Hospital Visit/Fun Weekend/Great Color Clothing Choice February 20, 2011

So, my dad fell on the ice and hit head head very hard on Friday. I stayed up with him that night because I had a really bad gut feeling about the incident. Luckily that night he was okay.

However on Tuesday he got violently and suddenly sick. He called me and I took him to the hospital where he got a CAT scan. We sat around the hospital all afternoon and then got told to go home. I was supposed to wake him up every two hours to make sure he was still responsive.

The whole experience was very scary. I hated feeling so helpless.

The doctor called back the next morning and said my dad had a concussion and a severe sinus infection. So we’ve been taking care of him, and thankfully, he is doing much better. Why do I have a dad that ignores his health? It is very stressful.

 

At work the other day I asked a man in the store if he needed help. He didn’t answer, so I assumed he didn’t hear me, so I asked again. Then a different costumer said “I sure hope he doesn’t have any questions!!” It was the man who owned the store and approved everything in it! How embarrassing! It was a good thing I did that though, because now he knows I’m customer friendly I guess…..

I was told that sass is not attractive. Well to damn bad, I’m sassy, get over it. Anyone who can’t handle sass doesn’t have a chance with me anyway.

Sketch Book Ideas:

• Tea Book
• Plant Book
• Travel Book

This weekend was my mom’s birthday. The whole family came for dinner, even my cousin John. We laughed for three hours and ate wonderful food. It was so much fun. I love my family, we are a bit strange, but man, do we have fun. 🙂

My friend Tyler came in to visit this weekend. Friday we went to the Greenhouse Tavern, because he appreciates good food. Of course everything we got there was AMAZING! I had curried squash for an appetizer. It tasted like Japanese curry! Yum. It had squash, chic peas, and bread crumbs with the curry. For dinner I had the Cauliflower, Eggplant, (and something else) Ravioli. DELICIOUS! And then for dessert I had chocolate chai pot de creme. OMG, it was orgasmic. I really enjoy that restaurant. I like the atmosphere, I love the food, the music is good. Definitely worth every penny.

Unfortunately, then I failed miserably as a tour guide. We finally found a bar that wasn’t to crowded/loud to hang out at, but I was exhausted. So I wasn’t much company I’m sure.

Saturday I worked, went swing dancing, and worked on hw. Two tests this week. IEEEE! But seriously, I think I will do well on them. I am still trying to memorize the transition metals ion charges and the polyatomic ions……help…

Sunday I took Tyler to brunch. We went to the Vine and Bean Cafe. Really cute little place; it was a house turned cafe, so it had all these cute little rooms with their unique fun quirks and colorful paintings.  Unfortunately I think I ruined his weekend when I said I didn’t want a relationship, which I don’t. And it’s honestly not because of him, he’s a great guy. I just don’t want one right now. I am 100% focused on school. Plus I don’t wanna do long distance. I hope he believes me, because it’s true. I still felt bad, but I needed to say it.

ANYWAY, afterward I came home and took a nap, then spent time with my mom and my sisters. Then did homework (mini rant warning). Okay, so my homework was telling me I was wrong, I had to name the ionic compound, and I did; aluminum iodide. However it kept saying, no, it’s wrong. I finally figured out why…because they had aluminum spelled WRONG IN THEIR KEY. Big dumb jerks. Sometimes I really don’t like online hw/quizzes.

Now I’m writing about my weekend and posting all the art I worked on….and now back to studying chem for the test tomorrow.

But before I go I was very proud of my color combination for my clothes today. I wore a:

magenta tank top under a:

golden yellow long sleeve shirt and:

robin’s egg blue earrings and necklace.

 

I really liked this color combination. I’m rather proud I thought to put it together. It’s more colorful then I usually go for and it totally worked. 🙂

Justin and Katie

May 21-23 I spent with the Smith and Johnston families. I left early with Dan and met up at the Smith house. We all then drove up to the very tipity top of Michigan to celebrate Justin and Katie’s wedding. It was a nine  hour drive, which wasn’t that bad. I found out I would be staying at the bunkhouse while everyone else (Dan, Jared, Kelly, and Paul) were staying at the bed and breakfast and I felt kind of bad that I wouldn’t be with my friends. Then I saw the bed and breakfast. When we pulled into the driveway we say bikes hanging from trees, sculptures made from garbage, a secret garden, and a car covered with bumper stickers. It reminded me of the eclectic art house from Harriet the Spy (the movie). We went in and it was a little overwhelming. This man had been in the Bed and Breakfast industry for over 25 years and it showed, because he stuffed every little knit knack and what not he could in that house. I was fascinated, but at the same time glad I wasn’t staying in that house. I could see how it would be creepy at night.

