baby's got some brand new blogs.

My mind has been swirling around blog topics lately, and I can't seem to focus on just one. Lots has happened since my last post (not counting the previous one), but for now, I'll just share a few new websites I've been frequenting.

First, there's tastespotting. Ever since we bought the house, all of the sudden I'm into this whole meal planning business. Either that or the house was laced with vats of estrogen somehow which causes me to want to cook excessively. Granted, some of the recipes actually do look pretty crazy. For example, I would never eat this. I would never eat anything that wasabi ever shared a room with, for that matter.

Secondly, there's notcot. The website is labeled as "a visual filtration of ideas + aesthetics + amusement." My favorite post since I've been reading notcot featured some interesting decals to liven up my decor-less house. I have some ideas for doing something like this in my guest bathroom. We'll see.

Lastly (I know, short list), there's my guilty pleasure, dedicated to celebrities' disastrous fashion mishaps. Seriously, some of the witty writing has caused me to LOL. And trust you-me, I don't LOL very often. ;)

a new typography term.

I just had to post it. Just had to. My coworker IM'd this to me a minute ago.

I fully support this new term. Come on, Merriam-Webster!

all-in-one gadgetry. hmm.

So for the past few months I've been entertaining the thought of getting a new cell phone. My cell phone with AT&T has technically been upgradeable since the last time my contract expired - Kyle & I did an upgrade through Wirefly and apparently my phone/number didn't take. So I can still upgrade. That, and with a business discount on cell phones through AT&T makes it tempting to upgrade at a moment's notice - whether I need to or not.

Right now I'm pretty satisfied with my LG CU500. Granted, other than the fact that my initials lead the model number (neat!), it's a pretty decent phone. Lots o' contacts: check. MP3 player: check. Expanded memory through MicroSD: check. Sound quality is not bad, and after buying a data connection cable and hacking its annoying ascending ringtone - it does its job pretty decently for a cell phone.

And that's exactly it. It's a cell phone.

When Apple debuted its iPhone (or rather, when Apple debuted "iPhone" - geez), it was a little hard to not do a double take. It's a sexy little phone/web browser/mp3 player/calendar/emailing/whatucallit. So are Treos. And so are Blackberry cell phones.

It wasn't until the other day when I received a rather unpleasant e-mail that I had to re-examine my want for an all-in-one gadget. Had I been out for lunch I probably would have been sick to my stomach after getting that e-mail. When my cell phone is out of my purse, I'm constantly looking at it - whether it's for the time or a new text message. If my phone also chimed every time I got an e-mail: forget it. I'd never put the dumb thing down.

Several months ago, I spent about 2 hours one weekend putting different pictures and MP3s on my cell phone. I actually used the MP3 player for probably a week and haven't used it since. That's one thing I don't like about my cell phone - the MicroSD card is behind the battery, so in order to transfer music to my phone (it doesn't play well with my iMac at home via bluetooth) I have to power it down, and that gets annoying.

So I've decided I'm going to put off getting an all-in-one phone. That's one less thing for me to be impulsive about.

Actually, I still wouldn't mind getting one of these...After all, an internet tablet never hurt anyone.

a break between "wows."

This week at work we're being trained by the very talented Gabe Watkins, who's very well versed in the entire CS3 suite. It's exciting and refreshing to have someone new come in and work with us through the creative process, learning tips and tricks along the way.

It's also a breath of fresh air to find someone else so fascinated with detail in design and animation - the last person I knew to be this way was my visual effects instructor at UCA. Because we're such a small company here, it's easy to skip over the details that make design and animation a challenge (like it was at UCA). You forget that you can add lighting effects, wiggles, masks and movement. You forget that you can add depth to objects with contrast and saturation. Gabe has definitely brought me personally to a new way of analyzing a visual canvas.

And the man is what, 29? He's awesome.

random cuteness.

I've been at it again, browsing the web, and came across some sweet little bomb-omb toys that I'd love to add as a part of my decor some day.

Prepare for your cuteness meter to explode.

Now that I've turned a quarter-century, I'm wondering when my semi-obsession with finding Mario-related objects on the internet should wear thin. In my defense, it's not like I purchase these objects and have a shrine in my house dedicated to the liking of Yoshi and Toad. But on that same token, I'm 100% most likely to watch a guitar-rendition of the Super Mario Bros. theme in sheer delight. Over and over again.

Oh wait, I just found something else I want.

Guess that answers my question.

whew. it's really been that long, eh?

With all the updates I could enlighten my 1 or 2 readers with, the first thing that actually made me want to post was my excitement about Picasa coming to the Mac platform.

