halloweenies!

I was planning on being Miss Frizzle for Halloween. 

and then last minute I changed my mind. 

I started as Pirate 

then that switched to Belle

from there quickly turned to Hot Nerd

but then I realized I look like that every day (heh heh)

and so what else was I supposed to be with only 4 minutes to spare?

(i am a major procrastinator.)

my grandpa.

yes, you heard right. not just any grandpa.  my papacito.  

it's uncanny how alike we look:

 

i understand this isn't a wonderful picture of my Papacito(actually this is one of my favorites of him and my mamacita.), but you can see in this picture his famous black rim glasses.  and the hat I'm wearing was actually his.  :)  I'm sad I didn't get to know him while he was still here.  Someday!  Love you Papacito!

look how handsome he is!

what the creeper?

today was an interesting day.

i woke up waaay later than i was supposed to.  i changed my clothes at least 7 different times before wearing the dress i put on first. (isn't that always the case?) after being late for church but attending sacrament meeting and sunday school, a gal friend and i decided spur of the moment to drive to salt lake to visit our dear friend at her ward(and her ward has some attractive men. not gonna lie).  so we're driving up (my friend was driving, i was riding in the passenger seat) and as i'm riding i like to look around. who doesn't? i was looking at many drivers and passengers of cars that were passing us and we were passing, not thinking much about anything.  we had passed this guy in a truck a few times, and finally i look over again at this truck to see its driver holding up a piece of paper against his driver's side window.  i looked more closely to see that it said "HI ERIN"  bolded and upper-cased.  completely caught off guard, i smiled awkwardly and waved (naturally) and still have no idea who it was.  no idea.  he had on a hat and sunglasses, and was two lanes away from me and we were driving so i couldn't get a good look.  so mystery creeper driver knows who i am, apparently.  who has time to write down a note while driving? whatever. fun times, right?

  there's my weird story for the day. anything awkward happen to you recently?

and ever

Sister Anna. But seriously though.

she is one of the {weirdest} people i know.

quirky
hilarious
awkward
pretty

all describe dear Anna.





classic [mint]-in-place-of-anna's-teeth photo.



 

she just recieved her mission call. 

Watch here:  

or if you like spoilers:

she has been called to serve in the 

Dallas Texas mission

Spanish speaking.

she leaves December 14.

holy moly.  i can't stop crying. so sad, but so so so so happy and excited.  let's be honest, i don't know how i'm feeling.

i am soooo excited for her.

but my insides are crying lots. 

i'm selfish like that.

i need volunteers to distract me for the next 18 months.  i only have 7 weeks to find a replacement

:)

darn it...

a little bit ago i went to the eye doctor

i walked into the office, and was given a form to fill out, similar to this:

I got to the question

are you nursing/pregnant? yes or no

without realizing what I was doing (I was hurrying to get through the form) i circled YES


i scribbled the heck out of that question. i didn't know what else to do!

...


kinda reminds me of the time when i was trying on bras (awkward already) at v.'s secret and the dressing room attendant says to me

oooohh so when are you due?

and i said

with that glazed-over-smile should-i-punch-you-or myself-in-the-face-look..

soon.



story of my life.


for the record.  no, i am not nursing. or preggo.

i'm original.

You are constantly coming up with new ideas. For you, the world as it exists is just a jumping-off place; what's going on inside your mind is often more interesting than what's going on outside.

You don't feel that the road to success is to be a realist and stick to the program; you never stop yourself from coming up with new ideas or telling the world what you're thinking about.

you don't understand how much this describes me.

i am alllwayyys coming up with new ideas.  but you knew this. 

i'm always telling people(you) my idears.

new career paths
new business plans
vacation schemes
illustrations
new hair style ideas
updating my style in general
new boys to crush on
schooling plans
ways to earn money
i'm constantly changing my mind



and while most of the time it can be a good thing
a lot of times it hinders my progression.  
i do need to stick to my gut and just go for it rather than change my mind so often. 


what are some of your bright ideas?

amen to that!

inspirations as of late.

via pinterest.

 

 this illustration was used in a short cartoon featuring lots of paper illustrations!  oh my, i love it.  i love retro disney.  watch here! 

lately i am loooving the layered paper illustrations.  i would love to try this out soon.  perhaps with tangled?...

i'm curious.

You like to get to the bottom of things. You're not content knowing what someone did; you want to know why they did it.

You don't simply take things as they are and move on; you're not content skimming along on the surface; you don't feel you're wasting time by digging for the meaning of things.

i know i look like one of the young women... 1. i miss these girls terribly. 2. i was indeed a yw leader

i am someone who genuinely cares.  i want a motive behind why people do certain things. 

have you ever watched 48 hours: hard evidence (or just the news, for that matter)?  i am never satisfied with the what.  i have to know the why.  i can't just watch bits and pieces of those murder mystery shows.  i have to know why.  
i am fascinated why people do certain things.  

i also am a huge fan of people watching.  
 anyone else love this too?  

one of my favorite things to do with my mom at disneyland is grab our favorite ice cream snack, plant it on a bench, and watch people.  not in a creeper way..  i love stories, i love backgrounds.  i'll often ask someone i've just met what's your story?  [i know. i'm strange.  but seriously.  i'm interested!]  

