Lensbaby!

For my birthday...I would really like a Composer :

This little lens has the ability to make all of my dreams come true! With the purchase of a few optics, I can virtually have every type of lens I've ever dreamed of...and with the right accessories, I can get the dreamy vintage look of lomography using Daphne (my DSLR) which is honestly something I've been dreaming of being able to do! That way I don't have to worry about getting film developed/scanning the images then throwing them into photoshop...I can just take the picture and already have them in a raw high quality that I can throw into photoshop. There is nothing I want more than this! :)

Another thing I'd like would be a good quality film negative scanner...or just money, so I can buy stuff, lol.
I can't believe my birthday is in only 55 days, lol...yeah, it's not that close...but it's coming! :)

Sicko Dreaming of Summer

It's official, I feel horrible (i.e. I'm sick). Luckily, I happen to have the best boyfriend in the world, who at 1am goes to the store and buys medicine, my favorite flavor of Gatorade (I can't stand the stuff unless I'm sick, lol), peppermint tea, and some apples! Seriously, he's amazing :)

Also, this little sicko is currently dreaming of summer days...sun bathing, Brazilian bowls, frozen yogurt, pools, the beach, and of course, the excuse of wearing sandals everyday, as well as lots of white, lots of sheer, lots of lace, lots of eyelets, and lots of frills! Here's what I'm dreaming of for my summer attire:

Top Left: Kimchi Blue Lace Inset Cami
Top Right: Kimchi Blue Printed Chiffon Metallic Applique Tank
Bottom Left: Kimchi Blue Lace Cami
Bottom Right: Pins and Needles Lace Open Back Shift Dress

:[

My throat's been killing me all day! It's so sore :[  it hurts to swallow, and yet it feels dry, so I'm drinking a lot of liquids. I've moved from water to tea though, in hopes that it will help! I've also consumed a bunch of cough drops, though to be honest, they haven't done a thing to make me feel better! How lousy!

Tomorrow we're suppose to be going to Gas Works Park to explore/take pictures, so hopefully I feel up to it! I'll be real upset if I'm getting sick, it'd be incredibly inconvenient. I have finals coming up, so I need to be on top of my game! Not hiding under neath a rock because of illness! Boo woo!

My nose is a bit stuffy, and sneezing hurts...this is not a good sign. I'm incredibly tired and don't feel like doing anything but curling up in bed with a book and my tea (also not a good sign).

Maybe I am sick...but even if I am, I will take Dayquill and still go exploring tomorrow, because I'm a trooper! Prepare for awesome pictures in the next few days :)

Movies

I've circled the indentations that the dumb 3-D glasses made in RED.

I was waiting for Kyle while he got a drink from the water fountain, when I noticed these guys giving me a weird look...feeling uncomfortable I took out my phone to check my messages I had gotten while watching Alice in Wonderland in Imax & 3-D

As Kyle and I were walking to the car talking about the movie, all of a sudden he turns to me and says, "what happened to your face??" I reply: "what do you mean?"
He bursts out laughing saying that the 3-D glasses left really big marks on face
I look in the mirror, remember the guys, and start laughing. I took a picture when I got home, and though I circled the marks to make sure you could see them, keep in mind this is after driving home, so 10 minutes before this picture was taken, the marks looked really bad!
Kyle spent the entire way home mimicking my supposed thought process saying something similar to "maybe if I really push the 3-D glasses onto my face, I can see the 3-D even better! Yeah! I'll just press as hard as I can!"
hahaha...to be honest, this is probably just karma...

We arrived at the theaters with about 10 mins to spare, but there was only one booth open, so we spent 5 mins waiting in line to buy the tickets, and by the time we got to our theater, it was nearly completely full, aside from the very front seats (and that'd just be horrible watching a movie in Imax & 3-D!) So, we went up stairs and watched Shutter Island because it was starting 10 mins after Alice...

*spoiler alert!* Shutter Island was alright...but like other movies similar to it...you can't even spend the movie trying to piece the mystery together because come the end of the movie, you're told that everything was from the perspective of a character who's perspective isn't trustworthy because it wasn't real. So in all fairness, the ending was "ridiculous" but that's just because there was literally no way to guess it. Though Kyle did technically "call" it by saying "the twist better not be that he was actually the crazy one the entire time".

Anyway, I went into Alice with pretty high expectations, and while I thought it was good, it didn't blow me away...I enjoyed watching it, but I probably won't watch it ever again.The 3-D was fun, however, and the acting was good...it just seemed (to me at least) that the plot lacked a certain "umph". But, I still recommend it, even if just for the cinematography :) [and a certain dance sequence by a certain Johnny Depp, hehe]

Spicy Black Bean Burgers

{I have been wanting to make these burgers for quite some time, but I wanted to make them AWESOME! So I did a lot of research (honestly, I've read like 15 different recipes) and came up with my own recipe for what were THE most amazing black bean burgers I've ever had (Kyle whole-heartedly agrees!) This recipe is my baby...so use it well :) hehe}

You will need:

1 can of black beans (or 16 oz of homemade black beans) rinsed and drained/thoroughly dried

1 egg (or the equivalent in an egg replacement)

1/4 cup of finely chopped cilantro

1/4 cup of finely chopped onions

1/4 cup of corn

1/2 teaspoon of ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon of paprika

a sprinkle of parsley

2-3 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)

1/4 cup of soy sauce

a pinch of black pepper

2 slices of toast (for the bread crumbs)

a handful of Hot & Spicy Cheez-its -optional but recommended

hamburger buns

chipotle sauce-optional but highly recommended

avocado-optional but highly recommended

cheese-optional but highly recommended (I used a soy pepper jack, but cheddar would also go well!)

1. Get your toast going if you haven't already done so, and using a grater, or whatever method you prefer, make bread crumbs.

2. Drain and dry the beans (excess water will make the patties fall apart!). Then mash them up with a fork in a bowl, but make sure that some of the beans are still fully intact.

3. Add the onions/cilantro/corn to the beans.

4. In a separate bowl, combine the egg/"egg" & the spices & soy sauce. Mix well!

5. Combine the beans and the second bowl of goodies, mix well.

6. Add about half the bread/cracker crumbs to the mixture, mix well. Depending on the level of consistency, add more. (The crumbs help keep the patties together, so the more, the merrier. However, obviously, not too much!)

7. Using your hands, form patties using about a spoonful or so of the mixture (depending on how big you want the burgers to be!)

8. Heat up a pan with some vegetable oil, place a pattie on the pan, flip over when slightly brown. You want both sides to look nice and brown (not black, that's burnt!)

9. Assemble your burger! Add avocados, chipotle sauce, cheese, lettuce, whatever your heart desires!