vampires and recycling.

So I have really been meaning to step up my game... And it hasn't happened yet. I had such a whirlwind of a weekend, and every second that I haven't been working, I have been reading the Twilight series. More to come on that...

Friday kicked off the start of what I like to refer to as my "birthday week". Spoiled? Yes, but it's a great improvement from when I was younger, exclaiming September as my birthday month. heh. Anyways, my mom, sister and Indy came down on Friday night to hang out with me for my birthday (it falls on Tuesday, not convenient). We enjoyed lounging around, gorging ourselves on chinese food and playing with Indy. Saturday was spent shopping (we never made it to the mall, though), and going to IKEA... and of course eating. We also had the most ridiculous cake ever made (by my sister and mom), which I will post a photo of eventually. They left late Saturday night, so I called it an early night and read.

Sunday was great, as I LOVE to put things together. My birthday present from my mom was anything I wanted from IKEA. I have been dying for a new bed, and in general to redecorate my room, so that is what I chose. This is what my bed looks like:



I shall be posting before/after pics in the coming months as I finish my room.

Later that night, V took me out for dinner at a great seafood restaurant downtown, and then went back to my apartment for some wine and present opening - I got an awesome sushi kit I can't wait to use!

So that wraps up the weekend. I'm excited for my actual birthday, as apparently there's some plans in the works.

Onto next topic of discussion. Recycling. I finally bought the bins from IKEA I have been wanting. I have been wanting to start recycling (yeah, yeah, I should have started years ago), and I am so excited to finally begin. I have an idea for a storage solution for them as well, as my apartment is too small for them to just hang out, and I don't want them outside. I'm doing a little closet mod, so we shall see how that works out.

I must admit, I'm a little scared by the drop-off place. I had no idea there were so many stipulations to what you can recycle and where. I'm definitely putting in some research time! These are my bins:



I'm stacking two 16 gallons bins for paper/plastic, then a smaller, 10 gallon bin for things I don't use as much of, such as glass or metal. I like these because they're simple, and easy to pick up and take to the recycle place. Also, my friend linked me to this interesting article this morning. Interesting stuff, if you're, well, interested.

This is getting long...

But on to my latest obsession in reading... The Twilight series. I had been hemming and hawing over reading the series, mainly because they are in the "teen" section at the library and Borders. That made me a little self conscious. However, upon discussing this with said friend from above, I learned that his wife was totally into the books. Like couldn't put them down obsessed. So I waited a month for my hold at the library, and got to reading Twilight... Complete with bright white and turquoise writing TEEN sticker on the spine.

I.
AM.
ADDICTED.

I read the books in about two nights. Can't put them down. Think about them all the time. Look at the movie coming out in November. Watch the trailers. Read interviews with the other. Look at all of the cast members for the movie. Search the internet for Twilight stuff. Look at magazine covers with the cast for the movie. Read about the new book, Midnight Sun that will be written from Edward's perspective. Get devastated that it was cancelled. Then get ecstatic that it's back on. Read the first chapter of it. Order the remaining books and wait patiently for them to be delivered (they're in Indiana right now). And most of all, want a vampire lover of my own. Sigh.

Read them if you haven't. So, so good.

caution hot beverage.

That's what my soy hot chocolate says. It wasn't that hot...

So my weekend was a great weekend, indeed. Had a great time at the Internalize/7AN final show on Friday night in Kzoo/Plainwell (kind of sad though, I miss "the old days" sometimes), spent the night on my favorite blue couch, spent the day with my favorite boys gorging ourselves at mongolian bbq and watching a couple movies (Dan in Real Life, (again), so good... and 30 Days of Night, ridiculous ending). Saturday evening I went to an adult arcade type place for a friend's b-day party (a lot of fun, my favorite was the trivia game), and Sunday was clean the house/grocery shop day, as well as dinner and a movie. We saw My Best Friend's Girl. It was amusing.

I am also coming down with a cold. I don't think it will escalate into a horrid sickness, but for the moment, I am not enjoying the constant tickle that requires me to drop halls every 5 minutes, and the ear hurting.

So, back to house cleaning. A couple random thoughts... Why is it that a person (me) could get the sudden impulse to take apart the vacuum and clean it? I was feeling a little crazy yesterday apparently. Also, how can a small apartment swallow into its depths certain items you NEED? I CANNOT find the replacement rolls for my lint brush... I had two, somewhere. AND I am hunting high and low for this f-ing rock I bought last summer on vacation in Put-In-Bay at the world's largest geod/winery tour (great combo, right?). I am so pissed, but it has nonetheless inspired me to ransack/clean one room each night this week. We'll see how it goes.

And as far as the rock, don't you judge me. I have a secret passion for rocks. You should see my collection from when I was like 9...

Anyways... This apparently is another nonsense post.

However, on another note though, I have been really inspired in the crafty sense lately. I feel a spurt of creativity coming on!

Oh, and here's a picture of my cute little nephew in his hat over Labor Day weekend... (I'm still working on wedding photos. I know.)

falling into a routine.

