The Only One I Would Ever Watch

Becuase I am -that- kind of nerd.

Coolio

If only we had cool stuff like this on -our- side of the U.S. Totally rad.

Oh the Places You'll Go...

I started something on my trip to Tijuana. Instead of looking up (at clouds, tall buildings, dentist's ceiling, etc.) I decided to look down. This practice spilled over into my trip to Rochester, too. Here are some of the interesting things I found.

"Will you succeed? Yes, you will indeed. (98 3/4% guaranteed.)" ~Dr. Seuss~

The Ten Commandments (Minnesota Style, eh?)

I just got back from Rochester, ya know. I found this totally awesome plaque in a gift shop in the mall. I took pictures of it, but they didn't work so well. So let me reiterate for you.

The Ten Commandments (Minnesota Style)

1. Der's only one God ya know.
2. Don't make the fish on yer mantle an idol.
3. Cussin' ain't Minnesota nice.
4. Go to church even when yer up nort.
5. Honor ye folks.
6. Don't kill-- catch and release.
7. Der's only one Lena for every Ole. No cheatin'.
8. If it ain't yer lutefisk, don't take it.
9. Don't be a braggin' 'bout how much snow you shoveled.
10. Keep yer mind off yer neighbor's hot dish.


(more on Minnesota to follow!)

Boys (Oh, boy)

You know, I'm starting to realize just how smart God was when he gave me three older brothers. I spent the day with my two nephews (J is 3, N is 1) and it just boggles my mind sometimes how totally and completely different boys are!
This is J, rockin' on his "li'l tiny guitar" while wearing his potty seat (yes-- potty seat) on his head.And little brother N just chillin'.Details.

Amigas

I'm finally reconnecting with an old friend. Stef and I grew up together but lost touch several years ago as we started attending our separate colleges. We've been trying to get together for weeks, but it just hasn't happened. We decided to just make a day of it this past Wednesday and headed to the coast for a day. It was so awesome! We hit some great antiques shops (wahoooo jewelry!!), had lunch, then just played on the beach. It was perfect weather-- though a bit on the foggy side down in the sand-- but that just made for some really nifty photos. She's such a beautiful woman of God, and such an inspiration and encouragement to me. Thanks for the wonderful time, Stef (and thanks for being my photographical guinea pig :). We need to do it again!








Friends!
I love having friends!
I'm thankful that God saw put
to fill my life with
lots and lots of friends!
I love havin' friends!
I'm thankful to God for all my friends!
~Joni Eareckson Tada

There Used To Be This Thing

We used to have a satellite dish for our TV. The channels we had were provided by a Christian broadcasting company. My favorite channel (I don't remember what it was called) played just music videos, all day, every day. I was reminiscing on YouTube today. Here are a few of my favs.









That's all for now-- wouldn't want to overwhelm you. Enjoy. :)

Why does this strike me as funny?

I guess it's just showing off my appreciation for potty humor... (don't worry-- it's a clean potty!)

LINK

Tennessee

I know I'm breaking my own rules by posting twice in one day (*gasp!*), but I couldn't resist. I love June Carter Cash!





Enjoy. :D

Sing-a-long!

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaas I was walking down the street, one dark and dreary day, I came across a billboard and much to my dismay, the sign was torn and tattered from the rain the night before. But clearly I could read the message that it bore: 'Smoke Coca~Cola cigarettes! Drink Wrigley's spearmint beer! KennelRation dogfood makes your wife's complexion clear. Diaperize your baby in a Hershey's candy bar! And Texaco beauty cream is used by all the stars. So take your next vacation in a brand-new Frigidaire! Learn to play the piano in your winter underwear. Doctors say that babies should smoke until they're 3, and people over 65 should bathe in Lipton tea!' "

I'll Be Home for Christmas

Here I sit, at 12:35 am, unable to sleep. Nothing new, really. I've enjoyed my freedom to stay up 'til 2 and sleep 'til noon this summer. But why, of all nights, can't I sleep? Is it because I'm looking forward to watching the 4th of July parade with my nephews tomorrow morning? Is it because I'm anxious about my car's issues and money? Maybe I'm just too nervous about the never-ending school program I seem to have gotten myself into...uff. So much to worry about, so little time. I know I didn't have coffee today-- maybe I just had too much sugar.

