Oregon. Orrrr-eh-gawn. Ore-gone?

I once crossed the border into a distant land.
I once saw things I've never seen before... nor may see again.
And I also tried on items of clothing... I will never try on again.

Can you imagine me:
-sleep deprived
-stuffed with food(specifically Gingerbread Pancake Puppies from Denny's)(<--I recommend)
-just drove straight 3.5 hours- starting at 11:30pm from a previously full 8 hour day at work...?

Now imagine my mood(HA! Gotcha. You thought I was talking about that first, huh?)!! Don't worry, lots of coffee was involved.

NOW IMAGINE... ok just kidding... Why, you ask? BLACK FRIDAY SALES, of course! (yes I realize I'm just NOW getting around to telling you about it.)
Here's the car group...

We've got Jules. Fashionista; in search of boots at le Macy's. 

Also wielding a SERIOUS coupon for Express.

GOOD NEWS! She found boots! TWO pair to be exact! AND at the low price of $60(for both!!!)

Then we have Kid. He's the bodyguard(unpaid, unless you consider my amazing homemade jokes a form of reimbursement), for about 12 hours of work- including, but not limited to:

-holding doors open & following the ladies lead 

-holding most bags in addition to the doors, AND last & most important... 

-keeping me awake on the drive home(he slept, btw!). 

Did I mention he was wonderful company as well??

It's true. Look how good of a sport he was:

A true champ to endure a long-haul-of-estrogen-powered-shopping-extravaganza.
PHEW! I should have acquired this hat.

Anyway. Lastly, & not leastly, we have Abby. 

Quiet, faithfully obedient to my unspoken "come'ere's!" and ADORABLE.

Kid had a hard time fighting off all the paparazzi!

See proof:

Look at that hammin' cheeser :) Precious.
Umm... Are you jealous? Sit down, hooligan. She's out of your league.
She even supported me, when I was sure I was hearing voices. What a friend!

AND when they cheered me on to model the worst jewelry of 2010...

 ...She even helped me load it all on. Oh man, Abby's a trooper :)

Oh? Tired of my story-telling, are you?
You just wanna see pictures and get it over with, do you?
HMMPH!
More hats were seen, check this character...

No, that's not your imagination, this hat really has a tail. ^

Besides my normal-scary picture-capades.... 

...looks like all you lovely dovefaces made it back here with most of your pieces in-tact to read my latest post. So I am glad to wish you all a WARM week(it's dumping giant fluffy snowflakes here within the last hour) and keep putting CLEAN socks into the dryer to warm those toes. Or skip to the end of last Friday's post, for a fresh recommendation from my friend, to get yourself some toe socks(I dont recommend, if you have wide-tootsies.)

*waves*

TOODLES!!! Drive with care this weekend!!!!!

xoxo bex

Nameless Poetism: Whose is this?!

I can't remember where I found this, so if anyone has seen it before, let me know! I want to give credit, where credit is due! :) Thanks...

Postcard From a Lost Artist


She will be known as the Michelangelo
of the second graders, of the bittersweet
chocolate or lover, both too hard for her
mouth.  The quest is never to carry


cobwebs, never to be the girl
with the untidy corners, behind her
ears--spiders, but what she sees
are the unfinished paintings


on the right side of her brain,
this is how she carries yesterdays,
how she moves forward while still remembering
the scrapbook of wildflowers.  The orchestra


is more than a map of Maine, more than
the red-winged blackbirds(one of the few birds
she can tell by ear).  But what can she paint
today?   She will be the Michelangelo


of the madronas, the human
god who touched the clouds by finding a field
tall enough. The sky,
the color of stillness. The forest,


someone's lost childhood
with all those trees for climbing.

Jalepeno Heat, I mean heart!

Look everyone!My Food loves me!

Isn't that sweet? It's a heart for cryin' out loud!! I LOVE jalepeno's.

Yum.

I'm reading a book recommended by my friend Nicho, over here. Yes! He not only is a music connoisseur, but also WELL READ, and recommended to me The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. So far, it's so wonderful. I mean, here's how wonderful it is:

1.) I ALWAYS read the very last page of any book I read- by the 

time I'm done with the 2nd chapter...Well, I'm on the 4th, and I haven't hit the last page up yet.

