9.

one of the girls in my nursing class decided that nursing isn't for her as of right now.  she also decided that she missed her husband, who had to move for work while she has been in school.  so she withdrew and is moving to key west.

i will miss her, but i'm glad she did what was going to make her the happiest.

our small study group, i guess you could call us, for lack of a better term, met up for dinner to see her off, and this was what i saw on my long drive to the restaurant.

8.

oni still loves to go on my deck.  i think they only call them "patios" here.  after the time where she jumped/fell off the "patio," i didn't let her go out without a leash on (which, in hindsight, would probably have just strangled her until her collar slipped off her head, if she jumped again).  and then i didn't let her go out unless i was out with her.  and then i let her out for 2 minutes.  then 5.  then 10.

we're working on gaining trust.

she's doing ok.  which is what leads me to believe that she was just "craning" and fell right off.  she doesn't seem in a hurry to do it again.

anyways.  the other day it was super cloudy and drizzly - it looked like england.  i sat out on the deck-patio with oni and we thought to ourselves how weird, yet nice, it was that it was 72 degrees in February, even in the rain.  well, that's what i thought.  oni thought about eating the birds that sit in the tree and tease her.

math

texas may or may not be rubbing off on me, just a tiny bit...

_____________________________________

i had a take home math final.  it had conversions on it.  for drugs.  i'm so good at them.  even though i failed the first test of the semester, which was a math test.

catch:  anything less than 100% was failing.

it's possible that i've already mentioned that...

anyways.  i brought home my test to work on.  and i was talking to pj on skype.

me:  want to do some math?
pj:  what kind of math?
me:  it's conversions.  it's my take home pharm final.
pj:  you're cheating??????
me:  NO I'M NOT!  I DON'T EVEN NEED HELP!  I THOUGHT MAYBE YOU WOULD WANT SOME MATH PROBLEMS TO DO BECAUSE YOU LIKE MATH AND YOU'RE BORED!

or something like that.

me:  but do you want to compare answers still?

and then we did math.  but didn't cheat.  i only told her my answers.  she didn't tell me hers.  she only told me if she agreed.

7.

ruthie and i have dedicated our fridays to hiking.  this photo is from a 7 miler.

the last time we went, we made it 15 miles, and could barely function by the time we got to the car.  all we could talk about was food and bubble baths.  it's kind of exciting, though, to push yourself and your body, and discover what it can do for you.

6.

do you see that big white truck in the left-ish corner area?  do you see that that big white truck has a spoiler?  a truck.  with a spoiler?  what?

this was when i was driving home after a downtown clinical at 6 30.  it took ages.  this stop-go traffic is infuriating.

when i want to go to HEB (aka the grocery store) for some ice cream carrots at 5 30, i want to get there in 7 minutes like usual, spend 5 minutes inside, and get back home in 7 minutes like usual.  but if i go anywhere, really, between 4 and 7 (or even between 6 and 8 30 in the morning, maybe even 9 30), it takes three times as long.  i hate to admit it, but i miss the days of a 10 minute rush hour - the one where it takes 17 minutes to get home instead of 12.

ruthie is weird. but awesome.

after ruthie i went hiking the last time, we went to an estate sale.
ruthie says she likes estate sales because it's like "legal voyeurism."
she also says we should write a book and it can be called "hiking and voyeurism."  which sounds really creepy.  but it would be funny because it would be about going hiking and going to estate sales.

this could be the cover.  and then on the back there could be another photo looking in a front door, or a window or something, of an estate sale.

