Jake's

Hey guys! Real quick!

Worked all day today, so just now getting today's TCT photo shot and posted up here. Here it is!

There ya go! Make some guesses! Good luck!

Also, yesterday's photo:

Had lunch at Jake's BBQ yesterday. Sooo good! If you're ever in Rapid City, make a stop at this place. Everyone is super friendly and laid-back and the food is aaaaamazing! =D

Been a while since I mentioned my handy dandy little Donation button over there ----> somewhere. Feel free to chip in and help me out. =) I'm just under $300 right now, and my goal is $700 by April 1st. Thanklin Franklin! (101 points to whoever can associate that phrase with music. Go!)

Happy Tuesday!

Luck

Today my friend Summer actually showed up at my apartment to tell me that I still had not posted this week's TCT reveal. (JK, she actually stopped by to introduce me to her husband - something that was long overdue) But anyway, she did mention it and I realized how far behind I am. So here ya go. Sorry for the delay.

The answer wasssss....

An onion. A red one. Or a purple one. Or whatever the correct name for it is. Yep. It was an easy one.

I also missed a few days of photos. Woops! One of them can be found on Brian's phone, unless he deleted it. (He probably did.) But the other just didn't happen. *sigh*

So here's a few others instead:

"hope" bracelet. Ashley gave this to me over the summer. I wear it all the time. =)

Yeap...Photo from the car. Blahhhh...But I do like the birds.

And today's Sunday Self-Portrait (#4!) My grandma gave me this mug a loooong time ago. It spent forever sitting on my dresser with bobby pins and paperclips and other random junk inside it. Now that I'm a coffee and tea drinker, I use it nearly every day to transport that delicious stuff into my belly. Faaaavorite. <3

So did anyone else watch the Winter X Games this week? I caught a bit of it earlier today and after work tonight. But HOLY COW, do you know what happened?! Someone did a front flip on a snowmobile. Let me repeat that. Someone did a FRONT FLIP on a freaking SNOWMOBILE!! Like...How is that even possible?! Honestly. My stomach dropped and I got all scared when he started. And then...There he goes. Just like it's a perfectly normal thing for a snowmobile to do! My jaw dropped. I wanted to scream and cheer. But I didn't. And THEN, Shaun White goes and scores 100 on the superpipe? WHAT?! I am floored. So glad the TV was on ESPN when I got home from work, or I would have watched My Fair Wedding instead and missed the whole thing! Talk about luck!

Sparklyness

So sorry this is so late tonight. I worked all afternoon and got home and then ate at Famous Dave's (Sorry, RC, the one in Sioux Falls wins my heart. You're cool and all, and I know you're brand new to this city, but you're missing that super fun atmosphere. The food was still phenomenal, and I'll always love you, but you've got some breaking in to do.) And then I did some laundry and THEN I had a few people ask me about TCT and I was like "Holy cow, it's Tuesday!!" So yes. Here I am. You guys can thank Summer and Traci. =)

Here we go...First of all, the TCT shot:

Woo! I need more daylight to get better shots. I believe that no light can top sunlight, and we don't get enough of it in the winter. Hang in there, friends. We'll have some better TCT's soon.

Make some guesses as to what that is in the comments. Blah blah blah, you know the drill. =P

So here's some recent daily images:

Look what I woke up to today!! SNOW!! Not much snow, but it still made my morning. And then it got warm and it all turned to slush and then it got cold and it all turned to ice so I'm a little less happy about it. Boo, Western SD, you're no fun for a snow-loving girl.

I feel like this should be a TCT, as well. Brian couldn't figure out what this is. If you don't want to know, stop reading now. If you do want to know, continue reading now. It's a clear plastic up of icy Dr. Pepper. The condensation bubbles around the outside looked all glittery and I took a bazillion photos of this cup. Ok, more like 10...But either way, I was all intrigued by the sparklyness. Yep, I just made up another word. And then I used it as the title of this post.

Self-Portrait Sunday....Yeah, I know, this is like soooo cliche. Same with last week. But the photo I REALLY wanted to get wasn't working out, and I was tired and getting frustrated, so you get the mirror camera shot. Hope you're happy. I'm not. =P (Ok, I admit it, I do kind of like this one....Kind of. Like a millimeter of like.)