2.) The poetic prose is so heavy, I have to read the scenic description of any given room(usually only about 2 sentences long) TWICE, to grasp everything. And it's not even a flood-like swampy-ICK of too many words just hanging out where they don't belong(cough-this page is a good example of that-COUGH). THEY ALL BELONG. It's just not what I'm used to reading. And it's wonderful.

This is you right now... so overwhelmed with excitement, you just fell asleep, kittenface.

Randomness #2...

I am experimenting this coming week:

I am not wearing foundation powder(gasp! watch out!) on my face for 7 days, maybe longer, to see if my skin clears up a little. It's pretty discouraging when you're still getting teenage acne at 23. Oh AND I take very particular care of my skin, so it's kinda infuriating. Kinda...

Randomness #3...(last one, I promise)

I've been keeping a list of things, well thoughts. 

Thoughts that I want to hold onto for more than the 2.3 seconds 

that my brain gives them to pop in and out of my thinking-waves. Here are a few:

-Need to think more before I speak.

-I think it's funny that I always forget what I label computer files, at work. Not efficient of me, but humorous every time.

-Started to read "Shadow of the Wind" but had to return it for 3 weeks, because I procrastinated to renew it, before the due date rolled around. OOPS- another thing I found slightly funny.

- "Being a vegetarian doesn't require me to exercise, to maintain my weight." And I LOVE that. For now- while the sun is still hibernating. Talk to me again about that in a couple months.

Tell me your weekend plans, sugar-faces!

I miss you! :(

BE SAFE OUT THERE!!!

<3 <3 <3 xoxo bex

PS! This is for Paul:

Manliness, and warmth for each individual toe. You're welcome, interwebz.

[LAWLZ]. I told him I approved, for now. Since each toe DOES deserve it's individual warmth.

A Certain Brand of Sad

I highly enjoyed this article. Sarah Wilson is a very inspiring writer, who... a LOT of my bloggy-web-friends read. Not that they realize even, they are my "friends"... Take that how you will. lol..

>>Brand of Sad<<

She addresses the point that 'sad' really is different than 'depressed.' Sometimes you've been in one category for so long, tho that you begin to wonder if it's not normal. I know I have, and I've shared that with many of you. Thank you readers, for coming back :) You're one of a kind to put up with my crazy ranting, and my calm-spirited articles, alike... haha.

<3 May sweet things happen to you today :)

Today, folks.... is Friday. And I have a special friend of mine to share with you.


His name is Nicho(nee-cho) Solano & he recently began blogging about music. 
Specifically, The Songs That Saved Your Life. I know no one else who has a larger internal(that being his own brain) database of music. Nicho also has a knack for humorous writing, even though English is his second language; and vast variety of tastes to suit just about everyone who stumbles upon his page. I encourage you all to check it out, he's a very talented individual!! Go! Shoo!! Subscribe!! He's the newest 'thing'!! Have fun :]


And now here's a bit of Friday love, for you to spread around your world. 
*sprinkle, sprinkle*


One day you'll be grey & wrinkled
and I'll still see you, my love...


Your smile will be older and
your grip won't be as tight.


One day you might stumble short,
and need to hold my hand.


To go, you'll need a little shove,
but your eyes will be as bright...
and besides you I'll still stand.

You know what I always say to you before the weekend, right? 

Be safe, because I love you!

Oh guess what- I french braided my hair today x} *swoon*

And come back Tuesday for a treat :]

<3bexxxxx

BLOG SWAP UPDATE!

(Sorry about the delay for Tuesday's post! It's been one helluva week! Bare with me!!)
Hi Tuesday Kids :)

Yesterday while I was STILL having Jeep issues, my blog-swap package came!

Can you say EXCITEMENT?!

FedEx! Came! To! My! House!

Which means, in a sense, that my new friend Amanda from the Casa Brasi Blog was sending a little piece of
her character to spread around me :}

That she did! Meet Amanda, friends. Walk your finger clicking over to her site ^ and take in the beautiful design work she does! Some of the changes she can make to one single room, blow me away!

Now, this challenged me.
Truly, a secure seal, when pressed firmly.
Who knew?

 Inside the soft tissue paper(and ADORABLE striped knit-string)
were goodies I've been needing!!

A perfect-sized picture frame, in a brushed gold that matches
my room decor to-the-perfection ;)

My room consists of light blues, dark blues, dark brown,
white & gold tones as compliments. 

