i haven't blogged in FOREVER.. and right now i am DESPERATE to kill time. as in.. if i could get the steamer to warm up fast enough, i would scrape wallpaper. you see. in a mere 2 hours, i am going to see the sheila divine.
normally. this would be a pretty normal activity. but this time.. they. are. playing. with.... WEEZER.
my god. i hope the cool kids don't read this blog because i'm about to geek out about how excited i am.
all throughout high school i listened to weezer like it was my mothatruckin' job. i lived and breathed this band. had all the cd's and pin and t-shirts. imagine a teenager nowadays who is in love with justin beiber. that's how it was. then, i got to college, and i discovered the sheila divine. that was pretty much allllll i listened to in college. tsd and weezer. it was dorky.. but i have no problem owning up to it.
about a month ago.. i found out that they were playing together. i went screaming though the house like an insane person. the thought of this show makes my eyes water. you could have told me i'd won the lottery and i don't think i would have been as excited as i was to find out about this concert. now it's 2 hours away and i am sitting here waiting for my friend rachel and my huzz steve to get home. i still have about 20 minutes till i can start dinner. if i started it now, it would be cold.
on itunes.. i put all my sheila divine music and all my weezer music together and i've been listening to it all day. the whole collection is about 5 hours long, which is A LOT of music.
this day is taking forever.
in other very exciting news. we are getting a puppy. she is super cute. her name is going to be Boleyn and she is an olde english bulldog. we pick her up the first week of june, and that wait is also taking f. o. r. e. v. e. r.... we have a date with her on friday night.
the house is coming along slowly. also good.
garden is planted. whee.
i cannot concentrate. but at least i've blogged enough to get me to the time where i can go cut up some zucchini.
i will try to blog again soon :)
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
welcome to somerville homeownership!
"welcome to somerville homeownership!" said mimi, in her reply back to my email. who knows it would have spawned so much activity!
now that we're permanent residents, steve and i have been toying with the idea of actually immersing ourselves in the community. it was a conversation we've had a few times. framing some somerville artwork was actually the catalyst for me to search out the leaders of the "what the fluff?" festival that happens in september over in union square. fluff was invented here in somerville you know ;)
i chatted with mimi about volunteering at the festival, and that turned into me getting added to the festival planning committee, which then further turned into me becoming a volunteer at a couple of the saturday farmers markets. i have to say, i'm pretty excited about it!
on steve's end, he was thinking in becoming more involved with the local politics. recently, i nannied for a mom who was super duper into the local somervillian works.. she gave me her card and said she's love to chat with steve more... he could be on a roll soon too!
home is starting to come together.. and that's kind of awesome :)
now that we're permanent residents, steve and i have been toying with the idea of actually immersing ourselves in the community. it was a conversation we've had a few times. framing some somerville artwork was actually the catalyst for me to search out the leaders of the "what the fluff?" festival that happens in september over in union square. fluff was invented here in somerville you know ;)
i chatted with mimi about volunteering at the festival, and that turned into me getting added to the festival planning committee, which then further turned into me becoming a volunteer at a couple of the saturday farmers markets. i have to say, i'm pretty excited about it!
on steve's end, he was thinking in becoming more involved with the local politics. recently, i nannied for a mom who was super duper into the local somervillian works.. she gave me her card and said she's love to chat with steve more... he could be on a roll soon too!
home is starting to come together.. and that's kind of awesome :)
Friday, March 18, 2011
this march seems to be the month of awesome
i don't really know whats happening.. but this month is going so wonderfully.
things on both somerville and springfield home fronts are lovely. here in somerville, a young (thoroughly backround checked) couple, meghan and jack are preparing to move in. in springfield, dee and liz are getting ready to take on langdon street.. possibly by storm.. who knows.
it's been nice enough for me to start gardening. i've cleaned up and pulled all the plastic up from the front yard. there are some plants that i am going to wait on pulling up.. i'm curious to see what they are. but waiting in my front hall are peonie bulbs, 2 raspberry bushes, 2 blueberry bushes, and alyssum. in the seed starter pods are tomatos, cucumbers, watermelons, peppers, carrots, onions, basil, oregano, cilantro, and sunflower seeds. i CANNOT WAIT to start seeing everything start really growing. i'm super excited.
one week from now we'll have our first official house guests. i'm lucky because my sisters, my nephew, and best friends are coming from western MA and NH to celebrate my birthday. number 29.. normally i am kind of blah about my birthday, especially the last 2 years.. last year was the first momless birthday, and this year it will be grammyless as well. when i was younger we would celebrate them together as hers was the day before mine...
the plan is to go to the rainforest cafe. i am really looking forward to that. the next morning is kick-ass breakfast day at bonair street.
other than that, i've also been working on getting my online portfolio going. i still have a lot to add, but this is the start of it. click here :)
and.. the house continues to get unpacked. this also makes me silly-happy.
things on both somerville and springfield home fronts are lovely. here in somerville, a young (thoroughly backround checked) couple, meghan and jack are preparing to move in. in springfield, dee and liz are getting ready to take on langdon street.. possibly by storm.. who knows.
it's been nice enough for me to start gardening. i've cleaned up and pulled all the plastic up from the front yard. there are some plants that i am going to wait on pulling up.. i'm curious to see what they are. but waiting in my front hall are peonie bulbs, 2 raspberry bushes, 2 blueberry bushes, and alyssum. in the seed starter pods are tomatos, cucumbers, watermelons, peppers, carrots, onions, basil, oregano, cilantro, and sunflower seeds. i CANNOT WAIT to start seeing everything start really growing. i'm super excited.
one week from now we'll have our first official house guests. i'm lucky because my sisters, my nephew, and best friends are coming from western MA and NH to celebrate my birthday. number 29.. normally i am kind of blah about my birthday, especially the last 2 years.. last year was the first momless birthday, and this year it will be grammyless as well. when i was younger we would celebrate them together as hers was the day before mine...
the plan is to go to the rainforest cafe. i am really looking forward to that. the next morning is kick-ass breakfast day at bonair street.
other than that, i've also been working on getting my online portfolio going. i still have a lot to add, but this is the start of it. click here :)
and.. the house continues to get unpacked. this also makes me silly-happy.
Friday, March 11, 2011
home sweet home
finally. we are home. everything has been moved and Russell Road is no longer our home. Bonair street feels more and more like home every time i go out and come back to it.
it took the movers 2 days to move everything and our half of a basement worth of stuff has managed to fill the whole basement here at bonair street. i don't really know how that happened.. but what is coming is another purge of stuff.
things in the house are slowly being put away, and the boxes are slowly disappearing. the gardens have been lightly planned.. peonies, hydrangeas, and a lilac bush in the front. also maybe some of those flowers that form a carpet.. sunflowers and a blueberry bush on the side, and in the back where the deck is.. vegetables. i cannot wait. i'm a bit anxious to start on other rooms. mainly the office, guest room and the bathroom.. but until things get better sorted out, those will have to wait.
i'm also happy that my goldfish survived. i kind of expected them to all die of shock.. but they are doing surprisingly well. the cats have also returned to their normal hell-raising habits.
everything seems good.
on the tenant front, both places are filled both here and in somerville.. they both happened really fast.. kind of felt like some cosmic birthday gifts. (or at least that's what i'm sticking to since march is the month of my birthday..)
well.. i suppose thats just about all the excitement around here for now..
it took the movers 2 days to move everything and our half of a basement worth of stuff has managed to fill the whole basement here at bonair street. i don't really know how that happened.. but what is coming is another purge of stuff.
things in the house are slowly being put away, and the boxes are slowly disappearing. the gardens have been lightly planned.. peonies, hydrangeas, and a lilac bush in the front. also maybe some of those flowers that form a carpet.. sunflowers and a blueberry bush on the side, and in the back where the deck is.. vegetables. i cannot wait. i'm a bit anxious to start on other rooms. mainly the office, guest room and the bathroom.. but until things get better sorted out, those will have to wait.
i'm also happy that my goldfish survived. i kind of expected them to all die of shock.. but they are doing surprisingly well. the cats have also returned to their normal hell-raising habits.
everything seems good.
on the tenant front, both places are filled both here and in somerville.. they both happened really fast.. kind of felt like some cosmic birthday gifts. (or at least that's what i'm sticking to since march is the month of my birthday..)
well.. i suppose thats just about all the excitement around here for now..
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
feedback of the week
every so often when i go to take care of new kids, i worry that they won't like me or that they'll be afraid of me for lord knows what.. however, this week i received "feedback of the week" with parents in a pinch, which is the company i nanny-temp for. made me feel all warm and fuzzy because really, i thought andrew was pretty rad himself. he's autistic, and sometimes autistic kids have a really hard time warming up. besides autism, he also had a hyperactive attention disorder. he was super shy at first, but by the end of the night we were cuddled up together and hanging out. i see a few autistic kids every so often, and they are always my favorites.
this was the feedback:
this was the feedback:
Monday, February 14, 2011
packing AND moving: day 19
since we've moved on from just packing and onto both.. the title changes. it's really just the way it should go.
talk about hard work. i've always had some skill set when it comes to using tools, but i have to say.. actually putting into action makes me feel like a bit of a badass. i get the satisfaction of work, and i really like it.
so far.. i've been focusing on the two rooms we use the most. the living room and the kitchen. as i've mentioned in previous posts, there is an insane amount of wallpaper in this house. i wish i was over exagerating when i say.. "oh my god, there are 5 layers of wallpaper in my living room!". in reality. there ARE 5 layers. well.. there WERE. i steamed and scraped them all off. beneath the paper in the living room, are horsehair plaster walls. with the exception of a few places in the house where there is some really old drywall (that the steamer destroys) it's all horsehair. the living room plaster is in good-excellent shape. good enough so that i can completely patch and sand them down before painting them. the kitchen though, not so great. all of the plaster in the kitchen had to come down completely. this means that i am actually going to try my hand at drywalling. the folks at home depot will cut it all for me, and then the installation is up to me. i'm nervous and excited to try it out. this will be the first time that i will have actually done it. i've seen it on tv a million times, as well as seeing it done in person a bunch too. i know people get into trouble when they ask the question "how hard could it be?", but really. how hard could it be? we'll find out in the next few days.
as for the rest of the living room, the walls are all patched and with some light sanding, they will start to be painted sometime within the next 24 hours. i can't *really* believe it. i looked over the pictures from when it started. the room looked so small and pink i can hardly believe i'm standing in the same room now. the pink was so blinding, that if you were downstairs at the front door, and the door to our apartment was open, you could see the pink reflecting down the stairs and it gave that whole front hall area a pink glow. ridiculous. the ceilings are high and beautiful, and i love the medallion on the ceiling. after doing some light research, we found out that crown molding is inexpensive and easy to install. it's a definite possibility. the blue we chose together is also great.. it's called "russian blue" by behr. we were waffling on the choosing, but the name helped us choose because of our sway-kitty. i so cannot wait to start painting.
a link to photos of our progress so far :)
the room i am going to wait to start taking apart is the bathroom. i see exactly how it should look, but it's the only room that has any sense to it right now, even with it's orchid and turquoise walls. yick. the end result will include subway tiles, hexagonal tiles and wainscoting.
today is a lazy day. it's so nice. a lazy but working day. i am watching an 11 year old girl named grace who has tonsillitis. i've been here since 8am, and will be here till 6:30. we've played several card games, watched a movie, and now she is reading while i am typing. the most strenuous part of my work day has been cutting up some cheese and strawberries for her, and making her tea. soon, i'll make lunch for us and then who knows what. i could feel guilty for not working at the house today.. but i am technically working.. :) grace is pretty awesome. she's smart and an excellent communicator, and i really love that she likes and knows card games. not a bad work day at all.
tonight, for valentines day, steve and i will relax together. this is the one day a year he whips out some cooking skills. it'll be the 6th year in a row that he's cooked for me. it's always the same thing. steak and potatoes with peppers and onions. he's a master at this meal. he handles dinner and i do dessert. what i'm going to make yet, i have no idea. i'm excited to give him the new gwar CD that just came out as a gift.. i'm pretty sure he doesn't even know it came out yet. his gift to me was a red ladder. hardly candy and flowers, but i like the un-normalness of it. :)
i hope everyone out there has a fantastic valentines day!
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
packing: day 9
well.. as of monday night, 79 bonair street is officially ours. it was supposed to happen last friday, but thanks to the glorious new england snow, it was delayed. i had planned to do things there.. but.. yaknow..
i started attacking the wallpaper today. it was ridiculous. there seems to be 2 layers in the office. one layer that goes all the way up to the ceilings, and another that goes just to the glorious drop ceilings. the dining room has turned into a wall paper excavation. there was one wall that seemed.. loose, we'll say. i pulled at the seam of the wallpaper, and one huge panel peeled off. i was able to pick at that one panel and identify 4, possibly 5 patters of wallpaper and at least one layer of paint mixed in. all of the rooms in my house (except for the rental downstairs.. that only has some wood paneling) have wall paper that's been painted over. i now have a completely new hatred for people who paint over god-damned wallpaper. under all of that paper, i discovered horse hair plaster. i absolutely have my work cut out for me. while it may seem like i'm complaining and grouchy about it.. i'm actually really excited to do all of this work. it makes me really warm and fuzzy inside to map out all of the plans and see it in my head as steve and i's new home. he's excited to move, perhaps mostly because his portable game system chargers were accidentally packed, but has been musing lately that he's a little sad to see our time here on russell road come to an end. i feel the same.
for all of the cosmetic work that has to be done on our second floor apartment. i feel like i won a bit of a lottery with the rental unit. a good scrub, refinishing the wood floors, carpeting one room, and painting all of the walls is all that needs to happen for it to be rented out. it seems like our future tenants may move in before we do!
the packing is continuing slowly.. we plan to move some things over slowly, but the wintery hell that mother nature has been throwing at new england lately has made that idea move sloooowly.
more later!
i started attacking the wallpaper today. it was ridiculous. there seems to be 2 layers in the office. one layer that goes all the way up to the ceilings, and another that goes just to the glorious drop ceilings. the dining room has turned into a wall paper excavation. there was one wall that seemed.. loose, we'll say. i pulled at the seam of the wallpaper, and one huge panel peeled off. i was able to pick at that one panel and identify 4, possibly 5 patters of wallpaper and at least one layer of paint mixed in. all of the rooms in my house (except for the rental downstairs.. that only has some wood paneling) have wall paper that's been painted over. i now have a completely new hatred for people who paint over god-damned wallpaper. under all of that paper, i discovered horse hair plaster. i absolutely have my work cut out for me. while it may seem like i'm complaining and grouchy about it.. i'm actually really excited to do all of this work. it makes me really warm and fuzzy inside to map out all of the plans and see it in my head as steve and i's new home. he's excited to move, perhaps mostly because his portable game system chargers were accidentally packed, but has been musing lately that he's a little sad to see our time here on russell road come to an end. i feel the same.
for all of the cosmetic work that has to be done on our second floor apartment. i feel like i won a bit of a lottery with the rental unit. a good scrub, refinishing the wood floors, carpeting one room, and painting all of the walls is all that needs to happen for it to be rented out. it seems like our future tenants may move in before we do!
the packing is continuing slowly.. we plan to move some things over slowly, but the wintery hell that mother nature has been throwing at new england lately has made that idea move sloooowly.
more later!
Monday, January 17, 2011
packing: day 1
on saturday, stephen and i went to buy boxes at home depot. 2 large ones, 8 medium ones, and 8 small ones. i see now that i've made a mistake and should have actually gotten about 20 small ones and scrapped the rest of them. everything we have is mostly books. lots and lots of heavy books. oh, and video games. those mother f*#&ers are HEAVY. this house is going to be nothing but boxes..
i pulled out the packing tape gun and started putting a box together. the first screech of the tape gun and a few of the cats perked up to take notice. i'm about 5 boxes in, not making a lot of noise mind you, and they are slinking around like i'm going to pull a machete out of a box to chase them around the house. my reward for trying to relax my little panic monster, kumori, was for her to slice my hand open while trying to escape. darn cat. oh well.
my goal is to have the video game shelf, the board game/book shelf and at least half (but really means all of) my craft cabinet packed. if i do this, i will feel accomplished for the day. :)
perhaps pictures later..
i pulled out the packing tape gun and started putting a box together. the first screech of the tape gun and a few of the cats perked up to take notice. i'm about 5 boxes in, not making a lot of noise mind you, and they are slinking around like i'm going to pull a machete out of a box to chase them around the house. my reward for trying to relax my little panic monster, kumori, was for her to slice my hand open while trying to escape. darn cat. oh well.
my goal is to have the video game shelf, the board game/book shelf and at least half (but really means all of) my craft cabinet packed. if i do this, i will feel accomplished for the day. :)
perhaps pictures later..
