Gasp? Me? Really?

Thank you so much Dizzy for this award. I'm really flattered that you thought of me. Especially because this blog had such a rough start but I'm really happy to have you as my blog friend :-) It took me forever to write this because I had to find where I keep all my favorite blogs. I've saved the links to my favorite blogs in random places (like in my email drafts or on a post-it at work) thinking that I would update my blogroll, but I'm not very up on things.

So here it is:

The Rules for those recieving an award are:-

1. The winner can put the logo on their blog
2. Link the person you received the award from
3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs
4. Put links of those blogs on yours
5. Leave a message on the blogs nominated

I nominate:

Robin - I love reading your poems and seeing your photos. Your outlook on life is uplifting and very entertaining

Sidewalks are runways - I love your photos, your poses, and of course your outfits. Everything you do is so creative.

I know there are more than blogs I have come across and really liked but I am not very good at keeping a list somewhere (like, oh I don't know, on the side of my blog page?).

I wish I could give this award back to you Dizzy. There is something similar about us, and maybe for that reason, I find your blog so intelligent and funny. hehe.

A Night Off

I didn't feel well so I skipped my second day of class the other night. I feel really bad but oh well. I got a movie (The Great Gatsby) and a TV show on DVD, I made an album of my summer on Facebook and watched half a season of Curb Your Enthusiasm. A nice night away, hiding in my room is just what I needed.

T and I watched most of The Great Gatsby last night but old movies like that (not old old just 1970's old. Robert Redford looking young and dashing old) move a little slow. I'm not sure why that is, but we needed a break so we hung out with T's brother and his friend for a bit and then I went home.

Ahhhhhhh...today is Friday. Pay Friday. Pay Friday before a holiday weekend Friday. I'm going camping which is great. I always feel so relaxed after a weekend of camping. And the best part is that the campground is very close to T's house so we get to shower and dress and do our hair there and then go back to the wilderness. It's the best of both worlds because camp showers are not my cup of tea. I can deal with them but if given the opportunity to shower in a home, I'll take it. I'd rather not shower while staring at a spider on the ceiling to make sure he doesn't come down on my head just for kicks. I'm also a little uncomfortable with someone opening my changing room curtain and showing my pudge and secret parts to the world. So a good weekend will be had and I'll probably snap off another 100 pictures of tents, campires, sparklers, and bagg-o/cornhole/beanbag game (whatever you call it). I'd like to post some real pictures on here and not just the ones I find on the internet.

Have a great weekend! And Have a great holiday weekend to my American friends!

Weird Thoughts

Did you ever wonder what it looks like to other drivers when you sneeze in the car? Do they tense up and get ready for the blow when your body convulses sending your car careening towards theirs? Just wondering...

First Day of Fall/Summer

First day of the fall semester today. I don't know how I feel about it. Actually, I do. I'm very sad. I can't just go home and ride my bike if I want or go straight to T's and do nothing there. Lazy summer days are coming to an end and I'm going to be rushing to classes, rushing to get homework done and staying indoors much more. It's even kind of chilly and breezy out today as if to remind me that my summer "vacation" is over. I rejected that by wearing a skirt, bright yellow t-shirt, and flip flops today. And a pony tail. I'm all summer and sunshine.

Well, like I said, it's the first day of the fall semester today. I'm only 3 classes away from my Associate of Arts (with a major in nothing)! I have no idea what I will do with my Associates degree once I have it. I think I'm just going to go right back and get my Associate of Arts in Hospitality. I should just go for it now instead of wasting my time on the degree I'm working toward, but I've been working on it for 7 years. I just want to say I have a degree. So, I have a geology class tonight. Snore. Study of rocks. I might find something interesting about it, and if I do, I'll let you know.

I know there are usually summer plans, but what about fall? Do you have any fall plans?

True Love Found

I was reading a blog on iamfashion.blogspot.com about jean skirts. The author said something about American Eagle jean skirts so I went there to check them out and this is what I found instead. Instant love. I want this.

Just Another Day at The Office

There's a job opening at our sister company. It would be higher pay, more challenging work, something different. But I can't make myself go for it. It requires someone who is aggressive and good on the phone. I'm just not that kind of person. I used to be on the phone all day every day at my old position here, but I was happy to move on from that. Still, I can't help but feel like I'm missing out on a good opportunity. It's just that, I want to finish school and get a job in a completely different industry. Making this kind of move would mean that I'm at this company as a career and in the words of Jim Halpert from The Office, "...if this were my career, I'd have to throw myself in front of a train."

Fall is Upon Us!

I opened my email today and there was something from ideeli.com (a members only website that sends you great deals every day). Check out these amazing Dolce & Gabana boots I couldn't even imagine being able to afford them (they are $345 on ideeli but they were $1395) but I love the buttons and the color and the fact that the leather looks so soft. I just love to gaze at them and imagine what I could wear with them.

