10 Things I Like About T.S.

1.  He remembers random facts about me, and whips them out, out of nowhere.
The other day we were driving, and he said, 'look there's your dream car,' and then pointed to a baby blue mini cooper in front of us.

2.  He always carries my heavy bags.  Always.

3.  He's incredibly gracious with this pathological latecomer.

4.  He is incredibly servant hearted.
Case in point he drives many kms for me.
From Toronto to Burlington to Guelph to Cambridge to Guelph and then back to Toronto.

5.  He cheerfully minces garlic, and scoops out squash for me.
I hate mincing garlic and scooping out squash.

6.  He willingly suggests and goes to farmer's markets with me because he knows I heart them.
What non-hippie, non-foodie guy wants to go to the farmer's market?

7.  When playing 'Worms', he gives me tips on how to kill his worms.
But it doesn't matter.  His engineering skills pwns mine anyway.

8.  He asks me kindly about my seasonal affective disorder, and tries to help.
Like buying me flowers on a regular basis.

9.  He is always gentle AND manly!  Like Jesus.  Even when disagreeing with me.

10.  He wears the same size pants as me so when I soak my pants with milk by accident, I can teef his shorts.
Like last night.

*Note:  He doesn't think he's a romantic, but he is.  Look at this list!  And there's more I have not written.

Five Good Things

1. Ancaster Old Mill for dinner.
2. Family hike and pumpkin picking and turkey dinner.
3. A real live doggy to snuggle and sleep with. For 4 nights at least.
4. A certain tall ginger with the initials T.S.
5. Friends who care enough to bring pecan pie and ask hard questions.

The Birthday Wishlist

I didn't want to put one up this year, but a few people have asked, saying it's really helpful, and they said it's a way for them to show love so...upon multiple requests here it be:

1.  Anything from Curious Oddities at Fresh Collective that I don't already own.
I'm starting to really like the old, vintage look of bronze and oxidized copper.
I think I like it more than silver.

2.  A Gardenia plant.
I know I suck at keeping plants alive, but they smell SO nice!

3.  Copic Markers.
Not the whole set mind you.  That would break the bank.  Just a few colours here and there.  I particularly like the blues.  You can get them at Curry's.

4.  Any picture frame, knick-knack, glass bottle from Chatelet.
I love the Parisian chic look.

5.  Art Supplies
~  White Acrylic Paint
~  White Oil Paint
~  Canvas (the larger the better)
~  Round Palette
~  Palette Knives


















*No gift cards please! :D

You know you're getting old(er) when you want furniture.

I'm saving up for this sucker because my desk has turned into a cluttered storage area.

In the other news, I was contemplating a bag change since the library that I carry to work everyday was getting to be a bit too much.  I had my eye on this guy:

because:

1)  He was classy and grown up.
2)  He was by Matt & Nat.

But I opted out and went for this:



















because:

1)  She was cheaper.
2)  She was better for my back.

Which, I suppose, was actually the grown up thing to do.

Pats on the back for me for not splurging.  Pat. Pat. Pat.

Puppy Fever

I want a puppy.

But my roommate does not.

So I'm trying to get my boyfriend to want one and buy one so I can live vicariously through him, by sending him these pictures:

PREPARE TO DIE OF CUTENESS!

P.S.  Alas this plan is doomed to failure because he is too busy driving to Toronto to see me to take care of an energetic puppy who will probably tear his house down while he is gone.  Sad face.

Ever Gracious

Monday night in an attempt to save $8 on a Go train ticket, I bummed a ride with T.S. to Hamilton because I would be in various parts of the armpit of Ontario for shoots on Wednesday and Thursday.

Now a shoot requires at the very least, a working camera, a working SD card, a working battery, and a working brain.  I had all of that in Toronto except for the working brain.

Because when we got to Hamilton, I realized that I had none of that with me because I had left it at L.Y.'s birthday party right before we left for Hamilton.