I realized today I am falling into a routine with my blogging, and it must be stopped. This post shall be about, yes, my weekend plans. I need to spice it up. I need to have more photos and perhaps some artsy stuff I'm working on or something.

I'll work on that.

So today I tried a new deli two doors down and it was impressive. By new, I mean been there forever, but the farthest I've been into it is five steps to steal plastic silverware. They have an extensive sandwich menu, including vegetarian delights and chopped liver sandwiches. Yum. They also have a delicious soup menu that included a VEGETARIAN corn chowder (a rare find), that I regrettably discovered after paying for my order. I will indeed be returning.

Other than that, nothing too exciting from this week. I'm festering some sort of sickness that is making my ears and throat hurt. Ugh. I'm still working on one book, Invisible Monsters by Chuck Palahniuk. I can't seem to finish it... Not really into it.

Last weekend was a blast. The wedding was just a good ole family no-nonsense time that was refreshing. I think people get too caught up in "does this green match that green" details, they forget a great wedding is made from getting to hang out with your crazy relatives, drunk friends and catching up with people you haven't seen in years. We made it through 4 of the 6 kegs, ate a lot of food and danced our asses off. At one point I remember looking over and realizing I was dancing with my two sisters, my mom, my nieces and my cousin (whom I haven't seen in at least 8 years), to something along the lines of "Baby Got Back" and just being extremely happy... And a little thankful for a crazy (and wet!) backyard wedding with big tents and dancing in our giant barn.

Besides all of the gloriousness of the hick reception above, the actual wedding was spectacular. We went to a very secluded beach in Arcadia on Lake Michigan. We walked a good half mile to the site, and were greeted by a bagpiper (same awesome one from my Grandma's funeral... he does a beautiful job. We've nicknamed him 7 Toes. Don't ask.) The weather broke just enough for the short ceremony, preformed by my brother's best friend (don't worry, it was legit... he got ordained for this reason). And I took some fabulous pictures... I have to do a little work on them (it was very overcast, hard for a consistent lighting), and perhaps I'll post a few samples. We also had a party bus to and from the ceremony back to the reception... That was a ride I'll never forget... :)

I just hope whenever I decide to get married, my wedding can be as carefree and family oriented as my brothers. I'm getting misty-eyed sentimental.

Enough wedding talk... That was a long tangent. I think I have definitely decided to start a little side business taking portraits and doing weddings, and maybe even a little design. Need to put all that portrait studio experience to use, and maybe make a few extra bucks. We'll see what develops...

And finally, this weekend I'm super excited for. Tonight we're heading back to Kalamazoo for our friend's bands last show. Tomorrow night, birthday party at a cool adult chuckie cheese like place, and perhaps some more kayaking on Sunday. Who knows... It'll be a beautiful weather weekend though!

some randoms.

So I feel like I need a good, hearty blog post. Yeah, I finally posted pictures last night from awhile ago... But let's catch up on the "now".

Project Runway last night. Was anyone else excited to see Terri go? Because I was. Sick of her 'tude, and she was a bit too full of herself for my taste. I was a bit sad to see the tan boy go, as he had started to grow on me like a bronzed tumor. I'll get over it. Now I'd just like to see Joe (who more often than not disgusts me with his designs) and Kenley. Now, don't get me wrong, I have a special place in my heart for Betty wannabes, but her emotional outbursts were getting a bit too much for my taste. Shut your mouth and listen, lady.

What else? Well this weekend is another venture up north, as my brother will be married on Saturday! Yay. I am going to be doing photography for the wedding, so I'm hopeful to get an actual photo portfolio website started... That way I can perhaps start a little side action photo stuff. We'll see.

Last weekend? Was perhaps in the category of excellence. Saturday was the good ole Saline fair, mini golf, sushi, a walk and a movie at home! It was a marathon date... Then Sunday we went kayaking for the first time... So fun! I am hooked and have even picked out a kayak to purchase when I actually have a home and income to waste. Night capped with a delicious chili dinner with everyone.

Books? Well, so glad you asked. I just finished a book called "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy. It took my about a day after completion to realize how good of a book it was. As I had finished it, I felt a little sad and just kind of... empty? But after I thought about it for awhile, and reevaluated the purpose of the book, I was pretty impressed. That said, this book is definitely not for everyone. It's about the journey a father and son take looking for an unknown salvation a few years after something catastrophic has happened to earth. The world is covered in ashes and there is no sunlight... There's "bad people" that will do anything to survive. Written in a different manner then I'm used to, it definitely left me enthralled with the connection between the father and son, and their will to survive...

Anyways, last thought. Have you seeeeeen Obama's website? As a designer, I think it is very impressive to see a Presidential candidate that puts some effort into good design. Especially on a website. Compared to McCain's, Obama's is just plain nicer to look at. Hats off to the Obama campaign for that one...

finally!

So, finally ready to upload some photos to the blog... I'm a little tired tonight, and trying to watch Project Runway, so this will be short and sweet folks.

First, a couple shots I took while a storm was rolling in. I love how the sun was still beaming behind me in these shots... it gives a really cool light quality to the storm coming in.




And next, some of my favorites from the Woodward Dream Cruise... From like a month ago. heh.