I just wanted to spaz out for a second and say how much I love having Steven back in town again. I missed him so much. I hate when he's gone.

I'm getting very excited for our future. There have been some possible new developments there, but I don't want to get my hopes up by making them "blog official."

So pretty much, I'm head over heels in love (but you all knew that already).

I finally figured out something to do for Steven. It is something incredibly meaningful to me because it is something I'm usually terrified of attempting: I'm writing him a sonnet. The original declaration of sentiment, the fusion of form and feeling, why didn't I see it sooner?

I'm using the Shakespearean sonnet form because I find it far less complicated then the Petrarchan sonnet (the Italian form). I haven't written a sonnet in 4 years, the last time being when I had to do it for a school competition. I did win 2nd place, but it was the hardest assignment I ever did. However, it is proving much easier then my novice days of English study. I've read a great deal more poetry now, 4 years more.

I stayed up until 3 am and I got 2 stanzas and the couplet done.

1 more stanza to go and then I'm going to edit and most likely rework the whole thing.

Wills, Keats, Byron, Elizabeth and Robert, Shelley, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Yeats, Austen, Dickinson, Poe, help a sister out!

To Do:

Things I need to accomplish tomorrow or at least by Monday night:

1. Finish cleaning my apartment, particularly my room cause it is a hot mess
   
2. Take things to the goodwill. I've got loads of stuff since I cleaned out my closet today.
   
3. Finish Ren. Lit. reading
4. Finish Robinson Crusoe
5. Technical Editing D&A's
6. Get something together for my anniversary with Steven... seriously, worst GF ever! I have this horrible feeling that our big day is going to go by without the pomp it deserves...
   

Java Java Joe

I got that coffee I was raving about (Starbucks Home Blend, Medium, Latin American). It is my new favorite obsession.

That cup is not an optical illusion. It really is that big. Au Lait cup, Red, Pier 1, $4.

Basically, this picture cracks me up so I had to pass a giggle along.

Heaven:

Starbucks' Reduced Fat Blueberry Coffee Cake is amazing! So moist and delicate it crumbles in your mouth. If you are looking for a baked treat you need to try a piece--or two.

I get mine with a grande, iced, soy, caramel macchiato, with sugar-free vanilla and that tops it off nicely!

I highly recommend the whole package. If you have enough time to take a book with you well, in my opinion that constitutes a day very well spent.

If you don't want to go to Starbucks, then making some blueberry muffins and brewing up a pot of java is just as fabulous. I recommend Starbucks' house blend, medium, in the Latin American style. We have it at work and I'm highly addicted to it.

Oh yums.

We had our first rainy day here at school. How I love them! However, Blacksburg isn't known for its consistent weather. Tomorrow, it might very well snow.

I was able to break out my sweatshirt for the first time this year. I've had some good times in this sweatshirt. Every study session, every solo illness, every cold fall day I've been wrapped in its warmth. After all, what is the college experience without your favorite logo-wear?

Tonight I had a full night of homework. Ew. That's the life I chose, so I need to stick it out. 78 pages of Robinson Crusoe, a reading journal for what I read, introduction to my Children's Lit book, and I started on 45 pages of reading for Technical Editing. I so should have gone into Professional Writing (kicking myself HARD for being so dumb and academic in my "youth") but I would be darn good at being an editor once I beef up on my grammar. I think editing is what I want to do when it is all said and done and I've paid 40,000 for a piece of paper that doesn't even come framed.

Steven and I went to dinner at this Mexican place we frequent quite often. It wasn't as great as I remembered. I also had a serious craving for ice cream. So I blatantly ate it without the aid of dairy pills. I'm paying for it now twice with Mexican and with dairy. After dinner, Steven came over and we did homework. It was oddly...amazing! We even curled up in bed, each with an assignment and the reading light on. It made me smile.

I've got loads to do this weekend. Steven is going out of town, so I think that will give me a great opportunity to get ahead in some of my reading... I mean my English Novel class... is seriously going to kill me. The History of Tom Jones alone is 896 pages! That's just one of 8 books and about 20 pages worth of papers in that particular class.

This is Amanda freaking out.

So if my blogging is not as prolific in the next few months, I beg your forgiveness in advance because I'm just trying to keep my head above the intellectual waters.

First Class

(I used to read this as a kid on the night before school)

My first class, Renaissance Lit, seemed relatively painless. Two 4 page papers, essay midterm, essay final; the basic English class. However, it was located in room 109 Shanks. It might as well have been in room 101 in 1984, since that is the room that I had Shakespeare in. Shakespeare, who is part of the "Renaissance Literature" cannon and is also the worst class I have ever taken, with the worst teacher I have ever had.

Irony, you are a cruel mistress.

Maybe it is the universe's way of telling me to get back on that proverbial horse. Don't let one class slow me down, don't let one teacher convince me I'm a plague to the English degree.

If I don't like Chaucer or Technical Editing then I'm going to stay in the class, but I'm not holding my breath for that one. If I don't keep it in my schedule, I at least have the knowledge I attended one class of Renaissance lit and tackled my hatred of Shakespeare. I don't think my colors showed too much when his name was mentioned.

