jay.em.bee.

moved

2009-05-16T22:22:00.001-05:00

I've moved my blog to www.jessicablank.com

up past bedtime

2009-01-04T20:02:00.003-06:00

Look what I found on my walk today. It was so close to the edge of the path curled up on a fallen log. There was a moment of magic when it peered out at me with it's little masked face. Then Sonic saw it. Then Sammy saw it. Then Sony. Then chaos ensued.

christmas bird count

2009-01-03T21:29:00.002-06:00

The Saturday after Christmas I participated in my first bird count. We got to the forest before the sunrise and waited outside the nesting holes for these little woodpeckers to wake up. We waited. It was important for us to count these birds because there are so few of them left. We needed them in our count. They came out and flew to a tree where they met with their friends, a morning chat, and then off in to the forest. The Red-cockaded Woodpecker, it was kinda a thrill to see an endangered animal in the wild and even more so because I was with people who were so devoted to the birds.

The rest of the morning was spent walking through the forest in the drizzly gray with a pair of binoculars. I was what they called a spotter. I wasn't much help with identification. I just pointed at birds. Everyone was generous with their bird knowledge. They tried to help me with identifying by sound, "You hear that one it goes poe-TATE-oh-chip, that's a goldfinch." and told me stories of how they fell in love with birds. One guy carried around an ipod with bird calls on it and would trick the birds into coming out and letting us see them. I don't think I will ever be a hardcore birder but for a day I enjoyed the company of the bird people.

i go wherever they take me

2009-01-01T13:27:00.003-06:00

A new year wouldn't be a new year without a new project (or two or three) so here is my new photoblog. I am going to try and take a picture of my feet every day this year. I'm posting them on my flickr site here. I'm calling the set "i go wherever they take me." It started because I am usually behind the camera and I guess to prove to my self that I was there I just point the camera down at the ground and take a picture. The collection of foot shots was getting interesting so I decided to make a project of it. Hopefully 365 pictures of my feet don't get boring!

resolve 2009

2008-12-31T18:36:00.004-06:00

A new year starts tomorrow. My resolutions are ready:

1. DRAW: I am going to draw more, doodle, goof off, keep up with a sketch book, not worry so much about what or why I am drawing. Just draw.

2. RUN: I started running this year and next year, as far as exercise goes, I think this will be my first year of running. I have gotten over that hump where running is just too hard and am looking forward to going further and faster. Maybe doing some races and just enjoying a simple exercise that I can do anywhere at anytime.

3. READ: 2008 was an enormous goal of reading 100 books. I didn't make it. I read 45. This year all I am resolving to do is read one more than last year.

4. PLAY!

5. LEARN: Last year I had a lot of fun taking pictures and playing with my camera. This year I am going to buckle down and actually learn the ins and outs of my camera the different things it can do and that I can do with it so that I will improve my photography.

That's it. I decided it is a year of improving. I tend to take on new things, try new things, learn new things which is fun but it means I don't spend a lot of time on one thing and do that thing well. So here's to doing things well in 2009!

drip. drip. drip.

2008-12-28T16:57:00.002-06:00

For Christmas Steve gave me a cold. I'm tired of it. My head if full of snot and it likes to drip, drip, drip out my nose.

eve

2008-12-27T19:54:00.003-06:00

Christmas Eve. Steve built a little camp fire in our fire circle and we sat under the dark sky and chatted about the year to come. I sipped peppermint tea and poked the fire with pugs snoozing in my lap.

life list

2008-12-23T20:03:00.003-06:00

Today Dad helped me construct a bird feeding shelf outside my big upstairs window. I'm really happy about it. I think it's going to be so much fun to see who comes to the window feeder. I put out all kinds of goodies. Then on top of my fabu bird feeder I got an early Christmas pressie from Gina. It was this field guide to birds. I am starting my life list today. Here are my first birdies:

Northern Cardinal
Carolina Chickadee
American Goldfinch
Chipping Sparrow
Black Vulture

Not an impressive start, but I got the book late in the day and it's raining.

reboot

2008-12-23T19:47:00.002-06:00

I look back at last year's posts and realize that I like this. I like having my little memories and ideas and moments trapped here so that I can look back. Remember. Smile. Frown. Laugh. See that time has passed but not as quickly at it sometimes seems.

confused?

2008-11-02T19:16:00.001-06:00

If you still aren't sure who to vote for may I make a suggestion....

vote.

2008-11-02T18:57:00.001-06:00

If you haven't yet, go vote. It's important. And you can get free coffee.

Flickr Fun

2008-09-26T11:57:00.004-05:00

Here's how to play: Type your answer to each of the questions (the questions and my answers are below) into Flickr's search. Using only the images that appear on the first page, choose your favorite and copy and paste each of the URL’s into the Mosaic Maker.

