unruly-things

I've been putting out fires all day here at work. it's amazing how many people can't fix their own problems. and me, being the busy bee with my concern for others, and cause I can't just sit around and let there be problems, I fix them. I'm the best fire-putter-outer this side of the west.
big pet peeve: people who can't fess up to their mistakes.

there are certain cd's I remember listening to when I was a little girl that now remind me of events or times in my life. they bring warm feelings to my mind. one in particular is The Essential Electric Light Orchestra by ELO. I can remember listening to this cd with my mom in the car on the way to piano competition. the drive to piano competition was so fun, because we got to really bond. we were so silly together. it's little things like this that really make me miss her. now whenever I listen to this cd, it brings back wonderful memories.

did anyone know that there is Latin Profanity? it's actually quite humorous.

Latin class was so fun in 8th grade. our teacher was a nut. he was so weird! I remember, every St. Patricks day, he would wear these awful green corduroys. my best friend and I used to cut up all the time in class. I can remember drawing all kinds of neat things in my Latin book. we made our Latin books a work of art! I had wanted to keep it forever. we were huge nerds.

but then again, I guess I'm still a huge nerd.

I've decided that I need to be making more money. I have way too much of an expensive taste for my own good. it makes me sick to think of all the clothes and shoes and purses and apartment stuff that I want to buy. I guess I'm being a brat, but damnit, I want new clothes!

on another note, my boyfriend had to go to school all dressed up with a tie on for a speech today. I missed the hottness. :(

YAY!!!! the tea came yesterday! we ordered three different teas from Rishi like over a week ago. it took forever for them to get here, but finally we have tea! I got a White Tea with Peach, and it takes like orange blossoms and peaches. yum! we also got Moonlight White Tea, and Shade Grown Yerba Mate. now I can't wait to order tea again.

my boyfriend is so cute. by the time I had come home from work yesterday he had already drank three glasses of tea.

everytime I have looked in the mirror today, my eyebrows have been crazy. the right eyebrow is sticking out everywhere, and the left one is a mess. it must be a sign. hm.....now I wonder what that means?

it's a square sized box. hm.......

today I started feeling a little down. well, not totally "down" persay, but I was beginning to stress out a little bit. here are a few things that have kept me happy today:
new tunes
christmas excitement
january 1
new gym clothes
guessing what might fit into a shoe-box sized box that I'm getting for christmas
kitten{s}
holiday treats
his smiling face

my boyfriend and I have started a beer and wine journal! there have been so many times we have gone to the beer store, gotten a new beer, and forgotten if we liked it or not. so, we decided to start a journal. in our journal we will have labels, descriptions, our taste notes, and rating. we had a terrible time taking some of the labels off, and I ended up ripping a few of them. {of course} but it's off to a good start! this weekend we did the first of the tastings with a few IPA's from Total Wine. so here are our first tastes! {all of the ratings are out of 5}
01. Acme IPA - I love the label, but it gets 2.5 stars {the .5 was for the label}
02. Dogfish Head 60min IPA - 4 stars
03. Dogfish Head 90min IPA - yum yum YUM! 4.5 stars
04. Harpoon IPA - 1.5 stars
05. Avery IPA - 3 stars

do you ever drive in your car without any music on? I rarely do, unless I'm talking on the phone or to someone in my car. today I drove from work, to wild oats, and back to work again with no music on. I didn't even realize that I had no music on until I was pulling into my parking space at work. it's weird. I was totally zoning out. and it's like, I don't even really remember the drive. but I made it there ok. and I made it back ok. my mind must have been working a million ticks per minute. it makes me wonder if our lives are equipped with auto-pilot.