We Never Had Lawn Flamingos

So sorry I disappeared for a few days! Steven got back in to town early. Long story short he came home early and that may or may not have had to do with a little misunderstanding and a slight temper tantrum on my end. Ok, long story: I missed him like I would miss air if I stopped breathing, he wasn't going to come home until the day before school started, and I wanted to have some nice relaxing time with him before my life goes to hell when I start school again and I basically just blew up with rage at some stuff. Either way he got back on Friday. Steven also got his first tattoo and I originally was not thrilled about it, but it is growing on me.

Our weekend was off to a rough start but I'm sort of glad for it. We got out some issues and that was great. I have missed him. Him being gone was like a giant piece of myself was gone and I just couldn't find it. It was like trying to find a missing item and looking everywhere you thought you'd placed it, going to all the old familiar places and realizing it isn't anywhere.

I missed all of him, every single bit. Being away from him for a little bit, even though we're in the same town again, is torture! Right now: I miss him and he was just here. I miss having him sleep in the same room with me the most. That's something I got very used to for the brief period I stayed with him last school year due to problems in my apartment. I got used to hearing him doze off and then seeing him when I woke up. This weekend he stayed with me at my apartment. We slept holding hands and I couldn't stop hugging him. I think I could have smothered him with all my affection. Every time I woke up I'd mumble: "I could do this forever" and "I love you." Both are truths.

On the more hilarious side: I also mumbled to him once that "We never had lawn flamingos" and also tried to offer him our latest harvest candle scents at Pier 1. Oh my... but he took it all in stride saying: "Pink? No way, we can spray paint them white though." This is why I love him.

Fast Breaking News: Amanda has her last first day of school tomorrow. First class: Renaissance Lit (totally already thinking of dropping for Chaucer) at 9:30 am.

Baby Stuffs

I have already had a very productive morning since I have been up since before 7am. I woke up today very excited for Steven to get home and I had a great urge to shop for little "Peanut."

Apparently our goodwill doesn't carry baby stuff so I went to Target first (nothing else was open at 8am) and then to a fabulous second hand store called Once Upon A Child. I got some cuteness and passed up a lot of stuff. I'll go back and get that fun stuff later like pacifiers, diapers, diaper cream, sippy cups, you know, most of the stuff that no one thinks to get but that she will really need. Target also had a really great first-aid kit for a baby with the nose snot sucker, nail clippers, thermometer, medicine applicator and other important things to have for $9.99.This is all the stuff I got and I'm super excited about it! I got her a few onesies, the staple of the baby wardrobe. I tried to get some varying sizes so that she has stuff once the baby starts growing. I also got her a yellow sleeper with a duck on it. Did I mention that I love yellow and ducks for babies? Oh and green and blue and turtles.
This is a little onesie that is for 0-3 months and it says first giggle. Cuteness. It was also a dollar at the second hand baby store.
Amy had mentioned that she saw a onesie at Goodies that said "I Love Mommy" and loved it but didn't get it. I found one on clearance at Target for $2 something.
I also got her a blanket that I had to pay full price for but worth it($3.99)... it is green, Ames' favorite color, and what I would consider a gender neutral. I had to get her something polkadotted! The dots are kind of my thing, you know. Plus it has blue and pink dots on it so when the baby arrives and if she feels like dressing it in the "classic" color schemes it will match. She is due in January so I was trying to get her warm smaller sizes to keep the baby warm.

It was so hard not to buy her something amazingly frilly and girlie. Very very difficult cause I do love those bows and frills and pinks and purples and fabulous cuts (and I'm a bit partial to wanting a girl one day). But can I rant for a minute? Apparently the gender neutral colors are put in the boy section because apparently anything with a bow is for a girl... There was no section for "both" it was either boy or girl. Makes it hard to buy for a person who has decided to be surprised or for people who don't want to implant gender stereotypes at an early age. I mean I know people get confused about the babies gender if it isn't dressed in blue or pink (they're all bald and tiny), but does it really matter? If it does you can just ask and if you find that rude you can just keep your mouth shut.

As Seuss said: "A person is a person no matter how small."

Ugh. If You're Coming My Way: Bring French Fries.

I really hope a stomach bug isn't going around. I have no desire to be ill, but every time I eat something I feel the very strong urge to throw up. I hate throwing up above all things and I can keep it in unless it is virally induced. Really , I've developed it as an art form.

I feel like I want to throw up when I don't eat, but the urge is way less so I have had no appetite. All I've eaten in the past day and a half (plus) has been 2 breakfast bars and 2 things of fast food fries. The breakfast bars upset my tummy, but ironically the fries do not. Maybe that is because potatoes have always been my sick food of choice.

The tummy issues need to go away because Steven is coming back today! He wasn't supposed to come back until Sunday but we had a...well I dunno what to call it. I wouldn't exactly call it a fight, but some issues came up and as always my temper ran away with me. I always get so fixated when I'm mad and I don't get hostile when I'm mad I just cry: a lot. Always have. And I tend not to fight fair (ok I can be a down right shit), although I have learned I shouldn't say anything good or bad until I have calmed down. It took almost losing my best friend since the second grade to learn that. You live, you learn, right?

Anyroad, he is coming back and that is all I care about right now. I've just wanted him home for months. It is all I've thought about every second of every day and now he's coming home. I'm so excited about it I was up at 6:45 am. Who wakes up that early just because? A girl who has seriously missed her best friend and love. And a girl who needs to clean her apartment, laughs.

