Smiles and Rainbows

This blog has been kind of a downer lately. I'm merely stating a fact, not apologizing or looking for reassurance in either direction. This post will be about things that make me smile.
I tend to attain greater joy from little things than other people do, I think. This is such a blessing.
Little things like when I unfocus my eyes and the Christmas lights get all twinkle-y. I love that. It makes me very happy. On the negative side, little things also get me down much easier than they do for other people (I assume, I've only ever been me!). Something like dropping your pen and leaning down to pick it up and then dropping it again before you even sit up straight. Grr.


Here's some little things that make my day. I hope to continue to do this kind of thing because I want you to know you are not alone if one of these things makes you giddy and because it reminds me how wonderful my life is. Also, this is somewhat inspired by Kate's Things I Love Thursday posts. She's awesome. Just sayin.


1. Seeing people hug at baggage claim in O'Hare. It is rare I get to see it play out all the way. The ideal is seeing Johnny's eyes searching around and craning his neck, bags in hand. Then he spots her. Suzy. She comes running and there's a moment of collision that says "Hey! I missed you! Now you're here and I am excited about that!" There's a moment in any good airport hug where the faces are buried in the space between neck and shoulder. This goes for anyone- parents and kids, friends, married couples, etc.
*Also, if you feel like bawling your eyes out, go on Youtube and search for videos about soldiers coming home. Seriously. You'll cry like a baby. I personally recommend this one with over 6 million views. I dare you to keep a dry eye after the 2:00 mark.


2. A darn good smoothie. Right now I am drinking a Mango Jet Tea smoothie that is delicious (compliments to McConn). Raspberry, strawberry, mango, and pretty much any other fruit in smoothie form makes me happy. I guess that one's not so strange.


3. Little kids with funny t-shirts. I know they don't dress themselves but that's why it's so funny. The best one I have seen in a while is a bib that read "Those fools put my cape on backwards." How can you not laugh at that? Etsy.com is a great place for handmade, vintage, or antique stuff. Along with everything else you can imagine, people sell clothes they have made or screen printed including funny baby clothes. That website is amazing. If you check out my Christmas List you will see a few items were listed on Etsy. God has gifted so many people to craft and create.


4. Nail polish. I'm not a girlie girl. Really. Ask my mother, she will confirm this fact much to her dismay. Over the years I have collected enough nail polish to cover the state of Maine. Much of it is  not red or pink. I have many blues, greens, one blue that turns into green in the sun, purple, matte finish polishes, neons, sparkles, etc. I'm hardly every patient enough to let my nails completely dry when I do them on my own so when they turn out well, it's really great.


5. The moment where a song hits that one part that positively shakes your bones. I believe this moment crosses genres of music from classical to metalcore. There is a moment where I just want to move with the music and let go. It feels amazing and always puts a smile on my face when it hits. I often accompany it with a little headbanging or air guitar playing, but you be you. This moment can be better achieved when the music is LOUD and you are alone or with someone who loves the song just as much as you do.


6. Getting the lyrics exactly right. I have this idea that at some point in my life, I will attend a concert and they will need someone to sing and I can say "I'll do it because I know the words and I can sing and I love this band and this is my dream!" The likelihood of this happening is low. I'm well aware. This in no way inhibits me from dreaming and preparing. Hitting a high note with Kelly Clarkson is almost as good as not getting the words jumbled in a rap part of a Top 40 kind of song. Also, *Fun Fact* I can 'rap' (I assure you no one in the rap community considers this rap) Aaron Carter's "Aaron's Party (Come Get It)" perfectly word for word. You've never heard it, you say? Listen here. It's probably a sickening amount of brain space that is used on lyrics but that number is probably impossible to calculate.


7. Glasses and sweatpants at night. I just recently began wearing my glasses even semi-regularly. I wear them in chapel and for night driving because hey, they help. Guys or girls who wear their sweatpants and glasses at night always make me smile. They look so comfortable and relaxed. The first time I realized just how happy this made me was likely on a retreat or something where we had a night meeting. I loved that people felt comfortable enough with our group to not have to put on this front. It feels trustworthy, I think.


