101 Things To Do Before You Die

Beach Blanket Christmas

2012-01-29T18:33:00.000-08:00

Are you totally sick of all my posts being about my trip to Costa Rica? If so I've got some disappointing news for you. But I promise I'm nearing the end of them. One of the items on Richard Horne's 101 Things To Do Before You Die is to spend Christmas on the beach. Luckily our trip to Costa Rica allowed us to be in Guanacaste, which borders the Pacific Ocean on Christmas. We were a little worried that some things would be closed around the holiday so lucky for us our hotel had a private beach we were able to explore without having to deal with holiday closings. And they also offered us the greatest Christmas present ever, two hours of free happy hour drinks (the only thing better than drinking Imperial is drinking free Imperial).

My family isn't a huge Christmas gathering kind of family so even if we do plan something it's more low key, so it helped that I didn't feel like there was something back home that I was missing. It was still pretty weird being on vacation over Christmas cause you would see all the trees and lights but since you were experiencing all sorts of new things it still didn't feel like Christmas (Also I don't know if this is a thing or not, but the majority of decorated Christmas trees we saw were on the porches of the house which I think it super cool).

The trip wasn't planned to make this item off the list, but it is kind of nice when you accomplish something without really originally planning on it (especially since 90% of my planned attempts fail). Plus I awarded myself special bonus points for remaining sunburn free (people mock my obsessive reapply tendencies, but as my skin didn't turn into a lobster, I consider it a win).

PS - Do you know how hard it is to write something in the sand and not destroy it with your feet? Or destroy it when you attempt to cover up your foot marks? It's seriously difficult! Now the the free happy hour didn't help with this task, but still!

Have you ever spent Christmas on a beach? How often are you allowed to re-apply sunscreen before it becomes too much? Is there such a thing as too much sunscreen? How do the people write stuff on the beach without destroying it? If you have answers to any of these questions, please let me know. Have a great week!

Me Not Tarzan

2012-01-24T00:09:00.000-08:00

During my recent zipline trek, we had the option to do a Tarzan swing (PS - apparently Tarzan in Spanish is also called Tarzan). It sounds real fancy, but all you really do is step off a platform and you swing like Tarzan through the rainforest.

Up until the point of the Tarzan swing, I was enjoying my zipline experience. See I didn't get stuck on the zip line (this was my number one fear, you know outside of the zipline breaking and plummeting to my death or smacking into a tree). However, right about the time we hit the tarzan jump it started to rain (seriously how bad of a sign is that) and then there's that terrifying moment when you are waiting at the stand and watching everyone else go. Now I'm not really weirded out by heights usually, but I tend to overthink and obsess on things (I know you're shocked right) so the longer I have to wait, the worst it gets. I still wasn't going to pass up the chance, despite what my head and the rain was telling me.

In prep they give you all sorts of advice about what you need to do when making the jump, like hold on with both hands and don't twist your body. However, they don't tell you about disembarking from the swing and since I was only worried about the fall from the platform, I didn't really pay attention to how people were stopping.

Do you know how they stop you? They have a worker at the bottom that is responsible for hitting, grabbing, and holding on to you and slowing you down. That's right. One guy is fighting with physics and an every increasing wet and muddy slope to stop you from your swing. However, I didn't know this. Since my legs are kind of on the long side all I saw was that there was a chance I was going to accidentally clock this guy with the bottom of my Nikes. So I pulled my legs up and apologized for nearly knocking him unconscious. Later I finally understood what they were yelling at me and allowed the guy to basically hit my legs to slow down. Now if I were that guy, I would be covered with bruises all the time. Seriously sometimes he would grab on to a person and try to slow them down only to be dragged into the wall. And the platform/floor he was on also had a nasty drop off at the end, I still don't know how he didn't end up going over the edge. I could seriously never work at the tarzan swing.

They do give you a video of your tarzan jump and I've been going back and forth about posting it. I hesitated because I really and truly have one of the most annoying voices in the world and no one really needs or wants to hear me screaming or shouting that I'm sorry (I also throw in a 'lo siento' putting the 2 phrases i know in Spanish to work!). I mean that's why I do a blog instead of a vlog. Warning - So if you are so inclined to watch the video, you might want to turn the sound down/off (This is especially true if you do not want to dispel your belief that I have an incredible voice. Or if you have dogs around that might start to bark if they hear me).

Has anyone else done a Tarzan jump? There has to be a better way to slow people down at the end right? Remember that Disney movie Tarzan? I mean they've already brought back The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast in 3D (which I still disapprove of), wouldn't Tarzan be a logical choice. I mean he could fly right out of the screen. Gosh, do I have to think of everything?

www.ZipIt.com

2012-01-18T23:54:00.000-08:00

One thing that I knew I would have to do on my Costa Rican Adventure was ziplining. I've heard that Costa Rica was one of the best places to zipline in the world and as someone who has never attempted it anywhere else, I have to believe what the internet decides to be true.

We decided to go in the Arenal Volcano area near La Fortuna with Ecoglide Canopy Tour. You get to experience 15 cable rides throughout the park from 32 to 1,410 feet long. One of the big draws of his zip line tour was the views and the Tarzan Swing (my next post).

I knew only the basics about ziplining where you are on this stand and strapped into this thing and then you slide down this other thing until you reach the other stand. Seems simple right? Well during your trip a lot of things could happen (seriously, Wikipedia says one of the other terms for ziplining is 'death slide').

1) You could have a lovely ride and come to a gentle stop at the end of the platform without embarrassing yourself
2) You could have a lovely ride and come to a screeching halt as you run into either the worker or the tree at the end platform
3) You could stop in the middle of the line only to have to drag your sorry self to the platform
4) You could stop in the middle of the line and have to have a worker come and drag your sorry self to the end platform
5) You could fall from the top of the canopy or zipline to the rainforest floor below

Luckily they take you through some training to help ensure that you only achieve item #1 and luckily I managed to keep myself somewhat in one piece. However, let me say that there were times on the extremely long rides where I would have to tell myself to take a deep breath and stop myself from freaking out.

Are you wondering why I am only sharing photos of ziplining where I am so far away that no one would be able to tell it's me, so really what's the point? Well see apparently a new talent of mine is that in every ziplining photo I looked not only horrible but also ridiculous. Seriously everyone else got adorable photos and mine looked like the one time when my mom gave me a perm in 4th grade. Those photos (and my perm ones in case you were wondering) are currently banned to the hidden folder in my iPhoto to prevent further ridicule (oh and yes, there already has been ridicule). But I promise you that the photos are of me (and hopefully if I ever get myself involved in a political scandal and people come to look at my blog, the technology is still too far advanced to zoom in on what I can only assume is the look of terror on my face).

FYI - Let's say that you decided to wear a pair of yoga pants to ziplining, be aware that possibly the only thing that could bring more attention to your butt than yoga pants is the ziplining harness. Poor people behind me in line. Yikes.

Ziplining was super cool and I'd do it again for sure. The views were incredible and even when it started to rain halfway through it didn't lessen the experience.

Has anyone ever been ziplining? Did you crash into a tree? Where do you think a great place to zipline is? Is there anything less flattering than those harnesses? Please share!

Stop Collaborate And Listen

2012-01-05T20:59:00.000-08:00

One of the things I rolled over from my 31 Before 31 to my 32 Before 32 list was to create a stop action video. I attempted to do my first one capturing the sunset from my room in Costa Rica. It's not good (although it is pretty), but since I didn't say I had to create a good stop action video, I am marking this complete.

This video is 36 photos taken over 15 minutes. I rested my camera on a railing and was about 99% sure I was going to knock it over. It didn't help that I also was enjoying an Imperial at the time.

Have you ever made a stop action video? Can I say the best pictures I have taken are always of sunsets? You know, the ones where I don't have to work very hard. Where's the best sunset (or sunrise if you're an early bird) that you have ever seen?

Costa Rican Critters

2012-01-03T21:47:00.000-08:00

Let me warn you: It was very hard to take these pictures so get excited for some blurry animal photos!

One thing I learned from Costa Rica is that there are all sorts of cool looking animals and birds that just chilling all over the place. I mean you'll be driving down the road and all of the sudden a cartload of monkeys (Seriously one of the collective nouns for monkeys is cartload. I find that both annoying and adorable.) will cross right in front of you carrying their itty bitty babies (That actually happened. My photos suck mainly cause I forgot that I had a camera until most of the monkeys had passed). It's like watching the nature channel, but with more mosquitos and humidity.

Tortuguero National Park is a turtle nesting area and during the turtle season you can actually see the baby turtles hatch and make their way towards the water (FYI - We did not go during turtle season). We spent two nights in Tortuguero which is this gorgeous piece of nature that you can only get to by boat or airplane. Cars are prohibited which is cool (however, it's less cool when you want to find a karaoke bar in the town and have no way to get there). And so when we were staying there we went on a couple of boat cruises in the national park where we got to see lots of things that could kill me in mere moments.

Here's my favorite Costa Rican critters that I took pictures of:

Monos (That's monkeys in Spanish. Look at me applying knowledge.) There's like four types of monkeys that are native to Costa Rica. I honestly couldn't tell you the differences between them if you paid me. Except the white faced monkey. I think I can pick that one out of a lineup. This is one of the other three.

Caimans - Did you guys know that apparently the crocodile family is not limited to just alligators and crocodiles? There's this smaller crocodile family member called a caiman. And yes, I was prepared to call this guy a crocodile in the chance that I didn't see an actual crocodile.

Crocodiles - But lucky for me, we came across one later. Now honestly I am only about 95% sure that this was a real crocodile and not a toy. Because we seriously sat around it for a while and it didn't move at all, apparently crocodiles are lazy.

Sloths - Speaking of lazy. Did you know a sloth was sometimes called a 'Lazy Bear'? And that when we saw him, all I could think of was the SNL video about sloths (Seriously that video will reduce me to fits of giggles every time.) We also had one that was in the tree above our bungalow (at least that's what the people working there told us. There was a huddled mass in a tree above our room, but it could have been Santa for all I could tell).

Aninga - Bird watchers apparently love Costa Rica, cause there are lot of different types of birds all in one place. Personally, I'm not much of a bird fan. But some of the bigger birds did this thing where they just kind of spread themselves out to soak up the sun. I thought that was pretty entertaining. There are a number of pictures of me, where I'm doing a similar move.

Iguanas - There were some huge and bright orange iguanas all over the place. This one doesn't look orange. But the others did, I promise.

Those were my favorite animals that I saw (or at least that I took pictures of) in Costa Rica. I have tons of pictures where all you see is some sort of lump and you're like, "Well I think that's some sort of creature". I think it'll lend itself to a fun drinking game.

The crocodile and the monkey were on the 101 Things to Do Before I Die item 'See These Animals in the Wild'. So I now have seen 4/20 animals listed in the wild (hummingbird, monkey, bear, and crocodile).

Have you ever seen any of these critters in the wild? What's the coolest animal you've ever seen? Do you have tips on how to take better animal photos? And don't you think the "See You Later Alligator....." saying should be expanded to include caimans too?

20 Dozen or So Goals

2012-01-01T21:16:00.000-08:00

Since I have managed to sustain on a diet of green salad and fruit today, it must be the first of the new year. And time for all those 2012 resolutions and goals. Every year, I manage to achieve about half of the things I say I'm going to try (I'm nothing if not consistent). Some would say that with this knowledge in mind it might be better to focus on fewer items, but I just laugh at this sound logic and instead will try to overwhelm myself with tasks and goals (Also known by my friends as the Miranda Neurosis).

Here's a list of the goals I am going to be focusing on during 2012 (or until you know that end of the world thing happens).

1. Continuing learning that second language, Spanish

I did OK with this goal in 2011 and was able to use some of my language in Costa Rica which I consider a plus. Now I just want to continue learning.

2. Continue submitting my Holga photos

I submitted 3 of my photos to contests/blogs last year. And I want to continue until I actually achieve "The Award Winning Photograph" (aka I find a contest where no one else submits).

3. Complete my 32 Before 32 list

Yikes, I have a lot of work to do on this in 2012.

4. Finish watching 50 Movies of the Aughts

I've got 24 of the movies checked off (There Will Be Blood; Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind; No Country for Old Men; Memento; The Dark Knight; Children of Men; WALL-E; Almost Famous; Amelie; The Departed; Lost in Translation; The Royal Tenebaums; Finding Nemo; The Incredibles; Shaun of the Dead; Gladiator; United 93; Kill Bill Vol 1; Moulin Rouge; Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; The Hurt Locker; Kill Bill Vol 2; The New World, The 40 Year Old Virgin). And yes, as with all other lists I attempt, I may have cherry picked some of my favorites already (And technically since I started working on these movies, I may have seen Eternal Sunshine like 3 times. Curses Netflix streaming!).

5. Write My Name Over a Hollywood Star

I've had this darn item on my list for the past three years. I don't know why I haven't made it down to LA yet. See I even have super lovely friends down in LA that will let me stay for free and will probably bring me a cup of coffee in the morning while I'm still in bed (Do you know the greatest people in the world are the ones that bring you coffee in bed? Especially when you're in someone else's bed and there's a 50/50 chance that you will spill the coffee cause let's face it, you are a klutz and well in the morning you resemble a zombie more than a human. Actually, that may just be me).

6. Visit 5 Spots on my CA Sites to See List

7. Be Part of a Flash Mob

8. Travel to another country or state

I might have a work thing in DC later this year that may just have to turn into a northeastern excursion. I mean you got to to make jet lag work for you right?

9. Complete my 33 Before 33 List

Yes a list within in a list. It's like Inception without the super hot Joseph Gordon-Leavitt flying through the hallways.

10. Figure Out My 101 Books To Read Before I Die List

The list in the book isn't my style. And while I have attempted to construct a list, I haven't really finalized it. And since I can get into one of my reading comas, I think I want to actually have it finalized so I can start crossing some of those books off.

11. BONUS GOAL - Buy a harmonica in attempt to learn a musical instrument and become the lady Neil Young.

If I learn the harmonica is there anyone who would want to start a band? I might even offer to learn how to play the tambourine as well. I'll be a double musical threat (obviously not counting my melodic singing voice). My preferred band names of "Jesse and the Rippers" and "Zach Attack" may already be taken, so I'd be up for suggestions.

What are your goals for 2012?

Adios 2011!

2011-12-31T00:42:00.000-08:00

I'm going to pre-empt my posts on my trip to Costa Rica for the next couple of posts. Today's is a 2011 Wrap Up and the next post will be a 2012 Wrap Down. And yes, I just coined the term 'Wrap Down' to mean preparation. Cause I can do that sort of thing. So enjoy and imagine me blowing a noise maker and screaming Happy New Year, cause it makes it that much more authentic.

Seriously where the heck did 2011 go? I swear I was just coming up with my list of things to accomplish this year the other day (which I think explains why I failed at so completing so many of them). In preparation for what I need to do in 2012, I thought I'd do a recap on what I had hoped to do in 2011 and well...what I actually did.

1. Complete my 31 Before 31 List - :)
I'm going to call this one completed. There were 7 things on the list that I did not complete. But I rolled them over to my 32 Before 32 list. Passing the buck to another year. That's what I like to do.
2. Create a 32 Before 32 List - :)
Yeah, so some of the items on my list are to complete other items on my list. This may be a sign of some sort of undiagnosed list making sickness or as I like to call it listing squared. Either way, I totally did this!
3. Watch the top 50 Movies of the Aughts - :(
I only made it through 23 of these movies this year. For some reason I wasn't in a very movie mood this year. But I feel I have a real chance of getting the other 27 done in 2012.
4. Edit My Official Books to Read List/Read 10 of the Books on my to Read List - :(
Yeah, I didn't do either of these. I read all the time, but I am not actively pursuing reading a 100 Books to Read Before I Die. I try not to think about the fact that since I read 50 books this year, I could have been potentially half way done with my list if I ever finished it.
6. Write My Name Over the Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame - :(
I have had this freaking item on my to do list for the last, wait for it, three years. THREE YEARS. And I see somehow unable to make it down to Southern California. In my (lame) defense, I had a weekend scheduled but it fell through at the last minute. But I believe in my heart of hearts, I'll get this done in 2012.
7. Create a List of CA Sites to Visit - :)
Again, another list making item. But a successful list making item. So that's all that counts right?
8. Visit Another State - :(
The only states I ventured to this year were California, Nevada and Illinois.
9. Be Part of a Flash Mob - :(
Well, I did take part of the Thrill the World, but I think strictly speaking this isn't actually a flash mob.
10. Learn a New Language - :/
I did actively work on this one this year. And when I went to visit Costa Rica, I was able to use some very very broken Spanish. I'll write this one as 'In Process'.
11. Capture the Moment in an Award Winning Photograph - :/
This is another one I'm going to call 'in process'. I entered photos into 3 contests this year and while I am super far away from ever being a winner, I hope to continue this going forward.
12. Travel to Another Country - :)
I made it to Costa Rica this year for 10 days.
13. Edit my 2010 Nanowrimo book - :(
Didn't even touch it.
14. Read 50 Books - :)
In fact, I read 51 (but who's counting?). I don't think I'm going to put a number goal on my books next year, I want to read some of my more lengthy books that I've been avoiding cause I was too focused on the grand total this year.

Now just cause my main 2011 goals don't look necessarily stellar, I did accomplish some other cool things this year. Like:

A. I saw monkeys and crocodiles in the wild to continue my 101 Things to Do Goal of seeing Animals in the Wild
B. I spent Christmas on the beach
C. I attempted to break a world record by dancing with Thrill the World and Reddit's Secret Santa Gift Exchange
D. I worked on my 31 Before 31 and 32 Before 32 Lists
E. Spent some time in Vegas, Chicago, and San Luis Obispo
F. I ziplined

All in all it was a lovely year. Thank you for taking time out of your busy year to stop by and read my random musings. I can't wait to see what 2012 has in store for us all. How did you do on you 2011 goals? Did you fail as hard as I did?

Costa Rica (In Panorama)

2011-12-28T20:32:00.000-08:00

Greetings and Hello! I feel like half of my blog posts lately start with an apology about my lack of posting, but hey at least I'm consistent. I apologize for my extended absence, but I have a really good excuse this time. Yesterday, I just got back from a holiday trip to Costa Rica where I went and crossed off some fun things on my list and just kind of chillaxed (assuming that 'chillaxed' is still a thing).

It may have solved the case of writer/photo block I was having and I got to do a number of fun things that I can't wait to share with you. However, this means I'm probably going to be talking to the point of exhaustion about my trip so brace yourself. I've been on a diet of strong Costa Rican coffee (and maybe a cervesa or two) so now I have nothing but energy.

I thought I'd share some of my favorite panoramic photos from the trip. Surprisingly I didn't take nearly as many digital pictures as I thought I had (my Holga photos still need to be developed, so we'll see if any of those turn out). I think it may be because they really know how to put the 'rain' in the term rain forests. It kept me from bringing my camera out from my backpack, plus it's super hard to take good photographs (for me at least) in the rain. But don't even trip, I have more than enough to reminisce and share. Just not the normal amount I end up bringing home from vacation.

Here's a little taste of what I'm sure my next several posts are going to be like.

The view from our room on the Pacific Side of Costa Rica in Guanacaste.

Our hotel in Tortuguero Forest. There's only screens on the windows, which while being awesome to hear the rain forest, may not filter the voices of someone who doesn't know how to whisper (aka - me).

The view from our cruise on the Tarcoles River searching for the Giant Crocodiles.

This photo is taken on one of the Arenal hanging bridges, high above the rain forest. Just praying that when someone takes a step on the bridge they won't shake it too much and cause me to drop my camera into the abyss.

The Capital, San Jose, Costa Rica

How about you guys? Did you have a great holiday? Do anything fun? Have you been to Costa Rica before? What was your favorite activity?

Thankful IV

2011-11-27T20:03:00.001-08:00

I'm a few days late on my Thanksgiving post of everything I'm thankful for this year. But since I don't want the bad mojo associated with breaking a three year tradition (see posts here, here, and here), I figured better late than never. So here is just a small list of things I am thankful for this year.

Pretz (Salad Flavor)
White Collar (and the clothing and hats that Neal Cafferty wears)
My local library
TV Show Happy Endings
PJ 20
Flavored Candy Canes
Skinny Vanilla Lattes
The Automated Postal Center machines at the Post Office
Car ride sing alongs
Kelly Clarkson
Cardigans
Salt and Vinegar Pringles
Comedy Bang Bang podcast
As always, my friends and family for putting up with my antics for yet another fun filled year
And special thank you to everyone who has ever stopped by my little home on the internet. You guys rule.

Can you tell I was a little hungry when I was writing this list? What are you thankful for this year? Anyone else in a food coma.....still?

Obsession a Cologne for Weekends

2011-11-17T23:15:00.001-08:00

I haven't posted about my recent obsessions lately but as always I've been finding myself beyond obsessed with many things, so I thought I'd share some of them:

Happy Endings - Seriously, Have you guys been watching this show at all? I honestly laugh out loud (and let me say that when I laugh, I laugh really loud. Maybe there should be an acronym for that? LRL?) several times. It's honestly quickly becoming my second favorite comedy (Parks and Rec is still #1, I mean I love me some Amy P). I didn't know it was possible to cram that many jokes in such a short period of time or force me to quote the show for about a week after for anyone who may have missed it. Plus I think that if I lived off a diet of pixie sticks and vanilla lattes, I'd be the epitome of Penny in real life. And really who doesn't want that?

