Smitten

I'm smitten with Smitten.

Raindrops on Roses and Whiskers on Kittens...

These are a few of my current favorite things:

hugs from Kelsey
visiting Hillary on Campbell Hall
the Ag-Sci lounge (shhhh... don't tell anybody!)
dinner with my mom at Bob's
"studying" with my Medieval Lit. study partner
eating Doritos and peanut M&Ms, drinking Diet Pepsi, and watching Gilmore Girls
watching films in my Anthropology class
having clean laundry
singing worship songs
Nickelback music videos (especially "Photograph" and "Savin' Me")
that Hillary placed Nickelback songs on her iTunes for me even though she hates Nickelback
strawberry ice cream
receiving timely return messages on email or Facebook
rain
the view from my lounge windows at night, with lights glimmering softly in the darkness or the sky becoming subtly lighter and more luminous in the early morning
lamplight
snow swirling slowly and softly around my favorite lamppost, making me feel like I am in Narnia or inside a giant snow globe
cloudy days when the breeze feels coastal
reading interesting or humourous blogs
British spellings
falling asleep at dawn (although waking up at dusk is one of my least favorite things)
praying with friends
fresh, hot, steaming coffee that has just the right amount of cream and sugar in it
lattés
whipped cream
Shout stain remover
reading the opinion page of the student newspaper
genuine smiles
watching movies in theaters
riser seating
not having anyone tall sit in front of me
trickster subversion of perverted justice
when Earl Grey can sense that I'm feeling sad and jumps into my lap and cuddles or gives me kitty kisses
having come up with such a perfect name for my cat
his purr
breakfast in a restaurant
VH1
detesting James Blunt's "You're Beautiful"
listening to Beck
dancing when nobody can see me
the concept in the lyrics of Natasha Bedingfield's "Unwritten"
cherry chapstick
Portland
good conversations
feeling comfortable being myself
flattering jeans
camisoles and western-style shirts
cardigan sweaters
fleece
leaf buds on trees
when I don't have to worry about keeping the TV volume low
good hair days
well-stocked vending machines
The Chronicles of Narnia and the Saturday Night Live "Lazy Sunday" skit
the color green
the view of the mountains from the top of a hill
days when the temperature is right for sweaters or tee-shirts
not running into anyone in the hall on the way to or from the shower
friendly and efficient business service
when Ian plays "Mad World" by Gary Jules in the coffee shop
wondering about random things like if Bertie Bott's jelly beans came in "Greyhound bus," would they actually taste the way Greyhound buses smell?
finally putting my head on my pillow when I am really sleepy
not being tired
well-constructed sentences
doing better on exams than I thought I did
new books
the smell of Bible pages
accidentally overhearing conversations about God
crocheting
yarn
books on knitting or crocheting, especially when they have glossy pictures of hip, cozy, colorful items
how God is healing my brokenness and slaking my thirst in ways I don't always immediately recognize
blogging

Fear

How much time and energy do we spend trying to protect ourselves from loss and pain? Is it worth it?

If my greatest fears came true, could it separate me from God or alter His love for me? Prevent me from living out my calling or fulfilling my purpose? Destroy my potential for contentment and even joy?

No, no, and no again!

I Can't Help It

I like Bo Bice in spite of myself.

It's Not "They," It's...

Them! A 1954 science fiction film featuring giant ants that take over America. Scary.

A shining sink...

...is a beautiful thing.

A Scourge

Cell phones are a scourge, I tell you, a scourge! Except when I need to use one.

The Infamous "They"

I find myself saying "they" a lot. "They need to..." "They say..." "They are expecting..." "They think..."

Who are "they" anyway? For me, "they" have generally taken the form of some nameless panel of experts somewhere.

But it is a question that has haunted me my entire life. Does anyone actually know?

Stephen King ought to title his next novel "They." Hey, "It" was a success, so why not "They"?

Advice

If you see someone visibly suffering from a mental illness, especially one which causes them to engage in behaviors that might seem odd to you, take care not to notice anything other than their humanity. Remember that no-one is any more or any less important or valuable than anyone else. Your pity is not required, but your kindness is.

Vending Machine Blues

The vending machine hasn't been restocked for almost two weeks, and I miss my Doritos.

[cue Proclaimers song music]

But I would walk five hundred miles
and I would walk five hundred more
just to be the girl who walked a thousand miles
to buy Doritos from the store...

Not really. That's why they need to restock the vending machine already!

! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

I just felt like it.

I Heart the Brawny Man!

Click here to visit. Stay awhile. He won't mind.

A Revelation

I recently realized that the coffee urns on campus have little clear indicator tubes on the front that show how full they are. This is wonderful! How could I ever not have noticed? This solves the age-old dilemma of wondering which urn contains the hottest, freshest, most recently brewed coffee!

By the way, whoever decided to call them urns anyway? It sounds so macabre. The spigots don't dispense ashes. It's not like there's a coffee funeral going on.

Beck, Prince, Nickelback

Is it weird that I just want to scoop Beck up and give him a big hug? Does the guy ever smile? I'd really like to see that.

I officially nominate Prince's "Black Sweat" the grossest music video ever made. I won't deny he's a talented musician. The blouse is fine, the popped collar is okay, but please spare us the body fluids and the greasy chest hair.

And in other news, I love Nickelback's newest hit video "Savin' Me" so much I wanna marry it.

A Little Slack

Hey perfectionist! Cut yourself some slack. It'll make it easier to cut everyone else a little slack too.

Dearth of Posts

I blame it on midterms. Actually, wait. No, I can't do that. After all, midterms didn't prevent me from marathon Gilmore Girls watching sessions.

Okay, then, I blame it on enough sleep. Sleep deprivation fuels this blog. Only when I lack sleep am I sufficiently unable to reason clearly enough to distinguish between what is and isn't worth posting (thus the glut of posts that are published in the wee hours of the early morning). Enough sleep and this blog is doomed; nothing seems funny or intelligent anymore.

Blogger's block. At least it's more poetic than "writer's block." It has that whole alliteration thing going on. Oh, and assonance too!