Wildebeest Go!

Allow me to convolute and confuse this story. I bought a Wildebeest. Not a real Wildebeest, but a plastic one. Im having a naming contest now, so if you have any ideas post below! Anywho, why did I buy a Wildebeest? Well, as people should know by now, San Francisco is firkin expensive. it is currently the most expensive place to live in the US. Downtown here in SF, there is (for now) a FANTASTIC toy store on market street called Jeffry's. Jeffry's Toys is like the toy stow you see in the movies, plashes and puzzles and stacks of dinosaurs, the best. But sadly all good things must end. After 40 years of being an SF institution, their rent has been raised to $40k a month. Thats right, FOURTY THOUSAND DOLLARS. Monthly. So they have decided its just not worth it and will be closing their doors at the end of the month. 

This is devastating for me. Sadly i didn't have the opportunity to grow up with them, but since moving to the city this is a place i bring out of town friends, go when I'm down, and play with the dinosaurs and plashes and read comics and generally be a nuisance to the poor sales people. and this little oasis in a sea of hipster beards, $6 coffee and artesianal toast bars is leaving. The only ray of sunshine in this typhoon is.. every things 30% off. 

So I went by to see how things were. As of now the store is pretty well stocked, it will be weird watching it till its end of days become empty as its such a full store, every shelf packed. I walked by the plastic animal rack, looking honestly for dinosaurs and things like that when i saw a row of Wildebeest. Most of the 4 inch plastic animals are about $6-10 depending but all of these guys were marked $2.50, which means their under the $2 mark with the 30% off. Perfect time to pick up a new travel companion. So i bought a wildebeest! He (actually I just looked up the toy, its a female apparently!) so SHE has her own blog:

Wildebeest Go!

Be sure to add it to your insane tumblr feed. Im trying to get the hang of tumblr but its so fast paced and add and I just don't have the patience or the time to check every 45 minutes to keep up with the insane tumbling... but maybe Wildebeest will. 

I missed blogging, and Im glad Im back to it. Lets see if I can keep it up  more then once a month... Also on that note, one of my favorite bloggers is back, Rachele of the late Near Sighted Owl has a new blog Lady Bits And I'm so happy because i love her writing. Also for a more realistic update schedule of my happenings check out Handsome Gentleman Friends Blog. He's way better at updates then I am, plus he takes care of the brew blog Terrible Lizard.  

Adults and Stuffed Animals

Anyone who knows me at all find out quickly, I LOVE TOYS. Like will be in my house alone playing with my ponies. I have almost all of my childhood stuffed animals, because the thought of them ending up unloved in a thrift shop kills me. Mostly Im a functional adult, who pays her bills (unless im outta money? who hasnt been there...) Is finishing an intensive BFA program and trying to launch a small business. But at night, when Im not with Handsome Gentleman Friend, I sleep with my bear. His name is Binky. I have had Bink since I was 2, when my old bear, Buddy, went missing on a shopping trip. I have a memory of a kid running up and ripping him out of my hands, but no one can corroborate so I could be one of those made up memories... At any rate my poor mother tried everything to get him back, even took out a want add. A carbon copy of Buddy was purchased which I rejected, he was an impostor! He lives with my mom currently, his name is Theodore and we have come to terms that he isnt an actual impostor, but I digress. Binky I pick out myself, and I remember, some large department store, rows of plushies and bins, and I found Binky. We were meant to be.He came with his name, a little tag on his ear my parents read to me. After that we were inseparable.

Bink has gone just about everywhere with me.As a kid he came on sleep overs and to my grandparents and Aunts houses, to school sometimes even. I remember when I had a sleep over and realized I would be the only one with a security bear and had to hide him in the toy box and was miserable the whole night, and felt so guilty. He was the leader of my toys, and had to live in the commons? But we all survived. Once I accidently left him on some train tracks for an entire night. We were at my dads indie auto shop, which had train tracks running behind it. My sister Tess and I were playing (yes on the tracks, oh the 90's) and it wasnt until we got home I realized Binky wasn't with me. I cried to much, and my loving father told me stories about him being hit by trains and devoured by raccoon's and coyotes. Miraculously the next day he was out on the tracks, with that smell fabric gets when toasted by the sun. Turns out the train tracks there were no longer in used, hence why we were allowed to play on them, and you thought my dad was negligent! Well, he was just not about that.

What brought all of this up? Well, I still sleep with Bink as I mentioned before. I turn 30 in 2 months and I sleep with my bear. Not every night, but sometimes I need someone to squeeze and GF is not there. This is normal but the other night GF and I crashed at my abode for the first time in a long time. My house is kind of inconvenient for alot of the stuff we do on weekends so were not there alot. Anywho, I moved Bink to the dresser where he resides when he isnt on my pillow or in my arms and my handsome man and I dozed off to sleep. The next morning I woke up, with GF wrapped around me in warm embrace. I realized I was wrapped around another man though...Binky! I had apparently reachout up and grabbed him in the night but have no recollection of this. GF smiled and didnt make fun of me when he realized his grown ass girlfriend was sleeping with her bear. (He is well aware of Bink, I brought him up early in the relationship because love me love my bear.. and my cats.. and my fish.. and..) This was weird for me though, but I chalked it up to a few beers and not feeling great the day before.

Then yesterday I fell down a rabbit hole of the internet as Im prone to doing. I found this great article by a gal named Daisy here:

http://www.xojane.com/family/Realms-of-Gold-Stuffed-Animal-Hospital

Its such a sweet story and something many of us Plushie owners have had to contend with. So I follwed the links from the articles to Realms of Gold's Website, then Dr. Beths Blog...

http://doctorbeth.tumblr.com/

After spending half a day reading stories I stumbled across some pictures of a bear that looks JUST LIKE BINKY. It came with a video, which i started watching and realized was RIDICULOUS. It had a slow version of "I would walk 5000 miles" and I paused it and started showing it to GF in hopes of some good laughs when... the tears started. I have no idea why, or where they came from. But by the end of the video I was a mess. Handsom who was laughing and joking stopped and was geniunly concerned. His girlfriend was loosing her shit over a video of a bear being reconstructed. Im tearing up now thinking about it. The idea of anything bad happening to my bear is the worst thing in the world. Literally the worst thing that could ever happen to me would be loosing my bear. He's been with me through Tough times, good times, moving and moving and moving and moving and moving out and detroit, evictions, couch stays, long trips, everything. I will cry more for his passing them many members of my own family for one simple reason, he was there when they weren't.

So this is my confession. I love my bear. No shame! Plushie owners unite!!

Pictures from Handsome return from New Orleans on Valentines Day surprising me with gifts in an arrangement with my best friend

Art School

Art school is something that is either taken way to seriously (CCA I'm looking at you) or is completely blown off as some fools folly. In my fourth year here at the Academy of Art I have realized its somewhere in between, Art students work their REARS off. I know people finishing other degrees and from what I can tell its about double the work time. Yes studying Law or Medicine is tedious, but those guys get to party. There's a lot less partying going on when you have a project our teacher expects you to spend 40 hours (yes, a full work week) on, times 4 classes. What? 160 hours worth of work a week? not every week per say, but ya, some weeks. Especially during finals. There's no test, its just present what you have worked so hard on and let the masses right it to shreds during critique. The first 2 years I was here we were loosing a student a semester to suicide. Sadly this "hippie" life style isn't for the weak of heart. Your art CAN'T Be personal. If its personal you will be destroyed. Art school is NOT for your life passion, that book you've been writing since the sixth grade, the comic with 17 installments, your "character". No, this is for breaking down everything you thought you knew, everything you hold dear, and replacing it with hopefully better knowledge. Unless you get a nut job professor, in which case you will spend the next semester getting disemboweled by your new teacher (ask me how I know this). So why do it? Arnt artists supposed to be dreamers and creators? We are, but to compete you need to have a a Liam Neeson set of skills, and some how try not to kill off that dreamer, the one who wrote 17 issues of your unpublishable comic because while its bad (your comic is bad.) there is creativity, a few good, usable ideas, and when your finished, jaded and broken you can pick over the carcass for little bits of meaty goodness. Anyways, welcome to my blog!

