Chopped

Two posts in a row with TV show titles. I wasn't even planning that.

Anywho, anyone who is friends with me on Facebook may have already noticed I cut my hair.

I know that I told everyone and their mom I was growing my hair at least to my elbows. And I tried very hard for the past 3 years.

You see, this is what I expected my hair to look like as it grew longer (except blonde):

But this is really what my hair looked like (and this is on a really good day):

It was not very thick, thinning at the ends, and very dry and damaged on the ends. The longer it got, the thinner and wispier it got.

So I chopped it:

And now it is much healthier, softer, and fuller. But last night I watched Tangled for the first time (LOVED IT!) and now I want to grow it out again. I think yes!!

LOST

So Wednesday Travis and I drove to my parents' house in Iowa. Well, their temporary home. They moved this summer to SW Iowa near Omaha, and are currently renting a farm house while their new home is being built.

Now, just to give a bit of background, I have never been that great at reading maps. Remember those basic skills tests they make you take from elementary through high school? With math, science, reading, vocabulary, social studies, and map skills? Not to toot my own horn or anything, but I was always really good at those tests. I always got somewhere between 96-99% and tested way above my grade level...Except for the map tests. I ALWAYS got only about 70% on map tests. This has always been really difficult for me.

However, we had made this drive before and I paid really close attention to the roads. I studied a map before we left, and I had our route memorized. You see, I wanted to have my ipod plugged in for the drive, and the ipod and the GPS cannot be plugged in at the same time.

So finally, we were about 10 miles from Mom and Dad's house and we needed to turn onto J20. I told Travis to keep his eyes peeled for it, and as I said it, we passed the sign. So we turned around, went back, and saw that J20 went only in one direction. This was easy - let's just turn down the road. So we drove and drove and drove. For a REALLY long time. I called my mom to make sure we were headed the right direction, and she said we'd know if we went too far because we'd end up in the town just 5 miles past their house. I felt reassured and Travis told me to ask for their address so we could put it in the GPS. I didn't ask. I told him "No, she said we'd know if we passed it. We must be okay."

So we drove for awhile longer and ended up just outside a town. Except this was not the same town where my parents work. I called my parents to discover I had driven about 20-30 miles in the wrong direction. Apparently there are two separate entrances to J20 - each about a mile apart and heading in opposite directions. Back we went to the other J20 entrance. I was very upset by this point. We have been on the road for over 7 hours already. It's been a long several days. I was tired. I was grumpy. My ego was hurt. I thought I knew where we were going and I took us in the wrong direction and I was too proud to just use the GPS.

And this time we drove and drove and ended up near another town. This time 15 miles past my parents' house in the other direction. Apparently J20 has a third turn that is difficult to see at night, and we missed this one. I was a wreck at this point and Travis insisted on driving. I was sobbing about how incompetent I am and how sorry I was. And wonderful Travis was so patient and didn't care at all that I added a total of 80 miles onto our drive. My dad drove out and met us where we were and we followed him home.

And naturally, everyone made fun of me. I am definitely using the GPS on the drive home.

skype sesh

Sara celebrated her 4th birthday on Tuesday, so we skyped with her to ask her about her special day. Some highlights:

S: "Travis, Erta, I don't really miss you guys that much."

S: "I was a Chinese girl for Halloween."

S: "I went to Chuck E. Cheese and played the ball game for you. And I won you lots of tickets to get you surprises."

S: "We can share this bracelet when we live in the same house, if you want."

S: "I am four-years-old already."
E: "Oh wow. You are getting so old. Are you my grandma now?"
S: "NOOOOO! I'm not your grandma!"
E: "Oh, I'm sorry. That's right. You're my uncle now. My old uncle."
S: "Nooooo! I'm not your grandma or your uncle! I'm your sister!"

Well she's not my sister either, but she is the coolest little girl I know. And I miss her very much.

the pickup line game

trav and i have a new favorite game

I find horrible pick-up lines and then Travis tries to pick me up with them. He tries as many voices as possible and I let him know whether or not it was (surprisingly) attractive. And whoever laughs loses.

Travis could not make it through this line:

“Your eyes are blue, like the ocean. And baby, I’m lost at sea.”

And when he delivered this one:

“You must be Jamaican, cause Jamaican me crazy” 

I had to kiss him. It was actually really adorable in a super weird way. 

Another favorite game is "the Butt Game"

We stick the word "butt" into any sign we see when driving. Ex: "Rick's Auto Shop" becomes "Rick's Butt Shop" 

Yes, I know. We're such mature grown ups.

summer lens

I call my fisheye camera my "summer lens." For some reason the fisheye aesthetic has always breathed summer to me.

i recently developed a new roll of film. these photos are autumn, not summer, but still beautiful i think.

Chicago

Wicker Park Renegade Craft Fair

The new home...for now

My man skating

Multiple exposure

scarecrow fest

A few weeks ago Travis and I went to St. Charles for Scarecrow festival.

St. Charles was SOOO beautiful!

Travis and I stuffed a scarecrow. We put it on the porch and scared the neighbors. It's a really good scarecrow.

Travis had funnel cake for the first time...But took a picture of me.

We paid a little too much many for a ferris wheel ride. (It was worth it and the man let us stay on extra long.) 

And then we looked at all the cool scarecrows

And Travis did the tango with our scarecrow in the elevator. I hope there were security cameras.

some things

:: - I am now eating kale and asparagus on the daily. Finally learning to like veggies.
:: - Chicagoland drivers are REALLY bad. I don't understand how people in the Midwest can be bad drivers. 90% of people have to drive to get anywhere. How can you be so bad at driving, Chicagoland? Speeding at minimum 20 mph over the limit, not using your turn signals, eating, and talking on the phone are all super dangerous - especially at the same time. Please remember cars are tons of metal and explosive things that can easily kill you and other people. Please.
:: - Travis and I are on a homemade pizza kick.
:: - We haven't seen our roommate Amber for more than five minutes in a week or so. She's really busy.
:: - Why is listening to the radio painful? Maybe I don't know which stations are good?
:: - Only people under the age of 4 think I'm funny. And mostly only when I'm dancing. I think I'm okay with this.
:: - The day after I decided to audition for the Glee Project, I got the flu. And then a cold. And now I have a bad cough. I haven't been able to sing for a couple weeks now.
:: - I am writing this instead of the conclusion of my paper. Why am I procrastinating those last few sentences?
::- I am an enabler. If you want to eat a brownie but say you shouldn't, I will support you in eating that brownie. Don't feel like exercising? Come watch a movie with me. Struggling to write that paper? Take a break and get back to it later.
::- Seeing St. Vincent live was terrifying. I always thought she seems sweet and quirky. She was angry and I half expected her to kill everyone in the audience with her music.
::-There are too many good bands coming to the Chicago area. We actually have to pick and choose because it would be too time consuming and expensive to go to every show. We did however fork out the cash for Feist, Portugal the Man, and Bon Iver. And we're probably going to go to Lykke Li with First Aid Kit. And maybe the National with Local Natives (if it isn't sold out).
::-I get to see my parents and my dog next weekend!
::- Here is a really funny picture: