charisma

Am I the only one in the habit of attributing personalities to inanimate objects?

Sometimes I will see a plant, bicycle, or a jar and I will just get this overwhelming sense that they know a secret, or a joke and they are trying to share it with me.

Really, everything has a personality on some level. If you treat your belongings well, an observer can sense that. If you drink  juice out of your glasses with love and good thoughts, those glasses gleam a bit brighter; if you adore your car and caress it with polish, it will drive a bit smoother. There is such a focus on treating other people with kindness and respect, which is absolutely necessary as well, but it has occured to me that objects deserve the same respect in a way.

Enjoy your bed, nestle in it with a book and revel it its company. It is your sleeping companion, it knows all your uncensored behavior but refrains from judgement and faithfully holds you as you slumber each evening.

Once you open up this possibility of objects being company, you will realize that you are never truly alone (you can decide if this creeps you out or not). When you are lonely, hug your pillow, or lean against your wall.

While reading Hemingway’s short story, Hills like White Elephants, I really admired the girl’s natural inclination to regard everything as an independent entity with thoughts, feelings, and personality. She looked upon a beaded curtain as though it was saying something to her, and the hills as though they were innocently existing elephants–her environment spoke to her more than her human companion.

As a person requiring immense amounts of personal space at frequent intervals, yet perpetually suffering from an undefinable sort of loneliness, this concept is simultaneously intriguing and comforting to me.

I now look upon my house full of characters, instead of clutter. ;)

edible

Philosophy of Soup

I have this theory and before you ask, yes it does involve soup. of course.

It goes a little something like this..

When your world becomes turbulent, insisting on violently tossing you about  and you can’t quite seem to grasp any shred of normalcy there is only one remedy to set your mind straight.

Step one: Breathe. Take one of those deep, life changing breaths that center you and invigorate you more than any cup of coffee could possibly accomplish.

Step two: Put on your apron, slippers, put on some jazz, and gather your gaggle of vegetables.

Step three: Chop your little heart out–dice your frustrations out on the cutting board. As the carrots, potatoes, zucchinis fall away into little fragments under your knife and your multicolored army swells across your counter begin to toss them into a large, bubbling pot. Your troubles will evaporate with the sensational smell of your comforting creation.

Step four: Have a glass of wine..or two..while you patiently await the soup to form.

Step five: Eagerly ladle a bowl far to large for common sense, sit down, close your eyes, and enjoy.

There is something about that first steaming bowl of jumbled goodness created by you that is comforting and satisfying in a way that escapes definition. People ask why I talk about soup in a mildly obsessive manner, it is rather bizarre I realize, but it really comes down to this indescribable correlation associated with safety and love that is perpetually nestled in my brain .

Though I have paralled the soup experience with..other things..my affinity for this mind-mending method stems from something much deeper. There is never a time when soup will not fix a bad day.

So. On the darkest days when your head is hopelessly tangled in knots that you cannot even fathom beginning to unravel, give it a try. This simple act is essentially a reminder to slow down, meditiate upon the simple beauty of the world.

Plus, you get to eat at the end–and honestly what is better than that?

white

Is there anything more satisfying than an awesome itunes experience? not in my short life hahah i have low standards I suppose.

Little did I anticipate that Albuquerque’s recent fogginess would result in me waking up to probably about 10 inches of snow yesterday!! Welcome, winter. We have been expecting you.

Snowy days are such a source of comfort for me, so I will credit that to my great–albeit sleepy–day. I had a difficult, but needed conversation in the morning, took a long bath and read, hung with friends, went to see a movie with my best friend..it was a nice Friday I would say. ;)

It helps that it was capped off with streak of songs that fit my mood completely. Considering my itunes has everything from Marvin Gaye to Elliot Smith to Dixie Chicks it is always nice when it just nails your mood in music form under free reign!

can’t believe I only have a week and a day of being 18 left!

alien

It’s beginning to look a lot like…September really but seeing as we are at t-minus 11 days, 18 hours, and 19 mins until Santa slips down the world’s chimneys we can just go ahead and finish the above sentence with the anticipated answer.

This time calls for gift crafting, tea drinking, and christmas picture taking. How many takes before we find one where we all look normal? Only time will tell, quite possibly never.

