keene on...

My Blog Has a New Home...

noreply@blogger.com (rachel.) — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 22:42:00 +0000

Since I've long neglected this blog (and my name has changed), I've moved!

I'm now at pardonmyscience.blogspot.com and I just posted our awesome Halloween dinner! Check it out!

Superheadz Blue Ribbon Camera

noreply@blogger.com (rachel.) — Thu, 03 May 2012 01:13:00 +0000

I just came home from picking up a mountain of prints from my stack of neglected film. Most of the highlights from this first batch are from my Superheadz Blue Ribbon Wide Angle Camera.

source.

I love this little camera. It's simple, lightweight, and the pictures are amazing.

(Thrift store madness.)

(Brian, Bowling)

(Saving the best for last - Farmer Lindsay)

Flashback Friday (BJM)

noreply@blogger.com (rachel.) — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 23:09:00 +0000

Today at work, my ears' confusion led to a brief conversation about The Brian Jonestown Massacre, including our odd day with them on their last Orlando show. Later, I was trying to remember when that show was and 2007/2008 came into mind, when I realized it was 2004, 8 years ago. My, how time flies.

Amazed at the amount of time that's past since then, I did some digging. Since that was before the days of ubiquitous cell phone cameras (or good ones anyway) and YouTube, the only evidence I have of that day is the recording of their performance on WPRK and this beautiful LiveJournal post:

"so who are you officially?"
yesterday proved to be one of the most interesting (& fun) days i've had in a long while...

first there was work...
uninteresting. i left early to go to prk.

then there was prk...
mass confusion. i ended up doing a 4hr show (with musical selection assistance) during the middle of which brian jonestown massacre played live in the studio.

and later there was the beer shower that was the guided by voices/brian jonestown massacre show...
(first a small lesson in irony: six months of free shows for doing nothing but tagging along. a few weeks after i start actually helping out, i have to pay to see a band that i had just seen for free hours earlier & whose manager was helping me pick out cds.)
some highlights: being covered in beer to the point that i got erin wet by shaking my head. seeing guided by voices play in ponchos (& goggles). us getting free cds from "officially" travis (making up for having to pay to get in). having 5 ties in a row playing rockpaperscissors. my poor dirty glasses being licked and then cleaned off by "officially" travis. us being the last people in the social other than the bands & clean-up crew. being dragged in opposite directions down orange ave. by lindsay & "officially" travis. us taking a 2 block ride in the brian jonestown massacre's van with "officially" travis for no reason. ("officially" travis is a very nice man.)

i had to wash my hair twice to rid it of all of the beer. i don't think my glasses will ever be clean again...
'twas a damn good day.

And just now, through some careful Googling, I was able to find a MySpace photo album of pictures from that night's show.

Weird flashbacks abound.

Benadryl Mind Melt

noreply@blogger.com (rachel.) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 02:48:00 +0000

Crafters Against SOPA

noreply@blogger.com (rachel.) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 02:40:00 +0000

Chances are, if you've been surfing the internet today, you've stumbled upon sites or Flickr images that have gone dark in protest of SOPA and PIPA. If you haven't yet read up on what those acronyms mean, do it now! I'll wait...

Oh wait! You can't Wikipedia it! Thankfully, while Google has their own protest, they've kept information about the acts live, including information on how to share your opinion on the matter (and a fun infographic).

I'm not going to preach to you about how you should feel about SOPA and PIPA (hint: you should hate them), but as an internet user, you really should do your homework. And if you also hate them, make your voice known! Write to your representatives in Congress! Grab the "Crafters Against SOPA" button at Strumpet's Crumpets! I already got my senator to revoke his support (j/k - but I did write him).

If enough of us speak up, Congress will be forced to listen!

Bentos and Lunches To Go

noreply@blogger.com (rachel.) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 13:00:00 +0000

While skimming my Google Reader on Friday, I came across a post on jesse.anne.o about bentos that piqued my interest. I used to be totally obsessed with Vegan Lunch Box and the fun looking food creations she came up with. Now I've got bento on the brain again.

Lucky for me, Jesse included links to the Vegetarian and Vegan Bento Flickr pools in her post. Look at all of this pretty, tasty goodness!

(source.)

I guess it's time to bust out my copies of Vegan Lunch Box Around the World and Cute Yummy Time (and maybe ask for Yum-Yum Bento Box for my upcoming birthday?!?).

Experiment 01: No Poo

noreply@blogger.com (rachel.) — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 23:00:00 +0000

Two weeks ago, I woke up and decided to start an experiment. I took the "no poo" plunge. "What is 'no poo'?", you ask. It's a movement to not use shampoo (or conditioner). A Re-Nest article on the subject stuck with me for months, so I decided to take the plunge.

Why? 1. Shampoo is expensive. 2. (Traditional) Shampoo is not good for the planet. 3. Organic & natural shampoo is even more expensive. 4. My hair is insane & really fickle about hair products.

For the record, the thought is to start the switch by "shampooing" with baking soda and "conditioning" with apple cider vinegar. Eventually, this is supposed to be needed less frequently (or not at all). I used 1 TBSP baking soda + 1 cup water for washing and 1 TBSP apple cider vinegar + 1 cup water for conditioning.

The first day, my hair looked (and felt) swell!

Third day was maybe a tad grimy, but all was well.

By this Thursday (almost two weeks in), my face had decided it was absolutely pro-poo, and had the oil slick and breakouts to prove it. Headband to the rescue!

And soon after that, I decided to give it up. There was not enough of a light at the end of the tunnel to justify permanent gross-face. And so, this morning, I washed my hair.

Overall, I'm glad I tried it. I think I could still alternate the baking soda/acv routine with normal shampoo. And I got Brian started on that routine already, which means less shampoo between us.

And it's gotten me into the experimental spirit. I've already got plans for experiments for the next two months. Stay tuned!

(Part of) Today Via Hipstamatic Disposable

noreply@blogger.com (rachel.) — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 03:09:00 +0000

Flashback Friday: My Old Friend's a New Mama!

noreply@blogger.com (rachel.) — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 01:34:00 +0000

(With my friend Missy at Halloween Horror Nights on, you guessed it, 10/30/98)

My, what dorks we were!

I mean, I'm wearing a (partially glow-in-the-dark) Cheshire Cat shirt and you can't tell, but she's wearing my old Paul Frank monkey shirt. And what's up with the giant, long pants?! We're both short, but seriously. For real, neither of us could've broken 100 lb soaking wet at this point, but we look twice that big. (And RIP, Kongfrontation, as seen in the first picture.)

And 13 years and 12 days later, she's a mama! (And she's going to be a great one!)

Daily Animal Doodles - Day 1

noreply@blogger.com (rachel.) — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 00:51:00 +0000

I've been excited to see results of people's participation in Paper Sparrow's Daily Animal Doodles over the past few months, but it was never a good time for me to join. But now, November is here and although I know I will be tremendously busy, I think this is the perfect project to encourage sketch breaks. It will also hopefully get me back into my silly anthropomorphic doodling.

And so, I present to you, day one:

Let me know if you're participating!!!

Flashback Friday: Halloween

noreply@blogger.com (rachel.) — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 02:24:00 +0000

(1987ish)

(2006)

(2007)

(2008)

(2009)

(2010)

Flashback Friday: Middle School

noreply@blogger.com (rachel.) — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 12:33:00 +0000

I have finally started making progress on my pile(s) of pictures to scan. A lot of them are pretty old, and therefore, pretty ridiculous. As such, I thought it only fair to share.

I present to you two of the results of a photo shoot I did with my best friends in middle school. (I'm the one in the stylin' orange shirt.)Yes, we paid someone to make us look like this and record it for history's sake. And believe me, there are more, but these were separated out for some reason (probably because they're so fantastic).

Feel free to keep these images in your head to think about in case your day gets rough, I know I will!

Vegan Taco Salad

noreply@blogger.com (rachel.) — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 02:57:00 +0000

I've developed what some people would call an unhealthy obsession with books about food. I wouldn't call it unhealthy, but only because the books are about healthy food. (On my Kindle alone right now, I have The Vegan Girl's Guide to Life, Food Inc: A Participant Guide, 21-Day Weight Loss Kickstart, and Forks Over Knives.) The most recent result of all of this has been to dive into the vegan kickstart. The only downside of this is that the husband is somewhat of a cheese-a-holic, so I've had to come up with some tasty food to, I won't say "trick" him, but to sneak away his cheese.

Last night, I hit it big!!! Vegan taco salad! Mr. isn't big on salads, so it's never something I'd thought of before. But I decided that I could certainly make something delicious enough for even him to enjoy, and - success!

It was super easy to make as well, which is always a plus. I chopped up some lettuce and tomato, and then added some veg "ground beef" crumbles sauted with some enchilada sauce. The topping is toasted tortilla. The real magic is in the dressing...

Taco Ranch Dressing
1/2 cup Vegenaise
1/3 cup enchilada sauce
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 tablespoon crushed, dried parsley

Mix and chill. Then chomp away!

Photography Apps

noreply@blogger.com (rachel.) — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 00:41:00 +0000

Yeah, yeah, I know, you're sick of lists of photography apps. Well, I am too, at least, I'm sick of lists that include the same apps over and over and over...As an admitted photography-app-hoarder, I am here to share with you some of my favorite lesser-known (or at least, lesser-shared) apps.

I have an iPod Touch and an Android phone, so I have apps on both. However, the iPod has an infinitely greater selection of photography apps (unless you count creepy porno apps, in which case the Android wins, hands down). So, here they are, in no particular order...

Plastic Bullet. ($1.99, App Store) I love this app because it creates random toy-camera, vignette, and light leak effects - perfect for those indecisive moments!

SwankoLab. ($1.99, App Store) It's like everything you love about darkrooms, minus the smell of developer! You get to mix developers, fixers, and additives to create different looks. You can also same formulas if you get a look you love.

ClassicINSTA. ($1.99, App Store) Everything you love about instant cameras, minus the expensive film! It even "ejects" the picture. You can change the cartridge to different effects or simulations of damaged cartridges. You can also change the instant film frame.

