apictureproject: July 2011

Saturday, July 16, 2011

three-hundred-sixty-five. july 14, 2011. "the end."

figured i'd finish this project the same way i started, with a picture of my dinner. blueberry cinnamon cereal!

and just like that, a year of my life went by.

three-hundred-sixty-four. july 13, 2011. "take my books...please!"

while packing i selected these books to take to mckay's used bookstore. hoping to get a few dollars for them, but then...they could all be rejected. i am rejecting them, after all.

three-hundred-sixty-three. july 12, 2011. "mawwaige."

sister's wedding invitation! kyle's middle name is aldon.

three-hundred-sixty-two. july 11, 2011. "despair."

day 7 of no internet. what you should understand is that i have no smart phone, i have no laptop, and i have no access to e-mail at my job. so i really mean...NO internet. i dare you to try it and walk away unscathed. i have questioned everything in the past 8 days.

three-hundred-sixty-one. july 10, 2011. "genius, party of one."

packing for another move. i keep all boxes. so while it may look like i have brand new things, in fact, they are old. packed in their original packaging. also, note the size of the white boxes. perfect for moving. impossible to overpack and make too heavy. what i'm saying is...i'm moving on the 23rd, i need help, you should be part of the experience. it will be your favorite moving experience because the boxes are small, and already packed and ready for you. look how neatly stacked!

three-hundred-sixty. july 9, 2011. "anothersurprisebirthdayparty."

mason is older. these streamers look like a spider. dislike.

three-hundred-fifty-nine. july 8, 2011. "i feel like a caveman."

day 4 of no internet. doesanyoneloveme.

three-hundred-fifty-eight. july 7, 2011. "i am unworthy."

one of the girls i trained at work a few weeks ago got me cup with the letter A for Allison on it, for being so patient with her. glad to know my frustration with being responsible for her newbie mistakes hasn't shown on the outside. really thoughtful.

three-hundred-fifty-seven. july 6, 2011. "goodbye, society."

day 2 without the internet. initial thoughts: should have lived 50 years ago when people used their phones to communicate.

three-hundred-fifty-six. july 5, 2011. "pow."

this is the last book in a young adult series. the hunger games. i was so disturbed the whole time i was reading it. engaging, yes. absolutely. but disturbing. i was annoyed with society for embracing it. and THEN the last few chapters of the last book packed a very powerful political punch. i couldn't believe it. would love to discuss with anyone who has read it. it is ALMOST, almost, but not quite as awesome as the last line of animal farm by george orwell. leaves you with that same, "uuuughhhh, what is wrong with government" kind of feeling.

three-hundred-fifty-five. july 4, 2011. "independence day."

three-hundred-fifty-four. july 3, 2011. "the many faces of mr. koolaid."

i didn't want to drink the juice. because i don't like juice.

three-hundred-fifty-three. july 2, 2011. "freedom slide."

three-hundred-fifty-two. july 1, 2011. "packrat tendencies."

i balanced my checkbook tonight. these are my receipts for the year 2011. organized in a complicated envelope system. i have a lot of crap sitting around here. i threw away/donated probably 1/3 of my possessions when i moved to east nashville a little over a year ago. i'm getting ready for another move and think it's time for another purge. anyone want my inflatable hammer?

three-hundred-fifty-one. june 30, 2011. "reading chair."

if you're not exhaling a huge sigh of relief right now, it's because you didn't just remove my entire wardrobe from this chair for the first time all week.

three-hundred-fifty. june 29, 2011. "unabashed."

began the morning with a friend at bongo java. drank water. ate a bagel sandwich. read young adult fiction. not your typical coffee house behavior. i don't like coffee. or scones. i DO like hipster literature, but this is just where i'm at. no shame.

three-hundred-forty-nine. june 28, 2011. "dystopia for children."

i finished this book a few days ago. book 2 of the hunger games. catching fire.

three-hundred-forty-eight. june 27, 2011. "the west side."

places you expect to find city churchgoers: ugly mugs. shelby park. east park. calypso cafe. silly goose. the wild cow. pied piper. running here, running there.

and, obviously, the target at nashville west. not shown: two city church families. yes. it's true.

three-hundred-forty-seven. june 26, 2011. "lunch with ladies."

pleasant company. delicious food. real conversation. sunday morning.

three-hundred-forty-six. june 25, 2011. "summer birthday."

this is a weird pic. but i like the lit up umbrella. not shown: kiddie pool.

three-hundred-forty-five. june 24, 2011. "thanks..."

please, let me explain.

sometimes i take a look around my apartment and throw things away. it's great. i look around and think...why do i have this??? i'm approaching a move, so it's definitely a good time to do that before packing begins. i'll be making a run to mckay's with books i no longer want. i saw this on my shelf and could not imagine why i kept it after my last move. it's a gift for my high school graduation from one of my mom's friends. the layout/premise of this book is kind of absurd. the internet was relatively new when i was graduating, so this was someone's brilliant idea of how to connect with us. but people who like e-mail also like reading those e-mail on computers. so pretending to write letters from God in e-mail form in a book is just...odd, ok. odd. so i opened it up and immediately remembered why i kept it. the person who gave it to me wrote a very nice note on the inside cover, including a verse that was quite comforting to me today. "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you." sigh. back on the bookshelf, for passersby to mock relentlessly.

three-hundred-forty-four. june 23, 2011. "not pretty."

i did not eat THIS moldy muffin for breakfast.

however, i reeeeeeeeeally should not be allowed to feed myself in the morning.

three-hundred-forty-three. june 22, 2011. "i learned something new."

