merry christmas everyone.

new link

my personal portfolio site. i created it this semester to kick start my freelance career. so far it looks like i have work until the end of january. check it one time.

never been a college graduate before

it's niiiiiiiice.

so thursday was my last exam, and friday i went in to do some freelance for a company downtown. nice part is they want me back monday and tuesday. already back contributing to the social economy.

friday we leave to go home for a week and a half and the awesome news is that our friends in florida will be back the same dates to visit family. we're already planning a day trip to nyc.

went to see chronicles of narnia. amazingly done. also bought a couple of the books on the way home. interested to reread the series since things are hard to remember when they span back to third grade.

behind these green eyes

3 finals to go.

in true celebratory fashion i plan to go shopping when all is said and done. christmas shopping for everyone, including me.

speaking of money i don't have. i made 250 bucks designing someone's small website. i don't even have to take care of the maintenance, i just had to design the skeleton (for class project even) and then hand it off to another designer.

my CDs came in the mail finally. i shouldn't say finally. BMG is really quick. the site and e-mail they send you says 5-7 days but it rarely takes that long. Aqualung, Robbie Williams, Casting Crowns and Zero7. Also got the new Kelly Clarkson for my husband. Seriously, he likes her. so weird. but my ipod is all filled up and ready to rock.

thanks for the new hip music Mel.

hey, anyone need a graphic designer?

apparently

i can cook. it's really not that hard. they have these things called recipes. they work pretty good too. seriously. some people had enough time on their hands to figure out different meals and how many and how much ingredients it needs, how long to cook it, how many people it serves, i mean, they thought of everything.

so far i've made some pretty awesome turkey spinach cheese meatballs (turkeyballs?), spinach artichoke dip, and a cheesecake (which really was a fiasco and i would contemplate ever making another one). who knows. maybe this will be the year my husband actually gains weight from my cooking, instead of losing it.

things you won't see in the city

• a full sized john deer tractor pulling out of the self service car wash.
• a live bait vending machine.

best Christmas present ever

it's the LAST week of classes. in fact, tonight and tomorrow morning are my last classes ever. next week is finals. if i can get through that unscathed then i'll be home free. then i have to get a real job. crap.

the invisible blog

for some reason my page isn't found. it's lost. out there in cyber space with no one to take care of it. i knew i should have written it's name in it's underwear.

oh, wait. there you are. why didn't you call me and tell me where you were?!?

gimee gimee gimee

i'm sick. and thinking about presents makes me feel better. along with chocolate and reruns of Sex and the City.

here's my wishlist: (as inspired by my greedy friend mel)

james blunt - back to bedlam
target gift card(s)
sewing machine
old navy gift card(s)
Scrubs (seasons 1,2 on DVD)

snowfalls

snowfalls, originally uploaded by tinkerellen.

we're in the midst of what would be called a blizzard if it were happening anywhere other than here. here, it's just lake effect snow. i woke up to over a foot of snow. i'm sick and it's cold out there so i haven't been brave enough to actually go measure it.

this is our back porch. that snow sits on a step that sits a few inches lower than the door. it has been snowing since yesterday afternoon with no break whatsoever. I can't even open the front door of our house. and i'm out of chicken soup. dang.

hello doctor

okay. so i'm totally and completely, even to the point of shamefully addicted to medical shows. Any show with anyone in scrubs i'll watch. Okay, any half-descent show with anyone in scrubs. ER is the tried and true. The show's never going off the air and someone either loses a hand or ends up in bed together on every show, so it's chuck full of excitement and tension. Then there's Grey's Anatomy. If you're not watching this, you should be. My favorite character of course is the surgical intern george, who's cute and shy, and has a crush on the lead actress, who will never end up with him even though it's the best thing that could ever happen to her. Not to mention patrick dempsey. dr. mcdreamy. yeah. this show should get grammys. or whatever they give to the desperate housewives.

to top it all off, Scrubs is back. whoever started that nasty rumor about the show being cancelled and then forcing me to believe it, should be shot. or at least forced to watch reruns of 'who wants to be a millionaire' with regis. i love scrubs. it's the overtly humorous side of death and malpractice. JD is deliciously geeky and the world in his mind is hilarious. Scrubs is back in january. the world is right again.

cute or what

cute or what, originally uploaded by tinkerellen.

she couldn't be cuter if she tried. seriously.

i'm not super

i won't be a 'super senior'. which at SUNY (state university of new york in case you actually thought i only sat on my ass and ate raisinettes all day) is a senior who missed graduation by 1-3 classes. without their knowledge. the school is infamous for it. and i dodged the bullet. i was missing 3 credits, but somehow flew under the radar. which is awesome. because i get to leave god-forsaken north country. no more being blown over by the gusting wind. no more chapped cheeks (are you looking at me bum?) from the bitter cold. no more doubled socks (which was totally cool in the late 80s). no more clutching onto a hot to-go cup for dear warmth.

i can't wait to pack my bikini and say sianara to the snow.

all i want for Christmas is to know where i'll be living in 6 months.

after 2 long days of hashing and researching and phone-call making we've made our decision. we're ready to move to california. wow, you say. crazy, you say. insane, you say. yeah, we said that too. and then we thought about it. if you think about it, you'll come to the same conclusion as us.

now whether or not this ACTUALLY happens is still very much up to my husband's agency. they could say, screw all the work and stress and time you put into making this decision. we want to move you to nameless, texas. seriously. there's a town called nameless. anyway. we have to sit and wait. and wait. and wait. so basically they give us two days to make a life-altering decision, and then they take a couple of months to finalize everything. thanks guys. thanks bunches.

oof

just when you start getting comfortable. just when you start connecting with people. just when financial opportunities start to open up. just when you start building friendships and bonds. that's when it does it. that's when life sucker-punches you right in your gut.

by monday we have to decide whether we want to live in New York City or Los Angeles.

the first snow

first snow, originally uploaded by tinkerellen.

this is the weather we're used to.

in the spirit of

an overcommercialized once-religious holiday that's been completely destaurated and molested by mass consumer culture i would like a mini-Christmas list from all of you.

download this:

"wise men" - james blunt

miss productive procrastinator

today i:
went to church
went shopping (out of tp)
wrote a five page paper
designed a website
burned 2 CDs for marybee
washed 2 loads of laundry
made out with my husband once
did the dishes

If you read this i'll bake you a chocolate cake.*

Two names u Go by:
1. cheri
2. fatass

Two parts of your Heritage:
1. irish
2. does anything else matter. i don't think so.

