Israelique

Keeping it fresh since 1985.

Musica.



Lately there has been less and less time to simply look at pretty things. Just gaze and let the creativity/simplicity sink in. I got out of work tonight after a busy day feeling drained of any real appreciation of anything. I took off my coat, made myself some dinner and decided to change that. So I've spent the evening noshing on good stuff (healthy yes! Operation Jenn is doing well...15 lbs down...) and brewing ideas for my own creative prospects. The thing is, there are so many ways you can use your talents to help others around, but it's just a matter of figuring out how to put it into motion.

In the meantime, here are a few of my favorite things. Not all of them are necessities by any stretch of the word, but it doesn't mean I can't look, right?


Caroline Swift's Campaign Sorbet via Design*Sponge

Tiny terrarium from John and Stacie on their blog.







----------------
Now playing:
Jolie Holland - Mexican Blue
via FoxyTunes

"I'm floating with the birds
I'm talking to the weeds
Look what you've done to me

I'm still dressed up from the night before
Silken hose and an old Parisian coat
And I feel like a queen at the bus stop on the street
Look what you've done to me

It's a beautiful morning in the ghetto
Finer than the day before
The ants are crawling over my pants as if to say
They know where the honey is

There's really old roses blooming in the ghetto
Birds of paradise are taller than me
The weeds grow high, the birds flicker by
Children are walking to school

In the midst of all of this profusion
The bus pulls up to take me back home
The bus driver looks like an African prince
The babies have tears in their eyes

And I feel like a queen
On this sunny city bus
Look what you've done to me"

Jolie Holland - "Crush In The Ghetto"



I have been doing some loom knitting and tonight I finished another hat. This one actually fits someone's head older than 2 years. However, my head is killing me now.


I was watching The Colbert/Stewart election special last night around 11 pm when they announced that Barack Obama would be our next president. I could barely contain my excitement and I spent much of the even on our porch, listening to the crowds next door celebrating. I could have gone to the election party, but I really felt like spending the evening alone with the news. A lot has changed these past two years and much of that has been caused by our government's policies, both international and domestic. We need someone we can believe in and find an aura of strength to help our country through these times.





As today is my day off, I have begun my holiday crafts. I'm crafting all of my gifts this year (well most of them) and I started with my niece, Sandie.



Have a good afternoon! Go and enjoy the weather!


-Jenny

Musica Nueva

Tonight I was able to deposit my paycheck and I decided that I would get myself a new mp3 player. My iPod took a nosedive when I saw the infamous sad faced icon with a warning symbol. Deciding to stray away from Apple this time, I picked out a rather inexpensive Phillips 4 G mp3 player. I figure that since I had my iPod for a good 3 years, this one would last for a while.

It's pretty nifty and does the trick for what I want it for. I don't like a lot of crazy doodads simply because I usually forget to use them. I would much rather have simple mechanics and than bells and whistles.


Well with a new player, I decided to look into some new music.

One band that really seems to fit well in my life spectrum at the moment is Old Crow Medicine Show.



A bluegrass group hailing from Nashville, these guys have really blown me away. Now and then, I like to dip into alt-country and bluegrass and this is definitely a pool I will be dipping into regularly.

The band's website.


Photo Credit: www.opb.com

So it has been quite a while since my last posting and life has taken on a new meaning since then. Well, not a completely new meaning, that's a little dramatic. BUT I am allowing myself to let loose more often.

So what if everything isn't exactly how I want it? Big deal. I am sure I will survive. Now is the time to think of what is going on around us and how much of an impact we all can make.

This was passed onto me by a close friend and I can't get over it.


"The only difference between a rut and a grave is their dimensions."
~Ellen Glasgow


Sometimes you just have to step back and take a look at the direction you're facing.

WHY IS THE CRAZY MOON LANGUAGE GIRL SINGING AT 2:20 AM? WHY?...WHY?

M-O-O-N L-A-N-G-U-A-G-E.

ARGHLE!


Sigh, I'm never going to sleep.

So I have been trying to get health insurance for the past 2 years after a short stretch with Medicaid. The only reason I qualified for it then was because I was under 21 and in college. You automatically qualify if you are going to college full time, which I was at that point. I wouldn't have even known about this if I hadn't had Toxic Shock Syndrome, so I guess something good came of the situation. WELL, now since I've had TSS and my other surgery I don't qualify for insurance through most private companies. I also don't qualify for state or federal insurance because A) I'm not pregnant. B) I don't already have children. C) I have a job.

