[ and so it ends ]

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 ]

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 ]

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 ]

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 ]

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 ]

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:

1. Design at least five cards for Mom's gift list - got sketches for five or six, no full designs yet
   
2. Hang the shelves we bought about two weeks ago - done, see previous post!
   
3. Get Christine's proofs up and email her - in the works, will get done tomorrow, hopefully
   
4. Organize my Mail folders into a system that actually makes sense - didn't even think about it
   
5. Design and order Hanukkah cards for Jesse's family - I know the design, just have to create and order them
   
6. Work out a design for the wall art project I want to do - again, didn't even think about it
   
7. 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:

1. Make more progress on Mom's cards, hopefully including sending her the ideas
2. Finish Christine's proof site & email her
3. Mail folders system
4. Finish the Hanukkah cards
5. Finish the promo materials for 5GG
6. Make plans with Stuart & Katie to have dinner
7. 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 ]

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 ]

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 ]

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 ]

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 ]

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 ]

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 ]

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

1. Design at least five cards for Mom's gift list
2. Hang the shelves we bought about two weeks ago
3. Get Christine's proofs up and email her
4. Organize my Mail folders into a system that actually makes sense
5. Design and order Hanukkah cards for Jesse's family
6. Work out a design for the wall art project I want to do
7. 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 ]

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 ]

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 ]

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 ]

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 ]

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.

[ photo post ]

Just some images today. Beautiful Arizona skies. Love 'em more and more every day.







TIATF:

Photography.

It gives me peace. It gives me passion. It gives me memories. It gives me motivation. It gives me clarity.

[ right now i'm reading ]

Right now, I'm reading a book called The 101 Most Influential People Who Never Lived: How Characters of Fiction, Myth, Legends, Television and Movies Have Shaped Our Society, Changed Our Behavior, and Set the Course of History. Really f'ing long title, huh?


So far, I'm really enjoying it. It's a lot of fun, with people such as Midas, Santa Claus, Robin Hood, Godzilla, Luke Skywalker, and more. It describes how these made-up characters have shaped American society. It offers some fun anecdotes, lots of further reading, and a lot of "Oh, I never really thought of it like that" moments.

My favorite section so far (I'm about a third of the way through) is about Cinderella. Mainly because, it kind of shows Cinderella as, if you really think about it, what she really is: a whiny, pathetic princess.

Cinderella is pathetic, but we fall in love with the idea that the meek will triumph in the end. To this purpose, a fairy godmother provides her with elegant clothes so that she can attract the eye of the prince, who happens to be looking for a girl to marry. Decked out in her finery, Cinderella gets his attention at a ball where she is nothing but a clotheshorse. She has earned nothing. She deserves nothing, except perhaps back wages at home. And yet, she gets the prince to marry her. This is not the lesson we should teach our children. There are more important values than good looks, fine clothes and expensive trappings -- intelligence, independence, self-esteem, responsibility, and self-motivation -- none of which characterize Cinderella.

So very true, but you never think of it like that. It's always, "Oh how lucky Cinderella is. How amazing that she finally got what she deserved." But she didn't really work for it. She happened to fit a certain shoe size.

Makes ya think.

Anyway, the book kinda reads like Chuck Klostermann, who I love. Ironic, and witty, with truth put out in plain view. I recommend it.



TIATF:

My love of reading. Without it, I don't think I would have been half as successful in my life as I have been. I certainly wouldn't have been such a good student!

[ image from amazon ]

[ color inspiration ]

I haven't done one of these posts in ages. I actually completely forgot about. Color inspiration, coming your way!

For some reason, I have recently been loving the green of highway signs. I've never particularly enjoyed it before, but recently, against the blue, blue sky, awesome.

Sunsets are always full of color inspiration. Hot yellows, pale oranges, fading into blue-grey skies. Awesome.


Dusty blue-grey truck, against the baby blue bottom part of the truck. Please ignore the nasty nasty pollution evident in the picture. That is NOT inspirational! Although, I guess it is... because it has definitely inspired me to keep working on living green!