8. Catching an obscure reference in a TV show or movie. It's the best when this reference is to a book. When I catch it, I feel like I could be friends with the writer which is cool because I like their show or movie. This also applies when people say a veiled Harry Potter reference in conversation that someone would only understand if they were big fans. When I catch it, a bond is formed and I feel really cool.


9. When people have a big goofy smile or comical laugh. The best example I can think of is the Cypher family back home. My friend's dad has this amazing smile that makes his whole face turn red and a vein pop out of his forehead. It makes me smile just thinking about it! All of their kids have laughable laughs  that make me smile too. Sometimes I don't think the joke was funny, but I end up laughing at their laugh. The ability to make others laugh is one of the more common superhero traits.


10. Finding that show or movie that's so bad you can't watch it without laughing [and, if you're lucky, a friend to watch it with]. A primo mainstream example of this would be the Twilight series. Alright, hear me out. I read the books. All 4. They were written to make teenage girls keep flipping the pages and clearly, it worked. In the grand scheme of all things literary, the books are not that well written. Allow us to refocus on the movies. I will, in any case where it's reasonable, read the book before I see the movie. I did see the first 3 Twilight movies and laughed through every one. The first one is one of the worst acted movies I have ever seen. It's ridiculous. It should be classified as a comedy, not a drama. A TV example would be America's Next Top Model, or ANTM. It is so stinking dramatic it's out of control. Lucky for me, I have found Kate who finds it equally laughable.


Each episode goes like this:


1. Here's what happened last week
2. Here are snippets of this week
3. Theme song. The opening credits change but are ridiculous every year and way over the top.
*Commercials*
4. Typically a view of the house, talk about what they think this week will be or how they were on the "chopping block," meaning the bottom 2. One girl is eliminated every week and immediately return to the house, pack her things, and go home. The other girl who was almost eliminated takes time to talk about how she has to "step up her game" or something like that.
5. Tyra Mail. Tyra sends them a little letter with cryptic clues as to this week's challenge. The girls make ridiculous guesses as to what the challenge might be.
6. The girls go to the challenge. This is sometimes runway, sometimes a teaching session with a drama coach, learning interview skills, learning dance, whatever. Something with a model lesson behind it like "being aware of your whole body's movements" or "moving through space." There is a challenge winner. She might win money, jewelry, clothes, extra frames for her photo shoot, and sometimes she can pick 1 or 2 other models to share in her prizes like a spa day. That changes each week.
7. The girls go home and fight. There's always drama sometimes accompanied by cursing. It could be about putting raw chicken in a bowl, getting in the shower first when someone else called dibs, not doing the dishes, someone eating someone else's cereal bars, arguing over who should have won the challenge, etc. Yes, all of those have happened on the show. Someone is always nervous about the photo shoot because they did poorly at the challenge. Sometimes a girl will call home and chat about other girls in the house but somehow the girls forget that the room where the phone (and a camera!) is was not sound proofed. There is usually a girl standing outside listening to the whole conversation and brings tidbits to the rest of the drama sharks. And, you guessed it, drama ensues.
*Commercials*
8. Sometimes they throw in a little extra piece here. It may be a story about one of the girl's home life, maybe one of the girls did something goofy on the set, etc. A mini human interest story.
*Commericals*
9. The photo shoot. This is how the girls are judged week to week and it decides who goes home. They  have the most ridiculous ideas ever. In the past, they have put them on harnesses and made them superheroes, geishas holding cell phones, had them lay in a coffin as each of them were the 7 deadly sins, make their own outfits out of grass and sticks and leaves and pose near a waterfall, made them fairy tale characters who were falling so the girls were hitting a huge mat after every shot, put them in creepy 1920s circus gear, put them on stilts, etc. It's typically loosely tied to the challenge. Jay Manuel, or Mr. Jay, is their director. He tells them if a shot isn't working and what the models need to change. Then he tells the camera which girls did well and who struggled. He also reports back to Tyra when there's a meltdown. He's kind of a snitch.
10. Usually they go back to the house and talk about who they think is going home. Drama.
*Commerical*
11. Panel. Tyra stand in front of the girls and says "You know our fabulous prizes--" and then proceeds to list them anyway.
Tyra and her 3 other judges call the girls up one by one as the rest of the models stand in the background. Each girl talks about how she thinks that week went and then Tyra says "let's see your photo" and they pull it up. The general rule for the judges is "If it's freaky or weird or unattractive, we like it. If it looks like something your average American would look at, it's 'commerical' and boring and we hate it." This is the time when Tyra says "Mr. Jay said that you were 'rude and hard to direct' on set, what is that about?" and then the model comes up the a lame excuse and then Nigel Barker says "That sounds like a lot of excuses and you need to take responsibility for yourself." Then the model says "Thank you," and walks back. This continues through the rest of the girls in a similar fashion. Sometimes the girls cry if they did badly or if they think they're going home.
12. Then Tyra tells the girls that "The judges will deliberate and when we call you back, one of you will be going home"
*Commercial*
13. The judges look at the photos one by one and talk about what they liked and did not like. Usually it's really stupid stuff like "Look at how stiff her pinky is- UGH!" and then when the model is making a face like she's bored stiff, they love it. They say things like "she needs more life in her eyes!" but don't say that to the girls so the girls can't improve. Then a few weeks down the road, they can say "Week after week, we've said your pictures look dead. And clearly you are not listening."
14. The girl with the best photo is called first. Her photo is displayed in the house that week as digital art. Tyra has each girl walk down the runway like they did to be judged and then she hands them their photo when they are safe. Tyra says "Congratulations. You are still in the running towards becoming America's Next Top Model" When it gets to the last 5, usually Tyra holds one side of the photo and the girl holds the other and she chides them. Then it's the final 2.
15. Tyra says "I have only one photo in my hand. This photo represents the girl that will still be in the running towards becoming America's Next Top Model. The girl who I do not call must immediately return to the house, pack your things, and go home." She says it as dramatically as possible. Then Tyra points out why each girl is in the bottom 2 and how they are there for opposite reasons and says "So who goes home?" [long pause filled by dramatic music]. Tyra pulls out the photo of the girl who is staying and says her name. The girls usually hug one another and tears are typically involved. As the girl takes her photo, Tyra reminds her of what she needs to do and she walks to the other safe girls.
16. The eliminated girl and Tyra stand alone on the runway and Tyra encourages her to keep going with her modeling career which is stupid because people who win the show have no modeling career. I don't expect much of a girl who was eliminated if that's what winners do.
17. The girl is seen packing up at home. She talks about what a great experience it was and how she will keep modeling and that this will not stop her. Her photos from every week show as she zips up her suitcase. Sometimes she leaves a note for the other girls and then walks out.
18. Then there's scenes from next week!!


