Person: Kate Moennig as Shane McCutcheon

sex symbol. mesmerizing. androgyny. depth. captivating.

When I started watching The L Word I literally couldn't keep my eyes off her. I had to go back in scenes because I'd miss things.

Person: Todd Selby

This man has made a career out of my main, and really, only hobby: taking pictures of people and their things. Todd Selby created The Selby is in your place. It is a photography website that consists of albums of people in their place, meaning their jobs and homes.

It's some of the most inspiring work I've ever come across. His photos are accessibly simple, just people and their things and places, but at the same time have a profound quality when Selby captures an expression as fleeting as the momentary glance to the boiling liquid on a stove to make sure it isn't burning or a mother's eyebrows questioning "what's wrong?" before the thought reaches her lips.

He's very talented, and his subjects are all made so intriguing in the composition of the photos. They are brightly lit and the colours are sharp, inviting the viewer to stare for a while, discovering all the parts like in an I Spy book.

For a quick peek, here are the favorite Todd Selby photos of 2010.

In the 'about' blurb on The Selby.com, it says that Todd started out taking pictures of his friends in their homes and posting the pictures on his website. Eventually he started getting requests.

It may be a while, if ever before I start getting requests, but I'm in the process of starting my own project. I wont call it The Ankersen though, that lands a bit heavy on the tongue.

Place: Vancouver Aquarium

I don't have much to say about the Aquarium except for this. It's a great place to practice nature photography. The water exhibits are well lit for optimal viewing potential which really lends itself to getting amazing jellyfish or anemone shots.

The day my friends and I went a couple weeks ago there was also an amazon exhibit, home to a few varieties of butterflies as well as colourful

reptiles arranged in beautiful homes safely behind glass.

It was the first time I had been there in about 15 years and nothing was familiar as I had hoped, but it was definitely worth the money and time. I'm only sad I didn't get a good shot of the otters. They were adorable.

I'm not one for entrapped animals, but the Vancouver

Aquarium is really a learning centre and a home to a few rescued animals, as well as a huge part of Vancouver culture. It gets my approval.

Thing: Cake

This recipe is 3 things:

1. Easy. (Most anyone could do it, it doesn't even use the "cake method" for those of us who didn't take Home Ec. in highschool. No offense to those of you who did.)
2. Delicious. (Like, seriously, tasty)
3. Fast. (Almost quicker than making cookies. Okay, thats a lie, but pretty quick for a cake?)

It doesn't really have a name, but I'll just call it White Cake. Even though you might call it yellow, what with the brown sugar and eggs in it.

White Cake

1 C Brown Sugar

1/2 C Butter

2 Eggs

2 tsp. Vanilla

1 tsp. Almond Extract

1 1/2 C Flour

1 3/4 tsp. Baking Powder

1/2 C Milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream butter and sugar, add eggs one at a time and vanilla. Beat. Combine dry ingredients and add to wet ingredients. Mix on medium-low speed and add milk slowly until smooth.

Grease 9" pan, pour batter.

Bake for about 30 mins, or when top is slightly golden and a toothpick comes out clean. DON'T OVER BAKE.

Cool and ice. Yum.

Person: Me

I am 19. I am a woman (of sorts, I don't have a job or pay rent or have children). I go to University. I am in between programs. I am working towards a degree in Child and Youth Care. I don't babysit the little boy I used to, he moved away. I am still in a relationship with Chad. I still live at my parents house. I still live in Victoria. I received a D in my Psychology 210: Conceptual Foundations course even though I really enjoy Psychology. I took two Linguistic courses even though I didn't enjoy them. I have only made two friends at UVic one of whom, honestly, I don't even like. I am lonely often. I still love bagels. I still love coffee. I have gained weight. I am afraid of getting a job. I spend too much time on the computer and not enough time outside. I still like taking pictures, and do so on a regular basis. I have a bad case of Wanderlust.

These are facts about myself that I know are certain.

Thing: Time

The most common blogger cliche is that one post that arrives a year late and is entitled "Busy" or "So Sorry!".

This post consists something along the lines of, "Oh my, I can't believe how long it's been since I've posted! I'm SO sorry, I've just been terribly busy."

The lucky thing about this blog however, is that no one reads it! So although I abandoned my blog for summer and then my first two semesters of University, I'm picking it back up again.

Maybe it's a spring thing.

In any case, I'm starting back up again, but by the time anyone reads this they probably wouldn't have even noticed that the archive skips June through March. So now that I've drawn attention to this gap, let me try and fill it with October till now, is that a compromise?

Here is my Tumblog. Its mostly pictures that I didn't take. Enjoy!