rusty bike love.

rusty bike love., originally uploaded by kaliji.

I love this vintage bike. Rusty+Orange+Bad Ass!
Riding it around Oak Lawn with my girlfriend transported me back in time to when my mother was riding her bike in the early sixties in a neighborhood just like this one. She told me when I was younger that she was always at the front of the pack and loved going fast. I love going fast too, especially while standing up on the bike in the middle of the street and gliding for as long as I can. I felt so tall and on top of the world. It never ceases to amaze me how seemingly insignificant things such as riding one's bike can elicit this feeling.

So today's question is: What simple pleasures make you feel on top of the world?

-♥-

Saturation.

"Dare to Saturate" is an entreaty to live your life in the present as vibrantly as you can.

My dream world is highly saturated and vibrant. I imagine that my spirit is nourished by rainbows and grows brighter with knowledge, experiences, and art.
Rainbows are dangerous in our culture: they are a symbol for marginalized sexualities, lead to fool's gold, adorn girl's toys--and are therefore not appropriate for sensible adults. Individuals that are too colorful are marked as the derogatory eccentric because they choose not to hide behind somber hues and lead quiet, somnolent lives. The colorful have nowhere to hide, have nothing to conceal, and don't apologize for it. I think we could all use a little more color.
There is so much more I want to say about this, but I have work at 8 in the a.m...poo.

-♥-

Results.

Agent Pineapple and I painted each other's faces.
Then we tried to make them flat.
I decorated.
-♥-

First things first:

I want to show off my snazzy new journal with ze sexy pattern :)
It's a Paperchase scrapbook that was half off at Border's and therefore considerably cheaper than a Moleskine and will last considerably longer. It has thick square! kraft paper pages and I'm digging the spiral binding--I had so much trouble with the centers of my spreads cracking with my first (and only) moley sketchbook not to mention it just couldn't handle much 3D attitude. I learned to reinforce the centers with masking tape so that paint wouldn't leak to other pages as well as to be conscious of how each page functioned in the signature when I planned spreads and glued pages together. Not to mention I'm not fighting the Moleskine stigma where I'm afraid to mess my own journal up. That's just silly.
The only draw back is that I can't fit a whole page on my scanner bed.
Oh well. I'll just have to get creative.

-♥-

Body painting.

I declared today a "me" day. I am so grateful for the days spent playing in my art journal, discovering new music, and mashing frijoles while drinking coffee by the pot.

The contrast between my first week of summer and the oppressive (prescribed) priorities that are work and school is overwhelming. I've been having a lot of fun lately. Much of it is due to how backpacking in Utah has changed my outlook on living. It caused me to commit myself to actually doing the things I dream up, taking risks, and trying my best.

I don't want to miss out on potentially life-changing experiences or opportunities, especially because I feel that I'm not up to it in some way.
There is so much to learn and see and do.

Agent Pineapple and I decided to paint each other's faces and tatas the other day in order to make prints in our journals.
Then we ran through the house half naked past my horrified sister in the kitchen and out to the backyard, potentially in the neighbor's (5 houses worth) full view, and took pictures. It was chilly and exhilarating not to mention I relish any opportunity to horrify my sister.

The resulting prints of some of the photos in addition to the face/tata prints have provided me with more than enough journal fodder to get me back into the journal mind set. Between starting a new journal and coming back from a two month + hiatus from creating I had been feeling a little frustrated until now.

-♥-

Summer adventure planning.

This past weekend was aweshum. On Saturday we went to Navy Pier for the Chicago Green Festival, which was filled with yummy organic food samples with some dancing hippies and cat ears thrown in (my fave). We walked back to Ogilvie in the pouring rain trying to keep each other warm and then stuffed our faces with the contents of a Taco Bell Big Box affirming my poorly practiced belief that just because it's cheap doesn't mean you should do it.
Sunday was Museum Day in my neck of the woods so we made sure to hit the art museum. Took quite a few pictures with our camera phones for inspiration. Then walked over to Caribou and relaxed for a few hours to play with our journals and make lists of all of the things we want to do and experience this summer together.

by agent pineapple
Me making the list below in her journal at Caribou

by agent pineapple
Our supplies and adventure brochures gleaned from The Green Festival and Museum Day

The list
This weekend there will be bike riding, forest preserve, taboo taboo, fireworks, and a BBQ :)
I can't wait to check things off.
We're list people.
-♥-

Shark mouth.

shark mouth., originally uploaded by kaliji.

She is beginning to stand up to the sharks she encounters who try and belittle her intelligence because she is a woman in order to better their performances as self-actualized yet virile patriarchs.
° ° ° ° ° °

I have become obsessed with idioms as of late. If I was cool like Teresa Rowe, I would keep a book to illustrate with my favorites :)
-♥-

Las cositas que robo.

las cositas que robo., originally uploaded by kaliji.

Silly detritus collages never fail to get me back into the swing of things.
It is such a challenge to stay focused on school work and keep that balanced with all of the other things I love. Everything always seems to be swirling around in my head maniacally which tends to be an asset when I am playing in my notebooks. I love it when the cognitive projectiles temporarily lose their sense of urgency and something is ultimately created.
-♥-

Backpacking is for Lovers.

A few weeks later I still cannot put this experience into words--what I saw, how I changed.
I pushed my body and my spirit to their perceived limits and found that I am stronger than
I had ever imagined. My body is stronger and leaner.
I have more confidence in my abilities and in the newfound knowledge that I can.
I have a new appreciation for the outdoors and consequently everything looks greener.
It brought my girlfriend and I closer together--looking forward to seeing each other kept us going.
I want to go ride my bike now--there are many adventures to come.

-♥-