I'm starting to get serious

http://prettylittlepicturesbysara.blogspot.com/

living, loving, and learning.

I've been making a lot of mistakes lately, but i've also found a whole lot of good stuff in the process (and aftermath).

I sort of ruined a relationship,
but helped 3 people question life, love, and loyalty. And i don't regret that.

I'm only taking two classes this semester and one of them is a dance class,
but I just applied to Cal State Los Angeles for the fall of 2010. crossing my fingers.

I almost ruined my friendship with an amazing person,
but ended up bonding closer and deeper to her than ever instead.

I've put so many miles on my car and so much money in my gas tank,
but i've driven all over california to visit my best friends and make happy days.

I'm living my life in the mind set of "trial & error" and that may not be the best idea... but, i guess i'll just have to find out.
In the meantime, i'm trying to be the best friend i can be, love deeper than ever, dance hard, create, and photograph everything i can in this little life of mine.
I'm so thankful for living, loving, and learning.

okay, here i am.

i decided i'll do this once more.
or however many more times i find interesting enough stuff to write about.


I wish someone would write a song about changes so i could listen to it and relate all day long. oh wait..
okay.. so i get it.. everyone goes through this. still hurts though.
anyway. we won't talk about that.

so, once i stopped crying, my week ended pretty interestingly.
thursday i was summoned to JURY DUTY for the first time in my life. i actually didn't mind because i was new to the whole thing, and it really made me feel like i was a part of my country. i don't know. maybe that is weird. anyway. i went. I'm a total people watcher so it ended up being pretty fun for me. there was an old lady in the jury assembly room trying to sound young on the phone and told the person on the other line she was "cooling" and then corrected herself and said "chilling". it was so cute and funny to me.
well the judge told us that the trial was supposed to last two months and i knew that the fun would end after today, even for me, so i quickly came up with an excuse to get out of there. and it worked. DISMISSED. phew!
on my way home (it was a 35 mile drive from the court to home) i called my mom and told her that the day was too young and beautiful to waste, so i got home, put my suit on, and headed to the beach with my mother and step-sister. girls day!

picture: yes, that is my juice box chillin on my sandal. so what?


picture: amanda, mom, me. self timed parking lot pic.




friday i woke up with my mom yelling my new puppies name because she thought he was missing. we searched the house and the neighborhood and when we returned home he was waiting for us. what a little stinker.
then i started crying over that previously mentioned "change" in my life for a bit.. finally told my mom about it.. got a little advice from a dear sweet friend.. and felt at peace with everything. again, phew.
i wiped my tears away and went to work. about an hour into my shift i pretty much slam/kick/whatever a swinging door in my face and give myself a pretty little bruise/bump/knot/cut on my left eyebrow. well, no one felt any sympathy for the growing welt on my head and they just made me fill out an injury report. the manager in charge of the whole situation was a totall d-bag and told me it was my fault and that i was walking wrong. WALKING WRONG!? i probably got a little sassy to him.. but us women need to stick up for ourselves!

picture: my eye the day after. it doesn't look swollen in the picture.. and the bruise is in the shape of my usual eye shadow, so i guess it doesn't seem like that big of a deal. but, trust me, the morning eye rubs sure do hurt.


oh and i lost my keys that day too. that's kind of a sucky day.. but it never felt TOO awful. i guess thats the plus of heart ache.. everything else doesn't seem so bad. ha..



this coming week:
sunday (today) - went to work. then to brians going away party. (i've known the punk for 6 years and worked with him for almost 3 and now he is moving to santa monica. so happy for him!)
me and tony. work buddy.

brian drinking his "good bye beer"

patty (aka patrick the 18 year old), me, brian. my boooooyz.

c'mon! no pictures.

bye brian. gonna miss you!


monday: work. and now i'm missing castledoor's last residency show at the spaceland in LA. whaa.
tuesday: 2nd paid photo shoot somewhere in rancho or balboa.
wednesday: working. yoga.
thursday: work or maybe seeing a taping of So You Think You Can Dance.
friday: working. finish Breaking Dawn perhaps?
saturday: shooting my little nephews 1st birthday pictures at the beach! theme: pirates. a 1 year old pirate. i can't wait. aaannd then maybe some fireworks.

still a little windy outside..

