Have I ever mentioned that I like ice? 
I like ice and pretty red berries that pop against a complementry green and white background. 
Although, a little Christmasy, I prefer to think wintery instead. Somehow, I feel like there should be horses and sleigh bells lingering behind these holly bushes. I didn't see any though when I was out freezing to death in the sloshy rain. One must suffer for art.
I ♥ Icy Weather.
Not because it's slippery or slidey. Just because it is so beautiful.
And a great excuse to play with my new camera. 
Yay, for icy cold pretty!
Don't forget to track Santa on Google Earth as he brings all the children of the world their presents. Santa must be real, he's on Google Earth
No matter what Santa brings you though, Merry Christmas! May your holiday be filled with joy and happiness and love.
Happy Labor Day (which might be more accurately termed Laborless Day since most of us have off work)!
Don't forget that you can't wear white shoes anymore. Not to say I will obey that rule. I will probably end up donning white shoes around around Thursday of this week.
Who made up the arbitrary shoe-color rule anyway? No black after memorial day? No white after labor day? Foolishness I say. Does anyone even go by that antiquated fashion nonsense anymore?
Sunflowers waving in the wind. I am shocked at how tall those things get. How is it possible that stalks could get that high without toppling over? I am just amazed. What keeps sunflowers from drooping down?? They seem so top heavy.
I believe that sunflowers equal smiles. They take you away to a fun sunshiny place. They make you feel warm and fuzzy inside. They mean sunny days, water sprinklers, iced-lemonade, and the smell of freshly cut grass. Sunflowers just make you happy; that is, of course, unless you are crazy. Although, crazy people probably like sunflowers too.
Just for fun: Step by Step Guide for growing sunflowers.
I promised myself I would never be the type of blogger person who incessantly broods over anything cuddly, furry, or ridiculously cute (i.e. pets).
Example: People at these disgusting sites i can has cheezburger, Awwpix, Cute Cat, Daily Pets, Random Kitty Generator, and Cute Overload.
I am making an exception now. My sister's dog and two kitties are about the most adorable things ever. It almost makes me sick.
Especially this little guy. He's so lovable, and tired.
I have been reduced to adding a "y" or "ie" to every word I use when I talk to the itty bitty cutesie wootsies.
*Shaking my head* What has happened to me? I've turned into a bowl of mush.
I'm lovin' summer.
Everything about it. The sun, plants, colors, tastes, smells, views, sounds, water, weather, freedom, sky, and people.
It's probably good summer is only once a year; otherwise it might be sensory overload. I am thankful for the seasons (although I wish they could all be more like summer).
Just thought I'd share a favorite photo of mine with you.
I love this photo taken late in the day of a black horse and a white horse. What does it mean? What does it say? The day I took this, I was actually snapping a whole bunch of photos so I have a series where the horses are getting closer in each frame. It's kind of cool. If I say so myself.
The holiday everyone forgets.
Well, I didn't forget, because now I get to post another cool flag photo of mine. Whooo. Happy Flag day.
Oh, and just for fun I will share another photo of a Ben Franklin impersonator from Philadelphia. Mr. Franklin was sitting on a bench talking to a little boy and I just thought it was so adorable. But then, soon after, the situation started to disturb me. 
It turns out, this pretend Benjamin was sitting next to the real Ben's grave. Hello? Creepy. Especially for the kid.
Mr. Franklin, didn't you die in 1790? and aren't you buried in that grave right there? How is it then you are sitting next to me right now? No, that kid won't grow up with issues.
I'm started to get an overload of gorgeous flower pictures. It's like this spring and early summer has boasted of a ridiculous amount of natural beauty. Here is a selection of roses in my grandparent's flower bed.
I am staying at my grandparents house this week until our air conditioning gets fixed. I swear, the air went out during a record heat wave for our area. I get the feeling it knew it was going to have to work overtime so it decided to shut down completely. On the plus side though, one hour in my house leads to lovely skin. The sauna-like conditions guarantee it.
I always thought swans were beautiful, serene birds. After yesterday, I now know better. I stood in front of this gorgeous mama swan and her two baby swan ducklings to snap a good photograph. They posed nicely and I got my shot, but then I heard this wing flapping and hissing in the distance. 
To my left a giant male swan is strutting toward me with his head tucked down, wings out, and feathers puffed up. I thought he was going to walk into my frame to make the picture a complete swan family. But he had something else in mind.
Instead of heading toward his family, he started cowering toward me. I slowly shuffled backward with my camera still out in front of me. The swan started hissing louder. And running. Then I started running. And he started running faster. So I screamed and spun around to sprint back to my grandfather's truck. I hopped in only to find the swan right behind me pecking viciously at the truck, making horrible noises. My heart was racing. If I hadn't taken cover, that big white bird probably would have pecked me to death. Shudder.
Lesson? Never mess with baby swans.
