[five] facts

[1] i have a fake ear drum because in 8th grade, blake roe threw a water balloon at my head and it hit my ear, rupturing 25% of my ear drum.

[2] i am a perfect 9 1/2, which makes it difficult to find shoes that actually fit because most lines stop making half-sizes @ 9 and go straight to size 10. yes, i have big feet, but not size 10 big.

[3] i played division I volleyball for a year and a half until my coach and i realized we didn't really like eachother.

[4] i claim to be an adventurer and traveler, but hate to camp and get terribly homesick.

[5] when i was in pre-school @ alice's bijou, i ate peas for lunch...and threw them up immediately afterwards, covering the rest of my lunch tray with green slop. i have since refused to eat peas or anything w/ peas in it...but i'm still not sure if i dislike them.

following are the rules for this post, but i don't think i have 5 blog friends to tag...
1. Share 5 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
2. Tag 5 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well
as links to their blogs.

happy thanksgiving day...i guess.

while i think it's sad and unfortunate that we celebrate the mass genocide of an entire people and the forced interaction and consequent land-stealing that occurred between the indigenous people of what is now considered "North America" and the 'Pilgrims,' i am thankful that it is one of the very few days of the year that my entire family (sans stripper brothers in las vegas) can gather to celebrate being family and being thankful for having each other. friends are also invited...because i'm thankful for them, too.

happy day-to-be-thankful-for-the-people-around-you-and-the-yummy food-you-shall-receive, ya'll.

etsy-love

i have found myself spending more and time on etsy. every time i visit, i get sucked in to spending at least 15 minutes 'shopping' around, if not 30 or more. but it is really fabulous...beautiful, really. and all handmade, so it's perfect. i have found myself enamored with these...and these. boy, do i like winter. (something i probably won't be saying in the middle of january...)

it's been a while.

so, it's been a while since i last decided to put my thoughts out here. i'm not sure why, but it could be because i'm graduating from college in a month and i'm trying to set everything straight. it's my last chance to prove myself in a formal academic setting. at this point, i have ruled out grad school and law school and i'm pretty sure that it's going to stay that way. so i have to do it all right now and work 3 jobs (technically 4 right now) and be madly in love, so i'm a busy girl. but in just one month, things will drastically change and i will be able to get my creative side churning...which means more jewelry, more artwork, more yoga and/or pilates. all of the things i've been dreaming of and longing for since august. i guess i may still be in shock from it all...a lot has happened in the last couple of months and i don't think i've had the time or the energy to process it. i still can't convince myself that it's really going to happen. and maybe it will start to sink in, as it's pretty much go-time from here on out, but maybe not. i do know, however, that i will have more time, which is the one thing i feel like i can never get enough of.

this is my premature sigh of relief...ahhhhh.

do more stuff

i just have to tell myself: 'bonkosi, do this and do it now (or soonish)'

1) actually start working on my senior project. for real.
2) go take self-portraits with johnny. somewhere and sometime soon.
3) MAKE MORE ART. i continue to tell myself to. i just have to act on it.
4) eat nutritiously (and more than once a day), drink more water, do pilates or yoga at least 4x/week, blah blah blah.

...it just doesn't get done. i'll do it, just as soon as i stop freaking out, or rather stop NOT freaking out. that's the problem. i feel like i'm doing something ALL the time; researching, reading, writing or thinking for class, working at one of my 3 jobs, making time for the love of my life. i guess i just haven't figured out if that's the case, if i'm actually doing anything.

hide and seek.

inspired by hula seventy (yet again), here are a few things i want to do this fall:


plan a trip here, with him.

start one of these with this and especially with one of these.

wear these with my favorite pair of these. and, of course, with these, which i hope to own before the year's over.

see her perform in chicago in november. or anywhere, for that matter.

get one of these, so i can cruise for miles with this guy.

work lots here & here. and shop 105, too.

go here to pick these with anyone, but mostly him.

get the creative flow going so i can take some more of these, make some more of these and get some more of this.

be more daring and wear more of this.

use the one that john gave me. he's such a sweet boy.

celebrate this and go here.

wear this everyday. it's just so yummy.

be presented with one of these babies for my impending college graduation. black, please.

