monday update - including new tattoo!

it's kind of amazing how things change.

a few months ago, i wrote this blog about... well, disconnecting from a woman i was very good friends with.  it's a bit strange how it all happened.  my friend is also my tattoo artist and is her tattoo artist as well.  the tattoo artist tagged her in an instagram photo one day and i insta-stalked her feed.

i know, kind of strange.  creepy.  whatever, go fuck yourself.  i did it.  you know you've done something like it.

so i saw... well, i saw a woman who had changed for the better in a lot of ways.  she seemed freer, happier, even more herself than she was when we still hung out regularly.  i still thought about sending her a card.  i ended up following her on instagram, thinking that if she straight out blocked me it was a sign that whatever had happened had irreparably damaged our relationship.  she didn't block me.

one day she posted something on instagram that really made me think.  it said "sometimes we create our own heartbreaks through expectation".  it resonated with me.  i realized that i put expectations on our relationship - i expected her to support me in a way she was unable to at the time.  it was like the situation (at least my part/side of it) became so clear to me.  so i direct messaged her, letting her know that the post made me think, and what it made me think about, and trying to take responsibility for my part in whatever had happened.  she messaged me back, she took responsibility for her part in what happened - and that was important to me.  it validated what others had told me: i hadn't done anything wrong per se.  i hadn't driven her away or done something so bad/wrong/whatever.  it was just we were both in specific places that almost made it impossible for us to be there for each other, for us to be friends at that time.

we ended up meeting for dinner a couple of weeks ago.  it was strange at first: she's in a MUCH different place in her life than she was about 15 months prior when we stopped talking.  but i am, too.  i'm in a much healthier place.  she's in a much healthier place.  we're both more honest with ourselves and with others.  and seriously - it was almost like no time had passed.  it's the same, but it's different - it's a different relationship that is healthier and more balanced for both of us.  and i'm thrilled to have it back.

i've also committed to an amazing thigh tattoo by said tattoo artist.  pam poovey from archer is like my spirit animal.  i love her (i haven't seen season 5 yet, i've been told that might change, but seriously - i don't care.  she's been amazing through 4 seasons).  when my artist was working on awesome husband @_antgas' hand tattoos, i mentioned how pam poovey was my spirit animal and she went nuts - she said she really really wanted to do an archer tattoo.  we worked on some ideas, she drew up an amazing tattoo, and i recently had the outline done on my outer left thigh.

seriously - this tattoo is super bad ass.  follow @misstattootara on instagram.

yeah.  it's pretty awesome.  and in reality, the fact that it's on my thigh is a big deal for me.  i follow a lot of body positive blogs and instagram accounts and twitter and shit like that.  and i've seen photos of SO MANY beautiful big women with awesome thigh tattoos.  i think it's super sexy and makes them look really confident and i started thinking about getting a thigh tattoo about a year ago.  i had settled on a couple of other ideas when my tattoo artist said she wanted to do an archer tattoo.  

pam poovey is kind of another big girl who is awesome.  i mean, if you watch archer, you're probably familiar with some of her exploits and background from the first four seasons.  let's see: she kicked men's asses in underground fights to pay her way through college.  she has an infatuation with lana but still bangs archer for a while.  she says what she wants and doesn't give a fuck about what people think about it.  she's a little crass and really bold and super confident.  yet she's a damn HR rep... sure, she's not always great at her job, but still.  pam poovey is really my spirit animal; a lot of her character is who i want to be or who i already am.  i'm a fat girl who metaphorically kicks ass, i'm bisexual, and (outside of work) i say what i mean and refuse to sugar coat it.  

whatever - i identify with pam poovey.  and i love my tattoo, and i can't wait to have it colored in.

my tattoo artist is on instagram - @misstattootara.  seriously, she does amazing work.  if you're on long island and in need of a tattoo, DM her.  and, hey, i'm on instagram and twitter @stephgas.  

i'm also working on a lot of crap with my therapist.  i've started seeing a psychiatrist for medication management, am addressing some of my disordered eating behaviors (unhappily but whatever), and working out.  i'm not watching what i eat or working out to lose weight - i'm doing it to feel good.  that seems to make it more enjoyable because i'm not obsessing over every calorie eaten and burned.  i'm weight lifting with awesome husband @_antgas and a couple of his coworkers.  my brother and sisterfromanothermister occasionally join in as well.  awesome husband @_antgas is all about going hard and 'gains'.  the phrase 'gains, bro' is uttered numerous times, often in jest but not really 100% joking.  i hit a new PR (personal record) on saturday with a 910lb straight leg press.  yesterday my PR was 115lb chest fly thingy.  i don't know the names of everything, i just wander around behind awesome husband @_antgas and wait for him to tell me what to do.  honestly, that makes it fun and easy and i really like working out.  it just makes me feel good.  

so, new ink, new meds, new weight training - a lot of things going on but it's all good... it's all healthy.

vegetarian potato soup

today i'm making potato soup.  it's a recipe that i modified from cara at pearls, handcuffs, and happy hour to make vegetarian so my brother could eat it too.  to give many of my vegetarian dishes that meaty, umami flavor, i add better than bouillon vegetable base.  it is the 'meatiest' flavored vegetable base/broth that i've found.  they also make a no-beef beef flavored base and a no-chicken chicken flavored base.  i prefer to use the vegetable base.  i use it anytime chicken or beef broth is called for in a recipe.  i've had great success using it in risottos, with portobello mushrooms to make cheesesteaks, and in stir fried meals.  (i have not received any special stuff for mentioning better than bouillon... but would love free samples if they want to share!)

i used 42oz of filtered water and about 4 teaspoons of vegetable base... give or take.  it smelled meaty and good.

i've tried to find a balance between cost, organic ingredients, and accessible ingredients.  i don't always have time to order shit online or drive all over the place to get good stuff.  ore ida is a brand i trust, and they add minimal ingredients for preservation.  i'm using an organic cream of mushroom soup for the first time (i tried making this once with an organic cream of cheddar and broccoli - everyone else liked it, i didn't love it).  as for cheese... well, the amount of cheese awesome husband @_antgas and i eat makes it very cost prohibitive to shop all organic and whatnot.  we usually use stop & shop brand cheeses but really... cheese is pasteurized milk, enzymes, salt, and sometimes color.  i'm comfortable enough with their ingredients, even though they are not organic.  and for this recipe, i purchased the onion down the road at a local farmstand.  i've been trying to get as much produce as i can there.  but i have actually used frozen diced onions before with excellent results - and they're very convenient because you can just grab a handful and add them to whatever.