Sad, huh?

Okay, fine. I'm going to quickly skim over some highlights since my last post, then:

1) We're completely moved into our house, give or take a pair of jeans and some shirts.
2) We celebrated Christmas - it was a great holiday season! Went to Missouri to visit Kyle's extended family, then came back down and had Christmas in Arkansas.
2a) Favorite gifts: Chuck Taylor's (thanks Kyle!), Catch Phrase: Music Edition, (thanks Marquita!) a monogrammed recipe book & embosser (thanks Becky!), and $$$ (thanks Mom and Dad!)
3) We put almost all of the trim up in the main living areas (except for about 3 feet in the kitchen)
4) I got fake bangs cut and finally got my hair trimmed! Hmmm, what, only 1.5 years overdue?
5) We had a New Year's Eve and Cotton Bowl party! (Pictures are here courtesy of Mr. Alderfer, his fancy camera, and his fancy website)
6) I finally got a new text messaging package. I was hit with overages - byebye CV and unlimited medianet, hello txt msging!
7) Did I mention we got a house?
8) Had my birthday. Happy quarter century!
9) I hate paying bills.

Okay, #9 wasn't really an update. Consider it a bonus.

Elaborations on the goings-on in my life to come at a later date.

you're not a true fan, unless you eat...

need a new mascara option?

You could always try painting a house. It only takes about 10 gallons of primer, and 6 hours later, voila - new white mascara.

We're almost there. The past three evenings I've been high as a kite from either the smell of primer or the fumes of spray paint, but I'm very aware that we are a week away from moving into our new house. And that's a feasible, doable, realistic thing. That's what blows my mind. We've set silly little timetables for the past several weeks, and now I can actually believe this one.

Tonight was a good, productive night, too. My wonderful friend Marquita came over to help me pack. I didn't anticipate getting as much done as we did, but boy did that feel good!!! Things are feeling emptier here at Kyle's parents' house, and the impending change is exciting.

Thanksgiving was a wonderful event, as it has been the past few years. It's odd just spending it with my in-laws and their friends, but I still do feel at home. Thanksgiving without my family makes me miss them even more...I'm always prompted with questions like, "So what does your family cook for Thanksgiving?" which opens up the floodgates of memories with my folks. The non-traditional Turkey day meal, with a little bit of of Filipino food and a little bit of American tradition: Lumpia and deviled eggs, potato salad and fried rice. Mmmmm.

Even better, was the fact that I did not go shopping on Black Friday. Yupsiree. I stayed in bed, bought a few presents online, ate, and took no part in the madness that is Black Friday. Last year's Black Friday event at Best Buy showed me I do not have the heart to do that ever again.

I also experienced the joy of witnessing the Hogs beat LSU. That was a very, very, nice experience as well.

I have no witty ending for this post, but a few pictures of two newly primed rooms at the new house. Enjoy. =o)

Living Room - Before

Living Room - After

Laundry Room - Before

Laundry Room - After

christmas gift links.

I haven't anything brilliant to say, but wanted to post something. It's been pretty busy between professional work and working on the house (both containing that miserable word, "work") so rather than fill this blog full of either subject, just thought I'd share some fun interweb links.

Uncrate & Outblush
I don't quite remember how I stumbled across these websites, but the inner shopaholic in me (although I can be quite frugal) goes absolutely insane over every little post. And stupid as some of the items may be, I want to buy all of them, either as gifts or for myself.

Elsewares
Candleholders, vinyl record bowls, and Coca-cola rings? Yes, ma'am.

Thinkgeek
This is just self-explanatory. For reasons such as this. And yes, I do have a wishlist there.

Sephora
If you have ovaries, you should already know about this website.

Etsy
Lots o' cute handmade stuff. Bags, mittens, buttons, stationery...and even Tetris earrings. Support your fellow craftsy folk!

CB2
An off-shoot store from Crate & Barrel that's intended for the not-so-spensive and much-so-thrifty in mind. Stuff for living, eating, decorating - in short - stuff for our new house!

Okay, time to go interweb Christmas shopping. Enjoy. ;)

PS - OneRepublic finally came out with their new (and first) cd. You must buy it. iTunes & Best Buy: $8. So go. Like, right now.

chivalry ain't dead.

There are a lot of lifestyles and choices people make that seem to be the norm in our society - going to college, getting married, having kids...I've got two of these three life choices nailed down, but by no means am I a die-hard advocate of all three. I don't believe everyone should go to college. (Though I loved my higher education) I don't believe that it's in everyone's future to get married, and I certainly believe that not everyone is meant to have kids.

