You know what happens when you move a lot, like, every two yrs since you were 18? You create single servings, of everything (Thanks Fight Club). Single serving homes, bosses, driving short cuts, friends, gym habits, everything. You stay with one foot out the door knowing the next adventure is just a step away. And while it's a lot of fun to explore new things, cultures, meet new people, it's also really hard to have any semblance of a consistent life. I never said my life was one narrow line, nor do I want it to do. Change is my ever flowing constant, and I love that. But, what if for a moment, I chose to settle? Plant roots, get to know people, let people get to know me, network, volunteer, get involved in my community? Not to say I can't or haven't in the places I've resided for just a short time but moving has become such a habit that sitting still is a voluntary movement. "Ah, these people are nice but when I move I'm sure we won't stay in touch, why bother?" or "This music is okay but since we plan to move I think I'll just ignore it, not get too close" to anything or even anyone. It's hurt me in the long run, here I am two years in and really no one to call a friend. No one nearby I can call and hang out with on the last minute. Not a big deal for a girl who plans to move away again anyway. But what if that's all changed? What if suddenly the looking glass went dim and now all you see is this city surrounding you? What then.
Well I guess that means it's time to explore this twin city and the community. To give myself in to it. Including the music, the people, and the highly opinionated religious views. Time to start weighing in the good and ignoring the bad, at least enough for me to hold my tongue. No more single servings but maybe more servings at the coffee shop. More wine to dine, more wings to eat, more music to explore, more pictures to take. Time to plant some roots and sit around for a while. Have the feeling of truly relaxing and calling a city home. I always believe that home is where you lay your head at night as long as those you care about are nearby. Doesn't matter if it's a hotel, another city, a loft, a house, or even a tent, where your heart lays so does your home. But wouldn't it be nice to really feel at home in a city? To know the city streets, the people, the vibe? To feel it beat within your own heart? Wouldn't that be nice to know?
We will see I guess, the beach can wait.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Sunday, August 1, 2010
On What I'm Doing Right Now
Sitting in a hotel room in a small ass town with a dog I had to sneak in. Shhhhhhhhh! So far he's only barked once and when I went to take him potty I stuck him in a bag where he refused to keep his head down. We made it this time, wonder how lucky we'll be next time.
Also, this week, my family is at the beach. I was supposed to go. I requested the time off but it got denied for a training program that is conveniently happening this week. All I get is a t shirt and < .50 cent raise. This better be worth it. (I already hate this company.)
Consider me bitter and a rebel. That is my week.
Also, this week, my family is at the beach. I was supposed to go. I requested the time off but it got denied for a training program that is conveniently happening this week. All I get is a t shirt and < .50 cent raise. This better be worth it. (I already hate this company.)
Consider me bitter and a rebel. That is my week.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
On Where I'm At
Isn't it funny how rapidly life grows and things shine in to focus then out again? I haven't touched this blog since February and no need to either. Suddenly, within the last few weeks, I've felt an overwhelming urge to spill my soul onto these pages yet again. Quick remarks won't cut it these days and sometimes that's okay.
This blended post belongs to all things current. With my thoughts stretching out like a maze and the length of rope too short to lasso one concentrated thought I've decided to blurt about it all. Consider it a rewelcoming.
I don't know how long this urge to post long winded posts will be but I'll enjoy it while it lasts.
Currently I am digging;
NPR. Recently I made the 11hr trip up to New York to visit with family and shoot a wedding and because my car is an ancient 2005 my only music option is cds. I just didn't feel like listening to the same 6 cds over and over and over and over again so I opted for some NPR. It kept me wide awake which I have this horrible habit of falling nearly to sleep on the road. It's just so soothing and before I know it my eyelids are like concrete and my neck can no longer carry my head. It's pretty scary actually, to catch a Z and jump to consciousness realizing you've got a steering wheel in your hands. So NPR has filled the void by making my brain think about the interesting stories they talk about. Ever since then I've been hooked. Haven't listened to a cd since!
Hiking. I want to hike. I want to hike everywhere! I've done a lot lately and it leaves me hungry for more. I want one of those hiking sticks so I can put all sorts of medallions on it!
Outdoor Pools. It's been my summer mission to find an outdoor pool for me to use. No such luck yet but once I find one I'll be glued every Monday & Tuesday I am not hiking. Most likely those ucky humid days where hiking would be a disastrous nightmare.
Photography. I've been digging some awesome photography lately. Finding lots of inspiring photogs as well as growing my own skill set. It's killer.
Fresh Fruit. They are all sorts of yummy this season. I want it to last and last but I know it won't.
Summer Storms. They rock. We've been having a lot of evening storms pop up and they always make things interesting. They bring fresh air, amazing lightning shows, and base that'll knock your face!
New York. When I went up to NY this last trip I discovered more about the place than I did in the 15 or so years I lived there! The weather was so pleasant and perfect for exploration. I wish I knew of the awesomeness that is New York.
Just a few of the many things I am enjoying at this moment. May I see y'ins soon!
This blended post belongs to all things current. With my thoughts stretching out like a maze and the length of rope too short to lasso one concentrated thought I've decided to blurt about it all. Consider it a rewelcoming.
I don't know how long this urge to post long winded posts will be but I'll enjoy it while it lasts.
Currently I am digging;
NPR. Recently I made the 11hr trip up to New York to visit with family and shoot a wedding and because my car is an ancient 2005 my only music option is cds. I just didn't feel like listening to the same 6 cds over and over and over and over again so I opted for some NPR. It kept me wide awake which I have this horrible habit of falling nearly to sleep on the road. It's just so soothing and before I know it my eyelids are like concrete and my neck can no longer carry my head. It's pretty scary actually, to catch a Z and jump to consciousness realizing you've got a steering wheel in your hands. So NPR has filled the void by making my brain think about the interesting stories they talk about. Ever since then I've been hooked. Haven't listened to a cd since!
Hiking. I want to hike. I want to hike everywhere! I've done a lot lately and it leaves me hungry for more. I want one of those hiking sticks so I can put all sorts of medallions on it!
