this is why...

I love the new pornographers...

Day 20 - September 27, 2008

Its Oktoberfest!

Jon, Sean, Mandy, and I partied at Oktoberfest at the Crescent Moon tonight. Yet another wonderful time. It seems like I say that a lot but I feel like I always have a wonderful time!
Obviously there was beer but they also had pretzels, desserts, brats and sauerkraut, ham and cheese sandwiches(?).
Polka bands, drunk people everywhere! it was lovely.

Day 19 - September 26, 2008

Jon and I watched the debate tonight at the Slowdown. It was so amazing.
The place was packed and everyone was so excited and cheering for the Obama!
OBAMSA!

We met Stephanie and Chris after and had coffee at Blue Line. It was a nice night.

Week #5 - Image Generators - Library Thing - Rollyo

This week seems to be "play week"


Playing with images, library thing, searches, and more
I am now in love with FD's Flickr Toys mostly because it can link directly to my flickr from thier website.
And because they have so many fun toys to play with.

This photo was made with their Hockneyizer tool.
Personally I think David Hockney was a freaking genius so this is right up my alley.

Too bad there's no tool to make your picture into a Japanese woodblock print....something like Hiroshige or Hokusai... then I would be in image generator heaven.

(Jon this would be a great Christmas present) :)


Library Thing -

Although I think Library Thing is a great idea, I don't know that it would be so good for me.
First of all....I have way to many internet things going as it is. I've really taken to Google Reader to read all of my blogs (and I've found like 10 more to read), I've got the whole Ravelry thing going on, Flickr is a bad habbit...and I've got this blog to worry about.
Now that being said.
Library thing is great...it gives you recomendations and keeps track of what you've read. For a voracious reader (unlike myself) I think this would be a great resource. And you can write your own recomendations.
But I have one anyway. Maybe someday I'll really get into it. Just not right now....

Now Rollyo...
I must be a complete idot today...but I have no idea how to use this site.
I've made some search engines..but now what?
How do I use them?
Weird website....

Week #4 - RSS - Feeds

RSS feeds are an interesting thing...it seems like such a good thing...easy to use...puts all the things I love in once place...etc. etc.


but will I actually use it..I guess that is the question.



I have decided to use Google Reader for two different reasons...

First of all because I can link to it directly from my email and I can put a widget on my igoogle homepage.

and

Second of all because I really can't remember anymore passwords or log ins.

So Google Reader it is...

But what do I really think about it?

it SEEMS like such a good idea. I could have all of my knitting blogs, the other blogs I read, my web comics, and news all in one place to check quickly and be done with it.

At the very least I will be able to keep up with Very Small Array and Indexed, two blogs I love but never seem to make it into my main reading rotation.

I guess only time will tell if I actually start using Reader...or if I forget about it.

Day 18 - September 25, 2008

It seems like I am attracted to orbs hanging from the ceiling.
First the lanterns at Stephanie's wedding and now these, which I can only assume are part of an art piece, at Caffine Dreams.
Jon and I spend a good 4 hours there today studying. I was writting a paper for my Info Tech class. Today I've probably spend more than 6 hours total writting this dang paper and its only worth 5 points in the class. Suck!

Day 17 - September 24, 2008

OBAMSA!
Jon and I were in the car getting gas...and we happen to see across the way the Obama headquarters for Omaha. We were going to go in to say "hi" but we though that might be a little dorky.
How exciting!
Actually earlier today they called me. You know, just to ask who I was voting for and the such (Obama of course) and what the most important issue was to me (the economy of course). It was a rather nice conversation.

Day 16 - September 23, 2008

It rained again today...and this time I really felt it.
It was just another bad day...depressing...sad...whatever else...
I didn't have to work. I think that was part of the problem. But also I didn't win the gelato contest. I only lost by one stinking vote. :(
So here I am sitting in Whole Food's parking lot taking pictures of the rain drops on my rearview mirror. What could be more depressing than that.

