365.2014 - week 13

365.2014 - week 5

december - instagram lookback

i figured i may as well get the final december related post (other than christmas gift related) done today.  well, let's back track a second.  happy new years day everyone!  today i officially determine whether i start another 365 project or not.  i guess i have 15 more hours at this point to determine that...  but anyways, here's to rounding off 2013 in one final post and kicking off 2014 strong.  hit the year running (or blogging) strong.
so now back to december. in a month's time, i finished the semester will all As, completed my catvent quilt top, and worked.  has a few social affairs (i think?) and did some pretty hefty shopping with my business account.  in that same month, i knccked out a large wedding present, started my yearly room cleaning overhaul, and celebrated  the holiday with the family.  pretty eventful, if i do say so myself.  and here are the instagram snippets that i have to go with it all.  i had a hard time chopping it down to the usual 9, so i upped this time around, and made it 16.  wowza.  i went crazy with this one!
- december 2nd was erika's 25th birthday, and so i met up with her, matt & a few of her friends at benihana's for some food deliciousness.  yeah, it was pricey, but it was GOOD.  and it was so much fun welcoming in erika to the super awesome "ugh, are we really 25?" club...  and i did it the same way i've been doing it since high school.  a birthday card & a bag of peanut butter m&ms.  some things will never change :)
- steve & i went to del oro together, but didn't really get to know each other until the sierra college years.  i graduated from sac state in may of 2011 & he started that fall.  we've done a lot of photography stuff here and there, and so when he asked if i would help him out with his senior portfolio i was game.  he was doing wet plate glass negatives, which i had never seen done before.  i may have drooled a little over his bathroom darkroom set up, and how cool the process was.  ugh.  i really want to shoot some film now.  or my holga.  or lots of both.  one of the negatives turned out super sharp, and i cannot wait to see the final product!
- i broke my sunglasses that i've had forever...  i bought these after i lost my blue & green ones in 2009... yeah, i managed to keep cheap sunglasses for that long.  funny enough, these were the same sunglasses that "emily other" had at sac state with me, so it was very fitting to call them the emily glasses.  alas, i snapped them by accident and had to retire them to the trash can.  forever immortalized on instagram now.
- finals week.  signed, sealed, delivered.  all As for the first time in forever, and boy did it feel good.  now let's hope i can pull that off next semester when i have a full 12 units, half of that being online classes... ugh.
- when we moved to loomis in 1999, my grandma myrna bought me a roll of address labels.  it wasn't until sending out amy's invitations that i FINALLY ran out of them.  clearly i wasn't sending enough snail mail.  it will be sad to no longer see these little ladybugs next to my name on return labels, but i guess that means i can finally move out.  haha.
- every year, my grandma gets us an ornament for the christmas tree from hallmark.  of course, this was my choice for the year.  well, it was between this and a buss lightyear one that made noise.  but i have one from a few years ago that was buzz & the rc car, so i had to shake it up a little bit this time around.
- half as a joke, i got my dad a calendar of his cat.  we've been taking the pictures the past few years just for entertainment, but finally got around to making the calender we always talked about. each month is "themed" for the holiday that associates with it.  i.e. january is a "new years" buzz cat, april has an "easter bunny" buzz, october has buzz wearing a witch hat, and so on.  it was very entertaining to put together and see in finished form.
- giant stack of invites!  so far, only one got returned... and that was because i forgot to put a stamp on it.  so now the party planning can officially begin once we start getting RSVPs for amy's wedding bash.  super fun!
- oh sleepy mushu.  i couldn't not include this picture.
- our cookie making has been slow, but at least they taste the same no matter whether they are made before or after christmas.  we had a tube of premade dough that i blobbed in to sugar cookie balls... and a doughman.  because it wasn't cold enough to roll out and cut into pigs.
- granted, i didn't become a cheesy youtube star with these, but we got our annual christmas pjs.  mine had cameras all over them, which i helped pick out at the start of the year.  so comfy and warm, as usual.
- we saw frozen this year, and it was super cute.  lots of music like disney movies used to be, and a good story line.  would totally see it again... and again... and i can see why there are loads of people doing so.
- my dad has talked about farrells over the years, and now that there is one back in sacramento, we decided to go there for josh/carol's birthday & early new years tradition celebration.  i have to say, the ambiance of the place was very fun & lively, but the ice cream was sub par.  joshua got sung a birthday version of the space jam song, which proved to be entertaining.  it was fun, that's for certain.  i wish i could have kept that cup though.  that was pretty cool.
- yessss.  this did happen.  i have been saving pennies over the years in my business account, not spending any more than neccesary and was finally able to make this hefty of a purchase.  finally going full frame, which i am certain will do wonders for my photography.  i am super excited to start shooting with this camera (just bought it monday night) and see what it has in store for me & my business... which basically means it is back to saving pennies until i can get some new lenses :)
- the second movie in pretty much a week's span.  i could get used to this.  we went and saw catching fire, and it was pretty good.  i couldn't remember much of what parts this book covered, but it was absolutely worth it.  it should be interesting to see the third part when that comes out.  i would reccomend it if you haven't seen it, but know the story line and such.  ugh.  so many other movies i want to see that are out right now too.  gah!
- and lastly, we headed to leatherby's last night after the movie.  well, because it wouldn't be new years without ice cream.
in conjunction with instagram photos, here are a few photos from our "daycation" to mysterious areas in the san jose/santa cruz area.  we started the day off with the winchster mystery house tour in san jose.  the house was crazy huge, and it was interesting to hear all the stories behind it, the construction, and everything.  there was this GIANT set of drawers that the guide said she used to store fabric... and boy, was i envious of those.  unfortunately, there is a movie being filmed in the house right now, so we weren't allowed to take any photos.  because i'll have you know i would have taken quite a few.
after the tour & lunch at chipotle (shocker) we headed to santa cruz to the mystery spot.  this was a much shorter tour, since it consisted mainly of bad jokes & the crooked, yet level, cabin.  regardless, it was still interesting and worth it.
and there you officially have it for december, and 2013 as whole.
let 2014 begin!

