Soda Pop Girl

I dare you to find a band that is more relaxing to listen to than Iron & Wine. Holy cow, I enjoy these guys...I could let these songs play over and over for an entire day week month and never get sick of hearing them. Brilliant.

Anyway, I should be packing. I'm moving out on Monday. Dustin plays football in Wall, which is just a short 50 miles away from Rapid. Could this have worked out any more perfectly? Nope. Sadly, the kid got injured at the last game. I was listening to it online (because technology is awesome and I can do that) and I seriously freaked out when it happened. They took him in to get an X-Ray, but his fibula is, in fact, still intact. He's not 100% yet, but it sounds like he'll still be playing on Monday, so that's good. 2nd round playoffs!! It's a big important game.(PS, read about last week's game here: Eagles Overcome Penalties, Injury to Bounce South Central 31-12)

Lots of new photos...Some good, some not. Same old...

19/365 - I did some apartment searching, and this is my list. Not really sure if this is still in the works or not. I called the guy and he was supposed to send me an application to this place, but I still have not received it. Can't say I'm all too happy about that...Probably will have to start over....

20/365 - If I'm awake early enough, the sunrise hitting these trees outside my window is gorgeous! This was shot at about 7:00 or 7:30 that morning, but if I catch it at 6:30 instead, it is pretty incredible. Fall is beautiful around here.

21/365 - Just a humorous picture....TWO firetrucks are there. To change ONE tire! ....What the heck....

22/365 - One of those "Omigosh, it's midnight and I didn't take a picture today!" shots. Camera was sitting on the couch next to me, so I just pressed the button and said "That's my photo, no matter how it turned out." Ha!

23/365 - MOST. FUN. EVER. !!! I hadn't been up to the Dinosaur Park yet, so Brian and I checked it out one day. (Because he's awesome with directions and knew how to get there.) I don't remember if it was me or him that mentioned how cool it would be to do some tilt-shift photos, but I shot away and came home with some great options. Spent some time in Photoshop and here's one of the results. Love it!

24/365 - What's the one thing you're NOT supposed to do while driving down the interstate at 80 mph? Take pictures. ...At least I wasn't texting.

25/365 - Once again, what's the one thing you're NOT supposed to do while driving down the interstate at 80 mph? Take pictures. But HOLY COW, how could I resist this sunset over the hills? Come on. And in my defense, it took 2 seconds and only ONE hand to do. Not as dangerous as it sounds. Again, at least I wasn't texting.

26/365 - Last night's photo. Made a late-night decision that we wanted some Sonic food. Made a late-night decision that I still needed a photo and hadn't done one of these in a while. Not the best, but it works. I was too excited about the Watermelon Cream-Slush that was going to be in my hands in 20 seconds.

All caught up now. Hooray!

So I don't think it's any secret, at least to my closest friends, that I strongly dislike Halloween. I mean it's fun for the kids and I have nothing against free candy from strangers...But girls...SERIOUSLY?! My facebook page blows up with photos of sexy zombies and slutty sailor-girls and hookerface superheroes and sassy playboy referees and basically anything in the entire world, just with a sexy word in front of it...Holy cow. Whatever happened to original costumes that don't come pre-packaged? Whatever happened to costumes with THOUGHT and EFFORT put into them? Not just some lingerie thrown into a $40 bag with "Sexy Purple Soda Pop Girl" written on it. Maybe I'm just boring, or maybe just a little classier than that, but I find it all pretty disgusting. Put some clothes on, ladies. You're grown-ups now.

Purple

Guess who's being awesome and actually getting a photo every day!

I am proud. And today's is my favorite so far. Want to see?

18/365 - Progress

Ahhh, sunshine makes me so happy. So does this nifty scarf I'm knitting. It's growing pretty quickly! I've fallen in love with the knitting process so much that I'm going to make three more for my nieces. Someday I want to learn how to do hats! So if you happen to know how, or know of any good online videos or something, let me know. It's probably way above my skill level, but I'd like to give it a shot.

17/365 - Cycle

Yesterday I got to go in and do some laundry at the hotel. I thought for sure I'd only be there for a few hours. Three, MAX. But I ended up folding towels and sheets for six hours. SIX! It was amazing. I enjoy that job way too much. I mean who the heck LIKES folding laundry? I am crazy. I find it really relaxing. I just turn on my iPod and I could fold and fold and fold all day. And I pretty much did yesterday! Good times, good times.

16/365 - Bambi's Environment

That's my bamboo plant's water/rocks/roots. PS - I named him Bambi. How perfect a name for a bamboo plant!

15/365 - Wet Lights

I do love the rain and the things it does to the ground. =)

14/365 - Daily Commute

So, something I'd been wanting to do since my first day here is photograph the drive from Rapid City to Keystone. I finally got around to it the other day when I rode in with Brian. I shot something like 240 photos, one every 5 seconds, for the whole 20 miles. It was fun. Anywho, that's one of the shots. Pretty cool stuff. I had my buddy Luke compile them for me. Maybe I'll post the video sometime. Maybe not. I'll see how desperate I get for material...

Bamboo

Hello, again.

I have a confession to make.

("Can I tell you a secret?" ... "No." ... "Ok, here goes...I'veneveractuallybuiltatentbefore. There. I said it.")

I have already failed my 365 Project. I know, I know. I am sorry. But I have a very good excuse! I took a trip to Aberdeen and I was enjoying myself way too much to even THINK about photos. Yes, that's possible. And it happened. I had good subjects and things to shoot, but I just didn't. I wanted to be ME and not "me hiding behind a camera" ...So, oh well. I missed three days. Big whoop.

