Forever Young

Maybe it's because my June graduation from university has yet to really sink in.

Maybe it's because I find myself at the beginning of a new journey as I fit myself into the position of "adult" and start to worry about paying off debt and building good credit.

Maybe, just maybe it's because I dreamed last night of things I haven't done in ages like pick huckleberries for hours, or blackberries until my fingers were stained purple for days, or raspberries until my hands prickled with little thorns; or wade through a creek bed looking for crawdads to catch; or swim in a genuine swimming hole, or sit by the river and marvel at lady bugs come to mate so thick on the bank that it's nothing but a sea of red. Or spending a little time with my grandfather who always had time for me to hunt for morel mushrooms behind the ranch house, or have a good old fashioned bacon eggs and hash browns breakfast at the local diner, or take me to the big city for some retail therapy. Or things like bake sales and lemonade stands and bike rides, hula hoops, gemstone friends, pinkie promises and whispered confidences.


Maybe it's a combination of all of these things and the beautiful sunshine today that always makes my step feel lighter.


Whatever it is, as I spent today unpacking, organizing, washing clothes, scrubbing walls and running errands; I thought about youth. I thought about eyes that see wonder and beauty in everything. My eyes that used to look at a passing ice cream truck without suspicion. The child I was for an instant that had seen ugly things and yet still saw more good than bad around me. The child that implicitly trusted and could eat a chocolate bar completely guilt free and believed in magic. 


And I thought about adulthood. With bills and credit card statements, responsibilities, mood swings, and that extra ten pounds and I decided that although I wouldn't go backwards for anything, and I'm loving where I am right now, the not so secret secret must really be to stay young at heart. 


So I giggled and popped the bubble wrap I pulled out of the unpacked boxes today and turned the radio up and danced when I did the dishes and I took my shoes off and walked through the grass on the way to the grocery store and bought that little tub of cream cheese frosting that I really just want to eat with a spoon....and it was absolutely glorious.


And now, all that's left for me to do it wish you all that fresh feeling of childhood in the smallest of things and all of the happiness life can bring. 


P.S. In the midst of about 4 or 5 fairly big projects, can't wait to share! :-D


Have A Beautiful Day!        

Easter Eggs and a Moogle?

HELLO ALL!

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter!

We had a crazy busy fun filled Easter weekend here. Friends, and food and one heck of a Bachelorette Party and I still had time to color a few eggs just for fun while watching my traditional Easter movie, The Easter Parade. :-)

I also ended up watching the 1995 version of Persuasion because...well...I could!

As far as egg coloring goes, I had a good time! Like many things, I resent being made to feel like it's an activity reserved for childhood. ;-) It's great fun and a piece of JOY I wish to hold onto. 

I am however glad I didn't make too many because it took me a lot longer than I thought it would, and I'm glad I had the foresight to wear an apron....I was shooting those slippery suckers all over the place! haha! I got quite a bit of color on my hands. :-P

*Take Note* Waiting to cut my too long nails till after I was done was a stroke of pure genius, my hands were sooo messy and looked soooo much cleaner after I trimmed my nails!

I only bought a dozen eggs and after my husband and I boiled them, there were only 9 left. lol As it turns out, we've never really boiled eggs at home because he's really not a huge egg eater and well...I don't do much resembling cooking. haha So we managed to break a few, but 9 turned out to be the perfect number for me this year. I didn't realize how long it had really been since I colored eggs, but I think it just might be possible to loose the knack. lolol 

In any case, here they are all ready for me! 

I used two of the three inexpensive coloring kits my mother happened to send in a recent box.

FYI: The Coloring cups were a lot easier although the wax crayon was a joke. The eggs I colored using the cup kit also dried really fast. The speckled eggs were messy to make, but I liked combining colors. Biggest downside for me is that these eggs took two days to dry and even now are slightly sticky....

Anywho, here's my final lovely eggs. :-D

Yay! On a final side note, I finally finished a crochet hat project that I have been working on for almost a year. I started it when I was still just learning to how to crochet and have figured out or made up a piece of it here and there when I felt like it. It's kind of funny as this makes it a compilation of several stages of my learning process and not necessarily the best hat I could make now.

