it's always something, isn't it?

Snowed in

2012-01-20T21:47:00.000-08:00

After spending yesterday completely out of commission from stomach flu, and today starting to feel like a real person again after many many hours of sleep, I awoke this evening to find myself snowed in by a blizzard. Now that the thought of food doesn't make me ill, I wanted to bake something. This is a recipe of invention, using the limited ingredients I had on hand, and dreaming of summer weather.

Tropical Cookie Bars

Bars:
1/2 c vegetable oil
2 eggs
zest of 1 orange, or 2 clementines
1/4 c orange juice
1 pineapple cake mix
1 c sweetened shredded coconut

Glaze:
1/2 c orange juice
zest of 1 orange, or 2 clementines
2 1/2 c powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350. Mix eggs, oil, orange juice and zest until blended. Add cake mix and coconut. Mix until combined, with no dry lumps. Spray 13x9 baking pan with non stick spray. Pour batter into pan, bake 30-35 minutes.

For glaze, mix orange juice, zest and powered sugar until smooth. Pour over cooled bars.

Pineapple Shrimp Curry

2012-01-10T18:27:00.001-08:00

I heard of a killer curry sauce recipe from my brother in law, but I didn't have the exact recipe when I was at the store, just the general idea. So I bought some stuff and decided to wing it. Luckily, winging it usually works for me! I wanted to make the sauce tonight, so tomorrow's dinner would be really fast, and it allows the frozen shrimp I bought today to thaw out in the fridge. The sauce recipe easily made enough for two batches, so I am freezing half of it. This dish is very flavorful, but not hot in spiciness at all. Don't fear the entire jar of curry paste!

Pineapple Shrimp Curry

Sauce:
2 T vegetable oil
1 1/2 sweet yellow onions, thinly sliced
salt to taste
3 15 oz cans of diced tomatoes (not drained)
1 whole head of garlic, each clove peeled and sliced
1"x2" finger of ginger root, peeled and roughly chopped
4 oz jar of green curry paste
2 T ground cumin
13.5 oz can of light coconut milk

In a heavy skillet, heat vegetable oil, and add sliced onions. Sautee until softened. Add salt, garlic, ginger, cumin and curry paste. Stir to combine and break up curry paste. Add diced tomatoes and juice. Simmer for 45 minutes until everythign is tender. Remove from heat and add coconut milk. In batches, transfer to a blender and blend until smooth. Let cool and transfer to refrigerator or divide and freeze half.

Ta assemble whole dish:

2 T extra virgin olive oil
2 lbs frozen raw shrimp
1 t old bay seasoning
1 whole fresh pineapple, peeled, cored and diced
2 cups basmati or jasmine rice
4 cups water
1 bunch cilantro, roughly chopped

Prepare rice in rice cooker or stove top. Heat sauce on stove top if using sauce made in advance. Peel thawed shrimp and remove tails if desired. Toss shrimp with 1 T olive oil and old bay seasoning, spread onto a cookie sheet. In a separate bowl, toss pineapple pieces with 1 T olive oil and a few grinds of sea salt. Spread pineapple on a different cookie sheet, and put under the broiler, broil until softened and turning brown. (Around 15 minutes) Remove pineapple from oven and put shrimp under broiler, until pink. (Around 5-7 minutes) Top bowls of rice with the curry sauce, shrimp and pineapple, and finish with cilantro.

Black Bean soup

2012-01-08T16:51:00.003-08:00

I got the original recipe for this from my sister in law Kara, but I made some additions and changes. Here is my version:

Black Bean Soup

2 15 1/2 oz cans of black beans (drained and rinsed) (68 cents each)
24 oz jar mild picante sauce ($2)
5 cups of water
5 tsp chicken bouillon granules ($2.99 for whole jar)
2 Tbs ground cumin (99 cents for whole jar)
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 yellow onion, diced (50 cents)
i large sweet potato, diced (80 cents)

Garnish:
shredded cheese ($2)
sour cream ($2)

bring water to boil, add bullion granules, stir to dissolve. Add diced onion and sweet potato. When those are softened, add beans, cumin, salt and pepper and picante sauce. Simmer until all is softened. Use an immersion blender, or transfer in batches to a blender to blend smooth. Garnish with cheese and sour cream. Serve with chips and guacamole on the side.

Easy, Cheap, and good! (makes 8 servings at about a $1.50 per serving)

Deals, galore!

2012-01-08T15:18:00.000-08:00

Since I am so lax in writing anything on this blog, and I prefer doing more of a visual thing anyway, I decided that I am going to start documenting my awesome deals that I find at Goodwill and other thrift stores. Right before Christmas, I got the best deal I probably will ever find at Goodwill- a Lego Deathstar over 3,000 piece kit that I gave to Kent. As you can see from the picture, he was really excited. Having just looked into Lego sets at toy stores, I recently realized how pricy they can be, but I still underestimated how much this one was worth. I snapped it up for $30, thinking it was probably worth around $150, but it turns out that it retails at Toys R Us for $400, but it is also very hard to find due to high demand, so it is going on Ebay for around $550. Yowza! It sealed my legendary status as best wife ever, and brought joy to many adult hearts as Kent and his friends (all in their 30's) gleefully worked on assembling it. Kent's friend Jean Remy did the bulk of the assembly, and it will now go live at the place they work, a video game design company, where it can be appreciated by many star wars loving nerds at once. :)

The other recent triumph is a series of nine cashmere sweaters that I have found on separate trips that I gave out as Christmas gifts. Those all retail at $100 or more new. I am kind of known for my thrift hunting skills. The reason that I manage to find good things is because I have a catalog of information gleaned from years of browsing stores and reading fashion magazines to know the high quality brands. Even though I could never afford to buy any of these things new, I still retained the information. Even though I know I will likely not top the Lego deal, it got me thinking. I have posted some pics of deals on this blog in the past, but what if I track all of my second hand purchases this year, just to see how I do? Why not? I'll take a pic with my phone, and since I have google+, it will automatically upload online. I can then edit the picture to add text captions. Easy peasy. It will be interesting to see not only how much value I get for my money, but just how much stuff I am bringing home in a year from the thrift store. Maybe it will make me think twice about some purchases.

Here's the first of many hauls this year. (Click photo to enlarge and make text readable.)

Wedding pictures!

2011-10-30T09:47:00.000-07:00

As usual, I haven't been good about updating this blog on a regular basis. But, I figured I should at least one post in the year 2011! So why not talk about the biggest event of my life this year, my wedding to Kent! A wedding is the ultimate craft project + hostessing event ever, so it definitely qualifies as something that fits on here. I was also on a budget of as cheap as possible, and thanks to all the contributions of my talented friends, including the free wedding cake by Karen Thoma, and free photos as wedding gifts from Rob Baker and Nathan Biehl, my grand total was around $5,000. Pretty good for a fiesta for 130 people, I'd say. I'm a deal hunter, and one of my best deals was my $300 dress from David's Bridal. It went on sale a few days after I bought it for $500, and they credited me the difference when I asked, without any hassle. That was awesome of them.

Our wedding was an outdoor event, on September 18th. Having learned the hard way, I would not recommend planning an outdoor wedding, since you never know what the weather will be like. Our day was cold and rainy. We had to scramble to wrap the outdoor shelter in plastic to keep the rain out and the body heat in. For being kind of a disaster, the day actually turned out really well. I guess it helps that we have such a drama free group of family friends, so everyone just pitched in and made it work.

Since I am a DIY kinda gal, I did a ton of prep work, but there's no way I could have done it alone. Luckily, I had an awesome team of friends who all went full speed ahead at the last minute to make it happen. I designed the save the dates and photo thank you cards on Vistaprint, printed the invites on cards from Papaya, and made the programs at home on the computer. The centerpieces were just $5 bouquets of flowers from Aldi's parted out and put into colored glass vases that I have already been collecting for years. The additional decorations were white paper lace doilies folded over and made into bunting strings, and Indian paper star lamps, purchased online at Whirled Planet. I made my own bouquet out of vintage metal flower pins that my sister had been collecting for years. (Luckily, we are Goodwill junkies- and the fact that things we love and have collected for years made an appearance just made the wedding that much more personal. My goal was to make it feel like a larger version of entertaining at my house, and I think we accomplished that.) The majority of the photography was done by my friend Rob, who has his own business, Photogenic Chicago. We made all of the food ourselves- pulled chicken and steak tacos, chip and guacamole, garlic cilantro salsa, peach pineapple salsa, fruit salad, etc. And we had bottled Mike's Hard Margaritas and the beers of Mexico from Sam's Club. It was delicious! Without further ado, here are the highlights...

My homemade vintage flower pin bouquet.

Invitations printed on flat cards with matching envelopes from Papaya Art. (We had 5 different designs.)

I made the inside text to the programs, then my bridesmaids assembled them, with little ziplocks of confetti on the front. Also, favor boxes and silverware bundles.
Paper star lamps from Whirled Planet.

Disassembling flower bouquets and arranging stems in vases.

A close up of the confetti on the fronts of the programs.

Paper doily strings. These made for a great backdrop to the ceremony and for pictures later in the night.
The shelter, all set up. Notice the plastic on the right side. We wrapped it around three sides of the shelter, and left the one side open for ventilation. With 130 people inside, it was comfortable.

The lime green tights were a last minute addition, since our wedding day turned out to be chilly. But they fit in to the crazy color scheme perfectly!

Kent performing the song he wrote for me at the reception. It is awesome to be married to a rock star!

One of my favorite shots that my friend/photographer Rob captured.

This cake was amazing. It was so pretty, and it tasted amazing! It was almond sour cream cake with confetti. Yum. It got rave reviews from everyone!

We took our couples photos the next day, when of course, it was sunny and beautiful. The S monogram is part of the word "SWEET" that I had encrusted in rhinestones and we put it on the cake table. I also covered my wedding shoes in rhinestones (see montage photo at the top)

I got this sparkly butterfly Mr. & Mrs. banner from tutucrafts on Etsy.

All in all, despite being a rainy day, the wedding turned out wonderfully, and luckily, my love of bright colors conquered the gray skies outside. I am so pleased with the pictures, and lots of people said it the funnest wedding that they'd ever been to. (I think that the margaritas and taco buffet had something to do with that.) It was an amazing day, but after 7 months of planning, boy, am I glad it is over now!

greek pasta

2010-03-07T18:24:00.000-08:00

i'm celebrating spring by making up a recipe using lots of fresh veggies! this is good hot, and hopefully, just as good as cold left overs, too.

1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
1 lb asparagus, ends trimmed, cut into bite sized pieces
1/2 of a red onion, cut into bite sized pieces
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 T olive oil
salt & pepper to taste
1 rotisserie chicken, shredded
1 15 oz can cannelini beans, rinsed and drained
1 t cavender's greek seasoning
1 lb rotini pasta
1 bunch or bag of spinach leaves, roughly chopped
10 oz greek vinagrette salad dressing

On a jelly roll pan, place all veggies except for spinach. drizzle with oil, sprinkle with garlic, salt and pepper. Roast at 375 degrees for 45 minutes. While veggies cook, bring a pot of water to boil.
Shred chicken, put in bowl. Add drained beans, and toss with greek seasoning. Cook pasta, add chopped spinach to pasta and water just before draining pasta. Toss pasta, spinach, roasted veggies and chicken and beans with the greek vinagrette. Serve immediately. Makes 8 servings.

wishlist 2009

2009-11-24T20:02:00.000-08:00

it's that time again! here's my birthday/xmas wishlist. honestly, this was really hard to come up with. last year, i was dreaming of being a homeowner, and all the fun stuff i could decorate with. now that i own my home, i know i have no extra room for tons of stuff. i couldn't think of anything i wanted, so i did a little browsing online for fun tonight. common theme: nothing takes up much space!

forest friends earring set

kitty key covers

cute overload 2010 calendar

5x7 zebra printed cotton rug

dumpling dynasty coin purse

birds and blooms postcard tin

bohemian blue postcard tin

pink cuckoo clock

birds of america stainless water bottle

sugar skulls earring pack

robot love earrings

black sparrow necklace

sugary sweet rubber stamp set

bunny rubber stamp

granny square scarf

The Circus book (for some reason $200 on Taschen's website, but only $19.98 at Barnes and Noble)

or, gift cards to any of these places: tj maxx, gordmans, lane bryant, target, maurices, village inn, olive garden, popeye's, quiznos, pita king, movie theater, or kwikstar. Also a couple of online stores I would LOVE to own something from- www.igigi.com, www.kiyonna.com, and www.hipsandcurves.com.

strawberry french toast casserole

2009-08-03T18:26:00.000-07:00

Strawberry French Toast Casserole

This is an easy casserole that tastes like the stuffed french toast from Village Inn! I had to create it when I needed something sweet using up what I had in the kitchen. To be more authentically like VI, use the orange marmalade. I used what I had on hand- homemade strawberry jam from the farmer's market, and it was delicious!

8 slices sandwich bread
8 T strawberry jam or orange marmelade
4 T whipped cream cheese
4 eggs
1 1/2 c milk
1 t vanilla
1/4 c sugar + 2 T reserved
1 t cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread 4 slices of bread with jam. Spread remaining 4 slices with cream cheese. Form sandwiches, and cut each one into 16 little squares. put pieces in a 8x8" baking dish that has been sprayed with nonstick spray. Whisk together eggs, milk, vanilla and 1/4 cup sugar. Por mixture over bread pieces. Mix together 2 T sugar and 1 t sugar. Sprinkle over casserole. Either refrigerate over night or bake immediately for 50-60 minutes. Serve topped with sliced fresh strawberries and whipped cream.

new bargains!

2009-07-29T22:11:00.000-07:00

Here are some treasures from my most recent visits to goodwill...

This is a hand carved, i'm guessing rosewood, side table, made in India. It has an inlaid vine design in the center, with floral designs surrounding, and large leaves around the edge. It has three legs that are hinged together, so you can lift the top off of the table and fold the legs flat for storage. I am using it now as my bedside table, and it will work perfectly with the gypsy bohemian look I am working on for my bedroom. It was $7. Oh, and aren't these roses great? They are the exact color of my new orange bedsheets.
These are two vintage paint by number dog portraits. I wish I knew what year they're from. I love them very much, and need to think of names for these guys. I love that they are facing opposite sides, so that I can hang them facing each other. Too bad I don't have a fireplace to hang these over! They were $1 each.
This sea green glass lamp was $4. I love how it works with my glass bottles, and adds to my eclectic glam hippie look! It's in the living room now, but may end up in my bedroom eventually.

Those are my deals for the week!

organizing necklaces

2009-07-22T19:37:00.000-07:00

I was just looking at a post on apartment therapy about jewelry as decor, and how people choose to display theirs as works of art. Here is a pic of my personal necklace rack, just a painted piece of lumber with cup hooks. Below that is a picture of a mirror I just finished for my friend at work. He commissioned me to make it as a birthday present for his girlfriend. I had been just making mirrors in the past, but this one became more functional as a jewelry organizer with the addition of the hooks along the bottom.

(Mostly) Finished House

2009-07-21T22:27:00.000-07:00

Here are some pics of my house as it is now that I've been here a couple months and am pretty much settled in. It's always a work in progress, but I've moved furniture around enough, that I've finally discovered what feels right. There are all kinds of little projects to go, however.

reading nook in living room

living room

more living room

looking in from dining room

dining room corner

art supplies, organized, at last!
hiding all my crap in the dining room
ding room
strawberry painting!
back porch office- lots of rolling storage
back porch office- yellow table as desk

bedroom
my gold mirror collection finally has a home that makes sense!
new orange sheets look pretty great with the aqua walls. (and guadalupe.)

charlie says "what"

violet says "huh?"

a nice still life with flowers and cat

Chicken Salad Variations

2009-07-21T22:00:00.000-07:00

I made a couple of variations on chicken salad for my work potluck. I'm a fairly lazy cook lately, and am taking some shortcuts. In my opinion paying five bucks for a deli rotisserie chicken is worth every penny with the time and work it saves me. I've found that the Walmart citrus rub chicken is the best- very tender and tasty, and has more meat on it than a comparable HyVee chicken. Here's the recipes:

Thai Chicken Salad

Dressing:
1/2 bottle Bangkok Padang Peanut sauce
1/2 c light mayo
2 T lime juice
2 T honey

Whisk all ingredients in large bowl.

Salad:
meat from one rotisserie chicken, chopped
3/4 cup shredded carrot, chopped
3/4 cup snow pea pods, sliced crosswise
4 green onions, sliced
1 cup cilantro, chopped
1/3 cup chopped peanuts

Mix all ingredients in bowl with dressing. Makes approx 5 cups. Serve in pita bread.

Southwest Chicken Salad

Dressing:
1/2 bottle Newman's Own Southwest salad dressing

Salad:
meat from one rotisserie chicken, chopped
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can Mexicorn, rinsed and drained
4 green onions, sliced
1 cup cilantro, chopped

Mixall ingredients in large bowl. Makes approx 5 cups. Serve as a sandwich, wrap or with chips.

wildlife preserve

2009-06-07T11:12:00.000-07:00

I'm starting to think that's what my backyard is. I've never seen so many animals gathered in one place that were not in cages! I feel like Snow White, or the Beastmaster. There are many chipmunks, which make me incredibly happy- they are the cutest things ever. Its funny how them zipping around has a completely different effect on me than centipedes zipping around. Also, tons of rabbits and birds and squirrels hang out in my yard. I thought I'd seen it all until yesterday, when I saw a gigantic beaver roaming in the grass. I couldn't get a great pic of him because of course he booked it as fast as he could (more like waddled swiftly) when I got my camera, but I did take one funny picture. It's kind of hard to see (click to enlarge) because it was getting dark out and I had to zoom in, but I drew a circle over his head sticking out of the foundation of my garage. There are huge gaps between the cinder blocks, so animals just come and go. I'm still shocked he managed to squeeze his haunches in there though, because he had to be at least 15 pounds- he was bigger than either of the cats.

Here is a pic of a baby bunny that was sitting by my foot a few weeks ago, trying to be invisible. I was dog sitting too, and the dogs did not even notice him, that lucky bunny!

Now, if I can just get some cute chipmunk pictures, I will be happy.

goodwill treasures

2009-06-07T09:46:00.000-07:00

my attitude toward goodwill has changed over the years. growing up, we went there routinely every weekend as a family for something to do, and as away to get stuff we could not afford otherwise, like trendy clothes, etc. have you ever looked at someone and thought they must shop at goodwill? there was a kid at my elementary school like that- he was judged harshly for his plaid pants and polyester polos. we were not like that. thanks to our impeccable taste :) no one ever would assume that we were poor and had to buy our clothes second hand- we looked as good, if not better than the kids who had brand new stuff. its all about choosing wisely. anyway, as I've grown up, and had more money, the way i approach thrift shopping is a little different. I rarely even bother flipping through the racks of clothes- its too much bother when they're not even sorted by size. I've learned the value of finding a place where I can buy clothes that I know will consistently fit and look good, even if they cost a little more. (Not that I don't use coupons, mind you. I try to avoid ever paying full price for anything.) My needs have just shifted over the years- from apartment to apartment, I've utilized goodwill more as a resource for temporary furnishings, that eventually end up back there again, the $8 price tag still marked on the bottom in sharpie. Since I've moved into my house, and finally got rid of my unmatched raggedy old furniture and (finally!) have brand new, adult furnishings, I don't really need to scope out the goodwill furniture room anymore. (But I still will- old habits die hard.) My main use for thrift stores now is to add to my collections- my rainbow of colored glass bottles, old and new (but I am quite finnicky about which ones make the cut) and my collection of vintage cute ceramic animals (which i just refer to as happy kitty bunny pony, like the book. see my blog header pic.)

My glass bottle collection:

Its a very rare thing when you actually find something you've actually been wanting at goodwill, but this happened to me last night. I have a lot of stuff. This problem is not helped by the fact that I love bargain hunting at goodwill.

But I read about this book called the Secrets of Simplicity, and wanted to get a copy. It is all about purging the excess crap from your life, and keeping only things you love, to find peace at home and actually enjoy what you have, instead of letting it stress you out. Since I don't ever want to pay full price for anything, I have been trying to find a good deal on it online- but haven't ordered it yet. Last night at goodwill, I was on my usual glass bottle hunt, and spied a copy on the shelf for.....TWENTY FIVE CENTS!!!!! It is a sign. The universe let the book I need so badly find me as I went about my usual business. And, trickster that the universe is, it is ironic that the book about how to get rid of crap was found at my usual source for all my excess crap. But, it kind of renewed my love for goodwill, and proved that sometimes patience will be rewarded with a bargain treasure. And, if that was not enough, I also found a glass Moravian star, something i've wanted for about 10 years and never gotten around to buying.

Besides Secrets of Simplicity, I also got: How to Eat Like a Hot Chick, (I read this last night- its basic premise is eat a pound of spinach to make up for whatever sins you need to atone for. And they swear a lot, to not seem prissy. (Or ladylike.)
The Intellectual Devotional, which looks like a fun bathroom read. It just has a one page lesson on a subject from the arts, history, literature, science, to expand your knowledge every day. Way more useful than reading your horoscope!
And finally Chic Simple Work Clothes, a book I was obsessed with as a kid, about the basics to a classic yet versitile wardrobe. Maybe that's why I made those good fashion choices at Goodwill? It all makes sense now!

Speaking of bargains, I have a couple more to share. One is a funny- a while back, when I was still in my apartment, I bought this green crushed velvet victorian chair, modeled here by Violet:

Recently, when I had my family over for Memorial Day, my aunt did a double take and asked where I got the chair. She had donated it to goodwill! I always loved it at her house but never put it together when I bought it why I loved it so much. So funny! Another bargain I'm proud of is this coat I bought at JC Penney the other day. It is a charcoal gray, cashmere blend dressy fitted pea coat that fits me perfectly. This lone coat amid racks of summer clearance items, and it just happened to be my size. Originally it was $225, but I got it for a song- $19.99. Score! If only I had remembered to use the $20 gift card I had in my wallet from Jim. D'oh! Oh well, still an awesome deal.

new house/new family members

2009-06-04T18:48:00.000-07:00

so, with moving, i've been pretty busy lately, and haven't blogged much. here's a quick peek at the new house. and my cutie pie niece sylvie! will post more as it all comes together. recently got new furniture, but have yet to take photos.

there are also two new members of the family, charlie and violet! i found charlie listed on petfinder.com and was immediately smitten. he is a very charming little fellow, and adjusted very quickly to his new home. he is very lovey, and we get our snuggle on all the time. we got violet two days later and she is funny. she's the perfect blend of playful and mellow. she's a professional napper, yet can do some crazy backflips when we play.

Charlie in snuggle mode:

Charlie in the sunshine:

Violet helping me on the laptop:

Then flopping on the keyboard!

totally off subject...

2009-06-04T18:04:00.000-07:00

Is it me, or do Amy Adams and Fairuza Balk look eerily similar? I just watched Valmont, and I thought the whole time that Cecile was played by Amy Adams, and was shocked to find out I was wrong as the credits rolled. They should do a movie together as sisters, for sure!

corn bread salad

2009-04-07T22:30:00.000-07:00

I have a potluck at work tomorrow, so I made my corn bread salad. This is a variation on a recipe by Sherron Goldstein.

Sweet and Spicy Cornbread Salad

4 pkgs Jiffy Corn bread mix, prepared
2 cucumbers, seeded and diced
8 roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 red pepper, seeded and diced
1 orange pepper, seeded and diced
1 yellow pepper, seeded and diced
2/3 c diced red onion
2/3 c thinly sliced green onions
4 large cloves of garlic, minced

Dressing:
1/2 c white wine vinegar
2/3 c olive oil
3 canned chipotle peppers, seeded and minced
1/3 c honey
1/2 c cilantro leaves
salt & pepper to taste

Prepare corn bread according to package directions. After it is cooled, crumble into crumbs, and let sit out overnight to dry out.
Chop vegetables, mix together in large bowl.
Combine all dressing ingredients in a food processor and blend. Pour dressing over veggies and mix together. Refrigerate overnight. Before serving, combine cornbread crumbs with vegetable mix. Makes a large batch, approximately 16 cups.

winter revisited

2009-04-06T19:34:00.000-07:00

It's april, and yet it snowed again. I was wearing flip flops on friday, snow boots on saturday! gotta love iowa. the return of winter did inspire me to do a little baking. I had to satisfy my craving for the spinachy quiche we used to serve at the coffee shop i worked at long ago. I tweaked the recipe to make it a little more cheesy. Here it is:

Cheesy Spinach Pie

4 eggs
1/4 c heavy whipping cream
1 c cottage cheese
2 c shredded mozzarella cheese
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 c finely diced onions
1 bag spinach leaves, chopped
1 c bisquick
salt & pepper to taste
2 roma tomatoes
2 ready made frozen pie crusts
1/4 c parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Thaw frozen crusts to room temperature. Whisk eggs, cream, cottage cheese and one cup of the mozzarella. Stir in garlic, onions, salt, pepper, chopped spinach and bisquick. Divide mixture between crusts. Sprinkle top of spinach mixture with half of the parmesan cheese. Thinly slice each roma tomato into 9 slices, and lay slices on each pie. Top tomato slices with remaining mozzarella cheese. Bake for 40 minutes. Makes two 9 inch pies.

In other news, I'm reconsidering my pink/fuschia dining room idea. I really love this picture I found of a yellow dining room with pink, white and blue accents. My dining room is the the darkest room in the center of the house, so it would benefit from the light bright color. and, I think that considering my gray table, pink chairs and my vintage animal ceramics (see blog header and my deer plate) this color would really work for me. The only thing is that I would have to alter the color of my living room to work with it, since they're so open. But, I think that's okay- I'm open to lighter, brighter versions of turquoise, rather than a deep teal.

More like this:

Than this:

One of my favorite movies is on- Serendipity. I love John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale! Time to watch it while doing something productive like packing.

dining room

2009-04-04T08:50:00.000-07:00

I think I am slightly changing my plans for my new dining room. I was going to build myself a table out of a door and paint it black, but I found a cool table at goodwill last night. My table is a vintage dove gray cracked ice formica table with two drop leaf sides. I would use it fully extended with 4-6 pink chairs. It looks almost exactly like this one. (And was $30, not $495 like this one)

I like the idea of pink, lavender and gray for a color scheme. But it means that my fuschia walls won't really work anymore. I'm not sure though what wall color would look nice with this. It needs to work with the turquoise living room too, since they are fairly open. Not sure yet, because I'm not a pastel person, but I don't know how I feel about gray paint yet. Here are some accessories:

dining room by wonkyone15 on Polyvore.com
I'm very inspired by this print I have from one of my printmaking class collaborations- this one I think was part Aaron Wilson, part Nicole Fullard. Also, my crazy pink ceramic fish dish, Alive shadowbox by Angela Pease, and a white ceramic bird bank.

coffee table magic

2009-03-30T22:09:00.000-07:00

this is my official endorsement of the mr. clean magic eraser. i've been trying to think of a good way to clean my mosiac coffee table without hurting the grout. i've had this table for years, and it started out dingy, but accumulated more grime after being a functional coffee table. like most of my treasures, it originally came from goodwill for eight dollars. i'd already been amazed by the power of mr clean, so i bought a new magic eraser to use in my kitchen. i read on the box that it was heavy duty, and could clean grout. eureka! it worked like a charm, and i'm quite pleased. here is the half clean, half dirty pic to show the difference.

here it is all nice and clean. i like the legs. when i was hauling it to the kitchen to clean in the good light, i noticed the label on the bottom said "Mersman Tables" so i did a little google investigation.

from my search, i learned that these tables were very popular in the 20s-40s, but they continued to manufacture up until they went out of business in the 90s. my table does not have a date on it, but from what i saw, i think it was of the older ones, probably from the 40s or 50s. Because they were so popular, there are tons of them around, so there's really not any collector's value. That doesn't seem to stop people from trying on ebay, though. Also, all the tables I saw were plain wood, so I assume the mosaic addition came later. (Possibly inspired by a pot leaf?) In any case, I like my green starburst table and it makes a good centerpiece to my bohemian eclectic style living room. I did think it was pretty awesome, during the course of my googling, I happened upon this cool ad for Mersman at a fun website that sells vintage advertisements, Tias. (click to fully enjoy.)

Is it a coincidence that this old school living room (1948) just happens to feature my main three decorating colors, fuschia, turquoise and lime green? It was meant to be, it is confirmed! I found another inspiring pic online I wanted to share.

I had today off of work, and I met with my homeowner's insurance rep and visited my new house to take measurements to plan how much paint I need and plan for curtains, etc. Jim discovered that in addition to all the appliances included with the house, I get, not one, but two free with purchase beer bongs! You never know what kind of random stuff turns up in basements! It was exciting to see the house empty, to further fuel my decorating obsession.

I found this pic of a table made of a door on better homes and gardens' website. I decided that will be the cheapest route to getting the dining table big enough for 6 in my thrifty budget. I'd like it just like this one, only black, with pink ikea chairs and this zebra rug under it from urban outfitters.

time for bed, i have to finally admit my three day weekend is over and i have to go back to work tomorrow. boo hiss. it's okay, i have a short week now!

bathroom ideas

2009-03-26T20:11:00.000-07:00

I had a couple of good bathroom decor ideas tonight, but I can't decide which idea I like better. The first is a bird theme. I found a lot of different fun bird print fabrics. I like this first one from ikea, of the second one from hartsfabrics.com. Then, I found these bird filigree wall hangings on plasticland.com, but of course now they are sold out. If I go with this theme, I hope I can find more of those. Then, the letters are from urban outfitters. i would love to spell out "bird bath" on the wall! If I went with the ikea bird fabric, I think that a sky blue paint color would be nice. Not so sure about that second bird fabric though.

Here's another idea- Mexican folk art theme! I love sugar skull stuff, and combined with my sacred heart mirror and my (okay, Greek, not Mexican) tamatas, I think this would make a fun and funky bathroom! Below is a pic I found online of some more tamatas (aka ex-votos, or votives) that look just like the ones I bought while in Greece. They are awesome! With this, I think a bold wall color is needed- maybe red, or something bright to contrast with the black background of the shower curtain fabric.

mexican bathroom - by wonkyone15 on Polyvore.com

cookin' and dreamin'

2009-03-25T21:40:00.000-07:00

here's the bedspread i want for my bedroom in the new house- the bella hothouse quilt from anthropologie. it costs a mere $188. yikes! worth it, because i love it so much, but not affordable quite yet. i can only dream of a sale.

in the meantime, i think i will make due with this bohemian floral tapestry from urban outfitters for $36. That's more like it! And I'm painting the bedroom light yellow, so that'll will work as I change my bedding scheme.

The thing I can not decide on yet is a bathroom color. It's all about the shower curtain. There are really not that many cool shower curtains out there. I'm not sure anything can top the one I currently have- topless ancient greek or roman ladies! might just have to buy a new one. the problem is that i already have the rainbow covered with the paint selections for the rest of the house, there's not a good choice left for the bathroom but indigo. here's the plan- turquoise living room, spring green office, pale yellow bedroom, orange kitchen and fuschia dining room. maybe an intense purple in the bathroom would be cool, but its a fairly small room, so i don't want it too closed in. decisions, decisions.

here's something i made tonight. it was one of those a splash of this, a dash of that things, so i will never be able to recreate it exactly. i baked some chicken breasts with a sauce i made of peanut butter, sesame oil, brown sugar, lime juice, garlic, and chili paste. then i served it over rice that i infused with a coconut chai teabag, and garnished with peanuts and cilantro. viola!

more decorating dreams

2009-02-22T00:39:00.000-08:00

living room ideas - by wonkyone15 on Polyvore.com

There is a house I'm thinking of putting an offer on, and now that I have a space to visualize in my decorating day dreams, here are some ideas. Imagine the walls the color of the aqua lantern, with black & white as the main colors, and fuschia and bright green as the accents. I want a zebra chair so bad, and I can't believe the one in the pic is from walmart!

cuteness galore!

2009-02-12T20:22:00.000-08:00

Here is the newest item in the collection of Happy Kitty Bunny Pony-esque cute animal ceramic pieces. This little deery was waiting for me to rescue it from Goodwill the other night, and was priced according to fate at one dollar, as that was all I had. Not on me, but all I had til payday, period. I can't think of a better item more worthy of my last dollar!

Speaking of extreme cuteness, here is my new niece, Sylvie. She is a beautiful little princess!

recent card designs

2009-01-01T18:46:00.000-08:00

Here are a few recent cards I made for people I know. It's Time (to buy a sweater vest...because you're old!) was for my brother Andy's 30th birthday. Hey Cupcake! was for my co-worker Nicole's 28th. Yo, Mama! was a response to cool artsy card Shannon created for me, and the pop up cake and forks card was for my boss' birthday. The standing forks were a big hit!

Dining room ideas

2009-01-01T13:07:00.001-08:00

My future dining room by wonkyone15

A Starting Point

2009-01-01T10:31:00.000-08:00

I finally got some new batteries for my camera, so here are some pics of stuff around my house that will be the basis of my new bohemian eclectic style. I've got the basics, I just need to have the freedom to paint walls, etc. I discovered a really cool program called Poladroid, thanks to the ReadyMade magazine blog. It is a program that takes digital photos and makes them look like Polaroids. So fun!

