Currently...

Reading: Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling. I found it absolutely hilarious and it reminded me so much of the humor that my best friend Kendra and I share. Damn, Mindy, and to think I thought you were awesome enough just being on/writing for The Office.

Watching: My daytime talk shows. Maury, Bill Cunningham, Jeremy Kyle, and sometimes the ever-fabulous Wendy Williams. Ok, Wendy is actually really damn obnoxious, but how can I help it when she gets such awesome guest appearances? I do hate the "oo-oo," and "how you doin'"s, though.

Working on: Getting my ass in gear to go back to school. Lord knows, it's been a while, but I'm determined! Also working on the mini trailer my mom and I bought together :) A fixer-upper for mommy and me.

Thinking about: Anxiety, seeing psychiatrists, Morgan's birthday yesterday; today has been filled with dread. But also some shopping. But mostly dread.

Anticipating: I just got engaged!!

Listening to: Sweet Home Alabama. I love this song so much. It makes me want to go to Alabama. The song itself paints such a laid back and relaxed picture - and I could really use that today.

Eating: Garlic bread. Starving from coming home after a long day of not-too-much eating, I raided the fridge and threw some garlic Texas Toast in the oven. I'm starving, but I can wait another five minutes for garlic bread. Loving carbs right now, like, a ton. Pastas, breads, pretzels (ok, yea that's a bread, but still), etc.

Wishing: For peace to come over my friends and family and loved ones. A lot of people I know are going through some hard time right now, and I just wish it were easier on them. It's hard seeing those you love go through so much and not be able to help. I just have to hope that someday all of us could look back on the time that is (was) now and say, "Thank, God, we got through that."

Currently

Can't wait for: Tomorrow! Today has been very slow, what with my daily routines, but tomorrow is going to be bursting at the seams with stuff to do. Very excited to finish my work day tomorrow morning and get paid, use said paycheck to scurry on out of Moorpark and go back to Yer Cheatin' Heart to see Justin and color-in the tattoo on my leg. Afterwords, drive back (hopefully NOT in traffic this time) and arrive at Liz's house in time for baking and Grey's Anatomy. Not only this, but on friday, Katrina is flying in from Seattle and is staying with me until Monday! Every day is girl's day this weekend.

Listening to: Well, nothing at the moment, but Gotye - Somebody That I used To Know is certainly stuck in my head from hearing it a few minutes ago. In reality, the girls that I nanny after school are watching to Disney Channel. Teen Bop till you drop.

Thinking about: How badly I'm missing out on traveling lately. I heard a song today that really got me excited for Summer and made me want to trip it out to Louisiana. Never been, always wanted to. I can just imagine myself and some friends finding a great little lake with a dock to swim in under the hot sun and drink some southern-style sweet tea. I love that stuff. I day dream a ton and those are usually the things I day dream about.

Wanting: A serious shoulder rub. Today was hell in terms of cleaning my room. I did a lot of heavy lifting to get into some places and did a lot of reaching and my shoulders are really feeling it. On the plus side though, my room has never been cleaner, nor has my curiosity shelf ever looked more awesome.

Eating: Taquitos with sour cream and hot sauce. Absolutely amazing. I didn't get a chance to have much of an appetite today, but I did have a good breakfast. One which I'm hoping to recreate for myself tomorrow - strawberries and a bagel with cream cheese and a glass of orange juice and later followed by a cup of Jasmine tea. Knock me out.

Wishing: With all the great luck I've been having at the thrift store lately, I still wish I had the money to go out and do some damage to my bank account in some of my other favorite retail stores. Seriously, lately I've been loving online shopping (ie. Zara, Madewell, Need Supply, etc.) and it saves so much money in the longrun. But I still love walking into J. Crew. Now, I could really do some damage there.

A-Z of Me

Age: 23
Bed size: Queen
Chore that you hate: Dishes! Nothing grosses me out more than scrubbing and scraping old, wet food off a plate into a germ-infested sink.
Dogs: I have two! Bart, my mom's Staffordshire Terrier and Haven, my Border Collie. She is the most loving creature and Bart is a jerk.
Essential start to your day: Deciding what to do with it! Am I going to clean my room or make it messy by making stuff?
Favorite color: I never have just one. It's always a combination of colors. Lately I'm really into woody browns, gold and black.
Gold or silver?: Gold! But if I'm being super picky - rosegold.
Height: 5'7"-5'8"
Instruments you play: Oh, honey, not a thing. But I've always wanted to learn to play the violin.
Job title: Nanny
Kids: I cannot wait to be a mom someday. Boy or girl, I'll love whatever God gives me.
Live: In southern California, but I want to move back north. I'd love to go to Maine.
Mother's name: Colette
Nicknames: Lulu, Luce, Lu
Overnight hospital stays: Thankfully, never.
Pet peeves: Bad drivers and people who overuse one phrase too much (ie: "at the end of the day," "are you kidding me, right now?")
Quote from a movie: "As Ray watches Mirabelle walk away, he feels a loss. 'How is it possible?' he thinks, 'For a man to miss a woman whom he kept at a distance so that when she was gone, he would not miss her?' And how he cannot justify his actions except, well, it was life." -Shop Girl
Right or left handed: Right
Siblings: One full-blood, younger sister, four half-sisters, three step-sisters, two half-brothers. Fun for me!
Time you wake up: My body wakes me up lately around 7:30, but some days I have to be up by 5:45 :/
Underwear: I love matching sets!
Vegetable you hate: Asperagus. You can never do anything to make me like those foul things.
What makes you run late: Other people being late. I'm very punctual.
X-rays you've had: Of my chest when I swalloed a quarter when I was younger.
Yummy food that you make: Baked zucchini with parmesean. Amazinnnnngggg.
Zoo animal: Don't get me started on exotic animals, because I'll never stop. Tigers, lions, birds, monkeys, ahhhh!

