Celebrity Sister

As I was perusing the ol' blog-o-sphere during my lunch break yesterday, I noticed a familiar face kept popping into my blog feed: none other than my sister, Oni!

Check out her street style on You've Been Noted


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10 The Hard Way and The One and Oni interviews with 13THFLR

          
(source) / (source)

I feel like a proud mama when I see my sister everywhere!  Go Oni, Go!

Stargazing

Since I blogged about my middle-of-the-night stargazing adventures on Nate Day, I've been itching to stargaze some more!  Enter StarDate.org!  They have great tips and tricks for the beginner stargazer - like me - all the way up to the most experienced!  They also have a list of places holding Star Parties.  That's where I found a link to the Atlanta Astronomy Club!  Score!



Granted, I've been sick the past few days and that has put a real damper on my hankering to get out and watch the stars but it's about to ramp up in late-November / early-December when comet ISON passes by the Sun.  Why is that such a big deal?  If ISON doesn't get obliterated by the Sun's heat, it will be the most visible object in the night sky!  Imagine!  It'll be like all my sci-fi movie visual dreams coming true!

Even though I live OTP (that's Outside The [285] Perimeter to you non-Georgia folks), I don't live far enough OTP that it's fairly easy to get someplace rural for some stargazing.  Sure, the Enota Mountain Retreat was nice but it was also 2 hours away!  Maybe it wouldn't hurt to secure a campsite in a non-wooded area for mid-December for some ISON-watching?  What a fun weekend excursion!  All I need is to check off some items on StarDate's helpful checklist and I'll be ready!

Err...maybe.

I still need to check which areas around me (preferably on a mountain top) would be ideal for stargazing - and that they AREN'T affected by the Government Shutdown...I guess I don't really need to limit it to Georgia, if I don't have to.  I could venture out to Tennessee, North Carolina, or even Kentucky!  They're all a reasonable drive away - except, maybe, Kentucky.  We could stay on the Appalachian Trail and pretend we're living the way of the pioneers using only the night sky to guide us.
A bit much, huh?

Maybe I should just stick to possibly joining the Atlanta Astronomy Club and see if there's going to be an ISON-watching star party in the near future, perhaps?

Wednesday Gif Party!

I'm back on track, baby!

I'll start it off with some Twilight awkwardness for you...



Been watching a lot of Supernatural while I've been sick and it has been GREAT! Now...if I could just catch up to Season 9...




See the gif set here!

I was watching something about the dinosaurs the other day and this feels appropriate



So does this...



Check out these classic movies lines that have been updated for the "Digital Age". It was hard to choose a favorite but this one is pretty up there!


See the gif set here

Here's Traci Lords from Cry-Baby giving me major hair, make-up AND wardrobe envy right now!



Because this is what we're all thinking when we see this, right?



And because I enjoy this so much, I'll share this with you!



And then...there's THIS



Happy Wednesday!

Bloggers that Inspire

I'm constantly trying to tap into my inner fashionista and I feel like I'm failing most of the time!  When I started my weight loss journey in January, I felt like once I was comfortable enough in my new body, I should buy clothes that reflected my new found confidence.

I tried doing an outfit photo-a-day when I started my *Smash Book adventure and it helped me get in tune with my fashion sense...but only for a little bit.  I know myself - I am NOT a fashion blogger.  

Especially not with this hastily put together arrangement.  Yikes!

Every time I try and do a "What I Wore" post, I start to feel really, really self-conscious.  And it sucks!  When I was doing the photo-a-day thing for a week, I enjoyed it!  It was a bit of a challenge.  I tried to take inspiration from my favorite fashion bloggers:

Scathingly Brilliant - whose retro vibe is ultra cute and feminine.  One of my favorite outfits is Periwinkle and Sea Foam Green.  I LOVE her take on colors and how she successfully mixes and matches them perfectly!  I'm going to try my hand at styling this Mint Dress that she listed (and I was lucky enough to snag!) and see how well I stack up!
Bonus Look: Snow White styling With a Smile and a Song.  So cute!

The Dainty Squid - whose mix of retro and unusual curiosities works every time!  One of my favorite outfits is Covered in Cameras - which inspired me to take the plunge and *finally* order the ASOS Lunar Flats!  This blog also turned me toward BloodMilk - such great jewelry!
Bonus Look: Hunting for Bigfoot.  Yes, I know it features the Lunar flats as well but I just love how she mixes a casual tee with a cute skirt - something that has been eluding me for a while now.  I went on a large-ish buying spree with dresses and skirts for my "new body" and I've been desperately trying to mix my tees with skirts so that I can have more outfit choices.

Keiko Lynn - has just the right amount of cutesy with a touch of retro and wild and it looks great every time!  One of my favorite outfits is It's All Fun and Flamingos.  Those tights!  That dress!  Such a great mix of neons!  Not gonna lie - those tights inspired me to get some hot pink tights to experiment with.  Not bad for the first attempt, eh?
Bonus Look: Boy Meets Girl.  I LOVE bow ties with anything and everything so this look speaks to me on so many levels!

Mermaidens - dresses the way I wish I could dress most of the time.  I say that because I think I'm getting to an age where it might not be the best for me to dress as such but I should just go ahead and say it: YOLO, right?  One of my favorite looks is Wishery.  That skirt with the harness on it?!  LOVE!!  I love all these great "caged" and "harnessed" skirts and dresses so much!  I don't think I could pull it off right now but after I take off a few pounds, who knows?!
Bonus Look: Queen of Hearts.  The jumper+lady tie combo takes me back to my Brownie days and I love that it's getting to be popular.

All that being said, I've been buying with a different, more thoughtful eye when I purchase items.  Sometimes I find myself thinking "What would  < insert fashion blogger here > do with this particular choice?" and either I purchase it or I don't.  Other times, I let my impulsiveness guide me.  Yes, I'm a terrible implosive shopper.  I have dresses that I've purchased forever ago that I still haven't worn!  That will change, though.  I'm hoping that once the rest of this sickness has left my body, I'll be ready to start challenging my fashion sense once again!

It's just the big, looming project that's freaking me out: the cleaning and purging of my drawers and closet.  I HATE doing that!  My mom told me she'd help me alter pieces that I just can't let go of (like shirts and skirts) so we'll see when I'm feeling brave enough to tackle that.  I think I'm just waiting to start majorly purging for when I hit my goal weight.  Cop out?  Probably.  It's just a HUGE task that I'm trying to avoid...for now...

Who are your favorite bloggers?

Thursday Gif Party!

I'm a day late to the Wednesday Gif Party - I know, I know...I'm sorry!  I've been fighting a sinus infection since Tuesday night and I've been pretty grouchy.  I took a sick day yesterday to see if some rest would do me some good, and it did, but I'm still a little under the weather.
I had ZERO motivation to leave the house today but I had a doctor's appointment that I could NOT miss.  I'll spare you the details but all was well!  No, it wasn't for my sinus infection, it was for part 2 of my other ailment.  Don't worry, it's nothing major but it is something that needs to be checked out.  My doctor recommended me for part 3 of my medical specialist journey, so I guess that will take over my need to get my wisdom teeth out again.  Meh - what are you gonna do...

Anyways - on to the delayed Gif Party!

I love Sleeping Beauty, so any time it pops up on my dash, I'm really quick on the reblog button!



Like I said, really quick with the reblog button!



and because it was raining on my way into work this morning, here's a pretty accurate description of driving in the rain in Georgia



I know I already blogged about it in my last post but here's a gif of my costume this year: Fionna!


PS - Sweet babies! My mom informed me that my Cake plush AND sword have both arrived in the mail! Hooray!

I saw this come across my dash and I would LOVE to find the video of Joseph Gordon-Levitt performing "Super Bass"! *Swoon*


See the gif set here

New Childish Gambino dropping soon!!



Reverse cotton candy eating (for much-needed laughs)



I feel like this was the ONLY Pokemon episode that ever aired because, well, it was the only one that was on when I would turn the TV on, so for sentimental value, here's this cute little gif.



The greatest thing I've discovered on Tumblr has got to be food gifs. They are really quite wonderful (but horrible to watch when you're hungry)


See the gif set here

And because I'm feeling pretty sick today, here's one for the hell of it.



Maybe I'll snap out of it (with some rest and some hot soup) and be back at it in no time!

That's a wrap: Team 1 Enthusiasm!

Today is the day! Remember when I posted about Spreading Enthusiasm Through Positivity?

We've been deep into it for the last 14 days and today is the day of the drawing! The posts have been tallied and the names have been prepped and ready for this afternoon.  I can't wait!
Check out the scoreboard I've been keeping!



I've learned so much about my team mates and co-workers during this whole process and I'm happy to say that, while I thought it was going to be super-weird and anxiety-ridden (on my part), it wasn't too bad.  Let me re-cap the exercise. People were asked to find the following six items:

• Favorite scene from a movie showing enthusiasm
• Favorite quote on enthusiasm
• Favorite sound that reflects enthusiasm
• Your enthusiastic alter ego
• Share enthusiasm with others via compliment cards
• Share something that you're enthusiastic about in your personal life

I linked to my posts on the Tumblr for my examples but be sure to check out everyone else's!  I even decided that my Alter Ego would be my Halloween costume this year!  And I think it's safe to say I'm a little obsessed with it right now...

 


Oh, and I'm waiting for THIS and THIS to come in the mail!! SO CUTE!!

Anyways - I'm hoping the drawing happens soon so that I can go home.  I'm not feeling the greatest but I'll try and remain enthusiastic for this afternoon!  ^__^

Wednesday Gif Party!

Here's last week's gif party!

From the funniest (IMO) scene from This is The End, here's a "friendly" exchange between James Franco and Danny McBride


See the gif set here

Since Double D was in town, I gave him his WAY overdue Christmas present. I know, I'm terrible. What was it? Oh, you know, just Shakespeare's Love Sonnets. My most favorite thing in the world. I thought it was an appropriate gift to give my bestest best friend in the entire universe. To honor that, here's Tom Hiddleston reading Sonnet 18


See the gif set here

Changing course, here's a gif of a movie I'm VERY excited about: Filth.



