The Lake Effect

Oh please Mr Postman!

2010-04-15T14:47:00.003-04:00

My little Jr camera is making it's long awaited voyage home today. Unfortunately I am stuck at work on this beautiful sunny day, but I have been checking Jr's progress via the lovely tracking package option. So far, he has not returned.

via Octoferret on flikr

So please Mr UPS man, bring me my camera!!!

sometimes you just want to hit things....

2010-04-14T01:06:00.002-04:00

I am so annoyed and frustrated and OVER IT!!!

the only thing I can do is present a pleasing bowling picture, because who doesn't love bowling!?

Miss me?

2010-04-12T20:47:00.002-04:00

You've probably heard, "Planning a wedding is stressful!" You may have even heard me say it. That's what I've been doing these past few months.

...

Wait. No it's not. Ha! The stressful part is that I haven't been planning it! I daydream, gather ideas, and procrastinate. That's why I'm stressed! Sigh... Well last night and today I have finally started putting pen to paper and product to shopping cart. I've crossed at least 4 things off of my to-do list and am THIS close to finishing the invitations! Whew! One of tonight's projects was narrowing down the centerpiece idea. In doing so, I was playing around with this lovely IKEA vase and michael's fake gerberas.

I love it. However, the vases are $10 a piece and needing 35 of them? Well, that idea is out. While I was photographing this lovely failed idea, this little guy decided he wanted some of the action...

Meet Chester, my first long haired cat ever. Chester is the bane of my existence. He is the reason nothing stays on coffee tables or desks. He should have been named Dennis because he is a MENACE! He leaves his fuzzy static-y gray hairs all over the place. As soon as company comes over, he uses the litter box (number 2!!) He constantly bothers his big brother, Crackers. He thinks he can beat up Roxy, the dog. He eats until he pukes, then goes back for more. He sits right in front of the computer screen whenever I sit down at my desk. He is the most rambunctious, annoying, frustratingly ...adorable creature I know.

And tonight, he decided to attack my failed centerpiece idea...

got hit in the head with fake flowers, then decided to take a more reasonable stance about ten feet away.

(and of course, less than three minutes later, he knocked it over again. Sigh...)

Learning every day

2010-01-25T21:09:00.002-05:00

Concert photography is totally different from other forms of photography. I've experimented with all sorts of lenses, settings, flash or no flash, exposures, etc. Last week, on the day of the great Verizon FAILure, my boys played a show at a local bar, Frankies. The lighting was interesting, and while I was shooting it, I thought everything blue, red, and green was going to be crap but...

I'm enjoying this photo of Blue Brady.

And this one of the rainbow guys.

However, the easiest, most crisp light was right after the blue, when it was ALMOST normal coloring. I had to time it just right for these images but I think they are pretty neat. Again, it's just all about learning more and more with each shoot. Can't complain though, great music and a chance to get some new photo experiences - plus being the groupie that I am, I got in free. :)

Hip hip hip happy Christmas

2009-12-17T22:06:00.002-05:00

Hope you are enjoying the time leading up to Christmas! The boy and I just finished a long, strenuous afternoon/evening of shopping, and we are SPENT!

I am really getting excited for the time spent with family and friends next week.

SO, wishing you a merry Early Christmas!

Love,

Eric, Roxy, and me.

Finally...

2009-12-15T20:44:00.002-05:00

If you've been around my blog since July-ish you will probably remember this photo:

And the promise that came with it - sharing of the details of the Save the Date project... Well the time has come. Some of you may have received the postcard in the mail so this is old news. I still want to show it off though!

There it is! Front and back. :) It's printed on 'pearl' paper so it has a glittery, glossiness to it.

But our all time favorite part of the whole project was the video (which not everyone has seen!)

Oh I love it. I still watch it! We've had good feedback so far from both parts of the Save the Dates. They were so much fun to make & send out. The whole process took us a couple hours on the 4th of July. The video took maybe another hour. We got the postcards printed through Blossom Publishing and made our own address labels with our inkjet printer. Altogether, not too much work!

P.S. While I was attempting to photograph the postcards, I was interrupted:

hehe :)

Stopped in my tracks

2009-12-14T22:32:00.005-05:00

I was just trying to have a lovely impromptu dinner with the boy tonight when all of a sudden I noticed that I could not see all of the letters in the word on my glass. I thought "uh oh..." and then proceeded to test out my vision by looking around at different details.

The I was missing in Miller.

The O was missing in Sports.

The pepperoni was missing on my pizza.

Then sure enough, I started to see the little lights.

Remember when you used to be able to turn your tv to channel 99 and see nothing but static? Or 'dancing ants' ? Now, it's probably just ESPN7 but you remember what I'm talking about. Well, picture that in bright colors. Now picture it right in the center of your vision, completely erasing what SHOULD be seen.

Now imagine it growing larger and larger within minutes until your entire vision is fuzzy, cloudy, and quite disturbed by the dancing colorful ants.

Welcome to my migraines. If I were an artist, I'd draw a picture to better describe. However, I'm not. So... I google image searched migraine auras. Interesting finds:

This shows the progression of the aura as it grows and then finally recedes. Blah.

Ugh I can't even look at this one.

A lot of people will say that even looking at or imagining the auras will bring tears to their eyes. I think the craziest part is that the aura doesn't bring pain at all. It's just the knowledge of what comes next. Check out this description I found here :

Migraine headaches may be preceded by a visual "aura", lasting for 20 to 30 minutes, and then proceeding to the headache. Some people, however, experience the aura but do not have a headache. This visual aura can be very dramatic. Classically, a small blind spot appears in the central vision with a shimmering, zig-zag light inside of it. This enlarges, and moves to one side or the other of the vision, over a 20 to 30 minute period. When it is large, this crescent shaped blind spot containing this brightly flashing light can be difficult to ignore, and some people fear that they are having a stroke. In reality, it is generally a harmless phenomenon, except in people who subsequently get the headache of migraine. Since migraine originates in the brain, the visual effect typically involves the same side of vision in each eye, although it may seem more prominent in one eye or the other.

Some people get different variations of this phenomenon, with the central vision being involved, or with the visual effect similar to "heat rising off of a car". Some people describe a "kaleidoscope" effect, with pieces of the vision being missing. All of these variations are consistent with ophthalmic migraine.

Yuck.

Pictures found: here , here , here, and here

Lucy & Sadie

2009-12-13T14:39:00.003-05:00

I know it's been forever since I posted and believe me, it's never far from my mind. I need a fresh inspiration for daily posting! Until I get back on my blogging feet, I hope this will hold you over. Yesterday I had the honor of photographing my dear friend's little one, Lucy. She was such a delight, and I must say, quite taken with me. Hehe

I think nurseries are so adorable. Lauren and Jon have created a wonderful space for Lucy to grow up in.

She's so stinkin cute!!

I also recently was able to photograph my friends Nick and Laura with their newborn, Sadie! Seriously, I am completely intrigued with baby photography now.

Brings a smile to your face doesn't it? Babies may not be in my future for quite some time, but I'm certainly enjoying getting to hang out with my friends' little ones! :)

The Welker Family

2009-10-29T21:38:00.002-04:00

Sue and I work together every Friday at the Y front desk. The first thing I ever heard about Sue was "Oh you work with Sue? She has 5 kids." I remember thinking, "Wow.. that's all I'm going to hear about. What in the world will we have in common!?"

I was wrong. We've become great friends! And her kids are seriously some of the cutest. She has Chase, followed by Kirsten, followed by twins Maya and Alana, and finally Corbin. Oh and her hubby Chad.

Chase was such a good sport! He was horribly ill but managed to bear with us during the shoot.

I love this last one - Corbin is looking back at me. What a cutie!!

The Boy's Band

2009-10-20T20:54:00.003-04:00

I just have to shamelessly brag on my fiance and his band... They just got signed! This is a very exciting time for them, and they oh so graciously agreed to let me photograph them (and even use my photos on their new myspace and possibly the new album!!)

The shoot was slightly stressful but one of the most successful shoots (in my opinion.) So anyhow, congratulations to Southbound Fearing on signing with Red Cord Records! :)

I've been shooting a lot lately. Mostly small projects for friends and such, but it's been educational to say the least. For some reason, I get super nervous right before every shoot. So nervous that I start thinking of reasons to cancel! This feeling doesn't really shake until about fifteen minutes into the shoot. I even start thinking about how much I DON'T want to be a photographer. Where is this nervousness coming from?? And how do I CHILL out!?

After I relax and get into the flow of the shoot, I realize that I love what I've been doing lately, and I really hope I continue to shoot every weekend (at least!) We'll see...

Yay Fall!

2009-10-18T17:13:00.004-04:00

We may not have THAT many fiery red or vibrant orange trees, but we certainly have some pretty trees. As much as I love springtime green against the blue sky, I loooveee orange, yellow, and red against the blue sky too!

Go take a walk! Who knows how many more beautiful, brisk fall days we have left!

PS I am not a fan of photographers/photo editors adding sun spots or rays after the fact so I just had to clarify that the photo above is unretouched. :)

ok ok I may have adjusted my contrast a bit but that's all!

Us.

2009-10-15T20:04:00.002-04:00

We used a tripod, self timer, lots of patience, and lots of energy. I think our result was pretty allright! I still want to get some engagement shots next spring through the company I work for but we just wanted to see if I could make it work being both the subject and the photographer.

I'm still very excited to show off our save the dates... I just hate the labeling process so I've been slacking. Sorrrrrrry. Hopefully soon :)

p.s.

