[ checking in ]

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 ]

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 ]

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 ]

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 ]

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 ]

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 ]

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 ]

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 ]

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 ]

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!)