I.AM.SO.NOT.MOTIVATED

The title of this post pretty much sums up how I've been feeling for the past few weeks.  I'm still blog-punishing myself... I don't know why, I'm just masochistic like that.

But I need to stop.  I apologize for my melancholy (but honestly, there are so many blogs out there where I feel like the author is always so happy, every second of the day... it makes me feel bad about myself, like something is wrong with me.  And part of what I want to do in my blog is be honest with who I am.)

So, maybe in an effort to show you who I am, I will show you who I am NOT:

• I am not happy 24/7/365 (but that doesn't mean I'm never happy, I'm only human... at least I think so, but I'm not exactly sure, my sister claims I'm not)
• I am most often not optimistic, though I try not to be pessimistic
• I am not a social being (that's why blogging is so attractive, I can hide behind a monitor until I'm comfortable enough to come out of my shell)
• I am not conservative in my beliefs (at.all.)
• I am not intolerant of other people's beliefs (which means I am tolerant of what others believe... just want to make sure that one is understood correctly)
• I am not tall (5'4")
• I am not super model skinny (in fact, I weigh 145 pounds, and am not ashamed to admit it)
• I am not a workaholic (obviously)
• I am not an alcoholic (haha, because it rhymes... sorry, poor taste?  oh well, we live...)
• I am not a natural dark brunette (I'm actually more of a light brown, dark blonde... which pains me to admit... not that blondes are bad, I just never realized how light my hair was until I started dying it dark)
• I am not a Christian (nor am I Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, Wiccan, or any other religion)
• I am not an Atheist either
• I am not sure where I am going with this post...

Okay, so this is getting hard to do what I am "not" so we're going to go to what I am now:

• I am the person who reads the plots to movies on wikipedia before (or while) watching the movie
• I am madly in love with my husband *wink*
• I am the proud mom of two adorable (and beastly) pups
• I am creative
• I am funny (at least I like to think so... I can laugh at myself, that counts, right?)
• I am known to be crabby and grumpy (especially when I am hungry... right husband?)
• I am a humanist
• I am a lover of all things Greek, elephants, and big words
• I am the opposite of athletic (for reals... I was the student that got all As in school EXCEPT for gym class... and yes I'm still bitter about it)
• I am fairly smart, but have my "duh" moments
• I am/was/always will be obsessed Josh Groban
• I am an existentialist

And I am and am not so many more things than just what I listed, but in an effort to be honest about who I am and not become some sort of "image" behind my blog, I thought I would divulge certain aspects of me that I hold dear, or that are weird, or honest, or funny.

So that's me, in a nutshell (not that I believe anyone can be reduced to a nutshell).  But back to those bloggers who are always cheery... perhaps that is just how they are and you know what, I admire them for that and I say good for you.  I just am not like that and cannot pretend to be like that on my blog, it wouldn't be truthful but I think it's cool if people are like that and it at least gives me something to strive for!

What are or aren't you?

And she's baaaaaaaaaaack.... (with a pseudo-tutorial-thingy-ma-doofer, aka a TU-TO-RU!!)

Hello again, my beautiful blog!  I have neglected you and for that I apologize; however I have realized something about myself in the interim (mmm... good word): I tend to punish myself when I procrastinate by neglecting the things I love to do, all because I feel sort of bad for not getting the things done that I need to get done (aka: work and school and life outside of blogging and creativeness--if that's even possible).

So here I am and hopefully I will never leave you again (or until something new and better comes along!!  I kid, I kid!).

For today's post (I am not going to do a WOMD--what's on my desk--because, let's face it, it's not that interesting, even though I like playing with picnik).  Instead, I am going to do a post on how I jujjed up my glasses case.  It's like a pseudo-tutorial without any real instructions and just pictures of me burning the bejeebs out of my fingers!

Let's begin my TU-TO-RU!! (totally calling any tutorials that from now own--WOOT!)

Here is my old case... it was a horrid and sickly mint green with a sort of textured surface that had a lot of dings in it (admittedly, I was not very nice to it, so it deserved a face-lift!).

 

There are no dimensions from the fabric since I kind of had to just pull this out of my you-know-what, so what I did was the old wrapping paper method where you put the present to be wrapped on the paper and fold it over two.five times or something and then cut.  It was all estimation, essentially.

