Cherry Valentino

NEW WEBSITE!

2010-03-23T13:49:00.001-04:00

I know only two or three people read this max, but I wanted to let anyone who comes across know that I've bought www.cherryvalentino.com and tranferred to wordpress. SO, if you're interested, please update your RSS feed or do whatever you do.

THANKS!

www.cherryvalentino.com
www.scissorparty.com

BIRTHDAY TIME!

2010-03-11T10:12:00.001-05:00

My 27th Birthday is this Sunday. A lot of people dislike their birthdays, particularly when the downhill slide to 30 begins. I'm the opposite. I love my birthday and see it as a reason to celebrate and indulge and be happy that I've made it another year on this planet in a semi-sane state. I have three of my best girlfriends driving 10 hours from Arkansas to stay with me this weekend. We're going to eat, craft, go downtown and have an absolutely insanely good time. I can't wait! I also asked my loved ones to take photos of themselves enjoying a cupcake and to send it to me. They have done such an excellent job! Every day when I check my facebook or e-mail there's a new fun photo! Even my pugs got in on the action.

There are tons more, but I won't put them all on here in case someone is internets shy. Even my sweet grandparents got in on the action and sent photos of them with an orange that had a lit candle in it. AN ORANGE!

Things have been shitty lately -- I have a possible driver's licence suspension coming up, I locked myself out of the house with the two pugs in the snow while Jeremy was out of town, and the cold weather has really been beating me down. But it's almost spring! I have friends coming in town for the next two weeks! My boss is being awesome and doing everything his lawyer self can do to help me work out the suspension! I have an amazing, AMAZING boyfriend who has been so awesome and supportive! My pugs are adorable!

Happy freaking birthday to me!

Monotonix in Asheville

2010-03-02T19:47:00.004-05:00

Monotonix played at the Rocket Club in Asheville. The lead singer Ami Shalev had broken his leg the night before, but the show went on anyway, perhaps a bit more subdued than usual.

More here.

march 2 2010

2010-03-02T18:21:00.001-05:00

march 2 2010, originally uploaded by cherry valentino.

oh, spring, will you ever come?

Our Love is all of God's Money

2010-02-10T11:57:00.001-05:00

rosary, originally uploaded by cherry valentino.

This is my most-viewed photograph on Flickr. It's a sunprint that I made of a Rosary I got at the Vatican Museum in Rome after seeing the Sistine Chapel.

LAB (Lexington Avenue Brewery) Review

2010-01-25T11:55:00.004-05:00

Jeremy and I went downtown Sunday to visit an antique store I found that is the closest resemblance I've found in Asheville to the flea markets we frequented in Arkansas, but unfortunately it was closed. To make our rainy adventure not a complete bust, we visited LAB, which we've wanted to try since it opened, but weren't exactly willing to fight the crowds to do so.

Lucky for us, it was nearly empty at 2 p.m. on Sunday afternoon. The place is absolutely gorgeous, and I'm sure the patio area will be great in the summer. The menu has some great looking stuff on there, and it's all reasonably priced in the $5-$12 range. I had a hard time choosing between the tempeh reuben and the veggie pot pie, but in the end the veggie pot pie won out. It didn't take nearly as long to get as I expected. It had a delicious puff pastry on the top with diced tomatoes and butter as a garnish. The inside was a bit soupier than I expected, and also very sweet, but absolutely delicious. It had chunks of squash (butternut I think), peas, and tiny cubes of chewy tofu and larger chunks of tempeh. The only complaint I had was the tempeh. The rest is incredibly sweet, so the tempeh's graininess just didn't compliment it well at all. I picked those pieces out.

Jeremy had the soup of the day, which was black bean with cilantro. It. Was. Delicious. I couldn't believe how strong the flavors in it were, and it was far better than any other soup I've had at any restaurant in town. The only criticism of it is that it didn't come with any chips or crackers or anything. The menu lists that the rest of the soups come with flatbread, so I'm not sure if it was an oversight or if the soup of the day just doesn't come with it.

As for the beer, I'm not a beer drinker, but Jeremy was quite pleased with both. The stout I tasted had a nice coffee aftertaste and a lovely dark color. He also tried the porter at the suggestion of our waiter, and he said that it was good.

The place was large, but well spaced out so the tables aren't all crammed together. I don't think it's large enough to require a hostess like some have suggested. It just seems to me that if you take a large group out during rush hours, you should expect to have to wait a bit for a table, especially at a brewery where people are likely to spend time hanging out and drinking.

We can't wait to go back and try more food and especially the desserts! Maybe I can get some photos next time.

2010!

2010-01-04T16:17:00.003-05:00

Is it really 2010? I guess it is. Soon it will be time to celebrate a year of having our adopted pug, Porter, time to mail out a hundred or so handmade valentines, time to celebrate my continued downhill slide towards 30, time to scratch enough money to take a few summer trips, and time to drink sweet tea on the porch and watch fireflies light up our yard. That seems FAR too long away, especially since it's currently 15 degrees outside with a windchill of around -10. BRRRRRR!

In honor of 2010 (twenty-ten or two thousand and ten?), here's a list of things I'd like to do with this year. Not necessarily resolutions. More like goals, really.

1. Learn to make delicious veggie stock. We always buy the tiny $3 boxes that taste sort of like lipgloss, and I know I can make a big yummy vat of it easily if I just take the time to do so.

2. Visit Chicago. I've never been and it seems like a fun place. And aren't Rick Bayless' restaurants there?

3. Complete a knitted project. I'm thinking of a mustachioed cowl that's currently on knitty, but maybe if I start a light summer cardigan now I'll have it finished by then. Or a pair of socks. Or really ANYTHING other than a scarf.

4. Lose 25 pounds and be a more active, healthy person. I'm not getting any younger and my family is not the healthiest bunch. I need to get motivated. I was going to this week, but when it's 10 degrees or less out, the LAST thing I want to do is get into some gym clothes. I'm going to lift my little five pound weights while under my electric blanket sipping hot chocolate. I'm also taking a yoga class at AB Tech, so there's two more days of exercise than I'm getting now, and I love yoga, so that's an added bonus!

5. Take more photos. I didn't get that Nikon for nothin'. I want to build a light box and make good use of it. I want to take more photos at shows I go to. I want to organize them better, back them up, and have a system. I want to update my flickr more.

6. Learn to be a better baker. I have a crappy oven, a small kitchen, little time, no patience, and yet I still LOVE LOVE LOVE baking things. I'm going to try to get better at it. I decided to drop out of the baking and pastry arts program at AB Tech. I was only going part-time and it was impossible for me to get much out of it that way. It's a very 9-5, five day a week program, and I was trying to do a couple hours here and there, which just didn't really work and yet made my life far more hectic than it was worth. I'm still taking a couple of classes just because I'd already gotten financial aid and been advised and all that, but nothing that will take up so much of my week and effort.

7. Write more letters! Possibly get a P.O. Box for out-of-state, stranger pen pals. It seems appealing, but of course I can't use my home address.

8. Get my finances in order and possibly get a second job. I'm in debt. Not any more than anyone else my age, but I need to get it together. I'd like to be fairly stable by the time I'm 30 and I think that's a reasonable goal that I can reach. I listed all my credit card debt with APRs, minimum payments, credit lines, available credit, etc. in a fancy excel sheet, and also made a budget the same way. It was depressing, but at least now I know exactly what I'm facing. I can do it!

9. Learn to swim. I've said this every year. I'll say it again, and I mean it as much as I meant all the other years.

10. Have. More. Fun. The things I remember the most about this year are the fun times with my friends, naturally. The days in between those are just a beige blur of desks and laundry and minutia. The road trips, car sing-a-longs, dinner parties, dance nights, and movie marathons are what stand out. I want more of that.

What are you doing this year?

2009 Rundown

2010-01-04T16:14:00.001-05:00

Things
1 King Khan and the Shrines Birthday weekend.
2 Ocracoke Island Vacation
3 Gonerfest.
4 Visits from friends (Trip, Kandi and Katee, Juli and Jim, Amber and Ryan, Justin and Tabetha, Steve)
5 Parties at Juli’s house/studio. Pinatas! Photo booths! Live Bands!
6 Having Dance-offs with my brother, Jordan
7 Prom! At the Grey Eagle
8 Awesome concerts/watching the entire series of the Wire obsessively with Jeremy
9 Getting a surprise trip to Atlanta to eat at Woodfire Grill and go to the Bodies Exhibition
10 When Porter and Nocci finally started getting along!
11 Being snowed in with Jeremy and making chili and hot chocolate and fires.