a kind coworker (i have kind coworkers!) told me one of my break lights was out, so this morning i went to an auto parts store to take care of it. i hate going to any car-related places. i feel like it's so hard to get help, unless you're the kind of girl that can flirt or bat your eyelashes to get what you want out of the world. that doesn't work for me. but i walked in and saw an old man and thought...i've got this. all i have to do is be a normal, nice person. he helped me find the right bulb, and showed me how to change it so next time i can do it myself. that's what i want to know. how can i do this myself? lesson learned. stored away the knowledge. i feel just a smidgen more invincible and powerful than 24 hours ago.

three-hundred-forty-two. june 21, 2011. "neutral."

i have this awful storage thing on my desk. it's cheap, but so necessary. it houses pens and paper and things nobody wants to look at. the container is clear. but i have overcome. i found some neutral-colored paper from my old job (let's not even talk about that), and shoved it in the front of the drawers. bada bing, bada boom, i don't want to claw my eyes out anymore. no more cluttered appearance.

three-hundred-forty-one. june 20, 2011. "splurge."

that's mango sorbet, y'all. i may have chased it with dried mango strips.

three-hundred-forty. june 19, 2011. "wildly disturbing."

(series: the book i just finished).

i just finished reading book one of the hunger games. umm. yeah, wildly disturbing. engaging. interesting. disturbing. it's young adult fiction, which is hit or miss for me. this is somewhere in between. but i loooooove dystopian literature, and i love that young adults are being exposed to it. this should definitely whet their appetites for the genre. next up: george orwell. kurt vonnegut. aldous huxley. mm.

three-hundred-thirty-nine. june 18, 2011. "pin the tail on the squirrel."

exactly what it sounds like.

three-hundred-thirty-eight. june 17, 2011. "summertime, and the living is easy."

sing songs with church community. feast on ice cream afterwards. not shown: waffle cones.

three-hundred-thirty-seven. june 16, 2011. "belated."

my birthday was in march. someone told me she got me a present because she saw something that made her think of me. i assumed it would be some kind of ridiculous joke present to make me laugh, because i'm a ridiculous person. instead it was this. this amazing book i didn't even know existed. c.s. lewis. studies in words. each chapter is a study on a different word, and i expect him to tear it apart and blow my mind. a book from my favorite author i didn't even know was out there! golden.

three-hundred-thirty-six. june 15, 2011. "you had me at 'nerd games.'"

i got a facebook message telling me people were gathering to play nerd games. i didn't read the rest of the message. i just showed up.

three-hundred-thirty-five. june 14, 2011. "this does not taste good."

i got it because it's always sold out. i figured it would be awesome. i was wrong.

three-hundred-thirty-four. june 13, 2011. "breakfast."

three-hundred-thirty-three. june 12, 2011. "for the record, i am not a communist."

though i consider it very interesting that i have to clarify that...because hating communism is so ingrained in our culture.

anyway...just finished this book about a communist!

DISCARDED from the Nashville Public Library. sounds so harsh. picked this gem up from a library sale a month or so ago. 50 more pages to go, then you'

centennial park. big band music. people dancing. picnic dinner. friends. talking. people-watching. summer in nashville, y'all. summer. in. nashville. love it.

three-hundred-thirty-one. june 10, 2011. "it's mine now."

DISCARDED from the Nashville Public Library. sounds so harsh. picked this gem up from a library sale a month or so ago. 50 more pages to go, then you'll know what it is.

three-hundred-thirty. june 9, 2011. "rest and repose."

bonnaroo shmonaroo. the nashville symphony played a FREE SHOW at east park tonight. it was cool. there was a breeze. music playing. this pretty dog. i read a book, too. summer in nashville is good.

three-hundred-twenty-nine. june 8, 2011. "badabing. badaboom. clean dishes."

helped julie clean her dishes tonight. i got so lost in the task i forgot i was in someone else's house. i love having tasks and completing them. i also loved seeing julie and meeting her awesome baby, havyn.

three-hundred-twenty-eight. june 7, 2011. "sisters."

got this in the mail today. little sister laura is getting MARRIED and it's an invite to her shower, designed by little sister emily. laura is training to run a marathon in the olympics, and emily is probably the most creative person i know. she's so talented. she keeps doing things like this that i didn't even know she could do. love them. not mentioned: sarah. love her too, but she had nothing to do with this. she's the one with the children that i'm constantly gushing over. (i blocked out the address of the person hosting. i'm not trying to get anyone killed with photo of the day).

three-hundred-twenty-seven. june 6, 2011. "stairs."

three-hundred-twenty-six. june 5, 2011. "i will count the ways i love you."

the merits of trader joe's.
1) pre-cut mango. no wasting time peeling it myself. just shove it in my mouth.
2) dried mango. if there's some kind of health problem associated with "too much mango" that's probably how i'm going to die.
3) interesting salads.
4) tabouli.
5) dark chocolate covered things. they cover everything in dark chocolate, and then put it in a box for you to take home with you.
6) i hear the pre-made meals are good. WE'LL SEE. i believe it, though.

three-hundred-twenty-five. june 4, 2011. "somebody's birthday."

three-hundred-twenty-four. june 3, 2011. "my first redbox."

"i've never had an inkling before. i didn't know what to do with it."

three-hundred-twenty-three. june 2, 2011. "look closely."

three-hundred-twenty-two. june 1, 2011. "how i amuse myself."

three-hundred-twenty-one. may 31, 2011. "what is a tisket?"

i like baskets. i have a basket for blankets. a basket for mail. a basket for desk junk. two baskets for desk junk. a basket for drugs. (nyquil, excedrin, etc.) a basket for paint. a basket for tools. yeah, i put my tools in a basket. a basket for bathroom things. a basket with hot chocolate packets. a basket for dishes. a basket for EVERYTHING. oh man. that thing where a word loses meaning if you use it too much...that just happened. basket. am i spelling that right? it seems wrong now.