푸딩 카메라 (Pudding Camera). (Free! App Store and Android) This is a really versatile app. It's just that everything other than the camera and film names happen to be in Japanese. So, if you can read Japanese, great! If you're like me and you have no idea what the characters mean, you can absolutely manage. I actually have a few Japanese camera apps and can fumble my way through just fine! This one has a couple of motion camera settings and a fish-eye lens, plus some others.

Are there any photography apps you enjoy???

Adventures in Couponing

noreply@blogger.com (rachel.) — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 22:20:00 +0000

If you're like (the old) me, the word "couponing" leaves you terrified. I don't even have cable, but I've gotten the picture of how Extreme Couponing has made coupons seem like paper madness.

Well, I too, was afraid. But I've started reading Money Smart Fashion this year, and I have been inspired by the way Grace tackles saving without making clothes out of burlap sacks or eating nothing but Ramen noodles. Plus, she coupons and doesn't seem like a lunatic!

So I started focusing on saving dough.

And then, my new Kindle (with special offers) offered me How to Shop for Free for $1. Great savings on a book about savings? It was obviously a sign.

So I took to working the coupon world. I got a subscription to the Sunday paper (with a coupon code, of course). I became a BzzAgent (it's amazing - it's how I got the food below for free). I've printed stacks of coupons. I've nabbed any available coupons in my path. I've added a bunch of couponing blogs to my Google reader.

I'm certainly not "extreme", but I have saved a good deal of money. And donated to the food/toiletries pantry at work. This couponing thing is pretty fantastic.

Everything in the picture (except Elvis) set me back $6.50. It's not free, but it will do!

Our Ceremony!

noreply@blogger.com (rachel.) — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 23:50:00 +0000

From Brian & Rachel Get Hitched!

Achoo!

noreply@blogger.com (rachel.) — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 01:46:00 +0000

I think it's official: I'm sick. The first couple of weeks of the semester = lots of people mulling about = lots of people at work sick...

My brain is mush, so instead of some kind of content, I present you with the following list of things that I think would help me (or others) feel better.

(source.)

Pre-Wedding

noreply@blogger.com (rachel.) — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 01:11:00 +0000

Since yesterday was our first monthiversary, I thought it was about time to post some more about the wedding.

There are far too many pictures to post at once, so I'm thinking some type of chronology is in order. We had a teeny wedding with about two dozen guests at Big Cat Rescue in Tampa. Lucky for me, my new aunt & uncle-in-law are professional photographers. Between their amazing pictures and our growing collection of toy cameras, it was quite the well photographed event!

Putting my bouquet together with my mom and Abby.

Abby making some doofy face amidst our getting-ready mess.

Brian's mom tying his tie.

I married this guy!

(Photos by Mark Suban)

The wedding, reception, and post-wedding mini-moon to come!

After Work Adventures in Food

noreply@blogger.com (rachel.) — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 01:31:00 +0000

(Disclaimer: August was super busy with getting married and work/school picking up, so I slept on the last half of the 30 Day Photo Challenge. D'oh. I'll post wedding posts and such soon! In the meantime...)

Brian's adventures in craigslist pickups this evening led to a short, but exciting adventures in food.

Lucky for me, the person he was meeting led us to a coffee shop I had never tried: Downtown Credo. I had never heard of it before going, but the coffee is tasty, the atmosphere is swell, and although I'm either tired or their website is vague, it seems like they're doing good things.

On the way there, yours truly remembered it was Tuesday, meaning we could stop at the Lake Lily Food Truck Cafe on the way home! I hadn't been there in a while, and to my surprise, there were new food trucks! And at least one of them even had food I could eat!

While I was waiting for cupcakes (see below), Brian found The Gastro-Truck and ordered himself some mac & cheese and a grilled cheese for me. Tasty!

And last, but most certainly not least, cupcakes!!! The first part of the month is always very exciting as that's when The Yum Yum Truck debuts their new flavor. This month, in honor of impending autumn, it's Hootenanny Harvest Apple! And it's scrumptious! So scrumptious in fact that I'm having a hard time not eating the one Brian was too full to eat. Must...not....steal...husband's...cupcake...

30 Day Photo Challenge - Day 19

noreply@blogger.com (rachel.) — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 03:29:00 +0000

Where I Slept.

30 Day Photo Challenge - Day 18

noreply@blogger.com (rachel.) — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 23:28:00 +0000

In My Bag.

(Bag - Some department store, years ago; fish eye camera, gum, Filofax, iPod touch, phone, amazing swan wallet, spare glasses, keys, umbrella)

30 Day Photo Challenge - Day 17

noreply@blogger.com (rachel.) — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 00:38:00 +0000

On the Shelf.

30 Day Photo Challenge - Day 16

noreply@blogger.com (rachel.) — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 02:22:00 +0000

What I Ate.

30 Day Photo Challenge - Day 15

noreply@blogger.com (rachel.) — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 00:42:00 +0000

My Shoes.

30 Day Photo Challenge - Day 14

noreply@blogger.com (rachel.) — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 02:12:00 +0000

Flowers.