We dropped off our stuff and went to the lakehouse/bunkhouse. By the way we had passed the only movie theater within 40 miles and it was playing one movie at one time. I found that rather entertaining. The movie was Robin Hood btw, good movie, I recommend it. Anyway, we drive through the town and reach this gravel road and then drive for what seems like 20 mins til we get to the lakehouse. It was beautiful! The house was made for 20-30 people to be able to stay in it. It was Katie’s grandparents house. When you walked in all you saw was the forest and the lake because the back wall was all windows. I got to meet Katie’s family who is a blast and I am kind of sad I won’t be seeing more of them.  We ate fajitas and drank cherry wine while we all mingled and got to know each other.

The next morning I got up early and helped cook.  I was the best damn celery cutter you’ve ever seen! I found out that Katie and Justin are now vegans! and that they had actually gotten married on a court tv show earlier in the month. They needed the wedding license and since the show paid them to get married then, it made sense. I was still shocked. Justin cooked and we had vegan waffles for breakfast. It was actually really good. Then we had the rehearsal. Afterwards Dan, Jared, Stephanie, and I went kayaking. It was a lot of fun and I know realize how much I miss canoeing/kayaking, camping, and whatnot.

When we got back we went to a second hand book store called ‘dog eared books’. It was very cool and had a lot of charm. I got an old cool version of ‘The Odyessy’ and a newer book called ‘Philosophy made simple’. Then I came back, showered, and all the bridemaids helped Katie get ready. Most of them were theater majors so there was a lot of singing and they definitely knew how to do hair and makeup. It was fun. I finally got to wear my dress.

The ceremony was simple and beautiful. I’ve never cried at a wedding, but it was so wonderful and they were so happy. After the wedding we took pictures on the beach. Then we drank margaritas and ate delicious food. Everyone gave toasts, including me, and we all just had fun, drank wine, and mingled. Katie was beautiful, Justin was glowing. It was definitely the best wedding I’ve ever been to. I am so happy they found each other and I wish them every happiness in the world. I’ve never found two people more right for each other.

The next morning we left in a hurry cause most of us slept in, so I forgot my pillow and coat. We did stop at a cute little coffee shop where I got chai, and apricot scone, and a breakfast burrito. It hit the spot and then I managed to sleep for most of the ride home. We did have an incident where our tire exploded on the highway, but since it exploded out, not in, it wasn’t that big a deal. We called a company, they helped us change tires and we were on our way.  It was a wonderful weekend.

This past weekend (May 29-31) I went to Chicago for the first time ever. Since it was such a small wedding the party was the next weekend and everyone was invited. Unfortunately my family couldn’t come, but Mike came with me. We met up with Dan, Jackie, and Bry. Mike and I drove up early early in the morning. He wanted to leave at 4, and since I wasn’t driving, I didn’t complain. I got to sleep around 1am the night before and woke up around 3am because I was so excited. Around 430am I found out he had slept in and went back to bed. We didn’t actually leave until 6am (which is when I wanted to leave anyway). It took 8 hours and $30 in toll roads to get there, but we finally did around noon. We couldn’t check in yet, but we parked and explored a little bit. We got food, saw the Chicago bean, saw Millenium Park, and went to the Institute of Art. The museum had the largest display of Impressionism and Post-Impressionism Art in the country. That’s pretty much all we got to see because by 3 we were both exhausted. I definitely want to go back and check out more of that museum, because it has some very cool things.

We went back to the hotel and checked in. Then we promptly fell asleep for an hour. After that we meet up with Dan, Bry, and Jackie and had dinner. Then we meet the whole group at their hotel. It was good to see everyone again and meet more of their friends. We went to see a comedy sketch called “Cupid has a Heart On: A Musical Guide to Relationships”. I haven’t laughed that hard in a long time. It was hilarious. I’ve never been to a comedy club before, but I’m definitely going to have to go to more. This was important because Katie and Justin met at an improv group.

The next morning I meant to get up early, but I slept in until 10 or 11. No big, we got up and went to the Shedd Aquarium; one of the top 10 aquariums in the States. It was a good thing I bought tickets ahead of time because the line was out the door, down the block and around the corner. We just walked right in. Mike was very good, I spent at least 4 hours in there and he let me take my time. I had a wonderful time….except when people decided to tap on the glass. That drives me NUTS! It was mostly adults too. Mike saved me from hitting a few people in the back of the head. They had beluga whales there, and one was a 3 week old baby.

We got a Chicago Polish Sausage from a street vendor that was delicious. Then we went to the beach which was over crowded and the water was freezing. So we sat on the hill and watched the sailboats for awhile while picking out a restaurant to go to. We decided on Catch 35, which turned out to be fancier then we expected. It had excellent food. I had clam chowder, blue cheese crusted fillet mingon medallions with demi glaze, crab mashed potatoes, green beans, and for dessert: carrot cake bread pudding. Yum yum yum!

After dinner we hurried up, showered, dressed, and went to the party. The dinner took longer then expected, but it was worth it. I finally finally finally got to wear the dress I bought. It is a sleek dress that is a dark green/blue with ruffles…that’s not the right word for it….but anyway, I love it! And I got tons of compliments on it. The bride and groom redid their vows, and had their first dances again. The rest of the night was dancing, drinking, laughing, and eating. It was so much fun. Definitely worth going for.

The next morning we slept in and then found us some Chicago Deep Dish Pizza. omg, soooo good. It’s a good thing those aren’t here because I would be 50 pounds heavier at least. Then the rest of Monday was driving back in the awful downpour and paying ridiculous tolls again.

I had two absolutely wonderful weekends in a row. I couldn’t be happier.

Katie and Justin are spending their honeymoon in Costa Rica right now! How excited!

 

 

*Disclaimer*

This was written way back when….I’m not sure why it was still in the drafts. I just came across it.

Ramblings November 28, 2010

I kind of feel like the world is a little kid and while I’m walking he trips me and I fall flat on my face. Then he says, “Oh, I’m so sorry I tripped you. Here, let me help you back up.”

Usually my life is a bunch of ups or a bunch of downs all at the same time, but lately it’s been up, down, up, down, up, down. I’m not complaining. It’s actually kind of a nice balance. I’m just not really sure what’s going on right now.

Lots of things going through my mind right now. I gave my official letter of resignation and I am relieved and excited to leave this job. I do enjoy the job, but I hate the hours. I have 10 more days of work. No, I have no found another job yet, but I will.

I’m doing more graduate school research. Still overwhelming. I think I need to limit my school choices down by: major, fellowship/assistantship opportunities, location. It’s not as easy as it sounds. I also want to take into account study abroad opportunities. I watched the movie ‘Eat, Pray,Love’ today and it made me want to go live in another country for awhile. Like Italy, Spain, or Australia. I found a few study abroad internships that would be amazing, but of course they are so expensive. I’m definitely going to read the book though. I think my favorite line was “I don’t need to love you in order for me to love myself.” I understand that statement. It makes a lot of sense to me. I used to find my worth in what guys thought of me, but now I’m busy trying to find my own worth. To just love me whether anyone else does or not.

Speaking of love my ex showed up at my house. I’m pretty sure I wasn’t supposed to know he came to visit my family because I caught him leaving as I got home from work. I really don’t miss him, and I’m glad he’s gone. But I was PISSED when I found him at my house. I was mad he was there, I was mad my family wanted to see him, I was mad that he didn’t care about me at all. I honestly wish I would never see him again, but my family continues to stay in contact with him. It hurts. I think that’s a wound that’s never really going to heal.

I’m actually kind of afraid that I can’t feel anymore. I haven’t really loved anyone since my heart got broken. I had a great guy as a boyfriend, and I really cared about him this past year, but I never did love him. And recently I’ve had a few guys ask me out (we’ll go into that more later), but I’m not really attracted to them, or want to date right now. I’m terrified that when I cut my ex out I built a wall that is going to be very difficult to tear down. If it can be torn down. I’m sure I’ll love again…but what in the world is wrong with me?

I got asked out three times this month. One guy asked me out, and I didn’t want to go on a date and I wasn’t attracted so I responded “I just broke up and don’t want to date right now.” Which is mostly true. He asked if he could take me out later, and I said I don’t know. Because for whatever reason I didn’t have the guts to just say, ‘thank you for the offer, but no.’ My next date offer came when I went to the bar by myself (I had time between errands and dancing and I wanted a Sam Adams Hardcore Cider – pretty good). So, since I was by myself and I didn’t want food, just a drink, I brought my book in with me and read. Well, I read for about half an hour and closed my book and he started talking to me. A had been sitting next to me, for I don’t know how long, but waited til I was done reading before talking to me (point for him). I ended up being half an hour late for dancing. He’s very nice, although he is a foot taller then me. We’ve already been on a date and will probably go out on another one. Then a week later at dancing I got asked out by another guy. We went out last night and talked for four hours. I was off my game, but we both still had a good time I think.

In good news, I got a few new shirts and dressed and I’m looking good. I think it’s because I am more confident. Dancing has done a lot of that. Curling my hair helps too. It’s fun, I like all the different looks I can get. And I look forward to dancing. Even if I’m not the best, you can’t not feel sexy when dancing. It really does help with the confidence. I got to see a lot of people from my highschool and a lot of them had gained weight….I looked great. If anything, I’ve lost weight. It surprised me how many people were just okay with what they were doing and how much weight they had gained. I felt pretty proud.

I got to see a ton of my friends this Thanksgiving. It went by so quickly, but it was wonderful. We had an all cousin’s dinner which was a lot of fun. We planned getting together once in awhile for dinners since we all live close together. I really hope that works out. Then my friends came over and we played card games until late in the night when I kicked everyone out because I had to work the next day. The day after everyone went to the bar (ironically my high school had a reunion the same night from two grades above me), and we drank and laughed and had a great time. I love my friends. I’m so lucky, I really am. They are such wonderful amazing people. And most of them know what’s up, they like their jobs, they’re happy with who they are. They really are an inspiration.

Anyway, I’m going to go. I really will post pics of my room, because it IS CLEAN!!!! And I got a new betta. His name is PineApple.

 

 

BTW, the bunnies say hi!

Bad Luck…..but still fun. October 31, 2010

So I’ve had this mini vacation planned for about two months now. It did not turn out how I had expected. Don’t get me wrong, I still had fun, but it was a little more frustrating then it should have been.

The morning I wanted to leave for Pittsburgh my Ipod broke. Go figure. I’ve only had it for about a year and a half so there’s really no reason it should break. So I left an hour and a half later then I wanted to, without an ipod. I grabbed a cd player only to find out that it did not work either (lame!). The drive to Pittsburgh was beautiful. The leaves were absolutely beautiful.

I made it to Pittsburgh and got to spend time with Tyler, a friend I haven’t seen in years. He showed me around his school, Duquesne. It was little and nice. After showing me around we went and got dinner at a Californian restaurant. The food was delicious. But of course…I got sick….so we didn’t go salsa dancing like we had planned. Instead we walked around in the night air for awhile just talking. I really did enjoy that.

He let me sleep in his bed while he slept on the couch. He even bought new sheets for me…egyptian cotten. It was the softest most wonderful sheets ever. So I had a good nights sleep for the first time in awhile.

The next morning we got up and went to this little street market. It reminded me of the morning markets in Europe and Japan. I loved it. There was fresh food, clothes, things, it was a blast. We picked up some ingredients for dinner and headed back. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to go to the aquarium like I was hoping. So we hung out and he cooked dinner. It was delicious. He made filet mignon with a mushroom sauces, broccalini, potatoes, a caprese salad (mozzarella, tomatoes, and basil) and fresh bread from the market. He paired with with a merlot, which I’m not usually a fan off, but it was perfect for the dinner.

We sat and talked for hours. It was a very nice dinner. Then we went salsa dancing, but I didn’t feel at all well again, so we left early and watched a movie.

The next morning he made french toast and I left to go to Buffalo to visit Ash. At the gas station my car broke down. Turns out it was the security system that hasn’t worked in seven years. Took 2 1/2 hours to figure that out. So I didn’t get to Buffalo until late. It was great to see Ash though.

The next morning I went to school with her and found out that I don’t remember anything from my chemistry classes. It was nice to be at a school again. While she was at her other classes I did some grad school research. I found this really neat program called the Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) funded by the Science Foundation. It’s science based internships that this program sponsors students for. How cool would that be if I can do that?!

After school we went to the oldest independent bookstore in Buffalo and got some original buffalo wings. Tasty tasty. Then we came back and watched ‘Into the Wild’.

The next day I decided to sleep in…which means I couldn’t drive because the weather was supposed to be ‘the worst in a decade’. It wasn’t, but I’m still glad I didn’t drive in it. I hung out with Ash (although she had to do school work the whole time), went to the Conservatory by myself (which was very nice), and watched Avatar (the anime not the movie).

The next morning I drove back home and got ready for my work week.

Since my trip someone has slashed my tired (so the tire people tell me) and I had to buy a new one. And there is no power in my house from Friday until Monday.

Lots of things have gone wrong recently, but I’m over it all. I was really annoyed and stressed about it before…but it’s not that big a deal. I’m really glad I took the trip and got to see my friends. And life can only get better.

I hope to update soon, I have a fun idea about art/artist to post. But my time at Panera is up, so I have to go.

 

Happy Halloween!!!

Pet Dream/Christmas December 28, 2009

I feel that this is a very appropriate picture for today. It has been snowing for days. It’s a beautiful snowfall, the kind that sticks to trees and you can makes snowmen out of. But the wind is brutal. Very pretty.

I think one of my favorite things is walking into a dark house after a long day, and the first thing you notice is the Christmas tree with it’s lights lit up, then you step in the door and the pine smell of Christmas just envelopes you.  It will never fail to bring a smile to my face. I love the sight, the smell, and the way it makes me feel.

So I had a dream last night. I dreamt that Zoe needed to go to the vet, and that I felt I needed to bring Nala too. Since I’m going I might as well bring both of them. Then I was very worried about my baby chamelion. It was yellow and scrivaled up….don’t mind my spelling…it’s been a long day… I knew I needed to take him to the vet, but I also knew my vet didn’t see reptiles, but I thought she might look at him for me. So I squirted him with a water bottle and he kind of swelled up a little bit. So I kept on squirting him and he got bright red and normal sized and seemed to be very happy. I also had a hedgehog, who was super cute, that had to go to the vet too. Unfortunately there was a red eyed snake (think red eyed tree frog in snake form) in the cage with him. I didn’t want to bring the snake, just the hedgehog and I had a terrible time getting only the hedgehog out because I didn’t like touching the snake and did not know how to handle him. To make a long frustrating story short…the snake escaped and slithered off…reappearing in my dream randomly. Finally the bunnies were packed up, the chamelion was watered, and the hedgehog was ready to go. I got outside….and dropped my hedgehog. I looked and looked and looked. I found many other cute hedgehogs, but not my hedgehog. I was very sad.

I woke up worried about my bunnies and convinced I need a hedgehog in my life. I liked that dream, oddly enough. I just wanted to post it because I did not want to forget it.

My dad and I finished another puzzle. I really liked this one, although it was harder then I thought it would be.

Yes, it is a rooster puzzle. The background had sheet music and old maps though, I think that was my favorite part.

Christmas went well. I got a GPS so I won’t get lost anymore. I also got quite a few art supplies (SCORE!) , a table easel for painting on canvases, and a beading 101 book. I’ve suddenly gotten interested in jewelry making. Fun.

I’ve applied for quite a few part time jobs. I have all this time and I need to make some money for Japan. If you do not know yet…I bought a plan ticket to Japan!!! I am so excited it’s disgusting. 🙂

It was a nice relaxing Christmas filled with friends and family. My next week promises to be very busy and I have lots of plans for the new year. But I’m going to talk about that later. Right now I’m going to read about Impressionism Art and go to bed. Good Night

Cliff Notes November 27, 2009

“Today, I decided to try the Google vs. Yahoo! search. I typed in, “Pizza is” on Yahoo! and got, “Pizza is good.” When I typed it on Google, I got, “Pizza is a lot like sex. When it’s good, it’s really good. When it’s bad, it’s still pretty good.” There’s an obvious winner here.”

I read that on My Life Is Average and it made me smile.

 

So I’ve had a wonderful week off, but I’m exhausted, so you’re only getting the cliff notes. Let’s see….

Thursday I don’t think I did much. If I did, I unfortunately do not remember it. Friday I went dancing and had an amazing time. It was probably the most fun I have had salsa dancing ever. It was like I never got to sit down, everyone wanted to dance, and quite a few of them were good leads. I can’t wait to go again.

Saturday I went to kickboxing class and got pawned. I was sore for DAYS, but it was a good workout and I look forward to going again. Then I went to the sketchcrawl at a fun little tea house. I drew for two hours and got to meet a lot of other artists. I even exchanged numbers with a boy. We’ve been texting back and forth, I’m waiting for him to ask me to dinner.

Sat night Kt came into town and I went to go see her new house. It is so beautiful. A very nice house with a big fenced in yard. We watched movies over there for awhile. It was fun to spend some time with her.

Sunday I went Christmas shopping with Jackie and epically failed. I bought stuff for me….and I didn’t buy a single Christmas present. I know I’m making most gifts….but some I still have to buy and I didn’t. 😦

Monday we went wedding dress shopping and found, not only Kt’s wedding dress, but our bridesmaid dresses too. I will post pictures of these sooner or later. Absolutely beautiful! After we got measured for our dresses we all went out to eat and feasted. I love my family. Most girls would fast, not us, we pigged out after we got our measurements.

Tuesday….worked out, worked on art, so on and so forth, and then that night I went out to dinner with Dave H. It was so good to see him and talk. I’m glad he’s in town for awhile, we definitely need to hang more often. We both vented about stupid people and talked about good stuff too.

Wednesday I cleaned a lot for Thanksgiving dinner and Kt had a housewarming party at her house.

Then today was Thanksgiving. Colette’s first one. She’s now seven months old and getting so big. It was so good to see everyone. And later on my friends came over for a hilarious game of apples to apples. I wish I didn’t have to get up tomorrow or work a 12 hour shift. Hopefully it will be better then I think it’s going to be.

 

 

Funny Things from today:

Napkin Pants

Youngin, Marathon, Batman and Robin

Of course it’s dangerous, they have a sign for that!

Moopigs

 

Good Weekend! November 16, 2009

I had a pretty good weekend. I worked on Saturday and it was a good day at work. The first time in a long time that I actually enjoyed work all day and I even left work feeling decent. Not like someone had run me over with a bus. At the end of the day a kitten was brought in with some very badly infected bite wounds. So we had to clean them out and bandage them, by the time we were done her legs were straight out and they looked very long. I named her Rockette.

After work I took a nap, worked on painting my organizer, and then I went out to Tremont. I really like that area, lots of fun. It was nice to go out with girls and not worry about anything. The next morning I slept in, worked on a puzzle with my dad, and talked with my mom. Then I went back to sleep, because I could. I woke up around noon, ran some errands, and finished painting my organizer. I like how it came out.

In the afternoon I went over Jessi’s house. I was a little nervous because I was intimidated by her dog. Whenever he came into work he was quite mean, but at home he’s just a big cuddle bug. I never would have believed it if I hadn’t seen it myself. Rockette was there, because she needed extra care, so I got to hold her and pet her. She never stopped purring. Except for when we had to fix her bandage…she didn’t like that and decided to bite me. Other then that she was super sweet.

We tried a cake, the ingredients included salsa….the first bite was odd…the second was gross. Declaring that cake a failure, we threw that out and made cherry cobbler. Which was delicious. She did a make-over for me and I decided I need to wear make up more often cause I look really good in it.  We watched Dr. Horrible’s sing-along songs which is as always, excellent. She also showed me how to make the necklace I liked so much.

I am now home watching UP with my family. I love that movie, Dug is just the best character ever. Anyway, I just realized what time it was and I need to go to bed, work tomorrow. Blah.

Childish Memories and Weekend Update November 10, 2009

So I was just bapping around in my basement trying to find a good pen holder for my desk and I came across the silliest things. It’s amazing what the child in me cherishes. I found a powerpuff girl ring, some plastic frogs, pieces of paper, a shark tooth, crumpled pictures, scripts from plays I was in, beads, a penny bank, and many more things that made me smile when I found them.

I didn’t find a nifty pen  holder – which reminds me – if anyone has any ‘Republic of Tea’ tea tins I would love them!! They make excellent paintbrush and pen holders. Plus they look neat!

 

So this weekend I went to go visit some friends in Indianapolis. It wasn’t the best weekend, I kind of felt unappreciated and more in the way then anything. I wish they would have told me this was a bad weekend to come, or they just wanted a weekend to themselves…cause it was like pulling teeth trying to get them to do anything. I did however get them to go to the Indianapolis Museum of Art (IMA) and it was wonderful!! We didn’t see it all because we didn’t have time, but it was very cool. I would definitely go back!

I got yelled at a surprising amout really. First I wasn’t allowed to wear my purse on my back, they had to see it I guess….then I couldn’t take a picture with a flash, then on a certain floor I couldn’t take pictures at all…and I got yelled at for something else, but I don’t remember what it was for. I was a museum rebel apparently.

This was one of my illegal pictures. It was a very cool installation that was supposed to represent China I think. All these little plastic people held up the plexi-glass floor. It looked really cool.

This is the famous LOVE! I was super touristy and definitely took a picture of it! If you want to see more pictures from IMA go here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/Michaela.Stiber/IMA

So I ended up leaving on Sunday because I felt like I was bothering the boys. Monday wasn’t anything special, Tuesday was great though cause Ashley came to visit me! We went to Coventry Street, ate at a vegan/organic restuarant, went to hippie stores, and found a really cool bookstore. Then we went to the Museum of Natural History! It was even better then I remembered it. We didn’t see it all, but we saw a lot. We also watched a Planitarium show. After she left I got some art stuff done and now I’m on a mission to post those on my art blog – go check it out!

On a very small note Ken finally called me. He said he realized it had been over a year since we talked and that it was time to stop being mad. He wants to be friends. I have decided that I do not want to be friends. I finally have the opportunity to know why he was mad, and I don’t wanna know. If I find out it will just hurt me, and he is done hurting me. He never said I’m sorry. Which, maybe if he had I would react differently. But he didn’t. So, I’m done. I worked to hard to cut him out of my life to let him back in. I think this was brought on more by the fact that he’s going to be deployed after Christmas, more then the fact that he wanted to talk to me.

Either way, it doesn’t matter.

Fall Weekend October 29, 2009

So, it was a pretty good fall weekend. I didn’t get to go visit the boys in Indy, but I will soon, so it’s okay. Thursday I just relaxed. I went biking in the woods. I would stop and draw or take pictures. I was outside for hours in the perfect fall day. It was great! Friday I worked on art and had lunch with my cousin John. We ate at a Thai restaurant and I had Pad Thai for the first time ever. I wasn’t really a fan. We also saw Where the Wild Things Are. Sad to say it was disappointing. The symbolism was interesting and the artistic quality was great, but other then that it wasn’t very good. It’s kind of a downer  movie. And I’m not going to lie….the opening scene where the kid is dressed up in his wolf costume screaming and chasing his dog with a fork really bothered me. Later that night I went salsa dancing with Jessi. It was just us two girls and we never got a chance to sit down everyone was asking us to dance. I didn’t feel good, so I didn’t even bother doing the lesson….plus I wasn’t a fan of who was teaching my level. But I’m glad we went.

On Sat I slept in because I was still sick and then my mom and I picked up pizza for lunch and went to go visit my cousins. I got to see my 5 month old cousins Colette. She’s getting so big. She’s right at that stage where she’s really starting to move….once she learns to crawl that kid is going to be a handful. I told my cousins that I’d babysit anytime. I hope they take me up on this offer.

That afternoon my mom and I just sat on the couches and watched movies. It was a very nice relaxing day. In the evening we went to a party for the workers of the cancer benefit I helped out with two weeks ago. It was more fun then I anticipated. My friends (with cancer) are so strong and inspiring. Such beautiful people. I’m lucky to have them in life. I felt very welcomed and accepted. I get along with the adults in that group better then I do with the kids my own age. It’s an odd feeling.

