Rawr.

300 posts and an annoucement!

2010-08-30T09:13:00.000-07:00

I'm pretty much focusing all my efforts on Campfire Chic lately. I'm working on my branding, stocking my shop, and I even had a few custom orders in the past two months :)

Last week I hit 50 blog followers! It was thrilling. I also made the front page of Etsy, which is EPIC in and of itself!

In celebration of still being self-employed and gaining a foothold in the crafty community,

I'm having a giveaway!!!

Head on over and enter the giveaway. You may find that the Campfire Chic blog is much more interesting than this one ;)

In other news, this is my 300th blog post. Three hundred posts documenting mi vida since I graduated college. It documents my summers at Alex's house, job searching, graduate school, traveling to Hawaii/Seattle/Chicago/Oregon and a handful of places in between. I'm really happy I kept it up (for the most part) over the past three summers.

Photos

2010-08-12T10:48:00.000-07:00

I got a new phone about a month ago. I'm not the type of person to have a new phone every few months, this is my fourth phone in ten years. Yes, FOUR in TEN. What a trooper.

Anyway, this is a smart phone so the first thing I did was get recommendations about cool photo apps. Vignette has my heart so far. My last post had an example of the effects that the app does to photos, and here are a few more:

Galaxy vs. Real Madrid Photos

2010-08-10T17:32:00.000-07:00

Another One Bites the Dust.

2010-07-30T14:08:00.000-07:00

Another 25 before I turn 25 out of the way! Here's a recap:

25 before I turn 25

1. Learn how to reupholster a chair.
2. Catch up on my scrapbooking.
3. Learn to develop my own film.
4. Finish Watchmen.
5. Pick my own apples.
6. Get a Lifetime Alumni membership to CSUF.
7. ~~Get a REAL haircut.~~
8. Get my Nikon professionally cleaned.
9. Paint something on the three canvases I have in my room for over a year now.
10. Go to the Old Zoo in Griffith Park.
11. Learn to make pad-see-ew.
12. Learn to make sushi.
13. ~~Delete my MySpace.~~
14. Make a pinata.
15. Learn to compost.
16. Get my hiking millage up to 50 miles.
17. Throw a dinner party.
18. Buy a frame for my diplomas.
19. Get a passport.
20. Re-read the Harry Potter Series.
21. Learn to make pasta from scratch.
22. ~~Open an Etsy account~~
23. Plant a tree.
24. Get a job in Student Affairs! (Also a new years resolution/goal)
25. Paint a piece of furniture a (not-so) crazy color like teal or lime green.

Now that I read these, I wish I wasn't so ambitious! I've completed 3/25 and I only have 8 months left to get the rest done. I should step it up!

In other news, I created a "Bookworm" page for the blog. It houses most of the books I've read over the past few years. It's not complete, I really want to set up one of those Amazon accounts, I think.

Hunger Games Trilogy

2010-07-22T13:12:00.000-07:00

File this one under: Must have.

Moments ago, I finished the second book in the Hunger Games trilogy, Catching Fire. Now, before I go into this, I have to admit that I'm fighting myself right now. I want to pre-order the third book, Mocking Jay, since the price is so low, but being broke makes me hesistate.

Before we continue, if I haven't told you this before you need to know this now: I judge YA books by their cover. It's worked for me in the past, and it will keep working for me. Example 1: Uglies Series, my hand reached for it because the front image spans the entire book cover, and I became obsessed. Example 2: Wasn't feeling the Twilight book cover, hate the series. There you go. That's all the evidence you really need.

Okay. Enough.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Genres: Action/Adventure/Thriller/Science Fiction
Target Audience: Young Adult
Read this if you liked: The Uglies Series, Brave New World, Lord of the Flies, Running Out of Time, City of Ember

In a nut shell: The world as we know it doesn't exist. The main character, Katniss, lives in District 12 of Panem. She's rebellious but does it to keep her family alive. Her best friend is Gale, and they're pretty much inseparable. The Hunger Games are every year. Two representatives from each District are expected to play to the death in these games. Did I mention the representatives are under 18? Think Lord of the Flies meets Survivor (the tv show) meets Battle Royal with weapons.

Advice: When you are halfway through the book, or so, if you see that you're going to be in this for the long haul, buy the second book asap, but do not read the back of the book. You'll regret not having it on hand when you finish the first. I went nuts when I finished the first and it was too late to go to a bookstore to buy the second. So I bought the Kindle edition...yes, I PAID for a Kindle book. Thank you Wispersync for getting that wild look out of my eyes.

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Genres: Action/Adventure/Thriller/Science Fiction
Target Audience: Young Adult
Read this if you liked: The Hunger Games

In a nut shell: I'll try not to spoil things. The book begins a little slower than the first book, but I promise it is for a reason! There is more at stake in this book than the first. Lies are told, threats made, and District 12 is very different in this book than we last saw it in the first book. Seems shorter than the first book, I think it's actually 40 pages long, go figure. Survival means more than staying alive.

Journaling for a Cause

2010-07-19T12:56:00.001-07:00

For updates on my progress with Journaling for a Cause, check out my other blog: Campfire Chic

Book Reivews

2010-07-16T11:16:00.000-07:00

I finished two books recently, which fulfills my summer reading goal!

5 Books by September 22, 2010 (Summer Resolution/Goal)
1. The Dragon Heir
2. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
3. Beauty and the Beast
4. The Handmade Marketplace: How to Sell Your Crafts Globally, Locally, and Online
5. Flirt

I really, really enjoyed The Handmade Marketplace! Alex bought it for me in Santa Monica a few weeks ago and I went to town on it. I learned so much and I have a huge to-do list because of this book...and I have a mini to-read list, too! If you're looking to sell something, it's a great book to read.

*Warning: Rant*

Flirt. *sigh* Anita Blake, book 18..EIGHTEEN? Yes, I've read them all. After book 7 or 8 the series takes a sharp left and it's a bumpy ride...some of the books, the kinds meant to "hold you over" until the next book, tested my loyalty but I've stuck to it. If you look up this book and the few books before it, and compare them to the first books in the series, you'll notice that the reviews have shifted drastically.

Imagine how pissed I was to pre-order a HARDCOVER book only to find out I just bought a book that's only about 170 pages, that's not a novel, that's a novella! I was able to read it in one day...not because it was intriguing and I just had to finish, but because it's so short! the last few pages of the book talk about her "writing process" and a comic. wtf.

Next complaint: The Writing Process portion and the comic portion simply re-told part of the book where Anita and some of the men in her life (I really can't count how many are in her bed now) are in a restaurant and they talk about flirting. Did she really need to tell the story about how she came up with that scene? I just read it! If you decide to read the utterly uninteresting story behind the scene, grab a sandwhich and lock up your guns. The comic in the back? TELLS THE SAME STORY, ONLY WITH CARTOONS. Really?? The story wasn't that interesting to begin with! It's like sitting through a slideshow of somebody's trip to Europe after reading their blog and going through their facebook photos while they were gone...I've seen this before, you've told this story before...

I'm hoping to find a used copy of Bullet (which came out so soon after Flirt that I thought I went into a coma and lost a year of my life). This is the first book in the series that I didn't get immediately (once I caught up on the initial books), and I feel that says a lot. Laurell K. Hamilton has gone back to her writing group and is apparently taking a little more time with the upcoming book, hopefully she sticks to that.

Self-Employment

2010-07-07T16:52:00.000-07:00

I've been self-employed for three weeks now :)

The student affairs in me is constantly thinking, "this will be great on my resume!" and "Oh! I better put this on my resume!"

Multi-tasking
Marketing
Google Analytics
Social Networking-more than just being a spambot
Developing a Brand
Results Oriented
Responsibility-a whole new kind, at that!
Self-Motivated/Disciplined
Setting and Meeting Deadlines
Creativity-doing lots with nothing
Domestic and International Sales

In addition to my Etsy shop, I opened an Artfire store today! You can read my blog post about it here.

I'm operating three Twitter accounts these days and making some great connections. I also have two blogs, two and a half Facebook pages. I'm having a blast! It really is a full time job.

I also want to take the time to say THANK YOU to all my friends who have supporting me through this! Between spamming your friends, checking out my items and giving me feedback, or not calling me crazy, you all mean the world to me. Thank you doesn't even cut it :)

July is here!

2010-07-04T22:01:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited for this month!

Here are a few things I have on my calendar:

Alex's dad returns from a month-long trip in Egypt. (Sometime this week, not really sure when)
7/11 Rose Bowl Swap Meet
7/18 LA Flea Market
7/24 Comic Con!!
7/25 Renegade Craft Fair

It may not sound like a lot, but I'm really excited :)

A Month Later

2010-06-28T10:40:00.000-07:00

I've been out of school for about a month now. Time is moving quickly and slowly at the same time. It's bizarre. I've had two school-related nightmares, you know the ones...#1 I didn't register for classes and had a nightmare of a time trying to crash classes I needed to graduate and #2 I didn't stay organized (very unlike me) and I didn't know when a huge assignment was due and when exams were going to start. Needless to say, I hope these dreams go away some day!

Now that it has been a month, and I've been slower to update my blog, I feel it's time to do another update on my resolutions/goals. Ready for this?

