stole me a dog-eared map

2010-10-08T18:58:00.001-05:00

day off

2010-10-08T18:45:00.002-05:00

7am: wake up

8:45: wake up again

9am: coffee and scones delivered couch-side while gaining consciousness under a pile of blankets

9:30am: hit play on Felicity (season 4, disc 2)

11am: start laundry, make pumpkin muffins

11:30am: shower

noon: Starbucks

12:30pm: Record Collector, almost get hit by a bike, wander around the library

2pm: slowly drive north, point at pretty trees, laugh a lot

2:30pm: pumpkin farm - visit chickens (and guinea fowl), horses, cows, llama, donkeys and a zebra, corn maze, squash and pumpkins

3:30pm: deliver pumpkins and squash to some parents, poke around the bookshelves, search for the cat, look at the backyard pond, visit sister, slow back roads tour of small town Iowa

5pm: tenderloins at Jonesie's

6pm: watch preparations for the small town homecoming game, slowly drive south

7pm: tea and New York Times on the balcony

2010-09-27T10:41:00.001-05:00

blog? what blog?

2010-01-02T19:57:00.001-06:00

And could you keep your heart in wonder at the daily miracles of your life,

your pain would not seem less wondrous than your joy;

And you would accept the seasons of your heart,

even as you have always accepted the seasons that pass over your fields.

And you would watch with serenity through the winters of your grief.

Much of your pain is self-chosen.

It is the bitter potion by which the physician within you heals your sick self.

Therefore trust the physician, and drink his remedy in silence and tranquillity:

For his hand, though heavy and hard,

is guided by the tender hand of the Unseen.

And the cup he brings, though it burn your lips,

has been fashioned of the clay which the Potter has moistened with His own sacred tears.

- Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet (on pain)

jealous

2009-12-20T23:04:00.002-06:00

The yellow dots each represent a plane in flight. You can also see daylight moving from east to west, and how the flight numbers increase during the day and decrease at night. Amazing. I had no idea this many planes were in the air each day.

2009-12-14T10:01:00.000-06:00

2009-11-30T20:11:00.001-06:00

2009-11-19T18:05:00.001-06:00

i just realized that when i yell 'where are all the sharpies?!' at work, i am to blame.

2009-11-15T23:20:00.002-06:00

Does a kiss make you feel better?
Totally.

Have you ever passed out on the bathroom floor?
Definitely, but usually because of parasites.

Do you start the water before you get in the shower or when you get in?
Before, for sure. Cold water in the morning is misery.

What did you do today?
Woke up later than planned and went to work, tried to avoid the district manager, tried to avoid talking about cats and sleep schedules with my co-workers, changed clothes and drove to waterloo, went to see Crissa's dad, went to my grandma's favorite restaurant for dinner, went to 2012 and giggled because it was silly, made Charly drive home.

Have you ever brushed your teeth while in the shower?
Yes! I used to be kind of passionate about it, actually. I don't do it anymore because I don't have a good spot for my toothbrush like I used to.

Have you had more than 3 boyfriends/girlfriends at the same time?
Are you kidding?

Ever been in love?
Probably not.

Would you rather be in a permanent relationship or play the field?
Permanent. Although that word kinda makes me nervous.

What is your favorite sport?
I've mostly forgotten all about sports.

What color is your shower curtain?
Stripes.

Have you ever had stitches?
Yes. On my eyelid.

Did you believe that boys/girls had cooties?
No, but I did think they were gross. And by "did" I mean "do"

Do you know how to use chop sticks?
Yes.

Lyrics stuck in your head?
Missed the Boat by Modest Mouse

Do you like the Red Sox or Yankees?
I don't know. I used to like the Yankees but I forgot about them (see above)

What are you doing tomorrow?
technically it is tomorrow...so, being a haircut escort so that i can take notes, hopefully fixing an espresso machine, then maybe (maybe) going to New Moon...begrudgingly (mostly)

Who was the last person you couldn't take your eyes off of?
This question makes me hate myself.

Have you ever given money to a homeless person?
Yes.

Have you ever run over an animal?
Yes. Only once, and I guess I didn't really run OVER it, it was more like I ran INTO it.

What is your favorite cereal?
Currently I'm really into Kashi Autumn Wheat. Usually dry right out of the box.

Have you ever had an Oreo with peanut butter?
Definitely. It's mostly delicious but the texture isn't quite right.

What are you doing right at this moment?
Typing this.

Do you think its right for straight guys to get their tongue pierced?
I don't think it's right for anyone, but whatever.

Where's your favorite place to be?
In my bed with lots of blankets. My bed is awesome.

What's your favorite song?
Today in the car I thought it was Beast of Burden but then I remembered about Van Morrison so I'm back to the drawing board.

Are you more of a coffee or alcohol drinker?
Coffee, for sure. Like, for sure. I was proud of only drinking 2 shots of espresso today but then I remembered that it was 6.

Have you ever thrown shoes on a telephone wire?
No.

Have you ever been skinny dipping?
No, no no no.

Have you ever been arrested?
No, never even really come close.

Do you dream in black and white?
No, which I like.

Do you talk in your sleep?
No but I make noises.

Do you snore?
Sometimes. When I'm not sleeping well, like when I'm camping or sick.

Are you a redneck?
I really really don't want to be.

Funniest thing you heard all day?
Listening to someone talk about wanting to see more of John Cusack in a movie was pretty hilarious.

Have you ever gotten a mosquito bite on your face?
All the time!! Bugs bite me in the face ALL THE TIME, it's so rude. I had a bug bite on my face yesterday. How do I not notice it happening?!

What are you afraid of?
Abandonment. It used to be failure but that's just a close second now.

What do you look like right now?
Sleepy and kinda greasy. I tried not washing my hair today and it didn't go well.

Could you go for the rest of your life without drinking alcohol?
I definitely could, but I don't think I need to.

Who's bed were you on last?
Mine, it's my favorite one.

Does anyone have feelings for you?
As if it were that simple.

Are you happy with the choices you've made?
I haven't decided yet.

Whens the last time someone of the opposite sex told you they miss you?
A couple days ago.

Are you excited for anything?
I'm pretty pumped about the haircut thing I mentioned early, not gonna lie. I'm going to take notes.

What were you doing last night at midnight?
Falling asleep.

Would you be able to date someone who doesn't make you laugh?
No way. No. Way.

Could you ever be friends with the person who hurt you most in life?
I think I might be already.

Is there someone you really like to hang out with and just talk about stuff?
Yes.

What’s more important, trust or happiness?
Trust. Happiness without it is pretty hard for me, I've found.

What was the last thing you drank?
Vitamin Water

If you were offered to smoke some weed right now would you accept?
No way. Totally over it.

Where is the shirt you are wearing from?
A Main Event conference from like 5 years ago.

What is on your wrists right now?
A hair tie.

What does the outfit you are wearing look like?
Pajamas are not an "outfit"

Do you have to sleep with a television on?
No, usually a fan, sometimes music instead.

Do you know anyone named: John, Mike, Nathan, Joe, Tim?
Lots of Tims, always lots of Tims.

What was the last movie you watched?
2012 a couple hours ago. It felt like I watched a video game for 2 hours.

2009-11-08T20:17:00.002-06:00

Alex!

that's just what they'll do

2009-11-02T22:39:00.002-06:00

These are my boots. I love them. I've wanted rain boots for YEARS but could never justify buying them. On my first ever trip to TJ Maxx (dangerous!) they beckoned to me from the bottom shelf. Cheap and only in my size. When stores have shoes only in my size I'm always convinced that it's fate and I have permission to buy them. Even fate overrules practicality, folks. I'm an ISTJ and even I believe that.

Fate was at work several years ago in a random store in Alaska when I first encountered a pair of rain boots that beckoned to me from the bottom shelf. I wore them all around the store and stuck out my bottom lip when my mom reminded me that they wouldn't fit in the suitcase I was taking back to Iowa and they certainly weren't going to fit in the suitcase I would be taking from Iowa to Africa in a few short months.

Fast forward a few short months to me standing in a street in North Africa in the rain, the hem of my jeans soaked in gross street mud. Mud from nasty guys blowing their noses and butchers throwing out the leftovers and a million stray cats and donkeys with digestive problems. So many donkeys. My street was too narrow for an umbrella and the streets that were wide enough for umbrellas were minefields. My rain-fearing neighbors were oblivious to the fact that umbrellas are deadly weapons when put into the wrong hands. My life flashed before my eyes every time I left the house in the rain. Not my past life but my future life, in which I wore an eye patch. Rain meant mud and mud meant dirty jeans and dirty jeans meant laundry but rain meant the laundry took DAYS to dry. And I only had one pair of jeans. And no, I couldn't just roll them up because heaven forbid a girl show a little ankle on her way to Arabic class. Sister needed some boots.

And now they're mine at last. And I'll take them with me wherever I go.

2009-10-21T21:06:00.001-05:00

2009-10-17T10:48:00.001-05:00

2009-10-11T18:51:00.000-05:00

2009-10-09T13:09:00.001-05:00

I can't decide how i feel about this.

my worlds keep colliding

2009-10-02T08:20:00.001-05:00

mountain men on letterpress stationery.

oh my.

nailed it

2009-09-29T23:36:00.005-05:00

"Lamentably, we fell away from our intended divine context and from the task for which we are by nature fitted. We mistrusted and distanced ourselves from God and then, very naturally, from one another. In our arrogance and fear we flounder through our existence on our own...But at the same time our fundamental makeup is unchanged. The deepest longings of our heart confirm our original calling. Our very being still assigns us to "rule" in our life circumstances, whatever they may be....And we still experience ourselves as creative will, as someone who accomplishes things, constantly desiring to generate value, or what is good, from ourselves and from our environment."

-Dallas Willard, The Divine Conspiracy p.23

2009-09-22T18:08:00.002-05:00

My nails match my car!

2009-09-18T16:26:00.001-05:00

A Million Miles In A Thousand Years by Donald Miller

Day off.

2009-09-14T13:11:00.002-05:00

Project

2009-09-14T12:44:00.003-05:00

I bought this bulletin board for five bucks but HATED having a big brown square on my wall. It is now a beautiful slate blue square (yes, rectangle, I know) on my wall! I painted the pushpins for it too because they were green (the green ones were cheaper). It has stuff on it now but it doesn't look cluttered and messy because it looks (a little) less like a dorm room fixture. Yay!

