threadless.com

I'm posting this one for Tanya, cuz she asked where I bought my t-shirts, and I hope she goes here & buys some awesome ones & supports Threadless! They are so fantastic.

Here are the shirts I've bought from them:



And the ones that Dan has bought:



I'm sure we'll continue to purchase shirts in the future, especially during their $10 sales! :)

xoxo

and 8 is my favorite number

i know this is morbid, but i was interested...

You Will Die at Age 88

88 Congratulations! You take good care of yourself. You're poised to live a long, healthy life.

What Age Will You Die?

numbers

i filled this out on Thanksgiving...am just posting it now. sorry 'bout that!

TEN FIRSTS
First Thing You Ate Today: 2 English muffins. (it's best to eat a little all day instead of stuffing yourself all at once on the traditional meal! which i didn't; i'm so proud of myself)
First Best Friend: Amy Crump/Lindsay Ware
First Screen Name: SinDLuWho
First Pet: Daisy (the family puppy)
First Piercing: ears
First Crush: i think Ben Straub, in first grade, because he had Garfield pencils. definitely Ryan P (can't spell his last name!) in second grade was my first conscious crush. i know, i got started early! hehe
First CD: Classic Queen, by Queen (duh)
First Car I Drove: the Tercel from Hell - a red automatic (ugh) Toyota with a yellow sunflower my sister painted on the gas door...was passed down from both my sisters, and ended up stalling on me in the middle of intersections THREE TIMES before my father decided it was time i got a new one.
First Stuffed Animal: no idea. i was a stuffed animal collector/freak right from the start, so i had lots.
First Concert: this free show WHCN was putting on at the Meadows, with my sister & her college roommate. first REAL concert was probably the Smashing Pumpkins, but i didn't go to many - i was much more of a small-ska-show kinda girl, so i ended up at the Webster a LOT. i wouldn't call those concerts, though, just shows.

NINE LASTS
Last Alcoholic Beverage: a screwdriver at Paradise Lounge, just before Dan got sick...
Last Car Ride: back from my aunt's house after Thanksgiving dinner there (my dad drove)
Last Movie Seen: probably Citizen Kane
Last Phone Call: talked to Jen about going to the movies, but she was sick (sad!)
Last CD Played: American Idiot (Green Day) and my oldoldold-school Johnny Too Bad & the Strikeouts tape!
Last Bubble Bath: i think it was at Sarah's house (my sister, i mean) last Christmas season, because i haven't had an apartment with a bath tub since Woodbury!
Last time you cried: on the bus a little bit when i had to leave Dan, i think
Last concert seen: Green Day & Against Me! at Foxboro Stadium (9/05), ugh. not as good as we had hoped for!

EIGHT HAVE YOU EVERS
Have you ever dated one of your best friends: Yes (James)
Have you ever been arrested? No
Have you ever skinny dipped? No
Have you ever been on TV? Yes (with Jerry Springer! on that MTV karaoke show)
Have you ever kissed someone, and then regretted it? Yes
Have you ever had a sex dream about someone? Yes (not telling any more)
Have you ever cheated? No

SEVEN THINGS YOU ARE WEARING
1. brown corduroys
2. green cowl neck sweater
3. necklace my parents brought me from Africa
4. pink watch from Danny
5. big black (fuzzy!) boots
6. "Tart Like Lemonade" t-shirt
7. red & white striped underwear

SIX THINGS YOU'VE DONE TODAY
1. woke up at 6am to help my mother prepare the turkey
2. drank some raspberry green tea with my mom & sister
3. started to knit the hat in a hat-and-scarf set i'm donating to a soup kitchen's Christmas party
4. played Scrabble with my sister & cousins
5. missed Danny lots
6. sponge-bathed, because i'm not allowed to get my stitches wet for 48 hours!

FIVE FAVOURITE THINGS IN NO ORDER
1. Danny :)
2. reading
3. Christmas lights
4. animals
5. letters
(that was lame...i have a zillion "favorite" things...but nothing really came to mind. those were the first to pop into my head!)

FOUR PEOPLE YOU CAN TELL ALMOST ANYTHING TO
1. Dan
2. Jen K
3. Tanya
4. Chandra

THREE CHOICES
1. Work or LiveJournal? LiveJournal, i guess...i've always loved to write. i just never thought this would be the venue...if work were reading & writing all day, i'm sure i'd choose that. although i always thought i'd want to code all day, every day...hmmm...
2. Workout or read? read, definitely. i've become lazy since my hip surgery. but i definitely used to bring books to the gym to read while on the elliptical. people thought i was crazy, but how else could i make the time fly by??
3. Caffeine or no caffeine? caffeine, definitely. except when i can't fall asleep, and i need to. then i hate it. :)

TWO THINGS YOU WANT TO DO BEFORE YOU DIE
1. not before i die, but always, i'd like to just be happy, content with who i am.
2. write a book.

