namesake

one of the best things about being home...

is that sweet face

anyone who knows murfie, however, knows that sweet face is deceptive...

she barks at anything that moves

unless you are paying attention to her, you are considered an enemy

there are times when she refuses to even make eye contact with people

she will only eat her food if it is placed directly in front of her, and must not sit for longer than 10 minutes

the lovesac must be re-fluffed for her

anytime mother dearest leaves the room, she paces the room and whines until she comes back

she flies in her own seat on the airplane when she flies to tennessee

she sleeps on a california king sized bed, complete with a memory foam pillow

she has snapped at three people, at least...

(sorry david, natalie and jessie)

but most importantly,

one time, when jessie was performing a tap dance routine for us, murfie chased her around the room, barking her fool head off until jessie was trapped, standing on top of the couch with the menace barking furiously below her.

and hence, the name of this blog. which jessie created for me.

but how cute is murfie?

gertrude

i have an alternate personality named gertrude. gertrude is frightfully unpleasant. she hates anything fun, and refuses to even let a smile pass her lips. she scowls throughout the whole day, only pausing to sip diet coke and occasionally, voice a sassy comment. yes, gertrude is a treat to be around.... and apparently gertrude has dropped by for a visit. because this morning, she woke up with a scowl. and when her teacher gave her constructive criticism on her article, she stared blankly and mumbled mono-syllabic responses. it could be a long day for gertrude. and of course, gertrude did not even want to make the project for make-it mondays yesterday. because that would require some semblance of fun, and of course, gertrude absolutely detests anything resembling fun.

i hope you do not have to encounter gertrude today. or any day.

make it mondays

read this post to learn how to make this headband...

a trip to the bijou market this weekend with roommate sent me into a fit of craftiness. {that, and a sunday that seemed to never-end, which is normally a good thing.} i found this how-to on this blog, but below is the tutorial as well. {her pictures are much better than mine!}

step 1: trace about 10 circles out of any fabric, and cut.

step 2: thread needle

step 3: fold circles into fourths and string onto thread. {leave two circles out for later use.}

step 4: arrange circles until you like them, then flip over and cut thread, hot gluing the ends. place one of the leftover circles on hot glue, secure.

step 5: attach flower pouf to headband with hot glue, and secure second leftover circle on underside of headband.

viola!

window confessionals

{author's note:} this post makes me sound like a giant creep, which is not entirely the case. what is the case is that i work from home and when the wireless internet doesn't work, i am chained by my ethernet cord to the confines of my shoebox room. in which case, i {used to} open my windows and let fresh air in, and occasionally, the wind would carry the disembodied voices of passer-bys right into my office...

{my office. also known as my bedroom. you see, my window is perfectly

situated on the corner...

lending itself nicely to hear a wide array of conversations.}

if you look closely you can see my green sheets!

the following are conversations that i just happened to hear while i was otherwise, VERY busily engaged in other activities....

in a completely non-creepy way.

1. i heard an excited boyfriend tell his soon-to-be-fiancee he had purchased the ring. i felt highly intrusive hearing this banter, but the wind and the fact that their voices were less than three feet from my window seemed to carry their voices right to me. the wind basically placed the conversation in my lap... not my fault.

2. i overheard the epitome of an awkward date drop-off. prepare yourself:
the girl fumbled for her keys as her suitor gushed about what a good time he had. she mumbled non-committal answers and vaguely responded that they should hang out again "soon," all the while silently cursing her roommates for locking the door. {surely that was the case, i reasoned.} i heard him ask her if she wanted to go to his apartment the next morning for pancakes — his roommates were hosting a pre-game breakfast— and as she struggled for an answer, i imagined her frantically scrolling through her mental Rolodex if excuses, finally landing on, "oh, you know, tomorrow my roommate and I were going to the temple." can't trump that one. they bid adieu and as he walked away, he shouted out one last hail mary. "well if you guys decide you want pancakes instead, just text me!" her response was the click of her door closing.

{side note: this took a surprisingly long time, peppered with awkward silences and make-shift conversation and i couldn't control my curiosity. i had to see where these face-less voices were coming from, but it was no help. they were hidden behind the stucco wall. blast that wall.}

3. one girl ranted about how a roommate drank the last of her milk, and left the empty carton in the fridge, "As if I wouldn't notice an empty carton just sitting in the fridge!"

4. another girl confessed to over-spending on a shopping spree that afternoon. at this point, i had to refrain myself from rapping on the glass and exclaiming, "i overspend too! let's overcome this together! perhaps we can talk on the way to the mall?"

the sudden cold winds blowing my way have forced my to close the window, but fear not, it is only a matter of time before my screen will re-opened for any passer-by to {unknowingly} confide in me.

halloween town

i relished in halloween activities this weekend....

friday night boyfriend and i carved pumpkins with the coppins. by i carved, i mean boyfriend did everything. i separated seeds.

{nightmare before christmas pumpkin}

boyfriend and i saw paranormal activity on saturday night. i was absolutely terrified and at times couldn't catch my breath. i think boyfriend had gouges in his hand from me digging my nails

into his flesh. afterwards, we went to smith's and picked out pumpkins for my fhe activity tomorrow.

i am in need of a halloween costume. {sound familiar?} i guess if worse comes to worse i can recycle my bee costume from three years ago. although a bumble bee and max don't really go together...

{jessie, natalie, me and karin. we were a swarm of bees. from l-r, killer bee, queen bee, worker bee and spelling bee.}

Halloween 2007

or a cave-woman like the year before. {we look so young!}

{I think we were at the Hollywood House party. Back when we used to be social.}

Halloween 2006

Mark my words. I am going to use up the rest of my Diana film by Halloween.

little letters: installment I

dear st. george,

thank you for the weekend getaway. you were much needed, and we had a blast. let's do it again sometime.

he actually finished the marathon...

we did not...

dear face,

please stop acting up. i'm 22 years old. you should be past your pubescent acne prone ways.

dear weatherman,

please hold the cold{er} front off until i can retrieve my jackets from

their storage at parent's house. i would really appreciate it.

dear tivo,

thank you.

dear wednesday night tv,

i love you. even though i won't watch you live this week, you know you are my number one.

dear brimhall atrium mates,

please talk in quieter voices on the phone. i could go without hearing you talk about the cereal you had for breakfast and how it really turned out to be your roommate's cereal.

dear laundry,

i will get to you soon. you have been neglected in the hamper recently, but i haven't forgotten about you.

dear booting company,

i am oh-so bitter about the boot i received in my own parking lot. please respond to my protest email.

i love my job

image courtesy of {wolfdenpress.net}

the videographers followed little boys that made kites. they were cute.

boyfriend, roommate and i went to a brazilian art exhibit, sou da bahia, the other night. i loved it. as i was watching the documentary-which followed the lives of bahian artists- i thought of what a cool job that would be, immersing yourself in culture, creating these relationships with people and telling their story. i was jealous. i wanted to make films.

....

and then i remembered. that is my job. it is in my job description to find people and tell their story. i'm learning more and more that every person has a story, it often just must be extracted and separated from the banal routines of the every day. there is someone that i have been dying to talk to, but i am lacking the courage. i am going to pitch a separate story to editor today, telling someone's story.

and i hope he lets me write it.

because i think his story should be told.

and this is why i love my job.