so belated is kind of my thing.

I have 10 posts drafted that I just haven't finished, or don't have the photos yet.  10!  If the object of blogging we're to document things that happend last month, I think I might be good at that.  Speaking of things that happened a month ago... ampersands + acrobats turned 1!  I'm bummed I missed posting on the actual anniversary.  But on July 29, 2011 I wrote my first post.

To be honest I am surprised I stuck with it.  Now like I said, I'm not so great at posting on time, but it's fun to look back at what I have done- whether on time or not.  I didn't do everything I'd hoped to do, but other things happend that weren't in my original plan.  My Letter a Day project was by far the best part of blogging for me, personally.  It was something that I enjoyed doing and felt accomplished after each letter was complete.  The accountability forced me to finish the project, which was nice to have a personal goal.  I'm trying to come up with a similar project to "keep my creative juices flowing", as I once wrote.  :)  Hopefully there will be a blog redesign somewhere in the near future as well.

So here is to my dedication and this little space on the interwebz.  I hope that I will stick with it and continue to expand my blogger horizons.  Happy 1st birthday a+a!

every celebration needs a sparkler.

"smells like yak."

So my little cousin Alex and his parents came to visit me last Sunday. We went to the John Ball Zoo, which was pretty cool seeing as I haven't been there for a very long time.  The animals are up in the woods, scattered along numerous paths.  It seemed like a very unique layout for a zoo.  I think everyone had a pretty good time.  Although Alex had an issue with the smell.  "Smells like yak." was his ticket to get out of anything.  haha Probably will not grow up to be a zookeeper, I'm guessing.  I don't blame him though, mixed with the heat, it was definitely not the best part of our adventure.  I'd say puddles and the misty sprinklers along the way topped the list.

The bird cage was one of the first things we came to.  You get a stick covered in seeds and can feed the birds... in an enormous metal cage housing dozens of birds that are constantly being fed 24/7... It's a true miracle I didn't leave with poop in my hair.  haha It was pretty cute however when they perched on Alex's stick to eat the seeds.  We had a friendly little blue one that stuck around for a while.

here comes the rain (again)

I have many more happy things to blog about but as dreary as these photos look, the rain was a very good and welcomed happening.  Drink up GR!  It's been so hot and we definitely needed some showers.  The clouds didn't last very long but it was so cool watching the storm roll through, I had to take some photos!

Dear Eurythmics & Beatles,

Thanks for making quotable jams.

Sincerely,

Jen

7/11

Did you go get a free slurpee from 7-Eleven last Wednesday?  I did not.  I wanted one, but July 11th is my half birthday, so I got ice cream with my roommates instead.  :]

These were taken that day.  Moo's face made me laugh.  I wonder what he was looking at? haha

insert twilight zone music

The week I realize I must always have AC.

So I don't even know where to begin because it seems so long since my last post.  All that comes to my mind when I try to recap the past couple weeks is heat.  HOT HOT HOT.  That's the only thing that seems to have made any impact on my brain as of late.  I know that's not completely true but it's been pretty traumatic here in western Michigan...  I don't believe I've actually gotten angry because of hot temperature before.  I think the highest it got was around 103??  It was the first week in July!!  It's pretty wimpy and pathetic, I'm sure, compared to other southern states/countries.  But not having air conditioning and trying to get a decent night sleep in my 95 degree bedroom, is pretty much mission impossible.  Plus watching the kitties pant was heartbreaking.

I literally couldn't take things anymore, so I finally went home to TC for the weekend.  For some reason, it seems like forever since I've been there.  And it felt soooooo good.  My parents' house looks spotless now that my sister and I don't live there anymore.  haha  My punchy colored bedroom and bathroom look like a room from a very modern, bright hotel.  Everything painted over in white or light silvery gray.  Goodbye lime, pink, and orange.  The AC was blasting to the point I could actually sleep under blankets at night.  My parents took me to lots of my favorite places.  And it was so nice to hug a fuzzy Benzi boy.  :)

opted out of the dune climb this time

rode the new bike trail instead // lots of squirrels

happy birthday america

bike break at glen haven

glen haven

fave noms

cherry fest car show // obviously the best car there

tree truck arts booth at cherry fest!

beulah beach on crystal lake

fave beulah noms

reflections

crystal lake

Thanks NoMi for cooling me off.  You were some nice weekend eye candy as well.

we made a movie!

Remember when I recapped here, and said my friends and I were helping my sister with one of her films? Yeah, I planned on posting the final product a while ago, and surprise surprise, I'm just now getting around to doing it.  So here's what I originally had to say.

- - - - -

My sister went into panic mode Sunday.  Things began to fall apart with a final project for one of her film classes.  So my friends and I decided to help out.  We are so glad we did.  It was a great excuse to get creative with something aside from work.  Plus, I have never seen Jessica in her directing role before, and she does a really great job.  Elyse was the star of the film and Collyn and I helped behind the scenes.  The film is a scifi, thus the crazy hair and makeup. It was actually pretty fun to be a part of a little collaborative creative project since school's been out. Plus the long hours of persnickety determination and a night of no sleep was like reliving the good ole days in art school.  :)

Tada! Bravo team!

On the second day of filming we decided my job was to document the process- so naturally I decided to collect shells and completely abandon my task once we got to the pond.  But I'm glad we did get background photos, I wish we did more of that the first day. And Jessica & I did give ourselves movie war paint... wish we got a better picture of that.  haha

3ish hour long hair & makeup

featherhawk // pretty sweet if i do say so myself

nature typography // two love birds

the professionals

shootin'

being artsy

film still

happy

faces

productivity

my shells

colors

favorite picture

shhhh.

It was kind of a hectic week at work.  And now it's finally Friday.  My office is empty.  So I made this.

Don't judge.