I made the mistake of not taking my camera.

Most art museums don’t allow photographs, so I didn’t bother, but we got there and were allowed to in the main exhibit. I apologize for the quality, a cell phone takes decent pictures but nothing turned out how I wanted it to.

The majority of the space was taken up with the main attraction, an exhibition of the works of Dale Chihuly, who is an amazing artist who works with glass and light. My pictures really don’t do them justice, so try clicking through to his site and see more of his incredible work. There was a video in the exhibit showing 13 short clips of different projects, my boyfriend and I stood and watched, practically mesmerized, until closing time.

The rest of the available space was a display of a variety of pieces from the museum’s collection, including Autumn Leaves by O’Keefe (one of my favourite pieces there) and a Monet and a Picasso.

There is just something about seeing one of the masters works close up.

There was also a small section for children to create zoo art which they posted, but the pieces that caught my eye were older paintings, both still lifes, one that depicted a table with food (including a vibrant red lobster) and a floral one with insects hidden among the flowers.

I spent a lot of time examining the detail in the first, and searching for bugs in the second. It was a very fun way to end the art tour, and allowed recovery from the huge, bright, delicate pieces of Chihuly.

Images created by Chihuly in the sculpting process.

So, we set off in search of Urbana and Tea Baggers and @ShadyMutton. It was far from a nice sunny day, and we got lost in the fog. Not literally thankfully, but we didn’t check the directions as well as we should have, and ended up somewhere not in the directions I had written down. Josh rose to the occasion though (after a few choice muttered words) and, wait for it, STOPPED AND ASKED FOR DIRECTIONS. He’s a keeper, amirite ladies? Yeah. It turned out we were headed the right direction, so we kept driving through American farm country in the bright fog/snow combination that made me keep my eyes closed for most of the trip.

The town of Urbana was incredibly cute. Some parts, the parts we weren’t supposed to find and found because we got a little lost again (have you guys heard of road signs?) were a little shady and included a road with three cars plus a cop car pulled onto the side. Not sure what was going on there. Thank goodness for cell phones with Twitter apps so I could check the instructions again. We found a place to park in the main square and walked to the restaurant where @ShadyMutton and daughter and baby were waiting for us. Hug for me and handshake/introduction for Josh and daughter broke the ice. After the flurry of conversation while we tried to decide on our menu selection. It was tough, as this was a favourite plMy delicious lunch!ace of hers and everything sounded delicious. Everyone but Josh settled on French Onion soup (apparently a specialty there and I decided to try it for the first time since it was so highly recommended) and a sandwich. Mine was a turkey croissant panini with sundried tomato and herb mayo, totally delicious. Josh had the Reuben which he is a sucker for, a fact that makes my family extremely happy as we love Josh and I.sauerkraut (have to eat it to fit in with the family of course). We talked through the entire meal and for quite a while afterward. The chat was interrupted only by the efforts to wake and feed the baby, who apparently likes to sleep all day and keep his mom awake at night. We stayed and talked until the restaurant closed, which gave us about two hours to sit around eating and talking and cooing over the baby (all except for Josh).

@ShadyMutton & IWhoever condones Twitter as merely an application to update people on your sleep, coffee and food schedule doesn’t know how to use it and is completely missing out. Just going to say if anyone needs proof, I've got it in spades. I am having an amazing time with my boyfriend (who I met on Twitter) and the afternoon with @ShadyMutton was one full of food, fun and friendship.

Outdoor fountain and lights at Easton.

Project Glow by Ryan Ross (2009) A Royal Walnut moth & light buld which animates every half hour.After the visit Josh wanted to show me a shopping centre called Easton, which was an indoor/outdoor mall complex. It was a chilly evening so I was glad for the combination; whenever we got cold we’d pop into a store, and the inside mall had some food stalls where we got a snack to tide us over while shopping. We got there just before the sun went down, and Easton is definitely better at night (the pictures don’t do it justice). I got to look around some of the American stores I had never visited before. Some were good while some were disappointing, to say the least. We went into Pottery Barn (not impressed), Crate&Barrel (LOOOVED), Barnes & Nobel (I picked up the wrong book before leaving Canada), the Lego store (yeah we’re geeks) and Victoria’s Secret.

Now, I have never been one to really enjoy shopping for underthings, and this try certainly didn’t change my mind. Victoria’s Secret is overrated. The store was confusing and the product tacky. I didn’t like any of the colours there beside the basic black, white and nude. The sales people left me pretty well alone, which I enjoyed, until I went to try on the single bra & panty set and long sleeve shirt I had picked out.

The sales lady opened the changing room for me, asked my name, and then inquired what size I was. A bit flustered I told her, and she said she would go get some other things in my size to try on, which was placed in a box that was slid under the door while I changed, even after I quite bluntly said I didn’t like anything there that wasn’t the aforementioned colours. I felt like they were being pushy, and I don’t like being pushed. I tried on my three items and left the changing area as soon as I could. At the check-out I was stuck behind this lady who was dropping at least $200, and wouldn’t stop picking up the little impulse items by the cash and asking how much they were. It was at least ten minutes before she finally finished and paid for her purchase. In all, a very frustrating experience, and they were quite lucky I bought anything at that point. I am glad I did however, as the shirt is extremely comfortable.

Another stop we made was at…

Yeah. Just for fun (and to shake things up a little bit with my family, specifically my sisters) we went into Tiffany’s to look, and got sucked into looking at and trying on rings. Don’t worry though, no plans for one any time soon! They were really expensive (the one I tried on was over six grand) and honestly I didn’t see anything I felt attached to immediately. Good thing for my boyfriend! One thing I did get out of it was my ring size, may as well find out something like that when you can.

That was everything exciting that happened that day, we got DQ burgers on the way home, ate and went to bed. It was a good day though, and I was very glad to get out of the apartment. It’s tough to go out and do things except on the days my boyfriend has off, so it was great to really make a day of it.

It was a beautiful afternoon, an amazing four hours with my boyfriend at a deserted zoo. Hope you enjoy the pictures (I posted them on my Flickr site instead of here, so, click here or on the sidebar to the right!)



The trip was a fairly uneventful one, with the sole exception of my experience with US customs at the Halifax Airport. My carry-on bags were searched *very* thoroughly; everything emptied and I was required to turn on anything electronic. My tablet was held out with a slightly puzzled look until I explained what it was. I was even screened for explosives. The procedure is hands in pockets, held out for a swab which is then run through an analyzer. Interesting screening is all I can say. But, getting on to the customs officer!

The normal questions were asked, why I was going (pleasure-see my boyfriend) and where I was staying (didn't know exact address but knew street). He of course then asked how we met (I said webcomics) and then he gave me a look. This look preceded a mini-lecture on how I should make the right choices about our relationship, and if things were getting serious that I should go through the right channels, and not just stay in the States. I had to pull out my confirmation e-mail (lucky I printed that off) to prove that I was indeed going to come home. He was also concerned that I would be able to support myself for the month. I didn't think it wise to say my boyfriend would be supporting me, and luckily could say without it being a lie that I had money saved. He also questioned my job, and whether I would have one when I came back. Bleh. There was nothing I could think of to say to convince him that I was indeed an intelligent young woman, not some foolish girl who wanted to run off and hide in the States. I was very glad when the conversation came to a close and he stamped my passport.

The actual flying and traveling went well. My panicked cold sweats and nervousness were all for naught. The Chicago airport was quiet and pretty easy to navigate. I had to switch terminals using a bus, and I was the only one on it. I found my gate quickly, and spent enough time there that I calmed down enough to eat some McDonald's. I don't eat when I get stressed normally, but was glad I did this time, was very hungry, and the sandwich was excellent! (for McDonald's mind you) I noticed a lot of military men in the terminal, and was walking near one when another traveler stopped him and thanked him for serving his country and keeping them safe. It made me a tad uncomfortable, and I think it did him as well.