2009-10-08T23:46:00.001-04:00

I cannot WAIT to show the blog world our Save the Date project!! I cannot post anything about it until they are actually sent out but

ahhhhhh

I love them! :)

Blah-xiety

2009-10-08T23:29:00.003-04:00

This post over at Color Me Katie prompted this posting of a self portrait. And an explanation to go with it I suppose.

For the past couple months, I have been struggling with anxiety off and on. Mostly it will hit around 3 oclock, while I'm at work figuring out what tasks will finish up the rest of my day. I've noticed a few things that seem to incite the same tightening, less-than-panic-but-more-than-calm, uncomfortable feelings.

And they are weird!

First, this blog. Have you taken a look at all the blogs I follow? I used to LOVE looking through all of them. I would take my time picking through each and every one of them - feeling inspired, creative, and relaxed. The first time I felt this 'anxiety' while browsing through my favorite blogs, I remember thinking, "Now this is weird."

Is it that I don't want to miss any? Is it that I feel intimidated by everyone else's greatness and creativity? Is it that I am forcing myself to enjoy something I may not find enjoyment in anymore?

Maybe. Maybe. No.

Blog-xiety? heh...

The other circumstance I find to be anxiety-provoking is the process of placing a lab order at the end of the day. This is odd, but hang with me for a minute. Around 3, when the pressure of the day is wearing thick, when the lunch I enjoyed is starting to put me to sleep, and when the mounting general annoyance of the office hits sky high, I begin to plan out the remaining 2 hours. Usually, I finish up a few photo-retouches and prepare them for a lab order.

Ok seriously, just trying to explain this is giving me hives. Hah... All you need to understand I guess is that it's not a stressful task but my mind seems to think I need to be panicky about it.

Whyyyyyy do I have to put up with these stupid feelings? Why does my heart pound and my breath catch for any other reason than seeing my fiance (ahhh cheesy, but I had to throw it in there!) Why do I feel like something is horribly horribly wrong when I know that it's not!?

Mom says it's hormonal. Well I say it's ANNOYING!

Give me back rationality! Give me back my generally calm demeanor! Give me back my afternoons!

And go AWAY anxiety! Off with you!

Bruised

2009-09-09T23:48:00.002-04:00

I just wrote two paragraphs on pain. Embarrassed myself, deleted it, and wrote this. Now here I am, feeling pretty crappy about this blog, among other things.

Why do I start things I can't finish?

Why do I promise things I can't deliver?

Why do I let myself let myself down time after time. And yes, I meant let myself let myself.

Why do I feel this weight of the world on my shoulders one minute and then have it disappear the next? Why, when it's bearing down on me, do I desperately want to do something about it but feel far too mentally wiped out to do anything at all?

Why is work so hard?

And why, oh why, am I writing this out in a place that is so public?

Hmm..

Maybe you feel it too. It's nice to know you're not alone.

Zesty!

2009-08-18T23:04:00.002-04:00

Ugh, I worked 10 hours today. Up and down the stairs, answering phones, and spending some quality and not so quality time with my good friend Photoshop. Some days when I walk out the back door at 5, 6, 7ish PM, my brain is literally throbbing from all of the multi-tasking, computer staring, and workflow organizing I do throughout the day. Today was one of those days.

I thought the last thing I would want to do is sit in front of my [superior] home computer and spend more time with Photoshop. So I didn't. I watched some HGTV, even took a power nap during "My First Place." But then I heard my name.

Rachel!

Rachel! :crinkle crinkle: Rachel!

RACHEL!

It was my new Photoshop User mag, still in plastic packaging (hence the crinkling) sitting all by its lonesome on top of my coffee table. In all fairness, it was in good company with my unread Rachael Ray and Vogue mags.

Well anyway, I gave in to that little voice, ripped off the plastic, and started rifling through the pages. You can guess what happened next... Yep, I sat down at my computer and start playing.

Warning: these photos are ROUGH and literally just for fun. Please don't judge me on my sloppy extractions or poor creative ideas.

I spent some time looking for arrows, but they are all too clip-art-ish or ridiculous. Wouldn't it look cooler with an arrow in the wood right where he's looking? Shout out to Eric for being such a great subject!

Googly eyes are back. This one is a little silly but I liked the overall feel of it. The orange in front is lacking something. It needs something else to give it the UMPH it needs. But I'm not too unhappy with it - I'm unveiling it here aren't I?

So my head hurts a LOT now. Time for bed.

bookcases.

2009-08-11T23:25:00.002-04:00

Are your bookcases crooked and relatively pointless?

Reminiscent of a geometric pattern?

Featuring an alternate purpose such as climbing to another level of your house?

Ridiculously sorted in a pretty neat looking rainbow pattern but impossible for ever finding the book you want simply because you cannot recall the color of the binding?

Cleverly placed behind a decorative curtain with a ladder for the tall shelves?

Ooooo I've always wanted bookcases that require the use of a ladder. I can't wait to have my own home so I can take advantage of some of these amazing uses of the things-that-hold-my-precious-books. My semi-obsessiveness probably wouldn't allow for color coding because you have the size difference problem, not to mention the fact that I wouldn't have any (ahem, many) books in black, brown, or red. Also, what do to when you have more than one book by the same author? You can't tear them apart! Atrocious.

No, no. I won't be color coding. But I can appreciate those who do.

I'll just be dreaming of a shelf so high I must roll the ladder out from behind the decorative curtain, climb 2 to 3 rungs high, and comfortably pull out my non-dog eared copy of (fill in the blank here) then proceed to lounge on my extra comfy couch for a nice little reading session.

Sigh.

All images found via google image search of "bookcases" "bookcase" or "color coordinated bookcase."

Scars & Work

2009-08-05T23:59:00.002-04:00

I've been doing a lot of retouching at work these days since I am now in charge of all of our orders. So pretty much all day I go from file to file, face to face, using the clone, healing, and patch tools over and overrrr again. Fun right?

Well what starts happening when you do this day in and day out? You see people with under eye bags, and you want to pull out your tablet, hit 'S' on lighten at 20% opacity and just swoooop under the eyes a couple times. Voila!

Only, it doesn't work in real life. Darn.

So I came to a realization that when Eric and I get married and someone somewhere spends a couple days processing our images (ok who am I kidding, it will probably be me) what will they take out as blemishes/flaws and what will they leave in?

If you scroll down to the last posting you'll see a photo of Eric and I. I did NO retouching to the image. Not because there's none to be done, but because I loved the photo and didn't want to spend the time obsessing. Anyway, Eric has these adorable little freckles scattered across his face. An average retoucher would probably not remove them all but would certainly lighten them and remove about 40-50% of them. Also, you may notice I have scars on my forehead.. See below:

I had chicken pox, and instead of heeding the warnings of all the adults around me, I scratched the big one right on my forehead. A decent sized circular 'pit' (official term) is what I was left with for that indiscretion.

I also walked into a coffee table when I was a toddler. Mom calls it walking into, Dad calls it fell onto. Either way, silly me. A half moon shaped scar from the stitches sits pleasantly next to the circular pit.

On my 6th birthday, I fell onto a filing cabinet. I remember it vividly. I thought it was a great idea to get up on the dining room chair to reach for the festive birthday balloons, lost my balance and !%WHAM#@! Forehead smacked into the corner of the metal filing cabinet (for some reason located in the dining room? Confusion.) 5 stitches later, we were walking into the parking garage of the ER and my dad says,

"So, it's your 6th birthday..."

yea?

"And you got 5 stitches..."

ok?

"Why don't we go back in for another so you can have 6 stitches on your 6th birthday!"

I'm pretty sure I cried.

Soooo anyway, my point is coming. Mom always said I had such a giant forehead it had to hit everything first when I fell. I'd say that is kind of embarrassing, but hey, it's part of who I am! Scars and all. Freckles and moles and all.

So retouchers beware! Sometimes you may find people content with their imperfections, flaws, or scars.

Sometimes it just adds to the story of how we came to be who we are today.

PS

2009-07-31T23:43:00.004-04:00

1. We did organize, clean, and re-arrange my room. It's now a joy to spend time in here (instead of a stress!)

2. We had a wonderful dinner with Mom on her birthday. It was an excellent evening. We made spitfire shrimp with whole wheat fettucine noodles.

3. I did not make it to the gym 4 times. I'm ashamed. Next week, I swearrrr!

4. I didn't make too many lists. Phew.

5. What else was I supposed to do?

6. Oh yea, passport.. Didn't happen.

7. Also did not blog. Sigh. What is wrong with me?

Our studio manager at work, Lauren, had her baby on Thursday and everything just happened so fast! She had a beautiful baby girl and we are so excited to see more photos and get a visit sometime :)

So these next few weeks are going to be really crazy for me. Bear with me.

Love him.

2009-07-31T23:43:00.001-04:00

I'm a lucky girl.

I'm alive...

2009-07-26T23:10:00.002-04:00

It's been nearly 2 weeks since I've blogged.

I'm really concerned about this. It was such a great outlet for me and got me thinking creatively every day. Now I'm... sort of burned out again. My head is a jumble, and life won't let me catch up for a breather.

Since I've started this post, for example, I've gotten up 3 times to try to straighten up my room - only to get overwhelmed and sit back down.

Did I ever mention that I am a list maker? My head isn't straight until I have a list to sort it all out.

So here's my list for this week:

1. REALLY clean my room. Organize, de-clutter, put things back where they need to be. (Eric, I need your help with this one!)
2. Try to revive my love of photo-blogging.
3. Find the paperwork necessary to finally get a passport.
4. Get to the gym at least 4 times!
5. Celebrate Ma's birthday & cook her dinner (Will need your help here too, love)
6. Try not to make too many lists.....