This will be perfect on my dresser- which is dark brown.
THEN there are the gloves. Oh. Em. Gee.

The COLORS! The thickness!! Not your average knitted gloves! They are heavy :D 

I LOVE.

And THREE pairs of these babies! *swoon*

Thank you Amanda, thank you sooooooooooooo much. 

And thank you also to the sponsors & terrific coordinators of this
blogger-connection opportunity:

 much love, illy & Sandy a la mode. (<-- check them out!!)

I couldn't have been given a better swap partner!

But wait- there's MORE :} Ohhhhh YEEEAAAHHHH!
This woman knows the secret to my heart!!
Yes, I am talking about coffee.

THAT'S A GIFT CARD PEOPLE!!!!!!! Did she hit the nail on the head, or what? 

I'm telling ya, Amanda has either been reading my blog thoroughly... or talking 

to someone who knows me personally. Her next delight, came in the form of (gasp!) PAPER.

OKAY who told her that Office Depot is my favorite place to shop? 

The high walls of paper just whisper sweet things to me as I walk thru the 

automatic doors. The aisle of Sharpies and highlighters and pens put the technicolor 

rainbows into my life. And lastly, when I breach the notebook threshold, chorus after 

chorus of heavenly voices sing praises to the trees for providing such a beautiful creature!

And of course my Almighty God provided the trees :)

But I don't think Office Depot is aware of that.

STATIONARY (BLANK-INSIDE) GREETING CARDS 

WITH MY NAME ON THEM!?!!

gasp.

I'm floored.

Look at the adorable PEN, too. I didn't realize it was a pen until I was 

playing with the eraser, about to try it out, and all of a sudden a pen tip popped outta nowhere!! 

*HUGE SMILE*

I can't WAIT to use these! Now all I need is a special occasion... hmmm.
So now that I've shared my lovely gifts with you, what's on your list of things to do this week? You should definitely read up on Amanda's Interior Design Ideas and completed works.
She's fantastic. And it's practical as well! I love seeing her newest updates.
Keep looking for Friday, folks! It'll be here in no time :)
Love you, muffins.
xox bexxxxxxx

Guest Post!

Guess what "Guest Posts" mean for ME, readers???!

It means I get to slack off for one day :) YAY PROCRASTINATION(I don't recommend this)!!

Every now and then I get a precious(an immensity I can't describe to you!) little something from my bloggy friends, to show their appreciation for my time spent to write to you all, twice weekly... So here is a treat I kindly share with you, that I received from an anonymous ardent reader. 

Oh the joy of having friends. Truly something I cherish, ya'lls.

(By the way, if I ever use "Ya'lls" in the real-life interaction between you and I, feel free to derail my self-confidence, but for blog's sake... let's roll with it.)

"So close, but yet so far

In my thoughts you find a place.

Happy and delighted the enchantment is

Slow and steady wins the race.

A jump, a leap; embrace a reach for warmth

In the dead of space. 

And energenic sprint for ye of little faith.

On one road less traveled, one less mistake to have been made.

Everlasting is the impression of good intentions- 


If good will is intended for the greater good, 


the greater love having the best affection.

Ahhhh...in my love of all things lyrical and poetic...

this sounds like the ocean's soft roar, to my ears.

GUESS WHAT EVERYONE?!!! My gift for Cold Hands, Warm Hearts was well-received in North Carolina!! :) Amanda, my blog-swap partner, posted about our gift swap and the things I sent her. Now I'm going to lead you thru pathways of fragrant lilies and sparkle-glittery unicorn herds, as you read her blog.

BAM! HERE IT IS!

This weekend shall be fun. 

I will be fixing(errr my handy dad will be...don't hate!) my jeep's radiator. 

Yeah... Joy... Much of it. 

I'm sure.

Stay safe out there, and give your cars lots of love and attention 

so they don't break down and die. Apparently Tawny(Jeeper!) didn't feel 

enough love with all that regular maintenance and money-well-spent to make sure her 

insides were vacuumed and sparkling. Yeah, whatever Tawny. Two can play this game.

xOxO bex :)

GOOD MORNING!!

I've walked to the Alaskan tundra and back!

Okay, so it was to Starbucks. Across the street. But this cozy hood served it's purpose.

