely tell me. And then I made him sing the entire song to me, standing in my doorway.

Maybe I miss college or something. All those memories are from college.

What song takes you back?

[ on ladylike behavior ]

2008-05-01T13:01:00.002-07:00

How in the hell do you ride a bicycle in a dress? A sundress, that's kind of flowy, and comes down right to your knees?

How do you ride a bike without flashing the world your underwear?

I've adopted the riding with one hand on the handlebars, one hand holding down the skirt approach.

Do you just say screw it and walk? Do you just say screw it and throw on a pair of shorts underneath the dress?

Although, I suppose saying "screw it" wouldn't be very ladylike either...

[ angry at the television ]

2008-04-25T11:40:00.003-07:00

I am ticked off at TBS at the moment.

They keep showing me little tiny commercials about how My Boys is coming back in June.

JUNE!

That's in, like, forever.

I have been waiting to find out who PJ brings to Italy since AUGUST!

I want My Boys back now.

They won't even show me old episodes now.

Bastards.

[ checking a few off the list ]

2008-04-25T07:16:00.002-07:00

Just a quick update to my 101 in 1001 list.

009. Read one business book a month
I'm just over half-way done with The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It, by Michael E. Gerber. It's about the three distinct personalities that everyone has (usually one way more-so than the others) when starting a business: the Entrepreneur, the Technician and the Manager; and about finding balance between those three. It's also about treating your business as a product that will be reproduced a thousand times, and how to make it error-proof, and able to run without you.

019. Go back East to visit friends & family at least once a year
I haven't gone yet, but I am knee-deep in planning my East Coast extravaganza for this summer. I'll be hitting up Boston, Cape Cod, Baltimore, Raleigh, Greenville and possibly NYC to see friends and family. Most of the friends I haven't seen in almost a year (over a year by the time I get there), and a few friends I haven't seen in several years. It's gonna be awesome!

043. Drink 64 ounces of water every day
I'm officially a camel. Some days I feel like I'm about to float away. And the craziest part... I'm still frequently thirsty! Living in a desert really takes it out of you, huh?

049. Start shooting one roll of film or 50 digital images every week
I've actually been able to do this thanks to my own clients! Week One was the Ladies Who Launch Bio Makeover Party; Week Two was an infant shoot with an tiny and oh-so-freaking-adorable four week old; Week Three was a fashion shoot for my friend's children's clothing line; Week Four will be a shoot with two little girls on Saturday; and Week Five will be a corporate head shot session next Friday!

055. Explore Phoenix - one new place per month
This month I ate breakfast at Matt's Big Breakfast. It's a tiny (literally maybe seats 20 people at a time) building, just a short walking distance from my apartment, and it's highly praised out here. It's even been featured on the Food Network. The food was absolutely incredible! And by the time we were done (I was with my parents), there were about 20 people milling around outside waiting for a table!

056. Learn to enjoy wine
I tried a Pinot Grigio from Italy that I really really liked. Of course, I can't for the life of me remember what it was called. However, I know what the bottle looks like, so if I see it again, I can buy it!

070. Build a stylish and professional and FUN wardrobe
I got a few new, really nice, pieces. A fabulous black cotton dress from GAP, and a few nicer tops from Old Navy. Does anyone have any recommendations for places I can find nice, but fun, clothes, but for not too much cash?

084. Watch one classic movie a month
The Way We Were, starring Barbra Streisand and Robert Redford. I picked it because (don't laugh!) it's mentioned a lot in Gilmore Girls. I had never seen it, and I like it when I know what the hell they are talking about on the show. So now I get all those references. Plus it was fantastic. And double-plus... Robert Redford is freaking HOT! I mean, I always thought he was attractive (Have you seen The Great Gatsby? Hoooly moly!), and this just solidified it. Yummy.

086. Meet a famous person
I met several at the Phoenix Film Festival! Read about it here.

093. See a cultural event once every six months
Jesse & I went to see a ballet at the beginning of the month. It was performed by Ballet Arizona, and was called Mixed Repertory: A Celebration of Dance! I really liked it a lot... I've always though ballet was just incredibly beautiful. Seeing The Nutcracker is my absolute favorite thing to do around Christmas time.

Yay! Slowly chipping away at it!

[ my middle name should be random ]

2008-04-20T16:22:00.003-07:00

And now, a random sampling of the haps of my life:

I know I'm wicked late to jump on the bandwagon, but I finally saw Juno. And I heart it just as much as every other person who has raved about it. I watched it two times this weekend, and contemplated letting Blockbuster charge me the extra $20 for keeping it. In the end, my desire to actually have money in my pocket led me to return it today.

As much as gas prices suck, I'm actually pretty okay with it. Mainly because my car gets rockin' gas mileage. I kept track this time around, and since my last fill-up, my little Suzy got an average of 29.64 miles to the gallon. GO SUZY!

I named my bike Lily. For absolutely no reason. She's a blueish green, and doesn't even look particularly feminine. But I looked at her and said "Lily." First thing that popped to my head... sometimes shit just goes down like that.

Speaking of names, how do you refer to yourself? My whole life, I've been Becca to my friends and Rebecca to my family, teachers, professors and bosses. But now, I always introduce myself as Rebecca, so that's what most people I know in AZ call me. But I called a couple old friends from good-ole-Sandwich today, and I actually stuttered when I was saying who it was... "Hey! It's Rebe... Bec... Rebecca. Becca (last name)!" I didn't know my own name for a minute. It was weird.

And lastly, I know I already mentioned this once, but if you haven't checked out She & Him, Volume One.... DO IT NOW!

[ grand canyon ]

2008-04-17T17:32:00.004-07:00

A few weeks ago (okay... like three weeks... so I'm a little slow posting), my mother and father were visiting for their spring break, and for one day, we went up to the Grand Canyon. We took a really nice tour, so didn't have to do anything but sit back, relax, and see the big ass canyon. None of us had ever been there before, so it was pretty awesome to see it.

I took some of my fun cameras with me, but don't have those pictures yet, so you'll just have to enjoy some digital ones!

Now, I knew the Grand Canyon was big. The word "grand" is in the title. But seriously... it's HUUUUUUUUUGE. I was in complete awe.

Possibly my favorite picture that I took digitally. I'm a dork, I know:

For about 50 more images, check out my Flickr Page!

[ phoenix film festival: the people i met ]

2008-04-13T17:26:00.003-07:00

So, at the Phoenix Film Festival, I got a chance to talk to a bunch of producers and directors. But I alsooooo got to meet a few actors. No one incredibly hugely famous, but it was still pretty cool.

First off, Johnny Messner. Now, the only thing I knew him from was a few episodes of The OC, so I won't be shocked if you have no idea who he is. On The OC, he was Julie's ex-boyfriend from way back, and one day he showed up with a porno starring Julie, and then Caleb had him killed. Rockin'. Anyway, he was in The Art of Travel, which I looooooooved.

I actually had two separate, ten or fifteen minute conversations with him: one right after I saw his film, and one during one of the parties. His voice scared the shit out of me, because it's wicked low and gravely, but I wasn't expecting it to be SO low and SO gravely in person. He asked if I liked the movie, and because I did, we talked about it for a little while. He was really nice, and wicked stoked that so many people liked the movie.

Secondly, and probably the one I was most excited about, Jonathan Schaech. If you've ever seen That Thing You Do, he played the lead singer of The Wonders. He was in a horror film called Organizm at the Festival, which I didn't see, because I'm not too big on horror films.

I basically just exchanged pleasantries with him. He was going into a film that I was taking tickets for, so I tore his ticket and told him to enjoy, and he thanked me. After the movie, he left the theatre first, and I got to actually meet him and introduce myself. Woot!

Next is Pras, from the Fugees. He did a Q&A session after his documentary Skid Row showed. Everyone asked questions, and he answered them. I was practically unconscious because it was two in the morning, so I didn't so much meet him as be in the same room with him.

And lastly, Shane West. What I actually knew him from was A Walk to Remember and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, but he was also on E.R. for a few years. The first time I saw him, he was coming out of the Q&A session after his film, What We Do Is Secret, but I didn't say anything to him because he was completely surrounded by practically-fainting girls, and I didn't want to add to it. So he just hung out in the hall for maybe fifteen or twenty minutes, and all I did was smile at him as I walked past to leave.

Later that night, I was working the Awards Party, and he was there too, so I did get to say hello and introduce myself. I didn't have too much to talk about, because I didn't really want to say that I only knew him from those two movies, neither of which I particularly liked, and I hadn't been able to see the film that was in the Festival. But we chatted for a few minutes, and he seemed really nice and genuine.

So, yeah... I got to meet a few actors and a rapper. Goooooo me. It was pretty cool. I was proud of myself for not acting like a moron. I was able to string whole sentences together, and not act star-struck, so that's good!

[ found the pictures through google ]

[ phoenix film festival: the movies i saw ]

2008-04-13T16:44:00.004-07:00

For the past week and a half, I've been volunteering at the Phoenix Film Festival. I mostly took tickets, directed people to the right place, and answered questions. Because I volunteered at least 20 hours (I think I ended up logging closer to 30), I got to see as many movies as I wanted to for free. I ended up having time to see five films, as well as a collection of College-Student-made Short Films. I highly highly highly highly recommend all of them!

Son of Rambow
This movie was absolutely incredible. The person who described it to me said it was about "two British boys who decide to make a Rambo movie after seeing Last Blood." And I thought, "Oh dear lord, why am I going to see this?!?" But it was so so much more than that. It was an incredible story of friendship and boundaries and coming into your own. It's extremely funny and extremely heart-warming.

Mongol
I never ever in my life thought my brain would create the thought "I feel bad for Genghis Khan," but this film made me think it. I have to admit it. It's a biopic about Genghis Khan's life, before he was Genghis Khan. It covers his life from the time he chose his wife and lost his father, at around age 9, up through the battle that sealed his destiny. It really is an amazing and beautiful movie. It makes you remember that everyone is human.

The Art of Travel
This is one of my new favorite films. It follows a young man named Connor, who is about to marry his girlfriend and go off to college, when his whole life turns around. He ends up in Nicaragua by himself, with no money. When he eventually makes it to Panama, he meets two people who will change his life forever. It is an exquisitely done film, starring Christopher Masterson. The scenery is just amazing, the story is so well-done. It made me want to go to an airport and get on the next international flight, no matter where it was heading.

Skid Row
This one was intense. Pras (from the Fugees) lived on Skid Row in LA for nine days, with no money and no help from his crew or friends, filming the entire experience with hidden cameras. There is just no way to describe this movie. All I can say is it was at once intense, terrifying and heartbreaking. I actually had to turn away a few times, because I simply couldn't handle what was shown on the screen. It was really well-done, just really horribly sad.

On Broadway
This one actually won the Audience Award at the festival. It stars Joey McIntyre (yes, of New Kids on the Block) and Eliza Dushku, among others. It's focuses on an Irish family in Boston. When Joey McIntyre's character's uncle dies in an accident, it inspires him to write a play about the traditions and connections within the Irish community. Basically everything is against him, but he knows in his gut that he needs to write the play and get it on stage. This film is absolutely beautiful. Heart-wrenching, really funny, incredibly touching, extremely inspiring. I absolutely loved it, and it definitely deserved the Audience Award.

Really great films, all of them. Others that I wanted to see, and were highly recommended by others at the festival: What We Do Is Secret (couldn't find a trailer); Take (which won Best Film); The Life Before Her Eyes; The Visitor; Dakota Skye (which won Best Screenplay); and 11 Minutes Ago.

Stay tuned for a report on who I met!

[ someone thinks i'm excellent ]

2008-04-07T08:38:00.003-07:00

Holy mackerel... someone thinks I'm excellent! I actually was awarded an Excellence Award, by the fabulouso Kat! I'm kind of bummed that she was the one who awarded it to me, because she's definitely one of the people I would give it to! So definitely check her out... her blog is greatamundo!

But yay! I got a blogging award from someone! Yay :)

The Rules: By accepting this Excellent Blog Award, you agree to award it to 10 more people whose blogs you find Excellent Award worthy. You can give it to as many people as you want but please award at least 10. You deserve this! Feel free to award people who have already been awarded.

Therefore, I lovingly award the following people with an Excellent Blog Award:

Tiff at Truth Bombs
Sadira at Foolsewoode
Jen at Simply Breakfast
Sarah at Sarerinthal
Jessica at How About Orange
Chelsea at Chelsea Talks Smack
Candace at Big Cheeks
Katelin at Gorgeous Footsteps in the Sand
Nicole at More is Better
Elle at The IT Girl

Go visit them all! Now!

[ happy april ]

2008-04-03T12:27:00.002-07:00

Happy April!

I know, I know. You're thinking, "Wait!?! A real post from Rebecca?!? No freakin' way!"

It has indeed been a while since I have posted something that wasn't a list. I have been unmotivated. It has been pathetic. I've had plenty of time to post, I just haven't wanted to.

However... now I am busy.

I am currently the type of busy where the only way to survive is to be insanely productive. I am the type of busy that I love and crave and seriously can't live without. I am busy with work stuff, fun stuff, volunteer stuff.

I am busy.

I'm the fruit loop who hates having nothing to do. I was the weird kid in grade school who hated summer vacation because after a week of hanging out and doing nothing, I was bored. I was the kid who played on four soccer teams at once, just to have something to do. I was the high schooler who got up early to do some extra homework, went to school for the day, read during lunch, stayed after school until 5 o'clock to help with the theatre company's production of South Pacific, raced home to change into practice clothes, drove 45 minutes for a 2 hour soccer practice, drove 45 minutes home and then did homework until midnight.

And I'm the kid who loved that.

I like having stuff to do. I am insanely productive when I have an insane amount of things going on. I am at my best when I have too much happening. I am happiest when I'm running to and from things. I am blissful when I don't have time to watch television. I am ecstatic when I have to spend all my time doing something.

And now I am busy. I am happier than I've been in a while.

Simply because I'm busy!

And you, my dears, have the following posts to look forward to (I guess I'm still in list mode!):

My new decision on what the most romantic part of a movie is
My mother's insane jewelry making skills
My first-ever visit to the Grand Canyon
My new soccer team
My insane LWL meeting on Monday night
My first-ever blog award (which I'm so excited about!)
The Phoenix Film Festival, at which I'm volunteering this weekend

And probably more that I can't think of right now, or which haven't happened yet!

Now I've got to do some work, before I head back to work! (I love this!)

PS: If you haven't already, check out She & Him! AMAZING!

[ march 31: 101 in 1001 ]

2008-03-31T14:07:00.004-07:00

New and improved! I actually managed to completely write the list before posting it... and even categorize it!