Two things that Scare u:
1. spiders
2. daytime TV

Two of your everyday essentials:
1. gel
2. chapstick

Two things u are wearing right now:
1. pants
2. wedding band

Two of your Fave bands or artists:
1. ben folds
2. tori amos

Two of your favorite songs:
1. it never entered my mind - Miles Davis
2. fear - Sarah McLachlan

Two things u want in a relationship(other than real love)
1. kisses, and not the hershey kind
2. fun

Two truths:
1. i procrastinate until i stress out, get sick, and breakdown. and i like it that way.
2. i buy things i will never need. a lot.

Two physical traits in the opposite sex that appeal to you:
1. good hair
2. honest eyes

Two Favorite hobbies:
1. photography
2. baking

Two things you want really badly:
1. a new sewing machine
2. to live by the ocean

Two places you want to go on vacation:
1. London
2. Ireland

Two things you want to do before you die:
1. paint in Paris
2. really affect someone

Two ways you are stereotypically a chick:
1. pms is like a godzilla style rampage where the victims include any happy feeling left in my path
2. i'm self-conscious

Two things you are thinking about right now:
1. i should be writing my paper
2. we're almost out of toilet paper

Two people you would like to do this:
1. mel
2. heather

*the above said statement is a complete and exagerated lie. you will never receive chocolate cake, nor will you partake in its yummy goodness.

it's that time again

the time when i really hate the gym and really love the chocolate...

and God said, "let there be rain"

and there was. A whole lot of it.

Today started out gorgeous. 70 degrees and sunshine, early November in upstate New York. It's unheard of. It's obscene. I wished i was a kid again, so I could roll around in the leave piles along the sides of the road without anyone asking me if I needed them to call someone.

Then the rain came, and washed away all my sins. As soon as the power was out, I jumped in the car and went to Target. I'll look for any excuse to go to Target. But power outage and no way to do homework without my trusty devil Mac is a heck of a good one.

So I ended up with a new set of flannal sheets (in preparation for the actual weather we should be having) and a bright pink sweater. A good day it has been, it has been a good day.

(by the way, i love the new retro designs popping up all over the place, from notecards, to wrapping paper, blankets, ect...love it.)

I am THE model of class and grace.

Time for another youth girls overnight. I thought this was going to be terribly awkward, since it's me, a bunch of teen girls who i think are way cool and vice versa, and a couple of chaperones. (Technically i'm a chaperone too, but i like to ignore that part.) Anyway, i managed to get repremanded at by the girl who's house we were at for beating another teen girl in the head with the "good" pillows (which apparently people have, and aren't allowed to use for anything other than looking at? who knew?). I ate two tacos full of garlicy guacamoli which i swore would come back to haunt me later and i probably got myself in trouble again for saying something or doing something that isn't "proper". But that's an entirely different entry, so i digress.

So these girls are going through this charm course at the church on sunday nights. They're learning to be more ladylike and charming so they can most likely snag that perfect man of their dreams that doesn't even exist but no one has the heart to tell them that life's really not like the movies. Anyway. We're all standing around playing this game, it's pitch dark, no one can see anything 6 inches in front of their face, and yes, oh yes, that guacamoli had it's revenge right then and there in the form of one stinking loud (and if i might say so, awesome) belch.

i'm no betty crocker

but tonight,
i
made
lasagna.

and it was good.

happy halloween

happy halloween, originally uploaded by tinkerellen.

if you had to be a dead artist

who would it be?

midterms..

are over.

and i am so glad.

With a chocolate covered cherry on top.

I'm giving Aqualung a chance to impress me. If he does i'll run out and buy his CD, or track down someone who already owns it. If he doesn't, I'll make fun of his stupid name. So far he sounds like a Coldplay vocal set to a Beetle's tune. This couldn't be too bad.

I'm willing to write the longest post i've ever written. Why you ask? Because I'm supposed to be writing a 5 page paper due Monday. It's about a feminist artist from the 70s. Her stuff is really interesting, but as I'm flipping through this 300 page coffee table conversation-killer book i'm bombarded with fat ugly hairy naked women. Saggy breasts and hairy crotches are not my idea of a hot Saturday night. I'm more tempted to go bake an apple pie and play solitaire. But alas, I will prevail. Because this is the last of two papers I will ever have to write again in my life. And that, is worth all the ugly fat naked hairy women in the world to me right now.

I had to break the news to an old friend today that an ex-boyfriend (more like an ex-obsession) died a few years ago in a car crash (or so I thought). I honestly thought she had heard or I had told her, but it was pretty apparent I hadn't when she started reminiscing and asked "I wonder if he's in shape now, and not so rolly polly as he used to be?". I told her. It was awkward. She was shocked. Then she did the research and found the obituary from his hometown paper. She called back to let me know, and although I was glad that I hadn't mistaken or misheard the information, I wasn't, because I really wished I had been wrong after listening to the sadness in her voice.

She's got courage though, for the past few months she's been tracking down old friends, randomly calling them out of the blue and finding out how the heck they're doing. It sounds strange, but if you knew her, which everyone did, you would recognize her voice and smile at the thought that someone thought enough about you to make sure you really had survived the craziness that is growing up and finding yourself. I don't know that I could do that. I'ld be too afraid people wouldn't remember me or that i'ld ask the wrong questions. There's some people I wonder about every now and then, but I know they've remained the most incredible people i'ld ever met, and I wouldn't want to face the dissapointment if I was wrong. Ignorance is bliss I guess, but hopefully for some people bliss is reality.