Monday, January 3, 2011
resolutions 2011
last years resolutions.. commentary is in blue.
1. actually draw the comic.
i've had this idea for a comic in my head for months now.. i find that my friends and i lead a somewhat amusing life (but simple.. that last statement sounded a little egotistical). sometimes they (and me) seem to get into places or times that are really very funny. or sometimes steve will do these things that are just ridiculous and hilarious. i started using myself as a model to see if i could cartoon someone... and i had a really fun time doing it. i took a series of snapshots of myself making all sorts of faces.. happy, angry, sad.. just a whole bunch, and went to town with my micron pens and markers. more to come as soon as i find a scanner :D
my main inspiration is girls with slingshots . i've also been combing through all of my old "calvin and hobbes" comic books and steve's "get fuzzy" books.
i also have no idea for comic names.. please feel free to leave suggestions!
weeeeeellll... i didn't hop on this one completely until just about christmas time. i received a pentel pocketbrush for christmas (which is like a sharpie with a paintbrush tip, and no smell. its COMPLETELY RAD), and a book called "entertaining your indoor cat". i'm usually very methodical about my drawing. do things in light pencil first and then use my micron pens to ink everything out. i could do that with the pocketbrush, but it doesn't feel right. i started just letting my hand get very loose and unrefined, and i came out with some interesting characters. the book lent me the name of "entertaining your indoor cat", because really. i have 5 cats. they do ridiculous things. pair that with my sometimes nutty life adventures and you may have something there. cats and adventures. lets go with it? below is the start of my cat characters. i colored them with prismacolor markers, and they are drawn on bristol vellum. i've also drawn a few little other cartoons of the kitties, but i haven't scanned them yet. this drawing was more of a release from the mind and experimentation to see if i could run with a loosey-goosey drawing style.
you guys.. can still tell they're cats.. right? ;)
2. continue to get rid of junk.
this really should have been listed as #1, but.. c'est la vie. if we are looking into buying a house and moving this year.. there is no way in heck that i want to take it all with me.. period.
i have been ROCKING at this. i recently packed up my "studio".. i whittled it down to 7 medium-largeish boxes and there are 5 enormous lawn and leaf bags of crap waiting to get tossed. this is a big step for me. i plan to keep going.
3. keep up the health stuff.
also pretty self explanatory if you read the previous years resolutions :)
i've also been doing pretty well at this one. about halfway through the year, i dumped planet fitness because i was doing myself more harm than good and not seeing ANY progress on the damn treadmill or elliptical. i then joined the boston sports club and started swimming. not only do i feel awesome, but i've started seeing some (still very small) changes. i don't leave the gym in pain, and i am usually looking forward to going back the next day. it's good stuff. i've also been continuing the healthy cooking..
4. try new things with steve.
sometimes as a couple.. we tend to split off and go our own ways. this happens mostly because we have very little in common. we are both guilty of sometimes neglecting the other, but when we do spend time together and go places, we have the best time ever. i want to have more adventures with steve and also try some of the things he likes even if they aren't really my interest :)
i'd say we both did pretty well with this one. a successful resolution!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. keep drawing!
in addition to this one, i wasn't able to scan most of my "daily sketches" because i've had to resort back to my (f*^&ing) PC. however, i am going to try to take a photo a day. i believe it's called "project 365". we'll see.
2. keep swimming
just like dory says :)
3. try to keep my thumb green
i've recently started to become obsessed with plants and the need to have green things in my house. my mother was a serial plant murderer.
over the past 2 summers, i've managed to keep a small herb garden on my porch going. i've expanded that a bit to include succulents. (so far i've got a few jade plants, a cactus, and a pair of aloe plants.) i moved my garden in this winter. but the thyme got eaten by the cats and i killed off the rosemary. i didn't even bother with the basil because of the cats. but my mint plants and the lemon verbena are living happily in my kitchen, while the catnip is exploding on the high piano window sill in my living room. since we'll be moving.. i'll have garden space in my front yard and side yard. i'm so excited to find a lilac bush, peonies, and a hydrangea for the front yard, and on the side yard, i'd really like to try my hand at some vegetables. oohh.. and a composter! i'm excited.
i think 3 resolutions is enough for now.. if i think of any more i'll add them
happy new years everyone!
1. actually draw the comic.
i've had this idea for a comic in my head for months now.. i find that my friends and i lead a somewhat amusing life (but simple.. that last statement sounded a little egotistical). sometimes they (and me) seem to get into places or times that are really very funny. or sometimes steve will do these things that are just ridiculous and hilarious. i started using myself as a model to see if i could cartoon someone... and i had a really fun time doing it. i took a series of snapshots of myself making all sorts of faces.. happy, angry, sad.. just a whole bunch, and went to town with my micron pens and markers. more to come as soon as i find a scanner :D
my main inspiration is girls with slingshots . i've also been combing through all of my old "calvin and hobbes" comic books and steve's "get fuzzy" books.
i also have no idea for comic names.. please feel free to leave suggestions!
weeeeeellll... i didn't hop on this one completely until just about christmas time. i received a pentel pocketbrush for christmas (which is like a sharpie with a paintbrush tip, and no smell. its COMPLETELY RAD), and a book called "entertaining your indoor cat". i'm usually very methodical about my drawing. do things in light pencil first and then use my micron pens to ink everything out. i could do that with the pocketbrush, but it doesn't feel right. i started just letting my hand get very loose and unrefined, and i came out with some interesting characters. the book lent me the name of "entertaining your indoor cat", because really. i have 5 cats. they do ridiculous things. pair that with my sometimes nutty life adventures and you may have something there. cats and adventures. lets go with it? below is the start of my cat characters. i colored them with prismacolor markers, and they are drawn on bristol vellum. i've also drawn a few little other cartoons of the kitties, but i haven't scanned them yet. this drawing was more of a release from the mind and experimentation to see if i could run with a loosey-goosey drawing style.
you guys.. can still tell they're cats.. right? ;)
2. continue to get rid of junk.
this really should have been listed as #1, but.. c'est la vie. if we are looking into buying a house and moving this year.. there is no way in heck that i want to take it all with me.. period.
i have been ROCKING at this. i recently packed up my "studio".. i whittled it down to 7 medium-largeish boxes and there are 5 enormous lawn and leaf bags of crap waiting to get tossed. this is a big step for me. i plan to keep going.
3. keep up the health stuff.
also pretty self explanatory if you read the previous years resolutions :)
i've also been doing pretty well at this one. about halfway through the year, i dumped planet fitness because i was doing myself more harm than good and not seeing ANY progress on the damn treadmill or elliptical. i then joined the boston sports club and started swimming. not only do i feel awesome, but i've started seeing some (still very small) changes. i don't leave the gym in pain, and i am usually looking forward to going back the next day. it's good stuff. i've also been continuing the healthy cooking..
4. try new things with steve.
sometimes as a couple.. we tend to split off and go our own ways. this happens mostly because we have very little in common. we are both guilty of sometimes neglecting the other, but when we do spend time together and go places, we have the best time ever. i want to have more adventures with steve and also try some of the things he likes even if they aren't really my interest :)
i'd say we both did pretty well with this one. a successful resolution!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. keep drawing!
in addition to this one, i wasn't able to scan most of my "daily sketches" because i've had to resort back to my (f*^&ing) PC. however, i am going to try to take a photo a day. i believe it's called "project 365". we'll see.
2. keep swimming
just like dory says :)
3. try to keep my thumb green
i've recently started to become obsessed with plants and the need to have green things in my house. my mother was a serial plant murderer.
over the past 2 summers, i've managed to keep a small herb garden on my porch going. i've expanded that a bit to include succulents. (so far i've got a few jade plants, a cactus, and a pair of aloe plants.) i moved my garden in this winter. but the thyme got eaten by the cats and i killed off the rosemary. i didn't even bother with the basil because of the cats. but my mint plants and the lemon verbena are living happily in my kitchen, while the catnip is exploding on the high piano window sill in my living room. since we'll be moving.. i'll have garden space in my front yard and side yard. i'm so excited to find a lilac bush, peonies, and a hydrangea for the front yard, and on the side yard, i'd really like to try my hand at some vegetables. oohh.. and a composter! i'm excited.
i think 3 resolutions is enough for now.. if i think of any more i'll add them
happy new years everyone!