ME! :)

check back to see my updates on my very own printed t-shirts!

when we ask ourselves which people in our lives mean the most to us, we often answer that it is our family and friends. family are there to support us and our beliefs, scold us when we've done wrong, and love us for who we have become. friends are there to share things with, give advice, solutions, or cures, and make us happy when we are down. one thing we need in our lives is a good friend. someone we can count on when we need them, someone who can be silent with us in a moment of confusion, someone who genuinely cares about us, someone who can tolerate not knowing everything about us, not healing us, and not standing by us all the time. I have always felt that the great privilege and comfort of a good friendship was one in which I had nothing to live up to or explain. I once read a quote somewhere that said, "good friends are like stars. you don't always see them, but you know that they are there."
I feel as though I have done a fair job on my part of being a good friend. I've listened when someone needed me, I've given what I thought to be the best advice I could offer. however, sometimes it's the little things that most people don't see or pick up on. it's the bigger things that stand out in our minds. like the time I didn't go to so-and-so's party, or the time I didn't pick up my phone.
it's funny how life is always changing. we grow and shift. it's hard when it seems that a good friend denies your right to grow. I'm not always going to be exactly the same. but I'm still myself. I still care about my friends and I still love each of them dearly. a true friend is the most precious of all possessions. and true friends are impossible to forget.

{even if you do send death text messages, I'll still try to understand}

...to us.
6 months ago today, I met him. the best choice to go out on a week night I ever made! love you babe.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Turkey Day filled with yummy treats and good company! I thought I would list ten things that I am thankful for:

10. opportunity.
09. my amazing and supportive family. they have been more than there for me all my life, and I love them to death.
08. my wonderful boyfriend. the incredible way he makes me feel. he's my devil. I love him so much.
07. my job. I know I hated it for a long time, but they really have done so much for me. and I have the potential to do so much more.
06. my creativity. without it, I have no idea how I would have graduated college. I might have actually had to take hard sciences or hard maths. just kidding, well....sort of.
05. my musical talents. even though I haven't touched the keys of a piano for probably over a year. {electric keyboards not included}
04. the ability to cook. and to cook well. I love food. sometimes more than I know what to do with!
03. wine. point blank.
02. the simple fact that 90% of the time, I am genuinely a nice person. example: I would NEVER take someones laundry out of the dryer and put it on the dirty shelf. I'd be courteous and wait. {stupid hooters bitches}
01. my love for life.

so kate spade has a devil hat! isn't that great??

last night at dinner, my boyfriend and I were talking about the difference between right brained people and left brained people. I have always thought of myself as being right brained, but never thought more than that about it. so I decided to do a little research. experiments have shown that the two sides of the brain are responsible for different ways of thinking. the left brain is accountable for logical, sequential, rational, analytical, and objective thinking. left brained people look at things as parts rather than a whole. the right brain is responsible for random, intuitive, holistic, synthesizing, and subjective thoughts. right brained people look at things as a whole rather than taking them in parts. therefore, left brained people focus on logical thinking, analysis, and accuracy. right brained subjects focus on aesthetics, feeling, and creativity.
it's really interesting to me how one person may fall into one catagory or the other. being more creative, I have always known myself to be more geered by the right side of the brain, but I do notice that I have a few of the characteristics of the left brain. I am creative, and sometimes random, and probably think more subjectively, but I am also good at math, and I can remember numbers very well. tell me a birthday once and I'll remember it forever.
so, it makes me wonder, do people only have distinct preferences for one side or another? can some people be more "whole-brained" rather than specific to right or left? or maybe the things that I see as thinking with the left brain are really just my intuitive thinking. something to ponder.

beginning with the various shapes of pasta on yarn collection that most jewelry artists cut their teeth on and developing into a love for all things metal, the jewelry of ˚Brooke Medlin˚ now falls somewhere in between, displaying a childlike love of color and a fascination with texture and form. with soothing, organic shapes rendered new by unexpected texture and saturated color, Brooke creates beautiful and unique necklaces, bracelets, rings, and earrings using metal, sterling, copper, glass and gemstones.
and I'm in LOVE!!!! especially with her necklaces and rings.

