the swamp is coming

and it's attacking furniture.

i worked at princeton university the past two days. and made some more concrete, which looks like my other concrete, but i slimed up some furniture

grimey...

Right now i'm waiting to see if i'll be working today. the drop that was supposed to show up yesterday has not come it for burlington county college. poor kate.

eventful events of this week

I have had a crazy crazy week. Last friday, i had my first flat tire.

My dad had to come and rescue me from Grammie's. Luckily he had a kit for plugging it at work, so there were no jacks and wrenches and tire swaps. Much easier this way. Next, I worked for Event Central, painting backdrops for and event. Somethings turned out pretty, like the backdrop for Gone with the Wind

some turned out crappy like the Back to the Future backdrop:

some turned out okay-ish like the backdrop for Titanic:

at least after it was repainted, because the client changed their mind:

All in 4 days. And here's how it all ended up looking:

I just wish I'd had enough time to make them actually look good. Not enough time.

I also went into Philly to hang with my friend Kate. We went to see the show she'd just finished painting,  Sizwe Bansi is Dead by Athol Fugard at the Lantern Theatre. 

The actors did a great job, and the corrugated metal was very rusty, and the city of the future was rather silly. 

Afterwards we went to the Naked Chocolate Cafe, which was a good idea in theory, but then we remembered that it was the day before valentines day. But it was worth the line. We had thick drinking chocolate, both types spicy. A very fun evening in the city. And we rode the train twice.

so cool. 

Next on the agenda - I'm going to the Cabin this weekend with fam and friends to go skiing. Maybe I'll go out for a hike and take more pictures. Maybe of the huge rusty gears in the saw mill. Who knows!

I love Jesus, but I drink a little

I don't mean to be video girl, but you should be in love with this video.  A little old lady calls Ellen.

He would make me smile

Agent Lathan from Improv Everywhere gives people high fives on an escalator

you can stay here forever....if you want to.

I saw Coraline last night. LOVED it. Lots of funny moments, but definitely creepy too. Not quite as scary as the book, but there were parents taking out their young kids halfway through the movie. Do these parents not research movies before they take kids to see them? We're talking about five and six year olds.

Here is Mr. Toast, with buttons in celebration of Coraline:

Welcome

These are the cameos on the front door. I originally had them in red, but we didn't like them.

you like?

I'll probably work out some kind of decorative frame to go around the cameos - make it look old fashioned.

lego man helmet

found this on Boing Boing - too cool.

and I've always wondered the rules of "the bases" metaphor. Luckily, xkcd has made us a chart

Vinyl is the new paint

You know it is - this is my newest vinyl.

and it's in the shower!!

here is my fishy fishy

and my bathroom montage. 

next - cameos of Grant and me for the front door

stop motion with people

this is a really awesome video - I think it's actually a music video. 

Spray Roses and Snowy Days

This is a very pretty vase that Grant's mom gave to me for Christmas. She has one just like it that I have admired on numerous occasions. I bought some spray roses at Produce Junction today, and a few of the smaller buds broke off - perfect size for them!

Today was a stolen Tuesday. Grant was home, because he works a show this evening, and I actually spent most of the day in the kitchen, catching up on stocking up. I made biscotti, scone dough, lemon dill butter (that turned an odd color, because the dill had been frozen - but it still tastes right), garlic & chive cream cheese, and the dough for bagels is rising as I write. And I might make some chili before the night is over!

Apparently, cooking/baking is my new hobby. I think I instinctively feel like it is something I must conquer. Plus, everything has gotten so bogged down with so many preservatives. I've taken to not purchasing food products if a) I don't recognize items in the ingredient list, b) there are more than 10 ingredients listed (not including spices), or c) if there is HFCS or hydrogenated oils listed (an exception is ketchup - it must be Heinz!). 

Things take a bit longer to cook on my own, but there is a greater sense of accomplishment, and Grant and I have both been feeling much better in the energy department since the change. 

I'm becoming more confident with yeast and baking, and am starting to experiment with challenging recipes I get mostly from the website the kitchn. I've recently discovered the recipe for kale chips, which went over very well with Doug and Deb, though Grant passed on them. They are surprisingly addictive, despite being healthy. I found the recipe, because I had gotten an exorbitant amount of kale from Produce Junction and wanted to use it up. 

Next project: Pita bread. I have some hummus, which is always good with pita. I have the recipe, all I need is the time. Maybe tomorrow?

Skiing is fun

We had an awesome day skiing at Camelback. I apologize to all for being POed at pulling a muscle in my back trying to remain standing and not whack the people sitting in the shuttle with all my crap, the lack of logical configuration of buildings, and the destruction of my $6 sunglasses. Luckily, these bad tidings faded as the joy of sliding down a mountain with waxed boards strapped to my feet took hold. 

Later in the afternoon I got a chance to try out some snowboarding. My rockin' sister decided to try out the snowboarding, under the tutelage of my cousin Doug. Later on in the day, she switched to her snow blades, and I took on the snowboard. I've been snowboarding once before, so after some pointers and help from Doug, I was remembering how. 

Sadly, there is no documentation of how totally rockstar I did, so here is an example of how awesome I looked:

for shizz

Skiing is fun. For lots of people. Even for people who aren't skiing, and are wearing fur coats and high heels.

(See Scott and Doug in the foreground?)

this lady went to join her other fur-clad, high heel wearing friend:

people are silly, aren't they?