Another sunset, but blurry and crazy. Looks like a painting. And I love the color of the headlights against the pavement. Pavement has never looked so pretty.



TIATF:

My little Canon PowerShot camera. It's small enough that I can slip it in my purse, so my only excuse for missing a photo opportunity is being too lazy to get it out.

(I have a new strategy for my TIATF. If it's part of a regular post, it will be in some way related to that post. If not, it'll be whatever I want it to be. That is all.)

[ lame-o post ]

Here is a lame-o quicky post, because I just got home from shooting a wedding, and I'm tired.

TIATF:

My need to add an extra 30 minutes onto travel time. I got to the main entrance of the place where the wedding was in pretty much the exact amount of time GoogleMaps said it would take me. But getting to the actual location of the wedding took another twenty minutes. So I was still ten minutes early, instead of twenty minutes late. Yay for being anal about being wicked early for things.

[ gingerbread ]

TIATF:

I have got to say, there is only one single reason I get excited for the ridonkulously early holiday shopping season.

GINGERBREAD LATTES, PEOPLE.

I'm usually not a Starbucks person. Personally, I think their coffee tastes like ass, and everything else is too overpriced for it to be worth it.

But, there are two little exceptions.

One, is the glorious Pumpkin Spice Latte, which rocks my October. I still only treat myself to one or two (sometimes three), because they are wicked expensive. But so very very tasty.

And two, is the fan-frickin-tabulous Gingerbread Latte, which comes out the millisecond Halloween is over. Again, I typically only indulge a few times, but mmmmm. The $3.85 I paid for my small (which is called a Tall, never really got that) is totally worth it today. I got it frappuccino-ized too, because it's hot-hot-hot today. Global warming is here, and I'm battling it with my Gingerbread Latte/Frappuccino.

Speaking of the environment, I had to fight the grocery lady today. She wanted to give me THREE bags for: one container of soy milk, two boxes of cereal, five apples and four bananas. Are you serious!?!? AND, the lady at Target DID give me THREE BAGS for three bottles of apple juice. Umm... what?!?!?!?!?

Ladies... you two are the reason the planet is in trouble. Hooooly shit.

Rant over.

Moral of the story:

Today, I am thankful for Gingerbread Lattes. Yummy!

[ seven ]

Well, well. The wonderful Sadira tagged me to list seven random things about myself. So I'm going to mostly participate ("He's only mostly dead..." what's the movie, anyone? I'll send you a prize if you guess!).

I'll definitely do the seven things (mainly because I don't have anything else to post about today!), but I'm not going to tag other people. Call me a rebel. Heeeeeere we go.

1. I cannot eat a food that has chunks in it. It's not just that I don't like it, I have an actual physical reaction, and can't swallow it. Examples are: yogurt with fruit, any baked good with fruit. Basically, if the food is supposed to be smooth, I want it to be smooth. This makes for some awkward moments, like when I worked at a day camp and had to trade my yogurt with a little kid because I had accidentally bought the kind with fruit chunks. Or when my good friend Brent made me apple cinnamon pancakes (with actual apples), and I tried valiantly to eat one, but couldn't, and Jesse had to make me plain pancakes instead.

2. The two toes next to my big toe on my right foot are partially webbed. I'd take a picture, but I'm too lazy this morning. Jesse gets a big kick out of telling me to spread my toes away from each other, because my left-foot toes spread quite wide (which he also tells me are freakish), and my two little webbed toes don't move.

3. I dislike the doctor to the point that it gives me slight panic attacks. I'm okay if it's a routine check-up, but if it isn't, it's pretty hard to keep myself from crying in front of the doctor. I can usually make it through the appointment, but I'm a disaster afterwards. Because of this, I rarely go to the doctor when I'm sick. (Only if my Mummay makes me!)

