Month: June 2008

New Camera & Zoo! (Pictures)

Sunday at the Lincoln Park Zoo Today, Aidan, Adam, and I went to the Lincoln Park Zoo so I could see giraffes AND play with the new camera. Let me tell you, it was an adventure getting there. First, we hopped on one bus, then we got off to transfer to another bus, only the other bus only runs on weekdays. THEN Aidan had to potty, so we had to backtrack a lot to get to McDonald’s so Aidan could use the bathroom. (I had to go too, so it was fine.) Then we waited FOREVER for the Clark Street bus, and it just got more and more crowded. But there were some really good-natured people on the bus, and I had a lot of fun. Aidan yelled at me three times for laughing in his ear. :O

We ended up getting off a few stops before because the bus was just getting out of control with the number of people on it. It was nice out (at the time), so the walk was pleasant. The Zoo is free (except for parking [$12], which is why we decided to take the CTA instead of drive), and it wasn’t too crowded. Both cameras got quite a workout.

These are from my new camera:

Sunday at the Lincoln Park Zoo
Ostriches!

Sunday at the Lincoln Park Zoo
Deer

Sunday at the Lincoln Park Zoo
Flowers (with the macro setting)

Sunday at the Lincoln Park Zoo
Lion

Sunday at the Lincoln Park Zoo
Lion again

Sunday at the Lincoln Park Zoo
Aidan and me with the giraffes, ostriches, and a gazelle.

There are these pictures too, taken with the SLR:

Sunday at the Lincoln Park Zoo

Sunday at the Lincoln Park Zoo

Sunday at the Lincoln Park Zoo

More here.

The Sony camera has this vivid color setting which I love, and a mode which automatically detects if a person smiles. You go into this mode, push the shutter down, and the camera waits for the person to smile before taking the picture. This one was taken with the smile detector last night:

Smile!

Pretty neat, huh?

I also took this one last night of Aidan and Crookshanks:

Aidan & Crookshanks: Booknerds in Training

I’m enjoying the camera. It’s a cool little machine and will be great to carry around with me when I don’t want to deal with the big SLR. Now, here’s the question. What do I do to get that kind of rich color in the photos I take with the SLR? When I first got it, I was getting AMAZING pictures with beautiful color. I typically don’t retouch any of my pictures, but now I’m having desperate urges to, just to get the saturation up. Now, I can’t seem to get anything that doesn’t look washed out, whether I’m inside or outside. Any tips?

That’s all for now. See ya! :)

(Originally published at Anywhere Is…)

Comments Off on New Camera & Zoo! (Pictures)

Nothing, Really

Today, I had a doctor’s appointment. I love this doctor, and I’m not dreading going to see her again next month. And for not having insurance, the cost wasn’t prohibitive at all. Thank God I have a wonderful finace who cares about me and who takes care of me. I’d have never gone to see her without his insistence. Basically, I have been emotionally off for months now, and although I realize that most of it’s because I’m going through a million different adjustments at once, the fact that I am ALWAYS feeling an underlying sadness, irritable, and impatience among other stuff is a problem. So it’s time to see what I can do. I have two months worth of prescription samples, and the other prescription I had to fill cost me only $10.99. 🙂 We’ll see what happens.

After that, Adam, Aidan, and I hit Strack & Van Til for some name brand groceries (oh shoot, I forgot lunch meat!). Strack & Van Til is less expensive than the other stores around here (except ALDI); the prices are comparable to what I paid in Columbus for groceries. They also sell Granola Dipps there, but I don’t know how long that is going to last. I think I got the last box. :O And Vitamin Water is 10 for $10. Some places charge $1.99 for one bottle. Now, if they only had BBQ Fritos….

Then we did a bad thing. We went in to Best Buy. And I got that pink camera I’ve been wanting for months. Adam stood there and convinced me to get it, telling me that I was going to end up buying it before Disney anyway, and that I should get it while it was on sale (it was $20 off today), and that it would be GREAT to have in the Disney parks, especially at night, when I might not want to tote around the SLR. SO, I got it. I’m still not convinced I won’t talk myself into returning it, so I haven’t opened it yet. But I probably will open it and enjoy having a little camera to carry around with me. 🙂

(Adam is telling me to stop feeling guilty about buying it).

I’m sure the bank is scratching its head, because I don’t spend money like this regularly.

Today I drove again for the first time in several weeks. For some reason, I feel a great deal of anxiety driving here, and I really shouldn’t. I mean, I KNOW how to get to the grocery stores and to Target and Kohl’s and Best Buy. And anything else, I can take the bus or the train or walk because those stores are downtown. I’ve been very tempted to sell the car, pay off the balance with the money, and go to not owning a car anymore. Someone broke into my car AGAIN over the weekend and stole my emergency roadside kit. I am getting frustrated with having to get windows replaced every six weeks because people are assholes. This time they broke the window that goes up and down, but Adam found a place that charges only $65. More than half what the other places charge. Still, it’s an expense that’s ridiculous and annoying. Plus insurance (although mine has gone down woo!), and the car payment, plus the $120 yearly fee one has to pay JUST for owning a car in Chicago, and the same for registration. I don’t drive it enough to justify all that, so we were thinking of doing the iGo or Zipcar thing (car sharing, about $15 a month for three hours of usage, which is perfect for groceries and such, and the fees cover insurance, gas, etc.). I’d be sad to get rid of my car…. seems like I’m constantly giving up something by living here, but it would be good for the environment and good for my wallet. But I kind of want to hold on to it until I find full-time work. If I can’t find a job downtown and have to commute, I’ll need a car for that.

Anyway, that’s all for now. I’m eyeing the camera, still in the bag and in its box, and inching a little closer to opening it. 🙂 I’ll let you know.

‘Til next time!