this list could essentially go on and on forever, mostly because there are so many things i want to do/see, but i'll stop here. i may, however, continue to do something like this as things change. and maybe i'll do one entitled 'things i want to do within the next year' but that list will be much longer, and will include lots of portland, biking and art (fingers crossed).

wearing red lipstick.

proudly wearing ridiculously red lipstick for the first time ever, i have discovered my new favorite blog, thanks to miss mb. it makes me melt, too.

addict

i've recently found myself addicted to design blogs and magazines, like decor8 and domino magazine. while being incredibly inspirational, in the sense that it makes me want to have a beautiful, comfortable space, it's also somewhat depressing, as i don't necessarily have the means or the furniture and accessories necessary to love my space. that's all i want to do - love the space i'm in to feel a little more balanced, but right now it's bare, disappointing and draining. i haven't really spent much on the furniture and have found some really great things, like the medium round coffee table that i stained and the soft green velvet chair i found while 'dumpster diving' that's in miraculously great shape. my space is quite depressing on the architectural design side, but it's cute and quaint and i can't get over wanting to make it a space that i'll enjoy. i mean, it IS my space. so as soon as i perfect it, i will share, but in the meantime, i'm going to pout and envy the incredible designers in magazines and on websites.

kosi bijou

\\here's what's new for fall:

again

yet again i'm re-evaluating the life i lead and what i can do to make the world a better place, to be comfortable with who i am and what i stand for, to make conscious and conscientious decisions, to better myself and those around me.

i took this quiz and found that my score was 10. after that, i realized that there is still so much more i could be doing to be more eco-friendly, definitely something i strive to achieve. yeah, so the average american has an ecological footprint of 24 and mine is much lower, but honestly, the average american sucks at being eco-friendly.

put my new shoes on...

and suddenly everything was right.

i bought some new shoes yesterday. i told john they were funny and he said, 'yeah, they look like something my aunts would wear.' i haven't met aunt suzanne or deette yet, but from what i've heard and seen in pictures, they do look like something they would wear.

aren't they funny?

just some things

my momma's been in zaire for about 2 weeks now and will be gone for another month and a half/i miss her, but it's definitely good for both her and me/i had strep throat all last week and as a result, the week was uncomfortable in almost every aspect/i still have my wisdom teeth, which were supposed to be yanked out of their homes thursday/i guess thank god for strep/i have 3 jobs, i'm broke and it sucks/i move into my apt. in about a week and a half/still not sure where the $525 + new/second-hand furniture + utilities is all going to come from/and i still want to do so many things that require some amount of payment/dates, tattoos, alicante reunion in iowa city, trips to dc (or portland), wisdom teeth/ yup, i said wisdom teeth, but that's a long story/i just need to take a deep breath, and with it, hopefully mounds of money will come/

bold & outrageous.

mary beth and i were talking today about being more brave and more daring. and i've been making kind of a half-hearted effort at that recently, just by trying to bring color into my wardrobe or making a robin thicke, jt, john legend, and john west playlist on my iPod so that i can play it while at work at shop shop. i bought a yellow dress the other day (which is now a few inches shorter because i put it in the dryer) and have been looking to broaden my closet's horizon, which consists of mostly black, brown, white and olive green, but this site has inspired me beyond comprehension. i honestly don't know how well i'd be able to pull some of this stuff off, but i'm going to make an effort to be a little more daring, while still maintaining my individual style.

a few of my favorites:

more of life.

the weekend:

jbl having a drink with hillary.

p clothes-pinning her...
(this is a pg-13 rated space)

steve wanting mb to touch his 'banana'

his banana...literally.

my family.
so this sums up the weekend. it was pretty amazing. i miss my sidekicks already.
august 30th we shall reunite.

the things that will fulfill my being at this point are taking the Slow approach to life, in every way possible. Slow food, Slow citta, Slow love. i'm really coming to understand the Slowness.
this is from my journal, 09. octubre. 2006, while i was on vacation in france:

[being in this village (of approximately 250) is amazing and is probably the biggest eye-opener...
i could never live this life as much as i admire it...
being so secluded and isolated is just a way of life i could not handle living.
unfortunately, it makes me appreciate many of the things in the states that make our lives so chaotic.
i like the fast pace and the noise of the streets.]