...

Get my life in order!!! Ahhh!

Casper "Chester" Ade (Holt)

2009-07-14T18:42:00.002-04:00

If this is what I get every time I have a bad day... you'll have to call animal control on me. Hehe, thanks to the boy for this little addition to our family! Roxy's surgery went well, btw. She woke up from the anesthesia and just needs to be kept for 2 more days. She'll meet her newest little brother on Thursday!

Good Morning...

2009-07-14T07:02:00.000-04:00

I couldn't resist one more photo from the weekend. This is one of my favorites. I'm off to drive Rox to her surgery appointment. Wish her the best! I love my puppy...

My dear friend Carley got married

2009-07-13T23:03:00.002-04:00

So I spent the majority of Saturday and ALL of Sunday at this 1.5 million dollar home on the waterfront of Lake Michigan.

Carley and Stefan decided to wed in this lakefront home full of their family and closest friends, lots and lots of food, plenty of beer to go around, and the best cake I've ever tasted.

Ahh seriously, look at his face. Could he be any more in love? Sickeningly sweet, and I can't wait to see what Eric's face looks like during our ceremony! Scared? Ha. I hope not!! I would be silly not to mention the stairs...

Oh the stairs.

Halfway down the stairs, looking back up at about 120 steps? Killer, steep, pulse pounding, exercise inducing steps.

And looking down from the halfway point, another 120ish steps. But totally worth it.

The sunset was unbelievable. Words cannot describe and cameras cannot capture the beauty.

Not for lack of trying that is...

Darn spider got in my shot! Hehe, pretty nifty huh? The sunset was so amazing, I just had to stay until it set again on Sunday.

It's amazing how in less than 2 days and with a language barrier, we all became one big happy family. Stef's family all spoke only Czech, which made things interesting. It was a perfect weekend (minus the fact that the boy couldn't join me) and I loved the whole thing. I kayaked, fell asleep on the beach, read magazines, took a thousand photos, had in depth conversations with new people, and attempted to speak Czech from the language book. I was so sad to leave...

But my stomach had had enough. Too. Much. Cake.

That's enough photos to make up for my lack of posting over the weekend right?

Love and all that, _R

Mystery Solved

2009-07-09T23:15:00.001-04:00

What causes neat shadows is almost always never as cool.

Shadows

2009-07-07T22:16:00.003-04:00

I noticed this shadow in the garage sometime last week, and I giggle every time I see it. What does it remind you of?

For some reason, it reminds me of...

Did you know there is a Where the Wild Things Are movie coming out!? Thrilling.

My Roxy

2009-07-06T22:18:00.002-04:00

You've seen countless photos of my 2 little ones, Roxy the wonderdog and Crackers-the-Cat. Many of you have even met and love them. This post is about Roxy. She's my 3 year old black lab who hates having her photo taken.

She is the first dog I've ever had, and was randomly added to the Holt household. I was going through a difficult time back then, and my father would drag me to the park under pretenses of needing some vitamin D. We would take really long walks and talk about all the people with dogs and all the dogs with people. We discussed how we are not 'dog people.' Then we discussed what kind of dog we would have if we were in fact 'dog people.'

Then my Dad offered (kind of) to buy me a dog. I think it was his last ditch effort to get me out of the funk I was in, but it worked. He looked through the paper for puppies. He bought a puppy book (which I'm not sure we ever opened, nor do I know where it is now although I do believe it was 'Puppies for Dummies.')

And one day, my mom, sister-in-law Breena, and I were at El Camino and he called. An ad for a puppy in Swanton looked promising and a phone call later, we had set up a meet n greet time for that night. Dad decided to stay home so it was "just" Mom, Breena, Andy and I who went to meet our future dog.

We walked in the door, I squatted down to pet her, she dived right into me and knocked me over. We gave the family twice what they asked for her, and left that night with my dear Roxy.

Having had no supplies whatsoever, and no idea what to do with a dog other than try to figure out a new name, we had to stop at Pet Supplies Plus. Pretty sure it was 8:50, and the store probably closed at 9. Roxy didn't start out as Roxy. She started out as Angel. I remember specifically my mom telling us to never call her that again because it was a horrible name. No offense to dogs named Angel.

Breena and I struggled with our new family addition throughout the pet store who was on a sensory overload, and bumped into a small family. The dad bent down and said to his kids, "Look! She looks just like 'so and so's' dog Roxy!" Breena and I looked at each other, and knew right then that Roxy was the perfect name.

We got home that night with a rambunctious puppy newly named Roxy much to Crackers-the-Cat's dismay. Andy and Dad worked to get the new cage together (it was wrong too) and we all just kind of stared at her.

It was a rough summer for my family. This new adorable little creature wreaked havoc at our house while I was away at school. A couple times, I thought we'd have to find a new home for her but slowly but surely she won over my mom and dad.

She ate my cell phone. A sneaker. A high heel strap. My season 2 House DVD case. A plunger. All within 2 days of moving into my new house in BG that fall. But she was so stinkin cute!

She has eaten everything I've ever offered her, except for pickles. She loves beer and if you are not watching, she will drink it right out of your cup (in your hands!) She prances around when I put a new bandanna on her, because she knows she's pretty.

She's my first dog and I can't imagine ever loving another dog like I love her.

Roxy has to have surgery one week from tomorrow. I gotta say, I'm not all that relaxed about it.

Save the date's & 4th of July

2009-07-05T19:58:00.002-04:00

Here's a little sneak peak at our Save the Date project we worked on this weekend. It's very fun and creative and we can't wait to unveil the final product! Unfortunately, it will probably have to wait until September. Boo.

I hope you all had an excellent 4th of July! Fireworks just put a huge smile on my face last night. Especially since I hadn't anticipated getting to see them. What exciting things did you do this weekend?

Concerts, more concerts

2009-06-30T23:46:00.003-04:00

The boy had a show tonight with Family Force 5. They did awesome.

The boy during their set.. Check them out on myspace (myspace.com/southboundfearing)

However, opening bands don't generally get the best lighting conditions for photography. So I got a few shots, then decided to put away my camera and just enjoy the show.

FF5

I'd never really heard of Family Force 5 and had no idea what to expect, but I will say that...

THIS is the kind of synthesizer I'd want to play!! :)

Books.

2009-06-29T19:59:00.005-04:00

I debated for a long time about putting this photo up today. For quite a few reasons. First, I have stuffed animals. I'm 24, I understand this, but they are still cute and sentimental and what am I to do with them? Throw them away? Never. Secondly, I didn't anticipate my movies being in the shot either. Remember the last post where I was laying on the floor with Crackers-the-cat? I took this then - blind - so each shot was a surprise to me. And third, most important, books are special to me and I am quite sensitive of this.

I like buying books. People can scold me, chastise me, or scoff at me for this, but the fact of the matter is I like buying books. I love walking into a bookstore and just wandering. Each book I happen to land my eyes on has about a ten second time span to convince me to pick it up, then 7 seconds to sell me. Rarely do I choose books with poor design, dull colors, or horrible typography. It has to look as delicious as it will read.

Inevitably, I end up with a collection of books in bright colors and fun typography. I wish I could say I read to further my education or spark intelligent pondering (and that's not to say I never do) but I prefer to escape into a world of fictional characters doing silly things and falling in love or picking up the pieces of their lives to find better pathways or laughing their way through ridiculous situations. Books that keep me up all night just because I can't bear to be away from the story are my favorites. Even better than that are the books whose characters become so real that when their story is finished, I feel as though I've lost touch with a friend.

Sigh. Don't judge me.

Also, I take the dust jacket off my hardcovers till I've finished reading them (so they don't crinkle!) I have boxes of books in the basement and in various other locations that didn't make the cut for my super small book shelving space. I hate lending books to people who dog ear pages or bend the corners of the covers. I am attempting to get through that book on actionscript 3.0. I've only read a handful of my books twice and those will probably be read a third time before any of the others a second. I liked the Princess Bride book better than the movie - and that's just crazy.

Sunsoaking

2009-06-28T23:02:00.000-04:00

I think Crackers-the-cat enjoys laying in the sun even more than I do!

Hope you all had an excellent weekend, I know I did!

Bubbles & Ligaments

2009-06-26T19:28:00.002-04:00

I've had a pretty stressful day. My dearest pup, Roxy, had to be taken in for x-rays. Turns out, she's torn her cruciate ligament which means surgery. Since I'm not working my dream job and am also trying to save up for a wedding, my wish list of items, and paying off debt, this means STRESS!

Where am I going to come up with an extra thousand dollars?

I was in tears. My poor puppy. She's moping around and didn't even eat her dinner. I'm convinced she knows what this means. Sigh.

A few weeks ago, I lost my card reader in the living room of my parents house. I tore the place apart, and in doing so, found this:

Bubbles. The boy told me I wasn't allowed to blow them inside the house. Well. I think today's news called for some rule-breakage. So I cheered myself up with some bubbles. Crackers-the-cat enjoyed them too!

Beaches

2009-06-25T21:27:00.002-04:00

I spent all of last week at Sunset Beach, North Carolina. My week consisted of laying on my brightly colored beach towel on the scalding sand, wading into the ocean for a few moments before being freaked out by the unseen (and repeat), playing Mexican Train with my brother and sister-in-law and the boy, spending quality time with the fam, eating delicious home cooked meals, and RELAXING.

I took these photos on our last night at the beach. Every year, I usually make it down to the pier. I pay the obligatory pier fee ($1 a person this year!!) and walk down to the end, scare the crap out of myself, and walk back to the beach.

All of a sudden this year, it was Friday, and I hadn't been to the pier yet. I convinced the boy to walk with me while I tried to capture the sunset. Not much of a sunset, but some pretty cool wave-action and reflections in the wet sand.

I mourn for last week. I miss it. My heart hurts sometimes with the weight of vacation being over.

How dramatic can I be!?

So yesterday I woke with no plans whatsoever. Turns out my Wednesday shifts at the Y were passed on to another lucky front desk-er (my choice) and I hadn't picked up Wednesdays at my other job. Yawning, stretching, and dreading sitting in my room looking at the non-unpacked mess, I tinkered around on the web. I checked out my favorite blogs (see bottom right) and scoped out my friends who still use AIM.

Carley was on. She's invited me to visit her numerous times and I've never gone. I gave it a shot.

9:19:34 AM Rachel: so what r u up to today
9:19:42 AM carley: chilling out.
9:19:50 AM carley: maybe running to st joseph topick up the marriage license.
9:19:58 AM Rachel: r u not working?
9:20:59 AM carley: its summer break,
9:21:09 AM carley: so i dont have any teaching... and my freelance is waiting on clients today
9:21:14 AM Rachel: ohhhh ... would u like a visitor today?
9:21:27 AM Rachel: im off work and i have NOTHING to do and i'm trying to find something funnnnnn
9:22:49 AM carley: REALLY!
9:22:51 AM Rachel: if not no biggie
9:22:52 AM carley: yes!!!
9:22:56 AM Rachel: haha how far away are you?
9:23:04 AM carley: toldo? 2 hours EVEN
9:23:21 AM Rachel: cool! what should we do
9:23:23 AM carley: i could take you to the beach, get the marriage license, and maybe bike? we cna use our bikes... you game?
9:23:30 AM Rachel: i'm DOWN
9:23:34 AM carley: SWEET!!!
9:23:38 AM carley: you leavin now??

She took me to a beach where I couldn't tell the sky from the water. She told me to leave my purse at home which meant not only did she have to buy me water & starbucks, but I also forgot to grab my camera which resulted in this lousy camera-phone photo. She told me to leave my shoes in the car which resulted in serious burns to the bottoms of both of our feet. She took me for an 11 mile bike ride that hurt my butt and shoulders but was AMAZING. She, her soon to be hubby, and I went to eat delicious Mexican and to view the Touchdown Jesus. She convinced me to shoot her wedding in 2 weeks. AAAAAnnnndddd it was all very fun.

Sigh...

2009-06-23T22:11:00.002-04:00

The boy is out of town this week. He's a leader at church camp and has absolutely no time to deal with his crazy lady back home. This is just weird considering we spent nearly every moment together all last week during vacation!

I remember when we were driving to Mansfield on Saturday (where he was to be dropped off) I thought "man, this is going to be a nice break. He breathes so loud and drives so erratically" and I'm sure he thought, "boy this is going to be so much fun. I get to spend the whole week whistling without being told to stop."

And then I dropped him off.

And about 20 minutes pass.

And I miss the crap out of him.

He's having a great time though, and I'm doing my best to be patient.

Alsoooooo, I'm going to renew my blogging vigor and attempt to pick back up on the day to day posting. I have tons of stuff I want to start planning - for the wedding, for our new business(es), and for miscellaneous projects. Helpppp me stay focused!

ohmygoodnessitsbeensolong

2009-06-23T13:48:00.001-04:00

I am a slacker. It's been officially 2 weeks since you've heard from me last. I promise I will get something up from my vacay last week! Consider this a placeholder....

Acoustic guitar

2009-06-09T23:15:00.000-04:00

I tried to learn how to play the guitar once. In my opinion, I tried very hard. I failed entirely due to my irregular fingers. You see, they would bend in weird ways that I did not ask them - creating a foul sounding 'chord' that just did not do. So I stopped trying.

A couple years later, I meet this guy who's simply spectacular on the acoustic guitar and once again I have guitar envy. I can play the piano, sure. But I don't have the luxury of toting a piano around and stumbling onto the oh so perfect, yet relaxed and unplanned opportunity to showcase my musical abilities. Instead, I get to stand beside my husband-to-be and watch him pick up a guitar that just so happened to be within arms reach while we are huddled around a campfire and in need of some harmonious sound.

This is not fair.

It's my fingers. They bend funny. I'm serious.

Chalky footprint

2009-06-08T11:22:00.000-04:00

My nephew, Cyrus celebrated his third birthday on Saturday in Toledo. Yes, I will be cliche and say - I can't believe he's 3 already! My how time flies... Cyrus is such a joy. He's 3, which comes with the inevitable meltdowns and tantrums, but this weekend I was constantly amazed at who Cyrus is growing up to be.

He's smart. Seriously smart. I'm not just being a proud aunt here. The kid knows his shapes. Octagons, Pentagons, 9-sided shapes (he's smarter than me apparently). He loves to spell. He loves to figure out how things works and always wants to know "what are YOU doing?"

He has this way of looking at you with a goofy grin on his face that pretty much forces a smile out of you. This is a problem when he's trying to let the dog free or throwing his bagel cream-cheese side down onto the carpet.

When he sees me, and I bend down for a hug, he comes RUNNING. I just love it. I wish I could bottle up those feelings and save them for the times I could use a laugh.

Oh to be a senior...

2009-06-07T23:07:00.002-04:00

Meet Julia, a recent high school graduate and amazing tennis player! I had the pleasure of shooting her senior photos on a rainy Friday afternoon. Her mom, sister, and our mutual friend Rachel joined us to keep Julia laughing!

She's seriously a natural in front of the camera. It made my job so much easier! I just had to deal with uncooperative weather, but that was no biggie. :)

Congrats Julia on graduating! I can't believe it's been 6 years since I've graduated high school. That frightens me to think about, but I am loving life so much right now I would not trade places with my high school self! I think back to those days and how different life was then, and appreciate all the years that have gone by since.

Since 2003, I have...

Moved to Kentucky. Met one of my favorite people in the world - my next door neighbor in my first dorm, Leah. Spent 9 months in a beautiful town with wonderful people.

Moved home.

Attended BG, met another one of my favorite people - my roommate for 2 years, Megan.

Lost a boyfriend, gained a puppy and a new perspective on who I am.

Met my best friend, and walked with her through some very difficult life changes.

Moved into a house on my own, with my puppy.

Met my favorite person in the world, and fell in love with him.

Moved to Charlotte, spent 4 months with fascinating, entertaining, and educational people at Sean Busher Photography, and got to know my Mom's family in a whole new way.

Graduated college & moved back home.

Got 2 jobs. Painted my 'apartment' above the garage blue and green to make me smile every day.

Agreed to marry my favorite person in the world, the boy.

Got to know my oldest, closest friend all over again & spent 3-4 days a week with her at the gym!

Started blogging & fell in love with blogs all over the world.

.... wrote this post about important things and don't know where to stop so will stop here.

I can't wait to see what's in store for me :)

Old friends...

2009-06-05T00:10:00.002-04:00

Do you have a favorite pair of jeans? Are they ripped? I have a pair of jeans that came already kind of ripped up. This is something my dad will never understand, and I will shamefully bow my head and admit that I fell prey to this particular fashion scheme.

This pair of pre-destroyed jeans has been ripped up a little by me as well. They're not exactly worn in yet, but I think I'll keep 'em around for awhile before tossing them into a bin labeled 'winter' that is really just a collection of clothes I feel guilty for getting rid of but will probably never wear again. I wonder if I could ever create that perfect destroyed look on my own. How can you just barely rip them apart to the point that all the threads going in one direction stay in tact while still appearing to be ripped? I just don't get it.

I'm tired now. Sleep!

Coldplay rocked my socks off

2009-06-03T11:54:00.003-04:00

I've always been a huge fan of concerts. I can't even count how many concerts I've been to in my lifetime. A handful stand out as amazing shows, and last night's definitely was amazing. There's this feeling, a high, that I get after hearing amazing music live that just doesn't compare to anything else. It must be a mixture of the music, friends, and the thousands of people surrounding, completely as pumped as you are and singing every word too. Good times.

Getting a little insider's scoop from a friend who already went to this show provided us the opportunity to end up 10 feet away from the place they came out to on the lawn. Thanks Amanda!

Summer activities

2009-05-30T22:19:00.003-04:00

Summer Happiness

1. Campfire
2. Watermelon
3. Cookouts
4. Sun
5. Flip Flops
6. Yard games
7. Ice cold lemonade
8. Friends, outside
9. Flowers
10. Bright colors

What makes you think summer?

- - - - -

My head has been filled lately with work, relationships, tasks, errands, plans... I haven't been able to really enjoy my camera in awhile and it makes me weird. I start to have this tightness in my chest because I feel like I'm not doing what I'm supposed to be doing. It's not fun.

I will do better.

I'm physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted to the point that I can't even finish a sentence in my head without extreme effort, much less make sense on this blog. I better get myself to bed asap. Over n Out, my friends.

As promised,

2009-05-27T10:31:00.005-04:00

Vinni. Stinkin cute dog.

Ladder Jacks, or Horse Balls.

Our little family for the weekend. Delightful.

Rabid beast?

This past weekend was long, tiring, but extremely enjoyable.

Roxy the Wonderdog.

2009-05-25T22:25:00.002-04:00

My dog does not like to be photographed. She is a wonderdog.