I am currently creating an AdWords campaign for another company. If you know anyone who needs AdWords help for their small business, I'd love to assist! Throw my name around.

email contact: zomgitsfriday[at]gmail[dot]com


In other news....
It's Tuesday! And Monday was terrible, AMIRIGHT!?
This weekend I ventured out of my usual hermit-cave and tried something new...
Dancing.
In. Front.
Of. People.
Yeah. I went there. And it wasn't sooooo bad(but still scary, I had to throw myself).
Altho, since I was playing my friend Hoolia's 'Kinect' the game called Dance Central, I got pretty frustrated when it wouldn't recognize that I was doing the dance correctly, so it wouldn't give me the points. Oh well. Maybe it's just proving me right that I am TERRIBLE at dancing ;)
That would be just fine by me. But in other- OTHER news...
This also happened at her house:

Don't ask why :) They're just fake leaves.
BECAUSE! Ok? Because.

Anddddddd...this may have happened too... but I'm still not sure.

Don't judge me.
You're jealous cause your lips are non-existent like mine.
:]
Have a happy Tuesday, people. Try not to let the week get to you...
...Cause it's pretty rough out there.
Love peace & tiny salsa-red lips! (Salsa Red by Mary Kay)

<3 xoxo Bex.

I Am... The Out Of Towner

The weekend before last I went to Port Angeles, to visit a friend who is gettin' hitched in January. Of whose wedding, I just so happened to be included! Can you say P-A-R-T-Y? 

Anywho... I drove out(on the windiest day of the year, I'm sure) to Ediz Hook, which is a large jette of non-connecting beach rock(& a 2-lane stretch of pavement) between this U. S. of A. and Good Ol' Canad-ia. The Coast Guard actually uses the end portion of the jette, which means you can only drive out til that point- it's STILL a ton of drive distance- maybe 2 miles!

So, it's FREEZING. And it's WINDY. And I'm only prepared with a sweatshirt/hood, and 

a single pair of thin knitted gloves that you buy in a 3-pack at the dollar store. OH and trying to operate a slim-lined Nikon, with TINY buttons; therefore not wearing the gloves during blasts of this glacial tempest. 

I found this beauty just waiting for it's close-up...

[sidenote: Can I please RANT about how much I LOVE the colors in this shot?! AND NO FILTER.]

Before I headed out tho, I thoroughly prepared for this(ha! Obviously.) and bought the BEST ginger bread cookie I've ever had in my life. 

HUGE: bigger than my entire hand- which granted is small- but that's big for a cookie ;) 

The cookie purchase was done at "The Buzz" my F.A.V.O.R.I.T.E. coffee place in the known-world-that-I've-explored-so-far! I hope to post more pictures soon of my Jette-Adventure, but this is all you get for now ;)

I braved the cold.

For about 10 minutes at a time.

IN THE BILLOWING GUSTS OF ARCTIC BREEZE THAT'S ABOUT ALL 

MY LITTLE FRIGID FINGERS COULD HANDLE!!!

And it made my eyes cry! 

I literally bent over to flip my hood back on, and I SWEAR 3 big teardrops fell STRAIGHT outta my eyes, without blinking at all. It was a bit....like Alaska...if I had ever been to Alaska-OK-MOVING-ONWARD!

Oh! Right. WHY I went to P. A. in the first place!

To buy a customized dress; to be dyed the color of my friends wedding.

Said color is... Burnt Orange. Terracotta to be exact!

Here's the dress ON:

[Yeah, I totally have that body, so it fits exactly like this... uhhh.. what? I heard something, over there...]

Here's the dress on the hanger:

Good thing you saw it ON, first right? 

Ha! I know it looks pathetic just hanging there. 

And so now it's being dyed "Terracotta." We shall see. I'm SUPER excited to see how it turns out!

Dancing. 

Now that's something I'm actually scared of. 

Friends say I will master the dance floor, and I'm fully preparing to 

humiliate myself rock out to the following songs:

The Underdog- Spoon

Poison- Bell Biv Divoe 

(YESSSSSSSSSSS! Watch out now!)

Anything else you suggest, that I request??

ANSWERS NOW... aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaannnd GO!

Have a great weekend kitties!

You better be safe, and stay alive to be in Reading Attendance next 

Tuesday Treat Day, for a SPECIAL GUEST POST!!!

;] <3 Bex.