He shouldn't get back until the late afternoon so I've got loads of time to kill. I think that I'll go out and get more french fries (gross I know, but they satiate me) and then I want to go get Amy some baby clothes at the good will. You may say... goodwill? But babies grow so quickly some of those clothes have only been worn twice or never. Ames doesn't have hardly anything for her baby yet and I'm so excited to meet "Peanut" that's what we've nicknamed them since Amy doesn't want to know the gender.

And can I rant for a second? I think blue is a completely acceptable color for both genders. Blue and pink weren't even established as set gender colors until the 1940's. Until that time pinks and red were actually considered masculine. I learned that in my history of costume class this summer. It made me a little mad because I have always loved blue and gotten crap for it. 3 years old: "What color do you want to paint your new room, Amanda?" "BLUE!" So... if some of the things I get for the baby happen to be blue I'm going to pull a Hermione and tell the facts about "gender colors." Don't get me started on how boys wore dresses either...and from a practical standpoint it makes sense. Onesies are a complete pain to button over diapers and then put pants over. Dresses are simple. Anyways, rant finished...

Amanda trivia: Yellow is my absolute favorite baby color.

This morning I woke up to a lot of crashing and thrashing around. I looked over and on my dresser Oliver had his head stuck in a tissue box.

I was very amused.

I think I need to stay in bed today. I really don't feel that swell. Ugh.

The Lovie Dovies Are Hard Stuff

I'm having a very difficult time trying to get something together for my anniversary with Steven. We have both done a lot of over the top things for each other in the past year. So I want something that is going to top all that, and something that means something.

Honestly, how do you sum up the best year of your life in a gift? I already gave him the most important thing: my heart.

I'm pretty crafty so I went to Michaels hoping to find something I could make him. I spent an hour in there with no tangible results. I had lots of ideas but they all seemed pretty lame. I liked one of them but I'm still not sure about it...

I don't really want to get him something big. We're both living pretty downsized to prepare for our move cross country. So if he has to move it I don't want to get it for him. I also don't want to spend too much either. I spent a lot on him for his birthday in July.

At least, I went to Hallmark and got him a card. I didn't cry too much.

I've got 2 weeks to make it work.

Make it work, people! Make it Work!

EXCITED FACE!

SO! Today at my staff meeting I found out that one of my good friends/coworkers, Ames, is 4.5 Months PREGNANT! She didn't tell us earlier just in case she miscarried. Wanted to make sure the kiddo was sticking around.

I think I was definitely the most excited by her announcement. I jumped and clapped and boy oh boy I'm excited for her! Such a surprise. She kept her relationship with her boyfriend secret for 7 months! I know that seems weird, but her last relationship ended horribly and I completely understand that she didn't want to jink this one. He's really excited about the pregnancy and he's good to her. And that's all that I can ask.

But yeah: baby! I love little babies and I'm so happy for her. I've been spazzing out about it all day.

Best of all: Ruth (my manager) offered me Amy's Assistant Manager position when she goes on maternity leave in December or January and I, of course, accepted.

The Bell Jar

I have had The Bell Jar since my senior year of high school. I got it in a book swap my English teacher, Mrs. Baldwin, did for Christmas. I have her original copy of The Bell Jar dating back to the days when she still signed with her maiden name. She was my favorite teacher so it means a lot to me to have something so personal of hers. I figured it was about time to actually sit down and read it. After all, Missy has always had great taste in literature.

The Bell Jar is the tortured autobiographical tale of Sylvia Plath's bout with insanity. While the main character, Esther, is on a quest to retain her sanity I would also argue she is on a quest to find herself. In many ways The Bell Jar is a coming of age tale...with a twist of course. Most coming of age tales don't have suicide as a prominent theme.

I related to a lot of Esther's stresses: college, boys, losing your passion for literature, women vs. a world that isn't built for them. However, I don't think I'll be taking it as horribly as she did.

Thankfully, Plath makes some sense out of insanity. The reader can follow Esther's thought process. You can't say the same thing about authors such as Faulkner who make insanity into a blurb of jumbled words with no punctuation or structure. With Esther you can understand and empathize with her condition.

And I wondered, was she really mad? Or was it her world that created insane women?

Twilight

Ok, at first I was skeptical about this series. It is for young adults and is supposed to be some grand romance... and I was thinking "really, how grand can it be?" However, as an English major it is my duty to read the boring classics as well as keep up with the reading trends. That, and trendy books keep me sane. I get to escape into a world where symbolism, allusions, syntax, etc., don't matter.

Granted it was a tad predictable for me, and Stephanie Meyer's take on what a vampire is was interesting (weird twists like actually being able to be in the sun), and I loved all the characters. The vampire family is amazing; broken yet hopeful.

Even with all the predictability and the cliches about vampires, I'll be damned if I didn't sit on my loveseat giggling audibly and blushing like a school girl! I'm serious! It was BAD! Steven was a witness. When we got on skype to video chat I seriously had to take some calming breaths ad try to calm myself down. It didn't work. I just kept giggling and blushing and had to explain a gorgeous fictional vampire to my boyfriend.