Sure I complain a lot, and it's raining 24/7 here, i'm cold and I'm stressed, and I wish life was a simple fill in the blanks quiz with a hot fudge sunday ending, but life really is good. Really.

rubber band ball

rubber band ball, originally uploaded by tinkerellen.

part of an upcoming project for class. how awesome is rubber band ball?

somebody

just give me a degree and put me out of my misery...

please.

really.

i'm starting this new thing

It's called cardio. I hate it, but it's a necessary evil. I may even start a spin class. It pains me just to say 'spin class'. Any extracurricular class is not on my priority list right now. No more classes.

the most amazing thing happened

I informed the husband that he was in charge of dinner. I had no preference, I was going to the gym.

I came home to piping hot Chinese food. And I didn't have to do anything. Glorious.

chip the chipmunk

chip.jpg, originally uploaded by tinkerellen.

fruits of fall

fruits of fall, originally uploaded by tinkerellen.

fruits of fall

fruits of fall, originally uploaded by tinkerellen.

Somebody screwed with my life

• instead of 12 semester hours, i'm now at 18.
• i have 6 more projects this semester.
• it's rained here for a week.
• jack johnson, amos lee, and james blunt are fabulous.
• i'm only sentimental in the fall.
• Just Like Heaven was a good movie.
• i still love old people.
• this post makes no sense.

i am so....

busy.

baking apple pie

for my friends.

i'm old.

for my birthday i got:
3 cards
4 phonecalls
3 e-mails
7 more gray hairs
1 e-mail card
a gift certificate for iTunes (you rock sherry)

this morning in class my dear wonderful teacher announced me as being 29. that's just great.

i have

a TON of work to do here in the next few weeks, especially today and Friday.

Friends of ours are coming into town and while i LOVE having visitors there's just that stuff you have to do. Like cleaning your toilets and vacuuming your floor. Oh and clean sheets. ect ect. And then there's the things you want to do, like bake apple pies and grocery shop for lovely meals. So Friday will be jam packed for me.

Today i have to head up to school early, which always sucks. Being stuck on campus just means you have to do things like reading and research. All because they schedule meetings at off times. Normally today i wouldn't leave until 4 but now i have to leave at noon. Big difference.

Oh well. Such is life.

a blog apology

So you all have to type in a word verification to post comments. I'm sorry. The spammers made me do it.

apple pickin'

apple pickin', originally uploaded by tinkerellen.

This is my gorgeous husband and his hot wife. We went with our friends who threatened to put this picture on their fridge so they could claim some good looking friends. Although i'm not too sure what that says about the rest of their compadres.

apple picking

is so cool. It was my first time but I loved it more than pumpkin picking. And I rushed home and baked an apple pie. Yum. I wish I could bake my cousin an apple pie and send her a maple tree that's changing color without having to pay a ton to ship a tree to california or figure out a way for apple pie to get there unsmooshed...she misses fall. And she should. It's the best season of them all.

for those lacking vitamin D

rainyday.jpg, originally uploaded by tinkerellen.

Take this on especially rainy days.

don't change your plans for me

i won't move to LA
the leaves are falling back east
that's where i'm gonna stay

it's a bad thing

• unwrapping a KFC snacker whilst speeding on the highway
• Rob Thomas' new CD
• breaking out from new birth control pills
• anyone who refuses to celebrate Free Candy Day. I mean, Halloween.
• waiting in line for a machine at the gym
• sports bras

very excited

about the new title art. The downside however is that blogger makes me type in a name, so i might have to play around with this or change templates and start over. For now, my blog is simply "`". It was the one mark that somewhat blended in to the background name. And if you have no idea what i'm talking about, see above website header.

chilly breeze of fall

is finally upon us. Call me crazy, but i love the smell of pumpkin spice candles, the color orange, and the thin stylish jackets.

It's amazing

bridgeoverfalls.jpg, originally uploaded by tinkerellen.

the cool crap you find in the area when you just look for it. Thanks to Heather for showing me around.

and the braces come off

i'm back to feeling slightly less geeky and slightly more sexy.

uh, that is like so totally gross.

On the way home from class I ran over some freshly hit deer flesh. It was disgusting. Besides the fact that I could actually hear and feel the pieces of little Bambi hitting the floorboard of my car, I now have rotting bloody deer carcus creating a stink from beneath. Had to park her outside tonight.

four years ago

I remember walking into our apartment. My husband sat there staring at the television, dressed for work, shaking. "I have to go." "I know." We said our goodbyes in the driveway. He raced off to the White House. We both knew it could be the last time we ever saw each other. If, as they said, the one plane left in the air was indeed headed for Washington D.C. In a couple of days i finally got to see him again. Out of all the days, weeks, months we've spent apart, these two days were by far the longest. Over the next few weeks we saw each other every few days, mostly in passing, holding each other in the driveway.

They put a bumper stickers on cars, raise flags, wear shirts. They tell us to "never forget". But honestly. Would we?

pop goes the bubble

pop goes the bubble, originally uploaded by tinkerellen.

this is what you get when you hand off a camera to two teenage girls.

magNET

marbles project, originally uploaded by tinkerellen.

Sometimes i just make and make and make. It's like i need to step away from the computer and create something tangible. Something that i can hold in my hands and admire. Something shiny.

rant much

i
hate
gas
prices.

This is just a slight glimmer of the helplessness the hurricane victims are feeling. It's a horrible feeling. To be completely subject to something out of your control.

On a positive note, friends and I were worried about an old college friend living in the Louisiana area. We've finally heard from him, he and his family are fine, luckily there was minimal damage to their houses.

Thousand Islands

Thousand Islands, originally uploaded by tinkerellen.

This weekend I hung out with the Secret Service. Those guys are a bunch of foul-mouthed drinkers. Luckily, Heather and I each bagged one and got a free place to stay. Oh the cockroaches... Anyway, H and I spent the rest of the day seeing the sites and eating great in the Thousand Island region up near the Canadian border. Enjoy my obsessive compulsive photo-taking you picture junkies:

fresh

Thousand Islands, originally uploaded by tinkerellen.

The pump house.

river rage

Thousand Islands, originally uploaded by tinkerellen.