(does this explanation even fall under the curious category?  who cares.  i think it applies.) 

schooling. a never ending quest.

i looked up some classes to get all prepared for registration for next semester. i have one word for you: ugggghhhhhhhhhh

seriously. don't get me wrong, i'm reeally looking forward to the upcoming semesters.  it's just a really long road i've got ahead of me.  it's looking like instead of a little over one year left.. i have a lot over one year left.  you know those days?  today is just one of those days where i want to be done with school. 

done! 

hey. at least i will be one semester closer, right?

i haven't had to take out any student loans thus far.  i work my tail off to pay for school.

but i need other options, i'm thinking.

who has taken out student loans?  do any of my readers not work and just go to school?  how is that?  

anyway.  

wish my luck in my seemingly never ending quest to graduate someday.

i'm extroverted.

You are ready to talk at the drop of a hat. Whether you're in the office or at a party, you're likely to be found gabbing away in the middle of a group of people. If you have a high score on the "extroverted" trait, you are probably among those who enjoy communicating with their friends (on the phone, on line, texting…), hanging out, and finding the best parties.

You are not shy or unwilling to spend a fair amount of time socializing. People you meet generally do not feel they have a hard time getting to know you.

sunburn much?  this is at my cousin's wedding back in june

this. is so true! 

one of the gals i work with reallly dislikes me because i talk so much. (this is a true statement, believe it or not.) i'm just a people person, what can i say?

what do i do about this?  nothing.  i can't change who i am! 

what should you do about this?


call me! text me! tweet me! leave a comment! email me! i want to get to know you, my friend! 

i'm poised.

You tend to feel at home wherever you find yourself, even in unfamiliar settings, with new people. It takes a lot to rattle you, and when rattled you recover quickly and gracefully.

You are usually not self-conscious or nervous when you're in an unfamiliar environment or with people you don't know.

usually, this is the case. usually. 

until there is a boy i fancy in the picture.  then i freeze up and turn all socially awkward and avoid all possible interactions.. hmm, perhaps this is why i don't date the same boy for very long?  drat.  we need to fix this.  maybe i should try to be poised more often?


does this happen to anyone else?  or am i the only 14 year old here?...

maybe it's just me

but i find this video hilarious.
the slow march
the hair
that goofy grin
i just love it.





i promise i don't spend all my time on youtube. even though that's what 78% of my posts have been lately.



and if you loved that, you'll love this.

this is what i'll look like when she's gone:

 man, i'm going to miss this girl and all our crazy shenanigans.  she gets her call in, oh, 11 days..

just sayin'.  

make your guesses now!

personality shmersonality

oh, hey!


here's that link!!

y'welcome.

i'm aesthetic.

i took a happy little personality quiz the other day (i would share the link but i closed out of the website as soon as i was done with my results.. oops!)  my results came in the form of  10 little paragraphs telling me about my strongest suits.  I decided to make a small 10 part series out of it.  hooray! 

 

Aesthetic

You appreciate art, beauty, and design; you know that they are not superficial but absolutely crucial to living the good life. You have good taste, and you're proud of it. Those with a high score on the "aesthetic" trait are often employed in literary or artistic professions, enjoy domestic activities — doing things around the house — and are enthusiastic about the arts, reading, and travel.

You don't think it's pretentious to be moved by art and beauty. You're not one of those who believe it doesn't matter what something looks like as long as it does its job.



this is totally me.  art inspires me.  




here's something that bugs me, though...

one of my biggest pet peeves is when people look at artwork much like unto these:

and say something like


oh, a child could have done that 
or
i could have done that in two minutes




really?
could you have?
then let's see you try. 
i'm an art major and i can't even do that.

here is what a child has painted, though:

 

now do you see the difference?

i guess it just really bugs me because 

A.  I've learned to appreciate art from all walks of life, not just representational art. 

B.  Some of my best artwork has been abstract.  

Artwork that I spend hours upon hours making.  Who is supposed to appreciate my stuff if everyone thinks a child could have done that in two minutes?  It's insulting, yeah?

C.  I am a huge fan of color, and playing with color.  What better way to show off color than in abstract art?

So, my friends, think outside the box today.  Try to embrace the abstract a little bit more.  I think you'll find that you'll like it.  Okay maybe you won't today, but hopefully someday you'll like it a little bit more.  Even if you don't love it.  Try to resist the urge to say things like a child could have made that.  it makes my artist heart hurt a little (okay, a lot)

<3

sing hell and hallelujah

i love my sweet mamacita. (my grandma) she is 97 years old. and she sings this song every time we visit

and by every time, i mean every. time. 

isn't she the best?

another reason i will never be a teacher

so

i picked up a job grading papers.

no big deal, right?
it's just a bit time consuming.  which is good seeing as i need cash monies.

i just need to say that i am shocked at some of the crap that comes in.

these are college-level kids writing these papers.  i didn't think i was a good writer until i read some of this stuff.

here are just a few simple guidelines to follow:

do:
follow directions.  and then you'll get an A.

don't:
mess with the margins
mess with the font size
(i will notice!)
throw in a bunch of filler words to make your paper longer..
(I'd MUCH rather read a shorter coherent paper than a longer paper that has so many words in it that your brain may just turn to mush because of all of the extra words that really do not need to be there and that someone may put in a sentence which brings me to my next point about run on sentences.)

goo.

i now leave you with proof of the ridiculousness i get to deal with.

this is legit how one of the papers ended...

i'm sorry if this was your paper... you still got a decent grade.. but really?  boo on you painting? really?

today's conversation

went a little something like this:

friend: erin, did you change your hair?

me:  no... ...actually i did part it differently now that i think about it, maybe that's it?

friend:  but it just looks so shiny and beautiful!

me: well... i did wash and condition it today, maybe that's it?

turns out washing and conditioning your hair makes it look shiny and beautiful.... weird!

musicals are brilliant.

these next songs have been on replay.  for at least the past 72 hours.  i just love them.  music like this just fills my heart and mostly just makes me melt. and tear up. or just. be happy.

The Impossible Dream
from Man of la Mancha 
(this one mostly because I saw Brian Stokes Mitchell in concert.. He sings it beautifully.  view here)


to dream the impossible dream
to fight the unbeatable foe
to bear with unbearable sorrow
to run where the brave dare not go
to right the unrightable wrong
to love pure and chaste from afar
to try when your arms are too weary
to reach the unreachable star

this is my quest
to follow that star
no matter how hopeless
no matter how far
to fight for the right
without question or pause
to be willing to march into Hell
for a Heavenly cause

and I know if I'll only be true
to this glorious quest
that my heart will lie peaceful and calm
when I'm laid to my rest

and the world will be better for this
that one man, scorned and covered with scars
still strove with his last ounce of courage
to reach the unreachable star

Anything Can Happen
from Mary Poppins

(I've skipped to the end..)

If you reach for the stars all you get are the stars
but we've found a whole new spin if you reach for the heavens you get the stars thrown in 

if you reach for the stars all you get are the stars but we've found a whole new spin if you
reach for the heavens you get the stars thrown in
Anything can happen if you let it life out there waiting
so go and get it grab it by the collar seize it by the scruff one
you've started living life you just can't get enough
Anything can happen it's official you can choose the super
or the superficial sally forth the way we're steering obstacles
start disappearing 

go and chase your dreams you won't regret it
Anything can happen Anything can happen

Anything can happen
If you let it

which are your favorite musicals?

okay. i will always 

love

seven brides for seven brothers,

the sound of music,

my fair lady, 

mary poppins,

and hairspray. 

(and there are so many more. i love. musicals.)

makin sculptures

just going for it.  not really paying attention in class... whoops.

finally buckled down and followed some instruction.. i called this the Oprah phase

starting to look more and more like my friend.

you remember my friend jordan, right?
 of course you do.

i really just love makin jordan-inspired artwork.  i don't know what it is he just has an inspiring face.  wouldn't you say?

just finished my sculpture of him! i've never done anything like this before, so it was really fun for me!  especially because all i do in my painting class is paint boring still life all day every day...ugghhhh

how do you think it turned out?  ps.  i did get an A on this sculpture.  thank the heavens.

airplane singin'

and just so everybody is aware.. this is how anna and i are together. pretty much every day... you know, singing duets (i always make her be the boy) and singing in general.

somebody must learn the opposite parts to my favorite duet songs so they can replace anna for 18 months and i won't be deprived of this entirely while she's gone.

it's true

i am still busy doing flowers!  and did i ever mention to all of you lovelies that i looove it?  because i most certainly do.  this is my most recent creation. (don't mind the blurry phone pic) the bride is getting married next week--this is the bouquet i created for her bridal portraits which are going on today!  i wish you all could smell that stock.  it is seriously amazing.  heavenly, if you will.  other flowers in this beauty are dahlia, spray rose, and snapdragon.  do you love how it turned out?  i sure do!! be sure to check out my floral blog here and stay tuned for more flower pictures from this wedding coming up later next week!

playing with lipstick

a little hard to tell in these photos..

coral. nude. heavy liner (ha!) and red. 

i'm thinking i need to sport the red more often.  what say you?