Weekend Update

In case anyone's bored, you can view pictures of my weekend here.  We had a yummy dinner at Outback on Friday, then we went to see The Guardian on Saturday.  We made a bet about who would die, and the loser had to buy the winner ice cream.  I won.  (To be honest, I was hoping I would lose so Stephen would let me pay for something for once, but no such luck.)  I don't really think I'm giving anything away by saying someone dies; people always die in movies featuring risky careers. 

Saying goodbye to Stephen was not so great, but lucky for me he's coming up here for my birthday weekend o' fun.  I'm having people over for a Saved by the Bell marathon at my apartment on Friday (how cool is that?), then on Saturday Stephen is taking me to dinner at The Melting Pot
,which I love and never get to visit because it's expensive.  If you've never had chocolate fondue and cheesecake, you are missing out.  We're also planning to finish registering for gifts (yay!), and I will be glad when that's over because it's time consuming and slightly annoying and one more thing I can check off the list.  After we went to a wedding on Saturday evening, Stephen and I planned out the music for our wedding ceremony, and I'm totally excited about it.  There's not a traditional bit in there, but I think it's going to be lovely and unique, which is what I'm going for.  (I do have a hymn and some instrumental music in it, but there's no "Wedding March" or "Canon in D" to be found.)  Only 229 more days!

P.S.  My paper presentation at the conference went really well.  The only comments I got were positive.  (I think it helped that the audience picked at the other woman's argument quite a bit.)

My (not so) Exciting Fall Break Plans

Tomorrow around 3 p.m. I will be on my way to see Stephen! Fall break is this Thursday and Friday, and it couldn't have come at a better time because I don't know how much longer I could have gone without seeing him. (It's been almost an entire month. That's a loooong time.) Our visit will be slightly interrupted by my attendance at the Southeastern Medieval Association (SEMA) conference, where I will present a paper that is not yet complete (or rather, it's complete but is entirely too long and not presentable in its current state). I'm less than excited about this conference, but mainly because I've never presented at one before, and I don't want people to think I'm arguing something completely preposterous and then call me out on it during the question and answer time. Or worse yet, what if someone asks me a question I can't answer? Fortunately for me, one of my professors suggested replying with, "That's a great question. What do YOU think?" but I don't know that responding in that manner would be appropriate for me. It might work for him, since he's a nationally and internationally known Anglo Saxonist, but I'm just a lowly grad student. If I could just attend this conference and listen to everyone else's papers, I think I'd enjoy myself immensely. Oh well, at least I get to stay in a hotel and don't have to pay for it because of the university's fabulous travel budget.

Oh, and I'm driving a nice little Pontiac Vibe for the rest of the week because my car is at a dealership being repaired. Poor little Chestnut Cruiser (my car) was hit in the parking lot on campus, and her driver's side tail light did not survive the impact. Fortunately for me, the guy who hit me was ever so nice and left his name and number, which restored in me some faith in humanity, and his parents happen to own a local dealership here in town and are taking care of everything. I really can't quite believe how easy the process was, considering that things never seem to be that easy for me, but I'll take it. I'll definitely take it.

After the conference I am heading to Memphis to spend the weekend at my parent's house, where Stephen will also be, and we're celebrating my birthday a week early at Outback because my parents are going to be on a cruise on my actual birthday. My best friend Emily will be there, as will hopefully my brother and sister-in-law and nephew, and it should be a great weekend. I miss my family.

There's really no point to this post. I basically just don't want to work on my paper. It's quite possible I'll still be working on it come Friday morning, and I'll have to read it off my computer screen. That would be entertaining, wouldn't it?

Here's to a four-day weekend of academia, family, and my love, Stephen. (You can commence gagging now.)

235 Days

Long distance relationships stink. (Stephen and I are fine. There's just a lot to be said for a physical presence when one is in need of a little comforting, and Stephen and I both needed that today.)

I'm a Loser

I saw Little Miss Sunshine today with my roomie and her boyfriend. It was really fabulous (although the characters were overly fond of the "f" word). Here's what I learned: everyone is a loser. No, really. Everyone has a bit of loser in him/her. It's why we need each other, so there will be someone there to help push the bus until it shifts into gear (that part you will only understand if you've seen the movie). I'm glad I have people who help me feel like less of a loser. This post is for them. I love you.

La de da

Xanga is so quiet these days! Here's a survey, since no one's really reading this anyway.

A is for age:
24, but I'll be 25 in 16 days!! Presents will be accepted (I take checks or money orders or cold hard cash).

B is for beer of choice:
I choose not to drink beer. Gross.

C is for career right now?
Composition instructor

D is for your dog's name?
Sandy.

E is for essential item you use everyday:
Toothbrush!

F is for favorite TV show at the moment:
It's a toss-up between Grey's Anatomy, LOST, and Gilmore Girls.

G is for favorite board game?
LIFE. I know it's cheesy, but I just love it for some reason.

H is for home town:
Bartlett, TN

I is for instruments you've played/play:
Guitar, once upon a time.

J is favorite juice:
Orange, although I'm on quite an apple juice kick recently.

K is for whose ass you'd like to kick:
This is rather violent, isn't it? But I'd like to kick the Palladino's collective ass for leaving Gilmore Girls.

L is for last restaurant you ate at:
Wasabi, I think. It's been a while.

M is for would you marry someone now:
Heck yes! Colin Firth! (Just kidding, Stephen!)

N is for your full name:
Erin Nicole Hetzel, soon to be Erin Nicole Hetzel Mount (yay!!)

O is for overnight hospital stays:
When I was four I had surgery on my bladder or something. (I don't really remember the specifics; all I remember is having to get all my hair cut off for some reason.)

P is for people you were with today:
Not many, just the few students who dropped by to talk about their presentations.

Q is for quote:
"Love is not love which alters when it alteration finds." Shakespeare

R is for biggest regret:
Not getting certified to teach high school English.

S is for status:
Status of what?

T is for time you woke up today:
9:20

U is for the color of underwear you are wearing right now:
Who cares??

V is for vegetables you love:
Corn, potatoes, broccoli

W is for worst habit:
Picking at my nails or my lips.

X is for xrays you've had:
Just teeth, I think.

Y is for yummy food you ate today:
Grandma's chocolate chip cookies (they're the best kind!)

Z is for zodiac sign:
Libra

Lost: Imagination

Is anyone else completely perplexed by what's happening on LOST? Exactly who ARE the Others?
******
(I put a version of the rest of this entry on MySpace a few days ago, so it might be a duplicate for some of you.)
I bought The Little Mermaid the other day, and I can't wait to watch it. This movie was an integral part of my childhood. I remember saving up my allowance for a month so I could buy this set of Little Mermaid dishes. I had a Little Mermaid doll, complete with removable fins, and I would reenact the whole movie with Ariel and Ken as the stand-in for Prince Eric. My little tape player almost died because I played the soundtrack so many times, and I sang every song from the movie straight through more than a few times. When I would go to my friend Heather's house to swim, we would pretend we were mermaids, and I can't even count the times that we would burst out of the water and flip our hair back, imagining the red tresses floating gently down onto our necks and backs. We were marine royalty, and it showed.

I've been thinking recently about imagination and creativity, and how it seems to die as I get older. My entire childhood was spent in a land of make-believe, and yet now I can't even write a decent short story. When did I lose the magic? When did the real world encroach upon my fantasy land? How do I make the magic come back? I hope when I have kids that I can be the parent who encourages them to visit faraway lands and make up fabulous tales of adventure and mystery and that I will be okay with them building a fort in the living room or jumping on all the furniture because if they touch the ground the crocodile will get them. I want to do this for them because I want to keep the magic alive. I want to do this for them because in so doing it I can become a kid again myself.

Gilmore Girls Review

EDIT: I just bought The Little Mermaid! I'm sooo excited. I don't know how many years it's been since I last saw it, but I still know the words to almost all the songs. And why is it almost 80 degrees in October? It's fall! I want to wear sweaters, dang it!


Highs:

Logan and Rory interactions were super cute in this episode. Logan gave Rory a rocket, and at first Rory was completely perplexed as to what it meant, but then she remembered the Twilight Zone episode they watched on their first date. I don't really remember all the details about the episode, but Rory decides the rocket symbolizes true love. Rory wants to go to London for the summer to be with Logan, but when she calls him he tells her he bought her a ticket for Christmas. This crushes Rory, but she doesn't say anything, so that serves her right.

Sookie and Michel arm wrestled, and of course Sookie whipped Michel's butt. It was very cute.

Lorelai and Rory attempted sports as a way to get their minds off their respective boy troubles, and Lorelai gives herself a black eye. Their "no talking" rule lasts about two seconds, and the scene with them in the racquetball court is precious. It seemed like the Rory and Lorelai of seasons gone by.

Lows:

Luke and Lorelai are over. Waaaa. Although it pains me to admit it, they need to be broken up so they can both do a little growing and maturing. They also need to learn how to communicate! Lorelai gave this very heartfelt and moving explanation to Sookie about why she couldn't wait for Luke anymore, and if she had just told LUKE that, it could have saved a lot of heartache.

Taylor decides to install a red-light camera in Stars Hollow, and Kirk tests it out in Taylor's Thunderbird, which he proceeds to crash into the front of Luke's Diner. I was not a fan of this at all. It was over the top and completely absurd, and Taylor gets on my last nerve.

Luke comes to Lorelai's house at the end of the episode, having realized the error of his ways, and says he's ready to elope now. Too little, too late, Luke. Lorelai, perhaps in order to shut him up (as he talked more in this scene than in any other), tells him she slept with Christopher. This stunning blow does indeed shut him up, and Luke turns around and leaves, and fade to credits. Scott Patterson did an excellent job in this scene, and it was really heartbreaking.