"People are just people,
They shouldn't make you nervous.
The world is everlasting,
It's coming and it's going.
If you don't toss your plastic,
The streets won't be so plastic.
And if you kiss somebody,
Then both of you'll get practice."









p.s.
going to see castledoor tomorrow.
going to see jana, liana, michelle, noah, martha, and justin too.

p.p.s.
i am really looking for to tomorrow.

making the best of it

i live in the desert. i was okay with that for most of my childhood, but when my mind started expanding, somehow, the desert stared getting smaller and less imaginative.
a few months ago i realized what a great backdrop the dry- brown - tumbleweed baring - desert could be.
anyway.
i styled my cousin (i mean model) up and directed my own little photo shoot.
this is my favorite picture from the bunch.







she looks great. i am so happy with it.


i'll be in san diego soon (10 weeks!) and i'm excited to find new backdrops.

i went to that one place... and loved it

i spent the last couple of days in sandy eggo and looooooved it.
a few months back i made the decision to move there and after this last visit i am ready ready ready.

we found these adorable PURPLE apartments right in downtown and we are crossing our fingers about them! and the best part (besides that they are super cute) is that there is an organic fruit and flower market a block or two down.

i can see my life there already.

alsooo, aurora took me to some amazing little spots and i'm just so happy about them!

first: sunset cliff




second: balboa park
this place is wonderful. seaworld at one end, the natural history museum at the other, and plenty of gardens, museums, fountains, and ponds in between.




third: point loma
can you believe this view? i can't. 2nd best skyline. ever. i'm saying it.

i'm beyond excited to live there and make it my city.
july 1, you'll be here soon enough.
i love you, san diego.

-sara

Talk about pretty little things..

I am so in love with the new little additions to my family.

Last night while visiting the little cuties i couldn't help but take waaaay too many pictures of them.
Oh and i put my headband on Kaydence and she loved it.. she looks up to her auntie, what can i say?

a cute baby turns 6 months old

... and i had to take a picture of it.

A couple things...

About .5 seconds ago i called HOT TOPIC and asked if they had black suspenders.
seriously.
I feel like when i go in there to pick them up i'm gonna have to explain myself to the cashier.
"I don't actually wear these, i'm taking a dance class..."
I felt this way when i had to buy a green sparkly bra a couple semesters ago.


THIS WEEKEND is my dance recital. I think this will be my last one. I'm actually pretty excited and hope everything goes smoothly. I'm in 4 numbers.
1- Lion King (modern)
2- Tango
3- Swing
4- Beat It (jazz) <--- black suspenders



Yesterday my ceiling fan lightbulb went out. I'm delving into my laziness and making the best of it. I decided that i'm gonna go as long as i can without replacing it. So yeah, i'm gonna be Amish (at least when i'm in my room).
Don't feel too sorry for me though, because i'm still gonna watch TV and use my laptop.
I stay up way to late so maybe.. this..will.. change that? I don't know.
Oh no.. what if i get on the suns schedule?

I realized today.

I don't even need to be rich, i just want to be able to afford all the music and rolls of film I could ever want.








(oh it's not fun being poor)

i can hear a bumping bass pounding at my wall.

It's pretty cool that on the one night that i am home alone and have a quiet house to write a paper in my neighbors chose to have a party or a quinceanera or something.

i'm probably not that great of a 20-year old though. My parents go away for the weekend and i order a pizza and watch "Raising Helen" alone.
Or am i a great one? I can't tell.
Hmm...






Lately i've had an interest in new pictures from old cameras. Here's one picture from my first day in this new hobby. Trust me, more to come later.

I am the Dwight Schrute of Sears.

Apparently today I restored someone's faith in customer service. straight out of her mouth.
that's probably a pretty good statement, right?

Not to brag.. but my store manager said i had the highest (protection agreement) sales in my store and our ENTIRE district.

anyway. We get to dress up on friday for halloween and i am very excited.
That's just one more way that Sears is EXACTLY like The Office. One of many.

(and yes, that does make me the Dwight Schrute of Sears).

