What 16,777,216 colors look like

Look Here To see if you believe!

"That Cover is Naked"

Penguin Publishing has started a new "My Penguin" where you are able to create covers for classic books. Above is Ryan Adam's cover for Dracula. They had bands create "cover art" in order to help promote this new promotion for their publishing company. Overall I think that idea is clever because it allows someone to make something more personal to them and I enjoy how creative you could e with a book cover. Check out this link for more information and to order your copy today! :) http://www.penguin.co.uk/static/cs/uk/0/minisites/mypenguin/index.html
I must admit I am sucker for slogans and I really enjoy the one for this promo!

"THAT COVER IS NAKED
PUT SOMETHING ON IT"

New Obsession

Lately I have spend many hours look on http://www.etsy.com. It is something that reaches to my creative side and makes me want to buy a lot of homemade goodies. (Not cookies or baked goods but yet so many other delicious goods)
I enjoy the search by color sections. Any color but I haven't found that many promising goods through it although I do look at the most adnormal colors because I think that it awesome they are on there!
Enjoy! I don't have any favorites yet BUT soon I am sure that I will. It passes the hours when there are not any guests coming or going.

Beauty

If you truly love Nature, you will find beauty everywhere. -Van Gogh

Of course it is easy to find beauty in Yellowstone (where these photos are from). But much harder in the hot dry desert of Arizona. Yet each and everyday I try to find the beauty in the "weeds" around the building that I work at. I started reading Beauty The Invisible Embrace even though I am just lifting the cover it has helped me to see that there is beauty in everything and everyone. Wabi- Sabi is a beauty of things imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete. I agree with the Japanese in this aesthetic because beauty needs to be found in the unconventional in everything.
I hope you find beauty in these photographs and I hope that you begin to notice beauty all around you.

YellowCamping

June is over and it is now July... The middle of July.

So far July has felt like a summer month. I went on a little trip up to Wyoming and across the state to Yellowstone National Park. I saw geysers, mountains, trees and a lot of beauty.
Camping in Wyoming proved to be a challenge with winds that could "wrap you like a burrito" with the tent or waking up with Bison 10 feet from the tent. Although the s'mores were yum and the fire burned well into the night. It seems that the sky never did reach complete dark with all the stars in the sky.
My photos remain on my camera but soon I hope to share. Although I am not certain they can show all the moments that happen with you have an Australian terrified of bears.

Vegas.. what really happened

I recently went to Las Vegas, Nevada with my parents. I had been once before when I was younger but I didn't remember much of anything except how everything seem "HUGE".
Today Vegas is much of the same as I remembered it. The hotels and casinos were huge. I felt like each were individual cities with places to eat, sleep, and play (meaning loose money). Although we tried to take in more than the casinos, it was hard because everything else costs lot. If you weren't shoving your money in machine with no chance at anything coming back at you, then you could throw your money into something else that was happening.
Although my peers told me, "You don't do Vegas with your parents, because it is all about drinking." I must say they are right if I that was all I wanted to do on a vacation, but I am much more an active tourist. It was hard to want to watch down the street because either porn was being handed to you or you were stepping in someones vomit from the night before.
Much to say I am not a huge fan of the "little place of everything" which Vegas imitates. I want places to form their own identity that I can remember when I go away from a place. Overall I had a good time in Vegas, I spent time with my parents and was able to throw a few of their quarters into the toilet.

The entire time we noticed that about 3 out of 5 people would have a sack (errr I guess they are called bags) from M&M World. My mother did not want to be left out of this trend, so hiked our way down there. Once inside were we disappointed from avoiding the porn handouts for the small store, only then did we discover it was 4 stories and it was no wonder why it seemed everyone on the streets had bags from there. There was so much of anything you had to buy something. My mom settled for selecting for own colors of M&Ms (9 bucks a pound) but she really only got about a dollars worth. But all in all... we came out with our own small yellow bag M&M WORLD -Orlando.

Do we have a Birthday here....

YES WE HAVE A BIRTHDAY HERE!!
Happy Bithday... Happy Happy Bithday... Happy Bithday...Happy Birthday.. YEAH!

Hope your 21 is a good one. It means you can legally drink and in AZ buy lottery tickets, and of course gamble with your Grandma!

Next turning point...25 when your car insurance goes down!

LOVE YOU!





Why do a nice photo when I have this one?!?!

Elllie

I have this habit. I name my house plants. Cloe the Cactus. Bert, Ernie and Grouch the Bamboo. The newest addition is Ellie the Elephant Foot Palm. I recommend getting one, she is beautiful.



I mean just look at her. So fun! I just need to re-pot it.

Time Warp

......7th Grade.... .....8th Grade....

And today after I got my hair cut.....

Okay so I am playing them up with a the curl and everything BUT ya know... I like the bangs when I fix them NOT like I did in 7th and 8th grade!

I am thinking that it was a good change. A needed change, but a change just the same.
Summer is here. The temps have felt like summer for months now, but now that school is out it is summer. I admit I have been enjoying lemonade, Popsicles, and soon peaches. Those are the 3 food items that mean summer for me.
I am still unclear of my summer plans... BUT they will figure themselves out soon, I just know. I am trying to be patient and get other things done to keep my mind off of it until the time comes.
I invite you all to jump into summer. To drink lemonade until your taste buds are sour, to eat a popsicle in the sun and try to finish it before it melts. Bite into a peach and have the juice stain a white shirt. But really.. make a change it is summer... It might be as simple as a hair cut.. or possibly making a weekly trip to a park. Add some bright colors around your place but mainly soak up the sun.

ENGAGED!

My boy proposed! Wednesday May 9. I got a ring! It was really cute and sweet. They are glow in the dark stars stuck to the ceiling! Spelling Out will you marry me.




That is me celebrating with the entire bottle of champagne. See the shiny ring!


This is a photo of us! Not the same day but us the same.

Study escape

This weekend was mainly spend trying to recall the things I have "learned" or placed into my short term memory and now need to restore again for the last exams of the semester.
I was able to escape a bit from the notebooks of reviews. I had to in order to make it through.
I made some banana bread and muffins. It is my mom's recipe and I must admit the BEST recipe out there. It is soo soo good.. The photo is just after the bananas are put with everything else awaiting their fate of being all mixed up.
I also made it to the park, a different one than last Sunday afternoon. This weekend we went to Papago Park. It is very close to the Phoenix zoo, and Botanical gardens and has mostly desert plants and scenery. The main attraction are the rock formations, the one in the photos is "Hole in the Rock". Although the first time I went to see it, I was unaware that there man-made steps up the back of it, so my brother and I climbed up the rocks, wondering the entire time how the little kids at the top managed.
The Saguaro is the cactus that holds that Arizona state flower. I must admit that when I choose this park for the afternoon I was hoping for more natural color from flowers but really the state flower was about all I could find. There were a lot of palm trees around all the "fishing holes" and massive fish in them. Although the water is soo nasty in the "lakes/ponds" I would not dear to eat the fish for fear of gross polluted things the fish ate.
I will stop putting photos together.. it is just not working out how I want it too.. But yeah at least there is a REALLY blue bowl!!

Janelle needs..

I saw this idea from withsprinklesontop.blogspot.com, who got it from someone else... I am slow so it took me a few googles to figure it out..
But this according to Google.. Janelle needs (in other words I googled Janelle needs and found the following)
•I need to win.
•I need to take one for the team.
•I need a liiiifffeee! (this one could be true)
•I need an investment banker so that way I won't have to steal what I want...
•I need a perm. (I will stick to just a haircut!)
•I need to take her to the final. (Is this my lucky her, because I do have finals.. 4 next week actually AW)
•I need to start participating. (I should I think this would make a lot of things a lot better.)
•...carriage driving. (I could go for this just because I would then be in New York and it is not as stinking hot there!)
•Janelle needs to get closer..
•I need my constant companion. (YES YES I need a dog!)
•I need more blog posts in my blog...(this one is more likely than not TRUE!)
•Janelle needs to go

Afternoon at the (manmade) Lake

well the color came in a bit off... but still I loved the ducklings! They were adorable! Of course the turtle sunbathing always gets my vote too...
I will fix the colors and repost later!

Paint it all orange!

Today marked the first of the Suns playoff games...
At the game we received orange shirts. It was an entertaining game. You can tell that we were very high, in fact a row short of the top but hey!
The first Picture is Boris Diaw- #3... He came out before the game and shot around. That was when we were sitting down on the floor seats, before we had to move up to seeing everything but the players.
The second is from the top when they were introducing the Suns starting line up. Notice all the orange shirts.

