tag!

i got this from naturally nina. (visit her, the link is on the side under blog crushes).

not that i'm trying to be a copy cat, but if you are reading this, consider yourself tagged. let me know if you posted your answers so i can see what you have to say!

1. what books are on your favorite shelf?

song of the sparrow by lisa ann sandell, how to be bad by e. lockhart, sarah mlynowski, lauren myracle, just listen by sarah dessen, when it happens by susane colasanti, and stargirl by jerry spinelli

2. what dvds are on your favorite shelf?

slumdog millionaire, the breakfast club, pretty in pink, vacation, bring it on, and how to lose a guy in 10 days.

3. what are your two favorite cookbooks?

i only have one and it's a duncan hines cookbook. it has an amazing recipe for cupcakes with peanut butter frosting :D

4. select one to three recipes you will cook for your special guests:

those cupcakes

5. what will we be drinking that's available?

hmm.. i'm not really sure what this is asking.. you mean what do i have at my house that we could drink or if i could pick any drink what would it be? i suppose i'll combine the two: chocolate milk.

and five random facts

1. every time i think of the fact that you can't lick your elbows, i feel the urge to try anyway.

2. i absolutely love peanuts (the cartoon)

3. i've been offered an amazing opportunity to serve on the event planning team for our international youth conference this year.

4. i wore valentine's day socks today. i usually don't wear socks.

5. i love to listen to mix cd's in my car way more than i like regular cd's or the radio.

on a side note, i've decided on tale of a dream unknown for my new name. i'm in the process of fixing the site up all pretty. once i get it finished, i'll let you know. ;D

have a lovely week!

spring at every opportunity...

i'm nearly homework-free tonight! yay! :D

so i thought i'd take advantage of the abilty to blog on a week day (i can already tell that will be rare this year).

actually, i should be reading and summarizing an article for astronomy, but i'm not feeling it right now. because i wanted to share something that i thought was just the coolest thing.

last night, i was thinking about how this year is going to be and how much change is going to have to take place, and i came upon a post of a quote that i just had to reblog:

"May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness. I hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who thinks you’re wonderful, and don’t to forget make some art — write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can. And I hope, somewhere in the next year, you surprise yourself." — Neil Gaiman

wow. how awesome is that?

i keep trying to keep this in mind, even though it seems a lot of negative things are overriding it right now.

oh. and i thought this was awesome:

:D

currently, my favorite song has got to be Better Part of Me by House of Fools

image credits are on my tumblr. the link should be over on the side somewhere.

oh, and i was trying to put a link in this post, but i hadn't done it in so long, i'd completely forgotten! can anyone help?

have a great week!

JAMinAugust2.0

yeah, i know, i already did an august JAM. but since it's techinically supposed to be done on the 29th of each month (that seems to make more sense now that i think about it) i decided i would stop being a rulebreaker and go ahead and wait till the end of the month since i am now aware of the specific date. :D so here we go..

needing... more sleep. i've been getting up way earlier since school's started and my sleeping habits haven't quite adjusted yet.

reading... wrecked by e.r. frank (because i want to) and the handmaid's tale by margaret atwood (for my english class. it's...interesting. to say the least.)

enjoying... my graphic design, history, and sociology classes.

non-enjoying... taking my friend to and from school everyday (sometimes) and getting up early and having homework every night in the same subjects (all the time).

drinking... a route 44 cherry coke from sonic at happy hour. my new love.

listening... to my playlist of favorite beatles songs. the current song is: back in the USSR. (it makes me think of a russian version of the beach boys :D)

wondering... how i could switch up my routine a little; i'm already bored and i've only been in school for two weeks. any suggestions? what do you do when you need some variety in your life?

recommending - if you wanna play (i highly recommend it; it's actually a lot of fun), check out the link over in the sidebar. there's a box with a little picture that will take you straight to the directions, or in the i love reading... section you can just scoot on down to August Street.

have a fabulous weekend!

i. love. life.

alright. this just may end up being a totally random post... i don't know. i just had some thoughts that i wanted to share with you all.

first off, i saw the time traveler's wife with one of my best friends last week. it was good, but also sad. it sorta ended on a good note though. i would definitely recommend it.

next, i'm thinking of changing the name of my blog. i realize that this would be having to change the url and therefore creating a whole new blog, but i'm really feeling that a new name is necessary. sexyfred was just kinda a placeholder until i could think of some better names. which i'm working on. i'm open to suggestions if you think of a name that suits this blog ;D

i was rearranging the books on my bookshelves when i found a little binder that i used to write stories in when i was in elementary school, and i decided that i would use it to jot down my thoughts this year, because i know i'm in for a lot of growth and change. i'm not sure exactly what will go down, but i know that i'm absolutely ready for everything life throws at me. and even though i know it'll sometimes be trying, i am so excited for all the new experiences i'll have this year.

so in this notebook, i started writing in the front and when i was done, i doodled in the back of it. i had forgotten how good it felt to just draw. and to just write. i need to use pencils more often.

OH! and school started on tuesday. wednesday was my first day of graphic design. i have missed it. i've been deprived of photoshop and designing all summer. i'm going to like this class even better, i think. there are only five of us, whereas last year i'd say there were around twenty. i've started my first project, which i'll explain more when it's done and posted, but it starts with a photo of myself. the only other girl in my class took this while i was playing with my bracelet:

i really like it :D

oh, and i still haven't solved that bloglovin issue from the post below, so if you know how to help me, i would be eternally grateful.

that's all i have for you right now, but stay tuned! there's more to come.

currently listening to: random playlists. but my current favorite song (which i listen to in the car almost all the time when i'm by myself) is we walk by the ting tings. it's super catchy. ;D

help wanted

i'm trying to claim my blog on bloglivin.
it's not working.
any tips/advice?
i'd really appreciate it.
gracias! <3

just a minute in...august

i'm so behind! i've really meant to post and i just haven't gotten around to it.

loving... the new friends i met at the international youth conference two weeks ago.

reading... how to be bad by e. lockhart, sarah mlynowski, and lauren myracle. i just finished this lullaby by sarah dessen. it was great (as should be expected)

watching... reruns of sister, sister, full house, the secret life of the american teenager, and gilmore girls.

anticipating... the start of school. (two weeks from tomorrow!)

consuming... red cream soda and cheddar broccoli pasta.

listening... mostly to hellogoodbye, the rocket summer, owl city, and the fratellis.

just a minute in...july

wow. it's been nearly a whole month since my last post. i really thought i'd post again before my next JAM. i do like what i've done with the place since then, though. film theme (complete with a better header!), buttons off to the side, links to my other sites, who knows what i'll do next? :D

finishing... pe! my last day is this coming thursday!

watching... a little ant friend crawl on my computer (it's a tiny little sugar ant, so i don't mind).

enjoying... the anime series my friend introduced me to last night called toradora.

missing... all my friends from other states that i've met through my youth group (we had our big bi-regional rally last weekend; i'll share photos in another post.)

reading... nickel and dimed (still). i haven't finished i capture the castle yet, either, but i can't renew it anymore so i have to turn it in.

feeling...

• excited for the international youth conference later this month.
• sad that one of my best friends is moving to washington dc (probably) next month. (that's quite a ways from where i live).
• melancholy about my ipod, who always seems to have a different ailment. (she turned three years old a couple weeks ago; my friend keeps telling me i need to get a new one, but it's not quite that simple)

needing... more jean shorts

listening... to a bunch of random music lately. mostly just whatever shows up when i shuffle my summer playlist, which is quite long. this morning i woke up with creeper by islands stuck in my head, though, so i'm listening to that right now.

i apologize for another photo free post. i'll try to fix that as soon as possible.

just a minute in...june

(i've decided to play J.A.M. at the beginning of the month because it'll be easier for me to remember. i just love this game. it's so much fun.)

finishing... an abundance of katherines. (i have a couple chapters left; i don't read very fast). it's really good.

starting... i capture the castle by dodie smith. i'm really excited to read it; it looks really good.

continuing... nickel and dimed and my personal finance class...ugh.

suffering... sun poisoning / really bad sunburn.

wearing... shorts and tee-shirts (for pe)

loving...

• tumblr. (mine is here)
• the purple sunglasses and white go-go boots i found at the circulation corner at my church.
• the bag i made out of an old pair of jeans, a tee-shirt, and a pretty scarf.
• this jewelry
• the double-decker bus for this month on my london calendar.

wanting... this camera. i 've decided that when i do get one, he'll be orange (my favorite!) and i'll name him walter.

looking... for a job..possibly.

missing... seeing my friends every day.

feeling... tired, annoyed, happy, excited, melancholy, and behind on xanga all at the same time.

listening... to day & age by the killers, everything on the playlist over to your right (not in real life; on my page :D), and owl city's new (and old) stuff.

i will post photos of my sunglasses, boots, and bag as soon as i either 1) stop being lazy and use my camera with the broken screen , 2) get the camera mentioned above, or 3) take some polaroids.

i feel kinda bad about not posting any photos for you to look at, but i suppose there are some on tumblr for you to look at.

i kinda feel like changing my template again. the pink is becoming a little much for me (not that i dislike pink.) what do you think? if you know how to better customize a template, i would very much appreciate it if you would share your knowledge. now that i'm thinking about it...i might make a (much needed) new header soon...