Learn to ~~knit~~ crochet: Not only learn, but make two projects. I learned how to make a basic granny square and a tri-color granny square. I put the single color squares on the backburner while I focus on the tri-color ones to make a cute blanket :)

~~Do four cross stitches~~: #1 3 Stockings, #2 Little Birdy, #3 Cute Dino, #4 Floppy Disk, #5 Campers Do It Under the Stars, #6 Vintage Lantern

~~Read five books for pleasure:~~ See below.

5 Books by December 31, 2010 (New Year's Resolution/Goal)
1. The Warrior Heir
2. The Wizard Heir
3. The Dragon Heir
4. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
5. Beauty and the Beast

5 Books by September 22, 2010 (Summer Resolution/Goal)
1. The Dragon Heir
2. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
3. Beauty and the Beast

Visit 2 National Parks: SEKI is done! What will the next one be?

~~Get As in both classes~~: Well, poo. An A and an A-.

Get a job in the Student Affairs field: Still searching. Had an on campus interview, got invited on campus, had some phone interviews, submitted more applications.

Get my hair cut at a real salon: It's now been two years without a hair cut.

~~Eat less hot pockets~~: Done and Done.

Get a physical: Nope. Not yet.

Hit 100 Geocache finds this year: I'm at 55 right now, halfway there!

25 before I turn 25

1. Learn how to reupholster a chair.
2. Catch up on my scrapbooking.
3. Learn to develop my own film.
4. Finish Watchmen.
5. Pick my own apples.
6. Get a Lifetime Alumni membership to CSUF.
7. Get a REAL haircut. <---Hmmm, a resolution/goal AND a 25before25? Must be on my mind!
8. Get my Nikon professionally cleaned.
9. Paint something on the three canvases I have in my room for over a year now.
10. Go to the Old Zoo in Griffith Park.
11. Learn to make pad-see-ew.
12. Learn to make sushi.
13. ~~Delete my MySpace.~~
14. Make a pinata.
15. Learn to compost.
16. Get my hiking millage up to 50 miles.
17. Throw a dinner party.
18. Buy a frame for my diplomas.
19. Get a passport.
20. Re-read the Harry Potter Series.
21. Learn to make pasta from scratch.
22. ~~Open an Etsy account~~
23. Plant a tree.
24. Get a job in Student Affairs! (Also a new years resolution/goal)
25. Paint a piece of furniture a (not-so) crazy color like teal or lime green.

Well, there it is! I'm making some progress, that's for sure.

Ready?

2010-06-21T15:12:00.000-07:00

It's been a while!

Hi.

Here are some updates about this whole self-employed thing:

I have a blog for my shop: http://campfirechicblog.blogspot.com/
I have a facebook for it: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/Campfire-Chic/130736343616217?ref=ts
There is also a twitter account: https://twitter.com/CampfireChic

Last but not least, I was recently featured in a Treasury! A treasury is made by an Etsy user to feature products/themes/shops they find interesting. They can be themed (blue items, items with birds, geeky items, items with the letter A, etc.) or they can just be things the user likes! You can find the treasury here

Have a happy Monday!

Campfire Chic

2010-06-16T11:59:00.000-07:00

It's here! It's here!

I launched an Etsy store! It currently features some camp/outdoor themed ribbon and 10 mini albums that can be used as journals/notebooks/scrapbooks. I am really excited about what is coming down the way. Alex has been such a big help with this new venture, he's allowed me to slowly take over his desk, and he invested in the store (it's a surprise that's coming in the mail!) I couldn't have done this without him and his support.

I updated my blog accordingly. I will create a blog just for my store/business when I a have a few more items. So far I have a Twitter account (@CampfireChic), and my twitter updates are located on the right-hand side of this blog. I also posted an Etsy strip featuring some of my products, also found on the right-hand side of this blog.

I can't wait to hear some feedback from you all!

P.S. Here are some of the products!

Getting the hang of this

2010-06-15T20:00:00.000-07:00

I learned how to make a light box using computer paper and an open window. I'm loving the results.

Can you keep a secret?

2010-06-10T13:31:00.000-07:00

Here's a sneak peek at something I'm working on right now. I think now is a good time in my life to enjoy a few good things. More information to come in the next few weeks!

A few new things coming up

2010-06-09T09:16:00.000-07:00

I think I'm finally getting used to the idea of an Endless Summer. I'm still applying for positions, but I am also seriously thinking about a few other things that will make me happy (and possibly some $$$) while I am searching for my first entry-level position.

More things to come, I'm really excited!

P.S. I'm about 100 pages into The Other Boleyn Girl, and it's good! I haven't read a historical fiction in a while, and it's refreshing to read a book without magic/dragons/fantasy elements in general. I haven't seen the movie, but took a peek at the trailer, and I think I'm in a for a real treat!

Sequoia National Park

2010-06-08T17:09:00.000-07:00

We are now at 3/58 U.S. National Parks. I've been to 4 now, but together, we've been to 3.

Alex and I camped at Lodgepole this weekend to ring in summer and to get away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Our original campsite was under snow, and we were worried that we would have to go to a different campgrounds in Kings Canyon (the two parks share a common boarder, together, they are called SEKI). Fortunately, the rangers found us a great spot near the river (so loud!!) and we were there for two nights. It was WONDERFUL. It is a great campground, if you're searching for a good one in SEKI.

Our home away from home.

The river running through our campground.

The entrance to the campground. Full for the weekend!

Visitor Center right next to our site! Got some stamps in my NPS Passport :D

We hiked Tokopah Falls, saw THREE black bears, a dozen deer (including a young buck sitting under a tree), a cabin constructed out of a fallen Sequoia tree, General Sherman, both the Auto Log and Tunnel Log, and climbed 400+ stairs to the tippy-top of Moro Rock. It was a fabulous weekend, and I can honestly say it's one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen.

This time tomorrow

2010-06-03T18:26:00.000-07:00

We'll be in Sequoia National Park!

Some shots from my Memorial Day weekend.

2010-06-01T07:44:00.000-07:00

I went back east with my family this Memorial Day weekend to watch my baby cousin graduate from college! We took hundreds of photos, and because my love of Poladroid hasn't sputtered to a halt, I turned some of the photos into Polaroids!

First Kindle Book

2010-05-31T15:47:00.000-07:00

I finished my first Kindle book this weekend! I re-read The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. I don't remember it being so short!

This is book 4/5 for the year, and 2/5 for the summer, btw.

Book Update

2010-05-26T12:48:00.000-07:00

I was just browsing through my posts with the label "Books" and it seems I have read more books this year than I thought!

On two separate posts (Resolutions, Summer Reading) I state that I would like to read at least 5 books for pleasure by the end of the year, and at least 5 books over summer. I don't know where 5 came from and I guess this will leave me with a total of 10 books by the end of the year. I will be double counting the books I read over summer, naturally.

5 Books by December 31, 2010
1. The Warrior Heir
2. The Wizard Heir
3. The Dragon Heir

5 Books by September 22, 2010
1. The Dragon Heir

I mentioned this before, and I'm going to say it again: I love adopting used books, and my obsession is getting out of hand! I sold a few DVD sets and books to Book Off in San Diego for $27 and simply turned around and bought $5 worth of books. What am I going to do with myself?

I also now have a freaking Kindle, and I downloaded the app onto my desktop to sync my computer with my Kindle for seamless reading. I just hope I can keep up with my adopting/downloading!

The next book is The Other Boleyn Girl (one of the books from Book Off) and I started The Legend of Sleepy Hollow on my Kindle. Let's hope I can keep my momentum up!

The Dragon Heir

2010-05-25T17:55:00.000-07:00

After months of reading (I think I started back in January), I finally finished The Dragon Heir!

It is the last book in a great series. I really liked it...less story lines than Harry Potter, and less myth-based/more mature than Percy Jackson. This last book was slow in the beginning, but had a ton of information and a ton of action. The characters really came into their own, and there were a few unexpected deaths and fantastic twists.

If you 're looking for a series to try out, I would recommend the Heir Chronicles for sure.

I got my Masters!

2010-05-24T20:10:00.000-07:00

The time is coming.

2010-05-19T22:03:00.000-07:00

Moving out. It feels like I've semi-lived in SD for forever! I was searching for the post from the weekend I moved in and saw a few pictures that made me say, "Wow, I had the lamp in that corner?" and "when did the bookcase get here?"

Anyway, here is the original post,. It'll be weird to see it cleared out again.

My wonderful cousin will be staying for a few months this summer, so I don't need to worry about packing my bed just yet ;) My parents and I have taken a load of boxes up to storage, each, but it looks like we'll need another trip down here after we return from my cousin's graduation back East.I'm excited for this next time in my life. I was telling Alex and it is like next chapter of a book written by a familiar author...new and exciting, but slightly familiar :)

Looking forward to...

2010-05-19T10:34:00.000-07:00

spending the dog days of summer with this big guy.

A few days closer.

2010-05-18T15:16:00.000-07:00

I'm a few days closer to graduation!

I'm busy clearing out my room right now. Tons of things to recycle, donate, and just plain toss.

I look around and even after two trips to my parent's house, I feel like there is a ton of stuff left...the biggest difference is my dresser is gone, so my TV is on top of a piece of cardboard, and my laptop is on top of one of the many boxes full of books.