{all images from Brooke Medlin}

my boyfriend and I decided to get some yerba mate today at the store. we had two chocolate yerba mate lattes, and both us of are totally not tired. however, my mind is working a mile a minute, and I've created some great illustrations!
so, awake and it's almost 1am? not a good idea...
yerba mate mind awakening lattes? good!
{and it also doesn't help that I'm antsy as hell about thanksgiving...mmmmm. turkey, green bean casarole, stuffing, cranberries, mashed potatoes.....I'm drooling already.}

since I'm the coolest illustrator that I know, I decided to create my own holiday cards this year. here's a preview!

hehe...I'm silly, but I want this shirt. or to make my own "Levi's" shirt. it's appropriate. :)

for some reason, the word "spirograph" popped into my head a minute ago. I totally loved the spirograph I had when I was little. where can I find one of these, are they even still made? I want one! I want to create really cool things like I did when I was a kid.
it's funny to find things that we once played with when we were young and reminisce. it's even more interesting to relate how we felt about certain things when we were young, compare to how we feel now. for instance, I loved the spirograph when I was young, and even though I was a miny art nerd then, I'm sure I could make some even cooler patterns now.
one time, I went to an antique toy show. I want to go again. I bet I could find a spirograph there.

{image from Flickr}

I found an interesting site today while blog browsing. it's called Apartment Therapy. it's a little dwell-ish, with some pretty cool pictures. I'm in love with the wallpaper in the bottom right picture!!

this is my 50th post! kind of hard to believe I just started this blog less than a month ago. I must like to talk alot. :) so I leave you with my 50 birds.

one of my co-workers is a very wise old man who has experienced a lot in his day. this is what he told me this morning.
"life is like a bunch of curve balls being thrown at you. it fixes itself depending on how well you hit the ball."
I take it as, no matter what life gives you, it all depends on how you handle it. if you freak out and start crying and ignore things, then you might strike out. if you stay calm and focus, you might hit a home run. and if you're lucky, maybe even a grand slam.

it's been..... well, it hasn't been good. after FSU was shut out for the first time in 230+ games by Wakeforrest, offensive line coach, Jeff Bowden, has retired. thank goodness.

I'm sorry to say, but Bobby, your time has come. you oughta be next.

today on my lunch break, I went to Wachovia to set up a new bank account. which went well, got it all set, just waiting for the debit card to come in the mail. anyway, on my way back to work, there was major traffic on Howard. who does road construction during lunch hour on a busy street? so after the road blocks, I passed a bunch of cars on the right side. yea I know, not supposed to do that. this asshole in a white truck stopped at the yellow light instead of going through it, so I quickly got into the lane next to him, in the front of the line. I had a feeling that he thought I was going to speed up real quick to try to pass him, which I wasn't going to do since I was already in my lane. so instead of putting my foot on the accelerator right when the light turned green, I waited a second and eased the gas. sure enough, that jackass peeled out sooo loudly and zoomed out front of the other cars so fast that he looked like an idiot. hehe. and who was he trying to race? little old me? }:)
gotta love the little humorous things.

I gave away my first bird today! I gave the polka dotted one to my co worker who was battling with breast cancer and just had a mastectomy. it really made her happy! she said, she would remember me always, every christmas. I hope that the birds bring as much joy to other people as they did to her.
today has been a good day so far. I've been in a great mood. aparently it's contagious. whatever it is, I'm happy. and I'm going to make more birds tonight!

here is a set of words that I like. I like words that aren't used in everyday conversations. words that make me feel different to say. some of them I just like for the complex spelling or meaning. others just simply sound cool when you say them.

unruly. {of course}
lovely.
eloquently.
vintage.
secret.
calathea.
callalily.
guwerztaminer.
fathom.
ludic.
pearl.
silly.
rejuvenation.
musing.

leaving him in the morning and becoming instantly lonely.
when he stares me in the eyes, then leans over to kiss me.
the silly faces he gets when playing his guitar or brushing his teeth.
the way he picks me up off the ground when he's hugging me.
our kitchen dancing.
how he holds me at night.
how my heart flips when he winks at me.
how cute he looks when he gets the questions correct on jeopardy.
feeling content.
consuming.
incredible.
infatuation.
can't live without eachother love.

green. peaceful. refreshed. safe. harmonious. here are a few green photos I found and love:
1. from a Flickr image set by Olivia Lee called Creme of the Crop.
2. a green snake from Google Images.
3. a beautiful green mum, my favorite color for mums. green hydrangeas are pretty too.
4. a green hoodie from Anthropologie.
5. green punchbuggie!!
6. and my green nalgene.

so here we are at another Monday. even though I can't stand them because it's just another week of work, I have begun to think of Mondays as something refreshing. it's a chance to get ahead on the week. especially at my job, because lots of spas aren't open on Mondays. so today I don't have the Monday blues, I have the Monday green. green is refreshing.

