so, here’s something you might not know about me:  i’m completely addicted to watching…

i know, i know.  but i just can’t help myself.  thank heaven for hulu!  since i don’t have any use for cable, i generally don’t have to patience to keep up with when t.v. shows air.  if i couldn’t have this show queued up, i’d never see it.  and i’m totally in love with the transformations. 

**spoiler alert for those who aren’t currently caught up on this season!!**

my favorite contestant this season, sam, got voted off last week, which made me sad.  but it was okay, because he reached his goal weight on the ranch.  and i was totally right–he and stephanie did have a thing going!  it’s pretty darn adorable.  if grad school doesn’t work out, i’m totally moving to l.a. so i can make them my neighbors.  maybe i can convince them to become vegan, and then i’ll be their personal chef.  the only catch is that i’ll have to somehow finagle lex out of his recipe for raw sauce, because that would be the key to winning their stomachs.

yes….mwuhaha, this plan is coming together!

if only hulu had all the old episodes of space ghost coast to coast, i’d be much better at villainous plotting…
oh, yeah, that’s what adult swim is for!

lol, nah.  really, i just like to watch that show.  and since i feel like pure, total utter crap today, i’m stuck curled up around myself in bed, killing time by watching through my hulu queue.  i hate being sick

oh well.  maybe i’ll feel better later.

the end.

so, this is totally random and quick, but i got an etsy convo this morning that another of my items had been featured in a treasury.  this time, it’s a black, white and red treasury and the item of mine is my “nevermore” cuff, seen here:

if you’d like to visit the treasury, here’s the link.  i’m not sure how long it will be open, since they run on limited time frames, but hopefully some of you can get a click or two in!

http://http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4be91b89d0198eefad15bf68/i-like

have a great day, everyone!  i’ll see you again soon.

so, last week, i introduced lex to a little pop culture from my (unfortunately no longer quite so recent) past.

behold:

empire records:  15 years ago, it prompted a still on-going search for the perfect skirt and boots combo.
happily, the weird, short sweater isn’t my thing.

don’t know how many of you were/are fans of the movie, but when our local blockbuster was going out of business, i snatched up a copy for a whopping three bucks.  i am totally proud of it.  the movie is much sillier and less angst-y than i remember.  this is probably the mental product of more than a decade of far moodier movies under my belt.

i knew all the lines.  and all the music.  and i had the soundtrack.  and i’m pretty sure that my snark was initially formed by renee zellweger’s character.  (i have since, of course, developed and fine-tuned my sarcasm to into an exquisite, determined art.)

there are still phrases that i say from it all the time, which kind of amuses me–mostly because i’d forgotten where they came from.  each time one came up in the movie, i just giggled to myself and thought, “ahh.  now i remember!”

anyway, enjoy the 1990′s throwback tune, if you’re into the whole music thing.  i leave you with simply this:

“damn the man.  save the empire!”

so, i have this daily planner that i made–some of you might remember the post about it earlier in the year.  when i made it, i put times in the layout, but after going to the hostel, it just became my *to do* and *ta da!* list.  each day i fill the left column up with things i need to do, and hope that (by the end of the day) my right column will be full of all the things i’ve done.  i even use a *brightly colored pen* to congratulate myself on my accomplishments.

there’s only one small problem: 

i always think i can squeeze far more in a day than is humanly possible. 

because of this, i end up with these little stacks of things that are left undone.  like today.  currently on my desk is a pile of stuff waiting to be taken to my post office appointment when i get my passport done.  then there’s a stack of financial things that i need to look over, balance, and file for my business. 

and there’s a stack of stuff that my dad gave me that needs to be filed in my box of personal records.  and there’s a bag of stuff waiting for the arrival of the second fender amp jewel to complete a project i’m working on for lex.  there’s also a lint roller that’s in desperate need of a refill (the cats are shedding their winter coats and my favorite color to wear is classic black.  this does not a pretty outfit make.)  there’s also a pair of earrings that’s one jump-ring away from being wearable.

since i don’t have the space to devote one room solely to a studio, my desk is my creative haven!  it shouldn’t be piled up with all this nonsense all the time.  it makes me creatively antsy. 

when it all comes down on my head, i have a day like today.  where i put all of the things on the desk in my *to do* column and sort them out, distributing them elsewhere in the hopes of conquering my creative space and making it my own once more.

dear the next house i inhabit:  you’re going to have one heck of a creative space . 

and a loft.  you have been warned.

it’s just one of those days.

but i did get to see ryan for a few minutes right after lunch, so that was awesome!

alright, it’s back to work for me, but i’ll try to get back around soon with more interesting things to say.  hope you’re all having an awesome day!

so, it’s mother’s day.  and while i’m not huge into the commercial aspect of the day, i did my duty as a daughter and forked over the $4.00 per card for my mom and ninja.  we took them to sunday brunch (a meal at which there is literally nothing available for me to consume, lol) and sat and talked and celebrated their mommy-ness.

one of my favorite pictures of my mom and nit together

as i was sitting, enjoying their company, i thought that it might be nice to rifle through nit’s old photos and come up with a collection of the two of them.  so i compiled a list, scanned them in, cut them down, and now present them to you.

well, this explains my love of the florida sunshine and vintage sunglasses

juanita, nit, second mom, ninja, jo.  she goes by all sorts of names and has worn many other titles.  typist, magazine copy and layout editor, first lady of the ft. lauderdale orchid society, professional cake decorator.  throughout her life, my grandmother has managed to take care of us all, keep everyone in line, and do some wildly impressive stuff for herself, as well.  it’s always fascinating for me to think of her wheeling and dealing with the big boys in south florida society through the 60′s and 70′s.  she made cakes for various famous families–the first wedding, the fourth wedding, all the kids from each marriage… the woman even has an orchid named after her.  my grandfather managed to create his own pedigree of the vanda eisensander and named it “juanita”.  what more could a lady ask for?

mom, nit, and my great-grandmother (and name-sake), ella lousie

i love this shot of my mom.  it just seems so glam to me.  plus, i had a 1971 beetle as my first car, too.

barbara, barbie, lady j, mom.  following in her own mother’s footsteps, she’s blazed quite a trail on her path through life.  savvy and bold, my mom has never had a problem speaking her mind or leading the way.  she spent twenty-two years teaching in the inner-city school systems in south florida, watching the drop-out rates shoot through the roof.  she presented and helped institute the still-maintained drop-out prevention programs used there to better the chances of success for inner-city and immigrant youth.  after our move northward, she continued her service in an entirely different field, and became the backbone of the elderly outreach programs at the church where she was employed.  now, well into her much deserved retirement, she still visits the elderly and shut-in members on a regular basis and volunteers with the area hospice thrift stores.  she also managed, after being told that kids were no longer an option, managed to carry and give birth to wonderful me .  and she didn’t tear out all of her hair while raising my brother and me, so that must speak to something!

thanks, mom, second mom, and all the gals out there who’ve made the people i care about who they are today. 
let’s be honest:  without you, we wouldn’t be here.

so, normally i would have a lot more to blather on and on about, but this week has been kinda ho-hum. 

i don’t even really know how i can say that, when i’ve been so crazy busy with work.  i guess i really haven’t been taking the time to discuss my new works so much as just listing pictures.  so, since i’ve put myself up to this whole *daily amusements* challenge, i suppose i should at least chronicle it a little bit–if for no other purpose than to have a personal record of my travels through the vast terrain of arts and crafts.  so, here’s a little bit about this self-imposed challenge, and a little bit more about the most recent thing i’ve made. 

if you’re not into arts and crafts, then just skip the posts about my work.  but remember, come the holidays, i have some pretty sweet deals in my shop.  and if you’re nice to me, you might get promo codes for discounts.  because i’m cool like that

*daily amusements*

several posts back, i mentioned the skull-a-day challenge that had me in raptures over the awesomeness of daily creations.  in short, this artist determined to make a different skull representation every day for a year.  three years later, the project is still going strong and has birthed a second generation of fan submissions and a book!

i’m not interested in all the fanfare of that, but i am totally intrigued by the idea of constantly trying out different techniques and learning about new mediums.  so, i decided to take on my own artistic challenge and create something new each day.  sure, i could go the very easy route and do a different piece of jewelry or something, because i can make jewelry all day long.  but i want to push myself outside of my creative comfort zones.

so, instead of cranking out a year of earrings and bracelets, i’m working in polymer clay, paper, and fabric.  and that’s just the beginning!  who knows?  by september, maybe i’ll be welding sculptured lobsters and casting antique teapot replicas.  i just want to learn and grow as an artist.  and so far, i’m loving the challenge. 

yesterday, i finished this:

hand-sewn hibiscus sunglass case

while i’m really excited about it and proud of the way it came out, i am totally reminded just how long it takes me to sew things by hand, because i am not an entirely accomplished seamstress.  now i know that is one of the skills that i’d like to cultivate a little more during the challenge.

there are lots of other things that i’d like to try, and thanks to my mom (and my own habits of perusing the vintage craft books at the endless thrift stores that i visit) i have no short supply of idea sources.  i’m excited just thinking about the books that i’ve stockpiled and then left behind, thinking, “oh, i’ll never get around to trying that.”

now’s my chance!

so look forward (if you’re into crafty things) to my romps and follies when it comes to all things handmade.  and if you’ve got any ideas, i’m glad to hear them out.

for now, though, i’m getting back to work.

have a great afternoon, everyone!

so, lex and i took out our gear again yesterday in another of our grand schemes to become big-time, honest-to-goodness, long-distance backpackers.  this time, we did a huge stint…of 2.1 miles, lol. 

a view from one of the clearings

nah, really we only had a little time to hit the woods, so we went out to dreher and hiked the longest of their trails.  despite the short distance, the trails have amazing views to offer and lots of animals to keep you company.  we’d hardly pulled any distance into the park before we saw two deer!  and the squirrels out there are straight up ridiculously hyper!  i swear they must be some sort of flying squirrel hybrids–they could really move!

lex, being an adorable nerd

the weird thing about winding in and out of the trees and along the banks was the bizarre echo of the water lapping at the shore.  it resounded off the trees and made things just a teensy bit spooky.  i wouldn’t have been thrilled about being there after dark.

creepy-awesome tree on our way out of the woods

the trails themselves are gorgeously maintained, but the area offers lots of opportunities for a couple of quasi-noobs like us to off-trail…just a little, lol.  my favorite part of the evening was how wonderfully windy and hilly the area is.  the changes in elevation are eventual torture with a full pack, i’m sure, but for the short trip we took, they made me feel like nothing short of a master explorer.

i’m totally rockin’ that trail gear

here are a few more shots lex and i snagged on our trek:

i think i’m going to go grab some dinner, so i’ll catch up with you guys later!

if i don’t see you again soon, have a great evening

coming soon to a village star near you…

little known fact:  ninjas make excellent house pets

so, you know that you’ve officially crossed some border-line when even your mom kinda thinks you’re a dork when you tell her that one of the best things about your week so far was getting your blog post featured on xanga.

now that my mom thinks i’m a dork, i’m hanging with a dope new crowd

here’s how that phone conversation went:

yep.  my hobbies are now so *out there* when it comes to my mom that she doesn’t even have the ability to formulate a better description than “neat.”

that’s okay, because i love it!

i know i’m just a baby when it comes to the whole xanga thing, so forgive my unreasonable levels of excitement and enthusiasm. 

thanks for reading.  it really does help make my day!

so, in my on-going vegan culinary adventures, this week has brought forth a few new dishes that have been pretty much awesome. 

lex and i are slowly working our way through the 30-minute vegan, as i’ve previously mentioned, and made two more recipes from it.  forgive me for not having the exact titles correct at the moment…i’ll check the cookbook tonight at lex’s and made the edits, i promise.

stuffed portobellos (almost forgot to take a picture, so this is the one bite that was left, lol)

southwestern asparagus and corn

also, i made my own baked potato chips:

sea salt, cracked pepper, and a dash of dill = delicious!

here are a few other shots from earlier this week:

orchids in the living room

peony on the kitchen table

sunset from lex’s apartment

well, that’s all the excitement i have to offer right this minute, so i have to get back to work–but no worries!  i’ll see you guys again soon.