Gee, Thanks

Dec 02, 2008
Categories: family, life

It’s been a rough few days, but i haven’t blogged in a while, so here are some photos from Thanksgiving.

The Dinner Table

We had dinner at Grandpa’s, as usual. But this year we decided to actually eat at the table and put the food on the buffet, so i tackled the job of cleaning off the buffet with Jamie’s help. It was no easy task, but i’d say it was pretty rewarding. First Grandpa’s jungle of plants had to be moved to the bedroom, and then all the junk had to be removed from the buffet and dusted and put back after the windows and the buffet itself had been cleaned. Whew! The meal was delicious (thanks Mom!), and we got to enjoy it comfortably.

Centerpiece
I found this guy while cleaning, and he became the centerpiece.

Joey
Aunt Mary Kaye brought her little dog Joey

Family Gathering
Mom, Mary Kaye, Lindsey, John, Chuck, Tim & Jamie

Not pictured is Grandpa, and of course myself. It was a somewhat morose dinner, as the family isn’t feeling particularly thankful this year. We still have each other though, as Mom pointed out, and that’s certainly something to be grateful for. I’m grateful for my job and my wonderful boyfriend, and for the friends i’ve made and re-made this year.

It’s all snowy right now in Iowa, but that’s not what’s got me feeling down. I’m trying to dislodge my foot from between my jaws and i’m pretty bad at that. With the dual-bad-excuse of alcohol and the internet, i’ve said a lot of stupid things lately, and i’m sorry. I went to the dermatologist yesterday and he says i have hyperlinear palms.

too many lines on my hands
and too many words in my mouth.

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Untimely

Nov 10, 2008
Categories: life

I learned today that my ex-boyfriend’s father passed away this weekend. He was (not even?) 50 years old. Apparently it was either carbon monoxide poisoning or a heart attack. Either way, it was untimely and unfortunate, and i am so sorry for Dan and the rest of his family.

Death is something i never had to really deal with until about a year ago. I remember people in my stepfather’s family dying when my mother was married to him, and occasionally a friend’s grandmother would pass away or a kid i’d known in school would commit suicide, but never anyone i was really close to. Then Joel died. And then Jason. Then Grandma. And now Joe. If these deaths haven’t affected me directly, they’ve completely upturned the lives of people i am or until recently was extremely close to. This is a new feeling for me. I always knew it was coming, but i never imagined that it would just suddenly begin and not stop, and i didn’t have any way of anticipating how it would really feel.

I guess it makes you think about the people who are still in your life and how important they are to you, more than anything. I’m so grateful for all of my friends and family. Take care of yourselves! And take every opportunity to tell people that you love them while you still can.

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Desaturated

Nov 03, 2008
Categories: photography, life

Halloween was way fun. I was one of at least half a dozen Sarah Palins at the one bar we went to, but it was still worth it.

I cannot believe it’s November! It’s about seventy degrees outside and has been for a few days now. Nathan and i spent a lot of time outdoors this weekend, and i took some photos of the flood aftermath out by Saylorville that i’m pretty happy with. I’m going back to my photographic roots–black and white, natural light, and texture. I love it.

Driftwood 2
Roots of a driftwood tree.

Driftwood 3
We found shells along the beach. I don’t keep things like this anymore, i just borrow them.

Driftwood 4
This one is my favorite.

Also, i went back through some of my photo archives yesterday and rediscovered some shots from one of the last few Boheme poetry slams that i think are really beautiful exactly the way i took them. No editing, thankuverymuch Ethos. This was my last semester of school, so the photo is about a year and a half old.

Ghost Boy 2
Ghost Boy

God i love photography. And god this is the most beautiful fall i’ve ever known.

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Racing Heart

Oct 28, 2008
Categories: life

Fall is winding down beautifully. I ran my first race last weekend - the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. I joined up with a group of my friends from Twitter, and we formed a group called “Twitter for Titters.” Only three of us decided to run, and Bryan is a fast runner so that left me and Pete to run together at a slow & steady pace. It was a 5k, or just over three miles. The first mile was easy, the second was uphill a bit and then a nice long downhill, and the third mile was almost entirely uphill. It kicked my butt, and i ended up having to walk about half a mile. I finished at about 34 minutes. Not quite what i was aiming for, but - i ran two and a half miles! A couple of months ago i wouldn’t have DREAMED of ever running that far - or even jogging, whatever. So i’m proud of myself.

Me & Bryan after the Race for the Cure
Me & Bryan, post-race

Bryan, Me and Pete after the Race for the Cure
Bryan, Me & Pete

I love my flyaway hair. Speaking of which, i got a haircut. It’s pretty cute.

Nathan and i found a little wooly caterpillar later that day - a live one, surprisingly. We’ve seen lots and lots of smooshed ones lately. I’m not sure what’s going on with their population this year or why they love to crawl along sidewalks, but i’m glad i finally found a nice big live one to play with. I don’t think i’d done that since i was a little kid, back in Eugene.

Steven the Caterpillar

We named him Steven. At first i thought i’d keep him, but then i decided that was mean so i just let him do a little mini Race for the Cure over my hands for a while before letting him go. We experimented with putting him on different trees in Nathan’s yard until we found one that we thought was good and safe.

We also carved pumpkins this weekend, but mine sucked. I tried to do the Obama logo but A. that’s really unoriginal, and B. i bought a white mini-pumpkin that turned out to actually be thicker than a normal pumpkin, so i couldn’t get it to glow like i had hoped. Nathan’s is cute though…

Nathan's "Special" Pumpkin

It was my idea to put the seeds in the eyes. At least i can take cred for that.

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Adventures at Hy Vee

Oct 23, 2008
Categories: life

So i went to Hy Vee today to pick up a prescription, and as i was waiting for them to do what they had to do with my new insurance card a strange woman sitting nearby waiting, presumably, on a prescription, struck up a conversation with me.

Stranger : That’s a pretty ring you’ve got.

Me: Oh thank you, i got it in Paris.

Stranger: What is it..?

Me: (showing it to her) It’s a rose.

Stranger: Oh, yeah i’ve got a rose on my ankle. My mom’s name is Rose, my middle name is rose, and i’ve got two girls; [Sarah] Rose and [Jennifer] Rose. We’re all a bunch of roses.

Me: Hm, wow.

I turn back to the counter, assuming the conversation to be over. A minute of silence.

Stranger: I don’t like silver, but that’s a really pretty ring. Is is silver or white gold?

Me: It’s silver, yeah.

Silence again. I converse with the pharmacist for a minute and continue waiting.

Stranger: Is it raining out there? It wasn’t raining when i came in but it’s looking really dark. Doesn’t it look dark out there?

Me: No, it’s not raining. Just threatening. Yeah it does look dark out there.

The pharmacist asks if i’d like to pay for my groceries there. I say yes, she bags my apples, apple cider, cereal and milk.

Stranger: Oh my kids love that stuff.

Me: What… the cereal?

Stranger: Naw the… cedar.

I nod. I ask the pharmacist whether i can get a roll of quarters if i get cash back when i pay. She’s not sure, has to check with a higher-up.

Stranger: Yeah, you can. I’ve done it before.

By now it’s been cleared, i’ve swiped my card, hit the appropriate buttons.

Stranger: You just pay with your debit card, and put in your pin number, and when it says cash back you hit ‘yes’–

Me: Yeah i just wasn’t sure whether she had quarters here or not.

Stranger: –And then they give you quarters. You just weren’t sure if she had quarters..?

The transaction ends. I say “Have a nice day” and smile at the woman as i leave, figuring the poor thing probably gets the cold shoulder on a regular basis.

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