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! mine was great and relaxing, but as always, way too short. here's a recap of my weekend! and happy Monday.

meeting old friends.
eating sushi and drinking sake.
almost beating my boyfriend twice at pool.
showers.
berry blast and hawaiian storm.
pretty things from victoria's secret.
birds with lavender.
graham crackers, key lime pie yogurt, and jeopardy.
giant sunday morning breakfast.
portland browsing.
chilly nights = sweat pants.
cuddling with the windows open.

I decided to let my creative juices flow this weekend. I went to Pearl yesterday with a simple intention of purchasing a new sketch book. {which I did buy, very cool, linen cover} I was walking around the store trying to find something really neat to get for my boyfriend, when I found the felt. I have always had a thing for felt, but I've never made anything with it. I was feeling extra artsy, so armed with ideas of little animals, I purchased navy blue, dusty rose, and baby pink felt, along with some goosefeathers and string. and thus, I have created birds! I stuffed each one with poly fill stuffing and a teaspoon of lavender for a relaxing scent. with the strings attached to the top of their heads, they will make great christmas ornaments.

oh, and did you ever "create" with those little pom poms when you were a kid? I used to love them! they always cheered me up. so, I bought my boyfriend a package of yellow pom poms because he was having a weird day and needing cheering. I know, I'm such an art nerd.

called "perhaps the best I.P.A. in America." an imperial I.P.A. brewed to be savored from a snifter. a big beer with a great malt backbone that stands up to the extreme hopping rate.
9% abv so you only get four in a pack. 1 beer = 1.5 regular beers.
tastes like heaven in a bottle... or brandied fruitcake, raisiney, citrusy.
food pairing recommendations: pork chops, beef, grilled fish, frites, focaccia, split pea soup, stilton cheese & escargot.

I'm in love with these little shoes! and the leg warmers are so hot.

{both images from Urban Outfitters}

relationships. by definition, a relationship is the connecting of two people. to have a successful relationship, two people must connect on many different levels, whether it be socially, physically, or spiritually. to me, social and physical connections are very important. I simply can not be with someone who is not socially compatible with me. I enjoy people who like to do the same things as me, as most of us surely do. that's why we have our friends, they are socially compatible with us. and for our boyfriends/girlfriends, we are wrong to say that physical attraction does not matter. whoever made up the concept that attractiveness doesn't matter must have been high or something. this is the initial thing that draws us to a person. I'm not wrong to say that I wouldn't date someone who I found unattractive. spiritual connections are important, however, not as important to me in the large scale of things. however, I would not date someone seriously involved with their faith, because I am not.
so, what does it mean to be compatible? similarities and connections make relationships develop. social, physical, and spritual connections make relationships stronger. chemistry makes us connect. chemistry. it's that spark we get. it's the butterflies you feel when you're with a person. it's what draws us closer to a them. there is something about that person that you can't get enough of. it's in the way they talk, move, smile, wink, laugh, or frown, that compels you to want to be closer to them. it's when you're in a crowded room full of people and they are the only one in your eyes and you in their's.
simply put, a compatible relationship is one in which we are able to connect with another person. it's someone we feel good being around, and comfortable with on all levels. it's when everything suddenly goes right, when you don't have to talk to understand eachother, when you can't stand being alone...it's when you're finally able to stand still.

a dear friend of mine sent me this in an email this morning. I sware I've heard this somewhere before, but this time, it really made me think differently.
"as we grow up, we learn that even the one person that wasn't supposed to ever let you down probably will. you will have your heart broken probably more than once and it's harder every time. you'll break hearts too, so remember how it felt when yours was broken. you'll fight with your best friend. you'll blame a new love for things an old one did. you'll cry because time is passing too fast, and you'll eventually lose someone you love. so take too many pictures, laugh too much, and love like you've never been hurt because every sixty seconds you spend upset is a minute of happiness you'll never get back.
don't be afraid that your life will end, be afraid that it will never begin."