5.

i have these really fantastic shelves in my apartment - the one thing that actually gives this place a little character.  other than the ugly ceiling fan in my bedroom.  in 110 degree weather, that thing exudes sweet, sweet ch[air]acter.  (see what i just did there?)

now that i'm halfway done and only have about 6 months left (i know!), i'm wondering why i brought as much stuff as i did.  but at the beginning of 15 months, month 15 feels really far away.  so i guess i can see where i was coming from, but still.  maybe i'll have an estate sale at the end and just sell Everything.  and by everything i mean the 3 things out of 100 that i came here with that i could actually live without.  i'm working on my attachment-to-objects issues, people, so calm down.

puzzle time

if you have a mac computer, there is a secret thing you can get.  it is fun.  and time consuming.  and free.
ok, i'll tell you.
it's called jigsaw galore free.
look it up, but only if you never want to do anything productive with your life, ever again.
i told my sister about it.  because she has to be awake in the nighttime, you know.  so i thought i would help her out.
now she's just making me look bad.
she does a whole entire puzzle in 14 minutes.  i do a whole entire puzzle in 364 minutes, no joke.
because she's so "high functioning" in the puzzle world, her puzzles get bumped up to 500 pieces, from  oh, probably 100.
i am not a high functioning puzzler, so i get to stay at 100 pieces.

4.

today is a 2-a-day.  how could it not be??

i know, i know.  it's not very artsy, or anything.  but this puzzle was an accomplishment!  it took me months!  mostly because i put saran wrap on it all and pushed the table into the corner of my bedroom and put clothes all over it.  but still.

ruthie came over a few times and we had puzzle time together, because she also loves puzzles.  she's also way better at them than i am.  so that was nice.  i probably did 1/3 of the puzzle and she did the other 2/3, and in half the time.

3.

i'm babysitting.  this is myrtle, which i'm sure you all know.  actually this is myrtle the phoenix.  see all that black in the bottom of the pot?  those are her ashes.  and she is somehow, somehow growing out of them.

when i got back from wyoming, the plants that needed to be babysat (while the world traveller is away) were looking quite sad.  myrtle especially.  as she was dead.  so i called the world traveller and confessed (since i wasn't even the one to kill her, since i was in wyoming), and she told me to just chop everything off and water water water.  so i did.  and apparently it worked.

myrtle is immortal.

but right now, not in a really good. way.  my apartment doesn't get a lot of direct light, which is what myrtle likes best (as long as it's not too hot), and so she is very long and spindly, as you can see.  she's like voldemort (voldemorte?).

she is voldemyrtle.  she's immortal.  but while she lives off my soul (aka my watering can),  she's just a shadow of her true self.

v-day friends

i used to think i didn't like valentine's day.  those were the days when i didn't want a silly boyfriend, but i wanted to get flowers and chocolates, because that's what everyone else did.

but i like it these days.  and i even like having a silly boyfriend, believe it or not!  

sometimes i like to make valentines.  

this year, i copied (sort of) a pinterest i found, and made some little v-day friends.  

i like them.

2.

i know you're not supposed to put photos of your home on the internet, because it could make you more susceptible to robbers and such (not that it stopped me before, or before, or before, or all the other times - you can look them up yourself, because i don't live there anymore), but i like this little section of my wall.  which could be in my kitchen.  or my living room.  or my office.  (do i even have an office?  you don't know!)  or my bathroom.  or my bedroom.

the giant awesome keys are from when i went to the renaissance fair with sara.  i love skeleton keys.  i just learned that skeleton keys are just any old fashioned key.  i always thought skeleton keys were the keys that opened every door in the house...  the things you learn in nursing school.  although i think i actually learned that from my mamacita.

the map is of san antonio.  because the roads in this city are so messed up.  i still get lost, after living here for, oh, nine months.

