Hmm....Something's Missing....

Running off...to pick my sister up from sunday school, I notice something about my appearance. Yes, I note that my clothing does look a little thrown together and that my hair is most definitely not brushed and slightly problematic. But I still thought that I looked presentable, and I was only just going to pick her up right? As I was driving down the road I noticed that the gas pedal felt a little different then usual. Looking down I saw something that made me laugh. I had worn my slippers! I had completely forgotten to change into regular shoes. Luckily my slippers aren't pink with furry little heads, but needless to say, you can never be to careful running out the door. Make sure you check your feet.

Skeptical father...

A conversation between Father and Me.

my dad walks into the computer rooms and says, "what are you doing?"

I say, "I'm organizing yours and moms' iTunes library"

to which my father scoffs and says, "yeah, cluttering up my computer is more like it."

I laugh and my father continues on his way.

A new day, another opportunity to be realize you should avoid the outdoors...

A list of things that are most decidedly Not Cool

• Finding out that tomorrow morning you are supposed to go outside (before it gets hot) and water the plants in the backyard
• having to get out of bed and finding that you don't feel like changing so you just throw on a sweatshirt and some old shoes
• arriving outside and finding the water facet covered in bugs and other slimy contraptions
  
• having to recite the "righty-tighty, lefty-loosey" rhyme to figure out which way to turn the spigot.
  
• getting slightly sprayed with water that seemed to miss the turn that went into the hose
• telling yourself that that will be the only water you get on yourself
• finding out that maybe you turned it a little too much to the left because of all the water squirting out and pummeling half the dirt out of the potted plants
• wondering if maybe your parents will notice the chaos of dirt and water splattered across the patio
• being too lazy to go back to the spigot and turn the water pressure down and blasting all the plants into oblivion and wondering if maybe no one will ask why the plants are plastered to the ground with water droplets cascading all around.
• thinking you are done, but then realizing you were also asked to water those three bushes back in the far corner of the yard
• walking to those three bushes and seeing that you don't have nearly enough hose to reach them
• trying to do that cool trick where you cover the end of the hose and the water spurts out in a spraying fashion, only realizing that you were never taught that and manage to water everything BUT those three plants
• finally figuring out how to make the hose work after 25 thousand gallons of water and 15 minutes of utter frustration.
• you remember specific instructions to get that maple tree watered in the front yard and were told to connect the green hose to the yellow hose...but for the life of you, you cannot find that mysterious yellow hose and have already wandered around the house 3 times.
• giving up and just using another green hose to water that tree...
• ...and finding out that this hose is too short as well
• but you figure that since you've mastered that spraying trick already you can just do that for the remaining three feet
• you walk all the way back to turn on the water
• and walk all the way back to that lonesome tree in the far corner of the yard
• and realize that maybe you need to work on your water pressuring skills
• for you seem to have turned it a little too hard as well
• and the hose is having spasms in the front yard
• twirling in the grass like there is no tomorrow
• but you figure that since it has one of those handy dandy nozel sprays
• you should be just fine
• so you pick it up to spray the tree
• and realize that maybe the water pressure is a little too high
• and water is leaking from the end...
• you press down on the handle, expecting to get a nice shoot of spray, but somehow, someone has set it for a different setting.
• you release the nozel and hold it close to your face in an effort to see which way you should turn the handle to get it on the spray mode
• only too late to realize that you must have done something wrong
• for now the whole nozzle head is coming off and the water is beginning to squirt all over the place
• you fumble with the handle trying with all your might to get the hose twisted back into the nozzle but all you end up doing is getting yourself covered in water
• the hose shudders one last time and then the nozzle comes off in your left hand while the right hand holds a drooping-but-totally-gushing-water-hose.
• you are imagining all your neighbors peering out their windows, watching this random little teenager make a total fool out of herself using only a few items and you are starting to think evil thoughts concerning your neighbors
• you tell yourself that it is far too early for any of your neighbors to be up and there is no way that they could watch a poor helpless teenager get ambushed by an evil hose and not run to save her...no, they must still be inside asleep
• you have convinced yourself of that fact until you see that half your neighbors garage doors are open
• then you are thinking maybe now would be a good time to run back inside
• you think that maybe it is a good idea to twist the hose into a knot to prevent it from spraying out in every direction, you've seen other people do it, surely it would work for you?
• you walk about 5 steps before the pressure becomes too much and the hose erupts and sprays water all over you AGAIN
• then you are left standing there, in the middle of the yard with a nozzle and a hose and you are thinking that maybe if the neighbors were watching they would be laughing their heads off....and you are also thinking that if it had been the other way around you would most definitely be laughing your head off...
• you imagine seeing yourself outside being attacked by a hose and must admit that it is kind of comical.
• you start to chuckle a bit
• you start laughing at the humor of it all, getting attacked by a crazy evil hose.
• then you are wondering if maybe the neighbors have stopped laughing and are now watching you wondering if you are having a mental breakdown, seeing how you are standing in the middle of the yard clutching a water hose that is gushing out water and laughing.
• you have a brilliant idea and decide you will bend the hose in half and quickly screw the nozzle head back on while the water is trapped
• with your left hand twisting the hose and your right hand clutching the nozzle you think that maybe your plan will work
• until the hose wiggles out of your grasp and sprays you a face full of water AGAIN
• now you've left the hose on the ground
• your hair is wet
• your dripping water
• your glasses are almost too wet to see out of
• and your sweater is now blotched with wet spots
• any trace of humor is gone
• you have decided that you no longer feel like being the laughing stock of your neighbor hood, you are going to show this hose who is boss and you are going to do it now.
• you briskly walk back to the spigot, holding the hose in your right hand, not caring if it continues to spray water all over the driveway
• with one fluid motion you turn off the water
• and there is silence
• you have won
• that pesky little hose cannot get the better of you now.
• mustering all the dignity you have, you walk back to the house
• one pajama pant leg is only speckled with water and flaps in the breeze while the other is soaked through and is formed to your leg like a new layer of skin
• you vow to never ever water the plants again