So because I'm becoming independant and taking responsibilty for my body and actions, I don't matter in the eyes of the government and insurance companies.


Funny, huh?



I have embarked on my first crochet-a-long...which should be a fun little project. It's an Lion Brand Fisherman's Wool afghan, but not in wool because it gets too warm for me


I also want to make that sushi ipod holder...someday..

xoxo

Inspiration


1. What is your first name? Jenny
2. What is your favorite food? hummus
3. What high school did you go to? Mona Shores High School
4. What is your favorite color? orange
5. Who is your celebrity crush? Diego Luna...meow.
6. Favorite drink? Arnold Palmers
7. Dream vacation? Buenos Aires
8. Favorite dessert? macarons
9. What you want to be when you grow up? textile artist
10. What do you love most in life? my family
11. One Word to describe you. quirky
12. Your Flikr name: Unapologetic Francophilia





I need a little inspiration to start planning my holiday gift list...not for things that I want, but a list of things I want to start making for everyone else. Last year I started way too late (early December) and I realized that I didn't have enough time to do everything with the quality I had origionaly wanted. SO this year I decided to start ridiculously early, but at least I'll have time to re-do, revise and add to the list just in case I forget anyone. Plus it will give me something to do when I'm not job searching or hanging out with my new roomie and her kitten.

I'm packing up again, for what feels like the millionth time. Well I will be packing up once I get back from the craft store. I am in dire need of a sketchbook. Why? I don't know. I fMeel the need to create...to do something that will take some of this pressure off. I think I'm giving myself an ulcer, at least that's what WebMD.com says. I've always been a bit of a hypochondriac, but everytime I calm down and feel healthy for any period of time, something really DOES go wrong. Bah, screw it. Things will happen no matter what, no?

I have a longer post planned for tonight, but for now, this will have to do.

.....

Real estate agent shot and killed in Roosevelt Park office

By JAMES PRICHARD • Associated Press Writer • July 1, 2008


ROOSEVELT PARK — A man upset about a property transaction shot a real estate agent in the head, mortally wounding him, during a meeting Tuesday morning in the victim’s office, authorities said.

Troy VanderStelt, 34, was pronounced dead at 12:45 p.m. at Mercy Health Partners Hackley Campus in Muskegon, said Muskegon County Prosecutor Tony Tague.

A suspect was arrested a short time after the shooting at a home in nearby Norton Shores. Tague identified him as Robert Arnold Johnson, 73, of Roosevelt Park.

Johnson was scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday in Muskegon County District Court on charges of first-degree premeditated murder and using a firearm during the commission of a felony, the prosecutor said.

A conviction on the murder count carries a mandatory life prison sentence with no possibility of parole.

Tague said Johnson plotted to kill VanderStelt, took a .22-caliber semiautomatic handgun to the real estate agent’s office, got him preoccupied with some paperwork in a conference room, stood next to him, pulled out the gun and shot him once in the temple.

“We believe this was a planned-out execution-style murder of the real estate agent,” the prosecutor said.

Tague told WOOD-TV in Grand Rapids that Johnson believed that VanderStelt took advantage of him in a real estate deal. Johnson bought a house through him in 2005, then recently decided to sell it and went to a different real estate agent. The second agent told Johnson that, because of the slumping housing market, the home was not worth what he had paid for it.

The shooting happened around 8:45 a.m. at Nexes Realty Inc. in Roosevelt Park, a city of about 3,900 people just south of Muskegon.

Police Chief Bill Wiebenga said the suspected gunman was talking with VanderStelt in the conference room when an employee heard a popping sound.

Johnson left the building and drove directly to the Norton Shores home of his former son-in-law, whom he handed the gun. The ex-son-in-law then dialed 911, Tague said.

Police arrested Johnson and took him to the Muskegon County Jail, where he was being held without bond until his arraignment hearing. There was no answer to telephone calls made to his home, seeking comment.

Tague said he did not know whether Johnson had retained a lawyer.

About a dozen people were in the real estate office at the time of the shooting but no one else was injured or threatened by the gunman, Wiebenga said.

The last slaying in Roosevelt Park was in April 1988, when a 90-year-old man and his 87-year-old wife were stabbed to death in their apartment, The Muskegon Chronicle reported on its Web site. The man convicted of murdering them died in prison in 2006.