Who knows?

Nevertheless, I'm here, lounging in my chair with my new high-heels on (I'm breaking them in and practicing walking for my cousin's wedding next month). And to answer your next question, yes, I am really listening to Christmas music. Don't ask me why-- I haven't the foggiest idea. It just felt like the thing to do ( I really can't stay--but baby it's cold outside-- I gotta go away-- but baby, it's cold outside).

Random thoughts for today:
I like cherries, but definitely -not- cherry-flavored stuff.
On the subject of flavors, I never liked bubblegum-flavored stuff, but BubbleMint Orbit gum is rapidly becoming one of my favorites.
I need to see if I can find Handel's Messiah-- the complete version. That'd be really cool to hear.
On the same subject, I should really research the Messiah and find out more... yeah... that'd be neat too.

I feel like blogging about something uber important. You know-- world peace or world hunger or the 'war on terror' or 'a human's inability to recognize the _____ in the world'. You know, stuff that people really want to read. Who cares about my random, subject-less ramblings (is that redundant?)? But I'm no expert... in anything (well, besides typing like a caffeinated chipmunk-- I'm definitely a pro in that area).

I feel this heaviness on my chest to share something profound, but I don't know what it is. I feel this innate desire to do something BIG-- you know, be the next uber-editor or write the next Great American Novel. But I don't think that's me. I don't think that's what I'm supposed to do.

Would you believe that I'm considering -not- going to school in the fall to instead go to prison for a week? Well, I am. How absolutely crazy, batty, berserk, mental, mad-as-a-hatter, schizo, unzipped, wacky and wonky would that be? (synonyms courtesy of thesaurus.reference.com) Am I seriously considering it? Yes. Yes, I am. I think it would be amazing, astonishing, fascinating, incredible, marvelous and prodigious. I considered just signing up for classes and asking my instructors what they'd think if I took a week off to go to jail... but then I decided that I'm not so sure how I'd explain the -why- part of all that.

It's 12:52 now (oh, the weather outside is frightful, but the fire is so delightful...) and I think I could finally get serious about catching some Z's. Goodnight all (if, indeed, anyone actually reads this) and have a happy and safe 4th of July.

Don't burn anything down.

In fact, don't set anything on fire at all.

Unless, of course, it's meant to be on fire.

Then that's all right, I suppose.

Sweet dreams.

Am I missing something?

I finished school today. Not forever, unfortunately. Just for the term. But hey, I'll take it! It's weird, ya know? I still feel like I'm forgetting something. I've gone through all my homework and gone over all of my assignments- they're all here. Nothing missing, no emails from teachers saying I'm forgetting something.... weird. I guess I can finally relax, eh? I still can't believe it... what am I forgetting?! Ah, well. Out of sigh, out of mind. Nothing else to do! ;)

I'M DONE!!!!!!!!!!

Here's the Skinny

I'm not a huge fan of anything with the word "skinny" in it. Skinny jeans, ... um.... actually, that's all I can think of at the moment. So I was pretty happy to find this article on one of my favorite fashion websites. (Yes, I admit it freely. I love reading up on all the newest, stupidest fashions! Even though I don't follow most of 'em.) Ever since skinny jeans made a re-appearance (see 1980's America for the first appearance), I have avoided my eyes when viewing them. Do people really think they're flattering? Well, maybe they are... on 5-foot-9, 112 lb. runway models. But even then, skinny jeans make them look even *more* anorexic than they already do. Anything with the word "skinny" in it can't be good. Ah, there's another one! Skinny latte (mocha, americano, whatever). It simply means it's sugar-and-fat-free. Does it taste good? Not really. Not to me. Can it? If you can think of anything that is good, please enlighten me!

Anyway, I'm glad I finally found an honest-to-goodness article that supports my aversion to skinny jeans.

(On a quite different note, I finally turned in my 20-page research paper! Yay! Now to play the waiting game... while studying for my Bio final, of course. Uff.)

Well-Disguised Blessing

I locked my keys in my car today. Most of you (and me included) wouldn't think of that as such a great thing. But here's the scoop: for some reason, I wasn't at all uptight about it. Why? Read on...

Starting at the beginning here. I was on my way out to my car after taking the *worst* Spanish midterm ever, (Blessing #1: my midterm was already over!) digging through my shoulder bag for my keys. They weren't in the pocket they're usually in. Okay. Maybe they fell out. They're hidden in the bottom, right? Wrong. Not there, not in the other pocket I sometimes get them in. I started to get that awful sinking, twisting, tense feeling in my gut. I approach my car very slowly as if, somehow, walking slower and more carefully will make them appear in my hand. No such luck. I peeked in the driver's side window. There, still in the ignition, was my elusive WWJD keychain. Blast.

First step, call my boss, let him know the problem. Apologize profusely. Beg forgiveness. Thank you Lord, I have an extremely understanding boss who doesn't really care when I show up, just that I do eventually. (Blessing #2)

Second step, hike back to campus security. And I do mean "hike." For those of you who've never been on this campus, they're doing construction, so everything is detoured and you had to walk up the stairs, across the courtyard, back down the stairs, and about another half-block to the security office. Yay. But I was wearing my Birkis-- most comfy walking shoes I own! (Blessing #3)

Unfortunately, security couldn't do much besides give me a coat hanger and some advice. So the rent-a-cop walks me back to my car and stands there trying to talk me through popping the lock with a *very* unruly un-bent coat hanger. I worked on it for about 10 minutes, getting absolutely nowhere. Okay, third step.

I called my insurance agent. I knew I had towing covered, but what about lockouts? Covered! Huzzah! (Blessing #4) He gives me the number for their roadside assistance. By this point, I was pretty much dancing. The operator there was extremely helpful and easy to work with. (Blessing #5: no hard-to-understand foreign operators!) He got my information, told me he'd make a couple calls and I'd get an computerized call back within the hour telling me when the truck would be here. Yeah-- within THE HOUR. An hour. A whole hour. Blast. That's a long time.

The call came within 3 minutes (Blessing #6!) informing me that the tow truck would be there within 30 minutes. Still-- half an hour's a long time to wait outside in the wind in a desolate parking lot. Oh, well.

So as I was standing there, leaning against the hood of my car, studying my Spanish book, I heard a voice. No, no, no, I'm not going crazy. It was my friend's voice. My good friend whom I hadn't seen since last year. JACKIEEEEEEEE!!!! (Blessing #7) As it so happened, she was on her way home, and not in a hurry, so she made herself comfortable next to me and we caught up for the next 15 minutes or so (Blessing #8: it only took 15 minutes for the truck to come). The techie dude was also *extremely* understanding, jovial, good-natured, funny, and all the other "good"-meaning adjectives I can come up with. Not to mention fast. Remember that I said I had been working with the coat hanger for about 10 minutes? Yeah, he popped the lock within about 10 seconds. (As my boss says, "It's a good thing he's honest! Can you imagine him on the other side of the law?")

As you can imagine, I'm in a very good mood as I write this. So I locked my keys in the car. Big deal! I was able to enjoy the sunshine and catch up with a good friend (all without losing my job).

Needless to say, my next purchase is going to be one of those hide-a-key boxes to stick under my bumper!

Funnies

Over the last couple of weeks, our local radio station has been advertising tickets for something called "The Apostles of Comedy." I'm a huge fan of clean stand-up comedy so I went to their website. Little did I know that I'd become pretty much addicted to them. I watched all the videos they have there, loved them so much, and "YouTubed" them. Oh. My. Word. This may not be the funniest video of the bunch, but it's certainly one that'll make you think!