4. I was born and raised in a town called Sandwich. Yes, like the food. I've heard all the jokes, and none have been very good. "What kind of sandwich is it? Ham and cheese!?!?!" Ha. ha. ha. Now that I think of it, Dustin promised me a good Sandwich joke before we left college. And I never got one!

5. I collect Buddha statues. I have one from just about every country or major city I've been to, with the exception of Amsterdam (I hadn't started collecting them yet) and London (we were running around like crazy, and I simply didn't think of it). I started collecting them when I was 15 or 16, playing soccer in tournaments in Italy and Spain. We drove between the two, and on the way stopped in Nice. We walked through an open-air market, and I saw this awesome little Buddha statue that was black, with a blue glittery cape. Thus started the collection.

6. I was the weirdo in high school that loved math and science, and also art. I (to this day) love doing math... especially geometry and algebra. I LOVED doing proofs. All of my math-loving friends tell me that that is weird by itself. I graduated in the top ten of my HS class, and was the only one in the top 30 or so whose only APs were in math (calculus), science (physics), and art. In college, one of my favorite classes was Logic, even though it had me doing homework for at least two hours every single night. I was told I was nuts for that too. The only reason I didn't take the advanced Logic course the next semester was because I didn't think I'd have time for the workload.

7. I can eat shrimp until I explode. It really is the one food that I can't control myself with. I just eat it and eat it and eat it. At holiday gatherings, my mom would always buy a five-pound bag of shrimp. She'd put aside a certain amount, and that would be my shrimp. After my shrimp was gone, I was cut off. Although, I must admit (sorry Mom!), that I would totally sneak shrimp from the other plate. I couldn't help myself! I love shrimp!


I'm sure there are way more random and quirky things about me, but the rules were for seven. In other news....

Nance! If you're out there, I couldn't reply to your comment about my shot settings for the fair pictures because you didn't comment with any email... so here's what I was going to reply with:

Thanks for commenting. Let's seeeeeeeeee... I shot it all on manual. I kept my ISO at 1600, and kept my aperture pretty wide open: most of the shots are at an f.stop of 3.5 - 5.6. If I wanted a more blurry picture, I closed the aperture way down (some of the rides moving are at about f22). As for shutter speeds, I kept it right around 1/30 - 1/60. Any shots that are pointing directly at a light source, I popped it up to about 1/250, and again, for the motion shots, I slowed it down to about 0.5 seconds.

I hope that helps!

What's your blog?

I'm going to try to find you on NaBloPoMo!




TIATF:

My mummay and my daddy... due to a certain undertaking of mine which must remain a secret, I've been thinking a lot about how much support and love they've given me over the years. Even when I bitched and moaned, and was an all around ass, they had nothing but love and advice.

They fully supported my decision to pursue art as a major in college and as a career (which is actually really hard for a lot of parents... I met a few people in college that said "I would totally be an art major, but it would kill my mother/father."); they fully supported me playing soccer for like twelve or thirteen years, driving me all over the state, letting me go to Europe twice, helping me get over not getting picked for a team I should have been picked for (it's a long story, I won't get into it... and yes, part of me is still bitter about it), supporting me and being there for me when I wanted to quit, and when I got hurt and couldn't play anymore; they fully supported my desire to study in Italy (even though my mom was wicked jealous... one day Mummay, we'll go!); they even fully supported me moving all the way across the country with a boy right after college, even though I know it was hard for them to let the baby go.

I love you Mummay & Daddy!!!! Can't wait for the Vegas!

[ pilates ]

TIATF:

My pilates class. Tonight is the last night, and if there was going to be a class with this instructor again next session, I would totally take it. But she's traveling for most of the session, so someone else is taking over. I don't want a new instructor! Hilde is great. She's all about everyone going at their own pace. She shows us different variations of almost every single move. But she's also sure to challenge us every week. I'll definitely be on the look-out for the Rec Center's spring booklet.