The next day…Sunday. We went over one of my coworker’s house and had a puppy facial party. No, we were not giving puppies facials. We were having a Mary Kay party and a bloodhound puppy just happened to be there. It was fun, and I did learn some things about skin care. I got a tinted moisturizer, the closest thing I’ve ever had to foundation for my face. And something called ‘satin lips’.  Jessi (the Mary Kay representative) promised to glam me up one night before salsa dancing. I’m excited to see what I look like with smokey eyes and real lipstick. I really should learn about this stuff before I turn 25. The rest of the day my mom and I just relaxed and hung out. It was really nice because I haven’t seen my mom in forever. My dad’s on a little vacation right now in Montana. He needs it. He’ll be back soon and then it’s surgery time. Blah.

I didn’t expect Monday to be anything, but I got a surprise phone call from a friend who had called in a sick day because it was so beautiful out. We went out to a farmer’s market to find pumpkins. I found some great gourds to practice drawing on and got those too. We also found the original cabbage patch kid.

We turned around and there he was just chewing away on that giant cabbage. So cute. I don’t think I ever liked cabbage…but I bet this mom doesn’t have a problem getting her kid to eat veggies.

We went back to her place and carved our pumpkins and made yummy pumpkin seeds. I decided to do something different for the first time in my life besides a face.

I did a creepy tree and a cat. Yay! I think it came out pretty good for not having one of those pumpkin carving kits. After that we went to a new Thai restaurant in the area and had crab rangoon, some curry, and some delicious banana chocolate spring rolls. Amazing. I’m definitely going back there again. Afterward I came home because the Youngin was sick. I really hope I don’t get sick. Tuesday wasn’t really anything to talk about. I stayed in my pjs all day. No joke.

On my last day off before hell week, today, I slept in and then set to work on my room. The only thing I managed to clean off was my desk….and my floor and bed took the brunt of that. I feel like I can’t ever be clean and organized. It’s sooo very furstrating. Mar…anyway, I did laundry, dishes, and set of on errands. I went to Bally’s, got my membership, and then found out the pool hours. I’m going swimming damn it! Then I went to Sears and got some sandpaper because I had a really cool shelf for art stuff but the drawers were sticking. I also went to the pet store and stocked up on bunny food. I’ve been trying to bunny-fi my room before my dad gets back so I can get them up here. I have no idea how I managed to do that in college because it’s proving to be very difficult. I also stopped at Kmart to try and find a bookend for my desk…..and came out with a 1lb bag of twizzler bites and arm length gloves. I feel this is the best purchase of the day.

Next I went to Pat Catans and picked up a glass rectangle , some marbles, some black stones, and a fake orchid to make the bookend out of.

 

TaDa! I know it looks better less of the black stones in there, but I needed it to be heavy, so in they all went! I like how it came out. And since I knew you guys wouldn’t believe me that I cleaned of my desk. Here is a lovely picture:

 

Well, I’m off to work now. I feel like this week is going to be rough. Hope I’m wrong. I actually typed all this out yesterday night, but right at the end it froze and then wordpress wouldn’t work for me. So I checked this morning and lucky for me half of it was here. Okay, have a good one!

Vacation to Charlotte September 30, 2009

I had an absolutely wonderful vacation!!! It started on Thursday. I couldn’t sleep I was so excited. I woke up at 6:30, then 7, and finally 8 am when I got out of bed. Of course I didn’t pack until about 2o mins before my flight, which was in the afternoon. I haven’t been in an airport for awhile. This might sound silly but I always enjoy going to the airport.

I flew on US Airways which makes you pay $15 to check a bag. I was super annoyed about that, but whatever. FYI: Southwest airways doesn’t make you pay to check a bag.  I sat next to a very nice women who decided that I should got back to school and go into sales. She travels the country for a pharmacutical company. Eventually she wants to travel internationally. I felt bad for her because she had to fly down to  Charlotte before she could fly to Indianapolis.

When I got to the airport Chris picked me up and we went straight to a BBQ place. I had a BBQ pulled pork sandwich with a green bean casserole. I also had some sort of blueberry beer, but I wasn’t a big fan. I think I just wasn’t in a beer mood. You could definitely taste the blueberry part, which was pretty good. We talked and talked and talked. The weather was wonderful. He apologized because it was cooler then normal, only 80 degrees.  Needless to say I was very happy.  We listened to a little bluegrass band with a fiddle, a banjo, and some guitars. I had lots of fun.

That night I also got to meet Allie.  She’s a pound puppy lab mix that has more energy then she knows what to do with. She was a little intimidating on the first day,  jumping on me and being very mouthy, but she got better once she calmed down. Chris is working with her, and he’s done a great job so far, she’s a sweet girl and loves to play.

The next day, after sleeping in, cause that’s what you do on vacations, we went to the art district in Charlotte called NoDa. I loved every moment of it. If you ever go to Charlotte, you must visit! Here’s the website: http://www.noda.org/

I can’t begin to tell you how wonderful this art district is. But I’ll try.