I have photos from the holiday, will post and chat about it tomorrow :)

Memorial Day Weekend

2009-05-23T23:07:00.006-04:00

They said we were crazy. They said we'd wait in the longest lines for the entire day and only get to a few rides. Well...

they were wrong. Today, 6 of us embarked upon a trip to CP on Memorial Day Weekend with nothing but high hopes and suntan lotion. Surprisingly enough, we did not encounter the wall to wall people we were warned about.

So here's what we accomplished:

First, the Millenium Force

Followed by the Maverick. Best one!

Then we bypassed the old swings ride to visit the SkyHawk.

Took a trip down memory lane and raced each other on the Gemini.

Celebrated Magnum's 20th birthday with a bumpy but excellent ride.

Waited in anticipation for the Top Thrill Dragster, then rode with glee. "Totally worth it!"

After a visit to the car for our packed lunches (thanks to Liz), we headed to the Wicked Twister.

Then had a blast on MaxAir. So amazing.

Liz's least favorite, the Power Tower. My stomach flew up into my throat. Seriously.

A little break on the Iron Dragon. Felt the breeze in our hair.

Rode the Mantis even though the last time I did I promised myself I never would again.

And this time I really mean it, no more Mantis!

Finished off with the Raptor then some delicious Frozen Custard.

A most excellent day.

Images via CedarPoint.com

Zoo'in It

2009-05-20T22:40:00.003-04:00

The Toledo Zoo has this slogan that is something along the lines of 'Zoo'in It' and everytime anyone goes to the zoo and posts photos on fabo or the likes, the title is inevitably that. Then it gets stuck in my head for some time which reminds me of an assignment in one of my first photography classes. Our teacher took our class to the zoo (it was a very laid back summer course) and told us to just shoot what was interesting.

I just reviewed these photos and... boy... most of them are complete garbage. The one at the top here I quite enjoy however. The polar bears are so entertaining and, well, adorable. I knew nothing about color back then so I just had to sneak it into PS to make a few adjustments before posting - you know, just to keep my street cred'.

I don't remember too many of the fine details of the day, but I do remember my first attempt at photographing complete strangers. I remember being terrified that this little girl's dad was going to stomp over and demand the destroyal of my camera. So I took it very fast, then quickly made my exit to another area. It's a shame too, because with a few more moments to study the correct framing, I probably could have made it an interesting shot.

As I was scrolling through the blurry, lousy focused, poorly exposed photos, I couldn't help but wonder what this little girl looks like today. It's been almost exactly 4 years since I shot these so she must be 12? 13? I'm horrible at guessing ages but regardless...

Would the polar bears still make her stand completely still in wonder and curiosity?

Gma & Gpa

2009-05-18T20:32:00.004-04:00

My Grandma and Grandpa have one of those love stories that starts in 5th grade, and results in 60-some years of together-ness. They are such a great example of the commitment that marriage demands. I can only hope to spend 60 years with the boy.

On Mother's day, my grandma pulled out her 'treasures' for us to peruse, and after absolutely falling in love with their wedding photos, somehow I convinced her to let me borrow the albums. I don't even think I need to explain why I love them so much - I just hope you can see what I see.

Happiness

Love

Excitement

A little bonus in the album - I found an old letter from my dear old Gpa to Gma. It's 3 pages long, hand written on the back of a Lumber company's invoice paper. Here's a little snippet:

Monday morning I got up, looked out the bedroom window right into the eyes of a big black cow. There she stood looking right back at me, just as if she belonged there in our yard. We had a total of 3 cows and 1 calf in the yard. Somehow she managed to get the gate open, and just walked in as if she owned the place. I had to put myself in high gear, and out the back door I went. Don't even remember opening the door. If I wasn't a site, chasing a bunch of stupid cows around the yard, in my short pajamas. I expected to have the sheriff arrive in at any moment with a complaint about some crazy individual running around in his nite shirt. Anyway, I finally got them out of the yard and I still don't see how 3 cows and 1 calf could make so many cow piles in that short of time.
I took a piece of rope and tied the gates shut, so put a stop to that old cow-play.
...
Today Glenn came in the [lumber] yard about noon, and asked me if we were keeping cows now. I thought he was kidding me, but he said he had just come by our place, and there was a cow in the front yard. Well, you know Glenn. I wouldn't believe him. He stuck to the same story, so finally I thought that I would take the bait and come home and see. Well, as I drove in the driveway, there she stood, in all of her bovine female charm, just like she owned the place. She must have had a good meal, for she acted real nice to me, and let me drive her back through the fence at the bottom of the ditch out by the road. That's where she got out. I patched up the old fence out there the best I could and called the neighbor to tell them to fix the old fence.
What a time.
This stupid cat can't even keep the cows out of our yard.

Love and kisses and all that old stuff
Bill

P.S. This is all we got, there aint no more. Don't spend it all in one place.

Sigh... how sweet.

Long Drives Alone

2009-05-14T21:23:00.003-04:00

What a busy week this has been. I feel pretty crappy about my lack of good blogging lately, so I am going to intensify my efforts in the coming weeks.

Yesterday I spent the day in a conference in Columbus. It was the Photoshop Creativity Tour and it was pretty stinkin sweet. The only problem with it was the drive. I've realized that I'm terribly bored with driving by myself, which is new. When I went to Kentucky for school, I had to get used to 4 - 5 hour drives, often times by myself. When I went to BG for school, I had to get used to hundreds of 30 minute drives, mostly by myself!

But now,

I'm a townie. I get anywhere I'm going in 15 minutes or less. Which means, 2 and a half hours for me was painfulllllllllly boring!

What do you do to keep yourself entertained on long drives?

Up up and away

2009-05-11T22:37:00.002-04:00

There is something entirely fascinating about balloons in photographs. More and more I've been seeing photographers using them for engagement sessions or even wedding photographs and the results are stunning (if executed well!) I'd love to try out a few things with balloons in the future, so I am asking around for couples who would like 'engagement' style photos together. A lot of my couple-d friends are married, so I may harass them for fake engagement photos. :)

I'm off to Columbus tomorrow night for a Photoshop conference on Wednesday. It's the Creativity Tour so maybe on Thursday I'll post something all creati-fied. Until then...

x's and o's

My Mom

2009-05-10T22:50:00.002-04:00

This is my mom. Today is mother's day. The pressure is on to make my Mom realize that I appreciate everything she does for me - and the pressure is not on because of my Mom. It's on because I know I want her to know all of these things and in a way that is fun, creative, and loving. I've been known to write pretty good 'I love you & all that you do' cards, but I also wanted to do something a little out of the ordinary. Instead of spending money on flowers that will die in a few days, I strung fake flowers with ribbon and hung them in the doorway & on the patio where we all had a delicious lunch.

We had a very nice Sunday. Look closely, you will see some family members zonked out, a pants-less little one, and a very happy dog caught in the act of a yawn. I also saw my grandparents today and managed to borrow an album from Grandma which will make a most delightful blog post later this week. Just you wait!

I love you Mom.

Happy as Roxy

2009-05-08T07:42:00.002-04:00

Here we are at the end of another week, facing the weekend. This weekend is pretty packed with plans already, and I hope it all goes as planned. One of my greatest friends is coming home from Chicago and we are meeting up with friends for dinner. That's tonight, so hopefully I can capture the evening in a fun way to post tomorrow for you to share in it.

What are you big plans for the weekend?

I've got some fun projects coming up that I can't wait to blog about. Right now they are far too unpolished and 'planning stage'-y to tell you about now, but I'm very excited.

I've got to run. Work all day, boo!

Going without..

2009-05-07T08:21:00.002-04:00

The boy is stealing my ring today to get it appraised. It will be the first day without it since March 31st, and I'm already missing it. Before the wedding next year, we are going to have to have it put together with my sweet wedding band (I know a lot of people wait until afterwards for this, but with the wedding band I chose, I have to do it beforehand). That time I will be without it for probably a week or more! Yikes. And I won't be able to wear it until the wedding day obviously because it will be the band too.

I'm rambling and whining and I apologize. Hope you have a great Thursday!

Tulips :)

2009-05-06T11:38:00.001-04:00

Just somethin pretty to look at this fine day. Happy Wednesday!

Bruvver

2009-05-04T21:58:00.002-04:00

My brother Andy is 6 years older than me - which mostly just means he turns 3o this year. Actually, he turns 30 this Thursday! If you ask him he says he's only as old as his wife. Yeah? Well, to that I reply: Your wife is my age, and for years and years you LOVED being older than me, so now you GET to be older than me. Enjoy 30 Andy!

Hehe, in all seriousness, I wanted to say that my older brother is one of the coolest guys I know. I still find myself searching for his approval in some form or another when he comes home. When Breena (his wife) informed me that he said he approved of/liked Eric, I was thrilled. It's little sister stuff...

I found this photo while cleaning up my junk in the house. It's pretty darn cute. I don't remember being a bunny but I remember the somewhat yearly photos taken on the back stairs of the house we grew up in. Somewhere floating in a box, you could find a photo of Andy as PeeWee Herman (I think I was Minnie Mouse.) But I guess you don't have to believe me until I find it. Just wait...

Our Lazy Saturday

2009-05-03T15:08:00.002-04:00

A spontaneous trip outside with a mini photoshoot courtesy of a remote for my camera & a tripod.

Cheesy in love

2009-05-02T21:21:00.003-04:00

Eric and I had a little photoshoot today at the place we will be married in a year and a month or so. It was a beautiful day, and we both hate being inside on days like today.

The internet is way too slow to upload our photo shoot photos, so they will have to wait until tomorrow.

