May 01

Boba Freaking Fett

Yesterday, I needed to go to the grocery store, and I wasn’t really feeling it. First of all, it was raining. Getting groceries in the rain SUCKS. Plus, I just didn’t feel like it. Rainy days make me want to curl up and read, not get drenched trying to load a ton of crap into the back of my car. Anyway, I tried to convince Mike to go instead of me. He wasn’t buying it. So I put on the full court press – I told him it was Boba Fett Day at the grocery store, and if he didn’t go, he miss out on the chance to finally meet Boba Fett! He was skeptical, so I really laid it on the line and told him that Boba was giving rides in Slave 1, too. He STILL would not go to the store – I actually think he might not have believed me.

So I braved the rains all by myself to get the food that we needed. Boy, did Mike miss out!!

Me & Boba FettHere’s me and Boba Fett. I did take a ride on Slave 1, which was amazing, but Boba doesn’t allow photos of the inside of the ship. This picture will have to do. I texted it to Mike from the grocery store after meeting Boba, and believe it or not, he was still skeptical!! As if I would doctor a photo or something. He even asked me why there was kind of a haze around my hair (you mean my halo??) but I explained to him that they used one of those soft focus lenses to make me look dreamy and romantic.

Anyway, I hope Mike learned his lesson. Especially since next week is Optimus Prime Day.

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Apr 24

Photo Extravaganza

I don’t really have a lot to say at the moment. I’ve been kind of stressed out. Here are some recent photos to tide you over, though. Click for larger.

TNG Pinball!!

Buffy Yawns

April 16 & 17 2012

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Apr 11

Bunny Hop

Easter Eggs!This last Saturday, I colored Easter eggs with my nephew, Noah. Since he is now the ripe old age of 9, I wasn’t sure he would want to do it this year, but he did. Usually I bring bunny ears for us to wear while we do it, but he thought they were uncool last year so I left them home this time. We had a really fun time, and made 3 dozen colorful eggs. This week, Mike & I are trying to eat our way through a tub of egg salad. :)

On Sunday, We got up bright and early and headed to Grand Rapids to visit with Mike’s family. We had a yummy ham dinner as well as an Easter egg hunt for the younger kids. The kids had a great time, and each found all of their eggs. While we were there, Mike also took the opportunity to reclaim all of his old childhood toys. We loaded 4 huge boxes into the car to take home – including Castle Grayskull AND Snake Mountain. This week, Mike has been going through his newly rediscovered loot. There are lots of Star Wars toys, including Boba Fett’s ship, Slave One, completely intact and with all the parts. He even has a huge AT-AT that is also complete with all of the pieces.

Mighty Men & Monster Maker!!He gave me all of the coolest toys, though. First, a tiny little action figure of Perseus from the original Clash of the Titans. Next, he gave me a Skeletor action figure with his staff AND the furry purple Panthor for him to ride on, complete with saddle! It’s SO sweet. The third thing he game me is a playset called the Mighty Men & Monster Maker. It’s basically Fashion Plates for boys – you can mix up the plates to make heroes, monsters, or a combination of the 2. Here’s my first stab at making a dude. It would be SO COOL if I could mix these with my Fashion Plates, but the plates are all different sizes. Total Bummer.

We also joined a new gym this week. We finally left the crap hole we were at for the last year. I was super frustrated because the pool was hardly ever working, and the staff there were all very rude and never knew anything when we asked questions. Plus it was just kind of dumpy. But it was inexpensive and very close to our house, which are the only 2 good things I can say about it. Our new gym, on the other hand, is super swanky. I go in there in my ratty old t-shirt and feel like I need to get some fancier workout threads so I don’t look like a hobo in there. The pool is ridiculously awesome, but the one time I went it was crazy busy so I need to figure out when the off times are so I can get my swim on. Plus! They have racquetball. Mike & I love to play racquetball (very poorly) together. It’s so much fun, plus it burns a ton of calories. Maybe for Mother’s Day Nemo & Buffy can get me my very own racquet. Pink please.

I hope that your Easter holiday (or regular old weekend) was full of excitement and adventure.