So those are my p's and q's. What are yours? :D

Five on Friday

These five things are really making my day today. Hope everyone else is smiling!

1: These pictures from Nightmare's Fear Factory are too funny to not go though. Don't you wish you knew what they're screaming at??

2: This absolutely beautiful bag from Scout & Catalogue. Not only do I love the rosegold color, but the combination with the brown of the leather and texture between it and the sequins make this bag one to drool over.

3: Marimo in the Dark Sea, underwater terrarium! This cute little guy is a living algae, once brought home by the Japanese to keep as pets and for good luck. I want one so badly and at that price? I'm so down.

4: This hilarious cat gif from iheartcatgifs.tumblr.com. I already went through all of them!

5: Finally, Katie's blog. It has the prettiest pictures and cutest stories about her day-to-day with her son, Max and daughter on the way with her husband. If you haven't seen it yet, you should! www.katiespencilbox.com

Currently

Craving: Brownies. And I totally know why. This is the last week of my church's 40 days of fasting and I gave up junk food, also my employer just came back from vacation in San Fransisco and got me chocolate from the Ghirardelli factory and it's just sitting in my car. I'm a moron. But my skin is totally showing the benefits of cutting out such garbage from my daily diet (I included pizza, ice cream, candy, potato chips and most sodas as well). Since I've done this, I've also taken up eating a lot of organic food from my other employer's house. She loves cooking organically and making smoothies using organic fruits. No objection here.

Listening to: Anthems For A Seventeen Year Old Girl, by Broken Social Scene. This song is, honestly, so hauntingly beautiful to me and I don't know why. It reminds me of my little sister, Sally and our friends always spending the night in her room. Sometimes eight of us at a time on the floor. Totally true to the lyrics, we were the rotten ones and we loved each other for that.

Can't wait for: This week to be over! Too many errands to run, too many expenses, too much work. Can't wait to stay up late with everyone again and just enjoy their company while they crack me up and we play with each other's pets. And I've been having some great one-on-one conversations with some of my gals lately.

Eating: Left-overs from Kendra's trip to see me in Santa Monica. We brought back so many left-overs to the hotel. Wish I could remember the name of the place, but it's pastas were amazing, as well as their garlic bread knots. Mmm, come at me, carbs.

Wishing: That I were more caught-up on my plans to visit Maine this summer. I still haven't worked out the details for location, hotel, plane ticket, company or even cost, but I'm saving! I can't wait to go. I'll probably be going with my mom, since I eventually want to move there, she's curious to see the place I might end up. My good friend Kendra said she'd go with me as well, which could work out perfectly because she'll be moving to Boston in a few months anyway and would only be a stone's throw away if she decided to come.


What has you moving today? Take a moment to jot it down and appreciate it :)

First Day of Spring!

What a first day it's been. I've been kicking myself a lot lately for not blogging more, especially when it's on my mind so much. I've encountered some great subjects for posts too! It's just too bad that it's so difficult to drag my lazy butt to the computer and hash it all out.

But, first thing's first. While perfmorming my nanny duties this morning (the back-breaking hour of 5:30am), I saw what is soon to be my favorite new show. Must Love Cats. Have you seen this madness?? It's title grabbed me at first, of course, but I've seen it there before while scrolling throught the tv guide, never wanting to admit to myself that I'd love to watch it. This time I decided to read the info on it and when it said that this particular episode was taking place in Japan - sold. Japan is almost notorious for it's love of cats, so I had to indulge. I'm so happy I did. This show is featured on Animal Planet, which I sadly do not get at my house, so make no mistake that it will be pulled up on every window of my computer trying to find other episodes to rot my brain with and over-load the cuddle section of my mind.

I loved that they featured a Japanese home that featured a catwalk which I've been dreaming of having in my own home some day. But what I loved even more was the featuring of Tama, the feline station master at Kishi Station in Kinokawa, Wakayama, Japan. Now, I heard through the grape vine a few years back that Japan appointed Hello Kitty as Japan's American Ambassador - silly, right? I knew Japan loved cats, but this is truly awesome. This is an actual cat.

img source: Toru Yamanaka

And she's a good little station master, yes she is.

Keeping the good Spring times rolling, I got a great amount of yard work done today in the sun. It was the perfect kind of day for it. I plan on putting a ton of flowers in my side yard once I get it all nice and tilled up. It really made me feel like I got something accomplished today. Hopefully, that's a sign of things to come :)

Happy first day of Spring, everybody!