Quack

2009-04-29T09:48:00.002-04:00

Something that made me smile this morning...

I hope you enjoy your Wednesday!

Photos from Etsy seller Sharon Montrose

Who loves nerds?

2009-04-28T22:26:00.002-04:00

I DO! I DO!

Essentials...

2009-04-27T21:42:00.004-04:00

We've had a string of nice weather days recently, and it has made my day(s). This past weekend, I spent a considerable amount of time outdoors...

Taking a walk in a park I don't normally go to with people I don't normally take walks with. I had conversations I wouldn't have expected and got open blisters on my feet from my newest loved flip flops.

I sat by myself on my old Mexican blanket (sans swine flu) in the grass on the sunniest day of 2009 so far (Saturday) with my essentials: iPod with newest music purchases and favorite-est old music, newest loved flip flops, and reading material (currently a photoshop mag).

I enjoyed the creative pursuits of the "BFFs" (a term affectionately applied to my parents' most common hang out pals) in their fruit art endeavors. I spent the weekend in and out of a conference at church, taking portraits of the attendees...

Including this guy, who could balance 4 chairs on his chin.

I'm in the beginning phases of putting together an art show. This is incredibly exciting for me because it's becoming reality. I got approval for the show and just need to plan it now. Any ideas? Any blog readers done this before? Tips and suggestions welcome and encouraged!

First rollerblade of the season

2009-04-25T11:16:00.004-04:00

Well, I just got back from... the first rollerblade of the year. It was everything I expected it to be. Hot, Tiring, Sunny, and Lovely.

I have a lot on my plate for today so I can't stay long - but I did a little blog stumbling using Stumble Upon and found some pretty funny photos and interesting things to ponder. Enjoy!

Via here

above 2 via here

via here

Some of my favorite things to photograph...

2009-04-23T22:31:00.006-04:00

My dog, Roxy. She always has the best looks on her face - and she loves me unconditionally.

My cat, Crackers. He's not super thrilled that I am his owner at times, but he will snuggle up to me if Rox isn't around. And I love his angry/annoyed 'expressions.'

Sunsets. My friends Nate & Cort get to look our their window at trees and sunset for awhile longer before the leaves overtake it.

The boy. Eric. Since he's started loving me, he's gone from relatively camera shy (anyone remember the closed smiles pictures of our early days?) to an always willing subject (and a natural!)

Just a smattering of the photographs I take over and over and never cease to find joy from. And I don't even care if other people grow tired of them, because I won't. That's what matters in this case isn't it?

a warm fuzzy feeling

2009-04-22T21:45:00.004-04:00

Did you feel it? Can you smell it in the air? It's summertime, around the corner.

What happened to spring? Toledo is in this teeter totter of high 40s then 80s and once again, we get our "transition season" stolen from us.

I'm not complaining. I'm just baffled! Everywhere you look, these brave flowers are peeking out of the brown grass. I love how they usually are found all bunched together - as if they need to huddle together as they wait out the cold. We've even had a flowering tree flower and lose the petals already. It's pretty exciting to think of all the trees and blooms we will see in the coming weeks, or even days. I've posted earlier about how spring never ceases to amaze me. Every year it's as though I hold my breath till I see those little tiny green leaves start to appear. I hope I never lose that.

This will be the first spring that I will not be in school since I was 5. So naturally, when the boy informed me of his upcoming finals I was a bit surprised. Finals were always the cue that summer was fast approaching and this year I don't have that to go by. My natural clock is confused.

May is next week? Are you kidding me?!

On Monday, when I posted the weather report and it's gotten even better since then. 80s on Friday and Saturday. I expect to see even more brave blooms peek their heads out this weekend.

Can't wait.

Color

2009-04-21T22:13:00.003-04:00

My green walls + blue flowers = confused camera

This is why they made custom white balance!

On another note, Eric and I saw Adventureland tonight and we definitely got more than a few laughs from it. I'd probably even rent it to watch it again. There is a lot of swearing which can get annoying but other than that, pretty funny flick.

Most of all, I enjoyed a relaxing evening with the boy. We even picked up his wedding band from the jeweler but found out they ordered the wrong size. Boo! Another week and I'll have to lose my ring for up to 3 weeks to get appraised! That is gonna suck.

Here's hoping Wednesday is a great day! Goodnight all.

Relief at the end of the day

2009-04-20T22:24:00.002-04:00

Work was pretty rough today. It's so unfortunate, because I went in with a smile on my face and a "spring in my step" so to speak. I remember thinking it was surprising that I could feel this way on a Monday morning!

Well, I hate to inform that it did not last. I won't go into specifics but it was just a trying day. I did come out of it having learned that I need to have a little more respect.

Mondays are nice because I usually get to eat dinner with my family after a long TurboKick class at the gym - so I knew the day could go up from there. And it did - Eric had the meal prepared for my Dad and I by the time I got home from the gym and it was delightful. Mom, who is in Hawaii for a couple weeks, called to chat a bit, and it's so nice to hear her voice!

And to top it off, when I came up to my room I found these "crazy daisies" on my TV.

Seriously, I love that boy. I hope he doesn't get offended if I tell the world that he's not great at anniversaries or birthdays (he's like my Dad in that he finds cards & flowers a waste of money) but he sure knows how to surprise me.

I've decided it's even better than receiving flowers on an anniversary or whatnot. I really needed a reason to smile today and Eric knew how to do just that.

Monday...

2009-04-20T09:22:00.002-04:00

So it's Monday. I had a lovely weekend, with beautiful weather and pleasant company. And now... here I am at the beginning of another week. As I was preparing for work (which I'm late to) and trying to figure out what kind of outerwear I need today, I checked the weather.

Guess what we have to look forward to this coming weekend??? See below:

Beautiful. I'm already ancy.

PS

2009-04-19T19:34:00.001-04:00

Tabbed browsing = amazing.

Sundays are the best

2009-04-19T18:55:00.007-04:00

Not until after I had been wandering from one site to the next, feeling inspired by all the beautiful talent out there, did I realize that I should be documenting my finds to share with you. So I backtracked a bit and found some of the highlights:

How stinkin cute is that card? From Etsy seller modernemotive these adorable cards are available (customized of course) for $5.50 each with envelope. I'm wondering how cute they would be as Rachel loves Eric...

Moving on:

Another blog added to my "Reads" list! I love love love this one called 100 Layer Cake. It's filled with photos, links, and INSPIRATION! Gotta love it. And even better, they provided me with even more web strolling with their "Blogs-we-love" page. Seriously, I will be here for hours. Thank goodness for Sundays!

And then...

Sometimes I'm caught totally overwhelmed with great photography. These photographers over at Our Labor of Love completely take my breath away. It's a tough feeling because I respect their work and love to see truly beautiful photography, but at the same time feel horribly inadequate. Practice practice! Maybe someday I'll be a rockstar photographer, but until then I will have to look at the eye candy at blogs like these.

And finally...

I am a woman in love with.... letterpress printing. I knew I was stumbling onto something fabulous when I came across some work done by Hammerpress via a blog I can't find at the moment.

And then, coming across Studio on Fire via blog Green Wedding Shoes I just knew I have found another love.

These two are examples from a letterpress company in Salem, OH called the Cranky Pressman. Check out his flickr page for the rest of the work. It's absolutely fabulous.

Wouldn't it be just perfect if we could do letterpress wedding invitations? I will have to speak with the boy about this. ASAP.

I have photos from the weekend of sun and warmth, but I think I'll do that tomorrow since I've overloaded you with all my web-strolling finds. Please take some time to check out some of those links! Well worth your [free] time :)

With all of this creative overload, I have neglected my stomach. It's just far too cold and way too much effort to head out for some grub. Pretty sure my options are limited to a PB&J for dinner. How sad. Back tomorrow,

until then...

Wordle

2009-04-19T17:31:00.002-04:00

Blog-perusing is one of the best ways to find cool new things. Today's "Cool New [to me] Thing" is Wordle. All you do is either copy and paste a bunch of words into the box or link to a page on the web. I linked to my blog - can you tell?

A few things:
1. Why does Deadliest Catch have to make such a big appearance? Oh, only because it's a SWEET show!
2. Seriously, why does Like appear so big? It's not like I say it, like, too much. I think I have like a pretty good handle on not saying it, like, too much.
3. I am pleased to see that the boy's name made it into my wordle.

What a cool site! Go waste some time there :) That's it for today's "Cool New [to me] Thing."

Opening Day!

2009-04-16T08:14:00.002-04:00

Today is opening day for the Mudhens. Thus officially begins our city's baseball season! I unfortunately cannot make it to the game tonight, but it looks like there will be fantastic weather. I can't wait until I can get down there for a game!

Insert Clever Title Here

2009-04-14T21:56:00.004-04:00

I got a new keyboard today! It's the one in the back, obviously. But I just had to show the contrast between the old and new. Typing is still slightly difficult but I'm sure I will improve quickly. The new keyboard smells like plastic and packaging, and I kind of like it!

On Sunday when we were at my aunt and uncle's for Easter lunch, Eric and I checked out my Uncle's laser engraving machine. The thing is literally amazing. Dave made us these little "hockey pucks" as he called them, and aren't they neat? I'm trying to come up with something creative for the wedding to utilize his talent for engraving with lasers - got any ideas?

I'm totally bummed. I missed the season premiere of Deadliest Catch. I know, I know - after all that fuss I made earlier. I was having a lovely dinner and pleasant conversation at the boy's mom's house and got home about 30 minutes ago. No worries however, I will utilize this incredible invention called DVR to record it while I sleep tonight.

