Pilgrimage

I still can’t believe I agreed to this! What have I done?!?!?!?

Mark your calendars, boys and squirrels!

On November 15th, I will be embarking on a new ADVENTURE!

 

Yes, my friends, for the first time in 30 wonderful years, I will be having all 4 of my wisdom teeth removed! :O

Here’s a glimpse into how I’m feeling about it all:
(taken from my discussion with the dentist yesterday)

 

Dentist: Okay so with your coverage, you can choose from any of the anesthetic options. We can do a basic Valium and laughing gas combination or I can give you an IV of sedatives that will keep you from feeling anything and will make you forget that you were even here. There are also many options in between, depending on how strong you are.

Me: Y’know, doc. The offer for the less intense anesthesia sounds really tempting, but in this situation I’m gonna go with, “LET’S JUST FORGET THE WHOLE THING HAPPENED.”

 

Look guys, I’m not generally one to condone heavy drugs, but for crying out loud, my pain tolerance is ZERO. In fact, I always say that if it’s possible, I’d like to take the epidural BEFORE I get pregnant. 😉

That said, November 15th is gonna be a crazy day. I will be One Wild Amo! The doc said I’ll need someone to drop me off and pick me up and stay with me for a few hours after the procedure. Therefore, I’ve put together a short application for those interested in being my Wisdom Chomper Nanny that day.

 

Qualifications for my WCN Applicant to consider:

 

• You’ll need a car and possibly a dolly to roll my ridiculous self outta that office.

• You’ll need to be able to handle random outbursts of laughter/tears/gas

• You’ll need to be able to drive your car while having your eyes shut for that odd moment where I randomly panic and reach over while shouting about the Decepticons coming to blast us all to pieces!

• You’ll need to be able to spoon feed me soup while I stare into your eyes, professing my deepest love and affection for you. Be prepared for me to call you things like Shia LaBeouf or James McAvoy, and for repeated compliments of your role in Eagle Eye or X-Men: First Class.
  
  
• You’ll need to be able to smack some sense into me when I start parading around my room in my Super Mario Pajamas making monkey noises and pretending to fly like Superman.

• You’ll need to be able to stick around for a few hours to make sure that I’m not dead and that I’m not trying to eat paper  . . . or my sheets. 

• You’ll need to have a high level of grace for the moment I bat my doe-eyed lashes and say, “Mandy made wetty in beddy.”

 

Sooooo, if you think you’re up for the task and you can be at my house to take me to my appointment at 8am on the 15th, please fill out the application by leaving a comment with your answers!
And stay tuned because you better believe it’s gonna be a crazy few days as I recover from getting my wisdom teeth removed. :O

 

Application for Amo’s Wisdom Chomper Nanny Position:

 

Please answer every question honestly. Snarky submissions much appreciated. Also appreciated: Cashew Butter dipped Apples

 

• Would you be willing to take said Amo to the appointment in the morning and pick her up at the appropriate time, and continue to stay near her in her room for a few hours just to make sure she doesn’t start hallucinating to the point of defecation or self-harm?
  

• If Amo does happen to defecate on herself and follows it up with an, “Ooops… I crapped my pants!” do you promise to courtesy laugh?

• Do you like sci-fi/action flicks like Transformers/X-Men/The Avengers?

• Do you like TV shows such as: One Tree Hill, LOST, CSI:NY?
  

• Do you promise to still love and not judge Amo after she says something snarky under the influence of heavy drugs?

• Do you think there should be a limit to the amount of Pumpkin Soup and or Pumpkin Pudding that Amo will be eating after the procedure?

• Would you be willing to keep Amo’s tummy happy with healthy foods and not feel threatened when she slaps you and demands that you feed her an entire Marionberry Pie?

• Would you be comfortable having cashew butter smeared on your face to resemble a mustache and beard?

• Would you be willing to do “The Urkel” on demand?
  

• Would you be willing to pray for Amo as she’s recovering and read her passages of scripture to help her cope with the pain and drugs?
  

• Would you be willing to update the blog/FB/Twitter for Amo with pictures and anecdotes of the experience?
  

• Would you be willing to agree with Amo that something is worth “pinning” even if it’s not?

• What is your best advice for prepping to get your wisdom teeth removed and recovery from the procedure?

• Would you be willing to sing SOFT KITTY to Amo on request regardless of the frequency?