So this book confirmed what I knew all along:

1. My childhood phobia of vampires was completely stupid and I wasted a lot of time when I could have been drowning in the genre.
   
2. If I ever met a vampire it would be completely possible for me to be seduced by one. I mean how can a girl possibly resist the chiseled body, piercing eyes, super strength, super speed, gracefulness, and above all their dazzling seduction moves and there little skill of you know....controlling you a little... and not to mention all the danger and mystery involved, oh and how they're always smart, witty, and have some historic charm to them...
   

I mean really, how can a girl resist?

She can't, so bottom line: Read This.

17 Days

In 17 days I reach my 1 year anniversary with Steven. The horrible thing is that I have absolutely no idea what to get him! I'm such a bad girlfriend sometimes. We do sweet things for each other so much that I don't think that I can top any of the things I've done in the past. Really, I've got nothing.

Style Bytes, I will miss you.

In June my favorite blog "Style Bytes" was suddenly pulled without explanation. Since then there has been an internet hunt to find out what happened to our beloved Agathe. No joke: Check out The Coveted's take on the whole thing.

Her fashion blog had a huge following. I personally checked her Norwegian style antics daily.

Hopefully she will live to blog another day.

Stole This From Caitlin, I'm guessing we're at the same level of boredom.

If you had to name your kid after a flower, what would it be?
oh man, Violet, Iris, Daisy, Rose, Lily I could go on all day.

If you had twin boys, what would you name them?

Probably just regular names, I wouldn't try to make them similar. They're different people. So Bennet and Darcy

If you had twin girls, what would you name them?

Sophie and Magdalena

If you had to name your kid after a car what would it be?

Volkswagon? No, no, um... Bentley

What about a biblical name?

If I ever went with a biblical name it would be Elizabeth, but only after Elizabeth Bennet.

After one of The Beatles?
Lennon, my hero.

A color?

Auburn

What about a month?

June or Avril, French for April

A type of drug?

Peni after Penicillin

A character from Friends?

Emma

After one of your grandparents?

William and LaRue, my mom's parents. Earl and Mary don't really appeal to me.

After a disease?

Larry for laryngitis

A country?

Britannia, duh.

A state?

Georgia. Can I go with Georgiana? Darcy's sister for the win.

A type of tree?

Willow, my favorite tree. At our first house my mom planted a willow that got huge. I loved that tree.

After one of your friends?

Sonja or Sonia, I just don't know how I'd spell it.

A number?

Octavius, Latin for 8

Real Pain For My Sham Friends

It is obvious by my recent facebook statuses that I am desperate for some new friends in town. For a while I went down a path that led me to...well...stupid. People incapable of being serious, people I hang out with that I don't really know much about, and when I finally learned things about them I didn't really like what I saw. So I'm on a mission, an epic quest, if you will, to find new friends that aren't fake friends or at least friends that can have deep conversation, kind of like my English friends. I really heart them for their brains...did that make me sound like a zombie?

My policy of life has always been to surround myself with brilliant people because I learn from other's opinions. I learn most from other people and the stimulation they bring. If I don't have that I dry up mentally. Since my whole life until now has been built around my brain, I just can't let that happen.

I've spent this whole summer trying to get back some of my zeal for school and I'm so terrified of this next school year. It could make or break me. I'm hoping my classic stubborn streak raises its fabulous head. I'm not a Taurus for nothing, babe.

Thoughts?

More Of My Profs Need To Learn This:

Boredom will always remain the greatest enemy of school disciplines. If we remember that children are bored, not only when they don't happen to be interested in the subject or when the teacher doesn't make it interesting, but also when certain working conditions are out of focus with their basic needs, then we can realize what a great contributor to discipline problems boredom really is. Research has shown that boredom is closely related to frustration and that the effect of too much frustration is invariably irritability, withdrawal, rebellious opposition or aggressive rejection of the whole show.

When We Deal With Children- Fritz Redl

I'm very concerned about being bored this semester. Last semester there wasn't a single class that I was genuinely interested (except Austen, I never missed a class) in.

Give me some sizzlin' intellectualism and teachers I can worship for their minds, daddy-o. They just need to offer a degree in Welch.

Mama Mia!

A co-worker and I went to the movies to see Mama Mia this afternoon. I thoroughly enjoyed myself!

To begin with, I love musicals. Sadly musical lovers are a dying breed it seems, but I will keep the fire for song and dance alive. Laughs.

The story was great, the setting in Greece was gorgeous, and the best part? Watching Mrs. Weasley sing and dance! Colin Firth wasn't half bad either.

Entertaining ABBA adventure.

Wardrobe. Staple.

So today at Ross I found a real live in the flesh pencil skirt complete with high waist, buttons, and just under the knee length... How stoked was I? It was also a size 10 when the hanger said it was a 12. It made my day that I got it up and zipped. It's a wee bit snug in the hips but this dress is incentive to exercise. It was $5.99 so I couldn't pass it up and the "spanx" to go with it. I mean girls in the 40's had their girdles so obviously you need a little something with a pencil skirt. Unless you're a supermodel and have no shape what-so-ever. And then what is the point of trying to exaggerate an hour-glass waist you don't have?

I totally feel like Rizzo in it from Grease. How do I still not own that movie? And if you didn't get the reference it means that Steven should watch out when I'm in this skirt cause I feel like a bombshell.