A Few Things

He would want us to keep smiling.

Here are some things that let the sunshine in for me today.

1. My friends. Thank God for people like you in my life and thank God that we're in each other's lives. That we care about each other and will be there for the joy and the sorrow. I want to know what's in your heart just as I would hope that you would want to know what's in mine. You are beautiful people with amazings souls and I love you dearly.

2. This cold night in early March in which I can enjoy hot beverages in again. I can't convey enough how much I am dreading the on-coming summer and it's unbarable heat on my Scandinavian skin. More scarves and jackets! Bring on the frozen dew on the grass in the mornings and foggy streets at night.

3. Switching around my closet. Dustin and I have compromised so that I can have his old side and he can have mine. He had more room to hang things which, as a girl I needed (dresses), and I was sick of our ferret climbing onto my shelves and knocking my things down. Besides, the mini kitchen in our closet is for his use only anyway and it was on my old side which limited my space even more. Now I have a fresh new start on the other side!

4. Working hard. With my usual working hours, it seems strange to admit that I don't like having as much time off as I do. I enjoy working and I enjoy saving what I earn. With the few hours that I work, my money goes mostly to gas and bills and nothing fun besides the occasional stop at In N' Out. But this week has been gloriously full and busy. I worked additional hours for one of my kid's mom's going to a dinner party for work and working more hours for another mom whose husband will be out of town tomorrow. Yay for feeling productive!

5. My hair. Oooo, baby, it's getting there. I'm almost at the length I was at when I first moved to Seattle three years ago. I'm just a couple of inches short of my goal and then growing it out will be simply for enjoying purposes only, rather than meeting a desired length. Bonus on the hair-growing front, my bangs have grown almost the entire lenth of my face meaning no more bangs for me for a while! I haven't had a bang-less hairstyle since my freshman year of highschool. Feelin' so fly.

6. Fat cats that sit like lazy men on couches. I'm looking at one right now, both online and in person.

7. A hot shower after a hard day. I swear I could use all of Southern California's water reserves just for my showers. When I get in, I never, ever want to leave. It's the best place in the world besides your bed or grandma's house.




To my friends that read this, let the sunshine in. He would like that.

For Morgan

It is with a heavy heart that I share with you the passing of our dear friend Morgan Mitchell. One of the good ones, Morgan sold everything he owned and moved to Germany where he met his girlfriend, Rosa. It was Rosa that delivered the news to us last night that Morgan had passed. There are no anecdotes to sugar-coat his passing, such as, "He lived a full life." or, "He's in a better place now." Morgan, you left us too soon. We will always remember your laugh and your brightness. Rest in peace, good friend.

All the love in the world

Wednesday night, alright

Happy Leap Year, everybody! Talk about the perfect day to do the unexpected and exciting. To commemorate, I have finally completed a "photo-an-hour" for myself and my leap year day today! Those will more than likely be posted on here tomorrow, but I'm excited for them! Hope everyone made the most of today :)

11 Things

Danielle at Sometimes Sweet has invited all of her readers to participate in an "11 Things" post that she was tagged in. Here we go :)

There are five rules:
1. Post these rules.
2. Post a picture of yourself and 11 random things.
3. Answer the questions set for you in the original post.
4. Create 11 new questions and tag people to answer them.
5. Go to their blog/twitter and tell them you've tgged them.


11 Random Things

1. I was born in Astoria, Oregon. A town made famous by the movie "The Goonies." I was raised in the town across the river called Ilwaco. Another town famous for being the final destination point of the Lewis and Clark trail and named after a Chinook Indian chief. I love the trees, the foggy mornings, the water, the wildlife; it's all so amazing.

2. Im probably one of the few people you'll meet who loves black licorice. I mean, LOVES it. My theory is that it's a Pacific Northwesterner thing, because I have yet to meet someone in Southern California who even likes it, let alone can tolerate it.

3. I have harbored the nearly-life-long goal of moving to Maine ever since I was in the fourth grade. It started out as a class assignment to write about a state that we've never been to but would like to visit. I picked my state at random because I had already been to almost every US state, so I chose Maine. I asked my mom what my reason should be and she told me, "I don't know. They have lobster there. You could write about lobster." So that was my official reason for wanting to go to Maine. Since then, the idea of moving there has resonated in my mind over and over and over. And to this day, I've still never had lobster.

4. Jim Carrey will always leave me in stitches. He has since I first saw him in the Ace Ventura movies. I loved him so much, I would do impressions of him all day long, making my mom laugh. She thought I was the funniest kid because of it and even now, when we catch those movies on tv, she'll still make me say one or two of his lines. I'll always love those memories.

5. No matter the restaurant I'm in, I will always (at least subliminally) look for french toast on the menu.

6. I have many collections. I have a small collections of bell jars, magazines, feathers, and I have a little brown Moleskeine notebook which I keep pressed leaves in, but they are ONLY leaves that I've actually witnessed falling from a tree. I just think it's kind of a neat thought, "This leaf right here, I was there when it fell from the tree it came from."

7. I wish that I had stuck to dancing when I was younger. I still do ballet, but I'm nowhere near as flexible or and nimble as I would have been had I stuck with it. As undriven as I was when I was younger to persue it, I think it's something that I was made to do. Especially when most melodic music I hear inspires me to imagine a ballet.

