As I was sitting on my bed social networking doing something super important, I heard my dad yell for me to come upstairs. I thought "Oh great, what am I in trouble for now??" Yeah, I'm 25 years old and I still get scared that my parents are going to yell at me for things. Deal with it.
So I get to the bottom of the stairs and my dad is already waiting for me at the top, super excited about his latest purchase. He says to me "I got this shirt for your mom, but she hates it. I'm going to keep it, though. I think it's really awesome! Open it up and see how cool it is!!" He then whipped the shirt down the stairs and smacked me right in the face with it. Nice, dad. Nice. -_-
Let me stop here for a second, and say that my dad is (usually) very well dressed. He is a salesman, so he has no shortage of expensive pants, nice button-up shirts, fancy ties, and shiny shoes. What I was preparing to unfold, though, was something I never could have prepared for in a million years.
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WAIT FOR IT
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THE HORROR!
What was he thinking?! I'm serious. Someone please tell me. Actually, what was the "designer" of this shirt smoking??
Nevermind... I think I can answer that.
I quickly told Bri about the awful events that unfolded, and what she proceeded to do made my nightweekyear life. I laughed so hard that I cried and did that gross, gaggy, bronchitis-sounding cough. If I choked to death, it would have been worth it.
The oh-so lovely Lauren from The Blog You're About to Read (Go read it. Right now. You won't be disappointed.) has found it in her big heart to share with me the Versatile Blogger Award, and I'm beyond honored. Every time I hear the word versatile, I'm immediately reminded of Natalie Portman, and who wouldn't want to be associated with such a gifted human being??
Gaahhh... She's SO versatile!
Anyway, in receiving this award
This one.
I am required to 1) Link back to the person who gave it to me.
2) Share seven facts about myself.
3) Pass it on to several other deserving bloggers.
The facts, in no particular order:
I'm Polish. My great grandparents migrated to America from Poland. (Wow, this is really hard to just think of random things about yourself that you deem worth sharing.)
I'm obsessed with shoes. Not fancy, girly shoes, but (white) tennis shoes, Converse and Rocket Dogs.
30 DAY MUSIC CHALLENGE Click here to see the entire list.
Day 23 – A song that you want to play at your wedding:
I'm not the stereotypical girl who's dreamt of her perfect wedding day since the age of 5, and who has every single detail all planned out. But I am a girl. And I have thought about certain things I'd like to have at my wedding, including what music I'd like to have played. I'm also very fickle, though, so just because I want it now doesn't necessarily mean that I'll want it when that day comes.
I heard a song by Sade a while ago, and I immediately thought "This would be the perfect song to have my first dance to as a married couple!" And then I found out that Dave Navarro and Carmen Electra had the same idea. -_-
Regardless, it's a beautiful song. I think I'd like my first dance as a married woman to have some sort of significance to it, though, not just something that I hear and think "Oooh, I liiiike this!" So, I guess I'll just say that this would make a great wedding song for someone else... (Sorry, I tend to talk in figure 8s. (Like talking in circles, but more random.))
I was at a friend's yesterday and while there, a package arrived for her from Colgate. She proceeded to tell me how they keep sending her these classroom kits containing approximately 100 toothbrushes, coupons, tooth brushing booklets, and teaching materials. She is not a teacher, and she never signed up for anything, so she has no idea why they keep sending them. She's even moved 4 or 5 times in the past few years, and Colgate always seems to find her. (Stalkers!) I of course don't know why she gets them either, but I also don't care because I made out with two new toothbrushes!
Because this was a classroom kit, the toothbrushes were child sized, but I'm convinced now that that was the best part. Contrary to what this illustration shows, I have a fairly small head, which means I have a fairly small mouth. A tiny toothbrush just fits in my mouth better and really gets into all of the nooks and crannies (aka cavities) well. My teeth have never felt so clean!
Side note: Have you ever heard of those dentists who purposely mess up your teeth that way you can go back to them and they can "fix" whatever is wrong, making themselves infinitely more money? Yeah, I'm pretty sure my old dentist did that. Ever single visit, the nurse would come into the room with an x-ray showing 5-7 brand new "pinhole sized cavities" that I of course couldn't see, but I didn't argue because I'm not a dentist. I now have a mouth FULL of fillings and two broken teeth, because they don't know how to properly fill a tooth. I'm too poor to go have them fixed/pulled, though, so now I just walk around looking like a giant hillbilly.
Thanks a heap, Caro Family Dentistry!
30 DAY MUSIC CHALLENGE Click here for the entire list.
Day 22 – A song that you listen to when you’re sad:
I'm not one of those people who likes to listen to horribly depressing music when I'm sad so I can curl up in fetal position and cry my eyes out for hours. I don't like to dwell on things when I'm upset. I just like to pretend that nothing happened and go about my business. I know that's not necessarily the most healthy thing to do, but it works for me for now. If I'm sad about something, you're much more likely to find me listening to something happy, or funny, like this.