disneyland - november 2013

oh right... i mentioned last post that i would post all the other pictures "next week"...  well, i intended to do this much sooner than now, but it is still within the week, right?  yeah, well here goes!
we drove down saturday morning, leaving san leandro around 6:45am, so we got to our hotel and checked in around 2 something, and then were in the parks by 3.  we headed straight for cars land, hoping for a fast pass to radiator springs, but they were all out for the day.  first ride we hit up was the mater's tractor pull.  cutest little short wait ride in the park for sure.  and it's actually fun (unlike the tire ride... erika and i found that one dull back in may)
hit up toy story mania, because that ride is awesome.  jenny beat me, but not by much!  so hah. here is my ever present feat of this trip.  never ever have i gone on an upside down roller coaster, and leading up to this trip i told myself "i'm 25 now... let's get this over with" and that, plus a 10 minute (probably less) ride wait, and that can now be crossed off my bucket list.  it freaked me out a bit, but i survived.  and i may consider doing it again.  but nothing more than this one loop as of right now.  anything more is a little too intense to even begin to think about!
a few years back (like not long after graduating high school) i bought this mickey mouse sweatshirt from hot topic.  turns out, at some point after that jenny bought the same one not knowing i had it.  well, they had to make an appearance on this trip, so after a failed attempt to eat at the rainforest cafe, we donned our sweatshirts and headed in to disneyland for the remainder of the evening.
this blog post brought to you by the number "5"
a jaunt back to our hotel, and then we settled in for the night.  alarms went off at 9 am, and then it was back to the fun.  ran and got our fast passes for radiator springs, and hit up some character spots in california adventure.  unintentionally, quite a few characters.  it was like we found there secret hiding place.
so obviously, i had to make sure i got this picture... and i did. hazah!
if i didn't admit to myself about how i buy mickey ears and then never wear them again, i probably would have bought these as my souvenir this trip. but i resisted the urge, telling myself about my super awesome toy story mickey ears that i already have waiting for me at home. and it worked. so he headed over to hollywood area to look for a character or two... and KABLAM we found a bunch. probably could have spent hours there just rotating through random character appearances. the onlyone we didn't get that was out while we were there were the mary poppins penguins. we weren't quick enough for them.
so i guess we were surfing?? i clearly didn't get the memo on that one
jenny was trying to speak raccoon, but i had to translate for her. when it was finally understood that he was asking what she was celebrating, she got the good ol' thumbs up from mr. raccoon
as far as getting to do all the rides we wanted to, we got lucky and got everything in over the course of a day and a half... of course with the exception of thunder mountain railway, which is STILL closed.  grrr.  hopefully all the renovations means it will be up and running again next time i'm there.  i miss that rickety roller coaster.  as far as all the other "taken on the ride" photos, those are all on my phone.  perhaps i will post them in the instagram post for november, just so they get seen in all their entertaining glory.  and so disneyland can be stretched out for just one more post.  :)
so this was one non-disneyland stop i made sure had to happen.  and was basically my only souvenir purchase.  and a delicious souvenir it was.  i LOVE the show ace of cakes (so sad it no longer airs) and when duff started a west coast bakery plus this little cake mix studio, i knew i wanted to go.  originally i wanted to do the whole sit down and decorate your own cupcakes shabang, but with not knowing what traffic was going to be like on the way home, bought 8 cupcakes (i shared with my family, don't you worry) and jenny bought a whoopie pie.  they were delicious, and made a fantastic week of desserts for me.
the trip was a nice break from reality, and well worth the get away.  it now tops the list as my longest drive ever...  boy am i glad i have my rav4 now.  my corolla would never have made it!  alas, now it is still back to the continued reality of school, work, and more work.  and crafting!  at least there is a little bit of goodness in there.  gotta get ready for these holidays that are sneaking up on us.  ack!