Vegetarian Potato Soup

delicious.  and it reheats rather well - we reheat it in a pot on the stove over medium-low heat, stirring regularly.

ingredients:

• one bag of frozen shredded hash browns (30oz bag)
• 42oz of vegetable broth (or 3 14oz cans of your chosen broth)
• 1 can of condensed cream of mushroom soup (or other cream based soup - cream of chicken, cream of cheddar)
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 8oz package cream cheese - use a full fat brick (low fat or whipped seem to melt funny for me)
• 1/2tsp fresh cracked black pepper
• shredded cheddar cheese (a small handful/big pinch to top each bowl)
• a handful of scallions/green onions, chopped (appx. 1tbsp per bowl)
• bacon bits to your heart's content (seriously, check the ingredients of most bacon bits - there is NO BACON, NO MEAT in most of them)

BOOM - you're ready to go.  get your shit together and clear a spot on your counter top - remember, most slow cookers get pretty darn hot on the sides, so you want a few inches of space on all sides.  plug it in and set it to low!

1. dump in your frozen shredded hash browns.
2. pour in your 42oz of broth.
3. pour in your condensed cream soup (do not add extra liquid).
4. dump in that chopped onion.
5. crack some pepper.
6. put the top on and leave it the hell alone for 6-7 hours.

   

   mix it all up good.  cover and leave it alone.  if you're like me, you can peek/sniff/stir a couple of time.

7. at hour 7, add in the cream cheese.  some people leave it out to get to room temperature before adding.  i cut it into little hunks and drop them in, stirring to combine.  
8. cook on low for 1 more hour. 
9. if your cream cheese is not completely combined, taking a whisk to the soup should help combine it.  you want it all mixed in to achieve a nice, smooth, creamy consistency.
   
   

   

   add in the cubed cream cheese.  whisk it up if needed.

10. put in huge ass bowls; sprinkle with a bit more fresh cracked pepper, some cheddar cheese, scallions, and bacon bits like woah.  some people report adding a dollop of sour cream too.  i hate sour cream, so fuck that.
11. eat the hell out of the soup because it's really good.

    
    

    a bowl full of deliciousness.  that's a bit of extra sharp new york cheddar cheese, scallions, and mccormick bacon bits - vegetarian friendly!

pop any leftovers in a plastic storage thingy and stick it in the fridge.  leftovers are just as yummy.  

you know i hate people... but omfg these people.

nothing is static.  everything changes.  i know this.  i've experienced this.

everything changes.

the non-profit i currently work for (very part time) pays me, like, nothing.  seriously.   the amount of money i spend in gas plus the time i spend commuting is almost not worth it.  so it's all about the experience.  sadly, what i'm doing is not only the absolute bottom of the ladder, but it's not really with the population i (think i) want to work with.

i think i've outlined it before, but let me go over my job again.  i make drinks.  i make iced tea, diet iced tea, fruit punch, and lemonade.  i put some chips and pretzels in bowls and dump a handful of individual sized bags of chips on a table.  i open a couple of packages of cookies and put them on said table. i ensure ice is available, as well as utensils, plates, and cups.  then i play dominos or 'socialize' with the attendees.  i then help serve dinner.  i wash the majority of the dishes, then socialize a bit more, then drive a few attendees home.  then it's back to the center to do nothing (or play candy crush) until it's time to go home.

i commute 35/40 minutes each way, three times a week.  it's putting miles on my leased car and it's evenings.  three nights a week i'm not home.  awesome husband @_antgas gets to go to the gym and play video games - and eat whatever is in the house.

now, it's not a bad job.  i like most of the people i work with.  it's the people we serve, the population we work for.  the non-profit i work for is a 'behavioral rehabilitation' center.  they have programs for all types of mental illnesses, psychiatric disorders, and substance abuse.  the people who come to the social program are not necessarily clients of the center - some of them are just people in the community who want to socialize (or, more accurately, get free food).  many of the people live in group homes, or 'community housing'.  most, if not all, are on some sort of public assistance: disability, welfare, medicaid, whatever.  so i get that they could use the food.  but they could be nicer about it.

and some of them are just plain crazy (remember, i'm crazy too).  but these people.  one hums like all. the. time.  and not along to anything - just hums.  one never washes.  one has had a double mastectomy and still smokes (and also doesn't wash).

i feel bad feeling this way, but i don't want to hang out with these people.

i don't want to drive people home in my nice, fairly new, expensive-monthly-lease-payment car.  the day after i washed it, someone put their hand palm down on the window.  i had a huge hand print for days.  some of these people have had bedbugs in the past.  i don't want to bring them home (the people or the bedbugs).  some of these people just don't wash, and i don't want their stink in my car.  one of them wears too much - way too much - perfume.  so much that it's infused the passenger seat belt and @_antgas can smell it when he rides in my car.

it's interesting that this started bugging me recently (an entire month after i started the job).  i was thinking about how to finish school.  should i bust my hump and try to finish this year?  what should i do about a masters program?  i made an appointment with my advisor and met with her.  we were thinking social work, taking my time with the classes so as not to risk my gpa, and starting my masters program in fall '15.

now?  not so sure.

do you know what social work means?  i mean, really?  a social work degree means serving those less fortunate.  it means working with the homeless, the mentally ill, the developmentally disabled.  it means working with the people i work with now.  it means working to gain them rights and respect and services.

these are all wonderful, nobel things.  but do you know what's missing from that list?

counseling.

sure, social workers can counsel people.  they can hang their own shingle, as it were, and provide counseling.  but social work degrees really focus on the social aspect of it.

do you know what i want to do?  my first stop is addictions counseling.  but do you know what i really think i want to do, something that really interests me?  i'd like to counsel privately.  i think i'd really like to study sexuality and gender issues... perhaps counseling lgbt adolescents.  maybe working with women and gender-related issues.

i don't think a social work masters will work.

there's another option on long island - a mental health counseling masters.  only one school offers it (and it's not as cheap as the nice, big, state school which has it's own school of social work). it focuses on counseling, on providing counseling, that stuff.  not so much the advocacy, the getting-of-services, stuff like that.  it focuses on counseling - and allows one to hang their own shingle.

i could go for this degree and go into practice for myself if i wanted.  i could study sexuality and gender identity issues and addiction and women's issues and whateverthefuckiwant and go counsel people about it.

i think i know which way i'm leaning, but it's not anywhere near where i thought i'd be:

• i used to think i'd be dead by 30, either from drugs or suicide (i'm 33).
• i always thought i'd commit suicide if my mother died because i couldn't live without her (she died when i was 30).
• i used to want a doctor to put me on disability so i could sit around and want to die in peace.
• i never thought i'd be in school at all, let alone for what i'm going for.
• i thought i'd always want to kill myself, have obsessive thoughts, hear my own voice in my head telling me horrible things about myself.

i just thought that was how it would be.  

it's not.  

at least i made it in before the end of the year...

well, hello there.  seriously, if you're actually reading this, you probably deserve some kind of award for actually clicking on my blog in your feed.  because, you know, i've all but abandoned you.

sad, really.