Fail.

How was I suppose to do two shoots now?
The answer: go back to Toronto and retrieve said equipment.
Plan: Save $8 back fired.

If I was with me, I would've thought, or said, perhaps with a few drips of condescension, "You idiot."

But T.S., ever the gracious and patient one kept the "You idiot" comments, if they existed to himself, and pulled out a $20 bill to pay for my return fare to Toronto and back.  Because I had no money on me either.

Five Good Things

1.  Fried Chicken from Popeye's
2.  Biscuit Sausage and Egg from McDonald's
3.  Peanut Butter ice cream from M&M meat shops
4.  Portabello mushroom sandwhich from the Bean Bar in Hamilton.
5.  Orange juice.  

Curious Oddities

Currently my favourite jewelry designer is Kat from Curious Oddities.
My super hip friend Beth [let's not lie, I have a friend crush on her even though we are already friends] introduced me to her at Fresh Collective .

Everything about her style is so "me".
I love the old world, Victorian, romantic, feel.  It just speaks to me.
I wish I knew how to do metalwork.

This is the cool thing about art, artists, and God.

No two artists are ever the same, even when one tries to imitate another, but then again one can debate about whether that is art or not.  But what I'm trying to say that God in His genius, created artists to be unique in their own way stylistically.  As much as I love Kat's style, my natural art would not turn out to be like hers, which is why I dish out the dough for her stuff.

Anyone else got some awesome designers that they like?

Classes I Would Take

If I had the chance, I'd want to take classes in:

1.  Flower Arranging
2.  Jewelry- Smelting/Metal Working
3.  Interior Design
4.  Sewing
5.  Sailing


Which one is not like the others?

Five Good Things

1.  Chilly nights.
I can't sleep when it's hot.  I like to huddle under my down comforter.

2.  Fruity Fizz.
Raspberry/kiwi is my favourite.

3.  Quality time with T.S.

4.  Americanos.

5.  Portobello mushrooms.
Nom nom nom nom nom nom nom.

Remind and Refocus

Today as we were waiting for Easter lunch to cook, a friend and I watched the last bit of the Ten Commandments.  As we were getting near the part where the Israelites freak out after Moses goes M.I.A. for 40 days, I started to get agitated because I knew what was coming.  They were going to give into their fears, and make an idol, even after all that God has done for them.  I was seriously annoyed.

It was such an automatic, visceral reaction to a movie that I started to analyze my response.  It wasn't just the fact that they were going to do something stupid that I reacted so strongly in my heart, it was the fact that the vivid onscreen portrayal of the Israelites' faithlessness and stupidity accurately mirrored my own.  I saw myself doing the exact same thing, forgetting God and turning to idols the minute I get freaked out.

I'd like to think that I always walk by faith, but upon reflection my default setting is to trust myself and not to trust God.  When I enter a "foreign land" whether it's a new situation, a new stage in life, a new responsibility, my automatic instinct is look to myself for help, and not to Christ.  It doesn't bode well especially if I have no clue about what I'm doing.

You'd think I'd learn by now that being self-sufficient isn't the best way to go about life since there are so many things in life where I'm way out of my comfort zone...but no, I still need to constantly remind myself and refocus on Christ.

Five Good Things

1.  Friendly reminders to get off the train when you're near your stop.
2.  Naps.  I wonder how many times naps have made this list.
3.  Portobello mushrooms.
4.  Comfortable heels.
5.  Banter

What's in a Date? What a Few Dates Taught Me About Myself, Life, and God

In my 25.5 years of having lived on this planet, my experience in the romantic realm included:
~ 1 "boyfriend" of a week in high school, of which the relationship consisted of hand-holding and snuggling.  I use the term "boyfriend" very loosely.
~ Multiple murky friend-lationships that hit dead ends once they were defined.  (Definition of friend-lationship was always initiated by me.)
~ Countless unrequited crushes. (Unrequited to my knowledge anyways.)
~ Lots of heartaches that were inflicted upon myself by my own immaturity.