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Apr 03

Sith Lords Beware

Mike & I

This past Saturday, Mike & I headed to Grand Rapids for the Toy & Comic Expo. There was a costume contest, so I was extra excited because I love to see people dressed up. The contest turned out to be kind of a dud as there were only about 3 contestants, but the show was still pretty fun. We had a great time looking at all of the old toys. I saw a booth with a Castle Grayskull playset and I got all excited, then Mike told me he still has his old Grayskull set from when he was a kid at his mom & dad’s house. Can you guys believe that he’s had this thing all along and never even mentioned it? He’s been holding out on me for all these years!

There were not nearly as many Barbies as I expected, but there were lots of Star Trek toys, which I always like to look at. I bought a small plastic Enterprise that I am going to try to make into a ring. We also fought off some Sith lords with our light sabers before escaping aboard the Millenium Falcon. So, you know, just another Saturday.

 

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Mar 28

The Master at Work

My last painting class was this past Monday night, so we were allowed to bring snacks and drinks, including beer & wine. I took some of my Brekkie Surprise oatmeal stout for my classmates to try, and I was a little nervous! However, everyone seemed to like it, and one guy even said it tasted just like Bell’s oatmeal stout. Maybe he was just being nice, but still, I was really really excited to hear such a nice compliment!

PaintingBecause it was the last class, our teacher agreed to do a demo – this time instead of helping us paint, he would actually do a painting while we watched. He spent about 20 minutes prepping a canvas and choosing a subject (flipping through a magazine for a couple of minutes and then ripping out a picture of a landscape at sunset) and then got to work. He spent the rest of the class painting and answering all of the millions of questions I had. “How do you choose a subject?” “How do you decide what color ground to use?” “Do you use a colored ground for every painting?” These were just the questions I had while he was prepping! I was fascinated by the whole thing, and it was incredible to watch. This guy is truly a master.

Anyway, it was so so cool, and I loved every second of it! I was SHOCKED when he was all finished and he gave me the painting! It’s a beautiful painting, and I’m so so excited that it’s mine. I can’t believe it! I think when it’s completely dry I’ll put it on the mantle in the living room.

Here’s a crappy picture of the amazing, finished, oil painting:

Oil Painting

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Mar 27

Maniac on the Floor

On Friday night, Mike & I went over to the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts for the Hands-On Event. It’s a fundraiser for the scholarship program, but it’s also a chance to sample some of the classes offered at the KIA by actually trying things out and making mini-projects. My painting class is almost over, so I am thinking about taking a different class. Since I wasn’t sure what, this was the perfect chance to talk to the teachers and see what the classes are like. We had a blast!

Welding!Mike & I both decided to try making metal sculptures. Basically, you get to dig through piles of scrap metal and choose up to 10 pieces for your sculpture. Once you’ve designed and arranged your sculpture, you get to go into the welding booth with the welder and watch while they weld it for you. It was so flipping cool!! I loved making the sculpture, but I don’t think welding is for me. I was perfectly content to watch the guy do all the work. But I did watch, and I got to wear the mask and everything which made me feel all Flashdance-y. I found a silver piece of metal that looked like a cat face, so I decided to do a cat sculpture. Mike is watching and reading Game of Thrones, so he went for a medievel style candle holder. Here are our two completed projects.

 

My Cat SculptureMike's Candle Holder

Me at the Potter's WheelMike & I also both tried out throwing clay on the potter’s wheel, and it was really cool. We both enjoyed it, and we are considering taking a beginner ceramics class either this spring or summer. I also tried jewelry making and made a beaded copper bracelet. I even tried my hand at watercolor, which is much more difficult than I anticipated. I did a simple landscape, if you’re interested, you can see it here. I was pretty sure watercolor was what I wanted to do next, but I’m not sure I liked it enough. There’s a colored pencil class coming up that sounds intriguing, though, although there was no demo for it.

So that’s it for our super fun night at the KIA. We had such a great time!

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Mar 23

Anything at All

Nemo

If you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything at all. So yeah, I think that sums it up. For giggles, here’s a fun picture I took of Nemo the other day witth an Android app called Cartoon Camera, then I edited it with PicMonkey. It made me feel a wee bit better.

