Alice in Hyrule

my darling and i went to the frist last weekend to see the monet to dali exhibit. we saw pretty things, played in the family area (fabulous place for kids!), and were reprimanded for “taking pictures” of the art (which we weren’t…more later) by a subterranean troll woman.

love!:

kaleidescope touch screen pictures:

the “offending” picture:

the left page of the guest book is what you want to look at. i wrote the m <3 c and “i pwn noobs” but my darling husband, in a move classic to his character, went more abstract.

the “5″ was a representation of the fact that they make you wear a sticker with the date on it to signify you have paid. the phrase “i wish my heart had 5 atriums” is his oddball sense of humor. he’s studying diseases right now you see and has anatomy on the mind. another side effect of studying diseases manifests itself as a growing anxiety that you have every illness read about…which you then spend a good portion of dinner trying to convince your spouse, in graphic detail, that you do. lastly, as you may know, the heart has 4 atrium (no s needed to pluralize) or chambers which is what makes the wish for 5 that much more funny.

after the museum, we went to whole foods where we ate lunch, saw frodo baggins, and bought chocolate

a little bit of everything…and no where near as good tasting as it looks:

nasty lunch, but inspired me to make fried tofu that night:

EH MR. FRODO!:

yummy:

a visual representation of the consequences of opening carbonated water too quickly (warning, some material may be inappropriate for younger viewers:

i saw prettiness when looking at the sky on my walk to work:

the other day we had an incredible attack of fog:

so i made vegetable samosas and mattar paneer:

although the items are insanely expensive and i don’t see myself actually purchasing anything, this store has some amazing things like this and this and this

yankee candle company ceases to amaze me every season. this time, it’s their dune grass scent that has captured my heart.

some interesting things i overheard recently:

“you could fly this plane from atlanta to panama city beach on 42 pounds of potatoes”-random passenger behind me

“we have a redneck walmart in my town”-random person behind me at a training session for work

“piglet?…why…are you swimming…in the popcorn?” -pooh

dooce had a great link on her site recently. i had to repost cause it’s hilarious. baby care cartoons (enjoy!)

another attempt at art:

this was taken through a window. it’s like a ghost building outside

this is just plain funny. found this swept up in some leaves.

my “happy it’s almost spring” present from istopher:

so this last week i saw people that look like the following but i couldn’t get pics

it’s amazing how often i see people that look like they are from a piece of brian froud art.

i want to read this:

last weekend was amazing. i went indian crazy and made some amazing things. i found a great book at the library called the spice box and the recipes, unlike ones i’ve tried online, appear to be authentic and better yet, easy. here’s some of my goodies:
making naan

pea and potato curry (with our naan)

making paneer

matter paneer w/chipatis!

making ghee

blueberry tofu bars

the carrot

more pictures can be found at my flickr page.

i finished my wrist warmers!

the taupe sweater i was working on is being torn out. the size i made was way larger than i need. i’m tellin ya man, big needles are deceiving!
i’ve also decided to rip out my lys sweater and make something more simple from the yarn like the march basic. it would get more wear and with the little time i have to craft now it’s all about utility!

i can’t believe i’m going to say this, but we’re going to panama city beach for spring break. (?!?!) i know, right? well we’re actually going to visit mom as this will be our best chance to see her before we move to the other side of the world..err..country. so, i’m making her a yoga bag. out of fabric that completely personifies her.

yes…she is a bright orange kinda gal.

i have to say that when i look back on my life so far i’ve done a lot of things that i was at first sour that i’d never be able to do. i’ve been to europe (and then some), i’ve seen niagara falls, i’ve been to hawaii for christmas (malakaliki maka!), and coming soon, panama city beach for spring break. of course, if i were you i wouldn’t waste my time scanning mtv shows trying to catch me in a bikini. i might wear business suits now, but i’m still a little goth tart at heart. forshiz.

amazing recipe

i have the most wonderful husband in the world.  period.

no, it’s not what you think.

this is our new venture into adulthood…a real tv stand.

yummy dinner; salsa and black bean soup:

florida was great! it was a little cold the first couple days, but the last day was excellent. here’s a small photo story:

leaving my baby

grandpa, uncle don, aunt debi, mom, and grandma:

my favorite goat…i can’t resist the jheri curl

mom and i on HER dock…pretty view

STORY: we’re in the car on the way to the beach and mom says she thought about getting me a plastic shovel and pail so i could play. of course everyone laughed. i waited patiently for their laughter to die down and then informed my mother that my father in law had, in fact, given me a plastic shovel in both hawaii AND oregon. so there. the next thing i know, mom slams the breaks and hits a hard left into a store. “what are we doing mom?” “getting you a pail and shovel” LOL.

