I Wanna Rock and Roll All Night...

...or at least from, like, 8:30 to 10 p.m. And then I wanna go home and go to bed. :)

We made the trek into D.C. last night to see Stephen's brother's band, Rome in a Day. They headlined at the 9:30 Club! I have no idea why it's called the 9:30 Club. Their address is 815 so maybe they thought 9:30 sounded cooler?

It was pretty cool! Stephen's brother Adam is the drummer. They were great, I think. I don't really listen to rock very much, let alone at a volume so loud that the whole building vibrates. But I think they were good! :) They have a female guitarist/vocalist, Ali, so that's cool. She rocked.

Adam also rocked, as you can tell since he is just a big drumming blur. :) I just had my handheld camera and was trying to use the balcony railing to steady it for the shots, until I realized that the railing was vibrating. Ha ha.

I was feeling pretty cool and cute since I was out at a real club in D.C. and I'd actually gotten a little dressed up and, you know, did my hair for the first time in much, much too long. So I got snotty for a second when I looked down from the balcony and saw this:

Yes, I did it. I mocked. I thought, "Oh, nice red cowboy hat!" I did. Please remember that I'm from Oregon, and in Oregon you don't wear a cowboy hat unless you're actually a cowboy (or cowgirl), and you definitely don't wear a red cowboy hat. Unless you're trying out for Rodeo Queen. Or dressing up as a slutty sexy cowgirl for Halloween.

Before you chastise me, let me assure you that the Universe smacked me upside the head right away. Okay, Universe, I get it. I should not mock! Because in a few minutes Ms. Red Cowgirl Hat came up to the balcony, and she was packing heat:

Oh sweet Jesus, look at that lens. I would wear that hat every minute for a year if I could have a lens like that. Sweet Lord almighty. Wear whatever you want, Ms. Red Cowgirl Hat. You obviously rock.

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Today I am super excited! Katie and Oliver sent me a big box of artsy goodness last week, including a "grow your own pumpkin" kit. So we planted the seeds (in a bigger pot) and crossed our fingers.

Yay! I love when little green sprouts force themselves up into the daylight. It's so hopeful!

Today I am posting our old microwave on Craigslist. I have never posted anything on Craigslist before but Jason assures me that I'm smart and I can figure it out. I finally got all my photos printed for my mini-book so after I accomplish a few things [Hello, Mr. Vacuum, hello, Mrs. Mop, I did not forget you!] my reward will be to cut and paste and design and color and that will make me HAPPY for sure!

Have a super Saturday, y'all!

Favorite {Photo} Friday! #10

I'm working on a mini-album and so I've been scouring all my photos looking for what I want to include. When I came upon this one I laughed and knew it was today's Favorite {Photo} Friday!


We were in Salzburg, Austria in December 2006 for the Christmas markets--oh how I love European Christmas markets! We went into a little square because I saw booths set up, but it turned out it was all "antiques" and nothing I was interested in. Of course Jason was more than anxious to leave the square and get me as far away from purchasable junk as possible :), but I saw this silhouette and got an idea and made Jason play photographer. I made the photo (except me) black and white because the background was really distracting but I still like my red hair poking out under my hat. I really love how he posed me so that my feet match theirs! I also love photos that show my playful, silly side because that is usually Jason's role and I'm usually the one taking photos, so it's rare that I get this type of photo of me. :) I love it! :)

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Thanks to everyone who sent me e-mails and posted comments about my supermodel/transvestite rant post yesterday. :) Y'all are so sweet! I want to assure you that I--in no way--think that I'm fat. I was just amazed to have this smack-me-in-the-face realization yesterday. I saw this woman with the most beautiful body in a bikini on TV, and since I'm already packing for our little trip to the shore next week, I thought, "Ugh, I wish I looked that good in a bikini!" And then I found out that the beautiful woman in the bikini had been born a man. I thought she was a supermodel, but no, she just had a Y chromosome. Holy crap!

It makes me sad that the women who are supposedly the "beauty standard," who so many of us compare ourselves and our hips and love handles and our upper thighs to as we are trying on bikinis, look exactly like women who were born men. Hello?!?!?

It makes me sad that I can look back at a photo of myself from ten years ago and think, "Oh, I was so thin!" and know without a doubt in my mind that ten years ago I wanted to lose five pounds (it didn't help that ten years ago I lived in Vegas and at a size 6/8 I was 2-3 sizes bigger than most of my friends!). I know that I should either be happy with myself now or work to change it, but we all know that's easier said than done, right? [Sigh.] I'm working on it, really! :)

It also makes me sad that if I tell other women that I'd like to lose a little weight, the responses I get are almost entirely dependent upon the size of the woman I tell, whether or not they've had children, and their age. In other words, their response to me is based almost entirely upon their own battle with weight. The chance of my hearing a supportive comment is about 10-20%. Why don't we women support each other more?

