This is what I wanted to wear for Halloween. Its so cute and looks like the warmest most cuddly outfit on the planet! Unfortunately this exact one costs 600 dollars. I wanted to try to make one but I have run out of time and funds. But isnt it wonderful?

Awesome A-web 22!

So my roommate Kait went to school in Boulder. There she made about a million awesome friends that think that she is so equally awesome that they all come here to Portland to visit her. This means that I get to make friends with all of these super awesome people. This weekend, I got to meet one of the most awesome of all....A-Web!

Her name is alyssa and she is the dope shit. She loves Hip Hop music and dancing and thats why we became instant friends! She was so much fun! But the best part about her was that she brought the whole crew together for a night of old time festivities.

We started the night off with an awesome game of apples to apples. This game is awesome already, but our home made version is even better! You all get to choose the adjectives and nouns and make them more specific to you and your friends! Its pretty wonderful!

Later, we went out! It had been quite a while since I went out big with everyone. We started at Ground Kontrol, the super awesome barcade! I loooove it there! I killed it on PacMan a bit and then danced so hard. The DJ was actually playing Hip Hop, at GK! So not the norm, but I took full advantage and made a hiphoppin fool of myself infront of all the gamer geeks! Then it was off to TUBE! The bar that actually feels like youre in a tube, is full of hipsters and emotion, and always servin heaps of Hamms! They usually play tons of random music, but.....tonight it was HipHop again! This was like a dream come true. I would usually be tearing up the dance floor on my own as most of my friends here in Portland are not huge on the dance scene (even though Kait does a mean dino dance) but in swoops Aweb! We danced the night away!

Im so glad to have met Alyssa and Im so sad that she has gone back to the land of sun and snow. Come back soon!

300 Words: Confusion

Here is one of my old pieces. The topic was confusion...

Good Morning

How did she know she was alive and not dead? Her peacefully closed eyes began to tense up into a squint before she even opened and exposed them to the light. Her entire head felt engorged and empty at the same time, only a severe burning ache bounced around in her vacant skull. The sting progressively gained intensity as it sharpened and dulled to the beat of her pulsing temples. She revisited the notion that she was dead, then thought to herself that death had to be less painful than this. Again, she thought? Why?

She gently kicked off her covers, this was it. She had been here before, in this same situation. Enjoying the last horizontal moment she took a deep breath and hoped for the best. She knew that sitting up would signal one of two possible realities. She could either recover and move on, leave the aches and pains behind in her sheets. Or it could worsen and emboss her misery into what would be a long and torturous day.

She slowly sat up and the throbbing in her head intensified even more and her vision blurred. She grew dizzy and her body swayed in a small circular motion. Damn, she thought, here we go again. Her stomach growled so loud she wanted to shield her ears from the blast. It was empty. But she wondered how that was possible when she could simultaneously feel something gathering at the top of her throat. She avoided progressing to a fully vertical status for as long as she could until a wave of further punishment traveled through her body reminding her of the self induced hell she had put herself in once again. As she ran shaking to the bathroom one thought came to her mind; why? Again? Why?

300 Words...

So a couple of years ago I took a Creative Nonfiction Writing class. It turned being one of my favorite classes of all time. The teacher was so inspiring and, well, creative (her name was even Merry, common, that screams creativity.) Anyways, she would give us weekly assignments where she would give us a topic like, fear, anger, surprise, etc. and then we would have to write 300 words on it. Sounds easy right? Wrong, when she said 300 words, she meant 300. Not at least 300, we had to write exactly 300 words. No more, no less. Its much harder than you would think. To squeeze it all it or at times, stretch it all out. To make cuts from those precious sentences if you ran too long was sometimes painful. But it did make you really take a close look at your writing. It made you realize what you loved and needed and what you could afford to let go off.

Its such a great exercise that I have decided to start it up again! I will be posting some of my old pieces that I really loved and some new ones. Id love help with topics too! And if anyone would like to join, we could make it a weekly thing, maybe even work on the same topic if we'd like. I think writing with other people helps push you and also inspire! I am very excited about getting back into some structured writing!

Let me know if you would like to join me in writing 300 WORDS!

Monday Love...

