I cant believe its December already. Its crazy to think Brian and I left NJ 4 months ago. We are 1/2 way thru our lease here in Portland already. And the new year is just around the corner. I sort of cant wait for 2011 to be over already. I have a feeling 2012 holds great things for us, and i can not wait for them to happen.
So back to present day and time.
With Brian working from 6pm to 2am i decided i needed a project to keep me busy and in the house. I looked at the living room and dining room and realized there are still boxes that were never unpacked and they all had my name on them. So i decided it was time to take a walk down memory lane. Which lead to my living room and dining room to look like a bomb went off in it. As seen below in the picture.
I found many interesting things amongst the randomness inside each box. I found items such as my old journals which one day will be turned into a book of sorts. I also found many of my sketch books.
On a more interesting note i found some fun toys like my Munny's and odd things such as my wisdom tooth i got to keep when it was pulled. So i thought it would be fun to take pictures of them together.
In a shoe box i also found Ceramic doll parts that my grandmother made and painted many years ago. Upon the clean out of my grandparents house after grandpa passed away i opted to keep these cause they were unique and because they were made by my dads mother, my grandma.
I couldn't resist taking breaks to photograph things to share.
Remember ART FILLS THE VOID.
I also found other unique things that i got from grandpas house that both him and grandma made. Such as the bird house with a NJ license plate for a roof. These artistic gems would have ended up in the trash but i found beauty in them and they mean the world to me cause they were hand made crafts that both grandma and grandpa took time to make and thought to create.
With all my breaks and a little dancing around the house like i was at a dance party and i still managed to put my house back together before i had to go pick up Brian from work at 2am. I must say it feels good to finally have my living room and dining room look like people live here as apposed to it looking like a storage locker.
Even with the lack of furniture it feels so much more like a home. Just in time for the holidays.
Speaking of the holidays ............
Since we will be unable to go home to spend Christmas with our families i told Brian I need a Christmas tree. He voted for a Fake one and i told him since this is our first home and we are away from the rest of our family it would really make me happy if we had a real one.
Friday when Brian woke i took him down to the basement and we dug out our little box of Christmas ornaments. I informed him that we were going to price Christmas trees both real and fake. First we went to a local family farm tree lot that seemed to have a decent selection of trees but the ones in our price range were a little too small for my liking. we stopped at a Fred Meyer and their real trees looked like they were 1/2 dead already. the fake trees were skinny , ugly and expensive. Then we went to a few other retail store that sold fake trees only to discover a 6 or 7 foot fake tree runs about $100 + which is a little out of our price range. We agreed to head back towards the house in search of a better tree lot. About two blocks from our apartment we spotted another tree lot and pulled in. We were greeted by a young child who was very excited to help us find a tree. he started showing Brian trees and informed us what seemed to be the most popular pick amongst other people in the market for some Christmas cheer. We decided a Noble fir was the way to go. The branches seemed sturdy and the pine needles still in tact and almost freshly picked. Brian Said since i was getting my real tree i could only get one that was 5-6 feet tall even tho we have 8-9 foot ceilings in our apartment. I decided to meet him in the middle and i said OK. We decided on a full happy tree and asked the child if he was selling the trees as a family business, or was it for the school in which we were standing near. The little boy told me that he was a boy scout and that by selling the Christmas trees we were helping fund the boy scout troop to allow them to go camping once a month for 11 months out of the year. This made Brian even happier that we choose to buy our tree from this place specifically. We stopped and got some lights and a stand then back home to listen to Christmas music while we decorate our tree.
It just would not feel like Christmas if Brian wasn't under the tree. LOL.
Once we got the tree as straight as we could agree on Brian started putting on the lights. He seems to be a little rusty at this task cause the bottom got alot more lights than the top did. 
I decided to put my camera phone down and lend a hand to shed some more lights on the rest of the tree.
Brian was so excited to finally hang his hiking ornaments i got him on sale at REI on the tree. As i was excited to hang my Hello Kitty Xmas ball that Danielle and Shawn gave me a few days prior. 
It was nice to finally get to hang our first year together hallmark , the bride and groom hallmark both gifts from mom and stad and are almost 3 years old. There was also a warm feeling that made me happy when i found all the fun Christmas ornaments from grandma that i have acquired over the years. A bit of sadness came over me when i pulled out the Red Xmas ball that grandma gave me last year only to find it broken. I really wanted to cry. It had never even been hung on a tree and was being saved for this day. But on the bright side It did make for a cool picture seen below and it sort of looks like Santa is behind me in this picture. (Creepy)
Here is the final result of our tiny tree that we have just for me. 
This is a not so artsy picture. Its not perfect but its mine. And it makes me happy. 
Oh and Cant forget to put Moms miniature Penis angel on the tree.
Interesting story behind the penis angel. When i was 13 my childhood home burnt down. my mother and i lost almost all of our Christmas stuff. So my mom saw an add in the oriental trading magazine that she could get 1000 wooden ornaments for something like $5 so she decided what the heck. well when these things arrived they came in a tiny box and were all very um lets say "SPECIAL" the were maybe two inches tall and the angels praying hands were all glued on way too low to be hands. and the rest of them i cant even describe with out pictures. But every Christmas the penis angel always gave us a giggle and sort of reminded like a Phoenix my mother and i as well as our Christmas decor rose from the ashes and things got better. As strange or perverted as the little two inch tall wooden angel may be i had to hang it on our tree to remind me that things will get better as the years go on.
After Making the tree look as perfect as we could agree on it was time to hang the stockings.