I just had to share this......

First of all...the best thing about this video is the music...very Right Said Fred...
Second...the fabric on the couch simply speaks for itself...

Now back to the regularly scheduled programming........

Day 15 - September 22, 2008

My new sweater...
Jon and I went to the Gap today becuase they having a huge sale.
And I bought this wonderful sweater! ITS PINK! and cashmere-ish... 10% i think.
Wonderful!

ETA: However after wearing this sweater ONCE it pilled A LOT under the arms and I am very angry. I will be taking it back!

Day 14 - September 21, 2008

Here's my pride and joy...my baby...my gelato!
I know I posted this last week...but my gelato flavor was chosen as part of a contest at whole foods.
Balsamic Pear...oh boy was it good.
Hopefully I'll win...but the competition is stiff. Especially from the flavor just to the right of mine...Thai Delight.
We'll see how the contest goes...I should know by Tuesday whether I won or not.

Day 13 - September 20, 2008

Because we had such a horrible, bad, no good day today, Jon and I decided to treat ourselves to a little dinner out.
Can anyone guess what resturant this is?
I had the most wonderful lamb dish with all kinds of beautiful spices; cumin, red pepper, etc. and it had onions...I have been on this huge onion kick lately. Mostly red onions...but man do I love them.

Day 12 - September 19, 2008

The boot!
Jon is holding the boot...the very first boot we have ever done.
Happy Birthday Paige!

Day 11 - September 18, 2008

Jon and I went to Creighton today to talk to a priest about getting married. Finally we are taking steps toward this. I know its still a year and a half off...but we haven't done anything about it until today. I am really getting pretty excited about everything after talking to Fr. Amidon. Except for one thing. Apparently we will be asked to take a Natural Family Planning class....and you know I want to go to that just as much as I want all of my hair pulled out.
Its not so much the idea of natural family planning or the implementation of it as it is the fact that I don't want church yahoos talking to me about my body when they are not trained to do so. Let me go talk to a doctor.....

Day 10 - September 17, 2008

I went downtown with Mandy and Sean today...It was wonderful. We walked around and went into a lot of stores that I didn't even realize existed. This is a cliche shot of the passage way....really I was copying a post card.

Gelato Queen!

So Jon and I were in Whole Foods a few weeks ago and noticed that there was a contest box. And of course I always sign up for those things. The contest was to choose a new gelato flavor for this fall.
I came up with Pear and Balsamic Reduction.
An interesting combination. I felt like it was very Fall-like and therefore had a better chance of winning.
Well today they called me. No I didn't win yet...but I am a finalist!
So, this coming Saturday and Sunday (20 & 21) they will be sampling all of the finalists and you can vote for your favorite.
So get out there and vote for me! (or which ever one you like the best)

Week #3 - Flickr - Technology

So here we go with week 3. Time flies when we are having fun right?
Flickr...I think I've got that puppy down too.
Visit me there. You can see all of my 365 Project Pictures all together in one set without having to read the crap that I say about them.
The thing I most love about Flickr though is that I can organize my pictures. When they just sit on my computer unorganized I feel so bad about it. I can't share them...I can't even find them when they're a big jumble on my computer. With Flickr I can organize them in multiple albums and sets and with tags...oh I just love it. And since I have a paid account I can upload my cute little videos too. Like this one I've been dying to share ever since my post about our trip to Minnesota.
And since all I really want for Christmas is a Flip Mino...the video uploads will really help later! (like when we're in Paris!)




The second most thing I love about Flickr is the Creative Commons search. I just love Creative Commons in general but the search is something fantastic. It puts flickr along side other great reasources for Creative Commons protected material.
GO CC!
I use it for all of my stuff...flickr...this blog...the website I'm writing for class...everything!

Day 9 - September 16, 2008

New shoes! I ordered three new pairs of shoes from Zappos and boy to I love them all. These are easily my favorites though. Rocket Dog, grey (my favorite color) and oh so comfortable. These shoes were made for Micki's feet!