it’s a pretty sweet set. pail, shovel, sifter, boat, and um, watering can? i laid them on the beach side by side and asked my uncle don “which one of these is not like the others?” (tee hee)

no i didn’t make it, but check out the bride in the background! i didn’t get a picture of my sand creation because i had to run away from it quickly to see some dolphins, BUT, just so you know, it was a delicious looking banana split sand sundae.

mom, me, and uncle don finding shells:

STORY: mom told me stories about “re conning the head.” for several years i’ve heard about it and couldn’t quite understand what she was talking about, but i can now say that i have done so myself. i have re conned the head. the “head” is actually one of the sections of this amazing miniature golf course. the “head” is a replica of the easter island statues. evidently this is a privately owned facility which mom discovered one night with a friend and they decided to check it out. turns out that the “head” has stairs in it that lead to the very top which gives a great view of, well, down below. although we were in broad daylight, mom insisted that i re con the head with her ninja style. here’s our story:

“hey mom, how’d you get over there?”

“you have to climb the fence moe!” (note: although i could have just walked through the front, mom was adement that i go full ninja and told me i had to jump the fence. sweet isn’t it? mothers teaching their daughters to tresspass…so is the beauty of life…i am forced to rebel against the law to please my mother.)

there’s more stairs than you’d think

DUCK! there’s a helicopter!

hi grandma!

I AM NINJA!

so that was the reconnaissance mission. that course was amazing though. it boasted many a photo opt.

so my grandparents are pretty much the coolest old people on the planet. they still hold hands and kiss! lol! super cute.

so i’ve started a new section on my blog and it’s called “people who look like people.” ever see someone that looks a lot like someone else? i do. and i’ve started taking pictures. please note though that it is difficult at times to take someone’s picture without their knowledge, so please excuse the blurriness. oh yeah, and try to suspend disbelief. these are just people that i think look like someone. TIP: if you are having trouble seeing what i see, squint your eyes and shake your head slightly while you look at the pictures. here are my first submissions:

= todd packer from the office:

= mark twain:

= abe lincoln:

(for matt: “no, i didn’t say abe lincoln! i said HEY BLINKIN! hold the reins man. damn.)

the return <3

so the trip was great and i had a marvelous time.  my mom is awesomely awesome in a way that i never saw till this trip.  she rocks hard core!  and if you ever find yourself wondering how i got so cute:

recent good reads:

if you haven’t joined yet, you need to join www.shelfari.com and add me as a friend so i can get some more book suggestions! i’m mvelusc

here’s the first spittle from a baby on my shirt!

a total don’t look now moment:

will wonders never cease?:

special breakfast! i don’t know what got into him:

cheesy potato soup with soy bacon bits:

happy birthday kim kim!

i truly wanted to steal her daughter. she came into the office and while everyone was singing happy birthday to kim, walked over to me and said “i like your shoes” to which i replied, “i like yours too!” as she had on some really rad sparkely flats. the she smiled and hugged my legs. i could have cried it was so sweet. the rest of the party kind of went that way. she would come up to me and smile and hug me. at the end i told her i was taking her home so she grabbed around my neck and i pretended to take her out of the office. surprised at the lack of protest, she called my bluff and i took her back to her parents (but not before she was distracted by the candy dish and i held her up to choose her poison).

the most delicious chip ever (extra curly):

when i was little my grandma jones used to pick out all the curly chips in the bag and give them to me. she thinks i’m special!

a common occurrence in clarksville…with commentary:

i was waiting to get an oil change and was flipping though reality magazines. they have some really bizarre ways of advertising their product. for example:

here is a taste of just a few comments i had on this piece:

******************ADDENDUM**************

my ever so smart, darling, adorable, cleaver, witty, and not to mention miniaturized version of me, lauren, has pointed out the the following picture/diatribe combo is inaccurate as the dog in the following picture is actually a boxer, not a pit bull…but i’m leaving it in here for a few reasons.  first, to show that i am fallable.  yes, it can happen.  2, to show that even someone that knows a bit about dogs can get the breed wrong and therefore misreport events thus strengthening my argument.  and lastly, because i spent a while writing in and i don’t feel like deleting it.  so there.

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nothing says “buy property from me” like a pit bull:

i think that the lady just didn’t think about how pit bulls are viewed in society but just wanted to show that she is “just like you” and has animals. however, i must give her props for actually owning a pit bull. my mom thinks that they should be eradicated because she’s seen so many people hurt by them in the hospitals she’s worked at, but what most people don’t realize is that it’s not the pit bulls fault! there are a lot of shitey people in the world and some of them train these dogs to fight. the staffordshire terrior (pit bull) is actually one of the most loving and devoted breeds of dog out there. their attacks are due to their desire to please their owner.

aw..a schnauzer…that’s better.

my love dove got me monopoly for the pc since he has lost all the confidence he could spare loosing to me in RL. here’s what i did to the computer characters, just to give you an idea of how fierce i am.:

need a closer look?