However, as it was made on request for and by my husband Billy and he seems to like it, I will chalk it up as  a success for now. :-P

It's mean to be a Moogle. I honestly don't know exactly what it is, but it's from one of his games...I want to say Final Fantasy Eleven, and it looks something like the image below on left.

Cute right?!

I have honestly been practically done with it for awhile but couldn't decide how to finish the pom pom thingy coming out of it's head....

Almost Done!!!!!!

We have decided to attach the poof I made over one eye so it doesn't flop about, but here's the basic final product. :-)

Ta Da! :-D

That's all for now, thanks for reading my friends. I find out about my big job opportunity with Teach For America on Thursday. Wish me luck! :-)

HAVE A BEAUTIFUL DAY!

Life Lesson In A Pot Of Jam

HELLO ALL!

Ran across this gem of a story today on THIS great blog, that I have shamelessly swiped this wonderful story from, Random Thoughts n' Lotsa Coffee! Please do check out the blog, it's great fun with lotsa coffee! :-) As for the story below, I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. <3
--------------------------------
There once was a professor of philosophy, who in front of his Class, took a large empty pot of jam and without saying a word, began to fill it with golf balls.

Then he asked his students if the jar was full. The Students replied: YES.

The professor then took a box full of marbles and poured the marbles into the pot of jam. The marbles filled the gaps in between the Golf balls. The Professor asked the students again if the jar was full. Again, they replied: YES .

At that point, the professor took a bag of sand and poured it into the pot of jam. Of course, the sand filled all the remaining gaps and the professor asked again if the jar was full. The Students unanimously answered: YES.

The professor then added two cups of coffee to the contents of the jar thus filling the small gaps between the grains of sand. The students started laughing. After they stopped, the professor said: "I want you to realize that the pot of jam represents Life.

The golf balls are the very important things in Life such as family, children, health, everything you are passionate about. Our lives would still be full even if we'd lost everything else and these were the only things that remained.

The marbles are the other things that count in our lives such as work, house, car, etc ...

The sand represents everything else, all the small things in life.

If we had first poured sand into the pot of jam, there wouldn't have been any room left for anything else such as the marbles or the golf balls.

It's the same thing in Life. If we put all our energy and all our time into the small things, we will never have any time/space left for the things that really matter.

Pay attention to the things that are really important to your happiness. Play with your children, take time to go to the doctor, have dinner with your spouse/partner, exercise or take time to enjoy your favorite pass-times.

There will always be time to do the cleaning and fix the taps on the kitchen sink ...

Take care of the golf balls first, of the things that really matter. Choose your priorities, the rest is just sand."

One of the students then raised a hand and asked what the coffee meant.

The professor smiled and said: "It's good that you ask. I only added coffee to show that although your lives may seem full and busy, there is always room for a cup of coffee with a friend. Good day to all ..."

~ Author Unknown ~

HAVE A BEAUTIFUL DAY!

Where To Live, That Is The Question...

Hey, if your looking for something to read, here you are! Welcome. ;-D


Background:
I'm currently in the middle of  a long ongoing application process for the Teach For America (TFA) corps. As I rush to provide TFA with the information they need about me and cross my fingers on making it through and being offered a position,  I am forced to consider huge possibly life changing decisions I don't always feel totally equipped to make. Like if we don't end up staying in the Seattle area, where might we be willing to live for at least the next 2 years (within the offered regions of TFA of course).


If you have no idea what TFA is, consider checking it out at their website, http://www.teachforamerica.org/ It's good stuff!

The task is to pick 7 "preferred regions" after my highly preferred "Seattle-Tacoma" region (which I really hope means Seattle....) One of these 7 regions needs to be one of TFA's priority regions. I also get to pick 2 regions I would really prefer to not live if I can at all help it, but I find that's a lot easier to decide. ;-) My husband says he doesn't really care and will go anywhere although he does seem marginally interested in the East Coast area...so it's mostly up to me...I am also encouraged to rank them by preference...