A Conversation...

Me: "I've been having Cheese-Bagel thoughts"

Her: "Oh?"

Me: "Yeah, and only Cheese-Bagels can cure me"

Her: "We'll be home in half an hour"

My computer is delusional

It says it has 10 hours of power left when only a third of the battery icon is full. I will forgive my computer though, because I know it can't help itself sometimes and makes all sorts of rash decisions and then checks the stats and realize that it only has 1 hour and 45 minutes of battery power left. 1 hour and 45 minutes is more then enough time for me...

A conversation with my blog "I'm sorry blog, I know that I've neglected you in the past and probably will in the future, but really I don't mean too, and you know I'm not doing it on purpose" at this point in the conversation my blog is already raising its eyebrows in suspicion.

I know I'm pathetic, really I do, but sometimes life grabs me and just won't let go, and then I'm still trying to figure out where the past couple months have gone and then I think to check my blog...

What I've been up to:

1. obsessively pining for the Family Force 5 CD that's coming out this summer
2. waiting for the package that is coming in a couple weeks from Family Force 5 (I joined their fan club)
3. I am totally in love with the new Krystal Meyers song, "Shine" you should check it out here
4. getting ready for college 
5. reading massive amounts of books and then updating at goodreads
6. working out at the Y so I'm not a pathetic muscle-less person who randomly roams the earth hoping people won't ask her to help them carry stuff because she is afraid she won't be able to lift the item and will instead be smashed down under its weight
7. I see that my poor little blog has been sadly neglected and that I need to update the sidebar thingies
8. I've been buying a lot of shoes...
9. I've been spending WAY to much time on facebook
10. I take my camera with me everywhere
11. I don't write nearly as much as I should
12. I've probably been eating too much ice cream
13. I dyed my hair
14. I got a Macbook and think it is the grandest thing in the world
15. I got new glasses, but I won't tell you the long story of how many times they messed up and how I kept getting replacement glasses
16. Mostly though, I've been wasting away........