ONE THING YOU REGRET
1. not putting more time & effort into writing...now i just feel like i've lost all motivation for it, and i can't seem to find my muse again. =\

yay, Christmastime!

Yay, Dan & I have our tree up! We bought it last night, at Urban Outfitters - not exactly what we'd been planning to do, but it's already the Christmas season, so ordering one online would have been a pain, since it would have probably taken several weeks to arrive, and by then it would be mid- if not late-December! So yeah, we bought a 6-foot silver tree and awesome pink lights, and we put it together along with some star lights you can vaguely see in the background (I really need to get a camera other than just my cell phone! But I know I'd just lose it...), and some blue lights that are adorning our bookshelves. I LOVE LIGHTS, so it's definitely making me very happy to see those, and all the others up around the neighborhood & the city. Yesterday night on our way home, we walked through a local park that has a long tunnel with a solid ceiling of blue lights, it was amazing. I can't wait to go back there and take a walk during the next snowfall - how magical it'll be...

I have plenty to catch everyone up on, I know, but I hope y'all had lovely Thanksgivings! Mine was great, although small this year, family-wise (we were missing a good 5 people, and my family isn't huge to begin with!). But it was fun to see my cousins and grandparents and aunts and uncles, and especially my parents. I ate lots of yummy food, of course, so I'm not complaining! :) Not much else to report, though, about the holiday itself. I did get to see Jen, Tanya, and Sarah while I was back, though, yay!! Really the only people who are in CT that I wanted to see, other than family! So that was awesome. I got to have good, long talks with both Tanya & Sarah, which I think I really needed - I miss both of those girls so much! I can't wait until they move up here! Teehee...maybe that's just wishful thinking, but still... Hey, at least I get Karen! :) Maybe we can manage to convince the others....!

I will post more later, about my weekend in CT and particularly my doctor appointment issues. For now, though, I've got to go get some work done! As per usual. xoxo

Currently Reading:
	TITLE: Wicked AUTHOR: Gregory Maguire
	TITLE: Off The Map AUTHOR: CrimethInc.

ugh

I'm fighting off the sick, and I feel like ass. Danny's staying home today; he's sick, too. I don't know if we're sick in the same way, but whatever, it sucks.

I had a pretty nice weekend, especially Friday night & Saturday. It kind of went downhill Sunday afternoon. Yuck.

I didn't even get around to calling Karen to wish her a happy birthday, even though I had it written on my hand all day Saturday to remind me. I had wanted to send a card, but I didn't have her address! :( Anyway, I'm really sorry about that, Karen. I plan to call you soon, especially about the 28th! When I'm not all scratchy-throated.

Also, I'm sorry, but I have to turn comment word-verification back on, on my Blogger site. I have been getting way too many random spam posts, and I don't even know where they are anymore. I am tired of having to hunt them down. I don't even know if doing this'll help, but I have to try. At least for now.

Okay, I have a feeling this post is blubbery & inconsistent, so I'm going to sign off for now. I promise more, soon. Just when I'm feeling slightly better. xoxo

Currently Reading:
	TITLE: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay AUTHOR: Michael Chabon
	TITLE: Off The Map AUTHOR: CrimethInc.

happy birthday, baby

Okay, so this is just a silly little post to wish Danny a very happy birthday...I hope he likes the presents I got him, for real! And isn't just saying that he does so I feel better! :)

Also, he looks wicked hot in his new dark locks - y'all will have to see him soon.

And lastly, I knitted him a scarf - not specifically for his birthday (he did buy me the yarn, after all - like a good boyfriend should, heehee), but it was completed this morning at the cafe so he could wear it to work...so I don't have any pictures of it in its final stages, but I do have some shots of it while it was a work in progress:


All right, that's it for now! I know I've been terribly delinquent about posting, so I'll try to be better about it from now on. Things have just been busy. And you know. xoxo

p.s. Check out Chris Maher's music, an old college radio friend - I just recently rediscovered his music & am rocking out to it right now. Definitely worth rediscovering. Or discovering, if you haven't gotten that far yet. :)

Currently Reading:
	TITLE: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay AUTHOR: Michael Chabon
	TITLE: Off The Map AUTHOR: CrimethInc.

haha i'm getting a puppy

Weirdest quiz ever, but I heart Green Day:

Your Green Day experience by XxunwantedxX
Age?
Color?
Nickname?
Number?
Member?
Album?
Mike will...	Hug you.
Tre will..	Go swimming with you.
Billie Joe will..	Get you a puppy.
Do they like you?	Yes.
Who thinks you're kinky?	Billie Joe
Who will propose?	Tre Cool
Quiz created with MemeGen!