and i'd love to have a good explanation..

oh, i do.  so, there's that.

so i had been offered that job which i started.  and i had that gallstone attack that required surgery.  but we've missed HUGE CHUNKS of my life (which i'm sure you barely care about).

now, october passed as octobers do.  i had held off on scheduling my surgery because i'm a fucking pansy and i didn't want to have it done.  we were preparing for the scatter-mom's-ashes cruise on october 29.  and i was working full time and taking 12 credits (which is, like, full time.  isn't it?  it sure feels like it).  so my days consisted of waking up, working, homeworking, sleeping.  wash, rinse, repeat.

i scheduled my surgery for the tuesday before thanksgiving so i could have a few (paid) days to recoup without actually missing a lot of work.  i ate carefully to avoid enraging my delicate gallbladder.  i hung out when i had time, attended school like a good girl, and spent a fuckton of time on homework and research.  the days passed quickly, one week bleeding into the next.  suddenly it was the end of october and time for croozin'.

my brother and sisterfromanothermister were going to the fest in gainesville before the cruise and we were spending a couple of days visiting friends in tampa.  we planned and checked weather and packed and checked weather...

...and suddenly, this storm named sandy was becoming a concern.

it was scheduled to hit florida and the bahamas before we were, and hit new york after we left.  i obsessively checked cruise websites and watched as the monarch (the same ship we were sailing on) sat in port canaveral for four days instead of sailing to the bahamas.  i read about ships missing ports and hitting really rough seas.  i worried about my brother and sisterfromanothermister's first cruise sucking.  we kept planning and kept an eye on the storm.  they weren't too worried about it.

that story changed once we were in florida.

suddenly, the jersey shore and south shore of long island are full of people freaking the fuck out - and we were 1200 miles from our home on the south shore.  our things, our cats, our cars (except for my brother's) - we couldn't do much.  i had a friend watching our cats and shit, but really - what could i expect her to do when she only lives four or five blocks north of us?

now, when i say 'south shore of long island', i mean lindenhurst. i don't know if i've ever been that specific before.  but when we were watching national weather broadcasts, we kept seeing them reporting a few blocks away from our house - places we pass every day, places we stopped and shopped.  our house is thankfully on a little hill (one of the only houses on the block that high up).  five blocks south of us is the bay.  one block to the east and one block to the west are both canals.  and two blocks north of us is another small canal.  so we are surrounded by water, with one tiny, old, barely two lane concrete bridge connecting us.

while we were on the ship october 29th, hurricane sandy bore down on long island.  between the astronomical high tide, the rains, and the storm surge, we had five feet of water in our area.  we watched reporters on montauk highway, a few blocks north and east of our home, reporting in water halfway up their thighs.  my friend sent us a video right after the first surge, and there was at least two feet of water running down her street like a river.  how is there current there?

the water rose enough to come over the bulkheads lining the canals.  there were bulkheads that broke loose and rested on people's front lawns.  there were boats that literally washed ashore in the high water and came to rest on lawns.  trees were uprooted, breaking up concrete sidewalks and streets, taking down fences and power lines.

we had an extra round of drinks that night and tried to relax.  there was nothing we could do.

we came home that friday, november 2nd, to a cold, dark house and two dead cars.  my beloved 2005 santa fe, the first car awesome husband @_antgas and i had bought, was ruined.  there was salt water filling the cupholders and soaking up the backs of the seats.  sisterfromanothermister's five month old chevy sonic was ruined; it must have been practically covered in water at one point.  our home was safe and dry;  @_antgas' car was barely spared - the salt water rose to within an inch of the opening to the car door.  the cats were fine, if not a little weirded out.  we came home with dirty laundry and nowhere to do it.  our only remaining car was on empty, and the gas stations were dry, out of power, or had hours-long lines.  we hunkered down in the dark for a few days, waiting.  we filled a cooler with some food and snacks.  we watched family guy on my ipad.  and then a second storm came - a snow storm.  the temperature dropped - our house temperature dropped to 48º at one point.  we tried boiling water to help, but all it really did was fog up the windows.  we snuggled under extra blanket and cuddled the cats.

my dad has an extra car and he said i could borrow it - once i could find gas for it.  once i did, we went back to work.  we tried to have some normalcy.  we showered at my dad's house, relishing the hot water, went to work, ate dinner out, and came home to a cold, dark house with nothing but candles and flashlights.  our area had no power for 13 days (we were only there for 8 of them).

schoolwork had piled up, laundry had piled up, and nary a plan for american traditional familial holiday (aka christmas) had been made.  but i still had my surgery to deal with.  which went well.  i spend a couple of days sleeping and eating percocet, hanging out and watching like every fucking episode of american dad, and then went back to work with minimal pain.  i feel much better now.  even though i missed thanksgiving for all intents and purposes.


things are roughly back to normal.  however, my stress levels are not.  everyone was chalking my stressy attitude up to work and finals, but finals are over and i'm still stressy.  i'm trying to be more cognizant of my demeanor and attitude and shit like that.  and trying not to take shit out on other people.

oh, and our cruise was excellent.  it was just hard to remember how great it was when we came home to all that crap.  which is really sad.  but we enjoyed ourselves, scattered mom's ashes, and saw some friends in the process.  expect a blog with some photos of the cruise at some point in time.  i mostly promise.

and now i'm a college graduate. sort of.

so i finished my first two years at university of phoenix.  i applied for my diploma and should have it within the next few weeks.  i have an associate of arts in psychology.  and i have a 3.92 GPA.  which is pretty fucking sweet.

i've requested my transcripts be sent to my next school, st. joseph's college.  i will be starting there this september.  i'm working towards a bachelor's in community health and human services.  and i'll be able to take the credentialing exam to become an alcohol and substance abuse counselor.  which i'm really excited about.

i didn't get that job.  the job that i used to have, that i was pretty sure i'd get.  yah, didn't get it.  fuck that noise.  so i'm all over the interwebz throwing out applications and resumes like woah.  i've had a couple of call backs and am excited to get out there.  i've found some REALLY NEAT opportunities that i'm so fucking stoked about it's not even funny.

of course, i won't get THOSE jobs.  i'll get, like, the basic customer service job.

but there's a not for profit on long island that works with homeless and low income people who either have or are at risk for HIV/AIDS.  they are looking for a follow-up person.  so the case workers/managers, you know.  work and manage the case.  and the follow-upper goes and checks on the people to make sure they're getting and using the benefits and shit that the mangers/workers got for them.  which is really an amazing sounding job and i really want it.

i've also gotten a call back from a local cable provider (or a company that does their hiring... that better mean they provide their benefits too) and a marketing firm thingy.  they're opening new offices and are looking for customer service reps and markety people and all shit like that.  but i've applied for A LOT of jobs.  like 53 that i have information saved on.

fifty.  three.  jobs.

i mean, i have to get one, right?  and i'm qualified for all of them.  i have years of customer service experience, data entry experience, and reception experience.  i love working with people (even though i really don't LIKE most people) and am good at it.  i'm self-motivating, have good time management skills, and a very professional manner.

so, i have to get one.  right?

RIGHT????

because i need a new job.  one with benefits.  so awesome husband (@_antgas, seriously follow him because he never tweets but often puts up funny pics on instagram) can work fewer hours and lose his benefits and go to school full time.  he really wants to get into school.  nursing school.  that will be fun.  i'm excited for him and i'm excited for me.  i never thought i'd be planning my future, but hey - here we are, planning our future.

i've just been so BUSY.  i planned a graduation party for me and it happened last sunday.  i'd love to tell you i have a fuckload of photos to post, but i don't have any.  seriously, i have like no pictures of this awesome party that i planned and pulled off.  there was food, a big tent, pretty floral centerpieces that i made myself, eight dozen quiche that i made myself, six dozen cupcakes that i made myself.

well, the cupcakes were from boxed mixes.  but i made the frosting myself.

we also had like a gazillion pounds of fruit that @_antgas cut up.  and nine liters of sangria.  and 84 bottles of beer (not on a wall, they were in a cooler).  and a fuckton of bottled water.  and twenty 2-liter bottles of soda.

and we have like two thirds of it all left.  people drank, like, 18 beers.  WHAT THE FUCK PEOPLE?

but we ate almost all of a 6' hero.  and the majority of the quiche.  so, there's that.

now @_antgas and i have buckets of sangria and beer to finish off.  which will take forever.

especially because @_antgas is having surgery on monday.  nothing big, people, just a little procedure.  he'll be in and out of the hospital in a few hours.  and will be home from work for two fucking weeks.  mostly playing video games.  and i'm hoping he can push a damn vacuum around too.

so.  since i don't have any really exciting shit to share, feel free to look at a bunch of pictures of me and my cats, whom you know and love.  

this is babyjakes blocking my bedroom door.  good job.

i am a self-professed shoe whore.  i love these shoes.  i have walked in the lace-patterned ones, not the black booties yet.  we'll see.

OMFG BABYJAKES.  he's too cute.

samantha cat, lounging

samantha and i, snuggletime on the couch

piggy mama, being adorable as always

me, on my way to my brother's engagement party

me again, at my brother's engagement party

thanks to my coworker.  i wasn't sure it was a trap.  glad i know now.

sammy baby sleeping on her daddy's (@_antgas) pillow

babycat jake after knocking over the cat toy box

my most recent tattoo addition.  bonus points if you can tell me where it's from.

me wearing an apron.  i was making a lot of fucking mini quiche.

my graduation party

sammy baby in her new collar.  there are lady bugs on it.

omfg

i hadn't lost like any weight.  so i signed up with a personal trainer a couple of weeks ago and am hitting the gym hard.  i work out with the trainer for 30 minutes two times a week.  then i replicate each of those workouts on another day of the week, and i have one 'rest' day of 45-60 minutes of cardio.  and i end up working out another day sometimes.  so it's 5-6 days a week at the gym, an hour a day.

mind you, on top of this i'm 'dieting'.  and drinking a fuckton of water.  66-128 ounces every damn day.  66 ounces is what i drink on my off/rest days.  workout days i drink between 99-128 ounces.  i was using an app from livestrong and had it set to lose 2 pounds a week, which is 1000 calorie deficit.  and it was telling me i was burning like a gazillion calories working out, and i was eating at least half of those calories back.  but i wasn't really burning that many calories, so i was eating extra calories.

enter me buying a heart rate monitor.  so that way i was able to accurately track how many calories i was burning each workout.  i even wore it for 24 hours straight on an off day so i could determine how many calories i burned a day while sleeping, eating, and breathing.  basal metabolic rate.

and then i decided to use a new app.  the livestrong one is neat (awesome husband uses it for his body building and he's gained like 4 pounds since he started using it [can you imagine needing to GAIN weight? if only]) but the community had a huge mix of people.  including body builders and anorexics.  and it's not that i have an issue with people trying to gain weight, but reading the stuff the anorexics were going through and writing about was emotionally taxing to me. 

so i started using myfitnesspal. which i really like.  they have a facebook-like timeline thingy that you can interact with your 'friends'.  so i can friend request people who have similar stuff to mine - like a lot of weight to lose, or who just started, or who weigh in on the same days as me, whatever.  and we can cheer each other on and shit like that.  and this time, i set it to lose 1 pound a week to see if it changed anything.

and it has.  between eating more calories, using my heart rate monitor, and having almost two weeks of personal training under my belt, i've lost 2.5 pounds.  which brings my overall total to just about 4.4 pounds.

paltry, really.  less than 2% of my overall body weight.  but it's almost 2% more than last month... so i guess that's good.

in other news, tattooing continues unabated.  i'm at the point where i barely want to post photos of my tattoos because some of them are half finished and whatnot.  plus, my half sleeve is almost half done so i kind of want to wait until it's done.  you can always find me on instagram - stephgas - where i generally post photos of shit like that. 

busy times, peeps, busy times.  i just wish i had more time to tell you all about what's happening in my life.  because OBVIOUSLY that's why you're here ;)  until then, take a look at this:

my baby jakes <3

the final countdown

we're going on vacation.  i'm very excited to get back to disney.  it's been over a year since awesome husband and i have been to disney and the last time was to DEFINITELY NOT scatter any of my mother's ashes on pirates of the caribbean.  we would never do that.

awesome husband, my brother, and sisterfromanothermister will be going to disney together.  we're really excited to go back because it's been so long - awesome husband and i are used to going, like, two or three times a month.  we also got the dining plan so we'll be eating like kings and queens! lol

so the body piercing thing is going really well.  i've made a few mistakes and have learned from them, which is great.  not HUGE mistakes, but you know.  fixable mistakes.  fixable thanks to the fact that my mentor has been piercing for 29 years and is AMAZING.  i've pierced quite a few ears, belly buttons, and lips.  and a handful of nostrils, tongues, and eyebrows.  i'm still waiting on a septum, monroe, medusa, and nipple - then i'll have done every piercing above the belt :D

and on the adult acne front, things are getting better.  bet some of you didn't know that in addition to the batshit crazy, i also suffer from adult acne, did you? 

now you do.

anyway, nothing ever works at all.  so i decided to start getting facials and see if that helps.  the spa i found was well-reviewed for acne facials so i headed over.  i went three weeks in a row at $80 a pop (ouch) and purchased $140 worth of the product they recommended (also ouch).  and today i paid $130 for a non-acid peel (ouchouchouchouch).  HOWEVER my skin hasn't looked this clear in years!  i'm going through some purging right now so i have a few pimples that come up and go away quickly, and i'm getting some drying.  once my skin balances, it should look pretty good.  it's already really smooth, my aesthetician says that the ultrasound thingy does that.  i mean, smoothy smooth smooth.  hopefully once my skin balances we can work on the acne scarring and see if that can be improved.  and now i only have to go every 3-4 weeks for a facial.  and i was spending about $120 a month on shit that wasn't working.  really fucking frustrating.  so i'm pleased today.