Books. These are most of the ones I read in the past year. Mainly over the summer months this year. So many good reads here. If anyone would like to borrow one or two of these, let me know. I'll gladly send them your way. And if anyone would like to borrow a book to me to read, shoot me a comment and I'll email you my address. Book exchanges are good. And I have no books to read currently. Boo.

So there ya go. A Too Close Tuesday shot, and some other dailys. Hope you enjoyed them.

Oh! And if you're wondering, work is going great. Haven't started at Best Buy yet...But TJ Maxx is a pretty fun place. I like my co-workers and the job is pretty simple. I fully enjoy jobs where I can talk to new people every day, and this is definitely one of them. I also realized that I don't know if I'll ever have a job that I enjoyed quite as much as working at the museum over the summer. Seriously...It was the best. And if I wanted to stick around the Hills for another summer, I would totally work there again. Anywho...Just wanted to get that out there. =)

Make a TCT guess! And then go do something else that's fun. Be happy, my friends.

Snow-Less

Hey, guys.

Thanks for reading this. I don't know if I say that enough. I can't believe how many fantastic people I have following this little piece of the internet. Makes me feel pretty awesome. I'm trying to top my stats and reach 1,285 views for this month. My record is 1,284 from December 2010. So I've got 11 days to get 285 more views. Think I can do it? I believe I can. But only with your help. =D

Ha...We're all about goals this year, have you noticed? Speaking of goals, my donations amount is slowly increasing. Thank you, THANK YOU! everyone! I'm really feeling confident about reaching that $700 by April. Big things are happening, all because of you.

Anywho, here's some pretty pictures.

Everywhere else in the WHOLE WIDE WORLD has snow. And we have this. What the crap, Rapid City? Get your winter together. This is so not cool. I mean, I know I will appreciate the 40-50 degree weather you have in store for us all next week, but come on...I just wanna see some pretty winter snow already. Get it done. This photo makes me very depressed.

OH! Up next is this week's Too Close Tuesday photo reveal! Remember what it looked like? Any final guesses?

You guys were super duper close with your answers. I'm gonna give credit to all of you, because you were all basically right. Here's the photo:

It WAS yarn! Good work everyone. This is a scarf I'm re-doing for miss Halle. The one I made for her for Christmas didn't turn out too great (because it was the first one, cut me some slack, right?) And I was so unhappy with it that I decided to make her another one that didn't suck. Still gave her the first one, so she'd have it to open up, and she seemed to like it despite its flaws. =) Little kids are so sweet. Anywho...I really need to get going on this thing, as you can see there's still lots of yarn left on the ball and not much on the scarf. Ha! Here we go....

Wednesday's photo. Baby Jimmy John's subs in the break room at work. Cell phone photo. The only one I got all day. It works, I guess. (PS - I did not enjoy one of these little guys, sadly)

Tuesday was my first day of work. When I got home, Brian and I took a trip to Sonic and got some Cherry Limeades and  late night fast food. Cherry Limeade from Sonic is now my favorite drink in the whole world. Sooo yummy.

How about some photo requests? Think of something you want me to shoot. An object, an idea, a song, a word, ANYTHING...And I'll interpret in my own weird little way, and report back here with what I come up with. How's that sound? Give me some ideas, I'm running low on inspiration and motivation in this snow-less city.

Frost

First real day at the new job tonight. Well, not sure how "real" it will be; I think I'm pretty much just shadowing someone, doing a little training and learning. But we can call it a real day. =)

Anywho, it's Tuesday!

Check out my super close shot and tell me what it is.

Easy peasy.

Some others...

Finally got some snow yesterday! And it was cold and it felt like winter. Woke up with this lovely frost on my window. I was pretty excited. Today, however, it's back to being rather warm and sunny and most of the snow has melted. I am SO not used to this warm winter weather out here. I miss you, SESD. 

So, the day before yesterday, I forgot it was Sunday and that Sundays are Self-Portrait days. So I jumped the gun a little when I made cookies and used my cookie jar shot as Sunday's photo. So later Sunday night I got a dumb picture of myself and we're moving Sunday's cookie jar photo to Saturday, since I didn't get one that day. I know, it's cheating. But I don't care. This is my project and I can do what I want.

=)

Self-Portrait Sunday #2 - Snore...It's so lame and cliche and all those other words that I don't like. But it fits the rules so I'm sticking with it. Boom.