Week #2 - Blogging

So week two of the O! What a Geek program is about blogging.
Now I really have that down don't I?

It seems kind of interesting that I starting this blog a mere month before we started the program. Just a coincidence though...I assure you...I had no insider information. Do not arrest me. I would be oh so bored if I could only crochet in jail...I do need my circular knitting needles. :)

Day 8 - September 15, 2008

Jon and I went to the Nico Case concert tonight and god it was so much fun. We should really be going to more concerts. It makes me feel young and involved.
We have been spending a lot of time at home lately and we are both becoming rather bored. I think that the concert really gave me a shot in the arm and made me feel better about the state of my life in general.
Thanks Nico.

Day 7 - September 14, 2008

Manga....
Yeah....I really am that kind of geek it seems.
For some reason I've been really into it lately. Like REALLY into it.
I think I'm starting to scare Jon just a little bit. But its fun. It's like watching a soap opera. And I've always been interested in Japanese culture and comics in general. I guess it was a logical step.

Week #1 - Library 2.0 - Life Time Learning

Now, I work for the Omaha Public Library and we are doing a program called O! What a Geek. I guess the point is to bring the staff up to speed on new and emerging technologies and to get everyone on the same page in regards to the importance of these kinds of things to reaching and serving out constituency.
So we are exploring Web 2.0 and Library 2.0 technologies.
But what does that really mean? To me the whole "2.0" thing seems like just a buzzword (like information literacy...but thats a whole other argument). I feel like it completely unessesary to be throwing these terms around when most people have no idea what they mean. Do we really need a whole seperate term for these things? And what happens when we move on to the next big thing? Will it be 3.0, 4.0? At some point these things are really going to become indistinguisable from one another. And who said when the 2.0 "revolution" started and 1.0 ended? I guess what I am really asking is are we able to use the term "2.0" in any meaningful sort of way? Or is it simply a buzzword?


Well enough of my soapbox ramblings....down to business.

What I am really here to talk about is the first week of O! What a Geek...Life Time Learning.
After taking a look at the recommended slide show it seems to me that to be a life time learner is not too difficult. It simply takes a open and willing state of mind.
One could learn anything; cooking, knitting, and apparently flying a kite. :)
The point is that the effort is being made to learn something and the 7 1/2 habits of effective learners simply supports one's efforts. Being able to clearly identify one's strengths and weaknesses in their learning abilities is a big part of being an effective learner.
I guess the one point I don't understand is why "Play" is only 1/2 of a habit? :)

ETA: Apparently I have forgotten to state which prize I prefered. I think the gift certificate to Best Buy would be best. More possiblilites this way. Thank you.

Day 6 - September 13, 2008

Stephanie and Chris' wedding was great.
The ceremony was in this cute little church and the ceremony was very simple. No fan-fair or religous stuff. Just two people in love and joining thier lives together.
The reception was also nice. At 1316 Jones which is a great space. Jon and I have been considering it for our wedding too. So it was nice to see it in action. The ceiling over the dance floor was decorated with beautiful pastel lanterns.
The whole thing was wonderful and made me look forward to our wedding even more.

Day 5 - September 12, 2008

We went out for sushi happy hour with Sean, Mandy, and Shannon after the girls and I went shopping. Jon and Sean put together a new entertainment center for Sean and Mandy's apartment.
I love going out to sushi with these guys. Its so much fun because everyone loves it and we always have a great time messing around and eating spicy things. Sean and Jon of course had the sake. Personally I can't stand it. It reminds me too much of the rice whiskey we drank in China and let me tell you I drank waaaaay to much of that stuff to ever want to drink it again. I stuck with the happy hour special...one glass of mystery white wine. Yeah. They open bottles all of the time and they never get finished. So they serve them up for happy hour. Its the best deal ever. I think this time mine was a pino grigio but you're never quite sure.