I could literally win an award for awkward picture taking. Someone whips out a camera, I become a stiff alien unable to smile. It is a terrible condition.

BLAH, okay.

most boring  family ever

fake smiles..we really don’t want to be doing this.

theeere we go. i realize it is blurry, but it’s not in the real version.

It should come as no surprise that August is the centerpiece of the photo. He wasn’t all that photogenic on this particular night..

hahahahah this gets me everytime. I think this is what I was laughing at in the final photo that we chose.

And his penis is front and center so that is inappropriate for the front of a calendar. I still love him though, god help me.

crackle

With finals around the corner for everyone, I am fully aware that this is not the time to brag about enjoying having little to no responsibilities at the moment–but that is not going to stop me!

I have always had the tendency to jam pack my life with activities that keep me rushing from place to place at all times, until now! Well, technically until Sweden where I had ABSOLUTELY nothing that I needed to do. So I guess I have to have a little bit of responsibility to keep me grounded.

Yesterday was seriously such a great day, I cannot hold in the boasting. I had coffee and breakfast with one set of parents, then drove in to town and met my mom for coffee and an impromptu shopping session where two of my favorite items were purchased–books and sweater!–then a work meeting, went to jen’s house and cooked, then went to early thanksgiving potluck where at least 6 of my favorite things occurred–including but not limited to eating, drinking, friends watching (the tv show hahah), laughing, etc., then i drove home to my cozy bed and read before falling asleep.

Although I know it will catch up with me this winter break when I am at school from 8:30 am to 9pm for two weeks straight, it is supremely nice that my schedule looks like this

Clearly, less than rigorous.

Considering how little I HAVE to do, it is interesting how busy I have managed to become anyways. I find myself at my computer a surprisingly little amount–facebook creeping down to a minimum ;)

I’ve been eating, baking, etc

Shopping..

On the sale rack of course haha

Andddd decorating in my head BECAUSE I move in with Tessa in about a month!

So excited–it’s my first house and I’m so glad I get to move in with such a good roommate! I have always been lucky with the roommates actually..FLASHBACK! and trevor and mel hahah

“Nothing has happened today, except kindness,” –Gertrude Stein

That is all :)

yep

People always ask me why my favorite day is Tuesday, and honestly I cannot pinpoint an exact reason. It’s like asking why Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, or why I sneeze fourteen times in a row, or why I am in love with Anderson Cooper.

It’s probably best if you just accept the answer as it is, and don’t questions it too much. Questions create problems. Instead, allow me to distract you from this introductory ramble with…

News round up!

news from my life, and otherwise.

• I am now a World Market member–get the coups and everything. This is a dangerous development in my biography, but as necessary as a Border’s one I’d say.
• Sarah Palin is now allowed control over the English language. WHAT THE WHAT?! not cool.
• The Olsen twins have a younger sister..who looks more like them than they do!

• On the Olsen twin note, I have a sudden unexplainable desire to own a multi colored, long sleeved, sparkly dress

A desire that I will likely ignore, because honestly I don’t want to look in my closet and see more than one dress adorned with sequins..my eyes couldn’t take it!

• Harry Potter comes out this week! As if you didn’t already know..
• I am still drinking smoothies despite it finally deciding to act like Autumn around here.

• and microwaves still rock. dont believe me? click microwaves doubters!
• Tuesday is still my FAVORITE day so have a good one :)

wrap

I LOVE BIRTHDAYS.

Not so much because of the actual day of birth of any particular person is so magical, but instead because of the air of celebration that tends to accompany them.

And the excuse to eat cake (0r more accurately for those of who you know me..ridiculous amounts of frosting).

Candles, presents, and a heavily frosted cake..what more could you ask for?

See that frosting glisten? Yep, I made that and it is shining because it is baked to the brim with love.

hahah alright cheesy BUT I if one man hadn’t been born on November 14 some years ago, then I would not be here to write about it.