I must say, there are many times that I spent unhappy and wished that I could've just smiled. I feel better when I'm happy, and my happiness rubs off on others. someone once told me that I was stressing years off of my life. I totally agree.
I agree that by wasting time unhappy, I've only been hurting myself. it does no good. it get's nothing accomplished. if I've discovered one thing lately, it's how my actions affect others. it's incredible how much your mood spreads, it's contagious. I never thought too much of how others felt when I was smiling or when I was in a pissy mood.
so resolutions early, I'm going to try to stay happy, or at least 90% of the time.

why do people always smile for cameras? is it because we've been trained that seeing a happy picture makes us feel happier? when did this start? and why do people say "cheese"? why not "sneeeze"? it has the same facial effect.
I havn't always wondered this, but I just thought about myself in pictures, and half the time when I do smile, I look funny, fake, or cheesy. sometimes I get the dreaded double chin. sometimes I get a good photo, but the bad ones are scary. then, looking back at pictures makes me think about what was happening in my life during the time when the picture was taken. I think about times when I havn't been happy, or havn't been satisfied. I wonder if the feeling can be seen through my eyes. lately, though, people have commented that I look different. I look happy, my face looks good, and I don't have the double chin. could it be that I really am shining my happiness through the photos? in some, I'm not even smiling, but there is a sparkle in my eyes.
so to answer my own question, I don't think people always need to smile for the camera. I think that the facial expression should show your mood, reguardless of a smile. if we make kissy faces, frown, smirk, grin, smile widely, or scowl, the photo will be at it's best when we are just being ourselves.

he is good.
I am good.
good + good = gooder.
together we are goodester.

hehe.

a couple years ago, I purchased a vintage looking silkscreened print from Goodwill for $10. I've never really thought much of it, except that I thought it was pretty neat. it's a print of navy blue sailboats on a heathered camel color linen, streched to a wooden canvas. there is a signature at the bottom, Marushka. honestly, I didn't even pay for it. my dear friend bought it for me because she wanted to! anyway, one day a friend of mine was in my apartment and fell in love with it. he even offered me $50 for it! I liked it too much so didn't take the money. but the admiration for the print made me wonder where it came from. so I did a little research and this is what I came up with.
Marushka, a design and silk screen textile manufacturing company, was founded in Spring Lake, Michigan, in 1972 by Phyllis Gifford and Dick Sweet. the name "Marushka" means "Mary" in Polish. in 1984 the facility moved to Grand Haven, Michigan. the prints usually depicted the landscape of the Lake Michigan shoreline--sea grasses, native flowers, seagulls, shells, beach scenes and farm land. after 1985, an apparel business called Michigan Rag was added to Marushka. hand printed art, similar to the vintage Marushka prints can be found at The Art Farmer. there are some of the vintage images that I found.

{all information and images from eBay stores}

love love love! I came across these beautiful creatures! they are all designed by artist, Tamar Mogendorff. the dolls/objects are all made from linens, wool, cotton, vintage fabrics (yum!), tweed, antique embroidery, pashmina, vintage buttons, beads and threads, and old ribbons.
I love animals, and I love vintage, so these adorable little guys are extra cute!
{all images from Tamar Mogendorff}

10. that's right, it's hot.
09. it's HUGE. {even though I dig for the little things}
08. it so big, I could fit an umbrella, a watermelon, a balled up shirt, small child, a large nalgene, and hand gun in it. {if I wanted to of course}
07. the "leather" is so soft.
06. it's the perfect color brown and goes with everything.
05. it makes me feel more like a boho trendster hippy. better babe?
04. it was relatively inexpensive...I say relatively lightly.
03. it has the perfect sized pocket for my cell phone and another perfect sized pocket for my ipod.
02. it's convertable. the straps come off, the buttons up snap, so it becomes even bigger.
01. it's totally me.

{image and bag from Urban Outfitters}

I had totally forgotten that I deleted my account until this morning when my boyfriend said, "what will you do at work now to procrastinate?" or sort of like that. and then I got super sad. now I guess all I'll have to do is post blogs.

