wicked

The other day Ang, Cath and I won six $25 third-row tickets to see "Wicked." I loved it. I've heard all of my friends talking about it for a long time and I've been wondering what all the fuss is about. Well, now I know! I loved it! I thought the whole thing was super clever/witty and inspiring, too. We sure are lucky!

mayday, bad day gone good

Since apparently no one cares about me and my awesome boyfriend....(WHERE ARE THE COMMENTS, Y'ALL?) I thought I'd instead post about...

4 Things to make any girl's no-good-terrible day turn peachy:

1. Wailin Jennys. My sister Catherine converted me to this band and now I'm addicted. Forever changed, never to go back. I will now refer to my life/self as "Pre-WJ" and "Post-WJ." I just feel good when I listen to them. It also reminds me of singing with my sisters, although I'll be the first to admit that we don't sound nearly as good as WJ (no offense, sisters). So next time you feel like wailin, save yourself the energy and just let the Jennys do it. Seriously.

2. Hot rollers. If you're feeling like you're lacking some bounce in your step, why not add some flounce to your hair? After thinking about buying hot rollers for the past six months, I finally decided to buy some at, you guessed it, The Target. I love them. And they are so easy. Spend 10 minutes putting them in your hair, gawk at how funny you look in the mirror (hello, 50's), go about your other business, and 5 minutes later, BAM. Hair.


3. Sweat. You all know how much I believe in the power of exercise. It is a huge stress-reliever for me. Sometimes I even envision each of those drops of sweat carrying some other care or concern in it. And there is just something empowering in it. Something about taking control of yourself and situation. Doing something hard. Choosing to build yourself because of your problems (and muscles while you're at it) vs. choosing to remain passive.

4. Freebies. It's May, and I've decided to take control of this birthday (month) and make it the best ever. Because last year was crapball, and I'm pretty sure the year before was, too. And I will not have another lame birthday, mark my words. So I've started off this birthday month by researching all of the free things I can get (inspired by Boyfriend, who is Mr. Masterfrugal). I'm already getting a free mega-huge burrito from Moe's and some ColdStone. YES!

Bookworm Beginnings

Binge-reader. That's what I am. Unless I have a good block of time to commit to reading and getting into a book, I usually have a hard time starting it. Well, now that I'm graduated from college, I have started to remember how enjoyable it is to read a book for fun. Below is a list of books I want to read (recommendations from various sources/friends):

• The Poisonwood Bible
• Les Miserables
• Unbroken
• Scarlet Pimpernel
• Escape from the Deep
• The Hiding Place
• In Defense of Food
• Three Cups of Tea
• The Book Thief
• A Thousand Splendid Suns
• Lord of the Rings triology
• Ender's Game
• Tale of Two Cities
• Harry Potter 4, 5, 6, 7
• The Count of Monte Cristo

Feel free to add to the list. And if you have any extra time, let me know. I need some. :)

The Creepy List

5 Things that I find creepy and why I think they are so creepy:

1. Mascots and other human-sized things that have a fixed expression. This will probably offend some people but I'm going to say it anyway...I really don't like Disneyworld. Eek. I feel sheepish. I think I just offended all the children in the world. But to be honest, I don't know why they aren't already scared of that Minnie Mouse that is 10 x their size. And don't even get me started on Cosmo.

No one is happy like this^ all the time. That's just creepy.

2. Peeps and anything peep-related:
First of all, what are they? What are they even made of? I'm pretty sure they are made of chemicals and sugar. And that is not food, therefore, should not be consumed. I would consider myself more in favor of using these unidentifiable objects for purposes other than food. Until I saw this bouquet:

I honestly can not think of anything creepier than having that greet me when I come home from work. Why? Why? WHY?

3. Clowns. I just googled "creepy clowns" so I could add a picture to this entry but guess what? They were all too creepy to put on my blog. Case. In. Point.

4. Anything and everything when in mass amounts. My sister Angela articulated this beautifully in this blog post. But seriously. Think of something you absolutely love. Ice cream? Think of 1,545,439,675,349 lbs of it. Love it still? No way. What about kittens, you say? They are sooo cute! But I think we'd all agree that those old cat ladies who have 3,000 cats in their houses have taken something cute to the level of creepy.

