drum roll please...

some of you already know my HUGE news via facebook & twitter... [i don't know how to keep secrets or contain myself sometimes] but for those of you who don't know, or would just like the scoop, here it is :]

a] i got a job! remember that catering/event company i have been yapping about via my blog? yup - you guessed right! mj catering and events is my new employer. and i... am their new event planner :] they decided to hire two planners since their company is growing so exponentially - so we will be partners in charge of all the planning and events for our clients in the evanston/chicago area. i will start training full time in december - learning about the company and the employees themselves; trying all of the food that will be on their new menus [yum!]; meeting all the vendors and clients; etc. aka big time shtuff. i have orientation on monday, which i am totally excited about, so i will be able to learn more about what exactly i will be doing.

b] i won two free tickets to the joshua radin concert the night before thanksgiving! right now, i am the only one going. lol. so.... if you're interested, let me know! it's at the vic &  should be an amazing concert :]

c] i got an iphone4! for those of you who know me - i have wanted an iphone for... forever. my momma just couldn't hold out till christmas [see where i get that whole bad-at-secrets thing?], and she figured i would need it for work, so she gave it to me when i was home! im still trying to figure it out... but am loving it so very much.

these past couple of days have been insanely good. it is crazy how things can change so quickly...

i am so very thankful for everything that has come my way the past two months <3

motivational lip-syncing.

it's my day off today. this morning i decided that i should just relax and be lazy allll day. i really don't 'relax' that much because there is always something that needs to be done - and i hate having idle hands [i get it from mah grampa]. so, after two hours of reading/watching the today show & rachael ray, i had had enough. what did i do instead? go on facebook. and twitter. so unoriginal. then.. i came across a lil' video that gave me a little motivation [and a giggle fit i might add] to get up, take a shower & start laundry. so much for my lazy day. but, alas, here's the video. enjoy :]

bibbedy. bobbedy. boo.

a couple days ago, adam told me that he wanted me to be happy - with whatever i do, he just wants me to be happy. he tells me this all of the time, but for some reason, this time it resonated with me because i had read an article earlier that day entitled "being the grown-up the kid in you always wanted". the author said that "some psychologists suggest that the ages from 8-10 are a time when we are our most authentic selves". imagine that. the years when i wanted to be a vet and own a house full of animals; the years when i wanted to morph into kelly kapowski; the years when i loved barbies SO much, that i wished every single day for the clothes to grow ten times bigger. and as i watched the trick or treat-ers this weekend, i realized that the author was right. children that age seem the most innocent, confortable and happy. she then wrote a list of things we could do to encompass that eight year old mentality into our everyday lives:

1] stop smoking. i never even started. done.

2] follow your own fashion rules. i've been doin' that since i was little - except for the days when the popular group thought doc martins and colored shoelaces were cool. i wish i could take that back. as i get older, though, i am realizing that quality > quantity. i am learning that well-made key pieces can last a lifetime. so my goal is to stop buying five shirts just because they're on sale. if i don't see myself wearing them in five years, then i shouldn't get them.

3] go outside and play. being close to the train has been a blessing for me, because i just walk everyone. but still, this is something i need to work on - especially once the winter months get here [ugh].

4] do your homework first. well, no homework for me anymore. sadface. but this can apply to my everyday life, too. for example, i tend to tidy up the house every day, just so it doesn't get majorly cluttered. and i normally try to keep myself updated on the news - whether it be about the country or about my friends. but alas, sometimes the college procrastination still gets the best of me.

5] play 'make believe'. this one is my favorite because i used to love to make up plays and songs - i even had an imaginary friend named pony. when you get older, though, it gets really hard to use your imagination, especially when your world kind of becomes a routine. sometimes adam and i will play board games or watch cartoons - but i still yearn to do more.

6] live by your kid conscience. "if you live your life by the rules of your younger self, chances are pretty good you'll be doing the right thing, acting with dignity, honor, and politesse". i tend to feel that i am a good person and i do the right things - but i also feel that this is something we all have to work on.

