Yesterday, I:

-Dyed my hair (or colored, if you prefer)

-Saw Ben Folds!!  (He nodded at me and Tricia several times)

-Scared Rachel Mills' in-laws

Tomorrow:  (or technically today)

First time shooting a wedding as the main photographer all by myself.

Deep, deep breaths.

Henrietta's Terror: Part Two

... Suddenly, Henrietta felt a cold white hand on his shoulder.  He turned around slowly, and saw not one hand, but twelve!  They were tiny hands, fit to kill a bee though, and pressed down on his small shoulder with intensity.  He shrieked and tried to run away, but realized that more hands had grabbed ahold of his ankles.  He tripped and fell face down on the grass.  Before he could realize what was happening, he was dragged down a hole at the base of the rose bush.

Henrietta felt the darkness enclosing around him, and tried to scream but no sound escaped his mouth.  Moments later, Henrietta fell onto a flat, warm surface and he realized that he was indeed deep in the earth.  He heard the thundering of many footsteps coming towards him, and although he could see nothing, he felt.  An overwhelming feeling of oppression trickled down his whole body and Henrietta was paralyzed in place.  A voice suddenly boomed, "GIVE US BACK OUR COLOR!"  

The little prince could only assume it was the flower come to life, on steroids!  He stuttered and tried to produce moaning sounds into words, but to no avail.  The monstrous flower reached for Henrietta's ankles and soon he was hanging upside down by a huge rooted head of a thing.

...To be continued.

Stay tuned for the next installment of Henrietta's Terror.  (I won't wait so long next time to continue the story... maybe tomorrow)

Jesus is so so good.  

Renae is home!!!  :)

Peru!

Even though Italy's not happening next year, I'm pretty excited about this shorter trip I'm going on in late December, just a few days after Christmas. A small group of students from the Spanish Department and I are going to Peru for ten days to explore this beautiful country! I made my first payment yesterday, so it's definitely happening. Btw, I'm minoring in Spanish, if ya didn't know already!

We will be staying in Lima but will be traveling around to different surrounding areas. We will be flying to Cuzco, taking a boat trip around the Ballestas islands, attending dinner shows about their folkloric dances and culture, touring Inca ruins like Machu Picchu, seeing various museums, etc.

What I'm most excited about is hiking up to see the lost city of Machu Picchu. In case you're not familiar with this place, the Incas started building it around 1430 A.D. but it was abandoned a hundred years later at the time of the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire. This city was forgotten for years until the American historian Hiram Bingham discovered it again in 1911!

I was feeling hesitant about going for several reasons, but ultimately I really want to do this. I've always had such a longing within my soul to travel around the world, learning about new cultures, and seeing firsthand all these beautiful places I've read so much about. College is such a great opportunity to study abroad and travel-- I definitely want to take advantage of this as this may be my last chance in a while. The best part is the professor who's leading this trip is my professor whom I had for Beginning Spanish I and II back in the day. I love her! :) And also, Rachel Martin's friend Renee is going, too!

"He who calls you is faithful; He will surely do it."
-1 Thess. 5:24

The Bedtime Story: Henrietta's Terror

In an effort to combat Rachel's work-day blues, I have created a typical "bedtime story" from our days of living at the Pink House. In those days, Rachel would often retire at an early hour, and Tricia and I would take turns telling her a very spontaneous, newly created bedtime story out of our "unique" minds. These stories would often end in horror, taking an unexpected twist, and would either end with Rachel cackling maniackly or squealing in delight. Mythological creatures were given eccentric names (always appropriately named by Rachel) in a way that made them that much more real. Here is a fresh example of one (created at work, while I should have been studying, but this was way more fun!):

Once upon a time, there was a little Scandinavian prince named Henrietta. Yes, a boy named Henrietta. This was his cross to bear during his life, his name that sounded much like a prissy little girl's. Henrietta was therefore quite sassy (as is the case when you are the butt of many jokes and mockeries). He liked to wander in the forest behind the castle, skipping through the tall grasses in the meadow and slaying the tall thorns that seemed to choke the blue roses that grew there. These roses were magical.

He would often give the flowers a dementor's kiss, if you will, by sucking all the color out of the flower, draining it of its vibrancy. He was an unhappy child. Perhaps this may be the reason that royalty's blood ran blue... imagine!

One particular day when Henrietta finished his arithmetic lesson, he wandered into the forest he affectionately named Troppipsiumland. As he finished sucking the blue out of the last rose on a bush, he heard a rumbling growl behind him... or was it coming from deep in the flower?

To be continued...

Stay tuned for the next installment of Henrietta's Terror.

Elena.. Cooking?!?!

I've been on a cooking kick lately... okay, well, maybe just last week, but still! This is pretty exciting because I was always so afraid to try cooking different things, not sure if I could do it. And okay, there are still a LOT of things I need to learn, but it's really fun experimenting with different recipes!

On Saturday, I was reading in a Year in the World at work, and was inspired to try making something really tasty: Mango Salsa Chicken. Frances Mayes always talks about the exquisite food she tries in each country she travels to, namely Portugal. I found a recipe online with lots of good reviews for this dish, so I thought I'd give it a try! These are the main ingredients:

1 Mango
1 red onion
cilantro
1/2 green bell pepper
1 red chile pepper

I sauted the chicken in olive oil (although not nearly long enough, resulting in some serious RAWNESS-- ahh!), and added the mango salsa to accompany it. Although the chicken part didn't turn out well, the salsa is awesome!

I didn't let the chicken fiasco discourage me from attempting a new recipe on Mother's Day for breakfast. I made my parents a nice meal consisting of omelets with tomatoes, goat cheese and rosemary. I discovered that I'm not a fan of rosemary; in fact, it makes me gag! I'm learning what I don't like though, so it's good.


I no longer feel intimidated by the kitchen though, and am really excited at getting better at cooking! It's obviously a very good and necessary skill.

Last day of classes!!!

Juno and her Bird

Lately I've been inspired by the peacock. We've been talking about this fascinating bird a lot in Baroque Art, for he is the attribute often associated with Juno, the goddess of marriage and Queen of the gods. Anytime you see Juno in art, you can almost guarantee that it will be followed with a peacock close by, because of its ties to royalty.

Even in a simple couple portrait painted by Frans Hals in the seventeenth century, you can see a peacock roaming around in the background. Hals did this so that the viewer would know that the couple is married, and placed in their own home, in their garden.

I'd love to do a drawing/painting of Juno with her peacock... perhaps when school is done and I finish Rachel's sea life mixed media piece! ;)

Boredom

What happens when all your friends are gone, working, or just plain busy.

Oh, and this is another thing I worked on in my class... the background picture of the lowly peasants was one I took at the Indianapolis Museum of Fine Art... the other one is my EYE!