16/365

"There was no way out, the only way out was to give in
There was no way out, the only way out was to give in
How I love to give in

Here no one sleeps, one lays up while the other lies down
Where no one sleeps, one lays up while the other lies down
Ask the line on your face what the line on your hand meant
We couldn't see what was coming

Shake your head it's empty
Shake your hips move your feet
Shake your head it's empty
Shake your hips move your feet

I'm so glad that I'm an island now

Sickness was fixing me some
Coughed out my heart in the last stall
Now that the damage is done
I never miss it at all"

- metric, empty -

Still dealing with a sick baby. She never really has gotten that sick before. You can just look at her eyes and know she is not well. We're keeping close tabs on her to make sure it does not get worse. Right now it seems to just be a cold. I just want to make sure it does not turn into the flu. Poor thing was awake off and on all night, which meant we were awake off and on all night too. I am so in need of a nap, but I had some errands to run, and I know that the moment I fall asleep, she'll probably wake up again. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day.

15/365

"There's more to the picture
Than meets the eye.
Hey hey, my my."

- neil young, hey hey, my my -
* currently listening to the close lobsters version

She will kill me one day when she realizes I posted this all over the internet, but I think this photo sums up how she was feeling today. She does not feel good, stuffy and runny nose. She ate a little lunch, but didn't seem to really want to eat, so I put her down for her nap. I hope she sleeps off whatever bug she has. I was so happy she never really caught any of the colds/flu that I had, but it looks like it might have caught up to her now.

14/365

"Oh we could rock
Or we could bomb
Or we could try
Like super hard"

- le tigre, let's run -

First off, when searching for the song and lyrics I wanted to use for this photo, I got so thrown off, because when you actually listen to the song titled "let's run" it's actually the song "my my metrocard". Then I remembered that the titles didn't match the songs on part of the cd. So if you search for this song, you may or may not get the correct song.

Anyway, today's picture is of my running shoes. They used to be so clean, but I use them a lot, and well keeping white trainers clean is near impossible. So even though they may look poor, they are still good shoes and are probably the best trainers I have for running. I think I'm due for a new pair actually. Before I started running/jogging I would wear these when walking around the neighborhood while pushing the stroller and walking the dog. They just give me this extra bounce in my step and I always feel like doing a little jog when I wear these. Unfortunately jogging with a stroller that is not a jogger stroller is not practical, and my dog does not jog. My dog runs. She's a Rhodesian Ridgeback. Ridgebacks are very fast dogs. I don't run that fast.

13/365

currently listening to:
post honeymoon, self-titled

A couple of weeks ago, communications began for a custom order for baby booties. Today I finally finished the order. I just finished taking photos for the client, and will post those soon. I have days where I feel like sewing, and then I have days where I know I should, but I just don't feel like it. I think part of it has to do with having to sew when my 18-month old daughter is sleeping. The other part of it is just procrastination. And the internet. The internet does not help with procrastination.

12/365

currently listening to:
archer prewitt, gerroa songs

I didn't plan on using another sp for my 365 photo, but I liked how this turned out, even if I was just testing out the diana lens.

On January 1st, I decided to teach myself to become a runner. I've never been one for long distance running, or running in general, but we acquired a treadmill, so I had no excuse not to try. I started at a run/walk with a 17-minute mile. After a week, I got up to just over a 15-minute mile, and today I managed just over a 14-minute mile. Not bad, considering I've only been at it for a little over a week. As much as I hated running when I was younger, I don't mind it so much now. I feel really good afterwards, and I think it's the boost my body needed. The husband wants me to sign up for the Shamrock Shuffle which is at the end of March and run with him , but I don't think I'm ready to run an 8k yet. Maybe next year.

11/365

"I’ve no sorrow
If I’m glad, oh! let me show it

Did you see those birds take flight?
She opened her hand and they flew across the room"

- electrelane, two for joy -

I ordered a Diana lens a few weeks ago, but I was sent a Telephoto which I did not want. I wanted the 38mm. So it finally arrived today. By the time I had time to play with it, the sun was already down, so I had to try it out with indoor light. It's much easier to use than the telephoto. I took the picture on the left with my 50mm, and the picture on the right is with the Diana lens. I'm curious what I will be able to do with this in sunlight.

10/365

"so shut shut shut your eyes
it sounds so good right now
and came up a big surprise
ooh ooh"

- shout out louds, shut your eyes -

I don't really have anything to write about today. Just been having a low-key Sunday here in Chicago.

9/365

"I'll be over there
you stand here
she's got pretty hair
you stand here
on a double dare
you stand here
then they'll know
that you're grown up- when you're gone"

- dressy bessy, you stand here -

Far too much snow and way too cold to actually go outside in these shoes. They'll be perfect for spring. If only it was right around the corner.

8/365

"if you come up the stairs, you'll come back forever
summer's in the house, how untamed it was
walking with thee
walking with thee
walking with thee
walking with thee"

- clinic, walking with thee -

The shoes were all lined up on the stairs as a reminder to take them up to our bedroom, but there was something about them just being lined up that made me think of them climbing up on their own.

7/365

"Every minute that you go
I hope you never know
Like a razor in the snow"

- longpigs, in the snow -

Woke up this morning to a lot of snow outside. The weather people reported a big snowstorm in Chicago, but we didn't know if it would actually hit. How often are the weather people actually right? I didn't have anywhere to be, so I didn't mind it at all. The snow is still falling, and I think we will get more tomorrow.

6/365

"I think I might blow your poor house down
I think you've been hiding there too long
the poor....sick thing"

- the owls, do ya -

I bought these prints at The Young Blood Gallery in Atlanta back in October. They sat unframed for a couple of months. Today I finally decided to go buy frames. They fit perfectly, and now hang in our dining room next to our The National gig flyer.