my properties…this is what i do to my victi..err worthy opponents:

new pretty shirt:

made it from the same pattern as:

so flipping easy. i highly recommend it as an easy project for new sewers

i will make 1 item of clothing free for the first person who can leave a comment explaining why this is funny. hint: think about something i like and combine it with what this literally is. (oh, and these are soy if you were wondering…but that has nothing to do with the answer). think kids. think:

i finally joined wardrobe remix as i have been drooling over the site for weeks now. it will take a lot of dedication to keep it up as i need to get over the fact that i don’t generally like having my picture taken. but this shall pass as i know i am making a difference in the world by sharing my POV on fashion and accessories.

i can’t help it but i started 3 books and i am halfway through all of them. i keep trading off as i just can’t stay away from any of them for long enough to finish one.

the dark hills divide: the land of elyon: i read a couple chapters of this earlier this year and wasn’t taken. i picked it up again at a whim and have since fell in love with it. mostly i think this is due to the characters being close representations of the people i love so much in real life. most of the characters pick on each other relentlessly but there is no ill will and no one takes offense. that’s just their sense of humor. i dream of a time when i can have friends like this. i already do actually, but they are few in number and spaced out geographically. we need to get together and start a commune.
the book actually got me thinking a lot about why it is that people are put off by me. like i said, i like to pick at people, but i have realized that most people are very insecure and anxious about how they are perceived. any jibe, no matter how innocent plunges them into defense mode. i have not made them laugh but rather made them feel like they need to make sure they perform double time to counter act any possible damage i might have created by making those around us think badly of them. for example, once upon a time i met a girl and she asked me my major. i said psychology and she said, with a truly perplexed/disgusted face “WHY?” i could not help but to crack up. i thought it was hilarious. she laughed to and thanked me for getting her joke.
taking a cue from her, i met someone some time later and asked their major but this time when i asked the question “WHY?” with what i believed to be the same facial structure/vocal timing as my mentor, she became visibly insulted. i told her i was just picking at her but it was too late. she was insulted that i could possibly “challenge” her like that even if only in jest. the only thing more frustrating than this is that when people are one on one with me, they actually CAN take the jokes. it’s only when there are others around that my prods become “insults”

shucks. anyhow, so yeah, the characters in this book are fabbity fab.

the silver crown: this one is strangely addictive. a normal girl receives a crown on her 10th birthday then all hell breaks loose. i think it’s so interesting because it’s a modern (well, modern for the 60’s) story mixed in with seemingly ancient mysticism. but even the “older” feel is updated. think: baz luhrmann’s take on romeo and juliet. updated old style. me likey.

theodosia and the serpents of chaos: theo is an adorable chicka who is hella smarter than most of the adults around her. they all treat her like she can’t take care of herself but i find it strangely familiar that the adults are actually the ones that are being taken care of by her…it’s not like they can magic away ancient egyptian curses.

sorry, but i just couldn’t get into ender’s game. i like to think i’m pretty good at suspending disbelief, but a 6 year old that smart that isn’t an idiot savant? sorry, it’s just not in me.

i don’t know why i thought of this, but i would just like to get it out there that i really think it’s cruel and malicious for people to try to fool vegetarians into eating meat. i remember so many times where someone tried to tell me that the fleshy and/or stringy substance in the food they want me to eat is not meat. oh, here’s a great one: i once had a woman get really pissed at me because i wouldn’t eat her pasta that had bacon in it. she actually yelled at me declaring that bacon isn’t meat. maybe she believed that since bacon is smaller than one cm squared it doesn’t qualify? i don’t know, but what’s the deal really? maybe they believe that vegetarians are silly, but try to think about it from our perspective. would you like it if we tricked you into eating human flesh? there you go.

i would like to redact a very unfortunate mistake that i posted last week. i led you all to believe that i had a certain pez dispenser of a certain hero of mine.
turns out, it was actually his nemesis. the real iorek byrnison is here. in my care now. and here is what he thinks of the pez dispenser named iofur raknison:

coincidentally as it may seem, i “filmed” this battle while listening to the them from psycho.

pretty new fabric with which i mean to make many scarves for people i like:

gniochi con burro e parmigiano fresco:

halloween in full swing at my crib:

+ oven @ 350 degrees + 30 minutes=

i wish the camera did it justice, but it’s really nice! i think i’ll make another over winter break!

risotto parmigiano:

great books:

SARAH BARRA! HAPPY BIRTHDAY PRETTYNESS! YOU ARE MY FAVORITE MACHO NACHO!

ahem.

candy apple evolution

delicioso, but i have to say that this is the beginning and end of my candy apple making ventures. i am a caramel apple girl through and through. i should have listened to stephen colbert.

the best 2 remedies for a sore throat…a cute boy and orange sherbert (but not just any orange sherbert…it needs to be in push pop form):