The traffic was attrocious.

retrolicious

Thousand Islands, originally uploaded by tinkerellen.

I dig a great retro sign.

beautiful Heather

Thousand Islands, originally uploaded by tinkerellen.

made it to the infamous blog. Lovely Heather, you are not drunk, nor squinting, nor faking that smile, although it really looks that way.

that's amore´

sunset, originally uploaded by tinkerellen.

i'm buying a bike, and replacing my cordless phone with a wall phone that has a 50 ft cord.

You can't tell me that the gas prices are universally high because of the recent storm in the gulf when there's a 40 cents difference between stations.

I'm going to start biking it. It should only take me about 7 hours to get to class. On a day without snow. Dang.

In other unrelated news, my husband just found out he'll be gone much of the month of September. Which is both good and bad. If I want to go to NYC anytime next month I have a free and probably fabulous place to stay. If I don't, the possibility of me having sex for the month is slim.

the smoothie powered car

3 dollars a gallon. Insane. What is this overpriced overworked world coming to? Yu'ld think with all the technological advances man has made in the past 50 years that we might be able to come up with something other than petrol to power our vehicles. No. Instead we insist on relying on the natural resources of other countries who hate us to power our lives. Does this make any sense? No. And that's why we're doing it. Because there are people who are afraid we'll disturb a caribou in Alaska if we drill our own natural resources. And yet these same people drive to work everyday without concern because their gas comes from the desert overseas, and everyone knows that there are no caribou in the desert.

hate mail virgin

I have officially sent hate mail through the post office. I've never sent hate mail before. I was a hate mail virgin but now my hate mail virginity is gone and i'm a hate mail slut. I wonder if people would pay me to send them hate mail?

Just another day

in paradise. I went to the outlets. I bought some things for the husband on my way back from RI but apparently they were the wrong items and so there's my explanation for spending 3 hours at the outlets. I have a corderoy fetish. I picked out 3 bags and one jacket and decided that I should forgo the corderoy pants. The bags are great, and so organized since i've never really bought 3 bags at once before. I got one tan bag that was smaller for here and there, one larger one (in dark blue) for work and maybe even school or out and about, and one large one (PINK!) which is perfect for school books or plane trips or day trips. And i got incredible deals which is always rewarding. Think of all the money I saved by buying everything.

Wow. I sound so shallow.

first day of school

and my mom didn't even pack me a lunch. damn.

it was a decent day. I got everything i needed, like books, parking permit, etc. I actually picked up some books online at amazon which i've never done but i saved lots of bucks. Too bad i didn't firgure this out until my last semester.

EDIT: stupid Amazon hadn't updated their inventory lists and one book wasn't available. I'm sueing. For inventory neglegence.

Gone to Rhode Island

Rhode Island trip, originally uploaded by tinkerellen.

again. This time was great. I got to spend a couple of days with my mother, one day with my cousin, and some time here and there visiting others. Plus a trip to the beach, Del's lemonade, and some decent shopping trips. All in all it was a fun trip but it's so nice to be home. Even though it sucks here.

Rhode Island trip, originally uploaded by tinkerellen.

This is where I fell over the rocks and busted my camera along with my head.

Just kidding.

Judging by my grandmother's face

Rhode Island trip, originally uploaded by tinkerellen.

you'ld think she just got goosed.

Mom and Me

Rhode Island trip, originally uploaded by tinkerellen.

How cute, we match.

The only windmill

Rhode Island trip, originally uploaded by tinkerellen.

in Rhode Island. It's such a small state and yet I ocassionally bump into things I've never seen before.

what a smacker

Rhode Island trip, originally uploaded by tinkerellen.

My cousin and I in about 20 years.

honestly

Rhode Island trip, originally uploaded by tinkerellen.

I miss the ocean like I'm sure I would miss my spleen.

Watch Hill

Rhode Island trip, originally uploaded by tinkerellen.

Where the shops are trendy and flip-flops go for 30 bucks.

Eh oh, oh eh

Rhode Island trip, originally uploaded by tinkerellen.

I'm only putting this photo on here so my cousin can hate me. We spent our monday with the traditional Chen's Chinese, TJMaxx, and lounging on the beach. Which in my book, is a perfect day.

with matching neon triangle jewelry to boot.

When did groucho pants become stylish? Where was I when someone thought lots of loose hanging fabric in a single pant leg was brilliant and oh so georgeous darling? Oh wait, I remember, I was in grade school. And they were called coulottes. And I cried because my mother was forcing me to wear them to summer camp where I was sure to be the laughing stock of the cabin since mine were all these strange and unflattering patterns like neon triangles or graphic ribbons and not matching and suave like all the rich girls I was surrounded by who got their coulottes store bought. Mine came straight from the sewing machine. Not that I'm complaining, if I was my mother I would have done the same thing. Spend money on coulottes? No thank you. Not even to ensure my daughters place in the cool crowd of 7th graders. Because she knew one day I would look back on those snooty girls and think, suckers. Of course, they're probably just all ecstatic that their coulottes are finally back in style.

The windy city

chicago, originally uploaded by tinkerellen.

Such a good sport

chicago, originally uploaded by tinkerellen.

He didn't even complain when I said I wanted to try lunch at this trendy place called Oysy. He even ate some sushi and poked around at the tofu salad.

There are gardens in the middle of the roads

chicago, originally uploaded by tinkerellen.

It was like a giant butterfly massacre.

there's that point

chicago, originally uploaded by tinkerellen.

where you realize you're getting old. You have bags under your eyes bigger than your breasts and you get carded even though your husband so helpful-like points out your gray hairs to the bartender.

the glorious ride home

chicago, originally uploaded by tinkerellen.

No turbulance, two packs of mini pretzels and five chapters of a new book. Good flight.

and so I say goodbye

to all you, my friends. I'm leaving on a jet plane in about 4 hours to sweet sweet Chicago. I promise to have lovely pictures to post of all my adventures. Goodbye Salt City, hello Windy City.

I have a huge problem and I need YOUR help!