And, yes, I named my glue gun (because I'm crazy like that). 

I got pretty mad about being burned, and to this day (I covered it about one.five weeks ago, I have a dark brown patch of skin on my middle finger).  I realize it does not look like anything in the picture, but trust me it hurt.

 

The transformation continues...

 

YUCK!  It was soooooo ugly and trashed!

 

Ruffles just enhance everything.  And, yes, I've personified my glasses too.  So sue me (or don't because I'm kind of broke).

And that is my tu-to-ru for the day!  I promise my next tu-to-ru will be MUCH better and have real instructions and supplies and everything!

Peace out!

And it's Monday...

I don't really have an interesting post for today, but I told myself that if I didn't post something that it would be the beginning of the end of my blogging.

I have blog posts in mind that I want to post, but they all involve a lot more time than just a spontaneous type-fest, like this is.  So, another day I will post those.

For today, I'm going to lament my strong dislike of Mondays.  And how really the weekend should be five days long and the work week two... if only.

Well, as you can see, I'm kind of in a glum mood, and you know what, I'm only human so I'm going to go with it.

I am excited because tonight the hubs and I will be going to Date Night at Bryant Lake Bowl with the sis and the bro-in-law-to-be (my sis, not the hubs).  That should be the bright spot of my day, as it should be.  Philosophical moment... perhaps we work so that we can enjoy the moments we have with our loved ones.  Still philosophizing... but why do we waste all that time away from our loved ones.  Sometimes it feels like a waste.  I wish I could spend every minute of the day with my husband. Okay, I'm sure we'd kill each other, but I sometimes wish I could spend the day-day with him and not just at night when we're both tired and worn out from the day, kind of crabby (if you're me), and just overall bums.  I vote for adding at least one, maybe two more days to the weekend... PLEASE!!

Anywho, I'm addicted to this website and their video tutorials.  Pixiwoo girls you inspire me to be creative!!

That's all for now!

What's on my desk Thursday!!

Hello!  And welcome back for this edition of "What's on my desk Thursday (formally known as Monday, probably will occur occasionally on whatever day I feel like it)."

First off, HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!!  I'm about half (or a little under, according to an argument I got into with my sister during Oktoberfest this past year about how German and how Irish we were) Irish and half German.  I just say that because it's easier than saying "I'm 76.2% German/Austrian, 23.4% Irish, and .3% French and .1% English."  So I round up, estimate, make it up, whatever.  In my family those were the only two heritages that we actually celebrated in some way shape or form.

At any rate, I'm Irish, somewhere down the line, so today I am honoring my Irish side by wearing green!!  (Side note: the hubs is not Irish, but he refused to put on a green tie today when I asked him too... he's a meanie-no-wearing-greenie-St. Patrick's-day-hater!)  I'm also wearing one of my favorite necklaces from Judith Jack (who makes some of the most beautiful, and expensive, jewelry).  My necklace is a silver, marcasite shamrock which I bought at a discount price because I worked at a store called Patina (local to the Twin Cities) that sold her necklaces.  (I loved working there, but I worked there along with having a full-time job and going to school and then Zach moved up and it just got really complicated, so I had to quit.  But I miss it!)  Anywho, here it is (and my green shirt):

I suppose my wedding ring is also Irish since it has a Celtic trinity knot on both sides.  (Note:  I tried taking a picture, but my phone is not so good with the close-ups, so here's a link to the ring.  We got it from a place called brilliantearth.com which is a totally sustainable and non-blood diamond online jewelry place.  I like it because everything is either recycled or retrieved through ethical origins.)

But this post is about what's on my desk today.

I also brought The Monster to work with me (I figured it was his turn since The Rat came yesterday)... I forgot how little I actually get done when he's here though... and you'll see why below.

That is what is on my desk today and why I get nothing done.  You see, The Monster is more than just demanding... he's a diva dog.  He has to sit on my desk and when he's on my desk I have to have at least one hand on him at all times.  If I'm petting him--Great, otherwise I can just rest my hand on him and he'll be fine.  But remove my hand and he gets VERY upset... he will "harumph" at me, and wag his tail furiously back and forth and paw his paws against the ground.  It's kind of cute, if you can get over the annoying part of it.

