my short getaway.

i had such a wonderful time visiting may and her two daughters.

may cooked the best dinner and even gave me some tips on how i can make it myself. i always appreciate that since i am trying to expand my limited cooking repertoire. :]

after the girls went to sleep, may and i attempted a little creative session. neither of us were having the best luck, but i was happy to actually get a good start on a layout and even happier just to talk with may.

the next day, we visited a local bead store and picked up lunch at panera before i started my journey back home. [i say journey because it didn't turn out to be just a straightforward drive home. ha.] this was my first panera experience and i so loved it. yum. i wish we had one closer because i would go there again today.


as i started my drive home, i got a text from garrett, so i decided to stop by his house in elk grove since i was in the area. by stopping, i knew i had to stay for a while because otherwise i would end up in the bad bad bad traffic. so we went to a late lunch/early dinner at bj's. i've only eaten at the one we have here a couple times because it's usually pretty busy. so it was good to eat there again. i enjoyed visiting him. he asked me if i feel old, and i said no. haha. i continued that i probably should feel old now that i've graduated and all, but i don't. especially when people ask me what high school i graduated from when i tell them i just graduated. nice. also it's probably because i'm in denial over the fact that i will ever get old. ha. but maybe if i move away then i will start to feel older. for now... not so much.

i also made one more stop on the way home... i finally managed a visit to green tangerines, a scrapbook store in rocklin. oh. my. goodness. it's so big and well organized. it's definitely a cool store. plus they already had the new cosmo cricket releases, including the ultra-cute mr. campy line. i'll have to try to stop there more often. if only they had a store in the same shopping center that james would be interested in hanging out in while i shop. :]

needless to say, i finished my drive home in the dark. oncoming headlights are a pain, especially for those last 30 miles or so when you are so ready to be back home and out of the car. don't even get me started on the people in the fast lane that are going the same speed as the car next to them in the slow lane. ugh. yeah, i had a little bit of road rage going on. and since it's illegal to talk on the phone while driving in california now and i cannot get my bluetooth to work, i couldn't call someone to talk while i finished my drive. that's my usual trick to calm myself down. if i am talking to someone, i'm less worried about the two idiots in front of me sitting next to each other both going 60 mph. ha. so it was definitely nice to walk in the door. & & james got home about a minute after i did. :]

this weekend we are going camping with my old lab group. i'm excited. i haven't visited the lab in a while, so it will be nice to see everyone. i have to start making lists and planning for that trip now. ha. all of these little trips this summer are making me a happy girl.

weekend review.

friday night was nicole's going away party.
i was really happy that so many people came over for it. we talked and talked and talked. and laughed and laughed and laughed. it was a really good night. i felt like the night ended too soon. i also regretted that we hadn't had more of these friday night hang outs over the past 4 years. i'm hoping to have a few more of them soon though. of course they won't be the same as more and more people start to move away, but i still want to give it a try.

it's crazy to think that this is really happening...
we are done with the unr days.
it's basically time for the real world.
we aren't all going to be together next fall, sitting in the med school lecture hall taking notes and then laughing at inappropriate times. and we won't all gather in the library or the student union to study over the weekend before our exams. and we won't all go to breakfast at peg's between classes. or lunch at newman's. we won't wander into each others labs to talk while we wait for pcr to run, or a long centrifuge cycle to finish.
instead, we're dispersing all over the country.
it's sad. but i guess in a way, it's also exciting. i have to say that because i'm trying to focus on being excited instead of sad. :]

on saturday night, i went to the late night crop at the store. i didn't really manage to get anything done, but i expected that would be the case. :]
nicole came because the mini book session i had planned to have during the party didn't happen. i think we just got too busy talking. but i wanted her to make it before she left, so she agreed to come to the store. i think she had fun. her little book turned out pretty well too. i intended to get a photo of it, but of course i forgot. ack. at least i got one last photo with her before she left. [thanks mandee!]

i'm heading out tomorrow for a little trip to see may. i'm so excited that i can't sleep tonight. i guess i better try though so that the drive tomorrow doesn't wear me out too badly. off to bed i go. :]

grumpy pants.

yes.
i have my grumpy pants on today.

i thought i could cure it with a movie night with james, but he just called to tell me he's going to see the batman movie again. because apparently it's epic.
but.
i can't see it. i just can't. no way.

so now i'm not quite sure how to get rid of my grumpy pants.

my studio is blocked by my two suitcases from chicago, which have basically thrown up all over the place.
catalogs.
laundry.
shoes.
everywhere.
i don't even want to look in that direction, but i have to have it clean for tomorrow... so maybe i should go tackle that and finish the project that i started today at work.

tomorrow night i'm throwing a going away party for nicole. she's moving to texas for graduate school. i think it's a masters program in forensics. anyway. i got this bright idea to make a little mini book then put out all kinds of supplies so that people [really only the girls though] who come to the party can make a mini book like mine of their own. because my friends are always asking me to make them something, and i'm really bad about that type of thing. i thought this might work and would be a fun momento for everyone to take with them. plus they can either copy mine or put their own touch on it if they feel like it. i printed tons of sets of photos yesterday at costco [seemed easier than doing it at home] and did some of the paper cutting prep during work today so now i just have to finish my book as the sample.

maybe i'll take helix for a walk.
then tackle the mess.
then tackle the project.
sounds like a plan.

see.
i knew blogging would help me get rid of these grumpy pants. ha. :]

p.s. around here, "grumpy pants" are also referred to as "poopy pants". this usually makes the person "wearing" said pants laugh when you accuse them of being in a bad mood... thus changing the mood. :]
for example: "babe... do you have your poopy pants on?"
even typing it makes me smile.

chicago in pictures.

here's the thing... you never come home thinking "i wish i hadn't taken so many photos."
no. no.
you always come home thinking "i wish i'd taken more photos."
this is still true even when you take a million photos.
ok. i didn't take a million. i took 276. but still.


walking to the train station under the protection of my new umbrella.











when i got up the stairs from my train stop, this is what i saw.

i made my way down the street to the park. so so so pretty.

there's just a nice old feeling to parts of city [especially some of the architecture] that you don't really find on the west coast too often.
i especially enjoyed looking at the different lights, like this one.
so old and so beautiful.

yay for the self timer on my camera. i love that thing.










there are little gardens and planters with amazing plants and flowers all throughout the city.
then i stumbled across this... a *real* garden in the middle of the park.
i thought it was pretty cool.

the fountain. it's way more impressive than i expected. when i first arrived, no one was there, but by the time i was able to cross the street to get to it, a bus full of children was unloading. i didn't mind waiting around to get a couple good photos though.

another self portrait.
people kept asking me if i wanted them to take a photo of me, but i kind of like doing it by myself. :]
on one side of the fountain, it's just the sky behind it [like the photo above] and from the other side, you can see all these pretty buildings behind it [like this one]. i thought the two different perspectives where interesting.

this is basically all i saw of the lake. so all i know is that it's gigantic.
it's something that i will hopefully explore more in another trip. i didn't make it to navy pier during this trip, and i'm sure that's a good spot to take in the lake. so next time. there will have to be a next time. :]

really. so green and pretty everywhere.
i was starting to get hot at this point too, so i was very thankful for the shade that all those trees provided. the only problem was that they kept dripping water on me. ha. at one point, i even got out my umbrella even though it wasn't technically raining anymore. ha.

i took lots of photos like this when i found a new texture on the ground. i don't know... i just think they are fun. i did my self-portrait rolls in photography like this, and it kind of became my thing. :]

the bean.

my reflection in the bean.
i forget what it's really called... i'm pretty sure that it has a different name, but everyone just kept calling it the bean.
it was also more impressive than i expected. it was very crowded with people though, so i didn't stay too long there.

i used my bag as a prop for my camera + the self timer. :]

i don't know exactly what kind of theater this was, but that sign definitely required a photo.

