the oddities of me

The oddities of me and my life lately.
The things I have come to love about myself.

I say words and phrases like "the weary has set in my bones" and "hurts somethin' fierce", if not just for my own pure enjoyment, for my sister who thinks it is ridiculous and that she must "citify" me. My goal is to become like the girl from the movie "27 dresses" by keeping my own collection of bridesmaids dresses over the years, though I don't think I'll ever hit 27. I sometimes think it would be swell if I had a cute southern bell accent. No such luck. Though at times I wish I was little and petite, because that would just make the whole southern bell accent thing cuter, I like that I'm 5'10" and ridiculously buff, in a cute and feminine sort of way of course. ;)

I like my coffee order even though it is outrageously long. They say that your coffee order tells whether you are a laid back person or uptight depending on it's length. I'd like a grande non-fat, cinnamon dolce latte with whip and extra cinnamon on top, please. I prefer to think that my coffee drink says I'm secure enough in myself to order a detailed beverage. I would like to just say, I'd like a grande cup of joy, please, but it seems not all Starbuck's baristas know what I'm talking about.

Sometimes when I needed to get out of the dorms and away from the world for awhile I would go to a movie by myself. Not very often because those sorts of things are so much fun with friends and family, but I realized that I actually didn't just not mind going by myself, I enjoyed it. The first time I went to a movie by myself, I realized I was much more secure in myself in than I thought. I feel that even though my answer to the question of what I want to do after college seems vague to almost everyone I tell, it feels specific to me, just a little not set in stone.

I have come to learn to whom I can share my whole world with and to whom I must keep things guarded. I had to learn how to walk away from a friendship that was really not healthy for me, which as it turns out is really hard for me to do. I don't like leaving people. I learned it was OK. good even. I love that I can tell Kayli anything that pops into my mind and that I laugh until tears fill my eyes almost every time I'm with her. I can't wait until her wedding in May to celebrate with her. I like sending cards covered in hearts or cheesy sayings to my friend Jody. She loves them too, don't let her lie to you.

I absolutely love that my sister's dog guards my room in the morning until I wake up. I think she knows it makes me feel loved. It should also be known that the only thing standing in the way of me calling her "my dog" is that every time I do my sister points out I don't pay for food or treats or vet stays. Psh... love runs deeper than money Whitney! ;) I love my sister and her dog. Maybe my sister a little more than the dog. ;)

I have been asked A LOT lately by total strangers if I have a boyfriend. Since I don't, I then get asked "Why not?" To avoid the personal nature of such a question I think I'll go back to the antique shop and see if I can buy Prince Charming (pictured above) for $8.93. I could carry him with me wherever I go. Then when I am asked the very popular question for people my age, "do you have a boyfriend?" I'll just show them my trusty frog and save me all the dodging of the "why not?" question.

That won't seem weird at all.

me.

Today I think...

...that I love storms, but hate being alone in them.
...that I loved the sound of my mom's laugh as she laughed at the fact that "matches and I don't get along."
...that I love living with my sister despite the fact she seems to be allergic to rinsing her tupperware before putting it in the dishwasher. :) (granted I probably do ten times more annoying things than that that she has to put up with)
...that I love random text messages from family and friends. :)
...that I love being productive.

What do you think today?

"Pretend Grown-up Gal"

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Once upon a time, about 1 hour ago, there lived a girl who was playing house as a "Pretend Grown-up Gal."

Clearly, she's still working on the "grown up" part. :)

This "Pretend Grown-up Gal" has "lived" in an apartment with her sister for about a month now, technically.
In actuality, she has been home or away from the apartment more than she has been at the apartment. So it shouldn't come as a surprise when I tell you that this "Pretend Grown-up Gal" actually cooked her first meal at her apartment...tonight.

She was so excited. After work today, she ran to the grocery store to make sure she had real unprocessed foods she could actually cook with. Then this evening she set about making her first real meal in her apartment
...all by herself.

And what kind of awesome, super cool "Pretend Grown-up Gal"
would she be if she didn't document the whole process?

Here, she bravely had 3 things cooking at once.
Couscous, corn, and chicken.