Couldn't decide between American Idiot & Kerplunk, but hey, this one gave me better results...xoxo

congratulations!!

Sarah & Liam are engaged!!! YAY! Congratulations, you two!!

I just wanted to share my happiness at the news.

Plus, it'll be nice to have my first brother! Hopefully one of two (the other being Kevin...you proposing anytime soon? Eh??).

Hehe - anyway, no date set yet. But still, how exciting, huh? We've all been waiting for this. Liam proposed to Sarah at the top of the Eiffel Tower, at night.

I told Sarah to tell Liam: "It's about fucking time!" :)

(I'm kidding about that. I am just giddy-happy for them!)

xoxo

Currently Reading:
	TITLE: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay AUTHOR: Michael Chabon

quizroll

Just a couple of quizzes I stumbled across today...I like 'em.




Which My So-Called Life Character Are You? Find out @ She's Crafty

instructions for life

I know these lists can get cheesy, but I really like the messages in this one (from the Dalai Lama):

1. Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.

2. When you lose, don't lose the lesson.

3. Follow the three Rs:
-Respect for self
-Respect for others and
-Responsibility for all your actions.

4. Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.

5. Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.

6. Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.

7. When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.

8. Spend some time alone every day.

9. Open your arms to change, but don't let go of your values.

10. Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.

11. Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you'll be able to enjoy it a second time.

12. A loving atmosphere in your home is the foundation for your life.

13. In disagreements with loved ones, deal only with the current situation. Don't bring up the past.

14. Share your knowledge. It's a way to achieve immortality.

15. Be gentle with the earth.

16. Once a year, go someplace you've never been before.

17. Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other.

18. Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.

19. Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon.

I want to live a good & fulfilling & honorable life. I try to do my best. xoxo

Currently Reading:
	TITLE: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay AUTHOR: Michael Chabon

this past weekend

...and one more post, and I promise I'm done for the day. :)

Just wanted to update quickly on my past weekend, let's see...Friday night Dan & I went to see Jarhead, which I hadn't really been very eager to see, but I enjoyed well enough. A pretty good war movie (in which I mean it portrays the whole "war is hell" theme well enough) along the lines of Apocalypse Now and Platoon, although I definitely prefer both of those to Jarhead. I have to say, though, I've never really been a huge fan of Jake Gyllenhaal, but he did a good job, too. As did Peter Saarsgard and Jamie Foxx, who I do like.

Saturday morning I went to the Emerson open house, to learn more about their editing & publishing masters program, which I am interesting in pursuing. Not quite sure if I want to go there - I forgot how much I dislike the pretentiousness of academia, although I have a feeling if I got in, I'd enjoy the other students in my program - a lot of it could have just been the over-eagerness (and annoying, incredibly specific questions that were completely irrelevant to everyone but the asker) of the other people who were interested in the program - and I have to keep in mind that at least half of the people in the auditorium with me were there for the creative writing program, which is something I wouldn't want to touch with a 10-foot pole...I love to write, but I do not enjoy the cattiness & competitiveness that is professional writing. I know it's probably just me, and my own insecurities. But I am going to write on my own, if I ever do. For me. (Yeah it'd be nice if it gets published, but I know that's a pipe dream, so I mostly will be happy with myself if I finish something that I'm happy with...I hope...)

Anyway, I left before the campus tour, because I just didn't feel like sticking around. Headed home and spent the afternoon around the house with Dan. We made it to the kung fu video store in Downtown Crossing just before it closed, and bought a couple of movies - with some help from the awesome guys who worked there, I located Battle Royale, a movie about Japanese high school students who have to kill or be killed on a Lord-of-the-Flies like island...it's terribly hard to explain (I could barely do it, myself!), but definitely worth checking out. The guys at the store knew what I was describing only one sentence in (I said something like "the movie about the Japanese high school kids on an island who have to kill each other?" and instantly they had the title for me). I guess it's a pretty well-known movie in certain circles; I had watched it a few years previous with my friend Alex, and had only vague (but disturbing) memories of it, heh...

So, we got home, made some dinner, and were about to settle in to watch, when we got invited out for drinks at The Waterfront...long story, but we went, had a few drinks & a good time, and then came home & watched. We had planned to watch the 2 movies Dan had bought, but we ended up falling asleep halfway through the second one.