How do you dunk Oreo's without getting that i've-just-spilled-a-jar-of-pepper-in-my-milk milk? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

tubes o' fun

tubing, originally uploaded by tinkerellen.

We tubed!

when I do have my camera

I see things like a neat building or a river or an old lady feeding pigeons. When I don't have my camera I see things like squirrels sitting on headrests in cars. There he was. Hanging out. Eating something. Not sure what. As I got out of my car he started to scamper. I attempted to toss raisins inside of the car to make him stay and enjoy his whatever in peace, but he left anyway. And now, the owner of said car will get in their seat tonight and think, where the hell did these raisins come from?

piggy got back

piggy got back, originally uploaded by tinkerellen.

I got this from my cousin who's out in LA. I'm not sure if miniature farm animal writing instruments are the hottest thing on rodeo drive yet, but they definately should be.

400MG makes it all worth while

Apparently, if you go see the doctor for the common cold and make an idiot out of yourself thinking it's something more serious like typhoid fever or strep throat, you still get WAY better drugs.

Corner office

corner office, originally uploaded by tinkerellen.

Wandering downtown with my camera and comfy shoes I came across lovely historical buildings such as this one. It reminded me of NYC, which reminded me of my cousin, which reminded me to smile.

chai cream vanilla tall mocha frappuccino latte shot

Starbucks makes me happy. I'm not really sure if it's the coffee-house-on-the-upper-east-side decor, the save-the-environment-green aprons or the overly expensive speciality drinks. It could even be the free-for-your-garden coffee grounds that i've never even taken. Whatever it is, whenever I drink half of my 4 dollar and fifty cent beverage, I smile.

is that marijuana?

windowherb.jpg, originally uploaded by tinkerellen.

Time for a revamp.

So i've sort of rearranged and changed things around here. I now have some links available on the side thingy here ---> and some nice photo-esque things up there and I even got a new nifty little footer for all of y'alls enjoyment.

I want to say congrats to my friend Mel who had the courage this past week to change her life entirely.

Welcome back Marybeth to the wide world of the suck-you-in-until-the-wee-hours-of-the-morn' internet.

I am so sorry Heather that I couldn't make it to dinner tonight. I literally feel like something slimy crawled up out of my stomach, into my throat and got stuck there while swelling from the heat and causing my esophagus to constrict. Damn slug. I hope you had fun initiating the newest member of the my-husband's-gone-for-the-week-hang-out-with-me club.

I deleted a lot of old pics on here. I just wanted to start over with this nice new BIG sized photos and the other one's looked like thrift-store-rejects compared to the new one anyway. If you miss them, they can be found on: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tinkerellen/

This is the I-just-realized-I-used-too-many-hyphenations post. Hey, at least I capitalized my I's. Have a good night, my sad lonely never-talks-back internet world.

Sitting on this hot summer's day

the 'cuse, originally uploaded by tinkerellen.

with my feet dangling in the water amidst the center of the city, I thought: wow. that's a really gothic building. Good thing I have my hand dandy camera.

what a good idea

The whole, go back to school, get your degree, finish what you started, get a better paying job, is all garbage.

I know, i know, it's great, i'm doing awesome, one more class down, five to go, but come off it, this really does suck. I mean, i have been lucky enough to not have to work while going to classes, been there-done that, it sucked even worse. And i can't get away from it. Even in my blog. It's there, haunting my very existance. I need a break. I actually WANT to go back to work. For 3 seconds i even thought about just having a kid so i wouldn't have to do anything at all and then i remembered that you can't just keep a kid in a glass bowl or tied up to the fence with a dish of water nearby.

finals already

3 weeks go by fast when you're forced to digest an entire semester of information. Friday is the final and then next week i'm working on my online class which will be done the week I go to Chicago. Needless to say I need to get ahead between now and then so I don't find myself up at 2 in an internet cafe whilst being hit on by star trek nerds on a night out.

Good news, in August it seems i'll be traveling thrice. Once to Chicago, once to Niagara Falls and once to Rhode Island. While in RI i'll get to see my grandmother, mother, stepfather, maybe my sister and kids, but most definately my cousin. Which is awesome. We're going to sit on the beach, sip Del's lemonade and listen to waves and screaming children. That might be my sister's kids.

instead

let's go with, "picture of the weekday".

Woof and Roll

hello internet.
i have some things to tell you.
i'm bored. you have nothing that amuses me anymore and i really should just shut you down and go study for my test tomorrow.
you're a really really bad listener. ok? jerk.
you sort of smell like lime. oh wait, that's the tostitos.
i like the TV better. it's shiny and pretty and it makes me happy.
yesterday i saw a crippled dog with a little roller machine strapped to it's hind legs.
it's raining like the bajeezus out there.
i worked out twice this week and both times i hated it.


i'll see you tomorrow.

seriously

finally

a work trip i can join my husband on. we're going to the windy city in the beginning of august for four days. very excited. it's been a while since i was in chicago, oh, 7 years? anyway, i'm looking forward to revisiting and maybe even taking a boat tour of the bay or seeing a couple museums. and the pizza, oh the pizza. of course, last time i was there i was caught in a downpour 6 blocks from our meeting point and finally ended up paying an exuberant amount of money for a dark colored nike shirt.

busy bee

this past week i was in Rochester doing some freelance work. a few days and i've got one summer class paid off. it's nice. plus, i got to catch up with an old friend and stuff my face with some peanut butter and chocolate goodness at starbucks. you order this mammoth dessert thing and a mixed tall frothy delicious drink and only after you've paid do they give you a free sample of their newest ice cream flavor. it was a caffeine flood that my brain is still recovering from.

this weekend we painted the shutters on our house. or should i say repainted. it was the infamous painting fiasco of last summer. we had our shutters on sawhorses in the garage for two months last year. our neighbors were starting to mention our lack of window embellishments. this weekend one can only assume that when they saw us heading to our shutters with our power drill and ladder they all gasped or groaned. but we had them down and up in two days flat. goodbye stark and drastic white, hello warm and inviting buttercream.

my eye is red and burning and this morning i think i pulled an alien out of it.

pretty in pink

pinkbeauty.jpg
Originally uploaded by tinkerellen.

