from film with love.

i swear i don't feel like i do, and i must not realize it, but i think i must talk about birds and flojo a lot. it seems like the first bit of concrete information people have about me is that i like birds, and if you're not a bird fan, please forgive me, for i know not the time i spend discussing my fine feathered friends. BUT, since we all know that i tend to gravitate toward all things avian, let's just go ahead and talk birds even MORE, and more specifically, FLOJO! i have a stack of pictures that i got developed a couple months ago, but i either haven't remembered to scan them in or i've been busy doing something else, although half the time i'm not sure what that something else is. behold, my beautiful baby (and some flowers too since i think i have a handful of other interests)...

and the deets in case you're wondering, i use 35mm film. and i'm a total film snob; i will fuss and cry and throw a fit if i have to use anything other than kodak.

monday morning thoughts

don't you sometimes have questions to which there probably isn't a definite answer, yet you ask anyway, hoping by some great stroke of luck you'll figure it out? well, being the detail-oriented, even slightly anal-retentive person that i am, having questions with no answers is not good enough for me. i'm hoping the universe is like a giant magic 8 ball and if i throw them out, somehow, some way, i'll get my answers (to the second questions, especially).

1. why is it that when i eat more for dinner i'm hungrier when i wake up in the morning than when i barely eat anything for dinner?

2. how old to i have to be before members of my family will understand that i am a mothercussing adult and i will make my own decisions regarding plans, life decisions, etc. without nagging from them?

3. why do people like country music? it makes me want to stab myself in the ears.

4. how come some people find potty humor amusing while others find it offensive?

5. how can little flowers turn into the most delicious tomatoes and zucchini i've ever eaten?

6. how come there isn't one little pill or one little shot i could get that would make me have zero periods for the rest of my life?

7. why do i love the taste of coconut but hate the smell of it?

8. why is it so much fun to pick skin once it starts to peel after a sunburn?

9. how come some people try to disprove anthropomorphism?

10. how do a giraffe's spots know to form in perfect little shapes that fit together like a puzzle?

11. how do flojo's feathers know which colors to be depending on where they come in on her body?

12. why is it that some people can paint and others can't?

do you have questions you've always wondered about but never had answered? i know i have tons more, but those are it for today. i'm sure in five minutes i'll think of like 14 others i should have added.

few times in life you discover something that stops your heart

to have your heart stop from discovering pure awesomeness pretty much greater than any other awesomeness the world has ever known is an amazing feeling. it's like, it makes you want to hug strangers, make bushels full of donuts that magically don't contain calories OR fat, do backflips, and most of all, share it with everyone you know! i happened to find this page on facebook today called, "dinosaurs died of boredom" and i was curious, because hey, it's a funny name. first, i saw a watercolor painting of christopher walken and thought, "holy shit!" and then i saw a watercolor painting of marie antoinette's head and thought, "i must have this!!!" and then, maybe better than any other watercolor to have ever graced the face of this earth, i saw one of oscar wilde. that, kids, is when my heart ceased to beat; my breath came short, if at all; my eyes most likely crossed and/or bulged, but probably both.

just a little side note, when i saw the christopher walken painting, i kind of wanted to say, "babies, before we're done here, y'all be wearing gold plated diapers" only there was no one to say it to, and if i just started quoting that skit out loud, i'd seem a little crazy, wouldn't i?

much to my dismay, the amazing shop is currently closed thanks to the canadian postal strike (at this point i start shaking my fist toward the heavens), but you can still add it to your favorites so you'll know when paintings are once again made available! i know i will. i also know i'll forgo food and maybe even shelter to own one. well, scratch the shelter part, because what good would it do me to have a painting and no wall to hang it on? exactly. so just food, then.

ummm, it looks like i did it again...

after the last post i did, i told myself no more blog breaks longer than three days max, but apparently time goes by pretty quickly when there's stuff to fill it. yeah. work has been pretty exciting though; i've been working on designing a flyer for my friend scott's event next month, and although there was definitely a specified direction, i got to have a little more creative freedom with this one, and i LOVED that! (insert jazz hands and cartwheels). i've also been making some new things for a store that will start carrying dinosaur toes jewelry in july, and i can't wait for that!

aaaaand, this is the part where i have to be honest so i can hold myself accountable for bad or questionable decisions. so you know how much i like food that i shouldn't, right? right. i was proud to say that i've worked more and more fresh fruits and veggies into my daily meals until breakfast and/or lunch was nothing but fresh fruits and veggies. now for the bad news... i've eaten the most deliciously unhealthy food for the last few days and i should probably be karate chopping myself. what am i doing instead? making my brain crackhead happy by eating sour cream and onion chips as we speak. i promise i'll get better... just as soon as i eat one more, three, the rest of the bag.

so how have you been?

while i was away, i had fun!

i didn't take an intentional vacation from my blog, but man was it ever nice! i feel like i have a lot of jobs and deadlines right now, and being able to step away for a little while was really helpful. i feel like i've done so much since we last saw each other, but i'm not really sure where to begin, and truly, it would be really boring for me to list out every single thing i've done lately! i can tell you one thing with absolute certainty though, i've DEFINITELY been enjoying summer! last friday chris and i went to the lake (and when i say lake, i'm not talking a little stagnant body of water, i'm taking about a massive lake that goes in two states and is so big that there is nothing but water for as far as the eye can see) and i took a few pictures before my camera finally died forever...

