So. This boy...

So I've been dating J a little over six months now. A record holder, if you will. And it was his birthday this past week, which meant that I had to think of something AMAZING to give him. I mean, this guy is something special. Present must reflect that special-ness of the glitter and sunshine feelings he gives me. Right? RIGHT?

I thought about this present for a few weeks. Brainstormed with myself, essentially. And finally decided that since he moved from GA a year ago, he needs to immerse himself in beach culture. Which essentially meant... he needed a cruiser. I set off to craigslist and found this monster.

Not even a little rough around the edges... this guy needed some work. Luckily for me and my under-preparedness, my parents are in town and offered their help. I began by sanding the white paint down and disassembling the ENTIRE bike. (Tires were removed completely, bike rack taken off and thrown away, old grips were thrown away, pedals were thrown away, and cup holder was tossed.)

Then we got to the fun part... paint. You know me and my love for some spray paint. So, naturally, the bike had to be gold.  Tires, rims, and all accessories had to be black. The only original things left on this bike are the chain and the seat. (Chain to be changed as soon as I figure out how to get the old one off and a new one put on.)

And... well... this beauty emerged!

Annnnd he loves it. 

Awkward moments with me.

I get really uncomfortable when people ask questions like the following:

Sooo what have you been up to lately?
What do you do for fun?
What hobbies do you have?

I mean, they're just really vague questions that people ask when they really have no knowledge of your life whatsoever and are just fishing for information.

So braintrust and I had an informational brainstorming session a few weeks ago, and it finally paid off.

I played golf with some Marketing-y folks yesterday, and... well... read for yourselves.

"soooo kelly. what have you been up to?"

"i've been working on my taxidermy skills."
 "okay, i'll give you another chance. what have you been up to?"

"i've been taking my dog's fur and making pillows."