Ross is a cruel place. They had about 7 styles of Andy Warhol bags. Luckily they didn't have his banana bag... or my bank account would be $19.99 closer to nothing and my purse would be feeling lonely. Elvis was tempting though... sigh.

i can haz seasons tickets?

(This is Lane Stadium. It is huge and right on campus. I've only been in it once for a Dave Matthews concert.)

Today I picked up my seasons tickets for Hokie football! I'm oddly excited, even though I don't know the first thing about the sport. Steven and I both got tickets and we will be able to sit right beside each other. In the chaos of the school year it is forced date time. Football is a huge thing here in Blacksburg. It is larger then life and my school is nuts for it.

Yesterday I got my Maroon and Orange effect shirts. I have one set for every year I've been at Tech.

As I embarked on my Senior year I figured it was actually time to go to a game or two. What kind of Hokie would I be if I graduated without going to a game... they might actually refuse me my diploma for it, laughs.

You know you're a mechanic/farmer's daughter when...

So all summer the rug under my bed has been bunched up and off balance. It was only me trying to put it under there, and frankly, my bed is a beast. I need someone to help me straighten it, unless.... I use my car jack to prop up my bed. I'm half tempted to do it. How...handy of me?

Hey if it can hold my car, it can hold my bed. Man, I'm a dork.

Strange...

Sometimes itunes freaks me out. I was surfing the web and came across a poster for Acroos The Universe with "All You Need Is Love" written across the top of it. Now, All You Need Is Love is probably my favorite Beatles song if it were possible to pick just one.

So I go to itunes and start it up bent on listening to All You Need Is Love. Without searching any songs the first one it picks to play on shuffle is All You Need Is Love.

How uncanny.

Littlest Pet Shop

I can't believe I forgot to blog about the things I saw around town in Roanoke! I was a little ill from the experience for a few days.

The most interesting thing I saw at the mall (besides all the fabulous clothes I can't afford) was a pet shop. I didn't think that real pet shops still existed. I still don't know how I feel about buying animals, not adopting them... I have my qualms about it, but there are some benefits such as knowing the exact breeding of your dog and the family health line and such. However, I still feel guilty for not adopting my cat. Even though I love Oliver and I know he's the cat companion for me, I know he most likely would have ended up in a shelter or on the streets. So I saved him from that, but there are a ton of animals that need help in shelters. I donate to shelter causes whenever I can.

The amazing thing about this pet shop was that they offered credit lines to pay for your pet! Credit! For a pet! I was blown away. I didn't know such a thing existed. But I could get a cocker spaniel puppy for just $48 a month and I was incredibly tempted... They had cream and light brown ones with little freckles on their noses! Oh my goodness... I have always wanted one of those things. I still sleep with my stuffed Cocker Spaniel, Shelley. The connection to the poet is pure coincidence. I know that Steven only wants big dogs so that he doesn't trip over it, or hurt it. And for some reason I've noticed that guys seem to want big dogs. I don't know why, maybe it goes with the big truck, big toys thing. Got to be all big and "manly." I don't think I'll ever get that. Maybe I'll start collecting change from parking lots to save up for my own dog. And I'll nickname it Mr. Muggles to really get on Steven's nerves. ;) I'm horrible. I really am.

Give Me A Few Years

And I finally figured out how to do the little hair bump. Well I knew how to do a very high maintenance version of it, but now I know the everyday version. I think it's because I finally have hair that isn't over-processed and I LOVE it. My hair actually moves with me, go figure. Hair dye is the devil. Don't be tempted.

I also googled "hair poof." I would. It turns out it works better the less hair you try to poof. I like it.

In other news: I have my windows open. The weather is so freaking beautiful and cool I had to let the outside in. My apartment needs some air.

Bring on the fall!

As Usual

The pre-school year nightmares have begun. I love this time of year, really. Last night I had an extremely horrible dream.

It was winter, I had on my favorite pea-coat. Sonja and I were going to get lunch somewhere (I'm guessing on campus) and for some reason I double parked... not sure why I would ever do that, but it gave my dream reason enough to give me a parking ticket. Long story, but I get a ticket about each semester and I have an extreme hatred of Tech parking services. Anyways, I got a ticket and a whole lot of paperwork. An unrealistic amount of paperwork about revoking a lot of my driving rights and stupid stuff like that.

Fast forward to my parents who for some reason hate me and were calling me a whore and a disgrace to the family name just because I kissed my boyfriend. While they're arguing about this and we're yelling I suddenly start coughing up blood and spit and the next thing I know I've coughed up some organ (I think it was supposed to be my heart). I've fallen on the ground that is covered in snow and I'm begging for help. All my parents can talk about is whose phone gets better reception so that 911 can hear them.

You know, as I lay dying (total Faulkner reference), holding my heart in my hand.

Horrible To Say

I know it is horrible to say this, but the last time I watched the Olympics it was only to see Michael Phelps in these shorts.

I watched every event.

At least he really is a great swimmer and I wasn't just using him for his body... that's how I try to justify it to myself.

Anyways... show us your tattoo Micheal! (left hip)

Crazy Lady

Just so you know, apple cider vinegar is crap against gnats or fruit flies or whatever you want to call them. Sugar water is just as ineffective. However, I found a great way to get rid of them: my vacuum.

