What Grand Ideas!

[dpc]

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 17:45:15 GMT

I'm going to see my first show in forever! I'm seeing Driftless Pony Club at the Middle East Upstairs on Friday, March 30. The lead singer is Craig Benzine, who makes hilarious videos over on YT as Wheezy Waiter! I found Wheezy Waiter first and he just happened to have an awesome indie band that I love and if you're a fan of Modest Mouse, I think you'd probably like them too.

Listen to their latest album here!

[yelp dot com]

Tue, 28 Feb 2012 15:49:44 GMT

HA! An interesting article about Yelp!

http://www.dailydot.com/society/valentines-day-yelp-couple/

P.S. I'm mentioned in it. ;)

[<3]

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 17:43:56 GMT

Some Valentine's Day type things:

1. How to French Kiss Wiki & Video -- the video is amusing, but the wiki is just well-drawn and informative for the uninformed (so...uh, not me!) via @deshawnmarie

2. "If You're Not a Cat, Stay Away from Me" & other "crappy" Valentines by Liz Prince

3. Valetine Dilemma: an XKCD web comic

4. TeeFury Shirt of the Day 2/14: The Kiss

5. My semi-romantic Valentine's Day YouTube Playlist

We're eating frozen pizza (yes, again!), drinking champagne, lighting candles and eating tiramisu while watching Glee for Valentine's Day.

[tmnt nail art]

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 18:09:09 GMT

My first attempt at nail art besides polka dots using a dotting tool.

Attempt #1:

This was all freehand! I used a toothpick for the eyes, mouth and pepperoni slices.

Attempt #2:

I used scotchtape to get straighter masks and for the triangle pizza shape. I'm still a work in progress, but I have to say everyone thought my nails for awesome at the Frozen Pizza Party.

Both photos were taken before I cleaned up my nails, because I have shaky hands and oh my goodness, the cat always wants to be petted right after I paint my nails. Why is that?!

I actually found a really cheap detail nail art brush, so this might help in the future. Honestly, I think it's all about practice. I lost my dotting tool, so I'm on the mission to locate that now. I guess having a ridiculous amount of nail polish has finally come in handy!

[puppy bowl time]

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 20:38:06 GMT

As always, I'm watching the Puppy Bowl. Coincidentally, it's been around eight years -- as long as Dave and I have been dating. I remember seeing commercials for the very first one, and Dave and I were saying how ridiculous it was and then we ended up catching it on repeat later in the day and ended up being so awesome! Clearly, we're not the only ones that think so! I'd have to say my favorite is the hamster blimp, but the addition of a tweeting bird is hilarious! You can follow him @meepthebird.

I could care less about the Superbowl. I just like snacks! We're eating vegetarian tamales, refried black beans and chips & salsa for dinner! YESSSSSSSS!

[houses]

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 19:01:39 GMT

I'm looking at houses right now. Single family homes are sort of a rarity anywhere close to Boston for anything less than a million. There are condos in the area that go for the same price as houses in other states. So sad!

I found a single family home in East Boston literally right around the corner from where we used to live. It's 4 bedrooms, 1.5 baths and 1,254 sq ft.. It's $174,900.

http://www.massrealty.com/greater-boston/east-boston/home/60-Marion-St,-East-Boston,-MA-02128/71294009?search_id=1

For the same cost, I found a house in Waxahachie, TX that is pretty stunning. It's a Victorian home built in 1895 with 4 bedrooms, 2 baths and 2,410 sq ft. It has a wraparound porch and a balcony too. I'm also assuming there's a yard as well! It's $189,900.

http://www.ebby.com/property/11623558/607_N_Rogers_Street_Waxahachie_TX_75165-3033

I really like the aesthetic of Boston homes much more. I love older houses with a bit of personality for which the East Boston home has none. I would love to live in Davis Square, but unless we win the lottery, there's just no way.