if you were to walk into my room, here is what you'd find...

crumpled socks pushed into the dark corners of my room

yarn shoved in plastic bins high up near the ceiling above my clothes in my closet

my favorite magazines lined up on my shelf organized by publication date

a medium size blue metal tub with an assortment of awesome hats

CDs everywhere, on my desk, the floor, my bookshelf, the CD stand in the corner

lizards climb the walls; small ones, big ones, beaded ones and heavy ones

on my bed you'd find all the things I need to have by my side constantly, my journal, pens entrapped by an old rubber band, a notebook (for my midnight poems) 3 or 4 books I'm reading, a kleenex box, pillows, a bottle of water, iPod, laptop, sometimes a couple articles of clothing - my bed is hardly clean

on the wall I have posters, the topics range from movies to bands to wal*mart-fare to inspirational

I have a squiggly mirror next to my bed

my desk is a triangle and I have two turquoise blue vases and an alarm clock/radio/CD player sitting on top

only one of the shelves on my book case is devoted to books

I can't seem to get rid of my leftover plastic wal*mart bags, they are scattered all around

a turkish purse hangs on the back of my door, it's yellow with beaded flowers

shoes sprawl across the carpet and have lengthy discussions concerning topics I don't know much about

on occasion, you can actually see the color of my carpet

my trash can is orange and has a pop-top lid that I never use

library books are in a pile next to my dresser

plastic tubs are underneath my bed containing all the stuff that didn't fit in my closet

my walls are white - but the rest of the room is bursting with color.....

Summer:

The asphalt feels scorching hot beneath my bare feet

Ice cream melts faster then I can eat it

Chalk drawings litter drive-ways and sidewalks

Bathing suits are taken out of the corner of the closet

The wind blows and you can smell the summer air hot as it toys with your 

hair

The sound of lawnmowers is a steady rhythm to which you plan your day

Popsicles melt in your hands and you don't even bother to wash your hand 

of the sticky sweetness, letting it linger on your fingertips

You hardly wear shoes and let your feet soak up the richness of the earth

Your hair is constantly plastered to the side of your face, where you shove 

 it aside throughout the day

You look forward to those long summer days where you sip your lemonade 

 and read books all afternoon

My Obsession - Skillet

yeah I know, random and slightly obscure song as blog title....it's just what popped into my head. But seriously, I really need a new CD to obsess about. I've pretty much been listening to Falling Up's "Captiva" for the past couple of weeks and it was only a couple days ago that I realized it's gotten "old" Now, not old as in I never want to hear it ever again, but old as in I've listened to it and know all the moods of all the songs and can tell you the first lines before they are even sung, I've also stopped having Falling Up's songs spin around my head in their constant motion of speed. I now know that I need a new CD, granted, Captiva was an awesome CD, from the first couple times I listened to it I felt like it was an old friend whom I hadn't seen in a very long time. It was truly an inspiring album.
Even though I'm sad to see that that CD has lost it's luster, I'm excited to start a new "obsession" the only problem is that I'm having a hard time finding a CD from my huge stockpile of "un-obsessed" CDs that I am clicking with. It's bugging me, but I think I'm going to go through my iPod and make a list of them all and stare at that until I make a decision...one way or another, soon I'm going to be singing a new set of songs...

Thank Goodness For iPods...