What is your first name? Jessica : What is your favorite food? peanut butter : What high school did you attend? Huntsville High School : What is your favorite color? green today, blue tomorrow : Who is your celebrity crush? Adrian Brody : Favorite drink? tea : Dream vacation? Sequoia National Park : Favorite dessert? apple pie a la mode : What do you want to be when you grow up? alive! : What do you love most in life? happy moments : One word to describe you? restless : Your Flickr name? jayembee

photo credits:
1. Jessica Got Kissed, 2. Breakfast 7.11.07 (breakfast meets bento), 3. Joe's Graduation-24, 4. 133: SOTTS will make you jump!, 5. TIFF08-5162, 6. coffee & the city, 7. Alpine Mist, 8. Day 72/365: There just ain't no better way..., 9. Young At Heart, 10. Call of the Raven (formerly Nature's Special Effects), 11. THE OLD BOG ROAD (NO 3) (Mar 21, 2008 #424 EXPLORE) KILKENNY, IRELAND., 12. NYC Trip Day Two - 107 Jayembee at Grimaldi's Pizza.jpg

baby copperhead

2008-08-31T17:16:00.004-05:00

I caught this little guy yesterday (don't worry, I didn't catch him with my bare hands) a tiny copperhead. I thought the little yellow tail was interesting so I looked it up, it's a newborn baby copperhead. Yes, they are poisonous but so pretty and so interesting to look at close up.

Copperheads are pit vipers so I got to get a close look at the heat sensing "pits" on the front of its head and its tell-tell elliptical pupils.

electric sky

2008-08-31T16:55:00.003-05:00

Images captured from a night-time lightning storm over Guadalupe River State Park.

simple life

2008-08-19T20:02:00.003-05:00

Can i get up in the morning, put the kettle on.
Make us some coffee. Say "hey" to the sun.
Is it enough to write a song and sing it to the birds?
They'd hear just the tune, not understand my love for words.
But you would hear me and know:
I want only this, I want to live a simple life.

- The Weepies

still walking

2008-08-10T20:11:00.003-05:00

Me and my camera and my dogs are still going for our walks. I have stopped posting my pictures on 300 walks, but I think the spirit of the idea still exists. I will admit that I may not make it to 300 and the summer heat has slowed me down, but there isn't a week that goes by without us plummeting into the the thick stand of pines behind the house, my camera in hand with my three pups leading the way. My newest experiment involves me carrying a large white piece of foam core board along too. I need to perfect the process. It is hard to hold the board up behind whatever I want to isolate with one hand and take the picture with the other. If I need to make any adjustments to the camera settings I have to put everything down, fiddle with the camera and then reframe. By then the dogs have gotten bored with me and wondered off.

kayakin' around

2008-08-10T19:30:00.003-05:00

Went kayaking with a new friend at the state park today. It was such quiet, easy fun. We checked out the birds, spotted an alligator gar in a little pool, found a giant turtle shell. The older I get the harder it is for me to make new friends. I'm not sure if it is simple and I make it complicated, or if it is complicated and I just wish it was simple. I'm over thinking it - I think.

luna moth

2008-08-06T22:02:00.002-05:00

Torn. Broken. Still magic.

that's us.

2008-08-06T21:51:00.002-05:00

We succeeded in taking that picture [from deep space], and, if you look at it, you see a dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever lived, lived out their lives. The aggregate of all our joys and sufferings, thousands of confident religions, ideologies and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilizations, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every hopeful child, every mother and father, every inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every superstar, every supreme leader, every saint and sinner in the history of our species, lived there on a mote of dust, suspended in a sunbeam.

- Carl Sagan

racer

2008-08-03T21:27:00.002-05:00

New snake. I think I have it identified. It's an Eastern Yellowbelly Racer, a juvenile. Coluber constrictor flaviventris. He was so pretty, but feisty, bit me twice.

wordle

2008-07-30T23:06:00.003-05:00

Made a Wordle of this blog. It takes all the words and then makes a bubble with your most used words the largest. I just say just a little too much I guess. See it bigger here.

summer nights

2008-07-29T21:42:00.004-05:00

Summer nights. Porch lights. Improvised pine cone tripods.

Long exposures. Self-timers. Puppy shadows.

My little house snuggled in the pine trees. Glowing a warm hello.

blanco river

2008-07-25T21:22:00.003-05:00

Last weekend Steve and I went on the Outdoor Rec tubing trip, although it was cut short by a semi-serious, but well-managed tubing injury, we had a lot of fun. Here are all the peeps (not at the hospital) hanging out in the Blanco River after a fun day drifting down the San Marcos. Flickr set here.

tracks

2008-06-22T08:47:00.002-05:00

There are some moments in life that are like pivots around which your existence turns -- small intuitive flashes, when you know you have done something correct for a change, when you think you are on the right track. I watched a pale dawn streak the cliffs with Day-glo and realized this was one of them. It was a moment of pure, uncomplicated confidence -- and it lasted about ten seconds.

- Robyn Davidson, Tracks

clever flowers

2008-06-01T21:46:00.003-05:00

Yesterday I went for a hike at Huntsville State Park. On the dam two of my favorite wildflowers were blooming. Bee balm and passionflower, I love them for their beautiful strangeness. Pollinators were busy buzzing away gathering food, what I enjoy more then watching them work is watching the flowers work. Such clever flowers.

who?

2008-05-30T21:37:00.005-05:00

I got to meet a baby screech owl this morning.

P.S. If anyone would like to know, I've identified my beetle,
Humpback Dung Beetle - Deltochilum gibbosum.

poop beetle

2008-05-29T19:25:00.007-05:00

Sometimes if you sit still the most interesting things come to you. I caught these dung beetles rolling their gross little hairy ball across my garden path while I was sitting on my porch. I was trying to get good pictures of birds, these are more interesting.