It just makes me think of fall though. It's close to the end of August. My summer class has ended and I'm starting a new semester next week. It's back to school time. Warmer clothes, pumpkins, changing leaves. The sky even looks a little different in fall. It's my favorite time of year to take pictures. Everything seems more interesting, more colorful, more comforting. I detest cold weather but I find that I usually end up welcoming fall after a few weeks of resisting. Once I've had my last camping trip of the season, gone to the beach at least once, and walked around late at night when the air was still a warm blanket around me, I'm satisfied. This summer, T and I bought bikes from a police auction and used them as much as possible. That made this summer just a little more complete. There will still be several more weeks of warm weather ahead but when that little twinge of change happens, I won't go kicking and screaming toward it. I'll be ready to don my sweaters and boots that I kind of miss now.

I've been getting Urban Outfitters and Free People catalogues in the mail and I can't wait for everything to go on sale. It gives me chills just thinking about it. All those sweaters, long cardigans, vests, dresses with colored tights, coats, ah! I'm so excited. I wish I could wear hats. I'm ready to embrace something new this year. Maybe I'll try one out. Oh fall fashion season, how I love you.

Do you like fall? What do you like or hate about it?

A Photographer - I Will Never Be

The batteries in my camera died. Yup. I have a charger but I did not use it.

Saturday I went out with one of my best friends from high school. We went to Brio and had a lot of bread and amazing Italian food. I don't even know what mine was called but the pasta was handmade and it was fantastic. I saw a cooking show where the host went to Italy and showed the tradition of hand-making pasta. It looked so good and so fun. I wish I could do it. I tried to make gnocchi once and it just fell apart in the water. Maybe I'll try again sometime.

After dinner, we headed over to H&M so my friend could get some teacher clothes that weren't too teachery. You remember how your teachers dressed? Long flowery skirts and tennis shoes? Or cutesy little jumpers with school related items stitched on?
Thank God for my friend who is trying to change that trend one pair of wide leg pants and cute, frilly tops at a time.

We met up with another friend who was out shopping for shoes with his next door neighbor. I helped his neighbor decide not to buy some brown pumps that she just wasn't in love with. She needed some pointy toes and only my beloved Steve Madden seems to be into that trend. I read somewhere that round toe is back and pointy is going out, but sometimes we just need a pointy toe. Unfortunately, the store did not have those shoes in her size. Sigh. Why are all girls' feet the same size? Who decided that was a good idea? After shoes, we went to "The Feast" which was incredibly crowded. Apparently, it only gets worse at night because of the bars and beer tent. Plus there was gambling in the basement of the church. Interesting. We just wandered around as best as we could, cutting groups of people off so that we could get cannoli and tiramisu from a few stands. I ate my own cannoli and then finished off someone else's. Mmmmm...Italian desserts are my weakness.

Eating My Weekend Away - Starting Early

One of the teams at work had a "Pig out Day" and I was going to bring deviled eggs. I've been on an egg kick lately since I discovered I can hard boil an egg and have the shell come off without so much as scraping the egg with a fingernail. Well, day of all days! Nothing went right. I'm pretty sure I over-cooked the eggs, yolk looked gross, the egg was coming off in the shell. I decided I can't cook and I got a dozen donuts to bring instead. Plus I'm having an ugly/fat/bad hair day. I'm going back to bed when I get out of work. Then I'm taking a shower and starting my day all over again around, say 7:00 this evening.

There's a food and art festival in Little Italy this weekend called "The Feast". I've never been to it but I hear it's the party of the year. Apparently it's a tradition for the Catholic church there to celebrate the assention of the Virgin Mary into Heaven. They have a solemn mass where they march her statue around the streets and then they get out the food, the rides, and the music and start celebrating. There are independent vendors setting up booths too which is what I like the most. I love buying other people's handmade crafts since I'm not too crafty myself. I just make jewelry but so does everyone else.

I'll post some picture of "The Feast" here soon.

Americans and Their Food

I was hungry today but completely bored with all the food I could have eaten. So a trip to Wal-Mart's subway seemed like a good idea. Until I got there and realized I had no taste for a sub at all. I wandered through the tiny food section (it's not a superstore. Just a regular ol' Wal-Mart) and finally came across some Ramen Noodles. I've been trying to be really healthy and eat mostly veggies and fruit - nothing with preservatives, but for some reason this hit me as something I would like to eat. Do you know how much it was? 17 cents! I spent 17 cents on food at Wal-Mart today. I think that means it's not good for me...

I was reading a magazine a few years ago about French women and why they never get fat. The writer read a book or something and decided to try a French diet herself. She wrote a journal of sorts and eventually found herself losing weight and enjoying her food. I can't remember what triggered this story, but a few years later, I happen across a review for a book: French Women Don't Get Fat. If this "diet" has held on for several years and more people are writing about it, maybe I'll check it out, I think to myself. I do some searches on the French diet and keep reading. Turns out it's not a diet at all. The main idea is this: The French ENJOY their food!

The author noticed that people in America down gigantic burritos and burgers as fast as they can while on cell phones, laptops, or while driving. The people of France take time preparing their food, using mostly fresh foods and spices. Then, they sit down without the TV or a computer in front of them and eat. They eat slowly, thinking about what their eating, tasting all the ingredients that were put into their meal. Their food is more fattening at times (full fat cheeses, wine) but because they eat slowly, they enjoy their food, which makes them eat less. Americans, on the other hand, go to the nearest fast food restaurant or buy a box of Macaroni and Cheese where the only spice is salt and inhale without tasting anything (really, is there much to taste anyway?).

So here's my solution: Do you have a garden? If you live in an apartment or in a city, google urban community gardens. If there aren't any around, look into starting one. Do you have a farmer's market or any orchards/farms near you? Go get as many veggies and fruit as you can eat in a week and start a new regimen. I tried this the other day. I took time preparing my food and then I thought about all the spices and ingredients that had made that food. It made me chew slower, enjoy more, and eat less! It feels so good to eat this way. And it's not really that expensive. I got out of the grocery store at $30 for 2 weeks of food. Plus, because veggies and fruits are so full of fiber, I feel hungry less often. So not too much binge eating here. Try it! You'll like it!

Ooh Crafty!

I think I ate some bad eggs. Not feeling so good all of a sudden. It could also be because I didn't eat anything until 3:00 this afternoon and then I only ate hard boiled eggs and toast. So healthy...I'm supposed to be at work for another half an hour but I might just cut out a little early.

Boyfriend and I are thinking of going into business together and selling stuff on Etsy. It's a really cool website where everything is handmade and sold online. It makes for some really unique gifts. We're hoping we can turn our crafty hobbies into a little extra money. That would be fun.

Sigh. I guess I should get back to work. Only 20 minutes left!

Ooh Shiny!

I was going to write about something completely different today and possibly depressing but then I came across this on PR Web's Lifestyle Fashion. A whole story on how a jewelry designer named Veraggio has just changed his Classico collection to be "classic with a twist." I couldn't help but forget my work responsbilities and click on every single one of the pretty rings and think about how wonderful they would all look on my finger. Here are my favorites: 1, 2, 3. As you can see, I love round cut diamonds. I used to love solitaires but Verragio is so great at keeping the attention on the center diamond. I hate it when all the little diamonds fight for attention with the big diamond. How much are these? I just want to try them on and take pictures.


On a side note, today is Happiness Happens day. It's also a lucky day because it's 08/08/08. Woo! Maybe I'll get enough money to buy one of these rings or maybe someone will get a weird feeling that he needs to buy one today.

What I did on my summer vacation

Obviously, I'm not so good at keeping up with this. I've decided to just write even when I don't think I have anything to say. So here I go.

I took a much needed 3 week-day, 2 weekend day vacation a couple weeks ago. Awesome. The boyfriend (T) and I went to the beach where he got a horrendous burn. He's still red. I already had a tan so I've been to the beach once since then (without him) and we're both going to go again this Saturday. I love being a beach bum.

The next day, we went to an arts and technology festival which was pretty cool. Our first stop was a robot named Zeno who told us his entire story himself. A bunch of geeks from Hanson Robotics made him and you can tell they're so excited and proud of their creation. I was so excited with them. Zeno will be available in a couple of years to live at your house and tell you the weather, if you have email, what the news headlines are, etc. I'm stoked. Can't wait to get one.

We also watched Angelin Chang play some amazing classical pieces on the piano while her video artist partner Quian Li put some entrancing multi-media stuff up on the screen. Quian Li is a really good artist. He had everything programmed so that it would go perfectly with the music - change tone when she did, change speed when she did - awesome.

And of course, video game enthusiast that he is, T got to play Halo 3 in a room full of teenage boys. Woo! I'll have to post a picture of that half an hour of excitement.

Monday we got our hairs cut! A girl I went to high school with is a senior hair dresser with awards racking up so we drove about 45 minutes just to get a haircut from her. We then browsed Crate and Barrel and pretended like we had money and a place to put all the furniture we were buying. Ahhh, that would be the life. Wedding registry, I've got my eye on you.

The last day of my mini-vacation was movie marathon day. We didn't even shower until 4:00. I didn't care at the time but that's gross to read. We confined ourselves to T's room so no one would see us and I did brush my teeth though so it was ok. We topped everything off by going to see Step Brothers at the theater. The last few of those movies (Walk Hard, Semi-Pro) were boring and not very funny but they finally hit the mark again. Not sure if anything can top Anchor Man though.

Sigh. I miss just hanging out on hot summer days and not having to go to work. Why did I decide to become an adult?