october - instagram lookback

hello again, my not so massive blog following!  it's that time again for a little instagram look back of the month!  october was pretty action packed each and every weekend, that's for sure. and for the first few weeks, november isn't going to be less crazy.  awesome, but not less crazy.  woo hoo birthday month!  and funny thing, this month's instagram post is generally a collection of weekends for each row.  here we go!
- right away, the first weekend kicked off with a portrait session in old sacramento.  a few of my cousins made their way up from the bay area to get some photos with their boys and it made for a fun morning!  the day was followed up with a bridal consult, adventures with jenny, bridesmaid dress trying/ordering and some pre-bridal shower crafting.  all in all, very busy very productive day for sure.
-betsy was celebrated.  jenny rented out a tea house out in auburn, and even though i'm not a tea enthusiast, i can say it was the perfect place for betsy.  classy, elegant and fun.  this was the banner we made the day before, and she asked if she could use it at the wedding.  so sweet.  she was so genuine and stinkin' adorable all day, and i cannot wait to celebrate with her on her wedding day JUST TWO DAYS AWAY!!!
- following the bridal shower, i jammed home, changed out of my tea party best to head on down to gmas house to celebrate october/november birthdays (november because i'm a loner)...  in particular for october, kent who was there on his birthday.  lisa was in town for her friend jenny's wedding and we made the best of it.  lorelai and i got in some good swing time in the back yard, and had some cupcakes.  i didn't have any instagrams from the day i went to hang out in modesto, but it was equally as fun, with some hardcore fabric shopping thrown in.
- the following weekend i crashed at jenny's so i could be halfway to santa cruz to second shoot a wedding that saturday.  while i was out shooting, jenny bought muffins at costco, and sunday morning i pulled this one out, which happened to be smiling at me.  oh so cute... so i ate it.  and it was delish
- we headed out to the city and got our tourist on.  thanks to the bart strike, we had to drive in and endured the crazy traffic just to get through the stupid toll booth.  we parked near the westfield mall area and walked ourselves down to pier 39 in traditional style.  ate lunch at the wipeout place right at the entrance to pier 39 (they had good pizza, fyi) and then wandered around.  the view to alcatraz was pretty clear, which was impressive considering all the fog we were seeing elsewhere.  overall, a pretty worthwhile weekend.
- the next day, it was time for a family portrait session with my bride & groom from last september.  they've added an adorable little girl to their family and of course i couldn't say no!  the weather was fantastic, and the evening went great.  those will show up on the freeze frame blog once i get more sneak peeks going :)
- yeah, school is still chugging along pretty hard.  it was right around midterm time, which meant i had a few different tests going on all within the same week.  chaotic, but so glad for take home tests.  has definitely made the transition back in to school a whole lot easier after two years out of the groove.  yes, i am still enjoying my classes...  i've had to map out the next few semesters for one of my classes, so now i have a clearer vision of what is ahead for me.  i'm sure there will be more on that chaos later.
- i attended my first murder mystery dinner this month... and i was assigned the killer!  i killed jenny on the first round though...  sorry jenny.  i was a little unclear on the rules, but i could have killed a few more people without even knowing it.  it was a whole lot of fun, and i'm so glad melissa has invited me to these fun events.  since i totally slacked at doing a blog post on just that, here are a few photos from the evening.  some swiped from melissa because i didn't get a whole group photo on my camera :(
let's see if i can name what everyone is...
queen of hearts, alice in wonderland, the prince of persia princess, dick tracy, consuelo, walt (breaking bad), van gogh, zombie survivor, wonder woman, minnie mouse, zombie (warm bodies gender swapped) pikmin, green lantern, another something pikmin, sexy gandalf, dr. who... and yeah, don't know what that last one is...
- yep.  it came around to being that time of life again.  it was time for a change, and so i had chris' sister jolee do the hair chopping deed for me.  with a few pinterest photos for inspiration, 8" was chopped and is waiting for me to find the address to mail in to donate.  i will totally be going back to her for all my hair needs... and you should too.  just sayin' you should check her out on facebook & yelp.  she's awesome.  and i totally should have posted the picture from the day she cut my hair, but i don't think it's on my computer right now... with all the stuff coming up these next few weekends, there will be plenty of updated photos.  i'm sure of it.  for now, you can enjoy some fake trick or treating, starring myself & aileen, sneak attack by mushu.  originally dad was just going to fake give her candy, but then we pointed out he was the one with a pocket full of whoppers.  happy day after halloween y'all :)