I was reading my old blogs posts and I thought about the blogs that I really like.. Ones that have a lot of things that they have created, made, or drawn...
So that is what I am going to work on getting more on here... but I must say.. I am getting a lot more photos up!
Phoenix is being painted orange with "Eyes on the Prize"

Green stains on the bottom of my feet.

My heart and prayers go out to those anyway impacted or touched with VT.

I love to run barefoot in grass. There isn't much grass around here (which I believe is a good thing) but when I am around it.. I take my sandals off and run. Or I love to spin in circles until I am soo dizzy I fall into the grass. Just the feeling of the cool grass on my feet..
The other day on my bike ride the chain fell off my bike... we stopped to put it back on, next to a patch of grass... as my boy was tugging at my chain I ran... barefoot in the grass...
He look over at me and just smiled...
This is how I came to the conclusion to name my blog after this... Barefoot in the grass..

I have photos on the camera that will bring this to life for you... Now to get them on the computer.... the time will come..

Off to drink tea and read Freakonomics... not my first choice of book but turning out to be interesting.

In spirit of my blog's new identity... I encourage you, when you see a patch or lawn of grass... take off your foot wear and spin around in the grass until you are so dizzy you fall down!

Big man... on a bike...

First I have to admit that I was an idiot and forgot to change the ISO of my camera.. so all of my Spring Break photos are not that great of quality. Maybe next time I will not be so dense when I am OUTSIDE! In the like totally SUNNY SUN!
But I really am beginning to think that I should be at Northern Arizona University. I think this guy is more my style than some little cartoon by Walt Disney.
This photo was in Flagstaff. I wanted to see a bit of their campus so before we left for the Grand Canyon we went there and saw this amazingly tall DUDE!
I enjoy being a tourist...
Because
----You can take photos with everything and people just think you have never seen anything like it before. If I go back to NAU's Campus, I plan on dressing like this Lumberjack and retaking a photo with him.
----Also you can wonder aimlessly and never have a fear of getting lost. You can always ask for directions.

I took a break from writing this so I could go for a bike ride. We needed some things to make our dinner complete.. so instead of dealing with the traffic, we rode. It was a perfect evening for a bike ride. The air has a chill to it today.
My suggestion for the night..
go for a bike ride.. and come back and drink some tea.

Take Time

Everything makes a lot more since.. when I am sitting back drinking tea. I am not sure how it does it.
•I have taken the time to know that I might not land the internship of my dreams, but that doesn't mean once that the wrong one will lead me to have many chances to know what I the perfect job for me to land is.
•That you don't have to get up earlier in the morning to accomplish the simple task of eating breakfast, just save water (time) and take a shorter shower.
•When you experience new creative outlets, your entire life becomes more creative.
• Things make more since to me in list form.
•Remember to drink tea about an hour before bed... For the simple fact of bad dreams, and having to wake up to pee!

I think that I have just been so stressed the past few weeks, worrying about nothing that I should be.
I heard a quote tonight on Extreme makeover Home Edition (the about 4 minutes I watched it) that really hit me...
"Lots of things to think about, but nothing to worry about."

Now that I am drinking me tea.. It really makes me think about how there is nothing to worry about... that worry just drives holes through my stomach lining and makes me feel stressed about so many things I can control.
I didn't take a nap today. My second Sunday in a row without a nap! I must say I didn't take one because I was accomplishing task after task... now that I am taking time I know that if I had taken a nap, I would not have finished a lot of other tasks that were for enjoyment today.

I posted the photo because when I took this photo I was taking time to enjoy everything. I was in San Diego for the first (and only) time. I really longed to just take time and enjoy all the sites and smells. I had not seen the ocean in years so I loved to the tide pools. Listening to the crashing waves.

Sitting up on a branch

I am in one those situations again. The ones that I think I am going to loose my mind. My thoughts are jumping all over the place, my stomach is hungry and wants to be fed. I can't sit inside and still any longer. I don't want to be in the place I am at, but yet on this hot spring day I must.
I tried to keep my mind busy, I still try. I played games against people on the internet. I searched for summer internships. I even read the most creative blogs I know. I have also been searching for Easter Dinner Recipes but yet I am a little bit closer each and every moment to not having much of anything left at all.. or at least having to chase after my mind as it is far ahead of me as I am typing this.

I want to be climbing a tree.... sitting at the top looking down at the ground... feeling that I have conquered it.... I want to sit there and eat the fruit that is one it (Arizona you know... some dry oranges, lemons, or grapefruit).... Just to feel the juices as they touch my finger tips... I really just want to get out a the box of windows I am sitting in.. have my senses become aware of things that are totally around them.. to experience more than the keys of the computer, the phone and the pen... I am to be away from technology.. up in a tree...breathing in fresh air... feeling nature...

Today is Good Friday... It is the day that Jesus was put on the cross.. Bad Friday for him.. Good Friday for us who believe.
I feel like I should be honoring him today by climbing a tree...
I want to go to the Good Friday Service tonight, where they will be talking about the 7 things Jesus said on the cross... I think it would be interesting to have it all taken apart... to really know what was behind each statement. Very powerful...

I am out of this box soon... soon I will climb a tree... the problem is that I only have palm trees at my apt, not much to sit on up there...

Self Simple

A friend just told me that blogs were dangerous...
I assumed because someone could steal my identity, that is what a lot of people try to bring me to fear. But this was his statement....
" its proof that people are so painfully self absorbed that they really believe that another person on the planet gives a crap about what kind of Thai food they ate for dinner."

SO I if anyone wants to know I had General Tso's Chicken, made by ME!

But honestly I truly blog, for the love of writing that I have. I doubt that people even read this. I know that my brother used it. I like to express things that I normally would not say, I also used to be afraid of anyone seeing my writing. It is one form of a creative outlet for me....

Since I am self absorbed I am going to share the simple things that make me happy

"Simple things hold the secret" ~Carl Jung

•Rain hitting the window sill
•Milk Duds
•Hot Tea
•Loose Leaf Tea
•Waking up each more to "Judy and the Dream of Horses"
•Bamboo on my desk
•My day planer
•Ballpoint pens
•Cactus flowers
•Wildflowers
•Water bottles with straws (my Camelback one is super sweet)
•Setting goals and then changing because my thoughts change when accomplishing a goal
•Ponytail holders
•My jade rock necklace (oval rock on a string of hemp)
•Slipper socks
•Hours of conversation with people
•Staying in your pjs all day!
•Jeans that are worn many days in a row
•Plain colored shirts
•Having shelves that sit on the ground, instead on hanging on the wall
•Jazz Music (almost complex in style)

•Some many things I just can't name....

as a day might be... lovely

Once a year on this day, I have to let everyone I know how much I love them!
So I LOVE YOU all.

Isn't amazing how St. Valentine did that... got everyone to send cards to each other, eat chocolate, and have candlelit dinners. I am doubting that when he died that was his dream, but you never know. He could have owned Hallmark, Russel Stovers, or the first Melting Pot.

Instead of getting all mushy on you all. I am going to just say what I have said and move on to some new things.

I am going to do a lot more in my life.. like to build more new experiences of my life.
I am just not sure what I am going to do.. Anyone with any ideas, let me know.

I am sure that EVERYONE is wondering how I am doing on my new things I was going to try to do. Let me tell you... I am NOT very good with developing new things into my overly crowded life... I should have made one a way of simplifing my life...
But here is a short of how things are going..
I have NOT waken up early, not even probably one day.
I did 3 doodles... mainly because my class was boring, 3 days in a row.
Saving... will go better when I get my scholarhship.
I HAVE been drinking a lot more water... I honestly feel this just makes me have to pee a lot more... during the night usually... and then I have bad dreams and so on.
No new bands have been discovered (Send me some)
I have 2 more months for a weekend trip! OOO WAIT I planned one! I am going to Wyoming for a weekend in March. Not that exciting but something, and it will be cheap on my pockets.
I heard about Anna Nicole Smith, and the snow storms, and the lady that wore space diaper to kill another lady, and some local killings... somewhat current events I have been reading.
Going to the career fair tomorrow for the intern hunt
I made a card for my boy for today. and a birthday card for a friend... I guess those could count.
I have been studying for a test. Although I know I am not totally focused on school...

I must say I am doing better than I thought I would be. MUCH better!

Well Give someone a hug goodnight, and remember today I love you.