now that's what i call knitting

i thought i'd take a break from trying to fall asleep to share this with you. enjoy.

when the rain comes

it's raining! like, for real raining. the first real splashing through the window screens, lightening from both sides of the house, waiting for the thunder, storm of the year. pretty great. i realized something today when i sat at my computer facing the window in my room to listen to the rain and check on some blogs. when i moved in and set up my room, i arranged everything exactly how it was in my room in iowa city as some sort of comfort element, in desperation that sometimes i could forget that i was away from iowa city and in my parent's house (this has yet to happen). this arrangement called for all of my computer stuff (power cords, speakers, etc) to be plugged into the outlet under the window because that's where the best (stolen) wireless connection was in my room in iowa city. funny thing is, this is the exact worst place for the wireless signal in my house, second perhaps to inside the bathtub. i would be getting a better signal in the middle of my front yard. i have no intention of rearranging though; the view from this window is quite nice, mostly because there isn't a clear view into a bedroom window in the apartment building next door. our back door neighbor is a lovely widow named Carol who takes pictures of my dog playing in the back yard and stands along the fence to chat with the four-year-old next door and the nearest window can only be seen through the tree in my back yard. sometimes i do miss spying, though...although there is a telescope within arm's reach...but i won't go there. okay i'm going to go back to blog reading. i'm sure i'll be back with my findings.

until then, here's a funny accidental picture of my grandma:

zzzzzzz.....

somehow my sleeping patterns have evolved into two 3-4 hour sleep sessions per 24-hour period. Usually I zonk out somewhere between the hours of 7-11pm and then again between 4-10am. For instance, today I fell asleep watching Arrested Development around 9 and woke up at midnight and now it's almost 6:30am and I'm just starting to feel tired. I'm not quite sure how it happened, but I think there was some ill-planned excedrin-related caffeine consumption somewhere in there. Or maybe it's just a side effect of living in the perpetual weekend that is my life. I'm not sure how good this is for my overall well-being, but I think it'll be good for my blog.

well, that was obvious

If you have over 40, you ARE spoiled.

own cell phone
own phone line
own bathroom
own room
pool
guest house
game room
tv in your room
Total=3

queen-size bed
more than 20 pairs of shoes
10+ things from a designer store
good grades
expensive sunglasses
ipod
xbox 360
ps2
mp3 player
nintendo
sega
Total=5

basketball hoop
scooter
rollerblades
air hockey table
pool table
ping pong table
foose ball table
trampoline
live near/on a lake or pond
own a pair of skiis
own a snowboard
Total=6

has a boat
has a jet ski
has a beach house or cabin
only child
stereo in bedroom
dvd player in room
100+ dvd's
gets $50+ for allowance each month
goes shopping every month
shops at abercrombie or hollister
Total=1

goes snowboarding or skiing every week(end)
2+ family cars
perfume/cologne
aim
msn
yahoo
5+ trophies/medals
own digital camera
walk in closet
Total=6

electric scooter
dirt bike
4-wheeler
guitar/drums
hammock
been on a cruise
traveled out of the country
graduation gift
personal fit trainer
expensive jewelry
owns prada/coach
met a celebrity
Total=4

straightener/curling iron
gets hair done/nails/spas
on/was on a team for school
own batting cage
$100+ in wallet/purse right now
own savings account
been to the carribean
been to europe
been to hawaii
Total=5

been to new york
shopped in seattle
eaten at the space needle in seattle
been to mall of america
spent $500 or more in mall of america
been on the eiffel tower in paris
been on the statue of liberty in new york
been on honor roll for 2+ years
went on a trip for a sweet 16 birthday
license
moved 3+ times
Total=6

hot tub
pet
ranch
verizon/sprint/cricket
cingular/t-mobile
virgin mobile
us cellular
been to 5+ states in the u.s
have a job
100+ buddies on messenger
Total=5

alarm clock
home cooked meal almost every day
ate out almost every day
been in a limo
computer
own laptop computer
own desktop computer
Total=7

Grand Total=48

Gotta tell you, it's not as bad as I thought it would be.

the original

look what i just found on the internet!

don't worry, ladies. one of them is still on the market.

my dream come true

New Orleans Reunion

Saturday I drove to Iowa City for a few hours for the New Orleans Reunion. I got there early to hang out with DeeDee. She, Kari and I went downtown so I could show them places like RSVP and Record Collector and make fun of them for never leaving campus. Then we met up with the gang and had pizza and watched Mr. and Mrs. Smith at Becca's! These girls are so awesome, I love them a ton. The theme of the trip was that we always felt like someone was missing. This time, someone actually was missing (Kat) so it seemed okay. Oh and Becca was still the mom. Oh and did I say that I love these girls?

back row: me, kari, becca, melissa
front row: deedee, sarah, lorraine

hanging out with deedee means she finds your camera to take 14 of this picture
(and if you're lucky some video of you not knowing she's taking video of you)


oh and also- the realtor painted over the chalkboard wall :(

check out my badass brother

Luke got inked in England!

