Wednesday, February 28

JPG Magazine Giveaway



I don't know if this is going to work since I am not able to generate many comments here (yes, this makes me sad at times), but I have two copies of JPG Magazine: Issue 7 that I'd like to giveaway. It's a wonderful photo magazine, but since we are moving, I am trying to let go of things that I probably don't need to move with us. Like two copies of a magazine. So if you want one, leave me a comment with your email address in it. This first two commenters who are interested, get the magazine sent to them, free of charge!

Tuesday, February 27

secrets

secrets

This post isn't really about secrets, but that's what the photo brings to mind. Telling secrets.

I am swamped at work and mired in my mind so I think I'll be keeping posts simple this week. A photo. A few words.

And of course, since today is Tuesday, I have some flickr favorites for you.

slowernet's scan_002.
MyStillLife's festive. festive indeed.
neuskool's untitled. keep going back to this one today.

Only three this week, not for lack of great photos, but for lack of time in my world. I do want to share the Futuro getaway with you though. How awesome would a spaceship in the woods vacation be?! Love it. [via the lovely road]

Monday, February 26

noble lake @ gooski's

noble lake @ gooski's

Noble Lake is one of my favorite bands. You should check out their tunes on MySpace.

Friday, February 23

Well, we didn't go to New York

....which is why I am sitting at my desk right now. It's been a crazy week so even though we decided not to make a visit to the Big City, I still took the day off. I am a bit disappointed about not taking a trip this weekend (and seeing ONEIDA!), but with the big move coming up, we are really working at being conservative with our finances and, well, New York is never easy on the pocketbook. Besides, there's plenty to do in Pittsburgh this weekend.

I've been having trouble sleeping and so feel out of sorts. Not down, just not quite myself and thus unable to get into a groove. Like today. I had a whole day to myself and I feel like I haven't done anything with it. I took a walk down Butler Street, fussed with the computer and went to the grocery store. Aren't there a million other things I should be doing? I seem to have forgotten how to relax.

One nice thing from the week - I got a new computer! My old computer had about 370 MB of a 40 GB hard drive left and needless to say, the lack of space was making me nervous. Now I have plenty of space AND a helluvalot more speed. Now I can actually do more than one thing at time without my computer slowing down to a complete crawl. It's wonderful. (Thanks CC!) It's been time consuming getting applications re-installed and what not, but that's cool, I am just about done.

One not so nice thing from the week - I had been eagerly awaiting the arrival of my latest batch of prints from the Diana-F. They arrived on Tuesday and it led to much frustration. I've been using prepaid mailers for A&I and this is the second time that I have not gotten what I requested. Instead of 6x6 prints, I am getting 6x4 and considering the fact that the negatives are clearly in the square format, the print is not full frame. Square pictures do not always work as rectangle pictures. I actually got rather angry about it, but I am over it now. I'll deal with it. I just don't get it. I clearly requested 6x6 prints so I don't know what the disconnect is. Suffice it to say, I am not going to be using A&I anymore.

So, the sun is shining and I plan to feel better from here on out. Happy weekends to all of you.

Thursday, February 22

me-n-rocky

Awhile back, on the last version of mad orange fools, I posted this photo:



And commented that Rocky and I look like each other. Rocky, of course, being the cuter one. This photo that I took over the weekend only proves that I am not just cat crazy, Rocky and I really do look alike!

me-n-rocky17feb07

Strangely enough, Will and Simon look like each other as well.

Well, my dears, I continue to be super swamped this week so that's all I have for you. More soon...I hope.

Tuesday, February 20

swamped

When I got home from work yesterday

I write about my cats too much, don't I? I can't help it - they are a source of endless entertainment for me! And wow, that photo up there is super busy, so much stuff in it, but the look on Simon's face is classic. Yesterday when I got home and went upstairs, I expected to find him curled up on the bed as usual. But no, he was in the office, on the chair, and it sure looked like he was doing something on the computer. It made me laugh so much. I love making up stories about things that my cats do. (Rocky used to be in a rock band, but that's a whole other story.)

Work has been super busy today which is actually good. I enjoy being busy, plus I had a bout of insomnia last night, something that is never pleasant; and being busy today has taken my mind off the fact that I didn't get any sleep.

