So I mentioned I've been taking oil portrait classes. I've actually finished this sucker, but here's a work-in-progress shot of the painting I've been happiest with. I'll get around to posting some of my other stuff (my first attempt looked more like a bug eyed alien chick than anything- at least I'm improving!) soon as well as the finished version of this sucker. Some people have been wanting me to share these, and this was on my computer already so enjoy!




I made a nifty pegasus pendant yesterday too; I'll have to photograph it and share.

Oh yes. After a communications mix-up and some musical cars I got left at Brooks Elementary yesterday. I *could* have waited the two hours before anyone could have come and got me. I walked home instead. 6.1 miles in two hours baby! I am accomplished! ...and sore.

So I finally have a new car! Well, rather a new used car but you get the jist. I test drove a bunch of cars and liked the PT Cruiser I drove but I really really really liked driving the new Honda Fit. Curse you limited budget! Fortunately I found a really awesome deal on a 1999 Taurus that made up for it. Basically I was able to get my old car, but with more fun options and 65,000 less miles on it. And for just a few hundred more than the insurance on the old one paid out. Whew! This is the first car I've ever had with a sunroof, which for some reason I am utterly fascinated by.

I have a crazy urge to name this car Rachel.

So they totaled the car. My poor Taurus; I thought I'd be driving it forever! Now I must find a new vehicle! Anyone have any good recommendations for a type? Or know anyone selling a good car? I test drove a Ford Focus today and rather liked it.

Definitely looking for a sedan or other 4 door vehicle, I can't stand 2 door cars. Good mileage and MPG are also a plus since we'll be driving it between Fayetteville, New York and Pasadena!

And for those of you who have bought before- anything I should be looking for in particular? Any pearls of wisdom to share? Or pitfalls I should avoid?

So this is getting to be annoying. I75 northbound today? Wrecked my car. Ugh.

On the other hand, the painting I worked on today turned out great!

However, car. Arrrrrrrrrgh.

adorable kitten of love and happiness!

Oh hello LJ, I forgot about you!

Seriously, I'll try to keep up with the journal again.

Rich and I just got back from Thanksgiving with his family in NY. It was epic, and I have affirmed that merely being around small children can completely wipe me out. I'll have to post some pics of our nephews. Totally adorable! Insane amounts of food were inhaled. I don't think I'll be hungry for a week.

Started to break out the Christmas decorations too. I have discovered solar-powered lights and want to decorate the yard with them- why must they be so expensive?! We are late getting the tree this year. I was going to get it tomorrow but as it's supposed to be raining we'll postpone again. Which may be good, because when I grabbed the treestand out of the wheat house there was a ginormous snakeskin in it- which gave me the heebie jeebies and made me take a break from getting the rest of the decorations out!

Oh, and I discovered one of my birthday cakes made it into the "Cake Wrecks!" book (from the blog http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/ ) I'll scan it and post it. It makes me laugh!

Now I know what it feels like to be in a car wreck. I'm okay other than some burns from the airbag and a slightly sprained wrist. But damn does everything ache! Adrenaline is amazing stuff, I didn't feel anything yesterday but today I feel like one big bruise.

Behold my photos! (is it bad of me to be happy it was at least in my dad's truck and not my car?)


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I have no idea what the other guy was thinking, he was waiting to turn into a parking lot...only he turned into me. Like he couldn't see the giant Ford truck in the way?!

It's been a fairly interesting ride. I've had some serious ups and downs the past two weeks. One was starting a figure painting class, which has wound up completely fascinating. The other was my aunt Sara's passing (my grandfather's baby sister, also one of my namesakes).

I have...no go right now. I'm just tired. Not too up to conversation atm, but looking forward to seeing everyone at AWA. Not as prepared for that as I'd like, but I spent a big part of today cleaning jewelry I'll have on display. (how's THAT for getting around the "original art" percentage they slapped on us this year?) Speaking of, anyone need a pass? I got a second one with my table and have no clue what to do with it.

"The best thing about being a Sams is you don't have to marry one"

-Sara Sams Goza (one of my namesakes)

So true, we're insane!!!!!

Finally back in Georgia again. Rich and I are staying with my parents for a few months, should be interesting! It's nice to get in this extra time with them before Rich graduates and we move to California. Strangely enough, I'm having a ridiculous amount of fun re-painting our bedroom. I never realized how much I miss having colored walls! Spotty internet connection for now, but I'll be checking in.

http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/076041c13b/the-ballad-of-g-i-joe

I had no idea they knew how to play the clarinet!

Utterly, utterly BADASS image of the Discovery shuttle rolling to the launch pad.

Yesterday was beyond awesome! We'd invited some of Rich's labmates over to make sushi for dinner so we opened with an epic quest for sushi grade fish. Rich's labmate Sam is the resident SoCal student, and he GLEEFULLY (really, he was having so much fun!) took us, Tony and Danielle out for breakfast and to get the fish.

