This Time of Year

Reasons I like this time of year...
* Break is just around the corner
* Christmas
* Midnight mass
* Home cooking
* Spending time with my family
* Wrapping presents
* Winter nights
* Cold crisp air, how it can burn your lungs when you take a deep breath
*I like how you can see your breath
*I like snow.
*I like candlelight
*I like visiting Chicago
What I like most is having the opportunity to experience these things.
I am a lucky one.

Ultimate Warrior

If you are ever in need of some good laughs I suggest watching youtube videos of the Ultimate Warrior. What a joke. He even changed his name to WARRIOR. Just Warrior. The best part is that he is my roomates uncle.

Time keeps slipping into the future...

I can't believe how fast this semester has gone. No joke. I sort of feel like Adam Sandler in the movie Click. With only a couple finals left to take and a chance to reflect back on these last few months I have to say that I reeeeally have enjoyed it. I was crazy busy most of the time but I enjoyed what I was doing. I am glad that I switched my major. Some pics of my artwork over the semester will be up soon enough.

Update: Only 22 days left until I leave for Europe!
On another note, the lady friend and I went to the movies last night expecting to see 4 Christmases but ended up settling for Nothing Like the Holidays. It was still a good movie.

Gobble Gobble

Happy Thanksgiving! I love this holiday...eating great food, visiting with the family and relaxing on the couch! I just dread the work that I have to do after today, but that can wait...Have a good one!

Buddy

A montage of one of my favorite christmas movies...

What I Do In Ceramics

Piece 1) Already fired for the first time....who knows maybe a creamer?

Piece 2) Cereal bowl still drying...much bigger than it looks.

Piece 3) Another bowl I decorated, it's waiting to be fired in the kiln. I'm not sure if it will turn out or not because the two clays used are at different firing temperatures. More or less it is my gamble piece.

Piece 4) This I threw on the wheel tonight....still needs to dry, be trimmed and have a handle put on it, but maybe a small pitcher?

Piece 5) My coffee mug:) This pic is hard to see, but it has leaf imprints on it and a nice handle if i do say so.

There are so many other pics i want to share but thats all i have space for here....

I Love Fall

Major Updates

I realize that its been something like 2 months since I've written a blog. In that time I've managed to change my major -now art, plan a jan-term trip to Central Europe - Germany, Austria, Hungary and Czech and pick up a job as the new art assistant and gallery docent. So far I am loving the new major and job. I can't wait for my trip in January sooooo today I busted out the new digital camera my mom had and put it to good use. I need to practice for this trip right???
There were 4, possibly 5, hot air balloons tonight. I forgot how much I liked them!

This was actually taken at night. Pretty cool I think.


The leaves are changing!

Redeem Team

Congratulations to all of the athletes who competed in the olympics this year. I'd like to give a special shout out to the Redeem Team who won gold! Click here for what I thought was a cool commercial.
P.S. Well sung Marvin Gaye

Sails

This is simply a painting that I see quite frequently at Manchester College hanging in the lobby of Cordier Auditorium. I really like it so I thought maybe others would too. Enjoy.

Leprechauns Are Bald

Has anyone else ever noticed that the Notre Dame leprechaun is bald? I can't believe I never noticed it until now...I guess this means all of the students chosen as the leprechaun for ND should actually be bald. It is never going to happen and I am alright with that.

A Chicago Tale

This is about a week overdue, but here it goes...It SEEMS the g/f thought it would be funny if she shared my innocent mistake about the Cubs tickets. Check it out if you haven't already. I have a story of my own....Char and I were sitting in our seats, all excited for the game, having a good time when it was time for the national anthem. Char turned towards me and said, Take Me Out to the ballgame and pointed to the guy out on the infield. I just smiled (maybe laughed?) and said nooo it's the national anthem. She played it off real well and when the 7th inning stretch came along, we both sang it. The guitar player from Rise Against the Machines was the guest singer. Hopefully that is close enough to how it "really happened." A few pics...