I've got to get better at doing pilates at home. There's no reason I shouldn't be doing it more often than I am, especially since I always feel so great afterwards. Energized, flexible, all the kinks are worked out, taller, more poised. It really is a great exercise.

[ arizona skies ]

TIATF:

The beauty of the sky here. Undeniably the most beautiful I've seen. It's like driving home surrounded by a painting every night.

[ fair photos ]

Some photos from this weekend. I still maintain that AZ has the most beautiful skies ever!








For a whole lot more, check out my Flickr.



TIATF:

That I work from home two days a week. Along with getting work done for Brenda, it gives me time to myself, to work on various projects: organizing, designing, etc. Mondays and Fridays are good alone time. I love having Jesse home, but I also love my alone time!

[ oh so very tired ]

Jesse & I went hiking this morning at Thunderbird Park. It was a good hike, pretty quick and not super hard. Then we came back to the apartment, went grocery shopping, and attempted to make sushi! We did okay... the rolls were all falling apart, but it tasted fine! Go us!

Then we watched Factory Girl, about Edie Sedgewick. It was quite good, but made me quite melancholy. Her life is a sad story, especially when you think about just how much Andy Warhol used her.



TIATF:

Jesse. He puts up with all of my insanity, and loves me in spite of it. He is absolutely wonderful.

[ fried snickers bar ]

This morning, Jesse & I ran a bunch of errands, and thennnnnnnnnn

We went to the State Fair! It was a lot of fun. I haven't been to a fair in ages. The only ride we went on was the Ferris Wheel, but we made it count by going on the biggest one they had... it was called El Grande Wheel. Awesome. Yeah, the AZ State Fair has FOUR Ferris Wheels!!! Insane. We played a couple games, but mostly walked around, enjoying the sites, and having fair food.

We had funnel cake, Jesse had ice cream, I had a root beer float.

And.

I tried a Fried Snickers Bar. I don't usually eat fried food, and this was a good reminder as to why, because about four bites in, and I started to feel sick. But I tried it. It was an experience I felt I needed to have. Good times. Pictures to come!



TIATF:

The joy of children, and the ease with which they are made happy.

I won a little Spiderman stuffed toy at a game (the popping the balloons game, which I don't know why I picked that one to play, seeing as I hate balloons). And on the shuttle ride back to our car, I had taken it out and was jokingly hitting Jesse with it. And this little boy, maybe eight-years-old, was sitting near us, just completely transfixed with the Spiderman. I noticed he had gotten one of the Venom stuffed toys, so when we were about to get off the bus, I held it out to him and asked if he wanted it. Because really, he'll appreciate a stuffed Spiderman way more than I will. I can't remember the last time I've seen a little kid so happy. His dad thanked us profusely, and said that we probably made his century. Yay! It made me happy to make him SO happy.

[ halloween and the beatles ]

I'll quickly say that Halloween was kinda lame. Jesse & I didn't do anything, and we only got two trick-or-treaters. They were two very cute little trick-or-treaters, but there were only two of them. Now Jesse and I have enough candy to feed a small army for a month. Oy.

On Tuesday, we went to (finally) see Across the Universe. Which, if you haven't heard of it, is a musical set in the sixties, and all of the songs are Beatles songs. And it is AMAZING. Visually stunning, the songs are (of course) amazing because they're Beatles songs, but also amazing because of the way they are reworked, visually represented, and performed by the actors (Evan Rachel Wood, Joe Anderson, Jim Sturgess). The main characters are named after or from Beatles songs (Lucy, Max, Jude, Sadie, etc.). There are pop culture references to events and people from the time period: Ken Kesey & the Merry Pranksters, electric kool-aid, the violent Columbia University student protest, the Beatles' illegal rooftop concert in 1970, etc. Some of the characters are clear references to real people: Bono as Neal Cassady, Dana Fuchs' Sadie is clearly Janis Joplin, and Martin Luther McCoy's Jojo is obviously Jimi Hendrix. A lot of the dialogue in the film is taken from Beatles songs also: Prudence first enters the apartment through a window and Jude says "She came in through the bathroom window;" Sadie says that Max could be safe or he could have killed someone with a hammer, a reference to my personal favorite Beatles tune "Maxwell's Silver Hammer."