I'm concerned about the direction of this season. Last season was my least favorite, and I would love it if this one were a huge improvement, but I just don't know. I suppose time will tell. Tonight's episode should be interesting at least.

Missing

I have been missing Stephen today (which is nothing especially new, since I miss him whenever I'm not with him, and I'm not with him way too much), and I thought how strange it is that he wasn't even a part of my life six months ago, and now I can't imagine what my life would be like without him.

My intent in writing this isn't to make you gag at my cheesiness, but to pose a question. When Jesus was here on earth-- the Son of Man, God made flesh--did He miss God? Did God miss Him? I know they are the same being, but they are also separate, and I suppose this is where the mystery of the Trinity applies. Of course, if Jesus was in constant communion with God while on the earth, then I don't guess He had much reason to miss Him, so perhaps this whole line of thought is preposterous. I just thought how sad it must have been for God to send away His Son to live with a people who would reject Him and ultimately murder Him. As much as I hate to leave Stephen whenever we have to part, I imagine the ache that Jesus felt was paramount, and probably coupled with a great deal of compassion and longing to go to these people who so desperately need Him. How torn he must have been, and yet he went willingly to the slaughter.

I don't think this post makes any sense, but I know that I can empathize with Paul when he writes in Romans 11:33, "Oh the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!" Let us drink in the mystery of Him.

Reaching the Limit

Today I did something I have not done yet in grad school: I dropped a class. I was supposed to give a presentation on a book today, along with having about 300 pages of Bleak House read, and it just wasn't going to happen. I've been working like crazy trying to catch up since I got mono, and I'm worn out. I've gotten very little sleep this week, I'm tired all the time, and I'm so stressed out that yesterday I felt like I was going to be sick. This is NOT conducive to a full recovery from mono. When I first came back to school, I debated dropping it, but I decided to try and stick it out. I did okay at first, but it seemed like the minute I finished one thing, something else was waiting to be done. It's like I couldn't breathe. Then last night around 2 am when I was trying to finish my presentation, I just sort of lost it. After talking to my dear friend Emily (my fabulous maid of honor), I decided that my mental and physical health is more important than trying to prove to myself that I can catch up on two weeks' worth of Dickens novels. When I think about it, the one thing that was keeping me from dropping it earlier is pride. I didn't want my professor to think of me as a quitter, and I didn't want to think of myself as one, either. But you know what? In ten years will I even care about this class I dropped? I probably won't care about it in one year. The important thing is for me to know my limits and forget about any concerns I have about what people will think of me. I've reached my limit. It's time to rest.

The silver lining to all of this? When I got back from campus today I checked the mail, and I had a package from Stephen! He sent me the 6th season of Gilmore Girls on DVD! He really is the greatest thing to ever happen to me. Girls, wait for your prince. He'll come when you least expect it.

The Things My Mom Says

My mom called me earlier, and I was stressing out about this book presentation I have to give tomorrow (and about the 5 bazillion other things I have to do), and she said, "Erin, stop stressing. Your goal now is GET OUT, GET MARRIED!" Works for me!

Yippie!

Gilmore Girls premiere is TONIGHT! And what makes it even more exciting than usual is that Stephen is now caught up on the entire series, so he can share my greatest TV love with me! He really is the best fiancé ever. I just hope the premiere isn't disappointing. I'm sure it's going to be a little sad, but as long as it's good, I can handle some sadness.

In other news, my mom is meeting with some photographers this week, so let's hope I will soon have a wedding photographer! That's the last major detail I need to take care of, and the sooner it's done, the better I will feel about it. I think it will actually hit me that I'm getting married when my wedding dress comes in (which will be several more weeks, I believe). I can't wait!

Just Though You'd Want to Know

I am listening to the 70s station on Rhapsody, and "Copacabana" just came on. It gave me quite the giggle.

I bought this supposedly lavender-scented auto air freshener at Wal-Mart, and instead of smelling like lavender, it smells like men's cologne. I'm actually okay with that.

I have entirely too much work to catch up on.

I am itching to wear a sweater. Fall is here, and I need to wear sweaters!

I cannot wait for the SEVENTH season premiere of Gilmore Girls!!!!

I am reading this book called City of Dreadful Delight: Narratives of Sexual Danger in Late-Victorian London. For school. It's about Jack the Ripper. How cool is that?

Today's School Lesson

Today in my medieval readings course I learned that if you want to sell a house quickly, you should bury St. Joseph upside down in your front yard. Who knew that he was the patron saint of real estate? I'm so glad I'm getting my master's so I can learn this incredibly valuable information. (In case you're wondering, this lesson had nothing whatsoever to do with the reading.)

EDIT: Gilmore Girls gossip below! Do NOT read if you don't want to know about events that take place in the season premiere (which is NEXT Tuesday, yay!)!!!








The following is from my favorite TV scooper, Michael Ausiello, as found in his TV Guide column, Ask Ausiello:


Question: At the risk of angering the Gilmore Girls masses, I like Christopher. Is he actually going to get his chance with Lorelai this time around?— Libby
Ausiello: Cover your eyes, L/L fans. (Yes, he is.) David Sutcliffe was very cagey about the rekindling of Lorelai-Christopher, but I did manage to get him to confirm rumors that they'll be jetting off to Paris for a romantic rendezvous during November sweeps. But, unfortunately for Sutcliffe, they won't be going to the real Paris. He says there was a "30-second conversation" about doing a location shoot in France, but saner (i.e., budget-conscious) minds prevailed, and now "Paris is on the backlot of Universal." BTW, Sutcliffe's no dummy: He knows the majority of Gilmore fans loathe his character. "It's a 70/30 split," he ventures. "I do have my fans, but I have my detractors as well."

Ahhh! I'm going to be so sad watching the premiere.

For a LOT more scoop, visit spoilerfix.com. (The site also has spoilers for other shows, like LOST and Grey's Anatomy.)

Save Me from the Monotony!

If I read one more paper that begins with "In today's society," I'm going to throw something.

P.S.  I can't seem to figure out how to put the actual video on here, but if you want to see a music video that features great feats on treadmills, go here.

Breakthrough in Weight Loss

Want to lose 8 pounds in two weeks? Get mono!


P.S. Guess what sweet, wonderful man bought me season 2 of LOST?

On the Mend?

I think I feel better today than I have since I started feeling sick. My temperature was almost normal, the vomiting seems to have stopped, which is a miracle, and I was actually able to drive myself to the doctor. I had to take a nap when I got home, but still, these are major developments. I had to get more blood drawn, which is lots of fun, but the doctor thinks that my liver enzymes are going back down, and it looks like my jaundice is about gone. Plus, she said it would be fine for me to go back to class on Monday as long as I feel like it, so lots of good news today! Hopefully I can keep my energy up when I drive back this weekend. I'm not looking forward to that one bit, but I'll manage. Thanks to all of you who have been praying and have left such sweet comments. I really appreciate it, and please keep praying. The doctor says the fatigue can last long after the other symptoms have faded, so I have to be careful.

Anywho, enough about my sickness. Thanks again to all of you!!

Blah

Not only do I have mono, I have jaundice and elevated liver enzymes, whatever that means. Oh, and I throw up. Every day. It's great. All I know is I have to stop taking the medicine until I go back to the doctor on Wednesday to see about my liver, and the medicine actually helped the throbbing pain in my head. So much for that.

Shoot me now, please.

So this whole mono thing? It kind of sucks. I cannot wait for the day that I do not have alternate times of sweating profusely and shivering uncontrollably and can actually walk around without wanting to fall down. Blah.

What makes it even more stressful is that I had my students submit their work online for Friday and today, and it takes forEVER to go through all their emails and check their work and stuff. Plus, I haven't gotten any reading done because reading for more than 10 minutes makes my head want to explode.

If a country was wanting to unleash a biological weapon, they should use mono. (Not that I'm condoning biological warfare, of course.)

My students are going to be blogging this semester as well, in a class blog on Blogger. I'm rather excited about it, although I don't think all of them are thrilled with the idea. I bet they will love it at the end of the semester, though!

That's all for now. I'm still alive, so that's a plus.

P.S. Why do they keep changing the text editor thingy?

Medical Update

I just returned from a 4-hour visit to the emergency room, and it's official: I have mono. When my fever peaked at 102.5 today, I decided it was a good idea to make an emergency trip. My parents are on their way up to take care of me, and I've got a Vicodin prescription, so hopefully that will help me sleep and ease the pain I feel in my muscles. I've been ordered to stay off campus for at least a week, so I'm not sure what to do about teaching my classes. I'm already stressed about being behind, so please pray for me, both that I will get better quickly and that I won't stress about stuff that's out of my control.

I doubt I'll be updating much, but know I'll be with you in spirit.

The Crocodile Hunter is dead. He was stung in the heart by a stingray. I never watched his show, and I thought he was kind of a nut, but still, that's a sad (and strange) way to go. His poor wife and children.

In completely unrelated news, this is the fifth day I've had a fever. The smallest bit of physical exertion completely wears me out. My throat hurts, my body aches, and I'm pretty much miserable. And now it's even sadder because Stephen left this morning. I really really hope I don't have mono.

I'm still sick. Fortunately, Stephen is a good caretaker. I'm sure he would rather be doing other things than taking care of a sick girl, but that comes with the territory.

P.S. Has anyone had mono? If so, what were your symptoms?

Sadness

I have a temperature of 101.5, and Stephen is coming to visit this weekend. Why me? At least he will be here to take care of me.