Yesterday The Rat literally just slept under my desk the entire day.  It was cute, and I could type with two hands, so YAY! to The Rat for being more well-behaved at work than Chico is; however, they totally switch when it comes to our house (The Monster is more well-behaved, and The Rat, well, she's just psychotic at home).

So more desk stuff:

Of course, I edited all of these with picnik again (love, love, LOVE it!).  I do this What's on my desk thing mostly so I can apply fun effects to the pictures in picnik... because who really wants to see my messy desk anyways!

My phone takes surprisingly good pictures for how cheap it is (we only get the FREE phones whenever we renew and my phones can get pretty jankity after awhile, especially if you are prone to the dropsies).  But this photo is a little fuzzy, probably too close up, but I wanted you to see The Monster's missing tooth!  He got his teeth cleaned in January (total rip-off) and they had to remove one of his front teeth and he looks so funny now (in a cute way though)!

My diva dog (and multigrain cheerios--YUM)!

And that's what's on my desk this today!!  I hope your desk is cleaner (and not as smelly) as mine is!!

Éirinn go Brách!!

Bring your puppy to work day!

I brought the Rat to work today... why?  Because it will wear her out and there is a professor in the Scandinavian department that just absolutely loves it when I bring my dogs in!  Plus, it's Wrigs' first time here (Chico frequently accompanies me in the summer/on breaks) and hopefully it will wear her out and she will sleep tonight (unlike last night)!

But, this post is actually about the craftiness that was my evening (yesterday).

After a stressed-out-break-down-extravaganza (aka me bawling after work because I'm overwhelmed between work and school), I crafted, because creating really just zones me out and calms me down.  My meditation=CREATION!!!  (Hmm... feel like there's a new word in there somewhere... "medicreatation" "medicreation" "meditatecreate"... I'll work on it)

So here is my evening in pictures:

It started out with the Rat being put in prison... she was being so naughty so I put her in the kennel for time-out!  And she looked so pathetic, but it was a great opportunity for pictures!

And the Monster felt left out (aka he was glaring at me from his perch on the back of the couch), so I took a couple pictures of him!

The Rat getting in the way of my new crafting (I was braiding those strips of fabric together, but she was getting in the way!)

Remember braided rugs!?!?  Anyone?!?!  Well, growing up we had (and I still think my mom has it in there) a braided rug in our bathroom.  And for a school project on colonialism one year I made a braided rug, which gave me this ingenious idea for a purse/bag handle!!

I was also inspired by this picture of a purse from Anthropologie (which means it is muy expensivo--and yeah, I just made that word up)!

Photo credit.

This fabric was just so pretty, I couldn't pass it up (and I want to go buy more and make some more fun stuff out of it!)

I like to find beauty, even in my scraps!  I think I took about 20 pictures of just the pile of fabric scraps, thread, and miscellaneous "junk"!  But it's so pretty and I don't want to throw it out (wasteful)... I think I might try to make some sort of art out of it.  That could be interesting!

And the finished product... almost!  I actually haven't sewn the straps to the bag yet (they are being held in place by pins).  Also, the finishing is terrible around the top and I forgot a snap (oh snap!).  But it is my first prototype... I think it looks a little too handmade, if that is possible.  Not sure if it's something I would try to sell, or better yet, if anyone would buy!  I really like the braided fabric as a handle though, so I'm going to work on it (thanks for the inspiration Anthropologie!)

Body shot! (yeah, I giggled to myself when I wrote that, and thought I was HIGHLY clever... dork)

And here is a little random pic of the hubs trying to scare me.  I hate it when he does that, but I caught him in the act.  Yes, he looks pretty psycho.  No, he's normally not... so far.

Almost done with my long post of pictures!  The last pic is of my zipper rosettes!  I've made two necklaces so far and I folded these ones the other night.  Can't decide if the purple ones will be earrings or if I will put it all together as a necklace.  I think the purple ones would kind of rock as earrings.  They are big, but not heavy!

Well that's all for today!

It's sunny and warm(er) here... WOOT!  (I see a walrus in Wrigley's future... "walrus" is our term for "walk" because they know what "walk" means, but haven't quite figured out "walrus".  It's the husband's creation.)

Puppies and Babies... is there a difference?

Since I named my blog after my monster/rat (the single entity that is my two dogs) I figured I should write about them every once in awhile!

Well, the longer we have had Wrigley (a little over a month now) the more and more I realize what it's going to be like when we have a kid.  Not that I think having a puppy is at all like a child, but I'm thinking more along the lines of how Zach and I will act when it comes to having kids.

Here's an example of a typical evening at our house:

Scene:  Kristi is in the kitchen, at the stove, cooking up some delicious eats for that evening's dinner.  Zach is in the living room (banished there by the evil chef Kristi because he just gets in the way and does not do things according to her standards; basically he's a nuisance) watching some sort of  sports broadcast talking about bracket this and bracket that and jump shots and field goals and pinch-hitters, yadda yadda ya.  The pups are rough housing, which involves Wrigley attacking Chico every time he comes near her bone, but then walking away when he walks away from it, but then immediately running back at him when he goes near it again.  This continues over and over and over and...

ZACH
Wrigley!  No! No! NO!  Ewwwwwwww!

KRISTI
*Sigh* Who threw up?

ZACH
Wrigley did!  Luckily I caught her before she got on the carpet and she threw up on the hardwood floor.

KRISTI
*Sigh*  Do you need me to clean it up?

ZACH
Well I'm holding her right now so she doesn't get at it, so yeah, can you come clean it up?

KRISTI
Suuuuuuure.

Scene:  Kristi is cleaning up vomit because Zach's job of holding the dog back is waaaaaaaaaaaay more important than picking up the icky, smelly dog throw-up.  This is nothing new to Kristi, she's a pro at picking up any and all sorts of dog messes.  Zach continues to make choking, hacking, vomit noises.  Chico and Wrigley go back to playing.

KRISTI
Okay, well I'm going to go finish dinner now.

ZACH
Do you want help?

EVIL CHEF KRISTI (a split-personality of the usually sweet and kind Kristi)
NO!  Keep your dirty hands away from my food!  You are not fit to fry a single item of food, let alone clean up dog vomit!  I banish you from these lands (aka the kitchen)!

ZACH
Okay evil chef Kristi, I was just trying to be helpful.  Yeesh!

KRISTI (unaware of the personality change)
What did you say, dear?

ZACH
Nothing, just go back to cooking.  Let me know when it's ready.

KRISTI
You know, sometimes I would like your help with the cooking.  Or at least cleaning up the vomit if it occurs when I am cooking.  It's not like I ask for much around here.

(They stare at each other for a moment, each thinking the other person is crazy.  But then their attention is distracted by Chico)

CHICO
*cough*hack*sputter*gag*cough*hackity*hackity*hack*sploooooooooooooosh*

KRISTI & ZACH (in unison)
Not again! 

ZACH
I'll get Chico.

KRISTI
I'll get the paper towel...

END SCENE
___________

We throw up.  A lot.

So yeah.  That is what it is like with two dogs.  Lots of vomit (that Kristi cleans up) and lots of Zach yelling from the other room to have Kristi come clean up the vomit.

I suppose it's a trade-off since he is the Holy Killer of Bugs.

Marriage.  It's a give and take.

                               

No Pictures, Just Words

Good morning!  Daylight savings is kicking me in the behind today... I just want to sleep in because it was still soooo dark when my alarm went off today.  I suppose I can deal if it stays light out longer.  The things we do...

Anywho, it's spring break here at the University of Minnesota, which means everybody but the poor saps who sit in the main offices (aka ME) get the week off.  I get bubkis.  Well, that's not true, I get Friday off, which is pretty awesome, but I will be spending it getting my drivers license with my new name (did you know that you have to take a written test in order to get a Minnesota driver's license... oh boy.)

Not really much going on.  I wish I were more interesting lately.  School is really bogging me down right now... ugh.  Hopefully, sometime after this craziness is over I can focus more on crafting and painting and such... hopefully.  (When exactly will this craziness be over with?  That is a question I have no answer for unfortunately.)