Day 4 - September 11, 2008

It rained all day again today...most of the time it was just sprinkling...but when Jon and I went out to get a present for our friend's weddig this weekend, it was pouring. Usually I love the rain but lately its been getting me down.
We ended up buying sushi sets off of their registry. Usually we try to be pretty creative with our presents. I guess we just ran out of ideas this time.

haircut...

So I got a haircut and Jon insists that it looks good...but I'm still not completely convinced.
This is what happened.

I went to the mall, which was probably my first mistake. I always go there which is probably why I am always not quite happy with my haircuts. I should really take the time and effort to find a hair stylist I like. But that's beside the point.

I went to the mall and signed in on the sheet. There were three people there cutting hair. A really nice looking and very well dressed guy, an older woman, and this young woman with the craziest haircut I've ever seen in my life. A lot like this, only pink. So guess who I got stuck with.

Yeah...crazy hair lady.

So obviously going into it I was nervous. But when I sat down in the chair I realize that she also does not speak English very well. However, she does insist on calling me girlfriend.

So here's how it ended up....parted on one side and cut kind of strangely.

I'm not totally convinced that I like it yet.

I guess I'll just let it grow now.

Day 3 - September 10, 2008

Look at my Jonny! Doesn't he look like a soccer star!
We had a great picnic today at the park. Of course no picnic is good without a baguette but with that we had goat cheese, sopresatta, Jon had tapenade, and we had lime soda. We ate, enjoyed each other's compay, played soccer, swang on the swings, and everything was great! I had a wonderful time and I can't wait to go on another picnic with my wonderful JOn

Day 2 - September 9, 2008

Cheese Island at Whole Foods, Omaha, NE. Tomorrow Jon and I are having a picnic and we really needed a cheese to go with our sopressata and baguette. More about the picnic tomorrow. But seriously...being lactose intolerant sucks...but I eat all kinds of cheese anyway. Don't the baked brie and pate look great. I love pate, I think it tastes just like braunschwager which I also love. My mom and dad used to eat it all of the time when we were growing up either on saltines or on toast with margarine. So, pate reminds me of my childhood...but in a much more expensive version.

Day 1 - September 8, 2008

So I've made a decision. It may seem like a strange one to most people. But I'm going to do it. I'm committed.
Some people call it the 365 Project, some people call it A Photo a Day.
It's been done by individuals, by groups.
The photos have been of one person, showing the age progression over a year (or more).
Some times the photos are of one city; capturing the city one photo at a time.

I guess the point for me is to learn a little bit about myself in the process. Or maybe to learn a little bit about the world that I live in. I guess I'm not completely sure...but I'm going to do it anyway.

September 8, 2009 we'll know how this turned out.




So here goes.



I couldn't sleep last night. I stayed up until 3am. So obviously I woke up very late today (good thing I didn't have to work). When I woke up it was raining and the parking lot out side of our apartment was full of puddles.

Guess who I saw at Target!

You will never guess who I saw at Target yesterday.......





Yep...who would have guessed.




If you don't know who Domo-Kun is read the wiki article.









I found this wonderful reusable bag in the Halloween section for only $1.50.


Isn't he wonderful!

a little interlude..

So lately I have been completely obsessed with wordle
I started off just wordle-ing (?) my blog here...but eventually ended up just typing in random words or song lyrics.



If anyone can guess what song this is, I will have utmost respect for you!

There and back again

So we have returned safely from our trip to the great North. I know, I know..it was last week..but hey give me a break. I needed a few days (or a whole week) off before I could really come up with something meaningful to say about the whole trip.

We left on Saturday after I got off work and came back Monday.
It was an interesting trip. Mostly good, some bad, but mostly good.

The trip began on an auspicious note with this beautiful view as we drove through Iowa...(please excuse the dead bugs on the window which made it into the middle of the picture)

Isn't that wonderful!

