day 30:30 - 30 day challenge

day 30: a picture
my candy stash... aka what i ate for lunch on sunday while manning my bridal show booth for 5 hours by myself.  and to think i'm not much of a chocolate eater.  i do love me some 3 musketeers bars.
now that the bridal show fiasco is over, i'm trying to get back to the room cleaning hooplah that was going down in january.  even though i have a second shooting adventure, two dance portrait days, choreography to finish up, a so cal weekend, and potential grad party to attend this month...  i'm still going to hopefully chip away at it each day.  stash bust quilts count as room cleaning, right?  hm.  maybe you shouldn't answer that.  i'm going to stick with yes.
boom pow.  30 day challenge complete.
not too shabby, if i do say so myself.  i think i'll take a month or two break, and then see if i feel like another one in july or august.  and i guess we'll all find out how well this affects my normal blogging amount in the coming months.

day 29:30 - 30 day challenge

day 29: 3 wishes
i think three wishes, and of course the first thing that pops in to my head would be this.
i want to say those rules don't apply to me, right?
i mean, i'm not being asked by a blue genie, but instead by a 30 day challenge blog prompt.  can i escape on technicalities for that?  so of course, wish #1 would have to be more wishes... yeah yeah, sound greedy.  maybe just like, 25 more.  not infinite.  i'm no timmy turner with fairy godparents, so a little more than 3 would be nice to have for a "just in case of emergency" sort of situation.
wish #2 would have to be for security.  financial for sure with a good job, as well as a safe place to live, always be able to have a decent meal, clean clothes, and a bed to sleep in.  i know this sounds like such an easy thing to take care of, but always seeing the homeless out on the streets, scraping in money and not knowing where their next meal will be makes me want to push for having that security.  especially with all the random crazies in the world these days... oy!
and wish #3 for now, is going to sound a little silly.  but if you know my family, you know we are all about the kitties.  there hasn't been a time in my life that i can remember that we haven't had a cat or two (or nine...) in or around our house.  but with life, there is the inevitable death.  i would wish for pets (especially cats in particular) to be like a phoenix.  instead of dying, when it gets old to poof in to a cloud of something, perhaps glitter, and then be reborn as a kitten again.  no sadness, no tears, no goodbyes.  just an old friend starting life over again.  as an adorable cute kitten.  so, to recap.
wish 1: a few more wishes, because that's how i roll.
wish 2: security for myself and family.
wish 3: kitties to live forever.  =^.^=

day 27:30 - 30 day challenge

day 27: pets
well, here is just one of the clan at the house. my ever so snuggly (haha not) mr. grumpy gills elroy.
i know, he looks so relaxed and chill in this picture... you'd think that i had drugged him up or something.  nope.  not at all.
i've had elroy since 2004.  born at the end of october, he was my "garage christmas present" for the year.  (garage christmas present = the big present of the year.  in other years, i've gotten my holga camera & backpack, current computer desk, and savion glover tickets)  his three other siblings went to homes for christmas eve gifts, and apparently he was supposed to go to someone, but i guess they changed their mind and never came.  oh well.  lucky me to get the grumpy one!  i'm not sure why i chose the name of the character from the jetson's for him...  but it is what it is.  if i ever get him a kitty friend, it might just be necessary to name it "astro" just to keep with the theme :)
in recent months, he's become pretty mellow.  well, still hissing and growling at me, but he makes more appearances out to the living room during the daytime, sitting on my mom's lap when i come home from work or bryan's, and flopping around on the floor like a fish out of water.  trap him in the bathroom, and he's even been known to purr and act all cutesy.  very strange.
yes, he's known as the resident devil cat, and i've already been informed that the day i move out, my parents are gladly paying the pet deposit to take him with me.  it will be interesting to see if he remains an under the bed monster when it's just me that he has to deal with, or if he will change his ways.  i guess we'll find out in a matter of time.
other cats in this house: buzz, murphy, velcro & mushu.  outside cat: rufus & buster
fun cat fact: murphy, velcro, elroy & rufus all came from the same mommy cat who used to hang around.  we called her bootsie.  pretty sure elroy & rufus were from the same daddy cat.  we called him daddy cat.  creative, i know.