In other news, my sister took me to Joann's this weekend for my birthday present.  I pretty much bought the store out of fabric, and now I have a beautiful pile of bright and happy fabric just waiting for me to turn it into something!  I actually started making a school bag for myself because I am tired of carrying my purse plus a bag for my books, notebooks, folders plus a computer bag.  I had had enough!  I look like a crazy bag lady and they were all so darn heavy.

So now I will be making a fun (and large) school bag.  I hope I can finish it by class this Saturday, which reminds me, I have so much homework to do this week!

Anyone know any good articles about gendered linguistics, specifically about language that objectifies women and the role it plays in maintaining a patriarchal and misogynistic society?  Anyone... anyone?

I Wish I Was There (IWIWT) Friday!!

WOAH!  Today has been jammed packed, I'm exhausted and it's not even over yet (class until 9:30pm).

So that means there are only two places I would rather be today for "Wish I Was There Friday."  The first place I wish I was today is...

Photo credit.

 ...a spa!!  Just thinking of that is calming me already!  I wish I was this girl!

The second place I would rather be today is in my bed... oh goodness I am so tired.  I feel as if every minute of the past week has been work, school, work, school, work, school... ahhhhhhhhh!!

I need a break, but I won't get one until... well I don't know when I will get a break!  (And by break I mean something longer than the weekend!)

So here's to a good and relaxing weekend for you (and me)!

In other news... BLOG BUTTON--WOOT!

YAY!  I figured out how to make my blog button functional thanks to this, this, and this!!

WOOT!  So grab my button... you know you want to!! *wink*

Cooking with Elephants

Since I'm still new to this whole blogging world... I have no idea how to title my blog posts, let alone think of interesting things to write.

So today is all about RANDOMNESS!!  I'm finally posting some pictures of my crafting/sewing under my "The Crafts" button, so check-it-out!

Other than that, I really do not have a lot to say!  So I will just post some RANDOM pictures (psst... I am working on taking pictures better since I realize a lot of bloggers are avid picture takers.  I like taking pictures but I really don't understand, nor want to understand, the technical side of it... if it looks okay to me than AWESOME!)

 

Dinner prep... can you guess what we're having?!?

 

My grandma got these as a wedding shower gift... she's integral in feeding my obsession with elephants (WOOT--just got a blog post idea!)

 

 

I know, my obsession is sick and hopefully I will stop posting pictures of my puppies... or not because this is my blog and I will do as I please!

Well that's all for today, I will post my pictures of my craft canoondalings soon!

Honeymoons and elephant BFFs

This is a short blog post today (had to re-edit after I finished, clearly I was ambitious in thinking this would be short!)  Let's start again.... Good Afternoon!! All that other stuff (aka life) is getting in the way with my focus on my crafty-blogging side.  It's mostly school work, of which I have a large load of homework due by Friday--eep!

So this post is about something I am very very VERY excited about!

As you may know, I recently got married (hence some of the pre-wedding posts on this pre-wedding-turned-creationista-blog!) and we have been planning our honeymoons.  Yes--you read that right, as in plural.  No--we are not secretly rich and rolling in Ben Franklins.  But, the hubs doesn't like to fly further than three hours or so (pretty much no further than the borders of the continental U.S.) so he agreed to do two loooooooong weekend honeymoons.

That way we each get to choose one!  Well, he chose Washington D.C. over July 4 (not because of Independence Day, though that should be cool, but because the Cubs are playing the Nationals and he wants to go see that).

Photo credit.

Since he decided on some place so historical and diplomatic, I had to choose some place fun and exotic.  So I chose....... ARKANSAS!!


Okay, I really have no desire to go to Arkansas except for the fact that they have an elephant sanctuary there and for a small fee (okay, not so small, but small enough that we are willing to pay it) you can spend the weekend living with elephants!!  WOOT!!

(Side note: just google image searched "Arkansas" and by golly if it doesn't look like a beautiful state---it has the Ozarks)

Photo credit.

I am super duper excited about it, yet when I tell people there first reaction is usually, "How did you get Zach to agree to that" effectively killing my high-as-a-kite-buzz-of-excitedness.