Let's Get a Little More Random

1. Teaching is exhausting, frustrating, rewarding, challenging, and fun.
2. Students should be mindful of what they say while doing group work. I can hear them when they say things like, "Did you read?" "No, did you?" "No, I was too busy." I'm so giving them a quiz on Friday.
3. I'm ready for fall to be here so I can stop breaking into a sweat the minute I step outside.
4. I will never get used to Tennessee humidity.
5. Stephen is coming on Friday and staying until Monday. It's the first time we've seen each other in three weeks. Could I be any more excited about that? Probably not.
6. Tomorrow is payday. I can eat again!
7. I really really really want to cut my hair, but I'm trying to grow it out so I can do something pretty and fun with it when I get married. I hate having the same hair all the time, though, and of course I keep seeing all of these cute, short hairstyles that make me want to drive immediately to my hair stylist and tell her to chop mine off. I must stay strong!
8. I forgot where my car was parked today, so I spent a good 15-20 minutes wandering around trying to find it. Note to self: remember where you park your car!
9. I want to be done with school. Or at least done with Dickens.
10.Season two of Lost comes out on DVD next Tuesday. I'm definitely buying it, since I've become quite the successful half.com seller. Long live e-commerce!

P.S. I just went to MySpace, and on the log-in page there was a band who was categorized as Hardcore / Metal / and Post Hardcore. What in the world is Post Hardcore?

A Bit Better

So today I'm feeling a bit better about things, despite the fact that I drove around this morning for almost half an hour trying to find a place to park and arrived at class late and sweaty. Fun times. And you know what I love? Killing myself to get the reading done for a class and then going to class and finding out that the professor isn't planning on discussing the reading at all that day. Fantastic. That really puts me in a great state of mind, let me tell you. At least the lecture was interesting and held my attention. The professor had all these first editions of 19th century novels that he showed us, and I'm really fascinated with the history of the book. I want to collect first editions. Wouldn't that be cool? I could have a library with first editions of Jane Austen and Emily Bronte and Wordsworth, etc. etc. If only I could afford to buy some. Maybe when I get a lucrative teaching job. (Oh wait, that's an oxymoron.)

Happy Tuesday.

How is it that I already feel behind after just three days of classes? I don't know how I'm going to survive this semester. And if I do survive, it will be because I didn't get any sleep.

*Goes off to convince herself not to drop out.*

Just Be

Since some of you think I was needlessly mean to Dr. Seuss the other day, here's a quote by him that I happen to love:

"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind."

I think the older I get, the less I care about what people think of me. Not to say that I disregard the feelings or opinions of others; I just don't get as worked up as I used to about making everyone happy. If someone doesn't like me or thinks I'm a nerd or a weirdo (and I am), then that's fine. Real love, that unconditional love that Christ offers us and every once in a while appears in the actions/words of others, accepts me on the basis of who I am, nothing more, nothing less. Real love, that unconditional love, loves me regardless of whether or not my hair looks perfect, my bed is made, or my grades are superior. Real love, that unconditional love, is worth it. Everything else is just counterfeit.

Some of my students called me "Professor Hetzel" today, and I wasn't sure what to do, so I just let them. Hehe. Teaching is fun.

The classroom has improved somewhat, since it appears that someone cleaned out the random piles of boxes that were in one corner (they probably had drugs in them), and the desks are now in rows. I really hate desks in rows, though, and if it weren't so blasted hot in there, I'd have them move the desks into a semicircle or something more "friendly" like that. The air runs full blast the entire time, but it still feels similar to what I imagine the inside of an oven feels like, which is less than delightful, to say the least. I guess the day that I went to see the classroom it felt cool because it had been vacant all day, the lights were off, and the door was shut. It's still a completely hideous room, though. I took pictures with my camera phone, but I'm not exactly sure how to transfer them to my computer, so if I figure that out I'll let you know.

This weekend I get to read their diagnostic essays, and I've already skimmed some of them, and they should be quite entertaining. Class dismissed.

I'm a Little Apprehensive...

..about the reading load for my Victorian novel class. We're reading 11, yes 11 novels, 4 of which are over 900 pages EACH. How in the world am I going to keep up with the reading and have any semblance of a life? The answer is, I don't think I will have any semblance of a life. (I'm sure poor Stephen is already mourning the loss of our treasured phone time.) The good thing about this class: the professor is hilarious. He has this really great witty sense of humor, which you definitely need when you're reading something as dull as Dickens. Don't get me wrong, I know Dickens is a literary genius, yada yada yada, but he was so darn verbose! And he sold thousands of books during a time when people were still using candles to read by if they didn't have the money to have a lot of windows in their homes. I can't imagine reading Bleak House by candlelight. I think I would have to take up knitting or something instead. Wouldn't that be sad. I was going to sit down and figure out exactly how many pages I'll be reading for this one class, but then I decided that a) this would depress me, and b) my time would perhaps be better spent actually reading said books. Oh well. Farewell, life, it was fun while it lasted!

First day of classes. Always an exciting day for me, no matter how old I get. And this year was even more so because this year I'm not only a student, I'm a teacher. (That reminds me of those Hair Club for Men commercials. "I'm not just the president, I'm also a client." Hehe.) I met my students today, and everything went well. They all got to class way early, which I found to be very cute, and despite a slight tremor in my hands, I wasn't too nervous. I don't remember any of their names, so I'm going to have to work hard at learning them quickly because that's really important to me. It's also really strange how my brain is occupied with new thoughts, like, "I need to remember to email them about this" or "I should try this for Friday's class." It's a whole new world, and I think I'm gonna love it.

The Class Must Go On

Today my good buddy Diana and I went to check out the classrooms we'll be teaching in. I knew where the building I'm in was, but I had never been there. I didn't expect much because I've heard some horror stories about classrooms at UT, but even my low expectations were not met when I saw this room. It's the most horrible classroom I could ever imagine. Words cannot adequately convey the despair that filled my soul upon seeing this room, the room in which I'm to nurture the minds of 46 freshmen and teach them to love literature and writing. I wish I'd had my camera with me so you could all share in my abject state, but alas, I was without my digital friend. Don't fear, however; I am sure I will be taking pictures of the room tomorrow before my class begins. The one redeeming quality of the room is that the air conditioner seemed to be working properly, and that is a blessing, as is the fact that the classroom is in close proximity to my "office" (aka dungeon) where I will be holding office hours. It's bad enough that I am teaching students composition, when I'm pretty sure none of them could care less about it to begin with, but to do so in conditions that are deplorable is even worse. Oh well. I suppose the ugliness of the classroom will only make whatever I do seem even more fun because they won't have exciting surrounding to distract them. That's what I keep telling myself anyway. We shall see.

Reading Rainbow

I stole this from Mikey.

1. One book that changed your life: Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers. Yes, it's fiction, and yes, it's Christian fiction, but this book helped me see God's love for me in a completely new and beautiful way. If you haven't read it, you simply must. You won't regret it!

2. One book that you’ve read more than once: See above. Also, I've read Pride and Prejudice several times, along with Mere Christianity, Little Women, and the Harry Potter books. (I originally typed Harry "Pooter." Hehe.)

3. One book you’d want on a desert island: Only one? Not possible to pick! But here are the ones who would make the top five: 1)The Bible; 2)Redeeming Love; 3)The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde; 4)Lord of the Rings; 5)Jane Eyre.

4. One book that made you laugh: The Nanny Diaries. That book made me laugh and cry.

5. One book that made you cry: Atonement Child by Francine Rivers. (A lot of books make me cry, though. I'm a softie.)

6. One book you wish had been written: Huh? I'm not sure how to answer this.

7. One book you wish had never been written: Green Eggs and Ham. (I don't really have any idea.)

8. One book you’re currently reading: Lies at the Altar: The Truth About Great Marriages by Robin Smith. Very insightful and very interesting.

9. One book you’ve been meaning to read: All the books on the MA exam reading list.

10. One book you’d like to write: A non-fiction book of essays/thoughts on Christianity or a book of poetry. I started a book last year called Diary of a Bridesmaid that I would really like to finish someday, but I don't know that it will happen.
Now go read a book!

(Mostly) Surefire Ways to Get Eprops

1. Post pictures of flowers from your boyfriend/fiance, or pictures of your cute puppy or child. People love cute/pretty stuff.
2. Get engaged.
3. Say something wildly outrageous that will anger/excite people. (Example: I think Bush is the best president we've ever had.)
4. Have people vote for something, like a background song or a favorite picture.
5. Post about your birthday. People always like leaving birthday props.
6. Recap Gilmore Girls in a witty and intelligent fashion.
7. Bribe. Say things like, "I have HUGE news, but I'm only telling it if I get 20 eprops." Or make it sound more pitiful, like, "No one loves me on Xanga anymore. Where's the love?"
8. Ask questions of your readers. (See the end of this post.)

And generally speaking, I find that it's easier to get eprops when you actually write a post more than once every two months. (*cough* Stephen *cough*)

What are some of your tips for getting eprops?

P.S. I will give eprops to the person who can tell me how to add accents to letters using a laptop. The alt+ number formula doesn't work.

Are these not lovely?  Guess who sent them to me.  It probably isn't too hard to figure out.
Only 14 more days...





The name of the arrangement?  "Hugs and Kisses."  How cute is he???

You've Got Mail

I was long overdue for a viewing of my favorite movie, and I find myself with a newfound affection for it. I always loved the way Joe and Kathleen fell in love with each other over email, how romantic it was that words united their hearts before they even truly met. While Stephen's and my story is certainly different, there's that same element of romance with a "contemporary" twist. I guess you could say that for us--and for Joe and Kathleen--it was love at first "write."

One of my favorite quotes from the movie, spoken by Kathleen (Meg Ryan):

"Sometimes I wonder about my life. I lead a small life. Well, valuable, but small. And sometimes I wonder, Do I do it because I like it, or because I haven't been brave? So much of what I see reminds of something I read in a book, but shouldn't it be the other way around?"

