[Wednesday]

[Thursday]

[Friday]

[Saturday]

[Sunday]

 Thanks to Jeff for all the photos!!

And so, I challenge you to try it! Use the hashtag #gowaterless on Twitter to raise awareness to help conserve our water supply. So far 60,567 liters of water have been saved by this challenge! There are other challenges on their site too, so if you can’t wear jeans to work, never fear! Try out another challenge, and help us save water! Happy Friday, everyone!

[PCH 1 to Cambria, 4/2012]

Among the winners?

Jason Mraz, Love is a Four Letter Word

Highlights include: whistling, horns, catchy lyrics, and living in the moment.

Eric Hutchinson, Moving Up Living Down

Highlights include: Breakdown More (how could you leave me/just when you see me cryin’?), more whistling, and foot-tapping clapping of The Basement.

Counting Crows, Underwater Sunshine [or what we did with our summer vacation]

Highlights: Ohh La La, Adam being Adam, and this review of the album.

Train, California 37

Highlights: Bruises (good to see that you’re still beautiful), whistling!! (I am a SUCKER), “That’scoolbutifmyfriendsaskwhereyouareimgonnasay…”

Bonnie Raitt, Slipstream

Highlights: Used to Rule the World (Can I get a witness?), awesome guitar solos,

But I want to talk to you about yesterday! I signed up to give blood yesterday through UCLA since they do a blood drive at my work about every six months. Usually, I have trouble giving blood, and in the whirl of this week I didn’t have much time to up my iron in my diet. However, I did have kale on Wednesday night, and yesterday I kind of just had this feeling.

I have these feelings often. They helped me anticipate when my name was going to be called to talk in class (I always kind of just knew I was next) and when I was going to win something from a fish bowl of names for some contest here or there.

So when I woke up yesterday with said feeling, I just knew I was going to somehow have enough iron to give. Your level has to be at 12.5 to give, and last time I was at the drive at work mine was 12.0. I didn’t want to get my hopes up, because it’s also been 11.9, 11.5, 11.4, etc., but I just knew.

And so, when the nurse said, “14.4, you’re good.” I was ecstatic! Above my normal! Totally in the clear! Ready to give!

As someone who is O Positive, and someone who doesn’t not care one iota if a needle is in my arm, I was so glad to be able to give. Because I can, and because I have a blood type that is very much needed. Because I don’t squirm or faint or anything. And, having being blessed with not being afraid of needles or blood, I feel like it’s my duty to use that to my advantage and give blood!

Here’s my arm after yesterday’s donation: green gauze! They even let you pick.

Here’s some information about blood donation from the Red Cross:

• Share of the U.S. population eligible to give blood: Less than 38 percent.
• More than 38,000 blood donations are needed every day.
• The blood type most often requested by hospitals is Type O.
• The number of blood donations collected in the U.S. in a year: 16 million (2006).
• The number of blood donors in the U.S. in a year: 9.5 million (2006).

Let’s do some math. If 38 percent of the population is eligible to give blood in the US, and in 2006 there were 9.5 million blood donors, that means 104.5 million Americans who are eligible to give blood don’t.

Are you one of them? If so, maybe you should donate! Do you know your blood type? Hospitals most often need Type 0 blood, but there are rarer blood types that are also sought.

If you have questions, let me know! I’d be happy to answer what I can and I’d be happy to go with you to give blood!

I’ll spare you the image, but here’s a link.

However, this led me to realize I never gave you a full update. I won’t go into the gory details but I will show you two tame shots…

Thanksgiving

today

Mostly fine, except you can see the pink line in there? That, I think, is permanent.

Last night Jeff and I went on a five mile walk to the end of fountain and back, which for those of you in LA ends at La Cienega.

Along the way we passed lots of apartments for rent, all of which were astronomically out of our price range, but it was still fun to see what’s out there.

Then we had chicken quesadillas with green chiles and and watched Modern Family and an episode of Parks and Rec in which Leslie Knope once again plays my hero. All was right in the world.

Tonight, I head into the trenches of fondant design with a one Ms. Becca, and hope that the black colored fondant doesn’t get the best of me as my nails are just about back to normal.

In other news, please check out the Hunger Games soundtrack, as it’s rocking my world right now. It’s on Spotify and I’m sure YouTube. Maroon 5, Taylor Swift, Civil Wars, you slay me.

This weekend I spent the better part of Saturday working on preparation for a photo shoot I’m working on with some friends. It involves black fondant, and as a result all my cuticles and most of my palms are dyed purple for the duration.

Here’s a sneak at our location…pretty awesome, if I do say so myself!

Saturday night I celebrated with the lovely people from The Katniss Chronicles to congratulate them on a job well done! Then, I headed out to celebrate the birth of a lovely Ms. Caitlin!

This is a picture of Caitlin and I and our European cohorts circa 2006. Which, in case you’re counting, was 6 years ago. I’m pretty sure most of us look exactly the same.

Also, I’d like to point out that I spent every waking moment on Saturday with Becca, from 9 am until 1 am. And it was so, so fun.

On Sunday, I got up to go hiking with Liz, only to find us covered in blankets of rain. After a quick trip to the observatory at Griffith, we had the following conversation:

“You want to go to the zoo?” – Liz

“I mean…we could. Let’s do it.” – me

“Ok.” parks car. turns car off. chats for five minutes.

“I’m having second thoughts on the zoo.” – Liz

“Ok, let’s not go.” – me

“Ok, Autry museum?” – Liz

“I’m in.” -me

And we proceeded to head to the Autry museum, directly across the way from the zoo.

This is me, at the museum, pretending to be in a Western prison. Please note the ridiculous outfit, due to the fact that I thought we were going hiking.

A picture of the evidence lockers from back in the Old West.

A sample of the badges from Sheriffs across the west.

After the museum, we were hungry, and cold, and wet from the pouring rain. So we headed to Alcove to get lunch, and of course, giant coffees.

Then Liz drove me home through this river that was Los Angeles, and I headed home to video chat with Corelyn for a few hours.

This weekend was so full, but this week brings more fondant design, cooking, eating, Jeff’s brother visiting, a photo shoot, and on Sunday, we’re headed to Long Beach to paddleboard. I can’t wait for the adventures this week that’ll propel me through this Monday!

What adventures did you have this weekend?

I found this video from one of their acoustic sets, and this is just the epitome of why I think they are so awesome…they sound so different, can really sing/play instruments/write.

Here are a few photos from the show — I was too distracted with singing to actually snap that many

You should check them out on Pandora or Spotify, because they’re lovely, and then join R and I next time we go to a show if you live in LA!

Now, onto the Hunger Games tonight…