And COOKIES!

I have to say, these are way up there on my list of good cookies. They're still super soft and tasty today. Next time I'll make them bigger. (Although these ARE the perfect size for dunking into a glass of milk. You know who you are.) =)

Also, because I'm awesome...Here's the recipe I used.

Now go make some cookies.

After you guess what my Too Close Tuesday shot is.

So Deceiving

My computer just crashed. My big dumb old piece of crap Gateway just flat out shut off on me without any warning. I think it was because I was watching like an hour and a half of TV on it, and it kind of overheated. I have to admit I saw it coming. Surprised this thing can still run Photoshop anymore...

Hang in there, buddy...You're all I have right now, and I'd be lost without you. So anywho...

Time for a quick update. Ready for the answer to Tuesday's photo?

Here it is again:

How about a little farther out?

There! Did that help? Ladies, that should have made it much easier.

Ok, fine. Here's a full shot...

TA-DA!!!! Nail polish. Nice and super sparkly nail polish! That was fun, huh? (PS, how do you get your nails all sparkly like you'd think they would be by looking at the bottle? I had to put like 5 coats of this stuff on to even get a little bit close. Boo, nail polish. You're so deceiving.)

Another, last night's photo:

I have a nametag!!! So exciting! Last night was my orientation/training at TJ Maxx. Seems like it'll be an alright job. The people who work there all seem really fun, so it should be good. Looking forward to making some new friends. =) Only working part-time for now, but that works out BECAUSE I also got offered a part-time sales job at Best Buy. Wooo!! Had to go get a drug test done this morning. (And THAT, my friends, was an experience in itself. FYI - Don't go pee before you leave to go to a drug test. Duh, right? Yeah. Go me.) So, assuming I pass that test, I'll be starting there sometime next weekish. Then I'll have TWO nametags! Hooray!

Orange

Should have some fun new news this weekend. Be ready. =)

So I just want to throw this out there...I know not EVERYONE is gonna know what I'm referring to here, but I just want to say that I am so proud of where I come from. I've seen so many people stand up for one of our community members today, and it is so so so amazing to witness. I know I don't know the full story, being out here in RC and all, but from what I do know - I love seeing so many I-W parents and students and alumni and supporters banding together to make things right. That's just something you don't see anywhere but in a small town. <3

Anywho, yesterday it was nice and chilly outside so I got to wear my sweet new headband that my sister-in-law (and brother too, I suppose) got me for Christmas. I was so excited that I had to take pictures of myself. Which always makes me feel awkward, but oh well. I do it anyway.

Yep...Pretty cool, huh? Not sure which one I like more. One of them has to go into my 2012 folder. Help me choose? #1 or #2?

Some others:

I ate an orange the other day....

Kids love Cuties. Cuz Cuties were made for kids. (Because I really stink at peeling real oranges. These little guys are so easy though!)

MOST. DIFFICULT. PUZZLE. EVER!! This has been on the kitchen table since I got here, almost a month ago. And it's barely halfway done. Usually I can finish a 1000 piecer in a few days. Maybe a week or two, depending. But not this one! Thanks, Mom & Dad, for buying me such a great puzzle as a Christmas gift. It's been keeping me busy on these super duper boring jobless days.

So there's that. OH! Go back to Tuesday's post and make a guess on the photo! I'll get the reveal photo up here tomorrow, so this is your last chance!

Also, THANK YOU for the donations! I'm up to just under $240 now, and we're still less than a week into this goal. AMAZING! I really don't know how to thank you enough for the donations. If anyone else still wants to contribute, the little link is over there somewhere --->

Check back soon for some official news from the job front. =)

Happy Tuesday

Here it is, friends!

What am I??

Perhaps kind of easy. But there's some fun color in there so I'm going with it. =)

Leave a comment and make a guess! Happy Tuesday!

Yeah, keys.

GUESS WHAT, YOU GUYS!

I woke up this morning, moped around a bit, got all sad because I don't have any cereal, opened the fridge about 12 times before realizing there really isn't anything in there (literally,) and then hopped in the shower. And THEN, I get a phone call. And then I schedule an interview with the lady from TJ Maxx. And then I eat a McDonald's fruit & yogurt parfait and begin drinking a McDonald's caramel iced coffee, because seriously, that's the best breakfast in the world in my book. And then I get ready for the interview. And then I actually GO to the interview. And hey, guess what, while I was there, I got offered a job.