The Lennings "You're The One That I Want" - I have a love for moody heartbreaking covers of pop songs. When I first heard this cover it is so drastically different that it took me a while to figure out how I knew all the words. It's like the second greatest thing to ever come from Grease (first being of course Ms. Stockard Channing). Take a listen here!

Eating The Beats - A blog that share recipes inspired by great bands? I'm so going to be making the Spiked Orange-Chocolate-Oatmeal Bars (Inspired by Modest Mouse) ASAP.

Carl Sandburg - A couple of weeks ago I was in a used book store and came across a printing of Honey and Salt poems by Carl Sandburg. I'm not usually into poetry but I love this book so much. Plus the book has an inscription from someone named Jamie written in 1975 that says 'To Be Your Friend is to Love You'. It kind of breaks my heart, I love it oh so much. So I've been trying to read a poem a day to help counteract the fact that I can name nearly all of the Real Housewives.

What are you obsessed with lately? I'm in dire need of new music and movie suggestions. I seem to cram a lot of culture into the holidays (you know while recovering from the most recent large meal I've stuffed myself on) and I'd love to add some new stuff to check out.

And is there anyone out there who loves Happy Endings like I do? Do you want to get me all hopped up on sugar and expresso and see me perform this amazing jazz/self defense routine? Don't tempt me, I'd totally do it.

My Rambling On

2011-11-14T20:22:00.001-08:00

I've got a bunch of fun things I'm working on, but they're kind of small so I thought I'd wrap them all into one blog post.

Guinness Book Attempt

One of the items on my Master 101 Things To Do Before You Die list is to get into the Guinness Book of World Records. Since I haven't heard if my recent zombie Thrill The World dance ended up qualifying for the world record, I figured I should probably have a back up plan. So when I heard about reddit's attempt to get the title for The Largest Online Secret Santa Game I knew I was totally signing up. I'm new to Reddit and I'm super excited to do some online sleuthing to find and receive some great gifts with my match. Is anyone else interested in participating? If so, go here. Who knows maybe we'll get one another.

Costa Rica

Only one month and three days until I leave for Costa Rica. We're going to be hitting the Poas Volcano National Park, Tortuguero National Park, Arenal Volcano, Arenal Hanging Bridges (yes, I will be quoting a ton of some Indiana Jones lines I'm sure), zip lining, and lots of other fun things. I'm trying to keep my excitement in check, but as it gets closer we'll see how long that lasts.

Faithfull Ale

Dogfish Head has created a beer for Pearl Jam. I'm so buying myself many many bottles this weekend if I can find it. A great beer to have in my 32 Thing Before 32 item to have a different brewery beer everyday for a month.

Health Month & Planner

I found these great new tools I'm trying to use in a last ditch effort to get organized and incorporate new habits. I love this great daily planner with a list of five goals a day and a way to track the water I'm drinking. I also started using Health Month to set up three monthly rules that I hope to follow (limit fried food, do more yoga, etc) as extra motivation.

Reading Challenge

Another one of my 32 Things Before 32 is to participate in a reading challenge. I'm thinking I'm going to sign up for the Mount TBR Reading Challenge. The challenge is to read the books you already have lying around in 'to be read' books, but just haven't read yet. And since I have a bunch of these, I'm going to see if I can actually make my way through them. I'm aiming for the Pikes Peak level.

In other news, the big event I was working with finally happened and went pretty well this past weekend. So that's a relief. Woo hoo!

What have you been up to? Any sites you're digging lately? Anyone have Costa Rica, reading challenge, or secret santa tips or stories to share?

The Longest Concert Review That Few Will Read

2011-11-07T23:02:00.000-08:00

A few weekends ago, I went to my 3rd Bridge School Benefit Concert. The Bridge School is a school that Neil Young and his wife, Pegi created to assist children who have severe speech and physical impairments. And every year they have a fundraising concert in October where some really great acts perform acoustic sets. Now I've attended for the last couple of years (if you're so inclined you can see my 2010 Writeup Here) and I think that this year had the greatest lineup yet: Devendra Banhart, Norah Jones and The Little Willies, Beck, Santa and Los Invisibles, Mumford and Sons, Eddie Vedder, Dave Mathews and Tim Reynolds, Arcade Fire and Neil Young. Seriously, it was as if they got the lineup from my iTunes library.

Now I was bummed that Foo Fighters weren't playing on the day that I attended (boo!) and that our concert MC Jimmy Fallon missed his flight (double boo! I mean seriously can you imagine the epicness that would be Jimmy Fallon doing his Neil Young impersonation with Neil Young? I guess it's a good thing though, cause my head may have actually exploded had that happened).

So here's a warning, I'm going to go through and put a lot of details about the concert. It may get a bit long in the tooth if you aren't a big music fan but it happens every time. I'm like I don't think I have a lot to say and then I've created like 50 different bullet points.

- The weather couldn't have been more gorgeous. It's a welcome change from the rainy and gloomy weather of last year. I think that the combination of weather and amazing lineup which caused a sell out crowd of 22,000 resulted in the place being packed even at the start of the day. We got there a bit before it started and people were already almost sitting up almost up to the top fence. (This was not my desired result, but when you go with folks who aren't as in the event as you, you can only press so far).
- I wasn't actually familiar with Devendra Banhart before the show, but he had such a pretty voice that I can say I'm a fan now. Plus I've never seen anyone have so much expression on their face when they perform.
- I wouldn't say I was a fan of Norah Jones and The Little Willies. They were too much old school country for my taste, however, I did enjoy the cover of Dolly Parton's Jolene a lot.
- BECK! First let me say that Beck has two incredibly adorable blond haired children that proceeded to run on stage during his performance. He said that apparently the kids were so used to him playing at home that they didn't think twice about coming on stage when he was playing.
- Beck started off playing The Golden Age from the Sea Change album. I forgot how awesome that song (and well that entire album is).
- When Beck started performing Neil Young's Pocahontas, Uncle Neil came out on stage, coffee mug in hand, to surprise Beck by performing vocals. At the end of the performance Beck added "If I had known that was going to happen I would have waited to the end").
- I wasn't really particular looking forward to Santana. But it was a enjoyable set and when they played Maria, Maria and Smooth from Supernatural the crowd did get up dancing. And believe it or not Smooth actually doesn't sound as bad when Rob Thomas isn't singing it.
- Now if you know me or have read this blog at all you know that I was going to be a huge fan of Eddie Veder regardless of what happened. But I still think even non fans would not be disappointed. He started off by trying to do a Neil Young's Don't Cry No Tears but after about the first verse announced "I f*ed up" only to come back and try it from the top after a few songs.
- Have you listened to Porch lately from Pearl Jam's Ten? I mean you can hardly think of that song without identifying with the incredible fast electric guitar. Now imagine stripping that down to acoustic and seriously you'll see why I may have been so excited!
- Eddie was rocking an old school Bridge School T-Shirt. He also gave a shout out to one of the former students on stage saying that she had gotten two college degrees which is two more than he had.
- Beck and Eddie performed Sleepless Nights (wearing some very cool hats I must say). Eddie said that they once "performed this years and years ago and he was glad to perform it again". Which is all kinds of awesome.
- I had a roommate in college who was obsessed with Dave Matthews and after hearing it echo through our apartment for months on end, I kind of had a falling out with Dave. However, I can't deny the great performance he and Tim Reynolds gave (I really wish they had performed All Around the Watchtower with Mr. Mumford which they did on Sunday and according to the YouTube video looks Epic!).
- Mumford and Sons seriously rocked the place so hard. People in the crowd were singing along with every word and dancing and jumping (ok so I may have been the only one jumping). I mean anytime you can rock a stand up bass you're a crowd favorite in my opinion.
- Marcus Mumford was wearing his traditional leather vest. Which caused the fella next to me and I to ponder if he had any other clothes. But then again if I was that cool, I wouldn't change either.
- I was so excited to see Arcade Fire. It was so great that even in an acoustic setting you can't escape the incredible wall of sound that they produce. To which they even apologized, "I hope we're not too loud. We just don't know how to do soft".
- I feel that I could be the newest member to Arcade Fire. My backing vocals from the crowd on Rebellion (Lies) was really something to behold.
- I really expected the crowd to literally lose their minds during the performance of Wake Up. But I don't know if people weren't as familiar as I thought (I mean have they seen a movie preview in the last 4 years?) or the beer (or other things that were in the air) took their hold on the crowd.
- I think Neil performed a song with like 5 of the acts which is crazy. He apparently did even more on Sunday. It just goes to show you that Neil is the man. I was torn between the Neil/Arcade Fire collabo of Helpless and Neil/Beck on Pocahontas.
- Speaking of Neil his end of the night performance included some of my favorites Long May You Run and Heart of Gold. Now I know that there are die hard Neil fans that totally hate Heart of Gold but it has to be one of my favorite songs of all time.
- The end of the night performance was Get Together by the Youngbloods and it was nice seeing everyone who had performed that day collaborating. But in my opinion it paled to the Keep on Rockin' in the Free World performances from years past.

And that's it! That's what 7 hours of music and performances gets ya. Lots of great music and one way to overly detailed blog post. Don't worry it'll be at least a year before I talk about it again. Probably.

So has anyone else been to The Bridge School Concerts in the past? Have I either convinced you of how epic they are or have I made you dread seeing any sort of concert writeup again?

PS - I'm still catching up on your old blog posts. So don't be surprised one day when you wake up and find like 10 new comments from me. It's how I roll these days. :)

Terrorize Y'alls Neighborhood

2011-11-01T13:28:00.000-07:00

I've been a bit behind in my blogging lately. I've signed on to a few too many projects (life and work) that seem to be taking up what I used to call my free time. Luckily one of the projects (I'm a member of a team putting together a fundraising event for an organization I volunteer with) will be coming to an end here in a few weeks and I can get back on track with life and my list of things to do.

Here's some of the highlights of things I've done since I last blogged:
- Got My First California Traffic Ticket. No Left Turn in this intersection Monday-Saturday 3-6pm. Yep that's what I got pulled over for.
- Went to the 25th Annual Bridge School Benefit Concert (Yes, I'll be blogging about that soon. I mean when you see Neil Young performing with Arcade Fire or Eddie Vedder performing an acoustic version of Porch it MUST be discussed)
- Drank a margarita out of a guitar glass

However one great thing I did in my blogging vacation was this past weekend. See one of my 32 Things Before 32 is to learn the steps to an iconic music video dance. Combine this with a world record attempt and I was sold. The event is called 'Thrill The World'. Every year people dress like Zombies (I choose Zombie Bride of Frankenstein. And yes, I'm aware that the Bride might actually be able to become a zombie, but I really wanted to rock out the hair. And no, I did not have a wig, that is all my own hair coated what I can only assume is the hair equivalent of Elmer's Glue) and simultaneously across the world perform Michael Jackson's Thriller.

I was really nervous about performing. There may be only like 7 sections to the performance but during the song, but just when you think that you snap after a section as the song progresses you start instead doing a clap and slide. And yep there are times that I totally did the wrong move. Luckily we made sure that we were not in prime recording position (it's harder to point out a tall white girl with flame red hair than one would think) and while I can point out when I totally failed, I'm hoping no one else will (or will care).

Here's the video of our performance. Cause really haven't you always wanted to see 250ish dancers dressed like Zombies perform Thriller at the same time?

Did anyone else Thrill The World? What'd you dress up for Halloween? Anyone else totally overwhelmed by things lately?

Holgobsession Wednesday - Dyed Ginger Edition

2011-10-05T22:53:00.000-07:00

Holga
Yep another one from the archives. And it's from the same roll I took at the wedding last year. This is a double exposure, that I'm 90% sure was unintentional. But nevertheless, I kind of like it.

I've been lacking in taking photos recently. So, I'm focusing on bringing my camera with me this weekend in the hopes that I'm hit with some inspiration.

Glee
Loved last night's episode for oh so many reasons. Girl power! Coldplay! Redheads!

- Anytime Mike is allowed to bust a move I'm a fan. Combine this with a West Side Story performance and I'm going to be super excited.
- FYI - Now just because I dye my hair red, doesn't mean that I'm a ginger supremacist.
- I really loved the Emma storyline, when she was crying at the bed it was just heartbreaking.
- When are they going to let Rachel sing 'I Feel Pretty'. I mean she's been wanting to sing it for two weeks now.
- And finally glad to see some Coldplay up in the Glee joint.

Can we talk about the fact that Glee apparently is going to be reruns for the next several weeks? I mean it feels like it just came back on the air right? I guess I don't have an excuse for skipping bikram yoga next week (not that I would have done that or anything).

Obsessions
Edgar Wright - I have a bit of a major crush on director Edgar Wright (he of Shaun of the Dead, Scott Pilgrim, Hot Fuzz, and Doug Loves Movies). He's going to be programming a movies series in LA of films he has never seen. So he asked some famous folks and blog readers to list some movies that they haven't seen yet. And then he compiled it into this incredibly awesome list. There are classics, cult movies, and tons of ones I've never heard of. I kind of want to take a sabbatical and do nothing but watch these movies for a few months.

I've got a few movies on my I just haven't gotten a chance to see yet list: The Princess Bride, Wet Hot American Summer, and The Apartment. I'm sure there are many many more, but it seems they only come up when you're talking with someone and they gasp when you admit you haven't seen a movie they mentioned (And yes, I'm as guilt as the next person).

Anyone else love the Glee? What movies have you never seen that you feel you should have seen at this point (it took me up until a couple of months ago to see The Big Lebowski). What are you obsessed with this week (besides redheads of course)?

I'd Be OK if They Paved Paradise to Put Up a Parking Lot

2011-10-01T01:00:00.000-07:00

OK, I have a nice little story to share with you. But you must promise that you will not tell my father. Now I know I'm an adult woman and should be able to share no longer feel embarrassed or scared to share my screw ups with my father. But I feel that one of the benefits of being an adult is that I don't have to share everything. So by continuing to read this, you are agreeing to the terms and conditions to keep this story between you and me (and you know the other strangers here on the Internet). Deal?

So last year I came to the realization that I suck at parking my car. Or more specifically I suck at parallel parking my car. Now when you grow up in the prairie state (you know outside of Chicago), you don't have to worry about this so much as there are these amazing things called parking lots (parallel parking wasn't even on my drivers exam). However, as I now spend more and more of my time in places where parallel parking is standard (along with the added fun of parallel parking on a hill), I needed to learn (and really I can only throw my hands up in disgust when parking and make the passenger park my car like three times before it's obnoxious....and yes, I've done that twice). My biggest problem with parking is that the front end of my car is so short and drops off that I can't see it from my window. I'm always kind of terrified that I'm going to hit something and therefore cut my wheel too soon (Have you met my brother, Mr. No Depth Perception?). Therefore, I put on my 31 Things Before 31 list to be become proficient at parallel parking.

The next step was re-learning the technique. Luckily I had a friend who is like a parallel parking Jedi and he agreed to teach me lessons. See not only was he a former high school teacher (so he's full of patience), but he can do that thing where he parallel parks his big truck in one fluid motion (It's not unheard of me to do like a 42 point turn). And as a bonus, he didn't make one 'woman can't drive (or park) joke' during our lesson. So we went out and tried a bunch of different parking situations and I became more and more confident with my parking skills.

Fast forward to a couple of weeks later, when I was able to do this....By Myself! And yes, I totally took a picture and sent it to all my friends (and I know that the street looks super level and not at all busy and the space is as big as a house, but you know baby steps).

So, now I feel totally confident in my parking ability and I actually start searching for parallel parking opportunities. It's going great, I'm not getting freaked out by the line of cars behind me while I wait to park. I'm not repeating the steps I need to do as loudly to passengers (and people walking by the car) as I attempt them. And I'm only getting a mild case of the sweats. It's kind of awesome.

And then while parallel parking a few weeks ago:

backed

into

pole.

A freaking telephone pole. Luckily it only left a scratch on my baby and didn't dent it. And it was kind of a great story to share later in the night. But nevertheless, my parallel parking progress has literally hit a roadblock. I guess I need to go back to school and get a second lesson on parking.

I guess for every step forward you make, you take two steps back and hit a telephone pole. Does anyone have any parking tips you'd like to share? Or would you like to commiserate with a parking nightmare you've had? Did you know that the plural of Prius is Prii, as in, there are two prii in that picture? Join in my laughter and tears in the comments.

HolGlee Wednesday - Hoping to be a Real Housewife of Reno

2011-09-28T22:59:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! I hope your week is going fantastic.

Holga

Do you know who has a bit of a wine problem and needs to get some more Holga film developed? This girl (imagine me pointing to myself, it makes all the difference). So, I'm forced to go back into the archive. This photo is from a wedding I went to nearly a year ago. I think the dress looks really cool against the blown out sun (seriously it was so hot, I needed many, many, many cold beers to cool off). I love that you can see the bride started wiping away tears (and not stifling a sneeze as my friend tried to point out) (at one point the groom actually started wiping away her tears and I swear to you that you could actually hear all the ladies in the audience give a collective 'aw').

Glee

Oh man, it's funny how quick that Glee can come out and suck you in. Seriously, I didn't stand a chance the minute Idina Menzel and Lea Michele started singing songs from West Side Story. I mean, I love West Side Story. As a child it was my second favorite musical (Sound of Music is totally #1. I apparently love any musical that includes a 'Maria'). If you ever go back in time and want to see the picture of a heartbroken youth, go to the day that I was told that Natalie Wood wasn't actually singing in the movie.

Some of my other favorite parts:

Brittany, Brittany, Brittany - Between her unicorn headband (and I need me one of those - I mean anything that takes away from my nose - or what I refer to as my horn) and the answer to the Capital of Ohio ('O'), I was laughing a ton at her.

Kurt performing Barbara and twirling sabers (it starts with a bloody 's').

Did I mention that Idina and Lea sang 'Somewhere'?

Obsession

Banned Book Week - I first heard about Banned Book Week from the lovely Elle. And since I love my books and I find it ridiculous when books are banned or challenged, I decided I was for sure going to read a book during the week. I picked the number 3 most challenged book in 2010, Brave New World to read. Not only is it frequently challenged, but it's a classic I never read.

The Burning House - Have you guys checked out this site? Basically people identify the things that they would take with them if their house was on fire. Now it's totally full of hipster things like film cameras and Mac laptops (I mean c'mon what type of person includes stuff like that....oh wait, that's me), but what I really would like to see is the stuff in your house that you would rather not share with outsiders (you know except for the outsiders who read my blog. Cause you totally understand me, right?). My stuff would include my signed photo of Vin Diesel, my CD of Billy Joel's Greatest Hits, my fifth season American Idol concert ticket stub, and my pictures of me as a child when my mom insisted on perming my hair and then combing it out each morning before school. Classic, I tell ya.

Anyone else falling back in love with Glee this year? Are you reading any banned books this week or year? What are some of the things you have at your house that you wouldn't want to share with strangers (I mean except for me and the people who read my comments)? What's your favorite musical? What's your obsessions this week? Please share!

HolGlee Wednesday - HolGlee Returns

2011-09-21T23:58:00.000-07:00

Oh the Gleek has awoken within me. Now it's all jazz hands and annoying ramblings until the summer. Aren't y'all thrilled?

Holga
My photo today is from the San Francisco Street Fair Festival. I loved the dedication of these guys to spend the entire day rocking their 'Fear the Beard' beards (I could try to explain it, but it has something to do with sports or something and as we're all aware that isn't my strong suit). However, I suggest at your next BBQ that you might try the same look.

Glee
OK, I got caught on a conference call and missed the start of Glee and I just assumed I'd be able to catch it online the following day. See I traded in my DVR a while ago in an attempt to save money and fully embrace this 'internet thingy' that all the kids are talking about. But now all of the sudden if you want to catch up on a television show online from Fox you either have to enter a password from Direct TV or wait 8 days in order to see it? That means I'll have to either sweet talk my way to a friend who has it on tape or wait until after next week's episode to catch up. Curses!

So, we'll assume that nothing of note really happened in the beginning of the show. There was probably a re-cap and something that explained what the heck was going on with the multiple purple pianos (My hope was there would be a moving tribute to Prince did not materialize).

Now I was a little nervous that I was over my infatuation with the Glee. I mean, really what do these kids have that I don't? I mean if you visit my car during rush hour traffic you'll also see some amazingly sung cover versions to the pop songs of today. But I shouldn't have worried cause the combination of bright colors and broadway songs would be enough to sell me (I think it's like how oxygen is pumped into the air at Vegas Casinos to dull the pain when you start to lose your cash). When Puck starts doing push ups on a table or Mike does a butt slap (which I'll say is a patented move of mine), I'm sold. So welcome back Glee. I'll have actual thoughts and comments when I actually watch an entire episode.