[even though i was on a busy street corner and people were looking at me like a tourist. ha.]



this is the ceiling of macy's.
the chicago macy's is fabulous.
so beautiful inside with all kinds of neat old architectural details.
plus they have a lush in there. you know i spent a decent amount of time smelling all the lush goodness.


there were lots of flags in the city. all of these flags are lining a bridge that crosses the chicago river.

the river is pretty big larger than most of the rivers we have around here. and you can take a little boat ride on it. not really my cup of tea though. haha.

i later walked across that bridge and seriously wanted to run.
it was shaking quite a bit, and i couldn't really handle it. ha.

another fun photo of my feet.

along the magnificent mile, which is basically a shopping district, there are all kinds of these dresses in the planters.

i didn't really stop to read about them, but i think most of them are made with "found objects" or trash.

they were a fun sight to happen upon and i tried to take a photo of each one that i saw.

i'm sure i missed some because i only walked up one side of the street, but i have photos of about 10 of them. each one is totally unique, but these two are probably my favorites.

you know i had to stop in there.

and in there.
on my way to this store, i pulled out my map to make sure that i was on the right street. a guy behind me asked me if i was ok or needed any directions. he walked me all the way to this store and talked with me the whole time. he was so friendly. as we left, he told me his name and to look him up. turns out, he is a ceo of some big company. haha. but seriously. everyone i interacted with was really friendly and i appreciated it, especially the girl at the train station. she was a big help and so funny about me not knowing what i was doing. ha.

i had to stop there too.

and there's the lovely band aid on my bloody heel. nice.

back on the train going to the hotel with all my stuff.

ah. it was a good trip. thinking about it still makes me smile.

chicago.

if you ever go to cha in chicago, you absolutely have to spend an extra day here to explore the city.
and if you never plan to go to cha, i would suggest planning a trip to chicago if you enjoy visiting large cities.
seriously. i had such a good time today exploring. it was my favorite day of the whole trip!

it was raining this morning when i wanted to head out around 8:30, so i had to buy an umbrella in order to walk to the train station. after about a half hour train ride, i arrived at my chosen stop downtown.
chicago is so beautiful.
as soon as i came up from the train stop, i was just in love.

i walked so much today that my heels started to bleed. that part didn't hurt too badly, but my feet are in serious pain. i can't feel my right big toe still. ack! well. i changed my outfit at the last minute this morning, which required a change to the less practical walking shoes. i was fully aware of what i was doing to myself, but i did it anyway. that's just how i am sometimes. [plus the "walking" shoes that i brought along are coach and they definitely would have been ruined by walking through all the water this morning and today. so i'm glad i changed out of them, even if i did have to buy band aids. ha.]

i will post my photos when i get back home. i've uploaded them, but i took so many that iPhoto seems to be overloaded. it's running really slowly, and i'm too tired to struggle with it tonight.

even though i started my packing last night, i still have a ton to pack. and it's going to require big time effort to make everything fit. i think i'll blow dry my hair [i jumped in the shower 30 seconds after i got back to my room because i knew that the pain in my feet probably won't allow for a shower later] and go grab some tea in the little coffee place. hopefully it will wake me up enough to pack. my eyes getting heavy.

be ready for a big photo post soon. seriously. i took so many photos. :]

cha.

well. i've decided to pay $10 for the hotel wifi so that i can update. ha.

the show ended today at 4:00, and i've been trying to pack things up a bit so that i won’t have so much to do tomorrow night. i'm worried that my suitcase will be over the weight limit… but we’ll have to wait and see when i get to the airport tuesday morning.

tomorrow is my day to explore the city. i'm taking the train downtown to see some museums and get some garrett’s popcorn. i hear that it’s excellent… and if you know me, then you probably know how much i la la la love popcorn.

ok. well you are probably most wanting to hear about the show, so here we go…

when i got to my hotel, i checked in and headed to the little bar-type place for some dinner. as i was finishing up my dinner, tim holtz and his crew walked in and sat down at the table right next to mine. he was facing me as i finished my meal. they needed another table for their group, so as soon as i got up, i just said that they could have my table. that was all. i felt like it was his personal time, so i didn’t want to bug him for a photo. [i saw him later in his booth, but it looked liked he was enjoying a moment to himself, so again, i didn’t want to bother him for a photo. besides i have one from memory trends, so it wasn’t as important i guess.]

it seems that set the bar for taking photos though because looking through my photos, i didn’t take nearly enough.

the first day of the show, i spent all but the last 3 hours of the show working in the fiskars booth doing make and takes for cloud 9. i got to meet one of the designers, also named amy, and we spent a lot of time together throughout the show. she is one of the nicest people ever. it was such a treat to talk with her. cloud 9 started promoting their idea of a “scrapanista” which is “a designer, promoter or follower of the latest scrapbooking fashions.” so the make and take was a luggage tag with the scrapanista definition on it. the tags were a lot of fun to make and the station was super busy.

after my shift in the booth, i wandered around the rest of the floor to check things out. i didn’t quite have my bearings on the layout of the show, so i made sure to look over the map for the next day… it really helped.

i spent saturday working in the fiskars booth again, but this time i got done with 4 hours to spare. i went to check out my favorite companies, and i loved what i saw. some of my favorites were:

-heidi grace. especially the halloween line. seriously, it’s so cute. reagan’s closet is also very cool. it’s vibrant and bright with all kinds of fun little doodles. i'm excited for all of her releases, but these two were my favorites.

-october afternoon. their new lines are just as good as their first releases. the good cheer collection is a wintery/holiday collection with the most darling little snowman. the night light collection is a boyish collection with some fun little monster guys. and the weathervane collection has a fall feeling with orange, brown and blue tones.

-cosmo cricket. the mr. campy collection. sigh. it’s adorable. their halloween collection is also great, and now their blackboard has adhesive shapes to go on top instead of the old punch outs which you had to try and adhere perfectly. such a good improvement.

-sassafrass. they’ve expanded on the fun feeling of their last releases. the hog heaven collection combines mushrooms, owls, deer, apples, and obviously a fun little hedgehog. it’s adorable. i also loved the woodland whimsy collection. i reminds me of something i would see in japantown. super cute.

-maya road. they have new cupcake stuff! enough said.

-hambly. bicycles. i've been waiting for bicycles to make their appearance in scrapbooking. a couple years ago i wanted to start screen printing my own t-shirts, but never found the proper resources. anyway, during this time i made a fun little bicycle design for my friend josh’s band. it was never printed, but i sure thought it was cool. ha.

-american crafts. fabric thickers. they are amazing. i need to have them like right now.


that’s about all i can think of as far as favorites go.
so i guess it’s time to talk about what else has happened the past few days here.

i saw ali edwards in my hotel. as you can guess, i didn’t want to bother her for a photo.

i saw heidi swapp in her booth, and was totally going to ask for a photo, but she disappeared.

elsie wasn’t here. i was sad about that for sure. i was hoping to see her new products and of course meet her. ah well.

i talked to heidi grace a bit. she remembered me from texas. i thought that was pretty sweet. :]

i met traci bautista and got a copy of her book signed. so cool.

on friday night, we had a big fiskateer dinner at giordano’s. i tried some chicago-style pizza, and i have to say that it was pretty good. :] after dinner, i went out with angela and rebecca, and a couple other girls. we went to the bar that was in rebecca’s hotel. i enjoyed talking with them late into the night.

on saturday night, i went to the twopeas social for a little bit and then met up with the lead fiskateers and had dinner at their hotel. then i had to head back to my hotel so that i could finish my project for fiskarstv, which i filmed today. i’m not really sure how that went because i was so nervous that i couldn’t think or move or talk. haha. i just went on autopilot, so i don’t really remember too much of what i said or did. probably just made a fool of myself. ah well. i’m glad that i did it because it think it was a good step away from being so shy.

actually, even aside from the taping, most of today was a blur. i went around the show and tried to see some last minute things before the it was over, and i said goodbye to a lot of people. i actually started to get kind of sad that it was over. so once i got back to my room, i just focused on packing and making a plan of attack for tomorrow so that i wouldn’t think about it being over. i took the city guide thing with me and ate dinner at the little bar place at my hotel again. the whole eating alone thing isn’t as bad as i previously thought. it’s definitely intimidating, but i didn’t like the room service options, so i decided to go for it. and i think i have a pretty good plan for tomorrow thanks to the little maps that i had. i have a lot that i want to see and do, so hopefully i can fit it all in to the day.

well. i’m tired and it’s definitely time to go to sleep so that i can get an early start tomorrow. i'll leave off with some photos.



amy
from
cloud
9
and
i
in
the
booth.




a
little
group
shot
with
cheryl
at
giordano's.




kelly
jo.
she's
just
so
cute
and
always
so
grateful.




