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Update!

Hold the phone, I'm finally updating! I've been meaning to for forever but kept putting it off due to a combination of business and laziness. Also my old laptop died and it had almost all of my pictures on it so I had to set aside a suitable mourning period for that. But alas, I'm back now.

Here are a few highlights of what I've been up to for the last, oh, 5-ish months.

In September I went to Arizona. The desert is really pretty and oddly soothing, however, it will also kill you. This picture is from Sedona, which is possibly one of the prettiest places ever.

Fun fact: They (whoever "they" are) say that Sedona is an energy vortex and sometimes watches and electronics can act up. My watch died within an hour of being there. Coincidence or vortex? (Sidebar: more on vortexes later)

Also, this:

We also spent a few hours in Tombstone, which is a nifty and weird little one-street old Western town.

They also have crazy-huge cacti succulent things in the graveyard there.

Here's a view of the surroundings looking out from the graveyard. It's weird how Tombstone is just out there by itself.

Then in October the leaves changed in my neighborhood and it was really pretty. I'm a sucker for fall and for my neighborhood. Combine the two and I turn into some kind of creepy tourist walking around leering at colorful leaves even though I live here.

Then in November my parents and I went to Libertyville, Illinois to see my brother graduate from Navy basic training. I'm really excited that my brother went with the Navy so I can have a plethora of jokes at my disposal. For the love of all that's holy, they're called Seaman. How am I supposed to let that go?!?! Anyway, it was NOT warm up there. We were just a few minutes from Lake Michigan so that was interesting to see.

I knew the Great Lakes were big but didn't realize how huge they were. Lake Michigan is so big that it really does look like the ocean. That was the only picture I took before I ran back to the car like a weenie because the wind chill was like -4 degrees.

Two of my friends gave me a Daryl Dixon cardboard cutout for Christmas. My own personal Daryl has been a source of warmth and enjoyment in this frigid Polar Vortex (see, I told you we weren't done with vortexes (vortii?) yet.) Here's Daryl taking a shower. He wants me to remind you all how important personal hygiene really is.

Back to the Polar Vortex. IT SUCKS. I'm too poor to turn on my heat (which especially sucks when the high is 15 degrees and the low is 3. I feel like a pioneer woman toughing out this cold without heat) but luckily my cat has discovered that her calling in life is to be a footwarmer. She excels at this and at being adorable, often at the same time.

Anyway, she's mad at me right now because I spent the last 2 and a half days trapped at my parent's house because the snow and ice and abandoned cars made it impossible for me to get back into Birmingham to my apartment. Luckily my parents live outside of town and close to where I work so it was the perfect location to wait out Snowmageddon 2014. My Dad and I love a good weather crisis so we got a kick out of watching the news and how dramatic they made everything. They created the byline "Waiting on The Thaw" like The Thaw was some kind of monster. "Don't be too loud, kids, or THE THAW will find you!" 

Anyway, moving on from THE THAW that hasn't happened yet. It's hard to tell, but that's ice hanging off some leaves. And this is my parent's yard:

THE THAW was nowhere to be seen.

But luckily the ice cleared up some today and people were able to go get their cars from the highways and interstates so I was able to get back to my apartment to this furball:

She was upset that I had been gone so long. Can't you see the pain and abandonment in her eyes? Maybe one day she'll understand that her furparent is a survivor of Snowmageddon.

I've also been up to other stuff that doesn't involve freezing to death. I've been working with my friend MJ on some blog posts for her new project called Fashionably Responsible. I'm officially a contributor on her site so keep an eye out for that. (You can tell I'm officially a contributor because if you go to the page helpfully labeled "contributors" you'll see me there. See, I'm not crazy and making it up!) I've also been applying for a ton of writing jobs in hopes of pursuing a career I'd both really enjoy and be really good at and would maybe allow me to turn the heat on. Anyway, go check out MJ's site!

So, long story short, I'm going to start regularly blogging again. I've done a couple of projects in the past few months that are worthy of posts and I don't have any travel plans (yet) so I don't really have any excuses for going 5 months without a post. 

I leave you (for just a little bit, I promise) with a parting picture of me and Ringo.

