xxo, p.m.: December 2010

Friday, December 31, 2010

December 31

happy new year to me.

i spent the better half of NYE in the ER.

party party party!

Thursday, December 30, 2010

December 30

this morning, i read a friend's blog...

and what she posted, i absolutely loved.

so i'm reposting it here...

because i have nothing of my own to say today.

Things I Know for Certain

These are a few of the bits of advice that I've found to be useful over the years.

1- Always wear sunscreen. Every day, even if it is overcast.

2- Always wear stockings with a skirt. Unless you get a regular leg wax and have perfect skin tone, naked legs generally ruin an otherwise polished look. Never leave the house with naked stems sticking out from under your skirt unless you are on your way to the beach or poolside.

3- Invest in one really good pair of shoes and one perfect pair of shades. You will never regret it.

4- Get your hair professionally done. It is less expensive that you might think and you will be glad you did it in the long run.

5- Take advantage of your yearly teeth cleaning on your dental plan even if you have never had a cavity in your life.

6- Learn that saying "I'm sorry" really means; it won't happen again.

7- Don't drink at work functions even if the alcohol is free.

8- Always stand up for yourself. Be your own advocate and best ally.

9- Try to do something that you have never done before at least once a week. You will only regret the things you never tried and the dreams you were too scared to chase.

10- Love with your whole heart, without expecting anything in return, at least once in your life, so you will know how it feels. Having a child is an easy way to do this, but not the only way.

11- Don't let people hide behind email and text messages. If someone is being a bully, go, find them, look them in the eye and ask them in person to explain themselves.

12- Don't ever let a negative person rent too much space in your head. See #11

13- Don't ever be a "Do as I say, not as I do" parent.

14- Smile, every single day, as often as possible. Even if you don't mean it at first, you will eventually. Negativity always breeds negativity and bad luck.

15- Try your hardest to always live in the now. Right now is the only certainty we have. Don't waste your life wallowing in yesterdays sorrow or tomorrow's "what if's" Embrace your very own "right now" with your whole heart and enjoy the ride.

16- Always wear pretty underwear.

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

December 29

i've been lucky, in my life,

to have not just encountered, but bonded with,

so many people that can be honestly and unreservedly described as

"good people." genuinely good people.

however, i've also managed to end up with some genuinely bad people

in my circle of acquaintances and friends of friends.

i've come to the conclusion that the people

i honestly believe are bad people -

i'm done trying to be good to them. done lying and pretending

that i think they're not completely terrible.

part of being good, though, i think, includes

being real and being honest, but maybe not being so

outwardly and openly honest as to hurt those

that i dislike, even hate, for being the terrible people that they may be.

i might not be willing to "play nice" with the bad people,

but i'm going to at least make the effort to not

motherfuck them to their faces anymore.

not worth my time. not worth the upset and anxiety it causes me.

if i have nice things to say, i'll say them...

but i'm not going to lie and say nice things i don't mean.

not to anyone. not anymore.

i'm only being nice when i really mean it.

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

December 28, No. 2

foltz family christmas, part two.

(photos by ryan)

December 28

Monday, December 27, 2010

December 27

christmas at the foltz house...

niece, sanya, is getting cute.

skeptical me...

handsome husband.

christmas tree.

ryan's grandparents' kitchen.

this is a shit photo, but i wanted to catch a picture of this picture

of ryan's grandparents. they are, without a doubt, the cutest pair of grandparents

i've seen since my own were still alive.

the whole fam damnily.

ryan's grandma gave this vintage kewpie doll to his brother's not-quite-2-year-old daughter.

watching her throw it around the room and bash it into things was killing us...

pretty sunset.

ryan's dad collects garden gnomes.

we got him a book about surviving a garden gnome attack.

ryan's mom, apparently choking a doll.

(most photos by ryan)

Sunday, December 26, 2010

December 26

a day of recovery was required.

(photo, unflattering as possible, by ryan)

Saturday, December 25, 2010

December 25

merry christmas.

had a nice breakfast with my dad, ryan, my brothers paul and kyle,

and kyle's girlfriend, abby.

bringing back an old tradition in a new way was very nice.

with no other obligations for the holiday,

ryan and i ended up at stone mad

and later at our friend, jim murphy's, house.

i may have gone just a bit overboard in my intake of holiday cheer.

ugh.

Friday, December 24, 2010

December 24

stockings are my favorite part of christmas gifting.

i had a blast getting things together for ryan's this year.

i have to say, i think i did quite well.

A: hand warmers

B: caffeinated soap

C: farmer's almanac

D: andes' mints

E: plastic recorder

F: bacon drink tabs (ew!)

G: old style uno cards

H: dog theme playing cards

I: dollar store rubik's cube

J: set of tiny funnels

K: maple candy

L: zip ties

M: hair ties

N: new toothbrush

O: kona coffee

P: mini spirograph

Q: shaky bones skeleton

R: new hairbrush

S: tube o' penguins

T: caffeinated candy

U: chattering teeth

V: gum

W: smarties

X: day planner

Y: noise putty

Z: sharpie

1: work gloves

2: back scratcher

stockings are the best!

Thursday, December 23, 2010

December 23, No. 3

the boys from county hell's annual christmas show

at the house of blues was great this year,

despite fears that there might be a bit of a dark cloud

hanging over for various reasons...

and the make it even better,

i got to shoot with an incredible 35mm 1:1.4 canon L series lens.

AWESOME.

(i also REALLY got how much better a photographer ryan is than i am.

not that this is surprising, but still. painfully obvious.

i didn't include any of his pictures, for fear of brutally embarrassing myself.)

ryan and i took a short walk in between sound check and the show.

cleveland can be beautiful, but it's still kind of a horrible ghost town.

it's sad...

yes. that's moonshine.

oh, and i finally got to see rob in his "phoebe shirt"!

December 23, No. 2

with less than 2 complete boxes of polaroid film left,

and reports of the impossible project's first batch

being less than what was hoped for,

it is only for the most perfect of occasions that i will

bring the old 600 out.

this was one of them...

ryan and jimmy, drunk in 1975...

(believe it or not, this is from BEFORE they downed a mason jar of moonshine.)

December 23

my work christmas party is odd.

it's the one day where everyone

(almost)

pretends to like each other.

maybe it's the jello shots.

i don't really know, but it's nice to not feel

that tension in that building,

even if it's only for that one day...

7 POUNDS of chocolate cake:

some of my bajillion cookies:

party appearance made by husband:

my manager, olga, and her daughter, eva.
i'd never really seen them interact before. having seen it, now,
their dynamic with one another reminds me SO MUCH of my own mum and i:

olga gave me the nicest card, too.
it really put a lot of things into perspective and
made me feel like sometimes, to some people,
i really AM the person that i want to be.
it made my day.

ready to leave, starting to get tipsy/artsy shots: