the sort of things that help a slow work day pass...

stolen from seastar <3

A= Available - not usually! i'm a super busy girl. oh yeah... and i'm married :)

B= Best Friend - meygan, jessica, rachael noel, dr. brian... and DUH my husband.

C= Cake or pie - i do not discriminate! i love baking cakes and cupcakes the most, though :)

D= Drink of choice - water with lots of lemon and cucumber :) mmm also, green tea - both hot and iced.

E= Essential item you use everyday - MAKEUP, mobile device, computer.

F= Favorite color - PINK! but really, i love all colors. they make me so happy!

G= Gummy bears or worms - i used to LOVE gummy stuff... till i found out what's in them. [gelatin...] i've since heard of several brands producing vegan varieties... and i'm eager to try!

H= Hometown - cin city

I= Indulgences - makeup and other beauty products, fashion and accessories, chihuahuas, MUSIC, ART, video games, driving fast... naughty things.

J= January or February - duh! february! best month, ever... even if it is colder than shit out.

K= Kids and Names - [at the risk of them being stolen!!!] we have several girl names... Penelope, Violet and Gwendolyn are very high up there... i'm also rather obsessed with Dahlia - perhaps as a middle name. for boys [which we aren't as keen about having!!! i know... totally petty] we have the name Desmond Farrokh [the late and great Freddie Mercury's birth name]. our chihuahua puppies are Pixie Beatrix & Lulu Belle :)

L= Life is incomplete without? - LOVE. without love... without the ability to feel it... the passion... what would we be? [and of course i mean love in all forms... from affection, to pouring yourself into your beliefs and passions in life]

M= Marriage date - september.19.2009 <3

N= Number of siblings - 1 brother, the best brother in the universe :)

O= Oranges or apples - oranges... i love all fruit, but i'm a total sucker for those sultry citrus babies.

P= Phobias or Fears - spiders. heights. the dark. rejection. failure. the circulatory system. ALIENS. the deep sea [even though i love it and think it's positively beautiful]. loud noises. [gotta love anxiety disorder!]

Q= Favorite Quote - i have far too many, and i'm getting way too stressed out about answering this. PASS!

R= Reason to smile - having another day to live and experience the world. love. art. music. there's really never a reason to NOT smile! have you ever forced yourself to smile when you were really upset? it basically forces you to step away from the funk you're in. thank you miss Janie for sharing that with me all those years ago.

S= Season - autummmmmmmn. <3

T= Tag 3 or 4 people - i don't even know that 3 [let alone 4!] people even care to read this!

U= Unknown fact about me - to know me is to know waaaay too much about me. haven't you heard//seen enough??!!

V= Vegetable you don't like - i have never met a vegetable that i didn't like in one way//shape//form.

W= Worst habit - procrastination. it's a disease. and i'm very scared about the point in my life where i really have to start paying for it.

X= X-rays - i've had several done of my chest when i had a super bad case of asthma, of my right arm that broke in 4th grade, and of course my teeth.

Y= Your favorite food - probably PIZZA!!!! i truly love it even without cheese, but the invention of daiya cheeses has really taken things to the next level :)

Z= Zodiac Sign - aquarius, baby :) we're the best.

it's been a while.

i've kind of been hiding, to be honest -- trying to figure out this whole 'web-presence' thing -- and how it applies to me and my art.

i've been furiously putting together 'my' identity in terms of a logo, color scheme and web-layout... but that has been on the back burner to all my art projects - many of which are unfinished and i'm pretty ashamed about!!! i don't think there's a worse way to burn a bridge than with your own procrastination.

if you are reading this and i've promised you some art... please don't hate me for too long. i am so terrible at managing my life - and it only seems to get more complex as the months and years stretch on into deeper versions of adult-hood.

fear of failure - stemmed from my often debilitating perfectionism - in combination with life being... life - are two things i am working to conquer.

please be patient, because i know i'm really on the verge of overcoming this - and moving on to something great!

there are lots of things in the makings that i'd be foolish to rant about at this point, but trust me - and stick along for the ride.

loo.2 is coming faster than ever.

all my love,

L

old and new

well, i guess it's officially ok to talk about here on the ol' public blog...

i was offered a job at a new place of employment, and graciously accepted :)

to be honest, it came out of nowhere - and it took a lot of thinking and reasoning before i came to my answer - but i do, in my heart, believe it's for the best!

this has, however, not made saying goodbye to my current job any easier!

over the past year, i've really bonded and blossomed friendships with many old and new faces. this place has taken good care of me, and i will be taking with me a lot of good experience and wisdom.

i feel excited, scared and anxious to get involved at the new place - yet i'm full of sadness to leave my current work family.

i guess this is growing up.... and being a grown up :)

so here's goodbye to my old desk...

and hello to my new one :)

although, i think we can agree that my new office needs a trip or two to ikea and a few toys [!!!]

here's to new beginnings... it is fall, after all - and if you know me, that's always been my season of major change.

tonight is the MUSE with METRIC live !!!!

tomorrow is my last official day here, and tomorrow night, my band [mypetraptor] plays a show.

