the tiny hullabaloo

we were supposed to get a big snow storm over the weekend



but it was just a sprinkle of ice













and only a little snow

good times

My life is full of extraordinary people. Sometimes I am just overwhelmed with all of the love and friendship that sneaks into my life. I just don’t know what to do with it. I just want to throw my hands up and thank somebody, but I’m not sure who to thank. I visited a very special friend on Tuesday. My friend is 80 years old and just went through back surgery. She was definitely not the person I remember but I have hope that she will take off on her Harley and soar again. I also visited my father and he is doing GREAT. He’s moving into a different place which can only be better than where he has been living. He was all smiles and funny dances the whole time that Robert and I visited. We had a picnic in the park with him and the pups and joked and laughed and had such an awesome time.

Tonight Robert and I had dinner and game night with two more dear friends of mine (I think Robert’s falling for them too). They are the daughter and son-in-law of the friend I visited on Tuesday and they are so much FUN. Robert’s mom even joined us! Robert made a great dinner and we played a bunch of silly games.

Tomorrow we are having yet another game night with an oddball assortment of friends. We invited a very spiritual friend of ours. I met her last semester in a class and once she brought cookies for the class and around Christmas she gave everyone candy canes. She transferred to the same college I did this semester and whenever Robert or I run into her she always has something positive to say and if she’s having a bad day she just says that God is teaching her patience. WAY WAY on the other end of the spectrum we have another friend coming who is a total man slut. He loves to get drunk and flirt with the ladies, but he’s such a lovable guy. I met him in my political science class about three years ago and knew he was a keeper. I typically can’t stand people like him but he’s such a funny person. He oversteps boundaries that only my brothers will touch like telling me that I smell LOL. I’m not sure what our spiritual friend will think of his foul language and crazy personality, but she’s been tolerant of me so I think all will be well between the two. It will be very interesting though. I also have a friend I’ve known most of my life coming along with her BFF (HAHA) who is pregnant! It will be a very fun night. We’re making big pans of pasta and there will be strawberry shortcake of course.

And right now I’m talking to my mom. Does life get any better? Nope, don’t think so.

Now if only I could plan a visit to see Robin and Jay and Meander.

Today's youtube love:

I am a huge fan of this choir, and this is one of my most favorite songs.

Youtube wouldn't let me have this one so you'll have to go to youtube to watch it. It's my favorite Willie Nelson tune hands down.





yes, I saved the best for last.

something just for you shit

youtube love:



This is my type of poetry. Even when I write an essay it comes out sounding like def poetry. I used to watch this show all the time. I particularly love this guy. He spits poems like I do but with more oomph and power. I'm like the Enya of def poetry and he's like a white Master P Unh! Damn I need some sleep.

Almost Spring Break!

Psst! I made a 'C' on my science test WOOT!

1234 I know I need to study more

Tomorrow will be the worst day of this week. I have two midterms and I am fearful of both. One is in a science class, and because I failed the first test (yes I bombed it), I cannot fail this one or I flunk the class. The other midterm is not only about 2 novels, a memoir and a few short stories, I also have to know each author's family history, all of their books and their biographical history. I have been studying for hours and hours today and am finally winding down. I'm only to going to study for another couple hours before I call it quits. It's nice to take a break though and sit down with a video from youtube and a cup of hot chocolate.

I love this video because it reminds me of my mom. Just like her this video is simple yet intricate. And like my mom it is whimsical and rather dorky but in such an artful way. It's colorful, relaxing and inviting. And the hand movements at the end? That's exactly how my mom dances when she's in a car.

Feist-1234

Don't worry My soul Jesus walks

I have midterms this week. I told my mom that I might disappear until they are over. She asked me to give her signs that I am still alive. SO, until midterms are over I will be sharing some of my most favorite tidbits from youtube.

(to turn off the music just go the bottom of my page and click on the pause button)

Today's youtube love:



I had to put Keely Smith and Louis Prima first because they are the best. I love All Night Long, but there isn't a good video for it. This one is quite fantastic too. I love how they complement each other. They are so radically different and that's what makes them so much fun to watch.



I love LOVE LOVE this band. I need to get over my fear of bars and go see them. I love this particular video because it's my favorite song by them and at about 2:25 things really pick up and get super crazy. Look how fast they are moving. My favorite member of the band? Washboard Breezy of course.



This music video brings me to my knees every time I see it.
I love so many things about this video:
the gospel music
the beat
the symbolism
the man's face at 1:58
kanye's dance that starts at 2:08
when he takes off his jacket
when he says "they say you can rap about anything except for jesus"

But my FAVORITE part of this video is at 2:25. That part just rips through me and makes me want to take off flying.

everything under the sun (including teeth)

Yesterday I decided to skip my classes. Before yesterday I hadn’t missed a minute, let alone an entire day. I was getting worn out fast and needed a break before spring break. Instead of going back to sleep however I woke up with this unexplainable joy and immediately starting cleaning out the house. I managed to take everything out of the guest bedroom (shelves, bed, dresser, computer equipment etc.) and clean it top to bottom (minus the blinds). I piled up my shoes and made a few sacrifices, organized and found hundreds of poems, finished and unfinished, and unburied an extraordinary amount of nonsense. I discovered that I have exactly 37 pairs of shoes, not including flip flops, about 2 very large Tupperware containers of forgotten poems, and a crazy assortment of Christmas gifts that still haven’t been given away. When I first entered the room I had to climb over things and push from the inside out. I admit that I had trapped myself in the room and had no other choice but to clean if I were to ever see daylight again. I found pay stubs and bank receipts from over 4 years ago. Every little piece of paper that anyone I love or loved or thought I loved had written anything on, including rummy scores and grocery lists, had been piled into boxes and sealed shut. I found teeth that I had lost as a child, love notes from boyfriends in 6th grade, obituaries of strangers that had apparently touched me, old girl scout badges, tags from every animal I have loved, friendship rocks and shells and pieces of myself that managed to get buried beneath years of disregard and junk. I threw a lot away, but I would be lying if I said that I didn’t hang on to most of it. It was a tough battle, but I feel victorious. After the guest bedroom I cleaned the rest of the house, which was in much better shape, but when you have two golden retrievers you’re always going to have something to sweep or pick up. Yesterday was such a powerful day. I’m the first to admit that I tend to hang onto people and things that need to be freed, but admitting it doesn’t make it any easier to let go.


I woke up happy today. I feel like I slept for 2000 years last night. The first thing I did was reach for my new dress. I knew I couldn’t wear it just yet or I’d freeze my ass off, but I touched it anyway. I have managed to mysteriously lose almost two sizes (without losing weight). Last week Robert and I went shopping and found a dress. He liked it so much that he got it for me. Buying a dress sounds so simple. Women (and some men too) wear dresses every day. I don’t. It is not something I take for granted. I am very short, 5’1, and very muscular with a booty that puts J Lo to shame. Basically I’m like a pear-shaped Arnold Schwarzenegger. Dresses only go on so far before they get stuck and that’s not a position I want to be in when I’m in the dressing room at a mall. This dress beat insurmountable odds and now hangs like a miracle in my closet. I cannot wait to wear it. I have everything planned out, the shoes, the hair, the lip gloss color. Everything. I have touched it so many times that I am worried that holes might appear, but touching it is the only way to start my day.


Today I worked mostly on a paper that I am writing for a very scary class. I am writing about The Awakening, which really touched me. I had to find a scholarly article about the book and write about the article. It doesn’t sound like a big deal, right? Well I wanted to find somebody who wrote about Edna’s bisexuality, but I could only find writers who shyly approached the topic briefly before quickly moving on. I was beginning to get angry, because as a feminist text, this book should have several articles about Edna’s bisexuality. When I met with my teacher last week I was exasperated and lost. I had barely explained my dilemma before she whipped out an article on Edna’s lesbianism. I read the article and it took my breath away. If you haven’t read the book I’m going to tell you right now that Edna supposedly commits suicide by swimming out into the ocean until she gets exhausted. But here’s the problem. I didn’t want her to die. When everyone told me that she did, I didn’t believe them. I was going to keep her alive at any cost. I wanted so badly to believe that she surrendered and made love to the ocean, but I felt like my opinion was just wishful thinking. All the research that I could find stated that she died. I should have just said the hell with them and trusted my own opinions. But I let myself get defeated and on the day we discussed the book in class I sacrificed my participation points for the day and said nothing. I couldn’t tell the class that rather than dying at the end Edna was surrendering to the lover that awakened her at the beginning. I didn’t want to take such a fragile bud of a thought and throw it against such a sound judgement. I couldn’t suggest that Edna’s bisexuality and even lesbianism, sure, were sprinkled throughout the novel. When the teacher handed me this article I was skeptical. Bisexuality was pushing it in my opinion, so lesbianism had never entered my mind. But as I read the article I was swayed. It was such a profound article with such substantial evidence. The article proved that at least one scholar had considered Edna’s bisexuality. The article also illuminates the coward in me that couldn’t stand up against a large crowd and declare my opinion.


While I was writing my paper somebody started banging on the door. It wasn’t just a light tap tap tap. It sounded like the person wanted to tear the house down. When I opened the door I had to refrain from laughing because it was Charlie, our mailman. Charlie is deaf, and at times I wonder if he thinks everyone else is deaf too. He’s such a likable person though. He’s always stopping to chat with Robert, Audrey (Robert’s mom, who lives across the street), or I. Usually he just likes to talk, but occasionally he needs help with something. Today he appeared quite frantic as he waved one of his hands in my face. He had a tiny cut and asked for a band-aid. I went and grabbed the first aid kit and brought back antiseptic wipes, Neosporin, and a band-aid (we have the works because of all the kiddos that come around). As I was cleaning him up he kept trying to sign with his hand. It was worse than putting a band-aid on a caffeinated kid, but he was so excited because he saw Robert’s smoker. He kept signing, “I have a bigger and better smoker”. I called Robert and told him that Charlie had a better smoker. Of course he couldn’t believe it. I know that the next time they see each other there is going to be a war about the smokers. But it was such a comical experience. After he left I went to get the mail and there was nothing. He didn’t deliver my block’s mail for another 30 minutes which means that he went out of his way to come here when he needed help. That makes me feel good. One of these days I need to invite him and his family over for supper. And he can bring his own damn smoked meat.


Well I don’t want to talk your ear off…