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 23:30 - 30 day challenge

day 23: favorite vacation
geeze... all these topics are starting to feel so similar now that we're nearing the end...
well, i already talked about disneyland back on day 17, and i've talked about the bay area quite a bit.  so this vacation themed post will touch on the reno float trips.  whoop whoop!
the past two summers, jenny & i have voyaged off to reno to hang out with luke & amy at their super stellar home just outside of reno, nevada.  we've had a little dinner fest each time, and then we've also floated the river.  both times i've taken a disposable water camera, so that's where most of these fancy pictures have come from.  no way would i take my actual camera on the water.  not quite that brave.
the first year was the thunder/lightning "jenny is scared and curled up in the fetal position while driving" trip.  haha.  we headed up on a friday night, and then hung out all day saturday.  i did amy & luke's engagement photos, we fed some ferrets at her friend's house, and had a burger bbq out on the back patio and avoided the rain drops.  sunday we floated the river - it was rather overcast and a little chilly but we made it!  jimboys, and then the voyage home for us california folk.
year two kasey was in town, as was luke's cousin, so we made it a little more action packed.  we drove up on a saturday after i got off work, and had tacos for dinner.  hit up the casinos for a little night life action and got ourselves a "reno" sign picture.  sunday we floated... and boy was it worse than last year.  bad sunscreen = brutally burnt emily & jenny.  we went to sushi for dinner, packed things up and drove our burnt selves home.
since luke will apparently be missing from nevada for a few months, jenny & i still plan to head over there again this summer for some hang out time.  should be super exciting!  though this time we'll be sure to bring some fresh sunscreen.

day 22:30 - 30 day challenge

day 22: favorite city
favorite city... i feel like this is SUPER similar to day 8's post topic... so i guess i'll snag a photo i took last year, and list off a few places i like to go.  i 'm not exactly sure i have ONE favorite city, so here we go!
san francisco
i said it before, so i'll say it again.  i really like the bay area.  so much going on, so much diversity, and so much random stuff!  seriously, the last time i was there for my sister's birthday, we went to ghiradelli square, and there was a store that had a mouse dressed up in a ball gown like a piece of work straight out of dinner for schmucks.  i kid you not!  street musicians, spray pain artists, and bush men are just a few of the random delights.  good food all over the place (boudin's, bubba gump, yum) and little shops full of random things here and there.  scenic stops, museums, and so much more.  you can't go wrong with a day trip to SF.
roseville
i know, it sounds totally weird to say roseville is a favorite city... but i spend so much time here.  my shopping needs of all levels are fulfilled, and most of my every day errands can take place here.  it's local, which means super convenient, and it's not too shabby of an area.  i'm sure bryan would say it's fantastic simply because that's where chipotle is... so that gets a point in it's favor.  fabric stores, target, the mall, food of all kinds... can't go wrong with roseville.  i'd totally live there if i had to.
anaheim
that's where disneyland is.
and that's all that i have to say about why it is good.
because i'm sure that is all there is that is really good about it.

day 21:30 - 30 day challenge

day 21: picture of yourself
seriously... i have no recent photos of just me.  well, i do... but they were all taken by bryan.  which means they are all incredibly awkward, blurry, and/or are of me shoving food in my mouth.  so i did the best i could so search the old computer archives for photos of me and only me.  quite a few made me laugh, because they were from the old "myspace photo" taking days.  like that black and white one.  pretty sure that was my first myspace profile picture.  back when our den was still a den, and not my brother's room.  super classy, right?  i guess that middle row is as recent as they get, since those two are from last summer, with the outsides being from 2010 on the left and 2011 on the right.  it's not that i'm completely opposed to pictures of me being taken... as you could probably guess, i'm the one with the camera, which means they're either pictures of friends, or the long arm group photos.  hey, as long as a picture is taken, that's what counts right? at least i make SOME appearances :)