Then on Sunday, I met up with DiRoberts for breakfast at The Pour House, and we had these *incredibly good* pumpkin pie pancakes...yum. I am so going back there before autumn ends! Then we wandered around Back Bay for a bit before meeting up with Brian, who surprisingly shares my passion for Bostonian history, and particularly that of the MBTA! So we had a bit of fun discussing all that before I parted ways with the 2 of them to head home...I never did make it there, though! I ended up wandering around Downtown Crossing for a bit, spending some time at the Borders there, and then hopping on the orange line to head out to Circles to pick up some skeins of yarn that I had ordered, yay! I'm excited to start project #872 that I am in the middle of...haha...

Then I got back on the T to ride over to Harvard Square, where I met Dan after his ABC meeting. While I was waiting, I got myself a "birthday cake tea" at Tealuxe, which Amber has raved about in the past - and I have to say mmm, I agree! Very yummy. I sat in the shop and read/planned out a pattern for the yarn that I had just picked up. A pleasant way to spend an hour or so on a beautiful-but-slightly-chilly Sunday afternoon. I really enjoyed watching all of the people out the window; Harvard Square is always hopping, and at times I tend to get lost in imagining up stories about the passerby!

When Dan & I finally met up, we ran some errands around the Square (mostly in The Garage), and then I finally, finally got to head back home after a long day out! I was exhausted, and settled in to watch Finding Neverland and work on Dan's 2005 scarf (I think I will make this a yearly thing - provided he wants to supply the yarn!) for the evening.

We stopped at Bethany's briefly to pick up a chair she wanted to give to us, and to hear a little bit about her trip to AZ that she just returned from. It sounds like she had a great time - I can't wait to catch up over blueberry tea sometime soon! Besides the great chair, she gave me a beatiful pair of red sea-glass earrings that she had bought for me down South. I'll have to take a picture of them sometime so I can share them on here.

Well, as usual, I've written way more than I intended! But, I have to get going now - it's almost time for self-defense class! xoxo

i heart the North End

I've been meaning to post this for a while; I took these pictures a couple of weeks ago, but just because I'm lazy & didn't get to post them in a timely manner, doesn't mean I shouldn't...right? :)

Anyway, reasons I love the North End?

I've got my sister down the street, who gives me awesome presents:

I've got fantastic little stores where I can buy yummy food products

(yes, that's pumpkin gnocci - aren't you jealous? hehe don't worry, it wasn't actually that great...), and isn't this just the coolest bottle you've ever seen??

I also just love the atmosphere, the people, the small, community feel of it. I hope you all get to come visit soon so I can share it with you! Yay.

And, I can't forget to mention that I have a Danny that I love very much. (Sorry for the cheesy.) xoxo

i know this is old news, but...

...Sheryl Swoopes came out recently, and I just wanted to congratulate her for finally finding the courage to do so, and to wish her luck - it sounds from this article that she expects to encounter some resistance and/or disappointment, and I really just wish that weren't the case. She's a wonderful role model for so many young, female athletes - and I don't think that anyone's sexuality - or personal life at all, for the most part - should affect that. Really.

Currently Reading:
	TITLE: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay AUTHOR: Michael Chabon

the princess project

I just emailed this to most of the women I know, but I figured it couldn't hurt to also post it on my website:

hi girls,
for those of you who read Bust magazine, you probably already have come across this (it was in an issue a few months back), but i wanted to make sure everyone had heard of it, cuz it's think it's a fabulous idea:

i don't know about you, but i've still got several dresses that i'll never wear again, hanging in my closet, from proms & weddings past. what i've always hated about those events is that you are supposed to only wear a dress once (otherwise it's a social faux pas) and then get another one, etc. i never really thought of the economic impact that might have on girls who can't afford even a single prom dress for one of the most important nights of their young lives. now, whatever your views on proms (i'm not a huge fan myself), just please keep in mind how important of a night this is for most high school girls.

with those things in mind, an organization was founded in 2002 to collect old wedding/prom/event dresses and "recycle" them, by giving them away free to young girls (who probably couldn't otherwise afford such nice formalwear) to wear for their proms! i love the idea - check it out at

http://www.princessproject.org/

and then, hopefully, make a donation! i'm definitely planning on doing so. i'd much rather see those old dresses go to use (and hopefully make some girl's special night magical) than collect dust.

all right, that's all from me for now! thanks for listening. :)
love,
Arianna

Currently Reading:
	TITLE: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay AUTHOR: Michael Chabon