Okay not really. It's this transparent nylon sleeve thing. They come in lots of styles and it looks totally real, even up close. But don't get too close because he (and everyone else in my family) got sick over spring break and he's grouchy and coughing all over.

my new obsession

...other than the dog park.

I got this book a long time ago when Dan and I went to the Museum of Science and Industry to see Body Worlds. (I also got my world map puzzle which I forgot about until now) It was kind of intimidating at first but I started working on it again and finally finished one. I think I'm going to use them as stationery.

my mom put it on the fridge

i'm only allowed to organize things that no one will notice

So my parents have been gone all week and I've been resisting the urge to organize every room or throw out everything on the counters. I was taking baby steps by sorting the mail and found a letter from one of those organizations that send you free address labels. So I went to put them away where the address labels go and was baffled at what I saw. THOUSANDS OF ADDRESS LABELS! They all have the correct address and everything so I didn't even throw any of them out. Not even the ones that say Mr. Bryan Benson and have hearts and flowers all over them. How is it possible to accumilate this many address labels? And they're ALL the free ones from like, March of Dimes or whatever.




So I tore them into individual sheets and stacked them in piles "Mr. Bryan Benson, Mrs. Janice Benson and Mr. and Mrs. Benson" and put them away. I feel much better. Kinda.

"I was leaving work today and was like, 'What's in my pocket? Oh yeah, kumquats.'"

-Alex

i thought winter was over...

I woke up this "morning" (after staying up until like 4am talking to Jess) and looked out the window and saw HUGE snowflakes! I didn't even have my glasses on yet and I could see them! None of it is sticking to the ground but it looks pretty cool.

Riley couldn't really figure it out

check out that grass turning green!

Today could be great! I have yarn for a new crochet project, found the herbal tea I bought, checked out some great DVD's from the library and even made chicken noodle soup last night! Too bad the fireplace is broken.

The Ford Model U

Ford has apparently changed their "vision for the future." Ford has been known among the auto industry for their resistance to phase out petroleum-based fuels, but this year they presented the Model U, a concept car that not only uses renewable fuel (the Model U has the world's first supercharged hydrogen internal combustion engine), but uses renewable materials for the body and interior as well. That was a long sentence. The exterior is made of removable pannels that are made of a corn or soy-based recyclable materials (replacing petroleum-based products) that never become waste. Even the tires are made of rubber and corn-based fillers that are recyclable, lighter, and more fuel-efficient and the engine is lubricated by sunflower seed oil. The list goes on. Oh, and while I was checking out the other components and who contributed to the project, the University of Northern Iowa was listed for developing and providing a soy-based grease lubricant. Hooray for CF!

Check out the website for more information. This is one concept car that has the inovations that are really needed in this industry.

Oh and when I was showing my mom the UNI thing she said that John Deere is donating buildings (well...the money to build them) to be used by Iowa's state universities to be used for research and inovation for alternative fuels and other materials.

Pretty cool. Although technically I'm only allowed to endorse Cheverolet and Buick. Who are, by the way, leading the industry in vehicles running on E85 Ethanol, which is a rant that I will save for another post.

"so many tears - but it's good"

sometimes I make blog posts and click "save as draft" instead of "publish post"

Friday was the most exciting day ever. I got TWO pieces of international mail. That's right. Pretty freakin awesome. I got a letter from Kate which always makes me sob, no matter what she writes about. She's so amazing, I miss her like crazy. I ran into her sister at the Vine last month in Iowa City and when we saw eachother we just started crying from across the room, it was hilarious. The emotional impact of her leaving was much greater than I anticipated. Somehow we got so much closer when she left. It's so strange to not have any concept of what her life is like in Mozambique. I find myself craving her. I think me being totally available and her being impossible to reach has something to do with it. Start saving up and come with me to visit her.



AND a package full of treats from Yudai!! I'm the luckiest girl ever!! Of note: the chocolate-filled koala things that Crissa always had from her Japanese foreign exchange student, the Ghana chocolate, WHISTLING CANDY, and cookies that are pretty much my name.

There are also these weird orange chewy things that have a wrapper that I think you eat. I couldn't get it unwrapped so i tried using my teeth and the wrapper dissolved. Pretty weird. Also, the "Crunky" bar has crispy rice in it and my first reaction was "wow they put rice in everything! it's totally their staple" and was completely fascninated...until I remembered that we have chocolate with rice too. Seriously...whistling candy. It's not a myth.