How can you not laugh at this picture?

New Shoes!

My New Running Shoes!!!

Time Management...

Time is a strange feat. Really. Whether it be us who wish time to speed up, or slow down, it plays by its' own rules. I find myself often wanting the days and weeks to be done with. Just let it be Friday, let it be the weekend. But the craziest thing, I think, is that when it finally is the weekend, I find myself thinking wait come back. If I only had more time. And I know I am not the only one who thinks the same way. At some point in everyones life he/she has experienced this. Right now I am between wanting the days and weeks to go faster to be done with work and get back to school and partially wanting the days to slow because I don't want to miss out on all of the summer I have left here at home with the family. Maybe if people would just live each day to their fullest, enjoy the present instead of longing for the past/future, maybe the world would be a little bit brighter. Maybe if I listen to myself Imight stop myself from missing out on opportunities available to me now. Maybe if we all did, people would enjoy themselves more. I don't think it could hurt anything.

Cinderella Man

I know I said two days ago that I would be telling everyone about my trip to chicago....but I haven't gotten to it. The truth is, last night I went to the movies and saw Pineapple Express. If you liked Superbad, chances are you would like this one too. I did. Obviously I didn't get to blogging last night, but tonight I had every intention of sharing Chicago. However, I started watching another movie online and it was longer that I expected. Cinderella Man. Quite possibly a new favorite of mine. Idk why really, I guess it was just a great story that really happened. It's a story that brightens the world a bit when all else seems grey. So perhaps tmrw can be Chicago....maybe.

The Real Cinderella Man, Jim "The Bulldog" Braddock

Tomorrow??? This isn't my own photo, but I promise you my photo is better! Well at least as good.

BS...Batman and Storms

Sooo I realize I have been putting a lot of pictures on my blog lately and I figured why not go ahead and give you all some more...followed tmrw by my trip to chicago!





This picture was taken Monday morning before the storm...kinda crazy.

The Batman....can you spot him?

Yep, there he is! You betta check yo self!

Es Bonita...

Ta da! Minus the signiture I am finished.

Step Brothers

I am completely looking forward to seeing this movie...maybe not everyone likes Will Ferrell and I get that, but don't rain on my parade. Check it out.

All Sorts of Scattered

I'm just going to say this post is a bit scattered. Fair enough warning. Have you ever heard that doing everyday routines backwards or maybe using your left hand instead can challenge you and make you use the other side of your brain? Anybody? Like for instance, maybe instead of brushing your teeth with your right hand, use the left one. Tried it and its not easy. Or maybe instead of tying your shoe and holding the loop w/ your right and wrapping the string w/ your left, just switch it. Again tricky. Well yesterday as I was eating supper, I thought of a new one and it was much much easier. Instead of eating my sweet corn from left to right, how about right to left? Maybe? Anyways I also realized tonight how stupid it is to put movie previews on movies that are already out. If you rented the movie or bought it, chances are you don't care about any other movie because chances are that movie is already out or sucks because they didnt spend enough money to put the previews on the big screen. Why not satisfy everyone and just save the previews for the big screen?

So I think today is as good of day as any to share with you some of the sites from work this summer...most of them have been within the last 4 days, but not all.

Some punk kids rolled a trash barrel down the terraces...it makes you wonder why?

Mowing around a lake/wetland/wooded area more or less means you will deal with deer and or horse flies...lucky we have Sam. He's killed 21 in an hour w/ nothing but quick hands haha.

If I'm not mowing I am getting the fields ready for the baseball/softball games. And I sort of have a love hate relationship w/thunderstorms. I always love watching/listening to them and hope for them while I am at work, but at the same time it makes getting the fields ready no fun at all.

If it's not flies and snakes, it's spiders. This guy I spotted as I was paying my water bill yesterday. Not what I needed at a time like that.

Sam was trying to get me back by throwing a tennis ball at my deck so that I would run over it. Well let's just say I didn't run over it and as he was looking to see if I did he ran straight into the tree.