Help me be brave, Lord.

Today I finally got the response about my engagement to Stephen that I'd been anticipating: "Wow, four months? Are you sure about this?" However, it was from a girl in the department who doesn't know me all that well and didn't know I was dating anyone, so I really didn't mind it. I just told her that yes, I was sure, and that when it's right, it's right. And it is. I expected more people to have similar reactions, but on the contrary, most say things like, "I'm so happy for you!" or "That's so romantic!" or "I didn't even know you were dating anyone!" or "I need to join MySpace!" (That last one was my favorite.) Granted, they could all be saying something different to each other, like, "Is she crazy?!" I have to say, I'll be sad when there aren't any more people to tell. It's so fun to be giddy all the time, but I suppose if I were this giddy for the next ten or so months I'd become slightly unbearable to be around. Perhaps a little "deflation" is good for everyone.

Meeting new people makes me tired.

Life As I Know It...

...will soon be over. I went to campus yesterday to get some information about orientation week that hadn't been mailed to me, so while I was there I also purchased my ridiculously expensive parking pass and some of my books. I'm taking two classes, and guess how many books I will have for those 2 classes. FIFTEEN. With the exception of one anthology of Middle English lyrics, all of them are novels. 3 of them are Dickens novels, which means, in my opinion, long and boring. I am going to have to spend all my time reading, which will considerably lessen the time I spend doing fun things, like, oh, talking to my fiance! Ahhh. Do I really need a master's degree?

Down to Earth

EDIT: I got a signal! And I have class rosters! I can't wait to meet my students on August 23!

I'm back in Knoxville, and that means no more Stephen. It's especially sad tonight because it's storming, and apparently the cell phone towers aren't working because I have no signal (my Internet works fine, though, so we're chatting). We have talked on the phone every day for months, and today we can't. I know it's trivial, but it's all we have. Waaaaah.

I had a ridiculous amount of mail waiting for me. It would have been fun to open, if 98% of it weren't just boring bills. Oh well.

Monday begins orientation week at UT. I'm excited about meeting all of the incoming MA's, and I'm glad I'm no longer one of them. It's nice to know the ropes and not have to be wondering what's going on all the time. I hope I can help make them all feel welcome. (And I hope I can finish my syllabus before classes start! Ugh.)

June 2, 2007

On that wonderful day, Stephen and I will begin our lives together here.  Click here for more pictures that my mom took when we went to scout the place.  To view our (unfinished) wedding site, go here.  (Sign our guestbook if you want!)

To see what my wedding dress looks like, go...never mind!  That will have to wait, I'm afraid. :happy:

I think I'm excited about just everything these days.  It's a nice feeling.

It's Really Happening

Today I think I realized that I actually am getting married. Probably because my mom and I went and looked at a wedding venue, and I found a wedding dress!!! It was the first one I tried on, and after trying on about 7 or 8 other ones, I knew the first one was it. I didn't even intend to try on wedding dresses today; my mom and I just stopped by the store to look at bridesmaid dresses, which we also found. I'm so so excited!! The only people who are going to know what it looks like are my parents and my bridesmaids. I want everyone else to be stunned by my beauty. Hehe.

We loved the wedding venue and are more than likely going to book it, but that means giving up the 7/7/07 date because that date was already taken. The good news is we're probably moving the date up to early June, which means waiting less time, and I think Stephen and I are all about that. Once we've finalized the date and location, you can be sure I'll post the details on here. We're still tweaking our wedding site on theknot.com, but when we get it finished I'll post a link. (If I can find out what the link is, that is. I can't seem to figure out how to tell people to get to our page. Jenny, do you know?) And since I'm sure not all of you want to hear *every* detail about my wedding, I'm thinking about starting up another blog that Stephen and I can devote to purely wedding stuff. We'll see.

I think that's about all on my end. I'm exhausted! Trying on wedding dresses is draining! (But oh-so fun.)

The Future Mrs. Mount

Well, since you're all begging to know ...Stephen and I are engaged!! We're getting married! He's my fiancee! We're going to spend the rest of our lives together! (I'm a little excited.) Here's the story:

On Friday Stephen and I made plans to go out to Natchez Trace State Park to celebrate our 3-month anniversary. Well, not five minutes after we got there, it started pouring. We waited for about half an hour to see if the storm would die down, but it didn't, so we decided to forego our picnic once again (I guess we're just meant to have a picnic) and head back to Jackson. We arrived back at Stephen's apartment around 2:30 or so, and we watched an episode of Gilmore Girls before deciding to get dressed up a little bit and have an early dinner (since we never ate our picnic lunch). After we had gotten ready and were about to leave, I remembered that I had to give him his anniversary present. Before I did, though, Stephen said he wanted to give me his present first. I said okay, and he said, "I think you'll like it a lot because it fits in my pocket." Of course I was thinking, "Is it a ring?!" and then he pulled out a ring box, and opened it up for me! I was completely stunned! Then he tells me that he's 100% certain that he wants to spend the rest of his life with me and that he loves me. Then he got down on his knee and asked me to be his wife! I'm crying by this time (surprise surprise), but I naturally say yes, and we hug and it was just perfect. He wanted me to be completely surprised, and I was. I had thought he would propose to me when he came up to Knoxville in October for my birthday, but he knew I was expecting it then, so he didn't want to do it then. I'm so glad he did it earlier! :)

For those of you not aware of all the details of mine and Stephen's relationship, let me provide a little background. Stephen and I knew each other while attending Union, but we didn't really hang out much; we just had some mutual friends so our social circles crossed occasionally. The last time we even saw each other was about 2 years ago while at a wedding of some friends. Then four months ago, I received a message from Stephen on MySpace (yes, MySpace), and he just said hello and wanted to see what I was up to now. So I wrote him back and filled him in on the basics, he wrote me back, and then we began corresponding on a daily basis, often with multiple emails. We found several shared interests and it wasn't long before I began to look forward to hearing from him and wanting to know more about him. After almost two weeks of writing, I gave him my phone number, and he called me not long after that. We talked for three hours, and it was the easiest thing in the world! Our phone conversations continued, as did our writing (we each have upwards of 130 pages of emails saved in Word files), and both of us became very interested in pursuing something beyond friendship. After discussing it and praying about it, we began dating with the purpose of seeing if we could envision a future together. I made several trips to Jackson to see him, and he came to Memphis several times to meet my parents and other family members. I also went to Illinois and met a bunch of his family when his grandfather passed away; I was sorry to meet them under such sad circumstances, but it was great to finally meet his family. So far no one in the family seems to think this match is absurd, which is good. :) Our tentative date is set for July 7, 2007 (07/07/07), but some of my friends seem to think we won't last that long. We'll see!

As for Stephen, my fiance, I could not have asked for anyone better for me, and I just wanted to share this incredibly exciting--and probably unbelievable to some of you--news and take a minute to praise God for His blessings! He knows how to write great love stories!!!

Our Story

Thanks to all of you who showered me with the Xanga love! As a reward, I'll tell you how Stephen and I met. Unless of course you'd rather hear about how we got engaged yesterday. You decide.

Yippie Skippy!

I get to see Stephen tomorrow (technically today I guess)! We're celebrating our 3 month anniversary (I know it's cheesy, but I don't care) by going to Natchez Trace State Park and swimming and renting paddle boats and having the picnic we planned to have on our first date, if it doesn't rain. If it does rain, we'll watch Gilmore Girls and rent movies. Since the former sounds much more original than the latter, I'm hoping it doesn't rain. (Not that I don't love any chance to watch Gilmore Girls.) Did I mention that Stephen, knowing of my great love for those beloved Gilmores and wishing to share it with me, is systematically watching every episode in the series? I parted with all of my DVD's (that's love right there) so he could watch them, and so far he's made it halfway through season four. His goal is to watch all the way through season six (after it comes out on DVD Sept. 19) before season seven starts, so he and I can watch each new episode together. ("Together" meaning "watching it while on the phone with each other in different cities". And I'm out of control with the parenthetical asides tonight. My apologies.) Not only is he watching all of the episodes, he actually likes the show! (Sorry, Stephen, I hope it was okay to broadcast this. I wouldn't want anyone to question your manhood or anything.) I knew I wasn't crazy for dating him. We're also going to go out for dinner somewhere, which is always fun. It should be a wonderful day.

On a somewhat related note, it occurred to me recently that a lot of you probably don't even know how Stephen and I started dating. So here's what I'll do: if I get 20 eprops (or comments, even though that's much too easy for one person to just comment 20 times) for this post, I'll tell you the story. I haven't been feeling the Xanga love much lately, and this is my pathetic, last-ditch attempt to get some eprops. We'll see what happens! Now I'm off to get my beauty sleep!

I saw John Tucker Must Die last night with my dear friend Emily. I have to say, I totally loved it. I didn't think it would be as funny as it was. All of the actresses in it did a marvelous job, and John Tucker is kind of hot.

I'm off to take Sandy (our dog) to the vet. She's not been feeling well or acting normal (or as normal as she can get because she's kind of weird anyway), so I hope the vet can figure out what's wrong with her. She's getting old (we got her when I was in seventh grade), and the thought of her leaving us makes me sad.

Maybe one of these days I'll actually write something worth reading, but I make no promises.

Gilmores and Elephants

For any of my readers who are fans of Gilmore Girls (I was going to say "obsessed," but I think that only applies to me), you might be interested in reading this article which has lots of juicy tidbits about the first episode of the 7th season! Reading it made me feel better about the fact that the Palladinos, the masterminds behind the show, are no longer with the show. So read, enjoy, and leave me eprops of gratitude. (Also, there's an interview with David Rosenthal, the new executive producer, here.)