An oil crayon piece "Blooms of Fire" by my best friend, Shannon Deleon.

A hand painted ceramic tile I bought in Athens, Greece.

This is Fruit Rooster. I bought him as a gag gift for Amber, but then he really grew on me. I think I will have to go buy another one for myself! (His nickname is Fruit Cocktail)

My collection of colored glass bottles, illuminated with Christmas lights.

Blue sacred heart mirror I bought on the Island of Santorini, Greece. Embellished with rose ponytail holder.

The large mirrored patchwork tapestry from India that hangs over my couch. Its the first real piece of art I ever bought, when I got some money in a lawsuit settlement.

My collection of deer figurines hanging out in front of a rice paper lamp Shannon gave me. Oh, and some crazy glass birds on wires my sister Becky gave me.

My own artwork with vintage ceramic fish lamp.

I like layering framed art. This is my pink area with the flaming lips poster, my painting of George, and pink mosaic vases with my pink chair from Ikea, like the one in my polyvore above.

Part of my collection of gilded baroque-style mirrors.

Patchwork coverlet from Pier One over my love seat, with beaded/sequined Indian elephant pillows. Behind that, fuschia velvet pillows.

A painting of wacky strawberries by Steve Potter. It's hanging in my bedroom.

One of my mixed media mirrors I just don't think I can bear to part with.

Here are some movie/tv shows whose interior designs make me happy:
amelie
one night at mccool's
dharma and greg
sweet november

Never mind the shootout, isn't this a cute house? From One Night at McCool's. (If you haven't seen it, it's great!)

And this is Amelie's bedroom. I do love pet portraits.

new collages

2008-12-28T22:40:00.000-08:00

I am really enjoying this visual listmaking with polyvore! Here is a look at some of my awesome christmas gifts i received this year, then more of the inspirational, kitschy decor I love!

my kick ass christmas gifts! by wonkyone15

bohemian eclectic inspiration #2 by wonkyone15

And then, there is this pic, from Marie Claire Maison, emcompassing all that stuff in one giant framed headboard. So cool!

i heart polyvore.com

2008-12-27T23:07:00.000-08:00

I'd seen this in use on one of my favorite blogs The Pretty Pear, but this was my first time using it myself. It's quite fun, you just install the clipper application then you can easily save pictures online to make a collage with later. My first one was some of my favorite home decor items I found online tonight.

bohemian eclectic inspirations #1 by wonkyone15

Latest inspirations

2008-12-27T19:30:00.000-08:00

As I get one step closer to my dream of home-ownership, (I recently completed a first time homebuyer's class) I am getting excited about the possibilities that owning a home have to express my creativity. Of course, I am keeping in mind all the practical parts of being responsible for a whole house and property, but its just so much more fun to daydream about turquoise walls! I've been trying to figure out exactly what my style is, and decided that my mix of bright colors, sparkling mirrored indian tapestries, my love of mexican folk art, and my collection of baroque gilded mirrors all adds up to Bohmemian eclectic style. i went looking online and gathered some pics for inspiration.

This is a pic of the dining room of one of the houses I am interested in now as a starting point:

This is the gypsy chandelier that Jim just bought me for Christmas. I have to wait to use it til I have a house, because it has to be wired into the electrical, much to my chagrin.

Here are some inspirational pics from designer jeanne boyol, who redecorates old gypsy caravans. Love!

This one is a page from Elle Decor magazine

Here is a pic from Pierre Romanet - Paint House. Love that big metal OM symbol on the wall!

I also have dreams of a collection of milk glass, easily procured from goodwill, against a bold wall color, as shown here:

I'm going to snap some shots of things around my house that are will be the base of my future crazy eclectic bohemian style abode, but right now the batteries in my camera are dead. Back to my online daydreaming...

Xmas Wishlist 2008

2008-11-16T11:04:00.000-08:00

Here are some things I am lusting after right now:
Everything that's noted, I got for Christmas! Yay!

Books:
Listography: Your Life in Lists
Confessions of a Teenage Sleuth, a Nancy Drew Parody
Things to Make and Do Journal by Nikki McClure
A subscription to Real Simple, ReadyMade or Bust magazines

CDs:
There Goes Rhymin Simon (got it!)
The Very Best of Dusty Springfield(got it!)
Way to Normal, the new Ben Folds album(got it!)

As Seen on TV:
Sheer Skin Hair Remover
Aqua Globes, so my plants don't die!

Home Decor:
Filagree Bird Wall Hangings- Lovely!
Crayola executive pen- I like orange or purple.
Gypsy chandelier (got it!)
fragrance refills for my scentport in Bartlett Pear

Fashion and Beauty:
This floral cardigan from Old Navy, in blue, size 2X. So girly!
octopus necklace
anything in the Sweet Temptation scent from the Victoria's Secret Secret Garden Collection
This silver belt from Igigi. So dominatrix! (size 22/24)
Microfiber tights from Avenue, any color, size E. Only $5.90!
Avenue Body perfume sampler- $5
I love this bezel set amethyst ring, size 9, from JC Penney. (got it!)
LaVanilla Vanilla Grapefruit perfume
Lolita Lempicka Forbidden Flower
L de Lolita Lempicka
Fleur de Corail by Lolita Lempicka
Ed Hardy Women
Spicy Pear Cobbler Lip Shine Ornament
Philosophy Orange Cranberry Spritzer lip gloss (on ebay because it is not available seperately from the gift pack on philosphy's website
Bath and Bodyworks Vanilla Noir body spray(got it!)
pretty much any color/flavor of Lancome's Juicy Tubes lip gloss
these gold kitten heels(size 12)
Turquoise bird necklace from Torrid (got it!)
bee necklace from fred flare
crafty lady tshirt, size 2x
broken arm tee
this cardigan in black, size 1x from kohls

Gift Cards:
Target, Torrid, Kohl's, Hobby Lobby, Maurices, Gordmans, Ross, Lane Bryant, Old Navy, Igigi, Payless Shoes

so you love glitter? just get a swiffer!

2008-10-31T22:29:00.000-07:00

i really like ellen degeneres, but i had no idea until tonight that she hates glitter. gasp! okay, i get it, it can be annoying if it gets on places that it was not intended for, and it does magically migrate everywhere. i know, because i always got blamed in my college print lab when someone had a speck of glitz appear on one of their prints by accident. i, of course was an impeccable glitter cleaner upper, but i still got blamed for being the original sinner, even after others started picking up on my sparkle trend and flocked prints willy-nilly, without regard to the matte finish (ie DULL) lovers of the world. sigh.

anyway, this video is funny. it's kathy cano-murillo's ("the crafty chica" and one of my favorite artists) plea to Ellen to reconsider her position on the glitter issue.

GLITTER FOREVER!!!

soup part two

2008-09-18T22:51:00.000-07:00

Here's another recent creation:

Italian Soup

1 lb ground Italian sausage
1 cup diced yellow onion
2 T olive oil
1 T Italian seasoning
½ tsp garlic sea salt
1 envelope dry Italian dressing mix
1- 14 oz canned diced tomatoes
1- 14 oz great northern beans, drained
1- 8 oz canned mushrooms, drained
1- 10 oz pkg frozen spinach, thawed and drained
2- 14 oz can low sodium chicken stock
4 cups water
1 cup small shaped pasta
Optional: 6-8 cherry tomatoes sliced into rounds

Brown sausage and onions in olive oil in dutch oven over medium heat. Add seasonings, tomatoes, beans, mushrooms, spinach, stock and water. Increase heat to medium high, bring to a boil. Add pasta, boil for 7 minutes. Turn heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes. Add cherry tomato slices prior to serving. Serves 8.

Summer Corn Chowder

2008-09-15T23:04:00.000-07:00

Towards the end of the summer, I discovered the delicious Summer Corn Chowder at Panera. I fell in love and vowed to figure out the recipe so I could keep making it past its seasonality on the menu. I have a problem where every time I start liking something it gets removed from the menu of whatever restaurant carried it. So, I'm trying to be proactive and try to figure out the recipes I love while I still have time to study them. That being said, this is my really easy and pretty dang close to the original flavor version of Panera's yummy chowder. Oh, and it did get rave reviews from Jim and Amber tonight, even after I gleefully informed them that they had unwittingly participated in "Meatless Monday!"

(photo credit to Amber Petersen 2008)

Em's Version of Summer Corn Chowder

The recipe pictured did not have the poblano pepper included. Couldn't find one in a hurry tonight!

3- 10 3/4 cans condensed cream of potato soup (plus 3 cans full of 1% milk)
1- 18 oz carton ready to eat Southwest Corn Soup (Campbell's Select)
1- 15 oz cubed potatoes
1- 11 oz Mexicorn
1- 14 1/2 oz petite diced tomatoes
2/3 c. finely chopped yellow onion
1 roasted poblano pepper
1 c. finely chopped cilantro
2 T. butter
1 1/2 t. sugar
1 1/2 t. cumin
1 1/2 t. minced garlic

In a large heavy bottomed soup pot, combine soups and milk. Drain and rinse cubed potatoes, mexicorn and tomatoes. Add to soup mix. Dice onions. In small skillet, melt butter. Halve poblano pepper and remove seeds and veins. Set pepper halves, skin side down directly on stove top burner to blacken and blister skin. Remove skin with tongs or rub off with a towel. Meanwhile, sautee onions in butter with sugar and cumin until soft and translucent. Finely dice pepper and add to onion sautee. Cook another few minutes. Add to soup mixture. Chop cilantro. Serve bowls of soup with cilantro as garnish, stir in immediately before eating. Serves 8.

French Laundry

2008-08-25T20:43:00.000-07:00

I lucked out and found this book at Goodwill. For two dollars! It was originally $50 and it is quite amazing. The French Laundry is pretty much the best restaurant in the country, and hopefully, someday I'll get to dine there. The book is beautiful and hugely inspiring. I have some time off from work soon, maybe I will attempt one of the easier recipes to test the waters.

of the asian persuasion...

2008-02-27T20:53:00.000-08:00

This week I've gotten a lot of mileage out of my produce I bought over the weekend. Carrots, broccoli, green onions and garlic are pretty dang versatile veggies. The first is just a quick doctoring of a prepackaged mix, but it is super delicious and actually very healthy!

Shrimp Lo Mein
This literally takes only 10 minutes to prepare!

1 pkg Pasta Roni Asian Garlic Chicken flavored noodles
1 1/2 tsp olive oil
1/2 bag small tail off cooked frozen shrimp (approx 2 cups)
1 head of broccoli, cut up into florets
3/4 cup shredded carrots
1/2 bunch of green onions, sliced (1/2 cup)
crushed red pepper flakes
garlic sea salt
coarse black pepper

In a colander in the sink, run cold water over frozen shrimp until thawed, approximately 5 minutes. Meanwhile, in medium saucepan, heat olive oil and 1 3/4 cups water, and cook noodles and seasoning packet according to package directions. Cover pan to speed up the water coming to a boil. While pasta cooks, in a microwave steam bag, cook broccoli and carrots for 3 minutes. Add shrimp, broccoli, carrots and green onions to pasta. Season to taste with red pepper, black pepper and salt. Makes 2 entree servings.

Ginger Shrimp Egg Drop Soup
This recipe was one I adapted from the Shrimp Egg Drop Soup featured in "12 Simple Soups" in this month's issue of Fitness Magazine.

2 cups sliced mushrooms
2 Tbs canola oil
4 14.5 oz cans chicken broth
1/3 cup rice vinegar
4 Tbs soy sauce or Teriyaki sauce
2 tsp sugar
1 Tbs finely minced ginger
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/8 tsp Chinese 5 Spice powder
1/2 cup sliced green onions
1/4 cup frozen peas
1 cup shredded carrots
1/2 bag small tail off cooked frozen shrimp (approx 2 cups)
2 Tbs cornstarch
2 Tbs cold water
2 eggs

Saute sliced mushrooms in canola oil until browned and tender. Add garlic, ginger, 5 spice powder, broth, rice vinegar, soy sauce and sugar. Simmer for 2 minutes. Add shrimp, peas and carrots. Mix cornstarch and cold water in a small bowl until are lumps are smoothed out. Add to pot. Crack both eggs into simmering soup, stir until egg seperates and cooks. Add green onions right before serving. Makes 8 servings.

veggies vs cancer- the ultimate showdown

2008-02-25T22:06:00.000-08:00

I'm gonna just say it- I love vegetables. Because I discovered that there are ways to make them interesting and tasty. I saw this article on realage.com today and was pleased to see that I covered 4 out of the 5 groups in my two soups below! I am interested in the cancer-fighting properties of food, and that interest makes me view eating vegetables more as proactively saving my life, rather than choking down some roots and weeds. I'm particularly interested in this list, as pancreatic cancer is what my mom died from, so I feel like I might be more prone to it. Luckily for me, this list contains some of my favorite veggies.

The Super 5 of a Healthy Pancreas

You're a giant step ahead of pancreatic cancer if you eat loads of veggies every day. In fact, eat enough (nine servings instead of five) and you could cut your risk in half.

Now go one better, and get a sampling of specific veggies from a recently researched list of key produce picks for pancreas health.

5 Picks for Your Pancreas
What is it about the veggies below that makes them the mortal enemy of pancreatic cancer? Take your pick. They're loaded with everything from vitamin C and carotenoids to folate and fiber.

1. Dark, leafy greens like spinach, kale, mustard, and chard
2. Cruciferous veggies like broccoli and brussels sprouts
3. Orange-yellow veggies like corn, squash, sweet potatoes, and carrots
4. Beans like soybeans, lima beans, and lentils
5. Alum veggies, specifically onions and garlic

This never-ending winter calls for soup!

2008-02-25T20:59:00.000-08:00

I've been inspired my friend Renee to start writing in my blog more often using the topic prompts found at Sunday Scribblings. This week's topic is "Passion." Where does my passion lie? Currently, its using my creativity to make other people happy. I'm the designated greeting card maker on my team at work. Having a little bit of artistic talent seems to impress the heck out of my coworkers. I can not imagine a life where I didn't have the ability to make what I want, be it a birthday card or a recipe I envision. I would feel so helpless without that ability. Sometimes I take it for granted that I can do that, and I should appreciate that it is a gift. my passion for making traditional art waxes and wanes throughout the year, right now, I am focusing on my culinary arts. Because a painting just doesn't warm me up like soup does! I like the ritual of chopping, grinding, sauteeing, simmering and stirring. The act of making soup seems particularly easy to connect with so many generations of people before me taking simple ingredients and stretching them to share something warm and comforting with people they love. It pleases me immensely to not only have the sensory experience of the sounds and smells, and of course tastes, but I love ladling out portions of my magical potion into plastic containers and stacking them up in the fridge to dole out to my friends. Here are my soups of the week:

Homemade Zuppa Toscana
I serve this with soft breadsticks heated on my George Foreman grill, brushed with butter and sprinkled with a grind of garlic sea salt. Just like olive garden!

12 oz mild italian sausage
6 medium red skin potatoes, sliced into thin half moons
2 T olive oil
1 c cooked bacon, crumbled
1 c fat free half and half (Land o Lakes)
1/2 t fennel seeds
1/2 t crushed red pepper flakes
4 c water
2- 14.5 oz cans chicken broth
2 large cloves of garlic, minced
1 large yellow onion, diced
2 cups kale, chopped

In large stock pot, brown sausage and onions in olive oil. Add bacon, garlic, fennel seeds and peppers flakes. Add potatoes, water and chcken broth. Simmer until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes on medium heat. Add half and half, kale, and salt and pepper to taste. Makes 8 servings.

**************************************

I'm proud of myself for inventing this one without a recipe to even start to deviate from! And I normally do not like carrots, but I've been trying new ways of sneaking them into stuff so I can get their benefits without really tasting them.

Veggie Cheese Soup
I was torn between a craving for cream of broccoli soup and wisconsin cheese soup. Here's my compromise.

2- 14.5 oz cans chicken broth
1 head of broccoli, cut up into florets
1 c shredded carrots
1/2 bunch of green onions
1/4 of 1 large red onion
3 cloves of garlic
3 c fat free half and half (Land o Lakes)
3 T olive oil
2 T margarine
5 T corn starch
salt and pepper
Cavender's Greek Seasoning
2 c 1% milk
1/2 c grated parmesan cheese
2 c shredded colby jack cheese

In a food processor, mince broccoli and carrots. Put in stock pot, cover with chicken broth. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Meanwhile, in food processor, mince garlic, red and green onions. In sautee pan, heat margarine and olive oil. Sautee onion mixture until tender. Sprinkle onion mixture with salt, pepper and greek seasoning to taste. Add cornstarch and mix together, til thick and pasty. Continue to cook for 30 seconds. Add half and half, and bring to a boil, whisking to smooth out any lumps from the cornstarch. Stir until thickened. Add creamy onion mixture to the simmering veggies in broth. Add milk, parmesan cheese and colby jack cheese. Stir to combine until cheese is melted and the mixture is thickened. Makes 8 servings.

Later this week: Ginger egg drop soup with shrimp

Healthy and Tasty

2008-01-21T20:09:00.001-08:00

So, I've been on a health kick lately. Brenda and I joined the 24 hour gym right across the street from my apartment, and we have started working out together four times a week. Surprisingly, I really enjoy it. It beats doing a workout video in my lving room, for sure. And I do love running on the elliptical machine without hurting my ankle from the impact. I am also participating in Lighten Up Iowa, a team based state wide weight loss challenge, with Becky and some of her coworkers from UNI. Since I do not want to cancel out the benefits of working out, I am making a concerted effort to eat healthier too. Here are a couple of my favorite quick and easy things to eat when I don't have much time to cook.

Asian Veggie Burger
This isn't exactly low fat, but the protein keeps you going. It is so good! I plan on topping this with an asian slaw next time.

Morningstar Farms asian veggie burger
bun, split
1 Tablespoon fresh ground, unsweetened peanut butter
1 Tablespoon bottled sweet Thai chile sauce

345 calories, 13.5 g fat

"Don't Be a Chicken" Patty on Bun
Reminds me of school lunch in a very good way. I'm convinced the cafeteria mystery meat was actually soy the whole time.

1 Morningstar Farm Parmesan Ranch Chick Patty
1 bun, split
6 thinly sliced rings of yellow onion
1 T barbeque sauce

320 calories, 8.5 g fat

Veggie Chicken Parmesan Sandwich
These are not the lowest in fat content, but consider this- one Tyson's frozen chicken patty alone has 280 calories and 18 g fat. At least this way, you get some cheesey goodness (calcium!) and tomatoey bliss (cancer-fighting lycopene!) and still have less fat than the competition.

1 Morningstar Farm Parmesan Ranch Chick Patty
1 bun, split
1 1/2 Tablespoons bottled pizza sauce
2 Tablespoons shredded part skim mozzarella cheese

330 calories, 11.5 g fat

Strawberry Cheese(popcorn)cake
This is such a good dessert!

1 Quaker caramel corn popcorn or rice cake
1 Tablespoon Philadelphia reduced fat cream cheese (cheesecake flavor)
1 Tablespoon strawberry jam

Calories: 160, 4.5 g fat

Crunchy Monkey
I've been eating this for breakfast quite a bit. The popcorn cake is light, but the peanut butter and banana stick with me all morning.

Quaker chocolate flavored popcorn cake
1 Tablespoon creamy peanut butter
1/2 medium banana (7 round slices)

Calories: 220, 8 g fat

Also worth noting, Quaker chewy granola bars have a good new flavor of 90 calorie bar- Dark Chocolate Cherry. I would highly recommend them!

my wishlist

2007-11-28T16:00:00.000-08:00

Here's my holiday wishlist (aka all the stuff I will probably buy for myself over the next year when I don't get any of it.)

Music:
Barenaked Ladies- Are Men
Imani Coppola- The Black and White Album
Grey's Anatomy Volume 3 Soundtrack
Pink Martini- Hey Eugene!
Belle and Sebastian- LateNightTales

Books:
Wreck this Journal (By Keri Smith)
Living Out Loud (By Keri Smith)
The Guerilla Art Kit (By Keri Smith)
Me Talk Pretty One Day (By David Sedaris)
Children Playing Before a Statue of Hercules (By David Sedaris)
Collage Discovery Workshop: Beyond The Unexpected (by Claudine Hellmuth)
Budget Living Home Cheap Home: A Room-by-Room Guide to Great Decorating

Jewelry:
silver Octopus necklace (fredflare.com)
gold Airplane and bird necklace (fredflare.com)
bird necklace with chains (urbn.com)
gold envelope necklace (urbn.com)

Magazine Subscriptions:
Bust
Food and Wine
Blueprint
Domino
Craft

Gift cards:
Lane Bryant
Gordman's
Target
Dollar Tree
Torrid
Payless Shoes
Old Navy
Hobby Lobby
Fareway

Other stuff:
I desperately need an over the door shoe rack and a cordless phone!
wall mounted magnetic knife holder (jcpenney.com)
white shelves with wall brackets
large lime green or turquoise bathroom rug (36x40 inches)
pilot medium black pens
teal blue and pink candles

more cooking, go figure.

2007-10-02T21:38:00.000-07:00

i'm feeling lazy, so i'll just post pics for now, but i will edit to add recipes later. they look suspiciously similar, do they not? one is a pasta primavera with broccoli and zucchini and parmesan cream sauce, the other an asparagus/ricotta/lemon pasta. this one i may have posted the recipe before. i will have to check my archives, its one of my old standbys. I also recently made a old fashioned baked macaroni and cheese. it was so good, it didn't even make it to the point of getting photographed. will post more soon. fall inspires me to get busy in la cucina.

more artapalooza pics & cattle congress art

2007-10-02T21:22:00.000-07:00

Here's some more pics from my booth at artapalooza on september 15th. it was a good time. i didn't sell quite as much as last year, but it was a beautiful day, the crowd was big, and i felt like my display was a more cohesive exhibit this time. in general, i was pleased. the bottom picture is my mixed media piece titles Sacred Heart #1 that i created at the last second to turn in to the cattle congress art show. i felt really good about it, because it was one of those rare moments of artmaking where the creation was effortless, it just flowed out of me. my instinct was right, i won the blue ribbon! (and $75!) i'm on a winning streak with the cattle congress- this is my third win. that encourages me to keep creating!

artapalooza 2007

2007-10-02T20:59:00.000-07:00

goodwill triumphs and tasty treats

2007-07-17T20:53:00.001-07:00

here's my newest goodwill find. i thought i had seen something like it at ikea, but this one is only a cousin to the poang chair pictured above it. close enough. but still, for $15 for chair plus foot stool, who's going to care if it has a funny swedish name?

also, i found this amazing unicorn figurine. it's got a lot of presence in my living room, standing over thirteen inches high. he's all white ceramic with a shiny gold horn. two dollars. i love goodwill. it's been a while since i'd found anything outstanding, and i definitely hit the jackpot this week.

lastly, here are some quickie key lime tartlets i made from completely store bought elements tonight. sure, i could make my own sour cream lime curd and homemade whipped cream, (and i have, many times) but all the energy i could muster up after work today went to zesting the limes. sure, they are not as good as the homemade ones, but still pretty dang tasty for something i could make in ten minutes!

farmer's market feast

2007-07-16T21:32:00.000-07:00

here's the dinner i made tonight from my weekend farmer's market bounty. it is a pretty rustic italian meal centered around the basics- fresh herbs, olive oil and garlic. always a winning trio in my book. here is why i love the farmer's market- Brenda and i went to the cedar falls one on saturday morning, and i got a huge bunch of basil, 8 beautiful baby summer squash, and a bunch of rosemary for four dollars, total. plus, free cooking inspiration! can't beat that value.

basil inspiration = pesto

one large bunch of basil or about 4 cups loosely packed
1/2 c pine nuts
1 1/2 c grated parmesan cheese
3 cloves garlic
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 c olive oil

tear basil leaves off of stems, throw in a food processor with pine nuts, parmesan, garlic, and salt and pepper. pulse until minced. with food processor running on low, slowy drizzle in olive oil until the mix becomes smooth. toss pesto with warm pasta.

rosemary inspiration = roasted chicken

4 1/2 lb whole chicken
1 head of garlic, or about 8-10 cloves
1 bunch rosemary
salt and pepper
olive oil

preheat oven to 375 degrees. rinse chicken inside and out, pat dry with paper towels. arrange on a baking rack on a baking pan. peel cloves of garlic and tuck inside chicken with three stems of rosemary. strip remaining rosemary from stems and mince roughly. rub about a tablespoon of olive oil on chicken, season liberally with salt and pepper, and sprinkle on minced rosemary. bake for 90 minutes, then turn it around in the oven, and bake for 30 more minutes.

baby summer squash = roasted squash halves

8 baby summer squash, any variety
olive oil
garlic flavored sea salt
fresh ground black pepper

halve squash lengthwise. arrange in shallow glass baking dish. drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes.

and leftovers = pesto chicken salad

2 tablespoons basil pesto
1/3 c mayonaise
2 cups chopped leftover cooked chicken
1/2 cup diced red onion

mix pesto and mayonaise in bowl. add diced chicken and onion. mix well, serve in pita bread. (or in my case tiny pita bread called pitettes!)

i am really reveling in domesticity tonight. ah...its a wonderful life!

Hello this is her boyfriend, Jim. Well as you know she and I have been dating for a while and let me tell you. I couldn't have found a better life partner. She is an awesome cook. The meal she made described to you above is just about the best meal ever made. She really needs to open her own resturant. I love you baby!

My blog was hijacked while i was taking photos! Well, there you have it- proof that it actually tastes as good as it looks! :)

on the clock

2007-07-12T20:14:00.000-07:00

this is my newest painting called On The Clock. it is one of the 4 slides i'm submitting for artapalooza judging tomorrow. keep your fingers crossed that i get in again this year! it was so much fun last time, hopefully i can do it again. i can't think of a better way to spend a beautiful september saturday. we shall see...

homemade hostess

2007-06-23T22:10:00.000-07:00

here are my alternate titles for this blog post:

"a little slow on the cupcake"
"nice cupcakes, sweetheart"
"i'd like to fill you with cream, baby"
"ganache, these are tasty!"
"hostess with the mostess"
"whip, squeeze, lick, mmmmmmm"

so i'm obsessed with cupcakes lately. especially those that require a shot of whipped cream injected into the center. look out world, i've got a wilton star pastry tip and i'm not afraid to use it!here are my two most recent efforts- the homemade twinkie cupcake and the chocolate cupcake.

the twinkie one is just yellow cake mix with homemade whipped cream inside. the chocolate one is dark chocolate fudge cake mix, homemade whipped cream inside, and a chocolate ganache glaze on top with some writing icing in a can. my squiggles are awful, that thing is really hard to control. next time, pastry bag!

the homemade whipped cream is just 2 cups of heavy whipping cream, 1/2 cup sugar and 2 teaspoons of vanilla, whipped in a chilled mixing bowl on high speed until fairly stiff peaks form. the ganache is a 12 oz bag of semi sweet chocolate chips melted in a double boiler with 1/2 cup of whipping cream. just because these cupcakes are homemade doesn't mean they are healthier! but at least there's not all of the creepy preservatives that allow whipped cream filling to sit on a store shelf indefinitely in them. time to go eat the models.

hot and fruity...just how i like it!

2007-06-20T22:08:00.000-07:00

ok, so i have an excuse this time for slacking on the blog for a month and a half. my computer's been on the fritz ever since right before i went to vegas. but now it's back, and seems to be working ok, so i am glad to have it back. viruses had taken over, but now it's all cleaned out.

vegas was awesome, it was so rejuvenating to spend some time with my shannon. makes me remember the old emily that i used to be. she's still there, i just forget sometimes. and it was a blast getting to know erick better and spending time with the amazing bella. i'm hoping to go back with jim towards the end of october, hopefully we can get the money saved and the time off of work.

so before i left, i applied for a promotion at work. and when i got back, i found out i got it! so now i am in the CIQ department, validating customer account information, and setting up new accounts. it is so much better than my old job, I am so glad they hired me! I like the people i sit by, not that i didn't like the old people i sat by, but now i really feel like part of a team. it is a lot of stuff to remember, but even the stress of having to learn tons of new stuff can't compare to the stress of my old job. being a problem solver for other people just grates on you over time. it makes me feel slightly guilty that i get paid more and have better hours (weekends off finally!) with a less stressful job, but not that guilty. anyway, i am pretty proud of myself to have come so far after only being at the job for nine months. there are people there who wait years before even getting title/performance promotions, much less a better department promotion. these are the times when i miss my mom the most, i wish i could tell her my happy news.

Today it was the birthday of a girl on my team, so i brought strawberry cupcakes that were filled with homemade whipped cream. they were a big hit. i think the next project will be devil's food cupcakes with the cream filling, and a ganache glaze, like a classy hostess cupcake. tonight i made this salsa, and it is amazing, i had to document it:

Nectarine Salsa

5 ripe nectarines, diced
1- 8 oz can crushed pineapple with juice
3/4 c chopped cilantro
1/2 c diced red onion
1 fresh jalepeno, seeds and membranes removed, finely diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 to 1 1/2 c jarred salsa (i used walmart peach pineapple chipotle salsa)
2 T lime juice
1/4 t salt

mix it all together and serve immediately or chill. I ate this with tostitos multigrain chips. awesome!

it's spring!

2007-04-29T20:52:00.000-07:00

it's been nearly three months since i've posted. i have been uninspired all of this time to make any art, i've just been busy with work and stressed out. but now, spring is in the air, i've opened my windows to let the sunshine and good vibes in. my inspiration is back, and i am experimenting with some polymer clay to make some jewelry. i am trying to get prepared well in advance this year for artapalooza. here are three of my samples so far.

my boyfriend, jim, has been living with me for the past couple of months, due to a string of financial problems he'd been having. now, he's got a new job, and is about to move into a new apartment soon. (a completely awesome downtown apartment that i am super jealous of!) i didn't mind letting him stay here when he needed to, but i am excited to have all of my space back to myself again. plus, i am excited to have a whole second apartment to help decorate! it is so nice to start with, i won't let him ruin it by putting up a bunch of bachelor pad decor.

i'm going to see shannon and her family in las vegas in two weeks, and i plan on looking for some cool apartment stuff at urban outfitters. i need a vacation, and am really looking forward to getting out of town for a couple of days. i am packing my bag full of presents for them, so i can unload all that, and fill it up with all the crap i buy when i'm there! shannon may have to work while i'm there, but lounging poolside with a book all afternoon sounds just fine by me. i have never been in the position to be the visiting guest flying in for the weekend bearing gifts. it's about time! it has been a year and a half since i've seen shannon! the best part of this vacation is the fact that this is the first time i've ever been able to go have fun while getting paid for it! thank you, real job!

my job has been kind of stressing me out lately, but there are definite perks. i have a feeling things will be changing soon though, because there are a lot of opportunites there, new positions opening up recently, and shift bids happening, so i can shake things up a little soon. speaking if that, i need to update my resume tonight to apply for a new position tuesday. i'm kind of in a post sushi feast daze though, so maybe that will wait until tomorrow. it was so pleasant tonight walking down the street for sushi/hibachi dinner and walking home after dark, with the warm breeze on my bare arms. thank goodness for spring- it's such a mood lifter!

online shopping

2007-02-08T23:27:00.000-08:00

so its 1:30 am and i am doing some internet shopping, as i am wont to do now and again. for some reason it always happens late at night. anyhoo, i just got some good deals online. i'm getting: D-D-Don't Stop The Beat by Junior Senior, I'm With Stupid by Aimee Mann, Surfacing by Sarah McLachlan, The Office - Season One on DVD, Me and You and Everyone We Know on DVD, and Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love on VHS. So that's three CDs and three movies all for a total of 22.59 (+ shipping, so that's 38.83 total) i love half.com!

now i am thinking about these shoes, but i may wait and see if the price goes down a little. they are like my ugly clogs that are so comfy, but i could actually wear them with a skirt to work and not look like a big dork! i noticed that they raised the price by about $5 when they happened to have a free shipping upgrade offer going. very sneaky. maybe they will return to the old price when that offer is over. i am very conscious of coupons. i may get mocked for whipping out the coupon for restaurants out in public, but i don't have money to waste. when it comes to online shopping, especially, i try to only buy when i have a coupon code for at least 20% off of the total, or free shipping at least. why pay more when it is so easy to just find a code on google? even if i ever become rich (doubtful) i will always appreciate a deal!

edition of 32

2007-02-02T07:59:00.000-08:00

so here are 6 samples out of the edition of 32 prints i made for that exchange i'm in. the title of this print is Magpie Tendencies. i stayed up til 6 am finishing these this morning. now its just after ten, and i'm up and at 'em. only because i have to go drop off my rent before noon. otherwise i'd be sleeping all day. i actually don't feel that bad, maybe i'm just delirious. but it did make me happy to work on art stuff all night, listen to my ipod, and cook ham and eggs at 5:00 am. it was one of those "man, i am glad i live by myself!" moments.

anyway, besides the prints, here's a detail of some scraps left over from the monoprinting, it is my computer desktop image right now (feel free to make it yours!) and it is lovely, in my opinion. I always like the leftover accidental stuff better than the intended artwork. I also have pictured a shadowbox i made called Pink Salt Composition #1, which I am donating to a fundraiser on campus for V-week.

ok, i must get ready to leave and do my errands. can't wait to face the blinding white snow out there. ugh.

comfort food on a snowy day

2007-01-14T20:24:00.000-08:00

two blogs in one day. wow, you know i've got time on my hands. here's another recipe i invented today, this one doesn't have anything to do with the article i'm writing, it was just something to make for supper.