No lie, there are more boxes full of books and dvds than anything else...And I don't own a bookcase!

Last summer.

2010-05-11T22:07:00.000-07:00

Last summer I read 5 books. The summer before that? Many more.

My goal for this summer is to read at least 5 books. I'm going to count The Dragon Heir, because I'm only about halfway through it.

I selected a few books to leave out of the packing boxes, but we'll see what I decide to read.

What else will survive the boxes? Some craft supplies (crocheting, xstitching, scrapbooking), HP4-7 audiobooks, some DVDs, and just enough clothes. This is the 3rd time I'll be doing this, so I'm ready to have a more Spartan lifestyle for the summer/undisclosed amount of time before something else comes along.

I'm watching Julie and Julia right now, and I love it! It's suprisingly funny, and I really resonate with some of the things going on in the movie.

10 days until my graduation reception and 12 until graduation!

I'll be signing my e-mails with Kamisaurus, M.A. by the end of the month :) xoxo

Recent Polaroids

2010-05-11T21:42:00.000-07:00

Hello.

2010-05-11T07:17:00.000-07:00

Let's be ambiguous.

Big things are coming.

Change is happening everyday.

Gotta keep my priorities straight.

Must keep perspective.

Why not?

Gotta have hope.

Money shouldn't be my only concern, I'm only 24.

5 Things

2010-04-27T22:50:00.000-07:00

I read a short piece today on 25 things you don't know about Donald Trump and got inspired to post 5 things you may not know about me.

With my facebook, twitter, and this blog, it's hard to not spill about every little thing in my brain...what a millennial.

1. My ringtone is End of the World by Armor for Sleep.
2. I don't like Steinbeck. I feel like his descriptions are all "blue" or "green." Get a thesaurus.
3. I still have a hard time spelling my hometown.
4. I'm terrified of sparklers.
5. I wear socks to bed.

Do you have anything you haven't divulged to the public? It's weird to think of how much other people know about you...

Current fave photo :)

2010-04-25T18:10:00.000-07:00

From last Sunday. Great weather at Disneyland means the characters are out and about!

4 Months In.

2010-04-21T09:24:00.000-07:00

April is drawing to a close, so let's take a look to see where I am on my Resolutions/Goals and my 25 things before I turn 25 lists.

Resolutions/Goals:

1. Learn to ~~knit~~ crochet! Done! I haven't done it in about a month, but I have about 25-30 9 inch granny squares done :) I'm no pro, but they look pretty nice.

2. Do four cross stitches: I have done two projects, but four pieces all together. I'll count the two. Find them here and here.

3. Read five books for pleasure: I finished one book so far. The Wizard Heir. Which was great! I tried starting the most recent Anita Blake book, but wasn't feeling it, so I started The Dragon Heir. I'm only on chapter 3 :( I've been doing waayy too much school work, I need to establish a routine to get more done.

4. Visit 2 National Parks: Sequoia is in June. We're thinking of doing Channel Islands or Zion soon :)

5. Get As in both classes: Jury is still out. I've got a few more weeks to go.

6. Get a job in the Student Affairs field: I've done a few interviews, playing the waiting game right now.

7.Get my hair cut at a real salon: Still not done. My hair is waaayyy long. I feel more feminine with it long, but it needs a trim.

8.Eat less hot pockets: Done and Done! I've eaten maybe 4 since the beginning of the year!

9. Get a physical: I'll make an appointment this afternoon :/

10. Hit 100 Geocache finds this year: I hit 54 on Sunday night!

25 before I turn 25

1. Learn how to reupholster a chair.
2. Catch up on my scrapbooking.
3. Learn to develop my own film.
4. Finish Watchmen.
5. Pick my own apples.
6. Get a Lifetime Alumni membership to CSUF.
7. Get a REAL haircut. <---Hmmm, a resolution/goal AND a 25before25? Must be on my mind!
8. Get my Nikon professionally cleaned.
9. Paint something on the three canvases I have in my room for over a year now.
10. Go to the Old Zoo in Griffith Park.
11. Learn to make pad-see-ew.
12. Learn to make sushi.
13. Delete my MySpace.
14. Make a pinata.
15. Learn to compost.
16. Get my hiking millage up to 50 miles.
17. Throw a dinner party.
18. Buy a frame for my diplomas.
19. Get a passport.
20. Re-read the Harry Potter Series.
21. Learn to make pasta from scratch.
22. Open an Etsy account
23. Plant a tree.
24. Get a job in Student Affairs! (Also a new years resolution/goal)
25. Paint a piece of furniture a (not-so) crazy color like teal or lime green.

Doesn't look like I've made real progress on this one, BUT I've only been 24 for a month and half. I'll make it happen.

Two new layouts :)

2010-04-20T22:06:00.000-07:00

Feels so good.Photos taken with my phone. Oh well!

Hi.

2010-04-20T20:48:00.000-07:00

I took today off of work so I could focus on a jumbo (and very important) presentation tomorrow. I spent hours and hours fine tuning my presentation, I just hope I don't flub tomorrow!

Anyway, I took some time to be a little crafty today. I honestly haven't created a page in what feels like (and probably is) MONTHS. So I made some thank you cards and scrapped some photos from back in October. I'm so behind, it's ridiculous. I bought a new photo box a few weekends ago and today finally took it out to start organizing the photos I've printed but haven't scrapped or organized in any shape or form. It's a really pretty box, kraft with green and brown trees :)

Well, here's a sneak peak at what I'm now using on some of my crafts:

Yes, that would be an old DYMO! I lost my other one, I have no idea where it's gone :( So my dad let me have his...have/borrow, whatever! He even has some super trendy and fairly rare woodgrain tape in the box he gave me! That will be for special occasions only. For now, I'll use blue and black, those are easy to replace. You can't really tell in this photo, but the blue is matte, I've only really worked with gloss, so imagine my surprise when it wasn't shiny! love love love.

I feel I've been doing a lot of this lately..

2010-04-17T13:03:00.000-07:00

Thanks to weheartit.com

Crafty Update.

2010-04-16T15:56:00.000-07:00

I finished this guy a few weeks ago. The twitpics weren't that great, so here it is! I *heart* the faux wood hoop, it's plastic so it's easy to stretch the fabric! I can't wait to get some more :)

Some treasures.

2010-04-06T23:53:00.000-07:00

I've been meaning to take photos of the swamp meet/thrift store finds I have around my room, but didn't get around to it until today! I needed a reason to procrastinate so here we go :)

My Grandmother gave me her hope chest when I graduated from my undergrad.

It was shipped from China and is completely hand carved. I saw this beauty at the

Rose Bowl Swap Meet and knew I had to have it! It's a mini version :) I think this was

about $15-$20 and currently holds my stamps+inkpads+ink remover+paints

$1 from a thrift store somewhere in Orange County.

We found soo many hippo items that day!

This is a hippo bowl/planter/candle holder.

It currently holds some loose ribbon, misc scrabble tiles, and some mini dinos

HAD to have it. It was $5 with the lid. loves.

$8 for the set. It was hot that day, which seems to be the best time

to go to the Rose Bowl Swap Meet. Look for the sellers that have nice items

like these just sitting on the floor, they probably don't know what they have!

I LOVE this set. I bought the blue and red bowls together for $8 "Oh, I only have 8...sigh" and hunted down the yellow and the green bowls separately. The the yellow was $12, it was being sold in a pair for $20 and I told myself I only needed one...should have bargained for $10, oh well. Bought the green (after a loooonnngggg search) for $8.75 at an antique mall in Orange, CA. All together that is less than $30 and the whole set sells for about $75-$100 muahahahaha.

Not much to say here, how can one pass up a family of hedgehogs?

The "read" brooch was only $1! I splurged and got the owl for $5

More Pyrex! This is an early version of tupperware.

Found it in Big Bear when a bunch of us visited our friend Angela.

Alex was nice enough to give me the $5 for this.

Fair amount of wear-and-tear but it's helpful when I need s

omething to put scrap floss or yarn someplace other than all over the carpet.

I have a few other vintage Pyrex pieces here and there and I forgot to take photos of a great elephant I got for $1 (originally $9 from Big Lots-the tag was left on!), a messenger/tourist bag, and a cute patch I got from a small flea market in LA..It's a whale with water coming out of the blowhole...the water is holding up a ball that looks like a lollipop and the patch says "cookies" SO RANDOM.

Photo Challenge.

2010-04-06T01:40:00.000-07:00

There is a Diana Scavenger Hunt underway and I wish I had one! I left my Holga at Alex's for some reason, but maybe I'll just play along anyway :)

Alex was nice enough to get the CameraBag app on his iphone after I shared with him my current obsession with Poladroid! He is so sweet. Here are the photos that made it to my inbox:

Examples of the Lomo filter and the Instant filter. So much fun.

Photos should be fun. No need to be artistic or to have a deeper meaning.

Capture a fun moment :)

Dear Santa

2010-04-06T00:13:00.000-07:00

It's early, I know.

Found Here

Weekend Goals:

2010-04-02T12:46:00.000-07:00

1. Finish my portfolio (a requirement for my Masters program)
2. Begin a crafty project
3. Take more photos! I haven't used my camera in a while and I need to fill that void.

Have a great weekend xoxo.

Too much fun.

2010-04-01T13:13:00.000-07:00

I'm obsessed with Poladroid

It is so easy to use, and the drag-and-go method is too adorable for words.

Here are some of mine:

Days like this.

2010-04-01T11:42:00.000-07:00

I just wanna get away...

Source: Weheartit.com

Someday...

2010-03-31T18:10:00.001-07:00

...I'll have a space to call my own. My own studio. :)

(Source: weheartit.com)

Photos+Words

2010-03-30T22:44:00.000-07:00

This is what you find if you search "text" on weheartit.com

15 things (I'd like to think) I live by

2010-03-30T19:01:00.000-07:00

My amazing and beautiful cousin recently posted A selection of 15 things I live by which inspired me to try and come up with a set of my own:

1. Wear waterproof mascara. Yes, it's more difficult to remove, but you never know when you'll get a little teary
2. Wait until a season of your favorite show is $20 or less...it isn't going anywhere, and it will be on sale eventually
3. You are a part of your life, step out from behind the lens on occassion
4. Buy something ridiculous that makes you smile. You won't think of how much it cost, just how much it makes you smile
5. Create an inspiration board. Change it often
6. Enjoy what you eat
7. Text your parents, even if it has nothing to do with money
8. Develop your photos! Don't let them sit in the tomb known as your computer
9. If somebody pokes you on facebook, poke back
10. Recycle
11. Adopt books whenever you can. Chain stores will make their money some other way
12. Invest in jackets and other nice outerwear
13. Make to do lists. Add the things you do that are not on the list to it...you'll be able to cross it off right away :)
14. Abuse emoticons
15. Let your friends know you are thinking about them. Tweet/text/fb/e-mail/whatever

Shots of Chicago

2010-03-17T16:27:00.000-07:00

Quick!

2010-03-16T22:34:00.000-07:00

Hi!

I spent the entire day reading for my class on Thursday and I'm mentally drained. I was hoping to upload some of the Chicago photos today to share with the world but I think I'll have to settle for tomorrow.

I have a few more shots left on the roll of film in my Holga, and I'm wondering if I should bring it with me to my dinner date with Alex tomorrow night :) We are planning on meeting in San Clemente for a mid-week dinner so maybe we'll find some cool things to take photos of (ew, ended with a preposition!)

Job search is still underway.

Today was soo hot, was it not? North County is usually cooler than other areas of the county but my car registered NINTY degrees at one point during my 45 minutes outside in the real world. Duude, not okay. I need less sun in my life!

My free cable has finally kicked in and I have already found my productivity dropping...but I think my observation is unfair since I did not go to work today...maybe I was just excited to watch What Not to Wear, Best Thing I Ever Ate, and Parenthood?? Yes, must be.

My goal is to do something creative tomorrow.

24 at 24

2010-03-13T12:12:00.000-08:00

(source: weheartit.com)

1. Living between Oceanside, La Habra, and La Crescenta these days
2. I love making homemade pizza
3. I can't get enough vintage pyrex
4. I am in the middle (or 1/4) of making my first afghan. (Not sure of the square count but I'll update later!)
5. I am in the midst of the most important job search I will ever do...my first job search!
6. I spent my birthday in both Chicago and San Diego
7. My hair has been down for almost a week now, a first in 10 years
8. I am learning more and more about myself everyday
9. I am a Twitter fanatic
10. I have yet to upgrade to a smart phone, maybe this year is my year ;)
11. This is the Year of the Tiger, and so it's a big year for me (every 12 years!)
12. I'm in love with my best friend
13. I am still addicted to used books
14. I do enough online shopping that I have my bank card number memorized
15. I am halfway to 100 geocaches
16. I am tired of the sun and need more clouds in my life
17. I own two "big girl" suits
18. I have finally learned the importance of networking
19. I've learned that sometimes saving a few extra bucks isn't the way to go
20. I graduate in two months with my MA
21. My favorite color is grey
22. I could eat pizza everyday...or Chipotle
23. Coffee Bean's hot chocolate will be my downfall
24. I am looking forward to this year and all that it has in store for me

xoxo

A few updates from 1,000 miles away.

2010-03-07T21:05:00.000-08:00

Hello from Chicago, lovelies.

It is day 4.5 here, and I'm ready to go home but the fun is just beginnig! I'm a pro at the bus system here, which is totally unlike me (I practically LIVE in my car!) and the city blocks are so short here that walking 10 blocks is like really walking 4 or 5. I love it!

I had three first round interviews this week and I am really happy with how they turned out. I will hopefully hear back in a few weeks about a second round. Wish me luck!

I went to the Threadless Store yesterday, and it was pure magic. It was amazing not to pay SHIPPING for the shirts and I'm already wearing the one Alex bought me :) Yesterday was also a looonnggg day on the bus to get to the store and to get out to the United Center to see the Micheal Jordan statue (for Alex). Today was Millenium Park to see Cloud Gate and a mini adventure in the Chicago Cultural Center because the outside says "public library"...and you know us and libraries...

Let's see, a few more updates:

1. The SDSU Leadership Summit was last weekend and it went really well!
2. This is day 5 of my hair being worn down...record of some sort?
3. My family has been AMAZING during this whole job-search-and-getting-Kam-to-Chicago business. I love them and appreciate them so much.
4. I bought a Northface beanie this weekend...too cute.
5. Aztec CORE applications are due March 17th at 4pm, for you SDSU students!
6. Campfire Cocoa from the Signiture Lounge is my new favorite drink...I'm the coolest 5 year old ever.
7. I have book 18 from the Anita Blake series on my bedstand...not enthralled the way I have been in the past so it'll be hard to finish this one even though it is only 171 pages or so.
8. I had two hot chocolates today...regular hot chocolate ;)
9. I feel really adventureous when I walk around the city by myself. Like I'm a real adult...which is nice since I'm turning 24 this week.
10. MY BIRTHDAY IS WEDNESDAY!

Post #250

2010-03-01T22:42:00.000-08:00

I'm suprised I've kept this blog going for so long! Yay me. I started it when I graduated from my undergrad and now I'm months away from graduating with my Master's! Excited!

I got an early birthday gift this weekend from Alex! My very own Holga! Of course I'll share with him, but we've got to find a steady supply of film before we start goofing around too much. I loaded her up with some B&W film and she's semi-safely packed away for Chicago :)

Here are a few links to examples of the types of photos Holga cameras take:
Holga Flickr Pool: http://www.flickr.com/groups/86881528@N00/pool/
Holga Camera Photography Blog: http://www.photographyblogger.net/holga-camera-photography/
Or you can just Google Image "Holga Photography"

Two Weeks!

2010-02-24T20:40:00.000-08:00

Two weeks from today I turn 24 aaannndddd because it is the Year of the Tiger and I'M a Tiger it's a big one :D

I'm going to take a preemitve strike at my 25 things to do before I turn 25 :)

In no particular order:

1. Learn how to reupholster a chair.
2. Catch up on my scrapbooking.
3. Learn to develop my own film.
4. Finish Watchmen.
5. Pick my own apples.
6. Get a Lifetime Alumni membership to CSUF.
7. Get a REAL haircut.
8. Get my Nikon professionally cleaned.
9. Paint something on the three canvases I have in my room for over a year now.
10. Go to the Old Zoo in Griffith Park.
11. Learn to make pad-see-ew.
12. Learn to make sushi.
13. Delete my MySpace.
14. Make a pinata.
15. Learn to compost.
16. Get my hiking millage up to 50 miles.
17. Throw a dinner party.
18. Buy a frame for my diplomas.
19. Get a passport.
20. Re-read the Harry Potter Series.
21. Learn to make pasta from scratch.
22. Open an Etsy account
23. Plant a tree.
24. Get a job in Student Affairs! (Also a new years resolution/goal)
25. Paint a piece of furniture a (not-so) crazy color like teal or lime green.

A few new additions.

2010-02-20T20:40:00.000-08:00

Retail therapy helps and whoever tells you otherwise is wrong.

I just ordered three 8x10 prints from an Etsy shop! I really have no idea how I stumbled across Traflagar's Shop but I'm soo happy I did! The prints are perfect for a child's room or nursery, but their whimsy makes them perfect for anybody who loves books/animals/cuddly creatures/tea.

Alex and I decided to split the cost of two prints since the shop is having a rainy day sale right now so all 8x10s are only $10. Of course I couldn't just order two, so while Alex went to the Fullerton basketball game tonight I went ahead and ordered THREE! muahaha.

Here they are! The pink is just a background color, the actual product is just the white part. (All images link to product)
Our Book Club

My Favorite Book is Blue

Book Buddies

In addition, my aunt was soo kind and took me shopping for some essentials for my upcoming trip to Chicago where I will be interviewing for Student Affairs-related positions as well as attending educational sessions and receptions. I'm excited! I'm working on how I'm going to do my hair now...which for a girl who has had her hair in a pony tail for the past 10 years that's going to be fun..I need to go on What Not to Wear!

I'll always miss you.

2010-02-15T09:09:00.000-08:00

I love you, Hank. I miss you so much.

Good morning!