Or to enjoy a home-made Lebanese Linner (or Delicious Dunch if you prefer)!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY!

from the kitties too

debonair

adj. Courteous, gracious, and having a sophisticated charm

pronunciation: deb-uh-NAIR

Example: She laughed at the contradictions and said out loud to herself as if she were still talking to the debonair Mr. Raymond Minor, ‘I’ve never thought of leaving the South, never.’ — Ntozake Shange, Ifa Bayeza, Some Sing, Some Cry: A Novel

fiasco

Yesterday I was wondering why I didn’t bake more.

This morning I was reminded.

It all began last night when I came across some recipes from mama pea, mostly due to the fact that I had bought canned pumpkin on a whim, only to remember afterwards that I hate it and therefore needed to find a recipe to use it up.

A quick detour to Sunflower followed where I stocked up on everything that I THOUGHT I might need (more whole wheat flour most specifically) only to arrive home and realize that I was lacking brown sugar..and powdered sugar.

Seeing as I changed into my pj’s immediately after walking in the door, there was no way I was going to return to the dark, cold world for some measly sugar.

This was (bad) sign number one.

No matter, I was not to be deterred so this morning I woke up bright and early and ohsofashionably dressed drove to Smiths for the remaining necessities.

(bad sign )Number two quickly followed when I realized that I was missing baking soda as well! Now, there was REALLY no way that I was returning to the store for a third time–no matter if it was dark and cold or not.NOTE: It wasnt.

I forged ahead anyways. I decided to tackle some peanut butter cookies first. Everything was going smoothly..

until it wasnt.

The dough suddenly became dry, crumbly and wouldnt stick together at ALL. I checked the directions once, twice, and finally gave up and stuck it in the fridge while I began the second item. (Bad sign number three anyone?)

PUMPKIN BARS

This recipe was supremely easy and fast, which was encouraging. I bopped along, stuck it in the oven for thirty minutes and turned my attention back to the case of the dry dough.

I decided to experiment–something i am absolutely unaccustomed to but I already fucked it up by following directions so I was fed up with that.

I re-mixed peanut butter, butter, sugar, and vanilla in a bowl and folded in the crumbly failed dough little by little in one bowl.

In the other I mashed half a banana and combined it with the dry dough. Popped those suckers in the oven and began to examine my now fully baked pumpkin bread.

The moment I cut into it I was reminded of why I baking is not something I do often

I’m terrible at it!

Ah, there it is. I can’t even say that I enjoy it all that much, mostly I just enjoy having first dibs on the dough. It is actually rather stressful to me, because of my accute case of perfectionism.

So basically the pumpkin bread has little flavor. It is gushy, mushy, and generally unappealing. the chocolate chips in it are its saving grace, because they are ghirredelli.

In good news, the cookies came out alright. Oddly enough, the banana peanut butter cookies are my favorite and they were the ones that I created out of failure. That’s encouraging I suppose.

I think I’ll leave future baking to Jenny because she is really good at it. I of course am always willing to provide the dough! What are best friends for if not to consume large portions of cookie dough, I tell ya. Plus these are vegan so there are no eggs to worry about–not that generally stops us anyways.

I may be baking incompetent BUT in my defense I can make some mean quesadillas, and really what else do you need?

refurbish

As I approach the new dawn of life–i.e. the end of my paper–things are gaining a rosier tint through these glasses contacts of mine. (recent republican victories aside of course)

FOOOORRR instance I learned recently that my front door is the official border into new mexico

congratulations to me?

I also enjoyed a B-E-A-UUUUUUUtiful sunset from the comfort of my own back porch/ sociology paper war room.

Snapped this baby with my phone! it’s better than my camera i fear. technology is taking over,  hovercars here we come.

I am also officially back to work–only I would actually get excited about this BUT my byline will now be once again present in the Daily Lobo as of next week :)

(Can I get a ‘what what’ for getting paid?)

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmhm

speaking of mmmmmmmhm’s (emphasis on the attitude) REAL HOUSEWIVES OF ATLANTA IS BACK! hahah nene is my girl

watch it just for you baby–>>andy coop can come too. no idea why they are in a picture together. google images knows though.

 

ANNYWHOoo kitties are cute

 

I have signed up for winter break classes that don’t begin until january 3rd SO no more school for this girl until the ripe old age of 19.

All the more time for crafts

Current to purchase list stands at:

• Globe
• Large mirror
• Amy Sedaris’ craft book
• A life