For those of you who couldn't care less about Gilmore Girls (and I don't want to hear about it if you're one of them), enjoy this amazing tale about a very special elephant.

Incredible story about an elephant's memory

UPI July 20, 2006

A young man was on holiday in Kenya after graduating from college. While he was walking through the bush, he came across a young bull elephant standing with one leg raised in the air.

The elephant seemed distressed so the man approached it very carefully. He got down on one knee and inspected the elephant's foot. There was a large thorn deeply embedded in the bottom of the foot.

As carefully and as gently as he could he worked the thorn out with his hunting knife, after which the elephant gingerly put down its foot. The elephant turned to face the man and with a rather stern look on its face, stared at him. For a good ten minutes the man
stood frozen -- thinking of nothing else but being trampled. Eventually the elephant trumpeted loudly, turned and walked away.

The man never forgot that elephant or the events of that day. Twenty years later the man was walking through the zoo with his teenaged son. As they approached the elephant enclosure, one of the creatures turned and walked over to where they are standing at
the rail. The large bull elephant stared at him and lifted its front foot off the ground, then put it down. The elephant did that several times, all the while staring at the man. The man couldn't help wondering if this was the same elephant. After a while, it trumpeted loudly; then it continued to stare at him.

The man summoned up his courage, climbed over the railing and made his way into the enclosure. He walked right up to the elephant and stared back in wonder.

Suddenly the elephant trumpeted again, wrapped its trunk around one of the man's legs and swung him wildly back and forth along the railing, killing him.

Probably wasn't the same elephant.

Up with the Sun

I woke up around 5 a.m. this morning. Why? Because I went to bed at 8:30 last night. I was having a bit of an allergy attack, so I took some off-brand stuff equivalent to Benadryl, and I felt comatose about 10 minutes later. Probably should have just taken one pill instead of two. And let me just tell you: there's not a lot to watch on TV at 5 a.m. However, there were two full hours of Saved by the Bell on, and even though they were episodes with Miss Bliss and therefore sub par to the later episodes without her, I watched all four of them. That's sad. I've since cleaned my room, showered, paid some bills, and done lots of other random odds and ends, and it's only a little after 10 a.m. What am I supposed to do for the rest of the day?! This is why I like sleeping until 10 or so; you don't have to think of nearly as much stuff with which to occupy your time! Looks like I'll be making a trip to Target. (As if I need an excuse to do that.)

And can someone tell me when it was that Target became "cool"? I can still remember when people pretty much equated it with Wal-Mart and didn't give it much thought, and it certainly didn't use to generate as much excitement for me as it currently does. Now it seems like everyone loves Target and can't get enough of it. (Don't get me wrong; I love Wal-Mart, too, but there's something distinctly more "polished" about Target.) It's an interesting phenomenon, as is the rise in popularity of MP3 players and satellite radio. How in the world did people in the 18th century occupy their time without any of these modern inventions??

Currently Listening: How to Save a Life, The Fray

Whirlwind Weekend

Wow, sometimes it feels really good to just sit down and be alone! This has been one crazy weekend. My grandparents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary yesterday by renewing their vows and having a lovely reception, so practically all of the family on my mother's side was there for it, along with a bunch of other people I had never seen before in my life. As the priest was officiating over the vow renewal ceremony, one portion of the ceremony mentioned something about raising children up in the Lord, which got a good laugh from everyone since I'm pretty sure my grandmother would end up on national television if she started having babies at her age. (Apparently the priest was reading from the typical marriage ceremony rites and then improvising other stuff, and he just read that part without thinking.)

Poor Stephen accompanied me to this event and then stayed overnight at my parent's house (along with several other people), so he got a nice glimpse into the craziness that can be my family. Hopefully they didn't scare him away. ;) He brought his dog Bailey with him, and we thought it would be fun to introduce Bailey to Sandy and Bear (my parent's dog and my brother's dog). That was a mistake on both counts. Sandy hated Bailey, as she hates almost everyone else, and Bailey was terrified of Bear (he's an 80-pound lab). It was quite funny, except for when Bailey got so worked up that she was practically foaming at the mouth. I had to feel sorry for Bailey because she was clearly confused about everything and all of the new, strange people she was having to meet. At least she likes me!

I don't know why I haven't been updating my Xanga as much. It seems that Xanga in general seems to be suffering from a bit of a traffic flow problem or something. Perhaps MySpace is stealing all of the cyber-addicts away from Xanga. Oh well.

I think I need a nap to recover from all of this "family time." That or a stiff drink.

I'm Nine Years Old!

Spiritually, that is. Nine years ago on this day I quit fighting God and gave Him my life. It was the best decision I ever made, and it's been one wild and crazy ride. (I wrote about that day in an earlier post, so feel free to read my "God-story.") I wouldn't have it any other way. In some ways I feel as though I've grown a lot, and in other ways I feel like I'm still a "baby" Christian. I still struggle with reading my Bible and praying regularly, and I still stubbornly try and do things on my own far too often.

But I have realized how amazing my God is, how sinful I am, and how completely undeserving of His love I am. It's incredible to think that the God of the universe, the one who placed the starts in the sky and the flowers in the grass and the birds in the trees, LOVES me and knows my name and longs to spend time with me. I've learned that the world is bigger than my state of Tennessee, and that people in Thailand and Honduras and Kenya and Australia and California all need Jesus, too. I've learned that it's important to not only think about the needs of those in far-off places, but to look around my microcosm and search for ways to show God's love to those who live in my hometown. I've learned that it's much better to trust God and let Him lead than to try and do it on my own. I've learned that humility goes a long way towards getting to know God better, and that pride is the biggest stumbling block between me and God. I've learned to look at myself the way that God sees me and not as the world sees me, and to focus on pleasing Him instead of trying to please everyone else. I've learned that God will never love me more or less than He does this very minute, and there's nothing more freeing than being completely and totally and unconditionally loved.

Tom needs to hurry up and fix MySpace; I'm suffering from withdrawal.

I'm up early this fine Monday morning because I'm being spontaneous and driving to Jackson to see Stephen. We're having the carpet in our apartment cleaned today as an "incentive" for renewing our lease (I think it's funny they call it that since we already renewed it, but whatever.), and I have to be out of the apartment all day, so last night when Stephen and I were talking, we joked about my just driving to Jackson. Then I decided I would, since I was planning to go on Thursday anyway. I'm just a few days early, but I'm pretty sure he doesn't mind.

Happy Monday!

Things I Love (in no particular order)

1. School supplies.
2. Swimming on a hot day.
3. Getting MySpace messages from Stephen.
4. Stephen. :)
5. Organizing my desk.
6. The sense of accomplishment that comes after assembling something.
7. Reading something in the Bible and feeling like it was written just for me.
8. A really good shuffle of songs on my iPod.
9. Daisies. Any kind.
10. Pictures.
11. Giggling.
12. Facebook.
13. Blogging.
14. Gel pens, especially pretty colored ones.
15. Target.
16. Clothing sales.
17. Shoes.
18. The smell right before it's going to rain.
19. Men's cologne, especially Polo Black.
20. Spending a day in complete contentment.
21. Snuggling.
22. Reading for pleasure.
23. Hammocks. (I wish I had one!)
24. Puppies.
25. Hearing Bailey's squeaky toy while Stephen and I are on the phone. (It's very cute.)
26. Listening to music with the windows rolled down.
27. Live music.
28. Chocolate.
29. My teddy bear, Mr. Butterscotch (Stephen gave him to me, and he's adorable and soft and comforting).
30. Singing.

What do you love?

Sick of Titles

School supplies make me giddy.

Dream and It Might Come True

So I'm convinced that Samantha Brown, host of Travel Channel's Passport to Europe and Great Hotels (and provider of my daily noontime entertainment), has the coolest job in the world. I wonder if the Travel Channel would hire me to do a little globe-trotting and stay in the swankiest hotels the world has to offer. I'm totally qualified to live a life of luxury.

I had a dream last night that I was a teacher, but all of my students were fifth graders. No, thank you! I think I had that dream because teaching has been on my mind recently, since I'll have my own classes to teach starting Aug. 23. To say that I'm terrified is an understatement. I hope I can do this...

I feel like I've posted this before, but it made me giggle and I currently have fall on the brains since it's so hot and sticky and gross right now.

You Are Changing Leaves
Pretty, but soon dead.
What Part of Fall Are You?

I'm sad because Lost isn't coming on tonight. I've been watching the reruns of the second season since I didn't get to see them, and it is what I look forward to every Wednesday. Tonight, however, they are airing the show The One, which looks like an American Idol ripoff. I won't be watching that, primarily because I'm bitter that it has displaced my dear Lost. Oh well. It's sad when the highlight of my day is a TV show. I think that says something rather depressing about my current lifestyle. Oh well.

I saw You, Me and Dupree last night with some friends, and I really have no words to describe it. Owen Wilson annoys me, though, so I didn't expect too much. Confession: I really want to see John Tucker Must Die, despite the fact that advertising for this movie has taken over MySpace. You all can start laughing at me now.

My New Favorite Activity

Swimming. It's pretty much the only thing to do when it's blazing hot and 115% humidity. (Although I must say that it's better in East TN than in West TN, so lucky me!) I went today for the first time by myself, and I had a lovely time. I swam 22 laps (not the long way, mind you. If I did that, I'd be able to do about 2 and a half laps) and read some from She's Come Undone book and listened to my iPod. So not only did I get exercise, but I got a tan and enjoyed myself. This is going to be a daily thing, possibly. Or if not daily, perhaps every other day. What else do I have to do? I don't even care that I look like a beached whale compared to the other girls there; it feels so good to glide through the water that I forget all about what I look like. That's certainly a feeling I'd like to have all the time.