But I would love to offer my opinion to those women out there who believe that chivalry is dead and that a good man is hard to find...Just date a nerd.

A geek. A dork. Whatever you call him. (For example, "Turd Ferguson" is a nice little made-up synonym from yours truly)

Yeah, I said it, and I'm absolutely fine with it, because I married one. Kyle and I were talking in the car on the way home from dinner about where we would be if we didn't have each other. Okay, "we" weren't really talking, "I" was really going on and on about how I'd probably be stuck with some loser whom I only adored because he gave me 5 minutes of attention on some day I was depressed, and he would probably have 4 baby mommas and shiny gold teeth.

That was an exaggeration. I think I have a little more self-respect than that, but I'd honestly be lost in the dating world nowadays, just like I was back in high school. At any rate, I have many reasons why I suggest dating a nerd - other than the fact that they make great husbands. Some of the following reasons may just be particular to Kyle, but he is the biggest nerd I know. =o)

1) They're sweet.
They're kindhearted, yet manly in a "I'm-not-REALLY-that-sensitive-but-secretly-AM" kinda way. They're sentimental and remember special things, like the day of the month when they first asked you out, or a line from your favorite movie. It's cute.

2) They're good at tech stuff.
This includes setting computers, TVs, DVD players, consoles, microwave ovens, and the like. And if it's got some sort of wiring or electrical parts and they've never attempted to fix/set it up before, they'll learn and master it, or at least die trying. (Okay, another exaggeration)

3) They don't do anything halfway.
It could be a house-project or trying a new recipe...among other things. They give it 100% ;)

4) They're loyal, and let you know it.
Any doubt that you're the only one for him? None here.

5) They're funny. Sometimes in an awkward way.
It may be witty banter about Apple vs. Microsoft or a silly sci-fi character impersonation. But still incredibly cute.

6) They're smart.
At least mine is. And he can do more than just simple math. This guy made me mad in school because I had to study my butt off for tests and he just remembered everything - even if it was from my notes.

Okay, I've only got 6 reasons in this post, but there are plenty others. I think the more I write about it, though, the more I lean toward who Kyle is more than nerds all over the globe. But still. Just wanted women out there to know...Chivalry ain't dead. It just comes in the form of a geek. ;)

what a beautiful day.

This post recognizes two things:

1) I shouldn't be blogging at work (although I've hit a dead spot as I'm waiting on some revision notes on an edit to come in)

2) I shouldn't be videotaping while driving

But I'm blogging, and I did some shooting (on my cell phone) while I was driving. This morning's drive to work was absolutely gorgeous. I love the fall.



Music: "Home" by Josh Verdes (myspace.com/joshverdes)

feliz lunes

I have to admit it's been one of the best Mondays I've had in quite some time. Work went well - there was no kicking and screaming (such is the case oftentimes when our boss goes out of town), we all were productive, cracked several jokes and made fun of each other, and no one had to stay late. Aside from an 8-hour wave of nausea, today was good.

This evening we made some more progress on the house, along with my father-in-law's help. I opted for wearing my "cow poo" boots instead of the norm (tennis shoes) and found them to be much more durable when working on the house. Normally when I wear my boots for more than 4 hours my knees and legs automatically give out and I crumple to the floor in a giant blob. This was not the case tonight. Kyle and Brad sanded while I ripped up plastic covering from the floor, cleaned up leftover popcorn ceiling and climbed on the kitchen counters to clean the top of them with the shop-vac. It was pretty gross up there - mixed in with the giant chunks of popcorn ceiling were roach droppings, dead bees, and spiders. Yuk.

I only had a few hiccups tonight: the flood light and the vacuum cleaner did not like sharing the same source of electricity and I blew the breaker twice. Then I kept accidentally running into the chandelier in the formal dining room.

But I was productive, and the things I needed to clean tonight were cleaned. I've had several people ask me when our final move-in date on the house is, and we've changed it a few times. So I'm tempted to just put a giant "TBD" sticker on my forehead. ;) Sometimes I'm optimistic about the house - other days, I feel as though we're never going to move in. I guess I just need to keep in mind how lucky we are to be in a place where we don't "have" to move out right away. Move-in, however, may not be this weekend, or the next...

But it will be before 2008, that I'm sure. If not then, send a search party, we may be buried underneath popcorn ceiling and spackling-dust.

rainbows.

Aha, an afterthought. I was clearing some pictures off of my cell phone and thought I'd post some pictures of rainbows from several days ago...

where do we draw the line?