5/365

"I look inside myself and see my heart is black
I see my red door and must have it painted black
Maybe then I'll fade away and not have to face the facts
It's not easy facin' up when your whole world is black"

- the rolling stones, paint it black -
currently listening to the feelies version

Went to breakfast this morning with the husband and daughter. It's been several months since we've actually gone out for breakfast. We used to go all the time, and now rarely go at all. John needed to get new bass strings so we went to Guitar Center after breakfast. I already have a really nice guitar, but saw the cutest Daisy Rock guitar, and a pretty cool plastic Danelectro. If Kenzie was a few years older, I would have bought one for her. As it is, 18 months old is a little young for a guitar.

Came home and decided I needed to paint my nails. Not quite black, but almost.

4/365

"No, I want to wait for someone like you
No, I want to wait for someone like you
To make my life so dynamite
Ah ah ah ah ah ah
Turn this dark life into light
Ah ah ah ah ah ah
Make my world so shiny bright
Ah ah ah ah ah ah

You got me burning both ways
Ima explode!"

- ima robot, dynomite -

We headed out to the suburbs today to visit with John's parents and have lunch with them. John is off for another week before he starts his new job. I snapped a couple of photos today while we were driving around, but I liked this one the best. I have one other I considered using for the 365 picture, but decided on this one instead.

3/365

"Our aspirations are wrapped up in books
Our inclinations are hidden in looks"

- belle & sebastian, wrapped up in books -

This is just a small collection of Kenzie's books. She loves books, and "reads" them a lot. Of course, this means that all of her books that are in the book bin in the living room tend to be all over the floor at least once a day. This also means that all of the books on her bookshelves in her room usually end up all over the floor too. I've considered limiting her access to the books, but she loves them and I don't want to deny her the chance to look at the pictures. Especially since it really makes her happy.

2/365

"...You buy me a soda
You buy me a soda
You buy me a soda..."

- the pixies, bone machine -

We headed out to the suburbs of Chicago today to go to Ikea. John, my husband, hates Ikea...but I can't help but love it. We wanted to get some new throw pillows for the living room and get a new changing table for the living room so we could put the "baby jail" away. We got 5 throw pillows, a kid's table for Kenzie's room, a new changing table, a cheapy potty, a bathmat for the tub, and some new toddler food bowls for around $170. Not bad for a day of shopping in the freezing cold.

1/365

"Now the camera machine it flaps like a dove
While the satellite beams down from above
Now the program is called and reaches the end
But they’ve already got another around the next bend

Head erased (101101)
Head erased (101101)
Head erased (101101)
Head erased (101101)"

- greenlight, head erased (10110) -

Day one of Project 365. I've wanted to do this for awhile, and decided that 2010 was the year to do it. We had our annual New Year's Eve party last night. Though we scaled it back, we still had tons of food and I was up until after 3:00 a.m. With a 17.5 month old baby, I figured I wouldn't get much sleep, but did manage to sleep in until almost 10:00 a.m., so not too bad. Since I did most of the clean up last night, things today weren't so bad.

So onto another year. Hopefully this will be a good year. Let's get it started off right.

* song selection - this was a song by my first band. you can listen to it on iTunes. since today is 1/01/10, the title of this song worked out well. *

cleaning house

Since I am starting Project 365 and with it am now focusing my blog on this project, I have decided to clean house and delete a lot of posts that I have written. I don't really like reading older things that I have written. Sometimes what meant something at the time, means nothing to me now. So off they went to the Internet garbage can. And with it, I've decided to just keep the posts that I wrote in 2009 (with a couple of exceptions here and there).

Starting fresh in 2010...at least that's the plan.

project 365

2009 is on its way out, and 2010 is on its way in. In 2010 Kenzie will turn 2, I will turn 33, John and I will be married for 6 years, we will have known each other for 8 years, and I am starting a Project 365 over on flickr. I've decided that since my blog comes last these days, I might try and focus it on my Project 365 photos. We'll see. I might have random rants, or other blogs, but I think I might get it more focused on one specific this year. I'm almost finished with my A Doll a Day 2009 project on flickr for 2009, and though I missed about 20+ days, I think I did ok. I think Project 365 will be interesting. It does not have to be doll-related, nor self-portrait related. It can be anything that I feel sums up 2010 for me. I'd like to also see how my photography progresses this year. I just got a 50mm lens for my camera for Christmas, and I ordered a Dreamy Diana lens for my camera too. I'm hoping an inexpensive fisheye might be in my future too. So I'll have more options for my photos, and I think there are a lot of things I am hoping to see progress in 2010.

So let's say goodbye to 2009 and hello to 2010.

spring has come...summer is right around the corner

It's hard to believe that it is already the end of May. It feels like Spring just began, but next week is the first week of June. I'm not complaining at all. I love the warmer weather, and for the first time in about 10 years I can actually enjoy it. I already have a bit of a tan, which is so odd for me. Normally I don't have any kind of tan until the end of summer after standing outside at music festivals like Pitchfork or Lollapalooza.

Kenzie turns one in a little over a month, which is also hard to believe. It feels like she was just born, and now she's almost walking. It is amazing to watch her grow up. As much as I hated waking in the middle of the night, sometimes I wish I could go back to those first couple of months, when she was so tiny.

Time goes by so fast...you just need to sit back and take it all in.

New Year | New President | New Governor

It's 2009, and almost February for that matter. We have a new President, who I am very happy about. And just yesterday, Illinois now has a new Governor. The baby is already going on 7 months old. Hard to believe how fast time flies by. This time last year, I was barely pregnant. Let's see what 2009 has in store for us.