Thursday, December 30, 2010
"Sure he does. Jesus loves Kenny Loggins."
my friend chris recently introduced me to a new blog. one i'm pretty sure you'll all like. it's called "hyperbole and a half" . i swear, i have never laughed so damn hard. some of the ones i found to be the most hilarious are "how a fish almost ruined me childhood", "the god of cake", and "dog".
really. read these.. you'll be happier :)
new years resolutions are coming.. it's been a busy day so far. it's just 9 am and already i've hit the gym for an hour of swimming, had breakfast with aunt jackie and picked up a few things at walgreens.
time for some more errands!!
really. read these.. you'll be happier :)
new years resolutions are coming.. it's been a busy day so far. it's just 9 am and already i've hit the gym for an hour of swimming, had breakfast with aunt jackie and picked up a few things at walgreens.
time for some more errands!!
Saturday, December 25, 2010
my name is ellien.
first of all. merry christmas everyone! i think that christmas may easily be my favorite holiday. i love the music, the lights, and the feeling i get when i think i've found the perfect surprise for someone.
i know steve won't be reading this. i found a few surprises for him.. some of them i think he might have been expecting, but the one i know he wasn't expecting was a pair of tickets to this weird band he likes called anamanaguchi. (anamannagucci? the spelling is hard) i'm very excited for him to open them. i know he won't be able to guess it.. eek!''
it's earrrrrly christmas morning, and i can't sleep. i've got some things on my mind about today that i need to get out.
i spent today with steve in western MA. we spent the night after having to go to court yesterday(the 23rd). that night we also got to have dinner with nichlele and dave. that was pretty awesome.
we started today off with breakfast at the 50's diner in chicopee ma. i used to go to this place at all through high school and college with friends at any time of the day or night. it was always one of my favorite places and i love being able to share these nostalgic places with steve. after that, we headed to west springfield to james and uncle frans house to spend the afternoon with the morse side of the family. seeing family was great, especially since i don't get to see them very often.
however, there were a couple of instances where a simple slip of the tongue left me feeling pretty low, sad, and frustrated. thus.. the not being able to sleep. 7 times, i was called deb. seven. not once or twice. seven. this is not counting the several (and when i say several i mean 13.. because yes, i was keeping count) more times where they started off "de...ellie." now, the thing about this is. if i were to follow what i was feeling, and burst into tears. which really was my first instinct. my second instinct was to be REALLY FUCKING PISSED OFF, it would have made christmas uncomfortable for some folks. so instead, i had to choke back my feelings and laugh it off and say ohh.. no it's ok.. you can't really say or yell at someone "THAT IS NOT MY FUCKING NAME!!!" at someone on christmas. it doesn't work. it especially doesn't work when you are surrounded by 15+ people. to add insult to injury.. this person also tried to make a joke of it by saying.. "you know.. i used to greet you mother by saying... you're still alive?". in my mind. it was not a good scene. i wanted to scream and cry and tell her that my name was ellien, and that i didn't really find that to be a great time to tell me that story because she's NOT fucking here anymore. thank you for that.
my grandmother (ernie) sometimes makes this slip. sometimes my aunts do too. but they don't do it repeatedly, and they don't make stupid jokes about it, it's not such a big deal. i don't know why it bothered me so much today. maybe i'm over reacting, maybe it was that it was christmas eve and i'd hoped to make it to the cemetery but failed, maybe it was because i was dealing with more things from her house.... but today, with the jokes and having it happen MANY times over pushed me over the edge.
after james and uncle frans house, i left steve behind to go take some pictures of a church christmas pageant. my fiend vicki's daughters were going to be in it, one of whom has cerebral palsy and looks as if she won't survive much longer. it made me happy to be able to snap some photos for her. her daughters, victoria and jamie, were adorable little angels.
and yet even farther after that, i zipped from ludlow to west springfield to get steve and then we went over to chicopee to aunt jackies house to end the night and hang out with some of the laramee kin-folk.
i'm bummed that i wasn't able to make it to see more family.. there were just too many places to go...
i'm very excited about tomorrow.. or what is actually today.. christmas. steve and i will be heading up to laconia NH to spend the day with my sisters. i cannot wait to see them and celebrate mason's first christmas!
i hope everyone out there has a fantastic day with friends and family!!!
i know steve won't be reading this. i found a few surprises for him.. some of them i think he might have been expecting, but the one i know he wasn't expecting was a pair of tickets to this weird band he likes called anamanaguchi. (anamannagucci? the spelling is hard) i'm very excited for him to open them. i know he won't be able to guess it.. eek!''
it's earrrrrly christmas morning, and i can't sleep. i've got some things on my mind about today that i need to get out.
i spent today with steve in western MA. we spent the night after having to go to court yesterday(the 23rd). that night we also got to have dinner with nichlele and dave. that was pretty awesome.
we started today off with breakfast at the 50's diner in chicopee ma. i used to go to this place at all through high school and college with friends at any time of the day or night. it was always one of my favorite places and i love being able to share these nostalgic places with steve. after that, we headed to west springfield to james and uncle frans house to spend the afternoon with the morse side of the family. seeing family was great, especially since i don't get to see them very often.
however, there were a couple of instances where a simple slip of the tongue left me feeling pretty low, sad, and frustrated. thus.. the not being able to sleep. 7 times, i was called deb. seven. not once or twice. seven. this is not counting the several (and when i say several i mean 13.. because yes, i was keeping count) more times where they started off "de...ellie." now, the thing about this is. if i were to follow what i was feeling, and burst into tears. which really was my first instinct. my second instinct was to be REALLY FUCKING PISSED OFF, it would have made christmas uncomfortable for some folks. so instead, i had to choke back my feelings and laugh it off and say ohh.. no it's ok.. you can't really say or yell at someone "THAT IS NOT MY FUCKING NAME!!!" at someone on christmas. it doesn't work. it especially doesn't work when you are surrounded by 15+ people. to add insult to injury.. this person also tried to make a joke of it by saying.. "you know.. i used to greet you mother by saying... you're still alive?". in my mind. it was not a good scene. i wanted to scream and cry and tell her that my name was ellien, and that i didn't really find that to be a great time to tell me that story because she's NOT fucking here anymore. thank you for that.
my grandmother (ernie) sometimes makes this slip. sometimes my aunts do too. but they don't do it repeatedly, and they don't make stupid jokes about it, it's not such a big deal. i don't know why it bothered me so much today. maybe i'm over reacting, maybe it was that it was christmas eve and i'd hoped to make it to the cemetery but failed, maybe it was because i was dealing with more things from her house.... but today, with the jokes and having it happen MANY times over pushed me over the edge.
after james and uncle frans house, i left steve behind to go take some pictures of a church christmas pageant. my fiend vicki's daughters were going to be in it, one of whom has cerebral palsy and looks as if she won't survive much longer. it made me happy to be able to snap some photos for her. her daughters, victoria and jamie, were adorable little angels.
and yet even farther after that, i zipped from ludlow to west springfield to get steve and then we went over to chicopee to aunt jackies house to end the night and hang out with some of the laramee kin-folk.
i'm bummed that i wasn't able to make it to see more family.. there were just too many places to go...
i'm very excited about tomorrow.. or what is actually today.. christmas. steve and i will be heading up to laconia NH to spend the day with my sisters. i cannot wait to see them and celebrate mason's first christmas!
i hope everyone out there has a fantastic day with friends and family!!!
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
same fish.. looking for a new pond.
my word.. has it really been over a month since i've blogged?