I love the concept of taking children's drawings and turning them into real life photographs like Yeondoo Jung does in the collection "Wonderland". Not only are the photos surreal and fun, the idea is so rich. We have an 
artist's interpretation of a child's interpretation of nature.
The layers of reality, imagery, and artistry are thick. The photographs are striking, innocent, and beautiful. With the original kid's drawing side-by-side, I love the idea and final product. They beg the question what is posed? what is natural? what is based on reality? and what is based only on the notion of reality? Yeondoo Jung is my new favorite Korean artist.
Works in the post:
1st: Cinderella
2nd: Fox's Magic Trick
Happy Memorial Day!
Today we celebrate and honor all the service members who have fought and died for our freedom. America is grateful.
***
I have found a new obsession. I am now in love with "vintagizing" my photographs in Photoshop like the flag one above. Ohhhh, somebody better stop me.
Finals week this week. Sigh. 1 final down, 3 to go. This pre-graduation time isn't as great as I thought it was going to be. Things seem to be falling apart. 
Happy Cinco de Mayo! I didn't even realize that it was May 5th until pretty late in the day. Oh well. I live too far north to celebrate anyway.
Ha ha ha. 
This picture is so cute, it almost hurts. Those birdies must be really cold. Or perhaps they just really love each other. Or perhaps the blue birds were singing too loud so the others decided to squish them senseless. That one in the center does NOT look comfortable.
I have no idea who took this photo. I can imagine that if I saw this in my backyard, my life would be complete. This kind of cuteness turns my insides into mush. Oh my goodness, I just want to squeeze them... no pun intended.
This link, the Spiral Gallery, has an interesting assortment of spiral photographs. I can't find any background information or project details. I think someone ripped them from Flickr and pasted them into this collection. There isn't much over there other than a thumbnail compilation, but I recommend taking a quick peek. You will find a bunch of really cool spiral photographs.
For some reason, looking for spirals in ordinary life reminds of searching for the five bars in those Verizon commercials. There is something gratifying about finding order in nature or pattern in chaos. I really like the idea. It is fresh, simple, and collaborative--my favorite type of art. 
I am thinking I have a few spiral images that I have taken myself over the past few years. I can think of at least two. I may or may not be motivated to post my findings sometime the in future. But until then enjoy those over at the Spiral Gallery.
Bah ha ha. This is great. I found it floating in cyberspace. I do have a thing about squirrels--their squirreliness. I do have to admit, however, this little guy is kind of cute. (Although he might be a chipmunk. We can't see his tail, so it make it difficult to tell.) I personally like image 4 the best. 
Hmmmmm, maybe I can fit this thing in my mouth. La la la la. Yes, yes. Almost got it. Too big, no, no, choking. dying. Ugh, whew.
LikeBetter asks you which photo you like better and then tells you things about yourself. The 'brain' was right when it said I'd prefer to be a pirate over a ninja, but wrong when it said I prefer spicy food over not-spicy food. Either way, picking my favorite photo was fun, even if the conclusions are neither accurate or scientifically inclined. 
At first I wondered whether they meant a split second response, or a carefully calculated opinion of the photo. Then I wondered whether they meant if I like the subject matter of one over another, or if I liked the artistic quality of one photograph over another. I quickly realized it didn't matter because this site is not a cognitive science revelation but a rather an easy breezy time-killer.
Happy Valentine's Day!
This year's Valentine's Day looks to be promising. No drowning my sorrows in cookie dough icecream, sweat pants, a box of tissues, and Matthew Mcconaughey movies. Ha ha.
But I just wanted to take this day to give each of my sexy blog readers a big kiss. So mwah!
You are a beautiful special person.
When I peeked outside this morning and saw several inches of snow and an unplowed road, I was sure classes would be canceled. To my dismay, they weren't. I wrapped myself up in a hundred layers of clothing, scarves, hoodies, hats, gloves, coats, and boots and armed myself with an ice scraper in a effort to rediscover my car somewhere in the white abyss. After driving at about 10 miles per hour with a death grip on the steering wheel the whole way into campus, I cursed whoever decided that it would be safe for us to be out on those icy roads. 
My day was painfully boring. I met with a professor, sat at work with no tutoring appointments, watched white flakes fall from the sky out the window, and checked my email every five minutes waiting for a cancellation. Just when I thought the university was cold and heartless, the announcement came that evening classes were canceled. Thank goodness. I rejoiced that my American Lit test will be pushed back as I shoveled my car out for the second time today.
On a brighter note, I just discovered EZ Borrow in the library. Yes, I know--I'm a senior English major, and I've never used the service before, shame, shame on me. It turns out all Pennsylvania schools have a system of sharing books between university libraries. I am not confined by the choices good 'ole Shippensburg and other state schools offer to me. I have been eyeing Snow, by Orhan Pamuk, a modern Turkish classic in Borders for the past few months, and now I can read it for FREE! If I love it, I can buy it, if not, there's no loss. Why didn't I discover this system years earlier?