Jon and I have always been very excited about "windies" (as we call them) and it seems that western Iowa is going windie crazy!

We drove all the way to Duluth that night and arrived at our hotel close to 2am. The woman at the front desk was very nice about us coming in so late. We of course were the last people with a reservation to show up that day. We got a few hours of sleep in our super large king bed and set off early the next morning for Canada.

Our plan was to drive along 61 which follows Lake Superior until we reached Canada when 61 jogs westward inland and north to Thunder Bay, Ontario. Since I had driven the ENTIRE 7+ hours from Omaha to Duluth, Jon offered to drive this leg of the trip while I enjoyed the wonderful Ikea 2009 catalog. As you know my car is a manual transmission and Jon doesn't necessarily have a good handle on how to drive those, so I was a little nervous. But he did a wonderful job with this part of the journey (there will be more later though).

When we reached the Canadian border we were of course stopped by an American border patrol agent who was quite scary. Much more scary than the Canadian agent we talked to a few minutes later. I didn't see any AK-47s or anything but I would not have been surprised. Of course he wanted to know where we were going and why, if we were meeting anyone in Canada, what we planned to buy, etc. And you know, we really didn't have any good answers for those questions. We weren't really doing anything in Canada. The plan was to go to Thunder Bay, eat lunch, and come back. Now, that seems pretty normal to you and me but to a border patrol agent going to Canada "just because" isn't really a good reason. But they let us through the American check point anyway. We then drove on through the Canadian check point. Again no AK-47s but I think I would have been surprised to see them there. My general impression of the border crossing is that the American agents cared A LOT more about what we were doing than the Canadians. In fact the Americans stopped us on the way in and on the way out but the Canadians only stopped us on the way in. I suppose its all 9/11 and terrorists. But really, did they have to make me feel so bad about wanting to go to Canada?

Well anyway, they let us in after promising not to blow anything up or buy copious amounts of prescription drugs. :)

Just inside the border there was an Ontario welcome and travel information building. We decided not to stop which at the time seemed ok. This mistake however ended up being our undoing for out entire jaunt into Canada.

We made it to Thunder Bay and drove to what we though was a downtown area to find something to eat. Turns out though because it was Sunday, absolutely nothing was open except for the casino. Now, as you can imagine this is where the trip took a turn for the worse. After exhausting out options in the supposed downtown area we drove up a hill which Jon thought looked promising but only led us out of town. I promptly turned around and we pretty much drove willynilly all over town. Obvously this did not make me very happy. I HATE driving in towns I don't know anyway but Jon really did not have any idea where he was going so that made me even more mad. And of course being mad, I was screaming and pitching a fit the whole time...

We finally decided to stop and eat at the most American of institutions, McDonalds. Yes...I know...it was completely shameful. I felt bad about it. We went to Canada to specifically eat somewhere local and we ended up at McDonalds.

But I have to say, it was just about my best trip to McDonalds ever. Their menu is completely different and they had this lovely chicken sandwich on a ciabatta bun. It was very similar to the Wendy's spicy chicken which I love without the spice and on a wonderful roll. You know I feel very bad about going to McDonalds but it ended up being really not that bad at all.

After McDonalds I was feeling much better about the whole driving around situation and we headed back for Duluth and America. Before we crossed the border we decided to stop at that lovely Onatario tourism place and have a look around. I found the most adorable moose doll and Jon got a lapel pin of the Canadian flag. I think what he really wanted was a patch or small flag on a stick kind of thing but they didn't have any of that there, so the pin had to do. We also pickup a Ontario travel guide while we were there in which we found numerous local resturants we could have stopped at in Thunder Bay. Yeah, we really should have stopped there right when we entered Cananda. It really would have saved a lot of heartbreak and fighting.

So it was back through the border where we were quizzed agian by the American border patrol and back down 61 toward Duluth.