The show is so terrible. There's 18 seasons which means that marathons happen very easily. We enjoy ourselves and laugh at how ridiculous it is.


*Whew that was a long post! Now I'm going to donate blood. Enjoy the day, readers. Have yourself a smile or two please!

Coffee

In case you didn't know this about me, I love coffee. 
I won't label myself as an addict or a coffee snob or any of those other ugly sounding things.
What I will say is that my day is better with a good cup of coffee. 




McConn is the coffee shop on campus and it's usually very good. I've had maybe 2 drinks that did not meet my expectations but nothing that was undrinkable. 




I used to only like the Frappuccino, which the Starbucks website calls a "blended beverage." That, my reader, is a euphemism for a coffee slushy. You can get all kinds of flavors and some without any coffee in them at all. I was that middle schooler in line behind you with the gift card and too much blue eye shadow (is there any acceptable amount?) ordering a grande carmel frappuccino. Slowly but surely, I got sick of those things. The bottom 1/3 of the drink is usually crushed ice with very little flavor left. With the carmel frapp, which did include coffee, there was always a bad taste in my mouth afterwards. That was not conducive to the hushed and dramatic conversation I was trying to have with my best friend at the table next to yours. I know, we were still too loud for you, other Starbucks customer, as you tried to blog about the meaning of life. 
*Also, WOW full circle much?*


I moved on to highly sugary coffee drinks like carmel macchiatos and occasionally iced coffee (with cream and sugar always). I still enjoy things like that, but I can drink real coffee now (I'm an adult!! do adults say that?) with cream. I prefer if it has a flavor in it but I can do without. For example, today I got a Cafe Latte with English Toffee. Delicious. 


This will certainly not be the last time I rave on about coffee and my love for that stuff. 
Go check out Kate's post about coffee because I can guarantee a laugh for you. 