Several years ago I'd heard so many discouraging comments that I decided I wouldn't utter them to another woman in the same situation. I want all my friends to be healthy! I want all my friends to feel great about themselves! If someone tells me they'd like to lose weight I try to say, "Oh, that's great! Being healthier is a great goal!" or "I think you look great but it's always good to make sure you're as healthy as possible," or "That's great! Is there anything I can do to help encourage your healthy habits?" or if I already think they are too thin I might say, "Why do you feel that way?"

Let's focus on the healthiness. I would like to be healthier. I would like to be stronger. I would like to be able to wear a bunch of clothes hanging in my closet that are just a little bit too tight right now. And let's just get down to it, shall we? I'd like to look really amazing naked.

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Tonight we're going to see our friend Stephen's brother's band, Rome In a Day. They're headlining! Sweet!

This weekend:

I'm finishing a mini-book I've been working on to submit for Cynthia's Design Call. I really want to be a Leading Lady!

Also: I still really need to vacuum. I mean, really really really. No excuses!

A bunch of things hanging over my head and heart and To Do list are getting DONE. That's GONE with a D. For real.

I am collecting approximately ten times more books than I will actually be able to read in our four days at the shore. Yay! If you have any recommendations of fabulous books, please let me know ASAP.

Okay, I now have 13.4 minutes to get ready to go to the concert and that needs to include a shower. Have a great weekend, everyone! :)

Today...

I'm making two kinds of "bread" to give to friends and Jason's office, including a new variety I just made up. We'll see how they like the lemon! ["Bread" means c'mon, we all know it's cake in loaf form. But I've had rave reviews so far!]

I burned my left index finger on the oven rack while making the bread.

I am very happy that my kitchen is clean again after I made a huge mess making bread considering that the kitchen is the only clean room in my house.

I am super bummed that a ton of my photos I want to scrapbook include someone I don't much want to remember or look at or acknowledge in any other way at the moment. This has put me in a photo-printing standstill, which has also put me at a creating standstill. Boooooooo! This must be solved pronto. It pisses me off that she is affecting my creativity. It pisses me off that she is making me reconsider the way I take group photos. It just pisses me off.

I met with my friend Teri to see some new Close To My Heart product! Her three boys love me (of course, ha ha!) and they are sooooooo cute. I can't wait for Teri and Jim to go see a movie so I can hang with the boys and catch some bugs and appaud their handstands and run through some flashcards together!

I am going to the Chiropractor and scheduling an appt. with my doctor because the two smallest fingers on my left hand are still numb (going on five-six weeks).

I really need to vacuum. I mean, really.

I got a sweet e-mail from Daniele. He said that I seem to understand what happened in his race better than his coach does. Ha ha, sweet! :) Also that he has no time for anything because he is much too busy sleeping and partying, but when he gets back home he will send me some more photos. :) Oh, Dani, I love you! So funny. :) Have fun at the Olympic Village. :)

I watched my DVR'ed Project Runway and Shear Genius. Re: Project Runway: this season is booooh-ring. Project Runway has always been good because of the nasty people and the divas and the flamboyant gays (which sometimes is all the same person) and all the drama that ensues. So luckily I can get that all the very next hour on Shear Genius! I am really bummed that Paolo was kicked off this week. He might not have been the best hairdresser but I adore him, especially after he cried about the alopecia clients and rose above to make his client a beautiful wig. I {heart} big melty hearts!

I printed all my new class documents for my BPS classes. Yay!

I am bummed that I didn't learn more about photography when I was living in Europe, but trying to be happy that I'm learning it now rather than later.

I still have forty-eleven things weighing on my heart and mind and To Do list.

I'm going to the shore next week with friends (hi Kerry!). I will be in a swimsuit in front of people I know and my willpower is nowhere in sight. [Siiiiiiiiiiiiiigh.] And neither is a tan.

I am deeply and seriously contemplating the fact that transvestites in bikinis (on Kathy Griffin's My Life on the D List, which I "watched" while making bread) look EXACTLY like supermodels in bikinis. Why do I so many women feel like I they should look like a supermodel again, please? Will someone explain this? Supermodels look like transvestites for Pete's sake! Where are the real women? OH, here we are. Not on television. Not in the movies. Not in magazines. In dressing rooms trying on four thousand swimsuits in bad lighting or at home feeling bad about ourselves. WHAT CRAP!

[I am TRYING to not be this person. I HAVE HIPS AND CURVES AND I am trying to LOVE THEM.]

I am faking it 'til I make it, Baby. :)

I am a little bit fired up and I'm fine with that.

I am about to craft my ass off, pictures or no pictures. Sometimes all it takes is a little fire-up, baby! Woop-woop, let's go!