Yay for Deadliest Catch tomorrow before work!

Fishy

2009-04-14T15:20:00.000-04:00

I am so excited.

Tonight... Season 5 Premiere of Deadliest Catch. 9PM on Discovery!

It's not a show you would probably expect me to enjoy, but ohhhh boy do I enjoy it. For some reason, I missed season 4 when it aired - but I caught up on some of it Saturday during the marathon. This season looks as intense as ever! You'll know where to find me tonight at 9...

The Boy

2009-04-13T23:07:00.003-04:00

Since I first started seeing Eric, he had many piercings - the industrial, gauges, lip ring... I had always been a fan, and he would comment that he likes mine too (nose, and a couple ear piercings). On the day that he proposed, I noticed they were all gone. Apparently, he decided that he was sick of them, and took them all out... at the gas station! Just like that, his face is metal-free.

And I'm ok with it. Really. It took some getting used to, but it's not like I miss them or anything. The reason I'm writing about it is maybe to give you a little glimpse into my life with the boy. He's spontaneous and stubborn at the same time. He makes decisions in a few seconds that change his life forever - the prime example being our engagement - and he doesn't look back. It's impressive, admirable, and frustrating to me all at once.

And I love him.

Easter

2009-04-12T22:39:00.008-04:00

Some of my favorite parts of today...

Finally getting a pic of this group of friends - and dressed up at that!

Finding out Eric is a pretty good doodler... especially on eggs.

Feelin for my little nephew-man and his complete exhaustion...

This rare, beautiful moment.

Catching a glimpse of the friendship between these brothers.

Seeing and appreciating my family and truly feeling thankful
for all the creative, loving, patient, kind, and zany personalities of us Holts.

Taking Back Toledo... kinda

2009-04-11T22:23:00.006-04:00

The boy and I went downtown tonight to check out a new pizza place next to the Mudhens Stadium with our friends Liz and Marc. Afterwards, we crossed the bridge to International Park to walk along the river and see the sun setting over the skyline.

No matter how much I want to live in a bustling, thriving (warmer!) city, I will always want Toledo to succeed. No matter how much I complain about this city, I still find myself strangely proud of Toledo. Sure, we are struggling just as much, if not more, as other similar sized cities - but it seems like there is hope. This fall, we will see the new hockey arena open with another wave of new businesses opening around it. It will be interesting to see downtown Toledo continue to grow and become an exciting place to be.

Notice:

2009-04-09T07:37:00.003-04:00

I hate to say it, but I'm kinda blogged-out. I hate that my blog posts are becoming sub-par and I'd rather announce a break to get re-energized and re-creative-ized than scramble at the end of the day to take a picture of something in my room or around the house and think of something to say. So, here's my official notice of a blog break. I'm unsure how long - I'm thinking just a couple of days. Maybe inspiration will strike today and I'll be back tonight. Who knows?

I apologize for my silence until then. Have a wonderful Easter weekend!

Spring Cleaning

2009-04-07T23:18:00.003-04:00

I'm getting rid of stuff. All sorts of stuff. Tonight a huge bin of CDs went from this:

To this:

Many thanks to the boy for doing most (ahem, nearly all) of the grunt work. Love him!!! I'm super exhausted and tomorrow is a long day so I'm off to bed. When will you tackle your spring cleaning??

The gym

2009-04-06T20:43:00.002-04:00

I've been working out a lot in the past couple months. A couple weeks ago I got these new kicks. It's been interesting seeing my energy, body, and outlook change as exercise has been re-introduced into my daily routine. Don't get me wrong, sometimes I still really just want to come straight home after work and lay on the couch with the boy and CHILL - but most of the time I stick to it. It's really starting to pay off too...

So, I have 10 weeks until the fam trip to the beach.

And a year and 2-ish months until I get MARRIED!

If that's not incentive, I don't know what is...

A Bad Mommy

2009-04-05T08:13:00.002-04:00

Whenever I spend the night somewhere other than home, I know I have someone who will be very unhappy when I get back. This morning, I returned from BG and right at the top of the stairs sat my very unhappy cat. I swear he will give me this look all morning until I've overfed him, let him sit on my lap petting him while he still pretends to be mad, and cleaned up whatever messes he's left me. I think I'm still in the 'doghouse' so to speak. Better get going!!

Network!

2009-04-03T10:39:00.000-04:00

My sweet new business cards came in the mail today from moo.com!! Now I can really network - like a real professional! How exciting!

Spring!! Like Tigger!

2009-04-02T22:24:00.003-04:00

Optical Illusion? Is it really a rectangle?

So today was a very beautiful, slightly warm, extremely sunny day. And I had to work through almost the whole thing! Towards the end of the day, Lauren and I opened up a window in the office. These lady bugs are everywhere!

I so wish the screen hadn't been there, but I couldn't resist posting this photo. I think I have a thing for shadows!

Springtime just makes me so happy to be alive! Logically, we all know that spring will come eventually but I think our emotional side still gets a slight shock when we start to see blooms, the sun coming back and the clouds scarce - when the weather isn't like taking a punch to the gut every time you step out the door. What is it about spring that eternally surprises us?

I love the contrast between winter and spring. Sure the big contrast is winter and summer - but spring is the interesting one to me. It's all about life coming from seemingly dead-ness (word?). I think I wouldn't trade those little moments where nature catches us off our balance for anything. Isn't it so awesome that it doesn't become inane?

Sit back, enjoy the slow growth and bloom of all that is around us. Start smiling as you walk into work, because we all know this is the time where people start looking up from the stare-at-the-ground-as-we-walk shield from the cold. And find something in yourself that could use some new life and cultivate it!

Still in a state of shock...

2009-04-01T22:54:00.003-04:00

So I'm definitely still shocked. Totally unsure if it has completely soaked in yet. And completely surprised that the stress levels would immediately rise rather than lie dormant for a few more months before rearing its ugly head. I'm completely overwhelmed by the number of people who have congratulated me and been over the top excited. What a crazy week for me! My facebook has been blowing up - first with my birthday, and now with this million-times more exciting "relationship status change."

I took the obligatory "hand with ring" photo today but I don't have the brain power to load it and post it. I apologize - I'll put it up soon, I think. Still not a big fan of my hands - ha.

Here's what I hope-

That I don't become a "bride-zilla"
That I don't stress myself and others out over nothing (def. bridezilla)
That Eric loves me more in a year than he does right now.
That I can make my family proud.
That I can prove myself at work and save like a penny pincher!

The list could seriously go on and on. I'm totally psyched. Totally nervous. And yea, probably totally still numb. Tomorrow I approach the last of my potential girl-side wedding party peeps and I really hope she agrees to be such a huge part in this day.

Oh, and I hope this blog doesn't become the "wedding-planning-stressed-out-in-love- ALL WEDDING" blog.

It won't. I promise.

Oh MY goodnesssssss

2009-03-31T23:57:00.003-04:00

I'M ENGAGED!!!! TO THE BOY!!!!

Getting Old

2009-03-30T22:26:00.003-04:00

I mentioned earlier that I spent the weekend in Chicago, where apparently it is quite necessary to have many locks on your doors. I felt safe, to say the least.

We had a great time out in the city - and I have to admit we had a great time just hanging out during our "down time" as we dubbed it. Watched Twilight (haha) and ordered spaghetti. Yea, ordered it.. to the door... with many locks. I wish Toledo had a spaghetti delivery service.

We also took the "L" (or el?) to Michigan Ave for some shopping. I spent a lot of money I probably shouldn't have spent but seriously - what a great weekend.

I'm getting old though. Today I had the hardest time getting out of bed. It felt like I had been hit by a train (the L perhaps?) and I just think my body needs way more sleep than I'm able to give it.

Also, I dyed my hair black today.

Ahhhhh 24

2009-03-29T23:19:00.003-04:00

Today is my birthday.

I spent it with friends and family.

I received balloons, cake, a lunch box, and beautiful earrings. And that's not counting the sweet cam bag the boy bought me a few weeks ago for today (which I begged to receive early!)

I had the most wonderful birthday and an amazing weekend. Chicago pictures will be posted... possibly tonight. Sorry if you missed me Friday & Saturday! Just know that I was thinking about what would make great blog posts the whole time!

Birthday week(end)

2009-03-26T21:06:00.003-04:00

My birthday is Sunday, and so far I've...

been surprised with the best birthday cake EVER from the girls at work! Edward <3 Rachel, oh YEAH! They surprised me at lunch time, I had NO IDEA they would do anything, much less a birthday cake with Rob Pattinson proclaiming his "heart" for me! haha!! And I...

got a bottle of the very $$$ Crown Royal from the boy so I can make my favorite drink, crown & diet coke, whenever I want! Well.. not whenever I want but within reason!

Tomorrow I head to Chicago for the weekend, so I'm not sure yet if I will be able to blog. I am planning on taking my laptop so it's definitely a possibility. If not, rest assured I will make a birthday post and show you what I was up to all weekend!

Have a great weekend!!

100th

2009-03-25T22:27:00.003-04:00

So... This is my 100th Post!! Woohoo! To mark the awesomeness of this event, I've decided to post 100 pictures! So here goes... enjoy!

Click to view larger image

I've really enjoyed this blog these past few months. It has seriously helped me in so many ways, which sounds silly but is true. I hope I have entertained you in the blog reading world and I will continue to try to keep things fun and interesting! Yay 100!