day 20:30 - 30 day challenge

random "emily specific" post topic = collage of random photos from old hard drive i'm currently working to get backed up on an external drive. win/win situation, right? i've acquired plenty of nicknames over the years. some random, but most somewhere along the "emily" name involvement.  most make sense, with a handful being inside jokes going back to at least freshman year of high school, if not longer.  now i present to you, the list of nicknames.  i apologize if you have given me a nickname and i forgot to include it on this list.  please don't be too sad.
day 20: nicknames
emmy
emi
em
ems
emlee
emualie
shmemmie
emisaurus
mla
long tall sally
stretch
pebest
dr. evil
dudeness
siamese twin

day 13:30 - 30 day challenge

i felt bad for yesterday's blog post not having a picture... so here is a "semi-related to this post" picture of a holga. somewhere, in the great beyond of my bedroom, i have a small little composition book that would fit in my pocket.  inside that booklet, is my bucket list.  a list of things of varying degrees that at some point i want to do in my life.  travel, create, live, love and so much more through each of those things on my list.  unfortunately... my room eats things, and right now, it's currently missing in action.  so for the time being, here are some greater goals for my life as of right now.
day 13: goals
move out on my own, hopefully before my little sister graduates high school in 2014
work out more.  aka put my free gym membership to use
push my photography business to be a stronger priority
travel.  go somewhere new and different.
blog more.  (at least this blog challenge is helping that one.  for now...)
of course the typical girl goal.  get married, have a family, yadda yadda ;)
take more pictures.  create more memories

day 10:30 - 30 day challenge

day 10: something you're afraid of
and so i thought to myself "self... what should i take a picture of for this blog post?" and i replied "oh i know... how about that nasty spider in the garage??"  brilliant idea... i would so love to do that.
so basically, something i'm afraid of is spiders.  they just creep me out like nobody's business.  yuck.
in 7th grade, i went to this thing with a few of my classmates and our teacher (it was in berkley i think...) and one of the things we did during the day was look at creepy crawly things.  leah allowed the tarantula to crawl across her hand, but i know i stood as far away from that thing as possible.
and it doesn't stop there.  when i was younger, i would play down the street at cica's house, where they had this really cool sandbox.  well, it was pretty cool until a black widow was hanging from my shorts.  ughhh.
have i out grown the spider freak out-ness?  no.  just last week i was getting ready to leave from bryan's place, and when i looked at my sweatshirt on the ground, a nasty spider just crawled right across it.  i may have done a little freak out dance... but want to know what sucks?  he is just as bad about spiders as i am.  luckily, he'll get the big ones.
bleh.  so gross.  sure, i know they have their benefits, and eat bugs and stuff... but seriously.  they're nasty and disgusting.  yuck yuck yuck.  and i'm SO glad this picture is now forever stored on my blog... not.
a few other things i fear/strongly dislike:
needles
falling long distances
upside down roller coasters <- one day, i'm sure i'll be forced on the one at california adventure.... i guess that's a good "one loop" starting point.
the butterfly house at marine world.  i swear it creeps me out EVERY TIME
now hopefully tomorrow i'll have a much happier, less creepy photo to go with my post.  fingers crossed.