After turning her chicken, stirring her corn, and fluffing her couscous with a fork, she began assembling her feast.
Corn & Couscous

Then, the addition of the chicken.



After staring at her freshly prepared meal for a few moments, "Pretend Grown-up Gal" decided she wasn't sure if it would have enough flavor. (Don't worry, she did add seasoning to the chicken before cooking it). So like all good "grown-up" chef people, she added some cheese.



Everyone knows that cheese is no good unless all melty.
So into the microwave her beautifully prepared meal went.



And she was very proud of herself.



But then as it turns out...
1. The couscous had ZERO flavor.
2. The corn was still cold.
3. The chicken was a little weird around the edges,
though it did have fairly good flavor.
4. Plus, it took her that many dishes to make the meal.
(This is not the time to mention that she probably used twice as many dishes as necessary.)



So she ate as much of it as she could stand, then decided that yogurt and m&m's sounded much more appealing.
Just for good healthy measure "Pretend Grown-up Gal" plans on eating a pear later, as she knows all good "grown ups" must eat their fruits.

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Moral of the story.
I bake.
I don't cook.
...and I'm going to have to work on this "grown up" thing.

strength

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"Bullhorn Theory"
by Justin McRoberts

I know it seems that they're so many
I know it seems that we're so few
That's all just part of the illusion
Oh, that's how they get to you

Fear is all they know

Stand up, my love, find your strength
You're so much stronger than you know
Be brave, my love. You carry with you
More than just your own hopes

I know it seems they're so much stronger
I know it seems that we're so weak
That's just until the fighting starts, dear
Oh, then we're going to see

Just how strong they are

When you stand with the truth,
Then you argue the truth
When you don't have the truth
Then you shout like a fool and that's all that they do

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Sometimes songs just say it better.

Happy Birthday Mom!

Happy Birthday Mom!
LOVE YOU!

Wish my mom a happy birthday here. :)

Belated Birthday

I just returned home from a short and unplanned trip to my grandparents house with my mom. I had the week off from work and both of my grandparents were really sad that they couldn't come for my birthday. We were there from Tuesday morning to early this evening (Thursday). A short trip. Still, I was glad to be coming home. So to unwind from the trip I decided I would look through and organize my birthday pictures, which led me to the conclusion that I should just post about my birthday since I have nothing else to write about at the present time.

All pictures by my sister.

We started our day by riding golf carts at a lawn a garden place.
Nothing like free entertainment.
Here I am in all of my 20 year old bliss driving my cute (and very little) 90 year old grandma around.


...here is my crazy face.
Because no matter my age... those will never cease to happen in pictures.


Then we went to this really cool restaurant.
They gave me this Nutella Mousse Cake for my birthday.
YUM.
I could only eat half it was so intense.

Of course, no family outing is complete without Starbucks.



Family took three of my sister's pictures of my new favorite flower (allium) and framed them for my new room.

Got this bird.
It now sits in my apartment living room.
My sister admitted it fit there.
Despite her disdain for my bird infatuation.
:)

This is "Fernando the Fern".
I love him.
Do not mock.
I feel he is a petable plant.



I got these cool birds from Etsy.
They will go on my wall when I decide where their home should be.



My dad really does love me.
I think. ;)



My sister got me AE Active for the wii. It is amazingly fun.
Unfortunately, the second picture is me after playing.
I work out on a regular basis and I did not think it was easy!
But I love it.


White cake. Lemon curd filling. Whipped frosting. Coconut.
YUM.

Goodbye Hair

Before...


After...


I have always wanted to grow my hair long enough so that I could donate it, but I wasn't sure if I could make it to 10 inches. (the amount needed for Locks of Love) I ended up finding another group that only needed 8 inches of hair. It can be found here... Pantene Beautiful Lengths. In the end I think that I cut off almost 10 inches anyway, but I believe the three ponytails that I am donating are around 9 inches. I got to donate my hair which is something I've always wanted to do and I LOVE my new hair cut. :) I know many of you have already seen these pictures, but I had to post something while I waited for my sister to get me pictures from my birthday yesterday.

I turned 20.

I think 20 is going to be a good year for me. :)