that leaves me with a very [very] tired wednesday and first day of the next chapter in my work life. i should probably think up a fun nickname for my new job [since i'm pretty sure it infringes the privacy policy to mention it here]. how about.... well, we'll see if my first day sheds any light.

have a wonderful monday, my lovelies!

happy v day!

today is national 'vegetarian day'.
i think it's great that plant-based diets are finally getting enough recognition to have their own 'day' of the year, and with November 1st being national 'vegan day', that's two days for us 'wierdos' :)
being a vegan myself, i love to think about the possibility that events like this can encourage people, without taking a 'preachy' perspective.
i thought i'd share my own story on my travels to a veggie lifestyle...
it all started out back in 2004, when i took part in a grillout with some friends that were vegetarian. they had mean options, but i decided to eat what they did - which consisted of a veggie hot dog and grilled veggies. not only was my meal delicious, but i didn't feel as though i was missing something. from that point on, i began to think on how i never particularly enjoyed eating meat.
my german/mongolian upbringing basically taught that a meal wasn't a meal without a serving of meat, and i realized that i was really just going through the motions because it was there.
eating meat for me meant i would basically masque it in copious amounts of sauce/other food in order to find any kind of enjoyment.
this is all, of course, aside from the fact that i've always been super compassionate towards all living creatures. any time a program would outline slaughtered animals - or i'd even have to look at raw, bloody meat - i'd become very horrified and sad.
it was all a matter of me opening my eyes over a period of time, and putting into this what i wanted out of it.
red meat and pork were instantly out of the picture, then chicken, then fish.
i was vegetarian for a few years, with positively NO plans to veganize.
let's be honest... this girl had a love afair with cheese.
i used to swear up and down that i'd never give the stuff up, in fact.
it came to be, however, on september 13th of 2008, that this same girl started reading a book called skinny bitch.
skeptical at first, just under halfway through the book i found myself hugging my puppy and sobbing.
it was pretty much that easy. having a bond with my puppy the way i did was the last piece of the puzzle for me to go all the way.
since that day, i've been healthier and happier than ever!
i got to go off my blood pressure meds, my kidney function is as it should be [i have polycystic kidney disease], and i don't seem to really get sick anymore. my immune system loves me! **knock on wood!**
my hair shines [well... not now that i bleached it out...], my skin glows [but its still got some challenges].... well ok. i'm still not winning any beauty contests, but i feel pretty :)
and with that, it's time to end my story. [work is over in 4 minutes... whoops! working on the clock.]
have a lovely day, my beauties!
xo
L

fall.

its' here! it's really really here :)

my favorite season, ever - even though it's always way too short, and leads us into winter [my very very least favorite].

i wish i was cool enough to call it autumn - i liken it to calling violet 'purple' - but hey.

it all means the same thing. beauty.

fall to me is

*crisp, sweet smelling air

*oversized hoodies, layered clothing, hats and scarves

*lots of soups [namely split pea, butternut squash, black bean and tomato - but i'm not picky]

*nighttime outdoor activities galore

*halloween parties!

*romance. [colder air means more snuggling and affection + since b and i started dating in september, the season is always full of great memories]


+ last but not least


change. fall always seems to be the season where i encounter my most dramatic life changes - in all areas of life. there will be more on this soon.


right this very moment, i'm enjoying some split pea soup + whole grain crackers.

i would very much love to be outside, though - cuddling on the grass under a blanket and abig tree with my husband and puppy!


and speaking of puppy...


this past saturday was our puppy pixie's 3rd birthday :)

she's now officially older than us in dog years... *sniff.

the cake itself was a vegan peanut butter maple banana variety... she loved it, and we love her :)
time to go back to work now... break seems shorter and shorter these days!
xo
L

wow.

after completely finishing my makeup this morning, i realized i managed to completely forget to apply foundation...
either this raw thing is making me hella glow, or i'm just that batty.
more to come on all of the above...
xo
L

ugh.

i'm sorry.... but if you eat fish. or chicken. or ANY creature of the animal kingdom, you are NOT vegetarian.
i think at least once, every time the issue of me not eating meat comes up, someone chimes in with 'my [insert relation here] is vegetarian. he/she/they only eat fish and/or chicken.'
or the rebuttle of 'fish don't have feelings so they don't count.' in response to my questioning.
i'm not so upset with people's common misconceptions as i am with someone wanting to label themselves as such - but not actually fit into the category.
don't get me wrong... i totally think it's rad to choose compassionate eating, and decreasing your intake of meat is always a positive, but what's with the eagerness to don said label?
when did it become culturally 'cool'?
and if it's so cool, what is everyone doing still eating meat?
i hate having to point out my veganism as much as i do, but when it comes to eating, i sort of have to know what's on my plate. i'm not here to preach, and i certainly did not choose veganism to impress my peers or anyone.
i also don't care what anyone chooses to eat [within reason... no cannibals, please]. i don't judge others just as i don't want to be judged.
bottom line:
if you think vegetarianism is so cool that you label yourself as such, it's at least cool enough to actually live your life that way.
aaaannnnddd i'm talking to the wall.