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!

day 8:30 - 30 day challenge

i snapped this photo when testing the light when i did a shoot with my "siamese twin" and her husband last month... finally a chance to use it somewhere!

day 8: a place you've traveled
basically, the area of california that i live in is pretty awesome.  2 hours to the mountains, 2 hours to the ocean.  best of a little bit of everything.  now, i'm not much of a cold mountain person (though the boy is determined to take me camping... and i think erika is excited about the idea of camping together something) so my favorite day trip travel direction would have to be the bay area.
something about the beach, the fun shops, the little areas all make it so much fun.  we recently went for aileen's birthday last month and went to a few places we'd never been before, which is also part of the fun.  i've seen pier 39 plenty of times over the years, but we went to a few new places this trip.  i was particularly excited to see the "full house" house in real life, plus we ventured through ghirardelli square, which appeased my chocolate loving sister.
aside from the touristy san fransisco, i've also eaten at a pretty decent mexican restaurant in half moon bay as well as went to the place with "the best sushi ever" in walnut creek... or was it concord?  i wasn't driving, so i'm not totally sure.  jelly belly factory, market street & alcatraz are all excellent stops for those who have never been to the bay area.  sure, the jelly belly factory is in fairfield, but it's totally on the way TO the bay!  half moon bay, santa cruz, monterey and everything in between always prove to be a fun day trip, or even a quick weekend get away.  i've been yearning for some santa cruz beach boardwalk since the last time i went was 2010... so hopefully that can happen this year!  luckily between two day jobs and my photography, my current work schedule allows me the possibility to get out and about every so often!  

day 7:30 - 30 day challenge

day 7: favorite movies
alright... i'll try and keep this list short... but i can't guarantee anything.  i have never really been able to pin point one true favorite movie, so i'm super glad today's item was a plural situation :)  i really do enjoy movies.  there is something about them and the way they can transport you to a different world unlike your own.  my 2012 of movie watching was awesome, thinking back on it makes me miss my netflix dvd account... but then i remember once i met the boy, my movie watching nights were cut very slim.  to recap on all the movies i saw in 2012, click here.  of course, my list of favorites could go on forever, all for very different reasons.  so here is the list as of april 2013
in no specific "i love you more than the rest" order:
- mrs. doubtfire
- bridesmaids
- crazy, stupid, love
- mean girls
- toy story (all three, of course)
- i am sam
- forrest gump
- 27 dresses
- silver linings playbook
- date night
as you can tell, i do love my comedies. both romanticaly girly and hilariously funny will do it for me.  i do also enjoy a fair amount of dramas, and even the occasional action movie.  what movie genre will you almost NEVER be able to get me to watch?  horror.  i just can't do it.  i was swayed to go see "cloverfield" once... ugh it was HORRIBLE.  never again.  not on a big screen, barely on a small screen.  well, on that note, i'm going to leave you with this fantastic scene from the most recent movie i watched, big fish.

day 5:30 - 30 day challenge

day 5: siblings
and here we go, in age progress order.
markham - 27
studying at BYU utah majoring in animation
spent a month in india
instrument of choice: saxophone
6'4" (see, i'm not the tallest one)
the one that called me "pebest"
used to eat ketchup on everything
disney movie that i relate to him: robin hood
joshua - 20
works for a staging & lighting company
choice instrument: french horn
lived on a train for two months, working for ringling brothers
thought he had a curse of not being able to own a car for 2 weeks without it being totaled by someone else. his most recent car purchase has broken that trend
once had a "dory" fish that literally played dead in his fish tank
couldn't spell "oats" for the longest time.  no seriously.
oh.  and i didn't want him.  i wanted to stay at grandma's and play with barbies instead of getting him from the hospital with my dad
disney movie that correlates with him: finding nemo
aileen - 17
still at del oro, class of 2014
enjoys science.  making up for the science that i didn't enjoy
music maker: mellphone during the fall, oboe during the spring
used to be in to ventriloquism (acquired from my dad) and has a large cat puppet he made called "cloud shrimp"
went through a beret wearing phase. still not sure on that one...
plans to do something "sciencey" after graduation
the reason why we have a fat orange siamese cat.  and also the reason why my blog header has googly eyes and a mustache
disney movie that is "her": mulan
facts of sibling relations:
- we all did marching band at del oro.  most of us all four years, markham joined his junior year (my freshman year)
- joshua's head chipped my front tooth.  how?  my dad was swinging him around my his feet.  it's not a "massive" chip.  but i can still feel it.
- aileen was the reason i passed out in a hospital once.  we went to take her and mom home a few days after she was born, and they forgot to do a test on her.  heel pricked, and then i hit the floor.  super fun.
- my dad used to do "sissy stories" with aileen before bedtime (much like he would play barbies with me when i was little)  when my dad wasn't there, markham took over and started doing them with her at night.
- every year we have our christmas card picture taken in the creek at donner mine. later in the year during the holiday season, there is usually some form of in front of the tree picture with everyone holding a cat.