the
cool
looking
bar
at
rebecca's
hotel.




su.
the
host
of
fiskarstv,
among
many
other
fun
job
duties.




stephanie.
so
super
sweet.
not
to
mention
energetic.
:]




angela
and
i
in
the
heidi
grace
booth.




wendy
jo
and
i
in
the
lil
davis
booth.




heidi
grace.
she
made
me
a
little
ladybug
doodle.
:]




this
is
heidi's
fun
new
halloween
line.




sassafrass
had
a
really
cute
booth
with
little
windows
along
the
outside.




here's
a
little
peak
into
hog
heaven.
isn't
it
adorable!





and
here's
a
little
peak
at
woodland
whimsy.
do
sense
a
little
asian
flair?




and
finally
the
fabric
thickers.

off i go.

thank goodness for free wifi at the airport. i'm waiting for my plane right now, so i thought i would try to update in the next 10 mintues.

i nearly pulled an all nighter to get ready and pack for this trip.
and by pack, i mean over pack. extensively.
i ended up falling asleep by mistake for about three hours this morning, luckily i had already completed most of what i wanted to get done.
i had to finish up a project last night, which is nearly complete. i figured that i can put the finishing touches on tonight in my hotel room.

i finished the book last sunday at work.
all in all, i would rate it as ok.
i wouldn't really recommend it though. it was very predictable. i had a good feeling how it would end after the first two chapters or so. that's not really very fun, know what i mean?

and last night we had a little excitement at the house. i was upstairs admiring my new suit cases [all the large ones were in fallon, and i found some pretty fabulous ones at costco with my mom. they are way better than the old ones. ha.] when i heard helix bark like a crazy little dog. james went and calmed him down and then yelled at me to come downstairs. he wanted me to come outside, but i didn't have any shoes on... so he put me on his back and ran out there... there was a raccoon in the tree! i guess it was eating helix's outside food and helix saw him from inside and started getting protective over his food.
anyway. i ran up and got my mom and a flashlight and we just checked the little raccoon out. james was surprised that it wasn't being more vicious, then we noticed that his tail was missing... there was just a bloody stump. seriously. it was so gross, and it made me so sad for the little guy. he was probably scared out of him mind. i asked james if we should take him to the vet and he said "only if you want to get rabies." i took that as a no. the raccoon ended up coming down from the tree and hopping back over the fence. but i did manage to get a few photos. :]


well. i better put things away and get ready to board. i'll try to update from chicago if i can find some wifi that is free/not too expensive. :]

laundry list of laundry observations.

1. i always do laundry before a trip.
often *only* before a trip.
in the future, one would be wise to also do laundry immediately following a trip.

2. different loads equate to a surplus of certain types of clothing.
examples:
a load a whites = lots of clean undies.
a load of reds = lots of pajama pants.
a load of darks = predominately jeans + lots of hang to dry items.
handwash = all my cute shirts that i never get to wear because i never feel like hand washing.

3. if one decides to randomly check the dryer before use, one never know what she will find.
especially if j was the last person to use it.
sometimes an solo sock.
sometimes something a little more exciting... err... stressful.

4. gum in the dryer = bad news.

5. acetone works quite well to deal with the above bad news.


ok. so my laundry list isn't very long, but in case it's not evident it was laundry day. :]

tonight i had dinner at bangkok cuisine with my old lab group. the first group i worked with at unr. it was nice, as always.

james started summer school today. he needs two more classes as prerequisites for pharmacy school. it's going to be a busy schedule for him with work and class.

i've forced myself to take a wii fit break tonight. this was decided when i was on my way down the stairs for a wii fit session and felt the pain in my legs caused by the previous two wii fit sessions. seriously. it's a been a real struggle to get down those stairs today. so i quickly turned around and came back up. ha.
i did play tennis and bowling earlier today with nicole, so i think i'll be ok.

oh and i'm finally going to the eye doctor tomorrow. hopefully i will find a cute new pair of glasses. i'm over the current pair. big time.

well. time to go:
a. do dishes.
b. fold laundry.
c. work on a project.

the problem is that none of the above are very appealing. i'd rather go with option d: lay in bed and watch satc.
ha. maybe i'll just put my ipod on and get to work. :]