Oh I get by

Mallory already posted these, but they deserve a reposting, because boy oh boy do I miss my Rexburg peeps. This ain't even half of 'em. And yes, we're bumping baby bellys at the end.

Seve surprised me by playing the Duran Duran station on Pandora yesterday

I'm taking an online art class this semester (as though having a baby won't keep me busy enough). It's weird to be back in class mode after two years, but I'm enjoying it so far. I wasn't quite sure what to expect from this class; I was hoping for the opportunity to improve my quirky people/animal drawings but from the syllabus it seems I'll be doing line drawings and shading in still lifes (i.e. fruit arrangements) all semester. Oh, well.

To make the class more interesting, I've decided to draw predictions of what I think my classmates look like. The first week we were required to post a short 'about me' along with a photograph. I resisted the temptation to view the photos first and managed a few silly ones which I'll post below, along with some quotes:

"I have always loved to draw, especially fantastical creatures, dragons, trolls, elves, etc..."

"I worked for eight years as a fashion illustrator and art director for a company that specialized in skin-care and personal style for women . . . I then decided to become an art teacher."

"I'm a Graphic Design major, but I'm really only playing with that idea."

"My name is Talia. You may not pronounce my name right because I correct people about my name all the time."

"I'm an Australian-Texan. I'm addicted to soft things and I make strange sounds a lot. I can make the ugliest face you have ever seen. Oh and I got kicked by a kangaroo when I was little. Haha."

And here's my preliminary sketch for the shaded line drawing I did last week, which is based on a photograph of a piece of cake on a plate and accompanying cup:

S + J

The move to Boise has been busy busy busy, but I wanted to share a little secret with you.

When Seve and I were in Moscow, we went to visit the lock trees near Red Square. It's a tradition in Russia to leave a lock on a place of significance, with either your names inscribed on it or wedding vows or whatnot. The tradition isn't entirely romantic as some of the locks we saw had "BFF 4 EVAH" and "F U" kind of stuff written on them. The trees near Red Square get so loaded with locks that they're frequently chopped off (only to be refilled with hundreds more shortly thereafter) so it's not like your lock really lasts there forever - maybe a month? Nonetheless, Seve and I wanted to place a lock somewhere in Moscow. Sadly, we never got around to it.

My last week in Rexburg I was mourning the end of our time there, but in a happy way. Seve and I really grew to love that town. So my last night in our apartment I placed a lock on our balcony.

 

See the lock in the last photo?

I didn't have time to make our "inscription" extremely intricate. Everything we had was packed away for the move the next day, but I was able to dig out a permanent marker. The whole affair was like a closing ceremony to our time there. It was a little, silly thing, and I worry that the new tenants will likely discover it and have it chopped off (it's not exactly a tiny lock), but I like to hold my key and imagine our lock in Rexburg staying there forever.

Let it begin

7 month baby bump, though I'm currently at 8 months. Only 3 more weeks left to go, actually.

Cru-u-u-el

Now that we have a proper and sturdy internet connection, I could update you on life as a 8-month pregnant women and how she decorates her new apartment, takes over an hour to install a car seat, and enjoys a new drawing class, but for the time being I'll just post the latest music video from my girl crush. Strange Mercy out Sept 13! And hopefully my baby will be out Oct 2.

The Motorola Charm is a terrible blogging device

Hey hooligans! I have a strong desire to blog/tweet/FB but my new apartment has a strong desire to have its internet up and running by Sep 1st, so until then I get to use my phone and a 3G connection so spotty it could have starred in 101 Dalmations. So sorry if you haven't heard from me lately, I'll be back soon.

Teenagers

The teenagers below my apartment are too brightly colored. The average fashionable teenager these days wears floral prints with skinny belts, but these teenagers seem stuck in the days when Avril Lavigne was dating a guy from Sum 41. Those were my teenage days, kids. Get with the times.

I blame Lady Gaga, the self-proclaimed Monster who probably hides under the beds of floral-print lovers and threatens them with nightmares of sequined turquoise pants and blond n’ black streaked bangs.

The brightly colored teenagers loiter around our street thanks to the Craze, an arcade and laser tag hang out that also provides cheap pizza and mini golf with an entrance not a foot away from our apartment entrance.

I’m not sure what our apartment is called. It’s most often referred to by its address, 30 College Avenue, but I make my rent checks out to Ferrin Square, as the landlords are Julie and Keith Ferrin. For a short time I believe the apartments were called Ferrin Heights, since a shield bearing an “FH” insignia decorates our door entrance.

Before being named “The Craze,” the managers at the time were our close friends asking for name suggestions for their new brightly colored teenager attracting entertainment venue. Seve suggested “FERRINHEIGHT 451,” which I encouraged by suggesting the innards of the building being painted with murals of pterodactyl-like books set aflame and fluttering around a post-apocalyptic setting of Rexburg.

But this particular brand of teenager would likely never get the reference as they’re too busy squeezing into magenta cutoffs and wearing oversized lime beanies, and if they bother to read books at all they’re probably relating to literary whiny teen Holden Caulfield. Whose favorite hat was, I distinctly recall, a bright shade of red.