Start Date: April 1, 2008
End Date: December 27, 2010

Bold = Complete
Italic = In Progress
Linked = Posted About

BUSINESS
001. Legally establish FiveGoodGoats
002. Enter local art shows
003. Create a portfolio book: a real, bound book
004. Get to the point that 5GG is my main, if not only, source of income
005. Self-design & publish a book of my photography
006. Have a table of photographs for sale at Downtown Phoenix's First Friday
007. Update 5GG.com once every three months (0/11)
008. Go to a Ladies Who Launch LIVE event
009. Read one business book a month (1/33)
010. Photograph a famous person
011. Get a part-time job or internship a few hours a week in graphic or interior design

TRAVEL
012. Road trip Western America
013. Visit Hawaii
014. Go back to Italy
015. Take advantage of cheap Southwest flights
016. Visit San Francisco
017. Visit London
018. Go to LA
019. Go back East to visit friends & family at least once a year (0/3)
020. Plan a backpacking trip across Europe to go on before I turn 30
021. Visit a National Forest

LEARNING / EDUCATION
022. Research a new photographer every week for a month (0/4)
023. Take one art class a year (0/3)
024. Expand my literary influences - one new author a month (0/33)
025. Increase my fluency in Italian
026. Learn to make jewelry
027. Read 100 books (0/100)
028. Learn how to screenprint at home
029. Learn to sew
030. Learn to cook: at least two new recipes a week (0/66)
031. Take classes in three different, and extremely varied topics
032. Read all of the Harry Potter books in Italian without referencing the English versions (0/7)
033. Take a cooking class
034. Get a library card at the Phoenix Public Library
035. Make a decision about Grad School - what to study
036. Learn basic car maintenance
037. Take a class in or self-teach myself more about web design & HTML
038. Learn about one new and entirely random topic a month (0/33)

HEALTH
039. Start hiking regularly
040. Create an exercise plan and stick to it
041. Go rock climbing (indoor or outdoor)
042. Do 50 push ups in a row
043. Drink 64 ounces of water every day
044. Try skiing (again) or snowboarding
045. Run a 5K, preferably for charity
046. Fix my posture: stop slouching!
047. Buy all fruits & veggies at a Farmer's Market for one month
048. Run a mile without having to walk

PHOTOGRAPHY
049. Start shooting one roll of film or 50 digital images every week
050. Scan all my negatives
051. Teach a photography class
052. Photograph my shoes
053. Write emails or letters to 5 photographers I admire

FOR ME
054. Get over my fear of deep water
055. Explore Phoenix - one new place per month (1/33)
056. Learn to enjoy wine
057. Buy and wear a bikini for the first time
058. Track my spending for a month and use it to create a detailed budget
059. Make a list of 100 things that make me happy
060. Send a secret to Postsecret
061. Back up all important files regularly
062. Complete a Sudoku puzzle every day for a month
063. Create an inspiration board
064. Save at least $50 a month; up it to $100 a month when/if possible (0/33)
065. Do something nice for myself every day
066. Make a list of 50 things I enjoy doing alone, and do each and every one of them (0/50)
067. Spend one evening a week without watching television or using my computer
068. Go to a spa and get completely pampered
069. Refinish or paint my dining room table and chairs so they match
070. Build a stylish and professional and FUN wardrobe
071. End my day with reading, not television at least twice a week
072. Get a watch that works or fix the two I have that don't
073. Make my bed right after waking up
074. Decide if I really do want a tattoo; if yes, decide where & what
075. Stop using plastic bags completely

FOR OTHERS
076. Send handmade or self-designed cards only for holidays and birthdays
077. Participate in Habitat for Humanity
078. Find a non-profit that I am passionate about and volunteer with it
079. Purge my closet - things that haven't been worn in 6 months or more go to charity
080. Send real mail to a friend 10 times (0/10)
081. Send a care package to someone who needs it
082. Leave a 100% tip for a particularly good waiter or waitress

FOR FUN
083. Go bowling
084. Watch one classic movie a month (1/33)
085. See a movie at a drive-in
086. Meet a famous person
087. Take photos in a photo booth at least 3 times (0/3)
088. Have a picnic
089. Fly in a hot air balloon
090. Put all one dollar bills I receive as change in a "do-something-fun" fund
091. Ride a roller coaster
092. See Jimmy Buffett live
093. See a cultural event once every six months (1/5)
094. Go to a hockey game

BLOGGING
095. Be a guest blogger for someone
096. Participate in at least three of NaBloPoMo's monthly challenges per year (0/9)
097. Become a better blogger: blog at least two times a week
098. Become a better commenter: comment on at least one post a day

AT THE END
099. Donate $1 to charity for every item not completed
100. Put $1 in my savings account for every item completed
101. Create a new 101 in 1001 list

[ march 30: favorites ]

2008-03-30T23:30:00.004-07:00

A month of lists wouldn't be complete without a list of favorites! Here are some of mine.

MY FAVORITE:

Color: Orange
Song: Now & Forever by Richard Marx (the ultimate love song... it never gets not-good)
Pet: PUPPIES! (Although I've never had one)
City: Florence, Italy
Country: Italy
Meal: Breakfast (especially pancakes)
Item of Clothing: My orange and blue New Balance sneakers that I bought in Siena
TV Show: Gilmore Girls; My Boys (comes back in June!!)
Film: The Princess Bride
Book: The Hobbit
Scent: Pomegranate Martini from Bath & Body Works
Vacation Spot: Italy
Type of Weather: Sunny and warm, with a slight breeze
Body Part (on the opposite sex): Arms
Body Part (on me): Freckles (not a body part, but still my favorite)
Drink: Coffee
Season: Winter
Time of Day: Dusk
Holiday: Christmas

Any favorites I didn't reveal that you'd like to know? Ask away, my dears!

I can't believe that March's NaBloPoMo list-making craziness is almost over! I've got to get to work finishing compiling the big doozy list: a new and improved 101 in 1001 list! I also have about half a dozen non-list, real-life posts in the line-up, that I haven't had a chance to post... seeeee you tomorrow!

[ march 29: movies i've watched too many times ]

2008-03-29T23:08:00.000-07:00

So, I love movies. I really do. It's a weakness of mine, up there close to my weakness for music. I just love movies. I like most types of movies; pretty much everything except for horror films. I'm not a huge sci-fi enjoyer, but I don't hate it either. And I'm slightly embarrassed to say that not many of the movies on this list of films I've seen more times than I probably should have are really that good. Most of them fall more in the category of so-bad-they're-good. I love them, and own them all!

The Princess Bride: As my all-time favorite movie, of course this one is on the list. Can't get enough of it. I can quote a lot of it from memory, and when watching it, can come close to reciting it verbatim.
National Treasure: What can I say... I love Riley! This movie just cracks me up, and is so much fun. I totally loved the second one too... "Oh no, God save the Queen!"
The Transporter: So incredibly falls in the category of so-bad-it's-good. Completely and utterly ridiculous. It has some very fun music, and is just so fun to watch.
Gone in Sixty Seconds: Another Nicolas Cage movie, which is kind of funny, because I don't necessarily like him as an actor. This movie is just great though... I love the cars and the characters... the cast is great!
Super Troopers: I was introduced to this movie at the very end of high school, was told that I wouldn't like it unless I was high, refused to get high to watch it, and absolutely thought it was hysterical. It is one of my favorite movies, if only because it never gets not-entertaining.
Spaceballs: Just flat-out funny. Cracks me up every time I watch it. I particularly like when they comb the desert.
Robin Hood Men in Tights: Again, just hysterical. Love the dancing, love the singing, love all the innuendos. LOVE when Patrick Stewart shows up as King.

And two movies that are climbing the list, considering I've watched them both several times in only two weeks (and these are actually great films!):

Across the Universe: If you haven't seen this, you are completely insane. It has rocketed into my top two favorite movies, second only to The Princess Bride. It's just so visually interesting and stimulating; the musical arrangements and the singing are amazing; the acting is great. I just freaking love it. Yay for the Beatles bringing us so much fantastic music that such a great movie was able to be crafted from it. It makes me want to flesh out my Beatles music collection.
Stardust: It's just fun. It's a fun and interesting story; it's got some great actors in it (Ian McKellan narrates at the beginning and end; Peter O'Toole has a few minutes of amazingness as the King; Michelle Pfeiffer plays a crazy, scary witch; Claire Danes is the Star; and Robert De Niro plays an incredibly flamboyant pirate named Captain Shakespeare).

What movies have you watched a squillion times? Any you're slightly embarrassed to admit?

[ postdated because i was out of town! more on that soon! ]

[ march 28: where i got my buddhas ]

2008-03-28T09:42:00.002-07:00

As I've mentioned before, I collect Buddha statuettes. I've been collecting them since I was about 15, and now I have sixteen of all different sizes and colors. One is even an incense holder! And here is where I've gotten them all, in absolutely no particular order, with stories if they have a fun one:

Cape Cod, MA: This is the largest one. It's actually a garden statuette, and I got it at the Christmas Tree Shoppe! If you know what a Christmas Tree Shoppe is, you know the amazingness. If you don't, I am so very sorry. Get to Massachusetts quickly and go to one!
Siena, Italy
Newark, DE / UDel (2): My friend ML gave me one that is multicolored, and kind of looks like it's humping a fish.
San Gimignano, Italy
Phoenix, AZ (2)
Barcelona, Spain: The incense holder! Which I've never actually used as an incense holder.
Vittoria, Spain
New York City (2)
Connecticut
New Zealand: I actually got this one for free! I found it in a store in a teeny tiny town, and it was supposed to be part of a set that was maybe $2. Someone had pulled apart all the sets, so they were all scattered around the shelf. The guy who owned the store couldn't remember which ones made up a set, because there were a lot of different kinds. And since one of them would have been about thirty cents, he said "Merry Christmas!" and gave it to me! Nice guy!
Raleigh, NC
Rome, Italy

My goal is to get one wherever I go. It's a fun challenge, although you'd be amazed how omnipresent Buddha statuettes are!

[ march 27: weirdo habits ]

2008-03-27T09:25:00.000-07:00

Soooooooooooo... I'm not sure if you've noticed, but I'm kind of a kook. And, although you're supposed to blend into the crowd and be like everyone else, I've decided to proudly list some of my weird habits and tendencies. Because it's funnnnnn.

I rarely eat peanut butter on bread or bagels or anything... I prefer to just eat it with a spoon.
I can't eat food with chunks in it. At least, food that is supposed to be smooth. It's mostly yogurt and baked goods. I cannot eat either with fruit chunks. It totally grosses me out, and I actually physically can't swallow it. That shit is nasty.
I always freeze chocolates with caramel centers. They're so tasty like that, plus the caramel doesn't really freeze, just kind of hardens, so it's a much neater way to eat caramel!
I like to organize my movies by category. Some of the categories are legitimate genres, like comedy or genre. But some are fun and random, like: epics (Harry Potter, Indiana Jones), chick flicks (Love Actually, Prime), superheroes (Spiderman, Transformers), musicals (Across the Universe, Guys & Dolls), 80s movies (Flashdance, Footloose), and parodies (Spaceballs, Robin Hood Men in Tights).
I always eat corn on the cob from end to end, in rows of four kernels.
I'm always 15 or 20 minutes early for everything... I hate that embarrassed feeling of being late for something so much, that I leave almost double the time to get there than it should take. I spend lots of time sitting in my car, waiting for things to start.
Because of #6, I always bring a book or two with me everywhere I go.

I like being kinda weird. Life's more fun that way. Do you have any kooky habits?

[ postdated due to serious internet issues the past few days ]

[ march 26: places i've travelled outside of the country ]

2008-03-26T08:23:00.001-07:00

I love traveling. If you couldn't tell from my places to travel list earlier this month, I have a crazy insane desire to travel basically everywhere. I have been lucky enough to travel quite a bit, between soccer tournaments and study abroad programs in college.

Jamaica: Second grade with the family. I don't really recall much of the trip, but I did get those tiny little braids with the beads at the end. And the accompanying sunburn on my entire scalp.
Amsterdam: I played in a soccer tournament with a spin-off of my MAPLE team. We sucked. It was embarrassing. But Amsterdam was pretty cool. I'm sure it's much cooler when you're not 14 and on a strict curfew.
Rimini, Italy: The next summer I played in a tournament in Italy. We actually ended up doing pretty well, and placed third. Which was especially exciting because we were all 15 and 16, and we were playing against semi-professional women in their 20s. This is where I scored the PK.
Nice, France: We took a bus from our tournament in Italy to our tournament in Spain, and we spent one day in Nice. It was beautiful, and it was the first time my feet touched the Mediterranean!
Vittoria, Spain: My last soccer tournament in Europe. We whooped ass and won the tournament. We actually showed up in the local newspaper, with a headline under the picture that said (in Spanish, of course), "The Americans have become the main attraction of the tournament." It was awesome. Everyone was rooting against us at the beginning, but then our games drew the biggest crowds!
New Zealand: My sophomore year of college, I spent five weeks studying abroad in New Zealand. It was amazing. One of the most beautiful places I've ever seen. You can go for five blocks in a major city, not see a single garbage can, and also not see a single piece of trash on the ground. It's incredible. I hiked a volcano, walked on a glacier, kayaked across a major sea channel (which I will never do again!), and got to do it all with my camera. Awesome.
Italy: My junior year of college, I studied in Italy for a semester. Four long, amazing months immersed in Italy. We went all over the country, saw amazing things that I had only dreamed of, ate incredible food, and learned a beautiful language. I really need to get back into Italian.
London: For spring break of my semester in Italy, my friend Krista and I split the week between three places, and the first was London. We had so many issues getting there, ended up arriving at 2am, splitting a cab with another American student we met at the airport whose flat was right around the corner from our hostel, and getting to our hostel at about 3am. London was the type of place that I felt completely at home the second I got there. I was only there for three days, and now I'm dying to go back for a longer period of time.
Barcelona: After London, we went to Barcelona. Although I saw some amazing things, like an incredible Van Gogh museum and the buried remains of a city from the time of the Roman Empire, and the weather was incredible, I didn't really like being in Barcelona. I felt really uncomfortable the entire time. I could never figure out what it was... maybe the language barrier. Not sure.
Paris: After Barcelona, we went to Paris for a few days, and although it rained the entire time we were there, it was still one of the most amazing places I've ever seen. We tried to see as many things as we could, but we were only there for about two and half days. I'm definitely dying to go back to Paris too. There was so much I wanted to see. I was incredibly comfortable there, and felt like I could just spend weeks wandering around, seeing everything.

So I've been incredibly lucky. I've been able to travel some amazing places, see some incredible things, and meet some awesome people. And I can't wait to travel more and see more! Travel rocks!

Where have you traveled? Care to share any pictures or stories?

[ postdated due to serious internet issues the past few days ]

[ march 25: cameras i own ]

2008-03-25T21:13:00.003-07:00

One of the things I collect is cameras. I have some that I use regularly, some that I use for fun, and a few that I just own because they're beautiful!

Canon Digital Rebel XTi: Probably my most-used camera. It's a great digital SLR, and I love it!
Nikon N55: My old film SLR. Yes, I still use it occasionally. There's something about film cameras that I still love.
Canon Powershot: The camera that's with me most of the time. Small enough to fit in my purse; awesome enough that I love using it.
Oktomat: This amazing camera shoots eight frames on each negative. So cool.
Holga: A classic film camera. It's amazing. It shoots medium format film, and the light leaks are so interesting.
Fisheye: Gotta love a fun camera. Another fun film camera... you get sweet rounded images from it.
Supersampler: Another cool film camera. It shoots four long, narrow frames on each negative. You can make people look really really tall!
Kodak Brownie: My grandfather found an old Kodak brownie in their basement, and gave it to me a few years ago. I'm not sure if it still works, but hopefully I'll find out soon.
Polaroid Land Camera Automatic 103: An awesome vintage camera, that has bellows when you open it and everything. It sometimes works, sometimes doesn't, but I still love it. I got it at an estate sale in Connecticut for $5. Score!
Polaroid Land Camera Model J66: I recently got this camera at an antique store close to me. I haven't been able to test it out yet, but it's in great condition, so I'm really hoping it works.
Kodak Brownie Bullet: A teeny tiny old brownie. It's freaking adorable. I haven't gotten a chance to test this one out either. From what I can tell, the shutter sticks a bit, but I'm pretty sure that's not too difficult to fix. Hopefully!