I've been going around my apartment brandishing my vacuum hose at the pesky bugs. To the untrained eye it would look like I was waving my wand into thin air or practicing for a part in a sword fight. Either way, I'm cementing my position as the crazy lady in #12 who lives with her cat and vacuums sporadically at 10:30 pm while blasting obscenities at the air.

After all reputations must be upheld. I think the wise words of Mr. Bennet in Pride and Prejudice apply: "For what do we live, but to make sport for our neighbors, and laugh at them in our turn?"

Ews

So I have gnats.  I hate bugs!  I have no idea where they came from but suddenly they are everywhere!  I'm a clean person, I don't deserve bugs!

I've done some research that suggests leaving wine or cider vinegar out in bowls will attract and drown them.  I need to get some vinegar tomorrow because there is no way I'm giving wine to bugs.  

I can't even afford to get myself wine, and I love the stuff.

Smoke and Shadows

Tanya Huff has done it again! She has written a series that I won't be able to get enough of. This book was not what I expected. The main character, Tony, who we know from her previous series was way more developed then his small appearances in the "Blood" series. You have to read the series before this to have any idea what is going on. Huff alludes to the other books from the get-go. I was slightly disappointed that Vicky didn't make an appearance. I have always been cheering for Vicky and Henry even when Vicky became a vampire like Henry. Long story, read the other series. I don't want to go too much into the details or I'll give too much away.

Huff is kind of difficult to find. She is at your local Barnes and Noble, but trying to find her at the library is close to impossible if you don't live in a huge city. Henry Fitzroy is the greatest vampire on the scene today. Really, they don't come any more seductive, witty, or royal. Henry is actually the bastard son of Henry VIII. That's part of the reason I love him so much. Even though he's the best, most people aren't familiar with Tanya Huff's work. I blame this on the fact that she happens to be Canadian and she just doesn't get the marketing here as she does back home. Take it from me, a person who has read four complete series from her and is starting on a fifth. You will love her books. You will not be able to put them down the first time you read them. You will fall in love with her stories and characters and hopeful outlook. I know this, because I have.

I was turned on to her books when I had pneumonia in the 10th grade. I had read all the books in my possession so I begged my mother to let my best friend come over to bring me reading material. A fan was born. While I should have been sleeping I was reading Sing The Four Quarters, still my favorite. Huff spreads like wildfire. Everyone I've turned on to Huff has not been disappointed. My college roomie (who I love to death) and I spent a good chunk of time just passing Huff books back and forth and reading choice passages to each other.

Ok, where's the next book in the series?

The Side Project Public Release

My side project is finally ready for public viewing and I've gotten the go ahead from Steven to let other's in on the gig.

What is this mysterious project?

It's a Wedding Planning Blog to get ideas started, thoughts flowing, weed out the stuff we don't want to do, plan the things we do.

So, you are all invited to peek in and help me out! I know my married friends have ample advice to throw my way and I intend to use it all.

It is just in the beginning stages, but it will grow along with us and I hope you will all be along for the journey.

Just visit (and bookmark): HERE

Vertigo. And I Don't Mean The U2 Song

(Oh what the heck, it's too groovin' not to post)

Today I have had Vertigo really bad. Bummer when I had a wonderful day of shopping planned and I spent it trying not to puke or pass out or wobble too noticeably in the mall.

Why I got it? No idea. I normally get vertigo with migraines, but I didn't have much of a headache today. It was either a weird combination of allergy meds and winding roads in the mountains or I'm going to get a very large migraine tonight. I think the drive screwed with my head. Either way I'm confining myself to bed. Sleep helped it some. I really do not do well getting up quickly and suddenly early in the morning. 6am qualifies as early for me.

Oliver was peachy. He's so fine that he's running around and being bad, per usual. He can't really jump, the poor dear. I can't help but laugh. Also, no stitches, so I don't have much to freak out about. Because of his age, they said he should be perfectly normal by tomorrow. I wish I was that resilient.

The worst thing was doing paperwork for his Feline Leukemia test. Filing out paperwork to the effect of: "if your cat tests positive do you want us to 1) put him down instantly, or 2) wait til you come to pick him up to tell you and then put him down." Thankfully, he tested negative, but I worried about it all day.

Snip Snip

So, Stinkbug (Oliver) gets neutered tomorrow. Please don't tell him! He's going to be so mad with me tomorrow. I'm pretty concerned about the whole thing but I know it won't be too bad. I have to drop him off at 8 in Roanoke an hour away. It's going to be a very tiring morning.

I've got copies of all his paperwork and I've got directions printed. I need to set up his old litterbox because it is lower to the ground. I don't want him to have to jump into his regular litterbox and pop his stitches or something. My poor baby is in his puberty phase! Sigh, they grow up so fast.

So keep Ollie in your thoughts as he goes under the knife. I'll be around Roanoke all day tomorrow until it is time to take him home. Hopefully I won't get my pocketbook in too much trouble. Curse you Roanoke and your fabulous shopping!

Sony, I'll be calling you tomorrow to talk me out of a lot of purchases I'm sure.