2010-02-11T09:17:00.000-08:00

Hello, love.

I have officially applied for one position that I will be interviewing for in Chicago. Whew. Just a few more to go!

I'm over halfway done with The Wizard Heir. It's really good. Not as fast-paced as The Warrior Heir, but we are getting a different view of Seph's coming-of-age store. I wasn't sure how it would tie into the previous book after reading the back cover, but it's all coming together now. I have a feeling that a huge plot twist is around the corner! Hopefully this will make me still want to read the third book in the series, The Dragon Heir which is already in my bookcase...but it was sent WITHOUT it's book jacket. Poor thing.

I've started organizing my embroidery floss :) I know, what a wild child, but my collection is currently sitting in sandwhich baggies and let's be honest, those floss bobbins are so cute! There is enough room on each one for me to write the color code for each skein, which will be helpful in the future.

I've made some good progress on one of my andwabisabi cross stiches, but it's slow going. The fabric I chose has really tiny squares so it's hard for me to see :/ I'll make it work, I can't wait to see my dino! The shop owner also added new patterns recently, so check them out. She is GREAT about e-mailing the PDFs as soon as possible (she's a student) and gives quick customer feedback to your etsy account (always a plus!).

A mini-crafty update

2010-02-06T22:46:00.000-08:00

I started a cross-stitch a few couple of weeks ago. I think I will try to focus more attention to it this coming week. Alex and I are trying a new thing: don't let work/school be the first thing you do of the day. So we started waking up an hour (or more!) earlier than we needed in order to spend the time on something for ourselves. He gets up and does some yoga, goes for a walk, and makes a cup of non-rushed coffee. I, on the other hand, have been watching Bones and crocheting :) It really is nice to have something else going on for me in the morning other than getting on the computer straight away and then getting ready and rushing off to work where I'll be on the computer all day. This wasn't a resolution by any means, but it really should have been!

Well, before this gets too long, I am working on my 54ish granny squares, and while my goal a few posts back was to reach 20 squares before February, it didn't happen. I really was only off by a week, so it was reasonable ;) I am now at TWENTY-FOUR GRANNY SQUARES! It's really thrilling that I haven't lost interest in this project. I'm really suprised with myself. The photo above is from when I hit 18 squares this past week. It takes about an hour for me to do one 8inch square, so this is going to take me another 30 hours ;) If I keep up my habit of waking up early and finishing a square, I can finish by...late March or early April (give and take based on how many I can do on the weekend and how much I do while I travel).

I will try to take some nicer photos of my crafts soon, I'd love to document this process a little better :)

Feeling Lucky?

2010-02-06T22:02:00.000-08:00

Alex and I stumbled across this cluster of ladybugs...there were thousands of ladybugs all over the place, these were the best photos since we didn't have the Nikon with us. Gives you a bit of an idea of this hidden gem in the Clevland National Forest :)

Quick Update

2010-02-02T23:17:00.000-08:00

1. I'm at 15 full granny squares.
2. My job search is underway.
3. I've finished Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire on CD. I think it is the only book in the series I have not read multiple times so it was like a whole new book to me!
4. I've started The Chronicles of Narnia on CD.
5. I've started Season One of Bones on DVD. I only watch it when I can devote all/most of my attention to it.
6. Alex and I have been together for 3 years now :)

Hello, New Week.

2010-01-24T22:40:00.000-08:00

Hello, Internet.

Just kidding.

I got a GREAT deal this weekend! Alex and I have been using Yelp quite a bit lately for recommendations for thrift stores in the area and we had two weekends in a row of winning places. I hope this keeps up!

Saturday we went up to the motherland to say "hi" to my mama-san and meet up with Faryl to check out Sun Thrift, which is closer to her house than mine. It was a madhouse! Probably because all clothing was 50% off until noon and it was 11:30am. Yikes. It didn't have a great selection of books, but the housewares section was a winner. There was a GREAT vintage Pyrex searving dish with carrier. I couldn't bring myself to spend $6 on it, because it doesn't quite match my bowls (it's the inverse of a collection of bowls I got for $8 at the Rose Bowl Swap meet a few months ago). Nice place.

Today we went to Savers off of Imperial per Yelp's nice description and reviews. It doesn't smell like a thrift store at all and it's SUPER organized. Love love. The book selection is better here (and ORGANIZED) but not a large selection of young adult books, no big. Once again, housewares had a GREAT selection, and there were a few pieces of vintage Pyrex for about $1.99 each! whoa. I need to look them up before buying ;) There is a ton ton ton of fabric and craft pieces. This is where I got the biggest deal: four embroidery hoops (2@5"x9", 1@6", and 1@7") for $2.17! WOW. Way better than the prices at the local craft store. So excited. I have all those xstitch patterns I bought earlier this month and now I have hoops to work with :)

In case you're wondering, I am at 10 granny squares. I have to get better and holding a constant tension, but it's my first time so it's okay in my book.

xoxo.

Crafty Night

2010-01-20T22:46:00.000-08:00

Class starts tomorrow so I wanted to get in as much creative time as possible tonight...naturally that was interupted by an article I needed for the class. whomp whomp.

Well, I'm now at 8 granny squares...Yes, I have a tally going :)

Also started a little project for my valentine :) Very excited for it. Should be able to finish tomorrow night!

Here is to my last semester as a graduate student!

Square Count

2010-01-19T23:11:00.000-08:00

(All photos from weheartit.com)

I'm embarking on my first attempt at an afghan. I learned how to do a basic chain stitch from my mom years and years ago but this is obviously a little more intense. After scouring the internet for an easy-to-understand tutorial on how to make a granny square (they come in different types, btw) I finally found an easy to read PDF! I've been obsessed with granny squares for a while, they're just so beautiful, dyamic, and nostalgic. Not to mention, it's a way to make a blanket/scarf/whatever without taking up an entire lap/bed/workspace. I'm keeping mine in my "craft crate" right now.

My squares are a little different than the one show above, but they'll do for now. Becauce I'm just starting out, I decided to do single color blocks. I currently have four different colors I'm working with: heather gray, teal, light brown, and green. I want to make a full-sized afgahn with the 8" squares I've been making (I didn't realize that the sizing chart I was using calls for 6-9-12 squares until it was too late/I didn't want to go back and add another inch to the squares-besides, I like to be different). I'll need about 54 squares for this project! YIKES. It'll be 6x9 so I want six colors to work with! I'm thinking of finding a nice goldenrod and dusty rose or burgundy. I haven't decided yet ;)

Current square count: 7.

I also timed (NERD) about how long it takes me to make a single square, and it's between 50-60 min. Wowzers. This is going to be a looonnggg project now that my courses are starting back up. I'd like to finish by graduation, but I don't know :T

Goal before Feb: 20 more squares.

Here are some more grannys:

Rainy days ahead.

2010-01-18T10:12:00.000-08:00

(weheartit.com)

Looks like we're in for a week of rain! I love overcast weather but I wish I could stay home on rainy days like this. At least I have a few projects going for me this week :)

1. I learned how to make a basic granny square, so I'll be making a few this week. I have to measure the one I just made to see how many I'll need to make an afghan. It's a nice brown color, almost fawn. I have a few other colors waiting for me like teal, green, and grey...cozy colors, if you ask me :)

2. Three x-stitch patterns arrived in my inbox last night :) I'm excited to try them out! Alex and I went to this thrift store down the street, and they sell small frames for $1!! Perfect for gifts/decor. Eeee!

I still have a bunch of fabric and scrapbooking on my plate as well. They may have to wait a little while but I don't want to wait too long because classes start this week and I don't want to put crafting to the side for a whole semester. I am going to plan time during the week to do some, and granny squares are easy enough to tote back and forth for the weekends.

I'll post some photos once I get some good shots.

A few steps closer to an resolution/goal :)

2010-01-16T22:04:00.000-08:00

(weheartit.com, but I'm pretty sure they come from this etsy shop.

Have I mentioned my favorite place to get cross-stitch patterns? Yes, I've only done two projects (one consisting of three seperate pieces), but it's my favorite place to browse and narrow down what projects I want to take up next.

Andwabisabi is an Etsy that sells THE CUTEST patterns! You won't find your grandma's sampler in this store! She has hundreds of different patterns, each of them too cute for words, and they're perfect for beginners like me!

I've done her cute bird pattern (which you can get for free if you sign up for her monthly-ish newsletter), and just ordered the hamburger, the cute dino, and floppy disc. I wanted to narrow my choices (originally 7) down to two so it would be an even $5 but I couldn't say no! These will keep me busy for a while, and I'm super excited to get the email containing the patterns :)

In case you're counting, my goal is to do four cross-stitch patterns/projects by the end of the year. If I do more, so be it :)

Here I come!

2010-01-15T14:03:00.000-08:00

That's right, CHICAGO!

(all photos from weheartit.com)

Motivation.

2010-01-14T23:06:00.000-08:00

Motivation to do some work tomorrow (Cover letter, buy clothes for conference, etc.). I love lazy weekends with Alex.

This photo is from an afternoon in the coastal redwood grove in carbon canyon park in Yorba Linda. We brought our picnic blanket, some cheezits and books. It was relaxing to sit under the HUGE trees with our shoes off and enjoying nature.