 

Thank you for taking the time to apply! I look forward to reviewing your answers and selecting the best candidate(s) for the job!

(Also, please let me know if you’d like spectator tickets to the Amo’s Doped-Up show!)

Smells Like Teen Spirit

Yesterday I had a conversation with a friend about our different upbringings and it reminded me of one of the funnier moments I had as a kid. I was in the 4th grade and my brother was in the 7th grade. He always had a line of girls interested in him and always tried to play “Mr. Cool” when he had a girlfriend. So one night he was on the phone with one of his new girlfriends and he was telling her that his sister (me) could sing Whitney Houston’s I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU really well. In all fairness, I could back then, so it was justified. But I knew what he was trying to do, so when he played the tape and put the phone up to me to get me to sing it to her, I TOTALLY screeched and botched the song in parts just to make him look like a moron! It was quite possibly one of my prouder moments in my childhood. 😉 Surprisingly, he never asked me to sing for his girlfriends ever again.

But as I was listening to the song last night and giggling all over again, I decided that today would be a good day to share some old school tunes with you all. While my brother and sister were heavily involved in sports, I opted to hang out with my friends instead of going to their practices and events. I would spend afternoons and evenings with my friends and we would watch movies or sit in their rooms listening to music and talking about our favorite bands and boys we liked. I also spent quality time in my own room, dressing up like a rock star, using my bed as a stage, and dancing along to songs as they blasted from my stereo.

One of the more iconic songs from my teen years that I remember “performing” in my room was It’s Alright, It’s Okay by Leah Andreone. My parents had been through a divorce and I had so many emotional issues going on at the time that the words in the song just resonated with me.

My siblings and I had completely different tastes in music. I listened to rock music (See also: Aerosmith & Red Hot Chili Peppers), my brother listened to rap (See also: 2Pac & Snoop Dogg), and my sister listened to pop music (See also: Hanson & Britney Spears). I would venture at times to try some of their styles but for the most part, I would stick to the heavier stuff. Here’s a list of 10 other songs that all played a big part in my growing up:

(1) Lisa Loeb’s STAY: This song was constantly on repeat. I still play cover songs from Lisa Loeb.

[FOLLOW THIS LINK TO CALL ME CAUSE YOU WANT ME AND ONE DAY YOU’LL LET ME GO]

(2) Trisha Yearwood’s SHE’S IN LOVE WITH THE BOY: I went through a phase where I added country music to my mix and this one was a favorite of mine.

[FOLLOW THIS LINK TO MARRY THAT BOY SOMEDAY]

(3) The Heights’ HOW DO YOU TALK TO AN ANGEL: From a TV show I used to watch called The Heights. Who knew Jamie Walters could manage to both look so hot and sing so great? 😀

[FOLLOW THIS LINK TO HOLD HER CLOSE TO WHERE YOU ARE]

(4) Smashing Pumpkins’ TONIGHT TONIGHT: I was a HUGE fan of Smashing Pumpkins. This one and BULLET WITH BUTTERFLY WINGS were my favorites, but really, all of their music was in heavy rotation as a teen.

[FOLLOW THIS LINK TO BELIEVE IN ME]

(5) The Cranberries’ ZOMBIE: To this day my brother still makes fun of me for listening to The Cranberries. Seriously every time we have a conversation about music he vetos my thoughts with a snarky comment about it.

[FOLLOW THIS LINK TO ZOMBIE IE IE IE IE OH OH DOO DOO DOOO]

(6) Veruca Salt’s VOLCANO GIRLS: I used to blast this and practice jumping off my bed with my air guitar. I REALLY wanted to be in a chick rock band. I even bought a bass guitar so I could be lead singer and play bass in a chick rock band. It was a sad day when my teacher made me switch to acoustic guitar. But at least now I have an electric guitar to play!

[FOLLOW THIS LINK TO LEAVE ME LYING HERE]

(7) TLC’s WATERFALLS: When I’d sing with my friends, they always made me do the rap part. I was listening to it again last night and I was pretty excited that I still knew it all.

[FOLLOW THIS LINK TO GO CHASIN’ WATERFALLS]

(8) Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ FREE FALLIN’: This song was my jam! I played it when I was in a feel-good mood or needed to be in one.

[FOLLOW THIS LINK TO MEET A GOOD GIRL CRAZY BOUT ELVIS]

(9) The Carpenters’ CLOSE TO YOU: My parents were huge fans of The Carpenters. We would watch The Karen Carpenter Story for family movie nights and my mom had all the albums. I still catch myself defaulting to singing Carpenters’ songs when I’m thinking through things.

[FOLLOW THIS LINK BECAUSE I LONG TO BE CLOSE TO YOU]

(10) Weezer’s BUDDY HOLLY: I remember seeing Weezer play last year at Bumbershoot and I sang this one especially loud because it reminded me so much of hanging out with my friends and us pretending that we were Weezer, on the set of Happy Days, rockin’ this tune out!

[FOLLOW THIS LINK TO LOOK JUST LIKE BUDDY HOLLY]

Unlock Yourself

This past week has been a rush for my little graphic design life! Last week, I had a session where I taught one of my friends the basics of Photoshop and creative design, which I hadn’t done in a long time! I’ve gotten requests for small, medium, and big jobs, and recently I even got to help one of my friends with a creative development project that might just help make a big dream of hers come true! There really is no better feeling as a creative/designer than knowing that you are using your art to bring life to others!

One of the really small projects I’ve done recently was a memorial card for a client who had just lost their mother. She wanted a simple, elegant card with some a border to pass out to those attending the funeral. She wanted it to be fancy but not distracting. This was the finalized design:

Front

Back

 

One of the things you should know is that in general, I like to design stuff that pops and is bright, bold, and funky. But knowing your audience is key. The client LOVED the cards and said that they were perfect and completely exceeded her expectations! That definitely brought a giant smile to my face!

I’ll continue posting more design stuff, but in the meantime, here are some designs that inspire me, reflect my own style, and have captured my attention lately:

Good Life

Happy Thanksgiving!!

There are so many things to be thankful for today and I decided that I should write down a list of things I’m thankful for so that if I ever start to whine or complain or think I have a bad handle on life, I can refer back to this post and get over myself. So technically, this post is more for me than you . . . but maybe it’ll help you think of some things to be thankful for as well. Bear in mind that this is not a complete listing, it’s just as much as I could think of in about 5 minutes before I get dressed to go celebrate the holiday with the Jones clan!

I am thankful for:

• being alive
• family
• friends
• my faith in God
• chocolate
• my job
• music in general
• pizza
• stretchy pants on holidays
• my phone
• my clothes
• having a space heater in the winter
• the snow falling this morning
• my MacBook Pro
• education
• peacoats
• books
• coffee
• technology
• more chocolate
• running water
• blankets
• jack’s mannequin
• my ability to laugh in tough situations
• ice cream
• the way my parents raised me
• scarves
• the youth at Westside Church
• my aunt’s broccoli rice and cheese casserole
• more coffee
• shoes
• parachute
• my housemates
• creativity
• my neighborhood
• my co-workers
• swimming pools
• airplanes in the night sky that look like shooting stars
• coffee with honey
• paramore
• the internets
• mamo’s christmas cookies
• the academy for even allowing me to be nominated for this award
• 24 hour fitness
• toilet paper
• is chocolate on this list yet? 
• YOU!!!!!!!!!

Stones Under Rushing Water

Life has been a whirlwind this past 2 weeks! The great news is that I’m doing really well on the Game On Diet with my friends. My favorite thing is trash talking the competition—sooo fun!

Well here’s a quick rundown on some things that have been going on lately:

Thanks to the Game On Diet, I’ve traded in my pizza for salads and smoothies.

I’ve also traded in my potato chips for these:

And boy are they tasty! No but really, I’ve always liked cucumbers and carrots and stuff like that, so it’s not that big of a stretch* but the hard part is resisting the other things I love . . . like pizza . . . and chocolate . . . and cupcakes!

The seasons have changed in the city and I’m loving the fall here in the city. Even with the rain, it’s been really nice. I’ve had to layer up a little more to stay warm at work, but they’re working on fixing the heater in my office, so that’s a plus!

One of my favorite parts of the Game On Diet is getting together each week to watch The Biggest Loser and Glee! I get to do my weigh-in and then watch as others work toward a better health as well. Then I get to forget about any pounds I may have gained 😉 by watching Glee! Yesterday on Biggest Loser, we kept rewinding the DVR because at one point, Jillian grabbed one of the other girls by the butt and made the funniest faces. And THEN, Deb saw a cockroach crawl across the floor when they were at the table doing the elimination round! We still don’t know HOW she saw it, but we rewound the DVR and sure enough, it was there!