I'm Like A Bird

There was a song I used to listen to by Nelly Furtado. I found the link for you here in case you have no idea what I'm talking about. I was 7 when it debuted but I remember listening to it more when I was 10 or 11. There's one line in particular that is sticking out to me right this second.


"I'm like a bird, I'll only fly away
I don't know where my soul is, 
I don't know where my home is"


I realize the song is a little dramatic and cheesy, but hang with me here.
I think the reason Ms. Furtado's lyrics are reaching out to me tonight is because I'm having a rough time with this "I live at school but my parents are at 'home' and what the heck does 'home' even mean" thing. I know from a zillion cross stitched pillows that "Home Is Where Your Heart Is" but as Relient K will remind us,


"If home is where the heart is
Then my home is where you are" (listen)


I also know I'm in college now so times have changed. I kinda live at home and mostly live at school for 9 months of the year and only the Lord knows what this summer will bring so let's not even go there. 
I'm not the only one wrestling with this. People will say "After lunch I'm going to go back and sleep" but they conveniently leave out labeling their dorm room as "my room" or "home." When the dorms are filling up again after a break, people will say "it's so great to be back" as though they were coming home. Strange. I'm right there with them! 


It was tough to leave home and come back to school. I have a bed in both places if you're standard for home is wherever you lay your head down at night. I bring clothes back to the house for the weekend because I am a visitor in my own house. I don't really live there. I live here in the dorm but it's not my home. 
It stinks to have to leave home when I know the next 3 weeks will be insanely stressful with school work and social stuff. That's always sort of stressful. Looking at this week I feel like it's this huge blob at the end of the street and as the clock gets closer and closer to my 8:20 Monday morning wake up call, I'm taking a step towards it. I know it won't attack all at once, but fighting a slow bit-by-bit battle seems like a bigger challenge than kicking its but in one fell swoop. 


I know, I know, I need to suck it up. This is college. It's supposed to be a challenge. I've never done this before but I hate letting that be an excuse. I should be good at something the very first time and never mess it up or have to do it differently. Duh! 


So now I will return to the homework I didn't do over the weekend and stop complaining about how tough life is when I am insanely blessed. 
Ah, Life. 

Knowledge is Power

You know when you see or hear something you wish you hadn't?
I just experienced this when I had the sudden urge to look up the convicted sex offenders around my college. I googled and was terrified.
I used Family Watchdog, but I'm sure any website like this will do the trick to keep you indoors forever.

There are 56 registered sex offenders in less than a mile from school. Whoa. That is A LOT.
I knew going to this school that the surrounding area was crime ridden. I didn't have hard facts but now I do.

So what does that mean for me and you, reader? It means you might want to look up you address because it's good to have the information. Do with it what you will but at least you will have it.
For me, I will have such a false sense of security on campus late at night. I will be more aware when I walk and get where I'm going in the dark quickly.

Hope I didn't scare you too much before bed! Goodnight!

Going Home

The more I have been at college, the more I have realized just how comfortable I was in my home life. I had never experienced anything radically new.
Trying the new dish at Panda Express was an earthquake in my day.
All this to say, I was pretty stinking sheltered.

Now that I'm in college (*hint: read with snooty tone) I have branched out a little. A very small amount. It's not that I'm being smacked in the face with mohawks and radical feminism or whatever else. It's more being in campus where those things are present and realizing that I didn't grow up like everyone else.

I don't really have a specific example. It's more of a slow burn of realizing that there's a big world out there and sitting around in a house in suburbia did not open that up. It was my bad, I don't blame anyone for it. So now, I will work to do more to open my eyes. That's it for tonight.

Positively Proficient Procrastinating

Today I had lunch with my friend Liz like I usually do on Tuesdays on Thursdays. Then, we decided to sit in The Commons and study. But guess what- we are sitting in McConn because there's a big fair going on in The Commons. Also, I'm not studying. Hence the title. I'm great at this! 
I have SO much to do and I'm not doing any of it. It's a pretty serious talent.
Also, I think drinking all this coffee is giving me a headache. That makes me sad because I love coffee. 
*psst- I think I might keep drinking it any way. 
I could list the things I should be doing but I won't because that sounds like a lot of work too. 
Maybe I'll tell you once I actually do things because then I'll feel better about myself. 
I might even be too lazy to add a photo to this blog post. It's getting ridiculous. I need to motivate and kick my butt into action! 