Obsessions
R.E.M. - I was super upset to see that R.E.M. called it quits today. And I thus spent the rest of day listening to my favorite R.E.M. songs. Many many years ago, I went to spend a couple of weeks to Georgia. I used to (and by 'used to', I mean I still do) have a habit of listening to music to a place I'm traveling (for example, when I drove through Nebraska I was listening to Bright Eyes and Jersey was of course Springsteen). So when I went to Georgia I picked up R.E.M.'s Automatic for the People and added it to my luggage with my (wait for it) Sony Discman (that's right, that's how long ago this happened). I spent a lot of time listening to that CD while staring out of windows at the red clay of Georgia and it just kinda fit. So, I'll be in mourning for the next couple of weeks pulling out my favorite songs. Today it was 'At My Most Beautiful' and 'Drive'.

Footloose - OK, I'll say it. I think the new Footloose movie is the worst idea ever and I launch into a long winded rant every time I see the previews. However, it reminded me of how not every Footloose re-imagining is bad. If you want to hear the Footloose soundtrack covered in an amazing way check out Doveman's Footloose. Doveman's best friend lost his sister in the 80's and one of her most prized possessions was her Footloose tape. So Doveman told his friend that he would record a version of the songs. Now he did this without having heard any of the songs before. If that isn't touching enough then you need to listen to his almost whispered cover of Footloose (that's how you do it Blake Shelton).

That's what I'm obsessed and loving this week. Did anyone love the fact that Glee is back or are you totally over it? Do you have a favorite R.E.M. song? Do you think that there is a chance that the Footloose remake won't be an abomination? Do I need to go back and up my cable package to deal with this FOX TV nonsense? What are you spending your time obsessing about? Please share!

Holgobsession Wednesday - I Hate That When I Google Felicity, I See American Girl Dolls Edition

2011-09-14T22:56:00.000-07:00

It's only a week or so until Glee comes back and I know that I should be happy for seeing jazz hands and teen angst. But I wonder if a summer away from the bright colors and cover songs has dampened my love for the show. We'll have to see when it comes back next week if I fall back in love or if the honeymoon is over for my Glee love.

Holga

Another of my red tinted photos. I wish I knew how many photos I've taken when staring outside the airplane window in my life cause I'm sure it's bordering on the ridiculous levels. But I just can't help myself. One day I think I'll create a book of all the pictures I take of the same thing over and over (which is totally the definition of insanity right?).

Obsessions

I'm so super behind this week. I'm working on this test I have to take for work and it has seemed to suck up a lot of my time. I even got the brand new PJ book that is totally resting on my bookshelf mocking me for not paying attention to it (it has company with my ball of yarn, stack of library books, and unread e-mails). However, this weekend I plan on wine tasting (a lot) so really it'll all be worth it.

So, I haven't been obsessed with a lot lately, but here's the things I plan on becoming obsessed with next week:

Felicity - Melissa over at Press Play tweeted the other day that Felicity was streaming on demand for Netflix. I may have actually gasped out loud. My friends and I were obsessed with Felicity when I was in undergrad. I think it had something to do with the fact that Felicity started going to college the same year I did and she also had a lot of sweaters. I've had the disks in my DVD queue waiting for them to come back in stock for months but now that it's available streaming, I'm pretty sure I'll finish the series in like a week. I won't be able to help myself. (I also may have typed up a laundry list of things just short of moving across country in order to pursue a boy. That included things like watching SportsCenter, taking up running, and straightening my hair but I'll save that for a future post)

(PS - I have a sinking suspicion that I talk way to much about TV and such around here. And I feel you all may be getting the wrong impression about me. I do have a life that doesn't revolve around my TV - I promise. And yes, maybe most of the rest of my life involves wine and food, with the occasional dance party, but still that's totally a life).

That's what I'm hoping to become obsessed with next week. How about you? What are you obsessed with? Anyone else read the Pearl Jam book yet? Are you a lover of all things Felicity? Please share in my obsessions or give me something new to obsess with in the hopes to prove I have a life that doesn't revolve around TV shows.

Holgobsession Wednesday - Falling Slowly Edition

2011-09-07T20:06:00.000-07:00

After a bit of a hiatus, my weekly ramblings and holga photo sharing post is back.

Holga

My photo today is from another roll from my pack of red tinted film. A couple of weeks ago after eating myself into a near coma at the Street Food Fest, we were walking in Union Square and came across the Rally for Democracy in Syria.

You'll have to forgive the fact that in fact the photo is a mirror image of what it should be. When I went to the film place the other day they hadn't printed my pictures yet, so in their rush they accidentally printed all my photos backwards. But I really just love this photo so much I thought I'd share it (backwards and all).

Obsessions

Fall - Now that Labor Day has come and gone, I'm kind of getting excited about Fall. I've kind of created a list of fall specific things I want to accomplish. And yes, the majority of the items are food or shopping related. My food list contains things like candy corn, apple cider, and pumpkin (Lots and lots of pumpkin. including this great Pumpkin Nutella bread recipe). My shopping list includes things like turtlenecks and rain boots (Question - At what age can I no longer pull off brightly colored rain boots? I have a feeling that if I have to ask the question, that means my time has passed).

PJ 20 - The next two weeks will be full of great Pearl Jam goodness. A new book, compilation CD, and documentary all with input by Cameron Crowe? I seriously can hardly wait.

Black Books - When I was in undergrad, I was also working full time. This resulted in staying up to ridiculous o'clock while I was working to finish studying or a homework assignment. And believe it or not, there was a time before on demand where I was stuck either watching an infomercial or rewatching the same videos (or gasp! focusing 100% of my energy on my assignment). Luckily Comedy Central saved the day. They would air episodes of this absurd and hilarious BBC show Black Books that I was in love with. I recently just found out that the show was on Hulu. So I've been making my way back through the series. I was a little nervous that maybe I wouldn't find it funny now that I'm older and watching it at a sensible hour, but I find myself really enjoying it (I guess I shouldn't be surprised, the protagonist is an Irishman with a drinking problem who works in a book store. Of my top five favorite things that's like three of them).

That's what I'm obsessed with this week. How about you? Do you have rain boot advice? What's your fall plans consist of? Anyone else ever seen Black Books? I'd love to know!

No Rhythm is a Dancer

2011-09-05T11:41:00.000-07:00

I have to ask you a favor. If you have any sort of opinion of me that paints me in a semi cool light, please stop reading this. If you continue to read this, it will only clue you in on the fact that I am an utter and complete spaz. And I figure I'd like to have at least one person who doesn't hold that opinion. Cool?

OK, now that they're gone. I can lay it on the line. It really can be summed up in a conversation I was having with my friend a couple of weeks ago.

Him (talking to a friend): Miranda can name any sort of random trivia fact.
Me: It's one of my many talents. Like my ability to sing and dance. I'm like a triple thre...
Him (emphatic with lots of hand movements to further his point): No! NEGATIVE! You are horrible at both of those things.
Me: (stunned silence).

Now I am completely aware that I have no business ever singing and dancing in private let alone public. And anyone who knows me knows that this does not dissuade me in anyway from actually singing or dancing in private or public. If we are at an event where there is dancing, I will dance. I will try to make you laugh. I only have a few certain moves that I will use over and over again with varying levels of success. People will come up and tell me that "I know how to have a good time" (Seriously, three people - in three states mind you - have said that to me. Which makes me wonder if there is a group of people out there that do not know how to have a good time). I will bring shame to my family and friends. It's what I do.

However, I knew that I wanted to take my (non existent) skills up to the next level. So for my 32 Things Before 32 I put down that I wanted to learn the moves to an iconic music video dance and then I came across this: Thrill The World. That's right it's a simultaneous performance of Michael Jackson's Thriller dance at locations across the world. So on October 29th, I will be shaking my money maker and continuing to bring shame to my family and friends. But this time it will be on video for prosperity sake. And then I'll take my newfound moves and will break them out at weddings and every time I find a dance floor. It's what I do.

Anyone ever attempt to learn the Thriller dance? Am I completely nuts for participating? Are you embarrassed already for me? Has anyone ever done this or planning on doing this? I'd love to hear what you think.

I'm MIA Without Paper Planes

2011-09-01T23:54:00.000-07:00

I've been neglecting my poor lovely blog here for the past couple of weeks. However, since it's the start of a brand new month, I'm back and focused and ready to get back to my routine of sharing my ridiculous behavior, obsessions, and accomplishments (or probably what is more likely the case, lack of accomplishments).

I thought I'd share something that has come up related to one of my 32 Things Before 32 - 12 Random Acts of Kindness. One of my acts so far was to participate in Girls Love Mail. The organization gives hand written letters to women who have been diagnosed breast cancer. And since I may be one of the last remaining hold outs who sends handwritten Thank You cards (well... at least I do like 75% of the time, which I think is still something), I knew this was right up my alley.

Recently an article about the program was written on the front page of the Folsom Telegraph (And yes I had to google where exactly Folsom was. And yes it's that Folsom. And yes, apparently according to wikipedia the prison's capacity is 1,813 and it is currently housing 4,427 inmates. And no I don't think that the Folsom Telegraph counts for my main list item of 'Make the Front Page on a National Newspaper'). The article included my letter as the sample letter in the article. I was a little nervous about sharing it, because well it was a different kind of writing than I normally share here (I mean there's no parentheses or sarcasm in it at all) so keep that in mind if you happen to read it.

So I'm looking forward to writing some more letters for the organization in the next couple of months and if you're interested the contact information to send your letter is at the bottom of the article. I hope everyone has a lovely, relaxing and amazing holiday weekend!

WIP It and WIP it Good

2011-08-21T23:54:00.000-07:00

I can see the end of the year coming down and it's seriously freaking me out. I remember in January when I had all sorts of dreams and plans for the year which I have been oh so slow in realizing. But now is the time when I can do a great last push in order to try to complete some of the goals before the end of the year, here's where I stand:

My 2011 Goals

1. Complete my 31 Before 31 List - Now to be fair I didn't really complete all the items on my list, but I rolled over all that I didn't complete which means I'll complete them sometime soon. So I think that totally counts. I mark thee complete.

2. Create a 32 Things Before 32 List - Totally Done! See here.

3. Finish 50 Movies of the Aughts - Yeah, I've been totally not in the watch movies mentality this year and have only gotten 16/50 done so far. Since a lot of these movies aren't movies that I would necessarily watch on my own accord, I have to mentally prepare myself to watch them. That means that I can't be checking e-mail, working, or catching up on my Google Reader at the same time. Is it possible to have a problem single tasking?

4. Edit my official list of books to complete - Haven't even looked at this.

5. Read 10 books on my to read list - I've been reading, but nothing on my list. Which just shows how many books I want to read. Do 'To Read' lists ever get smaller?

6. Write My Name Over a Star at the Hollywood Walk of Fame - Haven't set my date to head to LA.

7. Create list of California Sites - Done! Ch-Ch-Check it Out.

8. Visit another state - This one might not actually get done. My domestic travel plans in the states kind of got waylaid this year. I did make it to Nevada and Illinois so far this year but alas I've already visited them.

9. Be part of a flash mob - This is in motion. And with any luck, I might cross off another item or two off my lists at the same time (efficiency is my new keyword). And yes it involves dancing. Have you ever met those people have no rhythm or shame? I'm one of them. So yes, I can only assume that this will end in tears.

10. Learn a new language - I'm studying Spanish. It's going pretty slow though. No way am I close to fluent, but my Costa Rica trip is a big motivator.

11. Capture the moment in an award winning photograph - I've entered a photo in three contests/photo things so far this year and have not gotten any traction, but I am not deterred.

12. Travel to another country - Costa Rica in December yo.

13. Edit my NaNoWriMo book - Ugh. I haven't even gotten close to wanting to start this process.

14. Read 50 Books - I'm a little behind on this one with 30/50 completed, but I have a good feeling I'll be able to accomplish this.

I've also started to make a little headway on my 32 Things Before 32 list:

8. Perform 12 Random Acts of Kindness - I've got 5 done so far. My most recent ones were sending a letter to a recently diagnosed breast cancer patient through Girls Love Mail and a letter to a member of the military through A Million Thanks.

10. Listen to some classical music - I've decided that I have to have listened to 100 songs in order to mark this one complete. I'm over halfway there (oh living on a prayer) and should be done this week.

24. Go to the Gilroy Garlic Festival - I completed this one a couple of weeks ago. I had such high hopes for the festival after I've seen it on TV for so long. However, it was kind of a disappointment. It was just pretty hot, expensive, and crowded for my liking. I mean I love garlic as much as any other vampire fearing girl, but I don't think I'll be back. I guess that means I'll have to rely on the Gilroy Garlic Fries they serve at SF Giants stadium instead.

I am making some progress so now just have to focus on marking some things complete in the next couple of months. How about you? Anyone excited to see the train wreck that will be my participation in a flash mob? Are you working on some items that just feel so far away from being done?

Holgobsession Wednesday - I'm Going to Love You Anyhow Edition

2011-08-10T12:45:00.000-07:00

I swear it was seriously just the first of August like a day ago and I wrote down all these great goals I was going to attempt to do this month and now it's nearly half over (are these the lazy days of summer people talk about) I seriously am going to be putting my nose to the grindstone (seriously I'm only a paragraph into this post and I've already used two cliches. It's going to be a good day) for the last couple of weeks and see if I can salvage my list to try to accomplish.

Holga

My reserve of Holga photos is starting to run a little dry and the rolls I do have left to develop have to be sent to my bestie to save on cost (seriously how sad is it that packaging and sending a roll to her 2,000 miles away is still cheaper than getting it developed locally?). But until then you'll be seeing a lot of Hearst Castle shots, because well I have a lot of them. This photo is from the big indoor pool at the castle. The one with the 24-carat gold flecked tiles. You can't see them in this photo, but trust me they're there. And yes the frown on you making a joke about getting a hammer and taking one home with you.

Obsessions

Jonathan's Card - One of the items on my 32 Before 32 list that I'm getting good traction on is performing 12 Random Acts of Kindness. Today I heard about Jonathan's Card where strangers are simultaneously filling up and using a shared Starbucks card. I love this idea and I gave $10 to the card to support the caffeine addition of someone I don't know. That's officially 4 Random Acts of Kindness completed. Now if only I was this inspired on all of my goals.

Live From Nowhere Near You - OK so it should be no surprise that I'm in love with this great charity 3 CD set. I mean it has music from Pearl Jam, Ryan Adams, and Modest Mouse (It's like they took a look at my iTunes and made a CD with new songs from my most played artists). And it's only $15 for 63 songs (I seriously have spent more on candy this month. And no, this is not a joke. Tootsie Roll Pops and Starburst jelly beans were on sale this week. How is a girl supposed to resist?!?!).

But what makes me most excited about this CD set is the new song from Elliott Smith. I remember falling in love with Elliott Smith in undergrad when my friend gave me a copy of XO. I started listening to it one semester and didn't stop. The haunting lyrics and beautiful guitar playing had me hooked immediately. Elliott Smith became my go to music whenever I'm sad, peaceful, or hopeful. He died in 2003 and not a week goes by where I don't wish that he was still alive and recording his heartbreaking lovely melodies. And then I hear "The Real Estate" and I fall in love all over again.

And if hearing me go on and on about my favorite music is your thing, are you in luck. While Melissa from Press Play is in Greece (and making me so jealous and sad that a year ago I was just coming home from my Greek vacay), she's having people do some Guest Posts. And so I decided to write about how Pearl Jam changed my life. So you can totally read it you know if you want. Click Here.

Anyone else in an August lull? Or better yet do you have any suggestions for snapping out of a lull? Any other Elliott Smith lovers? Has anyone tried using Jonathan's card? Is there a musician or band that changed your life? What are you obsessed with this week? Please let me know!

Honoring Olympus

2011-08-05T18:52:00.000-07:00

I currently have three film cameras (Olympus Trip 35, Miranda FV, and Holga) that are always competing for the title of my favorite camera (my affection is fickle). At first I kind of dismissed my Olympus Trip 35, I mean I already had a great 35mm camera in my Miranda and if I was wanting to go on a zone focus camera, I have my Holga. But the Olympus has managed to take some of my favorite features of those cameras and merge them into one.

First my Olympus is a better size and weight than my Miranda. Seriously a girl can get a major neck cramp carrying around the Miranda all day. The Miranda is a bit more fragile (increased functionality results in more breakable parts). And since I am the furthest thing from graceful it helps not constantly holding my breath and worrying about my camera all day long.

Plus, I'm not nearly as prepared as I like to believe. There have been a few times in my life where I am excited to take my camera out on the town only to find I'm out of film and digging through my fridge looking for a roll of film that might have made a break towards the fruit bins. It's so much easier to find a roll of 35mm film at a drug store than searching for a camera shop that might have some 120 film lying around (and less expensive than express shipping my order that I should have done weeks ago).

And it's more reliable than my Holga. There can be many (many, many, many) rolls in a row on my Holga where I'm bummed by the results. However, all my rolls on the Olympus have had some photos that I don't hate (which might be related to the fact that it has more exposures per roll, but still). So I'm more likely to get that shot I want than to shake my head in despair when I look at the photos lately.

Here's some of my favorite shots that I took when I went to visit Hearst Castle earlier this year. They really restrict the light inside the castle (you know to preserve artifacts and the like), so I spent a lot of time focusing on the windows. Seriously, how cool would it be to look out your bedroom window and see the top of a palm tree? Keep up the good work Olympus, another couple of rolls like this and you might really my favorite.

Holgobsession Wednesday - Tuesday/Wednesday Heartattack Edition

2011-08-03T23:17:00.001-07:00

OK, I almost totally failed in writing this post today. I've been super lazy for the past few days and was 100% against breaking this trend, but I decided to put on my rally cap (I really have no clue what this saying actually means) and put up this post, even if it is technically Thursday.

Holga

My photo today is from the Sacramento Shakespeare Festival. I know it's going to sound nerdy and pretentious, but I really love Shakespeare (I think it has to do with the fact that he invented my first name. I mean how can you not love the guy who came up with your name). Plus I also love drinking cheap wine out of plastic glasses in the park. It's really a win win. I managed to go see two plays this month, "Taming of the Shrew" and "As You Like It". And while I've seen larger more impressive Shakespeare performances in my life, the combination of good food, warm wine and a chill in the air as the sun went down made for some lovely evenings. However, be warned that ants like nutella crepes. And if you are saving crepes for dessert do not be surprised if ants have invaded the crepes and you are forced to throw these pieces of deliciousness away.

Obsessions
The Cure - Last week in the car, "Just Like Heaven" (not the horrible Reese Witherspoon movie) came on the radio and instead of going straight home I drove around until the song finished. I forgot how much I love all things The Cure. When I was in undergrad, my roommate was really into metal and classic rock. And I was more into pop and alternative. However, we both had a copy of The Cure's Greatest Hits and after that we knew we were going to be friends. She turned me onto System of a Down and I got her to appreciate Madonna's Ray of Light. Who knows if it would have been possible without Robert Smith and The Cure.

Vin Diesel Soundboard- Now I've admitted many embarrassing items on this here blog, but this one might be my most shameful yet. Did you know that there is not 1 but 2 iPhone apps that do nothing more than play Vin Diesel sound bytes? My friend sent me an e-mail today informing me of these two pieces of pop culture genius and I started laughing so hard that I cried. And yes, it is utterly ridiculous. And a total waste of $1.00. And full of profanity. But seriously I cannot stop giggling and laughing when I play one of Vin's memorable clips. Plus there is a clip of him singing. That's worth its weight in gold if you ask me.

Have you made it to any plays in the park this summer? Do you have to actually choose between loving The Smiths or The Cure? Do you kind of like Vin Diesel just a little bit? Is admitting that I purchased the Vin Diesel Soundboard convinced you to stop reading my blog? What are you obsessed with this week?

Holgobsession Wednesday - I Could Watch 500 Goats

2011-07-27T22:02:00.000-07:00

Holga

This is another photo from my first red tinted roll of film (I still have 2 additional rolls to use). My friend lives up in the Oakland hills and when I was driving there a couple of weeks ago I was amazed to find a hill overtaken with goats. I don't see a whole lot of crazy wildlife (you know outside of Berkeley. ZING!) in the SF bay so I stopped immediately. Apparently instead of mowing the hills the city will transport these goats to eat the grass instead. I wish I was about 2 steps closer when I took it or that it was in focus, but details, details.

Plus I was kind of scared for two reasons.

1) Goats are freaking unpredictable, I mean have you seen How I Met Your Mother or the Goat Boy sketches on Saturday Night Live?

2) There was an electric fence surrounding the goats and as someone who has encountered an electrified fence in my youth (very quickly and without injury, other than the horrible memory), I stay far far away from these sort of things now.

Obsessions

Coffee Break Spanish podcast - Last week my big 2011 trip became a little more official as I booked my flight to Costa Rica in December. So, I've really been trying to devote more effort to try to pick up some more Spanish before the trip by listening to the Coffee Break Spanish podcast each day. They're about 20 minutes and I can listen to an episode on my way to and from working out. Now it is true that the hosts of the podcast are Scottish and it's kind of crazy to learn Spanish from someone with a Scottish accent, but so far it's going really great. I can totally ask how much a glass of beer or wine is and then order it. And I already know the Spanish pronunciation of margaritas. I think that's really all I need, right?