This morning when I came in to work, I got a special treat in my mailbox: NEW MUSIC to listen to! This is an album from a local Seattle band, THE HEAD AND THE HEART. I spent some time this morning listening to it and I loved the mellow sound. I really appreciate that it incorporates so many different layers and instruments—ones that you don’t typically hear on a mainstream candy-coated album.  It was a sweet treat for the indie folk parts of my heart. My favorite song off the album is Cats and Dogs.

In other great news: I have been whining and complaining (mostly to myself) about not getting to see the HBO mini-series BOARDWALK EMPIRE . . . which is a creation of Terence Winter, who made The Sopranos. But not only does it have great writing, it’s backed by Scorcese, and it stars Steve Buscemi. Yes, that Steve Buscemi! And, as if that wasn’t enough, the story takes place in one of my favorite eras—The Roaring 20s! Gangsters, flapper gowns, bright lights, drama to the max! But now . . .

I’m more than excited to start watching it—I don’t even care if the season already started! The only thing is I have to wait until I’m done with the Game On Diet game, because it comes on at 10 and I have to be in bed asleep by 10 so I get my sleep points . . . and as much as I love TV, I’ll turn it down for some butt-kickin’ points!

Welp, that’s pretty much it! My past few days in a nutshell. And oh what a refining process that nutshell is going through. 😉

In other news, I leave for Dallas next week for my Birthday Weekend!!! YAY!

* See what I did there? 😉

Love Is The Movement

Sometimes I get some really interesting things in my formspring. That’s the little box to the top right that says “You Ask, I’ll Answer,” and it allows you to ask or tell me anything anonymously. Well, today I got this in my inbox:

It’s an interesting thing for me to think that someone I don’t know would consider me as a source to go to about a movement. I mean, it could genuinely be spam mail, but the email address seemed legit, so I decided to do my best to answer it.

MY RESPONSE:

I’m really not quite sure what movement you’re talking about . . . but okie dokie?

If you’re referring to my movement of loving and caring about people, your first task is to make it a point to say hello to people you pass by on the street.

If you’re referring to my movement of sharing art, then your first task is to take 30 minutes out of your day to draw something that makes you smile. Then go to your local library and slip it in a random book.

If you’re referring to my movement in a literal sense, your first task is to put your right foot in. your second is to take your right foot out. Then you must put your right foot in and shake it all about.

In any event, I applaud you for your desire to have strong core values. I think they’re very essential in making life full. So whichever movement you’d like to join me in, feel free!!

——————————————————————————————–

Again, I’m not sure what they are referring to, but I hope it helped.

In other news, I’m got sick on Saturday night, but I’m on the mend. I’m drinking tea and eating soup like it’s my job.

PS: If you have any questions or statements you’d like to share anonymously, please feel free. 😀

Dress For The Weather

Halloween is just around the corner and I’ve already been
browsing the racks for some ideas! 

Truth be told, I’m hoping to stumble across a narwhal costume, because COME ON, it’s a narwhal costume! Alas, I have yet to find it. So, I’ve been looking at some other options. So far, these are my faves:

 AMANDA BANANA

AMO THE HOT DOG

There’s actually a Spirit Halloween store that opened up close to the house, and I went to take a look there today. Here are some of the ones I liked:

 SALLY from The Nightmare Before Christmas

 A CLOWN

 THE MONA LISA

RAINBOW BRITE

One of my housemates says I should let you guys decide. I’m definitely up for suggestions . . .

Sing It Out

I was thinking this morning that is was about time for a music update. Mainly because I have a few other blog posts in line that need some editing, thus can’t be posted yet. But also because I’ve recently added to my iTunes and I thought it’d be fun to share (since I haven’t done so since the beginning of August)!

One of my best friends sent me an email earlier today and said this reminded him of me. I love my friends, and I LOVE this song! It is seriously so beautiful and visual stunning that it brought tears to my eyes and warm fuzzies to my heart. It also made me miss him a lot. 🙂

DANCING SHOES by Green River Ordinance
http://www.youtube.com/v/k4bBu9HD_Qo?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0&color1=0x5d1719&color2=0xcd311b&border=1

This is a new one I found and took a chance on. I listened to the short sweet 30 second clip (thanks for being lame about that, iTunes), but upon hearing the full song, it has found a home on my playlist! It’s so catchy and clever.

UH OH by The Scenic
http://www.youtube.com/v/R3FWcqNZUdA?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6&border=1

One of my friends recently went to a Switchfoot show and after the show, Jon Foreman did an acoustic performance outside of the venue. She found an audio recording of it and shared it with me and I love it! It makes me super excited about the next album!

SHE SAYS (THE BLACK EYED BLUES) by Switchfoot
http://www.youtube.com/v/UGxzZfNDx5g?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0&color1=0xcc2550&color2=0xe87a9f&border=1

I absolutely love Tegan and Sara with all my little indie / emo heart! This is one of their newly released singles. It’s off of their new album, Sainthood (which is just wonderful) and this song has been on repeat a lot on my iTunes!

ON DIRECTING by Tegan and Sara
http://www.youtube.com/v/3PcVHDZZquI?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01&border=1

And last but not least, another sweet sweet love song by Camera Can’t Lie called Last Dance. It’s got a great hook and it’s such a beautiful song! I just never get sick of listening to it! My favorite lyric from it is: “And if we’re consumed by counting each hour, what’s left of today?”

LAST DANCE by Camera Can’t Lie
http://www.youtube.com/v/T6Yma3Kj5FQ?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0&color1=0x234900&color2=0x4e9e00&border=1

On Directing

For all those times people told me I should be a comedienne, there is finally some form of justification—though it’s not something I’m currently pursuing 😉

———————————————————————-

Your personality type: “Groundbreaking Thinker”

Creative, resourceful and intellectually quick. Good at a broad range of things. Enjoy debating issues and may be into ‘one-up-manship’. They get very excited about new ideas and projects, but may neglect the more routine aspects of life. Generally outspoken and assertive. They enjoy people and are stimulating company. Excellent ability to understand concepts and apply logic to find solutions.

Careers that could fit you include:

Entrepreneurs, lawyers, psychologists, photographers, consultants, sales represenatives, actors, engineers, scientists, inventors, marketers, computer programmers, comedians, computer analysts, credit investigators, journalists, psychiatrists, public relations, designers, writers, artists, musicians, politicians.

(via 41q.com)

And there you have it. I actually think this is pretty accurate. I admit it’s REALLY hard for me to suppress the urge to “one-up” people a lot, but it’s also a giant pet peeve of mine, so though it’s accurate on the results it’s definitely something I fight a lot to cut back on.

Forever Young

portrait of a young artist

Yesterday was Vanessa’s first day of Kindergarten! I still don’t have any pictures of her from yesterday or today, but I got to listen to her on the phone last night go into great detail about her class, her new friends, what she wore, and how excited she was to have a princess backpack.

Her favorite thing to do in class is draw pictures. I asked her what she drew and she said, “The park and the sunshine and the grass and me and mommy and daddy and Annabelle. And the sky. . . and . . . other stuff I can’t remember.” I said I was proud of her and I encouraged her, “Listen babe, no matter what anyone says, you draw whatever is in your imagination, okay?” She excitedly replied, “Okay!” It’s fun being an aunt and watching this little girl grow up knowing she can take on the world!

It’s so crazy to grasp the fact that she’s already in Kindergarten. I rest easier knowing she LOVES school and loves making friends. She told me about some of her classmates and why she likes them and how she is happy to have “more new” friends. It’s comforting to know that just as much as she is into more solitude-centric arts, she is also a wild child with lots of love to share with others.

One exciting thing I’m working towards and saving up for is to pay for an airline ticket for one of my family members and Vanessa to fly up to Seattle to visit next summer! She’s growing so much and I would love for her to experience the “world outside,” even as a little girl. I live for the moments where I can share my world with her. One of my favorite things I share with her is a little phrase I taught her when she was younger. I would scoop her up in my arms, hold her close and say, “Look, I’m holding you like a baby!” And every time I see her and spend time with her, it warms my heart to see her smile and exclaim, “Aunt Manda, hold me like a baby!” And I do, and we share a close, warm moment together and time seems to stop altogether. I know it won’t last long, but I hope she grows up knowing she can come to me at any point in her life and I will hold her “like a baby.”

I can’t wait to see what this little miss grows up to be!

Easter, 2010