------


Now it is Sunday evening. I am about halfway done with this 8-12 page paper about my unique design. Yay! When I actually focus on it, it's not that tough. But I become so easily distracted. Sometimes I wonder if I have developed ADD. Then I look up symptoms on WebMD. Then I decide that I have it and that something MUST be done about it! 
And thus, I have wasted another 10 minutes. 
When did I become one of those people who couldn't do their homework quickly? I don't need hours and hours because it's difficult but because I am distracted. I'm willing to blame the Internet. I often need my computer to type up a paper but I need to use the Internet to do research as well or fact check myself. I reward myself by checking email, Facebook, updating this blog, etc and then 45 minutes have gone by! This is insanity. 
When I was in middle school through my freshman year of high school, I would come home from school and plop down at the dining room table and finish all my homework then and there. With the progression of years, homework started being put off later and later and less effort was given. My grades don't really reflect this but it's true. Now I come back to my room after class and set my backpack down and say to myself "Well, in for the night!" Did I mention 3 nights a week I get back at 3:30 from class?
What the heck is wrong with me?
There's no way I'm doing this college thing right. As our good friend Stacie Orrico would remind us, "There's gotta be more to life."
I need a hobby. Or some friends. Or both. 
The thing is I still do just fine when I put things off. If I applied myself and put my whole heart in it, I could be Wonder-Student. But I know I can get by without that effort. Grr.


So here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to get exactly halfway finished with this paper. Then I am going to shower and come back to it and complete it. I will give up on reading the rest of Plato tonight because it makes me feel like my brain is nacho cheese and I hate that stuff. I will read John Locke's section in the philosophy book and write my reflection on that. Not only is it shorter than Plato's section, I have high hopes it will be less nacho cheese brain inducing. I will read an overview online of both of them. Then I will take a photo of the sheets I didn't scan in for this UNV180 portfolio instead of going to the library to scan them. 
Tomorrow I will do a once over for sure that I have stuff done. I really should do work on my essay that I have a conference about on Tuesday but I know I won't do that tonight so I won't say I'm going to. Here we go- back to the essay. Wish me luck! 

Weekend Overview

This weekend was my grandparent's 50th wedding anniversary. (11/11/11)
It's so rare that anyone sticks together in real life or in the media.
Marriage is not for the weak. I believe it is the toughest relationship one can enter.
To get to 50 years, you can't quit when it's boring, or sucky, or lame, or someone better looking walked into your life, or when it's too hard.
I love them both very much.
And their wedding photos are gorgeous.

Best Friend

There are plenty of cheesy quotes about best friends. I'm sure there's one out there that would function well to explain how I feel about Kate.
Today is her birthday.
She is in California for this year with an organization called MissionYear.
Her blog is great so you should read it. I read it!

Part of being the people we are means that we do not take normal photos together. This is the only one I have on my computer right now and it is from a few weeks ago. You would think after years of friendship, we would have a plethora. NOPE!
Just check out her blog for photos of her.
We will work on that.

Thoughts on Life

There is a girl named Mallory who I spent a week with at summer camp. I was probably in 3rd grade. When I was in middle school, she reappeared!
She had orange make up, make nails, the whole she-bang including a belly button ring, plenty of partying, photo documentation of that partying on Facebook, etc. She was that girl. She moved on again during or after middle school. We weren't great friends and didn't really hang with the same crowd.
Not too long ago, I saw a photo of her on Facebook and she looked like she had a baby bump. After investigating closer, she was in fact pregnant.
Today, Mallory's status says "epidural = <3"
Wow.
Part of me wants to laugh and say "really? seriously?"
But so many people are wishing her good luck. I do think it's funny that this is what it has come to: teenagers posting social media updates about their pregnancies.
I know I need to change my attitude. She took a huge step of adulthood by choosing to not have an abortion. She must have known people would judge her and only hoped people would support her. It would be so much easier to "cover it up" or "get it taken care of" which are Terrible euphemisms for abortion. They make me shudder.

My mother told me the exact quote once but I don't remember exactly but some woman somewhere in a movie said something like "It's the sex that's the sin, not having the baby."

That's true, but it's a big, fat reminder and outward symbol of that sin. 