If you've made it through that giant rambling paragraph, or if you haven't, the gist is: I freaking LOVED it. I'm most impressed with the fact that almost all of the songs were actually recorded on set, so when you see the people singing, they are actually singing, not lip syncing to a pre-recorded song. Awesome!

In other movie news, after a slow couple of months, there is a whole slew of films coming out that I want to see: Rendition, American Gangster, Martian Child, Dan in Real Life, Michael Clayton, The Darjeeling Limited, Into the Wild, Gone Baby Gone, August Rush. There goes all my hard-earned money!



TIATF:

The courage I had to move across the country with Jesse. And the courage he had to move across the country with me. We're finally starting to explore more, get out more, and it's starting to feel more like home.


PS: Click on any and all links in this post for film trailers!

[ and so it commences... ]

Welcome to National-Blog-Posting-Month (NaBloPoMo). Thanks to Sadira for inviting me to play along! The deal is, you pledge to blog every-single-day of November. Uhhhh... crap. I usually have a week between posts.

I tried to think of a theme for the month, so it would propel me forward. Let me tell you, it was hard for me to think of something I could actually write about every-single-day for thirty days. I mean, I have passions, but, seriously, overkill city.

I wound up deciding to go kinda-sorta holiday themed. As in, since November is the month of Thanksgiving, the theme of my NaBloPoMo will be giving thanks. Things I'm thankful for. I'm sure I don't consciously think of things I'm thankful for often enough. I'm also sure I should think of things I'm thankful for more often.

So, although I'll continue posting about day-to-day life and random pictures and complete randomness, I will, every-single-day (I'm going to try so very hard!), at least post one thing that I am thankful for.

And now, back to our regularly scheduled program...

Monday, I went to the Ladies Who Launch Second Annual Launch Party. It was down in Tempe, at the Tempe Center for the Arts, which is an absolutely beautiful building, in a quite pretty location as well. I met a bunch of new people, and saw a few people I had met at the beginning of the month. It got me even more excited for my Incubator session in January. I really really can't wait. I was especially impressed (and flattered), that the leader of the sessions, Bevla, actually remembered my name and where we had met. She knows everyone, and actually can keep all of their names straight! That impresses me a lot, because I have trouble remembering people's names, especially if I've only met them once.

I got a whole bag of fun goodies: green cleaner (not even one little bitty toxin in there!), a bag of pasta from an Italian restaurant (which Jesse and I must now go too, I've been hearing great things), information about a bunch of different businesses, bright pink heart-shaped pasties (absolutely hysterical!), a little sample jar of lavendar orange shea butter (also a green product, and smells SO good!), coupons for various things, and a gratitude rock (part of the inspiration for my NaBloPoMo theme).

And the actual bag is made of that crazy indestructible fabric, which means Jesse and I have another grocery bag! Yay for making efforts at being green!

Different people got up and gave what LWL calls Elevator Pitches: you have thirty seconds to sell your business. I was glad I wasn't called to give one, because I have no idea what I would say. I should think about it!

And there were a bunch of raffles, and I actually won something! And in my opinion, it was the best thing to win!

I won hotel accommodations for two people, three days two nights, at any of twenty-six locations!!! It doesn't expire until the end of December 2008, so Jesse and I are going to save up our money for a year, and then go to one of the more fun places next winter! I'm thinking Aruba... or the Bahamas... or Cabo... or maybe St. Thomas!

So much fun!

This weekend, I have off from work, so Jesse and I have planned a fun-filled weekend of Phoenix adventures. I don't want to spoil future posts, so stay tuned!



Today I Am Thankful For (TIATF):

Ladies Who Launch. So inspirational, so motivational, so accepting, so supportive.