i look back on this stage and i can't help but think that i was just so overwhelmed by the differences and the changes i had to make to really appreciate europe in this sense. in retrospect now, i want something more similar to the european way of life than to the american way of life.
it just makes more sense.

i am also going to start making more jewelry with stones, like turquoise and jade, and shooting more...
i'm going to test out my dad's old 35mm cam just to see how it feels.
starting yoga this month, maybe more pilates, too.
i think i want my life to be more spiritual and have more meaning.
i'm really just looking forward to the next year...
i feel like there's so much to be done, so many adventures to take on.

happenings

it was a good weekend. john and i went to his lake house in panora too meet up with his parents for the day sunday. the weather was definitely not ideal, but it was a great day. we took the boat out on the lake a couple times. it was hoodie and jeans wearing weather on the lake, but it felt great. at about 8 that night, the sun decided to come out and we sat on the deck. it was beautiful.

john has been living in filth for most of the summer, but a couple of weeks ago, we cleaned his kitchen. it's amazing how your environment can change the way you feel. the kitchen has been (nearly) spotless for the last week or so and things have been perfect. it's a little strange, but it's almost like it was a burden hanging over our heads.

i finally cut my hair. it's a very strange thing - i feel so vulnerable and so empowered at the same time. all of my hair is gone, the hair that most people have come to know me by, and i feel so naked. everything feels exposed and i have never felt like this before. on the other hand, though, i feel like such a woman. my new 'do says ' this is me.' i like it.

lollapalooza is looking like a no. this summer hasn't been as profitable as past summers, so my adventures are limited. we're going to chicago labor day weekend for my very first larue weekend, so it looks like that's the next time i'll be traveling out of the state.

my vow.

today, i take a vow of self-improvement (less binging, more activity).

meet & greet.

hi. meet my new nephew mahambi emanuel bonyombe. he's wonderfully precious and adorably tinety.

why, when our limits are pushed and we are completely exhausted, do we say things we don't mean to the people who mean the most to us?

Slow days, but good days.

life is grand.

since high school, my summers have been bogged down by several different jobs, at least 2, if not 3. this summer was looking like that was going to happen again, but fortunately (and unfortunately), it's different. i have 2 jobs right now, but work very few shifts at both. i would definitely like to work more, but i can't complain with some new-found free time. i am looking for a 3rd, as i quit the sanctuary after just 2 shifts there. phew. such a cool place, such lousy energy. i decided to take a stand against the negative energy because i didn't want to surround myself with it...i'm all about positive energy because it really makes a difference. i have since applied at fair grounds (née grounds for dessert), a fair trade, vegan/vegetarian coffee shop downtown. if that doesn't fair, i'll look into applying at joe's place in the fall and will resort to working in a bar yet again. ugh.

there's a new little man in my life...his name is mahambi emanuel bonyombe and he's the toast man's little brother, born tuesday the 12th. he came in weighing a measly 4 lbs. 14 oz., which is a result of being born 3(+) weeks early. prior to his birth day, ultrasounds/checkups were showing that he wasn't moving much, which is obviously a concern, so all parties concerned decided it was best to get him out. thankfully, he's a beautiful, healthy little man (i'll put up some pictures when his dad decides to give my camera back). today is his big brother's 2nd birthday, but sadly, manny will be celebrating in the hospital so the docs can make sure that he's as healthy as he needs to be.

i bought in praise of slowness, by carl honore at prairie lights a while back. i've been reading it here and there, but today, i really delved into it while working on my tan lines. it advocates a slower paced life, one that most of us aren't used to being so exploited by clocks and schedules. it discusses the Slow Movement, a movement that is gaining strength across the globe, advising people that life is something to be enjoyed, that the idea of time is not a finite thing, that time renews itself. i'm not even 100 pages into it yet, but i can see that the Slow life is the life i want to live. all i can say at this point is read the book and be moved. it's one of those.

i guess this is just a summer of love, one to just enjoy life.

newness

so, as i've said before, i'm looking to make a change to my look.
my hair has been my trademark for a while...at least the last 3 years, but as it no longer has a distinguishable style, i think it's time to switch it up.
i can't handle combing it once a week because it hurts too much to comb it more often or pretending that i don't have dreadlocks when, in all reality, i have the fiercest unintentional dreadlocks you will ever come across.
so i'm going to leave all of that behind and get this: