Allow me to explain myself

I have a tat...jk

It makes no sense because it comes from no where, but in my mind it works just fine.  

The summer before leaving for college my best friend Cara and I were getting ready to leave for school.  She was going to be at the University of Oregon, and I was going to be at SMU.  We were nostalgic about all of our time together in high school, and were nervous not to have each other to rely on.  It is so much easier to have good friends than to go it alone.  Always having someone to back you up, or to cry to on the phone.  

Well Cara and I both got computers as our graduation gift, and sat on my back porch the night before I left for Texas.  We were curled up in blankets in the chilly Seattle evening with our laptops laughing hysterically.  We came up with the idea of making a screen name that we wouldn't give to anyone else, like a secret code that we needed to talk.  Half in tears, half laughing hysterically we came up with these names.  Hers was, youreacowjk, and mine ihaveatatjk.  Sure it doesn't really mean much to anyone else.  But to me it means sitting on the back porch with my best friend laughing, and ensuring that no matter what we were never too far apart.   

Word Association

okay lets play....

Socks...cat

Fish...jews

t-shirts...bagels

class...pass

Lamps...fart

make-up...balls

hazlenuts....sour

This is just a little trip inside of the mind of my friend Kelly Caldwell when we were up at three a.m. studying.  Funny things happen when you deprive yourself of sleep and pump yourself full of caffeine.  Are these thoughts buried in our minds all the time and they bubble out when we are too tired to filter.  Kelly says...I don't know probs.

styrofoam...asbestos

envelopes....stamps

secrets....giggle...sex

post...what?

drugs...mmmmm

ears....nibble

pens....tan

tattoos....ew

favorite....me?

cards....tard

gold...mold

tree....flowers

boats...t-pain

boys....yum

guitar....string

hats...warmth

spiders...ahhh!

grey....why?

nice....fake

vitamins....useless

publish....crush

rude....knee cap

apples....travel

gummy bears....haribo

ankles....cankles

water....love

bottle....baby

font....scary

elephants....loud

Julie and Julia

I followed the blog, I read the book, I saw it in theaters.

Now it's coming out on video. I swear these are happy tears!

There are certain people who touch the entire world with their charm. That have a magnetism that is undeniable. Julia Child was one of those people.

The movie Julie and Julia while it received moderate reviews from critics, left me in movie after glow for days. I felt I had found a kindred spirit, in a woman I had been watching on TV since my childhood was finally brought to me in a whole new light. I felt I could understand her. She was vulnerable, and yet so strong in her convictions.

She is an inspiration to all people who know exactly what they want for themselves but are too afraid to do it, in her words, "Find something you're passionate about and keep tremendously interested in it."

She was graceful, charming, poetic, and fearless. I would feel lucky to be like her.

Bon Appetit!

Sweet tea gone sour.

So there I am sitting at my little table drinking copious amounts of sweet tea to keep my up through the night writing my fifteen page paper, that I swear I had no other time to do other than the night before.

Its five a.m. and I'm feeling relatively good. I have 12 pages done and four hours to write the last three. I get up and talk to some of my friends that are leaving for the daily update, and tell them how optimistic I'm feeling. "Once I conclude and cite all my sources I'll be good!" I say.

Then it happened.

I sat back down to my computer and while reading my paper closely reach for my sweet tea and then. I can hardly say it. I dropped my cup onto my laptop.

curses

tears

yelling

hyperventilating

I propped that baby upside down on the couch and paper toweled it off as much as possible. I grabbed my hair dryer and pointed it into the keys. Then I prayed, then I slept next to it on the couch for two hours, staring blankly at that little piece of technology that means so much to me and to my future.

I thought to myself that at the end of the day no one will ask you about what you went through during school. No one will know that you worked diligently for hours on you paper just to see it sucked into cyber space in a flash. We are so reliant on technology, and yet technology has no regard for anything that goes on in our lives.

I am doing my best to abide by this wise saying...

Things that will surely ruin a good portrait shoot

There are some spoilers for portrait photography, that can make capturing the right 'moment' near impossible.  In this instance there were a lot of things that could have gone better, but these shots were definitely some of the worst.  

Antsy pets.  I assure you they don't understand why you are making them sit still for that picture.

Mothers who dress their children in short sleeve shirts just so that they match

Fighting siblings...that was not a nice hug.

40 degree weather

Too much sun

Annoying shadows

All in all sometimes the best pic is the one you just snap on the way back to the car, when you look down at the little girl, and say, "Hey pretty girl!"

Murray Street Coffee shop, the hunt continues

Despite the warnings from overly cautious friends not to go to Deep Ellum, I ventured out of our SMU brick bubble recently to check out Murray Street Coffee shop.  

I felt like I had stepped into Capitol Hill in Seattle.  Allow me to explain.  Good quality espresso+funky staff+cool art+interesting architecture+different music=Seattle.  Murray Street coffee shop is definitely all of that with a cool mix of people too.  There were moms, and business men, artists, and hippie/hipsters, all in one place!  Besides that the coffee was delicious, and they have lunch items, AND they serve booze.  Sounds like a perfect place to post up for studying starting with coffee and capping off with a cold beer. It was a great find I will definitely be going back.

I am left with this thought, what is it about certain places that attract chains, and other thats attract independent restaurants?  Dallas!  Why is it that you feel that chains are a sign of success??  Bigger is not always better!  Maybe I am a Seattle girl at heart, because when I start my restaurant there will be one and only one, and any improvements will be only to the original.

Best Idea Ever!

A: Omg everyone listen I have the best Idea ever! Okay so its the end of the semester, and we have been testing these students all year but lets just make sure that they know everything.

B: Everything??

A: Yes, everything if I said it the first week of class I want them to know it now three months later.  And I want this to be the largest portion of their grade.

B: But haven't you already tested them on all that?

A: Yes, but we need to make sure they know it all!  All of it!

B: Well should all of the teachers do this?

A: Yes!  And lets make them take all of the tests at the same time.  

B: But won't the students get tired and sick?

A: ...maybe, but if they do lets make it ruin their grade for the entire semester, and not let them make this up when they feel better.

B: But where will they study.  

A: In the library of course!  They will all gather together and study. 

B: Is it a good idea to put all of those slightly ill, extremely tired, and stressed out students all together? 

A: I don't know but lets do it anyway!