I have a hard time understanding why people do what they do. I'm no different - even I am inescapable underneath my own magnifying glass.

I'd like to think that I have a basic understanding of seeing all aspects of someone's character...but I've had one of those types of weeks where I found myself throwing my hands up in the air in exasperation shouting, "Why?! What is wrong with you?!" Okay, I really didn't do that, and my reaction was actually pretty close to cursing, but that's beyond the point.

This particular week, I was the unfortunate recipient of some _very_ undeserved disrespect. It was stupid and childish and yet, even though I should have left it at that, I remained bothered by it until I received an apology.

I think as adults, we tend to blame a lot of our own little quirks, tendencies, and discrepancies on a multitude of things: upbringing, a neat-freak mother, a control-freak dad, day-to-day stresses, other interpersonal relationships, etc. So of course, with this apology, came what I saw as an "excuse." This excuse covered a broad range of things - residual anger from an argument with another person, personal stresses, and it all sounded like a bunch of nonsense to me.

But where do I draw the line? On my end, where do I draw the line between being bothered and unaffected? On his/her side, where do I draw the line that this "excuse" was valid or a bunch of crap? I may sound forthright, open, and have a lot of nerve at times, but I'm in fact a very sensitive person - anyone who knows me understands this. Sometimes I take things to heart - yes, even the stupidest of things - and this is where I scrutinize why I react the way that I do.

I was very, very, tempted to accept the apology but chew this person out about their unprofessional behavior (I was disrespected in the presence of a client _and_ a coworker), immaturity, general lack of self-control in stressful situations, but that's where I had to draw the line on my end. That's where I have to have grace.

Yeah. I suppose I need a lot more of that.

happy tuesday.

I normally start my mornings off at work by checking out Woot's website. I've always loved the clever little stories they include with each day's item.

This morning's was no different.

www.woot.com

Enjoy.

removing wallpaper sucks.

There are few random acts of kindness in this world. One of them should definitely be to NOT wallpaper any room in your house. I'll definitely take note of this, as I'm still picking wallpaper adhesive out from underneath my fingernails.

I've already removed all of the wallpaper from the guest bedroom, but it was the master bath that was a pain. A room not even half of the size of the guest bedroom has currently eaten up 8 hours of my life that I can never get back. And I'm STILL not done. I guess that will make its full renovation that much more glorious in the end.


In other news, I wrapped my ankle after last night's Ultimate game. I'm starting to think I should just sit on the grass and cheer. This is for two main reasons: 1) I always end up hitting the ground awkwardly or tripping or running into someone unnecessarily because I'm a total klutz, and 2) I suck. I think it's better to have an invisible Me (yes, my invisible twin should be capitalized) running around on the field. She'd be better and not be so klutzy. Anyways, even with yesterday's ankle incident, it definitely hasn't helped with me standing all day putting pressure on it whilst removing wallpaper.

Oh, and yay...tomorrow is our 2 year anniversary. We've got a full schedule with anniversary activities: Kyle getting a hair cut, working on house stuff, a movie, and lunch. Not very exciting, but when you look at our gift for our anniversary - a house - everything else seems pretty small. ;)

Oh, and Kyle didn't get to take the day off like I did. Phooey.

I'm happy to celebrate 2 years of marriage with this silly man I call my husband. I'll save the sappy entry for a later date, though. ;)

when i grow up...

I had a long conversation with an old friend from Japan. What's interesting about this particular friend is that we talk about once a year, and every year we talk we're at a dramatically new place in life. Last time we spoke over the phone, he was about to leave San Antonio for San Francisco to pursue freelance and gallery work. I was starting a new job with Rizon, we had just moved in with Kyle's folks, and we had just bought a new car.

After today's conversation, I've learned he's recently moved again to the East coast to be an illustrator for a clothing company, and he learned that we now own a house (amongst other things).

It's amazing what can happen in a year.

Kyle and I, along with our friend Joey, worked on the house today after a short trip to Lowe's. Our Lowe's trip consisted of three new door lock sets (holy CRAP they are expensive!), some joint compound, and 2 sample hardware pieces for the kitchen.

As I type this, I'm sitting in our office at Kyle's parents house itching to go back to our house. "Our" house. It's 10:50 at night and all I want to do is read through magazines on the bare 27-year-old carpeted floor in our now wallpaper-less guest bedroom.

Work has been a little nuts this week, as well. It was all about putting out fires, time-management decisions and deadlines. But I guess that's just the workplace for you. It's not the industry I'm in - every job will have problems and none of them are immaculate. I've done some major thinking about where I want to be professionally (and personally) in five or so years, and this week has been integral to that. So I should be thankful.