That is all to say, the knowledge and wisdom that I had/have in this area consisted/consists of very little, and what very little that I do have is very theoretical.  So it was quite surprising the things I learned when I actually went on some "dates".  I use term "date" loosely as well.  Don't ask, I'm not going to tell beyond what is here.


1.  Finding a life partner isn't black and white, just as life isn't black and white.
Unfortunately there is no sure-fire formula of a+b+c= finding that someone, as much as I wish there was. I'm sure many of you do too.
I use to think that courtship is the only way to get married, and if my future husband didn't court me, my marriage would eventually fail, but that's not true.
Aside from wise principles of integrity like "guard your heart", "don't date someone with different beliefs", and others, there isn't a black and white, so-called better way to finding a mate.

i.e. courting vs. dating
i.e. online vs. offline
i.e. being friends first vs. being set up

2.  This whole process and every minute detail has to be held with an open hand.  
There are a lot of things that I would prefer to happen on the way to the altar, but more and more I realize that I have to hold them with an open hand, and trust that God has my best in mind.

i.e. like the fact that I use to only want to date and marry staff within my organization.
i.e. like the fact that I think it's completely unromantic to meet my future husband online, and would rather meet him "naturally" and befriend him first.
i.e. like the fact that I don't like being set up.

God is creative, and if He's writing my love story I can't dictate to Him how I want it to happen.

I went against every single preference that I listed above, in the past few weeks.

3.  Clarity is a beautiful thing.
Whether I date or court, I realized that I like clarity.
Whether it's "we're just going on this one date to get to know each other without any expectations of any future romantic attachments" or "we're going to court to see if we're meant for marriage", clarity is a beautiful thing.  It makes it much easier for me to understand where the relationship is, and how to behave, think, and feel accordingly.  The trouble comes when I think there's more to the relationship than there actually is, and my emotions and actions follow that train of thought.
Usually because I overanalyze and read into things.

And no, no one asked to court me.  That was just a hypothetical example.

4.  Dating is emotionally draining for me on two levels.
On one level it's intentionally getting to know someone, which is always draining for me especially if I'm meeting someone new.
On another level it's draining because I'm always monitoring my heart and my thoughts making sure I'm not getting ahead of myself.

5.  First dates make bad first impressions.
I knew that people got nervous on first dates, but most of the guys were more nervous that I expected.  So much so that I was actually surprised at how nervous they were, which was endearing in some cases.

6.  Spiritual compatibility is supremely important to me.
That said even with #5 in mind, lack of spiritual compatibility is definitely a deal breaker even on a first date.
There is no negotiation on this one.

7.  Dating tests my faith in the goodness of God.
If he doesn't like me, if he doesn't ask me out again, if I don't like him, if this relationship doesn't end in marriage, do I still trust that God is good to me?

8.  Dating tests my faith in the sovereignty of God.
If I say something wrong, hurt someone in the process, make a blunder, or get hurt in the process, do I still trust that God is sovereign, and that He ordains all things for the good of those who love Him?

9.  Dating reveals where I find my identity.
Am I crushed when someone doesn't call me back or pursue me because I find my value and worth in how much a man/ any man esteems me?

or

Am I able to let it go and not take it personally, realizing that not everyone's meant for me and that Christ esteems and values me?

10.  Dating reveals where I place my hope.
Do I place my hope in what I see?
i.e. I have hope for a future because there is/are a man/men before me who are potential date(s).

or

Do I place my hope in Christ?
i.e. That whether or not there are potential date(s) around me, He has a good future in store for me.

Five Good Things

1.  A cute light teal dress.
2.  Seeing small budding fruits of my labor. 
Thanks Jesus, You didn't have to, but You did.
3.  Growing in maturity- in being able to make wise choices even though my emotions didn't feel like it.
4.  Slow cookers.
5.  Kettle Chips

In My Head

Things I Want to Blog About, But May Never Get Around To:

1.  Online Dating
2.  S.A.D. the mood disorder and not the mood itself
3.  Being in the middle of a major life decision making process
4.  Things Jesus has been teaching me
5.  Things I've been learning about myself

Guys vs. Girls

For the most part when it comes to looking for a mate, immaturity in girls leads them to think:

"This is the one!",

every time they meet someone they're attracted to, while immaturity in guys leads them to think:

"Can I get someone better?"


I know I'm making sweeping generalizations, but I think this is true for the most part in our Western culture today.

Thoughts?

*EDIT*
In our Western Christian culture.

You're Not Dead Yet

Every girl needs a few older women in their lives.

Women who have walked a little further down this road of life, who can help you navigate the rough terrain, and I've been superbly blessed with a few of these women in my life.

Tonight I had dinner with M.L., her husband, and her adorable baby.

We talked about everything, and there were so many sound bites of wisdom and humour that I just had to dedicate a post to her words.

"You're not dead yet."
This was in response to my lurking fear of making the wrong choices in life.

"You're reformed.  Don't go back to school.  You're just going to get married and have babies."
Upon finding out my theological leanings after I explained my quarter-life crisis, and the options upon options that I have, of which school is one.

"You're going to marry a pastor!  I know it."
After I explained my frustrations with the current state of the local church, the potential that I see it has, and why I prefer parachurch ministry more.

Stuttgart and Cranko

New on the Bucket List:

Watch a performance by the Stuttgart Ballet, preferably in Stuttgart, Germany.
Even though that might not happen soon, the next best thing is to watch Jiri Jelinek perform in one of the National Ballet of Canada's productions, namely Onegin.  He was with Stuttgart for 9 years, and the word on the street is that he is currently the world's best Onegin.  It was so sad that he was out due to an injury.

They can't put Onegin on again too soon.

Also new on the Bucket List:

Watch John Cranko's Romeo & Juliet and Taming of the Shrew.

Ballet is my new thing.

Childish Ways

Hear that sound?

That's the sound of paradigms shifting in my head and heart.

It's the sound of beliefs, of knowledge, of understandings, of myself, of others, and of the world being
challenged
reworked
weighed
turned
deepened.

It's been a full week, and by full, I don't mean busy, although it was that.
By full I mean-
I can't even describe it, but I don't mean busy.

It's been the most interesting of weeks where every night without fail I've had some sort of conversation that's changed me, and I think, matured me.

When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child.  When I became a man, I gave up childish ways.  1 Corinthians 13: 11

I've come away from this week with the realization that I have been quite...childish, in speech, in thought, in reason, and as a result in behaviour, and it has been enlightening.

Five Good Things

1.  Above 10 and below 25 weather.

2.  Reunions.

3.  Onegin.  

4.  Brown Eyeliner.

5.  SMS.

5 Current Musings On Singleness

1)  Life is so good without boy drama!
What is it about boy drama that just throws you more than anything else it seems?
Unfortunately it seems boy drama is the gauntlet you have to pass through to marriage.
Unless you have an arranged marriage.

2) It's much easier being content with being singleness when you're not over the moon for someone.
But then I start complaining about the lack of Christian men.
Bad on me.

3) I'm incredibly thankful that God hasn't allowed any boy drama into my life in the past few months.

4) There are a lot of perks to being single.

5) I can be content and want to be married at the same time.  They're not exclusive.

March Goals

I'm not even going to repost my February goals because I failed them all.  
That's right, all.
Methinks I was overly ambitious especially in light of that big project that I just finished.

Alright, here we go for March.

1.  Eat breakfast 5/7 days a week.
Gotta start small.
2.  Eat fruit 5/7 days a week.
3.  Climb 16 flights once a week.

4.  Plan BFF's shower.

5.  Finish editing wedding set and engagement set.

Animation Shorts

I can only hope that one day my talent can match this:

Undina from Amanda Zima on Vimeo.

The Monkey and the Elephant from Boris Maras on Vimeo.

Five Good Things

1.  Parachute By Ingrid Michaelson
This song is literally on repeat on my iPhone. I cannot stop listening to it. It's the perfect "hopeless romantic" song.

2. Yogurt Parfaits
I've started eating yogurt parfaits in the morning in my attempt to be healthier

3. Sketching at the ROM
I've boycotted the ROM ever since that fateful visit in '99 when I realized that the ROM's special exhibit couldn't even match the MET's normal exhibit. I was (and still am) a bit of a museum snob. I went to sketch there, and it wasn't too bad, but I am still boycotting Ontario museums. Spoiled I know.

4. Encouraging Friends
I had to submit a little something something this past Wednesday, and it kinda drove me nuts. During this past week I also started to think that I was a bit nuts, well a little more nuts than usual for attempting this. I was and am so thankful for all the words of encouragement.

5. Spring is in the Air
I know it's cold, but to me spring is here. There's that lovely scent of spring, and those chirping birds.
I wonder who's going to get spring fever this year?

T-Rex Bone Study

Pictures of a study that I did of T-Rex bones in 15 minute intervals.

How To Manage a Budget with Envelopes

Money management is one of my major weaknesses.
Conquering my unruly spending habits was one of my goals to become more like a responsible adult when I turned 25.

I've tried many different methods:

1.  Keeping Receipts
Keeping receipt on everything I purchased and entering it into an excel sheet.
It was tedious and I hated the mess in my wallet with all the receipts.
It was sobering to see what exactly what I spent my money on, but it didn't curb my spending habits by much.

2.  Apps
Then I sort of switched to Home Budget an iPhone/iTouch app that allowed to enter in my purchases as I made them so I didn't have to keep stacks of receipts.
But that didn't work either.

3.  The Envelope Method
Back in university I kept to my meagre student budget using the envelope method in which I made a budget and kept to the budget by putting the cash into separate envelopes designated for certain things such as groceries and allowance.  No credit cards were carried on my person, and the debit card was only in the wallet for emergency purposes only.

It wasn't very high tech, but this one actually worked.  Since I was on a cash only system I saw how much I was spending, and how much I had left.  Voila instant accountability.  There was a constant reminder of how much I could spend, and since I was strapped I couldn't just buy that gorgeous necklace that I "had" to have on a whim.

Unfortunately upon graduation I thought that I had enough self-control to do away with this method, but I was wrong so back to it I go-  this time with prettier envelopes from The Paper Place.

31 Days of Glamour

My life isn't as glamourous as I'd hoped it to be.  Remember you're reading the blog of a hopeless romantic.  But then life always looks more glamourous through the lens of a camera.  

So here's my 31 Days of Glamour project.  

How glam my average 20 something life looks through the lens of my iphone.  

And maybe my DSLR. 

That'll up the glam level by lots.

For today I present dried pink roses on top of my dresser.  

What is it about roses that it screams "Glamourous!  Elegant!"?

Where Is the Line?

Ahem, so I don't know if you've noticed, but since the beginning of  this year there hasn't been much depth to my blogging, but I have...

Why?

Well, let me take you back a few years ago when I was a wee lassie only slightly more immature than I am now, sitting across a cafe table talking with my mentor when she shared with me her struggles.  It was an "Aha!" moment for me as I discovered that other people. didn't.  have. it. together.  either.  Really.  People are just as messed up as me if not more so.

Her vulnerability encouraged me that I wasn't alone, and that I wasn't the only messy one that God, you know had to love, and so I decided to bring my vulnerability to this blog to cheer someone, anyone out there that you're not the only messy one that God loves, and He so dearly does love you as He does me.

But upon reflection over Christmas break I wondered was it too much?
How much is too much?
What is discretion?
Where is the line?
Is there a line?

