what a great mini-break.

memorial day weekend was so relaxing for us. we enjoyed the drive down to connecticut on saturday and stopped quick at the outlets in mass for some new sunglasses. when we finally made it into town we grabbed some dinner with friends and then off to play a round of mini-golf. a little later we played some poker which i miserably lost, twice. sunday we went to church and spent some time out in the sun. monday, we...i just realized this is long-winded and boring. it was relaxing, we enjoyed it. the end. (pictures to come as soon as i sort through them.)

oh, and friday night i'm playing driver for some high-schoolers headed to prom. what should i wear?

take or leave it yeah

so i already knew this was going to be a fun and exciting summer. in july i'm taking a couple of old college friends around new england, which promises to be a freaking awesome time. nyc, boston and block island, not to mention providence, yale modern art museum and hopefully newport.

well, two days ago we bought our tickets for our 'formal' vacation which we haven't been on in almost two years thanks to everyone up and having babies. we decided to go to Los Angeles!! i've only been as far west as chicago so this'll be all new for me (we may even squeeze in las vegas). and with the looming prospect of moving there, we figured we might want to see it first. and the best part is it's only costing us a few hundred dollars, since my husband cashed in some frequent flyer miles and we'll be mooching off friends instead of spending on hotels. we might just spring for a really cool rental car, like a convertible mustang or something. we leave the 17th of next month. just in time for j to turn 30! happy birthday (and anniversary) to us!

oh yeah, and we're heading to CT this weekend. but not until j plays softball and we go see X-Men III with some people.

(*sorry about the flickr photo post. supposedly they're working to fix the glitch, but i might have to relink. i'm just too lazy to right now.)

self portrait tuesday: intro #2

introducing, originally uploaded by tinkerellen.

i feel a bit cubed today. like i do once every month. twelve times every year. this time around i'm feeling all sorts of emotions, but the lingering one is sentiment. and of course crying over being sentimental. more self portraits here.

energize me babies

firey tulips, originally uploaded by tinkerellen.

i'm in love with tulips. or flowers in general. but the inspiration in this photo is clearly the color. it's so vibrant and full of energy. this will be in the collection of prints for sale as soon as i can find a stinking quality printer around here. for now, i hope you enjoy the flow.

i'ld like an order to slow.

who here knows that when you're hungry and wet and in a hurry to get home and into sweats and some sweet and sour, where do you go? china palace of course. or china chen. or chinese dragon. we all have our trusty dinner back up plan for all those times we don't feel like cooking. so today was like any other chinese ordering day. until the end. it was horrible. it's never happened to me before. right as we were about to hang up, she said something that made me sit up straight and stop paying attention to the road. she said 'ok, ready in forty minutes'. what. did i hear that wrong. forty doesn't sound like fifteen and it certainly doesn't sound like ten. forty? 'yes, forty. so busy.' um, sure, ok.

an hour later i'm sitting here typing this story so all of you can bask in my impatience. (the food's good by the way).

self-portrait tuesday: introducing me

spt: the photographer, originally uploaded by tinkerellen.

this is me. i'm an artist. i'm a dreamer. i buy shoes that don't fit right just because they're on sale. i make gifts. i love the ocean. i'm stubborn and pig-headed. i'm creative. i love ham sandwiches. i got sick from golden grahams once. i have a bad memory (except for the golden grahams thing). and that's why i take photos. my forgetfullness turned into my most expensive and loved hobby. i am a photographer. and i am happy.

in 30 days

my husband turns 30. and i want to throw a party. BUT i'm coming up short for ideas. i need help. help! seriously, if you have an idea, drop a comment. i want it to be casual and fun, laid back and not so birthday focused so those invited don't feel they need to shower him with gifts in order to show up. it'll be nice out by then hopefully, we have a big yard and a large family room/game room in the basement along with a grill and a capable kitchen.

should i go cookout style or maybe poker tournament style. i would like to have a few things going on at the same time so people don't get bored. and i can't even get started thinking about a gift. what to buy the man who always buys himself whatever he wants even if it's two days before christmas. he's impossible to surprise too....