8. My favorite book is Palace of Ice by Norweigan author, Tarjei Vesaas. I have read this book every winter for the past four years. The wording and imagery is just incredible.

9. I'm for sure a homebody. I don't go out to clubs, parties, shows or anything of the sort. I've just always been that way. I'd much rather make dinner and sit around watching tv and movies and talk to my family.

10. I could watch the same movies over and over and never get tired of them. I turn to them for rainy days or even just alone time. Each time I watch the same movie, it tells me something different or I notice something that I didn't before. It might get on everyone else's nerves, but that's why I watch them when I can get a little down-time :)

11. I love knowing random facts to bring up in everyday conversations. What type of rock that is, what constellation that is, what cat breed, what historical date, etc.

The 11 questions from Danielle:

1. If money, schooling or time was no obstacle, what career would you choose?
Geology professor. Hands down. It's my major and I get such a rush when I explain to someone the answer to a geology question.

2. What's the one thing you look forward to everyday?
I always look forward to feeling driven to do something. Like every day is a new start to something.

3. What is your number one, all-time, favorite blog?
Currently ADORING Katie's Pencil Box.

4. Biggest online pet peeve?
I can honestly say that I don't have one.

5. What is your all-time favorite book?
Palace of Ice, by Tarjei Vesaas!

6. What would your "last meal" be?
A steak and lobster dinner with coleslaw and fries with a cherry coke. Oh, baby.

7. Do you believe in love at first sight?
Attraction is first, but I believe in love at first meet.

8. What would your ideal Sunday morning consist of?
Plenty of sun through the windows, french toast in bed (like in the movies, with a little rose bud in a vase on the side ;)) made by my husband, snuggling in bed with my kiddos and followed up by church.

9. Why do you blog?
It's a great way to bring out your creative side and it boosts my confidence honestly, by making me feel productive :)

10. If you had to choose one color to wear forever, what would you pick?
Black, certainly. It can be so classy and so casual.

Oops, no number 11?

Questions for other ladies to answer:
1. If you plan on walking down the isle someday, what song do you want playing?
2. City or seclusion, and why?
3. If you could choose to have an exotic pet, what animal would it be?
4. Turning back the hands of time, what historical figure would you warn about their death?
5. Your style icon?
6. What do you enjoy doing most on a Friday night?
7. Do you live day by day or do you look ahead? If so, where do you see yourself?
8. What's in your purse/bag right now?
9. What is your favorite breakfast food?
10. If you could speak any language fluently in addition to your native language, what would you want to speak?
11. If you could live in any time period, when would you live?

You're just too good to be true

Can't take my eyes off of my new tattoo. I know that I said I wanted to wait until I had my color done, but I've never been one to be patient. Especially now that I'm bursting at the seams to share my new gem. First, let me drop a little knowledge on you about it's back story. This tattoo means a lot to me. It was tought up by me, drawn by me and tattooed by not me (my friend Justin!) It is my own personal depiction in traditional style of Marie Antoinette. Anyone that knows me, knows that Marie Antoinette is barr none my favorite historical figure of all time (and I'm a sucker for historical figures). I thanked God when I caught wind of the trailer being put out by Sofia Coppola for her Marie Antoinette movie. I saw it in theaters, bought it when it came out on dvd and I have watched it more times that anyone you know, I'm sure. What captured my heart about France's last queen was my overwhelming sympathy for her and my philosphical love for the human condition.

She was just a girl when she was married to Louis XVI and just a girl still when she became queen and so I wanted to depict her as a girl when she was at her most impressionable and under the most pressure. Married on paper by the age of twelve, a wedding ceremony at fifteen and a queen by nineteen, Sofia Coppola hit it out of the park with the "she had no idea what she was doing" aspect and it made me think that she was just like any of us - wanting to act her own age; that maybe she was never meant to be a queen. Have you ever heard the catch-phrase, "A real slice of life"? Well, I wanted something like that captioned next to her and when I heard, "Un boit pour le roi" in the final scenes of the film, (translates to: a drink for the king) it was just what I was meant to hear. Marie Antoinette was Louis XVI's drink of life. Thanks to her, his life was a whirlwind that he never expected. She was his drink of life and if only he knew what would come of marrying her. But the most important message that this tattoo gives me is this: we are all human. I love, love, love my new piece and without further adieu...

Courtesy of Justin at Yer Cheat'n Heart Tattoo in Gardena, CA.

I love tattoos and the messages (and sometimes the non-messages) that people attatch to their pieces. If any of you out there would like to share some with me, I will read each and every one. Happy blogging everyone :)


Also, I'm 23 now, guys! Happy birthday to me.

Recap

Last night was my little birthday party at my house and I have the best, funniest, coolest, and kindest friends out there. When I started decorating, Sally's boyfriend, Sid, said, "Wait, is it normal for you to decorate for your own party?" and then, "You're baking your OWN cake??" Kind of a, "Stop doing things for yourself - this is your night." It was sweet because later, everyone else said the same things. I wasn't even expecting to get birthday gifts last night, but I did! The highlight being the tons of Japanese candy that me and my sister love. There were about 20 people in my house and it was sooo much fun.