Arriving soon to a doorstop near me :)

2010-01-14T18:50:00.000-08:00

Three books will be coming soon! One is a pre-order and two are part of the Warrior Heir series I started reading at the start of the year (all 14 days ago).

Up first: The Wizard Heir. Which is the second book in the series even though it does not involve the main character from The Warrior Heir. Instead of following Jack, a warrior, this book will follow Steph, who is a wizard. Like Jack, Steph doesn't know he is a wizard at the start of the story, so that should be interesting!

Have I mentioned how I judged these books by their covers? Aren't they beautiful??

After that is The Dragon Heir. I was nervous to read the description of this one, but it looks like it will tie the triliogy up very nicely :) I was worried that it was going to turn out to be a trilogy with four books (e.g. The Uglies series) but it looks like this book will be an epic ending to a great series (what do I know, I've only read one?). After I finish this series, I think I'll start the other series by the author (Cinda Williams Chima) called The Seven Realms. The first book for that series just came out in October and is called The Demon King.

Big Bear 2010

2010-01-11T20:22:00.000-08:00

Made it back from a wonderful weekend in Big Bear with some great friends. I'm sad we didn't get a group shot, maybe next time :)

I was able to hit 50 geocaches this weekend, and I had a blast doing it!

I got a wonderful email that totally made my day earlier. I hope to get a few more in the next month or so :)

Book #1 of the Year

2010-01-04T16:00:00.000-08:00

Goal for the year: Read 5 books for pleasure Here is book one for the year! It is soo good. You can check it out on Amazon by going to this link. There were honestly a few twists I had no idea were coming, which is refreshing for a YA fantasy novel. SOOO good. There are other books in the series, but it doesn't look like it will be the same characters, which I find interesting. If I pick up the other books I'm sure I'll let you know :D

All in all, this is pretty well paced, which made me not want to put it down. Some of the jargon is hard to keep straight in the beginning, but easier to get used to. Also, I know this sounds weird, but the book feels good. The cover is a nice thick cardstock with the sword (Shadowslayer) embossed on the front, and the pages are a nice thick and smooth paper. Nerd. I would totally read a series based on Jack (the main character) but I guess the author went elsewhere. <3 <3 <3

2010 Cross Stitch Project #1

2010-01-04T14:48:00.000-08:00

This is our first photo of the new year! I think it really sums us up :) Too bad you can't see so much of Alex's face, at least there's a good shot of his new Kindle!

One of my resolutions/goals for 2010 is to do four cross stitches by the end of the year. I'm not sure if I'm going to count this as one or three ;) I will probably chalk this up to ONE project. Only three more to go!

A break.

2010-01-02T22:22:00.000-08:00

Taking a break from my current crafty project (I'll be sure to post photos when I'm done!) to do a little window shopping. More like lusting.

From this shop

From this shop. Check out their website and read their little story, too cute.

From this shop

I'm halfway through The Warrior Heir and I am LOVING it. I'm really happy I was given it as a gift this year! I was worried I was just judging another book by it's beautiful cover (whew).

Last book of 2009

2009-12-31T13:00:00.000-08:00

One of my 2010 New Years Resolutions/Goals is to read more books. WELL. I finished Inkheart yesterday afternoon and started The City of Ember right away. Well, I finished The City of Ember about an hour and a half ago and I'm ready for my next book!

What a good way to end/start the year :)

Resolutions and Goals

2009-12-29T14:09:00.000-08:00

I took a look at last year's resolutions and decided to make some more for this year.

First, let's comment on last year's goals:

1. Organize my scrapbooking supplies. I organized them, but they're still in too many places for me. I need one location dedicated to it all. And I think I need to have a garage sale to see some of the supplies I never used. Please don't give me supplies this year!

2. Read more books! I read quite a bit this summer, but of course I chose HUGE books toward the end of the summer. Eragon took forever, and I'm only now finishing Inkheart. I'm going back to shorter books as soon as I finish. I was not able to keep up with the amount of books I adopted this year. In fact, half of my bookcase is dedicated to the books I have to read. I got another book for Christmas and want to start a long-distance book club with some friends so I better hurry up!

3. Take/print more photos. I've definitely taken a ton of photos and printed more than I can keep up with. This year I need to figure out a good storage system for the unused photos I have. Right now they're all over my room in their original packaging…

4. Watch more TV. Done and done! Watched the entire series of Six Feet Under, West Wing, started Lost, now obsessed with Glee, and all caught up with Grey's Anatomy. This one is okay for sure.

5. Save more money. Well, this hasn't really worked out. Maybe this year will be the year.

And now for this year's resolutions/goals!

All photos from weheartit.com

Learn to knit: Not only learn, but make two projects
EDITED 2/6/2010: FORGET KNITTING, THIS YEAR IS DEDICATED TO CROCHETING :)

Do four cross stitches: I have found some super cheap counted patterns, it's just a matter of buying the hoops and selecting the pattern I want :)

Read five books for pleasure: I have PLENTY of books to read, let's get through them :) I also have audiobooks, which won't count here, but will make me feel better.

Visit 2 National Parks: I think Sequoia and Channel Islands are on our list for the coming months :D

Get As in both classes: I did it last semester, let's do it this semester too! Go out with a BANG!

Get a job in the Student Affairs field: Please?

Get my hair cut at a real salon: No more supercuts for me. I haven't cut my hair in a year and a half because of my last experience at a supercuts.

Eat less hot pockets: I'm sure this will be good for me.

Get a physical: I haven't had one in a while and I might as well get one done before I'm out of school :/

Hit 100 Geocache finds this year: I'm currently at 47, and that's just from July! Follow my progress by watching the box to the right, under my photo :)

End of 2009

2009-12-29T11:02:00.000-08:00

The end is so near (in a non-end-of-the-world sort of way)

I was fortuneate enough to spend the holidays with several wonderful people this year.

Alex and I started the holidays with OGTS and the other telephone operators from CSUF at the end of the year holiday dinner at Knowlwoods in DTF. It was a smaller turnout this year, but I was so happy to see the people I started working with orginially! We did a little bar crawl...more of a hop, I suppose, afterwords where I was treated to some delightful water with lemon. It rained, as usual, which was part of the charm.

Next we celebrated with my La Crescenta Ladies, where we had Secret Santa, potluck dinner, and a rousing game of running charades (to answer your question, yes I was running, and yes, I almost threw up in Faryl's room). I think the running charades will make an appearance at Aztec CORE (more to come later about this) or some other event where I need to force students to play together, muahahaha.

The next night (I know, so social, right?) we went to a Luxery White Elephant party at our friend Paul's condo. There were a ton of people, which made it fun. We ordered Bucca and played Apples to Apples. I got a hippo glass (LOVE HIPPOS) from George Washington University, and Alex got the coveted Snuggie.

Next was xmas with the fam. We have a tradition of eating tamales on xmas eve (even though we're not Mex) so it was great to be at home unwrapping those suckers. We opened presents xmas morning, and one of the gifts my brother and I gave my parents brought my mom to tears...I think it was because she was laughing so hard. We framed a really nice photo he and I took together of us making horribly silly faces. It really caught our essence. I got some great gifts and was happy to see everybody liked theres :) My brother wouldn't leave home without the stack of graphic novels I bought him! We went to my aunt's for early dinner, one side of the family was missing so it was a quiet afternoon/evening up in Canyon Country.

I was home from Thursday-Sunday and am now ADDICTED to Bones! For some reason, the third season is the cheapest, but I won't induldge until I have some $$$ saved up.

Alex's family enjoyed their gifts, and I got some great ones from them, too!

We've visited Dland once since it's been decorated for xmas (twice if you count the few hours we were there for my mom's birthday in Nov) and we visited the San Diego Zoo for the last time per our membership :( We are hoping to go back to Disneyland sometime this week for one last glance at the decorations.

Next on our list is a trip to Big Bear to visit dear Angela! We ordered our snow chains last night via Costco.com. It took me HOURS to research the chains since my tires are a strange size. I only knew I had a weird size based on the last trip to the tire store before I left for grad school...the tire man had to drive to the valley in order to pick up the damn tires. Our chains should be arriving by Monday.

Anyway, a well known blogger, Ali Edwards, comes up with a "word" for her year and encourages her followers to do the same. It is usually a big to-do on her blog, she spends hours sitting down and typing out everybody's word they post online to give those who cannot decide some ideas. Her word this year is "Story." The first word that came to my mind for this year is Embrace. I think it really sums up what I'm going to have to do this year with so many changes. I graduate in May, start my job search in January, and may end up moving to an entirely different state by the end of summer. I think Embrace is the perfect word since Calm or Breathe is so over done...and it reminds me to Dance and I'm not going to have any of that ;) So my word of the year will be Embrace

Seattle Mini Album!

2009-12-17T14:09:00.000-08:00

FINALLY got around to getting this sucker done. It's still not complete, I want to go back through and write in our itinerary, I have the perfect white pen for this :)

Some of the pictures are blurry, but you'll get the idea.