ivy and a stairway

stairs.jpg
Originally uploaded by tinkerellen.

the funniest thing i've ever seen

has to be the penis straw my friend heather gave to me yesterday. Actually, i requested one. I figure if i'm ever feeling blue i can just make myself a root beer float or a raspberry margarita complete with tiny umbrella and penis straw. Because life is just better with a penis straw.

talk to me day

Everyone was talking to me today. I wasn't even looking at them. Any of them. Maybe i just have that talk-to-me kind of face. Where random people think i'm all sweet and nice and southern-like until they actually talk to me and i give them this strange what-are-you-nuts look. Sure, i would expect this in alabama maybe or florida even, but new york? The only reason anyone should speak to you in new york is to yell at you for hitting their car.

ebay socks

or sucks. Either way. People go nuts the last minute on auctions and the price practically doubles and you're left there slouching in your computer chair with your jaw dropped and this sadly retarded look on your face wondering what just happened. If retail shops worked like this, no one would ever buy anything. Ever.

same great taste

"It has no calories! That's what zero means! I mean, I don't even know if it tastes the same as Coke." said the scary crazy man outside the grocery store, to himself.

take me out

softball.jpg
Originally uploaded by tinkerellen.

another successful

trip to Connecticut. Successful as in, no baby spit up on either shoulders the entire weekend, no cops pulled us over for speeds in excess of 95 mph, no hideous barbeque stains on any white articles of clothing, and no broken or torn anythings from a double header softball event. Also, a great sale at the JCrew outlet on the way home and a small budget makes me a happy girl with new pants.

I went shopping for my husband's birthday present lastnight. I got him a couple of CDs which i appropriately gave to him before our trip this weekend since that rediculously cool itrip he bought me for Christmas has tragically decided on an MTV-esque career change and no longer plays music but only static and a lot of nothing worth paying attention to. So, CDs and clothes seem to be my trend for him since he has this habit of buying everything he wants when he wants regardless of an upcoming holiday or birthday. I decided clothes were my only option since i'm jobless and pretty much buying him a gift with my ebay 'winnings'. I also decided it was time to take it upon myself to expand his wardrobe. He wears blue, yellow, and darker blue. And of course, the standard white. So an orange shirt and a green tie (not to be worn together) is what I eventually walked out with. I was so tempted by a few interesting shirts that he had a chance to look hot in, but when I spotted the 'metro' tag i decided against them and the inevitable anti-metrosexual (maybe your friends would wear this) discussion.

it's 9:30

at night. I have biology on my mind and phylum's to remember. There's an aching feeling in my bladder. The bathroom's only two doors down. I turn to enter the hallway when the faint smell of incense stings my nostrils. The house is dark. The figures emerge. Three altogether. The sound of steel. The eyes, oh the cruel assassin eyes. Why are there ninjas in my house, and why won't they just let me pee.

to be continued...

24/7 obese America

it's a growing disease in America that's slowly taking control of even our youngest generations. causing all sorts of health problems, growth disorders and less face it, the misuse of spandex. and now, instead of combat the growing issue, take the side of good cholesterol and whole foods, McDonald's announces the opening of 24 hour drive-thrus. got a hankering for a Big Mac at 3:30 am? well, go for it big guy, besides, we know doctors always lie.

so out of the loop it's not even a loop anymore

it was officially announced to us this morning over the phone that our good good friends are having a baby. which is great, ya hoo, but justin and i are freaking out. i mean, our other friends have had children, in fact two in the past couple of months, but this is different. this is the girl i was supposed to share maternity clothes with. double baby shower. that sort of thing. it's exciting really, but this news actually feels like it's changes OUR lives. not that we're going to be jumping at the bit to get pregnant or anything, but this is going to push us even more to move home, soon. growing up sucks...i wonder if i'll ever have to.

pretty in pink

branch.jpg
Originally uploaded by tinkerellen.

i raise you three fish.

lastnight we went to a friend's house and played poker. it's a good thing we don't play for money because i would have been po' last night. but they did let me eat all their Swedish fish and milk duds, so i'ld say it was pretty even. It really sucks to be the only person who can actually shuffle a deck of cards since you get stuck being the all-night dealer and keep getting yelled at for not paying attention. It's just the river card people. Get over it.

listen to me.

today i cried over my homework. yelled at my husband for talking me out of dropping a class. bought four useless things at old navy. and devoured 3 chocolate fudge brownies. i went off my bc pills last month so i've sort of lost track of what my body's been doing, but i'm pretty sure it's telling me it's time to be a bitch... for a week anyway.

biology

is not for me.

chocolatey goodness

On the way home tonight, i decide it would be crucial to stop and pick up a single donut. i mean, never grocery shop while hungry, right? So i'm feeling a little gilty seeing as i haven't as much as said the word gym in the last few weeks. but those thoughts instantly evaporate once the chocolate frosting hit my lips. If there were gods and they did indeed feast i'm convinced they would have had an entire platter of boston cream donuts smack dab next to the pig with the apple in his mouth.

I am all over this

yard sale crap. I even made signs. and color coded tags. if anybody asks me how much something is, i'll be forced to rip their back hair out and sell it as a floor rug. for a dollar. which is the blue tags.

newport

us_newport.jpg
Originally uploaded by tinkerellen.

the loveliest of all lovely ocean towns. i would live in a seashell on the shores if i could. but i might be too big. maybe a tin can. that could work.

my rib hurts

i must have bruised it while displaying my mighty kung-fu skills to the neighborhood children. i don't think that ice cream truck man will be back anytime soon trying to peddle those 99 cent ice cream sandwiches.

in other news, i have three finals on thursday. 2 i have to study for, and one i just have to spend five minutes talking about.

i'm enrolled in 3 summer classes. who uses biology in the real world anyway, except maybe biologists (?).

i need money. i'm going to go eat a kudos now. i'm making death by chocolate later. carbs are a girls best friend...

read my lips

so i did a total crap job on my second paper. but it's done. and due tomorrow. i am the man.