I really hope things go well for Mallory and her baby boy today.
So many people have wished her luck and given her tokens of advice.
I feel so useless. I don't feel like I know her well enough to say anything, but this is a greater example of me as a Christian failing to be a Christ-follower. What am I doing to be His light to people who are suffering? Not much. And that's a bad feeling.

Music and Lyrics

Music totally speaks to me. I know that sounds a little "Cheech and Chong" but it's true!
Sometimes lyrics will stick with me just rolling back and forth in my brain. Usually it's not annoying and it's more like a well spoken friend in my ear.
Talking about all the lyrics that ever have been stuck in my head would be impossible. Seriously. When I'm not thinking about class or whatever we're talking about that day or what I need to do or whatever normal people think about, my brain automatically fills the silence for me with lyrics and tunes. It's kind of cool, but also means moments of true silence are hard to come by.
So Switchfoot- have you heard of them? I talked about them here.
Their song "This is Your Life" says the line
This is your life/are you who you want to be?
These simple words always catch in my brain. This is my life. Am I who I want to be?
Not "do others want to be me?", not "do others think this is okay?". No. Unless you want to be one of those people who cares about what others think. I am and it stinks. I would love to tell you I don't care at all how others see me, but I absolutely do. When I walk through the student center, I'm constantly thinking about the looks people are giving me, how my body is positioned, what the shirt i'm wearing says about me, if there's something on my face....
Remember that busy thought life thing I talked about?
Exactly.
Who do you want to be? Why aren't you who ever that is?
What's stopping you? Fear of what people will think of you because it's so different than the person you are now?
Would you be more fulfilled if you were who you wanted to be and had to find new people to hang out with or would you be more fulfilled if you remained as you are with people who accept you?
Someone out there will always be your friend. Really. You've just got to find someone as weird as you are.
Hey, I'm pretty weird. It's more fun than trying to pretend I fit into normal. People laugh at my quirks and typically find them endearing if they don't happen to share them.
Someone else out there eats Sour Patch Kids in even numbers. Someone else out there follows the L and R on head phones. Someone else out there knows every word to Ice Ice Baby. Someone else out there wants to dye their hair purple. Guaranteed.

Bucket List

I would love to tell you that I had a bucket list before this movie

But I didn't.

When things come up, I have thought "Hey, I should do that before I die!" but I never compiled these things in one place. It seemed like a hastle and that I was committing to them. Also, where would I keep such a list? Electronically? On a notepad tucked in the back of my underwear drawer? On my person at all times? The possibilities all seemed to have equal potential.

Finally, I bit the bullet. 

I have created a Word doc that includes my bucket list. Some things are frivolous (Ex: wear a neon bra)

and some are serious (Ex: Go a week without Internet). So there's 2 examples from my list.

Come on, you've thought about it. What's on your bucket list?

Whatever is stopping you from making it, ignore that. Just because things are on the list doesn't mean you WILL do them. So what if you don't? You're dead anyway! 

The rest of my list is secret because that's how I think it should be. I will smile a sneaky smile whenever I do something that I can cross off and only then will you know what else is on my list. 

OR if I write about completing an item on this blog. Whichever comes first. 

Christmas List

Y'all would not believe me if I tried to explain how random my Christmas list is this year. So instead, I'm going to post it here. It will continue to be edited, so no worries.
Also, you may be thinking, "Hey you, what ever happened to Thanksgiving?!" Well, my extended family requested a list by mid-November. So there ya go.
There's some things I want that are only available online or more readily available online, so this makes it the perfect place to post it because you can click on the links! Yay Internet!

1. A Bears Hoodie. I'm not committed to this style for sure, but I do like it!
2. New Perfume. I have loved using Princess by Vera Wang which I got for my 16th birthday. I dig that it's purple. It's feminine but not overpowering. I will have to search for a new fragrance. So I guess this item really means $.
3. A black body pillow. A snuggler's dream (get it- dream/pillow? HA!)
4. An Exacto knife for crafts. One of those ones that you can cut out paper from the middle of the page. I think that's what it's called and I also think they come in bright colors. Party.
5. Either this jacket or this jacket from Target. I would want to try them on to be sure because they seem similar.
6. A book of poetry by Shel Silverstein. I have one book at home so I'll have to check which one it is but I want more!