I just deleted my MySpace account. finally. and boy does it feel weird. in a way, it's liberating, but then again, it's also kind of sad. I admit, I almost cried. almost.
I was a little on the obsessed side of myspace. it's hard not to be addicted! I'd get stuck in the MySpace time warp and before I knew it, I'd wasted hours browsing the many, many, MANY pages of MySpace world. and, it's funny how many people have been like, "why are you deleting your account?" and "don't delete it!!". they are all just as trapped as I was and just don't realize it yet.
we're all just amused at the little things in life. and it's incredible how simple things have been made for us. text messaging - so we don't have to speak on the phone. email - saves us the sore hand from writing so much and the $0.39 to actually drop a letter in the mail. myspace - a site, where you can send messages to all of your friends at one time, thus essentially "saving" time in email land. pretty soon, we'll have voice boxes that talk for us, or maybe even robots.

I'm babbling now. but at least I deleted my account. that damn thing asked me 5 times if I really wanted to delete it too. I even had to check my email, click a link, then press delete again. they really make you absolutely positive you want to say goodbye. and I conquered MySpace world.

ob·fus·cate
tr.v., -cat·ed, -cat·ing, -cates.
01. to make so confused or opaque as to be difficult to perceive or understand
02. to render indistinct or dim; to darken or obscure

here's my sentance for the day: the sky began to obfuscate as the clouds grew closer and the rain came down stronger.

{all images from Flickr}

today I went to Nature's Harvest on my lunch break. 01, I needed to get out of the office for a little while, and 02, I really didn't want my sandwich I had brought. I've been feeling sort of down today, for not really any specific reason, and just thought some fresh air would help. as I was waiting in line for the check out, there was a little girl, not much older that 3 or 4, with her mother in the line behind me. I smiled at the mother, then looked down at the little girl who was twirling around and singing. one particular line of the song she sang perked my ears up. this is what she said: "thinkin' about how things might change."
and right at that moment, I stopped letting my mind wander. I know things are great in my life. I know that, 100,000,000%. it's like I needed to hear that little girl today. and if things change, they will only be for the better.

my chest hurts today. why do I let my head spin so much? the only thing it does is make me crazy. a little out of place word, look, feeling... just when I was in such a good mood this morning. I feel like I need to take the day off to give myself a second to slow down. I'm not meant to feel this way. but, messy is my middle name. I guess I'm just down in the dumps. my hormones are going wacky and I can't control my thoughts. I need a big hug...and maybe a giant cookie. :-/

Who Should Paint You: Andy Warhol

You've got an interested edge that would be reflected in any portrait You don't need any fancy paint techniques to stand out from the crowd!

man....sometimes I can not stand looking at other artist's work. it makes me cringe in the pit of my stomach because I know I'm just as good, but don't put my skills to use effectively. so, I've decided to make a to-do list...and stick to it!

01. finish freelance website and upload onto web.
02. make freelance business cards.
03. start children's stuff {website, shirts, notecards...}
04. business plan.
05. develop identity for business.
06. stop procrastinating!
07. finish t-shirts for daville.
08. research portland design.
09. stop wasting time.
10. breathe and remember I'm awesome.

{stay happy..... and smile!!}

oh back to work.... how I despise thee. especially when the boss is out, all I want to do is play!!! I have to get some things accomplished today. otherwise, my ass is grass.

10. his name totally rocks.
09. he makes me smile, constantly... even when I'm mad.
08. the scar on his eyebrow.
07. he brings me tea at work.
06. he tolerates the morning monster.
05. I can be super silly around him.
04. he can cook.
03. "it's the little things"
02. when I'm with him, I feel the room disappear and I'm the only one there.
01. a wink from him instantly brightens my day.

I'm the luckiest girl ever! }:)

plans are exciting but they make it more difficult for me to sit still. it's even more exciting to think that my life is changing. I might actually do something for once. rather than sitting and talking about doing things, I think I'm actually doing it.