And so in trying to figure this out, I held back.
That and the fact that this year thus far has been drama free.
Whew.
Even if that is a bit boring for you.  ;)

Well what do you think?
DoI just expose myself in the name of vulnerability?
Where is your line when you blog?

First World Problems; Dishes in the Bath Tub

How content would you say you are in life?

Personally I have to fight for contentment in my life.  So in another effort to keep things in perspective and remind myself how hugely blessed I am,  I present to you, dear readers the "First World Problems" series, problems only spoiled people living in the First World like me gripe about.

(Although the International Development grad inside me would like to inform you that the term "first world" is so passe, and hierarchal, and therefore completely inappropriate.")

On another side note:  I have way too many labels, few of which I use.  I would like to organize them...someday.

Last week our kitchen sink was clogged like an obese Americans' arteries.  Even 3 bottles of liquid plumber and a plunger couldn't do a thing.  The dishes piled up day after day that finally the only solution was to cart them over to the bathtub and do them there.

It took about an hour or so of awkwardly leaning over the tub to scrub stubborn food stuff that had crusted on to pots, all the while griping inside about my poor back that had to suffer such, such, SUCH unnecessary discomfort and why did the dang sink have to go and clog up, giving no thought to the fact that a)  I have running water and b)  I had eaten regularly in that week and therefore had to wash those dishes that I ate off of.  Whew now there was a run on sentence.  Beat that Apostle Paul, and or Dooce.

  

Five Good Things

1.  Free DVDs courtesy of my roommate.
2.  Chocolate trifle gelato.  Yummy.
3.  Coke.  The classic kind.  Unfortunately this non-pop drinker has started to purchase pop.  My teeth are rotting as we speak.
Er...as I type, and as you read.
4.  Windex.  In a household of multiple glass surfaces, Windex is a lifesaver.
5.  Family day.  

1 Long Weekend, 5 Movies, and Many Beads Later

I have very sore fingers and a treasure trove of jewelry.  

If Santa was hiring, I could go work for him.

And for those curious about my muses.  I watched:

*About a Boy

*Shakespeare in Love

*Pride and Prejudice

*The Young Victoria

*The Fantastic Mr. Fox

Definitely had a thing for period dramas and English accents.  4/5 movies were set in England!  I did not realize this until now.  Oh English accents.  How dreamy.

The madness amidst the creativity.

Part of the aftermath

Another part of the aftermath

In Which I Attempt to Make Steak Like the Keg

My stomach adores good steak, and by good steak I mean steak from the likes of the Keg and Ruth Chris Steakhouse.

Unfortunately my bank account does not like good steak, which costs roughly about $30 or so per go.

So we have an impasse.

An impasse that is until I decided and made a commitment to figure out how to make good steak at home, so I started where any good cook would start, Google.

Two tips that I picked up from Google:
1) Cover steak with kosher salt, and let it sit for 1 hour.
2) The 2, 2, 4, 4, rule.  Sear two minutes on each side.  Then four minutes on each side.

My verdict?

It was ok.   Just ok.

The salt did indeed keep the steak tender.  Well somewhat tender, and the 2, 2, 4, 4, rule did work.  I had a nice medium fare for the first time in my life.   But the steak itself was a bad cut to began with.  You can only do so much with salt, and good grilling if you have a stringy steak.

But I shall try again.  This time I bought a cut of rib eye!

What are your steak cooking tips?

Five Good Things

1.  Above 0 weather.
2.  Birds chirping.
3.  Frozen custard.
4.  Prompt apartment maintenance.
5.  Tealish

In Which I Explain How I am Similar to a Preggo Lady

No, I am not preggo.

Put that phone down, and stop typing that email. 

No need to call the HR of my organization to report my immorality, or to alert my pastor and my elders to gather for a public rebuke, or to start sending me pieces of crimson fabric in the shape of the letter "A".

I am simply just in a frenetic nesting mode sans baby. 