2009-09-14T12:42:00.002-05:00

Zander was chillaxin' in my bathroom while I got ready the other day.

I'm mostly posting this because I'm making "the face" that I tend to make in pictures.

I hate "the face"

Also, I can kind of see why my stepmom sometimes told me I have a lazy eye.

not an impressive showing

2009-09-13T23:33:00.002-05:00

The BBC says the average person has only read 6 of these:

[x] 1 Pride and Prejudice
[x] 2 The Lord of the Rings
[x] 3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
[x] 4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
[x] 5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
[x] 6 The Bible
[x] 7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
[x] 8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
[x] 9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
[x] 10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens

[x] 11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
[ ] 12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
[ ] 13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
[x] 14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
[ ] 15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
[x] 16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
[ ] 17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulk
[x] 18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
[ ] 19 The Time Traveler’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
[ ] 20 Middlemarch - George Eliot

[x] 21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
[x] 22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
[ ] 23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
[ ] 24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
[ ] 25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
[x] 27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
[x] 28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
[x] 29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
[x] 30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame

[ ] 31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
[ ] 32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
[x] 33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
[x] 34 Emma - Jane Austen
[ ] 35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
[x] 36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
[x] 37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
[ ] 38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
[x] 39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
[ ] 40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne

[ ] 41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
[x] 42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
[ ] 43 One Hundred Years of Solitude
[ ] 44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
[ ] 45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
[x] 46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
[ ] 47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
[ ] 48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
[x] 49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
[x] 50 Atonement - Ian McEwan

[ ] 51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
[ ] 52 Dune - Frank Herbert
[ ] 53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
[x] 54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
[ ] 55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
[ ] 56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
[ ] 57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
[ ] 58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
[x] 59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night - Mark Haddon
[ ] 60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

[x] 61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
[ ] 62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
[ ] 63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
[ ] 64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
[ ] 65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
[x] 66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
[ ] 67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
[ ] 68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding
[ ] 69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
[x] 70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville (yes, its a guy's book)

[ ] 71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
[x] 72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
[x] 73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
[ ] 74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
[ ] 75 Ulysses - James Joyce
[x] 76 The Inferno – Dante
[ ] 77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
[ ] 78 Germinal - Emile Zola
[ ] 79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
[ ] 80 Possession - AS Byatt

[x] 81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
[ ] 82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
[ ] 83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
[ ] 84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
[ ] 85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
[ ] 86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
[x] 87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White
[ ] 88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
[ ] 89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
[ ] 90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton

[x] 91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
[x] 92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
[ ] 93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
[ ] 94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
[ ] 95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
[ ] 96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
[ ] 97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
[x] 98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
[x] 99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
[x] 100 Les Miserables — Victor Hugo

hilarious.

2009-09-07T21:11:00.002-05:00

2009-09-06T00:10:00.000-05:00

2009-09-01T09:14:00.001-05:00

Freak Tomato

yes, but does it travel eastwardly?

2009-08-30T22:42:00.004-05:00

On a random drive up to my hometown yesterday, my spontaneous companion was talking about a person being "caught in the jet stream of fate", referencing how sometimes things just come together perfectly for a person when it's completely out of their control. I rolled my eyes. And then I saw this today and found myself whispering out loud "omg totally the jet stream of fate."

Muslim occasion letterpress stationery. Swoon. Sometimes stuff is just too cool. Maybe one day it will even be in Arabic script. If I had classy Arabic-speaking friends who could read and had a mailing address I would SO be ordering more than one of each of these. They even have tiny cute buttons that say "salam" and other fun stuff at the Etsy site.

Speaking of Ramadan...it's totally messing up my diet. I know, obviously, but hilarious. Today I ate half a sandwich, a tomato, two slices of muenster and a s'more. And I drank a little Green Machine juice that I just discovered expired on August 16th. Oops. Definitely not even the sketchiest thing I've consumed this week.

Ramadan is kind of awesome. It's amazing to gain total consciousness over what goes into my body and when (not so shocking that I would delight in control), which is especially meaningful because I work at Starbucks and sometimes realize that I've had my daily recommended water intake in coffee instead. I've been seeking to grow in kindness especially at work, where we often communicate only in sarcasm. I can't honestly say that it's going very well, so I'm glad that Ramadan isn't even halfway over yet and I still have time to hone my anti-sarcasm craft. Oh and I broke the fast at the mosque on Friday night and it made me REALLY homesick for North Africa. I can now say that I don't really love Sudanese food and I much prefer breaking fast huddled around a table with a family, drinking soup from a bowl and helping the little ones peel eggs.

to know

2009-08-26T23:44:00.003-05:00

We sat laughing on the patio of the coffee shop, my finger holding my place on page three of the library book I'd chosen, his resting open against his chest. We had spent the afternoon wandering. First among rows of sweaters, pointing out contenders for the "maybe I should dress like a grad student" plan and the ones that matched his eyes; among books, losing and finding each other first at the book store, then at the library where the books are free and there are more chairs. He had indulged my love for argyle and I pretended to be horrified when he pretended to be in the market for a rifle. We disagreed slightly on styles of camping- he a former boy scout and I the proud owner of a gourmet camping cookbook.

I assumed we were ready for a break from all the acquainting, but our coffee, his hot, mine iced, sat ignored on the table. We got distracted from making a plan for dinner by telling stories about old friends and bad dates and the people who turned out to be both. He pretended to read when I answered my phone but then responded to everything I'd said. Even with the promise of the evening ahead, we still had enough to say that the books and coffee (my two favorite things) went unnoticed.

I've been under such strange circumstances for the past several years that I'd all but forgotten the subtle nuances of getting to know a person slowly from the beginning. All of a sudden the new person knows the names of all of your old people. You can brush arms without flinching or saying "sorry." Discussions about books and movies end with "you'd like it." There had been no lengthy introduction, but hundreds of tiny ones instead.

Once, someone said to me "I know that about you" and I am still convinced that those are perhaps the sweetest words to be uttered by a newly familiar voice.

2009-08-26T13:04:00.001-05:00

The inside of my bag. Are you kidding me? I'm not even in school.

Silence

2009-08-26T06:01:00.001-05:00

When it's quiet at sunset it's so odd not to hear the call to prayer echo off the empty streets; to sense the community sigh in relief.

Hey! I know that guy!

2009-08-24T11:47:00.002-05:00

I took this picture with my phone last night at Inglorious Basterds. That guy in the middle is Paul Rust, who I worked with at my dorm in college. Pretty awesome.

come home crissa!

2009-08-15T22:58:00.002-05:00

2009-08-15T20:09:00.000-05:00

I made this!

NEWS FLASH

2009-08-13T12:26:00.001-05:00

MY SO-CALLED LIFE IS ON HULU?!

http://www.hulu.com/my-so-called-life

*

2009-08-13T12:04:00.001-05:00

settle.

2009-08-13T11:49:00.002-05:00

Well hello.

So. Pending happenings unpredictable, I have moved into a residence where I will stay for more than six months! That's a record in '09! Five. Five moves in six months. Whew. There are still some little things to be done, I have to get a few more things from my parent's house and maybe acquire a bookshelf, but I'm more here than anywhere else and that's saying something. I have three amazing new roommates* who have welcomed me into their family, even though the first weeks have been a bit crazy. I feel like I've been busy and running around all the time but without anything to show for it, which makes me feel anxious. Although that in itself is telling of my personality I guess, that I need to have tangible evidence of what I've been doing instead of being able to see and appreciate the deepening relationships that are the result of my running from place to place, stopping only for ice and sparklers. Lots of laughter, many conversations and hours of latte-making have filled the last months. Can't really ask for much more.

My mom just mentioned that since moving to Iowa City she's heard from me less often than when I moved to North Africa. Oops. A lesson in intentionality in there somewhere.

2009-08-10T20:15:00.001-05:00

Weather is awesome.

2009-08-08T10:12:00.001-05:00

65 Things You Never Knew (but you probably did)

2009-05-01T18:03:00.002-05:00

1. First thing you wash in the shower? my hair
2. What color is your favorite hoodie? I don't have a hoodie anymore. This is a devastating fact to me. My favorite one was navy blue but I had to leave it in Africa.
3. Would you kiss the last person you kissed again? Probably. I mean let's just be honest.
4. Do you plan outfits? No. And if I do I usually change my mind at the last minute.
5. How are you feeling RIGHT now? hopeful...which is a change
6. Whats the closest thing to you that's red? a Libya mug and a nalgene. They're tied.
7. Tell me about the last dream you remember having? That I was friends with Matthew Perry and we were at a Beck concert.
8. Did you meet anybody new today? Yeah! I met a bunch of new neighbors when I was delivering May Day Baskets.
9. What are you craving right now? smoked salmon
10. Do you floss? Not enough
11. What comes to mind when I say cabbage? coleslaw
12. Are you emotional? I seem to be getting more emotional with age
13. Have you ever counted to 1,000? yes
14. Do you bite into your ice cream or just lick it? definitely lick it. I can't even think about biting it. Yikes
15. Do you like your hair? most of the time
16. Do you like yourself? usually I think I'm annoying
17. Would you go out to eat with George W. Bush? I don't think I could without being mean.
18. What are you listening to right now? Kids outside chasing each other because it's May Day. It's a good sound.
19. Are your parents strict? Not anymore!!
20. Would you go sky diving? Definitely
21. Do you like cottage cheese? Eh, it's okay
22. Have you ever met a celebrity? yes.
23. Do you rent movies often? Yes, Netflix.
24. Is there anything sparkly in the room you're in? there's some shimmer in a couple of scarves I have
25. How many countries have you visited? I think 11.
26. Have you made a prank phone call? Duh. Probably like, last week.
27. Ever been on a train? Yes! People train!
28. Brown or white eggs? It doesn't really matter. Brown ones make me think of Africa though.
29.Do you have a cell-phone? Yes.
30. Do you use chap stick? Yes. And I lose it.
31. Do you own a gun? nooooooo no. no. And I don't intend to. Ever.
32. Can you use chop sticks? yes.
33. Who are you going to be with tonight? Random girls from Ames that are crashing at my house. And Jack Bauer.
34. Are you too forgiving? too forgiving? Probably not forgiving enough.
35. Ever been in love? not with you
36. What is your best friend(s) doing tomorrow? refusing to come hang out with me
37. Ever have cream puffs? Yeah but it wasn't really pleasant
38. Last time you cried? I'm losing it all the time lately. I don't even know.
39. What was the last question you asked? "When did you move in?"
40. Favorite time of the year? October
41. Do you have any tattoos? yes
42. Are you sarcastic? yes
43. Have you ever seen The Butterfly Effect? Yes. Someone demanded that we rent it and then it sucked.
44. Ever walked into a wall? All the time. And then I fall down.
45. Favorite color? gray, but in a good way
46. Have you ever slapped someone? Probably
47. Is your hair curly? No, sadly
48. What was the last CD you bought? Some awesome African hip hop bootlegs from the street vendors
49. Do looks matter? they just do
50. Could you ever forgive a cheater? I would like to think so but I'm not really sure.
51. Is your phone bill sky high? No
52. Do you like your life right now? Not so much
53. Do you sleep with the TV on? no
54. Can you handle the truth? yes, I prefer it
55. Do you have good vision? Not naturally.
56. Do you hate or dislike more than 3 people? dislike? yes
57. How often do you talk on the phone? a couple times a week. Lots if Skype counts.
58. The last person you held hands with? Probably my niece
59. What are you wearing? jeans and an Iowa shirt
60.What is your favorite animal? ducks
61. Where was your profile pic taken at? Crissa's bed
62. Can you hula hoop? I haven't tried in a while
63. Do you have a job? not yet.
64. What was the most recent thing you bought? yarn?
65. Have you ever crawled through a window? yes, but not Dawson's Creek style like I always wanted.