Mental Health Weekend - My other obsession all week is the fact that I took off tomorrow and Friday off. The one good thing about being at a job or a long time is that the vacation days start to pile up and sometimes you can actually take a couple of days for no other reason than just cause. So all week long I've been trying to come up with things that I want to accomplish during my days off. I have a stack of books, magazines, and movies to try to finish. And I'm determined to spend some time by the pool. And see Cowboys and Aliens. And go to the Gilroy Garlic Festival. On second thought, I might need to take a couple of more days off.

So that's what I'm obsessed and taking pictures of this week. Has anyone been to Costa Rica and can give me some tips? What methods have you used to learn another language? Is anyone else going to be crushed if Cowboys and Alien isn't amazing (I mean Indiana Jones and James Bond (even if he isn't wearing those hot blue swim trunks) and Mikey from Swingers can't all come together to make a movie that sucks right?!?!)? You want me to bring you back some garlic food or items from the self proclaimed 'garlic capital of the world'? I'd love to know.

Don't Be A Jerk

2011-07-25T17:35:00.000-07:00

One of my 32 things before 32 is to complete 12 Random Acts of Kindness. So far, I've done one. I paid for someone's toll on the bridge. I did this when I was on my way to the airport to fly to Vegas, so you think that this would have given me some karma points that resulted in big jackpot. But alas the slots were not in tune with my karma. But that has not deterred me in my quest for 11 more items.

So the first step when I try any project is go to the interwebs for inspiration. And I found a bunch of fun resources for completing Random Acts of Kindness:

1) These 'You Are Beautiful' stickers. I've officially sent off my SASE to receive some of these great stickers. Now I just have to figure out where to use them. (Also I kind of want to join this project of taking a photo of the sticker in a city).

2) I love this list of 29 Ways to Carry Out Random Acts of Kindness Every Day

3) The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation - They have a great list of ideas here.

4) Angel Tasks - Includes two of my new favorites 'put change in a row of vending machines' and 'leave some extra stamps at the stamp machine'.

5) Not really related, but is kind of related to my other 32 Before 32 item, find out my nationality. There's this cool organization where people will donate time to performing Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness. What a great idea to start work on your family tree.

The problem with some of the Random Acts of Kindness is that I feel kind of sad that so many of them items are actually considered Random Acts of Kindness and are not considered just "Don't be a Jerk" items. Seriously, if you have to be reminded to say Thank You to someone, then you might need a lot more help than a Random Act of Kindness can give.

Is it still considered a random act of kindness if I have it on a list to complete? How many Random Acts of Kindness things do I have to perform before I hit the jackpot on my favorite slot machine (aka Jackpot Party)? And what is your favorite Random Act of Kindness item or story? Any help and guidance is greatly appreciated!

PS - And this totally wasn't on my list and I don't think it's actually a Random Act of Kindness. But I think you should know, that I think you are kind of awesome. If I had any talent, I would write a sonnet in your honor. Thank you for taking the time out of your schedule for stopping by my little place on the interwebs.

Holgobsession Wednesday - If Losing Your Film is Cool, Consider Me Miles Davis Edition

2011-07-20T23:55:00.000-07:00

Holga

I'm so mad at myself. I've been trying to take more photos lately and so this weekend I spent some time at the beach and finished off another roll. However, now I can't freaking find it. See this is why people take digital because they are less likely to lose random rolls of film. Grrr. So if you all would be so kind as to cross your fingers that I come across it in some little nook or cranny, I'd appreciate it. (I also kind of hope that if I don't find it that some good samaritan will decide to develop it and create a lovely YouTube video like this, however I'm 100% sure that my photos would not be as great).

My Holga today is from when I went to visit Hearst Castle. And I know sometimes the Holga will amplify colors making them seem even more unrealistic, but I promise you the pool was actually that blue. And apparently if you were to volunteer/work long enough at the castle, you and two friends will be able to swim in this once a year. Which sounds kind of amazing to me.

Obsessions

Photo Challenge - My best friend Crymson and I have been talking about doing a photo challenge together. She mentioned where one of us would take a roll of photos and then re-roll the film and then the other person would shoot with the same roll to create some (hopefully cool) double exposures. We've also been debating coming up with our own photo challenge and comparing the results, so that could be really fun as well.

mySpoonful.com - I'm obsessed with my trice-weekly newsletter from mySpoonful.com. Once you sign up, you'll get an e-mail talking about an independent artist with a link to one of their songs to listen and download. I've found a great number of bands that I've really enjoyed and you can never go wrong with free music. (Speaking of free music - Is anyone using Spotify yet? I just got my activation and wondered if other people have tried it out and how you liked it).

Tori Amos - I admitted to the super lovely and Tori-super-fan, Amanda over at Squeals and Glitter, that I hadn't really listened to a lot of Tori in my music education and I asked her if she had any suggestions on a good place to start. Not only did she have suggestions, she then created me this most amazing playlist of 30+ Tori performances (seriously is that the coolest thing ever?) that I've been listening to like crazy. Plus I just think it's just so cool that she would take the time to put together the playlist to help me overcome my Tori ignorance.

That's what I've been obsessed with this week. What have you been up to? Is anyone having major Comic-Con envy? Does anyone want to be my plus one if I ever decide to volunteer at Hearst Mansion? Have you ever done a photo challenge? What are you obsessed with that I should add to my list? I'd love to know!

Holgobsession Wednesday - Blame it on the Bikram* Edition

2011-07-13T23:37:00.000-07:00

If it's Wednesday that means I take up valuable moments of your life with my incoherent ramblings. :)

Holga

I recently got another roll of photos from my Olympic Trip 35 developed and I noticed that some of the pictures looked oddly familiar. Apparently I like to take pictures of the same thing with different cameras. So, I thought for a change on the normal Wednesday Holga I'd compare some of my Holga and Olympus shots. I kind of am leaning towards the Olympic shots, just because the B&W makes them more mysterious. I think this also goes to show that instead of worrying about seeing what a photo looks like on each camera, I should focus on only taking one camera when I do something photo worthy (see if I can put the quality vs quantity saying into action).

Obsessions

Glee - Today is a sad day for this Gleek. First the fact is that we are still months away from seeing any sort of new episode and then today Ryan Murphy announced that Finn, Rachel and Kurt were going to leave the show after next season. I'm not lying, I may have gasped aloud. I mean Rachel is super annoying but gosh I can't stay mad at her once she starts to sing (even if I have to shield my eyes from her crazy facial expressions). And Kurt looks like he's like 10 they could have totally gotten another year out of him. Glee best hope they get some great talent in this new class of kids, otherwise I'm going to be very concerned.

Bikram Yoga - One of my 32 Things Before 32 was to try Bikram Yoga (or as I like to call it 'I didn't know it was possible to sweat so much' yoga). I've gone to classes for the last three nights and I'm enjoying it a lot, but I'm also more than exhausted (apparently sitting around and watching reality TV is not the workout I think it is. Also if this post doesn't make any sort of sense, you know why). I got one of those cheap deals on Groupon, and I'm determined to get my money's worth.

*And yes, you have to say the name of the title of this post to the tune of Milli Vanilli's Blame it on the Rain

Damon Lindelof on Kevin Pollak's Chat Show - One of the things that kept me going this week was listening to this great interview of Damon Lindelof (he of Lost and all things awesome). I will warn you it's like 2 hours and 30 minutes long, but really I'm missing Lost so very much that I'll listen to anyone involved with it talk about it regardless of the length. It also doesn't help that it's full of fun facts about JJ Abrams, how Lost came to be, Cowboys and Aliens, and all sorts of other nerdy things that I find myself obsessed with (Plus there were at least two references to Felicity). And yes, even I need a break from my 'melancholy guys with guitars' Pandora station.

What are you obsessed with this week? Have you ever tried Bikram? Do you ever take the same photo with different cameras? Are you disturbed by the Glee news? Anyone else really miss Lost? The comments and I would love to know.

We Didn't Start The Fire*

2011-07-11T22:32:00.000-07:00

Overall, I love the area where I live, but there are a few things I dislike. The first is the hills. You can be going along all happy and content and then bam, you're walking at a 75 degree angle for five blocks only to find that when you think you're at the top it was a mere illusion and you still have five blocks to go. I also blame the hills for that one time where I fell down (and yes I have to clarify, because I'm klutzy and fall down a lot) and sprained my ankle till it swelled up like a cantaloupe. I'll have to share that story (with pictures!) another time, but trust me it's a good one.

The second thing I dislike is the cost of living. It can be a little pricey to live the life I've grown accustomed (you know the one where I can afford the box sized space where I live and still ~~eat~~ drink wine (and yes, sometimes the wine is out of a box as well). So when I heard about the free tour led walking tours in SF, I knew that I wanted to make this one of my 32 Things Before 32.

We were planning on doing two of these tours this weekend, but someone managed to not wake up from her beauty sleep (waking up is really overrated). So we settled on one and since my friend is a fire fighter we decided to take the Fire Department Museum Tour. Don't let the title fool you, the fire department museum walking tour is super small and really you're not doing a whole lot of walking but they've got tons of fun information. Some of my favorite tidbits are below:

Did you know that there was a firefighter named Tom Sawyer was named after a SF firefighter friend of Samuel Clemens?
So, my new favorite historical figure is Lillie Hitchcock Coit (she of Coit Tower fame). She became a firefighter advocate after fire fighters saved her from a burning building when she was a kid and became a mascot for the company. According to the placard: "The daughter of a wealthy doctor, Lillie drove horses, smoked cigars, drank liquor, and sometimes dressed like a man. These activities were seen as improper for a lady, especially one of Lillie's social standing. Her uninhibited behavior upset her mother and caused scandal in polite society". And she once met Napoleon. How no one has made a movie about her life yet is absolutely crazy. So now I'm searching to find a book to read about her as well.
Apparently volunteer fire fighters used to carry speaking trumpets to yell at people during a fire. And sometimes when they felt like celebrating, they would cork one end of the trumpet and fill it with Champagne (I once did a similar thing with a dodgeball trophy. It was awesome).

So I now have 1 of 5 of my walks completed. I just hope the rest of the ones I pick don't involve hills. And yes, I did start a game of Let's Make a Deal about which door we would actually go through to enter the museum (for the record it was the one on the right. I totally picked the wrong one - Had the game been real, I totally would have ended up with a goat).

*And here's a random fact about me. I kind of love Billy Joel. I'd call it a guilty pleasure, but I don't feel guilty admitting it. Plus I do know all of the words to 'We Didn't Start the Fire' and yes, I've done it in public on several occasions. It's what I call a crowd pleaser.

Does your town have free walking tours? Doesn't Coit sound kind of awesome? And a two parter: 1) Do you consider Billy Joel to be really awesome, just kind of awesome, or - and I shudder at the thought - not awesome? and 2) Do you have a favorite Billy Joel song? I'd love to hear what you think.

Missing Links - Volume 6

2011-07-08T23:37:00.000-07:00

I've been really behind in sharing some of the fun links I've come across in my interweb travels. But here's some of my favorite lists, articles, travels, and other randomness that I've loved lately.

Word Cloud of The Books Everyone Should Read (via Roger Ebert's Journal)

World's 50 Best Restaurants - 6 in the US.. Closest one to me? 2,000 miles.

From National Geographic, 10 Great Tour Guides

Aretha Franklin's Bucket List - Yes, I have a standing invitation for high tea with the Queen as well.

The minute I read the title of the article, I was intrigued. They broke the world record, but did they break any toes? (from Orlando Sentinel)

I totally wish there someone would write a summer buck list for my area. I mean do I have to do everything? Lucky for those in DC, here's one already done for you (courtesy Washington Post)

Are you kidding me? Giraffe Manor? I love this oh so very much (Phoenix New Times)

Have you guys heard about these Synchronous Fireflies? I can say it may be the only thing I ever want to do that involves bugs.

I am so bummed I didn't come across this when I was coming up with my 32 Things Before 32. It's a list of the 10 Can't Miss Photos to Take Every Month.

And yes, I totally signed up to know more about the Reading Rainbow Flash Mob.

Forbes has a list of some great wine country spots outside of Napa.

Any links you've come across with lately that are grand?

Holgobsession Wednesday - Red Without The Hooded Sweatshirt Edition

2011-07-06T23:05:00.000-07:00

I hope you're having a great (and hopefully shortened week). I am currently hoping that the disaster of a haircut I got last night is in fact haircut shock and my hair will be back to normal soon (now don't get me wrong, my hair is normally a disaster. But it's a familiar disaster. This haircut seems to have given my hair multiple personalities, instead of the traditional spaz I've grown accustomed).

I'm anxiously working for the weekend*, where I'll hopefully be shopping at the SF Wholesale Mart and trying to pretend like I know something about flowers besides the fact that they smell and look pretty. Apparently Martha Stewart says it's pretty grand and she doesn't lie (well I mean since that one time where she lied and went to jail), so I guess this must be where it's at.

Holga

My Holga photo today is from Vegas. And yes, that is an empty 88 oz margarita guitar glass. And yes, it's awesome. And yes, I tend to take a lot of pictures of people walking away from me. This has resulted in many of my friends claiming I just like taking pictures of butts. This is not true, but this observation always results with me singing some Sir Mixalot. And really at that point, we all win. Right?

This was my first roll using lomography red tint film. Most of my pics on the roll didn't turn out so well, but I blame myself. Cause really what kind of girl takes pictures at night with a camera with no flash on tinted film (if you said someone who drank from an 88oz margarita, you'd be correct).

Obsessions

I thought I would share some really cool things I've found in the hope that you might find them cool as well.

Bon Iver Cover Songs - OK, I'm a bit late to the Bon Iver party. I mean after all their album was #1 a couple of weeks ago (It seriously is exhausting trying to keep up with the newest and greatest in pop culture sometimes). I love a great cover so I'm in love with this version of Bonnie Rait's I Can't Make You Love Me (you can also view an amazing live performance on Jimmy Fallon here). And if that was not enough here is a list of Bon Iver's Top Ten Cover Songs. Seriously listen to the truly delightful cover of Your Love by The Outfield.

Dear Photograph - This site shows what happens when you take your favorite printed photograph, go back to where the picture was taken, and create a new photo merging the old and the new pieces. I love when the internet gives us something totally sweet and inspiring. I've also decided I really really want to try this out myself. I've been in process of scanning my grandmothers old photo albums (she has over 130+; I've scanned.....well 1 so far. It's a marathon, not a sprint). I am hoping to find an old photo of her and my grandfather and create my own version of Dear Photograph. So maybe this is just the inspiration I need to set aside some time to spend with my scanner.

If anyone is interested in sharing their obsessions, you can still e-mail me at (thingstodobeforeyoudie [at] gmail [dot] com) and I'll include in next week's edition.

So that is what I'm obsessed with this week. Can you give me any tips or things to look for when shopping at the flower mart? Does anyone have recommendations for overcoming a bad haircut (minus wearing a lot of hats)? Did you all know about Bon Iver? What are you obsessed with? Please let me know in the comments, cause really (as always) I need all the help I can get.

*Yes - I quoted Loverboy. You're welcome.

Please No More California Songs

2011-07-02T18:53:00.000-07:00

As I come up on my 4th anniversary of moving to California (seriously where does the time go), I figured I should finally put my 'Things to See in California' on paper (or whatever digital paper this blog is). I've had a list of sorts even before I moved here and have been making slow and steady process on visiting many of them. I thought it might be best to write down and share my list (I made creating and posting this list part of my 2011 things to do. Cause I apparently have lists for making lists as well. Some call it a problem, I call it 'my process') in the hopes it might make me more likely to actually achieve them (not a guarantee by any means, but I think it increases success by like a half a percent).

This list is will probably continue to grow as I come across new and exciting potential adventures (or disasters). You might also notice that it is also heavily SoCal influenced since I've gotten most of the Northern California sites already visited. (I'm still working on my eat your weight in carbs at every different brunch location in the Northern California area, but that really should not be documented outside of my growing waistline). You'll also see that there are many things on this list that no one in their right mind should care about seeing. But that's how I roll. Now I just need to schedule the trips and prepare my road trip music (aka - heavy on Monster Ballads and Elton John).

1) Visit Mono Lake

2) Scare the vampires away at Gilroy Garlic Festival

3) Visit Frank Lloyd Wright's California Sights (4/8)

: ~~Marin Civic Center~~ (Done)

: ~~Hanna House~~ (Done)

: ~~V.C. Morris Gift Shop~~ (Done)

: Hollyhock House

: Ennis House

: Freeman House

: Anderton Court Shops

: ~~Pilgrim Congregational Church~~ (Done)

4) Getty Museum

5) Griffith Observatory

6) See the Laguna Beach Pageant of the Masters

7) Visit the California Missions (3/20):

: La Purisima Concepcion

: Nuestra Senora de la Soledad

: San Antonio de Padua

: San Buenaventura

: ~~San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo~~ (Done)

: San Diego de Alcala

: San Fernando Rey de Espana

: San Francisco de Solano

: ~~San Francisco de Asis~~ (Done)

: San Gabriel Arcangel

: ~~San Jose~~ (Done)

: San Juan Bautista

: San Juan Capistrano

: San Luis Obispo

: San Luis Rey de Francia

: San Miguel de Arcangel

: San Rafael Arcangel

: Santa Barbara

: Santa Clara de Asis

: Santa Cruz

8) Visit all California National Parks (2/8):

: Channel Islands

: Death Valley

: Joshua Tree

: King's Canyon

: Lassen Volcanic

: ~~Redwood~~ (Done)

: Sequoia

: ~~Yosemite~~ (Done)

9) Stop at every Roadside attraction along Avenue of Giants

10) Drive along Mulholland Drive

11) Watch a Concert at the Hollywood Bowl

12) Learn more about Watergate and the Pentagon Papers at Nixon Presidential Library

13) Drive Across Cold Spring Arch Bridge in Los Padres National Forest

14) Frighten the costume characters at Disneyland

15) Visit Elliott Smith Mural

16) Photograph The Flower Fields in Carlsbad, California

17) Visit Chateau Montelena winery (winery from movie Bottle Shock)

18) Visit my namesake towns (1/2)

: Fist Name - Miranda (Done)

: Last Name

19) Ski in Tahoe (bonus points if I don't break any limbs)

20) Swim with Leopard Sharks

21) Ride a bike in Catalina

22) Listen to the Wave Organ in San Francisco

23) Get a bumper sticker from Mystery Spot in Santa Cruz

24) See the dinosaurs from Pee-wee's Big Adventure

25) Visit Glass Beach in Ft. Bragg

26) Find a piece of Jade at Jade Cove Beach

27) Get invited to the Magic Castle

28) Go to the Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival

29) Hike (and not die) Half Dome in Yosemite

30) Volunteer on a Rose Parade float

31) Find a Sand Dollar at Sand Dollar Beach (I didn't actually research this one. I mean I'm assuming they have sand dollars at the beach if that's the name)

32) Hike up to the Hollywood Sign

33) Universal Studio Tour

34) Ride top roller coasters in California (0/8) (per Wikipedia)

: Superman: Escape from Krypton at Six Flags Magic Mountain

: Goliath at Six Flags Magic Mountain

: Viper at Six Flags Magic Mountain

: Medusa at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom

: Scream! at Six Flags Magic Mountain

: The Riddler's Revenge at Six Flags Magic Mountain

: Tatsu at Six Flags Magic Mountain

: California Screamin' at Disneyland

35) Hopefully not trip walking the stairs at the Kodak Theatre Tour

36) Go Dutch Solvang

37) Eat a Dodger Dog (apparently they only serve it at a sporting event or something)

38) Smell the tar at La Brea Tarpits

39) Go to the lava tubes in Lava Beds National Monument

40) Take a long exposure photo at Lombard Street

41) Sea World

42) Take stop motion video of Old Faithful Geyser of California

43) Visit Treasure Island

44) Hike on Angel Island

45) Walk down Muscle Beach

46) Get my picture at the Yoda Fountain

47) Eat at LA Farmers Market

48) Celebrity watch at the Chateau Marmont

49) Ride the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway

50) See the Buffy the Vampire Slayer High School and House in Torrance (I seriously have a problem)

51) Go to a Hot Springs Spa

52) Stay on the Queen Mary

53) Attend a performance at the Walt Disney Concert Hall

54) Wear a ridiculous shirt at a Price is Right taping

55) Go to a Conan taping

56) Go to a Craig Ferguson taping

57) Ride on the Skunk Train

58) Go Wine Tasting in Murphys
59) Watch SF Pride Parade
60) Watch the SF Chinese New Year Parade (suggestion courtesy of Brigid)
61) Kayak La Jolla Caves (suggestion courtesy of CeCe)
62) Ride a bike in Davis, CA

Are there any of these things that you have done? Any you really want to do? Do you have a list of things you want to do in your state? I'd love to read about it, so share in the comments.

Holgobsession Wednesday - Missing Inch

2011-06-29T23:57:00.000-07:00

I'm so anxious for this long weekend. I'll be spending most of it jumping every time some punk kid decides to set off some fireworks, but it'll totally be worth it.