Lately, though, I have re-fallen in love with a song by Shawn McDonald and it ALWAYS makes me feel better about whatever situation I'm in. It helps me to remember to fully rely on God and to let Him handle things. I don't always have to fix things on my own.
Even if you're not a believer, I would highly recommend giving it a listen. Just the song itself is crazy good.
I have been nothing but a big ball of emotions lately. I'm sure some of it can be attributed to PMS, but it's more than the average hormonal imbalance. A few people reading this can probably testify to that. I've professed my love for more people in the past few days than I probably have in the past few months, I cried because I was heart broken for someone else, I cried because I saw something cheesy on TV, (I should interject and say that it doesn't take much to make me cry in general, but it has been ridiculous lately.) I've gotten uber warm fuzzies over cute animal pictures on Tumblr like this, this and this... Basically, I've been out of control.
Oh, I also literally spent HOURS the other night trying to make a gif of Lor eating a Koala Yummy. Nothing was working and it was late in the night, so I kind of gave up and went to bed. The next day I took what I made on Windows Movie Maker and uploaded it to YouTube, that way she could at least see how it would look if the gif worked. Then, a moment of genius. I took that video and uploaded it to GifSoup, and VOILA! A gif! I was so excited that I gasped, my heart was racing. and I had a gigantic cheesy grin consuming my entire face. (See, it's not all sad emotions!) My hours of hard work had finally payed off!
Sheer awesomeness.
Then my mom decides to pull some crap tonight and tell me this story:
She and my dad (and baby me) had a cat, Nicky, when they lived in Oklahoma. The cat ended up dying right before they moved back to Michigan. The day they moved our dog Butch went missing, but my dad eventually found him in the back yard where they had buried the cat, crying.
I jokingly over-exaggerated my cries and we all laughed, but I actually had real tears in my eyes. That was one of the sweetest stories ever. He was such a good dog.
So, is this just me, or has anyone else been overly emotional lately?
30 DAY MUSIC CHALLENGE Click here to see the entire list.
Day 20 – A song that you listen to when you’re angry:
Finally, a question a have a definite answer for!
I adore the band Trapt. Great music, great lyrics, and Chris Brown (what an unfortunate name) has such a sexy voice! Their song, Hollowman, is the PERFECT song to belt out when you really feel like injuring someone. I couldn't begin to count how many times I have driven around, song blaring, aggressively singing my little heart out. So therapeutic! ☺
"I don't ever want to see, I don't ever want to be like you, Hollowman."
I was over at the Tsaritsa sez the other day and came across this really cool handwriting meme. I thought maybe I'd end up doing it myself and, low and behold, Apfel tagged me in her own post! I don't know why I'm so excited about this, but what can I say? I'm a big nerd. Whatever.
Anyway, these were the questions I had to answer.
1. What's your name/your Blogger name?
2. What's your blog's name/URL?
3. Write "the quick fox jumps over the lazy dog"
4. Favorite quote?
5. Your favorite song?
6. Your favorite band/singers?
7. Anything else you want to say?
8. Tag 3-5 other people.
As if my handwriting isn't sucky enough, the picture had to be blurry too. Sorry.
30 DAY MUSIC CHALLENGE Click here to see the entire list.
Day 19 – A song from your favorite album:
Picking a favorite album is just as hard for me as picking a favorite song. There are SO many good ones. If I HAVE to pick, though, I'd probably say Fiona Apple's Tidal. That CD kind of began my obsession with "good" music. My favorite song from the album, and possibly just my favorite Fiona song in general, is Never is a Promise. It's only real contender for all time favorite Fiona song would be Love Ridden. We'll just call it a tie.☺
I've really been trying to come up with something interesting to blog about over the past few days. Any time something strikes me (usually something that annoys me) I think "Oh man, I have to remember to blog about this!" And then I don't. I don't know, it just hasn't felt right. Then I got a text tonight from someone (we'll call her Friend #1) and it annoyed the crap out of me. I was all set to blog about what set me off, along with what I consider proper text etiquette. Friend #1 was coming over to watch a movie and I literally kept thinking to myself how badly I wanted the night to be over so I could blog about her annoying texting ways. Shortly after she arrived, I received a text from someone else (Friend #2). I felt kind of like a jerk for texting Friend #2 while Friend #1 was being entertained annoyed by the little sister, but frankly, Friend #2 was more important to me at the moment.
Friend #2 and I have connected lately over some similar life experiences and I really treasure the talks we have. It's nice to know that you're not alone in your struggles.
God has blessed me with this unexpected friendship. We are separated by so much, but are connected by much more; connected by spiritual things that mean more than the physical separation. After the chat tonight, I kind of came to a realization. The more I thought about this blessing, I realized how much I truly take for granted on a daily basis. I focus on so many trivial things, things that most likely wouldn't get to me as badly if I didn't put so much energy into stewing over them. These things are meaningless in the long run, and if I spent more time appreciating the blessings I've been given (no matter how big or small) I'd be a much happier person. Now that's not to say that I wouldn't face trials, that I wouldn't have my down times, but I'm almost creating these bad days for myself. It's like I have some sick desire to be grumpy all the time and it's becoming quite exhausting. I don't want to be that person. I want to be the carefree, less bitter person I used to be. I want to be happy because a friend is excited to talk to me, not get pissy because they don't follow some unwritten text rule that I've written.
I just want to be better.
I've kind of begun the journey already, and some recent events have led me to believe that I'm on the right path. I feel like I'm being tested, and I can't help but think that Satan wouldn't feel the need to butt his nose in if I wasn't resisting him more than in the past.
SO. If you see me being a major downer or grump or whatever, feel free to tell me what's up. Criticism, of any kind, is always welcome. It's too easy to get caught up in myself. Outsiders' perspectives are necessary.
30 DAY MUSIC CHALLENGE Click here to see the entire list.
Day 18 – A song that you wish you heard on the radio:
I'm a bit of a music snob. I get mad when a band I hold near and dear ends up getting a lot of radio play. I feel like people should have to do the work to fully appreciate music. Talk to friends who have similar musical tastes, research on Pandora or Grooveshark or something of the like, dig through your parents' old albums... Something, anything, other than having the Top 40 channels shove songs down your throat. I tend to think that a lot of people only like certain bands/songs because they're essentially being told to like them.
"Listen to this song we play 500 times a day! It's great!"
"Oh, you know what? It really isn't that bad!"
I'm not saying that musicians don't deserve recognition and lots of money for the hard work they put in, but I think people would be less bored with music in general if they had a greater personal investment in it.
I honestly do not have an answer for this question so I'll just leave you with a song that I'm currently listening to. But go. Find some new music. Music you can get excited over. You won't regret it.
I still haven't been to bed. I should probably get on that...
Mom: He kind of looks like Meatloaf.
Me: He kind of looks like there's another version of himself, the real version, and he's just a caricature of himself.
Mom:
30 DAY MUSIC CHALLENGE Click here to see the entire list.
Day 17 – A song that you hear often on the radio:
So, is this supposed to be a song that I hate or a song that I love? Eh, either way I don't often listen to the radio. Probably the time I listen to it the most is on the way to and from church. Naturally, we have the radio on one of two decent Christian stations that come in in our podunk town. This is one song that comes on fairly frequently, one that I never tire of. We sang it during our church's Christmas Eve service and it was one of the most emotional moments I've ever been a part of. (Third in line only to literally watching two family members die of cancer.) There wasn't a dry eye in the place, people literally reaching out to God. Thirty people dedicated their lives to Christ that night. The atmosphere was indescribable, but I'll never forget how I felt. How close to God I felt.
Apparently my body decided that it only needed around 3 and half hours of sleep last night, so I figured I'd get some blogging in.
I know everyone is DYING to know how I've been since the emo onslaught, so I'm happy to report that things are back to normal. Maybe even better than normal. In fact, I woke up the next morning like nothing had even happened. I'm pretty resilient like that.
Now, I know I said that I was back to normal, but I think I can safely say that I haven't been "normal" for a single day in my life. I was pretty much doomed from the start.
Don't tell my mom, but I'm kind of glad this happened.
I have no idea why, but for the past 24 hours or so, any time something remotely exciting happens I immediately say Hey-Oh! in my head. Thank goodness it's in my head. I don't get it, though. I've never said Hey-Oh! in my life and I sure as heck don't ever intend on it.
Ooh, a new text message! (Hey-Oh!)
Ooh, a Twitter direct message! (Hey-Oh!)
Oh my gosh, I love this song! (Hey-Oh!)
Homemade mac and cheese for dinner! (Hey-Oh!)
Guys, I don't want to be that douchey guy who says Hey-Oh! after everything. I'm afraid that the more often I think it the more likely I am to end up actually saying it. I know, I know, just quit thinking it. It's super involuntary, though. Prayers would be much appreciated. I don't want something like this to end up happening today.
Those circles are supposed to be heads.
30 DAY MUSIC CHALLENGE Click here to see the entire list.
Day 16 – A song that you used to love but now hate:
Our local Top 40 station is the only station that comes in on our work radio that everyone can agree on. Unfortunately, they have this knack for playing the same handful of songs over and over and over and over... I'm sure most Top 40 stations are like that, but it just seems like ours is especially bad. One can only take so much Rihanna or Ke$ha in one day. A lot of good songs have been ruined for me because of this.
I don't think that I ever particularly loved this song, but good lord do I despise it now.
*Disclaimer: My thoughts are a mess, therefor this post is a mess. More of a mess than usual. I'm sorry.
Sometimes I just feel like being super emo.
I know I started out with an awful picture of myself, but man alive... This is just disgusting.
Tonight is one of those times, so much so that I didn't even want to write this post. I've been on this kick of forcing myself to do things I don't want to, though, so here you have it. Because I'm not really in the mood to be writing I don't have anything particularly of interest to mention. My mind is going in about 500 different directions, though, so I thought I'd just make a list of anything that comes to mind.
I'm listening to The Postal Service and can't believe that they never made more than one CD. This is some of the greatest music known to man.
I was stupidly eating Ritz crackers in my bed and I dropped the wrapper, resulting in a bed full of cracker crumbs. I'm too lazy to properly clean them up, though, so I'll just end up sleeping in a bed full of crumbs tonight. (That was a blatant exaggeration. It was just a smile pile, and I pretty much cleaned them all up.)
I'm currently quenching my thirst with a tall glass of Vernor's, and all of you non-Michigan peeps seriously don't know what you're missing.
I just decided that I hate that saying. "You don't know what you're missing." DUH!
I read a blog post earlier that got me feeling kind of sad/empathetic/I don't really know what. I was all gung-ho about figuring out why it made me feel that way, but then I (purposely?) started focusing on other things and lost my zeal.
I've been ultra sensitive lately. If I see something sad, I get all weepy and choked up. If I see something mushy, I do that "pop your bottom lip out because it's so cute" thing, and possibly even become weepy on top of it. If I see something happy/cute, I'll smile like I've just taken my first glimpse of my first-born child. I'd like to figure out what the deal is so I can quit being an emotional wreck. (No, it's not PMS.)
If I had some sort of psychiatry degree, I'd diagnose myself with having Avoidant Personality Disorder and Dependent Personality Disorder.
Any time I get feeling semi-depressed I always think about this. The momentary depression feeds into it, when it's probably not really the case. I do have social anxieties, but not necessarily to the point of AvPD. DPD is another story. I've mentioned something about it to my mom before, and she said something along the lines of "Uh, you think?!"Gee, thanks ma.
My aunt is a mess of neuroses and I see some of myself in her. I'm scared to become her.
I need to take more responsibility for my actions, and lack thereof, for that matter.
Do you like how I coyly started out by talking about meaningless things, like this was going to be some stupid post, all the while knowing exactly where I was going to end up with it?
In reference to the title of this post, I've never self-harmed. I don't plan on it. I'm not suicidal in the least bit. It was just the most emo song I could think of.
It terrifies me that people are going to read this, but that's probably a good thing. I'm sick of lying to myself, and having something staring you right in the face is probably a pretty good way to quit avoiding it.
I'm kind of emotionally exhausted, so I'm going to stop now. Sorry for being such a downer. (I almost said I was sorry for being such a heavy. Apparently I'm a hippie now.)
30 DAY MUSIC CHALLENGE Click here to see the entire list.
Day 15 - A song that describes you:
I almost skipped today's challenge in lieu of doing whatever I wanted. I was listening to this super amazing song by Passion Pit that all to perfectly expresses how I'm feeling right now. Actually, I lied. This is how I feel about myself on a pretty regular basis. Tonight it just seems to be to the extreme. Anyway. The song. I saw the challenge for today and realized it ended up fitting perfectly with the song. I love when little things like that work out in my favor. ☺
*EDIT*
I was all set to be done with this post, and then some. I went on YouTube and typed in "good music" because I wasn't really sure what I was in the mood for. Then this song came up. I adore this song and it seriously makes me cry every time I listen to it. When he sings "I tried so hard!" with such passion and brokenness... Ugh, it absolutely kills me. I'm thinking this was some sort of "break Stacey down (in a good way)" divine intervention, so I had so share it on here. It really is a beautiful song that deserves a listen or two.
I was all set to write this big complaint post about a coworker who always whines about having no money, yet she smokes pot 24/7, uses her EBT card to buy energy drinks, and has about 87 pets. I ended up finding a much better topic, but I thought I'd still make you this awesome collage to further paint the picture of what a piece of crap this girl really is.
This is obviously not the coworker, just in case anyone thinks that I work with Paris Hilton.
Moving on. The sister and I were watching some TV show a little while ago that featured a house with a secret passageway.
Jessie: I always wanted a house with a secret passageway.
Me: Who didn't?
Jessie: Uh... I still want a house with a secret passageway.
Me: Who doesn't?
And honestly, who doesn't? I posed the question on Tumblr and received a link to the coolest website in the history of websites. My gosh, if I had the money I would equip my hypothetical house with so many of those bad boys. I think part of the appeal of secret passageways is that they make us feel like a kid again. (That, and if anyone ever broke into our home, we'd have the ultimate hiding/not dying spot.) Just thinking about it makes me all giddy. Imagine all of the fun you could have and the massive pranks you could play! I would make it my mission to scare the crap out of someone at least once daily.
So what are some other things that get you feeling nostalgic? Forts, wanting to spend an unsupervised night in a department store, enduring the fierce burn of a Big Red wrapper stuck to your forehead...
30 DAY MUSIC CHALLENGE Click here to see the entire list.
Day 14 - A song that no one would expect you to love:
I asked my mom about this one because I honestly don't think anyone would not expect me to like a certain band or genre of music. I swear, even if it's something I'd normally hate, there's more than likely at least one song I can find that I like. She, for some reason, can not believe that I like Disturbed. I like rock, there's no excessive growling or screaming (which I generally detest (unless it's used tastefully, aka sparingly)), the lead singer doesn't suck... I don't know. Anyway, I've loved Disturbed since high school and will most likely continue to love Disturbed as long as they keep coming out with awesome music. Here is the song that jump-started my adoration:
I don't get to see my mom very often (she works 3rd shift and sleeps all day) so I like to go grocery shopping with her every week, partaking in a little mother/daughter bonding time. I was especially excited to go today because, instead of going to Walmart like she usually does, she went to our local grocery store. Our local grocery store has the BEST fresh doughnuts.
When we got back from shopping, I found the doughnut, poured myself a short glass (I'm lactose intolerant) of milk, and got down to business. I know what you're thinking... "Why are you drinking milk if you're lactose intolerant??" I absolutely can not eat something sweet without having milk to wash it down, even if it's just something like a candy bar. It's a trait I've inherited from my dad. Plus, I'm just fond of dairy products, in general. As long as I consume it in moderation, I'm usually ok. Maybe a small amount of discomfort, but usually ok. Today, on the other hand, made me want to die.
As a result, my entire day was ruined. Maybe I'm being a bit dramatic, but I've certainly had better days. I finished my glass of death and decided to go back to bed until it was time to get up for work. I assumed that I would have gotten plenty of sleep and would wake up feeling refreshed and ready to take on the day. Again. Instead, I slept miserably and woke up feeling even more exhausted than I did in the first place. Exhaustion = Grumpy McAngry Pants = bad night at work. Everyone and everything got on my nerves, leaving me in a state similar to this...
I'm pulling my hair out, just in case you thought that might be a set of mini pigtails. I also tried to be a little more true to my (lack of) skin pigment with this picture. It's still a bit too dark.
Luckily, I came home to my sister inviting me to accompany her tomorrow while she gets her second tattoo. I'm pretty stoked about it. If I can't afford another of my own, I might as well live vicariously though her. And we always have an awesome time on our outings, you know, since we're twinners separated at birth and everything.
30 DAY MUSIC CHALLENGE Click here to see the entire list.
Day 12 - A song from a band you hate:
This is pretty hard for me since there isn't much that I hate when it comes to music. There are some bands that I don't love, but I can tolerate most. There is one band, though, that makes me want to vomit every time I hear them. Steely Dan. I EFFING HATE STEELY DAN. My dad adores Steely Dan and constantly listens to them, as my disgust grows with each passing second. As hard as this is for me to admit, they do have one song that I don't mind, but it's slightly easier to come to terms with because for years I thought it was Santana. So here it is. Enjoy. Or don't. Trust me, I won't be heartbroken.
...and throw a day or two of work in the mix. I'm not sure why, but I haven't felt like blogging much lately. Maybe it's the fact that I'm so consumed with other social media outlets that I'm bled dry by the time I make my way over here. I don't know. Whatever it is, I don't like it. I'll tell you what I do like, though, and that is blogs with cartoons/doodles/comics/drawings, etc. I was talking to Kaylee earlier this week about my (lack of) drawing skills and she ensured me that with time and practice I will indeed become the best artist in America go from a 3rd grade drawing level to a 4th (MAYBE EVEN 5TH!) grade level. I think she's a liar (not a mean liar, but one who lies to make others feel better about themselves), but expect to see more doodles around these parts in the future. I suck and I know it, but I have fun doing it, and hopefully you'll have fun making fun of my "work".
30 DAY MUSIC CHALLENGE Click here to see the entire list.
Day 11 - A song from your favorite band:
I fell in love with Florence + the Machine a little over a year ago and she very quickly became my new favorite, a title long held by Fiona Apple. It makes me sad to bump Fiona to second place, but it's a close second so she shouldn't be so offended. Anyway, it's WAY too hard for me to pick a favorite Flo song so I'll leave you with my top three and let you decide. If I could only ever listen to three songs again for the rest of my life, it'd most likely be these three. You can't just listen, you have to feel/experience them. So, so, so, so good.