44 cent hilarity

2009-04-08T23:52:00.006-05:00

I was at Wal-Mart during my monthly hunt for flat things to mail to people in Africa and found a 44 cent card section. 44 cents?! That's nothing! How thrilling. It was mostly ugly kid birthday cards...but then...a diamond in the rough.

I mean really, this card had me at "Garbanzo" and I probably would have bought it no matter what it said on the inside. And the little Garbanzo dude? Totally makes up for the bad font.

HAHAHAHAHAHA Still laughing. Still chuckle every time I see it on my desk. Cracks me right up. Laughed really hard in the aisle. I might go back to buy the rest of these that they had in stock. I mean seriously, who does not need a bean card? So funny.

My grandma used to have a magnet in the shape of a bean with arms and legs and a face and on the belly it said, "I'm a human bean" and I just thought it was referring to the arms and legs and face. I mean yeah, it was clearly a bean that was human, it was a bean with human parts. Human bean. Why is that funny? I was a serious child.

My brother has reservations about this card because he thinks the 9 year-old I'm going to send it to won't get it because he didn't know about garbanzo beans until 2 years ago. I laughed at the time but that might be valid. I didn't know about garbanzo beans until college when Jeff Horst (hope you don't Google your own name) kept cans of them in his dorm room and even had a mini strainer and ate them out of the can while watching TV. However, garbanzos became a bigger part of my life in Africa because they're on couscous. I just hope her family doesn't call them chickpeas or then we're really in a pickle.

nast

2009-04-08T23:33:00.004-05:00

I tried to buy yarn today but the store was closed at 8pm. Wha?! So confusing. Me and the husband I parked next to were so confused. However, I think I was more disappointed and he was relieved that he didn't have to actually go in and walk around with his wife. I didn't want to return home without buying anything however. I mean, come on, I'm an American. So I drove through to finally try a McDonald's latte.

MISTAKE

Among the worst beverage experiences of my life. Right up there with my last encounter with this guy:

It was bad. So, so bad. I think it was definitely my worst coffee experience, except for the equipment-related coffee disaster of '07 that involved a plunger. I'm glad that I'm no longer curious about the McLatte situation and at least confirmed my suspicion that it would be disgusting. My main regret is that the sale of said latte will be marked as profitable to McDonalds and perhaps in some way encourage them to continue the McCafe charade.

However, it must be said that the teenager working the drive-thru window was really pleasant. One thing I can say about this town is that the people are nice. I walk my dog almost daily and people are always waving. I think they're also saying "Hi" but I'm rudely ignoring them because I'm listening to This American Life on my iPod. Oops. I must still be adjusting from getting stared at. I used to freak out when I thought people were staring at me when I was little. My mom would do it on purpose because I would scream at her, "DO YOU HAVE A STARING PROBLEM?!" and she'd laugh and laugh. I never learned how to say that in Arabic but eventually I did start greeting people when I caught them staring, which helped. Maybe I'm staring at the strange suburban Americans and that's why they're greeting me...interesting theory. I was definitely staring at the guy who was shoveling snow off of his lawn though...not that I haven't ever done this in a fit of dirty snow rage...anyway.

Some college guys were sitting in lawn chairs in their front yard today (it was warm and sunny, they had a great idea) and were extra friendly and I was worried that they were pointing and laughing at me but then they said "nice shirt" which calmed me down. Turns out I was wearing my gang symbol shirt that has hands spelling out "blog" (thanks alex!). I thought I should mention that...on my blog.

netflix

2009-04-06T23:21:00.002-05:00

Okay. Netflix is great. It's really pretty entertaining. From the 80 or so movies in my queue they have discovered that the following categories make up my taste in movies:

Visually-striking Mind-bending Dramas
Critically-acclaimed Independent Movies
Romantic Comedies Featuring a Strong Female Lead
HBO Sitcoms
Cerebral Movies

Hilarious. I sound so smart and interesting. What Netflix doesn't know won't hurt them.

What are your categories?

as far as the eye can see

2009-04-03T16:10:00.002-05:00

i don't really miss...

2009-04-03T15:50:00.002-05:00

creepy mannequins.

i heart spain

2009-04-03T13:21:00.003-05:00

presentation: liveblogging

2009-04-03T12:59:00.002-05:00

(men's) underwear flying off the line. This was one of my great fears about drying laundry on my roof. I was constantly worried that my underwear was going to end up in the street. I don't think it ever did. And no, this isn't my laundry line. My house was generally free of men's underwear, I promise.

ironic? no, coincidence

2009-04-03T12:12:00.003-05:00

Alanis Morissette totally confused my concept of irony.

Netflix sent me Milk today

on the very day that this happened.

weird.

sorting

2009-04-03T11:58:00.005-05:00

Hey there.

I had so much stuff to blog about but all of my pictures are on my phone and I can't get them to post here. Rude! So you can find them on Facebook. I've been traveling all around lately, midwest tour style. I went to Missouri with my new friend Amy. Turns out making friends isn't as scary as I thought it would be. I mean I only have one new friend and really I just stole her from Crissa (that's how I get new friends, I steal them, ask Jess) so I'm not sure if it counts. Amy and I grew up about 5 blocks from each other but she went to private school so I never knew her.

We went to Missouri a couple weeks ago to check out a training center. I was nervous about spending that much time with a new friend but it was so fun! Definitely a great road tripping experience. A few days later I went to see my former teammates and it was amazing to see them. It felt so good and familiar but also strange because we were in America. I had 4 kids in my lap and their dinner stuck to my clothes for the rest of the day. That's love.

Now you can find my in front of my computer in a cute but kind of uncomfortable chair sorting through THOUSANDS of pictures to find a handful that will best represent the last two years of my life. Yikes. It's kind of fun though, reliving the two years in mostly chronological order. I'm also blatantly stealing pictures from tourists who passed through and gave me their pictures from their fancy cameras. That's the best plan because they're brave and take pictures that I'm too scared to take. Like, rude ones. Like, right up in people's faces or their donkey's faces:

I'm so excited to share my experience with people but it still feels quite ridiculous that people want to sit down and listen to me talk. Ha. Suckers.

2009-03-25T22:20:00.002-05:00

The Weather Channel link on my linkbar is still set to North Africa. Rude. I almost fell for the 78 and sunny tease...more like 45 and cloudy. Dang.

let the wild rumpus start

2009-03-25T22:01:00.003-05:00

I got a little emotional when I found out that they're making a movie of Where The Wild Things Are. (And by "they" I mean Spike Jonze!) My brother Travis used to read that book to me over and over. There is a photograph somewhere of him laying on his stomach, me sitting on his back (our usual position) with the book spread out in front of us. There's another similar picture that includes my brother Steven, who added roars and tried to scare me.

I was in my room today and heard something wonderful and familiar from downstairs. I went to the staircase and confirmed that it was "Wake Up" by Arcade Fire. I asked my mom what she was watching and she said it was a movie trailer for "some movie" and I got to Googlin'. Apparently today was the release of the trailer. I can't wait.

The real kicker is that I also found out today that the movie comes out on October 16th. The day Travis died. It's like they knew.

I can not for the

2009-03-24T20:34:00.001-05:00

I can not for the life of me make my phone mobile blog.

love 'em

2009-03-20T16:09:00.003-05:00

A- Age: Almost 27.

B - Bed size: huge (queen)

C - Chore you hate: I really hate dusting...so I don't do it.

D - Dad's Name: Timothy Paul Swope and Bryan Paul Benson

E - Essential start your day item: coffee...omg coffee. I'm trying to keep the requirement at one cup but I think it might be two at the moment. I hate my life in the morning before coffee and I can't really walk or open my eyes all the way.

F - Favorite actor(s): Luke Wilson

G - Gold or Silver: Silver

H - Height: 5'8

I - Instruments you play(ed): I was forced into piano, then played flute, then a bunch of random stuff, now I'm trying to play guitar.

J - Job title: Ha um...good question.

K - Kid(s): I like kids.

L - Living arrangements: my high school bedroom

M - Mom's name: Janice Faye Benson and Keely Caroline Swope

N - Nicknames: Ang(e) and I think that's it.

O - Overnight hospital stay other than birth: Um, strep throat once. Tonsils out. I had a misbehaving ovary removed a few years ago.

P - Pet Peeve: constant noise, clutter, selfishness, fluorescent lighting

Q - Quotes you like: I don't really remember quotes. This week Amy said "That's so beautiful...it's like...Botox" which made me laugh so hard.