Outdoor Pools. It's been my summer mission to find an outdoor pool for me to use. No such luck yet but once I find one I'll be glued every Monday & Tuesday I am not hiking. Most likely those ucky humid days where hiking would be a disastrous nightmare.
Photography. I've been digging some awesome photography lately. Finding lots of inspiring photogs as well as growing my own skill set. It's killer.
Fresh Fruit. They are all sorts of yummy this season. I want it to last and last but I know it won't.
Summer Storms. They rock. We've been having a lot of evening storms pop up and they always make things interesting. They bring fresh air, amazing lightning shows, and base that'll knock your face!
New York. When I went up to NY this last trip I discovered more about the place than I did in the 15 or so years I lived there! The weather was so pleasant and perfect for exploration. I wish I knew of the awesomeness that is New York.
Just a few of the many things I am enjoying at this moment. May I see y'ins soon!
Saturday, February 20, 2010
>1 Year Later
And when I see those faces from the past I go through a kaleidoscope of emotions. I don't seek out these faces, they pop out in unwelcome surprise and the shock of emotion swells like the angry tide. I thought I was over it, put it to rest, but it's like an angry ghost ready for more haunting. I don't know why it's so hard to swallow this pill. Maybe because there was so much left undone and unsaid. Rarely do I go out without guns blazing, or at least my piece of the pie handed out. Over one year later and I still feel the overwhelming urge to do something, anything. Anything to bring closure at last.
Will it ever happen or will the feelings just dim enough that eventually they'll feel like a flame flickering out?
Will it ever happen or will the feelings just dim enough that eventually they'll feel like a flame flickering out?
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Originally
I had thought I could do many little random snippits on this blog but it seems it's complicated. If I want to reblog what someone else wrote to include my own commentary, forget it. This is the place for long winded rants and raves and I love it so. It's my little bitty corner of the internet.
However, I think lots of random things that don't add up into a well thought out blog post so I needed a place for that. It originally started as a picture blog but then I started to follow lots of other tumblrs and it just happened. Today as a matter of fact. So I will use that spot for quick thoughts and this lovely area to spill my heart out.
If you have a tumblr follow me over here! Heck you don't even need a tumblr!
P.S. I so totally just had a photoshoot for my dog in front of my Christmas tree. Yes, yes I did. Pics soon!
However, I think lots of random things that don't add up into a well thought out blog post so I needed a place for that. It originally started as a picture blog but then I started to follow lots of other tumblrs and it just happened. Today as a matter of fact. So I will use that spot for quick thoughts and this lovely area to spill my heart out.
If you have a tumblr follow me over here! Heck you don't even need a tumblr!
P.S. I so totally just had a photoshoot for my dog in front of my Christmas tree. Yes, yes I did. Pics soon!
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Procrastination
This is funny. I just read a blog post on procrastination and now I am doing it myself. I have a list of things I could be doing instead of writing a blog post but I'm not. Oh the rebel in me continues!
Let me finish my NY story real quick then I'll get to the more recent stuff. So Thanksgiving was a bunch of fun especially since I didn't cook. I just ate! I'm good at that you see. Then I helped clean after dinner. It's sort of an unspoken agreement in MY household with The Lover that if he cooks I will clean but if I cook I will clean. aha. Anyway, I was fulfilling my duties when a whole bunch of my female family members all decided to pitch in. As we were cleaning away we began to sing Christmas Carols. It was an almost magical moment until my grandmother started in. haha Just kidding! But no really, it was great and I think we even had great harmony! It definitely brought out some of that hidden Christmas spirit.
Then on Friday everyone kind of hung out. We played Guitar Hero band. I think I like this one better because the drums has symbols. Anyways, EVERYONE pitched in on the singing, guitars, drums, all of it! It was fun even if we did fail every single song. That is until the hardcore players got on there. HA !
On Saturday everyone left. What poops! My sister and I went to see New Moon. I am team Jacob now, he is just so freaking hot. I also think the movie is missing a key point that is pushing everyone to Jacob. In the books you got a sense that this was fate, Edward and Bella, as if there was nothing else, it just was so it was going to just be. In the movies it seems to be portrayed as some freaking high schooler not knowing enough about life to stay free of obsession with boys. Oh well.
Sunday we were supposed to go home but we didn't. We stayed another day and made it to the Niagara Falls. Since none of us had passports except the bro we had to stay on the American side but it was still nice. Cold though, veeeeeeeeery cold. After that we saw the bro's apartment in Buffalo while he attends UB and that's it. THE END.
Since we've been back here I've been super busy. No complaints! The Lover went home that weekend we got back and came home with lots of new toys! Christmas came early for him and I'm so excited he's getting what he deserves because life has been unfairly hard on him. One of the gifts were TWO brand new mattresses! One for us and one for the guest bed which was previously a slat of cardboard....haha sorry guests! Our mattress is so squishily soft! It's like a little cocoon and I love it so! The Lover also got a new dslr camera and a huuuuuuuuuuuge iMac! I'm so jealous because it's so beautiful! He needed a new computer as his laptop was giving him the blue screen of death literally every week. He was over it!
Next we decided it was time to get a tree! Because we have 20ft or so ceilings we wanted to go big. We don't know if we'll have that opportunity ever again! So we stopped at this pre-cut lot that gets their trees from a local mountain. The price was right on a 12' tree we just needed a new heavy duty stand! This tree is 250lbs!!! So we went to another lot to see what their prices were like and if they had any tips for standing this monster! Not only were they MORE expensive but they told us the best way to get it to stand was to hook a strap into the wall and wrap it around the tree! WHAT On our way out they told us we wouldn't find it cheaper anywhere else. LOL
So we finally get this tree and I have to help lug this thing inside. Usually no problem but who knew a few extra feet would add 300 more pounds to the darn thing?? After lots of grunting and screaming we got it in and up! We waited a day to decorate so the bows could fall and also we needed to get more decorations. We used a ladder to decorate this darn thing and put on 1,000 lights. We went with a red and silver theme and I am so pleased with it! It's such a pretty, MASSIVE beast. The Lover put a train around it and we called it a night! It is definitely the biggest tree I've ever had, officially. It's insane!