I love love love cameras. Amazing things, they are.

[ march 24: favorite days ]

2008-03-24T21:39:00.003-07:00

This list was actually really hard, and is still really short, even after a lot of thought. I wanted to pick days that I can remember being totally and completely blissfully happy. Unfortunately, I have shit for memory, and can't remember very many specifics of my childhood. So, I have only seven examples of days I was blissfully happy, in no particular order.

The day I found out I got a scholarship to UD. My mom called my high school, and had the whole office searching for me because they all knew who I was (for being a good kid, not a trouble maker!). I seriously thought someone had died or something, because such a ruckus was going on. But then I found out that it was good ruckus -- I got a really amazing scholarship to a really amazing school.
High school graduation. I was totally the kid who was absolutely dying to get out of my small hometown. I couldn't wait to get out of high school and move on to bigger and better things. I was so happy the day of high school graduation, because I knew that it meant only three short months until college.
Scoring a penalty kick in a soccer game in Italy. I played soccer most of my life before I got hurt. Hell, it was my life before I got hurt. One summer, when I was fourteen or fifteen, I played two tournaments in Europe, one in Rimini, Italy and one in Vittoria, Spain. I had played defense for most of my soccer career, so I never got many goal-scoring opportunities. But for whatever reason, my coach picked me to be on the the kickers on PKs at the end of a tie game, and I actually scored! I can't for the life of me remember if we won or lost in the end; all I remember is that I scored a PK.
College graduation. I was so excited to start a new life. I was also so incredibly bummed to leave all the amazing friends I made in college, because I was basically the only person to venture of the East Coast. But I was so ecstatic that I had finished college. I got a degree in something I absolutely love, I managed to learn a second language pretty well, and I met some of the best people on the planet. College was amazing, and graduation was so much fun.
The day I got a job out here in AZ. I had flown out from Delaware to Arizona for about 36 hours, specifically to interview with the wedding photographer I work for now. It was a couple days before I heard from him, but when I got the message saying that I got the job, I was jumping up and down and could barely contain myself. I was actually at a movie theatre, and had to leave the movie to listen to the message. I'm pretty sure I cheered and yelled out loud, and possibly scared a few people. I was excited!
Homecoming Day, senior year of college. Started the day bright and early with beer and bagels, went to the game for a bit, came back and just chilled all day with some of my favorite people. I think beer pong was played for about 14 hours straight. We watched cartoons, and movies. We napped. We went to get coffee and play on the Green. We wandered around campus taking ridiculous pictures, and hanging with the UD goats, Chloe and Lucinda. It was just an amazingly perfect day.
The day I landed in Italy for my study abroad. I had been dying to go back to Italy since the soccer tournament. When I figured out I could fit an entire semester in Italy into my schedule, I was beyond thrilled. But nothing can compare to how I felt landing in Rome... knowing I was going to be there for four whole months. Just thinking of it now gives me goosebumps. And makes me want to go back again!

What days in your life stand out as completely blissful? I'm talking happiest you can remember being.

[ march 23: fictional character crushes ]

2008-03-23T21:07:00.002-07:00

You know when you watch a movie or television show, and you think to yourself, "Man, I want to date a guy like that!" This list is for you, my friends. Fictional characters that I have had a crush on. I can admit it. It's not wicked weird... only slightly.

Luke Danes (Gilmore Girls): Holy moly, I want a Luke. He was always so thoughtful and caring... he made Lorelai an ice rink; he cooked at the inn when Sookie had to be on bed rest; he pined for Lorelai for like eight years; he wanted to beat the crap out of Logan for kissing Rory. I heart him.
Jess Mariano (Gilmore Girls): Every girl has got to love a bad boy, and he was mine. He was so angry, but then he came back in the end, and he was the one who kicked Rory in the ass. Gotta love the reformed bad boy.
Seth Cohen (The OC): Such a dork. Such a good heart. So freakin' cute.
Matteo Carati (The Best of Youth): Just because he was hot. And only until the point when he went nutty angry. And then nutty sad. But he was great up until the nutty hit.

Did you ever have a crush on the fictional character? I promise I won't laugh!

[ march 22: #1 songs on june 10th ]

2008-03-22T09:32:00.002-07:00

Have you ever wanted to know what song was number one when you were born? Well, I'm definitely the type of person who wants to know random stuff like that! And if you want to know, I used this site to look up the number one song on my birthday every year since I was born! And because I like to share, now you can know the number one song on my birthday every year since I was born!

1985: Everybody Wants To Rule The World by Tears for Fears
1986: On My Own by Patti LaBelle & Michael McDonald
1987: Always by Atlantic Star
1988: One More Try by George Michael
1989: Wind Beneath My Wings by Bette Midler
1990: It Must Have Been Love by Roxette
1991: Rush Rush by Paula Abdul
1992: Jump by Kris Kross
1993: That's The Way Love Goes by Janet Jackson
1994: I Swear by All-4-One
1995: Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman by Bryan Adams
1996: The Crossroads by Bone Thugs-n-Harmony
1997: I'll Be Missing You by Puff Daddy & Faith Evans
1998: The Boy is Mine by Brandy & Monica
1999: If You Had My Love by Jennifer Lopez
2000: Maria Maria by Santana
2001: Lady Marmalade by Christina Aguilera, Lil' Kim, Mya & Pink
2002: Foolish by Ashanti
2003: 21 Questions by 50 Cent
2004: Burn by Usher
2005: We Belong Together by Mariah Carey
2006: Ridin' by Chamillionaire
2007: Umbrella by Rihanna

Pretty good selection! Minus JLo and Chamillionaire I like all these songs & singers!

Were any great songs #1 on your birthday?

[ march 21: books i own but haven't read yet ]

2008-03-21T22:16:00.002-07:00

I need to read more! I officially own too many books that I haven't read yet... it's wrong!

Ovid - Metamorphoses
Janet Evanovich - Two for the Dough
Clive Cussler - Dragon
Barbara Kingsolver - Animal Dreams
Robert Ludlum - The Bourne Supremacy & The Bourne Ultimatum
Gian Mario Villalta - Vita Della Mia Vita
Daphne du Maurier - Rebecca
Neil Gaiman - Stardust
Jane Austen - Persuasion

I need to get going!

[ march 20: classes i loved in college ]

2008-03-20T22:24:00.002-07:00

I went to the University of Delaware, and I took some really great classes there. Some of my favorites were:

The Sixties: Culture & Counterculture: One of my first classes in college. We watched Low Rider, read The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, and basically talked about sex, drugs, and rock & roll. And one of the best parts, I met my ML!
Logic: Yeah, yeah. I'm a big dork. Logic was one of my all-time favorite classes, and had it not been so damn time consuming, I would have taken the next level too. I just loved it... proofs were always my favorite part of math class in high school, and this was like proofs to the extreme!
Beat Generation Literature: Read some Kerouac, wrote a paper about the man who brought acid to America (Ken Kesey), had another fun semester with ML.
Screenprinting: I waited four years to take this class, and it finally fit into my schedule during my senior year. It was so great... I ended up printing what was basically a "We Love Our Bartender" shirt as a class project! Team Schmidty!
History of Rock Music: One summer session, I took this class, and basically got to sit and listen to amazing music for a few hours a week, and then had to answer some questions about it. Awesome!
Arts of the Islamic World: One of the best professors I ever had taught this class. The art we learned about was so beautiful and inspiring, and my professor was insanely intelligent. Even if the art had sucked, I would have been totally fascinating. He was a great lecturer.
Neorealist Italian Lit & Film: Probably the best Italian class I took. We read some great books, and watched some really interesting films. If you know Italian or can find some translations, you should definitely read some Italo Calvino. He's a genius.

Those classes actually represent most of my favorite interests: reading, math, art and music.

What were some of your favorite classes you've taken, college or otherwise?

(PS... I do have some non-list-posts in the works, but I've been a little all over the place. I'll try to post for real this weekend!)

[ march 19: places to live ]

2008-03-19T22:41:00.002-07:00

If I were a squillionaire, I'd have houses in all of the following places (at least!):

Anywhere in Italy... probably Florence or Siena
San Francisco
Boston
Somewhere tropical... maybe Fiji?
New Zealand
Seattle
New York City
London
Paris

Where would your homes be?

[ march 18: favorite tv shows of childhood ]

2008-03-18T21:22:00.002-07:00

I've got to admit, I've been known to say, "Television was sooo much better when I was a kid." And I genuinely believe it. TV was great. Saturday morning cartoons were normal: Scooby-Doo, The Looney Tunes, Tom & Jerry. Nickelodeon's shows for younger kids weren't completely inane. Stupid reality television has killed the joy.

Here are some of my favorites, from various years, with links to videos of their theme songs or a clip if I couldn't find the theme... enjoy!

Really, nothing of insane quality. Just really fun entertainment. What were your favorite shows when you were younger?

[ march 17: books to read ]

2008-03-17T17:00:00.003-07:00

First off, Happy St. Patrick's Day! I'm barely Irish, so I don't have anything exciting planned... but I did wear green!

I'm linking to another list today, instead of copying it over here. It's actually two lists of the 100 Best Novels, posted at The Modern Library. One list was compiled by a board from The Modern Library, and the second was voted on by readers. From what I can tell, the list was compiled around 1998 / 1999. There's also a 100 Best Nonfiction list, if that's your thing.

I've always wanted to have a list of great books that I need to read available to me, so I was wicked stoked when I came across this one. I have read a handful of them, but there's still quite a chunk that I haven't read yet. Good list to chip away at!

So here it is: The 100 Best Novels.

[ march 16: bodies of work to see ]

2008-03-16T21:10:00.002-07:00

There are some people that do such amazing work, that you just want to see every single thing they've done. In the case of television and film, these are those people for me:

Well... the list was pretty short, but then I started looking through all my movies, and searching the internet, and it kinda grew. There's probably a hundred more, but I had to stop myself. The links go to the person's IMDb page, in case you want to start a "To See" list (and for my own reference).

Who do you want to see in everything they've done?

[ march 15: places i've lived ]

2008-03-15T12:37:00.002-07:00

I never really thought that I'd lived in a lot of places. I mean, how many places can you possibly have lived when you spent 19 of 22 years in one place? But I did manage to squeeze six different places into the list!

Sandwich, MA: Born and raised. I lived there all through growing up, middle school, and high school.
Newark, DE: I went to college there, so I'm counting it. For four years I spent more time in Newark than anywhere else, so that counts as living there, right?
Siena, Italy: This is probably the biggest not-really on the list. I studied abroad there for a semester, and lived with a family in town. That totally counts. I swear.
Raleigh, NC: Raleigh was my home address for three of four years of college. My parents live there still. I actually only lived and worked there for a summer, but it's where I go when I see the fam!
Peoria, AZ: The first seven months of my post-collegiate experience.
Phoenix, AZ: Current. Living right downtown. Still liking it a lot. Starting to explore more, which is good.

Where have you lived? Anywhere exotic?

[ march 14: people born on my birthday ]

2008-03-14T10:35:00.002-07:00

I was born June 10, 1985. The following people were also born on June 10th:

John Edwards, Politician: 1953
Judy Garland, Singer & Actress (The Wizard of Oz; A Star is Born): 1922
Elizabeth Hurley, Actress (My Favorite Martian; Austin Powers): 1965
Tara Lipinski, Ice Skater: 1982
Maurice Sendak, Author & Illustrator (Where The Wild Things Are): 1928
Leelee Sobieski, Actress (Here on Earth): 1983
Shane West, Actor (A Walk to Remember): 1978
Keven Corcoran, Actor (Babes in Toyland; Pollyanna): 1949

Anyone nifty born on your birthday? I found my list by googling "people born on june 10."

[ march 13: fictional characters i'd want to be friends with ]

2008-03-13T20:15:00.002-07:00

For a part two of sorts, some fictional characters, if real-life people, I would want to be friends with:

Lorelai & Rory Gilmore (Gilmore Girls)
So who isn't shocked that they are at the top of my list? If I could jump into one television show, Gilmore Girls would be it. I love Lorelai & Rory. I want to be them. They're freaking great people. Nonexistent people, but freaking great.

Summer Roberts (The OC)
Again, anyone shocked? I loved her character, and the way she changed from the beginning of the series to the end of it. She was pretty much the reason that I kept watching it during the last season, when it got really wonky.

Dirk Pitt (Clive Cussler character)
He's just so freakin' badass. Plus, if I was ever trapped in pretty much anything, he would figure out some insane way to save me. And no matter how insane and impossible the way, it would work. Because it's Dirk.

Hermione Granger (Harry Potter)
I don't care that she's supposedly a few years younger than me. I love her. She's so smart and sassy, and totally kicks all the boys asses. She's fantabulous.

Amy Stone (The Family Stone)
She's just enough of a free spirit, but just grounded enough, that I think we'd get along. She's awesomely sarcastic, and totally down to earth.

Lindsey (Lucky Number Slevin)
She's a total nut! I would love to just watch her exist, because she's so kooky. She's on fast forward all the time, and jumps into things with her all.

Amelie
Don't need to explain this one. Anyone who's seen the movie loves her.

If you could jump into a book, movie or television show and fraternize with the characters, who would you most want to chill with?

[ march 12: celebrities i'd want to be friends with ]

2008-03-12T21:28:00.002-07:00

I didn't pick anyone particularly meaningful. No one Ghandi-esque. No Oprah. No world-changers. Just people I think it would be fun to chill with.

Lauren Conrad
I love The Hills. Totally love it. It's so great. I don't know if Lauren Conrad is exactly like the way MTV portrays her, but I think she'd be a cool person to chill with.

Jim Sturgess
This one is totally a "would want to date." He starred as Jude in Across the Universe. And I am totally crushing on him. He's got a freaking hot accent, and he can sing like nothing else. Yummy.

Lauren Graham
Maybe it's just because she played Lorelai on Gilmore Girls, but I would love to meet her and hang out. She just seems so freaking cool.

Rachel Bilson
She's my girl crush, so of course she's on the list. She's so chill. And freakin' cute. She just seems fun, and friendly too. Love it.

Reese Witherspoon
Again, she just seems so chill. Like someone you could really count on. Someone who could totally be your best friend, and really easy to talk to.

Who would you want to be friends with?

[ march 11: movies from gilmore girls ]

2008-03-11T18:40:00.001-07:00

Today I'm linking to a list, because it's incredibly long and detailed, and I want to give credit where credit is due. Therefore:

Movies Mentioned in Gilmore Girls AKA Movies to See

[ october road ]

2008-03-11T16:10:00.002-07:00

So I have a new favorite show: October Road. If you've seen the movie Prime, the lead actor in the show is the Hottie McHotinstein from that... Bryan Greenberg. Unfortunately, I only caught the last two episodes of the second season on television over the past couple weeks.