Music (not necessarily new stuff, just what I listened to the most)
1 Man Man
2 Langhorne Slim
3 Okkervil River
4 King Khan and the Shrines
5 Bryan Hartley and/or Halfacre Gunroom
6 Nobunny
7 The Hold Steady
8 Songs:Ohia/Magnolia Electric Company
9 Ryan Adams
10 Amanda Blank

Movies
1 Fantastic Mr. Fox
2 Inglorious Basterds
3 District 9
4 Zombieland
5 Adventureland
6 Friday the 13th (I’m a sucker for horror stuff like this. Can’t wait for the final Sleepaway Camp in 3D!!!)
7 Julie and Julia
8 Coraline
9 500 Days of Summer
10 Where the Wild Things Are

TV
1 The Wire (I know it’s not from this year, but we watched the entire series this year.)
2 Eastbound and Down
3 Top Chef
4 The Office
5 30 Rock
6 Community
7 Chopped
8 Squidbillies
9 Flipped
10 SNL

Readin' (I’m fudging on this a bit b/c I can’t really remember what I read this year. I know there’s some better stuff than this - I’m just bad at recalling what year I read things.)

1 On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen by Harold McGee
2 The Know It All by AJ Jacobs
3 McSweeny’s
4 Lolita (re-read for the zillionth time) by Vladimir Nabokov
5 Zeitoun by Dave Eggers
6 The Year of Living Biblically by AJ Jacobs
7 GQ Magazine (I have no idea why Gentlemen’s Quarterly is one of my favorite magazines - it just is)
8 Deadstar Twilight by Chez Pazienza
9 Grace After Midnight by Felecia “Snoop” Pearson
10 Things I've Learned from Women Who Dumped Me

Memories that particularly stick out in my mind:

1. Sleeping (or trying to) in the car with Jeremy when we got to the ferry loading place to go to vacation. We didn’t plan well enough and had a night of full bladders, mosquito bites, and hot, sweaty, uncomfortable car sleeping while we waited in the parking lot of some weird, closed down, scary motel for the ferry lines to open.

2. A bird stealing Jeremy’s Cheez-its when we were playing in the ocean and screaming about waves namping us.

3. Drunkenly trying to sing with Justin at Juli’s party and not knowing the words and generally embarrassing myself but not caring because I was surrounded by people I absolutely love!

4. Asking King Khan to play “Took My Lady to Dinner” at the Hi Tone show because it was my birthday and he they hadn’t played it at the two previous night’s shows, and then them playing it as the closing song and me and Juli and Trip and Kandi being SO EXCITED about it!

5. Purple Drank

6. Making David play Connect 4 with me 100 or so times in a row.

7. Getting Porter and then getting home and wondering what the hell I’d done.

8. Porter magically getting on the kitchen stove after climbing a series of furniture and eating 1/2 a frozen pizza and a full pan of used frying oil and then being sick for the rest of the day. I had to sleep on the couch with him and rub his belly all night, and half of it was spent outside with him in a whimpering, puking, pooping little mess. :(

9. Nocci finally beginning to play with Porter and not absolutely despise him.

10. Photobooth insanity at Juli’s!

11. Having my first amuse bouche and mushrooms that tasted like porkchops at Woodfire Grill in Atlanta

12. Seeing the Bodies Exhibition and having strange realizations about the human body.

13. Getting my IUD and it being the most pain I have ever, ever experienced in my life.

14. Meeting Amber and it not being awkward at all, a total surprise and also weird because I was sick as shit.

15. Singing loudly in the car with Jeremy while on roadtrips.

16. Hearing “Two Thieves” at Gonerfest and just being really, really happy.

17. Getting covered in Faygo and PBR at NoBunny and it being an insane amount of fun.

18. Realizing how much I miss my Jonesboro/Memphis friends.

19. Dancing onstage at Langhorne Slim with Zeb.

20. Surprising Justin at his show in Jonesboro on my Birthday!

juli jackson

2009-10-27T09:31:00.001-04:00

09.20.2009, originally uploaded by julibat.

Juli Jackson is a friend I've known since the age of about twelve, when everyone is awkward, pudgy, has bad hair and is desperately searching to find out who they are. There was a period during the college era where we lost touch. She went to film school in Philly, and I stayed in our small Arkansas hometown area for all the wrong reasons. Luckily we got back in touch - I'm not sure if it was Myspace or Facebook or what, but I'm so glad it happened. She's one of the most talented, dedicated, hard-working people I know. She's gifted and skilled beyond belief in everything - photography, film-making, cooking, canning, sewing, crafting - she does it all. Here is a recent photo of hers that I just love. Be sure to check out her art and photography. You'll be glad you did.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/julijackson

Gonerfest 6

2009-09-30T21:54:00.001-04:00

gonerfest 6 crowdsurf 2, originally uploaded by cherry valentino.

I took a little trip to attend Gonerfest 6 in Memphis, Tennessee, last weekend and that shit was CRAZY! There was PBR everywhere (including soaking everyone there from it being sprayed on the crowds), fireworks, blood, piss, and I saw at least four cocks at various shows. What's up with that?

I had an excellent time and only wish Asheville had shows like this.

*sigh*

for reals.

2009-07-23T15:24:00.002-04:00

so, registration for baking school went okay. i had a little schedule figured out to take, but it turns out what i had picked wasn't an option. in the end it worked out, though. at first i thought i wasn't going to get to go at all due to their lab hour heavy, daytime only classes, as well as their confusing "co-requisites" and necessary time in the restaurant they run to give students practice time. after much fussing, near crying (i'm not really a crier so something has to be serious for me to break out in tears over it) and completely giving up on getting to go since i can't quit my day job for it, my advisor (who strangely enough reminds me a lot of my advisor in journalism school at Arkansas State University) let me know that i could split up the five hour long classes that i thought i had to take at the same time (isn't that what co-requisite means?) which would've had me at school from almost 9-3 daily. yay for me! so, while i don't get to take baking yet, i'll be taking Food Science, Food Science Lab, Sanitation and Safety, and Sanitation and Safety lab, as well as an online class - Intro to Computers, which is sadly enough a requirement that i can't get out of. i was told i could test out after 10%, so i'll probably try to do that. i don't mind paying for the class even if i don't take it - it's the waste of my time i'm worried about.

i also need to figure out what to do about my puggies' mid-day walks. i go home daily to give them a short potty break and then go back to work, but that won't be possible with my schedule that starts next month. i need to look into dog walkers, but that seems like a luxury i definitely can't afford.

i bought my pastry kit from the AB Tech bookstore, and it's chock full of knives, thermometers, biscuit cutters, silpats, pastry bags, pastry tips, and all other kinds of goodness that i can't wait to get into. unfortunately, i'm not taking any cooking classes this semester, so i may have to wait! i still have to buy a scale, my chef whites (!) and get a few shots before school starts, so i'm going to be a busy girl.