7] do what you love. i love photography. i would love to take a photography class someday. & i love books. i actually just joined a book club in evanston - which im pretty excited about. i also love going to concerts and traveling, but that isn't quite the cheapest thing to do. maybe i could make a goal to visit a new place one a week, whether it be a restaurant or store.

8] believe in magic. this is the one thing i need to work on. because of some of the things that have happened in my life, it has always been hard for me to believe in magic and faith. but the author says to believe in yourself, too: "summon that eight-year-old scrappy self-confidence and remember that you wanted to be a part of making the world just a little bit of a better place."

want to read the article yourself? :] go here!

noh8.

ya know, i really only like to post blogs once a week or every other week - so not to bore any readers or even bombard them. but, while reading some of my "friends" status' on facebook [i admit, im a junkie] and some blogs online, i became extremely frustrated. most people either a] did not know what today was, b] didn't care, and/or c] bashed what today stood for. here are some of the idiotic things i have read already:

~ yet another color/ribbon for some "cause." enough already.

~ what's up with all this purple? did someone die?

~ you people need to get over yourself, we are people and should not be defined by our sexuality. maybe, if you kept your private life private (as I do) I do not go around parading that I am a hetrosexual, so shut-up.

~ stop the madness! there are other groups of people in the world who are suffering - not just the gays! open your fucking eyes.

~ there is no reason to honor someone who killed themselves.

i understand that some people do not stand for equal rights amongst homosexuals [i don't understand why, but that's besides the point], but shouldn't ALL people stand for no violence?

fotos!

i love love love taking pictures. recently, i took some senior pictures of my lil' bugaboo morgan. it is crazy to think that she will be graduating high school soon and attending college! i feel so old. BUT - the sesh was so much fun. here are some that i just edited :]

 

like? let me know if you need pictures done - i'd love to build my portfolio :]

hello evanston, illinois.

it has been eleven days since we moved in - but it feels longer than that because we have both been so busy. we like it here though. it's a college town just like grand rapids, so there is always something to do. plus, it's close to the lake and the city :]

our apartment: a second floor one bedroom - with a huge living and dining room. the bathroom is tiny, but we're getting used to it. the kitchen is small, too, but it has these awesome built-in cabinets. very handy. the day after we moved in, we decided to paint the cubed rails on our dining room [aka our office] walls yellow. it looks so good with the dark brown trim! after everything is unpacked & i've decorated more, i'll post pics :]

our neighborhood: so cute and fun. we're uber close to the L [which takes us into downtown evanston, and into the city], to a starbucks [score!] and to a jewel and whole foods. plus, within a short walk are a ton of antique & book stores - my fave. there is also a studio with zumba, another studio with jazzercise and a couple of restaurants nearby.

downtown evanston: reminds me of grand rapids, but with an american apparel and an urban outfitters ;] oh, and a ginormous university on the lakefront. there are a ton of little vintage shops and boutiques - and i actually got a job at one of them. it is called asinamali, and they sell clothes, shoes, bags & jewelry. some of their lines are even fair trade and/or organic!

downtown chicago: only a 20-30 minute train ride away. we're going there for the day on saturday & then watching the fireworks that night on navy pier <3

it's taken a lot of getting used to, but i am liking it here. i could see myself staying for at least a year ;]

goodbye grand rapids, michigan.

though i have grown to know myself in this city, it is time to move on and grow even more.

but here are some of the things i will miss:

being a laker in a city full of lakers. my mother. late night trips to yesterdog and/or coney island and/or sonic. walks around eastown. farmer's market-ing. college. tuesdays at montes. artprize. the bitter end and biggby. our very cute third floor grandville apartment. revue magazine. going one place and knowing at least four people. sunday fundays. gardellas. the downtown skyline. katie/jess/whitney/caitlin/diamond/fran/erin/margaret/cortney/morgan/colby. thursday night martinis at rockwells. having a zoo, a lake and apple orchards in such close proximity. san chez. knowing my way around the city. gaslight village.

luckily though, g-rap will only be three hours away from me - so i won't have to go too long without these things :]