But, fortunately, my Mummay gave me an iTunes gift card for Christmas and iTunes has television shows now. So I got to use the gift card (thanks Mom!) for a couple episodes. And now, obsessed. It's great.

[ spring training and inspiration ]

2008-03-10T19:50:00.003-07:00

I went to a Spring Training game on Sunday: The Padres vs. The White Sox. And I have got to say... I freaking hate baseball. It's boring. Simply not for me. I need more constant excitement in sports... give me soccer, football or hockey any day. Good thing I brought a book.

Two shots from the day:

And I'm currently using my bulletin board as an inspiration board until I decide on a more permanent inspiration board or buy a second bulletin board. Right now all the images are portraits from various stories or ads in the February issue of W Magazine. My favorites are the images of Kate Bosworth for Calvin Klein. Awwwwwwesome.

What inspires you? Do you put those inspirations up for you to see at all times?

[ march 10: stats of my itunes ]

2008-03-10T12:42:00.003-07:00

As you could probably tell from my music randomness post, I have a lot of music. So I thought I'd share some of the stats from my iTunes. Check it out.

Songs: 9445
Days of Music: 58.7
GB of Music: 36.47
Unique Artists: 1595
Albums Represented by at Least One Song: 1315

I guess you could say it's a sickness. I just really, really like music!

[ march 09: things i collect ]

2008-03-09T19:17:00.002-07:00

I was going to be all good, and photographer-y and actually take pictures to go with this post, but the day got away from me, so all you get is the text. My b.

Things I Collect:

Cameras: I guess this one is kind of expected. I just love cameras. I have a couple vintage ones, some of which actually still work, and a bunch of newer ones. It's just so fun to have so many.
Buddhas. Buddha statues of all sizes, shapes and colors. I started the collection in Nice, France, when I was 14 or 15. I was in Europe with my soccer team, playing in two tournaments (one in Rimini, Italy and one in Vittoria, Spain), and we drove from Italy to Spain. We stopped in Nice for a night, and went to a street market, and one of the tables was covered with Buddha statuettes. I don't know what drew me to them, but I ended up buying a black statue that had blue glitter on the cloak. After that, I looked for them everywhere I went, and now I have a couple dozen.
Ampersands. This is a fairly new collection, if you can call two a collection. I remember vividly how excited I was when I could finally draw an ampersand correctly, without looking at one. For years and years, I always ended up drawing cursive capital S's. Once I finally was able to draw them, I basically became obsessed... hence the name of my blog!
Sharpies. I love them. I have probably a hundred or so. I have just about every single color in every single thickness that is produced. I just love 'em to death. They're fabulous.

What do you collect? For any particular reason, or did it just sort of happen?

[ march 08: shows i own on dvd ]

2008-03-08T18:25:00.001-07:00

1. Gilmore Girls (all 7 seasons)
2. The OC (seasons 1-3... the post office lost season 4)
3. Family Guy (seasons 1 & 2)
4. I Love Lucy (seasons 1 & 2)

Lame-o boring post. Quickie style.

Enjoy.

[ march 07: things i just don't get ]

2008-03-07T12:41:00.003-07:00

There are some things in the world, that I simply can't seem to grasp. So here are some things that I just don't get.

The Purpose of Delegates & Superdelegates.
I just don't get it. I've looked it up online; I've asked people to explain it to me; I've tried to pay attention to the news. What the hell do they do? Are their votes more important or count for more than regular people? Why are superdelegates going to decide if it's Hillary or Barack? Someone save me from not understanding this.

One Tree Hill.
How the HELL is this show still on?!? First of all, when it first came out, no one talked above a whisper. It was freaking misty-voice land! Even when the person was angry, it still came out all misty and wispy and blah. I decided to give it another chance earlier this week, and I wanted to shoot myself in the face. At the end of the last season, they graduated from high school. And instead of going to college (and shooting themselves in the foot like almost every high school drama... Saved by the Bell, The OC, etc), they jumped ahead four years, and are still shooting themselves in the foot. The dialogue is inane, the characters are stupid, and they still all talk in a whisper. How is this still on, but Gilmore Girls was canceled? How? HOW?!?

The Fascination with Britney's Downfall.
Yes, the girl is an absolute train wreck. And yes, at first, I admit that even I was curious. But now, I just want the world to leave the poor girl alone. Sure, she's been a sucky mother, and an absolute loon. But in the end, she's a human being who desperately needs help, and instead is being taunted, ridiculed, poked at and prodded. There's a new show on her plea for help or twisted downfall or the fact that she's a fallen princess practically every week. Freaking paparazzi (those rat bastards... don't even get me started on that... way to give the beautiful art of photography a horrible, horrible name) taunt her and seriously try harder to make things worse. Do people not grasp that they're making everything worse? Just leave her alone. Do us all a favor, and back the hell off.

Will Ferrell.
Okay, before I get shot over this, let me explain. I enjoy him immensely in small parts. I thought he was hysterical in Wedding Crashers; his small parts in Starsky & Hutch and Old School were great; he was awesome in Zoolander and Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back. But GOOD LORD do I hate him in a major role. All his major stuff makes me want to poke my eyes out after about fifteen minutes. Elf, Anchorman, Bewitched, Blades of Glory. Hate them all.

The LOLcats.
How did that get so popular? How did that even start? They freaking creep me out before they make me laugh. Some of the ones of the cute cats, I get. But have you seen the freaky ones that people manipulate the actual cat?!? Jeeeeez, talk about the stuff of nightmares. And it always takes me like five minutes to figure out what the hell the words are supposed to say. Ugh. Don't like 'em.

I just don't get it. Don't at all.

What do you just simply not understand?

[ a little help please ]

2008-03-07T09:52:00.003-07:00

So a friend I met through LWL has offered to print me a sample of her product. She wants to start a printing business, focusing mainly on large scale photographs printed on canvas. I am having trouble deciding what image I want printed. I know I want it to be one of my Waterform images, and I know I want it to act as a headboard above my bed, but I can't decide which image I should use. It's gonna be big, so I have to be sure I'm going to like it.

Therefore, would you mind taking a quick second a voting for one? I'd really really appreciate it!

Option One:
This one would add some contrast to my apartment. The blueish-greens go really well with orange.

Option Two:
This is the most abstract of the options. It has tons of colors, including oranges and yellows, so it definitely works with the rest of the room.

Option Three:
This is the warmest of the images. Goes well, interesting shapes.

Gah! I can't pick. Which one do you like best?

[ march 06: the abc's of me ]

2008-03-06T19:10:00.002-07:00

Saw this a while back at Nicole's blog, and thought I'd give it a try! Enjoy the ABCs of me.

A - Age: Twenty two
B - Band Listening to Right Now: The Weepies
C - Career Future: Professional Photographer
D - Dad’s Name: Robert
E - Easiest Person to Talk to: my friend Kelly
F - Favorite Type of Shoe: ballet flats
G – Grapes or Grapefruit: Grapes. The grapefruit must be perfectly sweetened for me to enjoy it, but grapes are always good. Green, seedless ones are my favorite.
H – Hometown: Sandwich, MA... small, small town on Cape Cod
I – Instrumental Talent: I played clarinet when I was younger, and guitar for about a minute
J – Juice of Choice: Apple... Mott's Plus Light is like biting into an apple
K – Koala Bear or Panda Bear: I'm gonna go with Koala.
L - Longest Car Ride Ever: Drove cross-country with my mother to move from North Carolina to Arizona
M – Middle Name: Lee
N - Number of Jobs You’ve Had: Let's see... daycare at Sportsite Gym; babysitting; barista & sandwich maker at Java Journey; data entry technician at Center for Applied Demography & Survey Research; photographer
O- OCD Traits: organization of my movies by genre (I look them up on IMDB)
P - Phobia[s]: water that is deeper than I am tall; boats; balloons
Q - Quote: "Oy with the poodles already" - Gilmore Girls (I've been watching the DVDs lately)
R - Reason to Smile: I have a paying photography gig coming up!
S - Song You Sang Last: Love Song by Sara Bareilles. Really good one to blast on the highway
T - Time You Wake Up: I set my alarm for 6:01 am, never 6:00 am. I never set the alarm for a time that ends in a zero. That should probably be up with O, huh?
U - Unknown Fact About Me: My back is actually fractured in three places. One vertebrae, three cracks. (See X for more!)
V - Vegetable You Hate: potatoes, in all forms
W - Worst Habit: Making incredibly detailed to do lists, and then losing them
X - X-rays You’ve Had: Full body bone scan. We couldn't figure out what was causing the really bad pain in my back, so I got a full body scan. They injected me with some crazy silver stuff, which I could actually feel moving through my body. And it was because of that x-ray, we found out that I have three stress fractures in one of my vertebrae.
Y - Yummiest Food My Belly Likes: Cheesecake; Ben & Jerry's Phish Food; Special K Chocolately Delight
Z - Zodiac Sign: Gemini

[ march 05: fashion senses i wish i had ]

2008-03-05T17:28:00.002-07:00

So I don't claim to be particularly stylist. I don't really follow fashion magazines, or actually know what's in or out at the moment. I just kind of wear what I like. I am trying to slowly update my wardrobe, so that I don't look quite so much like a college kid anymore. Let's just say it's a really good thing I work from home part-time, and the office I do work in is pretty casual.

So anyway, I've really been admiring the following people's fashion senses lately (and yes, the first two are fictional).

Lorelai & Rory Gilmore from Gilmore Girls. It's my all-time favorite show, and I just finished watching season 7 on dvd. And those girls always look so pulled together and composed and classy. So I wish I could combo them, and dress as pulled together as Rory does, but with some of Lorelai's funk.
Reese Witherspoon. She just always looks so classy.
Rachel Bilson. She's totally girl-next-door, but funky and hip. And she's beautiful. And she's totally my girl-crush. I heart her hardcore. Summer Roberts, forever! (Don't judge...)

Who do you admire style-wise?

[ march 04: books i'm currently reading ]

2008-03-04T19:39:00.002-07:00

I've always been a big reader. I'm the first to admit that I'm a huge dork, and would usually prefer reading a good book to going out. I've usually got a couple books going at one time, and now is no exception!

So, without further delay, here are the books I'm reading right now:

One for the Money, by Janet Evanovich: My friend Kelly told me about Janet Evanovich, and said that her books were a quick read, and completely hilarious. And so far, she was right! This book has had me laughing out loud several times. Her series of books focus on Stephanie Plum, a novice bounty hunter living in Trenton. It's really fun.
East of Eden, by John Steinbeck: I loved Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men and The Grapes of Wrath, so when I saw this book on sale for practically nothing, I snapped it up right away. I'm only about a dozen pages in, but so far, I'm liking it a lot. I'm sure it will be another Steinbeck masterpiece.
Harry Potter e Il Principe Mezzosangue, by JK Rowling: I'm slowly working my way through the Italian translations of the Harry Potter books. I was on the fifth book, but the stupid Post Office lost it, so I had to skip ahead to the sixth. It's good stuff, and makes me feel like I know Italian better than I actually do.
Purple Cow, Transform Your Business By Being Remarkable, by Seth Godin: This is the March selection for the LWL AZ Read to Succeed Book Club. It's all about different ways to make your business stand out from others like it. Good read, so far.
Attracting Perfect Customers, The Power of Strategic Synchronicity, by Stacey Hall & Jan Brogniez: This was February's selection for the LWL book club, but I didn't finish it in time for the meeting. But it's a great book, so I'm sticking with it. It's about not wasting time on clients who are just going to stress you out, because there are clients out there who are perfect for you.
Women & Money, Owning the Power to Control Your Destiny, by Suze Orman: I desperately need to learn more about finances, and I desperately need to have more control over my financial destiny, so I picked this up a couple weeks ago. So far, so good!
The Moment It Clicks, by Joe McNally: My boss actually gave me this book about a week ago. It's a collection of Joe McNally's photographs (he's one of the greatest photographers in the world), and they're put up next to his tips on how he got those shots. It's an incredibly interesting read, especially if you're a photo geek like me.

I love books! And I'm genuinely loving each and every book I'm reading right now! One of my biggest goals in life is to have a reading room / library in my home, jam-packed with all my favorite books.

What are you reading? What are your favorite books?

[ march 03: randomness of my musical taste ]

2008-03-03T13:16:00.002-07:00

Everyone who knows me, knows I'm a music freak. I'm not a music snob, by any means. I'm just as likely to rock out to Mandy Moore (playing right now!) as I am to Queen. I just love music. All music, any music. There's very little music I don't enjoy. Death rock hurts my ears a bit. And a lot of rap lyrics make me angry. Other than that, I'm pretty much game.

I also have a freakish ability to remember lyrics. I know all the words to easily a few hundred songs. Possibly a few thousand. I don't know how I remember the words. I just do. And I can also remember words to songs I haven't heard in years.

However, I'm not a music know-it-all. I've never followed the details of any one group. I don't know everything about everything. Music equals entertainment for me. I don't feel the need to know the coolest indie group before the rest of the world. I'm fine finding a group or singer whenever I find them. If it's five years after they were cool, and I like their music, that's fine by me. I've never apologized for my taste in music, or felt ashamed by it, although on waaaaaay more than one occasion, I've been made fun of or looked down upon for some of what I like. I don't care if someone writes their own music (although that's always incredibly impressive to me) or if they're just a pretty face and a pretty voice presently someone else's lyrical genius.

If I enjoy it, I enjoy it. End of story.

In an effort to make a proper list to emphasis how freaking random my taste in music is, I jumped back and forth between two different options... showing you a completely random list of twenty songs, or a longer, but still completely random, list of artists. And then I decided one list just wasn't enough, so here are both!

The first list is of twenty songs. I put my entire musical library on shuffle, and hit play. I didn't skip anything, or replace anything with a "cooler" song. These are the first twenty songs that played:

Jamiroquai: Deeper Underground
Sufjan Stevens: Redford
Frank Sinatra: Falling In Love With Love
Antony & The Johnsons: Hitler In My Heart
Toni Braxton: Another Sad Love Song
Switchfoot: Gone
Stephen Kellogg: Summer
Billy Joel: Everybody Has A Dream
The Cars: Since You're Gone
Phish: The Mango Song
Sara Evans: Born To Fly
Rob Thomas: Little Wonders
Imogen Heap: Headlock
The Magic Numbers: Love Me Like You
Bright Eyes: First Day Of My Life
Alan Jackson: Livin' On Love
Plain White T's: Last Call
Cletus T Judd: Third Rock From Her Thumb
Green Day: Whatsername
Alison Krauss & Union Station: Daylight

If the fact that Cletus T Judd is on the list doesn't prove I didn't skip any songs or alter the list in any way, I don't know what would!

And here is an alphabetical list of artists that populate my iTunes. This is by no means a complete list of artists, as I have music from over 1500 different artists. I went through my iTunes and picked four artists from each letter. I tried to pick artists that I had at least one full album from (although that was impossible with Q, X & Z). I tried to be as random as possible, but also to cover as many genres as possible.

Enjoy the randomocity!

A | ABBA, Aerosmith, Air, Amy Grant
B | The Bangles, The Beatles, Billy Joel, Bette Midler
C | Carly Simon, Carrie Underwood, Cat Stevens, Cher
D | The Dandy Warhols, Darryl Worley, Dishwalla, Dixie Chicks
E | The Eagles, Ella Fitzgerald, Eric Clapton, Evanescence
F | Faith Hill, Fastball, Fiona Apple, Frank Sinatra
G | Gary Allan, Giuseppe Verdi, Good Charlotte, Gretchen Wilson
H | Hellogoodbye, Hilary Duff, Hot Hot Heat, Howie Day
I | Immortal Alice, Imogen Heap, Indigo Girls, Iron & Wine
J | Ja Rule, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Buffett
K | Katie Melua, Kelly Clarkson, Kenny Chesney, The Killers
L | Las Ketchup, Lauryn Hill, Lenny Kravitz, Linkin Park
M | Madonna, Mandy Moore, Marcy Playground, The Moody Blues
N | Nellie McKay, The New Amsterdams, Nickel Creek, NSync
O | OAR, The Offspring, Ok Go, Outkast
P | Paolo Nutini, Pat McGee Band, PJ Harvey, The Police
Q | Q-Tip, Quantic, Queen, Quincy Jones
R | Radiohead, Regina Spektor, Rilo Kiley, Robin Thicke
S | Sara Bareilles, Savage Garden, Simon & Garfunkel, Styx
T | Tatyana Ali, Tears for Fears, Ted Leo & The Pharmacists, Tim McGraw
U | U2, Uncle Kracker, Under the Influence of Giants, Usher
V | Vanessa Carlton, The Velvet Underground, The Vines, Violent Femmes
W | The Walkmen, The Wallflowers, The Weepies, The Who
X | X, X-2-X, Xscape
Y | Yann Tiersen, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Yellowcard, Yo La Tengo
Z | Zero 7, Zero Assoluto, Ziggy Marley, Zox

And yes, I do still by CDs, both real ones and from iTunes. I went through a phase of downloading, but haven't done that in a really long time.

Anyone else have a completely random taste in music? Am I the only one with such various interests?

[ march 02: places to travel ]

2008-03-02T14:49:00.004-07:00

I love traveling. I have a yen to travel... I'm up to my ears in yen to travel. Here is a very not-at-all-inclusive and in no particular order list of places I would love to go.

London - I've been there before, but only for about 2 days. So not enough.
Hawaii
India
New Zealand - Once was definitely not enough.
Italy - Hopefully I'll be tour-guiding my Mummay around in the near future!
Paris - Again, been there for a few days. I need more time.
Morocco
Egypt
Brazil
Alaska
South Africa
Iceland
Greenland
Ireland
Portugal
Mexico
Tanzania
Kenya
Madagascar
Australia
Thailand
Vietnam

I want to go to hundreds of places. Millions, even. Even when I was younger, I always knew there was more out there. More that I wanted to see. More that I needed to see. As I'm sure pretty much everyone who knows me is aware, I get stir-crazy if I'm in the same place for too long. I always feel the need to go somewhere else. Do something else.

And the list above only covers some of the hundreds of places outside the continental United States that I'm dying to go. There are tons of places within the continental US that I've never been. Until I moved to Arizona, my experience with the States west of the East Coast was San Diego, for a week, about six years ago.

I want to visit all the Sandwiches in the States, just because it would be funny (I know of one in Massachusetts [where I grew up], Illinois and New Hampshire). And of course, the seaport of Sandwich in Kent, England, which is the original Sandwich.

I want to drive around New England, visiting little towns, and find a real-life Stars Hollow.

I want to see National Monuments and National Forests. I want to be able to say I've set foot in every single state in the nation.

I want to be able to pack up and take off at a moment's notice.

I want to see the world.

Who wants to go with me? Where do you want to go?

If you could pack up and leave for a year, where would you go? Would you go to one place, hunker down, and really get to know that one place? Would you hop around a country? A continent? The world?

[ march 01: lists for march 2008 ]

2008-03-01T08:22:00.004-07:00

After being away from blogland for over a week, I am back with a vengeance. It's time for some NaPoBloMo, monthly style. So you can look forward to at least one post a day from me! And as the theme is lists, I thought I'd start the month of with a list of the lists you can look forward to!

Heeeeeeere we go:

March 01: Lists for March 2008
March 02: Places to Travel
March 03: Randomness of my Musical Taste
March 04: Books I'm Currently Reading
March 05: Fashion Senses I Wish I Had (both real and fictional people)
March 06: The ABCs of Me
March 07: Things I Just Don't Get
March 08: Shows I Own on DVD
March 09: Things I Collect
March 10: Stats from my iTunes
March 11: Movies mentioned in Gilmore Girls (aka Movies to See)
March 12: Celebrities I'd Want to be Friends With
March 13: Fictional Characters I'd Want to be Friends With
March 14: People Born on my Birthday
March 15: Places I've Lived
March 16: Actors Whose Body of Work I'd Like to See
March 17: Books to Read
March 18: Favorite TV Shows of my Childhood
March 19: Places to Live
March 20: Classes I Loved in College
March 21: Books I Own but Haven't Read Yet
March 22: The #1 Song on my Birthday Since 1985
March 23: Fictional Characters Who I'd Want to Date
March 24: Favorite Days of my Life
March 25: Cameras I Own
March 26: Places I've Traveled Outside of the Country
March 27: Weirdo Habits
March 28: Where I Got My Buddhas
March 29: Movies I've Watched Too Many Times
March 30: Favorites
March 31: A New & Improved 101 in 1001

Yay for lists. They are awesome, awesome things. I hope you enjoy some of mine, and I can't wait to read yours. Leave me a comment if you're participating, so I can check 'em out!

[ list making ]

2008-02-23T20:48:00.003-07:00

So NaBloPoMo is going monthly! There's a different theme every month. November is still the official-official NaBloPoMo, but this is something to keep everyone up with posting. The every month themes are totally optional.

So anyway... March is the month of lists.

I'm having trouble coming up with lists to make. Any ideas? I need 31 lists, and I have about 6 right now.

Anyone else going to do the lists? What lists are you making?

[ and the world spins madly on ]

2008-02-23T07:46:00.008-07:00

Ok, so I both love and loathe Target. Love it because, um, hi... it's Target. Loathe it because it's one of those stores that you go in for toothpaste and you come out with a new wardrobe, new books, some home accessories, but no toothpaste.

I went to Target for some work clothes. I found one cute outfit for work, and a nice casual top. And then I went for a swing around the rest of the store, because that's what you do in Target.

And I walked out with SEVEN movies. SEVEN! That's so bad.

However, I spent a grand total of $52.16 on those seven movies. That's only $7.45 a piece!!!

Which movies, do you ask?

I freakin' heart this movie. I just think it's incredibly cute. Very funny, great music, fun cast. Lauren Graham is in it, and she's one of my favorite actresses (if only because I want to be Lorelai Gilmore when I grow up). Diane Keaton is a freakin' riot in this... just so over-the-top overbearing.

I'm trying to slowly but surely grow a collection of classic movies and classic books. My movie collection of classics is actually nonexistent, except as an idea in my head. So when I saw Breakfast at Tiffany's for $6.50 (!!!!) into the cart it went! I watched it last night for the first time in forrrrrever, and fell in love all over again. All I can say is, Audrey Hepburn is so amazing, that it can't be put into words.

I'm also a ridiculous fan of 80s movies, and have a small collection of my favorites from that time (The Goonies, The Princess Bride, Labyrinth [seriously... Bowie!] and Clue, so far). That explains why it was absolutely necessary to get Flashdance and Footloose. Classics! Some of the best soundtracks of the 80s. Plus, they came in a sweet two pack, for $9.44!!!

One of the cutest, funniest romantic comedies ever. Totally adored by pretty much every girl I know, plus a fair number of guys. Great movie.

Looooooooove it. This now has a place right next to Spaceballs. Hysterical.

Great movie that I had never even heard of until my friend Kelly came back from break at school with it, and said we all had to see it. I think we may have watched it about a dozen times in the months following! Really great movie... clever, fast-paced, amazing cast.

If this doesn't provide an excellent example of how random my taste in movies is, I don't know what will. Just wait until I describe my musical taste! Another post, for another day. I've got to grab a shower and some breakfast, so I can hit up the Junior League rummage sale, and then get ready for work!

[ images all found through google ]

[ holy moly mother of beautifulness ]

2008-02-20T19:21:00.002-07:00

Just go look at these amazing photographs based on Alfred Hitchcock's amazingness in Vanity Fair March 2008:

http://up.youngruffians.com/vanityfair/

[ the new digs ]

2008-02-18T14:01:00.002-07:00

Well, I finally feel settled enough (and organized enough!) to share some pictures of my new place!

This is the dining area. The table has two leaves, both of which I keep down when I'm not using it. It makes it more like a shelf and takes up practically no space. The half-wall hides the kitchen, which is a typical kitchen so no picture of that. The hexagon shelves on the wall above the half-wall hold a combo of my ampersand collection and my Buddha collection. The chairs were $4.99 each in the As-Is section of IKEA! That's my still-not-framed-nine-months-later diploma.

Backing up a little, you can see my slowly-coming-together office area. The built in shelves have my books and printer. It still needs a light, and I'm trying to figure out a way to hide the cords from view, because they are freakin' ugly under the desk. You can also see the front of my most triumphant purchase: my new couch. The pillows were on sale at Home Goods, and my big sister made me the blanket a few years ago for Christmas.

Turning around, you see the living area. I freakin' love the wall color, and luckily you can't see the splotchiness of the paint job. Basic living stuff... shelving unit hiding DVDs and showing off some old cameras, my favorite photography books (Individuals, Through The Lens, The Polaroid Book, and Portraits), and a bunch more Buddhas; awesome fantabulous couch; storage ottoman with wooden tray on top in place of a coffee table.

And to the left of the living area is my bed, with another awesome orange wall, and my kick-ass IKEA quilt cover.

Can you guess my favorite color? It ain't navy!

[ triumphant purchase ]

2008-02-15T16:47:00.002-07:00

I went to IKEA today to purchase a sofa, because I'm sick of sitting on my bed across the room to watch television. Also, it's no fun to only have a bed or hard chairs to sit on.

So I go... I decide on the Klippan sofa with the natural fabric cover. I go down to the crazy self-service area and convince the only IKEA worker I can see (my only peeve with IKEA... you can never find help in the self-service area... and I'm a small person and not particularly strong so I definitely can't lift a freakin' couch) to help me load the couch onto the push cart. And I grab the right color slipcover. And before I check out, I decide to swing by the As-Is section to see if they have anything worth grabbing.

And there, with the ass-ugly green floraly pattern slipcover on it, is the Klippan sofa. For $100 less than the one I'm pushing around. Simply because it was the display sofa for however long, and had one slightly wiggly foot.

SCORE!

It comes tomorrow, and I've got the pretty slipcover to put on it instead of the ugly green patterned one.

I feel like a champion.

And I'll finally have somewhere comfy to sit that isn't my bed.

And then you'll finally get to see pictures of the new digs.

[ valentines ]

2008-02-15T08:45:00.002-07:00

Irony of ironies.

I spent Valentine's Day with Jesse. Yep. A not-date with my ex-boyfriend.

At the beginning of the week, we decided to make plans to have dinner and hang out one night this week. We picked Thursday because we had hung out on Sunday so Monday was too soon, he goes rock climbing on Tuesday, and plays softball on Wednesday. So Thursday it was.

Neither of us realized it was Valentine's Day until Wednesday. Well, I probably wouldn't have noticed until Thursday, but Jesse called Wednesday night and said that he just realized that Thursday was V-Day. He wanted to make sure I still wanted to hang out. I decided what the hell... it just won't be a holiday for us.

So we had dinner, and it was totally fine. A little awkward at first, because it was kind of hard to forget that it was Valentine's and we were no longer together. But then we both relaxed and had a good time. He attempted to explain the purpose of delegates (I still don't get it... can anyone out there explain it to me??) and the differences between a primary and a caucus (still don't really get that either), and then we watched Transformers. A good, non-romantic movie.

Overall, a fun night.

[ productive and fun weekend ]

2008-02-11T13:44:00.000-07:00

Oy, galapagos.

The apartment is starting to come together. I have officially finished / admitted defeat to painting. The lighter color looks absolutely gorgeous (and happens to match the cabinets in the kitchen area perfectly), and the darker color is just what I wanted. It's a bit splotchy in some places, but after about thirty hours of painting this weekend, and four to five coats of the darker color, I simply can't paint anymore. Now I'm slowly shoving all the furniture back up against the walls (as opposed to clustered in the middle of the room, four feet from all walls, with a giant plastic drop cloth covering it all), finally putting away the rest of my stuff, and clearing out the cardboard boxes from the IKEA furniture that I was using as makeshift drop cloths.

Pictures to come when the place doesn't look quite so much like a disaster area.

I actually had quite a fun weekend, in addition to my painting craziness. Thursday night, I went to a British-style pub called The Rose & Crown with a Meetup group. The pub is so freakin' cute. It's in a historic downtown house (a theme I've noticed around the area), and since the house is historic, the rooms can't be altered architecturally, so the pub is a bit disjointed, but I think it just added to the charm. One room had a small pool table, most had tables and bars. We sat out on the patio, and were perfectly comfortable (yes, in February, after dark... still can't get used to the warmth during the winter here!). I met a bunch of really nice people, and will definitely be going to future events with this group.

Friday afternoon, I went to downtown Tempe to go to a Lunch with Ladies Who Launch (Sunny... I promise I'll do a post devoted to LWL soon!). As always with LWL, the meeting was great. I met a bunch of really nice women, and we had a blast. The place we went is called The Center Bistro and it's an organic-type restaurant. A little pricey, but the food was amazing.

Saturday morning, I drove over to Bevla's (my LWL leader) house to shoot some images for her website, and to get a haircut! Finally! I haven't gotten a haircut since I moved to AZ... eight months ago! Bevla's been a hair stylist basically forever, and was a celebrity stylist for a while actually... she got to tour Europe with Prince! So I totally trusted her to clean me up. Here's a kinda shitty picture (taken with the Photobooth on my computer) of the new do, with the pretty pretty new wall color behind me. Note that I match. My favorite color is orange... can you tell?

Yay for new hair!

And then on Sunday, Jesse and I hung out. He helped me pick out a DVD player (no more movies on the computer!), and then we went to lunch at a really great sushi place, and then just hung out at his place for a while.

All in all, a very good weekend.

And today, I walked over to the Italian market that's around the corner to see what it was like. It's pretty small, not a ton of variety, but just enough items I'd prefer to get from an Italian market. I picked up a couple things: some pesto sauce, an Italian seasoning mixture, and some Pizzelle cookies. I think I'll be having a nice Italian dinner for myself tonight... pasta with pesto, with some Pizzelle for dessert. Yum!

[ good points of today ]

2008-02-06T21:43:00.000-07:00

I walked to and from work today. It's a half mile each way, which means that if I continue this, I can walk a full mile three days a week, without feeling like it's doing exercise! Woot!

From today on, I start work at 8am instead of 9am, which means I can either take a long lunch break and end my day at 5pm, take a short lunch break and end my day at 4:30pm, or eat lunch at work and end my day at 4pm. I love options.