My friend commented that I was now doing "grown up" things. If that constitutes being married, getting a house, and coming up with a rough 5-year-plan....I'm liking being a grown-up.

case of the short & sweet.

I guess one of the things that's been holding me back from my usual lackluster writing has been the pressure to write at length: I'll wait until I have a soapbox to stand on or if I've had a crummy day to rant about or talk about house plans. Well, no more. I'm thinking about keeping it short and sweet.

For example, I was on YouTube today and saw the trailer for Jumper and about fell out of my chair. (Or off my bed. You get the picture) Not only is my beloved Hayden Christensen in a new film after a long hiatus, but a very interesting non-Star Wars-y film to boot. I never watched Sliders on TV, and never read the book, but you'll definitely catch me at Rave watching this on its premiere weekend.

Here 'tis:
www.jumperthemovie.com

ipod bling & swollen lymph nodes.

I originally started this post over the Labor Day weekend but I got about two sentences in before I felt an overwhelming urge to fall asleep on my keyboard. Thus, I called it quits and decided to start fresh, 3 days later. Well, fresh besides this particular entry's title.

First, the iPod bling. My loving husband recently bought me an iPod video out of the blue (yes, me, an iPod! And an iPod video at that!). He engraved it with some pet names we call each other, as well as our wedding date. It was very sweet. He also edited every memorable dance routine from this season's So You Think You Can Dance and put all of them on the iPod, which was also an amazing feat. Geez, I'm spoiled.

So my friend and I, along with her mom, decide to go out shopping on Labor Day, and we're milling around the housewares section of a particular store that was having a moving sale...she brings me 3 iPod cases, all marked down to a whopping $1.18. I had my choice of dressing up my new tech toy with a blue, pink, or silver be-dazzled iPod case. The sequins were frightening and funny at the same time. So, I got the silver. Don't be jealous. ;)

And the swollen lymph nodes. Those are no fun. Never had 'em before, and to be quite honest, they freaked me out a bit. My sis recommended Ester-C and Airborne since I'm "in-between" doctors. Airborne, might I say, is the nastiest medicinal ANYTHING I've ever tried in my entire life. Granted, I've never taken any pill larger than my thumbnail, nor have I had to have painful injections anywhere, but let me tell ya....Airborne = gross. It's as though they took every unpleasant-tasting thing in the world (liver, tuna, and green olives), bottled it up, turned it orange, and manufactured it in dissolving tablet form.

Something I've noticed the past several days, and actually on an ongoing basis, is our generation's ability to listen, or lack thereof. Listening has seriously become an ancient art, and I'm the last person who wants to admit that. But perhaps it isn't just my generation, either. I try my darndest to be intuitive to people and my surroundings, and for the most part, I'd say I'm a decent listener. But I find myself getting frustrated with people who, when I have a conversation with them, I have to preface it by saying, "I've got three things to tell you," and BAM, BAM, BAM. I rattle them off, one by one, because I know I've lost their complete attention after 30 seconds.

I call it the 30-Second Attention Span. After about 30 seconds, my listener's eyes glaze over, dart around the room, their head starts to dip to one side, or they completely cut me off and change the subject. It's aggravating. For the most part, I experience this at work - and I'd like to say that when I find my own attention slipping I'm verbal about my own inattentiveness, apologize, and have someone repeat themselves.

But I still can't help myself but find an individual entirely refreshing when you can see them listen. You see their facial expression steady, fixated, and absorbed in who speaks to them. When I meet new people, I find myself criticizing whether they're really listening or not - especially when meeting new people at work. I was at business lunch with a coworker where we met with the owner of an ad agency, and I kept watching his eyes. There's a lot to be said when an individual can't look someone else in the eye. As a shy child I was never able to look someone in the eye. I'd bow my head, hide behind my parents' legs, anything I could to stay out of the attention of someone else. It wasn't until I was about 17 - when I stopped being so introverted, that I broke that habit.

I'm glad this was a short work-week. (our power at work went out on Wednesday so we were basically out the whole day!) I'm looking forward to breezing through tomorrow and enjoying the weekend. Hmm, perhaps I'll do another blog, and up the quote to 2 blogs a month. ;)

"new" pics. from a month ago.

I use that term loosely. I've posted these photos to Facebook and MySpace, so I figured I'd post 'em here as well. These are some pictures from this year's 48 Hour Film Project - featuring various cast and crew from "Goode & Ledbetter."