Annie gave me a henna tattoo on my hand, I showed everyone the actual tattoo I got on friday (I'll show pictures once I get the coloring done!), gave Hayley and Liz hair bows, had great girl talk, and I got a ton of hugs and kisses.

So thank you, Dustin, Sally, Sid, Eric, Steven, Liz, Hayley, Natalie, Katy, Alex, Lauren, Mikey, Michael, Thrak, Jon, Ellis, Alex, Olly, Sage, Bryan, Garrett, Louis, Cole, Jacob, Greg, Annie, Adrian, and Donny

<3

Oh, Monday

I had no idea how packed with 1) people and 2) ducks the duck park would be yesterday. It's for sure the highest number of ducks I've seen there in a while, and I was so excited to see the Canadian geese there. It's really my favorite part about going to the park - seeing those pretty grey and black geese. I have fond memories of them and my grandma's house in Washington :)

Dustin and I took Haven with us and she had never seen ducks up close before, at least we don't think she has, and she went berZERK. If Dustin weren't holing on to her leash, she certainly would have gone into the water after those ducks. She almost did, too. We fed the ducks a whole loaf of bread from Dustin's food stock-pile and when it was all gone, we took Haven for a walk around the park to get her to chill-out. It was nice, until I realized that the new shoes I'd just bought from target were half a size too small and were crushing my toes so I begged Dustin to go to Target with me so that I could exchange them. He was convinced that they wouldn't take them since we had just walked through the park with soggy grass, dirt and duck poo and that the bottom of my shoes didn't look return-able. Well, with a spare pair of shoes in the car, I took my new Dorothy reds off and went to work on brushing off the bottoms with napkins from various fast food restaurants. Challege accepted, mission accomplished.

But all is well! I got my shoes in the right size and can now walk in them properly, only I'm going to try not to ware them out so quickly and try preserving them for a while by not making them my go-to pair. Taking care of my things is one of my new years resolutions that I'm holding on to quite well! I have yet to deposit that money into my savings as I planned, but my birthday is coming up on the 31st (hint) so maybe I'll get a little extra to tuck away ;)

Speaking of my birthday, though not entirely because this next bit just has to do with good timing, a good friend of mine is a whiz with computers and owns a lot of various dvds, cds and downloadable technologies - like the Rosetta Stone sets. I asked if he could burn me the French copy and he said that he has every language they offer ON ONE CD! He's burning me the whole thing and giving it to me on my birthday! I'm soooo excited to catch up on my French. I've really missed it.



On a less fortunate note, last night Dustin was stricken with food poisoning and I stayed up with him all night to make sure he was ok. I guess the first couple of hours after it hits you are the worst because Dustin was significantly better when I got home from work compared to last night before bed. Life has been dealing him some harsh blows lately and this was just the icing on the cake, what with a job interview today at 2 o'clock.

I had planned on utilizing my time today to organize my closet and fine-tune clean my room (ie. bathroom cabinets, vacuuming and laundry) but to no avail. I always forget that the twins need to be picked up after cheer practice, so that's what my night is like tonight. Sitting here with a shedding cat on my lap (not that I'm complaingin) while the twins are showering and I'm waiting for dinner to finish in the oven. Oh, I've the life of a princess.

Feeding ducks & petting kitties

I woke up unresonably early this morning considering how late I went to bed last night (ahem, 1:30am). I woke up before my 8:30 alarm to get ready for church which let me wake up slowly and comfortably in bed and with the tv remote within reach. Dustin had promised to come to church with me, but I can tell in the mornings when he's had a hard time sleeping because he'll end up sleeping on the floor by the heater and I'll wake up the only one in bed. I decided not to wake him up and take the dog for a walk. Haven has been burning us out with excess energy this week and Dustin and I are on the edge of our seats with her. And for some reason our cat, Tessy, has been the same way - only with excess meowing. Incessantly, morning, noon and night. It used to be just because we left the toilet seat down and she wants us to open it so she can drink out of it (gross, catdog) but we have no idea what her deal is lately. But she's also been extra loving and cuddly which is sweet. She fell asleep on the back of my shoulder yesterday morning while I was lying on my stomach. Aww.

These are photos of the cat that hangs around my employer's backyard :) This is not Tessy

Well, I went to church. I had lunch with my friend from church, Naomie, yesterday. We had such a good talk and covered so much in just an hour of conversation. I was looking forward to seeing her at church this morning since I'd be going alone, but lo and behold, I couldn't find her. I ended up sitting by myself between a couple of the elderlies that frequent the church. It was only as I was leaving did I see Naomie's car and realized I must have just not seen her. Of course, today was one of the rare occasions in which I left my phone at home, or I might have been able to find her. I had two text messages from her when I got home. Drat!

On the way home I got to thinking about what I might think of for Dustin and I do to today since we both have free time today when I drove by the park that we used to go to all the time when we first started dating and fed the ducks and geese there. It's a beautiful, sunny day today and I'm not passing it up. So we're going to the park again in a little bit and we have - wait for it - a whole loaf of bread for duck-feeding! I'm really looking forward to sitting by the little pond and seeing all the little ducks turn their heads and swim up to us when they realize they're in for a treat. I'll share with you more tomorrow :)

Get your posts done and enjoy this gorgeous day!

