Photo Shoot and Cleaning the Camper

       Soon I shall have more awesome new pictures from a friend of mine trying to build up his photographer portfolio with some new stuff. He's been practicing more outdoor shoots so we just picked a nice spot near Morrison yesterday and my mom helped hold the light reflector, it was fun (*^.^) I think I look really weird without my glasses, and I don't have contacts so I was blind for most the shoot when the sun wouldn't let me wear them. He's going through all the pics today so this is the only one I've seen; I can't wait to get the rest! Although in this one I think the creek in the background is prettier than I am but I'm a nature nerd...

     
Mom and I also cleaned up the camper yesterday; vacuumed and wiped down everywhere (*-.-) We attempted to stay the night in it with our cat Misty, but after a few hours of sleep she decided to wake up and start meowing. Good news is the heater works great! Well attempt again to stay in there a whole night soon, it's so cozy in there, Misty will get used to it in no time. She was fine the first few hours but once we were sleeping for a while she woke up and wanted a midnight snack (*>.<) brought her a litter box but forgot her treats lol. It was cool getting to make the beds and see how big they are, can't wait to stay in there again and keep making it more comfortable.

Mandy Spring

FungiFactFriday and Mom's First Tattoo

       Yesterday when I was waking up for work I had Misty (the grey one) sprawled out by my feet and Yoda (the white one) sprawled out right up next to me with his face next to mine. It was so cute I didn't want to get out of bed! Then when I got home they were cuddled up with each other, I snapped a pic right away and it was so adorable I thought I would it share with you all.

       On a more exciting note, my mom got her first tattoo last night! Same spot to match me but hers is definitely bigger and cooler (*>.<) It suits her perfect and this lighting doesn't do it justice on the colors, it's very pretty! On another random thought from my other blog on mycology I would like to announce...

Picture from Turkey Tail Mushrooms Help Immune System Fight Cancer

       Friday's forevermore will be FungiFact day to celebrate the beneficial mushroom and mycelium species out there. A day to educate others and spread the knowledge on how we can save the planet with fungi if we change our ways and wake up to their potential. Check out Introducing my First Fungifact Friday for some cool info on Turkey Tail Mushrooms (*^.^) Hope you all have a wonderous weekend! 

Mandy Spring

Meeting Paul Stamets

       Last night was so AWESOME!!! I'm still in shock that I got to meet Paul Stamets and talk to him for a minute. The pic above is right after I gave him my first ever oil painting. I did a Turkey Tail Mushroom because it's my favorite looking mushroom, it's got amazing healing properties, and it saved Paul's mom from breast cancer. If you know anyone with cancer or low immune system problems have them look into organic mushroom supplements right away! Preferably Host Defense brand, Paul Stamet's company :), at most natural grocery stores.
       If you watched the TED talk video already and want to hear more before deciding to get his book Mycelium Running, which everyone should read in my opinion (*>.<), then check out this one:

Paul Stamets- The Future is Fungi

       This is a lot like what his talk was last night besides a few added tidbits of new information (*^.^) He even had his Amadou hat on! I'm such a nerd... I was jumping up and down all day yesterday and even cried a little during a special part of his talk... ya so nerdy lol. To keep a record of my mycological studies and share them with everyone I started a seprate blog just for that:

Mandy the Mycologist

       I deeply hope that this information can spread as quickly as possible and be put into practice to save the health of our planet, our bodies, and the future of our descendants. I invite you all to join me in this Mycological Revolution that has real potential to change our world for the better!

Mandy Spring

My Vintage Travel Tailer

       I am now the proud owner of my very own 1971 vintage travel trailer (*>.<) I'm so excited to clean her up and mom and I can start decorating. There's a few things I need to fix but nothing major at all. No leaks or problems we know of yet but even if something comes up I got a great price on it.

       Everything in it works, fridge, four-burner stove, heater, shower, plenty of storage space, and two beds. I want to replace the green carpet with bamboo flooring, spiff up the bathroom a little, and I need a hydraulic jack so I can make her level for the fridge to work. First on the list is selling my car and getting a truck though (*-.-) I was planning on doing that first but you can't miss out on a great deal when God puts it two blocks from your house. Just gonna have to enjoy her in the drive way and play around fixing it up before I get to take her out camping. So exciting (*O.O)

Brought our cat Misty to check it out, she approves. 

 Mom and Misty chillin on the couch that pulls out a little more into a bed

Dinning area that turns into the second bed

Cutest toilet paper holder ever! That's staying :)

       I'm so excited to start working on my camper it's almost all I can think about! If it weren't for my 2nd favorite hero, right after my mom, giving a talk tonight that I shall be attending (*^.^) Paul Stamets... I'm rushing to finish reading his book Mycelium Running. It's so good I keep reading super slow to soak in all the information but it's cram time now, I'll just have to read it again later. I was introduced to him about 5 years ago in his Ted.com talk Six Ways Mushrooms Can Save the World. I'll post more about him tomorrow and how it went but if you can't wait check out that video! It's amazing, changed my life since I was in college for Environmental Science. 

                                                                                                      Mandy Spring

http://www.ted.com/talks/paul_stamets_on_6_ways_mushrooms_can_save_the_world

Happy Beginning of Spring (*^.^)

       A few days ago I celebrated my 24th birthday on the first day of spring, had some great sushi for lunch and got my Melbourne Shuffle on at a big club in Denver. Was a great day, but one very important thing that happened was I left my phone number at a house down the street selling a travel trailer. I had been envious of it for quite a while; for about a month I was browsing campers on craigslist, planning out what kind I wanted and how much money I'd need to save, while passing a cute one just down the street from me all the time on my bike rides. I would always ponder about what it looked like inside and wished I could just go up to their house and have a tour. I wanted to talk to them about what it's like to own a trailer that size because it was exactly like what I was looking for. Well God has his ways and a few days before my birthday they put up a for sale sign on it! (*>.<) I got to see it yesterday and it's absolutely perfect! I'm buying it tomorrow so I'll leave the rest as a surprise...

       To celebrate getting a travel trailer for my mom and I, Saturday night I got my first tattoo. I was going to a nearby place to get my neck piecing out that I had in since spring of 2009 (might get a new one with better jewelry cuz my old one was junk metal) when I decided to finally get a tattoo! I always thought I would really consider what to get for a long time first and had some ideas in the past but it just never happened. Driving to the tattoo parlor my mom and I decided on the fly I should get a small purple heart on my shoulder because it carries special meaning for us both. Since I was losing my one cool piercing it was only fitting I finally see what getting a tattoo is like, and not too bad, but it was really small. Still I can't see how people get that done on their face or feet (*o.o) eeeekks. Well hopefully I shall be posting pics of my new travel trailer soon! 

       Thanks for reading my first blog post (*^.^)

                                      Mandy Spring