Holga
I got two rolls of Holga photos back today and had a couple of disappointments. First the photos are 4x4 instead of 5x5. Apparently when filling out the envelope either I said 4x6 (I was dropping off some 35mm film too) or the clerk wrote it down wrong. And let me say that as in life (and as in a spam folder) an inch makes a bit of a difference.

The second thing that bummed me out from the rolls is that so few of my photos turned out. It was my worst results from my Holga in a while. Now that might make me a bit discouraged, but it also has inspired me to spend some more time with my camera and give it some love over the long weekend. So we'll see if I overcome some of my recent setbacks.

All my whining and pity party aside my pic today is from the candy shop where I got my first bag of salt water taffy during a weekend trip (and yes by indicating that it was the first means there was (at least) a second).

Obsessions

The War for Late Night - I am such a late night television nerd from way back (I remember getting in trouble all the time for secretly staying up late at night to watch Letterman and Conan. Also, true story my college roommate knew of my love of all things David Letterman and once painted me a really cool portrait of him that I adore. Another note if you are studying a somewhat 'boring' major like business then you should totally try to room with an art major. They are always bringing home pieces of pottery, photo projects, art pieces, etc. I think that my friendship with her resulted in all the decoration for my first apartment). Since I was kind of obsessed with the The Tonight Show shakeup last year, I knew that I was going to be reading this book. And even though you know the end result and the story it's a very fascinating read. I polished it off in 2 days even though I had some more pressing items to work on so I consider that a good sign.

Music - I've been in a total music zone lately. Thanks to Amanda, I've been beginning my education on Tori Amos. And then two of my faves have released new songs: Wilco's "I Might" and Ryan Adams' "Empty Room". I absolutely love all things Wilco and Ryan Adams. Plus Mandy Moore is singing on Empty Room as well. And I'll say it, Mandy Moore is just awesome. Seriously listen to her Wild Hope album, it's incredibly good.

So what are you obsessed with? Can you guess how many inch jokes I made while writing this? Can you believe that Because I Said So is such a bad movie (I mean you have Lorelei Gilmore, Annie Hall, and Mandy Moore and it still fails)? What are you obsessed with this week? Any great things you're listening to this week? Are you sporting illegal fireworks? I'd love to know!

Holgobsession Wednesday - Lemon No Liz Edition

2011-06-22T23:23:00.000-07:00

Is anyone else so totally behind in well everything? I just seem to have a lot of stuff to catch up on lately and despite my best progress seem to be falling further behind (and yes, it might be directly related to my obsessions this week).

Holga

I dropped off a couple of rolls of film today to be developed. And I truly don't remember what is on them. So, I'm really excited to see the results. My photo today is from wine tasting in Paso Robles. I'm not really sure what the random circle specks of light are. The landscape also looks a bit skewed, almost like it's a fun house mirror. Both of these things have made me come to the conclusion that I stumbled onto a wormhole or a vortex to another dimension. Had I totally been shooting digital I would have noticed at the time and totally taken it. Alas, analogue film has totally ruined my chance.

Obsession

Summer Drinks - I have recently tried a couple of great summer specific drinks that I had to share. And yes the both involve my fave, lemons:

Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy - What do you get when take wheat beer and mix it with lemonade? Normally I would be outraged of this marriage of delicious stand alone drinks. However, I stand corrected. Another bestie has been raving about it for years and now I see what the fuss was all about.

Oprah's Legends Lemon Drop Martini - The same Summer-Shandy-loving-bestie decided that we should have a lemon martini party. Which is like the greatest idea of all time. Now word to the wise, if you are a bit of a lemon freak, these could be very dangerous. I drank my martini like it was lemonade. Then I had to watch while everyone else with willpower sipped their drinks.

Guest Obsessions

My bestie, Crymson, provided the obsessions for the post this week. She is responsible for my obsession with Holga and wine. So she's kind of responsible for like 20% of my personality (what some would call the best part). I also got to see her when I went home last week and she's rocking feather extensions in her hair (And she wasn't the only one, another one of my friends was also wearing feathers. Apparently I'm super behind on my trends as well.) Here's her obsessions this week:

"I'm obsessed with quilting...deciding what quilt to start next, but mostly the fabric shopping. Going between a monkey quilt or car quilt for R or a wine colored quilt for me." (Miranda note - R is her adorable 1 year old. Also, I tease her a lot because she always has at least 20 different projects going and is always starting new ones. So I'm doing my best here to hold my tongue without mentioning I believe she has another blanket project with wine-ish colors she's been working on for a while that is wanting to be finished).

"Second obession is reading, I go through spurts of reading and I'm in the middle of one. Just whipped through the Help and the latest of the Sookie Stackhouse series. Next on my list is Water for Elephants and the Hunger Games. Best thing about this spurt is that I've discovered that if I increase the font size on my kindle I can read while I run on the elliptical. So I actually find myself looking forward to working out."

Thanks Crymson for sharing and for being awesome and for being my friend.

If you were interested in sharing your obsessions, just drop me a line at thingstodobeforeyoudie [at] gmail [dot] com. I seriously love reading all of your awesome obsessions in the comments each week.

Did everyone else know about feather hair extensions but me? Do you have a favorite summer drink (and does it involve lemons)? Is anyone else concerned by the hair and wardrobe choices of Miss Christina Aguilera on The Voice? What are your obsessing with this week?

Come On Feel the Illinoise

2011-06-20T12:28:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I got back from spending a way too short visit with my friends and family back in Illinois. I had a great time home, but I was just so busy and there for too short of a time to see everyone and do everything.

The main reason for the trip was an event up in Chicago, so it was the perfect excuse to spend a weekend there. You would think since I lived in the state for so many years, Chicago would be like a second home. But for some reason, I never spent much time there when I lived in the state and try to make up for it now. When I go now I'm totally a tourist, which is fine but totally ruins all my Illinois cred. I can totally tell you the best places to hang in at least 40 small towns within the state but I'm kind of ignorant on the big city.

Here's some recollections (some might be more hazy than others blame the wine) and recommendations from my weekend jaunt:

- Toast of the Town: I can now say I officially traveled 2,000 miles to eat and drink. I'm not sure if there is a support group or something for that, but if not I'm totally starting one. It was held at the Field Museum, which was totally cool. We got to get dressed up (however, I still was rocking flats cause I'm pretty much the clumbsiest person you know and was terrified that I would do one or all of the following: fall, break some priceless artifact, or drop and shatter my wine glass on someone's fancy shoes. A small step back for my dreams of being one of those awesome people that rock heels on slick surfaces but a major step forward for not making a fool of myself). I didn't take a lot of pictures because I forgot my camera and I was having a hard enough time dealing with the program, wine glass, and fancy foods. But the picture here is of Sue, the T-Rex (Fancy gathering bonus points: I only did my T-rex impersonation once). Turns out that Vince Vaughn was at the event, but I totally didn't see him. Which is odd, cause I'm pretty sure he's like a gazillion feet tall.

- Yolk : Do you know what is cool? Restaurants that offer you pancakes or toast as a side for your eggs. And so what if you got both even if you spent the previous night doing nothing but eating bacon wrapped deliciousness and mini red velvet cupcakes.

- Chicago Burger Company - So it was a total long walk from the restaurant to our next activity and since the tickets we got were in a few hours, we spent some time here along the Chicago River. The weather couldn't have been nicer so it's a great place to eat some french fries (Yes, I know we just ate, but IT WAS A LONG WALK OK?). They're super skinny and super delicious.

- Chicago Line Architectual Cruise - We've been talking about doing this cruise forever (along with my other two must do Chicago-area to do items: Cubs Game and Frank Lloyd Wright tours). This is a 90 minute boat cruise up and down the Chicago River giving you history and facts about many of the Chicago skyscrapers. I seriously don't know how long it took our guide to be able to learn all of the information that he shared as well as choreograph it in time with the tour, but it was all kinds of awesome. I've been known as quite a talker, but he totally put me to shame. I'm a total history/architecture nerd so this was so up my alley.

- Family Bike Rentals - So have you ever seen those like 4-6 person bikes where it's like a cart that 4 people or so pedal around? I hadn't. But my friend had and despite my objections (I was the lone dissent) we took off in one. Couple of notes - I had a heck of a time pedalling in the back section of the cart without hitting the metal bars in front of me. If you have long legs, I suggest you try the front seat which was much nicer. Also second note, if you decide to bike alongside the north side of Lake Michigan, realize that the sidewalk on like an angle. So several people of your party are going to feel as though they may tip over into the water. Again, I totally forgot my camera. So there are no pictures (At least that I took. There were several random people that took our picture. I'm totally in someone's Facebook album about the crazy people in Chicago. Whenever facial recognition software becomes mainstream, I'm totally screwed).

- Lou Malnati's Pizza - It's rumored to be one of the best deep dish pizzas in Chicago (sadly it has been so long since I previously had deep dish, I couldn't give you an honest comparison). Of course the line was crazy long. However there is no way to go wrong with bread, sauce, cheese and fixings (Unless you try St. Louis style pizza which is my least favorite regional pizza by far).

So that's the story behind my quick trip home. Is there any city/area that you are close to but you really haven't experienced as much as you should? Do you have any Chicago specific recommendations for my next trip? Did anyone else eat and drink too much this weekend and is facing the 'Diet starts Monday' drama?

Holgobsession Wednesday - River Runs Through It Edition

2011-06-15T18:42:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone is having a great week. I'm currently squatting in the basement of my parent's place, enjoying all the best things Illinois has to offer.

Holga
I have four cameras and can you guess how many of them I remembered to bring home with me? If you guessed zero, you would be correct. I realized as we were on the road heading to brunch the day of the flight and it was too late to go back. I'm super bummed cause I'm going to be in Chicago for a few days and I love nothing more than taking photos of all things Chitown. I guess I'll have to rely on my phone or (gasp) take a mental snapshot.

I have some rolls of film I need to get developed so we're resorting to another picture from the river hike I did a couple of months ago. This was the part of the trail that was washed out, because the river was so high. I wish I had shown bit to show part of the trail without water to show the difference. I think I was freezing in my dress and tights just trying to make sure that I didn't step in gross river water, so I guess I should be happy that the picture came out at all.

Obsessions
Steak N Shake
Since I'm back at home I'm filling up my free time obsessing over visiting my favorite places. I have a favorite coffee shop, used book store, and two Italian restaurants that are must visits when I go home. And then there is my devotion to Steak N Shake. Now I know that most people when choosing their favorite regional fast food place choose In N Out. But I'm super partial to the steakburgers. And since there are no restaurants close to me, I tend to eat here a lot when I'm home. Bad for my health, but good for my personal well being.

Toast of the Town
One of the reasons I came back to town was to go to this great wine tasting event at the Field Museum, Toast of the Town. The night is going to have lots of great wine, delicious food, and being in a museum after dark (finally living out my dream of re-enacting 'From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler). I'm a bit concerned that after one too many wine tastings, I'm going to cause Sue to tumble down, but sometimes you have to take risks.

Guest Obsessions
This week's reader obsession comes from Amanda from Squeals and Glitter. Now I love Amanda and her bestie Heather's blog cause having a blog with your best friend is just completely rad. Plus they each created 101 Things list and Amanda is going to also give me some guidance in becoming familiar with Ms. Tori Amos so I'm really excited. They're really too cool.

Amanda's Obsessions
- Lady Gaga's Scheiße - I know, I know, I posted about it two weeks ago, and i'm still insane over it. It's got over 60+ plays on itunes, with repeated use on youtube

- Fresh, from the stove-top with melted butter and garlic salt, popcorn. I'm eating it right now!! But tossing all the slightly burned pieces. yicky.

- Putting dried cranberries or fresh strawberries in my salads. Once the watermelons start arriving from cali instead of mexico (cut down on them food miles, fool!) then i'd add that.

I can't thank Amanda enough for sharing her obsessions! Here is to best friends and Gaga! If anyone is interested just e-mail me at thingstodobeforeyoudie [at] gmail [dot] com.

Is anyone else concerned that of my places I need to visit in Illinois three are restaurants (diet starts Monday!!!)? Also do you think there is a jail penalty for knocking over a T-rex skeleton? What are you obsessed with this week? Anything I need to check out?

32 Things Before 32

2011-06-12T11:39:00.000-07:00

I know I still owe you a wrap up post on my 31 Things Before 31, but I'm so excited to start accomplishing these items, I could not wait. I've also thrown all the stuff I didn't get done on my 31 list onto this as well (as if I needed more stuff to do).

1) Turn in an entry for The Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest (via Steve)
2) Participate in a Picture Challenge
3) Participate in a Reading Challenge
4) Learn how to cut a pomegranate
5) See this mural
6) Cook 12 Recipes in my cookbook
7) Make Elizabethtown music/travel scrapbook
8) Perform 12 Random Acts of Kindness (with these stickers!)
9) Upgrade the blog
10) Listen to some classical music
11) Learn all the dance moves to a popular music video (Thriller, Single Ladies, etc).
12) Find out my nationality
13) Letterpress
14) Origami
15) Go visit any of the 1001 Paintings You Must See Before You Die that are in SF (from Jessica)
16) Upgrade my blog
17) Go on Dice Walk (courtesy Elleswim)
18) Finish a yarn project
19) Visit the Pez Mueseum
20) Make French Macaroons
21) Try 10 of these foods
22) Take 5 of these walks
23) Finish things I didn't achieve on 31 Things Before 31
   a) Have a different brewery beer each day for a month
   b) Make a stop action video
   c) Get the perfect leather jacket
   d) Leave a love note on the window of a stranger
   e) Read or (re-read) all Jane Austen Books
   f) Learn the words to REM's "It's the End of the World As We Know it"
   g) Learn how to arrange flowers
24) Go to the Gilroy Garlic Festival
25) Do something from each issue of Food and Wine magazine for a year
26) Send out holiday cards
27) Watch Dr. Who
28) Birkham Yoga
29) Take a class at the Circus Center
30) Spend a month abstaining from all non-essential shopping
31) Spend 7 days (Obviously not in a row) without tv or internet
32) Go to the SF Flower Mart

Is there anything on the list that you like? Anything that you've already done? Anything you want to do this year? Here's hoping I have better success with this list than last year.

Holgobsession Wednesday - Insert Swingers Quote Here

2011-06-08T23:14:00.000-07:00

Happy Wednesday (at least it's still totally Wednesday where I am). I'm recovering from a great short vacation and focusing on a trip to visit the family and friends next week, where apparently the heat index has been 100+ degrees. My hair already is rebelling in anticipation (ala that episode of Friends with Monica's crazy hair).

Holga

You know for every Holga picture I like it feels like that are 30 that I dislike. And if you're thinking to yourself, 'Man most of her pictures are just meh', just imagine the sheer number of discards I have.

Now I have many photos with too little light, too much light, over advancement, under advancement, too many glasses of wine (I had too many glasses, the film has yes to start drinking. But I've been told that I'm a lot easier to deal with after a glass or two), and accidental double exposure. This is an example of the accidental double exposure. The first exposure is a sunrise over a bluff and the second exposure is from the airplane window. I like how the clouds are on level with the sign post, but I really wish the square Midwestern fields had shown up. I guess I'll just have to try again next time.

Obsessions
Vegas - I spent a fun filled 28 hours in Vegas and am still spending the rest of the week recovering. This is my fifth and shortest trip to the Vegas, so we had to make the time count. Here's a couple of my favorite highlights:
- Did you know that you can get an 88 ounce margarita in a plastic guitar that you strap on and drink while walking around? I mean if you're into that sort of thing..................which I totally am. Best $32 I've ever spent.
- One of my favorite Vegas pranks is to collect the lady cards that they hand out on the strip and then put them in the luggage, purses, books and wallets of my friends. Then sit back and wait till when my friend goes to pay for dinner and opens their wallet and lady cards go everywhere. Now word to the wise, make sure that after you have played this prank you don't leave your personal belongings unattended. Cause then next thing you know you go to pull out your laptop on the flight home to find 10 cards waiting for you and your nosy seatmates. And then you've still got an hour left stuck in the seat next to them (this is a total hypothetical situation. It didn't like happen to me personally or anything...)

X-Men: First Class - Now a point of disclosure, I'll watch nearly anything with James McAvoy in it. And I have a certain affinity for the first two X-Men films and I felt that as long as Bryan Singer was involved (he came up with the story of this one) then it would be good. I was real excited to see that I wasn't mistaken.

Summer Obsessions - I started writing this post as a way to encourage myself to take more Holga pictures. Then it just kind of evolved into random rants about pop culture and Glee. And lately there have been some great comments from people sharing their obsessions as well which are so super cool. I was thinking something fun might be to showcase obsessions of bloggers and readers in these weekly posts as well until Glee comes back. So if you happen to totally obsessed with something this week and maybe want to share it send me an e-mail to thingstodobeforeyoudie@gmail.com. I'll share your obsessions and link to you and we can be e-mail friends as well as blog friends.

So that's my obsessions this week. Did you love X-Men: First Class? What are you obsessed with? Have you ever done karaoke while accompanying yourself on a margarita guitar? Me neither...... I'd love to hear from you.

The Tale of the Clove and the Broken Spoon

2011-06-03T12:59:00.000-07:00

I started writing a re-cap of my 31 Things List and my failures and accomplishments. But really my attempt to make salsa was both so I thought it should get a stand alone post.

Really I had already tried making pineapple salsa early in my attempt to knock this one off. But I really wanted to make a homemade spicy salsa in order to achieve it. Then one of my friends mentioned that you could make salsa in a blender. And since I pretty much love anything in a blender (aka margaritas and daiquiris), I was sold. And really since it's just throwing stuff in a blender, what's the worst that could happen?

Salsa of Death Recipe

2 Cans of Diced Tomatoes (Drained)

Half an onion

2 or 3 jalepenos

1/2 cup cilantro

2 large cloves of garlic

- Throw it in a blender and don't do what I did.

Now let me say that I'm really not normally such a spaz. I know that the next two things I tell you are going to question this theory, but I'm clinging to the small possibility that I was just off my game.

The first problem of the evening was that I wasn't aware that a clove of garlic is not the same as a bulb of garlic. I mean I've watched a lot of teenage vampire dramas in my day and whenever they talk about cloves of garlic they're totally only showing the bulb. Apparently this is not the case. And here's something I learned, people love nothing more than to laugh at your limited garlic terminology when they find you went through and threw all of the cloves into the blender when you only needed two. I blame the school system. I mean i can tell you the collective noun of like 20 different types of animals, but didn't know what a clove of garlic was.

The next thing, I'll concede was totally my fault. See once I turned on the blender, I noticed that some ingredients were totally blending faster than others. Always the problem solver, I picked up a wooden spoon to assist in pushing some of the ingredients closer to the spinny/choppy thing (may also be known as a blade). Now I don't know if it was the wine or the fact that I don't know my own strength when pushing down ingredients (or the fact that I'm stupid and didn't think to turn off the blender while doing this), but I ended up getting the wooden spoon down near the spinny/choppy thing. Next thing I know I hear a loud crunch and the blender stops moving. That's right folks, I broke my spoon in half.

I next poured out all of the salsa into a large bowl, cause I had to find the broken part of the spoon. After finding the offensive part of the spoon, many people might have given up. But darn it, I spent money on these ingredients and I was going to enjoy my salsa. So, I poured it back in the blender, flipped the switch and watch it blend as though I didn't nearly cause a disaster.

Then I poured out the salsa, put it on the cheapest tortilla chips I had and ate it.

And it was good...for a second, but then I realize that I'm not really the big spicy food eater that I claim to be. Cause cripes was it spicy. Now yes, it got better once it had been in the fridge for a couple of days, but nevertheless I went through like a gallon of water eating it that first night.

So, that is how I made salsa. Full of spice, broken things, and stupidity. But I'm totally marking this off my list and like an after school special learned many good lessons.

Have you ever had a kitchen incident? Did you actually know the difference between a clove and a bulb? Should I come to terms with the fact that I am actually a spaz? What should I do with the half broken spoon? I'd love to hear what you think.

Holgobession Wednesday - Mini Christmas Tree vs Ukelele Edition

2011-06-01T00:48:00.000-07:00

I am a little lost without having Glee in my life. Now yes I've been complaining lately that the shows were not as good as they used to be. But I feel that life is always better with teenage musicals than without. However, I've still never seen any of the High School Musical movies, so that right there may destroy my theory entirely.

Holga
This is a shot from this crazy recreational trail that runs alongside the river near where I grew up. Now the river was really high so part of the bridge was completely submerged. And I'll be honest looking back at the pictures, I'm amazed by how creepy it all looks on film. At the time, I thought it was serene. But now I kind of believe that it is where the girl starts running in the horror movie right before she gets killed.

Obsessions
Eddie Vedder Ukelele Songs - You know what has stayed the same in my life regardless of my hair color, zip code, or relationship status? My love of Pearl Jam. So I'm really excited that lead singer, Eddie, released his second solo album yesterday. I've been listening to it pretty much non stop and I'm really loving it so far. Plus I really love the gorgeous scenes from the video.