 

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Mar 09

Crazy Cat Lady

It’s been another crazy week! Buffy is still in seclusion, which sucks bigtime. Plus, on top of the baby aspirin we’ve been giving her, the doctor also prescribed an antiobiotic this week. We are now giving her aspirin every 3rd day, and a liquid antibiotic twice per day. Poor kid! I think she’s starting to hate the sight of me. :(

Speaking of Buffy, I finished my painting last weekend! I’m pretty pleased with it. Now I just need to figure out where to hang it since it’s HUGE. I did start a new painting in class this past week. Since there are only 4 classes left (3 now!), I chose a very small canvas – only 8×10. I’m painting an allium, which is a beautiful Dr. Suess looking purple flower. You can see my reference photo by clicking here. It’s nice to work on such a small canvas size – I feel much less nervous that I will make a mistake or screw something up. My Buffy painting is really big – 26×28 I think. Anyway, here’s a slideshow of the Buffy painting from start to finish. If you want to just see the final painting, click here.

 

I also want to tell you about the AMAZING new handmade cover I got for my Nook. My friend Suzee custom made it for me, and she did such a great job! I told her I like pink, purple and cats, and asked her to include a pocket on the front to hold my booklight. Viola!! Check this thing out! It’s so adorable, and absolutely perfect!! Click to see larger photos, and be sure to check out Suzee’s Etsy shop – Applehead Threads. You won’t be sorry!

New Nook Cover!New Nook Cover!

Toodles, kids! I hope your weekend is the best!

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Mar 02

Finally Friday

It’s been a really trying week. I’m so glad it’s Friday, because I really need some time to relax.

Playtime! I don’t want to bore you with all the details, but my cat, Buffy, is going through some rough times this week and it has taken a HUGE toll on me as well. She went to the vet on Tuesday and she was given a clean bill of health, but then yesterday we are beginning to question that, and now I think there might actually be something wrong with her after all. We have had her in isolation all week and that has been very hard on all of us. She is constantly pawing at the door and crying to get out which is just heartbreaking even though I know this is all the right thing to do. It’s totally like when your parents would punish you and tell you it was “harder for us than it is for you.” Turns out, they were not joking at all. So anyway, we started some medication to see if it helps and she will stay in isolation for a while longer. I sincerely hope that we figure everything out pretty soon. I can’t take too much more of this.

On top of the Buffy debacle, I’ve just been exhausted this week for some reason. My sinuses are crazy, and all I want to do is sleep. There was some work drama that I won’t bore you with the details of either. I’m really looking forward to the end of this work week. Only a few more hours to go!!

Here’s a little video of what’s been going on this week while Buffy is secluded. I feel so bad for her. :(

 

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Feb 22

Kobayashi Maru

Live Long....Last Friday night, Mike & I went to Celebration Cinema to see Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. In case you know nothing about me at all, I’m a HUGE Trekkie, and this is probably my very favorite ST movie (at least with the original crew). I wore my uniform shirt (thanks, Dawn!) and everything!! I was so psyched! The movie was as awesome as I dreamed it would be on the big screen. I totally expected the theatre to be jam packed, but it wasn’t. At all. I was actually a little disappointed that more folks didn’t turn out.

I also really need to get this off my chest. Of the people in the theatre, there was a lack of “normal” Trekkies. I consider myself to be a normal person who happens to really dig on Star Trek. Am I the only one? Or am I really just deluding myself into thinking I’m normal and in reality, I’m a total weirdo like everyone else who was there? I mean, I even had the common sense to be a little embarrased to take my jacket off when I was out running errands before the movie because I knew the uniform shirt was a little much for everyday shopping.

When we got to Celebration and had our popcorn and drinks, we scurried over to where the rest of the Trekkies were waiting to get into the room. There were a few others in uniform shirts, but they were….weird. And I am not judging books by covers here, you guys. We walked over, they opened the door, and a dude in a gold shirt says to his friends in blue and red shirts “Security and Science first, Command brings up the rear.” Plus, he said it in a totally nerdy, lispy, I’ve-never-met-a-chick kind of way. And he wasn’t making a joke, he was dead serious about the order of things. This guy would not be ashamed to wear his uniform shirt to the grocery store. And after hearing that, I have to say, I was a little ashamed to take off my jacket again. This time because I didn’t really want to be lumped into the same group with these dudes. WHERE ARE THE REST OF THE NORMAL TREKKIES? Are you out there? Are you real? Am I all alone out here?

Anyway, the movie was stellar (INTERstellar!!!! OMG, I do deserve to be lumped in with the nerd squad!), and I had a really fun time seeing it. I also just got the list of cult classic movies for Spring, and Star Trek IV: The Voyage home will be showing in April. Not one of my faves, but you know I’ll see it anyway. :)

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