Bele Chere is this weekend! my list of priorities:

1. Eat a Funnel Cake
2. Drink a Lemon Shake Up (nothing is better than lemonade that you have to chew due to the gritty sugar left undissolved in it)
3. Eat some Greek food
4. Take pictures of the dumb ass protesters there
5. See the Old 97s

i would love to see Now You See Them, but unfortunately they're playing while i'll still be at work. DRAT! we may also go to the Anti-Bele Chere music thing, but i'm not sure yet.

so, i finally broke down and got a nice, brand new pillow-top king sized bed with all new IKEA sheets, comforters, pillows, and throws, and it's absolutely my second favorite purchase after Nocci. i feel so much better every day when i get up since getting it. i have no idea why i put it off for so long.

exciting things coming up! the pastry arts program starts soon, i'm flying to memphis for Gonerfest in september, my anniversary is in October, then it's time for the holidays and all the traveling and whirlwind visiting that goes along with it.

i need to try to enjoy summertime while it's still here, because as soon as it turns a little cold i'm going to be shivering, whining, cursing the cold, and threatening to move to a tropical island.
yay, summer!

ignored

2009-07-08T10:54:00.002-04:00

i've been so bad at blogging lately. things have been busy. we took a vacation to the outer banks and i fell in love with Ocracoke Island, i have baking and pastry arts school registration on the 20th and need to start figuring all that out and buying my zillions of chef coats and knives and other supplies that i need, we have friends coming to visit soon, i've been planning trips to memphis to hang out with some bffs and go to Gonerfest, and i've been trying hard to keep up with this 365 Self Portrait project, but that shit is hard! i'll be in bed about to pass out from exhaustion and suddenly realize i forgot to take one! also, when i take a photo with my holga or SLR i forget about it, then upload a crappy digital one i shot, then wonder if i should replace it later or just leave it and have a stash of extras or something? plus, i never write down the date i took them. i guess once they're developed i can replace them if they're good, and ignore the bad ones. ha!

i need motivation to go to the gym. i got off track after a visit from good friends, recovery from a small medical procedure, a vacation, and now it's like i'm starting all over. so difficult. last night i had tomatoes and a baked potato for dinner and jeremy had delicious fried chicken in honey mustard. sigh.

we went to see Jay Reatard at the Orange Peel last night. i was worried because i really don't like seeing shows at the Orange Peel, but it turned out okay. he referred to it as "a big, cold room," which was on point at first, but then it seemed to fill up a little more. they were great, and the opener was great too. yay for cheap shows!

blush

2009-06-11T15:14:00.003-04:00

I've been featured on the excellent blog of Little T Jane! I'm beyond flattered! Be sure to check out her blog of fun things! She has the cutest picks daily and I actually bought a cute teapot set she featured yesterday! :)

2009-06-06T15:30:00.001-04:00

weirdest chair ever. fake wooden wheelchair?

2009-05-31T17:01:00.002-04:00

motion lotion and personal massager at the habitat for humanity store. seriously?

POTD- Holga Edition

2009-05-24T13:10:00.003-04:00

so lazy

2009-05-24T02:04:00.004-04:00

it's springtime! that's what i'm blaming my complete laziness on. i haven't worked on any photo projects, done any baking, cleaned my apartment much, knitted, sewed, or done any of the usual stuff lately. i think it's just so nice out that it seems like a waste to do anything but piddle around the yard after work. i have to be locked up in an office for 7 hours a day just looking outside at the sunshine, so when i get home i rarely want to upload pictures or count stitches.

me and two friends recently took a trip home to arkansas to visit family and go to the wedding of one of my best friend's little brother. it was possibly the only *nice* wedding i've been to. where i come from, a skanky wood-paneled church and a completely sexist preacher giving a too-long sermon is all you need for a wedding. throw in some non-alcoholic punch and reception in the church kitchen and you've got yourself a typical wedding! this one was outside, lovely, had great food (a mashed potato bar?!), and there was lots of fun and dancing. i was honestly shocked.

after the wedding, we had a big party at my lovely friend juli's house. she put together a delightful get together with a handmade pinata for us to drunkenly swing at, which included fun such as special prizes (actual mix TAPES, not CDs, TAPES), candy, notepads, and gross fake tongues. there was tons of great food (homemade grilled black bean veggie burgers!), plenty to drink, and my best friend's band, Come Sundown, played a show for us. unfortunately, justin's voice was going out because he was sick, and even more unfortunately, i took him up on his offer of $5 to try to sing a song. i know there is video of this occasion, and i hope it never surfaces. i couldn't hear myself and didn't know all th

e lyrics, so it really wasn't pretty.

(photo by kandi cook)

i had a great time, though. i love asheville, but sometimes (as much as i NEVER thought i'd say this) i miss being home. all my friends that i've been the closest to for the past five years or so are there, so i can go home and talk lots of shit, mention scissoring every ten minutes, tell inside jokes, discuss music, books, and photo techniques in a way that i just can't here, go to awesome shows with my friends, see my friends BE the awesome show, and then (even more importantly) there's also the appeal of my little brother. we danced most of the time i was there, and even though i was being subjected to will smith and black eyed peas songs, it was so fun.

i almost wish i didn't dislike the idea of living in memphis or little rock so much. they'd be much closer to home, still in a larger city with stuff to do, and i'd get to see all my awesome friends more. memphis is too skuzzy, dangerous, and humid for me to want to move there, though, and little rock has always just bored me.

anyway. i'm just rambling. the point is, i had a blast hanging out with my jonesboro/memphis/paragould/little rock crew and miss them terribly. even more so now that i got to see them all in one place.

i got motivated to take some photos the other weekend and ended up sacrificing some peeps. i hope no one takes offense to that.

2009-05-21T12:49:00.001-04:00

anti-depressant for a crappy day. new music! yay!

Jake Aaron's Photography

2009-05-07T10:24:00.002-04:00

, originally uploaded by jake aaron.

My friend and ex-roomie Jake Aaron has some lovely b&w photos on Flickr. He lives in Portland and has been working on his street photography. He seems to like old manual cameras like I do, and the more I see his stuff, the more I like it. Go take a look-see at his stuff, will you? And leave him some comments/criticisms if you have any!

2009-04-22T00:25:00.002-04:00

one more thing to add to the list of stuff porter has eaten.

POTD

2009-04-20T23:27:00.002-04:00

What work looks like

POTD (playing catch-up a bit)

2009-04-20T23:10:00.007-04:00

A few POTD posts since I've been slacking. I got five rolls of film developed at Walgreens. Here's a few of the shots I'm fairly happy with, and then there's a whole roll of Holga shots I need to scan in so you can see the spillover on the 35mm sprocketholes. They also LOST a roll and are supposed to call me when/if they find it. WTF? How did they "misplace" 1/5 of my rolls of film? Gah! So frustrating! [I'd like to note that I worked at Walgreens for like two years and don't ever remember "misplacing" someone's roll of film. What's worse - they knew it, but didn't tell me when I came in hoping that I wouldn't notice. They didn't mention it until I ran back in to get the missing roll. Needless to say, I won't be returning there.]

Anyway, POTD catch-up!

2009-04-15T11:32:00.003-04:00

porter begging for food. you'd think he never eats, but in reality he eats EVERYTHING, whether it's food or not. he's growing on me, even though he's the naughtiest pug i've ever met. last night he somehow grabbed jeremy's glass of sweet tea off the bedside table and spilled it right in the middle of our mattress. the whole thing. i'm not sure how he managed it without dropping it in the floor, but he was unapologetic.

list of things porter has eaten/chewed up that he shouldn't have:

an entire pound bag of chicken jerky dog treats (all in one setting)
a box of valentine's chocolate
a pack of bubble gum
(this was all in one night. the next day was not so pretty.)

two more packs of gum
a half bag of chewy sweet tarts
a bag of taco doritos
part of an avacado
a curry cheese torte (that thing was so gross i wouldn't even eat it)
various food items stolen off of our plates on the coffee table
about 10 ponytail holders (swallowed and digested, not just chewed)
a roll of film
my bookmark
a painting from a friend (sorry, kandi. i still hung up what was left of it. he dug it out of my plastic art tote, which was also covered in clothes and boxes and upstairs in the bedroom while he was baby-gated downstairs. he jumped the gate somehow, went upstairs, got all the stuff off the tote, found the painting, and brought it downstairs to shred it. i think he knows exactly what to get to push my buttons, much like when Nocci shredded his registration papers in front of me after i had been looking all over our apartment for them for WEEKS. he was hiding them, i swear.)
magnets off of the fridge
several books on the bookshelf
my new shoes
several nails and thumbtacks
the leash handles
tubes of dried up glue (luckily they were all dried up and no harm was done. he got it out of the trash.)
once i found him carrying a knife around. no joke.
god knows how many pounds of rocks (he eats rocks when we take him on walks. we "short leash" him as much as possible, but he swoops down and eats any pebble he comes across and we have no idea why.)

we're thinking of starting a blog called something like "Will Porter Chew That?" because we have yet to find anything that he WON'T chew.

and i'm not just a horrible slob who leaves things like knives and bags of sweet tarts in the floor, people. he is a tricky little dog who has even gotten things off of our kitchen bar, which is like four feet off the ground.

luckily, we're laid back people, he hasn't eaten anything that would kill him, and we're working harder to keep things strategically hidden from him. it's almost like a sitcom, and every day i come home wondering what he's destroyed that day.

but, really, he is growing on me. he and nocci are learning how to interact better, they've only had one or two REAL fights over treats, and they seem to be calming down some. yay!

bunny treasury on etsy!