 




A Response

 I received some not so pleasant emails from someone who found my Cozies For A Cause website. It could have been through Bust Magazine's link pages or Planned Parenthood...I don't know or care. But here was my response.


" Yo, I understand completely that everyone is entitled to their own opinion and that's just peachy keen, but I have a right to my own as well...so either don't look at the website and do your own thing, or shut your pie hole. Maybe in your opinion I am a "sinner" and I will burn in the "deep, dark depths of the Devil's underground" (your words, not mine)...but I'll take my chances. Maybe damnation isn't so bad. Hell (no pun intended), start an abstinence program...do something productive with your passion for the lack of booty action. That's cool in my book and I'll donate. If giving 10 bucks will keep you from bugging me then it's worth it. Have a good one, bro.
"


I'm just sayin'.

Ok, so maybe  he does.


All I have to say can be summed up with this video:


Well I have ANOTHER job as of yesterday...which is a thrill of course.  I also got my back paycheck and had a nice visit with my mumsy and grammie. We decided it would be a good idea to see a movie and what do they want to see? Sex In The City. Yes. Possibly one of the most awkward movies to see with your mother and grandmother. Oy. Wait, I take that back. Here is a list of movies I have seen with them:

1. American Beauty -  Great movie, but try explaining that to a confused mother.
2. Magnolia -  Strange. Frogs?
3. Something About Mary -   "OH MY GOD. WHAT IS THAT YOUNG LADY PUTTING IN HER    HAIR? Well that is just TOO much." Nothing is more awkward                                                         than  listening to your grandmother chuckle over a                                                                                 masturbation joke.
4. Sex In The City - Enough tits? I swear if I have to look at the boy/girl looking                                 redhead's  chesticles one more time I might poke my eyes out.

I am in love with the following artists this week:
1. Neko Case
2. Jolie Holland
3. Nickel Creek
4. Elton John
5. A Tribe Called Quest


That is all.




So I've embarked on a fundraising project these last couple weeks. It's called Cozies For A Cause and it's a safe sex campaign that raises money for HIV/AIDS Services, Inc. of Grand Rapids, MI and Planned Parenthood of West and Northern Michigan. At $5 bucks a pop, I am hand sewing and making felt condom "cozies" and all the proceedsare going to the two organizations. 



http://cozies4acause.bravehost.com

Check 'er out.

-Me

Seriousely. Either way, I'm living in Traverse City offically for the summer, which is pretty alright in my book. I'll admit, I'm a sap and I miss mi familia, but I'll get over it.

I'll be updating when I feel like dragging my ass to the library, so don't be a d-bag.

Only not really. I'm actually going to be with lots of people I suppose. Either way, I can't help but feel sad about heading up north. It's a weird feeling. Blarg.

So I was listening to some Rilo Kiley this afternoon, it seemed like a Jenny Lewis sort of day. Man, I would do all sorts of nasty things to that gal. Well not really. I would mostly just lick her face. It's so damn cute, I can't help myself. I also decided that it would be an Eisley evening.

"Do you remember how it was whenwe were fascinators?"
"Vintage People" - Eisley

Perfection. If you haven't heard them yet, check it out man.


Time for dinner with the folks.

Keep on keepin' on.





Today seems to have a vague Italian theme and that's alright by me. Yesterday, I picked up some Sinfonia mercerized cotton yarn at Hobby Lobby and I fell in L-O-V-E. I can't figure out what to make with it quite yet, but I'll figure something out.







So I was "surfing the web", as you kids like to say, and I decided to see if I couldn't find a pretty scarf to wear rather than my same old ones I always have on. Don't worry, I wash them. Sure, I saw alot of pretty fabrics...gauzy, cotton, silk, glitter, ect...but THIS one is truely a golden nugget! Granted, it might be a wee bit gaudy, but fuck it, I don't care. It's feels pretty. Purim may have come and gone, but I think this one would be great this summer. Plus, it's called Queen Ester. Who doesn't want to be Queen Ester? I don't know if I can justify $20.00 for it though, but the shipping is only $1.95 anywhere. Meh, I'll think about it I suppose. I'd love it in the light pink, blue or white. Maybe I wouldn't look like a pirate.











I am used to wearing tiechels (or mitpachat) that look more like this:



The countdown to my summer is at 4 days.




Fraunch

I have created the world's cutest squid stuffie. Well I guess it's the world's greatest to me because I've never been able to make one that doesn't look like a dong.

His name is Pierre and he is fraunch.