Life's Soundtrack...

This song is always playing somewhere in my week...

Awesome Day 21: Beach Bliss

I dont think I am going to be able to express just how wonderful (and awesome) today was. It started off normal enough, wake up, get dressed/ready, drink coffee with the boyfriend, walk to car, kiss the boyfriend goodbye, drive to work. Pretty standard. However, I just had this feeling it was gonna be a good day, I even tweeted about it! So Ive been at work for about 45 and I get a call from my boss letting me know I would be off work at noon...Awesome!!! I was so happy. I called the boyfriend and told him and he, being so awesome and clever, suggested we take a drive to the beach! Awesome! So a few hours later we are in his car and on our way to the water!

The best part of the drive was when the boyfriend suddenly turned off the road and into the Dairy Queen parking lot. See, I have been complaining a bit lately. About this whole pumpkin thing. Every where I turn some one is drinking a pumpkin spiced this or eating a pumpkin spiced that. I have completely missed the pumpkin train and for days I have been moaning and groaning about it. Seriously, all I am hearing these days are wonderful pumpkin spiced stories. I have been jealous and I think the boyfriend may have just wanted to shut me up because he bough me the most delicious pumpkin blizzard! It was unreal, and now I understand exactly what all this pumpkin fuss is about. I have officially boarded the pumpkin train, and I am never getting off!

We made it to the beach, even though, I, of course, fell asleep for the very last bit of the drive (its a rarity when I stay awake for an entire car trip). It was so pretty there. We walked pretty far down the beach until we found the perfect spot of sand nestled between some tall and flowing grass. There is something so beautiful about the beach in the fall. All of the colors blend together creating a soft scene of serenity. We laid on a blanket and kept each other warm. We sat and people watched, saying entirely inappropriate things. I finally bought new batteries for my film SLR and it was so much fun shooting film again. I dont know what it is but something about the beach just screams black and white film to me. But the best part was our conversation. We  always have amazing conversations, he really is my best friend and talking is one of the things we do best. But something about today was just special. We got it all out there, we each talked and listened and it was wonderful. The entire time, we just talked. And it continued for the entire car ride home too. Im just lucky I guess. To have someone so amazing to talk with everyday. Its much harder to come by than some might think. And I am just one of the lucky few!

When we got home, it was time to hang! We finally joined our friends for the awesome thursday night ritual! Go to Taylor and JonMon's apartment to watch The Office, Always Sunny and DVRed episodes of Fantasy Factory and Nitro Circus (while drinking PBR). The Gang tonight included: Taylor, JonMon, Kait, Jessi, Griz, Steven, Adumb, the boyfriend and me! It was so fun and so awesome.

Kitten

(Jon)Montana

The BF

Kait & Jessi

TayBayBay

These...are my people.

well, some of them.

Oh, and for you fellow Summer Heights High Fans...

Puck You Miss!

Awesome Day 20: Write it Down

So you all might not think this is very awesome but I sure do. The past week I had been having a few issues/questionings about my Awesome Adventures. It has caused me to slack a little with my writing, like my personal and creative writing. So I figured out a solution. I gave myself heaps of time to write today for my Awesome Day 20! It was so nice. I was able to journal a little, start a few stories and I finally finished and posted this piece, one that really means a lot to me. It was really wonderful to spend so much time strictly for myself. I loved it.

What do you love to set time aside for? 

6.6.09

It was late. She had enough to drink and so did you. You had both spent the evening at a bar with good and new friends. Standard practice. But now you were home. She thought it was darker since the cab ride and outside, it was damp. New Friend had passed out already and didnt even wake up when you yelled at her. Youve never yelled at her before. She was your best friend. You never fought. She yelled back but not about the same things. She didnt know what you meant, why you were yelling. And after she called you out in the dark, you both laughed. You suggested a walk to the river to watch the sun come up. Maybe to remove you both from the grounds of the scuffle, maybe to justify still being awake at the very late hour, maybe for other reasons, she didnt know why. But she accepted.


She wore flip flops and your baggy clothes. You wore a heavy jacket with no shirt underneath. While her feet soaked in dew, her hand settled in yours. She didnt know exactly why you held her hand, on the millions of walks you had taken before you always and simply walked side by side. She didnt know why she let you hold it tonight, but there it stayed until the grass met the water.


She noticed you help lower her to the ground as she drew in deep and cool breaths of the freshest air. Youre timing was perfect as the sky slowly lit up from the bottom. She was cold and could smell your scent through the moist air. You must have spotted her teeth chattering because you pulled her inside your coat as you laid the two of you slowly backward into the soft grass. You squeezed her into you. You held her so differently. It was so different from the times you held her and listened to her cry. So different from when you were the best friend easily wiping away worried tears. It was so different and she liked it. You both watched as the sky got brighter and brighter. You both laughed when a jogger passed by on the path above your heads in the light of the morning. You both fell asleep.


When she woke up, you were kissing. She didnt know how it started but she didnt end it. The kisses were long and passionate and everything she wanted. She climbed on top of you and you fought through her long tangled hair to make way to her lips for more. You whispered beautiful words in her ears and made her feel like more than shes ever felt. It was like a dream and she never wanted to wake up. 

It was light, officially day and the air was even colder. You suggested heading home. On the walk back you held her hand and she stopped questioning it. You stopped and kissed her every so often and she couldnt hide her childlike smile. You whispered more beauty into her ears and she drank in every delicious syllable. As you held her face in your hand and her lips with your own, she savored every second. She didnt worry about it, or think of anything else. She simply enjoyed herself and fell for her best friend even if only for the moment. 

This piece was inspired by my journal entry (some parts actually copied right out) about this night. The night it all changed. The night i fell for my best friend. And, no,  it wasnt only for the moment.

To be awesome, or not to be awesome?

That is the question...

So this whole GET AWESOME thing has been great. It has caused me to get up and get awesome on days that I would normally just bum around. It has allowed me to find all the mini awesomes in my everyday life and it has also pointed out ever so bluntly that I have many days where I dont do anything awesome at all. I  do enjoy being awesome and also sharing all of my awesomness with all of you in blogland, but im just not so sure anymore. I had fallen behind a little on my awesome postings due to camera issues, internet issues and laziness issues. I was feeling so guilty about the lack of posting for all of my awesome seekers and followers that I wouldnt let myself post about other things until I got my awesomes posted! This actually sucked. I havent sat down and written a meaningful piece or posting in a while and Im bummed about it. It is my fault for not budgeting my awesome time better. I have been so wrapped up in all of this awesome that I have forgotten about everything else that I love. So today, I am having mixed feelings about my Quest for Awesome. I just hope that tomorrow, my awesome and I are on better terms.

This is me...

"That's the difference between me and the rest of the world...happiness isn't good enough for me. I demand euphoria."

-Calvin and Hobbes

Over the Top!

So I got another award! Yay! From one of my (seriously) favorite bloggers Lacey, at Lacey in Love! I adore her, and her blog, and of course her name. She is wonderful, oh, and AWESOME! Check her out, she is one of my awesome joiners. The super awesome thing about this award is that it comes with a little survey. Yes! So here goes...

 1. Where is your cell phone? By my side. ALWAYS.

2. Your hair? wavy and in the way right now. soooo long.
3. Your mother? is amazing
4. Your father? the best
5. Your favorite food? Cotton Candy
6. Your dream last night? I was where the wild things are
7. Your favorite drink? arnold palmer!
8. Your dream/goal? To feel accomplished and happy about where I am in life.
9. What room are you in? my bedroom. Its messy right now, but still dreamy.
10. Your hobby? Snowboarding and Photography
11. Your fear? car crashes and my parents dying
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Happy and feeling like im fufilling my potential
13. Where were you last night? With the boyfriend. In love.
14. Something that you aren’t? subtle
15. Muffins? no thanks
16. Wish list item? NEW CAMERA!
17. Where did you grow up? eugene oregon

18. Last thing you did? made dinner
19. What are you wearing?sweats and my magic garden tshirt
20. Your TV? Gilmore girls

21. Your pets? My big dog kilo. and the little kitty shrimp. and my new fishy Stanley Jr
22. Friends? the most awesome
23. Your life? wonderful!
24. Your mood? sleepy
25. Missing someone? yes.
26. Vehicle? jeep!
27. Something you’re not wearing? I think the person that wrote this wanted someone to say underwear. so...UNDERWEAR.
28. Your favorite store? craft store
29. Your favorite color? blues mostly
30. When was the last time you laughed? a minute ago at Kitten.
31. Last time you cried? Sunday night when I was scared my parents plane might crash.
32. Your best friend? the boyfriend, andi, rachelle, and my wonderful roommie kait is on the list now
33. One place that I go to over and over? backspace, its the coffee shop next door
34. One person who emails me regularly? i dont have a lot of email friends, not with twitter and fbook ya know?

35. Favorite place to eat? Lucky Noodle in eugene! Yumm!

Ok. So now I pass this wonderful award on to...

Twenty Something

My So-Called Chaos

Doodle Bird

Young Mind.

Peace & Posies

Congrats fellow bloggers. Pass it on!

Awesome Day 19: "Let the Wild Rumpus Start!!!"

So I did it! I have been waiting a VERY long time for Where the Wild Things Are to come out and I was so excited to see it! So last night I did. The boyfriend and I cooked a really yummy dinner at my apartment and then we walked to the theatre. It was so nice, I hadnt realized just how close of a walk it was. The weather was great too. I didnt think it could have gotten any better, then the movie started.

I just loved it. I cant tell you enough about it, you will have to see it for yourself. But it was amazing. Being a visual person, I just couldnt let go of the beauty that was in, I swear, every single shot. Each frame was so carefully and beautifully planned out. The colors and the textures were unreal. I loved it. It was a visual feast! And the characters! So good! Little Max was amazing, such a great little actor. And the voices of the Wild Things we so perfect. Such stars too! The story was just lovely. I was a little worried about the direction they would take turning a short, very short, children's story into a full length movie, but I loved it. I wont give anything away, just trust me and go see it. And I will admit, I cried. I mean of course I cried, Im me. But I loved every second of it and I cannot wait to see it again!

Has anyone else experienced it yet? What did you think?

Awesome Day 18: Meet Stanley Jr.

Today... I got a fishy!

I know the pics are crappy, Ill try for some better ones tonight.

Last year I had bought a fish mainly for a photography project I was doing. I named him stanley and I loved him. I mean I really loved him, which is weird cause he was just a fish. A gold fish at that. But anyways, I did love him. While I was still living life out of a suitcase, half the week in Portland, half the week in Eugene, my little fishy died. He went out with a bang though and decided to go belly up (literally) on April Fools Day. When my parents called to tell me he died, I thought it was a big joke and didnt give them much credit as they just came out with it and told me. No build up, no trying to make me worry to make the joke a bigger success. They just spit it out, "Lace, Stanley's dead." After a full five minutes of arguing since I was so sure they were lying, I realized it was true when my little brother sent me a picture message to shut me up. That was the end of Stanley.

But today, I got a new little fish. He is gold and shiny and totally awesome. I spent a full 20 minutes in front of the tank at the pet store making sure he was the perfect one. He was the smallest little guy with the best fins! He lives in Stanley's old house and I think he likes it so far. I have named him Stanley Jr. I am great with naming pets as you can already tell, im sure, just look at this post about ZombieShrimpFoodcatBonesStevens. So far he is doing great and fitting in just perfectly in Apartment 513.

  An awesome new addition.

Awesome 17: Family Day!

So Saturday after the audition the boyfriend and I took an impromptu trip to Eugene (my hometown). His brother had come into town from San Francisco last minute and my parents were leaving on a vacation in a couple of days so I really wanted to see them before they left. It was a perfect plan. When we got there saturday night we went straight to his parents house and enjoyed a wonderful dinner. Seriously. It was really good, thanks Tbone!. And then we just hung out for a while. Even though we spent most the time watching baseball (my least favorite sport to watch) I had a great time. I love hanging out with his family and I feel very lucky that they are so warm and inviting. Its always a good time.

The next day, I literally spent the whole time at home (my parents home). It was awesome. I got to see my little brother, who just turned 21! I cannot even believe that! I gave him his birthday gift and Im glad to say he loved it! The rest of the day was just lounging with my parents, eating tons of snacks (my budget doesnt keep many "snacks" around my place), and a hot tub with the boyfriend. It was wonderful!

I love my parents so much and I really miss them when I dont get to see them at least once a month! So this trip was essential! I got to spend some quality time with three of my favorite people in the world this day, and I cant think of anything more awesome than that!

Audition Awesome Day 16!!!

Today was a big day for me! I went to a dance audition! I have been a dancer for a long time, but I have not really been dancing lately due to time, money, and a new city. Id say for about a year and a half now, I have been danceless. Its terrible being a dancer and not getting to dance. Its similar to when I go too long with out writing. Everything gets all jumbled up in my head and until I can get the thoughts out and on paper, I cant function correctly. Its the same with dancing for me. It is an outlet, an expression. I love it and I have missed it.

So I did it! I decided I would try out for a Hip Hop crew of sorts, through an amazing studio just over the river! I spent the night before choreographing a solo in my little apartment, and it turned out pretty good. I was a little nervous because it had been so long since I had auditioned for anything! But it went great! It felt wonderful to move and learn new steps. And it even felt good to do a little "performance" once it was time to be judged! And I tried out with the #1! Which was fun, but also meant I had to perform both the group piece and my solo first!!! But it was wonderful. And very awesome!

I am happy/proud to announce that I made it!

Awesome Day 15: Some Mo Time!

After work today I got to go visit my little buddy Mo! It was so awesome! He is so big now and talking so much. We played basketball and skated with the college aged neighbor kids that would always come play with us when I worked with him. I got to hear a little more about how he is doing and what he is up to from his mom. He told me he loved me a million times. He showed me all his new stuff including all of the new and massive spiders that had taken real estate outside of his house. He still laughed at everything I did. He made me miss him all over again. It was awesome. I love and miss my little buddy so much. Here are some of my favorite phone pics of him from when we got to play together everyday.

I am really missin this kid!

Awesome Day 14: Bittersweet Goodbyes

This day was typical at first. Work. Watch Away We Go for 5th time in 3 days. Fall asleep. Wake up in the dark. But when I woke up from this nap and looked at my phone I saw 10 missed calls from my good friend Billy. When I called him back i learned that he had been roaming the streets of downtown in the dark for an hour. He was close so I took him in. It was great, we got to chat and catch up a bit more before he boarded a ship again for 7 more months. I am eternally grateful that things worked out this night and I got to spend a little more time with my friend. We shared a lot and laughed even more. He went out with some friends but came back to stay at my place. I had a blast just hangin with him like old times.

Billy coming into town was bittersweet for me. I loved seeing him and hearing about his new life. The comfort was still there as all my secrets spilled simply from my lips without hesitation. I hate to say it, but I had forgotten what an amazing friend Billy is to me. We get each other. We even have our own secret language. I sincerely love him and want the best for him. I was so sad to leave him on my couch the next morning when I went to work. To leave my friend that came in so quickly and reminded me of so many memories, so much fun and love and stress and hard work we used to go through together. He came in so quickly and left even faster. I hope he comes home again soon. I cannot go another three years with out seeing him.  I miss you YLLIB! Come home soon!

Today...

I miss this guy! More than anything else! I miss my doggie, my best friend, and I cant wait to see him again!

Model Awesome Day 13: WHAT!?!?!

This awesome day was full of responsibilities. I worked all day and then ran errands and went to appointments for things I cannot fully share with you. But just know that I had an awesome day becuase I was able to take care of important things.

But..... There was a radical mini awesome this day. I got a call asking if I could model for this totally awesome snowboard clothing brand Bonfire! I looove their stuff and I was totally shocked. Im no model, but if I wanted to model something I would love to do stuff in the snowboarding scene. Its just so much more my steaze! To make a long story short, it was pretty last minute and I couldnt get the day off work. I was pretty bummed for a bit because I was really excited about the potential connections I could make. But I rode a little wave of confidence the rest of the day just because I could. I was really very appreciative of being thought of though(it was my hair dresser that hooked it all up). Anyways, I thought it was pretty awesome. 

Come on everyone, GET AWESOME WITH ME!