I have these AMAZING jeans. They're cute-butt-jeans. And by cute-butt-jeans, I mean good-lord-they-make-me-feel-so-freakin-hot-jeans. And I haven't fit into them for a really long time, because I had gained some weight. These are those type of jeans that practically every girl has that they keep because maybe someday they'll fit again. And you feel like an idiot because you know they probably won't ever fit again. However.... today I pulled them on, and they fit perfectly! And not only did they fit... but they're a size 8. And as much as I typically don't care about the size of my pants, I was pretty stoked to be rocking non-double-digit pants today.

My amazing jeans got me cat-called today. By a construction worker. Although incredibly cliche and typically downright insulting, today it made me smile.

The really cool architecture guys that we share our office space with recommended an amazing place for lunch called That's A Wrap. Holy moly tasty deliciousness. I got a veggie wrap, and it had zucchini, asparagus, carrots, eggplant, feta cheese, rice... all warm and amazing, with a wicked good sauce and wrapped in a spinach tortilla.

Good day, today.

[ birth month traits ]

2008-02-02T11:09:00.000-07:00

I'm currently sitting in my apartment, surrounded by bags of books (I've uttered the phrase "I read too much" A LOT the past couple of days... lugging big bags of books is not fun!), empty and full HUGE cardboard boxes (from my new IKEA furniture... pictures to come when this place isn't such a sty), and other random shit that doesn't have a home yet. I'm totally and completely hijacking someone else's internet, while I wait for mine to be turned on today, "sometime before 7pm," as the man from Cox said. I'm trying to decide if I should go to the grocery store and buy some food (because right now I have Mac & Cheese, pasta, Special K, oreos... and nothing else), finish building my IKEA furniture and try to clear out the cardboard that has taken over my apartment, go to Home Depot and pick out paint colors, or go back to IKEA (for the third time in a week) and get more storage solutions and other accessories. I'm going to do all of that (hopefully today), but can't decide what to do first.

So instead, I'm perusing 20-somethings members' pages and blogs, and finding fun things to post. For example: (I have since closed the page where I found this, and I only copy/pasted part of it. Sue me.)

You're supposed to find your birth month and say which of the traits apply to you. If I find the whole post again, I'll post a link. Here's my month:

JUNE:

Thinks far with vision: I'd like to think so. I'm working on expanding my visions for my photography business.
Easily influenced by kindness: I think most people are. When other people are nice to you, it's easier to be influenced by them. Although, I'd like to think I'm not easily influenced.
Polite and soft-spoken: Umm.. polite, yeah. Soft-spoken... no way in hell. I'm freaking loud.
Having ideas: Yes, yes.
Sensitive: I guess.
Active mind: Most definitely.
Hesitating, tends to delay: If that's the same thing as thinking things out a lot, then yes.
Choosy and always wants the best: I suppose. I know what I like and what I want.
Temperamental: I wish I wasn't, but I definitely am. I'd like to think that as I've gotten older, my ridiculous temper has calmed down, but I know I still am temperamental.
Funny and humorous: Most of my friends definitely would agree with this one!
Loves to joke: Yes, yes. Sometimes too much. Although I'm not really a fan of practical jokes. I think they're kind of mean.
Good debating skills: No idea. If you replacing "debating" with "fighting/arguing" then probably yes. I'm too hotheaded to debate, I think.
Talkative: Most definitely.
Daydreamer: Yep.
Friendly: I am indeed! Be my friend!
Knows how to make friends: I'd like to think so, however I've been having trouble making friends since I moved out West. But it's getting better!
Able to show character: I guess so. Does this mean showing your personality well?
Easily hurt: Ummm... I'm not really sure. I think I'm lucky in that I haven't been horribly hurt by a lot of people. I've had the best friend who bailed on me and picked the boyfriend over me, which sucked A LOT. Of course I've been dumped and hurt that way... but I don't think being hurt in general happens a lot to me, which is good.
Prone to getting colds: I'm actually quite healthy, and rarely get sick, but when I get sick... I get SICK. I once had strep throat for like a month and a half. In college, I had a mysterious illness for pretty much an entire semester (I only ever went to the campus health center because I hate going to the doctor... and if you aren't pregnant or don't have strep, they don't really know how to deal with you). I dropped a bunch of weight, was never hungry, and was completely and totally exhausted. It wasn't mono or lyme disease (got tested for both). I'm just a weirdo.
Loves to dress up: Not so much.
Easily bored: Definitely. My family would always joke that that's why I never really had longterm boyfriends. I would get bored in about a month (3 months was the record until J came around), and break-up with them. In general, I always am looking for new things to keep myself from being bored. I'm the weirdo who was ready to go back to school after about a week of summer break, just because I would be bored to tears.
Fussy: I equate fussiness with infants, so I'm going to say no.
Seldom shows emotions: I show happy emotions all the time. It's the sad ones that I definitely hide.
Takes time to recover when hurt: Holy moly yes.
Brand conscious: Not really. I love my Dove soap & shampoo, and I'm obsessed with Apple, but the brand loyalty pretty much ends there.
Executive: I try to be.
Stubborn: Oh good lord yes. I'm definitely one of the most stubborn people I know, and I'm sure most of my friends would agree.

Now... I must go do something productive. I think I'll work on furniture for a while, and then go grocery shopping. Laterrrrrr.

[ i want ]

2008-01-30T08:10:00.001-07:00

http://www.harmonie-interieure.com/home.html

[ thank you ]

2008-01-27T18:33:00.000-07:00

Thank you to anyone who commented or emailed me regarding my recent break-up. I know I haven't responded to anyone, but know that I truly truly appreciate all the kind messages. I've been completely swamped this week, and now have about 50 emails and well over 100 blog posts to catch up on, so I haven't had a chance to thank the people who reached out to me.

In amazing news, today I graduated from my Ladies Who Launch Incubator Intensive Program, and am enrolling in the ongoing program. The intensive was so, so, so amazing, and I absolutely cherish the women I met through it. I definitely made some great friends!

Also, I did indeed find an apartment to move to, and I am actually moving on Thursday! So soon, so crazy. It's in a great location, and it's a perfectly-sized-for-one studio. I'm getting all new furniture and am going to decorate it in a completely different style than my current place, so that's ultra-exciting.

I do promise I'll return with regular posting soon, I'm just not sure how soon!

[ kelly kelly kelly ]

2008-01-24T07:29:00.000-07:00

My wicked amazing friend Kelly is coming to visit!

TODAY!

She gets here at noon, and is staying until Sunday!

I can't friggin' wait!

It has been too long since I've seen any of my friends!

And, I have an appointment with an apartment complex in a couple hours!

Which could potentially be my new apartment!

I would move in next week!

Holy crapola!

Gotta get ready!

I usually hate exclamation points, especially lots of them. They look ridiculous. But I'm excited. So.

!!!!!!!!

[ it's been a week... again ]

2008-01-22T07:33:00.000-07:00

I have simply not been in the mood to blog lately, which sucks because I do have some fun things to post about... Ladies Who Launch, for one thing!

However, about two weeks ago something happened that has left me stressed and pretty bummed, and not wanting to blog at all. Jesse & I broke up, and I have decided to move out of our shared apartment instead of staying until the lease is up in June. So I've spent the past week trying to find an apartment, which I think I may finally have succeeded in, and blogging just wasn't that important. In fact, I debated even posting about it at all, but in the end, I realized I started this blog to write about my life, and Jesse was, and still is, a big part of that.

Luckily, we're definitely going to remain friends... no worries there. But moving out is the best decision I could make.

So I promise that once things have settled down, or maybe even sooner, I will be back in full force, blogging about inane and silly things, as well as meaningful ones every once in a while!

[ sorry sorry sorry ]

2008-01-15T07:31:00.001-07:00

I am so incredibly behind on answering emails, responding to comments, and visiting new blogs! I'm so so sorry! I'm going to try to catch up tonight, but I'm not sure I'll be able to!

[ come out and say hello ]

2008-01-10T07:19:00.000-07:00

Apparently, it's National De-Lurking Week. I know that there are people who visit here and don't comment, but I don't know if there is anyone who regularly reads but has never commented.

So if that's you, drop me a line! To make it easy, here are some easy-peasy questions to answer:

What's your name?
Where aaaaaaare you?
What's your blog? I'd love to check it out!

I hope I have at least one lurker!

[ resolution time ]

2008-01-08T20:32:00.000-07:00

New Years has come and passed, and I actually made a resolution this year. Just one resolution, but it's a multi-parter and pretty all-encompassing.

My New Years Resolution is:

To strengthen myself, mind, body and soul.

Yeah, it's kind of a doozy, but I'm already doing pretty well with it, and it isn't one I see myself breaking anytime soon. Don't really get what I mean? Well, let me explain:

I never want to stop growing. I never want to stop learning. I never want to stop trying to be a better person. So instead of just randomly, throughout the year, doing one or two little things to grow and better myself, I'm going to make it a point to do as much as possible to better myself. I want to be a happier, healthier, wiser, more educated, more interesting, more passionate person come 2009.

I'm not jumping into this thing like a cannonball into the deep end of the pool. First of all, I hate deep water, so I would probably never do a cannonball into the deep end of the pool. And secondly, I don't want to give up on this because it's too much, too soon. So I'm easing into things. I'm taking time out to read everyday, even just a few pages. I do a couple Sudoku puzzles before bed a few nights a week. I'm easing into a workout routine that I know I will be able to stick to (including resistance workouts, pilates and hiking). I'm taking note of one nice thing I do for myself everyday. I'm thinking of signing up for a class at the local community college. I'm thinking of teaching a class at the local rec center. I'm moving forward full steam with FiveGoodGoats: going to my Ladies Who Launch incubator meetings (more on that later), participating in monthly networking meetings at a local improv theatre. I'm viewing growing not as a right, but as a privilege, as something I look forward to everyday. I'm making a conscious effort to eat better.

Here's to being happier, healthier, wiser, more educated, more interesting and more passionate!

[ ps: new header up above, and don't miss the vegas post below! ]

[ vivaaaaaaaaa las vegas ]

2008-01-08T20:16:00.000-07:00

Well, I am finally blogging about my holiday break and vacation with my parents & Jesse. We went to Las Vegas! It was a ton of fun, especially because I'd never been there before. It was a lot to take in, so much so that I barely took an photographs (I know... the nerve of me, huh!?!?) because I was just staring at everything with my mouth hanging open.

We mainly just wandered around the strip and went into various casinos, trying to win some moolah. I managed to make it out a little bit richer than I went in. My dad was the big winner, since he won over $1000 on a slot machine! Lucky lucky man.

We also saw two shows. The first was a tribute show called The Rat Pack is Back. It was so much fun. The guy who did Frank sounded just like him. It was very funny, and they even had a surprise guest show up: Marilyn Monroe! The second show was Stomp! Hooooly amazing. It was absolutely incredible. Words can't describe it, so I don't think I'll even bother. All I can say, is if you have a chance to see it... DO IT!!!!!

Picture time (in basically no particular order... just the order I edited them in!):

One of the fountains outside the Venetian:

An ampersand, Las Vegas style:

The huuuuuuuge Phantom sign on the Venetian. And some sweet, sweet flare:

I'm posting this even though my dad's eyes are shut (as they are in all the pictures I took of him there!), because my parents are so funny. They're waving to me! Still outside the Venetian, pretending we're actually in Italy:

Paris! I think this was my favorite casino. The inside was just magnificent. The ceiling is completely painted like the sky. Wicked pretty. Here's the Eiffel Tour outside:

Had to take it:

When we got back from LV, we ventured around Phoenix for a couple days, just exploring. We found an amaaaaazing Mexican restaurant, and also went to the Botanical Gardens. Here is a fallen cactus, which looks weirdly like a crocodile:

Sorry for my ridiculously long absence. I was sick for a while (smoking is allowed in casinos in Vegas, and I am pretty allergic / sensitive to cigarette smoke), and then I just felt like I needed a blog-break. But I'm back! Hello! I'm currently sifting through over a hundred posts that I missed from various people (thaaaaank you Google-Reader!), marking the ones I want to comment on. So, you can probably expect random comments on older posts from me!

[ i'm alive, but barely ]

2008-01-01T20:39:00.000-07:00

Just quickly checking in. I have several great things to write about: the Vegas, the parents' visit, New Year's resolutions, good and fun things coming up this month.

However, I'm currently battling a cold / lingering allergies from the Vegas, and have absolutely zip for energy. So I'm climbing into bed at twenty of nine, because I have to work tomorrow, and I'd like to be at least semi-conscious.

Hope everyone's holidays were excellent. I enjoyed reading the 50 or so posts I missed while I was out of town.

And with that, good night!

[ the nutcracker was ]

2007-12-23T10:30:00.000-07:00

Mesmerizing. Beautiful. Hypnotic. Amazing. Brilliant. Goosebump-causing. Exquisite.

(I liked it... a lot)

[ suffering from blog neglect ]

2007-12-21T19:39:00.000-07:00

My blog is suffering, that is... not me. I am a bad bad blog owner. Poor poor blog has just been sitting here for a whole week... sad, alone, neglected. I think it's starting to get a complex. But I have returned, with both words and pictures! I am so sorry Bloggy. It was my bad.

Annnnyway.

This week has been a good one. Jesse & I decided to celebrate Chrismukkah all in one day and a few days earlier than we had originally planned. We had put all our gifts under the Chrismukkah Cactus, and one of us got really annoying and pushy, saying they wanted to open the gifts now, because that person could see them and it was like they were taunting this person. Just laughing and mocking... "You can't open us." This person swears that they even saw one of them stick its tongue out. This person has never been good about being denied a gift that is in plain sight.

(It was me.)

And so, Chrismukkah came early, and was super good. The gifts were mainly of the music and movie variety, but I also got a Wii for Jesse (which we love, and play frequently) and Jesse replaced my favorite favorite book that the Post lost (Portraits, by Steve McCurry... I highly recommend it), aaaand got us tickets to see The Nutcracker tomorrow night!! I am so incredibly excited! I love love love love The Nutcracker. Love it. We saw it last year in Delaware, and it was so good. And this year will probably be even better!

I also received my gifts from my parents and my big sister, both of which I was allowed to open immediately (because I already knew what they were, and even if I hadn't... the boxes they came in were a dead giveaway). My sister gave me one of those amazing coffee machines that you put the little cup of coffee grounds in it, and you get a single cup of coffee in about a minute! Which works out so very well for us, because Jesse doesn't drink coffee. And with this, I can never be wasteful with my coffee! Woot. And my parents gave me the scanner I really really wanted, which I've had some fun playing with.

I can't yet report on what the fam got from me, because they aren't allowed to open their gifts until the big day! I love the holidays!

My parents are coming here on Christmas day, and taking Jesse & I to the Vegas for a few days!!! So very excited. I've never been to the Vegas, so it should definitely be a good time. We're going to see The Rat Pack Strikes Back and Stomp. So excited. I can't wait to see my parents... I haven't seen them since September... it has been too long.

I used my fantabulous scanner to scan an image from Real Simple magazine of the planner I'm going to get... once they're back in stock online and I can actually purchase one. It's pretty and has a sweet yellowy gold cover and it's blocked out the way I like with lots of room for each day. Mmmmm... immediate love:

This planner was, of course, discovered after buying two planners, one from Target and one from the Hallmark store, and hating them both. They are now sitting on the table, with their respective receipts, ready to go back.