I used some white paper to isolate them I think it came out pretty cool. I'm thinking about building some sort of white box so I can isolate more bugs and get their photos. The only problem was that by the time I was through taking their pictures they were rather desperate to get out of my paper lined box, when I let them go they went their separate ways leaving their little poop ball behind. I felt like I broke up the little family.

carolina wren

2008-05-28T21:29:00.005-05:00

Here is a little Carolina Wren that got knocked out of it's nest during a storm. The students at the press found it on the lawn of the quad and came to get me. Here he is all wrapped up in my winter hat. I held him close to keep him warm until my local TWRC wildlife rehabilitator came to pick him up. He has already grown up and been released.

aggieland

2008-05-25T21:07:00.003-05:00

We went to New Student Orientation and got the whole campus tour thing. Steve is all signed up for Summer and Fall classes. His classes start Tuesday, I'm so excited for him but wonder if he will start making weird whooping noises soon.

metro parks and goodbyes

2008-05-25T09:38:00.006-05:00

Last day, we all met up at the Metro Park and went for a walk by the river. Metro Parks are these great little nature parks that are all over Ohio. There were really nice wide hiking and biking trails. Beautiful and peaceful.

Brunch at Panera. Here is Sarah, she was an excellent Ohio organizer and new friend!

Saying goodbye to Shendo at the airport. "Next time you see him he will be pixels."

Soon after we said goodbye to Shendo I realized I was missing my little Cybershot camera. I was pretty sure it fell out of my pocket at the Metro Park while I was bending down to look closer at the flowers. I thought it was lost forever, but before we went to the airport we went back to the Metro Park. Lauren, Sarah, Dan, Steve, and I embarked on the camera quest. I found the camera right where I figured I had dropped it. The success of the camera quest led to this short but exuberant celebration:

Goodbye Ohio, but we are not done. Straight from the airport to Bryan/College Station for Steve's New Student Orientation.

science center and coventry

2008-05-24T23:27:00.003-05:00

Day three in Ohio we went into Cleveland to the Science Center.

Lauren, Dan and Shendo!

This (I am told) is what a pigeon looks like in Ohio. LOL.

After the Science Center we went to Tommy's which is a really cool veggie restaurant in Coventry Village (it's the artsy hippie part of Cleveland). Tommy's was delicious I had the Quinn, which was a toasted cheese sandwich with homemade peanut butter and veggies on pita, and a giant yogurt banana shake. YUM. Then we looked in all the little shops in the area.

french song

2008-05-24T23:02:00.003-05:00

After Cedar Point we went to a restaurant called Quaker Steak and Lube. After one margarita Lauren treated everyone to the famous French song.

Cedar Point

2008-05-24T22:51:00.003-05:00

Cedar Point is a 364 acre amusement park located in Sandusky, Ohio, on a narrow peninsula jutting into Lake Erie. It currently holds the world record for most roller coasters with 17, one of them being the world's second tallest and second fastest roller coaster, Top Thrill Dragster, which reaches speeds of 120 mph and a height of 420 feet. Cedar Point is also the only amusement park with four roller coasters that are taller than 200 feet (61 m). As of 2008 Cedar Point will be the only park in the world with 76 rides, becoming the park with the most rides.

-Wikipedia

YAY! Rollercoasters!

Steve shaking our bucket on the sky ride.

Yum. Taffy.

It was a fun day. I won Cedar Point! I didn't sit out a single ride.

Cleveland Zoo

2008-05-24T21:59:00.006-05:00

We got off the plane and met Lauren, Shendo, Sarah, and Dan for the first time. It was kind of weird meeting people who you have talked to, but never seen in real life. We headed for the Cleveland Zoo which was a fun ice breaker, we got to walk around and talk and look at the animals. I love the zoo. I think I could spend days there taking pictures of all the different animals and their mannerisms.

I love the primates. I know I'm not supposed to anthropomorphize these guys, but you can hardly help it, they have such human expressions. When I see them I am almost sure they share our feelings.

There are such unique shapes and forms in the ocean. Makes me want to learn to scuba dive.

Baby Koala, how cute can you get?!

Chameleons are one of my favorite lizards. They have those crazy eyes and three toed feet, and bounce when they walk like they have some sort of tribal drum beat in their head.

OHIO

2008-05-24T21:56:00.002-05:00

We are off to Ohio!

Steve is my hero!

2008-05-24T21:20:00.004-05:00

Steve graduated with his AA from Montgomery! Now he is off to A&M.His parents came down to join the celebration. I was super proud of Steve, he worked his butt off.

i <3 mom

2008-05-10T22:42:00.002-05:00

My mom is the best mom in the universe. Happy Mother's Day! I love you.

P.S. Sorry I put you on the internet again :)

lazy sunday

2008-05-04T14:22:00.006-05:00

Taking it easy this weekend. Clean. Read. Laundry. Movie. Nap. Walk. Read. Sweep. Bask. Nap. Heal.

home alone

2008-05-01T14:01:00.003-05:00

Being sick at home is so much more pleasant than being sick at work. I am enjoying the quiet of this day home alone even if I am drowning in boogers.

sticks and stones

2008-04-28T19:44:00.005-05:00

It always takes a second glance. When my eyes first move over them I see a twig, a smooth stone, another piece of forest litter. Then my brain clicks the stick is not rigid enough it's fluid, it curves too perfectly against the earth. The rock is too smooth, too round.
Much to their dismay I see through their camouflage, wait for them to give up, come out, look around. So I can click away with my camera, pick them up, study the pattern on their backs: shells and scales. I interrupt their lives for a few quick minutes and then let them go on their merry way.