awesome husband got an awesome new tattoo.  i wanted to show it to you all.

yes, he's hardcore. he also likes hardcore music.  so, you know.  it means many things.  although he did point out that his right hand will always say 'hard' now.

new shooz?

wasn't new shooz an 80s band?  had a song called 'i can't wait'.  or am i mixing them up with someone else?

anyway.  i got new shoes a couple of weeks ago and VOWED that i would wear them somewhere last friday.  instead of planning ahead and trying to like get a group of people together to go someplace neat i could show off my shoes, i procrastinated and asked my dad to go out to dinner with us last minute.  on thursday he said 'yes'.  on friday he changed his mind and was like 'i got caught up with shit at work so i can't do it tonight.  tomorrow?' and i was sad.

for a minute.  then i put on comfy pants (my brother was home, otherwise i would have been pantsless) and we ordered pizza.  so it ended up being okay.

so saturday night i wrangled my dad into taking us out to dinner at our favorite steakhouse.  we chipped in, obvs, but he had a gift certificate he was willing to share.  i had a margarita and a couple of mojitos and steak and baked clams and it was delicious.  as always.  we took our after dinner drinks outside so dad could smoke a cigar and just chat.  and i looked GOOD.

my new shoes.  it's hard to see, but the hell and the platform are covered in like glitter.

awesome husband sitting outside enjoying his irish coffee

me looking AWESOME. if not a bit top heavy.

then sunday awesome husband and my brother did some yardwork while i did some homework.  we also did some shopping at BJs and purchased our usual HUGE package of string cheese.  i had a pedicure at a salon that was showing star wars - sadly, the pedicure was worth every cent i paid for it - only $14.  i will not be going back there.

of course, i was thrilled to see that they used their autoclave.  one of the last places i went to didn't.  it was the second or third time i was there and i was having my manicure.  and behind my manicurist were the two autoclaves.  i thought it was odd that neither appeared to be on, but one didn't have a light on the front so i figured that one was on and the other was off because... well, maybe they only needed one at a time?  THEN i noticed that NEITHER MACHINE WAS EVEN PLUGGED IN.  and i saw two of the manicurists put their little box of tools in there and take it back out.  like they were PRETENDING to sterilize shit.

so i stopped going there.  anyway, i had my pedi and then i decided i needed to have mojitos.  apparently EVERY liquor store in the area closes at 5pm on sundays.  we finally found one place that drastically overcharged for bacardi but, whatever, i got my mojito on.  i tried to make one with truvia and it wasn't quite the same.  i might try again to see if i mess with the ratios it will be better. 

and now it's time to go to KFC.  awesome husband just decided he needs popcorn chicken and mashed potatoes.  i suppose i can be talked into a biscuit or two.  we're spending our labor day watching 'star wars' and drinking.  good thing we've not started drinking yet so we can drive to KFC.

i don't usually 'review' products, but...

so i haven't shampooed my hair in just under three weeks.

yup, you read that right.  how's that for an attention-grabber?

about two and a half weeks ago i got my first taste of wen.  i had been considering the no 'poo crusade for some time.  back in florida, i tried co-washing ('washing' your hair with conditioner only) and had horrible luck with it.  i have very fine hair, but i have a decent amount of it.  it's not too thin - just each hair is so fine.  it's naturally medium brown (the non-pink parts of my hair are my nature color) and i strip my roots every few weeks then dump the color of the month on the hair from the crown of my head.

mah hairz.  pink on the top, brown everywhere else.  and white, when samantha's rubbed all over me.

lathering up every day was annoying because the lather would turn bright pink and i'd watch my color swirl down the drain.  so i started using dry shampoo and only washing my hair every other day.  this extended my color a bit, but it was annoying because, well, my hair is fine.  my scalp gets a bit oily.  my hair got nasty fast.  i wanted to wash every day, but getting my hair wet and then using dry shampoo didn't change anything.

i switched to the ol' standby of baby powder in the hair.  it didn't cake up or weigh my hair down as much as the dry shampoo did (i'm thinking because it actually had CLAY in it.  srsly.) but it was still, you know.  NOT clean feeling.  so i started looking into wen.

wen doesn't have shampoo.  it's conditioning cleanser.  no lather.  a lot of reviews were like 'i can't deal with it not lathering'.  you know what?  I CAN'T DEAL WITH MY NASTY HAIR.

there, i said it.  fine, very soft, but not very manageable i guess.  flyaways.  not shiny and lustrous.  i used to think maybe i SHOULDN'T wash my hair.  maybe all the oils is what makes the model's hair so shiny and lustrous (not so much, at least in my case).  it always looks okay, but that's because i was smothering it with chemicals and sulfates that suck the color out of my hair and leave it listless and dull.

so i bit the bullet and got the wen.  i got it at a major home shopping website (hey, i'm not plugging EVERYONE for free, bitches).  $50ish later, i have two 6oz bottles of cleansing conditioner, 2oz bottle of replenishing spray (wtf?), and a 2oz bottle of styling creme.  NOT cream.  CREME.

that's some fancy shit right there.

so three weeks ago this friday, i stripped my roots and laid in some cherry bomb and hot hot pink (and got some on our carpet.  but it came out - no matter what awesome husband says.  IT CAME OUT).  i washed with shampoo to get the lightener out.

saturday morning i pranced to the shower ready to play with my new hair toys.  it said 20 pumps for my hair length.

twenty. pumps. from a 6 oz bottle?  this shit's running like $2.50 an ounce, and you want me to use THAT MUCH?? the math almost made my head explode.  that's like $2 a wash.  my blood pressure started to rise and i figured, you know what?  let's try 14 pumps.  the reviews said it should feel really thick and creamy in your hair.