Our pastor presented a sermon a last month entitled "Keep Laughing." Lately I've been thinking about it. Laughing. "They" say that laughing for, what, like, 20 minutes is as good for your heart as running a mile? Something like that. Besides being good for your heart (and belly muscles!), it also releases endorphins into our bloodstreams that just make us feel better all around. So why don't we laugh? I mean, seriously? What could be more fun than laughing with some good friends? In the words of the all-powerful, all-wise Nike, "Just do It!"

Cafeteria Food

Cafeteria.

Isn't it amazing how one simple word strikes such utterly different chords in all of us? I know there are some who shudder at the thought of eating the infamous "cafeteria food" (cue "Jaws" theme sone). For others, it brings the glazed-eye look of reminiscence. For me? I honestly don't know if I have my own opinion of the commons. I was only enrolled in a "real" school for about 3 years, non-consecutively.

My memories of the school lunchroom consist of Mrs. Bingham's absolutely amazing potato soup and pizza combo that she'd serve once a month. That was the only thing I ever saved up my money to buy-- all other days it was a lunchbox for me. I can remember standing in line with all the "cool kids" who bought their lunches every day (keep in mind that this was about 4th grade-- lunchboxes were so very uncool). Handing over my precious $2.50. Receiving my cherished tray with that bowl of treasured potato chowder. Ahhhhh, look at the steam... smell those onions and ham... and that pizza! Don't get me started on that pizza! Better than Abby's, Papa Murphy's, Dominos, and Safeway put together! The absolute best pizza I've ever consumed! Not too greasy, not too dry. Not spicy, but with a definite kick. Jussssst riiiiiiight.

There was one girl a grade above me (How cool! She'd actually speak to me!) who wouldn't eat the pizza. Well, she'd eat the pizza... just not the toppings. Wait, what? Yeah. She'd scrape off the toppings, hand them to our resident garbage- disposal (I won't mention his name here... just one of those pre-teen boys who ate constantly) and eat just the bread. Go figure. I'm the kind of person who does the opposite. Discards the bread (unless it's garlic-herb crust) and eats the toppings. This was so backward to me. But to each his own, right?

So now, as I sit here in the college cafeteria, I can't help but contemplate the interpretations of the word. "Horror," "disgust," "food fight,". Any others? The list goes on and on. I happen to absolutely adore cafeteria food. The cafeteria kitchen here on campus is run by culinary arts professors and all the food is cooked and prepared by culinary arts students. How can it *not* be good? It's delicious! Today's special is a BBQ roast beef sandwhich with a choice of side: hashbrowns, salad, cooked veggies, or a dinner roll. My mouth is watering, watching the steam rise from my veggies slathered in pepper and garlic butter.

Okay, I'm going to consume it now. Hope you didn't ruin your keyboard by drooling...

Has it really been that long?

Wow. I thought I was doing oh so well keeping up my blog, but apparently not. I can't believe it's been-- oh, wait. Never mind. It's only been 2 weeks. Hee, hee. Anyway, nothing overly exciting has happened recently... just getting ready for midterms next week. Wait-- what? YIKES! Midterms next week. Oh. Dear. Guess I should be studying right now... Oh! Check it out-- I'm published on a blog that's not mine!! Hee, hee. The librarian at Monroe Library asked me to do kind of a guest post on the library's blog. Go look!

Holy Mackerel

"You have 67 unread messages in your Bulk folder."

Yeah, you read it right. 67 messages. Overnight. How does this happen?! I NEVER give out my email address and here I have messages telling me about Acai berries, black singles in my neighborhood, how to improve my credit, and that I should join the Marines becuase they'll pay for college. Seriously? This is getting insane. Seriously insane. 67 messages. Do they really think I'm going to take the time to go through and read every single bloomin' one? Yeah, no. I think they're just trying to aggrivate me to the point that I delete my email account, go into hiding and become a technology-free hermit. Care to join me?

OhMyWord...

As just about all of you know, I also have a book-reviews blog here on Blogger (www.amys-bookshelf.blogspot.com). Well, a few weeks ago I reviewed a book by formerly-local author, Eric Wilson. He used to go to my church, and apparently my brothers knew him in high school. Well, I sent him a link (via FaceBook) to the post I wrote critiquing his newest book, "Field of Blood". He commented on it. How cool is that?! A famous author, commenting on MY blog. And not just a generic "thanks-for-reading-the-book" comment, either. No, he totally read my blip about myself.

Yeah, that pretty much made my day.

Uh-oh

My parents have been out of town for the last week. They left me in charge of everything. Eh, no problem, right? I've house-sat (house-sitted?) for strangers on several occasions-- staying in my own house should be no sweat. And it hasn't been an issue. Until today, that is.

See, Mom has chickens. Not many, only about 5. Said chickens only need to be fed and watered about every other day. So that's what I've been doing. I checked on them before I went to school yesterday, and they were happy as... well,... chickens in a hen house. I went out to check on them today when I got home and, well, they were dead. Yeah. Dead's a pretty good word to describe it. Basically massacred. It looks like a raccoon or something got in above the walls and had an unexpected party. What a lovely picture.

Some house-sitter I am, huh? I emailed Mom today-- we'll see what she says. :s

Glasses!

I'm not doing a good job of spreading these posts out, am I? Ah, well.

I got my glasses today and "I can see clearly now, the rain is gone!! All of the bad feelings have disappeared! I think I can make it now".. yeah. Enough of that. Now I'll have it stuck in my head all night... yay. But-- glasses! :D

All "Civic" 'n' Stuff

I gave blood again today! Last time I did it, unfortunately, I got sick to my stomach afterward, so I was a little bit wary about donating again. I found out today why. Apparently, after you fill up your little bag o' blood (just let me know if this gets weird for ya), they also take a few test tubes full to... well... test for diseases and stuff. Well, these tubie things have little vacuums in them, in order to fill themselves. This happens pretty rapidly, which caused me to get extremely lightheaded and clammy and nauseous and the like. Hence the reason I was sick last time... but good news! Didn't happen this time, yay! :D

And now I feel all civic minded, I guess. I feel so good, being able to help people like this. The only downfall is that now my arm hurts... and I'll have a pretty purple bruise for a couple days. :)

Sick

I've officially decided that I do not enjoy being sick. New revelation, huh? Yeah, well, you know. You don't mind being sick... as long as you're not at the time. As much as I love winter (it's my favorite season), I really hate being sick. I was attempting to do my Spanish homework last night (emphasis on "attempting") and thinking was like trying to wade through mud. Blech. Somehow, I ended up ripping said homework out of my student manual, putting it in my Spanish book... and leaving all of it at home. So, it'll have to be turned in tomorrow, for half credit. *Sigh*

I hate being sick.

Glasses

So these are the glasses I bought today. Well, technically, I guess I ordered them today. They're not going to be in for another week or so. I was gonna spend the money on something useful, like tuition, but I decided to blow it on a new prescription instead. Hey, at least I'll be able to SEE now, right? :D And yes, I know I look upset in this pic, but you've gotta give me credit-- I couldn't see! These are just the demo frames (note the tag still on).

Did I mention I really really really like my new coat? Well, I do. If you haven't seen it on me, you should. And don't worry-- I was only driving down my road in this pic. Not through heavy traffic or anything.

JumpStart

I really have no reason for posting this, it just made me smile.

*cough*DORK*cough*

My brother...

Well, first of all, he's pretty much the biggest comic book geek I know. (*CORRECTION* biggest "Graphic Novel" geek) He's such a huge geek, he's started to rub off on me. (yikes) A couple of weeks ago, I was at their house just hangin' out and he and his wife introduced me to this little game called "World of Warcraft." It's not really a card game, but it is played with cards. It's uber hard to explain. But anyway, it's pretty much the geekiest game one could play right now. And I'm into it. For Christmas, he and C are letting me build my own 2 decks of cards. These cards are your characters, weapons, quests, etc. It's basically awesome. So that's what I did today (New Year's Day)... while trying to prevent my 8 month old nephew from consuming my cards. I love being a geek.

And I can't believe school starts again Monday. So not cool. :'(