I'm on the computer, happily twiddling around while accomplishing absolutely nothing. Ruining my peaceful atmosphere comes the sound of escalating vocal cords...they sail through the air like they own it and land amongst my ears in annoying glee. Two steps behind me, door frame and then another mere five steps will lead you directly to where those soaring vocal cords are located. I am far to close to those classical notes. I glance over at my lizard and I can tell by the look on his face that he knows exactly what I am thinking. While he ducks beneath his little hidey hole to make sure he is safe from a Disney song invasion, I grab my book, exit the computer room and head towards my room. Once I am inside, with my door perfectly closed, I find my lovely iPod and with a couple deft scrolls of my thumb, I have one of my favorite punk/screamo albums on the screen. Sliding the ear buds in place I settle into a comfortable position on my bed and open my book. I have successfully averted a classical music crisis.

I feel like I have accomplished a lot...

I got out of bed at a reasonable hour...
I took a shower in under 10 minutes...
I got dressed and managed to have all my clothes match...
I ate some good food that nourished my body...
I drank water so that I wouldn't be dehydrated...
I got the mail and didn't throw a fit when there was nothing cool for me....
I successfully ate 3/4 of my leftover Easter candy...
I've listened to my new Children 18:3 CD two times already...
I gave my pet a bath and he didn't seem too annoyed at me
I wrote this lovely blog entry and informed you of all my wonderful accomplishments...
Yep, I'm pretty certain that I have had A Very Successful Day.

And I was really hungry...

Yesterday I almost ate spoiled chicken. I have some allergies going on right now, so I didn't smell anything when I took it out of the bag and started chopping it up. I mixed in herbs and spices and reheated some leftover rice. I had been thinking about Chicken and Rice all afternoon and I was finally getting around to making myself some dinner. It was only after everything was done that I couldn't stand it and I stole a little piece of chicken and plopped it into my mouth. It tasted funny. Real funky. I could not place why it tasted so weird. But then I remembered that we still haven't bought any organic soy sauce and so we were using some generic brand from walmart. I figured that that was the case and I hoped we bought some new soy sauce soon, because this stuff just wasn't as good. I kept stirring, watching as my chicken was getting golden brown. I couldn't help myself again, I snagged a piece and ate it. It still tasted funky. Why? I looked at the chicken, it seemed perfectly harmless, it looked good. I went back over to the counter where I still have not put away the other chicken breast in it's little plastic Ziploc bag. I put my nose close and sniffed. WHOA! How could I have missed it before? It smelled like rotten milk. It was totally nasty. And here I had been frying it up in a pan for the last 10 minutes eagerly awaiting my dinner. I went back to my fried chicken and felt sick. I had only eaten a couple pieces and I was already starting to feel sick, but I knew that if I let my mind wander it would definitely think of all the ways I would die of food poisoning, so I said, "Stop it. It was only a couple pieces, you will not die." It made me sad to look at that pan full of fried chicken. I had so been looking forward to eating it. I was now depressed. I had used up all those herbs and spices to make it taste good, and now they were going to the trash can. I felt so depressed I didn't feel like eating anything. But I was hungry, and I knew that if I didn't eat anything then I would feel really sick from lack of food. So I called my dad and told him that I had almost eaten poisoned chicken and he told me (of course) "you should have smelled it first" and I sighed. Good news was that we had bought one of those rotisserie style chickens for dinner last night, so I just hacked off some of that and cooked that. Moral of the story guys: don't eat poisoned chicken.

Driving along the road on the way to church....

and what do we see? Two cows, on the edge of the road, chewing their cud, wondering what we were doing staring at them. Me, my Dad and my sister had to laugh. They looked so forlorn....standing there, not knowing if they should go back, or move forward. Eventually we moved on, driving slowly down the road, gradually picking up speed as the cows got smaller and smaller in my side view mirror. With a laugh my dad looked back and said, "now they're going to follow us." Looking back I saw they were walking in the direction we had gone. Within minutes, they were out of sight, and out of my mind. At church, God had played a little trick on us. The Sermon was about Lost Sheep...or, as I translated it, since I am living in OK: Lost Cows. Funny, God, real funny - is what I thought. Just his little way of reminding us that he is very present in our lives...even when we just think it's a crazy old cow chewing her cud.