The plan on the way back was to stop at some of the state parks that dot 61 in this area. The first place we stopped on the way back though wasn't a state park but the wonderful little town of Grand Marais. It was pretty touristy, as you can see from their website http://www.grandmarais.com/ but it was a very cute town.

They had a pebble beach that Jon and I stopped at and

I put my feet in the Lake.

We sat there for a few minutes and skipped stones across the lake while enjoying the beautiful view and listening to the waves wash up on the shore. It was such a great sound I had to make a video of it.

Grand Marais is a wonderful place. I hope that we can go back some day and spend a week in one of the hundreds of locally owned cabins or hotels in the area. It really seems like a wonderful place to waste a week at the end of the summer.

After Grand Marais we drove a ways down 61 to Split Rock Lighthouse. We arrived 5 mintues to close which seems to have been a good plan.

If we had arrived earlier we would have had to pay an entrance fee but since we arrived so close to closing we only had to wait a few minutes and we were let in for free. Now, we didn't get to go into any of the historic buildings or into the lighthouse itself. That is what the entrance fee covers but we did get to see the lighthouse from outside and enjoy the wonderful view of the lake for free.

We met this really nice couple and Jon took a picture for them and they took one for us.

Aren't we cute. That would make a great postcard!

After the lighthouse we stopped at another state park (although I have no idea what its name was) that had the most wonderful waterfalls.

This place was really wonderful. I took off my shoes and rolled up my jeans and Jon and I crossed the river on large stones to stand almost directly in the path of the waterfall. There were a lot of other people there at the time; a lot of kids in swimsuits standing under the waterfall and enjoying the wonderful day. I don't really think that swimming was allowed there in general but there were plenty of people doing it. It was really beautiful.

There were these really interesting pine trees there that grew almost directly out of the rocks. Their roots were really something special.And I loved the texture of this log so much I asked Jon if i could take the whole thing home. Of course I could not. It was smooth and weathered and wonderful.After the waterfalls we drove the rest of the way back to Duluth where we had a wonderful dinner at a restaurant recommended by Wine Spectator. The wine list was huge. Jon thought it was somewhere in the neighborhood of 600 different wines. So we opted for wine flights of four different wines. That way at least Jon could get his reds and I could get my sweet whites. It was wonderful. I had linguine and clams. I absolutely love clams!

Then we went back to the hotel and fell asleep.

The next morning we set off early for Minneapolis and Mecca...oh...I mean Ikea.

When we reached Minneapolis we headed toward downtown to take in the awesomeness that we though was the most wonderful two-story Target. At the time Jon was driving again. He did great from Duluth to Minneapolis but once we got into the city and started driving on regular city streets it was just too much for me. When he killed it coming off a freeway ramp and had the car behind us honking its brains out and then we ended up driving through the University of Minnesota campus, I had really had enough. Of course I wasn't very nice about the whole thing but very angry indeed. I think Jon is really starting to get it though. He knows that I hate driving in very large cities that we have never been in before and finally he is starting to realize that even though he wants to drive right down the middle of town to "experience" it...its just not worth my anger.

We finally after all of that end up at Target. Turns out though that its just a regular Target with an escalator in the middle. Though, it does have a cart escalator which was pretty cool. It kind of works like a ski lift.

After downtown we headed toward Ikea. Now this was the part of the trip I was looking forward to the most. I had so much fun at Ikea. The kitchens, the bedrooms, the lamps, the gadgets, the pillows, oh I was in heaven!

We got this lamp for me (which I promply broke the second we got home that night. Oh well. I guess that just means that we have to take another trip up there). And these for Jon. And these cute tins (which now house my coffee and sugar). And these boxes for our stuff (black and green).

They had lucky bamboo for $1.99 a peice and we had to get one.

All in all we had a wonderful time at Ikea...I can't wait to go back!

After Ikea we hit up the Mall of America right across the street, rode a roller coster, Jon had some Taco Bell, and we headed home.

So, other than my freaking out over driving in weird places, it was a great trip.