I don't send out Christmas cards because who wants a picture of me and my cat, ya know? Then I started thinking about it and thought it would be hilarious to send out cards for some obscure holiday like Groundhog's Day instead of Christmas. Ringo wouldn't cooperate with me trying to take a selfie of us for the card so I suppose it's not going to happen. (For now anyway. There are other obscure holidays. I have my eye on the Ides of March.)

Filler Post

I'm working on a new post but it isn't ready yet. I've decided to keep you all entertained with a gripping photograph collection that I call "The Many Sleeping Positions of Ringo."

Enjoy.

"What else could you want this throw pillow for?"

"Don't bother me when I'm trying to decompress."

"You have NO idea what kind of day I've had."

She might be judging me or wanting to high-five.

"Do not pester me with your love, human."

"The Loaf"

"The Dead Weight"

"I'm not stuck, I'm resting."

My new post will be ready soon, I promise.

The Pintester Movement Part 2/ Great Ideas Always Strike Later/ Best Friday Night Ever

It's a Friday night and I'm staying in. This is by far the best decision I've made all week. It's going to be a fun-filled evening of crafts and Coke Zero and veggie chips and hummus. I regret nothing!

I was pondering over how my challenge pin for The Pintester Movement went and had a beyond brilliant idea as I was listening to Tom Waits.

The exact train of thought was: "Sharpies and rubbing alcohol have so much potential to be really cool but I'm NEVER going to wear that shirt...Man, Tom Waits writes good lyrics...Why don't I have any cake? Or at least pie????...What if I wrote Tom Waits lyrics in Sharpie and drop alcohol on it on the back of that shirt I used for the experiment pin and see if it turns out as awesome as it should?"

Since I was never EVER going to wear that shirt in public, first because of the bacon grease stain and secondly because the Sharpie/alcohol experiment didn't work out too bueno, I decided to cut a square out of the back of the shirt and have at it. Also, I was looking for an excuse not to go to the gym. I obviously don't take my mission to "not get fat and die" too seriously sometimes.

There's a lyric in the Tom Waits song 'Black Market Baby' that I find catchy and amusing. Hark, here it is:

I started by writing the words on the t-shirt in Sharpie.

Well, it's "blending" I guess.

The finished product. I actually think it looks pretty nifty.

I think "whiskey" came out the best.

Ringo was so enthralled.

All in all, I think it looks much better than my first attempt using Sharpies and alcohol to mimic tye-dyeing. I can't talk anymore right now, I have to get back to my couch and watch more 'Game of Thrones'. I'm in love with Jon Snow and am not ashamed. The best men are almost always fictional characters...sigh. 

Stuff and Things

I got a cat on Friday! I adopted her from the humane society and I love her. Her name is Ringo and she's very sweet and fluffy and meows like an Ewok. I left her alone for the first day and then on Saturday night she started exploring the apartment and even got on the couch with me for awhile. Of course she wants nothing to do with the toys I bought her but is fascinated by blankets. I'm a parent now you guys, I understand the world (completely kidding).

She seems to be adjusting well.

Here are more random pictures I've taken over the past few weeks. Some of these (I think) are really cool and I don't want to lose them if my phone dies or something. Preparation is always the key to being prepared.

The sky was really pretty during one of my early evening strolls.

The park across from my apartment is pretty, too.

Irises are the best flower.

Sloss Furnace yesterday.

Angles and lights are cool.

This reminded me of the Lion King and I'm not exactly sure why.

Apparently, I really like clouds. This would be a great watercolor painting.

The Pintester Movement!

There's a really funny site called The Pintester that I recently discovered (but everyone else probably knew about it lightyears before). Holla at ya, Sonja! I don't know why I said that and now I feel kind of awkward. Hmm. Awkward internet silence.

Aaaanyways, Sonja Foust, creator and writer on The Pintester, created something called The Pintester Movement which encourages people to finally break down and try that one pin from Pinterest that they've been meaning to do for ages but keep staring at longingly from afar. I signed up for it because I was bored and it seemed like a cool idea and I was feeling impulsive and I figured it would make for fun reading later. Plus Sonja Foust is really funny and provides amazing commentary, which I'm looking forward to.

Here's what I decided my challenge pin would be:

I've had it pinned for forever and kept meaning to get to it but didn't. If you link out to the instructions, it looks simple enough. The lady even let her young child do it, so I figured it couldn't be all that hard...but I was still skeptical because the internet is full of lies! No, it's not really full of lies. But this thing doesn't seem to be very well monitored so you never know if something is true or not until you try it for yourself.