R - Right or left handed: Right

S - Siblings: Luke, Travis, Steve, Timmy

T - Time you wake up: Usually 8, sometimes 9. My emotional state no longer requires 11 hours of sleep, which is encouraging.

U- Underwear: Yes. I buy my underwear in 3-packs. I think that real grown-ups buy their underwear individually but I'm not there yet.

V - Vegetable you dislike: I really don't like celery. And cauliflower when it's cooked really grosses me out.

W - Ways you run late: I can be ready really fast but I usually really have to shower or I hate the whole day. But I can shower super fast! Usually I just underestimate the time it takes to get somewhere.

X - X-rays you've had: um, at the dentist. My hand in junior high when a kid pushed me off my scooter and busted my finger and I couldn't play softball for the rest of the year.

Y - Yummy food you make: Good use of the Y! Well played. I love making food. I really love making ethnic food or experimenting, trying to make things work. It's because I have control issues.

Z - Zodiac: Gemini

just in case you've been under a rock

2009-03-14T12:39:00.003-05:00

Here are some video clips in case you've missed the amazing Jon Stewart kicking ass and taking names.

First, watch this:

The next week, Jon clarifies that the segment wasn't in response to Santelli not coming on the show and clarifies the problem a bit further:

Cramer responds on MSNBC. So frustrating. The anchors imply that it's out of boredom that Jon Stewart is providing accountability for the asininity of Cramer and CSNBC:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Jon Stewart responds, clarifying the fact that the Daily Show has never claimed to be anything but satire.

I love the daily show for providing balance and accountability in politics and the media. Results of polls like this prove that they're working hard and doing a good job. We're lucky to be entertained and informed.

And at last, Cramer steps up. He agrees to come on the show. Here he is on Martha talking about the whole ordeal. Skip forward to minute 1:50 if you want to skip him talking about Twitter, skip to 3:12 to hear Martha warn Jim about Jon:

And at last, the interview. Warning: Unedited and uncensored:

Part 1:

Part 2:

Part 3:

So there you have it. I think my opinion is obvious. Satire keeps us humble and honest. In a country where humility, honesty and integrity are the last three words anyone would use to describe politics and the media, the Daily Show is essential. I think people have taken the whole freedom of speech debate too far in the past and obviously there will always be things in the media that I disagree with, but that's the point. There needs to be a balance, we need to be able to call each other out. Isn't that the point of social commentary?

not pictured: black denim cutoffs

2009-03-13T22:21:00.005-05:00

One of the many adventurous elements of living with my family has become a delightful little game called "Hide the Redneck" that my brother has initiated. This fella shows up all around the upstairs of the house, usually in places that make me scream, like the bathroom mirror in the middle of the night, or at eye level on my door frame (shown). The worst part is that when I find him (morel like when he finds me) and I yell at Luke, he spends the next several hours talking to me in a gross redneck voice and saying things like, "Well don't you look purdy."

I just got back from a delightful day in Iowa City. Expensive haircut (I don't even want to talk about how expensive...whew), noodles with Jennifer (who was in Japan while I was in NA), good organic fair trade coffee with Kate and her Welshman, dinner with Cate and Noel. Funfunfun. Couldn't have asked for more fun...but seriously don't ask me how much I spent on my haircut. Ouch.

2009-03-13T08:28:00.004-05:00

This was the pile of stuff I took the the post office yesterday. Day before? It was pretty exciting, I mailed 8 things to 5 different countries. It's fun having friends all over the place. The down side is that I don't really have friends all over this place. But today, that will not be an issue.

I'm off to Iowa City, the happiest place on earth. First I'm getting my haircut. A blog does not allow for me to appropriately convey my excitement for this event. My hair is a full two inches below my bra strap. The length where it starts to get annoying and caught in car doors and my armpit. I got my hair cut twice while in North Africa. Neither time was very successful. Then I will socialize. I'm going to socialize my ass off!

spring

2009-03-12T19:48:00.003-05:00

This is the sure sign of spring in my household. About twice a year my stepdad spends his day off shopping. He buys half a year's supply of all of his hygiene products, random sports equipment (not pictured: prank golf balls, golf ball marking stencils, new shoes, etc.), 12 huge bags of salt for the water softener (which he begrudgingly carries down the stairs while muttering under his breath about the injustice of it all) and his favorite foods, which he excitedly eats for lunch as soon as he gets home from the "extravaganza" as he likes to call it. The food always includes rye bread, cheez whiz, some meat paste stuff that comes ina tube, dried meat and pickled stuff. For lunch he had cheez whiz and olives on rye bread. Seriously. This was the chosen day because it's the last week before the golf courses open so all of his days off until October will be spent on a golf course.

Just a little glimpse into my day...which also included a trip to Red Lobster at 4:30 and arguing with the dang Geek Squad. Oh America...why did I ever leave you?

I love xm radio. Classic

2009-03-11T18:41:00.001-05:00

I love xm radio. Classic snoop dogg on 90's on 9. Then DMB 'satellite' on Spectrum. What more could i ask for?

kids these days

2009-03-11T18:25:00.003-05:00

Last week we had a little impromptu family day. It made my teeth hurt. It involved brunch, buying locally made soaps, playing with the remote control car (by playing I mean my step-dad chasing dogs and children) and then going to a movie. We saw Slumdog Millionaire (it was my second time, I'd gladly see it a third).

The girl working at the counter gave us our change and then said, "Enjoy your cinematic adventure." Darn kids.

spicy

2009-03-11T00:28:00.002-05:00

People keep asking me what I've been up to since returning to the States. I usually don't have a lot to tell them. You guys are basically the only ones I trust with the knowledge that the only thing I've done with any degree of enthusiasm is read Twilight.

This is what I was up to today. Measuring spices I brought back from North Africa to staple to a recipe and stuff in a thank you note. All day. I felt a little like a drug dealer.

settled

2009-03-09T21:11:00.003-05:00

So, like I said before, I have yet to experience significant reverse culture shock (except for one crazy day that made me want to run and hide) but I was a little bit blindsided when I came home by how unsettled I felt. I surprised my family and came home over a week before they were expecting me and a consequence of that surprise was that I didn't have a room of my own yet and all of my stuff was still packed away in the depths of the basement. I learned the hard way that I'm not quite as flexible as I'd like to think I am. I just couldn't relax until I was all unpacked and everything was restored to order. The fun part was that I got to paint and get new furniture! So yes, it has taken a month, but I feel settled now.

Here's the proof. Sorry about the pictures, they were taken at random times of the day so the lighting is all different. Maybe I'll post detail pictures later.

It was surprisingly easy to find the exact color I wanted. I knew I wanted a gray room but not just boring gray. This looks almost violet in the right light.

Here's my cool desk thing when it's open. I didn't want a normal desk that I would clutter up. So far it has been perfect!

I still don't know what to do about the wall decor. They don't make poster frames in the right sizes for the stuff I have. I called in backup, I knew this was a project for Alisha, we're project masters. I'll let you know how it goes. I still feel like the wall stuff needs to be above the bed, above the desk and above the dresser instead of between all of those things, but that would leave big places of wall blank. Do I need something else to go there? I'm just not sure what to do. Clusters of black and white photographs? A funky wall decal? A vintage clock?

Oh and PS - In Africa I started making my bed every day, no matter what. I can't believe I didn't do that before.

Mobile blogging? Yes please.

2009-03-09T18:21:00.001-05:00

Mobile blogging? Yes please.

emerging

2009-03-08T22:00:00.000-05:00

Oh hi.

So, I'm back. I've maybe been hiding out a little bit.

Coming back hasn't been easier or harder than I thought it would be. I'm as thrilled to buy stuff at Target as I knew I would be, as bewildered with the church finding dilemma as I thought I would be, as excited about the library as I used to be and as overwhelmed with the future as I've always been.

I got to spend my first couple weeks at home mostly with Crissa, helping her get ready to move to Chile. It felt good to focus on her instead of freaking out about America and she was gracious while I forgot how to get where we were going and obsessed about paint colors to keep my mind off heavier things. I was glad to be home and sleeping 10 hours a night, exhausted from the last two years, but so jealous of her new adventure as we searched for luggage straps and voltage converters.

Since she left I have been exclusively sitting in my bed reading Twilight. That's seriously all I've done. I read the last two books in three days and now I'm re-reading the first one because I'm so sad that it is over. I keep trying to find excuses for how much I love the books - that my female emotions are being manipulated by the writing style, that I relate to the characters reacting to a culture that should be familiar, that it's just a logical next step after loving Harry Potter, etc, etc, but really Jess is right, they're just the kind of books I like. I have a general distaste for fiction except for young adult fantasy series fiction. It's just who I am apparently.

But alas, it is time to emerge from the down cocoon. I've officially applied for a job and renewed my driver's license after a long afternoon of taking (acing!) tests. I also figured out how to record DVDs off of the DVR which is seriously a great accomplishment. It's the new thing that is sucking my life away. (omg get it - because the last thing was Twilight...vampires...sucking my life away...get it?)

omg guys!

2008-06-25T06:45:00.000-05:00

So, clearly I've been doing a lot more blog reading than writing lately. I've been saving up loads of links to look at later and I'm sure I'll find cool stuff to talk about and show you but this was so awesome that it is getting an immediate post...I'm so excited.

Adventure Paper!

I don't do a whole lot of adventuring that would require waterproof paper but if they just start printing books on it I can FINALLY combine my two greatest loves...reading and taking showers. I've been waiting so long for this!

2008-05-13T08:29:00.000-05:00

this is awesome

this is not

It's been a while...