Photoshop Disaster, but easy on the eyes

2009-03-24T19:11:00.002-04:00

Sometimes when I get to work, it takes me a few minutes to really get focused and working. Today was no exception. Lauren and Lauren and I were discussing Twilight (guilty pleasure) and I happened to mention that the actor who plays James in the movie is quite nice on the eyes. I pulled up IMDB to prove my point, happened to find a particularly nice picture and set it as my desktop background (on 'tile' of course. What's better than one Cam Gigandet? Many Cam Gigandets) This brought on many giggles, which led up to this point.

I'm really not a horrible photoshopper, but you see, I had to do this UBER fast because, c'mon, it was company time! So I posted it on Facebook as my profile picture and waited for Lauren squared to notice. We were in tears laughing so hard.

Yup, all day I had this little number on my page just for giggles. He's my new celebrity crush, and yea, I know - we do look good together!

Coffee Shop

2009-03-23T21:06:00.003-04:00

One week from this Friday the boy and my friend Rachel will be singing/playing at a coffee shop. Aaaaaand... they might have a special guest! Me!! If we can find a full size decent piano keyboard, I will be joining the duo for at least 3 at most 5 songs. The only problem is that we can't seem to find a keyboard. Any ideas???

Family

2009-03-22T22:32:00.003-04:00

I love when I get to see the extended family. Many of us live in the same city and we can't seem to get together more than two or three times a year. It's really a shame because I would love to spend more time with them! Tonight was great - we had burgers and taco salad at my Aunt and Uncle's and with the exception of my brother and his family (sorely missed) and my grandparents, everyone was there. Well, ok also Eric didn't come. So really I shouldn't say everyone because 7 VIPs were not in attendance.

However, we even had a bonus family member come! Chloe belongs to my cousin and his wife. Adorable pup, truly.

I've been totally extroverted lately. I'm not sure where it's coming from exactly, but it feels sort of like part of the "old me." Last year was a rough year in that I struggled with my self image and who I felt I was becoming. Finally I feel confident and happy to have myself back! Cheers!

But really, that had a point. I was able to truly take part in conversations tonight - and not be so shy and unsure. I probably even talked too much! Ahh geez! Anyway, I hope to be able to get to know my own family members better in the coming months...

Great weekend. I'm pooped.

ovrNout

Googly Eyes Strike Again!

2009-03-22T10:07:00.002-04:00

As I was leaving my friend Ashley's house this morning, I decided to pull a little prank so I hope she doesn't check my blog before discovering that...

She's been googly eye-d!! I couldn't help but giggle to myself as I walked out.

visual cues

2009-03-20T23:59:00.000-04:00

A lovely international dinner

2009-03-19T22:22:00.005-04:00

My dad had some of his co-workers and his boss over for dinner tonight. It doesn't sound too exciting, but I was definitely excited for it. He had the same three guys for dinner in December and we were all very happy to have them back tonight. Lee, my dad's boss, is from Australia. Jose is from Monterrey (but lives in Oregon, if I remember correctly) and Shiv (not sure that I am spelling that right) is from India. Lee and Shiv both live in Singapore.

I had no idea where Singapore was located, but found out it is exactly 12 hours from here. So, it's 10:30 in the morning there now! So check it out, Singapore is at the very bottom of Malaysia, on the water.

That looks amazing! Our guests also started telling us about a fruit called durian. Apparently, it stinks so bad that it's practically unbearable but is considered a delicacy. When my dad was in Singapore, he tried it and only had a few words to say about that experience! I can't imagine trying to eat something that smelled horrible and had the texture of coagulated butterscotch pudding (!? Dad's description)...

Blech.

We talked about religion for some time tonight. It was a thought provoking, emotion stirring, amazing conversation that I don't want to put into my scatter brained words just yet for fear of lessening the time. That's all that I feel like I am doing - writing a 7th grade diary entry - and I try to avoid that as much as I can. So I'm going to stop rambling, say that I had an excellent day and an even more excellent evening, and am on my way to bed to watch some TV and fall asleep.

Images pulled from: http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/ , http://www.durian.com , and google maps

Just gotta have a little -

2009-03-18T21:38:00.002-04:00

I have a problem. I am a scaredy cat, to put it in the words of an 8 year old. For some reason, I have been terrified lately.. of all sorts of things. Mostly I'm scared for my safety (and the safety of those that I love) but it's really starting to get out of hand.

I don't like being home alone.
I have to have the doors locked (my car while I'm in it, the house in or out of it)
I don't like taking showers while I'm home alone and will avoid it at all costs.
I think of scenarios that would terrify me, then proceed to be terrified.

It's just crazy! The other day, I mentioned locking the car doors to my Mom who then said something that has gotten me thinking. She said, "There are two kinds of people in the world. People like you, and people like me." Naturally I asked for more, because that could mean any number of things. She told me I am the kind of person to constantly expect catastrophe, whereas she rarely thinks of such things. Well, I'm quite jealous to be honest. I think there's definitely a place for being cautious and careful, but being obsessive about it is no good.

I don't want to be that person.

I guess I just need to have a little faith.

Greeeeeen

2009-03-17T21:40:00.002-04:00

Happy St Patrick's Day!! Did you wear green?

Camping!

2009-03-16T23:25:00.003-04:00

I've decided that this summer I would like to randomly go camping somewhere. This summer seems to be filling up already, and it's only March! Oh boy... There's something about seeing the first few warmish days of the year that makes me want to plan or at least look forward to exciting summerish days.

Also, hiking. I would like to hike more. I probably could use better hiking footwear however. This hike almost killed us.

We survived the longest hike ever using our intellect, water bottles, and casual conversation. Overall, an excellent camping experience in the foothills (I am not sure it is foothills but I really want to call it that) of West Virginia.

Ahh, memories.

A beautiful day

2009-03-15T16:44:00.002-04:00

I did not fall asleep at my desk last night, in case you were wondering. I did, however, wake up horribly sick.

.. ok, not horribly sick.. but fairly sick!

As often happens, the weather does not coincide with my health and Toledo decides to provide a blue, sunny sky with temperatures in the 50s. So, I grabbed my jacket and took my sniffly sneezy self outside with the boy and my pup.

Do you ever wonder what makes walks so exciting for dogs? Roxy was just incredibly thrilled to be tethered to a leash, and walked in whatever direction the humans decided to take her with no complaint. Her tail never stopped wagging and I swear she was smiling. Wouldn't it be nice to take such enormous pleasure in the small things in life?

So go take a walk! Put a huge smile on your face, wag your tail (err...) and enjoy it! No leash necessary.

zzzzz

2009-03-14T23:40:00.002-04:00

I am absolutely, positively, without a doubt, unbelievably exhausted. My biggest goal right now is to get downstairs to brush the teeth and such, then back upstairs straight to bed.

I'm just not so sure I can make my body cooperate with those plans. This just might be a better idea...

Yesterday

2009-03-14T09:27:00.003-04:00

I totally took this photo last night and meant for it to be posted last night but I got back after midnight and was exhausted. Forgive me? From here on I will pretend as though I just got back from my evening with friends.

I'm starting to feel the St Patty's Day atmosphere around town. I think St Patty's is one of those 'holidays' that gets people to start thinking about spring. In NW Ohio we have had warm March 17ths before as well as clear blue skies. Here's hopin for one of those this year!

Tonight I went to The Claddaugh which is this area's best efforts for an Irish Pub. The place is beautifully designed, especially the tall ceilings. It was nice to go out with some friends after such a long week. A long, difficult, and trying week...

Tomorrow (ahem, today) is another busy day but hopefully it will be full of opportunities for great photos. I hope you all enjoy your Saturday..

I promised...

2009-03-12T22:22:00.003-04:00

This little piggy went "wee wee wee" all the way...

...down from the big tall tree
that the boy unsafely placed him in.

And all the boy's tools couldn't put this piggy together again.

That's called a mash-up. You know, like those cool mixed up songs you hear in the club like Kelly Clarkson and Outkast... only with nursery rhymes.

Transformation

2009-03-12T09:27:00.005-04:00

Yesterday was the Officially Unofficial Pippi Longstocking day. How'd that go for you? This morning I was thinking about P.L. again as I glanced at the blog and couldn't help but wonder what the actress who played P.L. looked like now. So, with the help of IMDB and google image search, I can show you what Tami Erin looks like:

She's fabulous!! That "freckled-face red haired girl" grew up looking absolutely gorgeous! Of course, this got me thinking about my own sort of transformation that is growing up. Mine isn't as spectacular but here goes:

That's me on the right. Awkward brace face 7th grader right there right? So, in the month that I turn 24 (let's see, that would be about 11 years later right?) here I am...

I'm not sure I look all that different... I think I'll probably look like I'm 16 for a couple more years. It's kind of funny to me though that I worked so hard throughout high school to get rid of my bangs, and here I am years later back with bangs again.

What do your transformations look like? Would your 13 year old self recognize you today?

Humpty Dumpty

2009-03-11T22:18:00.003-04:00

If you are an avid follower (or maybe an occasional drop-in) to this blog, you probably are aware that the boy is in a band. It's a lovely band really, and any one of them would probably scold me for calling them a 'lovely' band. Anyway... the band has this pig that they take to all of their shows to collect money for a friend who's overseas doing missions. The boy took it upon himself to have his girlfriend shoot some quick pics of the pig for their myspace and such. I will say here that it was NOT my idea to put the pig in the tree and I have to mention that I did say "You are going to break it."

The poor pig.

The good news is that he made it through the surgery to "put him together again" and he's just missing a huge hole in his chest. No biggie.

Will post pictures of the post-op tomorrow. Gnight!