ETA at 5:40pm I opened the camera and I LOVE IT. 😀

(Originally published at Anywhere Is…)

1 Comment

Wedding Stuff & Honeymoon Registry (Picture)

Today, Adam and I went and got our marriage license. It was surprisingly hassle-free. There was no line, and we didn’t have to swear we weren’t drunk or there against our will. He did ask if we were related, though. Because we TOTALLY look it.

Adam & Me

Bwah.

So, the details consist of this:

Ronni & Adam’s “Elopement”
Date: July 27, 2008
Time: 10:30am
Location: Edgewater Beach (rain or shine!)

If you want a ride, Adam’s planning something with the Weird Chicago bus. Will probably meet at the Rock & Roll McDonald’s at 10am or so and head down from there. I’ll get clearer details on that soon.

Afterward, us newlyweds are heading to a cafe or some such to eat (probably one of the Nookies). If you want to tag along, feel free. 🙂

In the meantime, I need to do the following:
– get a new dress
– get new flip-flops
– get a new outfit for Aidan
– get a new outfit for Adam
– get a wedding band for Adam

I suppose I am allowed to treat myself to a mani/pedi (well, at least a pedi) for this, huh? 🙂 (I already know how I want to wear my hair.)

Ivy’s and Kelly’s flights are booked, Adam’s parents and sister are all confirmed. Still need to call my parents. Anyone else coming? Let me know in the comments or through e-mail.

Also, FYI, the Disney honeymoon registry is up. Disney’s site isn’t the most stable, so if it errs, try it again. Anyway, here’s the url:

Disney Honeymoon Registry

And you can search for Adam Selzer or Ronni Davis, July 2008. ºOº

I can’t think of anything else for now, but once I do, I’ll let you know. See ya!

P.S. 86 days ’til Disney World!

(Originally published at Anywhere Is…)

Comments Off on Wedding Stuff & Honeymoon Registry (Picture)

Disney FREEK! (Video)

My mind is most definitely on Disney. Today, I dug up some old videos and searched through some old photos and got all teary-eyed over them. I am so excited to go to Disney World with Adam, and I can’t wait to take Aidan again someday. I *really* hope next year.

Aidan and I were almost as excited as actually being there. Poor Adam fell asleep on the couch. (Sleep is where I should be headed soon!)

Here is one of the videos I dug up from my trip in 2005:



Fireworks Finale of the WISHES Nighttime Spectacular

(Yes, that is me going “WOOO!” at the end.)

I am really excited to be there again! 89 days!!!

(Originally published at Anywhere Is…)

Comments Off on Disney FREEK! (Video)

Three Months! ºOº

Me and Mickey Part of the reason Adam and I decided to forgo the more formal wedding set up is that we really would rather to go to Disney World for our honeymoon than spend money on a whole wedding doohickey. We have a strict budget, and we knew that because of that, it was going to be a matter of wedding vs. honeymoon. When family members heard that, they kind of tossed out the idea of having a very simple wedding (or even eloping!) and spending all the money on the honeymoon. Makes perfect sense if I say so myself. I’ve been married before, so my heart isn’t set on any sort of wedding (unless I could somehow have a Disney wedding planned completely by some sort of fairytale expert). I’m way more eager to be married to Adam than to plan a wedding. When I found out that Adam’s heart isn’t set on a wedding, I was relieved. My party planning skillz have fallen by the wayside, and the thought of all the details really freaked me out. I’d just stopped thinking about it, unless someone asked me “how are the plans going?”

For the past six to twelve months, I’ve been having periodic dreams of waking up at Disney World and finding out that someone surprised me with a trip, or I’ll be on a roller coaster and realizing that HEY, I’m on a coaster at Disney World! Waking up always makes me sad. So yeah, I’ve had Disney on the brain for quite sometime. I mean, I often literally dream of being there!

Last night, Adam gave me his debit card, a budget, and told me to go to town! Basically, I get to plan whatever I want (leaving room for him to go on the Tower of Terror, Haunted Mansion, Carousel of Progress, and see the Hall of Presidents), and you should see all the papers I have! Funny, I can plan a Disney trip for hours, but give me wedding plans to work out and I want to crawl into a corner and rock back and forth for a while. I guess I’m just weird that way.

I called and booked the trip last night. It’ll be my first time staying at the Pop Century Resort (I’ve been wanting to stay there for a while!), and this morning, I made all the dining reservations. My heart was set on Garden Grill, and we get to do that, so I’m happy. Garden Grill was my first ever character dining experience (and the first place I actually met Mickey Mouse) and it’s my favorite sit down place in all the park to eat. My heart was also set on 50s Prime Time Cafe, and we get to do that! I really wanted to try a few new places, so I am THRILLED that we’re going to get to do the 1900 Park Fare, because Mary Poppins is there! And we’re doing a Princess Storybook lunch at Akershus. I’ve never been there, either. We didn’t get Chef Mickey’s (people start making reservations six months in advance, and reservations for couples are almost impossible to come by), but I can keep trying for it. Honestly, I’m so excited about meeting Mary Poppins that I’m OK with skipping Chef Mickey’s this time. Adam promised me that because Disney World makes me so happy, he’ll make sure we get back there often. ♥

Oh, and the best part (besides getting to see Spectromagic again)? I get to go to Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party!!!!!!!! YAY!

Here are the things I need to do before we go:
– get a hold of some bride and groom Mickey ears
– get a new multi-purpose lens for my camera (anyone have any suggestions??)
– get a new memory card for my camera (or at least clear the one I have!)

Exactly three months from now (OMG an entire season! How will I be able to wait so long?), we’re going to be lining up to watch Wishes, the fireworks show in Magic Kingdom! I am so excited! YAY!

Comments Off on Three Months! ºOº