I would not decorate my house this way, but...

http://www.massrealty.com/greater-boston/somerville/condo/65-Hall-Avenue,-Somerville,-MA-02144/71324760?search_id=9

[looking back and going forward]

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 16:10:37 GMT

2011:

-quit my job, last day 5/27
-met francesca lia block/workshop in jp
-moved out of east boston to medford on 8/20
-turned 30 on 9/9
-married on 9/19
-dave turned 30 on 10/9
-finally saw blue man group on christmas eve with my parents
-dave got his driver's license on 12/27
-dave's going to grad school

2012:

-8 years with dave -- january 1, 2004 - january 1, 2012

i got a juicer for christmas & i'm super excited! i plan to do a short detox with fresh smoothies and juices for about 5 days. i am in super cleaning mode right now! i want to host a party in march around st. patrick's day & make a ton of fun potato dishes (like potato & leek soup and a potato/pesto pizza) and put out some green things like jelly beans and the such. but basically one big hang out where people can pretty much show up whenever. i'm really curious what our cat will do. the only thing i know he'll do is flip out at the sound of the doorbell!

-no frivolous spending; mostly not buying anything other than needs and/or spending on experiences like eating out or saving up for a great vacation somewhere or even spending on having a really great home
-probably going to tx for the state fair in october
-reading more books, watching less tv
-updating fake persona & getting my new blog off the ground somehow
-exercising and feeling healthy
-visiting chicago
-finally getting back to tx sometime before october
-organized home & life (i say this every year, but maybe this will finally be the one that i can make it happen!)
-hanging art around our apartment

Writer's Block: B.Y.O.B. Holidays

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 18:45:46 GMT

What is your must-see holiday movie?

One random answer will win a $50 Amazon gift card. [Details here]

View 1726 Answers

I always watch A Christmas Story! That's a movie I started watching as a kid and it doesn't seem like Christmas if I don't see it at least once! Thank goodness, TBS shows a 24-hour marathon starting on Christmas Eve & going through Christmas. :)

[things & things]

Sun, 20 Nov 2011 22:32:58 GMT

It's really nice to go out and be a part of society again. There is still soreness on the left side of my chest and I had to use my inhaler last night due to coughing fits, but I'm definitely much, much better. It's basically like I'm not sick, but I'm still taking it easy, because I don't want to be that sick ever again!

Last weekend we hung out with a friend & their baby (but not a baby, because she's nearly two!) and then this weekend, we hung out with our Yelp friends and then met up for lunch with our NYC friend yesterday. Busy, busy weekend!

I invited my mom here for Thanksgiving, but she's not coming. It's disappointing! I'm not really feeling the holiday spirit. I feel like I go in & out of it. It's a lot easier to feel into it when I'm out and looking at holiday things in the store. We haven't been able to use any of our candles or oils or anything, which are mostly holiday scents (since we pick them up on the cheap after the holidays), since we're still rearranging things around here.

I want to have a St. Patrick's/Welcome Spring party in March! I feel like that may be the grand unveiling of our new apartment! I've even looked up some vegetarian Irish recipes and such we can make!!

I feel so much more human when I go hang out with peoples! Hooray!

[countdown to wellness]

Thu, 03 Nov 2011 14:46:42 GMT

Doctor's appointment went well. I met with a nurse practitioner and she prescribed an inhaler and antibiotics. She did say it's possible that she's over medicating me, but since I've been sick for so long, I honestly didn't mind. I am pretty sure I have pneumonia and after my first dose of antibiotics, my chest pain has nearly gone away! She told me that pneumonia can cause chest pain, so maybe it wasn't just coughing! I actually developed some side abdominal definition because of all my coughing if that gives you an idea of how much I've been coughing in the last three weeks. I tried my inhaler last night before going to bed and it made me feel well and it's actually pretty hard to use an inhaler. She told me that it would help open my lungs so I wouldn't be up coughing! I felt a little loopy after doing it (it's supposed to make your heart race!), but I didn't wake up coughing last night! Hooray!

I have a doctor's appointment for December 20 for my first physical in 10 years! She focuses on stress and women's health, so I think this will be a good fit for me. She's a holistic doctor, so I feel like I can really talk to her to find out what's going on with me. I feel like I have a million health problems.