Italian Turkey Meatloaf

1 lb ground turkey
half of a zucchini, diced fine
half of an onion, diced fine
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 t fresh rosemary, minced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 t italian seasoning
1/2 cup canned portabella mushrooms, chopped
1/2 cup italian bread crumbs
pizza sauce that comes in a squeeze bottle
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

preheat oven to 400 F. line a baking sheet with foil and spray with non-stick spray. mix all ingredients except pizza sauce and mozzarella in a bowl with hands. form into an oval shape on the pan. squirt pizza sauce over top in zig-zag stripes. use a spoon to spread it out in a thin layer. bake for 50 minutes. remove from oven, top with cheese, and bake for 10 minutes more, or until cheese is melted.

i had this with some instant mashed potatoes for a half home-made, half convienience comfort food sunday dinner. can't beat it!

food processing and art processing

2007-01-14T13:49:00.000-08:00

i'm spending my sunday in one of the best possible ways. making food and art. (and doing laundry, but that's not too exciting.) i started making my prints for the print exchange i am involved in. it's due pretty soon, and like always i have procrastinated. but, that's ok, i like working under pressure. so far i only have the backgrounds done, watercolor monoprints. here's a few, so far. there will be more to come. as soon i finish them completely, i'll post one.

i bought myself two luxury items this week, since i didn't have too many bills to pay with this week's paycheck. the first was a food processor, which i have been wanting forever. I miss the one i used at montage and i know how versatile and necessary it can be for a cook, especially for pestos and salad dressings. i utilized it in the recipe i made below. i also found a great deal last night at tj maxx- a wusthof classic 8" cook's knife for $29.99. I compared the price at bed bath and beyond and it was $95.99 there, and $129.00 online. i am extremely happy. the chef's knife i had before was a piece of crap, it was so dull. chopping my onion and cilantro today was very exciting. ok, ok, i may be a cooking nerd, but at least i know that shannon understands. :)

here's another gluten-free recipe i made up today for the digsmagazine article i'm writing. i made something very close to this when i was working at masterpiece, developing new menu items. i used it as a filling for a quesadilla, with monterrey jack cheese. I have some multigrain tortillas that are so not gluten free, but are delicious. maybe that will be my lunch at work tomorrow. yum!

Cilantro Black Bean Dip

1 15.25 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 bunch cilantro, chopped (approx 1 cup)
(reserve about a tablespoon of cilantro for garnish)
1 bulb of garlic, roasted (*see instructions below)
2/3 c chopped onion
1 1/2 t cumin
1/4 t salt
1/4 t pepper
2 T lime juice
1 T olive oil

* to roast garlic: preheat oven to 350 F. cut top off of bulb of garlic, exposing the tops of the individual cloves. set on a piece of foil, drizzle with olive oil, and wrap it up. bake for 45 minutes. Let cool, then squeeze the garlic from each clove, discarding the papery skins.

combine all ingredients except for olive oil in the food processor. pulse til combined. with food processor on low speed, drizzle in the olive oil as it runs. transfer dip to a serving bowl and garnish with chopped cilantro. serve with tortilla chips. makes about 2 cups worth.

i found a list of gluten free products on the frito lay website. my favorites, the tostitos gold bite size chips are on the list. go corn!

sunday soup

2007-01-07T20:48:00.000-08:00

I invented this today and it turned out really good. Really flavorful without being too spicy. And it looks pretty when blended up, with all those little zucchini skin flecks. You know how they say to be healthy, eat all the colors of the rainbow? This recipes covers orange, yellow and green veggies all in one! Using the immersion blender gives it really great texture without adding any extra fat or flour to thicken, so this is actually gluten-free as well.

Spicy Squash Soup
(makes 3 servings)

12 oz pkg frozen winter squash (I used Bird's Eye)
1- 14 oz can of chicken broth
2 medium zucchini, chopped
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
4 fat cloves of garlic, minced
2 T butter
1 T olive oil
1 t chili powder
1/2 t cumin
1/2 t paprika
1/2 t oregano
1 t salt
2/3 c milk (I used 1%)
(I also added 1 T of this southwest spice blend my friend Suzanne gave me, but I have no idea what brand it is, but taco seasoning or another SW blend would work as well.)

Defrost squash in the microwave. Melt butter and olive oil in a large saucepan on medium heat. Add onions and cook til lightly golden, about 7 minutes. Add zucchini and spices and cook 5 more minutes. Add garlic, cook 2 minutes longer. Add squash, and gradually stir in chicken stock. Bring to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes until zucchini is soft. Ladle into a blender or use an immersion blender to puree. Pour back into pan, whisk in milk and heat through. Yum!

In my effort to start eating healthier, I will be creating some new recipes. I'm trying to get back into cooking more so I can take healthier lunches to work. When I get my food processor next week, I have big plans for garlic rosemary white bean dip, and this fiery indian carrot dip I read about in a magazine. Stay tuned for more recipes!

love, sweet love

2007-01-05T22:44:00.000-08:00

i'd like to announce to the world that its official. i am in love. take a look at the object of my desire. we just met, and i immediately took them home. they fit all the criteria: first and foremost, hot pink, patent, peep-toe and wedges! ahhh, i love them so much i may write a poem about them at work tomorrow!

New Year's Resolution (300DPI )

2007-01-01T22:47:00.000-08:00

see, that was a lame photoshop joke. i'm such a nerd.

so, now that in 2006, i successfully
a.) paid down some of my credit cards and refrained from using them- very much (check)
b.) moved in with, then moved out of my sister's house after 11 months (check)
c.) finally quit my fake, part time job that started fun but slowly drove me insane and got a real, full time, fully insured job that is only slightly driving me insane (check)
and
d.) moved into my new apartment that finally has enough room for me to stay organized in complete with art studio/office (check)

now i have some new things to check off my list for 2007.
ok, here is my list of new year's resolutions:

1. eat healthier. no more frozen dinners, more fruits and veggies. no more pop, more green tea and water. take the time to make my own lunch rather than rely on something frozen.
2. take walks in the sunshine. with my second shift schedule i miss most of the day. i need to soak up some sun.
3. be religious about taking my vitamins. no wait, being religious about it would mean taking it once a year. ok, take a vitamin everytime i watch law and order. no that would result in a major overdose. ok, find a happy medium and take one vitamin every day.
4. develop some new friendships. i'm feeling kind of isolated from my old gang lately. i don't expect to see everyone more, because we are all busy. i need more people to see ocasionally, i guess, so it averages out better.
5. start going to bed earlier so that i can get up earlier to achieve goal #2.
6. actually begin work on illustrating bonnie's books.
7. be more proactive about furthering my art "career" ok, putting it in quotes denotes a bad attitude right off the bat, i realize. i just know it will not happen within 2007 that i will be able to quit my job to live solely on artistic proceeds. i'm not setting too lofty of goals, just maybe get a website going so i can start submitting samples of my stuff to magazines. i also need to follow up on leads (i'm using work sales terms here!) to self promote and sell my work where i can.
8. be better about updating my blog more frequently.

i'm sure there's more, but i just took my vitamin and i have to go to bed, so i can get up early and take a walk. but see the sacrifice i make to stay up and update my blog! :P

giving thanks

2006-11-27T21:01:00.000-08:00

things i am thankful for:

financial:
having a full time with benefits job
not putting off a doctor's appointment because i can't pay for it
being able to make enough money that i can buy a present for the adopt a family at work
paying all my credit card bills a month in advance
being able to move into my new two bedroom apartment on my own
affording the luxury of a space strictly for artmaking/creativity
being able to plan and host a party, after nearly a year of not entertaining!

personal:
knowing that when i see my friends, even the ones i see only a couple of times a year, it will be like old times
having a small, strong network of real friends
having family that loves me enough to help me through my tough times
having the social graces that my mother instilled in me, even when other people are rude to me
being single with no kids
having a sister that (for the most part) gets me
annoying yet endearing cat love

long time no blog

2006-11-13T21:52:00.000-08:00

what a naughty blogger am i, not writing for over a month. i have been busy at work lately. yes, i've gone corporate. nah, not really. i've just been working a lot of overtime, trying to make some extra money to help pay for some of my upcoming moving costs. yay! i finally found a really nice place on the west side, it is a huge two bedroom. i am so excited because i will have my very own, large, sunny art studio room! i can emerge from my current dark, cold, cat-box stinky studio and make even more art. here is a picture of a comission i got recently while i had samples of my work up at an arts and crafts show. this is the first child i've drawn in my series of people portraits. i think she turned out pretty good. i hope she likes it, her grandma ordered it as a christmas present.

speaking of christmas, i am getting excited to move because i can't wait to have a party! with my upcoming 26th birthday and xmas approaching, i would like to host my second annual holiday extravaganza. i need the motivation to get unpacked and decorated right away. i've been ordering all kinds of fun stuff online lately, like curtains and bath mats. who hoo! i am truly an adult when that stuff makes me giddily tear open the boxes i recieve in the mail. i'm trying to make this place look rather adult, and elimate any traces of college dorm life. so even though i don't have that much money, it just means more beige, less non matching patterns. like buying matching slipcovers to unify my hodgepodge of love seats. and putting a table cloth on my table. what a concept! i am mostly just excited because i am getting a nice big tall, queen sized bed for the first time. i've been sleeping on a twin matress on the floor for too long, like a refugee or an urban outfitters catalog model. wel the time has come for the concept of a box spring to be more than just a dream. :)

this might sound stupid, but having my little holiday thing is very important to me. my family doesnt celebrate holidays, so i don't get to have that "going home for christmas" feeling that everyone supposedly has. not that if my mom was alive we would do that, since she was the reason we don't, but maybe because i don't have my own mom anymore, i kind of want to be that role for my friends. i'm not saying i want to be anyone's mom. i just want to have the place where everyone gathers and comes home to. it makes me feel good to have everyone around where i can take care of them. like bake them stuff and give them presents. yes, i am destined to be a mom, there's no way around that one.

2006-10-06T23:39:00.000-07:00

busy bee

2006-09-27T08:11:00.000-07:00

hey, it's been awhile. i've been pretty busy settling in to my new job, and things are going really well there. i won a prize at work yesterday in a leads contest. I didn't do much, but i got a prize anyway, so i won't complain. hey, it was a $10 Target gift card! and a little stuffed animal monkey! i have been recruited to make some artwork for the job as well. they have an annual customer service celebration week, and need decorations, so i made a couple of crazy posters for the "Carnival of the Stars" theme. here they are. That was kind of fun, and it looks good on my work record as volunteering to do a little extra. You know me, i'm a natural teacher's/boss's pet. :P

andy and leah's wedding is quickly approaching this coming saturday. I am in charge of making the wedding favors, a mix cd for all the guests. luckily, their wedding is fairly small, and i only have to make 60 of them. But, with this whole full time job thing cramping my style, i just designed and printed all of the labels and hired ben to actually burn the cds for me. they look really good though, i am proud, hopefully all the wedding guests like it. and hopefully the weather is nice on saturday. it's a tricky time of year. it was nice when i went out for a walk this morning, but i ended up getting rained on before i got home. i am helping with the set up and decorating on friday as well, so hopefully all goes well and nothing gets rained on overnight. but at least there is a big tent.

i'll write again after i have some wedding pictures.

introducing for the first time....

2006-09-11T20:07:00.000-07:00

pharoah on the microphone! i love you if you now have the new pornographers stuck in your head for the rest of the day. :)

i just wanted to show off pics of my new nephew robby. he's quite adorable and i had to share. also, here's a close up of my missy portrait that i have been keeping in hiding so she wouldn't see it.

weekend fantastico

2006-09-11T19:19:00.000-07:00

my weekend was awesome. on saturday, at artapalooza, i had a great time. here are some pics of my booth and me and laura. i got tons of positive feedback from people about my art, i sold way more than i expected to and still felt like i had a lot of my favorite stuff left over. i am so glad that i focused a lot of my energy on making smaller, cheap stuff like greeting cards and earrings, because that is where i made the majority of my profits.

i hadn't realized what a creative toll my new corporate office job was taking on me until i spent the day in an artsy environment, and i was revitalized! i was especially excited because not only did i get to meet some cool new artists like xanthe walker, yayoi teramoto and patrick moreland, i also got to see some of my favorite people that i havent seen in a while, like missy (who loved her painting and now that the surprise is over, i can publish it on my blog!) and brenda finn, who i seriously have not seen for about four years. so that was awesome. i bought a painting from xanthe and did art trades with both patrick moreland and amy meehan, trading greeting cards and jewelry for ceramics. scoring new art for free is one of the best benefits of being an artist, i think. it really made me miss my old print exchanges at uni.

oh, and i had a celebrity sighting at artapalooza too. laura and i saw a guy walking down the street past us and she said, hey, doesnt that look just like ty pennington from extreme makeover? i agreed, it looked just like him but i thought he was taller than that. but, yes, it really was him. after we lost him in the crowd (of course) then we heard that he and the extreme makeover: home edition people are in the area for their show. and we missed our chance to get his autograph! libby, if you are reading this, i'm sorry we let you down. :)

after artapalooza, ben, brenda h., nathan, laura, amy and tony and brenda f. went to los cabos for dinner and margaritas. i had a zucchini quesadilla and a mango margarita. yum-a-licious! then brenda h. nathan, laura and i went to see little miss sunshine. that movie was so great. it made me feel like i did when i saw american beauty or garden state, that appreciation for life, with all the warm-fuzziness minus the crying.

sunday it rained all day, to make up for threatening to rain but holding off all day saturday. for which i am extremely grateful. it was weird on saturday because it was so cold and windy and gray outside after being sunny and 86 the day before. but, i embrace fall. i was pretty excited to get out my sweaters and tights today. hopefully our fall will be sunny and pretty and not just gray and gloomy. i'm kind of in the mood to go take a walk in hartman reserve as soon as the leaves start changing colors.

well, now i can say i am crafted out for a while. i will be putting the remainder of my small things (cards and earrings/necklaces) in my friend sally's annual fall craft show. maybe i can make a little more there. i am kind of bummed because i missed the deadline to enter the cattle congress art show this year, i was too caught up in artapalooza preparations i forgot about entering. oh, well. i guess i should give someone else a chance since i kept winning cash prizes the past couple of years. at least i don't deperately need it to pay my utility bill like i used my prize money for last year. :)

ok, that's all for now, i'm off to snuggle up with a cat and watch some law and order, my favorite guilty pleasure of late.

George's Cookies 12x12 Acrylic on MDF board

2006-09-07T06:07:00.000-07:00

hair apparent

2006-08-22T11:40:00.000-07:00

um, i didn't cut my hair. everyone thinks i did because of the pic i posted of george the other day, but it is an old photo. 2 years old, actually. i was just looking for a really cute one of him. i guess i should not have told anyone so that when you see me with long hair i could pretend that i got extensions. oh, well.

i'm bummed out today for no reason. i suppose it's just the looming august 23rd anniversary. plus i'm broke, and need art materials that i have to wait to buy for another 9 days. i need to get as much done as fast as possible for this art show, so that's frustrating. i might focus my energy on getting rid of some of my stuff and organizing my crap instead and take a couple of days off from the art-making. hopefully with the new job on the horizon, this will be one of the last of my broke periods. i need to enjoy it. how is that possible? relish the simple things in life, i guess. my favorite things are cheap, so that's lucky. like a peanut butter and marshmallow fluff toastwich. mmmmm. see i already feel better. :)

changes a brewin'

2006-08-20T22:21:00.000-07:00

so, first things first. george is going to be ok. at the time of my last post, i was freaking out because i thought that he was going to die. he is getting pretty old and does have a tumor on his butt, so i wasn't just being paranoid. we had quite a scare last weekend because he seemed to be doing really badly- not eating, hardly walking and just generally lethargic and not his usual peppy self. but, after we took him to the vet, it turned out that he had an infection of some sort and had a high fever of 104.4 and as a result, wasn't eating, so he got really weak. he got some antibiotic pills and seems to be back to his old self now, and i am so relieved.

on the job front, i am also relieved to say that i have finally found a new one! it is kind of ironic because i ended up getting a job at the place that i originally applied for first, five months ago. so after my long and frustrating search, i guess the timing just worked out that they were hiring again right when i reached the end of my rope. anyway, it will be good, because it is a full time position, customer service type thing, helping people over the phone, and although i don't think it will the most exciting job ever, it is a good paying one ($2.42 an hour more than i was making before anyway, with twice as many hours). and i don't have to be on my feet all day, so i should still have plenty of energy after work for my art. i am pumped to have a cubicle of my very own, as well. :) mostly i am just excited at the prospect of moving out in a couple of months and having that privacy and independence again. i can't wait to have a fall dinner party! i am thinking of making a smoked mozzarella mac and cheese for a comfort food party. yum.

as for the art making, i am kicking butt left and right. i finished my painting of missy and it is really cool, i am quite pleased with myself! i spent the weekend going to charles city with becky to check out the art-a-fest they had in their town square park and got some ideas for my booth setup. i also picked up all of my stuff from the house on the hill. i had forgotten how much i even had there! it made me feel like i already have more done than i thought i did. i spent today focused on making a lot of greeting cards and arranging my display of ceramic necklaces. this is my last week at montage, my last day is thursday, so this week i really need to take advantage of my part time hours to get a lot done. i am kind of sad to be leaving the 'tage, it was a fun job, and with one exception, i really liked everyone there. i fear my new job may be boring because there probably will not be a lot of interaction between coworkers. but, hey, i really don't think that anything can be as fun as the ridiculous conversations, arguments and laugh-fests that have taken place in the basement kitchen!

here's a photo of a couple of my latest paintings and one of some koi in a pond in front of nicole's house. the glittery deer is called The Grass Is Always Glitter on the Other Side of the Fence and the giraffe one is called Giraffiti. I really want to post the painting of missy, but i have to wait because i want it to be a surprise for her at artapalooza. alas. but when i get other things done, i promise to post more soon! p.s. did you know that if you click on the photos i post in my blog, you can see them in a new window and there you can click to see them even more enlarged? if you want to see more details on the artwork, it's pretty handy!

best. dog. ever.

2006-08-14T23:05:00.000-07:00

that's all i can say about my george today.

it's true.

2006-08-07T22:58:00.000-07:00

this is the birthday card i made for shannon. needless to say, she loved it.

august sucks

2006-08-01T11:59:00.000-07:00

now that it's august, i will be thinking about my mom a lot. today is her birthday. she would have been 61. only 22 more days until the 2 year anniversary of her death. it doesn't seem that long ago, yet a lifetime ago. i need to keep myself busy with artmaking so i don't get mopey.

flirtatious bunny

2006-07-28T00:26:00.000-07:00

i bought this little flirt at goodwill the other day. it really looks like something straight out of my favorite book, Happy Kitty Bunny Pony. so i had to take his picture outside in the grass. new greeting card design!

p.s. you stuff his butt full of cotton balls, and then you can pull out the one poking out to use. functional!

newest work

2006-07-27T23:29:00.000-07:00

first of all, big news. i got accepted into the artapalooza art fair in september! yay! and so did joe! so i am excited to have a chance to sell/show my work to the public. hopefully everyone in cedar falls comes and buys it all. shannon is sharing my booth with me, so she is sending a bunch of crafty goodness from las vegas, and i will display it all with my stuff. I am relieved she offered to do that, because I just didn't know if i would have enough stuff to fill a whole booth myself. I am making a bunch of mixed media collagey painting things, as well as my handmade paper dress cards, photo greeting cards, monster photos, my animal painted portraits and people line-drawing portraits. I am hoping to show some and get people to order them of their own families or pets. i might also be doing some jewelry too, but i'm not sure yet. i saw some really cool necklaces made of buttons online that i may recreate. and i might get all of my unsold stuff from nicole's shop as well, to fill in any empty gaps at my booth.

here are photos of some of my latest work. i've got a line drawing of matt. i will be showing a bunch of these all on different kinds of background papers. then my favorite piece, the framed bird collage. it's hard to see, but it is made of paint samples, a drawn-on computer print and a bunch of label maker words. it says "chirp, cheep, chirp, cheep" all the way up. these canvas banners are something new i am trying. i have colored staples, so i'm folding over the edges of unstretched canvas and "sewing" it with the staples. on these, i'm doing a combo of painting and collage materials. i am pretty happy with my shorthand egg with silver nest. my uncle greg cleaned out his basement and gave me a ton of cool stuff like bookbinding materials and stained glass supplies. my favorite score so far is the two different sizes of bone folders, which i used on this bird's nest. how could i live without a bone folder in my life?! i have no idea. they work great for really pushing my foil tape to the canvas to pick up that texture. plus that foil tape will give me papercuts if i'm not paying attention, so the bone folder's saving me. he also gave me some nice big frames, which i am giving a makeover. this one with the bird collage in it was dark wood with an olive green mat. it had a really terrible print of some pheasants in it. i painted the frame and the mat and it looks much better now. he gave me a really nice mat cutter and tons of mat board, but i don't really know what i'm doing, so painting it was way easier.

the other pic is one of my dress cards. i made this one and took photos for a step by step tutorial to prepare a proposal to submit to Adorn magazine. i was listening to the craftsanity podcast interview with linda permann, the art director there, and she said they are looking for people to submit project ideas, and it pays anywhere from $150-$500 dollars. so i am all over that! it was surprisingly fun to make a tutorial in photoshop, but it took a long time. i have new respect for all of the people on craftster.org that do it all the time. if i don't get into the magazine, i will post the tutorial i made on here.

i am trying to make art in all of my free time, because this show is really not that far away, just about a month and a half! it's nice being at my sister's house, because i've got my room in the basement all set up as a studio, so i don't have to try to make art in my bedroom. it's pretty nice having a studio. it will be the one thing i will be sad about leaving her house for when i move out. which is hopefully soon. I have yet another job interview tomorrow, hopefully the 15th time's the charm.

angela sent me this great monkey picture today and i love it, so its my new computer desktop photo. thought i'd share. i believe it is from a zoo in washington, D.C. this monkey is laaaaaazy. and his hair is crimped. i've named him kinkyfur. i saw a pillow at target that looked just like him, but it came in orange and lime green. hmm, i can't seem to load his photo. you'll just have to trust me, he's awesome.

speaking of target, i got the lamp i had a crush on forever for 75% off. my dad was trying to discourage me from buying it, he said it was a waste of my money, since he knows i'm always broke. so when i insisted on buying it, he said he wouldn't let me and bought it for me. i love my dad. i don't understand his logic, but i will go along with it. :)

i've been pretty social lately. i hung out with brenda 3 times in 2 weeks, and that is definately a record for us. ben, brenda, nathan and i went out to rudy's last friday night, and we tried to go to the open mic at the WCA, but it was done by the time we got there. alas. so ben went home, but nathan, brenda and i ended up going to toad's to meet up with her sister, her sister's new boyfriend and some of her friends. it was fun. i have gone to toad's before and met people i didn't know, like random apac people of ben's but this was way funner. karen's friends were really friendly and super funny, so it was a good time.

this is a super long blog, and i am starting to ramble. plus it's 2 am. bedtime for bozos, as my dad used to say when i was little.

three wishes

2006-07-20T20:15:00.000-07:00

here's a photo of my latest mixed media piece. it is 12x16 inches on canvas board. not as cool as the kitchen goddess, but wacky nonetheless. i got some pretty good frames today at goodwill that will make good borders for my next couple of projects. they are kind of shadowboxy, and one even has a little drawer in it to hide secret tiny things. ooh, the possibilities!

kitchen goddess

2006-07-19T16:35:00.000-07:00

this is the title of my newest piece. i decided to take a small break from the pet portraits, because i was having glitter withdrawal. i've been having a hard time coming up with ideas, and nothing is more intimidating than a plain white canvas. so, i've been studying up on a lot of techniques for covering space as a starting point. i have found some books about making altered books to be really helpful. anyway, Kitchen Goddess, my latest piece shown here started out as a birthday card for shannon and evolved into something more spectacular. so now it is her birthday present. which is tomorrow and it definately will not make it to las vegas by then. she knows the score with me, i'm usually dead broke, so luxury expenses like package mailings usually have to wait. :( alas.

i got my reject letter from the education coordinator job i had applied for today. i was definately not surprised. i wasn't even going to apply for that job in the first place because i knew i wasn't qualified, and i was extremely surprised to make it to the second round of interviews. it was pretty obvious in the interview that the woman who currently had the job i was applying for did not think i was qualified at all. i guess i can just chalk it up to experience having more scary group interviews under my belt now. not that anything will ever be worse than the one at the graphic design firm! a boardroom full of unfriendly men staring at me like i'm an idiot. it was funny after the fact. but at the time, yikes.

so i've been searching for a job for over three months now. i am getting so frustrated, because i am either completely overqualified for a stupid job, or i don't have quite the right experience for a decent job. today i applied for my 45th job in the past 3 months. 45 applications, 14 interviews, something has to come through for me eventually! i am starting to be resigned to the fact that my only option now is a soul-sapping cubicle dweller job in a big faceless company. but, the regular hours and better paychecks will be worth it. the restaurant is just driving me so insane i have to leave soon. or i will be going nuts. i keep listening to the craftsanity podcast show and hearing all these artists talking about quitting their day jobs at simlilar cubicle monkey positions and starting their own websites, writing books, starting craft shows, etc and it gives me hope. but i have to find that stable job before i can afford to give it up to pursue my arsty endeavors. sigh. instead i just make art and remain poor.

pet portraits

2006-07-03T15:25:00.000-07:00

here it is, the second in my pet portrait series. this is zeke, my uncle's dog. and here's the photo i painted from. up next: george!

overhead

2006-06-26T18:17:00.000-07:00

i just want to announce to the world how much i love love love my new overhead projector! yes, it's just like in elementary school! i scored this beauty (not exactly like this picture, but extremely similar) at goodwill for ten bucks. normally 300-500 dollars new! and, it even came with an extra bulb. this is definately up there in my category of best goodwill purchases ever!

love this site!

2006-06-26T17:42:00.000-07:00

i found this website yesterday and i really like it. The artist is Les Toil and he does all kinds of pinup style portraits of curvaceous ladies. i wish i could get one of myself, but alas, i'm too poor. maybe someday! i think it would be awesome to have one of these over my mantle. :)

hey, i was wondering who actually reads this blog. i know a couple of my regular readers, but i was just curious if any of my other friends or strangers look at this with any regularity. i know i've sent out a few emails with the link before, so i guess i just was curious if anyone bookmarked me and checks in. if you're reading this, leave me a comment, just so i know who you are! thanks!

painting-filled weekend

2006-06-24T23:26:00.000-07:00

here is my newest painting called Jasper the Ponytail Holder Thief. He was my inspiration because everyday his mission is to collect all of my stray ponytail holders from around the house and bat them around until they inevitably end up in his food bowl. It's very silly. But, when i need to put my hair up, I know exactly where to look. :)

I am trying to make some work under the gun because I am applying to be in a street art fair in september and i have to have my application in with 4 photos of my work by Monday. i like having deadlines, it reminds me of being in school and i miss it. working under pressure is the only way i ever get anything done, but luckily, i think i usually come up with something good when i really put my mind to it.

i will post whatever else i come up with by tomorrow night!

things are changing

2006-06-04T21:23:00.000-07:00

there hasn't been anything very exciting happening in my life lately. thus the near month long gap between entries. oh, i guess i've been doing some fun things, like being social with friends and family. last weekend i went to two family cookouts and one champagne brunch wedding shower for leah that her coworkers had. i went to see the davinci code with brenda on monday night. and dinner at the olive garden with angela and brenda on wednesday. last night i hung out with nathan and watched aaron and phil play at cup of joe, then we ended up having a drink at the cyprus with jason and patrice.

last night i suddenly became very aware of how everyone's lives are changing. it seems that all at once, everyone i know has moved into a new phase of life. first, i retreated into this financial safety net of living with my sister as my first step toward getting my self more financially stable and work on leaving the restaurant world. so far, despite nine interviews in the past 2 weeks, no job offers yet. But I am not giving up, it has to happen soon. full time hours plus benefits will be mine! argh! i know that it must be near the end of the world because i heard my friend ben actually admit out loud that he is not smarter than everyone else. it seems to be the end of era for him as well, as he joins me in the job search market.

not that this just happened, but angela and laura are both students again, moving on with a part of their lives i can't identify with anymore. the tables have turned and i'm the single one and they are both in relationships now. not that i wish i had that right now, i am honestly glad to not have any man related worries while i focus on my career.

shannon got married on friday night. that's pretty amazing. i never think of her as a real adult since i dont consider myself to be one either! the fact that she's a mom now is surreal enough- now she's a full fledged adult! :) and its also weird to think of andy and leah getting married. the first "real" wedding in our family. by the time their wedding gets here, rob and pam will have a new baby, another first in our family, the beginning of a new generation of meyers! in the two years since my mom died, our family has really changed alot.

nathan and i talked about how its strange to be in the same place where we went to school but most of our old school friends are gone. it makes me feel old. but i value the time i get to spend with my friends, since it is definately few and far between lately. is this what adulthood is? being less social, spending more time on your own after a hard day at work? maybe. maybe its just a sign that i'm boring.

i look forward to the next phase of my life. hopefully soon, it will be the security of a stable job and my next home all to myself. after that's established, maybe i'll consider romance. :)

the office romance

2006-05-11T19:53:00.000-07:00

ok, so yes, i admit i am a total loser for blogging about a fictional romance. but, jim and pam finally kissed on the office tonight after he told her he was in love with her. after two seasons of incredibly frustrating tension, it finally broke! so now we will see how it all plays out next season. it's going to be sucha long summer. grrr. i need to find a jim to look at me wistfully like that. just look at that picture! sigh.

I have named them Lusty and Busty

2006-05-02T21:32:00.000-07:00

Check out these hot bra mannequins i scored outside the mall! i rescued them out of the dumpster with the help of ben and heather. we kept making jokes about how totally stacked they are, and much to my surprise (and delight!) notice how well my bras fit them! i love free stuff!

wedding crafts!

2006-05-02T21:13:00.000-07:00

so my best friend shannon is getting married next month. and i can't afford to go to las vegas for the wedding. :( i'm sad. but, in leiu of my physical presence, my art will be there to represent me. shannon asked me to create a piece of jewelry for her to wear on her big day. since her dress will be a halter, a necklace was out, so we decided on a bracelet. her dress is cream, but i haven't seen the fabric. so, just to be on the safe side, her bracelet is 10 strands of beads, with various shades of white, cream, pearls, and iridescent clear crystals. i'm pretty proud of how it turned out. my usual beading projects are a lot simpler, since i usually just do earrings. anyway, here's the pics!

a quickie

2006-04-24T21:33:00.000-07:00

i'm tired so i'll make this quick. here's what's going on with me:

* i got a cell phone, finally. i hate to admit it, but i feel slightly cooler now. it's just a prepaid one that ben gave me, but that's all i need. i couldn't really justify paying the money for a regular one when i don't think i'd use it all that much. and i didn't want to get rid of my home sweet vonage account. i think i've used approximately 12 out of my 300 minutes so far. whee-hoo!

* i have a job interview tomorrow, finally after posting my resume on monster last night. that was quick work, go monster! hopefully it goes well!

* i'm entertaining the idea of possibly becoming future roommates with a guy i used to date. so i'm taking a poll- is that a disasterous idea? depends on which ex it is, right? well, i assure you, it's not the crazy one. on the one hand, i trust him to not be psycho or irresponsible. on the other hand, we're friends now, will we end up hating eachother? i don't want that. hmm, any and all opinions are welcome. i'll probably be telling the full story (ie my list of pros and cons) to my panel. that means you, shannon, angela and suzanne. :)

ok, i am sleepy, but i have to stay up now and watch conan because i just saw in the opening credits that both philip seymore hoffman and john krasinski are on there! that's almost as good as the time i saw SNL with kevin spacey and beck. wowza! i think i am going to have a stroke due to being overcome by my crushes on them both. sigh.

give me my money back, you bitch.