Free time

My itch to travel has been getting increasingly worse these days. I posted a while ago about daydreaming and how nice it was, but I think I neglected to mention how many of my daydreams were occupied by visions of travelling; focused mainly on the East coast. Since I was in the fourth grade, I remember making the decision that I wanted to go to Maine someday. It was during a class writing project and we had to write about a state we wanted to visit that we'd never been to before. At total random, I chose Maine because I had been nearly everywhere else already. I even had to make up reasons for why I wanted to go there because I had no reasons at all - my mom suggested that I put down, "Lobster. They're famous for their lobster." So, okay. Lobster it was. It was only until a year and a half ago that those childhood memories resurfaced when I realized, "I haven't done much travelling lately." Maine. I have to go to Maine. It's fully within my power and I'm motivated to do it, so why haven't I done it? Before Dustin and I began dating, right after my ex and I decided to split, I was hell-bent on moving to Maine and attempting to live there for at least a year. Life had other plans though.

Well, lately I've been feeling insanely driven, almost compelled to make that visit a reality. I'm really going to push for Dustin and I to go on a trip this summer that ISN'T to Las Vegas and that is actually somewhere I've had my heart set on. He knows about my previous hopes to move there and has considered giving it some thought (he has to, he's horrible with the cold) that maybe we still can someday try living there, but he would never be against taking a vacation! So that's what my aim is for this summer. Saving up for a trip to the great ol' state of Maine. If that happens to be something I can't fenagle, I really would be just as thrilled with tripping it to anywhere in New England. It's the only part of the country I have yet to visit which is so sad because I really love American History and it would just be amazing to visit the places where it all started. Plymouth Rock, Boston, Salem, etc. This isn't something that I would tack-on to my new year's resolutions, because this is more of a spur-of-the-moment, won't-do-it-every-year kind of thing, but one of my new year's resolutions WAS to put extra money into my savings, I suppose by default, this trip could fall into that category.

Since I'm rambling on about travelling, my dearest gal pal, Katrina and I have been making pipe-dream plans to visit either Paris or the Netherlands this year or early next. Paris because it's another one of my travel dreams and because my French is pretty decent and the Netherlands because I actually have a couple of gal pals out there as well! What better way to visit a new place than with locals?

Diverging from the topic, I have the day off and no idea what to do with it. Off I go!

Some work, a slip-up and some cats

It's been a fun few days since I've posted last (already slipping up on keeping up with this). I've been busy, busy, busy watching kids, meeting up with friends, forgetting to meet up with some, getting coffee, doing tattoos and bringing home dinner for boyfriend.

We'll start with Tuesday. I took Jenna and Julia to school, which meant I had an early morning. After dropping them off, I watched Nathan AND his 4 year old sister, Katie. Katie apparently got the stomach bug the night before and stayed home from school. She threw a few fun tantrums before she came to terms that her mom had to work in her office and be left alone for a while. Watched a lot of Nick Jr., then a trip to the grocery store meant that my day was up. Think so? Nope. I only had a few hours of 'me' time before having to go back and pick the twins up from school again. In those few hours, I went to the mall with Dustin because he was on a mission to buy a new denim jacket. Three hours of nit-picking later, he chose one from the Levi's store. That wasn't enough though. He had to go to the craft store too to buy some patches to put on it. I had completely lost track of time until we got home - I had even forgot I was supposed to pick up the

Wednesday. Another day watching kids, taking them to school, watching a baby, meeting the woman I'm house-sitting for, pick kids up again. I mentioned in a previous post that Andrea was supposed to house sit for a lady and her husband with two dogs, but has been so loaded down with school lately that she asked me to take it over for her. I went to see the house and it is on the most beautiful piece of property. There isn't even a gate in the backyard, just grass leading down to the water with a deck. They have canoes! Totally taking them for a spin while I'm there. When I got home, my little sister's boyfriend, Sid, asked if he could have a small tattoo. Dustin had gotten me new machines for Christmas and I was so excited to try them out. So excited that I forgot that my foot was on the pedal when I turned the rig on and - bizzt - tattooed my palm by accident. Rookie mistake? Totally.

Upper mark on my hand: freckle, lower part: tattoo mistake


Thursday, yesterday. Almost the same routine. The twins had a short school week and the day off, but their mom had a parent-teacher conferense for about half an hour and needed them to be watched for just a little. I took the twins to get breakfast while their mom was busy and their mom payed for me when she got back! She's a sweet lady, and they're using their long weekend to go to Vegas to visit their aunt and grandma. Luckies. Anyway, after breakfast, I did the usual three hours of watching Nathan while his mom worked in her office. If I've never mentioned it before, now is the time. There is this gorgeous to-die-for stray cat that hangs out in their backyard that is huge, pure white and with one orange eye and a blue one. This cat has always knocked me out with his handsomeness - until I saw him in the backyard again and went out to pet him. When I followed him around the corner, what I saw almost gave me a heart attack. There was a second one. A SECOND white cat with two different colored eyes! Swear to God, I will be adopting them before I move ANYWHERE. I just have to have them. Next time, I'm bringing cat food to Nathan's house. Well, finished at 12 and had the rest of the day to myself! I was so excited until I started feeling really weak and exhausted. In an "I'm getting sick" kind of way. I layed in bed for next to three hours when I got home, made Dustin feed me to get my strength up and got some cuddles from my dog. When my strength returned, I helped Dustin sew his patches onto his jacket and had coffee again with Andrea at 5:30. I listened to some delicious Kid Cudi on the way home. Touched up one of Dustin's tattoos and gave another one to sally of a little skeleton crawling up her wrist. I'll get pictures of those to share sometime :)