I have all these plans and aspirations, but yet, I never act on them. it's so ridiculous because I know I have so much talent that I am just letting slip away. I have said time and time again, that I feel like I am wasting time being here, and working the same dead end job. I have so much more potential. it's just exciting to think of the future and what it holds for me.

mmmmmm...... I baked a carrot cake last night for my boyfriend's birthday. from scratch! I even grated the carrots by hand. a whole pound of carrots with a tiny hand grater. I even have battle wounds to prove it. now that's love! :)
and it tastes so good! carrot cake for breakfast, lunch, and dinner?

everytime I post a blog, this question pops up. what is cooler than a box of crayons? when I was little, there was nothing cooler than a fresh box of crayons. I would go grocery shopping with my mom or dad and beg to browse the "art aisle", or so I called it. there was something special about a new box. my mom would always say, don't you have a box already? but they just didn't understand. I can remember carefully opening up the lid to the box and smelling the fresh wax smell for the first time. I always grabbed the blue crayon or the pink ones, and tried to color really lightly so that the tips would not get ruined. man, how nice it was to be a kid.

I found this really great site for unique wrapping paper! it's called Broadway Paper. check it out!
{all images from Broadway paper}

10. presents, presents, presents!!! and of course presents mean...
09. wrapping with pretty paper. I love pretty paper.
08. birthday cake. one year I had a crazy kitty cake, it had a picture of my cat on it!! today its birthday carrot cake.
07. cheesy cards. pootums!
06. parties. when we were little, they consisted of ice skating, slumber parties, swimming pools, girly movies, and silly games.
05. smiles. lots of smiles.
04. decorations. can't go wrong with streamers!!!
03. balloons with helium. oh yea.
02. acting silly. I get so giddy about birthdays that I end up acting super silly!
01. making someone feel extra special. happy birthday babe!

and I'm more excited than he is!! I love birthdays. I especially love giving gifts! I'm so giddy, it's crazy. I'm crazy giddy! :)
{all images from Flickr}

one word to describe dinner tonight = perfect.
he and I went to Bern's Steak House for dinner. "the staple of South Tampa". we ordered the house wine, which was recommended by my Dad to be a great wine at a great price. and was he right or what! $5 a glass! very good, not too overly dry. we shared the 17oz chateaubriand steak, which was perfect. so was the table side caeser salad and french onion soup. after dinner we went up to the dessert room and had the signature dessert, King Midas! carrot cake and macadamia nut ice cream DREAM! deeeeeeelish!
the atmosphere of Bern's is totally stuffy and overly Baroque, but I thought it was a romantic dinner. the best part about the dinner was being there with him.
here is a picture of us in the Harry Waugh Dessert Room.

the Urban Forest Project brings 185 banners created by the world’s most celebrated designers, artists, photographers, and illustrators to New York’s Times Square. Each banner uses the form of the tree, or a metaphor for the tree, to make a powerful visual statement.

together the banners create a forest of thought-provoking images. following their display, (September 1–November 30, 2006) the banners will be recycled into tote bags and sold at auction, with proceeds going to scholarship and mentoring programs benefitting students of the visual arts.

these are my favorites. artists from right to left: Carri Corbet, Louise Sandhaus, Alan Dye, and Carmen Garcia. now I want a tote bag! I bet they'll go for lots of money in an auction.

sometimes I think he likes that guitar more than me. just kidding. I know he loves me the most. he's actually gotten pretty good, and makes up his own songs too. this morning he asked me to give him a good chord progression. I said for him to try a bluesy one. maybe C, F, G. even though I have heard these type of progressions soooo many times, I could not for the life of me think of how he was supposed to strum! oh well...I tried. here is the picture I drew of him.

10. it's the middle of the week! two days done, two days to go.
09. it's November 1. not that that is anything super cool, but it's a whole new month. and that means a whole new chance to start over new.
08. waking up at 6:30 after sleeping horribly, and deciding that we don't have to the gym.
07. eating eggs with ham and cheese and butter toast with him.
06. chocolate covered blueberries and tea for a mid morning snack!
05. going into work late.
04. the nap I took this morning.
03. the slight chill in the air as fall has finally started.
02. taking a shower with fresh out of the dryer towels.
01. and lastly and most certainly the best... eating dinner with him tonight at Berns Steak House! bring on the Chateaubriand and red wine!

creative things to do with paper. these are the step up from the standard oragami designs. I can remember in 5th grade we created 1000 paper cranes to send to Hiroshima. I became an expert at paper folding, and could even make a paper crane from an inch by inch square of paper. I thought I was good, check out this guy. Peter Callesen, a designer out of Denmark, creates these paper cut outs from A4 paper. they are pretty amazing!
{all images by Peter Callesen}