My streak of unemployment has ended!

Granted, this job has nothing to do with my field of study, and probably won't be SUPER AWESOME, but I'm still excited. Orientation is on Friday. Heck yes.

So there's that.

ALSO...Holy cow with the donations, you guys. Thanks so so SOOO much! I'm already 20% into my goal, and that was only Day 1! Once I start making some money, I will find a way to say THANK YOU more than just typing it here. Promise. =) The donation button is over to the right side of these words now, if anyone else wants to help me reach my goal. It really really really means a lot to me to have so much support. And I'm not talking just the monetary support. I've got the most amazing friends and people in my life who have gone above and beyond with encouragement, helpful tips, sharing my link, putting up with my bad moods, and just all around being there for me Every. Single. Day. It all means so much. I will not let you guys down. =)

So, on to some photographs, shall we?

I've always wanted to do some sort of Self-Portrait project. I've seen a lot of people go all out and do 365 days of self-portraits. I considered that, but it seems just a bit TOO ambitious for me right now. So instead, I'm doing weekly self-portraits. Every Sunday's photo will be of me, somehow. Here's Week 1. I wear awesome socks. And it drives my mom crazy. =)

So today while I was waiting to go into the interview (Because I get there 20 minutes early because I have a ginormous fear of being late.) I snapped some shots of my keys. Yeah, keys. Doesn't get much more exciting than that. Glad I thought ahead and knew I'd have some time to kill so I brought my camera. Go me.

This one's my favorite.

Oh, JK on the keys thing. The last one is my graduation year tassel thing, that's been burning and fading in the sun since the year 2006. Pretty awesome, huh? Which of these four photos is your favorite?

I'm excited about tomorrow's Too Close Tuesday....You all better be ready!

(Also, still working on finishing that McDonald's caramel iced coffee. I added more ice. Still over halfway full. I think I need help in the drinking things department....)

Seventy-Three

Hey, everyone!

I may or may not have some good news regarding my employment situation. I'll have an update on that in the next week or so. I'm feeling pretty confident, but I don't want to say anything on here until I know for sure. So keep checking back!

Here's this week's "Too Close Tuesday" shot:

Anyone care to make a last guess?

Here's the answer, in photo form:

Wooo!! You guys were right! (Most of you, anyway) It's the hand on my watch. Nice work, people...Very impressive. I'm gonna have to think of something more difficult for next week's. =P

Here are a few more photos from this week:

Hello, again, old friends.

The weather was SO NICE on Thursday. Everyone knows that, though. Here in Rapid City it was 73 degrees! Seventy-Three! I watched the news that night and the meteorologist said it was warmer here than it was almost everywhere in the whole country. Including Florida and Texas! Holy cow! So, I'm very glad I used a little bit of that nice weather to go for a run. I was a little weirded out, because I was wearing a tank top and shorts...in January...but it did feel good and it was amazing to get a little sun.

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. And a cozy blanket. =)

Ahhh, sunshine...

All caught up now. I've noticed my photos so far this year have been kinda dark and uncolorful. I will seek out some brightness next week! Hooray, colors!!

Alright, so here's the deal, my friends....

(I crossed out the old info, here's the NEW deal....)

Since ChipIn wasn't really what I was looking for, I've decided to do away with the whole goal and deadline thing. (Even though I was REALLY excited to do that)...Instead, I'm accepting donations straight through PayPal. Which, to me, seems much safer than including the ChipIn middleman. So now, there are no deadlines, but still that $700 goal. I will keep you all updated on how this little fundraiser is going, and hopefully before it's time to shoot those weddings, I'll be able to purchase some awesome new equipment. (Here's the info on that, copied from my crossed out text: Basically, I have three weddings to shoot this summer, and I really really really want some new equipment before those big days. I want to give my clients some amazing photos and I want their wedding shoot to go as smoothly as possible, so I'm looking at getting a new lens and some other great equipment which will help achieve the best results. I've got lots of other life expenses piling up, so I doubt I'll be able to afford these things on my own. So I'm trying this out, to see if I can raise some money through here)

If you'd like to contribute, click on the fancy new "Donate" button below. This button will be on my blog all the time, so it'll be available later if you decide to chip in.