Saturday, after Chrismukkah, Jesse & I drove down to Tempe and walked around a really nice park before hitting up Ikea to see if they had any sweet winter deals. No such luck there, but the park was pretty! Pictures follow:

To all those in blog-world... Happy Happy Happy Holidays. I am so glad to have participated in NaBloPoMo and to have 'met' you all. Love and wishes of happiness to you and your families!

[ amazing a capella ]

2007-12-14T08:23:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Kelly for emailing me this one!

[ the many skies of arizona ]

2007-12-12T21:22:00.001-07:00

Arizona has the best skies ever. (Says the broken record). Here are some shots from various drives to and from work over the past couple weeks.

Fabulously colorful sunset:

Misty mountains in the distance in the morning:

Yet another insanely colorful sunset:

The absolutely bizarre fog from this morning:

This was the type of fog that completely surrounds you and makes you feel like the only person in the world. The whole time I was driving in it, I was thinking about the big battle scene in the movie King Arthur. When the magical misty fog rolls in and Arthur and his five or six horsemen manage to defeat hundreds and hundreds of people because they can't see where they are. And then the people completely painted in blue shoot arrows.

That was the insane image running through my mind. It was early. And I hadn't had any coffee yet.

Happy Wednesday :)

[ seven in seven ]

2007-12-10T08:46:00.000-07:00

I forgot to post about weekly goals yesterday, so here I am!

Last week's goals:

Finish up the organization of the mail folders. - just about complete... I'm incredibly perfectionist-y about stuff like this
Finish up Jesse's Chrismukkah stocking. - I was planning on getting the last few things on Friday, but ended up not having time, so maybe today.
Finish wrapping things for Christmas / Chrismukkah. - completely done!
Mail out some more fun stuff! - completely done!
Have fun at the events Jesse & I are going to this week. - we did indeed... see Saturday's post for details
Finish writing out Chrismukkah cards & mail them. - also done!
Find a Chrismukkah Cactus! - done, and decorated!

Wow... I was quite successful at my goals this week. This tackling-goals-on-a-weekly-basis-thing seems to be working out for me quite well. Now for this week!

Think of things to do with Mom & Dad when they get here.
Read one hour a night, instead of watching television.
Figure out what to eat for Christmas dinner.
Research some day and weekend trips for the spring.
Create contact database from business cards.
Finish up mail system.
Finish up Chrismukkah... it's next week!

I seriously cannot believe that it's already December 10th (it's my half-birthday! woot). When did that happen? It's almost 2008. How is that even possible? I've gotta make some fun and exciting plans for the new year. Anyone doing anything amazing?

[ aaaaaaand i'm back ]

2007-12-08T08:09:00.001-07:00

Wow, NaBloPoMo ends, and I fall off the face of the planet! My bad!

I must begin by saying I'm watching my favoritest holiday movie of all time: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. It's the fantabulous stop-animation, claymation version from 1964, with Burl Ives as the singing Snowman. They redid it as an animated version, but it just isn't the same. So maybe two years ago, I finally found the original version on DVD, and it was quite possibly one of the best moments of my life! I watch it every single year, probably four or five times.

Now, the reason I've been missing. I actually had a crazy busy week.

Monday, I had a nice, productive day at home. I did some chores, and did some work. Then Jesse & I watched Troy, which was quite enjoyable. Crazy crazy Achilles.

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday were typical work days down in Goodyear, plus Jesse & I had plans each night. Tuesday, we went to dinner at the Wild Thaiger in downtown Phoenix with Stuart and Katie. We had a lot of fun, and we were glad that Stuart and Katie finally met Jesse! Wednesday, we went to Jesse's office party. They had it at a pizza place in the city, and the food was quite delicious and it was nice to finally meet some of the people that Jesse's been talking about. Then Thursday was the Ladies Who Launch AZ holiday party. It was at the Devil's Martini in Scottsdale. We had a great time, and I met a bunch of new people. It got me even more excited for my Incubator in January. I can't wait!

Yesterday, I did a bunch of work, wrapped some Chrismukkah gifts, finished writing out holiday cards, packed up one of two things we need to ship. It was quite productive. Today, we're going to the bank, post office and grocery store, and then I'm working a wedding later tonight.

So that's where I've been. My apologies for my absence!

[ chrismukkah decorations ]

2007-12-03T18:21:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, Jesse & I got a Chrismukkah cactus and some fun decorations for the apartment. The cactus is actually a Madagascar Palm, so it's kinda part-cactus, part-palm tree. It's very cute, maybe two feet high. I absolutely love it! And I had a blast decorating the living room!

Here are some (probably too many) shots of the living room, decked out in Chrismukkah glory!

Our "mantle," which is actually just a cleared off bookshelf in the built-in. But it works for me! In the bottom section, you can see the awesome Christmas card Sadira sent! Also, please note our 99-cent-store stockings and the boozing penguin candles I bought for Jesse last year!

Jesse's menorah from Israel. The candles are from Target, and are very colorful. Hanukkah starts tomorrow!

One of six penguin candles I bought for Jesse last year. If you look closely, you can see that this one, while rocking a red top hat, is also holding a martini shaker! Also, check out our awesome golden garland and colorful ball ornaments, all of which are from Target.

The Chrismukkah Cactus! It's so cute, and I'm so excited. Again, please note the 99-cent-store twinkle lights, and a lot more Target ornaments.

Almost the exact same shot. I couldn't decide which one I liked better.

A better view of both the scary spikes, and the pretty ornaments: red and blue garlands, covered in many, many globe ornaments.

The Chrismukkah Cactus, again.

The whole deal. I wrapped the table that the Chrismukkah Cactus is sitting on with lights too. We're going to put our presents under it, and it'll almost be like having presents under a tree!

The Happy Hanukkah sign that Jesse has had for three or four years. It used to have three P's in Happy, but I (finally) removed the extra P. No one noticed for the first two years that there was an extra one! Whoops!

And, cheesy as always, Jesse & I in front of the "mantle."

Happy Holidays!!!!!

[ weekly goals ]

2007-12-02T14:39:00.000-07:00

After a nice, one day break from posting, which was totally necessary... I have returned! Weekly goals update time!

Last week's goals:

Make more progress on Mom's cards, hopefully including sending her the ideas - I finally caved to the reality that there was no way I would be able to design them all and get them printed and mailed to her in time for her to mail them out in time for the holidays. Curses.
Finish Christine's proof site & email her - Done!
Mail folders system - I made some progress... I've got the major categories done, now it's time to focus on the subcategories
Finish the Hanukkah cards - Just about... we've decided to go digital. I'm going to finish up the design, and then Jesse's going to email the image to all of his family members.
Finish the promo materials for 5GG - Again, progress made!
Make plans with Stuart & Katie to have dinner - Done!
Mail out some fun stuff! - Done!

Now, to come up with a list for this week! Here we go:

Finish up the organization of the mail folders.
Finish up Jesse's Chrismukkah stocking.
Finish wrapping things for Christmas / Chrismukkah.
Mail out some more fun stuff!
Have fun at the events Jesse & I are going to this week.
Finish writing out Chrismukkah cards & mail them.
Find a Chrismukkah Cactus!

In regard to #5, Jesse and I have all sorts of fun things going on this week. Tuesday, we're most likely having dinner with Stuart & Katie. Wednesday is Jesse's office's holiday party. Thursday is the Ladies Who Launch AZ holiday party. And Friday is First Friday, downtown. We haven't decided if we're going to First Friday, but if we do, that'll be fun too!

Today, I got my holiday music playlist organized on my iTunes, and I'm currently rocking out to some of the music from LoveActually. I love holiday music. And I love holiday movies. I'm excited to watch Rudolph (the claymation one, which is the only way to go... the animated one is creepy) and Charlie Brown and The Grinch. Yay!

The holiday spirit has officially begun to infect me! Yayyayyay!

[ ps ] it was very very weird to not use the tags "today i am thankful for" or "nablopomo2007"

[ and so it ends ]

2007-11-30T12:13:00.000-07:00

Well, NaBloPoMo is officially over. I seriously can't believe I actually successfully completed it! Yay me! I even posted over thirty posts this month... well, one over, but still. I'm proud of myself. And, what's more, I just remembered that posting everyday for a month was on my 101 in 1001 list, which I kinda-sorta-maybe abandoned. And without even realizing it, I completed it. Maybe I just need to not think about the list, and it will magically get done.

My TIATF today is definitely NaBloPoMo. Before participating, I never would have posted everyday for an entire month. Some days I didn't feel like I had anything good to post about, but posting anyway was good for me. There's no reason I can't take a few minutes everyday to post.

I found some new great people through NaBloPoMo, and I will definitely continue to read their blogs and keep up with them.

I realized there are about a million things I want to learn how to do: cook, sew, make jewelry, bind books, letterpress, all sorts of various craft projects, paint, screenprint at home. Reading about all these people around the world doing all these amazing things and seeing the products of their passion was amazing to me. I want to do all of it. Everything, everything, everything.

Now that NaBloPoMo is over, the real question is will I keep up with it. I'm sure that everyday is probably out of the question (unless I declare it NaBloPoMo every month... NaBloPoYear), but I'm sure I'll be able to post several times a week, instead of once every couple weeks. I also don't think TIATF will remain a daily staple, but it will probably be a recurring feature.

So, farewell NaBloPoMo. You were good to me. See you next year!

[ second to last ]

2007-11-29T18:02:00.000-07:00

This is my second-to-last NaBloPoMo post. Holy mackerel. I really can't even handle that idea. And, umm... excuuuuuse me. November is almost OVER? It's almost December. Which means..... it's almost 2008! Can you tell I'm mildly freaked out by how quickly time is passing??

Anyway, I had a really good idea of what I was going to post about while I was at work today. But, since I didn't write it down, I have since forgotten. Well crap.

TIATF:

The radio on the way home from work today. I am notorious for skipping around the stations to find something I like. And the radio gods were smiling down on me today! One station was playing The Devil Went Down To Georgia. When that was over, I hopped on over to the hip hop station, which always plays an insane mash-up of songs at around 5:10pm. What I caught was: Britney's Gimme More lyrics over the music from Another One Bites The Dust, which transitioned into Justin Timberlake's SexyBack, which transitioned into the lyrics from SexyBack over the music from Thriller, which transitioned into Thriller, which transitioned into some song by some dude named Pitbull (never heard of him, but I was rocking out). And when that fabulousness was over, I switched stations again and fell right into the opening notes of Queen's Somebody To Love.

I am also notorious for listening to music way louder than is probably safe. I was rocking out the whole way home from work. Freakin' awesome.

Also, if that isn't an excellent example of how random my musical taste is, I don't know what is!

[ reading list ]

2007-11-28T21:28:00.000-07:00

So right now, I'm working on three books.

The 101 Most Influential People Who Never Lived is one, which I've discussed before. I try to read about a few people every couple days. It's still extremely interesting, and I feel like I'm learning a lot about characters that I've heard about frequently, but didn't technically know who they were or what they did.

The second book I'm working on is Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. I picked it up on a whim at Borders, because I've heard (from friends and various internet sources) that it's a must read. I've only read the first fourteen or so tales (or beads, as the author calls them), but so far I am loving it. It's the type of book that could keep me up all night if I let it. I find myself feeling more and more awake with every word I'm reading. I had to force myself to put it down last night, and will probably have to do so again tonight. However, tomorrow, I can read as long as I want, since I work from home on Friday, and I can be tired!

The third book I'm currently reading is Harry Potter e L'Ordine della Fenice. It's the fifth Harry Potter (Order of the Phoenix) in Italian. I put it down a while ago, and have read probably six other books since I last picked it up, but I've started reading it again. It's just as good as the English version (clearly) and I get to feel proud that I can understand it!

I've started to miss the days of reading voraciously. I used to read so much people thought I was making it up. But I just loved to read. I don't think I've lost that love. I just think I feel guiltier about reading for pleasure now. Like I have other things that I should be doing. Other things that are more important, more pressing, more necessary.

But, I have recently decided that I'm going to give myself some more time to do things that truly make me happy. Hence reading three books at once. I've also started watching Gilmore Girls again. It is one of only two shows (the other being The OC) that I watched religiously. I own the entire series on DVD, and they've just been sitting there, collecting dust. So the other night, while Jesse was having dinner with some coworkers, I popped in Season One, Disc One. And let me tell you, I fell in love all over again. Now I'm going to give myself the time to watch an episode or two every week.

And that show doesn't just make me happy and relaxed. It makes me want to learn. The characters are so intelligent and so well-spoken. Not to mention that at least a dozen times an episode, references are made to things I've never heard of, or have heard of but don't really know what they are or do.

I miss learning. I miss school.

TIATF:

Whatever the hell gene I have in me that makes me love school and love learning and love reading. There's nothing quite like reading to make a person happy. And there's nothing like learning to make a person feel fulfilled.

Also, I am thankful for my desire to give myself an hour or two (at least) to do nothing but be happy and do something that makes me happy. Reading and Gilmore Girls is a good start.

What could you be doing to make yourself happy? Why aren't you doing it?

[ word of the day ]

2007-11-27T21:16:00.000-07:00

I don't really have anything to post about (except, excuse my freaking awe that there are only three days left in November, and thus NaBloPoMo!), so I shall leave you with the word of the day from my iGoogle. I read them everyday, and today, I shall report.

tumulus: (noun) A heap of earth placed over prehistoric tombs.

I felt quite dumb after reading the definition, because I figured it was at least semi-related to

tumult: (noun) a loud, confusing noise, esp. one caused by a large mass of people.

I was wrong. Oh well. You learn something new everyday.

TIATF:

Learning something new everyday. It amazes me when people act like school is the utmost. I definitely agree that it is incredibly important (and I also thought it was a lot of fun... what can I say... I'm a nerd!), but I think you learn just as much if not more in your day to day life. When I was studying in Italy, I kept track of things I learned everyday that I didn't learn in class (well, some were from class), but I don't think I kept it up the whole time. Perhaps I'll start doing that again? Who knows. Perhaps I'll share some of my Italy learnings here. Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps.

[ productive monday ]

2007-11-26T22:07:00.000-07:00

I was so incredibly productive today. Here's a quick rundown of what I accomplished, before I head off to bed:

emptied the dishwasher
got my Chrismukkah cards ready to use (added Ampersander logo stickers to the backs, flattened them while folded)
made up an address list to print on sticker paper for my Chrismukkah cards
emailed a bunch of people I'd been meaning to email
did some work for Brenda
worked on Jesse's Chrismukkah stocking
decorated the apartment with our (very few) holiday decorations (a Happy Hanukkah sign, some penguin candles, and our stockings)
wrapped up and mailed Sadira's prize postcards
put together & edited Christine's proof site and emailed her
called my sister and my parents and exchanged holiday tales
got out my colder weather clothes (the temp is finally dropping here... at least at night!)

I felt so productive and happy at the end of the day! Jesse and I actually made dinner (pasta with doctored jarred sauce... we're becoming very good at adding a crapload of vegetables to store-bought food), and hung out watching CSI for a while. Now it's time for bed!

TIATF:

Finally finding the motivation to work my ass off all day from home. I feel like I haven't been motivated on home-work days in a loooong time. Don't know where the motivational came from, but I'm damn glad it's here!