2009-04-07T09:35:00.005-04:00

That Something made a lovely Treasury West on Etsy that includes my sweet bunny painting! Thanks so much! :D

I also just noticed that the number one spot is another Asheville Etsian, urastarhouse! Hooray!

2009-04-05T14:39:00.002-04:00

new snails! i can't help it. it's an addiction!

2009-04-04T13:34:00.002-04:00

jeremy found these. i had to post them for kandi.

New Etsy Stuff!

2009-03-30T20:18:00.003-04:00

New Etsy listings this week!

You Have Dog Mail!

2009-03-30T19:55:00.007-04:00

So, I haven't been very successful at my POTD assignment for myself, but I think that's partly due to a new project I've started with some photo friends. We're going to experiment with Caffenol! I've been trying to read up on it, acquire my materials, and figure out what I want to shoot. I'm having trouble finding the Washing Soda, but I haven't checked the crunchier stores in town like Earthfare and Greenlife, so hopefully they'll have some and I can avoid having to order it online and pay shipping cost. We're going to try to have some images ready by May 1, 2009, so anyone else that wants to share in this with us, please let me know!

Today was a rough day for me. I screwed up at work, and while it wasn't anything major, it was frustrating and just made me realize even more that I need to hurry and start working towards getting into a new profession. I'm going to try to go talk to the AB Tech advisors this week to see what else I need to do to get into the Baking and Pastry Arts Program there. Like I told my friends today, cupcakes and bread are WAY more fun than angry attorneys and court reporters.

Luckily, my sweet friends brightened my day. Last week a sweet girl I know sent Porter and Nocciola some mail from her little doggy.

I haven't responded yet because I need to get some pictures of the boys printed to include, but hopefully we can start a nice doggy penpal project. (Yes, we are dorks. It makes us happy, okay? DON'T JUDGE ME!) Also, one of my BFFs Juli sent Porter and Nocci some fun treats in the mail, so we went outside to open them and I documented it for her. She doesn't even know how much this made my day, especially since this was such a stressful, pull-out-my-hair kind of day. Here's some photos of them opening and enjoying their treats! Just seeing them rip into those new toys made me relax a little and feel a little bit better about the world. Thanks, Juli! :D

POTD 03.18.09

2009-03-18T22:40:00.001-04:00

Birthday Insanity -- the Downhill Slope to 30

2009-03-18T10:54:00.003-04:00

Here's a recap of my amazing four day, three state, 1000 mile roadtrip, three concert birthday weekend! I am already depressed about next year's birthday because I know I'll never be able to top this one.

My awesomely bearded and bespectacled friend Trip got into town just in time Thursday night to make it to the King Kahn and the Shrines show at the Orange Peel. While I was excited to see King Kahn, I wasn't exactly excited about the Orange Peel. It's the worst venue in town, the crowds usually suck, and there's this metal bar in front of the stage that keeps you from really connecting with anything going on up on stage. Golden Triangle was opening, and they were definitely a band worth checking out. Lots of tambourines, pretty girls, booty shorts, and good energy. King Kahn came on and they were definitely bringing the energy, but no one in the crowd was responding much. I partially blame the venue. King Kahn and the Shrines are known for engaging the audience a lot, having the horn and tambourine players go out into the crowd, etc., but you really can't do that at the Orange Peel. I'm not sure if they've played there before, but I can almost bet that they never will again. The show was good, but not mind-blowing. Trip and I walked down to Rosetta's for some after-show food, but they had closed early, so I just made him walk in the cold for a whole bunch of nothing. So, we settled on Denny's where we ate Pancake Puppies, joked about Potatchoes and talked about stuff the dude behind me probably didn't appreciate during his multi-hour facebook session.

The next day we did a mini-tour of Asheville and hit Malaprops and Harvest. We left too late for the King Kahn show in Nashville that was at the Exit In because the time change threw us a little bit, but we made it in time to see both the opening bands, one of which was Golden Triangle again. This show was better. There was no divide between the audience and the band, so they were going crazy, kept coming out in the crowd, everyone was dancing, and at the end the band did a march through the crowd and got on top of the bar. There's some great photos from this show here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/indierocklance . I didn't think it could get better. Everyone was into it, the band was happy, the show was great, and King Kahn even mentioned how crappy the Asheville crowd was. I was slightly embarrassed to have been from the place that had the bad show, but whatever. We went back to our hotel room, played too much Connect 4 (Trip really has no mercy at that game), and I put my new King Kahn pillow case (the coolest merch item EVER) on my pillow, joking about how funny it would be if I accidentally left it there. Trip had some disgusting Purple Drank that's made to calm you, and somehow he drank the whole huge can despite the fact that it tastes like too sweet Robitussin. I think purple drinks with melatonin in them are probably low on my list of must try items.

The next day the plan was for me and Jeremy to go back to Asheville and for Trip to head on to Memphis to see yet another King Kahn show. He had been going on and on about how much better the Memphis show was going to be. I wasn't sure that was true because the Nashville show was amazing. At the same time, it was my birthday, I had no plans in Asheville, and Memphis is just as close as Asheville from Nashville. I was thinking before the boys woke up and decided I wanted to go to Memphis/Jonesboro. Our best friend Justin was doing a show at the Edge that I really wanted to see, and it was just laid out perfectly so that I could do that and see King Kahn at the Hi Tone if we rushed. Jeremy said okay, so we made sure my dear pug nanny David didn't mind watching the pugs again and went with it!

We ate at a diner called Noshville and had the meanest waitress ever! She was old, fat, grumpy, didn't check on us hardly at all, and generally treated us like idiots. We loved her. Jeremy said if he goes to a diner he expects the waitress to be bitchy, which I totally agree with. We hit the comic book/movie/music store next door and then headed out to Jonesboro. We called our mommas and made plans for a quick visit with them. I suddenly realized that I had forgotten my King Kahn pillowcase at the hotel, called Trip so he could laugh about it too, then tried to get ahold of Juli so maybe I could see her while I was there. When we got to town I got to see my mom and brother for about 40 minutes, and even though my sweet 6-year-old brother got upset when I left, it was still good to get a quick visit in. We went to the Come Sundown show, which was AMAZING, and luckily all our friends were there anyway, so we got to see everyone in the short time we had! It was the best! Justin sang happy birthday songs and Tom Waits' "Chocolate Jesus" to me, he sounded amazing, and I love his new songs. I got to see all my dearest friends, and then took off to Memphis while Jeremy stayed with the boys.

A dear friend of mine that I don't get to see enough and I talked and played catch-up all the way to the Hi-Tone, then met more friends there. It was the Hi Tone, so of course the show started late, but Trip was totally right about the energy at the show. People were already going crazy, dancing, and totally getting into the opening band (again, the Golden Triangles), which was a great sign. People were totally into it. The band was totally into it. When the Golden Triangles show was over we were right up front, but I really had to pee, so I ran back to the bathroom and waited in line. King Kahn walked by, and in my tipsy state I grabbed him and told him that I had been at the Asheville and Nashville shows and he still hadn't played "Took My Lady To Dinner," and that he really should in Memphis. He said he wasn't sure he remembered the lyrics, but he'd try. I peed, made it back up front to where Trip was, recounted my story about asking him to play that song to my friends, and then we waited FOREVER for them to come on. That stage is tiny, but somehow they packed everyone on it. King Kahn and his cheerleader came on finally, and it was OUTSTANDING. Trip just kept nodding at me with that smug "You know I was right!" look on his face. I was next to four sweaty boys who where going crazy and ended up taking off their shirts and jumping onstage. There was some girl in a mini skirt rolling around on the side of the stage. People were stripping off clothes and stage diving and crowd surfing. I think Trip got his glasses smacked off at one point. King Kahn did the same set list he'd done at the other two shows, with a few changes to the "Erotic Gospel" part. The energy was totally insane. I can't even put into words how it felt to be there, especially with some of my best friends. Everyone was so into it, it just felt like being at a really good party with hundreds of friends. I was completely overjoyed, overwhelmed, and so happy that my friends were sharing the experience with me. The band was having fun and kept running into the crowd to play. They took a short break before the encore, but since there's not really a backstage they came back on quickly. Then, after the first encore song, King Kahn said something to the band and then they started playing TOOK MY LADY TO DINNER!!! One of my friends grabbed me and just shook me with happiness because it was the song I had asked him to play! I was so excited! Everyone sang along and it was outstanding. After the show I was totally covered and damp with sweat - mine and everyone else's. I smelled like sweaty boys. Trip talked to some dudes in the parking lot that he had met, we watched an almost fight break out, then we left. Photos from the Hi Tone show can be viewed here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lichtc

