30 October 2008

DRUMROLL....

And the winners of the 300th Post Giveaway are....

Anne! who said... I love your blog because I love you.

Reagan! who said... Cropper you have to know how much I love you! And I love everything you post.

Amander! who said... I like you cause you are funny and smart and cute (your blog is also all of these things).

An honorable mention goes to ~*Holla at a PLAYA*~ who was actually one of the winners but since I'll be spending the next 10 days with her I figure that is prize enough. Don't worry playa- you'll get the goods too.

OK Ladies- email me your address and shirt size (I typically use the Gap Essential T) at cropstar5 at hotmail dot com and in 2 weeks you will receive your package chock-full of awesome!

Thanks everyone who participated for telling me how much you love me and my blog (I feel so good about myself)! You're the best! I love you all!

Last day to enter the GIVEAWAY!

Time's a tickin' peoples! Just a few hours from now and I'll be announcing the winners of the 300th POST GIVEAWAY!

Not too late to enter. All you lurkers (just deluding myself that there actually are some) can come out of the wood works and enter.

Just as a side note:

The prize package will include my infamous red velvet cupcakes (even if you live far away, I'll overnight them to you!) and also a fantastic little souvenir from Hawaii (cuz I'm going there tomorrow. booyah!) oh and also maybe one of my ridiculously awesome bleach pen shirts.

29 October 2008

27 October 2008

Who's the best? I'm the best! Booyah!

Ack! I'm so behind on blogging! I have so much to tell you about!!

But, most importantly, I need to tell you how awesome I am. Seriously people. Awesome.

Remember how I told you I wanted to be better than everyone else in my photography class? Well, guess what. I AM!! They like me! They really like me! (And yes... I do feel total validation from external sources... I mean, why the hell do you think I have a blog in the first place?)

After the critiques of our 5-in-1 assignment in class tonight our instructor asked who did the best overall. I was the only one who didn't vote for me. I mean... I really wanted to vote for myself (and in my heart I did) but I didn't want to look like a complete douche (or whatever the female equivalent of a douche is).

I'm pretty sure the only reason everyone didn't vote for me on our composition assignment was because they didn't want me to win unanimously again (jerks)... but I know they all wanted to vote for me. (kidding... kind of). I still got voted best though. So, I got extra credit on both my assignments. Woot!

I already showed you my 5-in-1's (which were described by my instructor as "killer shots") so today you get to see my compositional photos. Enjoy. And please... leave me some feedback. I'd love to hear what you think (even if you think my photos are crap, let me know so that I can improve).

Cheers y'all!

1. Lines & Shapes
2. Framing
3. Simplicity
4. Asymmetrical Balance
5. Symmetrical Balance
6. Rule of Thirds

21 October 2008

300! GIVEAWAY!

My little baby blog is now officially 300 posts old.
Does it feel older than that to anyone else beside me?

So what are we going to do to celebrate???

GIVEAWAY!

I know, I know... giveaways are a totally shameless tactic to get readers and comments. But, I am shameless so this kind of works out. And if y'all knew just how much validation I get from your comments you'd totally go along with me on this one. So, ya know, go along with me on this one.

The prize: Well... I'm still working on this one. But it's going to be chock-full of awesome.

Here's how you enter: Leave me a comment and tell me how much you like me and my blog, why you come here or what you'd like to see more of. I'll gladly oblige any of your suggestions.

Since this seems to be the year of 3s and 0s, we'll keep the contest open until October 30th at 3pm PST at which time I'll pick 3 winners.

So, spread the word.

action





16 October 2008

regression

i've worked at the same company ever since i graduated from college. after working for 2 years i took a 2 year hiatus for the mission gig. since my return i've seen a steady decline in my working conditions.

ideally one is suppose to work his/her way up the ladder. i seem to be regressing. see, i believe you can judge your status in the workplace based on 2 things: windows and bathrooms.

my working conditions for example:

4 years ago: corner office with 90degree windows. view of the strip. private bathroom.
2 years ago: office with a window. view of the strip. shared womens bathroom.
today: office with no window. no view of the strip. shared mens/womens bathroom.*

i ask to god,** "why god? what have i done to offend thee?"
which i quickly followed up with "actually... nevermind. that list would be way too long..."

*just a request to all my male coworkers: please don't pee on the floor. k'thx.
**read w/ mexican accent ala rosa from sabrina

ps- one post shy of 300! wow!

15 October 2008

me and ed playing in the rain...

who says you can't do an ultimate punch* in a pencil skirt and heels?

even though it was only a slight drizzle (hey, we take what we can get here in vegas) i checked one more thing off the list.

*skip to the 1:29 mark to see it in all it's glory

12 October 2008

Week 10: 15 Mile Long Run

AKA the run where:
  • I broke in my new Nikes and Balega socks (I love you, Fleet Feet!)
  • the first 5 miles, uphill, into the wind was my bitch
  • 9 miles into it, I felt like a legitimate runner for the first time
  • I became the bitch to the last 2 uphill miles
  • I ran farther than I've ever run before
  • I once again realized we have no limits

09 October 2008

weeks 8.5, 9, 10.2

Wow, it's been a while since I've done a running post... must be indicative of how much running has NOT been happening here. So, yeah. I took a vacation from running right when I should have been intensely training for SGM then consequently dropped out of SGM. That sucked but it was really the only thing to do. I was just feeling super burned out. But, I'm feeling the fire to run again!