14 pumps did it.  incidentally, i'm down to around 10 for some flavors and 16 for others, and it really seems to cover my scalp and hair well.  so i massage that shit in, let it sit for 3-5 minutes, and rinse THE HELL out of my hair.  you know how things are 'squeaky clean'?  my hair was squeaky clean.  fo' realz, yo - it was SQUEAKY in my hands.  amazing.

and shine?  LIKE THE SUN, BITCHES.  i could NOT stop looking at my hair.  we went out to dinner with my aunt, uncle, cousin, and her bf and i COULD NOT stop playing with my hair.  it was so soft and silky and shiny and i was in love.

it said to wash every day to start with, because it will alter and correct the pH of your scalp/hair.  i have the cucumber aloe and lavender flavors.  lavender seems to cleanse better for me, but i want to try the other flavors too because I AM HOOKED.

i am a wen girl.

my hair after one week?  LUSTROUS.  it feels stronger.  it's lush, silky, my pink is still vibrant and my mousy medium brown even looks shinier and like it came from a very expensive bottle.

after one week of washing with wen

that's my natural brown  it's never looked so good.

i wanted to try all five flavors, so i went to the same shop-from-home network and ordered another kit they had that contained three 6oz bottles of the other three flavors - sweet almond mint, tea tree, and pomegranate.  i love the way they smell and i think they all cleanse my hair great.  the cucumber aloe seems to be the least awesome for my hair.  i'm still trying to decide which are best for my hair, but they all seem to help my color.

slightly creepy photo of me taken on my macbook pro 13 days into wen.  i'm not creepy, i promish.

and now, here we are at almost the three week mark.  i'm still washing my hair almost every day, which is really annoying, but it's been hot.  i know my hair is cleaner than it has been, and honestly?  my hair is awesome enough with the wen that i can't imagine going back to shampoo.  took this photo last night and i have NOT touched up my color.  that is 19 day old color, manic panic mixed with special effects.  anyone who's colored with semi-perm pigments like that before knows how fast that shit fades.  LOOK AT MAH HAIRZ

still so pink! so vibrant!  so AWESOME!

i am not using ANY extra product in my hair.  i have that fancy styling CREME that i put in my hair from mid-shaft to end once in a while to help with the few flyaways i get, but seriously.  no hairspray or anything.  i've needed hairspray for over a month and stopped using it the day i started using wen.   i love it.  i love it so much i might buy it by the gallon after i decide which flavors are best for my hair.  i've read reviews where women who used to get their hair cut and colored every 6 weeks because of split/dead ends and color fade who now go over TEN WEEKS between cuts and colorings.  TEN WEEKS.  that's two and a half months.

do you remember what happened the last time you didn't cut your hair for two and a half months?  and forget about the inch-long roots, do you remember how shitty your color was? 

i'm a wen girl now. 

tequila and critical thinking don't mix

i've probably depressed THE FUCK out of all of you with my last round of posts about mom dying.  and i know it isn't winning me any new followers, that's for sure.  so i've decided to continue 'a story' in it's own like page or whatever.  so there will be a linky thing up at the top of my blog forthcoming.  when i do it.

I'LL DO IT.  GAH.

so i had a shitty day.  so our lifestyle change went out the window tonight and awesome husband and i went to applebee's.  i had margaritas.  they were yummy.  then i came home and attempted to do my critical thinking homework.

first:  i have to take a fucking CLASS on critical thinking??  second:  i'm full on BUZZED?  and this is not conducive to thinking critically.

and then.  AND THEN.  i had to finish drafting an email that i'm not allowed to send yet but all hell may break loose as soon as i do send it.  which kind of bums me out, but whatevs.  i gotta do what i gotta do.

and today I GOTTA wear bright pink lipstick to work.  which is in my office.  located at the back of my house.  done on the same imac i'm blogging on right now... :/

i'm hawt.  deal with it.

 

 

of course, i couldn't take just one.  so, without further ado, presenting STEPH GAS'S LIFE WITH PHOTO BOOTH!

earlier today while 'working'

yesterday while 'working' with <jake

last week 'working' with sammy baby

last week when i discovered how to use photo booth.  yay!

this is my life.   you know you want it.  ALSO: i usually don't post pics of when my hair looks like absolute SHITE but there you go.  the last two are before i did my hair again, so my roots are superlong and hysterical and my hair is all faded.

ALSO ALSO.  we did name that kitten - <jake.  that's right, 'less than' jake.  get it?  GET IT??!?!

ALSO ALSO ALSO.  did i tell you all that samantha was injured jumping off my shoulder?  she caught herself on the sofa and like tore or stretched ligaments/tendons around her knee so her babeh kitteh kneecap does what it wants.  so far the prognosis is 'eh'.  samantha may or may not need surgery :( :( :(

ALSO ALSO ALSO ALSO!!  that's really it.  just wanted to say 'also' again. 

it's the bailey's, i'm sure.  DON'T JUDGE ME.  if i'm going to break my stupid fucking diet lifestyle change, i'm DOING it.

happy bloggiversary to me!

it appears that, unbeknownst to me, my six month bloggiversary passed recently. 

not sure why this matters, but i know the barreness celebrated hers recently too.  so i want in on that.

in other news, samantha jumped off my shoulder and missed the couch.  or missed the floor by catching her hind leg on the couch.  and now has torn ligaments around her babeh kitteh kneecap :/  she's getting anti-inflammatory medication for now, and in about two weeks if it's not healed, she might need surgery :( :( :(

what else, what else...  oh, i'm sure i'll get around to that next post in the tale of my life changing, as it were.  but i've also started my next block of classes in school, intro to psych and critical thinking.  and i received my grades from my last two classes, eng/102 and computer information - both 'A's.  which means i'm running a cool 4.0 at this point.  i'm hoping to keep it there.  i know, it seems ridiculous to strive for perfection or near-perfection, but if you don't aim for the stars, what's the point?

holy fuck, i can't believe i just wrote that.

also also, i'm on day like two? three? of a 'lifestyle change' (not diet).  when i went to the doctor for my cold, he pointed out that my blood pressure was up.  there could be numerous reasons: i was anxious being at the doctor's office.  i had been taking cough medicine.  pristiq CAN affect blood pressure.  and there is no way in HELL that i'm giving up my delicious, square, pinkish happy pill.  so, i figured i should like work out and eat better and lose some weight or what not.  and i got big girl yoga!!  dvd just came in the mail today.  i can't really get 'regular' yoga, because there's no place to put my tits during some poses.  seriously.  this dvd is yoga like modified for overweight and obese people, and i'm actually really superexcited about it.  i'm absolutely sure you'll hear all about it.

until then, keep your unit on you.

i gots me another award.

i'm totes popular, yo.  another blog award?? yay!  from nicki over at the loaded handbag.  it's an award about stylin'. 

stylin' and profilin'

obvs i deserve it.  not sure why.  i'm not terrifically stylish.  i like to think i have my own ridiculous style.  like, i just ordered some really neat like knitted tights.  they're like flowers and stuff.  and i ordered a litle denim skirt to wear with them.  and a new belt. 

i told awesome husband i was going to start dressing like a hipster.  he said he'd leave me.

anyway.  i should probably pass this blog award on.  i want to give it to the barreness, but i know nicki already got her.  i'd like to give it to becky at steam me up kid because pickles and worm porn are ALWAYS stylish.  and i suppose lastly i want to give it up to god.  because, you know, without god, none of us would be here.

but truthishly, life has been full of the suck recently.  i have pills, which are nice.  but i've had the flu for like a week and a half and i'm afraid to eat tarzipan with cold medicine.  and i wake up during the night even with nyquil.  and my nose is all ouchy and raw from all the nose blowing.  and i kind of want to take my nose rings out for a while, but if i sleep with them out they holes might start closing up and that's just another issue.  and i want to move back to new york NOW so if you know anyone who wants to buy a house eight miles from animal kindgom let me know.  i mean, seriously.  14.4 miles as the crow flies between my house and cinderella's castle.

seriously, expect more dark and sad and annoying and boring posts soon.  i keep thinking that i want to blog about politics.  or the westboro baptist church.  or my cats.  or my new computer.  or my mom dying.  but in reality, i'm kind of hitting a wall with the blogging.  it's like i was out of it for so long (really only a few weeks) while my mom was sick and shit, and with all the traveling i've been doing.

i'll get back, i promish.  until then, why don't you all give me a topic to blog about.  maybe i'll pick like, i don't know, five and set up a poll or something and let you all vote on which one i'll blog about and the person who gives me the winning idea will get a prize?  sound interesting?

yes.  so seriously - give me ideas for blog posts.  whatever you want.  i'll figure out the specifics of the poll and contest, but leave your entry idea in the comment section and we'll get on with it.

are any of us 'living an authentic life'?

so i totes stole this idea from semi true torystellar at can u relate? because that's how i fucking roll.

but seriously.  it got me thinking.  read her post first so i can skip some of the backstory.

she talks about wearing a mask and not being authentic.  how so many of her friends are within the church and probably wouldn't approve of her real-life activities.  of course, semi true goes further and says they may lay hands on her and cast out her demons.  you might think she's joking.

she's not.

it's not that she's a bad person: she most certainly is not.  she is not a fraud.  she is not evil or wrong or horrible or hateful or mean to small children and furry animals.  she's pretty much awesome:  she drinks vodka, swears more often than she admits, bangs the hell out of her husband, and votes democrat. 

i don't see any problems.  i actually would say she's me, except i take full ownership of my swearing.

but semi true brings up that point:  she isn't a cursing, vodka-swilling, husband-humping liberal when she's with her friends. 

i posted a short comment on her blog (and owned up to the fact that i was copying her.  imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, so suck on it) stating how i WANT to say i'm myself all the fucking time.  how i'm always this real and awesome and crazy.

the truth is, i am always this awesome and crazy.  and i think i'm almost always this real.  i learned/was taught at an early age that appearances were important.  that some things were acceptable, and some were not.  i was not encouraged to share my feelings.  when i started 'acting out' at 11 or 12, i was brought to a psychotherapist who said i was lying for attention - that i was a pathological liar.  when i began being abused and mistreated by a family member, i told another adult - and was accused of lying.

i never brought it up again.

and thus began my foray into years of wearing many masks.  at school, i ventured between shy and crying to being outgoing and loud.  i would be holed up in the nurse's office or library hiding from people one day and holed up in an unlocked art closet with a boy the next.  i would lock myself in my bedroom and hang a blanket over the window and cry, or tape a plastic bag over my head and try to die.  i would go to a family function, all dressed up with my makeup done and smile and shake hands and be the perfect teenager.  i was myself in my bedroom, when i was alone.  some friends saw through a few of the cracks, some of my family picked up on things here or there, but what it all amounted to could be written off as 'hormones' or 'moody teenager'.  i hid my depression, my suicide attempts, most of my addictions, my cutting, my sexual activities, all of it.  no one - not one person - knew the whole story.

and i'd put my mask on and see my family or friends, i'd go over this one's house or meet that one's parents, and everything would seem fine.

until my 18th birthday.  at my paternal grandmother's house.  in front of my brother, dad, aunt and uncle, and grandparents i had a literal meltdown.  i barely remember what was said, but i remember shouting that i was sick of pretending to be someone i wasn't just to please them. 

it was freeing; it was horrifying.  i was disgusted with myself for acting like that, but pleased that the proverbial cat was out of the bag.

but was it?  i like to think that since that day, i have been myself - i'm not afraid for you to know i'm a neo-pagan: a witch.  i identify myself as a bisexual, as a democrat, as a big girl, as crazy, as a recovering addict, as a self-injurer, as an artist, as a cat-mom, as a wife, sister, and daughter.

i am always all of these things, whether or not i tell my friends or family, my prospective employers, people i meet in lines at disney.  just because i don't say these things doesn't mean i'm not these things.  it comes back to what semi true said: she is not authentic with these people because she is afraid they will reject who she really is. 

i think we all come to a point where we decide FUCK THOSE PEOPLE.  if they can't love me for who i actually am, why would i want them in my life?  but even then, there is a line.  don't we all have a friend who we really disagree with on at least one major issue?  for instance, i'm superagainst declawing cats to the point where when a friend was considering declawing her cats, i considered ending the friendship.  (she didn't and neither did i.) and looking back - i would not have ended the friendship.  i would have shared what i knew about declawing, let her horribly mutate her cats, been a bit mad at her inside, but kept the friendship.  that is not authentic.  but does that make it wrong?

it's like i said in the comment i left on semi true's blog.  i hate pants.  they are tight and clothesy.  my thighs get claustrophobic.  so often, when i am in for the night, i take my pants off.  since we currently live communally with mom, i try to put my yoga pants on.  but that doesn't always happen.  just because i don't take my pants off when i go to my dad's or my in-law's or your house, am i being inauthentic (or whatever the word would be)?

no, i'm being fucking polite by not subjecting you to my cellulite.

but i do have two friends who live in new york.  when i get to their house (when they don't have roommates who object) i take off my shoes, take off my pants, and curl up on their couch.  i know it's not exactly the same, but it's not really like i'm wearing pants (FINE, it's not like i'm wearing a mask.  you guys are boring).  it's not like i'm wearing a mask when i am in mixed company - it's not that i'm not being steph gas.  it's that some of steph gas is taking a time out because it's easier to keep the peace that way.

like my friends-who-i-remain-pantsless-with.  we went to disney and got drunk one night.  the two of us with BOOBS decided to flash all the tourists on the way home.  that was steph gas being steph gas.  me not taking my tits out when i go see my brother is not me being disingenuous.  it's just a part of steph gas that is taking a time out because my younger brother really doesn't need/want to see my bewbz.

so, to wrap it up here, the practical upshot of all this has to do with keeping your pants on and your BOOBS in their place when you are with people who might judge you.

harry potterville: first impressions

i decided i should do a first impressions post of harry potterville.  awesome husband and i are going to make universal our bitch again tomorrow, by leaving E A R L Y and getting there at park opening.  we'll probably only stay a few hours, but that's how annual passholders roll.  just to make you more jealous, we might hit up epcot on sunday.  or magic kingdom.  or whatever we want.  because we can.  i figure that since we know we're moving back to new york SOMETIME, we should get our fill of disney until we're throwing up little mickey heads.