I stayed up all night after the show with Trip and Kandi watching the Office, talking about scissoring, and fast forwarding to the good parts of some Vanilla Ice movie (if you can say that there are good parts in it). It was amazing and fun and I was so happy that I decided to make the trip home. We went to bed at like 5 a.m. Jeremy came and got me at about 8:40 or so the next morning and we started our drive home, stopping at a gas station Denny's on the way. There was a bike rally going on outside of it, and one of the guys had a dirty little Pomeranian doggy.

This was by far the best birthday ever. I got tons of great stuff from my wonderful friends, got to see all the people that I care the most about, got to play with my brother, saw two great bands three times each, ate at fun diners, got to see Come Sundown play, sang loudly in the car with Jeremy, stayed in fun hotels, and saw the best show I've ever seen. I couldn't have asked for a better birthday and thank each and every person that helped it happen.

POTD 03.15.09

2009-03-16T23:03:00.004-04:00

2009-03-16T10:48:00.001-04:00

epic birthday blog coming soon.

POTD 03.10.09

2009-03-13T10:34:00.002-04:00

POTD 03.09.09

2009-03-13T10:21:00.002-04:00

POTD

2009-03-10T13:31:00.003-04:00

I'm going to make a conscious effort to start taking at least one photo I like every day. It seems small, but taking those few minutes to get a photo right can be hard to do when you're also trying to walk two dogs, fix dinner, make it to the gym, possibly go do fun things with friends, clean up a little, and yadda yadda yadda. I'm not saying these are going to be magnificent pieces of art or earth-shattering, never been done before pieces of photographic genius -- just slices of whatever caught my eye that day.

I think I'll label them POTD (photo of the day). I'm sure that this will prove itself far more difficult than I'm expecting it to be, and I'm not sure if I'd rather do it here or somewhere else, but I'll figure it out.

My penpal now friend Amber visited from Atlanta this past weekend. We'd never met in person and had only talked on the phone twice, but we clicked right away and I was so glad. I find it very hard to connect to most people, but she and I have the same interests, sense of humor, and brash personalities, so we get along great. I taught her to knit, she taught me to crochet, and it was an all around great time, despite the fact that I had a migraine for about 10 hours of the visit, and she was sick the day after me from a late night with too many dirty martinis.

This week I have another friend coming up to visit, and I'm super excited because we're going to see King Kahn and the Shrines, not once, but twice! We'll be at the Orange Peel show here on Thursday, then after brunch and a short Asheville tour we're going to Nashville to see them there too! We've got a hotel booked downtown so we can wander around and have fun without worry about driving or finding parking, and the next day he's leaving to go see them AGAIN in his hometown of Memphis. I wish I could make that show too, but I can't imagine the drive back to Asheville the next day. That's one long, frustrating, boring drive, and it would come the day after my birthday and two days of partying. I don't see it happening.

I'm not even going to update on the pugs right now. I'm incredibly frustrated with Porter after a night of him being as bad as I could possibly ever imagine a dog being. Hopefully when I get home he'll have gotten all his badness out and I can quit gritting my teeth with rage.

I wish spring would stay. It's so very lovely.

2009-02-23T10:35:00.003-05:00

for kandi and her weird gas station food obsession. sassy pickles? really?

when jeremy moved to colorado for the summer i would send him care packages, and sometimes they contained bagged pickles. sometimes they also contained his very favorite t-shirt which i was returning after he sent it to me so i could smell his scent on it, wear it and send it back to him for the same reason (how sickly sweet, right?), which happened to be a shirt of a band that no longer exists, and also a shirt that is now impossible to get another one of when the post office loses the box you put said shirt into, no matter how much you seach ebay and random hardcore message boards in hope of finding another one. sigh.

google jason molina and get everything he's done. it's good. i'm obsessed with okkervil river and magnolia electric company lately. it's all i want to hear.

i took a trip to charleston with some girls this weekend and it was fun. much more fun than i had expected, and i'm glad i didn't wuss out and have a social anxiety attack like i had figured i would. i also taught another person to knit this weekend, and i'm so happy to spread the knitting love around! i'm no expert, but i'm so happy to pass on my very limited knowledge. after i taught kandi she took off with it and is so much better of a knitter than me now (much to her husband's chagrin since she tends to be obsessive with crafts and hobbies). perhaps it won't be a dying, obsolete art! hooray! now i need to find someone more experienced than i am to help me finish this tank top i started. i got most of the front side done, but now i'm stuck and have been stuck for so long that the project has been on the shelf for months. i know, a knit tank top? totally lame right? but it's just a stepping stone between scarves and sweaters for me. doing a whole sweater freaks me out, but i've got to break out of just doing scarves and simple hats sometime. the tank doesn't have sleeves, so it's not as intimidating as a whole sweater. if i can finish it, though, the sweater attempt is the next. and then maybe CARDIGANS! ah! the thought makes me giddy. hand-knitted CARDIGANS? i've got to settle down before i start getting too excited at work.

anyway. i hope it warms up soon. i'm ready for some beach trips and sunshine.

Don't Divorce Them.

2009-02-20T12:40:00.001-05:00

Total tearjerker.

"Fidelity": Don't Divorce... from Courage Campaign on Vimeo.

car inspections are lame.

2009-02-18T10:26:00.004-05:00

in arkansas we didn't have to get car inspections, so this whole process of registering my car every year and having to get it inspected first is throwing me for a loop. lucky for me, my entire tax return will be spent getting new tires, alignment, and windshield wipers so i can pass my inspection and get my car registered. yay for me!

i'm ready for spring. and sunshine. and lazy sundays in the yard drinking sweet tea with a good book and my feet in the kiddie pool.

i've broken two sets of headphones this month. and my dog ate one. i need to buy like 15 pairs of them and have them laying around everywhere.

i'm going to charleston this weekend and hope it's fun. i figure i'll freak out at the social aspect of the trip and spend most of the night in the hotel reading a book and knitting leg warmers, but that's actually fine with me. i need to get away from itchy little dogs and consistently cluttered apartments, even if it's just for a day or two. i get so overwhelmed sometimes at the clutter and to-do-list and walking schedule.

i know i have it easy, so don't think i'm melodramatic. i just need a day to NOT do those things. i think we all do.

i applied at AB Tech for the fall semester in the baking and pastry arts program. i'm not sure if i can afford it, how i'll make it work, where i'll be employed while i do this, but i figure if i don't just apply and try to jump in it will never happen. there's always going to be something in the way, so i need to just do it. their system is kind of weird, so i'm waiting to see what to do next. i had my transcripts sent and hope i don't have to take some kind of placement test since i already have a bachelor's degree. maybe that will get me out of some of the basics i would have to take too.