As far as the pictures of my finger waves goes, I totally let myself down. They came out way too ridiculous to share.

Growing Pains

Have you ever seen a really cute hairstyle that you've been meaning to try? Not so much a cut or a color, but trying to braid your hair in a cute way or even curl it? Well, so have I and if your luck is anything like mine - it never works. Maybe youre a once, twice, or even three times the charm kinda gal, but I'm definitely past the three point marker. I tried so hard the past few days to finger-wave my hair (even curling it and brushing it out to LOOK like finger waves) but to no avail. I had to hold my arms up for so long to focus on every piece that my arms begain to give out. My hair is in it's growing-out stage and I am going out of my mind with the boredom attatched to it. It just hangs there; long and lazy. Or at least in my eyes it does. My hair used to be about waist-long when I moved to Seattle, had it cut my an awful stylist, then I chopped it ALL off that night into a pixie cut. I was so devistated by it, I called my mom crying about looking like a boy and worried that my boyfriend wouldn't be attracted to me anymore. Pathetic, no? Anyway, the cut ended up being the talk of the town when I went in to work the next morning. I had gotten more compliments on my hair than I think I had ever gotten. "It frames your face so well," and, "It really brings out your complexion!" How exiting! So here's my problem: Since it was cut (more than a year ago) I've been growing it out and it's almost back to it's original length, but I'm a girl who is always changing herself. What am I to do when I can't think of things to do with it? Throwing it back in a ponytail everyday has be nearly bored to tears.

My main focus is on my bangs lately, or "fringe" as some call it. I've had bangs since I was five and any attempt at growing them out always rendered the same problem, "I've had it with these hairs in my eyes!" and snip, snip I go. I've been doing a great job though lately of letting them grow along with the rest of my hair, but the same old issues are arising. Dying is a fast and easy alternative to cutting for a different look. Here are some links to some really cute hairstyles:



Braids and bangs, Erin Featherson.

Lauren Conrad has the right idea.

Milkmaid braids are always cute.


Pictures of my next finger wave attempt to come tomorrow. Happy blogging, all :)

A quiet day

I have a few great reasons to be excited about this weekend. I'll be getting a visit from some old high school friends that I haven't seen in a long, long time tomorrow. They're sisters and their family owns a sushi restaurant the next town over and we'll probably be going there for some good food and a sweet deal no doubt. On Monday, I'll be visiting my friend Andrea'd boyfriend's ranch like I posted about before (the one they filmed We Bought A Zoo on) and I'll be bringing Dustin! Double date high-five. I'm really excited to spend more time with Andrea because we really hit it off since we've been hanging out more. I need more girl friends closer to me and she's definitely in that category.

Today has been a nice, slow change of pace since the beginning of the new year. I slept in, walked the dog and am currently updating :) Here are 20 different get-to-know-me pieces of information, thanks to Carly at her blog, Carly Kmyta.

1. I love cats. I'm more of a cat person than anything else.

2. I'm not the kind of girl that paints her nails. It's the one girly thing I never really get around to doing.

3. I love having the heater on. All the time and right next to me.

4. I'm a subscriber to BUST magazine. It contains great artcles on feminism in mainstream media, great recipes, great crafts and awesome interviews.

5. I have a strange infatuation with alligators.

6. Spicy food is always my food of choice. Enjoying it while I'm young.

7. I didn't get my driver's license until I was 18.

8. I hated shrimp when I was little and now it's one of my favorite menu items.

9. New England is the only part of the country I haven't visited.

10. I'm from Ilwaco, Washington. A town named after a Chinook Indian Chief. Across the
river is Astoria, Oregon where I was born - made famous by The Goonies.

11. I'm really into taxidermy and collecting animals bones.

12. I love to garden.

13. In terms of going out to get breakfast, I will ALWAYS order French toast.

14. Pink lemonade > regular lemonade

15. I've never broken a bone or been stung by a bee.

16. I've mentioned food three times. I really like food.

17. Elephants are my favorite animal.

18. I swore a LOT as a kid - and on videotape. Thanks, dad.

19. I'm good at decorating cakes.

20. Any craftiness I have in me, I get from my mom.

;)

Five on Friday

An informal invitation via Danielle Hampton's blog has encouraged me to make a list of five things I'm loving. So, five things I'm loving this friday!