and i'm sleeping on the balcony after class

oh my gooodness.
the other day i got a certificate and it says i'm an outstanding artist in graphic design
!!!!
i was SO FREAKING EXCITED. i love art. but i've never gotten an award for it. ever. =D that made my day.
i just thought i'd tell you.
speaking of which,
i finished my last project of the school year, which is sorta like the last one, only different. it's about me. instead of something time magazine-y. which was boring to the extreme.
so here it is:

as i was cleaning out my h drive on the school's system, i found this that i made when we first learned about filters in photoshop. i made this the same time as the blue one in my very first post, so it is also something that came out totally random and i decided i liked it enough to save it:

it looks really creepy and weird to me. i don't know, tell me what you think. of both of them.



just a minute in...may
reading... an abundance of katherines by john green. and i'm supposed to be reading nickel and dimed by barbara ehrenreich for my personal finance class. but i haven't started yet..
making...a composition book full of a fashion inspiration collage
taking... personal finance (online) and p.e. in summer school
wearing... pajamas!
listening... my current favorites are O Valencia! by the Decemberists, Kids by MGMT, Written in Blood by She Wants Revenge, Creeper by Islands, Hairy Candy by TOBACCO, and Campus by Vampire Weekend

wanna play? go here to learn more.

well, you must be a boy with bones like that

well hey there!

i have a few things i want to show you!

first off, i got my project back.

this is what it looks like all together:

i'm going to frame it and hang it up in my room along with a couple of other projects i've done.

i've finished another project.

i thought this one was kinda boring.

we picked topics at random, and i got global warming.

we had to make a time magazine cover with the topic as our cover story.

so here it is:

last, but most certainly not least, (my favorite), polaroids!

i put film in my polaroid camera all by myself for the first time a couple days ago. i was proud.

so anyway, i took some pictures with it for my last graphic design project of the year.

this first one's kinda lame. it's my certificates from this year and last year saying that i'm in the top ten percent of my class.

this is my car, safara.

and this one is the shoes i got at the converse outlet about three weeks ago. i love them.

oh, and i thought i'd just let you know:

i just got msn/windows live messenger (and i love it).

if you have one and want to talk sometime, just let me know.

new idea: i'm going to put this at the end of every post:

music i have recently taken a liking to that i think you should listen to.

chelsea dagger by the fratellis

shut me up by mindless self indulgence

have a lovely week.

<3!

"so tell me darling, do you wish we'd fall in love?"

first thing i should probably mention:
template/layout change. again. i know. but i thought it looked extremely lame so i changed it again. not that it looks a whole lot better now. i actually liked the header better on the old one.(hah! that rhymed. header better =D) i guess i'll just look for (or make, if i'm not feeling lazy) another one.
oh, well. ;D



next thing on the agenda:
i highly advise you to scoot on over to
http://owlcitymusic.com/.
free song! (hot air balloons)
it's pretty darn catchy.
and once you get there, go ahead and listen to his other songs. they're fabulous as well.

moving on.

you are probably getting really sick of looking at these.
i know i am.
but i really feel the need to show you how this project progressed.
so here are the cropped squares that i actually printed off and arranged for the final project. (once i get that back, i'll take a picture of it for you so you can see the final thing!)

where's waldo?...only different.

why, hello!
i've come out of laziness for a few moments to post the second stage of my graphic design project. (i've actually finished it. i just need to format everything so i can post them.)
so, you already know the object you're looking for and what the originals look like (if not, see the post below this one), so this shouldn't be too hard. i just thought you should see what they looked like with the key in them before i cropped them. so here we go.

i have been singing old britney spears and backstreet boys songs all day

alright. so this is the first stage of my latest graphic design project.

we had to take sixteen different kinds of art and insert a common object into each piece we chose.

this is my common object. (i got it from google images, so i can't give proper credit)

these are the original paintings before i put the key in them.

i'll list for you the kind of painting (as listed on the assignment sheet) and then tell you who the artist is and the name of the piece.

ready?

here we go...

american artist

andrew wyeth, the carry

impressionist

cezanne, the card players

renaissance, leonardo da vinci

the last supper

japanese artist, takashi murasaki

727-272

japanese woodcut

katsushika hokusai, great wave


i did two for pop art because i couldn't decide.

i eventually chose the second one for the final project.

both are by wayne thiebaud.

,

intersection

winding river


picasso's blue period

old guitarist

abstract expressionist

rauschenberg, estate

english artist, david hockney

mr. and mrs. clark and percy

graphic designer, stasys eidrigevicius

janusz kretowicz

multi-cultural

udaka mandal, hilly terrain

fauvism

matisse, the music lesson

baroque

velazquez, the medici gardens in rome

greek or roman painting (this is greek)

the blue ladies

egyptian relief

the temple of abidos

surrealist

rene magritte, personal values

coming soon...

the edits with the key in them