I've decided that I would like to be able to identify all the Texas snakes. This one is a brown snake (I think I could have come up with a cooler name.)

farting around

2008-04-24T22:38:00.002-05:00

Listen: We are here on Earth to fart around. Don't let anybody tell you any different!

-Kurt Vonnegut, Timequake

happy earth day

2008-04-21T22:39:00.005-05:00

I love the whole world.

wall : a prologue

2008-04-19T20:51:00.002-05:00

Some how she knew that you didn't get many moments like this in your life: moments when you knew, without any doubt, that you were alive, when you felt the air in your lungs and the wet grass beneath your feet and the cotton on your skin; moments when you were completely in the present, when neither past nor the future mattered. She tried to slow her breathing, hoping somehow to make this moment last forever.

- Neil Gaiman

great-horned owl

2008-04-16T22:18:00.004-05:00

This guy fell out of his nest a little early, but thanks to TWRC he will be fine. It was a remarkable experience to get to be near this bird, still covered in baby fluff, but two feet tall and with talons that could rip the flesh from my forearm, he was beautiful. I have more photos that I haven't gone through yet, but I had to get at least one up tonight.

Enchanted Rock

2008-04-16T22:04:00.003-05:00

Spent the past weekend at Enchanted Rock State Natural Area with the SHSU Outdoor Rec group. I have so much fun on these trips. This one included sunrise yoga on top of a batholith, rock climbing, bouldering, hiking, and caving. If you want to, check out my trip photos here.

Monstro

2008-04-08T19:47:00.001-05:00

Meet my new friend Monstro. He moved into my office today. I like him.

beep beep!

2008-04-06T23:07:00.003-05:00

This guy has been hanging out in the driveway for a while now. I went out to walk with the dogs and he was still out there, let me get pretty close too, I didn't have the telephoto lens. This is him just chillin'.
I snapped a couple of photos then I gave a little whistle. My roadrunner friend's feathers stood straight up on his head. His expression of "ZOMG" gave me the giggles and he ran away but not before I caught him in his moment of surprise.

a day in the garden

2008-04-06T22:32:00.004-05:00

Spent the day in the garden today, pulling out thorny vines and weeds until my hands are sore and my arms are scored with tiny pink line where the brambles raked across my skin. I planted several different kinds of basil, two cherry tomatoes, some peppermint, lemon balm, bee balm, and lantana.
I rearranged my outdoor furniture so that it sits in a little grouping on the side porch, under the shade of the balcony, looking out at the side garden.
The perfect place for a cup of tea.I also found this chrysalis in the dirt of one of my beds. It is still alive, when you squeeze it lightly it wiggles. I thought I might of knocked it off something when I was terrorizing the weeds. I took it over to Gina's house thinking she would be able to find a way to attach it to something to let it hatch. She knew what it was and said that it was a big moth and the chrysalis belonged in the dirt. So I took it home and reburied it in the garden.

Donkeys and Lions

2008-03-31T22:30:00.003-05:00

County Caucus: Went to the Democratic County Caucus for Walker County. Five hours later I walked out an Alternate Delegate. Hello Austin!

SHSU Lions: Next I went to photograph the SHSU Lions Club Charter Night. Upgraded my Flickr account to hold the pictures. I'm a pro now. WOOT! Check out the event photos.

In Land of Pajamas, on the Island of Pillows: Spent Sunday bundled up on the couch with the pugs to get over my public service Saturday. Moved all the bedding downstairs and watched movies, Atonement and Blades of Glory (how's that for disparity), and caught up on HBO series John Adams. It felt like I was home sick from school, but it was fun being so unproductive.

happy socks

2008-03-26T20:54:00.002-05:00

I got my new socks from Sock Dreams in the mail today. I put them on and I think they immediately made me happier. I did a little happy dance in front of the bathroom mirror, put on my hiking boots and headed out for a walk. I even figured out the self timer on the D300 just so I could snap this happy shot and share my happy socks with the happy world. Steve thinks they have laced my socks with drugs. If they did, they are happy drugs.

my woods

2008-03-19T20:28:00.003-05:00

I love just hanging out in my woods, watching the pups snuffle through the underbrush. There was one morning where I was listening particularly hard and wishing I could collect sounds like I collect pictures. I thought that I would concentrate on the sounds and write them all down as I moved through this day in my life. There were all the different bird calls, the dry shuffle of leaves underfoot, pugs snorts, bugs zipping through the air, woodpecker's report on dead pines. Then I headed for work and I realized that the closer I got to town the more I NEEDED to tune out, listening and focusing on sounds was giving me a headache. Diesel engines, radio commercials, air conditioners humming, horns, people chatting away on their cell phones, presses running, printers churning, the whirl of fans cooling hard drives. It made me wonder, how much are we unconsciously effected by this everyday? Would my brain be less tired if I didn't have to tune all this out, if I could hear the wind move the trees all day instead?