Now I'm off to do something decidedly less exciting: buy groceries. Oh well, a girl's gotta eat!

Heat Wave

This morning was the first time I've been to church in Knoxville pretty much since the end of May, and it was really great. The choir sang a bunch of really excellent songs, one of which gave me chills. I really want to be in that choir. The sermon was also really good and coherent, and the people around me actually acknowledged my existence, which was nice. Next week the test: Sunday School. If I like that, I'm definitely staying at this church. They're starting up a new small group program in August, which is just what I want, so I can have accountability and friends to encourage me in my walk.

I can't stand this heat. Diana and I are going swimming this afternoon though, so that should help. I'm definitely ready for fall to come, so the leaves can change, the wind can be crisp and cool, and I can wear sweaters and turtlenecks!

All You Need Is Love

DISCLAIMER: Complete cheese to follow. Squeamish readers, beware!



If someone could figure out a way to put the feelings of love into a bottle and sell it, there would be world peace. I guarantee it. No one would feel like blowing up a country if they felt the way I do. Stephen and I had a perfect day. It rained, but it managed to start raining a minute after we got in the car and stopped a minute before we got out. Even the weather is rooting for us!

*Floats away on a cloud.*

Raze the Gender Inequality!

I have a deadline looming over my head (tomorrow), and yet I can't muster up any sense of urgency. Remind me never to try and get published in the summer. It's just not a good idea. I think it's Stephen's fault, really. Knowing that I'm going to see him tomorrow makes me distracted.

I'm feeling random, so now is as good a time as any to discuss a little gender inequality I have observed. Last week I had to buy new razors, and while standing in the aisle at Wal-Mart looking over the myriad of options available to me as a woman, I noticed something interesting. The type of razor I had selected, a Schick razor in a cheery pink color, was also in the men's razor section. As far as I could tell, the only discernible difference between my razor and the male version was the black and grey coloring. One would assume that these razors would be identical in price, right? You would be wrong. The black and grey razor (a 4-pack, just like the package I had selected) was two dollars cheaper than my pink razor. Can anyone explain this to me? I scanned both of the packages rather thoroughly, certain that I was missing some key difference, but I could find none. Am I to believe that women are paying more for a color choice?! Tell me this is not true because it rather infuriates me. I ended up buying the black and grey razor, and it's working quite nicely. I may never buy another "female" razor again, but this means I am destined to a life of bland razors when I could have pretty ones. It's an unjust world we live in.

Given my recent sleep troubles, I decided to take some meds last night (a cheap version of Nyquil was all I had on hand) to see if it would help me sleep. 12 hours later, at 1:30 p.m., I woke up, so I'd say it was a rousing success! I haven't slept for 12 hours in a long time (at least not since school has been out and I haven't been up all night writing papers), and it kind of stunk because by then half the day was gone. I do feel rested though. I just hope I can fall asleep tonight. I really need to get into a normal routine because I do much better that way than this "do whatever I want to" schedule.

It's crazy I know, but I kind of want school to start. I MUST be ill.

Meet Me in the Middle

I get to see Stephen on Saturday!!! We were going to have to wait until the end of the month when I went home for my grandparents' 50th anniversary party, but I had the brilliant idea of meeting up in Nashville this week. I'm sooo excited because it seems like forever since I last saw him, when in reality it was more like 8 days. We're going to meet at Opry Mills because there's lots to do there, and then take it from there. Yippee!!!

Late-Night Musings

Why am I wide awake at almost 3 in the a.m.? I have no idea, but it's been a common theme since I've gotten back to Knoxvegas. At first I thought it was because I was sick, but I'm 90% better now, so I don't think that's it. I don't really know what it is. But there's nothing more frustrating than wanting to be asleep and not being able to get there.

American Idol is holding auditions in Memphis Labor Day weekend. I totally want to go and try out. I wanted to last year, but the Memphis audition got canceled because the city was hosting so many Katrina victims. I really just want to see if I could get past the preliminary auditions and face the judges. I wonder if I'd crack under pressure or actually be able to sing normally. Probably more of the former than the latter, I'm guessing.

What do you think it is that makes people attractive to one another? I mean, I think it is fairly safe to say that there are some people that the majority of the population would find attractive, but what about the others? Because I'm completely judgmental and critical, I sometimes will spot a couple and think to myself, "I wonder what he (or she) see in her (or him)." Isn't that terrible? And then I have heard people describe the person they're with as the "most beautiful" person in the world, and I have to wonder if they really believe that in their hearts or if they're just saying it. I would never expect Stephen to say I'm the most beautiful woman in the world because that's, well, completely absurd. I guess when it comes down to it, personality has to factor in somewhere. I know some really pretty people whom I find really unattractive because I've seen their character (or lack thereof), and it's kind of nullified whatever outer beauty their appearance may possess. On the flip side, I know some people who I'm sure will never end up on the cover of Vogue that have some of the most beautiful souls, and that's what I find attractive. And I believe that's what the Lord finds attractive as well.

"Man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart." ~ 1 Samuel 16:7

Smart Trading

So this guy apparently traded a big red paper clip, along with a myriad of other random objects, for a house. Anybody want to give me a house? I'll give you my entire book collection. That's a lot of books, trust me.

The Pirate's Life for Me

Your Pirate Name Is...
Arch-Pirate Sweet Waters
What's Your Pirate Name?

Yo ho ho and a bottle of...OJ. I'm feeling better, but still not 100%. I'll survive, it seems. I have to turn in something for a publication by the 15th, and have I started? Of course not! I wonder if I really do work best under pressure, or if I just tell myself that as a reason to avoid the task until the last possible minute. Maybe I should try completing a task before it's due to see how my work compares to that which is done last minute. But that means thinking ahead and planning and getting something done early. Hmm...nah.

Getting Older

I'm sick. I think I might cough up my lung. That might be cool.

The water was turned back on yesterday, right when I needed it. I went to see Tristan Prettyman in concert at Blue Cats. The doors opened at 8, but two people opened for her (the first not until 9:30), and she didn't come on until 11. By that time my friend Diana and I were ready for bed. We're so old. When she finally did come on, she kept talking about how she hoped she was helping us all "start our night off right." Start our night? She was helping us end it. Hehe. Somehow, though, I think we were the only ones planning on going to bed once the concert was over.

Today's plans: lie on the couch watching movies, miss Stephen, cough up a lung. Exciting.

Don't Know What You've Got Till It's Gone

So I'm unloading the dishwasher and getting ready to load the dirty dishes into it, when I turn on the sink to rinse out a bowl. Nothing comes out. I try it again. Nothing. I think, "Crap, I've broken something." I walk to my bathroom and try the sink there, to see if it's an isolated problem. Nothing comes out. Naturally, all of a sudden, I have to use the bathroom, and of course the toilet doesn't flush. Excellent. I call the office and ask what happened, and apparently the guys doing construction at the front of our complex hit the water main, and the whole complex is without water. I never realized how often I use water until I don't have it, but then I guess that's the way it always goes. It could be up to 24 hours before it's fixed, and I definitely need a shower before then (I needed one like two hours ago, but whatever) and it would be nice to use the bathroom and be able to flush. Happy Friday to me!

Simplified Spelling: Anything But Sempull

EDIT: Stephen was my 20,000th visitor. He wins...me!

I read this article today on Yahoo about those who want to change English spelling to make it more like it sounds. Nice idea, but it's never going to work. It would be as successful as something like suddenly switching to the metric system would be. What do you think, Stef (she's an elementary school teacher)? Do you want to start teaching an entirely new way of spelling? Wouldn't that be fun? Apparently even Teddy Roosevelt was pushing for simplified spelling at one point. It's an interesting idea, but I can't see it ever coming to fruition.

In other news, Liz and I saw The Devil Wears Prada tonight, and I liked it a lot. It wasn't quite what I was expecting, which in this case was good.

And I miss Stephen. I wish there was a way to squish the state of TN so that Jackson and Knoxville weren't 5 hours apart. Can someone work on that for me? Thanks so much.

Celebrate the Third of July

To celebrate the fourth of July, Stephen and I gathered at the home of our friends Jonathan and Erin in the booming metropolis of Oakland, TN.  (And by "booming metropolis" I mean town where everyone knows your name.  Kind of like Cheers.)  Always looking for ways to be nonconformist, we had our celebration on the third instead.  (Truthfully, we had it on the third because I had planned on going back to Knoxville on the fourth, but I like to think I'm a nonconformist, despite the fact that my keeping a Xanga completely disproves that idea.)  Stephen's dog Bailey made nice with the Hitts' new kitten, She Who Has Not Been Named:

Promptly after this picture, kitty hissed at Bailey, which ended the love fest.

Since it was soooo hot, we thought it would be fun to see if we could fry an egg on the pavement, so we went outside and Stephen did the honors.  Here are Stephen and Jonathan after the egg dropped:

 (It was kind of sunny, hence Stephen's oh-so-cute squinty look.)  Unfortunately, the whole event was rather anticlimactic, since the egg did nothing but splatter on the pavement and run yolk down the drain.  We kept watching it, thinking it just needed a minute or two, but to no avail.  Oh well, it was no MythBusters, but it was fun.  (Had this been a MythBusters challenge, Adam and Jamie would have found a way to make the egg fry, perhaps by torching the pavement to 400 degrees or something nutty like that.) 

After our little experiment that wasn't, Stephen and I took some pictures because we realized that up until then all of our photos involved us sitting on a couch in front of Stephen's window.  So we shook it up a bit with some outside shots.  (We're wild and crazy, I know):

That one's my favorite.  Stephen's a goober.