The first place we went to was The Crepe Cellar. DELICIOUS. Everyone who knows me knows how much I love crepes. So this was a must do. I had a very fresh sandwich with some delicious french fries. I don’t even like french fries that much, but I couldn’t stop eating them. We also got some cider called Organic Dupont Brut, Normandie and it’s from France. If I ever find it again I’m definitely buying a bottle. It was a honey color and very refreshing. Tasted like carbinated wine. I loved it. Then for dessert I had a wonderful and huge nutella and banana crepe. It was the biggest crepe I’ve ever seen and I couldn’t finish it, but it was totally worth it.

After eating to much we explored the art galleries. Chris was a good sport and let me go into every single one. He even let me go into a used book store. My favorite gallery by far was Green Rice Gallery and Studios. http://www.green-rice.com/ It was a gallery that artists had open studio’s in. I met the owner of the gallery and a few artists. It was very interesting to see the different studios and different forms of art. I would have stayed there the whole day if I could have. It was so inspiring. Their motto is “Artists without walls.”

This is some art by Patricia Thompson – one of the artist of the Green Rice Gallery

One of the artists suggested we visit the coffee shop called ‘Smelly Cat’. (I started singing the song from Friends, I couldn’t help it) We got the most amazing chai milkshake I’ve ever had. It was wonderful!! After which we went back to the apartment and fell into a food coma for about three hours. After I woke up my stomach was upset since I had had so much rich food. So I was not feeling well the rest of the night. Chris was great and got me medicine and some ginger ale. He also rented some movies and made eggs for dinner. We watched Coraline. The animation was well done, but the story itself was a little creepy. That definitely would have given me nightmares when I was little.

The next morning we went rock climbing. Obviously I was feeling better. We climbed at Inner Peaks Climbing Center. I really liked it. I was a little lazy because I knew I would crash fast if I tried to do to much to fast. I was really bad at climbing, but I reached the top of all the routes I tried (not including bouldering) and I really did have fun. Very sore later though.

After climbing we showered and went to a bar to watch the OSU vs Illinios game. You would not believe how many OSU alumni are there. It was a very crowded bar and I kind of got a little people overloaded. I’m really not a very good football fan unless I’m with a bunch of people I know. We won, so that was good. It was a shutout, so it was kind of a boring game. And when I went to get some chai I got jipped. She poured the chai in the cup, keeping the foam out, but when she realized she hadn’t made enough chai, she then poured in all the foam to make it look full. Right in front of us. I should have said something, I just know I’ll never go back to that coffee shop again.

After the OSU game we came back to the apartment and I de-peopled. Basically he kept the dog busy playing catch while I napped and read. After awhile we hunted down a salsa dancing place and got dressed up to go. I was so excited because I had just bought some new shoes for salsa dancing. Just as we were ready it started pouring rain, so to wait we decided to have a glass of wine. Of course we realized to late that we didn’t have a wine opener. So…we got out the tool box and went to work. Eventually we got it open with a long screw, a screwdriver, and a pair of pliers. Yes, the wine was worth it.

After we had a glass the rain let up, so we went uptown (it’s actually downtown, but for some strange reason they call it uptown) and found a salsa dancing bar. It was a lot of fun. Chris did very well for never having salsa danced before and it was a neat little bar. I tired out quickly, not sure why, this was definitely my low energy day, so we got home about one I think.

The next day we started by going to the Carolina Raptor Center. I’ve always wanted to go, I’ve actually considered about applying there more then once. It was a very large raptor center with a few raptors I had never seen before. I was like a kid in a candy store. I had so much fun and took way to many pictures. After that we stopped at Petsmart and bought Allie a new toy, a giant duck. It quacked for about …half an hour…but it’s still her favorite toy which makes me smile. We also ate at a restaurant called Fresh Start or Just Fresh. Anyway, a little expensive for salads, but very good. Just what I needed after a few days of junk food and  eating out.

That afternoon we took Allie to a nature preserve and hiked around in the woods for awhile. She was a little difficult to walk at first – to many new sights and smells – but she got better. It was very relaxing to walk around in the woods. Really neat place, I wish we had time to explore it more, but the sun set so we went home and watched some movies. We watched Airplane – pretty funny, and Sunshine Cleaning – okay movie.

My last day in Charlotte we drove three hours to the nearest beach. It was called Isle of Palms Beach and it was in SC. Really cute little beach and just what I needed. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky, nice warm water, and plenty of sand. It was very windy, and since we had only brought beach towels, not chairs, we were covered in sand the whole time. It was pretty funny. I was very happy that I had brought a big bag to put in front of my face so at least the sand didn’t get in my eyes and mouth. It was a puppy beach so we saw some really cute ones. I got some seashells that naturally had holes in them to put in some art pieces. We saw windsurfers, and since it was a Monday it wasn’t very crowded, which was nice. We stayed for five hours, but I wish we could have stayed longer.

We drove home and didn’t get back til late. The next morning we got up early and Chris drove me to the airport. I left Charlotte when it was warm and sunny and I got back and was greeted by cold rain and clouds. Welcome back.

It was a wonderful vacation and I feel refreshed, relaxed, and happy. I’m so glad I went. Work starts tomorrow and I have some errands to run, so off I go.