Halloween 2009 Mini Album

2009-12-16T22:04:00.000-08:00

This album (which I bought on clearance after Halloween 08) contains photos from our (Alex+Kami) Halloween activities! Basically the party at Mush's house and our camping trip to Joshua Tree National Park. Quick and easy. Got to use some supplies I've been saving :)

Sick Week

2009-12-09T15:29:00.000-08:00

This will hopefully be my last sick day of the week. At least I was able to do some work from home today, so it wasn't a total loss. I've been so productive, in fact, I haven't gone on Sims 3 once ;)
Go me.

So it's the end of the semester, one semester to go!

Thanksgiving was a few weeks ago and I was in charge of the turkey (photo below). I was really nervous because I was steering away from my tried and true butter+garlic+onions routine and going with something a little more involved. Okay, WAY more involved. I'm really happy with the result, and my mom even requested my "secret" for her friends to use...she thought I BOUGHT my secret from a store. Her I-don't-cook-I-warm-things-up of a daughter is really growing up :)

172

2009-12-01T23:34:00.001-08:00

The number of days until I graduate...but who's counting?

Happy December.

Prepping for a hectic two weeks, just need to make it to the 16th and in the free-and-clear for a month...not counting the work I'm sure I'll be doing on my portfolio and research. meh.

My cross stitch bird is coming along nicely, I got a lot done while watching Six Feet Under with Alex on Sunday. I'm newly addicted to Sims 3, which I'm pretty convinced that Alex straight up grabbed out of somebody's cart (as Avi said, just because it is in your cart doesn't mean it belongs to you). Counting down the days until payday...story of mi vida.

It's getting chilly.

Nighttime.

2009-11-22T22:58:00.000-08:00

hello, moon.

I wish I could see the stars the same way I'd see them if I was in the mountains. The night sky seems like a dull blanket trying to smother me. I need some more stars in my life.

New crafts I want to try:
Origami
Cross-stitching (got a free pattern in my inbox today!)
Embroidery (more than what I've been doing)

I have off on Wednesday and I'm planing on turning my room/the dining room into craft-central :) I have some glitter for Gma and me to use on some pinecones we have sitting around. We can stick them in a vase as a centerpiece for Thursday.

I just finished hemming a Snuggie...by hand. I really need to find a space for my sewing machine...and learn how to use it :) Alex was so nice to buy it for me for graduation, I better use it at least once before I graduate (from grad school) in May. I'll add it to my list of things to do on Wednesday ;)

Too much fun.

2009-11-12T21:51:00.000-08:00

So last night I couldn't fall asleep for the life of me. I am usually quick to fall asleep but I think I was high on the excitment of having a date with Alex in the middle of the week. It was so strange! It felt like we were just starting to date all over again...you know the feeling, smiling like an idiot, a kiss feels new and exciting...okay, I'll stop now.

Anyway, I couldn't fall asleep and I just wanted to create something! I was tired so I couldn't think through the steps of anything BUT I did come up with such a fun idea: A sleeping bag for Teddy :)

Backstory: I've had Teddy since I was a baby. In my baby book it even says that "the yellow bear" was the first toy I ever reached for. He enjoys traveling and riding shotgun with me. He's been camping with Alex and me (and my family before Alex came along) for YEARS now and I just assumed a bear would be fine-and-dandy in the woods. Sure he may be warm, but I never considered that he would be super jealous of all the sweet gear us humans get to use! (NERD ALERT). So I constructed a lined sleeping bag for him. It is dark green felt on the outside and white felt on the inside (so the he doesn't turn green...and, you know, for comfort) and there is a pocket on the outside with a cute tree applique!

Well, enough chatter, here's a photo (twitpic)

I'm pretty stoked.

2009-11-12T21:23:00.001-08:00

Hello.

2009-11-04T22:25:00.000-08:00

"Oh, hai."

I'm recovering from a weekend in Joshua Tree National Park. In case I haven't mentioned it before, Alex has this life goal of going to ALL the National Parks, which includes the ones in Guam and the Virgin Islands, etc. There's a lot..61 to be exact (or at least as exact as wikipedia can be). I've been to three now(can you guess the three?), and he's at two. We are well on our way.

This weekend we are heading up to Mammoth Lakes, CA. I'm really excited to get back up there. I've been there every year since I was pretty much born except maybe 3 years in college (BUMMED). Now that Alex is in love with the place, we've been a few times...this will be our third? I'm really excited to do some GEOCACHING this weekend as well. Since school as started up again I've been lagging. You can keep track of my caches using the tracking widget on the righthand-side of this screen. I'm at about 31 right now :)

The following weekend is my mama-san's birthday! Yay! I can't wait to see her and the rest of the fambam. Lunch is planned and I have a GREAT gift for her already :) I'm excited.

There's a rumor of an OGTS reunion the following weekend :D (emoticon overload), and then Thanksgiving after that. This year is going to be over before we know it. YIKES.
I've got a lot going on right now: work, class, research, projects, readings from class, preparing for the national conference in March, trying to keep myself healthy so I don't get Gma sick. All in a day's work, right?

Two new layouts and a mini album

2009-10-28T23:36:00.000-07:00

I'm on a freaking roll tonight! It feels so good to get these pages out of my system. I was able to use some new products and some products I've been itching to use for a few months :) As for the mini album, I've never been one to follow directions on a creative project so I made it my own. I'm not too sure what I'm going to do with it, any ideas? (pictures are a bit blurry)

Backets!

2009-10-28T23:26:00.000-07:00

I bought a set of chipboard brackets at the scrapbook store today. I wasn't too sure what I was going to do with them at first, but then it hit me...instant frame!

Here's the original product:

Covered the brackets with some new paper from Sassafrass Lass:
I didn't have any tacks so I used push pins. I adhered them to the brackets using Glue Dots.
Here's the finished product up on my wall above my monitor. I used 2-3 more pushpins to keep the brackets from shifting. Imagine seeing it about a pushpin's distance away from the wall, way snazzy ;)

Talk me down

2009-10-28T17:01:00.000-07:00

My cousin, Robin, just joined the Folio Society and I am really trying to talk myself out of sending her money to buy me all the wonderful/joining myself to get the wonderful gifts and what-not.

The Folio Society publishes gorgeous books in hardcover that are simply mouth watering to any bibliophile would go broke for. I really need a "big girl job" (not to mention a larger bookcase) so I can start collecting these books!

Here are the ones "on my list:"

Iron Mountain

2009-10-25T23:12:00.000-07:00

This was taken a few weekends ago (Sept 27) as Alex and I hiked for three hours up Iron Mountain in Poway, CA. We gained about 2,684 feet and did 6 miles round trip.

There were some great views and it was hot hot hot!

It was a good "warmup" for the 10 mile hike we did with Paul, Ang, and Jennie last weekend (photos to come).

I have upgraded my hydration to include a fannypack with a "single shot" waterbottle and ample storage for my gps/camera/keys/swag/anything else that may need to accompany me :)

You are missed.

2009-10-19T10:43:00.000-07:00

R.I.P. October 17, 2009

Mother, Sister, Friend.

Photo taken: June 2008

No Subject.

2009-10-12T22:45:00.000-07:00

Kamisaurus: My current location is my biggest motivation to get ANY JOB that allows me to get out.

Facebook: Monday 10pm and I'm already counting down till I can leave this hellhole.

Daytum

2009-10-07T23:22:00.000-07:00

Neurotic meets a whole new level. Thanks Robin for getting me hooked.

http://daytum.com/Kamisaurus

10 Things about my week (so far)

2009-10-01T18:19:00.000-07:00

1. Called University Police due to a disturbance in Aztec Center
2. Stayed out late on Monday for Mexican food
3. Left class early (innocent!) to go to the Padres Vs. DODGERS game (for free!!)
4. Finished with my assigned reading last night+reading reflection+reflection discussion. Amazed.
5. Starting my work on something called a Critical Literature Synthesis (CLS), aka a Literature Review.
6. I had Chipotle for lunch today, yum yum.
7. Just got a letter from myself written in 2004 (right before I graduated from High School). The main topics/questions:
"Did you ever start drinking? I hope not."
"Have you graduated from college, or are budget cuts screwing you over?"
"I hope you've learned how to spell."
"I should have asked this first: did you get a C in Math Analysis and go onto college? I really hope you pulled through."
I included a quarter in the letter...I wonder what my motive was for sending that.
8. I now have butcher paper rolls in my workspace, students just can't be trusted anymore to be left to their own devices.
9. I found out my CLS isn't as complicated as it was first presented, whew.
10. Sllowwwwllllyyyyy catching up on the Frosty, Heidi, and Frank podcasts. It's so nice to burn them and listen in the car, but I can only fit one episode on a disc...feels wasteful.

Hello, weekend.

Recent Twitpics

2009-09-26T22:04:00.000-07:00

Twitter. Instant memory keeping.

I love using Twitpic to share photos via Twitter. Here are some recent ones:

A veggie version of the Western Bacon Cheeseburger from Veg in Out :)

Fog rolling in from the ocean as I drove to pick Alex up from the train station.

I made this perler bead turtle keychain!

It's a poptart!

This little girl snuck into my room one night as I studied

One of two Academy Awards on public display at UCI

I feel guilty about using somebody's wifi without buying something. Too bad there wasn't a plug available+I found it impossible to follow the three easy steps AT&T promises to access the internet. This is my Venti Pepsi :)

The Edible Arrangement Alex sent me on the two year anniversary of my grandfather passing away. A sweet way to let me know he cares :)

That would be Hank eating half the cream cheese off of my bagel one morning.