one thing i really love about this lake is that it isn't crowded. to give you an idea of how uncrowded it is, everyone that goes can have their own beach or even their own island! chris and i stopped at this beach for a while to walk around, take a break, swim, etc., and i told him i was going to look for a group of young boys with a conch (please tell me you've read lord of the flies or i'm going to feel stupid). i didn't find the kids, but i did find two kids toys (and of course i told chris that they got there from shipwreck and they had to eat each other). seriously, what is wrong with me?! i swear i'm the queen of inappropriate. anyway, chris wrote i love you in the sand, and i wrote "we ate the kids for lunch."

so that's some of what i've been doing while i've been away! i hope you've been enjoying summer, assuming you're on this side of the world!

these just make my face happy.

hey friends! i hope your weekend was as cram packed full of sheer awesomeness as mine was. you want to know one really exciting thing that happened on saturday? when i went to the mailbox i saw that there was a package from my sweet friend beca, and before i even opened it i was giggling and squealing like a school girl around boys. i wasted no time ripping in to it to discover i had my very own pair of wood grain sunglasses! WOOOOO! some women like diamonds and manicures, but not me, i much prefer sunnies! i'm still so excited, and i couldn't wait to take pictures to share. the sunglasses beca makes are not only awesome and unique, but totally unisex uniSEXY, and even look good on dogs!

awesome, right? you can find them in beca's shop in different styles and colors! and can you believe she makes them?! i'm impressed. so is kona...or maybe he's just a stoner (which he seriously looks like in that picture).

well, i'm putting on my big girl pants and acting like an adult tonight (if all goes well) because i'm going to a book club this evening, and i'm pretty nervous. i know one person, sarah, but the rest are strangers, so wish me luck! since my mouth has no filter and not everyone gets my sense of humor, i realize it's a possibility i could make a complete fool of myself...

dinner will be ready by 5, i'll put on lipstick and be waiting by the door with a cocktail...

...ooorrr not. i just felt like naming this post something 1950's-ish because of this awesome dress! if my other dresses were alive, i imagine they'd weep in it's presence because of the glory that is this 1950's handmade dress that fits me like a glove! i got this little gem about 4 years ago, and can you believe i've never worn it? i'm not kidding, i used to have such a dress phobia, and i'm still not quite sure why. i mean, i wouldn't wear this to the grocery store or post office or anything, but i can't believe it's been hanging with no lovin' for all those years. anyway, tomorrow i'm going to my aunt's wedding, and i'm ready to twirl.

please pay no attention to the awkward color. i used the timer a different way this time (taking 5 pictures at once rather than 1) and i forgot to adjust the white balance, so you see what that equals? an amateur.

anyway, i love the details of this dress! it amazes me that it was handmade, but i guess that's what women did in the 1950's. and you know what amazes me even more? i only paid $4 for it.

oh, and one really BIG thing i want to mention... you can't imagine how much i appreciate your comment on my last post about friendship. i was so scared to post it, but i'm glad we can all talk openly with one another. and speaking of friends and meeting new people, is anyone down for planning a virginia, or even mid-atlantic meet up? that would be awesome.

the one where i talk about my feelings.

i don't like talking about my feelings. the end. like a therapist's worst nightmare, i'd much rather just have a quiet little pity party by myself and then get over it. but there's one thing that just keeps nagging me ooover and ooovvver, and it's kind of annoying. the thing is: friends.

do i have friends? yes. do i have (local) friends that don't have kids and are willing to go see a band, or stay out late, or talk about potty subjects like cal and i do without thinking it's dumb and immature? no. i know that each friend brings something different and fulfills a different need that we have, but my problem is that i'm seriously lacking a certain type of fun in my friendships. don't get me wrong, i think kids are great, and some of my friends have awesome kids that i love playing with, but when it comes right down to it, if there's something good going on that would keep us out late, or even until the early hours of the morning, a mom friend doesn't want to go. trust me, i don't want to be a sloppy party girl like paris hilton, but hey, every now and again, it would be fun to have a crazy night, right? so the problem is, at 29 it's difficult to find friends that aren't parents, and not only that, but i don't work with peers, and i'm kind of shy until i get to know someone, so how in the world is a girl supposed to find and make these much-needed new friends? i mean, i can't walk up to someone and say, "hey, i noticed we dress similarly and you have a sticker on your car for a band i like, wanna hang out?" i mean, if i wanted to seem like a stalker, success! but i don't.

do you know what i'm talking about? i know i'm not the only one because i've had this sort of conversation with a few other people before who seem to have the same problem, but seriously, i feel like i'm just sitting still spinning my wheels. it's annoying, and sometimes it just puts me in a funk. so there, those are my feelings. if you read it all, just imagine i'm giving you a giant bear hug right now.

i really intended to show you the stones i got on saturday, but i got home a little late, and of course i had to run, because if i tell myself i'll do it later, the fact of the matter is, i won't! so i can't put off running if i'm in the mood to do it. oh, and speaking of which, i did track for years in school, and the two main things that helped my endurance were keeping my body loose, and taking LONG strides. so you'd think i'd just always do that when i'm running, right? no. this week i've made myself lengthen my strides, and you can't imagine how much better it feels! it's like i'm just not getting that tired, and i can just keep going and going! it's amazing! so much for smoking crack, i'm pretty addicted to this new found endurance. oh, and i didn't share the pretty stones that brittan sent me for my birthday yet, so that's where the picture came from. i hate doing a blog post without a picture.