anniversaries and assholes

2008-03-19T19:59:00.003-05:00

Anniversaries :: Steve and I celebrated seven years yesterday. It was nice, we gave each other food. He picked me up one of my favorites, the veggie chef salad from Cafe Express and a new book, Willful Creatures by Aimee Bender. I got him a sausage and pepperoni Papa John's pizza and a chance to win several million dollars. We sat around and ate our dinners and watched the first part of the HBO John Adams series and watched it rain. There was a bunny in the yard sitting under a bush waiting out the rain. I watched it saunter off when it slowed to a drizzle, stopping to munch on weeds. I sent it a little bunny-mind-speak message, "Go eat the weeds in the garden." Believe it or not, I got a message back, "I will visit your garden as soon as you plant your veggies." We got these lovely begonias from Steve's mom, we got a dinner date from Gina, and we got a night at a local winery bed and breakfast from my parents. It will be a super relaxing and yummy escape. I can't wait!
Assholes :: In other news, I had a crap day at work. I hate getting mad, because when I get mad, I cry. Then all I can think is "don't cry" and not what I want to be thinking which is some bitingly witty remark that proves that this person is being a complete and total asshole who isn't pleased no matter how hard anyone tries to do anything which is probably why we feel like doing nothing, because if you get shit on for doing nothing at least you didn't put any effort into it. The miserable part is that I was really happy with what I had done. I guess I should use this as motivation to work on my own stuff, to find a way to move on.

podcasts and sunshine

2008-03-13T19:40:00.004-05:00

Finding myself shooting into the sunshine a lot lately. Hopefully I will get over it before I go blind. I have been listening to podcasts like crazy. New season of RadioLab just started, This American Life, an old favorite, picked up The Moth and TWIP (This Week in Photography) this week. I love podcasts.

stuck in my head

2008-03-09T13:57:00.002-05:00

I'm a new soul I came to this strange world hoping I could learn a bit about how to give and take. But since I came here, felt the joy and the fear, finding myself making every possible mistake.

sunday mornings

2008-03-09T13:14:00.004-05:00

What a Sunday morning looks like: Steve sleeps late, me and the dogs sneak out so we don't wake him, morning walk, over at Mom and Dad's, spilled coffee, crumpled papers, treats for puppies, then we all settle down and sip our second cups of coffee and read the Item and the Chronicle while dogs snooze on laps or extra pieces of couch.

Snow!

2008-03-08T21:08:00.002-06:00

Yes, that is SNOW.

Obama

2008-03-08T20:59:00.002-06:00

Primary Day. A line of Democrats with a couple of GOP invaders, voting for Hillary.
Caucus. It was a little crazy, but everyone worked together. Obama got 10 of 16 delegates in Riverside, Texas. Next stop, County Caucus.

March Goals

2008-03-02T19:57:00.006-06:00

Didn't do too well with the whole "February Goals" things, but it was a short month, and I was sick for like a week and a half, and I went caving, and there was the geology weekend, and the weekend where the weather was way too nice to be productive, and there, my month is gone. I think I'm going to keep it simple in March.

draw
take pictures
eat healthy
exercise
read

I went shopping Saturday. Caught this wrong way sign in the mirror, cracked me up cuz it was the WRONG WAY! It's the little things I guess.

fifty-four dollars

2008-02-25T20:47:00.004-06:00

Today I found an envelope at the museum park that asked me to open it. Being a curious person, I did. Inside was a letter and fifty-four dollars. The person was using this monetary sacrifice to parallel Jesus' sacrifice and convince the person who found it (me I guess?) that they too should become Christian. It seems a little presumptuous to me to ask someone to renounce their philosophy or system of belief for fifty-four dollars. Oh well, the Lion's Club is fifty dollars richer and I have money for lunch on Friday. ROAR!

geology weekend

2008-02-24T21:52:00.003-06:00

Steve had extra credit assignments for geology this weekend. We went on a geology walk, which was more of an environmental science talk. Then we went to the rock and mineral show in Pasadena. I got a 300 million year old sea bug fossil (trilobite). I love fossils, super cool.

kissyfur

2008-02-24T21:24:00.001-06:00

Happy Birthday baby brother.

sunday morning

2008-02-24T20:53:00.006-06:00

Slow down, you move too fast. You got to make the morning last... Life, I love you, All is groovy.

the neglected week

2008-02-17T20:45:00.004-06:00

Last week was a neglected week. I planned. I intended. I thought about. I tried. But in the end I mostly just slept. It wasn't a bad week it just took too much effort.

Good things that did happen: Valentine's surprises from Steve. New friend. D300. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. Chalkboard and shelves in office. Becoming Jane. Chicken fried rice. 12 hours of uninterrupted sleep. Goodnight.