 
We weren't really sure when Jon was taking the pictures...

Here's the Hitt family.  Isn't their little girl a cutie?

Thus concludes my holiday narrative. I'm back in Knoxville, and I can see myself becoming bored very quickly.  If everyone I knew didn't have an actual job during the day, perhaps I'd have more fun, but as it is I'm stuck at the apartment by myself.  Honestly though, it's nice having a little time to myself since I haven't had that since I've been in Memphis.  It's just slightly dangerous when I'm bored, though, because when I"m bored I go shopping.  Resist, Erin, resist...

On a completely unrelated note, I would just like to say that Stephen is going for the Boyfriend of the Century award. 

I'm 60 hits away from 20,000!  If there was a way to figure out who the 20,000 visitor is, I would give that person a little prize.

Doxology

Did everyone decide to return to Xanga on the same day? I think half of my subscriptions updated today! (The other half of you, step on it! I'm bored here!)

I went to a wedding tonight and saw a bunch of people I haven't seen in a while, and the wedding was absolutely beautiful. I'm glad I went.

I noticed something tonight when I stopped by Sonic for a little refreshment on my way home; we (as in the American public in general) are afraid of being too close to other people. The next time you go to Sonic, notice where the cars are situated. Almost never does a car pull in right next to another car. There will usually be at least one open space between each car, if not more. I do it, too. I will always pull into a space that has empty spaces on either side. The same is true for the movies, I think. People will always leave at least one seat in between them and the person next to them. Why is this? Why are we so afraid of this incredibly impersonal form of human contact? Are we afraid of some communicable disease? Do we not want to get a whiff of someone else's body odor? I don't think so, although in some cases that probably is warranted, hehe. I can't quite say why it is that I do this, so I'm wondering if anyone else has noticed this and has any thoughts as to why this is such a common behavior. It's really interesting to me. Perhaps it's just our way of preserving whatever speck of privacy we can, in a world that is becoming increasingly public. Or maybe I'm just imagining things. Stranger things have happened, believe me.

Tonight I just want to sing this from the rooftop:

"Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable His judgments and His paths beyond tracing out! For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been His counselor? Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To HIM be the glory forever! Amen." ~Romans 11:33-36

And forever and forever and forever...

I've been a Xanga member for 505 days. That's a lot. I don't think I've done anything else for that long. Except maybe go to school. And brush my teeth. And wash my hair. And eat. Oh, never mind.

I have to say, watching The Office re-runs is still funnier than watching new episodes of America's Got Talent (I realize they don't come on at the same time, but it was the best comparison I could think of.) That is one lame show. Most summer shows are, really. Do they think people don't care about quality shows in the summer? I for one care about quality year-round. I'm a high-quality woman, after all.

I'm also in a really silly mood. Sorry to subject you all to it. This concludes today's portion of "Erin Acts a Fool." Stay tuned for tomorrow's installment.

This last funny bit courtesy of Stephen.

The Worlds 21 Thinnest Books

21. HOW I SERVED MY COUNTRY - by Jane Fonda

20. MY BEAUTY SECRETS - by Janet Reno

19. HOW TO BUILD YOUR OWN AIRPLANE - by John Denver

18. MY SUPER BOWL HIGHLIGHTS - by Dan Marino

17. THINGS I LOVE ABOUT BILL - by Hillary Clinton

16. MY LITTLE BOOK OF PERSONAL HYGIENE - by Osama Bin Laden

15. THINGS I CANNOT AFFORD - by Bill Gates

14. THINGS I WOULD NOT DO FOR MONEY - by Dennis Rodman

13. MY WILD YEARS - by Al Gore

12. AMELIA EARHART'S GUIDE TO THE PACIFIC

11. AMERICA'S MOST POPULAR LAWYERS

10. DETROIT: a Travel Guide

9. A COLLECTION of MOTIVATIONAL SPEECHES -by DR. J. Kevorkian

8. EVERYTHING MEN KNOW ABOUT WOMEN

7. EVERYTHING WOMEN KNOW ABOUT MEN

6. ALL THE MEN I HAVE LOVED BEFORE - by Ellen DeGeneres

5. MIKE TYSON'S GUIDE TO DATING ETIQUETTE

4. SPOTTED OWL RECIPES - by the EPA

3. THE AMISH PHONE DIRECTORY

2. MY PLAN TO FIND THE REAL KILLERS - by O. J.
Simpson

And the world's Number One Thinnest Book ....

1. MY BOOK OF MORALS - by Bill Clinton/with
> introduction by The Rev. Jessie Jackson

Glad

I am glad to be alive
on nights like this
one
with the wind blowing through the open windows,
carrying the scent of freshly-cut grass
and honeysuckle blossoms,
the stars winking above,
the road whispering below,
my mind composing poems like this one
that I will forget before I can put
paper and pen together.

I am glad to be alive
on nights like this
one
when I sing with abandon,
my one free arm dangling
out the window, meeting the wind
pressing up against it,
like the very earth rising up to listen to my voice
join the voices of those before me,
preceding those after me,
a chorus of praise swallowed up by the night.

Circle of Life

**Pictures added below.**

My brother's married now!  It was a really lovely wedding, despite a few "hiccups" along the way (the groomsmen being late for pictures, Brandon forgetting the ring and having to rush home and get it, the flower girl being spooked by the crazy wedding coordinator, etc.).  I only got a little teary-eyed towards the beginning of the ceremony, and I think that was mostly in response to seeing Brandon get a little choked up while watching his bride Nikki come down the aisle.  The rest of the time I was distracted by the fact that my hair kept getting caught in the flower arrangement located directly behind my head.  I kept picturing the entire arrangement tumbling to the ground when I got ready to leave the platform, but fortunately nothing of the sort happened.  It was a long day, and by the time my parents and I got home around 8 p.m., I was ready to go to bed!  And it wasn't even my wedding!  And I didn't even do anything major except stand around and look pretty.  (Which is hard work, I must say.) Oh, and I did do the cha-cha slide at the reception.  Hehe.  I like a dance that gives you instructions as you go along. (I thought I'd temporarily revive the boldfaced words, just for kicks.)

Stephen had planned on coming to the wedding, but sadly his grandfather passed away Saturday morning.  He had been in the hospital and not doing very well after a surgery, and they finally took him off the respirator Friday night.  I wish I could have been there for Stephen when it happened (he was with his family in Illinois), but I was able to go to Jackson today to see him, and I'm going with him to Illinois on Tuesday for the funeral.  If you think about it, say some prayers for the family.  His grandfather is with Jesus now, which is certainly better for him, but it's always hard to say goodbye to the ones we love.  How ironic that I'll be meeting all of his family at the funeral, when he was going to meet all of my family at the wedding.  Life is strange. 

EDIT:  Here are 3 pictures.  Not much, but it's all I really had on my camera before the batteries died.

The sanctuary before the wedding.  I tried this shot with the flash on and off, and it still came out dark.  Oh well.



Me with Nikki before the wedding.

 

Blah blah blah

Soo, Xanga's kind of dead.

I just finished reading Tuesdays with Morrie. I know I'm about 8 years late jumping on that bandwagon, but it's an excellent read.

My brother's getting married tomorrow. I'll probably cry buckets. (But I'll look hot, so that's a consolation. Hehe.)

I've now been away from Knoxville for three weeks, and I'm staying here a week more. By the time I return, I won't remember where anything is.

I've decided that TCBY is the best ever on a hot day.

The flower girl in my brother's wedding is the cutest, most precious little girl on the planet. Seriously. And I'm related to her.

My next book to read will be A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby. I'm glad to be feeling like reading again. I was a little worried at the beginning of the summer that I wouldn't want to read anything the entire break, but it seems my love of reading is insatiable.

I like making random lists.

I'm sure you don't like reading them, though, so I'm done.

That's My King

I don't know if any of you have heard of S.M. Lockridge.  I hadn't until the Sunday we left on our road trip. The pastor of Emily's church in Seattle played this fabulous clip of one of his messages, and it's a wonderfully powerful praise of God.  You can either listen to the clip on the site I've linked, or read the transcript.  It's really worth listening to, though.  You can just feel the excitement.  Sometimes I can't wait to be in heaven.

That's My King

And here's a really amazing testament of the strength of God in times of weakness.  It's about an accident that involved students at Taylor University and the responses of those who lost ones they loved.  Check it out.

http://www.boundless.org/2005/articles/a0001294.cfm

Goodbye Seems to be the Hardest Word

"Goodbye." Such a small, simple word, but painfully hard to say. Each time I have to say it to Stephen is harder than the last. I just keep reminding myself that often the things that are hardest are the most worthwhile. Sometimes I remember that, and other times I just have to say the word quickly, head turned, eyes averted. It's kind of like ripping off a bandage; it's much easier to bear when you just do it quickly.

Road Trip Revisited

I uploaded about 50 pics to Photobucket, so if you want to see them, click on the link:

Road Trip pics

I'm sad that you can't see more of the Golden Gate Bridge, but it was really foggy and overcast the day we were there.  All of the Oregon coast pictures look like it was a really dreary day, and it was, but there was something completely haunting and beautiful about the fog coming off the water and hovering in the air.  I really really love Oregon.  Who knew it was so pretty?  I sure didn't. 

