Happy Arbor Day!

In celebration of Arbor Day, enjoy these pretty pictures

of the redbud tree in my yard.

We're Famous!

For some reason, last year at graduation an Etown photographer took a picture of me, KT, and Jason looking like happy graduates.

Fast forward to this year and Etown's online graduation announcement... featuring yours truly, KT, and Jason!

By far the coolest thing that's happened to me all week.

Fourteen Reasons Why I Can't Wait to Have Kids

Working at a kids clothing store does really horrible things to my internal clock. Here's a very small sample of what makes it tick way faster than it should...

Our pet stump bunny

It's a stump that looks like a bunny! He says, "have a good day," as I pass him on my way out of our driveway.

Today he's saying, "Happy Earth Day!"

Feeling Flush

There are very few things that I really like about my body. Fortunately, there are even fewer things that I really hate... mostly I'm just ambivalent.

I hate Braden. He's my stomach parasite. Jason named him about four years ago. Well, he's not really a parasite (at least I hope not) he's just just a good excuse to make me feel better about my stomach hating me and making me feel nauseous every once and a while for no known reasons. Love him!

I hate my ears. Not the outside part, I'm ok with that. I hate their insides, the part that aches real bad when it's cold and windy, the part that kills whenever I lie down on my side for large amounts of time, the part that feels all clogged and uncomfortable whenever I run.

And I hate my joints for constantly making me feel like I'm about 105 years old.

But, more than my joints, my ears, and even more than Braden, I hate my propensity to blush.

I do it all the time. Even worse, I often can't exactly figure out why. I blush when I'm embarrassed or see an attractive guy or am put on the spot like any other normal person. But, I blush other more awkwardly normal times, too.

I can blush when I'm talking to someone I've known for years about something as mundane as socks. I blush when I'm talking to the girls in my ballet class about college (and not because I'm talking about all of my many scandalous exploits... not like I have any). I blush when I talk about my future.

I actually really enjoy public speaking, although I'm sure many of you (all 5 of you) would be surprised to know that. But I am often attacked with a burst of red when I'm doing that too.

And I'm not just talking about face getting red blushing here. When I blush my core temperature rises about 10 degrees higher and my palms and pits start to feel dewy (sorry... thats probs TMI) and I can feel the redness spread across my face. Which, of course, just makes it worse, because then I do get embarrassed about how it looks like I'm getting embarrassed and it just perpetuates the vicious cycle. GAH!

I guess it's just another piece of my silly dysfunctional body that I'll have to learn to accept...

maybe I'll name my flushed state Rose.

Views From My Car Window

On my way to work today the sun was starting to set and it looked really pretty. So I stuck my camera out the window (camera strap firmly secured to my wrist thankyouverymuch) and just started snapping pictures. I think I got some very pretty shots!

Vampires and Werewolves and Pathetic People.. OH MY!

Have you ever read a book gets stuck in your head? It doesn't even have to be a good book exactly, in fact, it could be an awful, horrible book but it's a book all the same and it just sticks there.

This unfortunate situation is happening to me with an unexpectedly and, quite frankly, embarrassingly unwelcome force with a book, well series actually, that I recently started perusing. Maybe you've heard of it...

It's a classic story. Girl falls in love with vampire, girl almost gets killed/turned into a vampire, vampire gets sad and goes away, girl gets super depressed, girl meets werewolf, girl gets a little undepressed thanks to said werewolf, werewolf hates vampire, bad things happen.

Sound familiar?

Yep. That's right. I'm reading Twilight. Start judging. I am.

Honestly, I hate myself a little bit for kinda liking it. The story is silly, the writing is not all that amazing, and the characters are way over the top. But I can't help myself. I'm sucked in (get it... sucked.. like a vampire sucks blood... ok lame. sorry I won't do it again.)

I never wanted to read these books. They seemed silly (which they are) and I can be a bit of a book snob at times, so I found it a little hard to take seriously a book that has its name plastered all over the walls of Walmart and Target and has its own little section in Barnes and Noble and comes complete with an entourage of screaming girls and obsessed middle-aged ladies who wear "I heart Edward" and "I'm with Jacob" T-shirts. It's like Harry Potter (which I did enjoy) on steroids. I mean really, with all this baggage who could possibly take themselves seriously when they read these books.

But, curiosity is a bitch sometimes and I'm ashamed to say that it overwhelmed me, mostly because my mother decided that it would be a good idea to watch the first movie. (It wasn't bad, but it wasn't all that great either by the way.) So I got the book and for about the first half I was basically aghast by the writing and the lack of creativity. Then, to my chagrin, I started getting sucked in.

I still don't know why. The main character Bella is depressingly obsessed with Edward (the vampire) and he is equally possessive and creepy. I was really quite disturbed by the way that he often hopped in her window at night just to steal a peak at her sleeping and listen to what she had to say in her midnight rambles... mostly she just talked about how obsessed she was with him. And then in the next book, after Edward deserts her, Bella befriends Jacob who is pretty much obsessed with her and the cycle continues with Bella in the middle making me feel a little nauseous with her hole in her middle from Edward's absence and her selfish desire to gain Jake's friendship, even when she knows he wants more.

But for some reason, I became attached. And now, I just want to know what happens. I've reached the middle of the second book... I started reading it yesterday on the day of the New Moon (I thought that was kinda poetic, considering the name of the book) and I'm already (sort of eagerly) anticipating the next two. I'd recommend that you read them too but then I'd feel bad about subjecting you to the personal torment I feel whenever I have to check out the next book in the series from the libs and I am paranoid that the checkout man is judging me.

It's pathetic and I'm sorry. Please feel free to mock me.