july - instagram lookback

as quickly as july rolled in, i feel it rolled right away.  some for good reason, some for bad.  i'd much rather prefer to focus on the happy while it was there, instead of what isn't anymore.
- new car!  you saw the tow truck snap shot from june, and two things happened.  the corolla got fixed (and is in the process of getting listed to sell.  just photographed it last night.  hoping to craigslist it soon) and i got a car that is much more suited to my needs.  sure, the corolla served me well, but this 2001 rav4 is where it's at.  we went out on the 4th of july, got tired after one car lot, and then went back to look at cars online.  we found first a 2000 rav4 i thought was okay, and then this one was in folsom and i did commit to saying i liked how it looked (yes.  a real emotional response) so we went and ate dinner, then went to the dealer to check it out.  test drove it, i liked it, done.  got my grandparental loan agreement the next day, and then saturday it was mine!  so far, it's been fantastic.  i feel like with the corolla i settled because it was in budget, and was decent, but i feel like this car will serve me well.  for a long time :)
oh.  and the pen was the expensive part.  the car came free with it.  at least that's what was decided to tell everyone ;)
- for the music camp up at donner mine this year, my mom got the idea to do a quilt raffle to raise money for the camp.  so in a matter of days, i busted out two quilts, front & back, and then had them quilted by my grandma.  binding on, and sent on their way, each week of camp got a quilt to be raffled off.  sure, it was a lot of last minute work, but i'm pretty happy with how they turned out.
- oh financial aid, you are the bane of my existence.  i took in a whole bunch of paperwork to get the "red flags" cleared off my page... but yet there are still there. all i want to do is get everything good to go so i can move forward, but apparently there would be no fun in that at all!  ugh.
- this panda express fortune cookie slip was very relevant that day... but i can't remember why.  haha.  back to school maybe?  i don't know.
- in preperation for the costume party i shared a picture of, i made this little gem completely out of duct tape sheets.  i wasn't sure if he would actually wear a super hero themed shirt more than once, so it's a red shirt, duct tape flash logo, and i eventually sewed the gray sleeves on to the shirt so it wasn't a complete layer overheating fest.
- state fair day 1 complete.  performed, sweated to death, and called it good.  so tiring.  if it wasn't for our studio performing, i would avoid the fair for sure.  $10 turkey legs?  no thanks.
- state fair day 2.  oh that face of his.  i have no words.  totally forgot to share the luke head instagram in this mix... but there is a good collection of luke faces on my facebook.  haha.  amy seemed to love it.
- state fair day 3.  final day, and boy am i glad i just went, did what i had to do, and then left.  it was just WAY too hot.  my feel feel like they melted in to the pavement.  what fun is walking on asphalt in july in flip flops?  yeah, it's not.
- after the crazy week, it was time for the week 2 camp photo at donner mine.  i thought i was going to be unable to do it this year, but everything got shifted around and i made it up there with my dad.  standing on a ladder on a hill, super exciting.  for sure.
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on a side not instagrammed note, yes it's true.
i did switch jobs yet again this year.  luckily, it wasn't because i was laid off from one as seasonal and had to start looking.  it was totally unexpected since i applied on a whim one night, and after a lot of stress, hopefully worth it.
i went from working at a smaller child care facility in folsom to one that is much closer to home (and crazier as far as number of kids.  haha) in rocklin.  so far, it has appeared to blend nicely with what my school & work schedule will be like for the upcoming semester, and it's a free gym membership that i'll actually use.  or not feel guilty about not using, since it is free.  win/win situation for sure.
next up:  room overhaul, car selling, and maybe some ebay listing to hopefully lead to (and fund) moving on up & out on my own.  real world, here i hope to come ;)