As a side note: Oliver loves his pet carrier! I've had it in my closet for the past month but I've had it out since he had to go to the vet Monday and we will need it tomorrow. I bought him a pet bed and he completely ignored it for my bed. Where is he now? Asleep in his pet carrier. That little stinker!

Vintage Fabulosity!

If I ever go blind I think that I need some of these glasses.

That way I can be like all the kids in my parent's old yearbooks that I idolized as a kid. Flipped hair, headbands, cats eye glasses all my favorite things.

Vintageous has a lot of really cool vintage clothes and accessories besides the glasses. Check um out.

Ridiculous.

Someone explain to me why parking permits are $114 dollars this year? I'm just getting the fall pass for $57. Even though I end up spending the same amount of money, it still gives me the illusion that it isn't as horrible as it really is.

Face Lift

I decided to over-haul my blog. I mostly did it so that I can get a real, live, header. Now I just need to get snappy with my camera so that I can put that up. I'll probably play with a few different pictures until something really sticks. A few of the first pictures probably won't have anything to do with me or domestic felicities.

Small World!

Who should I run into on the web today but my very own half- sister! It kind of blew my mind a little. I was on the look-out for cute owls as a new tattoo idea I had this morning while NOT doing homework in the library. Who wants to do homework in the summer? "Not I" said the college student.

I have been thinking a lot lately about the whole business of keeping my last name or changing it whenever Steven and I take the plunge into official legal relationship status. Long, long, long story and there will most likely be a post about it on a new side-project blog I'm doing (more news to come). Either way, I've come to the conclusion that I can argue all day for my feminist views but every angle I look at it from I'm still keeping a man's name, right? It might at least be the name of a family I'm choosing for myself.

However, I still want to hold on to some bits of the identity I've always attached to my last name. My family has always been very big on Owls, most of the fixation coming from our last name: Wise. So I thought a tattoo of the owl variety would be a good way to remind myself of where I come from.

Anyways, sorry for the long and personal rant. I really just wanted to pass along my sister's website so that you could all take a gander. You really need to.

Be amazed at The Petticoat Pirate!

The Itch

Booger (Ollie) has fleas. Thankfully we are going to the vet tomorrow morning anyway.

Freshly. Baked.

I baked some Snickerdoodle cookies for Steven today. Before you get excited and ask me for the recipe they're just store-bought, the kind of cookies that come in squares. They turned out pretty well.

Yum. Yum. I just love to spoil him.

Now I have to mail cookies and Caitlin and James' wedding present.

To-Do

For School:

• Watch Brazil again
  
• Last half of Brazil project
• Last half of Project 9 essay
• Watch The Godfather again
  
• All of Project 10 essay

To Clean:

• Clean and vacuum carpet
• Febreze
• Trash and Litterbox
• Dishes
• Mop Tile in kitchen and bathroom
  

For Apartment:

• Find pictures and get them printed for 6 frames and for my coasters
• Finish hanging things up
• Reorganize bedroom closet
• Purge for goodwill again
• Sell some stuff
  
• Go through records
  

My August Eve Resolution

I know it isn't the time of year to be making resolutions, but I have an issue with my dishes. If you wanted a clue about how much I hate doing dishes, here is a little tid-bit: last night I ate mandarin oranges out of a teacup. I was out of bowls and utensils so... I drank oranges.

My goal is to wash things as I use them and not just let unsightly dishes pile-up in the sink. If dishes are to pile-up they are going to be clean ones. Then I can make a New Years resolution to put away my clean dishes.

Diet and Fertility

While I was at my local library this week I came across an old edition of Newsweek in the free magazine bin that had an article that caught my eye. The headline was Fertility & Diet (How what you eat affects your odds of getting pregnant), so naturally the magazine came home with me. I devoured it as soon as I got in the door. I was diagnosed with Poly-Cystic Ovarian Syndrome at the age of 17. PCOS is kind of tricky but a lot of it has to do with diet and insulin. Since the appointment at 17 that changed my life when I was told having kids would be a challenge for me, I have made a lot of changes to my lifestyle in order to facilitate a healthy me and a healthy mini- me down the road. This article dealt specifically with conditions like mine and I was very pleased to discover that the changes I have made gradually over the last 4 years will greatly affect my odds of conception for the better. This article argues that protein from plant sources are better then meat sources. I'm a vegetarian, so yay for that! It argued that carbs from unrefined wheat are better, and I love my whole wheats now. It also argued for exercise and weight loss. Since I have lost a lot of weight and I am way more active then I was at 17 and I was very pleased to read that. The article also argued for yogurt. I hate yogurt but I'm really going to try to add it into my diet, 1) because I'm lactose intolerant and yogurt is a dairy that won't upset my stomach, 2) yogurt is good for you, and I know that. So if I can start drinking soy milk then I surely can learn to like yogurt. As long as I think of it as good for my future kids then I can do it. That's how I get my lazy bum running and it's pretty much all I think about when grocery shopping. The kids I don't have are really my biggest motivators.

Confessions Of A Jane Austen Addict

I made myself sit down and finish a pleasure reading book this morning. I went with Confessions Of A Jane Austen Addict, because, well, I am one. What can I say about this book? It was not nearly what I expected, but in a more interesting then bad way. If you are in JAAA (Jane Austen Addicts Anonymous) then you will want to read this book. Marketers know that we will pick up anything and all things having to do with Austen, buy them, and then possibly regret the purchase. I did that with The Jane Austen Book Club, although thankfully I checked that one out from the library. I'm weary of anyone who tries to tamper with Austen's stories. They are untouchable. This book had almost nothing to do with the stories of Austen but Austen was woven fabulously throughout it.