2009-02-05T14:02:00.001-05:00

they're liking each other more every day! i've started leaving them together during the day instead of separating them. i haven't noticed any issues yet, so maybe they're past trying to dominate each other. they're still completely different personality wise, so that is definitely taking some getting used to. i think once it warms up and we can play outside more they'll like each other even more. i've been wondering how much it would be to get a little fenced in play area for them in our yard. nothing big, just something so they could get some sunshine without being leashed and without having to pull porter off of the other dogs at the dogpark. he's kind of yippy and slightly aggressive at the dog park, and i'm just too anxious for that to work.

i did my taxes and got that over with, and also filled out a fafsa for the 2009-2010 year. maybe i'll start the baking and pastry arts program a bit early. the economy is looking rough, and it might be a good time to start it. i don't think i'll really be able to afford it, but it's going to be one of those things where there's NEVER a good time to start it. i just need to jump in.

i'm going to be sending valentines out this week! i'm excited about it. i've already made a list of about 50 people who will be receiving them, and a select few are getting a mix cd as well. i don't have time to do one for everyone, and i'm sure not everyone would even want one.

i used to really hate winter and snow, then we moved here and it seemed more tolerable. the snow is fluffier, it actually accumulates instead of turning instantly into packed grey ice and sludge like in arkansas, and it's prettier here in the mountains than it was on the fields back home. i was a little happy when it started snowing the other night, but after two days of walking the dogs in the bitter cold with wind blowing snow and grit onto us, we're ready for it to warm up. i also think the salt on the road hurts the dogs' feet. they'll be walking and suddenly stop and flail their little paws around like something is stuck in it. i've had to alternate carrying them on our walks until their paws warm up. this is the kind of weather that makes me wonder why i couldn't be a cat person instead. it's supposed to be 60 degrees this weekend, so maybe me and the boys can hang out in the yard with a good book, some chew toys, and some sweet tea. yay!

2009-01-30T20:19:00.002-05:00

uh...

2009-01-30T20:14:00.001-05:00

uh...conflicting message. go green, but rip off a sheet a day to see what day it is?

2009-01-26T13:17:00.002-05:00

This weekend we adopted a new pug, Porter. His name was Nick, but he told me his real name is Porter, so we're going with that. He's around 11 months old, and was found wandering the streets with a very messed up front leg. He's a very sweet boy who tries to do his best to please us. He and Nocci are still getting used to each other, but every day seems to be a little bit better. We're keeping them separated while we're at work so there won't be any huge scuffles, but hopefully in a week or so we won't have to do that. Nocci is obviously grumbled at having to share his bed, toys, parents, treats, etc., with a newcomer, but I think that eventually he'll be happy to have someone to play with.

It's funny because Porter and Nocci have completely different personalities. Nocci is shy and doesn't really care to play with other dogs at the dog park. Porter jumped right in and was chasing shephards, giant poodles, mastiff mixes and anyone else he could. Nocci refuses to eat crunchy treats or bones of any kind really, and Porter wolfed down an ENTIRE pork shin in about four minutes, which is crazy since he's so small. Nocci prefers to play with people over toys, and Porter seems to like playing with toys more than people. It's crazy how different they are, but hopefully that will work out and they'll have a lot to talk about. :)

I'll update as they reach new stages in their relationship, and hopefully all of those will be good developments.

sweet tooth

2009-01-18T22:35:00.003-05:00

I listed another cupcake on etsy today! I almost kept this one for myself I like it so much, but I decided that I had enough of my own stuff on my walls! I want to raise money to buy other people's art for my walls!

I also listed a custom order that I hope is well-received, and I painted an extra special Valentine's Day cupcake painting that still has to dry and be sprayed with sealant.

In non-etsy related news, I joined the YMCA and went for the first time today. I was confused by the weird "put your name on a list to get on a machine" thing, but I asked a YMCA person and she was very nice and helped me. I also managed to get next to this really fit chick that was jogging on the treadmill facing BACKWARDS while pumping little weights, so any pride I felt at merely being at a gym for the first time in months was immediately trampled. I also got tangled and knocked my ipod under the treadmill, then accidentally knocked the emergency stop thing twice, thus displaying my extreme gracefulness. I'm going to try to lose 25 pounds, which is a daunting task, but hopefully if I stick to my plan I can make it. It's not a strict plan or anything, but I'm going to try to go to the gym at least four days a week, maybe more, drink only water and juice (no sweet tea or sonic coke runs), and I'm going to try to eat only fresh, healthy food -- no prepackaged crap or greasy pizza just because it's in front of me. I told Jeremy we would likely have to start eating separate food, but it's going to be hard to resist buttery mashed potatoes and deep fried vegan hot wings. I think I'm going to be eating a lot of potatoes, kale, soup, and yogurt, but I like all those things, so maybe it will work.

wish me luck!

Hot Chocolate Weekend

2009-01-16T11:11:00.007-05:00

It's finally Friday! This week has seemed super long, and unfortunately I had a case of the severe grumps for the first half of the week. I started my fiddle classes and sadly, I don't think they're the right kind learning environment for me. It's a pretty large, crowded, loud class, I can't hear what I'm playing (or not playing), and I have no previous musical experience so I'm utterly lost in the technicalities like how there can be two G notes played on different strings and things like that. I'm not a patient person, I don't like large groups, and I have to really work to be able to play things -- it doesn't come naturally to me like it does to some. I'm going to try to drag myself to at least one more class before I give up completely, but I dread it so much that I think I'd rather eat the money than go back. I may look into one on one classes, which I think would work much better for me. I'm not sure I can keep up in a group class environment.

This weekend I plan on finishing up a custom etsy order, making some homemade hot chocolate, volunteering for Animal Compassion Network (I hope the adoption day is indoors this time, because it is COLD out!), and making some more Valentines! Valentines Day is my very favorite holiday, and it's less than a month away! I try to send everyone I know a handmade Valentine, and every year I'm up til 3 a.m. at the last minute trying to get some more Valentines made! Hopefully this year I've given myself plenty of time to be done ahead of time. I also need to test some new bread recipes. I've been trying to make all of our bread from scratch, and no, I don't have a bread maker, but lately I've been stuck on this one really easy white bread recipe. I need to branch out some.

I've been having a lot of fun with my etsy store lately! I've gotten two custom orders, one of which was a trio of bunny paintings! It was super fun to do, but also stressful! It was my first custom order, so I was super paranoid that I make it as perfect as I could!

I've also been working on scanning in the Holga shots I hand developed in my tiny little makeshift darkroom! I'm only doing negatives right now because of lack of space/time for a full blown darkroom, but maybe someday I can make prints again. Anyway, here's one of the shots that turned out okay. I have a Canoscan flatbed negative scanner, but it's tricky getting it to read the full negatives with the sprocket holes and all because the 35mm carrier covers up the sprocket holes, so I'm having to find a way to scan them without using the carrier. Tricky Tricky.

One more update, my lovely friend Kandi has started listing prints in her etsy shop, and I highly recommend you check them out. She's an amazing photographer and has been published and recognized a ton lately for her images. More info here: http://superkantastic.com

I hope everyone has a great weekend and stays warm during this cold front!

2009-01-11T12:44:00.002-05:00

grits, veggie sausage, vegan waffle...nummy!

2009-01-07T10:28:00.001-05:00

It’s a new year, and that means it’s time to set some goals for the upcoming months. I hate to call them “resolutions” because those tend to go ignored, but here are a few goals I have for 2009.

1. Clean the apartment LESS. Yes, I said LESS! I spend hours every week picking up stray socks, putting shoes away, rearranging my craft supplies, scrubbing dishes, doing laundry, cleaning bathroom counters, sweeping, putting away the dog toys, fussing over what mail has piled up on the kitchen table, and you know what? It always looks just as trashed in a couple of days.

Jeremy and I have a lot of stuff. Sometimes I feel guilty about all the stuff we have, but really, when you look at it, it’s not just junk and materialistic purchases for the sake of buying stuff. We have tons of books stacked everywhere, lots of subscriptions (The Big Takeover, Vegetarian Times, GQ, Time, Under the Radar, The Believer, Wholphin (DVD), McSweeny’s, and probably more of Jeremy’s I can’t remember), so we get a lot of mail – and not just that, but mail that takes some time to read, months sometimes. We also both really like books, and we also live pretty close to Mr. K’s, a HUGE and awesome used bookstore. We also tend to accumulate musical instruments, camera equipment – for both film cameras and video cameras – I have a mini darkroom set up in the bathroom, I’ve been painting and selling stuff on etsy, I have tons of knitting stuff, and then Nocci has about 20 toys scattered at any given point in time. There’s also camping gear, bicycles, kayaks, etc. We really just have a lot of stuff, but none of it is crap just taking up space like collections of action figures or cabinets of china or something. Anyway. I’m trying to convince myself to let it go. I read recently that a clean house is a sure sign of a boring life, and when I looked around our apartment it was filled with canvases, paint, banjos, fiddles, mountain bikes, music, and great reading material, and that’s not a bad way to live. I think half the problem is that we need a bigger space to put it all, but then again, I’m sure as soon as we get a bigger space that will just mean we need more things to fill it - probably more musical instruments and a full blown darkroom instead of a mini one.