Since we didn't have a fire place with a mantel to hang them from i decided to take my two giant bins filled with Photo memories and i stacked them to be the perfect high to hang our stockings from. Not too shabby if i may say so.
Brian pointed out that our tree is missing something and upon taking another glance i realized we didn't have a tree topper. We are trying to decide if we want an angel, a star, or maybe something silly like a bear or something like that. I'm sure we will figure something out soon.
Time to dig out my silly Christmas tee shirts. Its crazy to think last year this was super tight in the belly area it was sort of scary and now its baggy in the belly. And sort of looks cute with some leggings.
After we finished decorating the tree we decided we deserved a beer and a cheap bite to eat so we headed over to O'Brien's & Wimpy's on 21st They seriously have the BEST Bloody Beer in town. 
I think it is because they use this stuff pictured below.
CRAZY JUICE hot sauce Made from GHOST CHILI's
Super Super Spicy And yet so good. I need to own this stuff But its not sold in stores just at this bar and they were out when i last stopped in so hopefully Wednesday this can finally be mine. Yummm
I seriously dream about this stuff
Saturday I decided we needed to get out of the house so we went down town to do some Christmas dreaming. Brian and i stopped by the Doc Marten Headquarters here in Portland and i tried on some shoes Turns out I'm still a size 7 and i fell in love with their Triumph 1914 Women's black boots with the blue n pink on the inside. They were so comfy and super cute and the top folds down so there are two ways you can wear them. BUT they were $150 and upon looking on Amazon they seemed to be out of my size which meant no amazing deals for me. I guess i will continue dreaming. Not like i had the $$$$ to buy them now but it felt good to window shop.
From the doc store We went and met up with Shawn, Danielle, Zay, Pops and other Brian. We all headed to Tiger Bar for the evening. Not for drinks but to support Alabama Black Snake at their gig. First band on was Heaven Generation, shortly after they were finishing their set Danielle and i decided to head to VOODOO DONUT. Yum is all i can say. Upon arriving at their down town store to my surprise there was no line which is unusual. We went inside and ordered up a few Maple Blunt donuts and a Maple Bacon Bar. Yes you read that right they put bacon on donuts. Upon paying i spotted some interesting things to photograph like these funny Bumper stickers they sell.
Then i noticed This amazing home made sign.
Occupied by people who work.
Upon leaving Voodoo we crossed the road and Heard a bunch of chanting and whistles and music. we looked to our left and to my surprise Re-Occupy Portland was on another one of their Marches around town. We stopped and watched as the went by with a police escort. Why does this mob keep finding me when i go down town. So i snapped a few pics as they all yelled at me and Danielle to join them and they begged us for donuts. Our response was give me a dollar n u can have a donut. Just then we took a right then a left back on our route back to the club trying to avoid the masses.
Upon turning the corner we Were greeted again by Re-occupy Portland This time they were having an Occupy Dance Party out front of the Star Theater. I jumped on a bench to take some dark pics with my phone while holding my box of donuts. I looked down and a police officer was standing by me smelling my box of donuts. He then asked if he could have one and i told him no.
Then a when he left i noticed the fox 12 news guy standing by me zooming in on my box of donuts then scanning up to my face. Oh fun i get to be on the news again for something I'm not even involved with. That is when we decided to continue our walk back as the song ended the crowd began to follow us. Great we were being stalked by the Occupy. Lucky us me made a right as they made a left and we were safe back at the bar to enjoy our donuts.
Just as we got back ALABAMA BLACK SNAKE were taking the stage.
This was the first time i would see them live with their new singer Brian. 
I snapped a few photos and rocked out to their amazing songs.
It was a great show all around.
I also got to run into a few ladies i had not seen in forever. I believe the last time i saw these ladies was 2007 in Ohio and Detroit at a tattoo convention while working for SG.
From left to right. SG Roza, SG Pistolita, SG Casper and me. I look completely out of place amongst their beauty.
Yesterday I decided it was time for a hair cut My hair had no shape to it and was just sort of BLAH. I decided i wanted to give having bangs a shot but it turns out i have calics that wont allow my hair to do anything besides a center part which is still pretty blah. But i let Zay take some sheers to my head to see if we can at least make it look healthy.
Here is a before picture. Pardon the puffy eyes and lack of makeup. 
And here is an after picture. Just a little shorter in the front to sort of frame my face a lil with a few layers thrown in to give it a little more life. Its simple but i like it and my hair feels alot healthier. This is a horriable pic. i look like a deer in head lights. lol
Of course i had to throw it in a pony tail but the shorter front now looks really cute with a pony tail. 
Now that i look pretty with my new hair color and hair cut. Ive lost weight, and my apartment is starting to look like a home. Its time for that job to fall from the sky into my lap.
I cant wait to have extra income so maybe we can get some cute curtains to tie the place together and keep the heat in.
I must say the Christmas tree in the corner really makes The place look alot better. 
The dining room table and our newly hung pictures really make me happy too. 
Now to get a bed frame for the bed to get it off the floor, Hang a few more pictures and we can finally feel like we are 100% moved in.
But for now I'm going to sign up for online classes to get my OLCC license and Take my test for the food handlers card in hopes that i can get a bar tending or waitress job.
Thank you for taking the time to read and look at my pictures.
With Christmas Around the corner i figured i would post the link to our Amazon wish list's
In case anyone felt like sending some Christmas cheer To either Brian or myself.
If you buy off the wish list it should send directly to us and will delete items as they are bought so we don't get doubles.
and
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