june - instagram lookback

well there goes my somewhat decent blogging steak.  june was a little crazy to say the least.  i picked up quite a few extra hours at the play center, plus had recital rehearsals here, there & everywhere.  was a total slacker at going to the gym as well...  hopefully july will be better?  fingers crossed.
- had to kick it off with what my calendar looked like on the first of june.  add in a dentist appointment, and that calendar pretty much stayed accurate to how much extra time i was heading out to folsom.  usually, i'm only there friday, saturday & monday night if that gives you a clue.  haha
- with recital time comes trying to figure out props & costumes.  last time we did one of the dances, we were at the old location we used and somehow assembled one of the mini backdrops a different way.  so bryan was enlisted to come up with some sort of sketch to figure out how to assemble it.  and once he drew it out, lots of arrows also got drawn.
- i finished a quilt, took pictures of it, but never blogged it.  or sewed anything else since that.  thanks crazy june... all i really wanted to do is sleep, if you couldn't tell.  hopefully that will be blogged in the next week or so.
- rehearsals.  massive "cups" circle practicing for the senior dance.  if you haven't seen pitch perfect... you should.
- father's day came and went.  i got that book for both bryan & my dad.  last year jenny got the "vader & son" version for hers, and when a fellow photographer posted this year's girly version i jumped on amazon that moment & bought two.  very cute little cartoony picture book.
- also on father's day was the long awaited fall out boy concert... something else i failed to blog about.  erika and i headed out to oakland for the show, and it was well worth the wait.  the opening act wasn't too bad (new politics) but when fall out boy hit the stage, all was right in the world again.  okay, maybe a little dramatic, but it was great to feel like they had never been gone for all those years.  fantastic mix of the old music along with their new album.  and i can't wait for more to come :)
- this year at recital, my class was gifted a new level of achievement within our dance studio.  all of us got labeled "dance elite super seniors" since there was really no higher level of dance like there is for gym team.  each star represents an achievement through kids r it (andrea got all 7).  here's to the first 21 years... and to however many more to come.
- last wednesday i didn't have to work either job or have my dance class, so when bryan threw out the idea of going with him to carson city, nevada for a work meeting i said okay.  well, the meeting was only supposed to be half an hour (ended up being three times that) but it was fun to just get away for awhile.  even if it meant 4ish hours in a car, nevada heat, and dealing with bryan.  okay, maybe the last part wasn't the worst ;)  we wandered through the peppermill, just because we couldn't come up with anything else to do in nevada while we were there  super exciting place for a couple who doesn't gamble.  the swimming pools looked pretty awesome though!
- oh car...  i thought we were friends.  it started to overheat wednesday when i got home from nevada, and then thursday morning i filled up everything engine fluid wise.  drove to work, and it started to over heat still.  got ALMOST home, and it died on me.  luckily, 4 burly men were driving by at that time and pushed me out of the road.  thermostat got replaced, and then when i drove it again on saturday, still overheating.  AAA to the rescue...  josh looked at it, and apparently a fan isn't turning, and there may be a crack in the radiator.  awesome.  looks like some car fixing/shopping is in my future sooner than i hoped.

may - instagram lookback

with the 100º weather this weekend, i'm already missing may.  but with how my calendar is looking already for this month, i'm sure june will fly by.  and hopefully be mostly indoors.  i'm SO not a fan of hot weather!  but enough about things that have yet to happen... let's take a look back at the month of may, shall we?
- for this year's dance recital, we have a very simaler costume to a dance we did last year.  so with that, i decided i would see if my old junior prom dress still fit... and it does.  holla!  only problem was that the sleeves were a little restricting, so i took those babies off and we've now made it a ribbon strap.  and lucky ben gets to match wearing pink.
- token fortune cookie for the month i guess.  unexpected situations... like the random choice to go back to school?  hmm... perhaps :)
- i photographed a house for one of the loomis building inspectors out in folsom mid month of may.  and MAN was the view amazing.  i could totally live with that being what i see from my back yard.  i still have to go back and do a few more detail shots of rooms when they're finished completely, so that's something to look forward to.
- ah yes, the great chaperon trip.  forever and a day on a school bus, but the end result was well worth it.  though, our knight didn't win this time around...  what a bummer.
- disneyland was awesome.  mine was the "woody face" ticket.
- mickey mouse pretzels are awesome.  and of course, the non instagram full disneyland post.
- mushu... what a cat.  a few of them have been incredibly attention needy some days, and of course, mushu was having an "i'm so cute" night flopping around on my bed.  until i shoved him to one side.  seriously.  he takes up way too much bed space.
- with going back to school, i also decided to do another "go back" this month, and resign up for calfamfitness again...  it was just an added bonus that there was a sierra college discount.  like it was meant to be.  i've got a general idea of how things are going to happen when school actually starts, but for right now it's very hit and miss since i've signed on for a lot of picked up shifts.  bryan generally plays basketball on tuesday & thursday nights, so i've taken those as my "for sure" opportunity to hit the gym and spy on him while he plays.
- my "other boyfriend" gave me a flower last thursday.  well, at least bits of one.  my little man santino from the dance studio came in, fist clenched tight and left me that little potpourri collection on my table.  that little guy cracks me up.  definitely keeps me entertained for sure!
we also kicked off the end of school for some at melissa's grad party.  complete with a bounce house.  of all the photos taken that night, these two have come out my favorite.  of course, the one on the left because we generally look normal.  and the one on the right.... well, i feel it's very "us".
and yeah, there was a whole lot of stripes going on that night.  not even to mention the three guys who all showed up in the same color scheme of plaid shirts.  we also played a game called "quelf" which we gradually gave up on because it was taking FOREVER to get around the game board with 11 or so people playing.  entertaining game, but totally for a smaller group of people.  :)

april - instagram lookback

oh april.  you came, you did your thang, and now you are gone.  funny thing how months do that.  well, as far as the instagram summary, here goes.
- i cut, sewed & completed a quilt top in a day for my cousin (for his college roommate).  pretty impressive.  this all happened generally while watching big fish.  no complaints there.  sent it away to be quilted, and it was a fantastic feat.  love the bright colors for sure.
- i worked until 230, then a senior session at 6. b had the day off, and said he wanted to go to goodwill to look for silverware... or something useful like that.  did we come back home with silverware?  no.  instead there were nerf guns & darts a plenty.  after the senior session, i headed back over, with a gun borrowed from my brother to arrive armed just in case...  and it worked perfectly, since i ambushed him mid arena battle with his friend tim.  mwa haa haa.
- we also ventured out to the local mongolian bbq place in auburn to give it a shot.  it wasn't too bad, but i still prefer the place in roseville over this small cramped one.  they did have vanilla soft serve with chocolate sprinkles...  but that was my fortune for the night... hm.  could it be that unexpected match.com relationship it's speaking of?  i guess only time will tell.
- my mom spy cam-med me while i was working on my display boards, and facebook messaged it to bryan. which became the downward spiral of him thinking he is hilarious and getting me to think i had just poisoned my lungs with putty dust.  like, drinking a tablespoon of vinegar have my mom check my throat for spots convinced.  he did all this while sitting eating lunch at round table down the road.  ugh...
- the first sunday in april i had sat down and cut out 5 or so stash buster quilt tops, and once i sent the non-stashbuster off to be quilted, i finally felt the desire to sit down and sew one from my stack.  which actually turned in to two small ones, plus a third from a different fabric set.  stay tuned for those in the coming weeks.
- more dart guns...  seriously.  he needs help.  he came home that day with a few more guns, a battle ax & one hulk hand.  and then we ended up at target to return magic card decks & left there with two "clips" of darts for his guns.  seriously, i'm dating a giant nerd.  we've devised a "tic-tac-toe" style decision making game.  hopefully it will be more entertaining than the basic coin flip should it have to actually be used in the future.
- last wednesday he came over to help put the finishing touches on the bridal show display.  we bought these latch things (that i can best describe as public bathroom door locks) to hold the boards together to lay flat front to back.  everything was completed that day, full of frustration trying to figure out how to stand it up by myself without breaking something...  and recharging the drill battery a million times was fun.
- sunday was the big day...  and everything went together pretty well!  only one slip up by forgetting to put the back pin in the cross bar before standing the first two up, but other than that, everything was fantastic.  i love how it turned out, and couldn't have asked for any better.  i talked to a decent amount of brides and seemed to get a pretty good response of weddings lacking their photographers.  fingers crossed!
- now that the bridal show was over, it was finally time to sit down and sew on some binding.  as usual with most sewing projects, there was help...  mushu tends to sit on the floor RIGHT by the presser foot of my machine.  this time, velcro decided he was going to be helpful by laying right on the blanket.  this time, it was mostly pin-less... but that wouldn't have stopped him either.

day 26:30 - 30 day challenge

day 26: picture of your family
i really need to invest in a scanner.
this would have been much more entertaining with some of the pictures we have on our walls...
siblings (because i can't find a full family photo on any of the computers)
cousins: mom's side (december 2012)
extended family: dad's side (2005 family reunion. pre weddings & additional kidlets)
this next comparison cracks me up.
cousins: dad's side (still 2005.  still yosemite)
i love how the girls are all so close together and well... "family like".
and the boys are very much... not.  and desmond is a little chunk that was stuck in a hole to stay still.
in total, as of 2013, i have the following on both sides of my family:
2 parents (shocking how that works, right?)
4 siblings
4 grandparents
5 aunts & uncles
14 cousins
3 cousin in laws
1 step cousin
1 "we still call you an uncle"
4 minion cousins (or whatever the technical term for "child of cousin" is... minions is more appropriate in my book anyways)

day 14:30 - 30 day challenge

day 14: a picture you love
i love this picture because of how simply adorable i am with a massive guitar.  but even greater than that, i love this photo because it is just one of the MANY my parents took throughout the years of my childhood.  the ability to flip through pages and pages, albums and albums of photos from growing up is awesome.  dance recitals, lost teeth, birthdays, and everything in between documented and kept safe as a record of the past.  with the digital era on us now, the ability to regularly document and record is available to everyone, and that makes me so incredibly happy.  my friends all know and expect me to be the one with a camera, whether it's a point and shoot or my big ol' dslr.  i look forward to the day when i'll have pages and pages, albums and albums of photos of my own kids growing up.
future husband, prepare yourself!

day 9:30 - 30 day challenge

another post that i'll super enjoy writing!
day 9: a picture of your friends
i have some pretty fantastic friends, that's for sure.
from recent months, to years and years gone by.  i couldn't ask for better from those that have stuck around, faded out and found their way back, and those who have newly found their way.  so for starters, here is a picture of the local mass from my 24th birthday last november.
back row: bryan, me, matt, erika, amy & sarah
front row: chris, jenny & luke
these are all people that i generally see, talk to, or leave rude facebook comments to often. (kidding on the rude comments... mostly)  until jenny decided to abandon me for the bay area & her boyfriend, amy & luke were the only "out of the area" people located near the ever classy reno, nevada.  so now, let's break things down a little bit, using only the classiest photos i can find.  i know there are some more ridiculous ones out there of some of these friends, but alas, my computer and scanner don't appreciate my blogging needs.
the bff: erkia
for as long as i can remember, we've been erkia & emlee... and that would be since 2003 when we met over the summer in a super classy science class.  we've done quite a bit together over the years, and though we've had our ups and downs as most friendships do, i know she's always going to be there for me when i need. her.  everything came full circle of our high school plans when i stood by her side as her maid of honor as she married the man of her dreams last june.  so crazy to see where we were and where we are now.  this year is our 10 year "friendship anniversary" (friendiversary?) and we already have some pretty cool things in the plans for the next few months!  i can't say too much, or i'll be out another blog post ;)
the three amigos: chris & jenny
i do have to say, the three of us have had some awesome adventures together, and some of my favorite pictures on my wall are of the three of us together.  our santa cruz trip was probably my favorite adventure so far, and i totally want to do it again.  jenny's move to the bay area sorta validates that in an "on the way" sort of trip, right?? of course, we also have some pretty exciting "vlogs" we did a few years ago and they are equally hilarious, and possibly even educational.  well, that educational part might be a stretch.  you can decide for yourself by clicking here.  the one where we play WHEEL OF FORTUNE is probably my favorite.  and i think also the only time you see me in a vlog.
those that i had a potential road trip loop planned for: amy & luke, stephanie, lisa & lorelai & cica
- sure sure, i see amy & luke a fair amount for the distance they are away, but they fit perfectly in to my potential road trip loop that i had created in my head when the peterson clan moved to colorado last august. so they can still be included in this group.  it's always an entertaining time at their house in nevada.  minus the gnarly sunburn i got last year floating the river.  but that's beside the point.
- stephanie (remember, she's the one who nudged this "30 day challenge" idea) & i met in 2011 at WPPI, and boy am i glad we did!  we bonded over nigel barker (yes, any time i mention her, i take advantage of telling this story) and fought the security guards to get our photos with him (and won that battle).  we hung out again the next year in vegas, and had a blast, as expected.  she's in new mexico, so she fits perfectly in the look.
- lisa & lorelai zoomed off to colorado last summer, thanks to the husband man deciding to go ahead with his dental career plan.  what a punk.  but seriously, lisa and i go way back... in a "we're cousins and born in to this friendship" sort of way.  adventures at grandma's house, sleepovers watching clueless, and in more recent years, talking crafty are just a small summary of the cousin-ly friendship that has happened.  i hear about a lot of people who don't really know or got to hang out with their cousins growing up, and i'm so glad that was not the case with our family (lisa's dad is my dad's twin brother... so i guess that makes us closer cousins than the rest??  sure, why not).  and of course, lorelai is my favorite little now five year old, and she's the silliest & smartest little kidlet i'm related to.  she's the cute little icing on the colorado cupcake.
- cica.  here's where the roadtrip loop plans change.  all was fine and dandy with her living in arizona, but i found out yesterday that she's moving to new york in may!  even better, she's expecting a baby girl in september!!  so much cuteness.  her husband bryan got in to grad school so they're in to quite the adventure for 2013.  cica and i grew up down the street from each other, just a few months apart in age.  we grew up on beanie babies, barbies & american girl dolls.  we spent so much time together when we were little, and it's been great that we've been able to keep in touch so well thanks to technology.  now i just gotta convince her to start updating her blog more often with new york & a little one on the way!  will i be seeing new york for the first time in 2014?  it is a good possibility!
if i talked about all my friends each individually, this blog would never end.
so here's to all of you.  thanks for being awesome!