Oh and I have to decide by Monday....

So, I thought as I wade through massive amounts of info trying to make semi-informed decisions while also trying to go with my gut, I would share for anyone who cares to follow along a little during this overwhelming process.

Quick notes: I'm looking for massive amounts of info without having to scour millions of websites, so yes, I am using Wikipedia a lot. Also, this is clearly not even close to all of the information I am gathering, just a short jaunt through my mind as I weed through all of this info. :-D

Task #1: Priority Regions, Pick One.

TFA's priority regions are.....

-Detroit: I think I'm putting Detroit down as a place I'd rather not live...idk just a gut feeling. :-P So one down.

-New Mexico: I was born in and lived in New Mexico as a child, but my question is where in New Mexico? Trust me, it matters. I have a love/hate relationship with the general are and I'm also not sure my husband would be crazy about it, it gets really really hot...Hmmm....

-Mississippi Delta:.....For whatever reason, I'm not sure I'm feeling it. So that's a no for now I think.

-Memphis: Intriguing, but really only because I like country music and not because I know the first thing about it or even think it sounds particularly nice. 

-Oklahoma: OK, so Oklahoma...Well I don't know, maybe...what do I know about it really...well there's the play, love that, been in it, great song...and yeah...that's pretty much it. I wanna say tornadoes? 

Well, just fun fun let's start here and see what we can find out about Oklahoma shall we? 

Discover the Excellence: Nice, I like the confident intro.

First, let's look at the state as a whole, whatta we got....

-Tornado Alley (Aha I knew it!) 

While Oklahoma state seems to have a nice sturdy and growing economy, it is touched by approximately 54 tornadoes a year....I find this confusing, but maybe the two are really unconnected. Also,  FIFTY-FOUR?! My God, how is that possible? I've never been in a tornado, how do I feel about this....well maybe because I've only ever seen one on the news, I find I'm less than worried about it...I mean people live there right, so you must get used to it or something....

-Bible Belt: Largely Evangelical Christian, very conservative....but there are more registered Democrats than any other political party.....well, that's interesting.

- State meal: fried okra, squash, cornbread, barbecue pork, biscuits, sausage and gravy, grits, corn, strawberries, chicken fried steak, pecan pie, and black eyed peas.......Wait is that all one meal?! Also, don't get me wrong, it all sounds delicious but you could be sound anymore Southern? I mean really. lol

-State Rock Song: Do You Realize by The Flaming Lips....States have official rock songs? Who decides these things? And why is this suddenly really important to me?! haha!

ALRIGHTY so not too scared off yet, let's see Where Exactly in Oklahoma are we talking? 

-Looks like Oklahoma City and Tulsa for the most part.

OK Oklahoma City, the capital, lets check it out.

Nice Looking City, Many Great Museums, Nice Parks, Great Zoo, looks nice so far....you know besides the tornado thing...

-Found this little Wiki tidbit 

Oklahoma City has a severe weather season from March through August, especially during April and May. Tornadoes have occurred in every month of the year. Oklahoma City has become one of the most tornado prone cities in the United States.^[9] Since the time weather records have been kept, Oklahoma City has been struck by nine violent tornadoes, eight F4's and one F5.^[9] On May 3, 1999 parts of southern Oklahoma City and nearby communities suffered one of the most powerful tornadoes on record, an F-5 on the Fujita Scale, with wind speeds topping 318 mph (510 km/h). This tornado was part of the 1999 Oklahoma tornado outbreak.

Sweet Goodness, what is the human fatality rate for these suckers? Gah I don't know...I don't know if I'd wanna live there long term anyway...

Notes On Oklahoma City Crime: 

Active-The Bloods and the Crips as well as the infamous South Locos who opened fire at police in a shopping mall in 2007....OK...good.....Also, there's the still-unsolved serial murder case that dates from at least as early as 1976 and as late as 1986. During that time, at least three women were horribly dismembered and parts of their bodies left throughout an area between downtown and the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. Oklahoma City Police believe they were being watched by the killer, as they found body parts in areas they had already searched.

Now I'm just freaking myself out...all places, perhaps metropolitan areas in particular, have some fairly serious crime issues if you're looking for them right?...Right?...

OK...Let's move on and see what TFA's partner university there is...(the university I might receive a Masters in Education at). 

Sticking with Oklahoma City at the moment, that would give us University of Oklahoma (OU).

I love college campuses and even though I wouldn't be an 'incoming freshman' and thus not the target audience or recipient of a lot of campus stuff, I feel like I get a good feel for a university when I check out their "Campus Life Sections". 

Came across this fun, feel-good video about great things to be involved in on campus. 

http://youtu.be/dO-kZ_FeRFY

It looks like a beautiful campus.

Bizzell Garden 

East Entrance to Student Union 

Now that has some possibility.
And I think this post is officially long enough. So let us leave it at that for now. If you actually read this whole thing, thanks for that. lol  


To Be Continued (Very Soon) With Another Fun New Place ;-P 


HAVE A BEAUTIFUL DAY!

Breaking Dawn Part 2 Target clip (HD)

I'm gonna start this out with PLEASE, NO HATERS. You don't have to like it and no one is making you watch it. I can't believe how worked up people can get over a movie. With that being said. Here we go!

Although it's not out until November, a special Target event celebrating the DVD release of Part 1 brought any TWI-HARDS this little gem of a clip SUPER EARLY! Personally the last book is my favorite, I thought they did a pretty sweet job on Part 1 and I am pretty psyched about Part 2!

Beware: This is not a high quality clip being that somebody recorded it on a Target television that playing it for the event. So, some of the dialogue is hard to catch, thus the little translation below the clip. That way you can scan the short word exchange and then just focus on the beautiful faces once the clip starts rolling. If this is going to drive you crazy, feel free to not watch it. :-P 

If you like it, please go this youtube link and "like" your support for melta2009 who brought us this gift. :-)

http://youtu.be/F-QX_L-CKVY

I have not rights to this video, but it's all over the Internet so I'm not too worried. If it starts to get taken down, I will take this one down as well. Till then, ENJOY!

Video SUBTITLES:
Bella: "It's strange. Physically I feel I can demolish a tank. Mentally I feel drained."

Edward: "How about a bath?"

Bella [Smiles]

Edward: "I've had a bad habit of underestimating you. Every obstacle you've faced... I think you couldn't overcome it. But you just did. You are the reason I have something to fight for. A family."

Edward: "I'll go and get the water running."

The letter is from Alice and says quote "Gather as many witnesses as you can before the snow sticks to the ground. That's when they'll come for us." 
- Shes talking about the Voultri. Reading the book will help this make sense of this.

I think Kristen looks Smoking, can't wait to see her get her vamp on since that's really the best stage of Bella's character development. :D

HAVE A BEAUTIFUL DAY!

2012 Oscars, WOMEN WHO ROCKED IT!

My take on the Oscars tonight? The WOMEN ROCKED IT!

We have a tendency to really bash on our rich and famous, I know I am as guilty of this as anyone. They are too pretty, they are superficial, they are so out of touch with reality etc. etc. etc. 

But I watched the backstage live feed for the Oscars last night and I just really have to give props to a few women who really rocked the Oscars. They were stunning, they were classy, and they were genuine. They are real woman, powerful women, yes, but real women non-the-less who really rocked it tonight and deserve a little R-E-S-P-E-C-T! 

So, keeping in mind that I didn't watch the actual show but the backstage stuff with clips from the stage here and there, here's my list! 

Octavia Spencer was sooo BEAUTIFUL, she looked absolutely gorgeous tonight! Her Winners Speech was so touching and I teared up a little when she was too overcome at the Thank You Camera to say anything else. She soo deserved all of praise and attention she got tonight! She was fantastic in "The Help", and she is indeed a phenomenal woman! What an inspiration for real women everywhere! ♥

Meryl Streep, a class act she as always and of course just looking radiant as usual. So excited about her 3rd Oscar win! For anyone who doesn't know, she's had like 17 nominations but her last Oscar win was in like the 80s, so tonight was really special for her. Just LOVE her! She alluded to her being around less in the coming years, but I hope that isn't so; I will never have 'Streep Fatigue'. Watched her interview in the press room. I loved her discussion on her new project for a Women's History Museum and the importance of the project for young women, but also for young men. ♥

AND FOR THE FASHION POLICE IN ME, WHO DO I THINK LOOKED AWESOME?!