Caving

2008-02-16T15:05:00.003-06:00

Last weekend I went caving at Colorado Bend State Park. I went with the Outdoor Rec group at the University where I work. The best part wasn't the caving, or the camping, it was just the people. It's been so long since I have enjoyed just being with people so much. I get so used to it being an oddball thing for me to want to do something like caving, or eat something like hummus (both of which I was ridiculed for this week), that it was just nice for it to be the norm to want to crawl on your belly through a muddy hole, and to eat with people who think hummus is a staple. Just the general relaxed, non-competitive, non-judgmental attitude of the entire group was such a pleasant shift. I will definitely go again, if they will have me. Oh yeah, caving was awesome too.

lye berry

2008-02-07T21:11:00.001-06:00

Today I went to the library. Sometimes I think I like acquiring books more than I like reading them.

stolen moment

2008-02-06T20:54:00.001-06:00

I didn't sleep well last night. I woke up to Sony having a puggish asthma attack. Once he calmed down I tried to go back to sleep, but my inner-critic was up too and decided 2am was the appropriate time to gnaw at the inside on my skull. He wanted me to know that I needed to change my oil and that I shouldn't wear the same pair of jeans three times a week and that I hadn't started to accomplish any of the goals that I set for myself which is OK since they weren't worth a crap anyway. After about 45 minutes of that I got up took a shower, and then went back to bed. I woke up groggy and crappy and late. I would have called in sick, but I had responsibilities at work, people waiting for me to finish their projects. Things due. I called in late. Sometimes when I do this I steal a little moment for myself. I got dressed, brushed my hair, ate my breakfast, had my tea, and then, instead of bustling off to the office, I looked into three little puppy faces and asked, "Do you wanna go for a walk in the woods?" Heads tilt. Ears perk up. There is a mad dash to the front gate, and we are off. A moment in the day where I transfered my time from looming deadlines and a sunless building to a sunlit walk down a little wooded path with three friends who run through the trees for the sheer joy of a new smell.

February Goals

2008-02-03T17:55:00.001-06:00

One month down in twothousandeight already! I feel like I'm going to have to step it up if I want to accomplish anything this year. Here are my goals for February.

create two finished illustrations that I like and feel are portfolio worthy
create the one paper cut piece (it's in my head)
start a contact list of 20 illustration clients that I would like to work for
upload my design portfolio so that interested parties can download it
learn something new to make myself a better photographer
get business cards printed

That's a lot for a short month, not very focused am I? We will see how far I get.

After two weeks I am dumping the idea of posting links weekly. maybe monthly. maybe sporadically. maybe never again.

The above picture is the self-timer self-portrait challenge over at Shutter Sisters. I do love toes.

from work to yoga : a journey in snapshots

2008-01-31T18:17:00.001-06:00

failure to communicate

2008-01-29T20:43:00.001-06:00

Did you ever play that game where you and a friend sank beneath the surface of the pool and yelled incoherent messages back and forth? The words muffled by the density of water and the bubbles that your lungs pushed out with the sound. You strained to understand the secret message and then revealed your muddled interpretation above the surface. Giggle. Repeat. That was my day except not funny.

last week in links

2008-01-28T20:45:00.000-06:00

Yes, I was bored and have access to photoshop. Last week I found a new blog Shutter Sisters. I think I am going to participate. I have joined the flickr group but have yet to post anything. I also found these carved crayons, this cool photo book "As Far As I Could Get", and a series of posters created by a graphic designer named Becky Redman called Fucking Recycle. I may have found all or most of these things at It's Nice That, a blog that seems to have more things to look at then you could ever possibly look at so go look at some. I have also joined a mobile swap over at elsie marley I am dreaming of things hanging from strings, can't wait to start making mine, can't wait to see what I get!

no better dog

2008-01-26T20:29:00.001-06:00

Just wanted the world to know, there is no better dog than this here dog. That's right, he is the best dog in the world :: SONIC.

dirty thirty

2008-01-26T20:17:00.001-06:00

Wednesday was Leslie's 30th! Everyone went out for Japanese. Leslie's first taste of sashimi, my first time for Hibachi-style eating and warm sake. I ended up with rice in my hair. I think I can do without my food prep being entertainment. It was a fun night, Happy Birthday Les, and thanks for having the decency of turning dirty thirty before me.

recap of a grey week

2008-01-26T20:01:00.001-06:00

Everyday of this week was cold and grey and yuck, but I got to wear my silly second-hand store hat. This is me on my daily walk up the hill to work. I refused to buy a $75 parking permit and now park off campus and walk, which was less fun this week. On the upside I did let myself spend that money on books on wanted on my amazon wish list.
Went for deliveries with Chas, what a nice day to be out and about.
A bit of metaphorical sunshine. This is the brand new carpet in my very own office. No more roomies. I moved in shortly after taking this picture.

fungus amungus

2008-01-26T08:22:00.001-06:00

I rolled over a rotting log and this fell off. A bright orange gelatinous ball of what? I am enthralled with all the different mushroom and lichens and odd little lifeforms I can find growing in the woods. They are a surprise in form and texture and color.

real food

2008-01-20T18:05:00.001-06:00

Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.

- Michael Pollan, In Defense of Food

this week in links

2008-01-20T14:06:00.000-06:00

I have been trying to find a clever way to share the things I am looking at online on my blog. When I try to integrate them into my posts it just seems forced, and if I just add them at the end they just seem too lonely. I've decided I will just save them up and post them once a week. So here goes the first post...

This week I found the blog Crap Detector! It is a blog for graphic design students at Mississippi State University. It has great posts and loads of cool links to check out. It made me long to be a student again. I also found Rob Ryan's blog and consumed the contents of Jen Corace's blog think think, stare stare. I found The Whale Hunt. It is an experiment in storytelling through photography, pretty awesome. From the same guy who made wefeelfine.org, also awesome. Here are a few other blogs that I check out pretty much all the time: wish jar, Design*Sponge, Camilla Engman's blog, ProcessRecess, and Cool Hunting. I spent a lot of time looking at meomi cloud house which is insanely cute! Hope you find something new. Til next week...maybe.

cloverfield

2008-01-19T18:41:00.001-06:00

Good movie, even Steve liked it.