So, 2ish weeks ago I jumped back on the running bandwagon in order to train for the Las Vegas Marathon. I'm still wondering if I really want to do a full marathon but I'm training for it nonetheless. I'm currently in the midst of week 10 of training... which means 8 more weeks until the race! Woot!

Rewind to Week 8 long run- Don't you wish you could run on the boardwalk along the beach everyday? I sure do! I was supposed to do a 13miler but it turned into a 10.5miles because of time constraints (ya see... I woke up too late because, man it looked cold and dark outside!). Great run though. I don't usually see a lot of fellow runners out on the streets of Vegas so it was fun to be amongst the running/biking/rollerblading. Plus, hello! The ocean! Gorgeous. The after run meal was the best part... Taco Bell. Call me crazy but I love Taco Bell. I was sitting on the beach eating my food thinking "This... This is why I run."

Week 9 aside from the long run was kind of a bust. I missed my 3miler on Tuesday because of the blood donation. Wednesday I set out for a 7miler but after 2miles out I headed back. I was absolutely fatigued and could tell I was at the point of getting light headed. I guess my body was more concerned with making more blood than fueling my run. So, that turned into 4miles. Thursday's 4miler didn't happen because I had to hang out with my babylove and then go country dancing (I know, priorities). But Saturday's long run was great! I did a 10mile out and back and felt really great the whole time. OK, that's totally a lie. The first 2 miles about did me in. But as soon as I hit the 2 mile mark I settled into things and just ran. I totally got a runners high at mile 5. "Demons" by Macy Gray was playing (I didn't even know I owned that song*) and the lyrics were crazy inspiring- "All of your demons will wither away; Ecstasy comes and they cannot stay." It was just like everything combined to make a perfect running moment. I just felt great when I got home... albeit STARVING! I had to celebrate with the gals and some Thai food. Man, did that hit the spot!

Week 10- Well, we're only half way through. 3miles on Tuesday did not happen because I spent the majority of the day curled up in fetal position on my bed. I set out last night to do a 7mile run and again... just great. I ran the same out and back I did on Saturday only I turned around sooner (yay). It's surprising to me how not long 7 miles feels anymore.

So, the only problem I've had in the last 2 weeks is a nasty spot on the back of my ankle that is completely rubbed raw from my shoes. I hate my shoes. They've been horrible yet I've put up with them for the last 4 months. Why? No clue. Oh yeah, they've also given me tons of blisters. This is the first pair of shoes I've been really unhappy with. But, tonight I'm heading over to Fleet Feet to pick up a new pair of shoes. Yay!

*I just realized that I have that song because it's on the Fat Boy Slim CD. Now it makes sense.

08 October 2008

realization

i just realized that (against my better judgement) i really am going to be one of those moms who decorates the house for every holiday.

06 October 2008

VeeDubs

Saturday between conference sessions I ran down to Town Square to see the Volkswagen display happening (thanks for the tip, meat pie). Pretty sweet. Here are some of my favs...


So, remember how I'm a grammar snob and I like to correct people when they say things like "I'm doing good*" or "That was the funnest**"? Well, I'm also a stickler about spelling rules like there/their/they're, your/you're, to/too/two. Thus, this*** was the most amazing thing I saw there:


*correct: I'm doing well.
**correct: That was the most fun.
***seriously, if you need me to explain why this is the worst/most amazing thing I've ever seen I'm going to punch you in the throat.

03 October 2008

my baby love

i went and hung out with my new best friend last night.
now try and tell me she's not precious... the baby, not me*.


*i already know i'm precious

01 October 2008

blood update

Rough day at the blood bank. I'm not sure what's going on with my blood but apparently I am not the amazing blood donor I once was. Single tear...

I thought things were going to be ok. Iron was good. Pulse was good- I pulled a 50bpm which is the minimum within the acceptable range. Phew! I should have known there was a problem though when I had to get pricked twice in order to get enough blood for the iron sample. But at least I only had to get the blood pressure taken once.

So, they got me all plugged in. Getting stuck with the needle hurt way worse than I remember. But the blood started flowing. I was pumping my fist every 3-5 seconds... ok maybe clinching would be a better term. But how awesome would it be to be fist pumping at the blood bank... or just fist pumping anywhere for that matter. Anyway... typically when I donate I do an automated red cell donation (as opposed to a whole blood donation) where they take out some blood which is automatically separated into red blood cells and plasma. Then the plasma along with a saline solution are pumped back into you and the process is repeated 3 times. In the end you end up donating 2 units of blood (with whole blood you only donate 1 unit).

I started thinking that the first segment was taking a really long time and just then the lady (phlebotomist?) told me I had low blood flow. Huh? Me? She was concerned that my vein wouldn't be able to accept the plasma/saline back in and she didn't want to explode it and cause me a lot of bruising (bless her heart). So, she decided to terminate the donation. I was still able to donate one full unit but I was so disappointed in my veins. And I got a little bruise - on my arm and my ego.

Here's my analysis:

I think I'm turning into a vampire. Think about it- I've been suffering from mild insomnia for the past year. I'm close to comatose during the day. My blood flow is seriously slowing down. I have vampire fangs (seriously, ask my sister. She makes fun of them all the time). I am really pale (or was last week before going to the beach). I really like the band Vampire Weekend. And I have no shadow (maybe this is not true).

What do you think?