5. Any and all food that you can buy at the dollar store. Let's be honest. How long has it been sitting there? Where does that food even come from? What kind of animals are growing in it? And how is it only a dollar? (*ALERT: the creepiness factor of peeps increases exponentionally when they are found in the dollar store*)

in the gap between the two trapeze

Ok so maybe I felt left out and wanted to put an obscure song lyric reference as my post title. Do you think I'm cooler now? Or at least more Emo?

No, for real though...Coldplay is one of my favorite bands. You probably didn't know that. Not many people do. But I have recently found particular solace in their new album, Mylo Xyloto. I might even go so far as to say they are among the most talented musicians of our time. Gasp. Big statement. Big band.

One of their songs includes the line "maybe I'm in the gap between the two trapeze." Every time I hear it, I have this crazy visual of me in a neon pink leotard with green tights (don't ask), suspended in mid air between one trapeze (undergrad) and with the next trapeze (whatever lies in my future) in sight. At first I'm still. Uncomfortably still. Too still. But then I get used to it and start to enjoy the view up there. Too late. That next trapeze is coming. And it is freeeeeeakin me out.

Have you ever heard the expression, "When it rains, it pours?" We had a thunderstorm last night. A big one. Lately, I've been having big ones, too...and it seems I'm on the brink of doing something crazy. Who knows what. But it's going to be crazy.

$418.

Four hundred and eighteen dollars.

That is the equivalent of:

• 2 cheap road bikes
• 119.4 boxes of Girl Scout cookies
• 1 Canon powershot camera (on sale)
• 103.2 TCBY parfaits
• 928.8 Forever stamps
• 1,548 Otis Spunkmeyer cookies (Bank temptation delectables) (Not really a temptation anymore) 
• 11.9 Duke t-shirts
• 38 hours of work at the bank
• 49.17 hours of work at the gym
• 8.36 road trips to Moab
• 4 months of health insurance through Blue Cross Blue Shield (roughly)
• 4.5 tigers saved in Siberia 

OR . . .

• 1 blasting speeding ticket in Hillsborough, NC

Yes, it's true. I made a big mistake on my car ride home from playing volleyball in Chapel Hill and accidentally was caught speeding. Sure, I was going 80 in a 65. Sure, I shouldn't have been doing that. And yeah, I know, mercy can not rob justice! But hey, this is my FIRST TICKET. The cop was hiding at the bottom of a hill in a speed trap, there were no other cars around me, and I was penitent. I don't normally go that fast, I just wasn't thinking. 

I agree in a penalty. I made a mistake, so punish me. 

But don't you think that $218 for a ticket, plus 4 insurance points on my record, accruing up to 1000+ dollars over the span of 3 years is a bit much? 

In order to avoid those exorbitant costs, I instead am paying a lawyer $418 to lie and argue for an "Improper Equipment" case. A little weird? I thought so, too. According to my understanding, I thought I was paying them to get my fee lowered to 10 over because I haven't had a ticket before, and supposedly that happens often. I just found out that "I am a perfect candidate for an Improper equipment case." Whatever that means.

Does anyone agree with me that there is something corrupt about this system? 

And where are my 103.2 TCBY parfaits?   

Why I love Relief Society

Shout-out to all my female friends in NC:

These girls have been my saving grace a lot of times. Camilla, Kristi, Izzy, Sariah, & Naiomi have helped counseled me in freak-out moments, made me laugh, fed me countless Sunday dinners, taught me how to dance to "All the Single Ladies" while playing volleyball, built me up, and most all just been my friend. Love them!

 Camilla is my running buddy and I have enjoyed and appreciated these therapeutic runs a ton. She's hilarious and hard core. Forgive the corny gooney pose in the pic above. After nine miles, things get a little delirious, ok??

 More of Sariah & Naiomi during the celebration of Naiomi's 27th sassy birthday. Love her.

Rachel has also been a great friend & strength to me. It's amazing how much inviting someone over to dinner can do for them. We first became friends because she invited me over for dinner months ago. I thought that was the kindest gesture because I didn't know her at the time very well. She is a great example of strength and testimony during times of extreme hardship. I'm grateful for her!

This is Sarah. We have been friends "since the womb," and probably before that, too. Although I don't get to see her as often as I'd like, I'm so grateful for our friendship. She is an example of being happy amidst difficult trials, sacrificing for her family, and also just having a crazy sense of humor.