Sometimes I think just visiting a doctor makes you feel better. I definitely felt better after the appointment. I was coughing less, my chest didn't hurt as much and even though I walked as far as I have in days without feeling short of breath. Some of that probably had to do with the chill in the air, but it felt nice to be out and about after being in the house for so long.

I really want to exercise again, but I don't want to push myself when I'm still not breathing normally and the nurse said she heard wheezing in my chest, so I'll probably wait a couple weeks till I start any sort of program.

Some of our friends asked us out this weekend and I really hope that I'm feeling well enough by Saturday that we can go out to dinner. I feel mostly normal now, but I'm still coughing and don't feel right hanging out in public, especially around friends. I'm supposed to call back on Friday to tell the nurse how I feel and to determine if I should get a chest x-ray (since pneumonia can hang around in your chest for 6 weeks!), but I have a feeling that won't be necessary! Hooray!

[happy halloween]

Tue, 01 Nov 2011 16:41:55 GMT

Since I've been sick for the whole month and still not quite well, I've been taking it easy. We didn't have any fun plans for Halloween this year, but I decided just for the hell of it that I'd surprise Dave and dress up! We took some photos in our hallway. Major blur ahead probably due to lack of light & camera phone. Enjoy!

P.S. I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow. Hopefully, they'll tell me I'm on the mend and nothing is seriously wrong with me. I can't walk long distances (like places I'd walk to without trouble before my sickness) without panting and feeling like I need to stop and rest. A five minute walk takes me 10 minutes. My lungs are just not working properly. I'm still coughing and I'm guessing I will be for awhile.

[ill]

Sun, 30 Oct 2011 18:16:07 GMT

I was REALLY sick! Like pneumonia/flu sick. I had a fever starting on October 11 and had a low fever for over two weeks. I'm finally feverless but still coughing. I actually coughed my chest into a lot of pain. I could barely move. The pain is still there, but thankfully, I can move around the house again. Coughs are less & less everyday.

I went out for the first time in nearly three weeks yesterday. We went to the Pru and I picked up some free hand lotion, made an exchange at The Body Shop and ate Pinkberry. Then I felt exhausted and embarrassed (since I was walking around with a tissue box, since I'm still coughing up nastiness). It was also really, really cold and I was sick through the nicer weather.

There's snow on the roof tops.

I can't wait till I'm 100% healthy again and I can go back to having a normal routine. One that doesn't involve sleeping on the couch. I was doing that for awhile, since I couldn't sleep on the bed. The past two nights I actually slept on the bed and slept through the entire night instead of waking up at 5am from a coughing fit!

I don't think I will ever take a healthy body for granted again. The plus of my sickness was I lost 5lbs due to loss of appetite, which is what I gained when we moved to Medford due to eating out all the time! Ha!

[h o m e]

Sun, 02 Oct 2011 17:17:14 GMT

Also, pretties:

[this would probably drive me nuts! i like book shelves for sure! i was just in a book shop that had books on their sides, because their shelves were too small & i HATED it!]

i really want a cozy house, which we are pretty close to achieving, but it must be organized! but lived in! i need character & personality!

ETA: I guess I want to live in a library! I have tried in the last few years to not buy books, but we have started again! Some people have lots of movies, but I have lots of books!

[messy girl]

Sun, 02 Oct 2011 17:06:50 GMT

I wonder why it's so hard for me to unpack all of my things and tackle my clutter. Or things. I like all of my things, but I hate putting it all away or figuring it out. I want a pretty house! Why can't I do it?

I'm really terrible at tidying too!

But I hate feeling disorganized and I hate looking at a messy room, even though I accept that I am a messy type of person. I always have an organized work space wherever I work though. I hate when people move my things wherever I work, because I can't focus on anything but where my pen seemed to end up. Or who took my scissors?

We got a gift card to Home Goods! We need a lot of things!