Bryan Cranston reads a fan letter he received.


See the gif set here

This one has music! Click here!



Some Klaine lovin' from last week's super sweet episode!



Because I love the Ace Ventura movies as much as I do (who doesn't?!), here's some classic Ace Ventura antics




So...Jeremy Renner was in P!nk's Trouble video?!



Jamie Campbell-Bower, you handsome guy, you


Shhh - don't tell my brother I haven't seen City of Bones yet! He'd be really upset if he found out I didn't!

Here's a gif commemorating the "death" of The Black Parade (which happened to be on my birthday in 2008)


See the gif set here

And here's a bonus gif because I saw Wavves last night and it was AWESOME (as always!)



Happy Wednesday!

Nate Day 2013

I know, I know - I missed last week's Wednesday Gif Party.  Actually, I have one saved in my drafts but I'm 3 gifs shy of my usual "party".  There was A LOT of stuff going on last week - including preparations for Nate Day.  Nate Day was yesterday.  Can you believe it has been 4 years already?!
Nate's sister, Alysia, arranged for us to go camping near Brasstown Bald and because I usually can't make it to Nate Day celebrations, I wanted to commit to this year.
We met up with Alysia at the Enota Mountain Retreat.  She texted me and told me "Don't let the name fool you".  I didn't know why she messaged that...until we drove up to our campsite.

Welcome to Fort Katrick!



Yep, we went for real camping.  I say "for real" because, according to the old man, backyard camping doesn't count.  But you know what?  It was great!  We went to Helen to get Alysia's dog (a bullmastiff) a collar and stayed for a funnel cake and beer.



And then we started our campfire - with the help of our awesome campsite neighbors.  I keep forgetting their names (sorry!!) but they were GREAT!  They helped chop the wood and get the fire going so I tried to repay them with all the S'mores they could handle.
I didn't stay up too late with them but I did enjoy some lively campfire conversations!  It was great!  Even greater - I had to use the bathroom in the middle of the night.  Why was that great?  Because on the way out of the tent, I looked at my surroundings - including up towards the sky - and it was BEAUTIFUL.  I don't think I can remember the last time I saw that many stars!  If it hadn't been so chilly, I would've dragged my sleeping bag out of the tent and slept under the starry sky.  It almost felt unreal!  Isn't that a shame?  So much light pollution...
Anyways - the old man and I got up at around sunrise and walked around the grounds a bit (and found bathrooms!) and when we came back to the campsite, we packed up the tent and were ready to go.



We tried to stop at Brasstown Bald but it's closed because of the government shutdown - which pissed me off because that's where they spread Nate's ashes and I wanted to have a moment of silence in his honor where his ashes were.  Oh well.  Maybe next year?  We were talking about camping again next year - which would be great because I'm hoping to be a camping pro!
The old man and I were talking about camping near the coast in Florida somewhere or going back to Asheville and camping there.  Who knew I'd enjoy it so much?!

Since I didn't get to pay proper respects to Nate, I'll light a candle for him and Tim and Justin and everyone else I miss on El Dia de Los Muertos this year.

Hope you all had a great weekend!

Spreading Enthusiasm Through Positivity

From October 1st through the 15th, I was placed on a team with 5 other employees to come up with a way to best express our interpretation of one of the words of the company motto: Enthusiasm.

To be honest, there's not a lot around the office lately.  Why?  There's A LOT of stuff going down right now and we're al stretched thin.  It's easy to not be enthusiastic when there's a lot going on but our mission is to let everyone know that WE care.  We, as a team, care and we, as a team, are going to try and spread love that's severely lacking.

I suggested we do a GISHWHES-style scavenger hunt to spread the love and my team liked it!  But because we're only doing 15 days, we decided to keep the tasks short: 6 items short, that is.

• Favorite scene from a movie showing enthusiasm
• Favorite quote on enthusiasm
• Favorite sound that reflects enthusiasm
• Your enthusiastic alter ego
• Share enthusiasm with others via compliment cards
• Share something that you're enthusiastic about in your personal life

Seems easy enough, right?  The game is simple: the more you submit, the more your name gets put into a drawing for one of six gift cards AND the more positive vibes you send out!  I'm our Facebook group admin and the group is to remain secret so that we can keep it among team members only but I'm sharing the details here because I got even more inspiration to spread enthusiasm through positivity from this post on Kind Over Matter!

I have printed out the PDF, cut it up and it's ready to *mysteriously* hang in our break room.  I also have two sheets of compliment cards to print and hand out!  It was suggested to me to make "male" and "female" versions, so here you go!

Female // Male

Here are some compliments in action:

  

The coffee one is intended for the coffee shop I go to but they're always busy so I don't really get a chance to give this to someone.  I think I'll just drop it in the tip jar *mysteriously* and hope it makes someone's day!

I tried to make it a Twitter thing (unsuccessfully tweeting at Aaron Paul and Darren Criss) but we can't always get what we want, right...*Sad Panda*

Anyways - I hope you share your compliments with others!  It really makes a difference!  If you take photos, I'd love to see them!!

Thanks, my awesome readers!