1.

ok.  it's starting.  my life in photos is restarting.  i took my first photo on the second of february.  and i'm going to take one every day until the first of february.  i might not post them every day though.  but i started to take photos before i started posting, so i can stay on top of things.  i'll try not to lie if i fail again...!


for my first photo, i brought my camera when i went to the mad hatter to study, because i wanted to be official.  no phone camera funny business.  because that's just too easy.  but.  i discovered on my little nature walk through the most beautiful houses and gardens in san antonio that my camera battery was plugged in at home.  and i left my phone on the table at the coffee shop.
so my first photo is a bit of an artistic bust.  but it is a little window into one of my favorite coffee shops to go to.

this coffee shop is a full restaurant, and features LOOSE LEAF TEA.  i know!  pj and i had brunch here, with goblet sized mimosas.  it was fantastic.  but we had to take a long walk afterwards, so we could be sober enough to drive home.

my other favorite coffee shop is a coffee shop slash wine bar.  so it gets a little noisy on thursday and friday nights when you're trying to study.  actually it gets noisy every night, i think.  i like to study there during the day.  it's called candlelight, and has to live up to its name by mainly using candles to light the place.  little tricky to study there sometimes....

letter to 8 year old me

i watched this one on one of the dreamy blogs.

________________________________________

dear 8 year old self:

i know you cried when you asked for spaghetti and meatballs for your birthday after you took one bite and realized it was turkey burger.  ewwwww.  you probably looked really snobby and spoiled.  but i guess it was your birthday, and you shouldn't have to eat healthy grossness on your birthday.  sometimes moms forget these things.  it's not their fault.  they do make the best chocolate orange birthday cakes in the whole wide world.

but try not to worry.  some day, when you're really old (like as old as your "when i grow up" assignment in school, where you're going to be married and have 3 kids and be an art teacher, or pilot, or whatever was the career choice of the day at that point), 25 whole years old, you will try turkey burger again and find that it really is as delicious as your mom told you it is.

the trick is to go to your favorite tea house slash bistro and order their special of the day, which is a feta thyme turkey burger.  you can even get it with salt and vinegar chips, which you will also grow to like someday.  will the surprises never cease??

when this happens (i know you don't believe me, but it will), make sure you tell your mom so she can gloat and tell you how moms are always right, and she knew it all along.  because she deserves it.  after you made her look practically abusive for crying in front of everyone on your birthday (at least, that's how you will remember it when you're old as dirt).

love,
your very very very old dinosaur bones self

hair adventures

apparently the movie les miserables just came out.  i have seen the musical, and it's pretty fantastic.  i found this little gem when i was...working really hard on things.  it's pretty impressive.  watch it when you have time, because it's worth watching the whole thing.

_____________________________________

so yoga.  is hot.  and awesome.  and sweaty.  as in, just jumped in the pool, dripping on the floor, sweaty.  so hot and sweaty that you must shower afterwards (which is a given after working out).  and you must wash your hair.  because it is also drenched and sweaty and gross.


those of you who know me very well know that i only like to wash my hair every few days.  originally this started because i liked to sleep in until 15 minutes before class, get up and get ready in 5 minutes, and then ride my bike for 5 minutes to school, and get there 5 minutes early.  (that was the plan, anyways.  sometimes i was 5 minutes late.  or so...)

but then, my hair started to feel and look really nice once it got used to my laziness.  and my scalp stopped being so wyoming dry.  and i didn't have to blow dry/straighten/blah blah blah my hair every single day.


back to yoga.  all this showering is getting rough on my hair.  i don't want it to get untrained and need shampoo every day.  because it's healthier when it doesn't get shampoo every day.

so, i tried something, that i think is going to turn out amazing!  i once read a fancy article about washing your hair with no shampoo.  you just use baking soda and vinegar or lemon juice.  everyone is so grossed out by it, but honestly, it can't be any grosser than going 3 days without washing your hair right?  ok scratch that.   it can't be any grosser than working on a fire for a week with ash and dirt and grossness in your hair.  and i survived that.

my hair is still wet from my shower, but it combed surprisingly easy, and feels fine as of right now.
i'll let you know how it turns out.

you know who you are.

happy valentine's, valentine. 

______________________________________________

don't worry if we're billions of miles away this year.  next year you can take me out and buy me fancy gifts!  or just make me a valentine.  i like those too.

i'm a yogi bear! as in yoga, yogi. not picnic basket, yogi.

did i ever mention that i started doing bikram yoga?  i got a groupon a while ago.  and then put off going, because it's always a little scary to go the first time by yourself.

and then in december, maybe, i went and almost died.  it's 90 minutes of 105 degree weather.  they told me my goal for my first time was just to stay in the room.  and that was a lofty goal, not even kidding.

so i didn't go again until after i went home for winter break.  when i came back i planned to go about 3 times a week.  but i put it off and so had to go for 4 days straight the last week before my groupon expired.  of course, i didn't want to waste my money so i made myself go every day.

i was so dreading the last week.

and then, suddenly, on day 3, it turned from torture to therapy.  it was amazing.  i felt amazing.  i started figuring out the postures.

day 4 was even better.  it even started to feel cool.  i seriously wondered if they turned the heat down.

so i bought a membership.  and i got a discount because it was january.  and because i was on the last day of my groupon.  and because i'm a student.  and now i get to go whenever i want.

i'm working on doing many days in a row again.  and i think i'll keep going for a while.  i had a rough day at school the other day and was all mopey and didn't even try to drink a lot of water because i was too pouty to go to yoga.  then i woke up from my nap and wanted to go, because it seemed like it would make me feel better.  and it did!

the only thing is, is that i'm finding it hard to fit in my running....have to work on that, i guess.

so here is one of the poses and how it's supposed to look:

and here is how i look (plus a little bit of torture on the face):

but it's cool, because no matter how much you do, they still say you're awesome and that you're benefitting, because "you're trying."

they should probably be motivational speakers on their days off.

this may or may not be getting out of hand.

for some reason i have been thinking about this one lately.

________________________________________

remember that time i had this revelation about dreamy blogs?

well, it reminded me how i have always been this firm believer in expression.  therapy is good.  talking is good.  writing is good.  heck, crying is good.

i survived my "traumatic" adolescence by writing in a journal and even in a poetry journal.  yes, i wrote devastating, woe-is-me, 13 year old poetry.  and i wasn't bad at it, either.  when i was brave, i would submit it for young author's competitions in school, and win almost every time (not bragging, just stating facts, kids.).

and then i guess i got busy.  i got distracted.  yes, i would use my journal when something bad happened.  like a bad grade or a fat day or a broken heart.  but my journal became less of an every day occurrence, and more of a record of all the bad things that happened to me.  i didn't use my writing and expression as "preventative maintenance" anymore, but as a quick escape when the stress became too much for my body to handle.

which is fine.  because at least i was decompressing somehow.  but a little sad, too.

it's like anything else, i guess.  it's so easy to get out of the habit, and then you lose your "skills."  maybe it's like working out, and i'm out of writing shape.

guess i'll just have to get back in shape...

the rise of the pprl.

i didn't want to have to do this.  but i'm being forced.  by peer pressure.  ish.

because of peer pressure (ish), i am now using peer pressure to make my mamacita start using her blog again.  if you go to the peer pressure ring leader's blog, you will find a similar post.

we are ganging up on you, mommy, so you start using your blog again.  you know you want to.  so we are helping you.  through peer pressure and ultimatums.  in the nicest possible way.

the pprl's (peer pressure ring leader) blogs stop on friday.  luckily, i have been very kind, and have given you a week before mine have to stop.  so hurry up and make some bloggies, because i have finally become a professional and have some posts stored up for the next couple of weeks.  and i really want to use them!  but i have to do what the pprl says.

aren't you proud of your daughters?  hahahahaha

hiking friends

a song introduced to me by itunes, surprisingly.

_____________________________________

when i was still new to texas, i got invited hiking.  i was so nervous, because i barely knew these kids, and it was hot out, and all sort of other reasons that i can't remember.

it was probably 90 or 100 degrees out.  and surprisingly, i wasn't the one who was dying.  noe, the one from hawaii was dying (surprise, surprise!).  so we went for a shortish hike and then swam in the river.

and it was the beginning of ruthie's and my hiking friendship.  last week we did a 14.5 miler!  it was fantastic, and horrible, all at the same time!

ruthie's husband, ruthie, and noe

all of texas's trails look the same.  i have no sense of direction in this place.

don't let those nice little flowers fool you.  it was no fresh spring day.  it was boiling, boiling, heatstroke summer.

modern day georgia

i have listened to a few of her songs, for a while, but just recently realized how many albums she has out...

___________________________________________

sometimes i like to pretend to be georgia.  but with a camera instead of a paintbrush.
her flowers are fantastic.

i probably shouldn't show you her paintings, because they might make my photos look bad!


anyways.
my christmas cactus just bloomed a couple days ago.  it has bloomed every year since my mama gave it to me.  this year it's a little late (it usually blooms in november) and the flowers are completely different.  usually they are bright coral.  this year they are a pale, pale salmon.

when i was getting my camera out so i could be georgia, i dropped it and used my cat-like reflexes (which i have acquired since living with oni - i think she's sharing her powers with me.  she must like me.)  to catch it.  and this is the photo that was the result:

for some reason, it had a nice feeling to it.  so i thought i would keep it.  and display my personal chaos.


and now for the real, on purpose ones:

look how pale!

see-through petals

i like the little hot pink bits at the center

i guess mine aren't quite as close-up as georgia's, but you have to admit, they're not bad!

sisters are mostly good at helping you

my sissy sometimes helps me with important things, like bloggie technique.

me:  since i'm supposed to be studying, blog inspiration struck
pj:  naturally.  i saw today's.
me:  you did?! so what do you think?  should i be more dreamy?  dreamier?  more dreamier?
pj:  i like what you do.  it's very you.  strangely cat lady.  particularly when you talk about major grammatical mistakes, when you never capitalize anything.
me:  huh.  so, keep it light on the feelers?
pj:  maybe you can talk about how you feel about major league baseball.  or carnations.
me:  hahahaha
pj:  you don't have to tell the world all your innermost secrets.  some people do because they're natural sharers.
me:  i see....

thus, a major self discovery has been made!  i am not a 'natural sharer.'  i am mysterious and interesting.  and cat lady-ish....

and not even a normal cat lady.  but one with a crazy, chemically imbalanced (or something) cat...!

i want to be dreamy. in blog form, that is.

i've been reading a few blogs lately.  and i want to be like them.
not them, them, but i want my blog to be like theirs.
dreamy pictures, dreamy writing, dreamy feelings.
and i don't know how.
the pictures, the writing, anything.

i just know how to procrastinate when i should be studying.

___________________________________

dreamy food
dreamy baby
dreamy feel

___________________________________

here is my attempt at dreamy study procrastination photography:

i've just realized the trick is talking about feelings.  they all talk about their feelings.  and, well, i'm not as romantic as all that, i guess.  

feelings are for talks with moms over lunch, or a london fog and a latte on the couch.  feelings are for drives with dads when you talk about what you want to be when you grow up.  feelings are for sisters when they don't let you move in with them to save a few dollars because they would rather get along with you (and not have their apartment trashed - however innocently and unintentionally - while they are away).  feelings are for snuggles with boyfriends who make you watch western movies that you are pretty sure you hate, but then end up enjoying. 

feelings don't feel comfortable on the internet.

but maybe they should?

and anyway, feelings are not romantic.  are they?  

i don't even know why i said that.  but it reminded me of a time when i was young and naive, and i thought that i was in love with rash displays of romance.  but when a neighbor i had coffee with once started bringing me [ugly] flowers, and mixed cd's, and leaving notes on my bike, i changed my mind.  maybe weirdo neighbor is the one who ruined feelings on the internet for me.

maybe along with my 100 blogs in a year, i can work on being more feel-y, too.  and not to get too big headed with my goals, but maybe i could try my "year in pictures" goal again, too.  remember?  i think i made it about a month last time...  it's hard when you're busy.  but i think it's like working out.  it's just something you have to make time for.