Let me finish my NY story real quick then I'll get to the more recent stuff. So Thanksgiving was a bunch of fun especially since I didn't cook. I just ate! I'm good at that you see. Then I helped clean after dinner. It's sort of an unspoken agreement in MY household with The Lover that if he cooks I will clean but if I cook I will clean. aha. Anyway, I was fulfilling my duties when a whole bunch of my female family members all decided to pitch in. As we were cleaning away we began to sing Christmas Carols. It was an almost magical moment until my grandmother started in. haha Just kidding! But no really, it was great and I think we even had great harmony! It definitely brought out some of that hidden Christmas spirit.
Then on Friday everyone kind of hung out. We played Guitar Hero band. I think I like this one better because the drums has symbols. Anyways, EVERYONE pitched in on the singing, guitars, drums, all of it! It was fun even if we did fail every single song. That is until the hardcore players got on there. HA !
On Saturday everyone left. What poops! My sister and I went to see New Moon. I am team Jacob now, he is just so freaking hot. I also think the movie is missing a key point that is pushing everyone to Jacob. In the books you got a sense that this was fate, Edward and Bella, as if there was nothing else, it just was so it was going to just be. In the movies it seems to be portrayed as some freaking high schooler not knowing enough about life to stay free of obsession with boys. Oh well.
Sunday we were supposed to go home but we didn't. We stayed another day and made it to the Niagara Falls. Since none of us had passports except the bro we had to stay on the American side but it was still nice. Cold though, veeeeeeeeery cold. After that we saw the bro's apartment in Buffalo while he attends UB and that's it. THE END.
Since we've been back here I've been super busy. No complaints! The Lover went home that weekend we got back and came home with lots of new toys! Christmas came early for him and I'm so excited he's getting what he deserves because life has been unfairly hard on him. One of the gifts were TWO brand new mattresses! One for us and one for the guest bed which was previously a slat of cardboard....haha sorry guests! Our mattress is so squishily soft! It's like a little cocoon and I love it so! The Lover also got a new dslr camera and a huuuuuuuuuuuge iMac! I'm so jealous because it's so beautiful! He needed a new computer as his laptop was giving him the blue screen of death literally every week. He was over it!
Next we decided it was time to get a tree! Because we have 20ft or so ceilings we wanted to go big. We don't know if we'll have that opportunity ever again! So we stopped at this pre-cut lot that gets their trees from a local mountain. The price was right on a 12' tree we just needed a new heavy duty stand! This tree is 250lbs!!! So we went to another lot to see what their prices were like and if they had any tips for standing this monster! Not only were they MORE expensive but they told us the best way to get it to stand was to hook a strap into the wall and wrap it around the tree! WHAT On our way out they told us we wouldn't find it cheaper anywhere else. LOL
So we finally get this tree and I have to help lug this thing inside. Usually no problem but who knew a few extra feet would add 300 more pounds to the darn thing?? After lots of grunting and screaming we got it in and up! We waited a day to decorate so the bows could fall and also we needed to get more decorations. We used a ladder to decorate this darn thing and put on 1,000 lights. We went with a red and silver theme and I am so pleased with it! It's such a pretty, MASSIVE beast. The Lover put a train around it and we called it a night! It is definitely the biggest tree I've ever had, officially. It's insane!
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Best of 2009
I never follow the rules. It's a pretty bad trait of mine but whatever. If I can get away with it it's not ALL that bad is it?
Soooooooo a lot of my bloggy friends are doing a series of Best of 2009. Really the only one I think I can answer is best trip of 2009.
This was a hard one because we actually went to several different places so I had to make it an even tie. One was the trip to NY recently to see all my family for the holidays. It was a lot of fun to see everyone and reconnect. Life is so much more different when you're an adult, almost easier sometimes. aha what?
The other one would be our numerous trips to Charleston. I know, I know, will she just shut up about that city already?? Um, no. I can't and don't feel like even trying! I love that town and the memories we've already acquired are AWESOME.
I don't really have a Best of 2009 restaurant, book, going out night, or whatever. Nothing stands out as WOW! Know what I mean?
2009 isn't over yet but it's getting ever closer! I just decorated the loft today while it snowed outside and the Christmas music played. I'm very pleased with the outlook but I want to try and add more if I can! All we really need is a tree and maybe some festive dish towels or something for the kitchen. Ah, I love Christmas!
Soooooooo a lot of my bloggy friends are doing a series of Best of 2009. Really the only one I think I can answer is best trip of 2009.
This was a hard one because we actually went to several different places so I had to make it an even tie. One was the trip to NY recently to see all my family for the holidays. It was a lot of fun to see everyone and reconnect. Life is so much more different when you're an adult, almost easier sometimes. aha what?
The other one would be our numerous trips to Charleston. I know, I know, will she just shut up about that city already?? Um, no. I can't and don't feel like even trying! I love that town and the memories we've already acquired are AWESOME.
I don't really have a Best of 2009 restaurant, book, going out night, or whatever. Nothing stands out as WOW! Know what I mean?
2009 isn't over yet but it's getting ever closer! I just decorated the loft today while it snowed outside and the Christmas music played. I'm very pleased with the outlook but I want to try and add more if I can! All we really need is a tree and maybe some festive dish towels or something for the kitchen. Ah, I love Christmas!
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Holiday Wrap Up
You know how awesome it is to get away from the dang computer for a little while? REALLY AWESOME! Except I came back to no less than 500 blog posts to read. I am now down to 201 and it's only Tuesday, ha!
It was fun having a big family shindig for Thanksgiving. The Lover and I made our 11 hour trip up the day before everyone else. It was nice to enjoy the calm before the storm. The next day all the family came all at once. We honestly had three van loads of people pull into the driveway AT ONCE. So there was lots of hugging, helloing, chaos, dogs running every which way, and etc happening at the same time. My sister and I got a moment to look at each other and the very same thought hit our brains "I'll be outside parking cars...for the season..." It was a very Crhistmas Vacation-y moment but we loved it. With four dogs, two itty bitty kids, 5 big kids, three even bigger kids, and lots of adults the place was bustling. I don't remember seeing The Lover except when we went to bed at night.
It was super great to have everyone together. We had 36lbs. of turkey ready for eating along with every fixing imaginable. One turkey was deep fried and it was incredibly juicy on the inside. Definitely a favorite. We also had so much desert and hors d'eurves. Or however you spell it!
That is a cheeseball snowman and a turkey cake! I drew the turkey and sis made the cake/helped decorate. It was awesome!
More later....
It was fun having a big family shindig for Thanksgiving. The Lover and I made our 11 hour trip up the day before everyone else. It was nice to enjoy the calm before the storm. The next day all the family came all at once. We honestly had three van loads of people pull into the driveway AT ONCE. So there was lots of hugging, helloing, chaos, dogs running every which way, and etc happening at the same time. My sister and I got a moment to look at each other and the very same thought hit our brains "I'll be outside parking cars...for the season..." It was a very Crhistmas Vacation-y moment but we loved it. With four dogs, two itty bitty kids, 5 big kids, three even bigger kids, and lots of adults the place was bustling. I don't remember seeing The Lover except when we went to bed at night.
It was super great to have everyone together. We had 36lbs. of turkey ready for eating along with every fixing imaginable. One turkey was deep fried and it was incredibly juicy on the inside. Definitely a favorite. We also had so much desert and hors d'eurves. Or however you spell it!
That is a cheeseball snowman and a turkey cake! I drew the turkey and sis made the cake/helped decorate. It was awesome!
More later....
Saturday, November 21, 2009
The Holidays Begin!
Hi there!
I can barely sit still I am so excited. Last year I had plans to go to NY for Christmas but had to cancel last minute due to lots of financial issues and just plain HELL that broke all around us but now, NOW I get to go for Thanksgiving!! And it's not just me that's going! No it's two aunts, 4 cousins, one cute baby, my grandmother, their respective SO's, and dogs! There are going to be 18 people crashing in two different houses. It will be madness but it will be family madness!
I get to see my brother and sister! My father and his girlfriend. My cousin with the cutest 2 yr olf EVEVEVEVEVEVEVEVER! The Lover gets to see where I grew up! I get to see New Moon with the sis (haha shhhhhhh I know, I know). I'm catching up with old friends when I get there too! It is going to be a most excellent time and I won't get a wink of sleep between now and Tuesday since the excitement has really just hit!
I have so much to do before then. Lots of packing, wrapping, preparing, cleaning, etc. etc.
What are your plans for Thanksgiving???
I can barely sit still I am so excited. Last year I had plans to go to NY for Christmas but had to cancel last minute due to lots of financial issues and just plain HELL that broke all around us but now, NOW I get to go for Thanksgiving!! And it's not just me that's going! No it's two aunts, 4 cousins, one cute baby, my grandmother, their respective SO's, and dogs! There are going to be 18 people crashing in two different houses. It will be madness but it will be family madness!
I get to see my brother and sister! My father and his girlfriend. My cousin with the cutest 2 yr olf EVEVEVEVEVEVEVEVER! The Lover gets to see where I grew up! I get to see New Moon with the sis (haha shhhhhhh I know, I know). I'm catching up with old friends when I get there too! It is going to be a most excellent time and I won't get a wink of sleep between now and Tuesday since the excitement has really just hit!
I have so much to do before then. Lots of packing, wrapping, preparing, cleaning, etc. etc.
What are your plans for Thanksgiving???
Friday, November 20, 2009
Monday, November 16, 2009
Made for Victorian
Let me say this; I am so blessed and in turn so grateful! Life has been very kind to me and I make sure to be double thankful for all the good that comes my way. I have been given so many opportunities to experience new things and it makes me hungry for more. I want to explore it all.
On that note, I've found a new obsession. Or maybe a new ideal. The Lover and I currently live in a gorgeous downtown loft. It's not your typical loft, I would call it a luxury loft if I had to describe it. I say this because it contains 2,300 sq. feet of living space and that is enormous for what most people consider a loft. It has two bedrooms with one being a very spacey master suite. It even has a deck! I feel so spoiled to be calling this home but trust me, we are paying for it!!
We have decided to lease because we snagged this when The Lover discovered he was being relocated for work. We barely knew the area and didn't want to lock into a mortgage without knowing if we were going to stay here for a while or what! And while I love the loft and the downtown living I miss a few things about actually having a home but now that we've been spoiled with such a gorgeous place we don't want to settle in just any ol' place.
While living in this town we discovered that property values are significantly lower than say, Charleston. I believe it is due to the average salary of this place though I can't tell you how many beemers, mercedes, porsches, lexus I've seen driving around here! Moving on, knowing that property value are actually affordable here we've wandered around some of the nicer neighborhoods trying to find something comparable to this amazing loft.
The other day we just happened to find it! It is a few blocks away from downtown and even the loft we reside in currently! It's a historic district with amazing old Victorian style homes. These homes are at least 4,000 sq. feet with amazing porches, bay windows, old brick, great backyards, wide streets, old trees, and lots of style. We looked at one that is currently for sale just on a whim. It was beautiful with hardwood floors, nice open rooms, tall ceilings, and roughly thirty different rooms! We called the owner just to see what the asking price was and they wanted 96k for it!! We couldn't believe it! It did look like it needed some tlc but we weren't afraid of a little work if the price was right.
So later in the week we met with our construction friend who could look at the house with a trained eye and tell us what the real figures were to get this house back up to par! It is currently split into four apartment with four kitchens and four bathrooms, because it's been empty for 5 years and in a historic district it had to be changed back into a single family home, ok with us!
After some further review our friend discovered some major issues. Apparently there was a fire that did some considerable damage to the roof and the previous owner just covered it up instead of really fixing it. There was also a lot of wood rotting due to a leaky roof. So our friend called his roof guy to see what the cost would be just to replace the roof. He told us it would be close to $30,000 just to get the roof back in order. Holy smokes!
We walked away from it. After some serious consideration we decided that was too much effort for too little gain. However, in the place of walking away we came to the conclusion that we would like to move into that neighborhood when our lease is up in Feb. of 2011. So now we are making plans to save everything we can while keeping an eye on the homes in that area. How lovely it would be to have an old style Victorian with great big rooms ready to keep several guests, perfect for the holidays! A home with many windows and many more nooks and crannies to huddle up and read a book! A place with great fireplaces and great wrap around porches! We discovered another home with exactly this, already done up and ready to move in! I am crossing my fingers that this home will still be on the market when our time here is up.... though I'm doubtful!
Crossing my fingers now....!
On that note, I've found a new obsession. Or maybe a new ideal. The Lover and I currently live in a gorgeous downtown loft. It's not your typical loft, I would call it a luxury loft if I had to describe it. I say this because it contains 2,300 sq. feet of living space and that is enormous for what most people consider a loft. It has two bedrooms with one being a very spacey master suite. It even has a deck! I feel so spoiled to be calling this home but trust me, we are paying for it!!
We have decided to lease because we snagged this when The Lover discovered he was being relocated for work. We barely knew the area and didn't want to lock into a mortgage without knowing if we were going to stay here for a while or what! And while I love the loft and the downtown living I miss a few things about actually having a home but now that we've been spoiled with such a gorgeous place we don't want to settle in just any ol' place.
While living in this town we discovered that property values are significantly lower than say, Charleston. I believe it is due to the average salary of this place though I can't tell you how many beemers, mercedes, porsches, lexus I've seen driving around here! Moving on, knowing that property value are actually affordable here we've wandered around some of the nicer neighborhoods trying to find something comparable to this amazing loft.
The other day we just happened to find it! It is a few blocks away from downtown and even the loft we reside in currently! It's a historic district with amazing old Victorian style homes. These homes are at least 4,000 sq. feet with amazing porches, bay windows, old brick, great backyards, wide streets, old trees, and lots of style. We looked at one that is currently for sale just on a whim. It was beautiful with hardwood floors, nice open rooms, tall ceilings, and roughly thirty different rooms! We called the owner just to see what the asking price was and they wanted 96k for it!! We couldn't believe it! It did look like it needed some tlc but we weren't afraid of a little work if the price was right.
So later in the week we met with our construction friend who could look at the house with a trained eye and tell us what the real figures were to get this house back up to par! It is currently split into four apartment with four kitchens and four bathrooms, because it's been empty for 5 years and in a historic district it had to be changed back into a single family home, ok with us!
After some further review our friend discovered some major issues. Apparently there was a fire that did some considerable damage to the roof and the previous owner just covered it up instead of really fixing it. There was also a lot of wood rotting due to a leaky roof. So our friend called his roof guy to see what the cost would be just to replace the roof. He told us it would be close to $30,000 just to get the roof back in order. Holy smokes!
We walked away from it. After some serious consideration we decided that was too much effort for too little gain. However, in the place of walking away we came to the conclusion that we would like to move into that neighborhood when our lease is up in Feb. of 2011. So now we are making plans to save everything we can while keeping an eye on the homes in that area. How lovely it would be to have an old style Victorian with great big rooms ready to keep several guests, perfect for the holidays! A home with many windows and many more nooks and crannies to huddle up and read a book! A place with great fireplaces and great wrap around porches! We discovered another home with exactly this, already done up and ready to move in! I am crossing my fingers that this home will still be on the market when our time here is up.... though I'm doubtful!
Crossing my fingers now....!
Friday, November 6, 2009
Day 1
So the past however many days I've been getting up at 8am to hit the gym. On Wednesday I was supposed to go to class but I went to the wrong facility so I just did cardio instead because showing up late to a class is just not my thing! Especially when warming up is so so so important!
That means today was the first day I got to do an actual class. It's called Group Power which is a mixture of cardio and strength training. It totally kicked my ass today. It just showed me how out of shape I really am. I didn't give up, when I didn't feel like fainting I tried to do SOMETHING similar to the fancy moves they were doing. (PS. Eat a freaking banana before you work out, fainting is for wussies!) We went running across the gym, jumping jacks, squats, lunges, BACKWARD lunges, kickboxing, weight lifting, freaking planks, EVERYTHING. And in all actuality I loved it. Call me silly but that out of breath omg please make it stop I'm going to die feeling is AWESOME!
Let me tell you how in shape our instructor is. If you know what a plank is you know how shitty it is to do one. I used to do them a lot with my personal trainer over a year ago and it gets easier but I couldn't imagine doing what she did. So, on the left is a regular side plank, hard enough on its own, on the right is what she did because she is power woman!
It was impressive stuff and where I want to be at ideally 12 months down the road. Can this overweight, out of breath, out of shape girl turn into that by next November? Yes!
That means today was the first day I got to do an actual class. It's called Group Power which is a mixture of cardio and strength training. It totally kicked my ass today. It just showed me how out of shape I really am. I didn't give up, when I didn't feel like fainting I tried to do SOMETHING similar to the fancy moves they were doing. (PS. Eat a freaking banana before you work out, fainting is for wussies!) We went running across the gym, jumping jacks, squats, lunges, BACKWARD lunges, kickboxing, weight lifting, freaking planks, EVERYTHING. And in all actuality I loved it. Call me silly but that out of breath omg please make it stop I'm going to die feeling is AWESOME!
Let me tell you how in shape our instructor is. If you know what a plank is you know how shitty it is to do one. I used to do them a lot with my personal trainer over a year ago and it gets easier but I couldn't imagine doing what she did. So, on the left is a regular side plank, hard enough on its own, on the right is what she did because she is power woman!
It was impressive stuff and where I want to be at ideally 12 months down the road. Can this overweight, out of breath, out of shape girl turn into that by next November? Yes!
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Sup Gs?
So I have a confession. I'm fat. haha I probably weigh the most I ever have in my entire life! It's that bad.
So I'm making a change. The past two days I've been waking up at 8am to hit the gym before working at 11am. So far it's been well spent and don't they say the first week is always the hardest? I don't mind the exercise part at all, it's the waking up at the butt crack of dawn that always gets me! The first night I went to bed at 2am so that was rough, then last night I was dead to the world at 10pm. I woke up tired but ready for the day after TEN hours of heavy sleep, it was amazing!