moving on, i forgot i have a project due on wednesday morning. no big deal. it's just my final. i'll be fine. i have something to show as is, i just like for things to actually look like i put effort into them. maybe she won't notice.

in other unrelated but utterly important news. i'm on my second box of mint milanos and that nasty pms thing i had last week seems to be subsiding. praise allah for advil.

raindrops keep falling on my head

you'll thank me later for getting that lousy piece of crap song stuck in your head.

so i finished one paper and plan to celebrate by taking myself out to Old Navy. It's a sad sad life i lead. then iplan on getting my butt back to start my second one. or maybe i should be studeous and actually stick around the house and finish all my homework before i celebrate. or maybe not.

it's a rainy kind of day here. perhaps i should shower sometime today.

the George Eastman House

eastman.jpg
Originally uploaded by tinkerellen.

we went to his house in Rochester yesterday with the photo class. as you can see, it's an amazing house. i just stood there for a minute and lost myself in what it would be like to be filthy stinking rich. and then i came back to reality and remembered i only had two bucks in my pocket. such a cruel cruel world.

splendid

my friend lori just informed me that we have a ten year high school reunion coming up in november. we're both really looking forward to seeing how fat people got. i'ld pay 40 bucks a couple for that. i can't wait. this is going to be awesome.

so this weekend

i finally watched Napoleon Dynamite at a friend's 30th birthday party. it was like intervention. they sat us down, turned on the movie and made us watch it. it was decent, the best part being actually knowing what people are talking about now and why everyone keeps saying "dang" and what exactly a Liger is.

i received a design award from school which is a sweet deal in and of itself until i found out that it came with money. dang. so i'm thinking, nice, 50 bucks or so. then i find out it's 250 bucks. dang again my sweet friends.

i'm all about the weather lately. yesterday was the first real t-shirt day of the year. i sat in the park with my bag of twizzlers and studied for my japanese art quiz while catching some sunshine. this is the time of year where i can actually drop the pasty-white-ill look.

i need to have a yard sale. zen is all about minimalism and simplicity and my storage closets can attest to the fact that i'm not about that.

off to

the airport to pick up the husband. i'm so tired i could fall asleep in my books. which i've done before. some of the best sleep of my life.

regardless

of all the work i got done today, i feel foolish for locking my keys in my car at the mall. it wasn't exactly my fault either. i had packed up my keys, phone, wallet in my bag and stepped out of the car. i turned, realizing how nice it was out and proceeded to place my bag on the seat and take off my jacket. and then in slow motion, my car door creaked to a half-close. you know, one of those you have to knock your body against the car to fully close the door. well, with half a coat on i check the door handle and sure enough it's locked. so there i am, sleave hanging off, prying at the door with the remainder of my strength that has not been crippled by an upper-body lifting session two days ago. luckily, mall security had a "lock-out kit" which basically consisted of several metal twisted rods and a book explaining just how to break in to the exact type of car. amazing.

new website

website.jpg
Originally uploaded by tinkerellen.

so this is my idea thus far for my personal website. any comments or suggestions, please place them in the box. thanks.

he hate me

i'm looking forward to my cousin's box arriving from California. only problem is, it hasn't yet. California is far away. so far, that the USPS takes their sweet time delivering packages from coast to coast. they hate me. jerks.

updates for the masses

events of the day: went to see an Imax movie about Vikings. it was awesome. it made me want to go to Iceland. then we walked around downtown, grabbed a cheesesteak and looked around some trendy stores. the ncaa basketball thing is in town at the SU dome, so all the restaurants have booths set up on the road and the streets are blocked off to traffic. it was fun. we even indulged 6 dollars on chocolates and truffles for dessert. yum. (which reminds me, i gained 3 pounds.)

purchases of the day: the Bridget Jones Edge of Reason DVD, all natural face cream and mascara, and a VS thong (which actually was free: the checkout girl looked totally disgusted that i hadn't purchased anything, but i didn't send myself the stupid coupon).

projects of the day (and many more days certainly): currently i'm working on creating a personal web site using flash elements to give it some interactivity. i'm pretty pleased with the look so far. it's clean and simple, and i think it displays my talents fairly well. also, i'm working on some time lapse photography for a school video project. we're creating a music video for a song our instructor chose. i set up the camera with some cut flowers but they died the next day, so i bought a potted mini-rose plant and that's working out splendidly.

i was in florida for a week. just so you know.

http://myfloridavacation.blogspot.com/

inside my head

the world spins at a speed uncatchable. mostly it's words, scrolling down forever like a badly designed website. things to do, people to call, books to read, tests to take, projects to complete, dinner, laundry, dishes. clean clothes are overated. really. who pays attention to the mud splattered on the cuffs of your jeans, besides you. who noticed the lack of eyeliner this morning. who wonders how often you work out. nobody but you. so inside my head spins thoughts of myself, churning into sour stress over nothing important. when saturday comes, i dump these thoughts before i hit airline security and sleep clearly in an uncomfortable chair with an oversized man hogging the armrest and snoring, peacefully.

cup o tea

it's freezing inside my skin. i grab the kettle, pour out the old stagnent water from last week. turn on the faucet, fill the kettle and turn towards the stove. reaching to the very top shelf of the cabinet where my favorite snowman mug waits, my sweater revealing cold skin. sugar. something sweet to counter the bitter tea leaves. not too much, never too much. too sweet never got anyone anywhere good. the tea bags each individually wrapped inside this brown cardboard box. i carefully tear, revealing the aroma of places never been and time wasted on cold drinks or empty conversation, or in most cases, both. the kettle sizzles and i reach for the handle. i pour warmth and cup it in my hands, slowly bringing the steaming water to my lips. warmth is all i crave. i find it in tea. where do you find it?

e-mail from a friend

"at any rate it makes me smile to know your life isn't perfect. :)"


hahhahahaaa. i nearly wet myself.

crappy musings.

i lie on my back in the warm sand and stare into the evening sky,
wishing i were a star, listening to the waves crash onto the shore.

i AM that type

So driving home from class i noticed, much to my stomach's dismay, a sign in front of McDonald's advertising their "Shamrock Shake". Now to me, the thought of drinking something green just turns my stomach and i thought, "what kind of person drinks a green shake?". And then i remembered that my favorite shake is a mint chocolate chip one, and i realized in horror, "I am the kind of person who drinks green shakes...."

fire drill

we had one today while i was in the darkroom printing. i looked around. i thought maybe i spilled chemicals. or left a door open. or blew up a light table. but no. it was just a fire drill. then later, we were debating my age and Matt was so bewildered at how old i was that he lost track of time on development and completely screwed up his print. poor Matt.

the weather is clearing up around here and i couldn't be happier. i even cleaned the car. and debated going for a run. but i've settled on homework and oatmeal cookies. i'm such an exercise enthusiast. maybe, eventually, i'll catch up with Mel's bad habits. but probably not.