Academy of Sciences and Smoothies

So Handsome Gentleman Friend and I have been trying out a new thing, for 30 days we are trying to have a green smoothie. Nothing to crazy, no meal replacement, no cross got, sure as hell no giving up meat or beer ;3 just having a green smoothie for snack every day. I'm officially a week in and I have to say, I feel better. Getting the extra fruits and vegis does give you a boost of energy, and my allergies have way calmed down. I have been getting my recipes mostly from simplegreensmoothies.com and their really good! They recommend 60/40, 60% fruit and 40% greens and to rotate your greens, kale spinach chard mix it up! I'm really liking it :3

So yesterday we had a class field trip to the Academy of Sciences. That place is soooooo cool! We were to draw the mounted animals and some skeletons and skulls. Also to hang out and learn. 

 

Performing Arts and Homework

All I do anymore is homework. I'm actually in Italian waiting for my turn to be talked down to in Italian over my shorty quiz. It's my last semester, why am I even in this class?? Lol anyways, yesterday, Sunday I got to go to an event at the SAFEhouse for the Arts, a non profit performing arts center. They moved and it was there grand opening. Very cool! Flamingo Dancers, live band and good people!

Really nice little event! Good job guys! On another note, here is my diagram of a horse skeleton

And so to close, I hope you all have a great week. Ill post soon about the new diet undertaking Gentleman Friend and I are doing....

School and life- it's Happening.

So this semester I'm taking 5 classes again.. Almost done! But I'm swamped in homework and life and everything else...

But things are looking good! I quit that hell hole of a job thanks to my Handsome Gentleman friend and my aunts, trying to free lance! Ya! 

I have also been trying to eat better. This is a constant struggle for me because I REALLY LIKE FOOD. I wish I were like some people (vegans..) and didn't like it, but I really do. To avoid getting sickly this winter I have been really into smoothies. Mostly for breakfast because I'm TERRIBLE at eating breakfast and occasionally for snacks. It's an easy way to increase my fruit and vegi consumption without having to pack nothing but salads for school.. Especially when I'm trying to pack multiple meals and my books and art supplies all in one backpack, it gets rough! But 2 bottle blenders (I'm in love!) and a trust pyrex and I'm set for a while.

My favorite breakfast smoothie right now is a strawberry cheese cake smoothie!

Strawberry Cheesecake Smoothie

1 cup of milk (I like enriched soy) 

1/2 cup cottage cheese (stay with me) 

8 frozen strawberries

That's it! You could use any berry really. I just got frozen strawberries cheap at costco, but toss it together and blend away! Filling, protein, fiber, carbs, all

Yum! Cottage cheese seems weird but it blends smooth and adds the savoriness it needs.

For snacks I have just started venturing into green smoothies. I have been skeptical. I don't- nay WONT eat lawn clippings. I won't chew my smoothie either.. But I found this really good recipe and tweaked it a tad to where you barely notice the greens! Except for the color...

It totally looks like lawn clippings for sure.

Weeeeiiiiirrrrd....

I just drank that...

Anywho- 

Green Thing You Wanna Eat Smoothie

1/2-3/4 cup water

2 cups kale/broccoli/spinach/romain (greens you have, or mix there of.)

Mix this together in your blender till its lawn trimmings. Don't eat this yet, it's horrible.

Add-

1/2 avocado

1 apple 

Blend this. It's good! But a little grassy..

Add to taste-

Orange juice/lemon juice

Or

Pineapple Chunks

Add a little till the acid takes care of the rest! It's really good. And only about 250 calories, and is a full serving of leafy greens, and 1 1/2-2 servings of fruit! 

Enjoy. I will post about handsome and I's crazy adventures soon! 

Lake Placid Flash Animation!

Here is the Interactive Illustration I did for class :3 Enjoy!

Lake Placid by izzycreates on DeviantArt