The plane from Chicago to Columbus was the smallest plane I have ever been on. When we landed there was a pretty long walk from the tarmac through the terminal where my boyfriend was waiting for me. I had to bite my lip pretty hard at points to keep a huge foolish grin from appearing. Luckily I was paying attention, because I think he would have let me walk past him! Apparently there was an older security guard on a Segway that he had taken a picture of and was absorbed in that.Pepperoni and onion pizza with a Smokin' Joes crust from HoundDogs! (soo messy!)

We drove back to his apartment, where I e-mailed everyone to let them know I was safe. Dinner was some amazing pizza at HoundDog's, accompanied by beer (of course). Josh got Blue Moon (that's Rickard's White to us in Canada) while I tried a bottled variety, Killan's I think, which was tasty.

We went to bed early and got up at a reasonable time. Sitting on my boyfriend's couch and being able to look over and see him in person is slightly weird, but *very* enjoyable.We didn't leave the house to get food until mid-afternoon, just were content to go through a relaxing morning of surfing the internet and Twitter. Surprisingly it was snowing pretty hard and we had no desire to go out into the cold and wet. When we eventually dragged ourselves out of the apartment we headed to a Bob Evans, where I had some really delicious French Toast with vanilla cream cheese, blueberries and whipped cream. We made a trip to an art store, where I got new Sharpies (neon colours I didn't have) and to Target for some supplies. He took me to his place of work, but only one person he wanted to introduce me to was there, so I imagine we'll be taking another trip back at some point. All in all it has been a very peaceful start to an amazing "vacation"! Tomorrow we are planning to drive to Indiana to spend the weekend with his mother. His siblings are planning on stopping by, and I am hoping to visit another Twitter friend on the way! We are hoping the weather and roads are going to cooperate.

I get a lot of questions about how it works. In my eyes, it is just another long distance relationship. This one however, is working, thanks to technology. We met thanks to it, and we're keeping together because of it. I find when most people think of "internet dating" they think chat rooms, email, TEXT ONLY. This is most certainly not the case. Granted, it started out that way, texting each other with Twitter, adding our cell phones when he went on vacation or when he was at work. Eventually we added cameras, and then voice chatting. Now we are on Skype (video calls) whenever the two of us are home at the same time. He texts my cell to wake me up in the morning (infinitely preferable to an alarm clock- it's on vibrate). We send each other texts while at work. We basically see each other and spend as much time together as any couple who lives together. Which we wouldn't if he were in the same town; I don't believe in living together before getting married.

So, yes, long distance relationships, even ones based on internet meetings, can work. They take a lot of time, effort and understanding. When physical contact requires a plane ticket, it takes a solid effort to build the trust to get to a meeting. We had a wonderful week in October together (I know I didn't blog about that...sorry guys). The meeting in person is an important step...sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. I am not surprised that it worked for us, because we had spent so much time together.

And yes, it may not work out in the end. I'm still waiting for us to have our first fight! But we have some wonderful times planned, and if it doesn't work, I'll still be grateful for the time we've had together.

1. Was employed by a non-profit org, became unemployed. Drifted into self-employment and went back to my retail job (Staples).
2. Started and registered my own business (still working on that).
3. Met an incredible guy (who I hope will become the only man in my life) on the internet and met him in person! (he came up for a week, which I’ve been meaning to blog about…we’ll see, I’ll have some spare time soon!)
4. Vacationed in  Montreal with my ex-boyfriend for a week (not-recommended) to meet up with fans/creators of the webcomic LICD/LFG.
5. Went to the New England Webcomics Weekend in Massachusetts to meet up with fans/creators of a whole bunch of webcomics!
6. Moved out of the parent’s house and into my grandparents’ apartment. Yay for gaining more independence!
7. Took a hiking trip to Cape Breton with my mother for a vacation (which rocked, we saw moose!).
8. Went to my first drive-in movie. It was a double feature, Transformers: Rise of the Fallen and the new Star Trek.
9. I appeared in a webcomic! I was drawn by 2 webcomic artists and shared a bed with 2 webcomic artists…not telling who *wink*.
10. My sister got married! Okay, so not my accomplishment, but, it was pretty special, and I helped in the planning and execution of it, so it counts.

