Carol singing in the village green
Easton, Somerset, England
December, 2009

Merry Christmas from Mike's family's village in England! We're having a great Christmas here with his parents, brother, and sister-in-law. This afternoon we're enjoying our new toys, eating chocolate, and relaxing in the sunny, mild weather. I hope your Christmas is great, too.

I'm so grateful for you, my friends! I wish health and happiness for you and your loved ones today and always.

Tomorrow I'll post photos from Edinburgh!

( A few more photos of Christmas carols with the people of Easton )

At my uncle's christmas eve party tonight, for some reason, relatives kept implying I would be having children in the near future.

whut?

I feel so old. I'll probably use my $30 walmart gift card on prescriptions and food. O frabjous day!

I'm excited for tomorrow :) need moar eggnog, though.

(everyone else is watching day after tomorrow right now. I'm just kinda laughing)

Finally updated my website. Will have to add a portraiture section at some point, but not without first having some sort of cohesive reasoning behind it. Added lightbox in order to have an option to read an introduction to each series. Also removed some filler - it's time I concentrate on what it's all about. Of course, since I'm coding these on my own, it's still strictly amateur hour when it comes to the design:

http://lungliu.com

Easton, Somerset
December 18, 2009

Mike and I are in England right now, visiting his parents for Christmas. Today we had beautifully sunny weather, so I spent the afternoon walking around Easton, the village where Mike grew up. It's a small town of only a couple hundred people, near the city of Wells in southwest England. I walked around today and took pictures of all the cool-looking old stuff in the village. Of course the people here are just as contemporary as everyone else, but I'm American and therefore I love English old stuff. After six years of visiting England together, Mike is learning to accept that about me. ;-)

( More photos of Mike's hometown )

Still me, still crazy. Was too nice to set holiday deadlines. Now practically living at studio. Sort-of decorated for Christmas but haven't even bought tree. Need caffeine stat.

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So, I'm chillin', done with school, it's all cool, and I thought I'd recount some of the moneymoney I've been making over the last week. Just 'cause.

I sold back an old textbook I used this summer for $23.50 (didn't think I'd get anything for it, tbh! I didn't even buy it from the uni bookstore)
I picked up a paycheck for $9.
I got a reimbursement check for $60, my PTS dues
Put in my new housing requisition, $3000 worth.
E-mailled a prof for a letter of recommendation for a summer research proggie
Went by my place of employment and made my case to be paid more than $9. Should be closer to 80, tbh. It's a strong case, seeing how I worked the hours. Did I ever tell you guys that I never got paid for my first day at Whatta-burger? No one showed me how to clock in, so I never did it. Jerks.
Sold that iPod I mysteriously won in a random drawing for $120. It's worth $200 from apple, I asked $170, and got jewed down, but I don't mind too much. That's $120 I wouldn't've had before, and some little hispanic girl apparently gets a merry christmas. Whatev. If the mom wasn't paying out the yazoo for her iphone data plan, I probably could've gotten all $170, but that's just being greedy for something that fell into my lap.
and a handful of survey checks.

And now you all know the secret to my internet generosity. Money falls into my lap and I give it away. Does that make me a good person or a dumbass? My mom would probably say it's a God thing, but I think you all know I don't think that's true. But it always seems to me that the appropriate results befall the appropriate people. I guess that's a privileged white girl outlook.

Now, back to kicking ass. If I kick enough ass, asses will start to kick themselves for me, saving me a lot of time and effort. Hi'yah!

Manitou Springs, Colorado
December 12, 2009

We live in an adorable Victorian town just west of Colorado Springs. Manitou Springs sits at the base of Pikes Peak and is filled with cute cafes and art galleries. Every year I look forward to Christmas shopping at the local artist co-ops. This time I brought a camera... why didn't I think to do that sooner?

All these photos were taken with my Canon 5DMkII and a Canon 35mm 1.4L that I rented for the holidays.

( More photos of Manitou )

At the San Luis Hotel in Galveston. Photo by Tynne.

Ally hates getting ice stuck between her toes when we go walking, so Mike and I decided to experiment with doggie snow boots. There's no way she'll agree to wear them in public, but at least we got our money's worth in laughs tonight.

I'm sitting in the car with the heat on while Will and Sophie are in the market picking up ice; Will was singing "I like to eat apples and bananas" and somehow that gave him a hankering for an orange Julius? We're on our way home from installing a bamboo wall collection. It looks stunning: a 24x36 flanked by 16x24s on the bottom and three 16x20s on top. (I'll try to remember to imbed images later). This was the first one we've installed for someone and I can say with a surety: totally worth the evening. I love having clients that become friends.

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