this is a huge scary turning point in our lives, and i just want something that will kind of mask that anxiety for about 6 or 8 hours.

boys are gross

a congratulations and happy mother's day to the newest mother i know, heather. this morning she delivered a boy, daniel. congrats heather! and i can't wait to see him tomorrow...(and happy mother's day to my mom of course, thanks for bringing me into this world. and thank you for not making me a boy. boys are gross. except daniel.)

bad day for greggaury22X7V1

i think i found the one telemarketer (or blog spammer) that hates himself as much as we all hate him. i was checking some old posts and noticed a huge amount of comments, which is abnormal for me (except for you faithful three, love). anyway, apparently the blog spammers have found me, but not until like a month after i post something so i could care less. they all wrote cheasy things like 'we love your site' or 'best site ever' or 'will bookmark...blah blah blah'. but then i read this one:

"I can't be bothered with anything these days, but such is life. I don't care. So it goes. More or less nothing seems worth thinking about. I've just been hanging out waiting for something to happen, but that's how it is."

i wonder if he's selling anti-depressants?

a teeny tiny travel tale

flat.jpg, originally uploaded by tinkerellen.

this is my husband's handy work. it happened on the way to pick up the car. to drive to the airport. to catch our flight. to come home. anyway, his mother and i laughed when he hit the pothole and gave him grief for five minutes about not paying attention to the road (he's too preoccupied with water sensor windshield wipers).

anyway, a few minutes later the car was wobbly and we were worried. we happened to be next to a dinky little mechanics garage so we pulled in. an hour later the problem was solved and we were on our way. i learned two things that day: never drive on a flat, and in virginia, a tire is a tar.

i'm smott.

so i've come to a conclusion. i spend spend spend. i mean, sure, we all do, but there are things in my life that if i simply cut back on, i would save so much money. but wouldn't we all. anyway, for the next few weeks i'll be scrimping my allowance for my new england trip in july. today i am going to buy a parking pass that will save me half what i pay now for parking (i have to walk two blocks, big deal). lunch will be homemade egg salad or tuna fish forever. and friday, i will sign up for some sort of money market or cd. (i even bought some stock which is going up up up!)

the bottom line is, in the next few weeks i plan to cut back cut back cut back. we're even thinking about losing digital cable! what, no dvr?!? incredulously, yes. which means no more grey's after this season. i'll have to start waiting for seasons on dvd and stop reading some of your blogs on mondays. it makes me sad, but dude, it's like 50 bucks a month.

i'm back arnold.

but i still don't have time to update! i have one extremely raunghy kitchen and two embarressingly filthy bathrooms. along with one empty fridge, two hungry stomachs and three loads of potential laundry. ah, vacations....

things in order of importance. backwards.

so i DO have some pictures coming. i'm hoping to get a site together, so you guys can order prints if you like anything...hopefully will tackle that when we get back from virginia. also have to pack still. and no time to pack lunch. what to eat?
also will miss everyone! although nobody's been updating lately so i most likely won't miss much...what? is everyone too busy for the internet? prioritize people, please.

google is evil

saturday 5:00 pm
have finally had car oil changed since i have terrible habit of forgetting things like that and letting engines seize. v. good. although in the process (of waiting for car) have managed to purchase pair of black linen pants, because one can never have too much black, especially in the summer. v. bad.

sunday 5:00 pm
am laying on back deck in bathing suit whilst drifting off to sleep in warm sun.

sunday 7:00 pm
hurray! have started unpacking summer clothing and rediscovered wonderful summer fashions. also found whole box full of shoes. AND did not toss shoes previously assumed to have tossed. all is right in the world.

monday 6:00 am
hit snooze button.

monday 6:19 am
fine. am out of bed. should NOT have stayed up to watch Grey's lastnight. v. bad idea. so tired. stupid gym.

monday 9:15 am
work. only three days until mini-vacation! had dream about missing flight.