***shame face***
much has happened..
thanksgiving was REALLY rad. we got to hang around with the byers family.. they are always a lot of fun.
it was also pretty awesome to visit donna and doug. this time, we went to visit a place called the lorton workhouse. i left feeling very inspired. i learned a few things from some of the different artists. while we were wandering through, i came upon an artist who was a chinese brush painter. while talking with her i learned the reason why my experiments with chinese brush painting were producing massive amounts of crap. the way i was holding and using the brush was COMPLETELY WRONG. she taught some classes, but since i live so darn far away, she was kind enough to give me a couple of pointers. i've tried a few of them with a bit more success. i also met someone who was making glass beads over a torch. she let me watch her a little and explained some of them process. that was FREAKING AWESOME. now i want to learn how to make things out of glass, but i don't know how steve would feel about me setting up a torch... best to look into finding a studio around here in boston sometime..
steve and i seem to always feel very relaxed when we travel to the south. steves mom and dad (along with his step parents) are pretty awesome. on the night that we leave, we typically muse about how bummed we are that our "vacation" is coming to an end.
work is still work. nothing too exciting there. i'm still continuing to swim daily. let me tell you, commiting to go the pool and then go back to your car in the freezing weather.. augh! i've also added the occasional zumba class to the mix. i can't tell if there has been much difference, but i feel great.
our house hunt has (seemingly) finally come to an end!!!
a few weeks ago, we checked out a 2 family in somerville. on bonair street (i even liked the name ;) and we decided to put a bid in on it. this is always the part i hate. i make myself nearly insane worrying that someone else will bid, or that the seller will say no thanks, or that something else ridiculous will happen. we've been through this process maybe 5 times now, and i'm surprised i'm not bald with all the hair twirling and neuroses i've picked up... well, they accepted the offer, and then we moved on to the home inspection. we like to think that after all of the houses we've seen we've got a general idea of the bad things to look for. this house didn't really seem to have any of those red flags.. but you never really know until you've got the inspector there. the good news is.. the inspection went great. there were a few things that we wanted to have fixed.. and all but one of them was agreed upon.
the house itself is pretty neat. it's an older house, which means it has some really terrific architectural details and mouldings and some great wood floors. it's a 2 family house. the entire first floor is a 2 bedroom, 1 bath rental unit. while the top 2 floors are a 3 bedroom, 1 bath unit. we will live on the top 2 floors. the wallpaper thats in there is hideous and it also has some really.. we'll say interesting (to be polite), drop ceilings. but under those crazy ceilings are some really great crown moulding and ceiling medalions. the bathroom is huge. at least it is when you compare it to the bathroom we have now. if you took the bathroom we have now, you could put 2 of them into the bathroom on bonair street. it's pretty awesome. the kitchen is pretty good as well. its not updated, but it's in fantastic shape. the most exciting thing.. i will have MY VERY OWN PLACE for a washer and dryer. no move hauling laundry down the street in 6 different tubs.. i can leisurely wash one sock if i want to. (not that i would.. i'm jus' sayin', ya know?)
now that the offer and the inspection are all taken care of all we have to do is deal with the mortgage people.. gah!
this whole moving this has gotten me purging junk like there is no tomorrow. i'm not looking forward to the moving part of it.. or the packing. *sob*
our apartment is all decked out for christmas. in my rush to purge everything, i came upon a bunch of sets of fancy lights and strung them up in my kitchen and front hall. i also set up my moms old ceramic christmas tree, although i skipped the manger set.. our christmas tree is up and gleaming. one of the last times i was in springfield, i found a small box of really old christmas ornaments. it was like receiving a gift from my mom. they were ornaments i'd completely forgotten even existed. it was wonderful to find them.
i've recently still been feeling a little low. or a lot. if i'm being honest, i'm still really really messed up and sad and missing my mom. i don't really talk much about it, except to my friend chris, and sometimes steve. i try not to talk about it much.. sometimes i feel like people expect that i should just be over it and moving on, but i can't. the excitement and worry that i feel about buying houses and starting our family and the advice and support/concern i'm looking for can't come from anyone the way it would come from her and it leaves me feeling really lost. chris thinks i should talk to someone.. so does steve. but i don't know if i want to.. maybe after more time passes, i'll feel better. at least, i hope i will.
new years is coming up. i still have no plans. steve will be in NJ at nerdcon. no great concerts happening or parties i'm interested in going to. i may end up hanging with chris watching whatever indie movie or documentary he's got on netflix and snacking on popcorn. a quiet start to 2011 doesn't seem like a terrible idea.
i will hopefully blog more.. SOON!
***shame face***
much has happened..
thanksgiving was REALLY rad. we got to hang around with the byers family.. they are always a lot of fun.
it was also pretty awesome to visit donna and doug. this time, we went to visit a place called the lorton workhouse. i left feeling very inspired. i learned a few things from some of the different artists. while we were wandering through, i came upon an artist who was a chinese brush painter. while talking with her i learned the reason why my experiments with chinese brush painting were producing massive amounts of crap. the way i was holding and using the brush was COMPLETELY WRONG. she taught some classes, but since i live so darn far away, she was kind enough to give me a couple of pointers. i've tried a few of them with a bit more success. i also met someone who was making glass beads over a torch. she let me watch her a little and explained some of them process. that was FREAKING AWESOME. now i want to learn how to make things out of glass, but i don't know how steve would feel about me setting up a torch... best to look into finding a studio around here in boston sometime..
steve and i seem to always feel very relaxed when we travel to the south. steves mom and dad (along with his step parents) are pretty awesome. on the night that we leave, we typically muse about how bummed we are that our "vacation" is coming to an end.
work is still work. nothing too exciting there. i'm still continuing to swim daily. let me tell you, commiting to go the pool and then go back to your car in the freezing weather.. augh! i've also added the occasional zumba class to the mix. i can't tell if there has been much difference, but i feel great.
our house hunt has (seemingly) finally come to an end!!!
a few weeks ago, we checked out a 2 family in somerville. on bonair street (i even liked the name ;) and we decided to put a bid in on it. this is always the part i hate. i make myself nearly insane worrying that someone else will bid, or that the seller will say no thanks, or that something else ridiculous will happen. we've been through this process maybe 5 times now, and i'm surprised i'm not bald with all the hair twirling and neuroses i've picked up... well, they accepted the offer, and then we moved on to the home inspection. we like to think that after all of the houses we've seen we've got a general idea of the bad things to look for. this house didn't really seem to have any of those red flags.. but you never really know until you've got the inspector there. the good news is.. the inspection went great. there were a few things that we wanted to have fixed.. and all but one of them was agreed upon.
the house itself is pretty neat. it's an older house, which means it has some really terrific architectural details and mouldings and some great wood floors. it's a 2 family house. the entire first floor is a 2 bedroom, 1 bath rental unit. while the top 2 floors are a 3 bedroom, 1 bath unit. we will live on the top 2 floors. the wallpaper thats in there is hideous and it also has some really.. we'll say interesting (to be polite), drop ceilings. but under those crazy ceilings are some really great crown moulding and ceiling medalions. the bathroom is huge. at least it is when you compare it to the bathroom we have now. if you took the bathroom we have now, you could put 2 of them into the bathroom on bonair street. it's pretty awesome. the kitchen is pretty good as well. its not updated, but it's in fantastic shape. the most exciting thing.. i will have MY VERY OWN PLACE for a washer and dryer. no move hauling laundry down the street in 6 different tubs.. i can leisurely wash one sock if i want to. (not that i would.. i'm jus' sayin', ya know?)
now that the offer and the inspection are all taken care of all we have to do is deal with the mortgage people.. gah!
this whole moving this has gotten me purging junk like there is no tomorrow. i'm not looking forward to the moving part of it.. or the packing. *sob*
our apartment is all decked out for christmas. in my rush to purge everything, i came upon a bunch of sets of fancy lights and strung them up in my kitchen and front hall. i also set up my moms old ceramic christmas tree, although i skipped the manger set.. our christmas tree is up and gleaming. one of the last times i was in springfield, i found a small box of really old christmas ornaments. it was like receiving a gift from my mom. they were ornaments i'd completely forgotten even existed. it was wonderful to find them.
i've recently still been feeling a little low. or a lot. if i'm being honest, i'm still really really messed up and sad and missing my mom. i don't really talk much about it, except to my friend chris, and sometimes steve. i try not to talk about it much.. sometimes i feel like people expect that i should just be over it and moving on, but i can't. the excitement and worry that i feel about buying houses and starting our family and the advice and support/concern i'm looking for can't come from anyone the way it would come from her and it leaves me feeling really lost. chris thinks i should talk to someone.. so does steve. but i don't know if i want to.. maybe after more time passes, i'll feel better. at least, i hope i will.
new years is coming up. i still have no plans. steve will be in NJ at nerdcon. no great concerts happening or parties i'm interested in going to. i may end up hanging with chris watching whatever indie movie or documentary he's got on netflix and snacking on popcorn. a quiet start to 2011 doesn't seem like a terrible idea.
i will hopefully blog more.. SOON!
Monday, November 15, 2010
you do de... kicky-boxin?