So yeah. Loves me some international mail. If you live in a far and distant land you should probably be sending me mail. Pronto!

and the winner is...

Chloe won Project Runway!

My guess from the beginning was Daniel Vosovic but he came in second. Daniel was clearly designing for the Banana Republic crowd and Santino's collection didn't look like anything he made during the show, which was confusing.

my favorites from Santino:Daniel's Banana Republic suck-ups:


Chloe's pretty stuff:

Turns out Kara had a runway show too that they never showed which is now posted online. Everyone's collections are on New York Magazine's fashion site which is probably where I'll be spending the rest of my day. Project Runway was pretty good but I'm excited that Top Chef is on now. I hate that I love reality tv.

the crumbling of rock city

I've never been to Detroit but it seems as if it's a pretty great place to do some urban exploring. I thought these pictures of the United Artists Building from the detroitblog were pretty awesome. I wish I had taken them.

the building's owner left it open and graffiti artists decorated the windows

mailboxes?
abandoned apartment

these are all along the sides of the theater

from the
from the balcony

stop being polite and start being drunk

I always end up addicted to The Real World. This time I decided it was okay because apparently, so does Mike Doughty.

10, 9, 8, 7....

Ten Firsts

First best friend - Katie Waterman
First screen name - thatsmybyk
First pet - 2 goldfish - Michael and Jennifer, they died when we were on vacation
First piercing- ears
First crush - Matt Denney
First kiss - Zach Deitz
First CD - Dave Matthews Band - Under the Table and Dreaming
First car- 97 Green Oldsmobile Achieva with glow in the dark stars on the roof
First stuffed animal - My bear Tedward who had a broken nose
First broken bone - my left pinkie finger. Nick Bartlett pushed me off my scooter and I couldn't play softball for the rest of the summer.


Nine Lasts

Last beverage - milk
Last car ride - to church to pick up Luke
Last movie seen - Rent
Last phone call - Jess...about 5 times while she was at work
Last CD played - Reindeer Section - Ya'll Get Scared Now and Cash by Johnny Cash
Last bubble bath - I can't even remember. Baths aren't my thing. Unless you count giving the dog a bath, which was on Monday.
Last time you cried - Watching the last episode of Sex and the City last night?
Last time you laughed - About 10 minutes ago listening to a voicemail from Jess that said "Ange, you need to put your hand in the hand of the man from Galilee...ohwaityoualreadydid!"
Last time you fell - Alex would know better than me. I think it was off the curb outside the movie theater after Luke and I went to Rent.


Eight Shows you like

1. Arrested Development
2. Globe Trekker
3. Project Runway
4. Daily Show/Colbert Report
5. #1 Single
6. Daria
7. Martha
8. Grey's Anatomy


Seven Things You Are Wearing

1. glasses
2. black fleece pants
3. a blue t-shirt
4. my grey hoodie
5. deoderant
6. a hair tie on my thumb
7. my heart on my sleeve


Six Things You've Done Today

1. woke up and read for a while
2. had lunch with my mom
3. talked to jess on the phone
4. went for a walk with Riley (who I decided should be named Rilian from Narnia)
5. talked to jess on the phone some more
6. took a shower


Five Favorite Things

1. lists
2. backpacks
3. road trips
4. paper
5. travel


Four People You Can Trust With Anything

1. Alisha
2. Jess
3. Rachel
4. The Internet

Three Choices

1. Hot or cold - cold
2. Black or white - black
3.Chocolate or Vanilla - chocolate


Two Things You Want To Do Before You Die

1. live overseas for a long time
2. have a husband and kids

One Thing You Regret
1. not paying attention when they taught us financial responsibility in school

Doraemon!

I would like to introduce you to my new alarm clock.

This is him sitting on his new home by my bed. His name is Doraemon. From what I can gather, he is a robot/cat and has a pocket full of surprises. This site plays the song that I now wake up to.

Thank you, Holly for bringing me fun surprises from across the ocean. I'll have you know that you're now the first thing I think of when I wake up in the morning and it seems very appropriate that he's ridiculously loud.

Campolo's Report

Evangelist and pastor Tony Campolo, founder of the Evangelical Association for the Promotion of Education, was interviewed on the Colbert Report on Monday night for his show on "The De-Deification of the American Faithscape" show. Campolo did a really great job and often left Colbert without a witty comeback, which was bittersweet. He made some really bold statements, saying that "Jesus transcends party politics." The recent popularity of exposing the "Religious Left" has been fascinating and I'm following along intently.

Click Tony for the video of the interview.