a promise made...

1. i will not be afraid.
2. i will be the bigger person.
3. i will choose love and not hatred.
4. i will be happy.

sometimes i think that the more you say something, the more true it becomes.

love.

i am in love with amanda bynes and her onscreen boyfriend, vince, in what i like about you.

and i'm in love with tim mcgraw. his concert last night was fantastic.

try to keep a straight face.

after page googled for an australian, asian yelling man sensation, she sang this guy's song to herself and remembered that it was russian. she doesn't even know russian.

impressive. but so funny.

bit of heaven.

today, ashley and i took an impromptu adventure with our friends, steve and jack. 

they showed up at our house in a red jeep and decided to take us to big falls in pozo. wherever the heck that is. we hopped in and sped off to the land of the back woods and rivers. we picked up a straggler (christine) and continued on our adventure. the music was blasting, the wind was blowing in our hair (trust me- definitely not as glamorous as it sounds), the scenery was gorgeous... all of this gave me high hopes for where we were going. as we got further and further into the woods, we came across some creeks that we'd have to cross in the jeep. mud was splattering everywhere. the girls in the backseat were screaming and laughing. basically, i felt like indiana jones. we kept singing the indiana jones theme song on the way to big falls.

{quick picture stop on the way to big falls}

we parked the car near big falls and hiked up a ways. and rock climbed a ways. yes, we were that hardcore today.

big falls is definitely NOT big. it's a tiny little cove in the middle of the forest. the tininess of the place is what made it so special, i think. it's so secluded and secret. i loved it.

some hoodlums were already hanging out there, so we joined them. a couple of us jumped off of rocks and slid down some rock waterslides. amazing, amazing time. i took some pictures of the tiny hummingbirds that were everywhere. the hummingbirds were also what made the place so special. one of the hoodlums said that it was like their little heaven. take away the face that he was extremely drunk and slurring his words... it could've been a nice moment.

{cute little hummingbird with pink on its head}

the water was cold, cold, cold, but so refreshing. i jumped in quite a few times to cool off. it's amazing how hot and muggy it is in the woods.

after spending a couple hours with the hoodlums at big falls, we journeyed back to the car to go back home.

overall, amazing adventure. i hope i can go back someday.

me swimming in big falls.

thanks, snapshots.

this summer hasn't really gone how i hoped it would. it's been nice, yes, but i'm about ready to do something amazing with my time.

i'm just not sure what sort of amazingness i should be doing/am capable of doing.

i have a lot of time on my hands. i work (mostly) less than 20 hours a week. i'm not going to school. i spend a lot of time reading at the beach. i'm BORED.

don't get me wrong. i'm really lucky to be living the high life. no work, no school, no responsibilities. but i'm still bored.

lately, i've been wanting to buy a guitar to pass the time. i got a second job to make money, but mostly so i'll have something to do for the next two months. i've bought a couple books (shadow of the wind was FANTASTIC and helen of troy is pretty amazing too) and they're keeping me occupied.

today, i was reading my newst favorite blog by ms. karen russell and i've decided to invest some dollars in my photography. i'm not great, by any means, but i'd like to get better. after reading some of her tips and doing some research, i've really become inspired to become at least a little bit better (and smarter) with my photography.

so. my next paycheck will be gone probably within week because i'm going shopping, baby.

things i'll be buying:
- adobe creative suite. it's cheap at my school, plus it comes with dreamweaver and photoshop and indesign. these are things i need for my magazine club and my newfound serious photography hobby.
- some photoshop actions.
- a mouse for my (alex)mac. that's her name. i don't have a mouse, just a mousepad, so since i'm going to be using photoshop and indesign, i should probably have a mouse.

things i'll be saving for:
- a new nikon lens.
- more photoshop actions (those things are freaking sweet).

wish me luck with my new hobby. if things go well, look for a photography blog!

posts, pictures and links.

our magazine is finally out and i'm so proud of it. everyone in our club worked their butts off to create this little guy. be sure to leave some feedback by emailing polyscriptmag@gmail.com. any and all comments (good and bad) are welcome.

this photoblog is one of my new favorites. it kinda makes me want to start a photoblog. check it out and leave karen some love.

a picture from on top of cave landing in pirate's cove on the fourth of july. the moon was unbelievable.

favorite song of the moment: i gotta feeling.

at work, when there's nothing to do. i work on my shutterfly photo albums. forget scrapbooking. shutterfly is definitely the way to go.

i start at forever 21 tomorrow. wish me luck!

git yur hurr did.

so, i also forgot to mention that i cut a couple inches off of my hair. a couple of inches as in at least 5 inches. and i dyed it a little lighter.

i'm undecided about how i feel about it. sometimes i like it and other times it doesn't look right.


i'll give it two weeks before i decide how i really feel about it.

i'm ready to dye it dark. like audrina. she has beautiful hair.

when school starts, maybe i'll be brave enough to dye it dark.

wishing on a whale.

i forgot to mention that i saw a whale! two, actually!

on the fourth of july, kat, ashley, bec and i were walking from the custom house to the car when i looked out and saw a WHALE. i thought it was a dolphin at first, but dolphins are definitely not that big. then it came up again, with a second one following it.

pretty spectacular.

whales. at avila beach. who knew?

i wonder why they're here.

war. what is it good for?

we traveled to the top of the pirate's cove cave to watch fireworks and celebrate independence day (as becca once told me when we were little: we're not celebrating the 4th of july. we're celebrating independence day.).

we had the prettiest view from cave landing. gorgeous.

we met some funny friends who stole sparklers for us and who sang "i'm on a boat," but with some modifications ("i'm on a cliff").

we almost died from the stray fireworks being shot off cave landing and our new friend told us that he thought that this is what it would sound like to be in war. good point, friend. it was scary and loud!

the moon was gorgeous. we could see pismo from pirate's cove. their firework show was nothing compared to being five feet away from the real thing.

becca came to visit. she's a love.

we're heading back to the beach today. i'm such a spoiled brat. and i miss my family.

snapshots.

it's about time i pull out my camera.

it's probably been a good two and a half months since i've taken pictures and i miss it.

i want to get better.

and now i have a car, so i can go anywhere my little heart desires to take wonderful pictures!

i think i'll take a photo adventure today.

=)