one small step

Recent artwork!

nobody@vox.com(girl wonder) — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 14:58:42 -0700

I have a lot more to add here as well... soon.

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Adventures in Squidoo-land

nobody@vox.com(girl wonder) — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 17:34:22 -0700

OK, so I am trying to promote my art on Squidoo... let's see if it does anything. I posted some thumbnails of my art and linked to my Etsy shop. Check it out here:

http://www.squidoo.com/artbyrakel

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

A few wedding photos

nobody@vox.com(girl wonder) — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 22:33:38 -0700

I just got pictures back from the photographer... now I'm trying to decide which ones to print up. I have two 8x10 frames... and I've more or less decided on 3 different prints. I may not be able to narrow it down to 2, so I think I'll just print up all three. Anyhoo, there are just some photos of John and I. I have more that I'll get together in a digital photo album soon enough!

sweet smiles

romance

until death do we part

Here are the others that I have considered:

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Make an IMPACT with Papyrus.

nobody@vox.com(girl wonder) — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 21:12:44 -0700

This Friday, John and I went to Austin Coffee & Film in Winter Park, FL to see some of our friends play some music. Prior to the show, we were all standing outside in front of the coffee shop, commenting on their sign. Someone said, "I don't understand why they have a rocket on their sign." I said, finding myself reasonably clever, "What I'm wondering, is why it's typeset in Papyrus and Impact." I got a lot of blank stares, except for another guy who was laughing. Turns out, he was a designer too, which was awesome -- I definitely wasn't expecting that. Just goes to show you can be yourself, and while most might thing you are strange, there may be someone who gets it. And then it's like, "yeah. You get it." :P

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Water everywhere!

nobody@vox.com(girl wonder) — Sun, 18 May 2008 09:30:21 -0700

Our refrigerator is leaking, our dishwasher/sink is leaking and our air conditioner is leaking.

It will be so nice when we have good enough credit and can afford to buy a house. Though I realize when you have a house, you are responsible for fixing or replacing leaky things... but the thing is, I feel like we can use our money wisely to buy things that are affordable but work properly. I'm not in a huge hurry, but sometime over the next two years would be nice while the housing market is still cheap.

Speaking of credit, I finally feel like I am making some progress. My score moved up 23 points from last month. I still have 50-60 points to get back to where I was a year ago before all of the poop hit the fan, but I'll get there!

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

The Great IKEA Adventure

nobody@vox.com(girl wonder) — Sat, 17 May 2008 18:26:29 -0700

Today we went on a field trip to IKEA. It's a bit of a hike from our neck of the woods, but man, it is HUGE. I loved going through and looking at the showrooms. I really love their stuff -- clean, modern, affordable, lots of storage and functional features... but after awhile, I began getting very irritable and I wasn't quite sure why.

And then it dawned on me... the place is a complete sensory overload. There are people everywhere, and everything appears to be organized in a haphazard fashion. Rooms lead into other rooms without any clear direction. I felt lost and confused. That, and I had to use the restroom, but didn't want to leave my party in fear that I could not easily find them again. I was thirsty, but the cafeteria was full of people, and there was no easy way to just get a drink. Once we found the way to the checkout, there was a smaller food line, but again, there were tons of people everywhere, I didn't know where the line started or even where to find a cup. Later John figured it out, but I was so frustrated at that point I was ready to just go to the gas station to get something rather than deal with it. It was uncanny... as soon as I left the store (aside from it being blasted hot) I instantly felt better... and by the time we got home I was fine.

Am I the only one that feels that way walking around that store or others like it? I honestly did enjoy looking at all of the stuff, but there became a point when the other factors were just too overbearing for me. It was nice to see the stuff up close, but I would rather order through a catalog or online and have the products shipped/delivered then try and buy them in the store.

That said, I found about 3 kitchens that I would love to have. Maybe someday.

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Home improvement?

nobody@vox.com(girl wonder) — Fri, 16 May 2008 21:08:39 -0700

So, a few weeks ago we got a notice that we were getting new linoleum flooring and kitchen cabinets in our apartment. which is pretty cool I guess. I don't own the place so I don't care that much about how it looks as long as things aren't falling apart.

So they come to put the cabinets in yesterday and according to John, who was home and sick, they were here for seven hours, made lots of noise, etc. I don't know how long it should take to put in the small amount of cabinetry we have, but it seemed a little ridiculous for it to take seven hours. We only have a double sink and a dishwasher with a small area for a microwave next to the stove (and L shape). Next to the stove is our fridge. There are upper cabinets that go over the fridge, stove and place where we put our microwave. We're talking 3 sections of upper cabinets with two of them half size, and 3 sections of lower cabinets plus a half one next to the stove for small things.

Anyway, today, John was filling up the dishwasher and started it, and our kitchen starts flooding. They did not even hook up our dishwasher OR sink correctly. They also stained our carpet and the people who did the linoleum broke our laundry room door. Not only that, but now the walls in the kitchen are all scuffed up and look terrible. Aside from those things, the new cabinets are a bit nicer than the old ones, but they are smaller. The two drawers we have are especially smaller. We live in a pretty small apartment with an exceptionally small kitchen, so the fact that we lost any space at all is a little annoying. Why is it so difficult to pick out something that will really work for the purpose on hand? A small apartment needs to have plenty of storage, especially in the kitchen. We don't really have that much stuff, but there is nowhere to go with it. We're going to get rid of all of our dishes and get some new, matching ones soon I think. We have a combination of 2 sets plus singles that don't match, and we hope that by purchasing setting for 6 people we can eliminate some dishes.

ANYHOO, I don't mean to be a complainer... I really don't. The end result was just kind of disappointing. It would look a lot better if they would paint some other colors on the walls. Apparently we can do that at our own cost... but no thank you. I'd rather spend my money on other things.