Marybeth, i've been putting together a little package for you. you know, the usual. CD, candy, fairy wand, and maxi pads. i think i even threw in toothpicks. yeah, you're gonna love it.

watched Vanity Fair this weekend. (and two hours of the SuperBowl, shame on me). It was a very visually appealing movie and well done, good actors, but i just didn't agree with the storyline. perhaps not a just enough ending...

fabulous

designer.jpg
Originally uploaded by tinkerellen.

who wouldn't hire me? i'm fabulous. or at least i play the part in my designer black turtleneck.

no more denial

hi. my name is cheri, and i'm a shopoholic.

this morning

i have an 'interview' with an ad agency in town. hopefully they'll throw some work my way and i can make a little bit of money that i seem to be spending like water on school. so i just printed out the directions, off to take a shower, and then try on 3 or 4 different outfits until i can find that perfect professional/artist mix. the one thing i hate about these things is the money issue. i know what i want to get, but if i state my demands and they're too high, i lose out on the opportunity and i hate missed opportunities. i always hope they just have a set amount, like at Burger King. you make this much, let us know if you're willing to do it, yaddy yaddy.

on a side note, if this doesn't work out, i'm hoping to put some business cards over at an art store. we know the owner, he's a pretty nice guy, even had us over for dinner, so hopefully he'll be cool with that. also, i have a friend who's putting my name in with a couple of the big photographers in town. she saw my photos and thought i might make a good assistant. we'll see. i'm not as concerned about work now, as i will be in the summer when i'm only taking a few classes.

anyway, i had a dream lastnight involving my doctor, and my proffessor. just goes to show who i've been spending all my time with. ugh.

school daze

today i saw two separate men with one arm each. i found that odd. not that they were missing arms, but that there were two of them. i wonder if they were twins.
mohawk man decided to shave it off last week and now admits to missing it.
i learned more html coding.
yesterday i played in the snow with my husband and kicked his ass. "faceplant"
i just pulled out 11 eyebrow hairs.
we went to the outlets over the weekend and i bought a peacoat that is actually my size.
i wasted my time watching "catwoman". it was a 2 hour long Revlon commercial. i rented it for free, and even then, it wasn't worth it.
make that 12 eyebrow hairs.
i got a parking ticket on campus for 20 bucks. i appealed it. 20 bucks is a lot, man. that's like 2 1/2 whole organic chickens.
i need to remember to water my bamboo plants.
not working is awesome. just in case any of you were wondering.

Take with food

pills.jpg
Originally uploaded by tinkerellen.

i'm such a good patient. the doctors promise i won't be crazy anymore. but really, what do doctors know?

dear diary

day number 7,843.
weight: 104
addictions: shoes

lifted today for the first time in, oh, about 3 weeks. bought two pair of $3 shoes at Target. ecstatic. learned i am a size 5 in children's shoes. when informed by my doctor that i had to take antibiotics for the next week, she spent 5 minutes emphasizing the fact that i CANNOT drink while taking the medication or i will surely puke. then i spent 20 seconds explaining to her that i don't puke, i mean, drink. always wondered how one would gain a career at stores such as Staples or Best Buy when they are far beyond the age of part time jobs or college or getting a date. also think one should be able to sue the responsible party when the sun does not appear for entire weeks. as soon as i find out who the exact bastard is, i'm calling my lawyers. am debating finding the local library and perhaps in fact, becoming a member. now that i am a poor college student i cannot afford to waste my money on books at Barnes & Nobles when it's obvious that the mooney should be wasted at Target or a fun store of my choosing. also, believe the ideology of the woman cook to be completely wrong. men are used to handling meat and dirt. it's clearly their responsibility. i'm going on strike.

So...

Sketch1.jpg
Originally uploaded by tinkerellen.

i sat down his weekend and decided to sketch a little. It's been a while, but this is what i came up with. She has a big forehead.

when will i be loved

still too sick and exhausted to do nearly anything. that's why i'm back at work full time and heading to class for four hours right afterwards. but tomorrow, i'll have time to rest, sleep, and most importantly cut my toenails. also, tomorrow is my last day of work. this is all snowballing, but i'm keeping a positive outlook for this coming year. part of me will miss sitting in front of a computer for 8 hours a day but part of me can't wait to be hands-on and be more artisticly involved with classes. and the other bit of me can't wait to buy those warm nuts from that street vendor.

feeling hot hot hot.

Well, i thought i could do it. Go back to work for a full day and then head to my four hour class afterwards, but i'm too tired. So tired. I need a nap. And i think i complain too much, so i'll stop here.

Today i quit my dead-end loser job. I feel great. Poor, but great.

Is it a thousand degrees in here or is it just me?

I missed new year's.

I was asleep. By like 9 pm. If it wasn't for the flu i would deem myself the saddest human being on the planet. What a crock this vacation has been. I haven't even spent any Christmas money on post-holiday sale items of the greatest importance. Post-death state, we did get to see friends and family, play a little poker, open gifts and drink a little cheap wine. I have seen a LOT of movies though, and odly enough the ratio of films containing zombies is absolutely disturbing. I've also discovered about 8 new ways to top toast. I finished a very long book. And at the end of all of this, i now realize why everyone was in such a huff over the flu vaccine shortage. Here's to drugs. May they always be readily available.