Some fun facts:
- Apparently Eddie bought his ukelele in Hawaii when he went for a beer run. Can I tell you that in the many beer runs I have made in my life I have never come back with something as cool as a ukelele? We once came back with a mini Christmas tree but I mean I think ukelele trumps mini Christmas tree every time.
- So this is Eddie's second solo album, the first was the soundtrack to Into The Wild. Now if you knew me around February 2007, you probably would have hear me complaining that none of the amazing songs from this movie were nominated for an Oscar (and yet there were 3 songs from Enchanted. Now I love me a Disney Musical, but c'mon). However, Falling Slowly from the movie Once by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova was nominated (and won) that year. And guess who performs a duet with Eddie Vedder on ukelele songs? You guessed it, Glen Hansard.

Black Bar Glasses - I have a tendency to wear oversized sunglasses. I joke that unless the sunglass to face ratio is at least 2:1 then I will not wear them (the-things-some-girls-do-to-cover-up-a-weird-arch-from-a-bad-eyebrow-pluck-job-in-their-early-teens). My friend bought me some great gag glasses this weekend that are kind of awesome (Check them out here). The best part is that I am taking a quick 28 hour trip to Vegas next week and these glasses will totally keep me out of trouble (at least I assume that will work). I really was going to take a picture of me wearing them so you could get the full effect, but despite having a rare good hair day my phone self portraits would have probably scared you all from reading.

So that's what I'm obsessed with this week. Do you know how to play the ukelele? What's the best thing you've ever brought back from a beer run? What can't you get enough of this week? I'd love to know your answers in the comments.

31 is a Magic Number

2011-05-28T11:47:00.000-07:00

Here are some fun (OK, fun may be stretching things a bit) facts about either myself or the number 31.

31 is a prime number and self number. A self number is when no integer added up to its base 10 digits equals 31. (Honestly, I still have no clue what it means, but I like the term self number).

31 is the country code for the Netherlands.

The total number of flavors at Baskin Robbins is 31.

California is the 31st state in the Union.

VFA-31 (Felix) is a US Navy strike fighter squad.

My favorite song on Now That's What I Call Music 31 is My Life Would Suck Without You by Kelly Clarkson.

US Route 31 connects Michigan to Alabama.

Thirty-one is the turkish slang for masturbation.

The 31st thing on my 101 Things list is to 'Experience Weightlessness'.

The Jersey number of Chicago Cubs Hall of Famer, Ferguson Jenkins is 31.

Gigi was the Best Picture at the 31st Oscars.

The Country I most want to visit on the 31st North Parallel is Jordan.

The Country I most want to visit on the 31st South Parallel is Australia.

The 31st movie in my Netflix queue is The Fog of War.

According to iTunes, I've listened to Once by Pearl Jam, Bring Your Lovin' Back Here by Gomez, and Smile Like You Mean It (Cover) by David Gray 31 times each.

The 31st president was Herbert Hoover.

My 31 Before 31 deadline has been reached.

Let's say my goal was to come up with 31 bits of trivia but I totally ran out of ideas, but you guys probably get the point. I'll have posts coming up next week recapping my progress on my 31 Things List and the start of my 32 Things List.

As if that hasn't been enough excitement, if let's say you wanted to find out my favorite summer songs today, you're in luck. My guest post of favorite summer songs is currently up over at the lovely Johanna's at 101 Things I Love. Johanna's blog is almost single handedly responsible for finding great things that I must have (and the subsequent credit card bills), so I was thrilled to write something. I told her us Tweedy fans need to stick together.

Let me say my day so far has revolved around eating cookies and wondering who these people wishing me happy birthday on Facebook are. Tonight will involve the best Irish brews money can buy and dueling pianos. Hope your weekend is equally awesome.

Have you ever made a playlist? (All the cool kids are doing it). What's your favorite 31 fact? Would you judge me if I tried all 31 flavors of ice cream at Baskin Robins and still made it over to Cold Stone for my free birthday sundae? Let me know in the comments.

HolGlee Wednesday - Not Ready for Summer Reruns Edition

2011-05-25T00:54:00.000-07:00

I don't know about you, but I'm not for sure the rapture didn't happen last weekend. I mean tonight had American Idol, Glee, and The Voice in 3 hours of of TV awesomeness. Surely this is the sign of something epic. Now while I still am going on record that Idol is having the worst season in years (On TV I like my teenagers to actually be 30 years old and to walk around with their shirts off. Not singing country music with out of control 80's hair). But I digress.

Holga
My picture today is from my hotel room when I went down to Pismo beach. You already know how much I love a great sunset photo add this with the ocean and I'm in love.

Glee
Now I may have only liked tonight's episode so much because I got an entire extra hour of wine drinking time. And after yelling many horrible things at the TV during the horrible American Idol finale, anything would have been better. And really this year has been so roller coaster at times, but I totally was all about New Directions visit New York. Here's my ramblings:

- I don't know what it was about NY but all of the sudden Rachel started wearing some awesome pieces of clothing. I mean I spent the entire episode coveting her striped coat and robin egg blue dress (I also was loving Quinn and Santana's outfits). These girls need to get out of Ohio more if they're going to rock things like that.
- Puck knows how to play the accordion. In addition to being super hot, he also can play multiple instruments. Is there nothing this mohawked charlatan cannot do?
- I'm going to sound a little heartless, but I really don't care who these pretty people date. I mean the whole Glee club is now more incestuous than an episode of The Real World/Road Rules challenge.
- I really liked the original songs in Nationals much more than the original songs episode early this year. I still like the Glee take on cover songs way more than original songs. (However, props to Glee for having better original songs than what American Idol gave to high schoolers Scotty and Lauren. I love you this much? A song to mama? Thank goodness for the extra bottle of wine to dull the pain.)
- Kurt's musical in honor of Pippa Middleton? I'm totally buying tickets for opening night.
- I'd pretty much watch every week to see Kurt and Rachel sing songs from Wicked.
- Are we supposed to believe a broadway obsessed girl like Rachel didn't know that Cats closed forever ago?
- Favorite quote of the night came courtesy of Cheyenne, Mr. Jackson, if you're nasty: "My kids are at least attractive. Yours looks like they haven't been baked properly".

I liked tonight's finale, but overall I was kind of disappointed with Glee during the second season. Don't get me wrong, I will watch every jazz handed minute but I'm hoping they can get their mojo back next year.

Obsession
Summer Movies - Every year about this time, I feel that the crop of summer movies is really going to be the greatest ever. Then in September I curse the silly younger idealistic me. However, this year really should be good right? I really can't wait to see Cowboys and Aliens, Super 8, The Hangover 2, X-Men First Class, and The Help (And yes, I realize that most of my movies I listed seem as though they were chosen by a 12 year old boy).

Did anyone else watch way too many televised singing performances tonight? What summer movies are you looking forward to? Can someone teach me how to play the accordion? What else are you obsessed with this week? How many questions can I possibly ask at the end of this post? I'd love to hear from you!

Climbing Mt. Olympus

2011-05-23T20:14:00.000-07:00

During my last trip to visit my family I ended up picking up my grandma's old Olympus Trip 35 camera. It's a great 35 mm with a solar powered light meter, and like my Holga, in the fact that it has set distance focus settings (Mountain, Person, 2 People, and Group). I've been playing with it a lot lately because it's a lot lighter and easier than my Miranda FV to throw into my always way too small purse.

The first roll you shoot with a new camera is always interesting for two reasons: the camera might not work and you aren't used to all the various little idiosyncrasies (like is the view finder a bit to the left, does the shutter stick, etc). It also doesn't help that I don't really know what I'm doing. I like to think of it as a first date. You're hoping it all works out, but you don't know until later when you actually drop off the first roll. All of the sudden you get the prints and you find out that instead of being a human rights barrister* who watches Letterman, he's instead unemployed and watches (gasp!) Leno ("I really like headlines").

Now with the Olympus, we're not planning a romantic holiday anytime soon, but I'll definitely being going on a second date. I took my first roll at Wondercon and a lot of the pictures were really blurry inside (a combination of conference room lighting and not figuring out till later that I set the camera on the wrong ISO setting). Also even though I've gotten better after using the Holga, I still kind of fall back to point and shoot territory where I forget to check my setting between each shot. But I can't wait to try out some other fun stuff with it in the coming months (PS - I'm really bummed I didn't get any better angles or pictures of the storm troopers in front of the merry-go-round. But when a storm trooper is pointing a gun at you, you don't mess around).

*What?!?!? Like I'm the only one who knows Darcy's occupation in Bridget Jones.

Have you ever broken up with a camera or other electronic devise? Can you believe that Star Trek robes are $45? Does anyone feel that storm trooper is giving me the stink eye in that picture? I'd love to hear what you think!

Berries and Cream, Berries and Cream*

2011-05-22T01:18:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite times of year is strawberry season. Every year during winter I stare longingly at the roadside strawberry stands willing them to be open. However even with my strawberry love, I've never actually picked my own. So I made sure to include an item on my 31 Before 31 to get my hands dirty so to speak and pick my own.

I was partially concerned that my skin would end up being the same color as the berries (oh the worries of the translucent skinned - seriously I can coat myself with SPF 85 every 10 minutes and still rock a shade of pink) and since it was still early in the season I had to do a bit more searching to find the best ones. I filled my bucket full and took them home to put them to use in this awesome strawberry bread recipe. True story, the recipe yields 2 loaves which was perfect cause I needed one loaf for book club and another for a bridal shower. However, have you ever tried not to eat something when it comes from the oven? It is impossible. So I ended up having to make the recipe twice and you know what, it was so worth the extra effort and pounds. Plus I got to tell everyone that I totally toiled in the field to pick the strawberries. And while I don't think I'm on the path to become an organic farmer/chef, it was still super cool. So I'm marking this item completed.

So have you ever picked your own fruit? Do you prefer that to buying them at the store (or in my case by the side of the road)?

*PS - The blog title comes from this Starburst commercial. I have a friend that imitates the video to perfection. I keep waiting for him to dress up as the little lad for halloween, but he has yet to recognize the genius of my plan.

HolGlee Wenesday - Pink Flamingo Edition

2011-05-18T23:33:00.000-07:00

Next week is the finale of both Glee and American Idol. I'm am pretty sure that I'm going to have to enlist strangers to perform song and dance numbers for me in order to be able to make it through the long summer months. But until then here's my weekly post of Holga photos, Glee and other bits of obsessive goodness.

Holga

This is a photo from when I was back in Illinois and was up way to early to see the sunrise. I swear I've taken this same type of picture (half pretty colors, lower half all blacked out) plenty of times before, but I just love the way they come out.

Glee

I sure hope that they decided to save all the good stuff for the finale, cause man, I did not feel last nights episode. In fact when thinking about things I felt to comment about in the episode I came up really short.

- I feel Glee has kind of gone off the rails with Mercedes recently. First there was that episode where in order to succeed she had to stop being nice to people and then last night apparently she doesn't have a good work ethic. And then there was that episode where she was obsessed with tots. Seriously Mercedes rocks. Also how is she the only one in the Glee club without a recent squeeze?

- I don't think in 100 years Mr. Shue would actually hire Jesse St. James as a consultant, but I still kind of liked his Simon impersonation (seriously he should consider working for American Idol because the judges there need some major help. I mean Gaga could only do so much).

- Sue's speech about her sister was lovely and touching although I would have preferred to have her make the speech by herself, rather than recruiting her enemy. But you know.

Obsessions

Flamingo - I got an early birthday present from my bestie, Crymson yesterday. Beside yummy goodies like vanilla sugar, homemade limoncello, and raspberry jalapeno jam she also spent some time in the dollar bin at Target. So, meet the newest member to the family, my very own plastic yard flamingo (let me tell you she said he was in the expensive area of the dollar bin - $2.50 y'all). Now I just have to figure out what to do with it....

Are you available to hire for singing and dancing performances? Am I the only one underwhelmed by Glee? What should I do with and name my flamingo? What are you obsessed with? What am I going to fill my time with this summer? Any suggestions/advice would be greatly appreciated. Let me know in the comments.

HolGlee Wednesday - Uneasy Lies the Head That Wears a Crown Edition (The Remix)

2011-05-18T00:04:00.000-07:00

A many grateful thanks to Jessica for rescuing my missing blog post from her reader yesterday and saving my HolGlee Wednesday Post from last week from the grips of the evil SkyNet (at least that's what I assumed happened with blogger). Jessica - You rule!

I actually haven't seen this week's Glee, but I'll be catching up first thing tomorrow. I'll give you a hint: it involves a flamingo.

Without further ado - here's last weeks post:

So technically I didn't get this posted by Wednesday. I blame the late night frozen yogurt and shopping excursion. Let it be known: frozen yogurt will always take a priority over my blog. After all I'm only human.

Holga
This chandelier photo is from the Eagle Castle Winery in Paso Robles. I love the sharp wood stakes in the window contrasted by the curves of this awesome chandelier.

Glee
I love me a great prom episode. The tears, the drama, the dresses, the dancing, the buckets of blood, and a well placed bitch slap...you know the usual. I feel like every other week Glee has a decent episode followed by a hot mess of an episode. So I guess next week will be a disaster, but I'm kind of digging this week.

- I can see why people may not have liked it, but I really enjoyed Jonathan Groff and Lea's Rolling in the Deep performance. I kind of hate Jesse, but I love me some Groff. Either way Glee is better when he's on it....I think. Spring Awakening FTW.
- I nearly had a seizure and blacked out during the performance of (and I can't believe I'm writing this) Rebecca Black's Friday. Seriously has the 15 minutes not passed for her yet?
- OK I get that Quinn really wanted to be Prom Queen. But slapping Rachel was a bit much. Plus what's with Rachel forgiving people for being jerks to her. I think Rachel needs to learn how to hold a grudge. I mean, I can barely forgive the Subway sandwich artist when they give me the smaller half of the loaf of bread.
- I know I sound like a broken record, but gosh do I love Kurt (seriously Chris Colfer is awesome). Loved the speech, his interactions with his family, the conversation he had with Karofsky. Love him.
- The Sue interrogation scene was too crazy even for Sue (and as someone who is terrified of the dentist, sure to give me nightmares for a week). But she was super hilarious, so I'm going to let it slide.
- Loved that Eric Stoltz (aka original Marty McFly) directed the episode. As a wannabe ginger, I try to support redheads whenever possible.

Obsessions
Global Public Square - Now this may be surprising (since the majority of time my obsessions revolve around wine, teen angst, and singing reality shows) but I am obsessed with CNN's Fareed Zakaria and his weekly show Global Public Square. I feel smarter every week after watching it, which helps to recover some of the lost brain cells after I've watched a Real Housewives or Jersey Shore marathon.

Comments - I started this weekly post to motivate myself to take pictures with my new Holga. Then it evolved to include my thoughts on Glee because it was easier than going back in forth in the comments with My Life is Random about our Gleekness. Well then Glee went off the air for summer and I just started rambling about other obsessions. Then you guys started leaving comments about your obsessions as well. And can I say that one of my favorite things of the week is to read the comments about your obsessions? I'm always adding a book, magazine, tv show, song, food, etc. on my To Do List as a result. You guys rule.

Did anyone else catch Glee? What'd you think? It's nearing the end of the television season so now I have to figure out what to do with all of the free time I'm going to have on my hands. I'm just hoping I don't fill the void with more frozen yogurt. What are you obsessed with this week? Anything I need to check out?

DDL on the DL

2011-05-15T01:24:00.000-07:00

One of the things on my 31 Things Before 31 (deadline in 2 weeks....frick) was to watch all the movies of Daniel Day-Lewis (DDL). Now I have a huge crush on Mr. DDL (which I believe I can trace back to watching Last of the Mohicans) and realized that besides Mohicans, I hadn't really watched any of DDL's other movies. And since DDL is super selective in picking his roles, I only had to get through 16 movies to complete this task (because yes, I assume if he was in a movie and Netflix did not have it available that the movie in fact never existed).

We'll have to see if my DDL love will continue once this Lincoln movie is released. As a native Illinoisan, I have been conditioned to be very protective of all things Lincoln. I can't even begin to tell you how many Lincoln statues I've had my picture taken with over the course of my life (seriously I think in Illinois the ratio of residents to Lincoln statues is like 5 to 1). Luckily my love for DDL is allowing me to overlook the fact that a Brit is playing Lincoln, I hope Spielberg doesn't let me down.

Here's how I would rank the DDL movies that I watched. This list is based on how much I enjoyed the movie, not necessarily DDL's performance. Cause really he's epically good in The Ballad of Jack and Rose, but I found myself just really hating parts of that movie. And really he's on screen for 2 seconds in Gandhi and Sunday Bloody Sunday. And the fact that half of the characters DDL plays are really just horrible (Entertainment Weekly has a slideshow of memorable DDL performances too, take a gander here).

My Favorite DDL Performances
Last of the Mohicans
The Boxer
Gandhi
My Left Foot
There Will be Blood (Finally! I can accurately understand the milkshake reference.)
The Crucible
A Room With a View
In the Name of the Father
Gangs of New York
My Beautiful Launderette
The Age of Innocence
The Unbearable Lightness of Being
The Bounty
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Nine (I've experienced many disappointments in my life. This is near the top of my list. I mean how can you screw up a musical with all this talent? I blame Fergie.)
The Ballad of Jack and Rose

On a side note - I keep waiting for Blogger to restore one of my posts from earlier this week. I mean it's not every day that I name drop Subway sandwich artists in a post. Come On!

So how many of these movies have you seen? Do you harbor a shared love for DDL with me? If you could watch all the movies of one actor or actress who would it be?

Music (iPod) Musings

2011-05-09T20:11:00.000-07:00

I've been loving going through my iTunes collection to find forgotten gems and to clean out well the others tuff. As anyone who knows me can I attest, there are few things I talk about with more love than music. So, here's some of my random music musings as I trudge through the untamed wilderness that is my music collection (see here and here for my previous posts).

Day 15:

- I'm pretty sure if I heard Elton John's Your Song in concert, I would start to cry.

- I came across Enrique's Ping Pong song today. Have you ever seen Rob and Big where Rob starts rocking along to Enrique Iglesias? If not, do yourself a favor and click here. Reasons why I love it: 1) I mean the song is nicknamed the Ping Pong Song and 2) I dance similar to Rob during my own car dance parties.

Day 16:

- Today Franz Ferdinand's Take Me Out came up in the mix. This used to be cell phone ring tone and every time I hear it, I start looking around for my phone (this also happens with Interpol's Say Hello to Angels, my current ring tone).

- I have two different acoustic versions of Foo Fighter's Everlong and Times Like These and they're both so awesome that I couldn't choose my favorite.

Day 17:

- Yay! Nothing brings me joy like Glee especially because of the lameness of some recent episodes. Now I have 63 songs of pure Glee awesomeness. However, the Christmas CD seems a bit out of place.

Day 19:

- Best song I have ever seen performed live: Glen Hansard of The Frames and The Swell Season's Say It To Me Now. I went and saw The Swell Season a couple of years ago and his total acoustic, microphone-less performance was just incredible.

- I feel that my collection is full to the rim of songs that have appeared in car commercials. Two results from today: Gomez - Getting Better and Grizzly Bear - Two Weeks.

- Love the quote from Gomez's See The World: "You sound like an old joke".

Day 20:

- There is nothing better on a cold day than Hot, Hot, Heat.

Day 21:

- Another favorite quote. This time from Interpol - Slow Hands: "You make me want to pick up a guitar and celebrate the myriad ways that I love you".

- Recommendation of the day: Jamie Cullum - Twentysomething. This song put into words the unease and void that I experienced after graduating undergrad.

Day 22:

- Recommendation of the day: Jenny Lewis - Acid Tongue. Love love this song.

- You ever have one of those artists that you like their CD, but for some reason you never keep up with them? This is me and the Kaiser Chiefs. I've listened to Employment many, many times, but I've never looked up the rest of their stuff.

- Kaki King. I remember watching her on Letterman and being amazed. The crazy talent she has with playing a guitar is unbelievable.

Can I make a small disclosure? I actually listened to these songs so super long ago, but I'm so behind in posting that I'm just doing it now. Are you a fan of any of the music I mentioned? Listening to anything spectacular? If so I'd love to know.

Holgobsession Wednesday - Sammy's Got His Sixstring in Hock

2011-05-03T23:46:00.000-07:00

Happy May everyone! Or as I refer to it, Happy My Birthday Month.

Holga

I totally got several rolls of film developed last week. Which means that I have fun new pictures to talk about.

This picture is from my trip to Paso Dobles. The winery landscaped the trees on the hill into this amazing heart shape that I totally was digging. Apparently so much, I shot it twice. Plus I love all the lines throughout the picture. I wish I had taken this further and tried another exposure just to see how it turned out.

Glee

Oh I should have loved this episode so much more. I love me some Fleetwood Mac. I love that they focused a little bit on Sam. I love anything that has powerhouse Kristin Chenowich. But this episode fell a little bit flat for me.

- So apparently we can have Sue dress like David Bowie but there's no songs of his on the show?!? Could you imagine a group sing along to Changes? Artie doing Heros? Mercedes and Rachel rocking Under Pressure? The possibilities are endless. Let's make this happen Glee, OK?