Image and video hosting by TinyPic
Image and video hosting by TinyPic


So after many attempts, I have found a sea creature crochet pattern for a stuffed squid that doesn't look completely phallic. I would feel a little weird giving my nephew a toy that looks like a tallywacker, but that's just me. Etsy.com, being the gem that it is, has always provided me with good patterns at a huge price chop compared to JoAnne's. I've actually found three patterns by this same seller, NeedleNoodles, and they have all been adoreable.




Cephalopods Crochet Pattern
Easily the cutest cephalopods ever...


Pattern by NeedleNoodles and here is her shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=33135








Some of my favorite pattern purchases that I haven't had a chance to make yet:








Spanish Lady Dancer Pattern
Aye Mami! I am going to make her and she will be named Christina, my sassy alter ego. She will sit in my car and sass at the morons that cut me off in traffic.

Pattern by melbangel. Melbangels shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=87376




Tea Party Set Crochet Pattern

I've started making this, actually. Instead I used an organic cotton in light blue, yellow, white and black. I can't remember what brand it is because I tend to take off the wrapper when I buy them, which is dumb. This set, in my colors, seems very Alice In Wonderland. Too bad Sandie doesn't like to have tea parties anymore...I'll find another little darlink that wants it.

Pattern by anapaulaoli, a great crocheter with a wonderful etsy store at: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=9639 . I love her Katamari Damacy pattern.


Ice Cream Wristlet/Purse Crochet Pattern

These just SCREAM summer! Now, I am not a summer type of gal, but even I can get excited for the heat with these cute bags. I hate that I haven't made them yet, but I think I might have to do that tonight. I love the red "cherry" bead closure at the top! I saw a minty green yarn in my giant stash the other day and with a couple brown beads, I could have a delicious purse that will be the envy of every other dairy/mint lover. Pattern by candypopcreations and her Etsy shop is at http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=26471 .


Amigurumi Ice Cream Crochet Pattern
There seems to be a "pattern" in my pattern choices. I think I might have been having a calcium craving the week I bought these. Either way, these little treats are adoreable. Another NeedleNoodles creation, I can't help but want to eat these up. I did get a chance to make the popsicle as a creamsicle for a friend's birthday, but I haven't had a chance to finnish the rest of them. Again, her shop is at http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=33135 . You really should check it out if you have any interest in crochet or learning to do so.
Amigurumi Jellyfish Crochet Pattern
ANOTHER NeedleNoodles pattern, and just as cute as the rest of them. I have actually made this for a friend of mine, but switched it up just a little bit. I plan on making many of these!


Sweet Magnolia Scarflette Crochet Pattern
My first real wearable pattern, this was too cute to pass up really. I've started the main scarf portion, so I am well on my way to an adorable addition to my wardrobe.
Pattern by Fablehandmadegoods at http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=10963 .
Lyle The Lobster Crochet Pattern
Now, I have a thing for lobsters. Not sure why, but I do. They're cute in a weird crustation sort of way. I wanted this pattern to make a lobster wallet, but never actually did so. Now, I think I might make a lobster condom cozy. Cute and easy pattern. Should work up pretty quickly.
Pattern by DandelionDreamers at http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=52076 .
Amigurumi Boy Crochet Pattern
OHHHHHH NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Mr. Bill! I bought this for the hell of it...perhaps I need a little Mr. Bill for my car? Yes, yes I do.
Pattern by AerieDesigns at http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=15594 and if you love dogs, check out her site. It's a goodin'!
NOTE: All photos are property of the artists and thier shops.

Drugs, Man.

I have once again decided to give this whole blogging thing a chance. I enjoying writing and I'm just as self involved as everyone else on this damn planet, so why not? I have recently come by some good news so this is going to be a happy-go-lucky sort of entry.

I will be picking up my ass and moving it to Traverse City, Michigan from May 1st untill the end of August preferably. I'll be staying with my good friend Jacob and it should be a good time in general. I'll be working as a deli clerk at a local grocery store, handing out macaroni salad to the masses. So that should keep me pretty busy for a few months. Once I return, the all around plan is to head down to Kalamazoo to shack up with another one of my good friends, Allison. This isn't concrete yet, so I'm not sure as of right now. We'll work something out I'm sure.


I am obsessed with sea creatures this month in respect to my craftings. I recently made a whole sea of mini jellyfishies and now I'm planning on making a HUGE mama jellyfish to hang from my ceiling. It's going to be boss. After that? On to cuttlefish!

;;