I should probably back up and preface this with a little fact: I am OBSESSED with elephants!  I have been in love with them since before I can actually remember a time of not being in love with them!  I think it was born in me that they would be my favorite animals and the moment I found this place (Riddle's Elephant Sanctuary) I have wanted to go.  They only offer 4 Elephant Experience Weekends a year, which means I have been hounding their site like a madwoman almost every day since the new year, anxiously awaiting the new dates for 2011.  Well, they were finally posted and I got the last two spots available for the April 29-May 1 weekend!  (double WOOT!!)

Not the dates I had originally wanted (I have class on that Friday) but I am so excited to live with elephants for the weekend that I said "class be darned, we are going to go!"

Besides, who can resist how darn cute these guys/gals are (yes, I understand they could step on me and crush me to a pulp, but they're such gentle giants and so soulful when you look at them *sigh*).

Photo credit.

And here's an adult one (these are not actual elephants from the sanctuary, just random google image searches!):

Photo credit.

Also (I love "also's"--clearly) I have this random love for pictures of their behinds!!  It's weird, but I think pictures like that are so cute!  I'll show you one:

Photo credit.

And this image pretty much sums up want I wanted my life to be like when I was younger (I dreamed of having my own elephant and it would live in my parents' backyard in a pink barn and I would ride it everywhere and it would go everywhere with me and I would be the awesome girl with the elephant!):

Photo credit. 

And so with that I will end with the back end of an elephant!!  (Seriously, it's cute, right?!?)

Also (there it is again!), I realize for calling myself "The Creationista" I haven't really shown you a lot of my creations, well, I'm sorry.  There are a lot and I photographed a ton of them last night, but  *life* has gotten in the way of me posting them.

Hopefully soon!

P.S.

BTW... I am still working on my "shop".  It doesn't exist in a corporeal form yet, but metaphysically speaking it is there.  I have a few products and items that I've created, but I'm still working on perfecting my design/craft/finishing, which the indie biz 3.0 is definitely helping with!

Keep checking back and I will hopefully put up pictures of the things I have created!

Blogging... as art!

Can I just say, "WOAH!"  Over the past few weeks as I have decided to embark on this endeavor of indie business and blogging, I have found that blogging in and of itself is truly an art form!  It's technical (blah) but also artsy (yay!).  And in truth, I enjoy the technical side of it because it gives me skills that are valuable in today's market.

Thank the universe for the internet because I do not know what I would do without it!  Right now I am learning something new every day in the world of blogging and how to have my own little business!  The world we live in is an amazing place because of all the opportunities it offers (I just need more hours in the day....please!?!).

So today I have been working on creating a blog button and thinking up what I should write about in my blog today, and then I realized I could just combine the two!

I really haven't quite figured out the blog button thing (as in how to link it up and have it available for people to "grab"), but I know I'll get there.  I at least created it (yay to picnik... I'm "yaying" a lot today).  But I found this post to help me figure out how to do it.  Hopefully all will work out, we'll see!

Also, I'm finding more and more that I feel behind... hey, I only just got into this whole blogging world and realized the possibilities behind it.  So I have been trying to speed up the process of getting noticed, getting readers (aside from myself and my hubs), getting my products ready to sell, and balance that with work and school, which both consume a lot of my time right now!  I refuse to give up though, I may just have to go slower (boo... I'm a fairly impatient person).

That is all for today, I've added more blogs that I like to my sidebar.  Also, I totally have a blrush (blog crush) on the Gussy Sew's blog and I just found out she's hosting a little get-together in Minneapolis!  I want to go, but I feel weird because I haven't really gotten many (okay, any) connections in this blog-o-sphere yet and I just feel like a creeper.  I guess part of this business is putting yourself out there, which I am NOT one to do normally.  So step outside your box chica and just do it! (that's my inner voice talking to me... woah I just made myself seem even more weird!)

Well, I will let you know (or me know since I'm still not so sure any aside from my parents and husband has seen this!)


In closing I am going to leave you with some pictures of me, my family, and my pups (obsessed---YES!).

What's on my Desk Monday!!

Don't worry...I won't really make this a regular thing.  But I was bored on my lunch break so I took some photos with my phone (which surprisingly works pretty well for how cheap it is...and how often it's been dropped!) and since I was sitting at my desk, the only topic I had for my photos was the cluttery mess atop it!