Note the symptoms:
1) An almost obsessive compulsive desire to clean and organize. 

Now if you come to my apartment it probably won't be clean and sterile like a lab, but compared to what it was like before and who I was before, take my word for it, it's almost a disorder.  Almost.

2) The compulsion to decorate and put up pictures, and make my apartment look like it's right out of an interior design blog.  The fact that I read too many design blogs probably accounts for this as well.

3)  An immense desire to buy a home, settle down, and then buy a dog.

In a season of transition into the unknown, I've really been craving stability and security, and I think this is my way of coping with it.  I've never really "settled" into my apartment or my life in Toronto because I've always anticipated leaving both apartment and city relatively soon.  This is my attempt to create some sense of stability and security in the midst of change when I don't have any physical ties like blood family or a mate.

Winner

And the winner to the giveaway is...{drumroll please}

is..........


Pri!!!

Until next time ladies.  (And yes, there will be a next time.  Stay tuned.)

* I put everyone's names on pieces of paper and had my roomie draw a name.

Five Good Things

1.  Warm wool socks.  Handmade ones.
2.  Spumoni.
3.  Enoki Hotate Bacon.
Enoki mushrooms and scallops wrapped in bacon from Guu.
Party in your mouth times three.
4.  Fresh laundry.
Even though I really hate doing laundry.  I don't know why.
It's pretty effortless.
5.  Roommate bonding.

10 (Gonna Try) To Do's For February

1.  Start meal planning.
McDonald's loves me because I eat like crap, and their burgers are my default food of choice.
Them and those street dogs that are everywhere in Toronto.

2.  Eat fruits weekly.
I know how sad this is, but truly if I don't make myself, I probably won't remember the last time I had fruit.  Very sad times indeed.

3.  Exercise weekly.
Running up or down the stairs to catch the subway because I'm running late in the morning, yet again, does not count.

4.  Start sleeping at 10:30pm again.
One month of travelling has turned my entire sleeping routine topsy turvy, and I was too lazy in January to reclaim it.

5.  Start eating breakfast, the meal of champions again.

6.  Post one sketch weekly.
I've been drawing quite a lot, and I've been meaning to share the fun, but laziness has struck yet again.  For some reason the idea of scanning and uploading seems like such a mountain to move in my head.

7.  Start editing sets.
I've one wedding, one engagement, one shower, one maternity, and one baby shoot to edit that I know of.
I want to start...somewhere.
I also think I've forgot some shoots.

8.  Dance once a week.
Must...not...let....laziness...take away dance.

9.  Drink 8 glasses of water a day.
I've truly been neglecting the health of my body.  This shall be remedied.

10.  Clean apartment  everyday.

Under the Sea

This is one current piece that I'm working on.
Stay tuned for the finished work next week!

Giveaway!

Conundrum:  I like making jewelry, but I can't wear everything I make.

What to do?

Answer?

Giveaway!!!

A one of a kind, handmade pendant.
I will never make it again.
The process is organic.
Comes with a sterling silver 11'' chain.

Here's what you do:
Leave a comment, and I will make a draw.
Then I will mail the pendant to da winner!

Five Good Things

1.  Fuchsia Roses
You know you're a nerd/hopeless romantic sap when you buy yourself flowers.
That and you really miss Spring.
2.  Carrot Cake
This is the only "vegetable dessert" that I will go near.
Vegetables and dessert shouldn't really mix, but this is the exception.
3.  Naps
4.  The Genius Bar at the Apple Store
They were kind enough to tell me that the reason my iPhone headphone jack isn't working is because I have failed to completely shove my earbuds into the sucker.
I FAIL.  Again.
5.  Bath and Body Works Sale
This week I bought like a years' worth of hand soap.  My friend, C.G. said to me,

"You know you look OCD, right?"

Ah well, no point in hiding it.  I is crazy already.