...Wait, that's not true. Once I missed those three days, I kind of stopped altogether. I've missed lots of days. More like five. Terrible. 

And, to be completely honest, the photos I've taken since the beginning have been pretty lame. But I will still reveal them. Because you guys are awesome and like to see them, even when they stink. Thanks for that.

Here's a few...

3/365 - My friend Summer gave me this little cutie-pie. It's a bamboo plant. (How do I correctly say that? Is it a bamboo PLANT? Or is it just a bamboo? Or is it just bamboo with out the "a" in front? Hmmm...) Anywho, I think it's really cool and I try to remember to give him water every day, but I sometimes forget. I think he's still staying alive, though.

4/365 - This is what happens when I pack my weekend bag the night before I leave. Giant mess. But, trust me, there is some sort of organization here. I feel like this should be in an I Spy book. (Speaking of, who can spot my "horsey blankie?")

6/365 - Here's Ashley and Jack. The only picture I took all weekend. And it's from my cell phone, which is why it looks terrible. But Jack is the coolest cat in the world, so it makes up for it.

9/365 - On my drive back to Rapid, I stopped at a rest stop outside Chamberlain just as the sun was setting. It was so pretty! I had to run back to the car and get my camera before I let myself leave. If you've never driven West across South Dakota around this time, do it. Aside from being blinded by the sun, you will not regret it. =)

Oh! Guess what else! Ashley taught my how to knit while I was at her place. I'm still pretty terrible at it, but I've got a pretty purple scarf in the works. It's exciting! I don't think it's something I'll ever be REALLY good at, but it's a fun little hobby to pick up.

Today was my last day at the museum. We've been working on closing the place up and getting it all ready for doing nothing and seeing nobody during the winter months. So all the sculptures are covered up and they look like Halloween ghosts. Yeah, It freaks me out a little.

See...

Yeah. Freaky.

So anyway. Now I'm pretty much jobless. Unless you count the part-time laundry-folding business. Feeling a little overwhelmed with the job hunt. I feel under-qualified and inexperienced and all that good terrible stuff. I just wish I could figure out where I am supposed to go and what I am supposed to do. The future is scary.

Towels

Guess what I did today.

Go ahead, guess.

Visual answer:

2/365 - Laundry! Cell phone photo, my apologies on the quality. Then again, who needs a high quality photo of a bunch of folded towels?

The woman I work for owns a bunch of hotels in Keystone and most of her summer help has gone home. So she was looking for someone to do some housekeeping at one of the hotels.

Now, I'm not super picky or anything, but this summer I made it a goal of mine to never again have a job where I have to clean public restrooms. (Right up there with "to never have a job in fast food," which, by the way, I have accomplished so far.) So I told her I'd do a few hours of laundry in the afternoon instead. Which is still helpful to her. And it bumps me back up to working full-time again, since the museum is only open for a few hours these days. Win-Win for everyone!

Still searching for an Eastern SD job. If you have any leads, any ideas, any people looking for a roommate, let me know. =)

Twenty-Four

Hello, 24.

Hello, new 365 Project.

Hello, Photo #1...

1/365: The box my birthday gift from Stephanie came in. She designed the box AND the bracelet inside. It was so special. I love love love it, and I will probably wear it every day. =)

Speaking of Steph, here's a photo I forgot about. Last week, we were swamped with scheduled photos at work, so we teamed up and put our awesome talents togehter. It was like Power Ranger status. (The Pink and Yellow rangers, of course.) We knocked out those photos and that busy day like nobody's business. Anywho, before we put our superpowers to work, we had some time to relax while waiting for Bus #1.

We read. A lot. Currently I'm working on 1984 by George Orwell. Almost finished with it. Then I have to do some shopping, because I'm out of unread books! Pretty excited, new books are one of my favorite things in the world.

In other news, today I shot my last group photo at Mt. Rushmore. I have to say, I'm going to miss seeing George, Tom, Teddy, and Abe every day. =(

Abe is a cowboy

Happy Saturday! I spent a good part of my morning coloring. Yes, coloring. I bought a 64 pack of crayons the other day, just for fun. So I got into my little kid mindset and scribbled like a 3 year old. Or something like that...

Anyway, yesterday was a sad day for me. It was my last day of work with the three crazy Canadians. (I always call them "crazy Canadians," even though, really, they're not all that crazy. I mean they are, but it's a good crazy. Just so you don't get the wrong idea.) They leave tomorrow to go to back to their home. I really wasn't expecting to like them as much as I did, or become such good friends with any of them. All three of them definitely made my summer WAY more fun than it would have been otherwise. Every day they had me laughing at work, even on the days when I was feeling sad. Each of them spent time listening to me and understanding some of the stuff I was going through. It was so nice to have them to talk to. Going to miss them a lot, but thankfully there's this thing called facebook, and that appears to be a great tool for keeping in touch with people. =)

So before we all left for the day, we spent some time taking silly pictures at the museum.

Because that's what girls do.

Abe is a cowboy.

 

As you can see, we really like Lincoln around here. 

Also, a few weekends ago I was at home and ended up shooting some senior photos for one of Dustin's friends. Here's a few of my favorites: 

And on another, AWESOMER, note: Since tomorrow is my birthday, I will be starting another 365 Project. This time for real. I tried starting it back up after taking nearly a month off, but I just couldn't get back into it. So I need to start from the beginning again. I am SO EXCITED!! This will be updated much more often, as well.

Thanks for sticking with me, my friends. =)