- Is it wrong that I HATED the Don't Stop finale number?

- I love Fondue and I love talk shows. I'd totally watch Brittany's show 'Fondue for Two'.

- I was also concerned that Sam's siblings in the Don't Stop performance were going to suffer with some form of motion sickness after all the Glee kids apparently tossed them around like ragdolls for the entire performance.

- It's official. Santana should only sing Fleetwood Mac/Stevie Nicks songs. Her performance of Songbird was incredible.

- On a personal note, I think Fleetwood Mac's Rumours was the first (and probably last) album that my mom and I both enjoyed.

Next week Jonathan Groff returns! Plus it's Prom. I have a feeling Glee will overcome this minor setback.

Obsessions

The Voice - It's official: I will become addicted with any show on TV that features people singing. With this and Glee my Tuesdays are filled with so many cover songs I can hardly stand it. How do I get me one of those rotating chairs? I'd totally be like a Bond Villain (possibly with Lord Tubbington) in one of those chairs. Also, is it wrong that I totally want to see Adam and Cee Lo in a buddy comedy together?

Pearl Jam - I have a couple of obsessions relating to my favorite band of all time.

a. Eddie Veddar is releasing a solo album at the end of the month, Ukulele Songs, that I totally can't wait to listen to. Plus I'm in love with the cover art for the single Longing to Belong.

b. Cameron Crowe is currently making a documentary on the band celebrating their 20th anniversary (yes, I'm freaking old) and a clip was released last week. It's only 30 seconds long but I'm so psyched.

Anyone else get drawn into The Voice? Does anyone prefer the Dirrrrrty Xtina as opposed to 50's throwback Christina? What other obsessions do you have this week?

31 Flavors

2011-05-02T12:29:00.000-07:00

I'm now down to less than a month till my birthday and the deadline for my 31 Things Before 31 list. Which means that I'm trying to cram many things into these last few weeks. I already have a feeling some won't get done (it's hard to find a good leather jacket in May) so they probably will get added to my 32 Before 32 list. And you know what? That's OK (or at least that is what I'm telling myself). But here's an update on some of the items I've crossed off recently (cause all the cool kids are doing it).

6. Join a book club

I actually did this a long time ago and it's seriously one of my favorite things I've accomplished on the list. I forgot how much I loved class discussions about articles and books. It's a great bonus that these books are way more fun than business books and that everyone in the club is super lovely.

10. Eat at 'wichcraft

I have a bit of a crush on Top Chef judge, Tom Colicchio, so I wanted to go to one of his restaurants. And since I'm a girl on a budget I picked 'wichcraft. I had the Heritage Smoked Ham and Cheddar (with pear and mustard) sandwich and shared some of the peanut butter and jelly ice cream sandwich. (Spoiler alert - I'm not sure who out there was thinking that peanut butter and jelly would be so much better if it were frozen (this includes you Smuckers) but really it's fine the way it is).

21. Win a game of pool (hopefully not by default)

I'm so glad that I put the 'hopefully not be default' into the requirements for this item, because I've come to realize.....I suck at pool.

Now if someone tells me where exactly to hit the ball I only suck part of the time. One of the benefits of sucking at pool is that when you play against decent pool players they will try to take daring shots trying to improve. This allows them to make many mistakes like scratching on the 8 ball or accidentally sinking the 8 ball early in the game. This happened 3 times the during one lesson so technically this item is crossed off.

24. Learn to knit or crochet

I have taken my first knitting class and so far I've managed to use the needles without injuring myself or others (see photo). Now the end result is supposed to be a washcloth. I have a feeling it will be in some sort of geometric shape that has yet to be discovered by mathematicians. But I think technically it's knitting, so I consider this done.

29. Send 12 care packages to friends and family

I finished this one off a little early. Here's my favorite tips if you are attempting to do this.

- Dollar Bins at Target - Haven't your loved ones always wanted crap that only costs a dollar? The answer is always 'yes'.

- Trader Joes - You know the aisle of Trader Joes where they totally forget healthy food and instead it is filled with inexpensive chocolate dipped deliciousness? Friends will overlook the beach pail you send if it's filled with chocolate dipped blueberries.

31. Take a class

I'm currently taking Yoga and knitting classes. Plus I also may have taken a Soul Line Dancing Class against my better judgment.

Now that I'm finishing this list I'm getting kind of excited about the things I want to accomplish on my 32 Things Before 32 list. Here's a hint of some things to expect: origami, hiking, letterpress, and pez.

Any suggestions about things that should go on the list? Anything you've been attempting that is super fun that I need to try out? I need all the help I can get!

They call it Xanadu

2011-04-30T00:41:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago we headed to the Central California Coast for a weekend trip. Saturday was for wine tasting in Paso Robles and Sunday was a visit to Hearst Castle.

We loaded up the Prius (Tip: hybrids are really great for road trips) and headed out early Saturday morning. I have a rule on road trips that requires stopping at every farm/fruit stand along the route (which is either charming or annoying to possible car guests. Apparently pointing to the side of the road constantly can get on some people's nerves.....I find it adorable). And since we were going through some great agriculture areas, I was so prepared to stuff myself full of strawberries and cherries. However, there was not one stand along our route. We could see them hurriedly harvesting the fields as we drove past, but yet no one was selling. So I was forced to take my fruit in liquid form instead. We hit nine wineries, which really is my personal best (if you want to see the wineries we went to, check out here).

As you leave Paso Robles heading towards the ocean you're surrounded with all these amazing green rolling hills. It's absolutely gorgeous. We ended up in Morro Bay, a great little beach town that I just fell in love with. Our hotel had a great view of the ocean without even requesting it which was super cool. The bar also had some laid back guitar players who took requests. Even though I may have been the only one requesting songs (I'm sorry but Bon Jovi is always a hit).

The next morning we woke up grabbed some delicious breakfast (Seriously, get the pancakes at Frankie and Lolas) and headed up on Highway 1 to Hearst Castle. The castle is located nearly half way between San Francisco and Los Angeles right off of the Pacific Coast Highway. The castle was under constant construction for William Randolph Hearst (he of yellow journalism fame and inspiration for Citizen Kane. Hearst Castle was also the inspiration for Xanadu in the film.) for about 30 years. It's located at the top of a great hill overlooking the ocean. The place is seriously huge and full of great works of art and architecture. We took the introductory tour ($24) of the property that took us around the property a bit and within some of the rooms.

My favorite were the two pools on the property (story goes if you are an employee or volunteer you and 2 of your friends can swim in the pool once a year. Which I think would be a great perk). At one point the property also was said to post the most extensive private zoo in the United States, but few of the types of animals still roam the property. I believe that there are some zebras still wandering somewhere.

We were planning on taking the PCH up to Big Sur to see this waterfall but unfortunately recent mud/land slides (yes, that's plural) closed the road (apparently like 40 feet of the road just fell into the ocean). We instead grabbed lunch and tried something called Olallieberry (a combo raspberry and blackberry) Tea at Linn's. And you know what else? We found one fruit stand on the way home. They were selling oranges and eggs. They were out of both of them. And I had to settle for tangelos. Seriously, what is going on with these fruit stands nowadays?

All in all it was a successful weekend. I'll probably be sharing photos ad nauseum as I develop my remaining photos (apologies in advance). Has anyone been to Hearst Castle or central California? Anyone now concerned that highway 1 is going to fall completely into the ocean?

HolGlee Wednesday - T-Shirt Time Edition

2011-04-26T23:44:00.000-07:00

My Holgas are still at the shop. Kurt's back at McKinley. And I've eaten two baskets of strawberries from stands on the side of the road this week. Therefore, it must be HolGlee Wednesday.

Holga
I swear I have two rolls currently at the developer. So next week I should have some new photos assuming that I didn't totally screw up my last rolls (which really is way more likely to happen). In the mean time, I'll share one from my trip last year to Seaside Oregon. I don't think I lifted my head off the sand to even take it. I blame a late night and an early morning drinking beer and watching (of all things) soccer.

Glee
Suuppppeeeerrr Sized episode tonight. And way to make up for last week's disappointment. There were many things I didn't like about the show (really do we need another dance scene at the mall? I mean is it a tribute to Tiffany (or as Glee referred to it last week, Debbie Gibson?) but many things I liked:

- Rachel and Quinn singing to Unpretty mashed with West Side Story!! Finally girls (both current and former) with 'distinctive' (it's the 'great personality' of terms for noses) join forces. As a girl with a nose that could 'crack hard seeds' I so want to join their team.
- Puck's T-shirt that said, "I'm with Stupid" with an arrow pointing to his crotch. I seriously witch cackled (keeping with the big nose theme) for minutes on end.
- Mike Chang will make anyone look like a bad dancer. But he makes Finn's bad dancing amplified.
- Blaine's eyebrows were extra en fuego tonight! The Warblers will still be around right? I mean I'm not going to go all cold a cappella right?
- Finally Kurt is back with the Glee group. And singing Gaga. My world is now back complete.

Obsessions
The Hunger Games - It started out innocently when I picked up The Hunger Games to read. Fast forward to me reading the trilogy......in three days. I know I'm a bit behind the curve in reading these, but seriously I was so engrossed that I couldn't put them down. I cancelled plans and stayed home to read them. I became a Hunger Games hermit and I was OK with it. I seriously don't know how they're going to make these into movies, but I'm pretty sure I'll be there opening night.

Calypso St. Barth for Target - I don't really have any tropical trips planned. But I don't think that is going to stop me from stocking up on the great summer looks from Calypso St. Barth and planning potential tropical trips in my head. And plus, I'm so going to be the coolest person in the office with this elephant tea pot.

So that is what I'm obsessed with this week. Were you loving the Glee this week and were you secretly imagining what kind of crazy nipples Finn has? I'd love to know what you are currently unable to get enough of. Please leave a comment, so I can have a new obsession too!

Panorama Funorama

2011-04-24T23:14:00.000-07:00

I have been spending a lot of time taking photos with my Holga and 35 mm cameras lately, that I haven't spend a lot of time playing with panoramas. I got a couple of opportunities to take some shots this past weekend as we made a trip to the central coast of California. Saturday was spent wine tasting in Paso Robles and Sunday was a visit to Hearst Castle (the model for the crazy mansion in Citizen Kane). I'm planning a full write up on all the fun, but here's some sneak peek pictures. I'm not really thrilled with the results, which tells me that I need to give my digital a little bit more love. Click on pictures to see them large and in charge.

One of the many vineyards

View from Hearst Castle. Just a tad bit gorgeous.

The palm tree aspect of this photo was so much cooler in my head than it turned out.

Yep, that's actual gold in them thar tiles.

Does anyone shoot with multiple cameras? If you go somewhere how do you decide which camera to take? Anyone taken some fun pictures or gone somewhere cool lately?

I Got a Dirty Mind

2011-04-22T10:43:00.000-07:00

I prepared a couple of cookie recipes last weekend in preparation for my road trip and get closer to my 31 Before 31 goal of 12 cookies recipes before the deadline next month.

The first recipe I tried was Lemon Meringue Cookies from Delish.com. You may have noticed based on my other recipes that I'm kind of obsessed with lemon. But I've never tried meringue so I figured what better time than now. Here's several things I learned:

1) So the recipe mentions whipping until there are stiff peaks. Tip to the wise: If you decide to ask someone when you know if a peak is stiff, be prepared to receive a smart ass answer.
2) I got myself a pastry bag and a special decorating tip in order to try to create like the ridge and star design that I associate with meringue cookies. Instead mine ended up looking (and I quote), "like distorted lady bits" or piles of dog poo.
3) The cookies were really quite delicious even if they look obscene. I so really need to work on my presentation.

The second recipe I made was courtesy of Martha Stewart. Cause when in doubt, ask Martha. They were Outrageous Chocolate Cookies. Now I may something that may shock you: I don't like chocolate. That may explain the abundance of fruit cookies I've attempted in my 12 recipe goal. So, I can't even tell you if these cookies tasted good (people ate them repeatedly without throwing up so I consider that a good sign). And apparently I also forgot to take pictures of them. So if I say that mine looked exactly like Martha's you have no reason to doubt me (I mean unless you see the picture of my dirty minded meringues).

So down to 2 recipes left in this challenge. I'm excited to mark this complete and think about what kind of cooking I want to tackle next. Any suggestions for my final 2 recipes (I'm thinking macarons, which I am sure will end up in tears). Have you made anything good lately? Any ideas for my next cooking challenge? I'd love to hear your ideas!

HolGlee Wednesday - Dat Laffy Taffy Edition

2011-04-20T17:53:00.000-07:00

I've been a bit off the grid as I attempt to catch up from a weekend full of gallivanting and wine (full details soon). But don't worry, Glee is back so I feel life is returning back to normal.

Holga

I got a great shipment of film last week that should keep me shooting for a while. At the suggestion of my bestie, I also got some redscale 120 film. Which has me thinking about all sorts of fun things to photograph. Snow keeps coming to mind so I keep debating about making a trip to Tahoe.

Today's photo is just kind of meh (the scenery is awesome and I love the color of the sea, but overall the picture is kind of lame). This is always a sign that I haven't gotten any new rolls developed yet so that's a new goal for next week.

Glee

OK, I've been griping and moaning about the lack of Glee lately and then it comes back and well....I was kind of underwhelmed. I feel like they partied to hard over break and had trouble getting back into the routine (not that I've ever had that happen to me she says as she looks at the number of unread e-mails, stacks of laundry and unread blogs screaming for attention.)

Here's my random musings:

- Brittany being bribed by Dots to participate in the scholastic competition is kind of awesome (I'm not going to lie, I'm often bribed by food).

- Brittany then knowing all the answers in the Feline Diseases category? Hilarious.

- I'm all for Mike Chang dancing. But to Jack Johnson's Bubble Toes? I'm pretty sure even Jack Johnson doesn't dance to that song when he's preforming (I imagine him performing while swaying). Plus what was up with that mop?

- It's official: I am over Gwen being on Glee. She put up a fight and almost made me like her. But last night, I found myself annoyed.

- As someone who bought two (yes two) bags of salt water taffy this weekend (I'm a sucker for the big baskets full of deliciousness), no way would I pay a quarter a piece. I really think Mr. Shue should have priced his competitors.

- I kind of am in love with Dusty the Vocal Adrenaline coach.

Obsessions - I've been kind of obsessed with TV this week. Surprise, surprise, I know.

Friday Night Lights - I couldn't be more excited that FNL (and Tim Freakin Riggins) is back on network TV. This whole having to avoid all spoilers during the DirecTV run was a bit hard for me. And I'm pretty sure I'm going to be hysterically crying as the series heads towards the finale.

The Killing - Is anyone else watching this show on AMC? I'm loving it more and more each week. I don't know if I can wait for the whole season to be over to figure out what happened to Rosie!

So what are you obsessed with this week? Anyone else love Friday Night Lights (and specifically Tim Riggins)? Has all this talk about Taffy made anyone else want to make your own? I'd love to hear from you.

Holgobsession Wednesday - Road Trippin' Edition

2011-04-12T23:01:00.000-07:00

Halfway through the week, which means halfway to a much anticipated weekend 'short' road trip. I'm packing great snacks, creating some great Glee & 80's music mixes, and loading up the cameras and ready to head (slightly) south.

Holga
When I was back home, I went on a photo adventure with Crymson and other friends. Someone mentioned that they had seen this great path that runs alongside the Illinois river. It turns out that it's a great wooden boardwalk that takes you above the banks of the river. I lived in the area for about 25 years and was still not aware this existed. I love when I'm surprised by my home community.

The black and white image mixes with the bare trees and creates a tremendously spooky image. I feel this would be a location in a scary movie as the girl runs away from the killer. I've got a roll of color images from this walk as well that I still need to develop that I hope look as cool.

Obsessions
Coupling & My So Called Life
I've been catching up on older television series on Netflix lately. I've been burning through episodes of the british series Coupling. It seriously results in me giggling for minutes on end. It's so dirty and full of great catch phrases. I found I've been quoting it all the time this week. And then when I need a bit of a reality check I go and find My So Called Life. I was in love with that series when it was on during the 90's and it's fun to go back and revisit now. My MSCL love is the only thing that has allowed me to keep any good feelings for Jared Leto or Claire Danes.

So that's what I'm digging this week. WHY AM I BEING PUNISHED BY THE LACK OF GLEE? What are you obsessed with this week? Any suggestions on road trip snacks or music mixes? Do you have fun weekend plans? If so please share in the comments!

Missing: Lens Cap

2011-04-11T13:54:00.000-07:00

I got another roll of film developed from my Miranda FV (again it's from like months ago). This roll was mainly shot on a walk across the Golden Gate. You'll see a girl in these pictures wearing a super floofy dress. She was getting some pics taken on the bridge. I'm assuming for her birthday, quinceanera, or bat mitzvah or something. The dress was bright pink and so sparkly it actually hurt my eye. But I was kind of obsessed with getting some passerby shots of her and seriously have like 10 pictures of her.

Now I'm going to tell you something with the hope that you don't tell my father who gave me the camera. It was a windy day and as we were walking across the bridge I put my lens cap back on my camera. Well it turns out I didn't affix it tight enough and when a gust of wind came up it took the lens cap with it and now my lens cap is floating somewhere in the SF Bay. But at least I have some of these shots to remember the day.

Have you taken any fun pictures recently? Ever wanted to walk across the Golden Gate Bridge in a dress that has more tulle than an 80's wedding?

Wonder(Woman)Con

2011-04-10T13:52:00.000-07:00

V Panel

I've been wanting to visit ComicCon for a couple of years. So when I found out that WonderCon is run by the same folks that do ComicCon and is so much closer, I knew I was going to put it on my 31 Things Before 31 list.

Due to poor planning by our part we totally missed the Cowboys and Alien and Super panels on Saturday. So we instead walked the floor. The place was sold out on Saturday and was packed as people made their way through the aisles and past the booths. I was a little apprehensive when walking the floor, because I really don't read comics and didn't want to make a fool of myself. So I kind of walked the floor as an observer. There is just so many different people and interactions to watch it was kind of surreal.

Then on Sunday we returned really to see the showing of Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog but we got there earlier and instead of dealing with the masses on the convention floor we went to the V and Human Target Panel. I'm a casual viewer of V and haven't actually watched Human Target but it was great to just sit there and here the actors and show runners interact with the fans.

I have a bunch of photos from the floor that I hope develop however, I'll have to share those with you later because I suck at getting film developed. Until then are my other random thoughts from the event:

- I've now found what I feel should be my new calling in life. Autograph seller at conventions. People such as the Soup Nazi, Jane from the GoGos, and Elvira sell photos and autographs for $20 a pop. Now I just have get myself a tiny bit of fleeting fame to be able to travel the circuit.
- The line for Elvira's signature was crazy long and one of the most often overheard comment when walking past her booth, "Man, she looks good" (true story Wikipedia says she is 59 and she's still smoking).
- If you are going to dress up make sure you go all out you can expect to have your picture taken by everyone so rock it.
- This should be said: Just because they make the Princess Leia slave costume in your size doesn't mean that you should wear it.
- When taking the BART (bay area public transportation) we saw many passengers dressed to attend. I can now proudly state that I rode on the BART with Batman.
- Elizabeth Mitchell (Lost, V) may be the most delightful person ever. She was so super cute and sweet during her panel that I developed a bit of a girl crush.

So that's my experience with WonderCon and another thing off my 31 Things Before 31 list (woo hoo. Time is ticking away!). Anyone else ever been to a con or planning on attending one? If so I'd love to hear about it!

Holgobsession Wednesday - No Butt Bow Edition

2011-04-06T22:08:00.000-07:00

Anyone else having a weird kind of week? Something is a little bit off, so I'm going to blame Glee for being in re-runs.

Holga
This isn't really Holga related but it's old school camera related so I've asked the powers that be (which is me) and they said I could include it on Holgobsession Wednesday. On my recent trip home I managed to pick up a new camera for my collection, an Olympus Trip 35. This was my grandma's camera from back in the day and I'm excited to try it out. I took a bunch of pictures at WonderCon (which I still plan on talking about soon - I'm such a slacker) that I hope turn out. And I've got some fun weekend adventures coming up during the next month that I hope to be able to take some fun pics with my Holga and my new Olympus.

So I figured it was only fitting for my Holga today to be Olympus related. This picture is from the Panathinaiko Stadium in Greece. Everything you see is made of marble. Which means that everything you see nearly made me fall and break my leg.

Obsessions
Rock of Ages - This weekend I'm going to be seeing a midnight performance of Rock of Ages. It's got singing, dancing, 80's and American Idol alum Constantine all in one place. It's like a quadfecta (which may not actually be a word) of awesomeness. My friend keeps trying to convince me to dress in my best 80's outfit for the night. I've usually always adhered to the belief that I have such a big personality (and hair) that I don't need to draw any more attention to myself than is necessary (plus my butt is big enough without sticking a giant bow on it). So right now I'm still planning on going sans costume, but we'll see as 11 o'clock rolls around on Friday night.