The book begins when a modern woman, Courtney, wakes up in Regency period England in another woman's body. I was instantly sucked in, but the plot got a little weird when she started having memories from the other girl's experiences. The other girl, Jane Mansfield, we learn, woke up in modern day L.A. in Courtney's body. Her experience is going to be the sequel but I'm not that sure I'm going to read it.

The Austen parts were great, traveling to Bath was fabulous, and even meeting Austen in London was entertaining. I wasn't that pleased with the Austen meet and greet. Rigler did her best to try and translate the pure intellectual fire I have always thought surrounded Austen, but there were some elements I was not quite sure about. Of course, I am a the dork who would think...why did they meet in London... Bath would have made more sense since she stayed with family there. Why was she buying a bonnet? Odd choice since Austen was broke broke broke, but everyone needs a good bonnet I guess. Over all I was pretty disappointed with that. The romance was great so that helped sustain me to the end.

If you are an Austen fanatic then chances are you will read this. You will love all the Austen quotes and the pep of a modern woman stuck in an age where women literally had to get married because they had no source of income, where there was a defined class system, and where hygiene was non-existent. However, if you don't care about Austen (if you don't, you might want to go home and rethink your life. I jest.) there isn't much to hold you to this book.

Aesthetically, there are polkadots on the cover, so it will look smashing on my bookcase.

Hodge Podge

Ok, I am seriously behind on my blogging. Apologies to my "faithful few" but I've been trying to get school work done. Schoolwork is technically what I should be doing right now, but you know, I need some me time before I start on it again.

However, for a while I was blogging about 5 times a day. So if you have been away from my little world for a while, you might want to scope out the older posts. Hint, Hint.

I have so many things I need to blog about so I'm just going to roll them into one big installment.

1st: James and Caitlin's wedding was amazing! I had such a great time and it was such a beautiful experience. I got to catch up with a lot of people including my blog family Sarah and Caitlin. It was so great to see Caitlin again! She was so gorgeous in her dress! And it was even better to see James and Sarah and all of their family. I haven't seen James since before he shipped off to Hawaii and it was an honor to witness his wedding. I also haven't seen him that genuinely happy in a long time and that made my heart swell. The fact that Caitlin was the cause of that happiness made my heart swell for her too. James seriously could not have done better. Caitlin is so amazing and her wedding was so well planned and just beautiful. Congratulations to you both! You deserve only the best, and only the best together. And I promise I will be sending your present soon. It is sitting right here on my dining room table. I didn't want to send it while no one was home to get it. I always have trouble with the mail and the last thing I want is to have it returned.

2nd: My time at home was a very interesting experience. I ran into a bunch of people! Some were good experiences, others not so much. I found out a few of my old friends were expecting children! So many things have changed back home it is amazing. Lots of construction and lots of new shops. I had a very fabulous experience with a person I have "bad blood" with. My encounter with her kind of MADE my weekend back home so I will have to relate the story to cyberspace. Now this girl and I have never gotten along but for quite sometime she pretended to be my friend while simultaneously being a complete backstabber. We were only acquaintances through my best- best- best- friend who I take a great deal of care for and anything that concerns her concerns me. It's like a mafia situation of family loyalty. About a year ago, said nasty girl proceeded to tell my best friend that her mother (who really is the greatest woman who has ever lived, and should really be cannonized for the pure beauty of her huge and selfless heart) was a horrible mother even after she had known her for years and had been on the receiving end of all the amazingness of my best friend's mother. Most insulting thing to say EVER! So my best friend and I were finally like: "this is it, absolutely no communication with two-faced girl." And who do I run into at Starbucks? Oh yes: the insulting-one. I had a moment of pure bitchiness. Even though it was out of character, it was AMAZING! She tried to say hello to me like she didn't hate me like we were just old friends who hadn't seen one another in years. I gave her the most soul-stabbing look and she just turned away and never looked at me again. I loved it.

3rd: While I was at home I went through the remaining items I left at my parent's house. I found my 8th grade dance dress and I had to try it on. I haven't been able to fit into that dress since the 8th grade, eight years ago, and it didn't even zip up last summer. I tried it on just for kicks and IT FIT! I was elated! I brought it back with me to my apartment and now I need an excuse to get fancy! Where does one wear a ballgown these days?

On a side note: Oliver, the kitten, is driving me out of my mind! He will not stop attacking me. He's getting big enough that everything hurts. I've tried everything! Loud claps, loud "NO"'s, spray bottles: I mean everything. My latest tactic is hissing at him. I figure when he gets annoyed or doesn't like something he hisses, so the same body language might translate a little better. I dunno. I'm really trying but I'm also getting extremely frustrated and I've got more scratches and bites then I know what to do with. I'm getting warn out. He gets fixed next week so I'm hoping that will calm him down a bit.

11 Months

Today is my 11 month anniversary with Steven!

It's hard to believe it has been that long. It seems like we JUST started dating.

Only one more month to go until the year mark.

Gosh I'm excited!