So I took a few photos and edited them in picnik (one of my favorite things ever!) and now I am going to show them to you here.

(Side note: Picnik.com is AWESOME and totally user friendly for a person who does not want to learn the technicalities of photo editing in photoshop and the like!  You can use some of it's features for free, however you can access its premium capabilities for only $24.95 a YEAR!!  I think that's a steal for how easy it is to use and that I can access it from anywhere with a computer and it stores your photos.  Pretty nice, so CHECK IT OUT!)

And without further ado, I give you my desk in pictures (There are really only three different pics here but I used a variety of picnik's features to spice them up!):

We'll start with my lunch: jellybeans and diet Sierra Mist Ruby Splash!  Just joshin'!
I actually had chili, but I bought these because I was jonesin' for some beans! 
This is the posterize effect from picnik (it's my favorite so you'll see it quite a bit!)

This is posterize + pencil effect.  Pretty cool!  (Totally just said that like the Miley Cyrus
skit on SNL... I'm a nerd and I really don't watch the show all that much,
but when I see/hear those words that's how I hear them!) 
If you don't know what I'm talking about, you're not really missing out!

Just the pencil effect. 

This is the neon effect, I think.  I like the way it outlined everything and how my phone cord looks totally trashed (which it is, I can barely answer the phone when someone calls!)

 A little 1960's effect.  I like the vintage-y feel to the photo.

My phone, keys, scarf, and other random stuff that I have thrown in a pile.  It may look disorganized, but trust me, this is how I file and it works for me!  Also, this was done in the posterize effect from picnik, which is probably my favorite effect!

Focal zoom.  I like that all my private data (passwords/login names) are just sitting on all those post-its in the background!  Luckily, they aren't for anything super important, just random things I have to keep accounts for!

Yeah, I'm healthy like that with my Diet Sierra Mist Ruby Splash and Starburst Jellybeans (which I only eat the red and pink ones... drives the hubs nuts!)  That chapstick is my fave kind too!  It's Walgreens Beeswax Lip Balm.

So that is my desk, in a nutshell!

Not too exciting of a post, I know, but it's something and I got to play with picnik, so I'm a happy camper!

Most of you (out of the three people who are currently following me... and that's being optimistic) will frown on me for doing this at work.  But I did this on my lunch break, which is an hour of unpaid Kristi-time, so anything goes (well not anything, but you get it!)

Ciao!

I Wish I Was There (IWIWT) Friday!!

Hello and welcome to my Friday post titled, "I Wish I Was There."  This post is going to be dedicated to five places I would rather be than in frigid and snowy Minneapolis.  It will hopefully be my regular Friday post.

So let's begin.

#1



The first place I would always rather be than anywhere else (and especially today) is Greece!  Athens, Greece to be exact. *sigh*

#2


The second place I would rather be today is Cape 'N Cod (I know it's Cape Cod, but when I was little I always thought there was an "and" in between it so I said Cape 'N Cod and it's kind of just stuck!) This is me and the hubs in front of Nobska Lighthouse in Woods Hole.  My family spent just about every summer vacationing on the Cape (just for a week or two, we're not like the Kennedy's or anything) and this was the first time the fiance (at the time) got to come along!

#3



The third place I would rather be today is Santorini, Greece.  Yes, I know it's another Greek place (but I'm obssessed!!).  I just want sun and warmth and ocean breezes right now!! 

#4


The fourth place I would rather be is home.  Home as in where I grew up (which is near Madison, WI).  I wouldn't necessarily want to be there right now (LOTS o' Snow, so it's not much different than here) but I sometimes get homesick and wish I could go back to the days of yore!

#5


And the fifth place I would rather be (which is really more like the first place I'd rather be), is anywhere with the handsome man above!  I love him so much and wish I could spend every minute with him!  I'll have to share our story some day, because I think it's sweet and shows just what a great guy he is (and how lucky I am!).

So that's it for IWIWT Friday...come back next week, when hopefully I won't use only my photos (not exactly sure what the rules are for borrowing photos from google searches...probably just put the link where I got it from, right?)

Also, this weekend is going to be a craft-filled creationista extravaganza!!  WOOT!