[ note: this post is backdated and was posted on tuesday. i wrote it last night (monday), but our internet decided to go wonky as i was trying to post it, so it had to wait until this morning ]

[ sunday goals ]

2007-11-25T18:08:00.000-07:00

Alrighty... so my first attempt at Seven in Seven didn't work out too well. However, I'm going to be okay with the fact that the holidays is a good excuse, especially since I was hosting, so my apartment was full from Tuesday to Saturday. So here's my update:

Design at least five cards for Mom's gift list - got sketches for five or six, no full designs yet
Hang the shelves we bought about two weeks ago - done, see previous post!
Get Christine's proofs up and email her - in the works, will get done tomorrow, hopefully
Organize my Mail folders into a system that actually makes sense - didn't even think about it
Design and order Hanukkah cards for Jesse's family - I know the design, just have to create and order them
Work out a design for the wall art project I want to do - again, didn't even think about it
Create promotional materials for FiveGoodGoats, including pricing lists - got my pricing all worked out, now I just have to make it pretty!

And here's my list for this week:

Make more progress on Mom's cards, hopefully including sending her the ideas
Finish Christine's proof site & email her
Mail folders system
Finish the Hanukkah cards
Finish the promo materials for 5GG
Make plans with Stuart & Katie to have dinner
Mail out some fun stuff!

A week with no holidays = a week that should be full of goal-completion! Here's to hoping!

TIATF:

Lazy Sundays. Jesse and I slept in a little, ate a yummy breakfast, went to see August Rush (I enjoyed it thoroughly, not something I would buy, but it was definitely good... the music was fabulous), ran a few small errands, and then just bummed around for the afternoon. Delicious!

[ apartment update ]

2007-11-24T20:56:00.001-07:00

The day before Thanksgiving, I finally got around to hanging the fun shelves Jesse & I bought a couple weeks ago. I had fun playing with what I was going to put in them, and this is what I came up with:

Largest: leather Venetian Carnevale mask that I got in Italy about two and a half years ago; metal ampersand from my sister

Middle: Jesse's menorah that he bought in Israel over the summer; Buddha statuette from Connecticut

Smallest: Buddha statuette from Siena, Italy

Have I ever mentioned here that I collect Buddha statuettes? I probably have, but I can't remember. Those two are just a small, small taste of the entire collection.

TIATF:

HGTV decorating shows. I love watching them. They taught me to decorate in odd numbers. Three shelves with five decorative elements. Yay for HGTV. Love it. Especially Mission Organization, FreeStyle, and Design on a Dime.

[ps] I also posted over at the other blog. Check it out: 5GG Blog.

[pps] This is my 100th post! Never thought I'd reach that number! Wooooo!

[ the day after ]

2007-11-23T09:31:00.000-07:00

Well, Thanksgiving was a definite success. Somehow, nine people managed to comfortably fit in our little apartment, and ate until we were stuffed. Good food, good people, good conversation. It was definitely a successful Thanksgiving. In case anyone is wondering what a group of vegetarians eat for a traditionally non-vegetarian holiday, here's a rundown of what we ate (and what Jesse & I will be eating for about another week!):

Poached salmon with dill sauce
Vegetable lasagna
Spinach pie (like spanikopita)
Steamed green beans
Roasted potatoes
Pumpkin and pecan pies
Applesauce bread

Now, before you go congratulating me for creating such an amazing feast, when before I've lamented about my lack of cooking skills, I should let you in on a little secret: Jesse's mother. She cooked everything, except for the applesauce bread (which is one of about ten things I know I can cook without fail!). She was so great... she and Jesse's dad came over the day before Thanksgiving, and while I did some work, she got EVERYTHING ready for the big day. I literally just had to show her where the various dishes and cookware were.

So, our successful Thanksgiving is most definitely thanks to her. So she is my TIATF today. I would have been completely lost and overwhelmed without her offer to handle the cooking. So thanks!

[ happy thanksgiving ]

2007-11-22T07:29:00.000-07:00

Happy Thanksgiving!

TIATF:

Family, friends and life. A few good jobs and some great bosses. Awesome connections. Having support when it's most needed. A beautiful apartment. A great car. And last, but definitely not least, the best boyfriend ever.

[ applesauce bread ]

2007-11-21T08:07:00.001-07:00

Happy Thanksgiving-Eve!

I'd like to share the recipe for not only my contribution to Thanksgiving this year, but also one of my all-time favorite foods: Applesauce Bread/Cake.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two loaf pans (just flouring also works).

1 package instant vanilla pudding (1 oz size)
1 package yellow cake mix
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup oil (canola or vegetable)
4 eggs
1 cup applesauce

Mix it all together (I always do the dry ingredients first, then the wet... less lumpy). Pour into the two loaf pans and bake for 30-40 minutes (it may take longer... it's been my habit to check on it every few minutes once the 30 minutes is up... it's also been different in every single oven I've cooked it in). A toothpick should come out clean, and the cake should come away from the sides of the pans when it's done.

Oh, it is so very very good. I'm making it later today, so perhaps I will post a couple pictures.

TIATF:

Whoever put this recipe in the Little Red Schoolhouse Cookbook when I was in preschool. Yup, I've been enjoying this goodness since I was four years old. Eighteen years later, and it's still a favorite.

[ a word on guilty pleasures ]

2007-11-20T20:23:00.000-07:00

I've been noticing a lot of "guilty pleasure" meme's going around, and I have to say, I've been enjoying them all. However, I'm not really a believer of guilty pleasures. I guess because I don't feel guilty about anything I enjoy. Sure, I know some stuff is insanely dorky, or that I should feel guilty for enjoying it, but seriously... who cares?

Therefore, here are some things about me that most people would term "guilty pleasures." I simply term them, things I enjoy, that others make fun of me for.

NSync. I love them. I have every single album... I probably know every single song on those albums by heart... I even have the European release of their first album which has five different songs than their American release. I've seen them in concert several times. When I was younger, my walls were plastered with pictures of them (mainly of JC... if he hadn't released that song which contains the lyrics "all day long I think about sex and all night long I dream about sex," I would probably still be in love with him)
America's Next Top Model. Love it. Totally addicted. Mainly, I watch for the photo shoots, but the show entertains me to no end. I like guessing who will win. I especially loved the British version, during which I was convinced Abigal was going to win. She made it to the top two and then lost. I was pissed.
Crappy MTV reality shows. What can I say... those people make me feel smarter.
Fanfiction. Not so much anymore, but I used to read it ALL the time. Especially for Harry Potter. Loved it. I love when anyone can come up with a really good story, so who cares if the characters aren't their own. The authors fully recognize that. In fact, going back to loving NSync, one of the best stories I ever read was an NSync fanfiction. There were three parts, they were as long as novels, and I loved them. I sometimes find them again and reread them. They still make me cry. If it's good writing, it's good writing. End of story.
Most ridiculous 80s and early 90s pop music. I have a TON of it, and I know the words to most of it. Nothing makes you feel better than hilariously corny pop music. New Kids on the Block, Robyn, Tiffani? Love them all. To this day.
Corny romance and kids movies. Seriously, who doesn't have a soft spot for them?
Celebrity gossip. Oh man, I can't help it. I don't seriously follow it, or know everything about everyone, but I do love me a good US Weekly or People.
The Hills. Every single week. LOVE IT. I want to be friends with Whitney and Lauren. I really do.
The OC. I watched every single episode every single week on Thursdays for four years... all through college. I love love love that show. I own all four seasons... well, I would if the stupid post office hadn't lost Season 4 when I moved to AZ. Curses! I wanted to date Seth Cohen and be Summer Roberts. Loved them both. Sandy was awesome. I was so bummed when it was canceled.

I feel guilty about absolutely none of those. And why should I? Does it make me a bad person to love NSync? (I'm still convinced they're going to get back together, and trust me... I will buy the album when they do). No. It makes me a fun person, who happens to like a lot of random and weird stuff. Some of which, is apparently embarrassing. I just think it's fun.

[ EDIT: While rereading this to see if I spelled anything incorrectly (anyone else do that?), I realized that it reads quite angry. I'm not angry, or even annoyed. I find it amusing that people feel the need to be embarrassed by things they like. I do, however, get annoyed when people try to make me feel guilty for liking the things I like. It's unnecessary. I like what I like, and I'm cool with it. You should be too. This probably reads quite angry also. I promise I'm not. ]

TIATF:

My complete and utter happiness with what I like. Who is someone else to tell me that the thing I like is stupid or inane or ridiculous. Newsflash for all of you out there: I probably know it's stupid or inane or ridiculous. I just don't care!

[ mooooooooo ]

2007-11-19T18:35:00.001-07:00

My set of MOO MiniCards came in the mail today! Oh joy, oh joy. Ten perfect little minicards. All for me. I love them, I love them, I love them. Yay!

TIATF:

MOO! I was a little skeptical of how the quality would be, but I am insanely impressed! And these are beaaaautiful. And decently priced. YAY!

[ new goals strategy ]

2007-11-18T19:12:00.000-07:00

Can it be? Two posts in one day? Am I totally screwing myself over? It is posssssible!

Anyway, as some (most? any?) of you know, I've been working on a 101 in 1001 list of goals. And my 101 in 1001 goals list still only consists of 39 goals. Yeah, not quite right. I was thinking about it today, and I realized that I'm treating it too much as a long-term goal list. There's really no reason I can't put a goal on there that I want to accomplish in the next month. Or week, really. But to me, a list that extends over two and a half years in the future is a long-term goal list. Therefore, I've come up with a new strategy for keeping myself motivated.

I'm going to work on a week-by-week basis. Sure, I'll have some long-term goals, but I will only state goals that I want to accomplish within the next week. Today, I will post my first list of goals. Next Sunday, I'll post about how well I did accomplishing those goals, as well as post a new list of goals. I'm going to choose seven goals per week. One goal per day.

To me, that is doable. That is something I can wrap my mind around. That is something I can totally grasp and attack.

Some of my goals may be smaller steps in a larger goal. They may be as simple as remembering to go to the bank that week. They may involve several steps. But the point will be, to move forward on seven (or so) things, every single week.

And so I proudly present,

Seven In Seven

Design at least five cards for Mom's gift list
Hang the shelves we bought about two weeks ago
Get Christine's proofs up and email her
Organize my Mail folders into a system that actually makes sense
Design and order Hanukkah cards for Jesse's family
Work out a design for the wall art project I want to do
Create promotional materials for FiveGoodGoats, including pricing lists

Join me if you'd like. Let me know what your goals are, and if you accomplish them. Have fun with it. Become more productive. Become more motivated. Help motivate me, and I'll help motivate you.

TIATF:

The creator of 101 in 1001. I don't actually know who started it, but I've seen it all over the place. It's a great idea, and definitely the inspiration for this plan, but it just doesn't seem to be for me. But that doesn't mean I'm not thankful for it existing!

[ i'm from peoreighwich ]

2007-11-18T14:54:00.001-07:00

If you've seen the new AT&T commercials that have the "I need a network that works where I live, a place called Delapragacago," and you find them humorous, this website is for you. You enter three cities that you are from, and it creates the tongue-twister city name for you. You can put it on a t-shirt, coffee cup, tote bag or sticker. You can then add a funny slogan to it, that comes with a fun little cartoon. You can then buy the product, which I won't be doing, but it was fun to play with!

Here's mine:

I'm "Taking My Lumps in PEOREIGHWICH." The cities I put in were: Peoria (where I live), Raleigh (where my parents and sister live) and Sandwich (where I was born and raised). I'm not sure you can tell in the picture, but my cartoon is a little sugar lump with boxing gloves. Hilarious!

Try it out!

Let me know where you live. Maybe you can come visit Peoreighwich!

TIATF:

Hilarious cartoons of sugar lumps gettin' ready for a showdown. I laughed really really hard.

Oh, and Animal House on USA. That movie never gets not-funny.

[ epson salts and beer ]

2007-11-17T20:30:00.000-07:00

TIATF:

An epson salt foot bath, beer and frozen pizza covered in red peppers and mushrooms.

I worked another wedding tonight, and for whatever reason, my legs were exhausted when I got home and my feet were killing me. Add to that the fact that I had barely eaten anything since breakfast.

The perfect remedy: an epson salt foot bath, beer and doctored frozen pizza. And my fabulous boyfriend. And some good movies on television.

Gooooooooooood night.

[ photography secrets ]

2007-11-16T19:17:00.000-07:00

So I'm watching 'The Shot' on VH1. And it's extremely interesting to a photographer who doesn't work in the fashion industry at all. And it reminded me of a website I found a while ago, about images taken of some celebrity women without makeup or retouching. The women still look beautiful, but then you read the descriptions of the images, and you see why they still look perfect.

Check it out: "Look Ma, No Photoshop."

And it's so true. I know that when I'm editing images, one way to instantly make someone look younger is to brighten the entire image. If the entire image is bright, blemishes and wrinkles fade. It's rather incredible.

Anyway, I hope you find this interesting. You too can take model-esque images of people, just by bumping up your exposure.

Also, I've been meaning to ask if anyone would appreciate small photography lessons here on the blog. I'd totally be up for compiling some tips and reviewing some basics for anyone who wanted them. Let me know!

TIATF:

Shows like The Shot. They are incredibly interesting to me. I love to watch shows like this and America's Next Top Model. The drama completely bores me and is annoying. But the behind the scenes of photo shoots is completely and totally fascinating. I love watching how shots are made, how amazing photos are made. Awesome.

[ the quest to live green ]

2007-11-15T17:40:00.001-07:00

Well, hello there. Welcome to the first post I've ever planned out in advance! I've been wanting to write about my efforts to live green for a while, as well as get ideas from other people. Sooooo, here we go.

Living green is one of my 101 in 1001 goals. I've become more and more concerned with trying to live as green as possible. There are some things I do, some things I could do, and some things I can't do. And I'm sure there are ways to live green that I haven't even thought of. So that is the point of this post. Telling you what I've done to live green, and hopefully getting some feedback on how others live green.

What I Do To Live Green:

I have CF bulbs in most of my lights
I always bring my own bag & crate to the market
I recycle all my plastics, newspapers, paper & cardboard
I'm a vegetarian (well, almost... I do eat seafood, but not super frequently)
I turn off lights when they're unnecessary
I turn off the water when it isn't necessary (like when brushing my teeth, washing dishes, etc)
I rarely eat out
I never use plastic utensils or paper plates
I turn the a/c to a higher temperature
I use the fans in our apartment
I dry most of my clothes on a line
I turn my computer off when I'm not at home or sleeping

What I Could Do To Live Green:

Put CF bulbs in all of my lights
Walk to the grocery store when we only need a few things
Unplug my chargers and printer when not in use
Take my canvas bags to all stores, not just the market

What I Can't Do To Live Green

Carpool
Take the bus or bike to work
Any new appliances
Any major home changes, as I rent

So now, I need your help. What else can I do to live green? Thanks in advance for any and all ideas!

TIATF:

All the information on living green. And the move towards living green. And how living green or trying to live green no longer automatically categorizes you as a dirty hippie.

[ more networking ]

2007-11-14T21:58:00.000-07:00

I went to another networking event tonight. It was a much smaller group (only about 8), but everyone was very nice, and everyone was involved in different lines of work. I think I got a couple good leads out of it.

Again, with the lame-o post because I'm tired. I'll try to make up for it tomorrow.

TIATF:

Meetup.com.

I found Ladies Who Launch and this networking group through it, and I'm sure I'll find more. I highly recommend checking it out.