Ok so admittedly, I just really love Emma Stone. :) Girl didn't win any awards last night, but in my opinion, she's a winner. I love how well she is doing now and can't wait to see even more of her. She also looked fantastic as usual cheering on her costars for "The Help" Love her, loved her dress!

Glen Close is on of my all time favorite favorites and even though she was mostly there to enjoy the show last night, she brought it on the red carpet. She just radiated confidence. Take a look at her rocking that dress!

Last Night a very classy Penelope Cruz hit the red carpet. Props for her very ladylike Jacqueline Kennedy esc look. I personally thought she looked lovely.

AND FINALLY, A NOD TO IN MY OPINION, THE TWO LEADING MEN OF LAST NIGHT! LET'S BE HONEST, WE CAN'T LEAVE THEM OUT AFTER ALL. ;)

Funny Man Billy Crystal is like comfort food for the Oscars. Love him or hate him crass jokes and all, he isn't afraid to poke fun at anyone in the industry if the shoe fits and he seems to have boundless energy! And give the man a cigar, a ninth stint hosting the Oscars is nothing to turn your nose up at!

Last but certainly not least, I give you Christopher Palmer! His latest role in "The Beginners" brought him an Oscar last night for Best Supporting Actor. It was a brave and thoughtful role about an older man coming out of the closet after his wife dies and Christopher Palmer gave the role great dignity. At 82 he is the oldest individual to ever received an Oscar, and I believe is 2 years younger than the Oscars themselves! Of course to me, he will always be Captain Von Trapp. ;)

And there you have it!

HAVE A BEAUTIFUL DAY!

Hobbies For Sanity

EVERYONE needs at least one hobby for the sake of sanity. Or, in my case, several time consuming hobbies...like completing puzzles, reading, crocheting, and most recently, pottery painting and knitting.

....OK So, I also sing along with the radio/my iTunes at the top of my lungs when I'm home alone, but I don't know if that counts as a hobby....:-)

The Point Being That:

As I nervously await word on my application for Teach For America, nurture ulcers concerning our future in general, wade knee deep through Italian tenses, conjugations and idioms, and continue to function at my usual high velocity speed, these hobbies bring me little snippets of much needed peace. My brain temporarily becomes a quieter more well ordered place when all I have to worry about in that second is the next stitch, puzzle piece placement, color choice or plot twist.

With that in mind I have been spending increasing amounts of time and money at UW's "Paint The Town" (A habit I am going to have to regulate better from now on :-D).

AND, as already mentioned, I have begun to learn how to knit. 

Don't get me wrong, Crocheting Is Awesome! It's fast and it's really pretty easy once you get the hang of it, but I have, and I wanted more! I had know from the start that I wanted to both Crochet and Knit since most everyone I talked to in the respective circles did one or the other and claimed their craft was better and hardly anyone seemed to do both.

CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!

So, after months of crocheting like crazy, I armed myself with some new weapons. 

FIRST, I needed one those Crocheting for Dummies/Young Children kits with pictured instructions, beginning materials, and easy starter patterns. That started me off really well when I started crocheting. 

CHECK!

SECOND, I needed some alternate yarn cuz the yarn that comes with these projects is never soft enough for say, a scarf which is always the more fun beginner project (since it's something you actually have a use for). 

Caron Simply Soft in Pistachio and Pagoda.

CHECK and CHECK!

I started out small with a little pocket purse and then skipped the other projects that I was less interested in and started on a very basic scarf in the pagoda yarn. :)

AND....

TA DA! 

Not too bad if I do say so myself. ;)

And you know what? I feel a little bit better, so mission officially accomplished. <3

HAVE A BEAUTIFUL DAY!