I guess i can list a few of the reasons.
Like the office, we:
-have a party planning committee called "the fun club"
-have schrute bucks called "happy bucks"
-dress up on halloween
-have unfortunately experienced our own "indecent exposure" incident like Phyllis did... poor poor barbara.
-have a kiss-butt character like Andy named Justin who cares waaaaaaaaaay too much about sears and our manager.
-have secret office romances

i'll let you know if i can think of anymore.
oh p.s.
here is one schrute buck for reading this post.

Scissor happy.

pretty normal thursday.

dance was cancelled.

hung out with my sister in law and niece.

watched a little late night TV.

got ready for bed.

washed my face...

got bored...

thought my hair looked equally as boring...

found scissors in my bathroom drawer..

stood over my toilet and...SNIP SNIP SNIP!

I cut my bangs without looking into the mirror. 

scissors + a bored girl + 1:30 a.m. = potential bad idea.

i don't know. i think i like them so far. we'll see what i think when i am conscious  in the morning.

wish me luck.

These are a few of my (new) favorite things.

I have recently become obsessed / inspired by a few things and people.

1. Really cool pictures of new york.. and new york in general, i guess. I wish i could be there right now for this beautiful transition into fall. 
2. Kath & Kim. This is a new show on NBC. It actually just had it's pilot episode last week and i was immeditately hooked. Tonight was the second episode and funnier than ever when Kath joined a "promenade hair show" at the mall and gave her daughter, Kim, a "flying wedge" hair style. Sooo... this is my new favorite show. 

3. Fleet Foxes! I've been listening to them since about the middle of summer, but just recently fell in love. I only have about 6 songs of theirs but you better believe they are constantly repeating on my iPod. They have such beautiful folky melodies that make me sing a long and want to sit under a tree.. and really, that is all i can ask for.

4. Dancing the tangoooo. This semester in my dance class i am dancing in a couple modern, jazz, and swing pieces, but my favorite is the tango. Yes the steps are diffulcult and fast, and the lifts and landings give me bruises that have yet to heal, but i feel sooooo good dancing it. 

(performance at Victor Valley College December 5 & 6)

5. Ok, my new TV addiction is pretty much any show about making cakes. My two favorites are Ace Of Cakes (pictured below) and Amazing Wedding Cakes. Their cake creations are actually pretty ridiculous.. and i love it.

(I've also been watching a lot of interior, fashion, style, cooking, and home designs shows. Maybe i just should have taken Home Economics in school instead of watching so much TV about it now. Oh! I can't wait to have a place of my own to decorate and cook in someday!) 

6. I'm 20, and im going to vote for the first time! Not only is the first time i am eligble to vote, but it is the first time i care enough to learn about the election too. 

I'll admitt, i never thought i'd be the type of person who talked politics, especially before i turned 40, but i feel like my generation is really stepping up and i want join 'em. 

7. LEANIMAL! Oh last but not least is Leann Marshall, who just became the winner of this seasons Project Runway. She was my favorite from the first episode and i am ecstatic that she won! I stumbled across her ETSY page tonight and she is selling the cutest/sweetest passport cover and i hope i can get my hands on $32 so it can be mine!

Good things are happening.

Daniel is officially on his first tour! The tour is Phil Wickham (pictured below), Fee, and Meredith Andrews, and Daniel is in charge. I'm so exited for him. This will be first of many, i'm sure. Besides, he'd "rather be on tour." That sounds like something on a license plate frame.

Oh speaking of license plates, today i was cut off buy a little blue civic with "SBUX4ME" on the plates. Oh bother. 

Anyway.. Daniel is the man.

For the past couple (or hundred) nights i seem to start getting sleepy a little after 2 in the morning... never before. Even if i lay in the comfiest way i can't get my mind to stop spinning. I recently realized that my brain is working overtime every second of the day; I'm constantly questions things. Well, things-and-people-and-school-and-life-and-my choices. 

I came up with a solution tonight. Aromatherapy stress relief lotion. I'm gonna bathe in it tonight before bed. I hope this little experiment works in my favor. We'll see. 

My cousin is amazing. She made little Danny's first halloween costume. I never knew werewolves could look so darn cute. 