march - instagram lookback

as quick as march came, apparently it is over now.  2013 is zooming by like crazy!  here are a few instagram highlights from last month.
- went to SF for a little part 2 & 3 photo shoot with megan & her husband john.  we did part 1 at the end of april in penryn, and it was faaaaantastic.  in SF, we hit up this awesome hill spot, legion of honor & baker beach.  all in one day.  you can check them out over on the photog bliggity blog
- the following saturday was another photo shoot with melissa & her boyfriend trevor.  we stuck to the streets of loomis, newcastle & auburn for some nerdy photo goodness.  those are also up on the photo blog. seriously.  just follow me over there too.  more friends in more places, yo.
- i had a double header job interview.  sorta.  friday i interviewed one place, monday i interviewed another (and was hired on the spot.  whoop whoop)  you are now looking at the newest play center employee at broadstone racquet club in folsom.
- basically, my computer had some brutal heat problems... in which the boyfriend and i learned how to open up my computer and found it was dusty to the max.  like, two years worth of dust.  so needless to say, it got a good cleaning and has been running quite well since.  minus the internet problems, but that's probably because i'm at the way far end of the house.
- i lost the coin toss, and had to go see olympus has fallen.  if you like bloody shoot 'em up movies, then this is the movie for you.  not my taste.  at all.  hopefully i'll win a coin toss for something soon.... i really want to see admission... hmmmm.
- for my birthday last year, i was gifted a pair of toms of my choice.  well, i finally found a pair, and went to get them.  the size 10s i tried on were HUGE, so she (sales lady) convinced me on the 9.5 pair.  yeah, it was all bad.  so i returned them... but when i tried on a size 10 again, they fit fantastically, so the glitter shoes became mine.  or in the words of the boy's brother... "it looks like a stripper threw up on your shoes".... *sigh*
- i managed to knock out a stash buster quilt for the month (as you all saw in the post prior to this) and still think it's pretty cute.  so yeah, it did make it to instagram, as well as this post.
- aileen turned 17 last friday... say whaaaaaat? so we ventured to SF after i got done at the play center.  we hit up the jessica mcclintock outlet (not that great) as well as a few basic tourist places (ghiradelli square, pier 39).  BUT the big deal was finally seeing the full house house.  totally not the area you envision it in from the tv show... but it was still pretty cool.  i can now cross that sucker off my bucket list.
- on easter, i put my super hunky boyfriend to work.  after brunch with his parents, brother and their neighbor, he assembled my entire set up for my bridal show display.  i was told there was a "no camera" policy once he started using his mom's sunglasses for safety goggles... so unfortunately this is as good as it gets.  now it's down to my job of wood putty filling screw holes & painting.  yeah, i got pretty lucky with my free labor having a construction degree :)

february - instagram lookback

say what, it's march now? super madness!  here is a quick little look back on some things that went down in february.
- board game night with jenny & her mister.  i don't know how exactly we managed so many rounds of catch phrase without falling asleep.  but i love the board game life... no joke.
- first ever double date with erika & her husband.  i know, it sounds crazy, but in the past 10ish years of us being friends, we never went on a double date.  EVER.  and you know what?  it was awesome.
- fall out boy.  yes please.  they're back, and erika & i are going to their concert in june.  whoo hoo!
- yep.  i had a valentine this year, and he got me a flower.  and i made breakfast for dinner that night.  super classy.
- "second valentine's day" date night... aka don't want to fight the crowds on valentine's day, so we waited until saturday to go out.  dinner, wandering target & ross for leftover candy on sale before going to a movie? super classy night for sure.
- yes.  i did rock those shoes on our date night.  and almost fell only a few times...  stairs suck.
- chipotle.  who doesn't love chipotle?
- everyone loves a grumpy cat.  he's always around, i just needed to involve him... gotta give the kitty some love, even if he doesn't reciprocate.
- marketing.  lots of marketing attempts going on.  really trying to get this whole "wedding photographer" business going.  first round of postcards have gone out this week, and more will be going out in coming weeks.  also donated to the elementary school dinner auction.  holla at me people,  freeze frame - photography by emily!
- i took my first jewelry class at joann's and had a good time.  well, i was the only one in the class, and picked up super quick... so not only did i make the bracelet and earrings, but i also made two rings.  i'll probably sign up for the next classes for sure.
more to come in march, but why wait for the end of the month?? follow me on instagram and see these updates and more as they happen!  instagram.com/wereradletshug