I've recently found a few Tumblr pages that I wanted to follow but, being the elitists that they are, Tumblr only lets you follow/like/comment on pages if you yourself are a member. I was pretty irritated, but then I decided if I can't beat 'em I might as well join 'em! And you know what? I'm kind of digging their set up. This will always be my main blog, the one with substance (I hope), but Tumblr is more constructed for quick, easy sharing. They're like the love child of Blogger and Twitter. I know that I spam everyone's Twitter feed like crazy get slightly out of control with the frequency that I tweet. I figure Tumblr can be an outlet for some of my thoughts and I can chill out substantially on the Twitter front. It's pretty win/win. If you'd like, you can check it out here.
In other news, winter sometimes brings up thoughts/regrets of the year of college that I attended. (Yeah, yeah... I'm a college dropout. *hangs head in shame*) I attended NMU, and although I'm pretty used to crappy Michigan winters by now, nothing could have prepared me for a Marquette winter. Feet of snow, blistering winds, a skin freezing advisory... (It's a real thing, I swear.) One huge non-regret, though, that I could have NEVER prepared for was when I participated in the annual Arctic Plunge. Freezing does not even begin to describe what I felt that day. Actually, I didn't really feel much. Thirty seconds, tops, in the water and I was numb, numb, numb. When I exited the lake it felt like my shorts had ridden up to underwear territory, but as I tried to yank them down my hand just kept sliding down my thigh. Even though it was beyond cold, I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Well, except for the whole falling down and gouging a chunk of my ankle out part. I still have the scar. Stupid frozen sand.
A few years ago I was searching YouTube to try and give my friend a better idea of my experience, and wouldn't you know, I found a video of the exact time that I participated. Keep an eye out for me on the right side of the screen when we all take off. I'm in the red shorts and grey t-shirt. Also, keep an eye out for how I ever so nicely drug my roommate down with me during my "incident". Enjoy!
30 DAY MUSIC CHALLENGE Click here to see the entire list.
Day 10 - A song that makes you fall asleep:
From experience, I know that any song from The Knack (with the exception of My Sharona) makes me fall asleep. We used to get a lot of free vouchers for lawn seats at DTE Energy Music Theater, and The Knack featuring some other horrendous bands, was one that I wish we never would have wasted our time on. I've attended quite a few concerts in my 25 years on this Earth, but I've NEVER been to such a snooze fest! Awful. Just awful. I could leave you with some crap, but I'll be nice and share the only song of theirs that I can tolerate.
Well, 2011 has ruled so far. Maybe that's a bit of a premature assessment, but I can only imagine if God has done so much in one day, that the entire year will be packed with greatness. Bad too, of course, but lots of great.
I thought I'd share with you some resolutions I've made for this year. (Stereotypical, I know, but maybe I'll follow them a bit more closely if I actually write them out. I'll feel more compelled to stick to them, also, if I feel that there are other people potentially holding me accountable.)
Superficial Resolutions:
Drink more water.
Eat healthier.
Exercise.
Move out of my parents' house.
Meaningful Resolutions:
Overall, to grow closer to God. To build a better, less fleeting relationship.
Read the Bible in a year.
Overcome some of my everyday, unfounded fears.
Be more willing to share my faith.
So there they are. Nothing exceptionally profound, but they are all things that I need to work on, and then some. Hope everyone had a great New Year's and continues to have a beautiful, blessed year. ♥
30 DAY MUSIC CHALLENGE Click here to see the entire list.
Day 9 - A song that you can fall asleep to:
I'd have to say M83's entire CD, Before The Dawn Heals Us, but in particular the songs Moonchild and Lower Your Eyelids To Die With The Sun. It's hard for me to explain the feeling they give, almost ethereal. Listen for yourself. I dare you to not fall in love.
This is a quote from my sister Jessie, who happens to be 4.5 years younger than me. She's on crack, but that's why I love her. I know what she meant, though. We're so similar with regards to our little quirks and sense of humor. It's still hard to believe sometimes, because the two of us were mortal enemies when we were younger. If we got into a fight my mom would make us sit by each other on the couch, bodies touching, for extended periods of time. And if we were in big trouble we had to hug! Haha! Now we're super close. Well, not that "I tell you ever aspect of my personal life" close, but more like "We're sitting in complete silence and randomly burst out into song at the exact same moment, the same part of the song, and both take it up an octave" kind of close. Because we do that. A lot. I like to quote her frequently on my Twitter. She cracks me up so often, I just couldn't deprive the world my 70+ followers of her fabulous humor.
Jessie and I may have very similar personalities, but when it comes to looks we couldn't be more polar opposite. Jessie is a tall, skinny, cute brunette, and I am a short, fat, blonde who has the potential to be cute if I shrunk to half my size. I have tiny ankles, though, and Jessie has cankles, so I've got that going for me.
I'm not really that fat, nor do I look like a penguin, in real life.
My littlest sister, Melissa, and I have only started to get close again recently. From the time she was born, up until about the age of 4, we were attached at the hip. We used to watch marathons of Friday the 13th together when I would babysit. (And the award for Best Babysitter goes to...) She grew up and became that textbook bratty little sister, among other things that I won't get into, and it really wrecked our relationship.
Unlike Jessie and I, she and I are more similar in looks than personality. She doesn't have cankles either, so hooray for us. We've got a lot of patching up to do, but we've made a start and that's what really matters. My favorite thing to do with Melissa is make her laugh. She doesn't do it often, so it's a real accomplishment when you can break through that plaster mold she refers to as her face. Jessie and I together can really get her going. Good times are had by all.
A rare picture of the three of us getting along.
The three of us may not have always been best friends, and we may never be, but we have built substantially on our relationships this past year, and everyone's lives much greater because of it.
During 8th/9th grade, I was more than obsessed with The Miseduaction of Lauryn Hill, specifically the song Everything is Everything. I would lock myself in my bedroom and practice the song's rap over and over and over. I would even try to remember where to take big breaths so I didn't mess up anything. To this day I remember ever single word of the song, and I even still try sometimes to rap it as perfectly as possible. (And actually, I'm not too shabby, if I say so myself. You know, for a white girl.) I still remember when the video premiered on TRL,
and Carson stating that it was some sort of amazing, ground-breaking piece of work. Not so ground-breaking anymore, but great nonetheless.
First and foremost, I AM SO HAPPY TO BE BLOGGING AGAIN! My sister had the only actual computer in our house and it was loaded with viruses so she didn't want anyone using it anymore. Then the neighbor put a password on her wi-fi that we were stealing borrowing, so then I really couldn't do any blogging. Christmas came around, though, and I got my laptop that I waited an eternity for, and all is right with the world again. Well, kind of... I got to work tonight and about had a heart attack.
For the past several months I've only been getting scheduled two days a week. It sucks. I make just enough to pay my bills. I've been holding out, though, because #1 I live in a tiny town with zero job opportunities, #2 I don't have a vehicle to find a job in any surrounding towns, and #3 One of my coworkers was supposed to be moving so I figured I'd pick up more hours when she left. I guess she still plans on moving, but it's been slightly postponed. Yay for me. Now the boss apparently decided that we needed another worker and she's taking one of my two days a week, leaving me with one day a week. ONE DAY. It's mindblowing.
I don't go above and beyond and work my butt off,
I certainly wouldn't want something like this to happen.
but I do my job and I do it well. If he's dissatisfied with my performance then he needs to get a backbone and just fire me. If that's not the case, then he needs to grow a brain and realize that a person cannot survive off of four hours a week. Oh, what's that? I didn't mention that I only work four hour shifts? I only work four hour shifts. I hate to admit it, but I've been thinking tonight that I might try to get a job at Mickey D's.
It's most definitely not my first, second, or forty-eighth choice, but I have to do something. Four hours a week on minimum wage is not going to cut it. Oh my goodness, I am going to be stuck in my parents' basement for the rest of my miserable life. Lord, help me now. Ask and it shall be given, right??
30 DAY MUSIC CHALLENGE Click here to see the entire list.
Day 7 - A song that reminds you of a certain event:
When I graduated my best friend (at the time, but that's a story for another day) and I sang I Hope You Dance by Leann Womack while another classmate accompanied us on the piano. It was particularly special because the three of us also sang for Girls' Trio in Academic Track when we were in eighth grade. (Academic Track is like the Olympics for nerds, consisting of music, art, and and testing categories.) It was such a fitting end to our high school careers, almost mirroring where we were four years earlier. When the song was over, my friend and I bear hugged on the stage for what seemed like an eternity. It was super cheesy and everyone loved only one person hated our performance. Seriously. A kid in our class told me that he liked it, but his mom said that she didn't, and that Leann did a better job. You think?! We were 17 year old girls and Leann Womack is a professional, a woman with a developed voice. Whatever. I'm not bitter. I swear.
30 DAY MUSIC CHALLENGE Click here to see the entire list.
Day 6 - A song that reminds you of somewhere:
A few years ago a friend of mine moved from Michigan to Kansas. Instead of renting a U-Haul she just packed her crap into my van, and the two of us and another friend embarked on the road trip of a lifetime. The entire way there and back we kept hearing the song Jenny Was a Friend of Mine by The Killers, which luckily I loved. I swear, that must be like Kansas' anthem or something. Anyway, whenever I hear it now I always think Kansas and all of the great times we had during that trip.
This year for Black Friday, instead of just doing some major shopping/butt-kicking, my sister and I camped out on the cold concrete floor of Walmart. Seven hours for a $198 dollar laptop. Seven. Oh do I hope it was worth it. (We can't have them until Christmas, naturally.) During my stay I learned a few things, so I thought I'd share. Enjoy!
1) I could NEVER survive in jail. Seven hours with nothing to do was torturous enough, particularly on my butt and hips. Several years with nothing to do would surely make my brain explode.
2) When spending large amounts of time with little to do, make sure you bring several things to keep you sufficiently occupied. Seven hours of your mp3 player on shuffle will. not. cut it.
3) People will fart ANYWHERE. Once is excusable, accidents happen. Eight to ten times is just ridiculous. Have a little compassion on the poor souls who are stuck within inches of you.
4)Don't have dreams, they will inevitably be crushed. My sister and I decided that we should design our own line of Black Friday t-shirts with funny sayings on them. Later we saw some women with shirts that read "Team Black Friday. Shop till you drop (or get trampled)." Funny, but heartbreaking. They had stolen our idea.
5) Little sisters aren't nearly as obnoxious when you are both facing the same hardships.
6) Gummy bears come in 3 pound bags. If necessary, that bag can be used as a pillow.
I doctored this photo, but a 3 lb bag of gummy bears was truly used as a pillow during the night.
7) A Slim Jim, some Gardetto's, a 5 Hour Energy Shot to drink, and Tums for desert is not an acceptable meal.
8) People are crazy. I mean, this is something that I've known for quite a while, but I don't think that I understood the severity of the craziness until last night.
9) Sixteen year old girls giggle. A lot. Very loudly, sometimes. It's embarrassing.
10) And lastly, my mom is awesome. She drove 25 minutes is the sleet and hurricane-like winds to drop my sister and me off at Walmart. She then proceeded to do some crazy person shopping, drive back home, do two loads of laundry, put dishes away, drive back to Walmart, do some more crazy person shopping, take my sisters and me out to breakfast, come home, go to bed for a bit, and then get up and go to work for 8.5 hours.
My mom's got it goin' on!
30 DAY MUSIC CHALLENGE Click here to see the entire list.
Day 5 - A song that reminds you of someone:
My grandma passed away in February of 2009, while spending her last few days at an amazing hospice facility. They provided a basket of CDs for my grandma to listen to, but it ended up being where my family sought solace during the extremely hard time. Throughout her last 48 hours, we listened to an Alan Jackson CD that consisted of nothing but hymns. No one in my family is particularly fond of Country music, but it was basically the only bearable Christian selection in the "Basket O' CDs". The song that happened to be playing while she passed was I'll Fly Away. For several days after her death I heard that exact version of the song EVERYWHERE, and it will forever remind me of her.
This isn't the exact version (the other was much slower) but it's the closest I could find.
Eat lots of turkey, take a nice long nap, and if you're feeling particularly adventurous mix your corn with your mashed potatoes. You'll never look back.
30 DAY MUSIC CHALLENGE Click here to see the entire list.
Day 4 - A song that makes you sad:
I'm currently obsessed with the song Airplanes by Local Natives. It's about the writer's grandfather who died before the writer was born. My paternal grandfather died of a heart attack when my dad was just 4 years old, and listening to this song really makes me realize how much I'm missing out on by having never met him. As the song says, though, "I bet when I leave my body for the sky, the wait will be worth it."
My entire family and I are obsessed with The Walking Dead. We make absolute sure that we watch it every Sunday night. I'm actually quite surprised because my dad and one of my sisters, J, are giant scaredy cats.
J usually watches the Disney Channel until she falls asleep after watching something scary, but tonight she felt the need to sleep on the couch. I, being the serial pranker that I am, could not pass up this golden opportunity.
My family is also obsessed with Halloween, so we have countless masks stored in totes in our basement. I decided to grab the best zombie-like mask that we had to scare the crap out of her, and I knew just the one that would do the trick.
She was facing the back of the couch, so after putting the mask on, I got my face as close to hers as possible. It took a minute, but after smacking the couch cushion a few times she finally woke up. It took her a second to realize what was going on, but I could tell the exact moment it registered. Her eyes grew ten times their normal size and she screamed like a woman being mugged in a dark alley who had forgotten her rape whistle at home. What happened next, though, was something that I never could have anticipated in 1000 years. She socked me in the face! My sister, the biggest wuss on the planet, punched me square in the upper lip. It didn't really do much damage, but I almost wish that it did. Can you imagine?
"Hey, why the fat lip?" "I scared the bejeezus out of J and she punched me."
It'd make one of the greatest stories. I always say if an experience can leave you with a great story then it was not in vain.
30 DAY MUSIC CHALLENGE Click here to see the entire list.
Day 3 - A song that makes you happy:
A lot of songs make me happy, but one that always puts a smile on my face is Young Folks by Peter, Bjorn and John. The whistling is just so darn infectious.