I feel like leaving this on a more positive note, so that said, I had a really lovely mother's day. We went to John's brother's house in the morning, and then ended up going out to eat and spending the rest of the afternoon/evening with our nephew. I sent my mom an email (ugh, impersonal). I should have called, though. I'm such a bad daughter. I am getting together a package for her that I think she will really like, but I bought her something a few months ago that I haven't sent yet and now I can't find it. I may just send the care package without it for now. So disappointing. If you're reading this Mommy... I really do love you!! I AM AWKWARD.

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

We shouldn't use our food for fuel, dude.

nobody@vox.com(girl wonder) — Sat, 03 May 2008 09:04:10 -0700

Ethanol is a bad idea.

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

I'm still on my soap box Al Gore!

nobody@vox.com(girl wonder) — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 17:44:56 -0700

"What Mr Gore has asked is that every family calculate their carbon footprint and try to reduce it as much as possible," a spokesman said. "Once they have done so, he then advocates that they purchase offsets, as the Gores do, to bring their footprint down to zero." [ SOURCE ]

Oh yes, there is a lot of money to be made through guilt, fear and manipulation. The same things religions are accused of. I'm not really sure how purchasing offsets really help aside from line he and his buddies pockets. Oh what a tangled web they weave...

Ask any second grader what the purpose of CO2 is (nourishment for plants) and how the earth is heated (the sun). At least, that's what I was taught in school. Who knows what kids are being taught now. Maybe the plot of Idiocracy isn't so far off.

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

The piper changes his tune for Global Cooling

nobody@vox.com(girl wonder) — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 09:37:40 -0700

The whole premis on the decreasing Polar Bear populations is because global warming (caused by the man-made CO2 emissions and cow farts) is melting the ice and causing Polar Bears to drown.

After doing some research, the actual figures of population results vary significantly. I'm now convinced that the numbers can go either way -- you could say that the population is decreasing or increasing. The overall numbers vary between 15,000 and 30,000. A 50% contingency is not a very accurate number; so until more accurate statistics can be provided, we should take a moment to consider a few things.

For one, people do not generally move to the frozen parts on this earth. You don't see an insurgence of folk running to Antartica to settle down with their family, grilling steaks on their outdoor patio and working on cattle ranches. In fact, the warmer it is, generally, the more people you will find. People LIKE warmer weather. So what is my point here? My point is that there really aren't a lot of direct reasons why the polar bear population should decrease. As for the environment change, that is debatable and leans towards the side of, "ummm, not really."

Polar_bears

Even if the ice has been melting, there is still a lot of ice to be seen, and some have reported no problems at all with the state of the ice or more than they had anticipated in 2004, which, by the way, the next dispatch they went on produced the photo by Amanda Byrd that has a lot of controversy wrapped up in it. For one, the photo credit was not given to the proper photographer in mainstream media and has since taken down the photo from their article. Not to mention it was taken in August 2004, which is a time known for melting ice around the edges of the cap. Read more about the facts behind this photo here and here.

Fact: Polar bears can swim great distances and normally do a lot of hunting for seals and sea lions in the water. Unless global warming has some how rendered the polar bears unable to swim, I don't see how droves of them could be drowning. And as a side note (playing the advocate): if global warming were true and happening right now, aren't these prime conditions to evolve and adapt?

However, I don't actually think that we're going to have to worry about the ice caps melting any time soon with the trend of cooling over the past nine years (1998 - 2007). I am actually more concerned about a global cooling than a global warming. More CO2 is a result of global warming. That is, when the earth heats up you have more growth - in animals and plants, which cause the CO2 levels to rise. The more animals and humans that produce CO2, the more plants soak it up and etc. In fact the very chart that Al Gore uses to "prove" CO2 emissions cause global warming actually shows how increased CO2 levels are a product of the increased temperature. For more information about this chart, check out this site. You'll have to scroll a bit, but it's a pretty informative site and a good read. If these sorts of things interest you, I recommend that you read the whole page.

My point is that a warm earth is a happy, productive, and vibrant earth. Look at the difference between summer and winter. The earth has been doing this warming and cooling bit regularly since we have records to show. If I were a betting woman, I would bet that after this period of cooling, a period of heating will start up again. I am not too concerned about the earth being damaged enough to sustain the way it has for thousands of years. That's not to say we should not be good stewards to what we have. I see nothing wrong with making strides to having more energy efficient things and new cheaper, renewable resources, however, I am concerned when it concerns the government making bills that are formed because (or FOR the research of) bad science that has a negative impact on our economy. I am concerned when scientists who have findings that don't line up with the "liberal" media's biased findings are mudslinged by the media for no reason, refused grants for research, fired, or excluded from journals. We live in America people, where we have a RIGHT to free speech.

I believe people should strive to not only improve the earth, but their own lives in the process. I have always had a mentality to reuse and re-purpose things to get the most value out of something, to make my own life better. It also has a lot to do with saving money, which is something that directly and immediately relates to my overall living conditions. Perhaps this is selfish, but I know a lot of people who have much, so they waste much. If everyone had this attitude about what they have, it would definitely have a global impact. Maybe less people would be driving SUVs.

I know some fringe groups out there believe humans are the problem, but I don't see any of them committing suicide -- which seems to me the logical way to have your convictions hold some integrity. At the end of the day, people are not going to put themselves out of extinction for the sake of the earth, so why even listen to people like that? For all you know, their deepest desire may be a global genocide where they can be the ones to "start over." I love how people like to say that I am the radical when the important people behind liberal ideas is far scarier and radical than I could ever be.

Read and post comments | Send to a friend