2006-04-19T16:38:00.000-07:00

don't you just love ben folds? from the title of this post, you'd think i was going to talk about my old roommate, melissa. but, no, this is the breakup episode.

mike and i are O-V-E-R. we have officially stealthily dropped off eachother's things at the other's kitchen door, and the decree has been made via email. it's a relief to be done. you know that a relationship is not worth it when you spend more time discussing with your friends if you should dump him than actually going out on dates with the guy. every time a relationship ends (and there have been many times, now) i always review my list of boyfriend criteria and refine it a little, adding whatever i learned this time around. since this is the master list, it's a compilation of all my past problems, not just the most recent guy. it would be unfair if you thought all of these things were in one guy. he's not that big of a loser. here we go:

RULES FOR DATING ME

1. please don't be psycho. i had a schitzophrenic once, and it wasn't pretty. i must not be lured in by gorgeous eyes and put my blinders on to crazy behavior, due to hottness. before you say hurtful things or send crazy emails, do me a favor and hit the road.

2. please do not be a slob with your appearance. now, i know that no one is perfect, but could you try, just a little bit? i don't want to be embarassed by your horrible outfits. unless you are jogging through the neighborhood, sweatpants in public are never acceptable. ever.

3. be decent in bed. don't let your fucked up past ruin your relationship with me. everyone has had bad experiences, but we all get over it. as for size, if you're not blessed naturally, at least make up for it with genuine enthusiasm and a real desire to learn new things. if you receive a mind blowing orgasm from me, you'd better damn well get to work on reciprocation, buddy.

4. don't be stupid. i once had a guy that was great in bed, but ultimately, the afterglow was clouded by his incessant jabbering on about things of which he had no real knowledge, he just thought that his opinion was fact. when i dared to point out faulty logic and/or argue a point that i had learned for fact, he was highly offended. clearly, his penis made him smarter than me! how dare me and my stupid vagina know something he doesn't! i had to explain to him (in a slow and loud voice) that he was here strictly for sex, not conversation. i'm not quite sure what ever happened to him, perhaps he's running for office somewhere.

5. you must have a sense of humor that clicks with mine. if you must pun, they must actually be witty. don't be obsessed with south park. don't talk in other voices all the time. basically, grow up and stop being an idiot. i want to laugh with you, not at you.

6. have a decent job. be ambitious. do something about your life if you don't like where it's at right now. that doesn't mean you have to be rich. just don't ask me for gas money all the time. take me out to dinner once in awhile. and don't make me embarassed by having to tell my family you just got fired, again.

7. show an interest in me. ask me questions. actually remember things about me later, for reference when you might need to buy me something. take part in the conversation. give me sexual attention. make it known to me that you actually want me as a lover, not as your mother. passive isn't sexy.

8. you need to appreciate that i'm awesome. let's face it, if you take my coolness for granted, i will leave you. i am: smart, funny, sexy, artsy, have great friends, can cook you an amazing meal while playing you the ultimate mix cd i made, and, don't forget, i am fantastic in bed. i'm not: whiny, high maintaince, mean, annoying, clingy, a gold digger, or frigid. if you think you can get all of the good traits without any of the bad traits in anyone as cool as me, you are dead wrong, mister. well, maybe in my girl friends, but they are waaaay too good for you.

if anyone can find a guy that can face this list and not hang his head in shame, send him my way. god knows yahoo personals isn't working out for me.

just fine and dandy, thank you.

2006-04-16T09:08:00.000-07:00

well, it's a safe bet that mike and i are through. considering he hasn't called me for three weeks. ugh. i don't really mind, since i knew from the start that he wouldn't be able to give me what i needed from a guy. but i think i gave it a fair chance. i'm usually the one with my guard up, ready to split at a moment's notice, but this time, since i thought i would be more patient, he beat me to the leaving part. alas. i've gotten good support from my friends- you know how it always makes you feel better to hear your friends call him an asshole even you think he's not really? supportive friend hate is awesome. i got some physical comfort from evans yesterday, too. mmm, afternoon delight. its been quite awhile since i got some good lovin, so i needed it. :)

i am still on the job hunt for a better paying, more reliably scheduled job. i have some good leads, so hopefully something will pan out soon. i am really excited though, because a friend of mine wrote a children's book and she asked me to illustrate it for her! it's just the break i needed to really get into the illustration business finally. it's been over two years since i graduated and this will be the first fine art-related job i will have done. it will feel so good to see a book with my name on it some day! i don't have all the details yet, but hopefully i will talk more with her this week and show her my portfolio to decide what style the book will be. whoo-hoo!

other than that- i'm looking forward to a delicious ham dinner at my dad's house tonight. i have to write my first draft of the vegetarian appetizer recipes article i'm writing for digsmagazine.com, i am to turn it in tomorrow, oops, i procrastinated. i've been doing more reading- i finished the lovely bones by alice sebold in a couple of days this week. it has been so nice out this week, it really went from winter to summer immediately, that i enjoyed painting my toenails "electric strawberry" and reading in the sunshine outside. i had forgotten how nice it is to have time to read. i've been on quite the kick so far this spring, so hopefully i will be able to continue with some more in my free time. up next: little children by tom perrotta (author of election). gotta love the 50 cent books at st. vincent de paul!

fan mail!

2006-04-08T15:45:00.000-07:00

i'm used to getting fan mail occasionally for the stuff i have published on literotica, but this was the first letter i got for an article i wrote for digs magazine. a funny coincidence since i just started working on my second article for them. here's my email from an english teenager:

Dear Emily

It's my 17th birthday in Summer and i was looking on the net for ideas to help with the Bollywood theme i was planning to have! i came accross your site! it was so helpful. The way you had presented your suggestions through the senses was a great idea! it gave me ideas i would never have thought have! So i just wanted to email you saying thank you very much, the information was very helpful and good luck in the future. I can't wait to organise the party now!

Take care! Thanks again!

Luv Farah! xxx

that totally made my day!

end of my concert streak

2006-03-27T21:57:00.000-08:00

so, it's nearing the end of march, and my streak of concerts is finally over tonight. last wednesday, i went with nathan to the val air ballroom in west des moines to see wilco. it was amazing. of the three major concerts i've been to this month, it was definately my favorite. ben folds was fun, belle and sebastian was peppy, but wilco rocked me. hard. it was the final date of their tour, so it was crew appreciation night, so that meant that their last set was all crew favorites. they had two encores, and by the final song, (after standing for about 4 hours in one place and getting hot and sweaty stuck behind a guy in polar fleece, enduring the loud volume and the flashing lights- not that i'm complaining, it was sweet agony) when i heard what they did, i think my brain melted a little. with pleasure. their last song was a cover of the blue oyster cult's dont fear the reaper. that was too great for me to handle at the moment. so i just kept happily snapping away with my digital camera. so here's the best shot i got of the night, it was hard to tell which settings on my camera were going to work best, so i switched it up and took a lot. we were lucky that we got so close, only about 8 or 9 people deep from the front row! i am so glad that i got my tax refund in the nick of time to get those wilco tickets! it was my last hurrah before i settle back into being poor and boring.

well, not completely boring. tonight beck and i went to the GBPAC on campus to see plena libre, a musical group from puerto rico. here's a pic from their website. they were cool, but how could they possibly compare to all the amazing stuff i have seen this month? sorry guys.

yesterday i got a new toy. no, not that kind. i wish. i got myself an ipod shuffle. my excuse for buying it for myself is so i can lend it to andy and leah for their wedding, so they don't have to hire a DJ. it took me a while to get the hang of it, but it's smooth sailing now. i love how light it is, i wear it on its little necklace and i can't even feel it. i'm not sure how i feel about the tiny little earbuds though, they seem to fall out of my ears easily. anyway, it is a very small step toward catching up tech-wise. slowly but surely, i'll get there, eventually. that's my motto for just about everything right now.

this is the recipe for happiness

2006-03-22T11:11:00.000-08:00

one box bow tie pasta
one small bag sugar snap pea pods
one chunk of smoked salmon 3-4 oz. (flaked)
1 t. dried dill
3 small cloves of garlic, minced
3/4 c. sour cream
1 T. lemon juice
1/4 c. lemon yogurt
2 T. chopped capers
a wee bit of salt and fresh ground pepper

cook pasta, throw in the peas for the last 3 minutes, drain.
stir together everything else, toss with the pasta and peas.
oh man, bliss...

separated at birth

2006-03-19T23:12:00.000-08:00

ok, so there's a six year age difference, maybe not. here is a pic of me and my new friend suzanne. it was taken after we saw belle and sebastian in concert on march 12th, in minneapolis. (see other entry below.)anyway, i think if it would ever be to our benefit to pretend to be sisters, we would not have a hard time convincing anyone!

today's reading...

2006-03-19T20:08:00.000-08:00

i just saw an interesting tidbit on the ten o'clock news. it was reported that people who are religious are more likely to be overweight. is it the lack of calorie burning sex? or just not as much vice and too much sitting in pews? it really doesn't explain me then!

i'm reading a couple of books simultaneously. i was feeling in danger of becoming stupid the further i get from my college graduation. it's just that my life seems to be on autopilot right now, and i don't have to excercise my brain too hard. in an effort to combat that, i'm trying to do some reading to knead my gray matter a little.

i just finished the dogs of babel, by carolyn parkhurst. it is a really beautiful book about how one copes with loss, and the desperate search for meaning through the careful review of memories. it's a mystery, but i didn't find the outcome much of a surprise. i don't think that's really the point, it is more about the journey to answer than the answer itself.

i am in the middle of the delta of venus, by anais nin right now. i had always heard that henry miller and anais nin were excellent writers of sexy subject matter, but this collection of erotica is pretty disappointing. have i become a little too accustomed to literotica and letters to penthouse? maybe. in the forward, it mentions the fact that the patron who was purchasing this material from nin specifically requested that she, "leave out the poetry" and just stick to the down and dirty. i don't think she was all that successful, which according to the unknown author of the comments inside the book jacket, that was a fortunate thing for today's readers. yet, i find that because the stories are often rambling, switching between characters that seem unimportant, serves to remind me that nin was paid by the page by her patron. if only she had courier new 12 point double spaced font, my favorite cheating technique to extend all of my old college papers in length. how much more she could have made!

the last of my current reading is i am charlotte simmons, by tom wolfe. wolfe thanks his college aged (grand?)children in the preface for their help in his seemingly current language of the modern day college student. but as a fairly recent graduate, it is so obvious to me that this book was written by a seventy five year old man! for the most part, i find the subject matter interesting, the story goes back and forth between a few different college students, an extremely innocent small town freshman girl, a senior frat boy, a hot shot backetball player, and an intelligent yet pushed around joe average, manipulated by the atheletes and struggling to earn money and respect on campus. so far, although it's hard to understand how an 18 year old girl can be so very innocent, there are parts of charlotte's college experience that i can relate to. the skanky roommate that immediately makes it known she's better than you, and has complete disregard for your privacy or space; the realization that the majority of students are not as intelligent as the entrance requirements to college make them out to be, the struggle to appear to fit in, despite not knowing a soul. it's lonely, being a freshman! easpecially a freshman girl, when other girls are on high guard against potential opponents in the fight for male attention.

the thing that bothers me about wolfe's writing is that i never truly believe that college aged people are going to word their thoughts in the way that he does. it all sounds a little too formal, even the curse-laden slang. i'm only about halfway through the book, so we will see how it all pans out. if anything, whether or not i enjoy these books, at least reading and doing a bit of a review on here is making my brain do a little work. that's all for now, i'm back to the books.

so much fun i can't handle it

2006-03-14T17:49:00.000-08:00

i noticed that other blogs i read include the music that the writer is currently listening to. so i decided to be a copycat. right now i'm listening to colour the small one by sia. i got hooked on her after hearing her amazingly haunting yet inspirational song breathe me as the final scenes of HBO's six feet under flashed forward in time. then, i found her on KCRW's morning becomes eclectic and got to watch an in studio performance and interview. so, finally i got around to actually buying the album today.

so, my past week has been really fun. last wednesday, i got to see ben folds play a show on campus at UNI. mike and i went, and it was really great. mike knew all the older songs he played that i didn't know, and i knew all the newer ones that he didn't know, it was a really rockin show though. our seats were great because we were in the front row of the balcony accross from where ben was playing. it was a small place, so we could see really well, and he was facing us at his piano! so that was fun. that night i met one of my chat buddies i've know in an internet-only capacity for awhile, so now i can say i've met him in person finally.

this past weekend i went to minneapolis with laura and nathan. the real reason for the trip was because we had tickets to see belle and sebastian (with the new pornographers as openers!) on sunday night. but, we decided to go up on saturday morning instead, so that we could go to the mall of america and ikea, and still have time to check out the kiki smith retrospective at the walker on sunday afternoon before the show. it worked out so well, because since we had more time, we got to go over to my new friend suzanne's house for dinner saturday night.

that was so exciting, because suzanne and i have been email and real mail penpals for a few months now, and this was our first meeting. long story, but the only reason i met her online in the first place is a result of a long chain of events starting with me dating jacob a long time ago. so at least now, there was one good thing to come of that relationship! i was actually kind of nervous about meeting her. it was sort of like a blind date of the friend variety. but, as my experience goes, girl friends last a lot longer than relationships with men do, so it was way more of a big deal than a date! :) we really are long lost sisters, i suspect. i loved her apartment, it was warm and cozy with all the shades of red, the artwork up to the ceiling and of course, rhufus the red (naturally)retriever. (who proceeded to hump his doggy bed as our after dinner entertainment. somehow it was charming.) suzanne made us an amazing dinner. we were impressed by the fact that there were actually multiple courses and we ate at a dinner table! geez, am i still in college or what? being at her house made me really antsy to have my own place again, i long to be surrounded by my own version of artsy goodness! sigh. anyway, we had salsa and dips with pita chips, indian tomato soup, and this fantastic tofu in cilantro peanut pesto over coconut rice. three words: de lic ous. we were beat after dinner, from all the day's shopping.

on sunday, we went to the walker, and ate at a really great vietnamese place called Pho 79. i had 2 fresh spring rolls,a curry beef and shrimp noodle bowl, and an iced coffee. it was super tasty and all that for under $14. i was thinking later how stupid it was of me to order a curry before a concert and a four hour car ride home, but luckily for me, my digestive system was up for a challenge. suzanne called a cab to meet us there, and it was raining when we came out of the restaurant, so our plans to taxi it over to the concert worked out really well, since we were able to emerge from our car at the front door of the orpheum theater dry and feeling somewhat important. well, i did anyway. :)the photo here is of suzanne, nathan, me and laura in front of pho 79 after the concert when we took a taxi back to our cars. (ok the photo upload is down, i will edit to add it later.)

the concert was great. i don't know any of the new pornographer's songs except one, but they played it, so i was excited. we had great seats, in row L on the floor, so really pretty close. belle and sebastian were great. the acoustics in the orpheum are superb, so it was a great experience. for the most part, i knew the songs, but there were a few from earlier albums that i don't have. the banter between band members was charming in their scottish accents, and they rocked the house. during the itermission, i helped suzanne out by waiting in the merchandise line to exchange the tshirt she bought for a different size. i was glad to help her out, because with a long distance friendship, how often can you really do anything helpful for your friend? plus, she made me a fluffernut sandwhich for the ride home, therefore she has my loyalty forever.

whoo! i am still a little hoarse from all my cheering at the two concert this week. two down, one to go! i've got a date with wilco coming up on march 22nd. yay! i can hardly wait! jeff tweedy, look out, i am horny.

since i got home from all of my excitement this weekend, i had another two days to recover, thank goodness. i took monday off, since i knew we'd be home late (3 am!) so laura and i slept all day. then i was just lazy the rest of the day. today i didn't have to work, due to lack of stuff to cook. i spent part of my day with mike before he went to work. the last time i saw him was at ben folds almost a week ago, and now i won't see him again until he gets back into town next week. that kind of sucks. he's not very serious about me, so i'm trying to not be too serious about him either. t sucks that it's so hard to find someone that is equally interested in you as you are in them. and they are your type, too. i guess that's asking too much.

anyway, i cooked at home since i couldn't get paid to do it today. i baked some tofu that i marinated in a peanut ginger sesame sauce, which i will use later in the week when i try to recreate the thing suzanne made us. i was telling my sister all about it, so we'll see if i can do it. i also made this dish that is my all time favorite thing that shannon made for me when she lived in ames. it's thai fried rice, with chicken, curry, turmeric, parika, onions, and garlic. it is so yummy, i was proud that i did her recipe justice. i bought a ten pound bag of jasmine rice at nana's today, for that recipe. i love the way that rice smells. well, i've written a lot, to make up for my lack of blogging lately. i'll have more after wilco, i'm sure.

oh, jocks....

2006-03-05T21:38:00.000-08:00

my laugh of the evening:

i am currently watching some post-oscar coverage on E! and i just witnessed venus and serena williams being interviewed. they were talking about some of the winners and said congratulations to "Philip Semen Hoffmore" sigh. i was very happy to see mr. hoffman win, he's been in so many good roles, it was about time he got the recognition he deserves! that's all for tonight.

pretty self explanatory...