And this picture is Sam holding the fish he caught after he went all MacGyver on us. He caught it w/ only his two hands, a paper clip and a gum wrapper. Ok not really, it was already dead on the shore...but he was easily talked into picking it up for a picture and I thank him for that.

So as you can see we find ways of entertaining ourselves at work. Enough said.

Still A Bit More...

I changed the picture from yesterday with the updated one...enjoy!

A LiL More

A little more of the painting completed...

Imperfection

Sooooo this is by no mean a perfectly painted flower, with tons of things that still need to be done and changed, some i know how to do and some i have no clue how to do. But i like to think for my 3rd painting w/o any instructions it is worthy of my 3rd post for the summer....scratch that, 4th post of the summer. Maybe tmrw I can work on it some more...one things for sure, it definitely looks better far away haha.

Prove Me Wrong

After bashing my Indians in the last post, what do they do? They go and win 4 straight...has to be close to the longest winning streak this season. Maybe? Anyways, the tribe is still 13.5 back and are off until next Friday. I say go ahead and prove me wrong, show me that there is a little fight left within the team...I still am not convinced.

Summer List

Currently it is 4:20 in the morning and I can't really seem to sleep. Is it because I am so eager for my day tomorrow? I don't think that's it. Although I can't lie, getting to see the g/f is always a plus. Is it the roids i'm on to rid me of my poison ivy? Possibly. Really I just think its the insane amount of itching I have all over my legs. Honestly, who knew poison ivy would last over a week w/o any improvements really? No matter. I did get to watch the ending of American Wedding. Laying here thinking about what to write, I realized that in my head I had a few things that I wanted to accomplish this summer and haven't fulfilled many of them.

1. Read 3 books. (1 read)

2. Do more artwork. (recently started watercolor)

3. Go to Chicago.

4. See an Indians game.

5. Run/bike 4 days a week. (mainly so my roomate doesn't give me crap when we go back to school)

6. Go to a new state park.


I know there are more, but none are coming to mind. Basically from the list I have only 2 things done, I am going to a cubs game on Aug. 2 which takes care of item #3 and the painting is taking care of item #2. Now if I could only do more of it.

Lastly, this is a throw back to my 2nd blog...at the end I stated that I felt this might finally be the year for the indians. Well....I could have been wrong. Maybe. Who knew nobody on the team could hit the ball, half the team it seems would be injured or they would trade C.C. Sabathia midway through the season? I've replaced my optimism w/ realism and so w/ that there is always next year.

Good Night.

Happy Summer!

45. 28. 0. 1082. 1. 45 days since my last blog, 28 posts from my g/f & sister since my last post, 0 is hopefully the number of cavities i have at my dentist appt. tomorrow, 1082 is the number of views my blog has and 1 is for tomorrow being the first time I will have had home made icecream all summer:) I finally had the epiphany, that single moment that caused me to want to blog again. It was a single comment, just a phrase I overheard while eating w/ the family last night. And I quote, "I killed my first japanese beetle today." (serious face). And so w/ that I say thank you Uncle Larry for caring so much about your gardening and making me laugh at something you take great pride in, capturing all those beetles. Looking back at our family trip to Beech Mtn., watching and helping you kill those japanese beetles on that blueberry bush is definitely a top 3 moment of that trip. Thanks.

Any Place In The World...