7. These Beautiful TOMS For the longest time, my size (7) was not listed. Now they have 6.5s. If they had 7s, that would be ideal. Hmm. Maybe they will get more sizes for Christmas. I don't like the newer styles of Botas as much either. Darn.
8. Something Pocahontas-y. I love her. I found this shirt but I'm not totally set on it.
9. Mood changing nail polish. This stuff is amazing!! I used to love mood rings and wear them even though they turned my fingers green. I've never seen this in stores and I have no idea if it works.
10. A Carhart jacket (in purple- duh). My dad wears them all the time and I would put them on to go get the paper in the morning, when I was in the basement, whenever.
11. This poster. I like the message and the picture. A guy who's Youtube videos I watch designed it and all that, which is pretty neato. I think it's something not a lot of people have, which is also cool.
12. This tank top which is from the same guy's website. It's one of those things that, if someone else knew what the heck it was, would be a cool connection. And I think it's pretty.
13. This shirt is really cool too. I've never seen a shirt built like this. I'm pretty sure I don't actually want it and that I just think it's cool. But you should check it out anyways.
14. Something like this for the Chicago Bulls. Something contemporary would be fine, but something throwback would be awesome!
15. It's been a long time since I have had to read a clock with hands. Seriously. It's a little sad. This clock is so beautiful, I would retrain myself to do it.
16. I love how sleek my Macbook is, but sometimes it's just like everyone else's. That's why something like this would be really cool. It also protects the keys and it can be easily removed in case I need my computer for a job interview or something like that.
17. As you very well know, I am a movie lover. Star Wars is one of my favorites, so a poster like this would be sweet.
18. I searched around for a while before choosing this cassette--> ipod adapter for my car. Some reviews of similar products say it stinks, so I'll have to be careful before picking one.
19. I don't often drink coffee from a mug, but when I do, I always want to feel like I'm being attacked by a shark.

So that's all for now. I might add or subtract, but that's pretty much it. As is my custom, most of this will carry over into my birthday list too. Woo for January birthdays!

Sorry there's no photos in this one. The uploader is wacky tonight. Maybe I'll add some later. But hey- tons of direct links for you! What does your Christmas list look like? I'd love to borrow some of your ideas!

Phone and Movies

I might be writing this post in order to delay the writing of my speech for tonight. But you won't tell anyone right? Perfect.
I have a general idea of what I want to do. I should just do it. Okay, readers. You've convicted me. I will return to my speech and get through at least the second subpoint. You're so convincing!

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My speech went fairly well last night. I'm still debating about whether or not I should go into detail. Let me say this. I received an A and totally embarrassed myself. That being said, I'm not sure I'm quite ready to share that moment with the Internet yet. 

This week, I have gotten to talk to two very special ladies. I spent more than an hour on the phone with each of them. I usually hate talking on the phone because I am so bad at it. I'm all about reading body language and facial cues that you can't get on the phone. Even inflection is hard to catch sometimes. 

For some reason, I have this mental image of Marcia Brady laying on her bed (right) and chatting on the phone forever (left). I'm not sure she ever did this, but that's what I think of when I think about talking to my friends on the phone for hours. Was there a phone in the girl's bedroom? I wouldn't think so. It was the early 1970s. I don't really know. 

Monday night I got to talk to Avery. I hadn't talked with her in a while so it was very good to catch up. 

This is Avery and myself at my senior night, and then us the summer before at Lollapalooza.

It's this HUGE 3 day music festival downtown Chicago with some little bands and booths and then as the night goes on, more and more well-known bands play. Each night there's a headliner, like Green Day. We rode the train and sweated and got sunburned and rocked out. It was awesome.

Last night, I got to talk to Kate. It was good to hear her voice and get her opinions on things. I miss her. I miss them both! Hopefully I can see everybody I want to see over Christmas. Turns out, I don't have too many decent photos of Kate and myself. Shocker. We're too goofy. Here's one of her being a goof and me being a goof. We took a lot of photos this day, just not together. 

And yes, I'm in a dress. No, we were not going anywhere fancy. I just decided to wear a dress.

Yeah. 

I've got one more class today and then a meeting with my philosophy group tonight. We are watching The Truman Show and analyzing it together. Have you people seen this movie? It's awesome!