I have to get going soon as we are having dinner guests this evening and need to help Will get things ready, but first, my weekly five flickr favorites!

52 Projects' tree_shadow_021707. tree shadow love. fabulous.
minarai's ufo on the beach. love the simplicity.
bugheart's feb16b. more tree shadow (and polaroid) love.
Maditi's pink. lovely diptych. makes me long for spring.
lauratitian's untitled. makes me long for the beach.

Monday, February 19

a good weekend

I apologize that my last post was incoherent. I was super tired but wanted to get the Woodlab pics up. At the end of last year, I was struggling to find pictures to post, and now, I have been taking so many pictures, there's no way I can share them all. Not a bad thing at all, and most of them do end up on Flickr. But sometimes I wish I could put them all here with little stories attached.

Last Friday, two very good things happened at work. One, I received an unexpected bonus for the past year of work; and two, I gave my notice which was a great relief. I am not leaving my job until the end of March, but I wanted my boss to know sooner rather than later because we have so much going on all of the time. Anyway, I felt like celebrating so I took my husband out for dinner. I debated over which restaurant and finally decided on Piccolo Forno. We rarely go out to eat Italian food, but Piccolo Forno had many good reviews online, plus it is nearby so we could walk. (It was cold, but I was in desperate need of fresh air and exercise.) It was the perfect choice. Oftentimes we seem to be rushed through our meals, something that bothers me. I like a leisurely dinner. And Piccolo Forno was excellent in that regard. They didn't bring out everything right away but let us linger over wine and appetizers. The food was good, not excellent, but it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience. I chose the lasagna and it was okay. Pretty basic. Will had the spinach ravioli in sage butter sauce, a little more exciting than the lasagna. I want to go back and try the wooden oven pizza and/or a panini. Oh and it's BYOB which is kind of nice. We bought a bottle of Chianti on our way there and it was quite tasty.

Saturday is a blur. We ran errands in the morning and I think I worked on various photo projects most of the afternoon. Sam came over later in the evening.

will and sam

We drank beer and shared good conversation. It's been awhile since we've gotten to do that with Sam and we quite enjoyed it. Simon had a relaxing evening as well. Notice the perfect curly cue tail.

simon with a curly tail

Yesterday was a slow day for me. I was tired and unmotivated (too much beer). We watched North Country. It was a great movie. It made us both really uncomfortable and angry, but it was good. And Frances McDormand is in it (along with Charlize Theron and Sissy Spacek), and while she doesn't have a huge role, I love seeing her in anything. She is awesome. So is Sissy Spacek for that matter. Bloody came over in the afternoon to model some coats for me and then we all just sat and talked for a few hours. A good weekend for conversation I guess.

Now it's Monday and I am getting ready to head home from the office. I have more photo stuff to work on, laundry to do and decisions to make. We might go to NYC this weekend, might not...I just can't decide. Hope you all have the day off and have some fun!!

Sunday, February 18

v-day and woodlab

I've fallen behind on posting here so I am going to recap a bit. On Valentine's Day, I took my dearest out to dinner at the very romantic Polish Hill establishment, Gooski's.

v-day at gooski's

We had delicious cheeseburgers and fries, courtesy of Blazzzer. Good food, good times. From there, we headed over to Modern Formations in Garfield for the first night of the new Woodlab series. It was a bitterly cold and icy evening, so not many folks came out, but that didn't matter. It actually made for quite an intimate evening of music, kicked off by Hills.

hills @ woodlab

anita fix @ woodlab

Next up, Anita Fix...I have to admit I got a bit carried away taking pictures of Al. For some reason, I got a bit in my head, thinking about my earliest days in Pittsburgh and the many Tiny Little Help shows that I attended. Shows that inspired me to start taking my camera with me and which led to the hundreds upon hundreds of "Rickety" photos that I have today.

daryl f. & megan

Daryl Fleming and Megan Willams were the third act and they played a great set as well. Really, the whole night was amazing and I apologize for not writing about it well, but it has been a long weekend and I am quite tired at the moment.

dave bernabo @ woodlab

Dave Bernabo capped off the evening and did not disappoint. I have to admit that I was very sleepy and probably even dozed off once or twice, but I like to think that if I can fall asleep to music, it means it's good stuff.

