i'm back

well, i know it's been a bit since i've posted...i had such a strong start and then...nothing. it's been a pretty draining week and a half or whatever between work and life in general. i did, however, have a fantastic little weekend trip to la for some disneyland and architecture. i will share an abbreviated version of chris' infamous "list" (remember, this is written in the first person as chris):

friday

brandon, to brieanne: "are you singing?"
brieanne: "yeah, i like this song!"
[brieanne, trying to sing quietly]
me, a few minutes later: "brieanne, are you singing?"
brieanne, embarassed: "you can hear me?!"

_brieanne, offering to buy me something at the mini-mart
me: "something non-caffeinated–pink lemonade!"
brieanne: "okay..."
me: "no wait. pepsi! cherry pepsi!"
brieanne: "do you want diet? chocolate cherry..."
me: "chocolate?! gross. cherry pepsi, please!"

_getting brandon's chex mix all over my seat and floor
_coming home at 2am and inspecting the refrigerator, every cabinet, drawer and cupboard for food and drink
_discovering joint juice

saturday

_breakfast at coffee co.
_brieanne, on the waitress: "so do you have a crush on her, too?"
_arriving at disneyland, and brieanne informing me and brandon of her pet peeves: mothers carelessly pushing baby carriages and dropping the f-bomb around kids
_giving brandon and brieanne heads-up that if my feet get wet, i'm going to be a "cranky baby"
_me and brieanne studying the which-seat-gets-soaked-the-worst pattern to determine where we should sit on splash mountain
_getting soaked on the first splash mountain drop and yelling, "cranky baby!"

_taking a picture with my camera on the drop
_walking off splash mountain completely soaked, and laughing at brieanne, who got even more soaked than me
_burger cravings and actually getting one at the village haus
_cramming the three of us into one carriage in the haunted mansion and getting others to clap along
_my multiple restroom stops
_me and brandon hiding from brieanne while she searched for her fast pass, and seeing how long she'd go before realizing we were missing
_brandon's and my prom picture in front of the castle
_my inability to pick lines
_calling meaghan to inform her that mickey and the cheshire cat "have been exterminated"
_getting motion sickness on rides from taking pictures
_brandon, voting me the most annoying ride passenger, and hands down, having the most high-pitched scream on any ride
_brieanne's disappointment in canceled fireworks
_high-fiving a security guard
_not getting a high-five from a souvenir cart-pusher
_me and brandon, attempting to slow down a wet sphere from being spun by little kids

_most expensive irish coffee ever!
_going out for wetzel's afterwards and using spicy mustard
_sour goofy balls
_throwing a sour ball at brandon, yelling "tally-ho!" on the first drop in pirates of the caribbean, and being told over the PA not to take flash photography
_seeing the golden gate bridge on the way out: "i miss you, san francisco!"
_brieanne's response: "you know, when you're in san francisco, you miss LA. and when you're in LA, you miss san francisco. we should just cut you in half."

_brieanne, fighting to keep her head up and from falling over on the ride home

sunday

_breakfast with brandon, brieanne, my parents and aunt at the grinder
_fascination with brandon's wristwatch
_brandon, tita, dad and me, ordering the bacon deluxe; mom, the sausage deluxe; and brieanne, becoming the outcast with her ham scramble something-something
_dad, to brandon: "thanks for coming! i'm glad i got to see my son."
_mom, calling brandon and brieanne their adopted children
_tito crispin wanting to take a picture with brieanne
_visiting the new bcam

_taking brandon and brieanne to pinkberry
brieanne: "i love this place!"
brandon: "you're just saying that to make chris feel good."

_blasting "me and the major," and singing "neighborhood #1 (tunnels)" out loud
_making fun of brieanne for her "driving at dusk" comments

_brieanne's picture text getting to me four hours later

reminiscing...

i have been listening to the bright eyes album "i'm wide awake, it's morning" at least once a day for the past couple days--i can say with confidence it is one of my favorite albums of all time, start to finish--there is not one song on the album that i skip past. i can listen to it over and over again, each time finding a new favorite lyric, or some nuance of a song that previously went unnoticed. i've discovered it's great driving music, great working music, and most recently great art project music--i listened while painting the bathroom. while i know bright eyes is an acquired taste, and definitely not for everyone, i think this is the album to start on if you're going to listen to him. i have to admit, the album has slowly become a favorite--it wasn't love at first listen. i enjoyed it, but not to the extent i currently do. the more i've listened, the more i've grown to appreciate.

anyway, while listening, i had that experience of hearing a song and many thoughts and emotions come pouring in with it--thankfully they were happy memories! the song was "first day of my life," sung at our wedding ceremony. i have included the video here because it's pretty cute and makes me smile. turn up the volume and enjoy!

apartment improvements

well, we decided to have a home/apartment improvement weekend and paint some fun things on the wall. here is the before and after of hall "garden" and our ryan mcginness inspired bathroom...

hall before

hall after
bath before

bath after

and where were the cats during all of this? napping for the most part, thank goodness...

when i grow up...

this song is describing how i'm feeling, so today's post will just be some lyrics...

the smell of suntan cream reminds me
of you smiling, sadly, back at me
as i sat there in my bubble
stacking pebbles up on a sunny day
i still remember when i was young
i thought i would be young forever

i swim 'round and 'round on my tinfoil pond
like an ugly duckling that does not want
to have to turn into a swan, yeah

when i grow up i want to be a boy again
i still get excited when it snows
sitting in my bubble with my imaginary friends
wishing that we didn't have to be so
realistic all the time

i lie awake at night and count the stars
i fill jelly-jars with little plastic flowers
i go 'round and 'round in circles
on my hamster wheel
i can feel the whole world
quietly closing in
on me in my little bubble

when i grow up i want to be a boy again
i still get excited when it snows
sitting in my bubble with
my box of felt-tip pens
wishing that i didn't have to be so
realistic all the time

"when i grow up i want to be a boy"
-the boy least likely to

photobooth fun

i had a little too much fun with photobooth this evening...

i'm glad i hitched my apple wagon to your star

i used the super bowl as a perfect excuse to be productive and do something i've been meaning to do for quite a while. i promised sara that i would paint her some scenes from the album art of 'the boy least likely to,' and now they are finally finished. i hope sara enjoys them!

they will be titled after various songs as follows:

i'm glad i hitched my apple wagon to your star [brown]
hugging my grudge [green]

i haven't decided which song title to use for the 3rd canvas. paper cuts seems sad, and the red balloon is too happy for a sad song. i've thought about fur soft as fur, warm panda cola, or my tiger my heart...

it felt good to paint...the cats napped while i painted, so they didn't get in my way, which was nice. i look forward to more art projects in the near future!

where are you, cell phone--conclusion

well, the phone saga is over. turns out the person used the internet on it, so it became obvious to me i wasn't getting the phone back (thanks, whoever took it). i went ahead and got a new phone, and now have the joy of getting everyone's phone numbers again. at least the ordeal is behind me now....