2006-02-03T21:14:00.000-08:00

all is well!

2006-01-22T21:52:00.000-08:00

things are starting to go my way, for once. i just got tickets to go to a kick ass concert in march with my friends, i entered a contest that i'm feeling very optimistic about winning, and i even have a new crush (with a possible mid-week date!) on top of that, i'm not paying rent right now, so i'm not completely overwhelmed with bills as i normally am. plus, i'm completely infatuated with all this new music my friend suzanne mailed me. i might even be a workout buddy to my aunt and go do the eliptical machine for free where she works. my winter blahs are quickly dissipating, hooray!

sushi painting

2006-01-15T20:33:00.000-08:00

brush with death!

2006-01-10T12:05:00.000-08:00

um, i almost just died like 20 minutes ago. my dad and i, after our usual tuesday ritual of going out for lunch, went to menards to pick up a cable splitter and a coaxial cable to connect my cable to both my internet and run it to my tv, because when my internet was installed, the cable guy only hooked it up to my computer. anyway, this is why people who don't really know what they are doing should not mess with stuff. we got it figured out, and were just screwing one end of the cable into the splitter. my dad leaned over, and accidentally the splitter touched my brass floor lamp, making a huge zap of blue electricity crackle and we both jumped back. my dad was lucky that he was holding the cable, because it was plastic coated, and when he jumped back, he pulled it away from the lamp. we just looked at eachother wide eyed and freaking out. we unscrewed everything and gave up. the cable guy can do it. i think that we didn't fully realize the danger we were just in until we saw what happened to the lamp and the splitter, as pictured here. yikes.

my dad told me another alarming story from the middle of the night last night. our dog george was rubbing his face on the floor around my dad's bed last night, and somehow got a loose piece of fabric binding from the edge of the blanket got around his neck. being the stupid dog that he is, he continued rubbing around in circles and nearly strangled himself. my dad woke up to some strange gurgling noises, and found george lying on the floor choking. luckily, he was able to get his finger under the supertight noose and cut it off of him in the nick of time. i am so glad that my dad woke up and was home, or george would be a goner today.

i didn't realize how upset i was about all of this until i just typed it and starting crying. what if me, my dad and george all died today? oh my god. we are all so lucky that we're okay. i never thought of myself as a reckless person, it is just too easy to have a freak accident. great, now i'm going to be a paranoid wreck.

back to my roots

2006-01-09T22:46:00.000-08:00

well, it's official. i am now, once again, a resident of east waterloo. it's about time i got grounded, i was worried i might have been slowly morphing into one of those snobby cedar falls people that thinks they are awesome because they have degrees and wear straw hats and listen to brass bands in the park. well in the summer, anyway. the awesomeness is muted by winter and they all have to really strain to project it through the windows of their SUVs. well, i have a degree, but i tend to avoid straw, brass and sport utilities.

things are going ok so far living with my sister. but it's easy to so clearly see how alike and how vastly different two sisters can be, when compared side by side on a daily basis. parts of my personality are stifled being here, just holding my tounge on issues and muffling my vibrator. ah, well, i'll adapt. it's worth it to save money on paying rent each month. so far.

there's not a ton happening in my life currently. i was invited to join my company's IRA account. that all seemed very adult, but i realized it was kind of a sham. huge penalties to withdraw early, etc. so, no thanks. um i think that was the most boring paragraph of my blog to date. wow.

here's a new self portrait because i'm so vain. no, really, i just love my digital camera! like i haven't already said that a million times on here. ok, my bed is calling my name. gotta rise and shine to make a dime!

latenight breakdown

2005-12-20T22:10:00.000-08:00

I’m moving out of my apartment next week, and tonight I was packing up some stuff in the bathroom cupboard. I reached up on my tiptoes grabbing blindly for the item I could not see shoved to the back of the shelf. My hands closed upon this round headed blow drying brush that I got from my mom before she died. I remember combing most all of the hairs out of it when I got it, there was a buildup of silver on there from her. I’d forgotten that I even had it, because I don’t think that I even ever used it. When I pulled it down from the shelf, I looked closely at this one pure white hair shining in the light.

I felt that pressure that sneaks up on me and suddenly bursts out of my eyes, nose, mouth and lungs, and I gasped with a huge sob. I was holding between my fingertips this physical piece of my mother’s body, one that I never thought I would ever get to touch again. Do you know the feeling of holding something tiny, so small you can hardly feel it, like a hair, between your fingertips trying desperately not to let go of it? Your fingertips suddenly become foreign to you, like a word that you say over and over until it holds no meaning. I am so desperate to hold on to my mom, to be able to hear her voice, to touch her again. When I was 8, my mom’s mom died, and I worried that i would forget the sound of her voice. I have. I am positively terrified that I will do that with my mom. She is so ingrained in my mind and heart, but I keep living, and I worry I will forget as I get older. How does one survive and live a normal life after losing her mother? I am only 25. I have my whole life ahead of me. Is it destined to be the life of this empty person pretending to be happy? The only person I could ask is the one that I lost. I lost. I am lost. I feel like am not myself and yet more myself than I ever was aware of before her death.

I keep having this recurring dream and it’s the happiest thing I can think of, simply walking into the kitchen door of my parents’ house and getting a hug from my mom. It makes me so completely happy and safe and warm and content, then I wake up and remember. I tried to write about her death in my journal after it happened, but I couldn’t. in fact, I haven’t written much of anything in my real journal since then. Just the everyday fluff of my blog. I said that it happened, but I was so overwhelmed that I could not form any thought about what was happening or what I was feeling. It’s been 16 months now. Sometimes I am able to think about her and smile, but these other times keep attacking me, when I am completely ambushed by sobs out of the blue. I never fully realized the potential for pain before this. You know they say that humans only use a really small percent of their brains, and we have the potential for so much more? I think that most people only use a small part of their hearts until they experience true tragic loss.

I described to a friend of mine what this feeling is that happens to me as an orgasm of pain. It washes over me like a waterfall, making my heart expand and my lungs fill up. I feel this pressure in my chest and my eyes, and the back of my throat that completely takes precedence over any other bodily function. Time seems to stop as I am held in this breathless moment of agony yet relief. It’s the welling up in my chest that seems to be the worst, the sob of release actually feels ok. I feel better when my body can hurt too. Not that I would, but it’s easy for me to understand people who cut themselves. Physical pain is nothing compared to emotional pain, and making the body have empathy for the mind is cathartic.

I think that one of the reasons that I am feeling so sad lately is that I do not want to leave my apartment. The same goes for my job, not that I’m leaving it right now. This apartment will be the last place of mine that my mom came over to and spent time with me. My job is the last place she talked to me about working. I will be moving to my sister’s house, which she bought after our mom died. It’s part of our “post-mom” life. I think about my dad saying how he can’t move on, and he’s going to be stuck in the past because he can not foresee a future for himself. He’s had more years spent with my mom than he has left in his future. On the one hand, I can see a future for myself, being young, I dream of getting married, having my dream job, raising a family. Yet it is really difficult for me to release this little part of my past, just because it’s hard to make new memories with a key player in my life missing. Not that staying in my apartment will make it easier, or will bring her back. But I like to just sit on my couch sometimes and look at my love seat, imagining my mom sitting there, laughing with me about something while drinking a Pepsi when she helped me move in, balancing her hot pink sun hat on her knee. I guess if I have to live in the past, I’d rather it was the more recent past than my childhood, which is what I think of when I’m at my parents’ house. I don’t even really know what I’m talking about, I am trying to figure it out by writing it all down. But that’s enough for now. I’m just relieved that I have finally been able to write about it and only bursting into tears about a dozen times during all of this. Okay, my composure is regained for the most part. That’s about as good as it gets.

it's a freaking winter wonderland

2005-12-19T18:32:00.000-08:00

it's cold, there's been tons of snow, it sucks. but hey, at least i havent slipped on the ice yet. and my terrible roommate has finally moved out. there is cause for rejoicing! i've been taking lots of photos again, here are some of the tree branches outside my house, and the tinsel xmas tree inside the montage. i like how both of these photos are kind of accidentally black and white even though they were shot in color. oh winter. sigh.

to contrast with the accidental B&W, here's one in glorious blazing color! i went to my friend chelsi's annual christmas extravaganza on saturday night, and kept warm thanks to some chocolate martinis and some wickedly spiked cider. yum-my. this photo is of me, looking very festive in my red shirt and green shrug, and my friend joe in his red and green striped sweater. which you can't even see, due to the blue chair. anyway, that's about all i have to report right now. i am supposed to be packing up all my crap, but i am notorious for procrastinating. and i noticed i hadn't blogged for nearly a month! i will be be really busy for the next couple of weeks, but when i do get around to writing again, i should have all kinds of cool stuff to talk about. parties, moving, dates left and right, and more! stay tuned...

new painting

2005-11-22T20:54:00.000-08:00

here's my new painting i did last night and tonight. it's called Remember Where You Came From.
that cake may be glittery, but it doesn't forget its humble beginings. i made it for my coworker Jen because she really liked another piece i did, the one in the art auction, but she can't afford to bid on it. she's graduating, and moving away, and i know that she likes to cook and bake, so i made this for her as a reminder of her cook days with us before she goes off to chicago. i hope she likes it. it made my day to hear from one of my other coworkers how much jen was going on and on about my painting that she liked so much. i'm used to people saying, oh that's cool, then forgetting about the stuff i make, so a real fan is awesome!

how to make the sweetest xmas tree ever, with little money and space!

2005-11-19T21:10:00.000-08:00

ok, so sometimes i just amaze myself. i am so grateful that i got the arts and crafts gene. this year is the first year i am "officially" celebrating xmas. i grew up not celebrating it due to my family's relgion, but i am a rebel and have been doing it with my friends for the past couple of years. by the way, i refuse to refer to xmas as "Christ"mas, because this holiday has nothing to do with Jesus for me. I'm only in it for the eggnog and glitter. this year, i am having a combination birthday and xmas party at my house (because they are 10 days apart.)

i know that it is still early, not even quite thanksgiving yet, but i am excited because:

A.) first of all, i love having parties
B.) i absolutely adore anything sparkly
C.) i love giving kick-ass presents
D.) I am moving out of my apartment at the end of december and in with my sister for awhile, so this is my last chance to entertain for a few months. therefore, this party must rock.

so anyway, since i am a novice xmas party thrower, and i have little disposable income, i had to get creative in my decorating scheme. I knew that i needed a main centerpiece area so people would know where to put presents if they bring some. i really didn't want to deal with finding a tree, because i don't have a car to lug one home, not really any space for one, plus, that's just kind of cliche. i'd rather do something with a wonky spin to it.

so, here it is. i already had the big piece of green fabric, and i just folded it so i could pull up the corner and nail it where the two walls meet. then, i tacked down the corners. so they stayed fanned out, and let the bottom hang straight down. using a stapler and the help of the nails i tacked the fabric down with, i draped my silver tinsel around my green fabric, adding a couple of support nails halfway down the two sides of the tree. then i hung the rainbow sequin garland using the stapler to attach it to the fabric. the lights are just a long string of rice lights hanging straight down from a plant hook in my ceiling. (and were already there before the rest of it, inspiring the tree idea) I set my hot pink butterfly chair in front of it to hide the bottom, because it's a little ratty and i didn't have enough materials to make it go all the way down to the floor. then i piled on the presents, and voila! all in all, my total cost was under $5. (but i already had the fabric and the lights.) i personally think it is completely awesome. yay for homemade party decorations!!!

chuck norris: administor of pain

2005-11-12T22:50:00.000-08:00

one of my friends on myspace sent me this in a bulletin today. i was laughing so hard i cried!

30 Fun Facts About Everyones Favorite...... Chuck Norris

1. Chuck Norris' tears cure cancer. Too bad he has never cried.

2. Chuck Norris built a time machine and went back in time to stop the JFK assassination. As Oswald shot, Chuck met all three bullets with his beard, deflecting them. JFK's head exploded out of sheer amazement.

3. Chuck Norris recently had the idea to sell his urine as a canned beverage. We know this beverage as Red Bull.

4. Rather than being birthed like a normal child, Chuck Norris instead decided to punch his way out of his mother's womb. Shortly thereafter he grew a beard.

5. Chuck Norris lives by only one rule: No Asian Chicks.

6. Takeru Kobayashi ate 50 and a half hotdogs in 12 minutes. Chuck Norris ate 12 asian babies in 50 and a half
minutes. Chuck Norris won.

7. The original theme song to the Transformers was actually "Chuck Norris--more than meets the eye, Chuck Norris--robot in disguise," and starred Chuck Norris as a Texas Ranger who defended the earth from drug-dealing Decepticons and could turn into a pick-up. This was far too much awesome for a single show, however, so it was divided.

8. Chuck Norris was the fourth Wiseman. He brought baby Jesus the gift of "beard". Jesus wore it proudly to his dying day. The other Wisemen, jealous of Jesus' obvious gift favoritism, used their combined influence to have Chuck omitted from the Bible. Shortly after all three died of roundhouse kick related deaths.

9. Chuck Norris's girlfriend once asked him how much wood a woodchuck could chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood. He then shouted, "HOW DARE YOU RHYME IN THE PRESENCE OF CHUCK NORRIS!" and
ripped out her throat. Holding his girlfriend's bloody throat in his hand he bellowed, "Don't fuck with Chuck!" Two years and five months later he realized the irony of this statement and laughed so hard that anyone within a hundred mile radius of the blast went deaf.

10. To prove it isn't that big of a deal to beat cancer. Chuck Norris smoked 15 cartons of cigarettes a day for 2 years and aquired 7 different kinds of cancer only to rid them from his body by flexing for 30 minutes. Beat that, Lance Armstrong.

11. Chuck Norris once shot a German plane down with his finger, by yelling, "Bang!"

12. When Chuck Norris's wife burned the turkey one Thanksgiving, Chuck said, "Don't worry about it honey," and went into his backyard. He came back five minutes later with a live turkey, ate it whole, and when he threw it up a few seconds later it was fully cooked and came
with cranberry sauce. When his wife asked him how he had done it, he gave her a roundhouse kick to the face and said, "Never question Chuck Norris."

13. Chuck Norris frequently signs up for beginner karate classes, just so he can "accidentally" beat the shit out of little kids.

14. Chuck Norris took my virginity, and he will sure as hell take yours. If you're thinking to yourself, "That's impossible, I already lost my virginity.", then you are dead wrong.

15. Chuck Norris can make a woman climax by simply pointing at her and saying "booya".

16. Little Miss Muffet sat on her tuffet, until Chuck Norris roundhouse kicked her into a glacier.

17. When Chuck Norris plays Oregon Trail his family does not die from cholera or dysentery, but rather roundhouse kicks to the face. He also requires no wagon, since he carries the oxen, axels, and buffalo meat on
his back. He always makes it to Oregon before you.

18. In one episode of Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Chuck Norris replaced Carlton for one scene and nobody noticed.

19. Chuck Norris sold his soul to the devil for his rugged good looks and unparalleled martial arts ability. Shortly after the transaction was finalized, Chuck roundhouse kicked the devil in the face and took his soul back. The devil, who appreciates irony, couldn't stay mad and admitted he should have seen it coming. They now play poker every second Wednesday of the month.

20. Chuck Norris does not sleep. He waits.

21. Chuck Norris punched a woman in the vagina when she didn't give him exact change.

22. Chuck Norris has every copy of National Geographic in his basement. He also has the ability to lift every single one of them at once.

23. Chuck Norris ruins the endings of Harry
Potter books for children who just bought one for the hell of it. When they start crying Chuck Norris calmly says, "I'll give you something to cry about," and roundhouse kicks them in the face.

24. Chuck Norris found out about Conan O'Brien's lever that shows clips from "Walker: Texas Ranger" and is working on a way to make it show clips of Norris having sex with Conan's wife.

25. Chuck Norris once tried to sue Burger King after they refused to put razor wire in his Whopper Jr., insisting that that actually is "his" way.

26. Chuck Norris once went to a frat party, and proceeded to roundhouse every popped collar in sight. He then drank three kegs and shit on their floor, just because he's Chuck Norris.

27. At the end of each week, Chuck Norris murders a dozen white people just to prove he isn't a racist.

28. Chuck Norris doesn't have normal white
blood cells like you and I. His have a small black ring around them. This signifies that they are black belts in every form of martial arts and they roundhouse kick the shit out of viruses. That's why Chuck Norris never gets ill.

29. If you can see Chuck Norris, he can see you. If you can't see Chuck Norris you may be only seconds away from death.

30. The chief export of Chuck Norris is pain.