In other news, I have the sweetest boyfriend in the world.  I missed him terribly (even though I just saw him a week ago), so last night I went to Jackson to see him. He cooked chicken fettuccine alfredo for me, and we watched movies and just talked, enjoying each other's company.  He told me he had a surprise for me (he's always surprising me with little things), and he'd told me on the phone that it was black and rectangular, so of course I insisted that it was a picture frame.  It turned out to be a beautiful picture frame, but inside it was not a picture, but the poem "i carry your heart with me" by ee cummings, which I love and think is just wonderful.  It's the perfect gift.  He's the perfect gift.  (I know, I know, enough sap.)  But Stephen, you are the best thing to ever happen to me, and I don't care who knows it! :happy:

Back Home

I'm home. I have to say, I'm rather glad to be out of the car for a while. The trip was fun (a LOT of fun, actually), but it was getting old toward the end, probably because the last two days of the trip (yesterday and this morning, actually) were really boring. Not a lot to see in Oklahoma and Arkansas, plus none of the landscapes are as pretty as what we saw in California and Oregon. I really want to go back and spend some real time in Oregon because I just couldn't get over how beautiful and serene and poetic and mystical it is.

As soon as I upload my 160 pictures and select the best ones, I'll share them with you all. It will be hard to pick my favorites, though. So much beautiful scenery was captured.

A little overview of the trip:
10 states visited(WA, OR, CA, NV, AZ, NM, TX, OK, AR, TN)
3000 miles driven (more or less)
$300 of gas purchased (Emily's car gets amazing mileage, and we ended up only spending half of that total because people gave her gift cards. Hooray for generosity!)
2 books read (DaVinci Code and Dive From Clausen's Pier)
800 songs listened to (It was probably more than that, but I'm just giving a rough estimate.)
$16 gambled (of which $1 was out of pocket)
1 movie seen (The Lake House, which I loved and which caused me to cry like a baby)
5 hotels slept in (McBee Cottage in Cannon Beach, OR; guest housing at Golden Gate Seminary; The Luxor in Vegas; the LaQuinta in Albuquerque; the Motel 6 in Ft. Smith, AR)
lots of fast food consumed (I've definitely had enough of that for a looooong time)

Basically, it was great! The only thing that would have made it better was getting to spend more time in each place, since we hardly got to see anything in San Francisco or Albuquerque. I definitely recommend a road trip like this, and take lots of time so you can stop and enjoy everything. I hope to make a trip along the Eastern coast next. That would be fabulous!

On the Road Again

Today we got to drive across the Hoover Dam! It was really beautiful, as was Lake Mead. We took several pictures. (So far I've taken over 160 pictures on our trip.) I've been continually amazed at the splendor of God's creation as we've been experiencing a plethora of different landscapes, and it's just amazing that He lets us enjoy it all.

We also got to visit the Museum of the Americas at the International Petrified Forest and Dinosaur Park in the lovely, deserted town of Holbrook, Arizona. I'm not sure who thought up this genius idea, but there are just random dinosaurs scattered about the desert terrain, and then the museum had a bunch of artifacts "supposedly" from ancient to modern times. I took pictures of some of the typos found on the placards accompanying the displays, which was fun. (Yes, I'm a grammar snob. Someone has to be.) We got several hilarious photos with the dinosaurs, and I can't wait to upload them and share them with you all. It was truly worth the $5 we paid to get in.

Tomorrow we're off for Oklahoma, which I do believe will be our 8th state. We've already covered over 2000 miles of the U.S. That's pretty amazing, isn't it? It's been such a fun trip. I highly recommend a cross-country road trip to anyone. There's so much that God has created that we haven't seen!

Walking in Vegas

Even though no one apparently cares about my Vegas adventures, I'm updating anyway. I have an illness, clearly.

Highlights from today:

1. Eating New York pizza in the New York New York casino.
2. Playing the slots. We got $15 of free slot play at our hotel, and I came away with a whopping $3.10. Woohoo.
3. Seeing dolphins about two inches away at The Mirage.
4. Seeing white lions and tigers.
5. Seeing said white lions and tigers engage in some Brokeback Lion action. I'm not kidding. (When it started happening, we walked away, but everyone else just took more pictures.)
6. Eating in Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville and having one of the best margaritas I've ever tasted.
7. Finding fun souvenirs for my family.
8. Buying some pretty jewelry.
9. Spotting two Elvi and seeing Kristin get her picture taken with them.

The negatives:

1. Sex is everywhere. Not literal sex, but sexiness. It's disgusting. You can't walk two feet without seeing nearly naked or scantily clad women. This really is Sin City.
2. The Strip is loooong. Our feet are killing us.
3. We wanted to come back to the hotel and go swimming, but the pool closed at 7pm. That's pretty much the lamest closing time ever.

Overall, it's been a wonderful, if not tiring day. Tomorrow we head to Albuquerque!

On the Road Again

Yes, as Susan commented in my last entry, even on vacation I can't get away from Xanga! Guess where I am now. Give up? Las Vegas!! We arrived around 11:00 pm, and it is just completely unbelievable. It's so overwhelming because everything really is as big and bright as it looks in the movies and on TV. We're staying in this awesome hotel called The Luxor, and it's a pyramid (it's prettier than the Memphis pyramid, I must say), and there are like 10 restaurants inside it, a bunch of shows, and 800 pools. (That might be a slight exaggeration. We didn't have a chance to see them all tonight.)

The road trip has been fun, if not slightly exhausting. We're clipping along at a rather fast pace so we can make it home for Father's Day, which means that yesterday and today we were driving for 12 hours. Good thing we're fun gals and enjoy each other's company, or it would be miserable! But instead we've laughed hysterically about something pretty much every other minute, and we've had lots of good music to entertain us.

The one dark spot on the trip occurred in the small town of Hawthorne, Nevada. I was driving, and we had just stopped for gas and were headed toward the highway when I look up and see flashing lights in the rearview mirror. Yes, that's right. I got pulled over. We were all very confused because we honestly couldn't figure out why the cop was pulling us over, but then he came to the window and asked if I'd "observed" the speed limit. I told him I actually hadn't seen any signs in the two minutes I'd been on the road, and so he wanted to clarify that I hadn't "observed" the speed limit. I said no again, and he said he'd clocked me going 11 miles over. Do you know how fast I was going? Not 70. Not 80. THIRTY-SIX. Apparently the speed limit was 25 mph, but none of us had seen a sign. The cop was nice about it and knocked it down to a 5 mph violation, so I'll be "donating" $47 to the hideous town of Hawthorne, Nevada. Perhaps it can go toward repairing the door panel of the Shell station, which looked as though someone had put a bullet through it. At the time I was a little upset about it because this will be the first ticket to actually go on my record and I just really had no idea I was doing anything wrong, but it could be a lot worse, so I'm thankful. It's kind of funny now. I guess. :)

Well, it's getting rather late here and we have a full day of sight-seeing in Vegas planned, so I'm going to head to bed. I hope everyone's having a lovely week, and I'm sure I'll be updating tomorrow as well, since we paid $10.99 for this internet service. (You'd think if Holiday Inn could provide free internet the Luxor could, but whatever.)

Happy trails!

No Time to Lose

Well, we're in Seattle right now, and Kristin and I are sitting around being useless while Emily packs up the last of her things. (We're at the point where we can't really be of help because she has certain things to do that we can't assist her with.) Then tonight we'll be staying in Cannon Beach, OR, which is apparently incredibly beautiful, and then we'll head on to San Francisco. We went to Emily's church this morning, and it was so great to see how much the people there just love her and are genuinely going to miss her. Kristin and I felt kind of bad because we're excited Emily's moving to Memphis because it's a lot closer to us, but we know it was a hard decision for her to make.

When we were driving back to the apartment, Emily said something that's had me thinking. She said, "I hate that it takes leaving a place to realize how much people love and appreciate you." That's really true, you know? When people are faced with losing you, that's when they tell you how much you mean to them or how much you've impacted their lives or how much they'll miss your laugh, smile, kind heart (fill in the blank with the appropriate trait). Certainly it's nice to hear that when the time comes, but shouldn't we be more intentional about letting the people we love know how much we love them on a regular basis, and not just when it seems that they are moving on for another phase in their lives? It's made me think about how I show my appreciation to the people who matter to me, and to think of ways I can more regularly show that love. There's something quite reassuring about hearing from my mom, "I love you" whenever we talk, and I hope that I can improve the way that I not only tell but show my loved ones what they mean to me. And considering how fragile and ephemeral life is, I never know when a conversation with a friend will be our last. Not to be morbid of course, but I know I could stand to remember to make each day count and take nothing for granted. That's how I want to live. That's how I want to love.

Girl Power

"The only time a guy's guard is completely down is when he's with the woman he loves. So she can pierce his heart like no one else." ~Shaunti Feldhahn, For Women Only

This is one of many interesting points introduced in this book, which claims to tell women what they need to know about the inner lives of men. I haven't gotten very far into it yet, but it's already given me a lot to think about, like the idea that men want to be respected even more than they want to feel loved. That's obviously weird for me, since women are the opposite, for the most part, in that they'd rather be loved than be respected. (Granted, both sexes would prefer to have both.) Ideally, with love should come respect, and vice versa, but I don't think that's always the case. Whether men care to admit it or not, women hold a lot of power and the ability to change a man's mood with just a few choice words. So even something like challenging a man's decision not to stop and ask directions can speak volumes to him about how he's valued (or devalued) as an intelligent man capable of making responsible decisions. Later in this same chapter, the author says, "If a man's wife believes in him, he can conquer the world--or at least his little corner of it." That's pretty amazing. (FYI: There's a book called For Men Only that's all about women.)

What do you think? Do you desire love or respect more?

This might be my last entry for a while, as tomorrow I'm leaving for Seattle to embark on my road trip! On Sunday we're (myself, Emily, and Kristin) leaving Seattle and heading to Oregon, from Oregon to San Francisco, from San Fran to Vegas, from Vegas to Albequerque, from Albequerque to Oklahoma City, and from Oklahoma City to Memphis. Should be quite the adventure. I'll be sure to take lots of pictures.