-food processor
-sheets & sheets & sheets
-coffee maker (accepting my coffee addiction!)
-juicer (i like juice & i'd love to make my own!! not technically a need though!)
-new pots & pans
-vacuum for hardwood surfaces or at least a better broom or maybe use a reusable swiffer doodad

[♥]

Fri, 30 Sep 2011 19:21:20 GMT

Here are some more photos of the wedding courtesy of our fantastic friend, Sam Haddix!

http://samhaddix.com/2011/09/30/photoshoot-fridays-dave-diana/

[PHOTO TIME FABULOUS]

Wed, 28 Sep 2011 14:03:06 GMT

My super fantastic friend, Numidas, helped do my make-up. But honestly, it took everyone a lot longer to get ready than I predicted and left the hotel pretty close to the time I was supposed to get there. I got there about 15 minutes late. Our taxi driver had no idea about anything and yelled into his phone in a foreign language for most of the ride. I had to walk to the venue, but no big deal.

Our ceremony was short & sweet.

I make a lot of weird faces!

Our friend, Sam, took a ton of photos of us along with the official Yelp photographer, Tatsu.

Dave got cupcake up his nose & I'm just being greedy! Clearly trying to suck it up like a vacuum.

Dave's mother, Diane, and I -- We're totally looking at different cameras! Ha!

OFFICIAL YELP FLICKR:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/yelp/sets/72157627711078616/

OFFICIAL YELP WRITE-UP:

http://communityblog.yelp.com/2011/09/boston-elites-bear-witness-to-a-real-yelp-wedding.html

[vows]

Wed, 28 Sep 2011 13:40:44 GMT

Dave's vows:

Diana,
I can’t promise you that I will never make any stupid mistakes, but I do promise that I will be trying my best when I make them.
I can’t promise I’ll never make any boneheaded decisions, but I do promise that they will always be made with the best of intentions
I can’t promise I’ll never waste money on something frivolous, but I do promise to share, because it’s hard for you to look angry with a mouth full of Reese’s Pieces.
I can’t promise that I will think about you every minute of every day, because that would just be weird, but I do promise that nothing I’m thinking about will ever be more important than you.
I can’t promise to never knock stuff over and break it, but I promise to always try to catch your stuff first.
What I’m saying is, I’m not perfect, and I don’t pretend to be. But nothing makes me happier than seeing you smile, and nothing ever will. So even when I make mistakes, know that I will always make them while trying to make you happy.

My vows:

I know I don't tell you enough, but you're pretty cool. Whenever I'm scared or nervous, I know I can run to you, and you'll tell me how great I am and really mean it. Whenever my stomach growls, you cook something so tasty, I'm sure you'd beat Bobby Flay in a throwdown. Each night, when you tuck me in and kiss my cheek, whatever stress I'm feeling at that moment, disappears. Even when I'm feeling grumpy, you know how to make me laugh. Today, I promise to never stop telling the puns that make your nose scrunch up. I promise to ice your wounds, encourage your creativity and to surprise you with dessert. I promise to not judge you on your musical taste, steal your Reese's Pieces and to give in to your movie picks. I promise to always be your best friend and to have the patience that you always have with me.

Our officiant actually said we wrote the ring ceremony piece, but I actually found it online! This is what we said:

I give this ring as my gift to you. Wear it and think of me and know that I love you.

It was actually kind of hilarious, because when I said it to Dave, she told me to say it back in a different way than Dave did it. I said more words at a time than he did. It probably had something to do with the fact that she had never rehearsed it before.

[craftiness]

Wed, 14 Sep 2011 22:09:04 GMT

We didn't register for gifts, so we're going to put a jar out for everyone & maybe people will be generous & donate some money! I know if I went to a wedding like this, I wouldn't mind putting $5 in for them. We're making a bunch of envelopes from books we snagged at the Good Will. Dave hilariously suggested we sell them on Etsy after we're done with the wedding! I don't know, I've always wanted my own card company, so maybe he is on to something. We'll make cards & envelopes as sort of a hobby type thing, since I should focus on writing/blogging. I need some kind of job to keep me busy. In some ways, I miss working and in others, I don't.

Working on something crafty reminded me how much I actually enjoy it!

[listy list]

Tue, 13 Sep 2011 19:59:41 GMT

-wedding in six days!

-new apartment has a pigeon friend & I hear him coo in the afternoons

-I need a nap!

-new haircut & shaped eyebrows for the first time in my life

-mani/pedi sometime soon, because I can't find my nail scissors!!!

-at night, I fall into bed, totally exhausted

-Dave bought me a 3DS for my birthday and I love it!

-writing wedding vows. If anyone wants to help me with them, please send over your email & we'll talk, I told Dave that I think we should just share before the wedding to make sure we have a similar tone, since mine are not romantic and mostly funny & sweet -- we'll see if he shares with me or not

-I think I should be nervous, but mostly I have no idea about when to walk out, what our officiant does or if she is supposed to prompt us to share our vows or what -- those kinds of things, but other than that, I don't really care. I just want it to be done, so we can celebrate and SLEEP FOREVER and then maybe tidy up our apartment and have a brunch party, because I like friends!

-I have been taking lots of photos of our cat. He likes to sleep in odd places, because that's what cats do, but it's still amusing.

-Wedding certificates are dumb! We both go down there, then we have to pick it up and then it gets mailed back and then we have to pay more $$$ to get a copy! That's stupid!

-I have to quit coffee, but I don't see that happening any time in the near future, since we live by a thousand quaint cafes. I really love our new neighborhood right now, but we'll see if that lasts. I still hate riding the bus! I guess that will never change, but I also hate riding the train too, it's just slightly more convenient!

-I can't wait for five years to pass and maybe, hopefully, we'll be living in Chicago! That's what I want for our future, but we'll see. I also want tacos in our future. Like later tonight future, not five years from now future! Too bad we're having homemade pizza! Wait, that's not bad AT ALL!

[sam's surprise birthday party]

Mon, 29 Aug 2011 17:40:19 GMT

Also, this happened:

[<3]

Mon, 11 Jul 2011 18:07:23 GMT

Some things I've been enjoying lately:

-playing online games at Kongregate (referral link -- so we can be pals!)

-Trader Joe's Nuts About Raspberries & Chocolate Trek Mix

-Glee (We just started Season 2! The storyline/witty banter is the best. Music is okay! I still dislike musicals.)

-Jinni is awesome! Find movies you want to watch based on different categories, like mood, genre, like other movies, etc. I like particular sorts of movies, so this is great for me! I'm not a movie watcher AT ALL. In fact, if we sold our TV, I'd probably be fine as long as I had internet and if I didn't have internet, maybe I'd go outside. hahahahaha

-fresh nectarines

-new discovery of the month is Heartsy! It's like Groupon for Etsy/handmade goods. If you sign up now, you get $5 credit for a future purchase. The best part about this site is a lot of the stores I'm seeing featured on here are stores I've thought about purchasing from in the past! This is my referral link: http://heartsy.me/users/155386/referral?c=plink

-karaoke & hang outs with friends

-Sam Adams Light (seriously, the only beer I've ever tried that I've finished and didn't hate.) Okay, so I've only had it one time, so who knows if I'll ever drink it again!

-The sheer geekiness of this independent make-up company! I love it! http://www.shirocosmetics.com/

[slurp]

Sat, 02 Jul 2011 01:45:10 GMT

I'm not sure when I started taking these drink photos of Dave, but I do it all the time now. Here's a few starting from 2007!

[flb]

Sun, 12 Jun 2011 14:06:06 GMT

Thank you, Twitter.

By chance, I stumbled upon a RT of a happening going down at the Cambridge Public Library on Saturday. It was a chance to meet Francesca Lia Block. I never really thought about meeting her before, but I spent a large portion of my life obsessed with the woman. I always checked the Half-Price Bookstore for her books. I read everything & anything I could get my hands on by her. She introduced me to zines!

I love that I met her at a library, because I found her at a library. Randomly picking up Dangerous Angels, I believe, while at the downtown branch of the Dallas Public Library.

She's holding a creative writing workshop today in Jamaica Plain, MA. I'm attending! I haven't workshopped since 2005. So surreal. I'm semi-embarrassed. Like I can't bring in this shit writing because Francesca Lia Block will be reading it. I wasn't sure I had anything to bring in as I've been focused on flash fiction for awhile now. I decided to go back and read my novel-in-a-month. The first time I've looked back on it since I wrote it in February 2010. I made some changes and it's not bad. It's rough, folks, it's rough. I still think it's embarrassing and probably has too much telling instead of showing. I feel like she's going to look at it and discourage me from ever typing another sentence. Maybe all writers feel this way going back into workshop. It's weird to be a student again even if just for an afternoon. Oh, the jitters.

P.S. I just found out the other day about Young Adult librarians! I didn't even know such a thing existed! Why didn't I know? I guess it's because I never pursued it. Maybe I would have continued down the librarian trail if I had known or even bothered to look more into it.

x-posted to francesca_lia

[blah blah blah]

Wed, 08 Jun 2011 16:51:17 GMT

-I have this bizarre eczema on my hands right now. One of the causes is stress and since I am stressing out about the weird eczema, I'm probably making it worse. It's little tiny blisters. I have noticed it in the past, but this is a really bad outbreak. I'm supposed to avoid HOT WATER and washing my hands frequently. I think I need to just find a routine and stick to it and hopefully this reaction will slowly fade away. I have to avoid scratching it too, because it makes it worse, but even though I've noticed it in the past, it's never been itchy before and it is now. Blast! I've been good about not scratching too.

-I had a really nice day yesterday. I walked around downtown Boston, sat in the public garden watching baby ducklings and saw a tiny turtle, enjoyed lunch from Whole Foods and even got a frozen yogurt and even later after that I snagged a bubble tea as a treat for Dave and I. My main reason for going out of the house was to check out the Forever 21 that opened a long time ago on Newbury Street. I didn't really want anything, but I wanted to look around, since on the weekends the place is crowded to the core with tweens and annoying ladies. I nearly walked away with some nail polish, but I held myself back from impulse shopping. It's a lot better to spend my money on some food than on some frivolous knickknack or something. They did have some really cute necklaces, but in the back of my head, I kept thinking that maybe the designs were stolen from other artists. :(

-I've been writing up a storm on my short story tumblr and am starting to write on a new blog that will hopefully turn into something permanent with its own domain name. I'm sort of all over the place with it right now, but once I start updating more frequently, I feel like it will be my second home. I just have to figure out what I want from it. I'm going to try and keep it its own thing aside from this journal. So you'll most likely not see any crossposting.

-Now I will go eat fresh fruit! Go kiwi!

[too easy]

Sun, 05 Jun 2011 01:30:54 GMT

I've mentioned more than a few times my total hatred for East Boston. We've wanted to move for awhile, but with Dave having a normal work schedule and me not having one, we thought 2011 is the year!

We found a place with unbelievably low rent for a two bedroom place that is amusingly right around the corner from where I used to work! I was super skeptical, but it was pretty damn great. I wouldn't say that it's exactly a two bedroom, more like 1.5 -- they have one bedroom & an office -- but we really, really liked it! We weren't even looking for a two bedroom place, but for that price we just had to peek at it!

So we looked at exactly one place and just took it. It's incredibly hard to find cat friendly places that are convenient at all. It's right by several bus stops, 25 minute walk to the closest train station and there are cafes, laundromats and other enjoyables all close by!

If we had two incomes, we could pay way more for probably the same thing, but it would be like a two minute walk to the train, but oh wellz.

One good sign was there was construction going on the street down below and in the apartment YOU COULD NOT HEAR A THING, so that's way better than where we live now. So noisy! That neighborhood is a dream!

It was a little too easy if you ask me. I was thinking this place would have sucked and we'd be looking for places through July and even August. Thank goodness this worked out for us!