Also, I started this blog. Which brings me to what I want to accomplish this year that I will record here for posterity:

1. Write more blog posts

Yeah, that about covers it. Thanks for sticking around! Here’s to another year!

I thought I would go into a bit more depth on my blog as to why I replied to that post.

The internet has opened pretty much every aspect of life to the general public to view, research and comment on. While many people see this as a good thing, others are not quite so happy about it. When your position within an area of expertise is threatening to become "less important" because knowledge is becoming more "common", you would feel prickly too. On the flip side, those who are doing the exploring and gaining new insight into areas that were once thought of as off-limits are excited at the possibilties now open to them (and I'm not talking about positions as chefs in gourmet restaurants, although, for some I am sure it is possible).

My comment was written based on the fact that I believe everyone has a right to enjoy food. While I respect "gourmet" (knowing that I will never be a pastry chef or sommelier) I do not see the need to nitpick at our title of "foodie" and then blatantly misrepresent us.

"Do not create words for things we all do naturally." Sure, I get that. New words in the English language can be seen as annoying and superfluous. However, a word to describe a trend towards eating healthy and taking enjoyment in food is perfectly acceptable in my mind. Maybe there needs to be discussion on what a "foodie" is, but, really, who cares? I identify myself as one, and to me it is a positive thing. Others may not see it as such, and I will defend what I believe, but in the scheme of things, it doesn't really matter.

As my friend Colin said, "So many things that deserve concern, and people are bickering about what to call people who do stuff with food?"

Point taken.

Behold, the geeky glory that is my ring.

The complete package. I was delighted with the signed business card and the cute travel pouch!Modeling the ring (going to wear it on the opposite hand, but couldn't shoot a photo with my left!) as well as the custom business card from Moo.com.A comparison of art and real life.

It is light, comfortable and very attractive as well as fully adjustable, and I couldn't be happier with it.

Thanks Madelyn!

Envirothon is something I was very active (and successful) in while a high school student, and I have enjoyed getting involved with it again after a short break. Seeing new students participating and learning about their natural environment and how they interact with it is exciting, especially when they have fun doing it!

And now for (another) public service announcement:

If you're an adult and have any expertise in the natural environment, teams are always looking for you to pass on your knowledge. If you don't have this knowledge but know someone who does, please pass this on to them. And if you know high school students or high school teachers who would be interested in getting involved, please tell them about this program. Envirothon is entirely responsible for my choice in where I went to university and what I took while there. It can have a huge impact.

Thanks!

Oh, and here is the Wiki for Envirothon, as well as our local Envirothon page. You can find Canon Envirothon on Facebook too.

I decided not to put a pin through this one like normal (happy with that decision too). Not sure how I'm going to display it yet, and now that I look at it I see my mistakes, but luckily it's pretty enough to make up for it.

Spreading can be tricky. It takes patience and a steady hand. But when I settle into it properly, it can be almost a zen experience. My breathing slows, my fingers cooperate and I focus completely on the insect laying in front of me.

Moths are so gorgeous, I feel sick when I make a mistake. So, I practice with smaller ones before I try to tackle the larger ones.

 This moth is one I learned a hard lesson with: always make sure your subjects are dead before you try to spread them. Yes, sounds horrible I know. This is the moth setting, I spread it in the evening, and awoke the next morning to the sound of struggling...I took drastic measures and stuck it in the freezer.

Unfortunately the damage had already been done. In the top image you can definitely see the rubbing on the wings from it struggling against the spreading papers. The bottom picture is one I had a professional spread (I was too scared to touch it, I hadn't spread anything that large before).

Once they are spread, they can become beautiful displays of natural art, either by themselves or, as an integral part of pieces like these. Those are examples of things I would love to be able to create with my insects. Maybe someday.