2008-04-09T18:46:00.000-05:00

Name: Angela Jo Swope
Single or Taken: oh so single
Eye color: hazel
Shoe size: 11
Height: 5'9"
What are you wearing right now? Pajama pants and my What If shirt
Righty or lefty: righty

FAVORITE
Kind of pants: pajama
Animal: I really miss my dog. But I super heart ducks.
Month: definitely October
Juice: grape
Favorite cartoon: The Jetsons...unless Daria counts

HAVE YOU EVER:
Bungee Jumped? No, but I'd sky dive
Made yourself throw-up? no
Loved someone so much it made you cry? I hate this question
Been in a physical fight? only with family members
Been on a plane: I love flying...for less than 6 hours at a time
Came close to dying: I came close to being shot and put in an african jail! (ha! me too!)
Been in a hot tub: yes
Fallen asleep in school: yes
Broken someone's heart: doubtful
Cried when someone died: usually not until several months later
Fell off your chair: yeah, like, daily
Sat by the phone all night waiting for someone to call: duh
Saved IM conversations: totally
Been cheated on: nope. one of the perks associated with not really dating (agreed)

Do You:
Believe in love at first sight? no
Believe long distance relationships work: how would I know?
Like school: at the moment, yes
Question yourself: constantly
Who was the last person that called you? David
Who makes you smile the most: a 3 year old
Who knows you the best?: totally Cate
Get along with your family: most of them

Final Questions:
What are you doing this weekend? Annual retreat - speakers, picnics, games, frisbee
What car/truck do you wish to have: a renault 4
Have a lava lamp: currently, no. formerly, oh yeah
How many remote controls are in your house? 0
Are you double jointed? not possible. no such thing.
When you last showered? 6am
Scary or Funny Movies: funny
Rootbeer or Dr.Pepper: ooh, I would welcome either
Summer or winter: tough call. i love winter but there's just something about summer...and vice versa
Diamond or pearl: diamond
Sprite or 7up: 7up but only really when I'm sick
Coffee or tea: Coffee!!
In person or on the phone: I hate the phone

Yesterday Did You:
Talk to someone you like: yes
Buy something: yes, stuff to make tea treats
Talked to an ex: ha, yeah kinda

Last person who:
Slept in your bed: my roommate all day today after she puked in hers
Saw/heard you cry: ugh, like, everyone
Made you cry? Jesus, duh
Went to the movies with: Kate in Nairobi
Said "I Love You": Crissa before she left!
Ever been in a fight with your pet: totally. I think I'm in one right now actually...
Been to Canada: yes
Been to Europe: yes
Been to Mexico: yes

Random:
Do you have a crush on someone right now: totally, i hate my life
What book are you reading now: The Divine Conspiracy and Principle Centered Leadership
Future kids names: I really like "E" names
Do you sleep with a stuffed animal: no
What's under your bed: backpacks
Favorite sports to watch: baseball, basketball, the Packers, swimming, sometimes golf
Favorite Locations: hammocks
Tattoos or piercings: my ears are pierced but I don't wear earrings, and i have a tattoo on the back of my neck
What are you most scared of right now? never getting caught up
Who do you really hate? i don't "really hate" anyone.
Do you have a job? YES! woo! I haven't started yet though.
Have you ever liked someone you didn't have a chance with: duh, of course
Song that's stuck in your head right now? Peter and the Wolf
Have you ever been on radio? yeah I answered a question right

More Random
What color is your underwear right now? striped
What are the first things you notice about the opposite sex? smile? i don't know.
Are you too shy to ask someone out? it's not because i'm too shy
Hugs or kisses: neither, leave me alone. jkjk...kinda
Dogs or cats?: dogs
Favorite Flower?: daisies, hydrangeas, tulips
Have you ever fired a gun? no, yikes
How many pillows do you sleep with? 2, but one always ends up on the floor
Do you think (any of) your ex(s) miss you? hopefully not

an off day

2008-04-07T17:20:00.000-05:00

Overwhelmed. I have homework of several varieties and all of it requires actual thought and time commitment. It's raining and I just got a whole pile of new music and I want to make a playlist of the Jose Gonzales and Iron & Wine and lay on my bed but instead i have to like...read...and write...a LOT. I went to school early today to get some studying done and try to get caught up but it ended in disaster. I had a meeting this morning which started with a cup of very strong Kenyan coffee...and then a refill...and then a HUGE mug of smuggled in Starbucks was brought right to me. I mean, how was I supposed to turn it down? It even had the perfect amount of milk already added...it was just for me! All of a sudden I realized that a whole lot of caffeine was pumping through my veins and I hadn't eaten and I started shaking and got all dizzy...yowza. When I got home I turned on music and did arty stuff for almost an hour and refused to think about my to-do list...which was relaxing until it was time to tackle my to-do list. I'm tempted to post it here so you can ask me how it's going but I don't really want to talk about it anymore.

Oh and also, I'm covered in bruises. I fell down the stairs, whacked my head on a piece of wood, and dropped my basket of food from the top shelf directly onto my face in the last 24 hours. The only thing keeping me from taking 14 Tylenol PMs and sleeping until the end of the month is that I get to watch 24 on Wednesday. Oh and also because I only have like 10 Tylenol PMs left and I have to save all of them for the plane ride home next year.

should i be worried?

2008-04-06T10:56:00.000-05:00

Crissa brought me some new music and when I finished uploading it, this is what I saw. Should I be worried? Does the last 6 mean the 666 part doesn't count?

i don't want to talk about it

2008-03-04T11:04:00.000-06:00

sad

once in a [red] moon

2008-02-22T09:08:00.001-06:00

Look! My sleep schedule is all messed up and I've been napping and unproductive as a result but I got to see THIS! Jess alerted me to the fact that an astronomical phenomena would be visible to both of us so I gladly set my alarm for 3 hours after my bedtime in order to see it. It was so cool! The moon was pretty small so it was a little hard to see (that might have been the sleepiness though) but it was awesome. I thought it would be bright red sooner but it was cool watching the little strip of white fade away. Eclipses are pretty cool! Did you see it??

PS- This is not my picture, my camera is broken and definitely not awesome enough to take pictures of the moon. Although, I did work really hard to find one that looked just like what I saw, so there's that.

good morning

2008-02-16T06:30:00.001-06:00

My alarm clock is set for approximately 9 minutes before I have to walk out the door in the morning. There are four class session times at my language school and I have been plagued with the unfortunate horror of having the earliest class for months. If it were summer I would be so glad to be up and out the door during the cool of the morning, but when my bedroom temperature hasn't yet risen above 45 degrees it's a very pitiful start to my day.
It is all made possible by this section of my wardrobe. I blindly stumble out of bed and put on whatever things are in this pile of stuff and brush my teeth as I walk down the (45) stairs to the front door.

The good news is that when class is over by 10:30am I have my whole day in front of me and I'm already out of bed! My usual routine is to come home and eat breakfast, usually something involving yesterday's bread. Then I go change into my roof outfit (an exposition of the several outfit changes I make during the day is sure to come) and take my current reading assignment(s) up to the sunny wonderland that is my roof and read for several hours. I usually take breaks to bask with my eyes closed or peek over the wall and check out the construction next door (which would wake me up every morning even if I could sleep in) or watch my neighbors hang their laundry. After reading until I can't stand it anymore I descend and find ways to be productive in other areas of life, kinda.

I wish I were one of those people who wakes up at 6am every morning, regardless of the day's obligations. I enjoy being up early I just hate the waking up part. A lot. Ask any of my former or current roommates, they'll tell you. But the thing is, I hate waking up at 9am just as much as I hate waking up at 6am. Why don't I just change my routine? Ah, the mysteries of life.

toddlers make the best valentines

2008-02-14T08:55:00.000-06:00

Happy Valentine's Day

I'm babysitting. I'm almost always babysitting on Valentine's Day, which is just fine with me. I'm good at babysitting and I love doing things I'm good at. I'm certainly better at babysitting than I am at dating, that's for sure.

I even got a flower and a wink, I'd say I came out ahead. Oh and I'm having (free) sushi tonight. Way ahead!

Babysitting is a funny thing, especially when you're old enough to be the parent of the kids you're watching. It's a pretty great deal. I just wrote "Scooby Doo" on a Magna-Doodle and my little friend hasn't stopped looking at it for over an hour. It almost sent him over the edge when I asked if he wanted to actually watch Scooby Doo. I am so beloved.

Boys are weird. I never understood the concept of playing with guys and cars. And they're all arranged in important ways but it just looks like a pile of dudes and robots but if someone (me) disturbs the order of the tiny universe it is made clear to the universe destroyer (me) that there is in fact a very delicate and specific arrangement for the guys and cars. Who knew? Good news there's a 3 year-old girl to sit on my lap and talk to about her new pink boots while I braid her hair.

Speaking of hair, my hair is officially long again. The definition of long is when I can reach it behind my back without tilting my head back, just so you know. It's almost at the length where I always want to put it in a ponytail but not quite. I always think I like my hair up and that ponytails are cute but whenever I see myself in the mirror (or worse- a photograph) I realize that I look gross with my hair back. Turns out that face-framing thing is legit. I kind of really love my hair here, which is a big surprise. I use a 2-in-1 shampoo and it is perfect for my hair. The bottle of clarifying super de-greasing shampoo that I used in America is still in the shower almost full. Even my hair loves it here and that means a lot.

mutual understanding and freedom from discord

2008-02-11T15:51:00.000-06:00

This little wonder has caused about an hour of self-reflection ending with the inevitable submission to the truth of the matter. Moody and depressed. My roommates (current and former) are reading this and laughing out loud at this very moment, be sure. Accurate emotional assessment in 5 minutes or less via The Color Quiz. Take it. Post it.

Your Existing Situation

Works well in cooperation with others. Needs a personal life of mutual understanding and freedom from discord.

Your Stress Sources

Unfulfilled hopes have led to uncertainty and apprehension. Needs to feel secure and to avoid any further disappointment, and fears being passed over or losing standings and prestige. Doubts that things will be any better in the future and this negative attitude leads her to make exaggerated demands and to refuse to make reasonable compromises.

Your Restrained Characteristics

Able to achieve satisfaction through sexual activity but is inclined to be emotionally withdrawn, which prevents her from becoming deeply involved.

Egocentric and therefore quick to take offense. Sensitive and sentimental, but conceals this from all except those very close to him.

Feels that things stand in her way, that circumstances are forcing her to compromise and forgo some pleasures for the time being.

Your Desired Objective

Feels the existing circumstances are hostile and is exhausted by conflict and quarreling. Wishes to protect herself and hides her intentions to avoid exposing them to attack, so that they will be safer and easier to achieve. Careful to avoid stirring up any opposition which might endanger her plans.

Your Actual Problem

Disappointment at the non-fulfillment of her hopes and the fear that to formulate fresh goals will only lead to further setbacks have resulted in considerable anxiety. She tries to escape from this by withdrawing and protecting herself with an attitude of cautious reserve. Moody and depressed.

apparently i'm a crier

2008-02-08T20:47:00.000-06:00

I cry every single time I watch this movie.