So I did. I gathered an old white t-shirt that I never wear because I spilled bacon grease on the side (don't ask how that happened), my glorious collection of Sharpies, and a bottle of rubbing alcohol together to make this potential disaster happen. The instructions called for one of those wee little dropper things but I don't have one and I don't want to buy one since I've never needed one up until now. Also, I'm cheap. I figured using the tip of a paintbrush to make the alcohol drop would work just as well.

I got all the stuff together and then remembered I needed a plastic cup and a rubber band. I can only do so much at once, you guys. So I went and got those and started drawing designs on the t-shirt like the instructions said to. The small child looked like she was really into it so I thought it would be fun...or I'd inadvertently get high on Sharpie fumes. Either way, it's a win.

Yay, supplies:

(please note the dramatic lighting)

Yay, drawing designs:

After the alcohol was dropped on:

Results?

All in all I think it looks okay. The main thing is to stick with colors with similar tones and in the same hue family so you don't end up with brown blotches. I'm not sure how the 8 year old girl got her designs to spread and not show  random lines in the design like mine turned out, so if you figure that out do let me know.

So I guess this is kind of a success...it turned out like the directions said it would but I'm left somewhat unimpressed. It was kind of like seeing "The Great Gatsby" all over again because after it was all over I was left sitting in my seat thinking,"So...it's over now? That's it?" and then I walked away confused and twinged with disappointment. (FYI, the book is waaaaaaaaaaaay better than the new movie. The older movie was waaaay better than the new movie too, but not "waaaaaaaaaaay" better than the book.)

It's okay though, I got to smell Sharpies and sanitize my hands with all that rubbing alcohol simultaneously so it wasn't a waste.

The Plight of the Twentysomething Part 2

I decided my last post was stupid and whiney and a waste of a post so now I'm trying to redeem myself. It's not like I have any real problems anyway. My job has its share of problems: the stress is through the roof and the pay is awful but at least I have a job that enables me to have my own apartment and car and tasty foodstuffs. Things could definitely be worse, but it's just frustrating to feel like you're going nowhere professionally and it's easy to lose perspective (looking at you, Kardashians) of what legit hardships are.

Things will get better eventually and I'd rather struggle now and have all these experiences rather than when I'm older and too stubborn to learn anything from it. But sometimes I definitely deserve credit for managing to not be a violent psychopath, ahahaha. That was a joke, guys.

I can't believe it's almost June already. The year is almost half over! I've decided to do a review of my new year's resolutions (yes, I wrote some down. Yes, I'm lame.). Also, I don't have any finished arts or crafts to show you so I might as well do this. I put together some homemade pickles today so after they sit for a few days I'll test them and then that will be a more arty/crafty/foodie post.

Anyway, here we go:
-Be more creative- Working on it. It's more of a work in progress than a destination.
-Be healthier- working on it. I've been making serious strides to eat better and go to the gym like a boss.
-Get a new job that I enjoy and find fulfilling and like I'm contributing to something (which will lead to drinking less)- working on it.
-Broaden social circle- have definitely done and am working on broadening it even more.
-Dress better/i.e. look less hobo-esque- Meh, I'm working on it I guess. I need a new job that pays better before I can buy new clothes, har.
-Start a blog- Done!
-Be more self reliant and independent- I've definitely made strides in this area, like battling the Apartment Mouse all by myself. I won, by the way.
-Seek out new experiences- Well, I went into Forever 21 the other day. I say I owned this one.
-Make definite plans to travel to visit friends who live elsewhere- Seriously guys, get ready 'cause I'm coming for you! (Prepare fun activities (Funtivities!) Alex and MJ and Brittany and Kevin!)
-Be happier- I think I'm happier than I was a few months ago but I've learned happiness is never something you just are. It's something you have to work for and make happen along the way. Again, it's a work in progress and not a destination.
-Be more awesome- Totally owned.

I almost sound wise and like I have myself together. Psssh. Here's a picture of Birmingham at dusk from the night last April when me and my friend Kevin (he's an awesome musician by the way. Check him out!) snuck onto an apartment building's roof and ate potato chips and considered spitting down onto traffic. See, I'm really not all that wise.