So Proud

When you're going for the gold--literally--you have to be willing to take risks. You have to be willing to put it all on the line, to go balls-to-the-wall, to give it everything you've got.

In the qualifying runs yesterday Dani [Daniele Molmenti] ranked 3rd overall. So when it came to the semifinals today, he knew that if he wanted to medal he had to give it all he had. And he qualified for the finals! But he received a 2-second penalty for (barely) touching one of the gates, so instead of having the third-fastest time in the semi-finals, he went into the finals ranked eighth.

The times from the semi-finals and the finals are combined for the overall time; so his 2-second penalty in the semis meant that he had to make up for it in his final race. And he went balls-to-the-wall for sure! The online commentator said "Molmenti is a human rocket!" His split time was faster than the fastest person at the time (Benjamin BOUKPETI from Togo, who received the Bronze). Jason and I were watching online and our hearts were beating so fast that it almost hurt!

And then, suddenly, his kayak hit "shitty [bad] water," and slipped him out of place and he didn't have time to correct his course; he missed a gate. A 50-second penalty; when ranks are decided by hundredths of a second, this is death.

The look on his face was pure shock--"What the hell just happened? How did that just happen?" He finished the course slowly, the shock sinking in.

Maybe he could have taken less chances; if he had gone a little slower he might have made the gate. But that wouldn't have been Daniele. He calls his kayak The Bull and he rides it full-out. He wasn't there to play it safe; he was there to go for it.

In typical Daniele style he's bounced right back. In an e-mail he wrote to us this morning he said that he's fought so hard for a medal but it's not yet time for him to have it; he hopes we felt good and were excited to see him race [DUH!]. :) He said that his sport is like life, good times and bad times; "it's important to stand up when you hit the ground, and you know I always stand up!"

Dani, I am so proud of you for going full-tilt. I am so, so proud of you that I can hardly stand it. I am inspired by you to live a life more full-tilt than I have been. And I promise we will be there for London 2012. :) Tanti baci & abbracci, carissimo mio! Have fun in China and we will see you soon! We love you!

Go Dani, Go Dani, Go Go Go Dani!

Daniele Molmenti placed third in the qualifying men's K-1 slalom today, so he's advancing to the semifinals! Semifinals start tomorrow morning (Eastern time) at 3:40 a.m. and Finals are at 5:17 a.m. (I'm not making that up, the schedule says 5:17!) They'll be shown online and I will be jumping up and down in front of the computer. I hope I'll be able to sleep a little before I have to get up!

Awwwwww Yeah, Baby!

We went to the County Fair today. Welcome to the South! Sweet Tea, barbecue, and these:


No, I didn't try them. Yikes!

Besides, this was much sweeter!


My photo of Florence won first place in the Architecture category, Boo-yeah, baby!

And, check it out!


Also won first prize for my Avon Walk handmade book! I didn't get a photo but I also won first prize for a pair of earrings I entered! Yippee! I won a few other ribbons for second and third places, too. Pretty good considering I didn't even think about entering until the day before!

AND, I won a whopping huge total of $31 for my various prizes. I'm currently plotting how I'm going to spend it all, ha ha! :) It was fun to enter and I'm glad I won a few things. I also got a good handle on how they judge things so I will be even better next year (ha ha!).

I know it's just a silly county fair, but I'm pretty proud that I won first prizes in three different categories--photography, jewelry, and papercrafts. I bet I'm the only person who did that! :)

I don't know if I am getting higher standards or if fair food is lowering its standards, but I arrived at the fair very excited to eat some very-bad-for-me-but-very-good-tasting-food. The options were so poor that we actually decided to forgo all options and grill out at home instead. Seriously. What is that about? Booo, sad! I stood looking at the various booths and thought, "If I'm going to eat this many calories I'd rather eat a Crunchwrap Supreme at Taco Bell instead." And that is a very sad state of affairs, let me tell you. Fair food has held a major place in my heart mind gut for more years than I can count. [Siiiiiiigh.]

Once my sister sends me photos of the reigning King and Queen (not to mention the True Princess!) of Aurora Colony Days I will post them here. Hint, hint, TJ!!!!

This Makes Me a Princess, Right?

My parents are the King and Queen of Aurora Colony Days today in my home town!


A photographer came out from the paper last week so they're front page news today! Don't they look thrilled? Ha ha. :) My sister is there this weekend and I've given her strict instructions to take photos of them in their reigning glory today. My niece (who will be three next week) has decided that since they are King and Queen, that makes her a "True Princess." So I'm sure she's having fun today, charming everyone and acting very much like a "true princess." [I wonder if she'll be unable to sleep tonight because of a pea under her mattress? :)]

My mom laughs it off and says that it was inevitable that they eventually were chosen as King and Queen because it's a small town, but the truth is that they really do a lot for Aurora (and have for many years!). So, Mom and Dad, enjoy your day as royalty! I wish I could be there!