Every time! I NEVER cry during movies but this one makes me cry every time. The funny thing is that I don't watch it that often so I always forget and then inevitably I start weeping. I think I cry for a different reason every time too, sometimes because of the mom parts, sometimes the dying parts and sometimes the kid parts. Oh man and then when he says, "I'm staying. For good." It's pathetic.

I've been crying a lot in the last year or so. I started crying at the airport when I said goodbye and I haven't really stopped. I've cried more in the last year than probably the last 15 years of my life. I'm making up for lost time, I guess. It's good though, I feel normal. Except for the time I cried during an episode of 24. Only a little.

surprisingly delicious

2008-01-25T15:39:00.000-06:00

I would like everyone to know that French's Alfredo Sauce mix is by far superior to any other Alfredo Sauce mix I've tried while living overseas. It definitely beats out Knorr and McCormick. In fact, it definitely beats out several restaurant Alfredo disasters I've experienced in the past. I'm thinking about starting a specific website devoted to things like food substitution product reviews, bootleg movie tips and websites with cheap overseas shipping. I'll keep you posted.

Christmas in Germany

2008-01-22T15:44:00.000-06:00

Choosing a blogable number of pictures from my trip to Germany was the hardest thing I've done in a long time. I had such a blast! It was so providential that I was able to get out of Africa for Christmas and I'm so thankful. First, we got Ryanair tickets for super cheap, then the director of our school said we could stay with her family, then she decided to come with us and give us a (free!) 3-day guided tour of Bavaria. Merry Christmas Angie! These pictures are totally out of order, but here was our itinerary:

7pm- Depart
12am- Arrive in Frankfurt
5am- Arrive in Schienfeld

Day 2
Sleep In, Breakfast
Train to Nurnburg
Castle, Christmas Market, Dinner, Starbucks

Day 3
Rotenburg
Ludwig's Castles
Dinner in Austria

Day 4
Drive to Salzburg, Christmas Market, that famous street, lots of coffee
Drive to Munich, Christmas Market, Starbucks

Day 5
Christmas Eve!
Eat
Church
Eat
Presents

Day 6
Christmas!
Eat
Church
Eat
Family Reunion!

Day 7
Drive to Frankfurt
Leave!

town hall and christmas market in munich

singing "silent night" around the town christmas tree by candlelight

christmas tree with real candles

family music time. this was before my cello lesson.

view from the castle

so beautiful

horse wash in austria

the worst christmas light display ever

woo!

sausage by the meter

seriously. so exciting. almost cried.

this is what christmas is supposed to look like

Best Albums of 2007

2007-12-16T06:40:00.000-06:00

I'm seriously going to do a better job of posting on both blogs. Hopefully you use RSS so you don't even really notice that I don't post that often. Anyway. I am babysitting for the whole entire weekend for Mr. Doesn'tknowhispossessivepronouns (ex. "Me ride me bike?") and Mr. Anotomicallycuriousdinosaur (read: playing T-Rex with squeezing claws that gravitate toward my butt), but (pun!) the good news is that there is a rocket-fast wifi connection so I'm downloading like crazy. Remember Limewire?! I'm so entranced. It's just like college. I feel a little (a lot) out of the loop and out of touch with my home culture so I decided to download a few of Time Magazine's Top 10 Albums of 2007 and Top 10 Songs of 2007. I haven't really listened to a lot of it yet but I'm excited to see what the big deal with Amy Winehouse is and obviously I can't wait to dive into the new Radiohead.

I've got a busy week ahead of me. Three days of doing everything Christmasy I've been planning before leaving for Germany on Thursday and then off to the land of snow and Starbucks (I hope I hope!). Tonight is baking, tomorrow is the gingerbread house party, Tuesday is watching The Nativity with some friends, Wednesday is the (inevitable) Secret Santa party with the group and Thursday morning is Christmas breakfast with my roommates. How's that for cramming an entire holiday season into 5 days!?

happy weekend

2007-11-17T11:15:00.000-06:00

These two websites have consumed all of my free time. I thought I should share, just in case you had some free time laying around getting moldy.

Slate Magazine's "The Complete Bushisms"
My favorites are when he makes fun of the blind guy and the most interesting thing about George Washington

The Daily Show Video Library
Every Daily Show since Jon Stewart took over in 1996, sorted by date and segment, searchable by names, subjects and keywords. I'm working my way backwards from today. I'm at October 16, 2007.

Enjoy.

Warning: Graphic Content

2007-11-07T16:48:00.000-06:00

Seriously. It's going to be gross, people.

So I stubbed my toe a while back and I looked down and this is what I saw, except with LOTS more blood.

I looked down and realized what had happened and thought, "Whoa...the boys are going to think this is so cool." Then I really realized what had happened and started to panic and yelled, "Hey somebody, my toenail fell off!"

This is about a week later after many soakings and things calmed down a bit. The nail was still connected under there somewhere. I waited for a long time for it to fall off on it's own but eventually I just hacked it off with scissors stolen from the BFD.

much better...kinda

stacy was right!

2007-11-01T14:39:00.000-05:00

4 things about me.

Four jobs I have had in my life:
1. vegetable chopper
2. child watcher
3. desk sitter
4. coffee maker

Four places I have lived:
1. with my mom
2. with my dad
3. with my friends
4. north africa

Four places I have been on vacation:
1. the sahara
2. spain
3. nairobi
4. schaumburg, illinois

Four of my favorite foods:
1. popcorn with m&m's
2. things you wrap up
3. cheesy things you eat with a fork
4. sushi

Four friends that I think will respond first:
1. cate?
2. holly?
3. joanna?
4. someone?

2007-10-26T15:16:00.000-05:00

well hello, new favorite

paper cloud

finally luggage tags get witty

2007-08-23T05:11:00.000-05:00

I saw a picture of these luggage tags (which are clearly from knockknock.biz) on boingboing the other day and can't stop laughing about them. I'm thinking about printing them out and making them for myself.

Flowchart: Medieval sexual desicionmaking

2007-08-22T05:54:00.000-05:00

Okay I'm sure this is borderline inappropriate but I thought it was awesome. Are there flowcharts for deciding what movie to watch?

Rock the Vote

2007-08-06T18:35:00.001-05:00

First of all, I'm pretty sure I've used that title before. Anyway. I saw these links on BoingBoing today and thought it was really interesting. First, this site has a chart of the presidential canidates (who knew there were so many?!) and their stance on some hot issues.

This site has used the previous chart to build an online quiz to help you determine which candidate best lines up with your opinions. It's pretty interesting and fairly accurate. The problem is that the chart doesn't account for nuances in strategy and opinion which come into play in the quiz. Nonetheless, really interesting.

My top picks (not surprisingly) were Obama and Kucinich and it's pretty clear that I will NOT be voting for Tancredo.

stacey lens is my hero

2007-08-02T15:59:00.000-05:00

she never lets me down

Confessions...A fun questionnaire

1. The phone rings. Who do you want it to be? my mom. well, anyone from home actually. i just got a vonage phone so it will be fun receiving calls from home for a change.
2. When shopping at the grocery store, do you return your cart? always
3. In a social setting, are you more of a talker or a listener? i mostly like to ask questions
4. Do you take compliments well? No. I hate being complimented.
5. Do you play Sudoku? NO! I hate it! I'm so bad at it. I've never even completed a square.
6. If abandoned alone in the wilderness, would you survive? Depends on the wilderness. I would probably be okay for a while.
7. Do you like to ride horses? I don't really know. Probably.
8. Did you ever go to camp as a kid? Yes...and I don't really like talking about it.
9. What was your favorite game as a kid? Life and then Labyrinth
10. If a sexy person was pursuing you, but you knew he/she was married, what would you do? Be really annoyed and then hit him.
12. Could you date someone with different religious beliefs than you? He would probably be creeped out by me and we would probably have different goals.
13. Do you like to pursue or be pursued? Be pursued. Totally.
14. Use three words to describe yourself? fan of fans
15. Do any songs make you cry? A couple.
16. Are you continuing your education? Why yes, yes I am.
17. Do you know how to shoot a gun? if by gun you mean super soaker, then yes, but not with much confidence.
18. If your house was on fire, what would be the first thing you grabbed? my computer
19. How often do you read books? daily
20. Do you think more about the past, present or future? mostly future...too much probably.
21. What is your favorite children’s book? Where The Wild Things Are and Next Place
22. What color are your eyes? Hazel
23. How tall are you? 5′9ish
24. Where is your dream house located? Good question. Probably Portland.
27. Have you ever taken pictures in a photo booth? Yes of course.
28. When was the last time you were at Olive Garden? Like, 7 months ago.
30. Where was the furthest place you traveled today? in 24 hours i've flown for 14 hours and been on a train for 5. I was far away yesterday.
32. Do you like mustard? Only on onion rings
34. Do you look like your mom and dad? Mostly like my dad
35. How long does it take you in the shower? like, 6 minutes.
37. What movie do you want to see right now? Ratatouille
39. What did you do for New Year’s? Um, I don't remember. Probably nothing. I hate New Year's.
40. Do you think The Grudge was scary? I didn't see it.
42. Do you own a camera phone? No.
44. Was your mom a cheerleader? No
45. What’s the last letter of your middle name? o
47. How many hours of sleep do you get a night? usually 7. I really can't sleep more than 8.
48. Do you like care bears? I used to a whole lot.
49. What do you buy at the movies? Cherry Coke and Junior Mints. Most recently it was a Black Currant Fanta. Highly recommended.
50. Do you know how to play poker? A little.
51. Do you wear your seatbelt? Not in taxis.
52. What do you wear to sleep? plaid pajama pants or Iowa basketball shorts and my Antique Acres shirt or the shirt I was wearing that day that I forgot to change out of.
53. Anything big ever happen in your hometown? Nope.
54. How many meals do you eat in a day? Usually 3 but it's too hot to eat now.
55. Is your tongue pierced? Nope.
56. Do you always read MySpace bulletins? No. I hate them so much I deleted my MySpace.
58. Do you like funny or serious people better? Funny.
59. Ever been to L.A.? No. I probably never will unless it's to visit someone. No desire.
60. Did you eat a cookie today? Um, no. I did eat a digestive biscuit though.
61. Do you use cuss words in other languages? Yes but not on purpose. Pronunciation is tricky.
62. Do you steal or pay for your music downloads? I just make requests to Alex and she sends them on over. It's the best system I've ever had.
63. Do you hate chocolate? No. I eat a lot more chocolate here than I ever have before. I'm okay with it.
64. What do you and your parents fight about the most? Not a lot. Money probably.
65. Are you a gullible person? No. But I'm trickable.
66. Do you need a boyfriend/girlfriend to be happy? Definitely not.
67. If you could have any job (assuming you have the skills) what would it be? I pretty much have it. Or taking pictures.
68. Are you easy to get along with? When I want to be.
69. What is your favorite time of day? Late afternoon.