Rodrigo Rosenberg's Murder in Guatemala - Has anyone read this article in the New Yorker? I don't want to give to much away but it talks about what happens with a Guatemalan lawyer is killed but recorded a video to play at his funeral that says that he was murdered by the President and First Lady of Guatemala. The video goes viral and the government of Guatemala is on the verge of collapse. It's hard to believe that this really happened and wasn't a book or movie. A long but compelling true political thriller.

So those are my obsessions this week. How about you? Did you Christian Slater is 41? Is anyone else amazed that Christian Slater is 41 years old? Please let me know in the comments!

Missing Links Volume 5

2011-04-04T13:31:00.000-07:00

I spend a lot of time online so you don't have to. Here's some great links I've found discussing lists, travel, and other things I love.

Love The Beatles? Maybe adding this item from TODAYonline to visit all historical Beatles destinations should be on your list.

Princess Cruises has compiled a list of 50 Essential Experiences: The Travel Bucket List.

From The Record, The Lazy Hiker's Guide to the Appalachian Trail. Anyone every considered doing this? I hear that this is a great thing to do when you're visiting mistresses in South America.

Apparently 11 years old should be reading 50 books a year, which happens to be also my personal goal of reading this year so I should maybe supplement my list with some of these. So me and 11 year olds are totally on the same page - pun intended. (via The Independent)

Wine Enthusiast has this list of great Wine Films.

This story from the Daily Review is so inspiring about a cancer patient who keeps accomplishing items on her bucket list after she was given weeks to live 18 months ago.

The downside of swimming with Sharks from Funny or Die.

Mark your calendars: April 9th is Obscura Day. What a great day to explore sites off the beaten path. Is this a perfect time for me to visit the Pez Museum? (from Reuters)

Time's 25 Best Movie Soundtracks. As a die hard Pearl Jam fan, I was super excited about this list. Even though prefer the music from The Royal Tenenbaums more than Rushmore.

Forbes has a list of The World's Most Unique Luxury Hotels. Included in the list is a hotel in Northern NY that you don't know where it's located prior to a confirmed reservation.

Any links you love of late? If so please let me know so I can add it to my ever overworked browser.

Be A Guest, Be A Guest

2011-04-01T18:33:00.000-07:00

I've been obsessed with the blog, Evening Lanterns for a while. It shows great art, photography, and other inspiration that never fails to get my creative juices flowing. So, I was super excited when Silvii asked if I would be interested in doing a guest post showing some of my fave Holga pictures. I immediately said yes, even though I was nervous because she is so incredibly talented and I'm still SUCH a novice (Just look at some of her amazing posts here, here, and here). She couldn't have been cooler and I'm so excited with how it turned out (she even made an amazing header image for the post that I'm in love with). I think you should definitely go check it out.

Thanks Silvii for welcoming me and letting me loose in your home in cyberspace!

Holgobsession Wednesday - Cracklin' Daffodils Edition*

2011-03-29T22:52:00.000-07:00

Ugh. Glee repeats are the bane of my existence. Oh well, I'll attempt to continue on. Since we've hit that point in the week here's my thoughts and totally random musings on Holga and my weekly obsessions.

Holga

The picture today is from my visit to Ephesus. I love the view through the cutout window.

I think I'm going to finally suck it up and setup my Flickr account. I've been dragging my feet for no reason other than I'm lazy. Plus it'll help when I ask my bestie to give me her opinion. I'll put a link over in the 'Pay Attention to Me' section and you can see my progress if you're so inclined.

Obsession

1) It is now officially less than 2 months to my birthday - aka the deadline on my 31 Things Before 31 challenge. And looking at the sparsely completed list I curse my younger self from a year ago with her mousy hair, slightly smaller thighs and idealistic notions. Did she not know of our shared procrastination and laziness? Now I have plans in place and have many in process, but the lack of things crossed out gives me concern. So my obsession for the next few weeks is going to try to focus on accomplishing as many of these as I can before the big day. At least I have a much better closet and shoes than my younger self. So she can suck on that.

2) Does anything else watch The Good Wife? I'm kind of obsessed with the heavy knit sweaters Alicia wears outside the office. I've declared it the greatest use of sweaters in a TV show since Felicity. Sorry I can't find any pictures of the sweaters from either show online currently (AKA - yet another Tumblr site waiting to be explored. I mean have you seen the one devoted to Mallory Keaton's clothing on Family Ties?)

3) I bought some great daffodils at the store today and have been enjoying the cracking noise they make as they bloom. So all day long I've been shushing people so they can hear the noise (aka - people think I'm a delight, let me tell you). I consider it one of the greatest sounds of spring.

So that is what I'm up to this week. This weekend I'll be getting my inner geek out at Wondercon. I'll have a full writeup and hopefully some fantastic pictures coming up so try to contain your excitement. What are you obsessed with this week? Is anyone greatly concerned that tomorrow is Elton John week on Idol? I mean have people really forgotten this?

*And yes I've been singing Neil Diamond's Crackin' Rosie the entire time while writing this. Is there any better couplet than: 'Crackin' Rose, you're a store bought women, But you make me sing like a guitar hummin'

More Than Slightly Out of Focus*

2011-03-25T22:28:00.000-07:00

So let's talk about how it took me nearly six months to have photos developed that I took with my Miranda FV from the Street Food Fair in SF. I blame the fact that my local photo place doesn't develop B&W photos in house (which is just crazy to me) and that I'm really quite lazy.

Some of the shots didn't work - particularly any shots I took of the food. They were completely out of focus, but the napkin or plate that the food was served on turned out crystal clear (I blame it on the fact that my stomach was angry that I wasn't eating this delicious food and decided to mess with my eyesight.....or I could just be really bad at doing closeups). On another note, what kind of moron takes a bunch of pictures of food in B&W. I mean half the delight of food is the colors and appearance (Oh wait. Apparently this blogger). However, I really liked how some of the photos turned out and I thought it'd be a great way to head into the weekend.

This shot ended up sharing the roll but wasn't actually from the food fest

As for the weekend, I'm hoping to fill mine with caramel lattes, books, walks, and the new Jane Eyre. How about you? What's your weekend have in store? Whatever it is, I hope it's lovely!

*My title today is from a great book I'm reading "Slightly Out of Focus" by Robert Capa. It's the memoir of one of the best war photojournalists from WW2. The stories and photos are just unbelievable.

Holglee Wednesday - Jetlagged, hungry and sick edition*

2011-03-23T20:55:00.000-07:00

Oh my gosh, Can I tell you how I've totally missed and neglected my little home on the interwebs? I've been in a bit of an internet free bizarro world over the last week during my trip home. Combine this with my new found cold and the fact that I'm trying to diet (because I seem to have ate all the carbs available in Illinois) and let's just say, I'm winning. So apologies in my slackerness lately. I'll be back to normal soon.

And don't worry, I'll have a full post of all my Illinois adventures soon. Cause who doesn't want to read about the excitement one has when staying with the parents and sleeping on the couch?

Holga

Do you remember when I entered the Holga contest a couple of weeks ago? Well guess what? My best friend, Crymson actually won it! Luckily, we spent a day going out and taking photos when I was home that totally minimized my jealousy. ;)

I have some great photos I got developed that I'll be sharing here soon too. Today's photo was of the dolphin swim area at the resort we visited in Hawaii. I know swimming with dolphins is on the list, but I was not really impressed with the area the dolphins had. I'll want to wait until I can do it in the open water.

Glee

I totally didn't get to watch it last week until I got back home and then last night's episode was a repeat. So I guess I'll share my thoughts on last week's episode (you know the one with the kiss and regionals):

- I really wasn't as big of a fan of the actual original songs that New Directions sang in the main performance. But you can bet I will re-listen to Rachel's Only Child, Mercedes's Hell to the No, and Puck's Big Ass Heart any day of the week.
- Sue slept with someone from Jimmy Eat World?
- I feel that the Glee gods heard my prayers and gave Kurt some performance time. And just saying, I'm totally down if all of Kurt's solo performances this year are Beatles songs.
- I like shiny things. I also like leggings. However I was so not a fan of pairing the two together into one outfit like the ladies of New Directions. Yikes.
- Not only did I squeal with delight about the Kurt/Blaine kiss, but I totally loved Blaine's line: "Oh, there you are. I’ve been looking for you forever". Swoon.

Obsessions
Wondercon
I figure if you've read any of my posts, you have come to realize I'm a big geek. So I have (relatively) no shame in telling you that I'm getting super psyched to go to WonderCon the first weekend in April. I've never been to a con before, so I'm nervous and excited. They recently released the schedule and I'm trying to figure out what things I want to go see and do. I kind of really want to see the Cowboys and Aliens and Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog programs (I mean if I can sing aloud to Dr. Horrible in a theater with other geeks?!? That's either the most terrifying or incredibly awesome thing ever). I also think it'll be a great place to take some photos with my new camera.

What are you obsessed with this week? Do you feel that Steven Tyler has totally gone a bit nuts with animal print? Have you ever been to a convention before? Any tips? Are you totally swooning with Blaine and Kurt? Please let me know!

*I think this could also be titled 'bitchy edition'

Who Says You Can't Go Home*

2011-03-10T09:25:00.000-08:00

Today I am heading out to make the journey from warm California to somewhat-less warm Illinois. I haven't been back home in nearly 8 months, which is the longest amount of time I've been away since I moved across the country three and a half years ago.

I have some posts scheduled to be posted during my absence. However, due to the fact that my parents do not believe in WiFi (which thankfully also prevents my parents from creating a Facebook page) and live so far out in the country that reception on my phone is shoddy at best, my commenting and replying on everything might be a little less than fabulous for the next week or so. I apologize in advance and promise to catch up when I return to my regular routine. And to those who are familiar with my tendency to be plugged in and up to date at all times, yes being out of touch slightly terrifies me. I mean there is a chance I will miss Glee (OH THE HUMANITY!) However, I'll try to focus instead on these activities instead:

- Read some Austen. I have only read 1 out of 6 of her novels in my 31 Before 31 pursuit. Long flights and layovers are a great time to catch up. Bonus, I don't think that any of them will make me cry. I have a tendency to pick just horrible airplane books where I either a) burst into tears (see Kite Runner or No Future Without Forgiveness) or b) encounter a racy scene in my book turning my face bright red informing people around me that I read smut books.

- Help drink a magnum of sparkling wine

- Have a slumber party with Crymson after helping drink said magnum of sparkling wine

- Eat many, many meals at Steak N Shake

- See several cute babies

- Help throw a baby shower

- Get into an argument with my father about politics (It's never intentional, but it always happens)

- Catch up on my spanish podcasts with my increased commute time

- Eat and eat and eat and eat

At one point during the trip I will want to cancel my flight and move back to Illinois for good. Then at another point during the trip I will be searching to see if I can get an earlier flight/car/train back to California.

Have a great week. Talk to you soon And don't bother breaking into my place. I totally hid all of the good stuff. :)

*Yeah, I totally quoted a Bon Jovi song. What about it? :)

HolGlee Wednesday - He's Hot. You're Thirty. Edition

2011-03-08T21:58:00.000-08:00

Holga

This is one of my fave Holga B&W shots. We're walking on the boardwalk (can it still be called a boardwalk if it's technically concrete?) to get some coffee in Oregon. The black and white really brought out the shadows which I love. I've started trying to duplicate this image other times by lagging behind when walking, but have yet to have another good one.

Glee

Welcome back Glee! I take back everything I said about your theme episodes being lame. Cause unlike the alcohol themed one, I thought tonight's s-e-x episode was fantastic. Now I'm excited for what other after school episodes Glee will attempt to update. Here's my random musings:

Not going to lie, I kind of want to join that awesome 80's jazzercise class. Minus the spandex, but with the adorb headbands.

I laughed and then cringed at Santana's comment about how Rachel wasn't going to be sexy with her tights. See I was packing my suitcase at this time and had seconds before packed five (no exaggeration) pairs of tights (and for good measure one pair of leggings).

Loved the Blaine/Kurt performance tonight. And even more thrilled by the bubble machine. And for Kurt's super awkward dance moves.

I still remain on the anti Gwyenth train, however she's wearing down my resistance. I can usually dismiss a small amount of adorable Gwyneth, but I'm pretty sure if I watch Shakespeare in Love or Emma right now I'm going to be signing up for the Goop newsletter.

True story and don't judge. I kind of thought that the words to Kiss were "Ain't no particular sign or crack of the whip". However when they slowed it down tonight I learned the lyrics apparently are "Ain't no particular sign I'm more compatible with". I kind of think my version is better.

I laughed out loud for the duration of the performance of Afternoon Delight (true story at first I thought they were going to start rocking out to Warrant's Cherry Pie, which also I think would have been amazing).

Man how touching were the Britney and Santana scenes tonight. I never was a big fan of mean girl/plastic Santana. I love a stinging one liner as much as the next, but just when I wrote her off, she has all this complexity and awesomness. Naya Rivera was excellent tonight and now I kind of want Britney to dump Artie. And I heart Britney and Artie together.

Obsessions

Greek - Can I say how sad I am that this week was the series family of Greek? You would think it'd just be a little light kind of fluff show, but it's just really smart and witty. I'm really going to miss having the folks from Cyprus in my life (plus I really have a crush on Scott Michael Foster and his incredible hair). And yes, there is no shame in admitting that I cried during the episode.

Instapaper - Are you like me and every day you come across a bunch of different online articles that you want to read but you don't have time? So you try to e-mail the link or bookmark it, but then it starts to resemble your junk drawer in the kitchen? I'm loving Instapaper where you can save articles and webpages to read later. Fantastic.

Were you totally in love with Glee tonight as well? How is it that John Stamos got like 5 minutes and the rest was total Gwyneth domination? I mean, c'mon, Stamos tours with the Beach Boys!! Anything you're obsessed with this week? Fashionable readers - are tights no longer in? I'd love to know!

I Heart Holga

2011-03-07T18:31:00.000-08:00

PhotoMFA is holding 'The I Heart Holga Photo Contest' where they are giving away a Holga camera and film to either someone who shares either a) their favorite Holga shot or b) a non-Holga shot and explain why it would be better if taken with a Holga. I wanted to enter because 1) I've been totally contemplating creating a 35mm Holga to go along with my traditional 120 film version and 2) Anytime I can talk about my Holga makes me happy.

I started becoming interested in using a Holga when my bestie started showing me her camera and pictures she had taken with it. I immediately fell in love with the muted and dream like pics that she was able to create and knew I had to get one. The excitement I have when I pour over each photo to see how Holga interpreted what I saw through the lens has yet to diminish.

This is one of my favorite pics. It's from Yosemite and was one of my first rolls. It was incredibly overcast and rainy/snowy during our visit and I hadn't yet come to understand bulb mode. The majority of my Holga photos from Yosemite are blurry and dark to the point on non-recognition, however, this one survived. It's so dreamy and paintinglike it helped continue using it in the hope to be able to create something cool in the future.

When I went down to Hawaii, I took my Holga to chronicle my friend's wedding. At one point during the reception when I was busy shaking it on the dance floor (thankfully these performances have not made their way to YouTube. I may have taught the little flower girls how to ride the pony), my camera disappeared from the reception hall. I had to spend the next several days in Hawaii without it (also known as first world problems). Later when recounting the story to the bride and groom, the bride mentioned that her parents had come across a camera covered in blue painters tape. They had assumed it was the wedding photographers and kept the camera. Even after the photographer denied ownership they kept the camera because, "We thought that with all the tape on it, someone obviously loves it and is missing it". They were exactly right.

Anyone else use a Holga or other camera that you can't be without? And if you don't have a Holga, maybe now's the time to try to win one and we can have a Holga club. I'll work on the handshake.

Missing Links Volume 4

2011-03-04T18:27:00.000-08:00

Every month or so I try to put my internet addiction to work by sharing my favorite links, lists, and other fun things that I've come across for your viewing pleasure:

When I start to work on editing last year's NaMoWriMo, I'm going to be using some of these rules for writing fiction from The Guardian. See Part 1 and Part 2. If you haven't seen these you must!

As someone who likes lists, books, and taking pictures, I totally want to read these 20 Books to Read Before You Shoot.

When I was in undergrad I experienced seven months of cold, I totally would have loved to have this list from Her Campus of 25 Fun Things to Do in Your Dorm Room When It's Too Cold to Go Outside. Single Ladies dance FTW.

Not going to lie, I will totally watch this new show of Flash Mobs (via TVGuide.com).

Investment tips from Marketwatch on How to Make Your Bucket List Dreams Come True.

As a devotee of the Oscars and Tech here is Gizmodo's The Essential Best Picture Winners for Tech Lovers.

Moviefone's 50 Best Music Scenes in Movies. Two Cameron Crowe films in the top 10 = Awesome (PS - Did anyone hear that the next two movies from Cameron Crowe are documentaries on Elton John and Pearl Jam? I couldn't be more excited).

There is this great thing happening in the UK and Ireland tomorrow called 'World Book Night' where 40,000 copies of these 25 books will be given away.

And finally today is March Forth a made up holiday by Metro.us that has officially surpassed the Ides of March and Casimir Pulaski day as my second favorite March holiday. Let today be a day where you get something done!

Have you come across with any links that are too good not to share? Or love any of these links? Please let me know!

Holgobsession Wednesday - Headless Statue and Rubber Ducky Edition

2011-03-02T18:49:00.000-08:00

Holga

I selected a photo this week that displays how I'm feeling this week - like I'm running around with my head cut off. I blame Glee for not being on last night, February for being so short, CW for putting their shows on hiatus for a couple of months, and Jennifer Lopez for the crazy hair she was sporting last night on American Idol for throwing me off balance.

I'm taking a bunch of rolls with me on my trip to Illinois next week to get developed and a bunch of rolls to shoot with. So I should have some fun stuff in the next month.

Obsessions

1) Travel - Over the last week I have been trying to finalize a couple of hopeful trips later in the year. It'll be a relief to actually have something blocked off on the calendar then a lot of possible options that I fear will fall through.

2) Tim Gunn - Gunn's Golden Rules: Life's Little Lessons for Making it Work - I still am holding out hope that one day Tim Gunn will adopt me and not only dress me fabulously every day, but will be my life coach (I also feel this would be a stellar idea for a CBS comedy. I hear they may have a hole in their primetime schedule). I so love this book. Let me tell you every time I put this book down, I feel so much better than when I picked it up.

3) Friendly Floatees - I read this story last night about a shipping container full of 28,000 little yellow duckies that got lost at sea (some say the container fell overboard, I feel as though the ducks were making a break for it) and their ocean journey over the last 20 years. I then spent considerable time finding out more about these 'Friendly Floatees' and the journey they have made across the world. I totally can't wait to read the book chronicling their adventure, Moby-Duck.

So, that is what I'm obsessed with this week. What are you obsessed with this week? Anyone want to be the best friend/neighbor on my Tim Gunn sitcom? Please let me know.

I Can See Myself in Those Genes

2011-02-27T11:03:00.000-08:00

I've always had a bit of trouble answering the question, "Where do your ancestors come from?". For most people that is probably an easy question and you probably are used to rattling off your lineage without a second thought. However I'm adopted and regardless of my response it ends up being an incredibly long drawn out conversation. I've tried four different methods:

1) If I respond "German and Swedish" (because that is where my adopted families are from), people usually take a quick glance at my super pale skin, dark hair and thousands of freckles and we spend the next ten minutes debating about how that would be possible. One time someone asked me "Are you sure you weren't adopted?", but I was past the point of no return into the discussion and responding yes would have done more harm than good.
2) If I respond "Irish" (because I think I'm a believable Irish lass), I spend the next ten minutes talking about where in Ireland and what side is Irish, etc.
3) If I respond "I'm adopted, so I really don't know" (because this is the truth), I spend the next ten minutes talking to the person about my experience of being adopted.
4) If I respond, "No Habla Ingles" (because I think I'm clever), the person doesn't buy my clever ruse and they just end up thinking I'm a tool.

This always seems to be the sort of introductory question that you only have with new or barely known acquaintances (it usually follows after, "So what do you do for a living?" or "Where'd you go to school?"). And instead of exchanging mundane knowledge about one another, you're in the middle of a long discussion where I'm basically fudging my response or having to share way more information than I would like with a stranger......however strangers on the internet, I apparently have no problem with.

I bring this up because last night I had this discussion. I went with response '2' and the person I was talking too mentioned that they thought I looked like I might have a Polish background. I had never heard that before and then I started wondering if I've just totally imagined my potential Irish ancestry.

I know that there isn't a definitive answer to the question short of seeking out my birth parents which I'm not interested in doing at this point in time. But one thing I'm considering is possibly doing one of the DNA genealogy tests. Now half of me thinks that the process is a scam, costs way too much money, and is totally confusing. However the other half feels that really I have nothing to go on now, so what would be the harm (except to my checkbook). The ones I've come across that look like the best would be either The National Geographic's Genographic Project (After all National Geographic has been provided impressional youth pictures of naked people for years. I think that means they can be trusted) or the Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation.

Has anyone ever done one of these tests before? Do you think it's a scam? Does anyone besides me have trouble answering this question? Should I just stop whining? Any advice/suggestions would be much appreciated.