hey! i can see my house from here!

Okay, not from a helicopter or from an airplane, but from Google Maps' Street View. Not sure exactly how long it's been live here in Arkansas, but pretty cool! (And slightly creepy) Go ahead, type in your address 'n give it a whirl.

why?

Why, oh why, would anyone want to make their own Twinkies?

the new firefox rocks.

I'm blogging at work during my frequent, yet short, render times. (Though this last one was a doozy, 20 minutes!) I downloaded the latest Firefox, still in beta, but it's currently giving Safari a run for its money on my Mac. For benchmarks, see Ars Technica's take. Granted, I haven't been surfing on any media heavy websites, but it's blazing through all my Google Apps as of right now.

Okay, so what are you still doing reading this post? Go download it! Download it right now!

hoola hoops are fun.

And 7th grade boys that look like zombies. They're fun, too. ;)

(Special thanks to my friend and model, Lauren - I love this picture)

before i forget..."new" music...

It normally isn't until I'm forced to sit down and relax (see: "being sick") where I actually let my mind wander and explore websites/iTunes for music I might be interested in. Otherwise, I normally hear about good music from a friend, or at times, via my coworkers (who know some of my musical tastes pretty well).

Well, yesterday while I was bummin' it at home and trying to recoup from the nasties, I happened upon some new-ish music that's currently made a move to my iPod. When I say "new-ish," you've got to keep in mind that I'm mostly 6 months behind on "new" music. Well, at least 6 months is better than a year.

1) Leona Lewis: "Bleeding Love"
Like I told the few people I text-messaged when I found out about this 22-year-old British pop sensation, she could quite possibly be an illegitimate love child of Mariah Carey & Whitney Houston. She's got some pipes. And what's more, my beloved Ryan Tedder wrote/co-wrote the song. Swoon.

2) John Mayer: "Say"
I'm seriously a sucker for ballad-y, music-scoring, sentimental-y type of guitary ooze. Thanks, John. Oh, and I also like Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman. Two extra points.

3) Carrie Underwood: "All American Girl"
Now, I can't exactly vouch for country music being my favorite genre, as it normally doesn't make its way into my play list very often. (Yes, I do realize I'm still in Arkansas) I'm not even sure I remember how I discovered this song, but I saw the music video first and loved it. It's a simple, sweet, fun song, and as an All American Girl, I totally dig it. It just makes me smile.

4) Juanes: "Gotas de Agua Dulce"
My favorite Colombian. First it was "Camisa Negra," and now this. I've watched the music video a few times, and for the life of me I can't figure out if those camera pans and tilts are in-camera or all post-production. Hmm. Anyways, the song is entirely in Spanish, so if you're a fan of Spanish-speaking people or Colombia, then you'll enjoy "Gotas de Agua Dulce" (translation: Drops of Sweet Water)

5) Backseat Goodbye: "Technicolor Eyes"
It's a sweet, simplistic ballad. Almost as if someone was talking and decided, "Hey! I should play a guitar to what I just said! Sweet!" It reminds me of my junior high days and summertime.

As you can see, my list is rather short. Until I'm sick again...

going down with the sickness.

It seems like everywhere I turn there's some friend or family member that's coming down with something. I'm no different, I suppose. Currently I'm typing this as I'm propped up in our bed, covered in 3 layers of blankets and a robe, while it's a mere 67 degrees outside.

I don't like being sick.

It wasn't exactly the happy ending I'd been expecting after returning home from a 3-day trip, either. From the moment we left for Mississippi I was gobbling up cough drops. Our shoot-week was wrapped up not as a pretty red bow, but as a fever that developed in my co-worker's Explorer on the way back from Arkadelphia.

Have I mentioned I don't like being sick?

--Fast forward 1.5 days--

I started this post over 24 hours ago, and I'm too lazy to start a new one, and I'm technically still sick, so nyah. I thought I was up to par today, and decided to join my small group's volunteer efforts at our church's carnival this afternoon. A short hour later, I found myself absolutely winded as a human ring toss element (I wasn't being tossed, I was a target!). So I guess I'm not up to par. I retreated home, and now I'm not in bed, but going back and forth between laundry and our big red couch.

I took a few pictures, not as many as I'd like, but probably won't post until I get my model's permission. I have a particular favorite in mind that I'd like to share. Stay tuned. ;)

in sickness and in health...

Kyle's been down with the flu this week, and he's miserable. For the most part, I've been rotating between keeping to myself and tending to him, all while trying not to catch the nasties since I'm going out of town next week for work.

For example, I'm typing this on my laptop within the guest bedroom. The room I'm in is across the hall and diagonal to our bedroom, where I can see Kyle watching a movie in clear view. Drumline, to be precise.

But what brought me to post tonight was the very fact that even in the midst of his sickness, my Kyle still manages to keep his sense of humor pretty healthy. He was on his laptop watching last weekend's episode of SNL, and said that since I couldn't watch it with him, he'd put it on his thumb drive so I could watch it.

Right before handing me the thumb drive, he offers a smile.

"Make sure you scan this for viruses, since it's coming from me."

Cute.