Thanks so so soooo much for any donations, they will help me get myself off my feet and living my dream. =)

I've started a ChipIn account. What this means, is that I've set a goal to raise $700 by April 1st, through donations made by my lovely readers (you!) I've never done anything like this before - I've never asked people for money, but I think this is a good way to get started with my photo business. Basically, I have three weddings to shoot this summer, and I really really really want some new equipment before those big days. I want to give my clients some amazing photos and I want their wedding shoot to go as smoothly as possible, so I'm looking at getting a new lens and some other great equipment which will help achieve the best results. I've got lots of other life expenses piling up, so I doubt I'll be able to afford these things on my own. So I'm trying this out, to see if I can raise some money through here.

Any help would be immensely appreciated. Just use the link below to get started.

(PS - The thing about ChipIn is, if my goal isn't reached by my deadline, then your donations don't make it to me and you keep the money. So, if you're really interested in helping out, it is very important that I reach my goal. Feel free to pass this along to friends and family who might be willing to donate, as well.
Also, if you make a donation, let me know! I'll figure out some cool way to repay you in the future, whether by a quick photoshoot or maybe a print or seven of a photo of your choice. We'll figure all that out later. I just want you to know that any amount is soooo much appreciated, and I could not thank you enough for the help.)

So...Here we go!!

WAIT!! Update: The ChipIn thing is being silly and not working the way I was wanting it to. So, I'm going to check out a few more options and then re-post all this info. So hang on, we'll be rolling in no time!

Make a Guess!

Hello, friends.

Who remembers my "Too Close Tuesdays" challenges? Yeah, me too. Yesterday I really REALLY wanted to do something for it and get those back up and running, but it was late and the sun had set and the lighting just wasn't working out for me.

HOWEVER, today everything was working in my favor so I got super close to an object and here is the result for all you lovely people:

Pretty cool, huh? Who can tell me what it is? Leave guesses in the comments and I'll reveal the answer soon. This is way fun when people participate, so if you read this, MAKE A GUESS!! Don't be shy. I love love love getting comments, especially when they're TCT guesses.

In other news, I'm still jobless. It's killing me. I am soooo bored of sitting around here. Last week I returned lots of applications to different places who said they were hiring, and few to places that I just decided to try out even though they didn't have the "We're Hiring" signs. The funny thing is, I've heard the most positive feedback from the places who weren't necessarily looking for help. What the heck? ....I'm just hoping that someone chooses me SOON, before I go absolutely crazy.

I have a friend who was wondering what it is that guys look for when they're meeting girls, because she has every great quality, but still no boyfriend. Well, my current dilemma is very similar: What is it that employers want? I mean SERIOUSLY...I've got a good job history, great references, experience in a bunch of different settings and situations, including computers, cashiering, customer service, and even sales, I have 100% open availability with zero other responsibilities, and I am a college graduate! What more could these people possibly want?? I hate to be such a downer, but it is VERY depressing when you realize that you have all the right pieces, yet you still somehow don't fit.

Anywho...Trying to stay positive, but it's pretty hard to do these days.

So I take photos instead.

Recently, not very good photos...But at least I feel like I'm doing something. Three photos, January 1-3.

Felt like this was sort of funny Monday morning. My big-dumb-old-POS Gateway, and my big-dumb-old-POS LG phone on the left. And Brian's brand-new-super-awesome Macbook Pro, and his brand-new-super-awesome iPhone on the right. Must be nice, my friend... And, of course, Bambi in the middle. (Summer, look at him grow!!)

Ice water. Yeah, told you these weren't very good. Or interesting....

Glass marbles in Bambi's jar. He has a pretty home. =)

As much as my joblessness sucks, I'm still feeling good about this year. It's hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel, but I know it's there. I've got lots of photo opportunities this year (THREE weddings! Two engagements! And probably Dustin's senior photos sometime this summer...And who knows what else I'll get to do...) It is very exciting and I am so so so thankful for these opportunities.

Bring it, 2012...Just hurry it up please. I'm tired of waiting. =P

(Also, do me a favor and check out my good buddy Dylan's comic, Little Alice! He's been working on this since early this summer and it is so fun to follow along with him and watch the progress. As you click through each page, you can totally see him improving every day. So proud of you, Dylan! Keep it up!)