Anyway, back to my point. I’m going to try to accept the clutter. It’s there and it’s not going anywhere - it never does. As long as there’s nothing moldy, the kitchen is clean, and Jeremy is at least attempting to help, I’m going to try to let it go and not hyperventilate when I’m surrounded by stacks and stacks and piles and piles of stuff and clutter. I know this is the opposite direction that most people go, but I’m at least going to try it out. I’m sick of coming home after work, cleaning the kitchen to cook dinner, cooking dinner, cleaning the kitchen after dinner, doing laundry, then going to bed. That’s not a fun way to live.

(Sorry if you just read that boring list of my possessions - this is more for me than you, though, so pffffft.)

2. I’m going to try to just do more. I’m really bored lately, and I know it’s because I never do anything. I’m used to working full time and juggling a bunch of classes, and right now, that’s not happening. I’m a boring 9-5 office hack and then I come home and stare at the TV. I’m starting fiddle lessons next week, and as soon as I find some money I’m going to sign up for some more lessons of some kind - maybe ceramic, maybe knitting, maybe quilting, I don’t know. I’m going to try to develop more film, figure out my negative scanner so I can upload them and try to do more on my flickr, start some new etsy projects, maybe find a knitting circle, start going to classes at the YMCA on a few nights a week, take Nocci to the dog park more, try more new recipes, etc. It’s REALLY easy to just veg out after work, but I need to stop it.

3. I’m going to try to accept the fact that I hate most of the common ways of socialization. I hate going to crowded bars and clubs. I hate parties. I hate dinner parties where I don’t know people – or even where I do know people in some cases. I’m much better at smaller events - dinner parties where I know people, game nights, etc. Every time I try to force myself to a party or something with the rationalization that I need to meet new friends and get out and not be boring, I just hate it, feel like hyperventilating, want to leave, ruin the time of whoever I’m there with, and make my friends feel like they have to babysit me. I just need to stop going.

4. I was trying to save this one for last, but I’ve got to get in better shape. I was going to the gym for awhile, but then I fell off the wagon and realized that I suck at getting anything done in the gym when I’m not being directed by someone. I would goof off on the elliptical machine for half an hour and barely break a sweat, but the classes were all at really awkward times for me to fit in my schedule, so I stopped going. I’m going to join the YMCA if I can get past the crowds and the smell ( I walked in there once and immediately walked back out without even getting past the lobby), and I’m going to try to go at least to three or four classes a week. I know people that go to the Y, so maybe I can get some kind of thing going with them so I feel more motivated. I will add that I was going to start this as soon as the new year started (like everyone else in the world), but I broke my toe and there’s no way I could do any kind of work out on it for a few nother weeks ( I realize that’s totally incorrect, but I typed it that way because that’s the way I said it in my head and it’s funny, so I left it.)

5. Stop saying “a few nother,” or anything else that interrupts the word “another” and splits it into two words.

6. I want to volunteer more with the Animal Compassion Network, and also maybe start doing some kind of knit for charity thing.

7. Pay off some debt. I’m not in horrible debt like some stories I’ve heard, but I do need to pay off a couple of credit cards. They’re not terribly run up, but I need to buckle down and stick to a budget. And eat out less. Me and Jeremy are really bad about that. The Early Girl is so damn good, though!

8. Travel more! I’m so envious of Kandi for her frequent road trips! I need to just travel more. Maybe I’ll start taking weekend trips while Jeremy is gone. There’s a ton of cities close to here to visit.
9. Buy more music. I have a long list of bands I want to check out, but I never remember to do that until I listen to Last.Fm again and hear a song I love by someone I’m not familiar with. Last.Fm is great because you can favorite songs and it keeps a long list of what you’ve listened to and you can go find it again, but I need to follow up with that.

10. Not get frustrated and actually practice my fiddle. I’ve never fully learned to play an instrument because I have NO patience. At all. I liked the piano class I took in college and did well in it, but I forgot it all immediately. I’m really going to try to learn the fiddle. I may need someone to nag me and keep me from slacking (Jeremy), but I’m really going to try.

11. Watch less TV. We watch too much TV. I think I’m going to try to limit my TV watching to one or two days a week, or maybe an hour a day or something. I’m sure this will be easier in the summer when there’s no new episodes of House and the sun is shining until past 4:30 p.m.

12. Learn to swim. This one has been on the list for four or five years and never been accomplished. I need to just get it out of the way. It's so scary though!

I guess that’s it for now. I’m sure I’ll probably forget half of these, fail miserably at most of them, and maybe kinda do one or two, but isn’t that what new year’s goals are for?

Maybe this Christmas...

2008-12-19T10:00:00.006-05:00

Yay for it almost being Christmas! And I get Christmas fun a little earlier than most because Jeremy and I are having our family Christmas this Sunday since we have to drive to Arkansas to have Christmas with our families there. I have no idea what he got me, but the box is huge. I don't remember mentioning wanting anything that big, so I really have no idea what it is.

I think I got all my Christmas shopping done -- finally! I got a very nice Christmas bonus at work, so I was able to get everyone what I had really wanted to get them and not compromise on it due to finances, which was very nice. I don't usually go and buy everyone something for Christmas. We usually make cookie baskets and stuff, but with us being so far away that wasn't really an option this year as I'd have to make it so far ahead it would probably get crumbly and not so fresh, not to mention the 11 hour drive in a car full of luggage, gifts, and a stinky pug dog. I did try to get as much as I could from local shops and from etsy.com, so I don't feel too bad about my consumerism. I bought probably 17 or 18 things from etsy in the past month or so! It was soooo fun and it's going to be hard to stop once the Christmas season is over. Valentine's Day is coming up, though, and that's my FAVORITE holiday! I can't wait! I wish Kandi would come make Valentines with me some weekend!

I listed this little cupcake last night, and (sloppily) edited the photo to make it look like it's floating! Fun! I do need to work on my photoshop skills, though. There's a community class at AB Tech that is fairly affordable, so I should take it. Or do some online tutorials.
I'd like to give a shout out to the creators of my latest etsy purchases, all of which I LOVE so much:

The Early Girl for her adorable apple sweaters! Great little gifts for anyone on your list.

Toybreaker and Cyberoptix Tie Lab for their AMAZING, hand screenprinted ties. And the packaging is wonderful and perfect for immediate gift-giving!

And last, but definitely not least, Eventual Invention for this perfect little felt apple snail named Walter. I ordered him as a gift for myself and he is divine! Eventual Invention's packaging is so lovely and fun to open! I really did feel like it was a special gift, and the quality of Walter is so great I think my real apple snails think they have a new friend! I'll try to get some pictures of him with my real snails.

Happy Holidays everyone! Be safe if you're traveling, and I hope everyone has a great time seeing their friends and family.

Too Cute!!!

2008-12-16T14:59:00.003-05:00

I found this on the urbanpug blog, and it is just toooo precious! I love pugs so much. There's a sweet sooty faced pug that gets walked near where I work at around five, so I'm almost causing wrecks almost daily to get to see him.

Today is Jeremy's birthday! I don't know what our plans are for tonight, but I'm sure it will involve a yummy birthday dinner of some kind, so that's fun. He already opened his presents, so all that's left to do is blow out the candles on his strawberry cake with homemade cream cheese icing. Nom Nom Nom

Things have been super busy lately. I've been buying up stuff on etsy for Christmas, hassling Jeremy to do his Christmas shopping, getting Jeremy from the airport, painting, thinking about joining the YMCA, and tons of other stuff. It doesn't sound like a lot, but really, it is.

Last night I made some delicious tortilla soup, but the jalapenos I got were WAY hotter than I had expected. I'm wondering if they were even jalapenos. When I was de-seeding them some of the juice got on my fingers and later, after I'd washed my hands a bazillion times, I got some of it on my tongue somehow. It hurt SO BAD! I had just eaten a full meal and still had to drink like a half gallon of milk and eat a piece of bread to make it stop. I thought it was going to make a blister.