Has anyone ever just looked at a globe or map of the world and you kept going back to one spot inparticular? You just imagine visiting one place over and over in your mind? Well I want to know what it is.....please do share and I might share with you. And a shout out to aunt gina! I know you will answer:)

Graphic Content...Must be 18 to read

Must be at least 18 years of age to read.....So what I am about to share with you is an exact conversation at work yesterday between the Scoob and Brett. Okay maybe not exact, but pretty dang close. And this was only the first day....a whole 15 weeks left. (Brett: Scoob, did centennial call you back? Scoob: Yaaaa they did. Brett: What did you find out about the phone? Scoob: They want me to pay um 40$. Hell I ain't payin them no 40$. Brett: Ah scoob why not, I thought they was your friends. Scoob: Shit I thought they were my friends too. Austin: Scoob, I'd never ask you for 40$. Scoob: For 40$ I oughta at least get a bj with it or they should something for me. I bet Brittany would've done something for me. Brett: Who's Brittany? Scoob: O I don't know...some whore or skank...i don't know, that's what was written on the play equipment at the tot lot. Even had her number there. Brett: Austin, do you got a girlfriend? Austin: Ya I do...her name is Charlene. Brett: Oh, does she know what you are doing with brittany? what about you jace? Do you have a g/f? Jace: Nope. Brett: I always knew you were gay. Just kidding. But I can call Brittany for you if you'd like.)

Sorry if you weren't ready for this.....but I told you.

Wishing...

I really just want someone to answer my one of my questions I asked in the last post....

Tell Me What Your Thinking...Superman?

I was browsing through myspace for music tonight when I came across two songs that I really like, but I had forgotten all about. The first was by Joe Brooks, Superman. And it prompted me to write this blog. Truthfully the song has nothing to do with the connection I am about to make besides the name Superman. So all through high school, middle school too, my friends and I (mainly Kj) would argue about which superhero would win, Batman or Superman? Simple answer to a simple question really. Superman. Hands down. Just follow the logic. Batman, although he is insanely rich, doesn't have any special powers. He does have a wicked sweet car and a butler and if I am to be honest, he has better villains too. The thing is Superman has about every super power imaginable! Superman doesn't need the car that Batman has because he can run/fly where he wants to go faster than a speeding bullet! Yea he doesn't have the villains but that doesn't count for anything in a fight between Batman and Superman anyways does it? Basically, if they were to fight Superman would destroy Batman....and if you say Batman could use kryptonite, Supermans only weakness, I think you would be forgetting that Batman is just a regular guy with all the same weaknesses as you and I, he's just rich. Superman wins.

So the other song which I was reminded of tonight was by Say No More, Tell Me What Your Thinking. Enjoy it!

P.S. Who is your favorite superhero? And/Or If you could have one superpower what would it be?

Blogging Friends

Check out a few of my friends blogs...

Pennies From Heaven
Listen,Learn,Lead
Melt Like Butter
The Bigelows

Things I Like

I just haven't been in the blogging mood lately. I guess that's pretty evident by the lack of new posts. Just as I think I could give up blogging forever, the mood strikes and I am back up to the plate. As I was trying to decide what to write about ( I was complaining I had nothing to write about) slowly, very slowly ideas of things that I liked started creaping into my head. So basically this blog is a large list of things that I like....some for reasons, others with no real significance. I guess first off, I like the fact that when I come home from college I am pretty much guranteed a home cooked meal. (Steak and twice baked mash potatoes on Friday). I like the fact that my dog is always excited to see me. I like how I don't have worry about if someone threw up in the toilet last night or what diseases someone has when I go use the toilet. A bit gross but true....I like how a good fire outside really makes it feel like summer is almost here. I like the warm summer evenings and cool autumn nights. I like being able to see the stars in my backyard. I like ice cream cones, especially in the summer....not so much the first bite/lick, but the last bite of the cone where the ice cream is a bit melted. I like not having to study for tests in the summer. I really like going to the movies, I just wish the nice theatres didn't cost so much. What is wrong with having prices like the Strand Theatre or the 1$ theatre in LaPorte? I like those. I recently discovered that I like peanut butter in my oatmeal....thank you nate for introducing me to that. Yet, I somehow don't really like peanut butter milk shakes because they have too much peanut butter. I really think pen tapping is the coolest thing I've seen all weekned and I like it. I wish I could keep a beat like that. Although I think that if I did try it I would be extremely annoying and nobody would like it. Since watching those videos all I hear are rhythms and beats when I type on my computer or press the keypad on my phone. Can you honestly tell me you don't? Obviously these aren't the only things I like, but I am getting tired because it is 12:41 and I really like sleep. Thanks to all who read these haha because I like you all.

P.S. I like the Cleveland Indians going on a 5 game winning streak. Go Tribe!

Stay Under The Stars...

Does anyone else ever get so tired they drop their tooth brush in the hallway and then without thinking about it put soap on it to clean it? No? I can't be the only one... As you read this I am drifting asleep listening to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONC_ATBZvoo.

Teitur...

I'm really not feeling like writing much sooo here are two links to some music I like...Enjoy! The second's intro isn't the best, but let it build up...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hgAnzykPkY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXJb-sVvNHQ&feature=related

Pictures Of My Sunday With Char...

The top of the waterfall...

The bottom...

The pic doesn't do it justice.

First wild flowers of the spring...

If you are wondering why there aren't pictures of Char and I, it is because we tend to take not so good pictures together. I shouldn't say that it is the case all the time because it's not. However, this day it definitely was.

I Sit On a Throne of Lies

I appologize...I really thought I could do it. I said I was going to have a new post up 4 days ago and I am just now getting to it. Thus, the throne of lies and the reference to the movie Elf, which btw is one my favorites. My lies aside I suppose a more appropriate title for this blog would be Barnes & Noble. It's pretty obvious that I love going to Barnes & Noble on dates w/ my g/f. I don't know why or how, but it just kind of grew on me. It's almost like our spot...a bit weird, but let me explain... I think there must be some unidentified force which encompasses all of the store. Honest. Everytime I walk into the store my mind races with thoughts, I feel creative,alive, happy and almost as if I could do or create anything. Yesterday, for example, I looked into a book full of random peoples dirty secrets. Really? It basically was like the All American Rejects video in a book, just huge. (link below). I could totally do that! That could be me who came up with that! Little odd books...surely I could come up with something fun and interesting to read/look at. Paper weights? Sure. Coffee? You better believe it...I often think that if I struck it rich I would have my own coffee shop. Nothing big or fancy....just small, cozy, aromas filling the air and books. Which reminds me of some random thought I had yesterday....I saw a family of like 6 all with Starbucks. I really never want to have to buy Starbucks for 6 people. Sofa King much money. Speaking of money, when was the last time you saw a cent sign? I thought of that the other day...And since when did comic books start having 369 pages? I always thought they were like 10-20 or something. The last of my random thoughts is a shout out to my sister....I think you would enjoy the book above. So besides thinking I can basically create/find/someday have something of my own in Barnes & Noble, I love the store because it was part of my first date w/ my g/f. Everytime is a reminder of it:)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHd3ck6fHBw

Til Then...

Soooo I really need to get a new post up here for 3 reasons: 1) My loyal blog viewers 2) I have a need for blogging & 3) Mainly to get rid of the picture of paper towel as the first thing you see when you look at my blog.....Unfortunately I have a lot of studying to do, but I plan on posting one tonight! Soooo 'Til then...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odhqxFQVTok&feature=related

MC

When did Manchester start using paper towels with designs on them? Really?

Say What I Need To Say...

Say what I need to say. If only I was better at it! I struggle with this big time...for some reason I just can't ever force myself to speak up. I am just so use to sitting back and not expressing what is on my mind. The problem is that it occurs almost daily where I swallow my words...things I have to say, but just don't. I think it's time I realize that in the end it's better to say too much than to never say what I need to say again. Maybe then I can get rid of my past frustrations...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTpy_L1dALA&feature=related

Indiana...

Just a sample of whats to come...but it will have to wait because I unfortunately have an 8 a.m. class. I just feel as a future science teacher I have been given the task of showing others that more than just corn exists in Indiana! Waterfalls, Cliffs, Caves...all quite wonderous if you lose yourself in them. Give it a try. And yes, Indiana is a song!