That kid is so cool. I'm obsessed. Yeah yeah, get over it.

My best friend is in Spain and loooooooving it! We got to video chat last night while she was in her schools library. Oh, by the way, whenever i say that word out loud i say "libary". You can tell me i'm wrong all you want but it won't break the habit. That "r" is gone forever. I can't help it. 

Anyway she is beautiful and so happy and i just love hearing about her foreign days. I made it my goal to make her laugh really loud since she warned me at the start of the conversation that she was in the libRary. 

Oh and yeah, that's tim gunn in the reflection. i was watching old episodes of Project Runway.

Lastly, i visited my niece tonight.  I bought her the softest little lamb stuffed animal ever created. She loved it. Well, i'm just gonna assume she did. 

Tomorrow i dance.

7-11

Yep.. The old 7-11 dude hugged me again today.
I honestly think he thinks i am someone or something else. Royalty, maybe.
As i walked into the store I heard "OH MY GOD! .... OH MY GOD!" over the "ding dong" of the door bells. I made my way to the drink aisle (as did he) and he greeted me with a hug, a pet of my hair, and a rub of my cheek.
He asked when I'd be back.. i said "not for awhile."

On a side note, i love having a lap top. I think i am going to be doing my homework outside from now on. Anyone know of any good trees to sit under?

Dinner time.

Today i sang.

I love waking up without the alarm. What a good start to my day.

I guess i didn't really do much.. but the day after a stressful homework day is always awesome.

Today a friend asked me what my favorite Joanna Newsom lyric was. I knew right away. I like various parts of her songs because the way they are sung, but these few lines of her lyrics make me sing.

"There are some mornings when the sky looks like a road,

there are some dragons who were built to have and hold,

and some machines are dropped from great heights lovingly,

and some great bellies ache with many bumblebees, 

and they sting so terribly."

I spent a few hours singing along with her today.  We're best friends. :)

I'm going down to corona tomorrow to celebrate Daniels birthday with him. I better start packing.

Oh also, shouldn't the leaves be changing soon? 

SHE'S HERE!

My Niece is finally here!

My family and I waited at Kaiser in fontana for over 8 hours for this precious little baby, and it was totally worth driving home at 1:30 in the morning! 

Her name is Kaydence Elizabeth Carter,and she was born October 2, 2008,  and she weighs 8.1 ounces, and she is adorable, and her cry is so girly, and Greg & Kristina are going to be awesome parents, and i can't wait to hang out with my new best friend. :)

More pictures to come, i'm sure.

Babies, babies, everywhere!

just a few pictures to go with my last post.

pictures: *liana and i baking.

*nate (lead singer of castledoor)

*liana and i outside the concert in Long Beach.

*scott & beka on their wedding day

It's fall now. I don't really want to think about summer, but let's give it some closure.

Ok, so May & June were great.. but I fell in love in July. 

His name is Danny and he is my cousins precious little baby boy. He was born on his grandma's birthday, July 7th. 

It'd hard to believe he is almost 3 months already. He just gets cuter, too. Oh and I'm pretty sure I'm his favorite. :)

PHOTO: Danny is 2 months old in this picture. 

I'm sort of his photographer.. although I act like i'm paparazzi. I can't help it!

Also, my cousin Ryan married his beautiful bride Kristen and my friend/old roommate Beka married her boo Scott in July! LOVE IS IN THE AIR!

Ok.. August. Hmm.. what happened in August?

My boyfriend, Daniel, was gone most of the time with Phil Wickham. He had 19 shows booked with him in August, alone. He's loving it and we talk whenever we can.. so, i love it too.

My best friend, Liana, came down to Victorville from Kingsburg, Ca to spend the weekend with me. We always have the best time together. We had a list of things to accomplish while she's was here; and i think we got it all done too! We went to Los Angeles for a Dr. Dog concert, ate at Red Lobster (she's never been there before, and she almost died when she ate their perfect little biscuits), baked cupcakes in really funny outfits, and saw my favorite band CASTLEDOOR in a tiny little bookstore in Long Beach called {OPEN}. 

That's pretty much it for august!