The end.

PS - I decided to keep posting on this blog with random not North Africa stuff. I hope that's okay with you.

Long Time No See

2007-04-21T07:20:00.000-05:00

Hello.

First of all, if you're reading this, I'm really surprised at your diligence. I've started a new blog to share my African adventures with everyone and I would love for you to see it. For security reasons, this blog will only be open to invited readers. If you would like to read this blog, send me an email or comment on this blog and I'll add you to the list!

See you soon!

2007-01-10T10:21:00.000-06:00

you are invited!

2007-01-08T23:49:00.000-06:00

Hello dear blogging friends. For those of you who aren't on Facebook (why would you not be on Facebook?!), just wanted to let you know that I'll be in Iowa City for one last time this Thursday and some friends and I will be grabbing dinner at The Vine (Coralville) at 6:30 so I'd love it if you could join us! Bring anyone you would like, the more the merrier. I'd love to see as many people as possible before I leave!

See you at the Vine!

PS- let me know if you're planning on coming so I can warn The Vine!

christmas and such

2007-01-06T03:42:00.000-06:00

Remember how all I really wanted for Christmas was you...wait...I mean peace? I totally got it. I had a really nice holiday season. I felt completely okay taking a break from the craziness of leaving to just be with my family. There was no drama or stress, things just went along as they always do. It was great. Here are some pictures from my holiday season. Notice the lack of group pictures of us doing the normal Christmas things...I forgot to take pictures during the actual celebrating. Oops.

Luke got to put the angel on the tree. We got a new tree this year and it's pretty big so that will be Luke's job from now on because he's decidedly taller than the rest of us...which is still weird.

I was excited to make Christmas cookies which meant going through all of my mom and grandma's recipes to find the right Christmas ones. It was fun to see my grandma's handwriting again. It's been a long time. I found this recipe for "Angie's Dad's Favorite Brownies" which was cute. My grandma really loved my dad (and he loved her too!) which was always really nice.
I made this scarf for the Secret Santa thing at work. We had a $5 limit which is just not enough to have fun with but yarn is cheap so I made a scarf. It was for Tiffany, hence the "T". She liked it. What did I get from my Secret Santa you ask? NOTHING!! My Secret Santa sucked! I have filed a formal complaint with Starbucks, don't worry.
On Christmas Eve we go to Grandma B's (my step-dad's mom) for a Norwegian food. She makes lutefisk, which couldn't be more disgusting, but there are meatballs and lefse, which are amazing. On the wall by the door is Luke's growth chart. Other people started adding themselves, which is really rude. All of the blank ones are Luke, there are lots.

Grandma hard at work in the kitchen while we do nothing.

My aunt kept commenting on how Luke blended right into the painting he was sitting in front of. She was right.

I taught my niece how to lay under the tree to look at the lights. She thought it was a pretty fun trick. I love how she scrunches up her whole face when she smiles.

It was hard getting a picture of Carter without the Spiderman costume I let him wear all night...by all night I mean including to the movie theater and to the Burger King playland where he introduced himself to the other children as Spiderman. "Hi, my name is Spiderman"

The best part of my Christmas vacation was getting to spend tons of time with Crissa. I love that she has a job that lets her have Christmas break. She really wanted to meet Isaiah so we went over to Alisha's to see him. I had just found one of the old versions of Labyrinth at Barnes and Noble so we played it. We played this game THOUSANDS of times in junior high and high school. It was really really fun to play with the true Labyrinth masters again (No offense, Eli). Alisha won but only because she tricked us...typical. Cady (Crissa's sister) was there too but apparently not allowed to be in this picture.
We got this hat for Isaiah. We also got him a shirt that says "brrr" on it. He was really fun and completely cooperative when we needed to pretend we were 14 years old and just play Labyrinth and pretend we weren't growing up at all.

So that was basically my Christmas break. I'm glad that my memories of this time include so many good things and not things like airline luggage regulations, running out of sprinkles for the peppermint mochas or the fact that global warming killed all of the snow. I hope your Christmas included peace and joy too...oh and the Sufjan Stevens cd's...I definitely hope it included those!

sorry jo

2007-01-04T06:10:00.000-06:00

Joanna is totally right, it has been way too long since I've actually blogged. Basically I'm COMPLETELY overwhelmed. Completely. I leave in 12 days. 12. That's not enough time to do everything I need to do to be ready to go. My response to this is to just give up and admit that I just won't be completely ready. Ever. So now I have to decide what needs to be done and what doesn't, which just means more thinking. I hit a point every day where I just can't think about things any more and I have to stop. Last night I gave up and turned on Animal Planet, which worked for about an hour before thoughts like, "Can I afford to go to the dentist before I go? Can I wait and go to the dentist in Africa? Who do I call about that? Starbucks should have better dental coverage because their drinks are so bad for your teeth." I fell asleep last night wondering if the UPS Store would let me use their scale to weigh my luggage and then I woke up at 5am because apparently there was too much to think about for me to just sleep.

The good news is that I'm pretty organized. Every day has its own piece of paper which is labeled and hanging on my closet doors. My shifts at work and other appointments are on it and then there's a big (BIG) list of the things I still need to do and buy and every day I try to plug them into the days I still have left. Most of the big stuff is over. All of my medical stuff will be completely taken care of by Friday (when my TB test gets checked). Oh- good story. I went in on Tuesday for my physical and I wasn't really looking forward to it. When the doctor walked in she looked really familiar and I realized that she goes to Kaio church, this small church in Cedar Falls that I've been to a few times. We recognized each other right away and she pulled out the forms I had given the nurse that have the AIM logo on them and she said "I was SO excited to see you! You're my best patient!!" She was literally thrilled to be the one to give me my physical. It was so great. We kept getting distracted because she'd ask me a bunch of questions (GOOD questions like, "How is God using this experience in your family life?") and then she'd say, "Oh sorry, don't answer that yet, I need to listen to your lungs." It was amazing.

Okay so it's 6am and my step dad just came upstairs because he heard someone awake up here and he was downstairs not sleeping too. Pretty funny. He just looked at the map of Africa in my room and I pointed my city out to him and he said "I bet that's where I'll be in about a year." It was so cute. (My family is going to come visit me in a year when I get my vacation time). PS- I just looked it up and the current temperature in my city is 70 degrees. I can't wait to get there.

I can't wait to get there!

Okay. I'm going to go try and get some more sleep now. I'm having lunch with my step-mom and my sister-in-law today and that will require me to be well-rested at best. I do have a few pictures from Christmas so don't worry, there will be pictures soon.

like a fetter

2006-12-28T23:13:00.000-06:00

hello.

It seems as if almost everyone is taking a holiday break from blogging. I guess I have too. Most of my post-holiday time has been spent in a support raising freak out haze. I have about $300 in monthly pledges left to raise and I'm at the point where I just have to be faithful in following through and then just TRUST that it will come in. Yikes. That's hard to do. Christmas was good. pretty much completely normal. norwegian christmas eve at grandma b's, church (although it was the 11pm youth service this year...not the same), presents in the morning, breakfast with grandma, dad's side christmas, dinner at aunt sandy's. it actually seemed to be a really calm christmas this year which was just what i wanted.

My aunt jaine (my stepdad's sister) is typically pretty strange, but in really funny and interesting ways. I love talking to her because it's fun to have a conversation with her. she always has such a funny point of view. well anyway, she said she had a gift for me and she pulls out several little fabric parcels and it turns out that it's a piece of fabric with Chutes and Ladders on it and inside the fabric was a pair of dice and some plastic animals. she said that she thought it would be a good thing to take to Africa because it's a game with only numbers so it's easy to understand in any language and I can even practice my Arabic numbers by playing it. She gave me several of them to give as gifts because she knew that at the beginning of my time in Africa I would be really dependent on the hospitality of others and they could make good gifts. I was so overwhelmed. It was such a thoughtful gift. I really don't think I've ever received a gift that had more thought behind it. It was so amazing. I'll post some pictures later.

Christmas with Dad was good until I had to explain to my family AGAIN that I will be gone for TWO YEARS. My step-mom's response was, "Well then we'll have to have lunch sometime soon!" Only a little frustrating.

Got the Sufjan Stevens Christmas CD(s). Very nice. I love it when he sings worship songs.

I quit my job yesterday. My boss was mad and it stressed me out but I think I'm pretty much over it. Everyone else is really excited and that makes me even more excited.

I've gotten to see Crissa a lot and I can't think of anything better to do at Christmas time.

I think that's it.

Ok Bye.

yes, another one

2006-12-26T08:59:00.000-06:00

One. Word. Survey. You. Can. Only. Type. One. Word.

1. Yourself: procrastinating
2. Your sibling(s): brothers
3. Your mother: here
4. Your Father: quiet
5. Your favorite physical feature on others: laugh
6. Your dream home: small
7. Your best friends: away
8. Your dream last night: stressed
9. Your Favorite drink: psl
10. Your Dream Car: hybrid
11. The room you are in: guest
12. Your Ex: who
13. Your fear: staying
14. What you want to be in 10 years: overseas
15. Who you hung out with last night: cousins
16. Something you’re not: ready
17. Muffins: cranberry
18. One of Your Wish List Items: moleskine
19. Time: sparse
20. The Last Thing You Did: breakfast
21. Your Favorite Weather: Fall
22. Your Favorite Book: Thessalonians
23. The last thing you ate: cheerios
24. Your Life: starting
25. Your Mood: sleepy
26. What are you thinking about right now: resignation
27. What are you doing at the moment: survey?
28. Your summer: long
29. Your relationship status: ha
30. Who You Are Now: me
31. Who You Want to be in Five Years: still
32. What is the weather like: frosty
33. When is the last time you laughed: earlier
34. Who should fill this out: hojo

this totally makes my spirit bright

2006-12-22T20:08:00.000-06:00

JANUARY

1. Who kissed you on new years?
Ha. Hahaha.

2. Did you have a new year's resolution this year?
I doubt it. I generally avoid things like that.

3. Does it snow where you live?
APPARENTLY NOT!

4. Do you like hot chocolate?
oooh yes

5. Have you ever been to Times Square to watch the ball drop?
No, and I don't really have any desire to. New Year's is pretty dumb if you ask me.

