june 28

@ 10a | 2 cents...

The Friday Five... when was the last time you...?

1. ...sent a handwritten letter? This past January I sent a written letter to a friend of mine ... still haven't heard back, but I imagine she has some stuff going on which is what prompted the letter in the first place.
2. ...baked something from scratch or made something by hand? Dinner last night... peanut chicken and pasta. I love to cook.
3. ...camped in a tent? Never.
4. ...volunteered your time to church, school, or community? When I was a senior in college I volunteered at a headstart program for women.
5. ...helped a stranger? I hold doors open for people all the time, but last month I reminded an older woman about her forgotten batteries.

june 27

@ 2p | 2 cents...

I get the sneaking suspicion that Eric and I are going to find ourselves addicted to our newest GameCube acquisition. This game cost us all of $15 thanks to a voucher we had at Target from returning some wedding gifts. Nice!

june 25

@ 10a | 2 cents...

I just added the beautiful earrings Eric bought for me while he was in Finland under the "new to us" section (on the front page). Thanks again, sweetie! :) And this week's This or That was inspired by "Hello, Goodbye"... one of my absolute favorite Beatles' songs.

1. Spam...the lunch meat. Yes or no? No!
2. The traffic light is green as you approach, but by the time you get there, it has turned yellow. Stop or go-go-go? go-go-go! The lights around here are timed poorly, so if you get stuck at one red light, you will get stopped at all red lights.
3. You are taking a trip...you have to decide whether to fly or take some sort of ground transportation. High or low? Depends on how far it is. Flying is such an absolute pain the arse nowadays. If we are going to a nearby state, we drive and we also drive home for the holidays when we want to have our own car handy. But, if it's over a 12 hour drive, we fly instead.
4. Someone asks you a question about why something is, and you don't know the answer. Try to find out *Why* or just say *I don't know*? Try to find out why. I always say, "hmm, i'm not sure, let me look it up!"
5. You are at the mall, and you spot someone who tortured you when you were in high school. Hello or goodbye? Goodbye! Although this will probably happen very rarely since I live in a different state now.

june 24

@ 10a | 2 cents...

Here is a photo of the peach pie I made last night. It was my first attempt at a lattice crust. On the way to the airport on Saturday, I stopped at a roadstand for some fresh peaches to surprise Eric. Lord knows the two of us could never consume 5 lbs of peaches, so I made a pie! :)

...and Wimbledon starts today! Hooray for grass-court tennis and John MacEnroe on TV at lunchtime.

june 22

@ 11a | 2 cents...

I took Robyn's suggestion and typed "my name + is" into Google to see what would come up... I had no idea I was so many things! I've listed the first ten hits below... I seem to be mostly artistic, royal and spiritual. Not terribly far off! :)

While Leandra is fairly spoiled and does have little idea of what life outside the capital is like, her family underestimates her.

Leandra is the daughter of two well-known artists.

Every new release by Neal and Leandra is met with high expectations for their trademark vocal harmonies, and their direct and eloquent songwriting.

Leandra is healthy, back at school, busy hanging out with her friends and playing her part in the school production of Annie this year.

Leandra is a secretary at the Battle Creek Math and Science Center after spending 13 years between Coburn and Verona Elementaries.

Leandra is described as a cross between Melissa Ethridge, Sarah McLachlan and Joni Mitchell.

Leandra is a Quantum Mystic with the abilities of conscious connection to all realms.

Leandra is in her final year reading Modern and Medieval Languages.

Leandra is a lofty, confident, intellectual and just sovereign.

Leandra is a Hacker!

june 20

@ 9a | 2 cents...

Sometimes I wonder how powerful thoughts are and why things tend to happen right after you wondered why they haven't yet. Case in point: On my way home from the gym yesterday, I was thinking about my twice-daily watering of the plants out on our deck, casually realizing that I haven't been attacked by mosquitos while doing so. Needlesstosay, I was out on the deck for not 2 MINUTES when I was forced inside the house completely itchy from 3 bites on one leg and 2 bites on the other. We have these huge militant mosquitos here, the tiger-striped kind that you can actually see and feel when they bite you. With the risk of sounding crazy, I immediately slathered on the Cortaid, put on pants and a long sleeved shirt (it's 85 outside, by the way) and continued watering the plants. Some may say, silly girl, why do you overreact so? Maybe someday, I will post a picture of how bad those buggers' bites make me swell up... but I warn you, it's not for the faint of heart.

The night did get better however, as I saw Moulin Rouge for the first time. I feel I had some preparation for the complete silliness of it all because I've seen (and liked) Strictly Ballroom (also by Baz Luhrman). Therefore, I was able to embrace the cheesy songs that seemed to fit right in with the entire mood of a colorful and showy 1900 Paris. I loved the song "Come What May" and Ewan was hot, hot, hot! I'll end with that.

june 19

@ 11a | 2 cents...

Random thoughts on Hump Day:

My intro to watercolor class went swimmingly last night. This class has actual instruction whereas the oil painting class I took this past spring was more of a "paint this and i'll come around and comment" sort of adventure. As I mentioned before, I need a bit more direction with watercolor and am pleased so far with this experience. Next week it's flat washes and mixing colors!

This brings me to my next thought. I need to get back into painting more often. I currently have artwork hanging in two local restaurants and consequently have empty spots on the walls in my office. Eventually, I would love to sell some of my work, then I'll be forced to paint more to keep up with the demand! (a girl can dream, right?) :)

As for the rest of my week, I have one friend coming over for Boca burgers tonight and another friend is making her famous red beans and rice for me later this week. YUMMY! You know, there are few things I have adapted to regarding Southern food... the fried-to-death veggies I will never understand, but give me sweet tea, red beans and rice and butter biscuits anytime! The only food things i really miss from up north are good pizza and bratwurst...

june 18

@ 1p | 2 cents...

While I am fairly good at zoning out while watching movies and suspending my disbelief, even I have my limits. Here's a site to remind us that physics does indeed rule and cars do not explode every time they crash. Also contains movie reviews.

@ 12p | 2 cents...

Yeah! The watercolor class I wanted to take has cleared me for this evening. Even though I am a very creative person, I feel watercolor is just slightly beyond my abilities. Hopefully, this class will give me some basic knowledge so I can venture out on my own.

And now, while I'm munching on a healthy salad and apricots, is a junk filled edition of This or That Tuesday!

1. Popcorn at the movies: buttered or not? We don't eat theatre food. :) Sometimes Eric will sneak in some sweetarts, though.
2. Sometimes you feel like a nut..sometimes you don't...Mounds or Almond Joy? Mounds!
3. Chips or pretzels? Pretzels. Must have salt...
4. Milky Way or Snickers? Um, Baby Ruth? I'm typically not a candy bar person.
5. M&M's or Reese's Pieces? Reese's Pieces. Peanut butter is good.
6. McDonald's or Burger King? Neither, I don't eat fast food.
7. Vanilla Coke or Pepsi Twist? Eww, give me a Cherry Coke any day.
8. Hostess Twinkies or Cupcakes? Again, I don't eat this stuff, but I used to like twinkies more.
9. Hershey's Kisses or Hugs? Kisses!
10. Original Mountain Dew or Code Red? Original Mountain Dew, though I've never tried Code Red.

june 14

@ 1p | 2 cents...

For whatever reason I just don't feel like I have my head on straight today. I woke up with a start at 5:50a and had the hardest time falling back asleep. Right now, I feel detached and my mind is wandering all over the place. I was considering a caffeine serum to help my lack of energy, but that would just make my inability to concentrate even more pronounced. Plus, I would simply rather be doing other things than sitting at my desk right now. I think I'll skip out at 4 and spend some time at the gym. That leaves only 3.5 more hours... :/

Meanwhile, here's the laundry edition of the Friday Five.

1. How often do you do laundry? About 3 times a month.
2. What's in a typical wash load? Mostly clothes, sheets and towels.
3. Front or top loader? Powder or liquid detergent? Top loader with powdered Cheer.
4. Do you use fabric softener in the rinse cycle? No, I throw in a Snuggle dryer sheet when I dry the clothes.
5. Dryer or clothesline? Lately a lot of clothes have been shrinking in our dryer on medium heat, so I recently switched to no-heat tumble and we have a wooden rack for anything not dry after that.

june 13

@ 2p | 2 cents...

At 2:30 this afternoon I will be attending (under strong encouragement) a dessert social to honor people I work with and promote good spirit on the job. I really wish they'd give me the choice between being paid what I'm worth and being bribed with free ice cream. That could help out my morale while I'm sitting in a converted-to-an-office hall closet. (For those of you who suspect I may be exaggerating, I assure you, I am not.) But until then, I'll sign up for all the free continuing ed classes I can take because I work here. Plus, I can't say I won't enjoy the cold ice cream on this 90 degree day.

@ 10a | 2 cents...

I took this photo last night in front of the GMOA after my life drawing class. I had no idea what it was at the time, but I loved the trumpet shaped purple flowers. Turns out the whole darn thing is poisionous! It's called an Angel's Trumpet... oh, the irony.

june 11

@ 2p | 2 cents...

I am taking a quick mental break from work to complete the daily activity version of This or That Tuesday.

1. Regular or electric/battery operated toothbrush? Regular.
2. Shower or bath? Shower to get clean, bath to relax.
3. Automatic dishwasher or hand-wash dishes? Seriously, there are few things I despise more than washing dishes. Blech. I *heart* my dishwasher.
4. Paying bills: online or write out checks? We pay everything we can online.
5. Laundromat or your own washer/dryer? Our own.
6. Electric or gas stove? We have electric, which is great for the oven but I wish we had gas burners for better heat control.
7. Subscribe to magazines/newspapers or buy at newsstand? Subscribe. I get enough crap in the mail, this way I am never tempted to buy anything at the supermarket.
8. Alarm clock...music or buzzer? I wake up (reluctantly) to the radio.
9. Go grocery shopping yourself, or order stuff to be delivered? We do all of our grocery shopping together. (auh, isn't that sweet?)
10. On workdays...pack a lunch or eat out? I either pack a lunch or we go home and eat.

@ 9a | 2 cents...

Last night we had a solar eclipse at sunset. From our positioning on the map, we should have been able to see about 40-45% of the sun being eclipsed by the moon. The only problem is that I live in the foothills and the sun was eclipsed on the bottom. Consequently, I only got to see about a 10% eclipse before the sun looked like it was setting normally. I was on the 7th floor of a parking garage with a clear view of the horizon and I was a little disappointed.

In other news, my wedding photos are finally ready and my mom picked them up yesterday! Apparently, our special book weighs half a ton so I have absolutely no idea when I am going to physically see these pictures... it would be nice to have the album before our 1 year anniversary.

june 7

@ 3p | 2 cents...

I don't buy bottled water. I think the whole thing is a scam and my Brita works just fine, thankyouverymuch. But I do reuse the plastic bottles (my mom is always good for leaving a few whenever she visits) to make sure I get a good amount of water throughout the day. Imagine my dismay upon seeing the following...

I had no idea! I guess water from the drinking fountain in my building isn't good enough to refill an Evian bottle. Darn.

june 5

@ 3p | 2 cents...

Robyn has got me started on speeding ticket stories. If you want to read about my stupid ticket in Alachua County, Florida, I posted in the comments of her entry here.

I have another stupid story in addition to the above. I got a moving violation fine (not really a ticket, but a way for the local cops to collect money) for going the wrong way in a one way. I was in an unfamiliar parking lot and I made a left hand turn onto a side street to use a street light to make a left back onto a main street. What I didn't realize right away was that this side street was divided by a median and I had turned onto the wrong (left) side. This soon became apparent to me when the oncoming traffic had a turn arrow and cars started coming straight toward me. Fortunately, no one hit me or anything and when our side got the green arrow, I simply turned after the cars on the correct side of the median did. Of course, there was a cop sitting in the adjacent parking lot who saw all this and quickly pulled me over. Now, I know what I did was illegal, but I asked him nicely what I should have done instead to fix the problem. I also mentioned that nothing terrible happened as a result of my simple mistake. The cop was absolutely no help -- I think his exact words were "Uh, I don't know, I guess you shouldn't have turned there." Ghee, thanks Mister. The entire experience cost me $40 which I had to pay by personal check directly to Schaumburg police. Bah!

By the way, for any of you with outdoor plants in the South, the japanese beetles have returned as of this afternoon. A good trick is to fill up an empty yogurt container with soapy water and simply knock them off your plants into the cup held out under them. They'll drown in the water and they are usually too busy breeding to see you coming. That's my tip of the day!

june 4

@ 2p | 2 cents...

First off, a big happy b-day to our friend, Josh. Secondly, Jennifer Capriati just beat Jelena Dokic to move into the semifinals of the French Open! Lastly, a technology edition of This or That Tuesday!

1. Laptop or desktop computer? We have 2 desktops and one very old laptop at home... I prefer the desktop.
2. PC or Mac? Either, we each have a PC at home and both use Macs at work.
3. DVD or VHS? DVD all the way!
4. Cell phone or regular phone? Regular phone. I never want to be that accesible to anyone.
5. Satellite or cable TV? We have cable now because we live in an apartment, but as soon as we get a house, we are buying a satellite.
6. X-Box or PlayStation? Neither, we love our Nintendo Gamecube!
7. Netflix or video store? Video store currently, but we have rented from RentmyDVD.com in the past.
8. Wide-screen or regular TV? We have a 32" regular, but I suspect we will upgrade eventually.
9. Film or digital camera? This one's easy - digital!
10. Dial-up or high-speed internet connection? Unfortunately, dial-up.

june 3

@ 2p | 2 cents...

It's HOT here. Want proof?

That shot was taken on our way back from lunch. On June 3! I am horrified to think what this means for our weather here in mid-july.

june 2

@ 12p | 2 cents...

We finally saw Episode 2 last night and we both loved it. Seeing this movie only made me more excited about what Lucas will do with the next one. I used to write movie reviews in college, but I don't think I could begin to get into analyzing this film. Truthfully, I know I loved it because I have always been a fan of the Star Wars movies. That said, Amidala did a wonderful job taking care of herself and I could see the intense feelings brewing in Anikan. Can't wait until 3!