day 4:30 - 30 day challenge

day 4: your parents
number of siblings: mom: 1 older sister dad: 2 older sisters, 1 older brother, 1 twin brother, 1 younger brother
met: mira loma high school marching band
anniversary: june 26
jobs:  dad works as the finance officer for the town of loomis, and i think does the same thing in forresthill.  mom has been a stay at home mom for awhile, and worked at quiznos when it was still open in loomis.  also does the costuming for our dance studio's annual recital, which is coming up in a few months.
kids: four... five if you count dad's "baby cougar cat"
dad's hobbies: photography, ventriloquism, hamm radio-ing (if that's even a word....)
mom's hobbies: sewing
both volunteer for del oro band.  dad with the brass/mellophone line, mom does sewing flags & uniforms for the color guard.
been taking tap classes through our dance studio for 15ish years

day 2:30 - 30 day challenge

here we are at day 2 of 30.  so far, so good! (and i preblogged this, so it helps.. which is probably what i will do with all of them at least the night before)  and now, on to today's topic...
day 2: meaning behind your blog name
well, if you've been following me for awhile, you know that the name has been constantly changing until i decided on this one that stuck.  first, we had "by emily, with love"  which actually still exists over here on a different blog url.  this began back in the craft fair days of old, where bag making galore was happening.  so i tried to keep it crafty all over there.  i had a blog header, but can't find it... it was a pretty wretched self portrait anyways... so maybe it's a good thing.
there was the itty bitty laptop, and at that time the itty bitty kitty.  still have both of those around.  sorta.
i was updating randomly.  primarily about my sewing updates for making those dang bags.  which looking at them now, totally boring.  2009 (starting in june) had 45 posts.  2010 had 6 and 2011 (january to august) had 5... wow.  goooooo me.
august of 2011 i switched over to a fresh start, and titled it "the best-est pebest"
it was cute, it was personal, but anyone that is not related wouldn't know what the heck a pebest was.  well, basically it was my other brother, telling me i was a pest... but it came out pebest.  when i was younger, i was called a pink & purple pebest by my dad... but trying to explain that to anyone was pointless.  i did a lot of weekend WIP posts, and a few other crafty things here and there, but nothing terribly personal and "fun" to share like day in the life stuff.  so in january of 2012, the blog became titled what it is now... toothpaste and orange cat.  why?  well, apparently i did a blog post then about it on january 10th, but i'll re explain if you don't want to go back that far.
i remember hearing on a commercial for some disney channel show way back when a brother telling his sister about how unalike they are.  one of the lines was "we're like toothpaste and orange juice".  knowing how blech the experience of drinking orange juice after brushing your teeth, i thought it would be a good basis for the re titling of the blog.  things didn't have to be coherent, or themed or anything like that.  sure i could share craft projects i did for self glorification (haha), but i could also include photos from over the weekend trips, share some random youtube videos, music, and random stuff in between.  a whole bunch of things that really don't go together, and keep things interesting.
and well, instead of "orange juice" it made a whole lot more sense to use something very me... something very my family... like a big fat orange cat...
yeah, the very same itty bitty kitty from 2009.  not so itty bitty these days.  and getting his irish self on for st. patrick's day last month.
and there you have it!  the basic summary of the evolution of emily and the blogger environment.
come back tomorrow for the day three... aren't you just curious what wonders it holds for you to learn about me?