I have more to show and more to tell, but right now, I need to get some food in my belly (turkey burgers and tater tots) and watch a movie. Back soon.

Friday, February 16

New Mexico: The Land of...

Talking Urinal Cakes! Oh yes, this is where we are going to be living soon.

Thursday, February 15

wake n' bacon

For all you bacon lovers out there, the wake n' bacon alarm clock! [via dooce]

Gratuitous Cat Video #4



A short, short video of Rocky playing in the snow. He is just too cute. In fact, he is wondering why this website is not called "Rocky is Cute" or something like that since half the posts are about him. (And yeah, Simon is pissed.)

Why oh why does this week feel so long when I just had two days off?! I am finding it hard to focus today. Hope you all are having a good Thursday.

Wednesday, February 14

covered in ice

covered in ice

Yesterday's snow turned into freezing rain and it's rather a mess outside now. All the trees and bushes are encased in ice, some trees so heavy with ice that they can no longer stand tall. My car was covered with about 1/2-inch of ice this morning. Crazy. My sweetheart husband drove me to work because I didn't want to deal with the icy roads on my own. Lucky us, we got there and discovered that my boss had sent me an email telling me to stay home! Ooops. It was fine though, I actually had a few things I wanted to get done. So we were there about an hour and now I am back home with another "free" day on my hands. Nice.

rocky in the snow

rocky diving at the snow

Rocky loves to play
outside in the fluffy snow
jumping and diving

P.S. Happy Valentine's Day!!

Tuesday, February 13

snow day and flickr faves

I am loving the snow today! It's been snowing since early this morning and I'd say there are about 4 or 5 inches in my backyard now. It's awesome. And it's even more awesome because I didn't have to go into work today!! Yes, loving life today. I've gotten a lot done so far, checking things off the list that have been on it for far too long. I also took a lovely walk around the neighborhood.

red snow boots

My red boots kept my feet warm and dry, as snow boots should. (Most of my other boots do not accomplish this.)

happy me in the snow

This is me looking happy and dorky in the snow.

fresh tracks in the snow

On my way home, I took a shortcut and came across an expanse of untouched snow. I got excited about leaving fresh tracks behind me. You can kind of see them in this photo.

This afternoon I finally made some calls that needed to be made and got a phone call from a dear friend. (Hi Christine!) After I finish this post, I am heading down to the kitchen to whip up some peanut butter cookies. I've had a craving for them ever since I read this post.

I'll leave you with five recent favorites on Flickr:

johanna's 4|a million stars, some camelia petals and an orchid. always love her shots from the flower market.
Matty Mo's Single Threat. an old one, but I recently came across it again and I still love it. Isaac is one of my favoritest cats ever.
Gayla's Point Lobo (pelicans). just beautiful.
artelisa's the curtain will rise at 8. love the colors and the simplicity.
Supercapacity's bride. great Holga shot.

This one is another favorite from last week. A beautiful baby and photograph.

hello waffles and down by the river

hello waffles

On Saturday, we were gifted a Hello Kitty waffle iron by S. Mama (thank you!), so of course I had to make waffles on Sunday morning. They turned out perfectly for me, nice and crispy. And the four waffles are the perfect amount too. Yum.

Later in the day, Will and I took a walk down to the Allegheny River. It was damn cold outside for a walk, but I had to get out and Will was sweet enough to join me. (I have to admit that going down to the river by myself creeps me out a bit.) No running for a week was making me crazy. So a walk and fresh air was much needed.

looking toward downtown

The river isn't completely iced over, but it was still worth the journey down there to check it out. And I love all the bridges in Pittsburgh. I think they are one of my favorite things about this city, and definitely one of the things that I'll miss. In this photo, the nearest bridge is the 40th Street bridge and the next one is the 31st Street bridge. I love that we can see all the way down the river to downtown. You can also see all the bread out on the ice. Someone is looking after the ducks. Here's the view in the other direction:

looking the other direction

There are chunks of ice all along the river bank. We ended up staying out for quite awhile, throwing ice and rocks onto the river. It was fun. The sound of the ice breaking into pieces on more ice is really cool as is the sound of big rocks bouncing along the ice. I tried to capture it with the video function on my camera, but all that can be heard is the blowing wind.

pretty winter sky

Loved the sky and clouds that day too. This photo reminds me a lot of the one I took on the way home from North Carolina in December.

The rest of the day was spent cooking Oxtail Soup. I used the recipe that is in Laura Esquivel's Like Water for Chocolate. It's a great recipe and while teh sound of oxtails seems to turn people off, they are actually quite good. The recipe includes green beans and potatoes so it's a good and hearty soup for cold days. (And Like Water for Chocolate is an excellent book and movie!)

I'll be back later with Tuesday's Flickr favorites. A happy day to you all!

For Lulu



Lulu is not only a Princess, but also a burgeoning Rock Star. In this short video, she's a bit shier than usual, but I think it is because she is more interested in what I am doing with the camera. She's awesome!

Monday, February 12

an evening with cute children followed by a rock show

Greetings, my dears! Hope everyone had a fabulous weekend. Mine was pretty darn good, but it flew by too quickly, as always. We had a relaxing evening at home on Friday night. A much needed relaxing evening at home. We watched a movie and then I headed to bed to read for awhile. I slept for nearly 10 hours! (Well, I got up at 5:00 AM to feed the kitties but then managed to get back to sleep.) I felt so refreshed; it was awesome.

S. Mama & Ailyn

Saturday evening we went to visit S. Mama and her family which includes one husband, four extremely adorable children and two very friendly cats. We had a blast. The kids are so entertaining, full of charm and personality. They are such great kids and I love hanging out with them. (We are going to miss them greatly when we are in New Mexico.) Once Sadie, the almost two-year old, got comfortable with us, she kept wanting to sit with me on the couch, and that made me feel like a million bucks. Seriously. I don't know what it is, but there is something so special about a little person wanting to hang out with me. Meet Sadie...

Sadie

...look at those eyes! Beautiful.

Lulu, the almost four-year old, is quite precocious and has a crush on Will. She also has a crush on the hockey player, Sidney Crosby. So when the hockey game came on, she said something about watching her boyfriend Sidney Crosby. I said to her, "I thought Will was your boyfriend...don't you think he might get jealous that you are watching Sidney Crosby?" She sighed and replied, "Yeah, I know, everyone wants to be my boyfriend!" Hilarious.

Will w/ Dante & Lulu

We hung out for a few hours and then headed over to Brillobox for the Wax Fang/Centipede E'est show. Neither Will nor I were totally in the mood to be out late, but I really wanted to see both these bands and I have to say, they did not disappoint. Both bands played awesome sets. I'd never seen Wax Fang (from Louisville) before and it'd been way too long since I'd seen Centipede. They both rocked. Very happy that we managed to get ourselves there.

wax fang @ brillobox

centipede e'est @ brillobox

It was an excellent night all-around. Sunday was a lovely day as well, but I'll get to that later as this post is rather long already and I don't have the Sunday pictures ready to go yet! More soon.

Friday, February 9

link-a-dink

This cracks me up. Perhaps the best signage ever.

In the backyard

rocky doesn't mind the subzero temperature when the sun is shining

when the air is cold
rocky still loves to go out
and bask in the sun

notice how he steps
in paw prints already made
in the frozen snow

Thursday, February 8

Gratuitous Cat Video #3



This one features Rocky in catnip heaven with Will making squirrel noises in the background.

Tuesday, February 6

cold, quiet and five flickr favorites

Hello. It is very, very cold in Pittsburgh. So cold that walking three blocks is enough to make my face numb. At least Mother Nature is gracious enough to give us sunshine during this bitter cold. I can't imagine what it must be like to live in a place that is this cold for longer than a few weeks. I don't think I could take it. I prefer warm weather.

I am feeling quiet today, though as I write, I can feel a ramble coming on. The weekend was very social for us, and while it was fun, it took a bit out of me. I tend to get somewhat stressed out in crowded settings. Saturday night we attended the Rickety New Wave Cabaret at the Pub. It was a blast. Will dressed as a metal dude (hence, the wig) since he was never into new wave back in the day. I wish I had gotten a picture of the two of us, but alas, I did not. All I can say is thank goodness for leg warmers!! I wore a mini-skirt w/ fishnet stockings and considering it was subzero temperatures outside, there's no way I would have done it without the leg warmers! I am not usually one for dressing in costumes, but I had fun getting dressed up for this event. Of course dressing new wave these days isn't much of a stretch - have you been in an H&M lately?! I ran around with my camera most of the night, trying to make sure I got a decent photo of each of the bands. There is a group on Flickr for all the photos, so if you were there and took photos, please add them! I posted some this morning and have many more to come. I think my favorite from the night is actually the first photo I took.

New Wave Cabaret 2007

Not only do D. and B. look awesome, but I also love all the drumheads on the ceiling. I thought the whole night went smoothly...a big hats off to BamBam for organizing the event! Thanks for always having such splendid birthday celebrations, my dear.

See, I am rambling. On Sunday, we watched the Super Bowl with friends. I hope that even if you are not a football fan that you caught the halftime performance by Prince. It was absolutely amazing! It has to be the best half-time show the NFL has ever had (especially considering the fact that they usually suck), I mean, it was that fabulous. (Lots of people agree!) It was pouring rain, but Prince gave a flawless performance. It was all about the music, not the bells and whistles. He ROCKED. It looks like you can probably check it out on You Tube if you missed it.

I'm going to end this post with five of my latest favorites from Flickr. Perhaps I will make this a regular Tuesday thing! Stay warm friends.

supercapacity's untitled.
Camilla E's owls.
Bird in the Hand's decagon dream.
bugheart's orange eames.
dangerousmeta's young blue bird in the snow.

Friday, February 2

News Item #2

Will and I are moving to Santa Fe! At the end of April! (Yes, that's less than THREE months from now. Good lord.) And I apologize for not reporting this item sooner, I just kept putting it off for no good reason. (Because it is not a secret by any means.) It's going to be a huge change for us and we're looking forward to it. The actual moving part...well, not looking forward to that part so much, but I am excited about heading back west.

So a lot of what I have been doing lately, like shredding all my old files and cleaning out closets, is all because of the upcoming move. Moving to Santa Fe is practically like moving back to New York City as far as real estate goes and our apartment in Santa Fe is...well, it's not a three-story, four bedroom house with a basement and garage for starters. It's a two-bedroom apartment. So we have to downsize our belongs quite a bit. Initially this made me panic, but now I am looking at it as yet another way to have something of a fresh start. A challenge. Don't get me wrong, I am a pack rat, through and through, so I'll be moving plenty. But I am doing my best to put some of my sentiment aside as I start to clean and pack.

For those of you who don't know, I grew up in Santa Fe, but I have not lived there since I was 18. I went to NYU for two years, then finished school at UNM and lived in Albuquerque for 4 years before moving to Pittsburgh. I lived in the Northeast for the past 12 years. Santa Fe has changed a lot since I was 18! And I have changed too. So yeah, even with the annual visit, living there again is going to be a totally new experience. I am super excited about being near my family again. I miss them greatly and it will be so wonderful to be able to be a bigger part the lives of my nieces and nephews. I've missed seeing them grow up so much! A visit once a year just doesn't cut it.

We are also looking forward to more sunshine, mountains and green chile! I love Pittsburgh, and I will always have Pittsburgh in my heart. Always. I love the rivers, the architecture, the people and sometimes even the gray days. Oh and let's not forget the Steelers! Football season just won't be the same, but thanks to satellite television, we won't be missing any of the games. Over the years, Pittsburgh has really become my home. It is just not where we want to spend the rest of our lives. Santa Fe might not be that place either, but we want to give it a shot.

So there you go. I have more to say on this topic and I am sure it will spill out over the next couple of months. And some of the spillage will probably be stress because not matter how excited we are, moving in and of itself is a major cause of stress. And this time we're not moving 400 miles but closer to 2000 miles away! The cats are going to LOVE that drive.

Stay warm this weekend and have fun!

looking up



looking up at trees
seeing the ominous gray sky
it is february

Thursday, February 1

yesterday

31jan07

so cold and snowy
but still the sun shines into
blinds in the kitchen