Why is it iced over in Arkansas and like 68 degrees here today? Are the mild winters following me around? I thought we were supposed to get the cold weather!

2008-12-13T13:56:00.001-05:00

lemon creme brulee! yum. gotta love the laughing seed.

2008-12-11T19:32:00.002-05:00

baked sweet potato fries and sauteed kale -- nummy!

2008-12-10T13:24:00.002-05:00

new grey cardigan! yay! it was on sale for $3.

today is a rainy day again. the clouds over the mountains are so amazing! sometimes i miss the cotton fields in arkansas, but the mountain views here totally beat out the field scenery. i've been lazy all week. i haven't cleaned a thing, can't upload my etsy stuff because of the camera situation, and have just been sitting around watching tivo. it's pitiful. i did manage to get some groceries yesterday, though, and david is coming for dinner tonight, so maybe i'll get off of my butt.

i'm gonna make some hot chocolate. mmmm..

To Ani or not to Ani?

2008-12-10T01:24:00.002-05:00

So, Ani Difranco is playing two nights in Asheville in March, one of which is on my birthday. Being the Ani fan that I am, I immediately have the urge to buy tickets to both shows right now. There are problems with this situation, though, which I will enumerate below: 1. I'm not a fan of the venue. If it were the Grey Eagle, I'd definitely get tickets. The shows are at the Orange Peel, and while I've seen some good shows there, I tend to regret my decision to see shows there. I'm too short to really see anything if I'm not in an ideal spot, there's a constant stream of people shoving through the packed crowd to get a cheap beer so they can then shove back through sloshing it everywhere, and somehow there's always a six foot tall frat boy in front of me. Really! 2. I might want to do other things on my birthday like go to Savannah or something. The tickets to see Ani are $35 each, and I would have to have a date, meaning it would cost me and (I assume) Jeremy $70 to see her. That's gas to a fun place or a hotel room for a night. 3. I've seen Ani more times than I can remember. Once I made her a spaghetti strap tank top that said "I Love Gas Stations" and threw it onstage to her, and she actually got it, read it, laughed, and shoved it down her shirt! This was at the New Daisy and my good friend Laura Holt was with me. I've had amazing, glowing Ani experiences. I've also seen her and been less than thrilled - not necessarily because of her, but maybe because I'm older now and don't get as excited about shows anymore. It's sad, but true. (Man Man is an exception because they are so unreal live. I still get jittery excited about seeing them, and a little about Langhorne Slim too now that I think about it.) 4. Here's the real problem - I despise Ani's new album. I mean, hate it. I couldn't listen to it more than once, and I struggled to get through that. In fact, I haven't liked much of anything she's done lately. I'm a huge supporter of RBR and have nearly everything Ani's put out besides the "official bootlegs," I have bought at least 5 Ani shirts over the years, I have a Hammel on Trial CD, I've put her on nearly every mix tape I've made, I've stood up for her when people pronounce her name incorrectly (she says it herself in "In or Out, people - it's not that hard), I've argued when people compare her to Alanis Morrisette, but this album blows. I hate it. I don't even like the lyrics in most of the songs. I was hugely disappointed. I know she'll do old songs too, but do I want to pay that much to see her? Is that how I want to spend my birthday? Maybe I'll just plan a trip to Savannah or Charleston instead. Feel free to let me know what your advice would be. :)

2008-12-09T09:23:00.001-05:00

sometimes i wish i were a pug. particularly on cloudy, rainy, sleepy days like today. at least there's coffee with hot chocolate mixed in to make it at least a little better. for some reason nocci was super excitable last night and this morning, so after a 1 a.m. walk and eventual 2 a.m. settle down, i was sadly awaken by a jumping, snorting, excited pug wanting a walk an hour earlier than usual this morning. a pug wanting a walk while you sleep is no easy thing to ignore. i literally got my head sat on and a wet puppy nose on my eyelid until i got up.

unfortunately, jeremy accidentally took the camera battery charger to florida with him in the laptop case, so i can't take pictures of my etsy stuff so i can list it. :( I did get this one bunny painting listed, but i had to take the photos super quick! i also have another mustachioed cupcake painting to list, and i'm working on some mixtape paintings.

Old Crow Medicine Show was great at the Orange Peel the other day. they always put on a great show, and they were filming this one for a dvd, so they probably played even harder than usual. i have a love/hate relationship with the Orange Peel. i love some of the acts that play there, but i feel like they sell more tickets than they should to fill the venue comfortably. i'm totally sick of going there and being smashed up against drunken frat boys and angsty, crying 16 year olds (that was the conor oberst show - go figure). i told myself i wasn't going there again because i always regret it once i get there, but how am i supposed to pass up seeing an artist i love? i just wish they'd all play the Grey Eagle instead.

2008-12-05T12:55:00.002-05:00

roasted acorn squash with walnutty brown rice. yum.

2008-12-04T11:52:00.001-05:00

my largest snail. isn't he lovely?

I already miss summer.

2008-12-04T11:07:00.001-05:00

cherries 1, originally uploaded by cherry valentino.

This year I like winter much more than I used to. They seem more tolerable here than in Arkansas. The snow is fluffier, it's not as grey and depressing, and we have a fireplace and cozy apartment, but it still gets dark at 5:30 p.m. and leaves me with little to no outside time or sunshine each day, which makes me a very cranky girl.

I just want to pit cherries on my covered porch and have some sweet tea in the sunshine.

I guess I'll settle for hot cocoa by the fire.

Busy Week

2008-12-03T11:37:00.000-05:00

This is a busy week. Last night we had homemade pizza dinner with friends, which was awesome; tonight we're getting our first Christmas tree; tomorrow is the Old Crow Medicine Show concert at the Orange Peel; Friday is one of my best friend's birthday parties, and I have no idea what's going on this weekend. I haven't even had a chance to clean up from last night's dinner.

I got some soap from etsy that I loved, but I think it was scented a little too strongly for me, so I gave it to a friend. It was delicious, but I'm super sensitive to scents so it didn't end up working out.

I've been doing a lot of Christmas shopping on Etsy. I think even if I can't get as much for people because it's more expensive, at least it will be handcrafted with love and something you can't find anywhere else, right?

Didn't get to work on the legwarmers last night. Maybe tonight? I was thinking of trying to knit some Christmas ornaments. I have some little knitted circular thingies that I was going to try to make into a scarf somehow, but maybe I'll just hang them on the tree.

Hanging out with other pugs over the holidays is making me want another pug friend for Nocci. I'll keep an eye on the MAPR site and maybe one will come along. Nocci would like to have a sister to share his treats with. Okay, maybe he wouldn't share, but he'd still like a sister.

New Blog!

2008-12-02T15:30:00.000-05:00

I honestly have no idea why I'm starting this. I have a ton of social networking junk anyway, but there are so many blogs I see on blogger that I'd like to follow, it just seems like the easiest way to keep up with them would be to blog here too.

Today I listened to the Yeah Yeah Yeah's "Show Your Bones," which I really didn't like when I first heard it. Today I love it! It's like I went out and bought a new record, but I've had it forever! Don't you just love it when that happens?

Tonight I'm having a homemade dinner date with some of my best friends, and I plan on working on some teal ribbed legwarmers I've been knitting. Yay!

Cherry Valentino

NEW WEBSITE!

BIRTHDAY TIME!

Monotonix in Asheville

march 2 2010

Our Love is all of God's Money

LAB (Lexington Avenue Brewery) Review

2010!

2009 Rundown

juli jackson

Gonerfest 6

for reals.

ignored

*blush*

POTD- Holga Edition

so lazy

Jake Aaron's Photography

POTD

POTD (playing catch-up a bit)

bunny treasury on etsy!

New Etsy Stuff!

You Have Dog Mail!

POTD 03.18.09

Birthday Insanity -- the Downhill Slope to 30

POTD 03.15.09

POTD 03.10.09

POTD 03.09.09

POTD

Don't Divorce Them.

car inspections are lame.

sweet tooth

Hot Chocolate Weekend

Maybe this Christmas...

Too Cute!!!

To Ani or not to Ani?

I already miss summer.

Busy Week

New Blog!

blush