Five Good Things

1.  New role(s) within Campus for Christ
2.  New job title: Creative Director of MyCravings Online Strategies
3.  The library
4.  Hope
5.  Umbra

This morning I woke up.  I went to my bathroom, and at the sight of newly organized lipsticks and eyeliners I thought to myself with a jolt, "I'm an adult now."  Those aren't my mom's lipsticks that I'm dying to try out and play with.

Those are mine.
Bought with my own money.
That I chose.
That I wear.

Technically I've been an "adult" for seven years now going on eight, but inside I've always viewed myself as a teen inside.  It probably didn't help that in the past four years that I've been earning my own bread and water that I've lived much like a college student so there was no lifestyle change at home to force the full mental transition from youngster college student to young adult.

But at the stroke of twenty-five something inside inexplicably clicked.
"Ok, NOW I'm growing up.  It's time to get my act together."

There's been a mental shift, or maybe plural, "shiftS".

8 Years of Hiatus Over

Ever since I can remember I've been drawing constantly. One of my first memories was my mom teaching me how to draw. I wonder if she would laugh at that now because at the time she was teaching to draw stick figures. Now I've surpassed her in skill, but I'll always owe my first drawing lessons to my mama.

Art was something I always took semi- seriously until university. I almost gave it all up because my biological father and Asian upbringing had ingrained into me the sense that since art couldn't feed you it was, and is superfluous. So after I started university I all but dropped it completely.

It grieves me that I gave up a gift from God for 8 years because of utilitarian reasons.
Here is one way that I've been created to be like Him.
I have the gift to create.
It brings me pleasure and Him pleasure.
Many people have commented that they wish they had my skills,
and here all along I've been trying to shove it under.

Throughout the years of burnout and depression He has used this gift to help revive me, and slowly I've been stripping away the lies that I've believed about art.

This new year I've started taking drawing seriously again.
Sketchbooks are filling up fast and pencils are dwindling into stubs.
And I love it.

Five Good Things

1.  The cold.  I much prefer cold over heat.
2.  Jill the roommate.
3.  Selina the roommate.
4.  Leftovers.
5.  Good Teen Lit.

Five Good Things

1.  Dinner with BFF
2.  New, sharpened  WOOD pencils (I know.  Who uses wood pencils nowadays?)
3.  Dusting off the ol' drawing skills
4.  A remnant of tasty congee that was saved for a morning such as today's
5.  Art supply stores

Five Good Things

1.  Making a new friend at church.  I mean beyond small talk.
2.  New Year cleaning and reorganizing.
3.  Surviving 9 toddlers on little sleep and no breakfast.
4.  Engagement shoot.
5.  Old music that becomes "new music" because you haven't heard it in so long.

Of Risks and Dreams

My high school motto was carpe diem- "seize the day" in latin.  

I like to think of myself as the fearless type of person who never misses an opportunity, but it just hit me this Christmas that I'm not.

I'm actually quite rick-averse.  I like to hedge my bets.  I like to have back up plans, and back up plans for my back up plans.  

I want to succeed and I am terrified of failure, but that has shaped me into the type of person who will only try something if success is guaranteed.  In other words, cowardly.

When it comes to dreaming, success is rarely guaranteed, and in the past I've always shrunk back and opted for safety and security rather than taking that risk and going forth into the unknown.   There always had to be some shred of security. 

But this year I'm going to head into the unknown and chase some dreams.

2010 Recap

2010 was a hard year.  Not as hard as the two previous, but hard nonetheless.  Yet it was not all blegh.  Hard can be good.

Top 5 Fave Happenings This Past Year

1.  Hawaii
Enough said.

2.  25th Birthday Party.
It was the sweetest and most encouraging party in my 25 years of life.

3.  BFF getting engaged.
It's like my sister getting engaged except I don't have one, which makes it all the more special.

4.  Vision Trip to South Asia
How could travelling to South Asia NOT be on here?

5.  The Small Things