Another confession... my life goes to crap when I don't exercise. I think it's the structure it creates around my day but without the need to get up and get sweaty I become lazy. I sleep horribly, I eat horribly, I lack motivation to do anything because I'm just tired all the time. When I work out regularly, and in the mornings, I get a lot more accomplished. I get chores done BEFORE getting to work so my evenings can be about what they're supposed to be about; relaxing!
I begin to feel better about myself. My energy level sky rockets as does my stamina. I make better eating choices because really who wants to eat bad after they just spent all that time working out? I even sleep better! Life just magically clicks into place.
I think my problem is that sometimes I view it as work and it's so much easier just to not work and it's those times I need a swift reminder that life is BETTER when I hit the gym. I always want to live an active life as there are things I do not want to miss out on because of my weight or inactivity. I want to travel, have adventures, get outside, keep up with The Lover, keep up with pets/children! I want to look as good on the outside as I do on the outside!
My life needs to revolve around the gym, not in an obsessive freak way but in a way that highlights the vitality of my spirit and the yearning to be better, always better.
And the journey for betterment continues.
So I'm making a change. The past two days I've been waking up at 8am to hit the gym before working at 11am. So far it's been well spent and don't they say the first week is always the hardest? I don't mind the exercise part at all, it's the waking up at the butt crack of dawn that always gets me! The first night I went to bed at 2am so that was rough, then last night I was dead to the world at 10pm. I woke up tired but ready for the day after TEN hours of heavy sleep, it was amazing!
Another confession... my life goes to crap when I don't exercise. I think it's the structure it creates around my day but without the need to get up and get sweaty I become lazy. I sleep horribly, I eat horribly, I lack motivation to do anything because I'm just tired all the time. When I work out regularly, and in the mornings, I get a lot more accomplished. I get chores done BEFORE getting to work so my evenings can be about what they're supposed to be about; relaxing!
I begin to feel better about myself. My energy level sky rockets as does my stamina. I make better eating choices because really who wants to eat bad after they just spent all that time working out? I even sleep better! Life just magically clicks into place.
I think my problem is that sometimes I view it as work and it's so much easier just to not work and it's those times I need a swift reminder that life is BETTER when I hit the gym. I always want to live an active life as there are things I do not want to miss out on because of my weight or inactivity. I want to travel, have adventures, get outside, keep up with The Lover, keep up with pets/children! I want to look as good on the outside as I do on the outside!
My life needs to revolve around the gym, not in an obsessive freak way but in a way that highlights the vitality of my spirit and the yearning to be better, always better.
And the journey for betterment continues.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Progressive Dinners
I've never heard of such a thing until last month. It seems like a yuppie thing, is it?
Anyway, we had about 8 different lofts we went around to eating appetizers and drinking alcohol along the way. It was a good way to meet the neighbors so to speak. There are some really kick ass lofts around here. I drank margaritas, pineapple schnapps mixed drink, Cabernet, more margaritas, strawberry and rum, SHOTS of blueberry schnapps. In two hours. Needless to say I was toasted to a golden brown. It was fun but so much work to prepare for. But in the end we played Guitar Hero and that made up for it.
I've been thinking a lot about my photography. A little over a year ago I was given my first real dslr. The minute I had that in my hand I knew that was it. My path made only for me. However, I had a long way to go. Lots to learn about the gear itself, techniques, and creating my own style. Then I jumped into taking pictures for people and until you really photograph people you don't know how scary something like that can be! It's on you to make them look amazing! There's been a lot of pressure on me to build myself up to the level I want to be at and I'd say I'm still not right there but when I look back at where I started and where I now stand, the difference is amazing. After a photo shoot I am constantly saying "This is my best work yet!" and that is a good feeling because I would have never peeped those words out before.
Now I'm focusing on things like making my style totally mine, a way to define my photographs so that when someone sees a picture of mine they can immediately put a name to it without a signature. It's slowly getting there. I'm also working on branding, I guess they go hand in hand but I'm talking my logo, motto, experience, etc. Luckily, I have a great network of photography friends who have great advice to help me along the way. That and I am best friends with Google. Regardless, I am so excited to see what this metamorphoses into.
Anyway, we had about 8 different lofts we went around to eating appetizers and drinking alcohol along the way. It was a good way to meet the neighbors so to speak. There are some really kick ass lofts around here. I drank margaritas, pineapple schnapps mixed drink, Cabernet, more margaritas, strawberry and rum, SHOTS of blueberry schnapps. In two hours. Needless to say I was toasted to a golden brown. It was fun but so much work to prepare for. But in the end we played Guitar Hero and that made up for it.
I've been thinking a lot about my photography. A little over a year ago I was given my first real dslr. The minute I had that in my hand I knew that was it. My path made only for me. However, I had a long way to go. Lots to learn about the gear itself, techniques, and creating my own style. Then I jumped into taking pictures for people and until you really photograph people you don't know how scary something like that can be! It's on you to make them look amazing! There's been a lot of pressure on me to build myself up to the level I want to be at and I'd say I'm still not right there but when I look back at where I started and where I now stand, the difference is amazing. After a photo shoot I am constantly saying "This is my best work yet!" and that is a good feeling because I would have never peeped those words out before.
Now I'm focusing on things like making my style totally mine, a way to define my photographs so that when someone sees a picture of mine they can immediately put a name to it without a signature. It's slowly getting there. I'm also working on branding, I guess they go hand in hand but I'm talking my logo, motto, experience, etc. Luckily, I have a great network of photography friends who have great advice to help me along the way. That and I am best friends with Google. Regardless, I am so excited to see what this metamorphoses into.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
The Tide Is Changing
I've not been getting much sleep as of late. When I lay down at a reasonable hour I find myself tossing and turning with thought til about 4 or 5am when I finally pass out from exhaustion. This is not so good for a ten hour a night girl. No kidding!
It's just, we have this hefty decision to make and though it's not what we were hoping for, it's for the best. I'm excited for the opportunity this will open later down the road but I'm also apprehensive. This means I have to go out and find something so hard to do right now, this also means notifying all those involved, a task that will not be easy by any means.
But The Lover and I have had long talks about it and I've spent many sleepless nights thinking about it. This is not a decision we came to lightly. I do believe this is the best and wisest one. I just hope all the pieces fall together just right and as my gut will tell me, it usually does, just right when you need it.
On to other things! Headshots today for the play Scrooge. I've already had two and they're already edited and ready to be shipped off! I have three more actually scheduled but I have a feeling this will get tossed up a bit.
My hair looks fabulous today! I need to find something that will hold the curl in a little longer. I've been leaving the curlers in 20 minutes and when I first take them out I look like Shirley freaking Temple but as the day progresses it falls more naturally. It almost seems like the curls leaves altogether!
The Lover's mother is in town and they are off on a photo trek because fall just isn't the same in Knoxville, or any further south than here. The colors are so seriously vibrant.
I am bummed about not being able to go to NC this weekend for a Halloween party with some old friends. Instead I have to market myself while The Lover goes to Knoxville to see family. I so hate these weekends!
We have a Progressive Dinner tomorrow with about 20 people. We are going loft hopping and nibbling on halloween themed appetizers and desserts. Tomorrow we have to get the desserts ready! Yikes!
Ok all for now kiddies.
It's just, we have this hefty decision to make and though it's not what we were hoping for, it's for the best. I'm excited for the opportunity this will open later down the road but I'm also apprehensive. This means I have to go out and find something so hard to do right now, this also means notifying all those involved, a task that will not be easy by any means.
But The Lover and I have had long talks about it and I've spent many sleepless nights thinking about it. This is not a decision we came to lightly. I do believe this is the best and wisest one. I just hope all the pieces fall together just right and as my gut will tell me, it usually does, just right when you need it.
On to other things! Headshots today for the play Scrooge. I've already had two and they're already edited and ready to be shipped off! I have three more actually scheduled but I have a feeling this will get tossed up a bit.
My hair looks fabulous today! I need to find something that will hold the curl in a little longer. I've been leaving the curlers in 20 minutes and when I first take them out I look like Shirley freaking Temple but as the day progresses it falls more naturally. It almost seems like the curls leaves altogether!
The Lover's mother is in town and they are off on a photo trek because fall just isn't the same in Knoxville, or any further south than here. The colors are so seriously vibrant.
I am bummed about not being able to go to NC this weekend for a Halloween party with some old friends. Instead I have to market myself while The Lover goes to Knoxville to see family. I so hate these weekends!
We have a Progressive Dinner tomorrow with about 20 people. We are going loft hopping and nibbling on halloween themed appetizers and desserts. Tomorrow we have to get the desserts ready! Yikes!
Ok all for now kiddies.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Ah, Relief!
My workload is FREE! I just finished that ginormous 1600 editing picture project and now I'm free til Sunday! Woohoo! I wasn't really sure I would make this deadline and here is why;
1. 1600 pictures to go through and edit. 1600 pictures to individually run through, organize, fix up, and prettyize.
2. My birthday happened to fall last weekend and I accidentally celebrated for five straight days. Five straight days of not even thinking about the mass load of editing I had to do.
3. My birthday freedom started last Friday. My friend was coming into town so we cleaned up the place in the a.m. Afterward we drank. We went to this awesome pizza place and ordered too many double shot rum and cokes. We ate pizza.
We woke up at 10a.m. the next day, my actual birthday. We ate amazing iHop to recover and shopped for hair stuffs. We highlighted my hair with pink and she taught me how to curl my hair with curlers (I suck at being a girl). I painted my nails (now all chipped) and we drank while eating Taco Bell. Everyone passed out mid SNL.
Sunday we slept in then went SHOPPING. Something I haven't done in ages. Actual clothes shopping with an awesome chick and not the bf who would rather wait in the car! ha! even yet I didn't buy anything, oh but I have a list!
4. Monday it was just me and The Lover. He reserved a place in Gatlinburg so we left for a one night stay. We never stay just one night! We wandered around town, ate some Italian, bought a few items, and swam in the hotel's indoor pool. The next day we wandered around taking amazing pictures of the mountains in the fall. It was so gorgeous but it left us stuck in the woods and it was getting dark.
We stopped at Hot Springs, NC to check them out. Upon finding out it was THIRTY FREAKING DOLLARS for ONE hour in the hot tub supposedly filled with the water from the hot tub and FIFTY DOLLARS for this tiny cabin in the woods that didn't even have a toilet, I repeat, NO TOILET we were ready to just trek home. That is until we checked out this hotel in the "downtown" region. It turned out to be amazing! We got this old timey room WITH a bath room that included a jacuzzi! Seriously, this place was amazing and I'll post pictures soon! It also had a restaurant right below where we grabbed amazing dinner. It was well worth it!
We left Wednesday morning though I kept calling it Sunday, haah whoops. I actually opened up shop for a few hours and got some much needed work done. Today, I finished that massive project and feel great! Here's to 25, may it not be freaky. haha bye
1. 1600 pictures to go through and edit. 1600 pictures to individually run through, organize, fix up, and prettyize.
2. My birthday happened to fall last weekend and I accidentally celebrated for five straight days. Five straight days of not even thinking about the mass load of editing I had to do.
3. My birthday freedom started last Friday. My friend was coming into town so we cleaned up the place in the a.m. Afterward we drank. We went to this awesome pizza place and ordered too many double shot rum and cokes. We ate pizza.
We woke up at 10a.m. the next day, my actual birthday. We ate amazing iHop to recover and shopped for hair stuffs. We highlighted my hair with pink and she taught me how to curl my hair with curlers (I suck at being a girl). I painted my nails (now all chipped) and we drank while eating Taco Bell. Everyone passed out mid SNL.
Sunday we slept in then went SHOPPING. Something I haven't done in ages. Actual clothes shopping with an awesome chick and not the bf who would rather wait in the car! ha! even yet I didn't buy anything, oh but I have a list!
4. Monday it was just me and The Lover. He reserved a place in Gatlinburg so we left for a one night stay. We never stay just one night! We wandered around town, ate some Italian, bought a few items, and swam in the hotel's indoor pool. The next day we wandered around taking amazing pictures of the mountains in the fall. It was so gorgeous but it left us stuck in the woods and it was getting dark.