FEBRUARY

1. Who was your Valentine?
Um...my dog?

2. When you were little, did you buy valentines for your whole class?
Uh yeah! Cool ones, like the kind you fold into paper airplanes.

3. Do you care if the groundhog sees its shadow or not?
No. The movie is much more important than the actual groundhog. Am I right or am I right or am I right...right right right.

MARCH

1. Are you Irish?
Probably not but maybe.

2. Do you wear green on St. Patty's Day?
Generally not. But I do drink green beer.

3. What did you do for St. Patty's Day in 2006?
Alex came to see me and we went to the Panther Lounge for green beer and watched the guy put drops of green food coloring in our beer and stir it up and hand it to us. It was awesome.

4. Are you happy when winter is pretty much over?
I don't really like that week or so where it's still cold and the snow is dirty and everything is wet. But I love it when it's finally warm out and you don't need a coat.

APRIL

1. Do you like the rain?
Yeah, I love it.

2. Did you play an April fool's joke on anyone?
I don't think so. I've played some good ones though. One time I pretended to drink pee on a bet and then spilled it on Dan's coat. I think that's my favorite. It was diluted apple juice.

3. Do you get tons of candy on Easter?
Not tons. Mostly just lots of chocolate eggs and lots of jelly beans. Oh and lots of those malted milk ball egg things that I hate.

4. Do you celebrate 4/20?
Ha no....I don't think I ever have.

5. Do you love the month of April?
Not particularly

MAY

1. What is your favorite flower?
hydrangeas, daisies, cherry blossoms

2. Do you like the spring?
Yeah. It's not my favorite though.

3. Finish the phrase "April showers":
bring may flowers...duh

4. What is the first color you think of when you think of Spring?
green. and yellow.

JUNE

1. What year did/will you graduate from high school?
2000

2. Did you do anything fun during this month?
I hung out with Alisha a lot- we did lots of fun stuff.

JULY

1. What did you do on the Fourth of July?
Hmmm. I don't really remember. I know that Andrea and Alisha and I went to the fireworks but I think that's it.

2. Did you go on any vacations during this month?
We left for Alaska at the end of July!

3. Do you blast the A/C all day?
Not if it's up to me. I'd much rather be a little too hot and have the windows open.

AUGUST

1. Did you do anything special at the end of your summer?
Alaska! That was definitely special.

2. What was your favorite summer memory of '06?
Lots of animals in Alaska, getting ready for Alisha's baby, lots of time with my niece and nephew.

3. Did you have a sunburn?
Yeah! Kelly, Andrea, Alisha and I spent all day at the lake and I definitely got a sunburn that day. I think that was in June though...maybe July.

4. Do you go to the beach a lot?
No. I don't really care about the beach. I love the ocean though!

SEPTEMBER

1. Did you attend school/college in '06?
Nope!

2. Who is your favorite teacher?
This guy John is a history professor at UNI and I like it when he comes to Starbucks...does that count?

3. Do you like fall better than summer?
Yes! I LOVE fall.

OCTOBER

1. What was your favorite Halloween costume?
My brother was "dead Ashton Kutcher" which was hilarious.

2. What is your favorite candy?
I think peanut m&m's

3.What did you dress up as this year?
I bought a wig to wear to work but I didn't end up wearing it.

NOVEMBER

1. Whose house do you go to for Thanksgiving?
Everyone comes to our house. This year I worked.

2. Do you love stuffing?
Yeah! I love putting it in lefse and rolling it up.

3. What are you thankful for?
The "givers" of the world. I'm so so so thankful for them.

DECEMBER

1. Do you celebrate Christmas?
Yes!

2. What is December 1st, 2006?
Jeff Goodenbour's 25th birthday. (There are like 5 people from elementary school whose birthdays I remember and his is always one of them...I hope he doesn't google himself and get creeped out by that)

3. Have you ever been kissed under mistletoe?
My step-mom always hung mistletoe in a doorway and my brothers would chase me and pretend they had to kiss me but I don't think they ever caught me. Then there was mistletoe in Dan and Aaron's room (and a duct tape circle on the floor defining the "danger zone") but I don't know if I got caught. Obviously if I did it wasn't a very memorable kissing experience...

4. Get anything special last year?
My Ipod!

5. What do you want this year?
Monthly supporters! I would just really like a nice relaxed Christmas with my family without pressure or stress. There's a list of things that I need to take to Africa but I'm sure I'll probably just get a bunch of stuff that will sit in my room for 2 years.

6. Do you like cold weather?
If there's snow...

ok fine, no nap

2006-12-22T18:11:00.000-06:00

I would rather be napping but apparently my mom would rather be vacuuming...so I'll blog.

Here's the rest of my superfuntime weekend. Alex was in town and I was assigned to Alex entertainment duty for Monday morning. The first order of business was to go to the post office to mail some stuff. Kinsey had no idea there was a post office downtown and was pretty upset that she had been walking to the one across from the courthouse all these years. Alex and I thought it was pretty funny and made fun of her all morning. Her response was always, "Are you sure it's been there that whole time? I'm SO MAD!"

We did some shopping, I found these cool pencils made from rolled up Chinese newspapers:Then...(drumroll)....BALDY'S!! My fav-o-rite.

mmm

the only place where i get the same thing every time
(chicken and jack!)i would also like to take a moment to point out that this is kinsey's first cameo in my blog. apparently she's been a secret reader for some time now. i like talking to her about her wedding and she's not too cool to hang out with you. that's all you really need to know about kinsey. (jk)then kinsey went home and we went to the q bar for some afternoon pool. Alex and I used to play pool and have a pitcher of miller lite every wednesday before bible study.

then alex left and i went hoa #1 for some milky tea and was pleased to see that abbie kampman was working. it was so fun talking to her. she's so great. then deedee called and i got to see her and kari and then deedee and i went and got betsy for dinner at quinton's, another favorite.

deedeebetsy

(aparently i only take pictures of people drinking?)

So there it is, yet another successful trip to Iowa City. Perhaps my last for a long long time. Weird.

beautiful

2006-12-21T23:44:00.000-06:00

the most wonderful time

2006-12-21T21:18:00.000-06:00

i had an amazing weekend. cate and i have been wanting to hang out to do some holiday baking and finally figured out a day that worked so i headed to west liberty on saturday afternoon to get that done. it was so fun. we made lots and lots of goodies and watched lots and lots of satc episodes from the last season that cate had never seen. it was perfect.

sugar cookies

toffee bars with hershey's bars melting on top.
super fun way to put chocolate on something.
rice crispies for scotcheroos
cate was listening for them to snap (crackle or pop) and then one did really loudly and we had to retake this picture after we were done cracking up.food coloring is funfrosting! we were done being creative after cookie #5

i decided that my favorite thing to do when i stay over at my married friends' houses is to put my toothbrush in their toothbrush holders.

and to add to their holiday decor

(that's my sock)so yeah, fun stuff. part two of the weekend is coming up next and it was pretty much just as fun. good times.

2006-12-17T19:27:00.000-06:00

I got a fortune cookie today that said:

"You will receive unexpected support over the next week. Accept it graciously."

Pretty great.

is it really too much to ask?!

2006-12-11T22:42:00.000-06:00

all i want is to be able to crochet and read at the same time.

and it's raining. can you imagine how great it would be to crochet AND read while it's raining outside?! with christmas lights? come on!

some things just must be too good for our earthly hearts to contain.

although i did just get TWO emails from Kate. that'll have to do.

stop hurting america

2006-12-10T08:29:00.000-06:00

I heard a comment on NPR about Jon Stewart's appearance on CNN's Crossfire and I finally remembered to look it up. I know that it's old and I know that everyone has seen it but me but it's so good. And sadly, still relevant. If you have 14 minutes of your life to spare I definitely recommend checking it out. Even if you don't have 14 minutes, just watch from minute 2:50 and stop when you get bored. I'll be the first to admit that the Daily Show swings way to the left but I really appreciate and respect that Mr. Stewart addresses that the last thing we need is partisanship. I'm guilty of it too and I'm quick to judge based on political affiliation so it's good to hear an intelligent and respected celebrity call for members of the media to stop the noise.

Here are a couple of my favorite lines:

-How does it pay?
-Not well, but you can sleep at night.

-...and maybe this explains quite a bit, that the news organizations look to Comedy Central for their cues on integrity.

-This is theater...how old are you?
-35
-and you wear a bow tie...and listen, I'm not suggesting that you're not a smart guy because those are not easy to tie...but the thing is that you're doing theater when you should be doing debate. It's not honest. What you do is not honest. What you do is partisan hackery.

-You're on CNN...the show that leads up to me is puppets making prank phone calls...what is wrong with you?!

-You have responsibility to the public discourse
-You need to get a job at a journalism school I think
-You need to go to one

It's almost painful to listen to these men try desperately to get a word in edgewise and try to get back to what they thought this interview would be like. They just don't know what to do when getting faced with the tough questions they accuse him of not asking.

I haven't seen a clip of Jon Stewart that made me respect him this much since the video seen here, which was hard to find a copy of.

2006-12-10T02:36:00.000-06:00

that's a lot of wonder

2006-12-10T00:57:00.000-06:00

Fark had a link to a site listing the 7 wonders of each state. It's pretty funny to scan through them. i must admit i hadn't even heard of half of the Iowa ones. All of the Illinois ones are not only in Chicago, but within a one mile radius of one another if that, which is weird. Oh and also, one of the Nebraska ones is in South Dakota. Pretty funny. Check out the wonders of your favorite state!