SO.  we did harry potterville, which is actually called 'the wizarding world of harry potter'.  but that's a mouthful.  i could refer to it as wwohp, though.  but that's strange to type.  mostly because i'm not a fan of typing 'w'.

so harry potterville it is destined to remain.

we made our way back to where harry potterville is.  it's actually the village of hogsmeade.



the arched entrance to the village of hogsmeade

close up of the hanging sign

as you might notice, the attention to detail is remarkable.  i would say it is up to disney standards.  which you may know are super high standards.

the hogwart's express.  please ignore the muggles, i don't know who the fuck they are but we weren't about to wait in line to take a fucking picture.

hogsmeade train station schedule - very neat!

there are photo opportunities everywhere.  workers are in appropriate clothing, like adults wore in the movies.  the shops had very long lines - we may hit some of those this weekend.  in order to control crowding in many of the shops, there are lines that you wait on and they allow a certain amount of people in at a time.  a couple of shops, including ollivander's wand shop, have interactive shows.  depending on the lines, i may force awesome husband to see that one with me.

now along with myself and awesome husband were brother, sisterfromanothermister, and mom.  mom doesn't like thrill rides.  so she sat out a few, including the newly revamped dueling dragons ride that is now called dragon challenge.

dragon challenge ride - only 15 minute wait!!

dragon challenge is totally based on the triwizard tournament.  each track represents a different dragon and they run simultaneously - a couple times you will think you're about to crash.  it's super fast and twisty and upsidedowny and i loved it.  the queue is AMAZING - again, disney quality.  you walk through the outside queue and see signs for each champion.  you enter the tent that the triwizard champions waited in before facing their dragon.  you may also notice the goblet of fire and the triwizard cup!  it's very exciting - and then you climb atop your dragon (okay, you can see i've been indoctrinated by disney - you board the fucking roller coaster) and soar off into the sky. 

the triwizard cup!

since mom wasn't too keen on this ride, we needed somewhere to park her.  we found a covered area with lots of benches and went to deposit her there.  when we looked up, we realized this wasn't just a sitting area.

the owls moved, but did not poop.  thankfully.

it was the owlery.  when you looked up, you saw quite a few owls.  there was quiet hooting and rustling feather sounds (of course, i could have imagined those.... hmm.  i'll check on that) and the owls shuffled about above you.  very neat.  the clock gears were at the front of the covering - i didn't even check to see if the clock is actually out there.  i'll check tomorrow.

the clock from in the inside

there is also a small, wild mouse style roller coaster called flight of the hippogriff, which features an animatronic hippogriff and a visual of the outside of hagrid's hut.  the coaster cars themselves are cute - they look like wicker baskets, but are a bit snug.  this is not an actual children's ride, but one big girl (me) and one full grown adult (awesome husband) are a bit of a snug fit.  not uncomfortable, but.. well, snug.

finally, we did harry potter and the forbidden journey.  words alone cannot express the awesomeness that is this ride.  seriously.  it is that good.  i think universal outdid themselves and disney in this queue area and attraction.  i can honestly say that i think this is the best ride i've ever been on. it is not comparable to any other ride i've ever been on and deserves it's own blog entry, frankly.  i have been trying to think of things to compare it to, and NONE EXIST.  i am not being over dramatic here.  i rode this ride twice and sat in my seat slackjawed the entire ride BOTH times.  i will probably do the same tomorrow.  and the next twenty times i ride it.  it is that amazing.

the queue area is long.  super long.  it is a very popular ride.  the wait was 120 minutes that morning, and 45 in the afternoon.  i recommend checking first thing though - it was definitely worth a long wait, but it appears to rise and fall throughout the day.  i would not be upset waiting 45-60 minutes for this ride.  if you can stand riding solo, there is a single riders line.  it took us under ten minutes to get through the single rider line, and there was a 45 minute wait on the 'regular' line.  i took some photos of the queue with sisterfromanothermister's camera, but we were moving and it's dark in parts, and i didn't know how to use her camera or if it had a low light setting.  so i have some photos, and hope to take more of the other rooms (like the ones with the moving portraits!) with my olympus (which i mostly know how to use and does have a great low light setting).  be prepared to be attacked with photoawesomeness.  i'll try to put them in the order which we experienced them, but i cannot guarntee that.  since i was overcome with ridiculous emotions.  mostly awe.





humpbacked witch - the same who hides the entrance to the secret tunnels in the books?



inside the herbology greenhouse waiting to enter the castle

another shot of the greenhouse - it's two levels and has real hanging plants

mandrakes!  none of them were screaming though.

about to enter hogwarts castle!

i have read that this may be the statue of the architect of hogwarts.

there are SO MANY other things to take photos of, but it's hard to do so while walking and in such low light.  i'm also a big believer in NOT taking flash photos in dark rides or queues.  the darkness sets the tone and can also hide non-show quality shit.  i can tell you that you walk through dumbledore's office and the defense against the dark arts room, where harry, ron, and hermione make an appearance.

now, that was just some of the QUEUE.  the actual RIDE.  my mere words cannot do it justice.  really.  it's unlike anything you've ever done before.  it moves up, down, side to side, you'll lie on your back at one point.  it makes you feel like you're flying along the quidditch pitch, through the chamber of secrets, and across hogwarts grounds to escape a dragon.  you can try to find ride throughs online, videos that people take of the ride.  i haven't looked, but i doubt there are any out there that do it ANY kind of justice.  i cannot say how fucking awesome this ride is. 

HAVING SAID THAT.  i would have liked to see some elfs.  if you have read all the books, you realize what an important and central character dobby turns out to be.  having said that as well - it feels like this version of hogwarts nd hogsmeade is kind of frozen in book/movie four - the goblet of fire.  there's lots of stuff about the triwizard tournament, there are shows where the students from durmstrang and beauxbatons are introduced, and no one really mentions voldemort.  you can see why they did it this way - it is immortal.  nothing will really change in universal's harry potterville, and this was a great spot to freeze in time.  voldemort had not yet returned to power, zonko's was still open (which is why there is no weasley's wizarding wheezes shop), and dumbledore was in charge of hogwarts.  it is a beautifully done area, and worth many, many more visits - which is why awesome husband and i upgraded our day tickets to year-long passes before we left the park that day (it was only another $59 for both of us, and seems like a good idea considering). 

i hope to give you another blog post with more photos of harry potterville soon.  i'll exhaust my camera tomorrow, i promish.  i will end with this: if you come to central florida, i don't care why you do it, but if you come here and can get to universal in any way, shape, or form - do it.  it is worth checking out at least once.  if you'd rather hang out at disney, i don't blame you.  i still prefer disney to universal - but now i see that universal has something else to offer me!

plus, the fucking butterbeer is AWESOMETASTIC!



hogsmeade village