The epicness began with breakfast. I wanted to go because Sam suggested it, and the last time he suggested something I got to have REAL ramen (just like the kind I got in Japan with bowls big as our heads!). So Sam is my go-to guy for food suggestions. He took us to get dim sum (a first for me!) at this crazy place I never would have been confident enough to go in in my life. For one thing, everyone was speaking Cantonese! For another, I think we were the only non-asians in the whole mall. The waiters were impressed with our chopstick usage. Thank goodness Sam speaks Cantonese! Waiters kept running around with carts and carts and carts of food. They drop off little baskets with three or so dumplings in them and stamp a card on your table for each basket. OH MY GOD WAS IT GOOD! I absolutely fell in love with these little dumplings. I have no idea what they were called, but it was a mochi ball full of taro and rolled in sesame seeds and cooked. I could have eaten a million of them! I think we may have stayed for three whole ours just trying different things. Sam kept pouring us tea until we sloshed with it. We have to go back, because it was so good and so cheap! Each basket was just $1.50 and we rang up an entire bill of barely $40 for the 5 of us.

Then we rolled out of there (literally, we were so stuffed we waddled) to go find our fish. Sam took us to a grocery store called Mistuwa and we loaded ourselves down with sushi ingredients. I felt so spoiled! I'm used to maybe finding salmon and tuna (we get them at Harry's in Atlanta) but this place had freaking EVERYTHING. We picked out salmon, tuna, fatty tuna, sweet scallops and crab meat. Then we got avocado, carrot, cucumber and sesame seeds for extras. I also found some banana/chocolate pocky, which rocks my socks.

Ran back to the house and put it all in the fridge and then Rich, Danielle and I piled into my car to go to the beach. We were getting such a late start! I had figured we'd be on the road by noon at the latest, but we didn't even get to the beach until 4:30. And whoa does it get cold down there! In Pasadena it's almost triple digit weather, but you get over the mountains to the beach and it's barely 70 degrees! I swore I wasn't going to the beach again without getting in the water...so in we raced. SO COLD! Next time I go back I am going at high noon so I can back myself in the warmest part of the day. Plus, the pacific has a really strong current, waaay more than I'm used to back in Georgia. Unfortunately, I discovered that cold salty water + a windy day will give me a dizzy-making earache; so I wound up back on the beach a bit sooner than I meant to. It was fantastic just sitting there sunbathing though.

We fled the beach with just enough time to get back to the house and get started on the sushi. I was dead on my feet but persevered. Erin, Danielle, Tony, Adam, Rich and I went to town. It was SO MESSY! I will be much better organized next time. Now that I know what to expect! Sushi rice got stuck in everything. EVERYTHING. We rocked out to Japanese pop music and just had a blast. And drank so much tea and sake. I must have drunk two gallons of tea yesterday, AT LEAST.

I didn't last long after everyone left. We got everything cleaned up and I checked my mail and then CRASHED utterly and completely. I only got up a hour ago, which means I slept for thirteen hours. But it was all worth it! I want to have a sushi party back in Atlanta once we're all moved in.

Poll #1428236 Cinnamon Rolls- the eternal question!
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 10

Are cinnamon a breakfast food? Or a dessert?

The question is are cinnamon rolls a breakfast food or a dessert. Just had to make that clear since I messed it up in the poll.

I believe I would be making jewelry, children's books and art full time and selling it either at my own gallery or entirely online (ideally managed and promoted by someone who actually likes doing such things aka NOT ME). Hopefully we'd have moved back to Georgia permanently and bought a farm. And I'd be riding herd on four children!

Don't kill me, but I've been reading so much fanfiction I figured I'd give it a shot myself. Ignore if you don't like!

Avatar does not belong to me.
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Zuko was known to keep things to himself. It was not a particularly good habit of his, but it was well ingrained and rarely broken. Getting him to open up and reveal things about himself was harder than teaching Sokka table manners. It was a shame though, because so many things could have been different.

If he’d told his crew what happened, they might have respected him earlier.

If he’d explained why exactly he was chasing the avatar (instead of simply spouting about his honor) then maybe the avatar’s group would have sat on him until he saw his mission for what it really was and Aang would have had a firebending teacher a lot earlier.

If he’d told Sokka the reason he attacked so fiercely to the left was because he’d gone blind in the bad eye he would have endured far less ridicule for ‘letting his guard down’.

If he’d simply told Katara he loved her (but really, wasn’t taking a lightning bolt for her enough?) it might have been him she kissed instead of the avatar.

But he didn’t. So when they all left him to rule his broken country alone, he kept the pain to himself.

oh christ it's stuck in my head

In an irritating twist, my neck has decided to spasm out of control. That's twice in three weeks, and it's driving me INSANE. I feel like Zoolander where he can't turn right. (since I have to turn my entire body to look over my shoulder. let me tell you how much fun that is when you have to back a car out of a crowded driveway)

Rich and I will be in California until August 14th (when we partake in another epic 3 day cross country road trip), so we have a summer address! the c/o isn't absolutely necessary, I just don't want to confuse the mailman.

R and SK Otero
c/o Catherine O'Brien
315 Anna Maria St
Altadena, CA 91001