1. Bob's Burgers. Funniest new cartoon of 2011 and I am an absolute sucker for not only comedy, but cartoons. I was really good about following it religiously on Sunday nights, but sadly, somewhere it slipped through my fingers and I missed a few and now I'm waiting on the new season. A burger joint run by a family man and his nasal wife and three insanely awkward/strange kids, next to a funeral home. It's a great combination. Catch the fever!

2. My diet lately. I haven't been dieting, but I have been fine-tuning what I've been eating and it is making me feel wonderful. My skin is nice and clear, my stomach pains are few and I have the positive energy I need to get things done around my place. Mihaela, the mom of the boy I babysit, is an organic health food nut and is always encouraging me to try her cooking. She is amazing, but today she made the most incredible smoothie. Tasted like apples, bananas and strawberries, but it also contained celery, spinach and kale. So good for you and so tasty. I'll be demanding it as payment from now on.

3. The radio. I have been hitting the jackpot lately with good songs at just the right time in which most cases I never, ever do. I usually end up going through every station about three or four times around and not find a thing, but the past week or two it's been nothing but awesome, awesome, awesome. I landed on Journey, David Bowie and Queen, Blondie, and, yes, LMFAO. Guilty pleasure noted. No - I don't believe in guilty pleasures. Like what you like and don't you feel bad about it! Country music scored some good songs in my book as well. Oh, Reba.

4. My pets. I first got my cat, Tessy, when I lived in Seattle. I adopted her from an elderly woman who could no longer keep her and I brought her back to California with me when I moved. After Dustin and I started dating, we road tripped to Laughlin and found a house that bred ferrets and we snatched up the first one that was brought out to us; Ferret Bueller. Then we moved in together and Tessy HATED Ferret. Hissing, batting at him, running away. Eventually she just learned to avoid him. Then we got Haven. Our one 1/2 year old border collie, a rescue from a homeless shelter. She and Ferret loved each other instantly and are always playing. But Tessy then hated the dog. Its been a few months since we've all been living together and Tessy is finally at ease with Ferret and Haven. Dustin fell asleep on my shoulder while watching tv this afternoon and all three of our loved ones crawled onto the bed with us and all fell asleep together. No animal angst. Just preciousness.

5. Daydreaming. So cheesy, but I swear, I've been doing it almost non-stop these days for some reason and I must say that it is just the most beautiful feeling. It puts me in the greatest mood and I become so much more calm and positive. My daydreams tend to be about the same things: about my next apartment and what it will look like when I decorate it, getting new cats, tattooing and getting tattooed and a lot of nature imagery. Like, sunshine and grass and trees and streams and just getting lost in it all. I'm doing it right now. Geez. How wonderful is daydreaming? You know you do it.

Those are my five :) Thanks, Danielle!

Its coming on

Since my first day in the new year went so well, I thought I'd keep the streak going and have a date night with Dustin and a day date with my good friend, Andrea. Dustin and I went to see We Bought A Zoo and I thought that it was just the most visually stunning movie I've seen in a long while. I think that there was something about the charming old house they moved into and the way the lighting was captured during the daytime shots. Just gorgeous. And all the grass and the trees and exotic animals. It was everything I wanted and more (Thomas Haden Church).

My day date with Andrea was the next day (yesterday) and we decided to keep it light and just grab some coffee. The movie was my main topic of discussion and in the midst of our conversation, she mentions to me - can't beleive I forgot that she told me before - that the movie was shot entirely on her boyfriends ranch. She had just started dating him when I hung out with her last since she had been burried by a semesters worth of schoolwork. I completely forgot that she had told me all about it! That her boyfriend lived on a ranch that his parents managed and that they were filming, "some zoo movie...with a bunch of animals." I'm so excited because they've both invited me to come out and see it this weekend and I was surprised to hear how close it was. Andrea also told me that there are several houses on the ranch that were briefly featured in the movie and that she and her boyfriend wanted to move into one of them, so I'm dying to see. And I also can't wait because Andrea said she wants me to come out and help her decorate when they do :)

Yep, 2012 has been pretty exciting for me so far. I'm also waiting to recieve a phone call from a potential job, but shhh.

2012

My first day in the new year! I'm pleased to say that it has been very productive. I raided my closet for clothes to thirft/consign, got one (very important to me) DIY project finished - made a gorgeous new terrarium bowl out of an old lamp my neighbor was throwing out, filled other terrariums, organized my shelves, spent time with my boyfriend's mom at her house, had dinner and watched some shows and cleaned my room (almost spotless). It was a good start to 2012.

2011 was so full for me. I got to celebrate my one year anniversary with my boyfriend, move in with said boyfriend, bought a ferret, adopted a dog, went to Vegas a few times and started tattooing! Tomorrow, I'll be going back to work nannying after my long two-week break and I'm excited to start saving my money up again after all that holiday spending. I know that one of my resolutions was to put money into my savings account every month, but I think I may just be naughty for the first month...it WILL be my birthday! I plan on doing a blog redesign by Don at Adeline's Daddy and I want to get a new tattoo for my birthday at the end of the month, so for the month of January, instead of it going into my saving account, I'll be saving my wages for those two bits of fun for myself. THEN the savings account resolution can really kick off. So thats the beginning of the year for me. Wow. I'm off to a quick start.

New beginnings for all!