That's some catch, that Catch-22

2008-01-19T15:43:00.000-06:00

What a lousy earth! He wondered how many people were destitute that same night even in his own prosperous country, how many homes were shanties, how many husbands were drunk and wives socked, and how many children were bullied, abused or abandoned. How many families hungered for food they could not buy? How many hearts were broken? How many suicides would take place that same night, how many people would go insane? How many cockroaches and landlords would triumph? How many winners were losers, successes failures, rich men poor men? How many wise guys were stupid? How many happy endings were unhappy endings? How many honest men were liars, brave men cowards, loyal men traitors, how many sainted men were corrupt, how many people in positions of trust had sold their souls to blackguards for petty cash, how many had never had souls? How many straight-and-narrow paths were crooked paths? How many of the best families were worst families and how many good people were bad people? When you added them all up and then subtracted, you might be left with only the children, and perhaps with Albert Einstein and an old violinist or sculptor somewhere.

- Joseph Heller, Catch-22

LUV :: STEVE

2008-01-17T18:52:00.001-06:00

Here is my favorite person, doesn't he look sexy in his hat.

fiesta

2008-01-17T18:46:00.001-06:00

Last Saturday we celebrated my birthday.

Jill and I rode our bikes from her place in town to my house.

Then there was friends, family, and food.

There was even a juggling clown.

My tradition: apple pie instead of cake.

woolf wolfe wolf woof?

2008-01-17T18:29:00.001-06:00

Went to the used book store today and got five books for two dollars, when I looked down at my purchases I realized I got two books by Virginia Woolf, two books by Tom Wolfe, and one book by Hermann Hesse, Stepppenwolf. Wolves on the brain maybe? Odd.

manhunt

2008-01-16T20:29:00.000-06:00

Just spent the last 45 minutes sitting in my car. When I get to the front, no wreck, just officers with flashlights. "Lost someone?" I ask. "No mam, just someone is running away from us we have officers and TDCJ dogs all along the right side of the highway, so drive carefully." Just one of the perks of living in Prison City I guess. The thing that always gets me is, why run? They always catch them, or they turn up dead. You never hear of the prisoner who escaped and then lived happily ever after. So should I attribute it to optimism of stupidity? My guess is the latter.MANHUNT UPDATE: Not prisoners, copper wire thieves. They were trying to steal the phone line that ran under the bridge. When the police showed up they ran, and got away. Maybe there is a happily ever after for the bad guys after all.

better than andes

2008-01-10T22:08:00.001-06:00

Sometimes I find this on my pillow, better than a chocolate.

and it was a very happy birthday

2008-01-10T20:58:00.000-06:00

cupcakes from Stuart, email wishes, singing on my voice mail, flowers
lunch and ice cream with Chazzer, pressies, yoga, and grilled cheeses :: HELLO 29.

glass and wire

2008-01-04T19:08:00.001-06:00

My wire and glass experiment: to trap wire drawings between two pieces of fused glass. First a test to see which types of wire can hold up to the heat of the kiln. Results pending.

meat pies

2008-01-04T11:46:00.001-06:00

Went to see Sweeny Todd yesterday. I liked it.

300 walks?

2008-01-03T19:08:00.000-06:00

I started my 300 walks project. I'm going to walk the same path behind our house at least 300 times this year and post a picture I took that day for everyday I walk. Today was walk number three, only 297 more to go. I thought it would be a good way to record time, play with my camera, play with Dreamweaver, and get a little exercise for me and the pups all at the same time. This is me on the trail today with my all-time favorite shoes, they are my Keen hiking boots I got last year for Christmas. They are comfy and keep my feet dry no matter what muck I decide to slosh through. Sometimes I wear them to work, even though it looks a little silly.

100 books?

2008-01-03T08:49:00.001-06:00

I am trying to read 100 books in 2008, maybe the actually challenge is just to read more, use it as an escape instead of the tele or the too many hours of web surfing because I don't want to sacrifice enjoying the books for reading a certain quantity. I am also trying to read more books from this list of 1001 books you must read before you die. I don't think it really matters what I have read once I am dead, but it's a good way to introduce myself to new authors. I am listing my finished books on my blog so I can keep track of my progress. Right now I am in the middle of Gulliver's Travels.

last day of the year

2008-01-02T18:18:00.000-06:00

Spent the last day of 2007 mucking around at the state park. The lake was drained for dam maintenance so we could walk around the lake bed picking up freshwater clams and chunking them into the deeper water.

goodbye. hello!

2008-01-02T10:34:00.001-06:00

Said goodbye to 2007, friends, fireworks, and cheap champagne in coffee cups.
Said hello to 2008, brunch, unfinished crossword puzzles, and black-eyed peas.

into the wild

2007-11-13T23:03:00.001-06:00

For children are innocent and love justice, while most of us are wicked and naturally prefer mercy.

- G.K. Chesterton (beginning of Chapter 12)

swap!