We stopped at Hot Springs, NC to check them out. Upon finding out it was THIRTY FREAKING DOLLARS for ONE hour in the hot tub supposedly filled with the water from the hot tub and FIFTY DOLLARS for this tiny cabin in the woods that didn't even have a toilet, I repeat, NO TOILET we were ready to just trek home. That is until we checked out this hotel in the "downtown" region. It turned out to be amazing! We got this old timey room WITH a bath room that included a jacuzzi! Seriously, this place was amazing and I'll post pictures soon! It also had a restaurant right below where we grabbed amazing dinner. It was well worth it!
We left Wednesday morning though I kept calling it Sunday, haah whoops. I actually opened up shop for a few hours and got some much needed work done. Today, I finished that massive project and feel great! Here's to 25, may it not be freaky. haha bye
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Shenanigans
Last night The Lover and I decided to see Zombieland. I sort of love zombies. This is a new found love over the last few years. It comes with loving a man who loves horror films. I really don't like scary movies unless they have zombies in them because they're just so bad ass. I didn't know zombies weren't scary until I watched them with the last boyfriend who had a hankering for them.
Since this seemed like a past time that boys really liked and since I really like hanging out with the boy and doing what he enjoys I had to compromise. So zombies it is. Funny slow, moaning, stupid, hungry zombies. Shoot, I'll even take the freaky fast ones that can climb walls as long as they don't come from freaky messed up kids or ghosts or murderers.
Okay then. The Lover's brother likes zombies too, like I said it must be a guy thing, and had gone to a prescreening of Zombieland. He said it was the best zombie movie ever and funnier than Shaun of the Dead. I don't know if you've seen that movie but it's pretty funny, really funny! He set the bar.
So we went to see it with some friends except we went to a bar first and didn't leave until screening time so when we got there the only seats left were in the second row. It felt like an IMAX movie. Typically I'm not okay with sitting so close because I get dizzy really easily but it wasn't so bad this time. It was actually awesome.
As was the movie. Hilariously awesome amazement. The crowd clapped when the movie ended. I will go see that movie again before it leaves the theater for sure.
Afterward we all went to the local bar to hang for a minute. I freaked out because we had a wedding to shoot this afternoon so I left at midnight to get some sleep. The Lover stumbled in at 2:30am but I'm glad for it. He needs to get out and hang with the boys sometimes, you know?
So we shot a wedding today and it went so fabulously well. I love weddings. I love shooting weddings. I love editing photos for the first week, aha. It was great!
Now I'm sore and ready for bed! Tomorrow is a sleep in day! Whew!
Since this seemed like a past time that boys really liked and since I really like hanging out with the boy and doing what he enjoys I had to compromise. So zombies it is. Funny slow, moaning, stupid, hungry zombies. Shoot, I'll even take the freaky fast ones that can climb walls as long as they don't come from freaky messed up kids or ghosts or murderers.
Okay then. The Lover's brother likes zombies too, like I said it must be a guy thing, and had gone to a prescreening of Zombieland. He said it was the best zombie movie ever and funnier than Shaun of the Dead. I don't know if you've seen that movie but it's pretty funny, really funny! He set the bar.
So we went to see it with some friends except we went to a bar first and didn't leave until screening time so when we got there the only seats left were in the second row. It felt like an IMAX movie. Typically I'm not okay with sitting so close because I get dizzy really easily but it wasn't so bad this time. It was actually awesome.
As was the movie. Hilariously awesome amazement. The crowd clapped when the movie ended. I will go see that movie again before it leaves the theater for sure.
Afterward we all went to the local bar to hang for a minute. I freaked out because we had a wedding to shoot this afternoon so I left at midnight to get some sleep. The Lover stumbled in at 2:30am but I'm glad for it. He needs to get out and hang with the boys sometimes, you know?
So we shot a wedding today and it went so fabulously well. I love weddings. I love shooting weddings. I love editing photos for the first week, aha. It was great!
Now I'm sore and ready for bed! Tomorrow is a sleep in day! Whew!
Friday, October 2, 2009
Cool Photograph
Except it's really an oil painting done by Alyssa Monks. Click her name for more! This is amazing work!
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
A Few Brain Zaps
1. I want to write about fall, again, and how awesomely awesome this season is. I juat have so much more to say about it, to remind the world of how amazing this period is!
2. Tomorrow is the beginning of my birthday month. Next month I turn 25. That is a post in itself!
3. It is damn cold here. It feels like we skipped fall and went right to winter. Our neighbors just got back from Charleston where it was 90 degrees. My what a rude awakening for them. And what a rude awakening for us when we decide to move there and fall decides to never show up!
4. I'm so bored on the slow Wednesday. Freaky, I haven't had a day like this in a long time. I'll allow it as long as it doesn't stick around.
5. The cold weather makes me yearn for a warm caramel latte from the coffee shop down the street. Yum!
6. I need some new candles. The ones I've got in the studio are almost gone. They've only lasted a couple weeks! Yikes!
7. I have three more hours to endure. UGH! I hope either something sells or it gets so slow I can close up early so I can snuggle under a warm blanket!
8. I'm hungry but I'm here all alone. I might close up for some food!
2. Tomorrow is the beginning of my birthday month. Next month I turn 25. That is a post in itself!
3. It is damn cold here. It feels like we skipped fall and went right to winter. Our neighbors just got back from Charleston where it was 90 degrees. My what a rude awakening for them. And what a rude awakening for us when we decide to move there and fall decides to never show up!
4. I'm so bored on the slow Wednesday. Freaky, I haven't had a day like this in a long time. I'll allow it as long as it doesn't stick around.
5. The cold weather makes me yearn for a warm caramel latte from the coffee shop down the street. Yum!
6. I need some new candles. The ones I've got in the studio are almost gone. They've only lasted a couple weeks! Yikes!
7. I have three more hours to endure. UGH! I hope either something sells or it gets so slow I can close up early so I can snuggle under a warm blanket!
8. I'm hungry but I'm here all alone. I might close up for some food!
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