NO.. i do not do the "kicky-boxin".. it was the plan to check out zumba tonight. apparently the zumba lady hurt herself so the kickboxing instructor took over. i am game for many things, but i don't think i am yet game for kickboxin'.. especially the cardio kickboxin'. rain (my now permanent gym buddy) decided to give it a shot. bless her heart.. she made it to 15 minutes of rigorous cardio kickboxing. i watched for about 30 seconds before saying "to hell with this" and went down to the pool. i had the pool to myself for about a half an hour. it was kind of nice.
after my swim, i usually pop into the sauna to warm up and relax for a few mins. a gal that had been in the class with rain.. she was brazillian and had a great accent.. also popped into the sauna with rain and i, she asked rain if she did the "kicky-boxin". that is probably what i will call it forever now.
swimming has been slow but good. i am finally over my colds/flu/virus.. and am still battling my throat/wisdom teeth infection.. since i can breathe, i can swim. i have no way of really tracking any weight loss progress, so i've decided that i'm going to not worry about the tracking and just focus on eating the right things and swimming or being physical for at least an hour a day. obviously swimming is the ideal.. but if i'm out of town or something.. ya know..
saturday i leave for the skillsUSA fall state leadership conference.. then the tuesday i come back, we leave for baltimore. i'm looking forward to getting out of town and seeing family.
after my swim, i usually pop into the sauna to warm up and relax for a few mins. a gal that had been in the class with rain.. she was brazillian and had a great accent.. also popped into the sauna with rain and i, she asked rain if she did the "kicky-boxin". that is probably what i will call it forever now.
swimming has been slow but good. i am finally over my colds/flu/virus.. and am still battling my throat/wisdom teeth infection.. since i can breathe, i can swim. i have no way of really tracking any weight loss progress, so i've decided that i'm going to not worry about the tracking and just focus on eating the right things and swimming or being physical for at least an hour a day. obviously swimming is the ideal.. but if i'm out of town or something.. ya know..
saturday i leave for the skillsUSA fall state leadership conference.. then the tuesday i come back, we leave for baltimore. i'm looking forward to getting out of town and seeing family.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
it's almost time for...
... christmas music!!! and christmas lights!!! and christmas TREES!!
will i be able to find a tree i loved as much as the smoky mountain blue frasier fir tree i had last year? picking the tree is serious business!!!
on goings recently..
-joined the boston sports club about 4 weeks ago.. sickness has kept me out of the pool for 2 of those 4 weeks.. being sick is starting to get old.. but i'm excited about my swim gear. i started with a pink and orange silicone swim cap and pink goggles (to try to keep the optimistic "rose colored glasses" idea. steve was awesome and surprised me with a pink and black bathing suit... i'm pretty jazzed about the whole thing. i went to the doctors and was told to get ahold of my weight or keep on down the road my mom was on.. this included fertility problems. i don't want surgery and i failed the whole treadmill at planet fitness thing i had been doing. too much impact was making walking very difficult. i was pushing it and hurting myself more. the great news is that the pool is not painful. i feel wonderfully sore, but it doesn't hurt. now if this friggin cold would go away.. i'm not saying that it's a sure thing, but i do like the pool..
-house hunting continues to be a really big pain. however, the idea of moving has continued to make me purge things i don't need. thats kind of nice.
- i may get to experience the irritation of getting to evict someone from my house. we'll see about that too.
-i've been crocheting like crazy.. i've mastered the granny square and am going to experiment with the hexagon.
-i've continued to draw every day.. yet i curse my PC for not giving me the technology to let me scan things in any sort of timely manner.. i'm fairly positive it's punishing me for selling out to my mac.. kind of like it's saying.. ohhhh.. your vintage imac failed and now you want to come crawling back to me?! well missy.. you'll pay for that!
don't worry dell.. i'm going to settle that score sooner or later.
gearing up for some Massachusetts SkillsUSA Fall State Leadership Conference goodness... then off to the south for thanksgiving.. should be a great november!
more later!
will i be able to find a tree i loved as much as the smoky mountain blue frasier fir tree i had last year? picking the tree is serious business!!!
on goings recently..
-joined the boston sports club about 4 weeks ago.. sickness has kept me out of the pool for 2 of those 4 weeks.. being sick is starting to get old.. but i'm excited about my swim gear. i started with a pink and orange silicone swim cap and pink goggles (to try to keep the optimistic "rose colored glasses" idea. steve was awesome and surprised me with a pink and black bathing suit... i'm pretty jazzed about the whole thing. i went to the doctors and was told to get ahold of my weight or keep on down the road my mom was on.. this included fertility problems. i don't want surgery and i failed the whole treadmill at planet fitness thing i had been doing. too much impact was making walking very difficult. i was pushing it and hurting myself more. the great news is that the pool is not painful. i feel wonderfully sore, but it doesn't hurt. now if this friggin cold would go away.. i'm not saying that it's a sure thing, but i do like the pool..
-house hunting continues to be a really big pain. however, the idea of moving has continued to make me purge things i don't need. thats kind of nice.
- i may get to experience the irritation of getting to evict someone from my house. we'll see about that too.
-i've been crocheting like crazy.. i've mastered the granny square and am going to experiment with the hexagon.
-i've continued to draw every day.. yet i curse my PC for not giving me the technology to let me scan things in any sort of timely manner.. i'm fairly positive it's punishing me for selling out to my mac.. kind of like it's saying.. ohhhh.. your vintage imac failed and now you want to come crawling back to me?! well missy.. you'll pay for that!
don't worry dell.. i'm going to settle that score sooner or later.
gearing up for some Massachusetts SkillsUSA Fall State Leadership Conference goodness... then off to the south for thanksgiving.. should be a great november!
more later!
Monday, October 4, 2010
lots of on-goings
yes.. i haven't been posting my drawings.. and i haven't been drawing every day.. but i draw i'd say.. 5-6 out of 7 days. i'm back on my dell as the LCD screen in my mac has failed. the dell sucks, so i have a difficult time scanning things and posting them.
either way.. some exciting things have gone on there is more than these two things.. but this takes up enough energy for now i think.
-the sheila divine comes back
-house hunting
back in march of 2001.. i moved here to follow the sheila divine. in october of 2001.. they broke up. i'd met alot of people going to those shows and traveling all over the place to see them. over the years, they'd played a few shows here and there, as well as starting some side projects (dear leader anyone?) i'd kind of always hoped that maybe someday they'd get back together.. but how often does that really happen? the real answer is that most of the time it doesn't happen... except for now when it is in fact happening. my favorite band of alllllll time is back. i can't say it enough.. the sheila divine is coming back.
instead of finding a record company, they are doing it themselves. this is also awesome because it means that they can do it however the hell they want to.. which in turn means that it will probably be much more awesome than it would were it coming out of a regular record company. the coolest thing about all of this is the way in which they are funding the whole thing. there is a webiste called "kickstarter" that bands can tell about the projects they want to do. they reach out to their fans for funding. in this case.. the fans are into it :) which means.. the sheila divine is coming back. (did i mention that already?)
check it out! here
last thursday, they played their first show as an active band. they played the last night of WFNX's disorientation show, which is kind of the radio stations welcome back to the boston area college students. it was held at the lansdown pub, which is right across the street from fenway park.. thank god it wasn't a game night! when i got there, i immediately saw the folks who i refer to as "my TSD family". they are some of my favorite people on earth. they are so wonderful and amazing that when my mom passed away, they all pooled together to send our family an enourmous edible arrangement. they're a pretty awesome bunch. it's been so wonderful to keep in touch with them and see alot of them start families and change. it's even awesomer to know that i'll get to see them again semi-regularly. most of the night was all about hugs and "how on earth have you beens" when 9pm came.. we had all weaseled our way to the front of the stage. i was standing with matty and rachel.. matt at one point said "this is bordering retarted excited". they played for over an hour.. 15 songs.. it seemed like minutes. the clip below was from that night.. it was the song "hum".. all in all, it was a really, REALLY exciting and fantastic night. i can't wait for the next one!
house hunting. jesus. what a drag. i could literally pounce on the host of house hunters for making it sound like so much fun. in reality.. it sucks. the first house we saw.. we really liked. it was a HUGE old victorian in malden. to best describe it, you could say that it looks like whoever owned it in the seventies died there, and the house went undiscovered until now. more disgusting wallpaper than you ever thought you could (or should) find in one house.. brown appliances, wood paneling as far as the eye could see... in short, the inside was not at all updated. i could have figured out a what to make that insane 70's wall paper awesome. move to the basement.. the foundation more specifically. the house was basically pushing the foundation out from under itself.
it was immediately taken off the list.
since then, we've seen some other properties as well. on september 19th, we found one in framingham that we were sure was "the one" it looked fantastic, everything was fully updated., it had a fully finished basement, the yard was huge and fenced in. we made and offer, there was some slight negotiating, our offer got accepted (YAY!) and we scheduled the inspection.
the day of the inspection came and we traveled out to the hosue.. outside was "alright". there was a third layer of roof on the house which wasn't supposed to be legal. then we moved inside. the first floor was completely fine. no problems except for a fan in the bathroom which wasn't working. move on to the basement and it seemed like every room we looked through was getting smacked in the face or punched in the stomach. to start off with the simple things.. half of the electrical outlets were wired backwards. simple list complete.
lets move onto the fun. that fantastic woodburing stove that i could picture being curled up on a couch reading next to was not hooked up to the chimney. which essentially meant i had a decorative 400lb woodburing stove. the full bathroom in the basement had no vent, no window, and no trap on it. that translates into having an illegal (yet decorative) bathroom. there was a sump pump that was hooked up illegally to the sewer line (i'm sure when framingham finds out, they'll be thrilled). there was also mold on the drywall in the boiler room. the good news i suppose is that the boiler was brand new.. but the mold was not. the inspector also said that it was possible that there was mold under the tile basement floor, because under the tile, was wood that was put there to even the floor out and raise it from the concrete.
we talked and talked.. and it ended up that while we could either negotiate to lower the price, or have everything fixed.. the owner of the house wouldn't let us bring in an inspector for the mold. he said that if they found more of it, and we decided not to take the house, then he would have to disclose mold to future possible buyers. which he, obviously, would not want to do.
adios marian road.
so the hunt continues.. and hopefully, we'll find something that works for us.
hey.. did you hear about the sheila divine...? ;)
either way.. some exciting things have gone on there is more than these two things.. but this takes up enough energy for now i think.
-the sheila divine comes back
-house hunting
back in march of 2001.. i moved here to follow the sheila divine. in october of 2001.. they broke up. i'd met alot of people going to those shows and traveling all over the place to see them. over the years, they'd played a few shows here and there, as well as starting some side projects (dear leader anyone?) i'd kind of always hoped that maybe someday they'd get back together.. but how often does that really happen? the real answer is that most of the time it doesn't happen... except for now when it is in fact happening. my favorite band of alllllll time is back. i can't say it enough.. the sheila divine is coming back.
instead of finding a record company, they are doing it themselves. this is also awesome because it means that they can do it however the hell they want to.. which in turn means that it will probably be much more awesome than it would were it coming out of a regular record company. the coolest thing about all of this is the way in which they are funding the whole thing. there is a webiste called "kickstarter" that bands can tell about the projects they want to do. they reach out to their fans for funding. in this case.. the fans are into it :) which means.. the sheila divine is coming back. (did i mention that already?)
check it out! here
last thursday, they played their first show as an active band. they played the last night of WFNX's disorientation show, which is kind of the radio stations welcome back to the boston area college students. it was held at the lansdown pub, which is right across the street from fenway park.. thank god it wasn't a game night! when i got there, i immediately saw the folks who i refer to as "my TSD family". they are some of my favorite people on earth. they are so wonderful and amazing that when my mom passed away, they all pooled together to send our family an enourmous edible arrangement. they're a pretty awesome bunch. it's been so wonderful to keep in touch with them and see alot of them start families and change. it's even awesomer to know that i'll get to see them again semi-regularly. most of the night was all about hugs and "how on earth have you beens" when 9pm came.. we had all weaseled our way to the front of the stage. i was standing with matty and rachel.. matt at one point said "this is bordering retarted excited". they played for over an hour.. 15 songs.. it seemed like minutes. the clip below was from that night.. it was the song "hum".. all in all, it was a really, REALLY exciting and fantastic night. i can't wait for the next one!
house hunting. jesus. what a drag. i could literally pounce on the host of house hunters for making it sound like so much fun. in reality.. it sucks. the first house we saw.. we really liked. it was a HUGE old victorian in malden. to best describe it, you could say that it looks like whoever owned it in the seventies died there, and the house went undiscovered until now. more disgusting wallpaper than you ever thought you could (or should) find in one house.. brown appliances, wood paneling as far as the eye could see... in short, the inside was not at all updated. i could have figured out a what to make that insane 70's wall paper awesome. move to the basement.. the foundation more specifically. the house was basically pushing the foundation out from under itself.
it was immediately taken off the list.
since then, we've seen some other properties as well. on september 19th, we found one in framingham that we were sure was "the one" it looked fantastic, everything was fully updated., it had a fully finished basement, the yard was huge and fenced in. we made and offer, there was some slight negotiating, our offer got accepted (YAY!) and we scheduled the inspection.
the day of the inspection came and we traveled out to the hosue.. outside was "alright". there was a third layer of roof on the house which wasn't supposed to be legal. then we moved inside. the first floor was completely fine. no problems except for a fan in the bathroom which wasn't working. move on to the basement and it seemed like every room we looked through was getting smacked in the face or punched in the stomach. to start off with the simple things.. half of the electrical outlets were wired backwards. simple list complete.
lets move onto the fun. that fantastic woodburing stove that i could picture being curled up on a couch reading next to was not hooked up to the chimney. which essentially meant i had a decorative 400lb woodburing stove. the full bathroom in the basement had no vent, no window, and no trap on it. that translates into having an illegal (yet decorative) bathroom. there was a sump pump that was hooked up illegally to the sewer line (i'm sure when framingham finds out, they'll be thrilled). there was also mold on the drywall in the boiler room. the good news i suppose is that the boiler was brand new.. but the mold was not. the inspector also said that it was possible that there was mold under the tile basement floor, because under the tile, was wood that was put there to even the floor out and raise it from the concrete.
we talked and talked.. and it ended up that while we could either negotiate to lower the price, or have everything fixed.. the owner of the house wouldn't let us bring in an inspector for the mold. he said that if they found more of it, and we decided not to take the house, then he would have to disclose mold to future possible buyers. which he, obviously, would not want to do.
adios marian road.
so the hunt continues.. and hopefully, we'll find something that works for us.
hey.. did you hear about the sheila divine...? ;)
Saturday, August 28, 2010
hello? are you there?
a brief update from the ville'..
many things are going on.. i am still doing the daily sketch, but i cannot upload them because my computer is ill. i will try to resume the updating asap.
happy end of summer everyone!
many things are going on.. i am still doing the daily sketch, but i cannot upload them because my computer is ill. i will try to resume the updating asap.
happy end of summer everyone!
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
inspiration: janet fish
a bit about janet fish: Janet Fish is a contemporary realist painter and printmaker who was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1938, and raised on the island of Bermuda. Her grandfather, Clark Voorhees, was an American Impressionist painter who inspired Janet. Her father was an art history teacher, and her mother, Florence Whistler Fish, a sculptor and potter. She went to Skowhegan Summer School of Painting and Sculpture in Maine, and studied sculpture and printmaking at Smith College in Massachusetts, and graduated from Smith in 1960. She then went on to Yale University School of Art and Architecture in Connecticut, where she received her B.F.A. (Bachelor of Fine Arts) and M.F.A. (Master of Fine Arts) degrees in 1963. (She was one of the first women artists to receive her MFA from Yale.)
i LOVE the way she painted glass. i love it so much, it makes me give it a shot myself. i'm nowhere near as awesome as she is, but i still have fun doing it :)
i did this one at my kitchen table. painting glass is still a little bit of a mystery to me. the two little vases i thought are alright, but the larger one in the back bugs me a bit. once i've scanned it in, i have the chance to see it much larger on my computer screen. sometimes i want to go back and change things, but i don't. i think that once it's scanned in.. that's it. maybe i could go back and revisit the items i've painted at a later date, but i don't want to tinker with the ones i'd previously though of as "finished". i have another date with that large cobalt vase in the future...
koi watercolor paints, aquarelle watercolor pencils with koi waterbrushes, on moleskine watercolor paper.
i LOVE the way she painted glass. i love it so much, it makes me give it a shot myself. i'm nowhere near as awesome as she is, but i still have fun doing it :)
i did this one at my kitchen table. painting glass is still a little bit of a mystery to me. the two little vases i thought are alright, but the larger one in the back bugs me a bit. once i've scanned it in, i have the chance to see it much larger on my computer screen. sometimes i want to go back and change things, but i don't. i think that once it's scanned in.. that's it. maybe i could go back and revisit the items i've painted at a later date, but i don't want to tinker with the ones i'd previously though of as "finished". i have another date with that large cobalt vase in the future...
koi watercolor paints, aquarelle watercolor pencils with koi waterbrushes, on moleskine watercolor paper.
catch up
i didn't draw much last week. august had crept up on me, and that first week was not a happy time week. i don't think i need to comment much more on that. i hate august so much.
back to the art.. eh?
late at night, garcia likes to walk around meowing and carrying these mice around the house. you can usually hear him rustling around until he finds a mouse in the dark, then he walks around for about an hour.. meows all muffled. his final destination is my bed. it is not at all unusual for me to find several of these mice tangled in my sheets in the morning. when i get up, i take them with me and usually toss them somewhere else in the house for him to hunt again. i found it difficult to translate the ragged condition these things are in from real life to paper. how, really.. does one paint cat spit?
i have a ton of these little chinese fishies. it used to be that i would buy one every time i was in quincy market. if i did that, i wouldn't have any more room in my jewelery box for them.
this is my trusty alvin DUX inkwell pencil sharpener. one of the many scores i made when pearl closed and had a 90% off sale. i've gone through more different types of sharpeners than you can imagine, but this one seems to work pretty perfectly. i suppose sharpener pickiness is an "artist thing", but it gets really annoying when a sharpener consistently snaps your leads off. ESPECIALLY if the leads it's eating come from a $4 or $5 pencil. have i convinced you that you need an inkwell sharpener of your own? relax.. pearl wasn't the only place you can get one. amazon will hook you up.
i'm ranting. i'm finished. i drew the sharpener because i loved the color and shape of the glass. if we want to go far enough.. it's a tribute to the awesomeness of alvin. :)
on a fun note. i was flipping though my little moleskine book, and i am halfway finished with the sketchbook. i know that it's because the watercolor paper is thicker.. but i really love the feeling of filling a sketchbook. i have a zillion of these notebooks around with different types of paper in them and i was toying with the idea of starting a different one. like.. instead of starting another watercolor book, maybe i'd jump into colored pencils. the downer with that is my tin of prismacolor pencils is not nearly as portable as my watercolor paints and brushes. plus.. colored pencils are not my favorite medium. not by a damn sight.. but do i force myself into it to try and develop the prismacolor skills? should i start in with the markers? so many choices. i still have half a book to go before i have to make that decision.
back to the art.. eh?
late at night, garcia likes to walk around meowing and carrying these mice around the house. you can usually hear him rustling around until he finds a mouse in the dark, then he walks around for about an hour.. meows all muffled. his final destination is my bed. it is not at all unusual for me to find several of these mice tangled in my sheets in the morning. when i get up, i take them with me and usually toss them somewhere else in the house for him to hunt again. i found it difficult to translate the ragged condition these things are in from real life to paper. how, really.. does one paint cat spit?
i have a ton of these little chinese fishies. it used to be that i would buy one every time i was in quincy market. if i did that, i wouldn't have any more room in my jewelery box for them.
this is my trusty alvin DUX inkwell pencil sharpener. one of the many scores i made when pearl closed and had a 90% off sale. i've gone through more different types of sharpeners than you can imagine, but this one seems to work pretty perfectly. i suppose sharpener pickiness is an "artist thing", but it gets really annoying when a sharpener consistently snaps your leads off. ESPECIALLY if the leads it's eating come from a $4 or $5 pencil. have i convinced you that you need an inkwell sharpener of your own? relax.. pearl wasn't the only place you can get one. amazon will hook you up.
i'm ranting. i'm finished. i drew the sharpener because i loved the color and shape of the glass. if we want to go far enough.. it's a tribute to the awesomeness of alvin. :)
on a fun note. i was flipping though my little moleskine book, and i am halfway finished with the sketchbook. i know that it's because the watercolor paper is thicker.. but i really love the feeling of filling a sketchbook. i have a zillion of these notebooks around with different types of paper in them and i was toying with the idea of starting a different one. like.. instead of starting another watercolor book, maybe i'd jump into colored pencils. the downer with that is my tin of prismacolor pencils is not nearly as portable as my watercolor paints and brushes. plus.. colored pencils are not my favorite medium. not by a damn sight.. but do i force myself into it to try and develop the prismacolor skills? should i start in with the markers? so many choices. i still have half a book to go before i have to make that decision.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
soooorrrryyyyy!!!
i played sorry with a little girl named Azusa today. she is one of my favorite nanny charges. she's a very interesting little girl. her dad is japanese and mom is american, but their home is a very traditional japanese home. she speaks japanese and likes to try and teach me some here and there. i could get into my whole afternoon with her, but this is about the sketchin'.
koi watercolor paints, aquarelle watercolor pencils with koi waterbrushes, on moleskine watercolor paper.
koi watercolor paints, aquarelle watercolor pencils with koi waterbrushes, on moleskine watercolor paper.
michael.. you are such a howdedoodat.
arrested development... i'm just sayin'.
this is my typical setup. i like to paint on my handheld little moleskine while laying in bed and watching night time TV. this is why i seem to have an abnormally high number of purple backrounds. anyone see project runway tonight?
i've had a couple of people ask me "what the hell is a waterbrush?" when i worked at pearl, i discovered these amazing little brushes. we won't talk about how i stock up on brushes like the next apocalypse is coming.. or that i have some kolinskis that some people would try to jump me for.. instead, i've been favoring these handy, portable fantastic (and somewhat cheap) little brushes. they are made by koi, a company that i also have a set of watercolor paints from. they look like a normal brush, but instead of a handle, there is a resevoir where the water is held. the bristles are made out of.. i have no idea what. it seems like some sort of nylon.. somethin'. whatever it is, the paint does not stain the bristles like it would on a normal natural haired brush.
give a little squeeze and the water comes out so you can wet your paint. squeeze a little harder and the brush cleans itself out. i HATE the watercolor paint that already comes wet. the ones that come in little dry compressed blocks of paint are my favorites because i can choose how wet i get the paint. the wetter the paint, the more color saturation you can get.
i have MANY sets of watercolor paints, but the 2 i've been favoring the most lately are my koi and winsor newton sets. they come in what they call field sketch boxes. so you get most of the primaries and some of the secondaries so you get the chance to make any color you want. which is how i work too. when i was in high school, my art teacher would only let us use 8 colors. (alizarin crimson, cadmium red med., cad. yellow light, cad. yellow med., ultramarine blue, phthalo blue, mars black and titanium white). from those colors, you can create any color in the world. she wanted us to learn to use color. i'm fairly positive this is where my fascination and love for color theory came from. when i break out the schminkes.. i'll take more pics. that paint is GORGEOUS.
winsor newtons on the left and the koi set is on the right.
anywho.. thats howididdat.
this is my typical setup. i like to paint on my handheld little moleskine while laying in bed and watching night time TV. this is why i seem to have an abnormally high number of purple backrounds. anyone see project runway tonight?
i've had a couple of people ask me "what the hell is a waterbrush?" when i worked at pearl, i discovered these amazing little brushes. we won't talk about how i stock up on brushes like the next apocalypse is coming.. or that i have some kolinskis that some people would try to jump me for.. instead, i've been favoring these handy, portable fantastic (and somewhat cheap) little brushes. they are made by koi, a company that i also have a set of watercolor paints from. they look like a normal brush, but instead of a handle, there is a resevoir where the water is held. the bristles are made out of.. i have no idea what. it seems like some sort of nylon.. somethin'. whatever it is, the paint does not stain the bristles like it would on a normal natural haired brush.
give a little squeeze and the water comes out so you can wet your paint. squeeze a little harder and the brush cleans itself out. i HATE the watercolor paint that already comes wet. the ones that come in little dry compressed blocks of paint are my favorites because i can choose how wet i get the paint. the wetter the paint, the more color saturation you can get.
i have MANY sets of watercolor paints, but the 2 i've been favoring the most lately are my koi and winsor newton sets. they come in what they call field sketch boxes. so you get most of the primaries and some of the secondaries so you get the chance to make any color you want. which is how i work too. when i was in high school, my art teacher would only let us use 8 colors. (alizarin crimson, cadmium red med., cad. yellow light, cad. yellow med., ultramarine blue, phthalo blue, mars black and titanium white). from those colors, you can create any color in the world. she wanted us to learn to use color. i'm fairly positive this is where my fascination and love for color theory came from. when i break out the schminkes.. i'll take more pics. that paint is GORGEOUS.winsor newtons on the left and the koi set is on the right.
anywho.. thats howididdat.
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