Thought Alex was sending me away ;/

Hank and I as moving buddies

To see the full photos (some got cut off here) check here: http://twitpic.com/photos/kamisaurus

A few things.

2009-09-21T23:36:00.000-07:00

1) I may be a J at work/in class, but I'm definitely a P at home. "The floor is the biggest shelf in my room!"

2) I'm surrounded by crafting supplies, but very little time to use them.

3) Loving Google Docs and Google Sites for group work collaboration. Should have figured this out last year!

4) I'm almost done with season 2 of Mad Men. Hope my internet speed is fast enough for me to start streaming this season.

and 5) I need to do some laundry.

Goodnight.

Alive.

2009-09-18T22:59:00.000-07:00

It's been a while.

Swamped with school.

The heat makes me cranky.

Saw Blink 182+Weezer+Taking Back Sunday+Asher Roth with Jen. Turns out we were at the same Blink 182 concert at the Long Beach Convention Center when we were in junior high...small world!

I'm working on a bunch of things at one right now. I'm staying organized by using Googledocs. My research group and I are doing a GREAT job so far, I hope we can keep up the good work.

I love Coffee Bean for having free wifi AND outlets available for customers. Take that Starbucks.

I'm looking forward to finding my 30th geocache. You can watch my progress to the right.

This weekend several Etsy.com stores are participating in a BOGO sale! Here are two of my favorites:

Hearts and Laser Beams (I've shared one of the prints here before)Archival prints are BOGO.

and JenCo13's shop . Here she has cup cozies as BOGO. I really like the Gold and Cherry Red ones. I wish there was a gray one :) I love gray.

And Fall/Autumn starts on Tuesday (or is it Monday?)

A reason to move:

Etsy

2009-09-11T00:06:00.000-07:00

Oh, how I love Etsy.

Etsy
Buy Handmade
Kamisaurus

Hello September.

2009-09-07T22:22:00.000-07:00

I can't wait for the leaves to start changing
...to break out the long sleeves
...and sweaters
...warm blankets
...to add to our HalloweenTown collection
...to add to our ChristmasTown collection
...to watch Charlie Brown specials on tv
...to make fake snowflakes
...to pick Secret Santa names with my friends
...to decorate my mini-tree (let's see how many months it'll take me to take it down this year)
...to decorate cookies
...and eat them.

I am also looking forward to this sunset Halloween Weekend:

How long has it been?

2009-08-27T19:40:00.001-07:00

Alex and I went to Seattle, WA in March for my Spring Break as a birthday gift to each other. We did the same thing last year with going to San Fransisco, CA. Where will it be this year? Hmmm.

Anyway, how long has it been since I created an honest-to-goodness layout? Spring? Goodness, it has been too long. I wanted to use my "free time" this week to do some crafting but didn't want to force it at the same time. I'm happy with the result :)

Stamping in the middle of the day.

2009-08-26T12:53:00.000-07:00

I love kraft Molekines. Here are my last two :) I need to pick up some more asap.

The lighting in my room is really super duper bad. I promise the ink is brown ;)

Day 2 back in SD

2009-08-25T21:13:00.000-07:00

It's pretty warm here in the land of perfect weather. I have tomorrow off so I'm going to enjoy a full day of shorts/tanks/flip flops. Gotta enjoy the little things in life, right?

My room is less of a mess now. I've closed the closet doors so I don't have to see how unorganized my clothes are in there. Whew, out of sight out of mind, right?

I've hung up a small bulletin board in my room. It's one of the focal points when entering the room. It has only a few things on it right now, but it feels good to have them there for some reason. I also re-filled the three clipboards I have posted above my desk. Two contain the Anthem collection from Sassafrass I won this summer. Yes, I won a line of scrapbooking supplies, how rad is that? I also displayed the embellishments from a line of paper I love called Mr. Campy from Cosmo Cricket. I can feel the little creature inside me responsible for my creative tendencies sniffing around whenever I glance up at my boards :)

I am using a hippo vase/candle holder I thrifted this weekend to hold my collection of bottle caps (interesting ones/vintage ones) and some scrabble tiles I picked up at the Rose Bowl Flea Market.

I brought my three Postsecret books into my room as a way to remind me of certian things: 1) There's hope out there, 2) somebody else has experienced the same things I am going through and lived through it 3) there is somebody out there having a worse time than I am, 4) be grateful.

I broke a glass candle holder earlier tonight. Bummer. I was upset but three holders are more than enough, right? Besides, the bigger bummer is that I will remember the image of me pulling a shard a glass out of my finger and wondering "when the heck is this going to end?!" My thumb and index finger have Batman bandaids on them right now :T

I need a new calendar for my wall. I like having the desk blotter sized one right above my monitor and right now there is only a gapping hole where a calendar should be. Maybe I will pick one up tomorrow while I am on the hunt for some lemonade.

My goal for tomorrow (before I leave for Orientation) is to watch most of the first season of Mad Men, get my desk under control, and to organize my closet. These will take hours, no doubt about it.

I'll stop now and give you some more eye candy (themed!):

Okay, I really need to stop! I am super inspired right now and really want to find the two moleskines I have around here somewhere! I think I know what ya'll are getting for xmas this year...maybe I'll open an etsy shop ;)

I'm also working on reorganizing my desk. I always feel re-energized when I move things around. I'm still working on fitting things where I want them. I have moved some DVDs and books into some storage I have in the living room, I feel so bad for them :(

Post #202

2009-08-25T08:23:00.000-07:00

That's right, two-hundred and two posts.

Here's an update since I haven't been around much ;)

1. I finished my summer internship at Cal State Fullerton a few weeks ago. I feel I really grew from the experience, I didn't expect to be able to reflect on the learning that occurred so soon.

2. I am back at Student Life & Leadership. Yesterday was a giant training day.

3. I am driving my mom's van this week. If you "Google Image" Astro Van, you'll see what that is so funny/scary.

4. I'm still in O-side (as Jen called it last night) so paying for gas will be the biggest expense for me this year. Gah.

5. I recently finished Eragon, Dead Until Dark, and am just starting Inkheart. I really need to re-organize my bookshelf, I have a huge stack of books on top that need a home. Maybe I'll give in and get bookends.

6. Frosty, Heidi, and Frank are doing daily podcasts! They have been doing dailies for about two weeks now, and it is so good to have them back in my life ;) I've been using A TON of blank CDs in order to listen to them in the car. It's like having your friends with you, no matter how many times you listen to the same hour of programming.

7. I am now a "Premium Member" of Geocaching.com, which is super because I can share my stat bar with you all here on my blog! (See below my pic). I want to get one that is on the SDSU campus today before all the students show up next week.

8. My room was a total disaster on Sunday...as in I had to vault over things to get to my bed/my door didn't open all the way/I kept losing my phone to the mess. It was like playing "lava monster" with my own belongings. It is now under more control. Most of my clothes are put away, BUT (as Nicole, Faryl, and Alex can tell you) I am horrified to report that my closet is not organized AT ALL. My usual organization goes as follows: 1. Each article is placed on a colored hanger, the color of the hanger represents how much I like the item (hot pink/orange/teal for the best, lavender/sea foam green/light blue for the not as great ones), all the hangers face into the closet, so it is easy to pull things off the rack, items are oranized first by color (white at the far right all the way to red at the far left) and second by length within their color (tank tops to the right, long sleeves to the left). Neurotic much?I will fix this atrocity on Wednesday.

9. I can't find my crop-a-dile, and that is freaking me out! It's took expensive for me to replace right away, and I'll have a hard time finding it at my local stores so I may need to upgrade (=more $$). Le sigh.

aaannndddd 10. I am hoping to use the next two weeks of "down time" to do some major scrapbooking/crafting. But that does involve me cleaning my room so I have enough room to do so ;) Wish me luck

Some eye candy:

At home with the fambam.

2009-08-20T18:27:00.001-07:00

That's right, I'm at home in LC watching The Closer with da mamas and da papas.

Babybrother asked me to help him take a few things to storage, and in return drove me to a local geocache. We found it after a few minutes, bringing my grand total to 24 finds! Pretty low but I'm having a lot of fun :)

Going to dinner with Mychelle tonight, I'm really excited! She and I rarely have one-on-one dates ;)

Day 1

2009-08-10T18:38:00.000-07:00

Here we are, my first day doing the So Cal Shop Hop. This is my second year doing it, so I'm kind of familiar with the locations of the shops I will be hitting, whew.

There are a few contests a Shop Hopper can enter, including one where you visit 16 of the 37 participating stores and take a photo out front. Now, I'm doing this on my own for the most part, so it's going to be difficult to get quality photos of myself outside so idk if I will be entering, but here are the ones I have so far :)

Scrappin' in the Hills

The Scrappin' Table

Scraparazzi

Another One :)

2009-08-08T16:33:00.001-07:00

Ants and Reflections

2009-08-07T18:14:00.000-07:00

1. I hate that summer=ants. No matter how much I spray and vacuum they keep coming!
2. Three more reflections to go. Playing around with how my portfolio will look ;)