2007-11-13T22:35:00.000-06:00

I got my names for the ornament swap today, it got me all in a Christmassy mood, singing songs around the office and brainstorming on what my ornaments should be. It was like I got new friends in the email! I can't wait to see what everyone makes!

point of view

2007-11-05T15:56:00.000-06:00

I spent part of my weekend helping a friend create a stained glass appliqué window for a church her dad was building. I didn't do much except show them how to cut glass, but there were two little girls there, one was 3 and one was 6. They wanted to help so bad, but weren't allowed with all the glass, so I gave them my camera and told them they could document the event. When I finally got my camera back they had taken over 200 pictures mostly silly faces of each other, but I am enjoying all the portraits of me, this is how I look to a three-year-old.

IF: Hats

2007-11-05T15:36:00.000-06:00

My new hat makes me look like a teddy bear, a rather sad teddy bear, oh well. This is my first Illustration Friday submission. I'm trying to do more of my own work, hopefully this exercise will keep me going!

my photos: spanish hillside

2007-10-04T23:09:00.001-05:00

death of a house gecko

2007-10-04T22:24:00.001-05:00

Just now I let the dogs outside before going to bed, I found them at the front door, excitedly pawing at something that I assumed was a big katydid or praying mantis that had been attracted to the porch light. When I looked closer it was a little house gecko. I picked it up to save it, but realized it was beyond repair, it's little belly was torn open and it's guts were exposed. In my disgust I flung it off the porch and came back in. I realized it was still alive, but had no chance of living. It would just lay out there until something came and ate it or it died of exposure or however tiny wounded lizards die. I was sad. I decided it would be kinder to put it out of its pain and kill it. I put on the headlamp and found it laying in the dirt where it landed, still alive. I crushed him with a hammer, hoping that would be the quickest most decisive death I could deliver. I buried him and came back in. I know some people would say I'm ridiculous, maybe even a lot of people, but it makes me sad to end even this small life.

new word: fika

2007-10-04T06:23:00.000-05:00

Fika is a Swedish verb that roughly means "to take a coffee break".

Fika is a social institution in Sweden: it means taking a break from work or other activities and having a coffee with one's colleagues, friends, or family. This practice of taking a break for a coffee and a light snack (some biscuits, cookies, or a sandwich) between more substantial meals like lunch and dinner is central to Swedish life, Swedes being among the heaviest consumers of coffee in the world.

Since the word implies drinking coffee, just having a sandwich would not really be fika, although these days tea instead of coffee is becoming more frequent. In recent years, too, fika has also come to mean simply going to a café and having a coffee with someone, though this technically deviates from the strict "taking a break" meaning.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

embracing my mess

2007-09-17T20:23:00.000-05:00

I am a mess. I have been on a quest to embrace my messiness for a little over a month now and it has been very liberating. I wear my green shoes to work even if the outfit would generally be worn with dress shoes. I refused to brush my hair one day waking up with a bed head full of waves I sort of scrunched them about and walked out the door. I stopped worrying about the house, about unfinished projects, about my handwriting, about my tendencies to misplace things. I figure if I have tried to fix these things for the last 28 years, maybe they ain't never gonna be fixed. Maybe they don't have to. Keri Smith has a blog entry today about her messy life and it made me smile. I decided to do this little exercise. Here are a list of things that are on my floor right now:

enough hairballs to create a new dog :: a nickel :: a button :: a gold foil candy wrapper :: a dead wasp :: a screw :: a handmade tile in the shape of a leaf :: squares of muted colored paper :: a euro :: dirty socks :: a chewed up toilet paper roll :: a yellow gel pen :: pomegranate seeds :: an orange towel :: a bottle cap :: a solitary earring :: a piece of fused glass :: dirt :: a pencil :: a mint tea wrapper :: a piece of linen paper that I wrote, "I'm doing OK." on :: stuffing from a dead dog toy :: a granola bar wrapper :: a peach pit :: and a receipt

eat, pray, love

2007-09-17T19:11:00.000-05:00

Il bel far niente means "the beauty of doing nothing." .... The beauty of doing nothing is the goal of all your work, the final accomplishment for which you are most highly congratulated. The more exquisitely and delightfully you can do nothing, the higher your life's achievement. (Italy)

"It is better to live your own destiny imperfectly than to live an imitation of somebody else's life with perfection." (The Bhagavad Gita, India)

"You gotta stop wearing your wishbone where your backbone oughtta be." (Richard from Texas, India)

"Why they always look so serious in Yoga? You make serious face like this, you scare away good energy. To meditate, only you must smile. Smile with face, smile with mind, and good energy will come to you and clean away dirty energy. Even smile in your liver." (Ketut Liyer, Indonesia)

They say that the oak tree is brought into creation by two forces at the same time. Obviously, there is the acorn from which it all begins, the seed which holds all the promise and potential, which grows into the tree. Everybody can see that. But few can recognize that there is another force operating here as well - the future tree itself, which wants so badly to exist that it pulls the acorn into being, drawing the seedling forth with longing out of the void, guiding the evolution from nothingness to maturity. In this respect, says the Zens, it is the oak tree that creates the very acorn from which it was born. (the last mala bead)

- Elizabeth Gilbert, eat, pray, love

my photos: supersonic sonic

2007-09-16T20:46:00.000-05:00